I always like the feeling of transition, of leaving one city behind and going to the next one. I liked the morning I left Krakow - it was cold and I got a nice seat on the lower deck, and I've included a phone photo here because it ties in with the narrative of this post.
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| Good old polskibus |
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| It was freezing that morning, and I got a coffee at the gas station |
I'll do some phone photo posts, by the way, so this won't be the very end. I feel as if I haven't had enough of
continental #5 yet. The story is still ongoing, the book is not yet closed..
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| Namesti Svobody |
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| Namesti Svobody |
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| Hrad a Pevnost Špilberk |
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| Hrad a Pevnost Špilberk |
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| Namesti Svobody |
Last night in Brno, before Vienna, before returning to ... that other parallel universe. I went to the Tesco to get some sauerkraut and potatos and onions, one of those frozen dinners, and they turned out to be surprisingly good. The kitchen was pretty dark, and the lighting was extremely poor. Throw that in a mixer with the dilapidated upholstery and the fact that no one was in the hostel whatsoever, and you get a recipe of creepiness that made even my hair stand on end at first. I messaged Lital, who was in Hostelgate - ah, my favoured Hostelgate - and she was about as fond of HG as I was of the Brno hostel. We ended up videochatting the night away, which was very comforting. I was in a strange mood that night; it was my last night of my latest journey, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I was glad that I was only in Brno for a day, for Praha this certainly wasn't. The food, however, put my mind at ease slightly, and after downing some cocktails - also from your friendly neighbourhood Tesco - I felt much better.
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| I was really bad at taking foodies this time round |
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| And here's an equally bad photo of the creepy kitchen. I blame the bad lighting. |
I saw Tommy/Alex one last time, and he asked me what I was doing that night. I'm going to just take it easy today - it's my last night in Europe, I said. You're not going out!? he asked, hiking an eyebrow. Well, I have to leave early tomorrow, and like I said it's my last night here. - All the more excuse to go out, he said. He tried to talk me into going to a pub with him and some friends, but I really wasn't feeling up to it. Eventually he gave up, and said - well - I'm going to come back really late, so I might see you again, which will be nice, but if not, then this is goodbye.
He did come home fairly late - he slept in the bunk above me, and I briefly awoke when he came back. I saw his bare legs as he climbed up the ladder, and then I returned back to sleep.
There we go, my itinerary for the day:
06:10 Depart from Brno, AN u hotelu Grand via regiojet, 14.40 EUR. Already booked and paid for. 8 mins walk from hostel.
08:25 Arrive at Vienna, Schwechat Airport Busstation
11:35 leave Vienna and back to my capitalist-driven life.
Which meant that I had to wake up at 05:00, more or less. I got my stuff, and then put on my hood and walked out. It was still dark, and there were stars in the inky black sky. I walked down Panska, then turned, and walked down to the bus station, and I thought of Petra - Petra, the CZ girl I'd met three years ago, whose house I'd stayed with when I was in Vienna. Dear Petra!
We have established that I live for these dark mornings, the hours when the world is in darkness, before they awaken. You feel that there are a thousand ways this day could develop, and the world is your oyster, yet.
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| The ground floor of the hostel, which was a cafe |
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| Regiojet where it all started |
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| All aboard.. |
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| And watching the countryside roll away beneath me |
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| Dasvidanya! |
