Day #185 - Prague, Czech Republic

Overlooking the Vltava River at sunset

Charles Bridge - Looking back into Old Town

Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square

Overlooking the Vltava River toward Prague Castle

14th Century Church of Our Lady of Tyn - Old Town Square

Wednesday, September 15th

My overnight train into Prague went well. I only had 1 roommate in the sleeping quarters. He was a younger guy from Finland. He puts me to shame with his travel history. I learned alot listening to his stories. After high school and a stint in the military, he travelled for a year in Australia (bought a car and drove the country - working when he needed money), spent 3 months in southeast Asia and is just completing a 3 month trip to Europe before he continues with further education.

The train ride went fast. I got about 4-5 hours sleep and arrived into Prague about 7:00am. I've mentioned this long ago, but prior to my journey this year, the only places in Europe that I had been were: a ski trip to Vald'sere (France), airports in Munich, Vienna, and Amsterdam, and a week trip to Prague with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. I remembered my experiences in Prague so fondly, I had to visit the city again.

On January 1, 1993, the former country of Caechoslovakia was split to become the current-day countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Remember when I said that I felt that many of the former Communist countries may never become a viable player in the near future, the Czech Republic may be the one big exception. Prague is growing to be one of the most popular destinations in all of Europe. Depending on what source is used, Prague is the 7th most visited city in Europe.

I grabbed a nap once I got to the hotel and headed out to see the city early afternoon. The place is great. I now have many spots upon which I can compare -- I still hold Prague as one of my favorites. I first headed toward the iconic symbol of the city - the Charles Bridge ----- one of the most unique and intersting bridges in the world. It's a pedestrian-only bridge that spans the Vltava River passing through Prague. There are 14 other bridges that span the river - none of which can touch the architecture and history of Charles Bridge. The bridge was commissioned in 1357 by Charles IV - king of Bohemia and Moravia. There are 36 statues of saints that line both sides of the bridge. Looking across one side - you see the Prague Castle perched up on a hill. Looking to the other side, you see the beginnings of the Old Town. Regardless of what time of the day you are visiting, the bridge is filled with tourists and admirers. I have a picture of this bridge in my house (currently in a box in storage) - a symbol of my first trip to Europe as well as one of the coolest places in the world.

I next walked over to the Old Town Square. The city's first settlements appeared here in the 10th century. The square is filled with gazing tourists and restaurants with outdoor dining. At the corner of the square is this 600 year-old astronomical clock. A 200-foot tower rises above the clock - the former Town Hall. My cousin and I climbed to the top of this during my visit years ago. It provides an excellent view point.

I continued walking around the city. I kept coming across these places that I remembered taking the exact same photo from the exact same spot. It's amazing what you can remember once you see it again. I feel that Prague is a city for everyone. You could hang with "da fellas", your girlfriend, your family -- it's a clean, picturesque city - filled with great history. Top it off with a 'pivo' (beer) of your choice - it's a perfect spot. Czechs consume more 'pivo' per capita than any other nationality.

Tomorrow I'll continue to roam the city and bring back some great memories and search for areas I have yet to visit.

Day #184 - Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Wooden huts at Birkenau

Crematorium at Auschwitz I

Gas Chamber at Auschwitz I

Execution wall at Auschwitz I

Entry Gate at Auschwitz I

Entry Gate at Birkenau - people railed in

Brick buildings at Auschwitz I

Tuesday, September 14th

Happy Birthday to my sister Kelly today! Thanks for always being there for me - hope you're having a great day!

What a day - busy, emotional, thought-provoking, fast-paced. I started off getting out of my hostal around 8am. I needed to find a printer so I could print out my voucher for my day trip. I was to be picked up at the Holiday Inn at 9:20am. I decided to go there early and see if they would let me print on their computer (if they had one). Excellent - worked out well. I printed the form, grabbed a street pretzel and water, and was ready for the shuttle 10 minutes early.

Now, I could write a small dissertation on today's briefings. But, I'll do the best I can to paraphrase in a concise manner.

We boarded the bus for a 1 hour, 10 minute transfer to the Auschwitz concentration camp. I had always thought this was located in Germany. Nope. It's in Poland - in a town called Oswiecim. When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, they renamed the area to Auschwitz.

My tour today consisted of a 2-hour exploration of the Auschwitz I site and a 1-hour walk-through of the Auschwitz II - Birkenau site. The areas were completely different - I'm really glad to have seen both with the ability to compare each location.

First off, Auschwitz was the largest German concentration camp during WWII. No precise numbers exist; however, it's estimated that nearly 1.5 million people were killed in these camps. Wow. Causes of death were largely due to the use of gas chambers. Those not killed in this manner were overcome by starvation, forced labor, lack of disease control, individual executions, and medical experiments.

The main differences between Auschwitz and Birkenau were: Birkenau was enormous, it's facilities were completely man-made, and it had wooden huts where conditions were considered almost unlivable. Auschwitz was much smaller, and was made of brick buildings that once served as Polish army barracks. Auschwitz still had its gas chamber and crematorium; whereas, Birkenau only had remnants of the 4 facilities used within its barb-wired death trap.

We started our tour by walking through the famous gate at Auschwitz that stated: "Arbeit macht frei" (work makes you free). We walked through the barracks, saw the 'hospital area', the experimental area, the death block 11, the execution wall, and concluded with a walk-through of the gas chamber and crematorium facility.

This was not a 'feel good' day. Our guide was excellent. He described how the process worked: First, prisoners were brought into the concentration camps via railway primarily. They were then evaluated to see who made the "death cut". Any person who was weak, ill, old, or deemed- unusuable - they were sent to the gas chambers right away. They were told to strip down and they would be washed off. Birkenau even had water spouts that looked liked shower heads inside their gas chambers for deception. This was all done so people would not panic. They got into the chamber. Doors closed. Gas entered. People were dead in 10-15 minutes. They were then cremated and their ashes were used to fertizilize the German fields or thrown into ponds, etc.

Those chosen for immediate death were the lucky ones in my opinion. The others, they were basically tortured and humiliated for anywhere between 2 weeks to 3 months before they died. They were put to work, but not fed. Daily portions were: 1/2 liter of tea for breakfast, 1 liter of soup (no meat) for lunch made from rotton vegetables, and a slice of bread with butter for dinner. Sounds like they were given liquids to survive, but basically were being starved to death. Once they couldn't pull their wieght or got sick - to the gas chamber.

We saw the execution wall where many people got shot. They also had hanging walls. We were told of a story where 1 gentlemen asked to take the place of someone chosen for death. He was allowed to make the switch. Supposedly, one of the Popes has cannonized this individual as a saint - I can't remember the name.

We drove over to Birkenau and walked the maze of huts. Crazy. The take home for me at this location was the absolute disgusting facilities these people lived in. It was horse barns - made into human shelters. They had a long bench filled with holes used for the bathroom. About 500 inmates were given about 8 minutes to use the facilities twice a day. There were about 30 holes -- that probably wasn't sufficient time. One can see why disease killed many people in these camps.

When the Russians liberated Auschwitz, 7,000 people were freed. About 500 of these died anyway. I'll remember today as something that is beyond human comprehension. How this could occur, and the Germans would sit back and revel in their handiwork - I can't fathom.

I got back into Krakow. I walked around Wawel Hill and the Central Market Square again. The place is great - I'd recommend it to anyone. I'd like to write more, but it's 9:25pm and I have a 10:10pm overnight train to Prague. Oh - my book says that Frederic Chopin was born in Poland - a famous musical genius. Never heard of him - perhaps you have.

Will come to you live from one of my favoritie cities in Europe tomorrow - I'll explain how I already know this at a later time.

Day #183 - Krakow, Poland

Outdoor dining - central square - Krakow, Poland

Krakow, Poland

Krakow, Poland -- leaving the central square

Hard Rock Cafes are everywhere

Best building in Warsaw - major WWII destruction

Monday, September 13th

Today was a good, relaxing day. I headed into Warsaw about mid-morning. I walked around the central square and made my way to the train station. I purchased a ticket for Krakow - departing at 2:55pm.

I hung around the rail station in a cafe booking a few hotels and working details for the next week. I'm fired up for my upcoming plans. I'm staying overnight tonight in Krakow, will be going on a day tour tomorrow, will then head to Prague for 2 days, and on to Munich.

Some good things have happended recently. September 10th marked the 180th day of my journey. This effectively ended the first Schengen phase of the trip. I was able to successfully stay outside the Schengen countries for 90 days (literally to the day). My travels in Peru, Ireland, UK, Turkey, Russia, and the US helped make this happen. Now, a new 180-day period starts. Since I have only 103 days left, I only need to stay outside Schengen for 13 days. This will not even be an issue - with trips to Israel and Egypt already in the works. Therefore, I'm not even worrying about it anymore. Done. I've never been questioned on the trip - but I feel good that I can answer to anyone if that time comes.

Another thing I'm noticing is that prices are going down. I think I've made it through the big tourist season. (not to mention I'm no longer in the Nordic countries). I saw my average hotel stay go up about $15/night the past couple months. I fully expect this number to decrease by this same amount before I return to the states.

I arrived into Krakow about 5:45pm. This place is really nice. An old city section, great architecture, people walking on the streets, energy, character, carriage rides, outdoor dining -- a great atmosphere. Krakow was spared the destruction that Warsaw saw during WWII - and, it's very noticeable. You know when I talk about 'feel' - Krakow has it, Warsaw does not.

I'm staying in a hostal right in downtown. I got a single room however - all good. I'd stay in a hostal all the time if I had my own room. Recently, I haven't had much luck with the room-mate scenario.

Once I dumped my gear, I went out for a 45 minute run. A run has rarely felt as good as tonight. I needed it badly. I've walked alot, but I haven't really exercised and got the heart rate up for a week due to my weird schedules. It was awesome. I ran through the tourist sections of town - perfect temperature, perfect night.

Back to the hostal, showered, and then went out for some food. I ate at the Hard Rock in the main town center. Great.

Tomorrow I go tour Auschwitz. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this or not. "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have --- the facts of life". Now, that's cheeseball I realize - but it's the truth. It's all about the journey - not everyplace is going to give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Tomorrow will be a sobering day - but it's something from which to learn.

Day #182 - Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw - Old Town - early morning

Warsaw, Poland

Overlooking the main river - 7:30am - Warsaw, Poland

Sunday, September 12th

This morning I arrived into the central train/bus station in Warsaw, Poland about 5:45am. This was 1 hour, 15 minutes earlier than planned --- very, very nice. The bus ride was the best of the 3 taken to get from St. Petersburg to Warsaw. All total - it took me about 26 hours of bus travel to make this journey.

I probably got 6 hours of sleep on the bus. It was not continuous - but still counts. After deboarding, I walked into the main station. I was informed that I needed to get to another station across town to take a train to my hotel - in a town called Zielonka. I found very few people who could speak English. They were not particularly friendly either. I did find a lady to give me a street map and circle the "You are here" and "This is where you need to be" areas on the map. It was going to be a long walk; but, it was early, I needed to stretch my legs, and I really didn't have anything else on the agenda for today.

A little about Poland ----

Poland has roughly 38 million people making it the 34th most populous country in the world. It's also a fairly large country as well - 69th largest country in the world (9th largest in Europe). It's located in central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east, and the Baltic Sea and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the north. I don't totally understand the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. All I know, I had to be careful and double-check that my bus would split the gap between Belarus and Russia heading into Poland - because I didn't have a VISA to be in the other countries.

Poland has been devastated by war and communism control for the last half century. The Nazi-German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 helped start World War II. Poland lost the largest percentage of its population than any other country during WWII - a total of 6 million deaths. Half of these were Polish Jews. After the war, Poland came under Soviet control which lasted until 1989. It's been a work in progress since this time.

I've been looking around the web for must-see sites in Poland. I'll be honest - there's not alot there. My book states a couple things in Krakow, which is a city in the southwest corner of the country - near the German border. Auschwitz - the largest German concentration camp during WWII, is located near Krakow. I didn't realize Auschwitz was a series of camps - Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II, Auschwitz III and 45 sateliite camps. Maybe I'll look into a tour once in Krakow.

Continuing with my day ------

My walk across the city was good. It took me maybe an hour or so. At one point, I walked through this area with many heavily-armed guards (it was 7:30am on Sunday morning). I saw these candles and pictures of people. This seen looked very similar to the 9/11 area in New York City after the terroist attack. I don't know what this was - but I can only assume it was not good. I've been searching around the internet for details - but haven't found anything.

Once arriving at the train station, I made my way to Zielonka and my hotel. The place is nice - but the town around it is nothing special. It was 9am. I was now getting pretty tired again. What should I do? I decided to basically have a rest day. I slept most of the afternoon. I then had a great dinner at the hotel restaruant and walked around the complex for a little while.

Tomorrow I plan to get back into town, do a little more site-seeing and then hit a train for Krakow, Poland. I'm inching my way back to eurail country (I'm currently paying for buses and trains as my pass is not effective in the eastern European countries).

Day #181 - Vilnius, Lithuania

St. Catherine's Church

Monument to Gediminas

The Cathedral

Bell Tower

Town Hall

Saturday, September 11th

I'm coming to you live from the very same McDonalds I was in this morning. I'm feeling a ton better than earlier today. Not rested - but better. I don't think my system accepts the constant juggling up and down for endless hours. It was pretty bumpy roads - not sure if anyone's system would be fully responsive.

Today I spent the day walking around Vilnius, Lithuania. Before I get to that, I'd like to write a short blurb on Latvia first. I spent a small amount of time actually awake while in Latvia. We did spend about 30 minutes at 1:30am for a pickup in the capital city of Riga. Latvia has a total of 2.3 million people - a slightly higher population than Estonia. Latvia is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, the Baltic Sea to the west, and Russia and Belarus to the east. Latvia has its own language and own currency. It has experienced a substantial fall in population (14.9%) since 1991. The recent economic crunch has critcally hurt the country - making it the third poorest in the European Union. I don't have any weird sports trivia to give you about this place - it's an unknown to me. Because it sits in the middle of the 3 former Soviet republic states - it doesn't feed from the Russian population in the north nor the western european population in the south. I'll think of this guy simply as a tweener. Just knowing where it is - the size, overall makeup - I'll live with this for now. The fact it's recently gained its independence, as with all these former Communist countries - it's a work in progress. I'm sure in the future, some of these will prosper and grow, while others may fall off. If I had to guess - I doubt Latvia ever becomes a major player in my lifetime.

Lithuania. Weird sport fact -- They have a really good basketball team. They are actually playing the US in the semifinals of the World Championships this year - like in a day or so. One of their best players is Linus Kleinza - a former MU Tiger. Another piece of information I gained today -- Vilnius is having a marathon tomorrow morning. Who would have thought? I was walking on the street with my map in hand, and saw this guy doing the same. We broke up a conversation and I find out he's running tomorrow. Not for this cowboy however - that could be a death sentence for me. I wished him luck and was on my way to the tourist information office.

Lithuania has about 3.2 million people - making it the largest of the 3 Baltic countires (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). By the end of the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. Amazing - that has changed significantly. I look at the history reports - countries change names so many times in Europe - it gives me a headache to try to grasp it. I've decided to stay with the recent past. If I can understand from 1989 to the present - I'm OK with that.

So Vilnius has a really neat old city section. They had a walking path lined out in the guide book highlighting the top 25 things for viewing. It was a nice place. Some of the memorable points for me were: The Cathedral and Bell Tower - in 1922 the Cathedral was granted the title basilica (meaning "royal"). This is the highest church category awarded by the Pope only to the very special churches. (ex - St. Peter's Basilica - Rome). The Monument to Gediminas -- the founder of Vilnius and one of the most famous rulers of Lithuania. The Town Hall Square and Town Hall --- there was a wedding taking pictures in front of it (so I guess it's special in some way). St. Catherine's Church ---- this was the first church in Vilnius to undergo comprehensive renovation after Lithuania regained its independence.

So I spent alot of time today just getting organized. I've bounced around different cafes and restaurants - not overdoing my welcome. Tonight I leave for Warsaw, Poland via bus at 10pm. I'll arrive in Warsaw around 7am - I'm looking at a 10 hour ride (Poland is 1-hr behind where I am now). Good thing is - I'm really tired and haven't rested all day. Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep.

I'm not sure how long I'll stay in Poland. Probably not long. I will be working my way to the Czech Republic and then on to Munich. I've got a date with a beer hall in Munich - something they call - "Octoberfest".

Here's to a good busride!

Day #180 - Moscow to St. Petersburg to Lithuania

Friday, September 10th

I'm coming to you live at 8:30am (9/11/10) from a McDonalds in Vilnius, Lithuania. I'm beyond tired. I'm currently a sitting zombie - please bear with me as I write my accounts from yesterday. I need to regain my senses before walking around - so I thought I'd ramble for a little while.

In thinking back on how Friday unfolded for me, I'm reminded of how lucky and truly fortunate I am to live in a world filled with good people - they're there - you just have to find them.

The day started early - 5am walkup call. I gathered my gear and headed over to the metro near my hotel. I needed to get to downtown Moscow to catch my train for St. Petersburg - departing at 6:45am. The metro system only opened at 5:30am. I was a little stressed with this as I wasn't positive where I was headed - and I didn't have time to make a mistake.

I took the blue train into the central brown loop. I jumped on the brown line and took this 1 stop to my exit. I surfaced at street level around 6:15am. I didn't know which way to go. Where is the main train station? I knew it was close to the metro I came from - but where? I'm starting to panick a little. It's clear that nobody was walking faster than me in the entire metro system this morning. I was cutting left, cutting right, splitting holes - people were probably looking at me like I looked at them 2 days ago. It's coming up on 6:30am - I have 15 minutes to get to my train. I'm thinking: "I have one last shot at this thing". I head back to the metro. I find a guard and show him my train ticket and ask where the station is located. He can't speak English. However, I guess he could feel my stress and guided me over to another gentlemen. This was a younger guy. This was my first savior on the day. He physically walked me outside and several meters down the street. He then pointed to a building with a domed roof - he told me that was the place. I double-timed it - made the train - and even had time to grab a croissant and a water before boarding. First bogey - done.

The train ride to St. Petersburg was great. I arrived around 10:45am - no issues. My next transportation leg was set to leave at 2pm from a different station across town. A little breather here. I grabbed something to eat and read. I took the metro to this area in southern St. Petersburg I had never been before - it didn't look like a great part of town. I didn't know where the bus station was located - just that it was close to the metro I got off on. I went to a booth in the metro and asked a couple ladies for help. They were my second saviors of the day. I again showed them my ticket and they pointed me to a street busstop. I'm very glad I asked them because I was going to be looking for a bus station - not a bus stop. I confirmed the site with the sign on the street - I had a good hour to spare. I boarded my bus at 2pm. Second bogey - done.

I was now on a bus headed for Tallinn, Estonia. Estonia - please tell me 1 thing about this country. Anything? The only thing I could come up with prior to my journey was - The World's Strongest Man competition is sometimes held here. That's it - that was the extent of my knowledge. I couldn't have told you where it was located, how big, nothing at all. I sat next to a younger guy on the bustrip. He was from Estonia and spoke perfect English. He would be my third savior of the day.

Estonia. Bordered by Russian on the east coast, Latvia on the southern coast, the Baltic Sea on the west coast, and the Gulf of Finland on the northern coast. The city of Tallinn is only a 2 hour boat ride from Helsinki. The country has 1.4 million people. Tallinn is the capital with over 1/2 million people. The country has its own language of Estonian, but most people speak Russian. They have their won money system - the krone. They will soon be moving to the euro. The countryside is really picturesque. It's very green with many trees and open fields. It gets cold here - with heavy winds. There were also a number of wind turbines as we passed the landscape.

This bustrip was scheduled to arrive in Tallinn around 8pm. I then was to catch a second overnight bus at 9pm. At the border of Russia and Estonia - we had to go through a very lengthy border check. First, we all had to deboard the bus and walk our bags through customs. Next, they give us 15 minutes at the duty free store. I decided to snap a few pictures during the wait. Not smooth. A lady runs towards me. I hold my hands up - "Don't shoot!" My buddy runs over and communicates to the lady that I'm a clueless American - give me a break. I was told to erase all my pictures and never think about taking photos near a Russian border anytime in the near future. Point taken. Then, we board the bus, drive 100 yards, and were stopped at another border gate. Guards came on and took our passports. They did another random bag check. They called out numbers - my buddy was keeping me in the loop. Finally, we're given the all-clear sign. The unfortunate thing - we were now behind schedule.

It's 8:45pm - my next bus leaves in 15 minutes. My buddy is keeping me posted - he tells me that: "We should get there right at 9pm - go sit in the front so you can get off quickly". I have my gear - it's 8:55pm. There's the busstop. We're pulling in. Doors open. I bull rush the carriage doors under the bus. I snag my bag - which was under about 4 others - their bags go scattering. I shake hands with my buddy from Estonia - he points to where I need to go - I take off in a full sprint. I see the bus up ahead - 100 yards. I'm in hot pursuit. The guy is closing the baggage door as I arrive. I throw my bag in and board. 9pm. Third bogey. Done.

I settle in to a 9-1/2 hour bus ride. This, added on top of my previous 8 hour ride from St. Petersburg to Tallinn (2pm-9pm + 1hr time change) -- I will have had my fill of buses for a little while. This busride will take me from Tallinn, Estonia through Riga, Lativa onto Vilnius, Lithuania. This ride was fine - I was in and out of sleep all night. We weren't stopped at the Estonia/Latvia border but were stopped at the Latvia/Lithuania border for passport checks. All went well. We arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania at 6:30am. I'm here all day and bus out tonight at 10pm - another overnight into Warsaw, Poland.

It's now about 10am - been writing for about 1-1/2 hours. I'm now fealing awake. I plan to go see what Lithuania has to offer me today. Will talk to you later. No pictures today - on grounds I nearly got arrested for trying this move.

Day #179 - Moscow, Russia

GUM Department Store

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Tretyakov Gallery

Peter the Great Monument

Russian hats

Thursday, September 9th

I spent the day touring the southern part of the City of Moscow. I first crossed the Moskva River just south of the Kremlin to begin my journey.

My first target was the Tretyakov Gallery. This is one of the most famous art galleries in all of Russia. It's home to the world's largest and most important collection of 19th and 20th century Russian art. The assemblage of art was given to Moscow by the wealthy merchant P.M. Tretyakov in 1892. I enjoyed spending time in this place. It was predominantly made up of paintings. Impressive. Many of which were large scale. They covered entire walls. It took a couple minutes to grasp each display. I could really appreciate the talents required to complete such work. And, because all the artists are Russian, it's easy to see why this is a national treasure.

I continued my walk to the southwest of the city until I came upon the Monument to Peter the Great. I'm including the picture. This was no ordinary monument. Immense. It stood at a fork in the river where a canal separated itself from the main Moskva River. As a side-note, what's up with the use of 'Great' and 'Terrible' in Russia. All the former czars or leaders have names like: Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, Alexander the Great, Ivan the Terrible. Is there no middle ground here in Russia?

I crossed back over the River and headed toward the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. This place was architecturally amazing. It reminded me a little of such places like Notre Dame in Paris because of all the elaborate statues on the exterior of the building.

I worked my way back into the central city. Right next to Red Sqaure is a famous store complex called GUM - whose initials stand for State Department Store. It looks like like an old train station with a glass dome overhead. I strolled through the maze of stores - you could literally buy anything here.

My dumb-dumb move of the day was not being able to gain access into the Kremlin. When I came to Moscow, I had planned to spend some of today touring around the museums inside the Kremlin walls after doing other things on Tuesday-Wednesday. I actually found out yesterday when it was too late to do anything about it - however, tickets to the Kremlin are sold every day except Thursday. I did not get lucky on this occasion. It was foolish of me not to check on this earlier. That's OK - I've circled the Kremlin about 4 times now and have read everything I can explaining it. My level of understanding is significantly higher than when I came here.

Tomorrow I'll be taking an early train back to St. Petersburg where I'll get on a bus headed to western Europe. I didn't want to mess with flying out of Russia, so I opted for the bus route. I could either go south through Ukraine or north through Estonia. (I had to bypass Belarus because I do not have a VISA to enter this country). Since I have plans to vist Ukraine later, I'm taking a bus from St. Petersburg through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - and will be in Warsaw, Poland first thing in the morning on Sunday, September 12th. I will not likely have internet access tomorrow but should regain form on the 11th - where I'll be spending most of the day in Lithuania.

I'll write more of a summary on Russia later, but here's to facing my fears and experiencing an interesting, unique culture that was well worth the effort to get here.