Greetings oameni. It has been several weeks since an update- I’ve been burdened with the obligation of taking a vacation in Eastern Europe, and haven’t found the time to tap out a letter. My friend Aaron and I were able to take off a week of work to head up to Ukraine and Poland for one memorable, slightly spontaneous road trip.
To leave the country we went north to Balti and had dinner with a friend before we boarded a 9:30pm bus to the border of Moldova and Ukraine. Upon receiving our tickets and finding our seats (except Aaron’s seat number didn’t actually exist), we were pleased to find that we had the entire back row to ourselves, that is until two guys got on at the next stop and preceded to try and kick us out of the back seat by saying they were headed past L’viv (the final destination for the bus). In hindsight it would have been best to heed their wishes and give up the back row; while everyone else can somewhat recline their seats, the back row is stuck with no where to recline, and an even smaller space for your legs once the passengers in the seats in front of you find that magical recline button. Regardless, we hunkered down for what we thought was going to be a 19 to 20 hour bus ride and had provisions consisting of a bottle of house wine, a handful of granola bars, a $1.38 bottle of vodka, strawberry-banana juice, and two liters of water. Crossing the boarder wasn’t very difficult, mostly it was just sitting around waiting in a steaming hot bus for the border patrolmen to finish processing everyone’s passports. It got quite warm on the bus and I decided to stripe down to a wife beater and find the bathroom, except on the way there the Russian-speaking bus driver cut me off and mockingly told me “This isn’t the beach, put on a shirt.” It seems I have come full circle and it only feels like yesterday when I was getting asked by my first host family why I always have a shirt on when it’s hot outside.
To our surprise, the bus only took 13 hours and we arrived in L’viv a little before midday. I can’t tell you how nice of a city L’viv is. It’s a funky, ex-Soviet, gem of a place where it is hard not to find yourself aimlessly walking down the streets completely engrossed by all the Cyrillic signs, the incredible architecture, and the beautiful women.
To get to Poland, we took a bus to the border, walked across the border to save time instead of queuing up in the car line, and then took a train to Krakow. Krakow is another must see city that reminded me of an adult Disney World, Cinderella, and the movie In Bruge. The hostel we stayed at the first night threw a “First Day of Spring” party, and I was surprised to see a large bottle of Tabasco sauce sitting on the kitchen table. I soon found out that this was one of the main ingredients for a shot called Mad Dog (raspberry liqueur, vodka, and a dash of Tabasco) that resembled the Polish flag. We found this shot in every bar/disco we went to, and it’s funny to think that this fiery, Louisiana liquid gold has found it’s way into a national alcoholic beverage for Poland.
While in Poland I was able to meet up with a friend from back home. This is the second time since leaving for Peace Corps that I’ve seen someone from back home and in a way it’s weird to have them sitting in front of you in an environment that isn’t your hometown. Before heading back to Ukraine we went to Auschwitz and took a tour of the compound. On the bus ride I was trying to mentally prepare myself, but once you get there the emotional floodgates open and there is no turning back. There are no words to describe the feelings while walking through Auschwitz. I am more than ever still in shock of the hatred, the disgusting practices, and cruelty of humanity to carry out this horrific display of genocide. It was one of the most powerful places I have ever been, and the scenes will be with me for the rest of my life.
The remainder of the trip was pretty wild. From hanging out with locals, Eastern European discotechs, kebab stands, missing buses, semi-automatic gun ranges, castles, meeting loads of fellow traveler’s to running off an average of three to four hours of sleep a night, it was well worth the 13 hours on a bus. On returning we missed our bus because of a communication error in Russian (thanks Aaron…) and were a day late coming back. I had to present a grant at 12:30 in the afternoon the day we got back and I somehow miraculously made it clean-shaven and freshly clothed at 12:15 to meet my partner and present the proposal, not something that I would have liked to have done after three sleepless days and a 14 hour bus ride, but it went well and I find out Wednesday if the water project will be funded. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I’ve got to get my life in order and get ready for a busy week at work saving the world.
Peace.
dear neal collins,
ReplyDeleteit was a pleasure meeting you guys! thanks for the great exchange of stories and peace corps-ness. all my best! also, your blog is great. a nice combo of pics and stories.
best,
kristi (the taller one with the boots)
Nice photos. Looks like you had a very good trip.
ReplyDelete