Dublin

Pictures: Dublin / Guinness Factory


Craig and I took a short RyanAir flight from Eindhoven, Netherlands to Dublin, Ireland (our first plane ride of the whole trip). We were only staying in Dublin for two nights, but we were just so overjoyed to be out of rainy and grey Amsterdam.

Our clothes were still soaked from all the rain in Amsterdam by the time we arrive in Dublin - so the first thing we did when we got to the information booth at the airport was ask for a hotel for 2 nights. And, we glad that we opted for the hotel (but my credit card took the beating) - we had access to all the BBC shows we wanted.

Since it was our only full day in Dublin, Craig and I tried to see as much as we could during the day. Ate an Irish breakfast (minus the blood sausage), walked the city, saw the bazillion Irish pubs, went to Dublin Castle and sat in the sun (it was a beautiful 22 degrees that day) and checked out the Guinness Factory and downed a couple pints from the 7th floor of the building. It's hard to get a real feel of a city when you're only in it for a couple days, but it had a uniqueness that I enjoyed - and was it ever nice to speak English without having to start a conversation with "um, do you speak English?".

Great food, Guinness, BBC - Dublin had everything we wanted, but it was a short visit - we had to be on the plane for Chicago the next morning....

Amsterdam

Pictures: Craig's

Amsterdam was a short 6 hour train ride from Berlin. It was a brand spankin' new train that gave great views of the German and Dutch countryside. However, the weather turned for the worse as we approached Amsterdam and for the next week it did nothing but rain. I lied, there were short bouts of time where the water stayed in the clouds (see below).I think we would have enjoyed Amsterdam much more had there been better weather. As it was, it seemed dark and dreary (also expensive). Of course, Amsterdam is known for its 'liberalness' and certainly we saw no shortage of this. There were 'cafes' everywhere.

We visited the typical tourist sites; Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh museum. The Anne Frank house was kind of disappointing. After we waited in line, outside, in the rain the empty house did not have much to see or even read. The most interesting bit of the house was at the end; it was a modern video posing various "Freedom of..." questions and the audience could vote by pushing a button on the bench. It was not directly related to Anne Frank, but it was interesting.

The Van Gogh museum was much better. Of course I have no pictures because they don't allow it....grrrrrr. At least in Russia I could pay to be permitted to take photos. The museum houses the largest Van Gogh collection in the world (~200 Van Gogh paintings), and displays many famous works including Sunflowers and The Potato Eaters. Although he only painted for 10 years, he certainly made his mark. We were thoroughly impressed by the displays and accompanying audio guides.

We took a night off from tourism and indulged in some movie watching. We headed to a nearby cinema and nearly peed ourselves watching 40 Year Old Virgin. Amsterdam was definitely a relief language-wise, since those Dutch speak perfect English! We were surrounded by bookshops too, and jumped for joy at the English magazines available.

On one of the rare rain breaks, we jumped into a paddle boat and worked our legs in the spider web of canals that weave through all of Amsterdam. This was very enjoyable and a great way to see the old architecture and other sights.

Next stop....Dublin, Ireland

Berlin

Pictures: Craig's One Two Three / Mary's

Berlin.... in a last minute decision (I asked in the ticket line... "so, which city did you want to go to?"), Craig and I bought tickets from Prague to Berlin, and I´m so glad we did. After figuring out the S-bahn map (a fairly similar, yet nicer version of the Seoul Subway system), we settled ourselves in at the Sunflower Hostel (which I personally recommend... it has a washer AND A DRYER). It´s definitely more expensive than the other countries we've been in, but no worse than Canada.

Throughout all the cities that I've been to on these travels, this is the first city that I've actually fallen in love with - I feel like I could live here. There's a definite difference between a touristy city and a tourist-friendly city. Prague is a "touristy" city - almost every person I met - ate beside, walk passed - spoke English, or was a tourist. You don't get a real feel for the city when 90% of the people you encounter are from outside of the country. But Berlin, yes - there are many tourists, but it doesn't have that "touristy" feel I received from Prague. I love everything about this city. The food is amazing, the beer (and even girly drinks, Brett!) is cheaper than water, it´s a busy city without being too big (about 4 million), and the history of this city is just amazing. (That´s why it's taken us over a week to get to an internet cafe - there is so much to do here.)


Having enjoyed the Ultimate tour in Prague, Craig and I went on a couple walking tours (Insider Tour - I highly recommend) and went through the history of what happened to the country after WWI, how the Nazi Party came into power, the devastation after WWII, the Berlin Wall, the fall of the Berlin Wall.... I´m so intrigued with this city's history - and to see pieces of the history right in front of us made it so much more amazing. We also went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, to the new Jewish Museum of Berlin, up the 2nd tallest tower in Europe, the Fernsehturm, the 1936 Olympic Stadium, as well as going to numerous restaurants, cocktail bars, cafes, etc, etc.... Oh I'm blushing - can't you tell I'm in love?


I lost my cable that connects my camera to the computer in Warsaw, so the pictures will have to wait, but in the meantime, the wikipedia sites I've provided have pretty good pictures of these places (and bonus.... there is no blue fleece involved with any of these pictures). UPDATE: The pictures are up

We're off to our 2nd last country, the Netherlands, tomorrow - then 10 more days left... I can't believe we're almost home...

Prague aka Praha

Pictures: Craig's

Our first experience with a six person room on a sleeper train, took us overnight to Prague, Czech Rebublic. Six bunks, as opposed to the four on the trans-siberian, gave much less head room...you'd develop a hunch back if you spent more than a day on these things. Luckily, the trip was short and we could sleep through it (besides passport checks at the border).

Prague is a MAJOR tourist destination in Europe. Some short time ago, it was 'discovered' and the tourism industry boomed. What this meant for us was that the first two hostels we visited were full, even at this time of year. Fortunately, the second hostel gave us a room but only after others had checked out - accomodations were simple, but the hostel was a hop, skip, and a jump away from the center Old Town.

Everyone we met always said how beautiful Prague is - and it is. You'll have to take my word for it until we find an internet cafe that's less anal retentive about attaching cameras so I can upload some pictures.
So, we arrived early in the morning, secured our hostel, and while eating some delicious breakfast I read tourist pamphlets. I came across one pamphlet, Walking Tours...inside was a tour called The Ultimate Tour. Of course, I fell for the marketing hype...I wanted to go on the ULTIMATE tour. We hadn't really gone on any tours throughout our journey...normally opting instead to guide ourselves. But we're getting tired of looking at maps; so having someone hold our hand around the city sounded like a good idea. The tour turned out to be great! (Later, in Berlin, we would realize that The Ultimate Tour wasn't so ultimate, but still worthwhile). Our guide took us and 20 other people through all the major sites, on a boat trip, and for a Czech lunch.The major sites included the Astronomical Clock (under heavy construction of course), the Old Town, Jewish Ghetto, Lesser Quarter, Charles Bridge, and ending at Prague Castle.

Pictures: Craig's (FYI: some pictures may not be suitable for the younger crowd)

After this 6 hour introduction to Prague, we were exhausted! The next day we visited some other museums, in particular: The Museum of Communism and The Sex Machines Museum. Both very interesting.


You'll have to entertain yourselves with all those links above until I get some pictures up! :)

UPDATE: Pictures are up!

Salt Mines

Pictures: Craig's

One of the major tourist attractions in Krakow's vicinity are giant salt mines. Although closed now, they were used for centuries, bringing wealth to the area. 20 million years ago, a salty sea - as it disappeared - deposited massive salt deposits. Now 10-200 meters below ground (tectonic shifts put them there), the salt deposits have been mined, leaving huge caverns. People had the bright idea to create salt-chapels and salt-carvings while mining (for the miners to enjoy). This has made it into the tourist attraction it is today.
We wandered around the train station a bit before buying a ticket (~$1) to Wieliczka where the mines are located. As we looked aimlessly around, drivers would offer to take us to the mines. "How much?", we asked. 75 Zlotys each! That's about $50 for the two of us! What a rip off...These guys just sit around the station, hoping to catch some tourist unawares and take'm on a 15km ride for $50!!!


CUSTOMER SERVICE
As an aside, I've found a huge difference in the way customers are treated in many places we've visited. We're always met with scowls, grumbling, and yet eventual service. I don't think it's just tourists either; I've seen many locals receive the same shoddy service. Maybe these people are paid crap wages and therefore don't perform as well, or they're just miserable, or they just don't think good customer service is beneficial to business, or all of the above. One way or another, I'm glad that businesses (generally) treat customers well back home and I'll be happy to receive that level of service in less than 3 weeks. We always felt Korea had great service, often giving us better service than they gave locals!

Krakow, Poland

Pictures: Craig's

A three hour train ride took Craig and I from Warsaw to Krawkow, Poland.

Like Warsaw, Krakow sits along the Vistula River and has an "Old Town"; only this one wasn't destroyed during the WWII. It's also the location of Wawel Hill, which consists of a Cathedral, Castle and a Dragon's Den.

Krakow is also home to 1 of 3 Leonardo da Vinci oil paintings, "Lady with an Ermine". It's really odd - check out the creepy hands - but I heard that many Polish people own a copy of the painting and hang it in their homes. They are so proud to be one of the few countries that own a "da Vinci".

Meals are excellent, the weather has been good to us and the city has solidified our overall great impression of Poland. (p.s. I don't ALWAYS wear that blue fleece, just for the record....)

St. Petersburg -> Riga -> Warsaw, Poland

Pictures: Craig's / Mary's

After a good 6 days in St. Petersburg, Craig and I were off to a new location again, this time to Riga, Lativa. We decided to take the overnight bus there - which probably was a big mistake. We didn't realize that 2am was going to be the time in which we were going through the Russian/Lativan border. We all got off the bus, took our belongings and had them scanned, then went through the process of being questioned. Craig and I had heard that it's a lot harder to leave Russia then it is to enter it, so we were prepared with all our documents, old Trans-Siberian train tickets, our stamped Visas, and our arrival slip which had to be registared at every hostel we stayed at in Russia. The customs officers didn't speak any English, but luckily a German man (or woman, Craig and I still aren't sure) interpreted all the questions. Of course, we created a stir - I don't think many Canadians under the age of 30 decide to go across that border at 2am by bus. The customs officer went on asking questions like "What country did you come into Russia from?", "What has been your route since Canada?", "What are your travel plans after Russia?" "You were born in '81, don't work currently, but you have been traveling for 5 weeks? How?" I didn't know Russia needed to know all that, but I'm guessing the customs woman was nosy at 3 in the morning.

Craig and I made it to Riga, Lativa - swearing not to get on another bus again (we didn't get any sleep). But the next bus to Warsaw was in 2 hours so we took a deep breath, and boarded that bus to Poland. The 2nd-13 hour bus ride of the day wasn't as bad as the first. Since we were traveling during the day, the sights through Lativa and Lithuania were beautiful and it was perfect weather to watch from the window.

By the end of the 26 hour bus ride, Craig and I had been through 4 countries - and happily received our passport stamps, knowing we won't go through anymore questioning and visa hassles again, like we did in Russia.

After a night in one of the nicest hostels we've been to yet, Craig and I explored the city today. We hadn't heard many good things about the city, but I was quite impressed. I found it had a newness and a freshness to it - yet still having an old European city feel. We just walked around the city and viewed the busy streets from a restaurant window and it was great way to enjoy the city.
An interesting thing we've seen here is that they have the option to put a sweet syrup shot in your beer (I think they normally use jam). Craig opted for it at the restaurant, but didn't like it as much as it sounded - too sweet for the beer and got a second round without it. But, I actually liked the taste of it.
We explored the Palace of Culture & Science, going up the 30 floors (in 20sec) to get a view of the city as well as taking in the sights in the Old Town of Warsaw. It's quite touristy, but I liked the old cobble-stone roads and the musicians playing in the street.

Walking St. Petersburg

Pictures: Craig's / Mary's

During our last days in St. Pete's, we walked and walked and walked....down Nevsky Prospekt, along the Neva, over a bridge, through Saints Peter & Paul's Fortress, over some more bridges, and back down Nevsky Prospekt. Our meandering was meant only to take in the sights, though we ended up buying some souvenirs - a chess set for me. A few select pictures below, and a link to the set above as always...

Moments before I took the picture below, I was discussing with Mary about these curious shirts I'd been seeing that said, "I went to Russia. I saw no bears." This sighting eliminated the option for me to buy such a shirt :(
We decided the next day (the day of our bus ride from St. Petersburg to Riga, Latvia) to visit the Russian Vodka Museum...unfortunately it was closed, so we climbed St. Isaac's Cathedral instead and walked through a park. Afterwards, we sat in a cafe and met a gentleman from California (Harvard grad. of Soviet studies), doing research for a documentary - very interesting to talk to!

Change of Plans

Mary and I've been examining our trip through Europe. None of it was set in stone to begin with and this is our first major travel experience, so we've learned a few things.

Lesson #1: 17 countries in 3 months is A LOT of travel. Vacationing, staying in one place, is one thing; moving about on a train for so long is completely different. We're getting tired and feel like we're not really seeing the countries...only browsing.

Lesson #2: Ties in with #1 - traveling between 17 countries is EXPENSIVE. Trains, planes, buses...the bill is racking up quickly. Next time we travel, we're gonna hit one or two countries and focus on those alone. (P.S. Lonely Planet books are heavy, buy as you go along.)

Lesson #3: Currency is a pain in the big ol' butt! What's the currency of the day? Rubles? Turguts? Yuan? Euros? Can't we all just agree on one standard?

Lesson #4: Clean clothes are a rarity when traveling....If you can get laundry service, you have to let'm drip dry for a few days.

Lesson #5: Paperwork consumes way too much time in Russia. We've had to register in every city we've stayed in. These registration stamps cost $10-20 each time and you've got hunt up a place that'll do it for you when staying in hostels since they don't have their own rubber stamp to do the job. Soooo many people we've talked to have had visa/registration problems, can't get out of the country on time, etc. Russia does not want tourists...just stay home.

Lesson #6: Last, but certainly not least and perhaps one of our most overriding feelings: 1 year + 3 months is a long time to be away from family, friends, and Canada.

So, we've changed a few things. We're cutting out a handful of countries including: Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Belgium. We're going to spend more time in Germany and The Netherlands, much less time in the baltics, Czech, and Poland. Also, we're trimming our trip by a month. Our new arrival date back home is October 27. We can't wait to see familiar faces again.

As a side note, to change our flight home, we had to call Expedia in North America(e-mail couldn't be used for security reasons). So, to call a North American phone number from Russia follow these easy steps:

1. Head to your nearest metro station or magazine vendor and mime for an international telephone card. Hand over about 100 roubles.
2. Bug your hostel to get a local calling card - another 100 roubles should do the trick.
3. Hunt down a public pay phone.
4. Lift the receiver and insert the local calling card. This just lets you dial the number on the back of the international card. Wait for a number to appear on the phone - this is the number of minutes left on your local card.
5. Dial the first number on the back of your international card then press *.
6. Wait for an automated operator to answer. They'll be speaking in Russian, so just ignore them. It may be possible to press 3 to change the language to English, but this is card dependent and they tell you in Russian which number to press; a bit of a language paradox.
7. When the robot is finished speaking, they've probably asked you to enter your PIN. So scratch the area on the back of the card (no you can't win anything) and enter this 10-15 digit number followed by the # key.
8. There is no prompt to enter your phone number, only music, so dial 810 then your phone number i.e. 1-613-1234-5678.
9. Pray someone answers.
10. Start talking.
11. Keep an eye on the local time remaining.
12. If a Russian interrupts your conversation, your international time is probably running low, so explain quickly to person you're calling that you'll be cut off soon. If this happens, as it did to us, repeat steps 1-12.

Hermitage

Our first day in St. Petersburg was spent traversing Nevsky Prospekt (a major and famous street); looking around; arranging visa registration; cashing money orders; all that travel stuff. I snapped some pictures as we walked about.

The following day, with poor weather, was better spent in a museum; The Hermitage.

Pictures: Craig's

The Hermitage Museum (Эрмитаж) in St. Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest, oldest and most important art galleries in the world. The vast Hermitage collections are displayed in six buildings, the main one being the Winter Palace which used to be the official residence of the Russian Tsars.
- Wikipedia

We ripped the Hermitage pages from our Russia Lonely Planet guide, rented an audio guide, and set about exploring this massive building. The building itself has a long history and the art inside was just as old. It took us all day to work our way through the maze of halls filled with artwork, grand architecture, and antiques. You can take a virtual tour of the Hermitage from the comfort of your home!
It was awesome to see the paintings of artists I studied in OAC art class; I even remembered seeing some of the paintings on slides. Many of them had an audio number to punch into our little audio-guide-cell-phone which we put near both of our ears to listen to some history.
The rooms themselves were architectural pieces of art; grandiose in scale, detail and design.