Last night when I was talking with some Australian girls, the subject of Ryan Air came up (see previous post for how in love I am with them) and we compared notes about our experiences flying them. In particular, we all wondered why everyone on all flights we've been on have broken out into applause upon landing. And to be fair, it's not just Ryan Air. It's every inter-European flight I've ever been on. And really, this is strange to me. I've not encountered any European flights that were particularly turbulent, or would cause me enough alarm to be grateful to be back on the ground. I think I was caught by surprise the first two, maybe three times I witnessed the whole plane break into a round of applause. However, when flights four, five and six and so on, also ended with the passengers all spontaneously clapping in tandem as if scripted, the pattern was painfully (and annoyingly) obvious. However, what the hell was going on? Was the entire plane so excited to arrive in each destination that they could not contain themselves and their joy for landing in Milan, or Marrakesh or Madrid? I mean, yeah, I was glad to be there too, but I never thought of applause as an appropriate way to show I was excited about a new leg in my journey. Just what was going on with these spontaneous clappers?
It seems like I'm not the only one who has questioned just what the hell this is all about. I googled it and it turns out there are a few websites written about this phenomenon. Are Europeans just so amazed by flying machines that they are in awe of actually landing? Really? They're so happy that the pilot did his job and got them where they needed to go safely? In that case, I think all passengers in my car should clap for me from now on when I get them where they need to go. Actually, now that I think about it, as my mom would agree, everyone who has ridden with me should be grateful!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Krakow
So, I'm currently back in Krakow, after spending a week here about three weeks ago. I don't know what it is about Poland, but I really like both cities I've been to (Gdansk and Krakow). I actually came back here for two reasons, neither of which really have anything to do with Krakow, but now that I'm here, I remember how much I loved the feeling of the city and this hostel I'm in in particular. I actually left a sweater (the only really warm piece of clothing I brought with me and therefore, very necessary as the nights begin to grow cooler) here at the hostel, so I came back to get it and to meet up with a woman I met at my hostel in Berlin. She and I went out for drinks last night as well as dinner tonight and it turns out that we're both going to be in Budapest at the same time as well. It's truly odd how these things work out. Maybe there are several obvious routes to take when touring Europe?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
It IS a small world after all
Sorry I haven't written about Krakow or Berlin, two cities I really loved and just didn't find the time to write about. I'm in Gdansk, Poland now and found a great internet cafe, thanks to Dan Gant, a former Echo Bridge colleague, who sent advice about Gdansk.
I've been really lucky to meet some great people in my travels thus far and have only had rare moments of being actually lonely. Since Carolyn and I split up in Barcelona, I was nervous about meeting people, but it's been quite good so far and I hope I will continue to be able to meet fellow travelers even as the summer ends and there are fewer people staying in hostels. Who knows, perhaps that will be even better?
I met an Australian chick, Sheena, in Milan who I got along with well and we talked about meeting in Berlin. I decided to go there before she and her boyfriend had a chance to make it there and met another Australian woman, Lara, who was staying in my hostel room. Lara and I hit it off immediately and I plan to meet her tomorrow in Krakow for dinner. I just went to add Lara as my facebook friend and it turns out that we have a mutual friend in common...Sheena! How crazy is that, that I met two friends in two different cities who know each other?
But, that's not all. One of the people I became friends with last year is Morocco is now teaching English in Brest, France. We recently had a chance to meet up in Prague to catch up. It was already strange enough to me that we were in Prague at the same time, but when I met another of his friends randomly a few weeks later, I really started to wonder about this whole six degrees of separation thing. There was a girl from New Zealand staying in my hostel room in Berlin and she and I hung out one day. When she told me that she too was teaching English in Brest, I asked if she knew Xac. It turns out that he's one of her best friends. Crazy, huh? I just wonder how many other travelers I've met who are also separated by one degree to someone I know. It really makes the world seem like such a small place when these things happen.
I've been really lucky to meet some great people in my travels thus far and have only had rare moments of being actually lonely. Since Carolyn and I split up in Barcelona, I was nervous about meeting people, but it's been quite good so far and I hope I will continue to be able to meet fellow travelers even as the summer ends and there are fewer people staying in hostels. Who knows, perhaps that will be even better?
I met an Australian chick, Sheena, in Milan who I got along with well and we talked about meeting in Berlin. I decided to go there before she and her boyfriend had a chance to make it there and met another Australian woman, Lara, who was staying in my hostel room. Lara and I hit it off immediately and I plan to meet her tomorrow in Krakow for dinner. I just went to add Lara as my facebook friend and it turns out that we have a mutual friend in common...Sheena! How crazy is that, that I met two friends in two different cities who know each other?
But, that's not all. One of the people I became friends with last year is Morocco is now teaching English in Brest, France. We recently had a chance to meet up in Prague to catch up. It was already strange enough to me that we were in Prague at the same time, but when I met another of his friends randomly a few weeks later, I really started to wonder about this whole six degrees of separation thing. There was a girl from New Zealand staying in my hostel room in Berlin and she and I hung out one day. When she told me that she too was teaching English in Brest, I asked if she knew Xac. It turns out that he's one of her best friends. Crazy, huh? I just wonder how many other travelers I've met who are also separated by one degree to someone I know. It really makes the world seem like such a small place when these things happen.
Friday, August 14, 2009
More Prague
Prague was definitely one of my favorite cities so far on this trip, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes any of the below three things:
Architecture
Beer
Pork knuckle
Don't knock the knuckle either. It's freaking fantastic. Imagine 650 grams of pure pork deliciousness (no bones) for a mere $7. Throw in one of the fantastic Czech beers, and you have a delicious way to consume more than one day's worth of calories. Awesome. I'm not sure what kind of pig these "knuckles" come from; they must look pretty funny with giant boneless knuckles, walking around on the farm. Somehow I think the word "knuckle" is mistranslated or something. Suffice it to say, it's a giant chunk of meat and leave it at that.
Besides the pork festivities though, Prague has a lot to offer and so many amazing and beautiful sights to see. I've heard from quite a few backpackers that it's "too touristy," yet at the same time, there they were visiting it. Somehow I think it's "cool" to say things disparaging tourists from *hardcore* backpackers; somehow they forget that they too, are tourists. And, the reason Prague is so touristy, is that it's an awesome place to visit. Duh.
While in Prague, I was able to meet up with my friend Xac, with whom I studied Arabic last year, while I was in Morocco. He's working in France now, doing an English language teaching assistantship through the French government that sounds really interesting to me. I've looked into it and I'm trying to apply for the fall. If not this year, it's something I'd love to check out for next year. I'd get to practice my French and earn a little money, all while living in France, getting to use their healthcare system AND get all of their holidays. I swear there is no other country on Earth that has more holidays than the French. That, on top of a mandatory maximum 35 hour work week, just sounds perfect to me.
I could just marry someone from the EU so I can get a work visa here. Just think. If the US had never won the Revolutionary War, we'd have EU membership too. And neither George Bush would have been elected. And we'd use the British Pound for currency. Wow. That's not sounding like such a bad deal right now, with this economy!
Next stop: Krakow, Poland.
Architecture
Beer
Pork knuckle
Don't knock the knuckle either. It's freaking fantastic. Imagine 650 grams of pure pork deliciousness (no bones) for a mere $7. Throw in one of the fantastic Czech beers, and you have a delicious way to consume more than one day's worth of calories. Awesome. I'm not sure what kind of pig these "knuckles" come from; they must look pretty funny with giant boneless knuckles, walking around on the farm. Somehow I think the word "knuckle" is mistranslated or something. Suffice it to say, it's a giant chunk of meat and leave it at that.
Besides the pork festivities though, Prague has a lot to offer and so many amazing and beautiful sights to see. I've heard from quite a few backpackers that it's "too touristy," yet at the same time, there they were visiting it. Somehow I think it's "cool" to say things disparaging tourists from *hardcore* backpackers; somehow they forget that they too, are tourists. And, the reason Prague is so touristy, is that it's an awesome place to visit. Duh.
While in Prague, I was able to meet up with my friend Xac, with whom I studied Arabic last year, while I was in Morocco. He's working in France now, doing an English language teaching assistantship through the French government that sounds really interesting to me. I've looked into it and I'm trying to apply for the fall. If not this year, it's something I'd love to check out for next year. I'd get to practice my French and earn a little money, all while living in France, getting to use their healthcare system AND get all of their holidays. I swear there is no other country on Earth that has more holidays than the French. That, on top of a mandatory maximum 35 hour work week, just sounds perfect to me.
I could just marry someone from the EU so I can get a work visa here. Just think. If the US had never won the Revolutionary War, we'd have EU membership too. And neither George Bush would have been elected. And we'd use the British Pound for currency. Wow. That's not sounding like such a bad deal right now, with this economy!
Next stop: Krakow, Poland.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
15% !!!
So I've now visited 7 countries (Ireland, England, France, Spain, Morocco, Italy and Czech Republic) on this trip so far. I've found that each country has its own unique tipping scheme and it can be very confusing when first arriving in a country to remember what is what. For example, in Ireland (I think), if you order at the bar, and only order a drink, no tip, but otherwise, leave 5%. Then, in some other country, it's a personal affront not to tip the bartender. In another country, 10% is customary, unless it's the third Tuesday of the month and a full moon. Then you leave 7.3%. Ok, so it's not really that specific, but it's still difficult to keep track of what is normal and what is too much or not enough, when you change countries every 3-5 days.
After arriving in the Czech Republic, I forgot to ask at what the customary tip is, before venturing out into the city. I met a guy, Matt, who was staying in the same room as me, in my hostel, and we took off to go explore Prague together. After walking around for a while, we decided to sample some of the local beer. We sat down in a beer garden and had a couple of beers each while comparing notes on where we'd visited and where we wanted to go next. After an hour or so, we asked for the check (which is kind of funny when you ask a Czech person for the check). Anyway, we got the bill and our (up-until-then) nice waitress says, "Service is not included," as she puts down the check. So, yeah. She wants a tip. No problem. Also, it's printed very clearly on the bill that Service Is Not Included. Got it. Give the woman a tip. So, we figure out what we owe and see that she's overcharged us for pretzels, as we didn't have any. So, she says just to not pay for it, but again, tells us that service is not included. Gotcha. We throw some money together and give it to her and wait for our change. She takes the money and says, "And for the service?" since she apparently wants to take that money out now, too. I told her not to worry about it, that we would leave her something, just to give us the change. So, the total bill was like 220 kronas (Czech currency) and we put down a 20 krona coin to leave for her. She comes back over before we leave, and looks at us, aghast. She exclaims, "15%! Service is 15%!"
Um, okay. It's at this point that it's no longer as funny as it was before. I asked her if that was a Czech law to leave 15% and she all of a sudden no longer spoke English. "Huh?" she asked. I asked again, if it was a rule in the Czech Republic for everyone to leave 15% for a tip. She put on a puzzled expression and feigned ignorance. So, I clearly told her that she was incredibly rude to demand any amount from us and that she should be ashamed. Then, pulled out another 7 kronas and tossed them on the table. From the coins, she picked out the 5 krona coin and pushed the 2 krona coin back at me. Then walked away. Um, what???? So, that wasn't even 15%. Honestly, there was no rationale I could see behind her outburst.
The two of us left, slightly stunned by her fierce reaction and puzzled by local customs. Later we verified that 10% was quite a good tip (like 20% in the US would be), and she was just a nut case. Glad we got that straightened out!
After arriving in the Czech Republic, I forgot to ask at what the customary tip is, before venturing out into the city. I met a guy, Matt, who was staying in the same room as me, in my hostel, and we took off to go explore Prague together. After walking around for a while, we decided to sample some of the local beer. We sat down in a beer garden and had a couple of beers each while comparing notes on where we'd visited and where we wanted to go next. After an hour or so, we asked for the check (which is kind of funny when you ask a Czech person for the check). Anyway, we got the bill and our (up-until-then) nice waitress says, "Service is not included," as she puts down the check. So, yeah. She wants a tip. No problem. Also, it's printed very clearly on the bill that Service Is Not Included. Got it. Give the woman a tip. So, we figure out what we owe and see that she's overcharged us for pretzels, as we didn't have any. So, she says just to not pay for it, but again, tells us that service is not included. Gotcha. We throw some money together and give it to her and wait for our change. She takes the money and says, "And for the service?" since she apparently wants to take that money out now, too. I told her not to worry about it, that we would leave her something, just to give us the change. So, the total bill was like 220 kronas (Czech currency) and we put down a 20 krona coin to leave for her. She comes back over before we leave, and looks at us, aghast. She exclaims, "15%! Service is 15%!"
Um, okay. It's at this point that it's no longer as funny as it was before. I asked her if that was a Czech law to leave 15% and she all of a sudden no longer spoke English. "Huh?" she asked. I asked again, if it was a rule in the Czech Republic for everyone to leave 15% for a tip. She put on a puzzled expression and feigned ignorance. So, I clearly told her that she was incredibly rude to demand any amount from us and that she should be ashamed. Then, pulled out another 7 kronas and tossed them on the table. From the coins, she picked out the 5 krona coin and pushed the 2 krona coin back at me. Then walked away. Um, what???? So, that wasn't even 15%. Honestly, there was no rationale I could see behind her outburst.
The two of us left, slightly stunned by her fierce reaction and puzzled by local customs. Later we verified that 10% was quite a good tip (like 20% in the US would be), and she was just a nut case. Glad we got that straightened out!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Milano appertivo
When I arrived in Milan, I had no idea what to expect; I wasn't planning to stay there at all, so I had read nothing about the place. It turns out to be a one hit wonder with respect to tourist attractions. There is the Duomo, a huge cathedral that is definitely cool. However, is this reason enough to visit Milan? Nope. However, if there is one reason to visit, it is for the Milanese version of Happy Hour. I can't imagine a better Happy Hour anywhere and I am glad I got to partake each of the three nights I was there.
The deal is this: every bar/restaurant in the city participates to varying degrees, charging between 7 and 10 Euros for each drink, no matter what you order (mixed drinks, beer, wine) and here's the kicker...there is a free buffet to go along with a single drink order. So, effectively, you can eat your fill and have a drink for as little as 7 Euros. Obviously, some places put on a better spread than others, but with a little looking around, you can eat some really awesome food (and plenty of it!) for almost nothing. This was a great help to the old wallet, and I spent less than 30 Euro a day while there, including my hostel. Considering how much I spent in some other places, this was a downright steal!
It's still not worth a trip to Milan though. If you happen to be there, check it out. But, don't go checking out airfares just for this.
The deal is this: every bar/restaurant in the city participates to varying degrees, charging between 7 and 10 Euros for each drink, no matter what you order (mixed drinks, beer, wine) and here's the kicker...there is a free buffet to go along with a single drink order. So, effectively, you can eat your fill and have a drink for as little as 7 Euros. Obviously, some places put on a better spread than others, but with a little looking around, you can eat some really awesome food (and plenty of it!) for almost nothing. This was a great help to the old wallet, and I spent less than 30 Euro a day while there, including my hostel. Considering how much I spent in some other places, this was a downright steal!
It's still not worth a trip to Milan though. If you happen to be there, check it out. But, don't go checking out airfares just for this.
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