Oświęcim (Auschwitz)

Geez...

What can I write about this? On one hand I want to eviscerate my memory of the experience and leave it all here, but I also don't want to trivialize the absoluteness of the place itself by relating my personal feelings as they could never scratch the surface of the pain, suffering and inhumanity dispensed at the hands of ideological zealots some 60 years ago.

Everything from the twisted quote (Arbeit Macht Frei) that hovers above the one and only entrance to this and most of these complexes was pulsing and vibrating in an eerie and unsettling way.

I can, however, say that the museums are arranged in a manner that leaves visitors with no doubt about the degree of mental instability necessary to carry out the largest 'experiment' in genocide ever known to humanity.

Strange way to end the year.....

Craców

So, we left for Craców on the morning of the 26th. With 7 hours of train travel ahead of us we settled into our reserved seats by the windows and stared at the fields and trees as they flew by.

In complete defiance of all documented weather trends for the area, the sun guided us through the Bohemian countryside safely into the Moravian hills and across the Polish border. We changed trains in Katowice by literally jumping off our old horse and strutting across the platform towards the closing doors of our new horse.

A handful of travelers, upon hearing me get confirmation from the railman, piled into the car behind us. With the sun now disappearing, we yawned and stretched out for the final hour and a half of our journey.

As we pulled into Craców's main station (Glówny), we could feel the biting cold through the cracks in the windows. The cold air darting in through the open doors removed all feelings of exhaustion and propelled me into a dizzying scramble towards the lights and sounds of the Old Town.

We confronted an ATM and left with money in our pockets. Luckily our hostel was just inside the original 14th-century gate which is a stones throw from the train station. Eager to lose our bags and hit the streets, we sped through the check-in process and did just that.

Craców was noticeably colder than Prague had been all year and while we had enough clothing it was still difficult to face the sharp menacing winds. Perhaps it was that fact that lent to the emptiness of the dark narrow streets that night. Although, I suppose folks could have been spending time with their families as well since it was literally the day after Christmas.

Regardless, we found an open restaurant and ducked in for some warm food...and cold beer. It was a Brazilian restaurant so I had some 'Brazilian' food and washed it down with a Polish beer called Zywiec. Not a great beer, but all shortcomings in taste were more than excused by the wicked label which depicted a Polish couple dancing a traditional dance in traditional clothing.

We crashed relatively early after a looong day traveling and this was the scene around 9am as I walked out of the hostel.

In the distance is the lovely St. Mary's Church in Craców's main square (Rynek Glówny). The square is the largest medieval square in all of Europe. Every hour a bugle call rings out from the highest tower of the church.

I was surprised to see how perfectly rebuilt Craców's Old Town was. I was quickly reminded, however, that the late Pope John Paul II called Craców home until he became the Pope. The castle (Wawel), Old Town and the Catholic churches are in superior condition these days.

This is in stark contrast to the old Jewish Quarter called Kazimierz, where many buildings are in disrepair. The handful of synagogues scattered throughout the area seemed uncomfortable, sort of on edge. As if they're waiting for something awful to happen. To my chagrin, anti-Semitic graffiti stained many walls in the area.

It wasn’t all bleak and gloomy, though, as this sign proves:

X-Mas in Prague - Pt.2

We may not have snow, but we have copious amounts of big, ugly, funky fish!

OK, I've been saving this until the last minute to make sure I understood it completely.

In the Czech Republic, and some neighboring countries, they eat CARP for Christmas. These guys catch carp by the hundreds out of all the nearby rivers and sell them at strategic points throughout Prague and the rest of the country.

They cost about 70 Crowns a kilogram and most carp are between 2 and 6 kilos depending on the age of the fish of course. They keep them in these little outdoor kid pools. Probably 40 or so fish in each. Each little setup has three pools and they run the water between all three while constantly switching the fish around.
People buy them and keep them in their bathtub for a few days...I guess to laugh at them and taunt the helpless creatures until they eventually pull 'em out, crack 'em on the head, gut 'em, scale 'em, cut 'em into proper size pieces...and then they fry 'em! This is the story that all my students told me. They all had the same story, they only argued about what size fish was the better option. Jiří argued for the younger fish as they were fresher and Ondra said bigger was better as you only had to buy one and it would all taste the same.

Sounds great eh!

I don't know if you guys know what carp look like (I seem to remember Dad and Grandpa talking about catching carp...maybe not in Illinois...maybe Minnesota or something), but these guys are odd-looking! They have what looks like fish-net stockings for scales. It looks like plastic netting and they constantly open their mouths and make a sucking motion like when you exaggerate a kiss.

BUT, the guys who sell them are quite the characters!
Myself and the guy in the background were taking pictures, so the guy just pulls out a fish and shows it off to us. He starts laughing and making some kind of joke...possibly about us, who knows!

Český Krumlov

Prague has been unseasonably warm recently. Friday and Saturday brought flawless sunshine and the chirping of birds who’d already written the year off. We decided to rent a car and head into southern Bohemia to the wee town of Český Krumlov. The iPod kept us in high spirits even as the sun set prior to our arrival. Despite pulling in in complete darkness, the charm of the town was emanating from all corners. However, it was freezing.

Český Krumlov is a fairytale town nestled in a valley between mountains and clinging to rocky bluffs, built around an exaggerated ‘s’ shaped section of the same river that flows through Prague, the Vltava. It’s complete with castle, church, monastery, square, and brewery. Because it is so close to Austria and Germany, many places have signs in German and tourists from the neighboring countries spill in at a heavy rate. Due to the time of year, there were very few tourists. This is a place that in the summer is mobbed with tourists, so I felt lucky to see it now.

Now, our lodging for the evening was a bastion from the original town wall, situated directly across (20 ft) from the brewery. It has been converted into a 4-room pension. The woman who owns/runs the place is charming, magnetic really. She welcomed us, gave us the key, asked what time we wanted breakfast (we took it at 8:30am) and then left with a smile that seemed too big for the little town.

Incidentally, the Eggenberg brewery has been pouring beer since 1560 and the space it occupies on the edge of town is vast. Barrels and barrels of beer sit waiting to be consumed on premises at the massive beer hall or shuttled across town to several restaurants that proudly serve one of the various brews. We drank both the Černy (black) and Světlý (lager). Both are quite nice!

We were staying on the edge of the Old Town, and as you walked toward the city you passed the brewery and the monastery. The monastery was in utter disrepair and evoked thoughts of long gone times when monks roamed this massive complex drinking Eggenberg beer. The brick in the walls was brittle and crumbling, but refused to give out completely. As we walked around this cold, dark, littered area we were by far the only people around. I suppose it should have been eerie, but it was comforting somehow.

We curled through the cobblestone streets and into the main road opposite the castle. Next to the castle is a massive round tower painted with ornate images and myriad different colors. Rising above the town as a substantial reminder of the power of the lords of Rozmberk who owned much of the land in southern Bohemia. In high season the tower is open for superior views of the town.

With that option closed, we walked through the castle for commanding views nonetheless. The castle is literally carved from the rocky bluff it’s perched upon. It sits well above the town. From it, all the bridges are visible as well as the twisting Vltava river as it winds abruptly through town. This morning was pretty special as the bone-chilling weather was obvious with clouds of smoke escaping from every other building’s chimney and into the crisp morning air making a blanket over the town until a strong wind swept through and carried it all away.

As we exited the castle to the west, still climbing higher above the town, the view expanded and we could then see the castle as well as the tower, town, church and surrounding countryside. This walkway lead to a beautiful deserted and secluded garden with tree-lined trails stretching for days and days. The handful of trees within the garden were massive and their leafless limbs extended out for miles making them look quite imposing in the noon day sun as their shadows crept towards me in silence while I walked past.
Then we sauntered down a steep quiet lane and across the bridge into the Old Town at the stroke of noon. The town came alive instantly as a small stand with Punč, Grog, and Svařené Víno sat waiting for intrepid weekenders to spice up the day. We skipped it, the night before was enough with Eggenberg and Becherovka.

We walked toward the square in search of pizza. After a young guy in the bookshop pointed us in the right direction we accomplished our goal. Then walked south of the square into the church of St. Vitus, which is also the name of the awe-inspiring church within the castle complex in Prague. This church was not a close second to its cousin! But, the park 50m away opposite the Radnice (City Hall) did give the castle quite a run for its money in the spectacular view department!
In fact, the sagging rooftops of the old houses on the main drag along the river made for a spell-binding glimpse into the history of this town. The houses were all painted brilliantly and some had ivy crawling up the front. Crossing the bridge back into the other side of town we had a classic view of real life as the old houses were all displaying drying clothes and scattered plants on their river-front porches.
Then, ducking down an alleyway towards a very strange art gallery we popped out onto the riverfront itself. The St. Vitus cathedral sat calmly looking over the town to the south as the castle guarded the north. The alley lead to another alley, which crept along the old town walls and into a derelict deserted desolate dead end.

However, the alley held a special power over me. One side of the wall was the monastery and the other was the river. At the start of this alley was a discarded, dilapidated, deserted, decaying domicile left to the mercy of time. Time had been an unkind ally to this place as it stood shakily in this forgotten corner of Cesky Krumlov. The number 9 sat weary and worn out above the door while the stairwell leaned and bent from exhaustion and sadness at the town’s disassociation with it and its surroundings.
A forbidding gate stood at the end of the alley with two sturdy iron rods hanging from it, which were used at some point to pull the gate open. A big building in the corner sat in quiet solitude and crumbled slowly away. Though, the place was austere, it had an air of dignity of days of yore.

Contented that we had seen as much as we could in the off-season, we headed back to our end of town and the beautiful bastion that kept us warm the night before, got into the car, plugged in the iPod and hit the road.

I recommend this town to anyone who might find themselves in the Czech Republic!

Hee-hee!

X-Mas in Prague

I figured I should throw some seasonal photos up. Dig it!

Notice the Pecene Kastany stand on the right...roasted chestnuts, baby!

Pig Slaughter

Friday was the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that freed the Czech people from Soviet rule and Communism. My school was closed as was nearly everything else in the country. So we decided to travel into southern Bohemia and visit České Budějovice.

This town is the original home of Budweiser. Although that beer doesn't even rank among my top 200 American beers, it is quite nice here! The main difference seems to be that this beer has flavor and the American version does not! BTW - Budějovice means Budweis in German and Budweiser in English.

As we entered the main square in Old Town we found a beautiful old fountain and took a seat to gawk at the brilliantly colored buildings in one of the Czech Republic's biggest squares. We made our way past the 14-century tower guarding the back side of the square and past the imposing Town Hall with dragons flying out of the wall towards the 13th century monastery at the edge of the Old Town along the river. We walked along the river a ways with massive swans following close behind and then ducked into an alleyway that popped us out right next to the Harley-Davidson Museum. The what? Weird!

We then strolled down the very narrow streets of the Old Town and ultimately onto the main road. From there I could hear music and laughter from somewhere nearby.We ducked under a low archway to discover what looked like a private party or BBQ. There were people talking, eating, singing, dancing, kids playing, etc. We stood quietly peering around the corner until a guy in a chef's uniform began speaking to us in Czech. He quickly determined that we couldn't speak Czech and told us in his best broken English to join them and have some soup.

We thought fine! Soup and beer sounds good. He says that they have slaughtered a pig and it's a party for the town! He proceeds to tell us that the soup is made from PIG BLOOD! Gretchen kindly told the guy that I would love to try it and he promptly made me a bowl. The party momentarily stopped everything to watch me take a sip. Very weird stuff. Some kind of charcoal-based liquid with a somewhat grisly somewhat chewy I don't know what inside...

Anyway, I put the soup down and drank my beer. Then went into the hall to listen to two old Czech men playing accordions and singing loudly and wearing huge smiles. Another older man sat alongside singing while the butcher and a random woman sang and danced while tenderizing the meat. Another woman just drank and sang...loudly!
A proper Czech party with proper Czech people and proper Czech food! Classic!

Bratislava

Bratislava...

Let me just start by saying that it had its ups and downs. I'm amazed that a place so close to the splendor of Vienna could be so strange and clearly Eastern European. That said, the Old Town of Bratislava is unassuming and ancient! No real splendor apart from the fact that it was so obviously old.

I took about 100 photos in 2 days. The strangest thing I've seen in ages was that city from the castle on the hill (which is pointless to visit). There is the beautiful (albeit small) Old Town with the brilliant Michalská Brána (tower above) dominating the landscape and myriad spires crammed into the area directly below and then the sprawling New Town with literally 100's of massive apartment blocks on the other side of the river (Danube). There is this huge and very weird tower at the edge of New Town, which you can see from Old Town.

Bratislava is worth a visit for sure, but we met these Americans who live there and the wife was less than impressed (to say the least) with it as a place to call home. I can't imagine living there, but worth a look for the Old Town.

We visited a place they call the Primate's Palace (The Czechs and Slovaks call their top man the Primator) where in 1805 Napoleon and the Emperor of Austria signed a peace treaty in the Hall of Mirrors. It was lavishly decorated with massive chandeliers and 15-century English tapestries and paintings from all over. The inside was great, but the square and courtyard surrounding the place were quite stunning.

There were fantastic buildings of all different colors and shapes as well as beautiful light fixtures and ironwork adorning each one. Two of the buildings had massive clocks atop their towers. Long story short it was a good place to sit and rest, take a deep breath and take it all in.

Then we ambled through the rest of the cobbled (extremely!) streets of Old Town up to the church of the Clarissine Order, which was having work done. That didn't deter us, though, from ogling over the ornately carved spire that climbed from the narrow derelict streets of Old Town towards the heavens. Much of the oldest stuff in Bratislava had VERY Gothic features, which I dig! There was this building with grotesque little gargoyles making rude faces to the people on the street. I loved it! Anyhow, just near this church was a wee brewpub where the monks routinely made beer beginning in 14-something! From there we walked downhill towards the absolutely massive (I mean it!) St. Martin's Cathedral, where (among others) Maximilian, Ferdinand, Leopold, Joseph and Maria Theresa were crowned! The late Pope actually recognized the church as a world religious treasure before he died! There was a crypt underneath where many of bishops, etc. were entombed and/or laid in brilliant coffins made of wood or stone. The spire of this church is topped with a huge golden crown that sits upon a velvet pillow! You can see it if pretty clearly if you climb the hills behind the city going towards the ancient church of St. Nicholas. Which, once we reached the top of the hill were stopped dead in our tracks in the doorway by the dozens and dozens of images of Christ and Mary surrounded by 100's of burning candles, not to mention the sounds of a choir belting out hymns/spirituals in Slovak from the high balcony where we couldn't see them!

That was Saturday, Sunday we got out of town a bit to Devín Castle! This place was great! Perched atop a rocky bluff at the confluence of the Morava and Danube Rivers this once seriously imposing castle is now just a ruin due to Naploeon's forces blasting it from across the river in Austria (guess that was before the treay, eh?). Too bad really because the castle survived numerous attacks by Turkish forces. It was rather chilly and very foggy when we arrived, but just as we ascended the top of the bluff the fog burned off and the sun shined down like a spotlight on the castle.

The sleepy little village of Devín was eerily quiet as we pulled in at 26 minutes past 10am, possibly attributable to the thich layer of fog hanging just above the road and clinging to rooftops. But the castle was alive and very inviting. It was inexplicably vigorous wandering around the place. I felt like there had been so much action on that site in decades past. Well centuries actually as the Romans initially used the site an outpost of their ever-growing empire during the ealry part of the millenium. The mini-musuems on the property include exhibits housing artifacts from as far back as the 1st century and all the way up to the early 1920's when a contingent of Czech nationalists destroyed a monument (80 meters high) erected by Slovaks proclaiming the site as a place of great cultural importance to the Slovak people.

The two little bastions halfway down the rocky face of the bluff above the river were quite cool. I could just imagine myself armed with a longbow watching the river below and waiting for French or Turkish troops to approach in the night.

Kutná Hora

This is the first weekend of my CELTA course. It's been fun with a bit of work, but not heavy yet. So, I decided to get out of town. Kutná Hora is a UNESCO listed town and the first Czech town I've seen outside of Prague. This place is well worth a visit!

Notice the horse-drawn carriage in the background:

This random little house reminded me of the middle ages for some reason:

I spent about five hours wandering around this town by myself feeling as though I were the only tourist for miles. Then, as I entered the main square in search of food, a bus full of Japanese tourists arrived and proceeded to take over the town. It was wild! Everyone kind of stopped and stared for a moment as they snapped pictures and chattered loudly.

I ended up eating some marginal pizza and then slipped back into the empty alleyways and parks in hopes of keeping a step ahead of them.

England

My first stop was Gary's place near London. I stopped for a few days before Prague to get used to Europe and a new time zone before I got used to working my ass off! (thanks for the hospitality Gaz!)

Here's Gaz, Spike and myself at their local: The RAF wouldn't take me...color blind...

The front of Hampton Court Palace:

There are more castles in England than people care to see, well British people anyway, but I can't get enough of castles. Europe is soon to be at my fingertips and I have never been so excited in all my life!

Crater Lake

Next on the list was Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. This place is something else. I have been to dozens of national parks now, but each time I go to a new one it forces my memories of the previous one into the depths of my memory. The United States has, without a doubt, some of the most incredible natural places in the world! Crater Lake blew my mind!

This perfectly round, deep blue lake with Mt. Thielsen keeping watch from the north may well be the most peaceful body of water I've ever set eyes upon. Wizard Island sits like a stolid sentinel in the middle of the lake. We hiked to the top of a peak called The Watchman to get a proper view of the lake and the surrounding area. And after about fifteen minutes of marveling at it we decided we had to get closer.

We ambled around the edge of the lake until we reached a trail near Cleetwood Cove that went down to the shore. I nearly ran down the trail as the allure of the sparkling blue lake was pulling me in like a tractor beam. When I got there I immediately noticed a large boulder near the edge that hung over the lake about ten feet.

Patrick and I after a dive:

I stripped down to my swimming trunks (which I had stashed in my backpack) and dove in. The water was frankly freezing, but very refreshing. Patrick and Shane jumped in also. I repeated this activity probably eight times before heading back up the trail and into the shade of the forest.

Canadian Rockies

I just accepted a placement in the CELTA (Certification for English Language Teaching of Adults) program at International House (IH) in Prague, Czech Republic. I am leaving in late August. I just quit my job and will be traveling as far and wide as possible for the next few weeks.

My friend Patrick and I decided to take off for the 4th of July and head to Canada. July 1st is Canada Day, so we figured there would be plenty of action. We drove up from Spokane through Idaho and into southeastern BC. Our first stop was Kootenay National Park. Though it is a lesser-known park due to its neighbors Banff and Jasper, it is no less breathtaking!

The drive from Banff to Japser is a very dramatic one! The scenery from the road alone is enough to make your head spin. There are myriad peaks between 10-13,000 feet high in every direction!

This picture is from the Johnson Creek Falls trail. I figured it would put the falls into perspective better if you could compare them to me.

I was half asleep in the morning one day and suddenly saw this black bear foraging on the side of the road. We got pretty close to him and he didn't seem to care very much.

We saw some mountain goats and elk too, but that was about it.






This lake is called Peyto Lake after an explorer named Peyto. Doesn't it look like the head of a wolf or coyote? I think so. Anyway, the ridge of mountains behind the lake seemed as though it never ended. It's pretty humbling to be in a place where nature is in full control. You can't quite tell, but the distance from where I am to the lake was about five football fields.

San Francisco

This city is one of those American cities that fervently captured my attention as a child along with New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. I have always wanted to see it with my own eyes. So, this trip could have gone in any direction...I had a long list of spots I wanted to check out.I took the early (6 am) flight out of Portland. The flight is only a couple hours so I was there by 9am. I negotiated the BART into the heart of the city and got off at the City Hall stop. I slowly, with mouth agape, made my way down to Union Square.

From there I made the obligatory journey to the Haight/Ashbury district. I saw this on the sidewalk and laughed pretty hard. There were people with dogs everywhere!

There is a massive music shop in San Francisco called Amoeba Music. I had figured out where it was prior to my trip and set aside an hour to check it out. It was huge! After looking through the jazz section, I realized it had already almost been an hour. More importantly, though, I was starving. I bought a few classic Blue Note cd's and went around the corner to find the bus top that would lead me into the Presidio. I walked around the Presidio for ages until my stomach lead me to the Embarcadero and the Ghirardelli area. I got food somewhere and suddenly spotted the streetcar rumbling past. I followed the line up towards "The Crookedest Street in the World".

Next, I had to check out Chinatown. I rambled down crowded streets until I was at the base of the TransAmerica Building. Looking up I noticed the Sentinel Building (Columbus Towers). I found the San Francisco Brewing Company caddy-corner to the Sentinel Building and decided I should sample the wares. After several small pours and a proper pint, I was not impressed.

Next, I went to the Thirsty Bear Brewery and the beer was an improvement but the clientele was not. I had a quick beer and left to meet Patty in Oakland at the Oakland Brewery. Now this place was great! Good people, good beer!

This was my friend as I enjoyed my bread bowl near Pier 39:

The Southwest

Immediately following my UK adventure I had to go to Vegas, Flagstaff and Tucson for work. Now when I say immediately, I mean immediately. I got home on the evening of the 25th of February and left on the morning of the 26th. I got home later than I was meant to due to a delayed flight and woke up at 7 the next day to leave for Vegas! It might not have been so bad if I had been heading to another town. Vegas isn't exactly my idea of a nice getaway!

I stayed in the southwest for 2 weeks and drove from Vegas down to Tucson. During the weekend I went to Lake Mead National Preserve, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly. It was a lot of driving, but the beauty of the southwest was beckoning me...

This gnarly tree was in Walnut Canyon, just outside of Flagstaff. The site is similar to Montezuma Castle, which I visited a couple years back. They are both part of the system of villages of the Sinagua people.

The American southwest is like no other place I've ever been. That isn't to say that no place else in the world looks like this, but certainly no place I've ever been does! The strange colorful rock formations and random scattered ancient dwellings of people long forgotten make for such a dramatic landscape that I almost consider living in the region for a while to explore it properly.

A couple years ago I did a bit hiking through Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in southern Utah. Those places are so unique it's unsettling. They truly make you feel as though you're on a different planet!

Scotland

Near the end of my trip to York to visit my parents, I felt it was a moral imperative to take a couple days on my own to explore Scotland. So, Wednesday and Thursday I bought a very expensive ticket from Brit Rail and took in the splendor of Edinburgh and the calm historical setting of Stirling. Edinburgh is the center of Scottish culture now and has been for hundreds of years.

This is a deserted little alleyway just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh:

And I couldn't resist a picture of this relic. It fit in fine in Edinburgh, but I couldn't help thinking it should be in my driveway!

England

My parents were gracious enough to trade in frequent flyer miles and get me a ticket to visit them at their house in York. It was in the middle of February, which meant that the weather would most likely be rubbish, but it had to be done. Despite weeks of gloom, the day I got there it was actually sunny and nice. Still quite cold, but sunny!

I flew into Manchester. They picked me up and we went straight up to Hadrian's Wall and walked around some other Roman Ruins in the area Dad and I are strategizing on how we would have approached the wall. The wall, which was originally 2/3 higher, sits atop a high plateau. So getting over it was not easy!

That same day we went to the well-preserved Warkworth Castle and the beautiful Dunstanburgh Castle along the northern English coast near Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border. This place was truly a sight! Perched atop a hill overlooking the North Sea surrounded by sheep grazing and beautiful green grass.

No trip to the UK is complete (for me) without visiting a brewery. The Black Sheep beer had made its way into my belly years earlier after crossing the ocean in one of my dad's socks. It was a long-awaited introduction: