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Where am I exactly?

That morning in Cesky Krumlov I overslept and by the time I left my hostel I was cutting it close, but I figured if I walked quickly and didn't get lost then I would make it in time. Well I walked fast alright (or should I say hobbled on my crutches) but I took a wrong turn and ended up 15 minutes away from the bus station with only 10 minutes until my bus departed. I asked a woman on the street for directions and she said motioned that I could jump on the bus that was just pulling up and that should take me to the train station. After a couple of minutes on the bus I looked more closely to the sign in the window and realized that this was the bus I had wanted all along! I was so relieved and settled in for the short 30 minute ride to my next transfer. I made the next bus with 2 minutes to spare and didn't get to the next station for another 4 hours.

When I arrived I realized that I had lost my schedule that told me the names of the towns and the buses I wanted. I wasn't bothered because I knew my next bus was in 45 minutes at 12:15 and that would take me directly to Krakow. I found my way to the information desk and and asked about the 12:15 bus. The woman pulled out her pen and wrote "2:45 Krakow" in large letters. Argh!! The last thing I wanted was to sit around in this depressing station for an extra two hours. I accepted my fate and went in search of lunch, but quickly regretted my choice of a seemingly appetizing baguette that actually contained cream cheese, pickles, cheese, meat, and some unidentifiable brown stuff.

After giving up on lunch I spotted the ticket counter and hoped the information lady was wrong and perhaps they knew of the 12:45 bus that would get me out of this dark station. Unfortunately, the ticket lady, after furious hand motions on both sides, got across to me that the next bus to Krakow did not leave for two days. I quickly blabbered in English that this just didn't work for me as it was the end of my trip and I flew back to the States in three days! Not a word of this translated and she just laughed at what she apparently saw as quite a funny situation, I on the other hand was on the verge of tears. It had occured to me as I stood there helpless that I didn't even know what city I was in, let alone country. That information was lost with my itinerary I left on the last bus. I took a deep breath, trying hard not to break down right there in front of a bus station full of Polish/possibly Czech people, and asked slowly, "Where am I?" It didn't matter how many times I said it she didn't understand. As a last resort I tried writing down the words, "City? Name? Here?" Finally it clicked and she replied, "Ahhh, Brno". I motioned for her to write it down and then asked where the train station was. Oh course that didn't translate either, not even with my emphatic conductor gestures and enthusiastic "Choo Choo! Choo Choo!"

I eventually found my way to the train station and with 4 different local trains I could make it to Krakow by 10:30. I didn't care what time I made it at this point and I graciously bought the tickets. From there on I barely made my train connections and would still be wandering Poland were it not for the help of local people who took pity on the wandering cripple and guided me to the right platform. My biggest compliment, although also a bit disconcerting, came from a young Polish man I met on one of the trains.

Polish Guy: So is this your first time in Poland?
Me: Are we in Poland?
PG: Uhhh, yeah.
Me: Yes, then this is my first time.
PG: You are travelling alone in Poland on those sticks? You are very brave.

The days travel from Cesky Krumlov to Krakow totalled 16 hours, but the time seemed to pass by without my even noticing. I wrote in my journal that day, "As a result of the trip I've become much more patient, I have to be or I would loose my mind jumping from one 8 hour train to the next. I've also been in so much pain and discomfort that I had to make the decision early on to accept and move past it or else risk ruining my trip."

Prague and Cesky Krumlov

I spent most of the bus ride contorting my body into different positions, each one more uncomfortable, in an effort to get some sleep. I arrived the following morning at 4:45am with the sky already fully lit. I tried to take the metro but with no local currency I didn't get very far. I opted to walk and follow the terribly drawn map on the back of the hostel brochure. As I neared the old town center I found I was literally the only one outside except for the occasional street sweeper or left over partiers from the night before. I was so tired that I failed to appreciate the absolute treasure I had, seeing Prague's old town in solitary silence. To see the streets just as they've been every morning at this time for hundreds of years, without cars, hoards of tourist, or kitschy shops. I somehow managed to find my hostel by 5:30 and collapsed on the couch in the lounge. The hostel receptionist took pity on me and let me into my empty dorm room at 7:30 where I enjoyed a rare quiet sleep until 12:00. I spent the afternoon wandering the streets seeing the main sights and in the evening I went to the town square where a huge screen was set up and hundreds were gathered to watch the Eurocup. I hung out with kids from my hostel until they went off on a pub crawl and I remained behind to watch the game. I ended up talking with an interesting American who was on his second overland backpacking trip from Europe through Asia. I got a lot of good advice for my trip in the fall!

The next day I took a walking tour that turned out to be a huge disappointment, especially after my last great one in Berlin. Afterwards I made my way across the old town and up the hill to Prague Castle. I spent a couple of hours wandering the castle grounds and finding a quiet spot in the gardens to journal. That evening I went back to the old town square to watch the Czech Republic play in the Eurocup. It has been great this summer to be in the countries when they are playing in the cup. All of Prague seemed to show up in the square to watch the game! Unfortunately they lost to Poland, but since I was hanging out with a group of Brits none of use cared very much. We wandered through Prague in search of a pub to sit down in and ended up in a quiet one a ways from our hostel. We soon realized that below our new favorite bar was a strip joint. This was quickly made clear as each woman who entered would beckon the guys to follow her downstairs where she would give "strip lessons, good price." I was happy when my male companions declined and we made our way home after a few pints.

I woke early the next morning and caught a bus to Cesky Krumlov, a small medieval town about 3 hours south of Prague. After following more terrible hostel directions, i.e. "leave the bus station and walk towards church tower." Hmmmm, which of the 12 church towers might that be? Unfortunately, it wasn't the one I chose and I got a full tour of Cesky Krumlov with my pack and crutches before I finally found my hostel tucked along the riverbank across town. After unloading my pack and eating a meager lunch from my food bag I set off to explore a bit more and took a great tour of the local castle. As it started to get dark I spotted a couple with an appetizing looking pizza and they directed me towards the shop. I carried that pizza home like it was my last supper and savored every bite of it. The Chinese girl who sat across the table and watched me devour it can attest to my ferocious appetite that night. I stayed up later than I planned talking with an interesting Irish man who was on his second backpacking trip across the world (I met at least 4 or 5 people on their second trip). As a result, I wasn't too keen on getting up at my planned hour of 4:30 and ended up hitting the snooze button. Thus began the longest day of my five week trip...

Leaving Germany

Marieke and I watched Germany play in the Eurocup at her local pub, then rode our bikes home where I packed up my things and said my goodbye's. Marieke was leaving for work early the next morning before I'd be awake. It was hard to say goodbye to my second travelling companion of the trip and to return to solo travel again. However mixed with my disappointment was also excitement. Travelling alone gives you the opportunity to see how strong and capable you really are. The last part of my trip would certainly test my capability and sheer will to not end up stranded in say, the bus station in an unknown town possibly in Czech Republic or Poland but unsure which one...

The next morning I awoke to the sounds of Marieke's mother moving about the kitchen preparing breakfast for me. Marieke had passed on to her mom my longing for eggs since they aren't an easy thing to carry with you when you're backpacking. Luckily they have 20 chickens on their farm so her Mother had whipped up a large bowlful for me along with a lot of other meats and cheeses. I wasn't quite sure the proper way to eat all of the different condiments and meats she had laid out for me, so I just made it up as I went with a few odd glances from her mother's way. The breakfast silence was aided by the fact that her Mother spoke no English at all. Through a series of hand gestures we conveyed the basics of breakfast and what I was going to do that morning, mainly update my blog and enjoy the time off. I was thankful to realize that Marieke had passed on to her mother that my food bag was running low and so she filled it up with a variety of German snacks. All of them delicious and finished off within two days, except for the weird beef jerky/fat sticks which I tried unsuccessfully to pawn off onto other unsuspecting travellers. After spending the morning updating my blog and returning week old emails I heard a quiet knock on the door as her mother motioned toward the kitchen door for lunch. Marieke's father had come in from the barn and the three of us sat down to lunch. This time I followed her parents lead as I tried to figure out how the different types of new food were to be put together and eaten. At the end of lunch her father pulled out three large photo albums of his visit to D.C. to see Marieke two years earlier when she was an Aupair. He would describe the photos in German and I pieced together about every 15th word that sounded similar to english and it was in that way that we spent the next 45 minutes looking at photos, half of them doubles.

After lunch I finished packing and Inika came to give me a ride to the local train station. She walked me up to the platform and helped me figure out the cheapest ticket to Hamburg. As I settled into my seat I gazed out the window at the beautiful scenery of the German countryside and wished that I could have spent more time exploring it's other cities and villages. In Hamburg I reluctantly bought an overnight bus ticket to Prague and settled in for a long 12 hour ride.