Going Home

May 31, 2012

Going Home

Today is the day we were going back to Nebraska.
Elin and I had a nice surprise waiting for us as we were getting ready to leave, Gonzalo had gotten up and made us a Spanish omelette.  We were thrilled to have a great breakfast before getting on our bus.  There was a bit of chaos though as the group was getting ready to leave.  One of our group members was missing. Many of our group decided they would go out the night before and had a bit too much to drink.  Everyone else was there and accounted for but the one.  We did finally figure out where they were and we were still able to leave in a decent amount of time and hopefully wouldn't be late and miss our plane.

Truthfully, I was a bit angry and was about to grab my luggage and go get on my own train to get to Prague, I think I would have still beaten our bus there by a long shot.  There was no way I was going to miss my flight knowing that my parents and my son would be waiting for me at the airport in Omaha.

We did make it with plenty of time to the airport in Prague.  We stopped once along the way for a bathroom stop and we all grabbed some breakfast foods...well, not everyone.  Several people got sick as we were driving, it was not the best bus ride.  I was more than happy to get to the airport.

When we got to the airport, the automatic ticket machine for us to print our tickets was not working so we had to go one by one to the guy at the ticket counter.  We then had to go to another counter to pay for our extra bags and that took forever.  I was starting to have some serious doubts on whether all of us were going to make our plane.  Some people even had bags that were way too heavy and had to redistribute their luggage items among other people's stuff.  It was a bit crazy.

We did make it through security and had to hurry to our gate to catch our flight that was going from Prague to Amsterdam.  As we were waiting in the area by our gate, Andrew got called back to security for some reason   We were all a bit worried he wouldn't make it back on time, he did.

Finally, we made it onto the plane and we were air born!  Since the day had been a bit chaotic, I really hadn't had a chance to reflect on us leaving and what that meant.  I just knew I was ready to get home and see my son.  I remember flying over the Czech Republic when we were still close to the ground and seeing all the villages and towns and sighing, I knew I was going to miss it.

At the Prague Airport.  Above is all my luggage going back with me, just a bit much!
However, the red suitcase you see was filled entirely with souvenirs.

Alyshia and her gigantic sucker she bought at the airport.

When we were in Amsterdam, I thought we might have a bit of time to get something to eat but that wasn't the case at all.  We had to get to our gate and once we were there we only had the opportunity to go to the bathroom and had to go through a security checkpoint since we were leaving the EU.  They talked to each of us in pairs about out time in Europe, why we had been there, for how long, etc.  We boarded our flight and began the long flight over the ocean.

On our flight back, I really didn't sleep much.  Maybe it was because I was so excited to see my son after three months.  So I watched the in-flight movies the whole way...they had a pretty good selection for the trip back.  I didn't get to sit next to anyone from our group on our way back, I was behind one of our group members so we all got up and walked around and visited each other during the flight.

We made it to Minneapolis and had to go through US customs.  That was a quick walk through and then we had to get our luggage and go through security again and have our luggage re-scanned and go through another metal detector.  That makes three security checks before we got back home!

We had a 2 1/2 hour layover in Minneapolis.  That was nice and a bit frustrating at the same time as we were so ready to be home by this point and all that was ahead of us was a short 45 minute flight.  Many of us got some food and turned on our cell phones that we hadn't been able to use since we left in March.  I called my parents and a couple of my friends.  It was a bit strange talking on the phone again like that instead of Skyping to talk to them.

Finally, it was time for our flight home.  I got to sit next to my roomie, Elin.  Our seats were all right next to each other and this time Elin wasn't sick on the way home due to some great Czech motion sickness pills but she was still a mess.  She wasn't ready to go home and was crying almost the entire time we were in Minneapolis, so this time she looked a mess due to sadness and not illness.  Love you Elin!

Below are pictures from our flight home and us getting ready to get off the plane in Omaha.

I was the last person from our group off the plane due to where my seat was and so everyone got to see my parents and my son before I did.  I was so excited as I walked out and saw him holding a welcome home sign for me.  I started crying right then and there.

When I saw him, I just wanted to scoop Isaac up but I didn't want to scare him.  So I squatted down and said, "Hi, Isaac. Mommy's home."  He kind of looked at me for a second and then threw himself into my arms.  He had gotten so big or it just seemed like he did while I was gone.  It was so good to be home!

We all went down to claim our luggage and say our goodbyes.  I was ready to get in the car and go, we still were driving back to Grand Island and we landed after 10pm, so it was going to be another late night.  At that point I had been up for 24 hours and knew I was going to crash and burn.  We got all of my stuff and got in the car to head back.  Isaac didn't fall asleep for a long time and neither did I.  My parents and I talked about the trip back and I think I finally fell asleep after we went through Lincoln.

Arriving home about 2:30 am, I went into my room and collapsed.  I thought I would get to sleep in the next day, not so much!  Welcome back to mommyhood!  Isaac was up early and that afternoon I was already taking him to the doctor for an ear infection.  That weekend I had to laugh every time someone posted on Facebook about being bored because I was anything but and still hadn't caught up on sleep!

Life after returning home has been interesting.  I started summer school four days after returning home and have been going continuously since.  I have moments where I really miss Europe and being in Olomouc.  I have a whole new perspective on the world and life in general.  I plan to make my son into a traveler and giving him those opportunities I never really had growing up to explore our country and the world.  If he wants to study abroad one day, I will be more than excited for him to go!!!

One thing I really miss from Europe is public transportation and the train system.  Since I live in Grand Island, I commute to Kearney for classes.  The first day I put gas in my car, I had to put about $50 worth of gas in it.  $50 is what I paid for a three month transportation pass in Olomouc.  I pay $50 a week in gas to drive back and forth to Kearney.  There is no reason we couldn't have a train that travels back and forth, there are a lot of people who commute.

I also miss the pace of Europe. Everything here is go go go!  There we took our time, we relaxed and enjoy our meals.  Servers don't come bother you every five minutes or try to rush you out.

This trip truly changed my life.  I have the travel bug for sure and cannot wait to find somewhere new  o explore.  I formed life long friends, they are the only ones who can truly understand what happened over there.  I know things aren't going to be the same for many of us as we have come back and have gotten back to our normal lives.  Some of that makes me sad as there are friendships that were formed over there that are unbreakable but now that we are back, it is different and won't ever be the same.

Being a single mom, I do not have the chance to go out much and spend time with friends.  Now I have a whole group of people that I can get together with for even just coffee or a lunch when I am over in Kearney.  We have made it a point to get together every couple of months to eat, talk, and remember and reflect.  It almost seems like therapy for us sometimes.

I love my Europe family.  Thank you Dr. Clark for taking us on this journey.  Little did you know that when you went over with us, you would find you favorite group ever!

I saw seven countries, know how to say hello and goodbye in over seven languages, can navigate myself anywhere I go no matter if I speak the language or not, and can call myself a world traveler now.
What new adventure is waiting for me next?  Cuba!!!

Ciao!

 My life there and my life here.
I miss Europe but my life here is something I wouldn't trade for the world!

Isaac and I in October 2012 at Mahoney State Park

Last Day in Olomouc

May 30, 2012 ... Last Day in Olomouc

After arriving in Olomouc that morning from Paris, we were beyond tired but it was our last day there before leaving the next morning to start our journey home to the United States.  Ann and I had run into Thea and her mom on our way back to Neredin and ended up seeing Dr. Clark and a few others at Cafe 87.

After going back and cleaning up ... taking a really long hot shower ... we met up with everyone for one last lunch at St. Wenceslas Brewery.  The food was wonderful as always and the company just as great!

Hayley had ordered a side of bread, she got another whole serving!

Thea and her mom, Cynthia, before they started their own journey around Europe.

Everyone was all smiles as we planned to enjoy our last day in Olomouc!

Something I will miss are the street musicians, here is one that was on the other side of the street from 

Cafe 87 performing after we got finished with lunch.

It is quite fitting that our last meal in the Czech Republic should be at Cesar's, the first place we ate when we arrived in Olomouc.  It was great having everyone together (minus Caleb and one more) for one last time.  Even Katka, Martin, and Jan joined us.

My Czech teachers: Martin, Jan, and Katka

On the fountain in the city center.

The town hall at night.

And of course, one last visit to the Osa Bar.

Our waitress even was bummed that it was our last night there, I think she liked our group!

We took our time heading home that night and then once I got back to my room, I finished packing.
I had did a lot of packing before I had even gone to Paris knowing that I wouldn't have a lot of time once I got back, so there wasn't too much left for me to do.

Our room was looking pretty bare already and it was bittersweet to see all of our shelves empty and pictures off of our walls.  The time had come to end our adventure in Europe.

Paris, Day 4

May 29, 2012 ... Last Day in Paris

Our final day in Paris would be shorter than our other days as we had our bus to catch to go back to Prague later in the afternoon.  Ann's son, Andrew, was leaving earlier as well due to his flight.  He did join us as we went over to the catacombs because his bus to take him to the airport was right by it.

Something that we did see was heavily armed military walking around various places.  We saw some of them by the catacombs that day (see below).  It was extremely hot out and we waited about two hours to get inside, the wait was well worth it.

The Catacombs of Paris.

A little history:  Opened in the late 18th century and houses the bones of about six million people.  Roughly about the same amount of people killed by the Nazis in World War II.  After seeing them for myself and comparing the number to those killed in WWII, it is a bit overwhelming.  It is one thing to talk about six million people being killed by the Nazis, it is a completely another thing to see what that really is.

There is a network of tunnels underneath Paris but the catacombs do not consist of that entire network even though most people just refer to that tunnel system as the catacombs.  The catacombs were created due primarily to the lack of space left to bury the newly dead in and around Paris.  Bones were exhumed and relocated into the catacombs.

They had sculptured carved into the stone that we saw before we even saw any bones.

It is fascinating how they carefully arranged each and every one of these bones.

Some are even in a decorative type design.

I highly recommend anyone going to Paris to make it a point to go through the catacombs.

After we were done there, we hurried back to our hostel and grabbed our bags that we had left in the lobby that morning.  As you can see below, my bag was bigger than I am and I really felt bad as we got onto the metro and I had to cram it in there with me.  We really had to squish ourselves onto two separate trains to get to our stop for our bus.

We did make it to our bus and had enough time to stop and eat a quick sandwich at a small cafe.  Ann ran across the street and grabbed some French pastries too.  We had a nice surprise though when we got on the bus.  Many of the people I had been on the bus with on the way to Paris were riding back with us, plus, Courtney and Jed happened to get on our bus too!

A long 16 hour bus ride and a three hour train ride, we were finally back in Olomouc.   Next time I go to Paris, I would love to spend at least a week and a half there.  I know that even with that amount of time, I still would not get to see everything I wanted to.  Two major things I wanted to go to are Versailles and Monet's garden.  I think both are a whole day each.  Ann also had the opportunity to go on a Normandy tour, that is on my list to do as well next time I am there.

Paris, you were fun and you wore holes into my shoes but I will see you again some day!