* Ordinary life blog

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* The final days

(Sorry for the delay....life got in the way) Entering Prague was like entering a dream state. Of course driving in Prague was a nightmare, as this is most definitely not a city made for cars. Fortunately, Rick was at the helm and somehow, through our bad map reading, we got to our last place of rest, for this group's trip. Our big 4 room apartment plus 2 baths and kitchen was just the perfect place for the 6 of us = Imagine 'road rules meets real world' and you have the final 4 days of our trip!
I think the idea of apartments, for 2 or more, is a great alternative to hotels. Not only does it keep the budget in check by having a place to cook/server breakfasts, but having a fridge and a plug in hot water maker is priceless. Our apt was in District 2, which is just south, 10 min walk to the main old town, only a 10 min walk east of the river.
This is my 3rd time to this charming city. I visited right after the wall fell, where there were few restaurants and places open to the public and then 7 yrs ago. I never get tired of this cit as this is one of the most exciting destinations in Europe - this is the 'it' place for all visiting central Europe. I met heaps of people at the hostels who were either starting off or ending their vacations in Prague. Its attraction was most evident upon entering this city - just ask the 40 thousand ex-pats which have made Prague their current home....what they are all doing here, I haven't a clue.

We spent 4 full days here... walking, (more like chasing Rami around as he ran from one end of the city to the next) with the occasional cafe stopover. Again, not a bad plate of food was served us which made the appeal of this city even more so. Six people traveling independently together is not the ideal size (I would recommend 4, tops) but when you have a situation such as this, where one can walk to most places and public transportation is plentiful, each person can design their own itinerary and meet up with the group for meals. Of course, in reality, the group still wants to be a group and so, in the end, the one with the strongest will usually leads that moment.

Each had their own project to pursue.... Rami sought the highest vantage point and took as many photos as humanly possible.....Holly's mission was to see the inside of every store.....Camille's main concern was finding fresh squeezed anything....Val pursued the fine art of cafe hopping and flirting and Rick's job was making sure that everyone else had their way, but him.....and me well, I just explored the nooks and crannies of this famed city along with some the hotels of choice, I sell my clients. In the end, we toasted to our good health...good times and on the 16th, one by one, the 5 others left me behind in the apt.

I stayed on for another 5 days, traveling solo and doing exactly what I wanted, though I was acutely aware that traveling with another individual does add a fun dynamic, and after the 2 week worldwind with the gang, I was back on a solo traveling basis. This time alone, however, did allow me to do exactly what I wanted - which is to walk every square inch of the city, without having to stop for 5 other people's hunger and potty breaks :-). On the 21st of Sept, I boarded a bus to Wroclaw, Poland. This city belonged to the German's before War II made it Polands. Unfortunately, 2/3rds was completely destroyed and the city was then settled by Poles from Lviv (now Ukraine) I've read where its posed to be the next Krakow - as tourists are always looking to discover, the undiscovered. I found myself a new albeit cheap ($15 per night) hostel which was most quiet and centrally located. On Sabbath, my dad's friends invited me over for my last 'true polish' dinner and did the honours of showing this americano-pole, the main city sites. After returning back to Warsaw for another 2 nights, I decided I was more than ready to return to the land from which I came. Although the thought of having to face the upcoming winter months, in the dreary mid-west, was least appealing, I realized that I finally needed to face reality sooner or later and well, fall in Michigan ain't a bad place to be.......

* The 4 become 6.

Continuing on..The journey from BTS to Cesky Krumlov, ensued with the usual travel aerobic - tram/train/transfer and then 'supreme joyous relief' - we got into our rental car!- the good old fashion American way of travel! Poor Rick, though, this new luxury means he would now be responsible for packing/driving/ parking/unpacking for the 4 car's occupants. Wouldn't you know, he did it all with an admirable sense of duty & committment and w/o any complaining (though there were sighs and grins here and there that I translated to mean = strong irritation). It always seems that during these trips, we chicks rely heavily on his ability to navigate, organize and keep track of all of us - a role that, fortunately, seems to come to him w/ease - and for that we are immensely grateful! In the transition, we lost Paul to Prague while we continued on. We made day of driving through the scenic countryside of Czech, visiting a few Unesco towns before settling into Cesky Krumlov - the newest city to be discovered by swarms of tourists. It's narrow, midevil streets, renaissance architectures, a bear moat (first one I've ever seen) and the 2nd largest castle etched into the side of a mtn, is right out of National Geographic. The live bears in the moats looked like grizzles. On our tour of the castle, various bears rugs were displayed, an histories revealed, apparently, we were told they all 'died of naturally causes' (is shooting considered a natural cause?) The next day, our new cast members finally arrived- Rami, Camille, Val. It was another long anticipated reunion for me. We found ourselves reunited at a quaint tea house - chatting & laughing the hrs away - there was so much catching up to do - even though Skype was used often with many of these guys, during my 2 months stay in Europe. I've always believed that NOTHING beats spending time with people - not phone calls, sms, emails or even good intentions - you only get to know someone well when time is shared! It was delight to finally have their company, instead of just IM's/sms. Its more than a little interesting that the addition of merely 3 people can change the whole dynamics & energy of a group. Not only were there heaps of hysterics w/ this gang - the various annoyances surfaced too w/ various toilet stops, hunger pangs and shopping trips - all while trying to travel as a group. At one point, we counted that everyone had rolled their eyes at least once, at someone else (according to Gottman - rolling of eyes means disgust). Personalities can be hid for only so long when you are traveling in such close quarters - its as though travel is the ultimate revealer. Food: Our first meal in Czech was selected simply because its lights were on. As we bit into the first morsel, a look of shock/awe crossed my face - "this was fabulous stuff". I looked up and everyone had that same smirk across their face. Low and behold, this was just the beginning of the feast for the palate - I don't exaggerate (ask my peeps) every single meal was of 5-star quality. Add to the fact that the entrees cost less than a McDonalds happy meal - we felt like we hit the jackpot! I mean, how can every city in Czech, be so consistent in the preparation of their meals? This could be why tourist rate this as the 'bestest country' in Central Europe? After some sightseeing, bonbon eating and desert snacking, some headed by car to Karlovy Vary, while the 'financially conscious of the group' took a leisurely, long, bus trip. Karlovy Vary, Czech's premeir spa town offers a peaceful setting in a green valley, bubbling over w/ 12-mineral springs which can be drunk or bathed in. You can feel the turn of the century jumping out at you as you stroll along the promenade, drinking in the view and architecture Quiet the Dame, this city is and everybody fell in love instantly upon seeing it! Holly fulfilled a dream and booked herself into the 5-star 'Grand Pupp'. (Some will remember seeing this hotel used as the Casino in Casino Royal or in Last Holiday) . Its truly as spectacular as it looks on screen. One could envision Beethoven, Mozart, Kafka teeming w/ inspiration as they absorbed the surroundings and 'took in the waters'. We spent 3-nights here before our gaggle of 6 descended on the creme de la creme of Central Europe - Prague! ....I'll finish the last blog this week and put up some photos soon.

* Wish you were here

Yes, folks, I'm still alive....and still walking my shoes down to the sole, off. Time seems to have escaped me since I left Poland on the 3rd of Sept. Its been a constant change of scenery, cold/rainy weather, laughs and fabulous dinning since then. (Unfortunately, I don't have access to my photos at this stage, so I'll add those when I arrive home at the end of Sept.)
Both mum and I happen to leave the same day, she for home and I, for Budapest Hungary. As I parted ways with my brother, knowing that I probably wouldn't see him for another year, I was saddened. Strange to think that we can't just visit each other at a whim - but instead have to travel hundreds of air miles for a dinner or face to face chat. I'm very glad I took the opportunity to live close by, spending quality time Geo and getting to meet Eddy, his girlfriend. Even though Warsaw wasn't the most exciting city to reside in - it was a worthwhile trip just the same!
As I boarded my Wizz Air flight to Budapest I wondered how my 3rd visit would be different. Rick greeted me at the apt in Budapest - it was truly wonderful to see a familiar, smiling face from home. We walked over to where Paul and Holly were - and after months of planning and pent up excitement - the group of 4 was complete. The next day we got the biggest shock in the form of cold & rain - a weather pattern that would follow us for an ENTIRE 9 DAYS! I've been to Europe heaps of times and I must add that this trip offered me the lousiest weather of all of them. Fortunately, the fact that we were on vacation didn't escape us and that alone gave us a sense of elevated enthusiasm - not having to go to work, for most, was reason enough to be happy. The company of good friends was also a bonus.
Budapest is a terrific city for indoor sightseeing - its riddled with museums, gallaries, grand buildings (none of which I visited, of course) and heaps of shopping. Although it's the least attractive of all the cities because of its massive nature, it had everything one could want for a fulfilling city stay including plenty of turkish/thermal baths. We visited one of the oldest and grandest of them all - Gilbert Baths. It disappointed some of those expecting a familiar USA Spa experience, as its very old world - everything is impossible to understand as its in Hungarian, and the facilities were old, but charming (I thought) I didn't' spend but a few min. in the actual mineral bath (at 38 C it just wasn't hot enough for me) . Before leaving, I was strongly encourage by staff to par-take in a message, I happily agreed and received one of the best & cheapest, full back body massage (butt included :-) . One could tell immediately that this older lady had been doing massages for decades - and at only $20 USD for 40 min - I was in heaven!
On Wed, we headed to Bratislava, Slovakia but not until paying a fine for being caught by the transportation cops for not having bought the right subway ticket. Apparently pleading 'being an ignorant American' didn't get us off, so 60 euros later we were headed off to Bts. It was a shocking arrival - loaded up with luggage, after dark, with furious cold and rains engulfing us - we broke with the trip rules and decided to pay extra to have a taxi take us to our apt. (traveling cheap but classy was the theme of this trip). We arrived to wait some more as unlike hotels, apt accommodations aren't staffed full time - so we need to call/sms the managers beforehand to meet us at the apt and pay upfront. This apt was the bomb - covered in all red Ikea furniture, huge TV, jacuzzi bathtub and with 3 big bedrooms! Bratislava is a very small city, usually a 1/2 day stopover for most on their way to Vienna or Budapest, so we spent only one day here before heading over to spend the rest of our trip in the Czech Republic....where a change of cast would take place and the real craziness would begin. Coming up...our adventures in the loveliest of all Central European countries - Czech Republic.

* The place to be in Poland

Another weekend excursion but instead of leaving me excited its left me a bit unsettled, questioning my decision to stay in Warsaw. My last visit to Krakow was 10 yrs ago - a stark 160-degree contrast from the Krakow I found. Although its always been an impressive city of recent historic proportion, its not until the last 5 yrs of so, that its come alive with cafes, shopping, restaurants, hotels and people…everything that makes a city vacation exciting, This seems to be where its at in Poland – and that alone makes it exciting for me – let me be a stranger among a crowd of people, sitting at a outdoor café, and I’m all smiles.
Krakow 's Old Town (every European city has one) is a well preserved, walled medieval area whose architecture is unique to cities found in Central Europe. Fortunately, this one wasn't obliterated, like Warsaw. Before the war, close by Kazimierz, was the site of a large orthodox Jewish community and has an impressive number of Synagogues. The poles were kind enough to leave one, 3 story building, that was bombed out. One could peer in and see that something came through the roof and did heaps of damage. The beloved Pope John had his parish here, the movie 'Shindler's list' was filmed here and it was the seat of power for many years, way, way back when. Unlike Warsaw there’s an energy here that only comes with having a big university and tourists.
Apprx 1.5 hrs away, you’ll find the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau – a very moving sight indeed. In Auschwitz, is a museum – and among its various artifacts is a bewildering collection– there, collected, separated by glass rooms, reaching to the top of the ceiling, you’ll find personal items of the prisoners..such like reading glasses, human hair, toothbrushes, suitcases and even prosthetics. It literally stuns everyone into silence, as you walk through this display as you can easily visulize their owners and the horrid end they endured.
Krakow is lovely not only in its architecture, but part of its charm is its size. Its walk able and tramsstops are ubiquitous. One bonus to the eye, is that there are no ugly 10+ story communist blocs (like mine) but all buildings are no more than 4 stories high.
As I was traveling alone here, I decided to stay at a hostel so I could have company plus, heck, who needs a good nights sleep – I an do that at home :-)- Plus its only $20 a nite! But whew, I’d forgotten how tiring traveling alone without a car could be. This was my schedule on Friday - on my way there: Walk/Tram/Walk/Train/Walk/Tram/Walk all with about a 20 lbs suitcase. I’m stunned at times that I actually have the energy to do all that – living in the States, seems to atrophy a lot of the muscles needed to do, the above said tasks.
The great thing about hostels is that pp staying there are all people traveling alone or with small group and everyone is a buzz with travel stories – can you see why I was in my happy place here. The crowd here was different though than ones I’d met up in Australia. Very reflective with quite a few deep exchanges between strangers..., it was like a pseudo-intellectural gathering for the travel thinkers. Perhaps it was the historic value of this city (and others they’d seen in Central Europe) but it was fascinating to see these young minds open up…see people - that’s what traveling does to folks! One Chilean traveler said he was ‘tired of all the churches though and wanted to see a city in Europe now overrun with them". Hmmm, a place w/o churches in Central Europe… I’ll have to work on that one.
I extended my trip by one night, as who knows the next time I’ll be there. I made plans to travel to Wroclaw this weekend (the "new" Krakow,) the hot weather, however, (most trains here don’t have A/C) coupled with my lazy attitude, had me decide to spend my last week, hanging here, in the Warsaw hood. Plus I have lots of traveling ahead of me. On the 3rd of Sept, I pack up; leave my little bachelor pad behind and travel further south to vistit: Budapest, Bratislava, Cesky Krumlov, Carlsbad and Prague. I’m still working on where to go for the last 10 days before I, sadly, (tear) head back to home base - any suggestions?
My Michigan peeps (Rami, Paul, Holly, Val, Rick & Camille) will be joining me for the first 2 weeks of the Central Europe jaunt. I’m real excited to see these familiar, much-missed faces, from home – should be fun traveling - with the gaggle of us. I can just hear our melodious exchanges… “ " hey, whose taking so long in the bathroom”,…”I’m hungry, w need to eat NOW”….”I thought I told you to turn right, not left”….”fine, forget you all, I’m going by myself then”…...."my feet hurt, can we take a cab"....”are we there yet”... oh yes, should be a scream!

* The sites of Warsaw

Looking at the calendar I realize that I only have 2 weeks left and I haven’t seen nearly as much as I planned to. But isn’t that always the case, you rarely see your own backyard. I had hoped to travel last weekend, but it rained and it takes a min. of traveling 3 countries over to escape bad weather..
So instead of discovering the streets of another charming polish city, I spent last weekend in front of two, lovely dinning room tables, exploring the vice of gluteny a little deeper. On Saturday, I was invited to an old friend’s home, Krzystof, for an home-cooked, 3-course Thai/Italian lunch. The following day I was invited over to the family I met at Krzystof’s place for another 3 course polish cuisine feast. I was quietly rolled back to the apartment by the kind couple…
I thought I would spend this blog providing you with some interesting observations/facts of my fellow country men/women. Warsaw has a very sad recent history. Poland was unlucky to have the first shots of WWII fired at it and Warsaw, was the sight of a horrendous albeit heroic battle in 1944, when the underground poles, calling themselves, the ‘Polish underground state & home army 'staged an uprising against the Nazi occupiers. There are ubiquitous plagues commemorating this day. A few weeks ago, I had ordered a drink at a local coffee shop and before the gal could make my drink, she was called to the doorway. The display was surreal and solemn. A street full of people stopped dead in their tracks for over a good minute, along with cars, busses etc, all stopped, all waiting for the low volume siren to stop its ringing. This was their way of commemorating the anniversary of the Uprising.
Unfortunately, the conclusion was many lost lives, along with the total destruction of what was once know as ‘the Paris of the East’. Uniquely enough, all of the Old Town and main streets were completely rebuilt – according to exact specs of the destroyed building. How fascinating eh. Right after the war,, everyone would come from all over poland and work in shifts to make this rebuilding happen - kids, adults, everyone. When walking through the Old Town, its near impossible to believe that its only really 60 yrs old. The Palace of Culture, as shown in the photo, is Warsaw’s main landmark and only a 5 min. walk from my bloc. A lovely gift by the Russians to the Poles.
Among their fallen heroes, the Poles esteem their writers, poets, artists by commemorating them with plagues as well. The Poles, as well as most central/eastern Europeans, are a very well read and cultured people. There is a high, college graduation rate .I was told it was the only luxury they had in the Communist times– to learn.
Along with being about to quote verses from all their famous poets, poles are very emotive - they talk in terms of feelings rather than of activities, (like we american's tend to). There’s a sense of depth to their conversations that I can’t fully explain, but I will say, its very refreshing and enligtening.
A few facts to know when visiting Poland.
No touching the money. Money doesn’t exchange hands – often here. There is a little dish where money is placed or given when at the supermarket, bank, exchange kiosk.
* Hello. Its common to acknowledge people when you enter a room, an elevator, a small store etc. Say hello when there are only a few of you.
* Politenesss is requested. One never address a stranger, wait staff, helper of any sorts, as just ‘you’ or starts off with a specific question (like I have done many times and have been chastised for) A ‘please sir/madam’ (literal translation) is always plced before any and all comments/questions.
* You are not always the right, as a customer. I’ve heard merchants at the market yelling politely (with the please sir/madam) at would-be customers not to touch their fruit so much. One guys got ticked at a lady who was coming around every two weeks and touching his handbags.
*Ladies have right of way. Its refreshing to have doors opened, be allowed first through to the bus or doorway. Perhaps chivalry is a compulsive class here at school.
I also was enlightened about the polish culture-dating scene. A few rules, ladies.
1. No matter how much a girl likes the guy, she refrains from contacting or making the first move. No matter how much. I’m hoping this strategy is still in the redevelopment phase.
2. I didn’t understand women don’t look at or smile at attractive men while walking past – and men likewise. I was informed, last week, that it’s a sign that you want to pick that person up which is just too forward for this day and age here. Ah, so much to learn and only two weeks left.

* All in the family

It seems to be part of the weekly scene for me now– filling up my suitcase w/ weekend essentials, then Friday am, either hauling it/me on a few tram/buses or if I’m lucky, chauffeured off to my weekend adventure. An escape from the big city.
This particular weekend, it was a road trip with the folks to northern Poland, Elblag – the beginnings of my parents life together. Its also where the majority of my father’s family relocated to after the war (after spending 6 yrs in Siberi. Brrr ) As you can imagine, there wwere numerous’ remembering when’ moments for them - and a huge inventory of interesting stories and recollects for me. Our hospitable hosts, my cousins - Rutkowsk family, lived on what was once a large sheep and cow farm, which original belonged to his mum (dad’s sis), who in turn raised 6 boys and 1 girl there. I have a fond memory of visiting them once, about 15 yrs back and one day the gals of the house decided to go to a nearby lake. So mum Gracie, sat her 2yr old daughter in front of her, holding onto the handle bars, the 4 yr sat in between me and Gracie, and off the 4 of us went on the dirt bike - all helmet less. What a site that would have been for a Michigan cop. …
Although the farm doesn’t have the large amount of animals anymore, I had heaps of fun with the cow, 2 calf’s, along with a bunny rabbit, turkeys, and my favorite, those darling goats. Just an FYI: when you go to milk a goat, make sure that you don’t stand behind him and that you milk. fast, because those guys don’t like to stand around for long.
As on any farm, comes a good share of mealtime provisions and some interesting farming facts. For example, I learnt that you can’t allow a cow to eat limitless grain. It forms gas in its stomach (and cows can’t burb). As a result of this response, years ago, there was always some ‘guy’ in the local community, who, when called upon, came to the farm, along with a long, makeshift, needle of sorts and to pierce the cow and allow the gas to escape - If they didn't do this, the cow (and horses) will literally explode from the internal gas and die! How crazy is this! Knowing where to pierce the cow required a special talent or the cow could die from the piercing just as well. I also learnt that goats, along with ducks most likely don’t have taste buds and therefore will eat just about anything..
On our return home, we visited my mum’s side of the family, the Glowack family and its newest, 7 mo. grandson. I always find it fascinating how when a baby is added to a group, all conversations stop, and all eyes turn to this, little miniature speechless person. From that moment on, he holds a captive audience with every groan, cry or smile. An interesting study in human nature (or perhaps just females). As could be expected, we were served more homemade polish food - and I had this terrible worry that I wouldn’t get to eat very well, living on my own. (really, folks, I got to stop eating so much or they are going to have to pierce me too!)
Oh, I forgot to mention a most memorable desert experience. On one of our evenings there, I watched as Gracie meticulously homemade polish poczki. Though I’m not a big fan, I ate one, not to be rude, but found the poczki to be absolute bliss. After that first, warm bite, I couldn’t control myself and had another,,,then another… until my mum, with that voice that holds both scold and , admonished me to stop eating them. She said, because the poczki were still fresh the yeast in them was still rising and it would continue to rise in my stomach, even after the last bite. Well, that brought on the image of the exploding cow and I must admit, I got a little concerned …The next morning, though I was still in one piece, albeit a little puffy in the middle, but ready for more..