Eurotrip 2010

So Ashleigh and I took the longest possible route home just before Christmas. We left Glasgow on December 16th and spent a week traveling around eastern Europe before flying home on December 23rd. We tried to keep up on the writing while we were traveling, so Ashleigh wrote some of these and I wrote some so they might be a little confusing to read, but I am too lazy to alter them. Enjoy!

Day 1 Berlin, Day 1 of trip

We left our hotel at 6:30 and got to the airport for our 9am flight. We were exhausted from the night before, where Ashleigh, AJ, Same and I all went out for one last night together. We accidently stayed out until about 4am, which made getting up at 6 pretty hard. Regardless, we made it to Berlin and took the train from the airport to the main train station in Berlin. We had something to eat and then walked around looking for our hotel. We eventually found it with the help of a taxi driver and checked in. We immediately went to sleep and slept for the rest of the night.

Day 2 Berlin, Day 2 of trip

Got up at 830 and went for breakfast in the train station as it is right across the street and we needed to catch a train to meet up with the walking tour. Took the train from hauptbanhof to friedrichstrasse and went to starbucks to warm up. At 1030 we joined a walking tour, recommended by Aj called the Terry Brewers Walking Tour. We had a middle aged American tour guide, who was hilarious, but pedantic. There were about 15 other people on the tour and we were the only Canadians, but there was guy around our age from D.C. (via Astoria). We walked to two different hostels to pick up other people and stopped at the “chalk shack” which used to be used to store chalk, but now is a courtyard for a night club. Stopped at the “heart of gold” hostel to pick up more people, Ashleigh really enjoyed the name. We then went to the ‘Old’ Synagogue which was the first synagogue to be build out in public, in plain sight. It has a star of david on the roof and Hebrew on the front. Garchen’s Ballhaus was next, which was the first telephone bar in Berlin (like an internet café – only older technology) that opened in 1913. We walked over to Museum Island and went back to Friedrichstrasse train station to warm up. Before entering the train station we saw Palace of Tears. Ashleigh and I had pastries and hot chocolate – those Germans, they do good pastry. It was about 1230 when we left the train station and walked down Unter den Linden, a street lined with Linden trees, towards the Brandenburg Gate. We stopped by the Hotel Adlon, where Michael Jackson dangled his baby out the window. We saw the Platz der Republick and then walked through Teirgarten, where Ashleigh paid me 5 euro to make a snow angel. I did. The tour guide was amused and told everyone to watch. We moved onto the Jewish holocaust memorial and took pictures and wandered around in the memorial. We say a rent a Trabi place and laughed. There was an old piece of the Berlin wall that had been moved, we stopped and talked about it – that it wasn’t very substantial, but there was a trench, barbed wire, a firing zone and another wall to get over to make it through to West Berlin from East Berlin. From here we went down the road to learn about Hitler’s bunker. After this we stopped for lunch around 330pm, then we walked by the German Airforce headquaters during WWII that was huge but somehow didn’t end up getting bombed. All the other places on the street did except this. From there we went around the corner to the Berlin wall and then onto Checkpoint Charlie.  We then went to the French Church and the German church at the Gendarmenmarkt (soldier’s market). We went onto Bebel platz, where the old city library was and the catholic church built by an atheist and part of humbolt uni. From there we went to the Berlin Dome and the old museum and took some pictures. It was about 6pm that time and and the tour was over. Ashleigh and I headed to Alexanderplatz so she could find some boots that weren’t soaking wet and full of holes. After we succeeded we went to the Kultur Brauerei for the St. Lucia Market. We had bratwurst, walked around a looked at the vendors. We then went and had some gluhbier (me) and some gluhwein (Ashleigh) which is mulled cider and mulled wine respectively. Derisicous! Before heading back to the hotel for the night we decided we wanted dessert – so we ordered crepes – in german. It was hilarious, the women working the stand were very gracious and gave us kudos for trying.

 

Berlin Day 3/Night Train

On Saturday we got up early and checked out of our hotel. We wanted a full day of sightseeing before our train left for Szczecin at 5:00. First we got breakfast at the Friedrichstrassen train station, and left our luggage there to be collected later. Then we headed to the meeting place for the Berlin walking tour we had done the day before, because the guide had suggested some things for us to do, and we had written them down on our map, but we couldn’t remember what the acronyms and symbols meant. After rendezvousing with a different, but equally helpful tour guide we were off. We went to 2 museums in the morning and the early afternoon.

First we went to the German History Museum, where they have a permanent exhibit called “Hitler and the Germans” which does a comprehensive job of explaining the context in which Hitler was popular in Germany in the 1930’s. The museum exhibit covered all of German history from Pre-First world war to the fall of the Berlin wall. It was very informative and had some great displays.

The second museum we went to was the DDR Museum, which I think is the Democratic Deutschland Republic Museum. It technically covered a lot of the same material that the GHR covered, but in a much more interactive way. Instead of talking about wait times for Trabis it let you sit in one, etc. You got to play games trying to save the factory and designing the perfect socialist human. As touchy-feely museum people, all three of us (Ashleigh, Chantel and Quatchi) enjoyed this museum more for quirky and photographic reasons. Then we grabbed a fresh Bretzl from a vendor at a nearby Christmas market on our way to Karl Marx Allee and the East Side Gallery.

Formerly Salin Allee, Karl Marx Allee is the main boulevard in the Socialist part of town. There is socialist housing and communist symbols everywhere. Quatchi and I (Ashleigh) really enjoyed the Karl Marx references and Socialist ideals.

Then we walked down towards the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin wall and has been turned into an open-air gallery where people can walk along and artists from around the world have painted stretches of the wall. We didn’t quite walk all the way along the wall, but we did walk for about half an hour, and got to see some great messages and murals.  Then it was back on the train to collect our bags and head on to Poland.

Our night train to Krakow was not direct, we had to catch a train from Berlin to Szczecin, a 2.5 hour train ride from 5 – 7ish. Chantel and I both were exhausted and could have slept on this train, but I, the former nanny and current control freak that I am, forced us to stay awake so  we would be sure to sleep on the night train. I figured the tired-er we were the more likely we were to sleep through anything. Wrong. We then caught our connecting train from Szczecin to Krakow, a trip that was scheduled to take from 19:52 – 6:50, 11 hours. We ended up finally getting into Krakow at 8:30 this morning, after what was perhaps the most gruelling trip of my life. First of all, completely by fluke, we chose the only cabin that had both a broken heating system that kept the room at approximately 35 degrees Celsius and a leaking window. It was simultaneously snowing and sweltering in our cabin. It reminded me of December in Calgary. Anyway – being tough Canadians we could handle the uncomfortable temperatures, what we couldn’t handle were our constantly changing and alert cabin mates. We never had the cabin to ourselves and at one point there were 5 of us in there. Who knew that a 2am train to Krakow would’ve been so popular!? All the bathrooms on the train had stopped up toilets that wouldn’t flush and sinks full of cigarette butts, because although the trains are officially smoke-free, all the men get up and use the hallways as unofficial smoke rooms. Then, for who knows what reason, in the middle of the night the train stopped for over an hour, which rendered us our 1.5 hours late to Krakow. HOWEVER, despite our discomfort and paranoia we made it to Krakow alive and well, and ready to do another day of sightseeing.

Ashleigh and I in front of Museum Island

Gendarmenmarkt

Berlin Wall

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Dome

Krakow Day 1, Day 4 of our trip.

We arrived at the Krakow station dirty, cranky, uncomfortable and in dire need of clean toilets. None of the toilets in the Krakow train station were open yet, so Chantel, the one of us not currently spontaneously combusting, decided we should start walking. Chantel found a hotel with a nice Concierge and we freshened up in there. After a quick tooth brushing and face washing we were back on the road, but in considerably better spirits. Our first goal was to find a local restaurant open early on a Sunday morning, a feat in and of itself. We finally found a “Café Vega” which had a quaint atmosphere and Polish menu. We had the most delicious but random breakfast there. We both ordered Pierogi, mine Pierogi Ruskie (Potato) and Chantel ordering something with cabbage and meat. We also ordered 3 Polski Ogorki (Dill Pickles), which were everything Bick’s and Vlassic wish they could be, and 2 Coffees with milk. EVERYTHING we ate was delicious. Great fresh home-made pierogi, great fresh coffee, and crunchy juicy pickles! Not exactly a breakfast of champions but it lifted our spirits and made us feel at home!

After breakfast we went to the Krakow Aquarium. I know this sounds completely random, but it was one of the only things in the guidebook that said it would be open at this time of day on a Sunday. The aquarium was actually quite fun, they had lots of fish and sea creatures as well as an Insectarium full of creepy-crawlies and snakes, lizards and marmosets as well.

After the Aquarium we headed over to Wawel Hill. Wawel hill is home to Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral and was home to the Polish Royal Family and Pope John Paul II. The castle, courtyard, towers, Cathedral, tombs and antiques in there were so impressive. I’ve been to other castles around western Europe, but this one really took my breath away. Not only was there a lot of original and well preserved furnishings etc, but the stories that go along with the family and clergy were very fascinating as well.

After Wawel Hill we walked into the “Old Town” into Ryvek --.  On our walk over we stopped for dinner at a nicer restaurant called --. It was Argentinean food and again was ridiculously delicious! Chantel ordered Roast chicken breast with herbed potatoes and butter fried vegetables (Zucchini, Eggplant and Peppers), and I ordered Pork Ribs with Jalapenos and home made BBQ sauce and Fries, to drink we each had a bottle of water and Chantel had a Carlsberg. For dessert we shared a Tiramisu. We were the people making the “MmmmmmmmMMMmmm” sounds while they ate everything was so good. Definitely a nice way to wind down a day. This is Krakows central square which currently houses a Christmas market, but is also home to many old churches and sites. One of the most impressive was the “BARRACUDA” and Florians Gate, all part of the old fortifications for old Krakow and the Castle on Wawel Hill. Equally impressive to us was how magical the square felt with all of these old castle like buildings and churches surrounded by Christmas decorations and lights.

Our hotel is only 2 short blocks away from the market so after a long day we checked in and prepared for our Aushwitz/Birkenau trip tomorrow. We plan on resting well after our horrible night train and our full day of walking and sightseeing.

Krakow Day 2, Day 5 of our trip

We woke up early this morning, showered and packed our bags. We went downstairs to the hotel’s restaurant and ate breakfast before checking out. We had arranged for a tour of Auschwitz complete with transportation and our driver, Dorota, showed up right on time to take us to Auschwitz. It was about an hour and a half drive through Poland, a lot of the land looked similar to the praries (surprise, surprise). Anyways – we finally got to Auchwitz with just enough time to get a coffee and go to the bathroom before our 11am tour started. There were 9 other people in our tour group, and our tour guides name was also Dorota. The tour of Auschwitz took just under 2 hours and we saw a lot of sad stuff. We got tours of the barracks (blocks) – there are some still set up like they would have been during the war. Many of the blocks (I believe there are 28 blocks in Auschwitz) were set up as memorials with artifacts in them – the people’s belongings, pictures, records etc. There was one very large room that was just filled with shoes, thousands and thousands of pairs – it was quite heartbreaking.  We also got to see the inside of a gas chamber/crematorium, which was disturbing, and it even had a smell to it still. After the tour of Auschwitz we had another quick break where Ashleigh and I grabbed lunch before we headed 3kms down the road to Birkenau (Auschwitz II) which was the official ‘extermination camp’, where the holocaust took place. It was much larger than Auschwitz I and had horse stables set up for people to sleep in – with wooden bunk beds, three layers high. Our tour guide said that as many as 4 people would be sleeping on one tier of the bunk bed – 12 people total. The tour here took another hour or so, before we were back on the road to Krakow.

We got back to Krakow and still had hours until our train for Prague left, so we went to the Christmas Market in Rynek Glowny (the old town square) and wandered around the exhibits and took pictures. We then had supper and walked to the mall that was right beside the train station, where we used their free internet and had coffee. We bought some goodies for the train ride, assuming it would be similar to our last train ride and then headed for the train station.

This train ride was a pleasant surprise though as we got a sleeper cabin all to ourselves, and actually managed to sleep a bit. We were even able to change and freshen up on the train.

Wawel Hill

Ashleigh in her courtyard

Wawel Hill

Old Town Square

Auschwitz

Sooo many shoes

Birkenau Barracks

Birkenau

Our night train

Prague day 1, Day 6 of our trip

We arrived in Prague around 9am refreshed and ready for some sight-seeing. We couldn’t check into our hotel until 3pm so we decided to leave our bags at the train station and go on a tour. First, we had to exchange some money. We went to the bureau de change in the train station and quickly found out that Czech crowns run about 18:1 Canadian dollar. This was going to be interesting. We each had to go to an ATM more than once on the first day, as we miscalculated how many Crowns would be needed to do anything. For our first day we organized a walking/bus tour of Prague, which left at 11am. We had to walk into the city center to meet the tour so on our way we got to see a bit of Prague.

Our first stop on the tour was The Prague Castle, where we got to see the changing of the guards. From there we went down to the Charles Bridge, which is a very famour bridge in Prague and we walked across it and down to the Old Town square where there was another Christmas market. On our way to the Old Town Square we walked through the Jewish portion of the city, where we got to see the “Old New Synagogue” which is Europe’s oldest active synagogue and was completed in 1270. In the Old Town Square we got to see St. Nicholas’ Church and the Christmas market, as I already mentioned. There was also the Astronomical Clock which was constructed in the 15^th century and is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

Our tour ended here and we walked back to the train station to get our things and then checked into our hotel. We freshened up and headed back out to city center to take another tour. This time we went on a dinner boat cruise on the Vltava River, which lasted about 3 hours. It was dark out and all the buildings were lit up and it was beautiful and relaxing. We got back to our hotel and called it a night.

Vltava River Cruise

Old Town Square

Prague Castle

Charles Bridge

Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square

Journey Home

Ashleigh and I slept in today as we knew we would have a long night and figured we could use all the sleep we could get. We left the hotel around 12pm and walked down to Wenceslas Square were we took pictures, bought souvenirs and spent time in the Christmas market. We ate an early supper and went to the train station to catch our last train to Frankfurt. The train was supposed to leave at 630pm, but didn’t leave till after 7pm and we kept stopping for no apparent reason, in the middle of nowhere. We got to Frankfurt around 4:40am, only 40 minutes later than we should have been and we took the subway to the airport where my flight to London had been cancelled. Ashleigh and I parted ways so that I could sort out my flight and I managed to get on another flight to London City Airport, instead of to London Heathrow like I was supposed to. I slept the whole way to London – Didn’t even stay awake for take off and woke up abruptly during landing. I had to take the subway from London City to Heathrow, which took about 1.5-2 hours, but I made it with plenty of time to catch my flight to Calgary, which left on time and even landed a bit early.