So I was going though my phone and came across a journal I was keeping on my Europe trip from last summer. I didn't post it earlier due to an issue with a serpent-like creature I was inexplicably associated with at the time. Anyhow, it's incomplete, but I hope ya'll enjoy regardless.
"So we're approaching evening of the first day in Germany (july 1) and it's been kind of a rough go. However, given certain circumstances it's almost been a miracle it hasn't been much much worse. On Sunday I was the sickest I've been in over 2 years. I contracted food poisoning from food at this street fest. Uuugh. I was completely down and out. I also totally screwed up my neck and back from lying in the fetal position for hours on end (this helped with the stomach cramps). Not good for having to sit in a plane for 8 hours at a time.
International flights are surely a matter of the haves and have-nots. First class seemed baller since they sat in pods or whatever, although it was hard for me to see since they didn't allow the great unwashed to look in that direction. Business Class seemed very comfortable. Economy, however, was pretty rough. The worst part was that the movies were terrible. Not only were the movies bad, but they gave business class better ones. Wtf? Does it really cost anything more to play them in all classes. I think American Airlines was just looking to crush the spirit of the peasants. Pisses me off. So we were stuck w options like "How Stella Got Her Groove Back 3: The Quest for More Groove." =/
We had a short layover at Heathrow. Getting to the connecting flight was like a weird Mario Kart level, requiring twisted paths and long distances. We were sure to hit the "turbo arrows", ie people movers whenever we could. We arrived in Munich (or Munchen in German or "Munchkin" as I liked to call it) at mid-afternoon. Allison was smart enough to write down detailed directions from the airport to the hostel so we found it somewhat easily. All the weird street names were kinda hard to navigate. It's hard to remember aufwendlesteinerblochenstraBe.
Germany is almost exactly what I expected.
That night we went to one of the main beer gardens. It was pretty amazing. It was this giant area with tons of long tables and tall trees. There were probably between 1 and 3 thousand people here. Seemed to be mostly locals which was pretty cool. Beer was served in 1 liter steins. We had one and then wanted to try something else. The station was self serve so allison picked up a smaller stein. Apple juice. We tried another smaller stein which looked like a darker beer. Coke. So instead of sit around with all these soft drinks like a bunch of clowns we peaced.
German "light beer" is a misnomer. It's still quite strong and has an intense alcohol taste to it. For me, it's pretty hit or miss. Some of it I loved and some I thought was pretty rough.
The next day we took a tour at Dachau, one of the concentration camps. It was pretty incredible to see something like that. It was weird though, because the emotional aspect never really sunk in for me. I thought I would have a very rough time. It might be because it's so horrific that it's tough to really comprehend.
At night we went to the main haufbrau haus. It was big and the beer was very excellent, but it was outrageously touristy. The people next to us had southern accents.
German girls. Not cute. Must like their weiner schnitzel a little too much.
July 3rd we traveled to Prague. The train was pretty nice, but took 6 hrs even though the two cities were less than 200 miles away. The main prague station is being repaired so we get dropped off in the surburbs. Weird. You can tell this country is much worse off than germany, which didn't seem to have much poverty anywhere. So we're in this train station and can't figure out how to get a ticket to downtown. The ticket person speaks no english, doesn't accept dollars or euros, and doesn't have time for your cracker-ass cracker american bullshit. So fuck. What do we do? Try to exchange for Crowns (czech currency) w a local? Steal some shit? Well, I noticed they don't really check your ticket on the way in so I suggest we just bust through and sneak on the train. Works! Thank God for the honor system.
We arrive at the train station from which our directions start. We have a crappy map. We go up the super scary steep fast escalator to street level. It's at an intersection of like 8 streets so it's effectively a parking lot. It's hard to find street names to get our bearing. It also didn't help that our directions told us to go through the Bubble Tower. How the fuck are we supposed to know what that is. Next time around I will be more prepared. Anyhow, it took us a good hour or so to find the hostile which was probably a 15min walk from the station. The hostile is shitty with a broken mirror and no towels. The showers in all these places are the size of phonebooths.
Prague looks more run down than Germany. Though it depends on where you're at. Women there are notoriously beautiful, but I'm not sure if I can attest to that. It was hard telling tourists from locals and a lot of them had that poor eastern european pornstar look. They're tall with long legs, which goes a long way.
We spent the first evening at a cafe and then at a local bar. Praise the local bar. Beer is much cheaper and is more of a cultural scene. We had a hard time finding these types of places. Half-liters of beer were less than two dollars.
I was familiar with Pilsner urquel, brewed in the Czech republic, before going there. I didn't particularly like it. However, out of the tap in the Czech Rep it was amazing. Best beer I've ever had hands down. Must be legal to put crack in things there.
Next day we visited the main Castle, or Schloss, the german word. We borrowed a term from MIA's brother in saying that we were Schloss hunting. Cool stuff, cool history, cool pictures, lots of walking. I dropped prolly 3-5 lbs during this trip which will serve as a good starting point for rededicating myself to working out. If I didn't eat so crappily on this trip I might be in great shape. Anyhow, bagged that Schloss, went to bed kinda early since we needed to catch a bus to cesky krumlov the next day.
The official website says a bus leaves for krumlov at 9am from station x. Allison's alarm doesn't work and we get up at like 815. It's a pretty far walk. I say "I can leave in 3 min. We need to leave very soon. " Allison says ok but then proceeds to take like a 5min shower and another 5 min to get packed. We're fighting although she didn't know I was pissed at the time.
We walk at blazing speeds to the stop. Don't make it on time and I think we can just catch the 11. The person at the ticket booth tells us that the next one is at 3 and at a different station across town. I didn't take a shower. I'm tired. I have a heavy backpack. The website lied. The station looks like it's in Iraq. I'm pissed. As we walk away I go in a ranting tirade about the Czech Republic and their "broke-ass easern european bullshit," calling all sorts of buildings and people things like "broke", "clown shoes", or "gay" while I contine to mumble or yell to myself. We make it to the main square. I tell MIA that Jan Has, a historical figure with a huge statue in the square, says "Fuck you.". Thankfully, I was joking at this point and got over my bad mood. I also declared that if I were a pickpocketer I would take your shit but not run. Would just stand there like "WHAT! What you goin' do?"
We spent the rest of the day before the train at some weird eiffel tower thing on a hill. We also watched an ADHD kid hump a car.
We dilly-dally to the new station and arive 20 min before the bus leaves. Only problem is that we are at the station sign and do not see any buses. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off looking for the buses. One person told us the wrong location which basically fucked us. We had 8 min til departure. I've given up hope and try to imagine how we'll find new lodging or what we'll do with another 2 nights in Prague. There are only so many Schlosses. Eventually someone told us the right location and we ran to the spot. Barely made it. That was a hugely important point in our trip. Off to the krumlov.
"I'm Krumlovin it" I say as we walk into the city. Good lord I'm witty. The city basically looks like something out of a video game. Pretty incredible.
"
So there you have it. I also wrote "Its hard to represent your shit when you're trying to represent some other shit" although I now don't remember what that means. Was probably wasted.
I might try to fill in the rest of the trip sometime although that may be tough since it's been 9 months. I think the above represents a little under half.
I intend in my usual half-assed fashion to keep updating. My next entry will be how to solve the financial crisis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
