Czech Republic
Top 10-Must-Do-Activities
*Text color denotes separate student answers
1. Go to Budapest, I have nothing to regret while going there. Boat parties
on the Danube, pub crawls at night, free walking tours, stay at a youth
hostel, go to the Grand Central market, do not worry about sleeping.....that
is what the bus ride home is for!
2. Malta, Malta, Malta -- This was a great spring break destination. Scuba
diving, beaches, perfect ocean weather, and relaxing without a care in the
world. Malta was relatively cheap to travel to as well. Friendly people and
everyone speaks English.
3. Talk with Jan and Martin----These guys are great and will help anyone out
with travel plans or whatever someone might need. They know so much
about European cities. Ask them questions because they know the
answers. Go to lunch/supper with them when given the opportunity.
4. Travel and experience Olomouc-----Just because it is the home base or
where the dorms are doesn't mean Olomouc has nothing to offer. This is a
great city to be experienced. So many great little restaurants, pubs, and
hidden churches.
5. Do what the locals do. I wasn't sent in a wrong direction because of this.
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1. If there is a free tour offered at the places you visit, take advantage of it.
We took the free tour in Prague and Budapest and learned a great deal
about the city that way. You can usually find guides in the town square twice
a day, and we just tipped them several dollars at the end.
2. Holy Hill in Olomouc. Take the tram to the train station then take bus 111
to Holy Hill. The church is gorgeous and so is the view!
3. Petrin Hill in Prague. This is another fantastic view. The walk up hill
through the park is exhausting, but making it to the mini Eiffel tower at the
top is well worth it!
4. Alfredo's pasta in Venice. This is a small little pasta to-go shop tucked
back from the main area in Venice. It is a little challenging to find, but the
homemade pasta and sauce is the best I've ever had!
5. Crepe stand across from Cafe 87. I love Cafe 87 and recommend hanging
out on the top level outside when the weather is nice, but the crepe stand
across the street is amazing too! The special- strawberry Nutella was my
favorite!
6. Get a Leffe at the Black Stuff with Ann Keefer. Ann is a student living in
Olomouc who has done this study abroad program in the past. She had
amazing advice, and her suggestions for things to do and places to go was a
huge help. She usually gave us all of this wonderful advice over a drink at
our favorite bar, the Black Stuff. Its a short walk from the tram stop Udomo,
and Leffe is a sweet, dark beer that was one of the group's favorites.
7. Go to at least one Czech festival. On May day, there is a huge festival in
the town square filled with awesome souvenirs and traditional Czech food.
Plus there was a free concert!
8. Go to Budapest. I know I've said this a million times already, but there is
so much to do there!! The baths are very relaxing, the ruin bars are very
eccentric, the people are very nice, and the entire atmosphere of the place is
great.
9. Have a croissant and day break juice at Day Break cafe. This cafe is
literally a block away from Nederin (our dorms). The owner is very nice, and
he makes the day break juice fresh with apples, oranges and bananas. Its
delicious, cheap, and healthy. :)
10. Take the ferry in Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a beautiful area in Italy
that we visited over spring break. Taking the ferry from town to town was
cheap, and it was a great way to see the beautiful landscape from the water.
1. Go to Budapest: I loved this city, it was by far one of my favorite
cities. It is not included in the scheduled course, So I would HIGHLY
recommend using one of your free weekends to go here. There is quite a lot
to do, and you will not be able to get to everything that you would like in
just one weekend. That is ok, it gives you an excuse to come back! :D
2. At the dorms you stay at, there are washers (no dryers) and they are not
that nice. I actually never even did my laundry here, instead I went right
down the street to a laundry matt. Here they have washers and dryers. It
is a little expensive (150 to wash, and 50 to dry = $10). The price is SO
worth it. It includes your laundry soap, and your clothes are washed and
dried in under 1 hour. I would much rather do this than have wet damp
clothes hanging all over my room for a whole day. George is the owner of
this laundry matt and he is one of the nicest Czechs I have met, very helpful
and pleasant.
3. Always choose the Free Walking tour in any city you go to! These free
walking tours are great. First of pall they are free!! Who wouldn’t like
that? The guides also work for tips. So they are usually very eager to be
friendly and open to any questions you may have, because if they didn’t do a
good job, they would never get a tip. So you are able to pay what you think
the guide deserves, and you get to see the best parts of the city. On these
tours, you will also meet other cool tourist that are typically younger. So if
you meet people here, they can give you advise of their own or possibly go
out on the town with your new friends!
4. Go off the beaten path! When you are in bigger towns like Prague where
there are going to be a lot of tourists, get out of the main attraction. I mean
make sure to see everything, but when it comes time to eat don’t stay
there. All of the cheapest and best restaurants are going to be the small
places hidden from the main attractions. If you just let yourself wonder
around, you will almost find a new fantastic place to eat or have a cup of
coffee.
5. Go to Saint Wenceslaus in Olomouc. It is a brewery that has some great
beer and AMAZING food! This place is a fun environment with some of the
best Czech food I have had. It is Inexpensive with large proportions. Make
sure you go in earlier in the day to make reservations if you are planning on
eating there at night. It is a popular place with the locals and it can get
quite full. This tip goes with anything in Europe, make reservations ahead of
time and you will not have to be disappointed.
6. Alfredos in Venice has the BEST pasta I have ever had in my life. It is
one of those off of the beaten path places. Venice is hard to navigate, and
this place is Hidden. Look it up on TripAdvisor and find it on a map. I don’t
care if it takes you all day to find, it is worth it! I went twice in the three
days we were in Venice. Both times, Alfredo (the owner) was dishing up our
food. He tells you that you must eat it within 10 min. because after this, it
starts to lose its perfect flavor. Trust me, you want Alfredos. You know you
are getting close when you see people eating pasta out of plain white
‘Chinese take-away’ boxes. Get a #2 for me if you go.
1. TRAVEL - I cannot emphasize this enough. Seriously, get to know
Europe. However, don't come with a specific, detailed itinerary. Keep an
open mind and visit places you would have never imagined visiting. You
might be pleasantly surprised.
2. Explore Olomouc - Olomouc is beautiful! Explore it. Grab a buddy, or go
by yourself, and find a trail and just follow it. It will lead you to amazing
places and it's a great way to relax and clear your mind.
3. Dedicate some time to yourself - things will get a little crazy and you
will be spending a lot of time with your classmates, traveling buddies,
friends, and people in general. It will be a different atmosphere, away from
home and your comfort things. It's okay to get a little frustrated, annoyed,
and overwhelmed at some point. Just spend some time with yourself and
disengage for a while. It will make all the difference.
4. Eat a Kebab - Kebabs in Europe are AMAZING! There's a Kebab place
right by Varna Republic, get a Kebab there. Super delicious and cheap! If
you like spicy food, Poland has the best spicy Kebabs.
5. Belmondo Erasmus Parties - You cannot miss these! At least go to
one. Trust me, you will meet lots of cool people and have good time.
1. Go hiking in Slovakia! We spent a majority of our time in big cities, so it
was refreshing to be in the woods. We traveled to Liptovsky Mikulas and
said at the hostel Rotunda. Take bus 13 to Jasna and start your hike! The
whole trip cost about $100.
2. Brno is another great trip and it is just a bus ride away from
Olomouc. While there take the bus to the outside of town and there is a
HUGE lake lined with small shops. Stop at the stand with the “Lucky
Bastard” beer, best beer yet.
3. St. Angelo cafe is my favorite in Olomouc. Order the cappuccino with
honey and cinnamon, you won’t be disappointed.
4. “The Pub” in Prague is awesome! Get a large group of you and make a
reservation. You get to pour your own beer, then you race within your
table and compete against the rest of the bar.
5. If you go to Rome you HAVE to go to Frigidarium Gelateria. Hands
down best ice cream you will ever eat.
6. Plan ahead and pack accordingly for the American Night at Belmundo.
7. On your trip to Krakow go to the Cupcake shop by the main square
(you will see signs everywhere for it). Anything you get is delicious.
8. In Olomouc there is a Jazz Bar not far from the main square. Great
food and you can Czech out some Czech Music.
9. Take a bus to Holy Hill that is right outside Olomouc. It is more of a
small town feel and just behind it is forrest.
10. Try the Absinth ice cream at the Absintherie in the old square of
Prague.