Poland and Slovakia

20^th October 2011 – Zakopane

Zakopane yesterday when it was beautiful out

I did not leave the hostel today! 1.5 days of being lazy...of course the fact that it sleeted all day did have sway on my decision.

I kinda forgot that I had been nonstop running around for the last month and that I truly did need a couple of days to decompress and compute. I mean I did just leave my home to setup a new home halfway around the world. Not to mention the 6 months of traveling I have in front of me prior to settling down again.

An exciting thing that has happened is that a friend will be cycle touring with me in SE Asia! I'm super stoked to get to travel with him and have someone to tour with in Asia.

21^st October 2011 – Zakopane (Poland) to Spisske Pradhidie (Slovakia)

Got up and when down for breakfast in time to enjoy the staff rearranging powerstrips so all of the kitchen electronics would work. It was one of those jobs where two people were doing it but it would've been much more productive to only have one!

Headed to the bus stop for my 11:00 bus. About 10 minutes before it was suppose to come I was looking at the schedule and notice that the letters I had assumed on the online version corresponded to the route were actually describing the timeframe that the bus ran. It turns out I had missed my opportunity for the 11:00 bus by a week (literally it doesn't run for two weeks and I was smack in the middle).

The next bus won't leave until 13:00. Since I had already purchased a coffee and only had 4 zloty above what the cost of the bus was (or hoped it was) I didn't want to spend any money. Which left me wandering around town for a little bit prior to heading back to sit at the bus station. Now since I hadn't expected to sit at the bus station for 4 hours I wasn't dressed in my warmest clothes...nor did I feel like digging to the very bottom of my bag to find my warmer clothes so I was quite chilly by the time I got on the bus.

I soon was thinking of how glad I was that I had to take the later bus as we climbed through the mountains dusted with snow in the beginning of evening light. There is something about evening light in the fall...it expands the yellow and oranges in the leaves and makes me believe I can touch the colors.

I made it to the headed train station in Poprad bought my ticket to Spisske Podhradie and waited for the train to arrive. As the train brought me closer to my final destination of the night dusk was setting in and the red and pink light added to the beauty of the rolling hills. All of a sudden I realized it was DARK...so dark that it was nearly impossible to read the stations when the train stopped...hmmm maybe the beautiful light wasn't worth it? Not to worry I did see my station (plus the train was on schedule so time let me know I was close).

I then stepped off onto another set of tracks! Hehehe not the design that my past projects would embrace. I had 9 km more to complete my journey. At first I thought I would need to wait the 25 minutes in the cold but soon I found my train already waiting. It was in fact more of a trolley. The cutest thing I'd seen that day...and it was heated!!

Made it to Spisske Podhradie where I started walking under the big dipper to my pension. The big dipper is one of the things I take for granted being from the northern hemisphere and I will miss it. The Spiss Castle was lit up and was absolutely beautiful. Instantly at seeing it I knew that it was a place not to miss. The great thing was that my pension had a courtyard that perfectly framed the castle. What a great view!

22 October 2011 – Spisske Podhradie

The weather forcast had predicted a beautiful sunny day...but I woke to a dismal grey everywhere. Began my day by going to Spisske Kapitula which is a smaller fortress with a large church and a cute clock tower. From here I could get a good view of Spiss Castle on the next hill.

On the way back I stopped at a little cafe for coffee and a treat. I'd call it a bon bon but it was the size of my fist...chocolate coconut deliciousness.

Then continued on to the Castle. I love ruins of castles! Castles with their roofs intact with furniture and decorations just isn't generally my thing. But ruins of castles are so fun to visit...I suppose part of it is I can fill in the gaps with whatever I want it to look like. Plus it has a kind of romance to it...as confirmed by the wedding couple who were getting there pictures taken at the castle.

A great way to spend a day.

That's right I said it

So today I am absolutely not in the mood to travel!  That's right I said it.  I totally don't want to deal with any of the traveling stuff today.  It was a beautiful day and I forced myself to walk around Zakopane when I got here, had a piece of cake, stopped at the grocery store and hightailed it back to my hostel to hide in my room!

Even when doing what most people think of as complete luxury sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.  Or do you?  I had to do a few things...like get food...but then I retreated to my room to read financial blogs!!  And truly right now I am exactly where I want to be...in a room by myself reading and not having to deal with anyone!  Sometimes it's hard to remember to do the things that make you happy instead of the things that you think you should be doing, even when you have no responsibilities.

So to help me stay 'productive' I've decided to write a blog post listing goals for the next month:

1) Update my CV/Resume - This has seen better days and truthfully I am a horrible interviewee....I'm stressed out just thinking about updating my resume as I know it means at some point in the future I will have an interview.

2) Outline my next financial goals - I'm good at saving money but I'm not as good at ensuring my investments are appropriate or updating them as necessary. Plus the last years have revolved around being able to travel so I need to have a new goal.

3) Find a hobby - I really need to find a hobby that I can stick with.  Due to my patience/attention span I move from hobby to hobby and don't stick with anything.

4) Think of ways to meet friends - Once I settle in NZ I may well become a hermit as I don't mind being by myself.  Having flatmates seems like a must. Joining clubs also seems important...hmm...yes yes things and stuff.

5) ??

Poznan and Krakow

14th October 2011 - Poznan

Got into Poznan and was met by a coworkers friend, Hanna, who had graciously agreed to show me around as well as stay with her and her family.

Luckily we had planned that she would be wearing a red coat and my train car pulled up right next to her. We arrived home met her husband (Marek) and son (Bartek) had dinner then went for an excursion to see Poznan at night.

We went out for a drink at the local brew pub...which was an experience. The brew pub was attached to a slightly upscale restaurant so it was not how they normally are in the States. Had a honey beer which was lightly sweet but not overbearing. Super cute place.

I had took for granted the 'extensive' German I knew. Entering Poland there was no comprehension of any words. It also sounds a lot different than I expected it to. With it in between Germany and Russia I thought it would be much harsher...but it actually has more the flow of a romantic language. Shows my naivete but that is okay.

15 October 2011 - Poznan

I spent the day with Hanna as she showed me around during the daylight hours. We went to a great shopping center that had converted an old brewery complex. There were new elements along with incorporating parts of the original brewery. Of course all types of geekery came out and I loved it!

We then went out for a sushi lunch prior to heading to a very adorable restaurant for a coffee. The restaurant at night would be packed but was perfect for an after lunch coffee. Part of it was a wine sales floor. Somehow it pulled off quite a sophisticated feel while being homey. One of those places you would never just happen upon on your own.

At night I was shown around by Bartek. We went for a walk to the local 'ski' hill which is a small hill that has artifical snow year round to learn on. I wish I had something like it to help improve my snowboarding skills! Then we met up for drinks with some of his friends. Great time meeting new people and chatting.

We were thwarted at our attempt to go to the local Mexican restaurant that when you order cheesecake Zorro delivers it to the table!! We were too impatient to wait *surprise*.

16th October 2011 - Krakow

I was delivered to my train by Marek and Hanna and wished good luck prior to my 8 hour ride. The train was long but uneventful...of course now not speaking the language was a little stressful as the train was late so I wasn't sure exactly when my station was coming. Of course there was no reason to worry as there were smaller stations prior to the Glowny (central station) so I had warning.

Took a little detour on my way to the Hostel but all in all not too much of a delay. By the time I got in I went straight to bed.

17th October 2011 - Krakow

Went for a walk around old town and the jewish section. Stopped for a zapiekanka for lunch. This is best described first by picture:

This may not look it but is about a foot long. Unknown to me the bottom cheese is mixed with mushroom...which had I know I would have had chives on top as it would pretty much be a mushroom and onion pizza which is my favorite. Still with the extra toppings it was delicious.

Now that I was re-energized I did more research on what to see and went back to two of the main churches. First, I went to St. Francis Church which is known for it's beautiful stained glass windows. It was truly beautiful. The church walls had understated fresco paintings and was a place to sit and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings. The nice thing about this church was you didn't feel as if you were in a church.

Not a good picture of one of the stained glass in St. Francis Chruch

Right after I visited this church I went to the montrosity that is St. Mary's Church. I always forget that I do not like the gothic style as to me it is very guady and kitsch. Plus, I had to pay 6 zloty to get into it. Now this isn't expensive considering the upkeep has to be extensive but the beautiful St. Francis Church is free to enter. On top of this the Polish are slightly sneaky and have a separate charge if you want to take photos.

Anyway my senses were in complete shock from the gilded items that cluttered the walls. I stayed long enough to get my 6 zloty worth and then removed myself promptly. This church is home to the largest gothic statute if you like that sort of thing. I appreciate that this was not destroyed in the war but it really isn't my style.

After leaving I needed to be soothed so I went back to St. Francis's to enjoy myself and to donate to the church for upkeep.

18 October 2011 - Krakow

I booked a ticket for the Salt Mine tour yesterday. I had decided to be lazy and to take the tour instead of taking public transportation to the Mine. This would turn out to be a horrible mistake! I paid just under double to have to wait for the tour to pick me up 40 minutes late. Then, when we got there we just got the normal tour guides from the mine (which you can pay 78 zloty at the door). After the tour the bus didn't even take me back to my hostel. In other words paying extra is a complete rip off!!! Take the public bus and spend the 10 zloty for the photo fee!

Okay, now on to the actual tour of the Salt Mine. The mine itself is quite interesting. There are full chapels in the mine and some of them have chandeliers made from 'crystal' salt. Also, sculptures are located thorough-out the mine and the wooden structures built to stabilize the ceilings are quite awesome. Not only that but the tour only covers 1% of the mine which has over 2000 chambers. If I hadn't spent the exorbitant amount on my nonuseful tour there would be plenty of pictures here!!! As it was I was bitter and refused to fork over any more dough.

Once I got back to the City it was time for dinner. My friend George had suggested a restaurant for it's fish soup so I went with a new friend Magda. I ordered the half bowl which ended up being a HUGE portion! Unfortunately none of the pictures turned out showing the portion size! The funny thing about dinner was that we were charged 15 zloty for tap water...seems it is not my day to be conservative with money.

Berlin

12 October 2011

Made my way to Berlin. Spent the morning with Derek then walked to the Bus station to find the bus late. This is very unusual and was due to mechanical

difficulties. Luckily the weather was great to sit and chat outside.

Got in and started making my way to Kristina's bosses house to pic

k up the key to her flat (she was having a workshop there). When I get to my destination I 'realize' that it is Kristina's house so I tell her I'll hang out for awhile as there were some great shops to window shop and cafes if I wanted to stop. Nicely my friend the walk sign showed me safely across the street (if you haven't seen Berlin's walk sign you should google it!)...it's the little things that you forget about until you are back somewhere.

Needless to say after shopping, enjoying the weather, and meandering around, her flatmate was going home and could let me in. Only then did I actually go to the flat...where I didn't see Kristina's name...after texting her it dawned on me...I AM at her bosses house...hehehhehe...I start giggling to myself as I text her hoping she hadn't left already.

Graffiti on my walk...love it

Once Kristina was done we got ready and headed to a bar. Tonights happy hour consist

ed of paying 2 euro and serving yourself wine and beer, at the end of the night you then paid into a glass what you believe you should pay. Also, the bar has a shared flat theme which makes this night even more cozy! It was super fun even though we got chastised by the police for riding our bikes on the sidewalk (no ticket, yay).

On a side note I'm really glad I got to start the trip off slowly with Derek. It was really good to see him and was nice to get to talk about moving to a new country. Defiantly nice to not only to talk to someone who's done it but also that the person was my brother. Will see him again in a month in Oberstdorf.

13 October 2011

Woke up to not a cloud in the sky. Kristina lent me a bicycle so I had free rein of the city. It was great to just start biking...knowing I needed to go to the city center at some point but not in a rush. I ended up going the complete opposite direction but it was great to go through different areas of the city and pass by parks and interesting buildings.

Went to Alexanderplatz to get a converter for my american devices. Wander through some shops then continued to wander through the sites of Berlin. After 4 or so hours I wandered back to Kristina's to allow me time to relax prior to her coming home. We will be going out to see the monuments in light installations later this even.

Fernsehturm in Alexanderplatz

Neptune fountain in Alexenderplatz

Berlin was the favorite city I'd been to and with my second visit remains so. It seems to have it all new, old, history, grit, beauty, starkness, parks, museums, bike paths, and little unexpected nooks. Maybe it's due to the fact that it was separated for so long and even though the wound is healed the scar shows through...but this is one of those cases where it just brings out the beauty in something. Whatever gives Berlin its allure, I'm glad it continues to make me fall more in love with it.

Travelling I go

October 7th, 2011

Back to travelling today.

One would think that after a year of travelling I would have started to get in the swing of things...but this is not the case at all. Luckily I barely avoided a mental breakdown by realizing the day before my flight that I flew into one New York airport and out of the other...arriving at rush hour and would have less than 3 hours to get to the next one, check-in and go through security. I realized this with enough time to change my flight but left me stressed and wondering what else I would have forgotten.

With this change in iteniary I got the pleasure of flying through 4 airports prior to leaving the US.

One of the other highlights was trying to reduce my bike by 3 lbs and reaching through the handhole that had been ripped by the TSA...imagine me elbows deep in the box trying to grapple with undoing tape and wires. It reminded me of halloween where you have to put your hand in a box and there is gummy worms and other texturally creepy things. This made me laugh out loud and I acquired a few bruises to remind me of the incident.

I am still in denial that I'm leaving. It's much easier for me emotionally to pretend that I will be back shortly.

October 8th, 2011

Got into Frankfurt bought brotchen! Then took a train to Luebeck to meet up with my brother. Stayed up late catching up with him.

October 9th, 2011

Went around Luebeck to parks and hung out with some of my brothers friends. Also began planning for travelling through the rest of Europe.

In general I feel like I haven't stopped moving since I left the US.

October 10th, 2011

Met up with Christian for lunch with a homemade north Germany meal!! It was great to see him and his parents again.

After lunch we had planned on a bike ride around the lake but the weather was rainy. So we went in the car and did a loop of a wine store, up to cliffs, a lookout tower, to a fish sandwich shop, and finally cake shop. It was an awesome day!