Day 1 & 2: And I'm Off (12/5-12/6)
My departure felt both very momentous and very mundane. It felt momentous because this trip, though the details have just come (and are still coming) together, has been something I've been looking forward to and putting a lot of stock in. Last year's trip was specifically about healing (though the amount of healing it accomplished is questionable.) This year's trip is more about existing in the new normal. Yeah, there's a lot of distraction behind the trip, but also about being proactive, creating opportunity, and trying to restart living my life. So to take that first step/bus ride/flight felt very momentous.
Behind the grandeur of the momentousness there was the very mundaneness of the details. Saxtor dropped me at Skagit station after we had our traditional [now almost-]free lunch at the casino. Then it was 80X->512->light rail to the airport, with public transport almost being the definition of mundane (but not in a bad way.) The 10-hour flight to Frankfurt was uneventful, though it is worth mentioning that I got a window seat. I watched the very strange "Everything Everywhere All At Once", a bunch of TV shows and maybe got 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Even European Union customs was mundane in its efficicenices.
Once I hit Krakow, it felt like the mundanity ended and it really felt like I was on an adventure. I did public transit (6z) to the hostel (Dizzy Daisy, $9.50/night), then I rallied to explore the city a bit, since tonight was the only time I would have. I found my way to the main square where there was a nice christmas market set up with food and crafts booths. I got some pierogi (39z) that were severely underwelming, but I'm not worried as there will be plenty more opportunities. Roaming around the old town with the Christmas lights, the gorgeous cathedrals and buildings, the pedistrian only streets, and the well dressed people enjoying the brisk night felt exactly as I hoped it would, a big part of why Europe was on my mind for this year's trip. I roamed for about 90 minutes (3-ish miles according to Google Fit), taking it all in and plotting my way to the train station in preparation for tomorrow. I also treated myself to a gas station hot chocolate (6z) since who knows what kind of sugar fix I'll have on site.
Some noteworthy mentions on the day:
* As part of my 100 hot dogs project, I got a frankfurter in Frankfurt ($6.50)
* I think I took a bath on the conversion rate at the ATM in the Krakow airport (3.8z to 1 USD, though the internet says it should be more like 4.5z)
* It's my hope that the bad sleep on the plane will work to my advantage in overcoming the 9-hour time difference. We'll see tomorrow.
* I'm setting as a goal to push myself to be proactive about finding joy, however small, in an effort to feel that the trip is doing its job.
* Pre-trip weigh in was 194. We'll see if I lose another 20 pounds like last year. The pastries for breakfast say no.
Tomorrow will be a dramatic gear shift, with getting trained at the job site. I'm both excited and anxious to see how my next 2 weeks will feel. As with so many things, little details can change my impression so much of it. Here's hoping they all fall my way. I guess we'll see.
Day 3: Travel, continued and AHAH Arrival (12/7)
Before I get into the whirlwind that is AHAH entry, I wanted to capture the rest of what I'm imagining I will come to think of as "alone" time. It starts, ironically, with a painful night at the hostel with a snorer that must have set decibel records. I was probably the snorer from 10pm until 1:30, being totally zonked from a poor night sleep on the plane. But from 1:30am on, not a wink. I watched disc golf tournaments on youTube, instagram reels, and a little light research on travel details. But mostly, I just lied there frustrated, though less frustrated than I might have otherwise been since I wasn't really that tired (my body still thinking it was 5pm). At 6, I gave up and went out to find some breakfast (pastries, an orange, and lunch meat, 15z) and brought it back to have with free tea in the hostel. After breakfast, I set back out and looked for a geocache, an interesting one identifying WWII shrapnel scars on a building (very remeniscent of Sarajevo). I didn't find the cache, but enjoyed the sight. Since it was still only 8, I went back to try and grab a quick nap before check-out, which was semi-successful (maybe 30 minutes).
Besides the European asthetic of old architecture, trains were another big draw to Europe for me this trip. The 3 hour trip to Jaroslaw from Krakow (40z + 2.5z for a pretzel!) was unremarkable but also thoroughly enjoyable. Trains are just great and I look forward to many more rides this trip! Arrival was perhaps an omen of things to come, with hectic communications on getting picked up, lots of inefficient walking and hauling of stuff, and some low burn confusion/frustration. Or maybe not an omen of things to come. Maybe my lens is skewed from lack of sleep and the high hopes associated with the start of an adventure.
Arrival at "base" was my first glimpse into what my next 2 weeks will look like. The ~35 people (staff and volunteers) are housed in a gorgeous (though small) kit loghome set in a muddy sheep/deer/goat pasture (Della would have been totally smitten with the tiny quadrapeds around). Most of the initiation dealt with logistics of group living (food storage, where the bathrooms are, laundry, curfew, etc. etc.) We sleep 8 to a room, and I've ended up with a top bunk. I'm meeting people here and there, but the group meeting usually scheduled for evenings doesn't happen on Wednesdays, so people are going into town and otherwise dispersed. I'm glad for the slower introduction as it is overwhelming as it is. I'll report back more on the demographics of the group when I have a better idea. For now, I'm glad to be settling in, working out logisitics (where does one put their book, phone, and glasses when one sleeps on a top bunk), and looking forward to dinner.
Day 4: First Day of Work (12/8)
I awoke again at 1am this morning with my body not at all interested in sleeping (though this time not due to an epic snorer). I quietly read and played on my phone for 2 hours before determining that I should be proactive on the sleeping front. It worked! And despite the now 3 nights of poor sleep, I don't feel fazed by it.
The house awakens at around 6 to get ready for a 7am depature to the job site. What I thought might be a hectic rush to make breakfast, pack a lunch, go to the bathroom, etc. wasn't hectic at all. It was now just another in a growing list of having fears or negative expectactions not realized. Put that in the "things to learn from" category.
The job site I was assigned to was an out of use middle school. AHAH has spent the last 2 months coverting storage/attic space into an adequately habitable living area to expand the capacity of the soon-to-be shelter which included weather-proofing, dry walling, partitioning, and now, painting. When I found out that was my lot for the day, I was disappointed. For one, I'm not good at painting nor do I enjoy it (partially because I'm not good at it.) But more so, I was disappointed because painting was the thing I cited that I did not want to do because it feels like the least impactful thing (vs. putting roofs over people's heads, etc.). But after about 3 hours of painting, I found my groove, both with logisitics of the task and with the fact it was my lot. Painting is part of the construction process and the goal is to produce a comfortable, usable, non-janky space so of course it needs to be painted. Finding my peace with this allowed the rest of the day to pass if not exactly enjoyably, at least bearably. Working side by side and getting to know some folks allowed me to feel less of an outsider which helped alleviate so of the trepidation I was feeling yetstetday on arrival.
The learning curve on anything new is something and today was no different. I didn't pack enough food in the morning nor bring enough to the job site to stay comfortable (a full hour long lunch is a long time to pass when all you have is a meager sandwich and no crossword.) But I learned my lesson and tomorrow, I'm sure, will be smoother. And while breakfast and lunch seem to be meager, disarrayed affairs, dinner is "catered" (i.e. delivered in big insulated tubs). Last night was rice with meatballs in a white gravy and a beet/cabbage slaw. The gravy alone made the meal top notch and has gotten me excited about dinners to come. Tonight was breaded pork cutlet, mashed potatoes, and green salad.
Almost every evening, there is a meeting. The agenda includes logisitics (who is on clean up duty, what the work plan is for the following day, etc.), introductions of new arrivals, impromptu speeches from departing volunteers, and a few more summer campy(?) items (shout outs, prize give aways, inside jokes that only people who have been here long enough understand). I'm challenging myself to remember that this whole wonderful program works because it is what it is and even if some of the stuff isn't my style, I should appreciate it because it makes me being here possible. And being here, being able to help in the tiniest way in the face of this horrible attrocity going on a mere 30 minutes from here, is something worth being grateful for.
Day 5: In Which I Juggle for Ukranian Refugees (12/9)
Work today was more painting along with some sanding. I had my system, got to work with the same people, and was invested in finishing the project, so it was nice enough. I was only on site until lunch, though, because for the afternoon, I got selected to part of the English Language Class though in a more "distract the high energy children so their parents can learn" capacity. There were 10 or so Ukranian kids ranging from 5-11 with English skills ranging from nothing to very basic. The 4 of us that were to be the facilitators chatted over lunch for a plan that all seemed very ambitious ("we'll play these 3 games and have a translator explain the rules..."). I was of a more "let's just play and get them interested enough to be able to throw in some teaching without them noticing it." When they arrived, the structured plans fell through quickly and it quickly became a free-for-all, but not in a bad way. Then, enter the juggling.
In pre-trip communications, I asked about bringing my juggling stuff in case there would be opportunities very similar to this. I was encouraged, so I brought clubs, balls, and, of course, my "magic" rope. While I didn't have all the stuff necessary to do a show, per se, the kids were pretty interested in my tricks and keen on learning some themselves. It was a really great interaction, with me dropping words like "higher", "great!", "right/left", "nose/chin/forehead", "penguin/monkey/cat/elephant" and more. Did they learn any english? Who knows? Did they have fun, yes! Did I feel like I helped maybe even more than an afternoon of painting? Definitely.
Many folks left after work for the weekend leaving base relatively quiet which allowed for some great conversations. As you can imagine, the people here are super interesting. I had a wonderful conversation with a Singaporian government planner and an American profesional volunteer who had just spent a lot of time in Ukraine about the finer points of types of volunteer work. Then later swapped travels stories with an English gal and American flight attendant with whom I have a friend in common. Then a guy found out I had crosswords published in the New York Times so immediately downloaded it and there was a group solving circle.
* I had a nice good sleep last night. Nice to be done with the long nights from jetlag and excitement jitters.
* Dinner was a gnocci type dumpling(?) served with beef stew on top. We're shooting 3/3 on awesome dinners!
* With two full days off, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. I'm hoping to find a geocaching, go the cinema, and have a second attempt at finding decent pierogis.
* Two days now in my work boots without having acute achilles pain. I'm not going to jinx it (and I'm going to continue to not try to walk to the store to tempt fate), but I'm feeling optomstic not that I'm healed, but that this shoe arrangement isn't doomed.
Day 6: Exploration of Jaroslaw (12/10)
Nice slow quiet morning with half the crew off on adventures. I finally got breakfasted and ready by 10, in time to catch a ride into Jaroslaw with Iona, Brittney, Steph, and Sam. Sam and I got out at the train station while the ladies adventured on. Sam caught his train and I started to explore Jaroslaw.
Jaroslaw is a town that would never be on a tourist's radar, probably for good reason. But that's exactly what I was excited to check it out. I feel like it would give me a real impression of Poland. My meanderings delivered! Guided by geocaches, I had a nice 1.5 hour walk around finding parks, ancient city walls, town squares, statues, and more. The first geocache I found was at a marker for the Camino de Santiago!?! It ready 3991km, quite a different number than I was used to seeing last year. I haven't yet gotten the full story of how a no-name town in southeastern Poland has Camino markers (as well as a pilgrams center!), but I hope to look it up once I'm back on wifi (or if I get super bored with my second day off tomorrow).
With the first of my 2 missions completed and it wasn't even noon, I stopped for some hot chocolate (18z) at the mall (the cultural hub of the town). I always forget European hot chocolate is basically a melted Hershey's bar. I diluted mine with water and was able to get it down, but I might be sticking with tea from here on out. It did, however, supply me with a warm place to read for a bit and charge my phone. Fun note: when I asked the cashier if they had hot cholcate, she giggled and ran and got the other employee who was the designed English speaker. It was a good reminder that this isn't much of a tourist town and I should always be grateful when someone knows my language!
Mission #2 for the day was to check out the cinema (also in the mall). After a lunch of kebab (16.5z) in a steamy warm hole in the wall, I bought my ticket (27z) (through pointing and gesturing, as there was no desigated English speaker at the cinema) for Violent Night, the only movie being show in English. One of the reason I try to go to cinemas abroad is that it forces me to watch movies I might not otherwise watch, this being a perfect example. And much to my surprise, I super enjoyed the movie (and not only because I practically had the theater to myself.) After the movie, I picked up a few snacks and food items (15z) from the grocery store (also in the mall) and then headed home. It was a 1.5 hour walk back to base and it was quite pleasant, very reminescent of the walking I did last year on the Camino. Near the end, it started snowing which added to the peaceful feeling.
* Dinner was a piece of pizza hut pizza shared by Richard. Toppings included polish sausage and corn!
* The second geocache I got was in and epicly large brick wall (/city wall). It was a super easy find and the perfect incentive for exploration. Geocahces FTW today!
* The third geocahe I didn't find, but it led me to the second Camino marker. The fact there are two just fuels my curiosity more!
* I'm looking forward to going to bed early tonight and sleeping in tomorrow. I think all my lack of sleep from this week has caught up with me!
* 10.75 miles walked today! We'll see how my body (esp. my achilles) is feeling tomorrow.
Day 7: Slowest Day Ever (but not in a bad way) (12/11)
Sunday was another day off. Again, most of the crew was still gone, so the house was super chill. It snowed a foot overnight (the first snow since I've been here) so there was plenty of beautiful scenery to be had. The snow continued throughout the day and we ended with 18 inches or more! Seeing the tiny reindeer and sheep plow through it constituted the entertainment for the day.
My accomplishments for the day seemed quite meager: I finished my book, took a shower, and that's about it. I also took a long nap, more out of boredeom than necessity. It's not a great feeling to come all this way and have all this energy to give to a cause only to have to sit on my hands. But I understand not everyone had a short week and the rest was much needed for most. Next time I do this (and I assume there will be a next time), I will try to arrive on a Monday so the weekend feels less time-wastey-
When I woke up from my nap, the house was completely changed. Most people had returned from their weekend and were telling harrowing stories of the roads and their adventures. There were some new people, though it was such a jumble that I figured I'd meet them later. There was also talk of delaying the morning departure due to weather. I'm on shoveling duty and I'm very excited! Also, I will be heading to a new project tomorrow. I slept through the meeting explaining it, but I got the impression that maybe I'd be assembling bunk beds, dressers, shelves, etc. I like that!
I know the morning will come early and the week will be a wild one for which I'm excited. Bring on the work!
Day 8: Highs and Lows of Work (12/12)
Another rough night of sleep (probably because of my epic 4 hour semi-nap yesterday), but again not affecting me too badly. But I'm stoked to sleep tonight. I was up plenty early to get lunch and tea made and breakfast eaten before setting out on snow shovel duty. Not too much additional snow fell, but there were still some cars socked in and paths to widen, etc. The "All Hands" part of the name of the organization, All Hands and Hearts, really resonates with me. When a large task needs to get done, many hands make light work.
That "many hands" concept followed us to Baratyn, the middle school job site. The contractors who are there to do the work too complicated for us, had a bunch of heavy sacks of stuff to unload and haul up the stairs. We made quick work of it. Also unloading drywall! But work on that site is on hold for a bit while the ccontractors do their thing, so 5 of us headed off to a new site.
Both jobs in the morning, shoveling snow and hauling heavy things, felt good, like I was helping, contributing, and doing what needed to be done. I was jazzed. That jazz somewhat fell away upon arrival of the new site. It was an abandoned office building that a different organization was converting to a shelter. Canned food was stacked in the hallways ready for refugees. Then it was explained what we were to be doing: fixing visual cracks in the ceiling plaster and then repainting it. I took that hard, as the cracks didn't even seem that noticable to me. Sure it wasn't the Ritz, but it was 100% functional and not even that dumpy looking. (Plus, I contend that we'll probably make it almost worse by whatever paint drips or dings we accidently put in the walls carrying tools, etc.
The saving grace of the job (hopefully) is fixing some bunkbeds that were incorrectly assembled. The ladders got installed upside down and represent a safety hazard. We didn't have the right tools today so I reluctantly passed the short day (after all the driving and hauling and shoveling) mixing spackle, moving scaffolding, taping off tile to be ready for paint, etc. But tomorrow, I've got my mission and I'm excited about it. Something tells me, however, that I shouldn't get too excited, as somehow I will end up having to paint again. But a boy can dream.
Speaking of dreaming, I'll leave it at that.
* Positive Covid Test for someone at base (freshly back from a break), so we all tested. We'll all test again tomorrow.
* I moved rooms, having found a bottom bonk available in the basement. The downside is no cell service (which is a bit ofg an upside, I suppose, too!). The upside: only 1 other dude (rather than the 8-person snorefest from my previous room.)
* Dinner tonight: jojo potatoes and baked chicken, perhaps the least exciting so far, yet totally fine. Not a hint of kale to be seen!
Day 9: In Which Routine Settles In (12/13)
Though this probably is starting to feel like a broken record, I had another terrible night of sleep. To be more specific, I went to bed (in my new basement bottom bunk that I LOVE) at 8:30 or so and slept like a rock until 1:00am. Then I never was able to go back to sleep, which was pretty frustrating. But I read my new book (#2 of the trip) and finally got up at 5:30 to have tea, only to find many people get up early. But enough about sleep.
I jumped on snow shoveling duty again, feeling like it is one of the few concrete ways I am able to contribue. There were maybe 3 inches of new snow overnight. But even with much shoveling, we had to push our vehicle up the driveway onto the plowed road. The driver of the vehicle obviously has very little experience driving in the snow which leaves me with constant stress on our drive to the site, 40 minutes away. I've taken to getting a far back seat and trying to avoid noticing what's going on. But I think maybe I will choose a different site tomorrow with a shorter drive and a more confidence inspiring driver.
The first half of the day was good. I worked on the bunk bed project (reassembling pre-fab metal bunk beds) which had a little bit of brain-engaging problem solving and a lot more impact than some of the other stuff I've been doing. The lack of impact has been really really hard for me, with inefficiency/disorganization close behind. That saiid, I recognize the flip side as well, but I'll go more into that in my wrap-up blog post at the end of the project. The afternoon was painting related (priming, taping, laying plastic on floors, etc.). Luckily, the afternoon is short so I was able to maintain my sanity through it.
At the previous site, I started out feeling that painting was totally devoid of impact but came around in the end; new construction needs paint. And while I'm open to a similar revelation on this site, the painting we're doing is of already painted walls that looked fine to me. And since we, as totally unprofessional painters in less than ideal conditions (very cold temperatures in the building making the paint less than ideal), don't produce the best results on the planet, I'm not convinced the result will be any better than what was there to start. And we will have spent 200+ person-hours and a non-zero amount of materials. This is what I mean by impact.
On a happier note, at this site we drive to a mini-mall for lunch so can grab something more than a meager sandwich (meager because I'm lazy in making it, not because adequate provisions are not supplied to us.) Today, Sam and I found a place that does hot soup, much appricated after a morning on the cold job site. I had two bowls, goulash and mushroom (20z). Yummo!
Tonight's social activity (the first during my stay) was pub trivia. I expected to be underwhelmed, as we all know I'm a snob about trivia, but I was pleasantly surprised. For the most part, it was you-know-it-or-you-don't style, which is less interesting to me, but I knew most of them so that helped. My team took the prize (chocolate and booze) and I felt I represented well.
* Dinner tonight was large pork meatballs flattened, breaded, and fried. And potatoes and cole slaw.
* I was alerted that I am on "base duty" for tomorrow, which means laundry, cleaning, etc. Will that be better than unneeded painting? We shall see.
Day 9: Base Duty Sucks (12/14)
TLDR; Combine ill-defined tasks with lack of overseeing followed by getting reamed out for trying my best to figure it out makes for a bad day.
To answer the cliff hanger from yesterday, base duty is not better than pointless painting. Or, I should say, the experience of base duty was not better than pointless painting for me. Some people love it. But then again, some people love olives, so there's no logic in the world.
To start off, it was actually fine. I'm not big on cleaning, but I feel like I held my own: washing up the breakfast dishes that got abondoned, putting away the breakfast and lunch stuff, taking out the trash, sweeping, and a bunch of other stuff on the list. I had asked a previous base duty person what to expect and they said they hustled through the chores and then had the afternoon off. I didn't care about having the afternoon off (afterall, one of the main reasons I am here it to fill my time, not create more free time), but I took it to me that if you got the work done, you were good. So after I finished the list, I read for a while.
The volunteer coordinator, who I guess was my overseer in this duty, was rather busy and closed herself inside the office. I figured whatever she was doing was more important than what I was doing or could be doing, so I stationed myself on the couch outside her office and read, thinking that if she came out for something, I could get my next task.
My next tasks were doing a bedding inventory and looking into an electrical problem, both of which I was stoked for. I completed both (the electrical thing beyond my skill set, the inventory very organized). By this point, it is still only 10:30. Again, I don't want to annoy my overseer with questions, so I hang back. Plus, since the two previous tasks felt more like "hey, let's give this guy something to do" rather than "here's something that needs to be done", I felt like maybe I'd hit the threshold for base duty complete. Nope, but I won't go into details of the other tasks because I find myself getting fired up again (while I intentionally waited on writing this entry until I calmed down.)
By about 2, I figured I was in the clear since Wednesdays are shorter days. But a different staff person came out and really got on my case for doing a bad job all day, implying that I was trying to shirk work. I didn't like that. I didn't mind the pointers on what was expected of the role (that were never given to me in the first place), but they weren't offered as direction or help but as harsh, public criticism. I think I did an okay job taking it without showing too much emotion and put my head down to do what she asked. But after an hour of seething, I found myself outside in the breath-freezing-on-my-mustache cold using a blunt heavy tool breaking ice more aggresively than was necessary and screaming swear words that even the non-English-speaking Polish neighbors would understand. Fuck that.
So now I'm hunkered in my room, avoiding everyone. I know my few friends will ask how my day went and I don't want to be overheard being negative. But since I'm more or less incapable of lying (even in the socailly requisite "I'm doing great. How are you?" way), I thought it best just to avoid the scene. So I'm eating a protein bar for dinner (thanks mom!), watching TV shows I brought with, and will probably go sleep disturingly early, because tomorrow will have to better, right?
Perhaps chalk it up to my pessimism, but I actually doubt it will. Something inside me snapped today and I don't foresee it unsnapping. I came halfway around the world (on my own dime) to give my time in hopes of helping a cause much deserving of help. As you've read in the previous entries, the activities I'm doing don't feel like I'm helping. Hey, that's fine. That's not the fault of the organization. I came at a time in the project where it wasn't the glamorous stuff. And I know organizing projects like this can be hard, so having too many volunteers for the little work there is is also a glitch in timing. And the lack of good direction at the jobsite can be chalked up to some staff out sick with the funk that's been going around, which is also a timing thing. But the thing that snapped was for me, right now, this isn't where I'm supposed to be.
Day 10: Too Little Too late (12/15)
I forgot to mention in yesterday's post (probably because I was so riled up) that in walking out to do ice scraping/snow shovelling duty at 6:45am, a siren was going off far away. I thought nothing of it until some stopped me and said "Here that sound? That is a Ukrainian air raid siren." I guess the sirens go off across the whole country when there are incoming missiles anywhere? I don't totally know. But the guy that shared it with me seemed rather knowledgable. Anyway, that was a thing that happened.
If today was my first day on this volunteer program, I'm sure I would be feeling differently about it. Not that it was a great day, but it at least felt like a day doing what I came here to do. The day started with a 90 minute orientation (which I found kind of amusing because I was just about on my way out the door). It covered some interesting stuff (history of the organization, a bit about Poland, hero complex, possible pitfalls of group living/working environments) and a fair bit of uninteresting stuff (sexual misconduct policy, covid protocols, what equity and unbiased mean). Again, it might have struck differently had I been orientated upon arrival. But since the snap, it rang rather hollow. (There was, however, a nice tidbit about the difference between "pickled" foods and "sour" foods (non-vinegar vs. vinegar; take that, mom...))
After orientation, we were taken to a different job site (my third). This shelter had refugees living in it (many of whom I had met at English classes last week; the kids recognized me and waved, which was fun!). The task I got put on was helping prepare to tile in a ADA shower which involved mixing concrete, buying and leveling a drain, a bit of plumbing, and a bit more. Our team was 3 people and the other 2 had more forceful opinions about how things should be done, so my knowledge from all my hours of mixing mortar was overruled and I was basically merely a grunt. But that's not so bad. At least it was a project that I saw value in.
The concrete was poured by 2:00 which left 2 hours to fill before quitting time, so we were put to tasks that at least the site director had the decency to admit were just time filling projects. One of mine was hammering the solid ice from the front steps. While doing that, a couple of Ukrainian men stepped out to have a cigarette. In general, both the Polish and Ukrainians aren't anxious to interact (or share a smile or engage at all). There guys started out no different until one found a shovel and started helping me. Pretty soon, they were showing me how to do it better, using their super limited English to chat a bit, and otherwise have a bit of a moment. When they asked what I do, I told them juggler, a word they didn't know. Then I mentioned circus, and they got it. I balanced a hammer on my nose to underline the point.
While loading up at the end of the day, the same guys were out smoking again and called out to a member of our group that speaks enough Russian to more or less converse with them. "This guy says he's in the circus," they say to the other volunteer. He says "Yeah, I know". I proceed to balance more things on my face. Hit with a surge of inspiration, I made some snowballs and juggled them. They were so excited. They ran to their room's window and got their kids to come and watch out the window. It was a pretty neat moment.
Nothing of note to report at base. I laid low during evening meeting so I didn't have to do an "I'm leaving" speech (usually a requirement). No one needs to hear me try to delicately walk the line between not lying but also not openly saying this program wasn't a good fit for me. I took the exit survey (as required) and was able to share a bit about that. But I don't imagine anybody cares. They have more volunteers than they have work here.
So now, I'm mostly packed and ready to depart. I'll work a full day tomorrow (I'm told that building shelves will be involved!) then get dropped at the train station after work. Another volunteer has it all planned out so I'm basically riding her organizational coattails. I have thoughts about my involvement in the program ending, but I'll save those. For now, I'm excited to be moving on to the next thing.
Dinner tonight was rice and chicken goulash-y stuff. Tomorrrow night's dinner is to be pierogis, but I won't be around for it. Damn.
Day 11: Last Day of Volunteering (for now?) (12/16)
I don't think I've slept past 3:30 or 4:00am yet this trip. I've made my peace with it, electing to read and then getting out of bed super early and posting the thoughts that I wrote the night before (since I don't have cell service in my basement room). It's actually been nice because I haven't had any trouble falling asleep at night!
Work today was actually super great. I worked with 2 other guys crafting shelves from scratch. I was the cutter, spending the whole morning ripping plywood down, cutting up 2x3s (yep, that's the standard dimension here), etc. This was all done with a dull Makita battery circular saw, so it wasn't easy. But it felt like I was doing something a) that fit my skill set well b) was impactful (these shelters gets all sorts of donations and need somewhere to store them) and c) fun! If I was able to do work like this everyday, I'd have been a happy dude.
At lunch, a lovely older lady (whose association with the shelter was never clear, nor was whether she was Ukrainian or Polish) Englishlessly ushered us to the makeshift kitchen to present the soup she had made for us. It was a great moment, us beaming our appreciation and her being the quintessential eastern european grandmother. (I assumed the words she was saying were "Eat! Eat! You're skin and bones!")
Despite my work for the day being rewarding and fun, the rest of the group (maybe 5 people at this site) had a less fun time of it. They were, you guessed it, painting and it was all failing. The building wasn't heated overnight so condensation had formed on the coat from the day before so it never dried. When they tried to put on the new coat (since that's the only work there was to do), it peeled off the under layers in weird chunks. Keep in mind, these were walls that didn't need painting in the first place. I felt for them for sure. And it kind of underscored that my qualms with the program weren't just mine. The frustration on the other folks faces was evident. But we had become a bit of a team, so we had fun, despite the adversity.
I went straight to the train station from work. I kind of pulled an Irish goodbye (I imagine I'm not suppsoed to use that term, so pretend I used the PC version of it, whatever that is), not really feeling like doing the whole goodbye thing (though I did meet some people I genuinely liked.) I trained to Krakow (55z) with another volunteer who had become my good buddy. On the 3 hour ride, we reflected on the ups and down and I was able to unload some of my bummers of the week. A good old fashion bitch-session can be very healing.
All in all, today was a good way to end the program. I saw some of the ups and some of the downs work-wise which left me with a better last impression than if the day had been similar to, well, almost any of the other ones. But there was enough disorganization, busy-work, and frustration to keep me from remembering the week as all ups.
Now I'm back to traveling solo. Krakow is beautiful in the snow. I walked to my hostel (same as before, Dizzy Daisy, 70z (~$16)) to drop off my stuff and then beelined for a pierogi shop (having missed pierogis for dinner at base). Despite the restaurant being extremely atmospheric, my double portion (60z) (boiled potato and fried meat) was extremely underwhelming. Can it be that I just don't like pierogi or have I just been unlucky the two times I've tried. Perhaps I'll give it one more go before I leave the country, but there's plenty of other food to try, so perhaps not. I consoled myself with a fancy Magnum ice cream bar (8z) on the way home (though it fell kind of flat too, perhaps because I have a super stuffy nose.)
Now I head to my dormitory bed where I can already hear the fat man in the next bed over seriously sawing logs. Ugh. I had a conversation on the train with Brittany about whether I am too old to be sleeping in dorms and instead should just shell out for a private room. I contended that I do just fine in hostels. We'll see what I say about that tomorrow.
Day 12: Salt Mines and Snow (12/17)
"That's my one complaint about Europe—it's not for early risers 
" is what a friend what a friend said when I texted her at 5:45 this morning (a record sleep-in for me this trip). And I agree. Last time I was at this hostel, still extremely jetlagged, I went out before 7 and I had a hard time finding even a bakery that was open. This morning, I quietly slipped out of bed so as not to wake my 4 roomates and went down stairs for a cup of tea and a crossword. Then it was back to bed to start catching up on 10 days of missed youtube videos and until the town starts waking up.
By about 8:00, I decided it was time to start the day, so I headed off. The plan was to visit the famous salt mines, so after a breakfast of a donut, pizza bread, and 4 tiny oranges (10z) and tea to warm me up later (9z), I hopped on the train (13z roundtrip). It was snowing pleasantly all day, falling on top of the large amount that was still around. It was interesting seeing how a city that is used to snow deals with it. There were areas roped off that were falling icicle dangers. There were plenty of business owners out shoveling their walks, or at least trying their best. But mostly, it was the populace just rolling with it that was interesting. People have the right shoes and the right attitudes. I'm so grateful to have my waterproof work boots because my cabriolet shoes wouldn't be cutting it right now.
To visit the salt mines (109z), you need to be with a tour. Unfortunately, my tour guide had a very thick accent and seemed to be over her job, literally letting her eyes wonder around while reciting the script. But that kind of fit with the aesthetic of the place: cheap museum. The displays were comical with their low rent mannequins demonstrating the various historical operations of mining, shaping, and extracting salt. But that's not to say the place wasn't impressive. We went deep underground and were in really large rooms all with the floor, walls, and ceilings made of salt. The art (last supper reproduction, for example) and statues too (including one of Pope John Paul II, of course) were all salt.
The train back to Krakow put me at lunch time and I meandered to the Jewish quarter, having heard good things. Really, though, the only good thing I found was the place I lunched, a Ukrainian food place where I had soup and pelminis (smaller pierogis). These pelminis somewhat redeemed their larger pierogi brothren After lunch, I meandered back to the hostel to warm up by way of the main market (which was CRAZY packed) where I had some fresh churros with carmel sauce (20z).
At the hostel, there was an older German lady who asked if I could use my phone to order her an Uber, which I did. While waiting, I ended up helping her with her bags and heard her story of having to evacuate Ukraine and the drama around that. We went through all the options to allow her to pay cash instead of it getting billed to my account, but I have a feeling I'm going to end up getting screwed as my phone keeps beeping at me with alerts from the Uber app as I type this.
Update: I got screwed. I guess the lady stiffed the driver by ~$10 so I'm supposed to pay it now. I thought it might be a good mission to go find the woman in question (I did, afterall, know her destination). I trekked over there only to be told by reception that no one by that name/description is checked in there. Alas. I tried. I guess I should have known better in the first place.
The rest of the evening mission just constisted of dinner which was kielbasa and french fries (38z), but a Polish sausage in Poland to add to #projectHotdog. Then a walk home through the lovely park that rings old town on which I stopped and got cereal and milk so I can have some breakfast before the town wakes up (and some dessert for tonight!)
* I saw a weed vending machine today. That was new.
* While my achilles is making me aware that it is there, it's still letting me wear my boots which is a very good thing.
* According to Google Fit, I walked 11.5 miles today! I believe it!
* After spending over an hour looking at where I should go next, I gave up and decided to spend another night (tomorrow) in Krakow, so that eases the planning (at least for a day).
Day 13: Wawel Castle, World Cup, and Krakow Wind Down (12/18)
I started the morning as I start the morning of every 18th, burning a candle with my breakfast (cornflakes in the hostel). Then, after bundling up for what was to be the coldest day yet, out the door for more exploring. The plan was to walk the ring park to Wawel Castle. The ring park (my name for it, because it rings Old Town—it probably has a fancier name) is really really pretty in the snow. And all bundled up, I felt totally prepared. It was downright pleasant!
The "castle", however, was more underwhelming. When I hear "castle", I think turrets, moats, slit windows, and circular staircases. This was much more of a "palace" which it actually was, housing the king for many centuries. Entry was divided into many different parts (armory, royal apartment, crown suite(?)) each with their own not-super-cheap price. I asked the nice lady what was the most castle-y and she pointed me to the royal apartment (which also happened to be the cheapest (25z); maybe she could read me.) The space turned out to be a rather extensive collection of 15-18 century painting with a few sculptures and pieces of furniture...super not my thing. There were a couple neat rooms that I could admire the marble floor and architecture, but overall, I wouldn't have missed anything by skipping it.
It's really nice to start out a day with a mission, so even though the "castle" was underwhelming, it got me down to the river and out in the sun. I meandered a bit aftewards, finding myself back at Ukrainian Food for lunch (more pelminis! 26z) and then headed home because my achilles was really screaming at me (probably due to the 11 miles from yesterday).
At the hostel, I napped then set about working out travel plans for tomorrow. Then, as I was leaving for my afternoon/evening walking adventure, I happened through the hostel common room to see that they had the World Cup game on, and I'm super glad I did! It was great watching what turned out to be an exciting game in a room full of international people. I also chatted up a young guy from America who is just starting his 2 year travels. He just got off the Camino and is headed to volunteer with All Hands and Hearts. It was nice chatting, as it gets lonely pretty quick with long days by oneself.
The end of my time in a country is always interesting re: money. When I arrive to a country, I take out as large a chunk as makes sense when I hit up an ATM initially, guessing at how much I might want. As I get closer to departure, I constantly calculate will I need to get more out? Will I end up with too much? This evening, I tallied up and realized I could either pay for my train ticket (160z) in cash and live lean for the last 12 hours or pay with my car and live it up. I chose the former, so it was 2 hot dogs for dinner (14z).
* It's 13° out now, supposedly going down to 1° overnight!
* I walked 8.5 miles today. Luckily tomorrow will be a bit less...I hope.
* Hostel was 41z, about $9.
Day 14: Travel to Czechia (12/19)
Nothing remarkable about the morning: laid in bed on my phone, tea in the hostel kitchen, pack up (packed my boots, as I wanted to try my modified sneakers because my achilles is so bad). I did write some postcards and got them in the mail (32z). As I was down to my last couple zloty, I didn't get to send all I wanted. There will be another batch from somewhere...
My train was supposed to be at 10:43am. I got to the train station(/mall) in plenty of time and carefully spent my last couple zloty on snacks for the train (28z). Then the big board said the train was delayed by 5 minutes. Then 25 minutes. I went and waited at the prescribed track (even though it was wicked cold). When the 25 minutes came and went, I went back to the big board to see what was going on and my train just wasn't listed anymore. Did it come to a different track and then leave? There weren't any employees around to show my ticket to with the universal "I'm confused" look, so I went and waited in the long international ticket line. After 15 minutes in line, I got to an agent and explained the situation. He looked at his computer and eventually said "this says the train is in the station right now, but I don't know where". So I sped off, checked the big board again (my train had miraculously reappeared, but this time on a different gate) and I RAN to the track. The train ended up being 50 minutes late (which was lucky for me, I guess), but it made for a hectic/annoying/frantic morning.
Luckily, the train ride was AWESOME! I had the whole 6 seat compartment to myself and the snow covered countryside was super beautiful. I started a new book (#3 for the trip) and munched on my snacks and kept poking my head up to admire how this is what I want to be doing now, riding a train in Europe. Plus, they gave me a super cheap chocolate wafer for the train being so delayed.
I arrived in Prerev, Czechia and walked to the hotel. Tonight will be the first night in 2 weeks that I won't have to wear ear plugs to keep out roommates snoring. I'm pretty stoked. After getting settled at the hotel, I went out and checked out the town. I chose this town for no other reason that it seemed to be on the train route about halfway between Krakow and Vienna and it wasn't too big. I liked the idea of going somewhere with no expectations. And so far, the town has lived up to those no expectations. I found the little town square which had a dinky but adorable little Christmas market (though every other stand was for booze, which I guess meshes with my stereotype of Czechs.) I got a fried potato pancake (55k) that turned out to be a greasy gut-bomb, but I'm glad I got it. Culture and whatnot. Other than than, the town didn't have much going on that I could see. Perhaps I'll find something on my morning amble. Stay tuned.
(I finished the day with some work stuff which I keep hoping will be a good way to fill the time and feel productive, but so far, not so much.)
Day 15: Travel to Vienna (12/20)
Even though I had a room to myself, I still woke up pretty early. While I considered staying in bed, my travel arrangements made last night had me needing to catch a 9:45 train and I had something I wanted to do first. Prerev has a frisbee golf course! So I struck out in the still-near darkness at 7:30, discs in hand, to have a go. First note: playing frolf by yourself in the snow is a recipe for losing a disc (or two). The disc just slices right into the snow, barely leaving a mark where it disappeared from sight. Luckily, all the holes on this course were pretty short so I was able to keep my eye on where it landed, but that still didn't save me from fumbling around through the snow looking for the discs. But I didn't lose any discs AND I scored a -4, so overall, a super win!
I had a short 30-minute train layover in Brno, a city I had considered for my overnight, but decided against it because of it being so big. Well, a short stroll through their pedestrian street and their Christmas Market in the square and I left feeling like I chose wrong. It would have been a fun little city to explore. Next time, I guess?
Arrival in Vienna had me a bit taken aback. Vienna is HUGE! Not only is it big and sprawly (public transportation, which is really good, can take upwards of 1-hour between two places I want to see!), it is also just big things (buildings, roads, etc.). I guess I had it in my mind as a quaint city that still had narrow streets but more bustle. Now I know.
I had a few hours to kill before getting on the cruise so I bought a 24-hour transit pass (8E) and hopped on a tram and put on a Rick Steves audio tour that was meant specifically for this tram ride. It described the buildings as we went by them and some history, etc. It was a little clunky with the timing not totally matching up, but it was something to do and I learned quite a bit!
Then it was out to the ship, moored at some distance from the city. My first impression: low rent, but what can I expect for the price I paid. I'm sure river cruise ships are necessarily less fancy than ocean ones, since there is so much less space. And I really don't have anything to complain about. But opulent it is not. This impression was reinforced by the welcome "soup" (hardly even a broth) and dinner. I knew going in it wasn't going to be the ritz and I'm trying not to be down. As long as I get fed and the bed is comfy, I'll be fine.
Since the boat is so small (there couldn't be more than 100 guests), there is only one option for dinner and it is a sit down affair with assigned seats (so much for my buffet dreams.) The cruise director sat all the solo travelers together, so it's me, 2 older British ladies who very much like their wine, and an Aussie gal. Anna, the British woman living in Greece, is something else. I assume she's probably a handful even when she's not 4 red wines in. I'm afraid for what the next 6 dinners have in store.
Day 16: Vienna (12/21)
Today was such a full day that I'm zonked, so I'm going to do the whole day as bullet points
* Up early to be first in the breakfast buffet line (7:30). Pleasantly surprised with the offerings!
* Tram to Prater Park to play 18 holes of frolf! Course was somewhat unremarkable, but it was a nice park and I'm glad I did it!
* Rick Steves audio tour of St. Stephen's cathedral. I bailed once he got to what this religious icon meant and that painting represented. But I liked the first 3/4ths.
* Back to the ship for lunch. Even though it meant an extra 1.5 hours on public transit (there and back), I can't bring myself to skip free food.
* After a rest (and warming up) in my cabin, I struck back out to check out Vienna in darkness. Christmas markets were glowing and bright!
* I did the Rick Steves audio tour of the city center which was really great!
* I got a geocache
* Even though I'm trying not to spend money while on this cruise (since it is "all-inclusive"), I had to spend $0.50 on a toilet! It amazes me that Europe will make it so you don't have to pay a penny for open heart surgery, but if you have to pee, open up that wallet!
* I walked 10.5 miles today.
Day 17: Melk and Durnstein (12/22)
I like small towns. That's what today has reminded me. Melk, our first stop, was just about the perfect size. There was a little square, narrow winding streets, cute shops and cafes, but really nothing overwhelming. The town is based around a grand abbey on the hill. I walked around the courtyards but couldn't go in because I wasn't with a tour. Alas. Instead, I walked around and got two geocaches and enjoyed the quiet morning.
Just as we were finishing up our time in Melk, the sun came out. At each of our stops so far, there have been lovely paths along the Danube with special attention paid to cyclist infrastructure. The sun and goregous vista had me fantacizing about a bike trip along the paths paralleling the Danube. If the weather was going to be like it was today, I'd hop on a bike the minute I get off this boat. But, alas, I don't think that's in the cards.
As we lunched aboard, the ship headed down river to Durnstein. This town was, well to call it sleepy would be giving it too much credit. Nothing was open and the only people I saw on the streets were fellow cruisers. I hot footed it up to the castle ruins high on a hillside above town. The river had severely fogged in, but up at the ruins, I was above the clouds and got some great views. But the icy conditions had me wondering if anyone would find my body if I slipped and tumbled down.
Since we had 4 hours to spend in the town and you could see what there was to see in about 11 minutes, I had to come up with a mission. I saw a penny smasher machine on my way in, but I didn't have any change. I thought I could just pop into a shop and buy a candy bar and get the change needed. But nothing was open. I traded for the €2 coin, but I still needed €.05. Because nothing was open, I had half a mind to find one on the ground. I'm very good at finding money on the ground. I started checking vending machines and peeking under benches. Sure enough, at the base of a parking payment machine, A COIN! And wouldn't you know, but it was the exact coin I needed! Jule, I hope your collection has room for a smashed penny from a random Austrian town.
After dinner, the big excitement was going through a set of huge locks. We must have decended 30 feet! It was very exciting. We'll go through another set overnight tonight and 2 during the day tomorrow.
The little cadre of solo travellers at our dinner table have meshed nicely. I find myself actually looking forward to meals, not only to eat the fancy yet pretty decent food, but also to catch up with them all.
(With all my meandering today, I came out at 8.5 miles)
Day 18: Cruise to Budapest (12/23)
Most of the day today was spent on the river. The weather was incredibly foggy for the most part making it somewhat eerie in that we couldn't see anything beyond the shoreline which was mostly trees interspersed with the occasional tuft of houses. I passed the time sipping on tea in the lounge or on deck and doing crosswords. I was able to motivate and be productive for a hot second to get a blog post written (re: Poland) and do a little Budapest planning, though the internet was rather spotty.
We arrived in Budapest at 6 and I immediately hit the town. I knew there would be some Christmas markets that I felt obligated to see. Luckily, the one at St. Stephens surprised me! Besides being lively and having all the myriad stands, it also had a projection on the front of the cathedral that did the thing where the animation it shows incorporates the building. It was really neat, though mostly just fun gimmicks rather than any kind of story.
After a meander around the Pest side of the river, I headed over to the Buda side (after a quick pee break back at the boat). I considered calling it a night because it was so foggy, all the views were non-existant, but I needed to get my 20,000 steps in somehow, so I hoofed it. And boy am I glad I did. My evening stroll tonight might the highlight of my trip so far. My experiences with "castles" so far this trip has me a bit wary of something calling itself a castle. I was afraid it might be another pay a bunch of money to see art instead of crossing moats and walking along tall walls. Buda Castle was AWESOME. There are all sorts of great castle architecture, but also some good old palace fountains, squares, archways, etc. And to add to it all, there was barely another person there. I just about had the place to myself. And the mist only added to the feeling of other-worldliness. The pictures I took (and I took plenty) don't do it justice at all.
Day 19: Christmas Eve Day in Budapest (12/24)
No need for an entry today, as the "Twas" blog post mostly covers it. A few addenda:
* I got a geocache at the Statue Park. It was totally ravaged with its contents spread all over the ground. I cleaned it up the best I could and alerted the cache owner.
* While I haven't been keeping track of what I've been spending, I hardly need to as I haven't been spending much (or anything?) But today I did do ~$4.00 on public transp (via an app on my phone) and 3100 F (~$10) to get into the statue park and a postcard.
* I really wanted to recreate this photo of Della to honor her and also our time here together 7 years ago. I hiked to the top of the mountain but when I got there, it was all fenced off with barbed wire and the pavillion had overgrown. There was a little bit of poignancy in the meaning there of not being able to go back as much as you want. It was hard. Being in Budapest is hard, remembering how we explored it together.
* I'm guessing I did about 10 miles, but my Google Fit app keeps wanting to call my rides on public transit part of my walks, so it really is a guessing game at this point.
* After dinner, I walked up to the castle again. I had been sharing how nice it was with one of my tablemates and I offered to walk with her there since it was after dark, etc. I really enjoyed it a second time almost as much as the first. It was clear so you could see across the river and it was really neat hearing her ooh, aah, and do the head-exploding gesture to reinforce how cool I think the whole place is.
(See blog post for photos)
Day 20: Christmas and Esztergom (12/25)
I was up late last night writing and posting the poem. I didn't get to sleep until 1am, much much later than normal. But I still woke up at 7:00 and ended up being the first one to breakfast at 8:00. The crew is doing a pretty good job of making things christmas-y. There were little boots folded of napkins with a small chocolate in them at our place settings in the morning. And a decorated christmas cookie. They all wear santa hats yesterday and today. It's cute.
We docked in Esztorgom around 10:00 under blue skies and warm temperatures. The town is known for its basilica, the largest in Hungary. I meandered up, finding a fun back way that feels like it might have been a secret entrance back in the day. I almost liked that more than the basilica (though I might have liked the building more if there wasn't all the Christmas hubbub going down.) After the basilica, I took a quick meander through the town with very little to report.
Since I still had more than 2 hours of shore leave, I walked across the bridge into Slovakia. There wasn't much to report there either except that now I've set foot in Slovakia. (Don't worry, I won't add it to the countries visited list until I spend more time there...tomorrow.) Then I went back to the boat and made some tea and sat in the sun on deck marvelling at the nice view.
After lunch, I gave my tablemates and a few others a tiny little juggling show up on deck. I've carried my clubs all this way, so I thought I might as well. It was fun, esp. having other folks stop and watch a bit. But just juggling (without costume, music, jokes, etc) can come across a little flat with normies. But I did my rope tricks and bantered a little too, so it was fun.
Christmas dinner was ribs, a tradition I could get behind. It was one of my favorite meals so far. Oh, and I also ate too much cake at "cake and coffee" time. I'm a sucker for free food.
In the evening, they had a show where the crew, all Ukrainian, did some songs, dances, and one comedy sketch. It was pretty fun, even though I'm not much for singing performances. I think because I felt like I somewhat knew some of the crew and because they seemed to be having fun doing it, it was neat to watch. That they are all a bunch of young attractive women didn't hurt either.
Day 21: Bratislave and Last Day of the Cruise (12/26)
As has become my routine, I was early down to breakfast and early out into town. Walking around Bratislava through the empty streets was quite nice. It's a nice city, with the old town full of squares, churches, and, my favorite, narrow streets. After meandering and seeing the requisite cites (and taking a few selfies, of course), I set off to the frolf course, an hour's walk away.
This course was, unfortunately, even worse than the last one. It was on a university's campus, which I thought was creative. The campus, though, was pretty sad: run down buildlings, grass through pavement, buildings that look like they were from the communist times. There was also a huge construction site which impeded play. Most of the signs for the holes were gone, so there was a fair bit of guessing. And many holes used the same baskets which feels pretty cheap. Alas. I quit after 9 holes (out of 18).
The upside of the walk out there was the geocache I found on campus. It might be the best one I've ever seen, though I didn't get it since it was all in Czech. Super well constructed with some sort of puzzle dealing with colors and letters in the czech alphabet. I brute forced it (not harming anything) so was able to get it open (after much work).
On my way back to the boat for lunch, I passed through the "castle". It had some neat walls, gardens, etc, but not much in the way of castle-y bits. There was a manicured english style labyrinth garden that was kind of neat, but again, more palace-y than castle-y.
After lunch, I again went walking, this time to find the skater girl mail box (another Atlas Obscura suggestion). Then I met up with Steph, my table mate, to check out the blue church and have another meander through old town (which was WAY more crowded which meant less fun for me.) All told, Google Fit says I walked 12 miles today, though I don't know. I didn't ride any public transpo, though, so it might actually be the case. I was on my feet for plenty of time.
Since it is the last night on the boat, the crew went all out on dinner. We had a celebration drink (even the non-alcoholic option was fake wine, so I just had water), then the whole staff was introduced and paraded around the dining room. It was fun. (Dinner was rack of lamb and cous cous.)
I started planning for what's next and if it works out, I think it will be awesome! I'll know more when we get back to internet tomorrow to see if my e-mails have been returned. How's that for a cliff hanger!?
* Today represents 3 weeks since I left Washington.
* I saw another Camino de Santiago sign. I've seen them in Krakow, Jaroslaw, Vienna, Melk, and now Bratislava. I'm glad to be able to recognize them!
Day 22: The Biking Begins... (12/27)
As I allueded to yesterday, big things are afoot. Well, they aren't really that big, but they feel big. I was really wrestling with what to do after getting off the cruise, again searching for some direction. On a couple of the cruise stops, the weather was so nice and the walking paths along the river were so serene that I thought "biking this might be fun". So with minimal research, that's what I decided to do.
Finding a bike to rent in the off-season turned out to be a bit of a challenge, at least on-line (esp. with the spotty internet on the boat). But the first place I went to in person (making my 24-hour public transit pass I bought worthless 8€), they set me up perfects: bike, helmet, lock, panniers, tool kit, and a super fancy bike. For 7 days, it came to 134€. (The guy gave me a bit of a deal.) Big shoutout to "Vienna Explorer"! The "package" is supposed to be Vienna to Budapest (deja vu), so that's the basic outline of what I'm planning. Who knows if I'll be strong enough to get the miles in or if my butt will give out immediately. If this first day is any indication, I think I might have overestimated my biking chops.
Day 1 in the saddle was 38 miles, Vienna back to Bratislava. The weather was great and I think I had the wind at my back mostly, which was super helpful. I blasted through the first 2.5 hours with my head down and all business. I did, however, get lost a few times. It seems the signs don't agree with the app map I'm using. I'm sure I'll start to figure it out. Most of the path was on paved paths with no cars. There was a stint on a sparsely traveled road. All in all, it is somewhat similar to the Camino, minus the dirt paths (though those may come).
I thought "40 miles? That's no problem. I can easily do 10 miles in an hour so I'll be there in 4 hours max!". It turns out it took 5 hours and 15 minutes (though I did stop for a small lunch of cruise breakfast "leftovers"). I guess all the other time delays came from having to stop and check my phone to see if I was on the right path/try to decypher signs.
Now I'm back in Bratislava. The hostel I'm in seems super super great! They've let me put my bike in the luggae room (under lock and key) and it seems quite, clean, and big! Plus, it was ony 8.80€. I'm hoping to do some computer work I had to put off on the boat. We'll see if the internet (/roommate situation) is up for it. Then I get to go out and eat well-earned food!
(I'm afraid all pictures today are bike selifes. Perhaps the novelty will wear off by tomorrow and we'll get some more useful pics.)
Dinner was udon noodles from the mall food court (7€) and a McFlurry (3€). (I held out not getting McDonald's as long as I could, but I was in a rush to get back and do this computer work and a McFlurry sounded really good after all my biking today.
Day 23: Another 40 mile day... (12/28)
Private room > dorms. That's a big duh, but it was underscored last night as the guy in the bunk above me (I don't know why he didn't take the empty bottom bunk across the room...) seemed to be break dancing through the night. Yeah, we all shift positions, but this was violent. Then he got up at 5 to leave and perhaps didn't realize he was making all sorts of louder than necessary noises. But then he left and I got another hour of sleep, thankfully. The guy was interesting, though. He was Polish and didn't speak a lick of English but diidn't quite seem to realize that I couldn't understand, so he would talk at me (not "to" because that would require at least a modicum of understanding) and then look expectantly as if I was going to answer him. He finally resorted to using Google Translate on his phone and his question was a simple one, "Poland is a bastion of hate and fear. Is America like that too?" Bruh... I guess that's what you get at a $9 hostel.
I hit up a grocery store for breakfast and supplies of fruit, meat, cheese, rolls, pastry, juice, cookies, and chocolate bars. (13€) Then a quick stop at the Post Office and then back at it. Getting out of the city, just like in Vienna, proved somewhat annoying. The combination of google maps in my wireless earbud and the bike path signs that are, to put it nicely, inconsistant make for plenty of stopping and looking at the map and crossing and recrossing streets. But once I got out of the city, I found the path on the dike next to the Danube and it was smooth sailing. Well...almost.
I didn't realize how much the wind was with me yesterday until it was less with me today. The direction fluctuated between my 1:00 and 2:30, always in my face and always from the right. It wasn't 50mph, but it wasn't nothing. And with my tired out legs from yesterday, I did not average a pace to make Lance Armstrong proud (or even Soren!). Throughout the day, I tried different approaches, like dropping to the less well paved but slightly more protected road at the bottom of the dike. Then I cut through a few towns rather off the river, but didn't care for riding on the trafficked streets. In the end, I mostly just put my head down and tried to push through it. But it was rough.
Besides my legs feeling jelly-ish, my ass is an unhappy pappy. By the end of the day today, I was litterally crying out in pain when I'd go over an unexpected bumb. Oof. I can only imagine what the little old babushkas thought. I'm hoping that it'll be kind of like the Camino where the thing that was practically unbearable by the end of the day mostly went away overnight. I've got my doubts.
Speaking of the Camino, I'm feeling all sorts of similarities, some superficial and some less so. The schedule, not knowing exactly where you'll sleep because you don't know how the day will go, the diet of grocery store meat and cheese—all very reminiscent. Also, the sense of direction, the questioning of choices, the ultra-excitement over little things (downhill!!!!), being reminder of how nice it is to be outside.
Because my legs and ass were letting me know that they didn't sign up for this, I compromised and decided to make it a short day: only 30 miles. I found a fancy-ish hotel that had thermal pools and was right on the trail. I planned my afternoon around the timing to get there before dark and started getting really excited. Then I got there and they were closed. The nice lady, though, took the time to talk me through where the next hotel was...10 MILES DOWN THE ROAD! I had about an hour of daylight left and the rate I was moving, that was about the best speed I could hope for (plus all the ass rest stops). It turns out that half the route was on somewhat busy roads and I guess Slovakia didn't get the memo about road shoulders. It was not a fun ride.
Velky Meder is a decent sized city, so there were lots of options to choose from, however booking.com and google maps didn't have much info for any of them, so I just started going in and asking. The first one was booked and she sent me to another one whose door was locked. I knocked until a lady came to let me in and gave me a number to call. Mind you, these are three star hotels that have plenty of guests. Finally, I got checked in (58€ with dinner and breakfast) and collapsed into bed. Oy!
Dinner was...AMAZING! After a soup course, my main course was—I shit you not—pork smother in carmelized onions wrapped in bacon and covered with melted cheese with mashed potatoes and a cheese sauce as sides. Even though I wasn't really hungry (it's weird that the more energy I expend, the less I want to eat), I felt obligate to clean the plate.
I don't imagine I'll be splurging like this every night, but a guy could get used to it. Plus, in these smaller towns, there are no hostels or dorms. Another couple days and I'll be back to bigger cities and will do hostels there. But in the meantime, I'll be excited for the extra rest I'll get having a room to myself!
Day 24: Am I A Glutton For Punishment? (12/29)
The fancy hotel I ended up last night was awesome. Besides the friendly staff, the amazing included dinner and breakfast, and the way better than average room, all for a very reasonable price, it was open! (That's what we call foreshadowing...) After basking in the amazing breakfast, I packed up and hit the road. My ass was hurting, but bearable, proof that the human body is good at adapting. My legs, also, really surprised me as they were ready for action! So action is what they got as I hit pedalled off.
I've noticed that the first 10 or so miles somewhat fly by. I don't stop too much to drink or rest my butt. And this morning, the direction was pretty clear. So I just pedalled along. I tried to stay ahead of my fatigue by taking breaks sooner than I needed them, so I found a little park that I walked around in after about an hour. Then found my way to the dike path and it was pretty easy; the wind wasn't against me today (though also not with me.) After another 2 hours (with another break or two snuck in), I arrived in Komarno, a decent sized town with a great colonial style historic district, complete with squares, fountains, and goregous buildings. I stopped for tea (2.50€) and contemplated calling it a day and enjoying the town, but I decided to head on down the road. Big mistake...
Like the Camino, I'm doing the EuroVelo 6 in the off season which means stuff is closed. Add the fact that there are multiple routes for EV6 and you get somewhat inconvenient lodging intervals. I had hoped to find something at the ~30 mile mark, but none of the small towns had anything (that I could find.) Google Maps is decidely terrible at identifying hotels in Slovakia, I've decided. My back-up plan was to take the ferry across the river to a larger town and bunk there, thinking riding the ferry would be a perk too. But, you guessed it, the ferry wasn't running either. So again, I had to put my head down and pedal much longer than I had hoped to get to the next big town, Sturovo.
It was after dark by the time I rolled in. Luckily, my fancy bike has built in lights, because, again, I was on a major-ish road for the last bit. The town is indeed pretty big. But all the hotels seemed dark. I biked to at least 5, all a bust. I even resorted to asking locals (English isn't nearly as common in these out of the way places) but they weren't much help either. I finally found one that looked like it had a few lights on, but the door was locked. I called the number and talked to a gal who called a guy who sent his son in to check me in which involved all sorts of waiting, translating, a trip to the ATM, and an increasingly agitated Wren. Maybe I was hangry or just wanting to lie down, but the whole experience of this town basically has my opinion of Slovakia turned. Everything I have seen until now, I was stoked on. Sturovo, not so much. Maybe when I wake up tomorrow I'll see it with kinder eyes. I wish I would have stayed in Komarno.
With starting earlier and going much later, I ended up logging 55 miles today! I'm proud of the way my legs held out, almost feeling like they've gained strength over the first 2 days rather then having my strength depleted. Tomorrow, though, my hope is to do less than 30. I could use the break.
On the upside of my 50€ hotel room in a totally empty and otherwise closed hotel, it has blazing internet which allowed me to log some hours of work back home, essentially offsetting the cost and more. Granted it would have been nicer to do the work not after barely being able to left my legs to get up the stairs, but so it goes.
Day 25: Arrival in Budapest/End of Biking? (12/30)
Fresh eyes on Sturovo didn't really help redeem the negative experience I had finding and then getting a hotel last night. So I had a langos (fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese) then hit up the local Lidl for some provisions before GTFO-ing across the bridge to Hungary, oddly enough into the town of Esztergon where we had stopped during the cruise. Even though it was a cute enough town, I didn't feel like I needed to dawdle, so I struck out down the path. I did, however, stop for a geocache on the way out of town, one that I thought about trying to get when I came through before, but didn't.
EuroVelo 6 (or at least the leg I did) varies verily. I would say 40-50% is on smooth, wide, non-traffic paths, generally atop dikes very near the river. 20-30% is on less ideal paths (sidewalks, less even surfaces, or sometimes unpaved tracks). The rest is on roads, probably evenly split between very few cars making for a lovely ride and not overly enjoyable because cars are more frequent and go fast. Granted, this is my experience and I did find myself having to deviate from the "offical" path occasionally, sometimes to find a hotel and sometimes because the signage was so bad, I simply lost the scent. Another reason I lost the path is that the ferries weren't running. Today, I was meant to cross the Danube twice (ostensibly because a better path existed on the other side.) None of the ferries were running so I ended up on roads not designed for bikers.
But it was fine. Today's stretch was the "Danube Bend" where there were towns more frequent and more cute. I had lunch in Szentendre and looked for a hotel (because it was cute and I didn't want to regret pushing on like I did yesterday), but there were all super high dollar. So I pushed on through to Budapest where I got a hostel for $25.
The ride into Budapest was bad. It was ugly, trafficky, super bumpy paths, really bad signage, and, well, it was the end of the day so I find I'm always grumpy when I'd rather be done riding. And it seemed to go on forever! I very quickly gave up on bike signage and turned to my life hack of Google Maps with one earbud in, which reads the directions to me: unobtrusive, convenient, and sometimes even helpful!
After settling in at the hostel (another super weird situation: there's no reception or front desk. They just e-mailed me the code to get in the front door and instructions on where to sleep) and chatting with a nice french lady, I went out for a walk, hoping to work out some of the lactic acid from today's ride (45 miles). I found some Pelmini (yum!) and saw a few statues outside the National Museum. But my heart (and legs) just weren't into exploring, so I came back to the hostel. I've gotta figure out where I'm staying tomorrow night (New Year's) and, in general, what the heck I'm doing.
Is this the end of the bike portion of my trip? I have the bike for another 3 or 4 days before I have to return it in Vienna. I figure one of those days will be a travel day on the train. And I kind of think I'm going to take the day off from riding tomorrow and maybe hit the baths that Budapest is so famous for, in hopes of soothing these aching quads. But that still leaves a day or two. We shall see...
Day 26: Thermal Baths Then Back to Komarno (12/31)
Last night was another one of those rolling-the-dice-and-losing nights at a hostel. Besides the weirdness of the hostel with no reception, it turns out there was a pretty big snorer, which didn't bother me that much because I had my earplugs in, but seemed to super bother the person on the top bunk who was violently turning and making noises in hopes of getting the snorer to quit. I assume my solo room tonight will help me make up the sleep I lost.
Another thing that will help me sleep better tonight was my visit to the public baths! I opted for the cheaper baths (Dandar, ~8€), ostensibily because they were less touristy, but also because I didn't want to feel bad if I just stayed for an hour (which I would have had I payed the $25 to get into the fancier ones.) Plus Della and I (along with Horge!) went to the fancier ones last time, so I felt "been there, done that". Plus, this was a purely health related visit.
The baths were, well, not super fancy. But that doesn't mean they weren't awesome. The 3 indoor pools were 35°, 38°, and a 20° "plunge pool". The outside ones were 35° and 38°. That's basically like a slightly over-cool hottub and a slightly over-warm hottub. I bounced between all of them (though only "plunged" once). It was super nice and I could see why people do it. Doing it by one's self, however, was kind of boring. It did seem to be majority locals, majority over 65, and majority unflatteringly speedo-ed. I passed the time doing some underwater stretching, hoping to work out the 180(-ish) miles from my quads. It was quite nice (plus it was probably the cleanest I've been since leaving the states!)
I thought I might try lunch at the famous market so I biked down there, but it was a cluster. Plus, one of the things about traveling by bicycle is that you have all your stuff with you all the time so I felt I had to carry my panniers instead of leaving them attached to my bike which made for even more annoyance. I quickly abandoned the market idea and pedaled towards the train station where I found a couple slices of pizza in a mall food court (5€).
This little town of Komarno that I skipped out staying in a couple nights ago has been nibbling at the back of my head, so I decided to spend New Years Eve there (though the difficulty in finding reasonably priced accomodations in Budapest didn't hurt.) It was an easy 1.5 hour train ride ($5) and getting the bike on the train only cost 1€. Easy peasy.
Even though today was an off day, I still ended up riding 8 miles (both around Budapest and then from the train station to my hotel (42€) in Komarno). My ass felt the best it has since day 1. My quads, however, might take a little more time to regain comfort.
"You can never go back," or so they say. That was poignantly underlined in my attempt to recreate that Della photo in Budapest and it somewhat rings true in my return to Komarno. Whether because it is New Year's Eve or because I wasn't here during the busier midday weekday, the town has much less energy. I had a heck of a time finding even finding a restaurant that was open for dinner, ending up settling for doner meat on fries (5€) from a street stand. I also hit up the grocery store to make sure my supply of oranges and chocolate would hold through tomorrow, since everything will be closed (both because of New Year's and because it is the day of Slovakian independence).
So much of solo travel, at least my style, is decision making and I can feel it wearing on me. Where will I sleep tonight? Where will I go? What will I do? These are all questions that have to get answered every day. Once I drop off the bike, I'm hoping to lock in a multi-day stay somewhere so I can give myself a reprieve from at least some of those questions for a stint.
Not many interesting pictures from today. I'll do better tomorrow.
Day 27: Vienna Againa (1/1)
A morning amble around Komarno didn't make the town feel any more energetic (though they did the fireworks industry proud at the stroke of midnight), so I headed for the train station. The ticket lady didn't speak English so I think I wasn't able to get the best price for my ticket to Vienna with bike ($35). Getting situated on the first leg of the train was easy, as I had done it before. The second, from Gyor to Vienna, I looked around for a conductor to tell me what to do but he was rather unhelpful. I ended up just loading myself and my bike onto a random car and stood in the vestibule until the ticket taker (super nice guy who speak great english!) gave me the 411. Now I know. So much of travel is like that—learning something that is easy once you know it but hard if not and then not really being able to use it again.
The weather was super sunny today which might have contributed to my disposition. I'm excited to be in Vienna (a third time in 2 weeks). Having the bike helps because it lessens the pressure of investing in what to do; you're only out time, not money for the public transpo. When I arrived, I found my way to the hostel (22€/night). I have high hopes for the place. For one, they have a 24 hour reception! They also have the curtains on the bunk beds which I love! And so far, there are 4 other dudes in my room and no one has spoken a word! This bodes well.
After checking in, I took the un-panniered bike (this makes so much of a difference in worrying about leaving it unattended) to a different frolf course. It was pretty nice, in a public park where lots of people were walking. I played 9 holes and, thinking I could improve my score, went in for another 9. After not seeing another frolfer in the first round, the second round had people all over the course (mostly beginners). Two kids (maybe 11?) let me play through. They seemed intrigued by me, complimenting my throws and then skipping most of their holes to be near when I teed off on the next one. It was a pretty fun interaction!
I grabbed a schnitzel burger on the way home (4€) then had some computer time to make a blog post (about the cruise). Then I headed back out for an evening stroll and to grab some dinner (meat(?) sandwich 3.50€, slice of pizza 1.5€, and vending machine hot chocolate .80&euro since there was already 1€ credit!). Overall, I'm feeling good about the day and excited about tomorrow, which I'm grateful for.
(Oh, and my ass is almost completely non-sore! My quads, however, are still aching. Walking down stairs or down hill, I'm feeling it for sure. But in a good way!)
Day 28: Schonbrunn Palace Park and the Circus (1/2)
In what has become my standard, I went to the Lidl and got meat, cheese, chocolate bar, mandarins, rolls, and a pastry(9€) and came back to the hotel for breakfast. The hostel (which I am still digging on) has an attached bar/restaurant which serves as the common room. So I felt a little weird eating my own food in there while everyone else was having the restaurant's breakfast, but I was assured it was okay.
After breakfast, I biked over to Schonbunn Palace, knowing only that it had a big park behind it on google maps. I rather enjoyed biking through the city. The traffic was light and google did a good job navigating through my ear. And the city has decent bike infrastructure. It is a little hard sometimes to know when you're supposed to be on the sidewalk and when in the road, but in both cases, there's usually a lane designed for bikes. I imagine I'd get the hang of it eventually. For now, I generally let another biker pass me and then I try to just follow them.
Schonbunn turned out to be AWESOME and I didn't even go inside! It very much reminded me of Versailles, with the big palace, big square, and expansive gardens/forest behind replete with fountains and statues galore. I roamed for over an hour and still only covered half of it. I got a geocache, took some pictures, and found a penny smasher. The weather was plenty foggy so perhaps not the best day for photos.
On the ride back to the hostel, I stopped for tea (2.70€) at what turned out to be a Greek place. I'm realizing how international a city Vienna is. Kebab seems to be the dominant food (not schnitzel) and there seeems to be little ethnic districts every which way.
After a lunch of more rolls, cheese, meat, and mandarins, I did a little computer work, getting my day tomorrow in order. I'm headed to Prague so tried to navigate the vast options of outlets to find tickets. I ended up deciding on FlixBus instead of the train because 1) the schedule was more convenient and 2) I had some credit that was going to expire. I'm going to miss riding the train I'm sure, esp. when I get an armrest hog sitting next to me, but I'll live.
Another bike across town got me to the Wintercircus. The ticket booth was a MAD HOUSE mostly due to the inefficiency of the ticket taker. But I persisted, even after people said she said they were sold out. When I got to the front of the line, she sold me a ticket (18€) like it was nothing. I think it was because I was just one person and everyone else had kids that would need to sit together.
The show, as expected, underwelming. The tent and set-up was classic and I enjoyed that. And I had steeled myself for all the dumb clown bits (4 hackneyed audience participation that went on WAY too long) but the compromise I made with myself was that it would be worth it for the juggling. Well, it turned out there was no juggling (despite it being featured on the website). The other acts were 4 aerial (silks, suspended pole (dude), lyra (dude), and duo silks), 3 animal acts (tiny ponies, ducks led by 5 year old boy, and big horned goats), a bubble act (just a lady blowing bubbles), a little bit of singing, and a tiny bit of acro. I put the talent at about a 3/10 (though the duo aerial was tight) and the gimmick factor at 8/10. But despite the face-palmingly bad time, I was glad I went. It served as inpsiration and a reminder of what circus is like outside of Bellingham. And it means I get to write this whole trip off my taxes! (j/k/)
I hurried back to the hostel as I had a work thing scheduled (which got cancelled) so I missed out on my last night exploring Vienna. I'm a little sore about that because Vienna has definitely grown on me. I've enjoyed biking around and encountered some great little spots I wouldn't have found my way to otherwise. I don't know that I'll rush back, but if I find myself here again, I won't be bummed. Dinner was noodles with the last of my euro (5.50€) on the pedestrian street by my place.
Gear notes: I forget if I mentioned that I lost a glove during the great Sturovo, Slovakia hotel fiasco. I'm hoping it is the opposite one I lost from a different pair so I'll end up with a mismatched but usable set! The zipper on my beloved Eddie Bauer jacket is starting to go (as was the case with the last exact copy of this jacket). And last night, my watch band broke (by dumb luck, there was a watch store around the corner, but they didn't carry that kind of band (i.e. shitty plastic bands). He was nice about it, though.)
Oh, also, Google Fit says I biked/walked 20 miles today. I believe it. Most of my rides across town were 3-5 miles and I meandered something fierce in the Schonbunn gardens.
Day 29: Travel to Prague (1/3)
Though I set an alarm, I woke up long before it. I finished my meat, cheese, and rolls at the hostel then biked to Vienna Explorer to return the bike. Those guys were so awesome, both at the beginning and end. Super super great! It was then an hour walk to the bus station, the first extensive backpack on walking I've done in a while and I worked up a sweat. In a last ditch effort to find vienna sausages in Vienna (for #projectHotdog), I popped into a grocery. No vienna sausages but I came out with some bus snacks (7€).
Like I said, bus travel isn't my favorite, but this might have been the easier bus trip ever. The FlixBus was a double decker and I ended up with a seat to myself (which might be my #1 qualification of a wonderful ride!) It took about 4 hours to get to Prague with a smoke break along the way. The internet was flaky, but I'm in "unlimited" data usage with Google Fi so I watched some youtube to pass the time.
My Prague hostel is nice, run by the same folks my Bratislava hostel was (SafeStay). And very much like a bus trip, a hostel can, for me, be either good or bad on really simple things that usually don't have much to do with the hostel, per se. The bed I was assigned was a) a bottom bunk, which I requested and b) kind of tucked in a corner so I an use the space next to it to sprawl a little. Lastly, the room was only half full (3/6) with the roommates being quite, mostly repectful, and not on the bunk above me. So, at least so far, this hostel is top notch in my book. Plus at only $17/night and a central location, I'm content.
After getting settled at the hostel, I went out for an evening exploration. My first impressions are of an extremely crowded city. Navigating the streets was a task, weaving between at the tourists. I thought I might be in the off season, but I guess not. It was packed! I made it to the famous Charles Bridge but didn't even attempt to cross it as packed as it was. The old town square was more managable and it was nicely done up with Christmas stalls. I tried Halusky(91k) on the recommendation of a friend. It is kind of fried/mashed potatoes with cabbage and some sour onions? It was meh, but I'm glad I got to try it. I changed $100 US cash for 2235k.
Even though the streets were packed, they were narrow which I like and the city is quite picturesque with churches, statues, etc. The tourists started to lessen sligghtly, so I went back crossed the bridge, finding some dinner on the other side (ramen, 179k). Then it was back to the hostel. Overall, the evening walk (including from the train station to the hostel) was 6 miles. Add in the 3 miles biking in the morning and 3 more walking in Vieena and it was a calorie burning day.
Back at the hostel, I did a much needed load of laundry (8€) while I did some computer work for NYC Guitar School. I really like being able to do a little work from the road to offset costs but to also fill otherwise empty evenings. Having clean clothes is a relief and I took a shower before bed to celebrate.
Day 30: Prague Is Neat (1/4)
After being somewhat disheartened by the throngs of tourists yesterday, I had the idea to get up early-ish and see what the town looks like without a million slack-jawed gawkers. Also, I remember seeing a picture of the Charles Bridge at sunrise (or sunset) that was pretty top notch. Not that I'm any photographer, but it was nice inspiration to get up out of bed early (7:00, which is long before the sun rises here). I made it to the bridge and there were very few people around allowing me to get the requisite selife. I then headed to Old Town Square and again, it was super lovely being able to see things. I even got a jumping picture in front of the famous clock (and no one even had to wait for me because no one was around!)
I found my way to a Lidl to pick up some breakfast. I'm kind of over bread, cheese, and meat, so I got some pastries, a chocolate bar for later, and a vanilla steamed milk thing from the coffee machine (super good!). It all came to 76k (~3.50) Shane, who spent some time in Prague 20 years ago mentioned Wenceslas Square, so I thought I'd head there. When I got there, I remembered I had a Rick Steves Audio Guide tour for Prague and wouldn't you know it, it started right there! So I spent the next 2 hours following the audio guide around town to places I had already seen, but didn't know the story of. I can't recommend those podcasts highly enough.
My morning meanderings came to almost 6 miles and I didn't want to overdo it so I headed back to the hostel to rest up. It always amazes me how much down time there is travelling. I laid in my bed dinking on my phone for probably 2 hours until I decided it was time to get some lunch. I popped out for a slice of pizza (50k) and grabbed some milk to put in my tea back at the hostel (47k) and then went and had some tea (and filled my thermos with tea for my afternoon outing).
I bought a 24-hour public transpo pass (120k) and hopped on to check out a frolf course. The weather had turned from gorgeous in the morning to Pacific Northwest winter by the time I got to the course. And there was wind! The course was unremarkable, but I was glad to be checking it out. My +5 on the first round (did I mention there was wind?) was unsatisfactory, so I went in for another round. Halfway through, the only other guy on the course chatted me up and we played the rest of the round together. It was fun! I finished with a much more palatable +2 (again, wind) and watching him play made me realize I gotta up my putting game.
Since I had the train pass, I felt free to follow any whim. When I travel, I often check Atlas Obscura for anything that looks intesting. I found a few that I marked on my map and set off. The first one was a flop (art gallery that wasn't open) but the second one was a super find! It checked all my boxes for highlights: off the beaten path, super interesting, uncrowded. It was called the Grotta, just a neat, weird, man-made cave system thing in a public park. It was worth the price of the public transpo pass right there!
By this time, I was dark so I headed back into old town. I grabbed 2 slices of pizza (95k) not ncessarily because I was hungry but because it was something to do. Then back to the hotel to rest my legs again.
While I could have called it a night, I though I should probably get out once more and since food was the only thing that I could think to motivate me, I let that guide me. I found a great (but small) bowl of Thai soup (65k) then augmented that with some Burger King (cringe, but I couldn't pass up there 55k burger and fries deal). Then I happened by the Lidl again so I grabbed some cereal for the morning (since I have that milk) and an icecream bar (33k).
Since I was out and roaming about, I thought I might as well check something off the list, so I went back to the clock to watch it do its hourly show (which was extremely underwelming, but I wouldn't have known that if I didn't do it.) Now I'm back at the hostel feeling like I did a good job exploring today. Plus I have half a day of public transpo tomorrow so I hope that motivates me into early action again!
Since i have all these numbers written on my hand from expenditures for the day, I might as well total them: 541k = $24.20. Add my $17 for the hostel and I feel like that's just about right. I indulged on food and still came out under $50/day...not bad at all.
Day 31: Castle, Frolf, Funicular, and more (1/5)
I guess today represents one month since I left Anacortes. I suppose it's fitting that it is day I booked my return flights. More on that later.
Slower morning than yesterday, but I had had my cereal and packed my tea and was out the door by 8:30. I don't know why I get going so early, because I always have a lull midday, but I guess it is a rhythm that works for me. Since I had the public transpo pass until 1:30, I hopped on the tram and headed up to the castle. I could have walked, but I enjoyed riding the old timey streetcar things. Plus, it makes me feel successful to figure out a new city's system.
The castle was neat for sure, esp. because there weren't that many people there so early. It wasn't a Budapest castle, mind you, but still neat. The cathedral was gorgeous. I opted not to go in (for $12) but admired it from the outside a lot. Gotta love a flying buttress. Besides the cathedral, though, there wasn't much for me. Or maybe I just didn't get to see it because I didn't have the ticket. I may never know.
After the castle, I walked over to the fake Eiffel tower, just for yuks and to get a jumping picture. When I plotted my public transpo route to my next destination, google said I should take the funicular down the hill. When I looked into it, my public transpo pass covered the fare, so down I went. I love funiculars! They seems so purpose specific. And there were only 3 or 4 of us on it, so it really felt neat.
Next stop was an even more non-descript frolf course than yesterday. And the wind continued. Actually, this course wouldn't have been too bad had it not been windy. There were very few obstacles, but the distances were short which made for good birdie opportunities. Again, my first round was unacceptable so I played a second 9 and did a little better. But overall, would not recommend this course.
My inspiration for food has been waning of late, both for cost reasons and lack of decent options. I did a little research last night and found a place to check out. It was a cafeteria style place made specifically for locals in a hurry. You go down the line with your tray and tell the people what you want of the few options and they slop it up. Nothing was in English and I seemed to be the only honky in the place, so I just ordered the first thing listed on the menu. It turned out to be 2 scoops of rice with essentially beef pot pie filling. It was good (though not a ton of food). At 125k (~$6), it wasn't a steal, but it felt authentic and it was something different so I would definitely try it again.
I walked back to the hostel because I had work to do. I had to figure my shit out. After much searching and running through possibilities, I bought a couple of flights to get me home. I'll fly to London next Tuesday and then Seattle on Friday. I'm excited about my London time, even though I'm a little over the "walk around a city and look at stuff" phase of travel. Perhaps between now and then, I can develop a little more of a plan. Stonehenge maybe?
Evening, I did a little computer work for NYC Guitar School (woot! paid for my day of travel and more!) and then went to check out a cinema (169k) to see the new Guy Richie movie, Operation Fortune. It was perfectly mindless. Also, for dinner, had to grab a quick schwarma (165k) and a hot dog for #projectHotdog (69k). A quick stop at a grocery (because I think I might be addicted) for 88k, and then back for the night.
Tomorrow, I think I'm going to head out of the city for a couple days to check out a small town a couple hours south. I've been enjoying Prague and my hostel situation here, but I don't know what I'd do with myself for the 4 days until I leave, so I think this will be good. We'll see!
Day 32: Český Krumlov, A Medieval Town (1/6)
Since my bus wasn't until 11:00, the same time as checkout from the hostel, I had an easy morning and didn't go out. I finished my cereal, had some tea, did some crosswords, then dinked on my phone for an hour. Packing was easy and it was an easy 1.5 mile walk to the bus station (where I got a piece of pizza (35k) to augment my meager breakfast.) Prague is a nice city and I enjoy walking through it. Though I was only there 3 days, I almost thought I was getting to know it. No, it's big and there seem to be cool things around every corner. I would love to have an excuse to be in the city for a longer stint sometime. Maybe someday.
RegioJet, the bus company, was very efficient and on-time. I, again, ended up with a seat to myself so the 2.5 hour ride (12€) was pleasant enough. I had to stop watching instagram videos because I started feeling queasy. We arrived in Český Krumlov and hoofed it to my hostel, stopping for some soup and "dumplings" (basically just steamed bread :-/) on the way (101K) . Well, it's not a hostel per se but a soccer training facility that rents out its dorms in the off-season. I'm not complaining, though, because I have a room to myself (with bathroom) for $25/night! I think I might be the only one in the building too (which, I admit, is kind of a downside because travelling solo has enough loneliness to go with it.)
First order of business was to check out the frolf course literally right across the street from the hostel/sportsplex. It was...really nice! The castle on the hill is close enough that an errant wind-blown throw might smash out a window (okay, it would have to be really errant, but still). The holes were short but well marked. They did the best with the course that they could given the space. I played 2 rounds (-2 and -3). I'll probably play another round or two before I leave.
After frolf, I explored the town a bit. Český Krumlov sits on a very bendy river which makes for some great nooks and crannies. I'll learn all about the history tomorrow, but you can tell its construction pre-dates any thought of vehicles, as all the streets are narrow and randomly laid out. Since the town is a pretty big tourist draw, there were plenty of people about and shops and restaurants open (as opposed to some other towns of similar sizes I've been through.) I saved most of the exploring for tomorrow (castle, cathedral, etc.) But I got a sense of the place in my 3 hours of meandering. Note: the streets are all very cobbled which I dont' think is good for my achilles...
After looking for a place to eat for seemingly ever, I ended up doing Thai curry which was exactly what the doctor ordered (169k) after which I hit up a mini-mart for dessert of yogurt and a snickers (35k). I was back at the hostel by 7.
Day 33: A Slow Pleasant Day in Cresky Krumlov (1/7)
Since the town I'm in is so small, I didn't really have an agenda except to meander. I decided to treat myself to a nice breakfast on a cafe in the town square. I got 3 eggs, bacon, fresh bread, a little salad, and tea for 214k ($9.50). I try not to spend that kind of money on every meal, but it sure was nice, not only for the good food, but for the pleasant passing of time. I took my time, did my crossword, and watch the tourists start to filter in. I might even do it again tomorrow!
I saw advertisement for a "free" walking tour, just meet in the town square at 10:30 and 2:00. I showed up at 10:30 and no one was there. When I asked in the information center, they said you need to register for it. Since I'm sure "free" doesn't mean free at all, I was hesitant to register for it in case I was the only one then I would be obliged to tip way more than I want to. So instead, I just went walking. The town's castle (the second largest in Czechia) is open to pass through the courtyards, etc. and functions as a major pathway between town and the outskirts, where my hostel is. So I was stoked to be passing through it 4 times today! Of note, there's a Bear Moat with bears! Seeing the bears wasn't awesome, causing all the similar feelings zoos do, but it is also kind of an awesome concept.
Another fun discovery of today was the "translate image" feature of my phone. I took a picture of a coffee vending machine, pressed a few buttons, and presto!, everything was in English! I got a hot chocolate for 20k. I wish I had discovered this feature earlier. And while it is still clunky, I know I will find it useful in the short time I'm still here.
I thought I would try for the 2:00 "free" tour, since it felt like the town was really coming to life with more tourists. Sure enough, there was a small group gathered around a guy with a red umbrella, just as the sign said. There were 7 of us guidees, a good size, I thought. The guide was fun and quite knolwedgable, though he really went super deep in European history, more than I probably wanted. A lot of it didn't really apply to this town. It also meant standing around longer than I cared for, since the weather was actually a bit cold. I'm sure knowing the history is nice, and maybe some of it seeped in, so I suppose it is good. And what else would I be doing? The tour went about 2 hours. We saw the cathedral (very nice!) and the castle. I would have much prefered more local info than Czech history, but it was good. I tipped him 100k ($5) in a process that wasn't nearly as awkward or expectant as I worried it might be.
I was so cold after the tour that I hustled to the same restaurant I ate at last night, the Thai/Vietnamese place. I got a bowl of pho (165k) in hopes of warming me up and filling my belly, because by this time, it was 4:00 and I had had breakfast at 9:30. It did the trick. Afterwards, I stopped at the same convenience store as last night and got the same dessert (yogurt and a snickers, 35k). I realize how much a creature of habit I am.
Nothing else to report for the day: I did a bunch of computer stuff (got my bike trip blog post up, booked bus tickets for tomorrow, got hostel for tomorrow, returned e-mails, etc.) At 8, I ventured out to a gas station merely for something to do and got a "milk shake" from the automatic coffee machine (65k). It was mostly just strawberry milk, but good enough. It got me out for the room for a minute which was my intention.
Day 34: Cesky Krumlov to Prague (1/8)
Foggy morning in CK. I walked to a park that I hadn't checked out yet, keeping an eye out for a new breakfast spot on the way. My backpack is heavy. I didn't find anythinng, so I went to my spot on the town square again, but skipped the $3.00(!?) tea with breakfast (149k) to save a few moneys.
The bus driver back to Prague ($9 on flix) was a maniac. I didn't get a seat to myself either, but it was alright. I even started a book that I'm excited about!
I chose a new hostel in Prague to get to know a new part of town. It turned out to be one of those reception-less places where they e-mail you the door codes and instructions on how to get in. Super lame. But for $17/night, I guesss I shouldn't complain (even though the last place that I liked so much was only $17/night too!)
The rest of the day was just eating and a little bit of wandering. I found a pelmini place for lunch and tried the eeny weeny pelemini. Pretty good. I also got the regular ones, so it turned out to be a super splurge (229k). I found a grocery after to re-up my chocolate bar and mandarin supply (85k).
After an unusually long phone dinking session at the hostel, I headed back out for more food. I saw on the map a pizza placed called [Something] della pizza, so I went looking. Alas, it didn't exist. It felt like another one of those "you can't go back" moments that struck pretty hard. I said "I hear you, sweetie" outloud and held back tears.
Things didn't get much better from there. I found a street stand (the last dregs of the christmas market stands) that looked like it was selling fried cheese covered in mushroom gravy. I stood in line a long time only to have her tell me it was closed :-/ She did say they would be open again tomorrow, so I think I might have to try it. Instead, I got a kielbasa (130k) from a different street vendor and it was unedibly overcooked. I actually threw it away, which, if you konw me at all, means it was super unedible. I tried to comfort myself with something familiar so I went to McDs to get a milkshake (60k), but even it wasn't good.
Luckily, I chatted with a fellow traveller back at the hostel which cheered me up a little and I have my good book to dive into before bed. Plus there's the fried cheese tomorrow. It's fine.
Day 35: Last Day in Prague (1/9)
I've been in Prague now 4 or 5 days so feel like I have a pretty good feel for it. Today, on my last day, I didn't have anything left on the list of things to do so I just resorted to doing what I always do...meander. And, as always, meandering turned up some fun things.
* Breakfast of pastries and hot vanilla milk (my standard) at the Lidl (50k)
* I walked through Letna park. I got a geocache, saw the giant metronome (not working :-( ), and marveled at the wealth of grafitti.
* I visited the first (and only?) frisbee store in Czechia and bought my only souvenier, a Czech disc golf disc (490k)
* I stopped a couple of times to read a chapter in my book until I got too chilly and had to move on.
* I attmpted to visit the same locals cafeteria lunch spot but the line was out onto the street. But, sure enough, around the corner, I found another one. I had goulash and rice (with starter and salad after the main course) for 137k.
After my 7-mile morning meander, I came back to the hostel to watch the recaps of yesterday's football games. Go Hawks! I also got started on my "Today I..." blog post. I'm excited about that, if it manifests.
For my evening outing, I tried to get my cheap cup of hot vanilla milk, but the vending machine was kaput. Then I tried to get my fried cheese, but it turns out it was hashbrowns instead. I still got it, topped with mushroom gravy, from a street stand (90k), and it was good, but not fried cheese good. To augment, I got a Pizza Hut personal pizza (150k). I also stumbled up on the biggest, funnest toy store I've ever seen!
Tomorrow my flight isn't until 2, so I'll have a morning walk and breakfast, come back to the hotel to shower, change, and check-out, then public transpo it to the airport. Lookout London, here I come!
Day 36: Prague to London (1/10)
I took one last jaunt around Prague, stopping for groceries (150k) for breakfast and lunch. I happened by a fancy synagogue, which was pretty neat. 5+ days in that town and I'm still seeing things without even looking. I also decided to treat myself to bubble tea (115k) since it was cheaper there than I could ever find it in the states (though still not as cheap as it should be...). One thing I can say about the hostel was that 11 is a much more reasonable check-out time than most places. I got a chance to pack up and have a leisurely shower before checking out (/just leaving, since there was no reception, key or anything). Public transpo to the airport was 40k and super easy. And that was the end of Czechia.
On the flight ($115) (British Airways, but not fancy like the impression I have of BA), I got an aisle seat with an empty seat next to me! Near the end, I saw the gal in the window was doing NYT crosswords. It had been a while since I chatted with an American, so I struck up a conversation. She had lots of questions about crossword construction (because, of course, I told her I did that). It was a nice change to chat after it feels like this trip has been so solo.
The tube from Heathrow to my hostel (near Russel Park) was £6.30 and took an hour. I originally engineered this stopover to save a few bucks on my flight home, but it's clear that savings will easily be eaten up by London. But that's okay. I went out meandering and saw lots of bright lights and tons of people. It felt very New York-y, which makes sense.
While waiting at the airport, I brainstormed what I might do in London. Pub Quizzes were an idea, so I did a little research on that. It was a little frustrating (as almost all internet -> real world research is), but I thought I'd give it a try. The first 2 places I checked out were flops, one WAY too crowded and one didn't even know what pub quiz was (despite the internet proudly annoucing it was a hotbed for Tuesday night trivia.) I decided to give up and go looking for some dinner when I a pub's name caught my eye. I think I remembered it from the research I had done, but it said the bar had closed down for good? I went in and sure enough, trivia (2£) started in 10 minutes! Score! And for a double score, another solo player came in, never having done trivia before, and was looking for a teammate! We had a pretty strong showing for neither of us being British (there were plenty of british specific questions) but most of all, it was super fun!! Also, I had fish and chips (£16), so I consider that a win. Chocolate bar (£1.35) on the way home, and I'm stoked. The hostel, however, I'm less stoked on, but I'm hoping it will provide what I need: quiet, comfortable, and safe. We shall see.
Day 37: Jumping in London, the British Museum, and Juggling Club (1/11)
As I've covered before, hostel life is hit and miss. Last night, it was miss in a big way. From the looks of it, the room was good: had curtains on the beds, only 6-beds, no seeming partiers or sprawlers. Really, the only issue was the SNORING. Something about the formica sided cubes of bunkbeds super amplified it. And also, I think the dude's head was literally 8-inches from mine (on the other side of a thin sheet of something). Whatever the case, I didn't sleep much. I even downloaded some rain falling white background noise and put my headphones in. Oh well. To be hontest, it didn't both me that much, since I didn't have an agenda.
What do I do when I don't have an agenda? Walk! So once it was light, I set off. Being among all the people on their way to work with coffees in hand made me want a warm beverage to walk with, so I grabbed a tea and some pastries (£3.40). My general diretion was Big Ben to get my requisite jumping picture. Once I arrived, I looked for the best angle, best light, etc. Getting these images aren't easy by myself. Getting the janky tripod on even ground, angle always being low, timing it between pedestrians, using video (therefore getting an inferior quality image...). But I did it.
As often happens while walking, I find stuff on the ground. This time, it was a discarded all day transit pass that I pocketed for later. While down in Westminster, I did the Rick Steves walking tour of the area which was alright. I had sunny weather and I was walking around London, so it was all good, even if it was too much uninteresting history for me. I did, however, happening on a changing of the horse guard ceremony which was kind of interesting.
To check out if the found transit pass was functional, I took a short ride to Victoria Station to check on buses to Stonehenge for tomorrow. Success! And I got the scoop for Stonehenge. Next, I hopped the tube to Tower Hill so I could have a look at Tower Bridge. It would have been nice to go in Tower of London or whatever that complex is there, but I just assumed it was super expensive, so I passed it by (I had already checked on Westminster Abbey and they wanted $25!?!).
My next mission was lunch (and to try and get as much use out of the transit pass as possible), so I hopped on a bus headed back to the hostel. I took too much time looking for food, so had to end up eating at a local fast food place that was meh: curry chicken on rice with roti for £8. Overall, I've been pretty disappointed with food offerings both here and in all the other cities I've been in. There are no neighborhood take-out places; it all seems to be chains or sit-down places. One of the things I was excited about for London was cheap curries, but, alas... I comforted myself with cereal and milk from the grocery (£3.40).
After a short rest and phone charge at the hostel, I headed out to the British museum which was conveniently located a 5-minute walk from the hostel! I booted up the Rick Steves audio guide for that and went through about half of it. Part of what he was talking about was closed for renovation and part of it was history that I just didn't care about. There was some good stuff, though, despite the atrocity of Britian stealing so much from so many places: Egypt and Greece, notably. For shame, England. For shame. (I did, however, like seeing all the marble statues. That, and the mosiacs in the staircases, were the highlights.)
In another dumb luck moment, a quick search online said that the closest juggling club meeting to me was happening tonight. Since I wanted to get the most out of my transit pass, I thought I'd go for it! It was about a 45-minute, packed tube ride with 3 transfers to get there, but it was nice seeing the lesser burroughs. I had some fresh, handmade dumpings (£8.50) that were meh before going to the church the juggling club was held at. The gathering (£5) was about par for the course for all the juggling club meetings I've been to: a good mix of skills and ages, all with good enthusiasm. I did some passing (mostly sharing patterns I know, not learning any new ones) and an attempt at 9-club. Everyone was super nice. I joined them for a short time at the pub afterwards before taking the bus (instead of the tube) back. That marks 2 social evenings in a row! I think that's definitely something that has been missing from the trip: other people.
Day 38: Stonehenge (1/12)
I had to to get up early to get to my Stonehenge bus, but I woke up early before my alarm. I had cereal I had stashed downstairs and made some tea in my thermos for the trip. Since I was up earlier than I planned, I walked the 3 miles to the bus station to save the $3 on tube fare. Plus, I like walking.
London's Victoria station is very akin to NYC's Grand Central. In fact, the more time I spend in London, the more similar I see it to NYC. And that's not a bad thing. After a bit of run around, I found my Stonehenge bus (£58, round-trip including Stonehenge entrance). It took maybe 2 hours to get out there through grey, rainy weathher. As I felt we were getting close, I looked out the window and BAM! there it was, with no tour buses or buildins any barely any tourists. It was a pretty neat introduction. Of course, then we drove to the visitor's center and that's where the hoopla was, though not as bad as many other top tier landmarks are.
I hustled from the bus to the shuttle bus that takes people to the site. I wanted to beat the masses. Unfortunately, the shuttle bus waited for the masses, mostly a Japanese tour group. When the shuttle bus discharged, I hustled along. The whole point of this more-expensive-than-usual-for-me trip was to get my jumping photo and I wanted as few other people in it as possible. Unfortunately, between windy weather with my tripod and the lay of the land in terms of good angles, being there early didn't help.
After walking around a bit, I found a spot that could work and grabbed a video to parse later. I asked a younger gal (24?) to do a video from a different angle but she filmed in portrait rather than landscape ruining what could ahve been a better take than my self-shot. Rookie move. I found a bench to sit at to parse to see if I had what I needed. It was okay, probably the best I could do by myself and not annoying strangers too much. I dawdled around the stones for a bit longer, downloading the audioguide app and skipping through it.
When I started walking back to the shuttle bus, it really started raining such that I ran to get under cover, though not to much gain. Getting rained on feels like an apt part of visiting stonehenge. I breezed through the museum and visitor's center with minimal interest. I treated myself to a steak pasty and tea in the cafe (£8) since it is my last day in England. Then it was on the bus back to London.
My impression of Stonehenge was about what I expected: underwhelmed. But because I had not had high expectations, it was all good. I got what I came for and if I didn't do it, I think I would have regretted it. I found a lot of interest in the meta element: how other people experienced the site, how it was presented, the cost, the visitor's center, etc. It feels like a top tier landmark of the world (deserved or not) and I'm glad I went.
Back in London, I figured I could walk home again, since I had nothing but time. Halfway through, however, it started raining heavily. I ducked under an awning in the park and waited for the worst of it to pass. We'll see if my shoes dry overnight.
When I got back to the hostel, around 4:00, I caught up on some computer stuff (esp. uploading my wealth of jumping pictures to the Jumping Project page). I downloaded my boarding pass for tomorrow. I did some work for Shane. And I looked for "cheap eats" of London. Usualy, that particular search is utterly useless (though I still continue to try it, becasue that's how cheap I am.) This time, however, I found a restaurant near me doing a soft launch and having 50% off all food! It was a bowling alley trying to be super hip, but just felt loud and contrived (or maybe I'm just super unhip.) I had a philly cheese steak, fries, and a brownie with ice cream and it came to £10, so I didn't complain.
And with that, put a fork in me, I'm done. I'll probably post tomorrow to finish the chronicle for bookkeeping purposes, but I doubt there will be much interesting. I'm non-stop Heathrow to Seattle at 10am, so I doubt there'll be much to report on.
Day39: Return to the States (1/13)
I feel like I'm fortunate in that when I don't get good or enough sleep, at least when traveling, I'm not hugely affected. This has helped out lots when it has come to less than ideal hostel situations. And not that the situation at Smart Russell Square Hostel was overly bad. But it wasn't awesome. For one, the bed was perhaps exactly 6 feet long with walls at the top and bottom. I could quite easily touch my head and feet to the walls at the same time. And, with the layout of the room, I ended up sleeping with lots of stuff on the bed (my clothes, phone, charger, headphones). All this combined with having to get up to an alarm (which never allows me to sleep too well), my last night of travels wasn't entirely restful. But like I said, I'm fortunate that it didn't overly faze me.
I was up long before my alarm and quietly grabbed my stuff and moved down to the common area to pack and get ready for the day. I finished my milk and cereal for breakfast and was headed to the tube (£6.50) by 6:45. Trip to the airport, security, checking-in, and the flight were all easy. I actually had a whole row to myself on the Virgin Atlantic flight which made it super easy. I watched 4 movies (some Jurrasic Park, Clerks III, Don't Worry Darling, and ???). We got a real meal and 2 half-meals (sandwiches, tea, cookies) which helped pass the time. No less than 3 flight attendants full ignored my inquiry as to if there would be seconds because the flight was so empty. Alas.
Returning to the US after being abroad is always jolting, not in culture shock, but in how absolutely bad our immigration/customs/security process is. I don't know if I've ever gone through and thought "Good job, USA. You're doing this necessary thing well and with respect for people." This time, I waited for over an hour in line (middle of the day, no delayed flights or obvious reason they weren't prepared). Perhaps it was because of lack of sleep or fatigue from such a long day of travel, but this marked the beginning of the tedious part of the journey, even though I was only 75 miles from home.
Public transpo from the airport to Anacortes goes lightrail ($3.50) -> bus (512, usually $3.25, but I got it free since the cash payment thing was broken) -> bus (80x, $2) -> bus (40x, $1) ->bus (410, $1). I got out of customs at 1:15. I got home at 6:00. There were 30-minute+ layovers in both Seattle and Everett. All told, it was 19 hours door to door. The US part of the trip sure did make me miss the Euro public transit I had so much enjoyed while over there.
And then I was home. There was neither great relief nor disappointment, just how it is. I had a ramen for dinner and then went to bed.
Since this will be my last entry in this travel journal, I should first say, thank you to anyone reading it. Traveling alone isn't my favorite and having this outlet has been key for me. Knowing that it gets read helps keep me on it. I should have a couple real blog posts coming out in the next weeks wrapping up the trip.
Secondly, I wanted to record a few general observations for myself in hopes of enhancing future travels for myself, things that I came to realize on this trip that, had I known at the beginning, would have been helpful.
* Planning is good. I usually just wing it, but that hasn't been working well, as it puts too much decision stress on me during the trip. Book a round trip ticket so it gives structure! It can always be changed. And knowing where I'm going and a general timeline also would help me enjoy being somewhere rather than spending so much time looking at what's next.
* Seek out social activities! Pub trivia and juggling club in London really helped me enjoy my solo time the rest of the day. Even dinners on the cruise were a nice respite from in-my-head time. Plan these.
* Worry even less about money. I've come a long way from the scrooge that I was, but there's still a long way to go.
* While this volunteer gig wasn't amazing, the concept of having a purpose, being with people, helping, and structure was great. Consider planning all future trips around volunteering.
* Don't bring juggling clubs. It's really not worth it.
That's all I can think of now, but I might come back to and augment. It's nice to have a space with some ideas for next time I start thinking about travel.
(Oh, and post trip weigh in was 194, so nothing gained and nothing lost.)
