Goodbye to Vilnius; Hello to Krakow

Vilnius is great. I slept in yesterday. Had two small lunches. A nap in the PM and then a lamb curry at the Indian restaurant. I went to Trakai Castle the day before...a quality day...short bus ride...chocolate, cake, capuccino, and lego building...awesome. Only Miker will get the lego part, but all you women better get the chocolate part. I was in Vilnius for 6 days and spent a whole 550 bucks including my hostel...nice. The only hitch I am finding is that these international phone cards I have suck in the Eastern European countries and its easier to buy them here. My bnb was super quiet and i got a little bowl of chocolate every morning with my breakfast...downside a few too many bugs re: no screens + hot + open windows...so I killed a few spiders and weird looking cricket thingys...Saw the Dark Knight..so good I almost went to the next showing...Oh yeah for supper I met the owner of the Indian Restaurant...he is a retired fighter pilot from the Indian Air Force and he had like five stores in the Baltics...Also learned aout the Karaite people (who live in Trakai). They are of Turkic descent and there only about 750 left, yet they manage to keep their language alive...Kudos to them for that...Also, I have three rocks..one, from the Pena Palace mountain, one from the Blakhead's House Dungeon, and one from Trakai Castle.
KRAKOW...up today at 400AM to go to airport...forget to print off information...expect a huge concern, girl at desk fixes it all and saves my day...Hurray for her..she even got to me my second boarding pass something I take for granted for travelling, but not so much with Polish Air...Anyway, I took a twin-engine jet prop to Warsaw and kill time there as my plane to Krakow is late..no big, arrive here at 10.00, I am in my room by 10:30 and downtown by 11:00...lets see shuttle service or fighting with public transportation...15.00 well spent...Wandered around Krakow for awhile, booked my tour to Auschwitz, and took some pics...see facebook...thats it for now.

The Most Important Day of the Summer

So I had a funny, amusing, and clever blog all written out last night to inform and amuse you...and then this morning I went to the Museum of Genocide Victims (aka the KGB museum) and left in tears as an overwhelming sense of remorse and homesickness washed over me simultaneously...Hours later I barely have the words to explain the devastation met by Lithuanians (and Latvians) under the evil that was Stalin, the Soviet Union, and Communism. More importantly, I barely have the words to explain how much I love my own country for all that it allows me to do. I take everything for granted--all my rights (freedom to think, speak, write, travel, vote, resist), my family, my friends, my school, and my life. I realized, in a flash, why I leave my country every year--because the rest of the world draws into focus the whole point of my life: to learn and to pass that Knowledge on to others. Here I am travelling the world, an affluent TOURIST (there is no other word for it), taking pictures of churches, statues, monuments, funny people, and things and then posting it all on the Internet in an attempt to show my worldliness...and I am now thinking its all bullshit...unless I can pull it all together somehow into a universal understanding of the way things are. So, far from my classroom (a place I missed for the first time all summer), here is my free lesson for you. In all the museums depicting genocide/oppression/death/torture/evil there are three clearly human endeavours that make the victims of such crimes persevere--Faith (family or religion), art, and language (arguably the three cornerstones of one's culture). In other words, if you are a Stalin or a Hitler the destruction of churches, national art, and, most importantly, the national language are of key importance. However, you cannot crush human will entirely an in every instance the victims of oppression will keep their faith (small prayer books made with cast-off materials), practice their art (from small postcard-like paintings to knitted pieces of cloth), and save their language (poetry, songs, even simple passages scrawled on boards in their prison cells). Therefore, if you can, do the following for me: phone your mom, your best friend, your siblings, and your lover. Tell them how much you appreciate. Read a book...I don't care what. Paint a picture or scribble graffiti on something. Write a poem or a song and if you are at all religious go to your church and talk with someone there about why you are there. Oh yeah, vote when the opportunity presents itself and speak out when it seems necessary. I love you all. Be well.

Broken Bus

My bus broke...so I had to find a place to kill 2 hours with only the change I had in my pocket...ah yes, the air conditioned internet room...1.00 hour...Hell, I would pay that for the AC alone...the rest of change will go to the next little old lady who asks for it...

Travel Update

So, I leave for Vilnius in the AM. I am there until July 30 when I fly to Krakow. I am there until the morning of August 4th. I am staying at the Litinterp Guesthouse in Vilnius and the Elephant on the Moon Hostel in Krakow. Hey, Hali...hostels are booking up now that summer is here so you may have to look around for stuff.

Riga Continues...

So I get up today, wander outside my Hostel and what do I find?...A Serve Yourself pancake place...yeah like I am not eating there..so I had four types of pancakes..one plain, one with banana, one with cheese, and one with meat...all good except the last one...more importantly it cost 2.40...Keep in mind they are more like crepes...yesterday, to test Hali's theory about McDonald's, I had fries and a double quarter pounder with cheese...and it tasted exactly like Canada, the US, South Africa, Australia, and everywhere else in the world...weird...in other words, the fries were great and the burger was bland...Did a bunch of stuff yesterday, a couple of self guided walking tours, a cruise on the river, and then supper at Dada's (again)...like I can pass up a stir-fry bowl of shrimp and squid for 6.50...Visited a couple museums..the Blackheads House, the National Gallery of Art, and St. Peter's Cathedral...the highlight...taking a rock a la Alcatraz...Today I just wandered around and debated buying art stolen from medieval churches and old communist paraphernalia..it was all real expensive so I think I will wait for Vilnius...I am currently buzzed on Aldaris beer and hanging out in an Internet cafe getting things caught up...

Tristan Tzara's Latvian Bus Schedule

Hello all...so I tried to go the Riga motor museum today and the nice tourist lady told me take Bus 21, but the Bus 21 lady told me take Bus 1, and the Bus 1 lady told me...in almost incomprehensible Latvian...no, no, Bus 18....so, yeah..no motor museum (at least not today)...I did do the Art Nouveau Walking Tour (self-guided to save 18.00 bucks) and it was awesome...I will post pics later...Did I mention I love the Dada restaurant; today my bill came in a baby Nike high top and the same waitress waited on me and all she ever says is "please please", which reminds of how silly I must sound when I say "paldais" "paldais"...anyway, I did a nine hundred mile laundry run yesterday and the lady there thinks I'm an idiot, god doing laundry is stressful, but at least I have a new run of clean clothes...mental note, more underwear..fewer jeans...I also did an Old Town Walking tour...also cool, but all museums are closed here on Monday and Tuesday so 1. I have to go back to some places and 2. I went to a movie this PM...Okay, my instinct said Pathology was going to be crap,,,,and as usual it was RIGHT...fuck me, why bother making shite movies...some lunatic will buy it though (not Jordan cuz hes smarter than that, right?)...Oh yeah LATS are 2.5 times a canadian dollar...the exchange here is killing me, but then in Vilnius their money is 1/2 of ours so it will all work out in the end...Cog gets the coolest present, sorry it's just the way it is (so far)...off to a rockabilly night tomorrow night, a sick Polish Holocaust movie on Thursday night, and Friday...who knows...

The Road to Riga

So, I left Bilbao at 430 AM to catch my plane...My taxi driver was Ayrton Senna so we were there in plenty of time..I missed Tom Waits in San Sebastian by 2 nights and the Raconteurs by 4 days..ooops..Metallica plays Riga tonight but I am not forking over 160 bucks for scalped tix (you are welcome Cog)...So i am in the airport in Barcelona for a 6 hour flight change and find a place that says all you can eat breakfast...and I'm like...really, so i ask and yup buns, sandwiches, water, juice in bottles, cereal, toast, hot and warm milk...all you want for 7.50..keep in mind water in an airport costs 2-3 minimum in the first place..So I think I did North America proud as I laid waste to what I could...granted I did not eat again until midnight in Riga, but that was the point...anyway, took a shuttle into the city which I had already paid for (bonus) and walked to my dingy hostel...a painfully bland place..oh well. I am not even sure if anyone is even here today...Went of the Museum of Occupation today...it tells the story of how Latvia had basically always been screwed over by a more powerful nation, most notably the Nazis and the Soviets...great museum which also shows historical movies...I will be going to Katyn tomorrow...I also went to Indiana Jones "The Writers Have Lost Their Marbles" or some such shit...spolier...........interdimensional beings, please bite me........I think I will see Batman in Vilnius on the opening night if possible...Had a fantastic meal today in Riga...simple pork loin and potatoes but it ruled...Also had some honest to God borscht, though its called something else here (Margy, you would love it)....Oh yeah, the women of Riga...pure supermodel...every single one of them..and they dress to the nines (whatever that means) all the time...Well that's all for today...Love you all...

My Last Day in Bilbao

Wow have I been lazy these last three days...Did a couple museums and ate a bunch of pinxtos and drank some beer...Slept a lot and read some...So today I go walking and these guys are squeezing what looks like dog shit into little piles then placing little Spanish flags on them...Obviously, they are Basque Nationalists...Interesting in that no one said a thing as most simply watched ot ignored them. Cool stuff from the last few days
1. Man Rays Surrealist Chess Board
2. Magritte´s "The Future of Stautues" based on a model if Napoleon´s death mask.
3. The above mentioned "poop".
4. My Octopus,Squid,Quail Egg, Bruschetta pinxtos.
5. The sick hole in the wall punk rock bar that the punx mostly avoid.
6. "Judith and Holofernes" one of fave paintings on loan from somewhere.
7. Phoning Dad at 4.00 AM..oops, sorry dad.
8. The hot wash cloth at the end of my Chinese meal tonight.

That´s all for now...I am off to Riga for a week and then Vilnius for 5 days.

Guggenheim, Tapas, and the Punk Rock Club

So the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum is pure sick...The Surrealist show is one of the best representations of an art movement I have ever seen and they let me do my graffiti thing as well...shirt for one or two cool girls will be purchased there...I ate tapas (called pinxtos here in Basque country)for supper again. The squid, octopus, and little bird egg one was super yummy and cost all of 1.70...I have yet to even hear someone speak English here, there are very few tourists and where I am staying (the old barrio) everyone speaks Basque or Spanish...I simply point at what I want and they figure it out...And I stand out because A. I am like nine times everyone´s size (in height and girth) and B. I wear a baseball cap...I have decided that after Riga I will head south to Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary. Oh yeah, so I walk into this punk rock club and every single mohawked kid stops talking, and I realize...Spanish Punk Rock Kids...not so friendly...but I am going back later to see if there is band playing at least...

The Random Blog (as Bilbao is on Siesta and All Shops are Closed)

1. Its easier to travel than you think..cheaper too.
2. Pintxos (peen chohs) are good.
3. What is Springsteen´s wife´s actual role in the band?
4. Moon plus sky plus open stadium plus Springsteen = where are my buddies who should be here.
5. Actual hotel in Bilbao, not a hostel...seems like cheating and yet...
6. Madrid too big.
7. Give extra tixs to Aussie girls to improve Karma.
8. Candy everywhere.
9. I will build my own Marcel Duchamp "bike stool" rather than paying the Sofia 92.50 euros for an 8" high plastic one.
10. I understand why grafitti artists tag every chance they get...maybe one day you will see all my tags...if you know what to look for.
11. I ate some kid's food by mistake in the bar by my hotel...in my defence, one he did not get sniped and two, the lady slid the plate my way.
12. Piet Mondrian...the only abstract artist I can enjoy (I think Yves Klein and Lucio Fontana can bite me).
13.Two Alison dreams in two weeks...what the fuck?
14. I rule with a map unless I am in a museum or an art gallery..then, not so much.
15. Brown sauce = HP

Spain...I love You..So Does Bruce

Okay, aside from Spanish Kids and Power tools Spain rocks as seen by their amazing reaction to Bruce Springsteen last night. They sung and swayed and jumped and chanted all night..it was freaking amazing...The concert was three hours long, and aside from "Sandy" and some song I did not know Bruce was sick...Opened with "Tunnel of Love" but really song two "Radio Nowhere" is when it kicked in...Played "Darlington County" which was a nice surprise. He finished strong with "Bobby Jean", "Born to Run" "Dancing in the Dark" and "American Land"...the last song was "Twist and Shout" and I think it was just for the Basques...All in all a fun night...I am now in Bilbao after a bus ride of an hour that cost all of 9 euros...

Sniper Update: New Targets

I wish I was more fucking surprised to hear a power saw outside my window in Madrid at 0330. So now targets include Spainsh Kids and Power Tool Guys from Spain.

Canada and Afghanistan

Some random guy from London came up to me and thanked me for Canada´s great work in Afghanistan. I said thanks and said that we keep our promises. He agreed and I went away a happy and proud.

The Sofia and Mahou Beer

So I went to the third great Madrid art gallery, the Sofia, stared in awe at Guernica (did that three times) and then ended up getting drunk in the afternoon on Mahou beer with some Kiwi who told me stories about running with the bulls in Pampalona...he had photos too so I tend to believe him...Also, my subway stop smells like candy, I eat too much food here, and the hot chocolate (like melted chocolate in a cup) and churros are to die for (as they say...but they only cost 3.20 euro). My Madrid stay is over though as I leave at 700 to San Sebastian to see Bruce Springsteen...Paul, if you read this, I bought the most bizarre present I could find for you...also, likely something from the concert...Have a Happy birthday in a week...thats all for now.

Spain So Far

So the night train from Lisbon to Portugal was uneventful. The Korean guy I was with watched movies all night and the Japanese guy fell asleep instantly. I listened to Kyuss and Fu Manchu who are oddly perfect for a train ride. I awoke in Madrid where it was cool and quiet at the train station. My new hostel has my room in the back of someone´s home, complete with a gramma and grandpa in the room by mine and the bonus of religious icongraphy in my own room, including 2 cherubs and one Madonna. As I was unable to get into my room upon arrival I decided to make the most of it and I went to the Prado, one of Europe´s premier museuems (Madrid has three of them). Highlights included May 2 1808, May 3 1808, Saturn Devouring his Young (all by Goya), and perhaps the greatest paiting in the world after the Sistine Chapel and Guernica...Bosch´s The Garden of Earthly Delights...It was a great moment as the last time I was in Madrid the painting was being restored. Next I went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museuem which had an exhibition on Joan Miro (fabulous) and a permanant collection rivalling the world´s best. My favourites there inlcuded Miro´s The Lightning Bird Blinded by Lightning and Dali´s Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegrante a Second Before Waking Up...A great one with tigers, elephants, and bees...El Greco is creepy...St. Jerome and St. Anthony are my fave saints artistically...the former gets a lion and the latter is always tempted by devils in the guise of hot women...he does not give in though. For supper, I had tapas (calamari, olives, salad, bread) and some Mahou beer for good measure. However, it was an early night...will check out the pub crawl from here tonight. Off to the Sofia to see Guernica and wonder again how Spain was able to crank out so many amazing artists...

Goodbye Lisbon...Too Sad

So I leave Lisbon tonight. Hate that, because it is awesome...if only I had known...Anyway my train leaves for Madrid at 10:00PM so I am hanging at the hostel until then. Top spots for me in Madrid will be the Prado, the Sofia, and I am sure countless Tapas bars...Hopefully my bunk mates on the train wont be too creepy...Of course they likely hope for the same thing...Bye for now.

I have better days and see better things

So yesterday began with me sleeping off a night of drinking with my Aussie bud Nick. We actually even played cribbage (Canada 1 Australia 0). The only touristy thing I did yesterday was to go to Arte Antiga to see Bosch´s triptych "The Temptation of St. Anthony" It was worth the visit. Look it up (trust me). So then it was time to go to the Optimus Alive festival. Great lineup including The National (interesting), Gogol Bordello (amazing, especially when he pulled out his red bucket), The Hives (have been better, they screwed up their sound, but still very cool), and Rage Against the Machine (Tom Morello is a sick guitar player). Possibly check out youtube, maybe there is stuff there as well. Today was a pure Tourist Day. I went to the Belem Cultural Centre and saw some seriously cool surrealist works by Picasso, Dali, and Man Ray. I wonder why Spain created the greatest artists of the 20th Century (Dali, Picasso, Miro). Also learned about the 20th century renaissance man, Le Corusier...he did it all and I never heard of him until today. Next was the St. Jerome Monastery...A UNSECO Heritage site for a reason. Amazing, see pics later. I also found two amazing sniper locations--Belem Tower and the Discoveries Monument...So, in the words of Bob Dylan (playing here tonight)..I have better days and see better things/catch dinosaurs/make love to Elizabeth Taylor/Catch Hell from Richard Burton...Tonight the Hostel is having a Portuguese meal night for 4€...nice..also, i found a place where I can buy beer for .45 cents...Hoorah

Best Day So Far

So after a quality 8 hour sleep, I went to the amazing town of Sintra...It was a 25 minute train ride. There I went to the Pena Palace, so amazing wait until you see my pictures (on facebook later). Then I went into their huge park and saw the Temple of Columns, the Table of the Queen, the Stautue of the Warrior, and the crazy, and I mean crazy Fern Valley. I also climbed to the top of the hill (529 metres) to get an astonishing view of the palace..well worth the climb. The High Cross at the Cruz Alto was gone though...Tonight my hostel is having some sort of yummy chicken feast...They have some drinking or eating event every night. Tomorrow I go to The National, Gogol Bordello, The Hives, and Rage Against the Machine at the Optimus Alive festival in a town outside of Lisbon. The English Boys are going too...sadly, they are going to Bob Dylan the next night and dont realize how awful he is live and they made me promise not to give my actual opinion on it...Lisbon is hella cheaper than Dublin and needs another visit...Here till Saturday, then a night train to Madrid...Hope all is well with everyone

Travel Day and Lisbon

So, the key to keeping travel costs down...less beer and coffee...My travel day was good until the airport in Lisbon whereby it took them 1 hour to deplane our luggage...but it arrived so no complaints.  After that it was easy, jumped on a shuttle for 3 bucks and arrived at this amazing square two blocks from my hostel...I was not off the bus longer than 10 seconds and some older dude than me said, hey buddy want some weed...umm, no thanks but thanks for thinking of me...arrived at my hostel, the travellers house, and was amazed at the apartment I got...better than most hotels I stay at...met some English and American peeps and proceeded to get drunk on cheap beer...Today's travel saw me take an hour bus tour [kinda lame] and then i took the metro to the Colouste Gulbenkian Museum which is the life collection of one of the greatest collectors of all time..so unique and all encompassing...check it out on the web...tomorrow I am going to Sintra [a town outside of Lisbon] and then a monastery if there is time...also, i learned today that there is a town called Flintoft Saskatchewan...yeah but i don't believe it...

Travellers House

Two words...so hammered in Lisbon, okay that was 4

The Perfectly Timed Day

So today I randomly rolled out of bed, had a shower, skipped breakfast, walked across town, grabbed the exact right bus at the exact right time, went to Malahide Castle, walked back to the bus stop, grabbed the exact right bus at the exact right time, went downtown, got off the bus, went to the Savoy theatre, walked into Hancock at the exact right time, left and went to Wanted at the exact right time, walked home, had supper, and came here. A perfect day...therefore, tomorrow will be the polar opposite...It's a travel day and I wonder where my back pack will end up this time. The first movie is awesome; the second movie is tedious...I am flying out at 530 PM so I'm likely going to kill some time in the airport in order to save some money for Lisbon. It's flying away too fast...I blame the 5 euro Guinness and Smithwicks..Oh well.

Make Up Your Own Pub Crawl

So I was thinking of doing the literary pub crawl and realized, as I was waiting in line, that I had not read nearly enough Joyce, Shaw, or Wilde...also, the pretentious people were more pretentious than me so I thought, fuck it...do your own pub crawl...I bought a super-go-everywhere-tourist bus for 15.00 euro and did ten stops before I became stumbly...The highlights included Ryan's Bar, The Brazen Head (the oldest bar in Dublin and the place where Daric Pirlot likely put $5 Canadian on their wall of money), The Bleeding Horse, The Stag's Head, and my latest stop The Dame...where a guy lost 50 euros on some horse race and then swore in Irish or whatever and then got kicked out...keep in mind its only 5:30 here...At some point I even had a donair, but it was not anywhere as good as the one I had in Paris with Hali...Prior to all this I went to the Kilmainham Jail for a guided tour (good, but not as cool as Alcatraz), then the Dublin Writers' Museum, and then the Dublin City Gallery...the latter had a painting that would upset Catholics so much that I will scan the postcard when I get home to share with all...including Paul...I hope everyone is well and that their summers remain busy and fun...

Beer = Patriotism in Dublin Too

Hello: So the Guinness Storehouse is the most corporate, ad infested place on the planet...Sold as an Irish beer despite it being bought out by a non-Irish company. More ad infested than any Nike store...Even the exit has you ushered out into a back alley accompanied by constant ads...Ok, so whatever, moving on. The Irish Museum of Modern Art receives the nod for WORST modern art museum ever...Tonight's supper at Jaipur was excellent...The Porterhouse Brew Pub lives up to its name of one of the best in Dublin...The coolest part...they were playing T-Model Ford when I walked in...Best quote of the day by the late Frank Zappa, "You can't have a real country unless you have a beer and an airline--it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER."..Saw an art exhibit called 100 Little Deaths ... reminded me of Dead Spanish Kids in Sorrento...Oh yeah, Coors =Evil...That's about it for today...Nothing earth shattering yet.

The Tourist Day with Found Luggage

Cool things...St. Jerome and the skulls and lion...St. Lucy carrying around her eyes...The National Gallery was quite good...Highlights included Jack Yeats' "About to Write a Letter"; Rembrandt's "Landscape with the Rest on to the Flight to Egypt"; Jacques-Louis David's "The Funeral of Patrocles" (sp?)...The Museum of Archeology and History great re: Irish History and the coverage of gallowglasses and kerns re: Macbeth. Oh yeah, my luggage was found and delivered to my door...NICE. Tonight was laid back...Tomorrow I will do Medieval Dublin re: Dublin Castle and other stuff...So far, Dublin is wet, friendly, and really clean...Cog where are the seedy areas..You need to be here.

Dublin

Okay, Dublin shuts down at 1200 on a Wednesday night..Got loaded with chad and taylor from Seattle in a pub watching Deidra Fox play tunes..all girl power, but she did an acoustic of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Bob, Petty, and Neil Young so it was cool. No luggage is gay, but I packed four changes in my carry on so fuck it...I am all tourist tomorrow...museums and art and historical places...l

Lost Luggage

I wish I was more fucking surprised that US Airways lost my luggage. What a cut rate airline. However, Dublin is easy so far with free internet at the Avalon House for me to rant with. Anyway, off to drink Guiness.