01 - 31 May, 2010
We got up incredibly early (2am) to catch the earliest bus to the airport for our flight. Had to walk to Syntagma Square, & a couple of the restaurants were still open! We were able to get the earlier X95 bus which was great because the line at the check-in desk was ridiculously long! So the first leg of the trip was to fly with Lufthansa LH3393 to Munich, & then the second was a connecting flight to Split. Going to Split it was with Croatia Airlines OU4439 in a propeller plane :)
On arrival to Split, we took the shuttle bus into town which took around 30 minutes, & from there it was a short walk to Hostel Antonio. A lot of the shops were closed already because it was a public holiday. The hostel owner did suggest a place to eat just a few minutes away. Joel & I did takeaway from there & it was the best gnocchi we have EVER tasted! I wasn't into the meat too much, but at least it was soft, & the sauce was OK. The restaurant is called - Buffet "Fife", also very cheap & the serving big!
Slept in a little this morning, but as soon as we were ready we got up to go to the Green Market to buy breakfast. Found a bakery that sold Štap Čocolada - a chocolate filled pastry & still nice & warm! Sooo good, & accompanied it with chocolate milk! Went to the Katedrala or Rimski Mauzolej (The Cathedral or Roman Mausoleum), now according to the guide book it's supposedly the oldest catholic cathedral in the world?!? Afterward, we managed to get a self-walking tour map around the palace. So off we went!
First was a walk through the markets set up in the Basement Halls of Diocletian's Palace. Next was along the Riva & then around Voćni trg & Trg braće Radić to check out the Citadel (Castle). Passed Hramovi (Temples), but none were open so we just kept going. Then to Pjaca (the public square) at Narodni trg. Went out to Vrata od Pisture ("Pistura" Gate) at Poljana Grgura Ninskogi (I didn't see a gate by the way), then close-by was Razvitak Grada - Mletački bedemy (the Development of town - Venetian Bulwarks). Much of this was still intact.
There was a huge statue of I guess Diocletian, but there was no plaques around...he did however had a very shiny big toe. Not sure what sort of luck it brought, but everyone was rubbing it. I for one didn't want to touch it hehehe. Back inside the palace walls, we saw Zlatna vrata (Golden Gate), & Srebrna vrata (Silver Gate)...neither were those colours...I should stop taking things to literally huh?
We rested back at the hostel for awhile before taking a walk along the coast. Took pictures at Sv. Stipan (Sustipan) where so many sail boats were out. Got to U. Ježinac where a group of crazy people decided to go for a swim in the freezing waters!
Another early start (3:30am) to catch the shuttle back to the airport for Zagreb. A shuttle leaves 90 minutes before each Croatian Airlines flight, but they didn't tell anyone that they had changed the schedules, so everyone sat on the bus for about 40 minutes before we left. Luckily everyone was on the same flight, & the check-in counters were fairly quiet. Our flight OU651, was delayed due to fog at Zagreb airport. We finally took off about an hour later, but when we landed it was still do foggy, that you can't even see the other end of the runway.
The airports in Greece, & in Croatia have been the fastest we've gone through. Not sure how thorough in checking passports & documents, because we haven't filled out any sort of Arrival cards since Egypt. Passports are stamped though, so I guess that's good enough for them.
We took another shuttle bus to the main bus station in the city, then walked to Zagreb Željerzničići Kolodvor, which is the main train station. Put our luggage into the lockers before heading out to explore the city. And what a pretty city it is! We only had a handful of hours here so we didn't waste time.
Saw the Gothic designed Sv. Marko (St. Mark's Church). It had colourful roof tiles that depicted the coats of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia, & Slavonia on the left side, while the one for Zagreb was on the right. Walked through Kamenita vrata (Stone Gate) - and yes this one was true to it's name, it was stone - where a lot of women were praying. Through Katedrala marijina Uznesenja (Cathedral of the Assumption), which is actually quite pretty inside. And for the first time I saw somebody actually playing the organ!
Done for the day, we decided to head back to the train station & wait for our train to Ljubljana. It was IC219 & arrived on time. The next stop was Dobova, less then 15 minutes away but already in Slovenia! So the train was here for awhile, since officers were checking passports.
Arrived in Ljubljana in the afternoon, overcast & looks like it had been raining. Walked to Hostel Villa Veselova lovated in an area with embassies & huge old houses. A nice quiet place :)
Breakfast included...YES!!! We absolutely stuffed ourselves silly hehehe Well actually just enough to last us until the afternoon :) Once we got to the pedestrian areas of the old city, it all became so picturesque. Like a town in a story book rather than a capital city. At Prešernov trg, the pink 17th century Frančiškanska cerkev (Franciscan Church) is probably the first thing you'll notice unless you were blind. We went inside for awhile, but couldn't really walk around because there was a mass on. So instead we walked along Zmajski Most (Dragon Bridge) which stretched across Ljubljanica.
Had a browse at the markets in Vodnikov trg, & Pegačarjev trg before seeing Stolnica Sv. Nikolaia (St Nicholas's Cathedral). This one we couldn't go in because it was closed. So we walked uphill to Ljubljanski Grad (Ljubljana Castle). It was so green, the greenest of greens I have ever seen! And so thick too! There actually wasn't much to see at the castle, it seems they were doing a lot of work & most of the places of interest were closed. We saw a canon though...that was probably the most exciting thing there, even the case mates wasn't a WOW factor. Maybe this is the downside of coming in the shoulder season :(
Booo another early start to the day, we're off to Budapest, Hungary now. We took the MV247 train at 6:50am & didn't arrive until 4:15pm. They were doing track work & we even had to transfer to a bus for half an hour, which took us to the next station. At least we had the cabin space to ourselves, not too many people were on the train. The scenery all throughout Slovenia was beautiful, once you got to Hungary though...
There was so much logging going on, & the greenery wasn't as lush.
From the train station, we hopped onto the metro for a short ride to our hostel - Astoria City Hostel. We got upgraded once again to the apartments :) Great location, right smack bang in the centre of everything.
The next day started off fine, we even felt really hot & bothered climbing up Gellert-hegy. But first we visited Zsinagoga (Great Synagogue), which is in fact the largest in Europe & the second in the World! At the back garden is the metal Tree of Life, a Holocaust memorial which sits on a mass grave for the thousands of Jews killed near the end of the war. And each leaf bears the name of a family that perished.
Checked out Nagyvasarcsarnok (Great Market Hall), built in 1897 & has 2 1/2 acres of stalls! Then crossed a green-painted bridge called Szabadsag hid, meaning Freedom Bridge. Treked up Gellert-hegy (Gellert Hill) & had an amazing panorama view of the city. And overlooking this city is Szabadsag Szobor (Liberation Monument). The Citadel is up here too, but we didn't go inside since it was just another museum.
Back down & across to the Castle District, passed Var (Buda Castle)...another museum. And just reached Matyas templom (Matthias Church) just before it started to pour! Thunder & lightning...even if we had our umbrellas we were getting wet. It got pretty strong at one stage that water was just getting into our shoes. Then came hail, though not for long & also just pea-size ones!
Next morning couldn't be any more different. Blue sky & the sun shining :) Just what I like to see! So we didn't waste time, in case the weather decided to change it's mind, we walked fast & straight to Sz. Istvan Bazilika (St. Stephen's Basilica). It was damaged during World War II, & is the city's largest church.
Along the Duna (Danube) to get to Parlament or Parliament. And a nice stroll along Andrassy ut to get to Hosok tere (Heroes' Square). Saw Vajdahunyad vara (another castle) which is now also a museum. This is probably the greenest place I've seen in Hungary, so it was a good change :)
Got up at 4am to pack, have breakfast, shower, & check-out of the hostel...then be on our way to Nepliget where the main bus station is. We rode our first Eurolines bus for the trip, & in about 4 hours we arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia. Got on the trolley bus to get to our hostel - Hostel Vegas which is located in the Old Town.
We finished all the sights in Bratislava even before lunch time. The first thing we saw was Novy Most (New Bridge) which was built by the Communists during the 70s. Then it was a short walk up the hill to Bratislavsky hrad (Bratislava Castle). Again it was closed, but you could walk around the not so groomed gardens.
Down the hill, & across the road was Dom sv. Martina (St. Martin's Cathedral), one of the national historic monuments. At Primacialny palac (Primatial's Palace), we only got to see the courtyard with Fontana sv. Juraja krasli (St. George's Fountain) where he is depicted as a night slaying a 3 headed dragon. Following that, it was a quick trip to Slovenske narodne divadlo (Slovak National Theatre), and then to Modry kostolik (Kostol sv. Alzbety) or the Blue Church (St. Elizabeth's Church). Finished the day at the city's only remaining medieval gateway Michalska brana (St. Michael's Gate). We've been lucky with the weather here, since it's been forecast to rain :)
I don't know what it is, but the night before we have an early morning travel, we just can't get a proper night's sleep. Though it might just be the fact I'm paranoid about missing the alarm ring, sleep through it & will be late or totally miss out transportation. As if I would though, the phone is right on my ear, I'm practically sleeping on it!
*SIGH* Got on the tram to the main bus station & waited for the bus to Vienna. It was such a quick ride! Within 20 minutes we were already in Austria but Slovakia still on the other side of the Danube. The bus was packed, & most got off at an Austrian airport. Another tram, & a good 15 minutes walk, we arrived at Wombat's City Hostel - The Base.
No schnitzel today, instead we went in search of those sausage stands. Got a hot dog mit kasekrainer from Wurstel Express. What it is, is simply a sausage with cheese inside, then put into a hot dog bun with your regular mustard & tomato sauce. Mmmm oh so good! But I'm sure that it is bad bad BAD for the arteries. By the time we got back to the hostel, it started to pour for a good 30 minutes or so. I haven't seen that much rain in awhile...
One of the guys in our room was from Romania, couldn't really speak English well so most of our conversations included waving our arms around wildly trying to understand each other. He was successful in letting us know that it was his birthday too. The other guys were from Serbia, & Russia, but we didn't see them much.
Glad to walk out with the sun shining through those clouds :) It makes the sights much more picture worthy. It probably takes us about 30 minutes to walk into town from our hostel. A quick stroll through the well-trimmed gardens of Maria-Theresien-Platz to start off, then to check out the Hofburg Palace. Full of museums, & a library...so obviously we stayed clear from it! When you walk through one of the arches of the palace, you get to Michaelerplatz. They have a section in the middle of the square that is protecting an archaeological site. Part of it is from the foundations of the palace, another I think was a theatre, & the others that you could clearly make out was rented houses.
Stephansdom is quite a site, even if there was scaffolding covering the front facade, & one of the towers on the right. Inside was just as pretty, at least there was no work going on in there. Mozart lived at a house in an alley just behind the cathedral, & of course, is now also a museum.
Hoher Markt doesn't have much to show except for the 1914 Jugendstil Ankeruhr (clock), & a few minutes away Stadttempel. It's the only synogogue in Vienna to escape Kristaunacht. Across town to Karlskirche, were we sat around the pond & soaked in the sun...and watched the people eat their schnitzel burgers, even our eyes were drooling! Another place that made us hungry was walking the whole length of Naschmarkt, with it's fresh food stalls, & little cafes.
Overcast :( We brought our umbrellas just in case. This time the 30 minutes walk was the other direction to Schloss Shunbrunn. Even though we didn't enter the palace, we got to stroll around the gardens. Probably still the best gardens I've ever seen. Everything is so well kept! Lots of monuments, ponds, fountains, trees, green green grass, & weird but cool looking ducks...oh and SQUIRREL!!!
Walked all the way into town to look for that column/monument commemorating the end of the plague. I couldn't find it last time, & we couldn't find this time. There's no plaque, but I did take a picture of one that was close enough, & the only one I see near Petersplatz, so hopefully that was it...And last but not least was Am Hof, where it was once used for jousting...today it's a square mostly used as a car park. On our way back, my legs felt like they were going to fall off...
Another tram to get us to Wien Meidling to catch the train to Prague. So many people were there, mostly university students, already drinking the morning away in preparation of some big festival somewhere. Glad they weren't in our train, otherwise we'll all be sitting on each others lap. We were in Prague by about 2:30pm, & walked to Hostel Elf. He couldn't find my booking...because some ass forgot to put it in, but it was showing in their Hostelbookers.com account. Well it was was awhile until we got to check in, because I wouldn't budge in getting another type of room or changing rooms every night, nor could he be bothered to find me another hostel with the same price & close to the train station. He finally gave in & couldn't care less that he was getting flustered, wasn't my fault they're so stupid. But somehow, he was able to find us 2 beds in the dorm I want for all 3 nights, EVEN if he says they were fully booked.
The people who were in our room made up for it though, 4 from USA, & a Brazilian girl. We were up till almost 2am just talking & laughing. All had such a good sleep...even I didn't wake-up until 8am. Yes to some of you that may sound ridiculously early anyway, but my body clock usually gets wakes me at 5:30am. And today, it was drizzling :(
Still had to get out anyway...what if the next day was worse? It was cold cold cold :( So we did brief visits to the sights, enough to just say this is this, take a picture, & move on to the next. In this short trip we saw the Powder Gate (which cars drive through), Panna Marie pred Tynem (Tyn Church), the Astronomical Clock, Karlov Most (Charles Bridge), walked along the river Vltava up to Tanc ici dum (Dancing House)...then back to the hostel. That whole time we were out, it didn't stop raining :(
We had a glimpse of sunlight the next morning, but it soon hid behind the dark grey clouds again. But at least we didn't need to use our umbrella. Crossed the Karluv most & up the hill to Prazsky hrad (Prague Castle). Didn't do much, just walked through the grounds. The lines were just too long to enter anything, even if the apartments were free we weren't in the mood to wait.
Joined a free walking tour on the last day. Our guide was Justin, quite a know-it-all & hyper active guy...that or he just wanted to keep warm. But he took us around for about 3 & half hours. Justin was able to summarize all of Czech Republic's history in roughly 10 minutes, quite impressive for a country that has gone through so much! It was a good tour, & I would recommend anyone to go along if ever in Prague. At least now we got to hear the stories behind each of the sights we saw during our walks the passed few days, & even places that aren't in guide books.
It was a long wait that night, since we had an overnight train to Krakow, Poland. Glad it wasn't raining when we had to walk back to the train station. We stood eyes glued to the departure board with all the other passengers waiting for a platform to come up for our train. When I purchased the ticket, I was hoping I made it clear enough that we wanted a 2-bed cabin...I guess next time I should learn how to say it in Czech. Though it didn't turn out as bad as I thought...who needs proper sleep anyway right? No, we had a little compartment, smaller than the ones in China, & it had 6 beds, 3 on each side. And I just had to be the one right on the top, right? I couldn't sit down, because my head was hitting the roof, & I couldn't stretch out because the luggage were at my feet (there was no room anywhere else). It did turn out to be like a miniature hostel dorm though, shared with another young couple from Krakow, & a Norwegian girl, so it was ok :)
Arrived early morning in Krakow, with the rain pouring down to greet us. We tried using garbage bags which I took from the hostel in Budapest to cover our luggage...it was too small, so used in for the backpacks instead. Fifteen minutes walking, trying to balance a map, directions, umbrella in one hand, pulling the luggage on the other, & watching out for crazy drivers who like to drive right by the kurb & splash dirty water all over the next unattentive pedestrian. Arrived at Orange Hostel, left our luggage in the storeroom went walking back in the rain to the mall.
Yes you heard that right, the mall - Galeria Krakowska. Didn't want to do any sightseeing in the rain today, so we walked around all 3 floors, reptile exhibitions, & other stores worth checking out. But spent most of the time back at the hostel staying dry :)
Even if the weather wasn't going to cooperate the next day, we decided to go to Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka (Wieliczka Salt Mine). This wasn't our first choice, but the sights at Auschwitz-Birkenau were closed until further noticed due to flood warnings. It took awhile to find the stupid bus because the lady at reception pointed us out to the wrong stop. So finally found the right stop & waited waited for #304. Arrived the salt mine & again...waited waited for an hour for the English tour to begin. It was a tour that lasted about 3 hours or so. And by the way, I wasn't going to pay for another ticket just to take pictures...are you kidding me?!? I still took anyway, just stayed behind the group.
Ok long boring story cut short...don't go to the salt mines. Not worth the money or effort to get out there. Not much to see really...yes there were a FEW cool sculptures, but all you need to see is one & you've seen them all. The tour guide was too quiet & quite frankly boring as a door knob. Then in the rain, we....waited...at the bus stop forever (no exageration there) for the bus back. All I can say is it's a good thing we didn't pay for it (I mean of course there's payment, but the bus driver never asks).
Next day was slightly better, we headed out early when it was not drizzling too hard. We were able to walk for 10 minutes without the umbrella, quite impressive huh? Walked up to Zamek Wawelski (Wawel Castle), I'm sure it ha great views when the weather isn't shit. And you know what, we WAITED 20 minutes to get into Katedra Wawlska (Wawel Cathedral), and would you believe our luck that mass will be on until 12noon & no visitors allowed? It seems that all we have been doing in Poland is wait, nothing has come out of these. Because all I think so far is...booooring...
After our descend from the castle hill, we proceeded towards the main square where there were markets. Ok maybe on weekends only? Because there was such a poor amount opened. And of course one of the sights to see - Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) - is covered in scaffolding! It's the place that is supposed to house all those hawkers with souvenirs & galleries of Polish art.
On one corner of the square is Kosciol Mariacki (St. Mary's Church). Every hour on the hour, there's a trumpet call that cuts off abruptly to recall the near-destruction of Krakow in 1241. This was when the Tatars were invading, they shot down the trumpeter with an arrow as he attempted to warn the city.
A short stroll down one of the little streets brings you to the 3rd oldest university in Europe - Uniwersytet Jagiellonski. At it's Collegium Maius is where astronomer Mikolaj Kopernik, better known as Copernicus once studied. At another street off the square you get to a gate called Brama Florianska, & beyond that, Barbakan. It was the most importantelement in the system of defense walls around the city. At the height of its importance, it was surrounded by a 6m deep & sometimes 26m wide moat!
Now, all along I thought the bagel was just another American thing, until one of the guys in the hostel in Prague told us it was actually a Jewish thing. Come to Krakow, & according to legend a Jewish baker in Vienna concocted the first bagel in 1683 as a gift to a Polish king Jan Sobieski to thank him for routing the Turkish invaders. And according to historical records, the bagel first appears in Krakow in 1610! SOOO of course I just had to have a bagel :)
Glad it wasn't raining when we walked back to the train station to catch our train to Warsaw. It was the EC3510, departing at 10:15am, but was actually a tad late in leaving. Got to the countryside of Poland which we had not seen yet, but I was really falling asleep. Saw rain, dark clouds, & finally, some sunlight...all the way to Warsaw. So hot on arrival that I had to take of my jacket :) The hostel was a 15 minute walk, named Nathan's Villa Hostel Warsaw, & thank goodness we were able to check in straight away.
Didn't get much time to look at the sights, since it was already late in the afternoon. We just beelined for the supermarket & stocked up for lunch/dinner. It was hard to get to sleep since everytime you make the slightest movement, the bed creaks & probably wake everyone up. But it was worse in the morning when a guy left early & dropped his keys twice on the wooden floor, & kept coming in & out of the room...*SIGH* the perks of staying at a hostel dorm room :) HE - HE - HE
It was nice to see that the sun was out in full force. We walked our legs right off! The furthest they took us was at Umschlagplatz, a monument marking the spot where around 300,000 Jews were loaded on cattle wagons bound for Treblinka. Along the same road, but on the opposite side of the intersection is another monument to remember the victims of Soviet aggression & all those deported to the wastes of Siberia. And just passed the Sad Najwyzszy (Supreme Court) is yet another monument - Pomnik Powstania Warszawskiego (Monument to the Warsaw Uprising). It depicts a group of insurgents in battle, & another faction retreating into the sewers.
Leading to the Barbakan, is a little street called ul.Freta, & in house number 16 is where Nobel prize winning physicist & chemist Maria Sklodowska was born (better known as Marie Curie). Much of Stare Miasto was destroyed during the war, so what you see today is just the reconstruction. Only the use of paintings & drawings were used as the blueprints to rebuild this town.
In the middle of Rynek Starego Miasta (Old Town Square) is one of 3 Warszawa Syrenka (Warsaw Mermaid) you will find in the city. According to legend, a greedy merchant kidnapped the mermaid from Wisla River, but local fishermen came to her rescue. In return, she swore to defend the city, & is depicted as holding a shield & a raised sword.
Another gorgeous day in Warsaw :) Walked down to Lazienki Park. There's a long lake, several palaces, a fake ruin of an amphitheatre, greenhouses, & a flock of peacocks strolling around. The only palace we visited was Palac na Wodzie (Palace on Water). Sat on one of the benches for a quick rest & to enjoy the heat.
I wanted to see Synagoga Nozykow (Nozyk Synogogue), but it proved hard to find! Or at least both different maps I had marked it wrong! Instead we went to see 2 parts of the Jewish Ghetto walls that were left standing. One was in the courtyard of ul. Zlota 62, & another at ul. Sienna 55. Three bricks from the first one have been taken out to display at museums in Melbourne (Australia in case any of you were wondering), another in Houston (USA), & the other to Jerusalem (Israel). On the other wall, one was taken out for a museum in Washington DC (USA). We also walked through ul. Prozna which is the only street of the Jewish neighbourhood that survived. You can even see the bullet marks, & there are large photographs of Jewish people from the windows.
It was a bit of a nightmare the next morning, when we got up at 2:15am to get ready for our bus to Vilnius, Lithuania. We walked about 20 minutes to Warszawa Centralna (the main train staion), waited for the night bus to take us to Warszawa Zachodnia, about 30 minutes away. When we arrived, we had another 30 minutes or so to spare. It was good timing when we got to the stand there because it started to rain...cold...windy... Come 4am our bus hadn't arrived...4:30...nothing.
Finally at 5am the station opened it's doors, but nodbody at the counters until 5:30am. The lady wasn't helpful...not even to the Polish lady who eventually helped out. It was already 6am & we know for sure that the bus will not be arriving. Because everyone she had asked had no idea about it, mostly because it's not the same bus company as the one based at the station. There wasn't even a Eurolines stand in there. To make things worse, the reservations number on our ticket was closed on Sundays :( Luckily however, this amazing lady drove us back to the train station where we ended up purchasing a ticket for the train instead. Already wasted 4 hours of our morning, we were finally able to board the D10011 bound for Vilnius (even though it was going to be another 10 hours till we got there).
Around 12:30pm, we arrived at a station called Sowalki, where the train carriages were split & the last 3 continued on the journey. Now we would not have known to go to the back carriages if the ticket officer didn't inform us a couple of hours ahead. Then at 2:50pm, we arrived at what I'm assuming is the border between Poland & Lithuania - Sestokai. Here, we had to change trains, luckily it was just on the opposite side of the platform. And in a few hours time we arrived tired, lethargic, & bothered in Vilnius.
Luckily there was no more need for any more form of transportation to get to our hostel - Old Town Hostel. Only 300m to walk & we could finally just relax :)
Pretty much saw everything in one day. Just down the road is the 16th century Ausros Vartai (Gates of Dawn) which we walked through & got to the Senamiestis (Old Town). Close by is Sv. Dvasios baznycia (Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit) which is the seat of Lithuania's Russian Orthodox Bishop. East Europe's oldest university is also within the Senamiestis, but unfortunately we couldn't enter the courtyard since classes were on. Founded in 1579, & called Vilniaus Universitetas. I find it funny that everywhere, no matter where you are in the world, the word for university is similar :)
We got to Arkikatedros aikste (Cathedral Square), where you wouldn't believe it, the Arkikatedra bazilica (The Cathedral) is situated ;) Who would have guest right??? But it looked more like their version of the White House than a cathedral. But it's huge inside, & there's also the ornate Sv. Kazimiero koplycia (Chapel of St. Casimir) tucked away in the corner.
We didn't go to see the Choraline synagoga (The Choral Synagogue) until the next day. Also tried going to the Museum of Genocide Victims, which unfortunately was closed :( How unlucky that it was closed both days that we could roam around the city. Even MORE unlucky when it started to rain & we had to walk back to the hostel through it :( In the afternoon though, we managed to make it up to Aukstutine (Gedimino) pilis (The Upper Castle).
Joel's birthday :) Walked so fast to the bus station because the grey clouds were threatening to drop buckets any minute. Quickly went to the supermarket to spend the rest of our Lithuanian loose change, the closest I could get to a cake/cupcake was a poppyseed scroll that was iced with chocolate. Each piece was big & tasted quite good ;)
Luckily the bus arrived on time & we were allowed on board. The other Australian couple from Tasmania though weren't so lucky :( They had booked their tickets online about 6 months ahead & weren't contacted when the timetable changed. Their tickets showed 9:30am, but we were scheduled to depart at 10am. Because of this, the driver would not let them on. They went instead to the Eurolines office with the driver, but even when we finally drove off, they weren't on board.
It was a good day to travel because it wasn't all sunshine outside, it was gloomy & wet. Though that wasn't the story when we finally arrived in Riga, Latvia around 3pm :) Our hostel was a short distance away from the bus station so we had no problems finding it - Riga Hostel.
Since it was so sunny outside, & there was no clouds in sight, I wanted to go out & take pictures in case the next day was going to be raining. On the map, it looked as though Riga was big, but we found out soon after starting our walk that everything was just a few steps away ;) So in that afternoon, we checked out the Latviesu Strlnieku Laukums (Latvian Riflemen Monument) which is one of only a few Soviet monuments not torn down. The monument honors Lenin's bodyguards. Just beyond that is the recently rebuilt Melngalvju (House of the Blackheads), named so because during the 17th century the Blackheads' union became the only inhabitants of the building. Sv. Petera baznica (St. Peter's Church) was first built in the 13th century. However the tower was not built until the 17th century. It's tower has a viewing platform which can be reached by an elevator! Doma laukums (Dome Square) is quite big, it got it's name from the Doma baznica (Cathedral Church of Riga). Inside (which we missed out on) is a gigantic church organ with 6,767 pipes, the 4th largest organ in the world! I would have wanted to see that, but you would have to buy tickets to watch an orchestra play at night in one of their concerts...can't be bothered.
Found a book at the hostel's common room that had a walking tour you could follow, & it had the background of the attractions you pass. So I took it around with us as we explored more of Riga :) To start off, we went to Livu laukums (Livu Square) which is surrounded by cafes/restaurants/bars & is quite a popular meeting place among the locals. Across the road & over the bridge is "Milda" the nickname for Brivibas piemineklis (Freedom Monument), flanked by two guards at it's base. If you retrace your steps back a few metres & take a right, you arrive at a small park with the Bastejalns (Bastion Hill) which is where you find the remaining defense structure of Old Riga. Around the park, there are memorial stones where five people were killed by the Soviets during the 1991 communist suppression.
Got to Rigas pils (Riga Castle) close to the Daugava river. It was nothing exciting, it's the president's official office & is also home to three museums. It did have a couple of guards marching back & forth at the front... Tris brali (The Three Brothers) are the oldest stone residential buildings in the city, over 500 years old! Jakaba katedrale (Saint Jacob's Church) is Old Riga's Catholic cathedral from the 13th century, & the Saeima (Parliament) across the street was nothing great.
Around the corner is Zviedru varti (The Swedish Gate), & a reconstruction of Vecpilsetas muris (The Old City Wall). The wall is supposedly the oldest remaining part of Old Riga's fortifications, but it didn't look old at all...Down the street is Pulvertornis (The Powder Tower), kinda cool because it has green vines growing on it's brick walls, & you can also see two cannonballs stuck from when the Russians were attacking the Swedes.
At the Tourist Information office, I found another map with walking tours. Mostly around Art Nouveau structures. Alberta Street, & Elizabetes Street has most of these buildings. The walk also brought us back through most of the places we saw yesterday, & it had extra information which the book didn't have.
Since we arrived in Riga, I have been cooking some meals I miss from home so I asked mum to send me a few of these recipes. Now, Joel & I are so full, & stuffed that I'm sure we won't starve in expensive countries that we are about to hit. I think we'll be able to stick to crackers & tuna for awhile hehehe.
It's nice when we you don't have to rush early in the morning to get to the airport :) After breakfast we were able to go to the shopping centre & exchange currencies, & anything left over is easily spent at the supermarket...lollies...3 bags of it! Joel & I spend wisely you see, we won't eat these all at once, no, instead it will be split up between the next plane & train travels ;) I mean, we'll TRY to make it last that long hehehe
Lidosta Riga International Airport is about 20-30 minutes away from the city & is quite small. Flew with AirBaltic B105, only 50 minutes (I bet a chunk of that is taxing on the runways) to get to Stockholm, Sweden. Really excited, because we've heard lots of good things about it, though we were warned about the prices. Which is why I decided not to go to Finland & Norway too, Sweden out of the 3 had the "cheapest" hostels. On arrival it was a 40 minutes bus ride to the central station, & then 10 minutes on the tunnelbana (subway) to our stop.
Now at Skanstulls Vandrarhem...thank goodness there's no stairs! Walking distance to cafes/bars/restaurants (we probably won't be able to afford the water there, let alone a side dish of fries), supermarket (our BESTFRIEND!), & the sights are a bit of a walk but a pleasant one :)
The next couple of days were beautiful! Sun was out, warm enough that I could be in shorts & spaghetti-strap shirts (I still brought my jacket along though, JUST INCASE)! Even if we wanted to go inside the museums, we had to hold back because it was expensive & exchanging money here meant having to give up a big chunk just for commissions :( I also wanted to hold off on pasta & rice for a bit...but they have FREE pasta & rice at the hostel, & you know you CAN'T go passed FREEBIES especially in an expensive city. So there, we were stuck with more pasta & more rice with just having to buy the sauce or flavours to add to the blandness of it all. Though really, we shouldn't complain, that's less spending for food!
Since we didn't go into any museums we just walked passed the places mentioned in the guide books, or maps. Stockholm, if you didn't know is partly made up of 14 islands. And one of these islands is Gamla Stan (Old Town). The street of Våsterlånggatan is the main thouroughfare for the tourists with souvenir stores, cafes lining both sides. Joel & I probably checked every single one of those souvenir stores looking for the cheapest postcards & patches...all were the same price...too much.
Luckily it doesn't cost anything to view buildings from the outside. And the first we saw was Kungliga Slottet (The Royal Palace). Not only is it the winter residence of the Swedish Royal family, but it also houses 4 museums within itäs walls. One of the little alleys we passed along the way was Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, I took a picture of it because it was so cute & narrow. I didn't realise that it's actually the narrowest street in the city only 90cm wide! Stortorget (Main Square) has been the meeting point since the Middle Ages. It's also the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath, where in November 1520, 80 noblemen & Stockholm citizens were beheaded.
Crossed Centralbron, one of the bridges to the city area & get a close up shot of Stadshuset (Town Hall). Completed in 1923 & it's Blue Hall is the venue for the annual Nobel Prize festivities. We also read that 8 million bricks were used for the building! There's a nice small garden at the back along the river Riddarfjärden where we sat on the steps with everyone to enjoy the sunshine :)
Another pedestrian/shopping street we found in the city was Drottninggaten, which also crossed over back to Gamla Stan. You can't miss Riksdagshuset (The Parliament Building) since you walk trough it's arches to get back to Kungliga Slottet. It's also worth checking out the inside of Storkykran (The Cathedral of Stockholm), one because it's FREE, & two because it is 700+ years old! There's a cool organ, & a sculpture of St George & the Dragon which was done by Bernt Notke in 1489.
If you want to spend the day just walking around, Djurgärden is the place to go. It used to be the royal hunting ground, a natural park right in the city. Only a few buildings & they say only around 800 people live here (still a lot though right?). Two of the museums we really wanted to go to were here - Vasamuseet, & Skansen. Why? Well, Vasamuseet because is has the 1628 warship "Vasa" on display. About 95% of it intact after renovation. It capsized on it's maiden voyage in the Stockholm harbour in 1628. Then Skansen - it's the world's first open-air museum. Opened in 1891 to show today's society how people onced lived. There are houses, farm buildings brought in from all over Sweden. There's also a bear pit, wolves, & farm animals.
So it looks like Sweden is on the "To come back" list. A list that will probably stay hidden in a box until we become millionaires...But for now, we're happy to sit back & let other people spend their money here :)
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