UNEXPECTED JOURNEY TO WALES AND EVEN FURTHER

There’s no point in making plans. I think I have written it here a few times already. It is nice to have one, but they are quite often being changed by someone up there. Sometimes- luckily. All you have to do is just let it happen. I mean, you shouldn’t become careless of what happens in your life, no. Maybe you just need to ask the life what are its plans.

People are simply too small to argue with the circumstances.

I wanted to go to Winchester. Why? Because the weather forecast for Wales was ‘heavy rain’. I thought I will have enough time for going there later. How wrong was I? 

“Hi! Are you driving in the direction of M3? Winchester?“

That’s how it works in UK. Only places, where is possible to hitch-hike are petrol stations. There are highways leading to every point of the country. And it’s forbidden to stand beside the highway of course. The best petrol station is called Cobham services. It lay on  the London ring-road. It takes usually 10 minutes to get a lift in every direction from there. At least when you are not trying to get to Winchester. That one is a little more complicated.

“No. But I can take you to the nearest services. It would be probably easier to get a lift from there. “

He seemed to be a nice guy. He was wearing a grey jumper, earrings and I noticed a tattoo on his hand. That time I thought about him as one would about a normal driver. One of thousands. I didn’t know then, that this ride would be special.

“Where do you drive?“

Such a normal question. I always ask people where do they drive. And from where. As a hitch-hiker, I am only a short-term passenger for them. Usually. 

“To Swansea.”

That’s in Wales. Exactly where I wanted to go before the weather claimed not to be good. It was before I decided to make a short trip to Winchester.

At first, it was just an idea. Then I started to consider pros and cons. Then I decided. To change my plans and go to Wales. I don’t know why. It just felt right.

Five minutes later was the car basically floating on the highway covered by water. So that’s what the Brits call ‚Heavy rain“. Despite that, I still felt the decision right. Carl is a cool guy.

“Do you like beaches? “

Well, I am probably not that ‚lying-on-a-beach-whole-summer‘ person, but I like beaches. And a sea. You know, we do not have it in Slovakia.

“There’s one beautiful place few miles before Swansea. Do you want to see it? “

“Sound’s good. Why not ?”

Did you ever saw that TV advert presenting Tulamore Whiskey? Yes, I am aware that the Tulamore is Irish !!! However the place I want to tell you about, looks exactly like the one from that advert. So watch it if you haven’t already (I am not trying to promote anything) There are four men walking the green, hilly valley in such a peaceful rain. The same valleys are in Wales. You have never seen that kind of green! Here and there you can see a curvy little stone fence. Exactly the same like the one on which are sitting these four mentioned men, singing and drinking Tulamore. And there is also that kind of stone church!
 I have never been to Ireland. I fell in love with Wales though.

Through this breath-taking country leads a motorway. It goes through hills, bends itself in loops and at its end you will find a beach. Small one. Protected with rock cliffs from both sides. In that moment, while standing there, you won’t mind the rain anymore.

“Do you want to see one small Welsh village?“

“Sure.”

“Good. My mom’s living in one, we can stop there for a tea and coffee.“

I asked him what is worth of seeing in Wales before. He obviously decided rather to show me.

I would never find most of the places that we were driving through. I would also never be able to see it all during one day and without getting wet. It was a great day. One of the best of my almost two months long journey. Unbelievable, how can someone who was just a stranger few hours before, change your day, way and plans. He called it Welsh hospitality. I call it -the proof that people are still good, despite we keep calling the world a bad place these days.

PS for Carl: If you are reading this, I had a good time. THANK YOU! And yes, I am already fighting with Welsh pronunciation.

PPS: I really appreciate what have you done for me, but I am sending you those money back. I managed my trip without them and they are sure more needed somewhere else.

PPPS: I hope you will visit Slovak High Tatras one day as you said.

I ended up in Swansea that day. I was walking its streets for a few more hours, until the night came. Then I went to the petrol station, where I met Lauren, the nice shop assistant and a man that gave me a lift to the nearest services, just like that, despite that it was far away and he was not even driving that way. Also a cleaning lady from these services, who came to tell me, that it’s more comfy to sleep on the sofa than on a chair if I want to stay there for a night. And a lorry driver with his dog Max, that he saved and now they are travelling together.

PEOPLE ARE JUST AWESOME AND IT’S A FUN TO HAVE YOUR PLANS CHANGED SOMETIMES

I arrived to my aunties house the next day, just to realize, that I am not going to work in Flensburg from 1. October as I’ve planned, but in Munich. That is so damn far away! I had to take a first possible plane back to Denmark (lucky that I saw Wales already), so I would pick up my luggage and say goodbye to my friends. Kolding had been something like a crossroad for me in the last few weeks. I was regularly showing up there and I have to admit, I didn’t like the idea of never coming back. I didn’t like the idea of moving to a city that is 830 km away, completely new and strange neither!!!  

IT’S REALLY ANNOYING TO HAVE YOUR PLANS CHANGED SOMETIMES. BUT I STILL INSIST ON THAT STATEMENT  ABOUT GOOD PEOPLE.

  

 

     

My awesome auntie came with a new plan, gifted me with a skateboard and a duct-tape and drove me to the airport. Friends from Kolding helped me to make that plan work. I've got a bare new suitcase! DIY. Beat that! They also found and printed a bus tickets for me, as there was no possibility to get to Munich in two days by hitch-hiking.

Right now I am sitting in that bus and thinking, what life prepared for me for tomorrow.

BECAUSE YOUR PLANS ARE JUST CHANGED FROM TIME TO TIME, THAT’S LIFE

 So thank you one more time people. For all the help. Thanks to you I am where I am. And despite that it was not according to my plans, I believe that everything is just like it has to be. I hate leaving. However, I really hope it is not for a long time.   

Well, like Charlie said, "Why should I say goodbye! See you later !"  So see you later friends :) 

MANY FACES OF LONDON

I have spent my last two weeks near London. In a town that lays basically on an outer side of M25, the highway that encircles London. However, London is big. Huge. So huge, that it takes approximately 1 hour to get to its centre. Well it would be probably even more with a car, due to the heavy traffic. I am not hitch-hiking this time. I can't because I have a companion. Jarka, my aunt. We travel by train and she's much better than any guidebook I have to tell you!

London's not just huge. It's got a variety of faces as well and visiting different parts of it sometimes feels like visiting completely different cities. These faces are so different that it's hard to believe that they belong together. Despite that London wouldn’t be the same without any of them.

The best known face of London is its iconic centre. The one you can find on postcards. Everything breaths with history there and you can feel the silent presence of past, medieval kings, queens and things long forgotten. That's the part where everyone is trying to take a picture of a Big Ben or London Eye, place usually crowded and full of people. It is exactly that part, which you have to visit to tick up London from your travel list. 

There are boring parts of course. And dirty sometimes. It's not a surprise. London's got 1572 km² and the centre mentioned above is a tiny part of it. What do you think is the rest? Big part is covered by the flats for example. 8,674 000000 people have to live somewhere. Except that there is always something being built in London. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. Would be glad if the builders were so motivated in my town.  It just means heavy constructions, holes and big machines all over the city and that's not exactly what do you want to have on a photo right? And it's also extremely easy to get lost in those parts.

Business London. Did you ever think about how much money flows daily through this city? Hands are being shaken, business arrangements made and important papers signed. Canary Wharf, Gherkin, NatWest Tower... it all happens in these buildings. Their tops are visible from every part of London, like a reminder of the control of rich and powerful, so you won’t forget who governs the world.

When we're already talking about governing, how can I not mention the Queen? Brits are proud nation. I kind of like that proudness. That is what makes whole world wear shirts with British flag on it. Proud Brits are the ones who have built the untouchable picture of Great Britain, who created the bright atmosphere around places like Birmingham palace or Hampton court. This part of London is like from a fairy-tale. The one with a princess, crowns, castles and kings. In fact, old lady Elizabeth doesn't have that much power. She's more like a symbol. What makes her powerful are the people proud of that symbol and their fairy-tale.

London, city of everyone. It is multicultural. Did you think that most of the people living in London are born Brits? It's a metropole. Small world on itself. World in which you can find all the nations. (Quite big communities of them.) They are living their own lives and if you find your one, you can be there whole day without even noticing that you are actually abroad. Don't believe me? I just found myself in a crowd of 250 Czechs and Slovaks, attending a concert of Michal David, who is an old Czech star, well known especially in 80'. I wouldn’t expect something like that here. It felt little bit like watching an old movie. You know, I was born a little bit later. But it definitely did not feel like London. And the biggest paradox is that that´s exactly what London’s like. Specific in its diversity.

Footnote1- I have a really great aunt and that aunt has a really great friends

Footnote2- our big Czechoslovak star evidently thinks that he is at the same league like Elton John or so and can come hour and half later.

Last but not least, comes my favourite face of London. Welcome in its fictional streets, made on pages of books or big screens. To be honest with you, I am not a movie expert and it is a long time since I had a time to be a bookworm but still. Who doesn’t know names like James Bond, Harry Potter or Sherlock Holmes?! They have made London even more popular. Their authors created a new map for this city, the map on which you can still find a famous detective living on an address 221b Bakerstreet and Miss. Moneypenny sitting in an office in MI6 building. This London is the best of all. Because why to live in a real one, when magic world is just one wall away from Kings cross station?

DEFINITION OF BEING A HIPSTER

I was told that Bath is a nice city. So I decided to go there and check. I was told that it’s impossible to hitch-hike in UK, that no one’s doing it. So I went hitch-hiking to prove they’re wrong. Actually I did it already few days ago,when I went to Oxford (another story to be told). However, it is possible and not that uncommon. I had been only asking wrong people before.  There are obviously more of us, standing beside the British roads, trying to get a lift. Especially near Bristol. There are lots of hipsters there, Ned told me.  

Do you know who is a hipster? He knows it exactly. His definition is so good that it should have been written on Wikipedia!

"We do hitch-hike. But not here. For example, Asia is a new trend in UK. I was there. Next time I want to hitch-hike to China and Thailand.“

Thailand! Did I just find a pal for the roads?

I stopped Ned at some services somewhere on M4 highway. IT-guy. He travels the world as a technic support for the big skype conferences and that sort of things. He have just arrived from the USA.

„When you are near Bristol, let me know. Actually you can stay at my place today. If you want to continue to Wales, it is just like one hour from Bath.“

I want to go, but not today. I have to hitch-hike back to Bookham tonight. That’s where my aunt lives and I have there all my stuffs. Wouldn’t survive too long with what I had in my bag. However, I am sure I’ll let him know. It was a nice talk.

„ I like your approach. Hitch-hikers that I have met were weird. Hipsters. “

„How do you mean hipsters?” I had to ask. It was already second time that he had used that word.

„Well… Hipsters don’t wear socks. Do you have a socks?

Yes I do. Today. But only because it’s freezing cold outside.

 „Does ‘not wearing socks’ make a hipster out of me ?

It made him laugh. He was chuckling for 5 minutes.

„Hipsters wear funny clothes. They sit in Starbucks, writing the story of their lives. They like to tell everyone that they were doing things before it was cool.

Ok. At this point even I cannot help myself and laugh.  

"I write a blog. Mostly in coffees and fast foods. Does it mean I am a hipster?! THERE IS A FREE WI-FI AND YOU CAN CHARGE YOUR PHONE THERE! I am not making it because it was cool."

Here we are. I should probably find a new creative place.

„I didn’t mean you! You’re great. Really.“

Good try my friend, but too late.

I have to admit, though, he made my day.  And that Bristol offer still last. Despite the fact that I turned out to be a hipster. So no reason to offense right?

At the end of the day, he maid be right. Few hours later I was sitting in Subway, writing a post for my blog and charging my phone. Well I have to write it somewhere.

So here you are – BATH. Maybe you will visit it once. And if no, at least you can read about it. 

ROMAN CITY - BATH

 Green and sand-brown. All the buildings built from a limestone. It seems that the shape and look of this city have not really changed from the olden times, when ancient Romans lived in its walls. The green part is the nature of course. Plenty of trees and huge parks. I can imagine that beauty, during autumn, when all the green start to change its wardrobe to colorful tunes. 

 It's a touristic place. One of the most beautiful ones in England. Unarguably, it has got a perfect location for that. Bath was built on a place, where warm springs rush out of the earth.  Due to the Romans-built baths, the city became popular as a favorite and luxurious destination for rich people and high society. The prices in the baths are quite high even these days. Despite that, there is a lot to see even for a plain observer. 

I have one strange habit. Maybe you have noticed already. Rather than sightseeing I am trying to catch the atmosphere of every city I visit. I have an unexplained urge to capture the feeling flowing in the streets. What is the Bath like then? It's artistic. And also a little different than the rest of the Britain. Is it the fault of the old Romans? Maybe. You can feel strong englishness in cities like London or Oxford. The 'red telephone box' trade mark. You can feel that taste from streets, red buses, people behavior, from omnipresent royalty, even from the school uniforms worn by kids. Being long there, you start to think that even  a reading book is so english. Bath is different. Its limestone walls seems to be older than Britain itself, they seems to stand here from forgoten times, long before British culture even started to exist. Everything modern like fast foods, public transport and people with all they have create are just dropped to its middle, like into an old movie scene. And surprisingly, it looks good. These people somehow found the balance between old and new and the result is really stylish. 

The city is full of culture. Full of street artists (I have seen a lady singing opera there), museums and galleries, restaurants and vintage cafeterias with a breath-taking view. 

 There are undoubtedly two buildings that are worth of mentioning. Simply because they are ethereal. Circus and Royal Crescent. They were built as a couple. Looking from a bird perspective you should recognize a sun and a moon in their shape. Circus is the circle one, the sun. Streets cuts it into a three equal parts. Royal crescent is a semicircle, embracing a park in its middle. In fact, both constructions are made of tens identical houses. Author of these architecture monuments is John Wood junior (his father was also helping)  

(Royal Crescent) 

There is a life in the streets of Bath. Maybe due to the fact, that there is always what to do. Even if you are not the fan of history and architecture. (Although I don't believe that there is such a person that wouldn't be touched with this beauty) For example, there are few theaters you can visit. Or rather sport? Did you know that they have a rugby team? And quite impressive stadium as well. They also have a big park where you can find huge playground for kids and one for fitness-people. And a skate park!

Bath is surrounded by big grassy area, used (not only) for flying a hot air balloons. Have you ever try that? I have never. Who knows, I may come back to try it. I am playing with an idea of checking Bath from up there. To see, if I could really find the moon and sun in its middle. 

TIME BORDER IN GREENWICH - warning: this post may be a way too philosophical

Greenwich is in England. It’s a part of London. That’s where I am these days and where I am planning to stay for a little while longer- near London. Exploring interesting places and cities. And this one is undoubtedly one of those, worth of mentioning. 

When I was a child, I was afraid of time. Yes I am aware of how weird it can sound. Usually it’s spiders, snakes or ghost under the bed that scared us the most. I was definitely not a regular kid. And believe me or not, it was not the freakiest phobia I had.   

I remember little me, sitting in a kitchen, watching the magnets on a fridge doors. I remember how hard I was trying to keep that moment from passing.  I wanted to stop the time by staring at the same point. Then I heard something that stole my attention and the ‘me and the magnets‘ moment was over. You cannot imagine that fear and hopelessness that went through my childish brain. I couldn’t just look back. No! It was not the same time anymore. It was not the same moment! I started to cry.

I have really no clue how a 7-year old could come up with such an idea. Fortunately, my mum had always understanding for strangeness of her little daughter (and she has it until today) and didn’t seem too worried when she found me there crying, not willing to accept unstoppability of time. It happened a few more times after that, mostly when I was counting days remaining until the end of summer holidays. 

Greenwich is a place lying on a meridian line. This place is a boundary between two time zones, place where your watches show the most accurate time and where all the tourists wait in a long queue to take a legendary picture of them standing with each foot on a different side of the time border.

I am not an exception. 

However, there is something better than that line. The museum of time. You wouldn’t find there a time itself, of course, how could you. The human attempts to define it are there to see. All the experiments and methods that were used to capture, name and understand time. Well the humans are quite smart creatures. 

Time is more a measuring instrument than a dimension. A man created tool to measure distances, longitude and nature cycle. We have defined the time because of the need to mark the movement of the stars in schedule or chart or to find an exact position on an open ocean. As I have learned, most important thing while lost in a sea is to know an exact time. You can read it from position of the sun somehow (to be honest I have to practice that one). Then, comparing it to the international time, you would get your geographic position. Useful. Especially when you break your smartphone somewhere in the middle of the ocean or so. 

I am not afraid of time anymore. However, I never stopped to be fascinated by it. 

Time is a matter of movement. It’s the number of change in respect of before and after. It’s where past and future exist. It’s governed by movements of the stars and Space itself. Like a space refers to existence of things, the time refers to its movement. 

I am not an author of this theory. Aristotle is. Don’t you get it? 

It’s simple. The Space moves. All the planets move. In accordance to that, there are things like sunset. We have a nights and days, future and past. We found a way to measure it and that unit we’re using, is time.  We gave a name to that moment in which sun disappear behind the horizon and we gave it a number in “hours”. That means the thing, which scared me when I was a child wasn’t time. It was movement. Because unstoppability of time is caused by immutable direction of movement. Easily said, the space cannot flow backwards.

There are places that make you think. Greenwich is one of them. I highly recommend you to visit it once. Galleries and museums are sometimes boring but believe me, this one is not. It is that kind of a place where you will forgot the time while learning about it. And then, all of a sudden, some guy comes to tell you that they’re closing.

OK, so one last curiosity.  Did you know, why is the meridian line in Greenwich? Because Sir George Airy decided it to be, when he built the observatory there in 1851. It could have been anywhere!

PERKS OF BEING A HITCH-HIKER

There’s not a situation that man can’t handle. There are only some of them, which are harder to deal with than the others. The longer I am on the road, only me and my backpack that much more pretty uncommon things became a normal to me. I stopped thinking about sleeping on a gas station as an adventure, I have accepted the fact that people are just strange and what’s normal for you don’t have to be normal for them as well and I gave up fighting with that funny feeling of disorientation and despair that come when your plans reach their end or just turn up to be useless.  It’s not that I don’t feel the excitement anymore. I do. I just made that feeling familiar.

Anyway, from the worst ideas and most uncomfortable situations are the best stories to tell… once.

We went to Aarhus that day. I was about to take a plane the next day and they went with me just because. To enjoy the feeling of being a hitch-hiker. Slávka and Meya. Cool girls really. Two out of the Kolding group which I found to be like a second home to me these days. (I think it’s not the last time I am mentioning one of them.)

Sun was shining, Aarhus is not that far and it seemed to be a really good idea. Well it could have been. But sometimes, not everything goes according to your plans. That’s why I always say that making plans is worthless.

It was nice, to spend some more time with them before I would stay alone one more time. Lost in Aarhus without an exact idea what I am going to do now. I didn’t really know where I was going to sleep, or how was I going to go to the airport which turned out to be one hour ride from Aarhus. If that’s not enough, nothing was open for 24 hours in that city, except the train station. I have to admit, I started to feel truly hopeless. I called Slávka to check if they have already reached Kolding. No answer. Ok.. boring long night was about to start.

The phone rang. Girls were calling me back. I was sure they’re going to tell me they had just arrived home.

“How was your journey? “

“We’re in Aarhus.”

That does not give any sense. I am in Aarhus. They can’t be. I watched their car leave two hours ago.

“You mean you are still on the way? “ I tried the most reasonable option.

“No Marta! We are in Aarhus. We met some creepy guy and he was driving us across the city for two hours. “

I wasn’t able to understand much more than this, as she was talking quite in a rush and …. Laughing? I hoped that was a laugh not a sob. Well I think she was still in a shock from whatever happened.

“We just came to the train station.”

“Great that’s where I am!”

Approximately two seconds later I was stucked in a big group hug. I was glad to see them again but… it was sometime around 10 PM, dark outside, trains were a way too expensive and they both had a school the next day. 

The guy that took them was a good person who really wanted to help. At least that’s what they understood from his speech. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to speak any of the languages that are Slávka and Meya capable to understand. And let me just say that they are quite skilled in this area.

He really wanted to take them to Kolding, but he needed to change a car for a smaller one…. From which he didn’t have a key. Happens. So why not to invite them for a pizza instead. And show them where he’s working…. And whole city from all sides and angles.

“He was really a nice guy though. Just different.” – Meya seemed to be more chilled about the situation. She looked only a bit tired.  

“So why didn’t you ask him to let you out at some point? Still in Aarhus, but it wouldn’t take you those two hours at least.”

“I did. I asked him to do that after every sentence he said.” Objected Slávka angrily. She still sounded a little bit shocked. I can see why. There was like 50% chance that they would get home tonight and that’s when we look at it really positively. Well she did not.

“I will get you back to Kolding!”

Will I?  It’s definitely not a good idea to hitch-hike during the night. Or at least it’s impossible to do so by standing beside a road. No one would see you there and if they did, they wouldn’t stop. The only way was to find a gas station and ask there. If there would be someone to ask at this late hour.

It’s not that easy to find a big gas station, 24 hours open, placed in a good direction. It’s not that easy to find a good direction either. Anyway, with some help, we did.

His name was Locki. Yes, exactly. Like from Marvel’s comics. He was from Iceland and I am mentioning him because he made us forget about our unpleasant situation for a moment. He took us to highway gas station (those are the best) somewhere near Horsens. That’s half a way to Kolding. I enjoyed that ride, however, I am not sure if he did. This time we were the creepy ones. He’s probably not advised to name his future son Thor on a daily basis.

But whatever. We were on a great place to continue. So we made a little break to calm ourselves. There’s not a better time for a chocolate than in the middle of the night and there’s no better place than somewhere on a Danish highway.

There was a big chance that someone would take those two directly to the Kolding. That would mean I´d stay here. Not a bad place to spend a night. The first try wasn’t successful, although it seemed to be at the beginning. German driver changed his plans (or they were changed by some other person) at the last moment and he had to drive back instead of driving through Kolding. Never mind. Half an hour later Slávka found a driver. Lorry driver. He agreed to take two people with him. Only problem was, that he had to make a break on a way there to pick up his cargo or something like that.

“Can take two hours. Then I’ll continue your direction. “

Girls decided to go anyway.

I am waving them one more time. I hope that´s the last one for a couple of weeks. I have my own way to go. Tomorrow I have to get to an airport back in Aarhus.

Stories with happy ending are boring to read, I know, but I am quite happy that I can end this one like that. You know, after all I am part of it. Who wants their own story to have a bad end. Even if that would be more dramatic.

Something around 3 AM Slávka announced their arrival home. The driver didn't go directly to Kolding but they managed to get there so they anyway and I am proud of them. I had a relatively good sleep and managed to get to the airport in a good time the next day and despite the busy night that we just went through; we will still hitch-hike for a new stories and adventures. All three of us I believe.

 Welcome my new colleagues. Welcome in a life on the road.