Final Thoughts - Europe 2008

It's Tuesday evening. I got home finally at 10p last night.

Thanks to everyone that read and kept up with the blog the last 24 days. I had a great time writing it and had a great time reading everyone's comments and emails. It was nice to hear from home while I was gone.

The trip overall exceeded my expectations, which is great because they were pretty high. The complications were somewhat expected. Anytime you have to juggle as many connections and plan everything by hand...well, it's going to happen. I guess I was fortunate none of them were costly in time or money. Besides, they add to the experience.

Trip favorites...
Country - Slovenia
City - Paris
Single destination - Plitvice NP in Croatia
Biggest disappointment - Trogir, Croatia
Most disappointing - Montenegro (though I still enjoyed it, but it was overhyped)

Other likes: fruit juices in Eastern Europe (blueberry & strawberry), French sweet crepes, gelato, train sleeper cars, French language, sunny/warm weather, hostel friendliness and camaraderie.

Other dislikes: tourist town rudeness (specifically Dubrovnik), Polish Auschwitz hamburgers, 'real' supermarkets, kids on bikes, smoking everywhere (including the airport bathroom yesterday)

Venice

I’m typing this on my final evening here in Venice (Sunday). Venice is definitely a change of pace, something I definitely themed with this trip as I have gone along. I wanted something different along the way and I think I have succeeded.

Venice is beautiful with its canals, palaces, lagoon and St. Mark’s Square. I’ve spent most of three days here now. I’ve avoided the expensive transportation by water and struck out mainly by foot. The city is massive. It was once the largest and wealthiest in Europe. It’s like a giant maze...a maze with canals and buildings that make sign-reading and a map a necessity. It’s fun to get lost also and then try to guess where you’re actually at. St. Mark’s Square is the centerpiece. You’ve seen pictures of it before with its tall belltower made of tan-colored brick and the Doge’s Palace and basilica in the background.

Venice is also very pricy. I’ve found it to easily be the priciest on this trip. But a lot of the charms of Venice are free, so it’s also easy to keep your costs down. My hostel alone for three nights was $60/night...and that’s with a shared room of six.

Of course, this comes with a long history lesson. Venice is too important not to. It was the preeminent power in Europe for over 700 years (mid 800's - 1571). Venice was founded around 500 AD as the Roman Empire in the West crumbled to its end. Residents of the area fled to the coastal swamps and lagoon in NE Italy in hopes of staying safe from the invading hordes of “barbarians” from the North. Over the next three centuries, Venice grew in size and prosperity as the swamp was drained and built upon. It became a naval power because of its huge fleet of merchant ships. It was also geographically blessed as it fell right in the middle of the East-West trade routes and as Venice built ties with the Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantium Empire in Constantinople...now Istanbul). Venice grew in religious prominence in the 9th Century when the remains of St. Mark (the Gospel writer in the Bible) were rescued from Egypt from the invading Muslims. His remains are still housed here today in St. Mark’s Basilica.

Venice was a key in financing and making the Crusades logistically possible (by providing the transport and ships to carry the Crusades to the Holy Land). Venice continued to prosper until the 1500's. But the discovery of the New World, new trade routes around Africa by sea and the collapse of its trade partner in the Byzantium Empire (by the Islamic Ottoman Turks) led to the slow demise of Venice as a world power. Two hundred years later, the final nail came when Napoleon conquered Venice in 1797.

I got to visit the basilica...real amazing since it has elements of the Orthodox religion of Byzantium blended in (something you usually only see in Turkey). The Doge’s Palace was impressive also. The doge was the ruler of the Venice. I’m planning to end my stay tonight with a cruise down the Grand Canal that cuts through the center of the city.

Montenegro

Following the fiasco of the arrival in Dubrovnik, I decided to take the day off from working and let someone else do the legwork. I booked a group tour with a local agency to go into Montenegro for the day. Montenegro was the world’s newest nation back in 2006 when it separated from their then partner, Serbia. Recently, you’ve heard that Kosovo also separated from Serbia in the last few weeks. Obviously, Serbia isn’t very well liked!
I guess I shop make an attempt to explain the whole Yugoslav situation. The nation was pieced together back at the end of the First World War. It was mostly a marriage of convenience. Each region of the Yugoslav nation was too small to survive on its on back in the early 1900's. Each region is ethnically and religiously different. It was held together after World War II by the Communist dictator, Tito. But once Tito died, the late 1980's and early 1990's led to the slow dissolution of the nation. The Slovenians (Catholic) broke away first with light bloodshed. Croatia (also Catholic) broke away next, and the Serbs were reluctant to allow their Yugoslav nation to break apart. War was started, mostly agged on by a war of escalating words between the two countries leaders (Milosevic being the more notorious one). The first shots were fired in Plitvice National Park. The war eventually reached the walls of Dubrovnik, as ethic Serbs in Montenegro shelled the city from above, destroying over 2/3 of the city roofs and a lot of the city walls I walked on. Bosnia (Muslim) soon also splinted and the Balkan War was on. Serbia and Montenegro are both Eastern Orthodox, which explains Serbia’s current ties with Russia. If it all sounds confusing, it is!

Our day trip to Montenegro included a trip to the Bay of Kotor and the largest fjord in Southern Europe. It also included a trip to the walled city of Kotor and a trip to the Budva Riveria. Montenegro is a much poorer country as compared to its Serbian and Croatian neighbors.

The fjord was beautiful but it wasn’t quite comparable to the ones I had seen in Norway and New Zealand. Kotor had a lot of raw energy. They have city walls that were built around the city and then up the surrounding mountainside (kinda like a small version of the Great Wall). I would have loved to have climbed it if we had had more time. The walls climbed WAY up above the city.

The trip to the Budva Riveria was interesting as well. The coastline is currently being bought up by the Russians. Evidently, the low prices in Montenegro and their ties to the ethnic Serbs make it an attractive destination. The beaches there were quite rocky. They were raking them in preparation for the summer crowds. It wasn’t anywhere near the beach quality we would know by Western standards. Of course, most of the European beaches are also rocky like this...but usually a little cleaner.

It’s Thursday now, and I am bus tripping back to Split. I just boarded by Blue Line ferry for the overnight voyage across the Adriatic. I didn’t get a room (they were quite pricy), so it may become another one of those interesting nights since I will be sleeping somewhere on deck. I should be at my final destination in Venice when I post this sometime on Friday afternoon.

Dubrovnik

The “Pearl of the Adriatic” as it is called. I can’t disagree with that. Dubrovnik is a cruise port destination that attracts as many as 7 cruise ships at a time during the peak summer travel season. It was recently features in the last year on the Amazing Race reality show as one of their “race around the world” destinations.

Dubrovnik’s old town is an entirely enclosed walled city. It was an independent city-state for several centuries up until a couple hundred years ago. In fact, it was the first independent nation to recognize the United States as a new nation back in 1776.

The city walls, bright blue oceans, the famous red roofs and sunshine are all Dubrovnik trademarks. It’s very picturesque. I spent the entire day on Tuesday in the old town. Doing a 90-minute loop on the city walls is a fun activity. There is one church within the city with a treasury dedicated to the Saint Blaise (centuries ago). They had his leg, forearms and part of his skull encased in precious metals as a religious relic. Kinda scary keeping body parts in the back of your church’s treasury. And you thought those old church Halloween party’s, where you put your hand with the bowls that contained various “fake” body parts was a laugh....lol...not in Dubrovnik!

My trip into Dubrovnik was a little interesting. Nothing like a little drama to get me started into another destination. Dubrovnik has a lack of hotel/hostel options. I’ve only truly run into this problem one other time, when I arrived late into Bratislava and had to sleep on the airport’s metal benches. For Dubrovnik, I booked two days early, but hotels were too expensive, so I had to book a homestay. I’ve never done this before, so I was mildly apprehensive, but moreso because I wasn’t supposed to get a confirmation email until the next day. Of course, it never comes. My bus is 15 minutes late into Dubrovnik at 9p and the booking agency is supposed to meet me at the bus station. He left. I was stranded...it’s late and nothing is open. I called him for a solid hour and only got busy signals. Ok, so it’s time to panic a little. I pull out my rather crude map and attempt to hunt this agency down. Again, nothing is open this late except bus lines, so I’m on my own. After MIDNIGHT, I finally find the place and the guy just happens to still be up. He had to contact my homestay and pull him out of bed to pick me up! It wasn’t my fault. The whole situation was one marked with confusion. Anyway, I finally got t sleep around 1a and stayed in Mladen’s “Villa Banana” separate house for three nights. I’ll post Mladen’s room rules on the next posting if they come out clear. His English needs some work and they are hilarious.

Split

It's Monday afternoon and things are winding down here in Split, Croatia. I got here off of the train yesterday morning.

Split is a large Croatian city (750,000 people) on the shores of the Adriatic Sea just across from Italy. The Dalmation Coast is known for the many offshore islands, sunny weather and beaches. The centerpiece to the city of Split is the huge palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian (245 - 313AD) in the 3rd Century. Diocletian and Nero are the two Roman emperors so well known for their persecution of the early Christian church before the empire converted to Christianity in the 4th Century under Emperor Constantine.

Diocletian built his retire home here in his homeland of Dalmatia. In the 7th Century, peasant squats moved into the palace ruins and made a home for themselves. They have stayed ever since and today the palace ruins enclose shops, cafes and over 2,000 residents.

After two weeks of sun, the weather is starting to get a little iffy. It's clouded up today and the forecast is for showers and then RAIN on Thursday. No beaches for me...not that I really planned to spend any time on any. I move on to the walled city of Dubrovnik this afternoon and will be staying there for the next three days. The weather may dictate the itinerary. I would love to do some sea kayaking down there and spend a day in the small and 2nd newest country in the world, Montenegro.

Photo: My sleeper car bunk from a couple night ago when I went from Zagreb to Split. Sleeper cars-couchettes usually come in a triple bunk room with a sink, a six person bunk (3 and 3 with a small isle) or a pricer single private room. I prefer the former two since they come rather cheap. You get a decent night's sleep if you can live with the train's noises and stops. It's best to use earplugs. Sleepers are a great way to travel long distances from city to city without burning up precious vacation time that can be better used touring.

Hostels are great affordable accommodations for the single traveler. I can usually get a bed for about $20 ($40-60 in bigger cities like Paris and Venice). They usually come with mixed dorms of 4-10 people with a shared bathroom. Hostels continue to evolve into nicer accommodations, and if you do your homework, there are some really nice ones out there. They usually come with a commons room with a TV, kitchen, free breakfast, laundry and sometimes a bar with the more upscale ones. They are also a great way to meet other travelers.

Plitvice Nat'l Park

I spent the full day in the outdoors in Croatia's Plitvice National Park. I had high expectations, but like the Skocjan Caves from a few days before, this place exceeded expectations and just blew me away.

I took a bus out of Zagreb in the early morning hours and rode for over 2 hours to get to Plitvice. Plitvice is on the Croatia/Bosnian border and pretty far out in the middle of nowhere. Plitvice also has a little recent history. It was the site where the first shots were fired in the beginning of the Balkan Wars in the early 1990s (between the Serbs, Croats & Bosnia).

Another likening...I would place Plitvice as one giant outdoor 5-mile Jungle Cruise walk. Plitvice is setup with 16 terraced lakes, each just a little higher than the previous one and drained by waterfalls on all sides. Water ran over falls, through the trees, around plants, under the boardwalks...everywhere! It was like one huge landscaped garden in your backyard and water was flowing everywhere.

The one negative with Plitvice was the unexpected hordes of tourist bus groups...and talk about rude. They would shove and stand in anybody's way to get any picture they wanted. I had to battle with it for the full day.

Pictured: Plitvice's terraced garden from above...I have TONS of these pictures from above and had ground level.

I left Plitvice and returned to Zagreb last night and then took the overnight train to Split (Croatia). I'm in Split now...more on Split/Dubrovnik later.

Finishing up in Slovenia

I'm a little behind posting. Croatian internet access leaves alot to be desired. I left Ljubljana & Slovenia two days ago, so I'm going back to my last day there.

Friday morning - spent a little time in the morning touring the city of Ljubljana I had been residing in for four days. I've been go so much I hadn't spent much time at all in this little jewel of a city. It's well known for it's unique architecture and colorful buildings.

I booked a short train trip to Zagreb, Croatia for the afternoon. I went to book my ticket in the morning and the cafes/pubs were packed with young people. I'm thinking...surely they weren't up ALL NIGHT LONG and still going strong. Ljubljana was abuzz as there was a student graduation parade @ noon, I found out. EVERYBODY between 18-25 had a whistle on them and were blowing them. It was like having 10,000 three year olds running around town all day with nobody to supervise them. You run into a pack of whistleblowers and you might lose your hearing permanently.

I was waiting for the 2:05 train to Zagreb (and Belgrade) and under typical Eastern European fashion it was late. It was late for about 30 minutes when...they just took the name of the board as if they train left minutes ago. I'm like...where is my train??? Of course, there is no English announcement to tell me what is going on. I finally found out my train had mechanical issues (or something) and it was indefinitely delayed. I had to wait 2 hours for the next Zagreb train. I was getting nervous b/c I didn't have a room booked in Zagreb and I would need to visit the TI (Tourist Info) office before they closed at dark. I ended up making it but my hostel was pretty cramped.

I ended up rooming with two girls (well...one was a lady). I noticed she has an Olympic camera battery charging running on the bed next to me. Guess what kind of camera I have? hehe. She was charging her battery overnight. At midnight, I woke up...removed her battery...and put mine in it's place. I then woke up at 3a after mine was fully charged and put hers back. I don't have to worry about camera batteries now!

Julian Alps

I LOVE Slovenia!

I can't say enough good things about the place. It's small...only 2 million people. It didn't exist two decades ago, but it's slowly making a name for itself.

I did get my rental car today...no problems with the rental place and no problems on the road either...*whew*.

So first thing I did was drive up to Lake Bled and take that picture I missed two days ago...lol. The lighting wasn't quite as perfect as it was that afternoon, but it still should turn out to be a good picture. I'll see if I can replace the one on the Bled post.

After that, I drove down along the Slovenian/Italian border in the Alps for much of the day. The drive up to Vrsic Pass included 50 hairpin turns and a climb up to 5,600 feet. The Alps here are almost up to 10,000 feet high, not quite Swiss quality but almost. After the drive to the pass, you descend into the Soco Valley. The Soco Valley is quite notorious as one of the major battlefield fronts in World War I (between the Italians and the Austro-Hungarians). They fought in the valleys, mountains and mountaintops here for 3 years with over 1,000,000 casualities...and almost all of those squeezed into this one valley. There are cemeteries, war ruins and memorials to the war everywhere. Amazing that such a beautiful place could have placed so a key in such horrific fighting.

The drive back to Ljubljana was rather uneventful and dull along a long twisting country road for nearly 2 hours at 30 mph...zzzzzzz.

Tomorrow looks to be my final partial day here in Ljubljana and then I'm headed off into Croatia for the next week.

Photo: Soco Valley (I've replaced the Vienna and Lake Bled posts with new pictures as well)

Skocjan Caves

Tried something a little different today. I learned from my Europe trip three years ago that cathedrals and big cities get old after awhile. I wanted to put some elements of the outdoors (well kinda), or maybe adventurous, on this trip. I wouldn't exactly call my trip to the caves a "wild cave" adventure or anything, but it was alot of fun.

I got up this morning to try to bargain with the rental car reps in person. As expected, they didn't want to offer me anything more than the standard ridiculous rates you would expect from them. I went back to my room in disgust and booked online with one of the places I talked to for TOMORROW, at a lower rate than we discussed in person, of course. I don't trust them, I'm sure they'll come up with a reason to come back to the higher rate.

But TODAY, I reshuffled my schedule and literally ran to the train station so I could catch the 1.5 hour train out to Divaca and the Skocjan Caves. These aren't your Forbidden Caverns (Pigeon Forge) either. The Skocjan system is part of one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was discovered in 1904. What makes these caves unique is the river canyon that runs underground. Honestly, they put the Lost Sea to shame (even though the Lost Sea is still cool).

The first half of the cave walk was rather ho-hum...nothing new and it was fairly uninspiring. Mind you, I've seen Carlsbad and Mammoth Caves and both are world class. But the second half of the cave beat both Carlsbad and Mammoth, handsdown. The cave opens up dramatically in front of you as you come into a huge room from the ceiling area. It's a 270-foot drop to the river at the bottom that is roaring underground through the cave. It's every bit of a wide canyon chasm...no some dinky underground creek with a 20-foot ceiling. They have the path below lit up along the path and then the river bottom and you can see all of this from your entry vantage point above. It was really incredible. We were underground for nearly 2 hours, with the last underground river portion lasting probably 30 minutes.

Getting to Skocjan was somewhat easy. I had to take a train and then the tourist "bus" was there waiting for me when the guy saw me standing there helplessly looking around. I was the only person that got off the train looking for the caves. He took me there, but his schedule didn't permit a return trip, so I was on my own coming back.

I had scheduled my return train for 3:30p and the cave tour ended up being over @ 2:45. It's 2-3 miles between the caves and the train station. So here I am, backpack, coat and all huffing it down this backwoods trail that breaks off at least 5 or 6 times hoping I end up at the town and the station.

I made it. *whew*...another adventure in public transport in Europe. Of course, you can usually do this stuff with a tour group, but I refuse to pay the XXX euros to have them drag me around on a huge tour bus all day. It's just...no.

I also had my first experience with a stand-up "toilet" today...the ones with no seat but just a hole in the floor. Yeah...lol. I was a little surprised. The "toilet" was at the train station, and a little unexpected for Slovenia. I would expect my first hole toilet to be in...Romania...or somewhere like that. Just ten minutes later, I'm at the cave visitor center playing on the FREE internet kiosk they have setup for the tourist. You would NEVER get that back home...free at least.

Wish me luck tomorrow with the rental car Nazi's. They'll probably want my car back home as collateral.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Slovenia - Lake Bled

I slept in a little this morning and got up and went down for some breakfast at the daily farmer's market here in Ljubljana. I ended up buying some strawberries. Fruit must really be in season here b/c it was everywhere.

I then went on to the train/bus station to catch the hour-plus ride to Bled. At first, I went with the recommended bus suggestion. I asked about the buses and told it would be there in two minutes, so I hurried outside to the rendevous spot. There are 22 bus lanes and I waited by the one that said "Bled". Two buses came in and both waived me off saying they weren't going to Bled. I KNEW the schedule, the info office confirmed it, but it never showed...*sigh*. The next bus wasn't scheduled for another hour and I knew I had no guarantees since the first one was botched, so I opted for the train. Unfortunately with the train, I had to also wait the hour AND I it came up 2.5 miles short of Bled, which meant I had to catch a bus there also for the final two miles.

I finally got there at 1:15. Bled is a small resort town on the shores of the lake there. The scenery was both stunning and beautiful. I took the 3.5 mile walk around the lake. It was sunny, of course, so I got the full effect. The lake has the Julian Alps in the distance (with some snow on them) for a backdrop. It also has this little island near the center of the lake with a church on it. I guess you could call that the cherry that goes on top of the sundae. The walk, weather and near perfect day there made it one of the best so far. I say "near perfect" because...I forgot my camera!!! It made me totally sick to my stomach. Of course, those that know me shouldn't be surprised, but I've never done that before on vacation. I NEVER leave my camera behind and this was probably the single best shot I was going to get on the entire trip.

But..there's hope. I have plans to bargain for a rental car tomorrow and Lake Bled just so happens to be on the route into the Alps. The conditions are supposed to be the same, of course, so I'll probably make the small detour just so I don't spend the rest of my life wishing I had that great shot of the church in Slovenia over my mantle.

Also, strung around the lake are small plenta boats that take you out to the island and the Church of the Assumption. I didn't make the boat ride, but there are "gondoliers" that will actually row you out there...think Venice.

Vienna

I'm slightly behind. The last hostel I stayed at how some pretty inconsistent wifi connections and it was just a waste of time to try anything like posting to this blog. Vienna doesn't have the greatest vagabond travel setup either. Grocery stores were closed on BOTH Sunday and Monday (why?). Wifi throughout the city was extra (not typical in Europe). Restaurants are mostly cafes and are all closed on Sundays...and counter service is difficult. This is my second trip to Vienna, and if you can't tell I have issues with it.

Vienna...grand polished city that has gone from one of the most important cities in the world within the last century to...just another national capital. Vienna used to be the capital of a great empire. The empire originally started as Charlesmagne's Holy Roman Empire back in the Middle Ages (not to be confused with the real Roman empire) to the Austrian and then the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Vienna was the center of Central Europe and carried enormous wealth and power with it...thanks to the ruling Hapsburg Dynasty.

But World War I reshaped alot of Europe and this century's old empire collapsed under the political and financial pressures of World War I. The governments of several WWI nations basically couldn't handle the pressures of the war and they ceased to exist as the fighting came to an end in 1918.

Fast forward to today, Vienna is a city of 1.6 million people. The once grand palaces, operas, cafes and cathedrals of the early 1900s and the empire are still here. The city carries an extravagance to it.

This is my second time around to Vienna. It's a great gateway city to Eastern Europe and has always been through history also. I toured the giant St Stephen's cathedral right in the center of town, the royal summer residence for the Hapsburgs and a quick hour tour of the opera, which is still very big in Vienna.

The weather...still perfect. I'm definitely blessed with that. It's been nine days now of 60s/70s with not a drop of rain...and it will probably stay that way.

I'm in Ljubljana (former Yugoslav Republic) now. I just got off the evening train after my 5.5-hour trip. I'm staying in a hostel that appears to be a converted home. I haven't seen the city yet, but I'm very excited about this stretch of the trip. I'm be in the Ljubljana/Slovenia area for the next three days.

Oh...I had to hunt, but I found some of my favorite foods in Vienna. Bratwurst with kraut today and some type of apple sauce, plenty of gelato (they have a great place here), and apple strudel and Sacher torte (basically, chocolate cake).

Photo: my bratwurst & strudel meal in Vienna

Auschwitz

Just a quick note....I'm keeping it brief since it's morning here.

Visited Auschwitz-Birkenau yesterday, which is about a 1.5 hour bus trip out of Krakow. It's about as sobering as expected. Auschwitz is really the site of three concentration camps all located in close proximity (Auschwitz-Birkenau-Monowitz). I toured the first two.

Auschwitz was known more of a hard labor concentration camp, while Birkenau's sole intent was quick and efficient mass murder, mainly through the gas chambers. You've probably seen pictures of the entrances to both, but the sheer size of Birkenau is what was so sobering. The buildings went on and on...and on. All of these buildings housed sick and dying concentration camp victims (from Auschwitz) initially until the Nazis built it up into a mass murder machine...at which point they murdered over 1,000,000 people (mostly Jews at Birkenau). As the Nazis realized they weren't going to win the war and as the Red Soviet Army approached, they attempted to hide as much of the war crime evidence as possible. But when you've just murdered over 1 million people at one location, they evidence is overwhelming and obvious.

They had exhibits at Auschwitz where the Nazis had failed to destroy all of the evidence...all of the belongs that was confiscated from the Jews as they arrived. They had room's full on display with mounds of glasses, brushes, shoes, women's hair. The Nazis were so cruel to even use human hair in the textiles production.

One thing that isn't always mentioned in news reports, text, etc as often is the fact that it wasn't just Jews that were mass-murdered. The Nazis also killed of millions of resistance fighters/insurgents, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, and Soviet POWs.

I returned to Krakow around 6p that evening. Krakow was much nicer the second evening around. I guess I just had an attitude adjustment. One of the more exciting parts of European travel is trying to spend your remaining currency. Poland doesn't use the Euro, so I had to burn up any unused Polish money I had left (about $25 worth). So I went on a mini-shopping spree on stuff I don't need...lol. I ended up having an ice cream sundae on the main square in a cafe ($8) that had...orange slices, watermelon, grapes...with your regular expected two scoop ice cream and berries. The Polish are still working on their food as you can tell! I suggest that for our family Father's Day get together...ice cream topped with watermelon slices.

I'm in Vienna now for two days. My mission...to find the best apple streudel I can find.

Image: Auschwitz gate with the words "Work sets you free". Not my picture...it's not that chilly today. I've already used up 50% of my battery space on my camera, so...I'm being careful. I can't recharge!

Krakow

I survived another leg. Here's how my connection from Paris to Krakow went.

Left Paris, metro to get bags, metro to train station, train to airport, shuttle to hotel, hotel overnight, different shuttle to airport, flight to Krakow, shuttle to train stations, train to Krakow, walk to hostel.

All of that just to get from point A to point B. This European travel is so exhausting. See why I screwed up on day one and ended up going the wrong direction? Try all of that with all signs and directions given in French (or worse yet, Polish). You can't even pronounce Polish names. When I go up to the ticket window in Krakow to buy a train ticket, I actually have to pull out my phrasebook and write down what I want. Otherwise, I might end up in Venice, instead of Vienna.

Krakow has indeed ended up being a slight letdown. The weather was much cooler (mid 60s, cloudy and breezy). That was fine after the Paris heatwave. The tourist infrastructure has significantly improved in Eastern Europe over my Budapest experience two years ago. Prices has jumped too! There's still plenty of bargains over here, but they are quickly catching up to Western standards in the bigger tourist destinations.

I wasn't sure what I had walked into in Krakow this afternoon. I went to the main square after checking on and found it to be....Halloween?

Seriously, it's the end of the semester here and I believe all of the college coeds were decked out in costumes. We had Palestinian bombers, nurses, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, beer mugs...you name it...it was in the main square. And I thought I had missed summer and it had turned fall already, considering the weather.

I'll be going to Auschwitz tomorrow for most of the day (a day trip). I'm sure it will be a very sobering moment.

I'd like one of these

Imagine the gas mileage on one of these suckers. Wouldn't this be nice for you daily commute to work every morning?

Just...don't take it with you if you go out on any dates...or a family trip...or to get groceries...or...

It would be nice as a secondary car tho, especially with $4 gas on the way. I've heard the "smart cars" are coming to America...we'll see if they catch on.

The best part about them? Try parking at UT games with one of these things! It would be a cinch!

Paris out...Poland in

I'm near the airport tonight...coming home? no. I just finished up my last day in Paris this evening and I will be flying to Krakow, Poland in the morning. The last four days has been magic. I think I can favorably say that Paris is my most favorite city in the world I have been to. The food, the museums, the variety of people, the history...I loved it!

Day three (yesterday) was the best day I had had. I bought a museum pass that gets you unlimited visits to almost any attraction in Paris (for a hefty fee, of course), so I was in "hyper" mode all day trying to squeeze as much in as possible. I concluded my day with a climb up the Eiffel Tower at sunset. I only went up halfway...and I walked it (500 vertical feet too). Ain't so bad. Word is that the top is so high that you can't even make out sites any longer. In was beautiful tho watching the City of Lights transfer before my eyes as the sky darkened.

My only concern about the great trip I've had to Paris...will the rest of the trip even come close to matching it? I hope so. We'll start with Krakow in the morning.

The weather: still warming up and still sunny without a cloud. It hit the upper 70s...maybe even 80 today. I actually saw a few of the coats go away. But don't fear, there are plenty of diehards. I saw one kid wearing his hoodie WITH THE HOOD ON this afternoon. Why??? I have no idea.

Living like a King (just not Louis XVI)

Since I spent ALL FREAKING DAY (almost) at Versailles today, all you get is a history lesson from me today. Well, I spill my day out first...then the history lesson.

I was up early (6:30) this morning. That's not easy to do when you're not going to work...lol. But you have to if you want to see Versailles before it turns into the History Ride @ Disney World. I got there just after opening at 9a after riding the local train system (no mistakes!!!...I'm getting GOOD now). The palace @ Versailles is about 12 miles outside of Paris. I spent the rest of my day walking the streets of Paris again...mostly along the Left Bank, or the more artsy, commoners area. That included a stopover at the Luxembourg Gardens, Paris' largest park.

But on to Versailles. Versailles is important, very important to history even today. Versailles is the giant (and I mean GIANT) palace that was built by the very popular King Louis XIV in the 1600s during the heights of French domination in Europe. The palace was extravagant and every way possible. The French kings (14, 15 & 16) ruled here for a century before the heavenly lifestyle they were living led to the monarchy's downfall (the French Revolution, which happened around the same time American was ratifying the Constitution).

Versailles wasn't only the palace fit for a king. It contains more history than any other single spot in Europe. Napoleon was coronated as Emperor of France here in the early 1800s. The German state was born here in 1870 when the French were defeated by the Prussians. The Treaty of Paris was signed here ending World War I and is where all of Europe and the US came together to decided the fate of the entire world. Decisions that were made in that peace conference still have major ramifications today in Europe, Africa, and especially the Middle East.

The palace was huge, the staterooms extravagant, and the gardens...wow. Words can't describe the gardens, but they went on and on for, what I presume to be, thousands of acres. Pictures could never do Versailles justice.

Thanks to everyone posting comments. If you post questions, I'll try to answer them by personal email.

oh...and I'll have some picture posting delays. My camera batteries aren't going to make it if I'm only downloading them every night.

A Paris heat wave

Seriously! Another 70+ sunny day and the world seemed perfect. No mishaps today...just lots and lots of walking. I bet I covered 8-10 miles on foot. Paris is awesome. I'll list some of the sites I visited at the end of the post, but I think the most impressive thing to me was yet another cathedral. Usually after about two of these they get rather mundane in Europe, but Notre Dame was pretty impressive to me. It's another medieval Gothic stature...this time for the 12th Century. I also saw the spot where the dreaded guillotine chopped so many heads off during the French Revolution.

Speaking of Parisians, they seem to have the desire to just hang onto winter. They supposed dress nice, yeah, pants and jeans...even when it's hot out...that's ok. But what's up with the layering and the sweaters and even the heavy jackets? I've seem so many people dressed for 45 degrees instead of the 75 we're having. It's crazy. I can still imagine them dressed like this when they have one of those rare heat waves. Looks miserable.

Oh yeah...and the contraption from yesterday. I'll post a pic. Would you trust your luggage and valuables to this? It actually takes your luggage underground...somewhere.

I made it!

I hope nobody had any doubts. The day did have it bumps though.

The plane ride was fine. It was a smaller Delta jumbo jet and surprisingly it didn't have any of the seatback video consoles. I was pretty bummed about that. It didn't help I was sitting 20' from the tiny movie screen and I didn't bring any glasses since you need 20/20 vision to see one that small. I opted for my iPod instead.

I took the train once I got to Dusseldorf...platform 4...9:32a...hear comes the train and right on time. No problems right? Wrong! I was on the train for 30 minutes and the conductor asked for my ticket and then told me I was going the wrong direction. WHAT??? What was supposed to be a 40 minute ride to Cologne (Koln) turned into an hour and a half mini-mess. I still don't know what happened. I read my ticket over-and-over and still can't figure out what I did wrong *shrugs*. Stupido American I guess.

Koln was bombed and basically destroyed by the Allies during WWII. For the most part it, and most off Germany for that matter, was mostly rebuilt in the 1940/50s. Koln doesn't have much of an Old Town or a historical center to it's town, but it does have a massive Gothic cathedral that isn't but a couple hundred yards from the station. Koln's cathedral was built in the 13 century, so it's very old and very impressive. Koln is also situated on the banks of the Rhine River, which gives it a very cool riverfront scene too. It is also home to the Lindt chocolate factory.

I can't post a pic yet, but I'll hopefully edit this post tomorrow when I find my USB cable. I have another story to share about the station's automated luggage storage system.

Anyway...I'm in Paris for the night now. Got a nice hostel I'm staying at, but I've arrived late and I'm pretty tired after only having about four hours of sleep on the plane. Tomorrow is a big touring day.

Au revoir!

It's almost time!!!

It's lunchtime here on Friday and I'm frantically trying to get everything in place here at work so that I can leave in good standing...lol.

Everything is pretty much packed. I'm carrying EVERYTHING in my backpack...all 30 lbs, so I might need to schedule a chiropractor appointment for when I get back.

I'm flying out tomorrow (Sat)...Knoxville - Atlanta - Dusseldorf, Germany, so here's my flight schedule for those of you following along...

Delta 4415 Knoxville to Atlanta from 1:20p to 2:20p
Delta 24 Atlanta to Germany from 4:35p to 1:40a (EDT)

There's an 80% chance of STORMS in Knoxville and Atlanta tomorrow so.....*gulp*

More from me later....

Planned Euro Itinerary

I'm putting this blog page together with the HOPE of sharing plans, details and pictures of my 2008 Euro trip to everyone back at home.

Feel free to drop in comments as you see fit. Of course, you can e-mail me too.

And with that...here are my plans if you're trying to keep up. This itinerary is flexible, but I'm sure I'll stick fairly closely to this.

All times are (EDT)...
May 3 Flight out (Knoxville - Atlanta - Dusseldorf, Germany) Depart @ 1:20p
May 4 Arrival in Germany in morning (1:40a EDT)
Train to Cologne, Germany for the day; train to Paris in evening
May 5 Paris
May 6 Paris
May 7 Paris
May 8 Paris
May 9 Depart in morning for Krakow, Poland (12:50a)
Krakow
May 10 Auschwitz concentration camp
May 11 Krakow (night train to Vienna)
May 12 Vienna, Austria (night train to Slovenia)
May 13 Lake Bled, Slovenia
May 14 Julian Alps (car rental day)
May 15 Skocjan cave (car rental day); Ljubljana
May 16 Ljubljana, Slovenia; train to Zagreb, Croatia in afternoon
May 17 Plitvice Nat'l Park, Croatia (car rental day) (night train to Split)
May 18 Trogar, Croatia
May 19 Split, Croatia (bus to Dubrovnik)
May 20 Dubrovnik, Croatia
May 21 Dubrovnik
May 22 Montenegro (car rental day) (overnight ferry across the Adriatic Sea)
May 23 Morning train from Ancora to Venice, Italy
Venice
May 24 Venice
May 25 Venice
May 26 Memorial Day - Flight out @ 7:05a (Venice - Atlanta - Knoxville)
Arrival in Atlanta @ 6:05p
Arrival in Knoxville @ 9:00p

Time Difference: 6 hours ahead in Europe

I hope to have some limited phone access (pay phones) and I hope to take my laptop with me to have some internet access.

I'll try to post daily updates as I have time. I'll try to provide a few pictures, a background and maybe some history with each posting.

Au revoir!