Irish Krakow

... point of the story is that this happened for about an hour and it was rather surreal as I lay there just really really wanting to go to sleep! Interestingly, the next morning the girl confessed she gets night terrors (fair enough) and that particular night thought she was in Sassenchuan concentration camp. Weird.

So my Eastern Trekker tour kick started on Friday. 39 people, full up, and I'm pleased to say much better group dynamics than my Morocco tour ...

... in a Trabant driven by Crazy Qba - crazily. I've never been in a Trabant before, and I can honestly say I don't wish to again. As explained on the drive, with Qba cheerfully pointing out with both hands, (which was worrying as they didn't spend a great deal of time gripping the steering wheel), the whole thing is made of fibreglass and the bonnet is made of cardboard; it has no fuel pump, the petrol tank sits on top of ...

... a very laazy one sitting around and making jokes all day as only can be done when hungover. Benny showed us some funny Youtube clips including the Penetcostal chasers section which Ive posted on Facebook. Its classic but quite disturbing, I'd say a must see. That night we got loose again on fresh strawberry Daiquiris. There was something in the air that night and we were running around like lunatics. I posted a clip of us in the poolroom on youtube. As usual Benny stole the ...

... of only three foreigners allowed to join, and to the American Philosophical Society. "As pure a son of liberty as I have ever known," said Thomas Jefferson about Kościuszko. From Kosciuszko Mound I took a bus and tram to Nowa Huta which was a Communist attempt at a planned community of supporters to counter the perceived threat from Krakow´s "bourgeois" intellectual and Catholic traditions. The Socialist town was built 10 km from Krakow around the massive Lenin Steelworks which ...

... toute l'Europe. Rien de tres raffine. Simplement des mets traditionels Polonais. Si vous vous rendez en Pologne, vous vous devez de gouter a leur version de Goulash aisi qu'a leur soupe traditionelle polonnaise, qui constitue en elle meme un repas complet. Cracovie est une ville universitaire. L'illustre Nicolas Copernic a gradue de l'Universite de Cracovie. La ville fourmillonne d'etudiant au debut de la vingtaine et le nightlife est donc genial. Les bars restent ...

... s some legend about dragons and the founding of Krakow, not sure how it goes though) and if you SMS smoke to some number the statue breathes fire. The most cornball thing ever. My other big day of playing tourist in Krakow was spent in Auschwitz, but that'll be its own entry. Otherwise my days were spent doing what the three of us had each independently decided you need to do as you hop from country to country -- sample the local food, the local beer, and if ...

... to barricade oneself in the sleeping compartment with one's valuables carefully hidden on one's person, as Polish villains have their own secret methods of relieving one of said possessions. Apparently, they use a small rubber hose to pump gas of some sort into compartments that are not quite closed, and then rob you blind while you "sleep". Sounds like urban legend to me, but nevertheless, I will be careful. And on that happy note, I leave you all. I will be home soon!

... that are stuffed with spring-loaded snakes. Open the top, and it all jumps out. After a while we went next door. Ludomir had to leave for work, but his wife Dorota was there and she happily invited us in. We sat in the living room next to the fire as she made tea. Though she spoke very little English we could still communicate fairly well. We petted their beagles Kaya and Figa, and looked through photo albums. She fed us cookies and told us about Martin, Mike's cousin ...

Vanessa and I needed one more trip together before our time as roommates would end. We decided on Krakow. So we loaded our selves onto a night train from Prague to Krakow and we were off on our crazy adventure. Night trains are a great way to get some place and not have to pay for a hotel, but not so great for beauty sleep. You get a little (and I do mean European little not American little) cabin with two fold-down beds ...

... were incinerated. People can be so crass and tacky! After several hours there, we took the bus back to Krakow, subdued. We went to an awesome Karpinski exhibit at the museum. That helped lift us out of our daze. We also saw the Krak Motel, which got us laughing for the first time in hours. Tomorrow we are off to some town in the south of Poland that starts with a Z that I can neither spell nor pronounce. Then we're headed into Slovakia.