Goodbye Switzerland. Hello France.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

We have left Brig and are on our way to France. First stop Geneva, Switzerland where we will swtich trains and get on the French high speed train the TGV (which I love). We then continue on to Lyon where we have a stopover of several hours. We may take in a museum or some sights if we can find a luggage storage at the train station.

Bettmeralp, The Better Alp (so they say)

Today is a beautiful day  with crystal clear skies and we are both excited and full of anticipation for our trip up the mountain.  We have to take a short 15 minute train ride on the Matterhorn Gottard Bahn, a privately run railway to get to Betten, which is where we will connect with the cable car. 

We Want You At Queens Park

Bill 50, passed in November of 2008,  granted the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sweeping new powers, including the right to warrantless entry.  Accountability, transparency and oversight were not addressed. In 2009 the OSPCA collected $15.5 million in donations.  May 2010 the OSPCA attempted to eradicate ringworm in their Newmarket shelter by killing 350 animals.  The province freely admits it has no jurisdiction over the OSPCA.   

Since September 13, 2010  over 55 legislative petitions calling for governmental oversight of the OSPCA have been presented in the Ontario Legislature.

(Item P-113)   http://ww.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/petition_status.do?locale=en

On November 18^th, the resolution below, tabled by MPP Frank Klees and endorsed by Tim Hudak, the leader of the provincial conservative party, will be debated in the provincial legislature.

That, in the opinion of this House, the Ontario Legislature call on the Government of Ontario to review the powers and authority granted to the OSPCA under the OSPCA Act and to make the necessary legislative changes to bring those powers under the authority of the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services to ensure that there is a clearly defined and effective provincial oversight of all animal shelter services in the province, and to separate the inspection and enforcement powers of the OSPCA from its functions as a charity providing animal shelter services.

The one hour debate will be followed by a vote.  FYI, that day, each party has one hour to debate their issue.   We are unsure whether our time slot is 1:00 or 2:00 or even 3:00.  Therefore we ask everyone to be at Queen’s Park in Toronto at the latest by 1:00 and to plan to remain until 4:30.   

If you are in favour of the above, please email your MPP ASAP advising them you expect them to be present for the debate and to vote in favour of this resolution.

It is vitally important to have as many people as possible at  Queen’s Park on November 18, 2010.   There will be room in the viewing gallery and rooms with televisions will be available.  Pre-registration (for security reasons) is preferred via telephone 416-325-7316 or via  email at alex.roman@pc.ola.org  .    EVERYONE IS WELCOME.  NO ONE WILL BE TURNED AWAY.  

Please visit:  www.ospcatruth.com

Stockalper Castle, Brig Switzerland

Monday, October 25, 2010

Brig is a very pretty old town in the Valais region. It is a hub for tourists visiting other places in the area, but has some very nice attractions too. 

Early on today we decided to take it easy, do some shooting, but nothing too major. We have decided to stay for another night and tomorrow will do a day trip to experience a cable car  ride up the mountain and hopefully see the Aletsch Glacier. For now we are heading to the castle to take some pictures and shoot some video.

Arrival In Brig, Switzerland.

Monday, October  25, 2010.

Our first night in Brig was quiet and uneventful. We found a hotel very close to the train station that was reasonably priced and set out to find dinner. After a few minutes of browsing around the old town we quickly  realized that Brig was not going to be cheap. We settled on a pretty average looking family run pizzeria and had pizza that was really quite good. The only problem was that it was served by a young woman who, in my opinion, does not have a future in the service industry.

Bregenz, Austria

Switzerland; Sunday October 24, 2010

Last night we spent our last night in Austria near the Swiss border in a town called Bregenz. It is a nice enough town situated on a lake, but we arrived late and only had time to find a meal, our hotel and then it was time for bed.

The Bohemian Kitchen, Vienna, Austria

David had a flyer from a nearby restaurant so we went out to see what it was like. The place looked nice enough but it was empty and a bit posh for the mood we were in.

Just down the street was a pub-like place and we wandered in thinking it looked like just the sort of casual place we were looking for. After several staff ignored us (we weren't sure if we should go in, or wait to be seated) we set out exploring to try to find the non-smoking area.

Dead tired in Vienna

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Today we walked around Vienna, had a beer at a cafe and took lots of pictures. By mid-afternoon we were both exhausted. Our travelling had caught up with us. We headed back to the hotel, got some beer and stayed in and watched BBC Entertainment and rested. And as the CBC news loves to say; "There was a Canadian Connection". I watched my first ever episode of 'Casualty' and was tickled to hear a reference to the iconic Canadian CTV show "The Littlest Hobo". 

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Wiener (Vienna) Mozart Konzerte (Concert)

Wednesday October 20, 2010

We bought tickets to see a Mozart concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus from the hotel tonight. The players all dress in period costume and play selected Mozart tunes. The idea is for the audience to experience the concert as it would have been during the Baroque period. And you know what they say; "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!" (that was for you honey).

It was a great show. It was very entertaining and we had lots of fun with audience participation even!

When we arrived the usher didn't show us to the seats on our tickets, but put us right up front in the second row. There were many empty seats, so I suppose it looks better for them to do this. We also got a 'free' CD of the orchestra.

 

 

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Vienna, Austria

We arrived in Vienna this morning at six am.  The sleeper car on the train was quite comfortable, but I stayed up too late editing and the result is about four hours sleep. The geniuses at Eurorail printed Wien Westbahnhof Station on our tickets and the train stopped at Wien Meidling Station, a few kilometers away. It's like buying a Via Rail ticket to Union Station in Toronto and being dropped off at Greenwood without being told.

I feel like I shouldn't be complaining, but really! It wouldn't be a big deal if we were in a city we knew, but when you come out to the street in the dark and don't know where the hell you are it is not very pleasant, especially at six am on four hours sleep.  We found a coffee shop near the station, waited for it to open and eventually figured out where we were and where we were going.

We are now about half way to our hotel, and have entered the Twilight Zone. It started to rain so we've stopped at the old restaurant that happened to be next to us when the rain began: The 'Cafe Westend'.

I can only describe this place as vintage. The waiters are in full black suits with bow ties, and the place looks like it hasn't been redecorated since sometime around 1944. There are velvet green banquettes built in with black marble topped tables and large chandeliers overhead.

I'm half expecting Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall to walk in at any moment. The smoking section adds to the ambiance, and poor air quality, by the way I have stopped smoking again, for those of you keeping track.  The Cafe opened in 1859/60. The breakfast of bacon and eggs was mediocre, but my cup of tea is perfect.

I can see the Westbahnhof station out the window. It is being rebuilt which explains our rerouting. Too bad they could't have told someone at Eurorail. You can be sure they will be receiving a very strongly worded letter from me in the near future. 

Update: When we left Vienna, we had to depart from the Westbahnhof station. It is open and I have no idea how Eurorail managed to screw up on our arrival, but we will let them know.

Bregenz, Austria. Maple Leaf

Bregenz, Austria.
Maple Leaf


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Wieliczka Salt Mine and Kalinka Restaurant

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and was first mined in the middle ages. The mine contains three thousand chambers covering over 300 KM. The highest chambers (where the tour really begins) in the mine are located at about 64 metres below ground or 378 steps down. The deepest chambers are 327 M. Fortunately, we didn't have to walk back up the stairs at the end of the tour.

Click 'Read More' to see the rest of this post and the videos.

Wierzyneck 1364 Krakow, Poland

The visit to Auschwitz was our last stop on the WWII history portion of our trip. I'd wanted to see Nuremberg and the Nazi party rally grounds and the Congress Hall and then Auschwitz. Now it was time to move on  to  the happier portion of our trip and dinner always makes me happy so we set out to find a restaurant.

One of the nice things about Krakow is the great value for your money and even in the old city centre prices were more than reasonable. 

We were walking around the Main Town Square menu browsing when we came across a very nice restaurant called Wierzyneck 1364. It is beautiful. We were seated in the main dining room, which is decorated with sumptuous carpeting, linens, drapes and gorgeous stained glass.

After browsing the menu we decided to have the duck, which is flambed at your table. It is served with apples cooked in honey and a ginger cranberry cake. It was delicious, and quite the showstopper to see it prepared.
For dessert I had a beautiful frozen pear mousse with a dark chocolate sauce. Again, it was delicious.

www.wierzynek.pl

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Obama: It Gets Better

Model of Wawel Castle Krakow, Poland

 

I've finally got a decent internet connection here in Switzerland so I am going to try to share some of the video clips from the trip. 

Auschwitz: The Reality of Hitler

What can I say about Auschwitz that hasn't been said? Just about everything I saw and heard today, I already knew. The only thing new for me is the knowledge that the Nazis were even more sadistic and inhumane than I had imagined. 

Work Makes You Free Sign

There were many camps throughout Europe and North Africa. Some were concentration camps and some were death camps. Auschwitz functioned as both and Auschwitz II is the most infamous and largest of any of the camps. 

 Auschwitz I is the original camp here and houses the indoor museum (technically speaking the entire place, both camps are museums and UNESCO World Heritage Sites) with emotionally moving exhibits in an attempt to explain some of the terrible things the Nazis did here. 

Initially, political prisioners and intellectuals were brought here. Then, as the murderous Germans streamlined their killing machine, the focus was put on the Jews. Auschwitz I is where the famous gate with the sign overhead that reads "Arbeit Macht Frei"; a sick lie which translates roughly to "Work Makes You Free". Work was just one more way to kill in this place. As prisoners went to work each day they were made to march to the tempo of the prison orchestra. This was an added bit of Nazi humiliation, for good measure. 

The exhibits and museum are inside the original barracks buildings where the first prisioners were held. These barracks had originally been a Polish army barracks. The Nazis took control in September, 1940 when they invaded Poland at the beginning of WWII. These are the actual buildings and rooms where people were brutalized, tortured and killed. This way of experiencing the place really helps the visitor to empathize and imagine what it might have been like to have been held here.

We saw the room that held the kangaroo court where innocent people were convicted of 'crimes' and then sentenced to die after a 'trial' that lasted, in many cases, a few moments.

We saw the 'death wall' where so many political prisioners and others were shot to death by firing squad; their only crime: being an intellectual or outspoken political activist. On one record setting day here they managed to shoot and kill over 200 people at this wall within 24 hours.  Click READ MORE to continue to the rest of this post and see the videos.

Pod Wawelem

Pod Wawelem is a pub/restaurant in the Hotel Royal and just a couple blocks from our hotel, in the old city, across from Wawel Castle. We thought we were entering a posh restaurant and were surprised when we came into what was basically a beer hall.  Big steins of beer were everywhere, sauerkraut, sausage, cherry vodka shots and cute boys and girls serving the happy crowd. filled the room .They were surely growing big muscles under the massive platters of food they were delivering to hungry patrons. 

I had a bread bowl with sauerkraut and sausage and pork ribs that were divine in their simple deliciousness, and a big stein of beer that would make Homer Simpson drool.

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Please leave your comment or reaction below. Your feedback is appreciated!    ~ Mark Daye

Dragon's Den

Went to up the hill to Wawel Castle and took some pictures and video. Originally we had planned to take the indoor tour, but decided to just shoot outside. We came upon something called the Dragon's Den tour at the top of the rampart. It only cost something like 6 zylot, which is about two dollars Canadian per person, so not expensive.

We entered the little booth on the rampart and were presented with a staricase spiraling downward. The stairs seemed to go on forever and after awhile I thought we must be deep in the earth.

Suddenly the stairs ended and we entered a small cave, which opened into a much larger cavern and passageway that eventually brought us out to the river level and the famous firebreathing dragon.

David was scared, so I reassured him and urged him to try getting some video of this legendary beast. At great risk to life and limb, David managed to get some footage of the monster, know as the Wawel Dragon, but mine is better (lol) so here it is....

Like this post? Hate it? Please leave your comment below, all are appreciated!    ~ Mark Daye

Krakow, Poland (Eat, Pray, Pray, Pray, Love)

Krakow, Poland: October 16, 2010.

There were several nice little bistro type places on our street near our hotel, so we thought we'd try one of them. One italian place very close by looked nice and had a live jazz band playing so we decided to go inside. The place was packed and a frazzled waiter brusquely told us "NO", followed by some Polish which was unintelligible to me. I have come to realize that the Polish and Germans have a bit of an edge when they speak English and can come across as being bit abrupt, but I think it is generally not intentional, just a different inflection than what the average English speaker is used to. In this case, the guy was very busy and overwhelmed, and I can certainly understand.

We made a hasty exit and decided to try out the Horoscope Restaurant on the corner at the end of our street. The place was a quaint Polish bistro with plenty of candles, low red lights and interesting wall decor. We did some quick math and realized the prices were more than reasonable compared to what we pay in Canada for a meal at a restaurant of similar quality.

Krakow maple leaf. I have maple leaf pics from Paris, London, Rennes, and a few other places.

We ordered appetizers. David had the fried camembert with almonds and a raspberry compote. This was more than enough for two people and reasonably priced.

For mains I had the 'rabbit, in it's own sauce', beetroot and gnocchi. David went for the 'chicken in it's own sauce' with a side of roasted potatoes.

To drink, we chose a Chianti, the best one on the menu, which we would never normally do at home, but the price was right, and we are on our honeymoon after all.

The busy little restaurant served delicious food that was inexpensive, and had a homemade and robust quality to it.

The staff were friendly and helpful, spoke some English and the restroom was tiny, but clean and pleasant

My first impressions of Krakow are good. I'm an atheist, but if I was a praying man I'd have a difficult time deciding which church I'd attend. There are literallly some 31 churches shown on the map of the area immediately surrounding our hotel.

I do enjoy the architecture of churches, let's face it, they cost a fortune and the faithful don't mind spending on their places of worhsip, and I get to enjoy the visual result.

Krakow is VERY Catholic, the late Pope John Paul II was the archbishop of Krakow and he is the main man here. You will see him all over the place, along with other various saints, martyrs and other religious types. 

I covered the eat and the pray.

The love is for my husband, and I now also love Krakow and can't wait to return and see the rest of it.

Like this post? Hate it? Please leave your comment below, all are appreciated!    ~ Mark Daye

Warsaw To Krakow

We made to to Warsaw intact and departed our train and started the search for our train to Krakow. 

Warsaw Central Station was very busy, small and cramped. Low ceilings over tiny cramped shops sold everything from cell phones to ladies underwear to sandwiches. Having planty of ladies underwear, I went for the sandwich (kidding, I hardly have any ladies underwear).

Image Source: Wikipedia

 Trivia:

"The station was one of only a handful of public buildings in Warsaw which suffered a technical fault as a result of the millennium bug. The indicator board shut down for approximately 24 hours on 1 January 2000 while its timing chip was replaced. In the meantime, all departures were announced over the public-address system."

Source: Wikipedia.

I showed the lady working at the sandwich place a 5 Euro note and asked her if she took Euro's? "No, Kantor" she said, and pointed to a sign down the hall. I went that way, and saw she was pointing to a cash exchange or 'Kantor', I had just learned my first Polish word. There was a bank machine near by so I used that instead and withdrew cash, as it is less expensive than using a Kantor.

I went back to David and we saw that our train was now showing on the departures board and it was  on time, we went to the platform and boarded our train for Krakow.

We were expecting an older type of commuter train, which we've seen before and have travelled on and we got just what we expected. First class is nice. Second class is usually very comfortable too. The train is full, there are a few young people sitting on the floor. We are lucky to be in a strange room at the end which I think is meant for people to put their luggage. It is heated and there are three seats and two other benches, so it's fine.

There is another guy here with us who is friendly enough, but doesn't speak any English (or so I thought when I wrote that last sentence). He did speak great English and helped us on arrival, to find our way out to the street we needed to get to our hotel.

I went looking for the bathroom, or W/C (water closet) as they are referred to over here only to find three men waiting ahead of me. When it was finally my turn, I wedged myself into the closet like space, did what I had to do and pressed the foot pedal. To my surprise the flap at the bottom of the toilet flipped open and the contents were unceremoniously dumped onto the track flashing by below.I knew these toilets used to exsist, but I admit that I was surprised to see one in operation.

Countryside

The ride is quiet and uneventful. The landscape quite flat, with small family farms scattered around. I just saw a man in a large field by himself stacking loose hay into piles. The field next to him held several of these piles so I think he must have been at this for awhile today. 

Hannover, Germany To Warsaw, Poland

Poznan: It is now 10:00 am local time, or 4:00 am EST. This train is very late. We are still a couple of hours west of  Warsaw.

The ride thus far was uneventful, with the exception of the seemingly randomness of the lights turning on and off throughout the night. It was disruptive and not conducive to sleeping.

The old woman in front of me has the right idea. She is fully reclined, sleeping mask on, covered with a fluffy blanket and snoring a deep resonating snore that is full of sleep satisfaction.

The last time we had an overnight trip on a train we booked a couchette (a sleeping car that sleeps six in bunks) and didn't sleep well at all. This time around we booked regular seating with big upholstered seats and were looking forward to a comfortable ride.

When we boarded the train, our car was pleasantly dark and everyone seemed to be fast asleep.
The large seats recline so far back, with their attached footrest that they almost become beds. We quietly settled in, ready to depart. Then we waited some more.

Finally, we began to move.

Nobody was coming for our tickets so we decided to try and sleep, they could wake us if necessary. Sleep was more important now.

Suddenly the lights came on. I thought the ticket guy was coming for my ticket. I thought wrong. The lights were on for no apparent reason, they stayed on for awhile, then after several minutes, off they went.

Suddenly they were back on again.

This was getting ridiculous and being the only two who were awake, it seemed we were the only ones on board who were bothered, although I suspect others were getting annoyed too. I see a strongly worded letter (SWL) in the future.

I used my jacket sleeve to cover my eyes and I played Mozart on the ipod. Soon I was asleep. I was out cold until I felt David poking me in the side: His remedy for loud snoring.

I slept soundly until I awoke in Berlin.

When I woke up again around 8:30 am we were in Poland and many people had left our car. It is rainy and overcast outside, which is just the way I expected Poland would be.

11:45 am Finally, an update! We will be arriving at Warsaw Central Station at 12:20 pm. I just had the best cup of tea ever, and met a lovely young lady from the UK who is also going to Warsaw.