Land of the Poles

There were only a few things I really wanted to do when I came to Europe for the semester. One of those things was take a trip to Auschwitz. I’ve always been interested in World War II history and the holocaust. I’ve visited the Holocaust museum in Washington DC and have read several books related to the topic.  I’ve also heard from friends the Krakow is an amazing city. So Julie and I booked our trip and were set. 

            We flew out of Milan and made our way to Krakow and eventually to One World Hostel where we stayed for less than $10USD/day. After our hostel owner became obsessed and chatted with us for a solid hour we headed out to old town and wound up at a kabab shop.  The owner speaks 4 languages and was just happy we were interested in his life.

kabab man

            Friday we took a bus ride to the mountain town of Zakopone and spent the day ice skating making it on polish television, taking a funicular up the mountain to overlook the town, eating waffles and fried cheese from street vendors, and taking pictures with strangers and Disney characters.

random characters

ice skating with Julie

            We met up with a few of Julie’s friends from LMU for a traditional Polish dinner of polish sausage, potatoes and potato pancakes, sauerkraut, pork, and cabbage. Julie and I shared a plate and were proud of ourselves for trying everything.  We stumbled upon Coffee Heaven and discovered an incredible chocolate carmel brownie.  Bed time!

            Saturday we went to Auschwitz with the tour company See Krakow.  For $30 we had transportation, entrance ticket and a guided tour.  The whole experience was really powerful. It’s one of those things you’ve learned about since grade school, but never really thought you’d see in person.  The most shocking part to me is to know this occurred only 70 years ago. My grandma turns 90 this weekend so she was my age when this happened.  Walking into and out of a gas chamber and also seeing the hair for millions of people used to make blankets and other items to be sold in Germany touched me the most.  People always want to have hope and millions of people did because they did not know their ultimate fate. It’s important to remember so things like this don’t happen today-but they are happening. Just look at the genocide in Rwanda. Another powerful moment was at Birkenau when we stood at the train tracks and our tour guide said “turn right and continue walking down the path. You’re walking the same way millions of people did, but those people never turned back.”  As I was cold all day walking around in my boots and puffy coat and I couldn’t help but think of the millions of people who worked all day long in “pajamas” and wooden clogs when there was snow covering the ground.

Auschwitz  

            Again we met up with Julie’s friends and ate a traditional polish dinner with cheese and spinach crepes, chicken in cream sauce and apple pie.   After wandering the town being harassed by club promoters Julie and I headed back to bed. 

            Sunday brought a free walking tour in the 34f degree “Hawaii winter” according to the locals. The tour brought us around the old square which is the largest Medieval town square in Europe, through the city streets and the first McDonalds in Krakow which opened in the mid 1990s with a 6 hour weight to get inside.  Later in the day we headed to the gothic Wawel castle built in the 1300s.  It happened to be free admission day so that was perfect! All of Krakow felt like being in a fairytale.  Castles, horse drawn carriages, dancing in the streets and trumpeting from the bell towers.  The city reminded me of Cusco, Peru and all our adventures there. Lots of night life paired with incredible architecture.

      We arrived into Milan and had to figure out how to get to get to Florence. Julie and I worked our feminine charm and smile to get a van to drive 9 of us back. Despite the driver going slowly and driving pretty sketchily we made it just after 2am.

            Great weekend with Julie and new friends.  Meeting people and exchanging conversation is my favorite part of traveling. It opens your mind to a whole new world.

  
"May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support.

May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth.

May the bleakness of the wasteland be dispelled.

May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten and 

blessed with the remembrance of who we really are."

dinner 

Thanksgiving Day Parade+Halloween=February Carnival in Viareggio

oh hey there Mario

For as long as I can remember mom has always loved watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Parade on tv and we’d usually be roped into watching with her.  The closest I’ve ever been to a grand parade was marching with the 5^th grade band squawking my clarinet in the Cinco di Mayo Parade.  I had heard about the carnival celebrations in Italy and knew I’d have to check it out somehow. Carnival is usually a month long celebration that occurs before Lent. It has been celebrated in Italy since the 1200s and since the late 1800s in Viareggio.  It is meant as a celebration for the towns people to come together and celebrate before Lent. The tradition first started among Catholics. Most people go to Venice to see old vintage costumes and masks, but it was super expensive to get there so this past Sunday I went an hour and a half by train to the town Viareggio on the West Coast. This was another solo voyage because everyone else decided they should study for midterms. My philosophy-I’ll take midterms at least 3 more times in my life, but I will never be 20 years old living in Italy in February near a city celebrating carnival.  I followed the pack of people and noise after departing the train until I came upon a massive crowd. Now let me paint a picture of what the crowd looked like-kids in strollers, parents in costumes, grandparents dancing, dogs jumping, security guards waving. Great mix! These costumes are similar to what we see in the states during Halloween. Some personal favorites included the couple in penguin suits, Mickey+Minnie+little Mickey, Spongebob, Mario, and Snow White with her Prince.  The great thing was people of all ages were dressed up.  There was confetti EVERYWHERE. When you looked down toward the street all you saw was colorful ripped up pieces of paper.  The parade lasted over 2 hours with huge floats themed everywhere from futuristic Internet to Scottish Heritage with plenty of political sabotage in between. Every float was so elaborate with detailed costumes and choreographed dances. There were no ropes to keep people out of the parade route, but instead people would join in with their beers singing and dancing.  There were plenty of carnival games and popcorn being tossed around as well.

float

casually flipping off the crowd

the Mickey and Minnie family

welcome to Carnival!

            The setting was perfect being a city on the beach but nestled at the base of a mountain chain. Great combination! Overall it was one of the coolest cultural experiences I’ve had. 

video of the parade

 

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Budapest

Ever wonder what it’s like to wear sandals in 40 degree weather, travel by yourself and take a bath with hundreds of people? Well you’re in luck because that’s what my weekend consisted of.

   It all began when I booked a round trip ticket to Budapest, Hungary last Wednesday. That meant a late train from Florence to Milan (2 hours) then the connecting train to the airport (1 hour) culminating with a sleepover at the airport with dozens of new friends (I actually didn’t talk to anyone).  The train rides were by far the most frightening period of this experience.  There were 2 men at 2 different times who sat next to me and stared. While I kept my headphones in and glared out the window the men tried to ensue conversation. When I finally reacted and stood up each of the men left. Moral of the story- sit in train cars with other people (which I did), stand your ground, be calm.

            After arriving in Budapest at 10am on Friday I took a bus and a couple of Metros before walking 2 minutes to my hostel, Zen Hostel. Just like the name suggests the owner had incense burning but it was a great place and the price was even better, $5USD/night!! Upon arrival I met an Australian girl and 2 French guys and we went to the Central market to have lunch. I had a meat and vegetable dish with rice and then later had a pancake with cocoa (similar to a crepe)  The French guys left us and us girls went to the House of Terror (museum dedicated to the communist regime in Hungary), the baths and then ice skating! We went to City Park by Heroes Square to the Szechenyl Bath.  Now Hungary is famous for its baths much like most of Eastern Europe. The warmest one is only 38 degrees Celsius so don’t be expecting a hot tub, but the saunas were nice. You see people of all shapes and sizes, colors and swim attire and I mean ALL (picture a 300 pound Hungarian man in a speedo J   It was a nice cultural experience.  We went to the huge ice rink after! I was by far the happiest person there. It happened to be Valentines day so there were plenty of couples holding hands all in love, but I was in love with being on the ice. See mom I told you that if I brought my skates I’d use them somewhere J  Some Egyptian guys thought I was famous and asked me to skate with them and then take pictures with them. 

Egyptian friends

           

the baths-no you don't wash your hair in them

Saturday I went on a free walking tour, they have these in many cities around the world and they’re generally awesome.  The tour started at St. Stephen’s Basilica and wandered the streets across the chain bridge to the Buda side of Budapest. Side note- the city of “Budapest” is divided with Pest on one side and Buda on the other side of the river. And Budapest derives from the word “water” so nothing related to “Buddha”.  We saw the Royal Palace where museums are located, the national gallery and wandered over to Matthias Church.  I met 2 girls, Jennifer from the US and Julia from Germany, and we spent the next 4 hours together.  We found the hospital in the rock which was used during WWII, had a lunch of chicken dumpling soup and had a strudel.  We then watched sunset from the hill. A perfect pink+blue cotton candy sunset.  It was sad leaving those girls as we had become friends and had met other people along the way, including Ester (Hungarian girl) who said “this is the start of a great friendship.”  I ventured over to liberty Statue and the Cittadella just after dark. I climbed the hill which provides a spectacular view of Buda+Pest.  After about 10 minutes of sitting on a bench by myself 2 guys asked if they could join me. Now here’s where your gut, first impressions and confidence come into play.  Here’s me, a young American girl by herself, and 2 guys in their twenties.  We proceeded to have a 45 minute conversation about just about everything from politics to religion to travels around the world, family, friends, and sports.  Mario and Shabab are incredible people and I wish all of you could meet them. They made me laugh and had insightful opinions, many of which I agreed with like what the power of human relationships can mean to people and why fear is the worst thing plaguing society. I walked down the hill with them, took a selfie on the bridge and went to a coffee shop to celebrate Shabab’s birthday. Mario and I sang Happy Birthday and I enjoyed hot chocolate.

  What great people!  I left them and went to a Hungarian market to get my last fix of Hungarian food. I had langos (fried dough typically with sour cream and shredded cheese) and bought some chocolates after the man told me I was beautiful (what a compliment considering I hadn’t showered in a couple days, I had 3 layers on and my hair was on top of my head). I still needed some Hungarian Goulash soup so I stopped at a restaurant and ordered some. The waitress, Viola, and I had a long conversation about our lives and how she loves surfing and wants to move to Australian at some point.

view from Buda at Parliment

cotton candy sky

Mario and Shabab

            Sunday morning was a 6am flight back to Milan and then thankfully uneventful train rides back to Florence.  Now here’s where the sandals come in…..I had awful blisters on my toes so wearing shoes was really painful so I wore sandals all weekend.  It really was never that cold and there was no snow so I thought it was fine, but apparently not to the Hungarians and other tourists.  The comments, stares, and pointing of fingers was astonishing throughout the weekend. It was a humbling experience because I was only wearing sandals, it’s not like I have a fake leg or some other disability.  So please don’t comment or point or stare at people who might not look or dress or act the same way you do because you don’t know what they are going through.

langos with sour cream and cheese

            Here’s what I wrote in my journal about my experience…. “I know I know. The world is a scary place and traveling alone isn’t safe. What if I get raped, or abducted or robbed? But what if I make a new friend or crack a smile or embrace a hug or fall in love? For me it’s those things that motivate me to be vulnerable. Because the idea of a scary situation tests all that you are as a person and the rewards you may gain out way the possibility of something really bad happening. Of course you need to be aware and smart and cautious, but you should be aware all the time no matter where you are.  I guess this goes with my belief and the belief my parents have instilled in me that the world really is a great place full of people who are here to enjoy life with you. There just happen to be several handfuls of  people who ruin that whole reputation.” 

            I recommend that most people try traveling alone at some point (I know it’s not for everyone).  It doesn’t have to be to a new country, but just try something on your own….and maybe tell your parents only after you’re safe J


Fun Facts~ the rubix cube and forbid acid from Vitamin C both were invented in Hungary.

PS All while alone I kept thinking of my friend Rayna from DU who traveled South America and she talks about using fear as a compass to guide you. Check out her cool story...http://matadornetwork.com/community/healyrayna/from-that-time-that-i-experienced-fear/


"Hungary is like pepper, small but strong."-tour guide Anita