Wien (Vienna, Austria)

I went on to Vienna by bus. I almost missed the bus to Wien (Vienna) since there wasn't a sign indicating that the bus was headed there. Everyone on the bus had been staring at me, waiting on the platform. Everyone was ready to go.. ready to leave me behind when I had finally decided to ask and make sure. Sure enough, it had been my bus.

I think we had a stop in Bratislava and then to Wien. I remember having a cup of hot cocoa there. I was really proud of myself for going to the bathroom and getting cup of cocoa at a machine (in a foreign language) all in th 15 minutes we were allotted.

It was evening when I'd arrived at the hostel with my cab. The hostel looked like a five star hotel... only hostel style... it was made for 20 something year olds. Bean bags instead of couches, a night club and a breakfast room upstairs. My room was clean and modern and my roommates were great. I was in the city where Beethovan, Chopin, Mozart, and Strauss had walked the very streets I was walking on. O-M-G. I somehow get really fascinated with that fact. Strangely, I don't get as fascinated in NYC... I guess because I'm from there.

One day, I took a bus trip around the city and saw some touristy points and palaces... from the bus. On other days, I went to see Mozarts house, Beethovan's house. I was going to go to Freud's house, but I changed my mind.

On the last day, I took a tour with a guide who seemed kind of snobby. I didn't leave her a tip. She identified with Austrians even though she grew up in the U.S. She told me that Americans did not drink coffee properly - coffee should be drunken over a long conversation about politics, literature, philsophy, and of course music. Austrians take coffee seriously. Noone in Austria is caught dead carrying Starbucks coffee on the streets... noone in Austria is caught dead in Starbucks period. She showed me some famous chocolate shops, some gorgeous antique working elevators in an H&M store (how horrific), and places where Haydn and Chopin slept and told me their stories to stardom.

Instead of going to Prague, I went to Strausbourg to re-visit my childhood memories of "The Sound of Music". Do I wish I visited Prague? Yes. Do I regret going to Strausbourg? No way! More later.

Poland

This is a photo I took in Krakow.

I arrived here by bus. The scenery on the way was gorgeous. I thought about how blessed I was to have traveled here, that this was my time of peace of mind.... away from my family, I had to cherish it. At some point on the bus trip, we had crossed the border. I found this out when we stopped at a coffee shop and they wouldn't take some of my left over change from Hungary.... we were now in Poland. They accepted euros and of course polish currency. For some reason, I found this shocking... because I was so CLOSE to Hungary, they could have easily accepted any currency on a road like this one, n'est-ce pas?

I booked a single room, not a hostel like in Sighisoara and Budapest. I wanted the comforts of having my own bathroom. It overflowed at times, but it was mine. I remember getting out of the bus station. There wasn't a ramp for those who had luggage. Though I had dumped a lot of my stuff in Sighisoara and Budapest, I still had a heavy load. I walked to the taxi cabs waiting right outside, put my bags in the trunk of one of them, and gave the driver the address. He told me that I was already at the address. Apparently, my "hotel" was right there across the street. Hardy, harr harr, very funny.

I checked in and went up five flights of stairs to my teeny tiny room with all my luggage. I pictured sailors renting a room like this one in the 1800s. It was definetly not designed for comfort. There was also a cat walk right outside my window so I could not open my curtains without awkwardly avoiding any contact with some passerby. Believe me, you don't know whether to smile or look away like you're furiously focused on your work.

When I tried the internet, I had no connection. I came back down to reception in the morning and complained. They told me they shared a network with the restaurant next door and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Some rooms used the hotels network, some rooms used the shared network. There seemed to be a new receptionist every time I went to them... like they were doing some internship for hotel management. They said I could use their office computer to check my emails, but if I needed it for work, they would give me another room.... a bigger room. I accepted it... for the same price of course!!! Again I couldn't open the curtains because now the cab drivers were able to look in instead of some guest at the hotel.

I went on a tour given by a great Polish guide. I was with a family, and the mom talked to me a bit. It reminded me of my own family trips when I was young. The Polish guide, let's call him Harry for now, must have been a great Historian of some sort. He had such in-depth knowledge about his city, the people who built it, the state of politics. He told me a few stories I'll never forget. First, apparently there are some energy rocks that have been scattered in far corners of the earth. A buddist monk, maybe the Dalai Lama himself, came to Krakow and announced to the world that one of those rocks was in the church of their city castle. Our guide went on to tell us that this may be true since Krakow somehow miraculously survived every bombardment during the Wars, demolitions by different rulers.... So, when the world is ending, fly to Krakow my friends. Just kidding, or am I?

He told us another thing - that Polish people were not stupid. He was right up and front about it. I had forgotten my father's Polish jokes (probably the ones he learned while living in Brooklyn with Italian Americans). Apparently, the Russians got the Polish people to obey them during the Communism Era by introducing them to the joy of drinking. The Polish were naive, and drank a lot... so much that they got a bad reputation. Okay, I'll bite. He also told us that when he visited Germany, he had went around with a tour guide who told everyone that Germans were the ones responsible for the Holocaust. He tried to correct her in saying that the Polish had had a hand in it, as well as some other countries. She was adamant that her people were responsible for it.... which he found rather strange... which I find rather strange as well.

So, I want to skip talking about the place I visited near Krakow. But I'll add some important travel events that occured afterwards. I met some Jewish guys after and they told me about how they felt about visiting this place. They were in their 40s, from Florida I think. I couldn't believe they walked up to me and started giving me their first hand impressions. I felt as if I was getting the interview of a lifetime. Was it God who sent down to angels to console me? They told me they were okay with it, but they didn't know if they could ever step into Germany. They told me that they had a friend back home who said that she would never spend a penny in any of "those" countries. All I have to say is, I threw away the shirt I wore to that camp. I never kept in touch with the person I met on the bus ride... as if we both wanted to forget this day happened.

After Romania

So, I went to Budapest, Hungary. Yes, it can be easily confused with Bucharest, which is in Romania; they both start with "B" and end in "-est." Budapest is described as a sprawling city, and when you stand on the Buda side and look over the Danube, you know exactly why they describe it that way. I made another friend in the hostel, also my roommate. But again, the journey to the hostel is another story all together.

I traveled on the overnight train thinking that maybe I could save money on a night at the hostel once again. On the train ride from Sighisoara, a guy traveling with a Europass was told he had to buy another ticket. As some of you may know, you buy a certain number of stops over a certain period of time. 4 stops means 4 countries and you decide to travel these 4 countries within a month. Each stop usually takes a day of travel. However, one does not always depart in the morning or afternoon. A day of travel may be considered an overnight train ride as long as the trip begins after a certain time in the evening, maybe 4 pm. This was the case for our fellow traveler. The ticket collector either was not familiar with these rules since there are few foreign travelers with a Europass or worse, he was trying to make extra money. (No, I was not the only person to think so). Our whole car was listening to the conversation, and all the English speaking passengers, especially male, were trying to put in their two cents...whether to give advice or for encouragement. I remember the train stopping at the border and seeing absolutely nothing around us but fields and trees..and I was afraid my fellow countryman would be left out there, ticketless and perhaps penniless. The ticket collector was asking for almost 50 euros if I remember correctly and he didn't have cash on him. Anyway, he was allowed to stay on the train and decided to make a complaint to the office at the train station once we arrived in Budapest.
His problems hopefully came to an end.

Mine were just beginning. You see, I did some research before arriving. I found out there was an English speaking help desk inside the train station. I thought I'd ask the help desk to help me locate my hostel, ask if I should take a taxi, and if so, how much the fare would be. (I didn't want to get ripped off and unfortunetly, taxi drivers are known to rip of foreigners in Budapest). So, I told him the name of the street. He told me to go straight and make the second right. Outside the train station, with my ton of luggage, a guy who looked like he'd been sleeping on the street approached me and asked me if I spoke English, if he could help me with my bags. I pretended I couldn't speak English. I made the second right, but I should have stayed on the left, because the road split into a "V". I stayed on the right and I kept walking and walking. The streets kind of reminded me of a 19th century New York City, maybe the upper east side. But, I must have looked like I had been sleeping on the street considering I hadn't slept a wink on the train all night. On top of that, I was probably the only Asian looking person they'd seen. Some people just passed me by when I asked for help with directions. Maybe they didn't speak English as well. Who knows? A couple of people did attempt to help me when I asked them for directions, however, and boy do you get to appreciate a stranger's kindness at times like these. One man, I remember seemed very confident in talking to strangers....I figured he'd traveled a lot in his day. I must have been walking for an hour, dragging my luggage across town when I saw a Chinese restaurant place that was open. I realized I was hungry so I ate a cheap but delicious meal, chatted a bit with the owner about what nationality I was, and I was off again. I even stopped by a second hand store to sell the blanket my grandmother knitted for me...just to lose some weight in my luggage. This sounds so insensitive now, but maybe one day you'll know the challenge of too much luggage. Anyway, she wouldn't take it! After asking two guys working at a kabob restaurant, I finally made it to the hostel. Thank God. I went upstairs, took a shower, and met my roommate.

She had just arrived as well. We decided to explore the city together sans sleep. We did Pest the first day, Buda the second day. On the third day, she went to the spa at Gellert (I believe), while I went caving. Caving was awesome. I tried not to think about how much earth was above my head and enjoyed the adventure. Our guide was great. As a matter of fact, I had saw him on the History Channel on a show called something like "Underground Cities" the other day. I'll never forget it. We were all hungry and tired by the time we came home.

The following two days in Budapest were spent alone since my friend went off to her next adventure. I explored the church inside the cave, the hospital inside the cave, and found his beautiful church that was painted....in marble. It was the most fantastic thing I'd ever seen. I also ended up going to this Asian restaurant that had a korean soup on their menu. At that moment, I realized that I must be homesick.

Home Bound

It's been 3 months so far since I've been home. I've been working for one month at a language school...not in Romania, but back home in my own country, the one place I promised myself I would never return. What is the big deal you ask? I want a home, but whenever I do come home, I have to live with my mother! Remember, I'm a traveler, with no permanent residence.

So to keep you up to speed. After spending a peaceful and memorable month in Bucharest, I bought a train ticket to Sighisoara, the birth place of Vlad Tepes. Who? The man that Braham Stoker based Dracula on. The ticket seller didn't speak English. I was only able to communicate thanks to this young Romanian lady who was in line before me with her mother. She somehow reminded me of myself many moons ago, assisting my parents and others before I became a selfish cynic.

I arrived in Sighisoara in the evening. I looked out and it was one of those times in your life when you say, "What did I get myself into?" I got off with my 2 heavy suitcases and laptop case. The platform at the train station was not smooth. The cement was broken and I had difficulty lugging my suitcases. The wire was broken on the bottom of one of the suitcases and was making a loud, terrible sound against the cement. One gentlemen felt he had to help me, and did. I think he just took pity on me. Ha! I soon realized the hostel was a few meters from the train station, but the taxi driver helped me anyway.
I didn't make a reservation at the hostel, but I wasn't really worried. It was Sighisoara, Romania in April. As I was settling in, a French guy walked into the room (co-ed) and we started some of the usual small talk. "Hi. Where are you from? Are you on holiday? How long are you staying? Where are you going next." I asked him if he had eaten dinner, and ee'd said no, so we went to eat some Romanian food in a local restaurant. After dinner, we then headed up a steep slope to the cemetary of the town church (which he had visited earlier that day). It was spooky going to Dracula's cemetary at night....under the full moon. To make it even more interesting, there was a big black dog behind the gate. We tried to carefully step back and leave, but the dog ducked his head under the fence and voila...he was standing right in front of us.... no gate in between! Both of us were scared, the fear coarsing to our vains. And then, the dog started wagging its tail! Thank God! The dog passed my friend, and I held out my hand. It came to sniff and lick my hand!
After taking some pictures in the cemetary with his mobile phone, or trying to anyway, we went back to the hostel, met some more people and went to sleep. Everyone had different plans the next day, so we went our separate ways. I explored the old town, took some photos. I'd never been in a creepy medieval town before so it was kind of cool. They didn't paint it up to look all touristy. There weren't rows of shops that sold the same souvenir items....maybe only two. Actually, I bought this interesting wooden box that looks like a book on the outside, but on the inside, was empty. You could stash secret items inside.

This concludes my trip to Romania.