The Spring Break of a Lifetime( Assignment #6, Category 10)

     After our class field trip to Vienna and Venice, we were free to explore Europe for about a week. My group did an island tour around Venice and then went to Rome, Vatican City, Paris, and Barcelona. That means four countries in less than two weeks!

The island of Burano

     Our island tour was a half day excursion to the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Murano is an island known for their glass blowing. We were able to see a demonstration and let’s just say it was amazing. In less than five minutes, the master created a beautiful gondola and flower vase. It was unbelievable. The next island was that of Burano which is known for lace making and colorful house. Apparently, the town has permanently assigned each house on the island with a specific color. This ordinance makes the island one-of-a-kind. We even saw a lace making demonstration here. Some lace works have multiple people work on it to complete it because each person specializes in a specific stitch. It was unbelievable to watch! The last island was that of Torcello. This island is one of the oldest continuously inhabited islands of the Republic of Venice. Currently, it only holds about 11 inhabitants. The island was the first island I saw with grass! On the island, is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta which was built in the 11th century. Looking at the church seemed so unreal. Before I came to Europe, I could never have imagined being able to step foot into a place so old. On our way back to Venice, our boat traveled by a few other islands. Some were abandoned, some housed monastery, and one was even the cemetery of Venice. Who knew an island cemetery existed? Not me!

     Once we got back on "solid" ground, we were off to Rome! By the time our train arrived in Rome, it was already evening. We decided to explore Rome in the dark! Our only stop of the night was to Trevi Fountain, but we were left disappointed. The fountain was under construction, so we had to settle for throwing a coin into a mini pool of water. Hopefully this substitute fountain will still fulfill the role of Trevi fountain and my wish will be granted! In order to overcome our disappointment, we filled our stomachs with the best homemade ice cream I have ever had. It was located right next door to our hostel, so we came back on multiple occasions.

Pope Francis greeting the crowd.

     Our second day in Rome was spent venturing to Vatican City. We were fortunate enough to visit it on Divine Mercy Sunday, so we were able to see Pope Francis give mass on screens outside of St. Peter's Basilica. After the mass, Pope Francis gave his Papal address! I never would have guessed that I would be fortunate enough to see the Pope! The rest of the day was spent back in Rome. We went straight to the Colosseum. We bought tickets and were able to walk around inside it. The ruins were amazing but nothing compared to our next stop: the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is a plaza of Roman ruins and the central square of the old city. Most buildings were only partially intact, but one church was stable enough to walk in. I have to say that the Roman Forum was my favorite part of Rome. So much history and beauty was packed into one space. My biggest regret is not having hours to spend here. We left the Forum just in time to see Trevi fountain and walk around inside the fountain, a bright side of it being closed. Before grabbing dinner, we walked to the Pantheon for a few pictures. I cannot even imagine living in a city as old as Rome. It seemed like everywhere we looked more history popped up.

     The last morning in Rome was spent revisiting Vatican City. Since we first visited it on Sunday, everything was closed. We bought a last minute tour through the Vatican City Museum, Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peter's Basilica. I spent a little more than I would have liked, but it allowed us to see everything we wanted to see in just a few hours. I still can't quite wrap my head around being in the same room that Michelangelo once was. 

     We took an evening flight to Paris, but took our night easy. The next day we set off to the Palace of Versailles. It was my second time here, but yet it seemed like the first. Versailles is a magnificent palace covered in gold and crystal. I cannot fathom how much the palace is truly worth or how Kings justified spending so much money on a single place. Trust me, I'm not complaining but I think there could have been better uses for the money. Nonetheless, it is definitely an unforgettable sight. After the palace, we ventured off to the Eiffel Tower where we took the typical tourist pictures before setting off for the Catacombs. The Catacombs are a series of underground tunnels that run throughout Paris. They are filled with over 6 million skeletons that are all arranged. Piles of bones are intersected by skulls to create art. It was a very eerie experience to walk down tunnels with skulls "starring" at you from every direction. I would suggest that anyone in Paris visit the Catacombs- it really is an unforgettable experience. After our journey through the underground of Paris, we headed back to the Eiffel tower to grab a night view of the city. I had already climbed the tower once, so I convinced my friends to take the elevator. We were able to the last part of the sunset from above- something only seen in movies. Even in the busy city of Paris on the tourist filled tower, I was able to forget about everyone around me for a while and enjoy the view. 

     Our last day in Paris included a trip to Notre Dame and the Louvre. Notre Dame is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture complete with gargoyles. We then left to the Louvre where we saw many famous pieces of art. We headed to find the Mona Lisa before we set forth to navigate the Egyptian wing of the Louvre. I was able to a mummy and multiple Egyptian artifacts. Our trip through the Louvre was cut short when my friend began to feel ill. We hurriedly made it to our last stop of the day: the Ponte des Arts Bridge. The bridge is covered in locks that symbolize an everlasting love for those who place it on the bridge and throw the key into the river. Unfortunately, in recent years the city had to remove many locks due to structural compensation-yikes. A few of us continued on through Paris and found ourselves back at the Eiffel Tower. We planted ourselves by a nearby fountain, placed our feet in the water, and enjoyed the view. It was a great way to end our time in Paris. 

 

La Sagrada Familia

    The last stop on our Spring break journey was Barcelona. We dropped our bags off at our hostel and headed to La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is a breathtaking church that has been under construction for over a hundred years. The outside of it is covered in different sculptures depicting different parts of the bible. It is unbelievable to think of all of the time put into its construction. The original designer did not even see its completion. We took the afternoon easy by strolling down Las Ramblas: the city's main street. The next day we walked across Barcelona to Park Guell. Unfortunately, we were unable to actually enter the mosaic part of the park, but we were able to walk through the park. The park itself is an oasis inside of Barcelona complete with views of the city. To recover from our disappointment we found the best smoothies of my life before doing a little shopping. We ended the night with a trip to a club on the beach. It was a weird mixture of really fancy people and college students. The next day was saved for relaxing. We lounged on the beach all day drinking, eating, and soaking up the rays. It was a glorious way to end an amazing and exhausting two weeks.

       I cannot get over how fortunate I was to be able to see everything I did. I meet and bonded with people from all over the world and from all different walks of life. I ate food on outdoor patios and saw places older than I can even comprehend. I got lost over and over again and spent more money than I planned; but I learned and grew so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. The world is yours to explore, do it.

Austrian Hospitals (Assignment #5, Personal Topic)

     As mentioned in my last blog post, I had to go to a hospital during my stay in Vienna. I had not been feeling the best for the past week, but by the time I decided I needed medicine all of the pharmacies had closed for the Easter Holiday. I planned on just grabbing so medicine at a pharmacy while in Vienna and just resting in my room, but that did not happen exactly as planned. Our first stop in Vienna was the Treasury. I could tell that I was getting a bad headache throughout the museum, but all of the sudden my body felt like it was on fire. I somehow managed to deliriously get through the last third of the museum and was lucky to find two of my friends at the exit. They escorted me out of the museum shop where we were fortunate to find one of our program directors, Martin. Martin came to the rescue and hailed a cab. I'm not for sure how things would have gone if we were unable to find Martin. He was the only one in our group that knew German. I can't really remember the taxi ride except for the last few minutes. You would think hospital emergency rooms would be easy to find anywhere, right? Wrong. The taxi drive took a sequence of turns to navigate through a windy ramp up to the emergency room access of the hospital. Where he let us off at didn't even looked like a hospital out of a horror film. EMTs, nurses, and other hospital employees were by the entrance smoking and playing on their phones, something you would never see in the States. They instructed us to go down this long hallway find the emergency room and after what seemed like forever we finally found it. 

My rough floor plan of the ER

     The emergency room was basically one large open space. This space included a reception area, a nurses station, ten hospital beds and a small waiting area. We waited in line at reception only to be told to see the nurse first. The nurses station was int the back right corner of the room, sectioned off only by a thin curtain. Here my vitals were taken along with my symptoms. I was running a 104°F with a blood pressure of 177/103 which were definitely a cause for concern. The strangest part was that a nurse sent me down a windy hall with nothing but a yellow line on the floor to guide my incoherent self to the restroom and back to collect a urine sample. I walked through the crowded waiting room with a Styrofoam cup in hand and made my yellow line journey with the help of the wall for support. I can't say that that was the safest or most ideal way to do this, but it is something I will never forget. After I returned to the nurses station, I was handed two slips of paper and instructed to go to the reception desk.

     At the reception desk, I filled out one short paper on my personal information. It only asked for my name, DOB, address, and insurance- a nice change from the stack of papers one must fill out at an American hospital. I had to pay a 150 euro fee for using the hospital. This fee included two urine tests, two blood tests, an ultrasound, and three or four IV's of medication. Not too bad for a hospital that does not accept private insurance. I then had to go down another hallway and sit outside of a door to see a specialist. Once my name was called, I followed a doctor into a room filled with medicine and machines. I laid on the bed while a doctor and two nurses communicated in German for most of the time. Occasionally, the doctor would tell me to do something in English before continuing on in German. I was completely lost in what they were doing. The only thing I could do was have faith in them. I was probably in this room for an hour and half to two hours. Here I had an ultrasound done, blood tests done, and two IVs. I was told that my final blood test would determine if I could leave or if I had to stay. The doctor believed that with my vitals and temperature that I would be forced to stay overnight. Eventually, I was allowed out of the room and instructed to lay on one of the ten bed in the open room. Here I was given two more IV bags of medication while I waited for my final blood test result. The IV was inconveniently placed in my arm rather than my hand. This meant I had to hold my arm straight for over three hours.

     While laying on my hospital bed, I could see all of the other people laying on the beds and everyone in the emergency room, something very different than any of my previous emergency room visits. Once my IVs were finished, I was shooed off of my bed by a German speaking nurse. With a needle still stuck in my arm, I sat in a chair in the waiting room until my blood test results were finished. Ill individuals were pushed around the waiting room  on beds and in wheelchairs,

something I had never experienced before. I'm sure that my name was called on the intercom a few times, but it was all in German so we could not understand it. Luckily, my doctor came and found me. He took me into the same room as earlier and told me some of the best news I had ever received: I could leave the hospital! I was written a German prescription and sent on my happy way. Martin called us a taxi and away we went. I have never been so relived in my life. The thought of staying at the horror film-esque hospital for an entire night was one of the most terrifying things I could think of. The only thing that went through my mind were images from different horror films I had seen. I was convinced that if I stayed over night my experience would be the same as in the movies. (Weird I know, but I wasn't completely with it after all of the medication I had received.) 

     We took a cab back to our hostel where we left Martin. Keyli, Jessica, and I grabbed some well deserved KFC and ice cream. After all, we deserved it! The next day Martin took me to a pharmacy and communicated with the pharmacist to get my medication. My medications were only 30 euro without insurance bringing my grand total to 180 euro or $193.29. It is amazing how cost friendly European health care is. In Nebraska I am sure that my emergency room visit and medication would have cost that if not more with insurance. Martin shared with me that healthcare in the Czech Republic is free except for dental work. I can not even imagine having a healthcare system like that in the United States. It was 

     I am so thankful for my friends and Martin. Keyli and Jessica gave up an afternoon in Vienna to keep me company during my emergency room stay and if it weren't for Martin we probably would have never made it to a hospital. Things could have been much much worse and I am so fortunate to be 100% back to normal. 

The two V's: Vienna and Venice (Assignment 4, Category 8)

     It has been awhile since my last post because we have been traveling for just shy of two weeks. It has been an exhausting but rewarding time. As a class, we went to Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy before being sent our separate ways for Spring Break.     Vienna was a very cultural city. Our first day is pretty much a blur to me. We started the day off by visiting the city's Treasury. This place had important items from the Austrian and Holy Roman Empire. It was interesting to see relics from so long ago. We were given free time after the Treasury, but my time was unfortunately spent in an Austrian hospital. (More on that experience in a future post.) The next day we attempted to see a horse show, but were disappointed to find out that the "show" was a training day. I made sure to make a mental note to research things before I buy tickets. Luckily, one of the guys in our group talked to the chief and we were able to get a partial refund. We used our refund to visit the city's Natural History Museum. It was amazing and is probably one of the best museums I have ever

visited. The museum was filled with colorful jewels, rocks, and fossils. We even found a meteorite from Nebraska and a gift snapping turtle from South Dakota. It was cool to see something from home so far away. I was able to see my very first dinosaur fossils including a T-Rex! My favorite exhibit was one that focused on the evolution of man. I was able to see skeletal remains that showed how man evolved, something I never imagined being able to see. The museum even had a set of Neanderthal footsteps stamped into stone. It was covered with glass and I was able to walk literally in their footsteps. It was an experience I will never forget.    
     After our two days in Vienna, we embarked on an over seven-hour bus ride to Venice,
Italy. On our bus ride, I was able to see my very first mountain range: the Alps. The beauty of the range can not even be expressed in an image. It was truly breathtaking. Our first afternoon in Venice was spent getting lost all over the Island. We walked into a few of the city's churches, and enjoyed our dinner on the waterfront while watching the sunset. We got lost again on our way back to our hostel and ended up making a giant circle around the island. Getting lost was so easy to do on an island composed of dozens if bridges and winding alleyways for streets. Getting lost gave us the opportunity to explore sections of the city we never would have seen and made us work together together to interpret Italian street signs to get back to our hostel. The next day we visited Saint Mark's Basilica and the Doge's palace. This palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the ruler of the old Republic of Venice. It was built with beautiful Gothic architecture next to St. Mark's Basilica because St. Mark's was the Doge's personal chapel. Interestingly, the palace has prison cells on the east wing of the palace. These cells were referred to as Pozzi, the wells, because they were dimly light and damp. Eventually, the cells were outgrown and a prison was attached via bridge to the palace. This bridge is called the Bridge of Sighs because prisoners and their loved ones would sigh at the last sight of each other when crossing from the palace into the Prison. I can't even imagine how crossing the bridge felt. Prisoners were teased by their last glimpse at freedom and the beautiful pier. We spent our last afternoon in Venice getting the best pasta I have ever had and enjoying a gondola ride. Our homemade pasta was from a small shop down a dark alley and served in Chinese takeout boxes. (It was kind of sketchy but it is rated as one of the best places to eat in Venice.) Our gondolier took us on a thirty-minute ride through the canals of Venice. It was honestly one of the most beautiful and peaceful things I have ever done. I still can't quite imagine living in Venice and driving boats everywhere. There is a boat for everything: postal service, garbage service, delivery service, taxis, police, and ambulances.It was truly an eye opening experience in the 'Floating City.'

2.) Academic Life (Assignment #3)

  The first few weeks in the Czech Republic have been amazing and filled with fun. Sometimes so much so, that I forget that we have academics too! With the program including so much travel time, we only have class 29 of the 70 days of our program, but we have already learned so much. Travel is a learning experience all by itself, but when it is coupled with some instruction it is much more meaningful.

     Our classes at Palacky University focus on three things: Czech language, Central European History, and the Holocaust. So far, the most challenging of those classes is the language course. Our professor makes the class very interactive and fun, but it is still a challenge. The Czech language is very different from English when it comes to pronunciation. It seems to be consonant after consonant with very different pronunciations. Try reading these words/phrases and interpreting them:

• nejinteligentnějším- most intelligent
• Jak se řekne česky ______ - how do you say _____ in Czech?

     Our other courses are taught by a large number of professors from the University. The lectures have included information on medieval civilization, economics, witches, religion, and the mistreatment of Jews throughout time. The most interesting lecture thus far was on Witches and Scapegoats. One of our program leaders, Martin, took us back in time to explain different scapegoats throughout European history. He mainly focused on the creation of the myth of witchcraft. This myth apparently started as a way to explain death or wrongdoings, and it spiraled out of control. The same hysteria that spread throughout Europe came to the US years later. Europeans then believed that these witches they burned at the stake could come alive as vampires which only made it even crazier here. It is said that the region we are in, Moravia, is the first area to think of and believe in Vampires, how exciting! While it is hard to believe that people created all of these myths, one has to understand that in the 17th century science was still young. People needed scapegoats and myths to try to understand the world they lived in. It is just unfortunate that these explanations lead to the mistreatment and death of thousands of people. 

     Jews were even used as scapegoats. Jews were made to do the "dirty" work of handling money and were often blamed for stealing money. At one point, they were even blamed for the plague. People believed that the Jewish businessmen brought the plague with them and conspired with the Lepers to spread the disease throughout civilization. It is important to remember that during this time people were very anti-Judaic not antisemitic. This means that they were discriminated against based on religious beliefs not as a ethnic or racial group as today. It is heartbreaking that Jews were continuously discriminated against throughout history. I look forward to becoming more educated on European History, social inequality, and everything else my classes have to offer!