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,
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
