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Ireland

A 302-day adventure by youonlylivetwice Read more
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    Krakow to Warsaw

    May 21, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Well I decided on not doing the salt mine tour after all because of the cost. After to talking to two young polish girls last night in the hostel they recommended Warsaw and Gdansk. I decided to move on. So far on my travels the Polish people are the kindest, nicest, happiest and helpful people. By far this is the safest country I have been in. Three hour fast train ride and I'm in Warsaw. Another beautiful city. It was completely flattened in WW2 but totally rebuilt and is pristine. Coming out from the train station I'm met head on with the technical building and in behind the art gallery. It looked like the Empire State Building. A twenty minute walk to the hostel and the city is again buzzing and there is music everywhere. A quick shower and change and I'm out to catch the sites. It's Sunday and the museums and exhibits are free. I walk through the market and winding little streets, more music, and a old man playing a old piano with a parrot singing along. Lucky me I manage to catch the exhibition to the Royal Palace and it is magnificent. I don't know much about Polish Royalty but am totally impressed with the whole palace. Looks like a prelude to St. Petersburg. I finish up with a walk along the promenade and then find a restaurant for a pizza and a couple of beers....and delightfully people watch for two hours. My waiter is a student and has a nametag saying so and tells me he is learning. Brilliant! This stops people from being nasty to him. Next I see the water truck coming along the street and watering all the flowers and soldiers tapping each other on the back and laughing. It feels good to be in Poland!Read more

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    Warsaw

    May 22, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Early morning start today after having a great breakfast at the hostel. Headed out in the sunshine by 8:30 am to beat the Korean tourists in the park. Not being biased here but there are hoards of them here with their selfie sticks and I can't get a photo in edgewise. Today I did! Started with the tomb of the unknown soldier which is guarded by two soldiers and a burning flame. Behind it is the beautiful park with a huge fountain and statues of Greek gods. I was off then to the modern part of the city to look around. Made my way back to the Chopin museum and then stopped off for a coffee crema at Tschibo. I walked for 4 hours and then went back to my room to rest my feet. After my test I was on the search for the long stairway and the underground tunnels. I found the stairway but not the tunnels. I asked a waiter for directions and he told me to wait for him after work and he would show me. The guys here are certainly not shy to ask a girl out. I had to ditch him (not my type) nicely. I found the mermaid in the old square which is a symbol of Warsaw and is said to be the protector of Poland (once rescued by a fisherman). I had an early dinner at the restaurant next door and it was fabulous. Soft and airy potatoe dumpings with forest mushroom and garlic sauce and a beer ($13.39 CAD). Warsaw: home of Madam Curie, Chopin, Lech Walensa, and many famous movie stars and playwrights. Never there was so much history here.Read more

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    Last day in Warsaw

    May 23, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Well I decided to stay another day because I didn't see everything and because it's just so gorgeous. I went to the train station and got a 1st class ticket for tomorrow that was cheaper than buying a regular ticket for today. I went to the Dali-Warhol art exhibit, which was a little disappointing because it was only one floor ($17.50). I've been to better exhibits for less. I walked back to the hostel to rest and then went off an hour later to the Warsaw uprising museum. It was so hot and quite a ways away. I went to the former Jewish ghetto section where more than 300,000 Jews were executed. I finally reached the uprising museum and it was closed. Back to the hostel I went. Bought some items for tomorrow's roadtrip and in the evening participated in the "learn polish" program at the hostel. That was fun! (16km today)Read more

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    Gdansk

    May 24, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Well what an interesting surprise in the north of Poland. Mainly brick buildings. After a 4 hour train ride I could hardly wait to go for a walk. I found the quay area and it reminded me of pictures I saw of Denmark and Amsterdam years ago. Everything is fresh fish here! I checked out a couple of menus and the spicy fish soup at Dominkanska taverna caught my eye. Wow, never had anything like it. Made with onions, zucchini, red & green peppers in a red broth with cayenne pepper. Served along side with rye bread and garlic herring chive butter. The most interesting food so far. Tomorrow will be a busy day of walking!Read more

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    Gdynia and Sopot daytrip

    May 25, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Set out today on a day trip with Agatha (64 and solo travelling)from Vienna Austria on a tour of two of the port cities north of Gdansk. Our first was a half hour train ride to Gdynia which is a modern port city. We spent about an hour and a half walking around and then decided to head to Sopot. Sopot is the Monte Carlo of Poland. Lakefront spa, Grand hotel, beautiful beaches, and a walking pier you had to pay for to walk on. We walked around the pier and got the same great view. This city was totally tourist driven. Lots of shops and restaurants. We had a lovely cream desert at a pastry shop. We headed back to Gdansk and went to the Twarg Dzewny (market). Lots of expensive food and clothes. We headed back to the hostel for pasta and beer. After dinner I went back out to check out the areas I'd Gdansk I missed in the day. Visited the Golden gate archway, Westplatz (a well restored promenade) and the Matllowa Canal on the opposite side. We were parachuted on by a group of preteen school kids which were so noisy and made the night unbearable to sleep. Booked my bus ticket to Vilnius, Lithuania for tomorrow evening.Read more

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    Farewell to Gdansk

    May 26, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Lousy night sleep! Didn't help being woken up by the slamming if doors at 6 am by the rotten school kids. This is going to be a day of walking and shaking off the cobwebs before I board my overnight bus at 7pm tonight. After breakfast and having to wait until 9 to get into the kitchen for a cup of coffee Agatha and I set out for a tour of the Solidarity Museum. It took about 3 hours to go through the museum and was so packed with information about the set up of the trade unions by Lech Walesa in the early 80's, the country falling under martial law and communism. I never realized how powerful the people of Poland were in the support and backing of trade unions. Hundreds if people died and were jailed during this period. There is a statue erected of anchors on three crosses erected in front of the museum in honour of the three shipyard workers who were shot to death in the site. We headed into the old town after and found a locals restaurant and had lunch. I had a beetroot borscht with spinach and a piece of fresh halibut. Grabbed my bags from the hostel and Agatha walked me to catch my 7pm bus. I sure hope I can sleep a bit on the bus. Total bus time is 10 hours 40 minutes.Read more

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    Vilnius-Lithuania-Don't look up!

    May 27, 2017 in Lithuania ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Arrived at 6am in Vilnius this morning fourty minutes ahead of schedule and the temperature a balmy 7 degrees. I don't think I'll ever learn to sleep on buses or trains. I think I managed to sleep for an hour. I booked a room at 5am on the bus and when I got to the hotel they let me in right away so I could get some sleep. So nice! Rise and shine at 9:30 and I hit the coffee shop across the street for a cappuccino, eat my sandwich from the night before and hit the pavement for an all day tour. First thing I notice is the horrible condition of the sidewalk and know that I'm going to have to keep my eyes to the ground so I don't trip. There city is being restored and you can see it everywhere. There are a lot if churches here. I start out by seeing the town hall, cathedral basilica and bell tower, the hill of crosses, Bernardine gardens, and palace of the grand dukes of Lithuania. It's already so hot and the climb to the hill of crosses is steep, boards in the stairs are broken, and the bank is silty. I get to the top sweating but the city view is fantastic. On the way down I step on a step and it gives way and I go falling forward and down the stairs. Ouucccchhhh! I manage not to break any bones but I can feel the stinging and cut on my leg under my tights and I'm covered in silt. I walk to the gardens and regroup under a shady tree while I watch a wedding. I manage to get back to the hotel after finding a great and cheap organic food store, have a shower to clean my wound and vegetate for a few hours. Have to wash my clothes from all the silt. Back out at 6:30 after having a nap and checked out the rest of the old town I missed earlier in the day. Hard to find a grocery store here and after walking 2.5 hours I found one. Bought my water (mint) and headed back to the room to book my trip to Latvia tomorrow. Walking back I noticed women pacing the street and asked the hotel clerk if this was the red light district and after having to explain what it meant, he said yes. Hmm, interesting!Read more

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    Riga-Latvia

    May 28, 2017 in Latvia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Beautiful luxury bus and a four hour ride with gorgeous scenery brought me into Riga in the early afternoon. Wowwww! Another great feel city and super friendly people. Had a beer in an underground cellar recommended by Jana (yup) at the hostel and super cool (beer was great too). Walked along the river to the cruise ship area where a huge luxury liner from Panama was docked. It was 27 degrees and the Latvians were swimming in the river. I dipped my feet in and it wasn't too cold. Walked through the magnificent parks where people were laying in the grass, talking and snoozing. There is a water taxi you can take up and down the river. I came across some kids playing in the city water fountain to keep themselves cool. This city is a hidden gem in Europe and has almost a Swedish feel to it. I walked for five hours straight. Picked up a salmon cheese and chive triangle tart for dinner which was very yummy. I can't understand the Latvian language but there is a lot of English and Russian spoken here.Read more

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    Riga finale

    May 29, 2017 in Latvia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Last day here today and so off to the other side of the Daugava River for a different view. Cool and windy this morning so I doubled back to change and grab a jacket. Walked four hours and then went to the museum at the Powder Tower. One of the best historical museums I've been in in all if Europe. These poor Latvians were constantly at war and being over thrown by someone. I spent 4 hours in the museum. Next was the arsenals, along the park, groceries and back to the hostel for prepping tomorrow's trip to Tallin Estonia.Read more

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    Tallinn, Estonia

    May 30, 2017 in Estonia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    What a gorgeous bus ride from Riga to Tallin. Four and a half hours of national parks, sandy Baltic Coastline, and sunshine. Reminds me of Vancouver Island. Quick and easy 30 minute walk to my hostel which is uber modern and only a month old and feels more like a hotel; ten minutes to old town and a five minute walk to the port. I walked down to the quay(Kai in Estonian) and picked up a few items. I found some interesting smoked sausage and asked the girl what the meat was and all she said was cheese! I found out later it was reindeer meat and the sell a lot of game in the stores here. Caviar us €5 a jar and I am getting a jar for my trip home. I priced out the ticket for Helsinki on Friday and they gave me a price of €15 one way. It's 2.5 hours by ferry. Apparently you can barter for a better deal with the ferry companies. Next I hit the Old Town which is very medieval and has a lot of stone and wooden buildings. Tomorrow is Old Town days and the have a knights tournament, parrot shooting (not to sure about that) and the election of the May Count (this intrigues me). The forecast calls for rain but I still have my umbrella.Read more

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    Trekking Tallinn

    May 31, 2017 in Estonia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Misty and raining today but that can't stop the exploring. I covered a lot of ground today from the Old Town to the Kadriog Palace which was a the opposite end. Found the view point of the city, embassy corridor and the medieval market. Had a nice long talk with a local girl, Mironika, who gave me good knowledge of the culture, economy, and general life in Estonia. Her English was perfect and she said most people speak between 3&4 languages here. I'm so impressed with that. I couldn't find the festivities of medieval times and I think they were postponed by the rain. I had lunch back at the hostel and then headed to the gardens, presidential palace and Peter the Great's summer cottage (that was disappointing).walking through the park I found the statue of independence and alas access to the beach. I did some beach combing in search of amber and found a couple of interesting rocks. The beach wasn't very pretty and was littered with cigarettes butts. I walked down to the port and purchased my ticket to Helsinki for the 12 pm ferry tomorrow and bought some groceries. The Finns were buying tons of alcohol and I was told it's very expensive too drink there and there are restrictions for purchase. Hmm curious about this culture. 12km day today.Read more

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    Helsinki, Finland

    June 1, 2017 in Finland ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    Planes, trains, automobiles and ferries! I have covered all forms of transportation so far, except ballooning. This is still a possibility. Today's weather featured sun, high winds, rain and hail. Forecast for Helsinki 7 degrees. Yikes, winter again. So glad I have stayed healthy so far; must be all the cheese I'm eating. Twenty minute trek to the hostel and a one hour wait to check in, followed by a one hour circle tour of the campus before I finally found my dorm. Totally wasted 2 hours. Dropped off my pack and hustled out for 3.5 hour tour of the sites and the city. All can be done rather quickly as it really isn't a big city. It rained and hailed three times and the weather changes every 10 minutes. No wonder this is the country of the highest suicide rate-enough to put anyone over the edge. I walked along the harbour front and was surprised by a moving object and lo and behold to my surprise two jack rabbits. So cute and so huge! Helsinki is very expensive and so I've decided to move on to Turku tomorrow heading west to Stockholm. Hoping to meet up with Tyler and Amanda in the next few days in Malmo.Read more

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    Maiden Voyage-Finland to Sweden

    June 2, 2017 in Estonia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    I left Helsinki this morning by bus to Turku, the original capital city of Finland, founded in 1236. It only took 2.5 hours to get there. I read up on the city but there was not a lot too see. I decided to check out the price for an over night cabin to Stockholm. A shared cabin was €44 and the agent said more than likely I would be alone in the cabin. I went for it because the cheapest accomodations were €63. So I saved €19 and got to take the Baltic Princess across. I found a buffet restaurant to have a late lunch at and spent awhile there eating a lot of veggies I hadn't had in a while. I walked the pier down to the dock and was glad the rain held off. I visited The Turku castle but only from the outside and then headed to the pier. I was there about 3 hours ahead of time so I finally got a chance to read in quiet a book I picked up at the Dream Hostel in Warsaw. Holy crap , one hour before boarding and the waiting area was filled with at least 150 South Koreans and the decibal level went way up and my book was put away. I was watching the Finns and Swedes and the look on their faces told a story. Hmm probably exactly what I was thinking! Behold I made it to my inside cabin 5322 and prayed I would be alone. YES....the whole cabin to myself and my own washroom too. I headed onto the deck to set sail and the shoreline was gorgeous with sun beating down. I checked out the duty free and bought a bottle of DiSarinno for under €10, which is cheaper than back home. I bought a corkscrew too so that I could finally open a bottle of red wine I bought a week ago. I haven't drank wine in two weeks. The cruise is 10+ hours and I'll be landing on the shores of Stockholm at 6:10 am.Read more

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    8 hours in Stockholm

    June 3, 2017 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Nice journey on the cruise ship except for the partyers a few doors down. I woke up for docking but wasn't aware of the time change((could have slept an extra hour). We docked in Stockholm at 6:10 am. After walking 2 hours I finally found a coffee shop to grab a coffee, muffin and to charge up my phone. Coffee and muffin $12. I tried to find a reasonably priced hostel or hotel but couldn't find anything central for under$150. Quick decision to head straight down to Malmo on the 13:45 bus (8 hr trip) for €12. I spent the next four hours trekking around and getting to know Stockholm. It's a lot like Venice with bridges and canals everywhere and so many islands. However the streets are wider and names of streets easier to identify. I watched the Stockholm marathon and the first 12 runners were black and looked like they weighed 75 pounds. There were a lot of helicopters flying above keeping tabs on things. I'm looking forward to sleeping on the bus for a bit.Read more

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    Malmo snd Landsroku

    June 4, 2017 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Rain, rain go away. It really sucks walking in the rain some days. It felt like a Vancouver spring day and the girl at reception told me this was Swedish spring. I believe it. Everyone rides their bikes with shorts and sandals in the rain. Not even cold. Toured this the third largest city in Sweden. Lots of new buildings and humongous statues everywhere. Everything is big. I only walked 10 km today and walked through three different parks, not a sole in sight. Took the train back to my hotel and hit the fitness room and sauna for an hour. Time for some relaxation. Meeting for dinner tonight with Tyler and Amanda in Landsroku which is 45 minutes by train. I haven't seen Tyler for years and am happy we can meet(Judy's nephew and Bonnie's son). And what a great meeting it was! We had dinner and then they showed me around this lovely little town. We walked to the citadel which has two moats along the sea where there are weapons bunkers from WWI and the allotment lands. These lands are long term lot leases for gardens and the enjoyment of country life. People have to be approved by all the other land tenants before they are accepted.Read more

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    The land of HC Anderson-Copenhagen

    June 5, 2017 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Great breakfast and a sauna before I left Malmo today. A quick 25 minute train ride over Orestud bridge and I'm in Copenhagen Denmark. Sun is shining and looks like there's lots to see here. Waiting to get my bed at 3pm so I can tour the city. That is one pain in the butt waiting to store your bag. Finally away I go. I have become really skilled in this leg of travel in seeing a lot in very little time. I catch all the sights, walk Christianhavn the boardwalk with tall ships and boats that wind in and around Copenhagen. I'm glad I made sandwiches and grabbed some fruit and hard boiled eggs at the hotel in Sweden. The price of everything seems to be almost double here. Five hours of walking and back to the hostel. There is a lot if rebuilding and restoration going on here so it's hard to take decent pictures. I booked my bus to Berlin tomorrow for €19 and that includes the ferry over. I love this bus line, fast and economical. I watch five Polish guys play pool tonight and they comment on me smiling and how pretty I sit in the corner watching. I laugh and thank them for the compliment in Slovak and they are all surprised.Read more

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    ...just another brick in the wall-Berlin

    June 6, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Sailed from the port of Gedser, Denmark today. Total bus and ferry ride was 7hrs and 15 min. Great way to travel in Europe. The ferry ride was only two hours from Denmark to Germany. I booked my hostel last minute and when I arrived at the main bus station my hostel was at the other side of the city. So....I walked it. I went through many interesting suburbs and even the seedy side of town. What a dump and boy the pros were in really rough shape. Nothing like the other side of life. I picked up the pace here and my pack was so uncomfortable because it was humid and hot and I overdressed. I did catch a couple of landmarks but mainly couldn't wait to drop the bag and hit the grocery store. I'm in luck and there's a Lidl right next door to the hostel and finally with decent food prices than I've had in 5 days. Steamed broccoli and yogurt for dinner and two cheap beers. Shower and early night because I want to get an early start before I check out. Don't know if I'll see it all.Read more

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    Berlin-the weird feeling of Communism

    June 7, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Twenty one kilometres of walking today and two blisters. I saw almost all the sights, albeit the museums, and Alexanderplatz. Started with Checkpoint Charlie, which was the American zone and then headed for the Berlin Wall, which there is only about one km standing and has all sorts of graffiti art all over it. It was incredibly high and I can't believe people actually got over it. The river separated the west and the east, so if you were lucky enough to get over the wall you had to swim the river to get to the other side. There were eight checkpoints in all. Lots of people lost their lives. It had a really weird feeling when I was at these places, almost like de ja vu. I can't say I agreed with the whole system but as I look around today and see the changes it wasn't all that bad. Photos of the east were displayed all over town and the east was super clean back then. The ex commie cities are so dirty now and people don't work but stand around looking into nothingness. I came back to the hostel for lunch and to rest my feet for an hour.Read more

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    Berlin - a place for history buffs

    June 7, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After lunch I went to Potsdamer Platz which is a modern shopping district. Huge skyscrapers and cars everywhere. I have been sneezing a lot today and I think it's the pollution. There is a lot of dust here and my eyes are full of it. I walked to the Brandenburger gate (which is famous since the wall came down) the Reistag (Parliament buildings) which is open to the public and has a viewing platform and......there is a massive lineup. I make my to Bundestag and then onward to the 17 of June Strasse to the Victory Column. There's a huge rain cloud and it starts to pour, no umbrella so I duck under a huge tree and wait for it to pass. Once I get to the Victory column I go underground to get to the other side. It is remarkable. The reliefs are made with melted down cannons from the 1800's and looking closely at it I see bullet holes, with a lodged bullet, from WWII. I walk back because my feet are really starting to hurt now and find the Jewish museums, one built by Germany and one by Israel, right across the street from each other. Both are patrolled by the Police. I buy my metro ticket for tomorrow because I know I'm not going to want to trek to the bus in the morning.Read more

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    Wonderful Wroclaw, Poland

    June 8, 2017 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Back in the most beautiful country in Europe. I never made it to Wroclaw my first time in Poland but I'm sure glad I made it here now. It's so magical. A little known fact about Wroclaw is that it's home to a population of ancient gnomes. They all have their own names, professions and stories and there are more that 320 in the city. In the 80's an anti communist performing group staged a demonstration dressed up as gnomes ran around the city in warm underwear protesting. The city is a hidden jewel and I'm so glad that there aren't many tourists so far. I got in at 17:00 and wandered for two hours. The nice guy at the hostel gave me a tip on a good local place to eat. I found it but they only took cash and I hadn't exchanged money yet. The Odra River runs all around the town and there are three bridges and five islands. Apparently it's known as the second Venice in Europe; except for the rancid smell of the canals. Wroclaw is also a huge vegan and beer city and very proud of it. It was formerly a Czech and then German city. A lot o famous people lived here, one in particular was the infamous Red Baron ( Charles Scultz composed his books about him). This place has great vibe. I looked at real estate and a three bedroom apartment in the old town is $79k. Hmm, got me thinking.Read more

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    Wrapping up in Wroclaw

    June 9, 2017 in Poland ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Well so much for the hidden jewel. I wanted to book an extra night and the nice girl at reception said the town is booked for the weekend. Wow. The temperature hit 27 today and I had to hide out from 13:00-15:00 hours. Smokin hot. I did leave early in the morning for four hours and walked the different islands, caught the locals market and then the old square. One of the islands is called cathedral island and is solely churches. It has beautiful gardens and is the only island with gas lanterns where a man lights the lanterns every night at dusk. I browsed through some local galleries and the artists are really inspiring here. Dinner was at Kurna Chata where I had mushroom and cabbage perogies. They were deep fried and much different than the one's I had in Warsaw. So yummy and each region has a different way of preparing them. My total meal with a beer came to $7.50. Such a great value in Poland. I was on the lookout for gnomes today and was thrilled finding some cute interesting ones. A stage was being set up for the folk festival featuring groups for all over Poland and the Ukraine. Watching the dancers was beautiful.Read more

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    Where to next?

    June 10, 2017 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Well my intention was to go Ceske Budovice today but by the time I got to Katowice from Wroclaw and found out the train was 7.5 hours (had to double back and go through Prague) I decided not too. My decision was to go back to the homeland for my final two weeks. I really loved Wroclaw. After having problems with my credit card at the train station, I caught a train to Zilina and once there caught a train to Blava. I had to withdraw money from the debit machine which I don't like to do because of the crappy exchange rate. I spent the train trip in the restaurant train having dinner and enjoying the ride away from all the travelling kids. I booked into a botel in town for the night because I wanted to spend the day in the city tomorrow. It's going to be hot here for the next three days. I'm going to sit in the river bank and read my book tomorrow.Read more

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    Fitness time

    June 17, 2017 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    It's been great hanging with my cousin again. We've been going to the gym everyday and taking long bike rides. The weather has been hot. My funds have pretty well dried up and so I spent a couple hours the other day finding flights back home. I'll be flying to London Stanstead on the 29th and then from there transferring to Hearthrow with a Finnair flight to Vancouver. It will be exactly nine months of travelling. It's been a great ride and I have the jitters about returning home already. I'm sure I'll have some sort of sadness but an incredible amount of memories too. I finally found a beautiful green linen dress for my second cousins wedding on the 24th and my sandals are coming in from Dubai through Natalka's friend. I still have to buy a gift and I've decided on a Himalayan Salt lamp. It's big to give money here but I want to leave a memory of me behind.Read more

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    Wedding day

    June 24, 2017 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    What a cooker today, 35 degrees. My first experience at a family wedding in Slovakia. Started off at a municipal hall where each wedding couple has a slotted 1/2 hour time to get hitched. There are no personalized wedding vows just simple name changes of the bride and groom. A groomsman walks around with a bottle of Slivovica offering guests shots before the wedding. After the wedding the bride receives flowers and we are off to Cilizko to the reception at the hotel Kormoran. We wait outside and the waiter brings a shot for the bride and groom and then breaks a plate (for good luck). The from sweeps the broken plate into the dustpan the bride is holding. The grooms friends stomp through the plate so they have to sweep again. This happens three times. We make our way up to the reception hall where it's even hotter as the air con is not working and toast the bride and groom with prosecco. Dinner includes pate, chicken soup (I am now feeling the sweat drip down my back) pork(I pawn mine off to my uncle) with roasted potatoes. Martina, my cousin Zdenko's girlfriend makes the most incredible cake ever. So damn good! It's now 23:00hrs, I'm overheated and a little too much Diplomatico and it's time to check out. I catch a ride with Lubos the driver and we have a great talk as he drops me off; forever checking on Domenik in the back to make sure he is still with us.Read more

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    Outbound - 9 months

    June 29, 2017 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Well I spent the last few days saying my goodbyes to family. I learned a lot of history about my lineage through my godmother. I'm going to miss our long 5 hour chats. This was truly a trip through history and time. I have so much knowledge in my head now and so many things to remember, especially when I'm old and can't remember what I did 5 minutes ago. I'm grateful to have had this incredible journey. Natalia dropped me off at the airport at 5:15 this morning. The flight to London Stansted was a bit turbulent for about half an hour. Made my way through customs easily on my EU passport and bought my ticket for the bus to Heathrow airport where I leave for Vancouver at 17:20. Check in at Heathrow doesn't happen. I'm informed that I can't take the London portion of my flight home in Finnair because I didn't board in Vienna so the rest of my ticket is automatically cancelled. I try to cancel my ticket to get a portion of a refund but the agent tells me that it's under two hours to departure and that they can't refund anything. I'm sick to my stomach and I can feel tears in my eyes. I ask about another flight home with BA and they tell me the earliest flight is tomorrow and costs £1500, almost $2800. I spend the next few hours talking to other airlines to find a cheap flight and just want to get home. I talk to Air Canada and they tell me to check on line for better rates. Heathrow wifi iPads go into technical update mode and don't work. Then I try with my phone and my phone goes into update mode but won't recognize my phone because it's off airplane mode and I'm in Europe-now no iPhone access. OMG what next? I find a pat phone to try and call Anka in Canada to tell her not to come to the airport to pick me up because of the change. Bingo number 3-the operator now tells me their telephone system at Heathrow is having technical difficulties and I can't make my call back to Canada. This is unbelievable I am so screwed! I take a deep breath, grab some dinner and a couple of beers and reorganize my thought process. I go back to Air Canada counter and the agent finds me a better price in a return ticket for the 10am flight out. This costs me £1100-about $1800. No choice now but I really have to get home. I'm told I can't overnight in Terminal 2 but need to go to T3. Make my way over and find my bench. I also find the Internet stations and manage to quickly send a message to Anka and Olli about my new reservations and Olli to call Anka and let her know not to be there for pickup today. Hoping my messages gets through as the system kicks me out if gmail. At this point I am so done with England! Head to get some sleep along with 8 other people. Twelve thirty I am woken up by the police asking where I'm travelling to and I tell them. I'm allowed to go back to sleep.Read more

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