Backpacking

I thought I would write a general blog post about the whole backpacking process (for me, at least) and how my life in general is going on.

As many of you noticed, I could only bring a small number of things with me.  This means that every other town, the first thing I do upon arriving is wash all my dirty things.  I usually do this in a tub, filling it with soapy water (detergent, shampoo, bodywash...) and stomping on the clothes.  They then get rinsed, wrung out, and hung up quickly to dry in the hopes that they will actually do so before it's time to move on.

I've showered virtually every day, but I still sort of feel like I smell bad.  My feet have become... less than lovely.  Callusses, though, prevent blisters, so I'm happy to have them.  My feet are also tanned in fun triangles due to my near-constant wearing of walking sandals.  For the most part, though, I end a full day of walking without too much foot (or any other) pain.

Speaking of walking, my pedometer tells me that we are averaging about 15000 steps a day.  It's quite a bit, and fairly often done with the bag on.  The bag is getting a lot easier to put on and carry, despite the accumulation of a few small souvenirs, and I generally feel like my back is getting a bit stronger.

Souvenirs have had to be kept to a minimum due to space and weight issues.  We've bought a postcard or two in every town except Tartu, where we couldn't find a single one!  Beyond that, I've bought the following: a small wooden viking from Tallinn, an amber necklace from Riga, a set of amber studs from Vilnius, the above-pictured hugging salt and pepper shakers from Warsaw, a few kitschy pins from various places, a pair of gummy bear earrings and a set of traditionally-decorated coasters from Wroclaw, and gifts.

I am covered in insect bites, small cuts, and unexplainable bruises.  I am very, very tan.  Perhaps as much as I've ever been.

We spend a lot of time on trains.  Sometimes this is comfortable, but usually it is not.  An Ipod can solve most of those problems, though.  Plus, the landscapes passes by us and is lovely.  Right now Poland is full of giant fields of sunflowers.  It's like something out of a movie.

We are sometimes given breakfast, in which case we eat quite a bit and do not eat again until dinner.  If not, we eat a few slices of bread with peanut butter, and then eat only a late lunch and a maybe a snack in the evening.  We've gotten very adept at hunting down the self-service counters and cafeterias of each city, and thus eating with local people for a quarter the cost.

We try to see the main sights of every city we come to but don't worry too much if we miss a church or two.  We've kept museum visits to a minimum.  For one, they are very expensive, and for another, you can only see so many archaeological objects before you want to commit random acts of violence.  So our museum visits have been mostly limited to those dedicated to modern history, all of which have ripped my heart out.

I feel very alive.  Time is passing very slowly, and it honestly feels as if I've been traveling for at least a few months.  Every day is new, exciting, and long- in a good way.  Except those train rides, of course!