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Published: August 9th 2008
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Laura and I at Prague Castle
One of the few photos with both of us in it. Alright, so it's been crazy since my last post from Berlin. I can't believe it's only been a week since I left Berlin to go to Prague, and have since been to Krakow, Auschwitz, and now I' in Bratislava. I don't know how far around the world news has made it of the train crash in the Czech Republic, but for those of you who haven't heard, a bridge collapsed on a train yesterday in the Czech Republic, killing 7 people and injuring 70 (according to the BBC). For us, however, this was not just any train, but the train that we were on one day later - from Krakow en route to Bratislava via the Czech Republic. The train that left Krakow yesterday morning at 7am, just as we did this morning from Krakow at 7am. It's scary to think that if we had changed our plans by just a day, we would have been on that train. Now, needless to say, our travel plans were greatly affected today, as a large portion of the track is shut down. We could take the train to a certain point, but then we had to all get off the train, transfer to
St Vitus' Cathedral in Prague
Honestly one of the better cathedral's I've been to, and that's saying something. There are way too many cathedrals in Europe. buses, drive to the next station, and wait about an hour and a half for a train to take us part-way before we could take our final train to Bratislava. So our 6-hour journey became a 10-hour journey. That all being said, it was nothing compared to what the survivors of the crash must have gone through, and y thought's and prayers are with the victims' families.
I wish I could say moving on to brighter things, but yesterday Laura and I visited Auschwitz. I don't really know another word to describe the experience other than intense. I didn't want to go originally but everyone I spoke to told me it's not to be missed, and they were right. I didn't take any photos there because I thought it might distract me from the point of being there (I actually don't even want to tell you how any people were talking posey pictures in front of places that you just shouldn't). Anyway, I thought that Auschwitz would be hard, but Birkenau (also known as Auschwitz II) was more difficult. This was where the majority of the extermination took place, and is also substantially larger than Auschwitz I. The experience
Laura at a fountain
I can't remember what fountain this was. The fountains in these countries are almost as rampant as the cathedrals. Actually that's an overstatement, but who remembers fountain names anyway? was incredibly haunting, but I honestly believe that if you have the opportunity to go then you must, because it really changes the way in which you look at the world. (As a side note, though not planned this way, the irony was not lost on me that we were visiting one of the most iconic genocide sites on the day that the Olympics opened in Beijing).
Ok, moving on to brighter things, we spent the last nights in Krakow, and the 4 nights before that in Prague. Now, I'm hoping to get some photos up soon, but it's been hard enough hammering out the letter M on this computer, let alone uploading anything other than text. Krakow was cool. It has a very small old town centre with a large central square and everything a tourist would want surrounding it (at tourist prices, of course). We stayed at the Dizzy Daisy Hostel, which, despite the lame name, had a cool vibe and attracted a good ix of backpackers. There isn't that much to see in Krakow, other than a small castle (the grounds of which we visited for free) many a cathedral, and the residence of Pope John
Poster for the Museum of Communism
In Prague, the Museum of Communism is ironically sandwiched between the major shopping centre and the McDonald's, and located on the 2nd floor above the casino.
It's not really worth the price of admission though. Paul II, from before he was pope. Still after Prague, it was relatively nice and quiet, and we had a good time there.
Right, so Prague. Prague is a hotbed of hyper-tourism. Honestly, I can see why, because the town is absolutely gorgeous, but it was brutal trying to go anywhere. Tourist groups EVERYWHERE. We were staying in the just-enough out-of-the-way Clown and Bard hostel, which boasts an amazing basement bar for just shooting the breeze with anyone from anywhere. Subsequently, I've ended up with a now 7-day-long bout of laryngitis that has blistered into a horrifying cold. Honestly, I never go to the doctor for a cold, but I honestly would have this time had I been home. If chicken soup wasn't laden with MSG (which of course, would have just made mme sicker) I would have grabbed an armload off the grocery store shelves and taken a day to rest up in bed. Anyway, I'm now on the upswing I think so hopefully I'll be right as rain in a few more days.
Right, back to Prague. Basically, I highly recommend it if you can go any time but July and August. Inside of those times,
Jan Hus Memorial in Prague
He was famous for something. Philosophy? Judging by the statue, cult leadership? Not entrely sure. you can barely move and I think that the city loses its je ne sais quoi. I spent y last da
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