The past two days have been pretty great in terms of exploration. I really like Krakow. Our hostel here has been pleasant with AMAZING breakfasts provided by the employees. Really, I can't believe how little we have to pay to stay here and get this fantastic stuff. For example, this morning we had homemade crepes covered in fresh fruit, fresh bread with meat, cheese, and butter, coffee, cereal, etc. Oh, well, the beds themselves might be lacking somewhat . . .my pillow is so flat that I boosted it up with my dirty clothes (in plastic bag) last night, and my blankets seem to not completely cover me, but minor details really.
Um, Monday, the four of us took a mini bus out to the Salt Mines which have been in operation for hundreds of years. We went under ground about 120 meters and saw these amazing figures of miners, saints, and yes, gnomes under the ground. It was pretty great to say the least.
In the evening we went to the Krakow town square where there are old Gothic churches, a huge wide open space with a statue perfect for people watching, dozens of restaurants, and a great market place with tons of little stalls filled with things to buy . . .which of course I did buy some;) I absolutely loved it.
Today, Suzanne and I, after a very hastled running around, found our way to a bus that could take us to Auschwitz-Birchenau. We had to hurry through it so we could make it back in time to see a few things in Krakow still, as we are leaving town early tomorrow morning. The most chilling parts of it for me was an exhibit an entire room length (picture classroom size) that had human hair in it left over from the ovens. S and I also walked through a barrack left over from the actual camp. The reality of the suffering is so much more real when you can see the actual places. Very affecting for me.
We rushed to the bus to try to get back to Krakow in time to see a few churches and things before they closed for the day, but apparently the bus has to wait 30 minutes to allow for the slow people. Ironically, S hd been anxiously watching for the bus to arrive while I hurridly purchased a few postcards. It pulled up as I dropped my 8 zlotels on the counter and rushed out . . .only to chase after it with hands full as the bus pulled away again almost immediately. S and I screamed for it to wait, and then realized it was just trying to turn around. We sat for 30 sweating minutes on that bus observing others meander over without any concern they would miss their ride. Then we ran 1/4 of a mile to the next mini bus that would take us back to Krakow. (It's a 1 1/2 hour ride). We sat on that bus waiting for others for at least 10 minutes, arrived back too late to make it to St. Mary's Basilica to take pictures, although we were allowed to pray. Obviously, you won't be seeing pictures of that.
Then we made up for our disappointment by getting dinner from a Kebob stand . . .very popular here, very tasty, and quite cheap. What more could a poor traveler want? The seller of the food was so friendly. We wanted water, which you can't get on tap here (and thus not for free), and he asked us if we wanted "gas or no gas." Unsure of the correct answer, we blinked at him. Finally, we realized he meant soda water, and thus ordered "no gas." As we ate our meal in the square again, we enjoyed a group of about 8 Polish guys who did some break dancing to some American music (a lil Christina Aguilera in the mix) for the pleasure of the crowd. It was pretty fun to watch.
Presently I'm doing my laundry and getting ready for bed. Such a blast. Now what shall I do for pillow support tonight as my dirty clothes bag is now as flat as my pillow itself?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Took a Midnight Train . . .to Poland
Yesterday, Hannah arranged for the 4 of us to travel by a sleeper train to Krakow. We left at 8 p.m. and arrived here at what was supposed to be 6:35; however, the train didn't actually arrive until 7:15. We greatly feared missing our stop--there are no loudspeakers to announce where one is.
I had heard some horror stories of train travel in Eastern Europe. For example, did you know as recently as 2008, travelers were being warned that sometimes thieves will send ether gas (I think it was) up through the vents to knock at passengers and steal their belongings? I had a plan of sleeping with my passport and money under my clothes. Fortunately, that was not necessary as the 4 of us had a compartment to ourselves. Apparently, up to 6 people can be in one compartment. Thank God that wasn't the case as it would have been painfully cramped and claustrophobia-inspiring were that the case. As it were, I thought I would be able to sleep reasonably well, but my fear of being robbed kept my restless mind awake. I was determined that even should ether gas come pouring through the vents or should some determined thief push past the chain lock on our compartment that I would be awake and ready to pummel him or her. Thus I couldn't sleep. I had to be prepared. In reality, of course, I would probably pee in my pants were that really to happen. Finally, to get any sleep, I had to take a couple of sleeping pills to relax enough (don't worry--they are FDA approved). Naturally, everything was fine; no thieves for all my worry.
We arrived safely, although a bit later than expected and headed to our hostel, at which I am writing now--probably monopolizing the computer in an effort to describe this trip in more detail. Oops.
Our hostel seems very pleasant, has a great breakfast, tons of strong coffee, clean bathrooms, AND a washer and dryer. This has become extremely important to me as I attempted to wash my clothes in the sink the other night, and NONE of it dried even though it sat out over 24 hours either in the apt or on the train. (Imagine how classy that looks to have your clothes dangling on all available space on the train). Most of it smells TERRIBLE!
Must go. Need a nap. Hope to hear from some of you!
I really miss my phone right now. I wish I could call my family or at least text without too much expense; doesn't seem to be possible at this point. I do miss you guys, though, and love you immensely.
I had heard some horror stories of train travel in Eastern Europe. For example, did you know as recently as 2008, travelers were being warned that sometimes thieves will send ether gas (I think it was) up through the vents to knock at passengers and steal their belongings? I had a plan of sleeping with my passport and money under my clothes. Fortunately, that was not necessary as the 4 of us had a compartment to ourselves. Apparently, up to 6 people can be in one compartment. Thank God that wasn't the case as it would have been painfully cramped and claustrophobia-inspiring were that the case. As it were, I thought I would be able to sleep reasonably well, but my fear of being robbed kept my restless mind awake. I was determined that even should ether gas come pouring through the vents or should some determined thief push past the chain lock on our compartment that I would be awake and ready to pummel him or her. Thus I couldn't sleep. I had to be prepared. In reality, of course, I would probably pee in my pants were that really to happen. Finally, to get any sleep, I had to take a couple of sleeping pills to relax enough (don't worry--they are FDA approved). Naturally, everything was fine; no thieves for all my worry.
We arrived safely, although a bit later than expected and headed to our hostel, at which I am writing now--probably monopolizing the computer in an effort to describe this trip in more detail. Oops.
Our hostel seems very pleasant, has a great breakfast, tons of strong coffee, clean bathrooms, AND a washer and dryer. This has become extremely important to me as I attempted to wash my clothes in the sink the other night, and NONE of it dried even though it sat out over 24 hours either in the apt or on the train. (Imagine how classy that looks to have your clothes dangling on all available space on the train). Most of it smells TERRIBLE!
Must go. Need a nap. Hope to hear from some of you!
I really miss my phone right now. I wish I could call my family or at least text without too much expense; doesn't seem to be possible at this point. I do miss you guys, though, and love you immensely.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Numb to the World
Stayed up a bit late last night, so feeling slightly numb this morning. We are preparing to leave Budapest and head to Krakow. We will probably take an overnight train.
Yesterday was . . .interesting. We headed out walking toward Heroes' Park, a place of statues that resemble the ringwraiths of Lord of the Rings (eerie ghostlike men). I have some pretty pleasing pictures of this spot. My only frustration was lack of English explanations on the statues.
We then headed to Aquincum, a place of Roman ruins. However, as we were walking (a VERY long walk, I might add), a rainstorm came up and caught us on the bridge to Buda (we were on the Pest side of the city--pronounced "pesht"). We huddled under the tree leaves we found and then made a run for it after about 20 minutes. Suzanne and I were the only ones with umbrellas, and we were splashed by the oncoming trucks and thus ended up as drenched as Marty and Hannah. After that, we hid out with a bunch of others under a bridge for a while. We then proceeded on to Aquincum before we were again hit by rain. We grabbed a snack at a supermarket, where I used my first Hungarian word (thank you). A kind Hungarian woman offered us some candy which was quite good. (Yes, we ate it--she seemed quite trustworthy).
After giving up on reaching Aquincum, we decided to try out the House of Terror. This is a building which both the Nazis and the Commies used for their secret police headquarters during their occupation of Hungary. The top two floors described the occupations, but it was the bottom floor which truly inspired some "terror." It had been left with rough walls and poorly lit rooms with hideous facilities to show the bleakness and deprivation of the prisoners of the state of that time. In one room, they even had a noose. Another room showed the torture chamber. I still feel chills thinking of it. More than any other part of that building, you could feel almost a haunting there . . .sounds silly, I know, but truly, it gave me shivers.
That night, I attempted to not spend much money on dinner . . .however, I failed miserably. I had intended to eat dinner by purchasing food from the super market again, but Suzanne wanted to go out, and I hated to have her go alone, so we found a place to split a pizza and salad. I thought I'd save some money by ordering a soda instead of a beer (since you have to pay for water when eating out--learned that the night before); however, when I received my bill, I found out that the large soda cost about $4. I was pretty . . .annoyed, we shall say.
Then I went back to apt/hostel to wash my clothes in the sink and had a conversation with our British fellow hostel-sharers. They were quite pleasant and fun to chat with.
Yesterday was . . .interesting. We headed out walking toward Heroes' Park, a place of statues that resemble the ringwraiths of Lord of the Rings (eerie ghostlike men). I have some pretty pleasing pictures of this spot. My only frustration was lack of English explanations on the statues.
We then headed to Aquincum, a place of Roman ruins. However, as we were walking (a VERY long walk, I might add), a rainstorm came up and caught us on the bridge to Buda (we were on the Pest side of the city--pronounced "pesht"). We huddled under the tree leaves we found and then made a run for it after about 20 minutes. Suzanne and I were the only ones with umbrellas, and we were splashed by the oncoming trucks and thus ended up as drenched as Marty and Hannah. After that, we hid out with a bunch of others under a bridge for a while. We then proceeded on to Aquincum before we were again hit by rain. We grabbed a snack at a supermarket, where I used my first Hungarian word (thank you). A kind Hungarian woman offered us some candy which was quite good. (Yes, we ate it--she seemed quite trustworthy).
After giving up on reaching Aquincum, we decided to try out the House of Terror. This is a building which both the Nazis and the Commies used for their secret police headquarters during their occupation of Hungary. The top two floors described the occupations, but it was the bottom floor which truly inspired some "terror." It had been left with rough walls and poorly lit rooms with hideous facilities to show the bleakness and deprivation of the prisoners of the state of that time. In one room, they even had a noose. Another room showed the torture chamber. I still feel chills thinking of it. More than any other part of that building, you could feel almost a haunting there . . .sounds silly, I know, but truly, it gave me shivers.
That night, I attempted to not spend much money on dinner . . .however, I failed miserably. I had intended to eat dinner by purchasing food from the super market again, but Suzanne wanted to go out, and I hated to have her go alone, so we found a place to split a pizza and salad. I thought I'd save some money by ordering a soda instead of a beer (since you have to pay for water when eating out--learned that the night before); however, when I received my bill, I found out that the large soda cost about $4. I was pretty . . .annoyed, we shall say.
Then I went back to apt/hostel to wash my clothes in the sink and had a conversation with our British fellow hostel-sharers. They were quite pleasant and fun to chat with.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Covered in bugs like ash
The past several days have passed swiftly, as though it were all one day. Presently I am typing on a Hungarian computer . . .the y and z are in the opposite places on the keyboard, and apparently we use the letter y in our language more than I had realized. If I make a mistake, please forgive me.
The flight over deserves a short comment as we had to make an unexpected stop--in Gander, Newfoundland. Some lady on our flight became sick evidently, and we had to stop to get her medical help. Haven't caught it yet, though. A flight attendent yelled at me as I offered to take a picture for a man who sat near me. She didn't want him to get out of his seat to snap a photo, so when I offered, she flew at me, grabbed me, and said, "Don't encourage him!" Gee, lady, I was just trying to help both of you be happy.
Sleep on the plane is not to be recommended. Only sheer determination and some sleeping pills enabled me to get any rest. As it was, I woke up about 5 or 6 times at least.
Suzanne and I found our way more or less easily to the hostel where we met Hannah and Marty, but we promptly left again to go to another place with more space. Last night I slept on a futon mattress on the floor with a haphazard mix of bed sheets and a flat pillow. All but the comforter was clean. The comforter seemed to smell a bit like wet dog. There is a British couple staying with us who seem quite pleasant.
Today we visited the Statue Park, which houses the old Communist statues. We also went up to Castle Hill and toured around Matthias Church. We've walked a hundred miles it seems, but it's a pleasant enough day, except for the humidity. As we walked across Margit Bridge to get to this place of internet usage, I found myself covered in what appeared to be flakes of ash--from where I know not--but then I realized they were small bugs. Yuck! I'm hoping for some gelatto and a good beer later.
Side note--many young people carry fanny packs here.
The flight over deserves a short comment as we had to make an unexpected stop--in Gander, Newfoundland. Some lady on our flight became sick evidently, and we had to stop to get her medical help. Haven't caught it yet, though. A flight attendent yelled at me as I offered to take a picture for a man who sat near me. She didn't want him to get out of his seat to snap a photo, so when I offered, she flew at me, grabbed me, and said, "Don't encourage him!" Gee, lady, I was just trying to help both of you be happy.
Sleep on the plane is not to be recommended. Only sheer determination and some sleeping pills enabled me to get any rest. As it was, I woke up about 5 or 6 times at least.
Suzanne and I found our way more or less easily to the hostel where we met Hannah and Marty, but we promptly left again to go to another place with more space. Last night I slept on a futon mattress on the floor with a haphazard mix of bed sheets and a flat pillow. All but the comforter was clean. The comforter seemed to smell a bit like wet dog. There is a British couple staying with us who seem quite pleasant.
Today we visited the Statue Park, which houses the old Communist statues. We also went up to Castle Hill and toured around Matthias Church. We've walked a hundred miles it seems, but it's a pleasant enough day, except for the humidity. As we walked across Margit Bridge to get to this place of internet usage, I found myself covered in what appeared to be flakes of ash--from where I know not--but then I realized they were small bugs. Yuck! I'm hoping for some gelatto and a good beer later.
Side note--many young people carry fanny packs here.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Mild Heart Palpitations
Whew--taking a breather!
You'd think that packing one lil backpack and one lil purse that it would only take, oh, say an hour. At the most.
Yeah, well, you'd be wrong. If you're anything like me, you adopt a "more is better" philosophy when it comes to packing. The minimalist style requires most of my afternoon and evening it seems as I go over and over my lists to make certain I've crammed every nook and cranny with every possible "essential." At times like these, I wish I were a guy. I could throw my spare shirt, pants, undergarment, pack of gum, passport, credit card, iPod, and (hopefully) deodorant and toothbrush into my pack and go.
As it is, I'm mildly stressing. I made what I hoped would be my final run to a store to purchase products for this trip. Now, let's clarify here. I have all of these products all ready. However. Yes, that key word--however. Apparently none of them are small enough to fit inside my bags. AND, as it turns out, I need a slightly bigger purse to compensate for all my-ahem-crap. SOOOO, that means . . .you guessed it--another run to a store. Dear Lord. My heart picks up pounding at an alarming rate at the very thought of another receipt of a purchase I've made purely for this trip--and I haven't even made it to the airport yet. Let's not even discuss my anxiety about spending 10 hours on a plane attempting to snooze. Sleeping draughts, here we come!
All I can say is, at least I'm not riding a bike.
You'd think that packing one lil backpack and one lil purse that it would only take, oh, say an hour. At the most.
Yeah, well, you'd be wrong. If you're anything like me, you adopt a "more is better" philosophy when it comes to packing. The minimalist style requires most of my afternoon and evening it seems as I go over and over my lists to make certain I've crammed every nook and cranny with every possible "essential." At times like these, I wish I were a guy. I could throw my spare shirt, pants, undergarment, pack of gum, passport, credit card, iPod, and (hopefully) deodorant and toothbrush into my pack and go.
As it is, I'm mildly stressing. I made what I hoped would be my final run to a store to purchase products for this trip. Now, let's clarify here. I have all of these products all ready. However. Yes, that key word--however. Apparently none of them are small enough to fit inside my bags. AND, as it turns out, I need a slightly bigger purse to compensate for all my-ahem-crap. SOOOO, that means . . .you guessed it--another run to a store. Dear Lord. My heart picks up pounding at an alarming rate at the very thought of another receipt of a purchase I've made purely for this trip--and I haven't even made it to the airport yet. Let's not even discuss my anxiety about spending 10 hours on a plane attempting to snooze. Sleeping draughts, here we come!
All I can say is, at least I'm not riding a bike.
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