Incredibly True Adventures of an Escaped Cube Slave

Passing the Time

2009-09-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

Day 562
My flight wasn’t until early evening so I had the day to see the city, or do nothing. I know that I had mentioned a 24 hour bus ride before. I looked into it some more and it was only an extra $30 to fly. That plane ticket was worth every penny.

I had breakfast at this small place run by two elderly women who only made some sort of stuffed and rolled crepe thing. I have no idea what was in it but they were really good and I ate about 4 of them. I also spend a lot of time on the internet. I’m sure that I was just screwing around though.

I ended up at the airport early and had to hang out for a while. The flight to Athens was painless as was immigration back into the EU. Greece is country number 60 and the last new one for me on this trip. The metro was really easy to use and in no time I was checked into my hostel.

The first thing I did was head to the bar where I met some people and spent a few hours chatting before calling it a night.

Nothing

2009-09-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

Day 561
Luckily, I had met another American on the bus who was currently living in Albania. As it was still dark out the two of us went to 24 hour bar and got drinks while we waited for the sun to come up. When it finally did I got a cab to my hostel. I got lucky because not only did they let me go to my room at 6 am, but I was the only person in the room as well.

After a nice nap I went out to explore the city. There weren’t any museums that I wanted to check out and there really wasn’t much to the city. I basically just wandered around and took pictures of the various buildings around town. Eventually I got bored and ended up in a café called UFO working on my journal.

That evening I made dinner at the hostel and spent some time at an internet café. Eventually I went back and read until I fell asleep. I was very tired.

Change of Plans

2009-09-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Day 560
My original plan was to get up early and go to Ohrid. I had to cut it out though. Part of this was due to the day lost in getting to Kosovo, and partially because I just wasn’t appreciating cities the way I used to. I didn’t want to rush around so that I could be bored at another place. Instead I just slept in and then went to the bus station and got a ticket for that evening.

I ended up at an internet café for a very long time. I think that I did some typing and organized photos, but mostly just screwed around. Eventually I picked up food for my night bus and then, after hanging out at the hostel for a bit, I got a cab to the bus station. I guess the most exciting thing that happened today is that I stepped in a hole in the street and fell on my ass.

The bus was late, but that made me happy. It arrived to Tirana at a really weird time. The other people on the bus were incredibly annoying. They were loud and moved around a lot. Don’t people know that the others on a night bus want to sleep? I didn’t get any sleep at all and was dropped off in Tirana, Albania at 3 am!

Formerly

2009-09-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Day 559

I was up early and Hanka decided to come with me to Skopje, Macedonia. The ride was only about 4 hours long and was really quite scenic. At the border neither of us had any problems. Hanka had been worried because he had less than 6 months left on his passport, but no one noticed.

Hanka’s linguistic skills got us an ok price on a cab to the hostel. I had prebooked, he was hoping that there was space, there was. The hostel was ok, but all the rooms were in the basement and seemed a bit damp.

Skopje is actually quite a nice little place, although very communistic in its architecture. There was an earthquake here in 1963 and some of the buildings had still not been repaired.

We didn’t go into any of the museums and after a few hours of wandering we headed back to the hostel. Hanka had a friend and headed out with him for diner while I stayed at the hostel and played around on the internet. I tried to go to sleep early, but this didn’t last as some jack ass Slovenians came in at midnight, turned on the light and made a lot of noise. I will not miss hostels!

Exploring Kosovo

2009-09-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Day 558
Part of me has begun to wonder why I’m even doing this part of my trip. I’m tired of traveling, this just happens after a while. Before I took this trip and other long term travelers told me about becoming jaded I would reply that that would never happen to me. And maybe it took longer for me that it has for other people. At this point I can very easily say that I’m definitely jaded. Once this trip is over I think it will be some time before I backpack again. However I know I will at some point. My real answer for why I’m still going now is rather terrible, it’s all a number at this point. When I’m done I would have been to 60 countries.

Despite how sick of travel I was it was still rather exciting to be in Kosovo, Europe’s newest country.

Hanka and I decided to spend the day together. After breakfast and some internet time we headed to the History Museum. Apparently most of the collection is being held captive in Belgrade. It wasn’t very large, or even very good. Upstairs the focus was on the war. Nothing was in English and Hanka’s Albanian wasn’t good enough to read the descriptions. All I could understand were pictures and dates. So many of the soldiers had been born in or around 1981. When I was graduating high school and heading off to college they were fighting and dying for their country. One room was full of very gruesome pictures of dead and wounded people, including a father crying over his child’s coffin. We left the museum feeling rather depressed.

There wasn’t much to do besides wander the streets. The art museum was closed. We went by the unfinished Orthodox church built by the Serbians, Kosovo is a Muslim country. The national theater looked like it was covered in eggs, it was very strange. I also picked up some books for an upcoming 24 hour bus ride.

Eventually we ended up back at the internet café .

Pristina is very cheap (and uses the Euro) and we went out for a very nice dinner. This restaurant could have been in any major capital in the world and fit in. The food was amazing, especially because it was so cheap. After a few drinks we headed back to the hostel where we met our new roommate, I don’t remember her name but she was from Seoul.

I called it an early night because I had a bus the next morning.

On The Move, For Real

2009-09-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

Day 557

I was up early and after showering and packing up I went downstairs and took full advantage of the free internet. I got a lot of pictures sorted and entries loaded. Eventually I had the receptionist call me a cab and soon I was at the bus station.

I had been assured that the 1 pm bus would be running today. I was lucky to meet German Hanka while boarding. He studied Balkan languages and proved to be really helpful over the next couple of days.

The scenery from the bus was just spectacular. I would have missed it all had I gotten the night bus, but I don’t think I would have complained. At the border I got a Kosovo stamp, which was pretty cool. Some of the towns we stopped in were so poor and in such disrepair that I was reminded of India. Livestock hung out all over the place and partially bombed buildings had been stripped of anything that didn’t support them. Well, I think that some of them were stripped to the point of collapse.

When the bus got to Pristina I was extremely happy that Hanka was there. The station was empty and the level of English was really low. I had been feeling kinda sick on all the mountain roads so when Hanka got some food at the bus station restaurant I just ordered tea. The people working there spoke a bit of German and Hanka’s Albanian helped us order.

We then got in a cab and had them take us to the one hostel in town. We asked for the dormitory and ended up with us being the only two there. The room was split into two, I think part of it was once a balcony that had been enclosed. This gave us both some privacy. The best part was that there was a tv in the room with a lot of channels. After such a long day all I wanted was a beer, but there wasn’t anywhere to go really, so we just picked up some beers and some snacks at a nearby grocery store.

On the way back to the room we passed the computers where a bunch of Poles from Torun were hanging out. Polish happens to be a language that Hanka understands. The group said hello to us and we both responded. When we got back in the room Hanka told me that one of the Poles had said “you can tell she’s American by the way she say’s hello” in a very condescending manner. I had to charge my ipod on the computer and I went down to do that. When the Poles started chatting to me I apologized for offending them with the way in which I said hello. They looked at each other all thinking that I could speak Polish. They stuck to English and had nothing negative to say around me after that.

Even though the day had just been on a bus I was pretty tired. The only thing on tv was Animal Planet so I watched that until I fell asleep.

Make it Work

2009-09-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Day 556
My alarm went off at 3:30 am. It really hurt. I packed up my bags out in the hallway and walked the short distance to the bus station. It wasn’t far, but it’s always a bit eerie to be out at this time with all the empty streets. Soon I was on a bus headed to Podgorica, I had never heard of it before, but this is the capital of Montenegro.

About 3 hours later I was in Podgorica. There wasn’t a bus to Pristina until 8 pm. I had a very long wait in front of me. There is nothing, and I mean, nothing to do in Podgorica. First I finished my book, then I started to get my blog up to date. I’ve been pretty good about it lately and there just wasn’t all that much to write. I also got my haircut. Every little bit I would move to a different café.

Eventually I had nothing left to read or to write. I wandered for a long time before I found the only internet café in the city. After about 2 hours there the power went out. I still had 3 hours left to kill.

I wandered back to the bus station and sat there trying not to sleep. I was beyond exhausted and I really needed a shower. A night bus was going to be torture, but at least I was tired enough to sleep thru most of it.

About 10 minutes before the bus was meant to leave I went to the desk to grab my things that I had checked all day and to find out what platform my bus would be at as it wasn’t posted. This is when I found out that the bus was canceled, had been all day. I got my money back but I didn’t get an apology or anything, just a stay in a hotel or go to Belgrade, the complete opposite direction.

After throwing a bit of a fit and started walking. I was so beyond tired at this point that I was having real issues carrying my bag and staying calm. The first hotel I came to was way too expensive but the guy working there was really nice and understood my predicament. He called a place that was further out of town but cheaper and then called me a cab. While I waited for the cab I picked up a bottle of wine. I figured I deserved it.

The room was still expensive but I had free fast internet and my own room and bathroom. I called my Mom and chatted for a bit and then called Edward. Eventually I was too tired to go on and simply went to my room and passed out.

Stupidity

2009-09-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Day 555

I was up early for a bus. All of my entries seem to start this way lately. I should really just copy and paste that line. As I walked to the bus station the morning call to worship began and I was reminded that not only was I in the Muslim area of BH, but of the call to worship I first heard, several years ago in Amman, Jordan. It scared the hell out of me, causing me to sit straight up in bed and I was unable to fall asleep afterwards. This time, walking alone in the dark, the noise was almost comforting.

On the bus the ticket checker said that I had the wrong ticket. I got really angry because the woman had sold me the wrong thing and I had to change money with some nice tourists on the bus who had Euros, I was all out. Later on I looked more closely at my tickets. The woman hadn’t exactly sold me the wrong ticket; she had just sold me one from Dubrovnik to Kotor, not from Mostar. Did she think that I planned on walking there? What freaking moron!

The ride was rather annoying because the cost is in BH and Croatia. We had to have our passports checked every few miles. Luckily they didn’t stamp every time or I would have no space left in my passport at all. I was really happy to finally get into Montenegro and for the passport checking to come to an end.

Soon I was in Kotor, Montenegro, a whole new country for me. Kotor is a really cute walled town with some castle ruins sitting above it. Pretty much everyone who comes here treks up to it. I am way too lazy and it was way too hot out for me to be bothered with it. Instead I got some lunch and wandered the town.

Laundry at the hostel was cheap and I was glad to finally have some clean clothes. The guy at the hostel told me that there was no way that I could go to Pristina for at least 3 days. This did not work with my itinerary so I went to the bus station myself to see what my chances were. It was there that I found out that I could make it the next day.

Back at the hostel I waited forever for my clothes to dry. They had a dryer, it was just taking forever. I had wanted to shower when I had clean clothes, but it was about midnight when this happened and there wasn’t any water. The guy at the front desk told me that it was often turned off at night. The toilet wouldn’t even flush! How is this normal or even something that should happen!

I went to bed dirty but with clean clothes for the morning.

Bridges

2009-09-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Day 554
Up early again I got a ride to the bus station and headed to Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina. I slept thru most of the ride but managed to wake up when we entered the town. The buildings were still bullet riddled.

At the bus station I was met by the mother daughter team that ran the hostel. A free ride is always nice. I was lucky enough to get my own room again.

Once my things were put down I headed to Stari Most, the old bridge and most important site in Mostar. The bridge had been built by the Turks in the 16th century and the destroyed in 1993 by the Bosnian Croats despite UNESCO protection. Most of the town was also destroyed.

Even though the city still bore deep wounds, the bridge and old cobble stoned streets had been meticulously restored. Interestingly most of the stones in the bridge are original; they were brought up from the bottom of the river. It was really beautiful, but totally over crowded, even worse than Dubrovnik. The touristy area was much smaller though.

After about two hours of crowd fighting I bought my bus ticket and then went back to the hostel to lie down.

I didn’t venture out again until after dinner. The crowds were gone and the streets pleasant. Despite my nap I was still exhausted when I got back I quickly fell asleep.

Moving Fast

2009-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

Day 553

I was up stupid early to get a bus to Dubrovnik. Five hours and a nap later I was there. All the hostels were full so I went with private accommodation and ended up at a nice place. It was rather far though. Luckily I got free rides to and from the bus station.

As soon as I had dropped off my things I headed to the old city. I think it took me almost an hour to walk there. It was rather hot out. When I found the tourist info place I picked up a map and spent some time in the air con online.

A lot, and I mean a lot, of cruise ships dock here for day trips. The place was miserably crowded. I wandered the thin streets and took pictures. I visited a simple church, but didn’t have anything to cover my shoulders so I wasn’t allowed in the one that is mean to have baby Jesus’ diaper. All of the cruise people had doorway issues. They could walk into a doorway, but they never seemed to be able to walk out of one. It was extremely annoying.

The city wall walk was much the same. A bunch of rude tourists who should be stripped of their passports were there. Despite the rude people the walk was quite nice.

I decided to take the bus back to my hotel. I got really lost though and I just made it back in time to get to the supermarket for dinner.

After making my dinner I read in my room for a bit and then called it a night.

Finally No Alarm

2009-09-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Day 552
It was amazing to get to sleep in after all the recent crazy early mornings. The cleaning lady kept turning on and off the lights at 9 am though. It was rather distracting. When I did wake up I went for breakfast and a wander.

Split really was like stepping back in time. Croatia seems to have a theme of that. The streets in the old town were pedestrian only and really nice for wandering. It was also not over crowded. Split is here the Roman Emperor Diocletian used to summer. Most of the old city is his open air palace.

My first stop was the world’s oldest Catholic Church. The structure was originally Diocletian’s mausoleum. This is really sorta funny because one of his favorite pastimes was to slaughter Christians. The inside was beautiful but rather small. I decided against walking up the wonky staircase for a view from the tower. I was actually just being really lazy.

After lunch and some more aimless wandering I went to the underground chambers. These were built during Roman times and were used until the middle ages. They were then abandoned and filled in with dirt and garbage. Some of the rooms have still not been cleared. It was really quite fascinating.

At this point I was bored and headed back to the hostel to watch movies. Later on I headed out to buy my bus ticket for the next day and to get dinner. When I got back to the hostel I showered and packed. I had to be up early and didn’t want to wake the others in my room.

Back in Time

2009-09-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Day 551

I was once again up stupid early and headed to the bus station. The bus was almost empty and I slept for quite a bit of it.

As soon as I arrived to Zadar I bought my onward ticket and put my bags into storage. It took me about 20 minutes to walk to the center of the old Roam city. My guidebook said that it was like time travel and it was.

A quick stop at the tourist office told me that I had only about 30 minutes to see the best of the churches before they closed for the afternoon. My first stop was the Church of St. Simeon. I had a bottle of coke with me and instead of telling me to leave it outside he just yelled at me to get out. He actually screamed! I would have thought that only nice people could work at churches. I put my coke down by the door and he gave me dirty looks as I walked in, but he couldn’t prevent me this time. The church wasn’t even all that impressive. There were some bits of old mosaics and a golden coffin for some saint, but that was it.

My next church was an old round Roman one. No one said anything about my coke. There just wasn’t much to look at on the inside.

I then picked up lunch and spend some time online organizing a place to stay for the night and photos. I ended up waiting out some rain as well.

When the rain had gone I wondered the small streets just enjoying being transported back in time. I stopped at the sea organ for some time. I’m not sure if it’s the wind or the water, but the melancholy sounds float up from beneath the dock. I made a few attempts to record it, but the wind was too loud.

When I had finished wandering I sat in a café and drank some tea while writing in my journal. I was at the bus station early and managed to get an earlier bus. Soon I was on my way to Split and in about 3.5 hours I was there. Once again the directions to the hostel sucked and I only made it there because one of the souvenir vendors gave me a map for free.

The hostel was really weird. The common room and the computers were in the bedroom. I was really exhausted but there were people partying in the room next door and I could hear everything. Sleep was difficult.

No Punches Back

2009-09-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Day 550
I was up stupid early again and packed quickly. The cab was waiting for me when I got outside. I had no problems making my train, it was actually the same one from the day before, just to its end destination this time.

When the passport person came on board she asked me how long I have been traveling. I tried to say that I started in the EU in Bratislava, but she only cared that I had been in Slovenia for just one day. The Croatian person didn't care about anything.

Once in Zagreb I hopped on a tram and soon was at my hostel. After checking in I headed right back out. There was a lot to see.

I didn't get far though. About three minutes after pulling out the tram to a sudden stop. It threw people not holding on tightly and an elderly woman fell out of her chair. It wasn't until we started moving again that I could see that the tram had h it an orange VW beetle. This is the second time that I've been in a public transport accident, the first was in Italy 6 years ago.

The main square was nice, but there were too many advertisements on the nice buildings. Everyone seemed really friendly as well. I felt zero desire to go to a museum so I checked out the church and just sort of wandered around the different parts of town. There is something different about Croatia, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

I eventually sat down to a traditional lunch before buying a bus ticket for the next morning. I think that the rest of the travel done on this trip will be all by bus. Back at the hostel I laid down for an hour before going back out and buying some dinner. The hostel had a descent move collection and I watched a few before calling it a night.

Say that 3 times fast

2009-09-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

Day 549

When I disembarked in Ljubljana my tiredness felt like a veil. I called the recommended cab company and in a few minutes they were there. When I got to the hostel I rang the bell and thought that they weren't there. I had emailed them my arrival time and they had confirmed that it was ok so I was a bit annoyed. But I didn't need to be because the guy soon let me in. I spent and hour hanging out in the basement online while I waited to check in. At 8 am breakfast was served and after eating I was able to sleep for a few hours.

When I woke up I went for a wander. The down town area was really cute. I was disappointed to see that the Franciscan church was closed. The parliament building had some really weird statues on the outside of it.

It was Monday and everything was closed except for the National Museum, the only one I wanted to see. There had been a large Roman presence here, well there has been a lot of different groups here and they left about 900 castles. Also tv arrived in 1958.

When I was done at the museum I walked along the Ljubljanica river. This was really a beautiful little place. The pretty St. Nicholas Cathedral was also disappointingly shut. The dragon bridge was really cool though. I thought that I'd get a dragon souvenir, but they were all quite expensive.

Before heading back to the hostel I spent some time writing in my journal. I also picked up some food at the supermarket. After cooking dinner I watched some tv but called it an early night. I had another early morning to look forward to.

Alone Again

2009-09-13T01:05:00.000-07:00

Day 548
We didn't have a lot of time so we packed quickly and put our things in storage before heading out for breakfast. We went to a bagel place that we had found the day before. I miss bagels. They are just so good in NYC.

There wasn't anything on our to do list so we just wandered a bit until lunch and then passed the last bit of time over beers at an Irish pub.

It was really sad saying goodbye, but at least I know that it won't be long until I am in London. I was re ally surprised at how fast the weekend had gone.

When Edward got in the cab I walked to the train station. It took 30 minutes for my number to be called and I became worried that I would miss my train. When I finally had a ticket I bought some food and then changed the rest of the money. I slept most of the way to Vienna. Once in Vienna I bought an onward ticket to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The first train was about 5 hours long and I had to stay awake to get off at Saltzburg. It was freezing, even inside when I was waiting for my next train. Almost a soon as I sat down I fell into a restless sleep. Sitting is never comfortable. About two hours before the train arrived I got the compartment to myself and could stretch out. For unknown reasons I never managed to fall asleep.

The Church

2009-09-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Day 547
Today we slept in later, but it didn't make my feet feel any better and I think Edward felt the same. Instead of walking we took the metro the same same place we had found it the night before. It had looked like a nice area and we soon found a place for breakfast.

Neither of us felt much like walking so we just wandered over to the Cathedral. It wasn't nearly as impressive as I remember it being the last time around. I guess that I've just seen a lot more churches now.

We then sat down at a near by cafe and had some beers before heading back to the hotel. We both knew that if we stayed out all day again that we wouldn't go out at night.

After a bit of a rest we went out for a really nice dinner complimented with fireworks. I have no idea why. We then headed to the Marxism Cafe, a place that I had gone to last time. It's decorated with a communist motif. That might have been obvious though. We did get pretty lost finding it though. Edward had been joking that my clumsiness has worn off on him and I think that his inability to read a map has worn off on me! After a few drinks we had the bartender call us a cab as it was too late for the metro and went back to the hotel.

Don't Wine!

2009-09-11T00:35:00.000-07:00

Day 546
We were up early and set out to find some breakfast. This was a lot more difficult than you would think. We ended up in a very touristy area with omelets that were advertised as English breakfasts.

We then headed across the river and up a funicular to the caste area. By the time we got to the top we had been walking for about 3 hours and needed a break. We sat down for water but beer was cheaper, so we had some beers instead.

I was here six years ago and did the Castle Labyrinth. I remember being absolutely scared out of my mind and wanted to see if it was still that bad. Edward seemed surprised that I had done it alone before and so was I. Even with two of us it was still scary. There were weird statues spread around and creepy music. At one point there is a completely dark room. We didn't read the directions so we didn't know that we were meant to follow a string around the edge. Instead we just sort of bumped into things in the dark until Edward turned on his phone light. It really didn't help that we kept trying to make each other jump as well.

We then headed to the History Museum and stumbled on a wine festival. We bought wrist bands and tickets and tried a few different wines before going into the Art Museum. The museum wasn't that great, we never even made it to the History Museum. There was a huge number of booths to choose from and we took turns picking different kinds of wine. I meant to get some bulls blood wine but forgot to. I really should have written down what I tried as well, I doubt that much of it is exported.

As it grew later we decided to head back to the hotel. We walked and walked and right when we thought we must be very close. We checked the map. Neither of us could figure out how in the world we ended up where we did. That always worries me. Luckily we were right next to the metro line we needed and were able to get back to the hotel quickly. My feet were killing me from all the walking and I walk a lot, every day. I can't imagine how sore Edward must have been.

By the time we got back we had been out for about 12 hours. We decided to watch the only thing on tv, the BBC and drink the wine I had bought in Vac the day before.

I See Dead People

2009-09-10T00:28:00.000-07:00

Day 545
I woke up around 6 am needing to use the toilet I was in shock when I looked over and saw that the guy in the bunk bed next to mine had, um, fallen out of his underwear if you catch my drift. I had problems sleeping after that and had to be out by 9 am anyway so I just packed and showered and put my things in storage.

After a short walk I was at the train station and soon headed to Vac. I was sleepy but determined to not miss my stop. On the way I passed a town called God. The walk into town wasn't very impressive, but the main square was ever so cute.

After picking up some info I headed to the White Friars Church crypt, my reason for coming here. In 1995 during renovations a forgotten crypt was untethered. There were 262 coffins, mostly form the mid 18th century. They were opened and it turned out that the bodies had been naturally preserved. The exhibition is called Memento Mori. I thought that I would see all the coffins and several mummies, but only about 12 coffins were on display and 3 mummies. The coffins were very brightly painted. One of the mummies was male, the other female. There was also a child whose hands were amazing well preserved. The rest of the exhibit was about 18th century funerals and things that had been found with the bodies.

After popping my head into the church I found that the next museum I wanted to visit didn't open for a few hours. I grabbed some lunch and then went to the internet cafe to do some work.

I then went to the Wine Museum. This is basically a restaurant with a lot of old, never opened, wine bottles on display. It would have been a nice place to have dinner at. The kind woman working there let me try a handful of wines and I ended buying a bottle, I sort of felt obliged after how nice she had been.

When I was done I headed back to Budapest. This time I couldn't keep my eyes opened and only woke up because an elderly woman tapped me on the shoulder and told me that we had arrived. Well, I think that's what she said, I don't speak Hungarian. After some dinner I went to the other train station to try and figure out how to get to my next destination. The information woman was very unhelpful, even for Eastern Europe, and just told me to go to Vienna. I guess she felt that I would be Austria's problem then.

I had several more hours to kill until Edward arrived from London. I found a great internet cafe and watched movies. I was too excited to do any work. When I knew that his plane had landed I headed back to the hostel to pick up my things. I had planned on sitting there for another half hour but the girl at reception wanted to sleep so I would have had to sit in the dark. I just asked her to call me a cab and went to the hotel that we were meeting at.

I really can imagine what I looked like to those people. I'd been out all day and although it wasn't hot it wasn't cool either so I must of just looked messy. On top of that I'm lugging around a rather worn looking bag, I am definitely the definition of a ratty backpacker at this point. Knowing this I ignored the looks I got from the guys at reception as I asked if Edward had arrived yet. I knew that he hadn't, I just wanted them to know why I was waiting there. Despite them knowing this security still came over and made me confirm that I was staying at the hotel and not just trying to sleep there for the night.

When Edward walked in about 15 minutes later he came over and gave me a big hug and kiss before even checking in. When he went to check in the guys at reception apparently said asked "if the woman was with him." I know that I'm a backpacker but I have feelings too! Most of the time I don't even smell and I don't look like my address is 1234 brown cardboard box, corner of destitute and hopeless. Plus I used to stay at really nice places when I traveled for work.

Even though it hadn't been that long it was so nice to see a familiar face. It was nice to not be traveling alone, even if it was just for a few days.

Moving On

2009-09-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

Day 544
My train wasn't until 3 pm so I puttered about the hostel doing a lot of nothing before heading out.

Around 3 I got my act together and took a train to Budapest. Due to massive amounts of construction I couldn't see the metro and ended up walking to my hostel, it wasn't far. After dropping off my things I went to check my email and took the stairs down instead of the elevator. A guy called out to me and asked if I had any cigarettes. He seemed surprised when I said that I don't smoke. Apparently had had made his wife angry and she had locked him in the apartment!

After checking my email I picked up some dinner and spent the evening at the hostel watching movies on my ipod. It wasn't a busy or sociable place so there wasn't anyone else to chat with.

Strange But True

2009-09-08T00:15:00.000-07:00

Day 543
I let myself waste time before getting up and showering. Once breakfast was over I went out to get some pictures of the last few things I hadn't seen yet. Pecs is really a lovely place. I'm really glad that I decided to hang out here longer than intended. I'm skipping a few places, but I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

When I was done wandering I headed to the internet cafe to type.

I ended up eating dinner at the same time as an Aussie couple and a Canadian. Suddenly the guy who worked at the hostel, and maybe owned it, came in. He had been missing all day. It turned out that his wife had had twins. We all congratulated him, but couldn't really figure out why he was even at work. Then we headed to a bar and ran into him having drinks with his friends, very strange.

Catch Up

2009-09-07T00:11:00.000-07:00

Day 542
Today was Monday which meant that nothing was open. The closed museums didn't really help the situation either.

I eventually ended up at the mall for lunch and for more journal updating. I really want to get to the point that I'm up to date before heading to London. I just don't think that I'll want to do a whole lot of work on it while I'm there and I know that I'll have real issues when I get back to the States. The other journals I've kept were never finished until my next trip began! Maybe this time is different though because I feel like I'm ready to stop traveling and I always just wanted to keep going before. The trips were much shorter.

After a few hours of writing and went and did some typing and photo organizing. That evening I did the same things as the previous nights. As today was rather boring I thought that I should show you how big my bag has gotten in the last 18 months!

Long, Long Ago

2009-09-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Day 541
After some breakfast I headed out to explore the town. Pecs is by far the cutest place and most unique city I've been to in some time. I soon decided to stay here longer than I had originally planned.

I decided to spend the day visiting several early Christian burial grounds spread around the city. The first was called Cella Septichora and was the largest. A lot of it was just the remains of walls and empty graves. However, there were a handful of well preserved fresco's to check out. The second site was called Okereszteny Mausoleum and was quite small. It was all murals though and really cool. At the third and fourth places there was only one ticket checker and one of the sites was down the street. It was kinda cool to get a private tour. There wasn't much to see though. One of the sites had two sets of skeletal remains, one was a child, and the other some simple paintings.

Next up was the cathedral. It was quite pretty and I enjoyed the baroque carvings. There was a odd newness about it. In fact, as much as I like Pecs there is a odd newness to it all. They are redoing the whole town because next year it will be Europe's capital of culture. This means that half of the museums are shut and that the main square is all dug up. It's going to look beautiful though!

While I had been waiting for my lunch the day before I had done a lot of writing in my journal. I sat down and typed a lot of it up at an internet cafe before heading back and making myself dinner.

I spent the evening drinking wine and hanging out with the other people in the hostel.

Choices

2009-09-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Day 540
When the train pulled into Budapest at 6 am I had a lot of thinking to do. I was also very hungry as I didn't get dinner the night before. But that would have to wait.

I went thru my guidebook and luckily there was an open internet cafe. After finding a place to stay I went to by a ticket. Once again I was running for the stupid train. I had just enough time to grab a danish before boarding. There wasn't much to chose from. I felt really bad for the other people in my compartment. I know that I smelled really bad. I slept thru most of the ride though.

Once arriving to Pecs I took the bus but still had to walk quite a ways to the hostel. By the time I found it I was drenched again. Luckily the guy who worked there understood that I needed a shower before checking in and getting a tour. Its really amazing how wonderful a shower can make you feel sometimes.

I was famished, that danish hadn't been very filling. I went to a nearby restaurant and got a lot of food. It was really yummy, but the service was a bit slow. I ended up getting a lot of writing done. Afterwords I tried to wander around the town but I was really beat. I ended up back at the hostel to take a nap.

When I woke up I went to the supermarket and got some food and wine. After dinner I was watching movies on my ipod waiting for my clothes to finish in the dryer when I met two nice German girls. The three of us ended up going out for beers at a nearby bar. We came back to the hostel a bit late, but we had a good time so it was worth it.

Rush, Rush

2009-09-04T23:47:00.000-07:00

Day 539
I was up early and packed my bags quickly and put them in storage. On the way to the train station I picked up some breakfast. I got lucky because the line at the station wasn't long. My train took off about 10 minutes late and arrived to Novi Sad about 20 minutes late all together.

I didn't have a map, but luckily wandered the right way and then the first person I asked directed me the rest of the way. I picked up a map from the tourist office and then grabbed some lunch while I planned out my day.

I then headed across the bridge to Petrovaradin Fortess. Before heading up the massive hill I wandered around the cute streets right below the structure. Actually, I couldn't figure out how to get up there. Once I was up in the fortress I just sorta wandered around. None of the museums were very attractive to me. There was a mother dog and a puppy. I don't know if they were stray, she seemed to friendly to be a stray, but too skinny at the same time. She seemed to be begging me for food but I had nothing to give her. I felt really bad, but I don't think that feeding a possible stray is very smart, I think its best to just stay away.

I then went to check out the Lojvodina Museum, it was meant to be really good. The sign on the front said that it would reopen in September. The last time I checked it was September and it was still closed, bummer. Instead I ended up killing some time in an i-cafe before heading to the train station.

For unknown reasons the train I wanted was canceled for the day so I had to wait for another one. This meant that I would have 1.5 hours between arrival and when my night train departed. I spent the extra time working on my journal.

The train arrived a bit late but I didn't worry until it stopped short because someone tried to jump off and kill himself. I then fell asleep. When I woke up I realized that we were very late. Apparently there was some construction on the lines that was slowing everything down. When we got back to Belgrade I had 12 minutes to get my things from the hostel and then get back to the train station. It took 7 minutes each way to walk to the station.

I ran like I haven't run since high school. When I got to the hostel I was so out of breath all I could get out was ˝train late, train soon, bags˝. Luckily I was understood. I then ran with my bags faster than I thought possible. I jumped on the train and when I had walked down the aisle and gotten to my compartment it departed. I had made it by about 30 seconds. One of the women in my compartment told me that that is was the only train in the country that ran on time.

I was drenched from running and hungry as there wasn't a restaurant car and no time for dinner. I was able to find a plug though so I could charge my ipod. The cabin was stifling and I couldn't sleep, it was warmer than India was. I ended up out in the hallway for a long time. When we got to the Serbian boarder and the passport control people turned on the lights the guy on the bed across from me and I played with the air con dials, it turned out that someone had fixed it backwards at some point and even though it said it was on high it was on low. After the Hungarian boarder crossing I was finally able to get a bit of sleep.

Just Desserts

2009-09-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Day 539
I woke up naturally around 6 am, but felt no need to be up at this time and fell back to sleep until I was woken up by the drunken snoring of the annoying Canadian guy. I did manage to miss the train that I had wanted to take.

Instead of my day trip I spent some time online. This was when I found out that the Canadian and a Scot had had a rakia drinking contest at 9 am and had both passed out at the table. It took two of the hostel workers to carry them to their beds. Just as she was finishing up her story the Canadian walked into the room with blood all over his face from falling of of the bed. He then went into the bathroom and fell asleep. The Scot was passed out on another toilet. I think that they both lost the game.

After chatting with an American who was on his 98th country I headed to the fortress. I had been here before and just wanted to see how much it had changed. I considered the Nicola Tessa museum, but never made it. It was beyond hot out and I just couldn't be bothered. I ended up at the internet cafe for a bit before calling it a day.

When I went back to the hotel the Canadian guy was still on the toilet, it had been about 7 hours. When he came to he was proud of his dumb ass behavior.

After dinner I watched movies with a few others including Bruno. It was petty stupid. I think he was just seeing what he could do and still get a laugh, most of it was just dumb.

Hot

2009-09-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

Day 538
I was up early and packed quickly. I had an early bus to Belgrade. The ride was uneventful as I slept thru most of it.

This was my second time in Belgrade and I had picked a hostel very close to the train station. At first I thought that I would wander around for a bit and see what had changed, but it was just too hot. I ended up at an internet cafe with super slow internet.

Eventually I ended up back at the hostel to shower and watch movies. After dinner I joined a large group of people for drinks at the hostel.

I was doing the normal backpacker meet and great (aka backpacker hell) explaining my back story and answering the same questions. This time I had a different answer for one of the questions, when would I be going home. I had just booked my ticket home about an hour before and I was finally able to say October 20, and yes, I was very very excited. A jack ass 19 year old Canadian guy who heard that I had been on the road for just about 18 months at this point and that I was happy to see the end actually said "well, travel isn't for everyone." Travel isn't for you, ass hole! Luckily he went out with a group of people while I stayed in and chatted for a bit longer before calling it a night.

Finally

2009-09-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

Day 537
When I woke up I decided to forget the bus and walked for about 1.5 hours to see the thing I came here to see.

In 1809, when Serbia was under Ottoman control, there was an uprising in which 10,000 Turks were klled. To punish the Serbs the Turks had 959 heads of the Serbs killed in battle built into a tower. Over the centures some people made off with the skull and there are only about 50 left in situ. This is one of hte creepyist things I have sver seen. You really have to see it ot believe it. I've seen a lot of creepy things on this trip, but this about takes the cake. I took a load of pictures.

When I was done I had some Serbian bbq from a roadside stand and then headed back to the hostel. I could have left for Belgrade, but I was being lazy. I also meant to write in my journal, but ended up taking a nap instead. After dinner I watched a movie online and then called it an early night.

Dissapointed

2009-08-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Day 536
When I woke up I went to the small market thing a few doors down and bough some eggs for breakfast. By the time I was ready to go to the city center the guy who owned the hostel said that he would come with me and show me around a bit. We had to wait some time for the bus, but it eventually came. We walked around the 18th century Nis fort. This is really just an overgrown park with random ruins it it and some cafes.

After picking up a map at the tourist office he went back to the hostel and I headed to the site I had come here to see. It was closed as it was Monday. This made me very angry and meant that I had nothing to do for the day. I picked up some food at a supermarket and then took a cab back to the hostel. The whole bus thing was just so confusing. I took a nap and then got up to eat. I watched a movie on the computer for a bit. Eventually the guy who owned the hostel and some of his friends had a bbq in the back yard and invited me to join them. It was really yummy and they were really nice guys. Around 2 am I went to sleep.

Keep Off!

2009-08-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

Day 535
I'd had some crazy dreams the night before, including one that I thought I was awake at 4 pm. It was actually 8 when I got up. After showering and some breakfast I headed out to see the town.

My first stop was the city art gallery. It was a nice collection, but really quite small. All of the paintings were by Bulgarian artists. I actually hadn't meant to go there, I thought it was the icon gallery. That turned out to be a few doors up the road. The nice woman working there let me take pictures even though it wasn't really allowed. It was a small collection, but really quite nice.

I then popped into the St. Constantine and St. Elena Church. A little girl was being baptized and she was not happy. They stripped her down to nothing and then stuck her right in the baptismal font. I would have been just as unhappy as she was if someone did that to me. The most interesting bits were the fresco's, but no photos were allowed.

It was hot out and I had been walking uphill all day. I was really happy when it as time to head back down the hill. I spent some more time online before going back to the hostel. I had them call me a cab and it cost 3 leva, that guy the day before was really trying to rip me off!

The train was packed and I worried that I wouldn't get a seat, but I managed to find one. Once in Sofia I bought a ticket to Nis, Serbia. I tried to spend the rest of my Bulgarian money but couldn't. I should have exchanged it, but hindsight is 20/20. When I boarded the train and went to my assigned seat there were two men in the compartment who had obviously been drinking. The bigger of the two men did not want me in that compartment for some reason or another and shoved me out of it several times. I just started screaming, I don't know what. Well it was probably something like that's my seat and you can't touch me with profanities thrown in. A woman from a near by compartment came first and then the conductor. He made the man let me sit down. I was getting really dirty looks and feeling uncomfortable when the guy lit up a cigarette. I pointed to the no smoking sign. He didn't care. The conductor walked by outside and I motioned to him that the man was smoking. The conductor made him go outside and then moved them to a different compartment. The train wasn't even in motion and it was an eventful ride for me.

Once I crossed the boarder into Serbia a mother and her 10 year old daughter got on the train. I don't think that the little girl had ever seen an ipod before (I was watching a movie) and sat next to me and screamed "tv" when she saw what was on the screen. I gave her one of the ear phones and put on Shrek, she liked that for a while but wanted to play with it herself. We ended up watch the Simpsons before she wanted to listen to music. She was very disappointed with my collection though, she asked if I had any Hannah Montana!

When I got to Nis it was one am. The near by atm didn't work and it took me about 30 minute to get a cab. At least the guy understood that I needed to go to an atm first. He didn't know where the hostel was though and wasted quite a bit of money looking for it. At one point he was even looking on the wrong street. I didn't tip him. I was happy to finally get to where I was going after such an eventful evening. I was even happier when I found out that I had the room to myself again!

Still Lazy

2009-08-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

Day 534
I could have gotten a very early train but then I would have missed the yummy free breakfast. Also, my jackass roommates had come in really late and made a huge amount of noise keeping me up half the night. Also, my next stop was quite small and I was sure that I could see it all in one day if necessary. When I did get up I was really grossed out to find that someone had puked in one of the showers. I bet it was one of my drunk roommates! Luckily there were other showers to choose from. I was feeling like being annoying due to my lack of sleep and packed as loudly as possible. I got some dirty looks, but I didn't really care.

After a few hours on the train I was in Plovdiv. I thought that I would just get a cab but the guy tried to charge me 10 leva, way too much so I just got the bus instead. The directions to the hostel were quite bad so I ended up finding the tourist info office first and they directed me in the right way.

I was feeling lazy, big surprise there, and decided to just find the internet cafe. It was located in the middle of the remains of a Roman amphitheater. That was pretty cool! I also got to chat with some friends from home.

When I got back to the hostel I was really excited to find out that I would be having the room to myself, hip hip hooray for no loud and snoring drunk people!

Out of Time

2009-08-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

Day 533
The internet had not been working at the hostel the night before or this morning. After my very yummy free breakfast I found myself and internet cafe. I really needed to find out some train times. When I found an internet cafe it was 8:20, the train I wanted was 8:30, I couldn't do my day trip.

Instead I decided to visit the St. Georgy Church. This was the only thing I had wanted to visit last time and wasn't able to. This was an early Christian church built in the 4th century by the Romans. I think that the last time I was here they were having some sort of electricity problem. The fresco's inside were definitely worth waiting for. It's just too bad that I wasn't able to take any pictures.

With the church finished I wandered aimlessly for some time before just going to an internet cafe to screw around. I do remember that I worked on organizing some photo's as well. I had a lot to do.

I then went back to the hostel for a short nap and the free dinner. There wasn't a whole lot going on in the common room so I ended up just sitting there and watching movies before going to sleep.

Rila-ality

2009-08-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

Day 532
The cold woke me up several times. I was about to give up and just get my warm pj bottoms out when I realized that the train would arrive in just about ten minutes. Once I got off the train I hopped on the tram and then got myself so lost that I had to get a cab for an insanely short distance. At least the guy understood that I was just really turned around.

At the hostel I got lucky and was able to get on that days tour of the Rila Monastery, the reason I had returned to Sofia. After hanging out for a few hours I got in a car with a nice Aussie couple and away we went. Our first stop was a small chapel in the wood above the monastery. This is where a monk named John, that founded the monastery had lived his life. Well, he lived in a cave and the small chapel is built next to it. We then went to look at this tiny cave. To exit the cave you have to squeeze thru an extremely small hole. I just about got stuck. After no sleep spelunking had really not been on my to do list for the day.

Once our foray into the woods was over we went to Rila Monestery. This is thought of as Bulgaria's Jerusalem. The monastery was founded in the 10th century, but the current buildings date back only to the 19th century. It was really quite beautiful and I explained the different paintings to anyone who would listen. There was another car of three people and all 6 of us pretty much stuck together. As nice as the monastery was after wandering around for about 20 minutes we had seen it all. The 6 of us had a really good lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading back. I slept for the entire ride.

The hostel I was staying at was the same one that I had stayed at 5 years ago when I was here. I hadn't been able to go to my room before, but moved my things as soon as I got back. I then showered and took a bit of a nap. At 7 pm the hostel had its free beer and spaghetti dinner. I ended up chatting with some of the other people at my table. We spent the evening hanging out at the hostel with uber cheap beers.

Train Time

2009-08-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

Day 532
I was up early and quickly packed my bags before getting a cab to the train station. My plan was to get a night train to Sofia. I got a ticket, but not a couchette.

During the ride to Bucharest (a places I've been before and am skipping on this trip) I chatted with some of the other passenger and ended up grabbing lunch with a guy getting to take Romania's equivalent to the Bar exam. I then headed to an internet cafe to was the rest of the time. I could have cut it closer with the train time, but after the debacle in Budapest I decided not to.

Not have a bed was pretty terrible and I didn't get much sleep. At least I wasn't seated near the toilet because it smelled really rank on that side!

Will the real Dracula please stand up?

2009-08-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

Day 531
I was up early but still had to rush to get my act together. I shouldn't have bothered though, the tour left late.

The first leg of the journey brought us to Rasnov Castle. Unfortunately due to a dispute of ownership the museum and a few other exhibits were closed. There was, however, the remains of what was once an exceedingly deep well. Legend has it that it was dug by 2 Turkish prisoners over 17 years. By the remains of the church several skeletons were found. For unknown reasons they put one of them on display in the dungeon. That seems sort of mean to me.

After some lunch we stopped at Bran Castle. This is where everyone thinks Dracula lived. It's not. Bran is in Transylvania, Vlad ruled Walacia. His castle is much more difficult to get to and in ruins. Bran is in great shape. The castle was occupied the Romanian rulers until they were forced out of the country by the communists. The castle is decorated in the style that they had left it in.

Our last stop was Peles Palace, finished just in time for WWI and the dissolution of the ruling family. It was totally over the top. The place had neon Murano glass chandeliers for heavens sake! Every room had ornate carvings. It was still impressive, but somehow cheap looking. I think that the attempt to copy older palaces made it that way. It was like a Disney castle. Plus, the tour guide spoke very quietly and with a funny accent. He mispronounced words in really odd ways like knob-els for nobles and terkquaz for turquoise. The tour was worth it but the outside was definitely the most interesting part.

I spent the ride back chatting with a really nice Swiss girl. Later on I went with her and her boyfriend and a very odd Belgium guy out for dinner. The Belgian guy spent most of dinner talking about when he worked as a nude model in Japan. Not dinner conversation. Then at the end of the meal none of us had change. Just because of where he was standing the Belgian guy ended up with all the tip money that he then used to pay for his own meal! How annoying!

When we got back to the hostel I was pretty wiped out so I went quickly to sleep.

League of their Own

2009-08-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Day 530
I slept in because there wasn't much for me to do and I was still feeling a bit sick. It was Monday and everything was closed. I would have moved on, but I wanted to do a castle tour the following day.

Instead I planned on wandering aimlessly and check out the Black Church. The church was built between 1385 and 1477 by German merchants. It would have been finished earlier but there were some Turkish invasions. It was strange to see everything in German in Romania. I really wish that I could have taken pictures, it was really quite beautiful.

Brasov is definitely a cute little city, but I don't think that it's spectacular. During my few hours of wandering I felt like I was taking pictures that I already had. So many of the places that I have been recently look just the same. I remember Olomouc's in the CR, with all of the crazy things on the buildings, or the gnomes in Wroclaw, Poland. I haven't seen a city with something different in a long time. They just seem like collections of nicely redone streets.

When I was done I went back to the internet cafe and did I don't know what. At least it wasn't raining when I left this time.

After making myself some dinner I watched a few movies before calling it an early night.

Blinded

2009-08-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Day 529
I was feeling a bit better when I woke up. After breakfast I packed my bags and headed straight to the train station. I had to pass by the same gypsy kids that I hadn't given money to the day before and they were extra annoying.

The ride wasn't long and soon I was at Brasov. A short cab ride later I as at the hostel. The sign on the bedroom read "keep noise down after 10 pm so that everyone can have vampire dreams." I think mine will be full of Edward Cullen!

I was hungry for lunch and headed straight to the downtown area. Brasov is a very beautiful city that was just recently restored. It looks all spiffy and new.

After lunch I checked out the history museum but it wasn't very good. I think that I need to just stop going to these. When I was done I spent some time at the internet cafe. I may have done some blogging, I don't know though. I'm so far behind at this point that if I didn't take a picture of it I'm having problems remembering. At least I take a lot of pictures.

When I left the internet cafe it was pouring down rain. I was wearing my glasses and had the choice of rain drop covered glasses or blurry vision. Everything looked different in the dark and I was soaked thru. I couldn't find the hostel for anything. Finally I just asked the first person who walked by for help. It turned out to be one of the guys who was at the hostel in Suceava. He knew where we were and could read the street signs, I could not. He was very nice and walked me back to my hostel.

After putting on some dry clothes I made myself dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching movies in the common room with other guests.

Nap Time

2009-08-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

Day 528
I was up at 4 am and soon had the rest of my stuff together. The nice girl at reception called a cab for me and soon I was at the train station with just enough time to buy a ticket and grab breakfast before my train departed.

The train wasn't comfortable at all. An elderly man with a lot of brooms sat opposite of me and proceeded to stare at me, or my ipod, I'm not sure which. It was highly annoying though. I was happy when he got off. He was replaced by two gypsy kids who were smelly and rather loud. It also turned out that they didn't have tickets. When they were caught the conductors kicked them down the steps and then stood with them at the door until the next stop when they threw them off.

Romania has a huge gypsy population. The government and the EU have been spending loads of money to try and get them to integrate. The Roma just don't want to. Don't ever bring up gypsies to a Romanian unless you want to listen to a long and uncomfortable tirade about them. Even super friendly Monica was irritated with them. I think her irritation mostly stemmed from the government money wasted on them, she felt that if they don't want it that it should be put into a different area, like education. Monica also told me a story that happened about 20 years ago. She was at her grandparents farm picking fruit. A gypsy man came and stood at the edge of their land, her grandfather offered him food in exchange for work. The man refused saying that he would be spending the day with his hands in his pockets. Several months later, during the winter, that same man came begging for food. He was refused and told that if he had worked over the summer it wouldn't have been a problem. Madonna had a concert in Budapest a few days ago during which she made a comment about the Roma's plight. The audience booed her.

As for me, I don't know, the begging and the stealing is bad. I can understand having a desire to preserve one's culture, but they have been in the area for the last 700 years, it might be time to join the party that everyone else is at. I can understand though, how those kids I saw will grow up with the memory of being kicked down the stairs and who knows what else. I sure as hell wouldn't want to grow up to be like the man who did that so why should they?

When I got to Sighsoaura I was feeling sick and hungry. I also hadn't written down my hostel info. Luckily the guy at the tourist office let me use his computer to get it and I was soon there.

Sighsoaura is where Vlad Dracul, or Dracula, was born. It is a very cute little mountain town. There was some sort of festival going on and the streets were packed. My first stop was the History Museum. It wasn't very good and it was extremely crowded. At least there was a good view from the top.

I wandered the streets for a bit longer. I found the house Vlad had lived in as well as where he was born. It was really a cute little town. I also went to the torture museum, but it was a waste of time.

I still felt really ill so I went back to the hostel for a shower and to take a nap. When I woke up I felt a lot better. After some dinner I chatted with the other people at the hostel and played some pool before calling it a night.

Pointless

2009-08-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Day 527
Due to the Swedish asshole from the night before I didn't sleep well and woke up late and in a foul mood. After breakfast I checked my email at the hostel. As it had been dark there was no way for me to recognize the Swedish guy. I was hoping that he would recognize me though so that I could call him some more names. That never happened though.

Instead I headed out to see Cluj's pretty main square and cathedral. On the way to the history museum I picked up a hotdog for lunch. I had really wanted to see this museum, I had heard that it was quite good. It was the only reason I had stayed here today. It was, of course, closed for refurbishment. I'm so freaking sick of those words!

I was tired, sick and very irritated. I've been gone for a very long time now and the things that used to be minor irritants are really pissing me off now. Travel is less fun than it used to be. I think my goal at this point is just to finish Europe.

I ended up at a nice tea shop writing in my journal for some time. I then went to an internet cafe to type it up. When I was done I went back to the hostel to shower and pack. I also took a nap.

A few hours later I headed out for some food and back to the internet cafe to chat with some people from home. It was my dad's birthday and I wanted to give him a call.

When I got back to the hostel I went right to bed and watched movies on my ipod until I fell asleep. At one point one of the other people in the room came over and asked if I was ok. I told him that I was fine, that I just had a cold and thanked him for his concern. Luckily asshole Swedes are a minority of the people traveling.

Get Out!

2009-08-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Day 526
I was up early and Monica drove me to the train station as she was picking up some more people. The train ride was rather uncomfortable. I really should have taken the night train. The scenery was quite nice though.

When I got to Cluj a nice local helped me find the bus. I found the street but had written down the wrong address. Luckily there was an internet cafe right there and I was able to get the right address quickly.

I then grabbed some food and went to the internet cafe. I typed up the blog for some time before heading back to the hostel. I showered and laid down for a bit. I still had a head cold, but I didn't want it to stop me from going on the pub crawl that night.

A few hours later I left with a group of people for not really a pub crawl, but a hang out at a place for the evening that was up a really big hill. The group was small and everyone was really friendly and chatty. It was a really nice night out.

When I got back to the hostel I threw my purse on my bed, well on the Swedish guy who was sleeping in my bed. The asshole had checked out but decided at the last minute to stay and just took the bed he had the night before. I had a lot of stuff on the bed, mostly my pj's, contact stuff and ipod charger. All the things I would want to have easy access to when I got back late. He had just put them on the floor. Who the hell does that? After some name calling and a lot of foul language I had to face the facts. I didn't want to sleep in the bed that his stinky ass had been in. I had to move all of my things in the middle of the night to another room. I had slept in that bed earlier and I coughed and snotted all over that pillow. I hope that asshole catches my cold! This all comes back to the feeling that some travelers seem to have, that staying in a hostel gives you a free pass to behave badly.

Moving Fast

2009-08-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Day 525
I was up early and I had a lot to do. After some breakfast I headed right out.

After a short walk and about a gazillin steps I reached the statue of Stephan the Great. He was a king of some sort. I then headed to the citadel built in 1375. It was mostly a ruin, but still fun to explore. I also watched some guys practice on horses for a jousting match.

My next stop was the outdoor village museum. It had traditional homes from all over Romania. It was pretty good. I about had a heart attack when I walked into one of the houses. I hadn't expected to see manquins standing around a coffin with a dead manquin in it and wailing music playing in the back ground. My favorite was the church because I was able to take pictures in it.

After some lunch I made a stop at Biserica Domnitelor Church. It was very simple and pretty. This was followed by the Saint Damitru Church. It was very simple and pretty, the frescos on the outside were faded, but the ones inside we really very amazing. It was also nice to understand so much of the symbolism after the tour the day before.

I then headed to the history museum, it wasn't very good and nothing was in English. The folk museum was slightly better, however the basement was very creepy.

After some time on the internet (where I lost and then found my jacket) I made dinner at the hostel. That evening I chatted with the other people there before calling it a night.

Monastery Madness

2009-08-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

Day 524
I'm a bit of a dummie and I set my alarm for 9:45 instead of 8:45. Luckily I was up anyway's. I'd forgotten to buy breakfast food the day before so I quickly went to the market for some cereal. Just after 10 I got in a car with Monica, a Belgian couple and two Italian sisters. I rode shotgun.

Our first stop was a market where I picked up some pretty plates.

The first real stop was the Sucevita Monastery. The monasteries around Suceava are unique because they are painted both inside and out with murals. The first one was built in 1585. The frescos were amazing. One side depicted the hierarchy of the angels and saints as well as the life of virgin Mary. The best one was the ladder of virtue with angels helping people up and devils pulling them down.

Inside photography was forbidden. The fresco's were no less fascinating. It was amazing how vibrant they all were. Only a few panels had been retouched. In one of the rooms all the paintings were martyrs. It was really rather bloody. I also learned that St. George died a terrible death after slaying that dragon and saving the princess. He was sawed in half! Another interesting aspect of the monastery was that famous Greek and Roman philosophers that predated Christianity were depicted. Plato was show with a coffin on his head because he was the first person to have the idea of an everlasting soul.

After a short drive we arrived at Moldovista, built 1532. This one had a really amazing depiction of Constantinople being attached and not falling due to prayer.

The entrance to each of the monasteries depicts the last judgement. This one showed wild animals and sea creatures bringing back the bits of humans that they had eaten so that the resurrected people could be whole again. The souls were judged naked beneath the hand of god.

After some traditional food a nice restaurant we went to Vernet, built 1488. The blue of the south side apparently changes with the color of the sky. Here signs of the zodiac were with the last judgement fresco to represent sin. Monica, who is an excellent tour guide, explained an icon that I have seen many times but didn't get. It was of a woman dying with Jesus in the background holding a child. It is actually the death of the virgin Mary and Jesus is carrying her soul to heaven. The man who tried to tip her coffin was all shown with his hands removed by the Angel Gabrielle.

The last stop of the day was Humor, built 1530. It was the smallest and really quite similar to the others. However it had a beautiful garden around it.

The ride back took lass than an hour and I jumped rith into the shower. It had been a hot day. After some dinner and internet time I watched Animal Planet before calling it a night.

Wheels on the Bus

2009-08-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Day 523

I was up stupid early and packed my bags. Clarissa called a cab for me and soon I was at the bus station.

I thought I would just fall right back to sleep but it never really happened. I ended up just watching the scenery and listening to music.

Exiting Moldova didn't take long. Romania was a bit different. They were going thru everyone's bag, but when they saw my American passport they just waived me in.

When I got to Suceava a man on the bus tried to help me find a cab. It took some convincing him that I could walk, finally he left me alone. A few minutes later I was at the hostel.

High Class Hostel was run by super friendly Monica. When asked her to recommend a place for me to eat she asked if I would like some stuffed peppers, they were really yummy.

I then headed out for money and to see a bit of the town. Suceava is really quite small and it was late in the day so there wasn't much to do.

Back at the hostel I chatted with Monica for a bit and found out that the tour was on for the next day.

I made pasta for dinner and then watched Animal Planet for a while. Around 11 I called it a night.

Should Have

2009-08-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

Day 522
I was up late for the sole reason that I had nothing to do. I really should had left today. Again there were tomato's with breakfast. At least the eggs were good.

When I got downtown I thought that I would go to the art museum, but it was so small that I couldn't be bothered. I ended up just grabbing lunch and then went back to the crappy internet cafe to screw around.

Later on I went to the good i-cafe and chatted with people on the phone before heading back.

Nothing to Wine About

2009-08-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

Day 521

I was up early and Clarissa made me breakfast. Half of it was tomato's though and it was really hard to get them down, but I did.

After a short bus ride I was in the city center again and headed to the National History Museum. There was a rather large Greek collection which I didn't quite understand and some nice icons. The best part was a WWII panoramic.

When I was done I headed to the bus station. The place was a mad house but I managed to get a ticket.

I then headed back to the area I was staying in and found a nice internet cafe where I could organize my photos.

When I was done I headed back for dinner and some more Moravian wine.

Where in the World

2009-08-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

Day 520
My bus arrived in Chisinau (Kee-shee-nau) at 5 am. I had to ask everyone if I was in the write place or not as there wasn't a sign. I thought I would wait the hour before the local buses started running, but it was really dark and no one was around. I got a cab.

The driver called the number I had to get directions. I also asked him to stop at an ATM, he said he understood, but didn't stop. He had also refused to give me a price. I was planning my argument with him when about how I couldn't pay as he didn't stop as I had requested several times. Luckily, Clarissa, the woman who runs the hostel, was waiting for me. She paid the driver for me. It turned out that I wasn't at a hostel, but rather Clarissa rents out extra rooms in her apartment. I had my own room and quickly went to sleep.

When I woke up Clarissa made me an omelet and gave me a map. She also gave me tons of info about Chisinau. I then headed out to see the city.

After a nice walk thru the park I found the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History. It was pretty good and the people working there were really nice. The best part was a woolly mammoth skeleton. There was also a very friendly museum cat.

After some more wandering I eventually found a crap internet cafe where I wasn't able to upload photos liked I needed to.

Moldova has a secret. Tiny Moldova once produced 20% of the wine for the USSR. I had looked into taking a vineyard tour, but they were really expensive. Instead I just bought some wine and drank it in my room.

Stolen

2009-08-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Day 519
I was the first person up in my room and packed quickly and quietly. The guy who had asked if I believed in JC very loudly said "miss, I'm sorry for last night." I whispered back that if he wanted to talk we could do so outside, but that people were sleeping and we can't talk.

After checking out I mapped out my day over breakfast.

In the city garden I possed with everyone else on a bronze chair. I have no idea why , but everyone was doing it. After taking pictures of various buildings and monuments I headed to the Western and Eastern Art Museum. We can just call it the W & E from now on.

The W & E sounded amazing. It might sound a bit familiar because on July 30 of last year Caravaggio's "Taking of the Christ," worth US $100 million, was stolen from here. Not a trace of it has been found. Miracles have happened here before though. At the end of the 18th century Katherine the Great purchased four Frans Hals paintings (he was a Dutch master). The two shops transporting them were hit by a brutal storm. One sank and the other was badly damaged. All four works were considered lost. In 1958 an art collector was perusing a market and was drawn to an ancient looking painting. The museum paid the woman who had it 9 rubles. I don't know how much that was then, but it wasn't much. Another one of the paintings was found in a museum storage room.

In 1965 both paintings were sent to Moscow fora special exhibit. St. Luke was cut from its from. When the thieves started talking to buyers they ran into an agent and were caught. The painting had been really mistreated and thought destroyed, however the experts were able to salvage it. The other tow paintings have been found as well. One was in a private collection, the other in the Getty museum in LA.

As an aside a Russian woman recently threw a cup at the Mona Lisa for not receiving French citizenship. The painting was unharmed. It is also unknown as to why she would attach a painting by an Italian painter.

I was really excited about this museum. The bottom floor held the Eastern art collection. It was good, but I wanted to see the European stuff. When I got upstairs I found out that the museum was under renovations because of the stolen painting. There wasn't much to see at all. It really sucked.

Disappointed I headed to the Archaeological Museum. I was pretty good with a small but nice Greek and Egyptian collection.

After some more wandering I had finished my to do list I went to an i-cafe to type up the entries I had written the night before. When I was done I went back to the hostel to charge my i-pod.

At 9 I asked the guy at reception to call me a cab. He asked when my bus was and when I told him 10:15. He said that I didn't need to leave until 9:30 and that he would call later. He then left, but told me that he would come back. At 9:40 he still wasn't there and I was irritated.

I managed to find a cab but the guy tried to over charge me. I told him that I only had about $7 left and he took that.

The bus was loading when I arrived. I found out a few hours later that I had gotten the right ticket after all and had missed Transdniester.

Cats!

2009-08-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

Day 518
My train arrived around around 8 am and I had no problem finding the bus for my hostel. The friendly drivers then pointed me in the direction I needed. That didn't prevent me from getting lost though. As they say, if there's a will there's a way.

At the hostel I was greeted by a very friendly woman who showed me that instead of giving everyone a key they kept on in a lock box on the door. The combination was really easy to remember as it as the same as a very important date in American history.

A cab was then called for me so that I could go to the bus station. I needed to get a night bus ticket to Chisnau in Moldova that wouldn't pass thru the breakaway region of Transdniester. The boarder guards there are known for demanding large bribes and even confiscating electronics. Transdniester is not recognized by any other country so I don't think that it belongs on my to do list. Of course I had forgotten to ask the woman at the hostel to write down what I needed. I had also forgotten the name of the city I was going to. I ended up just writing down Moldova and hoping that I ended up in the right place.

I then had to get back to the hostel and all of the cab drivers tried to rip me off. I ended up really angry. I was tired, hungry, and irritated. To take care of at least one problem I decided to eat at the first cafe I found. One of the girls working there had spent a year living in the US and was able to give me a much better map. I was lost no longer.

After breakfast I popped into and i-cafe for a bit to book my next hostel.

My bit of culture for the day was the Fine Arts Museum. There were a lot of cats sleeping outside. They were really cute. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed and I had to write down the names of the paintings I liked.

I grabbed a kabab on the way back to the hostel. The shower was really weird, it was rather unbalanced large tub.

When I was clean it was time to face the music. I was horribly behind in the blog. I went to an Irish pub and wrote and wrote until I was all up to date. It felt really good.
Back at the hostel I chatted with some Russians until it was about 1 am. I was sort shocked that the light in the room was still on. I saw a girl reading and told her that I was going to turn off the light. She said that she was reading, I replied that it was 1 am and that there was a common room for that. I didn't see that there was another person in the room reading as well. When I got into bed the guy I hadn't seen said that he was reading. I repeated that there was a common room for that and it was one am. He then asked if I believed in Jesus. I replied that all I believed in at 1 am was sleeping.

When will people learn that the hostel room is for sleeping? Now I understand that someone will snore, someone will come back at 4 am and be drunk and loud, and that an alarm will go off at 5 am. This is all not fun, but it's staying in a hostel. Turning on lights in the middle of the night, talking while others are sleeping and have sex are not ok. Just because your staying in a hostel you don't get a free pass to behave like an asshole. Really, asking me about my religion because I want to sleep at 1 am is just asinine. I feel like I should pass around a sheet of rules or something.
At least I fell asleep quickly and those who should be stripped of their passports and sent to live in, I don't know, Dante's 4th circle of hell, didn't keep me up.

Cutters

2009-08-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Day 517
I was up early and attempted to shower. Like the day before the water ran out after about 3 minutes. Literally there wasn't anything coming out of the spout. I had washed my hair the day before and tried to get the rest of me in the short time I had today. I felt really gross.

My ipod, camera, and alarm clock all have the time on them. I try to keep them in sync but somehow they all had different times on them. I ended up going with the earliest one and was out of my hotel room by 10 am.

At the bus station the line was horrendous and took forever. You would have thought it was rocket science. How long does it take to state your destination, the date, time and number of people traveling and if you have any luggage? I don't even speak the stupid language and I manage it in under a minute! My NYC attitude came out as well. Two girls who were 3 people in front of me were chatting and didn't notice a middle aged woman and a woman younger than me trying to cut in front of them. Thank goodness one of them spoke just a bit of English and understood me when I said something to them. Everyone was looking at me like I was nuts, but the girls were irritated too and yelled at them. The middle aged woman left right away but the younger one tried to argue that she was only one person. It was one of those things that you could understand even not knowing the language. I shot back that I was only one person as well and that I had been waiting for 40 minutes with a 13 kilo bag on my back and that there was no way in hell that she would be getting in front of me. I may have also added that if she tried I would shove my bag so far up her ass that it would come out of her ears. I said this very fast and I doubt anyone understood me, no one seemed to react to it anyway. The nice girls yelled at her again and she went away. I thanked them and it was soon my turn.

When I was buying my ticket the woman kept asking me things and unlike when I normally give answers she just kept not understanding me. Luckily a man in line behind me translated enough for me to answer correctly. Perhaps she was the reason the line was so long!

The bus ride was only two hours and soon I was back in Simferopl with nothing to do. I headed to the internet cafe but it soon shut down for about an hour. Luckily they let me hang out there so I didn't have to move my stuff. When it started up again I just messed around even though I was meant to work on the blog.

Once on the train a nice man helped me get my bed roll down from the top bunk, I didn't really need the help, but it turned out that he wanted to practice his English. He told me that he was headed to Odessa to have a meeting with his owner, I think he meant boss. After about an hour I told him that I was going to go to sleep.

Around midnight a man got on the train who had the bed opposite me. He actually sounded like a horse when he snored. Needless to say, I didn't sleep so well.

Again

2009-08-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

Day 516
I wasn't tired but I couldn't get myself out of bed early enough to go to Yalta for the day. The silence was just too nice.

Anyone who had been reading this blog for some time knows that I don't really care for the beach, especially ones filled with older men in Speedos. I really had no idea what to do with myself. I had come here mostly to say that I had been in this area.

I ended up have a long and yummy traditional Ukrainian meal for lunch and writing a bit. I then went to the internet cafe to waste some time. I also called my mom and chatted for over an hour.

When I could not longer entertain myself online I just went back to my hotel and chilled out with some sparkling local wine and my ipod. I fell asleep quite early the night.

Crimea River

2009-08-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Day 515
The train arrived in Simferopol, the Crimea, at 4:30 am. I had thought that this was the last stop so I had put my bag underneath the bottom bunk. I felt really bad when I had to wake up the nice woman who had made my bed to get my bag out.

I then went and tried to buy my exit train ticket. First I had to wait about 30 minutes for the woman to get off break. When I gave her the city name and dated I wanted she wouldn't sell it to me and went thru some long speech instead. When I didn't understand the bitch just shrugged her shoulders, she couldn't even be bothered to point or give me a window number. Severely irritated I found the information window. The nice woman there walked me to the office I needed, it was actually out of the train station and didn't open until 7 am. I had two hours to kill. I sat in the McDonald's until it opened. I was the second person in line and had my ticket in minutes.

I then had to wait in a rather long but quick moving line for a bus ticket to Sudak, my Crimean destination. While in line a taxi driver tried to convince me that the ticket cost $50 and that if I went with him it would be $40. I laughed in his face. I wasn't in the mood for this. In the end the ticket was just over $3. After another 20 minute wait I was finally on the bus. I was really exhausted and thought that I would be able to sleep. It was just far too bouncy and I stayed awake for the whole 2 hour ride.

It used to be quite normal in smaller towns with limited accommodation options for older women, mostly widow's, to rent out a room or two for a few dollars. I hadn't done this and was looking forward to it and went with the first old woman who approached me. It turned out to be an actual hotel and not a house. I was a bit disappointed, but at least I had my own room for once.

At this point I was so tired that I basically collapsed into bed for a couple of hours. When I came to I was ravenous and went in search of food. The first place I found was a communist style buffet. the line was long but the people were friendly and I ended up with a really good lunch.

I then wandered down to the beach front. It was really like any typical beach town. The whole thing seemed rather corny compared to the American version. Plus, there wasn't anyone selling funnel cakes. There were, however, lots of people selling wine out of barrels. The Crimea used to be the play ground of the Russian Czar's, some pretty good wine comes from here.

I walked until I found a rather nice castle that I was too lazy to walk up the hill to get a closer look at. Instead I screwed around in the Internet cafe for some time before visiting the supermarket for some of that yummy wine and dinner. That evening I didn't get too far into my bottle, I was tired and it knocked me out almost right away

Train, Train, Train

2009-08-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Day 514
I was up early and packed my bags and charged my ipod while I made my lunch. I am quite the multi tasker! Around 11 am I headed to the train station.

I got lucky this time and ended up in a section with three very nice ladies. One even made my bed for me. I spend the rest of the day reading and sleeping. At one stop, like in Russia, there were tons of of people selling cheesy stuffed animals. I really don't understand the appeal!

Where's Mummy?

2009-08-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Day 513
I was up early, finally, and took the metro this time to the Lara Monastery. Visiting here is to the Orthodox Church is what visiting the Vatican is for Catholics. Plus, there are mummy's!

The churches were beautiful, but half of them were closed, including the entrance to the mummy caves. No fair! After a few hours I was churched out and I left. I think I'm sick of churches.

I then proceeded to get horribly lost and walked for about an hour before I found the metro stop again. At this point it was yucky and raining. When I got back to the hostel I ended up hiding from the rain by watching a move called the Orphan (not the scary one, but a Spanish language one) and the Family Guy episodes before calling it a night.

The hostel was over booked because the snorer had asked to stay at the last minute. The girls were going to move them into the seldom used top bunk in their room but when I mentioned that he snored they decided to move me instead. Not only did I have to climb up and down with out a ladder (I almost took out another person getting down) but they kept turning the lights on and off all night. I don't know what was worse!

Lost

2009-08-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Day 512
Up late again due to the snorer I tried to hurry thru my shower and breakfast to get out and see things.

The goal of the day was to visit the Lavra Monastery. It wasn't that far away and I decided to walk. The problem was that there were a lot of turns. I crawled into my own little world while walking and forgot to make one of the lefts. By the time I had realized my mistake I was in a suburb. Opps. It took me ages to get back to where I needed to be and there just wasn't enough time to see the place in th time I had left.

Instead I hit an internet cafe and did a lot of typing. Afterwards I went to the supermarket and picked up dinner and wine. The Crimea is known for its good wine and I wanted to try some of it.

That night I went to a park with some of the other people at the hostel. It was really nice to sit outside and chat. It's just stupid that we can't have alcohol outside in the States.

The wine helped me sleep thru the snorer and I finally got to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Emergency!

2009-08-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

Day 511
Due to the stupid snorer in my room I ended up over sleeping. Once I had my act together I headed out and took the metro to save time.

My firt stop was the Chernobyl Museum. On April 26, 1986 at 1:23 am the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had a reactor explode. This is considered to be the worst nuclear accident the world has ever seen. The audio guide claimed that within hours a 30 km "dead zone" was created. All the towns were evacuated, Pripyat was the largest. According to the museum the evacuation happened within hours. This, however, isn't true. The town was evacuated about 4 days later when the radioactive cloud reached a Swedish plant and they put out the warning. The cloud floated not only over the modern states of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova, but also Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Holland, Belgium, Slovenia, Poland Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, France and the UK. You can take tours of Pripyat for about $175 plus free radiation, however I declined. I think I would have done it if it wasn't so expensive.

The museum was pretty well done, if a little loose with the facts. The first room concentrated on the people who gave up their lives trying to contain and control the blast. Most of these people died pretty horrific radiation poisoning deaths. For the most part the dead zone will remain until 2016, however some of the chemicals that were released are far more deadly and it could be a century before the area is truly ready for habitation again.

One section was on outside help. The first country to step forward was Cuba, Castro opened up a hospital for children with radiation poisoning. A letter from an American 4th grader read
"Dear President Reagan,
I have a suggestion. We should tell the Russians that they should enclose their nuclear power plants. We should say that we care for them because they're human beings too. We should also have more donors. We should send more bone marrow transplantation people to Moscow.

We should tell them not to feel so bad because we were down hearted also.

I am 9 and 3/4 and my favorite food is bagel.

Sincerely Joy"

I'm really just including that because it was really sweet.

The following section was pictures of those who had been left behind. It showed weddings and birthday parties. The guide said that it was meant to show how time marches on and how wounds heal. I found it to be rather sad. After that I spend some time with a section on current pictures of the evacuated Pripyat. It was really eerie. In the last room there were some objects from Pripyat, including a bit of the church. There were yards of fabric on the ceilings, one white, one black. They were meant to be birds, the black death and the white rebirth. I just found the whole thing to be odd.

Next up was the One Street Museum. It's about Andrews Descent, Kiev's most popular street. The whole thing was really quite interesting. The street may even date all the way to the 12th century. Everything seemed to have happened here. Witches were once burned here and one of the oldest theological schools in Eastern Europe was founded here in 1616. Empress Elizabeth laid the first brick for St. Andrews church in 1744. This moved onto typical house interiors. For some time in the 19th century this was Kiev's red light district. Eventually it became the place to live and a lot of the displays were on famous Ukrainians whom I had never heard of before. Eventually it moved on to the world wars. The more recent photo's and post cars were really interesting. one object was a gold toilet!

After the museum I wandered back to the hostel and grabbed a sandwich for dinner. I spent some time online working on the blog and finally got a few entries published. Later on I had problems sleeping again due to the snorer.

Annoyed

2009-08-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

Day 510

The train arrived in Kiev at 5 am and it was still dark out. I grabbed breakfast at the only place open, McDonalds as the sun came up. It then took me about 40 minutes to walk to the hostel. Most of it was up hill. I rang what I thought was the door bell and waited. I sat there for about an hour waiting and no one came. Eventually I gave up and found an internet cafe. The problem was that they were shutting down for an hour in 30 minutes. I checked my email and could see that the girls who owned the hostel had emailed me asking if I wanted directions and the door code. Why the hell would they ask and not just send them? I emailed them back and then tried to call both of their cell phones but didn't have any luck. In no time my 30 minutes were up and I had to leave.

I went back to the hostel and found that the door had been left open. I went up the stairs and rang the bell. The girls were really apologetic. To get in touch with me they had sent me 2 emails (I had to leave so I hadn't got them) and had called the phone number on my Hostel World account thinking that it was my cell phone. The thing is that I don't have one, it's my parents number and it was 2 am in the States. They had woken up my parents. I felt really bad about it and they felt bad too once they had asked what time it was there. I couldn't be too upset though, calling an international number to try and find me was really quite a nice thing to do. I'm just sorry that my parents lost sleep over it.

After showering I headed out to buy my train ticket out of Kiev and then set off to explore the town.

Once I had checked out Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the very communist main square, I popped into the guilded and recently reconstructed St. Michael's Cathedral. it as really quite nice. I then headed further uphill (this city is nothing but up hill) to the Spiritual Treasures of th Ukraine Museum. Unfortunately it was closed. It was, however, right next to the very pretty St. Andrews Church.

Finally on slightly even ground I found the National History Museum. It was ok, but no photos were allowed. The stone and bronze age stuff was boring. There was a rather interesting display of holograms though. Not much was in English, but my spidey sense told me that some of it was about the Austria-Hungary Empire, the Crimean War and WWI. For unknown reasons there was also a mermaid.

At this point I was dragging and went back to the internet cafe. I managed to type a bit but mostly chatted with people from home. If I'm good at one thing it is certainty procrastination!

Before heading back to the hostel I picked up dinner. I was able to barrow one of the girls computers for some time and managed to get my pictures organized and uploaded. That has been the biggest challenge recently and soon I will be able to get the blog back under control.

That night I tried to sleep early but the other person in my room, a retired Dutch man, was a terribly loud snorer and it took me a long time to find sleep. I could hear him thru my earplugs and over my ipod!

Perfect Storm

2009-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Day 509

Lviv is considered to be the cultural and patriotic center of the Ukraine. It's rather picturesque with a large range of well preserved buildings and cobblestone streets. It's just rather small.

I got my act together slowly and walked downtown. My first stop was what I thought as the Lviv History Museum. It turned out to be a collection of royal rooms. Further down the main square I found th actual history museum. Th stairs were so creaky I thought hat they might give out on me. Also all of the doors were shut so I wasn't exactly sure where I could go in. Eventually I got it right, I just did it all a bit backwards. it didn't matter though because nothing was in English. From what I could guess there was a bit on communism, folk culter and a scary peasant house.

After the museum I grabbed lunch, actually a cheese and fruit platter, it was really good, and wrote in my journal. When I was done I went ot the internet cafe to type. Around entry number 6 the building lost power due to a storm. I hadn't saved anything and was livid. I then had to sit inside for about 45 minutes waiting for the storm to pass.

This was one violent and scary storm. It had been a slightly overcast day, but now it was pitch black. The wind howled and anyone who went outside was drenched in seconds. The thunder and lightening were so loud that they were clearly directly overhead. Then it stopped, just as quickly as it had started.

The streets were littered with downed branches, one unfortunate person had a branch land on their car. I don't know if it was due to the lightening or fallen branches, but all the trams had been stopped in place. As they don't have their own lane they were causing traffic jams everywhere. One spot of the pavement completely caved in and there were bits of tree in the hole. I guess that lightening had struck there.

I hung out at the hostel for a bit, but when it began to look like rain again I headed out. There wasn't any public transportation for me so I would have to walk. I made it just as the sky's opened up again. There were two trains headed to Kiev and I, of course, got on the wrong one. The stupid thing was that the attendant actually let me on. I only figured out that I was in the wrong place because I had the same seat as someone else. I had 9 minutes to figure out where my train was and get on it. I made it with about 3 minutes to spare.

Plascart class is basically one open carriage with divots that hold 4 beds and a table and then 2 beds running down the side of the isle. I was in a divot section. I had the top bunk which is nice because no one can sit on my bed when I want to be lying in it. Usually the people on the bottom are nice about opening up the under bed compartment and letting me sit on their bed until the provenista passes out the linens. The people I ended up with this time just gave me dirty looks and refused to let me put my bag beneath the bed I then had to attempt to get my bag on the top shelf. I can't stand on my toes very well any longer due to my dumb ass left foot, but even if I good I couldn't reach the top shelf. They just sat there and watched me try to get my bag up there. Luckily a nice man a few beds away helped me get it up there. I then sat on the bottom bed waiting for the sheets. The rudies gave me even more dirty looks. Once the sheets were passed out I made up my bed. As I was on the end of the carriage there is no ladder to get into the bed. To get up there you either need to have loads up upper body strength (I don't) be 10 feet tall (I'm not) or use the bottom beds and then the table get up. My doing this did not make those people happy. If looks could kill I would have been dead the first of the two times I had to get down to use the toilet. Luckily they didn't snore and I was able to get some sleep.

Welcome to the Ukraine!

2009-08-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Day 508

I was woken up by the very nice woman on the bunk below me when it was time to get off the hostel I was staying at offered train station pickup and I had e-mailed them about it. I just hadn't have the time to see if they responded. After about 15 minutes of waiting I gave up and tried to walk there myself. Of course they had given really crap direction and I didn't have a map. I think that fact that I actually found it (by asking for help in a pharmacy) is testament to my sharply honed travel skills. When I arrived the man said that he had been there but hadn't seen me. He the added that he was surprised that I had found the place on my own. I wanted to make a snide remark about how is directions were of no help, but didn't.

After changing and showering, well in the opposite order, I headed off in search of food. It was one of those days where I just couldn't find anything and ended up at McDonalds. A least it was airconditioned.

Once eating my first stop was the Lviv Art Gallery. It was ok, not nearly as good as the city guide made it out to be. Most of the works were Polish.

After a short walk thru the very pretty Svobody Prospect I found the National Museum. It was really rather odd because all the doors were shut and they checked my ticket at each section. The icons were quite old and interesting but poorly cared for. That always makes me sad. Upstairs had more paintings than objects. At this point I was on the tired side and decided to do some blog work. I wasn't able to upload at either of the internet cafe's I found so I just gave up.

I then ended up walking to the train station and getting my ticket out of the city. On the way back I stopped for some pizza for dinner. The place was called New York Pizza. What an incredibly American day for me.

A very annoying girl from York spent 40 minutes in the hostels one bathroom. I could have killed here. Instead I gave her dirty looks before I went to sleep. Actually, I contemplated peeing on her bed, but that would have just been immature and very gross.

What Happens

2009-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Day 507
I had to check out early, but the German guys were so loud at 6 am that I didn't need to set my alarm. This hostel actually had a coed communal shower, one room with lots of shower heads. What a nightmare! Luckily the door to th whole room locked. I just moved very quickly to not tie it up.

After breakfast I went in search of an internet cafe. It took some time to find a cheap one but I did. I spend a few hours just kinda messing around. Not only have I been to Budapest already, but I'm meeting Edwad here in September and I wanted to wait on site seeing.

When I couldn't come up with anything else to do online I went back to the hostel to write in my journal.

As I had gotten a ride here I had no idea how to get back to the train station. The directions I was given were not very good, no one mention that I would have to go up a bridge. One of my worst fears came true, I tripped with my pack on. I read a short story were a girl broke her arm that way. Luckily I just jammed my wrist. The trams were confusing because the ticket machines didn't work. I had to just jump on. Luckily I didn't get caught.

Once at the train station I waited for the train and was very happy to get on it this time. Soon I was asleep.

Wrong City, Wrong Country

2009-07-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Day 506
I was up early and packed. I ran into Sam. We grabbed some breakfast and then went to the main square. Sam wanted to shop and marveled over every tacky item that you see all over the world. I eventually said that I needed to move on to the supermarket and he got the hint.

After picking up provisions I chilled at the hostel until it was time to leave for my train. I was a bit panicked from the beginning because it was late and I had little room for error.

As you can imagine my train was late and I missed my connection to Lviv by about 2 minutes. I actually saw the damned thing pulling out as we pulled in. I then had a highly annoying 45 minute wait to change my reservation and spend an extra $25 on a new one. After that I got a hostel thru the tourist office and a van took me there.

The hostel was actually a college dormitory that rented beds during the summer Here I met Welsh Tom and we headed out for drinks. Not only was I in the w wrong city, but the wrong freaking country. A few beers felt justified.

When we went back to the hostel room 3 Germans from Leipzig were there. They traveled around Europe to support the Leipzig soccer team. In each city they would graffiti the teams name somewhere. Why can't I ever have normal roommates?

It had been a long day and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Bloody Hell

2009-07-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Day 505
I was up early, but lounged around in bed a bit before getting my act together. Sam joined me for breakfast but then headed back to the hostel while I headed to the train station.

Soon I was on my way to a small town called Trencin. It was really adorable. There was a big castle over looking it and a really cute town square that reminded me of all the cute little towns that I went to in the Czech Republic. There was also a small renaissance fair going on. After some lunch I found the tourist office and asked for directions to the castle I wanted to see. It turned out that both my guidebook and the internet were wrong, I was in the the wrong town. Surprise, surprise.

I had to get back on the train and got 30 minutes closer to Bratislava to a small place called Nove Meto. My goal was to see the ruins of Cachtice Castle. In the late 16th century Countess Elizabeth Bathory killed and tortures as many as 650 women here. She felt that bathing in their blood would keep her young. Bathory got away with murder until she started to kidnap girls of the lower gentry. As the investigators explored her castle they found evidence of her brutality everywhere. Women were found dead or close to it, drained of their blood and covered in wounds. Bathory's noble rank prevented her from the death sentence, but she was held under castle arrest for the rest of her life here. She is the most prolific female serial killer of all time.

You might wonder why in the world I would want to seek out such an obscure and gruesome ruin. The castle's obscurity is definitely part of the appeal. However, I also learned about Bathory in a class at college called Human Cruelty about serial killers and psychopaths. It's always interesting to see something that you learned about in school.

Nove Mesto didn't have a tourist office so I went to the only museum for directions. The nice woman there drew me a map and I was off. After about 10 minutes of walking I was out of town. Soon I was in the woods and I had three paths to choose from. I went with the wider and less dark path. I walked and walked and walked. No one was around and I began to question how smart it was for me to be there at all. I mean, what if Bathory's ghost was around? After over 90 minutes of walking I hadn't found anything and just headed back. I definitely didn't want to get caught there after dark.

Once back in town I caught the next train back to Bratislava and was there in no time. At the Bratislava train station I bought my exit ticket for the next evening. On the way back to the hostel I grabbed dinner.

I had wanted to take advantage of the large number of movies to choose from at the hostel, but everyone was so loud that I couldn't hear it so I just went to my room to watch stuff on my ipod. I also charged my ipod and got upset when my wall plug thing sent out sparks and stopped working. It was definitely time for bed.

Back on the Original Path

2009-07-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Day 504
I was up early and had to pack up to move to another room. After breakfast I headed out to explore, I had been here before but it was a Monday and everything was closed.

Bratislava is a cute little city. I wandered thru the old town and then up to the castle. This is what I ha most wanted to see. It was closed for refurbishment. I will not be coming back here again! The travel gods just don't want me to see the stupid thing!

After some lunch I headed back to the hostel and met Sam, I can't remember where he was from. The hostel has a BBQ every other day and just before it started the two of us headed down for some beer and sausages. After eating the hostel sponsers a free pub crawl. I was a real bum and left after my first drink at the second bar. I just wasn't feeling it.

Believe it or Not!

2009-07-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Day 503
I was up early and packed and put my things in storage for the day. After some internet time I headed back to the Thai Airways office. I was happy to see that they had cash for me and I felt suddenly flush. I also had a few hours left to kill and some things that I wanted to see.

J.W. Waterhouse has long been one of my favorite artists. Unfortunately not many of his paintings are in public collections. I've only managed to see about five of his pieces in person, many more are familiar to me thru books and the internet. The largest collection of Waterhouses work ever assembled together was currently being held at the Royal Academy of Arts.

The exhibit was amazing. My favorite, the Lady of Shallot, was there it's usually at the Tate Britain. As so many of the paintings were from private collections I felt really privileged to see them. Marianne and Tristam and Isolde were among those. It was really amazing. I couldn't believe my good timing.

Next up was the rather new Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum, well, odditorium. I hesitated a bit at the price and that was enough for me to run into a family of three with 2 buy one get one free tickets, they needed a fourth person to get the lower price for their daughter. I happily obliged and paid for half of a ticket. The museum was very new and very well done, it looked really really good.

The smallest road legal car in the world was there as well as an American them ed mini-cooper. There were several multi-limbed animals and a collection of people who can make really weird faces. There was a bottle of beer brewed using yeast found in an Egyptian tomb and lint sushi. I also learned that the word Yankee came from the Indians mispronouncing the word English. Also that Lancaster, PA was the US capital for one day on September 27, 1777.

When I had finished with the museum I grabbed lunch at Yo Sushi! and then headed back. I had a little bit of internet time before grabbing my things and heading to the airport. I hadn't checked my flight time and ended up there about 40 minutes earlier than I needed to be. I passed the time planning and reading. Soon enough my flight to Bratislava took off. I was picking up just where I had left off 8 months before.

When the plane landed everyone cheered. I couldn't figure out why, there wasn't any turbulence or anything like that. Immigration was a breeze and soon I was on my way to the hostel. I was pretty lucky because I made the last bus and the last tram of the day. Once in the hostel I checked in and then checked my email before calling it a night.

Mondays

2009-07-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Day 502
I really hated that I had to leave London the next day and was really sort of lazy with waking up. It was also Monday, the day that most museums are closed so I didn't really have a lot to do. After some internet time I headed to Piccadilly Circus to return the plane ticket that I was forced to buy when I left for Bangkok about 8 months ago.

At the office I found out that they only return cash payments as checks and that they don't send things to the US. After a few phone calls they told me that I could probably get cash in the morning and that I should come back. I was a bit disappointed because I thought I would have a lot of cash to spend. I still needed to do some shopping though, I've been tossing a lot of clothes recently and was down to only one pair of pants.

After shopping I headed back to Camden and hung out in my hostel room and fell asleep for a bit. I then went to the internet cafe to make some phone calls and check my email. This is when I found out that Sarah, one of the girls I had stayed with last time I was here, had to work at the last minute and needed to cancel on me. I gave her a quick call and she gave me directions to her place so that I could pick up the winter clothes that I had left here prior to my last minute SEA departure. I also called Edward to see if he would like to meet up again.

When my internet time was up I headed up the Northern line to Sarah's flat and picked up my things. It felt good to be reunited with my European guidebooks. It's too bad that I didn't get to catch up with Sarah as well though. I then headed further north to meet up with Edward. It was Monday and the pub was dead but it was a really nice place. We drank some Magners and chatted for a few hours. It has been so nice to spend the weekend with Edward and to be in London.

I went back to the hostel and fell quickly asleep.

Half Blood

2009-07-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Day 501
I was up stupid early again and went back to the internet cafe after some breakfast. Edward met me around lunch time and we wandered around the Camden Market stalls for a while. A lot of the stuff for sale were things that I had seen and even bought in SEA, China and India. The prices were unbelievable! I'm glad that I bought those things where they cost $2, not where they cost $20!

Edward and I then wandered thru Regents Park and down to Leicester Square. I think he was a bit surprised that we had walked so far After a quick lunch at Weatherspoons (an inexpensive pub chain) we had to hurry to make our movie in time. We were going to see Harry Potter! It was really nice to see the movie not only in the UK but also on the biggest screen in the country. Edward had booked the tickets ahead of time to ensure that we would have good seats. The movie was really very good, I can't wait for the next, and last, one!

After the movie we went back to Waxy O'Connell's for a few drinks. Unfortunately Edward has one of those job things and had to be up in the morning to go to work. Before parting we made plans to meet up in Budapest in a month or so. Once again we said goodbye on the tube.

It was only about 11 so I spent some time online before calling it a night.

Wandering

2009-07-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

Day 500
The hostel I was staying at was the same one that I had stayed at my first time in London 7 years ago. You would have thought that I would have had an easier time finding it the night before! With all the time changing I'd been doing I was up early, but that was good, this place served breakfast rather early.

After eating I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with Edward. I walked by the Camden locks and watched the market vendors set up. When I lived here I would take an long lunch every Saturday and come up here. I used to eat at a crepe stand that isn't there any more. It's been replaced by a large building and indoor shops. Ahh, the march of time and gentrification. This was the third time I'd been here though since the building went up. Now it looks like it belongs. I wonder how that happens?

Eventually I found a super cheap internet cafe and caught up on my emails before heading back to the hostel where I was meeting Edward.

The two of us had thought about going to Brighton for the day but decided against it at the last minute. Instead we hopped on the tube and headed to Leicester Square. We ended up at a really nice wine bar, it was just a bit too early to drink though so we ordered some orange juice and checked out the cellar-like place. We then went to Trafalgar Square where there is an empty statue pedestal. I forget why, but for a certain amount of time every half an hour there was a different person on the pedestal doing whatever they wanted to. We saw a guy in a cape, he was shouting stuff, but it wasn't very loud and I couldn't hear him.

Back on the tube we headed to a market. By now we were hungry and stopped by a pub for some fish and chips. This is a requirement every time I come to the UK. I don't even care much for fish, but I guess that most things taste ok when they are fried! Afterwards we wandered up to Coven Garden and watched a man juggle chain saws. Eventually we ended up at Waxy O'Connell's for some drinks.

We'd been walking around all day and decided to call it an early night. We said goodbye on the tube and I went back to the hostel and quickly fell asleep.

Back Again

2009-07-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Day 499
I was up early and quickly packed. After checking out I headed to the metro. I then got off at the wrong spot. Big surprise. Luckily the first person I asked for help spoke English and she told me where I needed to go. In no time I was on the bus to the airport.

After checking in I went thru immigration. After the pain in the ass of registering I really wanted to be given a hard time and to show that I had all my ducks in a row. I don't think that the guy even looked at my registrations. It was really upsetting.

My first flight was on time and I fell asleep before it even took off. When it landed in Copenhagen I went thru security again and then hung out at my next gate. We boarded on time but then sat on the runway for over two hours. By the time I got to London I was already 2.5 hours later than expected. I then about had a heart attack, the immigration line was ridiculously long and slow moving. Luckily after about an hour of waiting the nice American couple in front of me let me use their phone so that I could call Edward, who I had met in Hong Kong, to tell him that I would be late, very late for drinks.

The line was ridiculous. It took two hours. You couldn't go to the toilet, there wasn't any water, and sitting was impossible. Babies were crying and the elderly looked very uncomfortable. This is what Ellis Island must have looked like over 100 years ago. This is what you would expect out of a 3rd world country, not out of the UK. I understand if they want to check people more closely, but then they should have more than 4 people working at a time. It's just unreasonable to expect people to wait for so long. It was down right obscene. Eventually it was my turn and soon I was back in the UK.

As soon as I grabbed my bag I called Edward to tell him when I thought I would get to the bar. I then hopped on the expensive but way faster train (as opposed to the tube). I just didn't want to spend another 1.5 hours getting to my hostel. Plus, the longer the line took the more determined I became to be able to see a friendly face. Once I got off the tube (I had to switch) in Camden I couldn't find my hostel but I found Edward in the bar and he helped me look for it. After a quick change I headed right back out again.

We caught up over a few drinks, but pubs close early here and I didn't arrive until almost 11, I was meant to be there at 8! It was really nice to see Edward again after exchanging emails for the past two months. I was also extremely happy to be back in London.

Nothin'

2009-07-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Day 498
I was up early but couldn't get much done until after 11 when the laundromat opened. I figured that it would just take about an hour and then I could go and see the bread museum. Instead I sat there for an unbelievable 3 hours! Luckily I did get a lot of writing done while I was there.

After my laundry was done I was really hungry and went for lunch. There wasn't really enough time for the museum at this point, it was a bit far away, so I decided to just go shopping. I was just really in shock at how much everything cost. I miss the markets in Asia and India that were so cheap that I could have everything I wanted. Here I was limited to just buying a few things.

When I had finished shopping I had some dinner and then went to the internet cafe. I wanted to get as much blogging done as possible. When this was over I went back to the hostel and got my self as organized as possible before just calling it an early night.

Long Goodbye

2009-07-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

Day 497
I was up late and feeling really gross. It wasn't really a hangover, but just exhaustion. I had been really busy in St. Petersburg and hadn't been sleeping well. Plus, I was itching every where from the stupid mossies. After breakfast I got the receptionist to try and book me on a Rasputin tour. Unfortunately they don't have tours in English. I ended up just hanging out at different parks reading.

As my day was boring I thought I would tell you how Rasputin died. He was basically a peasant that came to St. Petersburg as a mystic. Despite his creepy appearance he was very charismatic and every woman wanted him. His massive penis is actually on display in some medical college here. The youngest Romanov and future Czar was a hemophiliac. Somehow Rasputin could hypnotize him, even other the phone, to stop bleeding. As you can imagine this gave him a lot of control over the monarchy. A lot of people were not happy about this and wanted him taken care of.

Rasputin was invited to Yusupov Palace for a party. He was then fed cyanide laced food and alcohol. Much to the dismay of his would be murderers this didn't kill him. He was almost impervious to it as he was a very heavy drinker. To move things along faster someone got a gun and shot him several times. They then left his body alone to get something to transport him in. When they came back he was gone. Rasputin didn't get very far though, he was found just outside. His murders then proceeded to beat the crap out of him. He was then tied up and thrown into the Neva river. A few days later his body was found with his arms in an upward positions and water in his lungs. After all that he had actually drowned.

That was much more interesting than my day. I spent a bit of time online before calling it an early night.

Bigger is Better

2009-07-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Day 496

I was up early and was pretty tired, but the show must go on so I showered and ate before heading out.The Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world. The Smithsonian in Washington is the biggest even though it is really several different museums it's considered to all be one collection. So maybe the Hermitage this largest under one roof? I was told by a history professor in college that if you took 3 seconds to look at each item in the collection that it would take you 100 years to see it all. There was a sign at the beginning with the number of pieces the museum held. I did the math and it would actually take about 54 days. As you can imagine is one of the big to do's here.

I got in line just after 9 am, the museum opened at 10:30. I had a book to pass the time but it was really cold so it seemed to take forever. Inside of the museum I was only about 10 people back but it took forever. Every ticket seemed to require a lengthy conversation. The man behind me kept pushing me too, as if that would make things move faster! Behind me someone was asking why it was taking so long, I replied that it was rocket science. But really, why so slow? I showed my fake ISIC card and had a free ticket in minutes. I didn't by a photo pass, but decided to just see if anyone stopped me. Once in the doors I picked up a map and sat down with some tea to figure out my plan of attack. There were 400 rooms to see and I would need to highlight as I went to make sure that I didn't miss anything.

I took my first picture at ten minutes to 11, I had 7 hours to get this thing done in. Catherine the Great layed the foundation for the museum when she acquired a very large number of European paintings in 1764. The museum itself opened in 1952. The building is a former palace.

I started with the Egyptian area and then moved into sculptures. Once upstairs I got into the best part, the European art. The place was packed and there were a lot of tours, really annoying tours. Sometimes it was almost impossible to even get through the smallish rooms. I don't know if it was the high quality of the paintings or the sheer number the made the place so overwhelming, maybe it was both. I took well over 200 pictures. All the masters were there, Michelangelo, Renoir, Moet, Rubens, Picasso, Van Gogh, the list goes on on. Even the staircases were lined with delicate marble sculptures. Some rooms were a bit boring with just tableware and vases, I passed quickly through those. Others captivated me for some time. I was disappointed to find that a large number of rooms were closed. I don't know why. Some of the rooms were decorated as they would have been when the palace was used as a home.

Around 2pm I finished the second floor and took a half hour lunch break. The internet here was cheaper than anywhere I had been before so I passed my time checking my email.

After lunch I went to the 3rd floor for the 20th century art. Then came world art, Japanese, SE Asian and Islamic. I had seen most of it recently so it wasn't overly fascinating. Most of the rooms were closed anyway. The second half of the first floor was also closed. It was a bit hard to get to this section and it was empty so I think that most people didn't even bother. Finally some peace. This section was on early man and archeology from the Caucuses.

At this point I had been in the museum for 5 hours. I was footsore and exhausted. I was almost happy that about 80 of the rooms had been closed. It would have taken me another hour and a half to see them and I don't think that I had it in me. The Hermitage was amazing. I can't believe that I got to see it. It was worth the wait and fighting the crowds.

After some dinner I spent some time online organizing my pictures and chatting to friends. Back at the hostel I had a few drinks with the other people hanging around, but I was pretty tired so I called it an early night.