Kraków

I've realized that I need to take an iterative approach to my pictures. Hence, my Kraków shots are now up on Flickr. Hoorah!

You can check them out in my Europe photoset.

Photos!

I've actually got some photos up! I've mainly been uploading pictures where it was likely I could pinpoint where they were taken, thus adding cities to my Flickr map. There are photos for which I don't know exactly where I took them but I thought they were cool. All of them can be seen on my Flickr photo page which I'll probably be updating as time goes on.

I shall call it: TRAMPOLINING!

I'm back, safe and sound, from the wild and dangerous depths of Europe.

Total picture taken on my trip: 2102

• Krakow - 306


• Berlin - 141


• Amsterdam - 180


• Paris - 474


• London - 545


• Dublin - 428

I was only in Amsterdam for a day and a half, so that's probably why there aren't many snaps from there. In Berlin, my excuse is that I didn't bring along my camera one evening. Some of the people I was with had cameras, though. Those pictures might show up on the internet at some point, though they may not reach the eyes of my dear readers ;)

Guess where I went last night? Go on... guess ;)

....

Ok, that doesn't work so well on a blog...

Well fine, I'll just tell you. I enjoyed some Bangers & Mash, some Smithwick's, some Guinness, some Gaelic football, and some live Irish music at The Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub (since 1198).

Pictures sometime in the near future

Technological anterograde amnesia

I've been working out of internet cafés and when I go to type a URL of a site I visit frequently, I'm surprised to discover that it doesn't automatically complete it. I feel a bit like Henry

Contentless post

I actually have things to say, but I think I could say them better with pictures and those are a bit difficult to work with right now. So I'm going to be stupid and post a link to a video I've been watching lately and some lyrics I've been thinking about:

Kings of Convenience's "I'd rather dance with you" One of my favorite music videos of all time (and I've seen a LOT of music videos)

"so i walk like i'm on a mission
cuz that's the way i groove
i got more and more to do
i got less and less to prove
it took me too long to realize
that i don't take good pictures
cuz i have the kind of beauty
that moves"
-Evolve by Ani DiFranco

Yeah for content without having to think!

Dublin!

I've just arrived in Dublin and boy are my legs tired! And arms... and mind...

Actually, I'm feeling pretty with it right now because I got lots of sleep in London at a very nice Hostel. I didn't even feel like sleeping on the train, which was very odd. Then I took a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. The experience was worth the price alone. It didn't even feel like a ferry, more like a very large hotel lounge/mall. I caught a movie on the ferry too, which was also an interesting experience (there was always a little bit of motion even though the ride was very smooth). The movie was "Meet the Robinsons", which I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed. It had some really funny parts and it had a good message for kids that I thought was well portrayed.

Oh yeah! And I saw Spamalot in London! Tre cool. I was only 1E0 rows away from the back row (see picture)!

Also, I plan on posting a photoseries on Flickr entitled "Getting High in Europe", so look out for that ;)

Horray for English computers!

It's bit a bit odd to post from computers that trigger Blogger to display other languages. I've just arrived in London this morning via an advanced chunnelling process. I was excited to travel under the sea (cue music from the Little Mermaid), but to be honest I slept through most of it (I got up at 5:15 AM to catch my 7:16 train).

Paris was grand (both meanings of the word) but without any craziness. I saw Amelie's café, though, so it was worth it ;) Pictures will most definately be coming. I might even be able to get through some of them in the week before camp.

Now I'm off to nip a spot of dessert from this internet cafe (a place with both internet access and food, brilliant)!

Surprise in the red light district

So I don't know how many of my readers have been to the red light district. For those that haven't, a quick overview: women in skimpy/sexy clothing standing in windows smiling, waving, and tapping on the glass to get your attention. Right... so...

I'm walking down a street along a cannal along the edge of the RLD that is very quiet and has only one or two of these places. I see a woman (fully clothed, I don't know if she was "working" or what) mopping the entrance. I look over and give a polite nod/smile. In turn, she mimes a blowjob with a smile and a questioning look. I found that particularly amusing because the fallafel vendors don't simulate shovelling food into their mouths as I walk by, and they're not even wearing a bikini.

Link caught

I actually caught it in Berlin, but I didn't have time to post it:

XKCD says, "FUCK. THAT. SHIT."

It smells quite nice here in Amsterdam ;)

Terribe Train Trouble

So I was taking the train a couple of days ago from Krakow to Berlin. I had gotten a first class ticket for that particular trip because it was cheap. I went to the conductor and he said that I wasn't on his car because it was the sleeping train. Fine. I go to the conductor he points me to, and that conductor says that I'm in the sleeping car (apparently triggered by the 1st class). So I go back to the first conductor and he still says no. He points me to a third conductor who speaks better English, so I go and talk to him. He says I'm in the sleeping car. At this point, I don't care so much about the sleeping car, I just want to know what the difference is between first and second class and if I should ask the company I bought the tickets from for a refund (apparently there were only two cars going directly to Berlin and one was the sleeping car). I go back and talk with the conductor of the first car and he's being very stubborn. He says I can be on the sleeping car if I pay more money. At some point, he says I can take the train to Poznań and get a sleeping car there. I ask if I can just get on the non-sleeping direct Berlin and he says to just get on the train to Poznań. So I do.

Right, so I'm on the train and it goes for 4-5 hours or so. Eventually somebody gets on who says they have a reservation for that seat, so I have to get up and look for another compartment. I try finding another compartment, but all I find are Polish speaking people who seem to indicate that their free seats are reseved. So I end up standing at the end of one of the cars with my luggage. This doesn't turn out so bad as I hang out with two Polish guys who share their beer with me (Zubr). We don't really speak each other's languages, but we have a resonable good time. Eventually, a couple of hours later, I end up in Poznań, where I find that the car that the conductor was talking about is an all-sleeping car and they still want me to pay more money. A bit frustrated, I find a very helpful person at one of the ticket booths who tells me that there is a train leaving for Frankfort in 2 and one half hours, and after there there is a train leaving for Berlin. Strangely, at 4 AM I'm able to keep myself awake (for an hour at least) with the Joel on Software book DJ lent me (thanks DJ!). I eventually catch the train and arrive in Berlin exhausted. The train never stops at the station I was expecting, so I end up on the wrong side of the city. After 30-60 mins training around Berlin, I finally make it to my destination and go to sleep.

I want to note that in Krakow and Berlin, they seem to never check for proof that you bought a ticket, but you need to pay to use the bathroom in a train station. There are some messed up priorities there.

Sorry, but I don't have time to proofread this. I'm keeping myself quite busy, but I am making notes of what is going on while I'm on the train in between cities, so I'll probably be doing a lot of post-trip posting (which will allow me to post pictures easier, too). I'm having a blast though. See you all soon.

I logged into Google Reader today and was checking all of the various things I normally read (blogs, comics, news) and as I was scrolling through all the stuff I missed, I realized I was thinking "Jesus, just get this over already". It's funny because Google Reader has been a constant part of my life and I would check it probably >50 times per day. I'll consider this a good thing for now.

Don't worry, I'm keeping a written (yes, paper...) journal of the stuff I'm doing. I hope to post some more substantial stories from Kraków when I get to Berlin. For now, here are some internet links I'm identifing with right now:

• Today's XKCD (read just the first four panels)


• Ze Frank's The Show - 2.21.2007 This is part of the impetus for the trip

I thought I had a third link, but it escaped me. Maybe if it's headed toward Berlin I'll be able to catch it again.

On monies

I'm in an internet cafe that charges 1 złotys for 15 minutes and 2 złotyz for 30. A basic glass of beer from the tap (Żywiec or Heineken are two examples of standard beer, both quite good) is usually about 5 złotys (or maybe a bit less). The meals I've had range from about 7-10 złotys for lunch to 25 złotys for a sit down dinner. As I write this, the conversion rate is 1 USD to 2.80802 złotys. I'll leave you to do the math.

My plans for the rest of my stay in fair Kraków include:

• tonight: Either go-karting or hanging out in a ruined castle


• tomorrow morning: Getting up at 7 AM and taking a bus to a monastery

Crack House, Poland

Hey, this is just a quick note to let folks know that I landed safely in Krakow after 19 hours of flying and waiting to fly, spanning 5 different airports. But as you can see from the picture, the adventure started before it even began. Behold! An automatic sink with (here's the amazing part) an automated soap dispenser! Right at the Port Columbus International Airport!

I thought I would share my excitement with getting my passport. It means I didn't waste money buying plane tickets ;)

Leaving soon!

I'll be leaving for Europe soon. If I get the chance, I'll be posting here re: there.