Krakow to L'viv

My day trip to L'viv got an earlier start than I had planned, as a number of drunks began making a ruckus on the balcony outside my window right at 7am. I had slept fitfully all night, as my roommates consisted of two Brazilians and two Australians...two nationalities not known for going to be early while on vacation. Those guys were in and out of the room all night. Once the noise began at 7, I figured I may as well go on and get up and catch the 8:30 train, rather than the 9:30 train I had planned on. I accompanied a 30-year old black American girl (the first American I have met the entire trip) from the hostel to the train station and right up to her train, for which I was profusely thanked. (I think she was feeling a little lonely...as I was I.) That 20-minute walk together was one of those short encounters in life that leave you glad you had it, but also a little melancholy briefly afterwards...such a nice, agreeable person will only occupy that oh-so-brief period in all the moments of your life. Traveling alone is certainly a great way to meet those "single-serving friends", to borrow an expression from "Fight Club". I have many such memories.

At any rate, I entered the train late, having been a little unsure which car I was supposed to be in and wanting make sure I got on the right train. I managed to find a seat with a family of three and middle-aged guy with a gimp arm (which I did not notice until 2 hours together in the compartment) who smelled of beer early in the day. Communication with all of them was a non-starter as none spoke much of any English and I did not manage to gain any words of Polish during my three-day stay in the country. The talked quite a bit amongst themselves, however, until the beer drinker got off. Later, once we were nearing the Poland-Ukraine border, I got out the Iphone and used google translate to write a question to the father, asking him if he would help me locate a minibus from the train's last stop at Przemysl (pronounced Pah sháh mish) to the border at Medyka. He smiled, showed it to his wife, nodded and smiled. We then began a bit of communication, from which I learned they were coming back home from the beach, which perplexed me at first, not being able to imagine what beach they were coming from. Turns out they had been at a beach on the Baltic Sea in the NW corner of Poland and were completing a 16-hour train journey from one corner of Poland to another.

As the train pulled into the station at the border town of Medyka, they pointed out the minibus I would need to me, and I indicated that would be all the help I would need. I exited the bus, walked over to the minibus, paid the 2 zlotys (under a dollar) for the trip, and we were soon off to the border...even got to listen to "Karma Chameleon" on the radio as we made our way to the border. (The penetration of American culture into the far reaches of the globe never ceases to amaze me.) At any rate, crossing the Polish side of the border was simple enough, but the Ukraine side proved to be a little more interesting, as the border agent spent a significant amount of time, probably five minutes or more, examining my passport. She mostly focused on the extra pages I had added to the passport a few years back when the other visa pages were full, but she also brought out a magnifying glass to study the first pages. I will admit my passport is a little ragged and I have not taken good care of it. During the trek to Macchu Picchu it got soaked...I remember the next time I went across customs with it, in Colombia, the border guard asked me if I had been in "un naufrago", which at the time I did not understand...I will now never forget that word...it means "shipwreck".

At any rate, the guards did not seem that serious during this process and I was never really concerned that they would deny me entry. (I will mention that Americans do not need a visa for Ukraine at this time...thus, why I was there.) However, the examination of the passport did go on for what seemed like a long time...long enough that I broke out the phone again to explain about the extra pages in the passport, as I held up the translation to the clear plastic divider and asked them to read it. They seemed to understand and eventually let me go. Ukrainian border control would give me a little trouble on the way out too a few days later.

Crossing the border I was offered ridiculous prices for cab rides into L'viv. I was not real sure where the bus into town was, but luckily I found someone to help me out. Finding the bus station, I paid the small fare and off we went across the Ukrainian countryside in a rickety Soviet-era bus. I suppose my image of Ukraine coming into the trip was of a country a little more wealthy than how it turned out to be. The countryside was pretty enough, but many other things were rundown and shabbily maintained, from the dwellings to the roads and vehicles and even to the scraggly dogs. I would later learn that yes, the people are in general happier now than they were in Soviet times, but times are not real great either and most people seem to jump at the opportunity to leave.

The Ukrainians I met that spoke English were certainly nice enough and I was in no way mistreated in Ukraine. They did seem a kind of uncouth people though. Men (not bums but regular guys) picking their noses and scratching themselves in public, quite a lot of litter in the streets - I even saw a dog defecating in the middle of a road in the countryside...as if it didn't know better or care to do that sort of thing somewhere a little more private. LOL. And while I am on the subject of the Ukrainian people I have to throw in a few words about the women. What I cannot understand or reconcile is the young, tall, striking females that so heavily populate the streets of L'viv with the old, short, hunchbacked, babushkas (Russian for grandmother) wearing their hair bandannas and thick woolen clothing. I am not sure how that metamorphasis occurs. Or maybe these were just peasant women. At any rate, age is a terrible thing I think. I will choose to stay young.

I got to the train station where the bus ride ended, broke out the Iphone and used the GPS to navigate my way into town. Count on the Soviets to build the damn train station a brisk 30-minute walk from the city center. I checked into a great little hostel, the Old City Hostel, where I would spend the next day and a half.

Krakow

Lots of partying apparently takes place in Krakow, though I would not know since I didn't go out while I was there. Krakow is a popular destination for young people from all around Europe. Krakow is full of students and known for its famous hilltop castle complex - Castle Wawel, which was the old seat of the Polish government. One of the other more famous landmarks is the double-towered church located in the main square. I like the church, partially because the towers are unsymmetrical, like me. hah.

Warsaw

I'm typically not a big fan of big cities during these types of trips, but Warsaw turned out to be a nice place to spend a day. It has a nice "old town" that was reconstructed (after the Nazis razed the city more or less out of spite near the end of the war), based on photos and plans. They did a nice job of making the old town look old.

The other sight of note in Warsaw is the Warsaw Rising Museum, which details the efforts made by the Warsaw natives to rise up in an insurgency against the Nazis. The museum is well worth a visit. It has many large and varied exhibits. The Warsaw Uprising is not to be confused with the Ghetto Uprising made a year earlier by the Jews. Both uprising were defeated; the Warsaw Uprising led to the destruction of much of the city. The city was eventually "liberated" by the Red Army some months later, as the Germans faded. Tough way to go, fighting the Nazis, weakening them, and then having the Soviets come in.

Mad dash through the Baltics

Part of the reason I went to the Baltic States was a book I read some years ago, "Firewall" by Andy McNabb. I don't remember much about the book actually, other than the main character took a ferry ride from Helsinki across the Baltic Sea over to Estonia. I never forgot that ferry ride or that the character visited Estonia. It took me quite a few years, but I finally got to the Baltic States. And I did arrive in the Baltics by ferry, though there was nothing notable about the ride. The ferry service is pretty regular between the two countries; the boat I took was a cruise ship. They didn't give me a suite for the 1.5 hour trip.

Upon arrival in Tallinn, I followed the crowd that was headed toward the old town. Tallinn's "old town" is a huge tourist attraction, and for good reason. It's very scenic and very old. Old city walls and towers, tiny cobblestone streets that go every which direction, churches and cathedrals...it's all very medieval like a portal to different world. I visited the capital cities of all three Baltic countries, and they all have beautiful old towns, well preserved and well cared for.

The economy in Estonia is strong: the low taxes and regulation may have something to do with that. Tallinn felt very safe - at all hours of the day. I ended up staying out most of the night and never felt the least bit unsafe. I was out all night because I joined a pub crawl with other tourists. I found out about the pub crawl by attending a free walking tour earlier in the day. Good work by that business...rope them in with the free tour and then charge them for more interesting offerings like pub crawl and bike tours. And what a concept: charge tourists $20 to take them on a pub crawl. Give them a few "free" drinks and lead them from place to place. I have to say it was a blast and the reverie continued very late. Lots of partiers from all over the world having a great time in Tallinn.

After getting to bed at 0630, I was not able to make my 0900 bus to Riga, so I ended up taking a bus to Parnu, a nice coastal town, and spending the night there. I took a dip in the Baltic in the morning and hopped on a bus to Riga. Riga is a much bigger town than Tallinn. I'm sure there's lots to do there, but unfortunately I only spent one night so I didn't see much other than the old town city center and a number of bars in the evening. The bars were a much rougher crown than what I saw in Tallinn. Tallinn seemed very harmless; Riga is a place one can undoubtedly get into trouble with a few bad decisions. I ended up drinking most of the night with a Canadian I had met in Tallinn and then reconnected with in Riga, and a group a young Latvians. The Latvians did not speak English nearly as well as the Estonians I met, but they could still communicate. When I met a Latvian who was an ethnic Russian and began questioning him about Latvian-Russian relations (which are not good...the Latvians are happy with their independence and do not appear to like the large Russian minority) him asked me in all seriousness if I was a spy. The other young fellows were amiable enough, but they had an underlying edge to them. A Brazilian I met later in my trip in Vilnius detailed how he got invited into a bar by two young ladies in Riga, bought them each two martinis and then got a bill from the bar for $300. He apparently escaped by only paying $100. The bars in Riga either did not have a toilet or were seriously "under-toileted". However, free enterprise reigns: for about $.15 you can enter an automatic pay toilet and do your thing there. Well worth it.

After Riga, I hopped another bus to Vilnius. The buses in the Baltics, incidentally, are comfortable and reliable, and the fastest way to get where you are going generally speaking. They even have wifi. The roads between the capitals were good and no stops for customs controls, so traveling by bus around the Baltics is easy enough.

As for Vilnius, it was same-same but different. A large ethnic Russian minority still makes it's home there as in the other Baltic states. And as in the other Baltic states, Lithuania is very happy to have its independence from the Russians. I managed to squeeze in the KGB museum before getting on the 11am train to Warsaw. The KGB museum is well worth seeing: housed in an old KGB field office, it comes complete with padded cells, execution chambers, and plenty of memorabilia. The Lithuanians fought their own insurgency against the Soviets in the years after WWII. Have to give the Russians credit - they were ruthless and knew how to turn a society inside out and against itself. The Lithuanians efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and they suffered under the Soviet yoke until the Soviet Union's dissolution.

The train from Vilnius to Warsaw is a nice way to travel between the two cities, but it is not fast. In all, I believe the trip took about 8 hours. All passengers have to change trains at the border Lithuania-Poland border, as the trains in the Baltics use the wider gauge that's not used in Western Europe.

In all, the Baltic States were great. They are relatively inexpensive, especially in comparison to Western Europe, fun, easy to travel through, and with much to see. It's hard for me to believe I only spent 4 days in total there. 4 days was a little fast; 6 days, with two days in each country would have been great.

Helsinki

Like any the capital of any good Nordic country, Finland's capital is quaint but expensive. I got there in the morning after not sleeping much on the flight. Clearing customs was simple...was asked how long I planned on being in Europe, to which I replied I was not sure what constituted Europe these days, but planned on traveling down to Istanbul in about three weeks. rently Istanbul is not yet a part of Europe) I promptly found no one at the tourist information center, but I did grab a helpful map. The bus into town was simple enough, with a young fellow that spoke good English driving.

As for the rest of the 25 hours I was in Finland, I have little to say. Walking around town I felt like I was in a bubble of sorts, as not only does no one say hello, but no one really any glanced at me or acknowledged my presence in any way at all. Not sure if the lack of warmth between strangers is a function of the climate, language differences/difficulty, or what. I'm sure the Finns are friendly enough once you get to know them, but the ones I asked for directions, or ordered food from, or what have you, were all quick to give me what I wanted and then end the conversation.

As for Helsinki the city, the city center is scenic enough. The Finns, like many of the natives of countries I will visit on this trip (Poles, Baltics, etc) have a long history of occupation/domination by their larger and more powerful neighbors. I forget the date, but Finland's independence from Russia was something in the early 20th century. At any rate, Helsinki would make a fine stop on a Baltic cruise, but I would not recommend a long stay. The picture of the UFO-looking thing is actually a church that was dug into the bedrock of the city. In the past, much of Helsinki was rocky like the area around the church, which makes for a nice contrast from the development of the city.

Helsinki to Istanbul

Well, I've got a little time off with nothing to do...so I decided to hit the road. I have about 3 weeks to go from Helsinki to Istanbul before flying from there to India to meet up with Sylvia. I feel a little old to be going backpacking and staying in hostels...but this will likely be the last time for a long time. Will be getting married in February.

This trip will take me through countries I have always wanted to visit but have not so far had the chance: the Baltic States, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey. I am excited about it, though a part of me feels I should be down in Peru with Sylvia getting the wedding planned. I will try my best to enjoy it. (I say that half-seriously).