Today's my first day in Krakow! I checked into my hostel at about 10:15 last night. Thankfully it was very close to the train station, because the streets were deserted and it was a bit foggy. Not something I really wanted to walk around in by myself. This hostel is brand new, a duplicate of one already here in the city, and it's by far the nicest one I've stayed at. The guy who checked me in was extremely nice and showed me all the things to do in Krakow. I'm supposed to be here nine days, but after the six days in Prague that felt like six years, I was really doubting being here for that long. Now though I'm thinking nine days might be fine after all. I'll guess I'll go out today and get a feel for the city and go from there.
Yesterday was my first European train ride, and I've got to say, I'm so glad I was able to travel with the two other girls. Trains aren't the safest way to go in Eastern Europe and unless I have someone to go with, or it's a short ride, I think I'll be sticking to buses. Apparently it's quite frequent on overnight trains to have your chamber gassed while you're sleeping and your belongings stolen. Larissa, one of the girls I was with, had her wallet stolen on an overnight train a couple of weeks ago while they were asleep. If I were by myself on an overnight train, I probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep or even leave my seat to go to the bathroom. Even on a day train I don't think I'd feel comfortable leaving my bags to use the restroom. Whereas on buses, your belongings are safely stored underneath, and it's not like someone is going to drug the whole bus.
Traveling by myself, and just traveling in general, has been much harder than I ever could have imagined. It seems like I'm always tired, and the planning and the moving never stops. After traveling alone for three weeks, it was so much easier being able to travel to Poland with the two Australians. Instead of sitting on an 8 hour train ride, stewing in my own thoughts, I was able to enjoy my time. And for the first time since I came to Europe, I didn't arrive at my hostel exhausted and on the verge of tears, terrified of being in another completely new country and city. I'm sure it will get easier - it already has in ways, but one thing is for sure - travel is no vacation. In fact, I think I've learned more in three weeks than I did in the past 20 years of my life . . . wow. I can't decide if that's depressing or amazing.
I drank about 2 liters of water (fizzy water that is, because apparently the europeans can't bother to label their bottles correctly) on the train in about two hours and had a pretty ridiculous bathroom experience. We were at the back of a long train and it was so shaky, plus the seat of the toilet was dirty, so I'm peeing for approximately two minutes, in a squating position, my calves a'burnin. When I finally finish up I see that the toilet paper is not in it's rightful place (of course), but on the sink across the way. I have to hobble over, peeing on my hand on the way, because I figured it's easier to properly clean the hands than it is to properly clean the clothes . . . After that ordeal is all finished up, I can't figure out how to flush. I then notice a red button next to the sink. Now I don't know if it's because of my grandma's red "panic" button in her bathroom, but I was worried that if I pushed the red button, something really scary was going to happen. I ended up braving it, and it was the flush for the toilet, but you would think they could at least properly label it or something.
I put about 1000 songs on my iPod before I left, not really considering that those would be the only 1000 songs I'd have to listen to for three months of long bus/train rides and lots of time by myself. I put about 100 songs by Bob Dylan on there - so 1/10 of my music is Dylan, and while I do love him, he gets a bit old and repetitive when it's the majority of what you're listening to. On the other hand, I did well to put everything I had by Sigur Ros and M83 on - two ethereal, mainly instrumental European bands. It's gorgeous to listen to their absolutely beautiful music as you ride the train, or tram, or bus, or just wander down unfamiliar cobblestone streets. If you've never listen to Sigur Ros, do it now - I can't imagine anyone not liking their music. I consider it a modern take on classical music, and it's absolutely heartbreaking. I don't think I can listen to it without getting shivers down my spine - it's that beautiful.
If you have 10 minutes and want to watch not only an extremely inspiring music video, but also hear one of my favorite songs by them, check out this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFOvdSCOfpk
Oh, for anyone that wondered, the countryside fo the Czech Republic looks like southern Michigan, with towns mirroring those of southern Indiana. Besides the old church here and there, I never would have guessed I was in Europe.
I think it's time for breakfast - there's a pretty nice layout in the opposite room that's calling to me. Today I plan on exploring the Jewish part of Krakow - there's a huge cemetary, the old ghetto, and apparently this mound you can climb to see all of Krakow. Tomorrow or the day after I'll probably head over to Auschwitz. There's this tour you can do - the ticket's $30 - but it includes the bus ride, the entrance fee (which I guess they just started charging 2 mos ago), and a guided tour. I think it will be worth it. It definitely wouldn't be the same going without a guide.
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