Croatia

Myself and two other fellow Nebraskans spent a weekend in Croatia. Overall the trip was a great experience, but we learned the most from our train rides there and back. We learned to make sure you get on the right car. Not all the cars on a particular train end up in the same place. We also received bad information from some of the people working at the ticket office. This was likely do to the language barrier. We learned to double check our travel plans with several ticket people or some random person at the station that spoke English.

• Other than the travel difficulties, the trip was was a great experience. Croatia is a beautiful country. Especially along the coast. Rijeka in particular was the most beautiful part we saw. It is easily in my top 3 cities of my trip.
• We met up with another group of Americans while there. They happened to be good friends with a local. She was basically our "guide". It was nice having a person who new the ins and outs of the country. We even had a traditional Croatian meal with her family in the countryside.
• I knew a little about the warfare that occurred there in the nineties, and I expected the country to be a little more behind other European countries in terms of development. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Croatia was very modern and similar to most Central European countries.
• During our travels we did see remnants of the war. Even though it occurred several years ago now, it still felt strange being in a former war zone.

Prague

 View from our Hostel in Prague

Prague differed greatly from Olomouc. Lots of people spoke English and it was far more "touristy".

 Courtyard inside Prague Castle

Statue on Charles Bridge