Back in Amsterdam

I'm SICK! I suspect because every morning when I step foot outside my hostel, it's pouring with rain, so my feet are wet and I walk around with wet feet all day and wet clothes and wet pants. Am feverish. Not pleased. Luckily I bought a supply of panadol. And I can't drink too much water because then I'll need to pee and peeing is an expensive habit in Amsterdam/Europe. 30-50 centimos/visit.

Grumpy. Very grumpy. It doesn't help that I need to be at airport at 4 am for checkin so I didn't book accommodation. Will sleep all day tomorrow in Barcelona. After visiting bookshop. My face is all swollen from the mosquito bites. I was wrong- I was actually bitten nine times on my face and neck, not four times. Bloody mosquitoes. Death to them. Unless they were bedbugs like Carolina suggested. Death to bedbugs too.

Visited the oldest chocolate shop in Belgium and bought some chocolate that I tried to savour but ended up gobbling because it was so tasty. Ate at least one waffle every day. Went to the only brewery left in Belgium (and perhaps the world) that uses the lambic system, but after the fascinating self-tour of the place, I'm still not sure what the lambic system is. But they had nice beer. Couldn't visit the Comic Strip Museum or Musical Instruments Museum because it was a Monday and on Monday all good museums are closed. Well, most anyway. Got wet. Nearly dropped Luther in the crusher at the brewery. I bought him a t-shirt at a Sunday market in Antwerp. He looks adorable in it; it says 'You Are Nr 1' on it. Now he looks like a real tourist instead of a small black (and increasingly dirty) sheep.

Luther had an accident

Well, ok I admit I threw him down the stairs. Actually, 'throw' is such a harsh word. I more dropped him down the stairs at my last hostel to see how far he'd roll because the staircase was so winding and steep and treacherous. He rolled and rolled and rolled until he reached the bottom. I bought him a shirt from the market though, as an apology.

I loved the hostel at Antwerp. In fact, I loved Antwerp to bits. I wish I'd not gone to Amsterdam and spent the time in Antwerp instead. I had a belgian waffle which was doughy and hot inside with a light, crisp golden shell. And some divine chocolates. And when I walked from the hostel to the Central Station, I passed a boy leading a bleating, ragged sheepy goaty creature. It was hysterical.

The hostel had a folk bar downstairs at nighttime and a long wooden bench for breakfast. Despite being bitten by some parasitic animal four times on my ankles and by four mosquitoes on my face, I thought it had fantastic character (well, I don't know if it was the same animal four times or four different animals and just one very thirsty mosquito or two or three but you get my point). Am now in Brussels which is very high rise and a bit yuppish like Den Haag.

It's not QWERTY

The Belgian keyboard is by far the oddest I have ever encountered. Hardly anything is where it should be.

Saw the International Court of Justice this morning. It's very sobering to think of world criminals being tried here. Am now in Belgium but my search for waffles turned out to be fruitless (as in I didn't find any, not that I couldn't get one with fruit). Am determined to find waffles and chocolate. I think the hostel I'm at at the moment has fleas. Or mosquitoes. It plays Irish music and burns incense. Cool but itchy place.

It's official- I'm accident prone

I bought this expensive umbrella in Warsaw (it was the cheapest I could find but the price tag still made me gag) for which I was very thankful because I've had horrible weather for the past month and a half until it broke on me this morning.

It was absolutely pouring in Amsterdam when I left to go to Rembrandthuis and on the way, the spring snapped and rocketed into my thumb. Because it was such an expensive umbrella, the spring was super-large and super-strong and I felt like my thumb was broken. So I was hopping around yelping and moaning and the stall owner (I was in a stall at the time) suggested I place it in a puddle of cold water to keep down the swelling. However, after 5 minutes, I decided I felt too ridiculous crouched in the rain with my hand in a puddle of rain water and would rather have a massive purple bruise under my thumbnail and the incredible pain.

Didn't like Amsterdam too much. It's too hectic and its pot/mushroom/redlightdistrict culture is flogged to death. Also I visited Van Gogh Museum but I found it depressing. Am in Den Haag now, which is very modern and high rise.

I'm going to Iceland!

So gleefully excited! I extended my Summer trip by two weeks to fly to Sweden, hopefully visit Elisabeth and on the spur of the moment, decided to go to Iceland as well. Can't wait. For people asking me (ie. Dad and Carolina) why Iceland and not Greenland, Iceland is closer, warmer and they eat weird/freaky food that I want to try. They're not the same country like I ignorantly thought until I looked it up on Google. Greenland is geographically part of North America but has links with Denmark. Unfortunately, no polar bears in Iceland but apparently sometimes they float over on an ice floe from Greenland so I may get to see one yet.

Bratislava has been a huge disappointment. Nothing special, people are rude and Patio hostel was absolutely shithouse. The staff were the most uninformed, useless bunch I've ever met. Actually, it's kind of funny how unknowledgeable they are. When I got to the train station, there was a guy wearing a Patio Hostel shirt, giving directions/trying to find customers. He told me to catch the No. 3 tram, which was *vague wave of hands* 'over there'. Couldn't tell me which stop to get off, except that it was maybe 4th or 5th. And then when I arrived at hostel, there was a sign saying to keep your valuables in the reception safe, so I asked the girl if I could put my passport there and she looked at me blankly and asked 'Why?' I later asked her about the stalactite/stalagmite caves in Smolenice and she knew nothing and told me to ask the tourist information there. Well, firstly, there is not tourist information centre in Smolenice and secondly, there is nothing in Smolenice except one street with a supermarket, post office and bank.

I did eventually find the caves, thanks to the only woman who spoke English within a 10 km radius. They were pretty cool, like a Slovakian Jenolan Caves. I was feeling sadistic so I touched some stalactites which apparently stunts their growth for 20 years and warps their formation. The tour was in Slovakian so I didn't understand a word but I had fun making faces at the kids who looked at me.

Will be spending the night at Frankfurt airport I'm afraid. Hope they have 24 hour food/internet. I bought Tess of the D'Urbevilles in Vienna so at least I'm not worried about being bored. Hope it lasts me till I return to Logrono.

Back in Wien

Slovenia is the most consistenly beautiful country I've seen so far. The scenery is amazing and indescribable. I went rafting in Bovec, in this valley with water so clear you could see the rocks below and there was a stream from the mountains that you could actually drink from. It tasted so fresh and unbottled. When we went rafting, there was a 7 metre rock jutting out of the water so we climbed it and jumped from it into the river. Was the biggest adrenaline rush and the water was freezing, incredibly... invigorating. Ljubljana is fantastic too, so relaxed and young and inviting.

Arrived in Vienna last night, after a 6 hour train ride with no book to read except my Lonely Planet guide. There were 2 lovely Korean girls in my room and this elderly Israeli woman who was the biggest busybody ever. She found out I was going to Bratislava by train and ordered me to go by bus instead and made me pull out my map and circle the station to catch it from. And told me which hostel I had to stay at in Bratislava and how to get there. I know she was trying to be kind, but the reason I'm travelling alone is so I don't have people telling me what transport to catch and where to go.

Met a guy at the hostel so we went to a bar and met this friendly Viennese girl and her 2 friends, one of them the DJ at the bar. When the bar closed, he said he knew of an underground party going on so we went. It was underneath some construction site and absolutely crazy. Was heaps of fun but the music was awful. Hardcore techno which I despise because it's not really even music. Got back to hostel at 5:30 and the Israeli woman who had to leave was chucking a fit because she couldn't find her key. She accused me of not closing the door properly last night, implying that someone had come into our room for the sole purpose of stealing her key while leaving her money and cards alone, and added 'And you didn't close your light last night'. This was the light that I'd turned on because she ordered me to turn it on so I could see when I came back. I told her that and she said 'Well, you were supposed to come back soon, not at 5 in the morning' even though I hadn't specified. She was still harping about the door and light when she was leaving and I was pretty sick of it and about to say something rude so I just said 'Goodbye, it was nice meeting you' and she shut up.

Apparently she'd tried to get one of the Korean girls to give her her key, saying that she'd have time to look for the lost one because they weren't leaving till 10 am. It's a bit like the baby in the bible that got squashed by the mother so she went and stole someone else's child. It's so funny how she was so nice at night, telling me she trusted us not to steal her stuff and how she'd just left it on the table and then because all evil and bitchy when she couldn't find her key. She was offended too when I put my passport and valuables in the safe at reception.

Zagreb Youth Hostel- way to Hell

Last night, I stayed in a place calling itself a youth hostel but was in actual fact more like a stopover on the road to Hell. Saying the design of the place is "utilitarian" is being generous. I met an Aussie couple also going to the hostel so we made our way together, and I´m sincerely glad I found them. We got lost so I asked the only person on the street for directions, except he turned out to be dead drunk and just followed us around aimlessly. A car drove by us and the driver asked if we were headed for the hostel and when we said yes, he said he´d give us a lift. Normally I don´t get into the car with strangers but there were three of us, and his car had no boot to conceal a second person waiting to mug us. So he drove us there, telling us we had to be careful at night because after the war(s) there were heaps of crazy lunatics running around waiting to accost strangers. I wondered when he said it if he was one himself but he was greatly helpful.

At the hostel, the old man at reception just barked out "85 kroner" and "Room 105, if the door´s locked, knock on it". The layout of the place looked like a converted mental asylum and the people there didn´t seem much better. When I was eating my salad downstairs at 1 am (arrived at midnight, starving; salad is not a good option for travelling, very messy to eat on bus) some skinny guy skulked around and started talking to me, "Can´t sleep? I can´t sleep either" and lit a cigarette with shaking hands. He tried to engage me in conversation, but I swear he had a twitch in his eye or something and was making me really nervous so I gave very short answers.

My bed had a strange smell I couldn´t quite put my finger on... I later figured out what it smelt like- old urine. This morning, at around 10 am, the guy from reception came up and asked if I was staying another night. I said no, and he asked if I knew what time checkout was. I said no, the guy didn´t tell us last night and he shouted " There´s a sign that says it´s at 9. So get out of here. Hurry up!" and left. Well, if they had enough lighting in the recpetion area to read the signs, maybe I would have seen it.

The showers were rusty and clogged up and there was only one bulb because the other two had probably blown and been removed. And next to Corinne´s bed (one of the Aussies), someone had written "tourists are terrorists". My favourite was the cleaning lady though. She stood outside in the hallway with a mop and a purple smock, looking like a wizened parody of Chief in One Flew Over the Cuckoo´s Nest. The inyourpocket guide to Zagreb says of this hostel "the staff couldn´t try harder to please you."

The Absurdities

At the hostel in Wroclaw, I met these two lovely German girls and two Aussie brothers. It made me miss being home, where there are wankers of course, but also heaps of laid back people who are just so frank and cheerful (except on the road- no one seems cheerful in cars in Sydney). It especially made me miss my creature because he epitomises all that is good about Aussie guys. The Aussies at the hostel had brought four tubes of vegemite with them, so I had some for the first time in ages (except for that time I stole some of Em's when I was staying in her flat in Logrono- sorry!).

I realised when I arrived in Wroclaw, that I'd done a loop because it was the same station that I got dropped off at from Berlin that I caught the bus to Vienna from. Breslau, Wroclaw, I don't know if they're different names for the same place.

Some absurdities I've seen:
'vegetarian baguette' in France with tuna
a Maggi cafe (yes, the company that brings you instant noodles and cup-a-soup things. What, they add hot water for you for a fee?) in Germany
an ear on a cathedral (don't ask)

Home of Kommisar Rex

On the way to my hostel, I passed the cathedral that they show at the very beginning of Inspector Rex. So excited! Arrived in Vienna at 4:45 and since nothing was open and the trams weren't working, I waited at the station with the bums sheltering from the cold. When I arrived at the hostel, the guy at reception was extremely unhelpful. He stared at me and said 'Check in is at 1 pm' and since I just stood there and stared at him, he added 'You can put your luggage in the luggage room if you like' and gave me the key. Then when I returned and gave him back the key, he just took it and we stood there looking at each other from across the counter. No suggestions of showing me the common room, the computers, anything. And I asked him if I could deposit my passport and money in the safe and he repeated 'You want to put your valuables in the safe?' like I'd said a rude word.

Highlight of Poland was definitely the pierogis (dumpling things) in Warsaw. I had a 'meat' soup in Wroclaw that turned out to be lung soup. Very odd.

Want to SCREAM

I'm so incredibly frustrated. I've been on the internet for an hour and a half trying to find accommodation that's cheap and central in Zagreb and there's NOTHING. Very tempted to book hotel at Sheraton for 3 nights and use up my budget for the next two weeks but sleep in a biiiiiig soft bed with clean, crisp sheets. But the prices are ludicrous.

Also, my computer screen went black and when I went to tell the internet cafe guy, who was playing cards, he got really pissed off because I interrupted his game and acted like it was the biggest inconvenience in the world to check why the computer had crashed. He sighed and stomped around like anything and dropped a card. I noticed but didn't tell him because if he's going to be such an asshole, he deserves to lose the game. So HA! to him.

Made it to Warsaw (though still no apology or email from Deutsche Touring, sucky stupid company) and Krakow and Auschwitz. Auschwitz was a very confronting experience, especially Auschwitz Birkenau, which had a very haunting quality to it. All the rows upon rows of sheds, all empty now, with the grass finally springing back to life after the evacuation. We walked past the area where the ashes of the cremated were thrown and you can still see the whites of some bones. Auschwitz-I was more gory. There was a display of the hair that had been shaved off all the gassed female prisoners which formed a mountain, some of it still braided. Apparently the SS sent the hair off to line jackets, make clothes and mattresses and stuff. I'm not sorry I went, but being so close to so much suffering was painful. I felt physically sick in the crematoria. But I think it's important to see things like this and keep places like Auschwitz as a museum so we can realise that so much horror has happened and can happen again if we're not careful.

Leave for Vienna tomorrow. I'm giving up on Zagreb accommodation. I think I'll get there and think about it then. As Scarlett says, 'I won't think about it now, I'll think about it tomorrow.'

Deustche Touring

My creature's mum's funeral was today. I wish I could be in Australia with him. His birthday is tomorrow too. It's painful being on the other side of the world sometimes, when telephones just aren't enough to say how you really feel.

On another note, I wrote two polite but angry emails to Deutch Touring, the company I was supposed to catch the bus from Berlin to Warsaw with. Last night, when I went to get on the bus, the driver said that unfortunately, even though I had the right ticket, the bus was full. So I had to stay a night in Berlin, and this morning because no one at the company speaks English, I had to ask the concierge lady at the hotel to call them for me. It transpires that there's a list on the bus, of the names of the passengers and some guy bought a ticket even though he wasn't on the list which meant I couldn't get on. AND the next direct service which has a seat to Warsaw leaves on Sunday night, so I have to catch the bus to Preslau, which arrives at some ungodly hour in the morning, and catch the train to Warsaw from there.

Never fear, they will be hearing from me again. I sent emails, but when I get back to Spain at the end of the month, they will be receiving a formal letter or a phone call or both, asking how they expect to recompense me for my troubles and difficulties. Unless they send me an exceptionally nice email explaining that they will refund the money for my bus, pay for my accommodation last night, the deposit for the hostel in Warsaw and possibly send me a lollipop in the mail as well. Or a card saying 'Turn that frown upside down!'

Goodbye, Berlin

Leaving for Warsaw tonight and very sad to be leaving Berlin. Hopefully I´ll have a chance to return here before I leave for Sydney in January.

Went out clubbing on Tuesday night. I was a bit apprehensive going out by myself but nothing happened and it does feel very liberating to be going out by yourself and not caring about other people. I think I passed some hookers on the way, but I´m not sure if they were hookers or just people dressed really tartily waiting for their friends. The club I went to was playing indie rock, but the DJ wasn´t especially good. Had fun though. Wish I could be here on a weekend, when the crazy clubs open.

Yesterday I went to Brecht Haus, which was where Brecht lived the last years of his life and died. Most of the rooms were left pretty much as they were when he died. Visited his tomb again, still couldn´t find Hegel´s tomb. Went to the Charlottenburg Summer palace and Museum Berggruen which has works by Picasso, Matisse and Klee. The New Synagogue was very new inside (I suppose because it got bombed and blasted during and after WWII) but definitely worth the visit. When I went to the East Side Gallery, it started raining a bit, so I only walked about 200 metres of it. Took photos of Luther all around Berlin; he´s very photogenic. Was going to go out again last night, to this bar that often has poetry readings at night but was exhausted so fell asleep at 9. I love how Berlin has all this artists´ workshops and is just so conducive to creativity.

From Paris to Berlin

Am in love with Berlin. It´s such an ugly city, with no pretension, nothing to be arrogant about. It´s a melting pot of contradictions, Soviet communist history along with German nazism, historical and art museums along with clubs, bar and pubs, the Berlin Wall, the book-burning plaza, Brecht´s tomb... Also found an Australian Icecream store about 5 minutes from my hostel. AND they have the coconut sorbet that tastes like icecream (although I have to admit it tastes a bit different in my memory... better...) so I guess I´m set.

Went on a Berlin walking tour today. I was going to buy a guidebook for the same price but I´m glad I went on the tour. The tour guide really knew what she was talking about, and you find out things the books probably don´t have. Stood on top of the bunker where Hitler spent his last days, walked through the Brandenburg gate, went to Checkpoint Charlie, saw the memorial to the 200 000 odd books burnt, the Holocaust memorial to the Jews...

Also went to the Jewish History Museum which has a Freud exhibition at the moment, but the Freud was very disappointing. Very superficial. The museum was good though. Now I´m heading back to Checkpoint Charlie to take Luther´s photo with it. He says hi but that it´s really squishy in my bag.