My European Farewell, For Now

And snap, just like that it’s over…..To say the last 2.5 months have been a blur is an understatement, I feel like just yesterday I was landing in Prague for the first time anxious to experience this world I’ve never seen before but at the same time I feel like I’ve been here forever. 79 days is how long I’ve been in Europe. When you put it like that it seems so small in relation to everything and yet how can such a small sliver of my timeline impact me exponentially. This whirlwind life I have been living for 79 days has led to so many amazing experiences and they have shaped me into the person I am today. As corny as I think that statement is, it’s true. The Sheyenne from 79 days ago couldn’t even go to downtown Omaha alone and now I can confidently book last minute trips to foreign countries with limited resources and spotty data without batting an eyelash or thinking twice.

Jan, myself, Doug, and Martin

Words cannot express how thankful I am for this experience and the people that helped me along the way. Now I don’t want to make this blog all about thanking people but there are people who need to be recognized. So thank you to the 22 others who decided to embark on this crazy journey with me. Before I left not only was I not close to any of you but I only knew three of you and now we share an inexplicable bond that can only be made when you throw a group of strangers together in a foreign country and let them travel the world. I could not have asked for a better group. Next, I need to thank the adults that put up with us, starting with Jan and Martin, the amount of knowledge you both contain amazes me and I am so thankful in your willingness to sharing it with us as well as putting up with our crazy antics as you showed us so many amazing cities. I can’t wait to see you in Kearney come fall. Next is Mama T, without you, I would be lost. You were always there to answer questions, problem solve traveling logistics, translate a menu, coordinate amazing day trips, and so much more. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And of course, thank you to the man, the myth, the legend, Doug Biggs, not many people are crazy enough to sponsor 23 20-year-olds in Europe but you did and I am so thankful and blessed to have studied abroad with you as my sponsor. Your pure passion for learning is truly inspiring as well as your love of teaching. I have learned so much from you this past semester and I thank you greatly for the impact you have had on my life. And finally, thank you to my amazing family and boyfriend for the support from afar. You guys were always there when I needed you and I could not have done this without such a great support system back home.

Class photo

I get asked a lot if I’m ready to go home yet and that’s a hard question for me to answer because yes, I miss my family and friends and I miss driving and free water and not paying to use a public restroom not I’m not ready to go home there is so much I still have to explore. Will I be happy when I’m home? Yes, but as my time in Europe quickly dwindles down to a week I catch myself already planning future trips. What can I say? I’m a traveling soul with no signs of stopping.

Paintball and grill out

Mama T in her natural habitat, taking
care of all of are stuff

Rafting trip

Pregaming our last Belmundo night

Enjoying the moment

I'm going to miss this place.

Last Hoorah

Serenity, the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. Serenity is what comes to mind when I think of my last class trip. After many trips to bigger cities over the last 2 ½ months we switched it up and ventured to some small towns in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic. It was so much fun seeing a new side of the Czech Republic and it was a great way to end our time together as a class.

The stuff of fairytales

Ležáky

We spent a majority of our 5-day trip in two towns, Kuntá Hora and Česky Krumlov but some of the highlights from our little pit stops were, of course, Česky Budejovice where we toured the original Budweiser Budvar factory. The tour included a walk-through of their factory and a tasting. (You can decide which you part you think I enjoyed more) Also, shout out to all my classmates who are not beer drinkers I’m sure I can speak for the others when I say we very much appreciated the bonus samples. Another pit stop I felt really helped bring the last 2.5 months of lectures full circle came when we stopped in Ležáky, a town that is no more. The significance of Ležáky is that it is the town Hitler wiped out in retaliation for Heydrich’s assassination. Walking around this memorial made me reflect back to the beginning of the trip when we first started learning the role the Czech Republic had in the 2^nd World War and the story behind operation anthropoid, the operation responsible for Heydrich’s death. Finally, the story was complete and true to Czech form, it wasn’t a happy ending.

The Budweiser factory

The bone chandelier

As I wrote about in my first blog, during my initial stay in Prague my friends and I decided to take on the Prague train station to go visit the Bone Church in Kuntá Hora and failed but we got a second chance on this trip and I’m so glad we did. The Ossuary was so unique and unlike anything I have seen thus far. We also toured a silver mine in town and let me tell you, it was not an experience for my claustrophobic friends but me being the thrill seeker I am, loved it. Half of it was spent crouching to fit and the other was spent shimmying through sideways. Our final destination was Česky Krumlov. It was a memorable stop of walking to our hostel in a downpour, (That let up right after we arrived to our destination) our last uphill march to a castle, and four hours of rafting that resulted in splash wars, raft races, singing all the way through the 100 bottles of beer on the wall song, and a hospital visit.

 

The view from the top of the hill
in Kuntá Hora

 This little fairytale town treated us well….most of us anyway and while the return to Olomouc was filled with bittersweet goodbyes the memories made on this trip and all those prior are what make my friendships with this rag tag group so special.

Inside the silver mine

More of the Ležáky memorial

Best rafting crew around

How could I resist taking this picture?

Old Friends and New Places

I made it!

Today started the first of my European lasts. Last early morning arrival after a weekend of traveling, last final, last day of class, and last day in Olomouc with the friends that have become more like family. These events have really started to solidify how close I am to closing this amazing chapter of my life, and the feeling is very bittersweet. I am not going to focus this blog on saying goodbye just yet. (Because I still have two more blog assignments left) Instead, this blog will be focused on my amazing solo trip to Stockholm, Sweden to visit one of my favorite people, Anna. I met Anna three years ago as a junior in high school when she studied abroad in Nebraska, and I told her I was going to come visit her one day. Three years later I made good on my promise and our friendship is still growing!



This was definitely a memorable trip with quite the early start; but hey, if I am going to voluntarily wake up at 2:30 in the morning for anything, it’ll be for traveling. I had a wonderful weekend catching up with Anna and her family and touring the beautiful city. We began by exploring the gorgeous neighborhood of Mälarhöjden (don’t ask me to pronounce it- it isn’t pretty) where they live, and then spent the evening watching the sunset on a hill while sipping some wine. Afterwards, we did some bar hopping around southern Stockholm (in the ‘hip’ part of town according to Anna). The next day after breakfast and the Saturday-morning-musical-radio-show-crossword-puzzle, we walked around Old Town so I could fulfill my tourist duties of taking too many pictures and buying too many souvenirs (still not convinced there’s such a thing). Sunday night, we had an amazing dinner with Anna’s parents and friend, Frida, before heading to a Eurovision Finals viewing-party to hang out. Sunday was also Mother’s Day, and if I am going to spend Mother’s Day away from my incredible mom, at least I was able to spend time with another mother (and family) that is just as amazing. The rest of my day was spent sitting by the water studying for my Czech final (If you have to study somewhere, waterfront Stockholm is far from the worst place to do it).



In a blink of an eye, the weekend was over, and I was heading back to Olomouc. I am so glad to have met Anna and her family and cannot put into words how thankful I am to them for opening their home to me and making me feel so welcome. I absolutely cannot wait to plan my next (hopefully longer) visit!

Bar Hop

Such amazing company

Smallest street in Stockholm

Such a beautiful city

Water makes all views even more
beautiful

Swedish sunset

We weren't ready to part

My first ever falafel

My trip to hell on earth

This past weekend my class took a trip to Krakow, Poland, and while it was amazing and I loved exploring it- today’s blog is going to be focused on just one specific day on this trip. It was a day that reminded me of how truly important it is to love everyone, the day we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, the location responsible for an estimated 1.1 million deaths. This blog most definitely won’t be fun or lighthearted, but it’s one that needs to be written if not for others to read, then for myself. I need it to help me process the things I saw and the feelings I felt as I walked where so many had suffered and died in unimaginable ways.

The infamous 'ARBEIT MACHT FREI' gate 

The gas chamber

 The feelings I experienced as I took steps where so many walked starving, beaten, sick, and without hope are some of the hardest feelings to describe. My skin crawled as I read ‘ARBEIT MACHT FREI’ on the gate above me as I entered Auschwitz. The phrase of false hope that all those innocent people read as they entered hell. I felt confused as we walked around Auschwitz because it looked nothing like I imagined. The buildings were relatively nice-looking brick barracks that were abandoned by the Polish army prior to the war and then turned into the home of something malicious by the Germans. I felt unsettled as I walked down the paths; paths that were lined with beautiful green trees. My eyes filled with tears as I stared at a room full of shoes, and my stomach began to turn when I saw the hair that was shaved off the heads of countless dead bodies so that the Nazi’s could sell it to be used for rugs. I had to look away as we walked into a room filled with pictures of men, women, and children so malnourished that their skin clung to the sharp edges of their bones. These pictures are ones I’ve seen before in textbooks, but have never felt real until I was standing where they stood. My heart broke as I saw the clothes of children who never had a chance to grow up, and whose childhoods were filled with unfathomable horrors instead of playgrounds, birthday parties, and innocent and pure happiness. I felt angry when we walked single file through the barracks used for the defiant prisoners. I was angry as we gazed into rooms meant for those sentenced to starve to death and standing cells the size of my closet meant for four people at a time as a ‘sleeping quarter’ after their 12+ hour shift of hard manual labor. I felt helpless as I walked down the halls and looked at the pictures of the residence of the camp, picture after picture with shells of people with not a flicker of life left in their eyes. I felt immense sadness and despair as I walked into the only gas chamber to survive the Nazi’s attempts to cover their tracks. The gas chamber that only survived because they stopped using it years before because taking 800 lives at a time wasn’t efficient enough. Because 800 lives, gone in less than an hour wasn’t efficient enough.

 

The ovens recreated with the original materials

One of the hardest things for me is trying to rationalize the number of lives discussed in the statistics that are constantly shared. Saying ‘800 lives’ is one thing but putting it in a way that you can truly see the impact is another. As I process this experience, I find myself looking up population counts to help me really comprehend these numbers. The gas chamber I walked into could have wiped out the population of Osceola, NE in less than an hour. The number of deaths from just Auschwitz-Birkenau is the equivalent of killing every single resident of Rhode Island. The true realization of just how many lives were taken proves just how powerful unwarranted hate can really be and how dangerous it can quickly become.

The train entrance to Birkenau

As we walked through the gates of Birkenau (or Auschwitz II), I looked around and saw what I previously envisioned what these camps would look like. We walked the length of the camp sprinkled with brick buildings and brick chimneys where the wooden barracks had once stood. As we reached the end of the camp, we saw the remains of the gas chambers, and I was again filled with a nauseous feeling. My eyes filled with tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day as I read to the inscription on the memorial in front of a small body of water where the ashes were dropped; “To the memory of the men, women, and children who fell victim to the Nazi genocide. Here lie their ashes. May their souls rest in peace.” No words can describe the emotions felt at the realization that I was surrounded by the ashes of thousands and thousands of innocent lives. We then went into one of the barracks where the children were housed. All the room had was three levels of wooden shelves that were called beds with the bottom ‘bunk’ simply being the dirt floor. These shelves were slightly larger than a twin bed and would sometimes collapse under the weight of the 8 or more people made to sleep on each level. My eyes fill with tears one more time as I tried to comprehend what it would have been like to exist in a hell like this.

 

The remains of one of the gas chambers

The Holocaust has always been an enigma to me. How could a travesty so large be accomplished so easily? How could people be so filled with hate? How could they think that massacring so many was the solution to their problems? After my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau I feel that I am farther than ever from answering these questions. This experience is one that all people should have in their life, because the only way to keep from repeating history is to never forget. We can’t grow numb to this atrocity. We can’t just think of all the lives lost as statistics and numbers, and we can’t let prejudice and discriminatory thoughts plague our actions. After this experience on Monday, I have decided that I need to make a change in my life. I will thank God for not only the big blessings in my life but, the small ‘everyday’ blessings that I take for granted. I will go out of my way to help those in need and not just when it’s convenient for me. I will stand up for what I believe in, even if I am standing alone, and most importantly I will make a conscious effort to love unconditionally: family, friends, and strangers.

"To the memory of the men, women, and
children who fell victim to the Nazi genocide.
Here lie their ashes. May their souls
rest in peace."

Birkenau

Auschwitz

The death wall in Auschwitz

Childrens barracks in Birkenau

Day to Day

At this point in my journey I have traveled to 7 different countries and visited numerous cities, but in between my travels, I live the life of a normal college student in the Czech Republic. I go to class, hang out with friends, do homework, and drink way too much coffee. So today I thought I would change it up and write a little about my day-to-day in Olomouc.

Typical morning view

Most days start with me getting up (a little later than I say I am going to get up) and heading to a coffee shop, whether it’s for homework or just to relax and get out. Our classes are scheduled for mid- to late-afternoon, which I love because mornings are not my cup of tea. On days that I am feeling productive, I’ll head downtown to the city center and walk around, go to Globus, or run errands (but let’s be honest I spend most morning just hanging out in a coffee shop). I then grab lunch and a snack for class and go sit for three or more hours listening to our various amazing professors' lecture. By the time we get out of class, a lot of places are closed (out of the customs of the city) but some restaurants are open and sometimes a few of us go out for dinner. On Tuesday nights, we watch a Czech film (usually about WWII), and then head to a nearby pub for a drink and discussion with our professors. These are usually great discussions that end up with us learning about our professors’ crazy travels.

On top of the normal day-to-day, we do have random excursions. Some examples include a day-trip to the local zoo where we got to hold an owl and play with baby goats. We also went to a garden and a castle in the suburbs of Olomouc. My favorite ‘day adventure’ so far was playing paintball in an abandoned fortress with some of the Czech students. (The welts were definitely worth it.) I also enjoy experiencing the differences in doing the everyday things I would go back home. Like this last week, a couple of my friends and I decided to go to the new Avengers movie. Some of you may be thinking “How could you understand the movie in Czech?” Fun fact: due to the insane amount of money it takes to make a movie, there are not many Czech movies made. Because of this, most of the movies played are big blockbuster American films with Czech subtitles. They also have some movies dubbed in Czech, but since that costs more money, they only really do it for really big films and children’s movies.

I only got 4 welts from paintball but it was definitely worth it!

I am truly blessed to be having this experience, and while the crazy adventures are amazing, I catch myself being just as thankful for all the mornings just sitting in a café doing homework with my friends as I am for all the wonderful days (and weeks) of travel. Studying abroad has been a bigger and better experience than I ever even imagined it could be, and I can only hope that these last few weeks take their time, because I’m not ready to come home yet!

You form a special kind of bond when you travel
the world together

Zoo day

I'm not even sure how many baby
goats I held that day

Avengers movie night

Trying to answer the age-old question,
"But what do we do with our hands?"