Halloween Party

Pumpkins. Witches. Frenchmen. Pie. Riga Hostel 2007

http://central-hostel.com/Riga%20hostel/Halloween07/album/

nose rings

What to do on a rainy day in Riga, Latvia?! Get your nose pierced!

Get Ready....

Set...

Pierce....

This is where I tear up...

All Done!

Maksimov

When we check into the Krakow hostel, we are greeted by Martain, the manager. He takes an immediate notice of Peter's last name. Peter's father was born in Breast which is now part of Belarus but has been controlled by Poland in the past. So their last name Maksimow, or Makismov as it was pronounced by all eastern europeans, got a lot of attention. Martain asked Peter if he knew of the author Vladmir Maksimov. Well Peter had in fact heard of that name, since it is his father's. The two began talking. Peter was excited to have a connection to his roots and Martain was excited that he had found someone so intrested in his love of history. Then next morning Peter got up before me and I went looking for him. I found Martain in the lobby. He asked if he could help me. I said I was looking for Peter. His responce "Oh, Peter Maksimov. Peter Maksimov is on the 4th floor having his breakfast" I felt like I was traveling with royality.

Waiting

A day was spent walking around the old Jewish Ghetto. This is where the Jewish population of Krakow was forced to before and during WWII. The walls have been taken down, and it now has blended back into the city. You can see the outline of Schindler's factory behind the train bridge as you walk over the river. On our way back to the old town we stopped in the square that would have been the last spot of home many people saw before they were shipped off to a concentration camp. Here in the square there are now empty chairs that represent waiting. Buses pass, rain falls, pizza express has opened across the street, children run down the sidewalk, and the chairs sit waiting.

Ben the Funny Australian

Said goodbye to b!tch hat Daniel and the Golden Hostel. Ben, Peter and I check into the Krakow Hostel right in the town square and 10 zloty less. The three of us spend the day

bonding over some Pivo in the streets of Krakow.

Ben watching out for the local police

Hiding our drinks in Ben's jacket he got at the second hand store where you buy things according to weight. A Polish woman costs a lot.

Peter is considering trading in the Volvo for this ride.

B!tch Hat Daniel

A long 15 hour bus ride later we are in Poland. The houses and building we pass though in the early night are missing paint and care. The people look a bit hard, you can tell we have traveled east. This is a different beauty.

We check into the Golden Hostel and meet our Nigerian roommate Daniel. He was laying in bed with all his clothing on under his covers. I think that the weather was not agreeing with him. We invited Daniel out to explore with us as he had not left his bed since he had arrived. As he suited up in his winter gear we realized that he had a black beanie hat with the word BITCH written in bright red on the front. We secretly wondered if he knew what his hat meant. We did not have the heart to tell him...

Out to see the main square. Peter was also dressed up in his winter gear, his tevas with socks, large Norwegian sweater over an argyle purchased at a flea market in Amsterdam, and jeans covered in patches and pins. His outfit was so unique that he was stopped and interviewed and photographed by a fashion website. This site crazylooks.org will be up soon or so we are told. They had a hard time believing he was an American. I am not sure what American are supposed to look like, but I guess we are not it.

Back to the hostel, we meet Ben our other roommate Ben from Australia.

The four of us go out that night to a local brewpub, but not before Ben and Peter remind Daniel "Don't forget your bitch hat". We order the big glass...

The beer is good, the company is funny.

Change of Plan

2:32 walking to the Euroline office.
-Nora "so Peter the tickets to Prague are 58 euro, right?"
-Peter "yes the bus leaves tonight at 7:00"

2:34 outside of the Euroline office.
-Nora "look there is a sign that says we can go to Krakow for only 56 euro"
-Peter "What a deal! We get more kilometers for our Euro!"

2:36 inside the Euroline ticket office.
-Peter "Two tickets to Krakow please!"

It is amazing how things can change in 4 min...