Finally Made It To Bratislava
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A funny thing happened on the way to Bratislava… we ended up on the wrong damn train (it seems to be our fate to take the wrong transportation in Eastern Europe). It’s not really that we’re incredibly dense – the train we got on did say “Bratislava” on it, but unlike every other country in the world, Slovakia puts the origin instead of the destination on the train. So – we ended up seeing almost all of Slovakia in one day – any further east and we would have been denied entry into the Ukraine. Interesting fact – it only takes 7 hours to travel from one end of Slovakia to the other (I can only make it half way to my parent’s house in that time!). That’s the last time we will take a second class train in Eastern Europe (A six person cabin with 10 people & a dog in it.). The last journey we had like that was in China with a chicken on my lap – but you do get close to the locals!
Last Night In Zakopane (Poland)
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We’re off to the Slovak Republic tomorrow. We’re booked into a hotel in a small mountain town called Staery Smokovic (sp ?). It seems like there’s all kinds of fun things to do there – castles to visit, caves with stalactites to explore, and lots of trails to hike.
We went for a hike today – we never got above the level of the sheep (that’s a mark of pride when you’re hiking in Innsbruck – if you climb higher than the local livestock you can consider yourself a mountaineer). We took the funicular (Cog Railway Car) up to the top of the ski hill. It was raining, so it was best to stay on stable ground – you can’t get lost if you can see the town because you’re below the clouds.
Arrived In Zakopane
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We’re in Zakopane, and it seems to be the equivalent of Banff in Canada – the mountain tourist mekka. It’s beautiful, but full of local tourists. There seems to be a few odd local food specialties – smoked sheep cheese (in a variety of decorative shapes and sizes – ie: smoked Pope), Belgian waffles with fruit, glazed dough nuts (I’m afraid of what they’re stuffed with), and they have a fantastic goulash. They also have a town mascot – a special breed of dog that looks like a Great Pyranese – it’s on all the post cards.
Last Day In Krakow
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We’ve had a busy two days touring Krakow & environs. We spent yesterday touring Wawel Castle (there’s a dragon in the caves underneath the castle – what could be better than that?, the cathedral where all the Polish Royalty, great military generals and poets are buried (it’s like the Westminster Abbey of Poland), and checking out the art deco stained glass windows in the Franciscan church. There’s one titled “God the Father” that makes God look like some vengeful comic book wizard – it’s unique. Oh Yeah – the Shroud of Turin is in the same church (I guess it pays to have a Polish Pope).
Krakow, Poland
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We’re in Krakow. We’ve just been wandering the city getting our bearings this afternoon, but so far it looks like all it was promised to be in the guide books. There’s an enormous castle in the middle of town, and an interesting historic downtown core. They seem to cater to tourists here, but not necessarily Western ones.
We’re staying at a great little hostel that’s set up like a camping / caravan system. It’s just outside the city center (Hostel Express), and costs $35.00/night.
