Thursday, September 23, 2010

Day 37, Continued - Blissful Bratislava

My spot in Medická záhrada (a park)
To get from Vienna to Bratislava (a distance of about 60km), you can take a bus ride of about an hour and a half. Even better, a ticket on such a bus will only set a person my age back by 6 euros and 90 cents. Bargain, for an international bus trip. 

The ticket window didn't accept credit card (don't ask me why an international bus terminal doesn't have an EFTPOS machine. T-shirt stores in eastern european city squares have EFTPOS machines). Anyway, I only had 6.50 in my wallet (remaining from past busking success). The ticket vendor very graciously let me off the last 40 cents and gave me my ticket.

I cheerfully strolled over to the bus and started to load my luggage into the bus's hold. I got my big suitcase in, and was just about to put my guitar in when the bus driver stopped me and said something about 1 euro. I took this to mean that to put the rest of my luggage into the (almost empty) hold would cost me 1 euro. So I grudgingly picked up my stuff and mounted into the bus, awkwardly slotting things into the luggage racks, and propping the guitar up next to me.

It was about 15 minutes into the bus ride, when we'd stopped at some traffic lights, that the bus driver turned around and repeated to me something about 1 euro. I told him I didn't speak German, to which he replied, "Luggage. 1 euro."

It seems that in the cost of a ticket on the bus is not included the cost of wanting to take anything on the bus with you. I understand that 6.90 is a rock-bottom price for a bus ticket, but I really would rather settle my costs at the ticket window, rather than have to explain to the bus driver mid-journey that I used all my coins to buy the ticket.
This is the bus driver

He seemed very disrguntled, so I decided to scrounge at the bottom of the pockets in my bag. I managed to find 25 cents, which I gave to him, saying that it was all the money I had on me, unless he accepted credit card.

"THAT'S OKAY !" Says Mr. Bus Driver, "THERE'S AN ATM AT OUR NEXT STOP WHERE YOU CAN DRAW THE REST OF THE MONEY !"

So, at the next stop he instructs me to go find an ATM to withdraw his 75 cents.
Great afternoon :)
The rest of the journey was without incident. In fact, my whole stay in Bratislava has been great. I've done some exploring, as well as some busking. Busking was lovely today, with great weather and lovely listeners.

Thank you to those who bought a CD today :)

I've quite enjoyed Bratislava, especially the fact that I can buy groceries to last me two meals from the Tesco across the road for under 5 euros.

Just a note to other travellers, though: I was told that everybody in Bratislava speaks English very well. The person who told me this piece of information was misinformed. Practically nobody speaks English.

That's not a problem, though. It enriches the experience. It does mean that I once again am treated (probably rightly so) as an ignorant western tourist.

So, tomorrow I return to Austria, to see what Salzburg is like. I'll remember to bring enough money for the bus. And for my luggage.

:)

Tim

Day 37, Continued - Vilified in Vienna

Tasty lunch
The following morning I had planned to leave early for Vienna, considering the train ride from Aarhus is about 19 hours.

Yeah, didn't happen. I tried, but unfortunately I had just missed the last day train, meaning I would have to wait another 6 hours before taking the night train. This meant a few unforeseen costs (ie, couchette reservation), but in the end I got there. While I was still in Denmark I decided to have a look at hats (as a musician I feel I need a hat), and found one that pleased me. I bought it for 59 DK, amounting to around AU$13, which I thought a bargain. Especially considering that it is a very nice hat.

I had an uncomfortable sleep on the night train, but a sleep nonetheless. I had James Brown's classic "Night Train" running through my head the whole journey, for obvious reasons.


The view from my hostel. Truly amazing.
The result of taking this Night Train was that I lost a night in Vienna (having already booked my hostels a week in advance). I, therefore, made the decision to get right into busking so as not to miss the opportunity. So, upon arriving at my hostel, I gathered my things and trekked into the city centre.

It has become my custom to try my luck in the city centre first, and busk for as long as I can before the authorities ask me to move along (as they invariably do in busy cities), after which I happily move to a more secluded location, like a park or a promenade beside a river, where I generally enjoy myself more than in the city's centre anyway.


Spot next to the University
My stay in the city centre was particularly brief this day, but not due to the authorities. Instead, I was made to move on because of a particularly self-righteous Austrian man, who defended the system of street performer registration with disproportionate passion. The details of my conversation with this man (who approached me of his own accord) form a story on their own, but are a bit long-winded. Long story short: he stormed off to call the Police. I think he misunderstood what I was trying to ask him.

So, I moved to a park next to Vienna's University and played happily there for an hour or so. Thank you to those who bought a CD :)

The next day, I left for Bratislava :)

Day 37 - One Day I Went to Aarhus

Aarhus Central Train Station
Well, the past week has seen me visit some interesting places :) This naturally means a long blog post, so get ready for it:

As the end of my last blog post indicated, I was on my way to Aarhus, Denmark. The inspiration for this trip had everything to do with a poem that I studied at school in my final year by Seamus Heaney. The poem's title is "Tollund Man", and the poem begins thus: "Some day I will go to Aarhus/To see his peat-brown head".

You can find the full poem at the following address: http://www.ibiblio.org/ipa/poems/heaney/the_tollund_man.php

I must make it perfectly clear, though: I dislike this poem intenseley. Possibly, in part, due to how saturated we were by it at school.. But I think that it is largely due to the fact that it just isn't a nice poem.

The idea of going to Aarhus, however, was just too awesome to pass up.


One of the canals in Aarhus
The city itself has about 300,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen). It is located on the mouth of a small river (indeed, Aarhus means "river mouth" in old Danish), and has a few nice canals in it. The currency of Denmark is the Danish Kroner, which is worth about 7.5 euros as of the time of writing this article (for current market rates, visit http://www.xe.com/.. And then go outside and do something interesting). Aarhus doesn't sell stickers with the city's name printed thereon.


Busy town, Silkeborg
To the east of Aarhus, about an hour's train ride, is the town of Silkeborg. If you, like me, are a trusting person, then you will believe Heaney when he says that the Tollund Man is in Aarhus. However, you would be misled, as the Tollund Man is not in Aarhus but in Silkeborg. Maybe Silkeborg's three-syllabled name was unsuitable for Heaney's requirements of poetic meter, whereas Aarhus fits better. In any case, we won't waste any more time on conjecture around the motivation for Seamus Heaney's deception.


Silkeborg Museum
So, in Silkeborg is the Silkeborg Museum. It is a nice little museum, with some nice artifacts from thousands of years ago, extending through the middle ages to the recent past. Among the oldest of Silkeborg Museum's items is the Tollund Man himself, who dates from the 4th century BC.

So I went and saw him. The exhibition is nicely set up, and his head is very well preserved, right down to the stubble on his face. Unfortunately in the 1950's (when he was discovered) preservation techniques were such that only the head, fingers and feet could be adequately protected from deterioration. The body is, therefore, a reconstruction, but a very convincing one. The benefit of the fingers being conserved is that the Tollund Man's thumbprint is the oldest fingerprint on record.


The man himself
 So yeah. Tollund Man.

Otherwise, my activities in Aarhus also included playing guitar and eating pizza. Both were enjoyable experiences. On my first night in Aarhus I sat down and played guitar with another lady at the hostel, who turned out to be Bodil Ashkenazy, whose father-in-law is the famous Vladimir Ashkenazy. She is a musician herself, and has a lovely voice. We exchanged CD's, which was great :)


Beer and Busking - great Sunday arvo
As for busking, I had a great time playing in the pedestrian mall for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. Everyone was very generous and, as always, thank you so much to those who bought a CD :)

Part of my audience were two Lithuanian guys who had come to Aarhus to study. They gave me beer, I gave them CD's, and we sat and chatted for a little while. Wonderful afternoon.

The next blog post constitutes my trip to, and brief stay in, Vienna, Austria :)

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Journey Thus Far

Click image to enlarge.
(Had to redo map, as Aarhus was originally not on the itinerary)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Day 31 - Hungry for Hamburg(er)

This photo requires no caption.
Ok, I'll get it out of the way before I proceed: One of the primary incentives for me to come to Hamburg was the possibility of eating a hamburger here. This I did (with schoolgirl-like excitement) in spectacularly anti-climactic fashion on my first day by paying a visit to Burger King. So there. That's one tick off the bucket list.

I had considered making a brief aside into the desirability of advancing towards the completion of one's bucket list (or, things to do before you kick the proverbial bucket), but the content seemed morbid no matter how tactfully I phrased it. I'll therefore say (optimistically) that my bucket list is an ever-expanding entity, and chasing its expansion will be my joie de vivre.
To return to Hamburg, let me Wikipedia it for you: 

This photo is not allowed. Shhh.
Hamburg is a city-state in the north of Germany, having some 1.8 million inhabitants in the city itself. To include the wider metropolitan region is to more than double this figure. Hamburg's port is the third largest in Europe and the eighth largest in the world, and is a highly important centre of shipping. Wikipedia will not tell you that there is a Burger King in the Hauptbahnof (central station) where it is verboten to photograph signs of hamburgers, no matter their cultural or religious significance to you as a person. A hamburger will cost you €1 (as of the time of this blog post), and how rewarding this experience is for you is an entirely personal matter.

Spitalerstraße
Proceeding west from the central station, you come upon Spitalerstraße, a main shopping strip. I set up here for about an hour and a half today, and was given the most generous reception of any town thus far.

Thank you so much to those that listened and bought a CD today :)

Unfortunately towards the end of my set I started to feel a sore throat coming along, which I am hoping will not worsen with time. Tomorrow will see me venture to Aarhus, Denmark for a few nights, where I hope to make the most of the Bryggedage festival taking place in Den Gamle By. I have, by the way, not the faintest idea how either of these names are pronounced. As a result, it should be a fascinating, and I anticipate having a serious ball :) Being sick would be a total downer in this regard.

So tomorrow: Denmark. However, I can't leave Hamburg without checking out the nightlife, which is on the cards for this evening.

So, as they say here in Northern Germany: Tschüß ! (seriously. that's how it's spelt) :)

Tim

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Journey Thus Far

Click image to enlarge.

Day 30 - Bountiful Busking in Berlin

My spot in Mauerpark
Welcome to Berlin, a city filled to the brim with history.

During my stay there I was able to get around on a free walking tour, guided by an Aussie tour guide named Theo. If ever you're in Berlin and want a fantastic overview of the major sites, peppered with funny anecdotes pertaining to their historical significance, I thoroughly recommend Brewer's Berlin Tours. Ask for Theo.
I could write on and on about how wonderfully rich I found Berlin to be, but I honestly don't know where to begin. Suffice it to say: It's worth a visit. Plus, drinks are very cheap. Big plus, considering the city's nightlife is the stuff of legend.

As far as busking goes, I set myself up in Mauerpark, a 17 acre strip of grass that once formed part of the death strip between the borders of East and West Berlin. Every Sunday, thousands of people flock to this park to relax and enjoy a wide range of free entertainment. Needless to say, a good place to busk.

Originally I had intended to set myself up in the markets immediately adjacent, as I thought that this was the main site of activity. It was only after I was unable to find a place in the market that I set myself up on the grass, next to a path that ran the length of the park. As it turns out, this was probably the best place I could have set myself up, and I played happily for most of the day to a cheerful crowd of passers-by, with a festival feeling in the air.

"The smile on your face..."
That's truly what the Mauerpark market is. It is a weekly festival. To name one of many attractions, there is what could possibly be the world's largest open-air karaoke. Here I stopped to listen to a guy belting out Ronan Keating's "When You Say Nothing At All", which the crowd of well over a thousand people received with much screaming and applause.

Wonderful.

It's even made me consider returning to Berlin on the occasional Sunday, just to be there again. Unfortunately, though, I think the weather will cause things to start calming down. I was very lucky with the weather on Sunday, it was beautiful.

So that's my Berlin experience in a small shell of a nut. At present I am based in Hamburg in Germany's north, relaxing while the weather worsens. If I get a clear spell I'll venture out into the streets of the city's centre. I'll let you know how that goes.

:)

Tim

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Journey Thus Far

Click image to enlarge.

Day 27 - High Holland

Bikes are such an awesome photographic subject
It was at about the time that I was arriving in Amsterdam that an integral piece of information made itself clear to me: in the Netherlands, they speak Dutch. I do not speak Dutch. As a result, I felt like a right arse approaching members of the public service and expecting them to go out of their way to speak my language.

What an arrogant anglophone, I am.

Fortunately, it seems that the near totality of the population of Amsterdam has a very good understanding of English. In fact, I heard English on the streets more often than I heard Dutch. Interestingly enough, the most common accent I heard was Australian.

Despite the linguistically accommodating nature of the Dutch, I was still required to try and pronounce the name of the street on which my youth hostel was located. Luckily it was on an easy-to-remember-roll-off-the-tongue street: Leidsekruitstraat.

It's not pronounced the way you'd think.

Moreover, for future reference, do not confuse this street with the street immediately adjacent to it named Leidsestraat. They are definitely not the same street.

In any case, though, I eventually made it to the hostel in one piece and took my baggage up the three flights of stairs to room number 15, where I installed myself and got comfortable. I met some awesome folks and went for a walk around the centre of the city (which is absolutely beautiful, by the way).

There are hundreds of bikes everywhere. You can't walk a few metres without hearing the ding of a bell behind you. Amsterdam is the first place I ever encountered bike-rage. If you don't believe that a man can be intimidating just by the insistent and aggressive ring-ring of his bicycle bell, I beg you to re-evaluate.

In a chain of stores called "Australian Ice Cream and Chocolate" you can buy delicious.. ice creams and chocolate. They have nothing to do with Australia, they don't even pretend to have anything to do with Australia. It doesn't matter, though, because they are delicious.

Under the bridge in Vondelpark
Unfortunately the weather for most of the days I was in Amsterdam restricted the profitability of my busking. I set myself up under the bridge in Vondelpark. Wonderful acoustics, but unfortunately the rain meant that not too many people were interested in going for a walk in the park. It was fun nonetheless, and I did get some generous donations.

All in all, a beautiful city.

The next stop on my trip is Berlin, where I am sitting now. A blog post to come (with photos) in the next few days :)

Tim

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Day 20 - Some Rest in Paris

It's been a quiet weekend here in Paris, I will surely return to do some busking. For the moment I've been enjoying the beautiful weather and the comfort of a good book outdoors. 
 
Off to Amsterdam tomorrow, to acquire new stories. 

On a side note, I've resolved to never text while driving ever again. Saw an horrific accident yesterday after a man who wasn't concentrating entirely on the task at hand veered slightly off the road and into a lamp post, stopping the car dead and flipping it onto its roof. No matter how much you hear about it, it's still shocking to see.   

Thus, moral: don't do it. 

Tim

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Day 16 - Lingering in Lyon

Photobucket
Corner Rue St. Jean, Place de la Baleine

Ever since arriving in this beautiful town, I've been stunned by how decidedly pretty everything is. From the streets, to the parks, to the girls. I've done a fair amount of exploring these past few days, discovering all the various corners of the centre of town.

For the Wikipedia enthused: Lyon is a town about 470km South-East of Paris, and is the capital of the region of Rhône-Alpes, with a population of a bit under 500,000. It's the second largest metropolitan area in France (after Paris) and is considered to be the culinary capital of France. Its butcheries are numerous and of notable quality, and the best ice-cream parlour is Chez Nardone, where you can enjoy all your favourite flavours, such as Violet and Nutchocoblanc, for an unsurprising price.

My favourite part of the town has definitely been the Vieux Lyon, the old quarter. Its narrow cobblestone streets are studded with the occasional ancient cathedral, as well as large squares with traditional french cafés and crêperies. I did a bit of busking in these streets, most notably under a lamp post beside the cathedral of St. Jean.

A close second would be Le Parc de la Tête d'Or (Park of the Golden Head), an enormous and beautiful park, with a large lake and plenty of green. Most underwhelming is their "zoological garden". 'Nuff said.

Parc de la Tête d'Or
It was in this park that I established myself today, beneath the shade of a large tree, beside a path leading to the park's tall golden gates. I played to an enthusiastic crowd of young children and parents, who stopped by to listen. Some stayed for a song others stayed for an hour. 

Un grand merci à ceux qui ont pris un CD :) Merci, et merci encore.

After having played my last song in the park, I stopped and sat briefly in silence, with a cool wind blowing on my face. It's difficult to describe the sensation that filled me at this point, to have had my music recognised and appreciated to such a degree by complete strangers, but also, just to fully comprehend the place in which I found myself sitting.

It was a great wave of serenity. It was as though life had led me up the mountain, up the long and tortorous path, only to show me the view. And I was surprised by how far I had come. I was surprised by the height of the mountain, by how far I could see into the distance.

I would be lying to say that I had achieved what I came here to do, but my path is but newly forged. I feel that today was an important milestone in this journey.

And so, as the motto of Lyon says, "Avant, avant": "Onward, onward".

Tim