Driving: I left Krakow late on Friday morning, May 15, driving about 400 km. and arriving around 6 pm in Budapest. I am having no desire to get going early --- I am tired and a little overwhelmed by all the travel detail.
Using the trust Garmin also known as sat nav. or GPS, it was a easy driving out of Krakow and into Budapest. Again, I drove directly to my hotel without a problem.
But there was a strange hitch along the way. The Garmin directed me on a side trip through tiny country roads --- why --- a short cut, avoiding construction. It was worrying at the time, as the road was barely a road. It was 4 pm by then but I reminded myself I was safe as long as I was in my car.
One more problem arose with the car --- a warning light went on, and there were some beeps. Of course I was very concerned about what to do --- find a service station, phone Peugot. Finally, this morning I looked up in the manual, but it was in French, and so I translated using my computer online. It turns out to be tire pressure. Hope it's not a flat. Will deal with that when I leave on Monday.
Before I left Krakow, I had to figure out what funds to exchange to pay my Polish hotel bill, guess what I'd need on the road before the Slovakia border, and change some Euros in florints. I ended. Next challenge, getting gas (diesel) in Poland. Just making the hotel reservation was a big decision, but I think I am getting back to normal.
After the cantor, I walked over to my parking lot with luggage, programmed my Garmin, and took off.
I filled up the tank just before the Slovakia border and used my credit card. I saw a Statoil and decided to check it out. Also had a hot dog and coffee. I was in kind of stupor --- still tired and overwhelmed I guess.
Slovakia: The drive through Slovakia was pleasant and the roads are good. There are no motorways between Krakow and Budapest. It's 2 lanes nearly all the way, through every village, town, and city, with many many turns, intersections, cross-walks. The speed limits are low and nobody speeds, not one km over the limit. The country side is really beautiful, small picturesque villages, snow covered mountains and rolling hills in the distance. Small towns and farm lands all the way, kind of alpine with lots of log cabin houses, interesting roofs, lots of heritage looking wooden churches, but alas no time to stop, even to eat or gas up.
Hotel: My Budapest hotel (Benczur) is not in the centre, but it's okay, and only 60 euros plus 13 euros parking. I have been walking a lot and it feels great. Breakfast is okay, and the coffee is much better here in Hungary.
The first evening I was exhausted but walked into the centre to an area with lots of bars. It didn't work out -- the bar couldn't serve food, so the beer really hit me. Walked back to the hotel in the dark through a very bad area. There is no street lighting in Budapest at night. I ate at the hotel, but that was not great. I had goulash and the dumplings were raw dough, so they brought me a dessert instead which I did not want. Fell asleep immediately. Oh yes, also hit my head pretty hard in the parking lot ducking under the gate.
The room is really nice, with a little balcony, so next morning, I decided to book 2 more nights on booking.com and got even better rate.
First on the agenda, find a FX place to change Euros into florints (about 300 florints for on Euro). Then walked all the walk down to the Parliament Buildings and found the Art Nouveau Museum. Very nice, had a coffee and sour cherry cake. Then walked along looking for Art Nouveau. The Gresham (Mariott) Hotel is outstanding. Next went to the Museum of Fine Arts. Outstanding building and exhibits. The buildings is falling apart and is mostly closed with a small exhibit. They are renovating it. The Museum of Fine Arts is also closed for renovations until 2018. I recommend coming in a few years when all these renovations are finished.
Today I found a lovely coffee shop and a fabulous restaurant near the hotel. There isn't much in this area and it is a bit dark to be walking far at night.
The whole city is falling down and have not been maintained since before the war. The buildings are late 19th C. and up to 1930's. Lots of them are empty, with broken windows, or a bit of boarding. Some have rough covered walkways in front for safety of the pedestrians. Only around the Parliament Buildings, things are glitzy and slick. I am quite amazed about the state of the city --- it might as well be 1973 when I was last here.
On the way out of town, I stopped at a gas station and the fellow very cheerfully adjusted the air in my tires with a portable machine. The warming light was still on but the booklet indicated some kind of reset was required. I thought perhaps restarting the car but within a few hours discovered the button for that purpose. I also played around with the cruise control. The controls are directly behind the steering wheel and cannot be seen while driving.
Szeged -- I drove to Szeged, it's not far, with the trusty Garmin. This is a very lively town. The Korona hotel was a big surprise and very cheap. It looks terrible outside but is a gem inside for the price, with a lovely dining room (in the basement of course), and good breakfast and coffee except no fruit. The location at first glance is awful with a tram running within a few feet, but it's actually right on one of the main squares, and a few blocks from everything.
I had a good walk around, there was a wine festival going on with about 50 of those little cabins in the square, and lots of good food. The town is in disrepair with the river walk fenced off. A few terrific Art Nouveau buildings to look at too.
Showing posts with label GPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GPS. Show all posts
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Balkan Road Trip - Day 1-2 (May 13-14) - Krakow
Thursday, May 14 -- Here I am finally on my Balkan road trip, stomach slightly fluttering but all going well.
The Car: The car is a lease through Auto Europe, expensive with insurance because of the Balkans and also there are some restrictions on countries (i.e. no Albania or Kosovo). Altogether $2700 for May 11-June 24, including drop-off fees. It's a Peugeot brand new, very nice to drive. I had the same car and lease arrangements the last time in France in 2011, but that was much cheaper --- about $3,000 for 3 months. The process took a long time and the papers were very slow, so allow about a month to be on the safe side. After all that trouble, the pick-up process went really smoothly. I went with my tour group to Schiphol airport, walked over to Arrivals 4 with my luggage, called for pick-up, was driven about 8 km to the agent. The same very nice guy drove the pick-up van and then did my paperwork. It did not take very long. Then I filled up at the gas station next door. The car had 4 km on it and an empty tank. I took two days to drive 1311 km to Krakow, stopping for the night twice, once in Soest and again in Bautzen (near Dresden) I really liked Soest and the Munster area. Former East Germany not so much. Bautzen, while a beautiful medieval town, was not lively. There was a terrible storm and no people out and about. They have a castle, wall, river, churches, cloth hall, and more.
The Driving: Wednesday, May 13 - I drove from Bautzen, Germany to Krakow (about 500 km) arriving around 3 pm and was parked and in hotel room by 4 pm. GPS is a godsend --- I drove the entire way and through Krakow directly to my hotel without a single wrong turn. Driving in Poland is very easy, just like in Germany. I was on the motorway all the way and paid tolls 2-3 times (in zloty, see Currency below). Once in Poland there are a lot fewer trucks on the road and the trucks are much smaller. They drive the same as in the rest of Europe. Speed limit is 120 or less, and everybody seems to stick to it, so I assume that the fines are heavy. Some people drive like lightning bolts --- must be German. Same cars as Germany and loads of Audis and Mercedes.
Currency: My first issue was currency. My first stop inside Poland for lunch and coffee was a highway rest stop with a McDonalds. Had a cheeseburger too, nice (not) small lunch and good (yes) coffee. Coffee in Germany and Poland is terrible as a rule. They do not take Euros here, but I found a bank machine at the gas station. I am sure the charges and fees and rates are high, but the worst thing is that the minimum withdrawal seemed to be 800 zloty (about 3 to 1 CAD), so $270 CAD, but charged me 243?? USD. Will try to change euros in future.
Today, I asked at the hotel desk and found that "kantor" means exchange in Polish (not a Jewish religious official) and asked if they exchange zloty into florints (my next non-Euro country is Hungary), so I can either do euros or florints when I leave tomorrow. Slovakia uses the Euro.
Hotels: The best thing for travelling besides Auto Europe and GPS is booking.com. Before leaving Bautzen I booked the Kasimierz Hotel in Krakow. I decided to push through the 500 km drive and book a hotel so I would not have to worry what time I arrive. Hotel prices are similar to Germany. My hotel is in the Jewish quarter (very interesting and lively, funky trendy area, walking distance to the old city), Hotel Kasamiriez (242 ?? zloty) including breakfast plus parking 25 zloty per day. Everything was fine (great shower, great WIFI, good breakfast, terrible coffee, great staff) except the bedding and mattress, which were pretty horrible. The hotel is full for second night, so I booked the David Hotel (300 zloty) nearby online, and will move this morning. Paid for another day's parking (25 zloty per 24 hours) in the same place. Everyone is very accommodating, smiling, hotel staff speak English, but parking guy not a word.
Dinner: Hotel staff recommended restaurant nearby hotel, with 10% discount coupon. I may have stumbled into the old Eastern European ways of trying to cheat the customer. In western Europe, the day's menu/special/formule is always the freshest, best prepared, and best value, and locals always chose it. The waiter very strongly recommended the duck and it sure was funny tasting. Old?? This happens in Vancouver where I avoid the specials as that often is the old food that they have to get rid of, and also cheaper ingredients. The perogi I had for a starter were good (not as good as warenicki in Steinbach).
Must check into tipping customs here. In western Europe, no tip is the custom.
Language: So far, I know sklep (store), dyunkuya (thank you), kantor(exchange), stari(old), dobra (good), tschech(hi), do vedanya (good-bye).
Sights: Many many brown signs along the way (indicating places of interest, historical sights). Countryside rolling with very long views. Lots to see in Krakow, hope to see art today --- I need it. The nice day turned into rain and cold. I decided to see the Wawel Castle as it has a Leonardo da Vinci called the Woman with Ermine. Very little English spoken by the personnel at the Castle. Everywhere crowds of school groups. What will the kids nowadays do when they grow up --- they will have seen and done everything already. The Castle was expensive --- 87 zloty for all the different exhibits (later found out the Cathedral was another fee), but there was little if any English interpretation. Two toilets for 1000 people, two tiny cafes for lunch. Pouring rain all day. I asked about audio tour when buying tickets, she said there was none, but later I found out there was for additional price of course. The Easter European habits of poor service prevail here. Talking through glass and not wanting to explain anything --- just like the old Communist days.
Shops: Love the Polish pottery. Dream of collecting it.
Technology: Only 20 minutes to log in to Google and find my blogs. Even with my careful notes, which did not work at all. But I got here. Even employing my phone to find the email with my verification code for google. J#(%*_#)*^+$#
Anyway, now that I have my phone working after several calls to Bell while in Holland (Bell had put the travel restrictions back on my account), I am good there (I hope.)
Now I can't figure out how to look at my list of posts --- google makes me crazy.
The car is pretty simple but have not tried to figure out cruise control yet.
Me: Healthy but tired. Fighting a virus, I must be. Spirits good. Need a good art exhibit. The Leonardo was exquisite but ruined by too many tourists taking pictures and crowding.
The Car: The car is a lease through Auto Europe, expensive with insurance because of the Balkans and also there are some restrictions on countries (i.e. no Albania or Kosovo). Altogether $2700 for May 11-June 24, including drop-off fees. It's a Peugeot brand new, very nice to drive. I had the same car and lease arrangements the last time in France in 2011, but that was much cheaper --- about $3,000 for 3 months. The process took a long time and the papers were very slow, so allow about a month to be on the safe side. After all that trouble, the pick-up process went really smoothly. I went with my tour group to Schiphol airport, walked over to Arrivals 4 with my luggage, called for pick-up, was driven about 8 km to the agent. The same very nice guy drove the pick-up van and then did my paperwork. It did not take very long. Then I filled up at the gas station next door. The car had 4 km on it and an empty tank. I took two days to drive 1311 km to Krakow, stopping for the night twice, once in Soest and again in Bautzen (near Dresden) I really liked Soest and the Munster area. Former East Germany not so much. Bautzen, while a beautiful medieval town, was not lively. There was a terrible storm and no people out and about. They have a castle, wall, river, churches, cloth hall, and more.
The Driving: Wednesday, May 13 - I drove from Bautzen, Germany to Krakow (about 500 km) arriving around 3 pm and was parked and in hotel room by 4 pm. GPS is a godsend --- I drove the entire way and through Krakow directly to my hotel without a single wrong turn. Driving in Poland is very easy, just like in Germany. I was on the motorway all the way and paid tolls 2-3 times (in zloty, see Currency below). Once in Poland there are a lot fewer trucks on the road and the trucks are much smaller. They drive the same as in the rest of Europe. Speed limit is 120 or less, and everybody seems to stick to it, so I assume that the fines are heavy. Some people drive like lightning bolts --- must be German. Same cars as Germany and loads of Audis and Mercedes.
Currency: My first issue was currency. My first stop inside Poland for lunch and coffee was a highway rest stop with a McDonalds. Had a cheeseburger too, nice (not) small lunch and good (yes) coffee. Coffee in Germany and Poland is terrible as a rule. They do not take Euros here, but I found a bank machine at the gas station. I am sure the charges and fees and rates are high, but the worst thing is that the minimum withdrawal seemed to be 800 zloty (about 3 to 1 CAD), so $270 CAD, but charged me 243?? USD. Will try to change euros in future.
Today, I asked at the hotel desk and found that "kantor" means exchange in Polish (not a Jewish religious official) and asked if they exchange zloty into florints (my next non-Euro country is Hungary), so I can either do euros or florints when I leave tomorrow. Slovakia uses the Euro.
Hotels: The best thing for travelling besides Auto Europe and GPS is booking.com. Before leaving Bautzen I booked the Kasimierz Hotel in Krakow. I decided to push through the 500 km drive and book a hotel so I would not have to worry what time I arrive. Hotel prices are similar to Germany. My hotel is in the Jewish quarter (very interesting and lively, funky trendy area, walking distance to the old city), Hotel Kasamiriez (242 ?? zloty) including breakfast plus parking 25 zloty per day. Everything was fine (great shower, great WIFI, good breakfast, terrible coffee, great staff) except the bedding and mattress, which were pretty horrible. The hotel is full for second night, so I booked the David Hotel (300 zloty) nearby online, and will move this morning. Paid for another day's parking (25 zloty per 24 hours) in the same place. Everyone is very accommodating, smiling, hotel staff speak English, but parking guy not a word.
Dinner: Hotel staff recommended restaurant nearby hotel, with 10% discount coupon. I may have stumbled into the old Eastern European ways of trying to cheat the customer. In western Europe, the day's menu/special/formule is always the freshest, best prepared, and best value, and locals always chose it. The waiter very strongly recommended the duck and it sure was funny tasting. Old?? This happens in Vancouver where I avoid the specials as that often is the old food that they have to get rid of, and also cheaper ingredients. The perogi I had for a starter were good (not as good as warenicki in Steinbach).
Must check into tipping customs here. In western Europe, no tip is the custom.
Language: So far, I know sklep (store), dyunkuya (thank you), kantor(exchange), stari(old), dobra (good), tschech(hi), do vedanya (good-bye).
Sights: Many many brown signs along the way (indicating places of interest, historical sights). Countryside rolling with very long views. Lots to see in Krakow, hope to see art today --- I need it. The nice day turned into rain and cold. I decided to see the Wawel Castle as it has a Leonardo da Vinci called the Woman with Ermine. Very little English spoken by the personnel at the Castle. Everywhere crowds of school groups. What will the kids nowadays do when they grow up --- they will have seen and done everything already. The Castle was expensive --- 87 zloty for all the different exhibits (later found out the Cathedral was another fee), but there was little if any English interpretation. Two toilets for 1000 people, two tiny cafes for lunch. Pouring rain all day. I asked about audio tour when buying tickets, she said there was none, but later I found out there was for additional price of course. The Easter European habits of poor service prevail here. Talking through glass and not wanting to explain anything --- just like the old Communist days.
Shops: Love the Polish pottery. Dream of collecting it.
Technology: Only 20 minutes to log in to Google and find my blogs. Even with my careful notes, which did not work at all. But I got here. Even employing my phone to find the email with my verification code for google. J#(%*_#)*^+$#
Anyway, now that I have my phone working after several calls to Bell while in Holland (Bell had put the travel restrictions back on my account), I am good there (I hope.)
Now I can't figure out how to look at my list of posts --- google makes me crazy.
The car is pretty simple but have not tried to figure out cruise control yet.
Me: Healthy but tired. Fighting a virus, I must be. Spirits good. Need a good art exhibit. The Leonardo was exquisite but ruined by too many tourists taking pictures and crowding.
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