Last stop, Budapest

Budapest has blown me away.  I essentially decided to come here as an afterthought once I knew I was meeting friends in Prague, and I clearly underestimated it.  Budapest is beautiful.  Budapest is interesting.  Budapest in incredibly romantic.  Definitely worthy of more than just an afterthought.

This city follows the basic European model of "castle on a hill by a river," but somehow it seems more special than others.  Here the Danube plays a major role and adds to the beauty of the city - what I had expected of Vienna, only to discover that the Danube is merely tangential to Vienna.

The views at night are stunning.

Buda, on the west bank of the Danube, is the historical part of the city, with a large palace and cathedral, and is the classic view of the city.  Pest, on the east bank, is the more modern, commercial part of the city, with some historical sights, as well as loads of shops and restaurants.  And at some places the portions are absolutely enormous.  The most picturesque sight on the Pest bank is the ornate Parliament building.

Today I ventured further afield to a place called Mementopark (Szoborpark).  Like most Eastern European countries, Hungary was once under Communist rule.  Unlike most Eastern European countries, rather than destroying the endless statues celebrating Communism after the regime change, Budapest has chosen to collect them and display them in a park on the outskirts of town.  It was truly fascinating.

And now comes my least favorite part of every trip, when I have to pack everything back up into an easily-checkable bag.  I have covered a lot of ground in the last three weeks, and I have to admit that I'm tired.  After battling language barriers, absurd exchange rates, and a brief but brutal bout of illness in Prague, I am ready for a few nights in my own bed and some clean clothes.

But all in all I am very happy I came on this trip.  Mostly I am happy that I got to see the homeland of my ancestors.  Although it was certainly difficult at some points and more work than my typical trips, I definitely would not have rather stayed home.

And now off to packing and what is hopefully a smooth flight home, just in time for a good old fashioned American long holiday weekend.

Krakow and Prague

I adore Krakow.  Had I known I was going to like it so much, I would have planned to spend at least one more day there, if not two.  The large town square is beautiful and there was an endless variety of things to do, from shops to castles.

I also got to take a day trip, starting with a tour of Auschwitz.  Visiting the camps is heartbreaking, but they have really done a fantastic job of treating a horrific subject with the utmost respect.  The second stop was a a huge salt mine, the most interesting feature of which was a cathedral deep underground made entirely of salt.

Also, unlike the rest of Poland, Krakow was prepared for international tourism.  By that I mean that things are clearly signposted, ocassionally even in languages other than Polish.  As a result, there was a pleasant mix of tourists and locals, but nothing too touristy or overrun.  All in all, Krakow is one of the most pleasant places I've ever been.  I would definitely go back again.

Prague, on the other hand, while also beautiful, had more tourists than I think I have ever seen anywhere.  It was kind of a shock after Poland.  Still, it is a beautiful city.

Even more exciting was the fact that my friends Liz and Colby drove over from Germany for the weekend.  After two weeks of not being able to make conversation, it was a very welcome relief to have friends to talk to and joke around with.

And now I have arrived in Budapest, my final stop on this trip.  One of the most confusing things has been going back and forth between multiple currencies.  Naturally, I chose to visit three countries that are not on the Euro, so keeping exchange rates straight has been an interesting adventure.

The Hungarian currency poses the oddest exchange rate to get used to yet.  At 193 Hungarian Forint to the dollar, prices of things are in the thousands and tens of thousands.  It really feels like playing with Monopoly money.

And now I must rest up to begin exploring anew tomorrow...

Poznan

After Gdansk, I headed south to Poznan, the town of my ancestors.  The train ride passed through beautiful Polish countryside, with field afer field of yellow flowers.

I've spent the last four days in Poznan.  It is beautiful here.  The old town square is the prettiest I've seen yet, with colorful row houses and a gorgeous town hall.

Also, like everywhere else in Poland, there are beautiful churches.  I trekked out to the cathedral on an island just oustide of the old town, supposedly the most impressive church around.

While the cathedral was beautiful, my favorite church was a less assuming place just off the old town square.  The interior was just stunning.  I could have sat and stared at it for hours.

Last night there was an almost festival-like atmosphere in the old town square.  I don't know if it was actually some event that I didn't know about, but there were people everywhere, some in costumes.  There was cotton candy and free museum admission.  It was a fitting last night for my visit here.

And now my time in Poznan  has come to an end.  I'm very excited to get to Krakow, after a one-night stop over in Czestochowa.

I do have to say that this trip would be easier if I spoke the language.  While most of the people here can speak English, they don't do it unless they have to.  And there are far, far fewer tourists here than most places I've visited, so I feel a bit starved for real conversation.  Still, it's all very beautiful and worth the trip.

It also doesn't help that I have what appears to be the worst guidebook to Poland ever written.  Thankfully, I have a separate book about Krakow, so hopefully there will be less trial and error involved...

Warsaw-->Bialystok-->Gdansk

Thus far, Poland has been an adventure.  Above all else, this country is a testament to reconstruction.   As a rule, Poland was mostly leveled in WWII.  Since then they have rebuilt everything.  With astonishing care and accuracy, I must say.  The towns I have seen are beautiful, but somewhere lurking in the back of everyone's minds is the sad fact that everything you are looking at was tragically left in smoldering ruins some time in the early 1940s.

Yet the results of rebuilding are phenomenal.  Things look like they should have.  Much like the Polish people, the cities give a sense that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  I've always been told that the Polish are a hearty people, but having experienced this for even a few days I am now very proud to come from such stock.

Warsaw turned out to be a lot of fun.  I was thankfully connected with a friend of a friend (thank you Kelly!) who lives in Warsaw, and as a result I was treated to a true Polish night out, culminating in vodka and herring in the wee hours of the morning.  The next day, my new friends helped me find my way to the train to visit Bialystok and the Polish primeval forest (Bialowieza).

Except Bialystok was a bust.  In fact, it will probably go down as one of the bigger failures in my solo traveling career.  My guidebook says, and I quote, "gettting to Bialowieza is straightforward."  Well, screw you Rough Guide to Poland.  My hotel attendant informed me that it was impossible to get there without a car.  I trekked to the desolate bus station (described by the Rough Guide as "large" and "modern" - again, lies) and then the train station, but still no luck.  I'm not one to give up easily, but after 2 hours of trying, it was clear that this was not happening.  And so I killed 7 more hours in Bialystok.  It appears that the two activities in town on Sunday were going to church and eating ice cream (seriously, every ice cream place had a 25+ people long line all day).  But at least there was a bizarre festival celebrating police/military to enjoy...

Happy to be done with my day of not seeing the primeval forest and bison (zubra), I headed back to Warsaw to catch the overnight train to Gdansk.  The overnight Polish train was, of course, a whole new experience.  I was smart enough to reserve a spot in a sleeeping car, but was rewarded with the top berth of a triple bunk, a good 6+ feet off the ground.

But I slept surprisingly well.  And after my eventful journey to get here, Gdansk is beautiful.

Better yet, the apartment I reserved for my stay is nicer than my own apartment.

After seeing the town and learning all about its long history with amber (I resisted the urge to create my own Jurassic Park from the samples), I took a short ferry cruise to the Baltic Sea, enjoying fantastic views of the Gdansk shipyards and fantastic weather.

Tomorrow morning I head to Poznan, the town of my ancestors.  Having 2 great days in Gdansk has only made me more excited for it.

But for now, dobranoc.

First Impressions of Poland

To steal a line from Annie, I think I'm gonna like it here.

The overnight flight was exhausting, the transfer in Paris was super-confusing, and I haven't had much chance to explore Warsaw yet, but so far I like what I see.  I think the next two weeks will be exciting.

Right off the bat I had to barter with a taxi driver.  Thankfully I had read up on the situation before hand, so I knew that a ride to the city center from the airport should cost around 40 zl (approx. $13).  I also knew that some shady cab drivers grossly overcharge tourists.  So, when the first guy who approached me quoted 95 zl, I laughed.  He asked how much I wanted to pay, I said 40, and he told me to take the bus.  Oddly enough, when a legitimate driver approached not 30 seconds later, he quoted me 40-45 zl and I got in the car, while the first guy was already escorting some other unsuspecting tourists away.  I was excited when the first song on the radio was some delightfully incomprehensible Polish rock song.  And then the second song was....Born in the USA.  You really can't ever leave America behind.

The area of Warsaw where I'm staying is busy and commercial and has a definite post-Communism feel to it.  In ways it definitely reminds me of parts of Moscow, which is oddly comforting.  The Palace of Culture and Sciences near my hotel even looks nearly identical to the huge, crazy building I lived in in Moscow.  Apparently Stalin built these things everywhere - 7 of them in Moscow just wasn't enough.

I'm also loving the giant square bed pillows that Eastern Europe is so fond of.  I haven't seen these in almost 13 years and they make me happy.

My first day here has also already confirmed something else for me: Poland is really cheap.  Take, for example, my dinner.  Mind you, Warsaw is the most expensive town in Poland and the restaurant I went to was moderately touristy and overpriced (but really close to the hotel).  Still, I had a full plate of pierogis, an unlimited salad bar and a large beer and I left full, all for the equivalent of $11.  After trips to Switzerland and Australia, this is quite a welcome relief.  I can't wait to see what things cost in the smaller towns.

Anyway, today I'm really hitting the streets.  I'm excited to explore the Old Town portion of Warsaw.  The language isn't as mystifying as I expected, but I think that's at least party because my Russian really helps me to understand a lot of the words.  However, I really need to break myself of my strong inclination to speak to people in Russian, because that's not really going to get me anywhere.  So far, people seem to want to speak to me in Polish thinking that I'll understand, which makes things fun.  I'm interested to see if this will continue.

Now, off to explore.

Off to the Motherland

Well, this trip has really crept up on me quickly.  But my bags are packed and I'm off to explore Poland.  I have less of a set plan for this trip than I usually do, and I'm kind of excited about that.  I'm in the mood to wander and explore.  I'm a little bit daunted by the language, but I'm sure it will make for an interesting trip, if nothing else.  And the long flight should give me ample time to peruse my guide book.

Now I'm off to the airport for what is hopefully a smoother trip than my last one was.  Fingers crossed...