TRACIE'S TRIP TO EUROPE

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London
Belgium
Koblez
Berlin
Munich
Austria
Budapest
Lucerne
Gimmelwald
Geneva
Paris
Madrid
Lisbon
Barcelona and Figueres
Spain, France, Monaco, Italy
Venice
Rome, Naples
Italy and Germany
Poland
Copenhagen
Home at Last

LONDON (May 28/03)

well, i have arrived.  my plane landed at london heathrow at six thirty this a.m., which to you guys on the coast isten thirty p.m. the flight was easy except really uncomfortable...it gave me a kink in my neck which didn't help after i picked up my luggage...but that part was easy too. the only problem i had was that the 20 £ note that the bank gave me before i left was too old. i just exchanged it at the airport though. then i had to figure out the tube which was a lot easier than i thought. so i get to my hostel but they couldn't sign me in for 2 more hours. luckily they had luggage storage, so i just walked across the street to this huge park and relaxed, oh and went and got some money at the atm down the street. i'm finding it pretty easy to find my way around.  the weather is absolutely beautiful today. i decided that the weather might not last and went for one of those open top double decker bus tours. it also included a river boat ride on the thames. so i've already seen the big sights all over the city.  anyhow, i'm exhausted and need some rest so i will be in touch soon

BELGIUM (June 2/03)

i just left belgium a couple of hours ago. i am stopping here in cologne for a couple of hours to see the cathedral (and found internet across the road, yeah). i'll be spending the night in koblenz on the rhine and taking a river cruise tomorrow i'll send another big letter as soon as i can sit down, but for now i have to figure out how to get my bags back from the train station before i take off again

KOBLEZ, GERMANY (June 4/03)

this will be a quick one i am know in koblez, germany for the second night. i spent 3 days in london, then brussels for one night and brugges, belgium for two and i stopped in cologne, ger to see the dom, now here i am. my hostel here is in this big fortress overlooking the whole city and last night there was a thunderstorm that i got to watch from the fortress. pretty cool.  i spent the day on a rhine river cruise. it was another hot one and i am working on various degrees of farmer tan. i head out to berlin tomorrow for a few days.  all is good, i hope everyone is taking care of themselves

BERLIN, GERMANY (June 6/03)

i just wanted to say happy father's day in case i am not around a computer in the next couple of days.  (father's day is sunday isn't it?)

i am in berlin right now. i did a walking tour yesterday to see the big tourist attractions. i wanted to go to the zoo today but ended up spending too much money at the post office, so i just followed my map and went to the german parliament building instead. it has this dome with big spiral staircases you can go up and see the city from. plus it's free which is always good.  anyways, have fun in parksville

MUNICH, GERMANY (June 9/03)

hi everyone.  i can't remember what i wrote in my last group email so forgive me if i'm repeating myself.  i am now in munich (was here last night and leave tomorrow morning). i spent 3 nights in berlin and saw as much as i could, then took an early train (7+hours long) to munich. i went to the hofbrau house for a giant stein of beer last night. great atmosphere (at least there were a couple of people from the hostel to go with so that i wasn't sitting alone in a beer house). today a guy from L.A. and i took a two hour train to fussen then went and saw the sleeping beauty castle. it was better than i thought and definitely worth it. i think one of the girl's from the hostel and i are going to have a good bavarian meal tonight, then i'm off to salzburg in the morning.  having a great time hope everyone's having fun at work

AUSTRIA (June 13/03)

hi everyone.  salzburg was very beautiful. i skipped the sound of music tour and decided to go see an ice cave instead. what a good choice. absolutely amazing. we went 700m up the austrian alps then 1km into this crazy, very cold, frozen cave. never seen anything like it.  i am now in vienna for the second day. i went to an art museum and saw edvard munch's 'Scream' and other works. i also went to the top of st. stephen's and got to see the city from above. lots of walking today. they had a big stage set up by st stephen's and these different austrian kids were singing or dancing. it all seemed to be 80s music or american pop.  pretty funny to watch though.  tomorrow i'm off to budapest, hungary. a new currency for me to learn.  wish me luck

BUDAPEST (June 15/03)

well, i will soon be leaving budapest and heading for zurich. i have really enjoyed my time here.  there are a lot of people waiting at the train station offering to rent out a room. i had my hostel already booked though, and it had a free shuttle (an older guy driving a van). i met up with two americans at the train station and have been hanging out with them. yesterday we went to the 'house of terror' which houses a lot of displays focusing on the secret police and terror tactics of the communist regime. we also went to a small restaurant last night and got a huge meal for next to nothing. today i went on a walking tour which included the castle district of buda. and a ride on one of the oldest metro systems in europe. i am now just relaxing before i head to the train station to catch a night train to zurich.  hope everything is well

LUCERNE (June 18/03)

well, i am in lucerne, switzerland for the night. i went to the lion monument and the picasso museum this afternoon and will probably relax for the rest of the evening. there are a couple of travellers here that i had met earlier on so i won't be too lonely. i spent the last couple of days in zurich. it was really nice. i spent the first day being lazy and the second being lazy by the lake and swimming. there was another thunderstorm last night and it cooled everything down. today is a little overcast but in my opinion perfect cause it's not too hot. i will be heading to gimmewald in the mountains for the next two nights, hopefully to do some more relaxing and some hiking. it's too expensive to eat out (the last restaurant i saw was selling hamburger plates for 16.50 and the dollar here is almost equal to the canadian dollar), so i've been frequenting the local grocery stores. i always seem to have enough for some swiss chocolate though. yummy. hope everyone is well.

GIMMELWALD  (June 21/03)

i'm going to make this quick as it is costing me a fortune to use the internet. i am now in geneva for at least 2 nights. i spent the last 2 in gimmelwald in this amazing mountain hostel right in the middle of mountain ranges. yesterday about 8 people from the hostel and i decided that we were superhuman and hiked to the top of shilthorn (famous from james bond movie) gondola station. it took 5.5 hours from our hostel (with a lot of stopping along the way). the top is 2973m high!!! i dont know how we did it, and my legs dont like stairs today but i'm still ok. it was amazing; the most beautiful scenery. we had to trudge through snow in some parts as we were so high. plus you couldn't look down in some spots cause man was it steep. it's funny when the swiss senior citizens pass you on the hills. i splurged and took the cable car back as i was pooped, but about 5 of the others trudged another 3 hours back again. needless to say i got a good night sleep last night. from gimmelwald i had to take a cable car, then bus, then train to interlaken, then train to bern, then train to geneva to get here. it only took a few hours though. anyway time's running out so i'll update you as soon as i can. take care

GENEVA (June 23/03)

well, i have spent the last two days staying in geneva. the first day i wandered around the city. there was a big music festival here so the old town had a bunch of vendors and performers. the art and history museum was free because of the festival which was nice. yesterday i went to bern in the afternoon. visited the bear pits and walked along the green river that surrounds the old town. they had a really interesting bern show near the bear pits with slides and sets of the development of bern over the last few centuries (also free). today i am waiting for my train to paris. the earlier one was full and i might have to sit on the floor all the way there but at least the trains are running again. i am looking forward to paris, plus i should be there for 4 nights which will really be nice (since i won't have to pack up after a couple of days). things are going well

PARIS (June 26/03)

just to warn all of you...the keys are in completely diff spots so im sure that there will be lots of mistakes. i have spent the last three nights in paris. first day i wandered the sacre couer area (two minutes from my hostel) and read up on what to do for the next few days. next day notre dame, place de concorde, champs elysees; arc de triomphe and lots of wandering, plus secured my ticket for madrid (which leaves saturday). yesterday i spent most of the day at the louvre, then went to the eiffel tower at night with a travelling mother and son duo from the hostel). city so beautiful at night from the top. today i got q reservation for a daytrip to bordeaux. figure ill just wander around and enjoy it. today i am going to the musee d`orsey, so i had better get a move on

MADRID (June 30/03)

i ended up spending 5 nights total in paris which was a little more than i needed. i became a little tired of the city by the end of it. it was very nice though and i did get to the big tourist sites. i also did a daytrip to bordeaux to wander the shopping district and buy a bottle of wine. i am now in madrid for the second night. i arrived yesterday at seven thirty in the morning after an uneventful night train. the hostel was easy to find and has a good environment with comfy beds (yeah). yesterday i hit the prado museum for some fine art, then later in the afternoon i went to another the thyssen-....(something i cant remember) for some more art. very nice. today i met a very cool girl named lena (american) we went to the reina sophia (which houses picasso´s guernica as well as some dali, miro, and others (1.50 euros very worth it) we then had lunch in an outside restaurant in plaza mayor and this evening went and saw bruce almighty (english with spanish subtitles). it was so nice to relax in a movie theater and feel normal for a bit. good day. tomorrow night i head for lisbon overnight, but i think that i will spend the day in toledo exploring. things are good

LISBON (July 4/03)

so i didnt make it to toledo as not all the trains were running that day. instead i wandered around one of the parks in madrid looking at sculptures and goldfish in ponds. then some gelati and some sightseeing. i met lena for dinner at the hostel (the spaghetti sauce just wasnt that good) and slowly made my way to the train. my train was an hour late, but there were lots of others waiting at the train station so it wasnt too bad. i was unable to book a bed on the train earlier, so i spent the night in a normal seat trying not to kick the girl in front of me (unfortunately her seat was facing mine so not so comfy) but i shouldnt complain as that was my accomodation for the night and it only cost me 6 euros. arrived in lisbon around 9 in the morning (went back through one time zone) and took the metro to the hostel that was holding a bed for me(metros are so nice and easy to figure out...think skytrain). unfortunately check in wasnt till 4pm, so i hit the city. after a few hours of wandering around, i actually went to mcdonalds (i know, i know) and then took a double decker bus tour around parts of the city. its really great here. there are palme trees everywhere, the buildings are all so old, and there is a huge golden gate style bridge across this huge expanse of water that i never even knew about before i got here (plus across the water is a huge statue of jesus on a pedestal that is something like 110m tall). kind of pretty. that night i figured out my train tickets to get to barcelona in a few days. i had met a girl in the hostel that was travelling alone...she had left her camera by accident on a bench and it was stolen, so the next day we went to the tourist police to file a report for insurance purposes, then went by bus to evora, a small walled city almost 2 hours away from lisbon (across the big bridge). it was pretty, but not really what i expected, and i almost had my first brush with a squat toilet, but managed to avoid it. we went to this huge grocery store that night that is just like the superstore in metrotown. i thought that i was back in vancouver a couple of times...it was really weird. very cheap. today kelly and i (same girl) went to sintra just outside of lisbon. we then took a bus to cabo da roca which is portugal´s most westerly area. there are huge cliffs there and you look out on to the atlantic. very beautiful. kelly is staying there for the night. i headed back to lisbon to nurse what seems to be becoming a nasty head cold. just my luck. plus i seem to have had an allergic reaction to some laundry soap or something and have what looks like bug bits all over my shoulders and legs. could be worse. tomorrow i will be heading back to sintra to explore the town proper with kelly, then will be taking another fun night train to madrid where i will spend the day until it´s time to catch another night train to barcelona. i will be meeting jessica olsen there...yeah. i´m looking forward to hanging out with someone i haven´t just met. by the way...happy belated canada day, and congratulations to vancouver host of the 2010 winter olympics. (while in salzburg they had big signs and poster supporting their bid for the same olympics...i was told they came in third, tee hee).

BARCELONA and FIGUERES (July 10/03)

i think that i left off in portugal. i spent one more day exploring cascais and a little bit of sintra, but i hada cold and was not feeling like too much  walking. kelly and i headed back to lisbon, and then i headed for my night train. the weather in portugal was so breezy and sunny, but perfect, and the people were really friendly. i had opted for the seat in the night train from lisbon back to madrid as it was so cheap. i got on the train to find that some old lady had stolen my window seat and because she was sitting next to her husband i couldnt get mad. i ended up sitting with some other backpackers. i feel like ive already written this so i will make it quick. spent the day in madrid at the hostel i had previously stayed at. slept all day trying to get rid of my cold. that evening met a girl from vancouver. we had dinner and both headed out for the night train to barcelona. we just about didnt make it as she thought she had lost something just before we were about to leave. but made it. this train i had a bed. arrived in barcelona 8 am and left stuff at hostel. waited around a bit, and explored the ´pet stores´ of the main drag (booths with hamsters, birds, rabbits, etc) and fruit markets. met up with jess about noon for check in at hostel. we ended up having a two bed room. explored the city a bit, saw some gaudi. that night we drank some wine by the water. next day we did a bit of exploring on our own and met back about 5pm. it turned out that some people that i had met up with earlier in the trip,whom i had been in touch with via internet, were in town. we met them at 7pm, had some tapas, went for sangria and then a little dancing. i had bug bites all over my back from a small beetle that wanted to share my bed the night before, but we still had some fun. next day figueres. we got to the bus station and realized that we had over 2 hours before the next bus. i headed to the train station to sort out my nice ticket while jess relaxed in the park and read. it ended up taking me so long to get my ticket that i arrived back at the park just as the bus was probably pulling away. we must have missed it by like a minute. so we went to the zoo for the three hours until the next bus. and so the only albino gorilla known in existence. pretty cool. we arrived in figueres about 8pm and searched for somewhere to sleep. we stopped at this small hotel. they told us it would be 28euros for the night which is cheaper than barcelona. then we got our room... two single beds, our own shower, tub, toilet, and two balconies...we are on the top floor. nicest place ive stayed this whole trip. we decided to take two nights. today i am exploring the town and the dali museum and jess is in search of the beach. we will be meeting up later. hope all is well back home

SPAIN, FRANCE, MONACO, ITALY (July 17/03)

well, jess and i spent a day on a spanish beach (in cadaques). it was beautiful...jess said that it reminded her of greece. we had an awesome dinner with wine and desert then headed to the bus to find that the last bus had left over an hour ago. jess decided that she really wanted to get back to the hotel, so we took an expensive cab all the way back, although going through the windy roads in the night with the lights of the town sparkling below was really nice. the next day jess and i split up...she needed to go back for her flight. i slowly and very lazily made my way to cerbere to catch a nigth train to nice. i ended up spending almost 6 hours in the cerbere train station as there was no luggage storage and not much close by. i might a nice canadian girl about halfway in so at least i wasnt too lonely. on the night train i met a few other people going to nice. it worked out really well as i ended up sharing a hotel room with some of them at a really good cost. nice for me...croissants for breakfast then laundry. much needed. but then the bunch of us went to the beach and relaxed for a while. the beach is really rocky, no sand, but the rocks are all smooth. very nice, but very crowded. a few of us went to monte carlo for a couple of hours (only 20 minutes by train). everything was fancy and i was disappointed by the casino but im glad that we did it. that night we all went out for dinner then drank wine on the beach. there were fireworks in the distance as the next day was bastille day. somebody made up this weird rock tossing game and we entertained the locals with our cheers of victory for the tournois des roches. everybody will be training for next years big event. just kidding. the next morning i left my travel buddies in genoa and headed for manarola, cinque terre. i got there around 3 thirty pm and had to wait for 5 to check into my hostel. very hot. enjoyed an authentic italian gnocchi and gelati that night. the next was hiking and swimming around the 5 towns that make up cinque terre. beautiful. i will have to find a way to show the pictures cause my words wont do it justice. it was extremely hot, but whenever it was intolerable you could jump into the mediteranean. salty but satifying. that night some of us at the hostel got into the monopoly but had to shut it down right when it was getting good. im such a party animal. next morning up really early to head to florence. i had no reservation and was hoping that there would still be room for me at a certain hostel that gives beds first come first served. after a few train changes i arrived in florence and dumped my bags at the train station. too hot to wander the streets and get lost while carrying my pack. eventually found my hostel and they had a space. yeah. i celebrated by going to the accademia and seeing the famous david statue. it blew me away. i knew it was big, but not that big. amazing. afternoon i sorted out trains, then went to pisa to see the tower. i liked it. i think that i had really low expectations so it ended up being really nice (except the hour long train ride there had no air conditioning. yucky sweaty...at least on the way back there was some). today i went to the uffizi very early to avoid the long lines. it was really nice. lots of cool renaissance art. i also wandered around some of the sights (bridges, a park). time for a nap then some more sightseeing. hope everyone is well.

VENICE (July 18/03)

florence has been great. my hostel has a great breakfast and atmosphere and its close to everything. today i took a daytrip to venice. it ended up being just the right amount of time for me. too bad it took 3 hours to get there, but i slept on the train. i arrived around noon and wandered aimlessly until i hit st marks square, better known as planet of the pigeons. those birds are so dirty...but it was still fun to watch the kids feed them. the bird seed sellers must make a killing. i was amazed at st marks itself. the mosaic work on the inside was incredible, on the walls and the floors. the floors are all warped from the unstable ground. im glad that i brought a sweater just in case... i was wearing a tank top and a lot of people were turned away at the door for not being in proper attire (shorts, tank tops etc). i mostly just wandered around and people watched, buying fruit and pizza along the way (and a couple of souvenirs). i had to call jason while i was there. the place was just too romantic. the gondola guys didnt even ask me if i wanted a ride. i guess they knew that i wouldnt be able to afford it by myself. headed back to florence around six thirty...where i am now for the night. i head off to rome in the morning for four nights of exploring. really looking forward to it.

ROME, NAPLES (July 23/03)

hi guys i spent the last four days in rome which i really enjoyed. the first day i kind of wandered and got my bearings...enjoying some monuments on the way (and of course lots of gelato). the next i was back in super tourist mode hitting the forum, palatine, inside the coloseum, circus maximus, mouth of truth and some others. it was insanely hot, so back to the hostel mid afternoon for a nap and an escape from the sun. we watched gladiator that night at the hostel (which is so much better after just being in the coloseum) and that night i got to see the trevi fountain and spanish steps lit up. next day was devoted to st peters and the vatican museums where i enjoyed the sistine chapel among many other greats. the last i decided to be lazy. i saw the pantheon, but that was about it as i dealt with some travel arrangements and took it easy. that night i met up with a buddy that i have seen a couple times along the trip and we joined a bunch of people from my hostel under the coloseum (all lit up for the night). today i travelled to naples with a couple of girls from my hostel in rome (which was great...very safe and homey. it even had a couple of small dogs). we got a shared room between the three of us. one of the girls and i wandered around naples which is actually quite nice except there are sooo many people and it is a little dirty. lots of interesting sights though. tomorrow i will be going to pompei, then the next day making my way back up italy. my plans have changed a little...i have cut out most of eastern europe and will be making my way from italy to dresden, germany for a couple of days then heading into poland from there. i will be flying back aug12, a little bit earlier than originally planned. all is good

ITALY and GERMANY (July 30/03)

i really enjoyed pompei. i bought a small guidebook and wandered around on my own following the map in the book. really amazing (and incredibly hot and sweaty). i took the local train back to naples and got hassled by some guy on the way back to the hostel. i pretended not to speak english, only french. of course, he just happened to have studied french and i had to carry on the next 15 minutes of conversation in french. i felt bad cause i lied so much to him, but he ended up leaving with a handshake and a nice to meet you. if anyone asks my name is josee and i am from montreal where jason and i live. never trust a guy who asks you right away if you are travelling alone.

naples was so hot that even the guy working at the hostel said that he couldnt handle it. apparently they have been without rain for so long that there are power outages in parts of the city because there isnt enough water to make electricity.

 the next day i needed to make my way to cinque terre to meet a friend. i caught a train fast train to florence, but when i got there for some reason there werent any direct trains to pisa (where i needed to catch another train). when i got to the info centre i was told that the trains were on strike, that i could get to pisa but would have to wait there for 3 hours as my connection wasnt running. i met a nice couple from seattle, so we had lunch then took the next train to pisa (which was packed as all the trains were running weird that day). i met another great couple from l.a. on the train. all 5 of us were headed to cinque terre so we stuck together. when we arrived in pisa we found out that the train was running just fine, jumped on a train and got to la spezia where we had to wait for about half an hour. from la spezia we caught another train to get to the smaller towns of cinque terre. i got off first and left my new friends, but it ended up that my friend kris that i was to meet was on the same train and we met right away at the station. next...find a place to sleep. i guess a lot of the trains really werent running as there was 2 beds available at a hostel close by. perfect. not the nicest hostel in the world, but a place to sleep nonetheless. laying on the beach and relaxing the evening away ensued. next day, 2 of kris friends arrived in town. the 3 of them went hiking while i went to la spezia for some travel details and then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. great day. that night the 4 of us and a cool violinist named rebecca from our hostel went for a nice italian dinner and wine by the water. perfect ending to a relaxing day.

next day...made my way to milan. i had the later afternoon to wander the sights of milan then head to germany via night train. i tried to make the most of the sights, then as it got dark spent too long at the train station trying to make a stupid phone card work. anyway, as my train was leaving there was this insane lightening storm. the sky opened up and it poured and the lightening just didnt stop. it was great, and definetely welcome after all the crazy heat.

i awoke in the morning to the rhine river on the same stretch that i had travelled by boat from koblenz. it was really nice to actually recongnize where i was. i arrived in cologne thinking that there was a direct train to dresden, but alas i had to take a 5hour train to berlin, then 2more hours to dresden. i slept most of the time away. i was very weird backtracking through places that i had already been and didnt think that i would see again.

i arrived in dresden and found my great hostel. lollis homestay i small and feels like a home. incredibly inexpensive with free laundry and a great location. i went for dinner with one of the guys from the hostel and then just hung out with the other travellers exchanging stories.

the next day in dresden i checked out a couple of great art galleries and some great architecture that has mostly been rebuilt since the entire town was carpet bombed by the allies in 1945. this place is really amazing and beautiful.

today i went with tim, an aussie living in england and staying in germany for a language course for a few weeks, to swiss saxony (not quite sure why its called swiss as it is still in germany...will get back to you) to do some hiking and check out this great fortress. it was nice as there seemed to be only german tourists around. the whole area was around the river elbe and it was absolutely beautiful. another great day.

tomorrow morning i will be leaving for poland really early. another great adventure to start. ill be home in just under 2 weeks, can you belive it? wow

POLAND (August 04/03)

So I awoke around 5am in my dresden hostel, packed up some hanging laundry and made my way to the train station for my 6am departure. It was starting to sprinkle rain as i walked but nothing bad. As the train made its way to Gorlitz near the polish border the rain started to pick up. I slept for at least a couple of hours. We arrive at Gorlitz and almost everyone gets off. Then the border control starts. Luckily another easy crossing. First easy German questions, then a swiping of the passport in the neat gadget that makes sure that its real. I don't think that the polish camo guys spoke english cause they asked me if i spoke german (in german), when i said english they asked me in german if my final destination was Wroclaw (not really sure how i figured that one out) and i said no, Krakow. Then they handed back my passport and went on to the next compartment.

Once we crossed the border we made a stop to pick up some polish passengers...which ended up being lots of people. Then the train seemed to take its time for the next couple of hours to wroclaw. Almost everyone (about 20 people) in my compartment fell asleep along the way. We arrived in Wroclaw about 10am. 2 orders of business...get polish currency and buy a ticket to krakow. I was a little nervous about it, but hey, i've made it this far. Bankomat in the train station completed mission #1 and a piece of paper on which i had written Krakow finished #2. easy peesy. Now i had to wait over an hour for the train.

The train to Krakow seemed to take forever. I ended up getting a folding seat in the hall which wasnt so bad cause i could watch all the wheatfields and scenery go by. And read 'stupid white men' by michael moore which i picked up at the hostel in dresden.

Finally around 4pm i arrived in krakow. as soon as i got off the train the sun that was trying to peer out of the clouds was engulfed by blackness. it was so dark for the middle of the day. i found the tram stop and bought a ticket and as soon as i got on the sky opened up and huge rain drops started a fallin'. Lucky for me that i got to walk about 5 minutes from the stop to the hostel (read this part with heavy sarcasm). Not so bad. got settled and went for polish dumplings and sausage and beer. yummy.

Next day i headed to auschwitz. Don't really know what to say about it except that i'm glad that i went. The sun was blaring when i left krakow, but upon arriving at auschwitz there was rain, thunder and lightening. quite odd.

That night i ran into the guy that shared the polish food with me the night before. He was supposed to be meeting friends that were driving from berlin at 4pm and some reason they had not shown up. He went back every hour, but no one. I joined him for his 9pm stop and they were there. We all went for polish food and beer. Quite the motley crew...3 from england, 1 from israel, 1 from france and me. Lots of fun.

The next morning we all walked around the beautiful old town of krakow including the old jewish town. This part was made better for me as the two other girls in the group both spoke hebrew and could read all of the signs and listen in on some tour groups. I learned a lot. The others headed to auschwitz (and were heading to warsaw that night)... I spent the rest of the day wandering and buying train tickets (my rail pass has since expired, but would not have been valid in poland anyways). I headed to the salt mines the next day with a guy from texas. i was really impressed. these miners have carved out all these sculptures, chapels and various other rooms in the ground. Our guide was really funny too. The highlight was having to take the elevator back up...quite thrilling. That night a bunch of us from the hostel went to a jazz bar and listened to a great local 4 piece.

Today i wandered, buying some souvenirs and hitting the cinema to see the Hours. I really enjoyed it. I will be catching a night train to berlin tonight, then trying to figure out how to get to copenhagen cheaply from there.

COPENHAGEN (Aug 7/03)

Well, i am currently in copenhagen, denmark.  From krakow i took a night train to berlin and decided to spend the night in berlin instead of trying to rush off anywhere. I booked a bus to copenhagen for early the next morning, then spent most of the day being lazy, napping in the park, and trying not to spend any money. I caught my 6am bus that next morning and tried to get as much sleep as possible. Eventually we got the the ferry (after a million bc ferry rides it was not really that exciting). 2 more hours by bus to copenhagen. i settled in at city public hostel close to the center and walked around a bit.

Today I bought my bus ticket to amsterdam (my final destination!!) and did the walking tour listed in my guide book. It took me through the city and lead me to the little mermaid sculpture on the water. Lots of walking in the sun. At least it is not as hot as Italy. I still have one more night after tonight in Copenhagen then on to Amsterdam.

Home at Last (Aug 12/03)

I just wanted to let everybody know that I made it home safe and sound. From Copenhagen I took an overnight bus to Amsterdam. Passport control stopped us in the middle of the night, but other than that no problems. Oh, except that the bus dropped us of at amstel station in amsterdam and 5am, and the earliest metro on a sunday morning that leaves that station is 7:20, so I had a lot of waiting around. Found a hostel easy enough, then went for pancakes with one of the girls that i met at the station. After a much neede shower headed to the Heineken Experience, which I loved. Included in the admission price were 3 beers and a free beer glass. Then on to a canal cruise.

 The next day I went to the Van Gogh museum and took it easy. My flight on the 12th was set to leave at 12pm. I arrived at the airport 2.5 hrs early and waited around trying to spend the last of my foreign currency. From amsterdam to toronto the flight was over 8hours long, a two hour layover (missing the blackout by two days thank goodness) then another 5 hours to vancouver (plus a one hour weather delay). I think I'm getting used to this flying thing.