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| St. Wenceslas Cathedral in Olomouc |
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| Holy Trinity Column in Upper Square in Olomouc |
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| My roommate Hayley and I |
Hard to think I have been here for almost a week. I've learned so much already and have been going going all day long, but there is still so much to see and do. So here are some Ins and Outs of living in the Czech Republic:
1. Always be on time for the tram and bus, they don't wait for you. Trams don't care if you are running late. Also, follow the crowd, if everyone gets off the tram at some random stop, you must follow. Otherwise you will get yelled at in Czech by the scary tram drivers.
2. When ordering at a restaurant always say "pivo prosim", which is beer please. It's part of their culture, you might offend someone if you order a Sprite or Fanta. Then, when looking at your menu and it's all in Czech just point to something and hope its good. So far everything has been pretty good. If you're lucky, which is more times than not they have a menu with some English on it.
3. Globus is the equivalent of an American Wal-mart, only everything is in Czech and the order of the store makes no sense. Hair dryers and straighteners are in with the small appliances. Water and beer are located in one corner while liqueur and wine are located by the food. Everything is so fresh here. The bread choices go on forever and meat too. I've already had a few kolaches! Before communism fell in 1989, their food choices were so limited. Now that they have choices they wanted everything, so there was an explosion of food and pubs. I ordered some turkey from a deli lady at Globus yesterday, which consisted of me pointing at turkey, her asking me things in Czech, me responding with a confused look, I held up five fingers and finally said yes yes that will do.
4. Olomouc is famous for their fried stinky cheese. They put it on everything, sandwiches, meat, or just a dish of breaded, fried cheese. It's not too bad in small amounts.
5. All the streets here are cobblestone. Literally all streets and sidewalks near the center of town are cobblestone. So watch where you are walking. No one has fallen yet but lots of us have tripped. Usually I'm too busy looking up at all the beautiful architecture to watch where I'm walking. The cobblestone is also rough on feet. Obviously wear good shoes, because any shoe too thin and you will be feeling those stones through your shoes.
6. The bathroom situation... So far it's been good and I haven't had to pay for any public restrooms. However, if you have a sensitive toosh, bring your own TP. The toilet paper here is like those scratchy brown paper towels that you dry your hands with. So beware of that. I can't complain though, in Paraguay you were not allowed to flush the TP so the bathroom was an even worse smelling place than usual.
7. I am loving my new roommate. Hayley and I are getting along great. We go exploring together, eat together, drink beers and giggle together, talk about our boyfriends back home, and share a love of this quaint little city. I'm sure we will have some awesome stories to share and be good friends for years to come.
8. Lots of walking which was to be expected. My feet have hurt and my back from carrying my backpack, but who can really complain when you're living in a place like this. I'm an out of shape American... I'll get used to the walking soon enough. I'll have some nice legs when I come home! Although, I have heard from others who came on this trip that the girls gain weight and the boys lose weight.
Hopefully this isn't true!
9. I must say one of the best parts of this trip has been being able to drink and buy alcohol with no one looking at you funny. They don't even check your I.D. here. Besides, it's part of their culture and I would be rude to refuse that liter of beer....
10. Lastly, what a gorgeous place this is. You can see the pictures and hear about Europe's beauty, but it's just so overwhelming when you finally see it in person. Literally every building on every street has some intricate design on it. This is only a small city, but it has character and it's nice to think I'm walking on streets that are hundreds of years old and possibly the same streets my ancestors walked on.
All for now! I hope to write more soon!
3. Globus is the equivalent of an American Wal-mart, only everything is in Czech and the order of the store makes no sense. Hair dryers and straighteners are in with the small appliances. Water and beer are located in one corner while liqueur and wine are located by the food. Everything is so fresh here. The bread choices go on forever and meat too. I've already had a few kolaches! Before communism fell in 1989, their food choices were so limited. Now that they have choices they wanted everything, so there was an explosion of food and pubs. I ordered some turkey from a deli lady at Globus yesterday, which consisted of me pointing at turkey, her asking me things in Czech, me responding with a confused look, I held up five fingers and finally said yes yes that will do.
4. Olomouc is famous for their fried stinky cheese. They put it on everything, sandwiches, meat, or just a dish of breaded, fried cheese. It's not too bad in small amounts.
5. All the streets here are cobblestone. Literally all streets and sidewalks near the center of town are cobblestone. So watch where you are walking. No one has fallen yet but lots of us have tripped. Usually I'm too busy looking up at all the beautiful architecture to watch where I'm walking. The cobblestone is also rough on feet. Obviously wear good shoes, because any shoe too thin and you will be feeling those stones through your shoes.
6. The bathroom situation... So far it's been good and I haven't had to pay for any public restrooms. However, if you have a sensitive toosh, bring your own TP. The toilet paper here is like those scratchy brown paper towels that you dry your hands with. So beware of that. I can't complain though, in Paraguay you were not allowed to flush the TP so the bathroom was an even worse smelling place than usual.
7. I am loving my new roommate. Hayley and I are getting along great. We go exploring together, eat together, drink beers and giggle together, talk about our boyfriends back home, and share a love of this quaint little city. I'm sure we will have some awesome stories to share and be good friends for years to come.
8. Lots of walking which was to be expected. My feet have hurt and my back from carrying my backpack, but who can really complain when you're living in a place like this. I'm an out of shape American... I'll get used to the walking soon enough. I'll have some nice legs when I come home! Although, I have heard from others who came on this trip that the girls gain weight and the boys lose weight.
Hopefully this isn't true!
9. I must say one of the best parts of this trip has been being able to drink and buy alcohol with no one looking at you funny. They don't even check your I.D. here. Besides, it's part of their culture and I would be rude to refuse that liter of beer....
10. Lastly, what a gorgeous place this is. You can see the pictures and hear about Europe's beauty, but it's just so overwhelming when you finally see it in person. Literally every building on every street has some intricate design on it. This is only a small city, but it has character and it's nice to think I'm walking on streets that are hundreds of years old and possibly the same streets my ancestors walked on.
All for now! I hope to write more soon!
