Croatia

I'm going to recount my two weeks in Croatia out of order, starting with the most last stop: Dubrovnik. The walled Old Town was fantastic. The weather was beautiful as I walked along the wall, much of which overlooks the Adriatic Sea. Spent the late afternoon and evening drinking beer and watching the sunset over the sea with a couple of Finnish girls at a bar at the base of the city walls. I only spent one really solid day in Dubrovnik (two nights), but it was awesome. One of the benefits of not visiting in high season was the excellent accommodation I was able to secure. No hostel for me this time, but a villa, for only about $25/night. Woke up Friday morning and opened the doors of my balcony to a fantastic view of the city and harbour.

View from my balcony in Dubrovnik

Excellent day to walk along the walls of the Old Town.

View of the Old Town from the city walls.

Sunset and beer.

Prior to Dubrovnik, I was in Split. I stayed in a great hostel right within the walls of the Old Town, which was originally the palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian. I met up with a former colleague (I used to work for a living, remember?), Theresa, who happened to be over on a two-week trip. It was cool that our timing worked out. After Split, I went to the island of Hvar, where I spent three days with a couple of Aussie girls I had met at the Split hostel. Hvar was beautiful, the weather in the low 20s and the water warm enough for swimming! Not bad for October.

I guess I'm overdue to show a photo of me with my backpack. Walking up from the harbour on Hvar. About two minutes before I wiped out on some cobblestones. Sliced open my finger. But it's healing.

Chillin' on Hvar. And it's October!

Going back further, a couple of weeks...my first stop in Croatia was the capital of Zagreb. I spent a couple of nights there followed by a visit to Plitvice Lakes National Park, roughly halfway between Zagreb and Split. Plitvice Lakes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is renowned (well, to some) for its series of waterfalls that interconnect the dozen of so lakes. Though the weather didn't exactly co-operate - rainy and a little cool - it was impressive nonetheless. And, because it wasn't high season, it wasn't crowded either.

At Plitvice Lakes. Wearing a toque. Not knowing I'd be swimming in the ocean in four days.

There you have it. A quick catch-up on my two weeks in Croatia.

Dresden, Krakow, Budapest

Okay - so I’ve fallen extremely behind in my blogging. Since I left Prague just over two weeks ago (Sept 27), I’ve been to five cities. In the interest of quickly catching up, I’m going to have to summarize my visit to each. If I try and get too detailed, I won’t be caught up ‘til Christmas. Here goes:

Dresden, Germany

My friend's travel plan was to head to Dresden on her way back to Frankfurt where she would catch her flight home. I was planning on going on to Poland after Prague, but decided to check Dresden out. Kari is an expert at setting up the ride-sharing thing, so it was a stress-free - and cheap - ride back to Germany.

Dresden was nice, but very rainy. We had encountered rain and overcast skies since Prague, and it continued here. The city was nice despite that. It has largely been rebuilt since it was infamously fire-bombed by the Allies during World War II. We visited the impressive re-built Frauenkirche cathedral, which had been completely destroyed. Dresden also has some funky pubs and live music spots. In particular, we found a great place for live music called the Blue Note. Jazz, blues, and a little bit of alt-country as well. I neglected to try currywurst when I was in Berlin, but was sure to try it here. Currywurst is essentially wieners cut into smaller pieces and seasoned with curry sauce. I know, it doesn't sound like much - but I like it.

Mmm...currywurst.

Drinking with the locals (that being the guy in the middle - Marcus)

After Kari left, I stayed one more night to sort out my travel plans to Krakow. That extra night consisted of hanging out at the hostel with a few other travelers (mostly Aussies, of course), having a few drinks, and making them endure my serenading them with the hostel's free-to-use guitar. (Actually, I think everyone had fun - thanks to Daniel and Saffron for being a great audience). The next day, yet more ride-sharing, this time to...

Krakow, Poland

I used the ride-sharing service to get to Krakow,  catching a ride with a Ukrainian guy on his way back to Kiev for a few days. This ride-sharing experience wasn't as, umm, comfortable as the first two, but it WAS interesting. I had to meet the guy, Maxim, on the outskirts of Dresden, just off the Autobahn. He didn’t live in Dresden, but was passing through. Getting to the appointed spot was an adventure in itself (got off at the wrong tram spot, ended walking the wrong way, could find no one who spoke English, etc.) Thankfully, Maxim had told me that the gas station we were meeting at was near the Ikea (Swedish for “everywhere”) - That was helpful when encountering people who could not speak English when asking for directions: I would just say “Ikea?” and gesture as if to say “Do you know where the hell it is?" I ended up finding the station, meeting up with a Ukrainian girl who was also sharing the ride. Maxim ended up being late and then pulling up in a good sized car. Excellent, I thought. But wait, there is no room in his back seat - it’s taken up with spare tires wrapped in plastic. Surely he’ll put those in his trunk I thought to myself as he got out of his car. Maxim then opens his trunk. His far - very far - from empty trunk. How the hell are we gonna get a single piece of luggage in that trunk, let alone two pieces AND make room for another passenger in the back seat? I pictured myself staying in Dresden yet another night. "Is there going to be room?" I ask. "Don't worry, eet weel be fine" he replies, as he somehow starts defying laws of physics and spatiality in re-arranging the car. I look over at Oksana, my Ukrainian fellow-passenger. She rolls her eyes and says "Ees teepical Ukrainian answer". Well, it all worked out. A bit cramped, but not so bad. It was only five-hour drive (!). See below:

My home for a five hour drive - and yes, safety advocates, I was able to use the seatbelt.

See, I fit. Had to hold onto that red suitcase around corners, though.

I only spent two days and nights in Krakow. I spent one day walking around the main square, the Wawel Castel and the Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter). And I had the best borscht and dumplings ever at a restaurant just off the main square. Again, the weather was not cooperating. Very cold, even for Krakow at this time of year, I was told. In fact, I ended up buying a toque (although no one over here calls it that). My second day was a day trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, an hour or so bus ride outside Krakow. The size of Birkenau cannot be comprehended - its larger than I could imagine. The tour guide who led us through the two camps was excellent: knowledgeable, and striking the appropriate tone in giving such a tour, which can't be easy. It's very somber walking around such a place where there was so much appalling suffering and death. I don't know what else to say, so I'll leave it at that.

That same night, I took my first overnight train. With my condolences to Slovakia, which I blew threw in the dark and didn't see, I arrived the next morning at 8:00am in...


Budapest, Hungary

I had plans in Budapest to meet up with two American friends, Kate and Melissa, who I had met in Berlin. We realized our schedules would have us in Budapest around the same time. As well, they sold me on the hostel they were booked into (The Mandala Hostel), as it apparently had yoga classes AND a guitar. Sounds like my kinda place. Except...it did not have yoga classes as advertised. They were down the street and extra. And the guitar...well...it had five rusted strings. The sixth string no longer existed. Sigh. I still played it a little, though - any old port in a storm, you know.

Not to continue complaining about the weather, but the first couple of days in Budapest were rainy and grey and cold. That made it about ten straight days of such weather. It started to dawn on me that we were into fall, and that sun and warmth were not as probable as they had been a month earlier. So, the first couple of days consisted of me fighting a bad cold, complaining about the weather, and being kinda grumpy. Thanks to Kate and Melissa for putting up with me. Happily, on day three, the sun came out - and revealed Budapest in all its glory. People rave about Prague, but I think Budapest compares favourably. Very similar to Prague - amazing architecture - but not as touristy. And Budapest has a more laid-back feel. Highlights included walking around the Heroes Square at night and attending the opera at the stunning Budapest Opera House. My first opera in fact - Norma, by Bellini. I enjoyed it, though I had to read the program at intermission to figure out what was going on - the subtitles displayed on a screen above the stage were in Hungarian only. A synopsis: A tale of forbidden love, resulting in the lovers throwing themselves into a fire at the end. Typical. Only cost around $20. A friend of mine went last minute and got her ticket, in the same box as me, for $3. See - planning ahead doesn't pay. (So, my first soccer game ever is in Liverpool, first opera is in Budapest - not bad places to have those firsts.)

Budapest Opera House

Heroes Square - Budapest

Okay, so it looks like I lied on two counts in the early part of this post - I said I'd stick to summarizing, but it appears I'm incapable of that. Also, I said I'd tell you about my visit to five cities - I've only done three. After Budapest, I went south to the small city of Pecs, Hungary. I was there a couple of days, then was off to Zagreb, Croatia. Perhaps I'll talk more about those brief visits in my next post.

Ride-sharing to Prague

I left Berlin two weeks ago (playing blog catch-up again) after twelve excellent days. I was very lucky to be able to spend that much time there, and might have stayed longer if it hadn't been for a fellow traveler going to Prague that day. Kari, from the Washington, D.C. area, was on a two week trip so, unlike myself, time was of the essence for her and she needed to make the most of it. We met at the hostel in Berlin where we were both staying (I have to put a plug in here for the Riverside Lodge hostel in Berlin. Small and comfortable, located in a great area and the owner Enrico is an excellent guy who takes great care of his guests). I had been planning on going to Prague after Berlin so Kari and I decided to hit the road together. Kari introduced me to mitfahrgelegenheit, which is a free ride-sharing service (as well as fun to say...once you can). People traveling between cities post their info on the website, you contact them, pay them a pre-set free, and voila: the driver gets money for gas and you get cheaper-than-a-train-or-bus travel. Since Kari had done this before, and spoke a little German (not to mention she had a phone, and I didn't) she made the arrangements - securing us a 20 euro (each) ride to Prague (which is a bargain).

Prague. Everything people say about this city is true. Visually stunning. The "poor-man's Paris". There were only two negatives about our three-night stay: First, the crap hostel we stayed at the first night. After the Riverside Lodge, the A&O Hostel in Prague left a lot to be desired. Like character, a good location, and a single staff member who knew how to smile. Well, it was clean - I'll give it that.  We toughed it out the first night, before moving on to the comparatively Hilton-like St. Christopher's hostel. As close to a hotel as a hostel gets. Second, I encountered the first really crappy weather of my trip - very rainy and cool. But Prague still shone through. Highlights included:

• the two excellent (though wet) walking tours we did on Saturday and Sunday. 
• eating dinner on the Friday night - before the rain set in - on a terrace just beneath the open windows of a building where a Mozart performance was taking place.
• a very fun pub-crawl on the Saturday night. Well, until I had that blue shooter - which was the size of two shots, actually - which I think had Absinthe in it. I was holding it together until then. Then, my evening was over. 

Grey and rainy, but Prague still looks good.