L'Europe de l'Est partie 3

That afternoon we hopped on our last bus that would take us to Budapest, Hungary. Claire and I were staying with CouchSurfing hosts. CouchSurfing is an international organisation that links travellers with kind-hearted people who have a spare couch, bed, or bit of floor space that they're willing to open up to strangers. You connect online and share some information to ensure that the host isn't secretly a 60 year old pervert and nor is the Surfer a thieving freeloader. Hundreds of thousands of people from every corner of the world are involved in this open-minded culture share. Claire and I were to stay with a couple named Dodo and Andrea. My instructions to their house were shady at best, and it hadn't crossed my mind to check them out before we left. We arrived in Budapest after the information desk closed and had to ask an English-speaking Chinese store owner for help. He directed us to the metro and showed us where he thought our next bus stop would be from there. Claire wasn't exactly overwhelmed by organisational skills. Nor was I, for that matter.

We'd had about 9 days of sheer luck with riding the public transit for free in both Prague and Vienna, buying only one ticket in each city. We figured we would just play the dumb tourist if an inspector ever came by. There were actually ticket guards in the Budapest metro. We paid some unknown amount of Forints (Hungary's currency that equals about 200 to $1 CDN) for our tickets and went down into the roughest looking subway cars I've ever seen. One subway ride and two buses later, we arrived at the address of our hosts. A rundown, overgrown apartment faced us. "This can't be right," we said. I swung open the crooked chain-link gate and bumped my bedraggled carry-on down a dark path (while poor Claire waged war with her own cumbersome luggage). At the back of the building was a set of crumbling steps that led to the open back door. I peered in. The concrete stairwell, shadowy and ominous, was empty. I texted Dodo's number, feeling distinctly ill at ease. Claire remained at the bottom of the steps, ready to make a run for it if I made such a signal. A minute later, I heard someone running down the stairs. Claire and I looked at each other, panic stricken. A man appeared wearing a t-shirt so long and baggy that I couldn't tell if he was wearing shorts. He bounced through the door, all youthful energy. This, it seemed, was Dodo. He was wearing shorts after all, but the running kind with the slit up the side for freer movement (phew!). He gave us the cheek kiss (also custom in that part of the world) and hoisted Claire's and my bags up the stairs with little effort. We followed, still apprehensive but at least sure that we'd reached the right place.

Dodo spoke little English, but his girlfriend Andrea (whom we met shortly thereafter) was quite good. Their apartment was the only one occupied in the building, which was once owned by the government and then left to disintegrate over time. It was a quirky flat. Our room was no more than a mattress and a desk, and we had to walk through their bedroom to reach it. The washroom had no sink; the bathtub was its substitute. Hot water was heated on site by a gas stove. Before making this discovery, I had a few moments of fear when I caught a strong whiff of science lab. But the place was charming, and for them, it was home.

The location was incredible. On the first night, Dodo and Andrea led us through their neighbourhood to a wild park. From there we walked by cellphone light to a rocky promontory with the most beautiful view of the entire city. Budapest is divided by the Danube River, with Buda on the hill to the left and Pest on the flat side to the right. It was breathtaking to see it all laid out in front of us like that.

Our hosts were so good to us. They spent the entire first day we were there showing us all over the city on both sides of the river. We covered about four days worth of tourism at Claire's and my pace in the space of twenty-four hours. At the end of the day, they took us to their favourite movie theatre. We each sat down with a glass of hot milk (their treat) in the café/lounge outside the cinemas and talked about life. They were such passionate people about many liberal causes. They had some great stories.

We had only planned for two full days in Budapest. On our second day, Claire and I were so deeply exhausted that we couldn't bring ourselves to do any more exploring. We had two things on our agenda for the day: shopping and beer. It was a freeing day, really, not to feel we needed to be somewhere. I bought a stunning dress which I then stupidly left in its bag on the sidewalk as we stopped for food. The Pest side is full of funky outdoor bars, and that evening we checked out a couple local highlights before coming home and crashing. Oh yes, and something I have to fess up: we had lunch at McDonald's. I believe I ate at McDs 3 or 4 times this year, which is 2 or 3 times more than in the past ten years of my life. They're really nice in Europe! They look like Starbucks (but still smell like grease) and sell such goodies as wedge fries and chocolate pastries.

My camera (well, the camera I had borrowed from Maëlle after mine broke) had breathed its last that day. I supposed that if it had to die, it at least had good timing. In Vienna, Claire had tried to upload her photos her two weeks of Europe travel prior to meeting up with me, and her Africa pictures, and the pictures from this trip. When she went back to the computer to look at them, they were gone and her memory card empty. Thousands of pictures lost in the cybersphere.

The next day we made our beleaguered way to the airport. We took the train out to it, and would have missed our stop had not a helpful Hungarian man whisked our bags onto the platform for us. Budapest is a city I would like to go back to one day when it's not at the end of a long tour. I think it has a lot of potential for fun. And our hosts were so lovely. That said, we were happy to be getting on a plane.

Back in Paris, I said goodbye to Claire at the airport. She was flying home to Canada and I had to catch a train back to Angers. 12 days is a long time to spend as a group of two, but it was so great to see her and to share our love for travel. Hearing her stories from Africa was amazing, and she was patient enough to listen to my raves about life in Angers. She's just as hungry to keep seeing the world as I am, but we've been friends since middle school, so despite the distance, I don't think our friendship is going anywhere.

L'Europe de l'Est partie 2

On the 20th, we got on a bus that would take us to Vienna, only a few hours away. Prague was beautiful, but we were excited to get to a city where the currency was the Euro and where we would be able to better follow the language. Let me tell you, my Czech wasn't any more developed than Ahoj (pronounced "ahoy" = hello) and dekuju (thank you). German would seem a breeze after a language that puts accents on consonants. The bus ride over was great. We got free hot chocolate and magazines and they showed the movie Sherlock Holmes. It was a stunning day in Vienna when we arrived. Claire's friend Brad was on exchange there and was had kindly offered up his residence room while he himself was on holiday. It was great to know we had a home base we could call our own. Sharing his twin bed wasn't the most comfortable experience, but having the apartment meant that we could cook our own meals and come home to relax in the evenings. 

Every day we took the tram into the city centre (second city in a row where we didn't pay for public transit tickets... oopsies... I suppose Europeans are just more trustworthy than we are). I absolutely loved Vienna. Perhaps it was the Western European feel to it that made it seem so welcoming, or perhaps it was the beautiful weather, but we had a thoroughly good time. The architecture was halfway between the fanciful colours of Prague and the cool stone of the West. We enjoyed the royal residence, the old royal library, the globe museum (I have a thing for globes), the Esperanto museum (that language made up at the turn of the century that was supposed to become a universal language learnable and speakable by everyone), sunny parks, dazzling churches and cathedrals, Schönbrunn Palace and its sprawling Victorian gardens, 3/4 of an opera, and the Vienna Boys Choir on Easter Sunday. The last two are worth explaining.

At the Weiner Staatsoper (the Vienna State Opera), there is a side door where one can buy 3 euro standing room tickets to whatever is playing that night. Claire and I stood in line forever to get such tickets for Faust, a French opera by Charles Gounod. I had a vague memory of the story line, having studied the book Doctor Faustus in 1st year English. We made our way up the back stairs (the grand front entrance being reserved for better paying customers), stopped for a little glass of wine, then proceeded to our "seats". On the very highest balcony, behind all rows of seating and off to the side, stand the standing-room-only-ers. If you've got a good view, you can see a bit of the orchestra and half the stage. More likely, you're looking at the back of tens of heads shifting from side to side whilst being elbowed by your fellow standers. There are little subtitle screens attached the the ceiling which slopes conveniently down to below eye level (thus further impeding our already magnificent view). Now, I like opera. I like singing it, and I have much enjoyed the few shows I've seen. Faust, however, was not to my taste. Imagine cutting your grass with kitchen scissors, and how drawn out of a process that would be. That's kind of what this opera felt like. After two hours cramped into an unbearable hunch, the intermission had still not been called, but Claire and I figured that we had done our cultural duty. We skedaddled. I almost felt sorry for the poor suckers in seats who couldn't get away. We celebrated our escape with a fantastic Asian buffet near our apartment.

The Vienna Boys Choir is another good story. We had heard that they would be performing on Easter Sunday, but we assumed that the tickets would be far beyond our meagre price range. Nevertheless, we thought we'd see what prices were available. First thing on Easter morning, we arrived at the Hofburg Palace. There were already a few other keeners ahead of us, but the line was short. As the hour of the performance neared, we saw no action at the door where we were waiting, so I went to ask someone if he knew if we'd found the right place. He in turn asked me if I needed tickets since he had extras. 8 euros each later, Claire and I had seats. Just before the start, we filed into the royal chapel, up another set of back stairs (we should have taken that as a warning), and into a dimly lit narrow room filled with wooden chairs. This room, two stories above the chapel and off to one side, had a glass-less window at either end through which one could watch the mass below. Now, one would also have to be lucky enough to have a seat in front of these windows. Claire and I were lucky enough to have seats directly in front of a wall. We found ourselves plunked in front of a red damask wall covering with no chance of getting to the windows. There was a small TV screen in the corner that projected the scene below. Happily, we weren't all too fussed about missing the mass itself, not being Catholics. We just wanted to hear these boys sing (and sing they did!). And it makes for a good story, doesn't it?

On one of our days in Vienna, we made the impromptu decision to take a day-trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. It's only an hour down the Danube River, so we hopped on a bus and soon found ourselves surrounded by vestiges of communism. Dingy, dismal buildings from the Cold War era polluted the city streets save for the historic city centre. The contrast of beautiful old building styles with the hideous new was even more marked than in Prague. We had chosen Good Friday to go, probably not the best plan as nothing was open except for churches. Despite not being catholic, we both have a great love of church architecture, and ended up stopping by four different masses. I've never breathed so much incense in my life. The city castle was closed for the weekend, but we had a pleasant walk up the hill atop of which it was perched. Otherwise, nothing too remarkable about Bratislava. It seemed that a few hours there was all we needed.

We got on the bus back to Vienna, and cosied up in our little apartment for the night.

... to be continued

Czeching Out l'Europe de l'Est

One of my best friends from Toronto, Claire DesBrisay, had been in Tanzania on a semester-long service/co-op programme. She was there to work with women's empowerment groups and to teach English at a school in the city of Arusha. Her term ended at the start of April, so she and I had made plans to meet up for my Easter break and travel together. On April 16th, I took a train to Paris where she had already been staying for a few days. Her hostel was in the Montmartre neighbourhood, a great spot for young tourists. We had a few minutes of panic as we attempted to figure out where in Châtelet - Les Halles (Paris' largest metro station and an enormous shopping centre) we would meet up. Foolishly I had thought that a meeting place would be more evident, but thanks to our cell phones and some sheer dumb luck, we found each other. She looked fabulous - a bronzed goddess wearing a sundress made of a traditional African cloth.

We spent the early afternoon perusing the quartier (district) and eating a nice lunch. Our flight to our first destination, Prague, wasn't until much later that day. Eventually we collected Claire's luggage (poor thing had already been dragging around for two weeks all that she'd brought to Africa) and went to the airport. Our gate was quite likely the farthest possible gate from security. Even once you've checked your bags, it is such a colossal pain to lug around your 500 pound carry-on bags. I had finally learned to be a clever packer, and had put all that I needed for 12 days into one carry-on suitcase and a backpack. My friend Jason (another CIDEF student) and his friend Eddie were starting their trip in Prague as well, so we spent several comfortable hours together at the airport. Our flight was uneventful unless you count the landing, the roughest I remember experiencing. Our plane didn't land on the runway, it bounced. Welcome to the Czech Republic!

It was late night when we arrived in Prague. Once our bags were in order, we set about to figure out how to get to our hostel. We had no Czech money (the Koruna, approx. 18 = $1 CDN). I had sketchy instructions from our hostel which advised us to take a bus. Claire, Jason, Eddie, and I hopped on what we were pretty sure was the correct one and crossed our fingers. Seeing no place to buy tickets, I crossed my toes too that we weren't kicked off at the side of the highway for not having paid. Luckily we made the trip to our suggested stop at the metro. A Spanish girl named Tanya got off the bus as well and turned out to be staying at the same place. The boys were CouchSurfing and set off for to meet their host (more on that later), but the three of us descended down into the subway. It was past midnight, and no one was in the ticket booth. Hoping for equal good luck, we hopped ticketless onto the next train.

Our hostel was not as straightforward to find as one might have liked, but we reached it without too much struggle. We pressed the buzzer outside a small graffitied door under the sign saying The Clown and Bard. We were led down a short set of stairs into the smoky lobby/hang-out of the hostel. The front desk doubled as a bar, and the "concierge" (a quiet young Scot with an unplaceable accent) was pouring beers for people even as he took our money. There are no smoking bans in bars in the Czech Republic, so a heavy cloud hung thick in the air. Gross as it was, I suppose it added to the feel of the hostel as a retro stopover for wandering youth. Our room was on the fourth floor, so up we thumped our suitcases up the stairs and collapsed into bed.

It's been so long since I made the trip now that I can't remember all the details. Luckily for you, or this post would be a hundred pages longer than it's already setting up to be!

Claire and I stepped out into the colourful streets of Prague armed with cameras, some Czech money, but not enough warm clothing. The day began beautifully, and we enjoyed the contrast of the stunning architecture of the upper stories of all buildings contrasted with the run-down ground floors. I was surprised to note that the Czechs looked much less distinctly Eastern European than I had imagined. Technically, it's a very central country and rather westernised. I think I'd expected to see the sharp facial characteristics of Russians. The hostel had given us an entertaining city map that made bizarre commentary on many of the labelled sights. We took in a traditional meal of cheesy potato, cabbage, and sausage, wandered around the Easter market in the main square, and signed up for a walking tour. We saw many lovely and interesting parts of the city, notably the impressive glockenspiel, the Jewish quarter, and the old town centre. That night, Claire and I met up with Jason and Eddie for dinner at a restaurant that brought your drinks to the table in the carts of Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Then we had a lovely walk through the streets at night before heading to bed.

The next few days consisted of the Prague Castle, the main bridge, a choral concert in a stunning Baroque church, and more beautiful churches. The Prague Castle is, I believe, the largest in the world, each successive ruler having stuck on a new addition. The Cathedral inside the castle grounds was worth the visit, as were the royal gardens where we had a sunny picnic. The view from the castle heights gave us a beautiful overlook of the red roofs of the city. On the second night, I leaned out of the window of our room and chatted with some hilarious Germans staying in our hostel. We had a great couple of evenings hanging out with them.

... to be continued.

Des photos

A little visual insight into what I've been describing...

Une soirée chez Aurélien (Aurélien, Laura, Matthieu, Adrien)

Moi et Maëllie

Matty, Matthieu and I

Adrien, Aurélien, Matty

On the roof of the Opéra

The daily slog at the library

Exploring (without permission) the new wing of the school, under construction

Meeting up with a very dapper Uncle Jim in Paris

Clock at the Musée d'Orsay

Love locks

Jardin des Tuileries

TURISTA

Driving back from Paris into the sunset

In France, you make crêpes on pancake Tuesday - boys hard at work

At a game of the Ducs d'Angers (notice the CDN flag in the background?)

Question period at the lib

Spring arrives in Angers

A little folly never went amiss

The beautiful university

Sunset on my street

My house! My room is the one on the left

Playing Wii (Michael Jackson version) with some Françaises (Matty, Andréa, Mathilde, Camille)

Aurélien has a birthday

The IPLV gala (Moi, Élodie, Aurélie)

Aurélie, Mathilde, Élodie - some of our Monday lunch girls

Le Grenier Saint Jean

Bénédicte, my conversation partner

Dancing to a little Lady GaGa

Josh from Georgia where the peaches grow

Matty et moi

Spring spring spring!

On the left is the statue gallery, in the middle is the cathedral

The courtyard of La Catho (Matthieu, Laura, Maëlle - Gabe and Mary in the background)

Soaking up the sun - Matthieu, Laura (Française), Élise, Matty, Maëllie, Adrien

Lunchtime on the lawn - Arthur, Shi, and Matt

Hanging out on the river bank - Mary, Matt, Matthieu, Adrien

On the roof of the Opéra - rawr

Matty, me, Adrien, Mary - so fierce

Mary, Matty, Adrien, Matthieu

Adrien's graduation ceremony

Chez Maëlle (Lou and Solène, Maëlle's sister)

Adrien and Matthieu come for a visit

Maëlle

We go for a little stroll - Lou and Adrien

Matthieu et moi

lou lou skip to my lou

Adrien, Laura, Matthieu behind, me

The class photo

"The Raft of the Medusa" - Géricault

The family photo - Front row: sullen adolescent, grammie, doting granddaughter, other sullen adolescent. Back row: patriarch, creepy mother

So much love

Neutral faces (ahem, Laura)

Despair --> joy

Joy --> despair

The animals are let loose from the zoo: Dog, monkey, giraffe, lion, swan, gorilla

hahahahahah - Adrien, Laura, Maëllie

International Day - Matty and Maëllie show a little Canadian spirit

Maëlle, Adrien, me, Matt

With Monsieur Melin, our programme director

Ooh là là

Matthieu rocking the CDN gear

Adrien et Maëlle

More from the graduation ceremony - Matt, Claire, me, Adrien

Cyril's magical wine bottle opening trick

The riverside (Maine River)

La pique-nique

Moi et Bénédicte

Les filles

Me and Cyril

Matthieu, Matty, Adrien

Monkey Matthieu climbs a lamppost

Front row: Me, Héloise, Hélène, Matthieu. Back row: Matty, Adrien, Monja, Maëlle

Picnic number 3 - Mary, Mary Beth, Jason, Lou, Maëlle, Aurélien, Adrien, Matt, Matthieu

Hélène et moi

More CIDEFiens arrive: Me, Kylle, Colin, Laura, Aurélien, Maëlle, Joseph

Adrien, Matthieu, Laura

Mary Beth, Adrien, Mary

Climbing a clock tower...

Salut!

Out for an ice cream : Adrien, me, Matthieu

Zonked - Matthieu et moi