Krakow, Poland

*Happy Fathers day Dad! Without you none of what I'm doing could be possible! :)*


Perogies.  I’m not sure how they fit so much awesome inside those shells but they do.

But there’s much more to this Eastern European country than shells stuffed with heaven....there’s vodka.  The night I arrived at Greg and Tom’s Junior hostel in Old Town Krakow, they were hosting an all you can drink vodka shot night for $10.  My favourite by far was the “mad dog” - which consisted of vodka, a touch of sweet raspberry syrup and Tabasco sauce.  It’s what Chuck Norris has for breakfast right after he benchpresses Saturn.  Oh and the shower’s in the hostel were something out of Startrek

Krakow has a very nice “Old Town” interior that has a medieval flare like other cities I’ve seen so far.

St. Mary's Church

Cloth Hall - inside was a bazaar that sold everything but cloth

St. Andrews Church

And no medieval city is complete without its’ castle, in this case Wawel.

To my pleasant surprise I learned that Spielberg’s Schlinder’s List was mostly filmed in Krakow.  The original Schlinder’s factory is still standing, although it’s a museum now (very modern, very cool) it goes into detail about the work Schlinder did as well as the Jewish ghettos among other war related events.

These little cracks in the wall had video clips playing....very cool

Everywhere in Krakow people park their cars on the sidewalk instead of on the streets, I have no explanation as to why (just make parking spots on the roads?)

And there are also areas of Krakow where you are not permitted to do the Charlston Shuffle*

*I have no idea how to do the Charlston shuffle, or even that it's an actual dance, but the guy on the sign appears old and I think old people do it...so ya


***The next part deals with the Auchwitz concentration camp, it doesn't have any graphic pictures but if you don't want to read about it, don't read it***

I’ll be honest the reason I put Poland on my map is to experience the largest concentration camp of WW2, Auchwitz.  I won’t go into details or statistics about the camp; instead I’ll try and describe what it was like to be there.  I will add that they’ve done a remarkable job in preserving its’ original state over the years.

Entrance to Auchwitz

Death Wall - death by shootings

Picutre of a warehouse where they stored prisoners' shoes

Network of concentration camps across Europe during WW2, Auchwitz is the red dot

Caption in the bottom left reads - "On the road to death"....notice their ages

Main gas chamber from inside.....

Auchwitz Birkenau (2nd camp) - nearly 2 square km's

Main memorial at Auchwitz Birkenau

I brought a pen and paper with me to write down my thoughts as I was going through the camp, so here are some excerpts...

"You shake your head in disbelief and stare off in the distance trying to imagine what it was like to be a prisoner in that hell.  We went inside one of the gas chambers where sometimes they would “exterminate” up to 20,000 people a day and it was an overwhelming feeling of helplessness, sadness and disbelief.  We read about it or see it in movies, but walking the same grounds as millions of people who were uncertain of their fate day after day was just unreal.  It was a powerful but sad experience, and I’m glad I did it."

Frankfurt, Prague and Berlin

So I had people telling me that since I’ll be flying on a German airline overseas (Condor), most likely I’ll be treated with a German type meal on board, as well as unlimited alcoholic beverages...both of which I was giddily looking forward to.

Although not a total disappointment, I was a bit deflated by the “German pasta” as the main course.  The strong German beer (not unlimited) made up for it a little though, so I can’t really chalk this up as a total loss.  I sat beside a rather rotund gentleman from Denmark (I could never make out his name, I think it had a J in it...and maybe even a number) who spoke great English, so we struck up a few conversations over the 11 hour flight from San Jose to Frankfurt.  In 2000 he sold his IT company, which consisted of about 20 employees who managed and maintained websites for small to medium sized companies.  With that he retired at the age of 60 with the thought of “I want to enjoy some of the money that I’ve worked so hard for all these years”.  I found it interesting that we both shared that same opinion and that even though we’re 40 years apart in age, we can still be at the same stage of life.  He also liked beer and to be honest if he got in a wrestling match with a bear, I’d put money on him.

Anyways, enough about my 11 hour relationship with Hercules, it’s time we move onto Frankfurt, which is my first stop in Europe.  My first impressions of Germany in general are awesome.  Right off the bat, this country is built for tall people...finally, a country that gets me.  The shower nozzle is far above my head (not at my belt like most hostels in Central America...not like I wear belts in the shower....), the beds are actually long enough that I don’t have to sleep diagonally or curled up in a ball like someone just kicked me in the business.  The automatic soap dispenser and water faucets disperse just the right amount of soap and perfectly warm water into your awaiting hands.  The automatic hand towel machine gave out just enough towel for your hands to be perfectly dry...and there was advertising on the towel, brilliant.  Also my trip through customs consisted of the customs agent looking at me, taking my passport and stamping it...nothing more (maybe because I’m Canadian?).  My bag obviously arrived in perfect condition on the conveyer belt, and I was off to my first hostel.  The Five Elements hostel got some bangin’ reviews online through hostelworld, and they were right on. 

Five Elements Hostel - or maybe it's a showroom from IKEA, you decide.

Quite the contrast from my hostels in Central America that’s for sure.  And although the price was higher (19 euro or 26 Canadian), I still felt like it was a good deal.  After a nap to try and shake off the jet lag, I was off around the city.  First stop, the Main Tower for an amazing 360 degree view of the city:

Frankfurt is quite a beautiful city, everywhere you turn there is a statue, unique architecture or piece of artwork that reminds you of its’ rich history and culture. 

This statue was in memory of a 19^th century poet of significance (the plaque was in German, so that’s all I could gather from a translator who helped me out), but what stuck with me is that it was nearly destroyed in the war and then rebuilt.  For the first time ever it hit me as to where I actually was.  I took a minute to think of how the statue may have been destroyed and perhaps that soldiers fought and died right there.  It was a humbling experience to say the least. 

Frankfurt is more of a business and financial hub than anything else, so you can really only spend a few days here.  It’s not even listed in my otherwise awesome Europe 2011 book that my work colleagues gave me upon leaving (what’s up AZ peeps!).  It’s still quite a beautiful city, and I enjoyed strolling down the streets checking out many various pubs and cafe’s.  The Main river runs through the centre of the city as well.  Many runners, bikers and rowers take advantage of its beauty.

My original plan was to see Frankfurt, then head north to Berlin and then Prague.  However I ran into 6 guys from America all traveling together who were going to Prague first then Berlin so I decided to tag along.  So after double Czeching (haha I know, lame) our tickets we were off to Prague!  5 hours via train and 4 via bus, we arrived in what I can only describe as the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen.  If you’ve been already, you know exactly what I’m talking about and if not let me try to explain.

First off there are cobblestone streets and sidewalks everywhere you look, this gives the city a small town feel regardless of how big it is. 

Random street showing off the architecture and colours of Prague, and of course cobblestones

This really adds to the beauty and flare of the city.  Secondly there are statues and monuments everywhere you look which draws you into the history of the city.  Nearly every building has a gargoyle on top, religious figure watching over the door or something that makes you appreciate how much work went into the construction and maintenance of these unique buildings.  There is also a river that runs right through the city (I’m seeing a trend here) so you have that to play off as well. 

Old town district with Prague castle watching over the city

The street musicians are nothing to shake a stick at either, whether it’s a solo guitarist or 7 piece wind instrument group, they throw down people let me tell you. 

Me and team USA having a few pints at an authentic Czech restaurant while an accordionist plays in the background.  I had roasted pork with potato dumplings and like 1000 of their beers which are brewed right in the restaurant!

Our hostel was situated in Old Town which is ideal for seeing many of the sights Prague has to offer.  The town square is just bumping with music, cafe’s and things to see.  One of the main sights is the astronomical clock.

This clock does it all, it displays the time, date, whether patterns, ocean currents, the price of gold and reruns of M.A.S.H. Ok only a few of those are true, but it is quite complex.  And it's the only working astronomical clock in the world.

There’s also Charles bridge, spanning a lengthy 500m over the Vltava river.

Gate to the bridge

Taken from Charles bridge - Prague Castle in the back

The bridge leads you over to the castle district and none other than Prague Castle.  These two bad ass mofo's greet you outside the castle...a warning not to steal from the gift shop.

This castle itself is impossibly big (biggest castle in the world).  I can’t imagine the work it took to construct it in 850 AD!

The inside is equally as grand and demands appreciation. 

I wish I could have stayed one more day in this city, but alas Berlin was calling and I needed to answer.  Oh but before we switch cities, there was a night of Absinthe consumption sometime when I was in Prague.  I have one surviving picture that really captures that night quite nicely...

Ok then moving right along.

Although not as pretty as it’s neighbouring city of Frankfurt, Berlin is entrenched in so much history.  Every landmark or building of significance has hours of literature and pictures to tell a tale.  It’s simply astonishing and overwhelming at times as you want to read and see as much as possible but don’t want to “over-museum” yourself.  But before we get started, this statue was sitting in front of city hall no with plaque to explain it...however Poseidon needs no introduction, I just wish I knew why he was there.

Play on playa...play on

Anyways I started the city tour off with a visit to the Berlin cathedral.  Like most buildings of significance in Berlin it was decimated in the war but later rebuilt, many of the artefacts inside were also restored.

Inside the Cathedral

One of the various statues on top of the Cathedral

From there it was off to the German History Museum.  Now I’m not usually a history museum type of guy (I prefer long walks on the beach, poetry etc) but it’s Germany ...enough said.  This museum concentrated on Germany from years 1-1914 as there were separate museums that focused on the wars.  There’s something like 2000 exhibits to see, all laid out in chronological order.  It had everything from art to weapons, wardrobe, people, literature and more.  From there we headed down to Brandenburg Gate which was the only surviving gate out of 14 in Berlin’s old city wall.

Atop sits the Goddess of Victory in her chariot with 4 horses

From there a quick hop down to a memorial dedicated to the murdered Jews of Europe.  This memorial’s significance is that it’s the first formal German-sponsored holocaust memorial.  2711 (the number has no significance) pillars of concrete make up the memorial, all ranging in size.

The pillars have a chemical coating to make graffiti removal easier.  Ironically the company who produces the coating is the same company who supplied the concentration camps with their lethal gas that killed so many people....someone didn't do their homework.

Then it was off to see the remaining section of the famous Berlin Wall.

The original spray paint behind me says it all

"Berlin Wall 1961 - 1989" - They have this cobblestone track running through the city marking where the wall once stood.

Near the wall there is the site where Hitler’s former Luftwaffe Headquarters (the Topography of Terror) sat.  The site is just rubble and will remain that due to the nature of what was planned here during his reign.

 The people of Germany didn't want a memorial, but they also don’t want to pave over such a dark part in their history and try to forget it.  Makes sense to me.

Evil, cold, dark, disgusting....and I'm just talking about his moustache

That pretty much wraps up Berlin and Germany for now, I’ll be back in Munich at the end of September for Oktoberfest.

Currywurst (curried bratwurst), Berliner beer and Brandenburg gate in the background

Next stop, Krakow Poland!

Nicaragua and Central America wrap up

Ladies and gentlemen, as promised here is the talented and always entertaining Ross Myers and his waterfall jump (Montezuma, Costa Rica).  The French judge gave him a 6....no comment.

The last few days in Costa Rica were spent mainly in Santa Teresa soaking in the sun and playing endless hours of frisbee in the surf.  We caught some photo’s of howler monkey’s that were quite curious and made their way right into our hostel

There's no balls about it folks, this monkey is male

If you wonder why they call them howler monkey’s, just youtube them and listen.  Now that will keep you up at night!  Departing Santa Teresa we made our way back up to Liberia to stay the night as Ross was departing the next morning back to Toronto from Liberia Airport. 

The crew taking a ferry from Playa Naranjo to Punteranes

Nothing exciting about Liberia really, except for this picture I snapped in my hostel.

Somehow I don't think this would pass the safety inspection back in Canada...

So just like that Rossco was headed back home and we were headed north to Nicaragua!  We returned the rental car at the border and proceeded to cross on foot.   There is some on-going tension between Nicaragua and Costa rica due to border disputes among other things.  Also Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (next to Haiti).  Traveling to a very poor country is relatively new to me, but I can already see that it’s kind of a double-edged sword.  On one hand it’s extremly cheap to travel (meals for $3, 40oz of local rum for $6, accommodations on the beach for $8, 30 minute taxis for $10) but you lose a lot of the infrastructure support systems that help you along the way (electricity, good roads, clean water).  It's a great way of traveling if you can pass up those things you've come so accustomed to living with.

Since arriving in Nicaragua on the 25^th we headed straight for Madaras beach, which is a 30 minute cab ride north of the main city of San Juan Del Sur on the Pacific side.  Chris spent 3 months here a few years back and had an amazing time.  The hostel we’re staying at (Matilda’s) is directly on the beach, and is run by a super friendly husband and wife team (Matilda and Antonio).  Although lacking in some of the ammenaties I’ve seen in most Costa Rican hostels (no wifi, pool, ac, eletricity often goes out for hours at a time) it makes up for in location.  Days just melt away chating with other travelers, playing with the local dogs, getting crushed by the waves or catching some sleep in a hammock.  This location also offers some of the best surf conditions in central america, so it’s easy to understand how people can spend months here.

Matilda and Antonio....I fit right in

There is also a very friendly local woman who serves up homecooked Nicaraguan food on the beach, right beside our hostel.  What else do need really?  Oh and the local beer is Tona, it has a unique finish to it that I can’t explain but don’t really care as it’s too inexpensive to matter.

We spent about 8 days here in all, and I managed to snap some pretty awesome sunset and beach shots.

Chris and Sarah doing their thing

Matilda beach - completely empty :)

So where to next?  Ometepe Island, which is smack in the middle of Lake Nicaragua (largest lake in Central America and 19th in the world). What’s the big deal about Ometepe Island you ask?  This:

Ometepe Island

On the left we have Concepcion (1610m), and on the right we have Madaras (1394m)  Both climable to the top, however after May, Concepcion often starts spewing ash so you can only ascend half way up.  So Chris and I decided on besting Madares.

Bested baby, bested

We did climb down into the crater after to check out the fresh water lake as well, good stuff.  Now I’m no rookie to hiking as I hiked the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu in 2007 (84km over 4 days), but this hike was much more difficult due to the 29 degree temperature and humidity.  It took us 4 hours to climb the 8k to the top and 3 to get down....not an easy task, but well worth it.

We also spent an afternoon hiking up to see a fresh water waterfall (56m high), and beacuse Madaras volcano isn’t active, it was ice cold which was sweet considering the ocean down here is as warm as the outside air.

A great sunset pic I snapped from the dock at the hostel.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ant-eater in the wild either....so here’s one.

And that about does it for Nicaragua and Central America.  Currently I’m on a bus watching the new Karate Kid in Spanish, with Spanish subtitles (wtf) it’s heading to San Jose where I’ll spend the night and catch a 9:30am plane tomorrow bound for Frankfurt Germany.

Things I’ll miss about Central America is the gillo pinto, awesome beaches and very friendly people.  Things I won’t miss is the power going out every 2^nd night (no ac, no fans....think about it), the bugs and having to drink bottled water instead of tap.

Sauerkraut and good beer here I come!