The Adventure Continues...

So Krakow was a blast. Phil, Paul and I saw the city by bike. Phil rented a mountain bike and Paul and I rode beach crusers around. I loved it so much I am seriously thinking of purchasing one when I get back to the states. The weather was not too hot so it was the perfect way to get around the city, see the sites and the Wistla river. Krakow is full of great parks and green spaces, one down by the river which is also next to castle hill. The other is a ring that follows where the old city walls used to be. There are overhangning trees, benches, fountains and flowers and locals and tourists alike sit on the benches and pass away the afternoons with friends and family.
The main square is very well preserved. It is full of outdoor cafes. And there was a stage set up where many concerts of traditional and classical music went on through out the weekend. I could always hear it wafting in through the window when we were in the hostel. The stage itself looked like a modern cathedral with silver, gothic style arches adorning the stage.
We met all sorts of people at the hostel including a group of rowdy Brits on a "Stag Party" or to us Americans a Bachelor party (read three day bender in eastern europe which have become very popular becasue of low cost air lines). Their accents were so thick I couldn't understand them half the time. But they were great fun.
Paul and Phil and I left Krakow on the same train in the same compartment eventhough we had bought our tickets at differnt times. It was a 20 hour train ride, not the longest of my life but still a challenge. About three ours of that is accounted for by border crossing. At the Polish/Ukrainian border the train has to change the size of the tracks. Now at the Hungarian/ Ukrainian border you change trains which is a bit of a pain but significantly more effcient. The track changing process requires that the train be jacked up and for some reason I can't identify to be pushed violently backwards and forwards several dozen times thowing us all over the car every two minutes or so for the better part of an hour. And then there are the passport scans and questions and searching of bags. Luckily I was really able to figure out the Polish language. It is only about 20% different than Ukrainian where as Russian is 30% different. Paul and I spent half the trip with our phrasebook working out how to say things. I even gave someone directions in Polish so I am feeling pretty good about myslef. And one time a bouncer at a club wouldn't let us in because it was a VIP night, clearly he didn't know who I am, but anyway we settled on the Russian language and he gave me directions to another club. I felt very intelligent and international to speak all those languages.
I am in Kyiv right now. Phil went home yesterday in the wee hours of the am. But before that he got a chance to meet some of my good Peace Corps friends including my friend Chandani who has early terminated. My whole trip has been a blast so far and tonight I get on a train to Crimea to visit Paul and his boyfriend Nate who lives down in Simferopol, the capital of the autonomus republic of Crimea. I will stay there for a few days and see the sites and enjoy the beach. Then go back to Kopychentsi. That's all for now but stay tuned...