Hungary for more!
We've been in Budapest for two days now and still have two to go. This city is totally different from Prague and Krakow. The other two were relatively small and easy to navigate on foot, but this city... it's a crazy jumbled network of trams, buses, bus-trolleys, metros, etc. Can't really walk everywhere, but this city definitely has some beautiful buildings. Yesterday, we decided to go spelunking in the caves under the city and while the brochure had looked at warned us that it would involve some crawling in tight spaces, it wasn't enough to prepare us for the actual cave tour.
For nearly 3 hours, I squeezed myself into the tight spaces under fallen boulders, slid between slabs of rock less than a foot apart, climbed head-first into narrow downhill passages, and managed to squeeze myself into tunnels so narrow that my head and helmet almost didn't fit and the only way to get through was to lie flat on the ground on my stomach head-first, and raise on arm over my head (because my shoulders were a little to wide to fit through) and wriggle through the mud like a worm. I had mud in my hair, clay under my nails, dirt on my face, and developed bruises all over my elbows and knees. And it was so totally exhilerating and fun! I don't think caving will ever become a hobby of mine, but it was one of the best experiences I've had. At one point during our climb, when I was wedged between two boulders so close together that I couldn't turn my head (I've always thought that my head was round, but apparently, it's a lot wider front-to-back than left-to-right), with my face in the dirt, I started laughing uncontrollably because it had finally clicked just how absurd this whole situation was. I had just paid some random Hungarian guy like 20 bucks to cause me intense physical discomfort. But in the end, I think it was a twenty well-spent.
The whole caving experience really lifted our spirits. The previous 24 hours or so (our "24 Hours of Hell"), the exact midpoint of our trip, Kim and I were kinda down in the dumps. It all started when we tried to leave Krakow. We had heard about the fact that on trams we had to buy two tickets, one for our person and one for our luggage, but we didn't think our backpacks really counted as luggage, since they weren't nearly as big as suitcases or anything. Boy we were wrong. We got caught by under-cover police and were fined 75 zloty. It actually turned out to only be like $25, but it was the principle of the thing. It was obviously targeted at tourists (who are already bringing money into the city and the country without having to try and scam/cheat us) and any information they had was unclearly labelled and visible signs were only posted inside the trams so that by the time you read them, it's too late because you're on the stinking tram already. When we got to Budapest (via our 11 hour overnight sleeper train), we were tired and cranky and couldn't figure out the public transportation system and ended up wandering aimlessly through Budapest, not really taking it in. We decided to splurge on a nice dinner to help perk us up, but the restaurant that we picked ended up having atrocious food and abysmal service. To top it off, we realized that we were going to end up way too far south (if we stuck to our plans to go to Croatia) to make it back up to Berlin by train in time and when we looked for flights from Dubrovnik, they were quoting prices upwards of $700 - $800 for an in-Europe one-way flight!
Long story short, swe went to bed, woke up the next day feeling much better, went caving, found cheap flights, ate a very yummy and very cheap lunch, and things are looking much better. I guess every trip needs a disaster story, and hopefully that's ours. I don't want any more set-backs. Next stop, Sarajevo.
Hive-Tastic in Krakow
Hello from Poland!
Kim and I have been in Krakow for about four days now and we've just been relaxing after the intense-ness of Prague. The city is really laid-back and low-key. The food here is really good. The Poles are big on meats and cheeses stuffed into dumplings or covered in gravy goodness. I do kinda miss kim chi, though!
There are about a million churches in this city, but I guess that's understandable considering that something like 97% of the population is a practicing Catholic! We went on a walking tour of the city and our very enthusiastic tour guide (who was from New York, but loved this city so much that he dropped everything back home just to come back here to live) told us lots of nifty stories about each one. However, after 6+ hours, they all seemed to blend together and now I can't really tell one saint from another. We also went to Auschwitz to see the concentration camps there and as you can imagine, it was all very interesting/informative, albeit with very depressing undertones. But it's something that needs to be done, I suppose, as it was such an important chapter in Polish and European history.
Everything was going peachy-keen until two nights ago. We were at an outdoor restaurant and I think I got bit by some mosquito-like bug. I got an itchy little bump, as was expected, but that wasn't the end of the story. I woke up the next morning COVERED in hives. Dozens and dozens of gross swollen itchy red bumps. It looks kinda of like I have plague or something! I thought of taking a picture, but I wouldn't be able to upload it until after my trip or something and by then, it wouldn't really be pertinent anymore. Maybe I'll still do it anyway; after all, gross things fascinate me. The hives are starting to dissipate a little now (thank GOD) and while I don't think I'll be itch-free for at least another few days, it's good that I'm not being driven to insanity by the the persistent burning.
Aside from that, we'll be heading to Budapest tomorrow. There is news of political demonstrations, but apparently they aren't too violent and they've mostly been limited to government buildings. We should probably be OK. I'll make sure to stick to brightly lit streets and to try not and get between the angry mob or the riot police!
Czech me out!!
No, I'm not that witty. I saw that clever little expression on a tshirt or souvenir mug or something in some cheesy Czech gift shop. Kim and I have spent the last two days in Prague and I must say, this city does live up to the hype. We were a little wary of coming here at first because of the fact that everything we've read said that tourists swarm to this city like ants at a picnic. They weren't kidding. It's hard to walk around without bumping into someone or getting jostled... and apparently, it's June, July, and August that are the "busy" seasons! It's hard to believe that it was still under Communist control until 1989. In any case, the city is beautiful and I have taken about a million photos (which will again have to wait until I find a better equipped internet cafe). Tomorrow, we are headed to a little out-of-the-way village called Kutna Hora where there is apparently an ossuary, or a shrine/church decorated with human bones. This one specifically is made with the bones of around 40,000 people. Should be crazy and cool. And also very creepy. But you guys know me. That's just the kind of morbid thing by which I'm fascinated.
The downside to travelling (and in my case, cheap travelling) is sleeping in hostel dormitories. Lots of people sleeping in the same room always results in noisiness throughout the night. All things considered, I have been sleeping decently well, but due to the fact that I remember lots of my dreams, I must be sleeping really lightly. A couple of nights ago, I had a dream about missing all of my final exams at Berkeley. It's been THREE YEARS since I've had to take a final exam... why on EARTH am I still having school-dreams? And I had another dream that same night that I had enrolled myself in a bunch of classes for which I had done no reading, so I was totally unprepared for writing my final paper and taking any tests. Most recently, I had a dream where I thought that it was Friday (the due date of my masters dissertation) when in fact it was Saturday and I hadn't turned in my dissertation yet. School must have seriously stressed me out and scarred me deep in my subconscience or something.
Anyway, I digress. Internet time is running out so that's it for now. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pics for your viewing pleasure. Fingers crossed.
Berlin
Greetings from Berlin!
I just wanted to make a post letting you all know that I have reached Germany safe and sound. It took about a million years to get here, but long story short, I finally met up with Kim at our Hostel (which has a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy theme) and we've spent the last two days wandering around being touristy. I wish I could post pictures, but they will have to come at a later date when I can find an internet cafe which will let me download the photos off of my camera. Tomorrow, we plan on starting the "eastern" europe part of our mostly nonexistent itinerary by heading to Prague. We haven't decided on an exact location nor have we booked a hostel or anthing, but that's the fun of backpacking, right? Or so they say...
I'm having serious issues with this German keyboard. The Y and the Z are switched, and the at sign, the apostrophe, the question mark... lots and lots of keys are switched around, so pardon me if there are any typos, it's probably because my fingers are confused.
In any case, the first thing that struck me about Berlin was that it is super duper clean. Not unlike the city streets of Japan. There are about a million sushi places here, too. I cannot speak a word of German, so I've been leaning heavily on Kim to do things like order food for me. It's so weird to be in a place where I am utterly illiterate, because at least in Japan, I could make out at least some of written language (damn that evil kanji!!). Unfortunately, it's not going to get any easier. I guess we will just have to depend on the wide-spread use of English and the universal language of smiling, apologizing, and using lots of hand gestures. I should be good at this; it got me through two years of living in Japan.
Yesterday, in a fit of touristy zeal, I bought an old East German military style communist hat. I realized after buying the hat that since I will be travelling to many formerly communist nations or nations which may have been occupied by Germany during WWII, maybe I should keep the hat under wraps until I am safely back in the western world. Gee, good thing I purchased this while I still have like a month left to go. Oh well. I like my communist hat. It'll go well with my
communist shirt.
Well, that is all I can think of at the moment. I had a bunch of stories that I wanted to tell you but my brain is working on autopilot and I can't remember them anymore. If they come to mind, I'll post them. Until next time.
Trippin'
I'm sorry that I haven't been able to make a decent post. It's been a whirlwind of dissertation-writing, cleaning, packing, cleaning, packing packing PACKING! I'm off now on my trip around Eastern Europe. I'll try to keep you all posted as much as I can!
Precious sleep...
What is:
162 pages
21,179 words
190,388 characters
...and has now officially been turned in to the Graduate Office?
The shackles of my academic career, that's what.
Sweet freedom. Now it's time for sleeeeep.
Crikey...
I'd always joked about how dangerous his job was, but I never actually did think that
this would happen. Rest in peace, Crococile Hunter.
