Cesky Krumlov - 24th-26th Feb

Cesky Krumlov is a lovely little town situated in the South Bohemian countryside. It sometimes feels a bit like the back of beyond (in fact, my train here from Ceske Budejovice only had one carriage, and I could probably have run faster!), but it's good to be somewhere this relaxing after the busy tourist bustle of Prague. I arrived in Krumlov about 7 on Saturday night, and took the long and winding road [sic] from the station down into the town centre, and even at this point the views struck me as amazing. From the slope where I was stood there was a great view of the castle on the Old Town wall, all lit up and everything :) I tried to take some pictures, but none of them came out too well :(

My hostel was also rather quaint - much smaller than the others I've been in, run by an American couple, it feels more like a Bed and Breakfast affair, only without the breakfast. Very homey, and it has a huge dragon on the door! It's called Krumlov House, and I highly recommend it to anyone coming here...which I highly recommend everybody to do!

After lying around for a while, I finally went out to eat something, opting for an old bohemian platter - Rabbit, smoked gammon, dumplings, millet (not mullet) and salad. It was meant to be for 2, and despite the fact I asked for a one person version, I still couldn't finish it. Awesome, it was. After that, myself and an American chap from the hostel checked out the "Horor Bar", an interesting little place with a gothy/gory feel, and some other bar, where I discovered the dark version of the original Budweiser (Budvar). All in all, a good night!

Sunday morning I took the liberty of rising late and slowly, before ambling out to explore the town. It really is small, so this only took a few hours, but I could probably have wandered around happily for days just soaking up the atmosphere...weather was lovely, and it's very picturesque, situated in a meander of the Vltava river. Everything also has a very ÿe olde worldy feel to it, I just hope it stays that way as more tourists discover it over the next few years. After enjoying half a roast duck at the local Eggenburg brewery for lunch, my afternoon had much the same kind of relaxed feel to it, ending in a local teahouse which offered over 50 different teas from around the world! All in all, a very pleasant day, if not much to actually write about. Krumlov was definitely one of my favourite places so far :)

Prague - 22-24th Feb

Although I got up early in Brno, most of my day still seemed to be spent travelling. The rest was welcome though, and a few hours relaxing at the hostel gave me the energy I needed before gathering some troops and going out for the night. Although the group got split up fairly early on, it was still a good night, and bars in Prague can certainly be highly recommended!

In spite of that, I still managed to get up early and be out of the hostel by 9 to start what was to be my only full day in Prague, as I had decided (based on insistent recommendations) to slot in another day at my next stop, Cesky Krumlov. This started off well - I managed to take in a good amount of the Old Town before the main groups of tourists got there, and work out a rough itinery for the day to boot, all within the first hour.

After this I hopped on a bus to the nearby(ish) town of Kutna Hora, to check out something I'd first heard of only the night before: The Church of Bones. The bus ride was quite long, as was the walk that followed it, but it was worth every minute. Apparently constructed to remind people of the Eternity of God, without this in mind, you'd hardly have guessed the place was a Christian church. The decorations range from general piles of sundry bones to an amazing chandelier which contains at least one of every bone in the human body. All the bones are genuinely human, reckoned to be over 400,000 in all. Certainly one of the most amazing things I've seen so far, if not the most amazing. Go there! Everyone!

Getting back to Prague mid-afternoon, I managed to fit in a spot more sightseeing, going up to the Karlovy Most, the bridge across the water to Hrady Praha (Prague Castle). By this point my legs were quite tired, and I decided I'd seen enough castles recently, so I settled for a few photos from across the water before heading back to the hostel for a quick rest and freshen up for the main event of the evening...

During my wanders throughout the town, I'd accidentally acquired myself a ticket to The National Black Light Theatre, and mysteriously lost 550 CKR in the process. It was well worth every penny (cent? groszy? I have no idea what one hundredth of a Czech Koruny is :S). For those who don't know (like me earlier that morning), or haven't worked it out, the only lighting used during performances is "black lighting", or UV lights - the kind that make white shirts glow in clubs. Now, I'm not a regular theatre goer, nor am I a huge fan of any form of "modern art", but this show, aptly entitled "WOW", was impressive in every respect, and hugely enjoyable to boot. The way the blackness is used is really inventive, and there's a good deal of interesting methods of involving the audience, too.

A busy day meant an easy night, so I just chilled out at the hostel for a while and rose early the next day to catch a couple more things before moving out. Firstly I went to visit the Torture Museum, which contains quite a comprehensive arrazy of medieval torture devices, with detailed histories, diagrams and explanations. Very interesting, though definitely not for the faint-hearted!

After this, I still had a little time on my hands, so I went to visit the Salvador Dali exhibition. Some very interesting stuff from a few of his different "phases", though not too much of the floppy clock stuff. I did, however, bump into James again, arriving in Prague just as I was leaving. So after the exhibition, we went for some coffee, then I departed on my train to Cesky Krumlov.

Czech Republic - Brno (21st feb)

So, after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs Slovak Style (with the latter cooked on top of the former), and multiple iced coffees (having discovered them 12 hours before, I'm quickly becoming addicted!), I parted with James to head for the Czech Republic - Brno to be precise. The train ride was more interesting than usual due to the amusing Slovakian gentleman sat opposite me, who seemed to have an endless supply of sausages in his bag. Every now and then he'd just reach inside, pull one out, literally crack it open, and start gnawing away! (I realise that written down, this doesn't seem anywhere near as amusing as it was at the time...I think excessive train travel is taking its toll on my already amply-muddled mind!)

To be honest though, that did unfortunately turn out to be nearly the main highlight of the day. Brno, it has to be said, is nothing special. It has it's share of typical "sights" the same as any big city, but nothing to make it stand out from the crowd, especially compared to some of the places I've been, even in the UK. Still, there were always going to be some places that weren't going to be great, I suppose Brno's one of them! It did, however, have some redeeming features, and after freshening up at my hotel, I went out to find them.

A short walk led me to the city castle, which, although not outstanding in itself, has a nice set of gardens leading up the hill to it, and offers a good view over the city. From there I moved on to the Augistinian monastery, which was actually quite impressive as churchy buildings go, and its grounds also house a work-in-progress museum to the work of Gregor Mandel, a friar at the monastery now thought of as the "father of gene-technology", having made significant breakthroughs observing the humble garden pea in the 1800s.

Next door to the monastery is the Starobrno brewery, which looked rather interesting, though unfortunately tours had stopped by the time I got there, and the restaurant was a little too busy for my liking, so I ate elsewhere - a lovely little underground restaurant (they always seem to be the best!) where I experienced the novel idea of pork steak with bits of sausage embedded in it, in a peppercorn sauce. I don't know how these people think up their recipes, but they certainly seem to be onto something....

Bratislava - 19-20 Feb

So, things have got busy again and I've fallen behind a little, but this is roughly what I was doing at the start of the week...

Got to my hostel in Bratislava midway through Monday afternoon, put my feet up for a while and waited for my Aussie mate James (from Krakow) to turn up. He did this late afternoonish, so we decided to go explore the feeding oppurtunities Slovakia's capital had to offer. As we'd decided the Old Town was probably overpriced (at least by Slovakian standards), we took a wander on the outskirts, eventually settling on a place offering a range of "Pfannengerichte" (a German menu was the best they could offer us). Basically these consisted of a number of items, all served together in a big frying pan. My option was the chicken, pineapple and potatoes, which for some obscure reason came with a carbonara sauce. Nontheless, delicious.

Later on we ambled pubwards with an american guy we met at the hostel, ending up in an Irish pub, where conversation rambled over many topics late into the night, and we quenched our thirst with "Kelt" a beer whose pump appeared to be a huge broadsword which had been driven into the bar. How could I refuse? :D

The next day we arose a little later than usual, but still struggled to find anywhere in town that was open to serve us breakfast. Eventually we opted for an odd little place, where my repast consisted of some kind of turkey casserole in potato pancakes. They're funny folk in Slovakia, I tell thee.

The rest of the day was spent casually wandering around Bratislava, taking in the old town, the House of Primates (though not monkeys), the riverside (Danube, I believe), the castle (not a patch on Malbork :P) and the city's soviet war memorial, which we had many a difficulty finding, despite the fact it was on the top of a big hill! No single sight was anything particularly spectacular, but I really liked the "vibe" of the city, if you will. In fact, I was rather keen on Slovakia as a whole - it's a really scenic country, quite relaxed and not too touristy, but still very interesting and with plenty to do, in one way or another. Very glad I included it in my trip :)

Slovakia - Zilina/Trencin (18-19 Feb)

Sunday morning I arose at the (ironically) ungodly hour of 6 AM in order to leave the hostel and catch my train out of Poland. This involved, for reasons unfathomable to me, a change in the Svinov suburb of the Czech city Ostrava. I got there at 11 in the morning, and took an hour's strolly before deciding there really was nothing there, and relocating back to the incongruously modern train station for a couple of hours. Not ideal, but travelling has it's ups and downs, I guess! Anyway, my trains all ran smoothly, and I arrived in Zilina mid-afternoon in gorgeous weather. On the train from Ostrava I'd been impressed by the spectacular Slovakian scenery - all mountains, forests and lakes - and there was plenty of this overlooking Zilina, so i took a few decent pictures of it all. I had a feeling I was going to like Slovakia!

As there are no hostels in Zilina, I'd got myself a hotel for the night, and after my busy weekend in Krakow, the rest was certainly welcome. Zilina's a small but very pleasant town, and most of my exploring was done on the way to the hotel, giving me plenty of time to kick back, save for going out for something to eat. I did this at a lovely little guesthouse, where my German came very much in handy, as they spoke not a word of English! This seems to be a common theme in many places in Slovakia, and they even have German TV in the hotel rooms! All very useful for my next semester, I'm sure :)

The next morning I awoke early as usual, to try and fit in a stop in another town, Trencin, on my way to Bratislava. Even smaller than Zilina, Trencin was nontheless very pleasant in some places, though not in others, and it only took me a couple of hours to "do" the place (save for climbing the hill to the castle - these things all start to look a little insignificant once you've seen Malbork!) however, in this time, I did notice a disproportional amount of both wedding shops and strip clubs in relation to the size of the place. how odd!

Krakow (15-17 February)

And so it was that, late last Thursday afternoon, I arrived in my last Polish destination, Krakow. Having been in quite a few places that were...less than populated over the preceding week, I was pleasantly surprised to find my hostel here (The excellent flamingo hostel) almost completely full, and of English speakers! We had nearly a full range actually - Aussies, Canadians, Kiwis and myself, and after a spot of socialising and getting to know each other in the common room, 18 of us went out to a club. I had a great time, it was really fun to have proper company again and get out a bit, and all round a good night was had!

Friday morning began slowly, but after a while a few of us made it outside to investigate the city. I have to say, Krakow really is an amazing place. The old town square is absolutely huge (1st biggest in Europe this time!), and there always seems to be plenty going on. In between my incessant tourist pictures takings, I even found the time to have an altercation with a knight who was knocking around! Much fun indeed.

After this we wandered to the local supermarket to pick up some traditional Polish sausage for tea that night, before relocating to a wondrous little underground cafe, where the food was cheap, delicious and inventive. I personally opted for the chicken and pineapple in nettle sauce (weird I know, but delicious), with some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had. For about 4 Pounds. Woo! In fact, it was so good we went back the next day :)

That night was quite a quiet one for me. After the sausage, which was rather good, a few of us sat around in the common room chatting with the girls from the hostel, and I called it a night quite early on in preparation for the next day.

On Saturday 4 of us were up and out by 10 to get the coach tour to Auschwitz. I'm not sure quite how to describe this experience; amazing would imply it was positive, and interesting's not quite right either. But certainly I was glad it was something I did, as it's not really an experience that can be conveyed in pictures or words. The whole atmosphere of the place is what has the biggest effect, coupled with the sheer scale of what went on there. Certainly I think it's an important place for people to visit to realise all that, so that nothing similar ever happens again.

Upon returning to the city, I went to the station to arrange my travel out of the country for the next day, then a few of us went back to the same cafe from the day before, and ate far too much! However, after a few hours' digesting, we still managed to make it out to Kazimierz, the Jewish district, in search of the vampire club, Transylvania. This was something I'd been quite looking forward to, as it seems a pretty unique kind of idea, but unfortunately it was closed for a month. Just my luck! We still managed to make the most of the situation and try another bar though, and it was nice to see a different area of town. We didn't stay out long though, as an incredibly early rise was on the cards for me in the morning.

All in all, I'd say I quite liked Poland, though perhaps not as much as I'd expected. I much preferred the southern areas, though perhaps in summer whenthere's more people up North, they could have more to offer too. Certainly I particularly enjoyed Krakow, Wroclaw and Torun, and Malbork and Auschwitz are experiences I'm never going to forget.

A note on photos

Just a quick note to warn that I'm having more than a little trouble with my Picasa account, as none of the computers i've been using have the software to upload my photos so they take up as little space as possible. as such, i'm really struggling to fit any decent number of photos on, so a good number of posts may have to go without soon, until i get chance to sort the problem. Sorry!

Wroclaw (pronounced "Vrott-suave"), 14-15 Feb

Sorry that updates have been few and far between, the past week has been rather busy!

As I said, I arrived in Wroclaw Wednesday evening, and after a bit of a stroll, basically chilled out, saving it for the next day. So Thursday morning, refusing to let the disturbingly English drizzle get me down, I set off around the impressive square (2nd largest in Europe!) and Old Town, taking in the theatre and the riverside as well. All in all, it's a very nice place, certainly one to make sure you visit if you get to Poland! One of the things that struck me most was the amount of interesting statues the city has, perhaps most impressively the sculptures representing those who mysteriously "disappeared" underground when military law was imposed for a while under Soviet rule. I'm a big fan of statues, and Wroclaw certainly has plenty to go round :)


After my little tour of the old town, I took a bit of a trek to visit the pride of the city - the Wroclaw Panorama. 15 metres around, this impressive piece of art is accentuated and made even more realistic with use of lighting, real earth and trees in the foreground and the specially designed tower it is displayed in. The 30 minute voice tour takes you through both the history of the painting and the different scenes depicted (the painting is of a famous Polish victory over Russian forces at the Battle of Wroclaw - lots of horses and swords and things :D ). Certainly well worth a visit for anyone going to Wroclaw.

After this rather hectic morning, I quickly headed to the train station and my next stop: Krakow.

Poznan (14th Feb)

So, today I managed to get up reet early and catch the 0850 train to Wroclaw. Well, that was the original plan. After some quick calculations on the train though, I decided to stop in Poznan for a couple of hours, so I hadn't missed it completely, especially as it was on the same line

A lot bigger than I expected, Poznan actually reminded me a lot of Manchester, only...nicer. the Old Town was quite a way from the station, so I didn't get too much time there, but I did see most of it, and also paid a visit to the museum of musical instruments, which I'd been looking forward to. Due to my fascination with anything to do with music, especially more obscure stuff, I was delighted with this place, which had everything you'd expect (lutes, bagpipes etc) plus more...although for some reason I couldn't fathom, it was a bit heavy on the dulcimas ("Cymbalik" in Polish). I was also pleased to note that I had an instrument they didn't - the Kantele, or Nordic Lyre :D

However, after just a couple of hours in Poznan, I had to call it a day and continue my journey to Wroclaw, where I am now. I've already eaten and been out for a wander round town - again, it's a lot bigger than I expected, so early start on the morrow to see it all properly!

Torun (12-13 Feb)

After grabbing a bite of Polish Pizza on my way back from Marienburg, I headed to the station to continue my journey to my next stop for the night: Torun, home to Nocolaus Copernicus, the bloke who controversially had the notion the world was round. The rubbish some people think up!... A pleasant little medieval town south of Gdansk and Malbork, Torun was surprisingly busy for its size, especially considering the severe lack of population I'd been encountering thus far. After chilling in my hostel for a while (with the luxury of a room to myself, woo!) I decided to go out to one of the restaurants recommended by my hostel for some traditional Polish food. After some consideration, and complaints from my stomach that it hadn't had any attention since 1130 that morning, I opted for sausage and hard-boiled egg soup, followed by a very peppery goulash served on pine nuts, accompanied by some hunks of polish bread and spreads, and a bowl of dumplings with assorted fillings. I nearly managed it all... It was excellent, anyway! I walked all this off with a meander through town, finding both the history-filled old town and the lively new town lovely in equal measure, then crashed out for the night. With Malbork earlier in the morning, this was definitely my best day so far!

However, the law of averages comes around quickly. The next morning I took a daylight wander through Torun, with many pictures along the way, then had lunch in a little cafe before heading to the train station. Or so I thought. I spent the next 2 hours getting lost on the outskirts of Torun, eventually missing my last train to Poznan! All part of the experince, I guess...anyway, booked myself a second night in Orange Hostel (very aptly named)and vowed to set off early the next morning...

Malbork!

Ok, as I've realised that trying to do my blog every day was a silly idea, I'm just going to update whenever I can and each place (give or take) can have a different post. Pictures can go up as and when uploading is possible...

On Monday (12th Feb) I got up early to continue my journey from Gdansk, stopping off first at Malbork, a small town, but home to Marienburg - the largest Gothic castle in Europe, and home to the Teutonic Knights in the 14th Century. This had been one of the main things I'd wanted to see on my trip, so I was really excited.

I was not disappointed. The scale of the place is awesome. "Huge" wouldn't begin to describe it. I spent a good hour wandering around just the grounds by myself (the whole guided tour is 3 hours), and got lost 4 times. "Wow" was all I could say for the rest of the morning. I took loads of pictures, but I've only been able to upload a few so far. Hope it gives a good impression, anyway! It looked really amazing in the snow, as well..I could spend days in this place!

Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot - The tri-city!

Let me just preface this post by saying the North of Poland is cold. Earlier today on the pier in Sopot the temperature was apparently 7 degrees C, and that's without the considerable windchill. And that was the warmest place I've been today.

I arrived in Gdansk about 4PM yesterday, and proceeded to spend an hour and a half looking for my hostel, which was THREE MINUTES from the train station! In my defence, both the address and directions I was given appeared to be a load of old tot - being told to look for a "tall, red-bricked building" in a ity full of tall, red-bricked buildings is less than helpful. Anyway, after I finally wandered back to the station and endured several minutes of broken english on the telephone, I eventually got surprise directions in German, and it took me but 3 minutes to find the place. If I didn't speak German, I'd still be looking now.

As it happened, German turned out to be the theme for the night. Finding my hostel even more devoid of company than the previous one, I wandered merrily into town on my own, eventually deciding upon an american bar in which to take my nourishment, as it was the only place with any atmosphere (I later remembered that Polish people start their evenings a lot later than the english, and this was only 7PM). There I partook in some typical fare, and got myself adopted by a group of Germans from the other hostel in town ("the one where the people are", apparently!) They were out to celebrate a birthday, so after a while we moved on to Yesterdays, a kind of chilled-out, alternative place recommended to me by Magda. Merriment continued, and a good night was had by all!

Today I rose early and partook in breakfast before strolling out to take a look at Gdansk in the daylight. Accomplishing this in just over an hour (don't get me wrong, there's plenty of nice stuff, it's just all in quite a small area), i decided to spend the rest of the day exploring Gdansk's sister towns, Gdynia and Sopot, in what the Poles call the "Tri-City". They're all within a few minutes of each other on the train, and perfectly doable in one day (as can be seen from the fact I'm writing this at half 5 in the evening!)

Now, I'd not heard much about Gdynia before I went there, and to be honest it soon became obvious why. The main street was a walk away from the train station, and quite a lengthy avenue in itself, but once i'd found my way to the end of it the only thing I'd experinced was the feeling of being ripped off for a cup of coffee (by Polish standards, at least).

So with heavy heart, and distinctly tiring of Northern Poland, I headed off to the 3rd "city", Sopot. It has to be said, I was more than pleasantly surprised! A lovely little picturesque seaside town with plenty to see for its size, I enjoyed a good few hours there, not to mention a far superior cup of coffee. I returned about an hour ago to Gdansk, and aside from going out for a bite to eat later and sorting my bag out for tomorrow, I'm not going to be doing much more here. Early start to a busy day tomorrow! Stay tuned...

Warsaw, Poland

Well, here I am. I arrived in a snowy Warsaw airport 9AM local time yesterday, and I have to say it's been interesting. After finding my hostel through the blizzard that was Poland's capital, I soon decided to brave the elements again and take a better look around the city. Obviously I've inherited my Dad's genes on this front!

It has to be said, the Old Town in Warsaw was the emptiest tourist part of a city I've ever seen, and I've lived in Västeras! It was quite nice though, if a little reminiscent of a Zombie film... Had a bit of a wander round, then took myself to what I presumed to be a cafe for lunch. Turns out it was quite a posh restaurant, but it still had cafe prices, so I went for the beetroot and ravioli soup (when in Rome..!). It worked out rather nicely, and I even got a decent cup of tea into the bargain! Lovely stuff, if a novel idea...

I then proceeded to take further wanderings, eventually getting myself lost north of wherever I might have been meant to be. Eventually decided to use a map though, and found my way back to the hostel. The evening was a quiet one, what with the hostel being nearly as dead as the city (must be the time of year), and me being rather tired. Had a couple of beers in the hostel bar, then retired to bed. Well, nearly. When i got to the dorm, I was astounded to find some cheeky foreign chap had stolen the bed i had so lovingly (read "shabbily") made earlier in the day! So I hoisted myself up onto a top bunk instead, made a further hash of the bedding and crashed out.

Today the snow had stopped, so I decided a rather more comprehensive look at the city was in order, and headed for what is supposed to be a huge castle thing on the north outskirts of the centre. However, upon getting there I failed to find a way to get a good view of the place, let alone get inside, so I eventually turned back, having walked 30 minutes and pulled a muscle in my leg to get there. This was not a good start!

This was the point where things got interesting. As I turned to head back to the centre, I was slightly astounded to see a police car drive onto the pavement in front of me, blocking my path. After establishing that I was English, the Polish Police chappy dismounted and proceeded to enquire as to my motives for being in Warsaw near his police car. He was quite astounded by the answer, I can tell you! It was just a random ID check really, I've heard they happen, and as I was looking quite lost, I suppose I made myself a target! As it happens, the chap was perfectly lovely about the whole thing, and after taking details off my passport, sent me on my way again.

My further ramblings took me through some bits of the old town I failed to uncover the previous day, including the caricature museum, the monument to the 1944 uprising and a charming little cafe where I was serenaded by "Take my Breath Away" (the theme tune to Top Gun!). Returned to the hostel early evening, and aside from popping out for a bite to eat, I've been here ever since, planning my further ramblings. Warsaw's a fairly nice place, especially with the snow, but I can see why people have told me that one night is enough of a stay here. I've enjoyed it and it's been a good warm-up (metaphorically speaking), but tonight I'm just going to rest my leg and look forward to my journey starting in earnest on the morrow!

A new chapter begins...

From Christmas 200...

Well, I've now been sat around in Bolton for the best part of 2 months, and it's abut time I was on the road again. Tomorrow I fly out to Warsaw, Poland, to begin a 2 month backpacking tour also encompassing Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Germany. The Eastern Europe part I'm taking on completely by my lonesome, though obviously I intend to make friends along the way! The second month in Austria and Germany will be partly to practice my German before I start sudying in Berlin, but also gives me the great oppurtunity to see a lot more of these countries and visit a whole load of old friends! Needless to say, I'm greatly looking forward to it, and the blog shall be updated wherever possible (though pictures will be minimal until i get back home).

From Christmas 200...

The past time back in the UK has actually been pretty decent, a lot more fun than I anticipated! It's been great to see everyone back in Bolton again, as well as visiting Sheffield a few times and even taking a trek up to Edinburgh (hey John!). It's been fun catching up with everyone, and I've even met one or two really cool new people into the bargain! :P

Anyway, my flight is in 8 hours, so this one will have to be left there. Expect a lot more in the next 2 months though! And if anyone reading this from any of the countries above would care for a visit, just drop me a line!

Ian