Day 16 Wed July 25

Up early and out the door to go back to the National Parliament Tour.  I felt like the character in Chevy Chasses' Vegas Vacation who kept getting beat up at the blackjack table.  I just couldn't take enough crap.  The line was much shorter this morning, but they did the same little routine about the march across the parking lot to Door X.  When it was my turn after 20 minutes in line,,I actually started out when the preceding person was only 3/4 the way back.  You would have thought that I entered Putin's private chamber or something.  One  of the 3 goons who were doing nothing came at me and started in Hungarian.  I stopped, listened, had no idea what he was saying and then decided I really didn't want to see the damn place, no matter how grand  it looks from the outside,  so I left and got back on the same tram from  2 days prior and off I went to another "bath".  Now the fun was just starting, I got checked by a plain clothes agent on the tram for a valid tram ticket.   I Had One! The young student and his girl friend sitting behind me didn't. The last time I saw them they were taken off the tram and being held at the tram stop. No one ever paid any attention to the homeless and sick that were everywhere...but they sure know how to intimidate people on the transit system. Eventually I got to Gellet Hotel and Spa and another 2 hours in the medicinal baths.  I was on my way back to the hotel to check out and head to the train station when there was some kind of Emergency in the Metro.  At one of the stops, there was announcement which I of course didn't understand,but I noticed everyone got off.  We were marshaled out of the underground and onto the street. I could see nothing wrong.  but I heard emergency vehicles on the street.  Eventually I found my way back to the Novotel via the surface bus and got out of the hotel and to the train station where I  almost missed the 3:10 to Vienna because of more stupidity on the part of the ticket sales people. You just go on thinking that the old Communist ideology is dead....I actually really enjoyed Budapest.  It is my # 2 favorite after Berlin.

PHOTOS HERE

Day 15 Tues July 24

Was having my morning coffee back at Deak;  l liked that area...and saw a bicycle tour forming. So I was in.  Turned out I was the only one.   So I had a private tour with "Guta"... I am not sure how she spells her name but that is the phonetic.  She was quite interesting.  A native Hungarian, probably about 35 who  teaches English at the University during the year and does tours in the summer.  She has been to NYC several times.  We had a blast,  Went all over the Pest and Buda side.  Saw it all in 4 1/2 hours of cycling and even stopped for Hungarian Goulash.  I could do without that stuff,  We talked a lot of history and politics as well as economics.  She was a rather well to do lady who was very educated full of info. She sent me to restaurant along the River that evening where I had good meal.  I was set to take a late night cruise along the river, but it started raining. So it was back to the hotel where I collapsed after a hard day.

PHOTOS HERE

Day 14 Mon July 23

The morning started with a line to get a ticket for  a guided tour of the National Parliament Building.  It was quite a impressive structure from the outside.. That's because I never made it inside.  I was about to encounter my first real taste of Soviet style nonsense.  To get a ticket for a tour which was later in the day, you queued up in a roped area about 100 M from "Door X" the ticket office.  Now there was 2 official looking people that were about half way into "no-mans" land that regulated the flow.  So they let one person march across no mans land to door X. and in about 3 minutes out they came.  But the next person could not enter no mans land until the exiting person had completely exited.  This resulted in about 1 ticket q 4-5 minutes.  There were already about 75 people in line when I got there at 10.  So I blew that off and jumped on the first tram I saw.  The famous #2 which tours the Pest side of the Danube.  I rode this a while and then decided it was time for my first Budapest Baths.  These medicinal baths are quite the rage in Buda.  The one I found was the biggest.  It was inside glorious building in city park.  The water was full of sulfur so you can imagine how it smelled.  But after an hour in 36 C bath.  I was pretty relaxed and my foot didn't bother me any longer. That evening I found the Deak area and had a nice dinner of Beef Tartare at fantastic outdoor cafe.  Not only was the food and weather nice; but all the escorts for the High End Hotels came walking by.  It was better that a runway seat at the Miss Universe pageant.

PHOTOS HERE

Day 13 Sun July 22

Morning train to Budapest.  This is the nicest ride I've had since landing on the continent.  A total of 7 hours with comp beverage service by the best looking gal I've seen since the mall in Warsaw.  Did I mention the tall blond I met getting off the train in Warsaw ? I think my foot is a little better today.  With the help of a elastic bandage, I can get my shoe on. Arrived Keliti Station right on time.  Now here is a observation:...The further I go the worst the train stations.  This place looks and smells like the cattle auction barn in Chappell Hill.  If you have never been to a cattle auction..don't worry, just imagine.  Anyway.. Outrageous money converters, and one ATM machine which actually had directions in English...the only english I saw at this station.  Got some money in my pocket and now the real fun starts,  The cabs are on the barter system.  I approached the first in line an gave him my hotel, and asked the fare..He quoted $30.  Now I just had a ride to the Prague station and it was only $10 in the hotel MB... so I started with an offer of $10... Now three other drivers enter the picture and start in Hungarian.  Finally the one that looks like Telly Savalis says I'll take you for $15 and I am going that way NOW. I rolled my big bag to his cab and I was in the hotel lobby in 10. Got a nice corner room with lots of light, great internet and European CNBC... Who could ask for any thing more...

Day12 Saturday, July 21

After having the nice breakfast buffet in the hotel and soaking my foot for an hour, I decided to venture out and take the metro up to the old Jewish quarter , home of some  infamous museums and synagogues.  Being the observant Jew that I am, it never occurred to me that today is the Sabbath and all this Hebrew history would be closed. What was open were all the high-end boutiques, e.g.  Ferragamo and Prada. I had lunch at pizzeria, went by the train station to get my train ticket for tomorrow and came home to soak my foot. Went out later to explore the river front The weather was lousy and was drizzling so after I came out of the metro station I got on a tram and just rode it for 20 minutes and then ducked into a restaurant for some more vodka ,some soup and then home for the evening.

PHOTOS HERE

Day 11 Friday, July 20

Arrived at 8 o'clock morning after the overnight on the train. I must admit the sleeper train was not as exotic as I had envisioned. First of all the railcar had to be 50 years old and all the windows were down. This,as any Polish will tell you, means No A/C. The Chinese couple that got on behind me started complaining because there was no Wi-Fi, I said hell man I will settle for air-conditioning. We turned out to be drinking buddies as he occupied the compartment right next to mine.  I pulled out my small bottle of authenic Polish vodka which I bought for the trip and shared with him until the wee hours of the morning as we exchanged stories of Houston and Hong Kong.The bad part of the journey was when I woke in the middle the night from what little sleep I got with a tremendous pain in my right foot.  As  it turned out I was now having the symptoms of stress fracture .I guess that's what I've got.My foot is swollen and hurts under the ball of my foot. I cant find an ace bandage, so all I can do is soak in cold water in the tub.Where is Jeff Ross when you need him. As you can imagine this is not been my favorite stop on the trip. It's  because the streets in Prague are very uneven and coposed of cobblestones and very difficult to walk  I did manage to get out last night and took an evening tour of Prague by Segway. Now these machines are really awesome. I have never been on  before but I think now after spending two hours on one, I can really appreciate their utility.

PHOTOS

Day 10 Thur July19

This morning I am picked up at my hotel for a guided tour of the Jewish Distirct by Yaakov Rympel who I was referred by the ADL in New York. We are planning on seeing the Jewish sector and then return to my Hotel Qubus by Noon. We walked around the "Ghetto of Krakow" which had been the 'new Jewish"town when the Germans invaded.  It was across the river from Kazimierz which was the old Jewish community.  BTY , my new ultra modern hotel was at the outskirts of the "Getta".  After looking at remnants of the wall and visiting the site Schindler's Factory, Jakob told me the story how his grandparents escaped from this Ghetto and spent the war hiding with a family in the countryside. We then walked over the bridge separating the two parts of the city and entered the old Jewish neighborhood.  The first stop was the oldest Jewish Synagogue  in Poland.  There were 2 others on the same square.  After a short walk around the area, we passed a total of 7 synagogues in an area no larger than the entire Galleria.  Apparently Poland in the 19th and very early 20th Century had been a refuge for Askinazic Jews.  The Polish Kings like them.  After WWI the monarchy was abolished and this changed the attitude.  The ones that could, left for Israel.  The others stayed. I spent the afternoon on the "Old Square"...the Rynek Glowny.  Had dinner, a Chopin recital at the Wierzynek established 1364 and caught the 22:05 to Prague.

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Day 9 Wed. July 18

Well I was getting very cocky about my ability to get around strange places.  Mark will tell you that I can wake up from a nap, look at a map for a minute or two and go directly to where I am headed.  I could still do that, until today.  Got lost in the old town of Krakow.  Kept walking and couldn't figure why I couldn't get to the square  of Rynek.  I was lost and finally had to admit it.   Berlin is quite well marked and easy to get around.  Warsaw apparently cleaned up in anticipation of the Euro Cup visitors last month, but Krakow.....Now I know where Polack jokes originated.  Oh well, the people are very nice and they make GREAT Pastries.... Went through a Museum of Photography taken by a wealthy Jewish businessman in the 20's and  30's who left Poland along with many others and    moved to Israel in the 30's.  Wonder what he knew...

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Day 8 Tues July 17

It is raining again.  As it has been everyday.  Though this rain is manageable.  With a waterproof windbreaker, and a cap, one gets about.   I walked 1/2 mile away from the Westin to see the Warsaw Uprising Museum but it was closed. So I went to the Warsaw Museaum of Culture and Technlogy, aka "Stalins Finger" cause it was built by Stalin and the Poles hated Stalin.  The train station is right across the street so I jumped on the 2:10 to Krakow.

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Day 7 Mon July 16

Woke at the Westin Warsaw; decided I needed a little Western influenance.   CNBC on the TV early in the am and I tthought I was home.  Coffee and it was off to Nowy Swirt.  The Rodeo Drive of Warsaw.  No Bently's or Roll's.  Just city buses.. Met my guide Gavan after lunch for a bicycle totur of the Warsaw Ghetto.  Now there is very little left of the original structures.  The few Jews remaining at the end of 1942 decided to go out fighting.  There was an uprising and the entire ghetto was leveled by the Germans after a month of fighting my the Jewish inhabitants.  The area has been rebuilt but there are several memorials and a piece of the original wall left.  It is amazing to consider that at the beginning of the war, 1/3 of the population of Warsaw were Jewish.  By the time of the uprising...late 1942....450,000 people had been exterminated by the Germans That evening I erased my mind with a couple of local Vodka's and a table full of 30year olds.

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Day 6 Sun-July 15

 Up early and off to the Hauptobanoff for my first train ride.  Now everyone gets around Berlin on the U or S which all connect to the Banhoffs.  Everything is on the honor system.  There are no attendants or turnstiles, you buy a ticket or pass and get on. This was the first time I cheated and just got on.  I mean it was 8 am on Sunday morning.  It was empty until the first stop, when 3 people in uniform got onto my car which only had one other luggage toting gal.  They came up to me and asked for my ticket which I did't buy.  I tried the "I am an American and don't understand you."  It didn't work in Munich 42 years ago and it was working that morning.  As I was surrounded on the moving train by all 3 Subway Cops, one of them asked if I was on the way to take a train.  I was and when I showed them my train ticket, I was told that you can ride free to the train station if you have a ticket.  Ah,  I escaped the Germans again.  On the EC 43 Berlin-Warsaw Express.

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Day 5- Sat July 14

Didn't get enough doom and gloom the first couple of days, so I returned to the Gestapo Museum.  Walked in..  No guided tours but found an English speaking group of college kids and tagged along with their group.  They had a guide who really knew his stuff. When the rain stopped, I went out and made my way outside the city to what was billed as the "Luftwaffe Museum".  Expected to see a bunch of Me 109s and Stukka's  Instead there were a lot post WW II planes on the ramp.  The exhibits did had some WW II items.  It was quite a slepp out there and back.  Took the better part of the afternoon.  I took the wrong train home and had to get off and walk few blocks to get to the Underground that I needed.  Happened  by a famous chocalotier  and went in for a late afternoon snack. Dinner that evening was over by the Zoo and I passed by a Cuban Cigar Rm.  that had the most complete selection of Cuban Cigars I have ever seen.  A nice Hoya de Monterey and some B & B and  I was off to bed

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Day 4 Fri - July 13

Back to the Fat Tire group for the"Third Reich" tour.  This one concentrated(pun) on the rise and fall of the Third Reich.  Our guide, Jason another Canadian had studied in Germany and was very knowledgeable.  We went to the square where they burned the books.  We went to an old synagogue and went to the site of Gestapo Hq.  We stopped at a gravel parking lot and was told that this was the site of Hitler's bunker.  Also saw Checkpoint Charlie.  Looks different today Mark than when we were there probably 42 years to the week prior.  Dinner at Le Buffet on the top of Ka De Wee,the Harrods of Berlin.

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Day 3 Thurs July 12

Up for the buffet breakfast at the hotel.  Then off to the infamous Berlin TV tower to find "Fat-Tire" bike tours.  I had about 4-5 hours of a group of 24 with Jules our Canadian guide.  We must have biked about 4-5 miles and stopped and discussed 12-15 different sites.  A great way to see the city, if you  like cycling. It became very apparent that Germany had been a wonderful society that had made a bad decision...WW I which had resulted in the absolute devastation and ruin that befell Germany for the next 70 years.  What is amazing is to see how they have rebuilt their society as they are now the economic leaders of Europe.   Berlin is now a lot like Paris, but a third the cost.  Had dinner at the oldest Restaurant in Berlin.  Sat at a wooden bench and washed my crispy pork belly down with a .5l of Berlin's finest pilsner.  Quite tasty, although I will never order it again.

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Day 2 Wed July 11

Day 2:  Landed at Paris's Charles deGaul in 1/2 mile, 200 ft visibility.  That's pilot talk for bad weather.  CDG is really spread out.  I had to walk for 30 minutes to get to my connection.  Then things started to deteriorate.  Now, I was with the European masses.  Had to stand at the gate.  No empty seats.  Went downstairs to a bus to take us to the plane on the tarmac.  First Class on this segment was the bulkhead with the center seat blocked off.  My lunch came in a plastic box.  At Berlin's Tegel airport I found the bus to the city and for 2.3 E I was off to my hotel; Hotel Wall-street. Found the hotel with minimum difficulty.  The numbers on the street don't necessarily follow the rules that most of us are accustomed to. Now I wanted to lie down but I knew that I would never get up, so I did what any tired child would want to do,  I went to the Zoo. After an hour and a half of looking at the animals, I was so tired I headed back to the hotel and got in bed. No dinner.

 Photos Here

Day 1-Tues July 10

Harvey drove me to the airport in the Jag.  Dropped me off at the International Terminal. Checked in and headed to the Air France Lounge. Boarded the plane.  Business Class full.  All 70 seats.  First Class empty. I didn't dare stick my head behind the curtain of steerage class. Service was great.  There were 7 attendants for the 70 of us.  They kept coming through the cabin with something.  I woke in the middle of the night and the guy was standing there w/chocolate ice cream.

Forward

Well this is my first attempt at a blog.  Since I will be traveling through Eastern Europe for 24 days, I thought it appropriate to record and share my thoughts and some photos. Eventually I will be to upload the pictures I have taken. My goal in this endeavor is to have something to return to in the months ahead, and also to show that if my friend John Lopez can do this, well hell so can I .