Home > Mission to Amsterdam > Archives > 2008 > June > 27 > Entry
A Good Hostel is Hard to Find.
I have an unfortunate disability with directions and maps. I didn’t decide to come to Eastern Europe and automatically get a better sense of direction and intuitively know how to read a map… no no. I learned the hard way.
In Krakow, the hostel where I wanted to stay was marked on my handy dandy Lonely Planet map. Unfortunately, I misjudged the scale of the map and thought the hostel was outside the square. I walked and walked around the little side streets of that old town with my bright yellow pack and my Lonely Planet book marking me as the tourist that I was. My sense of adventure held strong for the first hour as I kept thinking that the hostel had to be just around the corner. Then it got dark and I realized how alone and young I was and my bag started to feel very heavy. Pity parties are usually sparsely attended. I began to have a pity party with two guests.
That night, as the rain started to come down in slow sad drops, I cried out in homesickness and prayed for a temporary home in the hostel I couldn’t find. I prayed a foolish, selfish prayer of fear and loneliness, knowing I had a God who heard me and walked with me every step of my way. So, it didn’t make my bag miraculously lighter, but I wasn’t alone.
I found an internet café in a little side alley and looked the hostel up on hostelworld until I was convinced it was right on the square. I even got to talk with friends back home, which was super encouraging. I left the café and walked out of the alley. As soon as I looked out across the square I noticed a huge sign that read “HOSTEL.” I had seen it before but there are so many hostels in Krakow I just assumed that the one I was looking for would be labeled in a more specific manner. I approached the hostel and sure enough, it was the right one. I had passed it two or three times already.
When I went up to the receptionist, I was welcomed in, given the grand tour and a nice bed. It was wonderful.
I settled into a chair in the kitchen with some tea and a book a friend lent me, “Generous Orthodoxy,” by Brian McLaren. In the book, McLaren talks about why he believes what he believes. It’s a great book so far and has started so many good conversations mainly because of the irony in the title. Historically, orthodox and generous do not go together.
I was sitting in the kitchen when a voice with a familiar accent asked me what I was reading. I looked up to find a Dutch guy standing next to me. He sat down across the table and I explained my book to him. He asked if I was a Christian and I answered in the affirmative. We started talking about the Netherlands and church. He had gone to a strict Dutch church and now he felt like the faith wasn’t really for him. We had a realy good conversation about faith and religion.
He left and within a few minutes a British guy sat down and we started to talk about his experience at Auschwitz-Birchenau that day. He was still processing the things he had seen there.
My tea grew cold and my book sat unread on the table, but I gained some friends I didn’t expect that night.
Comments
By Laura
June 29, 2008 10:10 PM | Link to this
Kelsey! I am so glad to hear of your God-sent encounters with people. I am slowly learning how very involved the spiritual is in everything. Can’t wait to see you! God keep you!
By PGP
July 10, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this
Kelsey should seek location of hostels at www.hiusa.org that lists all HI affiliated hostels around the globe. These hostels are often better quality and value because they have to meet/maintain higher standards and are inspected annually. For these and other independent hostels I recommend searching www.hostelz.com since this outfit strives to list ALL hostels, even those that do not subscribe to its reservation system. Hostelworld.com and hostels.com only list those hostels that subscribe to their proprietory reservation systems, consequently many hostels (including HI-Santa Cruz, CA) are not listed there. If you operate a busy hostel it’s often not worth to check reservations on various systems which might lead to dreaded overbooking of beds.