Update #24 - Kiev, Ukraine

April 11th, 2010 -

hi there folks...how is everyone doing???? enjoying the beginning of a new season???? i think spring has officially started round here finally....we have had a beautiful week off for spring break....and although i was not here for part of it, the part i was here for was lovely... although for the next two days they expect it to rain....a great way to end a vacation *sigh* during this past break i was in portugal....but i will save that for my next update....lisbon specifically....a town with old world charm, tasty port, tiled buildings and amazing hills.... it was very cool and i would go back..... but a few weeks back i was in a snowy and cold kiev for a basketball tournament, and although i didn't see much of the city, i saw enough to know it reminded me of a bigger bucharest....there were dogs and traffic everywhere....although the dogs were mostly curled up trying to stay warm.....some of the buildings were incredible, very russian...and there were even a few statues up honoring lenin....we had some amazing food and drink, especially ukrainian vodka....we had this honey pepper one that was outstanding....much of the food was meat based, like most of the eastern countries, but i found some really tasty treats.....we even made it to canadian night...the canadian embassy hosts a bar night one a month and we just happened to be there for it....they even had north american snacks for sale....it was exciting :) i was there for basketball though and the girls, well, for the first time in AISZ middle school girls basketball, won a game....it was exiting because it happened in the last two seconds with an outside shot from our only returning player this year....it was great to watch.... otherwise we played okay....didn't win any other games, but its a learning experience, as any coach knows....however, i think this will be the last year i coach this sport as it's just not my favorite and it goes forever....now if we had lacrosse, that would be a different story....in the end you never know though..... onto the pictures....the first is a view from the hotel we stayed in....very interesting place.. some aspects of it were modern, like the bathroon, others were not, like the communist style building, lobby and room....very narrow, fit one bed comfortably, just bizarre, but we were told this was a much better choice than the national hotel the coaches stayed at before....i guess there were little old matrons in charge of each floor who took your key from you when you left the room, waited on the floor all day and night and gave you back your key when you came back in.....they just would wait on each floor, watching over the keys and making sure the wrong people weren't coming into the rooms....crazy..... as you can see from the first shot, there was still snow on the buildings and ground and it snowed every day we were there except the last one....

the second shot is of a cool metro stop by our hotel....kiev, like all previous soviet countries, has a great underground

art on the walls, and the stations are usually very different from each other

the third and fourth shot are of an orthodox church that was down the street from our hotel....we went in it and heard a mass going on and the singing was incredible....like all orthodox churches in this area, there are no seats, and you move around the church counterclockwise kissing all of the icons.....i haven't been in one of these since romania, so it was a nice to experience it again....

the fifth shot is one of their science universities....i just really liked the building...

and the sixth shot is of lenin....hard to see, but it's really him...

down from our hotel was the main shopping street....all of the modern stores, in buildings from lenin's and stalin's era....in many of the travel books about kiev, they say this street is a must see, a grand, wide avenue, with lights and beautiful buildings along it....it is a source of pride to ukrainians i think, as it is well kept up and still grand and fun to walk down.....the next three shots are buildings along this street...i really liked the tiling of the first building....and the lights of the second two.....

once we got back to the hotel, i got a shot of the train station down the street....another

grand, well lit building.....

shot number 11 is of my team....goofy girls all of them :) three of

them,on the right side, all korean, were actually from another team...our team was too

small for the tournament, but we really wanted them to play....the rest of the girls are from

our school here in croatia....they are all from different countries....the states, canada,

croatia, austria, israel, and iran.....a multi-national team....i wonder if you could guess who

came from which country :)

the next three shots are along that avenue again...we went wandering there for dinner our

last night in town and had an incredible indian feast....then went to a fun ukrainian beer

hall where everyone was drinking vodka....not sure why it was a beer hall???? but there

were at least 25 different types of vodka and brandy to choose from....it was a good time

had by all.....

the final shot is the morning we were leaving....i had to get a close up of the orthodox domes in the sunlight....soooooooooooo pretty.....

so kiev....i am glad i went, i bet it is much prettier when its not so cold and snowy, but

i am not sure i need to go back....i have been told there are some amazing places in the

ukraine territory, but i am not sure i will get a chance to see them....the only other things

i would really be interested in would be some of the catacombs in the city and chernobyl...

call me a crazy science girl, but i think it's important to see and understand places like

that and then pass on what you learn.....

it was a fun trip....a great learning experience for the kids and on the flight back we met

the bloodhound gang....very exciting....they were on their way to bucharest and then

zagreb....no i did not go see them...but two of the girls did....not sure what possessed

their parents to let them go....if you know them as a band, you know they are some dirty

minded folk.....

anyway....if you head to kiev, i would recommend the spring time....maybe even the

summer...unless you are going to do stuff in the snow, like ski or board....next time i

write....which will be hopefully soon, it will be abut my trip to portugal this past week....

i am not traveling again until the summer, but i just finished arranging a sailing trip thru

some of the croatian islands with friends (even some from boston are coming!)....after

the sailing trip i head to the states.....so i hope to meet up with some of you there....i

will be in the philadelphia area from the beginning of july until the beginning of august,

with one week for a conference up in boston again.....so i am hoping i will get to see some

of you and catch up with your life updates....unfortunately i will not be making it to the

west coast this summer...not enough time or money to make it all work out....and then

i am back in europe, traveling with a friend to see friends for about three weeks....and then

school starts again....

i am planning to be in croatia for only one more school year....and then i hope to head to

africa or asia....so if you are planning to come visit, please do, although the next choice

might be more exotic, and further away :) at least i am hoping for that....and if you live on

one of those continents and hear of a middle school science position...please let me know

about it.....it's time to get out of europe and on with the life plan of living on every

continent....

hope all is well and you have enjoyed this update....i haven't heard from some of you in a

long, long time...please feel free to drop a line and say hi!!!! i will be cleaning my mailing

list sometime this summer....so let me know if you do not want these updates any longer

thanks for reading and happy traveling to you!!!!

Croatian #23 - Budapest & Prague

February 21, 2010

hi there folks....well, i am sitting here watching the olympics on eurosport & have become

a bit addicted....i love the euro TV stations & their coverage, they do not talk as much asthe states people and provide coverage of all sports, not just ones americans are good at!

it's funny how i become addicted every two years concerning the olympics.....maybe you

do too......

sorry it has taken me some time to send out an update, but things have been busy and

i haven't been traveling much....we got a bunch of snow here in croatia, nothing like the

east coast this year, but it was quite gloomy and snowy....and drivers here do NOT do well

in the snow...we finally had a day of sun today and i am hoping that continues for a bit..

all the gloomy weather has been hard to handle....we'll see what happens....

the pictures this time are mostly of prague, where i was this past week.....a lovely

european city....but lots and lots of tourists, even in february....lots and lots of students

too....you hear english everywhere you go....it's a tad bit frustrating....but if you are looking

for the quintessential european town....prague is it....beautiful buildings, excellent beer,

quaint walking streets, lovely bridges, amazing castle.....it doesn't get any better....

the first two shots though are from budapest at night....i was in budapest for a work

conference....what a place to go....stayed at an amazing hotel, had a great conference for

middle school teachers and it ended with a casino boat cruise on the danube at night....

if you have never been to budapest, i can't recommend it enough....it's cheaper than

western european countries/cities and stunning....plus it has tons of baths and hammans,

excellent buildings, and fun night life.....its a great place...

the two pictures of budapest (because i didn't get out of the conference much) are from

our boat cruise on the danube....the first shot is the chain bridge....simply stunning at

night and the second shot is of the parliament building....quite possibly the most

gorgeous of all buildings in the cities here.....love it!!!!!

and then onto prague....i was excited as i toured the castle and cathedral and also did

a jewish quarter self tour....two things i wanted to do....had some tasty food - indian

especially - because you can't find that here in croatia.....and some amazing beer....what

the czechs are known for.....it was a great visit :)

the first two shots are of the cathedral up on the castle grounds....this cathedral is

amazing inside and out....the first shot is the back of it....you can see the difference in

architecture styles....its cool the way it fits together....the second shot is my favorite

stained glass window inside of the cathedral....

the next two shots are also on the castle grounds...i got to see the changing of the guard,

it was pretty cold outside so the band actually was playing out of the windows of the

building behind the group - that was kind of neat....and the fourth shot is of one of

favorite sculptures ever....not really sure how to interpret it....but its just cool in my

opinion....what do you think????

the next shot is taken from the castle as well....over the wall behind me you can see the

city of prague....so pretty....a closer shot is the next one....i am actually along the main

river and am looking at the charles bridge....very famous....the sixth shot is of one side

of the charles bridge....the tower on the end of it.....

and from the bridge i headed toward the main square....the next shot is of the famous

clock in main square....every hour on the hour when the clock chimes, jesus and the

apostles pass by the windows you can see at the top of the clock....i like the beauty

and colors of the clock, as well as the skeleton along the right side that rings it's bell

for the number of chimes of the clock....it's amazing...and always very crowded.....

the next shot is also in main square....the buildings in this town are stunning....i could

have sent many more, as i took lots of pictures....but i didn't want you to get bored...

the next two shots are some of my favorites from the old jewish cemetery....just amazing

how old it truly is....some of the stones are well preserved and they actually are required

to keep the state of them in good condition.....although, due to the people packed in to

the small area, some of the stones are leaning quite heavily....it was very cool to walk

thru this space in the snow....good mood for walking thru such an old cemetery.....

of course prague is also known for kafka....so the second to last shot is one the main

statues of the author....just a really cool statue....and its across from my favorite beer hall

where i stopped in for a drink and a pretzel.....as you can see from the last shot....very

tasty and warm indeed, the pretzel and place, not the beer.....

hope you enjoyed the tour of prague.....a beautiful place, with nice folks and fun

things to see and do....a great place to start a european vacation....very easy to visit,

not much culture shock or discomfort and stunning to look at....get there :)

my next stop is kiev, ukraine....i am headed there in a few weeks for basketball with the

middle school girls....i am not sure we will compete well, but our team has heart....always

a plus....i am hoping i get out to see some of the city, as i have never been there....i

hope to have photos for you in the next update.....

hope everyone is well and happy and enjoying their winter or summer season.....drop a

line if you get the chance and say hi....i have been trying to answer emails that are sent

as not many folks send them anymore....seems like facebook is making email less

and less important....crazy that....if you are on facebook, i will probably post more pictures

there....come be a friend if you choose :)

hopefully next time there won't be such a big wait for an update....but thanks for being

patient....peace out.....

Have a fab day :)

dani

"The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder."

~ Ralph W. Sockman

Croatian #21

Saturday, November 28th, 2009 hey there folks - happy thanksgiving to everyone who is american and happy start to the holiday season....hope everyone had a fun black friday.....and tasty thanksgiving....and time off for those who got it :) i am well...this will be a very fast update as not much travel-wise has happened for me.... croatia is decorating itself for the holiday season and with advent starting tomorrow the xmas booths have gone up and my favorite chocolate covered gingerbread booth is back!! yummy....we also have our xmas sausage and mulled wine places back and things are getting festive.....school is crazy busy and things are quickly moving toward the longer winter break in three weeks.... so you might be asking yourself...no travel for dani....what the heck???? well here's a little story....the travel i was supposed to take to serbia for speech and debate was cancelled due to H1N1 in this part of the world....many international schools actually had to close for a period of time and therefore we did not go.... and then things here became difficult.... my good friend and travel partner suffered a brain aneurysm a few weekends ago....and luckily she survived and looks to be recovering without many side effects....may even be back at school by february..she is a rockstar...so more travel adventures affected....we were supposed to be in portugal in the moment for thanksgiving....but obviously that did not work out....and i have been dealing with expedia and lufthansa for the past three weeks fixing the freakin mess.....it has not been fun or easy....may never use expedia again... don't care about their reduced prices....it means really sucky customer service..... so that is my story......some of you were asking about me last time and what i am going to be doing next year..... me.....hmmmmmmm.....things here are okay and i am not really working to find a job....so i have tentatively accepted my contract....but not definite... i have not really looked at jobs for next year too hard...i did apply directly to seven places.... and have heard back from most as a no...one because i am not married....two places because i will not be at a fair... so that's where i am....i will look over things in the next week and make a final decision in the coming two weeks...but it really looks like i will be here....i am not soooooo excited about that....but such is life....it just may not be time for me to move on.....plus i have an "admin" title with my job this year and one more year in this position would look good.....so that is where things stand..... that's the quick update i have for folks....i am not going to send out another one before this years holiday card....but i did feel like i had to let folks know i was alive and well....just not traveling....i have included a few pictures from graz, austria....we were there yesterday for black friday - it is sort of becoming a croatian tradition...no one else is celebrating, so it's a quick drive up to ikea and their xmas market to start the holiday shopping season we had a wonderful day and the weather was fabulous....no snow this year...and we returned to a fantastic sushi place - conveyor belt....very tasty.....plus i have included some recent shots from around zagreb....the first is from the very large outdoor market dolac....love those chili peppers...the next shot is for my friends from bucharest times.... this spider is what the croatian's use effectively to deal with people who don't park correctly on the streets...there are about ten of these trucks that constantly roam the streets and pick up offenders...its amazing!!!! the next two shots are from the major cemetery here....mirogoi....all souls day happened again and again it was covered in candles....simply stunning....but before that there were chestnuts on many of the graves... which i just loved.....and then finally the pictures from graz....these are not from this year but sum up our trip from yesterday quite well....tasty food....fun shopping and awesome xmas lights and booths in their xams market.....the last shot....me with some of the young wine here in croatia....they have a celebration just for when they can open the bottles of new wine here and we went and celebrated.....yummy!!!!! so i wish you all a very happy beginning to whatever holiday you celebrate..... for those in the philly area....i will be in town for a short time & drinks will be happening in mckensies in malvern or somewhere in king of prussia on december 27th....will let you know more soon on that one....if you are interested in joining in the fun, please let me know with a preferred place to meet of those two....i am thinking some time around 7pm.... so after dinner....til whenever they close :) come have a drink and catch up :) talk soon....peace out..... Have a fab day :) dani "The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder." ~ Ralph W. Sockman