Troy-Gallipoli-Amsterdam

August 26-31, 2010

TROY TOUR

Adam and I decided to book a few tours as we made our way towards Istanbul. Our first was a tour of the archeological site of Troy. Also known as Ilium, Troy was built as early as 5000 BC and located in northwest Turkey and best known for being the focus of the Trojan War. The believed history is described in two of the famous Greek poems, Iliad and Odyssey written by Homer.

As we walked around Troy, we learned the stories of Helen of Sparta (the Troy), Achilles, former wars yet was we found to be fascinating were the different empires such as the Roman and Byzantine that ruled the city Troy that both demolished and reconstructed the city nine times beginning as far back as 3000 BC until 500 AD. Sometimes the city was demolished by war and other times by natural causes such as earthquakes and floods. Today, some of the ancient city’s walls and artifacts (pottery, arrows, etc) have been preserved and surprisingly are in good condition, a tribute to the craftsmanship during that time.

Another well-known legend of Troy is the “Wooden Horse”. While many people came to the aid of Troy during different wars, it was during the Trojan War that the Greeks used a “Wooden Horse” to gain access to Troy. The Greeks presented the “Wooden Horse” to the Trojans as a thank you to Athena yet well-armed men hid inside it that ultimately destroyed the city.

GALLIPOLI – ANZAC WAR TOUR

Our next tour was the Anzac War, or Gallipoli Campaign. The war, the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The war took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from April 25, 1915 to January 9, 1916. A joint British and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and secure a sea route to Russia. The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides.

The war was a defining moment in history for Turkey as it liberated them from the crumbling Ottoman Empire allowing them to become an independent country. The war is often referred to as the Turkish War of Independence led by the infamous commander and Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In almost every home and business in Turkey, you will find a picture of him as Turkey attributes their independence to him.

BACK TO A-DAM!

Yes, we decided to take a vacation from our vacation so, we spontaneously booked two tickets back to Amsterdam! After traveling through Turkey, we were craving cooler temps and non-Turkish food and decided to head to Holland.

After a few hours of researching flights and few beers, we had our tickets for the next morning. We arrived around 6:30 pm (we missed our 20-minute connection from Munich) and were excited to back to the Dutch city we had only spend two days in roughly a month ago. We headed to our hotel (which was near the airport for the first night), dropped our bags, showered and headed to find a place for dinner.

Lucky for us, Amsterdam was celebrating “Restaurant Week”, similar to “First Bite” in Boulder, highlighting Amsterdam’s dining scene by offering 3-course meals at a discounted rate. We stopped in a small, hip local restaurant in downtown called Bistrot Neuf, which offered a French menu. The food was amazing along with the selected wines that accompanied each course. We both enjoyed a filet of beef served with béarnaise and served over sweet potato mash, with fresh asparagus and onion compote. The tiramisu dessert with vanilla bean ice cream was incredible! More to come as we still have our final day to enjoy…..

Turkey is Hot!

Pamukkale, Turkey

BODRUM, TURKEY (August 19-23)

We left Santorini by ferry last Friday at 12:20 am and headed to the town of Bodrum via Kos, another Greek Island, where we arrived at 5:30 am. Bleary eyed and tired, we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and exchanged travel stories and tips with a group of Australians who were also headed to Bodrum. Next, we boarded the 9:00 am ferry from Kos and were off to our 8th country, Turkey.

In more ways than one, Turkey is hot. Hot because of the 100 degree temps and hot because everyone is traveling here; as well they should! Turkey is friendly, inexpensive (sometimes), beautiful and rich in culture and history. Bodrum, our first stop, is a quaint and somewhat modernized port town located in the south western part of the country where the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas meet.

Once through customs (which took us a little while- Ad had to run to the nearest ATM to get some ‘Lira’ to pay for our visas), we headed to look for food and a place to lay our heads for the night. During our lunch, we heard a man chanting over a loud speaker and asked our waiter what it was. He explained that it was the religious tradition of “Amom”, when the priest or pastor calls his people to prayer five times a day from the minaret, or bell tower. At first, it felt too much like an religious extremist group, yet after a few conversations with locals and acquiring a better understanding, we have more respect for the very rich and misunderstood tradition and began to use it as a reminder to be thankful to God for all that we have.

A side note, Greece and Turkey are very similar yet their main cultural differences are their language and religion. In Greece they speak Greek, Turkey they speak Turkish yet their religions are different: Greek Orthodox Christianity versus Islam, one of the fastest growing religions. The other strong cultural similarities (food, how they look, architecture, etc) relate to their history as one country ruled by Greece before the rise of the Ottoman Empire in which they were split in two.

Our first evening in Bodrum, we headed to a restaurant for Turkish food. We feasted on eggplant mixed with fresh tomatoes and herbs, sardines with chili sauce, yogurt mixed with onions and garlic salt, and fresh sea bass; it was delicious! We headed home early to catch up on sleep and just as we were getting ready for bed, we noticed another little creature joining us in our room – an unwelcomed cockroach, eewwwhhh!

While in Bodrum, we enjoyed a traditional Turkish bath. A Turkish bath consists of a sauna, scrub, soap and then an oil massage (in your ‘swimming costume’). You begin with a sauna designed to help open your pores and eliminate toxins. Next, you lay face down on a circular marble table for a full-body rub- down, then a full-body scrub to get rid of the dead skin, finally, the pouring of refreshing cool water over your shoulders and legs. Next, they gently pour handmade olive oil soap over your body, it feels amazing! Once finished with the bath you end with a 20-minute relaxing oil massage. Ad and I very much enjoyed this Turkish experience.

On Monday, we headed out for a boat tour that took us around to 5 different bays in Bodrum. It was here that we met a really nice Dutch couple, Anna and Kim. Anna and Kim are from a small town (around 6,000) in Holland called Olst located close to the German border. They were enjoying day #4 of a two-week vacation in Bodrum.

We had a lot of fun drinking some beers, jumping off the boat (and off 35 foot rocks) into the beautiful blue water and dancing on the top deck, and we loved the conversation with our new friends. Anna is a nurse who met Kim while working together at the same hospital, a rehabilitation hospital that helps young kids with mental illness. Kim is a nurse and also specializes in training professionals on how to deal with individuals with aggression and who have mental imbalances.

As we were leaving the boat for the day, we met another nice couple, Ece (Turkish) and Vedran (Bosnian), recently engaged and living in Australia. We struck up a conversation regarding our trip and their possibility of relocating to the US, then decided that we should all head out for dinner together. Thanks to Ece (pronounced “A-jay”), she took the reins and ordered up an amazing Turkish feast for all of us to enjoy. After a wonderful dinner and evening, we exchanged hugs and contact information then said our goodbyes.

PAMUKKALE (August 23)

On Tuesday morning, we woke up at 5:45 am to catch our 6:30 am bus to Pamukkale. As we waited for over 30 minutes for our bus (the bus that was to take us to the tour bus), we called the travel agent who booked our trip and told her that no one had arrived. Less than 10 minutes later, a gentleman picked us up and we were on our way. For the next hour and a half, we cruised in a small-passenger van at roughly 80 miles an hour up hills, around corners, and passing cars and trucks to make our way to the tour bus that was originally supposed to take us to Pamukkale. As it turns out, our van picking us up in the morning mistakenly picked up the wrong passengers and our driver had to chase the tour bus down so we could make the transfer. Once we arrived, our driver explained to us that his driving was like a “rocket” in order to catch up with the others.

Pamukkale, or Cotton Castle, is a little town and host to an amazing natural site that is unique to the world. Underground thermal springs loaded with calcium carbonate salts creates stalactites and white water basins filled with warm pools of water rich with minerals. The terraced mineral spas have been used since Roman times for their therapeutic powers to help with such ailments as arthritis and other circulatory issues.

SELCUK (August 23-25)

We enjoyed our time at the very unique and natural site of Pumakkale, and then caught an afternoon bus to Selcuk (pronounced “Sel-chuk”), a small town nearby the ancient ruins of Ephesus. Selcuk is close to the coast and less than 20 kilometers from Kusadsi. We checked into our hotel which we found to be…comfortable and pleasing with a very kind owner. Directly across the street was the town square where we had another great Turkish dinner. What we liked most about this town were the extremely friendly people always saying, ‘hello’ and ‘have a good evening’ as we walked by.

The next morning (Tuesday) we ventured out on foot (despite the 90+ degrees) to see the ancient ruins of Ephesus, roughly 3K from the town of Selcuk. Ephesus was once a port town and commercial center of the ancient world created in the third century BC, and a site dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Included in the ruins is an enormous ancient temple that included a theater, gymnasium, baths and Library of Celsus.

Located up on the hill above Ephesus is the home of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that after the death of Christ, the Virgin Mary was brought to Ephesus where she is said to have spent her last days in a small house built for her high up on the hill.

After our tour, we headed back to Selcuk for rest of the afternoon where we had a nice dinner, then sat with our new friends (Marco, Ali, and Aydan) and talked about life in both America and Turkey. It was very nice relaxing and enjoying great conversation and learning more about the Turkish culture. We hope our new friends will come to Colorado for a visit.

We are missing our friends, family and our lil’ Duker girl, Elke!

Love to you all,

C and A

Santorini, ahh, Santorini!

August 18, 2010 (Adam here)

We are in Santorini!! Finally, a place where we have been able to chill for a few days (not to mention, a place that we are LOVING!). We were in Athens for two days checking out the sights before we made our way to the island of Santorini. After the hot 7 hour train ride from Meteora to Athens, we found a very decent hotel ($55 Euro per night) that we were happy to rent (even if everything outside the hotel was a little sketchy) which included air conditioning as well as a private bathroom. Excellent!

We decided to go to a travel agency to try and put together a schedule before we did anything else. Ultimately we need to work our way over to Turkey as we have a flight out of there on Sept. 1. Our thought was to check out a Greek Island or two, then hop on over to Turkey and “jam with the Stones!” –Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Ok probably won’t ‘jam with the Stones’ but regardless, we do need to work our way over to Turkey at some point.

We knew we were traveling in high season and that Europe would be our greatest expense, but we didn’t know that this week was the ‘busiest week of the year’ in Greece. A girl named Efi at the travel agency was extremely helpful and very friendly in trying to put together a package (yes Gurst, I said package) for us, however, the package was way out of our price range. Cathy and I decided to take a chance and book a ‘Super Fast Ferry’ over to Santorini for the next morning, hoping we might find some place to stay when we got there.

After we booked our ‘super fast ferry,’ we looked online to see if any place might be available for us to stay (in hindsight, it would have probably been smarter to find a place to stay, THEN book the ferry, but that’s kind of how we roll). As it turned out, we did find a place in the beach town of Kamari, which is on the east side of Santorini. We had no idea what our place would be like, but the price was right and the reviews were good, so we booked 3 nights; after the many ‘not so clean places’ we have stayed, “What could possibly go wrong?”

Well, we are here now and it’s AWESOME!! We are truly on the beach (ok, 3 meters away), our room is SAWEET w/ air con, private bath, clean, and a real double bed (not two twins pushed together (although two twins pushed together….ok I won’t go there). There’s a beautiful pool, and a bar (basically swim-up bar). There are TONS of GREAT places to eat, an open air cinema, ATV/moped rentals, many different tours, and sunsets that are said to be the best in the world! How’s $75 per night sound? KAW!

Once we got to ‘The Boathouse’ (our place), we grabbed a bite to eat (on the beach) then jumped into the very refreshing ocean. Oh, life is good! There is one piece of sad news; my wedding ring fell off somewhere in the ocean and is gone; I was/am very bummed about this. I have NEVER had any issues with it falling off before; I was getting out of the water, looked at my hand and it was not there 8(

We have been chillin out for the past four (we booked an extra night when we arrived) nights and have been enjoying some down time; it was needed as we have been in constant motion for the past month.

Cathy and I decided to see the island by way of 'Quad Runner'.  We rented a fairly new 150cc (not very fast, but that was ok with Cath) machine and took off on our tour. Driving around Santorini can be very confusing and we got lost on more than one occasion. We thought we were headed towards a few proclaimed 'amazing beaches' (which I am sure they were) but ended up on top of the highest peak on the island (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing).  We drove to the oposite side of the island, weaving in and out of traffic in hopes of reaching Oia (pronounced 'eea'). This is said to be the premier spot for viewing the sunsets on Santorini.  However, we were there during the middle of the extremely hot day and were in desperate search of water.  Dripping with sweat, we made it to Oia; we successfully made our way down the 283 (or so) steep stairs to the small port and we were greeted by an amazing bluish/green ocean. Just around the bend of the port was an incredible spot where quite a few people were enjoying a cool swim and jumping off 10-15 foot cliffs into the ocean, it was so refreshing! 

After we enjoyed the ocean for about an hour we decided to head back [I should say that we were about 45 minutes from our hotel on a LONG desolate road].  On our way back on the quad, we were enjoying the breeze (because we were sweating again from ascending the 283 or so stairs we came down earlier) when we ran out of gas.  What! Yes, we were out of gas.  I stayed with the quad while Cathy headed out to find a gas station; she ran into a couple of super friendly Greek guys who took her to the gas station and then drove her back to where I was with the quad.  Extremely grateful, we thanked them and we were again on our way.  As we were headed down the hill, we saw many cars coming towards us with a few flashing their lights; this is when we realized we were going the wrong way on a one-way road-oops.  We turned around and from that point on everything went smoothly as we made our way back home. 

Once back at the hotel we jumped in the pool, relaxed, then went to eat amazing Chinese food (the BEST green curry we have ever had in our lives!) Can't wait to eat in Thailand!

We leave by ferry for the island of Kos (which is just off the coast of Turkey) at 12:30am on Friday; we will hang there for a couple of days before making our way over to Turkey. We are excited to see another new country; we here great things about Turkey.

More later, Peace!

Meteora, Greece

Kalambaka, Greece (National monument, Meteora)

August 12-13

We arrived around 1:00 pm to the small town of Kalambaka, located directly east of Igoumenitsa in the northern center of Greece. Sleepy and slightly disoriented, we got off the bus and looked around and noticed a sign, Hotel Astoria. Located less than a block away, we walked up and were greeted by a very nice Greek gentleman and his wife who provided us with an air conditioned room for a couple of nights as well as a wealth of great information about the area. They had been living in Kalambaka their whole life and running the hotel for the past 40 years. The hotel felt like a monastery-it was clean, quiet, peaceful and serene and we were subtly surrounded by pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

That evening, we headed to the town square to enjoy a dinner of Greek salads, beef and chicken syrtaki and some Greek white wine. After dinner, we went walked around town, talked to a few friendly locals, enjoyed some traditional baklava and picked up our laundry from a local dry cleaner who cleaned and neatly folded them (and they smelled amazing).

The next morning we woke and walked downtown to catch our bus to Meteora. While waiting, we enjoyed seeing the local farmers market of vendors selling fresh tomatoes, watermelons and cucumbers, grilling corn on a BBQ, handmade quilts and paintings being sold – you could feel the small community of Kalambaka.

We caught a bus up to Meteora, or “suspended rocks”; it's one of the world’s most unique national monuments. Monasteries (6 monasteries today) were built to serve as a peaceful place for monks and nuns to follow the teachings of Greek Orthodox. While perched up on rocks pillars to deliberately make it difficult to access, monks built their monasteries by using long ladders to access and hoisting building materials and people up by ropes, nets and later, by a unique pulley system, see our pictures.

Today, there are roughly 4-6 monks that are still practicing in this area. Most of the monasteries serve as a museum for tourists to better understand the history, teachings, paintings and life as a monks as early as the 14th century in this area. At times, you can hear a bell ringing from a distant monastery. It is a place of great beauty and both mentally and spiritually refreshing and I definitely recommend a visit.

If you are looking for a place to travel, I definitely think you should consider Greece!

Rome, Italy; A little Pisa; Arrival in Greece

Colosseum, Rome

August 7-10

On Saturday morning, we packed our backpacks and headed to the train station in Monterosso destined for Florence, Italy. Florence is known for its famous galleries and churches yet after a few moments of standing in front of the train departure schedule, we contemplated our decision and the idea of crowded museums, sweating in long lines with other tourists hoping to do the exact same thing and decided to take the fast train to Rome. This is the luxury of having a Euro Rail Pass, no itinerary and no hotel reservations.

Before getting to Rome we had to change trains in Pisa; we thought, ‘great opportunity to see the leaning tower! Let’s jump off and check out it out then we’ll continue to Rome.’ Seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight, we should have skipped it. We walked for about 1 ½ miles (and it was FREAKIN HOT!) until we finally found it. Yes, it was pretty cool to see, but after 5 minutes of checking it out and watching all the tourists take pictures of their family members pretending to push the tower over, or hold it up with their hands…we were over it and ready to get back on the train. We stopped for refreshing lemonade and a crappy pizza before making the trek back to the train. We got a little lost heading back and I (Adam) led us in a big circle; but we finally made it. To sum it up, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, ain’t worth Pisa! Skip it.

After our brief stop in Pisa, we were back on the train and headed to Rome, the capital of Italy. We arrived around 1:00 pm and headed to the desk called “Hotel Reservations – Last Minute”. A friendly Italian woman helped us find a decent hotel centrally located around Rome’s well-known monuments and museums.

Rome is a treasure chest of history. While we saw many amazing historic sites, I will highlight some of our favorites. Our first historic site, the Trevi Fountain, or Fontana di Trevi, tucked in between buildings and at the junction of three roads is one of Rome’s largest and most beautiful fountains. Otherwise known as Aqua Virgo, this fountain is one of the aqueducts to supply water to ancient Rome.

Next, the Colosseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, is located in the center of Rome and considered one of the most famous pieces of architecture built in Rome. Constructed by the Flavian dynasty under the rule of Nero in 70 AD and completed in 72 AD, this giant iconic piece of history hosted 50,000 spectators to gladiator fights (yes, like the movie Gladiator), battle reenactments and later, housing, a fortress and a Christian Shrine.

Today it stands as a historic piece of the Imperial Rome. Its partial ruins are due to past earthquakes and stone-robbers. With its strong ties to the Catholic Church, religious processions are hosted at certain times of the year such as Good Friday.

Last, but not least, our visit is Vatican City, a sovereign state within the city of Rome along the Tiber River and established in 1929 with only 800 residents. Vatican City is ruled by the bishop of Rome, the Pope, and Catholic clergyman from various nationalities and the home of the Pope. Adjacent to the city is both Saint Peter’s Basilica and the infamous Sistine Chapel, two places Adam and I visited.

The St. Peter’s Basilica is a late Renaissance Church and has the largest interior of any Christian Church in the world holding over 60,000 people. It has been regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites and believed to be the place of death for St. Peter himself. Decorated in marble, surrounded by famous paintings (Michelangelo) and contains a large number of tombs of popes.

The final historic site, the Sistine Chapel, the best known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. The chapel is famous for both its architecture and decoration of frescos developed by Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo, who painted over 12,000 square feet beginning in 1508. His most famous, The Last Judgement, is believed to be his best achievement, includes a series of frescoes depicting the life of both Moses and Christ and began in 1533 while finishing in 1541.

Bari, Italy -August 10-11

We left Rome for the long journey to the port town of Bari; this is where we would catch the ferry to Greece. This 9.5 hour series of train rides took us through the southern part of Italy, stopping regularly in small towns. At one stop, a few of the locals seemed surprised to see Americans and welcomed us asking where we were from, helping us find our way to Bari and provided us with snacks. Once arriving in Bari, we frustratingly realized we missed the boat out of Italy by 40 minutes and ended up having to stay in a dumpy hotel before we could leave for Greece the next day.

We woke up to a new day and new attitudes; we were ready for Greece and put Italy behind us. We enjoyed the many wonderful and beautiful cities Italy offered, yet in Rome, we felt that the people we continued to meet were hard to get to know and we were tired of consistently having miscalculations with our bill every time we ate. In many parts of Europe, there is a charge for what feels like everything! They charge you for bread service as well as if you sit down at their outdoor seating spots. To give you an example, we went to a restaurant in Rome that offered a unique Italian ice-cream dessert called Tartufo. If you took the ice-cream to go, it would cost you $5 Euros, if you sat down at a table outside, it would cost you $10 Euros for the dessert plus a service charge (around $2-3 Euros) for the waiter or waitress to serve it to you – basically move it 10 feet from the restaurant’s ice-cream bar to the table. Hmm, it wasn’t a hard decision to simply order it to-go and then enjoy it on a park bench in front of the Navanno Fountain.

We checked out of our hotel in Bari and headed to the port to secure two seats on an overnight ferry to Igoumenitsa, Greece. Standing in line, we met a nice, young 20-year old traveler from Fort Collins named Alex. After exchanging a few travel stories, we headed to enjoy lunch at the ‘Titti Twister Pizzeria’ (which was actually the best pizza we had while in Italy) and then a dip in the Adriatic Sea to cool off from the sweltering hot day. We arrived at the local beach just down from the port, and in less than five minutes of being there, a few locals began to warn us while pointing to their eye that we needed to keep close watch of our backpacks. As a few shady locals circled us and our packs, we decided to quickly enjoy the water and then get the heck out of there and head back to port.

As we waited to board the ferry, we flipped through pages of their brochure describing the trip to Greece -- “enjoy a goodnight’s rest and then wake up in Greece” - this sounded perfect. We boarded the ferry and headed to our “airline” seats as described on our ticket. The options for passengers were: deck, airline seat or cabin (depending on your ticket). Because of our first-class Euro rail pass, we were delighted to not be sleeping out on the deck for the eve and headed for the airline seats.

The room with the airline seats, which they truly were, was set up like a small movie theater with two sections of roughly 60 seats per section and a wall with a flat screen TV separated each section. For the rest of the eve, Ad, myself and over 100 other people did not enjoy a “goodnight’s rest.” Our evening included but was not limited to: endless snoring, people talking, cell phones ringing, text message alerts and three old Italian men having a conversation as if no one else was around.

Igoumenitsa, Greece – Thursday, August 12

We arrive at 6:00 am to the sun rising in Igoumenitsa. With less than 3 hours of sleep, we immediately head to a café in the boat terminal to enjoy a morning cappuccino and Greek pastry (I had no idea what it was) and then head to the local bus station. We left the terminal and immediately felt completely lost and confused by all the Greek signage – a series of confusing symbols that make no sense, it’s like setting your computer font to ‘Wingdings’ and typing a message. A few friendly locals directed us to the bus station for our next journey, a 3.5 hour bus ride to Kalambaka, our final destination for the evening and the home to the unique monument of Meteora.

As the only Americans on our bus, we joined locals on our first ride through the winding roads and mountainous terrain. Up hills, around curves (some littered with shrines dedicated to the unfortunate who overshot the guardrail), over hilltops with Thievery Corporation playing in the background (yes, we had good tunes on the bus ride in Greece), the bus driver drove until he suddenly pulled over to the side of the road, grabbed a few blue plastic bags and handed them to a local passenger who thought she might “toss her cookies”. After a few moments, the local regained herself and requested that the driver proceed more slowly through the turns.

Tomorrow, I will share stories and pics of Meteora!

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre, Italy

 August 5-7, 2010

After leaving Varenna, Italy on a rainy Thursday morning, Ad and I headed to Cinque Terre, Italy’s five hillside villages located along the Italian Riviera by the Mediterranean Sea. Cinque Terre, which means “five lands," is a unique series of beautiful villages that are all “car-free” and only accessible on-foot or by train. From east to west, the seaside towns include Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso.

We arrived in Monterosso, our home for the next two nights, unpacked our swimsuits (or as our new French friend, Luc Jaujou likes to refer to them – “swimming costumes”), grabbed our towels, books and headed for the beach. If there is something I have realized during my travels, is that “beach” doesn’t always refer to huge amounts of beaming white sand covering an endless blue coastline. In Cinque Terre, it could mean beaches of desolate rocks, crashing blue waves and occasional topless women camped out on a lonely rock.

After our swim, we decided to enjoy a picnic of fresh bread, cheese, bresola, grapes, a jar of pesto and “vino delle Cinque Terre”. Cinque Terre is known as “home of pesto” and famous for their local white wine grown in the region. As we sat by the window in our room, we enjoyed our feast, the town chatter below us and an early night’s rest.

The next morning, we started with what has become our everyday morning ritual – a cappuccino, a croissant or the local bakery’s fresh pastry of the day. As we planned to hike and explore all five villages in one day, the Australian coupled sitting next to us explained to us that it would take “at least 5 hours to do it all”. Of course, this presented a challenge and Ad and I decided to plan to see all the villages in less than 3 hours.

As we started to hike out of Monterosso, we climbed a path that included a series of rocky steps and dirt paths along hillsides overlooking the Sea that seemed both relentless and endless. As we made our way around each hilltop, we were stunned with the views as well as the next village off in the distance, Vernazza.

We arrived in Vernazza exactly an hour later. As we arrived, this small, charming town on the water was bustling with locals grabbing their morning coffee and newspaper, exchanging ‘giorno’ (short for good morning in Italian) as they walked by one another. We stopped and enjoyed watching a few locals jumping off the end of the pier at low tide (roughly a 10 foot drop) and waiting for a high swell to bring them back up to lift themselves out of the water only to turn around and do it again.

We jumped back on the Cinque Terre trail – next stop: Corniglia. As we headed out on the trail, we found that this part of the trail seemed more forgiving than the route from Monterosso. Forty-five minutes later we arrived in the hillside town of Corniglia, the only town not directly on the water. This small and quaint hilltop town offered amazing views of the Riviera extending all the way down to the French Riviera coastline off in the distance.

Hiking down from Corniglia, we made our way around the hillside along a charming promenade, arriving thirty minutes later to village #4, Manarola. Once there, we enjoyed watching locals and tourists diving off rocks into the water, sunbathers finding a remote spot to catch the rays and delicious lunch of mussels and linguini and troffe, a local pasta and sea bass.

As we made our way from Manarola to Riomaggiore, the final village of the Cinque Terre, we enjoyed the unique promenade called Via dell’ Amore or “Walkway of Love”. This 15-minute section of the Cinque Terre trail offering a panorama view of the coastline is littered with colorful locks dangling from metal nets, displaying small tokens of the people’s commitment to their love for one another.

As a celebration for our journey across Cinque Terre (in 3 hours), Ad and I decided to enjoy a nice seafood dinner at a local restaurant in Monterosso called Ciak La Lampara. We noticed this restaurant as we continued to walk by and watch the chef/owner prepare his infamous fish soup dinner (or Zuppa de Pesce) in the restaurant’s window each evening.

Once seated, we ordered the Risotto alla Mare (risotto with seafood) for two, a bottle of Cinque Terre Levante (local white wine from the town of Levanto) and some Pellegrino. Sitting at small tables lined up closely next to one another, we sat next to a young Italian couple. As they listened to our conversation, they proceeded to giggle after hearing our own interpretations of some the local street signs we found cryptic to us – ‘the sign means drunken sailor who can’t find his way around town’; ‘no, no --it means don’t poop here’. (We found out later that the signs were referring to the location of ATMs.)

It was at that moment that I realized I didn’t want to come back to Europe without truly being fluent in another language; and what language would it be? – Pig-Latin, of course. Since most Europeans know multiple languages including English, I bet this would be the only language that they would have no idea what you are saying!

After leaving Monterosso we headed to Rome, the capital of Italy rich in history and culture. I can’t wait!
Ciao'
Athysay and Damah

Varenna, Italy

 

Tuesday, August 3 – 5

Adam and I woke up on Tuesday morning, packed our backpacks and headed for the ferry to catch an 8:45 am boat to Bellagio, another villa on Lake Como. Bellagio, also called “the Pearl of the Lake” is beautiful with old-world charm and located across the lake from Varenna, our final destination. Once arriving at the Town Center, we toured through the small town enjoying hidden cobblestone staircases, windows filled with colorful flower boxes, the sun shining on our faces and wine shops featuring tastings of some of Italy’s most famous wine varietals.

Stopping at a small wine shop, Enoteca Principessa, Adam’s eyes grew big as he saw tastings for many of his favorite wines and in particular, the Gaja, an exclusive Italian wine producer located in Piemonte and considered the “undisputed king of Barbaresco”. As we experienced a few 1 oz pours of wines, we savored the delicate and smooth taste of our final taste, a 2006 Gaja Sperss.

After lunch, we hopped on the ferry destined for Varenna. Once we arrived, we searched for our bed and breakfast, 'Casa Cristina' located in an area of Varenna called Vezio. Stopping to ask a local for directions, he explained, “Go by Farmacia, take shortcut down the road, head up to brief town intersection and it will be located right there” while gesturing with his hand that it would be a bit of climb to our final destination.

We climbed the relentless rocky cobblestone path to the bed and breakfast passing a few groups of people on their way down. They smiled at our effort and reminded us that a cold beer was waiting up ahead; good motivation while you are drenched in sweat and wondering “how much freakin’ farther is this place!” To further explain this climb, picture getting on a Stairmaster, setting the level at 11 with a max of 15 and climbing the stairs without any points of recovery for the next 15 minutes with a 20+ pound backpack on your back.

Once arriving, we collapsed into chairs at the small, charming restaurant located at the top of the hill called 'Il Portichetto', located next door to her bed and breakfast (both the bed and breakfast and restaurant were owned by Rita, a wonderfully warm, friendly and helpful Italian woman).  For our efforts we enjoyed a few beers, a small plate of “salumi”, a couple cappuccinos and then booked our 2-floor spacious and homey apartment for 2 nights. We decided the hike to and from town would be much easier without our 20+ pound packs and we reminded ourselves that this hike would also help keep us in shape.

Next, we headed out to explore the beautiful and quiet town of Varenna. We walked along the lakeside promenade, explored the “beach” (more like a sandy basketball court with a few umbrellas and lounge chairs), local shops and then headed to the local grocery store to buy our Italian feast for the evening. We picked up pasta with mushrooms, fresh pesto, fruits, cheese, crackers, prosciutto and a bottle of Valpolicella Repasso before heading back up to our “home”.

Once we arrived, we showed Rita what we were making for dinner. In broken English and shaking her head she explained “No, no pesto with pasta with funghi (mushroom). It’s no good”. She paused and said, “Un momento” and returned with a stick of butter, a few dried sage leaves and explained how to create our feast. Grind up the sage, heat the butter, add the sage, add the cooked pasta and “Viola”—a simple and delicious Italian dinner!

This morning, we woke up to a blue sky and our neighbors greeting us with “Bueongiorno” (good morning), as they hung their clothes out to dry and soft Italian music played in the background; the local church bell ringing on the hour and every half hour; Italians greeting each other with “giorno” and “ciao” while enjoying their breakfast of a cappuccino and cigarette. We are in the heart of a true Italian villa experience and enjoying every minute.

Enjoy your day – Ciao!

Germany: Berlin & Munich; Arrival at Lake Como

July 29-31 -- Berlin, Germany

We made it to our fifth country, Germany, arriving in Berlin last Thursday night. Thus far, we’ve had to learn how to say “thank you”, “please” and “where are the toilettes” in 5 different languages as the locals giggle at our fluency attempts. Yet, I think they appreciate the fact that we are “attempting” and help us along.

Our first evening in Berlin, we arrived at our hotel, dropped our stuff and headed out for some good ole German food. We walked for 4 blocks passing a restaurant offering Indian, then Moroccan, American (or as some say, Americain) – yet no German food was to be found so we settled on Greek. Our waiter, which we think was the owner, sold us (basically somewhat took advantage of two non-German speaking Americans) on lamb kabobs with two servings of tziki, grilled trout and side of vegetables, a tasty dinner we truly enjoyed yet we were still craving German.

The next day we headed out to explore Berlin. Berlin is the capital and the largest city in Germany. We explored this large and cultured city by both walking and by train. As it relates to the train, it was explained to us by the man who booked us into the gay district in the local tourist office that the “U Bahn” refers an underground train while the “S Bahn” refers to an above ground train. With map in hand, Adam and I slowly figured out the train system, or so we thought. What was not explained were the exceptions to the rule. Some “S Bahn” trains you would catch underground which seemed confusing and contradictive to the explanation we received.

As we explored Berlin, we both felt that it didn’t feel like Germany; it felt like a new city, rebuilt from the devastation of its past. As we toured the many historic sites, we were challenged trying to understand the relevance of sites. Many of them were not well marked either on the map or in the local tour guide until we reached Checkpoint Charlie. In my opinion, this historic site told the story about the infamous Berlin Wall, the physical division of East Germany versus West Germany post WWII and it’s reunification in 1990. As we stood in front the last 150 meters of what’s left of the Berlin Wall, we were both in awe of not only what took place at this site yet it was only 20 years ago that this wall came down.

July 31-August 2 -- Munich, Germany

Saturday we arrived in Munich hoping for a real German experience – big bratwursts and big beers; to that, we did find. After touring the city for 1.5 hours looking for a place to stay, we ended up at a place right across the street from where we arrived, the main train station; it was a stretch to call it a 2-star hotel (as it was labeled). Regardless, it was a moderately priced and served a decent breakfast, even if our feet stuck to the floor in random locations around the hotel.

We dropped our bags and headed to the ‘Biergarten’ recommended by the German working at the front desk “It just up za street 5 minute, can’t miss”. After the true 5 minute walk we found it; an open-air beer garden with rows of wooden tables and chairs, under green trees with men and women in traditional lederhosen and all the other German garb. It seemed like they didn’t really want to wear it, but were obligated because of the job. Most had the typical stoic expression pasted onto their faces, but we didn’t really care we just wanted big beers, or in German “Mas beir”- the 1 liter brah! We enjoyed our beer(s) (Cathy had one and I had four) with bratwurst, kraut and a giant pretzel. The next morning I experienced a ‘Mas bier’ hangover and wasn’t feeling so well.

Despite the hangover we headed to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany. This was eye opening for both of us as well as very heartbreaking. The camp was built to house up to 6,000 prisoners , when in actuality, over 50,000 were sentenced to Dachau. The size of the camp was enormous and took us over 4 hours to experience (which I am sure we could have spent all day), but it was emotionally draining and sad. I will never be able to fathom how something this horrific and appalling could happen; it makes me sick to my stomach to think about.

After the emotional tour of Dachau we tried to lift our spirits by going to the famous Hofbrahaus for a beer; we only had one each this time. I don’t think we were too into it after our day. We returned to our hotel to get our things ready for an early train and our next adventure-Lake Como, Italy.

August 2 – Como Villa, Lake Como, Italy

On Monday, Adam and I arrived early afternoon by a 9-hour train ride to Como, Italy, a small lakeside villa located on Lake Como. Lake Como, or Lago di Como, is a glacial lake located less than an hour from Milan and surrounded by beautiful villas. Located at the base of the Italian Alps, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy and a popular resort destination for famous celebrities such as George Clooney.

Once off the train, I headed for the first Italian I could find to ask for directions to our hotel. I showed him the address and he quickly responded, “oh, its-a 2 hour train ride or a 1.5 hour ride by ferry”. What?! I convinced this wasn’t true; I was told that it was close to the ferry and train station – how could this be? He explained that a different train takes you to Varenna: “take-a the train an hour south to Milano, ah then head north to Varenna”. Well that’s not going to work – onto plan B- the ferry.

With backpacks on and feeling a bit deflated, we headed towards the Town Center to see about taking a ferry to Varenna. Passing all the anxious taxi drivers lined up outside the bus station, I felt their stares as they were hoping we would be their next victim for Euro drag racing with their taxi.

After a 10-15 minute walk, we found the office to buy tickets for the ferry. “Sorry, all the boats are gone for today.” Arrh! All I wanted was to be in the middle of a quiet little Italian villa, pop open my book (by the way, thanks Agatha, I love J Maarten Troost) and feel a cool breeze from the Italian lake.

Next, we needed to find a hotel for the night. We visited two hotels before finally finding the one that fit into our budget, Hotel Fontana. This mere 2-star hotel smelled of a dead fish as you walked up the stairwell to our room located on the second floor. Once arriving gasping for fresh air, we were greeted with an intricate door-locking system that required turning the key an unassuming 5-times before the door would open and then once open, spending another ten minutes figuring out how to delicately remove the key from the keyhole.

Exhausted, hungry and content with a bed and clean sheets, we headed out for some fresh Italian food. After walking around a bit, we realized not many restaurants were open. In Italy, like other European countries, businesses will shut down for 2-3 hours in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, we hit this time period yet headed to the nearest open restaurant which conveniently displayed a sign “we speak English” which truly means, “we do not serve good food”.

After a glass of wine and some very mediocre bar food, we headed to a pizzeria recommended to us by the hotel receptionist. Excited for a real Italian pizza, we ordered one pizza, two glasses of wine and the only available water option, bottled water. The waiter with his Italian accent asks, “ziss is it???” Adam and I looked at each other somewhat stunned and uncomfortable and said, “ah, yeh”.

After dinner, we ended the evening with some delicious gelato and then set off for a good night’s sleep. Or, so we thought. We headed up the stinky fish-smelling stairwell to our room and realized that we were conveniently located right above a bar and somewhat of a busy and noisy road. For this, Adam and I didn’t enjoy much of a restful night’s sleep.

Off to enjoy a much needed restful evening….Ciao!

Amsterdam: Heaven and Hell

Wednesday, July 28--
I named this blog entry as “Heaven and Hell” because it truly was the experience Adam and I had while visiting Amsterdam, a counter-culture city in the heart of Holland. 

We arrived in Amsterdam, exited the train station and headed to look for Bob’s Youth Hostel, a place Adam stayed on his previous Europe trip almost 20 years ago. Located a few blocks from the train station, Ad reminisced about his time at Bob’s, his trips to the “coffee shops” and some of liberties this unique city offeres; however, Bob's was completely booked, so we moved on to find other accomodations.

As we walked through busy streets filled with tourists, 20-somethings, street vendors and musicians, we stopped at Hotel Ben to check the rate and availability. With space available and only $40 Euros night, we were excited to have found a place to stay with a reasonable nightly rate. Smelling of smoke, dirty pillow cases and a bathroom almost too small to for the toilet we decide to find a more suitable hotel for our sleepy heads.

Next we found a place called Hostelrunners, a local service providing the availability and rates of hotels and hostels. Conveniently located down the narrow, congested cobblestone street next to the Gay Cinema, we were helped by an Asian man with a Dutch accent and a few front teeth who sold us on a “great and quiet” apartment above the local laundromat called Happy Hotel. His next request, we pay in cash; this was a little sketchy, but we paid and ventured off to find our 'Happy' place.

We walked down more sketchy alleys to find our home for the next 2 nights and were greeted by 6 police officers on huge horses, in combat gear and patrolling the streets. Once they moved on, we found our apartment and a very steep staircase leading up to our room. The stairs were so steep that you had to climb them like a ladder (there should have been a sign saying, “Do not attempt if (when) impaired”).

The room was decent and pretty clean considering outside the hotel (and everything around us) was a dirt hole (we didn’t realize until later that we were in the heart of the Red Light District). Once we dropped off our packs (and locked them to the furnace in our room) we headed out to check out the ‘shops’.

We went to a shop called, ‘Homegrown;’ I (Adam) was there 17 years ago. Within a couple of minutes (and $5 Euro later) we were sitting outside ‘enjoying’ some people watching. We decided to venture around the town, but as darkness began to fall the freaks came out. I really felt like I was going to be jacked at any moment (I’m sure being slightly impaired and being in the Red Light District had something to do with this, but not much). We decided to cut down an alley and came upon a couple performing; the guy was playing the didgeridoo (techno style) while his girlfriend put on a puppet show accompanying his sweet riffs which sounded like the same song over and over and over again.

Next on the freak show tour was the cross-eyed accordion player shelling out a few sweet Coldplay songs. He was good yet I was still a little 'weirded' out by the previous woman performing her puppet show.  For our final tour performance, a man in a long white-hooded robe, wearing a white mask and standing on a stool, raising his right hand and constantly nodding at people as they walked by him; WEIRDO! But, if you are into this type of creepy performance you could always drop a tip into his box located right in front of him.

After the sketchy freak show tour we decided the Red Light District was not the place for us. As we made our way through the maze of streets we found Hostelrunners and asked for our money back. Thankfully, the Asian Dutchman agreed without a problem.

With our backpacks on we headed to the train station to get out of Dodge. We were hoping to catch an overnight train to Munich, Germany yet were informed that there were no more international trains leaving until the next morning. What!? Another night in this sketchy dirt hole!? Nooooo!

We decided to venture out to the other side of town and see if we were actually experiencing all of Amsterdam. As we walked through the streets, several blocks from the Red Light District, we found more of what I would call “Heaven”. The streets were lined with beautiful Dutch townhomes polished, pretty and filled with people’s worldly possessions. Houseboats were on the canals and filled with couples enjoying a glass of wine, picnic or a casual party on the slow cruising boat.  Locals were out riding their vintage Dutch bikes on dedicated bike paths that outnumber the cars. Cozy cafes and bars were filled with beautiful, fashion-forward and tan people sitting enjoying a glass of wine or sipping on a cold beer.

As we walked, we finally stumbled onto a cute little inn called the Times Hotel. We inquired about a room and the hip Norwegian reception guy offered us a reasonable rate on his last (and a Deluxe) hotel room. Thanks to him we enjoyed a more luxurious and safe night’s sleep in a more trendy part of town (coffee shop 'Amnesia' was right next door too, so that was nice).

And now, onto Berlin, Germany!

Thursday, July 29 – Berlin, Germany: Gay (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

We arrived by a 6-hour train from Amsterdam yesterday to Berlin, Germany. Berlin was not on our planned itinerary yet just for fun, we decided jump on a train and head to the former Communist country and home to the infamous Berlin Wall located in northeast Germany.

Arriving at the train station, we headed to the Tourist Information office to book a room for a few nights. The nice, impatient, older German found us a reasonable rate of $50 Euros per night at a 3 star hotel located between the new and old parts of downtown Berlin. We jumped on a few trains and found our hotel for the next two nights.

After dropping our bags we head out for dinner. Walking down the street, we came up on a few bars filled with only men – our first thought, “not again, this happened to us in Amsterdam!” We continued walking for a few more blocks only to find shops, bars, and restaurants filled with men until we found Triologie Taverna, a delicious restaurant offering Greek style food.

After dinner, we walked back to room and noticed a few of the local businesses in our area. Our first; Caligula followed by Big Sexyland and then Deluxxe with a sign explaining “shop, rent, cruise”. Getting closer to our hotel, we passed a bar full of men singing Tina Turner’s 'What’s Love Got to do with It' and finally, a shop located kitty corner to us, 'Man’s Pleasurechest'. This business had the convenience of offering their customers a drive by window – order what you want ahead of time and then slip inside when ready!

Le Tour de France; Day in Paris; Bruges, Belgium

Sunday, July 25 - Le Tour de France: Final Stage, Champs Elysees

On Sunday morning we left Basel, a small city bordering France, Germany and Switzerland for a 3.5 hour train ride to Paris. We arrived into Paris, jumped on the metro train and headed for the final stage of the Tour de France. Once on the Grand Boulevard- Champs Elysees (translates to Elysian Fields or literally Field of Gods), we and thousands of other fans began looking for the best spot to watch the Tour.

Within a half hour we befriended a group of 20-25 Norwegians who welcomed us to join them next to their spot on the rail. With Heineken beers in hand, sporting Norwegian colors and holding their country’s flag, we joined the lively and fun bunch and waited with them for the next 5 hours until the riders (by the way, most of the Norwegians had been there since 9:00 am, and we arrived at just before noon.)

After hours of standing and waiting, the riders finally arrived onto the Champs Elysees. Situated 200-300 yards from the finish line and a half mile from the Arc de Triomphe, we were finally fulfilling our dream of watching a stage of the Tour de France. As the riders raced by, we tried focusing on our favorites finding it almost dizzying trying to see each of them.

After 8 laps with the crowd cheering and the cameras snapping, Mark Cavendish took the final stage with an amazing sprint finish. Then, the final ceremony to crown the Tour winners: best sprinter, best climber, best young rider, most aggressive, best team and finally, the top (3) finishers headed to the podium – the Tour winner, Alberto Contador; second place Andy Schleck, and third Dennis Menchov.

After the ceremony, the crowds started to disperse and Ad and I decided to head to our hotel. On our way we noticed many spectators lining the course were not leaving. We then noticed Tour teams, their team car and coaches slowly bikimg a final lap on the Champs Elysees to greet the crowd, sign autographs and take pictures with their fans. This is where we got some incredible photos, cheered on our favorite riders and Adam yelling “Boulder, Boulder” to Team Garmin who smiled, laughed and cheered back to him.

(CLICK ON LE TOUR DE FRANCE TO THE RIGHT FOR PHOTOS)

Monday, July 27 - A Day in Paris

On Monday morning, Adam and I began our day at a local bakery (patisserie) for a chocolate croissant and a café o lait. With our backpacks we walked around Paris, an elegant and cultural touchstone for art, fashion and food. Our first stop, photos of the Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s grandest arch and intended to honor Napoleon’s soldiers and victory at the battle of Austerlitz. Under the arch is also France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Every day at 6:30 pm since after WWI, the flame is lit and flowers are put in place of patriotic reverence.

Our next stop in Paris was the Eiffel Tower, nicknamed Le dame de fer, or Iron Woman. As the most recognizable structure in the world, the tallest building in Paris and the most paid visited monument in the world, the Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel as the entrance arch for the World's Fair in 1889.

Next, the Grand Palais (or the Great Palace) and Petit Palais, are two historic buildings built in 1897 for the World’s Fair in 1990. These gorgeous buildings are situated along the Seine River (pronounced “Sane” River) and took only 3 years to build and serves as a historic site, exhibition hall and museum hall located on the Champs Elysees.

Walking from the Great Palace we made our way to the Louvre Museum. Situated just off the Seine River, the Louvre is one of largest and most visited museums and historic to Paris. As we made our way to enter the “cue” of people waiting to enter the museum, we noticed buses pulling up to the entrance and dropping tourists off to visit the Louvre. So, we decided to opt out of the tour and headed over to the Notre Dame Cathedral to enjoy a more peaceful and quiet experience.

Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) or the Notre Dame Cathedral, is a gothic catholic cathedral containing the official chair of the Archbishop of Paris and considered one of the finest and first examples of French Gothic architecture. As I toured the Cathedral, it was emotional to experience both its spiritual and artistic beauty as well as understand it as a place and source for all life.

Our next stop, the Paris train station for our 2.5 hour trip to Bruges, Belgium.

Tuesday, July 27 – Bruges, Belgium

The town of Bruges (pronounced broozh) is in the Flemish region of Belgium and located northwest of Brussels and roughly 30 miles from the North Sea. This charming Old World town (population of just over 100K) is filled with water canals, a 13th-century belfry or bell tower, museums, churches, cyclists riding through the cobblestone streets, Belgian chocolate shops and Ad’s favorite, Belgian beers! One of the landmarks of this town is the Michelangelo Madonna and Child statue, said to be the only stature of his to leave Italy in his lifetime

We enjoyed a day of eating Belgian food such as Flemish Beef Stew, fresh mussels, Belgian beers and a few pralines from a local chocolate shop (Bruggians are connoisseurs of chocolate). We toured around enjoying the many beautiful views of the town, its architecture and the casual lifestyle that Bruges offers a tourist.

[Adam here]-We also went on a Belgium beer tour which was the highlight of my Belgium experience. De Halve Maan (The Half Moon) brewery was awesome! We learned that there are 135 total brewers in Belgium; 748 different brands and 120 different styles of beer! The tour was very informative and a tasty brew was included in the cheap tour price of $5.50 euro. We enjoyed a few more different belgium gems after the tour before heading out for dinner of mussels and frites (did I mention Belgium beers are the best in the world?  Don't even try to tell me otherwise because NOTHING compares, nothing!)

(CLICK ON RIGHT FOR PHOTOS OF BRUGES, BELGIUM)

To everyone who thought, "Yeah, they'll do this trip when cows fly!"

Moo!

I was lucky to get this shot when the copter was headed up the mountain (click on the picture to zoom in)

Our anniversary in Gimmelwald, Switzerland!

I can't imagine a better spot to celebrate our 4 year anniversary then Gimmelwald (W's are pronounced with the 'v' sound). It is WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN, EVER!; to experience this with the love of my life is truly amazing and I feel very fortunate.  I have taken some pics as well as video, but haven't been able to figure out how to add videos to the blog. 

Getting here was not the easiest thing, but we made it, and to anyone who is thinking about traveling to Europe, Gimmelwald is an ABSOLUTE MUST!!!!  We arrived on Thursday afternoon after taking a train from Bern to Interlaken, then a train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, a bus from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg, and then the tram from Stechelberg up to Gimmelwald; the journey was stunning!

We are staying in the Mountain Hostel which overlooks INCREDIBLE views of huge mountains right outside our door, seriously, right outside the door.  Our Hostel is great and only cost $26 Swiss Francs per night per person, which is very reasonable. Switzerland on the whole is expensive, the current exchange rate is $.97 US cents to 1 CHF (Swiss Franc) so were not getting much value for our dollar.  To put things in perspective, a McDonald's Big Mac was $11.90 CHF. We sleep upstairs in a room with about 14 other beds (but not necessarily 14 other people, although last night it was about full). There is a community kitchen with everything you need to prepare you food if you would like, but you do have to clean up after yourself (Bur) and choose the right time to cook. Showers cost 1 CHF for 5 minutes, but it's really plenty of time considering you move a little faster when you're 'on the clock'.  Community tables are in the lounge for everyone to use for eating, drinking beer, playing games, or talking about past and future travels (many great connections can be made as well as valuable information learned).

Cathy and I were eager to check things out so we decided to head to Murren, the small town (but bigger than Gimmelwald) up the path. [Side note-hiking distances are posted in times and not miles, which I thought was interesting] Murren was stated on the sign (everything is extremely well marked) as a 50 minute hike, but we made it in 20. Up we went to this great little town where we went to the local CO-OP for some groceries.  Thinking prices would be sky-high, we were pleased to find them very reasonable (50cl bottled Lager beers (about 20 oz) were only .86 cents!  We bought some veggies, pasta, wine, beer, and other items (of course Swiss chocolate) for the time we would be here.  We made a tasty dinner and had good conversations with the other travelers who are here (most in their 20's).  Sleeping was a little difficult until it was 'quiet time' (midnight) as the '20 somethings' stayed up to play drinking games and tool around on the piano-oh joy.  Even after 'quiet time' started we had to deal with 'The Snorer', damn that guy was loud, but we finally made it to sleep.

Today we were hoping to go for a monster hike that was sure to be an all day event (up to the Schilthorn where the James Bond movie was filmed- 2970 meters at the top, Gimmelwald sits at 1363 meters, but it's straight up to anywhere you hike), but we woke up to a cloud-filled and rainy day. Throughout the day the clouds/mist would move in and out and the views would take our breath away, along with the incredible waterfalls across the valley.  It has been raining on and off the WHOLE day. 

During a break from the rain we ventured up to the 'Cheese/Egg lady' just minutes up the path. We went into her small cheese house where the fresh cheese was aging on the shelves and she gave us both a little sample, OMG it was so good! Along with the cheese, we bought fresh eggs that were layed yesterday! So, for lunch it was fried eggs, aged cheese and a fresh baguette, Y U M yum!

Tomorrow is our last day here and we hope to wake up to sunny skies (or at least not raining) so we can do a great hike. We really want to see the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau, which up to this point has been covered in clouds; come on sun!

Arrive in Bern; Our Brushes with Fame

BERN, SWITZERLAND
Today (Wednesday) we arrived in Bern, the capital city of Switzerland located 132 kilometers (82 miles) north east of Geneva at the base of the Swiss Alps.  As we pulled into the train station, we knew we were going to love it.  This cosmopolitan and charming town is bustling with people enjoying the outdoors-riding their bikes, walking, or running.  As we walk through the city, the downtown streets and parks are filled with people enjoying a picnic, playing petanque (a French game similar to bocce ball) while others tube down the Aare River cooling off from the hot day.  (See a few pictures located on the right side of the blog.)  Tomorrow, we will venture out to find out more about one of our new favorites cities, Bern as well as look for Elke's relatives, Bernese Mountain Dogs.

OUR BRUSHES WITH FAME
We have been traveling for just over a week and a half and we have already had two experiences with running into someone famous.  Our first was on our flight from New York to Nice, France back on July 12>  We shared business class with Stephanie Seymour and her entourage.  She is a model/actress and has been featured in such publications as Victoria Secret, Vogue and Sports Illustrated.  She was traveling with her two daughters (one of which was the whiniest child I have ever heard), 2 sons and a nanny, whom I did not envy.  While we waited for our flight, she gave each of them several $100 bills like she was handing them a tissue after they sneezed.  Regardless, she is very beautiful and seems to have a very comfortable lifestyle.

Today, we saw our next famous person in the Geneva, Switzerland Train Station.  I will give you a hint -- he's had the role of James Bond, was featured in the movie Hunt for Red October and is from Scotland....did you guess it?  Yes - Sean Connery.  While Ad and I were in the train station trying to figure out the schedule, I noticed his wife and him standing next to us looking around and trying to figure out which direction they should go to catch their train.  And as we all headed up to the same platform, Ad decided to walk over to him and see if it really was him.  Just as he was about to approach him, another gentleman suddenly recognized him and walked over to shake his hand and tell him how much of a fan he was of his. And, Mr. Connery graciously thanked him.

Good night!

Monday-Tuesday: Annecy, France

After a 6 hour train ride that included a crying child and a Rottweiler dog at our feet (yes, you can bring your dog on the train), Adam and I arrived in Annecy, France. Annecy is a small town located next to a pure water lake (Le Lac) in the French Alps and also known as “Venice of the Alps”. The town is filled with buildings dating back 3100 years before Jesus Christ, water canals, parks, bike paths and colorful gardens. Similar to Boulder, it is known for its natural beauty, outdoor recreation and preserving the environment.

On our first day in Annecy, Adam and I decided to rent “comfort bikes”, heavy bikes with very large seats, and ride to a town on the other side of the lake called Doussard, located 19 kilometers (12+ miles) from Annecy. On our ride we enjoyed photographing spectacular views of the mountains, the lake, greeting others with “bonjour and watching a few locals rock climb. Once in Doussard, we parked and locked bikes and headed to the “le plage” (the beach) to cool off from the ride.

At the beach, we enjoyed a refreshing dip and the cool water of the lake. Next to us was a German family of 5 that Adam called the “naked family” as they seemed to have fewer clothes on than most around us. The youngest was an adorable 1.5 to 2-year old little girl, naked of course, with “floaties” on her arms. She was enjoying the water so much she decided to pooh in it. We thought, cute but not that cute -- time to go!

After returning from our bike ride, we headed to the nearest restaurant that served lunch and televised Stage 16 of the Tour. We enjoyed a few Belgian beers, some food and watching the race with other fans, a Frenchman and his family and a cute couple from Denmark.  We were hoping Lance would take the stage, but unfortunately he didn’t have the sprint in him.

After the race finished we headed out to shop for dinner. We decided to enjoy a picnic rather than spend money at a restaurant when we didn’t know what we were ordering (almost all menus are in French). We stopped at the local “chacuterie” (cured meats) for some “saucisson” (salami), then the “boulangerie” for a baguette and finally to the “epicerie” (grocery) for the camembert cheese, a few kiwis and a bottle of Bordeax. All of this for $12 Euros! Hard to believe yet meats, baguettes and wine are incredibly inexpensive as well as delicious in France.

While picnicing out on the deck of our hotel room, we enjoyed live entertainment from a local Frenchman fixing the frame of a futon on his deck.  With a hammer in his hand he got into a heated argumet with his neighbor across the building (we believe the neighbor was complaining about the noise of the hammer).  After a few heated exchanges in French, the gentleman with the hammer stormed down four flights of stairs to confront his neighbor. Luckily, no blood was shed and Ad and I were happy not witness a homicide.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), we leave for Geneva, Switzerland and then to Bern for the night. Bern is located on the Swiss Plateau just west of the center of Switzerland. The official language of Bern is German yet most residents speak either German, French and/or Italian. Most importantly, Bern is home to Berner Sennenhund (or in English, the Bernese Mountain Dog), referring to the area of the dog breed's origin. We can’t wait to hopefully see little Bernese Mountain pups bouncing around town reminding us of our beautiful and very much missed little girl at home.

Love you,
Cathy and Adam

Another day in the French Riviera

Yesterday (Saturday), Adam, Luc, Genevieve and I explored the French Riviera by car starting in downtown Nice.  Elegant and trendy, the downtown area is filled with fountains, colorful buildings, museums, churches and open markets.  There are also many visitors and locals walking and riding their bicycles and enjoying the beautiful and very hot day. Nice has both an old and new part of town which is outlined by the color of their rooftops.  Old Town has rust-colored rooftops dating back many centuries while the newer building rooftops outline the more recent era.

Leaving downtown Nice, we drove further down the coast and stopped on a hilltop.  The views were breathtaking, a blue coastline was filled swimmers and boaters enjoying the beaches, water, and sun. You could see far down the coast beyond Cagnes Sur Mer and discover the length and beauty of the French Riviera.
Our next stop was a small and very exclusive area called St Jean Cap Ferrat.  This area was gorgeous with a small lively downtown filled with people enjoying their lunch overlooking the Mediterranean.  Music could be heard from the promenade and many were enjoying a post-swim glass of wine.

After St. Jean Cape Ferrat, we were off to Eze, a small town perched on a hilltop overlooking the sea. In the heart of village there are two 4-star hotels featuring amazing views of the Mediterranean.  With a total of 44 rooms available, each offer private gardens, fine dining, and exclusive views.  All of this for the low price of only $1300 Euros per night.  Uh, not in our travel budget!

Next, we headed to the furthest town on the east coast of the French Riviera, Menton.  Menton is a quiet beach town bordering Italy and was described to us as a quiet place for those looking to retire.  Surrounded by both French and Italian accents, we enjoyed a small lunch and refreshing dip in the Med. 

Time to go peel potatoes for dinner tonight (while we visit these places of the rich and famous, we are still serfs).

Au revoir!!!

Cathy and Ad

(Saturday's photos are listed under French Riviera)

The Plan

Yesterday Cathy and I went to a travel agency (Luc came to help) to try to put a 'plan' together for the next part of our trip; it was driving us CRAZY trying to do it ourselves (I didn't think it would be so difficult). At first I thought we would just be able to look at schedules and maps online and book our tickets, but being peak season most places and many trains are booked and prices are very expensive. Also, you can't just book a train from Nice, France to Interlocken, Switzerland and go, there are a few different connections and a bus ride you have to take to get there. Coordinating times, places to sleep, reservations, etc... is a headache and best left to the travel agency to figure out; I am very glad we did this as we were in the office for 3 hours!!

However, we now have our plan that takes us up until July, 25. We will leave Cagnes-Sur-Mer early Sunday morning to make our way up to Annecy, France.  This is a place where the Jaujous stayed and said it was pretty amazing (the pictures they showed us were great!). We will be there for two days then make our way up to Switzerland. Our first stop will be in Bern (hopefully we can see some Bernese Mountain Dogs) via Geneve for one day, then on to Interlocken. From Interlocken we will make our way up into the mountains to the SMALL town of Gimmelwald (we hope there is room for us for a day or so- there are only two places to stay in the town).  I am really excited for this place as the pictures I have seen are unbelievable!

After these few days in Switzerland we will head to Paris to watch the last day of the Tour on the Champs Elyese, but only after a 4-5 hour train ride. We leave Interlocken at 6:30am and arrive in Paris at 11:30am, giving us a few hours to squeeze onto the barrier on the Champs Elyese before the riders arrive. My hope is to get some sweet video and pics of the riders as they do their 8 laps before finishing.  After this I am sure Lance will want to hang out and share some Champagne with us, but I think I will hang with Petacchi (Ali Jet) instead and talk about him winning the green jersey and how Cavendouche had to pull out of the Tour because he didn't have Renshaw to lead him out (HA!).

From here we spend the night in Paris and check out the city a little, then make our way to Dublin, Ireland for about 6 days (we still have to form this part of the 'plan').

That's it for now, later.

Visiting the French Riviera

Bonjour!

On Thursday, Ad and I ventured out of Cagne Sur Mer by train and traveled east along the Mediterrean Sea to Villefranche Sur Mer and Monaco.

Villefranche sur Mer is a stunning small village situated in one of the most beautiful and parts of the Côte d'Azur and dates back to 130 BC. In the middle, a picturesque harbor is known to be one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. The village is surrounded by hillsides, luxurious homes and considered one of the most exclusive spots in the area. The port, the old town, and the curve of the hillside all contribute to the beauty of the village.

The port is filled with colorful fishing boats and serves as a base for fishermen, tourists, and offers numerous cruises in the summer. The village is bordered by restaurants, terraces and a popular and lengthy beach to enjoy cooling off from a humid French summer. If you remember the movie Dirty Rotten Scondrels, most of the movie’s scenery takes place in this quaint and beautiful village.

After enjoying the beach, some pizza and a cold French beer, we continued our journey further east down the coast to Monaco.

Monaco is located further east of Villerfranche Sur Mer and is referred to as the Principality of Monaco. Monaco is home to roughly 30,000 residents and its location is between the mountain and the sea.  Its gardens, exceptional harbor and cultural events are unique to other nearby villages. As an independent state in Europe, the Principality of Monaco offers exceptional and secure lifestyles by offering the advantages of an attractive fiscal system. In other words, there are a lot of tax breaks for the wealthy in this small town. Their harbor has the largest boats I have ever seen and seems to be host to many of the rich and famous.

Within Monaco is Monte Carlo, a tiny portion less than 3 kilometers long and located in the on a large rock overlooking the sea. This small town is host to a large casino, Hotel de Paris and many rich and famous.

To see pictures, check out the link located to the right of our blog.

Au revoir!

We made it!!

Ad and I successfully made it to Nice, France yesterday morning. We left Colorado at 10:30 am, arrived in New York at 4:45 pm then departed at 6:00pm for France. Thanks to our friend, Alan, we were able to enjoy Business class that included champagne, reclining seats, down comforters, dinner and cold sundaes!

We arrived the next morning in Nice at 8:15 am (12:15 am Colorado time). The French Riviera is beautiful, surrounded by mountains, beaches of le gallets (rocks) and the Mediterranean Sea. We took a bus to the village of Cagnes Sur Mer, stopping at the local police station for directions to the Jaujous, the family we are staying with while in Nice. The Jaujous (the father-Luc, his wife-Genvieve, Victoria-daughter, Adrienne-son) are wonderful and we enjoying our time with them as well as their generous hospitality. We connected with them through friends of ours, the Filions- thank you!

After arriving, we took a nap in our bungalow then woke up and enjoyed our first delicious French lunch of salad with rice, peppers, dressing, a plate of fresh tomatoes with olive oil and basil and a fresh baguette. After lunch, Luc let us borrow some bikes and we rode from Cagne Sur Mer to Nice, biking up to a waterfall (Col de Chateaux) just above the town Nice. The Chateaux is an old castle that was used to defend the land and protect it's territory.  The views were breathtaking and the falls felt amazing as it was 85 degrees and very humid.

After the ride, we cruised back through town coming upon road closures for the next day's celebration of Bastille Day, France's independence holiday. As we continued to ride through the closure, Ad was stopped by the French police along with Luc and myself, and scolded in French for riding our bikes through a busy area. Ad's face was priceless as he didn't know what to say yet they let us go and we made our way home through the backstreets. The route included riding down the middle of winding roads in two way traffic with motor scooters coming right at us.  I called this - French controlled chaos.

Finally home, we enjoyed another delicious dinner of sliced red peppers in olive oil and garlic with red potatoes and a fresh baguette. So simple, fresh and delicious.

Wednesday-- we woke up at almost noon. We needed the rest since we had been up for 41 out of the last 48 hours. We joined Luc for a tour of three areas around Nice: Gourdon, Tourrettes sur Loup and Saint Paul de Vence.

Goudon means "mountain" in French and over looks the Valle du Loup in the Cote d'Azur. Built on an isolated rock, it also served to protect and defend from invasions. The next town, Tourrettes sur Loup, otherwise known as the City of Violets, is a medieval village perched in the back country of Provence and surrounded by fields of violets. It is set between the mountains and the sea. The village is a mecca for artists such as musicians, painters, writers and craftsmen. We learned from two women living in the village that it use to have over 50 violet farmers but now is down to 5 due to a weakened economy.

Our last stop was to Saint Paul de Vence, a beautiful village overlooking Cagnes sur Mer and the Mediterranean sea.  It features famous contemporary artists, poets and writers and one of the most beautiful villages in the Provence region. The narrow and picturesque streets are a favorite for those looking for 5-star hotels and dining.

Tonight, we enjoyed another beautiful dinner with the Jaujous out on their veranda.  And now, it's time to go to bed.

Goodnight and love to you all,

Cathy and Adam
(To view pictures, look to the right and click "France-Provence")