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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
