A Pleasant View of Poland

...annnnnd because I don't want to leave you with just depressing black and white images of Auschwitz, I (we) present you with a few snippets of images from our stay in Poland thus far!

We've got: Agata & Dani about to leave Warsaw; Dani and I in the creepy head, a few steps away from our hostel in the old town's main square; me LOVING deep fried ruskie perogies; Dani and I sharing our love with the mascot at our delicious perogie hole-in-the-wall heaven.

Poland is great, from my perspective. I mean, it's sometimes frustrating to not understand menus and such (Thank YOU, Agata.), but it's neat. Auschwitz, in case you were wondering, was also... um... "amazing", but in a deeply thought-provoking sort of way. I'm still at a loss for words, which is why I haven't specifically posted any with the pictures.

Two more sleeps 'til we say goodbye to Agata, & head to Wien!

(Dear Austria, Why don't you just call it "Vienna"?!)

xo

Warsaw above! (Duh.) Krakow below! (Less obvi.)

auschwitz

auschwitz & auschwitz-birkenau.

Polska

Dear Blog Faithful,
(You ARE still out there, right!? lol)

I write to you today from Hostel Helvetia in Warsawa, Polska. Land of polish (the language. not the gunk for your shoes) and anger. (Have "we" (as Poles) mentioned that we got trampled during the war? If not, please keep reading.)

Anyway, we got in to our hostel yesterday, and promptly walked by every bank on the face of the planet with the exception of the one that we needed to be exempt from abroad ATM fees. Eventually getting our money though, we figured that we should make like the locals, so we went to the grocery store and bought 6 beer for less than 5$ CDN. (2 were for Dani's friend Agata who is now with us as in an official capacity as translator and all around general bearer of awesomeness.) The hostel's great though, so we had a good evening getting to know Jowen from Vancouver, Ansel from Wisconsin, Denis from Berlin, and this really awesome Brit sis and bro whose names just seemed so much typical of their locale. (& which I've subsequently forgotten.)

Today, we went and explored the "MUZEUM POWSTANIA WARSZAWSKIEGO", which is a museum all about the Warsaw Uprising. The highlight was probably the caption for one pic of Stalin, which, I didn't get a picture of, but which read, "Evil in human form - Stalin", or something to that very close extent. Anyway, it was amazing. (Remember how I mentioned anger? Poland does NOT do well with getting chosen last to be trampled upon during conflict.)

So. That's about that for now. We haven't all stuffed our faces with perogies or been married off to strange foreigners, so I'd say that it's been partially a success thus far!
I'll just leave it to you to figure out which end of that was less successful....
;)

Krakow tomorrow!
xo
-a. & d.

For your viewing pleasure...

A few photos of Germany thus far:

View of Dresden from our paddle steamboat tour!

The faithful vessel, herself.


All aboard! 'Twas a chilly but picturesque ride.


Another view of pretty Dresden.

Angebot catches up on some journal-writing (read: lies, slander, and hearsay) on the train from Dresden to Berlin.


Becoming one with Berlin culture...


Ange rides her trusty goat to victory over language barriers.

More to come shortly in the Berlin department! (Translation: we have done more than pose with statues, I swear!)

xo

- d. & a.

Flashback: Olhao!

Free Internet time in Berlin means... you get to see the crappy video we made from the rooftop terrace of our hostel in Olhao. Please excuse the terrible quality... and poor, poor commentating. At least the views are decent :).

Enjoy!

- d. & a.



If this didn't work for you, try watching here.

Hurly Burly Lynn

Berlin.
City of ear grunters.

No, seriously. I was taking a picture when this otherwise respectable, middle-aged man who was with his wife came up past me, stuck his face out, and grunted in my ear. Seeing as how I was practically in a bush in order to get this shot and didn't see how I was harming anybodz, I startledly cried out "Ummm... what the hell?!", and yet somehow only received a grin back from him, along with a weird "Maybe you're the one with a problem..." look back from his wife.

Just sayin'. Ear grunters. Weird lot.

Anyway, apart from that and these darn keyboards that have switched up the "Z" and "Y" kezs (see?! "kezs" instead of "keys". I can't tzpe. SHOOT! "TYPE"!), Berlin has been grand thus far. (We arrived this morning. So we're not at all quick to judge.) Everything is clean though, and the streets and metro seem to be easy to navigate, knock on wood. Tomorrow... a walking tour, perhaps? Or maybe a musical, seeing as how we didn't end up seeing Evita! :P

(Ugh. Evita. I mean, I love the A.L.Webber and all, but we ended up going on a steam paddle boat ship ride instead (it seemed like a nice, Elbe River/local thing to do!), and have we mentioned that they do NOT have any english in Dresden?! Because they don't. No printed signs, no nothing. Just grunting. (Thankfully though, not in your ear!) So that's how THAT went. No Evita, just incoherence on a boat from 1929, past some grape vinyards and houses that looked like a 3 yr. old'd built them.)

In sum, speaking of grunting, I need to go to bed. Seems I'm disgruntled.
Love from Berlin, east and west!
xo
-a.
(d., who was much more coherent, says "HI!", but without the rambling that I have done.) :P

Sprechen sie Englisch?

Hey there. We´re in Dresden at the moment and LOVING every minute. Our experience has been made all the more wonderful by the gracious contributions of Angie´s dad, Mr. Shura, who so awesomely donated to two hostel-weary travellers an all-paid 3-nights´stay in Dresden´s rather lovely Holiday Inn. Complete with our own extra-comfy, over-sized twin beds, beautiful bathroom (with tub), TELEVISION, closet space, and AIR CONDITIONING, this room is exactly what we needed at the one-third mark of our jounrney. And therefore, a very well-rested Ange and Dani send our many, many, MANY thanks!

We spent today exploring Dresden´s new and old towns. The new town offered charming streets of shops and restaurants. The vibe was very chill compared to the rather busy and touristy old town we found when we crossed the River Elbe--not to say that we didn´t enjoy the old town. There´s a reason it´s busy. It´s chock-full of stunning architecture and beautiful views. Most of the city was reconstructed after being completely destroyed in the bombings of February 1945. The reconstructions are all quite impressive... the before and after photos really gave us a sense of the extent to which the city was levelled. Extremely devastating, but it´s amazing to see how the city has recovered.

Tomorrow we´re going to attempt to get tickets to see Evita (no, there were no German operas playing at the Dresden Opera House... drat! :P). Other than that, I imagine we´ll partake of some German pastries (has become protocol for each city), stroll along the river and perhaps.. more pastry (justified by ALL THE WALKING... right?).

OK, that´s all for now. Gute nacht! Miss you all! xo
- d. & a.

Ola from Olhao!

Hello from Olhao, land of white sandy beaches, fish smells, winding streets and sunburns. We've only got 30min. of free internet at the local municipal internet cafe, so this'll have to be quick. We just wanted to let you know that we're still alive!

Leaving Lisbon was heartbreaking, as Rossio Hostel was very much a cozy home away from home for us. It was RIGHT in the heart of the city, and from the lady who made us fresh crepes or eggs in the morning, right down to the lady who folded our underwear when she did our laundry for us, it had everything that two travelling girls could ask for. We did a lot in Lisbon (read: we slept in and wandered about) and even got to spend a day in Sintra, admiring the views and overpriced castles. How quickly a european trip can become Castle Tour '10 is a little startling...

Anyway, we leave for Frankfurt tomorrow, but not without a glorious Atlantic beach "sun hang-over" from a day spent frolicking in the clear blue waves and reading on the white sand beaches of Armona island.
So. Much. Sun.

Well, so much for being "brief", eh?! :P
xo
-a. & d.

It really is cheaper than water...

Reason #433 why I love Portugal.

:)

Love from Lisbon

In no particular order, a few shots with PEOPLE in them. ;)

Atop of Arthur´s Seat in Edinburgh. I am way too excited.
(In my defence, Hannah said "Everybody raise their arms in victory!" I was just the only one to do it. THANKS, GUYS.)

Literally getting blown away by the Coral Beaches in the Scottish Highlands.

HI! ...from the HIGHlands!

Loch Ness, minus Nessie.

Dani & Hannah at the Tower Bridge

Ecstatically departing The Walrus Hostel in London.
This picture does the joys of leaving behind the custodial closet toilet no justice.

We friggin´ LOVE Lisbon!!!!! (A view from atop the Castle of São Jorge.)

Anyway, it's just a few of the 400+ pictures that I alone have already taken, but we figured that it'd at least give you an idea of what we've been up to in a way that's a touch more descriptive than a tired paragraph of gibberish.

Sending you all our love from Lisbon,
-a. (& d., as always)

Primark is Amazing

Please note the title of this entry for the general thought of the day. :)

Portugal tomorrow!
xo
-a.

Cheerio, from the land of tea and crumpets.

Though we have yet to partake in a high tea with the queen mum (she's pencilled in for Thursday), we have been taking in all of the lovely sights (and smells -- ah, the gaseous sewers) of London, including but not limited to St. James' Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and och aye, the London Eye! Our hostel could use a scrub-down and a wee spot of paint, and its rather close proximity to the train tracks makes for a bit of noise (thank goodness for ear plugs) but the beds are decent and we're about a 5 minute walk from the Eye/southbank stuff, so we really can't complain!

Anyhoo, Internet cafe time is a-ticking and we have some hostels to book, so I should run! Hannah and Ange are off to enjoy the changing of the guard in a few... I'll be strolling through the National Gallery (yay for free entry!), and then we'll head to the Tower Bridge and St. Paul's. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping and the sewers are wafting and we're all having a grand old time :). Wish us luck and lots of free WC's!

d.

Me, You, an' a Heeland Coo

Och aye - have yeh seen any heeland coo late'ly?!

Ah yes. The great and fantastic "heeland coo"... aka - the highland cow. Basically, a strange and hairy beast with a fringe of hair across its bangs that would put an emo hipster to shame. These "coo" were but a mini highlight of our trip across the highlands of Scotland.

Our first day had us joining up with a group of "Jimmies" (4 Aussies who wore the tartan red hats with red "hair" peaking out the ENTIRE WEEKEND (these hats are referred to as "Jimmy Hats")), an obnoxious Polish-Canadian student from Ottawa U (Ew. Sound familiar?! I am disgraced by this boy who was NOT me, despite some basic similarities...), and a few other smatterings of your token Japanese, American, and New Zealanders. We wound through the roads out of Edinburgh, up to our stay for two nights, a gorgeous hostel in Stromeferry (right up north, by the Isle of Skye), at break neck speeds, stopping here and there to admire historical points & pee. (30 pence for a pee being the low point of one of our pee breaks...) (I should clarify that we did not actually pee ON the historical point. It kind of reads that way, don't it.)

Day 2 was much of the same, but with higher cliffs and even more breathtaking scenery on the Isle of Skye, and today/Day 3 came to a close with a broken door on our mini-tour bus, with a fantastic last ditch attempt by our driver/guide, Ewan, to get one poor girl onto a train on time after our door delay in Inverness. (They didn't make it, but MAN did it make for a FANTASTIC bit of driving and gazelle-like dashing across Edinburgh!)

In the end, we didn't see Nessie, but we did have a great visit with Heidi and Eryn, and are already contemplating how much more luggage we might need by the end of this grand adventure. (Just me? Ugh...) A perfect Scottish adventure, even if my pure malt scotch whisky (Whisky Experience Tour, what?!) DID taste a bit like pears and death.

HA. At least I didn't spew like the hung over Canadian boy on our highlands tour did though...

Ah, but that's another story. ;)

Much love to all from here; London TOMORROW!

(Weeeeeee!)

Love,

Ange & the Canuck Crew

Nessie??

Only Fake Nessie.

**These photos compliments of one most wonderful Heidi St. Hill.

Happy Canada Day from Edinburgh!!

Greetings fellow Canadians!

Not only are we alive after 3 (but actually 2?! how does THAT work!?!!) days travel, a few flights and busses, but we are all set to throw a fantastic Canada Day Party live at Heidi's at the moment!! ...too bad Heidi's at work, eh!? :P Ah well. Her/our current roommates Iain and Joe are taking care to ensure that we're well prepared and represented.

The flights were great though, and we've already explored the Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, H&M (shopping is important! it's a cultural comparison experiment!!), and a pile of other things. One thing of note though is that Heidi's insistance of 'It's only a 10min. walk!' is almost ALWAYS 45min. :P

Highlands/Isle of Skye adventure starts tomorrow!
Happy Canada Day to all. We miss you!

(Thanks for commenting, Kaila!!! <3)
xo
-a.