I flew into Paris yesterday and am very excited to be back in Europe. I spent about 9 days in Seattle taking care of some things. I sold my car, saw friends and family, and packed some ski gear and warm clothes. My dad also emptied my storage unit for me, thanks! Though it was a short trip, I was already getting antsy to get back here.
I had a fairly easy couple of flights to get into Paris, and I didn't get asked a single question at customs which surprised me. Yesterday I went to Montmartre and saw Sacre Coeur. Last night I met up with some French friends of mine, a couple guys I met in Budapest plus Clement and Jonathan (who I met up with in Portugal, Paris, and Krakow). We went out for a couple of drinks, drove through the Christmas markets along the Champs Elysee, and saw the Eiffel Tower Christmas 'light show.' Today I am just hanging out at the hostel until my train leaves this evening, overnighting through Munich to Kirchberg in Tirol. Jonathan will meet up with me in a couple of days to go skiing. There is not a whole lot of snow up there yet, but they should get some this week. There is only one lift open currently, but the entire 60+ lift ski area is set to open December 5th.
I suppose this blog will change a bit from previously. I might not update as often because I won't have as many travel stories considering I should be staying primarily in one place. I hope to find a job and a home as soon as possible. I am not sure what to expect when I arrive, so I am going to just try and be flexible and take whatever comes to me! I will update my progress later this week!
One more thing, here is my new Austrian phone number: 0043 6649966682. You should be able to reach me on that any time through May 2010!!
November 30, 2009
November 19, 2009
Fantastic final week in England!
My first evening in Manchester, I went out to a unique bar with an Aussie girl named Emily I met at the hostel. The tiny bar was in a converted underground public toilet. We walked down the stairs right from the sidewalk of the street. It was pretty clever. Later we met up with a French guy named Julien I had met earlier, but most of the pubs seemed to be closing around 1 o'clock so we decided to rest up to go out the following night. On Friday, I went to the Manchester Art Gallery to see some British and European art. I also explored some of the buildings downtown, including the town hall and Chinatown. I went back to the hostel and met up with Emily. We found a bus to take us just outside the city to Old Trafford, where Manchester United's stadium is. The stadium was built in 1910, yet is very impressive and looks fairly modern. We went through the trophy rooms and history, then took a tour. We got to walk out to the pitch and into the players' lounge and dressing rooms.
On Friday evening, I made myself dinner at the hostel, then found Emily and Julien. Before we headed out, we met a German girl at the hostel, Maren. The four of us found a bar/club called MoJo I had heard about. The place played really good music and we stayed the whole night at a booth and the dance floor. My rain jacket was stolen when I left the booth for a couple of minutes which was annoying, but I still had a lot of fun. On Saturday, I went to the Museum of Science and Industry with Maren and Julien. We didn't have very much time there, but managed to check out several exhibits on textiles, engines, and airplanes. We rushed back to the hostel in the rain so that Maren and I could grab our things. We walked down to the station just in time to catch our bus to Sheffield.
I had looked up a few places for accommodation in Sheffield, but hadn't booked anything. There are no hostels in the whole city, which is crazy considering the size of it, 700,000 people or so. I guess it is not much of a tourist destination. Maren and I found a bed and breakfast which was full, then found a hotel which was also full. At the hotel, they told us everything was booked because there were several events happening in town that weekend. We were starting to get a bit desperate, so I used my backup plan. I called Emily, who had gotten to Sheffield that morning and was staying in a hotel room she had booked months in advance. She said it was alright, so we got on the tram and snuck into her hotel room. The three of us got ready, then headed to the Sheffield Arena for a concert, the reason we were all in Sheffield. The Arctic Monkeys are a really cool Indie rock band that are actually from Sheffield. I could have seen them a couple of days later in London, but decided it would be much better to see them in their hometown. Emily had bought her ticket way earlier, I bought mine the day before, and Maren just bought hers at the show. The Arena didn't quite sell out, it holds 14,000 people though. Maren actually paid less than Emily and I to get in because there was no service charge at the venue. The show was really good, the band was awesome and the crowd was crazy.
On Sunday, Emily took a train back to London, so Maren and I went to go find our own place to stay in Sheffield. We went back to the first B & B we tried the previous day and fortunately got a room. Though the name has changed, there has been a B & B or hotel in that location since 1817, the photos in our room and the lobby were very cool. We walked into the city to see the cathedral, the winter gardens, and some other sights downtown. The weather was actually nice for a change, so we kept walking up to a hill overlooking the city. We found a couple of walking trails, then a huge park. By the time we started walking back, it was rainy and windy. After we got dried off and changed, we found a pub for dinner. We ate some traditional British food, then found another pub with live music. I got to know Maren pretty well and am a bit sad my travelling is ending at the same time hers is beginning.
On Monday, Maren and I took a bus to York, which is much more of a tourist attraction than Sheffield, or Manchester for that matter. There is still a wall surrounding the city center and a river cuts straight through the town. There are lots of cool buildings and plenty of historical attractions. We went to the first two hostels mentioned in my guide book. The first was turned into a hotel and the second one was closed. We were a bit discouraged but decided to go find a B & B. We walked just outside the city walls along the river to a street that had 5 or 6 different guest houses on it. After a bit of comparing, I negotiated a good price on one of them for a nice room in the upstairs loft. We put our warm clothes on and went into the city center to look around. We found a pub for dinner with a table overlooking the river.
Tuesday was to be my final day in York and my final day in Europe on this leg of my trip. We got up for the 9:15 AM breakfast at our guesthouse. They served us a full British breakfast which was entirely too much food. Cereal, toast, and coffee followed by sausage, bacon, egg, hashbrowns, beans, mushrooms, tomato, and black pudding. Maren and I walked through more of the city seeing some historical ruins, then climbed onto the wall to walk around the city. Next was the main attraction in town, the gothic cathedral which is the best in Britain and one of the largest in the world. We bought the full tickets to see the entire place. We took a tour of the interior and learned the history of the church. Next was the undercroft and crypt where we saw the origins of the first church on the sight, nearly 2,000 years old. Afterwards, we climbed the 275 step tower to get an incredible view of the gothic towers and the whole city. Maren and I went to the train and bus station to arrange our plans. I wanted to stay as long as possible, so I ended up paying way too much to book the last bus of the evening to London. We went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. Then we ran to the bus stop for the end of my trip.
It was very sad saying goodbye to Maren. Even considering all the people I have met on my trip, she is the only one besides Cameron I have actually travelled with. Though we only spent four days together, we really connected and have a very similar approach to travelling. She is completely carefree: I asked her the night we met if she wanted to go to the concert in Sheffield the following day. She barely thought about it and just said 'OK!' Her trip just began in Manchester, and she will probably find a job and spend a year in England. Fortunately, she is going on a ski vacation to Austria with her family at the end of December. I hope to meet up with her then or maybe have her come stay with me in Kirchberg in January.
I took an 8.5 hour bus ride directly to Heathrow, then a 2 hour flight to Frankfurt, then an 8.5 hour flight to D.C., then a 5+ hour flight to Seattle. The total travel time was about 32 hours.
The title of this blog is still appropriate (though maybe not the subtitle), so I will continue to write here while I am in Austria.
On Friday evening, I made myself dinner at the hostel, then found Emily and Julien. Before we headed out, we met a German girl at the hostel, Maren. The four of us found a bar/club called MoJo I had heard about. The place played really good music and we stayed the whole night at a booth and the dance floor. My rain jacket was stolen when I left the booth for a couple of minutes which was annoying, but I still had a lot of fun. On Saturday, I went to the Museum of Science and Industry with Maren and Julien. We didn't have very much time there, but managed to check out several exhibits on textiles, engines, and airplanes. We rushed back to the hostel in the rain so that Maren and I could grab our things. We walked down to the station just in time to catch our bus to Sheffield.
I had looked up a few places for accommodation in Sheffield, but hadn't booked anything. There are no hostels in the whole city, which is crazy considering the size of it, 700,000 people or so. I guess it is not much of a tourist destination. Maren and I found a bed and breakfast which was full, then found a hotel which was also full. At the hotel, they told us everything was booked because there were several events happening in town that weekend. We were starting to get a bit desperate, so I used my backup plan. I called Emily, who had gotten to Sheffield that morning and was staying in a hotel room she had booked months in advance. She said it was alright, so we got on the tram and snuck into her hotel room. The three of us got ready, then headed to the Sheffield Arena for a concert, the reason we were all in Sheffield. The Arctic Monkeys are a really cool Indie rock band that are actually from Sheffield. I could have seen them a couple of days later in London, but decided it would be much better to see them in their hometown. Emily had bought her ticket way earlier, I bought mine the day before, and Maren just bought hers at the show. The Arena didn't quite sell out, it holds 14,000 people though. Maren actually paid less than Emily and I to get in because there was no service charge at the venue. The show was really good, the band was awesome and the crowd was crazy.
On Sunday, Emily took a train back to London, so Maren and I went to go find our own place to stay in Sheffield. We went back to the first B & B we tried the previous day and fortunately got a room. Though the name has changed, there has been a B & B or hotel in that location since 1817, the photos in our room and the lobby were very cool. We walked into the city to see the cathedral, the winter gardens, and some other sights downtown. The weather was actually nice for a change, so we kept walking up to a hill overlooking the city. We found a couple of walking trails, then a huge park. By the time we started walking back, it was rainy and windy. After we got dried off and changed, we found a pub for dinner. We ate some traditional British food, then found another pub with live music. I got to know Maren pretty well and am a bit sad my travelling is ending at the same time hers is beginning.
On Monday, Maren and I took a bus to York, which is much more of a tourist attraction than Sheffield, or Manchester for that matter. There is still a wall surrounding the city center and a river cuts straight through the town. There are lots of cool buildings and plenty of historical attractions. We went to the first two hostels mentioned in my guide book. The first was turned into a hotel and the second one was closed. We were a bit discouraged but decided to go find a B & B. We walked just outside the city walls along the river to a street that had 5 or 6 different guest houses on it. After a bit of comparing, I negotiated a good price on one of them for a nice room in the upstairs loft. We put our warm clothes on and went into the city center to look around. We found a pub for dinner with a table overlooking the river.
Tuesday was to be my final day in York and my final day in Europe on this leg of my trip. We got up for the 9:15 AM breakfast at our guesthouse. They served us a full British breakfast which was entirely too much food. Cereal, toast, and coffee followed by sausage, bacon, egg, hashbrowns, beans, mushrooms, tomato, and black pudding. Maren and I walked through more of the city seeing some historical ruins, then climbed onto the wall to walk around the city. Next was the main attraction in town, the gothic cathedral which is the best in Britain and one of the largest in the world. We bought the full tickets to see the entire place. We took a tour of the interior and learned the history of the church. Next was the undercroft and crypt where we saw the origins of the first church on the sight, nearly 2,000 years old. Afterwards, we climbed the 275 step tower to get an incredible view of the gothic towers and the whole city. Maren and I went to the train and bus station to arrange our plans. I wanted to stay as long as possible, so I ended up paying way too much to book the last bus of the evening to London. We went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. Then we ran to the bus stop for the end of my trip.
It was very sad saying goodbye to Maren. Even considering all the people I have met on my trip, she is the only one besides Cameron I have actually travelled with. Though we only spent four days together, we really connected and have a very similar approach to travelling. She is completely carefree: I asked her the night we met if she wanted to go to the concert in Sheffield the following day. She barely thought about it and just said 'OK!' Her trip just began in Manchester, and she will probably find a job and spend a year in England. Fortunately, she is going on a ski vacation to Austria with her family at the end of December. I hope to meet up with her then or maybe have her come stay with me in Kirchberg in January.
I took an 8.5 hour bus ride directly to Heathrow, then a 2 hour flight to Frankfurt, then an 8.5 hour flight to D.C., then a 5+ hour flight to Seattle. The total travel time was about 32 hours.
The title of this blog is still appropriate (though maybe not the subtitle), so I will continue to write here while I am in Austria.
November 12, 2009
Partied in Poland, now exploring rainy England
I spent the whole day Wednesday in Greenwich, a London neighborhood to the southeast of the center which I got to by train. It is a cool area of town with a bit of a slower pace and lots to see. The first sight I went to was the Royal Observatory. This is the famous place where the Prime Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time come from. The observatory was up on a hill with great views of the city. I stood on the Prime Meridian at 0 degrees longitude where the world is split into the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. I learned about the history of the observatory and saw the Time Ball, Millenium Clock, and a cool museum filled with clocks, telescopes, and the first ever time pieces. Next stop was the Queens House, an impressive Victorian building filled with British art. After that was the National Maritime Museum. Britain obviously has an important naval and shipping history, and this museum definitely showed that. The best exhibits were on the British navy and explorers. They even had Lord Nelson's uniform he was wearing when he was shot and killed by a French sniper in the naval battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It still has the bullet hole in the shoulder. I walked through Greenwich along the water, then through the Naval College to the Painted Hall. This was a gigantic hallway with a memorial to Nelson. The amazing walls and ceiling took 19 years to paint. I got back into town and met up with my friend Karina, who lives in south London. I initially met her in Seville. We also randomly ran into each other at Oktoberfest on my first night. We had a few beers and have kept in touch. We ate seafood pasta at an Italian restaurant, then found a pub for a couple of pints while we watched a football match.
On Thursday I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington. Once again, I spent an incredibly long time there yet didn't manage to see everything there. The museum is filled with decorative arts, meaning sculptures, paintings, fashion, furniture, jewelry, and everything in between. The place has 6 floors and 4 million items, you have to walk 7 miles to see it all. Some of my favorites were the Rodin sculptures, the samurai swords in the Japanese room, and the silver rooms. I spent 2 hours on the first floor alone! After 4 and a half hours, I was only finishing the 3rd floor, so I gave up and headed home. I might go back at some point, but there are really so many sights to see in London it is tough to do them all. Cam and I went out Thursday evening because he did not have to work Friday. We went to three or four pubs near his place and had a pint at each one.
On Friday, Cam left for Krakow and I headed to Tate Britain. It is filled entirely with British paintings from all periods of history. Most of the 17th and 18th century stuff was pretty good, but I was most impressed by the contemporary art collection. Oh, plus the JMW Turner was very nice. It was raining when I left as it has been every day in London. I decided to head back to Cam's place to relax, then got ready for Friday night in Camden. Camden is a neighborhood just north of central London which is famous for 'alternative' type people. Think piercings, tattoos, and guys wearing lipstick. Needless to say, it was a very interesting evening. I was going out for my friend Pav's (Alex's) birthday. I met Pav in Lagos, then we rented an apartment with a group of friends in Valencia for La Tomatina. The first strange thing to happen was right when I got on the Tube. I spotted Tom, another friend from Lagos and Valencia who stayed in the apartment. It was incredibly random that I saw him given how big London is and how many people are on the Tube. I didn't even know he was in London, but of course he was heading to Pav's party as well. He was with another girl who I recognized who had stayed at the same guest house as me in Lagos. We got to the club/party/horse stable where I waited outside for a couple of friends. I invited Uttara and Karina. Uttara is the girl I met at Oktoberfest and then saw again in Salzburg. I gathered them both and we went inside not knowing quite what to expect. The place is called Proud and is basically a club that has been converted from a horse stable. There are multiple rooms with different DJs plus a live band. The theme for the night was a 'dark circus' or something which basically meant gypsies and evil clowns and cool lighting and bizzare outfits. We found Pav's private booth where she had at least 50 people crammed in. We experienced the crazy party in each room, it was definitely an experience.
I woke up relatively for my flight to Krakow on Saturday. I left my pack at Cam's and just took my daypack which was nice. No problems at the airports or on the flight. No one in my group was at the hostel so I headed to Pawel's place. I hung out with Mishka until Cam got back from his day at Auschwitz. He and I headed into the main square to find the French boys. While we were walking towards our meeting place, I spotted Clement, Vincent, Jonathan, and Julien in the middle of the street. As Jonathan and Julien came over to Cam and I, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Clement wind up and punch Vincent in the face! We all ran over to see what the hell was going on, they acted like they were just joking around. Clem obviously hit him way too hard though, and Vincent started bleeding all over the street. His nose was pretty messed up too, which we had to straighten later. Once he got cleaned up, we went to Pies (the bar I spent a lot of time in last time in Krakow). After a few minutes, Vincent and Clem started yelling at each other, and Vincent started punching Clem. We had to drag the two of them out of the bar, where they kept yelling at each other in the street. As we held them both away from each other, I saw a group of about 8 Polish skinheads nearby watching. Two of them came over to where I was standing next to Vincent. They were laughing as they came over, and I could tell they were assholes, so I told them to get the F out of there and shoved one of them. The other one just continued right up to Vincent, who was bent over wiping blood from his nose. The kid punched him right in the face and kept laughing as I lunged at him. Some girl came in between us and dragged the kid away from me. It was so dumb and totally unprovoked. As the rest of the skinheads came my way, I decided we better get the hell out of there. So I yelled at Cam and we grabbed our two idiot friends and left while the skinheads kept yelling and laughing. Vincent and Clem are best friends and made up about an hour later. Though they are completely immature for starting such a dumb fight to begin with. I still have no idea what caused it. We had to straighten Clem's nose as well and the two of them spent the rest of the trip in Krakow with black eyes. Vincent's was especially bad from that last punch thrown by the skinhead. It was bad enough they wouldn't let him in to the club we went to called Kitsch. So we sent him home, then the other French guys headed home not long afterwards. Cam and I went to another club called Prozak and had fun with some Polish people we met. It was kind of embarrassing for both of us to see our friends act like 6 year olds. Anyway, it was pretty funny when they both tried wearing sunglasses the next day when it was rainy and overcast!
On Sunday, after sleeping in till nearly noon, we got our group together to go to Wawel Castle. The group now included Pawel and his friend Asha. The 8 of us wandered around in town and up to the castle. The French boys weren't moving very quick so Cam and I had to lead the way. I had already seen the castle, so after a quick stop I suggested we go to Nowa Huta. It is a Communist town just outside of Krakow. The Soviets built it as a model communist city, kind of a 'workers paradise.' Of course it was anything but. It was filled with horribly ugly Soviet architecture of cement and steel. It wasn't actually that interesting to see it, I suppose we should have taken a tour to see the cooler sights. After walking Nowa Huta, we headed back into Krakow to go out to dinner at the same German-themed restaurant Pawel took me to a few weeks earlier. We stuffed ourselves with Polish food, beer, and vodka, then went to Pies where I met Pawel's (famous) father who happened to be in town.
I planned on seeing some more of Poland on this trip, so Cam and I decided to head out on our own Monday. The French guys had some other plans in mind. We took a train to Wroclaw (pronounced like 'vraw swahf' if that makes sense), a cool student town north of Krakow. The city is similar to Krakow with a large central square and cool architecture. The nightlife was supposed to be one of the highlights, though unfortunately we were there on a Monday. We found a decent hostel and explored the city center. We ate dinner at a traditional Polish restaurant, then had beers at a couple of bars. As I mentioned, it was fairly quiet being Monday. The city is pretty nice, but ultimately a bit of a let down. It was just a bit to similar to Krakow and the dreary weather and slow Monday night didn't help.
The following day, Cam and I went to Wroclaw's main tourist attraction, a gigantic panoramic painting. We bought our tickets to the tour, then explored the town a bit more. The university was very cool looking, and the river was scenic. The tour began and took us into a huge round building. The painting itself is 15 meters tall and 120 meters long. You stand in the center of it and walk around inside. It was painted by a team of Polish painters and depicts an important battle in Wroclaw where they defeated the Russians back at the end of the 18th century. It is by far the largest painting I have ever seen and they made it cooler by including actual dirt and objects at the base of the painting which made it even more realistic. Afterwards, we packed up at the hostel and went to catch the train back to Krakow. 5 hours later we arrived, then met Vincent and Clem for dinner. Julien and Jonathan had already left that morning to go back to Paris. We went to the same restaurant as before, though this time I shared the seafood platter with Cam. After a few beers and with the place closing, we went out for my final night in Krakow. We decided to go back to Prozak because Cam and I had liked it a lot and the French boys had missed out. One of the first things that happened when we got there was a rather interesting experience. As we walked by the bar to find a table, two girls stopped us and asked if we spoke English. After talking for a few minutes, we found out they were Russian students. They seemed to be very friendly, but I was still a bit surprised when they kept mentioning they were ready to go somewhere else and wanted us to come with them. Vincent came over and whispered something in my ear like 'I think they want money.' He had forgotten the word 'prostitute' but I understood quickly what he meant! I'm still not 100% sure they were Russian hookers, but when they left a couple minutes later, telling us we should join them at their apartment 'after party' where they had Russian vodka waiting, we definitely did NOT go with them! It was pretty funny, especially since I had no idea what was going on at first. Not long after, we met a group of 8 crazy American girls and partied with them at Prozak the rest of the night.
I woke up at noon yesterday and was very grateful I had booked an afternoon flight back to London. Cam is staying in Krakow until tomorrow, Vincent and Clem until early next week. I made it back on my own to Cam's flat. I made myself dinner and lounged all evening. It might have been the most uneventful day of my trip so far, but I badly needed it. Since he was gone, I slept in Cam's bed and got a decent night's rest. Today, I woke up early, ate a huge breakfast, and made by way to the coach station. 5 hours later, I got off here in Manchester. I am excited to see some other places in England, and this city definitely seems like an interesting place so far. I arrived this afternoon and found a pretty cool hostel. The weather is terrible of course, but I explored the city center anyway. Manchester used to have a reputation as a grimy industrial place. True, it is the world's first 'modern' city and the birthplace of the Insustrial Revolution. But from what I have seen, it is a very cool mix of old architecture and ultramodern new buildings. My hostel is in a cool, young area of the city right next to the main square. I checked out Urbis, a new museum with exhibits on the history of rap/hip hop in Britain and the history of British television. Tonight I will probably go check out some local pubs and maybe see some of the live music this city is famous for. Tomorrow I hope to go take a tour of the famous Manchester United's football stadium.
After another day or two in Manchester, I am thinking about visiting Liverpool, only 37 miles away. Probably only one more post before I get back to Seattle next week!
On Thursday I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington. Once again, I spent an incredibly long time there yet didn't manage to see everything there. The museum is filled with decorative arts, meaning sculptures, paintings, fashion, furniture, jewelry, and everything in between. The place has 6 floors and 4 million items, you have to walk 7 miles to see it all. Some of my favorites were the Rodin sculptures, the samurai swords in the Japanese room, and the silver rooms. I spent 2 hours on the first floor alone! After 4 and a half hours, I was only finishing the 3rd floor, so I gave up and headed home. I might go back at some point, but there are really so many sights to see in London it is tough to do them all. Cam and I went out Thursday evening because he did not have to work Friday. We went to three or four pubs near his place and had a pint at each one.
On Friday, Cam left for Krakow and I headed to Tate Britain. It is filled entirely with British paintings from all periods of history. Most of the 17th and 18th century stuff was pretty good, but I was most impressed by the contemporary art collection. Oh, plus the JMW Turner was very nice. It was raining when I left as it has been every day in London. I decided to head back to Cam's place to relax, then got ready for Friday night in Camden. Camden is a neighborhood just north of central London which is famous for 'alternative' type people. Think piercings, tattoos, and guys wearing lipstick. Needless to say, it was a very interesting evening. I was going out for my friend Pav's (Alex's) birthday. I met Pav in Lagos, then we rented an apartment with a group of friends in Valencia for La Tomatina. The first strange thing to happen was right when I got on the Tube. I spotted Tom, another friend from Lagos and Valencia who stayed in the apartment. It was incredibly random that I saw him given how big London is and how many people are on the Tube. I didn't even know he was in London, but of course he was heading to Pav's party as well. He was with another girl who I recognized who had stayed at the same guest house as me in Lagos. We got to the club/party/horse stable where I waited outside for a couple of friends. I invited Uttara and Karina. Uttara is the girl I met at Oktoberfest and then saw again in Salzburg. I gathered them both and we went inside not knowing quite what to expect. The place is called Proud and is basically a club that has been converted from a horse stable. There are multiple rooms with different DJs plus a live band. The theme for the night was a 'dark circus' or something which basically meant gypsies and evil clowns and cool lighting and bizzare outfits. We found Pav's private booth where she had at least 50 people crammed in. We experienced the crazy party in each room, it was definitely an experience.
I woke up relatively for my flight to Krakow on Saturday. I left my pack at Cam's and just took my daypack which was nice. No problems at the airports or on the flight. No one in my group was at the hostel so I headed to Pawel's place. I hung out with Mishka until Cam got back from his day at Auschwitz. He and I headed into the main square to find the French boys. While we were walking towards our meeting place, I spotted Clement, Vincent, Jonathan, and Julien in the middle of the street. As Jonathan and Julien came over to Cam and I, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Clement wind up and punch Vincent in the face! We all ran over to see what the hell was going on, they acted like they were just joking around. Clem obviously hit him way too hard though, and Vincent started bleeding all over the street. His nose was pretty messed up too, which we had to straighten later. Once he got cleaned up, we went to Pies (the bar I spent a lot of time in last time in Krakow). After a few minutes, Vincent and Clem started yelling at each other, and Vincent started punching Clem. We had to drag the two of them out of the bar, where they kept yelling at each other in the street. As we held them both away from each other, I saw a group of about 8 Polish skinheads nearby watching. Two of them came over to where I was standing next to Vincent. They were laughing as they came over, and I could tell they were assholes, so I told them to get the F out of there and shoved one of them. The other one just continued right up to Vincent, who was bent over wiping blood from his nose. The kid punched him right in the face and kept laughing as I lunged at him. Some girl came in between us and dragged the kid away from me. It was so dumb and totally unprovoked. As the rest of the skinheads came my way, I decided we better get the hell out of there. So I yelled at Cam and we grabbed our two idiot friends and left while the skinheads kept yelling and laughing. Vincent and Clem are best friends and made up about an hour later. Though they are completely immature for starting such a dumb fight to begin with. I still have no idea what caused it. We had to straighten Clem's nose as well and the two of them spent the rest of the trip in Krakow with black eyes. Vincent's was especially bad from that last punch thrown by the skinhead. It was bad enough they wouldn't let him in to the club we went to called Kitsch. So we sent him home, then the other French guys headed home not long afterwards. Cam and I went to another club called Prozak and had fun with some Polish people we met. It was kind of embarrassing for both of us to see our friends act like 6 year olds. Anyway, it was pretty funny when they both tried wearing sunglasses the next day when it was rainy and overcast!
On Sunday, after sleeping in till nearly noon, we got our group together to go to Wawel Castle. The group now included Pawel and his friend Asha. The 8 of us wandered around in town and up to the castle. The French boys weren't moving very quick so Cam and I had to lead the way. I had already seen the castle, so after a quick stop I suggested we go to Nowa Huta. It is a Communist town just outside of Krakow. The Soviets built it as a model communist city, kind of a 'workers paradise.' Of course it was anything but. It was filled with horribly ugly Soviet architecture of cement and steel. It wasn't actually that interesting to see it, I suppose we should have taken a tour to see the cooler sights. After walking Nowa Huta, we headed back into Krakow to go out to dinner at the same German-themed restaurant Pawel took me to a few weeks earlier. We stuffed ourselves with Polish food, beer, and vodka, then went to Pies where I met Pawel's (famous) father who happened to be in town.
I planned on seeing some more of Poland on this trip, so Cam and I decided to head out on our own Monday. The French guys had some other plans in mind. We took a train to Wroclaw (pronounced like 'vraw swahf' if that makes sense), a cool student town north of Krakow. The city is similar to Krakow with a large central square and cool architecture. The nightlife was supposed to be one of the highlights, though unfortunately we were there on a Monday. We found a decent hostel and explored the city center. We ate dinner at a traditional Polish restaurant, then had beers at a couple of bars. As I mentioned, it was fairly quiet being Monday. The city is pretty nice, but ultimately a bit of a let down. It was just a bit to similar to Krakow and the dreary weather and slow Monday night didn't help.
The following day, Cam and I went to Wroclaw's main tourist attraction, a gigantic panoramic painting. We bought our tickets to the tour, then explored the town a bit more. The university was very cool looking, and the river was scenic. The tour began and took us into a huge round building. The painting itself is 15 meters tall and 120 meters long. You stand in the center of it and walk around inside. It was painted by a team of Polish painters and depicts an important battle in Wroclaw where they defeated the Russians back at the end of the 18th century. It is by far the largest painting I have ever seen and they made it cooler by including actual dirt and objects at the base of the painting which made it even more realistic. Afterwards, we packed up at the hostel and went to catch the train back to Krakow. 5 hours later we arrived, then met Vincent and Clem for dinner. Julien and Jonathan had already left that morning to go back to Paris. We went to the same restaurant as before, though this time I shared the seafood platter with Cam. After a few beers and with the place closing, we went out for my final night in Krakow. We decided to go back to Prozak because Cam and I had liked it a lot and the French boys had missed out. One of the first things that happened when we got there was a rather interesting experience. As we walked by the bar to find a table, two girls stopped us and asked if we spoke English. After talking for a few minutes, we found out they were Russian students. They seemed to be very friendly, but I was still a bit surprised when they kept mentioning they were ready to go somewhere else and wanted us to come with them. Vincent came over and whispered something in my ear like 'I think they want money.' He had forgotten the word 'prostitute' but I understood quickly what he meant! I'm still not 100% sure they were Russian hookers, but when they left a couple minutes later, telling us we should join them at their apartment 'after party' where they had Russian vodka waiting, we definitely did NOT go with them! It was pretty funny, especially since I had no idea what was going on at first. Not long after, we met a group of 8 crazy American girls and partied with them at Prozak the rest of the night.
I woke up at noon yesterday and was very grateful I had booked an afternoon flight back to London. Cam is staying in Krakow until tomorrow, Vincent and Clem until early next week. I made it back on my own to Cam's flat. I made myself dinner and lounged all evening. It might have been the most uneventful day of my trip so far, but I badly needed it. Since he was gone, I slept in Cam's bed and got a decent night's rest. Today, I woke up early, ate a huge breakfast, and made by way to the coach station. 5 hours later, I got off here in Manchester. I am excited to see some other places in England, and this city definitely seems like an interesting place so far. I arrived this afternoon and found a pretty cool hostel. The weather is terrible of course, but I explored the city center anyway. Manchester used to have a reputation as a grimy industrial place. True, it is the world's first 'modern' city and the birthplace of the Insustrial Revolution. But from what I have seen, it is a very cool mix of old architecture and ultramodern new buildings. My hostel is in a cool, young area of the city right next to the main square. I checked out Urbis, a new museum with exhibits on the history of rap/hip hop in Britain and the history of British television. Tonight I will probably go check out some local pubs and maybe see some of the live music this city is famous for. Tomorrow I hope to go take a tour of the famous Manchester United's football stadium.
After another day or two in Manchester, I am thinking about visiting Liverpool, only 37 miles away. Probably only one more post before I get back to Seattle next week!
November 3, 2009
London is so easy and relaxing
On Monday, after the police ordeal I discussed in the last post, I continued on through the park to the Caves Monastary. The Monastary is split between the Upper Lavra and Lower Lavra. I went through the upper section to see the religious sights. I went in to a couple of museums as well. The one containing Ukrainian folk art was pretty memorable. Next, I went down to the lower section to go in the crypts themselves. I walked down the stairs with dozens of of worshippers holding candles. I was supposed to buy a candle as I was the only person without one. I had to walk behind other people just so I could see my way. There were a whole bunch of caskets and sarchophaguses with Ukrainian religious figures in them. Every person was praying and kissing the tombs. A lot of the people buried there were monks. It was a very unique experience. I continued on to the WWII museum, yet arrived there too late to go inside (I blame the cops for the delay). It was interesting to walk around outside, however, as there were lots of tanks, artillery, monuments, and a helicopter. Also, a massive Soviet metal monument is there. It is a woman over 100 meters tall, my guide book says people call her 'tin tits'. Yulia hadn't heard that before and thought it was hilarious. I think normally you can climb inside her but she was closed for renovations. I cooked dinner again for Yulia, Japanese food.
On Tuesday I got on the metro to find the Chornobyl Museum. It took an hour to find off the metro which was kind of frustrating. Even when I know the street names I am looking for, they are very rarely posted anywhere and I can't understand the letters. I really should have gotten a map in Ukrainian, oh well. The museum was really cool. It had all sorts of artifacts and peoples' stories of the disaster. There were recreations of the power plant and simulations of the explosion. I really wish I could have gone to Chornobyl itself, but you can only go on guided tours which don't run very often. The area is about 2-3 hours north of Kyiv. The contaminated area reached the outskirts of the city but fortunately no person in Kyiv received radiation poisoning. The stories of the people working at the plant at the time were really fascinating. It was also interesting to read the Soviet newspapers at the time. All they mentioned was a two sentence statement about an accident at the plant in the paper one full week after the incident. I went to see the main university in the city, but they wouldn't let me go inside. I walked through the botanical gardens nearby, then to another beautiful church. After that was the Russian art museum. Most of the art was really cool, it was nice to see very different art than what I have been used to these last few months. It was also the premier of a new exhibit of interesting modern Russian art, so the place was packed with people. I met up with Yulia later on in the evening for a live organ and chamber music concert. There were lots of different performances and it was very enjoyable. I cooked Yulia pork chops and mashed potatoes when we got home.
On Wednesday morning, Yulia took me on the metro out to a bus stop. I got on the bus to Odessa, about 5 hours south of Kyiv on the Black Sea. I arrived and met Masha (nickname for Maria), who is Yulia's friend she asked to show me around. Masha was really nice to come meet up with me and take me around town. We walked through the main sights in the city center. We saw the main walking boulevard and the beautiful opera house. We headed down to the port and strolled along the water. We took a funicular to get back up the hill. Afterwards, we went back to Masha's flat for me to unload my daypack. I met Masha's husband, Vova (not sure how to spell that, nickname for Volodymyr). He is a really cool guy and we got along great. Both of them spoke English well. They have a fantastic apartment in a really massive 20 story building similar to Yulia's. Vova stayed in for the evening, while Masha and I headed out to meet up with her friend. We went to a cool underground bar until her friend showed up. The three of us listened to some live jazz music and had a few drinks. We got in a cab and were dropped off on a very dark residential looking street. I was really confused until they pointed towards this cellar door. We walked down some stairs and found another really cool bar. It amazes me that none of the places have signs or even names it seems. The three of us enjoyed champagne, sushi, and backgammon while sitting on pillows with our shoes off. A strange combination, but lots of fun! We had a blast and Masha and I didn't make it home until very late.
On Thursday, after sleeping in of course, Masha and I walked down to the beach. It was a nice walk from her flat down to the water. Unfortunately my first view of the water involved some old dude stripping down and jumping in naked. But aside from that, the Black Sea is really incredible and the beach was great. The water is incredible clear despite the name and not even that cold given the time of year. We walked along till we got to the dolphin aquarium. We didn't spot any wild dolphins off the coast which are seen sometimes. So we decided to go see the dolphin show. I felt like a little kid watching the show. There were 4 dolphins doing some really cool tricks. We grabbed some dinner as we walked back to Masha's place. I also stopped at the supermarket to pick up some snacks for the road. I grabbed my things and Masha and Vova went with me to the bus station. I really enjoyed meeting both of them and hope that I see them again in their European travels. I bussed back to Kyiv and arrived around midnight. I got on one of the local busses and hoped it would go to a metro stop. Luckily it did, but the metro stop was closed. They don't usually close till later, but now I was in a dillemma. I got on a different bus that listed some metro stops in the window. After 10 mins or so, I was pretty sure I was not heading into the city. I called Yulia and she told me to just get off so we could figure out where I was. It took quite awhile, but we decided the best way for me to get home was to have her talk to somebody. So I walked up to random people on the street and asked for help as I handed them the cell phone. Needless to say, the first two people just stared at me like I was crazy. Yet the next guy and girl I walked up to decided to grab the phone and see what I was talking about. They explained to Yulia where I was, which was out in the burbs somewhere on the wrong side of town. She arranged for them to explain to a cab driver how to get me home. I eventually did get home, spending the last of my hrvynias, about 5 euros for the 45 minute ride. I felt really helpless which is not a good feeling. Though I am definitely grateful for Yulia and don't know how I would have survived without that cell phone she let me borrow. She had dinner waiting when I got back as well.
Friday was my day to leave Kyiv and Ukraine. I asked Yulia how I should get to the airport, and she said she was coming with me. For work, she has a car and driver she can call pretty much anytime, very cool! We hopped in the black sedan and were escorted an hour away right to the airport. Another painless airport experience and a few hour flight got me to London. I think I must have forgotten how ridiculously easy it is to get around in London. I got out of the airport and there were signs and English-speaking people everywhere ready to help! It felt almost too easy! I got the bus into town, bought a weeklong metro card, and found Cameron's flat. He has a really cool place in an amazing location in the northeast part of central London. He lives with 4 other Aussies that are all really nice. I settled in, then headed out for a beer with Cam and Fathead (Tim). Their place is about a 5 minute walk from amazing nightlife with hundreds of young people roaming the streets. When we got back I set my sleeping bag up on the couch which is my current home. I also finally got a SIM card for the phone I have been carrying around. So if anyone needs to call me, the number is 0044 7760 875 321.
Saturday was Halloween! I spent the day taking care of some errands, exploring the neighborhood, then finding some things for my costume. I got black and white face paint because I was to be Uncle Fester from the Addam's Family. I'm not sure that I looked anything like him, but Cam (Frankenstein) shaved my head to try and pull the look off. The paint was the oily type which I soon found out does not dry. What a mistake, I had to be careful what my face touched the entire night. We went to a house party of one of Cam's friends. I met a bunch of fun people and we stayed at the party until it was starting to get light outside! I had a plan in mind to stay awake, but Cam bailed and got a few hours of sleep. I stayed up and hung out with a South African girl named Deborah. We met up with Cam at about 11 AM, yet she was too tired and headed home. Cam and I then proceeded on to The Church! This was the crazy party that is every Sunday in north London. I went to it back in July and having been raving to Cam about it though he still hadn't been. I made sure to wash all the oily paint off my face first. The Church was the same wild drunken debauchery that it was in my previous experience, though with it being post-Halloween, even more people wore costumes. I was really starting to crash around 2 or 3 PM, so I managed to make it back to Cam's place on my own. I fell asleep for a few hours, woke up and ate the communal dinner with Cam's roommates that they have almost every night. I fell back asleep at 9 PM and didn't wake up until 10 AM Monday morning. All in all, Halloween was fantastic!
Yesterday, Monday, I felt pretty good after sleeping so long. I took the Tube a couple of stops to the Museum of London. This covered the entire history of the city, from cavemen to the Romans to the monarchs. There was a whole lot to see but my favorite part was the exhibit on the Great Fire which destroyed basically the entire city in 1666. It still amazes me that so many museums in London are completely free to go to. I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and relaxed back at the flat. I hung out with the flatmates last night, we had another communal dinner.
Today I went to the Imperial War Museum, another free one. After sleeping in a bit and making breakfast, I didn't get there till noon. The place was really incredible, it covered WWI and WWII in great detail. There were tons of tanks, planes, and artillery, not to mention a German V2 rocket. There were so many exhibitions within the museum as well, on the Holocaust, genocide around the world, British Secret Service, war's affect on children, and more. I spent nearly 4 hours in the museum and didn't feel like I even saw it all. I had to get back because I had volunteered to cook dinner for everyone. I roasted a chicken along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so I might cook again this week.
Tomorrow I will do some more sightseeing, then hopefully meet up with a friend in the evening. One cool thing about London is that a lot of people I have met on my trip so far live here. There are at least a few people that I will see while I am here (besides Cam). I'm leaving for Krakow on Saturday and am really excited for it. After I get back to London, I plan on exploring some other English cities until I fly the 18th when I fly to Frankfurt and then Seattle. I'm also having a party to see all of my friends from home on the 21st at my mom's house which should be lots of fun! I can't believe tomorrow is the start of the 20th week of my trip!
On Tuesday I got on the metro to find the Chornobyl Museum. It took an hour to find off the metro which was kind of frustrating. Even when I know the street names I am looking for, they are very rarely posted anywhere and I can't understand the letters. I really should have gotten a map in Ukrainian, oh well. The museum was really cool. It had all sorts of artifacts and peoples' stories of the disaster. There were recreations of the power plant and simulations of the explosion. I really wish I could have gone to Chornobyl itself, but you can only go on guided tours which don't run very often. The area is about 2-3 hours north of Kyiv. The contaminated area reached the outskirts of the city but fortunately no person in Kyiv received radiation poisoning. The stories of the people working at the plant at the time were really fascinating. It was also interesting to read the Soviet newspapers at the time. All they mentioned was a two sentence statement about an accident at the plant in the paper one full week after the incident. I went to see the main university in the city, but they wouldn't let me go inside. I walked through the botanical gardens nearby, then to another beautiful church. After that was the Russian art museum. Most of the art was really cool, it was nice to see very different art than what I have been used to these last few months. It was also the premier of a new exhibit of interesting modern Russian art, so the place was packed with people. I met up with Yulia later on in the evening for a live organ and chamber music concert. There were lots of different performances and it was very enjoyable. I cooked Yulia pork chops and mashed potatoes when we got home.
On Wednesday morning, Yulia took me on the metro out to a bus stop. I got on the bus to Odessa, about 5 hours south of Kyiv on the Black Sea. I arrived and met Masha (nickname for Maria), who is Yulia's friend she asked to show me around. Masha was really nice to come meet up with me and take me around town. We walked through the main sights in the city center. We saw the main walking boulevard and the beautiful opera house. We headed down to the port and strolled along the water. We took a funicular to get back up the hill. Afterwards, we went back to Masha's flat for me to unload my daypack. I met Masha's husband, Vova (not sure how to spell that, nickname for Volodymyr). He is a really cool guy and we got along great. Both of them spoke English well. They have a fantastic apartment in a really massive 20 story building similar to Yulia's. Vova stayed in for the evening, while Masha and I headed out to meet up with her friend. We went to a cool underground bar until her friend showed up. The three of us listened to some live jazz music and had a few drinks. We got in a cab and were dropped off on a very dark residential looking street. I was really confused until they pointed towards this cellar door. We walked down some stairs and found another really cool bar. It amazes me that none of the places have signs or even names it seems. The three of us enjoyed champagne, sushi, and backgammon while sitting on pillows with our shoes off. A strange combination, but lots of fun! We had a blast and Masha and I didn't make it home until very late.
On Thursday, after sleeping in of course, Masha and I walked down to the beach. It was a nice walk from her flat down to the water. Unfortunately my first view of the water involved some old dude stripping down and jumping in naked. But aside from that, the Black Sea is really incredible and the beach was great. The water is incredible clear despite the name and not even that cold given the time of year. We walked along till we got to the dolphin aquarium. We didn't spot any wild dolphins off the coast which are seen sometimes. So we decided to go see the dolphin show. I felt like a little kid watching the show. There were 4 dolphins doing some really cool tricks. We grabbed some dinner as we walked back to Masha's place. I also stopped at the supermarket to pick up some snacks for the road. I grabbed my things and Masha and Vova went with me to the bus station. I really enjoyed meeting both of them and hope that I see them again in their European travels. I bussed back to Kyiv and arrived around midnight. I got on one of the local busses and hoped it would go to a metro stop. Luckily it did, but the metro stop was closed. They don't usually close till later, but now I was in a dillemma. I got on a different bus that listed some metro stops in the window. After 10 mins or so, I was pretty sure I was not heading into the city. I called Yulia and she told me to just get off so we could figure out where I was. It took quite awhile, but we decided the best way for me to get home was to have her talk to somebody. So I walked up to random people on the street and asked for help as I handed them the cell phone. Needless to say, the first two people just stared at me like I was crazy. Yet the next guy and girl I walked up to decided to grab the phone and see what I was talking about. They explained to Yulia where I was, which was out in the burbs somewhere on the wrong side of town. She arranged for them to explain to a cab driver how to get me home. I eventually did get home, spending the last of my hrvynias, about 5 euros for the 45 minute ride. I felt really helpless which is not a good feeling. Though I am definitely grateful for Yulia and don't know how I would have survived without that cell phone she let me borrow. She had dinner waiting when I got back as well.
Friday was my day to leave Kyiv and Ukraine. I asked Yulia how I should get to the airport, and she said she was coming with me. For work, she has a car and driver she can call pretty much anytime, very cool! We hopped in the black sedan and were escorted an hour away right to the airport. Another painless airport experience and a few hour flight got me to London. I think I must have forgotten how ridiculously easy it is to get around in London. I got out of the airport and there were signs and English-speaking people everywhere ready to help! It felt almost too easy! I got the bus into town, bought a weeklong metro card, and found Cameron's flat. He has a really cool place in an amazing location in the northeast part of central London. He lives with 4 other Aussies that are all really nice. I settled in, then headed out for a beer with Cam and Fathead (Tim). Their place is about a 5 minute walk from amazing nightlife with hundreds of young people roaming the streets. When we got back I set my sleeping bag up on the couch which is my current home. I also finally got a SIM card for the phone I have been carrying around. So if anyone needs to call me, the number is 0044 7760 875 321.
Saturday was Halloween! I spent the day taking care of some errands, exploring the neighborhood, then finding some things for my costume. I got black and white face paint because I was to be Uncle Fester from the Addam's Family. I'm not sure that I looked anything like him, but Cam (Frankenstein) shaved my head to try and pull the look off. The paint was the oily type which I soon found out does not dry. What a mistake, I had to be careful what my face touched the entire night. We went to a house party of one of Cam's friends. I met a bunch of fun people and we stayed at the party until it was starting to get light outside! I had a plan in mind to stay awake, but Cam bailed and got a few hours of sleep. I stayed up and hung out with a South African girl named Deborah. We met up with Cam at about 11 AM, yet she was too tired and headed home. Cam and I then proceeded on to The Church! This was the crazy party that is every Sunday in north London. I went to it back in July and having been raving to Cam about it though he still hadn't been. I made sure to wash all the oily paint off my face first. The Church was the same wild drunken debauchery that it was in my previous experience, though with it being post-Halloween, even more people wore costumes. I was really starting to crash around 2 or 3 PM, so I managed to make it back to Cam's place on my own. I fell asleep for a few hours, woke up and ate the communal dinner with Cam's roommates that they have almost every night. I fell back asleep at 9 PM and didn't wake up until 10 AM Monday morning. All in all, Halloween was fantastic!
Yesterday, Monday, I felt pretty good after sleeping so long. I took the Tube a couple of stops to the Museum of London. This covered the entire history of the city, from cavemen to the Romans to the monarchs. There was a whole lot to see but my favorite part was the exhibit on the Great Fire which destroyed basically the entire city in 1666. It still amazes me that so many museums in London are completely free to go to. I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and relaxed back at the flat. I hung out with the flatmates last night, we had another communal dinner.
Today I went to the Imperial War Museum, another free one. After sleeping in a bit and making breakfast, I didn't get there till noon. The place was really incredible, it covered WWI and WWII in great detail. There were tons of tanks, planes, and artillery, not to mention a German V2 rocket. There were so many exhibitions within the museum as well, on the Holocaust, genocide around the world, British Secret Service, war's affect on children, and more. I spent nearly 4 hours in the museum and didn't feel like I even saw it all. I had to get back because I had volunteered to cook dinner for everyone. I roasted a chicken along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so I might cook again this week.
Tomorrow I will do some more sightseeing, then hopefully meet up with a friend in the evening. One cool thing about London is that a lot of people I have met on my trip so far live here. There are at least a few people that I will see while I am here (besides Cam). I'm leaving for Krakow on Saturday and am really excited for it. After I get back to London, I plan on exploring some other English cities until I fly the 18th when I fly to Frankfurt and then Seattle. I'm also having a party to see all of my friends from home on the 21st at my mom's house which should be lots of fun! I can't believe tomorrow is the start of the 20th week of my trip!
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