Eastern Trekker Part 1

Two days ago was the official one month mark on my journey. I spent than night in Budapest with my wonderful trip mates on my Eastern Trekker adventure. I was very wary of joining on with a tour group and even after getting on the bus I was worried that it was going to be a long and hard week filled with potential misery (keep in mind I had spent a few days in Prague watching the constant inflow/outflow of Contiki tour groups at my hostel). However, I am writing this post while sitting on the bus after extending my trip that was supposed to end two days so that I could finish off my tour with everyone else. So to say the least I had a great time.

I cannot begin to relate all the wonderful things that we have done on this trip but some of the most fun I have had so far have been in with this crew. Our guide, Rene and driver, Vlad have really brought us all to some special places.

On the first day we stopped to sleep in Olomouc a town about 6 hour driving from Prague. It was quaint and lovely to look at though we really were not there for long, only an overnight stop really. We went out for 'family dinner' as our large group dinners were referred to, walked around the town and went to take some pictures at a strange bar that is on old plane that had been donated to the town for some impossibly strange reason I am sure.

Mornings always come early it seems, as the bus is always on the road by about 8am. Our second day was very full. We drove through to Poland and to our first major stop of the trip, Auschwitz. We had a 3 hour guided tour including Auschwitz I and Birkenau. It is a very emotional and devastating experience to walk on the grounds and it is not something that can easily be described. I am glad that I was able to see and hear the history and statistics first hand but it was not something that leaves you with any kind of good feeling afterward. I am sure the near silence on the bus ride the rest of the way to Krakow was an indication as to how people were feeling after an extremely heavy afternoon. I did take pictures here for the sake of memorial but will not be posting them publicly. If anyone is interested we can definitely go through them together.

Krakow, our final destination that day, is a beautiful city, we all went out the first evening and then half of us woke up early for a bike tour the next morning and half took the afternoon. Considering it poured all afternoon I think the morning people were the winners that day. We visited the Jewish district, the historical sights and even the Schindler's factory.

After a day and a half in Krakow, which was not nearly enough time, we moved on to our next destination, Zakopane, which is a cute ski resort town in Poland. We got there early enough that we could ride up the funicular to the mid mountain area and walk around a bit. Unfortunately, the weather has not been cooperating with us on this trip and it was actually quite cool and wet that day so only a short while was spent outside. It was neat to walk through the street markets or as the Aussies like to call them, malls, where people were selling tourist novelties,leather and fur goods and smoked cheese. It was a bit odd that all the things being sold were the exact same in many of the shops and for the same price. There had to be at least 50 separate cheese stands that sold the exact same smoked cheese for the same price. Zakopane is not a big place so I'm not really sure the theory behind it all. Also, the ski hill although cute did not look overly challenging so it's probably not one of the ones I would hurry back to in the winter.

That evening we had another 'family dinner' at a place dubbed the 'Meat Palace'. As I am not much of a meat eater myself, the thought of going to a place with meat platters that held multiple different meats from multiple animals was not overly appealing to me. However, when in Poland one must participate in the local customs so three of us went in on one of the platter and I ordered a couple sides of veggies to go with in case they were to be my meal instead.

I have taken pictures of the monstrosity that was the meat platter and even without experiencing it that night I think most people would gag a little at the quantity included. I was only adventrous enouh to try a couple different bits but after that I resorted to eating my vegitable place. There were many people that after that night had, what we will call, stomach 'issues' that continued for the rest of the trip. Eating too much meat will leave you paying for many days apparently. I knew there was a reason I didn't much care for it.

The next day we headed to what was supposed to be my final destination , Budapest. The day was long, no one was feeling good on the bus and most were grumpy. Out of all the days I think that trip from Zakopane to Budapest was the most difficult. Even I felt like I was ready to strangle someone. Once again a late night and early morning had left everyone worn out.

To Be Continued....