Olomouc is an unbelievable gem. I discovered Olomouc almost completely by accident. I was backpacking for six months in 2003. Due to budget constraints, I spent most of my time in Eastern Europe, away from the expensive Euro. I had picked up fliers at a vast number of hostels advertising the Poet’s Corner in Olomouc. The city itself would be easy to miss. Blink twice and it’d be gone. I passed through Olomouc about halfway through my trip, as I took a train from Prague to Krakow. I was completely committed to my Polish destination, so I did not stop.

However, a couple months later, as my continental voyage was coming to an end (I had a plane to catch, Berlin to Dublin, in about three weeks), I was in Prague again and found myself wanting to go back to Krakow. However, on the way, I decided to go ahead and get off the train in Olomouc for what I anticipated to be a brief one or two night stay before I moved on.

It took me ten days to finally find the willpower to leave. What a wonderful city! A very compact, very vibrant university town, Olomouc has pretty much anything you could want. Friendly people, wonderful food, AMAZING hot chocolate (I wish I remembered the name of the place!) and maybe the friendliest hostel I’ve ever stayed at in my life: The Poet’s Corner.

Run by an Australian couple, my stay there happened to coincide with a visit from their parents (the father tought me how to roll my own smokes). Additionally, I met two of the most wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with. All this amounted to one of the best, most memorable moments in my life.

I highly encourage any and all of you to visit.