Welcome to Budapest...too much to see and too little time!

Day 11– September 12, 2006 – Budapest, Hungary…Ahhh…the Blue Danube!

Can it be there is only 1 week left of the group tour? It’s going by so quickly!

Today we left Eger at 8:30am, made one stop and arrived in Budapest at about 11:30am, yes, there was traffic getting into the city. Bojan took us directly to the Buda Castle area where we met our local guide, Petar.
We walked around the area, saw the castle grounds, wonderful views of the Danube and Parliament, and Fisherman’s Bastion. Then we had lunch on our own for about an hour and a half.

Instead of going to a restaurant CL and I found our way to a grocery store and picked up some picnic stuff, bread, cheese, fruit, drinks, and chocolate and settled on a bench in the park right across from the grocery store. It was great and I enjoyed negotiating around a Hungarian grocery store. It’s always interesting to see what is on the shelves and the different foods that are popular in other countries.

At about 2:30pm we all met-up at the park to continue the walking tour on the Pest side of the city. We got on the metro, went one stop, which took us under the Danube and came up near the very impressive Parliament building.

We walked through the banking district of Pest and to St. Stephen’s Basilica. The church was beautiful inside. We ended the walking tour at our hotel where Bojan was with the bus and our luggage.

We were on our own for dinner and CL and I went to place I had heard about while doing my research for the trip, and Etelka also recommended it…bonus, 2 thumbs up for this place so we gave it a try. The name of the restaurant is Fatal and it is not far from the hotel, it was located at 67 Vaci Utca. CL and I had the French onion soup, the bowl was big enough for us to share and it was scrumptious! But unlike the onion soup I am used to, this one was creamy….MMMMM! I am pretty sure the soup had both sweet and red onions in it. We also had a huge and I do mean HUGE garden salad, this salad could have easily fed 4 people. We had 2 beers to wash it all down.

We met with the “gang” back at the hotel around 7:30pm to go on the evening Danube boat cruise. Talk about magical, seeing Budapest lit up at night from the river was astonishing. It was such a pleasant evening sitting on the boat sipping champagne cruising down the river…what more could we ask for…it was brilliant!

Believe it or not, we actually skipped dessert tonight! But some of the cafes we passed looked like they had yummy cakes, hopefully tomorrow night we can taste some of them!

This was a great first day in Budapest!

Day 12– September 13, 2006 – Budapest, Hungary…Time to “Take the Waters”!

Today is a laid back day. We had a leisurely breakfast and met our tour-mates in the lobby at 9am for a walking tour. Ben handed out maps and a day ticket for the metro and trams. We left the hotel at about 9:15am and walked through the old part of Pest and then took the metro to Hero’s Square and then through the big city park and to the replica of a Transylvania Castle. We ended the tour at the famous mineral baths.

The bath complex is huge and thank God we had Etelka there to help us with purchasing the tickets and getting a changing cabin and towels (which seemed more like bed sheets then bath towels!). It would have been difficult to navigate through all that on our own. We soaked in a couple different indoor baths and I kept telling CL I knew there had to be some outdoor pools, since I had seen pictures of them! Etelka came to the rescue! She showed us to the outside pools.

It was beautiful and crowded! They don’t allow pictures to be taken, so my description will just have to do. Outside the 2 pools are really big, one is half circle shaped with a fountain spraying water and it is heated. The second outside pool is a very large rectangle that is not heated and used for lap swimming. The surrounding buildings are painted white & yellow with columns and arches and lots of hanging potted flowers.

CL and I spent about half an hour in the large outdoor heated pool and it felt great. It was wonderful to relax and float around in the water, and my muscles felt invigorated afterward! It was heaven! We were probably in the baths (indoor and outdoor) for a total of about 45 minutes/1 hour. Once we felt significantly “soggy” we climbed out of the pool and went back to the changing cabin to dry off and change back into our street clothes.

When we were finished at the baths we and another tour-mate tried to find the metro stop near the baths, but we walked right by it (it was in the park and we were walking along the street), and ended up walking back to the metro at Hero’s Square, it wasn’t very far. From there CL and I took the metro (we even managed a train transfer!) to Ráday Utca, which is a street lined with lots of outdoor cafes. Our tour-mate left us to go in another direction and CL and I walked down the street checkingout various menus. We found a nice café called Trattoria étterem located at Ráday utca 16.

We decided on an Italian place because we were both in the mood for pasta. For lunch we had: cold peach soup (I know, weird for an appetizer, but Ben said if we saw any cold fruit soup on the menu in Budapest to order it…and we did!), the Bangkok Hilton salad (which we order because the ingredients sounded interesting, but the name of it sounded more interesting!) it was a bit too spicy for me, but CL liked it and last, but certainly not least we had rigatoni with chicken and zucchini in a cream sauce, which was very good. As we had been doing we shared all 3 items and with 2 bottles of water the bill came to just under $20.

After our meal in such a pleasant setting we walked over to the Great Market. I was really looking forward to seeing this place and it was interesting, but the upper level is crammed with tourist souvenirs and elbow to elbow tourists. I got some paprika and 2 other small gifts, but there was nothing really great there. Except…the bakery on the ground floor that we found. Clearly it was a place that served more locals then tourists and the baked goods were wonderful, well, at least the cookies we bought there were wonderful! We got 6 small cookies for less then a dollar and they hit the spot after our lunch!

The plan for the rest of the day was to just do a little more window shopping and find a nice place for dessert tonight…who cares about dinner! We wandered around the main “tourist” pedestrian street and found a pretty outdoor café to sit at and have our evening dessert and use up our last Hungarian Forint (since the next day it’s onto Croatia!). We had it calculated right down to the very last penny, ooops, I mean Forint. But we had just enough to pay for our 2 desserts and 2 waters.

After enjoying our sweets and doing some people watching (there seemed to be lots of Americans at this particular café), we went over and walked along the Danube at dusk. We found the Shoes along the Danube not far from the Parliament building. It’s was between the Chain Bridge and Parliament and there is no sign indicating what this memorial is. So, you have to know what to look for. It’s a small stretch right along the grassy path along the river. The shoes are bronzed and it is the site where (I believe) Nazis shot Jews and let them fall into the Danube. Such a sad story.

After taking some pictures, we turned around and started walking back along the river and the lights on the Chain Bridge and the castle came on. It was truly a magical moment.

Some thoughts on the trip so far…In Prague Ben’s advice was to “Get Lost” and we happily obliged; in Krakow Ben’s advice was to “Just Be” and we did; in Budapest Ben’s advice was to “soak in the energy” and soak we did do! As Ben said Budapest is a very cosmopolitan city and I definitely have the big city vibe here, much the same as NYC. There is no “town square” per say like in Prague and Krakow, but there seems to be some pretty cool areas, the street we had lunch on being one of them.

How do you say "Cheers" in Hungarian?....Egeszsegedre! Of Course!

Day 10– September 11, 2006 – Eger, Hungary….School visit and Wine Tasting Plus a marriage proposal….WHAT????

Today was another day we could sleep in since we had the morning free. We got up around 7am and went to breakfast at about 8am. We had a nice leisurely breakfast and then went off to see the sights of Eger.

Our first stop was the folk art shop we had seen the night before and I found ,with the help of CL a pretty embroidered peasant blouse. Typically I probably wouldn’t have bought it but it was made in Eger and it’s a clean shirt I can wear at some point on the trip! We hadn’t been to an ATM yet, so we asked the shop lady to hold the blouse and went to the ATM, got some cash, and went back to get the blouse and some post cards.

We then walked through Dobo Square, the main town square, and to the castle. We took some fun pictures up around the castle grounds and then went back to town. We walked through the market checking out the flowers and produce and I bought some of the pasta we had the other night with the sour cream and cottage cheese. For a good sized bag it was just about $1.00!

After the market we went back to the hotel to meet the group for our afternoon adventure.

We went to a local elementary school in Recsk, Hungary to meet the students and a teacher who is friends with Etelka, our assistant guide.

We had lunch in the school canteen (aka cafeteria) and it was pretty good. We ate goulash soup, bread, fried pork cutlet, fried chicken stuffed with plums and ham, and rice pudding for dessert. At each place setting there was a postcard written in English by one of the students. They are ages 9-11.

After lunch we went to the language lab classroom and got to meet our student and talk to them a bit. I had a little boy named Csaba who was 11 years old. I brought some postcards from home to give to him so he could see where I lived and that went over really well! He couldn’t speak much English, but he really tried. It was lots of fun to meet the students and I think they enjoyed it as much as we did.
The picture to the right is me with Csaba my Hungarian student buddy!

When we were finished at the school we stopped briefly at a Gulag (work camp) for about 30 minutes. It still amazes me these types of places were in use just 60 years ago.

Then it was onto the wine tasting which was a lot of fun. There were 3 white wines and 3 red wines for us to taste. And it was not the tiny one sip type of wine tasting, the wine was really flowing and the glasses were being filled with healthy doses of wine!

The winery had great views of the Hungarian countryside and we all sat in the glassed in tasting area…a very pleasant atmosphere…especially with the Hungarian fiddle player creating more ambience with music!

Etelka, dressed in traditional Hungarian clothes and taught us traditional Hungarian songs and dances and we had a blast! But the most entertaining part of the wine tasting was the comical marriage proposal "event" performed by me and Ben.

The story goes something like this… the day before on the bus while doing buddy introductions, my buddy Joy mentioned several interesting facts about me. At least 2 had to be true and one had to be false and the rest of the bus was to try and figure out which was the lie, we had all done this as a way to break the ice, get to know each other and pass some time on a long bus ride. One of the things Joy mentioned about me was that I am an Irish Citizen and have an Irish Passport.

At the end of Joy’s dialogue Ben piped in by saying something to the effect of “What you all don’t know is that Marcy and I will be getting married so I can get EU status”…Ha Ha Ha, we all laughed at this and I thought nothing of it. However, several of the ladies took up the cause and proclaimed the wine tasting would be the engagement party. So, all in very good fun, Ben dramatically got up at the wine tasting and announced, “This is a very special day in 2 peoples lives”…then he twirled me in a circle, started singing some song, got down on one knee and really hammed it up by “faux proposing”…it was lots of great fun, and a good photo opportunity and it probably didn’t hurt that everyone had at least 5 huge glasses of wine by this time!

After we were all pleasantly full of wine, we headed back to the hotel and were “let loose” on the town. After such a big lunch, CL and I decided to set out to find a café on the main pedestrian street for a variety of sweet desserts. We met up with 2 other tour-mates and enjoyed several delicious desserts together. We had 2 different chocolate cakes that are specialties of the town and I had a cappuccino. It was a nice way to end a fun day.

Hello and Goodbye Slovakia...Let's Have a Hungarian Feast!

Day 9– September 10, 2006 – Levoce, Slovakia and Eger, Hungary

Group Photo in Slovakia

Today was the marathon bus ride through 3 countries (Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary). It wasn’t too bad, but it did feel like we were riding forever.

We left Krakow at 7:30am and headed south through the countryside and to the Slovakian border. It took maybe 20 minutes for the border guards to check our passports and we got 2 stamps, 1 for leaving Poland and 1 for entering Slovakia…I am sure collecting passport stamps on this trip!

We arrived at our lunch stop at about 11:45am. It was the town of Levoce in Slovakia. We walked around a bit and had a group lunch which included turkey, vegetables, cabbage, and French fries followed by a fruit crepe topped with orange sorbet. It was all pretty good and CL picked a great table for lunch. We sat with Wanda and Mike and Rosemary and Dick 2 couples from California who occasionally travel together, they were so nice and as the journey progressed became a few of our favorite people on the trip.

After lunch we all had a look inside the church with its big altar and then tromped back to the bus at 2:30-ish. We continued the marathon bus ride and the roads were incredibly twisting, I don’t know how Bojan, our driver does it! I’m glad he is driving and not me!

We got to the Slovak-Hungary border around 4:30pm and another passport check took about 20 minutes. 2 more stamps in the passport, 1 for leaving Slovakia, and 1 for entering Hungary. At this rate my passport pages will be full!

After crossing the Hungarian border we made a pit-stop and then headed to our final destination for the night, Eger.

I was never so glad to get off a bus! Plus I wasn’t feeling well from all the twisting roads through the Tantra Mountains. I usually don’t get motion sickness like that but luckily it was just a headache, so I took some Tylenol and was fine.

We got to our hotel in Eger around 6:30pm. It’s definitely not the best, but certainly not the worst place I have ever stayed in (youth hostel days in college!). The location was good, directly across the street from the Town’s Minaret, hence the name Hotel Minaret.

Etelka gave us our orientation walk here in Eger because she went to high school and college here. The sun was setting so we didn’t see a whole lot, but we have a free morning here tomorrow.

For dinner it was a group affair and it truly was a Hungarian Feast! It seemed like the food never stopped coming! We had goulash soup, and a sampler plate of sausage, pork cutlet, stuffed cabbage, and then another plate of beef with pasta, cottage cheese and sour cream (sounds weird, but tasted magnificent) and then goose liver with mashed potatoes and apples. Now I am not a "fan" of liver, but at CL's suggestion, I tried this goose liver and ...Oh My God! This stuff was amazing with an capital "A". I am not goose liver expert, but this stuffed just melted in our mouth...very, very, very tasty! And we washed it all down with Hungarian Bull’s Blood wine and a white wine, of course we had to have both! And last, but certainly not least was the apple strudel and apple pancake covered in chocolate for dessert. It was all deliscious! Then I took a little walk, or should I say I rolled, around town.

No alarm clock will be set tonight…I can sleep in tomorrow!

Welcome to Poland...A Place Not to Forget

Day 6, September 7, 2006 - Auschwitz and Krakow, Poland

We left the Czech Republic this morning and headed for the Polish border. We had no trouble at the border crossing and it took about 20 or 30 minutes for the officers to check and stamp our passports and then we were on our way.

We stopped for lunch at a small Polish town called Psczynie and got money at the ATM, took a look at the castle there and had a group lunch of salad, soup, and raspberries and yogurt…Yummo!

After lunch we were off to Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration camps. The tour there was about 3 hours. We toured both Auschwitz I and Birkenau. It was unbelievable to see how big these camps were. It is a very solemn place and it’s almost unfathomable for me to think these camps were used a mere 60 years ago.
After Auschwitz we headed to Krakow going through the very pastoral Polish countryside…lots of Babushkas to be seen.

We arrived at our hotel in Krakow and it is beautiful. The Hotel Maltanski (http://www.donimirski.com/) is a great little boutique hotel just off the Planty (the park that surrounds the city) and down the street from Wawel Hill. The hotel has 16 rooms in the renovated former royal stables. We had just enough time to drop off our bags and meet up with the group to go to dinner.

We walked through the Old Town Square and it feels just like being in a story book at dusk…just beautiful! As we were walking Ben was talking about the “vibe and energy” that Krakow emits and the moment I walked into that square it was like a jolt of electricity to my system. I don’t know if it was because of what Ben was saying or because it was dusk and the setting sun illuminated the buildings in that perfect amber glow, or the cafes around the square that were starting to buzz with activity, but standing in the middle of the Main Market Square known as Rynek Główny was simply magical to me.

The restaurant we had dinner at tonight was called Restauracja Farina, just 2 blocks off the Square. The atmosphere inside was great, candle lit tables and the service was good, and the borscht starter was excellent, but that’s where the accolades stop, the dinner of pork with melted cheese on top and garlic wasn’t the best meal I ever ate, but it wasn’t the worst, it was just average.

We walked back to the hotel soaking in the atmosphere that is Krakow. It was a great ending to a thought-provoking and then magical day!

Day 7– September 8, 2006 – A Rainy Walk through Krakow

We woke up this morning to a grey sky and rain and lots of it. I got up at 6am with the plan to check out the Main Market Square early before it was packed with people and take pictures! But that plan changed fast when I saw how hard it was raining.

CL and I did go down to breakfast at 7am and it was a nice spread in a very cute little dinning room. No hot items, but the best coffee and cappuccino of the trip so far. We were at breakfast for about an hour and then back to our “posh” room to gather our stuff and meet in the lobby at 9am for our walking tour.

We met our local guide, Marta, at the hotel and with umbrellas and rain coats at the ready; we started the walking tour of Krakow. We first headed to the Dragon Statue. The Dragon is the symbol of Krakow and then we went to Wawel Hill where the Wawel Cathedral and Castle are located. Once we got to the castle grounds and Marta gave her talk about its history we were let loose for about 20 minutes. By this time the rain had stopped (YIPEE!) it was still cloudy, but I got to take some good pictures.

We walked all through Old Town seeing various points of interest and the Franciscan Church, then parts of the city wall and finally into the Main Market Square and St. Mary’s Church.

We were in the square at noon, just in time to see and hear the bugler in the church tower (local firemen take 24 hours shifts in the tower to blow the bugle). Then we went into the church to see the amazing alter. The whole church is really quite spectacular. The interior is just beautiful. And the stained glass windows are fabulous.

The walking tour ended and we all went off on our own. CL and I headed straight for one of the bagel vendors on the square. For 1 Zlotsky (about 33cents) you get a huge ring shaped bagel. They look nothing like the bagels at home! We had ones with sesame seeds…they were great!

At about 2pm we decided to stroll around the square and find a place for an early dinner/late lunch. We picked the Restauracja Hawelska right on the square. The meal was delicious, we had: Mushroom soup in a bread bowl, vegetable plate, and meat filled pierogi. It was all good but the mushroom soup was the best. The bread bowl it was served in was tall, almost like it was baked into a flower pot, I called it a bread cupcake! The pierogi were our least favorite.

After our meal we browsed through the Cloth Hall full of souvenirs, but didn’t really find anything we wanted. Then we walked around some more and found a bakery and bought 2 of every little fresh cookie they had…try communicating "we want 2 of those, and 2 of those" to someone we speaks little English! But it was fun. Then we found the Wawel Chocolate Shop and bought a bunch of individually wrapped chocolates…guessing at what each might be. Another episode of "one of those and one of those" with lots of pointing fingers and head bobbing yes or no.

We continued walking around the square and sat down on a ledge and did a little people watching and cookie eating! Then it was back over to St. Mary’s Church to light a candle and see the altar being closed. After 10 or 15 minutes and no alter closing (we wanted to see the scene on the closed side of the altar) we started to walk back to the hotel. We called it an early night.

However, before shutting our eyes for the night, we did manage to taste test 3 of the chocolates we bought. My favorite is the Tiki Taki. It’s chocolate filled with peanut butter and marshmallow…it was really YUMMO!

Day 8– September 9, 2006 – Castle Part 2, Salt Mine and the Best Dessert EVER!

We slept late today…until 7am! And when we woke up the skies were sunny and clear…YIPEE!!!

CL and I had a leisurely breakfast and then left the hotel at about 9:30am to go back to the Wawel Castle grounds and tour the Wawel Cathedral and climb the bell tower…can’t let a good view slip by me! The church was pretty but not the prettiest of the churches we have seen so far. The bell tower was fun and the bell is huge, we got to climb right tot the top and touch the bell. The legend goes, if you touch the bell you will be married within the year….hmmmm…with CL and I both being single maybe one of us will have luck with that!

After taking many pictures we left the castle grounds and decided to walk through the Planty, the beautiful tree-filled park surrounding the city. We did a little window shopping and I contemplated buying an interesting cape/jacket combination, but in the end decided against it, since we still had 3 weeks of traveling and I didn’t want to lug a bulky cape with me. Even though it was different than anything I have seen at home, I felt it was taking me too long to decide and my philosophy with purchasing while traveling is that if I don’t immediately fall in love with it and make no hesitation about buying it, it’s not meant to be. So after taking half a day to think about whether I really wanted it or not, I decided not and moved on. Besides, I had already purchased a garnet ring in Prague (didn’t hesitate in the least on that purchase) and that was a big splurge “gift to me, from me”.

After walking around in the morning we decided to have a light lunch, yup, another bagel from a street vendor…I LOVED them! Then I was off to the top of the Town Hall Tower for some more great views and pictures…the weather was definitely on our side today!

After enjoying our bagels on a bench in the Main Market Square watching all the people and pigeons, I am not a big fan of pigeons, we decide to try and find a place we wanted to go to for dinner. Now a bit about me and pigeons….I am scared to death of them, I know, it may seem silly to others, but as a child I remember a dream I had about birds that did not end well and ever since I have not been very fond of birds a pigeon in particular. Having confessed that little item to CL, it was like the pigeons were on a mission and seemed to be following me everywhere. It came to a point where one took me by surprise and I let out a little scream in the square, so after getting several stares it was time to move on! However my pigeon phobia does not extend to cooked birds, except cooked pigeons of course!

As we walked around looking for our evening dinner sport we had several options. Ben had recommended the Georgian (not the state of Georgia, but the country) fast food place. We didn’t necessarily want fast food, but Ben said Georgian food is great and this may be the closest we ever get to trying it. We checked out the restaurant, but it didn’t really excite us. Then we looked at a place recommended in our guidebook but that didn’t really electrify us either. So then we went in search of the self-service cafeteria “upscale milk bar” recommended in our guidebook. We walked all up and down the street the listed as being the one this milk bar was on, we kept looking at the street addresses of the other buildings and nothing seemed right and there was no sign saying the name of the place we were looking for. Well, it turned out the place had changed names and we walked by it about half a dozen times! It is called Polskie Smaki Restauracja (http://www.polksie-smaki.pl/) and it is located at ul. Św. Tomasza 5.

After locating our dinning and dessert options for this evening we went back to the hotel for a little breather and to meet up with the group to go to the Wieliczka Salt Mine (http://www.kopalnia.pl/) Now I have to admit I had some reservations about going here, and Ben told us it was optional, if we didn’t want to go we didn’t have too and a few people opted out and stayed in Krakow. But CL and I thought, since we were here and it was close, why not? So we went.

It was fairly interesting, but a bit long and we went on the “shorter version” of the tour that lasted only about an hour. Before we started the tour I saw a shop selling cooking salt and I wanted to buy some to bring back home as a gift, but I didn’t buy it right then because I didn’t want to cart it around with me during the tour. Unfortunately when I went back after the tour the shop was closed, oh well, no cooking salt… it wasn’t meant to be.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel it was about 6:45, so CL and I headed to dinner at the place we found earlier in the day. The food was pretty good and the whole meal cost 29 Zł which is less then $10! CL and I shared the following: Zurek (sour Polish soup) this was EXCELLENT and the best choice, Golabki with mushroom sauce; which was very bland, it’s cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and meat and looking back we should have order it with the tomato sauce which probably would have given it a little more spice, and the second best item after the soup was Bigos, it was sausage and cabbage with potatoes and it did have a little spice to it…it was DELISH!

The way this restaurant worked, was that you went up to the cashier to place your order and the food was at the register area behind glass in warming bins. You tell the cashier what you want and they plate up the food and bring it to your table.

After dinner we went back to the Main Market Square to a café I had read about in my research for the trip that was recommended as having great desserts. OK, so we were pretty full from all the food we had at dinner, but I heard rave reviews about the chocolate torte at the Café Slodki Wentzl (at Rynek Glowny 19) that I just could not let my chocolate addiction go unsatisfied in Krakow!

We ordered the chocolate torte and just for good measure and to not negligent an ice cream craving we ordered and ice cream sundae called the spaghetti elf. The chocolate torte won the taste test hands down! It was rich chocolate mouse (but not too “squishy” mouse) on a chocolate bottom crust with checker board cake for the side crust and raspberry sauce on the plate…I wish I had taken a picture..it was so pretty, and tasted even better then it looked. Don’t get me wrong the spaghetti elf was pretty darn good too with all its chocolate ice cream and whipped cream, but the torte was phenomenal! And to wash it all down I had to have a cappuccino too! And yes, it took me awhile to get to sleep!

I really enjoyed just sitting our on the square enjoying our desserts, but we called it an early night and by 8:30pm we were headed back to the hotel. This was ok since we had to be on the bus by 7:30am the next day. It will be long bus day and we will be driving through Slovakia on our way to Eger, Hungary.

My thoughts on Krakow…I really like this city and the vibe around the Main Market Square with all the cafes. Yes, somewhat touristy but also a lot of locals; also clearly a very religious city. It’s hard to say which city I have enjoyed more so far, Prague or Krakow. Prague I liked for how pretty the city is as a whole (minus the hordes of tourist) and Krakow I liked for the beautiful Main Market Square and the cool vibe.

Hello Moravia...Eastern Czech Republic...a ride through the countryside!

Day 5– September 6, 2006 – Good-bye to Prague…Hello Czech Countryside!

Today it was up by 6am, shower and bags all packed and ready to go. Breakfast at 7am. At 8am we left the hotel and traipsed through the city with luggage behind us to meet up with our bus and driver. Due to road work being done on the street our hotel was located on, the bus could not pick us up in front of the hotel. Our driver, or "coach pilot" as I like to say, is Bojan. A Slovene, who was in the former Yugoslavian Army....a very interesting gentleman!

Bojan...coach pilot extraordinaire!

We were all on time and loaded our luggage and were heading out of Prague by 8:20am. This was our last look at Beautiful Praha!

Prague Castle Quarter

Now we are on our way to Eastern Czech Republic to an area of the country called Moravia. We will be staying in a small town in the mountains tonight!

This morning started a long bus day, but at noon we stopped in a small town in Moravia called Olomouc for 2 hours. This was for lunch and to have a look around. CL and I had lunch at a little outdoor pizza place right on the main square called Cafe Caesar. We split a large proscuitto pizza and salad. Again, we had a really nice meal in a pretty setting.

The picture to the right is me sitting at Cafe Caesar in Olomouc, Czech Republic. As you can see the weather was not perfect, there were cloudy skies. But I will take no humidity, pleasantly cool temperatures and no rain (but cloudy) over pouring down torential rain any day!

Olomouc is a pretty town and not many American tourists stop there. It is a university town and as we were waiting for everyone in our group to gather in the square to leave, 3 American students approached and asked if we were from the U.S. Turns out they've been there a couple weeks and are study abroad students and they were happy to hear Americans speaking English!

As for the town, Ben was right, it was a "Back Door Experience".

After lunch it was back on the bus for our afternoon ride to our Czech countryside hotel. We stayed in a little "blip" of a place called Trojanovice at the Hotel UKociana.

After we arrived at the hotel we walked about 30 minutes to the ski lift at the base of the mountain and went up the mountain to the restaurant we had dinner at. Before dinner we had about 45 minutes to walk/hike a couple trails in the mountains. It was beautiful up there.

Dinner was another major "food fest". We had cabbage soup, spaetzel, goulash, and dumplings, chicken and potatoes, fried cheese (see I told you, they LOVE their fried cheese!) and as a surprise Ben put on his Czech country sheep herder act and poured us all shots of a plum liquour that I can't remember the name of.

After dinner we took our bus back to the hotel for a traditional Czech dancing and singing performance. It was cute, but lasted an hour which felt like 3!

Tomorrow it is onward to Poland!

Hello Prague!

Day 2, September 3, 2006, Prague, the Czech Republic

The flight to Prague arrived on time and we whizzed right through passport control and onto baggage claim…the question burning in both our minds….would our bags be on the conveyor belt? Miracle of Miracles!!!! After about 5 minutes of standing at the baggage carousel our bags appeared unscathed. We snatched them up and headed for the exit.

The first order of business after getting our bags was to find and ATM and that was no trouble at all. As soon as we stepped through the doors to the arrivals hall and waded through the mass of people waiting for other passengers, it was like a beacon flashing its light at me, there was an ATM right in front of us. We each took out some cash and then proceed to the CEDAZ shuttle bus.

Now, the man filling up the shuttles pointed us to one van. When I asked how much it would be, he said 400 Crowns, I knew this was not the van we wanted, that was the van going to various hotels and would drop off right at the door. From my research I knew there was a CEDAZ shuttle that was 90 Crowns and dropped off in the center of town, just a couple blocks from our hotel. We were directed to the correct van and headed off, there were only 3 other people in the van with us.


By now it was about 9:30am and we trudged into the hotel lobby. We stayed at the Hotel Central located at Rybná 8, in Prague (http://www.orfea.cz/). I tried with all my hotel chutzpah to get a room and check in early, but it was a no-go. There was a luggage room, so we put our bags in there, then pulled some stuff we would need for a few hours out of our carry-ons and sat down in the lobby to re-group for a few minutes with our guidebook to determine where breakfast would be.

As we sat in the lobby with our Rick Steves guide book in hand, a couple approached us and asked if we were with the RS group tour. We confirmed we were and they were too, Len and Linda a nice couple from Washington State. They headed off and we were right out the door after them, on our merry way to find the Ebel Coffee House for some caffeine and breakfast…Prague Style!

I had read about the Ebel Coffee House and that it was a local chain with 5 shops around town. As we set out walking down a side street near our hotel towards the Tyn Church I mentioned that we should be passing by the coffee place soon. You can imagine my surprise when I just happened to look down another side street and 3 doors down there was a cute little store front with the Ebel Coffee House sign above the door…Jackpot! I come to find out later that was not the location I was specifically looking for, but it was actually one I enjoyed more, it was a much smaller shop then the one I has intended to go to, but it had more atmosphere…score 1 for me! We had a really nice cappuccino and some muffins…ahhh…sustenance at last!

After fueling up with caffeine and muffins we walked through the Old Town…amazing architecture! We headed over to the Charles Bridge and braved the throng of tourists, who were moving in one mass over the bridge, to see some nice views of Prague’s Castle Quarter. As we walked over the bridge we headed in the direction of St. Nicholas Church, we were actually looking for the Infant of Prague, but stumbled across St. Nicholas Church first. It is a beautiful church inside.

After walking around St. Nicholas Church I was on a mission to find the Church of Saint Mary the Victorious, where the Infant of Prague resides! We found the church and went inside. It was shortly after noon and as luck would have it they were saying mass in English (Sunday mass at noon is always in English). We stayed until mass was over and took a look at the infant, very impressive, but tiny! Then we wandered over to the little museum where several of the infant’s outfits (he has a different outfit everyday!) are on display. The museum is just one room with maybe about 20 (or so) of the Infant's outfits behind glass. We ventured into the small gift shop, but it was so packed since mass had just ended we quickly turned around and made a bee-line out of there.

Our next activity, to help us stay awake, was to ride the funicular up to the top of Petrín Hill, but it was closed until 4pm, so we decided to head back to the hotel. Of course, we promptly got lost on the way back to the hotel and it took us an hour and a half, but we eventually made it back and checked into our room.

We met the rest of the group at 5pm for drinks in the hotel restaurant/bar area. There was a brief orientation to introduce ourselves and our guides Ben and Etelka. Ben was a riot entering the room for a faux fur “Communist” winter hat and awful fake Russian accent, yes, I know we were in the Czech Republic, but it was funny and a good ice breaker!

Ben, our lead guide is a professor at Seattle University and Etelka, our assistant guide is a teacher in Hungary.

After our brief happy hour and orientation “chat” we went on a short walking tour of Prague. For most of this first day the skies looked grey and threatening, but the rain seemed to hold off, until of course, we start the walking tour! But we were brave souls and came equiped with rain coats with hoods and/or umbrellas! After the tour, we all jumped on the Prague Metro and thanks to Ben’s excellent instructions we all managed to get off at the correct stop, OK, so it was only 2 stops, but we rode the Prague Metro! We made our way to the restaurant, near the river, for dinner. And probably because I was now up for close to 24 hours I can’t even remember the name of the restaurant. But I do remember the food was good, we had pork, duck, dumplings and potatoes, cabbage soup and dessert.

By now the rain had subsided and after dinner, as a group we meandered through the streets of Prague and over the Charles Bridge…just beautiful at night! We made our way back to hotel and collapsed into bed. A perfect end to a great first day of vacation!

Day 3– September 4, 2006 – Prague…What a beautiful City!

I started the morning early and was out of the hotel by 7am and headed to the Charles Bridge and Old Town Square for some early morning picture taking. And let me tell you it was the absolute perfect time of day and the weather could not have been better!

Very few people out and about and no one in front of the Astronomical Clock and at that time of the morning the sun on the buildings is beautiful. The bridge was practically deserted except for a few others taking photos and some people heading to work, or at least it looked they were heading to work. I was able to take some really great pictures!

I got back to the hotel around 8am for breakfast with CL and Joy & Gordon, another great couple from California on the trip, and our lost tour member Darrell. Darrell missed his connecting flight in NYC and didn’t get in until last night instead of yesterday morning.

The group met outside the hotel at 9am for a 3 hour walking tour of the Old Town. Our local guide, Jana, was very informative and had a pleasant style. The walking tour ended about noon and several of us followed Ben to the train ticket office to buy onward train tickets for after the tour ends. We got our tickets to Zagreb, they cost about $27 each, which is about what I had expected.

After purchasing the tickets CL and I decided to have a main meal in the middle of the day, and by now it was 1:30pm, so we headed over to where the walking tour had ended in the Jewish Ghetto and had lunch at Kolkovna Restaurant. Instead of each of us ordering entrees we decided to order one big salad, one appetizer, and one entrée and shared it. There was heaps of food and it worked out really well. We had: Sheep’s cheese salad, Pilsner Goulash, and Pickled Brie. It was all very tasty and satisfying. It was fun to watch the waiters bring out other orders. Lots of roasted pig knuckle going by and a pile of meat on a skewer that the waiter then lit with fire at the table…Czech Flambé! Oh...and how can I not mention the Czech beer...called pivo. Maybe it was because I was on vacation, or maybe it is true that they say Czech beer is the best in the world...but my "mala pivo" (little beer) was pruttty darn good!

After lunch we headed over to purchase tickets to a Black Light Theater performance for this night and then we went to the top of the Town Hall Tower to get a great view of the city. This was the first of many towers I climbed on this trip!

We walked through the Havelská Market but didn’t see anything worth buying. We walked down Wenceslas Square to the Mucha Museum, but it didn’t interest us, so we didn’t go in. After that CL headed to the hotel and I found an internet café to check emails.

The Black Light Theater was an experience that I probably wouldn’t do again. It was interesting but I was still so tired it took all my energy to stay awake in the very dark (black --get it?) theater.

The show we saw was interspersed with the black light dancing and a series of vignettes with no talking, telling a crime/mystery story. The dancing part was when the stage went completely black and the dancers are in black bodysuits with fluorescent colors in lines or swirls all over so all you can see are the fluorescent colors flying around the stage.

We didn’t eat dinner since we had such a big and late lunch. So, right after the show we headed back to the hotel and crashed into bed. Thankfully I had no trouble falling asleep and had a full 7 hours of shut-eye!

Day 4– September 5, 2006 – Prague…Our Last Day in this Wonderful City!

I was up at 6:30am this morning and CL and I were ready and at breakfast at 7am. The food at breakfast wasn’t too bad, lots of cheese and bread selections and my motto is “I never met a carbohydrate I didn’t like!” It wasn’t the best breakfast I ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either.

We left the hotel at 8:15 am to take public transportation (Metro and Tram) to the Castle area where we met our local guide, Katka.

The castle and St. Vitus Cathedral are beautiful. We toured inside the cathedral and the royal rooms and saw the changing of the guard. When the group walking tour ended at noon I went back to the cathedral to climb to the top of the bell tower. The crowds were massive by this time and there is only one way up and down to the top of the tower and that is via a 200+ stairs that are spiral – good thing I do cardio workouts 6 days a week! The people in front of me on the way up were huffing and puffing!

While I was taking pictures at the top of the tower I ran into Darrell on of our tour-mates. When we got to the bottom I invited him to join me and CL to go and see the Golden Lane. This is part of the Castle complex and the lane has been restored to look like it did centuries ago when the people along the lane were trying to turn lead into gold, hence the name Golden Lane.

Once we finished at Golden Lane we headed over to the main castle entrance for some more picture taking and then we found a restaurant for lunch. The place was hidden off the street and up a stairway. The food was OK, but the view of Prague was AMAZING!!!! CL and I did the same thing we did yesterday and ordered an appetizer, salad, and entrée. We had: Fried Camembert, Garden Salad with fried blue cheese, Roast Beef with Plum Sauce, and Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage. The roast beef was good although a little sweet (plums….duh Marcy!). I didn’t particularly care for the mashed potatoes but the salad and cheeses were good. They do like their fried cheese in the Czech Republic! The name of the restaurant is Restaurant Nad Ŭvozem located at Loretánská 15, P1 – Hradčany.

After lunch we headed back down the hill and parted ways with Darrell at the St. Nicholas Church since we had been there on Sunday. CL and I sauntered back over the Charles Bridge and did a little window shopping. I bought a garnet ring since Prague is known for its garnets and it is my birthstone.

We had tickets for a Mozart concert at the Municipal House tonight and it wasn’t too bad. The Smetana Concert Hall was beautiful. The concert was Mozart’s Requiem and it was an orchestra, choir, and 4 soloists.

After the concert it was time for our first gelato of the trip! I had strawberry – Yummo! They didn’t have any chocolate, otherwise that would have been my choice. We were back at the hotel by 10pm and started packing up our stuff for tomorrow’s travel day. We were in bed by 11pm…party animals that we are!

My impression of Prague is that this is a BEAUTIFUL city! The buildings are colorful and the city is just a gem. The only down side is that every other tourist has also found the jewel of a city and they are flocking there in hordes!

The first insallment.... The Intrepid Travel Adventures of 2 Low Country Gals in Central Europe, September 2006

When it came to planning this trip I decided to do the Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door Eastern Europe (which is technically Central Europe, but they call it Eastern) Tour. This tour started in Prague in the Czech Republic and ended in Bled, Slovenia. We hit Krakow (Poland), Budapest (Hungary), Plitvice national park in Croatia among other spots on the itinerary. After ending in Bled we then made our way to Zagreb, Hvar and ended the independent portion of the trip with 5 days in Dubrovnik (all in Croatia).

Central Europe was a destination I had my eye on for a while, but didn’t necessarily want to do it on my own. Solo travel doesn’t bother me, I’ve done it quite often, but when my friend (CL) indicated she too would like to see Central Europe I jumped at the opportunity.

Now, please understand, I am a “big” planner/organizer, so putting together this trip has been an absolute joy for me, as you can tell from reading previous blog entries! I love doing all the research and anticipating what the locations will be like once I get there. CL, is not so much into the planning process and this actually worked out well for us. I would research, come up with several options, discuss with CL and then we would make a decision, such as with airfare, restaurant choices/recommendations, accommodations, entertainment options, ferry schedules and so on. Good thing she is so laid back and agreeable! We’ve also discussed the need to have our own individual time if we need it, since we have not traveled together before and thankfully we are both on the same wavelength for that.

Alrighty then onto the trip report!

Day 1, September 2, 2006 – Departure from Savannah, Georgia

The adventure begins with my alarm clock going off at 4am. It was a smooth morning and CL and I were both ready when the airport shuttle arrived at my house. To my astonishment the shuttle arrived to pick us up 15 minutes early! Thank God we are not the dawdling type!

We arrived at the Savannah airport by 6:20am! Our flight didn’t leave until 9am. Yes we could have come later and slept an hour more, but at least we wouldn’t have to sprint through the airport trying to catch a plane! Plus with the recent “beefed up” security I wasn’t sure how thorough the security would be at the airport. OK, so it was the Savannah Airport, and not Atlanta or JFK, but sometimes there are those horror stories.

There was no line at the ticket counter when we checked in and we handed over our suitcases while praying and keeping our fingers crossed they would arrive in Prague with us the next morning.

The flight from Savannah to Atlanta was short (40-ish minutes) and uneventful. So far, so good, we are on time so we stop for an early lunch since we were both hungry. After a wrap sandwich and poking around the Atlanta airport to kill time we head over to the gate for the flight to JFK.

As we sit at the gate waiting for the flight to JFK, everything is looking good and we should be boarding and taking off on time….or so we thought!

About 20 minutes before the listed boarding time the gate agent announces the flight would be taking off 2 hours late…YIKES! That meant we would be landing at JFK an hour and 45 minutes before our Czech Airlines Flight to Prague is scheduled to leave! Oh and I forgot to mention Tropical Storm Ernesto is barreling up the Eastern Seaboard this day! Now, normally a one hour and 45 minute lay-over isn’t anything to fret over, but with the storm, and having to check our luggage (we originally were going to do carry-on bags only, but with the new carry on restrictions we bit the bullet and checked the bags, so my concern was that the bags would not make it from the Atlanta flight to the Prague flight with a tight turn around time!), and knowing what things can be like at JFK, I was getting slightly nervous about this delay in Atlanta.

But, the Infant of Prague (patron Saint of Travelers, might I add!) must have been looking after us, because within 20 minutes the gate agent made another announcement saying the flight is back to it’s original departure time…And, it’s a good thing that happened!

Once we arrived at JFK changing from Terminal 3, where we arrived, to Terminal 4 was not difficult once we found the air train…note to JFK officials, the signage at the terminals for the air train really stinks! We putzed around JFK for a little while and then headed for the security check point with the boarding passes that were issued to us in Savannah for the Czech Airlines portion of the ticket.

ERRRRTTTT!!!!! Roadblock….we began walking through security and were promptly stopped because we didn’t have the right boarding passes! UGGGGHHH…what do you mean???? They told us this morning in Savannah these boarding passes were for all the legs of outbound flights. Not so! We had to go up to the check-in/ticket desk for Czech Airlines…Thank God there were only 3 people in line ahead of us. We get the Czech Airlines boarding passes and go back to security…no trouble; we pass right through without a hitch.

Of course it was a pain to have to do all that running around at JFK, but in the end, even if the flight from Atlanta would have been delayed we still would have been on time for the Prague Flight, since it took off an hour late. So all is good in the “friendly skies” and we are on our way to Prague…vacation here we come!

As on all our flights (except the very last leg of the return home journey) CL and I sat across the aisle from each other, since we both prefer to sit in aisle seats and this worked out perfectly for the entire trip. The seats on this Czech Airlines plane were very narrow and luckily I had a seat mate who didn’t get up once during the entire flight!

Poor CL had a Greek woman sitting next to her who did not stop talking and only spoke Greek…it certainly made for an interesting flight! But the woman couldn’t understand any of the announcements (they were made in Czech and English) and during the taxi for take-off she decided she needed to get up and use the toilet…try explaining the plane is taking off to a woman who has her mind set on using the toilet…it was a comedy of errors!

Once the toilet debacle was complete we settled in for a smooth flight. Honestly, I don't remember anything that stands out in my mind about the flight, I don't even remember what food was served or what movie played. So, other then narrow seats, flying Czech Airlines was ok, and I would probably do it again.

Second installment to come...stay tuned for Day 2, first day in Prague!

Where do the weekends go????

I promise, I swear I will start posting some blog entries about my month long sojourn in Central Europe!

I guess I can't keep using the "I have jet lag" excuse any more! I've been home 2 weeks already!!! It feels like my vacation was ages ago...I had a feeling that would happen...bummer!

I intended to get started this past weekend with some witty entry on the start of my trip, but clearly did not get around to it...hopefully I will be able to write the first installment sometime this week....but then again, don't hold your breath! :)

At least I got all my pictures labeled and up on the Kodak website...I know, I need to post a link to that site here...that too shall come!

"Do Not Let GREAT Be the ENEMY of Good"!....My new mantra

OK, so here is another blog entry that does but doesn't really start talking about my Central Europe "romp".

I read this blog title entry on the Fodor's website, so I am giving credit to whoever was the original poster on that website, but let me tell you....I have definitely adopted this as my personal mantra. Especially for the Central Europe trip, but I am also making the effort to incorporate it into my everyday life. Let's hope it works! :)

Let's face it, "Don't Let Great Be The Enemy Of Good" is a great motto. Think about all the times we look forward to something, it could be a trip, or it could be a special event or special dinner or whatever special thing you might be doing or special object you might want to purchase.

And you are getting all hyped up about that "special thing" and your expectations are getting greater and greater until you have some grandiose thought in your mind about whatever "it" is and how it will effect you or your life.

Then you experience that special event/trip/dinner and you think to yourself, yeah, it was fun, it was nice, it was a pleasant experience, but it wasn't "GREAT". It maybe could have been "more this or that". But on the whole it was still good. This is where this new mantra of mine comes in.

Things can still be good and enjoyable, but because of what we have imagined it to be has been elevated to such a high status in our own minds it ends up not being the "GREAT" thing we thought it would be. But it was still "GOOD", and you still might still be happy you did it and it may still have been a fun/good experience.

So, sure, go ahead and keep doing all the things you want to and keep your imagination churning, but when that event or thing is good, it's still good, and just because it may not have been "great" doesn't mean it was awful!

The Intrepid Traveler Returns....can I have a few more vacation days???? PLEASE!!!!

I've been home a little over a week and it took a while for my body clock to adjust. And yes, I was waking up at 4:30am/5am/5:30am for about 3 or 4 days. This is one reason I have not jumped into my blog and started writing entries about my trip.

You see, after taking over 1600 digital photos you have to spend time downloading them and then in my case uploading them to the Kodak Gallery while labeling them and deleting the ones that "were not too good". For me the deleting part was a little difficult and in the end I probably only deleted about 100 pictures! So it took me about a week to sort through just the pictures, nevermind trying to compose blog entries from my travel journal....ohhhh, there is only so many hours in a day! Plus 2 little things called Life and Work kind of got in the way of me getting the pictures and blog entries done sooner.

Sooooo, this blog entry is just to say that I am back from an amazing trip and a truly beautiful part of the world. One month may seem like a long time and generally speaking it is, but honestly I really didn't have a burning desire to get back home immediately. In fact, the only real yearning I had by the 4th week of the trip was to sleep in my own bed. I'm a bit spoiled at home with my big king sized bed and while traveling I slept on the tiniest of twin beds...but more about that in later entries.

Suffice it to say I am home, I'm back on "East Coast" time, I'm back at work and life is returning to what it was pre-trip....Let's just say I wish I had a few more days to play, but as I have said before, working helps me take all the great journeys I have been on and I will have to suffer through until the next trip.

But, don't despair, I will be making more blog entries about my trip and posting some of my pictures here.

So, Stay Tuned Folks!

And remember "The World is a Book and Those Who Do Not Travel Read Only a Page" - Saint Augustine

I Can't Believe It!!!!

One more Day!

I am ready! My suitcase is packed and yes, I went back and forth deciding should I take the new suitcase that is a little smaller or my old suitcase that is a little bigger? I'm talking only about 1 or 2 inches. Right now I have everything packed in the older bag, I know I'm crazy, it may change again before the end of the day today.

I was up at 5:30am, did my workout, came home and have been doing the usual "right before you leave stuff", laundry, washing dishes, changing sheets on the bed, re-packing!

I'm heading out for lunch with mom then over to my parent's house to say good-bye to dad, then kill some time before I pick up CL and we go to dinner then back here for a good night's sleep, if I can calm my excitement.

Yesterday when I left work I didn't get my usual "I'm going on vacation" stomach flutter when I walked out the door, but today I am starting to feel it and I'm sure by tomorrow when the airport shuttle arrives at my door I will be in full vacation excitment mode!

Well, this will most likely be my last blog entry until I return home. Yes, I will be sporadically checking emails at internet cafes but don't want to spend a ton of time on a computer while I'm away.

So.....Bon Voyage To Me!!

Holy Moly! 2 More Days...

Even as I sit here and type this blog entry I can feel my pulse quicken with anticipation for "D-Day", which is on Saturday.

I've got everything under control at work and it's a great feeling. I will be able to walk out the office door at 4:30pm and not look back for 4 weeks!

I have just a few things to confirm, like the airport shuttle pick up for Saturday and call the bank to let them know I will be using my visa card in foreign countries. I did this for most of my cards earlier this week, but one card will only place the security notice on the card 24 to 48 hours before my departure...go figure!

Tropical Storm Ernesto will be swinging through here this afternoon sometime. But it looks like we will only get some rain and wind. It's been very grey and overcast all morning. The schools even closed today because of the impending storm, so the commute to work was fast! I made it to the office in 25 minutes! Since I got to work early maybe that's why I have all my ducks in a row now. I love the feeling of having everything tied up and taken care of!

Well tomorrow will be my last blog entry before my trip begins!

3 more days...can you believe it????

I can hardly compose myself! I am just about ready to jump out of my skin I want to start my vacation so badly.

It looks like Tropical Storm Ernesto will blow by here on Thursday with just some major wind and rain, but it will not be a hurricane and we will not have to evacuate...Thank God!

I am anxiously waiting for 4pm today which is when I will get all the information I need to finish up the last work item I have to complete before vacation unless something pops up at the (truly) last minute...let's pray that doesn't happen! But I am not anticipating anything at this point.

I am so psyched that I took Friday off! I can't wait to just have a day to chill out before I have to be "in transit" for 24 hours. But then there is a pot of gold at the end of the transit day rainbow and that pot of gold is Prague. As I have been monitoring the weather forecast for Prague my hopes are getting a bit dampened by the soggy weather that is predicted there, but I don't really care if it will be raining because I will be in Prague...YIPEEEE!!! :)

Let's see on Friday my game plan is to hit the gym and put in a really good workout since I will be cooped up in plane seats for much of the day on Saturday! Then finish any last minute laundry and packing, pull together my computer (it's a laptop) and a few other essential items to bring to my mom for safe keeping, have lunch with mom on Friday, pick up CL, go to dinner and back to my house for a good night's sleep.

Saturday will be an early morning since I've scheduled the airport shuttle to pick us up at 6am, so I want to try and at least get a half way decent night's sleep on Friday, but I am sure I will feel like a child on Christmas Eve and be so excited that sleep may not come easily on Friday night! But that's not something to worry about!

I can hardly believe the big "D-Day" (aka: Departure Day) is here!

4 More Days...

until my vacation commences! That is if "Ernesto" doesn't come barrelling through the low country rending us unable to get out of the airport!

The bright side is the forecast is calling for Ernesto to only be a tropical storm by the time it comes near us on Thursday. So we will get pummelled with rain on Thursday but should be "dried out" by Saturday! Let's keep our fingers crossed that is what will happen.

And I'm happy to report my regiment of Benadryl and Hydrocortizone cream seems to be working on my fire ant bites and they are not nearly as swollen as they were a couple days ago.

Work has been amazingly quiet the last 2 days...Shhhhh, I better not say anything more and jinx myself.

So, bascially I am ready and "rarin' to go"! :)

Why do these things happen to me???

So it is 5 days before I leave for my trip and this past weekend I was biten by fire ants while trimming the shrubs in my front yard, a Delta Connection plane crashes in Kentucky and Hurricane Ernesto is pummeling Cuba right now!

Just call me Calamity Jane!

OK, about the fire ants. Each day as I go in and out of the house I kept looking at the various shrubs in my front lawn thinking, but more like wondering, when my lawn guy will trim the shrubs?

Finally after weeks of looking at the ever growing limbs and leaves I decide that I cannot go on vacation with the shrubs looking the way they do now, because I would return in a month to a front yard that will look like the jungles of Borneo!

On Friday I borrowed my mom's electric hedge trimmer with the intent to do some "bush wacking" on Saturday. But I got home a little early on Friday evening and decided to do it then. I thought, it's not that much and it's not sunny out so "let's do it now". While I was trimming away I was working up quite a sweat and when I finally got to the last shrub I was trimming I clearly stepped on a mound of fire ants. Luckily I noticed it early and didn't have a ton of ants crawling all over me, but I did have enough and it resulted in several bites around my ankles, a couple on my arms and one on my thigh. Needless to say they itched and burned. I tried using Benadryl gel but that didn't really help, so by Sunday I was taking Benadryl capsules and smearing hydrocortisone cream on the bites. Thankfully when I woke up this moring the swelling has gone down considerably and they should be cleared up by the time I leave for my trip...God willing! :)

Then on Sunday morning as I steam along on the cardio machines at the gym the picture on the TV screen catches my eye, so I tune into CNN. It appears that a Delta Connection flight (run by Comair), the same Delta subsidiary that I will be flying out of Savannah on Saturday, that was leaving a Kentucky airport crashed and 49 of the 50 passengers were dead...what a great way to start my workout! Apparently by some freak occurrence the pilots used the wrong runway that was too short for the plane and it was never even able to take off, it just crashed at the end of the runway. I'm trying to remain calm about this and as a co-worker said this type of plane accident only happens every few years, so given the odds, I should be ok to fly on Saturday...way to stay positive! :)

And now there is Ernesto! I have been hearing about this storm for the last few days, but it wasn't something I was concerned about until this morning. During a staff meeting it was brought up that there is going to be alot of rain on Thursday and Friday and the speculation there might be an evacutation. Living in the lowcountry I don't take the term evacuation lightly. But I am remaining calm and keeping updated on the storm track. To me it looks like Florida is going to get the brunt of the storm and (hopefully) by the time it makes it's way close to Hilton Head it will be just a lot of rain and wind and by Saturday it will have moved up into Virginia and out to sea...I can only hope and pray! But I will keep my eye on this one!

So all this is happening and it is just 5 days before I leave for my trip! I will adopt the postal service slogan...No wind, No rain, No "freakin' storm" will keep me from my vacation! OK, so maybe that's not exactly the postal service slogan, but you get my drift!

Come hell or high water (no pun intended) I will be going on vacation in 5 more days!

One Week from Today....

I will be flying the "friendly skies" to Prague!!!!!!!

Of course I have to first stop in Atlanta, and New York, but this time next week I will be well on my way.

I met up with CL today at Starbucks and talked about the trip, luggage, airport/flight connections and just about everything about the logisitcs of getting to Prague. CL seems a bit nervous with the connections, we have at least 2 hours in each place, but now with the new security measures 2 hours might just be cutting it close, but with checked bags hopefully that will help, at least with our luggage, who's to say about other passengers!

7 DAYS to GO!!! :)

8 Days From Today....

I will be off from work and finishing up the last of any little details that need to be taken care of before my trip begins on Saturday.

I'm starting to re-think the whole going on "Prague time" scenario after a friend pointed out that even if I do get up at 3am the day before I leave to try and adjust my body clock, it will be pitch dark outside, and my mind might be saying it's 9am in Prague, but my body will be telling me it's 3am in Bluffton! :)

So, I got to thinking about how realistic is it to think I will be in bed at 6 or 7pm the night before I leave? Probably not very realistic. And I will have to get up early on Saturday, our departure day since the airport shuttle is picking us up at 6am and there will be very last minute stuff to do at the house (wash any dishes and maybe throw a load of towels in the laundry).

Having this brought to light (I can see the light bulb above my head!) I think maybe if I just get up at 5am on Friday, head right to the gym, workout, get my coffee, go about the day doing all the pre-trip stuff and get a good night's sleep, so I can get up early for the 6am airport shuttle on Saturday I might still be able to fight jet lag when I get to Prague.

I remember last year in Ireland I didn't feel too bad from jet lag (although I did end up losing my voice for a couple of days! But that's not jet lag related). Sure the first day there I was getting tired by the late afternoon and I did go to sleep early that first night. But I slept like a log and felt great the next day. It's probably more the jet lag when I come home that will really suck the wind out of me, and having to face going back to work, but I won't think about that now since the vacation hasn't even started yet! :)

Here's to the last pre-trip weekend full of packing and cleaning the house! There's nothing better than coming back from vacation to a clean house!

The countdown continues........It's almost here!

T minus 9 days and counting!

One week from today will be my last day of work, then I have one day to pull myself together before boarding a plane (well several planes) for my much anticipated, much planned, much deserved vacation!

And one more time with feeling......YIPEEEEEEEEE!

Can I tell you how much I wish today was the day I was finishing up work and leaving for vacation? It's enourmous. I know I have been rambling on and on for months about this trip, but now that it is truly within a hands grasp I can taste it! I can't wait to get to the airport because then it will feel real, I will truly be taking the trip and not just planning it.

And silly as it may sound I am really looking forward to that first day we land in Prague. Once we get to the hotel and dump our bags in the storage closet I plan to head to the Ebel Coffee House that I have dug up through my research and plan to have a nice big cappucino. I will probably need a double venti just to keep me awake and moving around that first day, but I don't care...bring on the caffeinne! And the sights of Prague!

What Happens When You Haven't Taken Any Time Off in 9 Months?

...You become obsessed with going on vacation!! That's me right now.

The last time I went away for any length of time the result was starting this blog. That was in November 2005 over the Thanksgiving holiday when I went to visit friends in Tucson and the infamous return home journey. Now here I sit 9 months later with "bated breath" in great anticipation for my next adventure, which starts in just 10 days.

I'm sure the fact that I have been planning this Central Europe trip since October 2005 might have a little to do with my excitement to get this trip started! Plus the last few days at work have been going so smoothly part of me can't help but think, will it be this easy next week when I am ready to walk out the office door or will something last minute pop up that will keep me at the office longer than I wish to be? I think I am succeeding at getting all my ducks in a row and all the neck, back and shoulder pain I was having the last few days seem to be disappearing which I will take to mean that I am slowly releasing the work stress that I have been heaping upon myself for the last few weeks!

As the D-Day (aka "Departure Day") gets closer I am feeling a mix of emotions. I feel like I really need this vacation, and I deserve this vacation after all my hard work the past 9 months. But it's also hard for me to let go of my work and put my trust in a co-worker to do my stuff for me. I'm sure I will get over that feeling once I leave the office, finish packing and lock my front door when the airport shuttle arrives to whisk me to the airport.

But right now, 10 days before leaving I am feeling anxious and excited all rolled into one person. Let's hope I don't drive myself crazy! :)

Here's to 10 more days!

Only 12 more days!

Vacation Day is getting nearer!

I spent some time this weekend preparing for packing duty. Some stuff is already in the suitcase, some is on the guest room bed waiting to "jump in" and a few other things will just have to wait until the night before departure to be packed!

With the change in what the airlines are allowing to be brought into the airplane cabin, no liquids! I had to "re-think" how some stuff will be packed and will now have to check a bag, but that's how it goes. I'm still using the 21" roll-aboard bag, but will have to check it (with my toiletries in the checked bag) and put some stuff in my carry-on back pack that I don't normally put in that.

After today's pre-packing episode, I've eliminated a few more things, a couple shirts, a pair of pants and my Teva sandals will not be coming with me. My packing mantra is if I need it and didn't bring it, I can buy it there...I'm not going to a third world country, I will be able to find things if I need them! :)

2 Weeks from TODAY!

Two weeks from today will be my last day of work for a month....ahhhhh...I can't wait!

As I've said in other posts I'm trying to get all my work in order. I'm doing my best to take the next 2 weeks one day at a time and do whatever I can to not have my work load dumped on someone who will curse me out while I am gone.

I'm still chanting my mantra every day to help cope with feeling less stressful. But if I know myself the way I do, when I walk out the door to start my vacation I will not look back, let's pray that I don't get any frantic emails while I am away!

So it looks like this weekend will be time to start my actual packing procedures. I'm sure I will pack and re-pack several times before getting the perfect packed suitcase! :)

Things are looking good....

On the work front that is! I know it may appear I am obsessed with work at the moment, but since I'm going to be out of the office for 4 weeks, I want to have everything in order and I think things are going to be fine.

I had a meeting today with the grant people from the state and all looks good will my progress on that so far and I will have the loose ends of this tied up or handed off before I leave the office on August 31st.

The other local grant application I am working on is almost complete, just a few finishing touches to put on it this week and it will be ready way before my personal deadline which is August 31st but the actual deadline is a few days after I return to the office, so all is A-OK with that too.

I'm feeling pretty good...let's hope this feeling continues! I want to walk out of the office on August 31st and not think about work until I walk back in on October 2nd!

Here's to hoping I can accomplish that!

19 Days and Ready For It To Begin!

I am deathly afraid that hell is going to break loose at work in the next 3 weeks and I will be a wreck trying to accomplish everything before I leave for vacation!

"Breath In, Breath Out, Breath In, Breath Out"

I am desparetly trying to keep up this mantra! Here is the "rub", last week and even today have been relatively "smooth sailing" on the work front. But starting tomorrow I have several items that co-workers were asked to submit to me so that I can prepare for things that will be occuring in my absence. So, the next 3 weeks (minus 2 days) are going to be busy for me, at least I am anticipating them to be busy, if everyone gets their stuff to me and I can start working on what needs to be done! But I need to step back and realize 3 weeks is a good amount of time to get things in order, and I've prepared myself to accept the fact that I may have to come in over the next 2 weekends to finish up any loose ends...as long as my packing is taken care of! :)

As I sit here with my fingers flying across the keyboard, I am starting to calm down and realize each item on my work "to do" list can be handled and I shouldn't fret over it. I will get everything done, I always get done what I need to get done.

So as the title of this blog entry states..."I am Ready for this vacation to begin"!

Enough about work! More about the trip planning. I did something for the first time with this trip.

During all the research I did for this trip I began to collect information from various sources such as the Fodor's website, the Rick Steves website, contact with people who have traveled to the places I will be going and just general travel/tourist agency websites and pasted them into a word document. Then I got to thinking that even though I have a couple good guidebooks to use, this information I've collected will be good to have with me on the trip. So, I formated the information, but didn't do any "big time" editiing and created my own "Travel Tips" booklet with interesting bits and pieces, some restaurant recommendations and site seeing recommendations and put together a snappy little cover using clip art. I printed off 2 copies, one for me and one for CL and had them each spiral bound and plastic covers put on them. Now I have an easy reference for the information, especially the restaurant stuff since the guidebooks I have don't offer a lot in the category!

I know some people will think I've gone overboard, but hey, it's my trip I can do what I want. I gave CL her copy yesterday and she seemed cool with it. I told her she didn't have to bring it along on the trip with her since I would bring mine, but I thought it would just be a nice thing to do.

Using this "tips" booklet will be a first for me, and I'll see how it goes and maybe do it again on future trips, who knows, some day it could turn into a travel guide series...I could be the next Rick Steves! :) And I'm sure if I like using it, I will have lots of "glitches" to work out. This will be a test run to see what changes or improvements need to me to the "tips" booklet.

I am ready to "Hit the Road"! :)

24 More Days Until Departure!

And the countdown continues!

I have started to check and double check my travel arrangements. I contacted via email the Sobe owner we are staying with in Dubrovnik about a month ago and he will be able to pick us up at the ferry port and take us to the Sobe in Old Town! Oh, a Sobe in Croatia is like a B&B without the second "B" (breakfast)! :) So I will just need to send a re-confirmation email to him right before we leave.

A day or 2 before we leave I need to call the Apartment owner in Hvar to arrange the time and place to pick up the apartment keys and give her the final payment. I'm a bit hesitant to call Croatia since I don't speak Croatian, but the agency we booked the apartment with has said the owner speaks excellent English...let's hope so!

I still have to book the airport shuttle for taking us to and from the Savannah Airport and will do that this week.

Three or four days before departure I will call the bank and credit card companies to let their security departments know I will be traveling abroad and which countries I will be in so they can flag my accounts.

I also have to stop mail and newspaper deliveries, but like the bank only need to do that 3 or 4 days in advance.

So I can't really think of anything else that needs to be taken care of, except of course to pack my bags and clean the house, but I don't want to do this too early, afterall there is still just over 3 weeks before we leave.

I am getting more and more excited by the minute, but also trying to remain calm and confident that things at work won't "blow up" while I'm gone. I'm sure everything will be fine and I just need to leave as much direction as possible on what I'm working on so if anything does pop up "the powers that be" can handle it without me! And I want to be able to walk out of work on August 31st and not look back! I want to only think about my vacation after walking out the door, which I think I can manage!

I can hardly believe my adventure is right around the corner! I have been anticipating and planning this trip for so long! I can't wait for all the planning to become reality and experience this amazing adventure I have planned!

YIPEE....32 DAYS!

Have I mentioned lately that I am soooooo ready for my vacation! :)

In about one month I will be finishing any last minute packing and probably be so excited that I won't be able to sleep. Just like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting the arrival of Santa. Except I will be waiting the arrival of the Airport Shuttle!

I had coffee with my friend Eddye today and she was kind enough to bring a shopping bag full of LeSport Sac shoulder bags for me to choose from to take on my trip. I found a great one, in navy blue, which will match my beige and navy jacket and a la my new suitcase and backpack it has a zipper that when unzipped gives more room. What I like about the LeSport Sac is that I can smush it into my carry-on bag/backpack and pull it out to use after I get off the plane so I have an extra bag, but only 2 carry-ons.

Ok, enough about bags...here's to only 32 more days!

Ireland in 2007...Hmmmmm?

Last month I posted about potential trips for 2007 and I mentioned about going back to Ireland in the spring.

I sent a couple emails out to friends and my sister to see if there was any interest. Up until tonight I hadn't heard anything from any of the people I ran this "potential" trip by.

Tonight I got an email from my friend Scott...my travel partner from the infamous 2004 Italy trip! He said he was interested in a week in Ireland. So now the ball is in my court. I'll talk to Scott and see what his thoughts are about what he would like to see and do while there and what his timeline would be. Then I also have to do a real "down and dirty" realistic trip cost to see if I can swing Ireland for a week in May of 2007 and then my 2 weeks in Turkey in September 2007. I've put the deposit on the Turkey trip but it's fully refundable until the end of December.

Oh.... what problems to have to consider...Ireland or Turkey, or both...I really want both, but don't know if I can realistically swing both, but going with a travel partner and splitting car rental and accommodation costs, it just might be "doable", that is if I can find a decent airfare to Ireland! :)

Cautiously Optimistic!

Let's just say that after a meeting today regarding the grant I'm administering, I am feeling much better about going on vacation for 4 weeks!

A big item that I thought would have to be completed while I was out of the office (and therefore have to delegate to a co-worker or my boss) turned out to have been completed by a partner organization in this project...whew!

At least I left the office today feeling like a bit of weight has been lifted off my shoulders...let's hope I can keep it up for 5 weeks and leave on vacation without worrying about what's going on at the office!

Ok, enough entries about work! Next time I will have to think of a humorous travel post!

Deep Cleansing Breaths!

This is my mantra for the next 5 weeks and 2 days...when it comes to work and going on vacation.

I've got a huge grant that I am administering and it wouldn't be so bad, but I am just beginning the start-up process (just received award notification at the end of June) and because it is federal funds the requirements are very detailed.

On the bright side, I put together a checklist of everything that has to be done from start to finish. Not only for my use, but my boss (or whoever will be handling things while I'm out) will be able to use it too.

One good thing is that as part of the start-up process a special environmental review is required and that involves 13 state or federal agencies that have to review the project and the project can't start until the agencies send me determination letters on their findings (essentially saying the project is ok or not based on their requirements). And knowing how "quickly" (wink wink) those agencies typically work I can go on my vacation in September and not worry about having to move the project forward until I get back, because I am pretty sure those agencies will take longer then the 4 weeks they said they take to review these requests. At least that is what I would like to think. But as long as I make sure all my information is accessible to my boss it should all be good...well, that's what I am telling myself...heck I deserve this vacation!

Of course, some days I handle this philosoply better then others, but I'm just anxious for this trip to begin. I've put so much time researching the destinations that I can't wait to get there and experience what I have been reading about for the last 9 months!

Here's to ...Breathing in...Breathing out...Breathing in...Breathing out...ahhh...I can feel the stress melting away as I type....yeah right! :)

44 More Days...

What do you do when it feels like the longest work week in the history of time? Add another trip countdown entry to my blog of course!

I just talked to CL this morning and her new suitcase arrived and she did a "mini-pack" to see how she likes the bag...hmmmm...I must be rubbing off on her! :)

So I think we are pretty much set as far as the trip planning and trip related purchases are concerned!
Suitcase....................Check
Backpack/day bag....Check
New walking shoes...Check
Convertible pants.....Check
Guidebooks................Check

It sure looks to me like we are ready, and only 44 more days. It will be trudgery getting through the next 6 weeks! Hey...when I say 6 weeks, it doesn't sound as long as 44 days! At least today it doesn't sound as long, I could change my mind by tonight!

Of course I have alot on my plate coming up at work which doesn't ease my mind about going away for 4 weeks of vacation. But I've planned this trip for a year and the work world won't stop just because I am on the other side of the planet! Someone will take care of whatever comes up or it will wait until I get back.

And on that note, I will end this blog with the song lyrics that are running through my mind at this very moment....

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...Don't know when I'll be back again!

A Saturday in the Life of Me....

Ahhhh....

It wouldn't be a Saturday if I didn't spend some time at the local Starbucks drinking an iced carmel macchiatto and reading the latest Oprah magazine!

Although this doesn't seem like a "travel related" entry, it really is, well, kind of.

In an effort to become more familiar with my camera (yes, I've had it more then a year), I'm trying to use more of the special settings. For this picture I used the macro setting which I recently learned is for close up photos! So this is my first attempt and I think it turned out pretty good.

The next camera setting I want to tackle is the night photo setting but that's a bit more tricky since I have to place the camera on a stable surface or get a tripod (not likely at the moment).

So I will continue to post any "trial photos" that I think are interesting!

50 More Days....

CathyLee just ordered her "ultimate" roll-aboard carry-on for our trip. Looks like she may have gotten a better bargain then me. LL Bean has a 21" roll-aboard with more cubic inches then the suitcase I bought and about $30 less then what I spent. But it's all good. I don't think the one she orded expands, and mine does, so hopefully that will make up the difference in cubic inches! :) If not, I can always buy another bag during the trip...afterall, I've been known to do that in the past!

Last week I purchased my reading material for the trip. The second book in the Outlander series, it's 900+ pages so that should keep me occupied for a good part of the trip and I won't be reading every day. But it's a little "compact" paperback, so it won't take up too much room and if I finish it while traveling, I'll just leave it for the next occupant of the room!

I have been trying to post a picture of the cover of the Footprints Croatia Guidebook, but I am not having much luck posting it. I will keep trying.

Well, tonight I don't have any travel-isms to extoll, so I'm calling it a night.

Footprint Guidebook!

I cannot speak highly enough about the Footprint Croatia Guidebook, 3rd edition that was published in May 2006.

In preparation for my trip to Central Europe with 9 days in Croatia (after the guided tour ends) I was in search for a really good guidebook to Croatia. I had been trolling the internet for months and back in January I purchased the Brandt guide to Croatia which was published in 2005. At that time that book was the most recent Croatia travel guide I could find. It's an OK book, but I wasn't really happy with it.

A few months later I was checking things out on both the Barnes & Noble website and Amazon.com. They both listed this Footprint guide, with the note that it would be published in May 2006 and available in June. I was waiting with "bated breath" for June 1st to roll around and when it finally did I made a bee-line for the local Barnes & Noble store. Considering where I live, I came to the conclusion even before I went into the store that the chances of the book being on the shelf there was slim to none. And I was right. So, I beat it over to the information desk armed with both the title and author. You can imagine my surprise when the clerk typed in the information and it came up as not available. They couldn't even order it! I was flumoxed!

All through June I kept checking the websites, still not available. Then finally one day it said available, but a 4-6 week wait! UGGGGH...don't they know I'm leaving on September 2nd and I need to get my "ducks in a row". Ok, so maybe it's unrealistic for me to think that I am the center of the universe for Barnes & Noble and Amazon, but I did! :)

Then lo and behold at the end of June a miracle! The Barnes & Noble website had the book and it was available! I never ordered anything that fast in my life! A week later the book arrived and I did my little 'happy dance" around my living room. It was perfect timing. I got the book on a Thursday and I could spend the weekend going through it and that is exactly what I did.

Now, since I only needed information on a few places I was able to get through the whole book in 2 days, including using my trusty high lighter pen to note the information that most interested me!

So, what do I like the most about this book? Well, I like the way the chapters/information is formatted and it's very easy to read. The information flows well and it gives lots of restaurant recommendations. It gives just enough history information at the beginning of each section so that I don't feel bombarded and give up reading that portion. And I like the fact that even though it's a guide for the whole country it's not so thick that it will take up too much space in my bag!

I have to give credit where credit is due and thank one of my fellow fodorites on the Fodors website message boards for recommending this book to me. I was hesitant to order it online without being able to see if it contained the type of information I was looking for. But this guidebook was "right on the money" for what I was looking for!

54 More Days...

until I leave for my Central Europe trip! And better yet, 53 more days of work...being the "smartie" that I am, I decided to take the day before I leave off from work. This way I will have a day to take care of any last minute issues, final packing and of course my last gym workout before a "grueling" travel day.

I have decided to try a new approach to alleviate jetlag. It will be interesting to see how it works. On my last overseas trip I didn't have any difficulty (that I can remember), I just recall going to sleep pretty early on the first night. But I got a tip from the Fodors website that sounded interesting and I thought I might give it a try.

The premise is to go onto the destination's time a day or 2 before leaving. In my case that would be Prague time. My game plan is to start on Thursday night and go to sleep as early as possible (like around 7pm) get up on Friday morning at about 3am (since it will be 9am Prague time). I will go about my day on Friday doing whatever needs to get done and going to sleep as early as possible. In a perfect world that would be 6pm, but not sure it that is feasible, but I will give it a shot. Then on Saturday, the day of departure get up at 3am. We will have to leave for the airport by around 6am anyway, so getting up at 3am is realistic. By doing this I should be ready to go to sleep by the time we board the plane at JFK for the flight to Prague.

It may sound absurd, but I'm willing to give it a try and thinking about it now, if I can accomplish this I will probably be so exhausted by the time I sit down on the flight from JFK to Prague that I may not even be able to hold my eyes open for take off! This would be great since it will provide me with 7 hours of sleep on the plane! Well, I can dream can't I? Of course I have to get through the 2 flights prior to arriving at JFK, but since they are relatively short flights I don't see any problems there. But then again, when it comes to air travel it's best to always expect the worst and if that doesn't happen my expectations will be exceeded!

Here's to a swift 54 days!

2 Months and Counting....

Yay! It's July 2nd and that means 2 months from today I will be jetting off to Prague! The anticipation is killing me! Since my trip is now just 2 months away I feel I can officially begin the countdown!

As nerotic as it may sound I spent a few hours this weekend doing a practice pack to see if everything on my packing list will fit into my bags. I'm glad I did this because I have downsized even more. Yes, I did a practice pack a few months ago, and deleted stuff then too. But, it's all looking good now. The completed packed roll-aboard carry-on weighs 25 pounds, so I'm "good to go"!

As I continue to downsize I keep telling myself "pack as if you are going away for a week". As long as I keep telling myself that and know I will have to do laundry along the way it really makes packing light a whole lot better!