Rhapsody, Riding Tanks, Piggy backs and "Say No to team Bulgaria!"

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Classic Rhapsody

Back with the lovely guide Carla and our very dry bus driver Lukas on my second last busabout tour. Over breakie I met Mel, Paula, Becks and Sarah and we chatted on our way to our first stop the famous Bone church. I was surprised to find that it was exceedingly small but definately did not disappoint on the amount of bones or the creativity in which they were assembled. The bones are so old that it wasn't really creepy, just really amazing the sculptures that had been created. Even more amazing was our lynch from a grocery store, I bought fruit, a sandwich and a drink...for 2€! So cheap! On the next leg of the bus journey I chatted to Hamish, one of only two men on our tour (the other was part of a travelling married couple, Tim and Christine). Hamish taught me how to play sudoku and we spent some time deer spotting out the window. Hamish was a country person like myself and we shared stories of travel and living overseas. He had been working as a shepherd on the guiness farm in the UK for the last two years and was on his way home to NZ.

When we arrived in Olumenec we had Carla's tour through the park, women's prison and the biggest baroque statue in Europe, we also saw a church which was segregated into jewish and nonjewish parts which had originally been founded by Caesar and we took a trip down to the lower level where the original well where Caesar stopped and drank from was located. A more grusome part was a church of torture instruments dedicated to Olumenec's patron saint. Most of the torture devices where not self explanitory and the information was in Czech so that saved us from knowing the finer grusome details. We saw ABC (another bl**dy church) which was supposedly 100 metres high, exactly. We were all very 'over' being tourists so we headed to Carla's favourite bar for for some wine which suitably warmed us for a walk back to the hotel to add a few more layers for dinner. A cheese board, goulash and very very dodgy play dough gnocci later and we were all very full and looking forward to an early night as the next morning we needed to be awake and not hungover when we visited Auchwitz in Poland.

We had a guide for Auchwitz, which was good although we all agreed she must have to harden herself to what she sees everyday in order to share the stories of hardship, trial and suffering everyday. I was ok for a while, but then we arrived in a room full of baby clothes as all people entering the camp had been stripped of anything of value and given light prison uniforms to wear, it was all they had, even in winter. Once I lost it, I struggled through the rest of the rooms in that building which also included an entire room of human hair, a room of shoes, disabled legs and other such like devices for disabled and we had only been in maybe 3 buildings at this stage. I sat outside and tried to recover but the thought that so many innocent people had undergone so much suffering and horrible tragic times before being cruely slaughtered was overwhelming and I seriously struggled to pull it together. My tour group friends asking if I was ok was more than I could handle and I wandered alonr til I could react with more composure. Our guide told us of a cruel medical doctor who tortured children for his experiments in blacked out rooms so the other prisoners would not know what was happening. They would shoot entire families in front of eachother like a slaughter yard and then bring in another group.

We were bused to the other camp where we saw where the people arrived off the train and were stripped of their bags and valuables, sorted into groups and either made to walk the long road called death lane to the massive gas chambers at the end where they were immediately killed or sent to the prison area. There was no showers, toilets or bedding in their rooms and were mostly sleeping 8 people to a double bed bunk. They had access to a toilet area after it was built later however it was only once or twice a day for only 5 minues at most. Greek Jews paid to enter these camps believing they were buying into new farm land. I believe that Auchwitz is something everyone should see, however sobering the experience, as we need to be reminded never to let it happen again.

We arrived in Krakow, grabbed some drinks and put on some party music to lighten our moods as we got ready for Carla's favourite night of Pirogi (amazing) and apple juice, cinnamon and vodka, an excellent mix. We headed to Diva nightclub for a strawberry mohito (dreadful compared to the one I had in Spain), more apple juice and vodka, then swapped to straight vodka as the apple juice was too sweet. Then some dancing in the downstairs bar, met Marmix and his Dutch friends and hit the clubs in Krakow, got lost, eventally found home at 4:30am.

Carla's cure for our Vodka laced evening was an early morning bike tour with the beautiful Meehow (written as Michael), halfway through our tour in the vintage markets our group got split up (no, it wasn't my fault....I don't think....). So there we were in the middle of goodness knows where calling for Meehow and annoying the locals. We went round the block twice before he came running round a corner and found us and led us back. We saw all the sights and had an icecream sitting by the river in the sun. We went for lunch at an Irish pub (I swear there is one in every city of the world) and decided it was too cold in the shade so we moved our table into the sun on the street....got a few quizical looks from locals but we were warm and happy. In the afternoon we went for a walk and then napped.

For dinner we split into groups and tried out various cafes in the Jewish quarter. Hamish being the only unmarried man got his own Harem: Me, Sarah, Becks, Mel and Paula, we had amazinly delicious cocktails, mine was 'Fraise Rose' with rose petals and other yumminess, we shared a cheese platter and then had tapas. We went to meet up in a nearby pub to see Carla, but everone had left by 10pm and it was just us so we found a table in a super cute venue where there was an open fire and a cupboard in the wall where the doors opened into the next room....very 'lion and the witch in the wardrobe' moment with worlds within in a world. There were people outside who had cake...and I was all for sharing dessert but no one wanted cake or more drinks so we used the bathroom and headed off back home. I saw a punch buggie and punched hamish because he had been heckling me over dinner.... Unfortunately, in return he began the fire hydrant (free hit) game which I had never heard of...basically you see a fire hydrant...it's a free hit to the nearest person if you can punch them while touching the fire hydrant with a part of your body. During these shennanigans I inadvertantly moved as he went to hit me and instead of hitting me in the cushy part of my shoulder, he managed to cork my shoulder.....whinnging on my part ensued and he told me I was being soft....(that was until the bruise appeared a few days later....haha) And so began the race to see more fire hydrants and many punches on the walk home.

Next day we woke early to avoid the disgusting hostel breakie and instead headed to the local grocery store for more favourable (read: edible) food. After a reasonably short drive to Zakopane, with me trying desperately to take photos of the stunning countryside (and failing due to the moving bus) which turned into someting out of a dream with beautiful 5 level challets with gorgeous balconies not unlike the ones I had seen in Grunau and Lauterbrunnen. I would so love to live in a house like that. We quickly dropped off our bags at a communist hotel which was actually used by Hitler during the war. Eek. We had another of Carla's excellent walking tours through town and ended up at the markets. Hamish and split some cheese from the local sellers, very salty, much like Halumi, and appreciated the animal skins free from city slickers who were whinging of too many dead animals...at least they were being put to good use...some of the furs were so soft. I was tempted to buy a coat, but luckily didn't.

We met the group at the end of the markets where 85% of us had decided against the fenicular up to the top of the mountain and had decided instead to walk up the hill. It was a good decision....but although we were so cold in town, by the time we walked even the first part of the mountain we were all too hot. Hamish was seriously chiding me for confirming 'yes, it's cold enough outside to wear that jacket', well.....perhaps not?! Luckily there were no fire hydrants on the mountain....otherwise I would have coped it. We eventually all made it up to the top of the hill and decided beer was a required reward, watched Lucinda do the highropes course in a long dress which ended up looking like she was wearing a nappy, and then Bella managed it in high heeled boots! Impressive. The girls and I wandered the stalls and roads and then we all caught the fenicular down together. A few more adventures in the markets as Becks wanted a fur hat and we tried to convice the boys to get matching pilot caps but then the crazy seller lady tried to charge us 5€ for getting a photo with them! We decided we had done enough walking for the day and Tim, Christine, Hamish and I settled down at a local bar for an afternoon of beers and laughs.

The original plan was to chill out for a while then go back to the hotel, but I think we got distracted chatting and ended up going straight to the meat palace to meet Carla and the rest of our gang. The four or us where quite ready to supliment our alcohol with food and we proceeded to demolish the massive platters of delicious meets, sausages, mince and other delights. Oh and of course another round of beers. I was not accustomed to drinking so much beer...but I was having a delightful time! :-) A few photo opps later with the attractive waiters in their tradition costumes and we headed off to another local bar for more laughs. Hamish decided to give us a challenge: a) what was his 'man necklace's' practical purpose, answer: sheep dog calling whistle. B) first person to get a sound out of it wins a beer. We disinfected it by putting it in beer....but I won! Eventually...not an east thing to get sound out of, and aparently it isn't something you can buy for yourself as according to tradition, you must be given it as it is made from a special material that the mauri's deem sacred.

Our numbers started to dwindle and we had only Tim, Chris? Me, Hamish and Penny. So we decided to go home, or at least try to find our way...we ran into the good looking waiters from the meet palace who tried to convince us to stay out but suddenly the skipping began by someone, I can't remember who...so we all followed suit. Then someone started piggy back races, also can't remember who started it....but we made quite the spectical in our teams racing up the main street / hill in the early hours of the morning. We eventually found the back way to the hotel and discovered we were on the right track as we were in the same massive park we'd come through much earlier that day (or previous day).

There was a path lined with hedges on both sides and Hamish thought it would be funny for me to see it closer up. I was complient (quite tipsy) and not only saw the hedge close up, but went straight through it, head first, did a roll and came out giggling hysterically on the other side lying on my back looking at the stars. Tim and Penny looked back to see what had happened and saw Hamish diving through the hedge to check I was ok. I was fine...til I stood up and realised it was not just a green bushy hedge, it also had LOTS of prickles. I could see the funny side though and Hamish was so worried he had broken me, I strung him along for a while about how awful the prickles were before breaking down with a serious case of the giggles. Closer to the hostel the piggy back races began again...girls vs boys this time...Penny (shorter than me) was my faithful steed and Hamish (hobbit sized from NZ) carried Tim who is 6"3! And girls won! We tried to be quiet entering the hotel but Carla told us next morning we were actually really noisy, whoops! Needless to say slept really well that night.

Next day we were all sad to leave Zakopane as it was such a beautiful place to spend some time out but we were time pressed and were off to Slovakia. Carla had talked up a tank ride with a local guy who was good mates with the guy who had begun the busabout Eastern treks. She had told us this guy was a tank nut who had decided to buy two tanks because it was cheaper to buy two together than just one. Hmmmm...ok?! Well he was crazy, but crazy fun. Carla warned us that it was party in the back row and calm up front....so Hamish, Tim, Lucinda and I chose the back row and Christina took the front. He was a mad crazy driver and took us through his forest, down into rivers, up nearly verticle hills, spun the tank at the top and went into places I was certain no tank could go, and especially at his break neck speeds bu I have to say it was definately the ride of my life and the fact we were all airborne at different times was scary but soo sooo soooooo much fun! Better than any rollercoaster experience, hands down! We were all buzzing with excitement and adrenaline by the end of it and were glad to get photos with our galant driver!

Next stoo was Budapest, Hungary. The drive was long but we checked into the awesome Wombats hostel and then got some drinks and headed down to the river to await our River Boat Cruise. The boys marked their territory down under the bridge while the girls sat around and chatted and sang disney songs. We eventually boarded our boat and were off. The comentary over the loud speaker was droning and I don't remember a single thing being interesting enough to stick in my head, so we all appreciated the pretty lights and beautiful scenery. Later we headed to a piano bar restaurant for dinner and then hit a club afterwards for some dancing.

Next day was a free day off in Budapest so Tim, Chris, Hamish and I headed off to go for a walk to the museum of terror, very sobering, then to the statue square at the top end of town and then we used our open top tourist bus tickets to get ourselves to the markets where we had lunch, did a bit of shopping and spent the afternoon at a bar having cocktails, beers and nibbles. We took the bus back to the hostel to meet Carla as everyone was spending an evening at the famous Baths of Budapest which were outside. It was amazing. Beautiful, some hot, some warm, some chilly and they also had inside baths next to the saunas. Oh and there was fountains and whirl pools as well! So so much fun! :-) After we spent an hour or more relaxing, we headed out for Mexican for dinner and then back to the hostel for a good nights sleep. Hamish was leaving next morning and we got two new people that would head with us to Split. I was sad to loose my new friend but happy for him as he was going home to NZ to see his family and girlfriend.

Our new people were Steve from Adelaide and another girl I don't remember. It was a long drive down to Croatia and Plitvice where we stayed the night. It was our penultimate night of tour so Carla had organised us a family bbq at our camp grounds where we dragged out our tables and chairs outside to share food, punch and a few crazy games. A round of 'never have I ever' and then someone dared Lucinda to go and talk to the other campers nearby. That turned out to be entertaining as the 5 Bulgarian guys were just dying for an invitation to join our hilarity. Carla had had a few drinks and was loudly saying to Lucinda "say NO to team Bulgaria!" "No! Lucinda, don't go there!". Much dancing and giggles were had into the early hours of the evening but I inadvertantly deleted my notes from this evening. Whoops.

Early next morning we put our cabins back together and headed to Plitvice lakes where it was enshrouded in a beautiful and whimsical layer of fog which only made it more mysterious and beautiful. Steve and I ended up wandering around for a couple of hours on the wrong path but the scenery and conversation was similarily good. We also took the slow boat across the lake and I chatted to passing ducks. I love ducks. We got back on the bus and the stopped for lunch before another long drive to Split. We had our final night on the town after a yummy group dinner and I managed to catch up with nearly all of my guides from my last few tours at the local pub "Charlie's bar" so my evening was sensational. Until we went to bed. All was ok til Penny came home last and opened the dorm door to find bed bugs crawling over every surface of the room. So at 3am we had to pack everything and get the owners up to find us another hostel as this one was fully booked. 20kg backpack, itchy everywhere, in Pj's out in the cold and being told our new hostel was 4 blocks away was not a happy revalation. Neither was the 4 flights of stairs we had to walk up to get to our new room. Arrrg! The Joys of travelling!

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