Prague: Don't Eat the Pretzels!

We just wrapped up our first full day in Budapest and I'd have to say it's near the top of our list of favorite spots so far. I'll get around to posting about it in more detail eventually, but first...

The day of my 40th birthday, April 25th 2016, I woke up in Prague feeling ill. My throat was sore and scratchy, making swallowing painful, my nose was congested, and despite sleeping for a good solid chunk of time I was still feeling a bit tired and weak. To top it all off I was still having some stomach troubles that kept me alert for the nearest WC at all times. A day or two later Kat started complaining of some of the same symptoms as well. We've since learned that there was some sort of crud going around at Czocha. Lucky us.

My original plan for the day was to take the early morning train out to Kutna Hora and see the Sedlec bone church. I'd even gone ahead and purchased the tickets the night before, but I was feeling so bad by the time my alarm was about to go off that I decided that staying in bed for a little while longer was a better idea. Kat asked if I wanted to just stay in that day, but I decided we should just power on through and at least see some sites in town. After we were finished showering, shaving, and doing our laundry in the sink we wandered down to breakfast at the hotel. It turned out to be a pretty good buffet so we filled up on sausages, eggs, potatoes, fruit, cereals, coffee, chai, and juices.

Before we got going on site-seeing my first priority was to get rid of the stupid rolling bag. When I asked, the hotel staff suggested we try the Czech post office which had a nearby branch. A few minutes later we thought we had found it and I dragged the bag into a quiet insurance office. They couldn't help me, but they did direct me to the post office across the hall. At the post office the attendant seemed a little confused by my request to ship a large piece of luggage through the mail and warned me that it might be expensive, but at this point just about any price was worth it. She and the other worker cocooned the bag in plastic wrap and slapped a label on it and I gladly paid the hefty charge to see the last of it. A sudden feeling of lightness come over me as I became joyously unburdened and I was ready to conquer Prague.

With our trusty Rick Steves guide to Eastern Europe in hand we finally started our walking tour of Prague. The morning was cold and windy although it was not raining all that hard. The weather turned out to be crazy all day long; there were moments when it would suddenly start snowing, then it would turn sunny, then windy, then snow again, and back to sun. I was glad to have my warmish puffy jacket along with my, but I was really regretting not having a scarf, not just for the warmth, but for the fashion statement as well. I had been noticing that here and in Berlin it seemed everyone had cool-looking scarves, men and women alike. Kat was noticing it too and although she had a warm scarf she felt she needed something a bit more flashy to fit in, and she could really use some gloves because her hands were freezing.

Our first stop was at a little outdoor market on a small square near our hotel. There was a sign for hot spiced wine so we got one for each of us to keep our hands warm. There was also a little kiosk selling these spiral tube cakes we'd seen on a travel show and we were excited to try it. We dubbed them "Cake Holes" and ate one that had been slathered in chocolate frosting. We both felt a little bit more perked up after our wine and pastry.

After a little bit of wandering we came across another open air market filled with arts and crafts. We've come to find that some of our favorite experiences on our trips tend to be wandering random little markets sampling street food and browsing through cheap art. This was no exception. I almost immediately found a soft and warm scarf that was in a color scheme that fit my particular idiom and snatched it up. I wore it non-stop for the next several days. Kat and I also found a small piece of artwork that we liked and that we could pack home without too much trouble. On a corner shop we also found Kat a simple pair of gloves for her cold hands. Then we stopped at a green grocer for some large pea pods Kat wanted to snack on. She paid and picked up the bag by the wrong end, promptly dropping her peas on the ground. She picked them up and ate them anyway, even after she dropped the one she was eating on the ground a second time. It was still early in the day and we already felt very accomplished.

We spent the next several hours site-seeing around Prague. Prague is an amazingly beautiful city and surprisingly walkable. We managed to walk to and see all the major sites within one day and still find some time to relax a little and plan for the next day. Other than the markets I'd say my favorite attractions are the Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock, and climbing Petrin Hill to the Strahov Monastery. We had a very good beer at the monastery and a nice lunch at a bistro near Kampa Island called Cukrkavalimonada which means "Sugar, Coffee, Lemonade". At lunch over a bowl of beet root soup, a ham and cheese croissant, a salad and some juice cocktails we chatted with a nice couple on vacation from the Bay Area.

We took a long afternoon nap, as we like to do, and woke up ready for a late birthday dinner. The first place we'd considered going to that evening, an interesting sounding Afghan place, turned out to be closed. The second place that sounded good turned out to be way too smokey inside. Not having any backups planned after that we just wandered old town until we found a place that seemed relatively reasonable. Unfortunately we ended up at what turned out to be a kind of tourist trap. It seemed fine at first, as it wasn't smokey and the cellar location had a cool atmosphere. There were even these large pretzels hanging off a little wooden tree in the center of the table as an appetizer so of course we each helped ourselves to one as we waited for the menus. At the time I thought it was a bit odd how stale the pretzel seemed. Later we found out that the pretzels were not complimentary and that no one ever eats the pretzels.

The waiter was nice enough and the main dishes were decent, but the setup was definitely a money grab. In addition to the pretzel trap there was a "cover charge" listed on the back of the menu. Basically they charge you a mandatory 100 crowns for bread and butter, per person, regardless if you want it or not. When it comes out it was a tiny little tasteless roll and a rather large crock of butter. Plus the pretzels cost 50 crowns each. The total bill was still less than any single meal we ate in Berlin, but it was twice the cost of any meal we'd had in Czech Republic up to that point. That feeling of being suckered just kind of tainted the whole experience.

That was our last night in Prague. We had a full itinerary planned for the next day including the morning train to Kutna Hora and then a bus ride to Cesky Krumlov in the afternoon.

The Ghost Station at Horni Rasnice

I started this post while sitting at a cafe in Bratislava, continued it on the late bus to Budapest, and finally finished it in our hotel where we plan to spend at least a couple of days so we can hopefully catch our breath for a bit.

On the morning of April 24th we repacked our bags, putting all of our Czocha stuff and everything we didn't think we would need or want in our extra rolling bag in preparation to mail it home at the earliest possible moment. Then we arranged for a taxi to take us to the closest train station before heading down to breakfast. Our plan for the day was to get to Prague as early as possible and still have some time to explore the city. In hindsight that was overly optimistic.

At breakfast we said our goodbyes to all the new friends we'd made and politely declined their requests that we return in a couple of weeks for the next event. It was hard to resist the urge to promise to come back. We've both toyed with the idea since and although we know we might have even more fun doing it a second time, it just really isn't very feasible and it can be very draining. Still it's sad to know we'll probably never see all these wonderful people again in our lifetimes. Kat on the other hand has become Facebook friends with many of them and can still share in the fun.

The taxi arrived and we negotiated a price to take us to Horni Rasnice, the closest train station inside the Czech Republic. Czocha was only 20 minutes from the station, but the ride would cost us about 200 zloty, or about $50, because it was apparently rare for anyone to go out there. Also our driver spoke only German and Polish, making it difficult to communicate. We pretended we knew what we were doing and loaded up our bags to set out.

The ride took us along old country roads and through small run-down communities. Our first sign that things might not go as planned was when our taxi driver got lost and had to stop and ask directions from a couple of policemen parked on a side street. They looked as confused as the driver and pointed vaguely in a direction and the ride continued. Eventually we found some old overgrown rails and wondered if there used to be a station here that no longer existed. We decided to continue on across until finally we came upon an old abandoned train station out in the middle of nowhere. With bars across the boarded up windows, stained and peeling walls, and padlocks on the doors it was just the kind of place you would expect to be haunted.

In my mind's eye I had imagined a full-service train station with a ticket booth and an ATM where I could get some Czech crowns, since all I had on me were euros and polish zloty. We had also hoped for wifi access to pass the time as we waited since the train wasn't supposed to be by for another couple hours. This place wasn't even manned and there was no way inside the building. The only signs that the station might still see some use was a depressing little metal shelter with a bench and a trash can next to it and two sets of rails that passed in front of the station: another rusty overgrown track and a more modern and well maintained-looking one.

Just to add to the drama of the situation the weather had turned suddenly frigid and windy. We had definitely not packed enough cold weather clothes for the trip, thinking that the weather would be relatively mild. I immediately regretted giving my only scarf away.

Our taxi driver sounded as skeptical about leaving us there as we were feeling about getting left. Despite the language barrier we made it clear that he felt we were making a mistake and urged us to go into the little town nearby to get coffee and wait for the train out of the cold. He even offered to stick around and shuttle us back to the station later when the train was due, for an extra 40 zloty of course. With more confidence than I felt I reassured him that we would be fine and thanked him for the ride here. He relented, but made sure I had his number just in case, although I'm not sure how much good that would have been since we didn't have a phone between us that worked in Europe.

After he drove away Kat and I settled in for a long, cold, and lonely wait. Kat bundled up in every last layer of clothing she had including two jackets and a wrap thing she wore as part of her witch costume. From time to time while we waited there were little flurries of snow. I think I even heard some wolves howling in the distance. I grew restless and wandered around the building looking for clues. I did find a paper schedule plastered to the wall which seemed to confirm that there was a train due in about an hour that would take us in the right direction, but Prague was not listed as a destination, which I found a bit worrisome. There was nothing left to do but return to the shelter and wait.

Not long after that we heard a train approaching, but from the other direction. A small single car train, something more akin to a streetcar or tram than a true train, arrived and stopped at the station. The car looked practically empty and nobody got off and we remained seated. After a few moments the little train started up again and moved away. Our spirits perked up a bit after that to at least know that our station was still in service, even if we had no idea where the next train would take us.

Right on schedule at 12:08 our train arrived and we quickly climbed aboard, happy to be out of the cold and moving again. I had hoped to find an attendant that I could talk with to confirm our eventual arrival in Prague and negotiate with for our tickets. Unfortunately, it was completely empty except for the driver who was in his little locked booth. There was an automated ticket machine in the car that had no English instructions and seemed to only take Czech coins, of which I had none. The train began moving again as I struggled with the confounding contraption. I eventually had to admit defeat and returned to my seat. I picked up a schedule pamphlet and attempted to puzzle out our route, but once again failed to find Prague listed anywhere. All that was left was to accept our fate and wait to see what would happen next.

At the next stop we picked up a handful of new travelers. After they had all settled in and the train was moving I decided to try my luck. I walked through the car asking if anyone spoke English and could help us out. I mostly got negative head shakes and questioning looks, but wasn't having much luck. Finally, a young woman who had been listening to music with earbuds in looked up at me as I passed back by her and asked "Do you need help?"

I gave a sigh of relief and an emphatic "Yes, please!" I explained our situation and she immediately came to the rescue. First she explained that this train only went as far as Liberec, where she happened to be going herself. When I admitted that I had no coins to work the machine she purchased two tickets for us, which came to around 50 crowns, or about $3. I offered to pay her back but she insisted it wasn't necessary. When I asked how we could get to Prague from Liberec she suggested we take a bus and even offered to walk us to the station when we arrived. I thanked her profusely and then we returned to our seats for the ride to Liberec. There was snow flying outside the windows by this time and it got steadily worse as we went along. Thanks to our new friend we weren't kicked off the train when the ticket checker eventually came through the car.

When we got to Liberec, Czech Republic, our guide was even better than her word. First she walked us into the train station while I got some Czech koruna from the cash machine and then took us down the street to the main bus station. She handled the transaction, getting us two tickets to Prague on the next RegioJet Student Agency bus, and I paid the bill. The next bus wasn't for a couple hours so she continued her tour of Liberec by walking us down to the local shopping mall where she was headed after all. That's when I remembered to ask her name and tell her ours. Her name was Petra Linh and she was a student with Vietnamese and Czech parents. Apparently there is a large Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic. She wrapped up her tour by showing us a coffeeshop where we could get internet access and then took us to where our bus would be picking us up in the square just outside the mall and even pointed out the big yellow ones that we would be on.

With her mission complete Petra said her goodbyes and I took a quick pic to immortalize her good deeds. She refused any sort of repayment and seemed genuinely happy to have just been of use. We hugged and she left to pursue her own errands. I like to imagine she continued on to save an old woman from being struck by a car, worked her usual shift at the soup kitchen, and then found a starving kitten to take home and adopt before calling it a night.

Kat and I took over a bench at the coffeeshop with our backpacks and rolling bag. At this point I was really starting to get annoyed by lugging around the extra bag and was looking around for a way to get rid of it, but I didn't want to get too far away from our bus when the time came to leave. We ordered a couple drinks, took turns hitting the pay-to-poop bathrooms, 5 crowns each, and spent some quality time on the internet. By this time it had been over three days since we'd left Berlin and fell off the grid and into the magical world of Czocha College. I think we were both starting to go through some withdrawals. Our first priority was to check in on the cats back home and thankfully there were emails and pictures waiting for us from our pet-sitters. It looked like everything was going as well as could be expected so we started to feel much better.

After a quick lunch at a pan-Asian place in the food court it was time to head out and look for our bus. It had begun to snow slightly again as we waiting at the bus stop and watched the big yellow bus before ours load up and leave. That's when I noticed they advertised internet access during the ride. We thought that was so cool and immediately dubbed them the Internet Buses. Our bus arrived on schedule and we transformed our backpacks into luggage again using the flaps and zippers to hide away all the straps before loading them in the storage compartment. Have I not mentioned how cool our backpacks are? They've been a great purchase and we're both really impressed with them. When fully loaded with the front and back packs it really balances out the weight.

The ride to Prague took 3 hours, but the bus was big, clean, and comfortable complete with internet, personal video screens, and a charging station for usb devices. There was even a bus stewardess and some free drinks available. All for only 200 crowns. I'd say it was a heck of a deal and we rode in relative comfort all the way to Prague. It would be the first of many bus trips we would take using RegioJet Student Agency.

By the time we arrived in Prague it was past 18:00, long after we had expected to be there. We were exhausted, still coming down from our high at Czocha Castle, and a bit drained from the stressful adventure of just getting to Prague. As we stepped off the bus we stepped into a chill wind and shower of rain. All Kat wanted to do was get to the hotel, but I wasn't exactly sure how to get there so we attempted to navigate to the closest landmark, the main train station Praha hlavni nadrazni, to look for tourist info and maps. As I bumped the rolling bag across the uneven cobblestone streets I became obsessed with finding a way to ship it home as soon as possible.

As happens when you're tired and in a hurry you tend to make a few mistakes. First we took a couple wrong turns and lost track of the signs pointing the way to the station. We came around a corner while searching for signs and Kat stepped into a massive hole in the sidewalk and almost fell flat on her face. Other than having that sudden unexpected step down she was fine, but we both realized how close she had come to getting badly hurt. We dubbed it the "Rill Hole" and have since found many more holes like it all around Prague and other cities, lurking around every corner just waiting to claim a victim. You really have to keep a sharp eye out because about half the streets and sidewalks are under some sort of major reconstruction at all times.

We managed to find the train station and grab a map, but they couldn't help with the rolling bag at the tourist desk. I could tell Kat was fading fast so I had to plan the quickest route to the hotel and not make any more wrong turns. Pouring over the map and our guide book it looked like it was just a few short blocks away and that we could even take a tram. We walked out to the closest stop and waited in the wind and rain for one to arrive. A few minutes later one pulled up but it was packed to the gills with people and nobody was getting off. We looked at each other and agreed it was time to just walk to the hotel.

Several minutes later we staggered and rattled our way right past the hotel, missed it, discovered our error, turned around, and finally got out of the cold. Check-in went fine and when we got up to our room there was a nice surprise. Gary and Carol had thoughtfully ordered some champagne and a cheese plate for the room as a birthday gift. The ice wasn't even all melted yet. We immediately crashed, took showers, and climbed into bed while sipping champagne and nibbling fruit and cheeses. We didn't even go out for dinner that evening we were so tired. Kat fell asleep almost immediately and I stayed up a bit to work on posting pics and blogging.

Next time I'll cover how we spent my birthday site-seeing in Prague.

Czocha College of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Part 2

We're currently in Vienna and planning on moving on tomorrow, but I still need to catch up on my memoirs from almost a week ago before I can talk about what we've just done. We've been setting a rather busy pace and I haven't had as much downtime as I would like in order to craft these long posts. I might be able to catch up in Budapest. We'll see.

In recent news we've decided to alter our travel plans. We will no longer be traveling back to Poland. There are no overnight trains available from Budapest to Krakow, and taking a train back through Vienna ends up being a waste of a travel day, plus all the cheap flights we had looked into previously have suddenly rocketed out of our price range. So instead we're going to follow Rick Steves' plan and continue on to Ljubljana, Slovenia and parts beyond after visiting Budapest. We'll be taking a flight from Ljubljana back to Berlin before coming home. I'll miss not revisiting Krakow and getting to share it with Kat, but Rick makes Slovenia sound pretty amazing too and we're both excited to give it a try.

For now let's get back to Czocha. When we last left I was going to be early on the first night of the game. Aletha had been out running around with her housemates and getting up to some sort of magical mischief and was out late. I was pretty tired so when finally she came to bed and tried to explain something about rituals, doom-spiders, and ghosts in the Dark Forest I just replied with a noncommittal "Uh huh," and rolled back over to go to sleep.

We both woke up early the next morning, anxious to start our first day of classes, put on our costumes and got back into character before heading downstairs. One nice thing about having a private room to ourselves was that we could take a break from it all and go "off-game" and "out-of-character". We were just Kat & Jeff again instead of Aletha & Dorian. Even though our characters were very similar to ourselves there was still a certain amount of separation and distance. I needed that time away from the game with Kat to recharge.

When we got downstairs that first morning there wasn't any sign of anyone else. They had all probably been up way past curfew partying and what-not so we decided to make full use of our new found freedom by searching for the castle's many secret passages. Aletha found one in the library and then got spooked when I said I thought I heard someone coming just when she was opening it. We didn't want to lose any points for our houses by being caught in secret passages where Juniors were not allowed.

The noise turned out to be just the hotel staff setting up the breakfast buffet so we regained our courage and proceeded to explore. Our adventure took us all over the castle and into the cellars below where we discovered someone had left a trail of flowers all around. Unfortunately when Aletha picked one up to examine it she triggered a curse that had been placed on it causing her to think she was one of the more strict professors. She began interrogating Dorian as to what thought he was doing by sneaking around the castle. Thinking fast, Dorian drew his wand and terminated the hex, restoring Aletha to her proper self. Forewarned, the pair avoided touching anymore of the booby-trapped flowers for fear that they might contain more dangerous curses.

Running around with Kat that morning was one of my top experiences at the event. We felt like we had the whole castle to ourselves and got to have some fun with just the two of us. Soon it was breakfast time and then classes began.

I should say that most of my pictures give the impression that the castle was practically abandoned all the time. That wasn't the case at all. Although there were times you would find yourself alone they were few and far between and almost always your solitude would be interrupted by a group of students wandering through, by staff accosting you, or even by goblins chasing one of the cats out of the castle. I intentionally tried to avoid photographing other players during the game since it seemed like not something I should do. It wasn't specifically forbidden, but I felt like every time I took a picture I was breaking character. For a moment I was on vacation and staying at a castle rather than playing a returning student in a magical boarding school. I didn't want to break the magic for anyone else so I tried to be discrete with my picture-taking.

My first class, which turned out to be one of my favorites, was Alchemy in the cellars where I learned how to construct recipes and craft potions based on the symptoms you wished to cure or cause in the imbiber. There was a very mathematical approach to it that made it sort of like solving an intricate puzzle and then you actually got to make the thing. Every ingredient in the lab was edible so you got to sample your potions once they were finished. One of my recipes ended up requiring warm alcohol and peppercorns. It was pretty intense.

I can't possibly explain every cool thing that happened at the event and still get some sleep so I'll try to give you a few of the remaining highlights. Dorian joined the house "Fireball Dragon" team, a game somewhat like keep-away and dodgeball all rolled into one, and took up the "Spirit Guardian" position, much like a goal-keeper. Our team didn't get to go on to the finals, but I had a blast being part of it. Dorian and Aletha managed to get lost trying to find the one class they had together, Demonology, and ended up climbing to the top of the tower for some quality alone time and a photo-op. Dorian slipped out into the Dark Forest twice without getting caught. The first time I had to cleverly sneak by an in-progress class while they were distracted battling some sort of giant boar-man. Dorian also ran for student council, but lost by a few votes to his nemesis Ray Frost. He faced his greatest desire and worst fear as his exams in Magical Defense and Demonology respectively. Dorian danced the polka during Rituals class and he almost got caught disposing of alchemical waste in the Faust common room shower. He raised many a glass in toast with his Faustian brothers and sisters in the castle tavern. He watched helplessly as Aletha was attacked and nearly killed by the spirit of a dead ancestor possessing the body of one of her closest friends and then later found her scared and alone in the cellars fearing another attack, but with the guidance of the kindly Runes professor he cast spells to help restore her confidence.

The event concluded on the third night with a grand ball to celebrate the end of mid-term exams and the awarding of the cup to the house with the most points. Despite our hard work and discipline, Faust lost the title of First House to Libussa in a surprising upset. Aletha and Dorian attended the ball together dressed in their fanciest attire (that would fit in our travel bags) and waltzed to a number of songs until they slipped off to join the misfits and trouble-makers at the anti-ball in the tavern for a few drinks before returning to the dance floor.

At the end of the dance everyone gathered in the Knights Hall one last time for final announcements and to sing the school song. Then the game was concluded and a big round of cheers and applause went up for the organizers and everyone who help make this a thing. There was a debriefing period, for new people and old, to give folks a chance to discuss their experiences and decompress a little bit. Most people slipped right into the after-party while Kat and I headed up to our room to get some sleep and get ready to go on our next adventure.

Czocha College of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Part 1

Brace yourself for this will be a very long post.

Trying to sum up and capture our experiences at Czocha Castle in one post will be impossible, but in a few words it was all at once scary, exciting, challenging, stressful, confusing, exhausting, magical, intense, light-hearted, fun, and will be something we will remember always.

On our last night in Berlin we were invited to go to dinner with a large group of players who were staying in Berlin as well and were going to take the buses with us to Czocha in the morning. I was a bit nervous getting ready to meet these people for the first time since I had it in my mind that these were going to be some strange folk and that I wouldn't fit in very well, since I had never done anything like this before and had not really prepared very well for the event. In any case I was glad to get a chance to wear my fancy new jacket that I had packed all the way to Europe. I also wore one of the scarves Kat made for the trip, a yellow and blue striped one, the colors of House Faust.

When we got to the place, an Italian themed restaurant called Da Vinci's, we found a huge group piled into the back room of the place already eating and drinking. We sat down and more people trickled in soon after. There was a continuous chaotic flow of food and drink that arrived almost as quickly as it was ordered. Some people where on their second or third round as we were just getting started. The food was good despite the confusing atmosphere.

During the meal we got a chance to get to know a few of our fellow players. Across from us sat Ashley, an American living abroad, and a return player from previous CoW events. She was playing "Professor Briar", a slightly quirky teacher of Rune Magic. She was excited to hear that my character would be taking her class. She taught her lessons wearing pajamas and slippers while making us form the various rune patterns with our arms and legs. Imagine the YMCA dance routine, but while standing on one leg. She was especially delighted when I spontaneously busted out a dance routine based on the rune patterns during the ball on the final night.

We sat next to a Danish woman who would be playing one of the most memorable players at the college, a Libussan named "Hannah O'Hara", a loveably bumbling misfit of a student whose robes were always in disarray, was constantly dropping things that would make squeaking noises at the most inappropriate of times, was constantly late to the classes I had with her, and just a general disruptive influence on everything, but in an absolutely adorable way. She even wore my house banner as an improvised toga dress to the final night's ball. Her housemates both hated and loved her because her antics cost them many house cup points as annoyed Professors would deduct points for her many interruptions, but in the end house Libussa still won the cup.

I got to meet a few of my fellow Faustians that night as well. Sitting next to me was a tall and gregarious Dane whose character was "Gabriel", a Guardian who was very stern and militaristic being something like a wizardly soldier and lawman wrapped into one. His full formal uniform was quite impressive and he struck an imposing figure. During the LARP his character could frequently be found haranguing other students for their minor transgressions against the codes of the school and the wizarding world in general.

Also from house Faust were "Gerard Jordan", "Abraham Sokolov", and "Ray Frost". Gerard was a Prefect from my house, a Senior Artificer and was a bit of a mentor for my character "Dorian D. Ward" who was supposed to be a Junior Artificer. Abraham was an impressive character, a wild loner draped in wolf pelts with a mohawk and beard. As a Cursebreaker his story arc was intricate and deep and by the end he had to give up his magic as part of a pact of which he was sworn not to speak. Abraham and Dorian had a few good shared moments of mutual respect for one another as we had Magical Theory and Ritual Magic classes together and often paired up with one another. Ray Frost was a flamboyant blue-haired Cryptozoologist obsessed with himself and his own power and who had grafted various bits of technology to himself, making him a sort of cyborg-wizard. I'd say some of Dorian's more challenging scenes came from interacting with him.

After dinner most of us continued on to drinks. The bar was a forgettable restaurant with watered down drinks, but the company was good. Soon it was quite late and Kat and I needed to get back to our hotel near the airport for some rest. It was our latest night out in Berlin and got to experience what happens when the U-Bahn shuts down and everything changes over to the night bus system. We were very confused at first when our U-Bahn stopped short of our final station and everyone disembarked. After regaining our wits we followed the press of people up into the cold windy night and went in search of a bus that would take us home. After successfully navigating the first leg of the trip we mistakenly took one of the transfer buses going in the wrong direction and it was several stops before we discovered our mistake. It was getting quite late at this point and we were in danger of missing the last #109 bus that would take us to the stop outside our hotel. We quickly retraced our steps, ran to catch the correct transfer and the finally got back to our hotel at the last possible moment.

In the morning we packed all our things and caught the shuttle to the airport where our bus to the castle would pick us up. I withdrew some Polish zloty for the trip, picked up a few snacks and some booze at the shops, and we had a rather nice breakfast of bagel sandwiches, and a couple to go for lunch on the bus, at a coffee shop while we waited, making full use of the internet while we still had it.

Soon it was time to gather for our bus outside. We met back up with some of the people from last night as well as some new folks who had just arrived. The bus started at Tegel airport and would swing by the other airport to pick up the rest. I snapped a quick shot of us all together and then we headed out.The ride to Czocha took just over five hours. Half of that was off the main roads and on small winding roads through tiny towns and villages. Crossing over into Poland you began to notice how the buildings on the roadside changed. There were old houses that were in such bad repair that they were barely still standing right next to brand new and expensive looking homes.

To pass the time I sat with more new people who would be playing with us. Many of them were first-timers like Kat and myself, had never LARPed before or been to the castle. A couple were even from the US. We were all a bit nervous but the excitement and encouragement from all the returning players was infectious. Some of them were already getting into character. I was still wearing my yellow and blue scarf, which marked me as a Faustian, so many people started treating me rudely if they weren't in my house. I was confused at first but soon came to learn that all the other houses generally hate Faust, because Faust is filled with ambitious and focused individuals who tend to be elitist jerks. They also tend to win the house cup most the time due to their studied discipline. The animosity of the other houses just serves to make Faust even more insular and tight-knit however. I decided that my character, Dorian, was an atypical Faustian and would try to do his best to show the other houses that he was one of the good ones by being friendly and helpful. Throughout the weekend I continued to get glared at and cursed while I was always polite, if a bit stuffy, in return.

Finally we arrived and Kat and I got our first look at the castle. To be honest it didn't blow me away at first from the view from the parking lot and I was feeling a little bit let down. However that soon changed as we walked down the long driveway and up to the front courtyard. As I looked up at its funny-looking tower and its somewhat chaotic asymmetric collection of multi-pitched roofs I felt something magical. This place was perfect. It was laid out like a crazy labyrinth and it was very easy to get lost so it wasn't hard to believe that it was alive and that the passages and staircases were moving and rearranging themselves at night. We were told during orientation that this was quite a common excuse for arriving late to a class in progress.

There was a large crowd gathered on the narrow stone bridge connecting the courtyard to the front entrance, some of them new arrivals like us, others had been at the castle for awhile helping to get set up for the event. I started to get a sense of just how large a group this was and the kind of effort that was going into the event. I later learned that there were over 150 participants, not including the regular hotel staff.

We checked-in and found our private room. It was on the top floor up several flights of stairs that we would come to dread climbing by the end of the event. I think we had both assumed we would be living in less than ideal conditions while staying at the castle, so we were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. The floors squeaked and the water heater made funny noises, but it was really quite spacious and far away from the noise of the rest of the castle. After putting our stuff down and freshening up a bit we headed back to the main hall for our orientation meetings, where they gave us a brief idea of the rules, codes of conduct, and what to expect. After that we were given time to get into our costumes and after a few announcements from the organizers we were split into small workshop teams based on our houses and learning paths. Kat and I went our separate ways and wouldn't see each other again until later that evening.

We were given school robes and ties color coded by year and house which we were expected to wear during classes and at dinner. This worked well with my costumes since I went with classic prep-school attire: button-up shirts, vests, gray slacks, and black dress shoes. Some of the players' costumes were much more elaborate than mine, others not so much. There were more than a couple people who were just wearing logo t-shirts and jeans under their robes.

In my house workshop we discussed Faust's motto and creed "Knowledge & Power", learned our chant "Wisdom is Might! As Dragons We Fight!", our oath "Dragon's flame burns eternal", met our prefects and discussed house rules and general school politics. In my learning path workshop I got to meet all the other Junior Artificers that I would be having classes with. We discussed the group dynamic and once again I was singled out as the only Faustian and how I would probably be ostracized by the others, but I made sure they knew I wasn't playing a typical Faustian and even made a few new friends in the group. Then as a group we sort of spontaneously decided that it might be fun during play if we worked on a secret project for extra credit that would go horribly wrong in some way. We ended up doing the project, but unfortunately never got a chance to present it in class.

After workshops we gathered up outside at night to officially begin play. We lined up in the castle courtyard by house and year as Klaus, one of the founders of the game, gave us our marching orders and gave us the signal. The Czocha College them song began to play as we silently filed by the professors, now in costume as well, waiting for us on the bridge who would say things like "Welcome back" or "Good to see you again, Dorian" or "Hope you had a good break" in passing as if we really were just returning from Spring break and ready for our mid-terms to begin. I'd say my memory of that very first moment when play began is one of the strongest and it gives me chills to think of.

In the Knight's Hall we stood as the Headmistress, overlooking us from the balcony, formally welcomed us back to school and gave the opening announcements. Juniors were forbidden to enter the Dark Forest and the secret passages as was traditional, and that curfew for all was at midnight. Then dinner was served. The food was plentiful and filling, but somewhat bland by my standards. Still, we were getting a great deal: room, board, and days filled with entertainment for the entire weekend in a real-live freakin' castle!

Aletha (Kat) and I ate at our separate house tables and I tried to get to know my fellow students a little bit better. Many of them had well developed backstories and ready made relationships as they greeted each other like long-time friends and swapped stories. I started to suddenly feel very lonely and a bit sad. I was having trouble getting into character and pretending to know these people just wasn't coming naturally. As soon as dinner was over I got up and wandered around by myself. I'd quickly lost track of Aletha and wondered what she was up to.

Faust was hosting a party later that evening and had installed some kind of magic mirror as part of the entertainment so Dorian had invited Aletha to join him at the party. During the party it was announced that there was a spirit trapped in the mirror that could answer any question from your past that you asked it. It was actually quite a cool setup, an actor in ghost makeup stood behind the mirror holding a lamp, making it look like they were inside. People lined up to place their hand on the mirror and ask it questions. The trick was that the ghost would possess you and answer in your own voice, so the question asker effectively got to answer their own question in front of the group. This led to many people performing dramatic soliloquies in front of a captive audience. The party mood turned somber as many of the askers had questions about dead relatives, betrayal, loss, and gloomy topics. Only one joker got up front and asked where he'd lost his ring, which turned out to be in his pocket. Aletha and Dorian dared each other to go up and give it a try, but we both chickened out.

Aletha had made other plans and said goodbye to join some others on some adventure or other while I stayed at the party for a bit longer. Suddenly there was a commotion as several Faustians cried out in terror and fled the castle. I curiously followed to the courtyard and watched some sort of drama play out between various members of Faust and a girl holding a plush wolf toy. Apparently it was some sort of demon trapped in a wolf-pup and the Faustians had suddenly regained memories of being trapped in a burning building. I never learned quite what it was all about and the group eventually dispersed.

There didn't seem quite anything in particular to do that night. There were little groups here and there doing various things, but Dorian wasn't really a part of it. I was still suffering from stomach troubles and feeling a bit bored and tired so decided to call it an early night and headed on up to bed. I had to get a good night's rest in order to be ready for my classes in the morning after all.

Exploring Neighborhoods in Eastern Berlin

Today was our last day to do some site-seeing before we leave for Czocha in the morning. Our points-of-interest list was quite long so in the morning I sat down and tried to plot them out on a map and plan an efficient route. The sites were a bit spread out, but at least most of them were grouped in Eastern Berlin. We got ourselves together, ate a quick snack bar, and then headed straight out to the #109 bus station.

This time we transferred at the first opportunity to the S-Bahn #S41, a raised rapid transit line that circumnavigates the city, and rode it out to Prenzlauer Allee to start our explorations. Prenzlauer Berg is a trendy neighborhood with plenty of charming cafes and shops. We stopped for a couple of lattes and a croissant to nosh on while we wandered the area.

Although I'd begun to get a feel for the layout of the city and was managing to get us from place to place using the transit system with a minimum of detours I was still far from being an expert guide. That didn't stop several people from asking directions of me throughout the day for some reason. I guess having a map in your hand makes you a target, however I seem to get asked directions pretty frequently at home too so maybe I just look like a directions kind of guy. Anyway, after chatting with a few people I sent them merrily on their ways, probably more lost than when they started.

In our wanderings we stumbled upon an enchanting park called Volkspark Friedrichshain. The sculptures of the entryway fountain had a faerie tale theme. We found Snow White and the seven dwarves and I took a picture of Kat next to her twin. After that we wondered pretty tree-lined pathways of the park, getting only mildly lost but loving every minute of it.

We emerged from the park and continued off toward Karl-Marx-Allee, a wide boulevard flanked by tall apartment complexes, planned a built during Soviet occupation. We stopped in at Cafe Sibylle, recommended by our buddy Rick, for some heiße schokolade and to look at their collection of artifacts from that period of time including the ear and mustache scavenged from the giant statue of Stalin that used to be there.

After that we took the U-Bahn back to Alexander Platz and then wandered over to Hackesher Markt, a collection of cafes and shops built in amongst the brick pillars of the overhead train. There we grabbed a quick discount happy hour meal of a couple cheese burgers and beers at a barbecue joint, which was quite good. During lunch we planned the rest of our afternoon, hoping to squeeze in a bit more site-seeing before we both ran out of gas.

Near Hackesher Markt is a system of interconnected courtyards with various shops and art galleries called Hackeshe Hofe that we decided to wander through. The courtyards were all very different from each other, but each was beautiful, peaceful, and pleasant to walk through. We hoped to find a new piece of artwork to take home with us, but unfortunately there wasn't much of interest on display.

Next on our list was seeing some of the Berlin Wall sites. The longest remaining intact section was the East-Side Gallery so we jumped on the S-Bahn #S7 and headed out to Ostbahnhof. A short walk to the Spree river and we began to walk the length of the wall which is now covered in artistic murals. The wall ended at a neo-gothic bridge called Oberbaumbrucke, which we crossed.

Another short U-Bahn ride later and we were in the heart of Kreuzberg, a district known as a happening nightlife spot, so not much to look at in the middle of the day. From there we wandered up to the Jewish Museum Berlin, but didn't go in as we feeling pressed for time. We zipped up the street and around the corner to Checkpoint Charlie where I snapped a few shots before continuing on. By the time we reached Potsdamer Platz, the Times Square of Berlin, we were exhausted and it was time to head back to our rooms for a break before heading out again for dinner.

Site-seeing in Eastern Berlin

Today was a major site-seeing day, filled with bus rides, U-bahn trips, and lots and lots of walking. Our plan was to do a long walking tour of Eastern Berlin but our first stop was back at the airport. I figured we'd be needing some euros and hadn't yet hit an ATM and I was informed the closest one was back at the airport, which was only a short shuttle ride away so Kat and I got our stuff together, ate a quick fruit bar for breakfast, and caught the shuttle a few minutes later.

Once there we quickly found the cash machine and I grab some euros for now and some euros for later to stash away just in case. Kat saw Starbucks sign and got excited about a chai latte, but it took us awhile to actually find the shop, which was hidden directly above us. We got our drinks and then went outside to catch the #TXL bus from the airport down to Hauptbahnhof, the large centrally located transit station near where our walk would begin.

We only had to wait a few minutes for the bus, but while we did the crowd gathered and waiting with us grew larger and larger. The weather so far has quickly alternated between nice and sunny to overcast, windy, and quite chilly. We dressed in layers with jackets and our packs and were quite comfortable, however we all crammed into the hot bus tight as could be and suddenly Kat and I were both sweating profusely and regretting having our warm drinks in hand. The ride into town was very unpleasant and it seemed that at every stop more people were getting on. At one point a large woman with a double-wide baby stroller and two children somehow managed to wedge herself in as well, crushing Kat against the glass in the process.

It seemed like forever before the pressure released and we were finally let out at Hauptbahnhof. We quickly doffed some of our outer layers and made a few adjustments to our outfits before heading out the back way and crossing the Spree river. Along the walk I snapped a few shots of Kat near a bridge flanked by griffons and then later playing with the water jets near the Chancellery.

The first major site on the list was the Reichstag, present day German parliament. We tried to walk around the building through an open gate but a policeman sitting in an idling car nearby shook his head "no" and waggled a finger at us so we turned back around.  Nearby were memorials to politicians who opposed Hitler, to victims killed trying to cross the Berlin Wall, and to murdered Roma and Sinti at the tail end of Teirgarten Park. We then passed through the iconic Brandenburg Gate and saw an organ-grinder playing for the crowd gathered in Pariser Platz. Kat nicely gave the man a few eurolettes.

We tried to go into DZ Bank to see the interior designed by Frank Gehry, but it was closed down for some sort of event. Next we wandered through the very impressive and moving Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. What at first looks like an undulating field of concrete coffins turns out to be a labyrinth of columns as your walk among them and slowly descend as the coffins gradually rise above your heads and you become completely surrounded by them. After finding our way back out again we walked by site of Hitler's bunker and the Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under the National Socialist Regime.

We were quite hungry at this point so we headed toward Gendarmanmarkt where a few good eateries could be found. We settled on Augustiner am Gendarmanmarkt where we dug into a big plate of beef goulash, egg noodles, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and sausages washed down with a delicious radler and a dunkl. Fully refueled we pressed onward, looking around Gendarmanmarkt and then headed back to Unter den Linden. Following the long boulevard we passed by Humbolt University and crossed over to Museum Island. Finally at the end of the tour we reached the large TV Tower which you can see all the way back at the Reichstag.

Beyond the TV Tower was Alexanderplatz were we decided we were too tired to go on for the day and grabbed our first S-Bahn ride back to where we could catch our favorite bus, the #109, back to our hotel. Our little nap turned into a 3 hour thing and we woke up around 7:30. We weren't that hungry but we decided we should get ourselves out and about again.

We decided on heading back to Eastern Berlin and walk around an neighborhood called Prenzlauer Berg, which was supposed to have an interesting nightlife and pub scene. Things were pretty quite there on a Tuesday night, but there were plenty of options available for food and drink. We ended up at a very cool place called La Bodeguita del Medio Cuban Bar and Restaurant. We had a couple tropical drinks, some chips and salsa, a chicken quesadilla, black bean casserole, and my favorite: tostones.

After that we went in search of a late night waffle, but the place was already closed so we called it a night, grabbed the U-Bahn back to our bus stop and caught one of the last busses back to the hotel.

Flights to Berlin

We're both pretty wiped out now. Kat is already asleep and I'll be heading to bed once I wrap this up. Tomorrow we start our tour of Berlin in earnest.

Today was taken up mostly by travel and then a tiny bit of exploring Western Berlin. The flight from Portland to Amsterdam was long, but I think we held up pretty well. Unfortunately neither of us got any sleep on the flight. Kat actually scored the special vegetarian meals that cost extra because someone across the isle from us had apparently mistakenly paid for them and didn't want it so she traded. We had a couple free drinks apiece, watched some movies, and read our books to keep busy.

On the Delta operated international flight they have these iPad-like things mounted on the back of every headrest, so you can watch movies, play games, follow the flight path, listen to music, etc. Pretty cool idea if you don't think about what it means to have a touch-screen device basically strapped to the back of your head...

I swear the elderly gentleman in the seat behind me thought he had to jab his finger through the screen to get it to work. Every few minutes: Jab! Jab! Jab! You could hear his meaty finger smacking on the screen as my head recoiled from the impact. Stab! Stab! Stab! He couldn't seem to make up his mind for very long on what to watch or play or listen to either, just constantly tapping on the back of my head. I think I would have actually preferred an unruly child kicking the back of my seat to this particular form of torture. When I used my screen I tried to touch it ever so gently and quietly so as not to propagate any further forward the chain of annoyance.

Our check-on bag was checked all the way through from Eugene to Berlin, but we were told when we checked-in that we would need to go through customs in Amsterdam before getting our final boarding passes to Berlin. We weren't too worried about going through customs, but during the flight little-by-little Kat started to become paranoid that they might decided to confiscate our delicious plane snacks that she has so thoughtfully purchased and carefully packed for us. I think she even considered eating all her snacks just to be sure they didn't go to waste. I on the other hand tried not to eat my precious snacks and instead ate and drank anything and everything that the airline provided and any of Kat's leftovers as well. I must think that's the only true way to get your money's worth. Unfortunately, something about eating on the flight or just travel in general doesn't agree with me and I began suffering from terrible gas pains by the time we reached Amsterdam, which then graduated to full on explosive diarrhea once we hit Berlin. Kat complained of gas issues during the flight too, but she seems to have not progressed to the dreaded second stage.

Customs turned out to be no big deal. We followed the signs to the passport area, walked through with no real problems, Kat was able to keep all her snacks, and after only a little bit of confusion we eventually found the right place to get our new boarding passes printed out. We made it to our final connection with time to spare. When we got onto the last plane is when I think exhaustion started to catch up with us. It had been nearly 20 hours since we'd woken up in Eugene.  Although we're both still happy with our bags at this point and how they distribute the weight, they're still pretty heavy to be hauling around airports, up and down stairs, and into overhead compartments and such.

The last flight was a short one, but once again I managed to put in front of someone that liked messing with the back of my seat. I think this guy's dinner tray was loose or something, because he would grab both sides of my chair and really slam and push on it to put the tray up, which he seemed to do pretty often. Is it me? I mean is it unreasonable for me to expect people to have a modicum of consideration for the person in the seat in front of them? Just leave my freakin' chair alone, dammit!

Anyway, we finally got to Berlin. Our checked bag arrived safely, I purchased a pair of WelcomeCard public transit passes for the three days we'll be here, and Kat found our shuttle to the hotel near the airport. It was noonish and we needed rest at this point, but we were a bit early for our check-in time at 3pm. We ended up paying the extra few Euros to get in to our room early so we could shower, brush our teeth, go to the bathroom, and take a nap.

Three or so hours later Kat woke up with a painful cramp in her leg. It went away eventually, but it was enough to get us up and moving again. We had no real plan for the evening, but we knew we wanted to get some food and not get too far away from the hotel. After consulting the guidebooks and the front desk we found our way to the bus stop and headed down to Bahnhof Zoo where we planned to look around and find a meal.

While there I took a few pictures of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a bombed out old shell that they've let stand in the middle of the urban environment. Then we wandered down the commercial shopping streets of Kurfurstendamm and Kantstrasse, eventually coming to a nice little park, Savignyplatz, and found a pub, or kneipe, for dinner, Dicke Wirtin. Kat ordered the schnitzel and I had the currywurst washed down with a couple of Berliner Kindl.

Packing for Europe 2016

Deciding what to bring and what to leave behind was the hardest part of packing for Europe. In the end I managed to cram more clothes and technology in the bags than is necessary or reasonable.

I've got my Samsung Galaxy S4 of course, my brand new Canon S610 HS since I hate taking pics with my phone, my awesome new MacBook Air 13" for blogging and uploading photos, my trusty 1st generation Pebble, and a bag full of miscellaneous cables, chargers, and power converters. It was a tough choice but I decided to leave behind the iPad so I'll have to make due with reading kindle books on the phone.

For everyday wear clothes I managed to get four changes of ExOfficio briefs, several pairs of SmartWool socks, one pair of jeans, one pair of Kuhl cargo shorts, a tan and a gray pair of quick-drying travel pants, six tech t-shirts, one short-sleeve button-up shirt and one long-sleeve button-up shirt most of which came from REI. I've got two lightweight and highly compactable jackets, a puffy one for warmth a lightweight shell for wind and rain, one pair of hiking shoes, some aqua socks, and a pair of lounging pants.

Just for the Czocha portion of the trip I've also brought some fancy clothes: four button-up shirts, three vests, a fancy new sport coat. I'll probably end up sending most of those back in the checked bag we brought along with our extra shoes, wands, hats, and other doodads that we'll only be using for the LARP (Live Action RolePlay).

I got all that plus my toiletries, glasses, contacts, medications, plane snacks, two Rick Steves guidebooks and one of the new Berlin books I got for my birthday, wallet, passport, money belt, and sunglasses into my new travel pack. I was pretty impressed how much stuff packed down in those nylon packing cubes. Once my bag was zipped up and strapped down tightly it looked pretty compact. I snapped a quick pic at the airport of Kat and our new matching Osprey Farpoint 55 bags. Thanks again to everyone who helped fund our travels with bon voyage and birthday gifts!

Leaving our four cats behind for three weeks is saddening, but we're really very happy and impressed with our house/pet sitters so we're confident that they will be well cared for. Tim & Ali arrived Saturday evening and after getting settled in we took them on a walk to the nearby Whiteaker neighborhood to show them some of our favorite bars and restaurants. We had a great meal, a beer, and even better conversation at Falling Sky Delicatessen. They seem like a great couple and it's a shame we won't see them by the time we get back as they'll already be on their way North. For the curious Kat found them on www.housecarers.com

Our taxi got us to our flight out of Eugene on time and I'm finishing this post up as we sit here in Portland for our three hour layover. The next flight takes us to Amsterdam where we need to go through customs and get our final boarding passes on to Berlin.