For the first time in my life, I was alone. An hour and a half delay on a flight from Denver to Newark meant a missed flight to Prague and an unplanned trip to Lisbon, Portugal. As an aspiring foreign correspondent, it was a good lesson in life never going exactly to plan. After about eight hours in the Lisbon airport surrounded by foreign people and dialects I didn't understand, my flight from Lisbon to Prague departed and I was back on track. After a combined 14 hours on a cramped airline mixed with two hours of restless sleep and two shower-less days made for a trip that I was glad to be done with. Another two hour train ride under the supervision of mentor and trip dad Doug Biggs meant that I ended up at the dorms a full 12 hours after I was supposed to arrive, exhausted and ready for a hot shower.
After a hot shower and a good nights sleep, a tour of the city was in order. I was amazed at the beauty of the city. I have always loved looking at architecture and the buildings in Olomouc are some of the prettiest I have ever seen. Huge statues and grand churches pierce the skyline of Olomouc with their centuries old spires and pillars. A beautiful park with a creek winds its way through the center of the town, and the natural beauty of the area is accentuated by the towering walls on either side. Grand towers that look as if they had taken part in sieges are stained with years of graffiti. Hundred year old buildings open their giant wooden doors to ultra modern stores. Its as if one were to step back into medieval times, with the added benefits of WiFi and credit cards.
Some of the most fun I've had so far on this trip has been walking the cobblestoned streets with the other members of the group, chatting, laughing, and enjoying the beauty all around us, while avoiding birds as much as possible (sorry, inside joke). Suffice it to say that Europe so far has been amazing. The food is alright, the beer is about as sufferable as any American beer, and the Czech language requires a lot of spitting, but overall, the trip has been a blast. Taking in the culture from the local bars and dance clubs has been an experience I won't soon forget and I have enjoyed my first week in the Czech far more than any other trip I've ever taken.
