Na shledanou (so long), Louisiana! On Friday, March 10, 2023, we began our journey to the Czech Republic. At 3:00 PM, we met at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, LA. Waving good-bye to our friends and family, we headed to the Delta Airlines counter for check-in. All of our checked luggage weighed within the required 50 pounds (praise the Lord!) and we then headed to the TSA security checkpoint. As some of our attendees were “first time flyers” we had to familiarize ourselves with the liquid size limit and other requirements for security (TSA Travel Checklist). We arrived at our gate with plenty of time to spare for the first leg of our journey to Atlanta, GA. This gave us ample opportunity to catch up on some schoolwork before lift-off!
Traveling with friends is always an adventure, and my recent study-abroad trip to the Czech Republic with eight of my peers was no exception. Prague is a beautiful city with a rich history, stunning architecture, and delicious food, making it the perfect destination for a group of LSU's College of Agriculture students to explore a new place together.
We woke up to frost on the windows of our room at the hostel in downtown Prague. But, neither the chilly weather nor the 7-hour time change hindered our sense of adventure. The girls on the trip (Elena, Josie, Joy, Baija, and I) walked through the streets of Prague early, before we had to meet the rest of the crew. We decided to try the closest breakfast cafe, which we soon realized was too fancy for a group of jet-lagged Americans just looking for a menu in English and a large cup of coffee. Luckily, we found a Starbucks, and after a quick stop we were back on our feet to meet up with the group (Zach, Joseph, Andrew, Ash, Ms. Grant, and Mr. Hebert) and exchange our US dollars to Czech korunas (crowns).
On Monday, March 13, we spent our first full day in Brno. To start the day, we walked to the school canteen at Mendel University. We sat down for a group breakfast and got fueled up for the fun day that awaited us. We then met up with some of the students from Mendel, who walked us from the dorms to the campus, so we could start our tours. During the day, we toured multiple facilities, including the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology and the AgriSciences Faculty. A faculty at Mendel University is equivalent to what we know as senior colleges here at Louisiana State University. Mendel University consists of five faculties, which include the Faculties of Business and Economics, Horticulture, and Regional Development and International Studies, in addition to the two faculties mentioned above.
On Tuesday, March 14, 2023, we took a journey from Brno to Lednice. We took a 45 minute bus ride through the countryside to Mendel Faculty of Horticulture. We saw some beautiful scenery and a lot of horses and cows along the way. Upon arrival at the faculty, we were greeted by one of their horticulture professors who showed us around the Thematic Gardens. The Thematic Gardens are part of the university campus, and they feature 11 different themes, including the silver garden, the water garden, the herb garden, and much more.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side on this day, and we roamed around the garden with clouds looming over and rain trickling down, but that did not stop the flowers from shining through. With it still being quite cool in the Czech Republic, we did not get to see the garden in its prime blooming state, but at the entrance of each section there were pictures showcasing how beautiful it looks in the summer.
March 15th, our final day in Brno and with Mendel U, was filled with cows (krava), cheese (syr), and good eats!
We started the morning at the residential mess hall for our usual self-serve breakfast table. Available choices included Greek yogurt parfait, cold slices of deli meat and cheese with rye bread, and a bowl of vegetable medley. MendelU’s very own Dr. Daniel Falta, Vice-dean for the Faculty of AgriSciences, picked us up in a university van and brought us to the main campus for a few errands.
I started the journey home to Louisiana by unwillingly waking up bright and early at 2:45 a.m. Central European Time in the morning on Saturday March 18, 2023. We proceeded to get dressed and finish packing our suitcases and headed down the stairs of the hostel at 3:10 a.m. The group of students met outside the Hostel Downtown at 3:15 a.m., followed shortly after by Mr. Henry Hebert and Mrs. Ashley Grant, to catch our ride to Prague Airport.
The city of Prague was very quiet at this time of the morning as we made our way to the airport in two large passenger vans. I enjoyed observing the beautiful architecture of the buildings of Prague as we drove to Prague Airport that morning. This drive was bittersweet as I was thinking this might be the last time I see this unique and beautiful city in person. We then grabbed our luggage from the vans when we arrived at the airport and checked our bags at around 4:00 a.m. As a group we proceeded to scan our passports and walk through Prague security and customs. I attempted to purchase breakfast at a nearby food cart, but they were closed. The group waited in the Prague Airport at our terminal until we boarded the plane at around 5:35 a.m. We took off from Prague Airport at around 6:05 a.m. and began our one-hour flight to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. I sat next to Josie Purvis on this short flight. |