The Hidden Treasure of the Czech Republic

What can I say about Olomouc? The city where we just spent out latest long weekend, the city where we weren’t even positive we were going to stay more than a night, and ended up staying the entire length of our four day weekend.

All of the guidebooks rave endlessly about this city, but the guidebooks do not do this city justice. It was as near to perfection as a thing can get. It was lively enough not to be boring, and yet quiet enough to not be annoying. Everything of major tourist importance within the city is in within walking distance of where you lay your head at night. The churches are immaculate, there are two museums filled with wondrous, precious items, and even more important than these locations, which are must visits if you ever, and if you should find yourself in Olomouc, is simply the chance to walk the city streets and be impressed by every structure you pass. From the ancient stone walls, still standing, and still protecting the city (if they are needed again), to the simplest, old homes lining tucked-away alleys, to a street lined with some of the most spectacular mansions I have ever seen in my life. The experience was a complete surprise and it is that reason I believe I will remember Olomouc to a greater degree than even some of the bigger, more extravagant cities we have and will visit.

Behind the captivating aesthetics of the city was something that made our visit to Olomouc truly unforgettable even beyond the beauty, this was the hostel we stayed at, The Poet’s Corner. If you find yourself in this miraculous place called Olomouc in the middle of Moravia in the Czech Republic, do not short change your time there by staying anywhere other than The Poet’s Corner. I don’t care if you can afford to stay at a five-star hotel, stay at Poet’s Corner. The owners are two of the kindest people I have yet to meet in my life. Francie and Greg greet you as soon as you arrive and they both seem as though they would go to the end of the earth to make your experience in not only their hostel, but also in the city as unforgettable as can be. Their endless efforts are to not only make sure each of their guests feels welcome, but to almost make you feel as if you were staying at your own home with your own family, only without the meaningless bickering. Staying at Poet’s Corner ensures you a good time in Olomouc. As they are making every attempt to make you feel like family, they are continuously making sure you know of fun things that are happening on a daily basis and pointing out each thing of interest in the city. They have been in the city for seven years or so. This helps them understand what would interest every individual who has the pleasure of walking through the Poet’s Corner Hostel entrance way and is lucky enough to have the pleasure of staying with them.

If you are staying at Poet’s Corner, make sure you stay at least one Sunday night. Francie makes a home cooked meal and the entire lot of people staying at the hostel gather to enjoy her food, have pleasant conversation, and if you are lucky, as we were, have a night of playing board games. For us, it had been a while since we had the opportunity to do something of the sort, the pleasure of eating with a large group and have one of my and Andrea’s favorite pastimes, “Game Night.” We played the always fun, “Cranium.” We played with most of the other guests at the hostel, one from Scotland, Chris, who actually enjoyed the city and the hostel so much he has been staying there for a month, and Carrie, from Wisconsin, she was only at the hostel about the same length as us, and she is working in Slovakia for Habitat for Humanity, amazing. I truly believe under different circumstances we could have been lifelong friends. Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll meet again. We actually had our best times in Olomouc both inside and outside of the hostel with Chris and Carrie. They added to our fun as much as Greg and Francie. One day we went to the Fine Arts Museum with them and then later that night attempted to go to a soccer match, which happened to be canceled, but did not deter us from having a good time. We just walked past the blacked out soccer stadium, laughed, and entered a pub just beyond it. There we shared interesting conversation and Andrea was able to share some beers with some, short-time, but I can say with the utmost confidence good friends. We conversed on every range of topics possible it seemed, from women’s fashion to the fight to end global discrimination.

The, by far, most memorable and meaningful moment came at the least expected time. As Andrea and I sat down for dinner at the same restaurant for a second time (I really liked their pizza), I pulled out a piece of paper and pen as I usually do. And as usual, Andrea was upset, looking at it with hindsight it has been very rude of me to start writing when we sit down to a lovely dinner, just the two of us. I just seem to get ideas randomly and I like to jot them down. Anyway, Andrea does not normally protest strongly, but on this second night in this restaurant she did. I will be forever glad she got me to drop the pen in my hand and push the paper away. I will not lie, at first I was upset, I had something I wanted to write, but the conversion that ensued between us was great. We talked about all different types of subjects, most of them relating to our future together. Learning our wants and desires for the future is important because I do plan on spending the rest of my life trying to make Andrea happy and I believe she feels the same way, or at least that is what she says:) The whole night from the beginning of dinner to when we went to sleep that night, our final night in Olomouc, we talked, we shared, we learned more about each other in a single period than I believe we ever have.

Our last day there we had another great afternoon hanging out with them. First,
Andrea actually was able to go shopping with Carrie for about an hour before they met me at an ideal coffee house for writing. Quickly, to describe the coffee house I was writing in. I actually fangled a lounge-like couch in an upper loft area where there was only one table. I was all alone to write and if that was not perfect enough, this loft looked down upon the square, which was bustling about with people attending to their mid-day activities. After Andrea and Carrie found me at the coffee house, Andrea and I went off to do our own thing while Carrie met up with Chris elsewhere, but later that day we met a tea house. This was such a pleasant experience. Pleasant in the fact that it was something I had never done nor would have ever even thought to have done. Nevertheless, for a little over an hour, maybe even closer to two, we sat around talking as if our conversation from the night before never skipped a beat. In addition to how much I thoroughly enjoyed the tea and intellectual conservation, I also smoked a Vanilla tobacco out of a hookah for the first time. I felt silly as I was the only one really smoking it, but it does definitely have a relaxing sensation. I would not say I walked out of the tea stumbling as if I had just smoked a joint, but I would say I walked out of the tea house with lighter worries and with an air of ease. The delicious tea combined with the vanilla-flavored tobacco was definitely by far the most relaxing part of the trip. I can even confidently say I walked out of the tea house more relaxed than I had out of the baths in Budapest.

I have now shared the fun times we had with what I really do hope will be lifelong friends, but I have shared with you all the wonderful, meaningful experiences I had with Andrea, just the two of us. We experienced all the unbelievably beautiful churches together and to share these types of beauty with someone you love is something I have been completely blessed to do. There were two particular churches, which I would like to mention because they stick out in my mind.

The first church we went to was St. Michael’s. When you walk up and see the outside you think, “Ah, this going to be some kind of run down church.” The outside is very plain, far from what the typical church here in Eastern Europe has been like. It was a dull, yellowish color with none of the bells and whistles we had been used too. However, as we walked through the entrance we were both left speechless. The interior of this seemingly plain, dull church was overwhelming in a sense of its ability to capture your eyes in every direction you look. Then off to the side of the church is a kind of small museum. Although, it would not be considered a full-fledged museum, as you walked through it in one continuous line following the halls that surrounded a well-crafted courtyard, there is a collection of paintings by a single man who spent his life doing this series of all the events in Jesus’ life. These were no little paintings either; they were at least eight feet in height and about five feet wide. Each painting was a sight to see and them all together; watching the progression of Jesus’ life unfold in front of your eyes, as seen through this one man’s eyes was something strangely profound. At the end of the series was the stairwell to the top of church’s bell tower and like all of the towers we have climbed, it was chore, but the chore disappeared as soon as the view from the top was realized.

The other church, St. Wenceslas, which leaves a lasting impression on me, possessed everything. It had the exterior we were used too. And the inside was nothing to shake a stick at. The amount of exquisite stained glass windows you find in these churches really is astonishing, especially this one. And if that was not enough, this church has within it the largest organ in Eastern Europe, 10,000 pipes. That’s right; you read that number correctly, 10,000. I know you just read the last line and thought, “Oh, he has just described the most divine part of the church.” You’re wrong though. Here it is, make sure you hold your breath because you will be captivated just as I was. On the wall toward the back of the church were confessional booths, which were at least a century old, wait for it… and above these beautifully carved wood confessional booths was a 60-inch, HD, flat-screen television. That’s right, and you were thinking the 10,000 pipe organ couldn’t be topped. Anyway, the church was truly special just like the museum Andrea and I went into after exiting the church. It was constructed after Pope John Paul II visited and asked the church to construct it. It was filled with some of the most amazing religious relics I have ever seen. One again, I can’t express how lucky and how much better these experiences were because I had a chance to enjoy them with Andrea. I promise I am not saying all this mushy stuff because Andrea is now reading through and editing my posts to make them a bit more readable:)

In conclusion, I don’t think I could write enough about the city of Olomouc. I will just conclude by stating that Andrea and I both agreed that we would love to have the opportunity to live and teach in that wonderful, majestic city.