European Travel 2014: Spring Break Part Two: Malta and Gozo

We arrived in Malta, all five of us, around 9pm on Wednesday the 16th and took a taxi straight to our flat. We stayed in a part of Malta called Silema. We set all of our bags out and our flat was literally a block from the ocean, so we walked down there for the night. The shore was not lined with sand, it was made of rock and it was beautiful. We walked a ways into St. Julians where there were more shops, bars, and restaurants. We didn't last very long, everyone was exhausted from traveling so we casually walked back to the flat. Once we made it to the front door I was so relieved. Thad puts the key into the door and it did not turn. I thought nothing of it. Then he tried again and couldn't get it. So he gave the keys to me and I tried. Nothing worked. Instead of immediately breaking down crying because we were locked out, I just fell silent. I was speechless. We had just spent the whole day traveling and I just wanted sleep. We sat outside for about ten minutes and somehow, by the grace of God, some mad appeared and he lived in the flats and was able to open the door. After that slight scare we were all able to get a restful night of sleep before we headed out to the beach the next day.

The next morning the boys went out and bought groceries for the next couple of days. They got back and we all made lunch and then headed out for the day. We stopped into a few shops and got gelato. Then we got bus tickets to go to Golden Bay, a beautiful beach on the other side of the island. We managed to find our way to Golden Bay. We laid out our towels, got a few beers and hung out there for a couple of hours. It was beautiful, blue and surrounded by some cliffs. I could have spent my whole time in Malta there on that beach. We took the bus home, but somehow managed to get lost on the way home. Eventually we found our way and by that time we were wiped out from the sun and we stayed in for the night.

Friday we decided to do a bus tour of Malta. We kind of picked a bad day for the bus tour. It was rainy and a little chilly. However, we saw some amazing things and made some amazing memories. We got off at a fishing cove and ate lunch there. The street was lined with vendors with souvenirs. As we were eating lunch it started pouring. We finished eating and it was still pouring, but we had to catch our bus. So we had a wonderful run in the rain. I, personally, thought it was hilarious. I was laughing the whole time. Thad, however did not think it was as funny as I did. Everyone was in the same situation as us. Ducking under the vendors tents and running to their buses. It was fun. We got back on the bus and then we got off at the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto was basically and area off the coast with cliffs and caves or grottos. It was beautiful. We were able to take a little boat, and this boat was little. I mean it was only made out of wood and we sat on boards and there was only one little motor guiding us over these huge waves. I thought for sure we were going to tip over at some points. Then I just imagined myself being eaten by sharks, considering we had just been told that it was the 17th anniversary of when they caught the biggest white shark in the very same area we were. This shark was 2 tons and 23 feet long and they found a whole dolphin inside of its stomach... So that boat ride was fun. As scary as it was, I was thankful I decided to do it. The blue grotto was beautiful. The water was amazingly clear. You could see the bottom of the ocean floor inside of the caves. Then we got back onto the bus and headed back into Silema. We wanted to find a grocery store to buy some chicken for dinner, but we were struggling. Somehow we stumbled upon a grocery store and we were able to buy some things. Thad and Jacob went down the street to find pizza, so Tara, Jess, and I walked back ourselves. We got slightly lost, but we managed to make it back before the boys! We were all exhausted yet again. Thad put his pizza into the oven, in the box, to heat it up a bit. Of course he forgot about it. I was causally standing next to the oven when all of a sudden I saw fire. This was the moment I realized exactly what I do in stressful/emergency situations. I just yelled "FIRE!!" and I walked away. I think I'm gonna need to work on that. After the fire and smoke had settled down we all just sat around the kitchen table and drank some beers.

Saturday we took a bus to the opposite side of the island near Gozo. We were going scuba diving. I wasn't sure I was going to do this. I don't exactly like the idea of open water and fish. They have their own life down there and I am not about to upset them. But, I did it and I am so glad I did. We stayed in the shallow area, about 30ft deep. It truly is a whole other world down there. I enjoyed myself a lot, but it was so hard not to laugh at each other under water. Jess was probably the funniest. At one point she somehow flipped onto her back and was stuck. You could see the panic in her eyes underneath her mask. Then she started flapping her arms and legs around. It was seriously one of the funniest things, but I couldn't laugh and of course that made it even funnier. We reached the surface and the first thing we all did was laugh. It was such a great experience. I would definitely do it again. After we finished scuba diving and washed off we hopped on the ferry to the smaller island, Gozo. We were in search of the Azure Window. It was on the opposite side of Gozo. What would have been a short 45 min bus ride turned into a 3 hour affair. Hunger lead to missed busses and then lead to walking and frustration, but we finally made it to the window. After all of the frustration, it was worth it. It was so beautiful. I am sure I took about 50 pictures. We climbed on top of it and all you could see was ocean for miles and miles. Then we caught the bus back to the ferry and then the ferry back to Malta and then the bus back to Silema. That night everyone made it to bed quickly after arriving home.

Sunday the 20th was our last morning in Malta and then we were back to Olomouc. We slowly packed and made breakfast. We then boarded the bus to the airport and sat in the airport for a while for our flight. We boarded our flight back to Rome and that is where the fun began. We landed in Malta around 830pm. Tara, Jake, and I were taking a train back to Olomouc on Monday night at 7pm. Thad and Jess had a flight back to Prague at 9am Monday morning. So naturally, us penny pinchers decided to have a little sleepover in the Rome airport. We started off by staying in the baggage claim area until about 1:30am until we were kicked out by some guard. We thought for sure we were going to be stuck roaming the streets of Rome, but little did we know there were TONS of people sleeping in the airport just outside the baggage claim area. So we joined all our fellow flyers and some homeless people. It was a grand time. I slept on a window sill area for a bit and then took a short nap on the chairs. Then it was finally morning and we sent Jess and Thad on their way. However, Tara, Jake and I still had about 6 hours to kill before heading to the train station. We spent 3 hours in McDonald's and then decided we should probably move, so we went back to the area of our wonderful slumber for about 2 hours. Then we were off to the train station. We got onto our train without any problems. We had to make two stops. Once in Vienna and then another in a town outside of Olomouc to switch trains. We had a night train so it was easy to sleep and actually comfy, compared to the airport. We made it back to Olomouc on Tuesday around noon. After traveling Vienna, Venice, Rome and Malta I was exhausted and thankful that we had a full week back in Olomouc to just relax. Spring break was wonderful, but I always forget how much traveling drains you! The next trip we had was a short day trip to the Terezin Ghetto/Concentration Camp.