My Replacement Seth

The European rail system is a great way to see the continent. Train travel is easy, as you can hop on a train as it is leaving the station and just purchase your ticket on the train, although you should pre-pay seeing as the conductor can arbitralily change prices, and it also provides a more intimate mode of travel than flying. Intimate not only with the scenery, seeing as you can feel the breeze and smell the scents of the area that you cover, but also with the people that you share space with. Train cabins are usually six seats per cabin with three facing each other on both sides. Train travel is also less restrictive than plane travel (you are in charge of your own luggage, you don't have a seat belt, and seats are first come first serve for the most part) which, I believe, adds an element of freedom that creates a more friendly environment. Every train ride has given a new conversation with a new group of people.

On the train from Vienna to Krakow I met Daniel. Since Seth left I am on the search for the "New Seth", and Daniel is the first candidate. He is from Mexico and is a very nice guy. A quick note; I must comment on a phenomenon. People who speak english and it is not their first language use curse words in hilarious ways. I am guessing that it has something to do with the fact that there is no formal teaching for the use of curse words and they are often learned as individual words and not with their grammatical context in mind. As Daniel and I were talking he kept saying "It's so fuck hot, man," and "Oh my shit." Perhaps they should teach conjugation of curse words in school, I mean, we wouldn't want to sound uneducated would we?

As I tried out Daniel for his role of Seth, we walked around Krakow I had an interesting experience. I was walking on the sidewalk, as I normally do, when a car ran up onto the sidewalk not five feet in front of me. The driver stopped, looked at me without giving me a "sorry" or "oops" look and proceeded to parallel park his car. In Krakow the streets were built without parking in mind so the geniuses at the motor vehicle department decided, "we can just have the cars park on the sidewalk. That won't scare the ever-loving shit out of tourist who get startled when cars ramp up onto the sidewalk where they are walking, thinking that they are safe." It was quite disconcerting to say the least. Seth would have jumped and cursed. Daniel stepped aside quite nonchalantly. I don't think Daniel is going to make the cut.

Two Becomes One

I said goodbye to Seth's moustache today. The next time I see him the furry beast that has graced the northern region of Seth's mouth will be nothing more than a memory. Seth heads for home, law school, and his beloved Inna today, and I head to Krakow, Poland. I could not have asked for a better travel partner through this adventure. Seth is a planner, I am "whatever", and we could not have gotten along better. Seth and I have not really spent much time together since graduating high school some seven years ago and I think we were both wondering how we would travel together. This month could not have been any better and I will miss Seth.

As Seth travels home I will continue on. It will be an adjustment to not having Seth around. Since Seth grew his Eastern European moustache at least I will have plenty of reminders of him. I worry that my credibility in these parts are a little compromised not having a moustache of my own. I tried to grow a little facial hair but it looked like a teenager who was trying desperately to look older than his age. I guess some guys just weren't cut out for facial hair. I am thinking that maybe I won't shower for a few days, then I can acquire that eastern European musk that is so common. Maybe then I will blend in.

And so the adventure rolls on, now as a solo and no longer a duet. I wish Seth the best as I know he is heading into a much more difficult adventure than I. By the way, thank God for McDonalds. Although their half gallon sodas and questionable beef (is it cow?...I mean really?!?!) is thinning out the human race, they have really pushed for free wifi in their restaurants. I have been sitting here for half an hour typing without buying a single thing. I'm not a freeloader, I'm on a budget. Mc-Ds has come a long way since that creepy clown started hocking burgers.

Our Last City Together

The dynamic duo of Sean and Seth is slowly writing their last chapter. After a full day of travel, 17 hours to be exact, and about two more hours of trying to find a place with no map, no address, and no internet, we ended up at our accomodation in Vienna. Vienna will be the last city on our agenda together. After a nice walk around Vienna we realized that it is an incredibly beautiful place and we could not care less. I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, but Seth and I have both become a bit burnt out on being tourists. We took the "Red Bus City Tour" which condenses Vienna's nearly two thousand year history into an hour and a half. This was perfect for us. Short, sweet, and to the point, we were able to snap some pictures, see some sights, and listen to a shit load of Mozart through our handy dandy headset that also gave us interesting tidbits about the sights of Vienna.

Seth and I have both vowed to return to Vienna and Budapest to give them a second chance since we were not on our tourist attention span had been severly depleted by Prague, Berlin, and Stockholm. I do hope to stay in places with internet access, however. I am typing this in a McDonalds and the guy next to Seth and I is chewing louder than a pack of hyenas. We came 8000 miles away to sit in a McDonalds. They have free wifi, though, so thanks Ronald, we appreciate it. Luckily we still have our inimitable travel companions Rick Steve and Arthur Frommer guiding us. It is off to try some vegetarian Viennese cuisine, then take a stoll along the Danube back to our place.

Who Knew About Croatia

Croatia has been unbelievable. Seth and I were talking today about how we had no idea how amazing Croatia is. The weather is perfect, the water is cool but not cold, and the people have been ridiculously friendly. Ivan, our landlord for the past night, gave us a short walking tour on our way to his place. I breifly mentioned the "Sobe" accomodations in the last entry but I forgot to mention how it works. When you get off of the boat there are these sweet old ladies who hold signs that say "Sobe". We first read of the Sobes in the ubiquitous text of Rick Steve's guide to Eastern Europe, and in reading Mr. Steve's hints we thought that the people offering rooms would be sketchy, twitchy guys who offer you a room to stay then bring you back to some alley and rob you. The reality is these ladies who could pass for anyones grandmother that are not pushy and are offering a room in their own sweet way. It is hilarious.

Last night we went out for a "proper" night out, as the Irishmen would say. Little did we know that meant hopping from club to bar to wherever we ended up and walking home at 6am. American's have nothing on the European night out. It is a completely unsustainable lifestyle for more than a weekend, but it is an insane amount of fun. Cormac and Warren, also known as the Irishmen, are absolute animals. They have been enjoying their "proper" nights out for the past three weeks. It is almost as if they are going to need a holiday from their holiday. In our night out we ran into nearly the whole of the Emerald Isle. Warren and Cormac kept meeting folk from Ireland and half way through the night started conversations with "where in Ireland are you from?" rather than "where are you from?" Their frustration was palpable as they traveled across Europe to meet new people and all they found were people that they had a good chance of being related to. It made for an entertaining evening for Seth and I, though.

Leaving Croatia...Almost...

Some of the best laid plans succumb to reason, necessity, or just a great idea.  Our Villa-mates were talking of going to Hvar, which is a small island off the coast of central Croatia.  From the word on the street it is an absolutely beautiful place as well a lively atmosphere.  After really no persuasion Seth and I decided to join our international group on their way and push back our trip to Vienna. 

Im slowly realizing that Americans are unbelievably spoiled when it comes to our comfortable temperature range and the lengths we go to to stick to that range.  We all took the bus from Dubrovnik up to Split and it was a freaking heat wagon.  The bus had enough air conditioning to make you think that it might make a difference, but in reality it was just enough to keep you alive so that you could realize how hot it was.  About two hours into the four and a half hour jaunt I pleaded with the travel Gods to let a window break or ice to fall from the ceiling.  Neither happened.  We made it, though, and I think that I am stronger for it.  We are now in Hvar after a short boat ride.

The thing in Croatia is to stay with random people who offer Sobe (which is Croatian for room for rent) instead of hotels because hotels have not been able to purchase much of the minimal amounts of property for sale.  For our two nights in Hvar we will be staying with Ivan and his family.  All of us have really grown to love this style of travel because it is so much more personal than a hotel and you are staying in a neighborhood as opposed to some commercial district.  It also gives the place a much more friendly, community type feel.  Now if only I could convince some people of the benefits of air conditioning and good refrigeration...

Last Day Living La Villa Loca

Today is our last day at the Villa. For the past week the folks that Seth and I have shared a living space with have become great friends. This past week has been an experience that I will never forget. I am still quite bewildered that our whole Croatian experience all stemmed from a couple of Irishmen that Seth and I met on our train ride from Berlin to Prague. It is funny how life works out sometimes. In honor ofour last day here we did absolutely nothing special. We all slept in until noon, then mosied out of bed for a bowl of corn flakes and tepid milk.

I need to vent for one second. Refrigeration in Europe is an absolute joke. We have a refrigerator in the villa and it is more like a thermos than an actual refrigerator. We put things in there and when we take them out they are a little cooler than room temperature. In America when I take a drink out of the refrigerator it is sub-zero, colder than Antarctica, hurt your hand, teeth, and throat, cold. I am not saying that American refrigeration is better, because I am sure that American's electric bills are higher, but for Pete's sake, man, it is worth it to have a cold drink. Not only is the refrigeration system a joke, but no restaurant gives you ice in your glass. Its 100 freaking degrees and I ask for ice water and I get this tepid liquid that is about as refreshing as sand in a desert. I just don't understand. Europeans dont understand what they are missing. Ice cold beverages are awesome.

Ok, venting complete. What was I talking about? Ah, yes, the last day in the Villa. We did what we have done most every day here and woke up late, ate, swam, ate, siesta-ed (this can not be a real word, but you know what I mean) ate dinner, then called it a day. We did jump off of some more stuff into the sea again. I have no idea why it is so much fun to jump off of a 25 foot high rock into water, but it is. One thing that I will miss most about the Villa is having a cup of evening tea on the balcony, watching the sunset, and bullshitting the time away with a group of perfect strangers who I now consider some of my good friends.