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Published: January 20th 2008
Reunited Again
The Bulimba Crew - Reunion in Eastern EuropeThe festive season was upon us, and with our trusty companion Rach joining us from OZ, we were geared up to spend the two weeks over Christmas and New Year traveling through Eastern Europe. We were to join an Eastern Trekkers group as we ventured through the Eastern European destinations of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Czech Republic.
Our main goal was to experience something we had never experienced before - a white Christmas!!!
We woke at 4am on the morning of the 21st Dec ready to go - well sort of ready, Ange had her work Christmas party the night before which meant we didn't get to bed until after midnight. But never the less we were ready to go, and would be landing in Krakow, Poland in a few short hours.... or so we thought.
This is where the story gets interesting, and is something we can look back on now and laugh, but at the time we had our highs and lows. The initial plan was for us to fly out of Gatwick at about 8.30am, land in Brussels and jump on our connecting flight for the last leg to Krakow, which would see us
On our Way
Feeling rather chipper for 5am. Little did we know what was on the way reach our destination at about 12.30pm - plenty of time to check in, see some sights and then join the tour group for a meet and greet and open bar. However...
The weather in Gatwick was pretty bad with heavy fog delaying flights, but we finally got going, yet we knew we might be tight on reaching our connecting flight with the same airline. Yet they assured us we would be fine and they knew we would be coming in. Yet as we were to find, we landed in Brussels at 11.05am and our connecting flight had left at 10.50am. We were not alone though, two other girls on our flight (coincidentially from OZ and living in London) were bound for the same tour with us. And so formed the five strong team - myself and my four girls - it's a hard life!!!
So after a bit of swearing we joined the fairly small queue for Brussels Air to arrange for the next flight out. Now the line was full of angry people who had missed their flights, and after about 4 hours and slow service staff, tempers flared as we all attempted to get the next
Warsaw airport at 2am
Here we are - we've made it to Poland. Wrong city and with no bags, but we were just pretty happy we made it. We were the walking dead by this stage. flights to all our various destinations. We finally got to the front and found out they don't fly to Krakow again for another two days - basically not good as we needed to meet up with the tour group there before they departed on the Monday. Plus we didn't want to miss the one thing we really wanted to visit in Poland - to see the concentration camps at Auschwitz just outside of Krakow.
After some shuffling around we were lined up to airline hop and country hop from Brussels to Prague and then to Warsaw in Poland and then onto Krakow. Now we made it to Prague ok, but then had our flight delayed by about 4 hours due to bad weather (snow related) which meant we were late getting into Warsaw, which would see us miss our connecting flight to Krakow. But that's ok as that flight was cancelled. So it was midnight and we went to collect our bags and get checked into a hotel by the airline. However all five of our bags had gone missing somewhere on the journey. So here we were at 1am in the huge lost luggage queue to place our
report. Following this we checked into the Marriott for about 3 hours sleep after 24 hours on the go. We woke the next day to find all the flights that day to Krakow were fully booked, so the five of us caught a taxi to the train station and finally arranged to catch a train across the country to Krakow. So after 30 or so hours of travel we reached Krakow, minus any luggage of course.
We arrived in at Krakow train station at 1.30pm and were informed (as the girls we were with had friends already on the tour) that the group was on the bus heading out to Auschwitz to tour the concetration camps, and so we decided to jump in taxis and hightail it out there to meet up with the group finally and make the tour of the concentration camps. Finally after one last fight with the cab drivers who tried to rip us off (not a good idea after what we had been through), we had made the tour.
So I think I will break up the tour into sections, so reading is somewhat easier for you all. Obviously starting with Krakow in
Poland.
KRAKOW, POLAND (day 2 & 3)
As I mentioned, we met up with the group finally and in time to tour the concentration camps of Auschwitz. This was something we really wanted to see and it was as harrowing and eery as we thought it would probably be. It really is worth the visit and tour. To see the scale of the scene and getting things put into perspective was defintiely something we won't forget.
That night Ange, Rach and I finally got a chance to take things a little easier - we went for a wander down to the Jewish Quarter for a nice meal and a few drinks - and then back to the hostel for a good nights sleep after all our travel hassles.
We woke Sunday, somewhat refreshed, and joined the group for a trip out to the Royal Salt Mines. The tour through the mines at about 150m underground was worth the visit and surprised us that the rock salt was actually black in colour - we expected the whole site to be white. They have all these amazing rooms, chapels, and statues carved out of salt - the whole intricate designs are
made of salt - was truly amazing - especially the great hall. And to top off the trip, no tour of a salt mine is complete without doing tequila shots, utilising the walls as our salt licks.
We ventured back into Krakow early afternoon to find both Ange, Rach, and Marcia's bags had arrived. With three of the five bags returned, the girls went and got changed quick smart. I unfortunately was yet to realise that I was about to go a whole two weeks travelling without any luggage at all - but it proved a good point to me, that I can travel lightly.
Now as for Krakow - this was such a beautiful place, and overall from what we did see of Poland, it was surprisingly one of our favourite places - the people, places, food, and scenery were excellent. We didn't get a great chance to see much of Krakow, but from what we did see, we loved it. I should also mention it was freezing while we were there with a fair amount of snow around. I did actually have to take the time to run off and buy some thermals as I had nothing on
Rach and I found what we were looking for...
After the trauma of making it to Krakow, Poland, we had one thing on our mind - a celebratory drink me (as it was all in my bag) and I was a bit cold.
ZAKOPANE, POLAND (day 4 & 5) - Xmas Eve and Xmas Day
Following our time in Krakow, we spent Christmas Eve on the road to our next destination, the alpine town of Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains, which acts as a natural border between Poland and Slovakia. We arrived after a scenic bus ride across Poland and up the mountains.
Zakopane is just what we were hoping for from an alpine village - their was plenty of snow and the town itself was so picturesque and definitely fitted the white Christmas stereotype. And it was relatively warm at about 0 degrees which felt rather balmy after Krakow which was between -10 and -5 degrees most of the time.
We were staying in this really nice chalet and the area was just beautiful. Our main concern was ending up flat on our face after slipping in the ice that was everywhere. We had so much fun in this place - lots of drinking and foolish behaviour in the snow. On Christmas day we had a fairly quite one, with Ange and I heading up to the
top of the ski fields for a wander along the mountain top taking in the amazing scenery and snow. I have to admit though, I did hit a low point on this day, as I had been really hanging out to try skiing for the very first time, but unfortunately without any of my gear or spare clothes I couldn't afford to get my only pair of clothes wet and so I had to pass on the skiing. Which was such a shame, as this place looked perfect for a somewhat beginner and it was fairly quite. But these things happen - Ange and I will just have to plan a trip solely focused on skiing sometime soon.
ZAKOPANE to DONOVALLY, SLOVAKIA, to BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (day 6) - Boxing Day
I had been pleasantly surprised throughout the trip, that the journey's we were to have from destination to destination were fairly short and didn't require us to be on the bus very much. Today was to be the longest time we would spend on the bus travelling from Zakopane to Budapest, Hungary. In making this trip, we had to cross Slovakia. While we spent all day (9am-5pm) travelling -
we did get a chance to spend a few hours in the little Slovakian ski town of Donovally. This place was so nice, many of us had wished we could have spent a day or two here. It had really nice ski slopes for beginners, dog sledge rides, tobogganing and just a nice holiday vibe to it. Once again I have always envisaged ski resorts to be very busy, yet both Zakopane and Donovally didn't suffer from this. It might be good to note that on last years tour they had no snow on the whole trip, so we were lucky to be blessed with snow almost everywhere we went.
Later that afternoon, we arrived into Budapest in Hungary and got the chance to see some of the sights as our bus made its way through the city to our accomodation. I also have to say at this stage that Eastern Europe really does give any place I've been a run for its money on the Christmas lights and decorations. I had always heard good things about what London put on, but I have to say they are nothing special at all, and then when you see what some of
Down we go...
Making our way down about 130m into the salt mines. Thank goodness there were elevators to get back out these countries in Europe put together, little compares.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (day 7)
Following a nice dinner and wander around the main streets the night before, we had planned a full day to ensure we got the most out of our day in Budapest. We had a free day to do whatever we wanted. The offer was there for us to take part in a morning walking tour with a guide around some of the main areas of Budapest and to hear about some of the history. Now the girls who were in our walking group were very happy with the rather good looking guide - and as Ange put it - his hotness was keeping them warm on this very cold day. The tour was really good as we wander around some of the key sights including - St Istvan Basilica, Opera House, and the Buda Royal Palace and Mathias Church.
Following the walking tour, many people ran off to just spend the whole afternoon lying in the famous thermal baths of Budapest, yet we decided we would spend the day seeing some of the other key places of interest for us. So we spent the afternoon (after running
back to the hostel so the girls could put more clothes on as it truly was freezing at about -12 degrees) visiting a few sights we were told were good - including the food markets and the House of Terror museum, which was the former headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis and then the communist terror organisation the AVO.
Following the full day of sightseeing, a group of us headed off for dinner at a medieval themed restaurant which served pretty much nothing but meat - a restaurant after my own heart. Although I do have to say that all these Eastern European countries eat so much meat and potatoes that after two weeks, we were all craving some salad, veges and fruit to clear the arteries.
BUDAPEST to BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA to VIENNA, AUSTRIA (day 8)
After a great previous day in Budapest, we headed off for Vienna in Austria. On the way, we crossed through Slovakia again and spent a few hours in the town of Bratislava. We had a wander around and then decided it was time to get out of the cold and have a nice long lunch.
On arrival into Vienna we got to do a
stop and tour of a Schnapps museum with tastings - YUM this stuff was so smooth and tasty - you can definitely tell the quality of the local Schnapps compared to ones you have back home. That night we ducked into town for a tram ride around the central area and a big feed of schnitzel. With Austria being the home of the schnitzel, these things were awesome and I made it my mission to eat heaps of them.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA (day 9)
Today we spent the day with Jarod and Philippa a couple originally from NZ on our tour, seeing as many of the sights as possible. Unfortunately Rach had had a big night the night before and was unable to get out of bed. The day we had was really good - Vienna is a grand city and so beautiful - reknowned for Mozart, Opera, Schnapps, and schnitzels. We tried to take in as many of the sights as possible including the amazing Schonbrunn Palace, State Opera, Naschmarkt (food markets), Museumsquartier, Parliament, City Hall, Roosevelt Platz, Burg Theatre, and the Hofburg Palace. We even made a venture to the Sacher Hotel to sample the famous Sacher Torte
Rach and others doing some hard work
Trying out the old machinery in the mines from its birthplace.
That night we thought we would add some culture to our lives, so we went along to a Mozart and Strauss performance which offered us a sample of the orchestra together with opera singers and ballet performances. Of course that had to be folowed up by a good Austrian meal (yes schnitzels again amongst other local delights) and plenty of Austrian beers.
VIENNA to WACHUA VALLEY to CESKY KRUMLOV, CZECH REPUBLIC (day 10)
We left Vienna and made our way through the Wachua Valley, one of Austria's finest wine regions on our way to Czech Republic and the town of Cesky Krumlov. Unfortunately given it was winter, we didn't get a chance to do some wine tasting, yet we still go a chance to stop off at a little town called Durnstein to take in the sights and make the climb up to the fortress where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned. It was a such a cute little town and one that was more traditional than a lot of the bigger cities we had visited.
If we were impressed by the Wachua Valley of Austria, we were extremely impressed by the town of Cesky Krumlov in
the Czech Republic.
We arrived late that afternoon and unfortunately we only had the night here before we left the next morning. So we wanted to make it a good night around town. So a big group of us (after quite a few drinks in our accomodation) went for a wander around town in search of a good dinner and bar. We weren't dissappointed with the town or the bars and restaurants.
Apparently this is a summer town where people come and get involved in water activities. The one that we all liked the sound of was, given it is almost an island that the river snakes around, people jump in on one side in giant inner tubes and float around the town drinking copious amounts of beer and then hop out make the short walk to the beginning point again and do this all day long.
CESKY KRUMLOV to BUDWEIS to PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (day 11) - New Years Eve
It was New Years Eve and we left Cesky Krumlov bound for Prague and our New Years Eve bash and fireworks. As we took a drive through Cesky Krumlov we were treated to our first snowfall - to
date we had everyday with snow around us but had yet to have it snow itself. With the setting of this amazing town it really did set the scene.
Before we headed on to Prague - our priority was a stop in at the Budweiser Budvar brewery for a tour and a few drinks to kick start the day ahead. During this time we celebrated the first of 5 New Years countdowns, starting with NZ, then the three time zones in OZ then Prague and then London.
Following the brewery tour we made our way into Prague and checked into our hostel which was to host a buffet dinner, drinks and fireworks for the 500 people staying there for the night.
New Years Eve was pretty good - with nice food and drinks in a bar hall the hostel has out the back. And as the hour drew nearer a group of us caught the tram into the centre of Prague to watch the fireworks over the Old Town, along the river and up over Prague Castle. It was an amazing sight as fireworks were everywhere. It helps that people can set off their own fireworks anywhere - so in
every corner of the city there was a lightshow.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (day 12 & 13)
Well the tour was over, and the three of us had another two days to spend in Prague before we headed back to London on day 14. We woke on New Years day to the silence of snow falling which made for a very pretty sight.
With the day ahead of us, Ange and I decided we would go see the main sights of Prague, including Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, the Old Town, Tyn Church, and the astronomical clock.
The next day we wanted to make the journey an hour out of Prague to visit Sedlec Ossuary in the town of Kutna Hora, the church that features all the ornaments and chandaleirs made out of human bones. Creepy creepy, and a bit of a trip to get out there but worth the visit - even though it does only take about 15 minutes to see it. We headed back to Prague that afternoon and did another round of Prague to show Rach the sights as she was a bit to under the weather New Years Day to join us on our sight seeing.
The last supper carved into the salt walls
All these carvings were done by miners and not professional artists. Though I think these guys would pass the test for art school So after 14 days, little sleep, lots of alcohol and food, and five countries, we were ready for home. For me I was craving some clean clothes, given my bag had failed to turn up the whole trip. I was lucky to find it had arrived back in London a day or two before we did.
But we have to say that we were pleasantly surprised with the various countries - we saw some amazing places, got our white Christmas, all the food and wine and beer were great, and we met some nice people. All in all very enjoyable.
Enjoy the photos.
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