Faceplant on the cobblestones

For my last few hours in Budapest I wandered the very modern pedestrian mall along Vaci Utca which ends at the Great Market Hall. I took a quick tour of the market and then grabbed a bite to eat and a beer at the Red Cafe on Raday Utca. I got lots of practice in riding the Metro around, since I had to get the most value out of my time. Several Metro rides later I had my pack and was back at Budapest Keleti Station. I got there just as they were announcing which platform the over-night train to Krakow was leaving from. I was a bit too early because I climbed on what I thought was my car and was surprised to see that I had reserved a sleeper and there was only benches. I sat there for awhile grumbling to myself until I felt the jolt of additional cars being added to the end of the train. It occurred to me then that it wouldn't make sense to have been dragging around sleeper cars during the day, so I jumped off and found the right car which had just been attached. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that I had a very nice room all to myself. It would normally fit three, but it was just me this time. There was even a sink, mirror, drinking water, and even a little chocolate filled crossaint in the room. I took a moment to brush my teeth and get comfy for sleep. I tried each of the bunks out, the middle one was the coziest but I couldn't figure out how to raise the guardrails and since I was paranoid about falling out in the middle of the trip I took the lumpier, but safer bottom bunk. I'm definitely a fan of train travel, if it's an option, versus airplanes.

My adventure is almost at its end. I have to say it was much less trying than I presumed. I'm not home yet, but I feel like the hardest part is over. Time to try to get some sleep now before we hit the passport control. I will cross two borders tonight as we travel across Slovakia. I will have to wake up for each stop just long enough to get stamped out of one country and into the next.

...

I'm feeling well traveled now. I'm sore and not just from the long journey and the lumpy beds, but also because I took a nasty spill on the cobblestones while walking in Krakow this morning. After I arrived at 6:20 I put on my heavy backpack and hiked towards old town in search of a place to stay for the night. I hadn't bothered to reserve anything this time and was relying on pure luck. I had waved off all the tourist vultures that had swarmed me with their promises of cheap rooms for rent at the train station as I disembarked. As I was crossing into old town I stepped onto a ragged patch of sidewalk and started to turn my ankle. Now normally I would have recovered gracefully, since I've walked on much rougher terrain during this trip, but with my fully loaded backpack on I was over-balanced and could not correct in time. It seemed like it took for ever for me to go down and eventually hit the ground as I made a valiant attempt to stay upright. The momentum carried me a good ten feet from my original misstep. I connected with the cobblestones hard on my right side and then did a half roll to my back, but the pack stopped me from turning over completely. At least this time I did not break my fall with my elbow. The wind was knocked out of me, but everything seemed to be intact. After an awkward moment of trying to stand up with my bag weighing me down I did a quick damage report and continued, albeit slightly less energetically, on my search for a room.

It only took me three tries to find a place with vacancy for the night. It was at the aptly named "Bed & Breakfast" just a couple blocks from the main square in old town. The room is funky with low ceilings and furnished like a college dorm room, but it is cheap and convenient and most importantly available. After checking in I took a shower, patched up a scrape on my leg from the fall, changed clothes, and grabbed breakfast in the dining room. By this time it was 8:00 and time to get reunited with my abandoned luggage waiting for me at Biprostal. I hopped the tram and was whisked off to the office. Luckily I wasn't the first one there in the morning so I could be let in and get repacked. It was good to see everyone again.

I was excited to get my laptop back and start doing some serious publishing, emailing, and such, but just as I was diving in I started experiencing technical difficulties. I was draining power from the battery despite being plugged into the wall, and fiddling with the adapter would give me short bursts of power but nothing else. Soon I started to smell melting and burning plastic. I reached down to look at the adapter again and burned my hand on the cable. On closer inspection the cable leading from the adapter to the laptop had become frayed and started to fail, copper wires were exposed and melting the plastic covering. I shut everything down immediately. Unfortunately I cannot get a replacement here and not having power will severely limit the laptop's usefulness. Once again, Paul came through and lent me his spare laptop for all my internet needs while I'm here at the office. I really hope I get to continue working with him and his team in the near future.

Tonight there is a going away party for Szymon, who is leaving for another job, and marginally for me as well since I am leaving for home in the morning. It isn't clear yet whether Marcin will be leaving on the same flight or coming later. There have been some major hiccups at Lunar Logic while I was away. All liaison positions have been dissolved, so this may be my last official business trip to Poland. I am very frustrated with LL right now and the position I have been put in, being sent on a fool's errand. At least Marcin feels that having me here for a little over a week was beneficial to his team.

See you all very soon.

Bathing with the locals

I spent all day wandering Andrassy Utca, one of the main drags that goes from the center of Pest out the the city park. It had been raining lightly all day, but not so heavy that I've felt the need to hide indoors. Along the way I visited the Terror Museum, which documents Hungaries occupation first by the Nazis and then by the Soviet Union. It was a very modern museum with very dramatic displays and impressive use of technology. The main atrium is very memorable, with a massive Soviet tank filling the space and a wall stretching up three floors with pictures of victims. The exhibit starts at the top and you work your way down to the first floor (that's the 2nd story to you American types). From there you take a very slow elevator ride down to the basement while a short DVD plays on a flatscreen in the elevator describing the execution procedure. At first I was confused why they wanted to shuffle me into the elevator, I was fine using the stairs I told them and went looking for some, but the museum staff persisted and eventually ushered me into the elevator with the rest of the waiting tourists.

At the end of Andrassy Utca is Heroes Square with a massive group of monuments and statues dedicated to the greatest Hungarians in history. Behind Heroes Square a bridge led to the City Park, built in 1896 to celebrate Hungary's 1000th birthday. There was a replica of a Transylvanian castle, during the time Hungary ruled that part of the continent, lots of paths to wander, a zoo, and the Szechenyi Baths. By far the greatest attraction is the Baths, and so far my most favorite experience here in Budapest. Built in Roman and Turkish style, the outside baths are massive and opulent. I borrowed a suit and towel and strutted my stuff around the hot baths along with the hairy, pot-bellied, and speedo-clad men playing chess in the baths. The water was so warm and rejuvinating, it felt so good to just float around and stand under the spouts of water. The light rain ceased to matter. Unfortunately I wasn't aloud to take pictures while in the baths, besides there was nowhere to put my camera once I got stripped down. I spent about two hours lounging around in the baths before continuing on with my day.

After getting dried off, dressed, and back on the street it was time for a late lunch. I found a nice cafe around the corner from the zoo and had a delightful meal, complete with a couple of glasses of Hungarian sweet wine, Tokaji. Next I strolled through the zoo, which wasn't anything special, but since I was there it was a nice way to spend half an hour.

I rode the Metro back towards the center of town. The orange line plays these cute little musical ditties when you pull into and leave a station. I was whistling along with them in no time. I got off at the Opera station because I'd read there was a decent internet cafe nearby. Lo and behold, I have found it and it is good. I will save posting my last pictures for when I get back to Krakow. I can use my laptop and the internet at the office which will be much more enjoyable and less expensive.

I leave for Krakow on the night train at 19:10, just three hours from now. I'm not sure what I'm going to fill the remaining time with. Talk to you all again soon.

A hole in my shoe and a chip in my tooth

I've definitely put on the miles since the beginning of the month. My shoes are wearing very thin in parts, my calves are rock hard, and my legs haven't been in this good of shape since my soccer days. Maybe I should find a team to scrimmage with when I get home, and keep up the hiking routine. I'll need to buy some new shoes first.

I noticed something in the air in Vienna was bugging my nose, it started running soon after arriving and didn't stop until I left, and it wasn't due to cigarette smoke this time around.

My train to Budapest didn't leave until almost 14:00 so I found time in the morning to squeeze in one more museum. I saw a great collection of paintings, and Greek and Eqyptian artifacts. I would definitely recommend buying one of the package tickets, which are good for all the sights I went to see. They pay for themselves after only three visits.

Final thoughts on Vienna: too large to see in two days, I never got out of the center ring. Lots of delicious pastries and treats to be had there. Bikes, skates, and scooters are very popular and useful, but you have to watch where you walk or get run over. It's a very tourist friendly town, but a bit expensive. You can find deals if you look hard enough though. Someone could easily spend a week in Vienna and not be bored.

I made it to my train with plenty of time to spare. I left at 13:52 and arrived in Budapest at 16:35. I ate a simple lunch on the train from my supplies. I managed to take a small chip out of one of my bottom teeth while biting through a stale roll though.

I'm staying at a cute little place here, very near the Parliment building, called Hotel Hold, on Hold street of course. They put me in a small room with the bed up in a loft. They knocked a bit off the price for not having the room I wanted ready for me when I got here. Still, I'm not complaining, I'm just glad they had anything on short notice. I'm getting used to the Metro. Budapest is more confusing than Prague and more spread out than Vienna. I rode down to Raday street, which is the locals' favorite restaurant row, and found a place to sit at the Berliner. I dined on goulash and pasta while big fat Hungarian mosquitos dined on me.

After dinner I took a long walk up the Danube River. I'm staying on the Pest side of the river and I don't think I'll have time to get to the Buda side, so I had to content myself with just taking pictures of it at night. Time for bed now. Good night.

Tiny little sandwiches

Guten Tag.

Since I went to bed so early I woke up at 5:00. Amazingly enough nothing is open that early. I spent the time reading through my guidebook, planning my day, and eventually wandered down to Naschmarkt, which starts to perk up around 7:00. It was full of fresh fruit, dried fruit, olives, meat, pastries, all kinds of vinegar, wine, spices, T-shirts, sunglasses, and other junk. I had fun wandering up and down the market for awhile since it was near my hotel. When the internet shop opened I was all over it. I'm addicted to email, I admit it. If I kept track, I think internet expenses would be second on my list next to food.

After I had my fill of posting pics, updating blogs, and sending emails I went back to the Hapsburg Palace and toured the treasury. I've never seen so many bejeweled scepters, robes, and crowns before. They also have enough reliquaries filled with pieces of the original cross, the blood of Christ, and fragments of bones of saints to reconstruct the entire Catholic pantheon two times over. Overall it was pretty neat, even with the constant clicking of the motion trackers in each room reminding you that you're being watched all the time.

I stopped for finger sandwiches at Trzesniewski Buffet and a tiny beer. It was fun to just point at random sandwiches that looked tasty and try them out. Fast, cheap, efficient, I would do it again.

Next I took a tour of the Opera house. They only have two tours a day this time of year so it was pretty busy at the first tour of the day. I watched a tiny French woman worm her way in front of me in line, she even glared at me at one point when I asserted my position. Of course there wasn't a shortage of tickets so I'm not quite sure what her problem was. I overheard many visitors proclaiming loudly in line that they "sure hope they speak English in there". Gotta love American tourists. Our tour guide was Austrian with a very thick accent. It reminded me of Harrison Ford's feigned German accent in the Last Crusade when he claimed to be at the castle to "inzpect ze tapeztries!" especially when our guide kept pointing out all the tapestries. Not many of my pictures turned out well inside, mostly because I was gun-shy about using the flash inside what I considered museums after being barked at in the last cathedral. That didn't stop most of the other tourists, they were all happily flashing away. Oh well. The tour seemed rather short to me, but I had busy day planned so I didn't mind so much. We were warned that all operas and ballets are sold out months in advance and that a very few standing room tickets are available an hour before the show, but that people line up early in the morning just for a chance to get them during the popular operas. Tonights opera was going to be Swan Lake. I decided not to wait in line for standing room tickets. It would have been great to see a show there, but I had too much else I wanted to accomplish. Maybe next time, I can book long in advance.

After the tour, I sat down outside and savoured a cup of coffee as I wrote in my journal and flipped through the sights in my guidebook. Next stop was the New Palace Museum back at the Hapsburg Palace. They have a great military, musical instrument, and Greek artifact collection. Plus I was able to wander the beautiful marble halls of the palace.

I decided to walk the entire old town ring and take pictures next. I had taken the tram around the ring the day before, but we zipped past all the sights too quickly to get decent pictures. I made it about a quarter of the way, near City Hall before I was hungry so I stopped at the park and ate more food from my magic backpack. I had taken some time earlier in the morning to restock on cheese, rolls, trail mix, apples, and water.

By the time I got all the way around the ring it was time for more internet and then dinner. I wandered back toward Bermuda Triangle and found the closest cafe to St. Ruprechts monastery, Zum Kuchldragoner. I had a tasty burger, potato wedges and a beer. After that I started a self guided pub crawl. It was short but fun.

The internet cafe closes in 5 minutes so I have to wrap this up. Good night all!

Early train to Vienna

Somehow I was still able to wake up in time and catch my train to Vienna the next morning. We left Prague main station and 6:23 in the morning. My breakfast consisted of things I found in my backpack. Most of it was still good, but the cheese was a bit sweaty, probably from being in my bag so long, so I avoided that. I took a nap on the train, but when I woke up we were in Marchegg, which didn't seem right to me at all, it was on the wrong side of Vienna. I checked my watch and it was later than we were supposed to arrive. I panicked for a moment thinking I missed my stop, but it just turned out we had taken a long detour due to some flooding on normal track. We arrived about two hours later than planned. As a side note I noticed my watch it broken. The knob came off, so it still tells time, but I won't be able to change it back when I fly home. Something is trying to tell me to stay in this time zone.

I got some Euros, grabbed a map, bought my ticket to Budapest for Tuesday, and then wandered off in the direction of my hotel. The Hotel Admiral is nice enough, although the room is tiny. At least there are no ants in the bed and I have a private bathroom and shower. I really needed that shower by the time I got to the hotel. After refreshing a bit I starting wandering around town.

So far my impression of Vienna is that it is bigger, more modern, the sights are farther apart and generally larger sites, the city is cleaner, and classier, but it's a bit more boring. Prague is definitely seedier. While I was there I was approached many times by drug dealers, sex workers, and varies scam artists. I even saw some racy nude pictures being taken on Charles Bridge in broad daylight amongst the tourist crowds. You have to stay on your toes and keep your eyes open in Prague, but it's a fun and lively place to be. I'll give Vienna more time though to charm me.

I did a quick tour of the major sites near old town, swinging by the Opera House, St. Stephen's, the Hapsburg Palace, and various other sites. Later I wandered up to the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, where most of the trendy pubs & clubs are, right near an old monastery. It always seems like the good places are near monasteries. I wonder why that is.

I went to bed early last night and caught up on my sleep. I really needed it, and once again my feet were tired.

Towers & Pubs

For my last day in Prague I went back to a few sights to explore them more. First I climbed the old town clock tower to take a few pics of the square. Then I took a quick tour of the Monastery library, which was quite impressive, but I somehow managed to buy the ticket that made you stand on the other side of the rope from the best parts of the library while you watched more important people get a guided tour in those areas. Still very impressive collection and the library itself was beautiful. Worked my way back to the castle and braved the crowds outside the gates and cathedral. I ended up spending more time waiting to buy a ticket than to get inside the cathedral. It was amaying inside. I walked around the nave and apse, down into the crypt and up into the tallest tower. The narrow spiral stone staircase was jam packed with people going up and also trying to squeeze past on their way down. There were 287 steps in the tower, but I lost count after 190. Once at the top I took my time and lots of pictures to make it seem worth the hassle. Then I pushed and shoved my way back down the stairs. I think I may have crushed a few children and grandmothers along the way. It was every man for himself in there... horrible. I managed to lose my ticket in the crush somewhere, so I couldn't get into any of the other sights in the castle, but I think I saw what I wanted to anyways.

That evening I went on a guided pub crawl. They promised one beer at each place and dinner at some point along the way. We gathered under the astronomical clock and was surprised to see a rather attractive young gal gathering the money and handing out tickets for the tour under her bright yellow umbrella. All the tour guides use some sort of device like this to herd their tourists around. You see many umbrellas, sometimes a flower on a stick, and other times more interesting choices of icons. Anyways after everyone was gathered and paid up they did the old bait and switch move as the umbrella was taken by a balding guy in his late 30s, named Radk, who would be taking us on our tour. It seemed more appropriate at least, I would expect our pub tour guide to look like he spent most of his time in the pubs, not a fresh faced girl with hopes and dreams. Our crew was made up mostly of Brits, Aussies, a couple of Germans, and three Americans, including myself, and of course Radk, our Czech guide. I struck up a conversation with him about the tour. He doesn't actually get to pick the pubs at all, they are chosen by the tour company and change only infrequently. I was disappointed to hear that, but it lined up with what I suspected. Radk was a decent guide and personable enough, but it did feel like we were being hustled through our tour as efficiently as possible. We ended up at three different spots, none of which had much character or would have been a place I would have chosen on my own. Dinner was a non-event, your choice of chicken, goulash, or fried cheese and french fries. I went with fried cheese, and I think I got the best out of the bunch from what I overheard. After the last pub Radk walked us back to the clock tower and said good night. I thought about heading back to bed, since my train was leaving at 6:23 the next morning, but it was my last night and I didn't want to end it with a disappointment.

I ended up finding the discoteque that the guys in Krakow told me about, right near the Charles Bridge, which has five floors of bars, djs, and dance floors. It was fun to wander between floors and check the scenes, but only two floors had much going on at all. I had a Red Bull & vodka and watched the people dance, not feeling too dancy myself. I was glad to see they had free internet (well cover was stiff enough so it had better be free) so I plopped down for a bit and did some emailing until my terminal crashed. I finished my drink and wandered home.

Making friends with booze

Last night I ate at Plzenska Restaurace u Dvou Kocek, literally the restaurant "by the two cats". They used to name buildings by the decorations above the doors instead of using numbered addresses, but that all changed to make it easier to collect taxes. The atmosphere was great and there was live accordion music. I wasn't sure if I would get a place to sit, but they found a spot at the end of a table where a nice older German couple was already sitting. I ordered a Pilsner Urquell and connected with the gentlemen with a friendly raise of the glass. The couple seemed very nice and we smiled at each other as we ate our meals. They both ordered shots of what I assumed was vodka so the next time the waiter came by I offered to buy us all a round. The lady politely declined but the gentleman gladly accepted. What the waiter brought out was not vodka, but a slightly yellowish liquor that had a cinnamon and licorice flavor, my best guess is that it was Ouzo. That lubricated the conversation and soon we were chatting amiably in English together. He told me they were on holiday here in Prague, that he'd been to the U.S. on a few occasions for work and pleasure, and that they had sons and daughters living in Austria and Italy. I shared some about my travels and work as well. The gentleman ordered us another round of beers and we passed the time very pleasantly. I ended up giving him my card and he promised to write. I took a picture of them and he snapped one of me and his wife, which I promised to send to him when he wrote. The food was good and a bit spicy, I would definitely come back.

I had to leave to get to my play. I only got lost once on the way there. The Black Light Theatre is small and intimate. I sat fairly close but to one side, it would have been better to be sitting more towards the center because many of the effects were oriented that way. The show, Aspects of Alice, was entertaining. It was a bit like being on a dreamy drug trip with lots of floating objects and people, friendly giants, disembodied hands, dancing flames, and even some gratuitous full frontal female nudity, which is always a nice treat. It was an enjoyable evening.

Finally a picture update

Finally I found a decent internet access point and got some pics posted. Have fun!

Sight-seeing on Czech knees

The hostel had a better map for free than the one I had bought at the train station and it was more compact. On it was advertising for guided walking tours so I read through them all. I notice a 6 hour one starting in just 15 minutes so I quickly unloaded my heavier stuff, repacked in the smaller bag and ran to catch the beginning of the tour. They were just starting at the astronomical clock when I got there. The cost would be 1000 crowns, or about 40 dollars, when they got to the tour boat. Its a good thing because I saved 40 dollars when I realized how lame the tour was after just a few minutes of following the guide around. I was much better off on my own with the book and moving at my own pace. I get very impatient on guided tours. This whole trip Ive been moving at top speed through the sites, skipping anything that seemed like it would not be efficient and packed with value. Ive been extremely frugal with my money as well, except when it comes to food and drink. So far Ive gotten by pretty cheaply too, subsidizing my meals with staples like bread, cheese, fruit, sausage, and water bought from the grocery stores.

The first Americans I met were a Texan couple in their 50s. Apparently they go on a European tour every year, but the guy couldnt stop complaining about things. He didnt seem like he was enjoying himself. He complained about the roads and how hard it was to drive in Eastern Europe, and kept trying to explain to me the best places to rent a car and where to park etc etc, and his wife kept reminding him that I was relying on public transportation for the whole trip. That never seemed to sink in on him. I just nodded and smiled and politely took my leave at a break in his diatribe. I felt sorry for his wife. Maybe if I came here every year Id get grouchy, but I sure hope not.

So far the weather has been alternating between being sunny and warm, to grey and windy, to lightly raining, and even the infrequent downpour. I havent minded the changes, although I end up spending a lot of time packing and unpacking my jacket. At one point I got caught out in a hard rain and got soaked as I ran back to the hostel. At least I dont have to worry about washing these jeans for another couple days.

I keep running into people who have the same guidebook as me. Its an instant and fun way to connect with people. Not surprisingly we end up at the same hostels, restaurants, out of the way sights, and such all listed in the book. It would be fun to check when I get home to see if there is a forum or website where I could try to catch up with some of them and hear how the rest of their trips went. I do love this book, but I have some complaints about it as well. I will be tempted to write a review once I get back.

Thursday I spent all day wandering Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, and New Town. I saw Charles Bridge but saved Little Quarter and the Castle Quarter for Friday. Even after seeing all the major sites on the East side of the Charles Bridge, I still had time to wander back and forth to the train station multiple times. Each time I would forget to do something and have to head back later. After picking up schedules for the trains to Vienna and Cesky Krumlov I decided not to cram in a side trip to Krumlov and bought my ticket to Vienna. I carefully selected a time that I thought would be best to leave Prague before buying the ticket and was surprised to learn that it is good for anytime in the next month. That would have saved me a lot of time and stress if Id known that before hand. I guess since its not an overnight sleeper I dont have to reserve a seat. Good to know, now when I get to Vienna I can buy my ticket to Budapest without stressing out about it. I also decided to skip Bratislava, both Rick Steves and the curmudgeon Texan said my time is better spent in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest.

Thursday night I went out for a late night walk and got myself nice and lost for awhile. I wasnt too stressed about it and had a decent map with me. Ive learned I can always follow the tram lines in the road until I find something that I recognize. Also Ive learned to watch the locals and imitate them when Im not sure what Im doing. That little trick has come in very handy.

Friday I woke up with ants in my bed. Not a pleasant experience. Ill try one of the top bunks tonight. The breakfast was uninspiring so I picked up some supplies at the grocery store and had an impromtu breakfast near the Charles Bridge. I leisurely strolled across the bridge and took a short tour of Kampa Island on the other side. Then I walked through Little Quarter square and up the long steps to the castle. I seemed to be walking against the crowd most of the way and doing the standard tour backwards. I liked being different and a source of irritation to the hordes of tourists trying to walk in the other direction. I felt like was paddling upstream in the center of a river of people. The castle was interesting but I didnt bother buying tickets to the museums and sites, I felt they were overpriced and overcrowded. I was mostly interested in the Gothic and Neo-Gothic monstrosity that is the St. Vitus Cathedral. I loved it. Its construction spans 600 years, hence the mix of architectural styles. I was appalled by the gargantuan queue waiting to get inside the cathedral at 10:00 so I begrudgingly passed up the opportunity to see the inside. I will try again earlier tomorrow morning.

After leaving the castle I wandered down to the Monastery and had lunch at the old brewery. I ate a light lunch of soup, cheese toast, and two kinds of beer. By the time I wandered over to see the library at the monastery it was closed for an hour. Something else I need to do tomorrow. Next I hiked through the park to Petrin Tower for an excellent view of the city. Downstairs was an exibit dedicated to the greatest mind and inventor who never existed, Jara Cimrman. It was a very funny display. I hiked down the side of Petrin Hill and then back to Old Town in search of an internet cafe and some coffee. Along the way I spotted the Black Light Theater, which I am planning on going to tonight to watch Aspects of Alice. It should be interesting.
Thats all Ive got so far. I still havent found a place I can upload my pictures from. Ive got a ton, hopefully I dont run out of room anytime soon.

Until next time, Ciao.

A quiet morning in Prague

I had a good time at Szymon's watching Barcelona v.s. Arsenal with his friends. Maja was kind enough to offer me a ride to the train station so that I could stay longer and not walk in the rain. I got to the station in time to meet up with Marcin. Together we found my train car we said our goodbyes. I was surprised to see that the sleeper car could hold a total of six people, bunked three to a side. The top bunk didn't look much bigger than a luggage rack. Luckily I was on the very bottom and only sharing the car with two very friendly South Korean students who were studying English in London, but in Eastern Europe for a short vacation. We chatted a bit before turning out the lights and catching some sleep. I was fairly comfortable on the ride, much more so than on an airplane. There were a few brief stops along the way and I only had to get out my passport once during the trip. The ride seemed to be over very quickly, and we arrived at Hlavni Nadrazi (Main Station) in Prague exactly on time at 7:01.

I spent almost an hour wandering around the station trying to get my bearings, find a bankomat and withdraw some Czech crowns, find a decent map to buy, figure out the tram ticket machine (which I still have yet to use my one tram ticket), and find the exit. I followed my map to the main square and sat down to eat my breakfast of bread, cheese, sausage, water, and an apple. It was very peaceful in the square at 8:30 before the hoards of tourists all woke up and the commercial tours began, probably my most favorite memory of Prague so far. I stuck around to watch the astronomical clock strike 9:00 and put on it's hourly performance and then went in search of my hostel.

I booked a room at the Art Prison Hostel, which sounds dubious, but is actually quite nice. I have a four person room all to myself and it's very nice to have a sturdy door and a lock so that I feel safe leaving most of my things (and stuff) in the room. Paul's magic backpack has a smaller backpack you can unzip from the rest of it, so I've been using that as my day bag. I have to get myself one of this! I took a shower, got dressed and then sat down to plan my day.

I have to get off the shared computer now so I'll save the rest of today's entry for later. Ciao.

Last night in Krakow, ready for Prague

Tonight I take the sleeper train leaving Krakow at 22:41 and arriving in Prague at 7:01 the next morning. From there I hope to check in early to the hostel I reserved a room in for three nights. The Pension Unitas & Art Prison Hostel came recommended as a convenient, cheap, and interesting place to stay. Apparently the basement was used as a secret communist prison. Now it's a cheap place to sleep for the night. I hope they let me leave after I check in.

Last night I packed my bags, putting what I thought I would need for the next week in the smaller bag. This morning I skype'd my sweetheart, ate breakfast, got my stuff out of the safe, checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi to the Biprostal building where the LLP offices are located. At first the driver assumed I was headed to the train station or the airport, so when I wasn't making myself clear I got some assistance translating from the front desk clerk. A short ride and ten zloty later I was at Biprostal. As I was wheeling my two bags and carry-ons into the building I got a few strange looks from people who work there. I could imagine their internal dialogue "Silly tourist, he thinks this is a hotel".

Paul is lending me his backpack for my trip. Thank you, Paul, once again you've proven to be an excellent host and friend. He brought it in this morning and I moved my stuff from the smaller bag to the backpack. After a load test I took Paul's advice and edited down my clothes that I was planning on taking. If I'm going to be hostel jumping across Eastern Europe I need to pack light. Paul made an excellent point, that if I don't have enough to wear, I can always buy something when I need it and it will be a great souvenir. I think I have it down to a reasonable weight now, but I'm probably still taking way more than I need. This will definitely be a learning experience. I'm looking forward to it and the next time, whenever that may be.

I'm leaving the rest of my junk locked in Paul's office while I'm away. When I return I will have to do one more quick repacking before Friday. It shouldn't be too much to manage. In fact I will probably have extra room in my bags to fill up with vodka!

Paul and I just got back from lunch. We took care of my last minute supply shopping and then ate a delicious lunch at a Ukrainian style restaurant, that I didn't catch the name of, but I do remember trying to get in there during the last trip with Daryl, Tom, and Mark when it was too busy. The zurek with horseradish in particular was tasty. On the walk back I picked up a new pocket-knife, something that will come in very handy, and some munchables for the train ride and whenever.

This afternoon I might go to Szymon's flat to watch part of a football match before I need to go catch my train. Marcin had to take a train this morning to his hometown to get his passport and will be returning in the evening. He may get back to the train station just as I am leaving. It would be nice to see him before I head off.

I am leaving my laptop, and I will most likely not have easy access to the internet. I do plan on posting pictures and doing blog updates when I find convenient internet cafes. Stay tuned. Ciao.

There's more than one way to serve a fish

Monday and Tuesday went by very fast. Work kept me busy. I'm glad I'm leaving my laptop behind on my train trip. No way to check my work email and get sucked in. For lunch on Monday I went with the guys to Swiat Pierogow, or "World of Pierogies" or some such translation. I love pierogi and I remember this place from last time. As I was taking that picture, some older gentlemen came by carrying a couple bags of beers and decided my shot needed a little something extra so they set their beers on the table in front of the guys. I swear we weren't drinking during lunch! It did make for a decent picture.

That night I met up with Marcin and Maciek in the square. I was hungry, as usual, and they had mentioned never having tried sushi before for I thought it would be fun to introduce them. We went to Edo, the best place in Krakow for sushi. I think the guys got a kick out of the whole thing, with the private rooms separated by sliding walls, the low table and pillows for kneeling, the Polish waitress dressed in a kimono, trying warm sake for the first time, and of course the food. I ordered some of my favorite rolls and some tako nigiri, which I only told Maciek was octopus as he was about to take a bite. Marcin was confused by the sake since it isn't quite wine and it isn't quite vodka. Szymon and Artur joined us near the end, but passed the opportunity to try anything. Maybe next time.

After our light dinner we went to one of the oldest nightspots in Kazimierz, Alchemia. It has a great atmosphere and interesting decor. The door to the room we hung out in was only accessible by stepping through a wardrobe, something straight out of C.S. Lewis' imagination. After a couple of beers I was ready for some soup. We said good night to Szymon and then the guys took me back to the late night soup bar that I liked so much from before. They were out of the special soup the guys wanted me to try, so I stuck to my default, zurek with potatoes, mmmmm-good. With beer and warm soup in our bellies we wandered back to old town. It was a Monday night so many of the pubs were closed, so we ended the night at old reliable Jazz Rock Cafe, where I entertained myself by watching drunk guys try to hit on the girls on the dance floor and get rejected time and again. It was getting very late, or early depending on how you tell time, so we left and headed back to the hotel.

Tuesday was very tame. I ate lunch in the Biprostal cafeteria, and tried a soup that was very much like Campbell's chicken noodle soup, and then ate a whole fish. I never was able to get an exact translation of the type of fish, I just assumed it was a kind of trout. After work Szymon drove Marcin, Artur, and I to Galleria Kazimierz for some shopping. I was looking for new shoes, since the ones I brought are wearing very thin, but I didn't find anything I absolutely needed. I thought about another pair of Eccos, but they cost the same as in the States. I laughed when the guys pointed out Jeff's restaurant. It was just too funny not to have a beer and something to eat there. We ran into Bartosz and his wife Asha while we were there so sat down with them until they finished and left. When we left the mall it was raining a bit and there was a thunder & lightning storm on its way, but the shuttle bus to downtown was waiting for us. Marcin, Artur and I went our separate ways and I took it easy in the hotel room that night, getting caught up and ready for my trip.

A long walk in the rain

I'm finally starting to develop a sense of direction in Krakow, at least near the old town. It helps to do so much walking and exploring on my own during the day, with a decent map in hand. That's what I did most during most of Sunday. I started off catching up on some rest and then called Kat via Skype when I got up. We had a nice long conversation, and it helped some with the homesickness I was feeling the night before.

It was after 10:00 when I left my room and breakfast in the hotel was being cleaned up. That was fine with me, since it's the same thing I'd had every morning for the past week and I had my heart set on visiting the Metropolitan again. I remembered it as having a very good breakfast menu from my last trip so I checked the address on my map and located it without much trouble. I was torn between the English style breakfast and French toast. The French toast won out and it was very good, covered in hot diced apples and maple syrup. I savored every last bite while I looked through my books and thought about what to do with the rest of my day.

I decided on seeing Czartoryski museum, walking through the Jagiellonian University campus, and taking a walk through the Kazimierz district and the new Jewish cemetery. Throughout the day it would rain occasionally, but it was warm enough and I had my rain coat so it never bothered me. My tour of Czartoryski museum was brief. I bought the English language guidebook and went on a speed tour. The main goal was getting to the painting by Leonardo da Vinci that is housed there. The museum itself was interesting and the collection was spread across three buildings connected by bridges. I was pleased to learn that the bridge near the painters corner I liked so much was part of the museum and I got to walk through it. The da Vinci piece, "The Lady with an Ermine" was very impressive up close. It has an amazingly three-dimensional effect with the play of shadow on her face. I spent some time there looking at it. The collection included a sizeable room with Egyptian artifacts, a mummy, and lots of weapons and armor, all stuff I dig. I'd say about half the collection was closed off to the public for one reason or another. Altogether it was an impressive museum.

After the museum I grabbed a snack at one of the kebab stands and started my walk across Jagiellonian University. I could imagine it would have been fun to spend a couple terms there, not sure if I'd have gotten any studying done with so much to see and do though. Artur tells me he studied physics at Jagiellonian. I'm jealous. Apparently the newest looking buildings on campus are actually the oldest, they've just been renovated recently. Fooled me.

From Jagiellonian I walked to Kazimierz and started the walking tour in one of my guide books. I had been to Kazimierz many times at night, because it has become a hot spot for nightclubs and cafes, but never during the day. I saw what there was to see and then moved on to the cemetery, which promised to be inspiring. I wasn't disappointed. I was moved by the stone wall and monuments constructed of recovered tombstone fragments. I probably spent an hour wandering around all the paths running throughout the cemetery. Besides the well-kept and cleared paths the cemetery was choked with massive tombstones, trees, and green growing things. The overall effect was peaceful and conducive to contemplation.

On the way back to old town I decided to stop by the Orange Hostel, since it was on the way. I was hoping that there might be someone at the desk I recognized, but I had no such luck. I just took a quick look in, saw nothing had changed, and went on my way.

I grabbed a chicken burger at Rooster in old town for lunch, and then went home to the hotel for a nap. I caught up on some emails and blogs and then went back out for dinner. I had probably the most unimpressive meal so far at what I thought looked to be a decent restaurant. It turned out to be one of a small chain of Georgian restaurants in old town. At least that's one place I can cross off the list. I thought about grabbing a drink before heading back to the hotel, but thought better of it since my feet were tired again (yes the theme of this trip is "boy my feet are tired") so I went back to the hotel and bed.

Have I been here a week already?

I slept in a little bit Friday morning before heading in to work. I was pretty tired from the night before. When I got to work the guys wanted to take me out to lunch at the main square, the student festivities were reaching their pinnacle. When we got there I was shocked to see how much the students had trashed the square. Garbage and broken beer bottles were everywhere. I was even more amazed at how quickly it all got cleaned up. By the next day you couldn't tell that there had been several thousand drunken partying students in the square the night before.

We had lunch at the Sioux cafe, which was an American themed restaurant complete with Cowboy waiters and Indian Squaw waitresses. Funny, it didn't make me homesick for some reason.

That evening after work Paul and I made plans for our big excursion to Ojcow National Park the next morning so we went to scout out the tram and bus schedules. After that we headed back into old town and had a nice long leisurely dinner and Szara. It was a very well prepared meal and we drank an excellent Argentinean Malbec as we savored it. We even stayed for dessert and a glass of Hennessy Cognac. It was a delightful evening.

I went to bed early since we needed to catch the 9:04 bus to Ojcow the next morning. I met up with Paul at 8:00 after a quick breakfast and we headed off to catch out bus. Paul was much more prepared than I for an all day hike. I hadn't thought to buy water, or bring anything other than a banana to eat. We stopped at a small market across from the bus stop to buy a few more things for the trip. Paul picked out some smoked sausages for us.

While we waited for the bus we met a pair of travelers who were also planning on spending the day out at Ojcow park. I never got their names but they were a friendly couple of guys. The most talkative of the pair was from Brazil and said they had been in Krakow 13 days already. We sat next to each other on the ride out and chatted. They got off at the first stop and planned to hike North. Paul and I were getting off at the last stop and hiking South. We wished them a good day and said we might see them along the way.

The bus took us all the way out to the extreme North end of the park, to Pieskowa Skala. Kazimierz the Great built this stone castle in the 14th century. We didn't go into the museum, but we loitered around outside for awhile until we were ready to start our hike.

The hike was very nice and the park is beautiful. About a third of the way into the hike we reached the Grodzisco Monastery and took a short break. Along the next third we had to be very alert, because the trail signs were very easy to miss. We got off track a couple of times, but we always found the most interesting paths to hike and eventually ended up back on course. After two thirds of the hike was done we caught up with the guys from the bus headed the other way. They were having a bite to eat at a small kielbasa stand at a point where the trail and the road met. We exchanged tips on the trail and said a hearty good luck and good bye.

The rest of the trail was very beautiful and steep at times. We took a break soon after passing our friends and sat to have our hikers lunch of bread, sausage, chocolate, and water. The mosquitos flocked to me and I have some itchy bites on my arm, but it was still very pleasant to be out and exploring. At this point both Paul and I were thinking about a beer at the end of the trail. So we got back on our feet and pushed on.

Just before coming to the end of the trail at the ruins of Ojcow Castle, we arrived at the Kapilca Na Wodzie, a small church built over a stream on a bridge. The story goes that when Poland was under Russian rule there was a moratorium on new buildings "on the land of Ojcow" so this was the rebellious response to get around that law.

At last we reached Ojcow castle ruins at the end of the trail. We spent a good amount of time seeing what there was to see and enjoying ourselves. Not much remains besides the gatehouse and the one tower on the hill above it. The view of the park was nice from atop the ruined walls.

Now our minds were definitely on having a beer so we wondered down to the town below and had a couple rounds. We had over an hour until the next bus was scheduled to pick us up and take us back to Krakow so we took our time.

When the bus arrived, somehow I wasn't surprised to see our hiking friends on board and on their way back to Krakow as well. The timing just seemed to be working out that all day. It had been a gorgeous day and was just now starting to rain. I didn't mind so much.

When we got back to town we stopped for a hearty bowl of zurek and tea and then wondered over to Paul's favorite bookstore, Massolit Books. There they cater to English speakers and serve up some delicious carrot cake. I confused the Polish guy manning the cafe by ordering an Americano. When he asked about it I said it was espresso and water. So he brought me an espresso mixed with ice water. We got it straightened out eventually.

Paul thanked me for an excellent day, and I thanked him for sharing it with me. I would not have had such a good time without him as a guide and a friend.

I came back for a short nap and then went out into the evening to find some dinner and a drink. I grabbed a quick kielbasa at a kebab stand and then checked my guide book for suggested hangouts. I ended up at Prozac, which had a very interesting interior design, with bars on three levels, and a maze-like warren of passages and stairs connecting them all. After checking the scene there and having a beer I moved on and decided I would end the night with a Guinness at the Irish pub I had seen a few nights earlier. It was very quiet down there, with only a few couples playing a game of pool together. I watched them for awhile, drank my stout, and then went home to bed. I was starting to feel the first pangs of homesickness.

Blending into the crowd

Thursday got off to a slow start. I had to drag myself out of bed, wash the smell of smoke out of my hair, get ready for work, and jump on the tram. Grabbed a quick lunch with the Marcins again, and then went on a long walk with the rest of the crew. They wanted to go to the cafeteria at a local college of education. Apparently its a good place to pick up girls, as opposed to AGH, the math and technical school, where it is 80% men. There weren't many people hanging around campus due to the student celebrations going on around town this week. There is a festival during this time where the mayor gives the key to the city to the students and they pretty much party non-stop. I couldn't tell the difference. I shared more stories of my experiences in India with the guys during lunch.

I needed to get my train tickets exchanged before Friday, since my travel plans had been rescheduled. I was a bit concerned about attempting to negotiate something that tricky in English, but Marcin came to the rescue again and offered to come down to the train station with me and help get me taken care of. So after work we took the tram to the train station and got it all worked out. Now I leave next Wednesday on the overnight train to Prague. When I get to Prague I will purchase a ticket to Vienna, and so on and so on. That way I won't have my trip set in stone and I can be a bit flexible on where I go and when I come back just in case I change my mind part way through.

On the way back to the tram I was feeling hungry so I bought a morsel of the specialty smoked sheep cheese, Oscypki, that villagers from the Zakopane mountains are famous for. It was tasty. I rode the tram back to old town, made plans with Marcin for later that evening, and headed back to the hotel. I dropped off my heavy bag, grabbed a quick kebab for dinner and walked to Marcin's apartment. I hadn't realized how close Marcin lived to the office, literally across the street.

We sat and talked until Szymon showed up with some wisniowka, a kind of cherry vodka, then we sat and drank and talked. We could hear the concert from Marcin's apartment and around 21:00 we finished off the vodka and headed out. I called Wolak and he said he'd meet us at the stadium. We waited for him outside the gate and then all went in together. We got in just as the biggest name band, Hey, was starting their set. We grabbed a couple beers and watched the concert from the back for awhile. Then we braved the massive crowd. I tried to keep up with Szymon and Marcin but they lost me and Wolak about halfway in. It was thick with bodies. We found a spot and sort of hopped in place for a few songs. We both laughed at the kids surfing the crowd, they looked like rag dolls the way they were being tossed about. Wolak spotted Szymon pushing his way back out of the crowd and we caught up with him for another beer and a kielbasa to replenish our stamina. It really hit the spot. Marcin found us and he was covered in dust from dancing in the thickest part of the crowd. When the lights would come up you could see a huge cloud of dust hanging in the air as it was kicked up from the dry ground by thousands of dancing concert goers.

After the concert broke up the whole crowd migrated down to the main square and the old town clubs. We, like good little drunken sheep, followed the crowd and ended up at the Jazz Rock Club. I did my best to dance on the packed dance floor, but it was very hot and my legs were about ready to fall off from exhaustion. Around 2:30 I said goodnight to the guys and went back to the hotel to crash for a couple hours before getting up for work again. This morning it was very hard to get out of bed. Almost caught up now! Ciao.

A night of Hungarian wine and Kebabs

I took my time getting ready, having breakfast and walking to work Wednesday morning. Work seemed to fly by. I spent part of the morning talking with Paul about the changes in my trip plans and that afternoon I confirmed my new plans with Harold when he got online.

I had lunch with Marcin and Wolak (also Marcin, but I'll use his last name for clarity). There is a decent cafeteria on the 2nd floor of our building although I can't read the menu. My favorite dish is Polish potato pancakes smothered in meat or mushrooms and with a side of veggies. I should learn to make them myself when I get home.

After work I grabbed some dinner at the hotel before Marcin came to pick me up. The guys had decided not to go to a concert that evening, and would save that for Thursday. Instead Marcin took me to a wine bar, Re, and we sat under the trees in the courtyard drinking a sweet Hungarian white wine while we waited for Artur and eventually Maciek and Olga to join us. It was a chilly evening, but still very nice. After it got dark we went inside where it was a bit warmer and found a cozy table in the back. I was charmed by the atmosphere immediately, with it's low cellar ceilings, exposed masonry arches and vaults, and candlelit wooden tables and chairs. Together we went through many more pitchers of wine as we schemed about how we would make our first millions by developing the next big thing on the internet in Poland.

We'd had our fill of wine and the evening was still young, so we moved to Carpe Diem Klub I for beers and dancing. After checking the scene and having a beverage we decided to move on to it's twin club Carpe Diem II. With a much bigger dance floor and many side rooms for talking and snogging, this was a very happening place to be. We settled in here for the rest of the evening. Both clubs have an odd mix of decor consisting mainly of motorcycles, maritime and military paraphernalia. I had enough liquid courage in me to bust a move on the dance floor, and I even got up on stage for awhile.

Around 2:00 Maciek and I called it quits and started back to the hotel. We had a good chat and stopped for the local fast food of choice during a late night of partying, kebabs, which are basically gyros served in your choice of roll or tortilla. At 6 zloty it's a decent meal for super cheap. Along the main drag you pass about one kebab joint every block. I liked it so much I got one for dinner the next night as well.

That's it for Wednesday, Thursday's post is coming soon.

Rapidly changing plans

Okay I need to catch everyone up, I've been falling too far behind.

Tuesday was another busy day at work. For lunch Paul and I rode the tram into old town again and tried a very traditional Polish style restaurant. It was tasty, but service was slow as usual. I'm still having a hard time being patient when it comes to paying the check and
leaving.

I ended up staying late at work and then wandering down to the train station to buy tickets for my trip to Prague. The help desk lady said "gate nine-ten" which I heard as "nineteen" when I asked where I could purchase such a ticket. So after waiting in the wrong line and getting hassled by a very drunk and smelly beggar for several minutes I was summarily directed to the correct window for international train tickets on the other side of the station. After another short wait I was able to schedule and reserve a sleeping car to Prague and back for this coming weekend. Little did I know that my plans would be changing so radically before I got a chance to use them, more on that later.

After leaving the station it was time for dinner so I got out my guidebook, took a seat and looked for some suggestions for dinner, since I was on my own for the rest of the evening. I decided on a recommended Italian restaurant that was situated on the main square. It was a nice night and I enjoyed the walk, peeking in shop windows and taking my time. Along the way I was stopped by another beggar, this one actually knew how to beg in Polish and English and when he realized I spoke no Polish he switched and said "Sorry, you give me two zloty!". I was impressed to find such a forthright polyglot.

I eventually found the cafe I was looking for, Da Pietro, and took a seat at a table outside under the umbrellas. I got served promptly, ordered some garlic bread, pasta, and wine, and was pleased to see that the firedancers were just setting up and starting their routine right in front of me. I played around with my camera trying to get some decent shots of the fire play. I'm not too satisfied with the results, but I think you can get the idea.

After my meal and entertainment I was ready to get back to the hotel and catch up with my email and such. When I got back and logged on Harold, my boss, was online and had some news for me. Apparently they had decided to cut my business trip in half and bring me home early. I was disappointed to say the least, not only am I enjoying myself so very much, but the reasons behind the changes implied that this would be the last time I could expect to come back here or work with the excellent people here at LLP. I also was very stressed about the idea of changing my flight plans, since I feel much better after my last trip having a paper ticket in hand.

By the time I finished talking with Harold I had worked out a plan that I would stay the originally planned full three weeks, but the last week and a half would be on my own dollar and basically be vacation time. So LL stops paying for me next Wednesday the 17th, then I am on my own until my plane leaves on Friday the 26th.

Since that night I've been planning my new trip itinerary. My goal is to take a long looping train trip starting in Prague, then to Vienna, off to Bratislava, continuing on to Budapest, and finally returning to Krakow on the 25th. I will have to go to the train station tonight and change my ticket reservations. I'm very excited about the trip, but a little nervous about being on my own for so long. At least I am choosing very touristy cities that will most likely cater to my needs.

That's all I have time for today. Enjoy the pictures, they are a preview of last nights activities, and I will fill you in on the details tomorrow.

Czesc.

How to lose 5 pounds in 3 days, walking

I've been too busy with work for the last two days to do a decent update, and there hasn't been as many new and exciting things to blog about either.

I got to work very early Monday morning, I even had time to stop in a bakery along the way and get one of their tasty fruit filled pastries, much like a jelly doughnut, but more Polishy. I had a long day, accomplished a lot, but took a fairly long lunch with Paul. We rode the tram into Rynek Glowny and found a place to sit at one of the outdoor cafes. We talked as we waited to be acknowledged, waited to get our order, waited to get our food, and then waited to pay the bill and leave. I found it excruciating, even though it was a beautiful day and in such a wonderful setting. I'm having a hard time reprogramming myself to be patient. While I was feeling antsy I noticed the sculpture of Piotr Skrzyniecki, described by Roman Polanski as "a hippie before his time", outside a nearby cafe. Someone had placed two beautiful roses in his arms and I think it made for a very nice picture.

That evening after work I walked with Marcin back to his new flat. He is having the whole interior redone. There is still a lot of work to be finished, and he is not happy with his contractors' progress, but it already looks like it will be very nice when completed. He has a large attic space at the top of a 100 year old building not far from Rynek Glowny. He told me recently that he met his building community and that there is an English author buying one of the flats on his floor, Alison Bond. Sounds very exciting.

After visiting his place Marcin asked what I'd like to do for the evening and I mentioned wanting to maybe see one of the man-made mound monuments around Krakow I had read about in my guide books. Marcin offered to take me to one he had been to before and show it to me, and he suggested we walk there. I had no idea how far away it was. We walked down to the park along the Wisla river and he showed me a sculpture dedicated to Dzok and the amazing loyalty of dogs. The story goes that he was walking with his master near this spot when his master was hit by a car. The ambulance came and took the man away, but left Dzok. Dzok never left that spot, waiting for his master to return, but he had died in the hospital. Other people tried to lead him away, but he would not go. So they built him a doghouse and fed him until the day he died still waiting for his master to return.

We followed the river park past the base of Wawel hill where supposedly the dragon's den was at the time King Krak was building his castle on the hill. Now there is a statue of the dragon that breathes fire at night.

We walked further on and on and on and eventually into some very nice looking tree lined neighborhoods. Later we passed a very crowded cemetery. Further on still we reached the base of Kopiec Kosciuszki and the fort encircling it. We climbed the stairs to the fort and bought a couple tickets for access to the mound 10 minutes before it closed for the evening. Another steep climb and we were at the top overlooking the city. At this point I was very tired and hungry, but I was enjoying the view very much.

After a brief rest at the top and making a plan for grabbing something to eat in old town, we wandered back down the mound and out the way we came. Thankfully it was all downhill to the nearest tram station back to old town. I was glad for the rest in the tram car. My feet felt like they had been worn down to stumps.

The first place we tried for dinner was closing up for the night, so we moved on and found a restaurant that was mentioned in one of my guidebooks, Chimera. I was starving and Marcin encouraged me to order the large meal which consisted of my choice of six different dishes together piled high on one plate. I couldn't finish, but I was very happy. Marcin ordered as much as me, and packed it away quickly and efficiently cleaning his plate long before I gave up on mine. Somehow I still seem to outweigh him by 30 pounds. Marcin reminds me a bit of my old buddy Todd Davenport. He was the same way.

After dinner we said "do widzenia" and went our separate ways. After my long weekend and the evening's walk I was ready for a solid night's sleep. I'll post about Tuesday soon. Czesc.

Salt, Gnomes, and Accordions

Once I finally got myself out of the hotel on Sunday afternoon I wondered into old town looking for food. I'd managed to miss breakfast. Since I was running behind and Polish meals tend to drag on I popped into the McDonald's for a quick bite to eat. I know, how very provincial of me, but it was tasty and filling. I needed my strength back because I was going to be doing a lot of walking and Saturday had already been very taxing. I picked up a large bottle of water for the trip.

The tourist information desk had marked on my map where the minibuses left for Wieliczka and I arrived just in time to catch one. About 10 minutes later I was dropped off outside the Wieliczka salt mines exhibit. My luck was with me that day because as I bought a ticket the English language tour was just beginning. I would have had to wait another hour for the next one. We got started at 16:00 and we finished at 17:45.

The tour was led by a young Polish gal who spoke English with a heavy accent. She warned us about the long climb down by stairs and reassured us that there would be a fast lift at the end of the tour. There were about 20 of us in the tour group, I stayed near the back to take pictures after everyone had moved on. We descended a tall switch-back staircase, and I lost count after 200 stairs. The wooden walls were covered by visitors' names written on them. I ducked most of the way down after I clocked my forehead on one of the stairs above me.

It was dry and cool down in the mines and the air was clean and refreshing. The guide explained how the climate is actually very beneficial to the respiratory system and that a part of the caverns have been turned into a health spa. The salt mines are one of Poland's national treasures and was a source of great wealth for them in early times due to salt being an efficient preservative. The preservative effects of the salt keep all the wood in the mines very well protected. The guide explained that there are over 3000 chambers in the network of caverns and that we were only going to see about one percent. Sculptures in the rock salt were all done by the miners themselves, since they spent most of their lives underground. The themes mostly involved the miners' lives, local myths & legends, important historical figures, or religious symbology. There were large brine filled lakes as well.

Overall I was impressed, although most of the modern displays and dioramas were a bit on the cheesy side. In fact it reminded me of Enchanted Forest on more than one occasion, especially when we got to the cavern with gnomes and dwarves bathed in "magical" multi-colored lights. The guide had a few scripted events and jokes during the tour. At one point as we were crossing a brine filled lake on a wooden bridge a hidden speaker made a large splashing sound and she reassured us that there were no monsters in the lake. The final cavern had a scripted "animation" that consisted of light fading in and out illuminating various sculptures to recorded sound effects and music.

By far the most impressive part was the massive church carved from the rock salt lit by many salt crystal chandeliers. Three miners were responsible for the decoration of this magnificent space. There were many wall relieves that appeared deceptively deep and lifelike.

When the tour was over we all waiting in line for a ride back to the surface. There was a tall 4 level lift that could carry 7 passengers on each level all at once. I crowded into the metal box with some very large tourists and got cozy with them as we were jerked up and into the sunlight again. I got a thrill watching the salt rock walls rush past us on the way up. Throughout the tour I was having too much fun to be bothered by claustrophobia or acrophobia even though I was in some situations that would normally have provoked a panic response.

I took way too many pictures, and ran through one set of batteries while down in the mines. I've only put the best ones up on the flickr sight. It was hard to choose between flash and no flash, flash washed out the sculptures and you lose some of the depth, but no flash tended to be fuzzy and too dark to see.

After the mines I took another minibus home to Krakow and wandered old town once again looking for food. I stopped momentarily to listen to a trio of accordions play out Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor and watched a small boy spin and dance to the music in the main square. It was a very happy moment for me. I found a Polish cafeteria and ended up accidentally ordering twice as much food as I meant to, but I did my best effort to eat a little bit of everything.

After dinner I went back to the hotel, posted my pictures, and took a long nap. I got up to do some emailing and such in the evening and then went to bed early to be ready for work on Monday. Woke up very early this morning refreshed and ready for more.

Prison Camps and Pub Crawls

Saturday was fantastic. I got up early, but still had to run to catch my bus in the morning. On the way I bought some cheap sunglasses from a street vendor, it was proving to be a very nice looking day and didn't want to be squinting. I was confused at the bus station at first, my ticket read gate D13 and all I could see was section G. If they were alphabetical I was in trouble because I had less than 5 minutes. With the help of a passing Pole who spoke no English I was able to figure out that G meant ground and D meant underground. I flew down 3 flights of stairs and caught my bus just before it left.

The ride out to the museum was very nice. The Polish countryside is beautiful, the old houses and farms and people, it's all very quaint. We passed through several small towns and villages, picking up and dropping off locals at each stop. It was an hour and a half ride, but I didn't mind at all and kept myself busy listening to music on the iPod. I was thinking to myself that it would have been nice to rent a bike and ride out here, but I'd probably get lost.

Once at the museum I broke away from the crowd, got out my Rick Steve's guide book and took a self-guided tour of Auschwitz. The displays were very moving, especially the massive piles of hair, shoes, bags, brushes, and personal effects. The mug-shots of prisoners lining the barrack walls were haunting. Some visitors had left flowers here and there on the frames, presumably an ancestor or loved one. The camp exhibits were very self explanatory and I didn't feel like I was missing the point by not taking a guided tour. I was happy to blow past the large groups and get some time to take pictures and look at the displays alone.

I decided to walk to Birkenau instead of taking the shuttle, and I'm glad I did although I did get lost at one point. I think that's just par for the course for me. Another helpful Pole with no English got me pointed in the right direction again. At one point a local driver stopped to ask me for directions, boy did he find the wrong person to ask. I had to laugh about that. After about a 30 minute walk I could see Birkenau and got a good shot of the old rail tracks into the camp, I would have missed that if I'd been on the bus. Birkenau was huge. I got an overview from the main guard tower at the entrance. The stairs up were tight and narrow and I had to crowd past a herd of students on the way back down. I spent a significant amount of time at the camp, mostly because it is huge and so spread out. I found the rows and rows of lonely chimneys to be very spooky. By far the most moving part of the site are the old crematorium ruins.

I was getting tired, but decided to walk back to Auschwitz anyway. My legs were very sore by the time I got back. On the bus ride home I saw someone else had the same guidebook as me so I sat down next to him and started up a conversation. Don was a really nice guy from Seattle and he was on a 3 month European vacation with his wife, but she opted out of going to Auschwitz. We had a nice chat together all the way back to Krakow and then walked through the main square before parting ways. I took a picture to remember him by and gave him my card. He was off to visit family in Northern Poland and then on his way to Sweden and finally Norway.

I went back to the hotel and was so happy to see that my luggage had arrived safe and sound. I took my bags up to the room and then crashed for a much needed nap. I got up around 20:00, called Marcin, and had some coffee and borsch in the dining room while I waited for my friends to come pick me up.

The guys found me and we started our evening in Old town. There were some firedancers and drummers performing in the main square and I stopped to watch for a bit. It reminded me of Kat, who I am missing dearly. We walked past Marcin's new flat that he has been fixing up and is very proud of, and then we picked up Maciek's girlfriend, Olga, from work. She is a dentist.

Our destination was the Kazimierz district, which has become a very trendy spot. We stopped by Szymon's place, but he would come to join us later. It was a very fun bar crawl, and I took my turn at buying a round for everyone at the Propaganda bar. For a latenight snack we had some cheap but delicious soup and it hit the spot. It seems that beer and politics go well together because that was the main topic of conversation for the evening. My Polish friends shared a lot of stories about what they remember of the communist era.

Marcin and I took a cab back to old town and finished the night at the Jazz Rock Cafe which is one of the places I remembered from my last trip. After that we walked back to my hotel and said goodnight. These guys really take good care of me, I feel pretty special. It was 4:00 in the morning when I got to bed and my legs were so sore from all the walking.

I've slept most of the day away, but I hope to get some more sight-seeing done today. I've uploaded all my new pics now so have fun browsing. Ciao.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo, de Krakow

I'm here at Eugene airport, plenty early for my flight, enjoying a blueberry muffin and orange juice for breakfast. This time I remembered to get a temporary Mileage Plus number to start wracking up the frequent flyer miles. Free stuff here I come!

I've never been away from home for three weeks before, I sure hope I thought of everything I'll need. Once again I waited until the absolute last minute to pack. I'm glad I have the nice new luggage set for this trip. I filled the two largest bags with practically all the clothes I own and I will still have to do laundry at least once during the trip. This is the heaviest I've ever packed, two check-on bags and two carry-ons. Hope I didn't forget anything.

Last night Lindsey hosted a barbeque Bon Voyage party for me and Andrea. Four hours before the party Andrea learned that she could no longer go on the trip, her trip had been canceled. I felt terrible for her and was very disappointed in whatever management bungle let that happen. I was really looking forward to having her as a travel partner even if it was going to be for just a week. She seemed to take it all in stride though, and actually came to the party to wish me luck on my trip. The party was nice, and I got to meet more of Lindsey's friends and family. We sat around the firepit eating Polish sausages kraut, coleslaw, and pie, talking and joking and laughing. It was a very nice send off, although I developed a very painful nausea-inducing headache halfway through the party. Thankfully, Lindsey found something for me that took care of it and I was able to make it through the rest of the evening. I was super happy that Chris and Kat came and met some of my tribe. Everyone seemed to get along, I hope they did.

After saying goodnight to everyone I went home to finish packing. It was very tough to leave now when there are exciting things happening at home.

...

Now I'm in Chicago. We were delayed an hour in Eugene while on the plane, got to San Fran an hour late and cut it close on my connection to Chicago. Now I've got an hour until the flight for Krakow leaves. I'm surprised that there is a direct flight from Chicago to Krakow, but then again I've heard it said that the only city to have more Poles living in it than Chicago is Warsaw so maybe it's not so strange after all. Had time for some Chinese food before boarding the plane, I want to avoid the in flight dinner at all costs, it just never sits right.

...

The flight to Krakow was not an enjoyable experience. I got stuck with a middle seat in the center of the plane. The guy on my right pretty much had his elbow in my seat resting on me whenever he wasn't popping pills or getting up to rush to the bathroom and then throw himself back into the seat heavily. He didn't look well. My plan to sleep through dinner would have work too if it hadn't been for the meddling woman on my left who woke me up roughly to tell me dinner was being served. I thanked her and then promptly went back to sleep until the man on my right was served and his elbows hammered into me as he attempted to cut the rubbery chicken product on this plate. I gave up and continued to read my new books on Poland and Eastern Europe.

I learned a lot from them and they've helped me plan my trips better. I'm hitting Auschwitz and Birkenau Saturday, Wieliczka salt mine, Kazmierz district and an art Museum Sunday, and then taking the overnight train to Prague and back next weekend. I'm looking forward to it all.

I've never been on a flight before where all the passengers break into spontaneous applause as soon as the plane touches the ground. That was a bit unsettling, as if they had all been witness to failed attempts at hitting the ground before and wanted to show their appreciation for a successful touch down. I didn't think the ride was that bumpy. I guess applauding is a healthier reaction to landing than trying to drive your feet through the bottom of the plane and slow it down like a Flintstones car, as I usually do.

Things didn't get off to a good start. I waited for an hour for my bags, and they never showed. Neither bag. I have only my emergency change of clothes right now and no jacket. I washed my shorts and socks in the sink tonight so that I will have something if my bags don't arrive tomorrow. There is only one flight per day out of Chicago. That sucks. They took my information down and a description of the bags and it's all out of my hands now. That was my favorite 80% of my wardrobe, I hope I get it back. I also forgot to bring sunglasses. At least the weather was nice today.

Paul picked me up at the airport, we laughed about the bag situation and he dropped me off at the hotel. I put some essentials in the safe at the hotel and then went out to wander the main square and do some shopping. I almost bought a painting today, I might go back and try to barter it down if it's still there next time. Krakow is twice as beautiful as it was last time I was here. Everything turned green, the snow is gone, and the skirts have gotten much higher. Love it.

Paul met me later in the evening, and we had a nice time snacking at the outdoor cafes, having a couple drinks, wandering old town, and chatting the time away. Dinner was an overly long affair, but I've come to expect that here. After a fulfilling meal of soup, cabbage, rice, meats, bread, and beer we both were done for the evening and headed our separate ways.

I'm posting pics from the last couple days soon and then heading to bed. Czesc.