Loving Florence. The people here really love artists. Every time I have my sketch book out, I get lots of attention from tourists and locals alike.
Today I spent about two and a half hours in the Galleria Academia where Michelangelo's David stands in its full 17 feet. It was so much fun and a great thrill to see the beautiful figure. I did several studies of it in my sketch book (which I thought I had lost yesterday and finally found it when I got into bed and realized I had folded it into my sheets).
I went on a walking tour yesterday and refreshed my knowledge of Florentine history. Since I had "Civilization of the Arts: 14th Century Florence," it has been a lot of fun for me to be here seeing all of the sights and art that I studied only in pictures while in the class. I almost felt like I could give tours of Duomo. After the tour was over, I hung out with a couple of people I met on the tour, Fedimma from Ireland and Simon from Australia. We ended up just doing a bit of walking around Florence ending up completely lost at one point but once we found out where we were we enjoyed a beautiful view of the city.
After hiking around the southern part of the city, I headed back to the hostel for dinner (there is a really cheap and reasonably good restaurant at the hostel). While having dinner, I ran into another Irish girl I met on the tour, Nieve. Nieve, her boyfriend, some Japanese kids, and I spent the evening drinking vino and having a great night sharing traveling stories. We ended up being the life of the party in the hostel, ending up with a group of about a dozen. So much fun.
The day before I hiked up to the top of Brunellesci's Dome, all 422 steps. It was breathtaking to reach the top of the dome, the largest dome in the world, looking out over the city. After my class in college where I read "Brunellesci's Dome" the book, it was incredible to see first hand the herring bone brick pattern and the dome within a dome structure. I did get a little freaked out about the heights at one point when we had to walk along the inside edge of the dome, close enough to touch the frescos painted on the ceiling, although I was doing better than the young woman following me.
I had a wonderful time in Florence. It is such a beautiful city, maybe a bit to expensive for me to stay too long, but I think I have made good with my time here. Tomorrow I am heading to Zurich but I am thinking about making a detour through Pisa on my way north.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Getting to Florence
I had an interesting time getting to Florence. I got up a bit late this morning, deciding I would just have a lazy Sunday morning, since I remembered last night that the Vatican is not open on Sundays. According to the time schedule I have there are trains every half hour from Rome to Florence so I wasn't worried about not getting there.
There was a lovely British woman working reception at the hostel. I had not met her before, normally it is these two young guys from Sweden, so I was a little surprised when I saw her. Checkout was a breeze, since the hostel didn't have lockers or keys, you literally just picked up your things and left. But I decided to stick around and figure out a few things to do in Florence and work on some sketches I had started the day before. I had a lovely chat with the British woman while she cooked eggs for one of the Swedish guys who was suffering from a little hangover. Italy, I point out now, is not an easy place to find good food on a Sunday. I ate MacDonalds twice in one day, sacrilege!
Well I finally decided around 2pm to head to the train station. I throughly enjoyed my extra hour, thank you daylight savings. Once at the train station I had a couple of options of trains, the main choice being whether I wanted to pay for the high speed train or not. I opted to not pay the 15 euro reservation fee for the high speed and just go with the slow train that took an exhausting one hour longer. So like a good traveler I waited patiently for the train to arrive.
To my surprise it was a really full train but I was tired so I slept for most of it. Then we got to Florence. I didn't realize until then that this train did not stop at the main station, S.M. Nouvelle. So I looked at the train schedule to see when the next train headed to SMN was leaving. Well there must have been something wrong with the information signs on the platforms because they were all about 3 hours behind. So I got on the train that looked like it was headed in the direction I wanted, and there were lots of people waiting to get on. I am not sure why but after 2 stops I decided I was not going the right direction so I got off at Zambra. I don't recommend Zambra, there isn't much there besides the slab of concrete known as the train station. At this point, I was worried I wouldn't be able to get back without hitchhiking. I checked the train schedule, and at least this time I knew which direction the train should be headed. I found it funny that the platform was labeled 3 and 4, I don't know where 1 and 2 were. The schedule said there would be many more trains on the way although after further inspection with my broken Italian, I realized most of the trains listed were only for special events. Luckily there was WiFi somewhere nearby and I was able to check Eurail and TrenItaliano schedules to deduce that there was another train coming at 9:53, or in about 2 hours. So I sat and waited, imported some photos, and had a nice chat with myself. It was lovely. At one point another train showed up, and waited for me to get on, but I just flagged the conductor to just keep going. Finally 9:53 came and went but there was no train. Then I started to get worried. But like every train in Italy it was only late.
Finally, two hours later than I expected, I arrived at my hostel. Yeah fun travel days!! Ciao
There was a lovely British woman working reception at the hostel. I had not met her before, normally it is these two young guys from Sweden, so I was a little surprised when I saw her. Checkout was a breeze, since the hostel didn't have lockers or keys, you literally just picked up your things and left. But I decided to stick around and figure out a few things to do in Florence and work on some sketches I had started the day before. I had a lovely chat with the British woman while she cooked eggs for one of the Swedish guys who was suffering from a little hangover. Italy, I point out now, is not an easy place to find good food on a Sunday. I ate MacDonalds twice in one day, sacrilege!
Well I finally decided around 2pm to head to the train station. I throughly enjoyed my extra hour, thank you daylight savings. Once at the train station I had a couple of options of trains, the main choice being whether I wanted to pay for the high speed train or not. I opted to not pay the 15 euro reservation fee for the high speed and just go with the slow train that took an exhausting one hour longer. So like a good traveler I waited patiently for the train to arrive.
To my surprise it was a really full train but I was tired so I slept for most of it. Then we got to Florence. I didn't realize until then that this train did not stop at the main station, S.M. Nouvelle. So I looked at the train schedule to see when the next train headed to SMN was leaving. Well there must have been something wrong with the information signs on the platforms because they were all about 3 hours behind. So I got on the train that looked like it was headed in the direction I wanted, and there were lots of people waiting to get on. I am not sure why but after 2 stops I decided I was not going the right direction so I got off at Zambra. I don't recommend Zambra, there isn't much there besides the slab of concrete known as the train station. At this point, I was worried I wouldn't be able to get back without hitchhiking. I checked the train schedule, and at least this time I knew which direction the train should be headed. I found it funny that the platform was labeled 3 and 4, I don't know where 1 and 2 were. The schedule said there would be many more trains on the way although after further inspection with my broken Italian, I realized most of the trains listed were only for special events. Luckily there was WiFi somewhere nearby and I was able to check Eurail and TrenItaliano schedules to deduce that there was another train coming at 9:53, or in about 2 hours. So I sat and waited, imported some photos, and had a nice chat with myself. It was lovely. At one point another train showed up, and waited for me to get on, but I just flagged the conductor to just keep going. Finally 9:53 came and went but there was no train. Then I started to get worried. But like every train in Italy it was only late.
Finally, two hours later than I expected, I arrived at my hostel. Yeah fun travel days!! Ciao
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Another Day in Rome
Well, I went to the Vatican City today and got to see the Sistine Chapel. But, if you ever come to Rome, I warn you that everything attached to the Vatican has a dress code. I faintly remember someone telling me this but I was not thinking this morning when I was getting dressed, so I put on shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt because I didn't want to get hot again. The biggest faux pas in Catholic dress code is showing bare shoulders, apparently.
As I walked through the Vatican Museum and marveled at the incredible sculpture and modern art, I was filled with the anticipation of getting to sit and admire the marvelous frescos by Michelangelo. When I finally made it to the Sistine Chapel, I was staring up at the ceiling trying to find a comfortable place to sit and observe. You do not often have the opportunity to examine such fine art first hand, seeing the actual painting of Adam touching fingers with God. All of the sudden, I felt a tap on my shoulder and a security guard asked me if I had anything to put over my shoulders. Unfortunately I had left my mink stole in my other purse, so I wasn't prepared to wrap myself up in anything. Upon answering his question, with an answer he obviously didn't care for, I was asked to leave the Chapel. Yes, I was kicked out of the Sistine Chapel. Now I can say, without lying, "I have been kicked out of nicer places than this before." But the whole time the gentleman was telling me I had to leave since I was baring my erotic and sexy shoulders, I kept wanting to say, "Dude, look up! Everyone painted on the ceiling is NAKED!!!!" I held my tongue, though. The experience did, however, make me want to cry. An art student, in Rome, studying the work of one of the greats, forced to leave for dressing too provocatively. I also wanted to point out to the guard that Michelangelo himself, would have probably enjoyed seeing my bared shoulder (and bum, but [pun intended] that is another discussion).
The only thing that really made me mad about the whole incident was that no one until then told me that I was not dressed appropriately. I had gone through a security check point and bought a ticket. Both were occasions where I could have been at least told that I would not be able to enjoy the Sistine Chapel to the degree I was anticipating. Poor form on the Pope's part in my opinion. If the Pope wants me dressed a certain way, he could have at least had the decency to put a bouncer outside his club turning people away who don't live up to his aesthetic standard. Poor form indeed!
After that, I decided not to risk standing in the long line to go to St. Peter's Basilica only to be turned away. It seemed like a pointless waste of time to be rejected twice in one day by the Catholics. Not that I hate all Catholics, just the ones in Vatican City.
I decided, instead, to spend the rest of my day using the brand new smudging stick I bought at the art store yesterday. That was a fun experience trying to explain to the non-English speaking girl at the art store what a smudging stick was. Several times she offered me the same eraser, and I kept saying no, but finally after drawing a quick doodle for her, and using my finger to smudge it, she figured it out. We both shared a good laugh about it while I paid.
I am heading to Florence tomorrow, I am thinking about catching a later train in the day so I can go back to St. Peter's in a tuxedo and possibly make it through the line. But who knows, maybe they will say the cummerbund and bow tie combination I am wearing is too offensive to go through the pearly gates.
Ciao
As I walked through the Vatican Museum and marveled at the incredible sculpture and modern art, I was filled with the anticipation of getting to sit and admire the marvelous frescos by Michelangelo. When I finally made it to the Sistine Chapel, I was staring up at the ceiling trying to find a comfortable place to sit and observe. You do not often have the opportunity to examine such fine art first hand, seeing the actual painting of Adam touching fingers with God. All of the sudden, I felt a tap on my shoulder and a security guard asked me if I had anything to put over my shoulders. Unfortunately I had left my mink stole in my other purse, so I wasn't prepared to wrap myself up in anything. Upon answering his question, with an answer he obviously didn't care for, I was asked to leave the Chapel. Yes, I was kicked out of the Sistine Chapel. Now I can say, without lying, "I have been kicked out of nicer places than this before." But the whole time the gentleman was telling me I had to leave since I was baring my erotic and sexy shoulders, I kept wanting to say, "Dude, look up! Everyone painted on the ceiling is NAKED!!!!" I held my tongue, though. The experience did, however, make me want to cry. An art student, in Rome, studying the work of one of the greats, forced to leave for dressing too provocatively. I also wanted to point out to the guard that Michelangelo himself, would have probably enjoyed seeing my bared shoulder (and bum, but [pun intended] that is another discussion).
The only thing that really made me mad about the whole incident was that no one until then told me that I was not dressed appropriately. I had gone through a security check point and bought a ticket. Both were occasions where I could have been at least told that I would not be able to enjoy the Sistine Chapel to the degree I was anticipating. Poor form on the Pope's part in my opinion. If the Pope wants me dressed a certain way, he could have at least had the decency to put a bouncer outside his club turning people away who don't live up to his aesthetic standard. Poor form indeed!
After that, I decided not to risk standing in the long line to go to St. Peter's Basilica only to be turned away. It seemed like a pointless waste of time to be rejected twice in one day by the Catholics. Not that I hate all Catholics, just the ones in Vatican City.
I decided, instead, to spend the rest of my day using the brand new smudging stick I bought at the art store yesterday. That was a fun experience trying to explain to the non-English speaking girl at the art store what a smudging stick was. Several times she offered me the same eraser, and I kept saying no, but finally after drawing a quick doodle for her, and using my finger to smudge it, she figured it out. We both shared a good laugh about it while I paid.
I am heading to Florence tomorrow, I am thinking about catching a later train in the day so I can go back to St. Peter's in a tuxedo and possibly make it through the line. But who knows, maybe they will say the cummerbund and bow tie combination I am wearing is too offensive to go through the pearly gates.
Ciao
Friday, October 24, 2008
Rome
Yes I am in Rome and I have already been here for one night. It is a little hard to get on the internet here for me because there aren't really a whole lot of outlets in the hostel, so I have to take refuge next to one plug to do anything with my computer.
I am having a blast in Rome. It is a really beautiful city, so I am having a lot of fun just walking around discovering what the city has to offer. Today I went to the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, The Pantheon, the Fontana de Trevi, among many sights. I got a map from Tourist Information and it has the routes of one of the big bus tour companies so I just made sure to hit all of the big sights it stopped at.
Rome is a really remarkable city. Thousands of years of history, millions of people, and an energy that never stops. The current population of Rome is estimated at just over 11 million people. It is hard to believe that in the peak of the ancient city the population was just half of that. (14 AD pop. 4,700,000). Walking around today made me think about the current crisis in America right now. People always say, history repeats itself, so there is bound to be a time when the U.S. would fall. I don't think that is what is going to happen when history repeats itself this time.
I am going to play Devil's Advocate for a moment. What do you think is the greatest success of modern technology?
Incredible architecture? I think we can all say the Romans were pretty good at outdoing most of the buildings we see now.
Economic wealth? Romans had that one going for them as well.
Advanced Health Care? Rome had a population of 4.7 million people in 14 AD, so are we really that much healthier than they are, or are we just better at keeping the sick alive longer?
Maybe, Communication? Well the Romans did have a very elaborate communications network, it just wasn't e-mail.
Indoor Plumbing? Nope, they had that one too.
Again, Devil's advocate, I think it is safe to say, that the only thing we have really been able to do in the past 2000 years is make things happen faster. Faster construction of buildings, faster communication, faster transport, ability to spend your money (or money you don't have) faster. So what is it that I think modern technology has really given us? I would say, technology has made patience a societal impossibility. Apparently nothing is fast enough for us, unless it moves at the speed of light.
Imagine what hell would erupt if a contractor told a company that it would take 200 years to finish construction on its new headquarters. Imagine, again, it taking hours to get to the market where you buy your groceries.
Now, I agree modern technology really has given us some wonderful things. Books, instant information, an international network of business economy and culture. But what about the latter? When Rome fell, there were civilizations in Asia, (i.e. the Turks) ready to take over the fledgling society. (Not that it was very nice about doing it). But now, with the complex web of culture, information, and money, will anyone be left when the market crashes? We witness on a daily basis the effect that the weak U.S. economy is having on the rest of the world. What happens when it collapses? You may be saying there are fail safes to keep that from happening, but I remind you that I am pretty sure that the Romans thought the same thing about their economy. Nothing lasts forever? But will there be a market left once the U.S. fails? I point out the scare raised by the bird flu in Eastern Asia. People were so worried that they would somehow contract it even though they were nowhere near East Asia. How will the world be affected by this travesty? Are you prepared to deal with what that would entail, because I certainly am not!
Will the only people unaffected by this be the nomadic tribes in Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia? They already have a taste of what is required to make it without money... not that they are terribly successful at it, but they have a head start.
Again, devil's advocate. This city just startles me how "advanced" they were, and with the economic and climate problems that we are seeing, I just wondered if there really is a distinction between the U.S. and the rest of the world. What would be left?
Even though I sound like I have been getting really deep on this part of my journey, that thought process was about 30 minutes out of a really great day. I highly recommend Rome. Just expect it to be warm. Even in the middle of October, I was wearing shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, and I was still hot and humid.
Tomorrow I plan on doing the Vatican and the Relics of the Ancient City!!
I am having a blast in Rome. It is a really beautiful city, so I am having a lot of fun just walking around discovering what the city has to offer. Today I went to the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, The Pantheon, the Fontana de Trevi, among many sights. I got a map from Tourist Information and it has the routes of one of the big bus tour companies so I just made sure to hit all of the big sights it stopped at.
Rome is a really remarkable city. Thousands of years of history, millions of people, and an energy that never stops. The current population of Rome is estimated at just over 11 million people. It is hard to believe that in the peak of the ancient city the population was just half of that. (14 AD pop. 4,700,000). Walking around today made me think about the current crisis in America right now. People always say, history repeats itself, so there is bound to be a time when the U.S. would fall. I don't think that is what is going to happen when history repeats itself this time.
I am going to play Devil's Advocate for a moment. What do you think is the greatest success of modern technology?
Incredible architecture? I think we can all say the Romans were pretty good at outdoing most of the buildings we see now.
Economic wealth? Romans had that one going for them as well.
Advanced Health Care? Rome had a population of 4.7 million people in 14 AD, so are we really that much healthier than they are, or are we just better at keeping the sick alive longer?
Maybe, Communication? Well the Romans did have a very elaborate communications network, it just wasn't e-mail.
Indoor Plumbing? Nope, they had that one too.
Again, Devil's advocate, I think it is safe to say, that the only thing we have really been able to do in the past 2000 years is make things happen faster. Faster construction of buildings, faster communication, faster transport, ability to spend your money (or money you don't have) faster. So what is it that I think modern technology has really given us? I would say, technology has made patience a societal impossibility. Apparently nothing is fast enough for us, unless it moves at the speed of light.
Imagine what hell would erupt if a contractor told a company that it would take 200 years to finish construction on its new headquarters. Imagine, again, it taking hours to get to the market where you buy your groceries.
Now, I agree modern technology really has given us some wonderful things. Books, instant information, an international network of business economy and culture. But what about the latter? When Rome fell, there were civilizations in Asia, (i.e. the Turks) ready to take over the fledgling society. (Not that it was very nice about doing it). But now, with the complex web of culture, information, and money, will anyone be left when the market crashes? We witness on a daily basis the effect that the weak U.S. economy is having on the rest of the world. What happens when it collapses? You may be saying there are fail safes to keep that from happening, but I remind you that I am pretty sure that the Romans thought the same thing about their economy. Nothing lasts forever? But will there be a market left once the U.S. fails? I point out the scare raised by the bird flu in Eastern Asia. People were so worried that they would somehow contract it even though they were nowhere near East Asia. How will the world be affected by this travesty? Are you prepared to deal with what that would entail, because I certainly am not!
Will the only people unaffected by this be the nomadic tribes in Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia? They already have a taste of what is required to make it without money... not that they are terribly successful at it, but they have a head start.
Again, devil's advocate. This city just startles me how "advanced" they were, and with the economic and climate problems that we are seeing, I just wondered if there really is a distinction between the U.S. and the rest of the world. What would be left?
Even though I sound like I have been getting really deep on this part of my journey, that thought process was about 30 minutes out of a really great day. I highly recommend Rome. Just expect it to be warm. Even in the middle of October, I was wearing shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, and I was still hot and humid.
Tomorrow I plan on doing the Vatican and the Relics of the Ancient City!!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Krakow & Auschwitz
I have made it to Krakow safe and sound although I think I have come down with a bit of a cold. Probably just from the quick changes in climate the past week or so, or Jules gave me her sniffles.
I met up with Shelley at the hostel last night, and we went out for a late bite to eat, and spent the evening catching up. She is having a wonderful time in London studying but her theatre trip to Krakow has been a little reorganized due to the fact that all the shows she wanted to see here have been sold out. Oops.
We decided today to get up early and take the tour offered by the hostel of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. What a moving experience. Per the request of the museum I did not take any pictures inside Auschwitz, and I really didn't want any pictures documenting what I saw there or me being there. The memory will be enough to serve me for the rest of my life without revisiting the sights I saw.
After an hour and a half bus ride, we were dropped off in front of Auschwitz I, the first camp in Auschwitz out of the three that were completed before the liberation in 1945. It was eerie how modern it felt in Auschwitz I, brick buildings that reminded me of many apartment complexes I have seen in the States. But you quickly remember the horrors that occurred here not that long ago. The first building we were guided through showed the construction of Auschwitz and several photocopies of some of the few remaining Nazi records about Auschwitz. First the camp was built for Polish criminals but a year after its completion was turned into a Jewish work and execution camp. You wander through these buildings on the tour where hundreds of Jews struggled to survive and most often died. We were taken to barracks that still held the original beds where Jews were forced to sleep two to a bed in something half as wide as a twin bed, three tiers high, in good conditions. It was just absolute insanity to me what I was seeing, a place where the innocent were brutally tortured and killed. It may be the first time I actually understood what the word genocide meant.
The most impacting barrack contained relics of the Jews that had been in Auschwitz. The Nazis had warehouses the prisoners referred to as "Canada" where all of the personal items taken from people were sorted and kept. Anything of value was taken by the Nazis to help the funding of the third reich. Now the artifacts remain as proof and memory of the people that were once contained in Auschwitz. In one room they had two tons of hair piled up on display. Braids, single strands, and ponytails filled a massive room incased in glass. My jaw was on the floor and the tour guide pointed out that this was only the hair from about 45,000 people. The approximate weight of the hair from all 1.5 million people executed at Auschwitz would total 67 tons. It will hit you in the gut. Other rooms displayed thousands of glasses stacked together, hundreds of thousands of shoes, luggage, bowls, and many other artifacts that once belonged to the people imprisoned at Auschwitz. Room after room filled with items collected off people after they were sent to the gas chamber.
When the Jews would arrive by train to the camp, they had been promised they were being taken to a better place where they could start a new life. Propaganda was the Nazis greatest tool, but for the Jews it seemed better for them to simply believe the propaganda than believe the stories of what was actually going on. Once on the platform at Auschwitz, SS doctors would sort the people into two groups, ones who looked healthy enough for work and those whom they believed weak. The weak group was led off to take a "shower." Told to strip down, remember where they left their belongings so they could retrieve them later, and rushed into a gas chamber decorated with fake shower heads hanging from the ceiling. These people had no idea what was going on. Lie after Lie.
We walked through the "prison inside a prison" at Auschwitz, Barrack 10. A place where people were sent to be "punished" and judged by the Gestapo. The basement was filled with cells used to starve, suffocate, and cripple men. No one ever left Barrack 10 alive. I can't even explain the feeling you get when walking through a place like that, seeing the etchings in the walls left by men trapped inside.
Finally in Auschwitz I, we were led to the only remaining gas chamber. (All other gas chambers and incinerators were destroyed by the Germans). It was devastating to be forced into this room in a line of tourists, stepping into the room that was the last stop for tens of thousands of people, many of whom had no idea what their outcome would be. They were just going for a much needed shower. It was appalling to see how close the Gestapo's home was to the chamber. A place where he raised a family and kept a garden for his wife. Prisoners could hear his children playing in their front yard as they stripped naked before entering the Zyklon B filled chamber. It was terrifying.
After Auschwitz I, we were taken to Brikenau, the largest of the three camps under the heading of Auschwitz. All of the barracks here were constructed of wood planks by the prisoners themselves. Today very few of the hundreds of barracks in Birkenau still stand, but as you look out over the expansive field, you see grass littered with still standing chimneys of where each barrack once stood. When the area was repopulated after the liberation, people would go to the unprotected camp and steal the wood from the barracks to construct their homes. Many of the homes standing in near by areas are built out of the concentration camp.
That was the thing I struggled the most with internally, the idea of working to preserve this place. In one spot there were actually construction workers re-roofing one of the barracks. At first I was disturbed by the idea of maintaining Auschwitz. But that is when I realized in order to honor the memory of the people that were held in this sick place, you have to remember the terrible acts committed against them by the Germans. It was just such a weird concept to me, "rebuilding" Auschwitz.
Needless to say, Shelley and I were exhausted after our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, so we had a bit of lunch afterwards, walked around, and had some riveting political and social debates. It will definitely be an experience I will never forget.
I met up with Shelley at the hostel last night, and we went out for a late bite to eat, and spent the evening catching up. She is having a wonderful time in London studying but her theatre trip to Krakow has been a little reorganized due to the fact that all the shows she wanted to see here have been sold out. Oops.
We decided today to get up early and take the tour offered by the hostel of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. What a moving experience. Per the request of the museum I did not take any pictures inside Auschwitz, and I really didn't want any pictures documenting what I saw there or me being there. The memory will be enough to serve me for the rest of my life without revisiting the sights I saw.
After an hour and a half bus ride, we were dropped off in front of Auschwitz I, the first camp in Auschwitz out of the three that were completed before the liberation in 1945. It was eerie how modern it felt in Auschwitz I, brick buildings that reminded me of many apartment complexes I have seen in the States. But you quickly remember the horrors that occurred here not that long ago. The first building we were guided through showed the construction of Auschwitz and several photocopies of some of the few remaining Nazi records about Auschwitz. First the camp was built for Polish criminals but a year after its completion was turned into a Jewish work and execution camp. You wander through these buildings on the tour where hundreds of Jews struggled to survive and most often died. We were taken to barracks that still held the original beds where Jews were forced to sleep two to a bed in something half as wide as a twin bed, three tiers high, in good conditions. It was just absolute insanity to me what I was seeing, a place where the innocent were brutally tortured and killed. It may be the first time I actually understood what the word genocide meant.
The most impacting barrack contained relics of the Jews that had been in Auschwitz. The Nazis had warehouses the prisoners referred to as "Canada" where all of the personal items taken from people were sorted and kept. Anything of value was taken by the Nazis to help the funding of the third reich. Now the artifacts remain as proof and memory of the people that were once contained in Auschwitz. In one room they had two tons of hair piled up on display. Braids, single strands, and ponytails filled a massive room incased in glass. My jaw was on the floor and the tour guide pointed out that this was only the hair from about 45,000 people. The approximate weight of the hair from all 1.5 million people executed at Auschwitz would total 67 tons. It will hit you in the gut. Other rooms displayed thousands of glasses stacked together, hundreds of thousands of shoes, luggage, bowls, and many other artifacts that once belonged to the people imprisoned at Auschwitz. Room after room filled with items collected off people after they were sent to the gas chamber.
When the Jews would arrive by train to the camp, they had been promised they were being taken to a better place where they could start a new life. Propaganda was the Nazis greatest tool, but for the Jews it seemed better for them to simply believe the propaganda than believe the stories of what was actually going on. Once on the platform at Auschwitz, SS doctors would sort the people into two groups, ones who looked healthy enough for work and those whom they believed weak. The weak group was led off to take a "shower." Told to strip down, remember where they left their belongings so they could retrieve them later, and rushed into a gas chamber decorated with fake shower heads hanging from the ceiling. These people had no idea what was going on. Lie after Lie.
We walked through the "prison inside a prison" at Auschwitz, Barrack 10. A place where people were sent to be "punished" and judged by the Gestapo. The basement was filled with cells used to starve, suffocate, and cripple men. No one ever left Barrack 10 alive. I can't even explain the feeling you get when walking through a place like that, seeing the etchings in the walls left by men trapped inside.
Finally in Auschwitz I, we were led to the only remaining gas chamber. (All other gas chambers and incinerators were destroyed by the Germans). It was devastating to be forced into this room in a line of tourists, stepping into the room that was the last stop for tens of thousands of people, many of whom had no idea what their outcome would be. They were just going for a much needed shower. It was appalling to see how close the Gestapo's home was to the chamber. A place where he raised a family and kept a garden for his wife. Prisoners could hear his children playing in their front yard as they stripped naked before entering the Zyklon B filled chamber. It was terrifying.
After Auschwitz I, we were taken to Brikenau, the largest of the three camps under the heading of Auschwitz. All of the barracks here were constructed of wood planks by the prisoners themselves. Today very few of the hundreds of barracks in Birkenau still stand, but as you look out over the expansive field, you see grass littered with still standing chimneys of where each barrack once stood. When the area was repopulated after the liberation, people would go to the unprotected camp and steal the wood from the barracks to construct their homes. Many of the homes standing in near by areas are built out of the concentration camp.
That was the thing I struggled the most with internally, the idea of working to preserve this place. In one spot there were actually construction workers re-roofing one of the barracks. At first I was disturbed by the idea of maintaining Auschwitz. But that is when I realized in order to honor the memory of the people that were held in this sick place, you have to remember the terrible acts committed against them by the Germans. It was just such a weird concept to me, "rebuilding" Auschwitz.
Needless to say, Shelley and I were exhausted after our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, so we had a bit of lunch afterwards, walked around, and had some riveting political and social debates. It will definitely be an experience I will never forget.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday in Prague
Today was an interesting day in Prague. Interesting and exciting! I started the day a little later than I had hoped, seeing as how the girls I am sharing a room with kept me up fairly late into the morning, getting in around 5am. I went to bed a little late after booking my hostel in Krakow and my flight from Krakow to Milan. (Milan was not my desired destination, but it is pretty close to Rome. At least it is in the same country.). And the flight didn't cost me too terribly much, thanks RyanAir!
By the time I did get a start on my day, I was feeling quite energetic. I only had two goals for the day: find an art supply store to by a smudging stick so I don't have to use my finger any more, and meet up with Jules, the girl I traveled with in Vienna and Warsaw. She arrived in Prague late last night, is staying in a different hostel, and today is her birthday, so we tried to arrange a place and time to meet up and hang out. Jules had a couple of other friends visiting Prague so I was going to meet them as well. On my way to the center of town, I stopped at the train station and got a reservation to Krakow for tomorrow, so I didn't need to worry about getting to the station extremely early, just early enough so that I don't miss my train, again!
After an hour or so of walking around the Old Town looking for an art store and keeping my eyes and ears open for Jules, I ran into the girls I am sharing a room with. They asked what I was up to and recommended I go across the river since they had seen some art stores in that area. One exclaimed, "They had everything including colored pencils." Well Wal-mart has colored pencils, but I thought, I am not having any luck here, so what would it hurt to cross the bridge. This is when my day took an exciting turn.
I was just about a block from the Charles Bridge when I looked across the street and recognized a face in the crowed. Jules you might ask, no, in fact it was a fella I shared a room with in Vienna, Andrew. He was with another girl I knew from Vienna, Sophie, and two friends they had made on a pub crawl in Prague the night before. I crossed the street and surprised them to death. I do believe I was the last person they expected to see in Prague, since I certainly wasn't expecting to run into them there. After Vienna, Sophie went to Budapest, and Andrew went to Venice (and apparently the rest of Italy). We all had a good laugh about the odds of running into each other, and I was introduced to Tiffany from Melbourne, and Jacob from Sweden. The four of them were headed across the bridge as well, so I decided to walk with them for a bit. I filled them in on a few of the interesting tidbits I had learned on my walking tour, trying not to sound too know-it-all-ish, and they asked me to join them as their tour guide. I did my best.
The five of us spent the afternoon together, walking around Prague, and I took them to a fun restaurant that I had been to the night before that served cheap Czech cuisine. I didn't remember the portions being as large as they were, but the night before I had eaten conservative old chicken pasta, while tonight I had Pork neck (which is excellent). It was a great meal, and we all lost total track of time. Around 7:30 when we had finished and paid our tab (848 Crowns/ appx. $45 for the five of us) we headed on the metro to their hostel for an after dinner drink.
Of course, one after dinner drink turned into a couple, and I ended up leaving at around 1:30am after a stop at McDonalds with the gang for a late night snack. This is when the story gets a bit interesting. I didn't have a map all day, so before leaving their hostel, I picked one up so I could find my way home. After consulting the wise map, I realized I was just due south of my hostel and made a rough route home. Well, about a third of the way home, I realized I had dropped the map somewhere along my route and was without map. And the only "address" I had for my hostel was "It is on the street that looks kind of like 'chimichanga.'" Needless to say I got a bit worried, and realized I had two choices: turn back and get another map (which I would then staple to my body) or keep going. I chose the latter. I sort of knew where I was, I had a major landmark in vision, and I knew the direction to head. I walked in this manner for about 15 minutes, making it several more blocks, when I saw another hostel. I now view hostels as the all-knowing location of information. I tried pulling on the door and of course it was locked being almost 2am, but as I was walking off, I heard the sound of buzzing, meaning the door had been buzzed open. I walked in, told the guy I was a bit lost, and asked if he had a map. Well of course he did, an identical replacement to the one I had lost. Once I had it in my hands and figured out my location on it, I realized I was 3 blocks from my hostel. Incredible I would say. From there it was an easy walk home, but there were those 20 minutes where I was scared (pardon my french) shitless, yet I just kept walking. So when in a foreign country alone, keep dozens of maps on you as well as dozens of the hotel's business cards on you, so you don't have that situation (unless you enjoy living on the edge while a little drunk).
All in all it was a wonderful and surprising day, and I am not in the least bit disappointed that I did not in any way shape or form achieve any of the two goals I started my day with. I would have loved to see Jules on her birthday, but I am sure we both had a good day regardless. I say, live for days like this one, when nothing goes as planned, but everything goes right!
By the time I did get a start on my day, I was feeling quite energetic. I only had two goals for the day: find an art supply store to by a smudging stick so I don't have to use my finger any more, and meet up with Jules, the girl I traveled with in Vienna and Warsaw. She arrived in Prague late last night, is staying in a different hostel, and today is her birthday, so we tried to arrange a place and time to meet up and hang out. Jules had a couple of other friends visiting Prague so I was going to meet them as well. On my way to the center of town, I stopped at the train station and got a reservation to Krakow for tomorrow, so I didn't need to worry about getting to the station extremely early, just early enough so that I don't miss my train, again!
After an hour or so of walking around the Old Town looking for an art store and keeping my eyes and ears open for Jules, I ran into the girls I am sharing a room with. They asked what I was up to and recommended I go across the river since they had seen some art stores in that area. One exclaimed, "They had everything including colored pencils." Well Wal-mart has colored pencils, but I thought, I am not having any luck here, so what would it hurt to cross the bridge. This is when my day took an exciting turn.
I was just about a block from the Charles Bridge when I looked across the street and recognized a face in the crowed. Jules you might ask, no, in fact it was a fella I shared a room with in Vienna, Andrew. He was with another girl I knew from Vienna, Sophie, and two friends they had made on a pub crawl in Prague the night before. I crossed the street and surprised them to death. I do believe I was the last person they expected to see in Prague, since I certainly wasn't expecting to run into them there. After Vienna, Sophie went to Budapest, and Andrew went to Venice (and apparently the rest of Italy). We all had a good laugh about the odds of running into each other, and I was introduced to Tiffany from Melbourne, and Jacob from Sweden. The four of them were headed across the bridge as well, so I decided to walk with them for a bit. I filled them in on a few of the interesting tidbits I had learned on my walking tour, trying not to sound too know-it-all-ish, and they asked me to join them as their tour guide. I did my best.
The five of us spent the afternoon together, walking around Prague, and I took them to a fun restaurant that I had been to the night before that served cheap Czech cuisine. I didn't remember the portions being as large as they were, but the night before I had eaten conservative old chicken pasta, while tonight I had Pork neck (which is excellent). It was a great meal, and we all lost total track of time. Around 7:30 when we had finished and paid our tab (848 Crowns/ appx. $45 for the five of us) we headed on the metro to their hostel for an after dinner drink.
Of course, one after dinner drink turned into a couple, and I ended up leaving at around 1:30am after a stop at McDonalds with the gang for a late night snack. This is when the story gets a bit interesting. I didn't have a map all day, so before leaving their hostel, I picked one up so I could find my way home. After consulting the wise map, I realized I was just due south of my hostel and made a rough route home. Well, about a third of the way home, I realized I had dropped the map somewhere along my route and was without map. And the only "address" I had for my hostel was "It is on the street that looks kind of like 'chimichanga.'" Needless to say I got a bit worried, and realized I had two choices: turn back and get another map (which I would then staple to my body) or keep going. I chose the latter. I sort of knew where I was, I had a major landmark in vision, and I knew the direction to head. I walked in this manner for about 15 minutes, making it several more blocks, when I saw another hostel. I now view hostels as the all-knowing location of information. I tried pulling on the door and of course it was locked being almost 2am, but as I was walking off, I heard the sound of buzzing, meaning the door had been buzzed open. I walked in, told the guy I was a bit lost, and asked if he had a map. Well of course he did, an identical replacement to the one I had lost. Once I had it in my hands and figured out my location on it, I realized I was 3 blocks from my hostel. Incredible I would say. From there it was an easy walk home, but there were those 20 minutes where I was scared (pardon my french) shitless, yet I just kept walking. So when in a foreign country alone, keep dozens of maps on you as well as dozens of the hotel's business cards on you, so you don't have that situation (unless you enjoy living on the edge while a little drunk).
All in all it was a wonderful and surprising day, and I am not in the least bit disappointed that I did not in any way shape or form achieve any of the two goals I started my day with. I would have loved to see Jules on her birthday, but I am sure we both had a good day regardless. I say, live for days like this one, when nothing goes as planned, but everything goes right!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Another day in Prague
Well the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square goes off every hour from 9am to 9pm, which it has been doing for the past 700 years. YEAH THAT'S RIGHT 700 YEARS!!! They say that when you stand and watch the clock chime that you should shake your head, "no," because the 3 chaps on the clock with Death are saying "no it is not time for death" by shaking their heads, so if you do it to you will live forever. I tried it, but it is a long time to shake your head and not look crazy, so I failed at sustaining it.
I tried to save some money today, after spending way more than I anticipated yesterday by just strolling around the city and stopping to sketch whenever I felt compelled to do so. It was a lovely way to spend the day, especially after doing 7 hours of tours yesterday. This way I could go at my own pace. A lot of the architecture in the city reminds me of the buildings in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, so I found myself doodling Malificent at one point. I ended up going out for a bit last night, and that's when the spending hit the fan for me. I really am holding true to my belief that the more you like a city, the more money you spend there. Prague is fairly cheap, but there is just so much to do, that I tried to do it all yesterday (unsuccessfully of course, but I made a dent in it). So I have put myself on a very strict budget for the next week or so to recoup some of my loses. (It sounds as though I was gambling when I say it like that, if only I had had the opportunity or possibility of winning my money back.) I thought I might look up ways I could work on the black market selling fake passports, or fake designer handbags, but then I realized I have a few morals left, they may not be many, but they're there. I say sticking to a little bit tighter budget will do the job, maybe not as quickly, though, and without the awesome stories that start, "Well, when I was working on the
black market..."
I think Prague is a must see city. With the fall of communism so recent, all of the people here really understand what the word "freedom" means, making them extremely friendly and more than willing to lend a helping hand. The architecture is exquisite, the streets are full of poetic justice, and you never know when you are going to stumble on a bullet hole or two left by the Russians. (The huge museum in New Town is covered in them.)
We will see what tomorrow has in store for me. Hopefully something cheap, or even better FREE!
I tried to save some money today, after spending way more than I anticipated yesterday by just strolling around the city and stopping to sketch whenever I felt compelled to do so. It was a lovely way to spend the day, especially after doing 7 hours of tours yesterday. This way I could go at my own pace. A lot of the architecture in the city reminds me of the buildings in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, so I found myself doodling Malificent at one point. I ended up going out for a bit last night, and that's when the spending hit the fan for me. I really am holding true to my belief that the more you like a city, the more money you spend there. Prague is fairly cheap, but there is just so much to do, that I tried to do it all yesterday (unsuccessfully of course, but I made a dent in it). So I have put myself on a very strict budget for the next week or so to recoup some of my loses. (It sounds as though I was gambling when I say it like that, if only I had had the opportunity or possibility of winning my money back.) I thought I might look up ways I could work on the black market selling fake passports, or fake designer handbags, but then I realized I have a few morals left, they may not be many, but they're there. I say sticking to a little bit tighter budget will do the job, maybe not as quickly, though, and without the awesome stories that start, "Well, when I was working on the
black market..."
I think Prague is a must see city. With the fall of communism so recent, all of the people here really understand what the word "freedom" means, making them extremely friendly and more than willing to lend a helping hand. The architecture is exquisite, the streets are full of poetic justice, and you never know when you are going to stumble on a bullet hole or two left by the Russians. (The huge museum in New Town is covered in them.)
We will see what tomorrow has in store for me. Hopefully something cheap, or even better FREE!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Prague, Czech
I made it to Prague yesterday evening, after a long train ride (9 hours) from Warsaw. I am learning quickly that long days of traveling mean long hours of recovery, so once I found my hostel (without a map or directions, only the memory of briefly seeing its location on google maps) I decided to have a calm quite night in. I took that time to plan for the day ahead. I have begun to see why Lonely Planet guides are so popular; it is nice to have a little bit of research done on a city before one gets there. The hostel (run by two Canadian friends, who decided one day to pick up and leave Canada to open a hostel in Prague) was full of information on tours, sights, and events.
Today I ended up taking "The Ultimate Tour" of Prague. It was a little more than what I would normally spend on a tour, $65, but it came highly recommended by the guy from the hostel, and seemed to include lots of different tour types. The tour lasted 6 hours (twice that of Gilligan's Tour) and included walking tours, a boat tour on the Vltava River, and a tram tour to the Prague Castle (The Guinness Book for largest Castle in the world). The tour included lunch and a free pass to come back to do their Ghost Trail Tour, so I thought that $65 was quite a steal. I learned loads about the city over the 6 hours, had some great food, meet some fun people, and developed an overall love of Prague.
Even though the map of Prague is quite big, it is really an easy city to walk. (Except for this one intersection near my hostel that gets a little tricky). Our guide actually had his degree in history and up until 4 years ago, all tour guides in the city had to take an exam in order to legally work as a tour guide, so he knew loads. Per his advice I think I am going to go see Rigoletto at the National Opera tomorrow night.
Once the tour was over I decided to take in a few more sights around the main part of Prague while I waited for the Ghost Trail tour to start at 8:30. This is just a beautiful city, and it makes me laugh how the communist buildings stick out like sore thumbs. (After seeing what Europeans refer to as a "Communist Buildings," which I know were in fact built by communists, I marvel at how all contemporary American architecture looks "Communist". Does that mean something about all of our architects in the States? Do they all have some sort of hidden Communist agenda? LOL).
The Ghost Trail was great, just 5 of us on the tour. I believe it was a small group because of the rain, but the wet weather added to the charm of starting all the stories with "It was a dark and stormy night." Most of the tour was just legends, although we did get a little Czech history mixed in, and every once in a while a guy dressed in costume would jump out at us from behind a corner scaring us to death. Well worth it. The Czech accent made the stories especially creepy, and when I couldn't understand her I would just insert horrible, gruesome words that probably made the stories way scarier than what she was actually telling. I think I also taught her a few slang terms for the word "prostitute" because in one of the stories she said "prostitute" a dozen times, so I thought she might like to spice it up by saying things like: "streetwalker", "hooker", "wench", "lady of the night", and of course "whore." That way she wouldn't have to say prostitute" so many times in such a strange accent.
After such a long day of touring, in the rain, I think I am going to spend a nice night indoors, relaxing and planning for tomorrow. I did skip out on the Pub Crawl that a bunch of other people were going on, but I really prefer walking. Crawling is hard on my old knees.
Today I ended up taking "The Ultimate Tour" of Prague. It was a little more than what I would normally spend on a tour, $65, but it came highly recommended by the guy from the hostel, and seemed to include lots of different tour types. The tour lasted 6 hours (twice that of Gilligan's Tour) and included walking tours, a boat tour on the Vltava River, and a tram tour to the Prague Castle (The Guinness Book for largest Castle in the world). The tour included lunch and a free pass to come back to do their Ghost Trail Tour, so I thought that $65 was quite a steal. I learned loads about the city over the 6 hours, had some great food, meet some fun people, and developed an overall love of Prague.
Even though the map of Prague is quite big, it is really an easy city to walk. (Except for this one intersection near my hostel that gets a little tricky). Our guide actually had his degree in history and up until 4 years ago, all tour guides in the city had to take an exam in order to legally work as a tour guide, so he knew loads. Per his advice I think I am going to go see Rigoletto at the National Opera tomorrow night.
Once the tour was over I decided to take in a few more sights around the main part of Prague while I waited for the Ghost Trail tour to start at 8:30. This is just a beautiful city, and it makes me laugh how the communist buildings stick out like sore thumbs. (After seeing what Europeans refer to as a "Communist Buildings," which I know were in fact built by communists, I marvel at how all contemporary American architecture looks "Communist". Does that mean something about all of our architects in the States? Do they all have some sort of hidden Communist agenda? LOL).
The Ghost Trail was great, just 5 of us on the tour. I believe it was a small group because of the rain, but the wet weather added to the charm of starting all the stories with "It was a dark and stormy night." Most of the tour was just legends, although we did get a little Czech history mixed in, and every once in a while a guy dressed in costume would jump out at us from behind a corner scaring us to death. Well worth it. The Czech accent made the stories especially creepy, and when I couldn't understand her I would just insert horrible, gruesome words that probably made the stories way scarier than what she was actually telling. I think I also taught her a few slang terms for the word "prostitute" because in one of the stories she said "prostitute" a dozen times, so I thought she might like to spice it up by saying things like: "streetwalker", "hooker", "wench", "lady of the night", and of course "whore." That way she wouldn't have to say prostitute" so many times in such a strange accent.
After such a long day of touring, in the rain, I think I am going to spend a nice night indoors, relaxing and planning for tomorrow. I did skip out on the Pub Crawl that a bunch of other people were going on, but I really prefer walking. Crawling is hard on my old knees.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw has been an interesting experience. The weather here hasn't been great which I think has added a bit to the less than stellar experience I have had here. (A sea of white in the sky all day when you are sight seeing tends to make it a little slower paced. Plus with the low cloud cover it gets difficult to see the tops of the taller buildings.) I can deal with a little overcast weather, but I think Poland would be a much different experience in the summer.
It was also a little weird because the woman at the tourist information desk at the train station was a little off with some of her advice. She got a little crazy with her ball-point pen and our map of the city. She circled a bunch of areas and made some illegible notes on it that covered a good portion of the map I had. On the first day Jules and I were here, we walked to the historic old town and Jewish district (where they forced all the Jews to live during WWII, behind these huge brick walls).
We decided to get a bite to eat and headed to an area circled on our map thinking it was a place that the woman at the tourist desk suggested as a good place to eat. Well, I don't think we actually saw a single restaurant in the entire area, so we walked across the river to the west side of the city where the woman said there was a large arts community that had made the area really trendy. We thought, "artists need to eat, I bet we can find food there." At first when we were walking around we kept thinking, "maybe this is 'Polish Trendy,'" since the stores were nothing impressive and there was no real arts influence visible. Finally, we stumbled on this small hole in the wall place that had a limited menu, but we were starving, and I would have eaten dog or cat as long as it came with something to dip it in. The menu did include Kielbasa which I knew was some sort of sausage and since it was Poland we both thought sausage was appropriate. However, we did also get a plate of spaghetti because it is hard to mess up spaghetti, a safe bet.
After dinner, Jules and I continued to walk around the 'trendy' part of Warsaw, but only stumbled on a Mall, where she bought a much needed SIM Card. The mall was really the arty-est thing we saw... LOL. But after the long train ride and a day of walking, we were both very tired so we went back to the hostel to regroup for the next day.
Today we went back to the Old Town, in order to see it during the daytime. It was really impressive and beautiful, and the Jewish section was just incredible. It was powerful to see the walls that segregated all of the Jews into an area where they would be starved and shot by the Nazis. Now they have turned most of the area into a park, but there is an enormous monument in honor of the Jewish Community. After walking there, we decided to go to an area not circled on our map by the woman at the tourist desk. It ended up being GREAT. Filled with life, shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. We learned, don't go to anywhere circled on the map in black pen. We walked around, did some window shopping, and ended up seeing "The Women" in a movie theater. It was not dubbed, so I was able to understand what was going on, and it was nice to just sit and relax after a full day of walking.
All in all, Warsaw was not terrible. I just wish we had gotten a little better info at the train station. Jules and I would probably not have wasted an entire day walking around "dead" areas. I also learned to trust the LonelyPlanet when it says "that area is not very popular with tourists" generally means, nothing to do.
Tomorrow I am heading to Prague. My friend, Shelley from Webster, is going to be in Krakow on Saturday, so I think I will head back to Krakow to meet up with her, and we can see Auschwitz together, which means I leave Jules tomorrow. It was fun getting to know someone, and travel a bit with them, but at the same time, it will be nice to get back to my solo lifestyle. I have slowly learned to love being out on my own.
It was also a little weird because the woman at the tourist information desk at the train station was a little off with some of her advice. She got a little crazy with her ball-point pen and our map of the city. She circled a bunch of areas and made some illegible notes on it that covered a good portion of the map I had. On the first day Jules and I were here, we walked to the historic old town and Jewish district (where they forced all the Jews to live during WWII, behind these huge brick walls).
We decided to get a bite to eat and headed to an area circled on our map thinking it was a place that the woman at the tourist desk suggested as a good place to eat. Well, I don't think we actually saw a single restaurant in the entire area, so we walked across the river to the west side of the city where the woman said there was a large arts community that had made the area really trendy. We thought, "artists need to eat, I bet we can find food there." At first when we were walking around we kept thinking, "maybe this is 'Polish Trendy,'" since the stores were nothing impressive and there was no real arts influence visible. Finally, we stumbled on this small hole in the wall place that had a limited menu, but we were starving, and I would have eaten dog or cat as long as it came with something to dip it in. The menu did include Kielbasa which I knew was some sort of sausage and since it was Poland we both thought sausage was appropriate. However, we did also get a plate of spaghetti because it is hard to mess up spaghetti, a safe bet.
After dinner, Jules and I continued to walk around the 'trendy' part of Warsaw, but only stumbled on a Mall, where she bought a much needed SIM Card. The mall was really the arty-est thing we saw... LOL. But after the long train ride and a day of walking, we were both very tired so we went back to the hostel to regroup for the next day.
Today we went back to the Old Town, in order to see it during the daytime. It was really impressive and beautiful, and the Jewish section was just incredible. It was powerful to see the walls that segregated all of the Jews into an area where they would be starved and shot by the Nazis. Now they have turned most of the area into a park, but there is an enormous monument in honor of the Jewish Community. After walking there, we decided to go to an area not circled on our map by the woman at the tourist desk. It ended up being GREAT. Filled with life, shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. We learned, don't go to anywhere circled on the map in black pen. We walked around, did some window shopping, and ended up seeing "The Women" in a movie theater. It was not dubbed, so I was able to understand what was going on, and it was nice to just sit and relax after a full day of walking.
All in all, Warsaw was not terrible. I just wish we had gotten a little better info at the train station. Jules and I would probably not have wasted an entire day walking around "dead" areas. I also learned to trust the LonelyPlanet when it says "that area is not very popular with tourists" generally means, nothing to do.
Tomorrow I am heading to Prague. My friend, Shelley from Webster, is going to be in Krakow on Saturday, so I think I will head back to Krakow to meet up with her, and we can see Auschwitz together, which means I leave Jules tomorrow. It was fun getting to know someone, and travel a bit with them, but at the same time, it will be nice to get back to my solo lifestyle. I have slowly learned to love being out on my own.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Vienna to Warsaw
Trains seem to always end in a funny story, especially if you miss them!
Julianne, the girl from Brisbane whom I have been hanging out with the past couple of days, and I were going to go to Czesky Krumlov in the Czech Rep last night, but the train out of Vienna departed from the minor station that was a bit difficult to get to, and by a bit difficult I mean: we took the metro, in order to catch a tram, so we could catch a bus. Well the metro took longer than expected, we couldn't find the tram, and then once we finally found the bus we got on it going the wrong direction. So we jumped off the bus as soon as we realized, hailed a cab and prayed we could make it to the station in 10 minutes. If you are not at the station at least 15 minutes before your train leaves, I would say, "don't even waste your time," unless it is Spain or Italy where trains are always running late. Finally we were sitting in the cab looking at our watches going, "this is not going to happen. Where else can we get to tonight? Lets look in my train schedule. Oh, look at that, we could go to Poland on an overnight train. That sounds fun!"
That is the basic stream of consciousness when one misses a train, but still wants to leave where they are. I mean it takes so much effort to pack in 5 minutes. You really don't want to have to do it all over again the next day unless you are doing it in another country. So, we hoped on an overnight train to Warsaw Poland. Poland wasn't even on my radar as a destination, so it was fun to completely veer off my path. Plus this way I get to make it to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. And got to do my first sleeper couchette, which was so much better than trying to sleep sitting up.
Vienna was a blast! I did so much, and loved every minute of it. Met a bunch of great people, and did some rare tourist activities. After doing the "War and Peace" of walking tours, Julianne and I decided to go to the Royal Viennese Opera and see the ballet that was playing that night, so we got the 3 euro 'standing room only' tickets and stood in the Alps watching a wonderful ballet. It was so much fun seeing a classical ballet in such a fantastic venue, while wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans. (FYI... If you do standing room seats at the opera, there is no dress code. So you can basically walk off the street and see the performance. No need to bathe!!!)
The next day we spent going to a couple of museums, seeing the largest single collection of Klimt artwork at the Leopold Museum, and went out to dinner at this awesome wine bar. The Wine Bar was formerly the wine cellar of the Royal Family, with tunnels connecting many noble establishments in Vienna, so it is HUGE. The food is really cheap, you can buy wine by the liter, it is not too touristy, and it is supremely historic. The Austrians are known for their pork, so the two of us got deep fried pork chops and a liter of fine to split. Finally Sunday morning, I went to mass at the private Royal Chapel to see the Viennese Boys Choir perform. They perform every Sunday at the "Catholic Light" mass. It is incredible, but buy tickets early if you want to see them in Vienna (if you ever go) because the Chapel is REALLY SMALL, and tickets go quickly, but the music is wonderful, and you can take pictures with the little boys in the courtyard afterwards.
Vienna is a wonderful destination. I would highly recommend it to anyone. There is so much to do, and (for the most part) it is reasonably cheap. I can tell if a city is cheap based on how much I pay to use a W.C. In Vienna, if you had to pay, it was only 50 cents. Quite a respectable sum for the privilege of relieving yourself.
I have attached a couple of pictures from Jule's and my night at the ballet.
Those Webster dance classes paid off!
Julianne, the girl from Brisbane whom I have been hanging out with the past couple of days, and I were going to go to Czesky Krumlov in the Czech Rep last night, but the train out of Vienna departed from the minor station that was a bit difficult to get to, and by a bit difficult I mean: we took the metro, in order to catch a tram, so we could catch a bus. Well the metro took longer than expected, we couldn't find the tram, and then once we finally found the bus we got on it going the wrong direction. So we jumped off the bus as soon as we realized, hailed a cab and prayed we could make it to the station in 10 minutes. If you are not at the station at least 15 minutes before your train leaves, I would say, "don't even waste your time," unless it is Spain or Italy where trains are always running late. Finally we were sitting in the cab looking at our watches going, "this is not going to happen. Where else can we get to tonight? Lets look in my train schedule. Oh, look at that, we could go to Poland on an overnight train. That sounds fun!"
That is the basic stream of consciousness when one misses a train, but still wants to leave where they are. I mean it takes so much effort to pack in 5 minutes. You really don't want to have to do it all over again the next day unless you are doing it in another country. So, we hoped on an overnight train to Warsaw Poland. Poland wasn't even on my radar as a destination, so it was fun to completely veer off my path. Plus this way I get to make it to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. And got to do my first sleeper couchette, which was so much better than trying to sleep sitting up.
Vienna was a blast! I did so much, and loved every minute of it. Met a bunch of great people, and did some rare tourist activities. After doing the "War and Peace" of walking tours, Julianne and I decided to go to the Royal Viennese Opera and see the ballet that was playing that night, so we got the 3 euro 'standing room only' tickets and stood in the Alps watching a wonderful ballet. It was so much fun seeing a classical ballet in such a fantastic venue, while wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans. (FYI... If you do standing room seats at the opera, there is no dress code. So you can basically walk off the street and see the performance. No need to bathe!!!)
The next day we spent going to a couple of museums, seeing the largest single collection of Klimt artwork at the Leopold Museum, and went out to dinner at this awesome wine bar. The Wine Bar was formerly the wine cellar of the Royal Family, with tunnels connecting many noble establishments in Vienna, so it is HUGE. The food is really cheap, you can buy wine by the liter, it is not too touristy, and it is supremely historic. The Austrians are known for their pork, so the two of us got deep fried pork chops and a liter of fine to split. Finally Sunday morning, I went to mass at the private Royal Chapel to see the Viennese Boys Choir perform. They perform every Sunday at the "Catholic Light" mass. It is incredible, but buy tickets early if you want to see them in Vienna (if you ever go) because the Chapel is REALLY SMALL, and tickets go quickly, but the music is wonderful, and you can take pictures with the little boys in the courtyard afterwards.
Vienna is a wonderful destination. I would highly recommend it to anyone. There is so much to do, and (for the most part) it is reasonably cheap. I can tell if a city is cheap based on how much I pay to use a W.C. In Vienna, if you had to pay, it was only 50 cents. Quite a respectable sum for the privilege of relieving yourself.
I have attached a couple of pictures from Jule's and my night at the ballet.
Those Webster dance classes paid off!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Vienna, Austria
I made it to Vienna today and am having a great time. The city is so clean and beautiful. It reminds me a bit of a modern-day fairy tale. The hostel I am staying in is very near the train station that I came into, so it was a nice easy walk from the train station to my hostel.
The only complaint I have so far with the city is that the tourist map you are given by the Info Center requires the vision of a young Clark Kent to read. The city is quite large, and has a lot of small streets, but there could be some way of them having larger maps of each district or something. When I was walking around today, I had to strain my eyes and my navigation skills to read the 1:50 scale map. I think the biggest problem with the map is not the size of the streets listed on it, but all of the street names are really long German words, so everything on the map is abbreviated or too small to read. I am sure I will learn to deal with it.
Got in contact with my Webster friends studying here, so I think I am going to try to meet up with them tomorrow and figure out where in the world the campus is.
A word of advice, make certain in Budapest that you: a) have a valid ticket for the metro, and b) if you are going to have to change metro trains, buy a transfer ticket. I bought a three day metro pass while I was in Budapest so I could ride as much as I needed to and not worry about the transfer pass. I thought that the three day pass was actually a 72 hour pass. I was wrong. Also, when you are getting on the train they are pretty lax about checking your ticket. There are no turnstiles or gates to go through, you just hold out your ticket and the guy smiles and waves you past. Well, today when I was headed to the train station from my hostel, I had to take the metro. I had out my ticket, showed it to the guy at the station near the hostel, and was on my way to Keleti Station. But, and that’s a big but (figuratively not literally, well maybe the woman at the metro station did have a big butt, but I wasn't going to point that out) when I got off the metro and was walking to the exit, there was a group of metro officials checking the tickets of people exiting, the first I had seen this. Well I pulled out my ticket, showed it to the lady and was nearly through, until she looked at the date on my ticket, the very small fine print date. Apparently, what I thought was a valid ticket, was not, so her supervisor approached and demanded I pay the 6000 forint fine. Well I certainly didn't have that much money on me since I certainly didn't need forints in Vienna. He walked with me all the way to the ATM at the train station so I could withdraw the cash to cover the fine. Let me remind you 3000 forints is a nice sized meal for me, so because I was without a valid ticket I had to sacrifice two days of good food. Guess it will be another day of stale bread smeared in Nutella. The guy was nice, but it was just his job to enforce the rules, so I knew arguing to him would make no difference. So heed my warning... take a tram instead of the metro in Budapest, no people monitoring the validity of tickets on the trams. It might be slower, but if you are discreet, it is free.
The only complaint I have so far with the city is that the tourist map you are given by the Info Center requires the vision of a young Clark Kent to read. The city is quite large, and has a lot of small streets, but there could be some way of them having larger maps of each district or something. When I was walking around today, I had to strain my eyes and my navigation skills to read the 1:50 scale map. I think the biggest problem with the map is not the size of the streets listed on it, but all of the street names are really long German words, so everything on the map is abbreviated or too small to read. I am sure I will learn to deal with it.
Got in contact with my Webster friends studying here, so I think I am going to try to meet up with them tomorrow and figure out where in the world the campus is.
A word of advice, make certain in Budapest that you: a) have a valid ticket for the metro, and b) if you are going to have to change metro trains, buy a transfer ticket. I bought a three day metro pass while I was in Budapest so I could ride as much as I needed to and not worry about the transfer pass. I thought that the three day pass was actually a 72 hour pass. I was wrong. Also, when you are getting on the train they are pretty lax about checking your ticket. There are no turnstiles or gates to go through, you just hold out your ticket and the guy smiles and waves you past. Well, today when I was headed to the train station from my hostel, I had to take the metro. I had out my ticket, showed it to the guy at the station near the hostel, and was on my way to Keleti Station. But, and that’s a big but (figuratively not literally, well maybe the woman at the metro station did have a big butt, but I wasn't going to point that out) when I got off the metro and was walking to the exit, there was a group of metro officials checking the tickets of people exiting, the first I had seen this. Well I pulled out my ticket, showed it to the lady and was nearly through, until she looked at the date on my ticket, the very small fine print date. Apparently, what I thought was a valid ticket, was not, so her supervisor approached and demanded I pay the 6000 forint fine. Well I certainly didn't have that much money on me since I certainly didn't need forints in Vienna. He walked with me all the way to the ATM at the train station so I could withdraw the cash to cover the fine. Let me remind you 3000 forints is a nice sized meal for me, so because I was without a valid ticket I had to sacrifice two days of good food. Guess it will be another day of stale bread smeared in Nutella. The guy was nice, but it was just his job to enforce the rules, so I knew arguing to him would make no difference. So heed my warning... take a tram instead of the metro in Budapest, no people monitoring the validity of tickets on the trams. It might be slower, but if you are discreet, it is free.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Sunday in Budapest with Mark
BUDAPEST IS INCREDIBLE! This is probably the first city I have been to on my trip where I feel I could spend all 5 months. (But that would be silly to do, seeing is how I will probably feel the same way about some of the other cities I go to, and why miss them because I like this one so much).
I had a bit of a rough night. I went out for a bit after I got here, just to do a bit of walking in the city at night and stretch my legs. I also hoped that doing a bit of walking would help me sleep better that night. Well I think I ate something before going to bed that just didn't totally agree with my system. I don't think I ate anything bad, but maybe had a little too much sugar, seeing as how I ate three pieces of what I can only describe as the Hungarian equivalent to Boston Cream Pie. But I woke up in the middle of the night nauseated and just plain uncomfortable (I don't think the incredibly fragrant fabric softener that the hostel uses helped either. So I slept in a little late, but felt fine when I finally decided to roll off my bed.
Once I was up and moving around I decided to do a little walking tour of Budapest. Wow, the architecture here is amazing. Every single building is ornamented with dazzling carvings, egg and dart molding, and massive sweeping curves. It is known to many as the "Paris of Eastern Europe." If Paris is the "City of Lights," Budapest is the city of "Copper and Gold." Many of the buildings have beautiful Art Nouveau mosaics gilded in gold leaf, and the majority of domes and sculptures have been cast out of copper. It made me think, "When did we lose this architectural attention to detail and love of opulence?" I assume it was when contractors started charging so much to hang drywall. It did remind me of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The older parts of the Temple in Barcelona are expertly carved and ornately decorated, while the newer parts are much more plain and linear. The bike tour guide made a joke about how the original craftsmen had much more sophisticated tools, but went on to say it was a sacrifice to the almighty dollar. Cheaper to build minimal and fast than complex and slow, I guess. That seems like a cop out to me. Maybe this could solve the employment problem in the US. Start building these huge, complicated structures that take armies of men to complete and everyone that wants a job, and a good workout, will have the opportunity. Oh wait, us white folk are too good for that; we would just get a couple of Illegal Mexican Aliens to do all the manual labor... LOL.
I walked all around the city, in both Buda and Pest. (They were originally two cities separated by the Danube River, but merged in 1872. Actually it was three cities, but no one ever talks about Old Buda). I think I have developed a talent for getting to cities during their annual marathon, because, like Zagreb, today was Budapest's Marathon, so I was forced to navigate around the runners. I made it to The Hero's square in the City Park, the Royal Palace with its lovely views of Budapest, the National Opera, and The Citadell (the largest hill in Buda right on the Danube overlooking the entire city), plus all of the sights in between. The Citadell and the Heroes Square are at opposite ends of the map I have, so it was cool to do those because now when put pins in the map indicating places I have been the map will actually stay up on the wall. Because it was Sunday there wasn't a whole lot of "stuff" to do, and what there was didn't stay open very long, so it was the perfect day to walk a bit.
One of the most popular things to do in Budapest is go to one of its many Thermal Bathhouses. The entire city was built on a natural hot spring, so several large (and when I say large, the one I walked around in the City Park today took me 15 minutes to get all the way around) bathhouses have been constructed. They are some of the most beautiful buildings in all of Budapest, and still remain extremely popular with the locals. Maybe I will do one tomorrow, once I get tired enough to need a good relaxing dip in a hot spring.
Lots of tours available here, and things happening all the time, so I think I am going to really enjoy me time here.
I had a bit of a rough night. I went out for a bit after I got here, just to do a bit of walking in the city at night and stretch my legs. I also hoped that doing a bit of walking would help me sleep better that night. Well I think I ate something before going to bed that just didn't totally agree with my system. I don't think I ate anything bad, but maybe had a little too much sugar, seeing as how I ate three pieces of what I can only describe as the Hungarian equivalent to Boston Cream Pie. But I woke up in the middle of the night nauseated and just plain uncomfortable (I don't think the incredibly fragrant fabric softener that the hostel uses helped either. So I slept in a little late, but felt fine when I finally decided to roll off my bed.
Once I was up and moving around I decided to do a little walking tour of Budapest. Wow, the architecture here is amazing. Every single building is ornamented with dazzling carvings, egg and dart molding, and massive sweeping curves. It is known to many as the "Paris of Eastern Europe." If Paris is the "City of Lights," Budapest is the city of "Copper and Gold." Many of the buildings have beautiful Art Nouveau mosaics gilded in gold leaf, and the majority of domes and sculptures have been cast out of copper. It made me think, "When did we lose this architectural attention to detail and love of opulence?" I assume it was when contractors started charging so much to hang drywall. It did remind me of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The older parts of the Temple in Barcelona are expertly carved and ornately decorated, while the newer parts are much more plain and linear. The bike tour guide made a joke about how the original craftsmen had much more sophisticated tools, but went on to say it was a sacrifice to the almighty dollar. Cheaper to build minimal and fast than complex and slow, I guess. That seems like a cop out to me. Maybe this could solve the employment problem in the US. Start building these huge, complicated structures that take armies of men to complete and everyone that wants a job, and a good workout, will have the opportunity. Oh wait, us white folk are too good for that; we would just get a couple of Illegal Mexican Aliens to do all the manual labor... LOL.
I walked all around the city, in both Buda and Pest. (They were originally two cities separated by the Danube River, but merged in 1872. Actually it was three cities, but no one ever talks about Old Buda). I think I have developed a talent for getting to cities during their annual marathon, because, like Zagreb, today was Budapest's Marathon, so I was forced to navigate around the runners. I made it to The Hero's square in the City Park, the Royal Palace with its lovely views of Budapest, the National Opera, and The Citadell (the largest hill in Buda right on the Danube overlooking the entire city), plus all of the sights in between. The Citadell and the Heroes Square are at opposite ends of the map I have, so it was cool to do those because now when put pins in the map indicating places I have been the map will actually stay up on the wall. Because it was Sunday there wasn't a whole lot of "stuff" to do, and what there was didn't stay open very long, so it was the perfect day to walk a bit.
One of the most popular things to do in Budapest is go to one of its many Thermal Bathhouses. The entire city was built on a natural hot spring, so several large (and when I say large, the one I walked around in the City Park today took me 15 minutes to get all the way around) bathhouses have been constructed. They are some of the most beautiful buildings in all of Budapest, and still remain extremely popular with the locals. Maybe I will do one tomorrow, once I get tired enough to need a good relaxing dip in a hot spring.
Lots of tours available here, and things happening all the time, so I think I am going to really enjoy me time here.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Budapest at the Goat Hostel
I have made it to Budapest, after a 14 hour day of travel. I started early in the morning, rising at the ungodly hour of 6 am in order to catch the 7:30 train to Zagreb, and then hitch a ride aboard the 3:45 train to Budapest.
I have taken notice of the fact that Europeans are big fans of sidewalks paved in polished marble. The walkways are beautiful and glisten in the sunlight, and because of their expensive look, appear clean and inviting. Inviting unless you are me. I am what you might call obsessed with flip-flops or thongs (if you feel so inclined). I have an unrivaled affinity for the comfortable and breezy shoe. I have worn them most of my trip. Hiking through Cinque Terra (receiving less than pleased looks from the older, more mature tourists, as they strolled in their expensive hiking boots) I learned that a pair of flip flops encourages you to get more in touch with the world around you. You step light when you need to, run at a moments notice, and can kick them off in a flash to splash around in the water. You might have tired feet at the end of the day, but your paws remain free of blisters and other unthinkable foot ailments. But I digress, back to the marble sidewalks. When a polished to perfection marble sidewalk gets due to rain or hose (lots of washing is required to keep them looking so pristine) they suddenly become EXTREMELY slick, especially to people such as my self that parade around in 6 dollar flip-flops from Walgreen's. Now imagine me, of course in my thongs, carrying the 50 lbs for luggage I have, hiking to a train station at 6 am. Now I will admit I am not a morning person, but it was less hiking more ice skating. There were about two dozen instances that I nearly took a devastating plunge. This all before I got to the main Riva (street of solid marble) that I had to walk down in order to get to the train station. Let’s just say I looked like the uncomfortable person at the roller rink holding on to the railing for dear life. Luckily it was 6 am in Croatia, so the only person that saw me in this compromised state was a guy picking bottles out of the trash left on the street by pubs, so who was he to judge me.
Needless to say, I made it to the station safe and sound, I just give you the warning to bring a pair of ice skates with you when traveling to Europe. You never know when they might come in handy (for marble sidewalks, after dark romps on a wintry night in Vienna, or warding off thieves with their sharp blades).
So far I am really enjoying Budapest, although it will take me some time to accept the fact that a soda costs 500 forents. When taking 10,000 forents out of the ATM, I asked myself "Now you don't really know the exchange rate, this could be a devastating sum." Well my hostel costs 10,800 Ft (forents) or 43 euros for four nights. Hungarians aren't doing so well with the whole exchange rate thing, but good for me. It is a cute hostel call "Goat Hostel" in a charming old building about 2 blocks from the Danube. They only warning they gave me was to stay quiet in the halls at night, so as not to disturb the little old lady who lives on the first floor. Adorable!
Tomorrow I start taking in some of the major sights and hopefully have a bit dryer weather.
I have taken notice of the fact that Europeans are big fans of sidewalks paved in polished marble. The walkways are beautiful and glisten in the sunlight, and because of their expensive look, appear clean and inviting. Inviting unless you are me. I am what you might call obsessed with flip-flops or thongs (if you feel so inclined). I have an unrivaled affinity for the comfortable and breezy shoe. I have worn them most of my trip. Hiking through Cinque Terra (receiving less than pleased looks from the older, more mature tourists, as they strolled in their expensive hiking boots) I learned that a pair of flip flops encourages you to get more in touch with the world around you. You step light when you need to, run at a moments notice, and can kick them off in a flash to splash around in the water. You might have tired feet at the end of the day, but your paws remain free of blisters and other unthinkable foot ailments. But I digress, back to the marble sidewalks. When a polished to perfection marble sidewalk gets due to rain or hose (lots of washing is required to keep them looking so pristine) they suddenly become EXTREMELY slick, especially to people such as my self that parade around in 6 dollar flip-flops from Walgreen's. Now imagine me, of course in my thongs, carrying the 50 lbs for luggage I have, hiking to a train station at 6 am. Now I will admit I am not a morning person, but it was less hiking more ice skating. There were about two dozen instances that I nearly took a devastating plunge. This all before I got to the main Riva (street of solid marble) that I had to walk down in order to get to the train station. Let’s just say I looked like the uncomfortable person at the roller rink holding on to the railing for dear life. Luckily it was 6 am in Croatia, so the only person that saw me in this compromised state was a guy picking bottles out of the trash left on the street by pubs, so who was he to judge me.
Needless to say, I made it to the station safe and sound, I just give you the warning to bring a pair of ice skates with you when traveling to Europe. You never know when they might come in handy (for marble sidewalks, after dark romps on a wintry night in Vienna, or warding off thieves with their sharp blades).
So far I am really enjoying Budapest, although it will take me some time to accept the fact that a soda costs 500 forents. When taking 10,000 forents out of the ATM, I asked myself "Now you don't really know the exchange rate, this could be a devastating sum." Well my hostel costs 10,800 Ft (forents) or 43 euros for four nights. Hungarians aren't doing so well with the whole exchange rate thing, but good for me. It is a cute hostel call "Goat Hostel" in a charming old building about 2 blocks from the Danube. They only warning they gave me was to stay quiet in the halls at night, so as not to disturb the little old lady who lives on the first floor. Adorable!
Tomorrow I start taking in some of the major sights and hopefully have a bit dryer weather.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Last day in Split, Croatia
Today was a great last day in Croatia. I started it with a nice, healthy breakfast featuring several items that I bought at the market yesterday. A good breakfast is a must when traveling. Too many times I have opted out of searching for breakfast, and too many times my body has said, "What the hell do you think your doing. You might think you're going up that hill, but I am staying right here." So it was nice to have some granola, toast, and juice.
After breakfast I went on a 20km walk to the edge of Split and back. It was a stunning walk down the coastline to the Hotel Zagreb. On the map given to me by the hostel, this route was indicated by a red dotted line. I search for a while to find a key on the map to tell me what this dotted red line meant. For instance, could it have signified "don't go to this area unless you want to get shot" or "this is a bus route" or even "blasting zone for future high rise casino hotel." Well it did not appear that there was a legend on the map, so I hoped for the best and decided to make the walk. Most of the areas were public swimming zones with small rocky beaches. One area was a small marina with a lot of, what I considered, not-so-seaworthy boats, and the last stretch was a quite rocky grassland butting right up to the Adriatic. At one point in the walk I put my foot in the water, just so I could say I had been in the Adriatic Sea. I was careful not toslip all the way in like I did in Cinque Terra. It went so far as to set my bag down before attempting it so I wouldn't put my camera in jeopardy. (It really didn't appreciate the cold saltwater the first time).
While I was on the walk, I sat for a bit on a bench right on the water's edge in a quiet and seemingly deserted part. Since the weather wasn't so beautiful in the morning, most areas of the shore were pretty sparse as people were concerned…pigeons were a different story. I sat there for a while just taking in the sights and the sounds of the Croatian Coastline. I tried not to think about too much, although that was a difficult one, and just enjoy. When I started walking after the break, though, I noticed that as I walked, I always looked down at my feet, seeing exactly what each patch of ground looked like before I put my foot there. I noticed myself doing this for a while, just staring at the ground, occasionally looking up to see the sights. After about 10 minutes of just watching myself do this, I decided to look up, focus my attention not on the ground right in front of me, but enjoy the landscape all around me. I made a conscious effort not to look down, only notice the path ahead in my peripheral vision, and take heed of times when I might need to walk around a pile of dog poop. I began to notice how much more enjoyable and easier the walk was when I wasn't focusing on the immediate obstacles in my path. Sure the path was a bit rocky, but I could trust my feet to go, "Oh hey, that doesn't feel right, maybe you shouldn't put all of your weight down and try again with that step."I tried walking with my head up, aware of my posture and focus for the rest of the day. I would at times catch myself looking at my feet even on a beautifully smooth sidewalk, but I would just grow aware of my focus and change it.
I think I must have lived my life in such a state for quite some time. Only focused on the obstacles right in front of me, not enjoying the whole picture of life. And living in such a way I got very bogged down, because that pebble would turn into a rock which turned into a mound which turned into a hill which all of the sudden with no warning became a mountain. A mountain I was totally unprepared for. If I had just taken the time to change my focus, I would have seen Everest coming and been able to prepare myself for it. But alas, I just kept going, looking at my feet. The strange thing to me, though, was just changing where I looked quickly changed my mood. I went from being tired and doing the walk for the sake of doing thewalk, to energetic and wanting to walk more. All I had to do was look up.
Well I finished the afternoon by doing some research on Budapest, and getting some tips from fellow travelers on where to go and what to see. I have started keeping track of these things in the journal my friend, Jessica, gave to me. I noticed if I didn't write all of these suggestions down, I would quickly forget them. People are already giving me ideas about things to do in Australia and New Zealand, so I decided to have a pen and paper handy in order to keep track of the advice, good or bad. I think as I go along, I will create some sort of ratings scale in my book to denote the good advice from the bad. That way I will know what not to tell other travelers.
I ended the day with a couple of drinks with some friends in Split at a couple of pubs. It was a lot of fun, meeting new people and getting a little drunk, but I headed home early since I have a 7:30 train in the morning. Cheers.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Arrived in Split, Croatia
Well I made it to Split safe and sound, on a train that I am pretty sure never exceeded 40 miles per hour. But it was a strange train ride because the train conductor, a woman in this case, that punches the hole in your ticket also served as the stewardess. She walked up and down the aisle the entire 6 hour train ride serving coffee, soda, and small sandwiches. I bought a sandwich and a Coke, at first I thought she said "50 Kuna" for the lot, and I thought "that seems a little steep for a Coke and two pieces of white bread with ham in the middle," but I was hungry. I gave her a 100kuna note and expected a quick 50kuna note back in change, but she didn't seem to have one available. After serving the other passengers, she returned with my change, and to my surprise and relief she had actually said "15 kuna."
Split seems like a lovely place although I haven't seen much since it was dark when I arrived. The hostel I am in, Silver Center Hostel, is great. A bunch of people were watching "The 40 year old Virgin" when I arrived, so I joined in the fun. A bit of advice for anyone traveling to Split. Make accommodation reservations before you arrive in Split. I did so because the same suggestion was given to me. I say this only because as soon as you step off the train a gaggle of elderly women stand awaiting the soul without a room. They all screech at you about their available rooms, but they tend to be overpriced and under accommodating.
On a totally different note, I just heard today from Kate, the girl I first met in the Madrid airport. She sent me some pictures from our time together in Madrid.
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Kate and me at the Royal Palace
Me at the Plaza Mayor (for some reason my strong man face is the same as my pirate face)
Me & Colin walking to dinner in Madrid
Dinner in Madrid
Split seems like a lovely place although I haven't seen much since it was dark when I arrived. The hostel I am in, Silver Center Hostel, is great. A bunch of people were watching "The 40 year old Virgin" when I arrived, so I joined in the fun. A bit of advice for anyone traveling to Split. Make accommodation reservations before you arrive in Split. I did so because the same suggestion was given to me. I say this only because as soon as you step off the train a gaggle of elderly women stand awaiting the soul without a room. They all screech at you about their available rooms, but they tend to be overpriced and under accommodating.
On a totally different note, I just heard today from Kate, the girl I first met in the Madrid airport. She sent me some pictures from our time together in Madrid.
Kate and me at the Royal Palace
Me at the Plaza Mayor (for some reason my strong man face is the same as my pirate face)
Me & Colin walking to dinner in Madrid
Dinner in Madrid
1:30 am in Croatia and the Rants begin
I shipped home some things today. I found a place that used FedEx, so I thought that would be a little more reliable than Croatian Post, since the people in the international sector of Croatian Post always seem to be on a break, or "at the other location." Although I think the girls at the FedEx place would have preferred I go to the post office instead of giving them the headache.
I now, however, look at customs in a whole new light. I had to do a piece by piece breakdown of the contents of my box, as well as the cost of the things I was shipping. Um... this is a bit tricky when one is shipping things home that one brought with them. Since I bought them in the US, do I have to pay customs on them because I am shipping them home? It is not as though I am shipping home tens of thousands of dollars in hard Croatian cocaine and don't they have dogs that sniff for that stuff. Well at first the girl didn't understand what I was saying about shippinghome things I did not buy abroad. One she understood what I was doing, she was just as confused about what to do as I was, but we did our best. The funny thing, though, was that when doing the itemized breakdown, the girl asked "Where was it manufactured?" This is the question that makes me now question the validity of International Customs. If I buy something in Spain that was manufactured in China with materials produced by an Italian company, and then try to ship it to the US, why do I have to even think about customs? This stupid "I (heart) Madrid" t-shirt has been more places in the world than I have, and yet the government still feels the need to know that it is coming into the U.S.A. Why? Just because I didn't "buy" it in the U.S.? As Ralphie from "Lord of the Flies" would say, "Sucks to your Customs Agency!" But this trip to CityExpress in Zagreb did produce one of my favorite quotes from my time in Zagreb. The girl told me that my package would arrive in Texas in two days. This shocked me, because I thought the package would take weeks to get home. You know, sit in some bin in Paris for a while, take a long flight to Nepal, get carried to Hong Kong by a Sherpa... etc. So when I looked at the girl in amazement and said, "wow... two days", she simply replied in her thick Croatian accent (imagine Russian mixed with Southern France) "YA, dis is FedEx!" I laughed for a while at that one, I guess you had to be there, but the thought of this Croatian woman being so proud of her FedEx (Federal Express, an American Institution) just gave me the giggles.
I have really enjoyed my time in Zagreb. Apparently so did a few other travelers staying at my hostile, since they would say every morning, "I am leaving today, I swear" then go down to the bar across the street, throw back a few pints (or a few dozen over the course of the day) and then say "I stay one more night, I am too drunk to travel today. I'll be at the bar if you need me." One specific gentleman did this three days in a row. Today when I left, he was sitting in the common room of the hostel, drinking a beer, looking up times for trains to Zurich. I think he will be there one more night, at least.
I met this really nice bartender my second night in town, named Zeljko (or, Jauuuelko, or Jac as I called him since I could never get Zeljko right). He has lived in Zagreb his whole life, formerly a dancer with a company in Croatia, fought in the military during the war with Serbia, and was just a general all around nice guy. He showed me around the city for two days before work, giving me a little tour of the well known and then "not so known" parts of Zagreb.
The most interesting thing for me when talking to him was his opinion of the US. Croatia is a very young and small country filled with history. But because of its size and youth, people don't pay it much attention. Recently, due to the fact that Croatia was joining the United Nations, President Bush made a two day trip to Zagreb. It was quite a big deal for the people of Zagreb, dealing with Secret Service, FBI, and our lovely first family. Zeljko was impressed, but more appalled. He said, "This is the most powerful man in the world, coming to visit our little country, a country that we have worked very hard and sacrificed many lives to get. Yet this one man, with so much power, makes us change our ways and close shops and stay off the streets for a two day visit. Does he not realize that with his job comes the risk of death? You have replaced presidents before, no? So why does he send so many men to risk their lives in another country, but be so fearful that he must risk his own. If he is killed in office, he died serving his country and the world, on honorable way to die. Why does he then not have the courage to step outside without a massive team of armed men around him?"I thought this was a very interesting point he made. Why does the president need so much security? It is paid for by our tax dollars, not his own money, and we elected him to serve our nation, not hide behind secret service. I understand a need for security, he is a well known and sometimes hated figure, but would it not make our president a much cooler guy if he just sucked it up and risked his own life the way he does our brothers and sisters. Plus, if the president didn't have the entourage of security details, he would probably be a lot more careful about the political choices that he makes, thinking "If I do this, is this something that will get me killed?" I think yes. Zeljko also said to me that for many years he was afraid of Americans based on what he referred to as the US's "Politics of Terrorism." Starting wars, making wars worse (he used Vietnam as an example), and terrorizing the rest of the world like a bully. This came out of his mouth after he fought next to our soldiers in the Serbian War.
His fear of America upset me. I don't think I am a scary person, heck I don't think most Americans are scary people, but because of the way that our government deals in political affairs, not just during the Bush Administration, people around the world have learned to FEAR us. Fear begets hate, hate begets war. It reminded me of when dad told me about the Russian guy that came to visit you when you had the two Russian women staying with you. He said he hated Americans, but now that he has met Americans he does not think we are so bad. Is this how we are viewed in most of the world? Probably, maybe not the larger countries like the UK, but the French certainly don't like us, I am sure most Middle Eastern countries don't like us, and I would bet money most African Countries don't like us. I did not like the idea of being feared. I try to live my life in a way that results in the exact opposite, making people enjoy me. I did not realize until I got the Europe how important US. domestic politics was to the rest of the world.
The dispute about votes during the Bush v. Gore election made the world cringe. Billions of people around the world, non Americans, watched the news on pins and needles because no one knew who the next most powerful man in the world would be. It put a sour taste in many people’s mouths. I thought the electoral college situation was something that only Americans fretted over, but many of the people I have met ask me how it works and what is its purpose. I have gotten pretty good at explaining how it works (generally a number of differently sized beer mugs are involved), but the purpose is something that I am not very good at explaining. People around the world think that our votes do not count, that these "electoral college votes" are something that can be bought by a candidate. Sorry to get so political on you. It just hit me hard when I was told "I used to fear your people" I didn't like the way it made me feel. It was not "I used to fear your government" but "your people." Please remember this when voting in future elections. You are electing someone to represent you in U.S. politics, someone to fight for the things you want. But you are also electing the most powerful man in the world, someone who will represent the way you are viewed by people around the world. Having a bad president could prevent someone like me traveling the way I am because the fear people see in Americans, quickly turns to hate. Sarah Palin is on the cover of many newspapers over here. This is an important election to EVERYONE! Please don't let your choice be determined simply by the party for which someone runs.
OK... you have put up with my political rants long enough, I promise that I will keep such posts to a minimum, you want to read about the funny things that happen to me. So I leave you with this: Two priests and a Croatian walk into a bar, no no no, I jest.
When in Croatia make regular stops at the main square in the center of town (ten minutes walk north of the train station), you never know what you will find there. One day there was a big concert, the next time people were getting free heart examinations, but today it was "Croatia got Talent." There was one act after another of old Croatian people showing off their "talent." One group of four did a dance routine with canes to traditional Croatian music. I have never seen my mother perform live in one of the tap recitals, but I hope it is something like what I saw those four people do. It was totally uncoordinated and at one point I think all of them just stopped what they were doing, conversed, and waited for the melody to start again and get to choreography that they actually knew.
Peace and Love, Mark
I now, however, look at customs in a whole new light. I had to do a piece by piece breakdown of the contents of my box, as well as the cost of the things I was shipping. Um... this is a bit tricky when one is shipping things home that one brought with them. Since I bought them in the US, do I have to pay customs on them because I am shipping them home? It is not as though I am shipping home tens of thousands of dollars in hard Croatian cocaine and don't they have dogs that sniff for that stuff. Well at first the girl didn't understand what I was saying about shippinghome things I did not buy abroad. One she understood what I was doing, she was just as confused about what to do as I was, but we did our best. The funny thing, though, was that when doing the itemized breakdown, the girl asked "Where was it manufactured?" This is the question that makes me now question the validity of International Customs. If I buy something in Spain that was manufactured in China with materials produced by an Italian company, and then try to ship it to the US, why do I have to even think about customs? This stupid "I (heart) Madrid" t-shirt has been more places in the world than I have, and yet the government still feels the need to know that it is coming into the U.S.A. Why? Just because I didn't "buy" it in the U.S.? As Ralphie from "Lord of the Flies" would say, "Sucks to your Customs Agency!" But this trip to CityExpress in Zagreb did produce one of my favorite quotes from my time in Zagreb. The girl told me that my package would arrive in Texas in two days. This shocked me, because I thought the package would take weeks to get home. You know, sit in some bin in Paris for a while, take a long flight to Nepal, get carried to Hong Kong by a Sherpa... etc. So when I looked at the girl in amazement and said, "wow... two days", she simply replied in her thick Croatian accent (imagine Russian mixed with Southern France) "YA, dis is FedEx!" I laughed for a while at that one, I guess you had to be there, but the thought of this Croatian woman being so proud of her FedEx (Federal Express, an American Institution) just gave me the giggles.
I have really enjoyed my time in Zagreb. Apparently so did a few other travelers staying at my hostile, since they would say every morning, "I am leaving today, I swear" then go down to the bar across the street, throw back a few pints (or a few dozen over the course of the day) and then say "I stay one more night, I am too drunk to travel today. I'll be at the bar if you need me." One specific gentleman did this three days in a row. Today when I left, he was sitting in the common room of the hostel, drinking a beer, looking up times for trains to Zurich. I think he will be there one more night, at least.
I met this really nice bartender my second night in town, named Zeljko (or, Jauuuelko, or Jac as I called him since I could never get Zeljko right). He has lived in Zagreb his whole life, formerly a dancer with a company in Croatia, fought in the military during the war with Serbia, and was just a general all around nice guy. He showed me around the city for two days before work, giving me a little tour of the well known and then "not so known" parts of Zagreb.
The most interesting thing for me when talking to him was his opinion of the US. Croatia is a very young and small country filled with history. But because of its size and youth, people don't pay it much attention. Recently, due to the fact that Croatia was joining the United Nations, President Bush made a two day trip to Zagreb. It was quite a big deal for the people of Zagreb, dealing with Secret Service, FBI, and our lovely first family. Zeljko was impressed, but more appalled. He said, "This is the most powerful man in the world, coming to visit our little country, a country that we have worked very hard and sacrificed many lives to get. Yet this one man, with so much power, makes us change our ways and close shops and stay off the streets for a two day visit. Does he not realize that with his job comes the risk of death? You have replaced presidents before, no? So why does he send so many men to risk their lives in another country, but be so fearful that he must risk his own. If he is killed in office, he died serving his country and the world, on honorable way to die. Why does he then not have the courage to step outside without a massive team of armed men around him?"I thought this was a very interesting point he made. Why does the president need so much security? It is paid for by our tax dollars, not his own money, and we elected him to serve our nation, not hide behind secret service. I understand a need for security, he is a well known and sometimes hated figure, but would it not make our president a much cooler guy if he just sucked it up and risked his own life the way he does our brothers and sisters. Plus, if the president didn't have the entourage of security details, he would probably be a lot more careful about the political choices that he makes, thinking "If I do this, is this something that will get me killed?" I think yes. Zeljko also said to me that for many years he was afraid of Americans based on what he referred to as the US's "Politics of Terrorism." Starting wars, making wars worse (he used Vietnam as an example), and terrorizing the rest of the world like a bully. This came out of his mouth after he fought next to our soldiers in the Serbian War.
His fear of America upset me. I don't think I am a scary person, heck I don't think most Americans are scary people, but because of the way that our government deals in political affairs, not just during the Bush Administration, people around the world have learned to FEAR us. Fear begets hate, hate begets war. It reminded me of when dad told me about the Russian guy that came to visit you when you had the two Russian women staying with you. He said he hated Americans, but now that he has met Americans he does not think we are so bad. Is this how we are viewed in most of the world? Probably, maybe not the larger countries like the UK, but the French certainly don't like us, I am sure most Middle Eastern countries don't like us, and I would bet money most African Countries don't like us. I did not like the idea of being feared. I try to live my life in a way that results in the exact opposite, making people enjoy me. I did not realize until I got the Europe how important US. domestic politics was to the rest of the world.
The dispute about votes during the Bush v. Gore election made the world cringe. Billions of people around the world, non Americans, watched the news on pins and needles because no one knew who the next most powerful man in the world would be. It put a sour taste in many people’s mouths. I thought the electoral college situation was something that only Americans fretted over, but many of the people I have met ask me how it works and what is its purpose. I have gotten pretty good at explaining how it works (generally a number of differently sized beer mugs are involved), but the purpose is something that I am not very good at explaining. People around the world think that our votes do not count, that these "electoral college votes" are something that can be bought by a candidate. Sorry to get so political on you. It just hit me hard when I was told "I used to fear your people" I didn't like the way it made me feel. It was not "I used to fear your government" but "your people." Please remember this when voting in future elections. You are electing someone to represent you in U.S. politics, someone to fight for the things you want. But you are also electing the most powerful man in the world, someone who will represent the way you are viewed by people around the world. Having a bad president could prevent someone like me traveling the way I am because the fear people see in Americans, quickly turns to hate. Sarah Palin is on the cover of many newspapers over here. This is an important election to EVERYONE! Please don't let your choice be determined simply by the party for which someone runs.
OK... you have put up with my political rants long enough, I promise that I will keep such posts to a minimum, you want to read about the funny things that happen to me. So I leave you with this: Two priests and a Croatian walk into a bar, no no no, I jest.
When in Croatia make regular stops at the main square in the center of town (ten minutes walk north of the train station), you never know what you will find there. One day there was a big concert, the next time people were getting free heart examinations, but today it was "Croatia got Talent." There was one act after another of old Croatian people showing off their "talent." One group of four did a dance routine with canes to traditional Croatian music. I have never seen my mother perform live in one of the tap recitals, but I hope it is something like what I saw those four people do. It was totally uncoordinated and at one point I think all of them just stopped what they were doing, conversed, and waited for the melody to start again and get to choreography that they actually knew.
Peace and Love, Mark
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