So, the event I got to attend last night was the opening of a jazz exhibit that details the performances and visits abroad of the great names in Jazz to promote happy feelings about the US. I must say that it was a huge success - what a cool exhibit! It was all black and white photographs of the biggest names in jazz and blues: Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Clark Terry (who I've had the privilege to see in concert at Jazz Alley in Seattle), and the list goes on. I love Jazz, and apparently so does Poland as the Jazz scene here is alive and well. I feel so lucky that I could go the the event.
But, as we were getting ready to leave, we discovered it had started raining. The weather had been absolutely gorgeous for the past couple days, so this was a little surprising. Even more surprising was that it continued to get worse every second until tables chairs and umbrellas were blowing over in hurricane style winds and hail (though it really looked more like ices cubes) started falling. It was totally bizarre! I've never seen bigger raindrops in my life either! So, there we were, stuck in the bar and trying to wait out the rain as none of us had brought anything to shelter ourselves with. But at least we were stuck in the bar and could have a drink or two while we waited. Eventually it let up a little bit and Candace and I ran to her friend's car to get her stuff out of the trunk and then sought shelter under the eaves of a hotel check in area while we waited for a cab. Needless to say, we were completely soaked. Nothing that a change into pajamas and a hot cup of tea can't fix though!
Today I am heading out to the Wilanow castle and will probably hit up a couple museums or galleries as well as the Palace of Culture, which is supposed to be pretty amazing. Having a great time and sending my love to all!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Warszawa!!!!
Wow! What a great city! Everyone should visit Poland, I've been so impressed.
So, Krakow was very fun and cute, but also quite touristy. I enjoyed my stay there immensely, but Warsaw is quickly becoming one of my favorite places I've been on this trip. Candace, the ever gracious host, has kept me extremely entertained. I got here on Saturday night and went to a housewarming party with her where I met most of her colleagues from the Embassy, what a wonderful and interesting group of people! Then, yesterday, we rode bikes all over the city, stopping at outdoor festivals everywhere and eating wonderful Polish delights and drinking awesome unpasturized Polish beer. Delicious! I got to see so much of the city and enjoyed the bike ride immensely. I am convinced that it's the best way to see a city. After our ride around town, we went to an outdorr jazz concert and then on a river cruise with folks from the embassy as a send off for one of their co-workers who is heading to Kosovo in a week. It was a beautiful evening, the company was great and the sunset was subperb.
Being here is amazing. I can't believe I'm in Poland/Eastern Europe. Not many Americans make this a destination, though I am totally convinced they should. It's an eye-opening experience the history of Warsaw alone is staggering. 85% of the city was destroyed in the Polish uprising of 1944 and they re-built the city brick by brick to look as close to what it did before the devastation. It's incredible to walk the streets with that in mind.
The weather has been beautiful, thankfully, as it has been unseasonably wet here from what I've heard. Right now I am sitting in a coffee shop on a square and enjoying a sunny morning and a caffe latte while planning out my day and making reservations for my hostel in Berlin. Tonight I will be going to an opening VIP reception for the place where we saw the jazz concert last night. So glad I found a cute dress while in Krakow! I'll take lots of pictures and be sure to post asap.
I feel so lucky to be staying with Candace, we hadn't seen eachother for 8 years and it's been great catching up with her - she's still just as wonderful as I remembered her and I'm glad to be rebuilding a great friendship. Not to mention the palatial accomodations in her apartment - it's so nice to have my own room and personal bathroom after staying in hostels with 12 other people to a room and all sharing a bathroom.
Stay tuned!!!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Finally I have some time to write!
PHEW! What a crazy week!
So, in the past week I have taken final exams, turned in my terrible paper, checked out of my apartment, then made the trek from Florence to Venice, Venice to Vienna, and then a crazy journey from Vienna to Krakow, Poland. This evening I head to Warsaw and shoudl arrive by 8pm.
Venice, as I told you earlier, was great. I loved Vienna and had the luck of being able to go to a Mozart Symphony/Opera Concert while there, which was a great experience. They played all my favorites, the venue was beautiful and the singers were amazing. I'll post pictures soon, hopefully.
Then, there was the ridiculous journey from Vienna to Krakow, Poland. Holy hell! I was supposed to leave Vienna at 10:15pm and make it to Krakow by 6:30am the following morning. However, this most certainly did not happen. I awoke at what I later found out was 4:30am to discover the train was not moving and freaked out because my phone, which had been stuck on Eastern US coast time since I left the states (5 weeks!) decided to switch to local time while I slept. Basically, I had no idea what time it was, though I could tell it was early morning from the level of the sun in the sky, and could not figure out where I was. Turns out, we were stopped at a train station in the middle of the Czech Republic and that there was such bad flooding up the track that we could not continue on our route. After sitting there for three hours and trying to figure out what was going on, no one would tell us anything, they finally said we had 10 minutes to get our things together and run over to another platform to catch and train that would take us to a bus. We had no idea what stop to take, and finally figured that out, got on the bus which took us to another train station, got on another train, which then took us to another train that would take us to Krakow. Then, as if things weren't bad enough, this train took the most circular and long trip to make it to Krakow. We ended up arriving in Krakow a full 11 hours after our original scheduled arrival time. 19 hours on a train with only the snacks I brought with me (thank goodness I had the common sense to also bring a bottle of wine!), when the travel toime should have been 8 hours. That's what happens when you travel though! Gotta roll with the punches!
The silver lining to this crazy journey, though, was that I made a great friend on the train. She's a French teacher from Toronto, Canada that is participating in a program in Nice, France. We had the best time in Krakow together before she left on the night train to Prague last night. We exchanged information and are going to keep in touch, though she is heading to Hong Kong for a year to teach after she completes her program in Nice. So jealous!
Anyway, as I said earlier, I'll hop on a train to Warsaw at 5pm this evening and (hopefully) should make it there by 8pm to meet up with Candace Faber, a girl I went to junior high and high school with who is of the most fabulous character adn brilliant to boot! I am extremely excited as I haven't seen her in 8 years! Guess I'll have to break off my engagement with my fiance (featured in the post below).......
Stay tuned!!!
So, in the past week I have taken final exams, turned in my terrible paper, checked out of my apartment, then made the trek from Florence to Venice, Venice to Vienna, and then a crazy journey from Vienna to Krakow, Poland. This evening I head to Warsaw and shoudl arrive by 8pm.
Venice, as I told you earlier, was great. I loved Vienna and had the luck of being able to go to a Mozart Symphony/Opera Concert while there, which was a great experience. They played all my favorites, the venue was beautiful and the singers were amazing. I'll post pictures soon, hopefully.
Then, there was the ridiculous journey from Vienna to Krakow, Poland. Holy hell! I was supposed to leave Vienna at 10:15pm and make it to Krakow by 6:30am the following morning. However, this most certainly did not happen. I awoke at what I later found out was 4:30am to discover the train was not moving and freaked out because my phone, which had been stuck on Eastern US coast time since I left the states (5 weeks!) decided to switch to local time while I slept. Basically, I had no idea what time it was, though I could tell it was early morning from the level of the sun in the sky, and could not figure out where I was. Turns out, we were stopped at a train station in the middle of the Czech Republic and that there was such bad flooding up the track that we could not continue on our route. After sitting there for three hours and trying to figure out what was going on, no one would tell us anything, they finally said we had 10 minutes to get our things together and run over to another platform to catch and train that would take us to a bus. We had no idea what stop to take, and finally figured that out, got on the bus which took us to another train station, got on another train, which then took us to another train that would take us to Krakow. Then, as if things weren't bad enough, this train took the most circular and long trip to make it to Krakow. We ended up arriving in Krakow a full 11 hours after our original scheduled arrival time. 19 hours on a train with only the snacks I brought with me (thank goodness I had the common sense to also bring a bottle of wine!), when the travel toime should have been 8 hours. That's what happens when you travel though! Gotta roll with the punches!
The silver lining to this crazy journey, though, was that I made a great friend on the train. She's a French teacher from Toronto, Canada that is participating in a program in Nice, France. We had the best time in Krakow together before she left on the night train to Prague last night. We exchanged information and are going to keep in touch, though she is heading to Hong Kong for a year to teach after she completes her program in Nice. So jealous!
Anyway, as I said earlier, I'll hop on a train to Warsaw at 5pm this evening and (hopefully) should make it there by 8pm to meet up with Candace Faber, a girl I went to junior high and high school with who is of the most fabulous character adn brilliant to boot! I am extremely excited as I haven't seen her in 8 years! Guess I'll have to break off my engagement with my fiance (featured in the post below).......
Stay tuned!!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Venice & Vienna
Well, I am now in Vienna, Austria, writing to you from the hostel I am staying at here. I arrived this morning after riding the train through the night from Venice. I actually left Florence yesterday at 12:40pm local time and went to Venice, spent a couple hours there and then hopped a train for Vienna at 9pm.
So far, this is what I've learned about myself since venturing out by myself on this leg of my trip: I can not sleep on trains for the life of me (granted, I had a "couchette," which is a fancy word for an uncomfortable seat, so that may have been part of the problem), guys named Andre in Venice are crazy with a capital C-R-A-Z-Y, and Vienna, though beautiful and awesome, really sucks when it's raining. .I've also realized that I don't particularly care for hostels - though I'm not really sure anyone does. I mean, it's a great cheap way to have a place to shower and sleep, but I just find them a little uncomfortable and worry that I'm bothering them while I try to cram my huge-ass backpack into my locker in the middle of the afternoon while they're taking a nap. That reminds me, holy crap do I need to throw away or ship home some crap. What the heck was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I was stationary in Florence for 4 weeks straight and didn't have to deal with lugging my backpack and daypack around with me. Ugh.
Ok, so for the scoop on crazy dudes named Andre in Venice: Whoa. Dude was totally harmless and I was completely safe because tons of people were everywhere and it was daylight, but wow did this guy say some weird stuff. I think he tried to tell me he was bisexual, but in a very lewd sort of way. Don't ask. Once I got back to the train station (after making fun of him mercilessly about following me around, even when I purchased fruit at a fruit stand and told the gentleman helping me that the guy was just following me around) I was sitting on the steps thinking about dinner and a beer, besides still trying to avoid Andre, when I was saved by a slightly drunk Polish guy named Gregory. Turns out, Gregory was pretty rad, even though he had a completely idealistic idea of America. We chatted, I left and got dinner, came back and sat on the steps and he was still there, we talked music for a bit and he told me all about what I should do while in Krakow (he was pretty stoked I was going there), and then wished eachother well on our respective journeys and parted ways. I've seriously met some of the coolest, laid back people on this trip, that's been pretty awesome. Not counting Andre, of course.
Even though I didn't have much time in Venice and didn't take a ride on a Gondola and have the driver (pilot? captain?) sing to me, I did get to see the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, which was amazing. After that I relaxed on the edge of the Grande Canal and watched the cruise ships come in. It actually reminded me of home a lot, which made me a little homesick, but was perfect to chill me out for a long train ride.
I arrived in Vienna this morning at around 8:30am, found a hostel and then set out to check out the city. It's been raining all day, so I ended up completely soaked by the time I got back to my hostel, but I had a great time looking at all the sights and eating the most awesome bratwurst I've ever had yet. Emphasis on the "yet" as I will be heading to Germany next week.
To be completely honest, even though I was totally miserable and wet, I was completely blown away. I mean, I'm in Vienna! Seriously, this is Mozart country. In fact, I'm going to hear some Mozart and Strauss tonight as I ran into some people selling tickets for the opera and got a special deal because I'm a student. Sweet!
If you would have asked me last year what I would be doing right now, there's no way in hell I would have said (or even guessed): "Hanging out in Vienna, heading to Krakow tomorrow night in a sleeper car and then onto Warsaw, Berlin, Luneburg and Hamburg after spending 4 weeks in Florence and running around other parts of Italy." Whoa. I mean, it hasn't all been perfect and sunshine and rainbows, there have been 2 days where I seriously pondered shortening my trip, but for the most part, this has been an incredible experience and memories I will cherish for a lifetime. And it ain't even over yet! I still have 16 more days before I head back to the U.S.
Oh, and Austrain advertising is hilarious!!! Seriously. I am completely unsurprised that Ah-nuld came from here as I've never seen so many cheesy gym ads in my life. Thumbs up, beefcakes!
So far, this is what I've learned about myself since venturing out by myself on this leg of my trip: I can not sleep on trains for the life of me (granted, I had a "couchette," which is a fancy word for an uncomfortable seat, so that may have been part of the problem), guys named Andre in Venice are crazy with a capital C-R-A-Z-Y, and Vienna, though beautiful and awesome, really sucks when it's raining. .I've also realized that I don't particularly care for hostels - though I'm not really sure anyone does. I mean, it's a great cheap way to have a place to shower and sleep, but I just find them a little uncomfortable and worry that I'm bothering them while I try to cram my huge-ass backpack into my locker in the middle of the afternoon while they're taking a nap. That reminds me, holy crap do I need to throw away or ship home some crap. What the heck was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I was stationary in Florence for 4 weeks straight and didn't have to deal with lugging my backpack and daypack around with me. Ugh.
Ok, so for the scoop on crazy dudes named Andre in Venice: Whoa. Dude was totally harmless and I was completely safe because tons of people were everywhere and it was daylight, but wow did this guy say some weird stuff. I think he tried to tell me he was bisexual, but in a very lewd sort of way. Don't ask. Once I got back to the train station (after making fun of him mercilessly about following me around, even when I purchased fruit at a fruit stand and told the gentleman helping me that the guy was just following me around) I was sitting on the steps thinking about dinner and a beer, besides still trying to avoid Andre, when I was saved by a slightly drunk Polish guy named Gregory. Turns out, Gregory was pretty rad, even though he had a completely idealistic idea of America. We chatted, I left and got dinner, came back and sat on the steps and he was still there, we talked music for a bit and he told me all about what I should do while in Krakow (he was pretty stoked I was going there), and then wished eachother well on our respective journeys and parted ways. I've seriously met some of the coolest, laid back people on this trip, that's been pretty awesome. Not counting Andre, of course.
Even though I didn't have much time in Venice and didn't take a ride on a Gondola and have the driver (pilot? captain?) sing to me, I did get to see the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, which was amazing. After that I relaxed on the edge of the Grande Canal and watched the cruise ships come in. It actually reminded me of home a lot, which made me a little homesick, but was perfect to chill me out for a long train ride.
I arrived in Vienna this morning at around 8:30am, found a hostel and then set out to check out the city. It's been raining all day, so I ended up completely soaked by the time I got back to my hostel, but I had a great time looking at all the sights and eating the most awesome bratwurst I've ever had yet. Emphasis on the "yet" as I will be heading to Germany next week.
To be completely honest, even though I was totally miserable and wet, I was completely blown away. I mean, I'm in Vienna! Seriously, this is Mozart country. In fact, I'm going to hear some Mozart and Strauss tonight as I ran into some people selling tickets for the opera and got a special deal because I'm a student. Sweet!
If you would have asked me last year what I would be doing right now, there's no way in hell I would have said (or even guessed): "Hanging out in Vienna, heading to Krakow tomorrow night in a sleeper car and then onto Warsaw, Berlin, Luneburg and Hamburg after spending 4 weeks in Florence and running around other parts of Italy." Whoa. I mean, it hasn't all been perfect and sunshine and rainbows, there have been 2 days where I seriously pondered shortening my trip, but for the most part, this has been an incredible experience and memories I will cherish for a lifetime. And it ain't even over yet! I still have 16 more days before I head back to the U.S.
Oh, and Austrain advertising is hilarious!!! Seriously. I am completely unsurprised that Ah-nuld came from here as I've never seen so many cheesy gym ads in my life. Thumbs up, beefcakes!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
hello???
Ok, so I've posted pictures and written posts and I am so surprised that I haven't gotten any comments to my posts - I am so sad! Ok, seriously, I really love hearing from you all so feel free to post as many comments as it'll take.
I leave for Poland on Monday (actually am heading to Venice on Monday afternoon and then onto Vienna, Prague and finally Krakow where I will stay for a couple days) and am sad to leave, though it will be nice to get to some cooler weather - it's been so bloody hot and humid here all week. Our apartment is almost unbearably hot and sleeping has become very difficult (on top of it already being a little difficult because of my crazy, vino-induced dreams).
Tomorrow I have finals and will turn in my huge and horrible paper on establishing an income tax in WA and analysis on the best system to implement to fall in line with principles of social justice. Riveting, I know. I'm considering printing off copies of it for Christmas gifts - ha!
Anyway, I must get back to work so I can finally be done with schoolwork for the year. Miss you all and sending my love!
I leave for Poland on Monday (actually am heading to Venice on Monday afternoon and then onto Vienna, Prague and finally Krakow where I will stay for a couple days) and am sad to leave, though it will be nice to get to some cooler weather - it's been so bloody hot and humid here all week. Our apartment is almost unbearably hot and sleeping has become very difficult (on top of it already being a little difficult because of my crazy, vino-induced dreams).
Tomorrow I have finals and will turn in my huge and horrible paper on establishing an income tax in WA and analysis on the best system to implement to fall in line with principles of social justice. Riveting, I know. I'm considering printing off copies of it for Christmas gifts - ha!
Anyway, I must get back to work so I can finally be done with schoolwork for the year. Miss you all and sending my love!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Picture Day!
OK, so after a week of no pictures, I am finally posting some today.....
SIENA:
The cathedral in Siena was incredible:
You can't really tell from this picture, but the ceiling was painted dark blue with golden stars to look like the night sky. I loved it.
Me and the enormous Piazza del Campo (I think that's the name) in Siena:
PISA:
The cathedral and the Baptistry were both very moving. The Baptistry was very sparsely decorated, but while we were in there and up in the gallery looking down, a man started singing creating some beautiful harmonies with the acoustics and echos and totally gave me goose bumps all over my body. It was a cool, unexpected experience and I was glad we had a chance to witness it. After he was done singing, he began preparing to baptise a little boy whose family was gathering to witness the event. Pretty cool.
LUCCA:
Part of the park on top of the walls around Lucca:
Piazza Napoleone in Lucca:
and some random shots around town:
Hopefully that will be enough photos for now as I have to run to class. Ciao!!!
However, I have to let you know that I did not make it back to Cinque Terre this weekend as I woke up yesterday morning not feeling well and decided to stay home and work on my paper and study all day, which actually ended up being pretty productive. I was very sad that I had to miss the trip there, but also ok with it as I'm pretty sure I will be back someday. You can't always fit everything in to your trip that you want to.
I did make it to Pisa and Lucca this weekend though. Pisa was pretty cool, but I was seriously impressed with Lucca - what a cool and cute little town! Appparently, when Napoleon conquered Lucca, he liked it so much that he gave it to his sister as a gift. After he died, his wife and sister made the medieval walls of the city into a great promenade that you can walk and bike on. It was seriously cool.
With that said, here's a snapshot of my weekend, my trip to Siena last Thursday and a few pictures I had promised from Mercato Centrale:
SIENA:The cathedral in Siena was incredible: You can't really tell from this picture, but the ceiling was painted dark blue with golden stars to look like the night sky. I loved it.Me and the enormous Piazza del Campo (I think that's the name) in Siena:PISA:
The cathedral and the Baptistry were both very moving. The Baptistry was very sparsely decorated, but while we were in there and up in the gallery looking down, a man started singing creating some beautiful harmonies with the acoustics and echos and totally gave me goose bumps all over my body. It was a cool, unexpected experience and I was glad we had a chance to witness it. After he was done singing, he began preparing to baptise a little boy whose family was gathering to witness the event. Pretty cool.LUCCA:
Part of the park on top of the walls around Lucca:Piazza Napoleone in Lucca:and some random shots around town:
Hopefully that will be enough photos for now as I have to run to class. Ciao!!!
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