Catching up...

Damn it i'm already mad late on this story! It's not that easy when you pay internet by the minute (and when you're as cheap as i am!)

Anyway.. As much as Berlin was vibrant with creative energy, Praha was, er.. vibrant with the easter week end!
The contrast was pretty sharp between the two cities.. Berlin is not a pretty city per say.. as i said, the former nomansland has become a really cool empty playground for architects, and some of the projects look great, but it seemed to me that the whole thing was really lacking some coherence.. you get a super modern building sitting next to some nice old church, but without too much care for harmony and next block is a bunch or remaining ugly socialist housing cubes.. but the city is definitely alive and packed with youngsters.. being one of the cheapest capital cities to live in in europe, it's become the refuge for many artists..
Prague on the other hand seems to have escaped world war II and sits comfortably on its past glory..
(well.. obviously these are my remarks from a 3 days visit, it is certainly subject to critique!)

I met with Pepe and Victoria in Praha.. a cool couple of cuban expatriates.. Pepe works in a school of cinematography and Victoria is a flute player in a cuban jazz band.. and as she had a gig on monday in a jazz club, i stayed an extra day to check them out.. really good stuff.. buena vista like.. (Max you would have loved the "guitar" player!)

Quick facts about Praha:
Coolest bar: Duende, on Karolyn Svetle, close to the river and Charles Bridge.. they even have guitars laying around that you may use! sweet!
Hello: Ahoj
Yes: Ano
No: Ne
Thanks: Dekuji
..Ok it's not much but that's what you'll get!

On my last day, as i wanted to get out of the city, i followed the advice of two australian girls and made an excursion in Kutna Hora, a very pretty town an hour north of Praha.. aside from neat narrow streets and colorful houses (which i carefully shot in black and white of course!), as well as a pretty impressive cathedral, Kutna Hora hosts a strange little church filled with catacomb like piles of bones and an interior decoration that must have been designed by the Adam's family!

Next, I slept on the train from Praha to Krakow, just last night.. Upon arrival in Krakow early this morning were some amazing landscapes of old style rusted locomotives, as well as an old rusted skatepark, in the shallow morning light and haze.. i whish i could have jumped off the train to shoot some pictures.. but i couldn't!

Having lunch at a terrace out in the sun, i shared my table with Sylvester and Evelyna.. the chat went on and we spent most of the afternoon together, while they taught me just about everything there is to know about Poland! (with Sylvester and me only speaking a very limited german, it was an interesting dicussion that made heavy use of my notepad!)
The poor economy and lack of employment that prevents Poland to enter the european union, and sends Sylvester out to germany to work without proper paperwork..
But also the coolest vacation areas, such as Wista, in the mountains south of Krakow, Mazury, a lake region north east, the beaches from Gdansk to Mielno, or the great castle of Malbork, south of Gdansk, wich is supposedly the biggest in europe, and that i might stop to check out on my way to Gdansk..
and tons of vocabulary too.. so here are some basics (sorry i can't put the accents right.. i compensate as i can, but it's impossible to pronounce anyway!):
good morning : dzien dobry
hello : tchencht
yes : tak
no : nie
please : prosze
thank you : dzienkuje
i'm looking for : ya chu kam
how much : ile kuch tu ye
payer : tzena (purists will notice the last 3 are pure phonetics!)
girl : dziewczyna
boy : chiopak
man : mziczyzna
woman : kobieta
pretty : pienkna
i like you : lubien cien
i love you : kocham cien
very : bardzo
check please : rachunek prosze
1 : jeden
2 : dwa
3 : trzy
4 : cztery
5 : piench
6 : szeshch (forget this one!!)
7 : siedem
8 : osiem
9 : dziewiench
10 : pziesiench

now some fine polish beers (polskie pivo): Okocim, Tyskie, Ziwiec and Warka
and we'll end up with some fine polish vodka : Zubrzuka, Gorzka Zoiandkowa, Szopen (Chopin!), Bols, Soplica

Allright, that's a lot for today; now you won't say i'm not sharing!
You may pack your books and leave the room quietly, but be assured there will be a exam soon on this important lesson!