For our first class field trip, we went to Prague, Czech Republic and took a day trip to Dresden, Germany! The first day in Prague also happened to be Tiffany’s 21st birthday, and it was our first day of sunshine and warmth since we’ve been in Europe.
The classes that we take over here are (almost always) incredibly interesting, because we are learning about history from individuals that lived it. Also, our field trips and classes have been designed to supplement each other. The night before we left for Prague we learned of operation Anthropoid and watched the movie (I highly recommend it!) Anthropoid is the name of the mission of Czechoslovak soldiers coming to Prague from London in order to assassinate Hitler’s 3rd in command Reinhard Heydrich. The operation was ultimately successful, however, all of the individuals involved were killed in a final gun fight in a church in Prague. Our first destination in Prague was to visit that church, and it was a really powerful experience since we knew the background.
After, we went to the old town square for some lunch and we were approached by some individuals trying to sell us on a pub crawl. We didn’t end up going on that one, but they told us we needed to check out Letna park! It was definitely worth climbing up the several sets of stairs because the result was a beautiful view of the city. We hung up there and basked in the sun, and then spent the rest of the day wondering around and falling in love with the city.
The next day, we started off with a few hours wondering around Prague Castle. Checking out churches is not normally my ideal choice, however, St. Vitus Cathedral was truly breathtaking. That is one thing I love about this trip, it is giving me amazing experiences that I might have never done on my own! I could’ve spent hours watching the sun seep through the stunning stained glass windows. Thankfully, we really took our time walking through the Cathedral and we had our professors, Yan and Martin, to provide us with further information.
Next, we went to St. Charle’s (not St. Peter’s @ Griff) Bridge. The bridge was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before as it has grand statues on both sides ever few feet. This was another time that I enjoyed having Yan and Martin there to tell us the stories behind a few of the statues. From there we went to the Lennon wall that is covered in street art inspired by John Lennon and Beatles’ songs like All you need is love.
The next day was our day-trip to Dresden, Germany! It’s insane that countries in Europe are so small and close together that going to another country often takes less time than traveling between U.S. states. Dresden is a city that was heavily bombed and basically destroyed by the Allies in WWII. According to Yan, the bombing was so large scale that the light could be seen from Prague. As a group, we went to Frauenkirche, a completely reconstructed Protestant church that was destroyed. I found it really powerful that they had the original cross from the destroyed church on display. Parts of the church are reconstructed with the original stones as well.
After climbing to the top of the church and soaking in a lovely view of the city, we were each given the option to go to a history museum or an art gallery. I chose the *Drum roll please…* art gallery! Old Masters Picture gallery has one of the most comprehensive collection of paintings from the 15th-18th centuries. The paintings were incredible by themselves, but certain paintings had audio attached with them that would tell you more behind the story it was depicting or the artists motivations. My favorite paintings were the one depicting Greek myths.
And just like that, after a quick beer and banana split we were on the bus headed back to Prague. That night a group of us found a bowling alley and discovered that being in another country did not make us better bowlers!
For our final day of the trip, we went to the Jewish Quarter of Prague. This was by far the most somber part of our journey. Unlike most of Nazi occupied Europe, the Jewish synagogue and cemetery in Prague were not destroyed. While it is amazing that the area was left in tact, the sickening part is that the Nazi’s decided not to destroy that particular area so that they could turn it in to a museum of the exterminated race.
We started by walking through a monument to all the Jewish people from the Czech Republic that were murdered in the Holocaust. The walls were covered in the names of the victims, and the names were also being read aloud on a recording. Next, we walked through the graveyard, where each grave site had 5-6 people buried below. After, we visited a museum and a few synagogues.
After our tour of the Jewish Quarter we were set free for lunch and then took the 2.5 hour train ride home. It is crazy how in just 3 weeks so many of us are calling Olomouc home!
Traveling Rays 