Off to Poland...

Do not let this image fool you. Yeah, this is the nice coach bus we took to Poznan, Poland. They stuck about 150 people in a space for about 50. We both had our knees digging in our chests for twelve hours from Amsterdam. Assigned seats? Why? Just sit wherever the hell you want! CHAOS...MADDNESS!!! Wait to you see some of the rinky-dink busses in Russia where we traveled in style.

This is what we felt like everyday driving in Poland...in Europe. Who do you think invented the "OH SH*T" handles?

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. We really do not have a lot to write about this place. I think everyone knows about the atrocicites that happened here. The place seems inviting. It is lush green, nice sunny day, and the birds sing. But to know that millions of people were killed where we stood, all those beautiful elements seemed to fade away.

While the Jews, Gypsies, intellectuals and other undesirables had it pretty bad in Auschwitz, the German officers lived pretty well. This is a picture of their swimming pool, right behind one of the bunk houses. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be packed like a sardine in a holding room and look out the window at your captors sunning themselves on a beautiful day.

Thousands were brought on trains and let out at this spot. The women, children and weak were immediately separated and usually went straight to the showers. The males were put to work doing construction at the camp or in factories or mines...literally digging their own graves. There is a "proof of atrocities" building that you can see a rooms filled to the ceiling with human hair or discarded shoes or glasses. You can still smell the death that happened there over sixty years ago.

The next day we went off to beautiful Wawel Castle and Cathedral in central Krakow

All the Polish Royalty are buried here in tombs underneath the castle.

This is BnD on their way up the tower to see Sigmund's Bell.



Peek-a-boo!




I'm a ding-a-ling!





You can ring my bell.

D taking Wawel for a spin.

On to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Dad...these are for you!

"One traveled Frenchman observed in the 18th century that Krakow's Wieliczka salt mine was no less magnificent than the Egyptian pyramids. Millions of visitors, the crowned heads and such celebrities as Goethe and Sarah Bemhardt among them, have appeared to share his enthusiasm when exploring the subterranean world of labyrinthine passages, giant caverns, underground lakes and chapels with sculptures in the crystalline salt and rich ornamentation carved in the salt rock. They have also marveled at the ingenuity of the ancient mining equipment in the Wieliczka salt mine. And the unique acoustics of the place have made hearing music here an exceptional experience.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine, nowadays practically on the southeast outskirts of Krakow, has been worked for 900 years. It used to be one of the world's biggest and most profitable industrial establishments when common salt was commercially a medieval equivalent of today's oil. Always a magnet, since the mid-18th century Krakow's Wieliczka salt mine has become increasingly a tourist attraction in the first place. Today visitors walk underground for about 2,000 m in the oldest part of the salt mine and see its subterranean museum, which takes three hours or so.
Nine centuries of mining in Wieliczka produced a total of some 200 kilometers of passages as well as 2,040 caverns of varied size. The tourist route starts 64 m deep and ends 135 m below the earth surface, where the world's biggest museum of mining is located with the unique centuries-old equipment among its exhibits. Still below, some 210 m deep, there is a sanatorium for those suffering from asthma and allergy. Occasionally concerts and other events take place in the Wieliczka mine’s biggest chambers.
UNESCO has entered the Wieliczka Salt Mine in its World Heritage Register."


We walked something like 40 stories down...

Beware, you never know what may be lurking down a dark corridor. Bill took this picture thinking it was just another tunnel, but his flash caught a dark secret of the mine.

"We welcome you to Munchkin land..." sing it Dorth.

Deni helping out.

The guy behind was REALLY working it!

More stairs.

This is one of the many beautiful cathedral and the largest. The Last Supper and other artworks and statues are carved into the salt walls. Mass and weddings are regularly held here...Who's game for a Polish wedding?






The pride of Poland...Pope John Paul II.



Here we are making ancient coins. In its day, this coin was worth more than gold and could buy you a horse. Look at the girl behind me! Every child should be scared of me when i have a mallet in my hand.



Oh...just flexin'. You want tickets to the "gun show"...it will cost you one of these coins!



Work it Bill!!!



This was our week in Poland, and by far, our favorite to date. We have TONS more to come, but we just spent a night on a train and our hotel is letting us check in right now. It has A/C and a big bed. So that's all you're getting for now.
But yes, we finally have access to a computer with a disk drive, so expect more pics in the coming days. We'll be here for six nights and then you won't hear from us for a week while we're on the train to Beijing. Thank you everyone who has left a comment or written us an email. It really makes it worthwhile to know that people are interested in what we're doing. Especially after we've sat here for two hours and had to upload the same dang picture three times...Leave us a comment or write an email! It really picks us up if we're feeling down. We also love to hear what everyone is up to back home. Miss ya'll.

Amsterdam part Deux...

Amsterdam's world famous Madame Tussaud's...

George, do you really want to hurt me? the first boy i EVER told a secret to.




just hanging out on a rainy day watching the draw bridge and the boats go by.




just poppin' my collar...




bill enjoying his beer by the canal.




having too much fun on our last day in amsterdam via bicycle.

tally update

-Times we've tripped: 14
-Times we've tripped and fell: 1/2
-Times said "it's hot": 26
-Times said "I'm cold": 8
-Postcards sent: 135
-Times Bill bumped his head: 6
-Nights spent in a vehicle: 6
-Altercations with the locals: 4 (people at the internet cafe were real "pieces")
-Little old ladies who've cut in front of us: 3
-Little old ladies who've stayed in front of us: 0
-McDonald's visits: 3
-High-5's: 7
-Currencies used: 4

Postcards from the edge (of civilization)

Hey everybody, BnD are leaving in about an hour for Moscow. We're taking a night train and should get in around 515am on Saturday, Aug. 18.

We mailed 77 postcards today from Novgorod to our friends and family in Texas, Oklahoma, New York, Missouri, Washington, England and Canada. Would you let us know when you get them? I'm interested to know if the Russians have a faster postal system than the Polish (both countries have the Dutch beat).

We've met some really nice people here (we'll tell you about the bell ringer later) and we've met some real pieces of "work" (insert what you like in the quotations). Anyway...

EVERYONE'S FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW...

Will fill you in later!!!

BnD OUT!

This one goes out to Scott at OTEMS in Skiatook

D: this post is about our friend Scott. he is by far one of the funniest guys we know. the best way to put it, scott is a "good ol' boy" and he has a really good southern accent. he recently got braces and complains about constantly getting food in them, and he has passion for a nice cold brewsky.

B: He and his wife Elisa have a pontoon boat and have twice been nice enough to take us out on Skiatook Lake up in Oklahoma.

D: dammit! the minute we find friends with a nice boat, we gotta leave....to go "travel the world!".

B: We can't say that before we left the thought didn't cross our mind to take half the money we saved for the trip and spend it on our own boat and the other half to spend on gas to go in it.

D: b...you wanted a ship. a pirate ship...to sail across the pacific...aaarrrgggg!

B: Anyway, we think about our friends at home a lot and what they're up to or what they'd say if they were in a situation we're facing. Sometimes we think about just saying "screw this" and hopping the next flight home (we don't think about it enough for you to get excited about though moms and grandmas). This usually happens after a particularly frustrating experience with some old babushka.

D: and ATTEMPTED line-cutters...

B: So yeah, we're on a trip of a lifetime and having fun and all that, but there are definitely moments when we miss our friends and family and the ease of living in America and a country that speaks your language. We know though that the good times and amazing sights make up for those rough patches, but it still crosses your mind. There is also a certian element of pride, like, we've saved and researched for this trip, talked it up into some big excursion and we might feel a bit like a "dog coming home with its tail between its legs" if we returned after only a month on the road.

D: so this is were our friend scott comes into play...

B: We were thinking about what it would be like if we did bail early and we've got to say that imagining the conversation with our friend Scott did make us feel better.

D: hey b...you be you and i will be scott.

B:okay...

so let's set the scene...we are all out at beautiful skiatook lake on scott and elisa's brand new pontoon boat. sun is out and burning bright. bud light is freezing cold in the cooler and scott's firing up the portable grill with a bag of guy's BBQ potato chips in his braces and hands...

B: "Hey Scott and Elisa, it was great traveling the world, seeing everything and meeting some cool people, but sometimes you have to leave home to make you appreciate it. We really missed 24 hour Wal-Marts and Whataburgers"

Scott (as played by D): (southern accent) "hey guys, sounds like ya'll had a real HOOT!!! seems like ya'll both really missed america."

B: "Traveling's a real rush, but man sometimes we're just like 'SCREW THIS, let's go home already!' "

Scott: "you know what guys, i got chips in my braces! but, hell yeah! screw other countries. i'd have come home too. now, hand me a bud light!".

and.........................................scene.

D: if you know scott, his accent and the way he talks...

B: It's probably funnier if you know Scott, but we're laughing pretty hard right now, and have laughed pretty hard everytime we've thought about this. It definitely makes us feel better about what if we did go home.

So Scott at OTEMS, this one goes out to you from BnD in Novgorod, Russia.

"YOU HAVE THE BILL OF RIGHTS"

you know, back at home someone stares at you, you just stare back and they quickly turn away. at least if you were taught by your folks, you do not stare at all! well, this is one of the funniest things i think bill and i have ever discussed and i wanted to share it with you guys.

we were on the train to st. petersburg and this woman was staring at me. like, putting holes through me she was staring so dang hard. when i stared back, she kept staring. as she was staring at me i was pulling out my passport to show the person at customs. so bill and i walk off and sit down for a drink. he notices i was kinda down and he asks me why. i explain to him the lady was just being impolite and staring at me and it just kinda bothered me. he looked me deep in my big brown eyes, grabbed my hand very tightly and put it to his heart and said, "Deni...you have something that that woman will never have, and that is the Bill of Rights!" i'm sorry....i am laughing right now. he was being very serious! if you know bill, he is very honest and sincere in everything he says and does. i just stared at him like he did not speak english. you know...the mouth wide open and deer caught in headlights look. "When you pulled out that BLUE passport (every country has a different color passport and america's is blue) and she saw that bald eagle on the front, all she could do was get jealous of you!"

this is by far one of the best and funniest things he has ever said, and proabably in his life! every thing he said was right. my right as a free american may not go past the beautiful lady liberty in new york city and only applies to a few acres in moscow. i love bill. he is so sincere and fuuny. all i could was laugh that day about what he said, but you know what...like usual... he was right.

We're back....

B: Hey D, looks like we're back in Novgorod. You're right, it is starting to seem kind of like home. The ladies at the hotel are nice enough, it's pretty comfortable (No A/C, but there's at least a screen in the window and we have hot water) and of course, this town has electricity.

D: yep, i know we do not like backtracking but i am glad that we came back to novgorod from that little town valday. i understand the meaning of "a one horse town"...there was actually only one horse. valday was nice, but when half of the town loses electricity it might be high time to high-tail it out of there. did you see the water pumps at the end of the streets??? no running water. no one pumping water. maybe that is why there was no electricity? it is good to be back where there is at least one english menu in the city.

B: Valday wasn't bad for a couple days. The lake is pretty and don't get the wrong idea folks, we had running water and an indoor toilet and everything at our hotel (just don't ask about the construction paper--I mean toilet paper) was fine. It was just a little more rural than we've experienced, but it was definitely a lot more "real" Russia.

D: to all you okies...it makes talala look like beverly hills! to all you texans, and few new yorkers, google talala....EXACTLY!

B: We had some pretty great food both nights in town. It took us about an hour each time to decipher the menus, but we're pretty sure what "cold appetizer" is and what "cheese and mushrooms" looks like in Cryllic. Luckily, both nights we ran into people about our age from Moscow who knew English and were in the area for a weekend vacation. They were really nice and helped us not starve. We'll have pictures posted someday.

D: do not get it twisted, we have eaten well, but it is not always what we ordered or thought we ordered. we could talley up how many times we have ordered something and it was not what we wanted. like dinner last night...ordering our appitizer and then not realizing that we ordered it AGAIN as our meal. cheesy mushrooms though, you cannot go wrong. it's really funny, we will look at the food, look at eachother, smile very graciously at the waitress so's not to insult her, and talk through our teeth..."what in the hell is this? this is not what we ordered?...oh, oh...dah dah...uhhhmmmm, gracias! i mean, spa-si-ba! didn't they eat this on FEAR FACTOR?"

B: I really liked the hotel in Valday. I got one of my previously-mentioned wishes fulfilled when the lady opened the door for us and we saw that we actually had a double bed that slept two. The place was across the street from a truck stop though...That brings me to another point. Transportation in Russia. So far whether it's been train, bus or taxi, it's all the same. When the bus pulls up you get kind of not-the-best feeling. It looks a little ratty. You get inside and it looks a little ratty as well, but guess what? It runs on time, smells like air freshener and is really comfortable (even has legroom). We rode a couple of fancy Western European buses when in the Netherlands and Poland, and they were cramped and late. These Russian taxis and buses have plenty of room, have A/C (more likely an open window) and are cheap as heck. Our two hour ride from Valday to Novgorod today cost about $7 apiece. We've yet to pay more than $4 for a taxi ride anywhere.

D: we have learned not to ask the price of a taxi. just hand over the money. we went from paying about 60-70 mruble per taxi ride (about $2.50-$3.50) to $2. just hand them the money and do not give them the opportunity to tell you how much the ride will be. they were making a killing off of us, but we learned quickly!!!! hahahah! b-n-d always stickin' it to the man! what can i say, we are cheap as hell!

B: Our goal for the next day or two is to figure out where to go next. Russia is kind of a weird deal. We had to apply for a visa (permission to enter the country) months before we left. Now that we've crossed the border, we can't leave and come back without reapplying for another visa (which is expensive and time consuming). Our train doesn't leave Moscow for Beijing until Aug 24, so that means we're kinda looking around for new things to see until then.

D: i'm hungry...

B: After Novgorod we'll probably head south to the Moscow area. We've been told that there is a "Golden Ring" of historical cities we should check out around Moscow before actually heading in for a few nights of Red Square and all that. Hopefully by the time we hit Moscow we'll find an internet cafe that will let us post come of the 7 disks worth of photos we've accumulated since the last time we put stuff up. Speaking of internet cafes, Deni is going to tell you about a weird phenomenon we've noticed in Russian Internet cafes...

D: thanks for putting me on the spot b...well, porn is not something you really talk about openly in america, but you now these europeans. nudity and sex is just a part of their culture and they tend to be very open about their sexuality. no worries there. bill and i are just happily typing away on emails to grandma and updating the blog. i look to my side and a guy is looking at porn. very openly, looking at boobies. something like that would not bother me, but in plain sight where everyone and the dog could see it? it is not like just boobies, it was a bit more grapphic and i actually covered myself up! so we continue with our posting and what not, and i notice a couple of other guys just doing a porn run. as much as their 50 rubles would get them. i do not even want to think about what the greasy guy in the dark corner all by himself was doing or looking at. there was even a guy looking at gay porn. again, to each and their own, but there is not discreetness about internet pron what so ever. "hey family! let's all go to the internet cafe and email grandma and tell her about all the fun things we are doing!....oh, the guy beside us is looking at porn? no big deal, everyone does here!"

B: I wish I could say she's exaggerating, but she's not. We were in the basement of The Hermitage, one of the most famous museums in the world in St. Petersburg and we were trying to line up a place to stay the next night online. I look over and two swarthy looking Russian dudes were checking out the nude ladies. No, not the famous nude paintings all over the museum by famous artists, but XXX nudes...bow-chica-bow-wow...

D: again, not to mention all the families there. and if you guys ever go to the hermitage, remember you do not have to dress up, especially if you work there...everyday is casual day at the hermitage. that's right guys, just put on your greasey garage one-sie or your sweatpants from 1985 and head on down. i'm ticked we did not get a picture of this!