cold and wet and beautiful poland

the night train to krakow was like stepping back in time. the polish train, with all sleeper cars, looked like it was built circa 1942 and was possibly running on its own desire to get the fuck back home and rest. i had assumed that on a tuesday night, traveling from berlin to krakow, there would be no one accompanying me. but i was still excited to spend my first night on a train. it felt like i was preparing for a camping trip. little did i know it would be more like camping than i could have ever imagined. instead of being on a deserted train, there were 5 adults packed into our cabin that supposedly could have slept 6. it was so cramped with 5, i think that if we'd had a 6th we would have had to resolve to some sort of survivor-like contest to decide who got the boot.

st. mary's basilica, main market square

thankfully i had come prepared with a few beers and some snacks because i spent most of the night in the hallway, chatting and sharing stories with a fellow passenger who was on her way home and had made the same trip a dozen times. in the wee hours we eventually crawled our way back to our bunks for a kip. in the morning i awoke to pouring rain and that's how it remained for the majority of my stay.

drying off in a cafe, drinking hot tea with rum, seriously

i only spent 2 nights in krakow but, as has been the case with many of the places i've visited, felt that i should have stayed longer and headed north into the woods. my hosts, roger and tomek, showed me some pictures of the areas surrounding krakow and i immediately thought, shit, i should really stop spending all my time in the cities. sure, there is lots of culture in the metropolis - museums, live music, cafes, beautiful women - but it was at this point that i started to think i could probably find even more exciting and authentic experiences outside the big towns. i was lucky enough to arrive on poland's day of independence and although they don't go anywhere near the lengths of the americans on july 4th, it was cool seeing the citizens waving a flag here and there. in the evening everyone gathered in the main market square in the center of town to sing traditional songs and i did my best to try and follow along with the words projected on the screen. the melodies weren't so tricky but try singing and reading polish lyrics in the pouring rain and you'll wind up cross-eyed.

polish soldiers parade on independence day

krakow is definitely one of the most charming cities in europe; incredible architecture and a unique character with lots of young people and artists. the old jewish quarter, kazimierz, is a haunting and exhilarating place to explore and i loved visiting the synagogues, some dating back to the 15th century. i also spent a quiet time in the remuh cemetery which was used from 1551 until 1800 and is so packed full of gravestones, it's daunting. entering the cemetery late in the day and without noting the closing time, i found that i was the only one inside and as the sun faded, suddenly noticed how dark it was growing and hustled my way back to the gate to find that i'd been locked in. the groundskeeper, who was miraculously still in his woodshed came out to release me before i resorted to scrambling up the walls. funny how quickly a place that's peaceful and enchanting becomes so downright frightening.

remuh cemetery

all in all, i would love to visit when the weather is fine. still, traveling this time of year, one has to make the most of it.

my host's dog, figo. he's a basenji which is an egyptian dog that can't bark, apparently

mauerfall weekend

while out on the town in cologne i had a chat with rosy, a friend of my host luis mario, who also couchsurfs and is from mexico and now lives in germany. i revealed my plans to visit berlin the following week and she proceeded to tell me about the big celebration for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, scheduled to take place on november 9th. it happened to be a few days after the time i had planned on being there but i was quickly convinced that this was an opportunity i'd be foolish to miss. i rearranged my itinerary and agreed to meet rosy in berlin for the festivities.

rosy knew several people in germany and i was able to find a couch at the last minute despite the overwhelming number of couchsurfers visiting for the weekend. i learned upon arrival that many berlin folk were not really that excited about the anniversary. november 9th also happens to be the exact same date that the nazi party burned down all of the synagogues in 1938. true, they are separate events in history, but still a legitimate reason not to be celebrating. there were many different political leaders attending and several different speeches & performances including a giant wall of dominoes in the central area which were knocked down at the end. this was followed by a performance by bon jovi. boo.

i had been registered to be involved in a project where 50,000 people would join hands to create a human wall where the original one once stood. unfortunately due to security reasons in the central part of the city our group was eliminated from the project and we resolved to recognize the event our own way. which we did with a decent view from the river, umbrellas, a spliff and a bottle of jim beam. without going into too much detail, it was a remarkable experience and after 5 nights in the great city of berlin i felt like a wrung-out towel...exhausted but inspired by the events that had taken place. below are some pictures from the whole weekend.

field for lovers

sunset from gallery of the berliner dome

yours truly in the evening sun, berliner dome

tv tower

not movin but lookin tough

waiting for the dominoes to fall

the whisky crew. andreas, thomas, myself & rosy

i am the berlin bear

east side gallery, art on a long section of wall that still stands

more art

amsterdam photos

a smile by the canal

boys are back in town

i'm on a boat!

a'dam canals at night

who's this guy?

and what's with the grin? it must be his birthday...

cologne & koblenz

me & my host luis mario having breakfast on his balcony.

this bridge in cologne has padlocks locked to the fence across the entire length. they all have messages on them, mostly confessions of love.

view from the rear of equestrian statue of emperor wilhelm I in the town Koblenz, south of cologne. i traveled here to catch a ride down into the scenic rhine valley towards mainz but missed the bloody boat!

while exploring koblenz i stumbled upon this strange fountain tucked away in a small courtyard. i was the only person in the courtyard and stood for a minute staring at the scrawny boy atop the fountain, wondering how and why he got there. he, i decided, was picture-worthy. as i adjusted the zoom on my camera i suddenly heard the sound of splashing water and felt something on my feet. looking up i saw a 15-foot stream of water flying at me from the boy's mouth. it completely caught me by surprise. i spun around to see if anyone had seen this happen and also to check if someone had a remote device and was having a chuckle behind a pillar somewhere.

didn't see the sun in koblenz until the late afternoon but it was well worth the wait.

wish i had...

more time to bloggg

copenhagen

after 5 incredible nights in stockholm i caught my first train ride to kobenhavn. i arrived in the pouring rain and had a few hours to kill before i was to rendezvous with my host. as i cruised the streets in search of a cafe i heard the booming sounds of michael jackson from far away.

there are no pictures but what i found was a michael jackson dance contest in the middle of the piazza. i managed to see the six finalists who ranged from an 8-year-old girl to a thirty-something-year-old guy. they'd drawn quite a crowd despite the rain but i'm pretty sure i could've won the whole shebang. check out this spin move...

i definitely could've spent more time in kobenhavn. i really only had one day to walk around in the end but the rain did hold off and i managed to cover a lot of ground. the best experience was wandering into christiania, a secluded community in the north east part of the city. it is a charming, pedestrian town where you can buy marijuana and hang out with a beer and socialize. i met a couple of kids from iceland, both stoned off hashish, and the one guy spent 20 minutes telling me about his pet snake who is named wesley snipes and eats frozen mice. he told me he couldn't wait to get home and feed it. i told him to quit the frozen food and get some real mice. his excitement at the prospect was enough for me to grab my bag and move on.

i have no pictures of christiania because you are not allowed to take pictures of christiania. there are signs everywhere. at first this was frustrating because the place had real character and was so unique. folks of all ages, tourists, dogs running everywhere, recycled metals and artwork at every turn; i loved it. then i just forgot about the camera and realized that a place like that deserves to be undocumented in photographs. as i strolled the tiny, winding streets i suddenly felt even more attached to the town. a secret garden that you must visit in order to experience it.

stockholm

ME & MY HOST, TROLLE

A CAT HEADS OUT INTO THE ISLANDS

VAXHOLM ISLAND IN THE STOCKHOLM ARCHIPELAGOS

ACROSS THE WATER, THE CITY

DOCK IN THE DJURGARDENS

FRIED HERRING IN SODERMALM

IF I CAN'T DANCE...