CAUTION: Extremely long post ahead

14 days later and just like that I have crossed 5 more cities off of my bucket list and have added 2 of them to my list of all-time favorite places!

Throughout the past 2 weeks, we have had the opportunity to visit Vienna, Venice, Milan, London, and Dublin. The first two cities were part of our program here so our entire class was required to travel and we were accompanied by our UNK professor, Kathy, and one of our Czech professors, Jan. We were fortunate enough to have about 2 1/2 days in both Vienna and Venice, spending as much time as we could engulfing ourselves in the new cultures, exploring the new cities, and, most importantly, trying all the native foods.

Our first stop on our 2 week adventure was Vienna, Austria. We ventured there by bus and once arrived, immediately got settled into our hostel so we could embark on one of Jan's famous tours. The tour only lasted until mid afternoon so we were left with the rest of the day to make our way through Vienna and get a real feel for the city. We visited a few breath-taking historical churches, a nature museum, an array of tulip-filled parks, and witnessed plenty of beauty throughout Vienna during our time there, but my favorite part is the balance the city has between its clean, modern look and the classic, historical pieces that hide around every corner. Vienna has a different vibe about it. A completely different feeling. Personally, I have yet to find a city that I have truly felt a sense of security and "at home" in (besides Olomouc, of course), but immediately after walking through the streets on our first tour, I knew Vienna was different. From this moment on, it continued to impress me. From the refreshing personality of the locals to the variety of delicious food, I could definitely get used to this place!

Our view for lunch

Unfortunately, I will have to save the "getting used to" for another time because the 2 1/2 days in Vienna flew by and before I knew it, we were on our way to Venice, Italy! The anticipation (or maybe the 7 hour bus ride) was killing me by the time we finally got there! Luckily for me, we wasted no time getting our tour of Venice started. Jan's tour consisted of many of the main attractions of the city and finished near the water where we split off into smaller groups in search of our first taste of true Italian food. A group of us settled for a slice of pizza (thick crust, FINALLY) as a snack in exchange for some extra time to wander and a chance to find better Italian cuisine elsewhere. Surprise, surprise: we stumbled upon some delicious Italian food and paired it with a glass of wine and delicious desert. Afterward, to finish off our first day in Venice, we did one of our favorite things: wandered and got lost. No destination in mind; simply a bottle of wine in hand and the entire night ahead of us.  During our final day and a half in Venice, we went to multiple museums, on a gondola ride, to a tower that over looks the city, and enjoyed our fair share of Italian food. My favorite pasta we found throughout our stay, however, happened be a little hidden shop down one of the nooks and crannies that Venice consists of. So, in case any of you are planning on visiting Venice anytime soon, bring me back as much Dal Moro's as possible, please :) ...or feel free to buy me a one-way ticket back!

The Gondola Gang

After saying goodbye to one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and so many memories, Molly, Brianna, and I set off for our final 3 destinations--aka SPRING BREAK! With Milan being first on our list, it was just a short, 3 hour train ride to the beginning of our spring break. We stayed a bit outside of Milan in Bergamo at the cutest B&B I have ever seen, complete with free breakfast (OMG), a washer (OMG x2), and the sweetest Italian host. Our host was extremely welcoming and recommended a few dinner options in one of the city squares. We decided on a pizza place for dinner and enjoyed some good, old-fashioned Italian food. To finish off our relaxing first night of spring break, we made a tour of our own in Bergamo, which can best be described as the Italian version of Olomouc <3 The next day, after fighting through a few transportation issues, we finally made it to the fashion capital of the world! Milan was filled with class. The streets were lined with expensive, name brand stores and the entire city was outlined with intricate architecture. The best view of this could be seen from on top of the Milan Cathedral (which we totally took) where you could see a 365 degree view of the city! Though our stay in Milan and Bergamo was short, I definitely think Milan is a place everyone should experience.

Fast forward to our next destination: London, England.

London welcomed us with open, English-speaking arms as soon as we stepped off the plane early Monday morning! We slipped up a few times and used words from our Czech vocabulary, but, don't worry, we got accustomed to English again very quickly ;). We spent our first English filled day shopping at a department store Harrod's, taking in some fresh air at Green Park, and getting a feel for the underground Tube system. Our night was a bit more exciting, however. We went back and got ready for the experience of a lifetime: seeing Wicked on the West End. This was only the first of 3 shows we attended while in London. We also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Showboat, but I'm still not sure anything can compare to the amazing Wicked performance. To entertain ourselves during the day, we joined a Hop-On Hop-Off bus and toured Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. My favorite part of this was our tour of the Tower of London because it has been somewhat turned into a museum so you are able to learn a bit of history along the way! In addition to the places we saw on our tour bus, we visited Shakespeare's Globe, St Paul's Park, Green Park, and did a little shopping of course! All in all, the three of us had an unforgettable time in London... for more reason than one. London got a tad more interesting on our last day in the city. We had plans to flight out that afternoon so we left our hotel in plenty of time so that we could arrive at the airport with over 2 hours to check our bags in and get settled. Somehow, this managed to not be enough time. Some overhead wiring was down between our train stop and the airport so we were forced to take an alternate route. This would have been fine and dandy, but the alternative transportation took well over an hour extra and we missed our flight, which meant we were staying in London for another night. Sounds pretty great, right? Wrong. The airport was much too far out of the city to go back in for the night and we had to be back at the airport by 5AM! We managed to find a hotel nearby and a taxi to take us there, but this setback and extra money spent definitely made for a long, stressful night and a very early morning.

Buckingham Palace

After a long morning spent traveling, we finally arrived in the much anticipated, Dublin, Ireland! We grabbed a quick lunch and wasted no time getting to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. The factory has been turned into a museum and teaches you how Guinness is made, gives you free samples, and allows a birds eye view of Dublin from the top floor. It was a very cool experience, but after an early morning and lots of traveling, we were ready to take full advantage of our hotel's jacuzzi and spent the rest of our night relaxing! The next day, however, was not near as calm. By 7:30AM, we were on yet another bus, but this time, headed for a 13 hour tour of the Cliffs of Moher. Along the way, we stopped at several other attractions and got extremely lucky with a knowledgable, hilarious guide. When we finally arrived at the cliffs, we took a boat ride underneath the cliffs and then later viewed them from above. I fell in love with the natural beauty of the cliffs and loved having the opportunity to enjoy some countryside and to finally get away from the city. Brianna Melroy once said, "the best part of Dublin is outside of Dublin" and I don't know if I could have said it any better myself. In addition to loving the cliffs themselves, I also got my favorite souvenir here, a Claddagh ring. A ring with so much meaning and something I've been waiting for over a year to get, specifically in Ireland.

Our time in all of these places was simply cut way too short, but being "home" in Olomouc and reunited with the rest of our group is pretty great too. Next stop: Berlin, Germany!!