Theme Song: "Moving, All The People Moving"

WARNING: This is the longest blog I have ever posted. Please be warned, it could take you an hour to make your way through all the pictures, videos, and senseless ramblings that I've posted here. You can't say you weren't warned... :)

Before I launch into an account of my traveling adventures, I want to give you a housing update. I met with two teachers from school the day after I returned to Novoukrainka, and we agreed that it would be best for me to move (whether or not my landlord is selling the place, we have lost trust in my landlord). I arrived in Novoukrainka at 8:30am this morning and was packing my belongings by 9am. I am now in my new-old apartment (Yes, I moved back into the original apartment I was living in). The family that owns this apartment is wonderful and I don't want to risk another housing situation not working out. Feels good to be home again!

Now, on to the excitement! For my flight from Portland to Amsterdam, I was upgraded to business class! Talk about flying in style - for ten hours I felt like a queen (well, as much as you can feel like a queen in an airplane). I loved the reclining chair with footrest, down comforter, and I sat next to Yemi, a friendly man living in Portland (but he grew up in England and is originally from Nigeria). We had interesting conversations and he taught me the social norms of flying in business class (hehe).

ANDORRA and SPAIN

After I arrived to Barcelona, I caught a bus headed for Andorra La Vella (the capital of Andorra), where I met Liz, Kelsey, Liz's sister, Alisa (who lives in Spain) and Alisa's husband, Manel. I first met Liz and Kelsey while working at WSU, but they became dear friends to me. Alisa and Manel were fabulous hosts! While we traveled around Spain and Andorra together, we had a theme song titled, "Moving, All The People Moving"...here we are singing it in the car (sorry, the video option on my camera did not capture our voices like I hoped, but you get the idea). I thought this would be a good start to this post!

Below is a picture of beautiful Andorra La Vella! Apparently, their busy tourism time is in the winter for all the winter sports (I think I need to return to be sure). Alisa and Manel both work in Andorra La Vella, but live in a border town in Spain. I was exhausted when I arrived (from a combination of being jet-lagged and my visit in the states). The first night in Andorra, I slept for 14 hours! That's so unusual for me, but apparently I needed it!

This old church overlooked Andorra La Vella. I feel horrible, but I can't remember when it was built (I need to write this stuff down or I forget!)...I apologize, but it's really old!

We went for a nice walk around a man-made lake. There were two little cafes on the lake, so we stopped and had some delicious hot chocolate (it was a little chilly because we were in the mountains).

Downtown La Seu, Spain (where Alisa and Manel live).

Alisa, Liz, Kelsey, and I went for a walk around town. Alisa showed us where some of the events took place for the 1992 Olympics:

Wish this was me!

Here are the views from Alisa and Manel's apartment...just gorgeous!

We went back to Andorra La Vella for a night tour through a Casa Cristo, an Andorran home of the 19th century. Most of the original furnishings were still intact, so we were able to see the small details of everyday life.

Here is a picture of Casa Cristo. We were even served homemade wine and chocolate - YUM! I was also impressed with the hospitality of the tour guides. It was a small tour group of about ten people, and the tour guide would stop and allow Manel and Alisa to translate from Catalan to English for us.

Here we are walking through the narrow alleys. Cars would also use these roads. In fact, Alisa mentioned that many cars have scrapes on the sides because they are constantly navigating through these narrow roads.

I snapped these pictures around Andorra La Vella...

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Kelsey, Liz, and I went to Barcelona and caught a tour bus that drove us around Barcelona showing us the most popular sights. It was a relaxing time as we sat on the upper-deck listening to the information from our headphones set to the English channel.

One of the first places we drove by was Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, a giant temple designed by the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Gaudi is known as having an extremely unique style, which is influenced by forms of nature. Construction on this temple began in 1882 and is expected to continue for 30 to 80 years (different opinions about how long it will take to complete Gaudi's design). When construction is completed, there will be eighteen towers in all! Just take a look at the pictures...it is even more impressive in person!

Another piece of architecture by Gaudi (in a different area in Barcelona)...a dragon in a wrought-iron fence.

I just liked this picture..

Liz and Kelsey with their headphones!

I was so impressed with the number of mopeds and motorcycles throughout Barcelona. It seemed to be the preferred method of transportation.

Of course, Starbucks are EVERYWHERE! No, I never stopped.

The National Museum of Art of Catalunya:

At the Olympic and Sport Museum...

Downtown Barcelona:

Right along the water...just beautiful.

"And now we are entering Gothic Barcelona,"....hmmmm, really? Domino's Pizza in Gothic Barcelona? Yep, picture to prove it. Oh, chain restaurants!

St. Mary of the Sea Cathedral, built in the 14th century.

TARRAGONA, SPAIN

We went to Alisa and Manel's beach house in Tarragona, which is about a two-hour drive from Barcelona. Here is the view from the complex where they have a condo:

Walked down to the beach to test out the water. I was surprised by how warm the water was!

Yeah, I'm that annoying travel companion that takes pictures when they don't know it. I'm on the shore, looking back at Liz, Kelsey, and Alisa.

Then, we went to Manel's parents house for lunch. What a lunch they served! For appetizers, we had shrimp, octopus, olives, delicious cheese, and I'm sure there was more, but my mind is completely blank. All I know is, I would have been happy with only the appetizers for my meal, but then they brought out some delicious pasta, followed by grilled chicken and lamb, fresh fruit, and finally, cream puffs for dessert! It was so wonderful! Here is a picture of Manel's dad, Paco:

And Manel's mom, Trine:

Group picture!

Alisa and Manel, our generous hosts!

Driving around Tarragona...

The crazy people who happened to be sitting next to me...

We drove to a small town nearby to find the Human Castle Competition! Here is a random picture I took while walking through the streets, but I like it.

Yes, we finally arrived to the human castle competition...


Teams would compete to build, well, it's probably better for you to look at the pictures and watch the video, as opposed to me trying to explain it.

Higher and higher...

You can still see people climbing up the tower.

Here's a video that I shot of the event. It was a great atmosphere!

Had to get a picture of everyone watching! Liz can't take her eyes off the competition...

Then, we walked downtown Tarragona to wait for the Firework Display Competition! Yum, I had some delicious orange gelato while we waited. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Roman remains in Tarragona:

It's getting darker...almost time for fireworks! You can see all the boats ready for the show, too.

Ok, let's get this fireworks show started! Apparently, there were nine of the world's best firework display artists participating in this week long event. We were able to catch one night of the excitement! We sat on the beach and enjoyed...

Yes, I took a rather long video. The good part is at about the three minute mark in the video (feel free to skip ahead), but the fireworks blast off just about the water. It really was amazing!



After the fireworks, we picked up some pizza and headed back to the condo. Story behind the picture below: I was standing on the corner waiting to flag Manel in the car, and Alisa quickly walked over to me and warned that someone may think I'm a prostitute! So, she joined me on the corner and we had to snap a pic.

In the morning, Liz, Kelsey, and I flew to Paris, France (seperate airplanes flying to seperate airports in Paris, I might add). Here is the picture I took from the airplane:

PARIS, FRANCE

I snapped this photo from the airplane...you can see the Eiffel Tower in the background. Now, before we were able to see any sights in Paris, Kelsey and Liz had to wait about three hours for me to arrive at the hotel. My plane came in only a half-hour after their plane, to a different airport, so we decided to meet at the hotel. But, I got lost! I asked for help at the information table at the airport and ended up catching the wrong bus which took me to a different airport, then catching the metro back into town, only to finally arrive at the wrong hotel! Anyway, three hours later with a heavy suitcase and backpack, I was exhausted and cranky (I'm sorry Liz and Kelsey!).

We did manage to walk to the Eiffel Tower...

And, I appear to be in a good mood in these pictures, but I was not helpful. Kelsey and Liz were gracious and patient with me (thankfully!).

Now, for some Eiffel Tower facts: built in 1889 for the Universal Exhibition, it is 1,050 feet high!

We also visited the Bois de Boulogne park. It actually rained on us in the park, so we quickly decided to head back into town. I like this picture of Kelsey and Liz trying to figure out the map. Normally, I'm helpful with the navigation and decision-making processes, but at this point the three weeks of traveling had started to wear me down and I asked if I could be excused from this process while in Paris. Liz and Kelsey graciously agreed and put up with me for the rest of the trip.

Arc de Triomphe, which began being built in 1806 under Napoleon. I appreciated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is in the center of the arc. There is an eternal flame that flickers for the unknown soldier, who was a victim from World War I and buried here on November 11, 1920.

Me with Notre-Dame in the background and the Seine river below.

Construction began on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in 1163, but it took 170 years for it to be completed! It was almost destoryed during the French Revolution. The towers that you can see in this picture are 226 feet high!

Viollet le-Duc placed these gargoyles on the cathedral to ward off evil.

I thought this was an interesting statue on the outside...

Just magnificent inside...we had to sit inside for awhile and take it all in.

Sign under Joan of Arc read:

St. Joan of Arc (1412-1421): born in Lorraine, burned alive as a heretic and witch. The decision to rehabilitate her reputation was made in this Cathedral.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip:

The Sacre-Coeur was built as a memorial for the 58,000 French soldiers killed during the French-Prussian war (1870-71). Prayer occurs here 24 hours a day by the priests. The views from this church were amazing (you can see some pictures below).

Here is one of the church's most important statues, it is of Christ giving a blessing and it overlooks the beautiful Paris skyline.

View from the church:

Here's a short video from when we were at the church. The music in the background is someone playing on the steps (I enjoyed the music, so I shot this video).

After a reflective trip with good people, I was ready for my next stop in Poland. I would be navigating Poland on my own, so I left my crankiness in Paris for a fresh start. Making my way to the "budget" airport two hours outside of Paris was an easy task...

KRAKOW, POLAND

My airplane landed in Poland at about 10pm and I knew that I would have to catch a two hour bus into Krakow, where my hostel was booked. I asked for directions to the bus stop and made my way to the stop. There were signs for my airlines with shuttles to Krakow, so I thought I was in the right spot. I spoke with a Polaish man from Sweden who was visiting family. He was very kind and his English was excellent. We thought we were going to the same place, but when the bus came, I noticed that it had a different city then where I was planning to go. He asked the bus driver who pointed to a different stop. I hurriedly said thank you and ran over to the correct bus (I had been sitting at the wrong stop for almost an hour and was lucky to catch the bus into Krakow).

When I finally arrived to Mama's Hostel at nearly 1am, I quickly made friends with a young girl from Kentucky who was sitting in the kitchen. I asked her some questions about her experiences with Krakow thus far, but her traveling companion was sick and she hadn't been able to explore. I decided to head to bed to prepare for the next day.

The next morning, I set out to explore Krakow's city center. Right around the corner from my hostel (past the Subway sandwich shop) is the main square. Directly below is St. Mary's Basilica, which has many stories associated with it. It was rebuilt in the 13th century after the Tartar invasions. At the top of every hour, a bugle tune can be heard coming from the tower. Apparently, in 1241, a fireman spotted Tartar forces approaching and began playing his trumpet to warn people in Krakow. The fireman was quickly shot in the neck with an arrow, which abruptly cut off his tune...but he woke the town who were then able to defend themselves. In honor of this event, local fireman play the exact same tune every hour, but abruptly stop at the same note from the past event.

Then, I decided to walk towards Kazimierz, the old Jewish district that housed Jews for over 500 years. Along the way, I passed the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the premier Jesuit church, which was built in the 1600s.

I also passed the Wawel Castle and decided to explore inside. The Wawel Castle is Poland's landmark of national pride and was built around the 14th century. However, the hill where the castle stands has more history to it. Wawel Hill was the centre of political power for Poland beginning in 1000AD! Rulers used Wawel Castle as their residence and continued to add architectural details to the property. Since Poland's capital was moved to Warsaw, Wawel Hill has been used for many reasons, including an Austrian hospital and the headquarters of Nazi Generals during WWII.

There is also a Cathedral on Wawel Hill, which has 18 chapels. The Cathedral was first built around 1020, but was destroyed by a fire (it was made of wood). The second cathedral was also burned. The current cathedral was built in 1364 under order from Poland's first king.

Walking along Wawel Hill gave me a great overview of the city. As I was walking, a man came up to me speaking Polish. The only phrase I understood was, "Do you understand?" in Polish because it is the same verb in Ukrainian. I responded in Ukrainian, which happens to be the same in Polish, that no, I didn't understand. He laughed and said something like, "What do you mean you don't understand? It sounds like you understand to me." We quickly established that English was my first language and then I realized he was trying to sell me tickets for a boat ride along the river. I said no thank you and continued on my way. I spoke more Ukrainian in Poland than I do in Ukraine (in Ukraine, I am usually speaking Russian). Makes a lot of sense, right?

On my way to Kazimierz, I stopped at a tour company and booked two tours. One for later that same afternoon to the Salt Mines and the second for the following morning to Aushwitz.

In Kazimierz, there was a completely different feel from the other parts of the city that I had experienced. The history of Kazimierz can be traced back to 1335 and was largely populated by Poles (whereas Krakow was populated by Germans). In 1495, when Jews were ordered to leave Krakow and that is when Kazimierz became a center for Jewish life. During the 17th century, many synagogues were constructed. In 1910, the Jewish population in Kazimierz was about 32,000, but this quickly changed during WWII. Only about 5,000 of Krakow's Jewish population survived, and this was mainly due to Oskar Schindler's factory (which is located in Kazimierz). Since the fall of communism, Jewich culture has been reintroduced and Kazimierz has a unique artistic feel.

Kazimierz has such a crash of feelings for me - both darkness, yet the brightness of something newly created. The perfect transition for me...

Making a pit stop in a small Jewish bookstore, I came across a traveling art exhibit dedicated to preserving pictures of Jewish-Poles who were killed during WWII.

At the Old Jewish cemetary...

Later that afternoon, I caught a tour bus to the Salt Mines in Wieliczka. From my ticket: ...a Material World Heritage Site. During the seven centureis of salt exploitation, this mine developed into an extensive underground city. Here are some pictures from this tour:

Here is the only thing I was really interested in along the tour. It is the Chapel of St. Kinga and is 330 feet underground. All of the pcitures and even the lights are made from salt! Other than the chapel, the tour was not very interesting. It seemed to resemble a bunch o yard gnomes to me. I wouldn't recommend this tour to people visiting Poland. Along the tour, I did befriend a young man who just finished up his undergraduate work and was on a tour around Europe. We had interesting discussions about his majors - Neurology and Social Economics...of course, these subjects were fascinating to discuss!

After the tour, I said goodbye to my new friend and headed back to the hostel.

That night, I ended up going to a dance club with about 15 people from the hostel. We had a great time dancing and getting to know each other. People from our group were from the states, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and England. We had a great time! Here's a picture of three girls I spent some time with (and we also shared a room at the hostel).

That same night, I met a guy named Charlie, a special-education teacher in Arkansas, in the hostel. We had booked the same tour to Aushwitz, so we agreed to meet the following morning and travel together.

The next morning, Charlie and I set out at 7:30am, picked up some breakfast, and boarded the tour bus. The ride was a mixture of emotions for me... in awe of the beautiful rolling hills, mournful in anticipation of the tour, yet excitement to talk with my new friend. On the bus, we watched a documentary about the liberation of Aushwitz. For those that don't know, in 1940 Aushwitz was built as a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners. Then, it became an extermination camp of European Jews. The Nazis killed an estimated 1.5 million people, mainly Jews, but also Poles, Romani, and Russian POWs.

Here is a picture of the main gate: "Work Makes You Free"

I cannot explain what touring these grounds felt like. I cannot find the words. However, that being said, I would highly recommend anyone who has the opportunity to visit this historic site.

Over 7,000 people were killed at this wall. We went into the building to the right and saw the holding cells for people who would later be killed.

A gas chamber... the head of this concentration camp lived about 3-4 blocks from this gas chamber, with his wife and children.

We then boarded a bus and went to Birkenau.

From the outside, this building looked like a barn. Here are the toilets that prisoners were allowed to use twice per day for a set period of time. Our tour guide said that prisoners would form gangs out of survival needs to protect each other during this time.

People were expected to sleep 8-9 people per bed (24-27 people per bunkbed).

Some of the housing was left up. But, when the Nazis were defeated, they burned down many of the houses to destory the evidence. In the picture below, you can see the chimney stacks from many of these so-called houses that were burned down.

This tour started at 8am and we boarded the bus to head back to Krakow at about 1pm. Charlie and I didn't really talk about Aushwitz, we both agreed that there was nothing to discuss. However, our discussion helped ease me back into Krakow, as we talked and shared pictures of our travels and family back home. We then went back to the hostel, met up with Dove, an Australian who had just finished his teaching commitment in Warsaw. We went to Kazimierz and found a relaxing cafe (with delicious food and good conversation). We spent the afternoon and evening talking and making our way around Krakow. Perfect night before leaving the following day... back home to Ukraine...

Goodbye Poland!

As tiring as it was, I really did enjoy my travels in Andorra, Spain, France, and Poland. With summer camps calling my name, I quickly dove into work again. I'll update my blog soon with pictures from my travels within Ukraine this past month. But, I'm headed to bed now because I have a train to Kyiv tomorrow...

Oh, traveling!

Love,

Nat