FOOD, DRINK AND PRICES
The food and drinks across Europe have been amazing! However, eating out everyday makes me feel like I am staring as Julia Roberts in the movie Eat, Pray, Love, but the diversity of favor in foods here is well worth it! The actual taste of food is not dramatically different than in the states. However, what I have noticed is that there is much less salt and sugar added to food, sometimes restaurants won't event have salt and pepper on the tables for patrons to season their own food. Talking further about the taste, I would like to add that food just seems fresher here, it seems to be prepared with fresh ingredients that bring in so many different favors! Even McDonalds has fresh foods that we actually enjoy eating!
The service of the food is somewhat slower then in the states, however, the likeliness of getting an entree that actually resembles the picture on the menu is much higher! Restaurants present their food with pride as it is always garnished with some herb or drizzled with a sauce. Unlike the states, the server does not rush patrons to finish their meals or leave the establishment after they are finished eating. It ties back into the slower more laid back approach to life over here. In America, I feel that we as a society are always rushing off to our next appointment or commitment. In contrast, Europeans are all about sitting at a cafe for a couple hours talking over a coffee or a mug of beer.
A week ago I was in Vienna, Austria and during our free time there myself and a couple of friends wandered around shopping and checking out markets and such. We talked to locals when we got the chance to and always asked them what they recommended doing. With so many amazing things to do in a city like Vienna you would think that they would have recommended a museum or attraction for us to see, however, they all referred us to cafe’s where we should go, sit, relax, and have a piece of cake or a cup of coffee. So that is exactly what we did and it was absolutely fantastic!! (YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ MORE ABOUT VIENNA WHEN I POST THAT BLOG)
The pricing of food in Europe really just depends on what country you’re in! I have found that food in Olomouc, Czech Republic is the cheapest compared to the US. A large plate of spaghetti at one of my favorite restaurants is only 95 Crowns which equals about $4.13. A nice dessert might be 65 crowns which equals $2.82, and my favorite ice cream shop serves scoops for only 25 crowns equaling a whopping $1.09. So as you can see, for a girl with a major sweet tooth Olomouc is the place to be! Of course, when entering high touristic areas, the prices for everything increases. I honestly find it very difficult to find a meal for less than $12 in cities like Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin, Paris, or Vienna.
LIVING CONDITIONS Just like college at home in the states, we live in dormitories here with other international students. The way that our rooms are set up however, is a little different than a traditional dorm. We call a group of rooms a cell and then within each cell there are five rooms, a kitchenette, and two bathrooms. To illustrate this for you it is easier to think of a cell as an apartment and then the rooms within an apartment. The rooms are very nice and can either be single or double occupancy. The only hard part about living in these dorms is that there is nowhere to hang up your clothes. The only storage that we have are shelves above and two drawers below our beds.
If you have been reading my other blogs, you hear me talk about Sara A LOT, she is my roommate, and we live with 4 other people in our cell who are from Spain! It really is a fun experience to live with individuals from a different cultural background and be able to learn from them and they are also able to learn from us! (I am hoping to upload little blurbs about each one of my suite-mates so just look out for that!) Like I said earlier, the building that I live in holds only international students, there are people from Canada, Spain, France, and Greece. It has been so much fun getting to know all these wonderful people from all over the world, learning about their culture and how our lives differ when we are back at home.
WEATHER
When we arrived to Olomouc the weather was still pretty comparable to Nebraska. It can be very windy and cold. I packed my big winter coat at the last minute because I wasn't sure if I was really going to want/need it. But let me tell you how thankful I am that my mom convinced me to bring it! During the first couple of weeks it sure came in handy for the days that were grey, gloomy, rainy, and COLD! There was even one morning when I opened the door to our balcony and it was ever so lightly snowing. Thankfully, spring has sprung and the weather is warming up day by day! I have started wearing sandals and have stocked up my stash of shorts and skirts from some European stores to ensure that I am ready to break them out at any point when the weather decides to switch to summer!
Throughout the places that I have been in Europe thus far the weather has been very comparable to Olomouc! Some days it’s nice enough to just wear a light jean jacket, others you need a parka. Just like in Nebraska, we play it by ear, day by day, to see what Mother Nature might throw at us next! As we traveled to Venice, Italy and then Spring Break through the Mediterranean, the weather continued to warm up to the point that us Nebraskans got to flash our pale while skin to the world! ;)
SHOPPING
As I have mentioned before, the fashion over here is slightly different then in America. Europeans in general seem to really love to wear tennis shoes with about every outfit, and large jackets that are a vintage retro style, or a leather jacket that could be any color! One big difference that I have noticed quite a bit is that women and girls wear panty hose with skirts, shorts, and even jeans if they are wearing a slip on shoe! I personally don't mind it at all. I feel like it keeps their legs a little bit warmer during the chilly days. I have tried to adopted some of their styles as to not stick out like a sore thumb. (However, I have been told that my blonde hair basically screams American, so I guess there is really no getting away from sticking out! haha) I have had so much fun exploring the different brands and lines of stores that they have here to add to my “European wardrobe” haha. Now i just have to figure out how to get all my purchases back with me to America!
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation in Europe is downright crazy and just SOOOO COOL at the same time! I feel like being from western Nebraska our group didn't have much experience with relying on public transportation for our everyday needs. In the States pretty much everyone has their own car or at least access to a type of transportation that runs on their own schedule. I have traveled to places in the states that I have used public transportation to get around but living in Europe has open my eyes so much more! In the city of Olomouc, where my University is, there are trams and buses that we as students use on a daily basis to get from our dorms to classes, the mall, and restaurants. I won’t lie, during my first week or two here in Olomouc myself and several of my classmates got lost several times while we were trying to figure out the different stops and layout of the city. There was even one time that we ended up walking 8 miles to find our way back to the dorms because the trams had stopped running for the night! Unlike in other big cities, the transit maps on our phones don’t work in Olomouc so we were really stuck on relying on our memory.
Even more fun has been traveling to other countries and figuring out their public transportation system. In some places that we travel to there are Ubers and services that we are familiar with from the states, and easy to use. However, when Sara and I travel we really like to conquer the systems, I think it makes us feel a little less like tourists and a little more like locals. ;) haha Regardless, I truly think that Olomouc has presented us with the most difficulties than any other city. This is really quite hilarious because compared to Berlin, Paris, Venice, and other big cities, Olomouc is just about the smallest city we have been to!
What is even more interesting to me is all the options that Europe has to travel from country to country. We have used, buses, trains, and airplanes, sometimes even a combination of all three to get from point A to point B! For this reason the ability to plan ahead and stay organized is essential. In America, for the most part we drive to most destinations unless it makes more sense to fly due to timing or price. The price for traveling here varies greatly depending on where the destination is, and how far in advance the tickets are bought. In general, a round trip flight to another country probably averages out to about $65-$80, a bus ticket is around $50-$70, and a train ticket can be as cheap as $3 for us as students.
As you can see daily life in Europe is different but also the same in many ways. I have learned how to be very versatile and adapt to my surroundings. Traveling for sure takes patience and the willingness to learn. The people from each country that we have been to have a different level of helpfulness that they are willing to offer us when we get lost or confused. But, the locals who do help are so sweet and fun to talk to! I often will ask our waiters or people we connect with on the street for recommendation on where to go and what to do, and this has been one of my favorite parts of these adventures in Europe!
If there is anything else that you would like to know, or have questions about I would love to answer them!! You can shoot me an email through the contact page on the homepage of this site!
Hugs and Blessings,
Annalise