Written by Noelle Drummonds, (Elon University), CET Prague, Spring 2026
Seeing the Heart of Poland and Soul of Austria
Warsaw
Warsaw, Poland was the first destination of our week-long Traveling Seminar with CET. While most of the program went to Krakow, the Global Security Studies cohort traveled to the capitol to sit-in on lectures over border, Eastern European, and Polish security. The sessions included discussion on the current Russo-Ukrainian war and how it has affected the nation’s foreign policies surrounding refugees and further Russian aggression.
While Warsaw was not a top city I had planned on traveling to during my time studying abroad, I was thoroughly impressed by its ability to highlight its historic roots while having a large economy and being a lively city of corporate work. A lot of their businesses had more products that I’m used to at home in the United States, so it was nice to have a moment of mixture between the far west and central Europe. One thing that I love about European pastries is their tendency to always have Speculoos or Pistachio flavors. The city has a café chain called Nero Coffee, and in my three days there, I think I became a regular. By far, my favorite snack was a creamy pistachio croissant.
Additionally, we had an amazing walking tour around the city. I learned that World War II leveled the city, and all aspects of the old town we were walking through on tour was rebuilt in the later half of the 20th century to model what Warsaw had looked like before the destruction. My friends and I went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum afterwards, which was very interactive and informational on civilian life in the 1940s. CET provided a group dinner at an authentic Polish restaurant where I tried classic pierogi (although I’m still more of a gulas fan!)
Brno and Mikulov
Next, we headed to the region of Moravia in the Czech Republic. Our first stop was Brno, the second largest city in the country. We attended three guest lectures here on topics such as environmental and cyber security. In my own personal studies, these are less familiar topics than what I normally take classes on. It was nice to learn about an unfamiliar subfield, and I appreciated that CET worked on finding a variety of guest lectures that covered different students’ desired specialty in international security. My friends and I later hiked up the bell tower of the church and had a great view of the classic, vibrant red and orange rooftops of Europe.
During the second half of our Moravian visit, we stayed the night in the wine town of Mikulov. While this quiet region sits in the countryside, it was definitely the cultural highlight of the traveling seminar. A lot of students hiked up the hill to the church to watch the sunset and get a 360-degree view of Moravia during our break. CET held a large group dinner that night with three of the core groups, and I ordered an amazing risotto dish and lemon cheesecake dessert.
Vienna
Vienna was my favorite city we visited in the Traveling Seminar. As a German major, I loved being in an area where I could practice my language skills. Naturally, the town is beautiful and historic. The Global Security group visited the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Austria Institute for Europe and Security Policy (AIES) for our final two guest lectures. I loved getting to see such important think tanks in European foreign policy, especially the OSCE since it is the world’s largest regional security operation. They are both organizations aimed at dialogue between government representatives instead of physical action which reflects how Vienna’s extensive history in neutrality has promoted a large hub for nonpartisan cooperation. The city has also been a significant part of historical empires, such as the Habsburg, so the architecture is absolutely wonderful.
I went and visited the Austrian National Library, which is the library in which Beauty and the Beast took inspiration from. I found it interesting how well-preserved the statues and books were after decades of war in Europe. The café culture in Vienna was insane (sorry Prague!), but the biggest shock was how the cafes are hundreds of years old and still operating. I had the best hazelnut hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted from a café outside of the Parliament. It was deep and rich, containing far more chocolate-to-milk ratio than our Swiss Miss cocoa packets!
On the last night, CET had an end-of-seminar dinner at an Austrian restaurant with the entire semester program. I had spätzle for dinner as I knew I couldn’t leave the country without having my favorite Germanic dish. It was an adventurous week filled with unique opportunities that made CET stand out as an incredible study abroad program, and traveling with a school group helped ease transportation nerves!
The Type of Learning You Can’t Replicate in a Classroom
Budapest
CET brought us on our second Traveling Seminar to Budapest, Hungary! It was an excellent time to visit the country as they just held parliamentary elections in early April. After 16 years, their Prime Minister was voted out of office to be replaced with Péter Magyar. As a fun fact, his last name is ironic as it is the name for the ethnic group and language in Hungarian, and the name of the country in their language is Magyarország. It is like the US president’s name being “Bob American” or the UK prime minister being “George British.” Discussion on the result of the elections and what this means for the future of Hungary was an important topic in our two guest lectures. Both of the lecturers had starkly different opinions on Hungarian politics, and I appreciated that CET provided us with the opportunity to hear from both parties.
Our third “lecture” was more atypical as we got a guided tour through the House of Terror. The museum is built on the former site of two major regime headquarters. It started as the Nazi Arrow Cross Party home in 1944 and then transitioned, in 1945 through the mid 50s, to the AVO/AVH Communist secret police headquarters and prison. I valued the importance of standing in a former space of Hungarian hardship and thought the artifacts were priceless. The highlight of Budapest is, of course, the Parliament Building. Its glowing, yellow lights highlight the city scene. The interior was beautiful as well as it homed the Crown of St. Stephen (or the Holy Crown of Hungary).
When you come to Prague, you will notice Trendlik, better known as Chimney Cake, on every street corner. While they are still tasty no matter where you buy them from, they actually originated in Hungary. My favorite flavor combination was the pistachio nutted exterior dough with a nutella brim and ice cream filling. During our program-included dinner in the city, I had fried goat cheese, which made my night. Other great traditional foods to eat are Goulash, a beefy stew with vegetables and paprika, and langos, a deep-fried flatbread.
Jachymov and Karlovy Vary
My strongest recommendation during your time in the Czech Republic with CET is to take advantage of the excursions the program offers! I signed up for the Jachymov and Karlovy Vary overnight trip without knowing anything about the towns going into it. My favorite part was definitely Jachymov as I got to go to a recreation museum on-site, hike through the old prison camp grounds, and have the Central European Studies core course professor serve as my tour guide.
Jachymov has a rich deposit of ores which were mined by Soviet prisoners in forced labor camps from 1949 to 1961. It was intended to extract uranium for the USSR’s nuclear program, but the camps were very physically extreme. We went inside of one of the original mining operation tunnels and could easily see how stuffy and inhumane the conditions were. We continued to walk through the trails created around the camps, and I learned how to use a Geiger radiation detection device to test the rocks and environment. There was a surprisingly high deposit of uranium in the area, but it was still safe to walk around and explore through. The day ended with us staying at a hotel on the former site.
On day two, we got to visit the spa town of Karlovy Vary. While I didn’t actually go into the baths, a lot of my friends tried and loved it. Instead, I walked around to find famous sites. I went to the Hot Spring Colonnade and tried the “healing” thermal waters. Ironically, back home in Arkansas, our national park is also called Hot Springs for a similar reason. Even more ironically, the water tasted very similar as it really is just naturally warmed spring water. I walked to the Grandhotel Pupp next. It is one of the oldest hotels in the town and was used in a James Bond movie under the name of “Hotel Splendide” in Montenegro. I went up to the Deer Jump Lookout; this location serves as an inspiration point for Wes Anderson in the creation of Grand Hotel Budapest.
Class Field Trip
Out of all of my classes this semester, my Czech Resistance and Dissent course has brought me to many hands-on field trips throughout Prague. We have visited legal graffiti sites, gone to a bar called Cross Club to watch a post-punk band perform, seen activism artwork in the municipal library, gotten a tour of the Czech Underground exhibition of former members, and, most recently, strolled the Vrtba Garden.
At the Vrtba Garden, we were guided by our professor’s colleague, Ewa Zurakowska. We went on what she called a “soundwalk” where we focused on the naturally occurring noises going on around us, whether that be the water running, tram engine gearing, or children laughing. The site is a historical Baroque garden and a former palace garden created around 1720. There are many statues of gods and goddesses in poses meant to capture a moment in time. As part of a class activity, we had to choose a statue and present its movement to the group with a grounded, human motion to guide us into the pose. It was fun to try and find a creative way to recreate it with style.
Leaving Prague
We are officially in our last weeks of the program, and it is a bittersweet ending. On one hand, I am excited to go back to some aspects of daily life that I had grown used to, such as driving, or food, such as Chick-fil-A, but it is hard to think that in such a short time I will be done with living in such a beautiful place. Coming from a less-dense region of the United States, I will miss having the city life with endless opportunities waiting outside my door.
I have grown fond of knedlík (Czech dumplings) and Kofola (Czech version of Dr. Pepper). I strongly recommend you try each of these items when you come. Additionally, I have made great friends in both similar and different fields of study as myself. I am lucky to carry these friendships into my future and cannot wait to reunite back in the Unites States. CET has, overall, been an incredible program filled with once-in-a-lifetime traveling seminars, student connections, and course material that is hard to find elsewhere.