Our Eastern European October… part nine

The day before our first morning in Krakow, Bill and I filled out a form that indicated our menu choices for breakfast. We opted to have breakfast in the apartment, since there was a table and chairs set up there. Eating breakfast in the apartment meant I could put off wearing a bra that much longer.

Breakfast is served from 9-11. I would have preferred it slightly earlier, since Bill and I are early risers. But having it at nine gave us an incentive to sleep in, and God knows Bill needs to do more of that. Also, the bed in the Prince Suite is surprisingly comfortable, so sleeping in wasn’t difficult. If we couldn’t have slept in, we could have watched television. There are THREE TVs in the apartment, including one in the bathroom!

*The bathroom TV. You can watch the news while shaving!*

After a leisurely breakfast, Bill and I ventured out into the city. The weather was sunny and somewhat warm, which was nice, since I forgot to bring my jacket with me. The first thing we saw, once we started walking on Kanonicza Street, was Pope John Paul II’s former residence, which is now the Archdiocesan Museum.

*A look at the exterior of the place where we stayed.*

We probably should have taken a look at it, since it was so close, but I had heard so much about how beautiful Krakow is that I wanted to keep walking. The museum is literally across the street from Kanonicza 22, though, and if you’re Catholic, or interested in things that are Catholic, it’s probably a must see. I am not Catholic, so it was of less interest to me.

We did stop by the Church of Saints Apostles Peter and Paul, a nearby, historic, Catholic church that is iconic in Krakow. This church was built between 1597 and 1635, and is known for being the city’s first Baroque structure. The front of the church is notable for having statues of the twelve apostles.

When we visited the church, a man was speaking to a small group of people as a pendulum moved in front of him. I was curious about the pendulum, but couldn’t understand what the man was saying, even if I could have heard him clearly. But we did get some photos, at least… And Bill lit a candle for his late father, who was a Catholic. Although we didn’t attend any concerts at this church, I understand that they are offered daily at around 8:00 PM and cost about 60 zloty per ticket (about $15.50).

From the church, we headed down the street to the big market square, Rynek Główny. The crowded street was bustling with modern stores, restaurants, and tour guides trying to sell tours. There were plenty of people in Krakow, but somehow the guides knew which people were tourists and which were locals.

This was where I saw the first of many horse drawn carriages. I was delighted to see a team of Appaloosas, since my beloved Rusty was an Appaloosa. I explained to Bill the difference between the American Appaloosa breed, and the Danish Knabstrupper breed. Both are known for their spots, but are different types of horses. I’m pretty sure we were seeing Appaloosas, since they aren’t as rare as Knabstruppers. But I could be wrong, of course. The carriages in Krakow were pretty much all pulled by two horses, all of whom appeared to be well cared for. They kept their routes close to the pedestrian areas.

We walked to the center of the market square and sat for a bit, just taking in the scene. The square is constantly teeming with people and activity, with lots of restaurants, shops, and live performers. While we were sitting in the middle of the square, we noticed that we were surrounded by a lot of very young, beautiful women, who all appeared to be styled in similar ways. I wondered if they were training to be models or… perhaps tour guides? I don’t know, but something was going on with them.

You can’t go to the market square in Krakow without seeing St. Mary’s Basilica, although if you notice my photos below, you’ll see that they actually ask people NOT to visit. I understand you can go into the basilica for free if you are appropriately dressed and have religious business there. You can also purchase a ticket to see parts of the church that are intended for tourists. Again, you are expected to be appropriately dressed for the occasion.

There is a tower there, where tourists can usually pay an extra fee to get panoramic views of the city, but I’m not sure if it was open to the public while we were visiting. I read that it was undergoing renovations. If it had been open, I think Bill and I would have skipped it. As I get older, climbing steep church towers is less appealing than it used to be. Every hour, there is a trumpet call from the taller of the two towers. It’s a tradition that dates from the Middle Ages, and the call is played in each direction.

After we visited the market square, we continued down another street and a sign caught my eye. Then I heard music, noticed quirky art, and found myself in a brewpub called Bania Luka. I later discovered that this pub has several locations, making it a chain. No matter… I was in the mood for a little day drinking. They were playing awesome Generation X music! I didn’t really care for the stools, which weren’t that easy to sit on, but they had good beer, light food, and plenty of vodka. They also had a toilet! We enjoyed a round or two while I admired the artwork.

Then it was time for lunch… so we turned right and walked a little further. I noticed a couple of dark passageways and stopped in one that advertised a traditional Polish restaurant called Stodola 47. This appeared to be a very tourist friendly place. Indeed, there was a large group of Americans there. They were with an outfit called Catholic Journeys. I know this, because they had signs on the tables that were reserved for them.

There was also an Asian Catholic priest with them, complete with collar. I see from Googling that this tour operator is in New Orleans, Louisiana, and offers pilgrimages to different places of interest to Catholics. Again, I’m not Catholic, so I don’t know. I do wonder, though, if they visit Lithuania, a place that seems as religious as Poland is.

Bill and I got the last available table, which was right next to the toilets, and enjoyed a nice heavy lunch, washed down with more beer… Zywiec is a mass produced Polish beer that is very light and refreshing. It’s a lot like water, actually!

Right next door to Stodola 47 is a very inviting underground pub called Dorby Kumpel. So, although I hadn’t planned on the day turning into a pub crawl, that is exactly what it turned into, as we went down to check out the underground bar that was also playing some great Generation X style music! There were a bunch of Brits down there, too, so we didn’t feel out of place. Maybe I should have felt guilty for pub crawling, but our main goal was to relax and enjoy ourselves. We definitely managed to do that in Krakow.

When we emerged from the underground bar, we were confronted by rain showers. So we turned back toward the market square and started heading back the way we came… But then I noticed another inviting pub called Baza. And yes, we stopped in for a bit…

Baza Pub was probably my least favorite of our three stops, mainly because of an annoying guy who happened to be there at the same time we were. The bartender was not the friendliest guy, either. He seemed rather bored with his job. Most of the patrons were sitting outside under umbrellas, probably because they could smoke. The door was left often, though, so the smoke wafted inside the bar. The barkeep would close it, and the annoying guy I referenced would open the door again. That was annoying, but it wasn’t the MOST annoying thing… I did enjoy the artwork.

At one point, I got up to use the toilet, which was unisex. There was one stall, but it hid everything, so it wasn’t a big deal that there weren’t separate rooms for men and women. The annoying man-bunned guy, who had been fouling the air with his chain smoking, came into the bathroom while I was peeing and waited for me to exit the stall. In doing so, he trapped me as I tried to maneuver past the narrow space between the sink and the stall door.

He said, “It’s a very tiny space.” as I worked out what to do.

No shit, guy. Why not wait outside so I can wash my hands in peace? It’s not like there’s a line. 🙄 The guy struck me as a bit of a weirdo. I think the bartender thought so, too.

It was still a bit damp when we left the Baza Bar, but we were still in for a treat. Stevie Wonder was playing and people were kind of dancing along… and then we ran into a group of very talented male breakdancers who entertained us with a fabulous show. I got a video of that.

This is the first video of two I got of this dance group. I will share the other one in the next post.

I had wanted to go looking for artwork, but it was getting late, and was a bit dark and cold. So we kept walking back to the apartment, where we spent the rest of the evening digesting lunch and lots of Polish beer…

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped into another church for a few minutes. It turned out to be the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, which definitely should have gotten more of our time. We had to keep it short, because Bill really had to pee! What a beautiful church, though… and just outside, we were confronted by Pope John Paul II again.

Bill turned in our breakfast choices for the next morning while I enjoyed the shower. The most notable thing about the shower in the apartment were the toiletries. They were called Oliva del Mediterraneo, and they smelled lovely. I’ve already started looking to see if I can find a full sized bottle for home!

Stay tuned for my next post about our second day in Krakow!

booze tourism, Czechia, Eastern Europe

Our Eastern European October… part three

After my rather dramatic and explosive first night in Karlovy Vary, I was ready for some breakfast. So after I did my morning hygiene routine, I made my way down that pesky spiral staircase and got dressed. We left our bags in the sitting room, because hauling them up that spiral staircase would have been a real pain in the ass. I wonder how in the world they got the furniture in the bedroom. I’m sure it’s easily explained somehow…

We went back down to the restaurant… the scene of the pickle crime that had me barfing hours earlier. They laid out a very nice buffet, with plenty of choices. Bill and I fueled up, and then headed out to the city for a few hours. The only thing on our agenda was visiting the Home of Becherovka, a museum dedicated to Becherovka herbal liqueur, which is made in Karlovy Vary.

On our way into the city, we encountered the first of many horse drawn carriages. Interestingly enough, it was in the news yesterday that Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City has now brokered a deal to end carriage rides in New York. This measure, which has been discussed for years, has come about due to the death of a teen who was riding in a carriage in Central Park when the horse spooked and had an accident.

I have my own opinions about the carriages, but then, I am someone who literally grew up with horses. It’s important for them to have jobs. Most people can’t afford to keep horses as pets. On the other hand, there have been instances of abuse in the carriage industry. The horses we saw in Karlovy Vary appeared to be healthy and well cared for… but I am certainly no expert on this issue as it is in Eastern Europe. Bill and I did not take any carriage rides, but I did enjoy seeing and smelling the horses. I really miss having them in my life, but keeping them is expensive and requires a lot of hard work! They are wonderful company, though.

We found a paid parking lot on the immediate outskirts of the city center. I noticed some cops standing by. One of them had a cute little dog on a leash. I’ve never seen a police dog like this one…

*I’m not sure what job this pooch does…*

As we headed into the city, I instantly recognized the Teplá River, the warm river that flows through the center of Karlovy Vary. Teplá means warm in Czech, and the river is fed by the many hot springs in the city. I took some photos of the colorful buildings we encountered as we walked into the familiar environs. After almost 18 years, it was still pretty recognizable, even though we didn’t spend that much time there in 2009.

*A Mix Markt! This is a chain that specializes in products from the former Soviet Union. We have them in Germany, too.*

As we headed closer to the main square, I caught sight of a vendor who was making chimney cakes. I took a few photos for Bill’s daughter, who lives in Utah and loves them. Someday, Bill and I will have to try one. There were other things on sale, too… only I didn’t see any art.

*Except for the mushrooms, this grill smelled and looked great!*

Soon, we encountered the first of the mineral water springs, where one can taste the thermal waters. I remembered the gazebos from our first visit, which is also incidentally, where we found my favorite painting in my collection, back in 2009. I took a video of our first tastes of the water, after we bought spa cups. The spa cups are easy to find. They are sold in kiosks around the many springs.

Yes, that is a toilet. I have a very irreverent sense of humor.

Naturally, I took some photos, too… It was very helpful that the locals provided instructions on how to best “enjoy” the water. If you listen to my video, you will hear me say that it reminded of Gloucester in 1980. I grew up in Gloucester, Virginia, and in those days, the local water was pretty terrible tasting. It was full of sulfur. They have since put in a water system there, so the water is now better. My parents, fortunately, had a well, so our water wasn’t as gross in the early days of our time living there.

Karlovy Vary really is a very pretty city…

We had an appointment to visit the Becherovka Museum at 1:00, so we had to make our way to the other side of town. On the way there, I took a few more pictures, including one of a woman’s art. I wish we’d had the chance to go back and take a closer look at what she had. It turned out hers was the only art collection with paintings that we saw during our entire trip! Everybody had mass produced prints, instead of original artwork.

*I remember when beer spas were a novelty. Now it seems like they’re all over the place!*

It was raining on the way to the museum. We got there a little bit early, so we took the opportunity to use the bathroom. Then, we took our guided tour… Bill got us “exclusive tickets”, which meant we each got personalized bottles of Becherovka to take home with us.

The guide who did our tour spoke excellent English, and we enjoyed learning the history of this very special Czech drink. The museum is very interesting and well put together. I thought the exhibits were fun and engaging. And it was fun to try the different flavors of products made by Becherovka. We came home with several different bottles after our visit.

After we visited the museum, Bill and I had lunch at a local place… It wasn’t all that “special”, but it did give us a chance to people watch and enjoy some heavy local cuisine. Bill got to have some garlic soup, too, which is a local specialty in Czechia. I need to learn how to make it, because I think it would be good for when I’m sick. Sadly, I think I’m getting sick now. 😢

Once we finished our leisurely late lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel. As we walked out of the city, we passed a political rally, and stopped by the Mix Markt for some wine and a bottle of Ukrainian vodka from a producer we like.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed a body of water. I noticed a lot of people were going down to walk near it. There was also a picturesque looking hotel… but it wasn’t quite as cute as the one we stayed in…

*Our room was in the tower… the top three levels of windows.*

Since we had a late lunch, we decided to skip dinner. We enjoyed some Georgian wine in the room, along with a few snacks from the hotel’s vending machine. You have to use a credit card to use the machine. That is so weird to me, as someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s!

So ends our first full day on vacation. In the next part, I’ll write about our quick change of plans, and a visit to a Czech Globus!

Eastern Europe, Hungary

Back to Budapest- getting there is half the fun… part two

When Bill told me he wanted me to go to Budapest with him on his work trip, I was excited. But I also knew that it meant I wouldn’t be choosing our hotel. From past experiences on Bill’s work trips, I knew the place we would be staying would probably be as low frills as possible.

Bill found a hotel near the river that was going for 250 euros a night, which seems surprisingly expensive to me. He would have liked to have stayed in the InterContinental Budapest, which is a block away. It was completely booked, because Bill was asked to go to the conference at the last minute. So we were booked at the three star “superior” D8 Hotel, instead.

Bill told me to book a business class plane ticket. I know that may seem strange, but when Bill travels on business, he has to sit in the cheapest seats possible. Even if I had booked an economy class ticket, there is no guarantee we would be sitting with each other. We would have separate bookings, and his didn’t include a seat assignment. So, since I’m sensitive to a lot of things, I booked a round trip business class ticket on the same Lufthansa flight Bill booked.

On Saturday, September 6th, Bill took Noyzi and Charlie to the Hundepension. Then, on the 7th, Bill got me up at 5:00AM, and we took a taxi to the Frankfurt Airport for our 9:05 AM flight. Below are a few photos of the sunrise. We were up too early.

A bunch of Bill’s current and former coworkers were there, also going to the conference in Budapest. For some reason, my nose was unusually sensitive to perfume smells, and I seemed to keep running into clouds of strong scents, no matter where I turned. Because I had a business class ticket, I could have waited in the lounge. But I preferred to hang out with Bill and his colleagues, as we waited to board a bus that would take us on a 20 minute odyssey to our plane.

Seriously… the plane going to Budapest was way out in the hinterlands of the airport. Maybe it’s because it was a Sunday morning. The flight was fully booked, though, so I’m not sure what that was all about. Once we got to the plane, we had to wait another fifteen or twenty minutes on the crowded bus, because the maintenance crew had to check the plane to make sure it was safe to fly. A bird hit one of the propellers on the flight from Budapest to Frankfurt, and they were required to inspect it afterwards. I had a free seat next to me, because I had hoped Bill would have gotten on the bus, but he was on the one that came after mine.

A middle-aged lady sat in the aisle seat nearest mine, while her husband was in the opposing aisle seat. We had a trouble free flight, complete with business class food and some pictures of the sky… Naturally, I was sitting behind the one person in business class who felt the need to recline for the less than 90 minute flight. He was apparently asleep, and when it came time to land the flight attendant had to wake him up to get him to close his shade and sit upright. 🙄

*Cold cuts, some kind of salad, cheese, and bread. I had orange juice, too.*

We landed at about 11:55 AM or so… a little late, because our flight was delayed, thanks to the bird strike. We went to baggage claim and waited a long time for our bags in a very crowded area. Lots and lots of people were arriving in Budapest on September 7th. From what I could tell, a lot of them were taking bus tours or cruises. We finally got out of there sometime after noon, then got a taxi to the hotel. Unbeknownst to Bill, the cab driver handed him a 1000 forints bill that was old and no longer has any value. I later discovered that fact when I tried to spend it. More on that in a later post.

Bill checked in, and we were immediately assigned room 510. It was nice that we were allowed to claim it immediately, but the room itself was tiny (15 square meters). It reminded me a little of the old Microtels that were around in the late 1990s and early 00s. I discovered that Microtel is still around, but I’m not sure if it’s the same concept as it was when we stayed in one, back in 2002 or so.

The D8 hotel was built in 2010 or so, after the building that was there before it was demolished. It appears that the designers aimed to make it “comfortable” with as little space as possible. I wasn’t all that impressed, but at least it was air conditioned, which we needed in Budapest last week. It had a decent sized shower, too.

*The bed took up most of the room. A large flat screen TV was mounted on the wall and got many channels.*

One nice thing about the D8 Hotel is its very convenient location. It’s a block from the river, and right next to the Chain Bridge. Last time we were in Budapest, we were in an area that wasn’t that close to the river. The D8 Hotel also offers a pretty decent breakfast and a bar, where one can order sandwiches, goulash, and drinks. I drank several draft beers there, myself.

After we dropped off our bags, we went looking for lunch, which we found at a Lebanese restaurant at the InterContinental Hotel called Arz. Lunch was pretty good, and I especially enjoyed the Soproni (local) beer and hummus.

After lunch, we walked back to the hotel and prepared for a longer walk and lots of photos of the Danube and surroundings. We ended up walking over four miles! Below you can see some scooters that are apparently all the rage in Budapest. I saw so many of these during our visit. They seemed like an incarnation of Segways, only people sat on them instead of standing.

You can also see the gorgeous sunset, as well as the sad exhibit of shoes by the Danube bank near the famous Parliament building. The shoes represent those left by Jewish people who were forced to remove their valuable footwear before they were shot by the riverside and fell into the water, to be swept away by the currents. Unfortunately, a lot of people have polluted the shoes with their trash, stuffing it into the shoes instead of putting it in a trash can.

As the sun was setting, we decided to find dinner. We stopped at a place that looked promising. It was a Hungarian restaurant called Tulipan Bistro. We decided to sit inside, which was okay, except I was in the path of the air conditioning. I liked the way the restaurant was decorated, with lots of kitschy stuff like old car radios, instruments, and Coke memorabilia. The food wasn’t that great, but there was nice local wine. Bill had beef goulash, and I had what turned out to be an overcooked schnitzel with mustard sauce and lots of “funions”… I couldn’t finish it.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, and got our first glimpse of Budapest when it’s all lit up at night. It really is a sight to see.

Once we got back to the hotel, it was time to retire for the night, which we promptly did. Stay tuned for the next installment, in which I describe my six mile power walk from Hell.

Uncategorized

Hammam, carriage ride, funny bum, and way too much wine…

I booked our appointment at Aire for 12:00pm. That left us with our morning to wander around Seville. It was Monday and Bill was starting to fret about how we were going to get out of Spain and make it back to Texas in time for his leave to end at 11:59pm Texas time on Thursday, the 23rd. I, of course, was annoyed with Bill for not arranging for leave through the weekend. He later explained that he wanted to get to the office to take care of some stuff for a briefing with his boss. But as we watched the flights leaving Rota Naval Base in Rota, Spain, it wasn’t looking like we’d be able to get out of Spain in time for Bill to get home before his leave ended.

Breakfast!

Because Bill is hyper-responsible, he was super stressed out. So we went for a walk and ended up passing a bunch of guys with horses and carriages. One of them approached us and asked if we wanted to take a carriage ride. They started at 11:00, when the cathedral opened. I asked how long the ride would take, since we had the hammam appointment at noon. The guy said it took an hour. I said we’d have to do it in the afternoon because we didn’t have time at that point.

Alphonso XIII… A very expensive hotel…

As we headed toward the Guadalquivir River, we were accosted by a pushy woman wanting us to sign up for a Hop On, Hop Off tour. I was immediately turned off by her approach and also realized that for us, the bus tour would not be a particularly good buy, since we like to walk a lot. I listened to her spiel and finally said, “I don’t think we’re interested.” That seemed to piss her off, but at least we were able to cross the street.

We walked past the naval museum and along the river, then crossed into the beautiful park near the palace. Bill and I were engaged in conversation when I got bombed by a pigeon of some sort. Then I spotted some swans and ducks, so we turned toward there, just in time to see some guy hastily zip up his pants. Apparently, we had interrupted him as he took a piss.

Rental bikes in Seville…

Naval museum

We walked along the street in front of the palace, then headed back toward the hotel, so I could pick up my bathing suit. We went looking for Aire and, of course, got a bit lost in Seville’s narrow streets. I think we might have been a little late when we finally found the place.

Aire offers two hour sessions in which you can get massages or other treatments and soak in one of five pools or sit in a eucalyptus scented steam room. You’re supposed to speak in a low voice, drink lots of water and tea, and relax. It was just what Bill needed. Of course, it turned out that many staff members at Aire didn’t speak much English, so we had to rely on our crappy Spanish skills to figure out what to do. I actually could understand a lot of the Spanish, but my ability to speak it is almost nil now.

The outside of Aire…

I wasn’t completely understanding what we were supposed to do, but managed to get into my swimsuit and found my way around the peaceful facility. The lights were dim; there was relaxing music; and had it not been for a couple of chattering Spanish ladies, it would have been a very calming experience. Bill and I only got fifteen minute massages. I kind of wish I’d gotten a longer one, but I’d read on TripAdvisor that the massages weren’t all that great. I ended up with a pretty good masseuse, though. We rotated around the salt pool, jetted pool, and warm, hot, and cold pools until we heard the chime letting us know our time was up.

After we went to the hammam, we visited what turned out to be a chain restaurant called Robles. Once again, we ordered too much food. The restaurant was pretty quiet and I noticed a manager type walking around, looking like he was proctoring an exam or something.

Where we had lunch…

Bill’s avocado and goat cheese starter. I skipped this because I don’t like strong cheese.

My starter… fried prawns!

Bill’s beef and potatoes.

Chicken and garlic.

Dessert! Everybody loves a parfait, right?

After lunch, we took our carriage ride, though not from the guy who had asked us if we wanted one. Our driver did not speak any English, but we were able to understand much of what he said. He had a grey mare who seemed a little nervous in the heavy traffic we drove through. As he was pointing out places of interest along our route, the driver got a call on his cell phone. Bill and I chuckled, since the guy’s ringtone was a horse neighing. The driver insisted on taking pictures of me and Bill in his carriage. I’m grateful they mostly turned out okay. I hate the way I photograph. When we got back to the starting point, I managed to tell the guy that I used to have a horse. We bonded and he told me his mare’s name is Rosilla. I petted the horse and we went on our way.

That evening, we ended up at this great bar near our hotel. Bill and I wanted some wine, though we were still pretty full from lunch. Our server was a fatherly man who was intent on teaching me how to order shrimp fritters. I was enjoying the music in the bar, which was all from the 80s, so we sat there and drank a shitload of wine. The second bottle was from Jerez de la Frontera, which is where Harvey’s Bristol Cream sherry is made. The quality was excellent and the bottle wasn’t too expensive, but it packed quite a wallop at 15% alcohol.

I ended up getting pretty hammered… and when a bum came in looking for handouts, I ended up in a funny exchange with him. He flirted with me as a means of mock begging. I laughed in response and Bill gave him a couple of euros. Later, when he continued to engage, I laughed again and told him to “beat it”. He took his leave with a courtly bow. Sadly, I don’t quite remember the end of the evening… at least until we got to the hotel and my body kicked out some of the booze.