Debrief. .

Some of my faithful readers have asked that I conclude my blog with an update on my return to the states. At first, it was really depressing to be home. I didn't have a job, or money and my car broke down within a few weeks of being home. My family has been a great help through everything. My parents have been very supportive (especially financially!!). Here's an update picture with my new brown hair!!



Things are looking up now. I am starting a new job with ADT Security Services. They pay about the same as Carlson did. They also have tuition reimbursement up to $7500 a year. During the interview, I had a tour and the facility is very nice. I am excited to start.


For a few weeks now my Grandpa and I have been looking at new cars. I ended up buying a 2003 VW Jetta. The car is fully loaded with leather seats, CD player, seat warmers, sun roof, etc. The price was right around bluebook. I really love it!!



I took one summer class. I have a full load planned for next semester and I am also working on an internship for the International Studies and Programs department for UNO.

Friends and family have been asking where my next trip will be. Truthfully, I don't know!! I don't think I can use anymore school time to study abroad. I really need to finish my degree, and then travel. My guess is that I will travel to South America with the Peace Corps.

Thanks all for reading about my adventures and for all your wonderful posts!!

Southern Bohemia

First, let me note that none of the pictures on this particular blog are mine. As noted before, I am unable to upload pictures from public computers. I found these on the internet, because I think my blog is boring without pictures!

This is Cesky Krumlov. The peninsula is almost completely intact from the 16th century. We toured the Palace and the Palace Theater. The theater was really awesome because all of the equipment was from the 1600's. The theater was closed from the 18th century on, so no advancements were made.

We also went rafting along the river shown. The water was soooo cold though!! I am excited to come home to summer! The weather here has not been very warm. I still wear a jacket every day.

On that note, I think I am ready to come home. As the time gets closer, I get more excited. My biggest discomfort at this point is the amount of Americans in Olomouc. There are now 120 students from American Universities at Palacky. Sixty students from Georgia, thirty students from Kentucky, plus the thirty in our group. It is very annoying to go to our favorite restaurants and bars and find loud, rude, American college students.

I arrive home on May 30th. . .

TO KIM: E-mail me on my yahoo account. I haven't received anything in my spam blocker or on my blogger account. I can't call you anymore because I used my roommate's computer for skype. If you e-mail me I will send you the specifics on when I get home. . and yes we can go for Chinese. . I have some new stories for you!

On the road again. .

Hello all,

Today I am on my way up to Southern Bohemia. I'm not terribly excited, but at least we can see more of the Czech Republic. I am writing today to inform you that unfortunately, I will no longer be able to post pictures or make phone calls :(. As we have completed the actual coursework due for the semester, we have these last two weeks to finish our extra projects. My roommate (whose computer I was using for pics and calls) is leaving from Southern Bohemia for Italy. It is kinda sad because it means the trip is almost over. Plus she was a good roommate and I will be really bored without her. I will still be able to post notes etc. but no more pics. Sorry!

Berlin's in bloom!!

For those of you who will be receiving postcards shortly. . I apologize for the repeats. I'm including most of the stuff written on the cards in this blog. The pictures on the front of the cards are pretty sweet though!!

Berlin was beautiful!! The last few weeks it had rained daily in the Czech Republic, so the nice weather was such a great change!! The first few pictures are just things that I thought were pretty.

We ate dinner here our last night in Berlin. I had German meatballs on toast (shown below). I'm really starting to like horseradish!! The atmosphere there was very relaxing. Ironically, the menu stated that the site had been historically used as the gallows for Berlin.

Humboldt University - where Karl Marx & Einstein studied

We just happened to be in the city on the 75th Anniversary of the Nazi book burning. Several authors and intellectuals gathered at the site to promote tolerance and inter cultural understanding. Look to the top left of the picture and you can see the empty white shelves underground.

Memorial to the victims of tyranny. The statue is called Mother with her Dead Son.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - this church was badly damaged from bombing raids in WWII. The Germans left it in this condition to remind everyone of the destruction of war and to symbolize their resolve to rebuild.


Berlin is now a city of glass. Stone architecture like secret police and tyrannical governments are a thing of the past. The glass is a symbol of transparency. For example, the Reichstag below has a glass dome over where the congress meets - so onlookers can literally look down and see democracy working.

I didn't take this picture, but it is much better than the one taken from our boat tour. I think it better illustrates the point about the glass.

During WWII the Jewish husbands of 1,000 German women were taken for deportation to concentration camps. Much to the surprise of the Gestapo, the women staged a major protest. The Gestapo ended up releasing the men into the women's custody. This is a memorial for the bravery of the women.

This was the site of Hitler's second bunker. His original bunker was destroyed during a bombing raid. This second bunker had 10ft thick concrete walls. After the fall of the Nazis, the Communists tried to destroy the bunker. When explosives proved ineffective, they removed the roof of the bunker and filled it with sand. On this site the Communists built luxury apartments for affluent Soviet families.

The Kempinski family owned many buildings, shops and businesses prior to WWII. As they were Jewish, all of this was taken from them prior to being deported. The family has recently tried to claim their previous property. Instead of being awarded the property, they were given naming rights. Whatever business occupies the building previously owned by the Kempinskis must retain the name of the family.

Holocaust victims memorial in Berlin

Brandenburg Gate - the symbol of a united Germany

Sign in front of Checkpoint Charlie

This picture sat on the Russian side to show that it was the entrance to the American entrance. On the other side was an almost identical picture of a Russian soldier.

What's left of the Berlin Wall

The Soviet side of the wall could not be reached due to landmines, guards, automatic guns etc. On the American side however, many artists were able leave their mark on the wall. These are examples of some of the artwork.

Pictures posted around the Checkpoint Charlie entrance

For all my Carlson Hospitality buddies - this is the Radisson SAS Berlin. The hotel was very nice and all the attendants were helpful. An extra buffet breakfast is 24 Euros though!!!

The lounge area

The front desk

Just a funny note. .

So I realized something stupid I did the other day. . and I thought you would enjoy it.


You've seen this picture before. I posted it when I was talking about my time in Vienna, Austria. Take special note of the two small glasses filled with a clear liquid. I assumed these were filled with liquid sweetener (they have such a thing in the US). I can assure you, that they are not. In Europe, each cup of coffee comes with a small glass of water. The water helps to cleanse the palate after drinking the coffee and prevents a coffee aftertaste. Therefore, you should not dump the entire contents into your coffee. . or people will look at you funny. You might also overfill the glass and spill coffee everywhere.

Some friends and I were talking about this the other day as we rode the tram home from class. Another guy on the trip said he had thought that the water was to wash the spoon prior to stirring the coffee. At least I'm 10% more smart than that kid :).

Where there's a will. . . there's a way!

I am going to Berlin!! While I did miss the first bus, and lost around $100. . I was able to finagle a second trip! There are actually 5 weekends in May. While last weekend was a bust, I still had this weekend free. Two other girls from the trip were interested in going this weekend. . and I was able to convince them to buy my bus ticket if I paid for the hotel rooms. My hotel points really came in handy!

We still have the last week of the trip free. Another girl and I are planning to head to Dublin, Ireland. Plane tickets from Prague are only like $100. I wish the US had the same philosophy on travel.

Since I returned from Egypt I have had a weird cough. It feels like an asthma attack. . but I never really had asthma. Anyway, I decided that I should go to the 'drogorie' to purchase some cough medicine. We walked in, and the first thing I noticed was that all of the 'drugs' were behind glass. You cannot simply walk through the store and grab what you need. You must go to the counter and explain your ailment. I think you could also show a prescription from your doctor, but otherwise privacy be damned! The woman asked in Czech what I needed. I coughed a little and she got the picture. She asked me if the medicine should be sweet tasting. I told her I didn't care. She handed me a very small bottle and told me to take 30 drops.

What kind of cough medicine requires drops!?! Basically, you put the drops into some kind of beverage. I find it very unpleasant. Maybe because I'm American, but 30 drops does not seem like nearly enough! Also, I like cough medicine to be thick, and coat the throat all the way down to the lungs. . this stuff is rather thin. . and just tastes like crap!

Can't always get what you want. .

After a long, stressful day, I didn't make it to Berlin. Funny, how I thought it would be so easy! A few weeks ago we booked a bus ticket. My friend and I Googled the subways in Berlin and marked all the stops we wanted. We found how to get to our hotel from the bus station and everything. Unfortunately, we didn't even make it out of Olomouc.

When we booked our tickets, the woman told us to take tram 4 to TESCCO (it's similar to Target). It turns out the Bus station is on the complete opposite end of the tram route. After this mishap, we still had some time, so we took the tram the opposite direction. We arrived at the Bus station at exactly 19:20. There was no bus to be found. We waited about 15 minutes, when another bus showed up. This was not our bus, but they were able to confirm that our bus had already passed through.

We then ran to the train station to try and get a train to Prague, then to Dresden and on to Berlin. We wrote in Czech what we wanted. The lady looked at our paper and told us there were no more trains to Prague tonight. This was a lie - because we could see them on the board. She didn't speak much English and she wasn't worth arguing with. After all this, we went home and looked up the price of train tickets online. It turns out the price of train tickets would be more than the spending money we had allotted for our trip. We decided not to go.

Today I drowned my sorrows in some McDonald's and an entire season of The Office.

Next weekend I am going to Prague with Johannes. The weekend after that our group is touring Southern Bohemia via the river. We're renting inner tubes and floating down the river. I have the last week free. I might try to do Berlin again that weekend, but I had really wanted to go somewhere else. Any suggestions?

Czexican?!?

Last night some friends and I went out for Mexican food. . in the Czech Republic. All I can say is that it was interesting. I had a Mojito and some stuffed jalapenos. The jalapenos were pickled and then stuffed with cream cheese. They tasted alright, but were way spicier than normal. Maybe my taste buds have adjusted to the blander palate of European food. I also had some chips and beans. The beans were covered in a feta cheese, instead of the traditional cheddar. It was interesting to see how the Czechs interpreted Mexican food. Morgan (my roommate) had a burrito. It was stuffed with rice, kidney beans, spiced chicken and for some reason CABBAGE! I've had Chinese food here as well, and it also contained cabbage. I'm pretty sure that the Chinese food at home has cabbage too though. The food was pretty expensive. I couldn't figure out why, because THEY DIDN'T USE ANY FOREIGN INGREDIENTS. . All I can say is that Tex Mex is way better than Czexican!!

Poland & Auschwitz

I've been putting this blog off for a while. Auschwitz wasn't something that I was looking forward to blogging about. As I am leaving for Berlin tomorrow however, I figured I had better finish this as not to get behind.

I really enjoyed Poland, and I'm sad that I didn't take more pictures of the city. The people were very nice and most spoke English. The food was similar to Czech food, and was not expensive. At the moment, their currency is about two Polish Zloty to the Dollar. They also had Pizza Hut and Mountain Dew - neither of which can be found in the Czech Republic. I think out of all the places I've visited so far, I would live in Poland.

Krakow Castle and Gardens

One of the Tombs of a King. These reminded me of Lord of the Rings!

The only place pictures were allowed was in the tombs. The rest of the castle was very beautiful, but no pictures were allowed. In 1596, the capital was moved to Warsaw, so this Castle was only used for special occasions and burials.

This is duck - Polish style. It was goooood.

In every city we've visited thus far, a large demonstration has taken place. In Krakow, it was Skinheads vs. Homosexuals. Over 75% of Polish people are Catholic and against gay rights. Some friends and I were walking to the Jewish Quarter when we encountered the Gay parade. They marched to the town square, where a large group of Skinheads had gathered. Police were everywhere. Another guy in my group got a video of the meeting of the two groups, plus some Skinheads getting dragged from the fight by police. I'll see if I can't add it. Stay tuned.

This is the Krakow Jewish Quarter. It was part of the original Jewish Ghetto from WWII. I believe this building was used in the filming of Schindler's List. I would like to watch that movie when I return, just to put my experience into perspective.

Part of the original wall of the Ghetto. In the Jewish Quarter, we also visited the Synagogue which had been transformed into a museum. No pictures were allowed. Boo.

This is the entrance to Auschwitz 1. There were actually 3 camps. We visited Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. Birkenau being where the barracks for Jews and Gypsies were located.

These brick buildings were originally home to the women's camp and then to the political prisoners. Enemies of the Third Reich including but not limited to intellectuals, Soviet prisoners of war and homosexuals were confined here until either murdered or sent to Birkenau.

These buildings have been converted to make up the Auschwitz museum. We saw pictures and heard information regarding the crimes of the Nazis. One of the buildings housed evidence of these crimes. This evidence included an entire room of human hair, collections of hair brushes, shoes, suit cases, glasses, nail polish, false limbs and crutches. These items were collected before victims were sent to the gas chamber by Kanada (Canada) Jews. They were given this nickname because they viewed Canada as a place of great wealth.

This was called the 'Wall of Death' by the prisoners. Political prisoners were shot here. The windows to the left were boarded up, so that other prisoners would not know what took place here. The building to the right held prisoners awaiting 'trial' and special prison cells. There were three types of special prison cells. First, the starvation cells, where victims were starved to death. The second, was a dark cell. Prisoners were given food, but forced to live in a completely dark cement cell with only a 5 by 5 INCH air hole. Finally, there were the exhaustion cells. These cells held 4 prisoners at once. The victims were forced to crawl through a small space and then stand through the night. They were then marched out each day to hard labor jobs. Many died from exhaustion.

The first attempts to gas victims took place in this building as well. Pellets were placed on the floor during the night. The next morning, not all the victims had died. The basement was too well ventilated. The Nazis also had trouble removing the dead, so they created the gas chambers to increase efficiency.

Electric fences

Door to the gas chambers/crematorium.

This picture was taken after we departed Auschwitz 1 and arrived at Birkenau. This is from outside the camp. The tower on the right is part of the train depot.

The entrance to Birkenau by train.

The entrance to one of the barracks.

The "beds" inside the barracks. We asked why the heads of the beds were on wooden planks, but our guide was unsure.

The latrines near the barracks.

There is a lot more information on this subject, and I'm sure most of you have an idea about the conditions in the camps. The information posted here are facts that I was not aware of prior to visiting Auschwitz. For more information, I would recommend doing an Internet search.