Day Three: Olomouc (05-24-14)

Dobry den de Olomouce!

(Good day from Olomouc)

I could not fall asleep last night until about 4:30 a.m., and the birds had already begun chirping. Naturally I skipped breakfast (along with D'Arcy) and slept in a few extra minutes. We didn't start our day until 11:00 a.m., but jet lag was still wearing off and I enjoyed the extra sleep. 

It rained all morning, but that did not stop Dr. Murphy from taking us out for an introduction on Olomouc. 

1. Prague (capital of Czech Republic) is closer to London than Rome and closer to Dublin than Moscow.

2. Czech's think of themselves as Central Europeans, not Eastern Europeans.

3. Czechoslovakia peacefully broke into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

4. There are roughly 10 million people living in the Czech Republic.

5. It is a member of the European Union and NATO.

After our brief introduction to the city we went to lunch at "Caesars". I had garlic soup (yes it was REALLY garically) and potatoes croquette. Trying new food is my favorite part about traveling because you really get to experience the culture of a new place this way. Even if it seems like American food! 

We wandered around the town square and finally went shopping for some essentials - shampoo, conditioner and body wash. 

There was a wine festival (with traditional music) in one of the squares and we ventured over to find almost half of our group tasting some delicious wines. I am not a wine drinker normally, so I just had a sip or two of everyone else's wine that they would buy. Dr. Murphy eventually spotted a wine that he thought I might like. Turns out it was Black Currant, a favorite of mine while I lived in England. I purchased a bottle and plan to bring it back to the US to celebrate of my friend's (who also lived with me in England) 21st birthday!

Tonight we went to a outdoor park with a stage to listen to live Czech bluegrass music. Apparently the Czech is second to America for bluegrass music. Although it was mostly in the Czech language, we recognized a few songs, Johnny Cash and my favorite "Rocky Top"!!