Budapest, day 3, 4, 5
On Tuesday I woke up feeling pretty off and grumpy, though I’m not sure why. I spent the morning being frustrated on the computer trying to book accommodations and transportation for the last part of my trip- sadly, forgetting how astronomically expensive Western Europe is compared to Eastern Europe (especially Amsterdam- I don’t know how anyone even lives there when crappy hostels are $70.00 a night). Anyway, I’ll figure it all out hopefully today before I catch the bus to Prague.
Tuesday afternoon I walked to the Rudas Baths, a less touristy spot than the Széchenyi baths, located on the Buda side of the river. Their outdoor pool area was under construction, but the rest of the thermal area was open. Sadly, I wasn’t allowed to take photos in there (it was women’s day, and people were allowed to bathe nude), but it was quiet and nice- all of the pools were in a circle gradually increasing in temperature surrounding a larger warm pool in the center.
After my soak, I walked around for awhile, taking photos:
Buda hills
Look at these bike lanes!
Erzsebet Bridge
I had dinner by myself at a Thai restaurant on Kazinczy Street. It was delicious! Afterwards, I walked back to the hostel to rest for a few hours. Later, I went out for some Rose wine with my roommate, Eve. We went back to Szimpla Pub, which was a total mess of people but managed to find some seats and stay till midnight.
My lovely friend Krisztina loaned me her bike, so yesterday I took a roughly 12 mile round trip bike ride up to Római part, which translates to “Roman Beach.” It’s basically an area north of the city on the Buda side where there is access to the river and there’s a strip of outdoor eateries and ice cream shops. It was pretty sparse, I think with everyone at the Sziget festival, but I was more than happy to have some space from large crowds and some relaxation time. Basically, it was the best. I am so in awe at how being on a bicycle seems to be my go to happy place on this trip.
Don’t mind me, I’m just the creeper taking photos of the back of your neck!
On the way back down I accidentally ran into the Sziget festival (a giant outdoor music/art festival on an island). I considered going, but then I remembered that after years of going to Coachella, I never need to go to another outdoor music festival again. Ever.
Parliament, on my way back to the city.
After my bike ride I took a free walking tour on Communism, which ended up going for 3.5 hours and was really amazing and full of interesting information.
In a nutshell, we learned that there were several phases of Communism-
From 1947-1956, it was basically the worst, with a Stalin-istic government whose motto was, “If you are not with us, you are against us.” It was pretty much a totalitarian police kind of state, and lots of dissenters were sent to forced labor camps, not unlike in WWII. It sounds like people’s basic needs were not being met, with food being collected and then redistributed, with not enough for everyone. Also during this time, people were asked to write reports on their friends, neighbors, and family- so you never quite knew who to trust. It’s like the flip side of McCarthyism! Awesome all around.
In 1956, there was a revolution and on October 23 several hundred peaceful protesters were killed, and then 200,000 people were forced to flee the country. A lot more people were killed, some things happened, and then the next period of communism started.
From 1956-1988 was “Happy Communism,” during which there was a considerable increase in the quality of life. The motto became, “Those who are not against us are with us.” This was also called “Goulash Communism.” Taken from wikipedia:
The name is a semi-humorous metaphor derived from “goulash”, a popular Hungarian dish. As goulash is made with an assortment of unlike ingredients, it represents how Hungarian communism was a mixed ideology and no longer strictly adhering to Marxist interpretations as in the past. Sometimes described as “the happiest barrack in the socialist camp,” Hungary in this particular period enjoyed many amenities not available in the rest of Eastern Europe.
And then in 1989, Communism ended- which our tour guide described as a peaceful transition because the system had weakened so much. She also says that the reporting done on your friends/neighbors is still a really sore subject with Hungarians and that they need a few more generations to forgive each other.
Our tour guide described this building as one of the “nice” Communist era housing complexes.
Nothing to do with Communism, just some happy bubbles:
Another WWII memorial, around which there is constant protest.
This was a Communist bunker that was build completely in secret- the hired workers were told they were working on a new subway line. On the outside it was surrounded by a box with fake electricity sounds coming out of it, with warnings about staying away from the high voltage. In 2000 (!!) they looked at a citywide electrical map, discovered that there weren’t actually any lines running through this area and uncovered this bunker. Crazy!
Communications and media were pretty strictly controlled during Communism, but people would often alter their radios to get western channels. We learned that news from within the country was only reported on if it was happy, but news coming from the west was only reported upon if it was bad- poverty, violence, etc. We also learned that maps of the United States only had a few cities on them- New York, San Francisco, etc- to portray the US and some sort of desolate, non-populated place.
This is the last remaining Soviet memorial that was not removed from the city center after the political change.
Around the corner, the Americans responded by…erecting a statue of Ronald Reagan. Who had nothing whatsoever to do with Hungary in any way. Wow.
The Communist kiss, which was a display of dominance (in theory), instead of a display of hot gay love.
Instant bar, another ruin pub.
And, that’s all for now- time to go catch my bus.
Budapest! Night 1, Day 1 and 2
On Saturday night I took a bus from Krakow to Budapest- about an 8 to 9 hour journey. The route was comically slow and winding- in fact, this was the first time I saw anything resembling hills or mountains since Iceland. At one point we were rerouted around a traffic accident on the main road and the bus had to meander through these tiny village streets in southern Poland- the people who were out in the streets were crowding to the sides of the road, pointing, laughing, and waving at the bus.
We drove through Slovakia around dusk. It looks like a beautiful country! I’ll have to add it to the list of places I’m not going to make it to this time. The “super moon” was out, and it was stunning watching out the window. This cell phone shot does not begin to do it justice:
I decided to spend my first morning in Budapest sleeping in until my body decided it didn’t need any more sleep. I have barely done that on this trip, always feeling pressure to get up and see/do things. But I’m hitting another travel weary wall and the extra sleep was so nice. I got up probably around 10:30 AM and had breakfast at the coffee shop next door to my hostel.
Oh, hostels. This place sounded great on paper and there are some good things about it. Everything in the building is handmade by local people and/or the people who run/own the hostel. Some things are shabby, but most things are really beautiful and interesting. I’m staying in the bottom floor apartment in a 4 person room. It has a separate door and separate bathroom, which really does make it feel like you are staying in some strange eclectic apartment instead of a hostel. My bed is on a platform and it’s almost a full sized mattress- a rarity in hostel living.
However, I get the sense that they think that their crafty interesting decor excuses them from being functional. For example, my roommate got a bunch of bites in the middle of the night- and they changed her linen but didn’t seem too interested or alarmed by what might be biting her. Last night I asked about laundry, and the guy told me that they do it for you for 3 euros. Perfect! He said it would be done by 10 AM this morning. Perfect! I wake up this morning and at 10 AM, I find my dirty laundry still sitting untouched in a bag near the kitchen. This means that today I am wearing dirty underwear and had to wash a bunch of my things in the sink. Which I would have just done last night had I KNOWN they were basically useless when it comes to actually doing what they say they are going to do.
Because the lay out of the hostel is so meander-y, there’s not a great common/hangout area, which has made it a lot harder to meet people from the hostel. There’s also not a great sense of organization or help when it comes to finding things to do or getting advice. It’s that sense that when you ask questions, they find you annoying and just want to go back to drinking or sleeping or whatever they were doing before you rudely interrupted them.
Anyway, I’m realizing that I don’t actually need things to be beautiful or interesting at all when it comes to where I lay my head at night- I just need things to be functional. If I can wash myself and my clothes, connect to the internet and get work done, have my few practical questions answered by someone who isn’t rude to me, and sleep without being assaulted by constant noise- I am happy. Lessons learned.
Sunday afternoon I decided to do one of the free walking tours- this time, the general Budapest one. Our tour guide was amazing, and she led us around for hours.
Apparently this statue was of someone’s young daughter dressed up like a princess- I can’t remember the name of the person, but its significance was that it was the first public statue erected after communism ended. It was refreshing because it wasn’t a powerful figure or leader, or propaganda- they just made it because it was nice. I rubbed her knees for good luck.
Crossing the chain bridge. Budapest is situated on the Danube river, and the river divides the city into the Pest side and the Buda side. In general, the Pest side is more city-like, the Buda side more residential. The Pest side is flat, the Buda side is full of hills. The Pest side is a good place to get cheap food, the Buda side is more expensive.
Looking towards Pest, from Buda. That building on the left is parliament.
Buda. In some weird way, this reminded me of Queen Anne hill.
Another WWII memorial. This is a site where Jewish people were ordered to take off their shoes before they were shot and their bodies fell in the river. Pretty uplifting stuff.
After the tour, I hung out with a lovely girl from Toronto who was also on the tour- Kelsee. We had dinner at a place where for 4 euros, you have all you can eat food for 2 hours. I drank some wine (apparently Hungary is amazing for wine, yet they do a bad job of advertising this fact. So if you visit, drink the wine- it is cheap and delicious), and sampled some delicious Hungarian cakes- one with apricot filling, another with some sort of clove spice.
Yesterday I ventured out and took a 45 minute walk up to the northeast part of the city to the Széchenyi thermal baths. This place was MASSIVE- and very confusing at first. When I walked in the door, a woman with a clipboard tried to get me to pay double for a bunch of things I didn’t need- VIP access, a robe, hot tea, a tour of the facility- I guess that’s what I get for going to the most touristy bathhouse. I paid the regular cheap rate, but in retrospect the tour would have been really helpful- I couldn’t find the lockers, I couldn’t figure out how to use the lockers, I couldn’t find the thermal baths- and a guy yelled at me for hesitating to follow him when I couldn’t read any of the signs and wasn’t sure where I was going. (And I wasn’t the only one- people kept coming up to me in the locker room looking lost and speaking to me in all sorts of languages- luckily, I was able to help a few people and feel better in that way).
In the end though, once I figured it all out it was stunningly beautiful. I ended up getting a massage (probably overpriced for the area, but still much less expensive than Seattle) and the massage was very Thai influenced with lots of stretching and contorting. It was much needed and I feel much better physically today.
In the farther pool in this photo, they were doing water aerobics with weights.
After the baths, I met up with my Hungarian friend from Ponderosa, Krisztina. She toured me around the city, pointing out things along the way.
Heros Square. Here I am posing with one of the original 7 “founders” of Hungary.
Krisztina
I’m not sure what was going on here, but I liked this girl’s sour face.
This was at one of the more famous “ruin pubs”- Szimpla Pub.
Krisztina was kind enough to loan me her bike, so I think today I’m going to go on a bike ride and also check out another thermal bath- the less touristy Rudas Bath.
Krakow, day 3, 4, 5
On Thursday morning I went to MOCAK, which is the museum of contemporary art in Krakow. I saw 3 exhibitions- Crime in Art, I Am a Drop in the Ocean: Art of the Ukrainian Revolution, and some art from the MOCAK collection. This museum was actually one of my most favorite and well curated that I’ve been to on this trip.
Crime in Art
Hubert Czerepok, Redrum, 2014
Danny Devos, Norman Bates Loves Arts, 1989
Danny Devos, Serial Killer Flags, 1987
MOCAK collection
Katarzyna Gorna, Fuck Me, Fuck You, Peace, 2000
Geza Perneczky, ,,,art”, 1972
I Am a Drop in the Ocean: Art of the Ukrainian Revolution
Vasily Tsagolov, Ballet Dancer, 2013
Banner showing the performance of Markiyan Matsekh and Oleg Matsekh, Imagine, 2013
After the museum, I decided I needed to indulge in some touristy food and drink. I had pierogies at this tiny place:
And then I sampled some vodka. I had crabapple vodka and hazelnut vodka.
After stumbling back to my hostel drunk and having a rest, I went out adventuring with a nice Canadian, Adam. First we went on the “Macabre” night walking tour.
Then we went to a bar to see this Israeli band perform- these guys were also staying in our hostel. I can’t remember the name of the band, but they described themselves as “hard electronic.” I really enjoyed them and I really enjoyed dancing around like a fool.
Sweat on the windows from all the dancing.
Adam dancing.
On Friday I went to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. I actually felt pretty disturbed about the idea of taking pictures there, so I mostly just stayed in the experience and didn’t even take out my “good” camera. I took this cell phone shot of one of the piles of belongings that was stolen from the Jewish prisoners:
I actually felt pretty physically ill after seeing the camps and almost vomited on the bus ride back. I’m not sure if it was purely psychological or not, but I definitely had a reaction. I feel like the camps were something I needed to see for the sake of history, but it was definitely an appropriately terrible experience.
After arriving back at the hostel, I was greeted with a lovely barbecue and party hosted by the hostel owners. We had free food, good music- I had lots of conversations with really lovely interesting people and demonstrated some “contact improv” dancing with another woman from Santa Fe.
Overall, it was a much better end to the day than I had planned- meaning, I had planned to hibernate in my bed and feel emotionally devastated by the awfulness of humanity. But food, beer, and company were happily received instead.
Saturday was my last day in Krakow- I had to catch a 3 PM bus, so in the morning I decided to rent a bicycle and bike to this lake that a local person told me about- Lake Zakrzówek. I’m still totally confused by this lake though, because when I got there I was told it is a private lake and you can only get in if you are a diver. The internet also has conflicting information about whether or not you can actually swim/lounge/hang out there. Apparently it was an old stone quarry that got filled in with water so it has really high cliffs and a depth that makes it suitable for diving lessons. In any case, I got to view it from just inside a fence, so that was fun. At least I still had a really beautiful bike ride!
A lot of my ride was along the Vistula River.
The courtyard at my hostel. I’m really going to miss this place.
I caught my bus Saturday (yesterday) afternoon, and arrived in Budapest just after 10 PM. My hostel is a little bit insane- like something created by someone’s reclusive grandmother who locked herself in an old building trying to ride out communism in secret. I’ll post photos and more about Budapest later- right now I’m taking some time to acclimate and get my bearings in yet another new city and country.
Krakow day 1 and 2
On Tuesday afternoon I took a 8-9 hour bus ride from Berlin to Krakow, Poland. I sat in the back back back of the bus next to a group of travelers from Holland. They handed out free chocolate a few hours into the journey, which of course delighted me:
One of the girls sitting next to me. Her group of friends have known each other since primary school and have plans to travel together every year until forever.
I arrived in Krakow around 9 PM, and figured out that my hostel was a 30 minute walk in the dark from the bus station. Luckily, Krakow feels really safe and lively at night. When I arrived I opted to crash instead of trying to be adventurous and go out.
My hostel is AMAZING. It’s immaculately clean and feels a lot more like staying in someone’s house than staying in a hostel. I’m in a 4 person dorm room and it’s quiet and nice. All of the rooms are different countries, so I’m staying in the “India” room. In the morning, there’s free breakfast provided and you sit at a dining room table with the other guests. It’s fruit, toast, meat, cheese, fresh coffee, and also a different hot breakfast each day. Yesterday, it was fruit crepes- today, apple pancakes. YES. This is also one of the least expensive places I’ve stayed. In general, money goes much farther in Poland than anywhere else I’ve traveled thusfar.
Wednesday morning I decided to start the day by taking a free walking tour of Old Town. We met at St. Mary’s Basilica and ran into a pilgrimage march- I think they said these people were marching approximately 200 kilometers from one holy site to another.
Our tour guide lovingly referred to this place as the “Boner Palace.”
The “Pope’s Window,” of the Bishop’s Palace where Pope John Paul II used to address his followers. Wow, Poland is VERY Catholic. It was like being in middle school all over again.
Wawel Castle. My guide said, “Why do you think this castle is so ugly? Because they just kept building onto it during different architectural periods. There’s Baroque, Medieval, Renaissance, etc. It’s ugly!”
On the tour, I mostly learned that Krakow’s “Golden Age” was in the end of the 15th century. Since then it got invaded a lot and of course through the 20th century Poland saw WWI and WWII- and then communist occupation. There’s also apparently a rivalry between Warsaw and Krakow, and we were taught how to say, “I don’t like Warsaw” in Polish.
After my Old Town tour, I had lunch with Alex, a girl I met on the tour. These two plates of food plus the beer were about 7 dollars!
Alko-HOLE
After lunch, Alex and I made our way to another free city tour, this time of Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter.
“Lover’s Bridge.” This river separated the main Jewish Quarter from where the Jewish ghetto was located during WWII. Apparently Steven Spielberg filmed a lot of the ghetto scenes in the main Jewish Quarter, which is more scenic but historically inaccurate.
The old wall to the Jewish ghetto during WWII.
On the tour I also learned that Oskar Schindler wasn’t all that great, and was actually just kind of an opportunist who also happened to save people. Instead, Irena Sendlerowa is the real hero, who saved 2500 people at no gain to herself. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, but lost to Al Gore.
After the second walking tour, I had dinner with some amazing girls, Elien and Liem, from Belgium. It’s so nice to be able to slide in and out of having company and having alone time.
After dinner, I went to see a concert at Kościół Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła, a church in Old Town. It was a string quintet, and they played a lot of classical “hits”- Mozart, Bach, Saint Saens, Tchaikovsky- and rounded everything out with an encore of “Yesterday” by the Beatles. it was very beautiful and magical.
So far, I am really LOVING Krakow. It’s friendly, and I am finding my way in and out of experiences easily. I think Ponderosa really revived and refreshed me in a way where I’m ready to tackle new experiences with more joy and ease.
Last days in Berlin
A mini Ponderosa reunion in Hasenheide Park! Elliat, Aurore, me, Vic
The endless subway train.
Swan, swan, hummingbird (hurrah, we are all free now)
We finally made it to Badeschiff on Friday morning- a pool inside the Spree river. I went with Vic and Aviv from Ponderosa.
Elliat! <3
Ponderosa! A week dancing in Gut-Stolzenhagen
Where do I even begin! This past week has been an amazing, challenging, fun, wonderful, exhausting experience. The idea of actually writing about it all is kind of overwhelming- but I’m going to do my best.
My anxiety about actually getting to Ponderosa turned out to be kind of unfounded. I found my train easily and the calling taxi (Ruf-bus) was right there waiting for me when I arrived. He didn’t speak English, but we worked it out.
The days were structured like this:
-Wake up
-Breakfast (all of the meals were cooked for you so you just had to show up- basically my dream)
-Option to take one of the morning classes offered (Kundalini yoga, technique class, dance aerobics)
-Big break in the afternoon- most of this time I spent bicycling around the countryside to this pond with a diving board for swimming, or swimming in the canal
-Lunch
-Afternoon workshops from 4-8 PM
-Dinner
-Evening performances, activities, hanging out
-Sleep if you are lucky!
Zoey (from Bellingham!)
Krisztina (from Hungary)
Vic (from Toronto)
Maya (from Israel)
I ended up taking a couple of technique classes (from Jen Polins and Kathleen Hermesdorf) and a Kundalini yoga class.
The workshop I took (Thank Goodness for Our Bodies) was based in BMC, or Body Mind Centering techniques. I’ve been sitting here trying to explain what went on and am coming up at a bit of a loss. From the outside, I imagine the practice looking like a big pile of crazy people lying on top of each other and making animal noises. Or a bunch of hippies who must be on drugs lying on the floor in a haze of confusion. Or some sort of slow motion, non-sexual orgy. I’m not sure, but the outside viewpoint doesn’t really matter.
“You don’t move me, I move me.”
I went into the workshop looking for a way to integrate body injuries and trauma in a more functional way- coming from both a dance perspective and a massage/bodywork perspective. I guess I was looking to have a more singular experience with myself and my injuries. What I came away with was something much more emotional and social, and it was entirely created by the people who were there and the relationships that were formed.
I’m realizing that social connections and bonds- intimacy- has become harder for me in recent years. I’ve put up a lot of defense mechanisms to avoid pain and trauma, and to avoid the general exhaustion that being around people causes me most of the time. This creates an exhaustive push/pull dance of desperately wanting connection and then running away when the connection feels too overwhelming, or disappoints me in some way (as will inevitably happen).
There’s something interesting about the way engaging in a physical practice with others- dancing, bodywork, creating- meets some very basic primal needs for touch and connection. It’s like the moment there is physical contact, a big sigh of relief happens and there is a measurable physiological change. Why is this not just a regular part of life, daily ritual, therapy? If everyone just got smushed in the fetal position for 10 minutes by 5 of their closest friends every day, I think we would all be much happier.
Anyway, I feel like I’ve just bumped up against the edge of this technique, and I hope to study more later. For now, I was happy to spend 4 hours every day with some amazing people- talking about childhood development, organs, connective tissue- and how these things can be addressed through these different techniques.
I think the second day of the workshop, it was decided that it was important to have an elaborate break with sweet treats, coffee, and tea- I took some photos of our break on Wednesday.
Toma, Maya
Eliza, Aga, Benjamin
Maya, Joel
Maya, Benjamin, Aurore
Before our class on Thursday, some of us ended up making a short dance film on the bridge over the canal. Afterwards, we all jumped into the canal to go swimming. I can’t tell you how liberating the German/European morays around nudity are- in fact, it was sort of an all over relaxation about everything. You forget your towel after your shower- whatever. You leave your phone somewhere, and you will be able to retrieve it later. You are out on the countryside, so locking up valuables is sort of a moot point. You have your space, and people are constantly in it, but respect it. After nearly 2 months of traveling and spending so much of that time being on guard about things- locking things into lockers, having my life folded neatly into 2 bags I can carry, looking over my shoulder on the street by myself, trying to not be that naive tourist idiot- it was so nice to just sink into a place that was absolutely safe and comfortable.
Hunger strike causes.
Thursday night performances. This was a sort of fair environment where you got to go to different “stations” and have different experiences. In some you made wishes, in others- like the pleasure disco- two masked people hummed and sang songs while drumming on your back. There was even a “tick check” station where people made sure you didn’t have any ticks on your body.
Kristianne (from San Diego!)
Friday morning, I got up early to take some photos and go on a bike ride with Toma (from Germany).
The last evening.
Mona, Aurore
Mona
Juli
The last night we had a marathon performance from around 9 PM till around 3 AM. We were scheduled to perform dead last. I took a few photos in the beginning of the evening, and then forgot about the camera and sank into the experience. Around midnight I passed out in a corner of the studio, but woke up again in time to perform at the end. Afterwards, we celebrated with Tiramisu and a party in the kitchen area below the dorms. Luckily, I was so tired I was able to pass out anyway despite the noise.
And the last day. I decided to take a photo of my bed as I was leaving it.
Goodbye dorm living.
Goodbye friends!
My traveling companions back to Berlin!
There’s so much more I could say, especially about the lovely people I met. I could write essays about each one of them. I fear that if I did that though, I’d never finish this post. Luckily, there’s facebook to stalk (connect) with people, so hopefully I will not lose touch.
Now I’m back in Berlin for a few days, decompressing and preparing for the last month of my journey.
Berlin day 6,7,8
This is going to be a hurried entry, because I have to catch a bus in an hour out to Gut-Stolzenhagen to spend a week in the countryside at Ponderosa. I’m taking a dance workshop! There will be no internet! I’m afraid about being isolated but I think ultimately it will be a good thing.
On Thursday, Elliat and I went to Cottbus, which is where her university is. It was a dreary rainy day, but it was still fun to explore the town.
When we got back to Berlin, we ventured out to check out the bar scene and went to a bar called Silver Future.
Friday I mostly hung around doing nothing, but I did manage to take a yoga class.
Yesterday we ventured out to the ruins of the Olympic Village that the Nazi’s built for the 1936 Olympics. Some of Elliat’s classmates were doing a video projection project there.
This will be my last entry for a week, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about when I get back to Berlin.
Berlin, day 5
Yesterday I didn’t wake up until 11 AM. This is very unusual for me, but I’m trying to cut myself some slack. I’ve been having the most vivid, symbolic dreams since I arrived in Berlin. One night, I dreamed that various scary creatures kept appearing from behind the walls- one of these was a giant worm like thing, and I climbed up high between two walls and refused to come down until someone killed it.
Last night I dreamed that there were baby alligators behind the headboard of my bed. I asked my mom to move them outside, and when I came back the entire bed was gone and in its place was a giant pit where GIANT alligators were writhing over each other. People kept walking by and falling into the pit and getting eaten. These dreams are kind of freaking me out, to be honest.
So I woke up late. The first order of business was a long overdue grocery store trip. I’ve had some money drama since arriving in Berlin- way fewer places take my credit card than I anticipated, which means I’ve needed to have cash. However, my bank debit card got compromised the night before I was supposed to leave the country, and I only have a Paypal debit card at my disposal. Which works, but it takes a full 5 DAYS for money to transfer from my bank to Paypal. At least 2 of those days the money has disappeared from my bank account and is floating in some hinterland before I get access to it through Paypal. It is a complete pain in the ass.
So Elliat has been taking pity on me and feeding me since I got here. I was happy to be able to buy her groceries in return.
Weird billboard on the way to the store. German cowboy!
Elliat models some meatballs in a jar.
Weird kid’s meat shaped like animals.
After the grocery store, I decided to bike around some more. I passed this sculpture on the way.
I decided to bike back to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe to see the museum they had under the memorial.
After a thoroughly depressing hour, I decided to bike through Tiergarten park. Mostly, I wanted to cheer myself up by finding the infamous “nudist lawn” where people sunbathe naked.
Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism, which is on the edge of Tiergarten.
I biked all through the park, getting hopelessly lost. I didn’t find the nudists until 7:15, right before I had to leave to go meet some friends. And there were only 3 of them left, as it was getting cooler outside.
I biked back towards Elliat’s neighborhood to meet her, Tess, and some of Tess’s friends at this crazy hipster bar called Klunkerkranich which was on top of a parking garage.
Tess
The sunset was beautiful and it was basically the BEST for people watching and people photos. The also had a lot of edible plants growing in crates and various structures throughout the bar and on the ramp up to the top of the parking garage. I don’t care how hipster it is, it was gorgeous.
Elliat, sniffing the plants on the way out of the bar. This photo makes me laugh every time I look at it.
Today I am spending the day with Elliat in Cottbus, which is where her university is- south of Berlin. We took a lovely train ride here and I think we are going to explore the campus and eat some famous pickles.
Berlin, day 4
On Tuesday I got up relatively early (I’ve been sleeping in late a lot in Berlin) to bike to the meeting place for my guided bike tour. I went with Tess, an American I met in Paris. Alas, when I arrived I realized that I forgot to bring a memory card for my camera, so all of my photos from the day are sadly crappy cell phone shots.
Our ride started out at the Fernsehturm Berlin, which is the TV tower that was build in the 60s. I love how retro futuristic it is. It is the tallest structure in Germany.
This is looking towards Museum Island.
This is Humboldt University, which is the site of the 1933 Nazi book burning:
A plaque at the book burning monument, with a quote from an 1820 work by Heinrich Heine: “Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen” (“That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they ultimately burn people”).
This was an underground room containing enough empty shelves to house 20,000 books.
Checkpoint Charlie! This was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. Now it is a silly tourist trap where you can have your picture taken with American “guards.” Hilarious.
The Berlin Wall. On the tour I learned that they constructed the first version of this wall (which was basically a giant fence) in one night while people were sleeping. The next day, 65,000 people who lived in East Berlin but worked in West Berlin lost their jobs when they were unable to leave East Berlin.
The East German watchtower on Potsdamer Platz. This is the only surviving watchtower from which guards could sniper you if you tried to cross over into West Berlin.
This doesn’t look like much more than a parking lot, but apparently underneath this parking lot is where Hitler’s bunker was during WWII, and where he spent the last months of his life.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I’ve noticed that the Germans don’t mess around with words.
After all of that history, we biked through Tiergarten park and to the beer garden where we would have lunch. I had shnitzel and hefeweizen and a delicious cheese filled pastry.
Reichstag Building
Brandenburg Gate, former city gate built in the 1800s.
This is the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled a baby from the balcony- just in case you were wondering.
Overall, the tour was about 5.5 hours and then I biked back home to Elliat’s. I spent the entire day biking and it felt so good! I think orange bike and I have overcome our differences and have found a symbiosis with each other. After all of that running around, I spent the night in relaxing. This cold is taking its sweet time moving through my system.
Berlin day 3
Yesterday I spent most of the day trying to recover from my cold, but I did manage to bike myself out to Mitte (the city center) to get some dinner with my friend from Columbia, Marcia. We ate outside and enjoyed the nightlife. Marcia is kind of amazing- she speaks Spanish, French, and English, and is also a civil engineer.
I biked home in the dark (with no lights, like a terrible cyclist), using my loud GPS from my phone to guild me.
Today was supposed to start with a 4 hour bike tour of the city, but I had some transportation issues. I’m borrowing a beautiful orange bike from Juli (Elliat’s roommate), but the bike has some quirks that I am still learning. Last night, the seat kept moving back and forth at random, hurling me forward or backward and strangulating my crotch. This morning (after fixing the seat issue) the back wheel completely locked up. Juli showed me her magic trick to unlock it and I was able to reschedule my bike tour for tomorrow.
Elliat and I spent the first part of the day in a cafe getting work done- she, doing legitimate work, and me- buying train and bus tickets for the last month of my journey.
We then went out on the bikes and went to Columbiabad, which is a giant public pool and park.
The ice cream from this stand was legitimately one of the most satisfying things I’ve eaten on this trip.
We then biked to one of my favorite places I’ve been to on this trip- Tempelhof Park, which used to be Tempelhof Airport. The airport shut down in 2008, and they turned it into a GIANT park. Brilliant! You can now bike/rollerblade/fly kites/drink beer, etc. on the old runways. I can’t express how delighted I am with this place.
There is also a section that is a giant community garden where people have build all sorts of different structures to sit/lay on. People were mostly having dinner party gatherings in all of the various spaces.
Looking towards the airport and the bird sanctuary. Oh yeah- they also created a bird sanctuary.
This was a bicycle movie theater in the middle of another park, Volkspark Hasenheide.
Overall, this day was exactly what I needed- some relaxing, some nature, getting on a bike- I feel refreshed and happy and (almost) recovered from my cold.
Berlin, day 1 and 2
After the Louvre, I got on a Eurolines bus headed for Berlin. I made a lovely friend from Columbia, Marcia, who kept me company on the 16 hour trek to Berlin. Sleeping on a bus (especially with a cold or whatever plague I have managed to catch) is quite challenging but definitely not the worst experience I’ve had. We arrived around 9 AM and I was able to help Marcia find her way to the hostel via the metro and also get myself to where I am staying, with a friend, Elliat. I actually don’t know Elliat that well yet (she’s the niece of Pat, the choreographer I work with in Seattle), but so far she’s fucking fabulous. She’s been so generous with her space/time/food, etc. that I could cry.
I was pretty tired and groggy (and sick) most of the day, but it was perfect nonetheless. It was Elliat’s roommate Juli’s birthday yesterday, so we spent the day eating and playing mini golf. The mini-golf place was amazing- it was straight out of the 1960/70s and not very crowded at all. As it was 90 degrees F here yesterday, we spent some quality time hanging out in the kiddie pool.
We got Vietnamese food for dinner and then walked home. I’m staying on Sonnenelee, south east of the center of Berlin.
Being in Berlin has been a little emotionally challenging so far and I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because the neighborhood I’m staying in is much less touristy than Paris, thus making it more intimidating to a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language. Maybe it’s because a lot of places here don’t take my credit card (and I’m waiting for funds to be available on my debit card, which makes me feel pretty stuck/unable to do things.) Maybe it’s just because I’m sick and a little weary of traveling. Whatever the case, I’m finding myself feeling a little bit paralyzed today. Other traveling people have described to me that terrified feeling of not being able to leave the place you are staying and I am definitely experiencing that a little bit now.
I think tomorrow I might try to take a bike tour of the city to get more comfortable and acquainted with things.
Paris, day 4
So today is actually July 20th, but the days have gotten away from me so I’m splitting these blog posts up into some different sections for the sake of clarity.
Thursday the 17th was a total wash. I woke up feeling very sick, and mostly spent the day editing photos, doing research on the computer, and napping. It was sad to lose a full day in Paris but I’m trying to learn my lesson about pushing myself too far and too hard. I don’t have the greatest immune system in general and I think traveling is hard on even the heartiest people.
I left my room exactly once, to go downstairs to the crappy “Belushi’s” bar and eat some lunch, where I was sexually harassed by a man who only spoke French. I should have blown some nasty snot in his face, but alas- you never actually think of these things in the moment when you feel threatened/grossed out.
I spent the night having fever dreams/night sweats, and my fever broke some time around 2 or 3 AM.
Friday was a slow start, but I made my way to the Louvre with a couple of nice girls from California as company. The Louvre is intense- there is pretty much absolutely no way to see everything in a day, but I did spent a good 5-6 hours in there trying in vain to pull the memories of my seemingly far away art education out of my brain. I took photos of the most notable works and also some of my favorites. For the most part I felt weird taking photos, so I was much more sparse than what I actually saw. I’ve always loved the Eugène Delacroix paintings, but they were so huge there was no way to properly capture them.
Winged Victory of Samothrace
The Mona Lisa! (This was as close as I could get to her. I loved watching the crowds of people try to get in close and take “selfies” with the painting).
The Venus de Milo
Me and Athena
The fall of Icarus, from Merry-Joseph Blondel, 1819
The Young Martyr, Paul Delaroche
Leonardo da Vinci, St. John the Baptist
Anne-Louis Girodet, Burial of Atala
Francisco de Goya, Portrait of Luis María de Cistué y Martínez (1788–1842), known as El niño azul (The Boy in Blue)
Ingres, Grande Odalisque
Ingres, Mademoiselle Riviere
OH MY GOD, A PAINTING BY A WOMAN!!
Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Madame Vigee Lebrun and her daughter, Jeanne Lucie Louise
Antonio Canova, Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss
And finally, a collaborative contemporary art piece created by the tourists and museum goers-
I have to say, a lot of history (and history as reflected in art) really depresses me. I grow weary of the ever-present story of patriarchal societies battling each other for power, control, and resources. I grow tired of mainly wealthy (white) men being what is represented. I feel irritated with religious superstition and holy wars. Mostly, the more I study our collective history, the more saddened and doomed I feel for humanity. People are pretty much the worst.
My host in Berlin reminded me that not all of history is recorded, and that those in power are those who get to decide our collective “story,” or what is passed down. I am inspired to seek out some alternative histories of underrepresented people doing incredible things- at least to make myself feel better.
Paris, day 3
Yesterday I got a later start than I would have liked, as I’ve been having a hard time waking up and having energy (this should have told me something, if I was listening). I decided to head to the Eiffel Tower, just to knock it off the list. I went, I looked at it, I looked at the very long lines to get up to the top of it- and I left.
Afterwards I wandered along the Seine, looking at all of the museums and finally deciding to go to the Musée d’Art Moderne.
After a snack and a rest in the museum cafe, I decided to go explore the Montmartre area. The first stop was the Montmartre Cemetery where I wandered aimlessly, well aware that some famous people were buried there but remaining blissfully ignorant of who.
And then I stumbled upon Nijinsky’s grave!
It seems to be a theme for me on this trip- following cats around and visiting cemeteries. So imagine how delighted I was to find that this cemetery was home to some cats.
I continued to wander around and climb the many stairs and hills to get to the top of Montmartre to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur where there was an amazing view (probably better than the Eiffel Tower, I’d say) of the city.
I had a late dinner at Cafe de L’Industrie with my friend from the bus, Amin. I actually tried escargot and blood sausage. The escargot was served in a sort of garlic pesto sauce, which made it easy to forget that you were eating snails.
Sadly, today I am feeling pretty sick. I think I got really dehydrated with all of the walking yesterday and I’ve had a bad sort throat and body aches all day. I have literally done nothing today except eat breakfast. My goal for the day is to take a shower eventually and then wander over to a food market and get something healthy to eat (and maybe go find a park to eat it in.) This is depressing because this means there’s quite a bit in Paris that I’m not going to get to see- but I’m also realizing that I can’t keep going at the pace I’ve been going at, because clearly my body is unhappy with it.
Tomorrow is my last day here before I catch an overnight bus (leaving at 7:30 PM) to go to Berlin. I definitely don’t want to be sick on the bus, so resting today is even more important.
Paris/France day 1 and 2
Yesterday I left London at 11 AM on a bus bound for Paris. It was roughly an 8 hour ride, including a ferry ride across the English channel.
Dover
Approaching France
On the ferry I treated myself to a latte and a flake candy bar. (Or actually, a whole jumbo sized bag of them).
My bus friend actually bought my metro pass for me because the machine wouldn’t take my non-chipped card and then escorted me to my first train connection- he and I are going to try to get together for coffee or something later in the week.
I also made another 5 minute friend on my second train who escorted me the rest of the way to my hostel.
So far this hostel is immensely nicer than the one in London- It’s larger, cleaner, and surprisingly quieter despite the constant party atmosphere downstairs. When I arrived I went up to my 8 lady dorm room and discovered that everyone was out for the evening. I didn’t figure out until later that it was because yesterday was Bastille Day. Nevermind that I missed the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower- I had blissful peace and quiet and a very long hot shower. Although, showers here are very funny things. There’s always something that goes just a little bit wrong. In this case, the bathroom has motion sensor lights that are only activated from the front of the bathroom- the showers are in the back. About 4 or 5 times I was left naked, wet, and soapy in complete darkness. I think the universe is conspiring to try to keep me as filthy as possible.
The beds here are actually nice. They have a curtain for privacy, a reading light, a variety of plugs and charging options- it’s like my own little secret cave.
There was some drama my first night here when, around 1 am- I was woken up by a girl claiming that I was in her bed. Apparently the check in desk messed up our bed assignments, or the other people in my room (who are quite rude and annoying, sadly) messed up the bed assignments. In any case, I may have made a friend out of it- the girl, Tess- is really cool and we figured out we are both going to be in Berlin at the same time.
The next morning after another night of not really sleeping, I was out of the hostel by 6:45 AM to catch the metro to meet my tour group for the day. My heart has been yearning to get out into the countryside so I did a major splurge (which will leave me skipping some lunches and possibly hoarding hard boiled eggs again, but it was so worth it) and went on a tour of the Loire Valley. This included a tour of 2 major chateaus and a lunch and wine tasting at a 3rd.
Château de Chambord, slightly under renovation
The was apparently the “manly” hunting chateau, build for François I- who seemed like a total douchebag if you ask me.
These sunflowers were planted for the Tour de France.
For lunch and wine we stopped at Château de Nitray, which is currently privately owned.
After lunch we went to my favorite chateau, Château de Chenonceau.
This family was carrying their dog around, just the this-
My most favorite part of this chateau were the grounds and gardens, planted by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici.
After a second wine tasting, we had some time to explore on our own. I found a labyrinth and then these beautiful woods where I could escape from the crowds of people and get lost.
London day 6
Last night was terrible. I was in bed by 11, trying desperately to get an early start today. I laid awake until nearly 2 AM listening to the irregular pounding of music from some club nearby, and also to the screaming of the other hostel guests as they came home from whatever pathetic display of fuckery they had engaged in that night. People entered and left my room in random spurts, speaking in loud drunken voices the whole time.
Needless to say, I didn’t wake up until 11 AM (somehow I was still one of the last people sleeping this morning).
I mostly spent the day doing laundry, doing more travel planning and budget logistics, and meandering around with Liam. I finished off the day with a Jack the Ripper walking tour.
I’ve noticed that I’m actually starting to be comfortable navigating London- I find myself knowing where I am without pulling out the phone, being able to give other tourists directions- it is so satisfying. Tomorrow I’m off to Paris but I look forward to coming back here at the end of August (and staying in a different hostel this time!)
London day 4 and 5
Yesterday I got up fairly early and took a dance class at The Place. It felt so good to move in a purposeful big way again after feeling shoved into small beds and small spaces.
After some lunch, I went to explore Camden Town which was nuts and exploding with people.
I took refuge from the crowds in a cute tea shop.
My friend Liam from Australia (who I met in Iceland) ended up coming to London earlier than he originally planned, so we got to hang out and continue exploring Camden and the many food offerings and entertainers.
I found Draco Malfoy! (Well, close enough.)
Here’s a continuation of my People of the Subway series, the London edition. I don’t know why, but I just love taking pictures of people on public transport.
People like to drink on the street here. This is a few doors down from my hostel.
While talking about my hostel, I’d like to take a moment to complain a little bit more- this place is truly terrible and I can’t wait to get out of here. A few mornings ago I woke up to discover that a mouse (or some other rodent creature) had chewed a hole in my suitcase during the night and ate some almonds I had forgotten were in there. Normally, I am a fan of creatures of all kinds- as long as they aren’t sneakily chewing holes in my belongings in the middle of the night a few short feet from my face.
The wifi (that actually works that you have to pay for) hasn’t been working pretty much the entire time that I’ve been here. This means that the teeny tiny lobby (the only place that the “free” wifi works) is constantly full of people trying to Skype with their grandma or text their BFF. If I want to post pictures or do anything on the internet I’m lucky to find a tiny place to maybe sit where I can be surrounded by other people and their loud conversations constantly. This is pretty much an introvert’s nightmare.
This morning I tried to take a shower- I got into the shower stall and discovered that there was literally no water. None at all. Eventually I was able to move to another bathroom where the water worked sometimes, sputtering on and off at random moments, scalding and freezing me as it did.
My 15 other roommates are alright, except they leave their smelly clothes everywhere (maybe they have as much trouble with the shower as I did).
Clearly, I would not survive in another century or a third world country, though I’d like to think I could get over it and adapt. I just really hate being dirty and uncomfortable. This is why I don’t do things like go camping or live with other people. HA!
Last night I had the pleasure of going to a Kate Bush themed dance party/performance at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. Since I don’t really know any other Kate Bush fans here (Liam was too tired from his traveling), I ventured out by myself. It’s always interesting doing these sorts of things by yourself- you really get to discover how comfortable or uncomfortable you are in your own skin. Turns out, I was both.
They had a DJ who played lots of Kate Bush (of course) but also other amazing music, mostly consisting of the things I would listen to at home by myself- I felt ecstatic being in a group of other people who appreciate this music.
They also had Kate-themed performances throughout the evening, including some burlesque, people acting out the music videos (Army Dreamers was especially hilarious), Kate Bush karaoke time, and a giant group dance to Wuthering Heights (which of course I participated in). There was also a costume contest and I was kicking myself for not packing my Babooshka costume from years ago.
I’ll be back in London on August 30th to see Kate Bush in concert. She hasn’t performed since 1979, and I’m so excited I might piss myself.
I got back to the Hostel at 2 AM (the lobby was full of people), and crashed in my mostly empty room- the rest of my roommates still out partying.
Today after a late start and an awesome hot breakfast, I met up with Liam for another free walking tour.
Monument to the Great Fire of London
St. Paul’s Cathedral
After the tour we had some beers at The Centre Page, a pub that has been there in one way or another since 1660. We got some fish and chips to go and ate them on the Thames.
Tomorrow is my last full day in London until I come back at the end of August.
London, day 3
Today I opted to sleep in till 11 AM thus missing the dance class I had planned to take (though I’m going to go tomorrow). I opted to take a later yoga class instead, which took me on a meandering walk through some quiet neighborhoods that I really enjoyed. It’s been raining most of the day but at least I got to wear my yellow raincoat.
Since I wanted the day to be low key I improvised through most of it, deciding what to do on the fly. After the yoga class I ended up at The Gallery Cafe, which was a cute cafe with free wifi where I spent some time just reading and people watching. On a whim, I decided that I needed to at least visit a cemetery while I was here (with visions of Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry dancing in my head). The cemetery in that book is actually Highgate Cemetery, which you can only visit at certain times on a walking tour. I opted to try Abney Park Cemetery instead.
To be honest, it scared the crap out of me. I got there around 6 PM and there wasn’t a ton of light in there with the rainy day. I couldn’t tell you what creeped me out more- the dead people or the living people who were roaming around looking lost.
I took one of those double decker buses back, snapping photos out of the top of the bus on my way back to the hostel.
I’ve decided that mostly what is making me grumpy here is that my hostel sucks. There are pretty much no places to go to have privacy or even comfort. Even the public areas are annoying- instead of wanting to talk to people, I just want to punch them. I’m trying to just get over myself and be open to the experience, but the truth is that I was basically born a grandmother and I really like my quiet time and “young” people mostly just irritate me. Lesson learned- I’ll be looking for less hip, more boring grandmother hostels in my future travels.
London, day 1 and 2
Yesterday was a long travel day after a night of far too little sleep. My bus picked me up from my hostel in Reykjavik at 4 AM on the dot, and I flew out around 8:00 AM, arriving at my hostel in London some time between 2 and 3 PM. Navigating the underground seemed daunting at first- especially after the ease of Iceland where you either get around on foot, or your bus for your tour is waiting there to pick you up at the door where you are staying.
But then I realized- I have a fucking smart phone. That’s like having a magical tour guide in your pocket and effectively ruins all hope of getting lost in an unfamiliar place. Getting lost, feeling vulnerable in that way- is something I try to avoid at all costs. I am not the most directionally competent human. I recall being brought to tears many times because of getting lost- on my college campus, out in the cornfields of Illinois where street signs don’t really exist, in new places and in places I’ve lived in for years. I hate getting lost.
At least this time, everything was really easy and straightforward. The subway here is easier than in New York- all of the stops are listed in order on the walls before you even get out onto the platform, and the different trains actually have names that make sense depending on where you are going.
Maybe eventually on this trip, I will challenge myself to get lost- to discover something new and unexpected and maybe have to ask for directions from a stranger. Until then, I’m feeling good in the comfort of being able to get myself around easily.
I went out for the evening with one of my roommates, and was greeted by my favorite weather ever.
After feeling like I was back in Seattle, I was cheered up when I saw these adorable people on the street:
After arriving in London, I effectively started freaking out about money and how much everything costs here- the pound system is deceptive, because you want to believe everything is in dollars. I’m challenging myself to not eat out while I am here and to have a few days where I purposefully occupy myself with things that are free. I went to Tesco and bought groceries that I can live off of for at least a few days, and today I spent most of the day in the Tate Modern (free!) and then took a (free!) ghosts of London walking tour.
The Tate was lovely- I forgot how much I enjoy going to art museums by myself. It becomes such a meditative experience, weaving in and out of things that interest you the most, taking time where you want to take time without pressure from anyone else. My favorite exhibits were a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit featuring a room of his amazing self portraits and an exhibit of drawings by Louise Bourgeois.
A short list of things that are annoying me:
-My hostel was supposed to have free internet yet it only has free internet in the very small, very uncomfortable lobby downstairs.
-Sleeping in a room with 15 other people.
-The fact that I’ve been warned not to keep food in the room because one of the other girls had a mouse (!) chew through her canvas backpack and eat her trail mix.
-People getting in my physical personal space.
-stressing about money.
I think I’m having a sort of travelers malaise not having true alone time or feeling like myself. Even when you think the entire goal of your traveling is to NOT be yourself- is to decide, finally- who and what you want to be outside of your ordinary life- you can start to feel completely and utterly lost if you don’t have some form of connection to who you actually are. For me, this means I need to make art and take some dance classes. Tomorrow morning I’m going to venture off and take a modern class and then I’m going to give myself some down time and work on some Photoshop extensive images I’ve been ignoring since January. I think it’s also important when traveling over longer periods of time to remember to give yourself days off from being a tourist- to have days where maybe you just sleep in, sit, rest, and read a book.
I’ve been traveling for roughly a month now and I feel like it’s already been a lifetime. And I have two more months to go.
Iceland, day 3: Gullfoss, Geysir & Þingvellir
Today I had a leisurely morning with breakfast at the hostel and trip planning for when I get into mainland Europe.
Then I took an afternoon tour of the Golden Circle which consists of Geysir- a place with natural hot springs and geysers- Gullfoss- which is a giant waterfall- and Þingvellir- a national park and the site of a rift valley where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
Geysir
This Geysir went off every 7-8 minutes.
Gullfoss
Þingvellir
I spent most of the tour hanging out with my new friend, Michael, who I met at the hostel bar last night.
I have a confession to make. I’ve been avoiding paying for lunches by taking extra hard boiled eggs from the hostel breakfast and saving them until lunchtime. Food is insanely expensive here- I got a mediocre dinner at the hostel last night that cost about $27.00. So I figured, since I’ve been saving money by not really having lunch except for hard boiled eggs and since mediocre food is expensive- I might as well splurge on some expensive AMAZING food.
So Michael and I went out to a sushi restaurant called Sushisamba in Reykjavik and had a 6 course Icelandic feast. I figured I may as well try some local food while I’m here. I swiftly became one of those awful people who takes photos of their food.
Shots of Brennivín, which is Icelandic Schnapps
Smoked puffin
Pan friend arctic char
Coffee and lime infused grilled minke whale and Reindeer mini burger
Grilled lamb fillet
Of course, in typical fashion I ate dessert before I remembered to take a photo of it. But it was white chocolate skyr panna cotta, and it was delicious.
Tomorrow my bus picks me up at 4 AM and I arrive in London around 11 AM. I’m not ready to leave Iceland but I’m excited to get back to some more summerly temperatures.
Iceland day 2, The Blue Lagoon
On the drive there:
I stayed for 6 hours and it was amazing.