I'm am kicking myself for not being able to stay in Sarajevo for one more night. Today is the end of Ramadan, and it's a huge party tonight.
Instead I'm in Vienna. Very nice, pretty and clean... the antithesis of Bosnia.
I fly tomorrow morning at 10:35. I'll be back in Montreal at around 17:00.
And then I begin my fight with jet lag. Should be fun!
Til next time.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
bah
Seriously. What is wrong with me? Why do all my posts end up being short essays. It's a curse I tells ya.
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Alright. Gonna keep this short... no really! Not like the last time where I said it would be short and ended up being book-length!
Took the early train this morning from Mostar to Sarajevo. Amazing scenery... but a pretty sketchy train. Swarthy looking bosnian men chain smoking everywhere. Got to Sarajevo and saw my own breath. It's freaking cold and raining.
Staying at Haris Hostel tonight. Will try to go out tonight, and then take it easy tomorrow before m y afternoon flight to Vienna.
This is it. The home stretch.
And let me tell, only having one day in a particular city sucks.
Walked around Mostar yesterday in the rain, which made seeing all those bombed out buildings even more sombre. I'd post pictures, but there seems to be something wrong with the 'Blogger' picture upload functionality. When I get back to Montreal, I'll be posting up a proper slideshow of pictures. What I've posted here is just the tip of the iceburg - I've almost filled 2 2GB memory cards with pictures and videos.
The famous bridge in Mostar was nice and all, but it would have been nice if it was sunnier out. I also went to the main mosque and climbed the minurette.
Sarajevo has been interesting, but the weather definitely puts a damper on it. I went to the spot where Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife were assasinated by Gavrilo Princip, the spark that started World War I. Yes... Franz Ferdinand is not just a scottish rock group.
Otherwise, it's somewhat similar to Mostar, but bigger. That's a good thing.
Random bits:
- In 2 days, I've eaten Bosnian Burek 3 times. Might go again on the way back to the hostel. So tasty!
- Bosnian is one of the pedestrian unfriendly countries I've been to. Comparing this driver habits here to Switzerland is like night and day.
Alright. That's it.
I'm not 100% sure, but this may be my last post until I get back to Montreal saturday evening. Internet is busted at the hostel, and not sure yet what I'm doing in Vienna.
So either way, til next time.
Took the early train this morning from Mostar to Sarajevo. Amazing scenery... but a pretty sketchy train. Swarthy looking bosnian men chain smoking everywhere. Got to Sarajevo and saw my own breath. It's freaking cold and raining.
Staying at Haris Hostel tonight. Will try to go out tonight, and then take it easy tomorrow before m y afternoon flight to Vienna.
This is it. The home stretch.
And let me tell, only having one day in a particular city sucks.
Walked around Mostar yesterday in the rain, which made seeing all those bombed out buildings even more sombre. I'd post pictures, but there seems to be something wrong with the 'Blogger' picture upload functionality. When I get back to Montreal, I'll be posting up a proper slideshow of pictures. What I've posted here is just the tip of the iceburg - I've almost filled 2 2GB memory cards with pictures and videos.
The famous bridge in Mostar was nice and all, but it would have been nice if it was sunnier out. I also went to the main mosque and climbed the minurette.
Sarajevo has been interesting, but the weather definitely puts a damper on it. I went to the spot where Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife were assasinated by Gavrilo Princip, the spark that started World War I. Yes... Franz Ferdinand is not just a scottish rock group.
Otherwise, it's somewhat similar to Mostar, but bigger. That's a good thing.
Random bits:
- In 2 days, I've eaten Bosnian Burek 3 times. Might go again on the way back to the hostel. So tasty!
- Bosnian is one of the pedestrian unfriendly countries I've been to. Comparing this driver habits here to Switzerland is like night and day.
Alright. That's it.
I'm not 100% sure, but this may be my last post until I get back to Montreal saturday evening. Internet is busted at the hostel, and not sure yet what I'm doing in Vienna.
So either way, til next time.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Mostar, Bosnia
I'll be quick here as I want to explore, but I've arrived safely is Mostar, Bosnia and let me tell ya... this is a world of difference between Crotia.
Remnants of the war are everywhere. Remains of bombed out buildings and massive cemetatries dotted the route as the bus entered Mostar.
I'm staying at Majdas Rooms for the evening and taking the early train to Sarajevo. That train, by the way, is renowned as one of best train rides in Europe with some unbelievable scenery. I'm looking forward to that.
Majda picked me up at the bus station and we had a bit of scare on the way to the hostel. We were stopped at a red light and a car came up next to us. 4 normally dressed men were inside, and the man in the passenger seat flashed a badge and pointed to a spot to the right-front of the car. Automatically, we assumed that they were stopping us. Visions of secret police flashed in my head.
Majda started pulling to the curb and the car honked, and the man pointed again, a smile on his face. Both of us had no idea what was going on.
The light turned green and the car simply went in front of us, and sped along the road. They weren't pulling us over... they just needed right of way. I'm pretty sure they were laughing about it.
30 minutes later, Majda was still a little shaken up over it.
Once we got to the hostel, Majda gave me the lay of the land, recommended where I spend my afternoon. Majda's mother came out with the welcome plate of local delicacies, which was Peksimeti (fried dough with sour cream and plum jam) and Boem (which is a local cream cake). Both were delicious. She was incredibly informative, and even went into the history of the war and how it affected her family. She was here for the 1st wave of attacks when the Serbs were attacking both the Croats and Bosnians. She relocated to various european countries. Her parents were here for the 2nd wave of attacks on Mostar when the Croats turned on the Bosnians, after the serbs has left. Her parents were forced out of this very flat I'm writing this blog entry. After the war, someone else had laid claim to the apartment, and only after court preceedings, were they given back the flat.
I didn't want to press her too hard about the war, as it's obviously a very touchy subject. I asked her if there is any anomosity between the Croats and Bosnians in the area. In business, Bosnians and Croats work hand-in-hand. There is some division and still some ill feelings when it comes to family and friends, and who you associate with. For the sake of her own well-being and perhaps sanity, Majda tries not to think about any sort of division, and tries to live her life.
As with the hostel in Dubrovnik, where 'Papa' sat down with me for 30 minutes and gave me a history lesson about Croatia, sitting down with Majda do get her personal perspective was incredibly rewarding. This is something else I wanted from this trip, and my expectations have been exceeded.
Another good thing about coming to Mostar is that I get to meet up again with Anthony from Arizona. He had left his passport at the hostel Dubrovnik, and somehow managed to get into Bosnia. I have the passport with me. I have absolutely no idea how he did this... my passport was checked 3 times during the 3 hour bus ride. I'm looking forward to getting the story later when I see him.
I shared a room with Tony, Chris (from NZ) and Karla (from Austrialia, but living in Madrid) two days ago in Dubrovnik. Funnily, I'm sharing a room with all three of them again tonight. Chris is travelling with his guitar, has a massive repertoire of songs, and even plays a mean mouth harp.
Alright... this post turned out longer than I thought (and I had to rewrite a portion because the internet froze up). Time to explore Mostar.
Next post should have details of my afternoon in Dubrovnik yesterday. I visited the old city. Amazing.
Til next time.
Remnants of the war are everywhere. Remains of bombed out buildings and massive cemetatries dotted the route as the bus entered Mostar.
I'm staying at Majdas Rooms for the evening and taking the early train to Sarajevo. That train, by the way, is renowned as one of best train rides in Europe with some unbelievable scenery. I'm looking forward to that.
Majda picked me up at the bus station and we had a bit of scare on the way to the hostel. We were stopped at a red light and a car came up next to us. 4 normally dressed men were inside, and the man in the passenger seat flashed a badge and pointed to a spot to the right-front of the car. Automatically, we assumed that they were stopping us. Visions of secret police flashed in my head.
Majda started pulling to the curb and the car honked, and the man pointed again, a smile on his face. Both of us had no idea what was going on.
The light turned green and the car simply went in front of us, and sped along the road. They weren't pulling us over... they just needed right of way. I'm pretty sure they were laughing about it.
30 minutes later, Majda was still a little shaken up over it.
Once we got to the hostel, Majda gave me the lay of the land, recommended where I spend my afternoon. Majda's mother came out with the welcome plate of local delicacies, which was Peksimeti (fried dough with sour cream and plum jam) and Boem (which is a local cream cake). Both were delicious. She was incredibly informative, and even went into the history of the war and how it affected her family. She was here for the 1st wave of attacks when the Serbs were attacking both the Croats and Bosnians. She relocated to various european countries. Her parents were here for the 2nd wave of attacks on Mostar when the Croats turned on the Bosnians, after the serbs has left. Her parents were forced out of this very flat I'm writing this blog entry. After the war, someone else had laid claim to the apartment, and only after court preceedings, were they given back the flat.
I didn't want to press her too hard about the war, as it's obviously a very touchy subject. I asked her if there is any anomosity between the Croats and Bosnians in the area. In business, Bosnians and Croats work hand-in-hand. There is some division and still some ill feelings when it comes to family and friends, and who you associate with. For the sake of her own well-being and perhaps sanity, Majda tries not to think about any sort of division, and tries to live her life.
As with the hostel in Dubrovnik, where 'Papa' sat down with me for 30 minutes and gave me a history lesson about Croatia, sitting down with Majda do get her personal perspective was incredibly rewarding. This is something else I wanted from this trip, and my expectations have been exceeded.
Another good thing about coming to Mostar is that I get to meet up again with Anthony from Arizona. He had left his passport at the hostel Dubrovnik, and somehow managed to get into Bosnia. I have the passport with me. I have absolutely no idea how he did this... my passport was checked 3 times during the 3 hour bus ride. I'm looking forward to getting the story later when I see him.
I shared a room with Tony, Chris (from NZ) and Karla (from Austrialia, but living in Madrid) two days ago in Dubrovnik. Funnily, I'm sharing a room with all three of them again tonight. Chris is travelling with his guitar, has a massive repertoire of songs, and even plays a mean mouth harp.
Alright... this post turned out longer than I thought (and I had to rewrite a portion because the internet froze up). Time to explore Mostar.
Next post should have details of my afternoon in Dubrovnik yesterday. I visited the old city. Amazing.
Til next time.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Way too much to see... too little time...
Greetings from Dubrovnik, on the southern tip of Croatia on the Adriatic. The view from the balcony at my hostel (The Backpackers Club) oversees the marina and is amazing.
Hostel is owned and operated by a very friendly older couple who do their best to make you feel welcome. When I checked in, there was welcome shot of Croatian plum brandy. At the moment, I'm waiting for lunch - BBQd fresh fish, pototoes and vegetables. Everyone calls them 'Mama' and 'Papa' and I understand why.
(1 hour later)
Oh my god. That meal was amazing. Fresh, complete fish, simply cooked with olive oil and salt on the BBQ. A parsley and garlic oil mixture to drizzle on the fish. On the side was potato and collared greens, mashed with garlic and olive oil. Home made red wine on the side. I ate 1 and half large fish, and 2 smaller fish. So stuffed and satisfied. All for 50 Kuna (about 8-10 dollars)
Anyway, where was I...
Coming back home on Saturday, and coming to the shocking realization that there is still so much I want to see and there is simply not enough time. That's it... I need to do another trip like this... and then probably another (and repeat). I've now got the traveling bug...
My 3 nights on Hvar were amazing. Great hostel, great people, great food, and bar scene. Saturday night was particularly amazing as we kept getting free rounds of Rakia. Interestingly, every shot we had was different. 1st one tasted like Chocolate Mint, the next few rounds tasted like Tequila (which wasn't necessarily a good thing... good burn though), and the next one I had tasted faintly like Annis seed.
1st nights crew in Hvar was a good mix of Aussies, Irish, Brits, a few Canadians etc... Saturday, it was me and a whole lot of Americans. Good people, but I was getting razzed pretty good (for example, jokes about Canada being the 51st state etc...)
Sunday night, Sylvain from Paris showed up (who seems to be following me around!) and finally I had a non-yank around!
Saturday, I walked up the hill to the fortress and took in the view. See for yourself:
Sunday, during the day, a whole bunch of us rented scooters and drove around the island. Had a freaking blast! Went to Jelsa and found a beach to swim at. There was a seagull on the beach with a fishing lure through 1 leg and through the other foot... basically it was stuck. A bunch of the guys performed emergency surgery on the bird and managed to get the lure out of the foot but had to leave it in the leg. Not sure that bird will live, but they gave it a chance.
On the way to Jelsa, we went through this tunnel that was dark and cold, and extremely unnerving. On the way back to Hvar town, we went an alternate route up the mountain. Let me tell you - driving a scooter up a mountain on a narrow 2-way road with no guard-rail (i.e. nothing stopping you from a 500 foot drop) is freaking scary. Made it ok though, and that whole day is one of my highlights of the trip. The views we saw were breathtaking. Here's a picture of the scooter gang on top of the mountain:
I've been very lazy today, enjoying the hospitality here at the hostel. Gonna explore Dubrovnik this afternoon and evening and then come back to the hostel to chill with a couple of beers.
The plan for the rest of the week is a little hectic, and not overly ideal.
Early bus to Mostar, Serbia tomorrow morning. Gonna spend one night in Mostar. Then I take an early train on Thursday to Sarajevo. That's gonna be intense at there's still quite a bit of visual evidence of the early 90s war that resulted from the division of Yugoslavia. Friday afternoon, I take a flight from Sarajevo to Vienna (300 euros... but worth it so that I can see more of this area). And then I fly home Saturday morning. Monday morning, I go back to work. (Think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts)
Here are a few more pictures from Hvar.
View from the Marina:
Sunset on Hvar:
View from the ferry going from Hvar to Split:
That's about it for now. Til next time.
Hostel is owned and operated by a very friendly older couple who do their best to make you feel welcome. When I checked in, there was welcome shot of Croatian plum brandy. At the moment, I'm waiting for lunch - BBQd fresh fish, pototoes and vegetables. Everyone calls them 'Mama' and 'Papa' and I understand why.
(1 hour later)
Oh my god. That meal was amazing. Fresh, complete fish, simply cooked with olive oil and salt on the BBQ. A parsley and garlic oil mixture to drizzle on the fish. On the side was potato and collared greens, mashed with garlic and olive oil. Home made red wine on the side. I ate 1 and half large fish, and 2 smaller fish. So stuffed and satisfied. All for 50 Kuna (about 8-10 dollars)
Anyway, where was I...
Coming back home on Saturday, and coming to the shocking realization that there is still so much I want to see and there is simply not enough time. That's it... I need to do another trip like this... and then probably another (and repeat). I've now got the traveling bug...
My 3 nights on Hvar were amazing. Great hostel, great people, great food, and bar scene. Saturday night was particularly amazing as we kept getting free rounds of Rakia. Interestingly, every shot we had was different. 1st one tasted like Chocolate Mint, the next few rounds tasted like Tequila (which wasn't necessarily a good thing... good burn though), and the next one I had tasted faintly like Annis seed.
1st nights crew in Hvar was a good mix of Aussies, Irish, Brits, a few Canadians etc... Saturday, it was me and a whole lot of Americans. Good people, but I was getting razzed pretty good (for example, jokes about Canada being the 51st state etc...)
Sunday night, Sylvain from Paris showed up (who seems to be following me around!) and finally I had a non-yank around!
Saturday, I walked up the hill to the fortress and took in the view. See for yourself:
Sunday, during the day, a whole bunch of us rented scooters and drove around the island. Had a freaking blast! Went to Jelsa and found a beach to swim at. There was a seagull on the beach with a fishing lure through 1 leg and through the other foot... basically it was stuck. A bunch of the guys performed emergency surgery on the bird and managed to get the lure out of the foot but had to leave it in the leg. Not sure that bird will live, but they gave it a chance.
On the way to Jelsa, we went through this tunnel that was dark and cold, and extremely unnerving. On the way back to Hvar town, we went an alternate route up the mountain. Let me tell you - driving a scooter up a mountain on a narrow 2-way road with no guard-rail (i.e. nothing stopping you from a 500 foot drop) is freaking scary. Made it ok though, and that whole day is one of my highlights of the trip. The views we saw were breathtaking. Here's a picture of the scooter gang on top of the mountain:
I've been very lazy today, enjoying the hospitality here at the hostel. Gonna explore Dubrovnik this afternoon and evening and then come back to the hostel to chill with a couple of beers.
The plan for the rest of the week is a little hectic, and not overly ideal.
Early bus to Mostar, Serbia tomorrow morning. Gonna spend one night in Mostar. Then I take an early train on Thursday to Sarajevo. That's gonna be intense at there's still quite a bit of visual evidence of the early 90s war that resulted from the division of Yugoslavia. Friday afternoon, I take a flight from Sarajevo to Vienna (300 euros... but worth it so that I can see more of this area). And then I fly home Saturday morning. Monday morning, I go back to work. (Think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts)
Here are a few more pictures from Hvar.
View from the Marina:
Sunset on Hvar:
View from the ferry going from Hvar to Split:
That's about it for now. Til next time.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Hvar AKA Paradise
Howdy.
A real quick quick update.
Had a bitch of a time getting from Zagreb to Hvar, but I eventually made it the hostel at around 10PM. It went down like this:
- Missed the 9:30 bus from Zagreb to Split
- Contrary to what I was told, there was no bus at 9:45
- Waited to take the 10:30 bus, but it was the milk run that only got to Split at 16:30
- Once in Split, was told by one agent at a ferry kiosk, that the next ferry was only at 20:30
- Called the hostel in Hvar and was told to look for for another kiosk for cataraman tours.
- By the time I found their kiosk, I had missed the 17:00 cataraman, and had to wait to 20:30.
- All the while, desparately trying to avoid people trying to sell me accomodations (they're like locusts)
- So settled in for the long wait, but then Sylvain from Paris who I had met in Zegreb the night comes by and we went for a couple of beers. Good guy.
- Wandered split a bit... need to visit. Beautiful.
- Caved and had some McDonalds for Supper.
- Got to Hvar at around 9:45. Wondered around the island, in the dark for 30 minutes and miraculously stumbled across the hostel. No one was there.
- Contemplated camping out on the porch, but then the owners came by.
- Went out with the owners, and met the rest of the people from the hostel for a few beers. Much fun was had.
Ok... 10 minutes are up.
Beautiful island, palm trees (although I don't think they grow naturally here), blah blah blah. Gonna explore more.
Til next time.
Matt
A real quick quick update.
Had a bitch of a time getting from Zagreb to Hvar, but I eventually made it the hostel at around 10PM. It went down like this:
- Missed the 9:30 bus from Zagreb to Split
- Contrary to what I was told, there was no bus at 9:45
- Waited to take the 10:30 bus, but it was the milk run that only got to Split at 16:30
- Once in Split, was told by one agent at a ferry kiosk, that the next ferry was only at 20:30
- Called the hostel in Hvar and was told to look for for another kiosk for cataraman tours.
- By the time I found their kiosk, I had missed the 17:00 cataraman, and had to wait to 20:30.
- All the while, desparately trying to avoid people trying to sell me accomodations (they're like locusts)
- So settled in for the long wait, but then Sylvain from Paris who I had met in Zegreb the night comes by and we went for a couple of beers. Good guy.
- Wandered split a bit... need to visit. Beautiful.
- Caved and had some McDonalds for Supper.
- Got to Hvar at around 9:45. Wondered around the island, in the dark for 30 minutes and miraculously stumbled across the hostel. No one was there.
- Contemplated camping out on the porch, but then the owners came by.
- Went out with the owners, and met the rest of the people from the hostel for a few beers. Much fun was had.
Ok... 10 minutes are up.
Beautiful island, palm trees (although I don't think they grow naturally here), blah blah blah. Gonna explore more.
Til next time.
Matt
Thursday, October 4, 2007
On my way to Hvar
Howdy.
Visit to Zagreb was short and sweet - but maybe a little too short.
Managed to walk around for about 45 minutes yesterday evening, and enjoyed what I saw. Cool little city. I might come back on my way back from the south for a day to see what I missed.
Even better is the nightlife, and atmosphere. Didn't hurt that the Croatian team beat the Amsterdam team in the football champion league last night. People were going nuts! Would have loved to stay out last night, but an early bus to Split awaits.
After 3 weeks of this, you definitely start seeing the patterns.
Roll into town
Find the hostel
Talk to your fellow travellers, and ask the following questions:
Hook up with people from the hostel, go for supper and beers.
And repeat.
Seriously, these hostels make it so easy to travel alone. I can't believe I was nervous about this trip. Last night, went out to a Crotian restaurant with an amazing outdoor terrase with an Aussie (Matt - Easy name to remember), a Brit (Dan) and a Frenchman (Sylvain) who didn't speak english too well, but I translated. Good times had by all.
All right. Time to hit the road.
Next update (assuming I can find a computer) is from the island of Hvar. Til next time.
Visit to Zagreb was short and sweet - but maybe a little too short.
Managed to walk around for about 45 minutes yesterday evening, and enjoyed what I saw. Cool little city. I might come back on my way back from the south for a day to see what I missed.
Even better is the nightlife, and atmosphere. Didn't hurt that the Croatian team beat the Amsterdam team in the football champion league last night. People were going nuts! Would have loved to stay out last night, but an early bus to Split awaits.
After 3 weeks of this, you definitely start seeing the patterns.
- Where you from?
- Where have you been?
- Where are you going?
- How long are you travelling for?
- And oh ya... what's your name
- Wait 30 minutes, apologize, and ask his/her name again cuz I forgot.
Seriously, these hostels make it so easy to travel alone. I can't believe I was nervous about this trip. Last night, went out to a Crotian restaurant with an amazing outdoor terrase with an Aussie (Matt - Easy name to remember), a Brit (Dan) and a Frenchman (Sylvain) who didn't speak english too well, but I translated. Good times had by all.
All right. Time to hit the road.
Next update (assuming I can find a computer) is from the island of Hvar. Til next time.
Zagreb - Croatia - The layover
Sweet jebus! I gots me a working USB port on this computer. It be picture time!
I took an early train from Budapest and arrived in Zagreb at around 2PM. This is me in the central square.
My hostel, The Fulir Hostel, is a block away from this square. Nice central location, very clean, very cool and helpful guy runs the place.
I'll be taking a bus tomorrow morning to Split and then immediately a ferry to the island of Hvar. Gonna use that as my homebase and will do daytrips to Dubrovnik and the othe island. I'll be at the Green Lizard hostel in Hvar for 4 nights. Then maybe Split, and then maybe the Crotian National Park which is supposed to be amazing, annd then I dunno. Gotta somehow make make my way to Vienna for the 13th so I can fly back home. Man... only about a week left. Then again, I am kinda looking forward to getting home.
So I've been fighting a cold for the last few days. I think the cold is winning. Advil does wonders though.
Alright. It's time to catch up with the pictures.
This is a picture, through a window, of the Gruyere production. Hmmm... Cheesy.
Best meal in Zurich. The outdoor terrase at Bellevue for Bratwurst, chicken, fries and beer. It was no Chalet BBQ, but it did the job.
Actually, 2nd best meal in Zurich. The Rösti and Pan fried veal with mushrooms in the white wine sauce was probably the best of the meal of the trip. Better have been for 30$ CDN.
Chalet BBQ - First place I hit when I get back to Montreal.
And then I start going back to gym.
This was a cool statue in front of a concert venue in Budapest. Creeeeeepy.
Me at Hösök tere, the central square, in Pest:
Széchenyi Fürdő, the thermal baths and swimming pools in the central square in Pest. 12$ well spent for 3 hours of rest and relaxation. Way too many guys in Speedos though.
There's a statue in the bottom right of that picture of a swam suckling a woman's breast. Did a double take on that one. Very odd.
Yesterday, wednesday, I finished up in Budapest by exploring Buda. Walked up Gellért Hill to the Citadella, and got a great view of the city.
Not sure if you see it in the picture, but I was literally dripping sweat by the time I got to the top of that hill. Was quite the hike.
Walked down the hill, and went to the Castle area. It was nice, but I preferred the one in Prague. To be honest, I'm a little tired of touristy stuff at the moment. Once you a church or two, or a castle or two, you're enthusiasm starts to wane a bit. I do want to see the Habsburg palace in Vienna if I have time.
I did get to watch an official governent visit from the President (or prime minister) of Slovenia (I think!). Full soldier march routine.
Got back to the hostel, went out for supper with an Aussie and Sascha from Laval (Pork stew, Hungarian style... with a very cheap 0.5L bottle of Stella), and just relaxed and watched the movie '16 Blocks' with Bruce Willis. I'm sorry I didn't get to experience Budapest's supposedely amaying night life, but I was just too tired, and trying to stave off this cold.
There was a woman, 70 years old, staying at the hostel in Budapest. Travelling alone through Eastern Europe for 2 months. If she can do it, anyone can.
Alright. That's it for now. Til next time.
I took an early train from Budapest and arrived in Zagreb at around 2PM. This is me in the central square.
My hostel, The Fulir Hostel, is a block away from this square. Nice central location, very clean, very cool and helpful guy runs the place.
I'll be taking a bus tomorrow morning to Split and then immediately a ferry to the island of Hvar. Gonna use that as my homebase and will do daytrips to Dubrovnik and the othe island. I'll be at the Green Lizard hostel in Hvar for 4 nights. Then maybe Split, and then maybe the Crotian National Park which is supposed to be amazing, annd then I dunno. Gotta somehow make make my way to Vienna for the 13th so I can fly back home. Man... only about a week left. Then again, I am kinda looking forward to getting home.
So I've been fighting a cold for the last few days. I think the cold is winning. Advil does wonders though.
Alright. It's time to catch up with the pictures.
This is a picture, through a window, of the Gruyere production. Hmmm... Cheesy.
Best meal in Zurich. The outdoor terrase at Bellevue for Bratwurst, chicken, fries and beer. It was no Chalet BBQ, but it did the job.
Actually, 2nd best meal in Zurich. The Rösti and Pan fried veal with mushrooms in the white wine sauce was probably the best of the meal of the trip. Better have been for 30$ CDN.
Chalet BBQ - First place I hit when I get back to Montreal.
And then I start going back to gym.
This was a cool statue in front of a concert venue in Budapest. Creeeeeepy.
Me at Hösök tere, the central square, in Pest:
Széchenyi Fürdő, the thermal baths and swimming pools in the central square in Pest. 12$ well spent for 3 hours of rest and relaxation. Way too many guys in Speedos though.
There's a statue in the bottom right of that picture of a swam suckling a woman's breast. Did a double take on that one. Very odd.
Yesterday, wednesday, I finished up in Budapest by exploring Buda. Walked up Gellért Hill to the Citadella, and got a great view of the city.
Not sure if you see it in the picture, but I was literally dripping sweat by the time I got to the top of that hill. Was quite the hike.
Walked down the hill, and went to the Castle area. It was nice, but I preferred the one in Prague. To be honest, I'm a little tired of touristy stuff at the moment. Once you a church or two, or a castle or two, you're enthusiasm starts to wane a bit. I do want to see the Habsburg palace in Vienna if I have time.
I did get to watch an official governent visit from the President (or prime minister) of Slovenia (I think!). Full soldier march routine.
Got back to the hostel, went out for supper with an Aussie and Sascha from Laval (Pork stew, Hungarian style... with a very cheap 0.5L bottle of Stella), and just relaxed and watched the movie '16 Blocks' with Bruce Willis. I'm sorry I didn't get to experience Budapest's supposedely amaying night life, but I was just too tired, and trying to stave off this cold.
There was a woman, 70 years old, staying at the hostel in Budapest. Travelling alone through Eastern Europe for 2 months. If she can do it, anyone can.
Alright. That's it for now. Til next time.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
On my way to Zagreb
Ok. Let me first get this out of the way - Habs win the season opener! WOO!
Killed me to miss the game last night.
(And RDS is now televising all the games in HD! Rocking!)
Alright, now that that's done with, this will be a real short update, as I have to shower, pack and head to the train station to catch my train to Zagreb Crotia.
It's 6:30 here. It's dark out. And no one is up. Very peaceful.
I'll update with the rest of the details of my visit here to Budapest later on.
'Til next time.
Killed me to miss the game last night.
(And RDS is now televising all the games in HD! Rocking!)
Alright, now that that's done with, this will be a real short update, as I have to shower, pack and head to the train station to catch my train to Zagreb Crotia.
It's 6:30 here. It's dark out. And no one is up. Very peaceful.
I'll update with the rest of the details of my visit here to Budapest later on.
'Til next time.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Budapest - Day 2
Szia!
(that's hello in Hungarian. I had to look it up in a book. I'm absolutely useless with this language...)
Somewhat relaxing day here exploring Pest. Walked from the hostel to the Varosliget city park. There is where I found the cure to my traveling aches: The Szechenyi Baths. Indoor and outdoor pools heated to 38 degrees Celsius. Spent about 3 hours there... bliss. Have pictures... but no way to upload them.
Otherwise, just walked around exploring. Interesting city, but I've gotta admit - after the cities and countryside I've seen so far, it's hard to get excited about Budapest. It's another European city (but honestly, a lot dirtier). As a result, I'm cutting my stay here by a day. Early Thursday morning I'm catching a train to Zagreb, Croatia. I've heard that Zagreb isn't really worth visiting, but I'll give it a day. Friday I'll catch a bus to Dubrovnik and then start working my way up (north) the Adriatic coast. Dubrovnik - Hvar - Split - and then I don't know. Depends how long it takes, and how much time I have left. I'd still like to try going to Slovenia before ending my trip in Vienna (where I'd like to spend at least one full day). We'll see what happens.
Tomorrow I'll explore Pest and Castle Hill. If I have time, I might go to Statue Park where they have a sizable collection of communist era statues from various eastern bloc countries (who obviously didn't need them anymore)
Hostel here in Budapest is great. So far, I've been very lucky with my accommodations. This place (The Goat Hostel) is basically a converted (very large) apartment. There are 3 rooms, and a great common area with a TV/DVD, a great selection of DVDs, a kitchen with food earmarked for anyone staying here, laundry. The manager, Gabriel, is incredibly helpful and personally makes individual specialty coffees for everyone. People staying here are great too. One guy here is from Laval, so I got to chat about the Habs, which was good. Food's good too (although the chinese food I went for tonight was a little sketch... I don't think this is the right country for good asian food...). Tomorrow I'll be going for some authentic Hungarian food (hmmm... goulash)
Weather has been amazing too. High 20s both yesterday and today. Shoulda brought shorts.
Speaking of the Habs, it was nice to see copies of EAs NHL 08 in Switzerland with Mark Streit on the cover. Made me proud.
Still a little confused about them keeping Price up and sending Lapierre down... but oh well. I can't believe I'm missing the beginning of the season. Bah.
Alright, I'm off. 'Til next time (hopefully with pictures)
Viszontlatasra.
Matt
(that's hello in Hungarian. I had to look it up in a book. I'm absolutely useless with this language...)
Somewhat relaxing day here exploring Pest. Walked from the hostel to the Varosliget city park. There is where I found the cure to my traveling aches: The Szechenyi Baths. Indoor and outdoor pools heated to 38 degrees Celsius. Spent about 3 hours there... bliss. Have pictures... but no way to upload them.
Otherwise, just walked around exploring. Interesting city, but I've gotta admit - after the cities and countryside I've seen so far, it's hard to get excited about Budapest. It's another European city (but honestly, a lot dirtier). As a result, I'm cutting my stay here by a day. Early Thursday morning I'm catching a train to Zagreb, Croatia. I've heard that Zagreb isn't really worth visiting, but I'll give it a day. Friday I'll catch a bus to Dubrovnik and then start working my way up (north) the Adriatic coast. Dubrovnik - Hvar - Split - and then I don't know. Depends how long it takes, and how much time I have left. I'd still like to try going to Slovenia before ending my trip in Vienna (where I'd like to spend at least one full day). We'll see what happens.
Tomorrow I'll explore Pest and Castle Hill. If I have time, I might go to Statue Park where they have a sizable collection of communist era statues from various eastern bloc countries (who obviously didn't need them anymore)
Hostel here in Budapest is great. So far, I've been very lucky with my accommodations. This place (The Goat Hostel) is basically a converted (very large) apartment. There are 3 rooms, and a great common area with a TV/DVD, a great selection of DVDs, a kitchen with food earmarked for anyone staying here, laundry. The manager, Gabriel, is incredibly helpful and personally makes individual specialty coffees for everyone. People staying here are great too. One guy here is from Laval, so I got to chat about the Habs, which was good. Food's good too (although the chinese food I went for tonight was a little sketch... I don't think this is the right country for good asian food...). Tomorrow I'll be going for some authentic Hungarian food (hmmm... goulash)
Weather has been amazing too. High 20s both yesterday and today. Shoulda brought shorts.
Speaking of the Habs, it was nice to see copies of EAs NHL 08 in Switzerland with Mark Streit on the cover. Made me proud.
Still a little confused about them keeping Price up and sending Lapierre down... but oh well. I can't believe I'm missing the beginning of the season. Bah.
Alright, I'm off. 'Til next time (hopefully with pictures)
Viszontlatasra.
Matt
Monday, October 1, 2007
Cracked out in Budapest
I'm safely in Budapest, at the hostel, after an oh-so-fun 13 hour overnight train from Zürich. Wasn't able to get a sleeper, so I was stuck in the "reclining" chair. I did manage to get 4-5 hours of intermittent sleep, but I'm pretty tired. Gonna get settled, shower and start exploring to try to get the lay of the land. Can already tell I'm going to like Budapest.
BTW. free internet here at the Goat Hostel so I'll probably be posting more often.
'Til next time.
BTW. free internet here at the Goat Hostel so I'll probably be posting more often.
'Til next time.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Last day in Zurich - Budapest here I come
Grüezi! (pronounced grooetsi, means good day in swiss german)
It's my last night in Zurich and have been having a great time. Alas, it's time for me to move on to another country. Tonight I will have the pleasure of taking an overnight train to Budapest Hungary. All the sleeping compartments were full, so I get a reclining seat airplane style. Woo!
Gonna check at the last minute to see if there were any cancellations in the sleeping compartments... otherwise, I'm gonna be dead tomorrow in Budapest.
BTW, I'll be at the Goat Hostel in Budapest. Currently scheduled to arrive tomorrow and stay for 4 nights. Yes. It's called the goat hostel.
Yesterday's day trip to Gruyeres was amazing. I can't even begin to explain how awe inspiringly beautiful this country is, but there are so many times where I round a corner (be it on foot, or in the train) and gasp at what I see. Whether it's the rolling hills, or the looming alps, the lakes... this is the best country I've been to if you like the outdoors. The day trip wasn't without it's issues as I missed a very tight bus connection in Fribourg to Bulle and screwed up my whole itenerary. Luckilly, when you buy a ticket to a specific destination i atter what means you use to get there, so you can substitute a train for a bus or vice-versa. What this did give me was an hour to explore Fribourg which was an great little city. The town is built into a mountain and is 2-tiered with a large part of the city in a lower valley.
Random fact: you're daily tram/bus pass in Zurich can even get you on the river boats! Now you know.
So, a 2.5 hour journey to Gruyere ended up taking 4 hours, but it was so worth. Gruyere is like something out of a fantasy novel (think Tolkien). Here's a picture (but honestely, it doesn't do it justice)
That's the small town in the upper right.
This is the picturesque, admittedely very touristy, but no less charming, town:
There's a small fairy tale-esque chateau on the far end of the town, worth visiting. And smack dab in the middle the small town in the middle of south-west Switerland, where it has no business being, is the HR Giger Museum!
12 Swiss Francs to get in, and well worth it. Most Giger's key works are housed here, as well as a large section devoted to his designs for the Alien movies (natch!). They were missing a few of the ones that I know (like the one they used for Danzig III), but beggars can't be choosers. Next door to the Museum is the Giger Bar were I enjoyed a fine swiss beer. Very cool place based on his designs. On one wall was a ceramic version of the baby face landscape. I was very happy they didn't have a ceramic version of his "Penis Landscape", which was at the museum BTW, but behind a curtained red-light area for adults only. Very sick man. I loved it! (which I guess makes me a sick man too... oh well)
Had myself a tastii croque monsieur made with Gruyere cheese and bought myself a small bottle of authentic Absynthe from the distillers who claim to have invented it. This is the real stuff, made with wormwood. Absynthe party at my place when I get back. Now I need to lug the bottle for 2 weeks in my backpack.
By the way, I can't explain how nice it was to be in the French speaking area of Switzerland, and to be able to actually converse!
I got back to the hostel at around 9PM, changed, and joined Dave, Anita, Dalia and the rest of Swiss based Huber clan at Huberfest 2007. I got there just in time for desert and the hired band, and had a great time.
Speaking of which, a special thanks to Berny and Ariane for their hospitality and for making me feel welcome. I'll never forget that.
Random bits (including some stuff I forgot to post before):
- When in Zurich, go to Sprüngli for quite possibly the best swiss chocolate and pattiseries. I warn you, it's pricy, but worth the visits. Try their Luxemburgerli's.
- Dave and I went to Lucerne on Friday. Had a great time in a picturesque small town. I think I've used the word picturesque too much, but you can't help it here in Switzerland.
- I love the fact that you can drink anywhere you want in most of these countries. For example, before a train ride, you can grab beers at the grocery store and drink them on the train. Last night, there were kids drinking beers on the public tram. Not sure that would work so well in Montreal...
- I spent a long time trying to figure out how to say 'sorry/excuse me' in german as I arrived in switzerland. Had a good laugh when it turns out that the word in Swiss German is "Sorry". Swiss German is an interesting variation of regular german (or high german as it's referred too). Much less agressive sounding.
There's probably other stuff I've forgotten to mention, but I'll cover it later. This entry is long enough as it is.
Next post will be from Budapest. Til next time.
(from the top of the chateau in Gruyere)
It's my last night in Zurich and have been having a great time. Alas, it's time for me to move on to another country. Tonight I will have the pleasure of taking an overnight train to Budapest Hungary. All the sleeping compartments were full, so I get a reclining seat airplane style. Woo!
Gonna check at the last minute to see if there were any cancellations in the sleeping compartments... otherwise, I'm gonna be dead tomorrow in Budapest.
BTW, I'll be at the Goat Hostel in Budapest. Currently scheduled to arrive tomorrow and stay for 4 nights. Yes. It's called the goat hostel.
Yesterday's day trip to Gruyeres was amazing. I can't even begin to explain how awe inspiringly beautiful this country is, but there are so many times where I round a corner (be it on foot, or in the train) and gasp at what I see. Whether it's the rolling hills, or the looming alps, the lakes... this is the best country I've been to if you like the outdoors. The day trip wasn't without it's issues as I missed a very tight bus connection in Fribourg to Bulle and screwed up my whole itenerary. Luckilly, when you buy a ticket to a specific destination i atter what means you use to get there, so you can substitute a train for a bus or vice-versa. What this did give me was an hour to explore Fribourg which was an great little city. The town is built into a mountain and is 2-tiered with a large part of the city in a lower valley.
Random fact: you're daily tram/bus pass in Zurich can even get you on the river boats! Now you know.
So, a 2.5 hour journey to Gruyere ended up taking 4 hours, but it was so worth. Gruyere is like something out of a fantasy novel (think Tolkien). Here's a picture (but honestely, it doesn't do it justice)
That's the small town in the upper right.
This is the picturesque, admittedely very touristy, but no less charming, town:
There's a small fairy tale-esque chateau on the far end of the town, worth visiting. And smack dab in the middle the small town in the middle of south-west Switerland, where it has no business being, is the HR Giger Museum!
12 Swiss Francs to get in, and well worth it. Most Giger's key works are housed here, as well as a large section devoted to his designs for the Alien movies (natch!). They were missing a few of the ones that I know (like the one they used for Danzig III), but beggars can't be choosers. Next door to the Museum is the Giger Bar were I enjoyed a fine swiss beer. Very cool place based on his designs. On one wall was a ceramic version of the baby face landscape. I was very happy they didn't have a ceramic version of his "Penis Landscape", which was at the museum BTW, but behind a curtained red-light area for adults only. Very sick man. I loved it! (which I guess makes me a sick man too... oh well)
Had myself a tastii croque monsieur made with Gruyere cheese and bought myself a small bottle of authentic Absynthe from the distillers who claim to have invented it. This is the real stuff, made with wormwood. Absynthe party at my place when I get back. Now I need to lug the bottle for 2 weeks in my backpack.
By the way, I can't explain how nice it was to be in the French speaking area of Switzerland, and to be able to actually converse!
I got back to the hostel at around 9PM, changed, and joined Dave, Anita, Dalia and the rest of Swiss based Huber clan at Huberfest 2007. I got there just in time for desert and the hired band, and had a great time.
Speaking of which, a special thanks to Berny and Ariane for their hospitality and for making me feel welcome. I'll never forget that.
Random bits (including some stuff I forgot to post before):
- When in Zurich, go to Sprüngli for quite possibly the best swiss chocolate and pattiseries. I warn you, it's pricy, but worth the visits. Try their Luxemburgerli's.
- Dave and I went to Lucerne on Friday. Had a great time in a picturesque small town. I think I've used the word picturesque too much, but you can't help it here in Switzerland.
- I love the fact that you can drink anywhere you want in most of these countries. For example, before a train ride, you can grab beers at the grocery store and drink them on the train. Last night, there were kids drinking beers on the public tram. Not sure that would work so well in Montreal...
- I spent a long time trying to figure out how to say 'sorry/excuse me' in german as I arrived in switzerland. Had a good laugh when it turns out that the word in Swiss German is "Sorry". Swiss German is an interesting variation of regular german (or high german as it's referred too). Much less agressive sounding.
There's probably other stuff I've forgotten to mention, but I'll cover it later. This entry is long enough as it is.
Next post will be from Budapest. Til next time.
(from the top of the chateau in Gruyere)
Friday, September 28, 2007
Zurich Day 3 (I think.. time flies when yr having fun)
A real quick update...
All's well in Zurich. Having a blast. Berny and Ariane (Anita's brother and girlfriend) have been amazing hosts, and it's great to be able to spend time with friends during this European trips. Dalia is cute as a button (she's sitting right in front of me as I type this).
The food and beer here is amazing... but way too expensive. Me and Dave went to a beer hall a couple of nights ago and had a somewhat traditional Swiss meal. Dave had the Veal Schnitzel and I had this amazing dish of sauteed veal with mushrooms in a white wine sauce. Both served on a massive rosti (shredded potato, like hash browns, fried in a massive amount of butter). So rich and so good... just keep the defribulator close by. Just the mains were 30 swiss francs. Mind you, this was an expensive restaurant but looking at other menus around town, this is about average.
So... yes, you pay a lot here. But the quality and the service is outstanding. I think it's a good tradeoff.
The swiss chocolate is as good as always. As is the cheese. Did you know that your average person is Switzerland eats over 11 kilos of chocolate a year... the highest per capita in the world. awesome.
Whenever Dave wakes up from him wine induced coma, we're supposed to head over to Lucerne for the day.
Tomorrow, I'm planning a solo day trip to Gruyere (as in, where they make that cheese). Main reason: The H.R Giger Musuem!!! I can't wait.
A couple of pictures:
Me and Dave went for Bratwurst and beer at a outdoor terrase called Bellevue. Amazing.
Dalia in her pillow fort:
That's it for now. Til next time.
All's well in Zurich. Having a blast. Berny and Ariane (Anita's brother and girlfriend) have been amazing hosts, and it's great to be able to spend time with friends during this European trips. Dalia is cute as a button (she's sitting right in front of me as I type this).
The food and beer here is amazing... but way too expensive. Me and Dave went to a beer hall a couple of nights ago and had a somewhat traditional Swiss meal. Dave had the Veal Schnitzel and I had this amazing dish of sauteed veal with mushrooms in a white wine sauce. Both served on a massive rosti (shredded potato, like hash browns, fried in a massive amount of butter). So rich and so good... just keep the defribulator close by. Just the mains were 30 swiss francs. Mind you, this was an expensive restaurant but looking at other menus around town, this is about average.
So... yes, you pay a lot here. But the quality and the service is outstanding. I think it's a good tradeoff.
The swiss chocolate is as good as always. As is the cheese. Did you know that your average person is Switzerland eats over 11 kilos of chocolate a year... the highest per capita in the world. awesome.
Whenever Dave wakes up from him wine induced coma, we're supposed to head over to Lucerne for the day.
Tomorrow, I'm planning a solo day trip to Gruyere (as in, where they make that cheese). Main reason: The H.R Giger Musuem!!! I can't wait.
A couple of pictures:
Me and Dave went for Bratwurst and beer at a outdoor terrase called Bellevue. Amazing.
Dalia in her pillow fort:
That's it for now. Til next time.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Me, Mom & Morgentaller Reunion!
A quick post on a completely different topic. Me, Mom and Morgentaller are reuniting for 2 shows in November. If yr interested,`I'm going to the thursday show.
Well caffeinated in Zurich
Greetings from Zurich. Just had 2 (amazing) cappucinos and feeling a little hyper (woo!). Another country and another keyboard to get used to. Excuse the lack of accents. At least I'm getting used to the fact that 'y' and 'z' are swapped (Although that'll probably screw me up once I'm back in Canada)
Took the overnight train last night from Berlin to here. Compartments were a little cramped - 6 bunks, 2 sets of 3 with about feet of head room. Luckilly I didn't smash my head which I though I'd do. Bunks were rock solid and the pillow was pitifully small... but somehow (with the help of some earplugs) I managed to get an alright nights sleep.
Got to the hostel and like I suspected, the reservation never went through. I was suspicious that I never received an e-mail confirmation, and thought of calling/e-mail-ing, but never did. Even though they were fully booked, they managed to find a space for me in a 5-bed dorm for all 4 nights. It that had failed, the hostel manager had some space at his apartment. Did I mention that Anita's brother and sister-in-law manage the big hostel here in Zurich? Helps to know people in high places! Waiting to get my room so I can take a well need shower and will then wait a few hours for Dave, Anita and Dalia to arrive and I think we're meeting Berny and Ariane.
My last day in Berlin was cold and rainy (I guess you can't expect summer conditions all the time in late september) but it was somewhat productive. I once again screwed up my timing and missed the New Berlin tour which was at 1PM at Brandenburg gate. Reason being is that I went to the holocaust memorial at 11AM not knowing how long it would take. Waited 30 minutes in rain to get in due to very high security... stricter than an airport. Bags through a conveyer, metal detector and full body sweep. Supposedely the jewish museum has similar security practice... and I can understand exactly why. The presentation underneath the holocaust memorial was very well done and I highly recommend it, but give yourself at least 2 hours to go through it. Even though it's only 4 rooms, there's alot to read and soak in. The holocaust never fails to boggle my mind... how so much hate and bigotry could occur. There's an on-going effort to chronicle the victims of the holocaust, in the jewish tradition of remembering the dead: http://www.yadvashem.org/. There are quite a few Leitman's in the list, and I haven't the foggiest if I'm related. Hard to tell because we have an assumption that my last name was changed when my great-(great?)-grandfather emigrated to Canada. I gotta talk to my family about that...
Blink and you miss Hitler's bunker. There isn't anything to tell you where it is, but I think I found it. Nor should there be anything marking it (although I kind of expected some sort of marker, or information display)
Was going to go up to the glass dome of the Reichstagg (parliament) but didn't want want to wait an hour. So I wandered arond East Berlin fo a bit, marvelled in the Communist style apartment block, found an amaying park and hung out reading (rain had stopped by this point, but it was still cloudy and cold). Went back to the Hostel, had a couple of Becks (2 for 3 euros... not bad), watched Canada vs. Japan in the Rugby world cup (what a messed up sport) and met a guy from Hamilton.
Went to a Thai/Vietnames place around the corner called Mister Vuong, and had the most amaying Chicken Satay. The chicken was breaded schnitzel style, covered in satay sauce, on a bed of ride and red peppers. Amaaaaaazing.
Waited too long and rushed to the main train station, almost missing my train (old habits die hard) and that brings me up to date.
Final impression of the hostel of the hostel in Berlin (St-Christopher's Inn) was that it was nice and clean, but not overly social for those traveling alone. Oh yeah, there was a guy there that was a dead ringer for Hugo on Lost... again, didn't mention anything as, again, not much of a compliment.
So far, my impression of Zurich: Very nice, but sooooo expensive. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is right now, but by my estimate, a grande coffee at Starbucks was about 3 dollars canadian. I think this country is gonna break the bank a bit... but oh well, ya only live once.
I have some great pictures, but once again, no USB-in... so hopefully next time.
Til next time. Auf Wiedersehen.
Took the overnight train last night from Berlin to here. Compartments were a little cramped - 6 bunks, 2 sets of 3 with about feet of head room. Luckilly I didn't smash my head which I though I'd do. Bunks were rock solid and the pillow was pitifully small... but somehow (with the help of some earplugs) I managed to get an alright nights sleep.
Got to the hostel and like I suspected, the reservation never went through. I was suspicious that I never received an e-mail confirmation, and thought of calling/e-mail-ing, but never did. Even though they were fully booked, they managed to find a space for me in a 5-bed dorm for all 4 nights. It that had failed, the hostel manager had some space at his apartment. Did I mention that Anita's brother and sister-in-law manage the big hostel here in Zurich? Helps to know people in high places! Waiting to get my room so I can take a well need shower and will then wait a few hours for Dave, Anita and Dalia to arrive and I think we're meeting Berny and Ariane.
My last day in Berlin was cold and rainy (I guess you can't expect summer conditions all the time in late september) but it was somewhat productive. I once again screwed up my timing and missed the New Berlin tour which was at 1PM at Brandenburg gate. Reason being is that I went to the holocaust memorial at 11AM not knowing how long it would take. Waited 30 minutes in rain to get in due to very high security... stricter than an airport. Bags through a conveyer, metal detector and full body sweep. Supposedely the jewish museum has similar security practice... and I can understand exactly why. The presentation underneath the holocaust memorial was very well done and I highly recommend it, but give yourself at least 2 hours to go through it. Even though it's only 4 rooms, there's alot to read and soak in. The holocaust never fails to boggle my mind... how so much hate and bigotry could occur. There's an on-going effort to chronicle the victims of the holocaust, in the jewish tradition of remembering the dead: http://www.yadvashem.org/. There are quite a few Leitman's in the list, and I haven't the foggiest if I'm related. Hard to tell because we have an assumption that my last name was changed when my great-(great?)-grandfather emigrated to Canada. I gotta talk to my family about that...
Blink and you miss Hitler's bunker. There isn't anything to tell you where it is, but I think I found it. Nor should there be anything marking it (although I kind of expected some sort of marker, or information display)
Was going to go up to the glass dome of the Reichstagg (parliament) but didn't want want to wait an hour. So I wandered arond East Berlin fo a bit, marvelled in the Communist style apartment block, found an amaying park and hung out reading (rain had stopped by this point, but it was still cloudy and cold). Went back to the Hostel, had a couple of Becks (2 for 3 euros... not bad), watched Canada vs. Japan in the Rugby world cup (what a messed up sport) and met a guy from Hamilton.
Went to a Thai/Vietnames place around the corner called Mister Vuong, and had the most amaying Chicken Satay. The chicken was breaded schnitzel style, covered in satay sauce, on a bed of ride and red peppers. Amaaaaaazing.
Waited too long and rushed to the main train station, almost missing my train (old habits die hard) and that brings me up to date.
Final impression of the hostel of the hostel in Berlin (St-Christopher's Inn) was that it was nice and clean, but not overly social for those traveling alone. Oh yeah, there was a guy there that was a dead ringer for Hugo on Lost... again, didn't mention anything as, again, not much of a compliment.
So far, my impression of Zurich: Very nice, but sooooo expensive. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is right now, but by my estimate, a grande coffee at Starbucks was about 3 dollars canadian. I think this country is gonna break the bank a bit... but oh well, ya only live once.
I have some great pictures, but once again, no USB-in... so hopefully next time.
Til next time. Auf Wiedersehen.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Apologies for the formatting
I can't figure out how to format these blogs properly in the short amount of time I have to post them. Sorry 'bout that.
Berlin - Day 3
I'm writing this a few blocks away from Checkpoint Charlie and the former SS command offices on Wilhemstraßa.
This is me taken a few minutes ago in from the western side of the largest chunk of the Berlin wall still standing. Sorry for the lack of smile, but after reading about the third reich for an hour, you'd look pretty grim too. I think it was Indiana Jones who succintly put it: "Nazis... I hate those guys"
I blew my timing this morning and missed the New Berlin tour related to the communist occupation. So I went it alone with the help of newly purchased, and overpriced copy of Lonely Planet Central Europe (which covers the countries I'm visiting not in the Eastern Europe book)
After buying my train ticket to Zurich at Alexanderplatz (I'm now taking a direct overnight train tomorrow night and will be arriving about 9AM on the 26th), took the S-Bahn (which is the above ground train, as opposed to the U-Bahn which is underground... duh) to Kuffurstendamm which is a major shopping area.
It's also there where the bombed out remains of a chuch from WWII, left in it's current state as a monument for peace.
Successfully hunted down the book I needed, and then went to a couple of records shops. Nothing much to speak of (sorry dad... not much beatles). Grabbed a quick lunch (chicken schnityel and pototoes, washed down with a coke... in a bottle!), and walked to Checkpoint charlie.
So that's about it. It doesn't sound like much, but there's a huge amount of displays in this area explaining the surrounding area. Takes a while damnit.
Gonna try again for the New Berlin tour tomorrow, but I'm starting to think I'm not going to get the most of Berlin. This city is so rich in history, culture, nightlife... and I've barely scratched the surface. Already planning on my next trip to europe, whenever that is.
Since I haven't posted many pictures in the last few days, and I'm (finally) at a well equipped internet cafe, I'll make it up by posting a bunch now.
(Note to self: Bring laptop next time. There's free wifi everywhere)
The TV Tower at Alexanderplatz:
Brandenburg Gate:
Knut!
A panda, eating a bavarian pretzel, in the berlin zoo. Fitting ja?
Checkpoint charlie:
That's it for now. Probably won't be an update tomorrow as I'm travelling but we'll see.
Til next time.
This is me taken a few minutes ago in from the western side of the largest chunk of the Berlin wall still standing. Sorry for the lack of smile, but after reading about the third reich for an hour, you'd look pretty grim too. I think it was Indiana Jones who succintly put it: "Nazis... I hate those guys"
I blew my timing this morning and missed the New Berlin tour related to the communist occupation. So I went it alone with the help of newly purchased, and overpriced copy of Lonely Planet Central Europe (which covers the countries I'm visiting not in the Eastern Europe book)
After buying my train ticket to Zurich at Alexanderplatz (I'm now taking a direct overnight train tomorrow night and will be arriving about 9AM on the 26th), took the S-Bahn (which is the above ground train, as opposed to the U-Bahn which is underground... duh) to Kuffurstendamm which is a major shopping area.
It's also there where the bombed out remains of a chuch from WWII, left in it's current state as a monument for peace.
Successfully hunted down the book I needed, and then went to a couple of records shops. Nothing much to speak of (sorry dad... not much beatles). Grabbed a quick lunch (chicken schnityel and pototoes, washed down with a coke... in a bottle!), and walked to Checkpoint charlie.
So that's about it. It doesn't sound like much, but there's a huge amount of displays in this area explaining the surrounding area. Takes a while damnit.
Gonna try again for the New Berlin tour tomorrow, but I'm starting to think I'm not going to get the most of Berlin. This city is so rich in history, culture, nightlife... and I've barely scratched the surface. Already planning on my next trip to europe, whenever that is.
Since I haven't posted many pictures in the last few days, and I'm (finally) at a well equipped internet cafe, I'll make it up by posting a bunch now.
(Note to self: Bring laptop next time. There's free wifi everywhere)
The TV Tower at Alexanderplatz:
Brandenburg Gate:
Knut!
A panda, eating a bavarian pretzel, in the berlin zoo. Fitting ja?
Checkpoint charlie:
That's it for now. Probably won't be an update tomorrow as I'm travelling but we'll see.
Til next time.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Berlin - Day 2 - Part 2
Alright, where was I?
Oh ya. So I walked from my Hostel this morning (which is in East Berlin - Near Alexanderplatz and the big TV tower - which was a huge communist propaganda thing from what I understand) to the Brandenburg Gate. A relaxing walk, on an amazingly warm fall day, through the Tiegarten to the Siegessaule (The Berlin Victory column). Beautiful stuff.
A little more sombre was the holacaust memorial. What I only found out later is that there is a (supposedely amazing) museum underground. Might have to check that out.
Made my way to the zoo, which was a little expensive (18 euros), but well worth it. Besides Knut, the monkey section and the aquarium were amazing. I can't even remember the last time (if ever) that I've been to a zoo.
Was pretty proud of myself when I ordered a Bratwurty sandwich properly in german. "Einz Bitte" - of course, it helped that it was the only thing they were serving.
(This hating this &%$§ing german keyboard. Keep mixing up 'y' and 'z' constantly. That and all the shift characters are mixed. Scheiza!)
Couldn't find good schnitzel, but had some tasty thai instead. Maybe tomorrow, but this area I'm staying in is not known for traditional fair I don't think... more of an upcoming student area. Reminds me of the plateau a bit.
Tomorrow I continue the hunt for an good english guide book to Berlin and will be taking a free tour 0f Berlin. I think tomorrow's theme is on 'Red Berlin'. Tuesday is the 'Third Reich' tour.
Otherwise, thing I'm going to leave Berlin Tuesday night and take the overnight 12 hour train to Zurich. Why waste a full day travelling?
BTW. Kicking myself for not going to Munich. A friend in Duseldorf was going for the day and I could have met up. Could have put my bags in storage and enjoyed the day. Oh well...
I'm tired, and the 2 Beck's I just had are knocking me out. I'm hitting the sack.
Til next time.
Oh ya. So I walked from my Hostel this morning (which is in East Berlin - Near Alexanderplatz and the big TV tower - which was a huge communist propaganda thing from what I understand) to the Brandenburg Gate. A relaxing walk, on an amazingly warm fall day, through the Tiegarten to the Siegessaule (The Berlin Victory column). Beautiful stuff.
A little more sombre was the holacaust memorial. What I only found out later is that there is a (supposedely amazing) museum underground. Might have to check that out.
Made my way to the zoo, which was a little expensive (18 euros), but well worth it. Besides Knut, the monkey section and the aquarium were amazing. I can't even remember the last time (if ever) that I've been to a zoo.
Was pretty proud of myself when I ordered a Bratwurty sandwich properly in german. "Einz Bitte" - of course, it helped that it was the only thing they were serving.
(This hating this &%$§ing german keyboard. Keep mixing up 'y' and 'z' constantly. That and all the shift characters are mixed. Scheiza!)
Couldn't find good schnitzel, but had some tasty thai instead. Maybe tomorrow, but this area I'm staying in is not known for traditional fair I don't think... more of an upcoming student area. Reminds me of the plateau a bit.
Tomorrow I continue the hunt for an good english guide book to Berlin and will be taking a free tour 0f Berlin. I think tomorrow's theme is on 'Red Berlin'. Tuesday is the 'Third Reich' tour.
Otherwise, thing I'm going to leave Berlin Tuesday night and take the overnight 12 hour train to Zurich. Why waste a full day travelling?
BTW. Kicking myself for not going to Munich. A friend in Duseldorf was going for the day and I could have met up. Could have put my bags in storage and enjoyed the day. Oh well...
I'm tired, and the 2 Beck's I just had are knocking me out. I'm hitting the sack.
Til next time.
Berliin - Day 2 (no sprachen the deutsche)
Hey there.
Gonna have to do this real quick as I don't have much time left.
Sunday is a quiet day here in Berlin as a lot of things are closed. So I spent most of the day at the zoo. That's right... the zoo. And not only any plain-jane zoo... this was the Berlin Zoo starring Knut the polar bear. That's right - I've seen Knut, who wants to touch me?
Actually I didn't realize the bear was here until I walked in. Honestely, he's not that cute anymore. He's a fearsome, man-eating beast! Actually, nah, he's still pretty cute, but not a cub anymore. That boy can sure play for the cameras though... loving the attention. Again, I'd love to share pics, but ths comp at the hostel doesn't have USB.
OK. Can't get into too many details about what I did today. Consider that a teaser. (ok. it wasn't that exciting a day, but I did do more than go to the zoo)
Tomorrow, plan on doing a walking tour of berlin.
I'm off to find some decent schnitzel.
Til next time.
Gonna have to do this real quick as I don't have much time left.
Sunday is a quiet day here in Berlin as a lot of things are closed. So I spent most of the day at the zoo. That's right... the zoo. And not only any plain-jane zoo... this was the Berlin Zoo starring Knut the polar bear. That's right - I've seen Knut, who wants to touch me?
Actually I didn't realize the bear was here until I walked in. Honestely, he's not that cute anymore. He's a fearsome, man-eating beast! Actually, nah, he's still pretty cute, but not a cub anymore. That boy can sure play for the cameras though... loving the attention. Again, I'd love to share pics, but ths comp at the hostel doesn't have USB.
OK. Can't get into too many details about what I did today. Consider that a teaser. (ok. it wasn't that exciting a day, but I did do more than go to the zoo)
Tomorrow, plan on doing a walking tour of berlin.
I'm off to find some decent schnitzel.
Til next time.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Berlin - Day 1
$%&!ing German keyboards!!! Why in god's name would you switch around the 'y' and 'z' key!?!?! (ok... fine.... the german language uses 'z' more often)
Left Prague this morning and am at the St. Christopher's Inn in Berlin. 2 for 2 in terms of hostels as this one is pretty damn good too. Not as friendly as Sir Toby's, but not bad. Rooms, bathrooms and showers are very clean. There's a super trendy pub downstairs, which is where I am right now, listening to a large contingent of Aussies cheer on their Cricket team (20-20 tournament) against India. There's a table of Indians at another table, but they're not nearly as surly.
It was so easy to meet people as Sir Toby's. This place - not so sure.
Yesterday, during my last day in prague, went to Terezin (pronounced Tereyeen) which was and hour north west by bus and is part of bohemia. Terezin, during WW2, was converted by the nazis into a jewish ghetto which was basically a stopover for Czech jews before they were sent to Aushwitz to be killed. Pretty brutal stuff, and well worth the visit.
(I think Australia just won based on the cheering)
(did I mention I have absolutely no understanding of cricket?)
Last night, hooked up with a bunch of people from the Hostel and went for a traditional Czech meal. Roast duck, red cabbage, potato dumplings and 2 pints of beer for about 200 Crowns (about 10 bucks CDN)
I'm gonna miss the cheap food and drinks in CZ. Already, I can tell Berlin is much more expensive. Switzerland will be even worse.
So after 5 days in Prague I still couldn't get the very basics of the language down. Even when I knew the word, I'd get gun-shy and wouldn't say or would say the wrong word. I'm talking about the basics here: Dobry Den (Good day), Prominte and Prosim (I'm mixed up between those two - but it's please, thank you or something like that)
My favourite is the fact that Yes is 'Ano' and No is 'Ne' (pronounced Nay). I was in a grocery store and I'm pretty sure she asked me if I wanted a bag. Without even thinking, I said 'No' and shook my head... which to her was a complete contradiction. She looked at me a little weird.
Hit the Cross Club again last night... god I love that place. I had told a bunch of people about it, and hyped it pretty good. Luckilly, it didn't dissapoint.
So Berlin seems real cool, but I haven't done much. Checked in, and immediately went out to do laundry. This were getting a little rank.
I've led a little bit of sheltered life because I've never been to a laudromat before. Worse yet, I had to figure it out in German. I nice lady who spoke English helped me out.
So my time on the net here is running out, so I'll cut this short. I'm here in berlin until wednesday morning when I leave for Zurich to meet Dave, Anita and Dalia. Looking forward to that. Otherwise, gonna try to fit as many sites as possible here in Berlin.
(Sorry. No pictures this time)
That's it for now. Til next time.
Left Prague this morning and am at the St. Christopher's Inn in Berlin. 2 for 2 in terms of hostels as this one is pretty damn good too. Not as friendly as Sir Toby's, but not bad. Rooms, bathrooms and showers are very clean. There's a super trendy pub downstairs, which is where I am right now, listening to a large contingent of Aussies cheer on their Cricket team (20-20 tournament) against India. There's a table of Indians at another table, but they're not nearly as surly.
It was so easy to meet people as Sir Toby's. This place - not so sure.
Yesterday, during my last day in prague, went to Terezin (pronounced Tereyeen) which was and hour north west by bus and is part of bohemia. Terezin, during WW2, was converted by the nazis into a jewish ghetto which was basically a stopover for Czech jews before they were sent to Aushwitz to be killed. Pretty brutal stuff, and well worth the visit.
(I think Australia just won based on the cheering)
(did I mention I have absolutely no understanding of cricket?)
Last night, hooked up with a bunch of people from the Hostel and went for a traditional Czech meal. Roast duck, red cabbage, potato dumplings and 2 pints of beer for about 200 Crowns (about 10 bucks CDN)
I'm gonna miss the cheap food and drinks in CZ. Already, I can tell Berlin is much more expensive. Switzerland will be even worse.
So after 5 days in Prague I still couldn't get the very basics of the language down. Even when I knew the word, I'd get gun-shy and wouldn't say or would say the wrong word. I'm talking about the basics here: Dobry Den (Good day), Prominte and Prosim (I'm mixed up between those two - but it's please, thank you or something like that)
My favourite is the fact that Yes is 'Ano' and No is 'Ne' (pronounced Nay). I was in a grocery store and I'm pretty sure she asked me if I wanted a bag. Without even thinking, I said 'No' and shook my head... which to her was a complete contradiction. She looked at me a little weird.
Hit the Cross Club again last night... god I love that place. I had told a bunch of people about it, and hyped it pretty good. Luckilly, it didn't dissapoint.
So Berlin seems real cool, but I haven't done much. Checked in, and immediately went out to do laundry. This were getting a little rank.
I've led a little bit of sheltered life because I've never been to a laudromat before. Worse yet, I had to figure it out in German. I nice lady who spoke English helped me out.
So my time on the net here is running out, so I'll cut this short. I'm here in berlin until wednesday morning when I leave for Zurich to meet Dave, Anita and Dalia. Looking forward to that. Otherwise, gonna try to fit as many sites as possible here in Berlin.
(Sorry. No pictures this time)
That's it for now. Til next time.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Hungover in Prague
Ok. I overdid it last night and now suffering for it today. It was a good night... but not worth it considering I've been completely useless today.
Started with pints in the pub downstairs here at Sir Toby's Hostel, playing drinking games. Evil... evil drinking games. Ended up at dance club called Mecca, purported to be the best and most trendy dance club in Prague. It sucked. I literallyspent 2 minutes in there, did a quick tour, saw the dance floor and then bailed.
I bailed on the guys from Toronto I was with, and hooked up with a large group of Australians, Germans (and 1 french girl) and ended up at CrossClub, purported to be the best underground club in Prague. In this case, the reputation was justified. This place was amazing. A labyrinth of rooms, all decorated like something out of a H.R. Geiger painting, each with different music. For those familiar with Montreal, it was a cross between Foufounes and St. Sulpice... but way better. Drank too much, ate the world's sketchiest sandwich at around 3AM, and here we are today... a little worse for wear. Oh well... live and learn (although you'd think I'd have learned by now)
Otherwise, I've been exploring Prague and loving it.
Wednesday afternoon, after my last blog post and despite the intermittent pouring rain, I went out to see the Prague Castle. Started by hiking up the hills to the left of the castle to see the best view of prague. Wasn't dissapointed.
Monument against communism:
View of Prague from the hill (taken by the fool on the hill)
After getting quite lost in the hills, finally made my way to the castle. Should have done things the other way around (castle 1st, hills 2nd) cuz I was pretty tired and drenched in sweat by the time I reached the castle.
(ok... I'm getting kinda tired of taking pictures of myself.)
St-Vitus Cathederal was pretty awe-inspring and the old royal palace was interesting. But the tourist thing kinda gets old quick.
Crossed the Charles Bridge pretty quickly (a little over-rated I found), found a couple of mediocre records stores. Found some street meat and headed back to the hostel where I spent the night in the pub practicing my french with a guy from Blainville, QC and a girl from Bretagne France.
Yesterday I did an excursion to Kutná Hora. The Sedlec Ossuary was all I hoped it would be... the remains of 40,000 people used for church decoration! Rocking!
The Church of St Barbara was pretty damn impressive, up there with St Vitus in terms of grandeur. But enough churches now...
The plan for tomorrow is do an excusion to Terezin where there was a notorious WWII prison and concentration camp. This will make up a bit for not getting to Poland and seeing Aushwitz.
After that, no clue. I'm booked at the hostel in Zurich Switzerland from the 26th to the 1st. So I have a couple of days to kill. I toyed with the idea of going to Munich for Oktoberfest, but I'd have a snowballs chance in hell of finding a place to stay during the opening weekend of the fest.
So I'm toying with the idea of going to Berlin for a few days. Will decide tonight.
Random Notes:
- This hostel is amazing, but I thik it's setting the bar too high for the rest of my trip.
- Did I mention that a pint of beer here is 25 Kc? That's about a dollar! and it's amazing beer.
- When I first got to prague, I met a guy from Coppenhagen on the tram that was a dead ringer for Michael Moore. I seriously did a double take. Was gonna mention something to him but decided against it. Two reasons: a) he probably has no clue who he was. b) even if he did, it's not really a compliment.
- Canadian dollar is at par with the US dollar. Holy crap!
That's it for now. Logging off.
Started with pints in the pub downstairs here at Sir Toby's Hostel, playing drinking games. Evil... evil drinking games. Ended up at dance club called Mecca, purported to be the best and most trendy dance club in Prague. It sucked. I literallyspent 2 minutes in there, did a quick tour, saw the dance floor and then bailed.
I bailed on the guys from Toronto I was with, and hooked up with a large group of Australians, Germans (and 1 french girl) and ended up at CrossClub, purported to be the best underground club in Prague. In this case, the reputation was justified. This place was amazing. A labyrinth of rooms, all decorated like something out of a H.R. Geiger painting, each with different music. For those familiar with Montreal, it was a cross between Foufounes and St. Sulpice... but way better. Drank too much, ate the world's sketchiest sandwich at around 3AM, and here we are today... a little worse for wear. Oh well... live and learn (although you'd think I'd have learned by now)
Otherwise, I've been exploring Prague and loving it.
Wednesday afternoon, after my last blog post and despite the intermittent pouring rain, I went out to see the Prague Castle. Started by hiking up the hills to the left of the castle to see the best view of prague. Wasn't dissapointed.
Monument against communism:
View of Prague from the hill (taken by the fool on the hill)
After getting quite lost in the hills, finally made my way to the castle. Should have done things the other way around (castle 1st, hills 2nd) cuz I was pretty tired and drenched in sweat by the time I reached the castle.
(ok... I'm getting kinda tired of taking pictures of myself.)
St-Vitus Cathederal was pretty awe-inspring and the old royal palace was interesting. But the tourist thing kinda gets old quick.
Crossed the Charles Bridge pretty quickly (a little over-rated I found), found a couple of mediocre records stores. Found some street meat and headed back to the hostel where I spent the night in the pub practicing my french with a guy from Blainville, QC and a girl from Bretagne France.
Yesterday I did an excursion to Kutná Hora. The Sedlec Ossuary was all I hoped it would be... the remains of 40,000 people used for church decoration! Rocking!
The Church of St Barbara was pretty damn impressive, up there with St Vitus in terms of grandeur. But enough churches now...
The plan for tomorrow is do an excusion to Terezin where there was a notorious WWII prison and concentration camp. This will make up a bit for not getting to Poland and seeing Aushwitz.
After that, no clue. I'm booked at the hostel in Zurich Switzerland from the 26th to the 1st. So I have a couple of days to kill. I toyed with the idea of going to Munich for Oktoberfest, but I'd have a snowballs chance in hell of finding a place to stay during the opening weekend of the fest.
So I'm toying with the idea of going to Berlin for a few days. Will decide tonight.
Random Notes:
- This hostel is amazing, but I thik it's setting the bar too high for the rest of my trip.
- Did I mention that a pint of beer here is 25 Kc? That's about a dollar! and it's amazing beer.
- When I first got to prague, I met a guy from Coppenhagen on the tram that was a dead ringer for Michael Moore. I seriously did a double take. Was gonna mention something to him but decided against it. Two reasons: a) he probably has no clue who he was. b) even if he did, it's not really a compliment.
- Canadian dollar is at par with the US dollar. Holy crap!
That's it for now. Logging off.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Day 3 in Prague
Greetings again from Prague. It's pouring today. sucks.
Gonna try to write this quickly as internet time don't come cheap. As a result, forgive any spelling and grammatical mistakes (my inner perfectionist is screamed as I wrote that)
I'm on my 2 day in Prague. Checked out of my safe and somewhat comfortable hotel and am now writing this entry from my new digs: Sir Toby's Hostel. Haven't seen my room yet (8 bed dorm. Bunk beds. Yay...) but the rest of place is amazing. Very friendly staff.
Spent yesterday exploring the 'Stare Mesto' (sorry, can't do the accents), the old section of town. Old town square was nice, but way too touristy. Spent the whole time ducking out of the way of rampaging tour groups (vicious!). Beautiful architecture all-around, and the astronomical clock was interesting.
Highlight of the day was the Jewish Museum in Prague (which is actually made up of 6 sites). I wasn't going to do this, but I after seeing a postcard of the interior of the Spanish Synagogue, I knew I had to go. That place was awe-inspiring. All of the relics (including a massive amount of Synagogue silver from Bohemia and Moravia) on display were ones seized by the Nazis for eventual display in their "Museum of an extinct race". In fact, these beautiful synagogues were used as warehouses for the seized items. The displays in each location detailed the jewish religion through the use of the relics, and the spanish synagogue was devoted to gains and (massive.. which is an understatement) losses made by the Jewish community in this region
Interesting bit: On July 4th, 1939 there was a public notice for all jews to hand over all of their ski equipment, record players (grammophone) and records. Can you freakin imagine the nerve of that?!?
Walked to the river and saw the Castle (which is more like a small walled city) from a-far. Watched some sketchy guy which I can only assume was a pick-pocket do his rounds. Also walked by the Charles Bridge, but it was jam-packed with tourists. Gonna wait for early tomorrow to the bridge and the castle. Thursday I'm gonna do a a day trip Hutna Hora (Sedlec Ossuary!!!). Friday I plan on going to Plzen (AKA the home Pilsner Beer... Hmmm beer)
After that, not exactly sure. Right now, my tentative plan is to go to Munich for a couple days, and then after that Zurich to meet my friends Dave and Anita (and they're daughter Dalia). After that, I think I'll resume my original Eastern Europe plans and head to Hungary. That means that Poland will have to wait for another trip.
Random thoughts:
- While I was preparing for this trip, I was trying to read my Lonely Planet book... but honestely, it would bore to tears, especially the history sections. Now that I'm here, I'm absolutely fascinated by the history sections. I guess that's one of the things I was looking for with this trip... a little perspective. Can't believe the amount of upheavals that have occured in this country.
- Did you see the Emmy's on sunday? I can't believe Fox censored Sally Fields for saying "If mothers ruled the world there wouldn't be no goddamn wars!!!". Such bullshit from the 'fair and balanced' company.
- South park kinda sucks in German. (ok... I watched a little TV. I haven't completely disconnected from the world yet)
- So far, everywhere I go to eat, they're playing bad 80s music. Nothing like eating breakfast to 'Ghostbusters' and supper to 'The Neverending Story'
BTW, having a bitch of a time with the language. No matter how many time I look over my phrasebook, I can't get the pronunciation of the Czech language down straight. This doesn't bode well for the rest of my trip where every country is a different language (most supposedely even harder than Czech. Lovely).
That's it for now. Sorry for the lack of picture, but can't find a USB port.
L8r. Matt
Gonna try to write this quickly as internet time don't come cheap. As a result, forgive any spelling and grammatical mistakes (my inner perfectionist is screamed as I wrote that)
I'm on my 2 day in Prague. Checked out of my safe and somewhat comfortable hotel and am now writing this entry from my new digs: Sir Toby's Hostel. Haven't seen my room yet (8 bed dorm. Bunk beds. Yay...) but the rest of place is amazing. Very friendly staff.
Spent yesterday exploring the 'Stare Mesto' (sorry, can't do the accents), the old section of town. Old town square was nice, but way too touristy. Spent the whole time ducking out of the way of rampaging tour groups (vicious!). Beautiful architecture all-around, and the astronomical clock was interesting.
Highlight of the day was the Jewish Museum in Prague (which is actually made up of 6 sites). I wasn't going to do this, but I after seeing a postcard of the interior of the Spanish Synagogue, I knew I had to go. That place was awe-inspiring. All of the relics (including a massive amount of Synagogue silver from Bohemia and Moravia) on display were ones seized by the Nazis for eventual display in their "Museum of an extinct race". In fact, these beautiful synagogues were used as warehouses for the seized items. The displays in each location detailed the jewish religion through the use of the relics, and the spanish synagogue was devoted to gains and (massive.. which is an understatement) losses made by the Jewish community in this region
Interesting bit: On July 4th, 1939 there was a public notice for all jews to hand over all of their ski equipment, record players (grammophone) and records. Can you freakin imagine the nerve of that?!?
Walked to the river and saw the Castle (which is more like a small walled city) from a-far. Watched some sketchy guy which I can only assume was a pick-pocket do his rounds. Also walked by the Charles Bridge, but it was jam-packed with tourists. Gonna wait for early tomorrow to the bridge and the castle. Thursday I'm gonna do a a day trip Hutna Hora (Sedlec Ossuary!!!). Friday I plan on going to Plzen (AKA the home Pilsner Beer... Hmmm beer)
After that, not exactly sure. Right now, my tentative plan is to go to Munich for a couple days, and then after that Zurich to meet my friends Dave and Anita (and they're daughter Dalia). After that, I think I'll resume my original Eastern Europe plans and head to Hungary. That means that Poland will have to wait for another trip.
Random thoughts:
- While I was preparing for this trip, I was trying to read my Lonely Planet book... but honestely, it would bore to tears, especially the history sections. Now that I'm here, I'm absolutely fascinated by the history sections. I guess that's one of the things I was looking for with this trip... a little perspective. Can't believe the amount of upheavals that have occured in this country.
- Did you see the Emmy's on sunday? I can't believe Fox censored Sally Fields for saying "If mothers ruled the world there wouldn't be no goddamn wars!!!". Such bullshit from the 'fair and balanced' company.
- South park kinda sucks in German. (ok... I watched a little TV. I haven't completely disconnected from the world yet)
- So far, everywhere I go to eat, they're playing bad 80s music. Nothing like eating breakfast to 'Ghostbusters' and supper to 'The Neverending Story'
BTW, having a bitch of a time with the language. No matter how many time I look over my phrasebook, I can't get the pronunciation of the Czech language down straight. This doesn't bode well for the rest of my trip where every country is a different language (most supposedely even harder than Czech. Lovely).
That's it for now. Sorry for the lack of picture, but can't find a USB port.
L8r. Matt
Monday, September 17, 2007
Jet lagged in Prague
Safely in Prague after 22 hours of travel and half-decent nights sleep.
Popped 2 Gravol as soon as I boarded the plane in Montreal and got nice and drowsy quickly. Still, only managed about 3 hours of solid sleep before the lights came on and they were serving breakfast (stupid time difference). A little excitement on the place when a guy passed out in the aisle right next to me. It was serious enough that they had to ask to see if there was a doctor on the place. I asked "Surely you're joking?". The doctor said "I never joke.. and don't call me Shirley". They guys alright but he was looking a little worse for wear and keeping that handy barf bag handy.
Random thought at Montreal Trudeau airport: Why exactly do they sell porn in the magazine shop in the terminal? I mean, it's not as if yr gonna crack open a copy of club international on the plane with a nice old lady sitting next to you. Shit... I feel guilty reading Maxim with someone sitting next to me!
Uneventful layover in London Heathrow, except for a delicious cappuccino. Started freaking out a little that I had absolutely no idea how to get Vienna to Prague, and no place to stay.
Approach to Vienna was amazing. The 3000 ft view of the farmlands is an amazing patchwork of browns and greens. Also, the rolling hills with small communities look amazing. Vienna on the other hand seemed a little boring (from the little I saw of it). I fly back from there on Oct 13th, but I don't think I'll spend much time.
After way too much time dicking around at the Vienna airport trying to figure out where to go, made my way to the train station to catch the 3:30PM train to Prague. Uneventful train ride, except for the massive of group of Koreans getting steadily sloshed as the trip went on. Those guys and girls could drink.
Been a while since I've taken a train ride like that, and it was cool. Nice laid back way of traveling. Looking out the window reminded me of that Chemical Brothers video.
I hated this video the 1st time I saw it, thinking "Goddamn, that's a boring video". Then I saw it again and it clicked. Absolutely Brilliant.
Here's a picture of me on the train to Prague. It's blurry because I was so cracked out from lack of sleep and my hands were shaking:
So. After about 22 hours of travel, I finally got to Prague. I found the 1st available hotel (1500KC, about 80$ CDN. Includes breakfast though). Gonna spend 1 more night there while I get my bearings and find a decent hostel to stay at. That, and I don't want to deal with any curfews as I may stay out late tonight and catch Gorilla Biscuits (Old-school hardcore band from NYC) who are in town tonight.
So far, Prague is great, but I've been stuck so far in some very touristy areas. I'm writing this a couple of blocks from the Old Town Square (beautiful architecture!) at a place called Bohemia Bagels (Bottomless cup of coffee and cheap internet access. We've got a winner!)
Here's a picture of the old town square in Prague:
And a statue of guy riding a horse that's dead and hanging upside down (What the?):
That's it for now. I'm off to do some more explorin'
'Til next time, signing off.
Matty Matt
Saturday, September 15, 2007
My new toy!
Meet my new toy. It rocks. And it showed up just in time for the trip. Joy!
8 GB. Over 24 hours of playback on a single charge. Plays videos. Plays a mean game of Klondike solitaire (still haven't won).
Love it.
8 GB. Over 24 hours of playback on a single charge. Plays videos. Plays a mean game of Klondike solitaire (still haven't won).
Love it.
Friday, September 14, 2007
A new blog! (AKA the test message!)
So...
This is my new blog (http://mleitman.blogspot.com), created just in time for my month long trip to Eastern Europe. If you're seeing this in facebook, it's because I'm importing the blog.
I leave tomorrow and I'm pretty damn excited. 19:50 flight to Vienna. If all goes well, I should be in Prague Sunday evening.
Now I just need to go through the ordeal of packing for a month of backpacking.
Tune in for (tentatively) regular updates as I roam the earth "Kung Fu" style (minus the ability to kick some ass). I'll be posting pictures and maybe some video too.
Ya I know. Not the most exciting blog entry. I told you it was test!
This is my new blog (http://mleitman.blogspot.com), created just in time for my month long trip to Eastern Europe. If you're seeing this in facebook, it's because I'm importing the blog.
I leave tomorrow and I'm pretty damn excited. 19:50 flight to Vienna. If all goes well, I should be in Prague Sunday evening.
Now I just need to go through the ordeal of packing for a month of backpacking.
Tune in for (tentatively) regular updates as I roam the earth "Kung Fu" style (minus the ability to kick some ass). I'll be posting pictures and maybe some video too.
Ya I know. Not the most exciting blog entry. I told you it was test!
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