Sunday 30th of May 2010. Czech players won gold in hockey world championship. And I was leaving Canada. After incredible 5 months, having experienced a lot, met many great friends and discovered another part of the world.
The whole day I spent with packing, saying goodbye to my flatmates and to the city and in the evening with my 60kg of luggages I boarded onto LOT aircraft on the flight from Toronto through Warsaw to Vienna (unfortunately I can't recommend to use LOT), arriving to Vienna on Monday 31st later afternoon. Because there wasn't any connection to Prague, I'd planned to stay in Vienna one night (couchsurfing :). Tuesday afternoon I took Student Agency bus to Prague.
--- so that's the end of the story; see you Canada hopefully in not so distant future! ---
02 August 2010
New Brunswick
It was the last week of May and my very last week to be in Canada. I was enjoying my Cambridge new home, but yet I had a plan where to spend the last days: New Brunswick, a province in the east from Québec and with an access to Atlantic through Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Saint Lawrence. I made some research and found those facts:
To go through Quebec province to the north of NB, hitchhike along St. John river to Fredericton, spend 2 nights there and then continue to Saint John. There is a scenic old highway, going in the valley along the river. From St John I'd fly back to Toronto.
- A truly bilingual province, in the north prevail French, in the south English
- People are very friendly
- Capital is Fredericton, with 50ths ppl
- The whole NB has only 750ths people
- Air distance North-South is 320km
- The best place (together with Nova Scotia) for hitchhiking in Canada
To go through Quebec province to the north of NB, hitchhike along St. John river to Fredericton, spend 2 nights there and then continue to Saint John. There is a scenic old highway, going in the valley along the river. From St John I'd fly back to Toronto.
29 July 2010
Days in Cambridge
On 15th of May I returned to Canada to a new home - a house in Cambridge, a little town connected to K-W by iXpress bus. There is a Faculty of Architecture of UW, a nice surrounding, but generally the town is quite small, not providing much opportunities what to do. With my great housemates Monika (CZ), Peter (CA) and Nils (FR) we shared a lovely big house in Beverly street. I was very tired from our 3 weeks travelling and spend the following days in resting mode. There were amazing barbecue and czech dinner evenings which we managed to organize with my flatmates. I really enjoyed those days we spent together talking with beers :) All the time it was sunny warm summer weather. Now it seems to me it was more than just one short week...
I got an old bike to move around and even I went for a little trip to Chicopee, where I hadn't been before. I started also creating an idea for the last week; I had some spare days before my departure and I wanted to discover another place in CA or around. One day I found tickets to Saint John in New Brunswick for quite reasonable price. But before I decided, the ticket to go there got quite expensive, so my final plan looked like: To New Brunswick by bus through Quebec and to fly back. I read some articles about NB and about travelling there; it was said that hitch-hiking works there the best in whole Canada. I was about to prove it!
I got an old bike to move around and even I went for a little trip to Chicopee, where I hadn't been before. I started also creating an idea for the last week; I had some spare days before my departure and I wanted to discover another place in CA or around. One day I found tickets to Saint John in New Brunswick for quite reasonable price. But before I decided, the ticket to go there got quite expensive, so my final plan looked like: To New Brunswick by bus through Quebec and to fly back. I read some articles about NB and about travelling there; it was said that hitch-hiking works there the best in whole Canada. I was about to prove it!
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| CA16 Cambridge May 2010 |
Washington DC and Alexandria
Before Pivko and Franta left back home, I had been thinking what to do next. I had half of May free and I had no longer background in Park st Manor in Waterloo (remember, the house was sold). The first idea of going to Caribbean was abandoned. Not as I would't like, but there was no one left and I didn't want to travel there alone. Then I found a temporary home in Cambridge in a house where Monika was living during her summer term (Monika is also from CTU studying currently at UW) and that solved my housing situation. I was also considering to go from NYC directly north to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, but I couldn't figure out any reasonable way how to get there through Main. Decision was made by finding cheap tickets to Boston or DC. I choose Washington and then I would go back "home" to Canada.
25 July 2010
The Trip part IV - New York City
Big Apple was the last destination on our common travel list. We were staying for 3 days (9.-11.5.), living in the cheapest hostel in Brooklyn (Lafayette hostel). It wasn't that bad, the only problem there were only two showers which was very insufficient. Sunday afternoon we spent lost in Manhattan, walking down Broadway st, taking pictures in Wall st, and admiring night Times sq. I learned in LP guide there were almost no public toilets in NYC and that's absolutely truth! They recommend to use Starbucks, or any other coffee shop :P Although Manhattan creates only a part of NYC, it's so huge that walking around made us soon tired and we got back to our hostel.
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| Time sq. |
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| Brooklyn bridge |
20 July 2010
The Trip part III - Union College
The reason for visiting Union College was to see Czech friends studying there and to pick-up some ebay electronics :)
Crossing the border Canada/USA is a real procedure; the train was stopped for 2 hours and a dinning car was turned into a custom office. We were questioned why, where and how we were going to spend our time in the States, had to fill out a paper claiming we were not terrorists, another paper claiming we were not carrying any livestock and food, and finally pay six dollars of a stamp and a paper stitched in our passports. Moreover to say the train from Montréal to NY was extremely slow! Not as it was old, but the railway had probably stayed in the same condition since the time it was built by first colonists... It was just single-track with unsecured road crossings, so either we were waiting for a train in the opposite direction or going very slow across those crossings (plus these two hours in borders). In total 357km in 7.20 h, wow!
We arrived to Schenectady on Friday 7th of May, easily found Union College (looking like weirdoes as we were walking and with huge backpacks :), met with Martin, got a room in a dormitory, went for a great all-you-can-eat dinner (so good, especially when you are hungry), and later joined other exchange students at a party in Language house and after in Frat house. Frat house is a kind of weird clan accommodation system: in the house can permanently live only guys (!) belonging into a particular fraternity (or brotherhood). Getting into a fraternity is very sophisticated process consisting from 10 weeks of pledging (= serving) for older brothers (basically an applicant has to act like a "bitch", like in the army). In the evenings the house turns into huge alcohol bordel. There young students get very drunk from extremely disgusting Bud Light, or other cheap US beer and lose all their human manners :D Funny. Especially if you realize the campus is alcohol free, there is a campus police, campus safety, canteens, and everything needed for an easy-going student life. Of course for this comfort you (or your parents) have to pay hell a lot of money!
Crossing the border Canada/USA is a real procedure; the train was stopped for 2 hours and a dinning car was turned into a custom office. We were questioned why, where and how we were going to spend our time in the States, had to fill out a paper claiming we were not terrorists, another paper claiming we were not carrying any livestock and food, and finally pay six dollars of a stamp and a paper stitched in our passports. Moreover to say the train from Montréal to NY was extremely slow! Not as it was old, but the railway had probably stayed in the same condition since the time it was built by first colonists... It was just single-track with unsecured road crossings, so either we were waiting for a train in the opposite direction or going very slow across those crossings (plus these two hours in borders). In total 357km in 7.20 h, wow!
We arrived to Schenectady on Friday 7th of May, easily found Union College (looking like weirdoes as we were walking and with huge backpacks :), met with Martin, got a room in a dormitory, went for a great all-you-can-eat dinner (so good, especially when you are hungry), and later joined other exchange students at a party in Language house and after in Frat house. Frat house is a kind of weird clan accommodation system: in the house can permanently live only guys (!) belonging into a particular fraternity (or brotherhood). Getting into a fraternity is very sophisticated process consisting from 10 weeks of pledging (= serving) for older brothers (basically an applicant has to act like a "bitch", like in the army). In the evenings the house turns into huge alcohol bordel. There young students get very drunk from extremely disgusting Bud Light, or other cheap US beer and lose all their human manners :D Funny. Especially if you realize the campus is alcohol free, there is a campus police, campus safety, canteens, and everything needed for an easy-going student life. Of course for this comfort you (or your parents) have to pay hell a lot of money!
19 July 2010
The Trip part II - Ottawa & Montréal
When Nicolas left us on Tue 4th May, we went directly to Ottawa as planed, because we had our car for one more day. It takes about two hours of comfortable driving from Montréal. Ottawa is a very nice city lying on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The city was chosen by Queen Victoria as a capital on December 31st 1857 as a compromise between Toronto and Montréal. It's a real bilingual city; about 80% of citizens under 25 are able to speak both languages.
We were staying in a great (little expensive, but yet the cheapest in the town) hostel Ottawa Backpackers. From the sights to be mention there is Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park, Museum of Civilization and Rideau Canal (which when frozen creates officially the world's largest skating rink with its 7,8km length) and many governmental buildings and embassies. By an accident we also got inside the parliament and saw part of a political discussion :). In the evening we went to a karaoke bar with some really good singers!
Next morning we had to hurry up to be back in Montréal until noon to drop off our car in Thrifty office (but before to return GPS in Walmart :)). I think in total we made around 2500 km.
In Montréal we met Jean-Christophe, my friend who was studying in Prague 2 years ago. We were staying at his flat for 2 days. There is a great system of city bikes, which we were using very much! All you need to use Bixi is your credit card with a deposit of 250$, then is costs 5$ per 24hours and you have every 30mins of biking for free. First evening we also met some other ex-exchange Prague students in Bílý Kůň pub. The other day we were sightseeing around the well known places (Mont Royal hill, Olympic stadium, Port, etc.) That evening Canadians won over Penguins in a match in Bell Centre in the city, which was a huge holiday! :)
On Friday 7th in the morning we were leaving by Amtrack to Schenectady in New York.
We were staying in a great (little expensive, but yet the cheapest in the town) hostel Ottawa Backpackers. From the sights to be mention there is Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park, Museum of Civilization and Rideau Canal (which when frozen creates officially the world's largest skating rink with its 7,8km length) and many governmental buildings and embassies. By an accident we also got inside the parliament and saw part of a political discussion :). In the evening we went to a karaoke bar with some really good singers!
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| CA11 Ottawa 4.5.2010 |
Next morning we had to hurry up to be back in Montréal until noon to drop off our car in Thrifty office (but before to return GPS in Walmart :)). I think in total we made around 2500 km.
In Montréal we met Jean-Christophe, my friend who was studying in Prague 2 years ago. We were staying at his flat for 2 days. There is a great system of city bikes, which we were using very much! All you need to use Bixi is your credit card with a deposit of 250$, then is costs 5$ per 24hours and you have every 30mins of biking for free. First evening we also met some other ex-exchange Prague students in Bílý Kůň pub. The other day we were sightseeing around the well known places (Mont Royal hill, Olympic stadium, Port, etc.) That evening Canadians won over Penguins in a match in Bell Centre in the city, which was a huge holiday! :)
On Friday 7th in the morning we were leaving by Amtrack to Schenectady in New York.
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| CA12 Montréal 5.-6.5.2010 |
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