Europe Trip 2016 ~ Ukraine

Ukraine was brilliant!

I spent two weeks between a small town named Malyn about two hours outside Kyiv, a few days actually in Kyiv, and a few more days in Lviv in the south western region.

Malyn was nice for a respite from the bustling cities I've been touring. It was a very small city with a lake and a town square basically. Families would go to the dam to play in the water or fish or ride bikes. The town square was a meeting for all the buses. Malyn is an old city that hasn't been rebuilt. The buildings destroyed or rundown are still in states of decay. Lots are overgrown and sidewalks are uncobbled. But there is an old charm to be had. The people were helpful, friendly, and smiling! None of them spoke English so I was fortunate to have a translator with me :)

One of my favorite encounters was with a shoe repairman. My heels were coming badly apart and I didn't want to fix them in Hungary or Austria, so I had waited till Ukraine. One morning, my friend and I went to the town bazaar and the shoe repair guy. What a trip he was! A row of gold teeth on the top, skull belt buckle and rings, tattoos everywhere and wild unkempt hair. But he was grinning and happy and helpful and when he found out I was American, he wanted to repair my shoes for free since I was the first American he'd encountered. He wanted me to bring him back so he could repair shoes in America!

My new friend, the shoe repair man in Malyn.

I don't have many pictures from my time in Malyn. Mostly I went to doctors to get check ups that I could now afford and had the first experience ever of a dentist telling me my teeth were perfect. They didn't need cleaned!! (I haven't had a teeth cleaning in over a year so I'm going to get a second opinion on that). At the end of my time in Malyn I recorded a couple of videos with my new friend, pianist and sister. You can watch them here and if you know anyone interested in hiring us, please send them our way!

After Malyn I took a small vacation to Kyiv to see the sights. Kyiv is a great city and very large. I hadn't been in a city so big since leaving the US. I'd been learning Ukrainian while I was in Malyn so I got to put it to good practice as I took buses and trains around the city (it was far too large to walk).

Independence Square

My new favorite costume!!

Panorama of a very small part of Kyiv

Dreaming of the ocean.

Panorama looking over the Dnieper.

Statue of the Motherland

A life size scale of a mammoth bone hut at the Natural History Museum.

After Kyiv, three of us trekked to Lviv for a mini holiday; my friend, pianist and sister, Nataliia and a dancer friend, Richard.

It rained or was cloudy and cold the whole time we were there. Didn't enjoy that but the city was lovely. Walked around and around and around as Lviv is much much smaller than Kyiv. It's similar in size to what I am used to for European cities.

I wasn't hungry or I would have totally tried the black bun burger.
The third one is green, although it's hard to see in the picture.

This elderly lady stopped by the statue for a moment to cross herself and pay homage. It was a touching photo.

Nataliia's new "baby"...a 5 month old puppy at the string instrument shop.

The opera house in Lviv. No opera was playing while we were there so
we didn't get to see a performance, but the hall was beautiful.

We went to a cat cafe. Unlike Japan, the cats and human food are in the same place.
Nataliia had a very interested party in her food choices lol!!

Reaching for her share of Nataliia's plate.

I have so many more cat pictures but I'll refrain from posting them 

all in the blog and make an album separately. 

Some fabulous shots, funny, beautiful, and downright laughable.

I finally got to see an organ concert. Was disappointed when it was electric,
but it was a nice program. No, I did not use flash to take the picture.

Found a statue platform with no statue so naturally....

What a grand time was had in Lviv!!!

Despite the weather in Lviv, I had a grand time and I look forward to my next trip to Ukraine. Besides, I had just started getting the language down so I can't stay away too long or I'll forget everything!

I'll write soon of my following adventures in Krakow Poland. 

Europe Trip 2016 ~ Vienna and Budapest

It was sad leaving Prague. The last time I was in Vienna a decade ago, the place left no positive impression on me. That impression hasn't changed. I spent 5 days in Vienna and it was 5 days longer than I liked. It's a city of grandeur and beauty it's true. But I find no inspiration, no love, no life there. It's so uninspiring to me I never even had the urge to take out my camera as I walked the city streets past large courtyards and awe inspiring castles/palaces and towering monuments. None of them called to me. It was like seeing everything in a 2 dimensional way. I can't explain it really. All that to say, I spent a day walking with no pictures to take and found some Korean food to comfort me :)  I hunted for a place to busk but found nothing.

Korean food under the Strauss statue. 

The second day I again tried but fell short and as I was wandering the streets, for the very first time this entire trip, my bed and Netflix sounded more enticing than walking the city. So I did just that. (Now I'm all caught up on Game of Thrones!)  The next two days were spent rehearsing and recording with a pianist so I was busy and happily occupied doing something I enjoy.

Found a "walk of fame" star worth noting!! lol

I didn't like the Viennese food so I found a creperie that also made green smoothies and enjoyed eating there one meal everyday . I also found a "pay as you wish" Pakistani restaurant about a half hour walk away that was tasty so I was happy to have a cheap meal since I didn't eat very much so I didn't pay very much and in Vienna, that was a blessing!!!

One evening while I was sitting in a park with my violin on my back, a rarely encountered nice Viennese person, rode up on a bicycle and asked in German, where I was performing. I said, I don't speak German so he pulled out a tiny English/German translator book and sat down on the bench next to me. We chatted for almost half an hour through the translator book before he said he must go. I learned he was born in Vienna and has lived there his whole life. He's not happy so many immigrants are moving to his country and he loves music very much! Unfortunately, my usual occurrences with the Viennese were them cutting in line and being unhelpful or just plain rude. The people that were really nice and helpful to me in Vienna lived there, but were not from Vienna. They were from South America, Egypt, Japan, Spain, and other countries.

I did have fun the second to last day I was in Vienna. I walked an hour and half to the Danube and was starving by the time I got there so I bought the only food I could find nearby, an overpriced hot dog with mustard, and it was so terrible I ate about 3 bites and threw the rest away. But I saw some kids jumping on trampolines on the Danube so I went to inquire of the cost and for 3 Euros, I jumped for 10 minutes on the Danube River. Not everyone can say they've done that on the Danube!! :)

It's clear I was having no fun at all!!

I was so exhausted after walking and jumping and barely eating I decided to ride a bicycle back. There is a bike service in Vienna where you pay 1 Euro to register and then the first hour is free. So I rode about 40 minutes back to the hostel for 1 Euro, showered, and went to the Opera House for Don Pasquale.

The Citi Bikes in Vienna.

Purchased a box seat for 13 Euros thinking I had got a steal of a last minute deal, but soon realized when I got there, they were cheap because you can't see. Ah well. I stood up and peered out for about half of the opera and sat down reading the English subscripts in the box and listening for the other half. Now I can say I've been to the opera in Vienna.

I took this pictures leaning over the railing. My seat was a row back in the box though so I couldn't actually see half the pit if I sat down.

Got there early so the theater was mostly empty and I could take pictures from the front of the box.

A view from the entrance door, through the coat room/vanity area into the box seats.

Posing outside the opera hall after the concert. Yes, I wore my Vibrams to the opera because I walked there and didn't have a purse large enough to carry heels in it with me.

Then I had one last day before traveling to Budapest. I spent that day half walking the Schönbrunn Palace grounds and I was finally inspired by the little creatures running about, to take out my camera, as opposed to my phone, for the first time in Vienna and take a picture. I enjoyed the few hours I spent wandering the castle grounds mostly because there were so many small trails leading off into the woods I was able to get away from the tourists and just be in nature. 

Panorama of the front of the Palace grounds.

Had to get the real camera out to take pictures of these cuties!!

The roses were in full bloom. I came at the right time!

There were gorgeous flower displays all over the castle main courtyard.

To give a perspective on the vastness of the castle and grounds. Took the picture at the top of the hill toward the edge of the grounds looking back toward the main house and the rest of Vienna.

One of the empty trails in the palace woods.

Then it was time to leave for Budapest. I got my tickets and accidentally ended up in the wrong station. After all my travels, you'd think I wouldn't make silly mistakes like that, but I do every now and then. Luckily, it was not an expensive bus ticket and it wasn't the last for the day because even though I was arriving a half hour early, when I realized I was at the wrong place, I didn't have time to go to the right one and was able to purchase a second ticket for a couple of hours later. Spent the time waiting at the correct place talking with a friendly lady from Belgrade Serbia. And it worked out upon arrival in Budapest because I got there late enough, my host picked me up instead of me taking public transportation. It was a win in the end!

However, I learned not to take Flixbus. Their ticket online says I can change my reservation, but I couldn't. I had to cancel it and pay again. Their website says the bus has outlets, free beverages, and free wifi. It didn't have any of those. The bus also wouldn't let me bring my book bag on with my violin and refused me service when I made it clear I would not put my violin under the bus. Luckily, it didn't have a weight limit on a suitcase so I stuffed and then sat on my suitcase to close it with my book bag inside. Lesson learned: Flixbus is not worth the direct route. Take RegioJet instead. And you can reserve your seat! And you get free drinks! And you get free movies and games in front of you! And they don't hassle you about a book bag and violin going on board! And they're cheaper!! I've taken RegioJet twice and so far they win both times to the Flixbus ordeal. I will say the driver of the Flixbus did help me zip up my suitcase when I had to try to force my book bag into it. That was very kind.

I did get to Budapest, oh Budapest. I had no real expectation but was still disappointed. The only way I can describe the feeling of the 5 days I spent there was like being in a cleaner and less populated India. I was stared at up and down by the men and when I would look directly at them and smile to try to be friendly they just scowled back. I can only remember two men half grinning back at me. The women weren't much better. A few more smiled and the older ones actually did smile at me, but most just stared and gawked with no shame whatsoever. Seriously, I don't look that out of place in Budapest. I also found that the locals in Budapest were even less helpful than the ones in Vienna. And it wasn't just me noticing. I had other aliens confess this observation with no prompting from me and even go one step further telling me not to trust them or do business with them. It wasn't just one alien living in Budapest that told me. It was three separate people and three separate occasions at which times I never brought up nor indicated any displeasure in the city. It was an odd thing.

Budapest is a lovely city though. The first day I spent on a couch on the computer working. But the second day I walked all around Buda; up and down the Palace, up and down the Citadel, back and forth along the river and then returned to my host's flat near Margaret Island on the Pest side. The river was gorgeous and I enjoyed climbing up and down the varying stairways. Watching the sun set from the Citadel was relaxing and enjoyable. The second day I walked around Pest, visiting the Opera House, the Liszt Academy, Hero's Square, the Fisherman's Bastion, the oldest subway system in Europe, and searching all day desperately for a green smoothie but finding none :(  I did meet a kind gentleman from London while eating lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant (the only veggies I could find). We talked for quite some time and he shared a lot of interesting information about Budapest with me, including the history of the subway system.

On my way home, I stopped by the train station and did some research for luggage storing and ticket purchasing the next day. Then the next morning I left very early from the flat, dropped my luggage at the train station and walked to Parliament where I was a very close witness to the flag raising for the day.

Then I stopped by the Ronald Reagan monument before heading to breakfast with the London gentleman. We enjoyed another hour of conversation and he helped me get the right ticket for the metro and bus to the hostel that night before going off for the day. Afterwards, I parked myself on a bench and reflected for about an hour until I decided to try once again to get a green smoothie. This time I was finally successful!

The place mat pretty much sums up my happiness right there :-)

It wasn't very tasty, but my body was happy nonetheless with all the goodness I was finally providing. It was late enough in the day I was able to retrieve my luggage and make my way to the hostel for the night. I was moving from the city center which had been convenient for sight seeing, near the airport since I had an early flight the next morning.

The hostel was splendid and if it wasn't so far away (about a 45-50 minute bus ride) from the city, I'd highly recommend it. But unless you have a car it's inconvenient. However, it was exactly what I needed that night. I asked for a recommendation for a Hungarian restaurant and enjoyed delicious bean goulash, fresh bread and Hungarian beer that night. It was really tasty!

Homemade goulash with fresh bread and local beer makes the work disappear!!

The view from my dinner spot at the hostel. Hadn't seen one of these tv's for a while haha!

The next morning I was out the door by 5:45 a.m., yes, really. Waited a half hour in line to check my bags because unfortunately, priority boarding doesn't skip that line apparently. I had already checked in online, but the check in line and baggage drop lines are the same :(  When I purchased my tickets I paid a bit extra for a fast pass through security screening because I had no idea how busy the airport would be and I'm not a morning person so I wasn't sure how early I'd be. My money went to insure there were only three people ahead of me in the security line! So I breezed right through, shoes on, and toiletries in the bag (completely forgot to take them out) and sat down for a superfood blueberry smoothie for breakfast. When it was time to check the gate again (it wasn't posted for another 20 minutes when I went through security), it said the plane was boarding!!!

Walking through a cage to the old school boarding system.

Yikes!!!  So I quickly walked toward the gates. Passport screening again but no line there so I swept through to more gates. Scanned my boarding pass to be let through to still more gates and then showed my ticket to yet another officer to get to my gate. Checked in at the gate and realized they weren't actually boarding, just lining up to board. They took a tape measure out and measured my violin case and said it was just exactly the measurement they would allow (I had double checked on their website that violins were accepted as a large cabin bag already) so I escaped that scene, waited about 5 minutes in line and then boarded the plane priority! I was so tired that I remember hearing part of the stewardess speech while rolling up my jacket to make a pillow, leaning over to the window, and then waking up an hour and a half later. Oops, I had totally planned on getting some air shots of Budapest. Can't say I have any special inkling to go back to Budapest. If I do, they have a water park I'm interested in, and a labyrinth under the castle that is curious, but I'd rather go with friends next time.

Now for at least two if not more weeks in the Ukraine! Can't wait!!!!

Pre flight sleepy smile heading toward Kyiv!

Europe Trip 2016 ~ Czech Republic

I was curious to see how Prague would be after not having been for a decade, but it still has the same effect on me. I love this city. The tourists are annoying lol but the city is incredible and beautiful on every street.

The first night I arrived I met a friend of a friend :) and we went to a seafood festival right on the Vltava River. I seriously had some of the best salmon in my life. And coming from someone who's eaten a lot of good salmon in Alaska, that's a high compliment. It was still delicious two days later!! We had a wonderful time chatting and just getting introduced!

After the seafood festival it was time for bed. I had previously booked a cheap hostel in a good location sight unseen of course. Boy, the adage, "You get what you pay for" certainly applied here. It was filthy, the staff had little interest in working, the wifi didn't work well or everywhere as advertised, there was no hot water to shower, for three dorms rooms there were only two toilets and two showers and one of those toilets was in such a small space I can personally verify it was impossible to sit down and shut the door. But the location was good so I stayed an extra night until I could find another place on the western banks of the river that wasn't much higher priced. So glad I did because I went from the worst hostel in Prague to the best! I stayed there for a week!

While I was still on the eastern bank of the river, I had a lovely day starting with a delicious breakfast and then lots and lots of walking back and forth across the river, around the castle grounds a couple of times and the entirety of Prague old town. Prague isn't a giant city but it's not super compact either. I sure wish my pedometer hadn't broken before this adventure. Would have been fun to see how many steps I've taken in some of these cities!

Just one of the many beautiful city streets in Prague. Each street is charming and each building is uniquely beautiful!

Super tasty eggs with chives, in house made bread and jam!! Yummy!

One of the things I love about Prague is it's plethora of classical music concerts every night of the week. While wandering around I passed the symphony concert hall. Advertised outside was an upcoming concert with Beethoven Eroica Symphony and the Lyric Symphony by Zemlinsky. I had never heard the symphony by Zemlinsky before so I was really excited to have a night out at the symphony! It was amazing :)  And it was on a WEDNESDAY night.

The stage at intermission. Sure wish I could have heard that organ!!

Panorama with more of the ceiling. The whole place was spectacular inside!

People sat stock still in hard wooden subway chairs for the entire concert. During intermission I managed to snag a photo of an empty row, but the seats were all filled during the concert :)

One of the places I remember taking a photo of ten years ago was an instrument shop just off the Charles Bridge. This time I decided to go inside since I wasn't tagging along with my touring group. Turns out the building still has their name on it, but they've moved so I trekked to the other side of the river to their new location. Neat little shop and they have a wine cellar to sell good quality wine to restaurants or parties and I bought a lovely bottle of rose for my host and I and it was fabulous! I also got to play on a couple of Czech violins. One of them will be really nice I think, but it's so new it's still opening up.

Czech violin made this year.

Once I moved into the nice hostel on the western side of the river, I met a girl from Chile. It was fun because I got to practice speaking to her in Spanish and she got to practice speaking to me in English. It worked out well for both of us :)  So I invited her on a tour to Kutna Hora the next day that I had already booked. Probably the most famous place in Kutna Hora is the Bone Chapel. As explained by the tour guide, a monk had traveled to the holy lands and brought back a vial of soil that he spread upon his return. The belief was that this ground was now holy too so everyone wanted to be buried there. After so many years there was no more room to bury anyone so they built a small chapel to move the bones into so they could keep burying people outside. A priest was chosen to stack the bones in 4 pyramids which still stand today, although one is leaning!  Then along came a man with a vision to take the bones and create the decorations of wreathes and towers and chandeliers inside. Him, his wife and his son worked for ten years on this project and thus was created the famous Bone Chapel.

Outside the chapel in the graveyard.

Looking back from the inside toward the main entrance.

The leaning tower of bones.....

A bone crest with a symbolic raven pecking out the eye of a skull in the lower right hand corner.

Bones everywhere! Strung from all corners of the ceiling.

A close up of a bone wreathe.

Skull towers were in the middle of the chapel where you could purchase and light a candle and place it in front of a skull.

More bone sculptures. Must find something to do with all those bones I guess...dem bones dem bones.

On the tour of Kutna Hora, we also saw the largest Gothic church in Czech and supposedly one of the most famous in Europe, the church of St. Barbara. It was pretty. It was Another Bloody Church as they say.

View of the Cathedral and the no longer attached Jesuit monastery.

After the tour returned from Kutna Hora, there was the most beautiful complete double rainbow over the Charles Bridge! What a treat :)

INCREDIBLE ~~  A DOUBLE RAINBOW OVER THE VLTAVA

Had to get my picture :-)

The next day I had more plans to see Prague with my new friend, but I got an email from the other new friend I'd met my first night in Prague with an invitation to go for a weekend to Lake Nechranice. I didn't know what I was going to be doing or where I'd be staying or who I'd be going with. I didn't really know anything, but I packed my bags, said good bye to my Chilean friend and dragged my luggage through town, stopping at the Smetana Museum, on my way to the Yacht Club.

Smetana's piano

Once I got the the Yacht club, I hopped in a van with 5 other people and rode to the lake. Turns out my new friend was working as a helper for a disabled sailor and the weekend was for them partly. So I got to help out in an entirely new way for me and meet a wonderful girl about my age who loves to sail, but can't by herself. I helped rig the sail boats, put them in the water, helped her get to the boat and then reversed it all. I got to meet other awesome disabled sailors as well as able bodied ones. Most didn't speak much English, but we managed and had a terrific weekend I'll never forget!  Unfortunately I don't have many pictures because I didn't want to take my good camera near the water and my phone is no longer water proof so my devices were left safely on land.

I was playing music on my laptop and visiting with Katka :)

After the weekend on the lake it was back to Prague and now I was couch surfing. Before going to the house my host and I went grocery shopping and you'll never guess what I saw?!?!?  None other than, yes, my all time favorite shoes ever!!!!  I'm not alone :-D

Lime green Vibrams! <3 <3 <3

The next few days were followed by museums and concerts and busking!

First I had intended to go to the Dvorak Museum, but it was closed that day so instead I went to the Mucha Museum. I had gone last time I was in Prague but it was nice to revisit again and buy another magnet :)

I like the music is the night time one :)

A photo of Mucha's chair and writing desk.

Then it was time to go busking in Old Town Square. Luckily my friend joined for the short half hour concert (you can only play in certain hours of the day and I started late) and took a picture!

It was a bit windy so I had to weigh down the legs of my music stand so it wouldn't blow over! But I had an appreciative audience located where the picture was taken that listened to the whole performance and then kindly donated :)

I also gave an in house concert where I was couch surfing. It was a phenomenal time playing for a small audience. They brought me fresh flowers from their garden, a little man I now have pinned to my violin case, and the gent even dress up in a suit and bow tie! It was so much fun :)

The next big thing was to go up the Petrin Tower because I like heights and seeing cities from the very top! So off I took up a big hill. First I stopped at the communist memorial.

The monument shows how destructive communism is. What you can't see is by the very last step at the top, only a foot is left.

Climbing up to the tower was quite the feat. The hill is quite steep and although you can take the curvy, longer and less steep route, I just went for it. And I got a work out! Also, stumbled upon some squatters in a cave near the top when I ventured off trail a bit :)  It's a lovely park/wooded complex beneath the tower with wide trails, narrow trails, paved trails, dirt trails, cobblestone trails, shaded trails, open trails, stairs, steep inclines, and lots of green grass to just rest with an awesome view of the city or of nature. After I finally made it up to the top of the hill (most people would take the funicular), I walked around the beautiful and blooming rose garden. It smelled divine!

After a short rest in the rose gardens it was time for the climb up the tower. It was totally worth it though. Amazing view from the top! Wished it was a little bigger to just sit and look.

Best view in town! Yes, I get an even better workout carrying my violin, music and stand with me everywhere!

Close up of the Charles Bridge where I played!

Panorama of the city.

I also went to the Dvorak Museum and a concert of Dvorak tunes in the evening. It was a lovely concert of 3 singers, a violinist and accompanist. They were all dressed in proper regalia for the time period and the concert was held at the museum in the upper level in an extravagant room with painted walls and ceiling.

Room with Dvorak's piano, bust and furniture.

Part of the ceiling and room where the concert took place.

Another fabulous concert I got to attend was a free one on the old castle grounds. Imagine a live symphony performing in a giant castle courtyard. It was splendid. It was so packed that an hour before the concert all the seats were full and you couldn't even stand and see the symphony. That was ok, because they had a large screen to watch the concert on (if you weren't watching the live tv broadcast) so I plopped down on the castle courtyard stones along with hundreds of others sitting and standing to watch the two hour concert of the Czech Philharmonic. Boy, what an amazing event!

This is a picture of the screen and the orchestra with every seat filled and people standing packed along the sides, just on the other side of the screen.

After the concert, on the way back to the couch, I happened upon a man carrying a viola and violin case. Asked if he had just played a concert, he replied yes, but in a nearby church, not in the philharmonic. After some chatting it was agreed I could join him for a little while on the Charles Bridge the next day where you must have a permit to perform.

Before meeting him the next day, I enjoyed a farmers market, some errands and a lovely walk through the old town before crossing the bridge to find him. He played with backing tracks the famous songs everyone knows like Canon in D, Ave Maria, Largo from Xerxes and so on. He cued up one of the tracks and said to play the melody and he would play harmony so I did. Then the next track we switched. We did this for half an hour and had a little crowd gathered listening, recording, and even buying his cd for sale. It was one of those moments in life where you wish you could capture the feeling in a bottle and take it with you. My heart was out of my body and soaring in the clouds. I hope to keep in touch with him and play again someday!

Joy is written all over both of us!

Even though he didn't really speak English, we communicated through our music together in the most amazing way.

He even took my picture while I played solo!

The best memory of Prague and of Europe so far; right there on the bridge over the Vltava, with just the joy of music. 

The day wasn't over after playing on the Charles Bridge. I walked to the National Museum of Music where there was an exhibition of Joseph Suk on tour. This museum was much larger than the others so I ended up only getting through the Suk exhibition and not through any of the permanent exhibit before having to leave for my next "appointment". But the very kind lady at the desk, vouched my ticket stub so I could return the next day and finish the museum.

A Stradivarius and Guarneri violin on display played by Suk.

The inside atrium of the museum. They hold live concerts there and the museum is in the surrounding rooms on the ground and first floor.

My next "appointment" was sailing on the Vltava. This day was pretty remarkable I must say.

My couch host is a sailor so she took me and another friend out sailing in the sunshine. It was quite a gift!

Sailing on the Vltava

Sun is shining bright today!

It was an exhausting day, but a beautiful and satisfying one. I returned to the Museum of Music the following afternoon and to my delight was able to purchase 4 works for only $8!!!

My steal of a deal! Now I have more music to play. Happy girl indeed :)

I had so many wonderful times in Prague. Some of them just from wandering the streets and marveling at all the buildings and some of them from enjoying new friends company and some of them from just sitting and people watching in parks. Prague let me practice my new art of busking of which I'll continue to learn and perfect. Prague opened its arms and welcomed me with its music, its people, its nature. Not every moment was great, but from the eyes and ears of a musician, Prague has once again captured my attention and I can't wait to go back...in the summer time lol!!!

With love, from Prague <3