We did two things today.
Blue Mosque. Incredible. The exterior architecture is magnificent, and the interior is equally so. Beautiful carpets adorn the floors and only a few massive pillars (at least 4 yards in diameter) hold up the domes from inside, leaving incredible wide open spaces for prayer. We had to take our shoes off to get inside, and it was cold!
All day was cold, cold and windy. It had reached -16°C in Kiev at times, but there was no wind. Here, at -2°C, the windchill was killer. And inside the Blue Mosque or not did not matter -- our feet were frozen and our hands were numb. But that did not stop us from appreciating the beautiful grandeur. As I said to Jonas, "and muslims think the western world is decadent?" This place is one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen.
Until Hagia Sofia. Although the breathtaking exterior is a tad overshadowed by the Blue Mosque, and the 20 Lira entrance fee is a bit steep, Hagia Sofia is unbelievable. I have no words that can do it justice, and I cannot wait to learn more about it and return (to the Blue Mosque as well). It was a church first, built around 330, I believe, and was converted in the 15th century into a mosque. Today, it's a museum, and still gorgeous.
Jonas and I didn't do much else. We broke out a bottle of Żubrowka that I had picked up at duty-free in Харкiв, and enjoyed a bit. We played a bit of pool, and chatted with a German girl named Lilly and her French friends.
Oh, and we watched one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen, called the Last Circus. It's a Spanish film about a sad clown who has every reason to be sad, and his spiraling out of control amongst the world he knows that's deteriorating around him. Highly recommended. Crazy, crazy film.
That's pretty much it.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Fusion!
I was up at 9:30, and managed to have an entire morning before Jonas got up at 1.
The most incredible news of the day: I might actually find Fusion beer, after 19 months of searching.
Several weeks ago, when I spent an evening arguing the finer points of social policies with Dinuka, my astrophysicist friend, in Warsaw, I also made a small request. He was heading on the transsiberian railroad, and would be in Mongolia, well, now. I asked him to look into shipping a beer I've only found there to the US, for which I would pay a commission.
I reminded him yesterday, and this morning I woke up with a message on Facebook from him. It went something like this:
"So I called up the company and they asked me to cine [come] down as it would be easier to go over in person.. so I took the short walk down . Got escorted by security to a secretary who then escorted me to the head of foreign relations who took me into a massive board room. Seemed a bit much for a case of beer.. The guy asked what you were gonna do with the beer.. I was like "drink it, presumably". So they assumed you were a businessman importing massive quantities.. After an awkward silence once I explained to them that it was just for personal use the guy was still happy to send it to you"
Best news ever. Dinuka said they would charge about $1 per bottle, plus shipping. He gave me the contact info of one of the company executives, and I shot off an email... I'm too excited to get a reply. This is my favorite beer. The only beer I've ever still enjoyed when it was warm, flat, and a day old.
When Jonas finally got up we headed out. We walked about 200m to the Grand Bazaar, passing along the way the famed Burnt Column that our hostel is in the shadow of. The column was erected by Constantine in the year 330 to celebrate the new designation of Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire. The statue of Constantine was toppled by hurricane in 1106, and the column was damaged in a neighborhood fire in 1779, but the column has remained for 18 centuries and counting...
The Grand Bazaar found us wandering and getting lost in a maze of silk and gold. The bulk of the market we saw was indoors, with high vaulted ceilings keeping the incessant snow away (oh, I didn't mention that it showed most of today? Snow and cold have followed us everywhere so far!).
We stopped for lunch at a random restaurant, one of hundreds in the area. This one had indoor seating, so it was ideal to get out of the cold. The food was delicious, but we haven't quite figured out the price to quantity index, so we way over-ordered, and now both of us feel uncomfortably full.
We got back to the hostel around 4 and moved out of the 8-person dorm room at Jonas' request. His back has been bothering him for the entire trip, but has gotten worse in recent days, and he needed a quiet place to sleep (and a smaller room that the heater would actually have an effect in). So instead of
paying 5€/night each, we're now paying 10€ for a private room. Oh, and we had to move all our stuff from 306 to our distant new room, 307.
The move couldn't have come at a better (albeit unfortunate) time. Jonas stretched in the common room and we both heard a loud pop. He was in incredible pain. I walked him to the elevator and brought him to our room. I helped him lay down and went to a nearby pharmacy, where I got some over-the-counter painkillers.
I went downstairs while Jonas slept it off.
At 6, I woke Jonas up to see how he was doing. He wasn't worse, which was good. And he could get up. I left him to relax for another hour, when he met me downstairs. We went out for a walk around 7:30, down the hill from our hostel.
About 250m later we rounded the corner, and were met with a perfect view of the Blue Mosque. At night, it is striking. Six minarets rise into the sky, lit from below, and highlighted along with the domes by the darkened sky. Amazing.
I don't know who it was who saw the Hagia Sophia and said to themselves, "you know what this gigantic mosque could use next to it? Another gigantic mosque." but someone did, and the Blue Mosque runs right up against Hagia Sophia, separated only by a small open area. So we got a beautiful view of that as well. Both mosques were closed for business, but we're so close, and we can go inside tomorrow.
We made our way back to the hostel, stopping at a cafe for some takeaway dinner. We made it back about 9, and the night was over. I downloaded a movie to watch, but iTunes took forever to download, so we'll watch it tomorrow. The Last Circus, it's called - a Spanish thriller.
Today and the next few days are going to be almost all things done at the behest of Jonas. I have 5 months here. He has 5 days. Nonetheless, I will faithfully keep this journal until my study abroad program starts, and then sporadically from there until I return to the US.
The most incredible news of the day: I might actually find Fusion beer, after 19 months of searching.
Several weeks ago, when I spent an evening arguing the finer points of social policies with Dinuka, my astrophysicist friend, in Warsaw, I also made a small request. He was heading on the transsiberian railroad, and would be in Mongolia, well, now. I asked him to look into shipping a beer I've only found there to the US, for which I would pay a commission.
I reminded him yesterday, and this morning I woke up with a message on Facebook from him. It went something like this:
"So I called up the company and they asked me to cine [come] down as it would be easier to go over in person.. so I took the short walk down . Got escorted by security to a secretary who then escorted me to the head of foreign relations who took me into a massive board room. Seemed a bit much for a case of beer.. The guy asked what you were gonna do with the beer.. I was like "drink it, presumably". So they assumed you were a businessman importing massive quantities.. After an awkward silence once I explained to them that it was just for personal use the guy was still happy to send it to you"
Best news ever. Dinuka said they would charge about $1 per bottle, plus shipping. He gave me the contact info of one of the company executives, and I shot off an email... I'm too excited to get a reply. This is my favorite beer. The only beer I've ever still enjoyed when it was warm, flat, and a day old.
When Jonas finally got up we headed out. We walked about 200m to the Grand Bazaar, passing along the way the famed Burnt Column that our hostel is in the shadow of. The column was erected by Constantine in the year 330 to celebrate the new designation of Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire. The statue of Constantine was toppled by hurricane in 1106, and the column was damaged in a neighborhood fire in 1779, but the column has remained for 18 centuries and counting...
The Grand Bazaar found us wandering and getting lost in a maze of silk and gold. The bulk of the market we saw was indoors, with high vaulted ceilings keeping the incessant snow away (oh, I didn't mention that it showed most of today? Snow and cold have followed us everywhere so far!).
We stopped for lunch at a random restaurant, one of hundreds in the area. This one had indoor seating, so it was ideal to get out of the cold. The food was delicious, but we haven't quite figured out the price to quantity index, so we way over-ordered, and now both of us feel uncomfortably full.
We got back to the hostel around 4 and moved out of the 8-person dorm room at Jonas' request. His back has been bothering him for the entire trip, but has gotten worse in recent days, and he needed a quiet place to sleep (and a smaller room that the heater would actually have an effect in). So instead of
paying 5€/night each, we're now paying 10€ for a private room. Oh, and we had to move all our stuff from 306 to our distant new room, 307.
The move couldn't have come at a better (albeit unfortunate) time. Jonas stretched in the common room and we both heard a loud pop. He was in incredible pain. I walked him to the elevator and brought him to our room. I helped him lay down and went to a nearby pharmacy, where I got some over-the-counter painkillers.
I went downstairs while Jonas slept it off.
At 6, I woke Jonas up to see how he was doing. He wasn't worse, which was good. And he could get up. I left him to relax for another hour, when he met me downstairs. We went out for a walk around 7:30, down the hill from our hostel.
About 250m later we rounded the corner, and were met with a perfect view of the Blue Mosque. At night, it is striking. Six minarets rise into the sky, lit from below, and highlighted along with the domes by the darkened sky. Amazing.
I don't know who it was who saw the Hagia Sophia and said to themselves, "you know what this gigantic mosque could use next to it? Another gigantic mosque." but someone did, and the Blue Mosque runs right up against Hagia Sophia, separated only by a small open area. So we got a beautiful view of that as well. Both mosques were closed for business, but we're so close, and we can go inside tomorrow.
We made our way back to the hostel, stopping at a cafe for some takeaway dinner. We made it back about 9, and the night was over. I downloaded a movie to watch, but iTunes took forever to download, so we'll watch it tomorrow. The Last Circus, it's called - a Spanish thriller.
Today and the next few days are going to be almost all things done at the behest of Jonas. I have 5 months here. He has 5 days. Nonetheless, I will faithfully keep this journal until my study abroad program starts, and then sporadically from there until I return to the US.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Харкiв
I woke up at 5:44 when Jonas thought we were in Kharkiv, but weren't. I fell back to sleep.
Woke up at 6:20 when we actually had arrived in Kharkiv, end of the line. We packed up our stuff and left.
We wandered the gorgeous soviet-era train station in search of luggage storage. Our plane didn't leave for 9 hours.
Thank god for my space bags! I packed an exorbitant amount of luggage into vacuum space bags for this trip, which meant my backpack is absurdly bulky and heavy. As such, it wouldn't fit into the lockers at the airport storage facility. Until, that is, we took the space bags out. Then both of our bags fit into the two tiny lockers and, for 13грн, we locked our stuff. We were made to make and remember a code for the locker combination locks. One letter and 3 numbers. I picked A-0-0-7, Jonas picked A-6-6-6.
The sun was coming up, we found a nearby cafe and got some caffeine in our systems. By 7:30, we were wandering the city.
We had no idea what the city had to offer, so we got on the metro and took it to a central crossroads between lines. The stop we chose was the University, and it couldn't have been more stereotypically dead at 8am on a Sunday if it were a university anywhere else.
We found a little Бистро by the station and enjoyed an odd-tasting schwarma.
We wandered a bit, stumbling by chance on the one place I wanted to see in this city, Svobody Square, the large communist main square that's a prerequisite for any soviet city, complete with a gigantic statue of Lenin. Ukrainians brag that it's also the largest square in Europe, though in reality it is the 6th largest (or 2nd, depending how you count Russia). The largest is Parade Square adjacent to the Palace of Culture in the center of Warsaw, which I walked through unwittingly with Judson weeks ago. The four between the squares Parade and Svobody are in Russia, which some people don't count, putting Russia in the Eurasia category, not the European one.
We found a coffee shop in a modern mall called F-Club. Another drink apiece brought us to 9:15.
From here we walked east on Ivanova to Pushkinska, then south. The goal was to find a synagogue I discovered on trip advisor - I was curious and Jonas had never been in a synagogue.
We tried mapping it, and thought it was close, but it wasn't. We got to Pushkinska at number 62, and needed 12. So we walked and walked in the -10°C (15°F) windy weather for about a kilometer.
We found the synagogue, a beautiful old building with a gate and large menorah outside. A guard stopped us after we passed the gate, and we had to show out passports to get into the building. Since anti-semetism is not uncommon in this part of the world, guards can be necessary in synagogues.
Like I mentioned above, Jonas had never been to a synagogue before (I'm the only Jew he knows). So he got a rare treat. We walked into shul to find about 15 orthodox men praying in full garb - yarmulke, tefilin and tallit. It was a beautiful sight -- for Jonas because he felt like he was seeing something real instead of the museum-like feel of most European churches; for me because I am amazed there are still enough Jews for a minyan in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in such a beautiful and apparently in damaged synagogue. The only explanation I can think of is perhaps Germany didn't get quite this far into Ukraine, but I don't know.
We walked a bit farther to the metro and went back to the station. We were pushing 11am, and were more than exhausted. Stopped again at the coffee place, where they were now filming some sort of Ukrainian movie. We're probably in the background of the scene.
We got our bags from the
train station and, following the directions Peter had found for us on ever-trustworthy Wikipedia, took the metro to Проспект Гагарiна, then boarded the number 115 bus bound for the Аэропорт for 2.5Грн each.
We slept a bit on the bus, so when we got off at the last stop, we weren't quite at the airport. We had passed it.
Fortunately, we weren't far from it, and walked back the way we had come, around the corner, and across the street. Airport.
It was about 12:30, and our flight was at 4:25. A bit early for my tastes, but Jonas needed to nap (didn't get much sleep last night on the train) and wanted to be extra sure we'd make it on time.
We sat down at a cafe inside the main (well, only) terminal. Jonas slept for an hour while I nursed a freshly squeezed orange juice and watched the bags.
About 1:45 they started letting us check in, and we did. When I weighed my bag, I was told it was 23.6kg, 3.6kg overweight. But, I quickly pointed out, I had prepaid for extra weight on the website so as to avoid extraordinary fees in the airport. Planning win!
We got through security and customs and found ourselves by the gates. All 4 of them. The departure board proudly displayed every departure that day: Istanbul 16:25.
We sat around doing nothing for a while. I got a liter bottle of Żubrowka vodka in duty free for 8€, half of what it would cost for 750ml in the US. I would have bought two, but they only had one in stock.
The website for Pegasus says that 95.68% (+/- .3%) of their flights take off on time. We clearly were in the unlucky 4.32%, as we took off 5 minutes late.
But only landed a minute late, at 18:36. I slept the whole way.
The airport was crowded. We had to wait a bit to get through customs. I got my student visa stamped in my passport, marking the beginning of the 150 days I'm allowed to be in the country before I need to leave. Jonas, because he's strange and Danish, is from one of the few places on earth that doesn't need a visa to enter Turkey, so didn't have to pay 20€ for said visa at the border.
We walked outside to the delightful feeling of warm air (above freezing temperatures!) and only a spattering of snow falling and not sticking. 34°F is a nice change from the -4°F happening in Kiev today.
We kind of improvised how we got to the hostel. The directions on Hostelworld were from Ataturk airport, and we landed at the other one, Sabiha Gökçen, in Asia.
So we took a Havas shuttle from the airport to Taksim, a busy square on the European side, nearby the old town that we had booked at. It was my first crossing of the Bosphorus.
At Taksim we picked up some food at a fast food Turkish place. It was amazingly delicious. I got a döner sandwich and Jonas got some cheesy bread thing. First meal in Turkey - impressed, and it was probably the shittiest meal this city has to offer.
We got on the metro and headed towards Zeytinburnu, via the F1 sloping train (literally, its built on a slant and goes straight down, with the cars in the train boasting several levels of seating that are slanted as well to provide the experience of standing or sitting upright). From there, we got the T1 tramvay.
We were originally going to get off 22 stops later, at Zeytinburnu, but I realized a few stops in that we were coming from the opposite direction of the hostel's directions, and would have to only go 8 stops total, instead of 22 to reach the starting point of their directions and then 14 back to find the hostel. We disembarked at Çhemberlitaş, next to the burnt column.
The hostel is 40m down a small hill around the corner from here, a fact we discovered from two random storekeepers who individually wanted to help us, unsolicited.
Cordial House hostel is a little cold, but clean and efficient. The dorm we got is cheap as can be, less than $7 per night, and while they have no lockers in the room and only a communal plug for electronics, they do have a safe deposit box downstairs for our passports and valuables.
We dropped our stuff off and went out for more food. We got some delicious and cheap food down the street a ways.
Back at the hostel around 10:30, we did some catching up with home, then bed before midnight.
Woke up at 6:20 when we actually had arrived in Kharkiv, end of the line. We packed up our stuff and left.
We wandered the gorgeous soviet-era train station in search of luggage storage. Our plane didn't leave for 9 hours.
Thank god for my space bags! I packed an exorbitant amount of luggage into vacuum space bags for this trip, which meant my backpack is absurdly bulky and heavy. As such, it wouldn't fit into the lockers at the airport storage facility. Until, that is, we took the space bags out. Then both of our bags fit into the two tiny lockers and, for 13грн, we locked our stuff. We were made to make and remember a code for the locker combination locks. One letter and 3 numbers. I picked A-0-0-7, Jonas picked A-6-6-6.
The sun was coming up, we found a nearby cafe and got some caffeine in our systems. By 7:30, we were wandering the city.
We had no idea what the city had to offer, so we got on the metro and took it to a central crossroads between lines. The stop we chose was the University, and it couldn't have been more stereotypically dead at 8am on a Sunday if it were a university anywhere else.
We found a little Бистро by the station and enjoyed an odd-tasting schwarma.
We wandered a bit, stumbling by chance on the one place I wanted to see in this city, Svobody Square, the large communist main square that's a prerequisite for any soviet city, complete with a gigantic statue of Lenin. Ukrainians brag that it's also the largest square in Europe, though in reality it is the 6th largest (or 2nd, depending how you count Russia). The largest is Parade Square adjacent to the Palace of Culture in the center of Warsaw, which I walked through unwittingly with Judson weeks ago. The four between the squares Parade and Svobody are in Russia, which some people don't count, putting Russia in the Eurasia category, not the European one.
We found a coffee shop in a modern mall called F-Club. Another drink apiece brought us to 9:15.
From here we walked east on Ivanova to Pushkinska, then south. The goal was to find a synagogue I discovered on trip advisor - I was curious and Jonas had never been in a synagogue.
We tried mapping it, and thought it was close, but it wasn't. We got to Pushkinska at number 62, and needed 12. So we walked and walked in the -10°C (15°F) windy weather for about a kilometer.
We found the synagogue, a beautiful old building with a gate and large menorah outside. A guard stopped us after we passed the gate, and we had to show out passports to get into the building. Since anti-semetism is not uncommon in this part of the world, guards can be necessary in synagogues.
Like I mentioned above, Jonas had never been to a synagogue before (I'm the only Jew he knows). So he got a rare treat. We walked into shul to find about 15 orthodox men praying in full garb - yarmulke, tefilin and tallit. It was a beautiful sight -- for Jonas because he felt like he was seeing something real instead of the museum-like feel of most European churches; for me because I am amazed there are still enough Jews for a minyan in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in such a beautiful and apparently in damaged synagogue. The only explanation I can think of is perhaps Germany didn't get quite this far into Ukraine, but I don't know.
We walked a bit farther to the metro and went back to the station. We were pushing 11am, and were more than exhausted. Stopped again at the coffee place, where they were now filming some sort of Ukrainian movie. We're probably in the background of the scene.
We got our bags from the
train station and, following the directions Peter had found for us on ever-trustworthy Wikipedia, took the metro to Проспект Гагарiна, then boarded the number 115 bus bound for the Аэропорт for 2.5Грн each.
We slept a bit on the bus, so when we got off at the last stop, we weren't quite at the airport. We had passed it.
Fortunately, we weren't far from it, and walked back the way we had come, around the corner, and across the street. Airport.
It was about 12:30, and our flight was at 4:25. A bit early for my tastes, but Jonas needed to nap (didn't get much sleep last night on the train) and wanted to be extra sure we'd make it on time.
We sat down at a cafe inside the main (well, only) terminal. Jonas slept for an hour while I nursed a freshly squeezed orange juice and watched the bags.
About 1:45 they started letting us check in, and we did. When I weighed my bag, I was told it was 23.6kg, 3.6kg overweight. But, I quickly pointed out, I had prepaid for extra weight on the website so as to avoid extraordinary fees in the airport. Planning win!
We got through security and customs and found ourselves by the gates. All 4 of them. The departure board proudly displayed every departure that day: Istanbul 16:25.
We sat around doing nothing for a while. I got a liter bottle of Żubrowka vodka in duty free for 8€, half of what it would cost for 750ml in the US. I would have bought two, but they only had one in stock.
The website for Pegasus says that 95.68% (+/- .3%) of their flights take off on time. We clearly were in the unlucky 4.32%, as we took off 5 minutes late.
But only landed a minute late, at 18:36. I slept the whole way.
The airport was crowded. We had to wait a bit to get through customs. I got my student visa stamped in my passport, marking the beginning of the 150 days I'm allowed to be in the country before I need to leave. Jonas, because he's strange and Danish, is from one of the few places on earth that doesn't need a visa to enter Turkey, so didn't have to pay 20€ for said visa at the border.
We walked outside to the delightful feeling of warm air (above freezing temperatures!) and only a spattering of snow falling and not sticking. 34°F is a nice change from the -4°F happening in Kiev today.
We kind of improvised how we got to the hostel. The directions on Hostelworld were from Ataturk airport, and we landed at the other one, Sabiha Gökçen, in Asia.
So we took a Havas shuttle from the airport to Taksim, a busy square on the European side, nearby the old town that we had booked at. It was my first crossing of the Bosphorus.
At Taksim we picked up some food at a fast food Turkish place. It was amazingly delicious. I got a döner sandwich and Jonas got some cheesy bread thing. First meal in Turkey - impressed, and it was probably the shittiest meal this city has to offer.
We got on the metro and headed towards Zeytinburnu, via the F1 sloping train (literally, its built on a slant and goes straight down, with the cars in the train boasting several levels of seating that are slanted as well to provide the experience of standing or sitting upright). From there, we got the T1 tramvay.
We were originally going to get off 22 stops later, at Zeytinburnu, but I realized a few stops in that we were coming from the opposite direction of the hostel's directions, and would have to only go 8 stops total, instead of 22 to reach the starting point of their directions and then 14 back to find the hostel. We disembarked at Çhemberlitaş, next to the burnt column.
The hostel is 40m down a small hill around the corner from here, a fact we discovered from two random storekeepers who individually wanted to help us, unsolicited.
Cordial House hostel is a little cold, but clean and efficient. The dorm we got is cheap as can be, less than $7 per night, and while they have no lockers in the room and only a communal plug for electronics, they do have a safe deposit box downstairs for our passports and valuables.
We dropped our stuff off and went out for more food. We got some delicious and cheap food down the street a ways.
Back at the hostel around 10:30, we did some catching up with home, then bed before midnight.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Change of Plans
I woke up just before 11 to wake everyone up. It was Nina's last day in Kiev; she went home to Austria after five months studying and living here. The plan was to go to Пузата Хата, the cafeteria place Jonas and I went to several days ago, for a send off meal. Being the only sober one in the hostel, it was my job to wake them all up.
I made the rounds with a bottle of aspirin and a large glass of water. I found Cooper asleep in bed. Nina and Chadwic had passed out in the movie room in the basement. Amelia had crashed on the floor at the foot of Peter's bed, but was up already. Mike had left at 4am to return to Germany for work, and Joe was up and on the computer. Jonas was, of course, asleep.
We never went to Пузата Хата, but instead made some small eats in the kitchen and sat and bonded in the common room (a common occurrence at this point). This went on for several hours until Nina had to leave around 2. Cooper and Joe went with her to the airport, as they also had flights to catch; they were going back to Germany (like Mike) to take up their positions again as resort employees at a vacation spot for recently returned American combat troops.
Jonas discovered this morning he was lower on cash than he had anticipated, and we started brainstorming ways to get to Istanbul cheaply and quickly. Odessa, as we have been repeatedly told and only now finally let ourselves believe, is a summer party city, and is dead and quiet at the moment.
Peter had mentioned a few days ago that there's a cheap flight to Istanbul that only leaves from some eastern city near the Russian border. While Jonas and I were debating how to get to Istanbul without spending much money, I realized this might be a possibility.
We looked up flights, and a flight to Istanbul from Харкiв (Kharkiv) was only $111.99, instead of the $200+ from both Odessa and Kiev. The train to Kharkiv was 10 hours, and cost only 134Грн, or $16.75. So here's the solution we came up with:
Today is January 28. We would take a 22:29 train to Харкiв, arriving about half past six the next morning. We would deposit our luggage at a locker in the train station, and explore this very communist-looking city for a few hours. In the early afternoon we would find our bags and make our way to the airport for a 16:25 flight to Istanbul, arriving at 18:35 on Pegasus Air. In Istanbul, we would find our way to a hostel, and Jonas and I would explore the city for the remaining 5 days before he has to go home. Easy.
We booked our flight and left around 4 to get tickets at the train station. Jonas and I walked for 2km in the -14°C cold to the station, a feat that felt a lot shorter without 50kg on our backs and without un-shoveled snow at our feet. On our way back, we got dinner at the Панда Кафе (Panda Cafe), an authentic-looking Chinese restaurant.
The only thing not authentic about the restaurant was the non-Asian workers and the price. The food was really good. We had sweet and sour fish, chicken and beans, crispy yet juicy string beans, and some 包子. All good.
We got back a little after 6 and packed and hung out. We paid Peter for our room and officially "checked out," if you can call it that. I found Peter in the basement after I took a shower and handed him the money, to which he said, "I think this is the first time anyone has paid me in the basement." I replied, "I bet it's the first time someone has paid you while only in their underwear, too." Probably true, too.
At 9 I left my room to find the reception desk in the hallway. Maria had had it moved for a fire show, which she did about 45 minutes later. The tiny dreadlocked Ukrainian girl put on some jovial music and lit a ball on fire, and started swinging it around her head, through her legs, and over our heads and in our faces as we ooh'd and ahh'd. It lasted only 3 or 4 minutes, but it was an incredible sight.
With that, we had to leave. Jonas and I said our goodbyes and left without a ton of fanfare. Amelia grabbed us a cab and negotiated the price down to 30Грн to the station.
We arrived around 10:10. Bought some water and found our track, track 10. And we left, one minute late, which is unacceptable for these ex-soviet countries. Someone should be fired.
We watched the Usual Suspects on the train, and slept. We had the four-person second class car to ourselves.
I made the rounds with a bottle of aspirin and a large glass of water. I found Cooper asleep in bed. Nina and Chadwic had passed out in the movie room in the basement. Amelia had crashed on the floor at the foot of Peter's bed, but was up already. Mike had left at 4am to return to Germany for work, and Joe was up and on the computer. Jonas was, of course, asleep.
We never went to Пузата Хата, but instead made some small eats in the kitchen and sat and bonded in the common room (a common occurrence at this point). This went on for several hours until Nina had to leave around 2. Cooper and Joe went with her to the airport, as they also had flights to catch; they were going back to Germany (like Mike) to take up their positions again as resort employees at a vacation spot for recently returned American combat troops.
Jonas discovered this morning he was lower on cash than he had anticipated, and we started brainstorming ways to get to Istanbul cheaply and quickly. Odessa, as we have been repeatedly told and only now finally let ourselves believe, is a summer party city, and is dead and quiet at the moment.
Peter had mentioned a few days ago that there's a cheap flight to Istanbul that only leaves from some eastern city near the Russian border. While Jonas and I were debating how to get to Istanbul without spending much money, I realized this might be a possibility.
We looked up flights, and a flight to Istanbul from Харкiв (Kharkiv) was only $111.99, instead of the $200+ from both Odessa and Kiev. The train to Kharkiv was 10 hours, and cost only 134Грн, or $16.75. So here's the solution we came up with:
Today is January 28. We would take a 22:29 train to Харкiв, arriving about half past six the next morning. We would deposit our luggage at a locker in the train station, and explore this very communist-looking city for a few hours. In the early afternoon we would find our bags and make our way to the airport for a 16:25 flight to Istanbul, arriving at 18:35 on Pegasus Air. In Istanbul, we would find our way to a hostel, and Jonas and I would explore the city for the remaining 5 days before he has to go home. Easy.
We booked our flight and left around 4 to get tickets at the train station. Jonas and I walked for 2km in the -14°C cold to the station, a feat that felt a lot shorter without 50kg on our backs and without un-shoveled snow at our feet. On our way back, we got dinner at the Панда Кафе (Panda Cafe), an authentic-looking Chinese restaurant.
The only thing not authentic about the restaurant was the non-Asian workers and the price. The food was really good. We had sweet and sour fish, chicken and beans, crispy yet juicy string beans, and some 包子. All good.
We got back a little after 6 and packed and hung out. We paid Peter for our room and officially "checked out," if you can call it that. I found Peter in the basement after I took a shower and handed him the money, to which he said, "I think this is the first time anyone has paid me in the basement." I replied, "I bet it's the first time someone has paid you while only in their underwear, too." Probably true, too.
At 9 I left my room to find the reception desk in the hallway. Maria had had it moved for a fire show, which she did about 45 minutes later. The tiny dreadlocked Ukrainian girl put on some jovial music and lit a ball on fire, and started swinging it around her head, through her legs, and over our heads and in our faces as we ooh'd and ahh'd. It lasted only 3 or 4 minutes, but it was an incredible sight.
With that, we had to leave. Jonas and I said our goodbyes and left without a ton of fanfare. Amelia grabbed us a cab and negotiated the price down to 30Грн to the station.
We arrived around 10:10. Bought some water and found our track, track 10. And we left, one minute late, which is unacceptable for these ex-soviet countries. Someone should be fired.
We watched the Usual Suspects on the train, and slept. We had the four-person second class car to ourselves.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Sushi
Jonas and I went to get food at the stoner pizza place across the street at 1 or 2. We needed it for the hangover cure. It was incredibly wonderful.
We all relaxed in the hostel during the daylight. Except the Americans, Michael, Cooper and Joe, who got drunk at noon.
The drinking started at 4:30. I refrained, waiting for my aspirin to kick in.
It stayed at light drinking up to 6:30 dinner. Amelia, Nina, Jonas, Mike, Cooper, Joe (the Americans), and I went to a sushi restaurant called Tokyo down the street a ways (left out of the hostel, two blocks, right turn, one block).
This place has a 24/7 deal for sushi where you buy one, get two. So between all of us, we got a lot of sushi. Since I didn't count rolls, let me just say 7 of us finished two bottles of soy sauce.
We got back around 8:45. Almost immediately, last night and dinner came back to me, and I felt more than a little sick.
So Jonas and I stayed in while the rest went to a sauna. We watched In The Loop on Netflix, a 2009 very smart comedy. Fantastic film.
The movie ended before midnight, and everyone was back. They started drinking heavily for Nina's last night in Kiev (after 5 months), but my stomach was not handling the sushi well and I stayed in to get an early night. Bed around 3.
We all relaxed in the hostel during the daylight. Except the Americans, Michael, Cooper and Joe, who got drunk at noon.
The drinking started at 4:30. I refrained, waiting for my aspirin to kick in.
It stayed at light drinking up to 6:30 dinner. Amelia, Nina, Jonas, Mike, Cooper, Joe (the Americans), and I went to a sushi restaurant called Tokyo down the street a ways (left out of the hostel, two blocks, right turn, one block).
This place has a 24/7 deal for sushi where you buy one, get two. So between all of us, we got a lot of sushi. Since I didn't count rolls, let me just say 7 of us finished two bottles of soy sauce.
We got back around 8:45. Almost immediately, last night and dinner came back to me, and I felt more than a little sick.
So Jonas and I stayed in while the rest went to a sauna. We watched In The Loop on Netflix, a 2009 very smart comedy. Fantastic film.
The movie ended before midnight, and everyone was back. They started drinking heavily for Nina's last night in Kiev (after 5 months), but my stomach was not handling the sushi well and I stayed in to get an early night. Bed around 3.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Flaming Head
We woke up late. I was surprisingly not hungover. The water came back on at some point this morning, and we finally flushed the toilets.
Jonas and I had sushi for lunch at a place called Хоккаïдо (Hokkaido) just to the right of the hostel, which wasn't cheap, but was still less than the same food in the US.
Around 4 Lidka, Peter, and I lit up the hostel hookah in the common room. We smoked for a while, and Lidka and I went out at some point to get some beer.
The night spiraled out of control from there. I broke out the Żubrowka vodka, two liters of it, and someone else brought out another bottle or two of other vodkas. Between Amelia, Chadwic, Jonas, Nina, the three Americans, a newly arrived Finn, two new girls who arrived for the night named Blythe and Kasie (from Michigan), Lidka and Peter and the third hostel owner Vova (Vladimir), we polished off about 5 liters of vodka. Then we went off to one of Lidka's favorite bars, Palata No. 6.
This place was behind a building, down some steep steps, and through a heavy door. The bartenders were dressed as ER doctors, the waitresses as nurses. They're famous for the straight jacket shot, where they feed you a syringe of alcohol while you're in a straight jacket. Cooper (one of the Americans) opted for this. I opted for something a little more.. Intense. It's called the flaming head.
They put a helmet on your head and lit it on fire.. While the bartender blows a whistle in your face and bangs the counter, he takes three glasses of different colored drinks and bangs them into your head, makes you drink them, in order. Then he breaths flames through your head behind you, and grabs the nearest large object to smash on your head while you try to recover from the alcohol. It was a keg. 3 times. And a wrench a few times too.
After that some people were too drunk and went back. I went with Amelia and the Americans and the Finn to Fazenda down the street, an underground bar (but on the second floor). I stayed for a bit, but left around 2:45 and took a cab for 30грн back to the hostel.
I stayed up with Peter and Vova until about 4:30 arguing who's people suffered more in WWII, Jews, Ukrainians, or Polish. It was drunken and wonderful.
Jonas and I had sushi for lunch at a place called Хоккаïдо (Hokkaido) just to the right of the hostel, which wasn't cheap, but was still less than the same food in the US.
Around 4 Lidka, Peter, and I lit up the hostel hookah in the common room. We smoked for a while, and Lidka and I went out at some point to get some beer.
The night spiraled out of control from there. I broke out the Żubrowka vodka, two liters of it, and someone else brought out another bottle or two of other vodkas. Between Amelia, Chadwic, Jonas, Nina, the three Americans, a newly arrived Finn, two new girls who arrived for the night named Blythe and Kasie (from Michigan), Lidka and Peter and the third hostel owner Vova (Vladimir), we polished off about 5 liters of vodka. Then we went off to one of Lidka's favorite bars, Palata No. 6.
This place was behind a building, down some steep steps, and through a heavy door. The bartenders were dressed as ER doctors, the waitresses as nurses. They're famous for the straight jacket shot, where they feed you a syringe of alcohol while you're in a straight jacket. Cooper (one of the Americans) opted for this. I opted for something a little more.. Intense. It's called the flaming head.
They put a helmet on your head and lit it on fire.. While the bartender blows a whistle in your face and bangs the counter, he takes three glasses of different colored drinks and bangs them into your head, makes you drink them, in order. Then he breaths flames through your head behind you, and grabs the nearest large object to smash on your head while you try to recover from the alcohol. It was a keg. 3 times. And a wrench a few times too.
After that some people were too drunk and went back. I went with Amelia and the Americans and the Finn to Fazenda down the street, an underground bar (but on the second floor). I stayed for a bit, but left around 2:45 and took a cab for 30грн back to the hostel.
I stayed up with Peter and Vova until about 4:30 arguing who's people suffered more in WWII, Jews, Ukrainians, or Polish. It was drunken and wonderful.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
A Second Shitter
At 11 I went with an American staying at the hostel to a Фото store to get some passport photos taken. There's a contract for my study abroad program in Istanbul that I apparently never signed, and they need photos for that as well. A set of 8 passport photos where I look like I just rolled out of bed cost 30грн.
At 1:30 or 2 Jonas and I left the hostel to do a bit of exploring.
First stop was a chocolate shop and cafe just down the hill from the cafeteria we ate in the other day. Here I found a hot chocolate equivalent to that of my favorite cafe in Barcelona, when the chocolate outnumbers the milk and comes out in a gooey mess of delicious. I also had a salmon wrap.
We took the metro from Площа Льва Толстого to Майдан Незалежностi, then transferred to the red line and went to Шулявська. At Peter's, this was where we would find cheap and quality hats and gloves.
We found neither item. And we didn't have any frame of reference for how much one of these should cost when haggling in the warehoused second-hand clothing market we were in. So we resolved to attempt tomorrow to come back with one of the girls to help us figure stuff out.
Since we were on the outskirts(ish) of Kiev, we decided to look for a cheaper lunch. We didn't find one. But we stopped at Бiт Кафе ДН, a Beatles themed restaurant with a giant Yellow Submarine entrance.
It wasn't any cheaper than the city center; that is to say a dish and a drink comes out to about 65грн, or $8.12.
We took the metro back to Майдан Незалежностi and exited. Commenced wandering.
We walked in a large circle (well, square) for an hour. West along Khreschatyk, north on Shevchenka, east on Volodymyrs'ka, and then south on Tr'okhsviatytel'ska. We passed beautiful architecture, gorgeous churches, and incredibly modern shopping areas. Everywhere was something amazing. Kiev is as modern a city as any I've been, it's incredible how prejudicially we think of places like this (and Minsk) based on their location and history. I could live here.
We rushed back to the hostel because Peter had told me they were all leaving for bowling at 6. We got back just after 6, but didn't leave until just shy of 7.
Chadwic, Nina, Amelia, Jonas, Peter, Maria (a Ukrainian girl with dreadlocks who works at a sister hostel in Kiev... Actually, basically across the street), several more and I (10 in all) went to a nearby bowling alley, where we took two lanes for 2 hours. We played 2.5 games, and I won both full ones and was winning the third when we got cut out (bowling finally paid off!). Only person to break 100 though, so not that impressive.
The bowling alley solidified my theory. Every restaurant in Belarus and Ukraine serves sushi. Does not matter what they specialize in. They have sushi. The bowling alley had sushi. The yellow submarine, Beatles - themes lunch place had sushi. The 24-hr coffee shop in Minsk had sushi. I kind of want to go to McDonald's to see what's there...
We got back to the hostel around 10:30. The plan was to go to a vodka bar, but shit happens.
Literally. About 11pm, someone (Chadwic) discovered that the water to the hostel had cut out when he tried to flush his shit and it didn't flush. We spent a while trying to figure out how to fill the toilet back so it would flush, but to no avail.
Until Chadwic, in his Australian brilliance, exclaimed, "it's not like we can just shove snow down ther--- guys! Get a shovel!"
So Chadwic was outside, shoveling snow into a shovel, passing it to us over the wall behind the kitchen, and we were in the kitchen melting it all down. And, of course, fighting with the snow indoors.
Then we discovered the other toilet. THERE WAS A SECOND SHITTER!
When all the hullabaloo died down, it was after midnight, and getting a bit late to go out to the vodka bar. So we broke out the Żubrowka and another bottle of vodka, and Chadwic, Jonas, Amelia, Nina and I polished them both off. Spills, snow fights, real fights, and about 50 replays of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", and 4 hours later, we all went to bed.
The toilet issue had never been fixed cuz the water never came back on.
At 1:30 or 2 Jonas and I left the hostel to do a bit of exploring.
First stop was a chocolate shop and cafe just down the hill from the cafeteria we ate in the other day. Here I found a hot chocolate equivalent to that of my favorite cafe in Barcelona, when the chocolate outnumbers the milk and comes out in a gooey mess of delicious. I also had a salmon wrap.
We took the metro from Площа Льва Толстого to Майдан Незалежностi, then transferred to the red line and went to Шулявська. At Peter's, this was where we would find cheap and quality hats and gloves.
We found neither item. And we didn't have any frame of reference for how much one of these should cost when haggling in the warehoused second-hand clothing market we were in. So we resolved to attempt tomorrow to come back with one of the girls to help us figure stuff out.
Since we were on the outskirts(ish) of Kiev, we decided to look for a cheaper lunch. We didn't find one. But we stopped at Бiт Кафе ДН, a Beatles themed restaurant with a giant Yellow Submarine entrance.
It wasn't any cheaper than the city center; that is to say a dish and a drink comes out to about 65грн, or $8.12.
We took the metro back to Майдан Незалежностi and exited. Commenced wandering.
We walked in a large circle (well, square) for an hour. West along Khreschatyk, north on Shevchenka, east on Volodymyrs'ka, and then south on Tr'okhsviatytel'ska. We passed beautiful architecture, gorgeous churches, and incredibly modern shopping areas. Everywhere was something amazing. Kiev is as modern a city as any I've been, it's incredible how prejudicially we think of places like this (and Minsk) based on their location and history. I could live here.
We rushed back to the hostel because Peter had told me they were all leaving for bowling at 6. We got back just after 6, but didn't leave until just shy of 7.
Chadwic, Nina, Amelia, Jonas, Peter, Maria (a Ukrainian girl with dreadlocks who works at a sister hostel in Kiev... Actually, basically across the street), several more and I (10 in all) went to a nearby bowling alley, where we took two lanes for 2 hours. We played 2.5 games, and I won both full ones and was winning the third when we got cut out (bowling finally paid off!). Only person to break 100 though, so not that impressive.
The bowling alley solidified my theory. Every restaurant in Belarus and Ukraine serves sushi. Does not matter what they specialize in. They have sushi. The bowling alley had sushi. The yellow submarine, Beatles - themes lunch place had sushi. The 24-hr coffee shop in Minsk had sushi. I kind of want to go to McDonald's to see what's there...
We got back to the hostel around 10:30. The plan was to go to a vodka bar, but shit happens.
Literally. About 11pm, someone (Chadwic) discovered that the water to the hostel had cut out when he tried to flush his shit and it didn't flush. We spent a while trying to figure out how to fill the toilet back so it would flush, but to no avail.
Until Chadwic, in his Australian brilliance, exclaimed, "it's not like we can just shove snow down ther--- guys! Get a shovel!"
So Chadwic was outside, shoveling snow into a shovel, passing it to us over the wall behind the kitchen, and we were in the kitchen melting it all down. And, of course, fighting with the snow indoors.
Then we discovered the other toilet. THERE WAS A SECOND SHITTER!
When all the hullabaloo died down, it was after midnight, and getting a bit late to go out to the vodka bar. So we broke out the Żubrowka and another bottle of vodka, and Chadwic, Jonas, Amelia, Nina and I polished them both off. Spills, snow fights, real fights, and about 50 replays of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", and 4 hours later, we all went to bed.
The toilet issue had never been fixed cuz the water never came back on.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Ravens vs. Mighty Ducks
Today.
Late start.
Food at local cafeteria. Left out of hostel, left at second light. 100 meters on left. Had Chicken Kiev.
5pm Dorothy Pub. Apparently is gay bar. Went with Chadwic, Jonas, Nina, Amelia, and two Italian guys.
Chanced upon Peter and Mike and some others on the street. Walked to end of street to hockey game.
Беркут v. Сокiл. Two crappy local Kiev teams. I picked the home team, Chadwic picked the other team. Coкiл won, 2-1. I owe Chadwic dinner. Stadium was no smoking, so during breaks everyone smoked in the no smoking bathroom. 60 guys smoking and 20 trying to pee (half while smoking) in a tiny bathroom. Cops were there, too, smoking.
Drinking at the hostel. Watched Drive. Good movie.
Bed @3
Late start.
Food at local cafeteria. Left out of hostel, left at second light. 100 meters on left. Had Chicken Kiev.
5pm Dorothy Pub. Apparently is gay bar. Went with Chadwic, Jonas, Nina, Amelia, and two Italian guys.
Chanced upon Peter and Mike and some others on the street. Walked to end of street to hockey game.
Беркут v. Сокiл. Two crappy local Kiev teams. I picked the home team, Chadwic picked the other team. Coкiл won, 2-1. I owe Chadwic dinner. Stadium was no smoking, so during breaks everyone smoked in the no smoking bathroom. 60 guys smoking and 20 trying to pee (half while smoking) in a tiny bathroom. Cops were there, too, smoking.
Drinking at the hostel. Watched Drive. Good movie.
Bed @3
Monday, January 23, 2012
Lazy
I went to sleep last night around 7:30am. I woke up at 12:30. So that, coupled with the 8 hours I got on the train, put me at 13 hours of sleep leading into today. A good start.
My bed has errant springs. It's a shame, because I feel them pressing into me when I'm lying down. Didn't bother me too much in terms of sleep, but it's a little uncomfortable. Good thing there's a lounge chair in our room, too.
It was a very lazy day. I spent the afternoon conversing with Amelia, a Californian who's spent the past 5 months teaching English here, Nina, an Austrian who has been here for, well, a long time, and Chadwick, aka Joel, an Aussie from Sydney who came here for Christmas and never left.
Around 5:30 we went to Мегамаркет, where one of our hostel owners got tons of food to make for a family dinner tonight. Jonas and I bought the alcohol, 12 beers and a liter of vodka, plus a loaf of bread and a few cheeses, for only 180 Hryvnia, or $22.5. It's still cheap here, though not by Belorussian standards.
That was the only time I left the hostel today. We had traditional borshch for dinner, home made by our Polish hostel owners. It was delicious - I'd probably never order it at a restaurant but I was more than happy to indulge myself in the cuisine. We also had bread with a spread on it, apparently made from cured pork fat. Quite good.
Speaking of fat, the Ukrainian people have a unique way to chase their vodka shots. Strips of raw fat, taken from pork meat, dipped in mustard. Yea, we chased vodka with mustard coated fat. Brilliant.
I had a few too many shots tonight, but chose not to go to the bar when Jonas, Nina, Amelia and Nick (an American from Seattle who showed up to stay here during dinner) headed out. I've finally gotten over my perpetual stuffy nose, and one more day of recovery was necessary.
I relaxed for a while, made some phone calls. When everyone came back around 2, I went out to see them.
It's almost 4, and I'm going to bed...
My bed has errant springs. It's a shame, because I feel them pressing into me when I'm lying down. Didn't bother me too much in terms of sleep, but it's a little uncomfortable. Good thing there's a lounge chair in our room, too.
It was a very lazy day. I spent the afternoon conversing with Amelia, a Californian who's spent the past 5 months teaching English here, Nina, an Austrian who has been here for, well, a long time, and Chadwick, aka Joel, an Aussie from Sydney who came here for Christmas and never left.
Around 5:30 we went to Мегамаркет, where one of our hostel owners got tons of food to make for a family dinner tonight. Jonas and I bought the alcohol, 12 beers and a liter of vodka, plus a loaf of bread and a few cheeses, for only 180 Hryvnia, or $22.5. It's still cheap here, though not by Belorussian standards.
That was the only time I left the hostel today. We had traditional borshch for dinner, home made by our Polish hostel owners. It was delicious - I'd probably never order it at a restaurant but I was more than happy to indulge myself in the cuisine. We also had bread with a spread on it, apparently made from cured pork fat. Quite good.
Speaking of fat, the Ukrainian people have a unique way to chase their vodka shots. Strips of raw fat, taken from pork meat, dipped in mustard. Yea, we chased vodka with mustard coated fat. Brilliant.
I had a few too many shots tonight, but chose not to go to the bar when Jonas, Nina, Amelia and Nick (an American from Seattle who showed up to stay here during dinner) headed out. I've finally gotten over my perpetual stuffy nose, and one more day of recovery was necessary.
I relaxed for a while, made some phone calls. When everyone came back around 2, I went out to see them.
It's almost 4, and I'm going to bed...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Schlepping
I set the alarm for 9:30, but didn't get up for a little while after that. We had a 12:31 train to catch, so we had a little time.
Spent a while packing, then checked out (i.e. handed in the key and said "dasvedanya" to the front desk). We loaded our luggage into the rental car (we had a full day rental so we kept it overnight) and headed out.
By now, I know the streets well enough, or at least the streets we've frequented, to drive to the Crown Plaza without a map. And I did.
There was nobody at the rental car desk. We called them, and a guy who spoke English incredibly well (first person in Belarus since Катя to speak any English of note) picked up the phone. He told me he would be there in 10.
Jonas and I had drinks at the bar while we waited. When the rental car guy showed up, we returned the car. I got my $100 deposit back, he checked us for damages, and we were on our way.
Before I left, he asked me where in the US I was from. I told him the New York area and he responded he had spent 8 summers in Ohio. 8! I have friends in Ohio who complained of going to school there for 4 years... Imagine 8! But I was floored because it is the first hint I've seen so far that Belarus is trying to connect with the outside world. He and a group of Belorussians lived there, while a bunch of students in Ohio spent a summer in Minsk, studying Russian. It is comforting to know that the country isn't being quite as isolationist as we once thought.
We had a little confusion getting to the train, but we made it with 10 minutes to spare, having walked from the Crown Plaza to the station.
We took our beds, one top and one bottom (though I traded my bottom with one of my cabin mates for the other top bunk). Our cabin mates were two Belorussian, maybe Russian, guys about our ages, who started watching a Soviet propaganda film as soon as we were all settled.
We were the only people in the train car. There were about 8 empty cabins.
Jonas and I passed out in our respective bunks approximately 37 seconds after the train began moving. I woke up about 5 hours later.
We hit the border of Belarus and Ukraine around 5:50. No one gave us a hard time, except that the official on the Ukrainian side of the border wasn't sure if I needed a visa as an American. He looked it up though, and we were fine.
It took a little shy of 3 hours to get through both border checkpoints. By 8:30, we were back on the road (rails?).
Then we passed out again. I woke up at 11:30. The train pulled into Kiev at 1, 40 minutes late.
The directions on Hostelworld for the hostel we booked told us to find Marshrutkas, i.e. minivans, outside the train station. These vans are privately owned cars that pick a route, go to the train station or airport, fill up the cars, and drive the route. It's a great way to get around.
Unfortunately for us, we arrived at 1am, and these marshrutkas don't operate that late, since they won't fill up their seats with each run. So we found wifi leaning outside the McDonald's and walked.
It was snowing. It was cold. I had one glove, having lost my other in the Metro in Minsk. But the walk was only 2.1km, so I figured, Why Not?
An excellent question. It was snowing. It was cold. And I had one glove, having lost my other in the Minsk Metro. Oh, and by this time it was 2am.
Why not was an excellent question to ask, as we arrived about 2:30 at the Why Not Hostel Kiev. We entered the code they'd given us to get into the first door at Саксаганского 30, then the second door code, then knocked on the door to the hostel at the bottom of the stairs.
The exterior is depressing, run down, and cold. But inside Why Not reminds me a lot of Jimmy Jumps in Vilnius. There's a communal kitchen, a smoking area, a common room, and a very friendly staff. Everyone speaks English, and there are a few regulars who've been here for months. One of them, Amelia, is from the US, and has been teaching English for €10/hr under the table for 5 months, which is an incredible wage here, equaling about 80 Hryvnia, and no, that's not a typo. The exchange rate is almost exactly 8 Hryvnia to $1. I think it's 8.005.
We checked in and got our four bedroom dorm to ourselves, again. This is the slow season, after all.
At 3:30 Jonas needed food, so we went to a 24-hr pizza place across the street.
It was a stoners paradise. We were sat in a booth, complete with curtains to cut us off from the world. All they serve is pizza, sushi, and beer. And there's a tv in every booth with repeating footage of epic ocean life and sea creatures interactions in the Galapagos. We enjoyed it immensely, stone cold sober.
My small pizza and Jonas' medium, plus two beers ended up costing about $21 (167UAH). It was hardly cheap, but stoners wouldn't care, would they? Kiev is, according to our hosts, an expensive city by Ukrainian standards.. We'll see about Western standards.
I spent a little time catching up on this blog. Tomorrow we're just going to relax. We need a break from our vacation. And we slept about 8 hours on the train, so we weren't that tired. I'm writing this at 5am and I feel fine.
Spent a while packing, then checked out (i.e. handed in the key and said "dasvedanya" to the front desk). We loaded our luggage into the rental car (we had a full day rental so we kept it overnight) and headed out.
By now, I know the streets well enough, or at least the streets we've frequented, to drive to the Crown Plaza without a map. And I did.
There was nobody at the rental car desk. We called them, and a guy who spoke English incredibly well (first person in Belarus since Катя to speak any English of note) picked up the phone. He told me he would be there in 10.
Jonas and I had drinks at the bar while we waited. When the rental car guy showed up, we returned the car. I got my $100 deposit back, he checked us for damages, and we were on our way.
Before I left, he asked me where in the US I was from. I told him the New York area and he responded he had spent 8 summers in Ohio. 8! I have friends in Ohio who complained of going to school there for 4 years... Imagine 8! But I was floored because it is the first hint I've seen so far that Belarus is trying to connect with the outside world. He and a group of Belorussians lived there, while a bunch of students in Ohio spent a summer in Minsk, studying Russian. It is comforting to know that the country isn't being quite as isolationist as we once thought.
We had a little confusion getting to the train, but we made it with 10 minutes to spare, having walked from the Crown Plaza to the station.
We took our beds, one top and one bottom (though I traded my bottom with one of my cabin mates for the other top bunk). Our cabin mates were two Belorussian, maybe Russian, guys about our ages, who started watching a Soviet propaganda film as soon as we were all settled.
We were the only people in the train car. There were about 8 empty cabins.
Jonas and I passed out in our respective bunks approximately 37 seconds after the train began moving. I woke up about 5 hours later.
We hit the border of Belarus and Ukraine around 5:50. No one gave us a hard time, except that the official on the Ukrainian side of the border wasn't sure if I needed a visa as an American. He looked it up though, and we were fine.
It took a little shy of 3 hours to get through both border checkpoints. By 8:30, we were back on the road (rails?).
Then we passed out again. I woke up at 11:30. The train pulled into Kiev at 1, 40 minutes late.
The directions on Hostelworld for the hostel we booked told us to find Marshrutkas, i.e. minivans, outside the train station. These vans are privately owned cars that pick a route, go to the train station or airport, fill up the cars, and drive the route. It's a great way to get around.
Unfortunately for us, we arrived at 1am, and these marshrutkas don't operate that late, since they won't fill up their seats with each run. So we found wifi leaning outside the McDonald's and walked.
It was snowing. It was cold. I had one glove, having lost my other in the Metro in Minsk. But the walk was only 2.1km, so I figured, Why Not?
An excellent question. It was snowing. It was cold. And I had one glove, having lost my other in the Minsk Metro. Oh, and by this time it was 2am.
Why not was an excellent question to ask, as we arrived about 2:30 at the Why Not Hostel Kiev. We entered the code they'd given us to get into the first door at Саксаганского 30, then the second door code, then knocked on the door to the hostel at the bottom of the stairs.
The exterior is depressing, run down, and cold. But inside Why Not reminds me a lot of Jimmy Jumps in Vilnius. There's a communal kitchen, a smoking area, a common room, and a very friendly staff. Everyone speaks English, and there are a few regulars who've been here for months. One of them, Amelia, is from the US, and has been teaching English for €10/hr under the table for 5 months, which is an incredible wage here, equaling about 80 Hryvnia, and no, that's not a typo. The exchange rate is almost exactly 8 Hryvnia to $1. I think it's 8.005.
We checked in and got our four bedroom dorm to ourselves, again. This is the slow season, after all.
At 3:30 Jonas needed food, so we went to a 24-hr pizza place across the street.
It was a stoners paradise. We were sat in a booth, complete with curtains to cut us off from the world. All they serve is pizza, sushi, and beer. And there's a tv in every booth with repeating footage of epic ocean life and sea creatures interactions in the Galapagos. We enjoyed it immensely, stone cold sober.
My small pizza and Jonas' medium, plus two beers ended up costing about $21 (167UAH). It was hardly cheap, but stoners wouldn't care, would they? Kiev is, according to our hosts, an expensive city by Ukrainian standards.. We'll see about Western standards.
I spent a little time catching up on this blog. Tomorrow we're just going to relax. We need a break from our vacation. And we slept about 8 hours on the train, so we weren't that tired. I'm writing this at 5am and I feel fine.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Slutsk
We got a relatively early start today. Woke up at 9:30, but didn't get out of the hostel for almost 2 hours. The last 20 minutes were spent in a discussion with the receptionist who, through the magic of Google Translate, agreed to make us a card for the train station to say which train we wanted to take tomorrow so we could more easily buy tickets.
We got on the metro a little after 11:30. We left the hostel with a peculiar mission in mind. First, to buy train tickets. Second, to reach Slutsk.
Slutsk is the ancestral home of the Komisar branch of my family. My great great grandparents, Frada and Hersch Komisar, lived there. Their 8 sons made their way to the US through Canada, into New Haven, CT, and then spreading out across the country. Since I was this morning the closest that anyone in my family has been to Slutsk in 100 years, I resolved to make the final leg of the journey at the behest of my father.
We got our train tickets with relative ease at the station. The ticket cost me about 377,000руб, $45.42. It's a 12 hr train, so I'd say decent price.
Without a guide, nor the resources to find one, we'd have to make it to Слуцк (Slutsk) ourselves. From the train station we walked between two tall stone identical towers and down Kirava Rd. I had reserved earlier today online a car at Enterprise Rent-a-car, which had an office on the next block, Проспект Незалежнасц, but we couldn't find that block, and stopped in at the Crown Plaza hotel to get directions.
To make a long story short, the Crown Plaza's in-house rental company, Aznur, rented me a car for half the price that Enterprise had quoted (also, they told me Enterprise didn't exist. Something I argued, but later tonight realized I had reserved with Europcar.. Whoops). By 1:30, we were out on the road.
There was a little confusion getting out of the city, but before long we were following the signs to Слуцк on the P23, heading south.
We arrived in the town around 3. There was no moment when we saw it on the horizon, we just hit it. It was there. Suddenly, we were in Слуцк.
Slutsk today is a thriving town of, I would estimate, 15,000-20,000. I've never been good at estimating, though. Most buildings are newer, built since the War, and Slutsk itself was probably mostly destroyed at that time. There is an unmarked mass grave of about 12,000 Jews outside the town, and no Jewish cemetery that we could find, though we did stumble upon a fairly gigantic Catholic cemetery. Oh, and Slutsk has more supermarkets per capita than any place on earth. Every other building we walked into was a supermarket.
The town is clean, and the people well dressed. Like in Minsk, every middle aged woman is dressed like every picture I've seen of my mother's grandmother: large fur hat, heavy fur coat, jewelry galore and sturdy but stylish shoes. Some of that may be a factor of the perpetual 7-8 inches of snow we have on the ground right now, but it's pretty clear that this has been in fashion forever.
There is an old one-room wooden church standing on the side of the river in the center of town. It's beautiful and ornate, and seems to be one of the only things left standing that could have been from before the war. At least that we saw.
According to my dad, the last person in my family to set foot in Slutsk did so in about 1914, 98 years ago. Clearly much has changed since then. If I took a random guy or girl my age from Slutsk and placed them in any cosmopolitan city, they would not look out of place at all. It's not like Ilianda (spelling?) in Romania, home of my paternal grandfather's grandfather, which could well have been frozen in time upon our arrival in 2003. Then, cows were in the road, it looked like no car built after 1945 had ever driven through, and chances were it didn't belong to any inhabitant. That town, like Slutsk, was isolated, surrounded by farmland (or what we assume was farmland... There was a lot of snow), but had not evolved with the times. Slutsk, however, is situated right on the P23, the main highway heading south from Minsk, a mere 100km from the city. If it had a few more restaurants (we couldn't find a single one, even when we asked in terrible Russian for directions) and a hotel, I could envision Slutsk turning into an inland resort town for the wealthy Minsk elite.
We wandered the town, both by car and on foot, looking for a restaurant, or some sort of store besides a supermarket. Being unsuccessful in both endeavors, we left the town around 5:30, bound once more for Minsk.
I almost fell asleep on drive back. Jonas had to keep me awake. We tried to find a gas station to get a red bull (there had been 8 or so going down to Slutsk), but didn't get one until we were 11km outside the city. And as soon as dusk came, around 6, the days upon days of lack of sleep came upon me. And I couldn't trade out driving with Jonas - he doesn't have a license.
It's ok, though. I took a quick catnap on the side of the road at one point, and we listened to some loud obnoxious music to keep me awake. And with the redbull at that first gas station, I felt fine again.
Got back around 8 to Postoyalets. We collapsed.
After hours of relaxation, we left to seek dinner around 10:45. Because of the hour, it took us quite a while to find a place. Everything seemed to be closed. It was only around 11:30, after we had given up and Jonas was navigating me to a 24-hr supermarket called Preston Market (Престон Маркет) that I saw a 24-hr sushi place and we pulled over.
It was called GoldenCoffee Кафе. And it was upscale. And cheap. We procured a 60-piece (approx 8.5-9 rolls of sushi) platter for 370,000, or $44.57. Since we've been living so frugally recently, we decided to treat ourselves.
It was delicious. And I think it's the first time I've been truly full since arriving in Europe. Quite wonderful.
Next came Престон Маркет. We got all kinds of food for tomorrow's 12-hr train ride. It was, as always, cheap.
Got back around 2am. Asleep by 4.
As I fell asleep, word came through that Newt was projected to win the SC primary. Step it up, Romney!
We got on the metro a little after 11:30. We left the hostel with a peculiar mission in mind. First, to buy train tickets. Second, to reach Slutsk.
Slutsk is the ancestral home of the Komisar branch of my family. My great great grandparents, Frada and Hersch Komisar, lived there. Their 8 sons made their way to the US through Canada, into New Haven, CT, and then spreading out across the country. Since I was this morning the closest that anyone in my family has been to Slutsk in 100 years, I resolved to make the final leg of the journey at the behest of my father.
We got our train tickets with relative ease at the station. The ticket cost me about 377,000руб, $45.42. It's a 12 hr train, so I'd say decent price.
Without a guide, nor the resources to find one, we'd have to make it to Слуцк (Slutsk) ourselves. From the train station we walked between two tall stone identical towers and down Kirava Rd. I had reserved earlier today online a car at Enterprise Rent-a-car, which had an office on the next block, Проспект Незалежнасц, but we couldn't find that block, and stopped in at the Crown Plaza hotel to get directions.
To make a long story short, the Crown Plaza's in-house rental company, Aznur, rented me a car for half the price that Enterprise had quoted (also, they told me Enterprise didn't exist. Something I argued, but later tonight realized I had reserved with Europcar.. Whoops). By 1:30, we were out on the road.
There was a little confusion getting out of the city, but before long we were following the signs to Слуцк on the P23, heading south.
We arrived in the town around 3. There was no moment when we saw it on the horizon, we just hit it. It was there. Suddenly, we were in Слуцк.
Slutsk today is a thriving town of, I would estimate, 15,000-20,000. I've never been good at estimating, though. Most buildings are newer, built since the War, and Slutsk itself was probably mostly destroyed at that time. There is an unmarked mass grave of about 12,000 Jews outside the town, and no Jewish cemetery that we could find, though we did stumble upon a fairly gigantic Catholic cemetery. Oh, and Slutsk has more supermarkets per capita than any place on earth. Every other building we walked into was a supermarket.
The town is clean, and the people well dressed. Like in Minsk, every middle aged woman is dressed like every picture I've seen of my mother's grandmother: large fur hat, heavy fur coat, jewelry galore and sturdy but stylish shoes. Some of that may be a factor of the perpetual 7-8 inches of snow we have on the ground right now, but it's pretty clear that this has been in fashion forever.
There is an old one-room wooden church standing on the side of the river in the center of town. It's beautiful and ornate, and seems to be one of the only things left standing that could have been from before the war. At least that we saw.
According to my dad, the last person in my family to set foot in Slutsk did so in about 1914, 98 years ago. Clearly much has changed since then. If I took a random guy or girl my age from Slutsk and placed them in any cosmopolitan city, they would not look out of place at all. It's not like Ilianda (spelling?) in Romania, home of my paternal grandfather's grandfather, which could well have been frozen in time upon our arrival in 2003. Then, cows were in the road, it looked like no car built after 1945 had ever driven through, and chances were it didn't belong to any inhabitant. That town, like Slutsk, was isolated, surrounded by farmland (or what we assume was farmland... There was a lot of snow), but had not evolved with the times. Slutsk, however, is situated right on the P23, the main highway heading south from Minsk, a mere 100km from the city. If it had a few more restaurants (we couldn't find a single one, even when we asked in terrible Russian for directions) and a hotel, I could envision Slutsk turning into an inland resort town for the wealthy Minsk elite.
We wandered the town, both by car and on foot, looking for a restaurant, or some sort of store besides a supermarket. Being unsuccessful in both endeavors, we left the town around 5:30, bound once more for Minsk.
I almost fell asleep on drive back. Jonas had to keep me awake. We tried to find a gas station to get a red bull (there had been 8 or so going down to Slutsk), but didn't get one until we were 11km outside the city. And as soon as dusk came, around 6, the days upon days of lack of sleep came upon me. And I couldn't trade out driving with Jonas - he doesn't have a license.
It's ok, though. I took a quick catnap on the side of the road at one point, and we listened to some loud obnoxious music to keep me awake. And with the redbull at that first gas station, I felt fine again.
Got back around 8 to Postoyalets. We collapsed.
After hours of relaxation, we left to seek dinner around 10:45. Because of the hour, it took us quite a while to find a place. Everything seemed to be closed. It was only around 11:30, after we had given up and Jonas was navigating me to a 24-hr supermarket called Preston Market (Престон Маркет) that I saw a 24-hr sushi place and we pulled over.
It was called GoldenCoffee Кафе. And it was upscale. And cheap. We procured a 60-piece (approx 8.5-9 rolls of sushi) platter for 370,000, or $44.57. Since we've been living so frugally recently, we decided to treat ourselves.
It was delicious. And I think it's the first time I've been truly full since arriving in Europe. Quite wonderful.
Next came Престон Маркет. We got all kinds of food for tomorrow's 12-hr train ride. It was, as always, cheap.
Got back around 2am. Asleep by 4.
As I fell asleep, word came through that Newt was projected to win the SC primary. Step it up, Romney!
Cheap, Cheap, Fun, Fun!
I woke up to my 10:30 alarm at 11:30, because my phone still doesn't register the time difference between Minsk and Vilnius. It's alright though, because Jonas and I were tired as hell this morning, and were lazy enough to spend 2 hours getting up and ready.
I donned my Eastern European jacket and we headed out. We got to the Metro station at 1:30. Paid the 2,600руб ($0.31) for both tokens, and proceeded to catch the train in the only direction it heads from our stop, магилёуская.
We got off where the lines intersect, and surfaced.
Instead of going one stop on the blue line to Lenin Plaza, where the train station is (to get our exit tickets) we decided to venture down the main Проспект in what we figured is the right direction to the station. Keep in mind, this was all based off my memory of looking at a map briefly on my iPad before we had left. We had (and have) no map of the city or metro.
I remembered seeing a restaurant called Seven on that map, which I mentioned to Jonas, as he used to work at a place called Bar 7 in Copenhagen. It was on the left side of the road coming from the station. And it was also next to us at the station we surfaced by, so we sort of guessed which direction to go.
We stopped in at Seven for a little light refreshment (coffee and a fresh-squeezed orange juice), which together ran us an exorbitant 30,000pyб or so, $3.60.
We walked for a while, wandered, meandered and got lost on some side streets.
We found a supermarket in a mall and got a snack of hot dogs in wraparound buns. 4 of them for 12,000, $1.45. So cheap!
We wanted real food, so we searched for a Kaфе оr Ресторан, trudging through the snow in the back roads of Minsk.
We stumbled upon a little place called Кафе Ашхабаg, which felt like it would be Turkish, though truthfully the cultural origins of the restaurant was a tad unclear.
There was no English menu, so we pointed and stumbled through ordering something that we only had the slightest idea about, if at all.
Jonas ended up with a coffee and some sort of chicken and rice dish. I got what tasted like veal, with tomato and cheese, a salad, and a pineapple juice. All together it cost 61,200руб, $7.37. So cheap!
After paying, we headed back to find the main road we'd been walking on, Проспект Незалежнасцi.
We didn't come out onto the Prospect right away, but found instead the Church of Saints Simon and Helena. It's a beautiful brick church of unrecognizable influence (not quite Russian, not quite Roman Catholic, not quite Gothic). We were enthralled. Then we discovered it was sitting on Independence Square, the obligatory communist city center during Soviet times. Think Tiananmen Square or Red Square. It's like that. Good chance found the place. Lucky us.
Under the square is a large mall. We wandered all three underground floors, looking for Belorussian hats and gloves, neither of which we found.
We got drinks at a coffee shop called CoffeeBox, with free wifi named CoffeeBox, with the password CoffeeBox. Such security!
Next to the train station to finally inquire about tickets to Kiev. But we never got any info. We reached the station and realized that A) the line was too long, and B) we had no idea of the schedule and couldn't find any. We resolved to return to the hostel, as the sun had set (it was about 6), and figure it out for the morning.
We wandered a while more through Проспект Незалежнасцi and the surrounding streets, heading back to the metro station we left from this afternoon.
We made it back to the hostel area around 8, stopping first at the supermarket in the next building. We picked up a ton of cheese, two loaves of bread, two bars of Belorussian chocolate, pineapple juice, two beers, and a tube of what we guessed was meat but turned out to be a pâté of some sort. In total we bought almost twice as much as last night, and it cost less than last night, about 110,000руб, ~$13.20.
We ate it in our private 8-bed dorm. We also calculated how much we've spent in the last two days. We estimated a little under 500,000руб, $53 or so. We've been eating nonstop, buying tons of food and not skimping on anything. And for $13.25 per person per day, we've been living as princes. Cheap!
We relaxed the rest of the night. Watched Talladega Nights and MST3K: Mole People.
Bed after 3.
I donned my Eastern European jacket and we headed out. We got to the Metro station at 1:30. Paid the 2,600руб ($0.31) for both tokens, and proceeded to catch the train in the only direction it heads from our stop, магилёуская.
We got off where the lines intersect, and surfaced.
Instead of going one stop on the blue line to Lenin Plaza, where the train station is (to get our exit tickets) we decided to venture down the main Проспект in what we figured is the right direction to the station. Keep in mind, this was all based off my memory of looking at a map briefly on my iPad before we had left. We had (and have) no map of the city or metro.
I remembered seeing a restaurant called Seven on that map, which I mentioned to Jonas, as he used to work at a place called Bar 7 in Copenhagen. It was on the left side of the road coming from the station. And it was also next to us at the station we surfaced by, so we sort of guessed which direction to go.
We stopped in at Seven for a little light refreshment (coffee and a fresh-squeezed orange juice), which together ran us an exorbitant 30,000pyб or so, $3.60.
We walked for a while, wandered, meandered and got lost on some side streets.
We found a supermarket in a mall and got a snack of hot dogs in wraparound buns. 4 of them for 12,000, $1.45. So cheap!
We wanted real food, so we searched for a Kaфе оr Ресторан, trudging through the snow in the back roads of Minsk.
We stumbled upon a little place called Кафе Ашхабаg, which felt like it would be Turkish, though truthfully the cultural origins of the restaurant was a tad unclear.
There was no English menu, so we pointed and stumbled through ordering something that we only had the slightest idea about, if at all.
Jonas ended up with a coffee and some sort of chicken and rice dish. I got what tasted like veal, with tomato and cheese, a salad, and a pineapple juice. All together it cost 61,200руб, $7.37. So cheap!
After paying, we headed back to find the main road we'd been walking on, Проспект Незалежнасцi.
We didn't come out onto the Prospect right away, but found instead the Church of Saints Simon and Helena. It's a beautiful brick church of unrecognizable influence (not quite Russian, not quite Roman Catholic, not quite Gothic). We were enthralled. Then we discovered it was sitting on Independence Square, the obligatory communist city center during Soviet times. Think Tiananmen Square or Red Square. It's like that. Good chance found the place. Lucky us.
Under the square is a large mall. We wandered all three underground floors, looking for Belorussian hats and gloves, neither of which we found.
We got drinks at a coffee shop called CoffeeBox, with free wifi named CoffeeBox, with the password CoffeeBox. Such security!
Next to the train station to finally inquire about tickets to Kiev. But we never got any info. We reached the station and realized that A) the line was too long, and B) we had no idea of the schedule and couldn't find any. We resolved to return to the hostel, as the sun had set (it was about 6), and figure it out for the morning.
We wandered a while more through Проспект Незалежнасцi and the surrounding streets, heading back to the metro station we left from this afternoon.
We made it back to the hostel area around 8, stopping first at the supermarket in the next building. We picked up a ton of cheese, two loaves of bread, two bars of Belorussian chocolate, pineapple juice, two beers, and a tube of what we guessed was meat but turned out to be a pâté of some sort. In total we bought almost twice as much as last night, and it cost less than last night, about 110,000руб, ~$13.20.
We ate it in our private 8-bed dorm. We also calculated how much we've spent in the last two days. We estimated a little under 500,000руб, $53 or so. We've been eating nonstop, buying tons of food and not skimping on anything. And for $13.25 per person per day, we've been living as princes. Cheap!
We relaxed the rest of the night. Watched Talladega Nights and MST3K: Mole People.
Bed after 3.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Three Meals
It was a lazy morning. I woke up around 9, got out of bed at 10, and was finished with breakfast by 11. Meal 1: Lithuania.
When I got downstairs I met Aled (Ah-led), a Welshman who just arrived this morning in Vilnius. We got into a heated discussion over the merits of socialist programs, among other things, interrupted only by my packing up everything for our trip today to Belarus.
I paid 80 Litu of my 84 Litu bill, as it was all I had on me at the time. The
At 12:30 or so Jonas, Aled, and I left the hostel to explore a tad. We first went to the train station, where we got two tickets to Minsk, leaving at 6:05pm. It cost 59.84 Lita. Translation: less than a round trip ticket from Westport to NYC.
We stopped at a coffee shop, where we got three mediocre coffees for 7L or so. Jonas treated.
We meandered quite a bit, so at
We went back to the hostel, around 2:30, to get our passports, as I wanted to take the two of them to Užupis, and we wanted to have our passported stamped at the border - i.e. bridge. Jonas and I also wrote a message on the wall of the stairwell, where so many travelers have before us. We left Jimmy Jumps again at around 3:00, and headed towards the old city wall.
Next to the wall we found a music shop called Tamsta that Jonas was looking for. It was a mini musical emporium. The prices were good I think, but not great. It cost about 320L (a little over $100) for a decently good guitar. Jonas was looking for an accordion and a pedal for his keyboard but couldn't find one cheap enough.
We went back down the hill along the wall. I practiced my running slides in the snow, Aled thought I was "mental" for attempting it, insisting he could do the same, but it was never on purpose.
We found an art gallery of local artists on a side road and I ducked in. Nothing interesting.
In Užupis, no one checked our passports. It was a shame. We walked around and I showed them the micronation based on all I learned yesterday in my tour.
We stopped in a little Pizzaria in Užupis for lunch, making it our second meal of the day, in our second country of the day. The pizza wasn't bad, and neither was the price. A 30cm (~12in) pizza for 21L (~$7).
After eating, it was getting dark, and was approaching 5pm. Jonas headed back to the hostel and Aled and I went to the Cathedral and Belltower in the old town. I've been trying to get here for days, but just couldn't do it until today.
We were in a rush, having hit the 1 hour mark before train departure, so we just got to run past the cathedral and tower. As we approached, the tower began a little bell ringing performance that lasted for minutes.
The square is a little winter oasis. People's have packed down the commonly trod-upon places, but most of the snow remains pristine. The Cathedral boasts 6 massive columns in front in a building built in the Greek style.
The tower is more distinctly Lithuanian, a solidly built tower about the size of the leaning tower of Pisa (I believe this tower, too, leans just a tad). Tiny windows appear on each of the 6 sides to the tower, on each floor, ascending to larger windows on higher floors, then to the roof.
We couldn't stay long, and left quickly, heading back a new way. Past the presidential palace and across a park, and we were back at Jimmy Jumps.
It was 5:20. I finished packing and paid the final sum that I owed them, paying the last ounce of money I had. We had to borrow money for the taxi ride to the station.
Aled gave us 5L, I found 1L in my pocket, and Jonas found 1.5L on the floor. Pete was kind enough to make up the difference from the till.
We got the cab around 5:40. The ride cost just under 7L, and we gave him the whole 8. We would've walked, but when it's snowing, slush covers the streets, you have a 50lb back pack, and it's just so cheap, we didn't want to.
We got to the train and took our seats in Wagon 2, seats 33 and 34. It was 5:55. At 6:05 sharp, we left.
We had no issues leaving Lithuania. Belarus stared at my passport for a bit, talked about my American-dom, and let me in. Perhaps the most memorable thing about it was the very Russian fur hats they all wore. I want one. We didn't stay long on the border. At Belarus line 7:00. Trough at 7:17.
We pulled into Mink at 9. Or what we thought was 9. It turns out that Minsk, for whatever reason, is an hour ahead of Vilnius, though every world clock says otherwise. I think they don't do daylight savings, but it's just a guess. Jonas and I had been asleep, and woke up to everyone moving around us as we approached the station.
The station is beautiful. It's enormous, cavernous, and filled with people. Very impressive. Across the street are two squat towers, identical and adjacent. It's quite an impressive sight, perfect for a former Soviet state to show off their might.
We took a little money out of the bank. About $12. You know, 100,000 рублё? It's about 8,300руб to the dollar.
With our 100k руб in hand we got to the metro, another Soviet era construction (though late, 1984 the metro opened). I got directions to it in my impeccable 4 words of Russian.
I misread our hostel directions, and we ended up at the end of the blue line. But after some getting turned around (and losing one of my warm reindeer gloves from Finland in the cracks between the metro train and the platform!) we found our way to the red line (second line of 2 in Minsk) and took it to the end of the line.
In the train we sat across from a girl who kept glancing at us. When we left the train, she approached us. She offered to help us find our hostel. She took out her iPhone and mapped the route. Then she took us to the surface and pointed us to the building.
She gave us her number and name, Katя, and asked us to text her if we needed more help. We didn't tonight, but we're considering treating her to dinner or something in the next day or two.
Our building is an enormous Soviet block building, and the entrance is in the back on the ground floor. We had to circle the building fully before finding it. We walked through the door at Postoyalets Hostel about 10 minutes before midnight.
We checked in with the woman at the desk, who speaks no English, and checked into room 5, an 8-bed dorm that's totally empty tonight.
We were starving, so we found a supermarket open late, got directions to the place, and called a taxi to bring us.
The trip was 60,000руб, $7.25. That got us from the outskirts of the city to the center, maybe 20 minutes drive.
We found ourselves at a supermarket that is larger than any Walmart I've ever been to. It was 1am and there were so many people there, too. We dove into the aisles and shopped for dinner.
We got a loaf of bread, two types of cheese, a package of turkey slices, a carton of milk, three 2-liter bottles of water, a toothbrush for Jonas, toothpaste, a Lion bar (rawr!) and two beers for 125,100руб, $15. It wasn't the cheapest in the world, but certainly not expensive in the slightest.
The taxi ride back was the same price as before, though he tried to charge us 75,000. We argued it down to 60,000, like before.
In the hostel we feasted, our third meal in our third country today, and watched some Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Already it is abundantly clear: we so often talk about countries like Belarus, and internally think they're desolate and wanting. But Katя has a nicer iPhone than I, the subways are cleaner and stations more beautiful than in NYC, I saw more tablet devices in the metro at one time at 11:30 pm than ever I've seen in the States, and the supermarkets just as modern. I'm already loving Minsk, and I just got here!
Sleep around 4:30 local, 3:30 Vilnius time.
When I got downstairs I met Aled (Ah-led), a Welshman who just arrived this morning in Vilnius. We got into a heated discussion over the merits of socialist programs, among other things, interrupted only by my packing up everything for our trip today to Belarus.
I paid 80 Litu of my 84 Litu bill, as it was all I had on me at the time. The
At 12:30 or so Jonas, Aled, and I left the hostel to explore a tad. We first went to the train station, where we got two tickets to Minsk, leaving at 6:05pm. It cost 59.84 Lita. Translation: less than a round trip ticket from Westport to NYC.
We stopped at a coffee shop, where we got three mediocre coffees for 7L or so. Jonas treated.
We meandered quite a bit, so at
We went back to the hostel, around 2:30, to get our passports, as I wanted to take the two of them to Užupis, and we wanted to have our passported stamped at the border - i.e. bridge. Jonas and I also wrote a message on the wall of the stairwell, where so many travelers have before us. We left Jimmy Jumps again at around 3:00, and headed towards the old city wall.
Next to the wall we found a music shop called Tamsta that Jonas was looking for. It was a mini musical emporium. The prices were good I think, but not great. It cost about 320L (a little over $100) for a decently good guitar. Jonas was looking for an accordion and a pedal for his keyboard but couldn't find one cheap enough.
We went back down the hill along the wall. I practiced my running slides in the snow, Aled thought I was "mental" for attempting it, insisting he could do the same, but it was never on purpose.
We found an art gallery of local artists on a side road and I ducked in. Nothing interesting.
In Užupis, no one checked our passports. It was a shame. We walked around and I showed them the micronation based on all I learned yesterday in my tour.
We stopped in a little Pizzaria in Užupis for lunch, making it our second meal of the day, in our second country of the day. The pizza wasn't bad, and neither was the price. A 30cm (~12in) pizza for 21L (~$7).
After eating, it was getting dark, and was approaching 5pm. Jonas headed back to the hostel and Aled and I went to the Cathedral and Belltower in the old town. I've been trying to get here for days, but just couldn't do it until today.
We were in a rush, having hit the 1 hour mark before train departure, so we just got to run past the cathedral and tower. As we approached, the tower began a little bell ringing performance that lasted for minutes.
The square is a little winter oasis. People's have packed down the commonly trod-upon places, but most of the snow remains pristine. The Cathedral boasts 6 massive columns in front in a building built in the Greek style.
The tower is more distinctly Lithuanian, a solidly built tower about the size of the leaning tower of Pisa (I believe this tower, too, leans just a tad). Tiny windows appear on each of the 6 sides to the tower, on each floor, ascending to larger windows on higher floors, then to the roof.
We couldn't stay long, and left quickly, heading back a new way. Past the presidential palace and across a park, and we were back at Jimmy Jumps.
It was 5:20. I finished packing and paid the final sum that I owed them, paying the last ounce of money I had. We had to borrow money for the taxi ride to the station.
Aled gave us 5L, I found 1L in my pocket, and Jonas found 1.5L on the floor. Pete was kind enough to make up the difference from the till.
We got the cab around 5:40. The ride cost just under 7L, and we gave him the whole 8. We would've walked, but when it's snowing, slush covers the streets, you have a 50lb back pack, and it's just so cheap, we didn't want to.
We got to the train and took our seats in Wagon 2, seats 33 and 34. It was 5:55. At 6:05 sharp, we left.
We had no issues leaving Lithuania. Belarus stared at my passport for a bit, talked about my American-dom, and let me in. Perhaps the most memorable thing about it was the very Russian fur hats they all wore. I want one. We didn't stay long on the border. At Belarus line 7:00. Trough at 7:17.
We pulled into Mink at 9. Or what we thought was 9. It turns out that Minsk, for whatever reason, is an hour ahead of Vilnius, though every world clock says otherwise. I think they don't do daylight savings, but it's just a guess. Jonas and I had been asleep, and woke up to everyone moving around us as we approached the station.
The station is beautiful. It's enormous, cavernous, and filled with people. Very impressive. Across the street are two squat towers, identical and adjacent. It's quite an impressive sight, perfect for a former Soviet state to show off their might.
We took a little money out of the bank. About $12. You know, 100,000 рублё? It's about 8,300руб to the dollar.
With our 100k руб in hand we got to the metro, another Soviet era construction (though late, 1984 the metro opened). I got directions to it in my impeccable 4 words of Russian.
I misread our hostel directions, and we ended up at the end of the blue line. But after some getting turned around (and losing one of my warm reindeer gloves from Finland in the cracks between the metro train and the platform!) we found our way to the red line (second line of 2 in Minsk) and took it to the end of the line.
In the train we sat across from a girl who kept glancing at us. When we left the train, she approached us. She offered to help us find our hostel. She took out her iPhone and mapped the route. Then she took us to the surface and pointed us to the building.
She gave us her number and name, Katя, and asked us to text her if we needed more help. We didn't tonight, but we're considering treating her to dinner or something in the next day or two.
Our building is an enormous Soviet block building, and the entrance is in the back on the ground floor. We had to circle the building fully before finding it. We walked through the door at Postoyalets Hostel about 10 minutes before midnight.
We checked in with the woman at the desk, who speaks no English, and checked into room 5, an 8-bed dorm that's totally empty tonight.
We were starving, so we found a supermarket open late, got directions to the place, and called a taxi to bring us.
The trip was 60,000руб, $7.25. That got us from the outskirts of the city to the center, maybe 20 minutes drive.
We found ourselves at a supermarket that is larger than any Walmart I've ever been to. It was 1am and there were so many people there, too. We dove into the aisles and shopped for dinner.
We got a loaf of bread, two types of cheese, a package of turkey slices, a carton of milk, three 2-liter bottles of water, a toothbrush for Jonas, toothpaste, a Lion bar (rawr!) and two beers for 125,100руб, $15. It wasn't the cheapest in the world, but certainly not expensive in the slightest.
The taxi ride back was the same price as before, though he tried to charge us 75,000. We argued it down to 60,000, like before.
In the hostel we feasted, our third meal in our third country today, and watched some Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Already it is abundantly clear: we so often talk about countries like Belarus, and internally think they're desolate and wanting. But Katя has a nicer iPhone than I, the subways are cleaner and stations more beautiful than in NYC, I saw more tablet devices in the metro at one time at 11:30 pm than ever I've seen in the States, and the supermarkets just as modern. I'm already loving Minsk, and I just got here!
Sleep around 4:30 local, 3:30 Vilnius time.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Užupis
I opened my eyes around 10:30. I was on a couch. Most of the cushions had been pushed off, and someone had put a blanket on me. The smell of waffles filled my nose, and the absurdly loud voices of two Turkish beauties besieged my hearing. Ugnė saw I had awoken, and laughed at me to herself. I closed my eyes.
Now it was 11. I mustered the energy to motion to Ugnė for water... She obliged, and asked if I wanted waffles. Of course I said yes. It wasn't the best decision I've ever made, but I stand by it.
After two glasses of water, two waffles, two aspirin and a mug of tea one of the Turkish girls made me, I was able to get around without as much pain. It only took 45 minutes. Which was a shame because Pete had organized a free walking tour for Jonas and I today at noon. I attempted to get Jonas up, insisting that we had promised to go on the tour, but he wouldn't get up. So I went alone.
I met my tour guide, a young Lithuanian girl whose name I cannot pronounce not remember, on the steps of the town hall. I was the only one on the tour.
These tours are free, and work off tips alone. I felt a little bad about making my guide coming out just for me, so I resolved that if the tour was good, I'd tip handsomely. Unfortunately, though, I had forgotten my wallet. 'I'll deal with that later' I figured.
The tour was really wonderful. Because it was just the two of us, we could move a lot quicker, and got to see a lot more of Vilnius than these tours usually get to. We walked through some of the first streets in Vilnius, through the old Jewish ghetto (where only a small stone memorial stands today, next to a restaurant named Transilvania), the oldest church in Vilnius, one of only three gothic buildings in Vilnius, and the only one that's also a church, the old Vilnius defensive city wall, Užupis, a hill overlooking the city, and through the old town, too.
Užupis is a self-declared republic consisting of an artistic community. They have a president, prime minister, and a standing army of 12. They also have a constitution, which I've rewritten below, due to the, well, you'll see:
1. Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, and the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
2. Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.
3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
5. Everyone has the right to be unique.
6. Everyone has the right to love.
7. Everyone has the right to not be loved, but not necessarily.
8. Everyone has the right to be undistinguished and unknown.
9. Everyone has the right to idle.
10. Everyone has the right to love and take care of the cat.
11. Everyone has the right to look after the dog until one of them dies.
12. A dog has the right to be a dog.
13. A cat is not obligated to love its owner, but must help in times of nee.
14. Sometimes everyone has the right to be unaware of their duties.
15. Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not an obligation.
16. Everyone has the right to be happy.
17. Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
18. Everyone has the right to be silent.
19. Everyone has the right to have faith.
20. No one has the right to violence.
21. Everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance.
22. No one has the right to have a design on eternity.
23. Everyone has a right to understand.
24. Everyone has the right to understand nothing.
25. Everyone has the right to be of any nationality.
26. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.
27. Everyone shall remember their name.
28. Everyone may share what they possess.
29. No one can share what they do not possess.
30. Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents.
31. Everyone may be independent.
32. Everyone is responsible for their freedom.
33. Everyone has the right to cry.
34. Everyone has the right to be misunderstood.
35. No one has the right to make another person guilty.
36. Everyone has the right to be individual.
37. Everyone has the right to have no rights.
38. Everyone has the right to not be afraid.
39. Do not defeat.
40. Do not fight back.
41. Do not surrender.
(typo in original)
So there it is. Užupis in a nutshell.
After the walking tour, I made my guide come back to the hostel so I could get my wallet and tip her. I gave her 10 Litu, which I assume is a good tip. I wanted to give her 20, but I only had 10 and 50 bills.
It was 2:30 when I got back, and Jonas was still asleep. I had seen almost all the city, learned about Lithuania and how they make fun of Estonia the same way we make fun of Canada, seen the place where a girl died by electrocution by drunkenly urinating on a live power station, and found out that my tour guide thinks Communism works, and Jonas was still sleeping off his hangover. He got up just before 3.
I made ham and eggs for lunch in the kitchen, alongside Michael, who made some hard boiled eggs and fried ham. He was very impressed at my one-handed omelette flip (thanks, mom).
We spent the entire rest of the day in the hostel. Ungė helped us order food for dinner and hung with us until her shift ended at 7.
We got Chinese delivery. For the three of us we spent 70 Latu, which was not cheap (by US prices). But the experience was almost worth it.
Michael and Jonas and I had family dinner. We didn't order rice, as we made our own, but the food (with all the sauce too) came in boxes that rice comes in in the US. It was comical.
Urtė showed up for her shift, and we all watched some movies. First we watched the Descent, then a movie about cannibals called Ravenous, then Ong Bak, a Thai fighting movie. I liked the third one best.
Bed @ 4. I stole a bed upstairs in the empty 12-person dorm room and had the entire room to myself to sleep in. Of course, I picked the bed tucked away in a corner, but still.
Now it was 11. I mustered the energy to motion to Ugnė for water... She obliged, and asked if I wanted waffles. Of course I said yes. It wasn't the best decision I've ever made, but I stand by it.
After two glasses of water, two waffles, two aspirin and a mug of tea one of the Turkish girls made me, I was able to get around without as much pain. It only took 45 minutes. Which was a shame because Pete had organized a free walking tour for Jonas and I today at noon. I attempted to get Jonas up, insisting that we had promised to go on the tour, but he wouldn't get up. So I went alone.
I met my tour guide, a young Lithuanian girl whose name I cannot pronounce not remember, on the steps of the town hall. I was the only one on the tour.
These tours are free, and work off tips alone. I felt a little bad about making my guide coming out just for me, so I resolved that if the tour was good, I'd tip handsomely. Unfortunately, though, I had forgotten my wallet. 'I'll deal with that later' I figured.
The tour was really wonderful. Because it was just the two of us, we could move a lot quicker, and got to see a lot more of Vilnius than these tours usually get to. We walked through some of the first streets in Vilnius, through the old Jewish ghetto (where only a small stone memorial stands today, next to a restaurant named Transilvania), the oldest church in Vilnius, one of only three gothic buildings in Vilnius, and the only one that's also a church, the old Vilnius defensive city wall, Užupis, a hill overlooking the city, and through the old town, too.
Užupis is a self-declared republic consisting of an artistic community. They have a president, prime minister, and a standing army of 12. They also have a constitution, which I've rewritten below, due to the, well, you'll see:
1. Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, and the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
2. Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.
3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
5. Everyone has the right to be unique.
6. Everyone has the right to love.
7. Everyone has the right to not be loved, but not necessarily.
8. Everyone has the right to be undistinguished and unknown.
9. Everyone has the right to idle.
10. Everyone has the right to love and take care of the cat.
11. Everyone has the right to look after the dog until one of them dies.
12. A dog has the right to be a dog.
13. A cat is not obligated to love its owner, but must help in times of nee.
14. Sometimes everyone has the right to be unaware of their duties.
15. Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not an obligation.
16. Everyone has the right to be happy.
17. Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
18. Everyone has the right to be silent.
19. Everyone has the right to have faith.
20. No one has the right to violence.
21. Everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance.
22. No one has the right to have a design on eternity.
23. Everyone has a right to understand.
24. Everyone has the right to understand nothing.
25. Everyone has the right to be of any nationality.
26. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.
27. Everyone shall remember their name.
28. Everyone may share what they possess.
29. No one can share what they do not possess.
30. Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents.
31. Everyone may be independent.
32. Everyone is responsible for their freedom.
33. Everyone has the right to cry.
34. Everyone has the right to be misunderstood.
35. No one has the right to make another person guilty.
36. Everyone has the right to be individual.
37. Everyone has the right to have no rights.
38. Everyone has the right to not be afraid.
39. Do not defeat.
40. Do not fight back.
41. Do not surrender.
(typo in original)
So there it is. Užupis in a nutshell.
After the walking tour, I made my guide come back to the hostel so I could get my wallet and tip her. I gave her 10 Litu, which I assume is a good tip. I wanted to give her 20, but I only had 10 and 50 bills.
It was 2:30 when I got back, and Jonas was still asleep. I had seen almost all the city, learned about Lithuania and how they make fun of Estonia the same way we make fun of Canada, seen the place where a girl died by electrocution by drunkenly urinating on a live power station, and found out that my tour guide thinks Communism works, and Jonas was still sleeping off his hangover. He got up just before 3.
I made ham and eggs for lunch in the kitchen, alongside Michael, who made some hard boiled eggs and fried ham. He was very impressed at my one-handed omelette flip (thanks, mom).
We spent the entire rest of the day in the hostel. Ungė helped us order food for dinner and hung with us until her shift ended at 7.
We got Chinese delivery. For the three of us we spent 70 Latu, which was not cheap (by US prices). But the experience was almost worth it.
Michael and Jonas and I had family dinner. We didn't order rice, as we made our own, but the food (with all the sauce too) came in boxes that rice comes in in the US. It was comical.
Urtė showed up for her shift, and we all watched some movies. First we watched the Descent, then a movie about cannibals called Ravenous, then Ong Bak, a Thai fighting movie. I liked the third one best.
Bed @ 4. I stole a bed upstairs in the empty 12-person dorm room and had the entire room to myself to sleep in. Of course, I picked the bed tucked away in a corner, but still.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Belarusian Visa + Pub Crawl
We woke up at 10, and contemplated the days events, which consisted first and foremost of a run to the Belarusian Consulate, as Jonas had failed to procure a visa before arriving in Vilnius.
A number of events conspired to delay our departure. First, my bag arrived from the airport just before 11. So I had some clean clothes to put on. Second, Ugne (the girl who works with Pete to run the hostel) was making complimentary delicious waffles in the common room. Third, Jonas lost his wallet, thinking it stolen, though we ended up finding it under one of the vacant beds in our room.
So we left at noon for the Consulate that closed at 1. The walk alone was 20 minutes. Vokiečiц Gatvė from town hall to Trakц Gatvė, then continuing on to J. Basanavičiaus Gatvė. Eventually we found a little side street called Vytenio Gatvė. But the consulate wasn't there either. It was around two more unnamed roads.
The consulate in New York was on fifth avenue, but tucked away into a little office building, on floor 20-something, and hidden between two much larger companies. I passed it twice before finding it when I went in to get my visa. But here, in Belarus' neighbor country, there's a mini mansion that boasts the red, green and yellow of the glorious Belarusian people.
We snuck through the gate behind a woman who was buzzed in, and entered. Immediately, a guard asked for our passports in Russian. We complied, and he sent us to the second window (of 10 or more) to state our business.
After some Q and A, we learned that Jonas had, well, none of the items he needed for a visa. Neither a photo, a booking in Belarus to stay, an insurance card, or an application. She informed us where we could find wifi, a photo place, and an insurance salesman (all nearby) and sent us on our way for an epic scavenger hunt. It was 12:30. We picked up a blank visa application form from the guard at the front and left.
We split up. Jonas went down the street to get a photo taken, I took his credit card to book him a hostel room in his name. He walked down the hill to the corner. I took out my phone and wandered up the hill, searching for wifi.
My phone picked up wifi at the top of the hill and around the corner to the left about 6 yards. I couldn't move or I'd lose it. So, painstakingly, I booked Jonas 5 nights at a hostel to correspond with my visa days, with his card. It worked after much Internet difficulty.
I met up with Jonas outside the Consulate. It was 12:50. Jonas hopped online at my wifi spot for a bit to look up travelers insurance.
Then it occurred to us that he already has Denmark's socialist travelers insurance card, but when he told the consulate rep he said "visa," which I think she took to mean not a real insurance card.
We ran back to the consulate. It was 12:57. We buzzed at the gate, but they said they were on lunch. So close!
The consulate rep had also told us we could come back after 2 if we were really desperate for a visa, so we resigned to do that.
Jonas had seen a mall nearby, and we went inside. We sat at another Čili Kaimas, where we got wifi. Over a cup of coffee (hot chocolate for me, still can't stomach coffee) we filled out his visa application. And we learned from the waitress how to count to ten in Lithuanian:
1- Vienas
2- Du
3- Trys (y=ee)
4- Keturi
5- Penki
6- Šeši (š=sh)
7- Septyni
8- Aštuoni
9- Devyni
10- Dešimt
At 2 we returned to the consulate. We were turned away, told to get Jonas insurance for Belarus across the street. It cost 11 Litu, that's it. But it was enough to turn him down. We also had to print out the hostel booking, which we did at an adjacent travel agency, thanks to a very nice travel agent.
When we finally had everything, we went back for the fourth time to the consulate. Jonas checked out. So they sent him for payment. It cost €120, much more than we'd expected. And, of course, we didn't have the money on us. And they wouldn't take a credit card.
So we left again. This time for an ATM. And we found one back at the mall we were in.
At this point it was 3:15 or so, and we'd been denied 4 times at the consulate. We had run all over the area for hours, and been back and forth between their buzz-in gate. So when they saw us coming the last time, they buzzed us in before we could even ring the bell.
After Jonas paid for his visa, we waited in a corner of the consulate with three guys who are also going to Minsk. One American, one Frenchman, and one guy from Monaco (Monacon?). Alan, the American, was using his Portuguese passport to get the visa, so he'd be able to pay less. They've been in Lithuania for months, studying, and are going to spend a little while in Belarus for fun, I guess. We exchanged info, and perhaps we'll meet up with them in Minsk.
About 3:40, a miracle happened. Jonas finally got his visa. We got out of the consulate as quickly as possible.
On the way back, we took a detour to see a curious sight. Here, in the middle of Lithuania, a Frank Zappa statue. We took a few photos, then went on our way.
Before getting back to the hostel, we stopped at a supermarket to get some items to cook dinner. We got water, onions, carrots, rice, chicken, bread, cheese, and some flavoring items. All for 30 Litu, or a little over $10.
While Jonas cooked, I showered. It's been at least two days since the last one, so I needed it.
We watched a movie in the common room. Jonas picked it, it was Hobo With A Shotgun. One of the more gruesome and horrific movies I've ever sat through. But I liked the ending.
Next came Puss in Boots. No one chose that, it was just on. Quite a genre shift. We didn't finish the movie, as 10pm had us going on a pub crawl with the hostel.
We went to five places throughout the night. A karaoke club, an almost empty dance club, a place called the Play Club, which was a far walk, another dance club, but a packed one, and another I don't remember in the middle.
At Play Club, Jonas bumped into one of the girls we played in foosball yesterday at the Jazz bar. Her name is Julija, and she kicked our asses a few more times on the foosball table before we left that bar.
I know we got back to the hostel around 5:30, and I know I fell asleep while on the phone with certain awesome people back home (you know who you are!), but that's it. I passed out, probably around 6.
A number of events conspired to delay our departure. First, my bag arrived from the airport just before 11. So I had some clean clothes to put on. Second, Ugne (the girl who works with Pete to run the hostel) was making complimentary delicious waffles in the common room. Third, Jonas lost his wallet, thinking it stolen, though we ended up finding it under one of the vacant beds in our room.
So we left at noon for the Consulate that closed at 1. The walk alone was 20 minutes. Vokiečiц Gatvė from town hall to Trakц Gatvė, then continuing on to J. Basanavičiaus Gatvė. Eventually we found a little side street called Vytenio Gatvė. But the consulate wasn't there either. It was around two more unnamed roads.
The consulate in New York was on fifth avenue, but tucked away into a little office building, on floor 20-something, and hidden between two much larger companies. I passed it twice before finding it when I went in to get my visa. But here, in Belarus' neighbor country, there's a mini mansion that boasts the red, green and yellow of the glorious Belarusian people.
We snuck through the gate behind a woman who was buzzed in, and entered. Immediately, a guard asked for our passports in Russian. We complied, and he sent us to the second window (of 10 or more) to state our business.
After some Q and A, we learned that Jonas had, well, none of the items he needed for a visa. Neither a photo, a booking in Belarus to stay, an insurance card, or an application. She informed us where we could find wifi, a photo place, and an insurance salesman (all nearby) and sent us on our way for an epic scavenger hunt. It was 12:30. We picked up a blank visa application form from the guard at the front and left.
We split up. Jonas went down the street to get a photo taken, I took his credit card to book him a hostel room in his name. He walked down the hill to the corner. I took out my phone and wandered up the hill, searching for wifi.
My phone picked up wifi at the top of the hill and around the corner to the left about 6 yards. I couldn't move or I'd lose it. So, painstakingly, I booked Jonas 5 nights at a hostel to correspond with my visa days, with his card. It worked after much Internet difficulty.
I met up with Jonas outside the Consulate. It was 12:50. Jonas hopped online at my wifi spot for a bit to look up travelers insurance.
Then it occurred to us that he already has Denmark's socialist travelers insurance card, but when he told the consulate rep he said "visa," which I think she took to mean not a real insurance card.
We ran back to the consulate. It was 12:57. We buzzed at the gate, but they said they were on lunch. So close!
The consulate rep had also told us we could come back after 2 if we were really desperate for a visa, so we resigned to do that.
Jonas had seen a mall nearby, and we went inside. We sat at another Čili Kaimas, where we got wifi. Over a cup of coffee (hot chocolate for me, still can't stomach coffee) we filled out his visa application. And we learned from the waitress how to count to ten in Lithuanian:
1- Vienas
2- Du
3- Trys (y=ee)
4- Keturi
5- Penki
6- Šeši (š=sh)
7- Septyni
8- Aštuoni
9- Devyni
10- Dešimt
At 2 we returned to the consulate. We were turned away, told to get Jonas insurance for Belarus across the street. It cost 11 Litu, that's it. But it was enough to turn him down. We also had to print out the hostel booking, which we did at an adjacent travel agency, thanks to a very nice travel agent.
When we finally had everything, we went back for the fourth time to the consulate. Jonas checked out. So they sent him for payment. It cost €120, much more than we'd expected. And, of course, we didn't have the money on us. And they wouldn't take a credit card.
So we left again. This time for an ATM. And we found one back at the mall we were in.
At this point it was 3:15 or so, and we'd been denied 4 times at the consulate. We had run all over the area for hours, and been back and forth between their buzz-in gate. So when they saw us coming the last time, they buzzed us in before we could even ring the bell.
After Jonas paid for his visa, we waited in a corner of the consulate with three guys who are also going to Minsk. One American, one Frenchman, and one guy from Monaco (Monacon?). Alan, the American, was using his Portuguese passport to get the visa, so he'd be able to pay less. They've been in Lithuania for months, studying, and are going to spend a little while in Belarus for fun, I guess. We exchanged info, and perhaps we'll meet up with them in Minsk.
About 3:40, a miracle happened. Jonas finally got his visa. We got out of the consulate as quickly as possible.
On the way back, we took a detour to see a curious sight. Here, in the middle of Lithuania, a Frank Zappa statue. We took a few photos, then went on our way.
Before getting back to the hostel, we stopped at a supermarket to get some items to cook dinner. We got water, onions, carrots, rice, chicken, bread, cheese, and some flavoring items. All for 30 Litu, or a little over $10.
While Jonas cooked, I showered. It's been at least two days since the last one, so I needed it.
We watched a movie in the common room. Jonas picked it, it was Hobo With A Shotgun. One of the more gruesome and horrific movies I've ever sat through. But I liked the ending.
Next came Puss in Boots. No one chose that, it was just on. Quite a genre shift. We didn't finish the movie, as 10pm had us going on a pub crawl with the hostel.
We went to five places throughout the night. A karaoke club, an almost empty dance club, a place called the Play Club, which was a far walk, another dance club, but a packed one, and another I don't remember in the middle.
At Play Club, Jonas bumped into one of the girls we played in foosball yesterday at the Jazz bar. Her name is Julija, and she kicked our asses a few more times on the foosball table before we left that bar.
I know we got back to the hostel around 5:30, and I know I fell asleep while on the phone with certain awesome people back home (you know who you are!), but that's it. I passed out, probably around 6.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Vilnius
It snowed last night. Only an inch or so but berlin looks refreshingly different. Too bad I'm leaving. It was not that cold out though, 3° or so. That is, Celsius.
Celina was meant to leave around 8 this morning, but when I woke up at 10 she was fast asleep. Turns out she missed her morning train to Prague. I hope she made the 10:45, but she didn't leave much time for that either.
I packed up the last of my things, said my goodbyes to Ben and James, checked out and departed without any fanfare. It's bittersweet; I enjoyed Berlin so much, but I've been here long enough, and there's a constant shadow of the not-so-recent War still looming over us here. Reminders are everywhere.
Not that they wouldn't be in Vilnius, Minsk, Kiev or Odessa. I fully expect scars of the War to be very much present. But it's very different to be at the center of it all.
My third time arriving at Tegel Airport was no easier than the first two times. The bus ride was long, and terminal C never seems to have any flights at it. I was at D, and in a rare feat of anti-Mayer family behavior, I showed up before the checkin desk even opened!
So I waited impatiently until the checkin desk opened at 12:35, 2 hours shy of departure. I was one of the first in line, and when my turn came I warily put my bag on the scale.
In New York, Air Berlin told me that my bag was about 2kg overweight and it would cost me $140 to put it on the plane. I managed to fit the extra 2kg in shoes into my carry on instead, so there ended up being no problem. Air Baltic's limit is, based on German signs on the matter, approx. 25kg. Air Berlin's was 30kg, I think. And their hand baggage limit is 8kg. So, mathematically, I should have no way to not pay their exorbitant fees.
However, the surface area of their scale was exceedingly small, and my bag hung over onto the second section of conveyor belts, making my 32kg bag read only as 24.7. It was a short-lived victory, however, because I then had to bring the bag, which they deemed "oversized" (so what if it's taller than I am?!) from terminal D to terminal A to check it into the oversized luggage department. Good thing I checked in early. Either way, I breezed security and was at the gate with about an hour to spare.
The first leg of the journey took me to Riga on BT218. We landed at 5:30, but didn't disembark into the snowy wonderland that was the airport until 5:45 or so, and didn't get to the terminal via the busses until 5:55. And my plane to Vilnius was to leave at 6:00. When I looked up in the terminal and saw "Last Call" in red letters next to Gate B16, I started to run. But my lack of faith in the Riga airport was misguided.
My flight to Riga held about 84 passengers; small plane. The one to Vilnius held 48, and only 25 of us were on board today. And 8 of those were on my flight from Berlin. So there really wasn't anything to worry about. But being on the road, much like so much else in life, involves making snap decisions on imperfect information, and I had decided to run from an imagined threat to my travel plans.
We left shortly after boarding, and I had two seats to myself, so I spread out. On the Riga flight, I opened my eyes twice the entire flight; when they yelled at me to put my seat up, and when we jolted onto the runway upon landing. I tried to repeat the feat on the second flight, but to no avail.
I may have made my flight to Vilnius, but my backpack did not. When we arrived at the airport, only 15 minutes late and amidst copious falling snow, I discovered that of the five checked bags on our flight, none of them had made the transfer from the Berlin-Riga leg. So myself and my fellow transferers found ourselves in the baggage claim office. They were very kind, taking our information, permanent and local address and telephone numbers, and let us know that our luggage would hopefully be placed on the midnight flight to Vilnius tonight, arriving at 1am, then delivered to our respective hotels in the morning, after 9. They were professional and took bag descriptions and tag numbers, gave me a receipt and all kinds of contact info to reach them with, and then sent me on my way.
Assuming I get my bag in the morning, I feel like there is not much of a downside to all of this. Now I don't have to drag my own bag through downtown Vilnius alone at night, and all I sacrifice is my toothbrush and a clean shirt for a day, since everything of value or that I care about is in my carry on. But that's assuming I get my bag tomorrow morning, as promised.
Jonas and I had agreed to meet at our hostel, a place Jonas had found and booked. I got some money at the ATM, 100 Litu (it's about 2.77 Litu to the $), and got a bus ticket on bus 1 into town for 2.50 Litu.
The directions on the hostel world website were adequate, but it was a little difficult to get my bearings to get started. The walk was about 1.2km through Vilnius, which is beautiful at night in the snow, if cold too (it's -4°C outside).
The hostel is located in a little hole in the wall that would be all but impossible to find if not for the directions. It's owned and operated the past two years by a Canadian named Pete who runs it like a co-op almost. There's a group kitchen, a hookah for the tenants, no locks on the doors (but one always locked at entrance to hostel and locks for the lockers), empty alcohol bottles all over the shelf, etc. It's also incredibly central.
I walked into the hostel and Jonas was hiding behind a door to surprise me. He had told Pete to make some sort of joke about "no Jews allowed" or something, but Pete, with the sensitivity of culture that only a Canadian has, instead waited for me to walk up the stairs and said, "your friend wants to know if you're circumcised." I liked him immediately.
Jonas and I snacked on some bread, cheese, and turkey he had gotten at the supermarket for 20 Litu, or $7.22. It was more than enough for both of us at the time.
A few hours later we found ourselves at a nice restaurant called Čili Kaimas, where we managed to eat a full main course and beer apiece for only 34.96 Litu ($12). I had the Cepelinai, or Zeppelin, a Lithuanian national dish, which basically consists of a creamy bacon-based sauce slathered on a potato that has been stuffed with either just pork or pork, beef, and veal. It was delicious, but I couldn't finish it, I was stuffed.
After the restaurant we went, around 11, towards Vilniaos Gatvė 33, to a place called Soul Box, where live jazz was playing until 2 (which turned out to be 1). We meandered quite a ways before finding it, taking photos in the snowy city at night, but find it we did.
The Soul Box is modern, trendy, and actually had a half-decent band playing. It was most enjoyable. We had a beer each and played some foosball against two guys, won, then played their girlfriends, won, and then played one guy and one girl and got miserably destroyed.
At 1 the music finished up and we left for the hostel. Upon arrival we met our third roommate, Michael.
Michael is from Norway, and is writing his masters thesis while traveling around. He's writing on Social Media, Facebook specifically, which was perfect because Jonas and I had gotten into a very intense debate about the moral and economic issues with movie and music piracy, something Michael knew a great deal about. He sided with Jonas, and I lost my morality argument against the two of them.
We were up until 4 arguing various grandiose items such as gender equality and affirmative action, but had to call it quits sometime.
4:30 = bed.
Celina was meant to leave around 8 this morning, but when I woke up at 10 she was fast asleep. Turns out she missed her morning train to Prague. I hope she made the 10:45, but she didn't leave much time for that either.
I packed up the last of my things, said my goodbyes to Ben and James, checked out and departed without any fanfare. It's bittersweet; I enjoyed Berlin so much, but I've been here long enough, and there's a constant shadow of the not-so-recent War still looming over us here. Reminders are everywhere.
Not that they wouldn't be in Vilnius, Minsk, Kiev or Odessa. I fully expect scars of the War to be very much present. But it's very different to be at the center of it all.
My third time arriving at Tegel Airport was no easier than the first two times. The bus ride was long, and terminal C never seems to have any flights at it. I was at D, and in a rare feat of anti-Mayer family behavior, I showed up before the checkin desk even opened!
So I waited impatiently until the checkin desk opened at 12:35, 2 hours shy of departure. I was one of the first in line, and when my turn came I warily put my bag on the scale.
In New York, Air Berlin told me that my bag was about 2kg overweight and it would cost me $140 to put it on the plane. I managed to fit the extra 2kg in shoes into my carry on instead, so there ended up being no problem. Air Baltic's limit is, based on German signs on the matter, approx. 25kg. Air Berlin's was 30kg, I think. And their hand baggage limit is 8kg. So, mathematically, I should have no way to not pay their exorbitant fees.
However, the surface area of their scale was exceedingly small, and my bag hung over onto the second section of conveyor belts, making my 32kg bag read only as 24.7. It was a short-lived victory, however, because I then had to bring the bag, which they deemed "oversized" (so what if it's taller than I am?!) from terminal D to terminal A to check it into the oversized luggage department. Good thing I checked in early. Either way, I breezed security and was at the gate with about an hour to spare.
The first leg of the journey took me to Riga on BT218. We landed at 5:30, but didn't disembark into the snowy wonderland that was the airport until 5:45 or so, and didn't get to the terminal via the busses until 5:55. And my plane to Vilnius was to leave at 6:00. When I looked up in the terminal and saw "Last Call" in red letters next to Gate B16, I started to run. But my lack of faith in the Riga airport was misguided.
My flight to Riga held about 84 passengers; small plane. The one to Vilnius held 48, and only 25 of us were on board today. And 8 of those were on my flight from Berlin. So there really wasn't anything to worry about. But being on the road, much like so much else in life, involves making snap decisions on imperfect information, and I had decided to run from an imagined threat to my travel plans.
We left shortly after boarding, and I had two seats to myself, so I spread out. On the Riga flight, I opened my eyes twice the entire flight; when they yelled at me to put my seat up, and when we jolted onto the runway upon landing. I tried to repeat the feat on the second flight, but to no avail.
I may have made my flight to Vilnius, but my backpack did not. When we arrived at the airport, only 15 minutes late and amidst copious falling snow, I discovered that of the five checked bags on our flight, none of them had made the transfer from the Berlin-Riga leg. So myself and my fellow transferers found ourselves in the baggage claim office. They were very kind, taking our information, permanent and local address and telephone numbers, and let us know that our luggage would hopefully be placed on the midnight flight to Vilnius tonight, arriving at 1am, then delivered to our respective hotels in the morning, after 9. They were professional and took bag descriptions and tag numbers, gave me a receipt and all kinds of contact info to reach them with, and then sent me on my way.
Assuming I get my bag in the morning, I feel like there is not much of a downside to all of this. Now I don't have to drag my own bag through downtown Vilnius alone at night, and all I sacrifice is my toothbrush and a clean shirt for a day, since everything of value or that I care about is in my carry on. But that's assuming I get my bag tomorrow morning, as promised.
Jonas and I had agreed to meet at our hostel, a place Jonas had found and booked. I got some money at the ATM, 100 Litu (it's about 2.77 Litu to the $), and got a bus ticket on bus 1 into town for 2.50 Litu.
The directions on the hostel world website were adequate, but it was a little difficult to get my bearings to get started. The walk was about 1.2km through Vilnius, which is beautiful at night in the snow, if cold too (it's -4°C outside).
The hostel is located in a little hole in the wall that would be all but impossible to find if not for the directions. It's owned and operated the past two years by a Canadian named Pete who runs it like a co-op almost. There's a group kitchen, a hookah for the tenants, no locks on the doors (but one always locked at entrance to hostel and locks for the lockers), empty alcohol bottles all over the shelf, etc. It's also incredibly central.
I walked into the hostel and Jonas was hiding behind a door to surprise me. He had told Pete to make some sort of joke about "no Jews allowed" or something, but Pete, with the sensitivity of culture that only a Canadian has, instead waited for me to walk up the stairs and said, "your friend wants to know if you're circumcised." I liked him immediately.
Jonas and I snacked on some bread, cheese, and turkey he had gotten at the supermarket for 20 Litu, or $7.22. It was more than enough for both of us at the time.
A few hours later we found ourselves at a nice restaurant called Čili Kaimas, where we managed to eat a full main course and beer apiece for only 34.96 Litu ($12). I had the Cepelinai, or Zeppelin, a Lithuanian national dish, which basically consists of a creamy bacon-based sauce slathered on a potato that has been stuffed with either just pork or pork, beef, and veal. It was delicious, but I couldn't finish it, I was stuffed.
After the restaurant we went, around 11, towards Vilniaos Gatvė 33, to a place called Soul Box, where live jazz was playing until 2 (which turned out to be 1). We meandered quite a ways before finding it, taking photos in the snowy city at night, but find it we did.
The Soul Box is modern, trendy, and actually had a half-decent band playing. It was most enjoyable. We had a beer each and played some foosball against two guys, won, then played their girlfriends, won, and then played one guy and one girl and got miserably destroyed.
At 1 the music finished up and we left for the hostel. Upon arrival we met our third roommate, Michael.
Michael is from Norway, and is writing his masters thesis while traveling around. He's writing on Social Media, Facebook specifically, which was perfect because Jonas and I had gotten into a very intense debate about the moral and economic issues with movie and music piracy, something Michael knew a great deal about. He sided with Jonas, and I lost my morality argument against the two of them.
We were up until 4 arguing various grandiose items such as gender equality and affirmative action, but had to call it quits sometime.
4:30 = bed.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Room 3
Today was spent with allmy roommates in Room 3.
I'm feeling 100x better today after taking a day off.
After a leisurely morning, Celina, James and I ventured back to Potsdam to take another gander at the more uplifting aspects of German history; it's starting to become depressing to see reminders of and memorials to the Holocaust everywhere.
We arrived just after 2. First stop, the old market square. We went into the church because we noticed people up on top of the roof by the dome. For €5 we got tickets to the top.
It was barely, if at all, worth €5. We could see the top of Potsdam, which was nice, but we weren't that high up and didn't get a fantastic view - not for the price we paid.
Next we stopped for lunch at a Thai place on Friederick-Ebert-Straße. I got the chicken soup, which was spicy and not great for my recovering illness after all.
From the Thai restaurant we walked west through the old town to Brandenburger Tor, which is different than its namesake in Berlin. It was a beautiful arch from 1770. Not much else to say though.
At this point it was almost 4, and the sun would have completely set by 5, so we set off for one of the Schloß's, Schloß Cecilianhof, location of the Potsdam conference. However, due to several mixups, two bad maps, and the incredibly confusing bus system in Potsdam, we didn't figure out how to get there until 4:50, meaning we arrived at Cecilianhof after nightfall.
It was alright though. The interior may have closed at 5, and so we couldn't see the site of the conference, but we did wander the grounds and get inside the courtyard in the old tudor mansion. It was strikingly beautiful, even at night.
We got a train back to Berlin ASAP after that, as Celina and James were cold. Picked up two road beers on the way, only because James wanted to enjoy the legal drinking in public thing that Germany (and much of Europe) has going on.
We made it back to the hotel around 7:45, and spent a little time relaxing.
James and I went on a failed trip to a hardware store to buy a hammer and chisel to find a chip away at pieces of the Berlin wall around town. It wasn't where we were told it was, thus we never got the items. And anyway we learned later that apparently if you're caught in such an act today, as a foreigner, you'll be deported from Germany and never allowed back into the country. I didn't believe it, but James was scared enough that we didn't go.
The rest of the night was spent with Celina and James and Ben in our room, playing Rummy 500, watching funny/cute YouTube videos, listening to punk rock (Ben), and drinking beers from the cheap kiosk down the street, sometimes all at once.
Ben, Celina and I are all leaving in the morning, leaving James behind. Celina is going to Prague, Ben is going somewhere, but I don't know where, and I'm off to Vilnius, to meet Jonas and begin the Eastern part of my European adventure. We all spent the night packing.
It's 3:18 as I write this. Off to sleep... Goodbye, Room 3.
I'm feeling 100x better today after taking a day off.
After a leisurely morning, Celina, James and I ventured back to Potsdam to take another gander at the more uplifting aspects of German history; it's starting to become depressing to see reminders of and memorials to the Holocaust everywhere.
We arrived just after 2. First stop, the old market square. We went into the church because we noticed people up on top of the roof by the dome. For €5 we got tickets to the top.
It was barely, if at all, worth €5. We could see the top of Potsdam, which was nice, but we weren't that high up and didn't get a fantastic view - not for the price we paid.
Next we stopped for lunch at a Thai place on Friederick-Ebert-Straße. I got the chicken soup, which was spicy and not great for my recovering illness after all.
From the Thai restaurant we walked west through the old town to Brandenburger Tor, which is different than its namesake in Berlin. It was a beautiful arch from 1770. Not much else to say though.
At this point it was almost 4, and the sun would have completely set by 5, so we set off for one of the Schloß's, Schloß Cecilianhof, location of the Potsdam conference. However, due to several mixups, two bad maps, and the incredibly confusing bus system in Potsdam, we didn't figure out how to get there until 4:50, meaning we arrived at Cecilianhof after nightfall.
It was alright though. The interior may have closed at 5, and so we couldn't see the site of the conference, but we did wander the grounds and get inside the courtyard in the old tudor mansion. It was strikingly beautiful, even at night.
We got a train back to Berlin ASAP after that, as Celina and James were cold. Picked up two road beers on the way, only because James wanted to enjoy the legal drinking in public thing that Germany (and much of Europe) has going on.
We made it back to the hotel around 7:45, and spent a little time relaxing.
James and I went on a failed trip to a hardware store to buy a hammer and chisel to find a chip away at pieces of the Berlin wall around town. It wasn't where we were told it was, thus we never got the items. And anyway we learned later that apparently if you're caught in such an act today, as a foreigner, you'll be deported from Germany and never allowed back into the country. I didn't believe it, but James was scared enough that we didn't go.
The rest of the night was spent with Celina and James and Ben in our room, playing Rummy 500, watching funny/cute YouTube videos, listening to punk rock (Ben), and drinking beers from the cheap kiosk down the street, sometimes all at once.
Ben, Celina and I are all leaving in the morning, leaving James behind. Celina is going to Prague, Ben is going somewhere, but I don't know where, and I'm off to Vilnius, to meet Jonas and begin the Eastern part of my European adventure. We all spent the night packing.
It's 3:18 as I write this. Off to sleep... Goodbye, Room 3.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Bye, Judson
Woke up around 10:30, checked out of room 21 at 11. Judson went home today, so we had to close up shop in the room. I checked into room 3, a 6-bed dorm, for the rest of my stay here (another three nights). We set out from Rosa-Luxemburg Straße's U-Bahn and headed down, via the S-Bahn as well (I'm really not loving the S-Bahn) to Potsdamer Platz.
From there we walked north to the corner of Ministergärten and G.-Kolmar-Straße. It was there, on the 30th of April 1945, that Adolph Hitler killed himself in an underground bunker known today (and possibly then) as the Führerbunker, just 10 days after his 56th birthday. There is no plaque, just a small sign talking about the area. Today it is a small park, surrounded by apartment buildings. You cannot go into the bunker, it has been filled in and sealed off. But the scene is a peaceful one, and from the spot on the surface, we could see the roof of the Reichstag, the side of the Brandenburg Gate and, closest to us and most significantly defiant of Hitler's aims, the tops of the nearly 3,000 concrete blocks that make up the Holocaust memorial.
We walked back to the S-Bahn and worked our way to Warschauer Straße station on U1, then to adjacent Mühlenstraße, where the East Berlin Gallery stands, with beautiful and chilling art painted on sections of the actual Berlin Wall, still standing in their original positions. It's quite a site, and stretches on for a long, long way. But it was hailing so we only got about half a kilometer down the display before we turned around.
Back at the hostel around 2:30, we relaxed and waited for Judson's plane departure time to arrive. It's been an exhausting two weeks.
At 6:30 we set off on a meandering journey to Tegel (TXL) airport. First to Alexanderplatz via the U2, then we found the bus that first brought us from the TXL Burger King to Berlin proper in the beginning. After a short 20 minute wait, we were off.
We arrived at terminal B and wandered for a bit when we realized Judson's plane to Copenhagen didn't leave from terminal B, it left from C. So we made the short trek through the tunnel to C, checked him in, and at 7:50, at the entrance to security, we said goodbye.
Fun two weeks, Judson. Cheers.
Back on the bus to Alexanderplatz. Out of superstition, or perhaps just because Judson and I did it the first time we got on the bus (but barely since) I did buy a ticket for the ride. No one in Germany checks though.. And they didn't. Waste of €2.40
I got back just before 9 and ditched the bar in favor of my room which, being just above the bar, gets a decent wifi signal. There I chilled for a while with Ben, a pot-addled Perth native, and Celina, an Argentinian beaut. We never left the room.. All too exhausted.
Around 1:30 our fourth roommate James (another Aussie) stumbled in, drunk, and crawled into his top bunk, where he promptly threw up in the trash we had provided him, cursing the Germans who had supposedly spiked his drink. Ravings of a drunk man.
Then sleep.
From there we walked north to the corner of Ministergärten and G.-Kolmar-Straße. It was there, on the 30th of April 1945, that Adolph Hitler killed himself in an underground bunker known today (and possibly then) as the Führerbunker, just 10 days after his 56th birthday. There is no plaque, just a small sign talking about the area. Today it is a small park, surrounded by apartment buildings. You cannot go into the bunker, it has been filled in and sealed off. But the scene is a peaceful one, and from the spot on the surface, we could see the roof of the Reichstag, the side of the Brandenburg Gate and, closest to us and most significantly defiant of Hitler's aims, the tops of the nearly 3,000 concrete blocks that make up the Holocaust memorial.
We walked back to the S-Bahn and worked our way to Warschauer Straße station on U1, then to adjacent Mühlenstraße, where the East Berlin Gallery stands, with beautiful and chilling art painted on sections of the actual Berlin Wall, still standing in their original positions. It's quite a site, and stretches on for a long, long way. But it was hailing so we only got about half a kilometer down the display before we turned around.
Back at the hostel around 2:30, we relaxed and waited for Judson's plane departure time to arrive. It's been an exhausting two weeks.
At 6:30 we set off on a meandering journey to Tegel (TXL) airport. First to Alexanderplatz via the U2, then we found the bus that first brought us from the TXL Burger King to Berlin proper in the beginning. After a short 20 minute wait, we were off.
We arrived at terminal B and wandered for a bit when we realized Judson's plane to Copenhagen didn't leave from terminal B, it left from C. So we made the short trek through the tunnel to C, checked him in, and at 7:50, at the entrance to security, we said goodbye.
Fun two weeks, Judson. Cheers.
Back on the bus to Alexanderplatz. Out of superstition, or perhaps just because Judson and I did it the first time we got on the bus (but barely since) I did buy a ticket for the ride. No one in Germany checks though.. And they didn't. Waste of €2.40
I got back just before 9 and ditched the bar in favor of my room which, being just above the bar, gets a decent wifi signal. There I chilled for a while with Ben, a pot-addled Perth native, and Celina, an Argentinian beaut. We never left the room.. All too exhausted.
Around 1:30 our fourth roommate James (another Aussie) stumbled in, drunk, and crawled into his top bunk, where he promptly threw up in the trash we had provided him, cursing the Germans who had supposedly spiked his drink. Ravings of a drunk man.
Then sleep.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Dziękuję, Polska
I woke up, rested, around 9:30. I woke Judson up. We needed to check out of the hostel by 11.
Last night we got 4 new French roommates in our 6 person dorm room that was for the first night occupied only by an older gentleman and then the second night by just us. They got up around then too, filling up the room with the confusing garble that is the French language.
We packed our things and brought our bed linens downstairs to check out. I really enjoyed my time here. Usually, that would be enough, but two nights ago I found out how much the girls at this place get paid, and I think it's a complete and total ripoff - they deserve so much more for the work they do. Apparently, though, they get a bonus when we review them by name on Hostelworld, so I'll have to do that (because Marta was too stubborn to take my tips!).
At quarter to 11 Judson and I left to see the last sights of the city (for this trip). We took the #35 tram north for four stops, where we disembarked to find ourselves a block from the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, built on the site of the Jewish Fighting Organization's (ZOB's) main bunker. Today, a beautiful little park surrounds it, and a Jewish Museum is being constructed alongside that (jewishmuseum.org.pl). The monument depicts on the front a few of the heroes who resisted the Nazi subjugation of Jews in the Ghetto Uprising of 1943, and on the back, a chilling depiction shows Jews being led away to their deaths by Nazi soldiers. The whole thing is made from Swedish granite, which was originally put aside by the Nazis to build a victory monument for themselves.
.9km from that point is another Ghetto memorial, this one much grander in scale, but not powerful in the same solemn way as the first. It depicts what could be either Ghetto fighters or Nazis chasing Ghetto fighters, both running out of the burning Ghetto through a chink in the wall. It stands next to what we discerned is one of the main judicial branches of the Polish judicial system.
We walked back to the tram, and took #4 seven stops south to the square we got our bus to Wilanów from. We walked another block to a nice restaurant called Chłopskie Jadło we wanted to have our last meal at. But it was 11:45, they opened at 12, and the man who turned us away was rude. So we went to the restaurant next door.
It was called U Szwejka, and was the only real restaurant we've been to in Poland since that first night at Ginger. Here we decided we would simply order enough to spend the last of our Złoty, which totaled 104.20 PLN, or just under $30 between the two of us. Judson got some kielbasa, and I ordered a Polish specialty, duck with apples, called Kaczka z Jabłkami. No, I don't know how to pronounce that. We also picked up some pierogis for an appetizer. And orange juice, two of them. And a bottle of water. The total still only came to 91.70 PLN. So we left a huge tip and walked away broke.
This was, of course, perfect, since a little under 2 hours later we'd be on a train back to Berlin and would need no more money. Which means this entire little Poland excursion, with trainfare, accommodations, food, and ticket prices included, came out to just shy of 90€ each, or $117. Mine actually came to $114 because I kept a 10 Złoty bill for my collection...
We went back to Oki Doki and got our bags, then waited an hour or so before going to the station. Having gotten such wonderful directions the other day, we knew how to get back without a problem. Especially during the day.
With little confusion we found our platform, 3, and track, 2, for the 14:55 train to Berlin Hauptbahnhoff. And after a little wait, got into seats 42 and 48 (somehow adjacent) in car 269, just behind the engine. We left on time, and a few minutes later we were out of Warsaw and into the Polish countryside.
Over 5 hours later we pulled into Berlin Hauptbahnhoff. The usual route took us back to St. Christopher's hostel. We checked into our new room, and collapsed in the Chill Out Zone upstairs from the bar. Nothing happened for the rest of the night.
I'm tired and may be developing a slight cold. Sleep time.
One note: it is incredibly disappointing being in a country now where only half of the girls are incredibly beautiful, and not all of them.
Last night we got 4 new French roommates in our 6 person dorm room that was for the first night occupied only by an older gentleman and then the second night by just us. They got up around then too, filling up the room with the confusing garble that is the French language.
We packed our things and brought our bed linens downstairs to check out. I really enjoyed my time here. Usually, that would be enough, but two nights ago I found out how much the girls at this place get paid, and I think it's a complete and total ripoff - they deserve so much more for the work they do. Apparently, though, they get a bonus when we review them by name on Hostelworld, so I'll have to do that (because Marta was too stubborn to take my tips!).
At quarter to 11 Judson and I left to see the last sights of the city (for this trip). We took the #35 tram north for four stops, where we disembarked to find ourselves a block from the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, built on the site of the Jewish Fighting Organization's (ZOB's) main bunker. Today, a beautiful little park surrounds it, and a Jewish Museum is being constructed alongside that (jewishmuseum.org.pl). The monument depicts on the front a few of the heroes who resisted the Nazi subjugation of Jews in the Ghetto Uprising of 1943, and on the back, a chilling depiction shows Jews being led away to their deaths by Nazi soldiers. The whole thing is made from Swedish granite, which was originally put aside by the Nazis to build a victory monument for themselves.
.9km from that point is another Ghetto memorial, this one much grander in scale, but not powerful in the same solemn way as the first. It depicts what could be either Ghetto fighters or Nazis chasing Ghetto fighters, both running out of the burning Ghetto through a chink in the wall. It stands next to what we discerned is one of the main judicial branches of the Polish judicial system.
We walked back to the tram, and took #4 seven stops south to the square we got our bus to Wilanów from. We walked another block to a nice restaurant called Chłopskie Jadło we wanted to have our last meal at. But it was 11:45, they opened at 12, and the man who turned us away was rude. So we went to the restaurant next door.
It was called U Szwejka, and was the only real restaurant we've been to in Poland since that first night at Ginger. Here we decided we would simply order enough to spend the last of our Złoty, which totaled 104.20 PLN, or just under $30 between the two of us. Judson got some kielbasa, and I ordered a Polish specialty, duck with apples, called Kaczka z Jabłkami. No, I don't know how to pronounce that. We also picked up some pierogis for an appetizer. And orange juice, two of them. And a bottle of water. The total still only came to 91.70 PLN. So we left a huge tip and walked away broke.
This was, of course, perfect, since a little under 2 hours later we'd be on a train back to Berlin and would need no more money. Which means this entire little Poland excursion, with trainfare, accommodations, food, and ticket prices included, came out to just shy of 90€ each, or $117. Mine actually came to $114 because I kept a 10 Złoty bill for my collection...
We went back to Oki Doki and got our bags, then waited an hour or so before going to the station. Having gotten such wonderful directions the other day, we knew how to get back without a problem. Especially during the day.
With little confusion we found our platform, 3, and track, 2, for the 14:55 train to Berlin Hauptbahnhoff. And after a little wait, got into seats 42 and 48 (somehow adjacent) in car 269, just behind the engine. We left on time, and a few minutes later we were out of Warsaw and into the Polish countryside.
Over 5 hours later we pulled into Berlin Hauptbahnhoff. The usual route took us back to St. Christopher's hostel. We checked into our new room, and collapsed in the Chill Out Zone upstairs from the bar. Nothing happened for the rest of the night.
I'm tired and may be developing a slight cold. Sleep time.
One note: it is incredibly disappointing being in a country now where only half of the girls are incredibly beautiful, and not all of them.
Poland: Part Dwa
I woke up at 10. In pain. So much pain.
A few glasses of water later, and after forcing myself awake, I felt a little better. I need to take a few days off. Probably starting tomorrow.
I had sort of recovered by noon, when Judson and I gathered the energy to head outside into the daylight.
We were surprisingly efficient yesterday, so only had a few things to get done/see today. The first was the Palace of Culture (formerly the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture).
The Palace is the tallest building in Warsaw and Poland, the 8th tallest building in Europe, and the 187th tallest building in the world. At a towering 234 meters, with 42 floors plus a 43 meter broadcasting antennae on top, the building stands out in the Warsaw skyline.
Due to the manner by which the Palace was built in Warsaw (as a gift from the glorious Joseph Stalin), it's been very controversial over the years. It was almost torn down in 1989 as the Berlin wall was being dismantled. For many, it seems, the building represents years of Soviet domination. There's a joke in Poland that the best view of Warsaw is from the Palace, because it's the only place in the city where you won't see it.
I was underwhelmed by the view, though reaffirmed in my belief that Warsaw is, architecturally-speaking, stunning. It was also a little cloudy, and we had to pay 20PLN each (just shy of $6) to get in, so that didn't help either.
We left the Palace and walked around it to the other side. From there we walked a few blocks to Ulica Złota 60. Here is the site of one of the last remnants of the old Warsaw Ghetto wall.
It wasn't easy to find. Even with the address and the place marked on my map, we had trouble locating it. If it wasn't for a tiny blue sign on a random pole in the street, we wouldn't have found the unmarked gate to cross through, from where we had to walk around a corner about 30 yards to find the wall.
It was a tall, eerie, hastily constructed brick monstrosity, set right in the middle of the downtown area. It's amazing to think that the Warsaw Ghetto was just a cordoned-off section of town, not a separate place, like the one outside of Bistritz. This tiny section of wall is all that seems to remain.
I left two stones on the wall, one for those imprisoned and another for those who fought back.
We walked back towards the hostel and, as directed by our gracious hosts, took the #4 tram line three stops, from the corner of Świetokrzyska and Marszałkowska (which means Marshall Street) to Pl. Konstytucji. From there, we waited for and boarded the 519 bus towards Powsin-Park Kultury. We got off about 25 minutes later at Wilanów.
Wilanów is situated on a small estuary outside the city proper. Today, it is adjacent to some new constructions that resemble Soviet-era apartment houses, but the palace itself is still well hidden behind some trees.
We didn't go inside. I'm not sure if they usually let visitors inside, but they seem to have been doing renovations of various aspects of the house when we passed by - looking through windows, we saw people repainting doors, cleaning mirrors, etc. Some of the exterior busts from the wall had been replaced by molded copies, and the originals have been set aside in a glass warehouse on the edge of the building for restoration.
That being said, Wilanów is gorgeous. It resembles the Peterhoff quite a bit, with a bright yellow exterior, intricate design work, and statues everywhere. These statues were of stone, not gold, and the fountains were off, and the back of the house hits the water, not the front. But it is an impressive structure, very European, and clearly a product of an Enlightened architect.
After wandering the grounds for a while, we headed out to grab a bus back. Of course we barely missed bus 519 back, and so we had to wait the absolute maximum amount of time to get the next one.
Back by the hostel, we picked up some kebab. It was glorious. First meal of the day at 4:30, when it was dark.
I rested for a while, taking an hour-long nap, calling home, answering emails, etc. Then happy hour rolled around.
Justyna made me promise to show up to Happy Hour, but I didn't want to be getting drunk tonight. Around 7:45 I gave in and got a liter of beer for 7 PLN ($2)
Some Brazilian woman sat down with me and started going on and on about how I should go to her country, telling me how it is nothing like the photos and videos of Carnival, but all she described of the country sounded exactly like Carnival in Rio, or at least my imagined version if it.
At some point Judson and I met an Aussie guy (born in Sri Lanka) named Dinuka. He's got his PHD from Sydney in Astrophysics, a fact I only mention because I think it's impressive to hold a conversation with someone of that caliber. That being said, we spent a few hours arguing the tenants of socialized systems, both in socialist countries and in more traditional republics. It took a few hours, but I think I won. He ceded the point to me that socialism is inherently flawed and not sustainable, and that capitalism is the better alternative or, as he put it in a halfway admittance, perhaps the answer was found somewhere in the middle. Really good guy though, and I'm sure if he read this he'd disagree with my view of the outcome. Oh well.
Midnight McD's and Kebab run. McDonald's out of the US doesn't sell Quarter Pounders, but the McRoyals... It was funny. Other stuff, too.
Asleep circa 1:30.
A few glasses of water later, and after forcing myself awake, I felt a little better. I need to take a few days off. Probably starting tomorrow.
I had sort of recovered by noon, when Judson and I gathered the energy to head outside into the daylight.
We were surprisingly efficient yesterday, so only had a few things to get done/see today. The first was the Palace of Culture (formerly the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture).
The Palace is the tallest building in Warsaw and Poland, the 8th tallest building in Europe, and the 187th tallest building in the world. At a towering 234 meters, with 42 floors plus a 43 meter broadcasting antennae on top, the building stands out in the Warsaw skyline.
Due to the manner by which the Palace was built in Warsaw (as a gift from the glorious Joseph Stalin), it's been very controversial over the years. It was almost torn down in 1989 as the Berlin wall was being dismantled. For many, it seems, the building represents years of Soviet domination. There's a joke in Poland that the best view of Warsaw is from the Palace, because it's the only place in the city where you won't see it.
I was underwhelmed by the view, though reaffirmed in my belief that Warsaw is, architecturally-speaking, stunning. It was also a little cloudy, and we had to pay 20PLN each (just shy of $6) to get in, so that didn't help either.
We left the Palace and walked around it to the other side. From there we walked a few blocks to Ulica Złota 60. Here is the site of one of the last remnants of the old Warsaw Ghetto wall.
It wasn't easy to find. Even with the address and the place marked on my map, we had trouble locating it. If it wasn't for a tiny blue sign on a random pole in the street, we wouldn't have found the unmarked gate to cross through, from where we had to walk around a corner about 30 yards to find the wall.
It was a tall, eerie, hastily constructed brick monstrosity, set right in the middle of the downtown area. It's amazing to think that the Warsaw Ghetto was just a cordoned-off section of town, not a separate place, like the one outside of Bistritz. This tiny section of wall is all that seems to remain.
I left two stones on the wall, one for those imprisoned and another for those who fought back.
We walked back towards the hostel and, as directed by our gracious hosts, took the #4 tram line three stops, from the corner of Świetokrzyska and Marszałkowska (which means Marshall Street) to Pl. Konstytucji. From there, we waited for and boarded the 519 bus towards Powsin-Park Kultury. We got off about 25 minutes later at Wilanów.
Wilanów is situated on a small estuary outside the city proper. Today, it is adjacent to some new constructions that resemble Soviet-era apartment houses, but the palace itself is still well hidden behind some trees.
We didn't go inside. I'm not sure if they usually let visitors inside, but they seem to have been doing renovations of various aspects of the house when we passed by - looking through windows, we saw people repainting doors, cleaning mirrors, etc. Some of the exterior busts from the wall had been replaced by molded copies, and the originals have been set aside in a glass warehouse on the edge of the building for restoration.
That being said, Wilanów is gorgeous. It resembles the Peterhoff quite a bit, with a bright yellow exterior, intricate design work, and statues everywhere. These statues were of stone, not gold, and the fountains were off, and the back of the house hits the water, not the front. But it is an impressive structure, very European, and clearly a product of an Enlightened architect.
After wandering the grounds for a while, we headed out to grab a bus back. Of course we barely missed bus 519 back, and so we had to wait the absolute maximum amount of time to get the next one.
Back by the hostel, we picked up some kebab. It was glorious. First meal of the day at 4:30, when it was dark.
I rested for a while, taking an hour-long nap, calling home, answering emails, etc. Then happy hour rolled around.
Justyna made me promise to show up to Happy Hour, but I didn't want to be getting drunk tonight. Around 7:45 I gave in and got a liter of beer for 7 PLN ($2)
Some Brazilian woman sat down with me and started going on and on about how I should go to her country, telling me how it is nothing like the photos and videos of Carnival, but all she described of the country sounded exactly like Carnival in Rio, or at least my imagined version if it.
At some point Judson and I met an Aussie guy (born in Sri Lanka) named Dinuka. He's got his PHD from Sydney in Astrophysics, a fact I only mention because I think it's impressive to hold a conversation with someone of that caliber. That being said, we spent a few hours arguing the tenants of socialized systems, both in socialist countries and in more traditional republics. It took a few hours, but I think I won. He ceded the point to me that socialism is inherently flawed and not sustainable, and that capitalism is the better alternative or, as he put it in a halfway admittance, perhaps the answer was found somewhere in the middle. Really good guy though, and I'm sure if he read this he'd disagree with my view of the outcome. Oh well.
Midnight McD's and Kebab run. McDonald's out of the US doesn't sell Quarter Pounders, but the McRoyals... It was funny. Other stuff, too.
Asleep circa 1:30.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Oki Doki!
We got a very late start today. Probably due mostly to making up the inordinate amount of sleep we've deprived ourselves of in the last week.
We left around 1pm, heading north towards the old town. On the way we passed the presidential palace and the Warsaw university entrance gate. Judson says when I took a camera out at the Presidential Palace a guard started talking into his headset about me, but I'm not so sure.
We got to the old town, and saw the Royal Palace. It seems this was the residence of Polish kings of old, and perhaps it did ascend to the level that the Hermitage (winter palace) in St. Petersburg plays when it comes to old Polish government, but we'll probably figure that out for sure tomorrow, when we go to Wilanow.
The old town was beautiful, and the statue of the mermaid in the old town square was, albeit not as much as the Copenhagen Little Mermaid, beautiful.
We crossed the bridge by old town and the adjacent part as well, ending up at the Warsaw zoo. Inside we found (despite the winter cold) all kinds of birds, as well as Gibbons, Chimpanzees, and Gorillas. Also we saw some relatives of the llama and al paca, an elephant and an ugly rhino.
We left the zoo as the sun was headed down and wandered across the park to the Prague district, which we figured we couldn't miss, considering how we were almost on our way to Prague yesterday.
Judson was starving, and had been for some hours, but around 3:45 I gave in and we stopped at a cafeteria for the days first meal, at a place called 'Babalu 2007 Open Fusion Restaurant'. The waitress spoke virtually no English, but we figured it out, much like that cafeteria in Riga. It was delicious. 30 PLN ($8.50) for all you can eat, including salad, peirogie, and so much more. An incredible meal all around. We ate to our hearts contents. Judson ate a little more than that. It was wonderful.
On the walk back over the bridge in the dark, we relished how exciting it is to be in such a metropolitan city in a place like Poland. I know that's a little jaded to say, but when I think of Poland I think of German and Soviet repression, not thriving capitalism and openness. It feels safe here, too. So safe.
We passed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in a park on the way back. Two Polish soldiers were standing perpetual guard. It was pretty moving.
We got back a little after 5 and relaxed. At 7 Judson and I went half a flight of stairs up for happy hour, where we got 2 half liter beers for 7 PLN ($2). Here we met Alex (37, from just north of Dover but south of London) and Stuart (25, from Dover). We drank for a while with them, and with some of the amazing hostel workers Kaisa (pronounced Ke$ha), Justyna and Marta. Between cigarette breaks (with myself refraining from such bad habits of course) we got to know each other quite well. A word to the wise: do not repeat what an englishman tells you to say in Polish to the Polish girl. You will probably be incredibly insulting.
Judson went to bed about 12:30, but I was up with Alex and Justyna who hung out with me, until 3:30am, with Justyna teaching me Polish the whole way. I don't remember any of it.
Asleep by 4.
We left around 1pm, heading north towards the old town. On the way we passed the presidential palace and the Warsaw university entrance gate. Judson says when I took a camera out at the Presidential Palace a guard started talking into his headset about me, but I'm not so sure.
We got to the old town, and saw the Royal Palace. It seems this was the residence of Polish kings of old, and perhaps it did ascend to the level that the Hermitage (winter palace) in St. Petersburg plays when it comes to old Polish government, but we'll probably figure that out for sure tomorrow, when we go to Wilanow.
The old town was beautiful, and the statue of the mermaid in the old town square was, albeit not as much as the Copenhagen Little Mermaid, beautiful.
We crossed the bridge by old town and the adjacent part as well, ending up at the Warsaw zoo. Inside we found (despite the winter cold) all kinds of birds, as well as Gibbons, Chimpanzees, and Gorillas. Also we saw some relatives of the llama and al paca, an elephant and an ugly rhino.
We left the zoo as the sun was headed down and wandered across the park to the Prague district, which we figured we couldn't miss, considering how we were almost on our way to Prague yesterday.
Judson was starving, and had been for some hours, but around 3:45 I gave in and we stopped at a cafeteria for the days first meal, at a place called 'Babalu 2007 Open Fusion Restaurant'. The waitress spoke virtually no English, but we figured it out, much like that cafeteria in Riga. It was delicious. 30 PLN ($8.50) for all you can eat, including salad, peirogie, and so much more. An incredible meal all around. We ate to our hearts contents. Judson ate a little more than that. It was wonderful.
On the walk back over the bridge in the dark, we relished how exciting it is to be in such a metropolitan city in a place like Poland. I know that's a little jaded to say, but when I think of Poland I think of German and Soviet repression, not thriving capitalism and openness. It feels safe here, too. So safe.
We passed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in a park on the way back. Two Polish soldiers were standing perpetual guard. It was pretty moving.
We got back a little after 5 and relaxed. At 7 Judson and I went half a flight of stairs up for happy hour, where we got 2 half liter beers for 7 PLN ($2). Here we met Alex (37, from just north of Dover but south of London) and Stuart (25, from Dover). We drank for a while with them, and with some of the amazing hostel workers Kaisa (pronounced Ke$ha), Justyna and Marta. Between cigarette breaks (with myself refraining from such bad habits of course) we got to know each other quite well. A word to the wise: do not repeat what an englishman tells you to say in Polish to the Polish girl. You will probably be incredibly insulting.
Judson went to bed about 12:30, but I was up with Alex and Justyna who hung out with me, until 3:30am, with Justyna teaching me Polish the whole way. I don't remember any of it.
Asleep by 4.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Was raw tap ale not a reviver at one lap at Warsaw?
We had our alarms set for 6. But we got up at 7:15. Which meant frantic packing. We were supposed to be at the Reichstag at 8 for our 8:15 appt.
With lightening speed and grace we managed to pack up the room, check out and store our luggage in record time. Of course, it wasn't as early as planned.
8:05 rolled around and we still had one more connection to make, U55 from the Hauptbahnhoff stop. The train wasn't leaving until 8:15, which meant we were guaranteed to be late.
Fortunately for us, neither that nor the fact that I forgot my passport at the hostel affected our ability to get in.
Judson commented that the entrance/security pavilion had more guards than any airport. He was probably not far off the mark. It was packed with security. We breezed through (no visitor was there at 8:20am) and were led out of the pavilion into the building.
The walk up to the Reichstag is an imposing one. The towering columns loom over you, and the words "Dem Deutchen Volke" become illegible as you get underneath them. The details of the façade on either side of the entrance, which are the coats of arms of German rulers of old, come into view. Above you, three letters with roman numeral subtexts adorn the ceiling of the overhang; F(III), W(I) and W(II), no doubt for the corresponding Kaisers.
The inside of the Reichstag is totally redone and modern - it had to be rebuilt following its near destruction after WWII.
We were led through a glass double sliding door, and were stopped by a second one. Not until the first was closed and fully locked was the second opened to let us in. We felt just a little like VIPs.
A private glass elevator (with attendant) to the 4th floor brought us to the roof, where we were given an audio tour guide. We walked into the open air, then under the glass of the Reichstag dome.
It was breathtaking. We found ourselves walking up the spiral edge of the dome, listening to a very informative audio tour of our surroundings, and of the Reichstag and dome itself. Highly recommended for anyone coming to Berlin to reserve a spot in the dome for day 1 or 2 to get your bearings and an idea of the area. It's wonderful.
From the pathway, we could see down into the Bundestag chamber. Although there was no one in session at the time, it was a fascinating reminder of the German struggle for a more open government since 1945.
We left the Reichstag after about an hour, and made our way back to the hostel to get our daypacks. We headed to the Hauptbahnhoff to get out of town for a bit.
Yesterday we resolved to spend the next few days outside of Berlin. We debated between Munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Prague, and Hamburg. After much research, we had landed on Prague.
But plans change. Upon our arrival at the train station, we found that two round trip tickets to Prague were €255, well above our pre-determined €200 (total for both of us, round trip) absolute limit.
We looked at the other cities on the list, and while I was pushing Wroclaw, the cheapest by far came in at the 14:40 train to Warsaw, for €196, €49 for each person each way.
We got our tickets, then found internet in a Dunkin Donuts and found and booked a hostel. The directions to the hostel (as displayed on Hostelworld) are, in substance, as follows. I wrote it down so we'd have a reference when we arrive:
"Go in direction of the Old Town or Marszalkowski st. And Galeria Centrum shopping area. Exit the station and you will see palace of culture I.e. large palatial clock tower. Turn left on the street between this building and the station. You will have this palace on your right and big shopping mall "zlote tarasy" with hard rock cafe at the bottom and the intercontinental hotel on the left.
"Pass along the palace as long as you see a park next to it, then diagonally cross the park, along a green fence around the metro line construction, keep it to your left.
"When you reach the street with Tramways, you will see a McDonald's at the intersection of Marszalkowska and Swietokrzyska. Cross Marszalkowska street, turn left, cross the lights (now with a metro construction site) continue up Marszalkowska (50m) and take first street on right (Rysia) which leads you into a courtyard (with an Italian embassy). This is the cortex square. Look up and you see a neon sign with our name. We are the first building on a square (not the street) to the right with a bank on a ground floor and a second Oki Doki neon on a top.
"For lazy ones, take bus number 127 in front of Marriott hotel, two stops in direction of Centrim. Go out on stop Metro Swietokrzyska and from the McDonald's as above."
It was glorious. I want everyone from now on to give directions like this. How can anyone get lost? None of this "turn here turn there" bull.
Our train left at 2:46, 6 minutes late, from platform 11. We were in car 269, seats 33 and 34, both middle seats in a second class compartment of 6 seats facing each other. We both promptly fell asleep.
I was awoken at 3:10 by the conductor who, for the first time out of all the trains I've taken in this country, wanted to check my ticket. Good thing we bought them this time.
I don't know when we crossed the border (I was asleep). My phone registered a new cellular carrier around 4, so sometime near then, I guess. I do know they did not check our passports, and I hope that doesn't come back to bite us - though Poland is E.U. (not Eurozone), so I foresee no issue.
With an hour to spare I was getting hungry, so picked up some bruschetta in the dining car (I could have eaten even finer foods - the price was right - but bruschetta just seemed like a perfect solution to my hunger pangs). It was made to order in the kitchen, I watched the chef select and slice each ingredient. Only $4 or so. Based on the inflated prices so common on trains, Poland already holds promise for those of us on a budget. Besides, it was delicious! I, unlike some (I'm looking at you, Dad), usually only take photos of meals that were truly memorable, unexpected, or unique. This was all three. On a train. For less than the cost of a good beer in Berlin.
We arrived almost exactly on time. We searched, but couldn't for the life of us find old town, Marszalkowska street or the Galeria Centrum shopping area. Judson at one point said "screw it, let's go to McDonald's and ask for directions." but, as luck would have it, that McDonald's was the first McDonald's on our directions! From then on the hostel-provided directions were as perfect as could be. We found our way in no time, without getting lost.
We checked in and, having no Polish Zloty (PLN), I left my passport at the desk as collateral.
When I got my passport photo taken a few months ago, I did so on a random whim. But I didn't realize until I was in front of the camera that I hadn't shaved in weeks, and so I look in my passport like a cross between the unabomber and a creepy uncle. The man behind the counter at Oki Doki hostel had no end of fun laughing about it, even going so far as to call me "Kinky" for taking a photo that would guarantee a patdown at the airport. All in good fun, and I started enjoying Poland immediately.
We exchanged €180 for 800 PLN at an exchange place down the street, paid for our room, and got my passport back (though our new friend wanted to have a few more laughs about it -- the girls behind the counter said it looked fine and gave it back).
We settled into our room, occupied at first only by an older man of about 40, who went to bed very early, circa 10pm. Later, as I write this in bed, another guy showed up and not-so-quietly settled in around 1:30.
Each room in this hostel is themed differently, designed by a different local artist. Ours is the football room, a 6-person dorm room. It's only a tad confusing, as I pointed out to my kinky friend downstairs, because there's soccer balls everywhere in it.
Judson and I relaxed for a tad, then set out for dinner. We went to a place recommended by a push-pin wall of restaurants open late in the area. So we got to Ginger around 11.
A glass of Zywiec apiece, and two delicious meals later, we shelled out a mere $20. There went our one fancy meal - polish street food from now on.
Back to the hostel, we planned (sort of) our next two days here, then crawled into our respective bunks around 1.
With lightening speed and grace we managed to pack up the room, check out and store our luggage in record time. Of course, it wasn't as early as planned.
8:05 rolled around and we still had one more connection to make, U55 from the Hauptbahnhoff stop. The train wasn't leaving until 8:15, which meant we were guaranteed to be late.
Fortunately for us, neither that nor the fact that I forgot my passport at the hostel affected our ability to get in.
Judson commented that the entrance/security pavilion had more guards than any airport. He was probably not far off the mark. It was packed with security. We breezed through (no visitor was there at 8:20am) and were led out of the pavilion into the building.
The walk up to the Reichstag is an imposing one. The towering columns loom over you, and the words "Dem Deutchen Volke" become illegible as you get underneath them. The details of the façade on either side of the entrance, which are the coats of arms of German rulers of old, come into view. Above you, three letters with roman numeral subtexts adorn the ceiling of the overhang; F(III), W(I) and W(II), no doubt for the corresponding Kaisers.
The inside of the Reichstag is totally redone and modern - it had to be rebuilt following its near destruction after WWII.
We were led through a glass double sliding door, and were stopped by a second one. Not until the first was closed and fully locked was the second opened to let us in. We felt just a little like VIPs.
A private glass elevator (with attendant) to the 4th floor brought us to the roof, where we were given an audio tour guide. We walked into the open air, then under the glass of the Reichstag dome.
It was breathtaking. We found ourselves walking up the spiral edge of the dome, listening to a very informative audio tour of our surroundings, and of the Reichstag and dome itself. Highly recommended for anyone coming to Berlin to reserve a spot in the dome for day 1 or 2 to get your bearings and an idea of the area. It's wonderful.
From the pathway, we could see down into the Bundestag chamber. Although there was no one in session at the time, it was a fascinating reminder of the German struggle for a more open government since 1945.
We left the Reichstag after about an hour, and made our way back to the hostel to get our daypacks. We headed to the Hauptbahnhoff to get out of town for a bit.
Yesterday we resolved to spend the next few days outside of Berlin. We debated between Munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Prague, and Hamburg. After much research, we had landed on Prague.
But plans change. Upon our arrival at the train station, we found that two round trip tickets to Prague were €255, well above our pre-determined €200 (total for both of us, round trip) absolute limit.
We looked at the other cities on the list, and while I was pushing Wroclaw, the cheapest by far came in at the 14:40 train to Warsaw, for €196, €49 for each person each way.
We got our tickets, then found internet in a Dunkin Donuts and found and booked a hostel. The directions to the hostel (as displayed on Hostelworld) are, in substance, as follows. I wrote it down so we'd have a reference when we arrive:
"Go in direction of the Old Town or Marszalkowski st. And Galeria Centrum shopping area. Exit the station and you will see palace of culture I.e. large palatial clock tower. Turn left on the street between this building and the station. You will have this palace on your right and big shopping mall "zlote tarasy" with hard rock cafe at the bottom and the intercontinental hotel on the left.
"Pass along the palace as long as you see a park next to it, then diagonally cross the park, along a green fence around the metro line construction, keep it to your left.
"When you reach the street with Tramways, you will see a McDonald's at the intersection of Marszalkowska and Swietokrzyska. Cross Marszalkowska street, turn left, cross the lights (now with a metro construction site) continue up Marszalkowska (50m) and take first street on right (Rysia) which leads you into a courtyard (with an Italian embassy). This is the cortex square. Look up and you see a neon sign with our name. We are the first building on a square (not the street) to the right with a bank on a ground floor and a second Oki Doki neon on a top.
"For lazy ones, take bus number 127 in front of Marriott hotel, two stops in direction of Centrim. Go out on stop Metro Swietokrzyska and from the McDonald's as above."
It was glorious. I want everyone from now on to give directions like this. How can anyone get lost? None of this "turn here turn there" bull.
Our train left at 2:46, 6 minutes late, from platform 11. We were in car 269, seats 33 and 34, both middle seats in a second class compartment of 6 seats facing each other. We both promptly fell asleep.
I was awoken at 3:10 by the conductor who, for the first time out of all the trains I've taken in this country, wanted to check my ticket. Good thing we bought them this time.
I don't know when we crossed the border (I was asleep). My phone registered a new cellular carrier around 4, so sometime near then, I guess. I do know they did not check our passports, and I hope that doesn't come back to bite us - though Poland is E.U. (not Eurozone), so I foresee no issue.
With an hour to spare I was getting hungry, so picked up some bruschetta in the dining car (I could have eaten even finer foods - the price was right - but bruschetta just seemed like a perfect solution to my hunger pangs). It was made to order in the kitchen, I watched the chef select and slice each ingredient. Only $4 or so. Based on the inflated prices so common on trains, Poland already holds promise for those of us on a budget. Besides, it was delicious! I, unlike some (I'm looking at you, Dad), usually only take photos of meals that were truly memorable, unexpected, or unique. This was all three. On a train. For less than the cost of a good beer in Berlin.
We arrived almost exactly on time. We searched, but couldn't for the life of us find old town, Marszalkowska street or the Galeria Centrum shopping area. Judson at one point said "screw it, let's go to McDonald's and ask for directions." but, as luck would have it, that McDonald's was the first McDonald's on our directions! From then on the hostel-provided directions were as perfect as could be. We found our way in no time, without getting lost.
We checked in and, having no Polish Zloty (PLN), I left my passport at the desk as collateral.
When I got my passport photo taken a few months ago, I did so on a random whim. But I didn't realize until I was in front of the camera that I hadn't shaved in weeks, and so I look in my passport like a cross between the unabomber and a creepy uncle. The man behind the counter at Oki Doki hostel had no end of fun laughing about it, even going so far as to call me "Kinky" for taking a photo that would guarantee a patdown at the airport. All in good fun, and I started enjoying Poland immediately.
We exchanged €180 for 800 PLN at an exchange place down the street, paid for our room, and got my passport back (though our new friend wanted to have a few more laughs about it -- the girls behind the counter said it looked fine and gave it back).
We settled into our room, occupied at first only by an older man of about 40, who went to bed very early, circa 10pm. Later, as I write this in bed, another guy showed up and not-so-quietly settled in around 1:30.
Each room in this hostel is themed differently, designed by a different local artist. Ours is the football room, a 6-person dorm room. It's only a tad confusing, as I pointed out to my kinky friend downstairs, because there's soccer balls everywhere in it.
Judson and I relaxed for a tad, then set out for dinner. We went to a place recommended by a push-pin wall of restaurants open late in the area. So we got to Ginger around 11.
A glass of Zywiec apiece, and two delicious meals later, we shelled out a mere $20. There went our one fancy meal - polish street food from now on.
Back to the hostel, we planned (sort of) our next two days here, then crawled into our respective bunks around 1.
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