Its weird to think that I started classes up again today, but everyone else in the normal world (read: home) is about to go home, to retire to couches and best sellers and summer jobs. And I have . . . more books. Worse, books I'm not interested in any more. Oh English major - how I wish I dropped you millions of years ago sometimes. But then, I wouldn't be here, would I? What a strange relationship we have, you and me, English major. So complicated.
So I recongize that I just had 5 weeks off (so glorious too, those 5 weeks), but I'm not ready to do this school stuff some more. I'd rather cash in the tution check, and head back into the backpacker mindset. Don't think that would fly with the fam though, or Jewell, or Cambridge, for that matter. They probably already spent my money on some more "Stay off the grass" signs.
It's also strange how comfortable it was to fall back into my routine here, to sleep in "my bed" and go to Tesco, and pick up a case of gosh-awful expensive Diet Coke, and chit chat in the hall way, and do all those things that have become part of my normal life here in England. And to think this whole experience will be over soon - I'll be home in two months, most of the Jewllites leave the beginning of June (for super research opportunities, or family celebrations, and what not), lectures only go on for the first 4 weeks of the term . . .
It will be a different time here, that's for sure. And then, I return home for the end of my college education, the conclusion of my "studenthood", and life changes there too. Growing up. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.
Well, on a less sighful note, I'm hoping that the weather will change too - that it will also be more sunny, and beautiful, and England will redeem itself in my eyes and make up for all those times I had to cycle home in the pouring, freezing rain, and climb into bed to thaw out while my clothes piled high on the radiator.
So far, it's still raining, but warmer than before. Progress, I guess.
It's also sad to think that my traveling is just about over. I'm basically broke, and my main breaks are up with. If I had more money, I might just stay in Europe all of June - the longer I'm here, the more I want to see. Greece, Scotland, more of Ireland, Spain . . . And that's just this continent. I think I may suffer from travel lust the rest of my days now.
But then again, if current-internship goes well, I may be back here in July. Here's hoping.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Forgot to update about . . .
My Thai foot massage - best 20 bucks I have EVER spent.
Don't miss it - so cheap, and so lovely.
Don't miss it - so cheap, and so lovely.
Wee little post
Wrap it all up . . .
Back in Cambridge now - hello free internet!! So I figure I should fill you in on teh rest of my adventure . . .
From Prague we flew to Dublin, and we stayed there three nights. Our hostel did the job and had a great kitchen (I love ovens! I missed frozen pizza!), but was not a favorite of mine. Berlin's Circus is still the best place I've ever stayed (go there immediately). The thing that bugged me was that we "had to" keep our food in the kitchen (they didn't want the buggies), but the kitchen "closed" (read: doors locked!) at 9 PM. I tried to make a cup of tea at 9:30 PM once when the doors were left open, and got a bit of an ear-full from a staffer. Woah there Nellie - all I wanted was my Earl Gray. Whoops.
When we left, they had closed the kitchen for the whole day because of some problem with the water, but I wanted to pick up our non perishable food, and basically had to argue with the woman so I could step over a small puddle to get to the cabinet. Part of it might have been that I had been traveling for 5 weeks and was running low on people skills (well, only when people were being unreasonable - I'm good with people skills with nice people), but it irked me.
Other than where we laid our heads, Dublin was fantastic. It's a nicer London - smaller, more manageable, more friendly (but still go to London, its super too). Of course, I'm an English major (although these days I wish I wasn't . . . ) so I also loved to see the Ulysses' signs (noting locations from Joyce's epic). John and I went on a Literary Pub Crawl, where we joined two actors in visiting four pubs, where the crowd would drink and the actors would recite and act bits of famous Irish works - it was a blast. And one again, our failure to make friends with people our own age was apparent (however, to our credit, everyone our age was way more drunk, and way more obnoxious than we were, hence our avoidance of them) when we struck up a conversation with another middle-aged vacationing couple, bringing our new-friends-over-40-list up to around 6 or 8.
I also did a bit of window shopping in Dublin - try and find Sabatoge. Its the best store in life. I found a perfect dress that I had to visit twice before I made the hard decision that 80 Euro is too much when my bank account was under USD $500, despite beauty. Sigh.
From Dublin we took a bus to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We weren't there very long, but it was a great stop. We took a black taxi tour of Shankill and Falls Road - the front lines between the Catholic and Protestant Troubles, and got to snap a few photos of the political-religious murals. The ceasefire has been in effect for a while now, but our driver pointed out that the gates are still closed at night and on the weekend , separating the two communities of Protestants and Catholics, and there isn't any serious talk of the "Peace Wall" coming down. It was terribly interesting, and very strange. Especially since we were walking around about the time school was ending, so kids were running around, kicking soccer balls and playing - right in front of these murals attacking the other group, and commemorating hunger strikers. What a strange environment to live in.
Day 2 we took an all day trip to Giant's Causeway, one of my FAVORITE things ever. It was a gorgeous trip through the countryside of Northern Ireland, and we got to see the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, some castle ruins, and of course, the Causeway.
Now, we're back at Cambridge. Last term, here I come. I'd rather skip the academic bit and travel some more, but my bank account is sadly empty. I'm hoping to make it out to Scotland and Greece yet, before I turn stateside, but I'm not sure if I can participate in enough brain scans to make up the dough . . . we'll have to see.
In two months, I'll probably be home. I'm stoked.
Back in Cambridge now - hello free internet!! So I figure I should fill you in on teh rest of my adventure . . .
From Prague we flew to Dublin, and we stayed there three nights. Our hostel did the job and had a great kitchen (I love ovens! I missed frozen pizza!), but was not a favorite of mine. Berlin's Circus is still the best place I've ever stayed (go there immediately). The thing that bugged me was that we "had to" keep our food in the kitchen (they didn't want the buggies), but the kitchen "closed" (read: doors locked!) at 9 PM. I tried to make a cup of tea at 9:30 PM once when the doors were left open, and got a bit of an ear-full from a staffer. Woah there Nellie - all I wanted was my Earl Gray. Whoops.
When we left, they had closed the kitchen for the whole day because of some problem with the water, but I wanted to pick up our non perishable food, and basically had to argue with the woman so I could step over a small puddle to get to the cabinet. Part of it might have been that I had been traveling for 5 weeks and was running low on people skills (well, only when people were being unreasonable - I'm good with people skills with nice people), but it irked me.
Other than where we laid our heads, Dublin was fantastic. It's a nicer London - smaller, more manageable, more friendly (but still go to London, its super too). Of course, I'm an English major (although these days I wish I wasn't . . . ) so I also loved to see the Ulysses' signs (noting locations from Joyce's epic). John and I went on a Literary Pub Crawl, where we joined two actors in visiting four pubs, where the crowd would drink and the actors would recite and act bits of famous Irish works - it was a blast. And one again, our failure to make friends with people our own age was apparent (however, to our credit, everyone our age was way more drunk, and way more obnoxious than we were, hence our avoidance of them) when we struck up a conversation with another middle-aged vacationing couple, bringing our new-friends-over-40-list up to around 6 or 8.
I also did a bit of window shopping in Dublin - try and find Sabatoge. Its the best store in life. I found a perfect dress that I had to visit twice before I made the hard decision that 80 Euro is too much when my bank account was under USD $500, despite beauty. Sigh.
From Dublin we took a bus to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We weren't there very long, but it was a great stop. We took a black taxi tour of Shankill and Falls Road - the front lines between the Catholic and Protestant Troubles, and got to snap a few photos of the political-religious murals. The ceasefire has been in effect for a while now, but our driver pointed out that the gates are still closed at night and on the weekend , separating the two communities of Protestants and Catholics, and there isn't any serious talk of the "Peace Wall" coming down. It was terribly interesting, and very strange. Especially since we were walking around about the time school was ending, so kids were running around, kicking soccer balls and playing - right in front of these murals attacking the other group, and commemorating hunger strikers. What a strange environment to live in.
Day 2 we took an all day trip to Giant's Causeway, one of my FAVORITE things ever. It was a gorgeous trip through the countryside of Northern Ireland, and we got to see the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, some castle ruins, and of course, the Causeway.
Now, we're back at Cambridge. Last term, here I come. I'd rather skip the academic bit and travel some more, but my bank account is sadly empty. I'm hoping to make it out to Scotland and Greece yet, before I turn stateside, but I'm not sure if I can participate in enough brain scans to make up the dough . . . we'll have to see.
In two months, I'll probably be home. I'm stoked.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Praha
The next Paris?
I've never encountered as many tourists as I have here in Prague, except perhaps in Paris. This city runs on them, which makes me wonder if anyone actually lives here . . .
Regardless, it's beautiful. Apparently Hitler wanted to base his government here, so he tried his hardest to avoid it getting bombed, which resulted in more original buildings than many of the other places I have visited. He also tried to preserve the Jewish quarter as best as possible, hoping it to eventually be a museum of an "extinct race". So creepy.
The hostel is a bit of a dive (the beds aren't really beds, but more like a cross between a cott and a couch), but its well located and has a big kitchen. John and I have also abandoned our "authentic" food requirements and have had breakfast at a Bagel place (owned by an American, and so much like home they have free refills) every day. Ok, well, we abandoned that rule ages ago (we had McDonalds in Nice, and LOVED Breakfast in America in Paris), but I feel we've fully embraced our homesick cravings at Bohemian Bagel. We've been on the road 4.5 weeks now - I think its allowed.
We canceled our day trip from Prague to Cesky Krumlov, and instead of taken the city at our own, lesisurely (lazy), pace. Awesome. Today is our last day - John went off to a Medieval Art Museum (no thanks for me!) and I'm trying to finish up an assignment for my internship, and then perhaps Thai foot massage? I cannot find a pedicure place for the life of me (you should see my poor, traveling feet), so a foreign foot rub sounds like a great 2nd choice. I'm embracing the exchange rate as much as possible. We fly to Dublin (back to the Euro - boo) tomorrow, and then off to Belfast (hello GBP, no thanks, I never really want to east three meals a day anyway!) a few days later. Then, back to the Cam.
Spring break, flying by. Its really crazy that its April already.
Oh, and I'm looking at flights home. Whippee!
I've never encountered as many tourists as I have here in Prague, except perhaps in Paris. This city runs on them, which makes me wonder if anyone actually lives here . . .
Regardless, it's beautiful. Apparently Hitler wanted to base his government here, so he tried his hardest to avoid it getting bombed, which resulted in more original buildings than many of the other places I have visited. He also tried to preserve the Jewish quarter as best as possible, hoping it to eventually be a museum of an "extinct race". So creepy.
The hostel is a bit of a dive (the beds aren't really beds, but more like a cross between a cott and a couch), but its well located and has a big kitchen. John and I have also abandoned our "authentic" food requirements and have had breakfast at a Bagel place (owned by an American, and so much like home they have free refills) every day. Ok, well, we abandoned that rule ages ago (we had McDonalds in Nice, and LOVED Breakfast in America in Paris), but I feel we've fully embraced our homesick cravings at Bohemian Bagel. We've been on the road 4.5 weeks now - I think its allowed.
We canceled our day trip from Prague to Cesky Krumlov, and instead of taken the city at our own, lesisurely (lazy), pace. Awesome. Today is our last day - John went off to a Medieval Art Museum (no thanks for me!) and I'm trying to finish up an assignment for my internship, and then perhaps Thai foot massage? I cannot find a pedicure place for the life of me (you should see my poor, traveling feet), so a foreign foot rub sounds like a great 2nd choice. I'm embracing the exchange rate as much as possible. We fly to Dublin (back to the Euro - boo) tomorrow, and then off to Belfast (hello GBP, no thanks, I never really want to east three meals a day anyway!) a few days later. Then, back to the Cam.
Spring break, flying by. Its really crazy that its April already.
Oh, and I'm looking at flights home. Whippee!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Naked Butt Count: 2
Still in Budapest. Should be called BUTTapest. I've seen 2 nakey butts today - one in the metro (crazy homeless man?) and one at Budapest's famous baths (he didn't get the swimsuit memo?). Buttapest. Hahha. I'm so funny, oh geez.
We leave tomorrow for an epic train journey to Praha (Prague, in Hungarian). If, or when, you come to Budapest, stay more than 2 days. We are leaving a LOT behind - meaning I need a trip back in my lifetime, soon. You just can't fit it all in, like Rick suggests (Rick Steves, that is - I still love him, but his timeline is OFF for Budapest man).
Today we saw the Jewish Quarter (beautiful), did some laundry (my fleece smells amazing), worked through the language barrier to buy train tickets (that are hand written, no lie. let's hope they are legit), then walked up to city park, had dinner at a "communist kitsch" cafe (freakin delicious! if I knew total economic equality tasted as good as my pineapple, ham, chicken, and rice dinner, I would have joined ages ago) and "took the waters".
Budapest's baths are basically a bunch of pools, some freezing, some lukewarm, some hot tub like. They are delightful, especially in the cool spring air. And if you can ignore the elderly couples macking. (Me and John refrained, of course. We're in public! And we were with a new friend - an American History teacher from CA.)
And when I used the word "cool" (in reference to the spring air), I'm using it lightly. It must have hit at least 75 today. I was wishing for a skirt when the sun was out.
4-5 cities left. All of a sudden its April? France seems so far away, and England even farther.
Much love.
We leave tomorrow for an epic train journey to Praha (Prague, in Hungarian). If, or when, you come to Budapest, stay more than 2 days. We are leaving a LOT behind - meaning I need a trip back in my lifetime, soon. You just can't fit it all in, like Rick suggests (Rick Steves, that is - I still love him, but his timeline is OFF for Budapest man).
Today we saw the Jewish Quarter (beautiful), did some laundry (my fleece smells amazing), worked through the language barrier to buy train tickets (that are hand written, no lie. let's hope they are legit), then walked up to city park, had dinner at a "communist kitsch" cafe (freakin delicious! if I knew total economic equality tasted as good as my pineapple, ham, chicken, and rice dinner, I would have joined ages ago) and "took the waters".
Budapest's baths are basically a bunch of pools, some freezing, some lukewarm, some hot tub like. They are delightful, especially in the cool spring air. And if you can ignore the elderly couples macking. (Me and John refrained, of course. We're in public! And we were with a new friend - an American History teacher from CA.)
And when I used the word "cool" (in reference to the spring air), I'm using it lightly. It must have hit at least 75 today. I was wishing for a skirt when the sun was out.
4-5 cities left. All of a sudden its April? France seems so far away, and England even farther.
Much love.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
BudaPESHT
So, Ljubljana turned out to be pretty mellow, but me and John met up with Lea and Trisha, and it all ended up being gravy. Plus, we can now saw we got to sample Cockta, the local specialty. Actually, Cockta is a Slovenian soft drink. Under communism, Slovenia couldn't get Coca Cola (the horror!), and so they invented Cockta, which John likened to cough syrup, and Lea swore resembled home made root beer (out of all of us, she was the only one who kind of liked it).
On day 3 in Slovenia, we went to the Skocjan caves, the biggest cave in Europe (golly gee Batman! Bigger than the Batcave!). We went into it as an adventure - its also the hardest cave to reach as a tourist bound by public transit. Trisha, John and I took a 1.5 hour train to Divicia, then planned to hike to the cave (3 km). The only other way is by taxi, so we were told. But once we hopped off the train, some dude yelled at Trisha and me: "To Caves? Free shuttle! Free shuttle?"
John had gone to inquire about hitching on a tour bus that we thought was heading that way (oh hush, a coach full of children and parents? it would not have been dangerous) and the free shuttle, which I had only heard about on one website, seemed a bit sketch, more so because me and Trisha seemed alone. So, the geniuses we were, we told the guy that we were getting a hiking map for the way back, to please wait, and then inquired at the ticket office. It was legit, and so 1 free bus ride later, we visited the most incredible cave in the world. You have to see it to believe it.
So, after visiting the underworld and back (no Dante in sight), day 4 John and I spent at Lake Bled, the most adorable city ever. Ever. It was even Tito's favorite (the famous president of Yugoslavia - we walked by his vacation house at Bled!). Trisha and Lea told us about the disgustingly cute gondola-like boat ride you can take to the island in the lake, which has an old church that is the most popular place to be married in Slovenia, and since it was way cheaper than in Venice, we dove in and embraced the cheese.
Our boat guy was pretty elderly, but adorable (of course, he has to be! He shuttles lovers back and forth to the marriage island!), and he got us there and back, safe and sound (which was quite a feat - it stormed off and on all day, okay, well, when I say stormed, I mean rain, but when we were on the island, it was really windy!). The island has 99 steps to the church, which the groom traditionally climbs while carrying his bride to be. John and I skipped that part, but we did ring the wedding bell - 3x grants you a wish.
Which brings me to today: after an 8.5 hour bus ride from Ljubljana (where me and John utalized our train travel skills to secure a cabin all to ourselves - if you draw the chairs out, and draw the curtains, most people won't try and sit in your compartment unless they have to. Lea and Trisha have another method - they sit on the floor and pretend to do weird religious like meditation), we are now in Budapest. Exhausted, we checked into the hostel (free internet, ok beds, nice staff), bought some mega cheap chinese food, I went grocery shopping for brekkie, and we turned in early.
Well, John did. I stayed up to write this.
We're here for 3 nights, then on to Prague for 5 nights, then back to the UK (well, former UK, then UK). We're on the downhill of backpacking now. Sad really. I'm getting into the swing of it. We met Ruth today, a woman at the hostel who has been traveling for 7 months straight. Whoah. I don't think that's in my cards, but I'm now contemplating a summer trip before I head home for good. I still have to check Greece and Scotland off my list, you know. :)
Much love.
On day 3 in Slovenia, we went to the Skocjan caves, the biggest cave in Europe (golly gee Batman! Bigger than the Batcave!). We went into it as an adventure - its also the hardest cave to reach as a tourist bound by public transit. Trisha, John and I took a 1.5 hour train to Divicia, then planned to hike to the cave (3 km). The only other way is by taxi, so we were told. But once we hopped off the train, some dude yelled at Trisha and me: "To Caves? Free shuttle! Free shuttle?"
John had gone to inquire about hitching on a tour bus that we thought was heading that way (oh hush, a coach full of children and parents? it would not have been dangerous) and the free shuttle, which I had only heard about on one website, seemed a bit sketch, more so because me and Trisha seemed alone. So, the geniuses we were, we told the guy that we were getting a hiking map for the way back, to please wait, and then inquired at the ticket office. It was legit, and so 1 free bus ride later, we visited the most incredible cave in the world. You have to see it to believe it.
So, after visiting the underworld and back (no Dante in sight), day 4 John and I spent at Lake Bled, the most adorable city ever. Ever. It was even Tito's favorite (the famous president of Yugoslavia - we walked by his vacation house at Bled!). Trisha and Lea told us about the disgustingly cute gondola-like boat ride you can take to the island in the lake, which has an old church that is the most popular place to be married in Slovenia, and since it was way cheaper than in Venice, we dove in and embraced the cheese.
Our boat guy was pretty elderly, but adorable (of course, he has to be! He shuttles lovers back and forth to the marriage island!), and he got us there and back, safe and sound (which was quite a feat - it stormed off and on all day, okay, well, when I say stormed, I mean rain, but when we were on the island, it was really windy!). The island has 99 steps to the church, which the groom traditionally climbs while carrying his bride to be. John and I skipped that part, but we did ring the wedding bell - 3x grants you a wish.
Which brings me to today: after an 8.5 hour bus ride from Ljubljana (where me and John utalized our train travel skills to secure a cabin all to ourselves - if you draw the chairs out, and draw the curtains, most people won't try and sit in your compartment unless they have to. Lea and Trisha have another method - they sit on the floor and pretend to do weird religious like meditation), we are now in Budapest. Exhausted, we checked into the hostel (free internet, ok beds, nice staff), bought some mega cheap chinese food, I went grocery shopping for brekkie, and we turned in early.
Well, John did. I stayed up to write this.
We're here for 3 nights, then on to Prague for 5 nights, then back to the UK (well, former UK, then UK). We're on the downhill of backpacking now. Sad really. I'm getting into the swing of it. We met Ruth today, a woman at the hostel who has been traveling for 7 months straight. Whoah. I don't think that's in my cards, but I'm now contemplating a summer trip before I head home for good. I still have to check Greece and Scotland off my list, you know. :)
Much love.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
HELLO Eastern Europe!
I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I jaunted into Eastern Europe. In Slovakia, the train station was rough - as in, tourist office closed and moved (although we found it quickly), in need of renovation, and some scary noises - we heard someone scream in the bathroom, and decided it was best to hold the call of nature until we found a WC that wasn't down a dark, dark staircase. But once we started walking into the Old Town, it looked just like any other European city - kind of. Some of the buildings still screamed COMMUNISM! But mostly, the only difference between Bratislava and Germany was that I had no idea how to pronounce any of the street names.
Slovakia is still on their own currency (they change to the Euro in 2009) and so stuff still (seemed) mega cheap. We indulged in hot chocolate (under 2 USD) and I bought some handmade handicrafts for souvenirs. My math skills got a work out (quick: what does 450 Slovenian money mean in USD? Uh . . . 15 dollars, I think).
I'm now in Slovenia (after a glorious night in a real hotel in Graz that was above a grocery store - it was heaven. Huge shower, comfortable bed, cheap diet coke, what more could I want?), which is one of the most economically stable countries of the former Yugoslavia. its a neat little city, but there isn't a terrible amount to do. We're planning on two day trips (caves and Lake Bled), and then to veg a little. The prices are more in line with the rest of Europe, but we've found some cheap options. Burke for 1.30? I'm in. (Its like balaclava, but with meat). 5 euro pizzas? Yes m'am.
Plus, our hostel is strange (very very small) but wonderful in many ways (Hi, um, can you tell me where I can do some laundry? This shirt still seems like Austrian fried food and smoke . . . here? for free? I love Slovenia!). Although the bathroom floods with every shower, and there is only one toilet and one shower for 12 people, it hasn't been too big of a problem yet. Funny observation - I realized that my whole room not only speaks English, but is all from the USA. However, if you go next door, you won't understand a word anyone is speaking. Its all Slavic languages. Geographically separation in hostels? Kind of funny, but also a little thoughtful.
Much love.
Slovakia is still on their own currency (they change to the Euro in 2009) and so stuff still (seemed) mega cheap. We indulged in hot chocolate (under 2 USD) and I bought some handmade handicrafts for souvenirs. My math skills got a work out (quick: what does 450 Slovenian money mean in USD? Uh . . . 15 dollars, I think).
I'm now in Slovenia (after a glorious night in a real hotel in Graz that was above a grocery store - it was heaven. Huge shower, comfortable bed, cheap diet coke, what more could I want?), which is one of the most economically stable countries of the former Yugoslavia. its a neat little city, but there isn't a terrible amount to do. We're planning on two day trips (caves and Lake Bled), and then to veg a little. The prices are more in line with the rest of Europe, but we've found some cheap options. Burke for 1.30? I'm in. (Its like balaclava, but with meat). 5 euro pizzas? Yes m'am.
Plus, our hostel is strange (very very small) but wonderful in many ways (Hi, um, can you tell me where I can do some laundry? This shirt still seems like Austrian fried food and smoke . . . here? for free? I love Slovenia!). Although the bathroom floods with every shower, and there is only one toilet and one shower for 12 people, it hasn't been too big of a problem yet. Funny observation - I realized that my whole room not only speaks English, but is all from the USA. However, if you go next door, you won't understand a word anyone is speaking. Its all Slavic languages. Geographically separation in hostels? Kind of funny, but also a little thoughtful.
Much love.
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