I think I need to keep a more detailed account on what happened because memories fade and feelings change.
I like Edinburgh quite a lot. I should have spent more time in Scotland. I think Scotland has more to offer than Wales. I imagine that the scenery on the highland must be splendid.
York is a nice place too.
But when I got to Chester, I think I had already taken up too much of castles, city walls, cathedrals and old houses. I felt a little bored there. The city wall there was just a wall and the old buildings simply old buildings. I visited the Chester Cathedral and walked along the wall and the shopping streets. Then there was nothing else to do. I was so bored that I joined a Guided Friday tour. I also saw the movie "Emma". But only after I had bought the ticket for the 7:50 pm show did it occur to me that the show was too late because my hotel was not close to the cinema. I returned to the hotel at about 6 pm, rested for an hour and started to walk to the cinema. I made sure that I carried my fruit knife in my pocket. I had to protect myself, right?
Of course, nothing bad happened. The movie was all right. The sizes of the pop-corn and soft-drinks were huge. After the movie (about 10 pm), the streets I walked on were almost empty. Other movie-goers just took other directions. So I walked alone. Occasionally I saw couples walking and I kept close to them. People walked in pairs at night, a couple, two girls or two men, never alone. There were only a few cars running. I reached the hotel in about 10 minutes. I think I almost ran back there.
I had a room with a river view (River Dee) in Chester for £45 a night. The room was not bad, but there was no shower, just a bath. I have no idea how people manage to wash their hair without a shower.
The next day I went to North Wales. I had never been sure where to go, where to stay and what to see in Wales. I didn't have enough information for the decisions. Well, finally I decided to stay at a place called Bangor because that was where I could take a bus to Caernarfon. When I arrived in Bangor, I simply checked into the nearest hotel I saw. That was a hotel right opposite the train station. I didn't even bother to look around. And the room was good, for just £25. That was good value for money.
That day I went to Caernarfon first. I took a bus (there was no train) and it was quite convenient. I didn't have a map of Caernarfon but one just wouldn't miss the castle there. I joined a guided tour in the castle and it was the most interesting guided tour I had joined in this trip. And the castle looked good.
Then I took the same bus to Conwy. The worst thing about taking a bus was that I was never sure where exactly to get off. So I remained alert and followed the passengers whom I thought would possibly get off at the right place.
Conwy was a very small place, completely walled. I did get into the castle but was not interested in joining another guided tour, especially when the guide was an elderly man with a walking stick. I was not really impressed by this town. I left Conwy and returned to Bangor by bus.
The towns in North Wales were close to the sea so I could hear and see seabirds. Their sound was peculiar.
So I visited three places within the same day.
Yesterday I was in Cardiff, after hours of train ride, that was. Cardiff was a real city, though a small one. But I found it strange that I had to get out of Wales to travel from its north to its south.
The Cardiff Castle was impressive. It was in very good condition. The peacocks and swans on the green certainly made it more attractive. They just walked freely or slept lazily. The keep looked magnificent. Too bad that I bought a cheap ticket so I could not get into the lodging and the clock tower.
I think I felt so good about the Cardiff Castle because of the sunny weather. Everything looked fine in the sunshine.
But apart from the Castle, I couldn't find anything else to do. So I booked a room in Plymouth for today and went to shop for my dinner in Marks and Spencer. The one thing I don't understand is why shops close so early. They close at 5 pm or 6 pm. How do people shop? And the glamour of the "city" died down very quickly when the evening approached.
My original plan was to go from Cardiff to Plymouth today and from Plymouth to Penzance and then Land End tomorrow. I got on the right train as planned but got off at the wrong station in Bristol. Well, never mind. I took another train to Plymouth. It was on that train that I changed my mind. Why take all these troubles and uncertainties just to go to see Land End? It was so far away. There was not much to see in Plymouth. And I was not sure about the train schedules and the connecting buses' schedule. I was also not sure if there was luggage storage service at the stations. Such service seems to have been suspended owing to the recent "security condition". If I went to Penzance at all, I would take a night train back to London. Without the luggage storage, I would have to carry my backpack with me all the time. It would be impossible. So why not call it off?
That's why I'm in Taunton. I simply got off the train here. I also cancelled my hotel reservation in Plymouth. I am going to Oxford. I hope everything will be fine.
Wasn't it stupid to change the itinerary when I had already spent two and a half hours on the trip to Plymouth?
26.9.96
23.9.96
23.9.96 (Mon)
Now this is something new. I've got on this train to Manchester from York and it was full. I had to stand till it arrived at Leeds. Now the train is almost empty. I think I have boarded a wrong train. The one which came before the train I intended to take. But it doesn't matter because it is also going to Manchester Piccadilly. And I've just tried to use a coupon provided by Britrail Pass to buy some food on board, and to my disappointment it was not accepted. Alas.
York is a small place. Though it was Sunday yesterday, it was quite lively there in the afternoon. Many shops were open and tourists and local people filled the streets. The weather was not bad (at least it did not rain). I enjoyed very much strolling on the streets, so much that I gave up the museums there. But I don't really mind. The walks were so pleasant.
The city wall was not as grand as I had expected. And I found the York Minster strange. It obviously should not be a Roman Catholic church. But it looked like one. Or maybe it is. I am not so sure now.
I did not expect that I would understand what was written on the plaques, walls, etc in the churches/monuments in Europe. And so it was strange that I understood them here in Britain.
Today I'll stay in Chester.
I think going to a new city everyday is not the best way to travel. It is tiring. Plus I need to spend almost 3 hours on train everyday. But there seems to be no other ways if I want to travel around Britain in such a short time.
York is a small place. Though it was Sunday yesterday, it was quite lively there in the afternoon. Many shops were open and tourists and local people filled the streets. The weather was not bad (at least it did not rain). I enjoyed very much strolling on the streets, so much that I gave up the museums there. But I don't really mind. The walks were so pleasant.
The city wall was not as grand as I had expected. And I found the York Minster strange. It obviously should not be a Roman Catholic church. But it looked like one. Or maybe it is. I am not so sure now.
I did not expect that I would understand what was written on the plaques, walls, etc in the churches/monuments in Europe. And so it was strange that I understood them here in Britain.
Today I'll stay in Chester.
I think going to a new city everyday is not the best way to travel. It is tiring. Plus I need to spend almost 3 hours on train everyday. But there seems to be no other ways if I want to travel around Britain in such a short time.
22.9.96
22.9.96 (Sun)
I'm now on a train from Edinburgh to London. I will get off in York.
My plan to go to both the Disneyland and the Louvre on my second day in Paris was too ambitious. The Disneyland was all right. The best thing in there was that everyone, except crying babies, seemed so cheerful. Everyone seemed to be having great fun. I played the Space Mountain. It was EXCITING in capital letters. One staff wished me luck before the game and asked me how I felt when I returned. I could only say nothing but "EXCITING". But I was a little bit bored after that. Many games were for little kids and I had played many last time. I left the park at around 4 pm.
It took me almost two hours to reach the Louvre because there was something wrong with the RER. As usual, I had no idea of what was going on. I don't have a clue even now. I had to swap RER lines and then take an SNCF train to Gare de l'Est. Then there was something wrong with the metro line I took so I had to take another one. It was so tiring.
I did not enjoy the Louvre as much as I would like to. Maybe I was tired and hungry (I really can't stand hunger. When I'm hungry I can't move and I feel dizzy). Or maybe it was because I had been there before. But the Grand Gallery was as enchanting as ever. I found that there was a painting "Fortune Teller" by Caravaggio which was the same as the one I saw in Capitolini in Roma. I don't understand why. It was too bad that the two paintings by Botticelli were not restored and were put in an almost neglected room.
There were groups of Hong Kong tourists in the Gallery. They gathered in front of the famous works like "Mona Lisa" and looked at what they were told to look at. The tourist guides' briefing irritated me. There were dozens of Titian, Veronese and even some other works by Leonardo da Vinci on the walls but the tourists did not seem to notice them. One doesn't have to know about the works, their techniques or background. One can simply see the beauty and enjoy the paintings with his eyes. Or we can simply look at what we like. In this respect, Japanese tourists are better. They read about what they see.
I think I learn a little bit more every time I visit a museum. This is good. I hope I won't forget what I've seen and learned. I have a poor memory.
The Louvre got dark and gloomy at night. I couldn't stay in dark places (I love florescent light) so I left at around 8 pm (plus I was hungry).
The next day it rained. And because of the rain it was cold. I made a wrong decision to walk to Musee d'Orsay along the Seine. It sounded poetic and romantic, and it was. But the distance was much more than what appeared on the map and I was almost frozen when I got there at last.
I enjoyed the paintings in Musee d'Orsay very much. There were rooms and rooms of Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Manet, all the impressionists you could want. And the paintings were beautiful. They were different from what I had seen in other museums. There were only very few related to religion. People in the pictures were usually lively and in action. I like so many of them. One was called "A young woman on the beach". A simple painting by an English painter. The woman was in pink and the sea greenish grey.
Then it was l'Opera Garnier. We tourists were overjoyed just to stand on the glorious marble main staircase and take a photo. The auditorium was crimson and beautiful. I walked past Box 5 but it was locked. So there was no way to check whether there was a secret passage to the dungeon of the Phantom. I found that this opera house looked very similar to the one in Wien. Or maybe all of them look similar.
The next day was a real travelling day. First it was the flight from Paris to London (I really should have bought a ticket to Edinburgh direct), then 1 hour of underground to King's Cross Station, then 4 1/2 hours on train to Edinburgh. I did not settle down in the hotel until around 7 pm. Then I went to see "Evita", which was staged in a theatre just around the corner from the hotel. I don't like it because 1. I did not know the story and the musical well enough to fully understand it; 2. It was kind of monotonous and old-fashioned (especially the use of spot light) as compared to the other ones I had seen before; 3. I was tired and my right eye hurt.
The next day I went through Princes Street and the Royal Mile of Edinburgh and visited the Palace, the castle, the Gladstone Land, etc. The Palace was all right. The castle was quite interesting.
Edinburgh was a beautiful city. But I did not take many pictures there because there was no point in taking pictures if I could not capture what I saw or felt (and it was very likely that I could not with my cheap camera and poor taste).
My plan to go to both the Disneyland and the Louvre on my second day in Paris was too ambitious. The Disneyland was all right. The best thing in there was that everyone, except crying babies, seemed so cheerful. Everyone seemed to be having great fun. I played the Space Mountain. It was EXCITING in capital letters. One staff wished me luck before the game and asked me how I felt when I returned. I could only say nothing but "EXCITING". But I was a little bit bored after that. Many games were for little kids and I had played many last time. I left the park at around 4 pm.
It took me almost two hours to reach the Louvre because there was something wrong with the RER. As usual, I had no idea of what was going on. I don't have a clue even now. I had to swap RER lines and then take an SNCF train to Gare de l'Est. Then there was something wrong with the metro line I took so I had to take another one. It was so tiring.
I did not enjoy the Louvre as much as I would like to. Maybe I was tired and hungry (I really can't stand hunger. When I'm hungry I can't move and I feel dizzy). Or maybe it was because I had been there before. But the Grand Gallery was as enchanting as ever. I found that there was a painting "Fortune Teller" by Caravaggio which was the same as the one I saw in Capitolini in Roma. I don't understand why. It was too bad that the two paintings by Botticelli were not restored and were put in an almost neglected room.
There were groups of Hong Kong tourists in the Gallery. They gathered in front of the famous works like "Mona Lisa" and looked at what they were told to look at. The tourist guides' briefing irritated me. There were dozens of Titian, Veronese and even some other works by Leonardo da Vinci on the walls but the tourists did not seem to notice them. One doesn't have to know about the works, their techniques or background. One can simply see the beauty and enjoy the paintings with his eyes. Or we can simply look at what we like. In this respect, Japanese tourists are better. They read about what they see.
I think I learn a little bit more every time I visit a museum. This is good. I hope I won't forget what I've seen and learned. I have a poor memory.
The Louvre got dark and gloomy at night. I couldn't stay in dark places (I love florescent light) so I left at around 8 pm (plus I was hungry).
The next day it rained. And because of the rain it was cold. I made a wrong decision to walk to Musee d'Orsay along the Seine. It sounded poetic and romantic, and it was. But the distance was much more than what appeared on the map and I was almost frozen when I got there at last.
I enjoyed the paintings in Musee d'Orsay very much. There were rooms and rooms of Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Manet, all the impressionists you could want. And the paintings were beautiful. They were different from what I had seen in other museums. There were only very few related to religion. People in the pictures were usually lively and in action. I like so many of them. One was called "A young woman on the beach". A simple painting by an English painter. The woman was in pink and the sea greenish grey.
Then it was l'Opera Garnier. We tourists were overjoyed just to stand on the glorious marble main staircase and take a photo. The auditorium was crimson and beautiful. I walked past Box 5 but it was locked. So there was no way to check whether there was a secret passage to the dungeon of the Phantom. I found that this opera house looked very similar to the one in Wien. Or maybe all of them look similar.
The next day was a real travelling day. First it was the flight from Paris to London (I really should have bought a ticket to Edinburgh direct), then 1 hour of underground to King's Cross Station, then 4 1/2 hours on train to Edinburgh. I did not settle down in the hotel until around 7 pm. Then I went to see "Evita", which was staged in a theatre just around the corner from the hotel. I don't like it because 1. I did not know the story and the musical well enough to fully understand it; 2. It was kind of monotonous and old-fashioned (especially the use of spot light) as compared to the other ones I had seen before; 3. I was tired and my right eye hurt.
The next day I went through Princes Street and the Royal Mile of Edinburgh and visited the Palace, the castle, the Gladstone Land, etc. The Palace was all right. The castle was quite interesting.
Edinburgh was a beautiful city. But I did not take many pictures there because there was no point in taking pictures if I could not capture what I saw or felt (and it was very likely that I could not with my cheap camera and poor taste).
18.9.96
18.9.96 (Wed)
I am now on an RER to Disneyland Paris. It was not because I particularly want to go there, but that I don't usually live in a city with a Disneyland nearby. I will return to Paris this afternoon and spend the rest of the day in the Louvre.
It is now cool in Paris. I think it is below 10 degrees in the morning and people are wearing woollen scarves and woollen jackets already. But I expect that it will be much warmer in the afternoon.
The same thing happened again yesterday. I checked in a hotel listed in "Let's Go Europe". It was cheap, just FF208 per night. But I had to pay in advance and the hotelier reminded me not to use the other bed in the room because I had only paid for one bed. No breakfast, no laundry allowed. And notices on the rules that lodgers had to follow were posted along the staircase. Again I had to climb four flights of stairs just to find that the hall outside my room was undergoing some kind of works (or maybe it was just like that). The room appeared acceptable at first glance. But then I found it dirty when I inspected it more carefully. There were no soap, or towels, or toilet paper. And I found bits of hair on the pillow. And the windows faced the backyard of other buildings. There was enough natural light during the day, but not enough electric light at night apparently. And there were flies, at least seven or eight of them in the room, from the backyard of course. I could not run fast enough away from that room.
Soon I decided to move out. I could not stand sleeping in that room for even one night. So I tried the Hotel Suez, where I had spent a night in my previous trip. But no luck. Then I just went in a Hotel St Pierre which I happened to see on the road. And bingo. The room I have is much, much nicer, though it costs FF365 per night. But I really don't mind paying more for more comfort.
The lesson, again, is not to pay before you see the room. Good hotels let you check the room first. They even ask if you want to see it before you decide to take it. Poor ones ask you to pay first. I hope I won't make the same mistake in Britain.
I really don't have a plan for my stay in Paris. I walked around yesterday and visited St Chappelle and the Conciergerie. I didn't have a strong desire to go there, but the "follow-the-crowd" strategy led me there, and it wasn"t bad.
The inside of the Grande Arche de la Defense was no doubt a disappointment, though I quite like some of the exhibits there.
I watched a movie "Tin Cup" at a cinema near the hotel. It was in English, of course, with French subtitles. (But the one shown in Avignon had been dubbed in French.) And it was about golf. So I didn't know the rule of the game. But since it was after all a love story in Kevin Costner's style, I think I managed to understand about 70% of it.
And there was CNN back in the hotel. So yesterday was a pretty good day.
It is now cool in Paris. I think it is below 10 degrees in the morning and people are wearing woollen scarves and woollen jackets already. But I expect that it will be much warmer in the afternoon.
The same thing happened again yesterday. I checked in a hotel listed in "Let's Go Europe". It was cheap, just FF208 per night. But I had to pay in advance and the hotelier reminded me not to use the other bed in the room because I had only paid for one bed. No breakfast, no laundry allowed. And notices on the rules that lodgers had to follow were posted along the staircase. Again I had to climb four flights of stairs just to find that the hall outside my room was undergoing some kind of works (or maybe it was just like that). The room appeared acceptable at first glance. But then I found it dirty when I inspected it more carefully. There were no soap, or towels, or toilet paper. And I found bits of hair on the pillow. And the windows faced the backyard of other buildings. There was enough natural light during the day, but not enough electric light at night apparently. And there were flies, at least seven or eight of them in the room, from the backyard of course. I could not run fast enough away from that room.
Soon I decided to move out. I could not stand sleeping in that room for even one night. So I tried the Hotel Suez, where I had spent a night in my previous trip. But no luck. Then I just went in a Hotel St Pierre which I happened to see on the road. And bingo. The room I have is much, much nicer, though it costs FF365 per night. But I really don't mind paying more for more comfort.
The lesson, again, is not to pay before you see the room. Good hotels let you check the room first. They even ask if you want to see it before you decide to take it. Poor ones ask you to pay first. I hope I won't make the same mistake in Britain.
I really don't have a plan for my stay in Paris. I walked around yesterday and visited St Chappelle and the Conciergerie. I didn't have a strong desire to go there, but the "follow-the-crowd" strategy led me there, and it wasn"t bad.
The inside of the Grande Arche de la Defense was no doubt a disappointment, though I quite like some of the exhibits there.
I watched a movie "Tin Cup" at a cinema near the hotel. It was in English, of course, with French subtitles. (But the one shown in Avignon had been dubbed in French.) And it was about golf. So I didn't know the rule of the game. But since it was after all a love story in Kevin Costner's style, I think I managed to understand about 70% of it.
And there was CNN back in the hotel. So yesterday was a pretty good day.
17.9.96
17.9.96 (Tue)
I am now on the TGV to Paris, at last.
I have had great difficulty in putting my backpack up onto the rack. It is so very heavy that it is difficult even to put it on my back. The man sitting beside me helped me. That was nice. Otherwise I might have torn open the wound on my right palm again. By the way, the wound is getting better now.
I am still wondering what I should do in Paris. Maybe I should go to the Louvre again, or maybe the Rodin Museum, or maybe the Disneyland (ah, but no). I don't know yet.
I've learnt on TV that in the morning the temperature in southern France is around 10 to 11 degrees. Around Paris, it is lower than that. Chilly. I saw a lady wearing a knee-long leather jacket this morning and people hugged themselves in the wind. Imagine this temperature in Hong Kong, it will be freezing. But here it is all right, just chilly, not really cold.
I have had great difficulty in putting my backpack up onto the rack. It is so very heavy that it is difficult even to put it on my back. The man sitting beside me helped me. That was nice. Otherwise I might have torn open the wound on my right palm again. By the way, the wound is getting better now.
I am still wondering what I should do in Paris. Maybe I should go to the Louvre again, or maybe the Rodin Museum, or maybe the Disneyland (ah, but no). I don't know yet.
I've learnt on TV that in the morning the temperature in southern France is around 10 to 11 degrees. Around Paris, it is lower than that. Chilly. I saw a lady wearing a knee-long leather jacket this morning and people hugged themselves in the wind. Imagine this temperature in Hong Kong, it will be freezing. But here it is all right, just chilly, not really cold.
16.9.96
16.9.96 (Mon)
I am now in the McDonald's in Marseille train station waiting for the next TGV back to Avignon.
Here is what happened in the past three days.
From Milano, I took a train to Nice and then another to Marseille. The railway from Genova to Nice and even to Marseille runs along the coast. The sea, the beaches, the palm trees and the swimmers were just outside the window of the train. The train ran through many many tunnels on that sunny day. So during the train ride brightness alternated with darkness and the blue sky alternated with the blackout. It was quite funny.
When I arrived in Marseille it was already after 2 pm. I went to the hotel where I had reserved a room for one night. Since I was planning to stay for one more day, I asked the receptionist if I could have the room for one more night. She said I would have to move to another room. OK. I took it. Here comes the most stupid part: she asked me to pay in advance for the first night and I said why the trouble and paid for both nights. I already regretted it when I knew that I had to climb up to the 4th floor. And the room was run down and dirty. There was no what I call a toilet inside. And the slam of the door and the flush of water was clearly audible whenever anyone used the toilet next door.
The room was so awful that I thought about leaving immediately. Well I finally changed my plan and move my base to Avignon, where I found a much nicer hotel.
I did say that the price of that hotel in Marseille was suspiciously low.
Anyway, Marseille was always intended to be just a stopover after the long travel on train. And I did not see much there. The Vieux Port was quite pretty, the water shimmering below the bright blue sky and all. I took a bus up the hill to the Notre Dame de la Grande. The view up there was magnificent. Seeing the blue Mediterranean underneath and I knew why the area was called Cote d'Azur. But it was super windy up there.
The weather in Provence is good. Blue sky, no clouds, windy and dry.
So. I moved to Avignon the next day. I felt so much better there, partly because of the weather of course. This time I did not trust the guidebook. I walked along the main road and simply approached the hotels on the way. My hotel is right opposite the Tourist Office, centrally located and close to the station. It is quite up to my requirement. It takes FF260 per night.
Avignon is a comfortable place. There are not so many tourists that would make me feel uneasy. There are shops and department stores (even Galeries Lafayette) so when I am tired of sight-seeing I can go (window) shopping. And the weather is fine! It is such a small place. The old town is a completely walled city. It takes only about 15 minutes to walk through the spine of the old town from the station to the Pope's Palace.
I visited the Pope's Palace (joined an English guided tour), the Pont d'Avignon and they were about all. But on the whole I felt quite good.
It was festive in Avignon last weekend. There was a sort of cultural festival taking place on 14 and 15 of September and monuments were open to the public free of charge. On Saturday, the monuments I went to still charged an entry fee so they were not very crowded. But the place was more crowded when everywhere (even those in Nimes) was opened for free on Sunday.
Yes, I went to Nimes on Sunday. Having seen the amphitheatre in Verona, the one in Nimes did not appear to be as impressive as expected. And I did not bother to climb to the top (people did have to climb because there were no stairs). I visited almost every sight shown on the map but they were not very impressive either. But the weather was excellent. I had a self-service sit-down lunch in Nimes and it was good.
But I didn't go to Pont du Gard. It would take too much effort and also too much time to go there.
And I think I have been hurt by the sun and dryness in Nimes and Avignon. My skin stings a little.
Today I went to Aix-en-Provence. It was not a very good trip. The railway connecting Aix and Marseille was out of service so I had to take the bus (FF25 per trip). The worst thing was that I didn't know what had happened or was happening. There was no way of understanding what was being announced (if there were announcements). But it is like this in France.
There was little to see in Aix. And again I stumbled and fell on the uneven ground. Luckily, I was not really hurt this time. But I doubt if my camera still works because it hit the ground too when I fell.
Since I had to return to Marseille for the train back to Avignon, I thought: why not get back the novel I left in that run-down hotel. I phoned that hotel twice but the lady at the other end didn't understand English. When I tried to go to the hotel, the metro line I took was somehow out of service. So I took another line to a nearby station and then walked. I wrote on a piece of paper the basic French words I knew to explain what I wanted (I definitely cannot speak French but in writing it is better) and successfully claimed back my book. Ha ha.
Here is what happened in the past three days.
From Milano, I took a train to Nice and then another to Marseille. The railway from Genova to Nice and even to Marseille runs along the coast. The sea, the beaches, the palm trees and the swimmers were just outside the window of the train. The train ran through many many tunnels on that sunny day. So during the train ride brightness alternated with darkness and the blue sky alternated with the blackout. It was quite funny.
When I arrived in Marseille it was already after 2 pm. I went to the hotel where I had reserved a room for one night. Since I was planning to stay for one more day, I asked the receptionist if I could have the room for one more night. She said I would have to move to another room. OK. I took it. Here comes the most stupid part: she asked me to pay in advance for the first night and I said why the trouble and paid for both nights. I already regretted it when I knew that I had to climb up to the 4th floor. And the room was run down and dirty. There was no what I call a toilet inside. And the slam of the door and the flush of water was clearly audible whenever anyone used the toilet next door.
The room was so awful that I thought about leaving immediately. Well I finally changed my plan and move my base to Avignon, where I found a much nicer hotel.
I did say that the price of that hotel in Marseille was suspiciously low.
Anyway, Marseille was always intended to be just a stopover after the long travel on train. And I did not see much there. The Vieux Port was quite pretty, the water shimmering below the bright blue sky and all. I took a bus up the hill to the Notre Dame de la Grande. The view up there was magnificent. Seeing the blue Mediterranean underneath and I knew why the area was called Cote d'Azur. But it was super windy up there.
The weather in Provence is good. Blue sky, no clouds, windy and dry.
So. I moved to Avignon the next day. I felt so much better there, partly because of the weather of course. This time I did not trust the guidebook. I walked along the main road and simply approached the hotels on the way. My hotel is right opposite the Tourist Office, centrally located and close to the station. It is quite up to my requirement. It takes FF260 per night.
Avignon is a comfortable place. There are not so many tourists that would make me feel uneasy. There are shops and department stores (even Galeries Lafayette) so when I am tired of sight-seeing I can go (window) shopping. And the weather is fine! It is such a small place. The old town is a completely walled city. It takes only about 15 minutes to walk through the spine of the old town from the station to the Pope's Palace.
I visited the Pope's Palace (joined an English guided tour), the Pont d'Avignon and they were about all. But on the whole I felt quite good.
It was festive in Avignon last weekend. There was a sort of cultural festival taking place on 14 and 15 of September and monuments were open to the public free of charge. On Saturday, the monuments I went to still charged an entry fee so they were not very crowded. But the place was more crowded when everywhere (even those in Nimes) was opened for free on Sunday.
Yes, I went to Nimes on Sunday. Having seen the amphitheatre in Verona, the one in Nimes did not appear to be as impressive as expected. And I did not bother to climb to the top (people did have to climb because there were no stairs). I visited almost every sight shown on the map but they were not very impressive either. But the weather was excellent. I had a self-service sit-down lunch in Nimes and it was good.
But I didn't go to Pont du Gard. It would take too much effort and also too much time to go there.
And I think I have been hurt by the sun and dryness in Nimes and Avignon. My skin stings a little.
Today I went to Aix-en-Provence. It was not a very good trip. The railway connecting Aix and Marseille was out of service so I had to take the bus (FF25 per trip). The worst thing was that I didn't know what had happened or was happening. There was no way of understanding what was being announced (if there were announcements). But it is like this in France.
There was little to see in Aix. And again I stumbled and fell on the uneven ground. Luckily, I was not really hurt this time. But I doubt if my camera still works because it hit the ground too when I fell.
Since I had to return to Marseille for the train back to Avignon, I thought: why not get back the novel I left in that run-down hotel. I phoned that hotel twice but the lady at the other end didn't understand English. When I tried to go to the hotel, the metro line I took was somehow out of service. So I took another line to a nearby station and then walked. I wrote on a piece of paper the basic French words I knew to explain what I wanted (I definitely cannot speak French but in writing it is better) and successfully claimed back my book. Ha ha.
13.9.96
13.9.96 (Fri)
I am now on the train from Milano to Nice. From Nice I will take another train to Marseille, my destination today. I will arrive in Marseille after 2 pm and it is now just 7 am, so there will be seven good hours on train.
The sky is not yet completely bright. I had thought it easy to rise at daybreak to wash and pack, but it was hard. I woke up around 5 am but could not bring myself to leave the bed. My right leg and my right arm ached. My whole body yearned for rest. When I was brushing my teeth, again I questioned myself, "Why this journey? Why 40 days?" Only Jesus could last for 40 days on his own.
I visited Uffizi Museum on my last morning in Firenze. It was too bad that only the rooms on the third floor were open. Some rooms on that floor were even closed. But the paintings were beautiful enough to take one's breath away. Well one could not help falling in love with Botticelli"s paintings, right? But it was a shame that they were kept behind glass. There were many paintings named "Annunciazione" but still I like Botticelli's best, better than the one by da Vinci. Botticelli's works are bright and soft, and his women are beautiful.
I also like the "Venere di Urbino" (Venus of Urbino) by Titian. There were two sets of paintings of "Adam and Eve" facing each other in the museum. They were special, but I am not particularly fond of them.
Japanese tourists simply invade every cultural centre. They are large in number, always in groups, and noisy. But they are welcome everywhere because they spend their money. They filled almost all the museums I went to. It was horrible. Having had the awful experience in the Vatican Museum, I raced to the Botticelli's rooms once I got into the Uffizi to get ahead of the crowds.
The sky is not yet completely bright. I had thought it easy to rise at daybreak to wash and pack, but it was hard. I woke up around 5 am but could not bring myself to leave the bed. My right leg and my right arm ached. My whole body yearned for rest. When I was brushing my teeth, again I questioned myself, "Why this journey? Why 40 days?" Only Jesus could last for 40 days on his own.
I visited Uffizi Museum on my last morning in Firenze. It was too bad that only the rooms on the third floor were open. Some rooms on that floor were even closed. But the paintings were beautiful enough to take one's breath away. Well one could not help falling in love with Botticelli"s paintings, right? But it was a shame that they were kept behind glass. There were many paintings named "Annunciazione" but still I like Botticelli's best, better than the one by da Vinci. Botticelli's works are bright and soft, and his women are beautiful.
I also like the "Venere di Urbino" (Venus of Urbino) by Titian. There were two sets of paintings of "Adam and Eve" facing each other in the museum. They were special, but I am not particularly fond of them.
Japanese tourists simply invade every cultural centre. They are large in number, always in groups, and noisy. But they are welcome everywhere because they spend their money. They filled almost all the museums I went to. It was horrible. Having had the awful experience in the Vatican Museum, I raced to the Botticelli's rooms once I got into the Uffizi to get ahead of the crowds.
Having feasted myself on so much fine art, of course I could not help but bought quite some souvenirs before I left the museum. But that was also done among loads of Japanese tourists.
As I said, I had to leave for Milano earlier than I had planned simply because of the closing time of the luggage storage service (or I would need to take a train which would arrive in Milano very late at night). So there was not enough time to see the sculpture "David" by Michaelangelo in another museum. I did try, but again there was a long line at that museum.
I stayed in a cheap hotel in Milano for just L75,000 (i.e. around HKD400) per night. By the way, I have booked a room in Marseille for just FF150 (i.e. < HKD300) per night. The price appears suspiciously low.
There was not much to see in Milano. The Duomo was of course majestic. Unlike the Cathedral in Vatican, it was less glorious, less golden and so it looked like a place of worship.
One wonderful experience in Milano was the visit to Pinacoteca di Brera. I was one of the few visitors when it opened at 9 am. In Milano, everyone goes shopping. People scarcely have time for museums. It was quiet inside the gallery so I could enjoy the paintings leisurely and uninterruptedly.
I am not fond of Bellini's paintings but the one "St Mark Preaching in Alexandria" was interesting enough. Caravaggio seemed too dark to me. But there were many paintings I like in that gallery: "The Kiss" by Hayez, "Fiumana" by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo showing a crowd marching forward, and "Il Ricciolo" by Federico Zandomeneghi depicting a girl dressing in front of a mirror were some examples. As to Raphael, it seems that the one I like best is the one in Louvre, i.e. St Michael defeating the demon.
I went to Castello Sforzesco yesterday afternoon. It was an old square castle and again, a museum. I was by that time a little bit overloaded with fine art and found the collection in there less impressive. That museum had an unfinished sculpture by Michaelangelo. I thought it was a failure. The museum, of course, saw it as a treasure.
Since I had started early yesterday, I was already exhausted around 3 pm and almost fell asleep on a bench in a park. I spent the rest of the day walking around the shopping streets around the Duomo. But I did not buy anything. I could not carry so many things with me.
So that was Italy. My impressions are -
1. The most good-looking men are in Roma, especially in the Vatican. Milano comes second, mainly because of their suits.
2. Mobile phones are surprisingly popular.
3. The most tasty gelati was the one I had in Roma around Piramide Metro Station.
4. The nicest experience was the Arno River in Firenze. Then it was the chat with Antonio the Sicilian.
5. It was delightful that the McDonald's in Italy offers so many varieties. They have desserts, salads, gelati, Italian coffee and pastries. But not everywhere has a McDonald's. I did not see any in Venezia or Firenze.
6. There were many military men in uniform walking on the streets.
11.9.96
11.9.96 (Wed)
I am now outside the Uffizi of Firenze, lining up to get in. The museum will not be open until 8:30 am but there was already a long queue before 8:00 am. I came yesterday, a bit later in the morning, but was compelled to leave because of the discouraging queue. This time the line is shorter.
This place is infested by Japanese. There are many groups of Japanese in front of me and even more groups right behind. It is both frightening and unpleasant. I will try not to be mistaken as a Japanese.
The days in Firenze were not without complications. For example, I had just deposited my luggage at the station, planning to get it back before the departure of my train to Milano at 4:07 pm, before finding that the luggage storage service would be closed from 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm. Alas. Another example: it is very difficult to secure a room here. In Roma, I had booked a room here for the first night. Upon my arrival here, the Tourist Office would not book a room for me for the nights after (it only handles bookings for the same night) and my hotel refused to confirm whether I could stay longer in there. Not until tomorrow, the hotelier said. I could not take such an attitude. I was there and would pay whatever would be charged and yet he would not let me have the room, which had no toilet inside, for tomorrow. That was unacceptable. So I tried to find another room myself for the nights after. And I succeeded, though I had to pay much more, i.e. L135,000 vs L80,000, for a very large room and could only stay for one night. The next morning the first hotel offered me the room and I refused it. Ha ha!
Despite all these, Firenze is a very very beautiful place. It is almost love at first sight.
My first afternoon here it was cloudy. But it was beautiful and poetic. The second day was a sunny day, and the city glowed in the sunshine. The river Arno is incomparable. It looks beautiful at all time and a little different every time. Every bridge over the river has its own part in forming a serene and harmonious picture of the river. All of them, the river, the bridges, the street lamps, are beautiful in the morning, at dusk and at night. Every time I walked near them, I could not help taking pictures of them.
The buildings here are old and square and had high ceilings. They are pretty. The roads look good, too.
The first sight of the Duomo brought tears to my eyes. It looked wonderful, though the inside could not be compared to the Cathedral in the Vatican. The Baptistery looked old and I did not go in. I refuse to climb the stairs to the top of any monument (there were no lifts) so I did not have a helicopter view of the city. But looking up at the sights was just as good.
There were some complications in checking in the second hotel the next morning so it was too late when I made it to the Uffizi. So I changed my plan. I went to Pisa. The Field of Miracles was worth the visit. The white marble looked very nice on the green lawn under the blue sky. There were hardly any clouds on the sky. It was hot, but I felt good.
The only bad thing in Pisa was that I had not bought a return bus ticket back to the train station because the ticket office would not take my large-amount bank notes. Plus I did not know how to buy one from the ticket vending machine. So I had to walk back and, without exception, I lost my way. Just imagine walking under the hot sun for half an hour searching for the right direction. It was lucky that I could get on a delayed train back to Firenze soon after I got to the Pisa train station.
Afterwards, I visited the Palazzo Vecchio. It was a disappointment and I paid L15,000 for it.
I then walked around again, appreciating the river and the bridges as much as ever. I walked past the Palazzo Pitti. But I didn't go in, not only because it was too late but the palace also seemed unattractive. I think Uffizi can satisfy all my wants for museums and art. I just hope that it won't be as crowded as the Vatican Museum. It is actually another form of invasion by the Japanese.
It is 8:50 am now and I am still waiting.
I will go to Milano this afternoon and stay there tomorrow. It will be my last stop in Italy. Then it will be France, the Provence, the Cote d'Azur.
This place is infested by Japanese. There are many groups of Japanese in front of me and even more groups right behind. It is both frightening and unpleasant. I will try not to be mistaken as a Japanese.
The days in Firenze were not without complications. For example, I had just deposited my luggage at the station, planning to get it back before the departure of my train to Milano at 4:07 pm, before finding that the luggage storage service would be closed from 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm. Alas. Another example: it is very difficult to secure a room here. In Roma, I had booked a room here for the first night. Upon my arrival here, the Tourist Office would not book a room for me for the nights after (it only handles bookings for the same night) and my hotel refused to confirm whether I could stay longer in there. Not until tomorrow, the hotelier said. I could not take such an attitude. I was there and would pay whatever would be charged and yet he would not let me have the room, which had no toilet inside, for tomorrow. That was unacceptable. So I tried to find another room myself for the nights after. And I succeeded, though I had to pay much more, i.e. L135,000 vs L80,000, for a very large room and could only stay for one night. The next morning the first hotel offered me the room and I refused it. Ha ha!
Despite all these, Firenze is a very very beautiful place. It is almost love at first sight.
My first afternoon here it was cloudy. But it was beautiful and poetic. The second day was a sunny day, and the city glowed in the sunshine. The river Arno is incomparable. It looks beautiful at all time and a little different every time. Every bridge over the river has its own part in forming a serene and harmonious picture of the river. All of them, the river, the bridges, the street lamps, are beautiful in the morning, at dusk and at night. Every time I walked near them, I could not help taking pictures of them.
The buildings here are old and square and had high ceilings. They are pretty. The roads look good, too.
The first sight of the Duomo brought tears to my eyes. It looked wonderful, though the inside could not be compared to the Cathedral in the Vatican. The Baptistery looked old and I did not go in. I refuse to climb the stairs to the top of any monument (there were no lifts) so I did not have a helicopter view of the city. But looking up at the sights was just as good.
There were some complications in checking in the second hotel the next morning so it was too late when I made it to the Uffizi. So I changed my plan. I went to Pisa. The Field of Miracles was worth the visit. The white marble looked very nice on the green lawn under the blue sky. There were hardly any clouds on the sky. It was hot, but I felt good.
The only bad thing in Pisa was that I had not bought a return bus ticket back to the train station because the ticket office would not take my large-amount bank notes. Plus I did not know how to buy one from the ticket vending machine. So I had to walk back and, without exception, I lost my way. Just imagine walking under the hot sun for half an hour searching for the right direction. It was lucky that I could get on a delayed train back to Firenze soon after I got to the Pisa train station.
Afterwards, I visited the Palazzo Vecchio. It was a disappointment and I paid L15,000 for it.
I then walked around again, appreciating the river and the bridges as much as ever. I walked past the Palazzo Pitti. But I didn't go in, not only because it was too late but the palace also seemed unattractive. I think Uffizi can satisfy all my wants for museums and art. I just hope that it won't be as crowded as the Vatican Museum. It is actually another form of invasion by the Japanese.
It is 8:50 am now and I am still waiting.
I will go to Milano this afternoon and stay there tomorrow. It will be my last stop in Italy. Then it will be France, the Provence, the Cote d'Azur.
9.9.96
9.9.96 (Mon)
I am now on the train from Roma to Firenze. I could only reserve a seat in the smoking compartment. I hope I can endure it. When I came in, the passengers in the compartment asked me if I was from Taiwan. I told them that I was from Hong Kong. Then there was quite some discussion about Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Indonesia and Singapore, in Italian of course.
I am going to jot my days in Roma chronologically.
I arrived in Roma in the afternoon on the first day and had some difficulty in locating my hotel. The room I had was very simple, but neat and clean. Yes, I could tell whether the things were clean or not. It was on the first floor facing the street, thus it was noisy, but lively. At night, it felt like sleeping right on the street. But the noise did not annoy me. I felt quite at ease. The hotel was near the station. So it was convenient, but it also appeared less safe. I worried a little when I was around at night. But then I was never out too late.
Having settled down, I went out to walk around. I visited the Colosseum, the Foro Romano, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and walked past the huge white marble monument at Piazza Venezia on the first day. I kept looking around when I walked and was so careless that I stumbled and fell down on a street and grazed my right palm quite badly. It hurt and bled.
The ruins (the Colosseum and the Foro) were not as what I had expected. I had expected to be overwhelmed by its grandeur and magnificence. But instead I felt depressed in there, not understanding why such ruins, all broken down, had been kept right at the city centre for so many years.
I also went to the Vatican. The Cathedral was glorious. The sculpture Pieta was serene and beautiful. But I wondered if such a glorious and shiny place was what He wanted.
The Spanish Steps were very crowded and I did not feel safe around there.
I washed all my clothes plus my corduroy jacket on my first night in Roma. The result was that my right palm and also my forearms hurt badly, and the wound did not heal.
The next day I went to Pompeii. A lot of time was spent on the trains. The ruins were, again, depressing. More depressing was that it rained. Those human bodies dug up from the ruins upset me. The place was very large, so it was quite exhausting just to have even a short walk around the place to get a rough idea of it.
And when I returned to Roma it was already late. I could only manage to see the statue of Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli and have a brief tour in the Capitolini Museum. The statue was all right. I wondered why it had two horns (or horn-like things) on his head. The museum somehow worked magic on me, revived me. Museums are always soothing. Of course I could not see much in less than an hour but I enjoyed it. Among the paintings of Caravaggio in the museum, I like the "Fortune Teller".
I then had a walk along Via del Corso and window-shopped a department store. Then I had dinner in a big self-service restaurant. That was good.
The weather had become quite pleasant in the afternoon that day. It was however cool in the morning and evening. It was September after all.
That night I did my laundry again. This time it was my jeans. Not only my palm hurt but also my feet. It was the wrangling.
The third day I fed myself three times at the McDonald's. A hamburger as breakfast; mixed salad as lunch and a filet'O fish plus a chocolate cake as dinner. A symptom of McDonald's-phobia has started to develop despite the variety it offers here in Italy.
In the morning I went to the Vatican again. As expected, the museum was closed. So I went up to the top of the Cathedral. The elevator trip I paid for did not take me to the real top of the Cathedral. It only took us to the middle level of the church. Then we had to climb the stairs to the top. It was really CLIMBING. The staircases were very narrow and they turned round and round along the wall of the vault. Everybody panted and sweated when they reached the top. But the view was good up there.
I spent too much time in the Vatican and could not make it to the flea market that morning. I was somehow lost on the streets. So I got on a bus which I thought would take me near the market. It was very crowded aboard. And when I got a seat, I found that my bag had been forced open from the rear of the zip. Wasn't it amazing that those thieves could do this without my noticing it? I felt bad about this and got off the bus no matter what. But then I had a very tasty gelati on my way to the metro station which seemed to make up for this unpleasant event. It was lucky that there were no valuables inside the bag. Also, the zip was not damaged. This time I was lucky.
Then I returned to the hotel to have a siesta, only to be woken by a headache.
Museums were closed on Sunday afternoons so I decided to visit churches and fountains. I went to Piazza del Popolo where a church was showing some of Caravaggio's paintings. Because the church was still in its afternoon recess when I arrived, I went up to the adjoining Villa Borghese. The view up there was nice. But it was hot.
There I saw an Italian man sitting on a nice bench beneath a tree having a copybook on his lap with Chinese characters written on it. Obviously he was learning Chinese. I thought for a few seconds before I approached him and started to chat with him. He was a nice guy. He spoke English very well (he had spent two years in London) and he also spoke French. We talked about Hong Kong, China (he was learning Chinese for he wanted to have a job in China) and Italy. He told me some Italian history, some stories about Marco Polo and so on. And then I raised the very unwise subject of religion and could only manage to end it before the discussion got heated. A very sweet conversation, especially after so long a silence on the journey. His name was Antonio and he was from Sicily.
Afterwards I returned to that church but was not impressed by the paintings. Then I went to the Trevi Fountain. It was magnificent. What a nice piece of art. It was simply beautiful.
I started off early today. The first thing was to reserve a room in Firenze. I found it very difficult, even though it was the agency who did it. The agency could only find me a room for tonight after I think about ten phone calls. I might need to change my plan and leave Firenze earlier.
Then it was the Vatican Museum. First the Metro towards Ottaviano was for some reasons out of service. So everyone had to jump on the same bus. And the traffic was congested. I arrived there at around 9:45 am and found that there was already a very long queue at the entrance. I could not enter the museum until after 10 am. Inside, I was trapped by the crowds, the groups of tourists, especially Japanese. It was completely impossible to see anything that way. It was crowded, noisy and sometimes suffocating. I only wanted to get away, despite all the treasures and masterpieces inside. Rooms and rooms filled with paintings, sculptures and tapestry etc were sometimes linked by very narrow corridors. In there I thought of the Louvre again. Here it was nothing close to a museum. It was rather like a circus.
When I was about to leave, I came across a gallery detached from the main museum. It was the Pinacoteca which housed religious paintings. That was what a museum should be. It was quiet and cool inside, not filled with tourists. There I could appreciate Raphael's "Transfiguration" at my ease. But the one I like best was by Guido Reni depicting a white-haired man writing down what an angel was telling him. I bought a postcard of this painting. His "La Fortuna" was also good. I like that place.
I of course am not saying that the Vatican Museum was not worth visiting. But it would be far better if it had been less crowded and if I had had more time.
That is about all. Here comes Firenze.
I am going to jot my days in Roma chronologically.
I arrived in Roma in the afternoon on the first day and had some difficulty in locating my hotel. The room I had was very simple, but neat and clean. Yes, I could tell whether the things were clean or not. It was on the first floor facing the street, thus it was noisy, but lively. At night, it felt like sleeping right on the street. But the noise did not annoy me. I felt quite at ease. The hotel was near the station. So it was convenient, but it also appeared less safe. I worried a little when I was around at night. But then I was never out too late.
Having settled down, I went out to walk around. I visited the Colosseum, the Foro Romano, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and walked past the huge white marble monument at Piazza Venezia on the first day. I kept looking around when I walked and was so careless that I stumbled and fell down on a street and grazed my right palm quite badly. It hurt and bled.
The ruins (the Colosseum and the Foro) were not as what I had expected. I had expected to be overwhelmed by its grandeur and magnificence. But instead I felt depressed in there, not understanding why such ruins, all broken down, had been kept right at the city centre for so many years.
I also went to the Vatican. The Cathedral was glorious. The sculpture Pieta was serene and beautiful. But I wondered if such a glorious and shiny place was what He wanted.
The Spanish Steps were very crowded and I did not feel safe around there.
I washed all my clothes plus my corduroy jacket on my first night in Roma. The result was that my right palm and also my forearms hurt badly, and the wound did not heal.
The next day I went to Pompeii. A lot of time was spent on the trains. The ruins were, again, depressing. More depressing was that it rained. Those human bodies dug up from the ruins upset me. The place was very large, so it was quite exhausting just to have even a short walk around the place to get a rough idea of it.
And when I returned to Roma it was already late. I could only manage to see the statue of Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli and have a brief tour in the Capitolini Museum. The statue was all right. I wondered why it had two horns (or horn-like things) on his head. The museum somehow worked magic on me, revived me. Museums are always soothing. Of course I could not see much in less than an hour but I enjoyed it. Among the paintings of Caravaggio in the museum, I like the "Fortune Teller".
I then had a walk along Via del Corso and window-shopped a department store. Then I had dinner in a big self-service restaurant. That was good.
The weather had become quite pleasant in the afternoon that day. It was however cool in the morning and evening. It was September after all.
That night I did my laundry again. This time it was my jeans. Not only my palm hurt but also my feet. It was the wrangling.
The third day I fed myself three times at the McDonald's. A hamburger as breakfast; mixed salad as lunch and a filet'O fish plus a chocolate cake as dinner. A symptom of McDonald's-phobia has started to develop despite the variety it offers here in Italy.
In the morning I went to the Vatican again. As expected, the museum was closed. So I went up to the top of the Cathedral. The elevator trip I paid for did not take me to the real top of the Cathedral. It only took us to the middle level of the church. Then we had to climb the stairs to the top. It was really CLIMBING. The staircases were very narrow and they turned round and round along the wall of the vault. Everybody panted and sweated when they reached the top. But the view was good up there.
I spent too much time in the Vatican and could not make it to the flea market that morning. I was somehow lost on the streets. So I got on a bus which I thought would take me near the market. It was very crowded aboard. And when I got a seat, I found that my bag had been forced open from the rear of the zip. Wasn't it amazing that those thieves could do this without my noticing it? I felt bad about this and got off the bus no matter what. But then I had a very tasty gelati on my way to the metro station which seemed to make up for this unpleasant event. It was lucky that there were no valuables inside the bag. Also, the zip was not damaged. This time I was lucky.
Then I returned to the hotel to have a siesta, only to be woken by a headache.
Museums were closed on Sunday afternoons so I decided to visit churches and fountains. I went to Piazza del Popolo where a church was showing some of Caravaggio's paintings. Because the church was still in its afternoon recess when I arrived, I went up to the adjoining Villa Borghese. The view up there was nice. But it was hot.
There I saw an Italian man sitting on a nice bench beneath a tree having a copybook on his lap with Chinese characters written on it. Obviously he was learning Chinese. I thought for a few seconds before I approached him and started to chat with him. He was a nice guy. He spoke English very well (he had spent two years in London) and he also spoke French. We talked about Hong Kong, China (he was learning Chinese for he wanted to have a job in China) and Italy. He told me some Italian history, some stories about Marco Polo and so on. And then I raised the very unwise subject of religion and could only manage to end it before the discussion got heated. A very sweet conversation, especially after so long a silence on the journey. His name was Antonio and he was from Sicily.
Afterwards I returned to that church but was not impressed by the paintings. Then I went to the Trevi Fountain. It was magnificent. What a nice piece of art. It was simply beautiful.
I started off early today. The first thing was to reserve a room in Firenze. I found it very difficult, even though it was the agency who did it. The agency could only find me a room for tonight after I think about ten phone calls. I might need to change my plan and leave Firenze earlier.
Then it was the Vatican Museum. First the Metro towards Ottaviano was for some reasons out of service. So everyone had to jump on the same bus. And the traffic was congested. I arrived there at around 9:45 am and found that there was already a very long queue at the entrance. I could not enter the museum until after 10 am. Inside, I was trapped by the crowds, the groups of tourists, especially Japanese. It was completely impossible to see anything that way. It was crowded, noisy and sometimes suffocating. I only wanted to get away, despite all the treasures and masterpieces inside. Rooms and rooms filled with paintings, sculptures and tapestry etc were sometimes linked by very narrow corridors. In there I thought of the Louvre again. Here it was nothing close to a museum. It was rather like a circus.
When I was about to leave, I came across a gallery detached from the main museum. It was the Pinacoteca which housed religious paintings. That was what a museum should be. It was quiet and cool inside, not filled with tourists. There I could appreciate Raphael's "Transfiguration" at my ease. But the one I like best was by Guido Reni depicting a white-haired man writing down what an angel was telling him. I bought a postcard of this painting. His "La Fortuna" was also good. I like that place.
I of course am not saying that the Vatican Museum was not worth visiting. But it would be far better if it had been less crowded and if I had had more time.
That is about all. Here comes Firenze.
6.9.96
6.9.96 (Fri)
I am now on the train to Roma. It will arrive there at 12:45 pm. The time now is 8:05 am, i.e. about 4 1/2 hours to go.
I spent the last two days in Venezia. Having settled down in that expensive hotel Bellini, I went out to walk around. I did not really need to read the map because there were signs everywhere pointing to the Bridge Rialto and Piazza San Marco. I spent about 40 minutes, as the guidebook says, to walk from the hotel to San Marco. The streets and lanes were narrow and paved with stones. They were like a maze. It was somewhat amazing that people really lived there. Sometimes the streets smelled. The nearer I was to Rialto, the more crowded the streets became. When I finally reached the bridge, it was full of tourists, so crowded that I could hardly got on and across it. And Piazza San Marco was impossibly crowded too. People and pigeons were everywhere. It was about noon and the sun was getting fierce. It was impossible to take any picture without hundreds of people in it. So I chose to leave.
I returned to the station by ferry and then took a train to Verona. Verona was a normal place, i.e. not surrounded by so much water. There were roads and cars, thank God. And I felt normal there. It was not so infested with tourists so I could breathe and felt easier.
It was amazing that I did not need a map in Verona. In fact I did not even have the simplest map. I followed the guidebook's description and reached the old town. There it was impossible to miss the arena. I got in and climbed the steps to the top and then came back down. Then my thighs had a spasm, probably because of the steep steps. Then I followed crowds of tourists to the Juliet's House. The visitors raved about the statue of Juliet and hastened to take photos of/with it. I took a photo too. Then I just strolled along the streets, went into the shops to look around and then I left the town.
I had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel that night. The food was not good. But the price was not high either.
I left the hotel before 7 am the next morning and headed for San Marco again. The beautiful square, almost empty, was more beautiful in the early morning light. I took many pictures. Then I returned to the hotel to have breakfast. Then again I went to San Marco, by ferry this time. I visited the Cathedral and its treasury, which were not special. The I visited the Ducal Palace beside the Cathedral which was where the Government had been. The palace was quite beautiful. The view on the terrace facing the Canal was great, with the water reflecting the sunshine. The ceiling and walls of most of the rooms in the Palace were filled with paintings in golden frames. I also went through the Bridge of Signs, which has nothing inside. (By the way, I think the one in Cambridge is much more beautiful). I like the courtyard and the terrace of the Ducal Palace most.
The square, by the time I left the palace, was full of tourists. I ate a little and then proceeded to the Correr Museum opposite the Cathedral. The museum was OK. I was amazed by a globe made in the 1680's which had very detailed depiction of China on it. The coastlines and even the name of the places, like Hainan etc, were clearly marked on it. It seems to me that the Italian sailing technology was already quite advance at that time. I also like a set of antique jigsaw I saw in there.
I then had a hot chocolate at a cafe in the square. There was a good jazz performance and simply sitting there was quite a leisure, though I feared that the pigeons' feathers etc might just drop into the drinks. Of course the price for that cup of chocolate was horribly high, i.e. L13,000, about HKD70. But the music and the atmosphere were worth it.
Afterwards I returned to the hotel to wash my face. Then I decided to go to Padova, a nearby town, since there was nothing else to do in Venezia (I had no intention to visit the outlying islands). Padova was not so touristy. People lived and worked there. There were department stores, taller buildings. But since I arrived late, I couldn't get much information. And because it was not touristy, there were no crowds of tourists to follow. So I saw nothing and was lost in the streets. But I still felt quite good to leave Venezia for a while.
On my arrival in Italy, I heard a lady (a tourist) commented that the Italians should drop some zeros from their currency. I agree completely. I have problems in dealing with such huge amounts. Maybe Italians are all arithmetic genius.
It is now 9 am, 3 3/4 hours more to go. In comparison, the interior of German and French trains is better than that of the Italian ones.
Venezia was a beautiful place. But it was too special. I mean I needed to adapt to its uniqueness. And it was too touristy, too crowded. That made me feel uneasy.
I don't like the ferries of Venezia. They were slow and crowded. I preferred to walk. Walking in Venezia without referring to the map was not only possible, but could be quite interesting. Following the road signs I could somehow reach my destinations, which were always the major sights. The good thing about walking like this was that I could always walk on some streets which were new to me. But the bad thing was that I could not find the ways I had walked before or the shops I wanted to return to.
I spent the last two days in Venezia. Having settled down in that expensive hotel Bellini, I went out to walk around. I did not really need to read the map because there were signs everywhere pointing to the Bridge Rialto and Piazza San Marco. I spent about 40 minutes, as the guidebook says, to walk from the hotel to San Marco. The streets and lanes were narrow and paved with stones. They were like a maze. It was somewhat amazing that people really lived there. Sometimes the streets smelled. The nearer I was to Rialto, the more crowded the streets became. When I finally reached the bridge, it was full of tourists, so crowded that I could hardly got on and across it. And Piazza San Marco was impossibly crowded too. People and pigeons were everywhere. It was about noon and the sun was getting fierce. It was impossible to take any picture without hundreds of people in it. So I chose to leave.
I returned to the station by ferry and then took a train to Verona. Verona was a normal place, i.e. not surrounded by so much water. There were roads and cars, thank God. And I felt normal there. It was not so infested with tourists so I could breathe and felt easier.
It was amazing that I did not need a map in Verona. In fact I did not even have the simplest map. I followed the guidebook's description and reached the old town. There it was impossible to miss the arena. I got in and climbed the steps to the top and then came back down. Then my thighs had a spasm, probably because of the steep steps. Then I followed crowds of tourists to the Juliet's House. The visitors raved about the statue of Juliet and hastened to take photos of/with it. I took a photo too. Then I just strolled along the streets, went into the shops to look around and then I left the town.
I had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel that night. The food was not good. But the price was not high either.
I left the hotel before 7 am the next morning and headed for San Marco again. The beautiful square, almost empty, was more beautiful in the early morning light. I took many pictures. Then I returned to the hotel to have breakfast. Then again I went to San Marco, by ferry this time. I visited the Cathedral and its treasury, which were not special. The I visited the Ducal Palace beside the Cathedral which was where the Government had been. The palace was quite beautiful. The view on the terrace facing the Canal was great, with the water reflecting the sunshine. The ceiling and walls of most of the rooms in the Palace were filled with paintings in golden frames. I also went through the Bridge of Signs, which has nothing inside. (By the way, I think the one in Cambridge is much more beautiful). I like the courtyard and the terrace of the Ducal Palace most.
The square, by the time I left the palace, was full of tourists. I ate a little and then proceeded to the Correr Museum opposite the Cathedral. The museum was OK. I was amazed by a globe made in the 1680's which had very detailed depiction of China on it. The coastlines and even the name of the places, like Hainan etc, were clearly marked on it. It seems to me that the Italian sailing technology was already quite advance at that time. I also like a set of antique jigsaw I saw in there.
I then had a hot chocolate at a cafe in the square. There was a good jazz performance and simply sitting there was quite a leisure, though I feared that the pigeons' feathers etc might just drop into the drinks. Of course the price for that cup of chocolate was horribly high, i.e. L13,000, about HKD70. But the music and the atmosphere were worth it.
Afterwards I returned to the hotel to wash my face. Then I decided to go to Padova, a nearby town, since there was nothing else to do in Venezia (I had no intention to visit the outlying islands). Padova was not so touristy. People lived and worked there. There were department stores, taller buildings. But since I arrived late, I couldn't get much information. And because it was not touristy, there were no crowds of tourists to follow. So I saw nothing and was lost in the streets. But I still felt quite good to leave Venezia for a while.
On my arrival in Italy, I heard a lady (a tourist) commented that the Italians should drop some zeros from their currency. I agree completely. I have problems in dealing with such huge amounts. Maybe Italians are all arithmetic genius.
It is now 9 am, 3 3/4 hours more to go. In comparison, the interior of German and French trains is better than that of the Italian ones.
Venezia was a beautiful place. But it was too special. I mean I needed to adapt to its uniqueness. And it was too touristy, too crowded. That made me feel uneasy.
I don't like the ferries of Venezia. They were slow and crowded. I preferred to walk. Walking in Venezia without referring to the map was not only possible, but could be quite interesting. Following the road signs I could somehow reach my destinations, which were always the major sights. The good thing about walking like this was that I could always walk on some streets which were new to me. But the bad thing was that I could not find the ways I had walked before or the shops I wanted to return to.
5.9.96
5.9.96 (Thu)
I am now in a restaurant near my hotel in Venezia waiting for my food. There is no way of knowing how the food is yet but the service is clearly not very good.
I arrived here early yesterday. The service of the EuroNight train was again as good as I had expected. Clean, comfortable, and breakfast included. It was worth the price.
I couldn't find a hotel here myself so I had to count on the Tourist Office. It has found for me a 3-star hotel at L180,000 per night (i.e. > HKD900) which is almost right next to the station. Maybe I appeared quite well-off. The staff at the Tourist Office asked me right away if I would take a 3-star one and I said yes for I did not want to wait. The hotel is good, with a grand bathroom with gold-coloured taps. But the room is at a wing which is being renovated so the corridors and the hall are dirty and noisy during the day. But the room itself is all right.
I arrived here early yesterday. The service of the EuroNight train was again as good as I had expected. Clean, comfortable, and breakfast included. It was worth the price.
I couldn't find a hotel here myself so I had to count on the Tourist Office. It has found for me a 3-star hotel at L180,000 per night (i.e. > HKD900) which is almost right next to the station. Maybe I appeared quite well-off. The staff at the Tourist Office asked me right away if I would take a 3-star one and I said yes for I did not want to wait. The hotel is good, with a grand bathroom with gold-coloured taps. But the room is at a wing which is being renovated so the corridors and the hall are dirty and noisy during the day. But the room itself is all right.
3.9.96
3.9.96 (Tue)
Finally, I am on the train leaving Budapest for Wien. It will depart within minutes. This is a very comfortable German train on which I used to travel in previous trips. Air-conditioned and roomy seats. How I love it. And I am glad that I'm leaving Budapest at last.
On the whole, the stay in Budapest was not a nice one. The weather was not good. There was thunderstorm at night and it rained during the day. Even now it is cloudy and gloomy.
I arrived in Budapest early on the first day. I left my luggage at the station and started touring around the major sights. Since it rained I was not really in the mood. But I liked the Hero Square quite a lot. The Buda Castle was just average and so was the city park. Then I checked in the hotel in the afternoon and went back to the station to get my luggage. Then I walked around again. It was then that I discovered that I had lost my camera. I now suspect that it was stolen at the station.
I started off late yesterday (the second day in Budapest) because I had not quite recovered from the shock of losing the camera. I kept telling myself that it was only a camera; it could have been my wallet or passport then it could be far far worse. I spent the rest of the morning searching for a new camera. There were not many choices, naturally. Nothing like Fortress or Broadway at the places I went to. What I wanted was a camera with built-in flash and zoom functions (actually, what I really wanted was exactly my same old one). What passed the criteria however did not seem attractive, or reliable, or priced reasonably. And the disposable ones were quite expensive with basic functions only. Plus, they would be bulky to carry. Finally I bought a very basic Kodak camera at 13,990ft, i.e. about HKD750. That way I can still use the films I've brought with me. I will buy a better one when I return to Hong Kong.
After the shopping, I felt much better because things seemed to have more or less returned to track. I hurried to the Hero Square again to take a few snaps. Then I went to the Castle Hill again. The Fisherman's Bastion was lovely. I took many photos there. What was more impressive was that what I first thought was music flowing out from the restaurants turned out to be violin played by a young man at the top of the Bastion. The music mixed so well with the view that it gave me such a romantic sensation that I considered it very reasonable to pay him. The rest of the Castle Hill was ordinary.
Then I took the cable car down the hill, took a tram, then a bus and then walked a distance to the Citadella, which turned out to be quite a disappointment. The fortress was not special, and the huge statue, though quite impressive because it was visible afar, was not beautiful at all. Well I know a beautiful statue when I see one. That one was obviously not. Plus, the weather was poor. When I came down, I bought some drinks in a supermarket. The queues at the cashiers were super-long and discouraging. For a purchase of around HKD5, I was in the line for about 20 minutes. I spent the time observing local people. One thing I could see was that they did not care much about the hygiene of their bread. They just put their huge pieces of bread inside the shopping baskets, with pieces of paper that could scarcely wrap the bread.
I then walked along the Danube river, the Chain Bridge and Vaci Utca again. I have never felt that Danube is a beautiful river. The rivers that run through Salzburg and Praha, and the Seine and the Cam rivers are beautiful. The Danube and the Rhine are not.
I then had dinner in a Pizza Hut on Vaci Utca. It was cheap. A spaghetti and a coke plus service charge were only 670ft, i.e. about HKD30. A man and a girl (both Asians) approached me at the Pizza Hut. The girl began with "sumimasen" and I instantly replied in Japanese that I was not a Japanese. The girl shut up at once. Then the man asked me in English if I was a Japanese living in Budapest because it would be good for the girl, a new student in Budapest, to have a friend from her own country. The man was from Hong Kong. And I explained to him in Cantonese that I could not help.
Then I returned to the hotel. When I was climbing the stairs from the metro to the street, I felt something touch my back. There were two men behind me. One of them obviously was trying to unzip my backpack. I was lucky that it was not easy because I was walking. But just when I turned to check what was going on, another man at the foot of the stairs shouted at them. Then they yelled at each other. People nearby watched. I think these two thieves had stolen something from that man or his pals and were discovered. What a mess with these thieves. I was frightened by strangers approaching me and so I ignored them, whoever they were. Once, these strangers turned out to be metro staff checking passengers' tickets.
I like Praha much more than Budapest. No. I like Praha. I don't like Budapest. I am so sorry that some of the pictures I took in Praha, especially those taken on the last night, were lost.
* * *
I am now in the restaurant in Wien Sudbahnhof. I have just had dinner here. The spaghetti was just average. But I want to stay here because there are still 1 1/2 hours to go before the departure of my train to Venezia.
Today was a wasted day. I had nothing to do here in Wien. I had seen everything I wanted to see last time. I just kept walking up and down between Karlsplatz and Stephansplatz, turning into the side streets from time to time. I spent about an hour standing in the British Book Shop reading. I was glad that I still remembered the way there. After the book shop, there was really nothing to do, so I just walked to and fro. My legs and feet almost fell off around 6 pm. I could walk no more at around 6:30 pm so I came to the station.
When I arrived at Wien Westbahnhof today, I met the Australians who had shared a train compartment with me from Berlin to Praha. They were going fine. Instead of taking a night train through Slovakia, they had taken a day train via Wien to Budapest. They liked Praha, just as I do, and they liked Budapest, too. I told them that I disliked Budapest for I had lost my camera there. They said they were sorry.
On the whole, the stay in Budapest was not a nice one. The weather was not good. There was thunderstorm at night and it rained during the day. Even now it is cloudy and gloomy.
I arrived in Budapest early on the first day. I left my luggage at the station and started touring around the major sights. Since it rained I was not really in the mood. But I liked the Hero Square quite a lot. The Buda Castle was just average and so was the city park. Then I checked in the hotel in the afternoon and went back to the station to get my luggage. Then I walked around again. It was then that I discovered that I had lost my camera. I now suspect that it was stolen at the station.
I started off late yesterday (the second day in Budapest) because I had not quite recovered from the shock of losing the camera. I kept telling myself that it was only a camera; it could have been my wallet or passport then it could be far far worse. I spent the rest of the morning searching for a new camera. There were not many choices, naturally. Nothing like Fortress or Broadway at the places I went to. What I wanted was a camera with built-in flash and zoom functions (actually, what I really wanted was exactly my same old one). What passed the criteria however did not seem attractive, or reliable, or priced reasonably. And the disposable ones were quite expensive with basic functions only. Plus, they would be bulky to carry. Finally I bought a very basic Kodak camera at 13,990ft, i.e. about HKD750. That way I can still use the films I've brought with me. I will buy a better one when I return to Hong Kong.
After the shopping, I felt much better because things seemed to have more or less returned to track. I hurried to the Hero Square again to take a few snaps. Then I went to the Castle Hill again. The Fisherman's Bastion was lovely. I took many photos there. What was more impressive was that what I first thought was music flowing out from the restaurants turned out to be violin played by a young man at the top of the Bastion. The music mixed so well with the view that it gave me such a romantic sensation that I considered it very reasonable to pay him. The rest of the Castle Hill was ordinary.
Then I took the cable car down the hill, took a tram, then a bus and then walked a distance to the Citadella, which turned out to be quite a disappointment. The fortress was not special, and the huge statue, though quite impressive because it was visible afar, was not beautiful at all. Well I know a beautiful statue when I see one. That one was obviously not. Plus, the weather was poor. When I came down, I bought some drinks in a supermarket. The queues at the cashiers were super-long and discouraging. For a purchase of around HKD5, I was in the line for about 20 minutes. I spent the time observing local people. One thing I could see was that they did not care much about the hygiene of their bread. They just put their huge pieces of bread inside the shopping baskets, with pieces of paper that could scarcely wrap the bread.
I then walked along the Danube river, the Chain Bridge and Vaci Utca again. I have never felt that Danube is a beautiful river. The rivers that run through Salzburg and Praha, and the Seine and the Cam rivers are beautiful. The Danube and the Rhine are not.
I then had dinner in a Pizza Hut on Vaci Utca. It was cheap. A spaghetti and a coke plus service charge were only 670ft, i.e. about HKD30. A man and a girl (both Asians) approached me at the Pizza Hut. The girl began with "sumimasen" and I instantly replied in Japanese that I was not a Japanese. The girl shut up at once. Then the man asked me in English if I was a Japanese living in Budapest because it would be good for the girl, a new student in Budapest, to have a friend from her own country. The man was from Hong Kong. And I explained to him in Cantonese that I could not help.
Then I returned to the hotel. When I was climbing the stairs from the metro to the street, I felt something touch my back. There were two men behind me. One of them obviously was trying to unzip my backpack. I was lucky that it was not easy because I was walking. But just when I turned to check what was going on, another man at the foot of the stairs shouted at them. Then they yelled at each other. People nearby watched. I think these two thieves had stolen something from that man or his pals and were discovered. What a mess with these thieves. I was frightened by strangers approaching me and so I ignored them, whoever they were. Once, these strangers turned out to be metro staff checking passengers' tickets.
I like Praha much more than Budapest. No. I like Praha. I don't like Budapest. I am so sorry that some of the pictures I took in Praha, especially those taken on the last night, were lost.
* * *
I am now in the restaurant in Wien Sudbahnhof. I have just had dinner here. The spaghetti was just average. But I want to stay here because there are still 1 1/2 hours to go before the departure of my train to Venezia.
Today was a wasted day. I had nothing to do here in Wien. I had seen everything I wanted to see last time. I just kept walking up and down between Karlsplatz and Stephansplatz, turning into the side streets from time to time. I spent about an hour standing in the British Book Shop reading. I was glad that I still remembered the way there. After the book shop, there was really nothing to do, so I just walked to and fro. My legs and feet almost fell off around 6 pm. I could walk no more at around 6:30 pm so I came to the station.
When I arrived at Wien Westbahnhof today, I met the Australians who had shared a train compartment with me from Berlin to Praha. They were going fine. Instead of taking a night train through Slovakia, they had taken a day train via Wien to Budapest. They liked Praha, just as I do, and they liked Budapest, too. I told them that I disliked Budapest for I had lost my camera there. They said they were sorry.
1.9.96
1.9.96 (Sun)
I am now in the hotel in Budapest and am very unhappy because I have lost my camera. Only God knows why and when and where and how it was stolen. I have kept all my valuables very close to myself but still. Maybe I should keep them even closer, next to the skin.
But right from the beginning, I don't like this place. It is not really beautiful. The weather is not good. And it is a Sunday, i.e. the city seems dead today. Just this afternoon, two men cornered me inside the metro train. I found it strange that they jammed me to the door so hard when the other parts of the train did not seem really crowded, not realizing that they were pickpockets. I tried to get away but found it quite impossible. Afterwards, a passenger told me that my backpack was opened. Obviously, those two thieves cornered me so that I could not move, opened the bag, examined the content, but found nothing of value, just a novel and a notebook. The funny thing was that the purse in which I keep my cosmetics was also opened. They must have thought that there was money inside.
But of course it is not funny now. One of those thieves out there finally got my camera. And I only have myself to blame. What should I do now?
I dislike this place so much that I have changed my plan. Instead of staying for three days, I will leave on the third day for Wien. That night I'll take a night train to Venezia. Wien is not in my plan but I must leave here earlier. I have originally booked a sleeper on a direct train from Budapest to Venezia. The price was about HKD300. But then I considered it unsafe to travel alone on a Hungarian train for about 16 hours. So I changed my plan. The night train from Wien is a EuroNight train of very high quality. And I will have a single room. But it is expensive, about HKD1,380. But safety and comfort always take money.
Now, about yesterday.
Despite a lousy morning in Kutna Hora, I had a splendid afternoon. The musical Jesus Christ Superstar was good. I won't say it has shocked me but I like it very much. Since I didn't know the language, I concentrated on the music and the stage effects. The music was quite good. The effects were moving. The "Hosanna" scene made me feel why the Romans were afraid of JC gathering the Jews. And the scene of the 39 lashes was very powerful, breath-taking and heart-breaking. (Why 39? Is it recorded in the Scripture?) The actor playing JC was good but Judas' performance was weaker. But on the whole I like the show. I might like it more if it had been in English.
Then I had a dinner at a small restaurant introduced in the Lonely Planet. The food was really nothing special but its menu was in many languages including English (so at least I knew what I was ordering). And the food was cheap. An a la carte main dish ranged from 70kcs to 100kcs. It was cheap even if it were in HKD.
After the meal, I walked from V. Nam. to the Old Town Square and then Charles Bridge. It was very beautiful at night. When I arrived at Charles Bridge, my first thought was, "Is it possible... to be so beautiful?" There were enough people there making me feel safe but not overcrowded. And I enjoyed some good music free at the Old Town Square.
The trip to Budapest was not so smooth. First, I could not open the locker storing my backpack. Then when I boarded the train, I was told that I did not have a ticket though I had bought a sleeper reservation ticket. I had to rush to the ticket office to buy the train ticket, carrying all my luggage all the way. Then I did not have enough kcs for the ticket and had to draw a cash advance using my MasterCard (I forgot about the interest charged). Because of the weight of my luggage, the running and the frustration, I was a mess sweating and panting when I was at last allowed to get on the train.
I shared a compartment with a Slovakian lady. We chatted a little. Then because she said good night and slept, I had to turn off the light and slept too so as not to disturb her. But it was good to lie down and rest after all the hustle and bustle. And I did have some broken sleep. My companion was sound asleep. And I knew how "sound" her sleep was. But our sleep was disturbed first by the Czech border police, then the Czech custom, then twice by the Slovakian border police, then the Hungarian border police.
But right from the beginning, I don't like this place. It is not really beautiful. The weather is not good. And it is a Sunday, i.e. the city seems dead today. Just this afternoon, two men cornered me inside the metro train. I found it strange that they jammed me to the door so hard when the other parts of the train did not seem really crowded, not realizing that they were pickpockets. I tried to get away but found it quite impossible. Afterwards, a passenger told me that my backpack was opened. Obviously, those two thieves cornered me so that I could not move, opened the bag, examined the content, but found nothing of value, just a novel and a notebook. The funny thing was that the purse in which I keep my cosmetics was also opened. They must have thought that there was money inside.
But of course it is not funny now. One of those thieves out there finally got my camera. And I only have myself to blame. What should I do now?
I dislike this place so much that I have changed my plan. Instead of staying for three days, I will leave on the third day for Wien. That night I'll take a night train to Venezia. Wien is not in my plan but I must leave here earlier. I have originally booked a sleeper on a direct train from Budapest to Venezia. The price was about HKD300. But then I considered it unsafe to travel alone on a Hungarian train for about 16 hours. So I changed my plan. The night train from Wien is a EuroNight train of very high quality. And I will have a single room. But it is expensive, about HKD1,380. But safety and comfort always take money.
Now, about yesterday.
Despite a lousy morning in Kutna Hora, I had a splendid afternoon. The musical Jesus Christ Superstar was good. I won't say it has shocked me but I like it very much. Since I didn't know the language, I concentrated on the music and the stage effects. The music was quite good. The effects were moving. The "Hosanna" scene made me feel why the Romans were afraid of JC gathering the Jews. And the scene of the 39 lashes was very powerful, breath-taking and heart-breaking. (Why 39? Is it recorded in the Scripture?) The actor playing JC was good but Judas' performance was weaker. But on the whole I like the show. I might like it more if it had been in English.
Then I had a dinner at a small restaurant introduced in the Lonely Planet. The food was really nothing special but its menu was in many languages including English (so at least I knew what I was ordering). And the food was cheap. An a la carte main dish ranged from 70kcs to 100kcs. It was cheap even if it were in HKD.
After the meal, I walked from V. Nam. to the Old Town Square and then Charles Bridge. It was very beautiful at night. When I arrived at Charles Bridge, my first thought was, "Is it possible... to be so beautiful?" There were enough people there making me feel safe but not overcrowded. And I enjoyed some good music free at the Old Town Square.
The trip to Budapest was not so smooth. First, I could not open the locker storing my backpack. Then when I boarded the train, I was told that I did not have a ticket though I had bought a sleeper reservation ticket. I had to rush to the ticket office to buy the train ticket, carrying all my luggage all the way. Then I did not have enough kcs for the ticket and had to draw a cash advance using my MasterCard (I forgot about the interest charged). Because of the weight of my luggage, the running and the frustration, I was a mess sweating and panting when I was at last allowed to get on the train.
I shared a compartment with a Slovakian lady. We chatted a little. Then because she said good night and slept, I had to turn off the light and slept too so as not to disturb her. But it was good to lie down and rest after all the hustle and bustle. And I did have some broken sleep. My companion was sound asleep. And I knew how "sound" her sleep was. But our sleep was disturbed first by the Czech border police, then the Czech custom, then twice by the Slovakian border police, then the Hungarian border police.
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