ivano who?

so weird to be out of the country for new years, and yet a great experience. however, one thing i will learn from this trip is that i will never - repeat NEVER - complain about the cold again. fortunately, homemade russian vodka helps with that one.

the next morning we putt-putted around a bit, and watched a movie called "Everything is Illuminated", which i highly recommend if you are curious about what life in ukraine is like.  it's wicked funny (omg i've been in boston too long) and somewhat sad. plus, it has elijah wood in it. who can resist those blue eyes? anyway, after showering decided to walk around the town a bit more, including a walk on (not around, near or by - but on) a lake. i was completely convinced we would fall through. but i guess i have to admit i was somewhat reassured when i saw people riding bikes across it. how's that for a visual.. this is ukraine. watched and laughed as the guys etched messages into the lake's snow ("I heart USA" and "I heart boobs" - take your guess at who wrote which), then managed to get a snowball to the face by jonathon. hopefully it wasn't intensional ha. finally it was time for a special treat on the tour - AIDS island. yes, indeed there is such a fabled land. apparently in the summer it is covered by condoms and hypodermic needles. classy.

and so basically ends our time in ivano-frankivsk, or ivano who? as i began to fondly call it. our final day consisted of spending time with some other PCVs in a coffee shop and chilling at jonathon's apartment. said our goodbyes and thank yous and i secretly wished we were staying a bit longer. but here is where the real adventure began.. i got to experience what few westerners ever get to experience - platzkart.

what is platzkart you ask? well, i can tell you it roughly translates to "slow train to the depths of a freezing cold hell". yes, that about sums it up. literally, though, it is a 3rd class train car, with 54 open beds in each wagon. unfortunately for us, the heat broke - or at least that's what i'm assuming, because it was literally snowing inside the car. also, the bathroom that was initially leaking later froze. but, i can say it did allow us to reach our destination. hello kiev.

walked around a bit inside the train station to allow our blood to begin to circulate. i am somewhat surprised we didn't lose any appendages on that ride. made our way to our hostel and defrosted some more, again promising myself i would never complain about being cold again. however, cold we were as we braved the wind and bitter temperatures to see a bit of the capital. walked around the city center, down Andriyivsky st with souvenirs galore, passed several beautiful churches, and finally made our way to a coffee shop - where i waited and defrosted as mike completed some PC business. later that night met up with one of mike's friends olha, who took us around the city some more and up the funicular to get a birds eye view.

olha eventually had to leave, but mike and i made our way to the cafeteria style cuisine i grew to love because (a) it was warm inside, (b) it has working toilets, and (c) has more food than i could ever need. here is also where i learned how to use my elbows, as ukrainians will cut in line like it's going out of style. unfortunately the warm couldn't last forever, and we did eventually make it back to our hostel. the temp that night was -10 degrees C, not including wind chill. at one point my cheeks were so frozen that i couldn't formulate words.

HA. i now laugh in the face of cold. the next day was -16 C (yes, that's with sunshine). too bad i am not joking.

stalled for as long as we could the next day, but eventually made our way to the museum of the great patriotic war. see, here in the former USSR, it is not WWII. no, it is much more than that. everything has to relate to nationalism or patriotism here. which, by this point, i found to be very entertaining. that said, i loved the museum. even though it was entirely in a language i couldn't understand, the displays and pictures said enough. afterwards moved onto the monastery caves, which due to a failing mental capacity at that point, mike and i rushed through. it was a sight, with all these people kissing and blessing the coffins. and us, silly americans without candles, just being swept along with the crowd.

kiev was nice, but i was getting tired of the language barrier and the bitter cold temps. it was time to venture to a place mike called home at one time - chernigov.

new years, ukrainski style

so, the funny thing about this trip was that it allowed me to have 3 christmas celebrations. and had i stayed just a little longer, i could have had 2 new years, as well. the thing about ukraine, from what i've learned, is that they really like their holidays. i guess the entire month of january is one giant party. while i was in ivano-frankivsk, i got to experience the new new year (as opposed to the old new year, on the 13th). the day started out as any other - ie i woke up much earlier than i would have wanted thanks to my internal clock that seems to adjust very quickly to new time zones. after a slow start to the morning, it was off to the market. mike & jonathon actually made it all the way, andrea & i turned back early w/the dog. it really is cold in this country! we had a nice chat tho, and i think i may have convinced her to become a physical therapist. haha.

back at the house to warm up, it was eggs for breakfast (cooked by mike) and then back out for a tour of the town. apparently this little city has had quite the history. it used to be called stanyslaviv (and still is by some.. again, see coping mechanisms in future post), and has been part of poland, the austrian-hungarian empire, the western ukrainian people's republic, back to poland, the soviet union, poland again, the ukrainian ssr, occupied by the nazis, the ussr, and now happily an independent ukraine. phew.

walked around, and jonathon pointed out various monuments, churches and important buildings. most were actually quite pretty, and it was nice to get an insider's guide to a place, rather than just relying on a tour book. everything was all festive for the holidays. i think that was what was the best thing about being in europe in the winter - at least it wasn't just gray and dreary.. there were lights and trees and decorations all around. actually, new years in ukraine is when santa claus makes his visit, so kids get a lot more excited over this holiday than they do in the states.

tried to find our way to an internet cafe, however, this being new years eve, everything was closed. by this point we were freezing, so it was fortunate we found one cafe opened where we could warm up with some hot drinks and ukrainian breadsticks. after a while, headed over to where jonathon works, and after he made a few phone calls, the guard at the building let us in to use the internet. then it was back home, stopping at a local convenience store to pick up drinks for the evening. soon, the international crowd began to arrive: obviously me, mike, jonathon and andrea being from the states; vera and her friend ulya (sp?) from ukraine, who did most of the meal prep; cain and nigel from canada, who work with jonathon; 1 turkish guy (not sure who he was connected to); 2 poles; and 1 other ukrainian girl who was dating nigel - and who also happened to be a professional cook. and so our party began.

i tried to shake myself out of the funk i was in - after all, how many times are you in europe for new years? i don't know if it was homesickness, having never experienced that before. but i just wasn't in much of a mood to do anything. fortunately it was temporary, and by the time people were heading out to the main square, i was much more inclined to participate. they funny thing was that b/c it was so cold, no one really wanted to go out. but, since most were no longer sober, the cold did not matter as much, and literally 10mins before midnight, we made a mad dash to the town center. mike and i walked quickly - i was not about to run on the ice - and so lost the rest of the group. standing around the town center was very cool: there were people everywhere singing, dancing and drinking. fireworks were being shot off into the crowd (i just hoped nothing landed on me and set me on fire). the ukrainian president was speaking on a giant tv screen set up just for this occasion (apparently it's a tradition to listen to him/her talk).

but the funniest thing was that we had no idea when it was actually midnight.

there was no countdown. no giant cheer from the crowd. no increase in the amount of fireworks. and obviously no tacky crystal ball to watch drop. we were clueless, but having left the apartment 10 mins before, we deduced that it was most likely midnight by now. eventually mike and i found the rest of the group, and we proceeded to dance the night away. at one point some people formed a circle - and it was amazing, b/c the circle just kept growing and growing as more and more people decided to join. it really was neat to be part of such a community atmosphere. it reminded me of when theresa and i went to the hungarian folk dance hall the year before. so much fun. after a couple hours, it was time to make our way back. mike and i left before everyone else; however we arrived after. turns out they found a cab! totally zonked, it was eye mask and ear plugs to the rescue, as most of the guests continued the celebration until about 5 or 6 am.

i say L'viv, you say L'vov..

so it's been literally a month since my last post. i apologize, but i've been very busy. after returning from europe, it was time for the rock boat. then it was a last minute move to boston. i've been here for just over a week, and am adjusting nicely. but that's not why you're here! let's return to our trials and tribulations of life in the former soviet union..

as i mentioned in my last post, a lot of guide books are calling l'viv the next prague or krakow. personally i think this will become more apparent over the next 20 years (power wash your buildings!), but it really is a beautiful city. the architecture is stunning - the city center is actually a UNESCO world heritage site (boost for tourism, much?). and you can see why: despite centuries of being fought over and pulled into different foreign governing bodies, everything in the city is still intact. since medieval times! nothing has been majorly reconstructed - it's the real deal. you can easily see the various cultural influences on the city, and it's interesting to see how they managed to co-exist and survive over such a long span of time. to think how other cities were completely destroyed in (relatively) recent wars, it's quite an amazing feat. although, i could definitely do without the stereotypical soviet bloc style of architecture. it's ugly. 'nuf said.

then there's the monuments and statues. boy those ukrainians love their statues. standing big and proud, you can almost taste the flavorful patriotism. l'viv is truly the capital of ukrainian culture. here they don't like to speak russian, b/c well you're in ukraine - why wouldn't you speak the national language? (this is in contrast to eastern ukraine.. b/c well you're in ukraine, which wishes it was russia, so why wouldn't you speak russian?) here they are proud enough of their city to at least semi-clean the garbage off the streets and semi-fight pollution. and it's even cool enough to have 2 sister cities in NY (buffalo and corning), hah. it also has one in iowa. not as cool..

despite what i wrote in my journal ("i'm not sure i'll make the whole week in ukraine.") and despite all the frustrations of our first real day in ukraine (spent, if you've forgotten, all day in various train and bus lines attempting to buy tickets to our next destinations), we managed to have a decent second day. though surprisingly useless when it came to street signs and directions, as the book was in latin based characters, and the actual street signs were - surprise! but not really - cyrillic based, lonely planet managed to come through with a somewhat decent walking tour of the city. it allowed us to see a dozen or so churches and even more statues and monuments. and it ended on castle hill, which gave us a windy but scenic overlook of the entire city. the skies were a bit hazy, so the view wasn't quite as spectacular as it potentially could have been, but it was nice nevertheless. though i will admit climbing 240+ steps one way (yes, i counted. i can't walk up/down steps w/o counting. which is almost as bad as my ocd of the toilet paper goes OVER) and hanging on for dear life to the rails b/c the ground was so icy and slippery was not very fun. however, it was fun to watch the ukrainian girls manage this climb with 4" spiked heels on..

the rest of our day went like this:

• perused through a market (found my keychain!);


• ate at cafeteria style puzata hata (mmm luke warm borscht);


• had conversations with eddie the hostel owner and the ukrainian girls he had working there - which consisted of debating whether they would have clean sheets for the next guests (we're short on water, can you take some home, sure, can the maid take some home too - i'll pay her more, i'll ask - she says okay), and if they could be cleaned, if they would be dry or just frozen since they would be hung outside;


• watched a sketchy man walk into and around the hostel, then leave (even eddie was confused);


• listened to some gangsta ukrainian rap music and watched corresponding music video;


• migrated to the kitchen and overheard eddie lecturing another sketchy long-term guest from malta about not being sketchy (i need to talk to you about something, haha, no really - did you say something to the girl mumble mumble, no!, we'll she's complaining you said something inappropriate, oh no i only said mumble mumble and that's all - all innocent - nothing);


• walked to the train station, and actually managed to be successful in buying tickets from ivano-frankivsk to kiev (not sure why that didn't happen the day before, i guess the teller just felt like being helpful);


• said our goodbyes to joslyn and l'viv

it was time for mike and i to board our bus to ivano-frankivsk. at first things appeared to be going smoothly - we found the bus w/o any problems and managed to board. however, when we went to sit in our assigned seats, we were told that they were "busy", meaning taken. so we were relegated to the seats behind the driver. which was fine in the end; at least we got to sit together. but here's where things start to get interesting. despite the numerous empty seats, and despite the long line of passengers awaiting outside the bus, the driver wasn't letting anyone else on. that is until immediately before we left. then the driver opened the doors, the passengers paid him their fare, and took their seats. and off we went. strange, i thought. but i was more worried about my pack that was precariously situated on the floor between the driver and the door, seemingly likely at any moment to fall off the bus.

anyway, as we putted along our way, the driver struggled to get a cassette tape into the tape player overhead, but eventually we were rocking out to some quality ukrainian music. who knew people still had cassette tapes. but wait - it gets sketchier! it was actually a bootleg version, so every once in a while there would be a strange gap in the song. or the music would seem further away and you could hear coughing in the background and sounds of the tape recorder being moved or dropped. the music was way loud, blaring something along the lines of "warm rain" according to mike and other weird topics. i felt like i was on a party bus.

about 30 mins into our ride, the driver hastily pulled over to the side of the road and yelled something which made all the last minute boarders get off. strange, i thought - but this is ukraine, afterall. then we turned a corner and pulled into what turned out to be the main bus station. more yelling in ukrainian. after parking, almost everyone except for mike and me and the 2 german passengers got off. ahh, smoke break, b/c ukrainians can't last more than 30mins without a cigarette. then more yelling in ukrainian from a bus station employee. he seemed to be asking a question, but no one was responding. so he asked the 2 germans something which they didn't understand. english? he asked. he then demanded to see their tickets. after they showed him their tickets, he skeptically looked around at the rest of the passengers before getting off to allow us to leave the bus station. okay - time for sketchy point #4: after pulling out of the station and driving up the road a bit, we pulled over and picked up the passengers our driver had originally ordered off. and it all became clear.. the driver was pocketing that money, and so he couldn't risk bringing them into the bus station where apparent audits happen. ahh, corruption.

so we bounced along, ukrainian music booming, making random (and sketchy) stops in the middle of nowhere. maybe for bathroom breaks. maybe so people could puke. maybe to satisfy nicotine addictions. who really knows? the ride took a lot longer than expected, but we eventually arrived in ivano-frankivsk. took a local bus to a park where we met up with mike's friend and fellow PC volunteer jonathon. after a short and brisk (it's effing cold in ukraine!) walk to his apartment, met 2 other PCVs andrea and jason who were well on their way to having a good time with some vodka. (see coping mechanisms, to be featured in an upcoming post). i certainly didn't mind. it was funny, and i was just excited to be around people who spoke english. and to be in a warm place.

i am glad i don't live in ukraine

so, just a disclaimer: i'm not saying i don't like ukraine. i'm not saying i don't like its people, its culture, its language, its (insert word relating to ukraine here). i'm just saying i'm glad i don't live there - and nothing more.

okay. so despite the transportation issues we've had throughout our trip and the various mix ups with directions, etc, all in all it has been a pretty darn good time. and then we got to the polish-ukrainian border. this is where i really started to appreciate how fortunate i am as an american to enjoy the liberties and freedoms and ease of daily life that we all take for granted. hold onto your hats, folks. it's going to be a bumpy ride...

if you remember from an earlier post, the overnight train from krakow to l'viv was booked, so we had to take a different one that goes to the polish border, and then switch trains for the remainder of the trip to l'viv. i learned later that the apparent inconvenience of having to switch trains was actually a good thing: the old soviet train tracks and the european ones differ in size and shape, and so the border crossing can take anywhere from a couple to 20hrs. why 20hrs, you ask? well, if you stay on the same train, they have to literally lift up the train and switch the wheels to fit the ukrainian tracks. we met one of mike's acquaintances in krakow who explained his 19hr ordeal. and during that time, you cannot use the train's toilet facilities. nor can you get off to use the station's facilities. which would make life interesting..

anyway, the ride from krakow to the polish border was crowded, but otherwise uneventful. i tried to sleep, or at least doze, most of the way. when it was time to disembark, we gathered our things and made our way to customs. it was the beginning of the adventure. talk about professional line cutters! and not speaking the language AT ALL really didn't help me understand matters. eventually we did make our way to the customs agent, who merely flipped through my passport, asked when i entered poland, and gave me a stamp. mike also got through easily. joslyn, who also had issues in budapest, got the third degree in poland, too. i guess it's because she clearly looks dangerous.

tried to use the bathroom, but they were either flooded or the lights didn't work. jos braved the flooded one. i decided to wait.

boarded the train, found our compartment. coincidentally, a passenger from our polish train was again in our compartment on the ukrainian train. when he walked in, we all laughed. especially when we realized that he could speak a little english - and therefore understand our discussions on the polish train, as they were not the most brilliant of topics. he conversed in russian with mike, and wondered why we would visit ukraine. mike explained he lived here, and we were visiting him. "extreme tourism" was the russian's answer. i began to wonder what exactly we were getting ourselves into.

after the ukrainian customs agents filed through our train - checking our passports, making us fill out paperwork to enter (and save that paper, as you need it to leave, too), searching our compartments for stowaways (i ask: who would want to be smuggled into ukraine; i'd imagine they'd have problems with people being smuggled out), asking whether we were taking anything into ukraine that we shouldn't be, sending through the drug, or bomb, or smuggling sniffing dogs - we were on our way to l'viv after only about a 2hr ordeal. which felt like a lifetime. i cannot imagine what 19hrs would feel like.

arrived in l'viv, and rather than repeating our bratislava adventure, we opted for a cab which took us to our hostel, the kosmonaut. owned by eddie, an ex-pat from australia, it's decorated with old soviet space memorabilia. eddie was a bit drunk when we arrived (which i later learned is a common coping mechanism for life in ukraine), and offered us a shot of pepper vodka. except mine was more like 2.5 shots. and it was quite strong. i was literally buzzed in about 5mins. it was very funny. as was the fact that we only had running water from 6-9am and 6-9pm. and during that time, the water was only intermittently luke warm. and there really wasn't much heat in the building.

welcome to ukraine.

the next day, set out to explore l'viv. the guidebooks claim it to be the next prague or krakow, and i think, in 10yrs or so, this will be true. it's a very nice city. but more on that later. for now, i want to explain what life is like in ukraine when you want to buy train tickets. (note: i'm paraphrasing some of what mike has already written in his blog. he understood the details; i was confused the entire time.) we wanted to get jos's ticket back to budapest asap, to ensure she would make her flight home. so first, we went to a ticket office near our hostel. the first kaca we went to told us to go to kaca 9. kaca 9 told us to go to kaca 3. kaca 3 told us we couldn't buy international tickets here and to go to the train station. frustrating? this is only the beginning..

instead of walking to the train station, which was a bit of a hike, found a tram that went there and piled on. literally. unlike safety regulations in the states for public transport, regulations in ukraine state that the public transit only works when as many people as humanly possible cram into the vehicle. we were sardines. people were in every nook and cranny, pushing and shouting things in ukrainian that i obviously couldn't understand. had a couple close calls when the tram made some short stops and quick starts, but because there were so many people, it was basically impossible to fall over..

piled off at the train station and sought out the international ticket counter, kaca 20, which we eventually found to be upstairs. there, we waited in line. and waited. and waited. and waited some more, for a half hour, while the 3 cashiers, oblivious to their customers, chatted merrily about anything and everything except their job duties. though i think this was somewhat purposeful, to make the ticket buying experience as miserable as possible. and the customers just stood there, accepting this behavior, because - well, this is just how it is. can you imagine if that happened in the states? heads would roll.. finally, after about 2hrs, we managed to get joslyn's ticket. yippee for small achievements! now it was time to get mike's and my overnight train tickets to kyiv from ivano-frankivsk..

back downstairs where domestic tickets are sold, stood in line for kaca 4 for about 10mins. kaca 4 told us we had to go to kaca 6, 7 or 8 to buy reservation tickets. kaca 6 was closed, so stood in line for 7. after about 30mins, kaca 7 said it was for exchanges only. also, 7 couldn't tell us which kaca could help us, nor could any of the ukrainians that hover over you while you're trying to buy tickets/get information. mike decided to give up; jos and i were so confused that we just blindly followed what he did. though as we were walking out to leave, he gave it one more go. stood in one last line, lucky kaca 12. when we reached the front, the cashier turned off her light and slammed a sign in the kaca window - as if saying "sucks for you!" - and walked away without a word. it was her break time, and what could possibly be more important than that?

i am glad i don't live in ukraine.

poland, you're pretty cool, too

so eventually all good things must come to an end. we did have to leave the ginger monkey at some point i guess. and it just so happened that richie and his mum angie were going up to zakopane the next day, so again, our hosts went above and beyond expectations and gave us a lift. said our goodbyes again, for real this time, and headed up.

the drive was gorgeous! it was a winter wonderland in all aspects of the term. funny when we drove through the polish-slovakian border, we didn't have to stop at any check points thanks to those countries joining the schengen agreement just days before our arrival in slovakia. only downside: we didn't get a passport stamp from slovakia. sad.

walked around zakopane for a bit. it was very nice, and very busy. a typical skiing resort town, i guess. did some sightseeing of the town, ate some polish food, and bought some souvenirs. then it was back to the bus station to catch a ride to krakow. for once, we didn't have any major transportation issues - things actually went smoothly!

arrived in krakow in the evening, and found our way to the hostel, the flamingo. i could tell immediately i was going to like this town. unfortunately, we didn't get as much time there as i would have hoped, as the overnight train to l'viv ukraine was fully booked, and we had to take a different one that caused us to leave poland earlier than anticipated. either way, it's really a beautiful city. the architecture is so pretty, and of course the history is so interesting too.

the next morning, we headed out for our group tour of auschwitz 1 and auschwitz 2 - birkenau, which we knew would be depressing, but how could we come so close and not see it. we can't deny that this happened in our history, and i think such times need to be remembered properly. it was much more interesting than some other camps i've seen, as it was pretty much fully intact. unlike dachau, which was barely a shell of it's former self, auschwitz still had original buildings - all of which are mini museums and memorials to victims of the holocaust. the most moving exhibit for me were the rooms filled floor to ceiling with personal belongings - shoes, hair brushes, eye glasses, suitcases. one even had old crutches, orthotics and prosthetics. unbelievable. and to think this was merely a fraction of what took place...

on the bus ride back to krakow, joslyn and i decided that we would try to see the salt mines as well. mike was hungry, and so decided not to join, so off we girls dashed to find the minibus that would take us there. after our stop, we basically power walked/ran the entire time to the mines - but we made the final tour with only minutes to spare. and it was worth it! who knew all the things you could do with salt - white salt, green salt, statues, even a full service church with reception area. apparently, b/c of the depth and air quality, alcohol hits you faster - which according to our guide, makes for a better party afterwards... hmm, if i ever get married, i want it to be in a salt mine haha. we had to walk down over 800 steps to reach the 3rd level, and there are 9 levels all together. (thankfully, there was a mine shaft elevator up. though, for those that are claustrophobic, it's not a pleasant ride) the mines even have a conference center that is fully wired with wi-fi and cell phone access. crazy.

here's where it gets funny. after the tour, jos and i made our way back to a bus stop. unfortunately the one we found didn't have minibuses to krakow, though when one pulled up, i asked - in my best polish accent - for krakow anyway. the driver shook his head no, but still motioned for us to get on. confused, we just stood there, until he yelled quite sternly "shut! shut!" (translation: shut the door you fools!) and we did. as we stood crowded around him confused as can be, he began yelling again, this time "sit! sit!" (translation: get out of my way and sit the hell down you fools!) so we did. he then began to drive quite hastily down the streets. even, i dare say, a bit carelessly.

i tried to decide whether he was indeed helping us, or if we were being kidnapped. both were viable possibilities. in the end, the kindness of strangers won out. he was merely giving us a ride to the correct minibus stop. he even proclaimed, as he pointed dramatically to the stop, "krakow! no charge!" (translation: this is the stop you were supposed to go to, you fools! but since you are fools, i will not charge you for this service, as it is not your fault you are fools!) again, in my best polish accent, i mumbled a thank you (dziekuje), and he actually laughed at me. but i think he got the point that we were sincerely appreciative.

back in the city center, found a lovely restaurant and had a truly authentic polish meal - pierogis! they were very tasty. completed the meal with roasted potatoes, and in the end decided to go all out and get the cheesecake too. heck, you need to treat yourself sometimes.

the next day, had time enough to walk around krakow's wawel hill (royal castle) area, see traces of pope john paul II around the city, and also explored the market square area (which, i read, is actually the second largest square in europe - after st. mark's square in venice) to get my fix of cheesy souvenirs. didn't make it to kazimierz, the jewish quarter, but will next time. as there will most definitely be a next time. this wonderful city deserves much more of my time, as does the remainder of poland. it's a great country.

by 1300, we were on our train for the polish-ukrainian border. and that is another story altogether..

christmas in the mountains

christmas morning (that's the western traditional christmas, 25 december) woke up to the sounds of church bells and more singing. boy, those slovakians sure do love their church services! ate some breakfast, colored with eva - jim's girlfriend's child - then packed up and said our goodbyes. it was sad to leave, as these people had become our extended family of sorts. jim tried to get us to stay; he wanted to make sure we weren't leaving because we felt we were imposing. i explained it was not that we wanted to leave, but we did have reservations in zakopane poland already and it was their holiday too, they needed a break. so off we went to the bus stop, where we waited for our transport into the next country.

and waited.

and waited some more.

once again, it just seems to be our luck. seriously, the trouble we've had with transportation on this trip is unbelievable!

in the end, the bus never came.

it was a bit frustrating, because nothing seems to work out for us. it was a bit funny, for the same reasons. and it was a bit of a relief, because i think secretly, none of us wanted to leave the ginger monkey. so back we trucked up the hill, stopping first at the ATM, then back to the hostel. everyone had a laugh when they saw us walking back up. by this point, they were getting ready for presents, so we took wally the dog out for a walk behind the hostel towards the forest to give our hosts some private time. found a pay phone, and managed to call our hostel in zakopane to cancel the night there. back at the hostel, we played with eva a bit (who told us all about how she saw father christmas outside this morning), then played mapominoes with johnny while richie and his mum spent all day in the kitchen cooking up a feast. boy, was it delicious! there was so much food, i think we were all stuffed to the gills..

after digesting a bit, rick and his wife joined us for dessert and drinks and general socializing. we played another card game with johnny, this time the backpacker game. i'm going to have to look these games up when i return, as they were very fun. we joined the group in the living room, and got the impression that rick was still in trouble with his wife from our first night in zdiar. sorry, but the wife always wins that argument.. managed to play a game of basket - aka ginger monkey celebrity - and again, the 3 americans were at a disadvantage as many of the people chosen were british footballers, cricket players or tv actors. ah well, it was fun anyhow.

had a few more laughs about our first night at vlado's bar and about jim's parading around outside ("i was trying to walk how santa would walk, but then i realized i was creeping around like a robber") in a red t shirt, red santa hat and a beard made out of cotton balls and paper - which wally managed to eat, so no more father christmas.

so in the end, we got our family holiday celebration afterall. funny how things work out for the best.

i heart slovakia

so, spent the next few days literally chillin' on a mountain. it was wonderful. our hosts at the hostel were the best people in the world, as far as i was concerned. we were basically their extended family for the next couple days. on our first full day there, which happened to be christmas eve, we went up to one of the ski resorts to check it out and go skiing/snowboarding. or, i should clarify. mike went snowboarding; joslyn and i watched and walked around and ate and drank. i thought about hitting the slopes too, as they weren't too scary, but alas, i chickened out. it would be my luck that i would injure myself and have to hobble around on eastern european crutches for the next 2 weeks. no thank you.

although, that could have happened anyway. we managed to get a ride with vlado, the owner of the bar from the night before. however, it was about 1/2 way through the ride when we realized he was probably still drunk from the night before. and driving on those mountain roads without road side barriers will give you a new appreciation for life. but we made it, and had a darn good time. it's beautiful.

afterwards, when mike was done snowboarding, we walked home, rather than getting another ride from vlado, who - if it's even possible - was even more drunk after taking at least 8 shots of vodka and a few beers at the ski resort. it's a nice little town, though much was closed because of the christmas holiday. back at the hostel, had our now-routine cuppa (that's cup of tea, for all you americans) to warm up, then it was back out to find the ATM and a souvenir shop. the shop was closed, which was a major bummer, as i really wanted a postcard and key chain from zdiar.

however, the disappointment was alleviated when we ran into into richie and johnny on our way back to the hostel. they were about to hit up a local store - probably the only store open - to get some alcohol for the upcoming holiday festivities. maybe it was one of those things you had to be there to fully appreciate, but it was a spectacle, to say the least. in a broken slovak/english mix, they managed to order some beer and wine. but then, mainly by gestures, they also tried to tell the check out girl they wanted an entire case of beer. 40 or more big bottles, all together. the girl's eyes were priceless. they seemed to endlessly question: "are you sure you want the entire case?", as the line at the store was now building out the door because richie and johnny were taking so long. one of the locals managed to tell the girl "drunk" and she seemed to finally understand that, yes, these two crazy foreigners do indeed want the entire case of beer. we couldn't stop laughing at the site of them hobbling back up the icy road, each holding one end of the plastic bin in one hand, and a bag of wine and more beer bottles in the other.

that night, had some wonderful albeit spicy stir fry, prepared specially by johnny, more drinks and a few rounds of who wants to be a millionaire. for those that know me, i'd admit i'm pretty good at trivia games. i even qualified for the meredith viera version back in college. however, this was a british version, and the 3 americans were at a sore disadvantage. then it was mary poppins time. yes, i said mary poppins. maybe a few sing-alongs happened, maybe they didn't. i will not tell such secrets here. but we all began to drift after the step-in-time rooftop scene. called it quits from the movie, and headed to bed, peacefully drifting off to the sounds of the midnight church carolers outside.