holiday road part two

the scariest moment of our trip came in warsaw. not scary as in "oh god i'm going to be raped" but scary as in "no-one can understand me and if we can't figure this out i might be stuck in this shithole." as mentioned in the last post, we caught an overnight bus from warsaw to vilnius, which we booked with eurolines baltic. the bus was due to leave at 9pm at the main warsaw bus station. our ticket also mentioned 8:30 on it, and we figured that was the time we were meant to turn up at the bus stop. so we're there and at 8:30 as predicted a eurolines bus shows up. i go to get on and the bus driver, who didn't speak english wouldn't let me on the bus. he pointed at his watch and then motioned for me to move away. needless to say i started freaking out.

rach talked to a mother and daughter to see if they could understand what was happening, but they only spoke very limited english, but still it was more than we knew in polish. it was getting to quarter to and i was really worried that we'd be left stranded in warsaw. a group of early 20 somethings came to the bus stand and stood around smoking. i went up to them and asked if they spoke english and if they were getting on the bus. one girl from the group offered to translate for us and speak to the bus driver. she reported back that the bus that had come in was run by eurolines polska, and that the eurolines baltic service was a different bus, and would be along shortly. i almost hugged our humble translator i was so relieved. sure enough, five minutes after the polska bus left ours arrived, after having started its journey at the airport at 8:30; what our ticket referenced. the rest of the trip you know.

speaking of eurolines, a special shout out is in order to the lady at the eurolines travel centre in vilnius who printed out our tickets after the lady at the ticket counter couldn't understand when we were saying that we didn't have a printed ticket, just a reservation.

in berlin, we ate quite frequently at a kebab shop around the corner from our hostel. if you've travelled in central europe, you'll know that kebab shops are quite popular in germany and austria. and they're a cheap, semi healthy and delicious form of nutrition. the first night we ate there, it was overrun by ugg boot wearing bogans. definitely from the shire and at least one was named bree. as you might be aware, especially if you are my mum, i enjoy beetroot. i've been known to quiz subway employees on the whereabouts of my beloved pink vegetable on their menu. but i'm europe now, and i realise that people here don't share my passion for the 'root. bree did not, and as we walked into the shop we were greeted with the most ocka accent i'd heard in months telling the guy behind the counter "awww, the guy last night gave me beetroot. i want beetroot." and then just generally making an ass out of herself. girls like her are why australian backpackers have a bad name.

anyway, the guys who worked there were totes awesome. one serenaded us as we decided what we wanted, the other looked like chris taylor. it was the best. i miss germany a lot.

speaking of germany. our first stop there, and of our tour in fact was munich. on the sunday, we took a walk around town before heading to oktoberfest. we ended by the gardens and happened upon a man made creek. because of, i don't know, science and shit, the pressure of the water running and the make up of the riverbed made waves, and there were these dudes surfing. it was crazy. they'd take turns jumping into the water and riding the waves back and forth. then when they fell they'd be swept away down stream and the next surfer took their turn as the other swam back. i took heaps of photos and could've stayed there all day.

at oktoberfest we found a table in one of the halls and sat down to drink our litre of beer. we were soon joined by about 10 italian men and their wives. well the men sat with us, and the wives sat on another table, when we motioned to swap, they didn't want to. i guess they wanted a break from their husbands. my point of this story is that everywhere we went in germany, there were italians on holiday. then when we got to italy, especially in venice, we were surrounded by jack wolfskin parkas - the unofficial national dress of germany. what's up with them swapping for holidays?

in florence we stayed at an awesome hostel called b+b maison. it was run by a couple called sharon and lorenzo. sharon was a scouser who had met lorenzo in rome. they hooked up and moved to firenze to run a hostel. lorenzo is an amazing cook who made us eggs and toast for breakfast every morning, and pasta for dinner every night. seriously the best pasta i have had. they also gave us free wine every night which helped the pasta go down.

in venice we stayed at, i can't remember the name, i think it was called museum hostel, because it was in a former museum. which meant the rooms were big and drafty. it was an odd place. we kinda knew that coming in because one of the reviews on hostelworld had said that one of the employees was having really loud sex with one of the guests and then got the shits when people asked them to be quiet. so first thing that's weird, the wifi was an unsecured network and only worked when you were near the window. obviously stolen from someone else. weird thing number two, guys were charged 10 euros more per night than girls, and their room was apparently small and grimy compared to the girls rooms. weird thing number three, when we got there, there was a bunk bed and a single bed in our room. soon another bunk was added and the single was turned into a bunk bed. then the next day they were taken down. the day after that we got back from our day out and rachel's bed was gone and all her stuff was on the floor. they told us that they were going to paint so needed to move the bed, but ended up not. we soon heard from other guests that they were only licensed for 15 beds, but they had many more than that, so they would take them down during the day in case they were inspected.

this hostel was also where we met furry guy. furry guy is a canadian with long hair and a big bushy beard who is on a year long world tour. he writes a blog called oneyeartrip.com and i spent many hours reading his entries and comparing his viewpoints of cities we'd both visited to ours. we felt very superior to furry guy, especially when he said how hard he found it travelling to kutna hora [the bone church in czech republic] when we had no dramas at all.

our last train journey on the continent was from lyon to barcelona. throughout the trip we had been catching long distance trains, and travelling in first class, so we hadn't been exposed to local nutbags. however on this trip, we caught the tgv for the first half, but for the rest we were on local services. heading down to the spanish border rach and i were having a chat, we weren't being too loud or anything, and there weren't that many people on the train. this old man came up to us and was like "OOGIE BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE" and then started ranting at us in french. after a few minutes we figured that he didn't speak english, and to him what we were saying sounded like gibberish. he then wandered off to scare an old lady before getting off at his stop.

now a few tips we picked up for anyone planning such a journey. hopefully they're helpful. if you have any especially long train trips to do, if you can try and do them on sundays. in most places, even big cities like paris and berlin, everything is closed on sunday. so if you need to do a long train trip that's going to take most of the day, you're not really missing anything by doing it on sunday.

in the same respect, unless you're one of those people who can sleep soundly anywhere, i'd advise against doing overnight trips. the trains are uncomfortable, full of loud polish people, and inspectors will check on you every 45 minutes so even if you can get to sleep, you won't be asleep for very long. then when you get to your destination, you're so wiped out that you'll end up sleeping during the day, and any advantage you picked up from travelling overnight will be lost, so you may as well have travelled during the day and be well rested.

if you have a eurail pass, in france you still need to make reservations in advance to travel on the tgv. the kicker to this is that you can only do this at the station, and can only do it in france. they only keep a certain amount of seats on each train available for eurail reservations, i don't know how many, but it can't be a lot. everything we'd read said that in the summer you should book a week in advance, but we figured cause we were travelling in the low season we'd be right and only tried to book on the day of travel. not so. at lille flandres, we got the last seats on the train to paris, then in paris there was nothing left on the tgv's going to lyon, and a two hour trip turned into six via regional trains instead of the express.

we didn't stay in any bad hostels. for instance none of our stuff got stolen, there was nowhere where the hot water didn't work etc. and apart from the strangeness of the place in venice that i mentioned above, and the place in prague that had bed bugs, they were all A++ would stay again. however there's a few places that deserve special mention, and if you ever find yourself in these towns, i recommend you stay here. hostel aloha in berlin for feeling like we were hanging out at a mates house, and for the excellent salad they shared with us. mosquito hostel in krakow for the free vodka shots, and organising an awesome night out on the town. le village hostel in paris for its proximity to the montmatre, the excellent croissants and hot chocolate at breakfast, the endless madonna playing in the common room, and for upgrading us from an eight bed dorm or something huge like that to a three bed dorm with en suite, shared with our new friend alan who spent hours in the bathroom each night. edinburgh nights hostel for upgrading us to an en suite room by ourselves, and mostly because the guy running it looks like daniel craig. they're all really friendly helpful people who have a strange obsession of sharing their dinner with you. stadion hostel in helsinki should also get a mention, but only because it is built in the side of the former olympic athletics stadium.

so that's it for now. stay tuned for part three when i get back from my next adventure which goes a little something like this: edinburgh - dublin - liverpool - bratislava - vienna - budapest - london - sydney.

ps: rach, is there anything you think i'm missing from this list, or anything you would like me to mention?

hear you me

the guy who was my team leader when i first started at iinetz, james, has started keeping a livejournal. recording tales of his life as a trojan skinhead. i'm finding it completely fascinating reading his stories. he's someone i only really knew on a professional level, save for one night at the st james hotel where we got drunk, and when he found out he went to the same high school as my mum, started telling me a bit about his past. i always knew he was a cool, chill guy, and a solid person to have as your boss. but i guess when you know someone as your boss, you some times don't see them as a real person, having a real life away from the white collar, and real crazy situations. but here he is, and he has lived triple the life i have, or could ever dream of.

it's made me think though about my life, and where the music i listened to when i was 15 has taken me. i don't know if i fall into a scene exactly. sure i wear cardigans, and carry a notebook with me most places, but i'm not proper indie or emo [i'm talking sunny day real estate, jets to brazil emo] but i don't really need a hipster front. i don't need to be defined by the music i listen to. but it is me. it makes up such a big part of my being that i can't help but show it on the outside.

i don't remember, but by 1998, when i was 15, i was already listening to a fair bit of australian indie music. custard mainly, and tism. i fucking loved tism. still do. i went to homebake that december with my friend rebecca. it ended up being one of the best days of my life, and it changed my life more than i would ever realise at the time. i went crazy that day. i think last homebake i went to [2008] i spent most of the day asleep under a tree and only saw about four bands, but back in 1998 i saw so much. something for kate, fini scad, sidewinder, custard, grinspoon, tism, spiderbait, pauline pants down, and i'm sure there's a few more. i was overwhelmed that i was at my first music festival and just wanted to see as much as i could. and then i went away and bought albums by at least four of the bands i just mentioned. that day started my indie music honeymoon. and i wish i had the enthusiasm, and the patience to discover new music now like i did back then.

getting into american indiepop came next. during the summer of 98/99 i was quite addicted to irc. i was already listening to all that great australian music, and one day a guy on irc who went by the nickname basement told me i should listen to weezer. back in those days channel v still played good music and i caught the buddy holly film clip soon after and was hooked on that sweet melody. i was instantly addicted to the blue album and soon after pinkerton. i started hanging out on alt.music.weezer, and because at that time rivers was finishing college and there wasn't much happening in weezer land, we started talking about other bands. i came away with all these recommendations of bands i should listen to, most notably death cab for cutie, pavement and nada surf.

we all anticipated it so much, but when the weez released the green album in 2001 and it was rubbish, i was heartbroken. here was the first band i was actively apart of, and they had let me down so badly. our little community of weezer fans were shattered, we never really recovered and ended up going our own separate ways. mine was of course straight to the heart of nada surf-ville, where i have stayed ever since. but i've never been that active in a fan base again. i don't know anyone else who's a hardcore surfer, and i don't care to. i'm happy in my own little bubble.

i'm so glad i have these stories to tell. of days at festivals and nights in tiny pubs or stadium size venues. i'm thankful that my friends understand, and feel the same way i do about their favourite bands that i do mine. and i'm so grateful for the modern age, which means i always have that beautiful music on hand to wrap myself up in, to distract me, to keep me calm, to be whatever i need.

this is edinburgh

i'm with coco

things i am looking forward to doing back home

- having lunch with james.

- sitting on the couch with miss sooky sook sook.

- doing normal every day things with my mum. stuff like going to the shops and hanging out in the car, which i haven't been able to do for a year.

- spending heaps of time in newtown with rach. perhaps inspiring a beaufort street style blog.

- going to shows with my favourite gig buddy erin.

- also hanging out at erin's house with her boyfriend and her brother. drinking cheap wine and watching tv.

- going to melbourne and hanging out with my peeps there. oh and getting a big crew together for PAVEMENT!!

- watching the knights play. beer in one hand, meat pie in the other.

- playing matchmaker to those with fine eyebrows.

- seeing if the guy i used to perve on at glenfield station with the wayfarers who caught the train before mine is still there.

- doesn't really count as back home, but get hammered on the plane david boon style. on the way over here i was so nervous i hardly drank anything. what an idiot.

- sleeping on my super comfortable bed.

- driving my car.

- going to a proper shopping centre. you wouldn't think i would miss this, but i do. the uk has rubbish shopping centres, krakow had better than anything i've seen here.

- on the same note being able to go to a food court for lunch. i'll be working in north sydney when i get back, so there's a whole raft of new lunch options to discover.

- heading on a fast food odyssey through the outer south west. the fish and chip shop at the station and the one at mac fields, the chinese at the station, red rooster, pancakes on the rocks.. oh my.

- related to the above. my first meal when i get back is going to be a chicko roll and some scallops.

- having a roast with mum and nan. or possibly corned beef with cabbage and white sauce. mmm

- three words: coleen. fried. chicken. shit is the bomb. next time you see my mum ask her to make you some. it's especially good the next day in a bread roll from the station.

- checking out all the changes to the gq.

- doing some kind of extra curricular activity. possibilities include indoor netty or german lessons.

- being paid above minimum wage and no longer having a shitkicking job.

- boring you all silly with tales from my travels.

- not having to download shows like rush and underbelly.

no joy in mudville

yesterday was one of those days where the weather was beautiful, if you were inside with a hot milo and some toast watching the snow fall. if you were on your way to work on the bus, not so much. so as you can imagine given the weather, there was hardly anyone at the club last night. so little people in fact that as soon as i got there, i was told to go home. wonderful. what's worse is that "due to budget cuts, and crowd estimations in january" i don't have any shifts in the next two weeks. bastards.

i talked to the people i started with, and neither do they. obviously we were just hired to fill gaps over the festive period, and now that's over we'll be left to linger until they need us again, or more than likely, we quit. if i knew going in it was going to be a temporary gig, i would've been fine. but they made out that it would be full time, so i'm pissed. and now i need to find something quick, or the only real option is to head back to sydney six weeks earlier than planned.

then on the way home from my aborted attempt to work, a skeez at mcdonald's called me fat, and a kid threw a snowball at me. hopefully now, as i try to get my sleeping patterns back to normal, my year starts to get better, and a new job comes my way.

oh and i found out that nada surf are playing in europe in april. i am just about over this continent.