Krakow to Vienna

On the train there I was in the same cabin as an old Polish man. So at first I thought he wouldn’t have been able to speak English but then he spoke. So it turned out that his family was forced out of Poland in WWII. Thankfully his mother spoke perfect German which brought his family prosperity. Later on, he moved to Florida to have business there. Now he has moved back to Krakow. Usually all the Poles try to move out of the country as soon as possible, so I was curious why he wanted to move back. So he explained the convenience of living in a city such as Krakow. Indeed, it’s got the convenience and great atmosphere everywhere in town. So what brought him to Vienna? He sold something on ebay and according to him that there was no way to mail it via the Polish post. I wasn’t so sure if it was that crappy or just the goods is too valuable. I was guessing both because he wouldn’t have paid the train ticket just for some crap payment. But we chatted for a while until I looked sleepy. We talked about Polish, American politics and present situation in the EU. He disliked the European Union because now inflation is taking place at every corner in Poland because of the Union.
Vienna
Actually my main purpose of visiting Vienna at this time of year was because of the European Cup Final. But the atmosphere wasn’t as exciting as I expected. For one, I stayed in this hostel that was a real ripoff. 22 Euros per night not to mention, the common areas were hot as hell, two computers available for hundreds of people. There were mostly school kids there and no other travelers were in a mood for mingling because the dorm beds were really segregated and no one wanted to hang out at the communal areas. And one last disadvantage was the distance from the city is about the length of the longest subway line on Earth.
Vienna was definitely not ready for such an event because most signs were still only in German and at public viewings there’s only announcements in German. All the hosts only spoke German to the crowd so I, along with the Spaniards, felt really left out.
Regardless, you still feel the atmosphere of Vienna- the capital of a used-to-be great empire and music. There are just loads of street performers and concerts at night. And those salesmen who try to get you to go to one of the “authentic” but overpriced classical concerts featuring only the well-known cheesy Mozart/Strauss compositions. I ran into one and talked to him for five minutes or so because I was actually interested until I saw the price. His attitude immediately changed after I said I was going to “consult my friends” or else he wouldn’t let me go. After I said that he just took back the brochure he had already given me and asked “Are you then interested in Elton John’s concert tonight?” (apparently he was in town that day). But I said no thanks, then he gave me the look of “just go fuck off.”
I basically had no contact with anyone in Vienna whatsoever except when the Final was happening and I was at the public viewing in front of Radhaus (city hall) and this drunk German started speaking to me about everyone being too tall and he was too short so couldn’t see anything. And he also suggested that they should put some elevated benches on the ave so the people in the back could be at a higher position. Funny thing, he carried this all in German but with his intonation and body language I understood perfectly. Although I was for Spain, this drunk guy forced me to jump and sing ole’s for Deutschland.
Finally, the German squad disappointed thousands of fans on the streets. The streets all a sudden came back to quietness when the outnumbered Spanish fans went on chanting and getting ready for a bigger party later on. Those chants echoed in my head. T’was definitely one of the best feelings I have ever had after so many years of disappointment in my beloved teams. But as I turned around and left, I realized it might have been one of the loneliest nights of my life because this great feeling was only kept inside in me without being shared with anyone I knew.

view of Bratislava

Bratislava
The next day I headed to the nearby Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. On the way there I was overhearing some cocky Americans talking shit so the mood was half-ruined although it was funny when they mentioned the movie Eurotrip with the guys going to Bratislava, which was a shitwhole in the movie. And it was described as a place where if you tip the waiter 10 American cents he would quit his job because that’s enough for starting his own hotel. Although the costs there are still low compared to Western Europe, you still need two dollars to buy a Coke or Sprite, so not that cheap either. Later on I got to chat with a lady on the train so understood that Slovakia is going through a phase that all the prices are going up to meet the euro standards so they could adopt the euro. But she also said it was going to be really bad once they adopt the euro because then no one would be able to afford such high costs of living.
Now let’s come back to the city itself. It turned out to be not too much to see besides the castle and the bridge. The town center isn’t bad either although it still got really little to see. But I had some funny experience with the locals because I was once on the street with a map although I had already found my way. But this very “warm-hearted“ guy who worked in the city hall came out to help me with his broken English, oh wait, just right before him, this drunkard also tried to do the same but I said I was fine. Then he pulled an old woman over trying to figure out my way. finally I got rid of them then that city hall guy came out. So after that I wanted to say thank you in Slovakian so I asked how. Then he brought me into the city hall office to ask, I was really confused at the time because I thought he just wanted to borrow a pen to jot it down for me. But it turned out that he totally misunderstood me and wanted some English help from the staff. He thought I wanted to get to somewhere else. Although I tried at least 3 more times rephrasing my sentence slowly and with body language, he still told me to go to the tourist office to ask. Eventually, I just told myself to get out of his sight as soon as possible because he was wasting my time!