So much for leaving today.

Oh, Praha. I should have left three and a half hours ago. Instead, I am sitting in the lounge at the courtyard marriot attached to the airport.

My flight to Amsterdam was a-ok, but my flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta had been cancelled, so I was rescheduled for a flight to Amsterdam and then Minneapolis tomorrow. I land at about 4pm, so I will miss my first two classes and probably be late for the third, but I suppose it could be worse. My own fault for scheduling my flight so close to the start of school, I suppose.

I've been hanging out with a guy named Matt (different Matt than the one I met last night, who was also awesome) who was supposed yo be on the same two flights. He is flying instead to Paris in the morning and bring re-routed from there. What a nightmare. But he is here on a business trip with the company card, so we grabbed lunch together earlier at no cost to me. Bonus. We have been swapping school and road trip / eurotrip stories and having a blast. He seems slightly hippy-ish. We had lunch on the ground barefoot, sitting in the grass.

Had breakfast with Leah this morning before we left. She and Ryan disagreed on mist things which made for an interesting conversation. She gave us directions to the airport using public transportation which was super helpful.

I suppose Ryan is on his way to Minneapolis right now. So jealous. I should have been on that flight. I can't do anything about it and I guess if I'm going to be stuck somewhere, at least it is at the start if my journey and I'm not stranded somewhere. And being put up in the marriot is a bonus for sure. I just would really have liked to be home today.

And I discovered something earlier today that made me feel like the biggest fool ever. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it now.

The sky is blue and it is a beautiful day. I suppose I should enjoy the cool weather while I have it. Sayonara! Hopefully my next update will be on my way home.

Quick update

from the Embassy!!

Just had my interview with the Consulate. I should have a new passport after 1:30PM this afternoon. I think everything will go according to plan.

Out for the day! I'm going to grab something to eat and then meet Leah at 1.

Back in Prague.

Well maybe I should start from the beginning of my stay in Brno.

Arrived in Brno in the evening from Katowice. Went to McDonalds to use their wireless because it was just around the corner. The recommended hostel on wikitravel was some place called hostel fleda. Figured it must be okay, and it seemed cheap, so off I went. Had a hard time finding the reception desk because the place is attached to a bar and club. Reception is through the bar. Weird. And they require a deposit of 200Kc for the key. Wasn't expecting that since I haven't encountered that policy elsewhere, so that was a little off-putting.

Walked upstairs to my room. Shared bathroom for two big dorm rooms... Not the end of the world, right? WRONG. It was the most disgusting bathroom ever, with the possible exception of one of my hosts' in Rome. And one of the things I didn't bring was shower shoes. Cool.

Other than that, the place was okay. I skipped breakfast and made oatmeal in the room. Met one of the other guys in my room - Shawn. We ended up spending most of the day together. Just wandered around. He is a pretty cool guy. He is actually in Prague now and we might meet up and do a day trip to Kutna Hora before I leave.

Sent out a few couchrequests and got three responses. The most convenient was a guy named Aaron who was going to be home all day, and lived right in the center of town. Like, directly on the square in the center of town. It doesn't get more convenient than that. So I headed to his place.

Short version - he is a total stoner. Like grows weed in his house, stoner. The second night he was tripping on acid and came to bed with me. No thanks. Conveniently, that was the night all my shit was stolen on the train so I woke up and said I needed to jet off to Prague. I drove up with Cornelia, who was surfing with another guy - Aron - who also had responded to my couchrequest.

Cornelia dropped me off at the tram station in Prague, where Viktoria picked me up. I have been staying with her and will stay through Tuesday morning. Her parents are on vacation and come home Tuesday evening, so I have another place to stay Tuesday before I can hopefully fly out Wednesday morning. Today, we went for a walk - probably about 7km - to the zoo, up near a cemetery, and had a really cool view of Prague and the Vltava river.

I will be heading to the embassy tomorrow morning to hopefully get everything sorted out. I do have my license so hopefully that is all the identification they need. We shall see!

More tomorrow after the embassy. :)

Okay. I'm ready to go home now.

Went out for a bike tour through wine country earlier. Thought I was going to have a blast. Biked about 30 km on the worst seat ever. So outrageously uncomfortable. Then I can only find one vinohradska that is open, and the lady charges me 60kc for a glass of wine rather that the 20-25 I was told to expect. So right there I'm a little irritated. Had dinner at a hotel with cheaper wine.

Biked from lebnice then to breclav. Was given wrong directions so I was even more tired and displeased. Got on the train finally at 8:38 pm. Fell asleep around 9 and took a 20 minute nap. Woke up to find the contents of my bag strewn across the car, with my camera bag (with camera, money, my drivers license, and both credit cards inside), my phone, and my passport missing.

Fucking awesome day. I spent a few hours at the Brno police station tonight and will be heading to Prague tomorrow to the embassy to see what they can do for me. I hope I am still able to head home on Wednesday without being held up.

Definitely won't be sleeping on anymore trains from now on.

Went to Auschwitz today.

And I determined that your experience is really determined by the guide you have. We went with a group. If you're with a group, you are required to have a guide. And ours sucked.

First, he mumbled a lot. He was really difficult to understand in general.

Then he decided it was acceptable to use dramatic pauses and whispers often and at really inappropriate times. Coupled with his mumble and the fact that we were wearing headphones / he was talking through a mic, he was nearly impossible to understand half the time.

However, we joined another guide's group for Auschwitz II-Birkinau, and she happened to speak English much more clearly. That was a much better tour and I wish we would have tagged along with her to begin with.

I actually thought the Dachau experience was a much more embodying one. This seemed rushed, was confusing at times, and was just... not what I was expecting. I do hope to go back at a later date (and after 3PM, as they require a guide before that time) and spend more time there on my own.

And now it's 1 AM and I should probably head to bed. I heard about several book titles and a movie relating to Auschwitz that I will talk about later (and they're on my Amazon wish list if anyone feels like checking them out). Until next time!

As promised,

an update from Krakow!

I took the night train here last night and got in around 7:30 this morning. Staying at the GlobArt hostel. It's super tiny and has one bathroom/toilet for the entire floor... a little weird/awkward, but I'll get by. The bathroom lock is an awkward one and the door still opens slightly even when locked, so I quasi walked in on someone earlier. Not fun.

I was really hoping this place would have a stove. No dice. They have a microwave but I'm not really interested in microwaving my Italian rice, which is the only thing other than fruit that I have with me. So it looks like I will be going to the ATM again layer for polish money. I had hoped to avoid that since I'm here fir such a shirt time. Oh well.

I am feeling less miserable than I did earlier this morning, but I am far from on top of my game right now. I have downed more than a liter of water which I think probably helped. I might head down to the pharmacy later (when I muster up the strength to leave for lunch) and get something for my nose/head. So instead of being out exploring, I have been relaxing at the hostel. I planned out my school schedule for spring semester and think I was fairly productive. Completed my exit loan counseling and realized that I don't have as much money as I thought I did to cover tuition. I hope my insurance claim for this ticket goes through quickly or I might be disappointed.

Still haven't heard from wing. Hope he is still planning on meeting up here! I have a one way train ticket and made no plans so that would be mighty unfortunate if we aren't able yo find each other. Next time I'm bringing a phone.

I also did a major overhaul on my 101 list earlier today. Check it out! I'm happier with most of my changes. I took off a lot of the "fun" goals and tried to make them a little more substantial.

Going to go grab my bed before other people check in, I suppose. more later!

Waiting on my laundry, volume 2.

Still in Prague. Ryan and I went down to the laundromat to do some laundry and then ran down to a little restaurant to grab some coffee (hot cocoa for me) while we are waiting.

I think I'm going to head out to krakow tonight on a sleeper train. I still have to look up ticket prices but we'll see. I really want to.

Was asked out on a date last night by a Czech guy named Lucas. I was supposed to meet him at 1 but decided not to go. It was going to be an all day thing and spending all day with a guy I met twice and spent limited time with is probably not a good idea.

Managed to lose another hair tie today. I had it when I woke up and it had disappeared by the time we went to do laundry. I am boss at losing things.

Went on a bar crawl last night for ryans birthday. It was not the blast I had hoped it would be, for a few different reasons. The night definitely ended poorly. But he had fun and said it may have been his best birthday ever, so I suppose that's all that matters.

I'm sitting on a little kiddy chair that is quite possibly the most uncomfortable thing ever.

chatting with some guys who are also waiting on laundry about the clubs here and the pub crawl from last night. Perhaps I should be more sociable.

More later! Hopefully the next update will be from krakow.

I feel super lame.

It is four pm and I am still sitting in my room after an awesome nap today. It was actually really refreshing. Today has been the first day I haven't been running around, and have been able to just relax, but I feel like I'm cheating myself. I think I'm going yo head out here soon and go buy new shoes, but I felt like updating first.

I switched rooms yesterday. It was cheaper to stay in a female dorm, buy they only had beds available for nights two and three. So last night and tonight I am in a 10-bed female dorm. I'm on the top bunk which is a bit weird. I can't remember the last time I slept on the top bunk anywhere, but it's okay.

Did laundry yesterday at the laundromat. It was pretty spendy - like almost $10. And I left it there in the dryer most of the day. When I went back to get it, the woman said I was a "bad person" for leaving my laundry there so long... Even though there were plenty of empty dryers when I walked in.

Ryan and I went out last night with Rebecca and James from Australia. We had so much fun! They wanted to go to a little bar called the iron curtain which sounded cool to me. Communist bar. Nice. So we went there... And it sucked. First, the kitchen was closing so we couldn't get food unless we wanted sausage. But the guy was super rude about it. So Bec and I went off to a little gyro stand and got something while the boys hovered their sausages. They had some weird flavors Of their house vodka which was cool (we had a round of snickers shots) buy since the bartender was so rude, it was really off-putting, so we left. Went to a little brewery and had some beer, and then followed two guys to harleys which is a bar/club sortounding the biker culture. Surprisingly even with all the Harley photos in the wall, it was both hilarious and awesome.

Ugh. I need another nap. I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night. The girl who slept below me snored louder than I have ever heard from a woman. It was difficult to fall asleep, my sleep wasn't very restful, and then with a room of 10 people you're bound yo have someone up early making noise. I took a two hour nap after breakfast. It was awesome.

Anyway. Almost five o'clock and I have wasted most of my day. I am finally going to put my contacts in and run out to replace my broken sandals. more tomorrow!

Sitting here waiting for Ryan

So I figured I would do a quick update.

Got into Prague yesterday evening. I had such a wonderful time in Vienna. I met a super cute guy who is nice and fun and sent mr a message this morning saying he misses me already. Mechanical engineer. Just finished up his masters. Lives in Tulsa. Apparently makes wonderful enchiladas. I'll be the judge of that.

Met Wing here at the hostel last night.

Os just invited me over to their table so I should probably head out. More this evening, perhaps!

More from Innsbruck. :)

I have decided to stay here an extra day. Theresa offered and I just couldn't refuse.

Run-down of Innsbruck so far:

Friday - Train here from Florence. Theresa picked me up at the station (I felt really bad because my train was almost 30 minutes late and I didn't have any way to call and let her know), and we wandered around town. Then went back to the house, did some hiking up in the Olympic ski areas (with cows and horses!), and walked around the little lake with live music. Returned to the house. Met Bartok, and - well, if you don't have anything nice to say...

Saturday - got up. Went down to Innsbruck to get their touristy Innsbruck-card. Went first to the Swarovski museum out in Wattens. Came back to town, got a sandwhich at the supermarket in the train station, and wandered around a little more. Ended the evening at a Tiroler Abend - a traditional Tyrolian evening full of yodeling, shoe-slapping dance, alp horns, the hammer dulcimer... it was a BLAST. Yann met us there in time for dinner, and we shared an evening of laughs.

As the Tirolean evening was starting

Sunday - got up again. Headed off with Yann to the Nordkette. Took the train to the very top and had hot chocolate by the cross. Amazing. Went to a schnapps tasting back in town, and then met Wing, a traveler from Australia.

At the top of the Nordkette with Theresa and Yann 

Today we are mostly heading our separate ways. I'm baking brownies for Theresa later... no big plans, really. Just enjoying her company and this wonderful town.