Scottish Deep Thoughts

Spent the day in the Old Town of Dubrovnik. I went to the nearby beach for a bit - too hot to do much else. I am travelling on my own again and, therefore, must find a way to get sun cream on my back or face the consequences of a nasty sun burn and a sleepless night. I don't like asking strangers to lube my back and I'm sure they don't like being asked. However, I mustered up the courage and asked an English couple. They pretended to be cool with it.

In the evening I walked around the Old Town walls. A long walk but had some amazing views of the Sea and the city.

I boarded the Bol bus to take me to the ferry and immediately lost 5 pounds in perspiration. I sat in a puddle of sweat while the bus trundled to the other side of the island. The hour long ferry took me to Split. From Split I caught the 5 hour bus to Dubrovnik. All the travel was worth it - Dubrovnik is amazing.

I was accosted by old ladies wanting me to stay in their place as I got off the bus. It is probably the closest thing I will get to being a celebrity so I revel in it. I ended up choosing a pretty cool place just out of town but a really good deal.

Turns out that there is a fellow Vancouverite ex-pat staying there. He lives in London with his girlfriend. Nice enough. I walked around the town a bit and got lost on my way back home. Fun.

Made it to Bol today. There is an amazing beach peninsula and one of the best places for windsurfing in the world.

The 5 of us arrived and tried to sort out where we were going to stay for the night. The 4 others got a sweet place (air cond., tv, kitchen, modern and clean). I got a crack shack- bed and dresser stuck into a closet. I didn't stay there though and I crashed on the floor of the sweet pad.

Went to the beach for the day and basically didn't do a whole lot. Good times.

Leaving for Dubrovnik tomorrow moring.

Amazing day. Kate, Bels, Dave, Will and I went for a day trip to Vis island today. Took a boat to some caves which glowed blue and green. Then had the rest of the day on the beach at Vis. So good.

Leaving Hvar tomorrow. Going to Bol on Brac island.

I woke up feeling 93% better. I am able to eat, the cold sweats have gone and I still have energy after walking for 5 minutes. I was on my own today as the others in the group didn't get in until 4am and were really rough this morning. I decided to take a water taxi to a nearby island.

I got on the boat and was ready to go chill out for the day. The taxi stopped at two islands; I was planning to get off at the second. I had heard rumours that the first island was nudist so wasn't really keen on stopping there. I was pretty sure that the second island was not nudist. I looked at the advertisement on the boat which had a man and a woman holding hands on the beach strategically covered up by a fish and bird. damn. I was on my way to nudesville.

I got off and walked around the small island. There were indeed some nude people. I got my towel out and layed down.

The sun, the Adriatic and me are the only ones who know whether my white ass has made an appearance in Croatia.

I caught the ferry to Havar Island yesterday. I almost missed it but ran (with my leaden pack on my back and flip-flops on the feet) to catch the boat. I was not feeling so well after that and would be a bad omen for later that evening. I met Bels & Kate on the ferry and booked into the same hostel. Havar is wicked...sun and crystal clear water. After settling into the hostel we walked around the town and met up with a couple of people Bels knew. We made dinner at the hostel and had a few drinks before going out to the bars. This was a mistake.

I was still feeling like crap and the large plate of spaghetti and the couple of beer triggered disastrous results. Yes, that's right...the crystal clear waters of Havar were temporarily clouded by...spaghetti and beer. Not my best moment. However, I went home and slept off the rest of the bug/sunstroke/hangover/etc.

What I thought was a really bad hangover seems to be a bit of a bug, too much sun, dehydration or a combination of all 3.
I went for an epic afternoon nap yesterday that lasted 4 hours. Impressive. I still woke up feeling like my head had been run over by truck. I had no appetite for dinner. This sucks.

I arrived in Split, Croatia after the best train ride ever. They offered everyone free coffee and sandwiches, which was a pleasant change from EasyJet and RyanAir-style capitalism of charging for everything!

I wandered around Split awhile trying to navigate my way to the hostel from a poorly photocpied map which only had an arrow pointing the general location of the hostel. Basically, I knew it was somewhere near the centre of town. Luckily Split is not big and eventually found a gracious non-English speaking cabbie who called the hostel for me and gave me the directions. I eventually found it and had a brief introduction to the somewhat dodgy British hostel owner. I quickly found myself in a conversation with two girls from London (Bels & Kate) who were staying at the hostel. Typical bullshit introductory questions: Where are you from? How long are you travelling? Where have you been? blah, blah, blah. Soon after, the owner came into our room and started chatting with us. He recommended a place for the 2 girls and myself to go for dinner. Then, he slyly invited himself to drinks afterward. He's a bit creepy, but had a few good stories. We all made it home at 5 am.

Today, I have a pounding head and feel like a pile of crap. I'm well overdue for a huge siesta.

I arrived in Zagreb, Croatia this afternoon. It's a city that did not inspire high expectations but was surprised at the city once I walked around a bit.

Interesting event on the train to Zagreb...the pleasant Croatian passport control kicked one traveller off because she didn't have enough money on her. It was a bit messed up because they only gave HER a hard time (asked her about her destination, length of stay, how much money she had on her, etc). I'm not sure where she was from. I had about 10 bucks on me and I got a glance, a stamp and a muttering of, what I assumed to be, "thank you" in Croatian.

I spent the day in a giant bath (not in a gay way either) . The famous historic baths of Budapest are awesome....so relaxing. There are about 15 different pools of varying temperatures and "medicinal properties" in this grand old building. Even with the amount of wrinkly, hairy and fat bodies walking around it was a pretty awesome way to end the stay in Budapest. I recommend Budapest.

Next stop: Croatia

What's the deal with Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts? I thought that they went out of style in the early 90's (if they were ever in-style to begin with). Every city I have been to has these t-shirts in the tourist shops - and I'm pretty sure that some of these cities don't even have a Hard Rock Cafe!! What's next...Hard Rock Cafe - Armstrong?!

Today I decided to go see "Statue Park" (when I say "park" I mean patch of dirt on the side of a highway), where Communist-era statues have been laid to rest. Some very cool examples of over-the-top Commie pride.

I spent the rest of the day walking to the central park where the famous "baths" are. Going to go in tomorrow....sweet.

The name of the city is pronounced BudapeSHt. Budapest is two separate cities (Buda and Pest) divided by the Danube river. There. Now that the geography lesson is over, I can get on with my trip...

Day 2...Buda's best. I spent the day walking along the river in Buda seeing a big monument on top of a hill, a castle, and chilled out in 2 parks. Very relaxing day.

An interesting 11 hour train trip (10 pm to 9am). Kinda surreal at times but that is probably due to the fact that I had only 3 hours sleep. The times that I did manage to shut my eyes for any length of time were disrupted by the always pleasant "passport control".

I found my hostel and crashed for a good part of the afternoon. I woke up and walked around like a zombie for a few hours around Budapest. Even as bleary eyed as I was Budapest looks good.

Communism might be gone in Eastern Europe but I still think that the Stasi spy network is still in operation. Call me paranoid but I keep seeing the same people over and over again and I think that I am being spied on. Over 4 days and 2 major cities I saw the same person 5 times! It happened in Prague as well. After meeting someone completely at random at a bar, I saw them 3 times over the next 3 days. It's scary.

"No work and all play makes Mike a dull boy..."

In an attempt to break the monotony of typical travel pictures (architecture, scenery, castles, churches, tourists, etc) I have decided to go on a quest to take pictures of "WC" signs. In other words, I have decided to take pictures of toilet signs. Watch for the grand opening of my exhibition at an art gallery near you.

What prompted this was when I was confronted with a situation where I didn't know which door was for the male toilet. For example, in Germany it is "Herron" and "Damen" (Contrary to a certain American's guess, "Damen" is NOT male because it says "DA-MEN" and "Herron" is not female because it has the word "HER" in it). If these words were simply abbreviated by their first letters (H and D) a non-German might become confused. In the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary it is even more difficult. To a foreigner, the abbreviated letters seem to be chosen at random and stuck to the door in order to make a fool of the unwitting tourist. I know that the waiters are hiding behind a corner snickering and pointing, as if part of some East European version of Candid Camera. Meanwhile, the tourist stares at both doors scratching their head waiting for Monty Hall or Bob Barker to and offer them a prize for choosing the correct door. In Prague and Krakow I was faced with a very similar situation. In Prague, I had to wait until went into the toilet before I could go; the "Z" and the "K" on the doors were simply not information. In Krakow, I was faced 2 doors: one with a circle and one with a triangle. Luckily, I asked the nearby waiter to enlighten me.

Thus, my bizarre foray into a quasi-artistic endeavour has started. Either my interest has been sparked or I am simply spending too much time introspecting and I am getting insanely bored.

1) Auschwitz museum - overheard this question being asked to a tour guide...
"Do you have any ghost stories from this place?"

2) Overheard in discussion about travelling around Poland
"Poland has a coast?! I thought it was landlocked."

Goodbye Poland. I will be back. I am taking the 10 hour overnight train to Budapest. Woohoo.

I went out last night with 2 American dudes, 2 Canadian girls and 2 Irish girls. It was an OK night. It was typical casual and relaxed conversation but soon took a turn down the very rocky road of Canadians versus Americans. It didn't help that the one American was an ignorant, pompass and naive ass (but that is just my opinion). Luckily, he went home early. It was nowhere near an all out screaming match but that topic always kills the discussion.

My first proper day exploring the city. It's very beautiful and relaxing. It's small with a large park surrounding the massive town square. Just beyond the square is (surprise, surprise) a castle! It is packed with tourists but is only gaining in interest. I spent the day wandering around. I went to a small museum; the highlight was a Da Vinci painting. No biggie though.

I talk in my sleep. This is an embarrassing problem when you sleep in a room with a bunch of other people.

Today was sobering and depressing day. I went out to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Standing on the ground of the most horrible massacre of the 20th century, and arguably ever, is impossible to put into words.

One person almost ruined the experience. While in the "death room" in a very boisterous foreign language, this man could not be more inconsiderate. In the gas chamber and in front of the ovens, he began touching the oven as if it were a broken down car and he was "kicking the tires". He, and the other people he was with, actually smiled while in this room! I think numerous people telling him to be quiet only aggravated the problem.

My inner dialogue went something like this (and if I had the chance to relive this situation I would have said it to his face)...

"Excuse me, Mr. Insensitive Jackass. Imagine that it is 60 years ago. Do you realize that your fat and aged ass would be one of the first people put into that extermination oven? In which case, you would not be standing here prodding it and (probably) making inappropriate comments about it. Have some respect, you ignorant piece of crap."

...or something to that effect.

After a sweaty 8 hour train ride from Prague I checked into my hostel at 8pm. I had a shower and set out in pursuit of food and drink. I walked about a 3 block radius around the hostel. The Chinese place looked like shit. The scummy bar was VERY dodgy. I was about to give up hope when I found one of the coolest places in Krakow! Blues playing on the stereo, cheap beer and even cheaper food sealed my decision. I chilled in the back yard patio with a beer while I waited for my food. 2 pints and a plate of perogies came to 13 Polish Zlotych (CAN $4.6o/ 2 GB Pounds) First day in Krakow is good.

Auschwitz tomorrow.

Today, I took a train to a tiny village just outside of Prague (Karlstein) that has this big, important castle. It was a relaxing and sunny day. I walked up the winding road to the castle nestled in the hills, leaving the fridge-magnet and postcard-lined streets behind. Unfortunately, once you arrive at the castle you can only get in if you pay for the tour! The Czech guide tried his best at speaking English but was still really difficult to understand. I didn't mind though.

I went out to dinner and a few drinks with a couple of cool English girls who were staying at the same hostel. A good way to end my stay in Prague.

Next stop: Krakow, Poland

A toilet cleaning lady yelled at me today. After finishing my number 1, I washed my hands and then proceeded to use the hand dryer to dry my hands. Then the rather large, stereotypical "old-world" Eastern European cleaning lady started yelling at me in Czech! I think she was pissed off that I didn't just walk out with wet hands and have them dry in the sun rather than use the hand dryer. Oh well.

On with my day...Do you ever spend a day doing absolutely nothing and wondering where the time went? That was yesterday. I found an amazing park just outside of the main tourist bit of Prague that overlooked the city. I packed a lunch and chilled at the park all day. It doesn't get much better than sandwiches, sun and writing postcards. Sweeet.

I went to Don Giovanni tonight. It was pretty good. I couldn't understand a word of it (as it was in Italian) but I knew the basic plot, so I could make sense of most what was going on. There are a couple things that bother me about "grown-up cultured shows": The constant clapping and the standing ovation. Clapping after anyone does ANYTHING, regardless of whether it is good or not is ridiculous! As far as the standing ovation goes, the hesitation to stand makes the whole ending of a performance awkward. I say, clap for 20 seconds, drop the curtain and end it. I sometimes consider leaving 2 minutes before the end of a performance just to skip out that whole ordeal.

The rain has finally left which has brought the tourists out from hiding. Like mosquitoes at sunset, they have infested the streets, the squares and every patio restaurant close to the main square. Oh well, I am just happy that the sun is shining.

I met up with Jai yesterday afternoon. Went out to the Communist-era hommage to the Eiffel Tower. It is pretty ugly but provided good views of the city from the top and had a very relaxing park.

I went to the Czech Communist museum. I can't get enough of the ridiculous Communist propaganda! The greatest irony is that it is housed above a McDonald's!!!

I'm gonna be cultured tonight and go to a Mozart opera, Don Giovanni.

I left Berlin and took the 5 hour train ride south to Prague. I thought it was difficult to understand German but after 5 minutes in Prague, there is a new "most difficult language" champ. I arrived along with a deluge of rain that has still not completely left. However, the rain was unable to dampen my night; I was soaked enough by the night of cheap drink. I met up with Jai (guy from London who I met in Italy). We met up in this very cool underground jazz club and after a couple of bottles of wine and good tunes we headed out to explore the other bars. For some reason we ended up at a peeler bar and then proceeded to bar hop which didn't end until 4. I woke up with a healthy hangover I have spent the day aimlessly wandering around the town and figuring out a few travel plans.

I have been to my Mecca. Berlin represents everything that I love about 2oth Century history - WW2, the Third Reich and the Cold War. So many things in this city remind you of it's sordid (and not so long ago) past, yet it is very much in the stage of redefining itself as a modern city.

I am not one big on walking tours but I decided to take the FREE tour advertised by the hostel. I always look at walking tours with disdain; they tend to be large groups of camera-toting grey haired tourists getting herded through all the usual tourist traps by an unenthusiastic guide who keeps the flock together by raising some sort of colored stick in the air (usually an umbrella). However, this tour was different (unless I have been brainwashed and have become one of them!!!). The guide was young and, to steal a line from Seinfeld, was filled with "unbridled enthusiasm". He was a young American studying Cold War German history in Berlin and really knew his stuff. I knew all the things he was talking about (I am so SMRT) so it made the stuff he was saying that much better. And the group that he was herding around were from hostels; this means that they were young, didn't have to take pictures of every single thing or stop for the toilet or an air-conditioned coffee shop every 15 minutes. Unfortunately, most did have cameras.

Anyway, we covered a lot of things that made me drool with historical hunger:

Berlin Wall - the only remaining bit standing is about 100 m long.
classic Nazi and Cold War architecture - nothing like the aesthetic appeal of straight lines and grey concrete the Reichstag - German parliament
the new Holocaust memorial - again, a bunch of grey slabs of varying heights covering one city block
the Brandenburg Gate - symbol of Third Reich and Cold War.
etc, etc, etc.

There were a few things that I would have missed if I were to do it on my own. For instance, we stood over Hitler's bunker, which is now filled in and covered by a parking lot of an apartment building.

I spent the next day revisting a few places that we skipped over. I stood in line to walk up the glass dome of the Reichstag. It is one the touristy things that you must do in Berlin. And it's free.

Berlin is good. Next stop: Prague.

Why do major world calamities seem to show up whenever I travel? First, while I was in Sweden over Christmas, a big wave hits Asia. Next, the Pope dies during my Spring holiday in Italy. Now, the G8 Summit and the London bombing have put the UK on the "emergency situation" map. I am just fortunate that I was able to leave the chaos that was Scotland and the G8 Summit. The bus to the airport had to be diverted around Gleneagles (where the 8 head honchos were meeting) and then no one was sure if the planes would be flying out as nobody knew when Air Force One was due to land. Thankfully, I was still able to make all my connections and arrived in Dusseldorf, Germany.

There is not much to see in Dusseldorf other than a long street of stuff that I can't afford, a good row of pubs and a view of the Rhine.

The next day I took a train to Berlin. I met a couple of Dusseldorfians at the train station who were going to see U2 in Berlin. We conversed in broken English and drank beer on the platform while we waited for our 1pm train...gotta love the relaxed European drinking laws.

An uneventful train ride brought me to a UNIFIED Berlin. Apparently Communism and the Wall have fallen! Who knew?! When did this happen?

My team and I had a hockey tournament in Perth on Saturday. We did pretty well; we finished 3rd out of 8 teams. I scored 2 goals and had one assist (we only scored 3 goals for the whole tournament!). Scottish hockey rinks are so dodgy and the one in Perth does not disappoint - it is a SQUARE! Playing on a rink that is as long as it is wide is a bit odd. Rounded corners were only recently put in. The ice was no better than skating on a frozen pond. You could see right through to the grey concrete underneath! Oh well. It was still fun to play. Unfortunately, the ride home afterward gave me a hangover this morning.

I got the job.

The last week of school has been very busy...

Tuesday night we had an end of year concert with traditional Scottish music (bagpiping fools!) followed by drinks. Teachers got drunk.

Wednesday night we had a retirement dinner for 4 retirees. There were speeches. Teachers got drunk.

Thursday afternoon I had my interview to determine whether I had a job next year. It was a very stressful day. However, I perservered and I was successful. That night, I celebrated by getting drunk with a couple of other teachers.

Today (Friday) was a fitting Canada Day - the day that the "Canadian teacher" stays in Scotland. I arrived at school to find posters announcing that I had the job for next year and that is was CANADA DAY! The kids seemed to enjoy both of these announcements. We were only there for half of a day so we were able to go for a round of golf in the afternoon. I had one of my best rounds all year.

Tomorrow I am playing hockey in Perth. Sweet!

I leave for my holidays on Wednesday so I have a lot of stuff to get sorted before then. It's gonna suck.

Until today, I never thought that I would actually ever see this...we actually had a substitute teacher in today with the last name "Bates"....(think about it).....ok, for the slow ones - Master Bates!