Oh Europe! Part 1

It had been a good 2 weeks or so since my last post; I could not find a free Wi-Fi connection in Eastern Europe after that provided in Krakow, Poland's hotel at Best Western.  For pacing, I will be dividing into several parts.  

The short of it is a 14-day trip consisting of 5 countries for the period of 3rd to 4th week of Oct 2010 with:

1. Warsaw, Poland
2. Krakow, Poland
3. Budapest, Hungary
4. Prague, Czech Republic
5. Vienna, Austria; and finally
6. Berlin, Germany

I enjoyed this trip as it was leisurely, allowing for a 2-day stay per city, except for Warsaw where it was an overnight trip, and fabulous scenery. Shopping was minimal but window shopping of the pastry shops over there is a total inspiration for me.

My favourite city or make that cities? Budapest,Vienna and Prague in that descending order. Given a chance, I would love to visit them again.

This trip had been fruitful for me emotionally, mentally and physically.

I found myself taxed emotionally as I missed the familiar in Singapore, especially the weather. I greatly appreciated the warm and sunny weather here. You cannot imagine how dreary and sombre autumn is over there until you face grey clouds and shadowed cities on most mornings or late afternoons. The sun when it appears is welcomed with much fanfare and I can see this view is shared with me with the crowds of locals seated in the open in cafes.

Mentally, I found myself taking on new insights as I drank in the way of life of people, how their system is run and the challenges their countries faced. Most had been involved in WWII and are in the process of rebuilding their homelands. It takes time but the optimism I see around me is uplifting and certainly inspiring!

My tummy took a tumble for the worst possible way when I vomited en route from Krakow to Budapest during the 1st week of my trip. My family rallied around me (thank you and I love you all!) and yes this is the physical taxation I was mentioning about. For the rest of the trip, I understood the scarcity of simple, old soupy food as there is none at all! I had to muscle in all my ingenuity (read: desperateness) by having only rice with soup when there are Chinese meals and soup with bread when local meals were offered. Anything that is with fibre i.e. vegetables or fruits or hard to digest like meat or oily like deep fried cutlet or french fries were out. Such a meagre diet is hardly sustaining and I had to supplement with frequent snacking with plain crackers. Argh! The memory of it still gives me shudders. Now, I am still nursing a recovering tummy even after 2 weeks. Hopefully I will get well soon.

Here are the pictures I took including the lovely pastry shops I visited.

Day 1 - On plane from Singapore > Munich > Warsaw

 Chopin Garden, Warsaw, Poland, Day 2
2010 marked the 200th year of the birth of Frederic Chopin, a Warsaw native and piano composer who lived from 1810 to 1849. Here in this garden, the locals will gather to sit in benches to watch Chopin recitals during the summer season. See link for more details.

 Auschwitz I Concentration Camp, Warsaw, Poland (Pic 1), Day 3

Read this link for details.

 Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Warsaw, Poland (Pic 2), Day 3

Wawel Castle in Krakow

See link for details.

Krakow Old Town, Poland, Day 4

At the market square surrounded with cafes, book shops and pasar malam selling amber.

We bought dark chocolates, pizza and goulash for dinner. Yummy!