The Little Einsteins take on Italy Pt. 1

Pardon the lack of pictures. All of them were on my phone. Which is no longer in my possession... Thanks Milan.

Well... We are finally back in the Czech Republic!! After what seemed like the longest and busiest two weeks of my life we are finally back to good old Olomouc. So for this weeks blog I have 2 weeks to cover since we just got off our spring break. However I'm not totally sure how to keep an audience amused as I ramble on for twenty minutes about how my spring break went. So, with that in mind I'm going to take my huge trip and break it into two blogs this week. So I'll split it up as our school affiliated trip experience and my personal experiences afterward. With that in mind... Let's get to it!

We started our excitement on the 12th. Waking up in the early morn in order to hop up on the bus and take a beautiful three hour nap on the way to Vienna, Austria. Here's where it gets real exciting ladies and gents. Thinking since its past noon and we had half an hour before our tour of Vienna was to start me and a few of the girls figured we needed to go get food. We thought everyone was heading out. Well they weren't. What we thought was our lunch break was actually just time to get situated and then go get food with the group... Well we got back to our hostel and everyone was gone. So after frantically trying to find out where everyone went we eventually gave up... and took a nap.

Though all was not lost for the Vienna trip. The next day we were able to go and see the Habsburg Museum. Which basically is full of jewels and paintings and things from the Habsburg dynasty that no one in the world would ever be able to afford. One piece included an emerald of over 800 karats. After walking through there for about an hour we got the chance to go to the Vienna Natural History Museum. I was in heaven. It was interactive and all the fun stuff a child like me loves! Room after room of rocks and minerals, rooms of bones and ancient civilizations, room after room one after another. Finishing it all off with a whole floor dedicated to animals. Sadly we had to rush through it a bit since we only had an hour and a half. But it was definitely worth it!

We were on our own from there. Shopping and food was next and of course you have to experience the night life while you're out and about! So we found an amazing pub that happened to be for tourists and international students! We made some pretty cool friends (most of them being American for some reason) and then we had to get on the bus by 6 a.m.

A 7 hour trip with a few stops thrown in and we arrived at the train station in Venice. Now I was expecting to have to get on a bus. You know... because Venice is an island and all. But luckily they have a train that will take you straight to the island! Now when you picture Venice you see beautiful buildings and rivers. That's EXACTLY what it looks like. If you were to add hundreds of other tourists walking back and fourth everywhere you turn. But I really wasn't complaining. Venice was beautiful. The rivers. The people. The food. All of it... Well except for the prices. We got a few tours of the city. Followed by a tour of the palace of the duke of Venice and then we were left on our own. But hey, it only took us a little over an hour and a half to find our hostel!

2 days in Venice with our group then we were left to fend for ourselves in the wilderness of Italy. We were left with only one thing on our minds... "We're going on a trip. In our favorite rocket ship. Zooming through the sky!!!!!!"

My Auschwitz Experience

Halt! Stop!
(in front of electric fence)

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed....Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night

I wanted to write this blog and say so much right after we got back to campus on Saturday... But I just didn't have the words. I'm still not sure I do. But I feel after leaving that I either have to tell everything, or say nothing. So this one is going to be a long one. This blog isn't going to be the same as the last I have done. With the last few blogs I have made witty comments and had a generally good time talking about my experiences while I've been here in Europe. However this last week I had the opportunity to tour the concentration and death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Going throughout your day you don't know when you will have a life changing experience. You can't possibly have any idea of how things will impact you. But when I say that this was a life changing experience, I fully mean it.

Walking the same roads the
prisoners once did

Since high school I have wanted to tour these concentration camps. Thanks to my sophomore english teacher having us read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. So knowing that during my time here I would get to go and have this experience I was thrilled to say the least. However, walking off the bus I immediately felt my body become pounds heavier. The grey sky and rain added to the solemness of the area and my mood changed in a matter of seconds. Walking through the gates we had to pass through metal detectors. This just added to the tenseness of the area.

Walking to the "dormitories", our tour guide told us stories of how every morning and night the prisoners of Auschwitz had to march to the sound of music in order for the guards to count them. Sometimes this took hours. All I could think of as we walked to the first building was, "Someone died here, some one was tortured here, someone was shot there." It was a rather unsettling walk to say the least.

“Then came the march past the victims. The two men were no longer alive. Their tongues were hanging out, swollen and bluish. But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing... And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes.And we were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when I passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished. Behind me, I heard the same man asking: "For God's sake, where is God?"And from within me, I heard a voice answer: "Where is He? This is where--hanging here from this gallows..." That night, the soup tasted of corpses.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night

All of the buildings in which we went into were dormitories which had been turned into memorials for the fallen victims. In the first building on the first wall as you walk in is a quote saying "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Turning into the next few rooms were pictures taken by the Germans and by the prisoners were hanging on the wall, depictions of the selection process haunted the halls and rooms. (Though this happened more often in Berkenau than Auschwitz) During this process, those whom were deemed unfit to work were sent to the gas chambers and told they were going to be sanitized (in order to keep the prisoners calm). The "lucky ones" were sent in the opposite direction to be registered.

Shoes taken from the prisoners
(not even half of them are shown)

Just of few of the prisoners brief cases

The second and third buildings that we went to were filled with a collection of pictures of the prisoners which had been held there, as well as items taken from the prisoners upon arrival in Auschwitz and Birkenau. One of the most haunting rooms, which we were not allowed to take pictures in, was filled with human hair shaved from the men and women killed in the gas chambers. This was more than an emotional tear jerker. Thousands of pounds of hair filled the room... Tears were shed all around and silence fell upon our group. No one had words for what we were seeing... and this was just the beginning. Moving out of the room we entered another and another walking through a total of 6 rooms, each containing different things taken upon arrival. One was filled with glasses and cloths, another with shoes, a third contained suit cases all with names written on them. The fourth contained pots and bowls, the fifth prosthetics, and lastly contained thousands of combs. With each room the faces of my classmates drooped further and further.

The wall memorial

We continued on. Only to come to yet another dormitory. This one being preserved to show exactly how the prisoners of Auschwitz lived. This was a special dormitory though. It was where those considered to be problems were kept, for execution and/or torture. Beds of hay lay on the floor, which our tour guy informed us were filled with lice. We walked then past rooms filled with wooden bunk beds stalked 3 beds high. Then it got more emotional yet. Our tour guide informed us that the washrooms which followed were used for the executions. The prisoners were to strip and then be led out of the door to a wall where they would then be executed. The wall was destroyed after Auschwitz was taken over, however it had been rebuilt only a few years after as a memorial.

Crematorium 1 Gas Chamber

The next room we saw was the most emotional. We had the opportunity to walk through Auschwitz Crematorium number 1. Here the prisoners were corralled and gassed. The once smooth stone walls were now covered in claw marks and scratches from the last remaining strength that it's victims could muster trying to escape. The room had an extreme heaviness to it, and even breathing was hard. I got out as quickly as I could, only to walk into the furnace room in which the bodies of Auschwitz's victims were burnt.  The thought of all of those killed and burnt here was enough of a psychological scar, let alone trying to imagine how someone could carry out such an order.

Entrance to Crematorium 1

Thankfully our tour was over. Not that we even got to tour all of Auschwitz. But we boarded our bus and headed for Auschwitz 2, also known as Berkenau. This one being even significantly worse considering it was just a concentration camp, but a Nazi death camp. Getting off the bus I immediately felt nauseas and my once excitement to learn about this historical place had now completely ceased to exist. As we walk around it was a lot larger than I had imagined it would be. Not that I would really know, since I barely looked up from the ground. Which also didn't seem to help much considering all I could think of was all of the prisoners walking across the mud and broken cobblestone roads to their, more than likely, deaths.

An example of the beds

Remains of Crematorium 3, there were
5

We toured a lot less in Berkenau than we did in Auschwitz. Mostly because a good majority of it had been destroyed when the Germans fled. We did however see the platforms in which the selection process was conducted, Crematorium 3, and a preserved "cabin" in which the prisoners were held. Dirt floors and wooden bunk beds, with no heating, and no ventilation... Complaining about not having wifi seems like a very obsolete thing now... I have definitely come to have a better respect for the world from this trip. One that I honestly cannot express. No I would never go back. However I won't ever forget the experience I had in Poland.

So I end with one more quote from "Night" because it seems all too important to not include.

“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night

Cultural Differences Pt. 1

"Now I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun drenched elsewhere." - Isabelle Eberhart

My sun drenched
somewhere

Oh how that quote is far to truthful. If a year ago today you came up to me and said that I would be studying in Europe I would have thought you to be completely insane. But I did it. I'm here... And let me tell you. Boy is it a culture shock!

Pardon the fact that this post isn't as fun as the last few have been. The last month has been a chaos of trying my hardest to not have my entire presence scream, "AMERICA!", every time I walked into a room. My attempts so far have been futile, but I am still determined. So today's blog is going to be all about the cultural differences and just how badly we stick out here.

What Czechs look like.

For a good starting point the last 4-5 days the weather has been gorgeous. 60's-70's during the day maybe dropping to 50 degrees during the night. So naturally like a typical Nebraskan would, I've been wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Well as I have come to find out that is NOT how the Czechs go about life. They all seem to still need their heavy winter coats, long sleeves and jeans. Just incase of frost bite I guess. However this does make it pretty easy to play "Spot the American" when I lose my friends. But you know, while we're on the topic of clothing, I'm not so sure that the fashion of the 1990's or even the 2000's has really passed through here yet. Everyone seems to enjoy frowning in their drab, boring, dull colored clothes. Meanwhile the Americans are walking around in our bright colors and smiling faces.
Moving on from the clothing we can move to the food and pub situation.

Olomouc Train Station

Now in America it's polite to wave at the waiter if you need something. But let's face it the waiter walks by every 30 seconds to see how our food is doing anyhow. Well here in the Czech Republic that's not the case. The waiter comes to take your order, bring you your food, then to take your money. If you need something in between you have to wave the waiter down, which here is not polite to do, or just suck it up. Pick your poison. Another thing which is somewhat taboo here that is just common courtesy in the States is tipping. The waiters here are not working for your tip, and leaving one on the table is not acceptable. So if you waiter did an "exceptional" job i guess would be the right wording, then you just add to the final bill you pay after the meal. More math for you to do in the end I guess.

Staying along the lines of food for a bit... Heads up to those who are thinking of traveling to the Czech. When you order desserts hoping for the sweet delicious cakes or

When the other Americans
leave. We play.

sundaes that you would get back in the US, that is not what you're going to get. There has been far too many times in which i have ordered what seemed to be a delicious dessert all warm and sweet. Just to take a bite and have my meal ruined by a sad bland bite of nothing. Sugar does not seem to be a big thing when baking here, neither does vanilla or cinnamon.

Alright so enough of my sticking out rant. There's still something to mention about the differences of Czech to the States. It would be transportation. Now in the States its not uncommon to have a car and take a 5 minute drive across town right? Or maybe a 3 hour drive to a different city. Well here in the Czech most people do not have cars. At least not the common folk. Most people here either take the Trains, the Buses, the Tram, or they just plain walk,

Find the Americans

No she didn't punch
that sign...

and let me tell you I have done my fair share of walking. Just like our parents used to tell us as kids, I walk uphill both ways to and from school. Let me tell you, my calves are going to be rocks when this trip is over.

Now for class we have to write about the culture changes at least twice, so I'm going to leave this extremely long blog where it is for now and continue it later on.

"Travel isn't always easy. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts and even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully you leave something good behind." -Anthony Bourdain