The adventure of the missed train

March 28, 2008: Ljubluana
You know, it wouldn't have been so bad if the only other train didn't leave until 4 pm. That 6 am train was early to miss too. We sat for a while in that cold train station, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, we decided to try another train station because the one we were at had no open information desks.

So we grabbed our bags and hopped the metro across town. No luck there either except that they actually had people to talk to. We debated for a long while. If we took the late train, we would miss the bus to Plitvice. Was it really worth one night? We had already had to cut it down to two nights to be able to manage church. Finally, a bit frustrated and thoroughly exhausted, we decided to head to Slovenia then instead of later. We hopped a long train ride to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Hours later, with only one misunderstanding about our rail pass (apparently Slovenia is not considered "Eastern Europe" as far as the pass is concerned) we arrived. We were able to find a place for the night, as well as one for the next (just not in the same room).

We decided to head out to Postojna Caves for the day. SO AMAZING! The Salt Mines were cool, but this was all natural. Stalactites and stalagmites. Columns and "curtains". Colors everywhere. It was so incredible. I wish I could show you pictures, but unfortunately, none of the computers will accept those pictures. I can see them fine on my camera, but when I try to upload them onto the website, they show up as an icon only. The ones you see now are Terri's.

Anyway, we started out on a little train ride into the cave, going through small tunnels and huge caverns. It was definitely a time to heed the warning "keep your arms and hands inside the ride at all times". Standing would be ill-advised as well. We felt like we had to duck through areas as it was.

I couldn't believe the formations. My favorite were what our guide called "curtains". They looked like ribbon or fabric coming out of the walls and ceiling. I loved it.

March 29, 2008: Headed out
After much consideration, we decided to head towards Trieste, Italy, so we would not miss church again. After the train ride and finding a pensione to stay at, we dropped our bags and went for a walk along the beach.

They have a wonderful park that looks out over the sea. Trees everywhere, kids playing, sun shining. It was great! Spring at last!! It was so nice to just relax in some warm weather. I even soaked my feet in the water...although that was definitely not warm. It was still fun.

March 30, 2008: Church in Trieste
Church was definitely wonderful. We had no trouble finding it this week. We were early though because we had to take public transportation. We talked to some of the members who also had to take the bus.

They didn't have an English Sunday School class for us, and there was only two languages this week (see church in Prague), but it was wonderful! There was always someone there willing to translate. In Sunday School, the Elders came in to help us out. Aviano (Elder) Whatcott, excitedly spent time with Terri. He's from Holden and was excited they knew some of the same people (he's a wrestler from Millard High and therefore know Adairs, Musselmans, Eldredges, etc). He's been in Europe for less time than we have, poor green thing :). He didn't do much translating, but Terri understood most of it on her own.

Aviano Ballard helped me. It was fun. Some of it I could get on my own by the words written on the board or the way the teacher said things (she was VERY expressive). Aviano Ballard supplemented what I couldn't pick up on my own.

Afterward, the teacher came up to me and jokingly accused me of laughing at her. I told her I was so excited that I actually understood what she was saying some of the time without any help. She decided to come and help us out by interpreting for Sacrament meeting.

So she translated for Terri when she needed it, and Aviano Ballard kept me informed on what was being said through the meeting. He also told me about different people in the ward. So many interesting people. I loved, loved, loved being there.

After the meeting was over, we road the bus and walked with all the Elders for a while until our paths no longer were the same. It was really nice to have some English conversation going on all around me. They were fun to talk to.

So ended our time in Trieste. The next day, we were scheduled to catch a bus to Umag, Croatia for our stay in a lighthouse...

Buda and Pest

MARCH 23
Happy Birthday to me...
Yes, Birthday #28 was celebrated in Budapest, and as a birthday present to me, I called home. It was a good day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to find the church. We thought we had good directions...I think our hotel clerk sent us to a Catholic church.

So, instead of church, we spent the day reading from the Ensign, Scriptures, writing in journals, and (for me) calling home. I miss my cell phone. I don't like hoping my room will have a phone I can call out on and then worrying about the time difference.

MARCH 24
Her knight in shining armor.
It just so happens, that our timing was perfect in Budapest to be there during their Spring Festival. This particular day, they had scheduled a Renaissance Fair at the castle in Buda. Tents filled with musical instruments (and people playing them), clothes you could put on and get your picture taken in (like our old west photos), and, of course, tents with trinkets for sale at outrageous prices. Ok, to be completely honest, I'm not sure how much they were. My mind is a little frazzled from so many different currencies.

We watched our meal being cooked in these enormous cast-iron skillets. They kind-of reminded me of Dutch ovens, but much shallower. I had paprika potatos and mixed vegetables. Mmmmm...vegetables. I also had some kind of meat dish. I'm not sure exactly what it was originally, but it had some kind of mustard based sauce it was cooked in. Very good. Terri and I both decided to skip the roasted pig.

After wandering around the castle grounds, we walked across the Chain Bridge to Pest and made our way back to the hotel.

MARCH 25
Solo.
We ventured out on our own, so I headed into downtown Pest to see some sights and visit their main market. It's a huge, two story building with food vendors selling vegetables, fruit, spices, etc. on the first floor. Wrapping around the the second floor (with views down into the main floor) are where the fast food shops are along with all the tourist souveniers. I had a kind of fry bread with "Hungarian Sauce". It was basically a very messy goulash with vegetables in it. Tasted great. Kind-of hard to eat without plate or fork. At least they gave you napkins.

I didn't know when Terri was expecting me back, so I headed to the hotel, with some sidetracks, where I (yay) got to do laundry in the sink. I really miss a washer and dryer.

MARCH 26
A bath in Pest.
We again decided today was a day to go into the city on our own. I wanted to hit some places Terri had seen the day before, and she had some other places in mind.

First, I went up the Fishermen's Bastion...I think that's what it's called. I really can't remember. It's this really cool, fairytale-style castle overlooking the river where the fishermen lived. It's made of a white stone and has cone-topped turrets connected with arched ramparts. For about $1, I got to go up into the ramparts and turrets. I'd say it was worth it; the views were incredible.

I then went North to Hero's Square where they have statues of various hero's from Budapest's history. I walked around a Transylvania-style castle, saw their city park, and made my way to the Bath house where I was meeting Terri.

After paying for everything (entrance, changing room, towel rental), I went out into the main area. The buildings surround three different pools. The first is a "play" pool. The most likely place to find kids, it has a current area that alternates with jets in the center. It's a lot of fun, but you better get in the currents when they first start, or you'll be fighting for a spot in a crowd of splashing teenagers. When the current stops pulling, or pushing depending on your point of view, jets start going all over the big pool. Wonderful back and leg massage for tired muscles :).

The center pool is the "serious" pool. It requires a swim cap and is for swimming laps, etc. We didn't try that one out.

The other pool is a huge hot tub. Well, maybe saying hot tub is a little misleading. The water was much warmer than the other pools, but it wasn't "hot". This is where the chess players are, if you've ever seen pictures. Groups of men surround two players and a waterproof board, seriously contemplating the next move. Knowing they could beat me in three minutes tops, I decided not to challenge anyone to a game.

Inside the buildings are saunas and smaller pools with varying temperatures. Most of the water is full of minerals, turning the water a bit green. They were really relaxing to soak in.

After spending nearly three hours at the baths, we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. Our train was leaving at six in the morning, and we still had a bit of packing to do.

One cheap concert...

...or one pricey toilet
I'm not quite sure which it was. At the tram stop by the Vienna Opera House, there was a sign advertising a unique bathroom experience. Nowhere else in the world could you utilize the facilities while enjoying Mozart's masterpieces. You paid for this pleasure, however. 0.60 Euro, but you got a clean bathroom and a concert to boot. Can't beat that.

Vienna

We arrived at 6 a.m. from Krakow. After stashing our bags and buying a pass for the bus/tram/metro, we made our way into the city. We rode the tram around, and since we missed our intended stop, saw a little more of Vienna than we planned. We made our way back to the above mentioned Opera stop where we walked around the Opera House and to a monument commemorating the victims of all wars.

We jumped onto a different tram that looped us around the city center, letting us see many sights from the comfort of a warm vehicle. The architecture is amazingly beautiful. Ornate, but not too much.

When we finished our loop, we got off and walked up a pedestrian street full of strollers, shoppers, and Mozart's handing out concert advertisements. We visited the St. Stephen's church which is said to be the center of Vienna and their most loved church. It was enormous!

We were going to visit a palace, but decided to skip it and get to our hotel. I was ready for some warm comfort and privacy (hostels aren't so good for that), so we made our way back to the train station and arrived just in time to hop on the train for Budapest. Three hours later, we were there...

Journey to the Center of the Earth...

...at least a bit closer anyway. We went to the Salt Mines yesterday, and I actually made it in the front entrance. Of course, the fact that it looked like a hallway instead of a deep, dark wormhole helped. It was actually pretty big tunnels with huge caverns. Very cool. We had a fun guide who liked to joke around which made it even better. We went two levels down. Apparently on the third level is a spa for people who have health issues. The salt in the air kills all bacteria, mold, etc, so even people with trouble breathing can come here and have a much easier time.

The beams are all wood because metal rusts too quickly. Besides, the salt in the mine preserves the wood...It preserves everything. Our guide was 200-years-old afterall ;)

Within the tunnels there are chambers with different sculptures and carvings. Everything is done in salt and it is amazing! The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling are salt.

My favorite room was the largest chapel. It had "paintings" carved into the walls in 3D relief. There was DaVinci's Last Supper and several others. The talent these miners had/have is amazing.



After the Salt Mines, we went back to the hostel to rest up for the next day.

Day 10: Auschwitz

Today, we slept in (so nice) and then jumped on a tour to Auschwitz. Lynda, you were right. There's a feeling in these places.

We went to different areas, hearing what living conditions were like, what day to day life would have been, and the lies these people were told. Did you know they had to buy tickets to get on the train to go to Auschwitz? They were told they were being taken to a better place where they would have jobs and homes without the problems they were experiencing in their home countries.

I just don't understand how people can be so cruel! What kind of people were they? How could they voluntarily carry out those orders?

After we got back to Krakow, we walked around the old town square, looking at the different shops set up. Since Easter is coming up, they set up different shops selling knick-knacks and food, flowers and jewelry. Tomorrow we're going to try some of the treats they had...we wanted a good hot meal today, so...

We ate out in a sit down restaurant for the first time this entire trip. You gotta love a place where the most expensive thing on the menu is $5.33. And my plate was FULL. I had "Hunter's Delight Potato Pancakes". It was one big potato pancake with sausage, beans, cheese, sour cream, herbs...I'm not sure what else, but it was so good. The fact that it was hot made it even better.

Hoping it's warmer where you're at then here. ~Andrea

Day 9: Hello Krakow

We made it fine to Krakow. The wait was long in the train station, and OH! so cold. We went early because we had to pick up our bags from the hotel, and since we didn't want to be dragging our bags all over Prague, we went to the train station. Our train didn't leave until 9:20 pm, so my bum was mighty numb from sitting on that cold wooden bench.

There was a man from Slovakia that started talking to us (in Slovak) telling us how a buddy of his was Mormon and how his friend had gone to some kind of music competition in Salt Lake City...I really don't know. I'm afraid I didn't get much of what he said. It was funny though because he reminded me of this old man we saw in Jerusalem who was selling "authentic" Widow's Mites. He kept saying, "More-mons! I love More-mons!"

We got in our little tiny sleeper car and I pretty much passed out till 6 am the next morning when we had to get up to be ready to get off the train. We took care of some business at the station (beds for the ride out) and slowly made our way to Mama's Hostel. I really like this place. So far no one else is in our room, which is nice. There's also a kitchen so we made dinner there last night. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Hopefully we're this lucky with all the places we'll stay.

Brrrrrr...
I've loved Krakow so far. My only complaint is the cold. Oh wow. Too bad they can't change it for us, but that would be like asking Monticello to turn off the wind...not possible. So we see the sites in spite of the cold, although I have to admit, we were a little worried when we were dragging our bags through a mini blizzard Tuesday morning! The snow didn't stick but the icy breeze did.

We went to the castle after a bit of a rest and a shower. It was a beautiful area. We toured the palace. They have some original furnishings and paintings, but our guide says much of the precious things such as paintings, books, etc all over Poland were destroyed with WWII and Nazi occupation. I had never really thought about the outcome of that. 70% of their libraries are gone, quite possibly never to be replaced. It's such a sad thought to me. So much history. So many dreams. So many ideas. So many lives, no longer remembered because they are gone, burned by people who were afraid such things would inspire rebellion against their power.

After the castle grounds, we tried finding our way around the Jewish district, Kazimierz. Unfortunately, on the off season, everything is closed on Tuesdays. I'm not sure if we'll try again. It was a harder area to be in. The buildings are much worse off. I don't know what the insides look like, but the outsides are crumbling and ragged. Some were obviously condemned and needed to be torn down.

We had a home cooked meal in our hostel kitchen with what we could find and figure out in the local "Polo Market". It was nice to sit at a table and eat a hot meal.

Prague

Well, we're in Prague. My first big city where we rely only on public transportation. Here's a photo just for you Bill. It doesn't quite show how steep these escalators are though...It looks like you're falling back on your way down and falling forward on your way up. And they move fast! Good thing to, or it would be a LONG ride to the top/bottom.

We've found our way fine, but it's been a little overwhelming. I definitely needed and enjoyed church today. We found the chapel right as the meeting was beginning. We met a missionary there from Cortez of all places. She goes home in May. She gave us some headphones so we could listen to the meeting in English. Then we went to an English Sunday School class. There were quite a few visitors from the states and Spain, and who knows where else. Relief Society was my favorite! The teacher was French, so she had an interpreter and then Sister Lee was translating for us...French and Czech (apparently she lived in France for a while). Anyway, comments were flying all over in three different languages. It was so much fun! I didn't want to leave once we were there. It's been stressful to me trying to figure everything out and being in such a crowded city. It was wonderful to be able to sit and enjoy something so familiar.

Our hotel is nice. Not too far from the tram and metro stop, when you're not carrying luggage, it's quite easy to get around. We've been up to the castle and walked around the grounds. Actually, we got there right in time to see the changing of the guards...well, more glimpse the changing of the guards. There were quite a few people excited to see it. As we were walking around, flyers were coming from left and right advertising concerts. We went to one in a castle room. It was a piano, viola, flute trio playing classical music. It was really good (could have only been better by having more comfortable chairs). It made me think of what life would be like if every day was Solo and Ensemble...not a very pleasant thought, is it Alison, Kelsey? But it really was good. All three were amazing musicians, but you should have seen the pianist playing Mozart! Very impressive.

We walked down to the Charles Bridge from there. Terri was disappointed that part of it was covered in scaffolding, but once you got on it a ways, it was fine. The bridge is lined with artists selling there wares...whether it be paintings, photographs, ceramic flutes, wooden hair clips and jewelry, or they could draw your portrait or caricature right there. We walked around town for a bit before heading back to our hotel for the night.

YAY! I found a place that will let me upload pictures...Sorry, don't know how to change the orientation though.

Hello from Germany

March 12
I was so glad to get off that plane in Frankfurt! And I was even more glad to see Elli and her dad waiting for us!! It was so nice to not have to worry about anything for the first few days. I only wish we could stay longer so we could meet the rest of her family.

We spent the first afternoon walking around Büdingen. Cobbled and winding walkways lined with red-tiled roofed houses. It was the old part of town, so we also walked through the castle gates and followed the stone wall. It was very relaxing.

March 13
We went into Frankfurt yesterday and saw where she goes shopping with her friends. I got a new scarf which is good because it's barely spring here. We walked through the open air market and had a glorified hot dog for lunch and took the train back to Stockheim where her dad picked us up.

Her friend, Kathi (short for Katarina), came and played Züg um Züg with us (I know you're jealous Mom!). Elli won that round, but I have to brag...I beat Elli the first night!! My family knows the significance of that :). Elli rarely loses.

You should see Elli's home. It's beautiful. It sits on top of the hill overlooking the village with the forest surrounding the back and side. We walked through the town this morning while Elli was at school. On the other side of the little valley is a tower...I'm not sure if it is a castle tower or simply a watch tower, but it was fun to walk around. I climbed on top and could see her house from there. Elli said when we come back she's going to try and get the key so we can go inside.

Right now we're trying to get our sleeper car reservation for our ride to Prague tonight. It's been fun being her with Elli. I hate to leave...partly because I've missed her and partly because it means we're on our own.

The hardware for my camera is all packed up. I'll add some pictures when we get settled in Prague. Talk to you later!

Ready or not, we're already gone...

First complication

Well, the drive to Denver went wonderful...well, as wonderful as an eight hour drive can be. We stayed at Terri's sister's house and had fun spending time with her family.

Our first complication came with a phone call Terri received. Our original flight was cancelled. They're rerouting us to Philadelphia then to Munich and then to Frankfurt. We'll arrive about three hours later than originally planned on.

I almost panicked this morning. I couldn't find any of my electronic gadgets. No camera charger. No iPod charger. No extra battery for my camera. No card reader. Man! It's a good thing Terri keeps a level head. Actually, it wasn't so much panic as "How could I have left it!?" Note to self: Remember your purse. Why I put it in my purse, I really don't know.

So, anyway. At 1:30 this afternoon I'll be saying goodbye to the USA for a few weeks. My next message should be from Germany. Wish us luck!