THOUGHTS TO COUNT
.............hopefully counted since april 25, 05 ...........
8.28.2005
A quick one.
Not too much in the way of creativity these days...I barely get the time and energy to run the whole update...Something with this blog may have to change soon, there seems to be growing risk of routine posting.
I left Budapest on Wednesday morning to head to Slovakia to hike the High Tatras. The plan here was to get to the mountain town of Stary Smokovec from where I would stash the pack, grab my hiking gear and head into the mountains for a few days. There are mountain 'Chatas' all throughout the Tatras at different points along the trail. They are small chalets with bunk beds and restaurants. You can use them as jump-off spots to continue hiking or mountain climing or whatever you're into. My agenda had me reaching Teryho chata, a four hour hike to 2000m for the first night on Wednesday, then hiking for the whole day Thursday, sleeping again in Teryho and then coming back to Stary Smokovec friday morning where I would take the bus into Poland and onto Krakow. Agenda got tossed though because I decided to hike with a guy I met from NYC and it was also a bit rainy in the mountains. We took our time and made it about one third of the way to Teryho chata before it got dark, so we ended up staying the night at another chata.
I had been getting a bit sick in Budapest (probally from exposure to some exotic germs, dancing in the rain, etc....Barna..:) and now after eating a questionable meal in the Chata and drinking some liquor with petrolesque qualities, the symptoms fully manifested themselves. As I've already told people, and if you've heard you'd recognize the expression that I'm killing through overuse, I had to 'give up the ghost' at some point during the night, forcing exit to my not well appreciated Slovakian Ghoulash. Next day the plan was to continue up to Teryho chata in the morning and do some hiking in the area all day. Made it up to Teryho through a difficult 2.5 hour hike, needing a toilet most of the way, and once finally there all I could do was rest in bed, try to fend of the fever and such. I felt better Friday morning after about 18 hours in bed, so I got an early start and made it back down to civilization by 10:30. Friday was really the only day I was able to enjoy in the mountains. The other days were cloudy with little visibility and I had the sickness. Friday everything had cleared up and I even saw a few mountain deer?? and other wildlife. The idea of these little chatas is great though, and I think I would like to take another chance at the mountains sometime in the future...you can really live well. They are well supplied, with everything liquor, beer and all types of food..It is actually someones' job to carry kegs of beer on their back for 2.5 hours from the base to these chatas at 2000m...
I picked up the bus (extremely crowded) in Stary Smokovec and heading to the border town of Lysa Polana where I crossed into Poland on foot. From there, a minibus to Zakopane in Poland and then again, another bus into Krakow. Journey time 4hrs. Cost: $5.
In Krakow, I didn't have any clue. This officially began the vauge part of my trip. I bought a map at a gas station which to now I've used once. I took the tram to the center and found an internet cafe and called Tim, who I was staying with friday night. Another couchsurfer. Rendezvous'ed with T at a bar and scurried to the apartment to drop off the bags, take a shower, etc. Tim made us both dinner: good. I met Tim's dog, which is not really his because he is dog sitting, but the owner, from what I hear isn't coming back, so it kind of is now...Lobster is frantic. Lots of jumping and arm biting. We left the place to meet up with some of Tims friends in the Jewish neighborhood. Very trendy place, like the Montreal Plateau. Disregarding the orgy of tourism in Krakow that accounts for much of the english you hear, there are a number of ex-pats living here which bring in a whole other section of the english. This is good because a polish word like 'Rzesow' is pronounced 'Jeshov'...not quite easy to pick up. I know the ex-pat story because Tim is from the NE USA and many of his acquaintances are ex-pats. From the Jewish neighborhood, we move onto a club where the DJ plays laughable sequences. Try Micheal Jackson's Bad followed by Land Down Under by some Lionel Richie tune. Try watching people dance emphatically to this and then try to join in. I don't even know why Lionel Richie was popular 25 years ago....why now?...I was tired so I took off to Tims place with his keys. This caused a small confusion the next day cause I didn't know how to locate Tim and had to stash his keys somewhere outside and let him know by email...one couchsurfing problem.
This is getting long...phew...
Yesterday, Pawel came in from up north where he is working, just like I did in Italy. We spent the day checking out the area (Pawels been here like 10 times, so I didn't feel lost), had a dinner of about 50 perogis, and went out bar hopping to have some beers. A calm night. It was great to see someone familiar and get the chance to BS like we were back in MTL.
Today we headed out and did some more lazy cruising around Krakow. Went to Wawel Castle and also had some more good food. Krakow is terrific because it is a small little intimite place, it is all original (the whole city survived bombing in WWII), there are a lot of shops and restaurants and clubs, it has good cosmopolitan culture and everything is dirt cheap. Dinner for instance: a big plate of food at a sit down restaurant and a .5 L beer cost $6 CN. This is in the center. Really cheap..
So, I'm taking it easy in the hostel now. Tonight I'll just read and go to bed early. Tomorrow, I think I'll head out to Auschwitz and do the depressing but interesting tour before heading back to Krakow for the day. Maybe some shopping and bumming around before heading to Prague on the overnight train. That may be the last stop before Munich, I'm not sure...I'm getting a bit fed up from moving around so much.
Yeah, it wasn't too much of a quick update...It was actually pretty tasking to produce...I'll have to share some more once I get the pictures going though...
P ¶ 14:55 2 comments
I left Budapest on Wednesday morning to head to Slovakia to hike the High Tatras. The plan here was to get to the mountain town of Stary Smokovec from where I would stash the pack, grab my hiking gear and head into the mountains for a few days. There are mountain 'Chatas' all throughout the Tatras at different points along the trail. They are small chalets with bunk beds and restaurants. You can use them as jump-off spots to continue hiking or mountain climing or whatever you're into. My agenda had me reaching Teryho chata, a four hour hike to 2000m for the first night on Wednesday, then hiking for the whole day Thursday, sleeping again in Teryho and then coming back to Stary Smokovec friday morning where I would take the bus into Poland and onto Krakow. Agenda got tossed though because I decided to hike with a guy I met from NYC and it was also a bit rainy in the mountains. We took our time and made it about one third of the way to Teryho chata before it got dark, so we ended up staying the night at another chata.
I had been getting a bit sick in Budapest (probally from exposure to some exotic germs, dancing in the rain, etc....Barna..:) and now after eating a questionable meal in the Chata and drinking some liquor with petrolesque qualities, the symptoms fully manifested themselves. As I've already told people, and if you've heard you'd recognize the expression that I'm killing through overuse, I had to 'give up the ghost' at some point during the night, forcing exit to my not well appreciated Slovakian Ghoulash. Next day the plan was to continue up to Teryho chata in the morning and do some hiking in the area all day. Made it up to Teryho through a difficult 2.5 hour hike, needing a toilet most of the way, and once finally there all I could do was rest in bed, try to fend of the fever and such. I felt better Friday morning after about 18 hours in bed, so I got an early start and made it back down to civilization by 10:30. Friday was really the only day I was able to enjoy in the mountains. The other days were cloudy with little visibility and I had the sickness. Friday everything had cleared up and I even saw a few mountain deer?? and other wildlife. The idea of these little chatas is great though, and I think I would like to take another chance at the mountains sometime in the future...you can really live well. They are well supplied, with everything liquor, beer and all types of food..It is actually someones' job to carry kegs of beer on their back for 2.5 hours from the base to these chatas at 2000m...
I picked up the bus (extremely crowded) in Stary Smokovec and heading to the border town of Lysa Polana where I crossed into Poland on foot. From there, a minibus to Zakopane in Poland and then again, another bus into Krakow. Journey time 4hrs. Cost: $5.
In Krakow, I didn't have any clue. This officially began the vauge part of my trip. I bought a map at a gas station which to now I've used once. I took the tram to the center and found an internet cafe and called Tim, who I was staying with friday night. Another couchsurfer. Rendezvous'ed with T at a bar and scurried to the apartment to drop off the bags, take a shower, etc. Tim made us both dinner: good. I met Tim's dog, which is not really his because he is dog sitting, but the owner, from what I hear isn't coming back, so it kind of is now...Lobster is frantic. Lots of jumping and arm biting. We left the place to meet up with some of Tims friends in the Jewish neighborhood. Very trendy place, like the Montreal Plateau. Disregarding the orgy of tourism in Krakow that accounts for much of the english you hear, there are a number of ex-pats living here which bring in a whole other section of the english. This is good because a polish word like 'Rzesow' is pronounced 'Jeshov'...not quite easy to pick up. I know the ex-pat story because Tim is from the NE USA and many of his acquaintances are ex-pats. From the Jewish neighborhood, we move onto a club where the DJ plays laughable sequences. Try Micheal Jackson's Bad followed by Land Down Under by some Lionel Richie tune. Try watching people dance emphatically to this and then try to join in. I don't even know why Lionel Richie was popular 25 years ago....why now?...I was tired so I took off to Tims place with his keys. This caused a small confusion the next day cause I didn't know how to locate Tim and had to stash his keys somewhere outside and let him know by email...one couchsurfing problem.
This is getting long...phew...
Yesterday, Pawel came in from up north where he is working, just like I did in Italy. We spent the day checking out the area (Pawels been here like 10 times, so I didn't feel lost), had a dinner of about 50 perogis, and went out bar hopping to have some beers. A calm night. It was great to see someone familiar and get the chance to BS like we were back in MTL.
Today we headed out and did some more lazy cruising around Krakow. Went to Wawel Castle and also had some more good food. Krakow is terrific because it is a small little intimite place, it is all original (the whole city survived bombing in WWII), there are a lot of shops and restaurants and clubs, it has good cosmopolitan culture and everything is dirt cheap. Dinner for instance: a big plate of food at a sit down restaurant and a .5 L beer cost $6 CN. This is in the center. Really cheap..
So, I'm taking it easy in the hostel now. Tonight I'll just read and go to bed early. Tomorrow, I think I'll head out to Auschwitz and do the depressing but interesting tour before heading back to Krakow for the day. Maybe some shopping and bumming around before heading to Prague on the overnight train. That may be the last stop before Munich, I'm not sure...I'm getting a bit fed up from moving around so much.
Yeah, it wasn't too much of a quick update...It was actually pretty tasking to produce...I'll have to share some more once I get the pictures going though...
P ¶ 14:55 2 comments
8.23.2005
The Photos Keep on Coming....
Pictures, pictures and pictures....Starting with more churches and places of worship..I have seen a lot in Italy, but I have not seen a Jewish Temple...this was my first non-Christian visit of the tour...The Dahony street synagogue is the second largest in the world. It was designed by a Christian architect and it includes many elements characteristic of a church....You can see in these pictures me sporting a hat that would not stay on my head, the Memorial tree outside the synagogue that recognizes the death of some 10,000 Hungarian Jews in WWII....The other picture brings us back to the Christian faith with St. Stephens basilica....
Next, there are some night-time shots of Budapest, starting with the parliment building and a cityscape from atop a mountain...the daytime picture is of heroes square...
Next, we have some pictures from Statue Park where many of the Communist statues and monuments have been placed after the fall of communism in 89...This is a very strange place, and I recommend it to anyone for a bit of nostalgia...
Again here, there is one photo from Statue Park, and then there are a couple of Barna, his cousin, cousins friend from Transalvania and his wife at dinner...
I have come nearer to the conclusion of my time here...today I spent the day in the famous Medicinal baths...great stuff...paid 6 euros for the whole day...the water has a lot of great minerals and is good for the ol health...the place is a huge complex with a bunch of seperate baths in different rooms...each bath has its own temperature and individual mineral composition...they list em on the walls...outside in the courtyard are three open pools...a cold water one for swimming, a warm water one with a ton of fountains, and a hot water pool...there are people bathing and playing chess at the same time...whacky.
Tomorrow, I go off to Slovakia to hike the Tatras...I dont know when I will be able to use the internet again, so it will be back to the intermittent posting..
I will get you updated soon though...ciao,ciao...P ¶ 14:27 0 comments
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Next, there are some night-time shots of Budapest, starting with the parliment building and a cityscape from atop a mountain...the daytime picture is of heroes square...
 |  |  |
Next, we have some pictures from Statue Park where many of the Communist statues and monuments have been placed after the fall of communism in 89...This is a very strange place, and I recommend it to anyone for a bit of nostalgia...
 |  |  |  |
Again here, there is one photo from Statue Park, and then there are a couple of Barna, his cousin, cousins friend from Transalvania and his wife at dinner...
 |  |  |
I have come nearer to the conclusion of my time here...today I spent the day in the famous Medicinal baths...great stuff...paid 6 euros for the whole day...the water has a lot of great minerals and is good for the ol health...the place is a huge complex with a bunch of seperate baths in different rooms...each bath has its own temperature and individual mineral composition...they list em on the walls...outside in the courtyard are three open pools...a cold water one for swimming, a warm water one with a ton of fountains, and a hot water pool...there are people bathing and playing chess at the same time...whacky.
Tomorrow, I go off to Slovakia to hike the Tatras...I dont know when I will be able to use the internet again, so it will be back to the intermittent posting..
I will get you updated soon though...ciao,ciao...P ¶ 14:27 0 comments
8.22.2005
hoohaa and photos
Here in Budapest I stay with a man named Barna...Barna is a mech. engineer like I and we've met online through couchsurfing.com....Barna has internet access and therefore so do I by relation...I will now post some photos of the last few days...
First there are some photos from Venice where I spent a day and a half...typical of the Venice photos are the water shots, trying to be artistic but failing in many cases...have a look...
Then there is slovenia...starting with Bovec, a town in the Julian Alps...Bovec is a little resort town where I spent a day and a half checking out the nature and doing some swimming and camping and canyoning...notice the beautiful Soca river...considered by some the best in Europe...also I saw the front line of the Austrian-Hungarian defence from WWI...right down the road from my campsite...(There's a pic of the hammock setup...yeah!!)...creepy old soldier caves there and the original barbed wire fence still standing....and then there's some pictures from me in a field eating dinner at sunset, admiring the mountains and later unfortunately unsettled by the onrush of feeding goats!!! whoa!
From Bovec to Ljubljana, the small capital city of Slovenia...small but beautiful...I went and checked out the Ljubljana castle and have some pics from there, as well as just various pictures from around Ljubs....
And now in Budapest, there are some pictures with Barna and his cousin Arthur...there's also me with a Hungarian gal or two....and of course us after the rain storm in the elevator...a classic....
More pics to come later...enjoy...and please...don't be shy..comment it up..I want to know if I'm doing this only as an exercise in Sanity...
P ¶ 19:05 3 comments
First there are some photos from Venice where I spent a day and a half...typical of the Venice photos are the water shots, trying to be artistic but failing in many cases...have a look...
 |  |  |
Then there is slovenia...starting with Bovec, a town in the Julian Alps...Bovec is a little resort town where I spent a day and a half checking out the nature and doing some swimming and camping and canyoning...notice the beautiful Soca river...considered by some the best in Europe...also I saw the front line of the Austrian-Hungarian defence from WWI...right down the road from my campsite...(There's a pic of the hammock setup...yeah!!)...creepy old soldier caves there and the original barbed wire fence still standing....and then there's some pictures from me in a field eating dinner at sunset, admiring the mountains and later unfortunately unsettled by the onrush of feeding goats!!! whoa!
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From Bovec to Ljubljana, the small capital city of Slovenia...small but beautiful...I went and checked out the Ljubljana castle and have some pics from there, as well as just various pictures from around Ljubs....
 |  |  |
 |  |
And now in Budapest, there are some pictures with Barna and his cousin Arthur...there's also me with a Hungarian gal or two....and of course us after the rain storm in the elevator...a classic....
 |  |  |
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More pics to come later...enjoy...and please...don't be shy..comment it up..I want to know if I'm doing this only as an exercise in Sanity...
P ¶ 19:05 3 comments
8.20.2005
In slovenia
...Since leaving the south of Italy on Monday, I have travelled to Venice in the north and stayed a day before moving onto Slovenia. From Venice on Wednesday morning, I took a two hour train to the Slovene border at Gorizia. I tried getting on a bus to go to the Slovene side but I was told that the bus was only for EU citizens....so, I tried to find a new way to my destination, the border town of Nova Gorica...luckily a woman buying cigarettes at the station overheard my troubles and offered me a ride into Slovenia....good stuff...only took a few minutes and I was there at the bus station...I changed my euros and got 10,000 SIT...I'm rich!..
From there I took the bus up to Bovec, which is in the Julian alps...beautiful mountians with white sand riverbeds and crystal clear water....great alpine drinking water...Bovec is a tourist center, kind of a resort town, I imagine a bit like Banff..I was there for two nights, one day....Wednesday nite, I roamed around with my pack looking for campgrounds to set up my hammock, but they were packed with tourists and kids and were charging 6 euros to stay...no thanks....I walked about 15 minutes down the main road and found a spot in the woods to set up camp....once set up I hit the town for a drink and watched a bit of soccer before heading back to sleep....It was too cold though, even with my many layers of clothes I was freezing by 2am, so I got up and walked into town and slept the rest of the night where it was a bit warmer...Next morning, woke up at 6am and headed back to camp to collect stuff for the day of canyoning...I rented a mountain bike for the day at a place downtown and took the ride to the 'extreme' sports place....On the way I passed by the Bovec airfield where people were setting up to do some sky diving...there was also someone with a little single prop job in the air pulling barrel rolls, loops and other manouvers at 8 am...
Canyoning was great...you take the jeep up to the start, put on your neoprene suit and hike about 25 minutes up the canyon to the start....from there, you plunge down waterfalls, either sliding or jumping from pothole to pothole...the water at 5m deep is absolutely clear....we did a bunch of nice jumps and waterfalls....my favorite was a 5m waterfall that was into a cave...
The rest of the day in Bovec, I spent on the bike, doing tours and site seeing into the national park and around the soca river...I tried swimming once but it was freezing cold...Also saw a bit of WWI history, as the front line was about 500m from my campsite...Really creepy caves...Near Bovec, in Kobarid, one of the bloodiest battles in WWI took place...At night, I went out for a few beers and a meal and had a little talk with some tourists, saw some local music and dancing and then returned to my campsite...this time, I had a sleeping bag and everything was nice and cozy..
Friday morning, I took the 8am bus to Bled, a mountain lake with a church on an island (the big attraction) and therefore tourist sight...The busride through the mountains was intense, beautiful and stressful...I kept thinking we'd tip over and roll all the way down the valley...once in Bled, I quickly made it to the lake and dropped off my bag to take a swim...I swam to the island to check out the church and it was just a church...but the water was terriffic...there are no moter vehicles allowed on the lake...After a large meal for lunch of traditional cuisine (pork chops, potatoes) I was on the bus again to Ljubljana...
Arrived in Ljubs and after finding the hostel, took off to the downtown for a bit of a stroll...the place is tiny (200,000 people) so you can see all there is in about a day....the architecture is beautiful and it is a very clean and well planned city...the center is lively and there are tons of original shops and cafes....a very good vibe here...Today, just sight seeing...went to the Ljubljana castle and saw some buildings by the most famous of Slovenian architects....Now, using the internet at the bar (free!), drinking a green Zlatorog beer, gettin ready to take a early night....maybe....
Tomorrow I have a 8 hour train to Budapest where I'll meet up with Barna, a hungarian guy who'll be hosting me at his home for the night...Budapest for three days then off to Slovakia...I'll try to keep adding as much as I can, but I don't know if I'll have the free internet all the time....!...and photos, I'll try on that one too....
Ciao,ciao,P ¶ 09:13 1 comments
From there I took the bus up to Bovec, which is in the Julian alps...beautiful mountians with white sand riverbeds and crystal clear water....great alpine drinking water...Bovec is a tourist center, kind of a resort town, I imagine a bit like Banff..I was there for two nights, one day....Wednesday nite, I roamed around with my pack looking for campgrounds to set up my hammock, but they were packed with tourists and kids and were charging 6 euros to stay...no thanks....I walked about 15 minutes down the main road and found a spot in the woods to set up camp....once set up I hit the town for a drink and watched a bit of soccer before heading back to sleep....It was too cold though, even with my many layers of clothes I was freezing by 2am, so I got up and walked into town and slept the rest of the night where it was a bit warmer...Next morning, woke up at 6am and headed back to camp to collect stuff for the day of canyoning...I rented a mountain bike for the day at a place downtown and took the ride to the 'extreme' sports place....On the way I passed by the Bovec airfield where people were setting up to do some sky diving...there was also someone with a little single prop job in the air pulling barrel rolls, loops and other manouvers at 8 am...
Canyoning was great...you take the jeep up to the start, put on your neoprene suit and hike about 25 minutes up the canyon to the start....from there, you plunge down waterfalls, either sliding or jumping from pothole to pothole...the water at 5m deep is absolutely clear....we did a bunch of nice jumps and waterfalls....my favorite was a 5m waterfall that was into a cave...
The rest of the day in Bovec, I spent on the bike, doing tours and site seeing into the national park and around the soca river...I tried swimming once but it was freezing cold...Also saw a bit of WWI history, as the front line was about 500m from my campsite...Really creepy caves...Near Bovec, in Kobarid, one of the bloodiest battles in WWI took place...At night, I went out for a few beers and a meal and had a little talk with some tourists, saw some local music and dancing and then returned to my campsite...this time, I had a sleeping bag and everything was nice and cozy..
Friday morning, I took the 8am bus to Bled, a mountain lake with a church on an island (the big attraction) and therefore tourist sight...The busride through the mountains was intense, beautiful and stressful...I kept thinking we'd tip over and roll all the way down the valley...once in Bled, I quickly made it to the lake and dropped off my bag to take a swim...I swam to the island to check out the church and it was just a church...but the water was terriffic...there are no moter vehicles allowed on the lake...After a large meal for lunch of traditional cuisine (pork chops, potatoes) I was on the bus again to Ljubljana...
Arrived in Ljubs and after finding the hostel, took off to the downtown for a bit of a stroll...the place is tiny (200,000 people) so you can see all there is in about a day....the architecture is beautiful and it is a very clean and well planned city...the center is lively and there are tons of original shops and cafes....a very good vibe here...Today, just sight seeing...went to the Ljubljana castle and saw some buildings by the most famous of Slovenian architects....Now, using the internet at the bar (free!), drinking a green Zlatorog beer, gettin ready to take a early night....maybe....
Tomorrow I have a 8 hour train to Budapest where I'll meet up with Barna, a hungarian guy who'll be hosting me at his home for the night...Budapest for three days then off to Slovakia...I'll try to keep adding as much as I can, but I don't know if I'll have the free internet all the time....!...and photos, I'll try on that one too....
Ciao,ciao,P ¶ 09:13 1 comments
8.05.2005
The Revival
Would it be fatuous of me to assume you've missed me, or wondered where I have gone in the past few weeks...????...
Indeed where have I gone? Nowhere really; what has gone in my abscence was the internet access at work....but now, we've been allowed to play in the sun once more (in a much more limited, hall-monitered type of way), and so I can take this short time to write a short discourse on the past and nearly future events.
I've been to Florence in the mean-while, and I've looked at just about every priceless good they've had to offer me. I saw Michelangelo's David for free, having snuck through the back entrance, and I also saw Botteghelli's Venus and Springtime. I especially appreciated the Annuciation by Leonardo DiVinci. And the architecture in Florence is a thing all to its own...Fantastic little spot, you can do it all in about two days the city is so small, and being planted right in prime Chianti country, you can get a bottle of the reds for a nearly 'Baby Duck' price....tasty.
Then I've gone to Capri. Delicious water. We took the opportunity to swim in the Grotto Azure after all the boats were finished visiting for the day....this was by far the best thing I've seen....for those who aren't up on your natural wonders, the Blue Grotto is a huge cave that is accessed on the coast of Capri....Its filled with water, so you've got to take a boat or swim in. The entrance is tiny and the passengers of the small tour boats have to lay down while the driver swiftly guides them through between waves....once inside, you can't see too much cause its really dark (it is a cave, after all)....After your eyes become acclaimatised to the darkness, you can see the cave is massive, about 200 feet long by 100 feet wide...Go in a little further to the middle and turn around, and this is why they call it the Blue Grotto...the sun coming through the small entrance and into the water makes the crystal clear sea glow the most beautiful sapphire blue you'll ever see. The whole experience is tremendous, and free if you're swimming....
So now, I'm finishing up my last week of work before I head out for a 3 week eastern european tour. I'm heading to Rome on the 15th to see the Vatican Museam, then that night going to Venice where I'll stay for 2 days. From Venice I go to Slovenia and into the Julian Alps to do some adventure sports for a day or two and then to the capitol Ljubljana. After that, I'm moving onto Budapest for a three day jaunt over the weekend before heading out to Slovakia's High Tatra mountains for some more natural adventure. A little bit of hiking in the alpines and then I'm off again for Krakow and Wroclaw poland for the first half of the week. Maybe I'll meet up with some friends there, I don't know. From Poland its off to the Czech Republic where I'll spend an as yet undetermined amount of time in Prague and surrounding regions before heading off again. I may stop off in Austria and Switzerland before heading to Munich for the 4th of September if I have time. Then from the 4th to the 10th I'm in Munich for a conference and finally back to Montreal.
This is the last big breath before the plunge. I'll hope to see you all soon after this....
Ciao,
Phil ¶ 08:36 0 comments
Indeed where have I gone? Nowhere really; what has gone in my abscence was the internet access at work....but now, we've been allowed to play in the sun once more (in a much more limited, hall-monitered type of way), and so I can take this short time to write a short discourse on the past and nearly future events.
I've been to Florence in the mean-while, and I've looked at just about every priceless good they've had to offer me. I saw Michelangelo's David for free, having snuck through the back entrance, and I also saw Botteghelli's Venus and Springtime. I especially appreciated the Annuciation by Leonardo DiVinci. And the architecture in Florence is a thing all to its own...Fantastic little spot, you can do it all in about two days the city is so small, and being planted right in prime Chianti country, you can get a bottle of the reds for a nearly 'Baby Duck' price....tasty.
Then I've gone to Capri. Delicious water. We took the opportunity to swim in the Grotto Azure after all the boats were finished visiting for the day....this was by far the best thing I've seen....for those who aren't up on your natural wonders, the Blue Grotto is a huge cave that is accessed on the coast of Capri....Its filled with water, so you've got to take a boat or swim in. The entrance is tiny and the passengers of the small tour boats have to lay down while the driver swiftly guides them through between waves....once inside, you can't see too much cause its really dark (it is a cave, after all)....After your eyes become acclaimatised to the darkness, you can see the cave is massive, about 200 feet long by 100 feet wide...Go in a little further to the middle and turn around, and this is why they call it the Blue Grotto...the sun coming through the small entrance and into the water makes the crystal clear sea glow the most beautiful sapphire blue you'll ever see. The whole experience is tremendous, and free if you're swimming....
So now, I'm finishing up my last week of work before I head out for a 3 week eastern european tour. I'm heading to Rome on the 15th to see the Vatican Museam, then that night going to Venice where I'll stay for 2 days. From Venice I go to Slovenia and into the Julian Alps to do some adventure sports for a day or two and then to the capitol Ljubljana. After that, I'm moving onto Budapest for a three day jaunt over the weekend before heading out to Slovakia's High Tatra mountains for some more natural adventure. A little bit of hiking in the alpines and then I'm off again for Krakow and Wroclaw poland for the first half of the week. Maybe I'll meet up with some friends there, I don't know. From Poland its off to the Czech Republic where I'll spend an as yet undetermined amount of time in Prague and surrounding regions before heading off again. I may stop off in Austria and Switzerland before heading to Munich for the 4th of September if I have time. Then from the 4th to the 10th I'm in Munich for a conference and finally back to Montreal.
This is the last big breath before the plunge. I'll hope to see you all soon after this....
Ciao,
Phil ¶ 08:36 0 comments
