Transportation Woes

This short three day trip with Harry has been full of unlucky transportation issues. On Monday morning we arrived at Heathrow with plenty of time to spare, and checked into our flight to Nice. We went through security, got something to eat and proceeded to wait for the gat to be called for our flight. Instead, it said the flight had been cancelled on the screen! We went to customer services and were informed that the captain was 'sick' and that we had been rebokked on a flight leaving an hour and a bit later. To make matters worse, the later flight was delayed by over an hour due to congestion at Heathrow. When we finally arrived in Nice it was 3:00, and it was too late to really take advantage of the daylight. The whole day was wasted.

Yesterday, in part because the book 'Perfume' is based there, we decided to go to Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. We arrived via train without any problems in the early afternoon, and spent a leisurly afternoon in Grasse with the intention of catching the 4:50 train back to Nice. When we arrived in the terminal we saw that it said 'supprime' next to the train time. We didn't realize this meant cancelled, but since there was a train twenty minutes later, we didn't worry. We waited in the cafe to avoid the cold. When the 5:10 train didn't come we went to ticket counter and were informed that it was also cancelled and that we should have taken a substitute bus that had already left! We had to wait another hour until the next substitute bus came, because the 6:00 train was also cancelled! We only got back into Nice at 8:00. Thank you unreliable French rail system!

Cellphone Music

I've noticed in France that people - usually young Arabs or blacks - seem to play loud music from their cellphones on public transportation. I think this is extremely antisocial and very irritating. I don't want to listen to horrible French rap, and don't think most other people do as well. No other country that I've been to has this tradition. Unlike other strange social practices, such as Nordic Walking, cellphone music playing is disruptive and thoughtless to others. I hope this is restricted to the Nice area, because I am going to Paris tomorrow, and hope that this antisocial behavior will stop.

Future Plans

I will be leaving London a week from Monday to go on more adventures which I will outline below. This is mostly a list for reference purposes, so it will be quite boring.

On Saturday, Harry will arrive from Montreal for a short two-day visit before we both depart for Nice on Monday the 17th. We will stay in Nice for three days and then meet our parents in Paris on the 20th. On the 23rd, we will be going on a tour of Morocco that finishes on the 30th of December, at which point we will fly back to Paris. We will stay a bit longer in Paris, and then on the 1st of January, I will be meeting my friend Johan in Paris, where we will stay for another few days. On January 6th, I will fly to Lisbon, and travel around Portugal and Southern Spain until January 17th, at which point I will return to London to pick up the remainder of my luggage. On January 20th, I will be back in Canada!

Edinburgh & Brussels

In the past two months I have visited both Edinburgh and Brussels, and will present my thoughts on both cities.

Edinburgh: I went here in mid-October, and it was nice that it wasn't too cold. Overall, Edinburgh is a lovely city. I visited the castle, which was very interesting, especially the history of the crown jewels. I also saw the art museum which was fantastic. Edinburgh, has a very Gothic feel, with all the buildings being gray and old (at least in the center). I tried to buy a map of county Angus at map shop that I stumbled across, but they didn't have it in stock. I would love to go back for a few more days, especially to climb up the mountain and visit Crichton Castle.

Brussels: I went two weekends ago to visit Stuart, who is studying at the French language university in Brussels. I took the Eurostar, which despite its price, was extremely convenient. I had the luck of finding an abandoned first-class kit in the departures lounge before leaving, and so I was able to enjoy wine on the trip over. Brussels is a nice city in the centre, but many historical buildings have sadly been torn down, and surrounding areas are quite ugly. Due to the short days (and late departures from Stuart's), I did not really get to see much of Brussels, although I had a good look of the old town at night. Nevertheless, I got a good feel for the city. I'd go back, but beond what I did (visited two museums, the atomium and gone on a walking tour), the only thing I would really want to do upon any return would be to visit the art museum. Nevertheless, if anything, I had a lot of fun hanging out with Stuart, and the prices were a refreshing change to London's.

The Chefs

I will now offer a critical review of all the teaching chefs at the Cordon Bleu.

Eric: He looks like a small child younger than most of the students he teaches, and has a cherubic son. He is quite nice though, although I would love to know his age.

Yann: We only had him at the beginning, and he is not too bad. I did find his long monologues irritating at the beginning of class, and his discouragement of non-cooking chit-chat between the students bothered me. I found it very amusing to see him put salt in his food, as he arched his arm in a very comical way.

Jonathan: Definitely the nicest chef. Goes out of his way to help students, and doesn't seem to get upset by an underperforming class like some of the other chefs.

Loic: He is so adorable, but can get annoyed when the class is slow, and has little patience for incompetence. Nevertheless, still a great teacher.

Franck: Where to start. On the first day we had him, it was a complete nightmare. He criticized all the men for having 'caca' on their faces, and swore in French frequently, as well as describing the students' food as being 'caca.' I was terrified of him. Then, the second time we had him, he was much better and began to show his entertaining sense of humour. My opinion changed of him. In t he demonstrations he is even more entertaining, frequently discussing his grandmother, and yesterday complaining about how he was attacked by toddlers over the weekend. He is, quite simply, hilarious.

Stuart: Stuart is a strange one. He is incredibly rude and arrogant at times, but other times can be quite decent. I was especially offended when he came up to me, and described my creme pattisiere as being 'scrambled eggs' and then walking away. Please offer constructive criticism next time! However, at times he has been decent, but seemed withdrawn. Lately he has seemed happier, which is undoubtedly because he is dating one of the students.

Free Newspapers

Everytime I approach the tube in the afternoon, I am besieged by people giving away one of two free newspapers. There is also a morning newspaper, although you have to take this yourself. These newspapers are some of the worst I've read - even worse than Vancouver Province. On most days the top story involves Madeline McCann's parents. A few days ago the front page trumpeted the fact that her mother planned to get a job in a daycare. Who cares? My favorite story was about a house in South Korea - shaped like a toilet. Despite the inane content in these newspapers, for some fascinated with mediocrity, they are an excellent read. And they certainly give a perspective into what people must like reading. I mean, the Madeline McCann is the top story everyday, people must enjoy reading about her. I prefer real news, of course, but I will still pick up the free newspapers when I can.

Bill Clinton

This happened a couple of weeks ago, on October 4th. I went to Hatchard's on the 3rd to pick up a signed copy of Ian Rankin's newest book for my mother. On my way there, I walked past the giant Waterstone's nearby, and saw in the window that Bill Clinton would be coming tomorrow (Thursday) for a book signing at 11:30 AM. I didn't really have anything to do the next day, as my course didn't start until Friday, so I thought about how many opportunities in my life I would have to meet Bill Clinton, and realized that this was probably it. I decided to go. I left Karl's a 9:00, and got to the Waterstone's shortly after 9:30. There was already a huge lineup. About an hour later, the line started moving as people began entering the store. It turns they shut down the entire store for this event. I had to buy my book on the first floor, empty my pockets and leave all my stuff on the second, and wait in another line on the third floor. Thankfully, as I was surrounded by books, waiting in this lineup was not boring. Eventually at around 11:30, a flurry of activity took place a distance away from me. I only see camera flashes, and on my tip-toes could see someone with white hair. The line slowly moved forward. Finally, at about 12:30, I came in sight of the man. Being laft-handed, he signed the book while simultaneously shaking the person's hand. He was very nice, if you attempted to make conversation with him, he would respond. When it was my turn, he thanked me for coming and I thanked him for signing my book, and that was that. I left the store, with a signed book I have no interest in reading. But, the experience was well worth it.

Rocket

Every time I've visited Britain in the past and gone to the restaurant, I have always been mystified by the ever-present 'rocket' vegetable on the menu. What is this mysterious leaf vegetable? We certainly did not have it in Canada. While I have known for a long while about the Canadian equivalents of Courgette and Aubergine - Zucchini and Eggplant, Rocket was something I thought I would never find out the Canadian word for. Since starting my course, I have found other weirdly named vegetables. A rutabega is known in Britain as a 'swede,' okra is called 'Lady Fingers' and a Daikon is called a 'mooli.' It's weird that we cook with Daikon at all, but strangely enough, we have cooked Daikon in most of our practicals. I suspect that this is because on a weight to price basis, it is one of the cheapest vegetables. Finally, a few days ago during the salad demonstration, the chef brought out 'rocket' and said it was also known as arugula. Finally, my conundrum has been solved, and I will no longer be scratching my head when I see rocket on a menu.

Britsh Supermarkets

Since arriving in London, I've done a fair bit of shopping at supermarkets. In Hampstead, the only 'supermarket' isn't really a supermarket at all, but a very small Tesco Express. These small supermarkets, usually Tescos are Sainsbury's, are all over London. Perhaps because there is more space in Canada, such a concept does not exist. Nearly all the supermarkets are large and have a giant parking lot to go with them. In order to go to a proper supermarket, I have to walk fifteen minutes to Finchley Road, or else take the tube to Camden Town. At each of these locations there is a large Sainesbury's. While the size may be similar to most Canadian markets, the British ones are simply better in every way. The food they sell is of higher quality and is presented in an appealing way. I would never buy a salad at Safeway, because they look disgusting. However, the Sainesbury salads look delicious. Perhaps the best thing about the supermarkets here is the lack of lineups. There are tons of people working at the checkout stands, they are allowed to sit down, and they seem to be happy. There are a few strange things about the supermarkets, such as wrapping every single vegetable in plastic and not refrigerating eggs, but these are merely oddities. Overall, shopping in London is not an unpleasant experience.

More posts!

I have received a request to begin posting on my blog again, so that's what I will do. However, the nature of my posts will be different from the ones I did during my travels. These were basically a description of the day. Since much of the day here is quite mundane, I will skip over it, and only talk about things that hold some interest for me and (I hope) readers.

Helsinki

I got up at 6:30 and made it to the ferry by 7:15. While they said I should be there by 7:30 we didn't board until 7:50. I could have stayed in bed for longer. The ferry was very nice, and much better than the BC ferries which I am so used to. It only took an hour and a half to get to Helsinki. Since I didn't have a book that covered Helsinki, I immediately went to the tourist office to get a map and ask about what to do. Thankfully, the ferry port was just a few minutes from the office, and I found it without difficulty. At the office, I got a map, a transit pass, and some ideas on what to do. The lady there suggested a take a tram that went on circle around the city, and gave me a guide as to what I was seeing. I took the tram and got off after a few minutes after I saw a shop selling maps. I went in and looked at their selection, but they really only had Nordic maps, which I am uninterested in. After this short stop, I hopped back on the tram and continued my tour of Helsinki. I wasn't sure what to expect in Helsinki, but it is actually a very nice city full of lots of neo-classical buildings, islands and bodies of water. I next stopped at the Olympic stadium where I went to the top of the tower. I only knew about this from the Amazing Race, where the contestants did the same thing, except had to rappel down from the top. I hopped back on the tram and returned where I started. While food in Helsinki is expensive, the lunch specials at various restaurants are not. I had a very nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant for six euros. When I had finished, I looked at the ferry schedule to Suomenlina, the island fort. Since I had nearly an hour before it went, I decided to look around the stores. I ended up in department store that had a big sale on and bought some pants and a shirt there. The ferry to Suomenlina took about fifteen minutes and was very picturesque. The island fort's nickname is the 'Gibraltar of the North,' and it was hotly disputed in its history between the Russians, Swedes, British and others. Apparently its building was what spurred the development of Helsinki itself, which had just been a fishing village prior to the fort's construction. The fort is located on a four islands linked by bridges. I spent a couple of hours there and especially enjoyed a movie that discussed the fort's history. I was quite tired by this time, and relaxed on the ferry ride back. I stopped for coffee in a cafe, and managed to check the internet while there. Since first seeing a Hesburger restaurant in Riga, it had been my goal to eat at Finland's answer to McDonald's. I searched for quite a while in the downtown area and could not find a single location! This is despite having seen a lot of them on the tram ride. Not wanting to get back on the tram, I settled for a Chinese restaurant in the mall. It's great that in Finland, everyone speaks English. I had no communication issues at all. I got back to Tallinn at around 9:00, and packed up all my stuff in anticipation of leaving the next day.

Tallinn - Day 2

I checked out of the hostel, but left my luggage there while I went to the bed & breakfast office to find out where I was staying. On my way of the hostel, I ran into the two Australians again, who were heading to the airport. We walked past the Indian while heading out, and I waved at him. I was too busy to go and talk to him. I got my information from the bed & breakfast, and then went to the ferry terminal to buy a return ticket to Helsinki for the next day. It was very expensive, costing me about $75. I headed back to the hostel, collected my luggage, and headed to the apartment of the lady who I was staying with. She lived in an oldish building about fifteen minutes out of the old town. Not the best location, but it was close to the port. The lady, a Russian, spoke no English, but we managed to communicate. I spoke more Russian than she did English. My accommodations were basic, but adequate. I went to have lunch at the same dumpling place I went to yesterday. Afterwards, I headed to tower that the guidebook mentioned had a torture museum. I bought a ticket and was told to wait outside. At 1:00 a tour began to the barricade tunnels, the fortifications surrounding Tallinn. Although I had no idea I had purchased a ticket for this tour, it was excellent. The tour guide, an old lady with excellent English was very funny and told us all these weird facts. I did not know that Pushkin was 1/8th black for example. She also told us a long story about how thieves had broken into the tunnels and stolen everything from the tunnels made from metal to sell it for scrap. When I had finished the tunnels, I went to Kadriorg Palace, a palace built for the Tsars that had been converted into an art museum. The museum was small, but interesting, and the chateau that it was within was also very nice. There was a nice park surrounding the chateau that I walked through. By this point it was time for dinner, so I headed to the old town looking for a reasonably priced place to eat. After looking without success for half an hour, I ran into the Indian guy again, who was sitting out on a terrace. I sat with him and complained about the high cost of food. He kindly offered to buy me dinner, which I accepted. He is an interesting person, having been a banker in the past. I think that it would be a good career to get into, and he said that my history degree should not be an obstacle. After dinner, I went to a cafe, ordered a cafe and a drink and read for a bit before returning to my room and retiring for the day.

Riga - Tallinn

As I said in my last post, I was strangely refreshed in the morning. I purchased a ticket for the 10:00 bus to Tallinn, went back to the hostel to gather all my things, and then shortly before 10:00 returned to the bus station. When I got there, the Indian guy was also there. It turns out he had a ticket for the same bus. The two Australians also ended up catching the same bus. I really did not want to deal with the Indian, but he sat next to me on the bus. He said that he was a retired (even though he was only 38) investment banker from New York, and was so rich, he didn't need to work any longer. He began drinking vodka cocktails on the bus, and ended up spilling vodka all over the floor and wetting my bag. I switched seats. I had already made a reservation for a hostel in Tallinn, both the Australians and Indian said they would follow me. We got to the hostel inTallinn, and the Australians managed to pick up the last two beds available. The Indian left, thank god. I went out for a little walk around town with the Australians. They were having some sort of car show in the Tallinn main square featuring American cars. It was a bit of strange sight. We ended up running into the group of Portuguese people that were staying in the Riga hostel. While sitting with them, we saw the Indian guy sit nearby. Thankfully, he didn't see us. We got a drink with them at one bar, and then went to the Depeche Mode bar for another. The Depeche Mode bar only plays Depeche Mode music, and has memorabilia from the band all over the walls. Cider is very popular here, so I began drinking that instead of beer. The local beer here is dreadful as well. We went to dumpling restaurant and then the Portuguese had to leave to catch a bus to Vilnius. I returned to the hostel with the two Ozzies, and we sat in the common area for a while. At one point the Indian guy came in looking for us, but did not see us. He went to the downstairs bar. Eventually we headed down there as well, and the Indian had left. After a while at the basement bar, we went out to another bar in the old town with some other people. It was weird, but there were only English speakers in this bar. Mostly dirty Englishmen. One of them groped a German girl in our group. Eventually, wanting to some sleep before they leave tomorrow, the Ozzies returned to the hostel. I stayed at the bar until we switched, and had a nice chat with the German girl on an outside terrace. She recommended I not visit Munich while in Germany. The weather here is unusually warm. I returned to the hostel quite early in the morning.

Impressions of Riga

Riga is a very beautiful city, but much different from Vilnius. It definetly has a big-city feel to it, with five to six storey buildings everywhere. With the big city feel, the city feels rushed and impersonal. Vilnius felt smaller, and had a more laid-back atmosphere. Things are expensive here, and locals can be unfriendly at times. A lot of the city is run-down as well, especially outside of the center. The people here don't seem to be very happy, unlike the Vilnians. Overall, Riga is ok, but Vilnius has set the Baltic bar for me.

On the other hand, the hostel I stayed in here was great. While it was not as good as the one in Krakow, I nevertheless greatly enjoyed it. The good thing about this hostel (the Argonaut) is that there is a huge TV in the common room to watch movies on. This means that if you want to be anti-social, you can simply watch the movie that is playing. I was certainly doing this during the first part of Deja Vu, but towards the end it got so silly that I started to ignore it. The staff is also very friendly, and socialized with the people staying here.

Riga - Day 2

Today I again went to the pancake house for breakfast, as it was very cheap, and was intended to be my meal out for the day. I finished my book at the pancake house - Black Swan Green - which I thought was really great. I must admit I empathized with the main character, and unpopular thirteen year-old boy going through the difficulties of growing up. I went to the dome church and paid to get in - but there was also a museum attached to it. Mildly interesting. I next went for a long walk to see the Art Nouveau section of the city, which Riga is famous for. Riga is regarded as having some of the best Art Nouveau architecture in the world. It did not dissapoint, although quite far from the old town, the buildings are quite remarkable and I took lots of photos. For lunch I decided to go out after all. I chose to go to Rama, a Hare Krishna cafeteria as it is very cheap. The Indian food I had there was very good, and quite cheap for Riga. Since I had by this time seen almost everything I could in Riga, I headed back to the hostel for some more ideas. I ended up going to a museum that was an ancient house, and that diplayed how someone would have lived a few hundred years ago. It was quite good. I then went to the war museum, which sadly does not have English subtitles and thus dissapointed. Needing to pass the time, I went to a cafe where I ordered a Riga Coffee, which is coffee with Balsam in it, the Latvian national liquor. I did not like it. By the time I finished at the cafe, I still needed to pass more time, so I went back to the hostel and asked the lady at reception. She suggested I go behind the train station to see 'Little Moscow.' I did, and encountered the biggest market I've seen outside China, primarily selling huge boots, and saw run-down buildings. I have a feeling the Russians aren't doing too well here. By this time it was 5:00, so I went to the supermarket, bought some stuff for dinner and ate it outside on a bench. At the hostel, I watched the movie 'Deja Vu.' I also ended up playing a game of chess with a fifty-six year old man who was also staying at the hostel. He was very nice, although I'm curious as to why he is at a hostel. He was a very good player and beat me. After the movie was over, 'Hostel' was put on. Seems like a cliche quite honestly. I safely ignored while talking to people, and ended up going out before the movie finished. I ended up at the same bar as yesterday, except this time I was very drunk. Beer now makes me physically ill if I have too much. For part of the time at the bar there was an Indian - American man who was hammered. All that he could do was look at all the ladies and attempt to talk to them. He also said he didn't understand how he had spent 200 lats ($400) at the strip club he went to yesterday, as he had no memory of it. Although I only got about four hours of sleep as I write this, I feel strangely refreshed.

Riga - Day 2

I got up this morning and went to breakfast with the two other people staying with me in my room. One of them is Anna, a german girl, and the other Karen, an English lady in her forties. We went to a crepe place that was recommended in my book and that was cheap and good. Since Karen is only in Riga for one full day, she expecially wanted to go Rundale palace, the seat of the Duke of Kurland. Me and Anna also decided to go with her, as I love castles, and it is a day trip. We headed over to the bus station and bought tickets to Bauska for 11:00. Since we had about forty minutes until the bus left, we went to the massive market behind the bus station that is located in several former aircraft hangers. After wandering there for a while, we returned to the bus station, and caught the bus. Bauska is an hour away, and when we arrived we got a taxi to the palace, which is 10 km away from Bauska. The palace itself reminds me of a smaller, run-down version of the Schonbrunn in Vienna. They are doing restoration work on the outer facade, which should return the palace to some of its former glory. Inside is a mixed bag. On the main floor they had a truly dreadful exhibition on roses, and many of the rooms on the upper floor where devoid of stuff. The palace still needs work. The garden is quite nice, but as in the rest of the palace, is undergoing restoration, so parts of it are overgrown. Overall the palace was nice, but needs a few more years of work to qualify as great. We had to wait for a bus to get back to Bauska when we had finished the palce, and when back in Bauska, managed to just make the 3:00 bus back to Riga. When we got back to Riga, Karen wanted to see a couple of churches before she left, so we briefly went to two, but did not go in, as Karen felt offended that they charged an admission fee. In one of the squares we stopped for a drink. I ordered tea, as I am a bit off beer at the moment. After the drink we headed to Lido, a restaurant that was recommended to me by the Americans I met in Vilnius and by Karen, who already eaten there. It was greasy Latvian food from buffet. Since I was famished it tasted very good. When we had finished dinner, we went to a bar and had a few drinks. At the hostel, they were showing the movie 'Man on Fire,' which I watched until it finished at around midnight.

Klaipeda - Riga

I got up early to catch the 9:00 bus to Riga. Spent a while on the internet, as I got up at 7:00, and there was little else to do. The bus was not very full at all. We made a stop in Liepaja, and I really had to go to the bathroom, but you had to pay. Thankfully another English speaking passenger was kind enough to spot me a bit of Latvian change. The bus trip took about six hours, and I arrived in Riga at about 3:00. Riga is quite different from Vilnius. It feels like a much bigger city, and I sense that it is more touristy. The hostel I booked is near the bus station, and so it was convenient for me to lug my bag there. The hostel seems good. THe receptionist was very friendly, and there is a large common room with a buge TV. I was quite hungry by this point and so went out to look for a restaurant to eat. Unfortunately Riga is very expensive! It is definetly the most expensive East European city I have been to so far. I walked around for about 45 minutes and failed to find a place that was affordable, so instead I went to the supermarket where I had a very affordable sandwich. I then headed over to the Museum of Occupation, yet another museum about the horrors of communism. It was quite good, but not as good as the one in Vilnius. I headed back to the hostel, and asked the guy at reception to recommend some affordable restaurants to me. He was very helpful, and I went to the traditional Latvian restaurant he suggested. It was still a bit pricey, but not as bad as the other places. The food was pretty good, although a bit strange. As it was getting dark, I went back to the hostel and started watching the movies that was showing, in this case it was Vertigo. After Vertigo, Sin City was shown, which was a very strange movie, but it was very stylish. When the movie was finished a chatted for a while with a German girl who had just checked in, and who is in my room. I went to bed just before midnight.

Minsk - Final Thoughts

I have had time to reflect on the experience I had in Minsk and would like to offer an explanation for its weirdness. I will use Klaipeda as a counter-example. While walking the streets of Klaipeda, I noticed that a number of them were being re-cobbled, likely to make them more picturesque and tourist friendly. You know when you see cobbled streets that a tourist can't be far. The old city of Klaipeda is a massive construction zone. A giant crane loomed next to the restaurant I ate tonight. While the new 'old' buildings may not be historically authentic, they draw in the tourists and are aesthetically pleasing. All of the waitresses in restaurants speak English and are friendly. There are good signs and maps of the city everywhere. While Klaipeda is by no means a beautiful city, these small things are nice, and make the experience of staying here pleasant. I would guess that in about five years, Klaipeda will be very nice, and would like to revisit it then.

Minsk on the other hand, is a counter-example to this. No effort has been made to beautify the city, and it remains stunningly austere. Signage (even in Cyrillic), remains practically non-existent. Apart from people in hotels and the occasional young person, no one speaks English. They don't even sell postcards. This being said, I think that with some effort, Minsk could become a tourist mecca. By brightening up the grey buildings, opening a few museums with subtitles in English, and placing signs, the city would be much improved. There are many people who would be truly fascinated to see what a true Soviet city is like, but are put off by the requirements to enter Belarus. It's a shame really.

The question is why? Clearly it is because Belarus is aligned with Russia. It has chosen the East and not the West, which in my opinion is a bad choice. Unfortunately Belarus is a dictatorship and Lukashenko (the leader) is only 53! He could have another thirty years of life ahead of him. To see what could happen if Belarus aligned with the West, we need only look at Ukraine, which recently had the Orange revolution. Unfortunately I have not been there, and so can only comment on the visa situation. Since the pro-Russian non-democratic government was turfed in the revolution, visa restrictions have loosened, and Canadians (among others) no longer need a visa to get in. Undoubtedly this has greatly increased the tourism industry, and put money into the Ukrainian economy. I think Belarus could greatly benefit from loosening visa restrictions as well. However, as long as it remains allied with Russia (and Russia remains authoritarian), Belarus will always be a horribly dysfunctional country.

The Curonian Spit

I have always been fascinated with maps, and one geographical curiosity has always stood out to me - the narrow strip of land known as the Curonian Spit shared by Russia and Lithuania. Today, I took my bike and left at around 8:00. I stopped at the supermarket and got something to eat and a snack. I managed to catch the 9:00 ferry across the harbour to the spit. I was wearing shorts and I was frigid when I got to the spit, but was hopeful that it would be as warm as yesterday. I began biking on a woody path that transected the spit. On the side nearest to Klaipeda, there is no beach, but on the side facing the Baltic Sea, there are long sandy beaches. Since it was so early in the morning, I did not see anyone. There wasa bike path alongside the beach which I decided to take. My goal was to bike nearly halfway down the spit (the Lithuanian side) to the town of Juodkrante. In the town there is a hill that has a whole bunch of traditional wood sculptures. I would've liked to bike to the Russian border but the distance (50 km) one way, was too long. I biked for about an hour and a half, with several stops to enjoy the scenery before I finally got to the town. The spit (which is a world heritage site), is very beautiful, but disturbingly, whole sections of its interior have had its trees chopped down. I'm not sure why. It was about 11:00 when I got to the town, so I decided to head up the Witch's hill for the sculptures and then get lunch. Since I was hungry, I took a bit of my last remaining goody given to me by Irena. It was a chocolate bar with fruit bits. Unfortunately, it was only after swallowing the first piece that I noticed it was infested with maggots! I quickly tossed away the rest of the bar and enjoyed the wood sculptures. By this time I was starving, and so I stopped and got a meal a very small restaurant that was very cheap. Still, it was quite good! I then began the long ride back, but this time took the main road back to see the lagoon-side of the spit. It didn't take me as long to get back, only about an hour. I saw lots of mushroom pickers while riding back, as this is apparently mushroom season. By this time it was quite hot, and I ended up just wearing my t-shirt. I got back at around 2:00, and still having some time before my bike was due back, went to the beach to read my book. There were several old men nude bathing there. I am extremely tired now, and will surely have to go to bed early, if that is indeed possible in a hostel.

After spending an hour on the internet at the tourist office and enjoying the squaks the African Gray Parrot they have there, I went to dinner. I decided to return to the place where we had drinks yesterday, as it had a nice menu in English. When something intrigues me on a menu, I usually get it (as long as it is not too expensive). In this case, beer cocktails seemed intriguing, and were not that pricey, so I ordered one. It was terrible. After tequila, definitely one of the worst alcoholic beverages I have ever had. I also ordered Pike soup, which was good, and potato blintzes, which are Lithuania's national dish (apparently), and were delicious. Basically they are deep-fried potato dumplings laid over a piece of ham with a cream sauce on top. Fatty but delicious. When my meal was done, I headed to the supermarket to get some food for tomorrow morning, as I have an early bus. I was also hoping to get a sandwich, but the woman there claimed I had to eat it in the store. This is bullshit of course, as I got a sandwich this morning at the same store and ate it on the spit. Oh well, I guess I'll have a late lunch in Riga. I then got my bus ticket and returned to the hostel to find it deserted. Apparently me and one other guy are the only ones staying here tonight! Hopefully I can get to bed early, as I'm completely knackered from my bike ride.

Klaipeda - Day 1

I purchased my bus ticket yesterday, and was thus prepared to arrived at the station for the 10:35 bus to Klaipeda. Before leaving, I quickly stopped at the internet cafe to add an extra day in Riga to my reservation. The bus took about four hours, and it was quite a boring journey, with the Lithuanian countryside being quite dull. The hostel I booked is right next to be bus station which is convenient. Two other people from my bus were also booked into this hostel - the only one in Klaipeda. When I got to the hostel, the lady there had no idea about me and the others' reservations, saying that we were supposed to received a confirmation from the owner who is on holiday. Of course that is nonsense as I have made bookings with hostelworld before and have never had to do this. She asked to see our confirmation email from hostelworld. Not a good start to my time here, and I am very concerned as to whether this hostel will be decent or not. It seems okay physically though. I quickly headed off to the old town to look around and inquire about renting a bike for tomorrow to bike down the Curonian spit. Klaipeda is a very nice town, and the weather is very warm, much warmer than in Vilnius.

I went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant recommended in my book. It was a bit strange, as I say in a very dark pit-like room surrounded by people using hookah pipes. However, the food was very good, and I had the best falafel I've ever eaten there. The food here is also cheaper than in Vilnius. After finishing dinner, I biked back to the hostel, only to find the front door locked! I had to wait a good fifteen minutes for someone who lived in the building to come and open it. When I got in to the hostel I found that the hopeless reception staff had left for a bitand only left one guest there top hold the fort. Not professional. The guy there was a Czech guy who spoke good English, and we chatted for a bit. Eventually we and two Germans went out for a drink. I didn't order anything alcoholic, but rather ordered kvass, a drink made from bread. It tasted like bread. When we got back to the hostel, most of the guests had returned from their day trips. I was a little surprised to see that the guests included a fifty-something woman and a middle-aged, obese, bald Indian man. He walked around with his shirt off. A horrible sight! Why would anyone over the age of thirty stay in a hostel? It utterly baffles me.

Vilnius - Day 3

Unfortunately, being a Sunday not much was happening in Vilnius. I did quite a bit of laundry and then headed to the bus station to go to Trakai, a castle. At the station, I met an older American couple from Kansas, and we chatted for a while while waiting, and on the bus. The lady selling tickets on the bus was balding, had a moustache, and was possibly the most unhappy looking person I have ever seen. While only 28 km away from Vilnius, the bus ride took an hour due to the various stops that we made. When we arrived, I said goodbye to the Americans and walked the three kilometres to the castle. On the way, I stopped at a Karamai restaurant. Apparently the Karamai are a Jewish sect that settled in Trakai in the 14th century. There are a handful remaining. The food at the restaurant was quite good, and I watched part of the MTV Video Music awards while eating. I'm not sure why they were showing them. After eating I went to the castle, which is pretty tacky. It was rebuilt in the 1950s by the Russians and now looks totally fake. It was swarming with tourists. The surroundings of the castle are quite beautiful though, being located on an island in a lake. I also stopped at the small Karamai museum on the way back to the bus station. When I got back to Vilnius, I desperately wanted to use the internet, but the cafe I had gone to on the previous two days was closed. My book recommended one that is very far from the centre, and so I went there but was disappointed to discover that I could not find it. I headed for dinner at a traditional Lithuanian restaurant where I had a lovely salad and a potato pie. After dinner, I went on walk up to the hill of three crosses, where I saw many Lithuanian couples making out.

Vilnius - Day 2

I woke up to a delightful breakfast at the hotel, and then headed out for a walk. As it was 7:45, it was still too early for anything to be open. I walked around the old town, and returned at 9:00 to the hotel to ask about where to buy some more shoes, as mine actually began to physically harm my foot. I ended up walking about 45 minutes to a shopping mall across the rivers located among Vilnius's skyscrapers. Overall prices are no cheaper than what I would pay at home for international brands. I ended up buying some Swedish shoes for about $50. Unfortunately they don't have great foot support. However, my trip is almost over, and if these shoes last for longer than six months, they will have been worth the purchase. I also bought a zip-up shirt at another store. While it was no cheaper than what I would pay at home, I don't think you could get something like it at home. After dropping my stuff off at the hotel, I headed off for lunch at a restaurant recommended in the guidebook. I had a soup, salad and a glass of wine for lunch, all for only $8! I headed off to the hill behind the main square, which also has a castle on it. The castle has been reconstructed and looks fake, but inside the tower there was an interesting museum on the castle's history, as well as a terrific view of the old town from the top. Next, I went to the museum of genocide. I've noticed that all East European capitals under communism seem to have museums dedicated to the horrors of the regime. The museum was very good, and I was able to see the prison as well as the execution chamber. Finally, I went to the Lithuanian National Museum, which was boring. I had a craving for pizza, so I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner, where although good, the pizza strangely had no tomato sauce. While eating, I sort of enjoyed the teenage girls singing various songs for money on the streets. I must say, they sing "Why is God not One of US" way too much. Following dinner I went to 'Soprano,' a dessert place, where I ordered a huge sundae which was very good. I took a little walk and stumbled across a classical music concert which I watched for about an hour. I left when they started reading Lithuanian poetry.

Vilnius - Day 1

I walked about a kilometer from the bus station to my hotel. I had pre-booked this hotel in Canada, as it was a single room, and affordable ones are scarce. It is only slightly more than a hostel would cost. I like a balance between the social atmosphere and bad sleep of a hostel versus the lonely early nights but relaxing times in a hotel. The hotel itself is very nice, and is located in a great part of town. On the walk to the hotel, I enjoyed Vilnius's old town, which is very pretty. I immediately went to the internet cafe, after seeing that it closed at 6:00. After not using the internet properly for a few days, it was very good to catch up on things. Afterwards, I went to dinner at a restaurant on one of the main old-town roads. Since I had not eaten lunch, I decided to splurge and ordered two courses and a beer. The first course was beer soup, which was actually very good. For my second course I had cod with apple cider sauce which was delicious. This was one of the best meals I've had so far on the trip, and it only cost about $12 total. I watched all the people walk down the street while I ate. The Lithuanians are a good-looking people, and many of the young seem to be goths or skaters. After dinner, I did some laundry, read a bit and went to sleep.

Minsk - Day 2

I awoke and immediately expressed hope that I would spend as little more time here as possible. I went down to breakfast, which was actually quite good. A buffet with a variety of strange Russian food. After breakfast, I headed off to the bus station to buy a ticket. The timetable I found online indicated that the first bus left for Vilnius at 12:30, so I didn't bother bringing my luggage (it was only 7:30). I took the metro, which was so crowded I was touching people on all sides. When I got to the central bus station I despaired, as it had recently been gutted. Thankfully, with the help of a non-English speaking taxi driver, I figured out that the bus service to Vilnius had been transferred to another station that was very far away. Not being sure exactly where it was, I had the cabbie take me there. The online timetable was wrong as well, as the ticket I purchased was for 11:00. After leaving the bus station, even knowing where I was on the map, I still couldn't figure out how to get to the metro due to a complete lack of street signs. I ended up taking a cab back to the hotel. After checking out of the hotel, I got another cab back to the bus station. Unfortunately by this time I had run out of Belarussian play money, and so overpaid the driver in Euros. During the hour-long wait for the bus to leave I was very nervous about the possibility that something would happen and I wouldn't be able to leave this dreadful place. Thankfully, the bus did turn up.

While Vilnius is only 200 km away from Minsk, it took five hours to get there. This can be explained through the terrrible Belarussian highway system, a stop in a small town, and a two and half hour ordeal at the border. At the small town, more people got on the bus, including a babushka (grannie) and a middle-aged woman who sat across from me. I also saw some horse-drawn carriages - positively medieval! The grannie immediately tried to sell me cigarettes, and then began to hide more of them beneath in a small space next to the door. The other woman was also smuggling them through, carrying two huge bags of them. At the border we waited at least an hour for the Belarussian guard to take our passports and return them. At the Lithuanian border, we all had to get off the bus and bring in our luggage for inspection. The guard spoke good English and asked if I had brought any alcohol or cigarettes from Belarus. Interestingly, while the Lithuanians seemed rigorous in terms of making sure all the people had the correct documents to get through, they did not bother to search the bus, and the two ladies were able to smuggle their cigarettes across the border. Immediately after entering Lithuania, the highway felt smoother. Half an hour later we were in Vilnius. Thank god!

Minsk

I arrived in Minsk, and felt overwhelmed by all the Cyrillic. I found a money changer and changed $20 and got rid of my Polish Zloty. In total I got about 80,000 Rubles. I've never seen such a low valued currency. It turns out they don't even have coins, and they even 20 Ruble bills, completely worthless. Right after changing my money a guy approached me offering a taxi. Since he spoke no English, it took a little while for us to negotiate a price and destination. Driving through the city was overwhelming. All the buildings were huge and the streets wide. It reminds quite of bit of Chinese cities actually, especially Beijing. I got to my hotel, which was one of the ugliest I have ever seen, and entered the tacky lobby filled with Greek statues. Upon arriving at reception I learned I had made a mistake in my booking. Apparently I was supposed to arrive a day earlier! Even though I had already paid for two nights, I did not feel so bad. At this point I did not think I needed more than a day in Minsk. I went into the elevator and noticed an ad for the nightly strip show that hotel has. My room was fine, but a bit run-down. The TV only had German and Russian channels. after showering, I left the hotel to begin exploring. I walked along a wide street by the river that took me to the center. Thinking that everything would be cheap, I headed off to the main drag, the and eight-lane road to go to a department store. It was strange. There were lots of individual vendors inside that sold everything from cookware and appliances to utterly overpriced tourist crap. I left after looking for about fifteen minutes, and went to find a restaurant recommended in my book. On my way, I walked past the KGB building and the presidential palace, which has a huge statue of Lenin out front, and took pictures of both. Despite what my book told me, I was not stopped by the police. I failed to find the restaurant, and ended up taking the metro back to the main drag. The metro costs the equivalent of 10 cents to ride. I went to an Italian restaurant called 'Il Patio' because it had an English menu. Although I can mostly read Cyrillic now, I am very slow, and I didn't want to be surprised when I got my food. This must have been one of Belarus' most expensive restaurants, although my meal (lasagna and a juice) cost only about $8. Overall the food was mediocre and the portion too small. But, despite this the service was good, and the waitress made a good effort to accommodate me. Still hungry afterwards, I went to McDonald's, in which everything has kept the English name (albeit spelled in Cyrillic). I sat in an enormous square and ate. I then went to the reconstructed old town (Minsk was destroyed during the war). It sucked it was about two blocks of average looking buildings, and none of the shops were open! Wanting to buy some stuff, I then decided to go to a shopping mall located beneath a huge square. It was quite new, but only half the stores were occupied, and everything was expensive. I eventually went back to the first department store and bought a souvenir there instead. Also, for those of you whom I promised postcards from Minsk, they aren't coming. They did not sell postcards there because there are no tourists! By this point I was exhausted from all the walking and returned to the hotel. I found that my shoes had finally failed me, and made my feet bleed. I will have to buy some shoes in Lithuania. I ended up falling asleep on my bed, and woke up with much difficulty at around six to go for dinner. I decided on the hotel restaurant, largely because I knew it would have an English menu, and because I was close. While waiting to be seated, two prostitutes showed up and were escorted into a back room. After seeing the strip show advertisement, I was not particularly surprised. The food was really cheap there. I ordered a salad and main course, and a juice, and paid about $6. The food was average. I then went to bed early, still tired from many nights of bad sleep.

Krakow - Minsk

I managed to get the 5 PM train to Warsaw, and was pleasantly surprised to share the train compartment with a Polish girl who spoke English. Incredibly, we talked for the entire three hour train trip. She mentioned a few things of note. Firstly, she hates the twins who are the PM and president of Poland, describing them as xenophobic. She also mentioned that many of her classes were in English at university, and that the majority of young people have to speak English. After arriving in Warsaw, I had a short wait at the train station, where I bought a kebab. The train to Minsk was not Polish, but Belarussian. I shared my compartment with three others, one Pole and two Belarussians. The Pole and one of the Belarussians spoke poor Spanish, so I actually used my Spanish a bit. One of the Belarussians, a young guy, spoke excellent English. They seemed mystified as to why I would visit Minsk. When I asked them what there was to do, they weren't able to advise of anything. I didn't sleep much until getting to the border as the light was left on in the compartment. The border took tow hours. The Polish officer took one look at my passport and gave it back. The Belarussian officer took everyone's passport out of the compartment, and after about forty-five minutes came back with them. After much grinding of the rails (due to the change in gauge between former Soviet countries and the rest of Europe), we were on our way. During the night, the Pole started snoring. Unfortunately, I could not find my earplugs, and instead listened to Philip Glass, which put me right out. At about 8 in the morning, we arrived in Minsk.

Zakopane and Slovakia

Got up quite early today again so that I could go to the mountains with Slawek. I didn't feel so bad, considering I got about four hours of sleep the past two nights. Today it was just me and Gabe who went with Slawek to the mountains, as the hostel emptied out last night and was left with very few guests. We took a bus to Zakopane, a town near the Slovak border in the Tatras, the highest moutain range in Eastern Europe. It took about two hours to get there, and the town was very nice, with beautiful chalet-style wood buildings, and leafy boulevards. We headed off to the Slovak border so that Slawek could get some more Absinthe in Slovakia. Apparently Slovakia has less restrictive rules on alcohol and is allowed to sell 80% absinthe. Slawek goes to Slovakia about once a week to do this, and feeds hostel members some of the stuff pretty much every night. We crossed into Slovakia, and remember, this is in the middle of nowhere, and went to the duty free shop selling alcohol right next to the border post. After getting some absinthe, we had lunch next to the duty-free shop. I had fried cheese, which was quite tasty. We then crossed back into Poland, and took a mini-bus that took us to the national park for a hike. It was quite gruelling, lasting about two hours uphill. However, the weather was wonderful (25 degrees), and the scenery terrific. The mountains were snow-capped from a couple of weeks ago during the cold snap. At the top of the mountain, we went to a chalet where we had an early dinner of soup and perogys. After a less-gruelling time getting down the mountain, we headed to what Slawek called the 'hot springs.' Naturally, I expected some wilderness pool. However, it turns out a massive water park has been built on top of the springs, complete with water slides. Anyway, I thought it was pretty tacky, and a shame they didn't keep the springs in their natural state. After finishing at hte water park at around eight, we caught the bus back to Krakow. I am now looking forward to a good-night's sleep.

Krakow - Day 2

Woke up early yesterday feeling very tired. Having not yet seen the town, I walked to the main square, and enjoyed Krakow's old town. I got a falafel for lunch, which was massive. I then headed back to the hostel to participate in the bike ride that the owner organized. We rented these very cheap bikes whose gears did not work, thus making the biking quite difficult. We went up a big hill where a fortification had been built. On the way down, the bike failed one of the Americans travelling on the bike tour and he had to go to the hospital to get stitches. We ended up biking all the way out of Krakow and got a sausage as a snack by the river. We got back in the early evening, and I went out to dinner with Gabe, one of the Americans who was on the bike tour with us. Afterwards we went out again with Slawek, the owner on a pub crawl. It wasn't very busy, being a Sunday night, but it was still interesting. Tequilla tastes dreadful, and I must not drink it again.

Prague to Krakow

I left on the 10:07 train to Krakow via Katowice. Irena made me a huge lunch that was impossible to eat, and like Ruza, gave me a bag full of pernic and other sweet stuff. I ended up sitting next to a Frenchman on the train who was also going to Kracow. We talked off and in French for the whole journey, and it was nice to be able to practice my French a bit. This was also the first train that was completely full, although it emptied out by the time it crossed to border. At the border, my passport was not stamped, which I thought a bit odd, considering it was stamped everywhere else (with the exception of the Budapest-Vienna route). What if I stay too long in the country? Anyway, the hostel I booked in Krakow got rave reviews online, so I was quite curious about it, and a little bit worried, as my solo hostel experiences have been mixed. I got to the hostel (which is very near to the castle), and the guy at reception offered me a cup of tea while checking in. Very nice touch. The hostel is very nice, but there was a severe gender imbalance, with only two girls out of about twenty people staying there. Very strange! I chatted for a while with a Belgian guy, who promoted his the glories of Belgian beer, and explained the European educational system. The hostel also organized an excursion to a club. While I normally would not go to a club, I thought that it would be interesting. We met in the lobby, and the owner of the hostel, Slawek, gave us two shots of vodka and a shot of black absinthe. It burned my mouth, but left me with a warm feeling. Apparently he has to go to Slovakia to buy it. To make a long story short, I went to the club and left very early in the morning. Alcohol is very cheap in Poland. I am quite tired now as I write this.

Prague - Day 3

Due to my late night I was rather tired in the morning, and was being pciked up early by Irena, as we were going to Karlstejn, which is a bit of drive from Prague. Karlstejn is one of the most important castles in the Czech republic, and used to hold the crown jewels. Upon arriving, we took a shuttle up to the castle, as Hanka is on crutches, and the walk is two kilometers. Honza did not come with us, as he had an exam today. The castle itself is very impressive from the outside, being located on top of a hill, and looking very handsome, if that is the right word for it. Unfortunately the inside of the castle was less-impressive, and in my opinion, not worth it. We were forced to go on a tour that only went through five rooms, and missed the most important part of the castle. Apparently the main tower is restricted to fifteen people per hour and requires a reservation. After finishing, we walked down through the tourist town all the way to parking lot and stopped for lunch along the way. It was swarming with tourists. Following Karlstejn, we went to another chateau, Zbraslav, which is also a museum of Asian art. While the chateau's impressive exterior architecture is not mirrored in its interior, the Asian art was surprisingly good. In particular, the museum had the oldest Chinese bronze mirror I have ever seen, dating back three thousand years. This museum was far better than the equivalent in Beijing. In the evening we went to performance of a weird circus thing that mixed actors with film. It was very strange and disconcerting, in particular the part with giant puppets. Irena forced everyone to dress-up for it, including me. However, this was tourist performance, and as I suspected, we were way too overdressed.

Trains

Todaz I went to the train station with Irena and Karel to buz a ticket to Kracow. Unlike in Hungary, where the people at the train station spoke bad English and were unhelpful, the man I dealt with at the Prague station was helpful and spoke great English. I managed to book far more than a ticket to Kracow, but also managed to book the train all the way to Minsk, and make a reservation on the night train from Warsaw to Minsk. The tickets only cost 70 euros together. In comparison, the ticket from Budapest to Ceske Budejovice cost 70 euros, and is more than 600 Km shorter a distance. Train travel is dirt cheap in Eastern Europe, and a rail pass would have been a waste. However, in Western Europe, I would think it would be a wise purchase.

Prague - Day 2

I had a terrific breakfast at the Rodigari (my penzion), and was picked up by Honza. Today, I was to be escorted around by Irena and Karel, as Hanka had to have her leg cast reset and can't go out, and Honza needed to study for an exam tomorrow. We first headed to Troja, which is a lovely chateau built in the Italian style on the Vltava. One room in the chateau was particularly impressive, as it was painted from floor to wall with murals. While there, we had lunch. I ordered knedlicky with stuffed with ham, which was delicious. After lunch, we walked to the botanical gardens to see the carnivorous plant exhibit, which was rather interesting. Apparently the big ones can eat mice. We then went to the Prague castle, and were immediately besieged by tour groups in St. Vitus' cathedral. It was hard to move. There also seem to be a lot of Spanish tour groups, and they all have little headsets that the guide uses to communicate with his flock. In the cathdral, Me and Karel walked up the tower. Irena was too tired to join us. It was quite a climb, but the view at the top was great. By this time it was quite late, so we headed back to the apartment again, once again crossing the Charles bridge, and seeing more tourists than yesterday.

For dinner, Irena made gizky, which was superb, undoubtedly because of all the fat used in the frying. After dinner, I went to the pub with Honza and Hanka who were meeting friends there. It was a bit of strange experience. Besides them, there was only one girl who had ability and courage to speak to me in English. The other were either too shy, or simply did not care. I drank more Burcak, which was nice. Unfortunately, smoking is still legal in these establishments in Prague, and all my clothes smelled of smoke. A shame, especially considering I had just washed a shirt that I had intended to wear for a few more days.

Prague - Day 1

I left on the early bus to Prague to with no problems, and was met by Honsa and Hanka at the bus station. I had seen a photo of them in Susice, but they looked much different from how I remembered them from fifteen years ago. We took the bus and subway to their apartment. Their apartment is interesting because it is located in a communist-era building. It is quite interesting to see how everyone lived during those times. Granted, the apartment is not bad, but it is very small for four people. My apartment in Montreal was bigger, and that had only two or one person living there. I was also delighted that Hanka offered to do my laundry. I was prepared to do quite a bit after arriving at the pension, but am thrilled I don't have to deal with it.

We then headed downtown on the tram, where we crossed the Charles bridge, which was hard to walk on due to hordes of tour groups. We also went to the museum of communism which was interesting. While in this area, we stopped by the famous clock to watch the apostles go by. There were hundreds of tourists gathered in anticipation. It was pretty dumb, however, as it was only some figures moving around very far in the distance. I also noticed that there were tons of Irish in the city, all wearing green shirts. Apparently there was a soccer game between the Czechs and Irish that night in which the winner would qualify for the world cup. Ireland lost. In Mala Strana, we headed up the hill on a funicular and climbed the mini-Eiffel tower at the top to get a great view of the city. Also at the top of the hill, we went to the museum of mirrors, which provided wierd distorted mirrors to see one's reflection in. After all this, we went to the bar U Sudu, which is apparently quite famous. There we had a few glasses of Burcak, which is apparently young white wine, and is surprisingly good. It almost tastes like a combination of wine and apple cider. I really liked it. Irena made us a dinner of fruit knedlicky, which I think are quite strange. It seems like they should be more of dessert food, however they are treated as a meal, and slathered with butter and cheese. After dinner, I went to the penzion, which is actually very nice.

Cesky Krumlov

I left early today for Cesky Krumlov, not wanting to spend anymore time in Budweis. I managed to just catch the 8:00 train, which was slow, but went through very pleasant countryside. I arrived in Krumlov shortly after 9:00, and tried to get down to the center, but without a map ended up in a sea of communist-tenements. Thankfully a passerby gave me directions in Czech that I got the gist of, and I found my way to the castle from which there is a terrific view of the town. I went on one of the castle tours offered, and enjoyed the interior, although it is quite similar to other palaces I have seen such as the Schonbrunn in Vienna. The most entertaining thing about the tour was the presence of a morbidly obese woman wearing a pink shirt. I find that very fat people provide me with endless amusement. After I finished in the palace, I headed into the old town where I was assaulted by numerous tour groups that blocked the path. The town was simply swarming, and this isn't even peak season! I went to lunch at a place recommended in my book that served authentic Czech cuisine. It was excellent, and definetly the best restaurant meal I have had in the Czech republic so far. After lumch, I went to the museum of torture, which was mildly interesting, but was more for tourists than education. I also went to the Egon Schiele center, as I quite like his art. It was a bit dissapointing after having been to the Leopold in Vienna. There was very little original work exhibited there. I then went to a cafe where I couldn't resist ordering an Italian coffee (apparently a coffee with Amaretto in it). I chatted briefly with two American girls at the table next to me, who led tour groups from the US and were emplyed by Disney. No, I did not know that Disney sent tours to the Czech republic. When I asked what the people were like who went on these tours, the girl said 'unworldly.' That is what I expected to hear from a 'Disney' tour. I wandered for a bit around town, and eventually ended up in the castle gardens and went up the castle tower, both of which were interesting. At around 3:00, I headed to the bus station to get the bus back to Budweis (I'm too lazy to do the Czech spelling). I had to wait for half an hour for the bus to get there, and thankfully it started raining only after I got on.

Upon my return to Budweis, it was pouring so I decided to get something to eat in the mall in which the bus station is located in. Surprisingly there was a Chinese place. I went over and tried to talk in Chinese with the guy there, but he didn't understand. I had to point and choose. He said he was from China when I asked in English. After finishing eating, I wrote a note in Chinese to give the guy to see why he didn't understand me. He took the note and gave it to another guy in the place, who came over and talked to me in Chinese. Apparently the first guy was illiterate and from the south, which is why we couldn't communicate. The guy I was speaking with turned out to be from Tianjin, and I was able to totally understand him. We had a short conversation before I headed back to the hotel. I find it so strange that in a place like Budweis I am able to use my Chinese skills.

Cyrillic

Yesterday evening, with very little to do, I decided to finally learn Cyrillic properly. Stuart (who for some reason can read Cyrillic and Katakana without having learned the languages) wrote a sheet with the alphabet for me, and when we came across anything in Cyrillic, forced me to read it. This was very helpful, and yesterday I made a concerted effort to perfect my reading by making cue cards. I can now say that apart from a few things (namely some of the vowels and the weird bs), I can mostly read Cyrillic very slowly. This will undoubtedly be indispensible when I get to Belarus.

Ceske Budejovice

I arrived in Bedejovice after a short train trip. I chatted to Czech girl on the train who spoke very poor English. It was rather fun. Broken conversations are eminently more entertaining than regular ones. My hotel in Budejovice is very nice, and after having a quick shower (I avoided showering in Susice due to the fact the shower did not have curtain, thus creating an extremely unpleasant experience), headed out to the town square. Budejovice is a very nice town, and after lunch I walked about 45 minutes to the Budvar brewery for a beer tour. Unfortunately my guidebook is incorrect and stated that tour were available every hour, when in fact they are only available at two! Other than the beer tour, there really is very little to see here, and I am quite bored. I suppose this gives me an opportunity to do all my laundry. I can also happily report that my illness is gone.

Susice - Day 2

Since I didn't mention it before, I should discuss the people I am staying with in Susice for those readers who aren't my family (is there anyone?). Ruza is my great aunt, and I am staying with her and he son, Jaroslav's family. Jaroslav has three children, Jakub, Petra and Katka, and is married to Hilda. At the moment Katka has moved out and Petra is on holiday, although she is apparently returning this evening.

I had to get up quite early today so that me and Jakub could catch the train to Rabi. We got there after a short ten minute train ride and spent an hour at the castle, which is very large. Unfortunately we had to wait for an hour for the next train. The toilet at the train station was among the most grim I have ever seen. We returned, and had a lunch cooked by Hilda. Since there really is not much to do here, I spent a few hours lazing around. Ruza suggested I do Sudoku, which she apparently quite likes, and so she gave me a book of puzzles. They were much to0 easy, and I finished the hardest ones in a very short time. At around three, we were headed out for a walk with Ruza when a group of middle-aged nordic walkers passed by. I thought they looked absolutely ridiculous. We walked a ways along the river and then on our return, Ruza took us to a cafe where I had a piece of cake and a tea. Normally I would never eat cake, but I feel that I should take advantage of it because I really ate very little when travelling with Stuart and am enjoying the food very much.

I got around to booking a hostel in Krakow as well. I truly hope that it will be as good as the last two I stayed in while travelling with Stuart and Charles. My solo hostelling experience has been extremely mixed. One hostel I stayed in Hangzhou was terrific, but the one in New York was crowded and unfriendly. However, the Krakow hostel is highly recommended, so I am hopeful.

Later on that evening Petra returned from her holiday in Slovakia. It was nice to see her, and she is helping me get to the train station today to depart to Budejovice. Also, I was talking to Ruza about going to China, and she told me that she didn't like Chinese people because there were so many of them and they had slit eyes. Just like my grandmother, who hated natives, it appears as though Ruza is a racist! A few more observations about the house ot Susice. Firstly, their dog is one of the dumbest I have ever met, and spends most of the day liking her genitals. Another interesting thing is the way they wear slippers in certain rooms of the house. Now I finally understand that dad's love of slippers has its roots with his Czech background. Also, those German-style toilets disturb me.

Susice - Day 1

I got a very good sleep tonight for pretty much the first time since getting to Europe. Unfortunately I seem to have caught Stuart's cold. I told him I didn't think I'd catch due to my strong immune system. It appears as though I was wrong. I've had a runny nose and a bit of a sore throat for the past couple fo days. On Saturday morning, Jakub took me to the town museum, where I learned mostly about Susice's prime export - matches. After a simply delicious lunch of pork that Ruza made, we headed off to Katka's farm. It is in a poor state, and as Katka says, needs much renovation. Eventually they plan to have a fully functional farm there, but now pretty much just have a few animals. We returned to the house, and I rested for a couple of hours. Later that evening me and Jakub went to a restaurant for pizza and then went bowling. Despite not having played for years, I did better than expected and won three of the four games we played. Jakub has been given the task of being my personal escort for the entire weekend, and in a way I feel a bit awkward that he is going so far out of his way to help me, because I know he'd rather do other things. I am extremely grateful though.

A day of nightmarish travel

I got up very early in order to catch the 7:10 train to Vienna. This day really was awful, as I had to get all the way to Susice, and switch trains in Vienna, Linz and Ceske Budejovice. I also wans't able to buy a ticket for the entire length, and so had to hope I ould have enough time in between my connections to get tickets. But, eight hours later against all odds, I had made it and was met by Jakub and Jaroslav. I hadn't seen Jakub in fifteen years, when he was toddler, and so it was surprising to see a young man with a beard and mustache. After getting into town, and arriving at the house, I also met Hilda, Katka and Ruza, my great aunt, who is still vigorous at the ripe age of 85. She cooked a lovely dinner of soup, goulash, knedlicy and strudel. Communication is a bit difficult, as Jakub and Katka are the only ones who speak English. It is really very nice to see everyone after such a long gap.

Budapest - Final Day

After getting up, we headed over to the Danube (where we still hadn't yet been), and climbed the Castle hill, getting a brief look at the hordes of tourists visiting. Stuart and I both wanted to go caving underneath Buda that day, but sadly the tour was not available. Stuart's original itinerary took us to a small town called Szentendre that is just outside Budapest, so we went there instead. Unfortunately it was a big dissapointment. The town was expensive and tacky, and for a tourist town, not even that nice. We wandered around town for a short while before Stuart said what I was thinking, that the town sucked and we should leave. We each got this weird pastry thing before we left that was a deep-fried piece of dough with sour cream, cheese and garlic. It was pretty weird, but since I hadn't really had any lunch, it filled me up as required.

By the time we got back it was quite late, so we decided to settle our account at the hostel as we were both planning to leave the next day. Stuart was going to go to Pecs, but found out that all the accomodation was booked for a convention, thus throwing his plans into chaos. Over dinner, we discussed what to do, and Stuart instead decided not to take his flight to Bucharest on Saturday, but rather take the train that night to Bucharest and get there early, and then do Pecs after returning from Romania. So, after returning to the hostel from dinner and a short trip to the train station to book Stuart a ticket, we said our farewells, and Stuart departed for Bucharest at around ten. It really was rather sad as Stuart really was a terrific travelling companion, and travelling alone can be rather lonely at times. On the bright side, the solo travel would only be for a day until I meet up with the family in Susice.

Budapest - Day 2

We got up early and had breakfast at the hostel before heading out to the Terror Museum, which chronicles the repression of Hungary's dictatorial regimes from the building in which the secret police formerly operated. It was a very interesting museum, especially since you could see the horrible conditions people were held in after visiting the prison in the basement. After this we went for lunch at another restaurant recommended by the owners. Stuart ordered a shot of Unicum, which is a traditional Hungarian liquer. Although, I didn't try it, it apparently tastes like medicine, so I don't think I was missing out. We then decided to go to this exhibit about the blind that was recommended to us by the owners.
Upon arriving we were shown a variety of intruments that blind people use, as well as given the chance to try typing on a braille keyboard (which is actually quite simple). Then we were led into a darken series of rooms with no light, so it was like we were blind. We had to feel around for objects and see if we could identify then. There was a lot of running into people. At the end we got a drink at a blind bar in pure darkness. A very interesting, experience, and definetly one of the trip's highlights.
We returned to the hostel with the intent to go to the baths, which Budapest is famous for. We ended up going with a British guy who is staying in the same room as us. We had to wait in line for quite a while at the metro because none of the ticket machines accept bills, thereby making everyone have to line up to buy tickets from the one ticket vendor. The baths themsleves were quite large and look have been built in the 1800s. We spent a couple of hours cycling between the various pools, although I liked the outdoor ones the most simply because the weather here is very cold, and the contrast between the cold air and hot water was pleasant. We also went to the sauna a couple of times, although could not stay inside for too long. Subsequent to the baths, we ate at another restaurant, and returned to the hostel for the night.

Budapest

Unfortunately due to our late night we slept in, and didn't leave the hostel until just before ten in the morning. We got a train that left shortly before noon and arrived in Budapest at around three. Budapest is like a grubby version of Vienna, dirtier and more run-down. Things seem a bit more difficult to do, and people are more difficult to communicate with. The hostel was very difficult to find, as it is located in an apartment building and doesn't really have any signage. It is quite nice though, with large rooms and good ambience. We asked the owner of the hostel about traditional Hungarian restaurants to go to, and he recommended some for us. The one we went to was quite good, but I was not able to entirely finish my meal. We ended up going to bed early, so that we could have an early start the next day.

Vienna - Final Day

Yesterday in Vienna we went to the Jewish Museum, which was quite depressing. It was however an important museum to visit as it educated me on the plight of the community in the run-up to the war. Then we went Trzeniewski, which is a deli that sells mini sandwiches that are quite tasty. Unfortunately due to poor German, I had to point and choose, and really didn't know what I was eating. Afterwards we headed off to St. Stephen's cathdral, as Stuart and I were eager to see the embalmed organs of the Habsburg emperors in the crypt. Unfortunately, they were in metal urns that we were not allowed to peak inside. We did however see mass graves filled with corpses from a bout of the black plague during the 18th century. After the uplifting tour of the crypts we headed off to the Kunsthaus museum, which was designed by this weird Austrian artist Hundertwasser. The floors were not flat, and a fountain on the main floor had water going up instead of down. the museum was near the business center of Vienna which is on an island in the Danube, so we decided to head there afterwards, which involved a long walk over the Danube. On the way, we stopped at a grocery store and sampled sour milk cheese, which really was quite dreadful. After spending a short while in this area (there wasn't really much to do here), we headed back to the center to eat. We went to the same schintzel restaurant that I had previously gone to with Charles. Following our dinner we returned to the hostel and enjoyed some drinks in the hostel's bar.

Vienna - Day 3

I had to get up very early to pick up Stuart at the train station (his train arrived at 5:55 AM), and after dropping our stuff off at the hostel, struggled to find a bakery open on Sunday morning. After wandering for several hours, we found one and ate some pastries. Afterwards we went to the Kunsthistoriches museum, which has an excellent collection of art. Particularly impressive were the Breugels that were on display. We returned to the hostel to check in, and then went to lunch at a cheap Turkish restaurant. We headed back towards the center, in hopes that St. Stephen's cathedral would be open, and not conducting a service. Unfortunately on Sunday it seems that there are services all day. After eating dinner at an Italian restaurant, we headed back to the dorm, where we both decided we were quite tired and went to bed. Unlike my time in Vienna with Charles, me and Stuart walked everywhere, which provided good exercise, but left me very tired by the end of the day.

Nordic Walking

While in the Schonbrunn palace gardens, I saw an older woman using ski poles to walk. Naturally, as skiing is a winter sport, I wondered what this woman was doing. I soon found out after asking a native about it. Apparently, Nordic Walking as it is called is the latesthealth craze to hit older and middle-aged people in Europe. It involves walking with modified ski poles, and in theory will allow you to get better exercise than normal walking. However, all of the ancients using these poles used them like canes - not the right way. They should be pushing with the poles to get more exercise. The only thing these people are doing is looking very silly.

Bratislava

I said farewell to Charles this morning, who is returning to Italy. Since I have quite a bit of time in Vienna, I felt that day trip to Bratislava would be a good use of time. I was last in Bratislava in 1992, and don't actually remember is being very exciting. Nevertheless, time changes people and since I was only seven years old at the time, I though I'd give it another go.

The short train ride from Vienna only took 45 minutes, and I was soon in Bratislava. Upon arriving, I changed $40 USD, thinking that the prices in Bratislava would be similar to those in Vienna. I was wrong! Everything was dirt cheap. I got about 950 SK for the USD, and only spent about 200 SK, which includes lunch, a snack, a coffee and entrance to three museums. Leaving the bus station was a bit awkward as it is not located in the center of town, and a bus or tram needs to be taken from it. Labling for the transportation was bad, and so I got on the first bus that pulled up. Thankfully it went in the right direction, but I didn't get off at the right stop and ended up going over the bridge into a forest of communist-era apartment blcoks. I managed to catch a bus going back that stopped in the old town.

Bratislava's old town is quite nice, though small, and was swarming with tourists and locals wearing traditional dress. Beyond a few small museums and the castle, there really is little to see in Bratislava. I visited two small museums in the old town, both of which were quite good, but nearly empty. After spending a couple of hours in the old town, I walked up the hill to the castle, which was swarming with tourists. There was a tourist market selling tacky tourist stuff, and traditional music being played. The castle itself is a giant museum featuring a variety of exhibits. An exhibit on prints there was far better that whan we saw in the Albertina. I had a snack of fatty dumplings in the tourist market, which were rather disgusting, but are apparently the Slovak national dish. By this time, after only spending four hours in Bratislava, I felt that I had seen all that there was. I had some troule finding the right bus back to the train staion, but made it back, and ended up arriving in Vienna at around 5. Overall, I feel that Bratislava is a good day trip from Vienna, but is certainly not worth more than that amount of time.

Vienna - Day 2

The day began with breakfast at a cafe. The traditional Viennese breakfast is a pastry or bread and coffee. I do wish I could speak German, as it felt very awkward ordering from someone who didn't speak English. After breakfast we headed down to the Shonbrünn palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs. The palace itself is quite large and ornate, and the interior is no exception. Unfortunately some of the rooms were too fussy, and ended being tacky. Perhaps the tackiest room was one desiged to look like it was made from porcelain. After finishing at the palace, we went through a maze and up to the Gloriette, a structure in the gardens that offers great views of the city. While on our way out of the palace we stopped for a snack. In Vienna there are these stalls that sell sausages on the street. I had a delicious bratwurst with mustard.

We then headed up to Grinzing, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Vienna that is famous for its Heurigan - taverns. Located in hills, Grinzing is also home to a number of vineyards. Unfortunately I did not realize that the Heurigan opened only in the mid-afternoon. We had to wait an hour for one to open. The wait was worth it though, and the meal was had was excellent. The same could not be said of the white wine though, which tasted watered down. By this time it was quite late and so we headed back to the hostel to get a quick rest and use the internet. For dinner we went to a restaurnt called 'Stomach,' which was recommended in the Lonely Planet quide. It was quite expensive, but as I was ordering something I rarely ate - wild boar, I felt the cost was justified. It was quite good overall, tasting like a gamey pork loin. I ordered a desert as well, the Austrian equivalent of fruit knedlicky, which was interesting.

Arrival

I am writing this a day late, but I would like to start from the beginning of the trip. Anyway, yesterday I arrived in Vienna from Heathrow at about 11, and was at the hostel by one. The hostel, The Ruthensteiner turned out to be quite nice. I couldn't get in touch with Charles initially, but then realized that the country code had been written incorrectly. He arrived at 3:30, and we went to center to two musems. The first one was the Albertina, which was the worst museum I have ever been to (outside of Cuba). All of the paintings were copies, and the excibition was a set of boring photos. Thankfully, the Leopold museum of modern art was much better, and featured an excellent collection of Schiele paintings.

We then went out to dinner at an excellent restaurant, chosen because it was busy. The restaurant is apparently famous for its schitzel, which I ordered. It was very thin and deep-fried, quite different from the stuff I get at home. It was delicious however, and I would definetly return to the restaurant. We then went to Cafe Havelka and relaxed there a while before returning to the hostel.