My fourteen hour overnight bus ride from Odessa finally arrives in the Southwestern Ukrainian border city of Chernivtsi. Due to its colorful past, formerly the principal city of Bukovyna (now Moldova), then apart of the Hapsburg Empire, and finally a brief stint in Romania after WWII, Chernivtsi has an unquestionably unique populace. This inimitable history, and youthful vibrancy drawn from the numerous Universities dispersed across the cityscape, creates an unavoidable charm.

I set the alarm on my phone for eight thirty to get an early start on our first day in Zagreb.

At seven forty I wake up to highly accented, belligerent arguing in English downstairs.

We decide to stop in Belgrade for an evening.

We are armed with an address and a map that I drew on a piece of paper. We are not worried. This is what we do…

Greg had met the driver earlier that day on a trip to the bazaar, and had set the price in advance. We are to pay four hundred Egyptian pounds to Mount Sinai and back.

The driver’s name is Ahmed. He is a pleasant man in his earlier thirties with Bedouin ancestry. He wears a red and white head wrap and several layers of heavy robes and quilting to prepare for the low temperatures we would soon reach.

My Good Doctor – the naughtiest Panda,

Written in parts when and where I could – bare with the scrawl.

So aye…

Onward – good Christian soldier chainsaw.

So, I’m in Krakow.