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Sent from Warsaw, Poland on Aug 1, 2005 

USA, Ryekjavik, Amsterdam (train to) Warsaw (bus to?)
Vilnius. Hi from Warsaw

I am on a 50-day tour of Europe, of my own of Eastern
Europe and the Balkans.  I began typing this in Reykjavik,
continued in Amsterdam.  Now I am in Warsaw, waiting for bus.

1. Reykjavik, Iceland (US$ is 65 Kronur, 1000K is about
$15). Is a charming city, said to be the smallest European
capital, the way cities should be.  Walk out of your front
door and you are in an open shopping center, with
residential and small commercial enterprises blended in
cozily. And just to make sure you feel at home, there are
park benches all over the city, even in front of stores. 
And the country boasts all kinds of interesting terrain. 
This said, things are VERY expensive even by European
standards.

There is a city bus that awaits international arrivals for
the 35km drive to the city, for 1150K ($18). The Tourist
Info places do not book hotels, or even give hints.  You
can get a list of hotels from them, all expensive ones. 
The prices quoted by Lonely Planet are again grossly
outdated.  The Salvation Army Guest House it recommends in
city center charges 5,000K plus (about $80).  It was all
full. It recommended to me a guest house nearby that wanted
7,900K ($120) for a simple room without bath, TV, or
anything, and bananas for breakfast.  There are several
tourist info centers, but seemingly only to book costly
tours. Get a tour brochure that lists all available tours
day-by-day, prices included.

a) Recommended Hotel.  Guesthouse Adam (www.adam.is) is
nicely situated on the Skolavordustigur St. leading up to
the Hallgrimkirkja on a hill, the largest church in town. 
Dorm rooms go for 2500K ($40) and there is free Internet. 
The room, small for 2 people beds 6.  There is one bathroom
but no shower and a communal place like a TV room.  For
3000K (2 persons) they will pick you up from the airport. 
It is just a short uphill walk from the intersection with
Laugavegur St., the liveliest corner in town, that is also
a block up from the city center.  You can also rent a car
there at $100 plus per day.

b) Restaurants.  There are many, all pricey.  At
Andarunginn at 6B Laekjargate there is a seafood buffet for
2,500K.   For $70, I ordered puffin at the elite
Laekjarbrekka on Bankastraeti 2, next to the info center
downtown.  It came marinated and smoked in salad first,
then cooked in main dish.  Puffin meat resembles nothing of
chicken in taste, texture, or looks.  The meat is very dark
purple, looks like liver, with rubbery but good taste to
it.  I also tasted whale meat at P(Th)rir Frakkar on
Baldursgotu 14 for about $50.  The meat was thinly sliced. 
It is nothing like fish in looks, texture, or taste.  The
meat is more like a very tender choice cut of beef.  I
recommend this one over Laekjarbrakke, for for still
excellent taste, it costs about $25 less.  

c) Day-tour to Greenland.  For 47,700K ($700) you can book
a day tour (6 hours, incl. 2 hours flight there and 2 hours
back) to Greenland with Air Iceland (Tel. 570-3030) from
the domestic terminal.  Taxi to there is about 800K ($12). 
I found the price outrageous and did NOT take the tour--as
also Nairobi to Madagascar which I rejected in May for the
same reason.

2. Amsterdam.  I have been here several times in the past,
but not lately.  So I came for a revisit, also to contact a
friend whom I met in Santiago, Chile in 2003.  The airport
in Amsterdam is one of the nicest I know, really a small
and vibrant city onto itself.  Despite arriving late at
night, I was able to find a dorm room at the SyatOK HI
Hostel at Lidesplein for 26 Euros a night for 3 nights. 
This is one of the best and largest HI hostels I know,
situated at a lively spot for nightlife--about across from
the Hard Rock Cafe.

VONDELPARK HI Hostel in Amsterdam (nice). From Airport,
take the escalator down near the exit from airport lobby,
take train towards Amsterdam, exit at Central Station 15
min later, turn left and walk the corridor to exit with
taxis outside, find tram #1, 2, 5 to Lidesplein, exit
there, walk 100 meters to Marriot, turn left in front of
it, walk 50 meters to walkway just BEFORE the park, turn
right, walk 200 meters to the HI Hostel.  In summer better
make reservation.  I was lucky.

I allocated 2 full days to Amsterdam, this being my 6th
visit there or so.  The first day, I took the tram back to
Central Station, arranged my train ticket to Berlin,
(change to) Warsaw, (Euroline) Bus to Vilnius from the Info
Desk at Platform 2A upstairs, then walked back the entire
distance from the east, also taking a 1-hour boat cruise. 
After briefly visiting the VAN GOGH and RIJKS museums, I
called it a day at the hostel.

Amsterdam is one of the most vibrant and liberal cities
there is, so this was fun, also watching families with kids
and older folks stealing glances at the windows at the Red
Light District along Achterburg and Voorburg streets, just
to the South and East of the Central Station, continuing
south for several blocks.  The city has more canals than
Venice.  One of the nicest spots from which to observe the
canal traffic and Amsterdam itself is from the
Waterlooplein (square), actually from a one-hour canal
cruise from there for 7 Euros.  The next day, I met a
friend and had fun in the city, also another cruise, but
the weather was mean with rain and wind and it did not feel
as fun as the day before.  The next day, at 5am, I was at
the Central Station for my 7:30am train.  Bye bye
Amsterdam.

3. Berlin and Warsaw, are both must-see destinations in
Europe, especially the renovated East Berlin and Old Town
Warsaw.  I had done both extensively a few years back, so
this time I just wanted to pass thru them on my way to
Vilnius.  The train from Amsterdam via Berlin arrives in
Warsaw at 10:30pm (fare 132 Euros).

There is a 11pm EUROPE EXPRESS bus to Vilnius, right
outside the Central Train Station in Warsaw, the exit
towards taxis and city buses.  The Vilnius bus is right
outside, a white bus.  Alas it was full. the next bus
leaves from the WEST Train station at 6:30am, and there is
a 10-hour train that leaves from the 3rd Train Station.  So
I and a guy from Finland decided to wait at the Central
Station (the lower level is open all night, upper level
closes at 4am or so), take a taxi to the West station at
5am when the Euroline Bus station there opens, try to get a
ticket, get on if so, or take another taxi to the 3rd
station for the 7:09 train.  Well, a little adventure to
spice things...  There is also a 24-hour Internet Cafe at
the lower level.  BY THE WAY, do have Polish currency for
the tickets, etc.  There is an ATM inside the Central
Station.  The exchange rate is Euro = 4 Polish currency,
about 3.50 to the Dollar. 

4. Vilnius, Lithuania.  Passed thru here before, but lost
my photos of the city from that trip.  I came back to
recapture, and use the city as gateway to Belarus, Ukraine,
and Moldova to the south.  From what I learned by asking 2
Aussie girls, I will need visas for each.  I will do this
hopefully in one or 2 days, while staying at the Old Town
HI HOSTEL in Vilnius and enjoying the city from there.  If
I dont make it or the visas take too long, I will return to
Warsaw and start doing the Balkans.  By the way, according
to the International Herald of today, political situation
in Belarus is not rosy.

Sirman