The Simplest Things

'Tis true, I haven't kept up my blog since landing in Toronto.

It hasn't been the easy ride I thought it was going to be. Job market here is apparently very good, so said the customs officer who let me into the country, so said the hostel owners who answered my queries, so said the recruitment agency who's put me on their books. So what's the god damn problem? Why am I still not employed? This gives me the sickening conclusion that I'm not good enough for anything. It's an awful feeling and I know it's not the truth, but it does have an influence on the positivity you try to maintain.

As for living arrangements, I'm still on the floor of a friend's friend's one bedroom apartment. I am thankful I have a place to sleep but at the same time it is far from an ideal situation.

At almost two months in Toronto I'm beginning to feel a little frazzled and worried how the next ten months will pan out.

But let's not leave this entry on a bad note.

In the late afternoon/early evenings, I usually sit on my friend's deck in downtown Toronto and watch the sky. The fading light is beautiful to watch as it plays on the clouds and the summer breeze makes sitting outside very comfortable. It's reminiscent of home and I like that a lot.

Maple Marvels (and Football Fever)

The World Cup is inescapable. Italy has just won. You know my feelings about the Italian team so let us never speak of them again.

Yay I'm in Toronto!!! Have done my bit for Canadian Tourism and have enjoyed the following:

1. gone up the CN Tower,
2. took a boat tour of Lake Ontario,
3. got sprayed by Niagra Falls,
4. attended the Summer Street Festival,
5. visited the Art Gallery of Ontario

The first hostel I stayed at I had two lovely roomies, Cindy from Korea who's studying English in Calgary, and Silvia from Switzerland who's travelling and about to work on a farm north of Toronto. Spent time with them individually as one left when the other one came so I had companions for the week I was staying there. The hostel itself was a little overwhelming as it was huge and had a bar which meant parties every night (and a little underwhelming in the amenities department). I needed somewhere a little less rowdy where I can think about finding a job in peace and be well rested for any interviews. I found another hostel just down the road and it's been a delight staying here. Lots of great people including Anna from Melbourne who's done the ski season and heading to the UK in a few month's time.

L: Toronto skyline from Lake Ontario; R: Me and Cindy from Korea on "Maid of the Mist", boat tour of Niagra Falls.


L: Me at an art exhibition in Nathan Phillips Square; R: Me and Swiss Silvia - goodluck on the farm Silvia hope the animals are nice to you.


L: Me and Anna from Melbourne at the Summer Street Festival; R: View of Skydome from the CN Tower lift.


L: Tricycle, a pyrotechnics performance group at the Street Festival in Yonge St; R: Works by Henry Moore at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Free admission on Wednesday evenings.

Pictorial of Berlin, Prague and Cesky Krumlov

These photos accompany my post regarding Berlin, Prague and Cesky Krumlov. Surprise surprise.

BERLIN

L: East Berlin - the dismantling of the "People's Palace"; R: Schnitzel!

PRAGUE

L: View of Prague Castle at night: R: Giant metronome at top of hill. For scale see heads of people bottom right of pic.

CESKY KRUMLOV

L: The town is embraced by a charming river; R: My ancient Bohemian lunch. Glorious.


L: View of town with castle tower; R: Street in Cesky Krumlov.

Twilight Zone

Back in London for a few days before flying out to Toronto. Doesn't feel like I'm leaving London for good. Going to see amazing Argentinian flying acrobatic performance group on Wednesday night with Louize and Podge. I saw this group just before I left Australia two years ago and it was a fantastic experience. This is their new show and would be great to cap off a couple of great years in London.

See you all in Toronto.

Day 36 - It's a Revolution

London. The most depressing moment of my trip was touching down at Stansted and looking out the window to see it was exactly the same as I left: grey and raining. Goddammit!!!

I take a window seat on the Stansted Express and as the view outside sped away from me, the joy and memories of my adventures seemed to speed away with it. I feel drained of life. My mobile then beeps into life. Oh I have a text. It's from Corrinne. It starts with "We've lost..." We've lost the game against Italy in the World Cup. I hit something cold and hard, and I look round to see I've hit the bottom of the proverbial barrel. I want to cry...


L: When I left London...; R: And when I came back... :(

Some Memories...

More More More

So we finished with Bratislava in our last post and today we shall have a quick peek at Berlin before our final stop in the Czech Republic where I spent three days in the capital and one in glourious Cesky Krumlov.

First, Berlin.

Well I can't actually say much about Berlin because I got there late on my first night, around 1am was when I arrived at the hostel. Why, because Mr President Bush delayed my flight from Vienna to Berlin by coming to Vienna the same day. Thanks a lot. I did meet up with funny friend Tri cause we stayed at the same hostel and it was a beautiful reunion. The next day I walked around East Berlin, trying to retrace my steps from my 2004 visit. Got lost a little but managed to find the cool shoemaker. Met up with Tri and his gang for dinner and ate a massive schnitzel then kaiserschmarren for dessert. Thanks Caroline for your tip - I didn't have it in Cafe Central in Vienna but I made sure I had some somewhere! The next day I had to say goodbye (I didn't cry, I was strong) and headed to Prague on the train departing from the brand spanking new and HUGE train station. The amazing thing about it was that it was only a third constructed when I was there in 2004 and now it's a marvel of human ingenuitiy and architectonics. Progress is amazing.

Prague was a place that won the hearts of many I've spoken to. Um excuse me but why? Perhaps after my travels I was suitably tired and unenthused by another city. In my mind it resembled a smaller, less grand version of Budapest. I looked around, but was more impressed with the soccer games shown on screens in the public squares. I stayed two nights and hung out with an Italian guy from the hostel. It pains me to know his team beat us in our last game. Let's not speak of this again. The third day I carried my big heavy bag to the bus station to catch the 8am bus to Cesky Krumlov only to be told it was full. What? I had to then lug the bag to a nearby hostel and stay in Prague one more night. The hostel was a really low rent one. It shared the same entrance with and was situated above a "club". I won't say it was a strip club because it didn't have pics of naked women on its windows nor glaring neon sign out front to advertise it as such. But there was a vibe about it. In order to get to the rooms in the hostel there is a locked gate in the middle of the stairs. Just a little too S&M for me. Then once you get into the 20 bed dorm (creaky metal contraptions - again the S&M connotations!) you are greeted by a beautiful giant size poster of a topless woman giving you the finger. No shit! With her pouty lips she is advertising an alcoholic beverage, the type only hardcore bikies would drink cause for anyone else it'll just taste like sweetened petrol. It's the little things that endear you to a place and if I fancied a dirty (not metaphorically) weekend in Prague I know where to go.

Escaping Prague was one of the best things I did because Cesky Krumlov was gorgeous. The bus ride was also made more interesting with my seating partner, a Czech post grad studying political science who loves Asian culture. No kids, he was a real geek. Anyway the bus ride was made bearable (just).

Cesky Krumlov was the perfect antidote to my last night in Prague. The hostel Krumlov House is a comfortable residence where you take your shoes off at the front door and leave your cares outside. The kitchen and lounge were spacious with comfy sofas, books, chess sets, piano, guitar and open windows for you to rest your weary soul. I knew I wanted to spend more than one night there. If only the bus wasn't full that day! Cesky is a small town almost surrounded by a small pristine river. Had one of the greatest meals ever at an ancient Bohemian restaurant there. The plate of food was massive. It was a feast for a Bohemian king. I couldn't finish it and couldn't even eat dinner that night. Fantastic! That night everyone gathered in the living room and just chatted like old friends. It was sad to leave the next day but in a way I was looking forward to seeing my friends in London.

Photos for all the above cannot be uploaded here so will do so in seperate post.

Photos of Final Week of Travel...Again

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia

Bratislava was just a quick 3 hour stopover between Budapest and Vienna. It wasn't very exciting and could've skipped it really. What interesting thing I did see what a procession of priests entering into a church watched by many of its townfolk, filling it to capacity. There were screens outside the church for those unable to get inside. Something big was definitely going down.


Top L: Procession of priets; Top R: Crowds in chruch
Bottom L: Crowds outside church watching screen; Bottom R: Church in midday sun


L: Famous upside down pyramid office building; R: street in old town