My Parents are Here!!

Saturday May 19, 2012

I woke up early and took the tram to the train station. I took the 8:19 train to Prague. Around 11:30, I arrived in Prague. I really had no idea how to get to the airport, so I just started walking. I walked through a park, saw a car show and parade, and wandered around for awhile before deciding I'd better stop and ask for directions.  Mustering up my best Czech speaking skills, I managed to find my way to a bus stop. I hopped on a shuttle bus and was at the airport in 20 minutes. After checking the screen to see when my parent's would land, I found that I had about 45 minutes to spare before they'd be there. I sat down in a coffee shop to get a muffin and coffee. Finally, I saw my mom and dad walk out of the gates! I was so excited they'd made it.  I took mom to the ATM so they would have some Czech Crowns.  Then we took the bus back to the train station. We bought tickets and got on the train for Olomouc.  Our train car was a handicapped car, so there were just three seats. It worked great for us because Dad likes to stand and look out the window at the scenery.  We got to Olomouc at 6:00 p.m. I got them both tram passes and brought them to Neredin. I had secured a room for them in advance. We got them checked in and settled into their flat. They had a great room with a huge balcony. I let them relax and shower before taking them to St. Wenseslaus Brewery.  We had a big meal and beer, and then we went home. It felt surreal to have them here. I've been so excited to show them everything.

Sunday May 20, 2012

This morning I woke up and went to wake up Mom and Dad. They were ready for breakfast, so I took them to the square to Cafe Mahler. We had pancakes (okay, crepes) for breakfast. They were delicious, as usual. They left me to study for finals while they walked around the Upper and Lower Squares. After a couple hours they came back and got me.  I walked them through the squares, by my history building, and down into the park to see the original city walls. We ate at a restaurant that Dr. Clark had taken some of us to before.  It was pretty hot out and Dad got a little mad we were doing so much walking... Well. Good thing I told him to bring good shoes, right?  We went back to the dorms after lunch so I could study some more.  That night we booked our flights to Istanbul, Turkey and then we went to supper in the lower square. We ate at a really good Czech restaurant and I had chicken risotto and a Kozel. Then I went home and studied with Lisa for awhile before calling it a night. I felt bad for not getting to spend more time with mom and dad since my final was coming up. They were very understanding of course, but it's hard to study with company.