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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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!