Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t have some romantic idea of gypsies and poverty and tht kind of thing, I just got thinking of Simon and My trip, and talking to Ilana, and wanting to go there and why.

The dilema is this:

skiing and snow clad castles, or lakes/mountains and sun drenched castles?

Yesterday in my travells, I dazzled one of the local boys with my fantastic wit (well, it`s only a letter or two off) and beautiful smile. As I was buying a nice pressie for a certain someone, I totally got hit on by one of the local boys. Good thing he wasn`t as cute as the boys in Poland, cause I might have been in trouble! (definitely the hottest boys in the 4 countries) I poitely and with a ridiculous girlish giggle declined the offer for a date later that night, and (half) ran blushing out of the store.

*NB* please do not burst my bubble about european boys asking everyone out, I am in my own fantasy world here…

So, it`s Frankfurt and the world cup, and Cajmin and I are debating weather or not Partying is going to ensue tonight. I know it will around us, but I`m not sure if we will (can) participate. I know I need a change of clothes, and a bath, and to wash my laundry. All my undies are good, but I`m afraid the rest has been neglected. The joys of travelling, I guess.

I`m not sure what else to say, but I can`t wait to show all my pictures, and to talk with all my hommies, and to touch another human being. Three weeks is a lot without so much as a pat on the shoulder. It`s also been far too long since I`ve heard the purrrrrr of my kitties.

Two more nights of opera later (with a semi-professional guide for good measure) culminating in a fantastic performance of Carmen, the above quoted late night and early morning…

It has been a blast though. The latter part of the trip (beginning around Brno or Krakow) has been by far the most memorable, and I could easily see myself wanting to skip my merry way back here. You know, rent a flat in Žilina (or surrounding area) to stow gear at, and then just spend week or half-week long trips hiking through the mountains of Moravia. I could stand that. Anyone else up for it in a few years?

We saw more fantastic opera last night, and our collective date was a proffesional opera singer, Doctor Doktor. So we got an interesting bit of… class?? I’m not sure how to put it. And tonight, we are getting the last one in, and it’s supposed to be the best we will see here, Carmen. I’m thinning out my supplies, giving up showering so I have more room for stuff, since I don’t want to buy an other bag if I don’t have to.

Well, this will be my second last post… I’m trying not to spend 200$ on glasses……

I did a bunch of shopping this morning, and I bought a shower present for a friend of mine that is getting married as soon as I get back. I’ve recently found out that we are not to bring presents, so I’ve now got this beautiful Bohemian Crystal liquor set, and no one to give it to. I’m not sure if I should keep it for myself, or if I should give it to her anyway. I guess I’ll decide on the train.

I got some absolutely fantastic pictures on the bridge last night. I got to watch a lightning storm brew over the amazingly lit castle, if only I could share the visuals, but really, there is no describing it. I’ve got a picture of the castle lit up, but no lightning occured while I shot it. right afterwards, I got the contrasting visual of a large rat run almost across my feet to the sewer drain. Ah, Metropolises(ies?)

I’m going to do more shopping….:)

I had an awsome conversation over breakfast this morning with a girl who just spent 1 month in Romania. I AM SO GOING! ugh, you’d never guess how beautiful and wonderful that country is. I think it may be my next destination, and I didn’t know this, but I already speak one of it’s official languages. Is February too soon to travel again?

 Lucky us, it turned out to be a Rock musical, so even though the dialog was incomprehensible, the music was really good. But it gets even better. Šár noticed sooner than I did, but the actor who played Janišek was… the singer from the band Arzén. Seriously. So we got to see him two days in a row! The musical was great (and I sort of understood the second half), and so today I ended up buying a best-of CD from Arzén. Tragically, they were out of CDs from the actual play. However, when I get back to Canada, I’m totally going to track down a copy to order online.

I found a slovak cookbook, and I was totally right just by taste how to make that Terchová dish.

Cajmin and I are very proud of ourselves for successfully navigating bus and train systems here where we know no language really, and lafter leaving Praha, there really is no english speaking, unless (according to that school teacher) you talk to kids (and I guess in fairness, some ‘youngsters’). We are splitting up today, I think I mentioned that, but just for a day or two.

On our freaking awsome walk, we took a video with my boobycam, which you guys can all see if you don’t mind, it’s quite funny, we think. To answer your question, Mir, we found the castles with a little of both, we just sort of read about it in LP, but I didn’t think it was this close, and then we picked up a local hiking guide and found it in there. I’m sure the pictures won’t do it justice, but well, you’ll have to come with me if you want to see it. I’m too scared of heights to have seen all of it, but Cajmin got a lot out of it, and I’l lget his pictures as well as mine.

I discovered yesterday that I could have been taking videos this whole time, since I ha(d) room for over 7 hours on my plam pilot, and there were things I would have liked to have videoed, but oh well, memories will have to suffice. Now that I know, though, I can show you some stuff. The boobycam is a little hard to watch since the pixel amt is too small and there is as a result a lot of lag, but you’ll get the picture. hehe.

Today C. and I are going to hike out to the abandoned castle that is outside of Źilina in Strečna. It’s about a 14 min bus ride, then a 3 hour walk or something like that.

This is what I saw last night

This is what it really looks like

This is a bizarre outdoor chrch, the mountains are heavily forested, so it´s not much to look at in pictures

And this is that awsome band

This morning after coffee and this fantastic dish that is the local specialty, Simon and I started on our way to explore town, and heard some loud music and saw some dancing in the distance. We decided to explore what the fuss was all about, and happened upon this live band playing in the local schoolyard. We watched from the outskirts for a few minuites before a teacher approached us and told us to go in to watch if we would like. So, we did. All the school kids loved these guys, and were singing along. Simon and I coined the term “Folk Metal” for the genre of music. I was curious about the mini festival, so I approached what looked like a roadie (she certainly wasn´t a teacher) and asked if she spoke english. She and her friend immediately said no and ran to get someone who did.

We ended up chatting with two people, the man speaking more clearly and understanding more than the woman, and we got that there was a children´s festival on the 1st, and this was their celebration for it. The band´s name was Arsen and they are local. They have a show in Chicago some time in the fall I think. They were totally awesome! We took some pictures, and I got a quick video (thank God for a 1Gig card!).

The beer here is always less than a dollar. This is probably the biggest touristy area, and is thus expensive. Crazy,eh?