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Hi, it's all about the adventure... ((*_*)) 
Nov 25, 2005 07:00 PM Contemplating....
You know when you have experiences that just change you life. Well I visited Auschwitz; and just need to talk about it. Seeing some of the sights were shocking, the size of cells where people were kept, or the wall where hundreds of inmates faced firing squads or the conditions where they slept, beds piled three high. The railway tracks that saw the trains approaching, the platforms where they were sorted, the belongings left behind, the vast size of the complex; you cannot be human if you don’t feel something. Now flowers, candles and other mementoes are left, in memory of lost loved ones; the worst documented horrors to happen to a race of people.
Not to trivialise it, but one strange thing that happened which left me wondering; amongst the horrors, where people were discarded for being or thinking differently, or from a different race, origins, religion, ethnic persuasion, people still found the time to stare and point at me…
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Nov 24, 2005 07:00 PM Makes you stronger...
OK day 2 and oh what a day. It started with a trip to Auschwitz. I had been toying with the idea of actually going but I decided that if I didn’t I would always regret it. So with trepidation I booked a trip; as I got on the coach they started a film. It was graphic, detailed and emotionally draining. The horror of what took place was incredible. By the time I got there it was a little easier to deal with.
However, when I saw the torture chambers, where 4 men would have to stand up all night in a room so small that they would have had to lean on each other – it was horrific.
Some rooms were filled with shoes, brushes or suitcases. One room had just hair, locks that were still braided, glasses stolen for the dead. Boy the pain!
With the snow falling I could only think of that day in January 1945 when they Russians liberated the camp. They found only 7,000 inmates, some 1.5million had been killed. Who would believe man could be so wicked.
My friend advised that I should do something nice after that kind of experience - so I went to a wonderful restaurant in the Kazimierz district. It really helped.
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Nov 23, 2005 07:00 PM Brrrrh it's cold...
I really must stop travelling to Europe in November. The weather is so hit and miss that it really isn’t worth it.
Well it all started with the aircraft trying to land into Krakow as the weather was so bad they couldn’t see. We attempted a landing but had to abort as the fog looked like it was dirty cotton wool – thick and impenetrable. When we finally got on the ground in another airport it was -4 and snowing. What was I thinking!
It was so cold; and I was so embarrassed when I took out a pair of tights from my overnight bag instead of a pair of gloves. My fellow passengers seemed to see the funny side of it. It was like the clown trick – trying to take a handkerchief out of my pocket and it just kept on coming. Ooh well…
The airport authority ended up putting on a few coaches to take us back to Krakow (about a 2 hour drive). Then from that airport I took a bus that cost 2.50 zloty and took another hour into city. So instead of arriving into Krakow around lunchtime it was early evening before I got to the hotel - once there, there was only one thing left to do and that was go out to dinner.
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Nov 15, 2004 07:00 PM It's my birthday
It’s my birthday and I have to lament over the last few days in Prague. I had such a wonderful time, the weather was cold but the people were friendly. I sat in the old town square and drank svarene vino - hot wine and pastries, then listened to buskers fill the air with music. I road in a horse drawn carriage and waved at the tourists as we drove by. As the snow lightly dusted the square I could hear the chimes ring for the surrounding churches. Total bliss.
Well actually, after having a four day weekend, I was unable to take another day off work, so I was at my desk dreaming of the weekend pass.
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Nov 14, 2004 07:00 PM Homeward bound....
The weekend has ended so quickly, it’s already Monday, but the nice thing is that my flight is not until 9.15pm; that meant a solid day sightseeing. For my final walk, I headed up Petrin Hill. I wish I could say that I walked up, but alas there was a funicular which probably cut out two hours walking up and it only cost me the price of a normal tram ticket.
Yet again there were great views of the city from up Petrin Hill. There was also a scaled replicate of the Eiffel Tower from which the views were quite mesmerising. On the way down I walked along the great wall of Prague and then followed the path back down the hill. Twisting and turning, down further and further, then I passed a lovely Ukrainian wooden church. It was so old but it looked brilliant, completely uncharacteristic to the Czech churches I’d been seeing, and still I wandered down further along the path. By this time my knees began to hurt, but I took it in my stride, as I finally came to the Kinsy Summer House, and I know the end was in sight. It was now time for a coffee, I found a lovely Czech pub and had a bite to eat and a hot drink. Now I had some time to do some shopping before I had to go to the airport.
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Nov 13, 2004 07:00 PM A very pretty city
Prague is a very pretty city, as I walked through the streets, I just had to stare in amazement at the buildings. Each of them uniquely designed with extraordinary features…
Like Rome, Prague is built on a series of hills, my next walk took me to Vysehrad. This is where I started seeing great views of the city. High on the hills, looking down on the River Vltava (or River Moldau the German name), it was completely breathtaking.
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Nov 12, 2004 07:00 PM Walk in Style
The advantage of being in Prague is that there are lots of famous sights located in a relatively small vicinity. This is good for sightseeing but bad for crowd control, as everyone is trying to see the same thing and more often than not, with the same guidebook. This surprised me completely, as I thought I was travelling off season and there were still stacks of people. I hate to think what it would be like in the height of the summer period.
My first walk took me from the Municipal building down through the heart of the Old Town, into some alleys, then across the road to the bridge – the Charles Bridge. Where I found even more people, but like me, they seemed to be having just as much fun.
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Nov 11, 2004 07:00 PM A long weekend in Prague
Prague is a lovely city, but I did not quite comprehend how beautiful it really was until now.
I had an afternoon flight from London that it took approximately an hour and 35 minutes, on Czech Airlines. From the time I got on board I felt welcome as the staff was genuinely friendly.
In the airport I had to laugh at the first sight of Czech lifestyles was an image of a Skoda (car) and then all the famous or imfamous beers. But that's what it is all about.
Arriving into Prague, the weather had a chill in the air but I made my way via a bus, a train and a tram to my hotel. It cost me 12 kc which was about 30p - a bargain. When I called the hotel to get directions the receptionist told me it would cost 700 by taxi. It was a little bit of a hassle, but just look at how much I saved.
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Oct 31, 2004 07:00 PM Day in Edinburgh, Scotland
I ended up spending yesterday in Edinburgh, not enjoying myself but working. But I was allowed to spend a few minutes wondering around Princes Street before catching my flight home. I love Edinburgh, the city is exciting. This was my thrid visit but I still feel warm inside when I think of being there. I wanted to complete the Royal Mile but didn't have sufficient time, maybe the next time....
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Jan 01, 1970 12:00 AM We have Obama…
On the morning that Obama won the election, I remember going to work and seeing a woman in the middle of the road waving a flag a US and saying ‘we’ve got Obama’. Well it seems now this statement is being realised, as Trinidad and Tobago will be hosting the Fifth Summit of the Americas and after a layover in Mexico President Barrack Obama will be coming to these shores.
It’s funny but at any other time the whole country would have been strongly behind this summit; but with the economic situation that has been a lot of controversy about the amount that will be spent, etc. With people being sent home from jobs how can the government be spending billions on ‘entertaining’.
My view is that this was a short sight view, and moving forward the country will benefit from all the exposure that it receives.
I hope, wholeheartedly, that everyone is now behind the event, as I think it is very exciting times. I suspect most of the dignitaries are already here. I can’t wait for the news this evening…
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