Arrival To Europe - Prague/Olomouc, Czech Republic

Preparing for Departure

I started packing for Europe literally three days before my flight. Being the type of adventurous person I am, I decided to fly alone. My mind process: “how bad could it be?” Some of the girls would be waiting for me at the airport anyways because our planes landed around the same time. Or so we thought.

I was flying out of Omaha along with two of my friends but on different flights and different times. My flight was destined to leave at 5:30pm and theirs at 3pm. Upon arrival to Omaha, I received a phone call from Delta airlines informing me that my flight from Omaha to Detroit had been canceled and that they were working on re-booking a new one for me. I think I died a little bit for a minute; so many things running through my mind. “What if they didn't find another flight? What if it took days to re-book? Who’s going to meet me at the airport now?” Thankfully, I got another phone call about ten minutes later informing me that my flight was scheduled to leave at 7:15pm that same day from Omaha and would land in Minneapolis, MN. I came back to life.

My best friend dropped me off at the airport. Since she was carrying my huge carry-on I was able to sneak that in without paying a fine for it exceeding the measurement limits. Although I was happy about that, it was a complete struggle carrying that thing around, along with my backpack, and an extra jacket. Not to mention, I had layered on two other jackets just so I could bring more things without exceeding any weight limits. I literally almost knocked people out when trying to get through the airplane aisles. 

Arrival to Prague

When I finally arrived to the Prague airport, I was completely lost for a while. The first thing I did was convert some money and then I proceeded to buy a SIM card so I could call my parents. It was so confusing to activate though, that I wasn't able to call them until I got to the hostel anyways. However, getting to the hostel was the tricky part. I had no idea how the buses worked and I didn't want to risk getting lost.  So I sat at the airport for a while trying to figure out what to do. I was tired, disoriented, overwhelmed, and finally understood what it was like to be in country where you don't know the language. I finally decided to take a taxi. It wasn't the most economic option I had, but it was the safest one. 

When I arrived to the hostel I was happy to find that the people at the reception knew exactly what I was talking about when I said I was with the group from the Nebraska. They showed me up to the room and I was able to take a much needed shower and call my parents. I was really exhausted from the flights and all the confusion I had experienced, so I went to bed that first night in Prague.

Adventures in Prague

The few days that we stayed in Prague before heading to Olomouc were truly amazing! During the day we would go sightseeing,

go on the free tours, and go out to great dinners. One of my favorite dinners was at a restaurant called Kozlova. Not only was the food there amazing, but they had the menu in six different languages and the staff was very friendly! Our waiter was the best of them all though! He really made our experience there so much better because of his great attitude.

In the evening, we would go out to dance and mingle. The Mosaic not only had AMAZING breakfast,

but their night entertainment was also great! My favorite night there was Saturday because the theme was 80-90s music. It was such a blast being able to just sit there and jam out to all songs while meeting new people. Not to mention, everyone would dance, even elderly people. It was definitely a sight to see. 

Arrival to Olomouc

While Olomouc is considerably smaller than Prague, it was really nice to be able to get settled in our dorms and not be living out of a suitcase. The first thing we did upon arrival was unpack everything and settle ourselves in. I actually like the dorms – besides the fact that I had to climb up five flights of stairs with extremely heavy luggage.  They have enough room for two people and plenty of lamps. I love lamps! There are also some really neat bed lamps, which I just found to be very practical and convenient because I’m a night owl and like to stay up late working on homework or reading. We also have flat mates with whom we share a kitchen and two bathrooms. I met my flat mates the second day and I really liked them; one girl from Austria, another from Turkey, and three from Slovakia. 

Exploring Olomouc

Perhaps the best discovery I’ve made in Olomouc thus far is Globus and the Vietnamese store. Globus because it’s pretty much like Wal-Mart and I was able to get all my groceries and basic survival necessities from there at really great prices

and the Vietnamese store because they literally have everything you can imagine for a super cheap price!  I have a feeling both of these stores will really be life-savers for me further down the road.