My next entry… it’s been a while
I am finding the longer I wait to write a blog posting the harder is to write it.
Since my last posting I have been to Greece and Italy. We arrived in Thessalonia, Greece after a 30 hour train ride. It was quite the ride, Simon and I got to see a bit of Europe’s poorer countries such as Serbia, Slovania, and Macedonia. It was incredible to see some of the conditions within these countries in contrast to countries we just came from. Growing up in Canada, you can’t imagine seeing such a change within such a small distance. I am not going to go into much detail here, but in the end I found these countries incredible and hard to describe. We only spent 14 hours browsing these countries from a train, but I seemed to find these places a lot more interesting to see then any giant cathedrals or major piece of architecture. I really wish I spent more time here.
Anyway, once we arrived in Thesselonia at around midnight, we found a nearby hotel to get some well needed sleep and then headed out again in the morning. I know, it seemed like all we did at this point was ride trains, but we really wanted to get to place in Greece called Skiathos (besides, we both really enjoy travelling on the train). Skiathos is a very small island just off the east coast of Greece. There are got about 1800 people that live there and it reminds me a lot like Pender Island, British Columbia. We spent a few days here, where we were able to camp near the beach, and even cook and have a few camp fires right on the beach. We found rest here. I climbed on the cliffs around the shore line, and eventually found a bit of hidden cove. Unfortunately, the beaches around where we camped weren’t very clean or well kept, but the cove that I managed to climb to wasn’t touched too much and was pretty clean. It was beautiful.
We rented a car to get around on the island with, and I managed to get the car stuck in the sand at one point. It wasn’t my proudest moment, but what can I say I am a Bromley. I didn’t realize how much driving my VW Jetta without a reverse gear affected my decision making until this point. Instead of thinking to reverse and go around the sand obstacle, I subconsciously thought that with enough speed I could just plough through it….. Nope, didn’t work. But we eventually managed to dig it out, and things turned out fine. Simon was good a forgiving me for this one.
After we returned the vehicle we boarded on a plane to Athens: Our last destination in Greece. We stayed in a nice hostel there and met some great people. You might have heard about the Volcano erupting in Iceland that caused all the European airports to shutdown for a while. Well, we were in Athens during this time and, although it didn’t affect us, it affected most of the people we met. It made for meeting some pretty cool people.
Simon and I spent a couple days in Athens and we saw many of the tourist attractions there, like the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as great I thought. I guess I’m not that big into architecture. As I browsing the sites, I remember my mind wondering thinking of other things like the previous conversations I had the night before with different people I had met. I seemed more intrigued by the conversation I had with the Engineer that works for Schlumberger (the Company I used to work for). Or the guy that I met (also an Engineer) that volunteers for the Compassion Christian organization and who is on his way to Brazil to visit the child he sponsored.
One of the sites that I really did enjoy though was view of Acropolis at night when it was all lit up…. It was spectacular. Seeing this really gave you the sense that you were in Athens. Besides this, Simon and I really enjoyed the hot weather here and the good food (we ate Gyros pitas where ever we could).
Next, we hopped on a 16 hour ferry to Italy (which seemed more like a cruise ship). On the ship, we were hounded by a group of Italian school kids who liked the fact we were Canadian. They were all 14 years old, which is the same age as the kids that I coach, and most of them grew up playing soccer. I figured I’d try to convince some of them to come play soccer in Canada for my club, and actually I managed get one kid really interested in the idea, lol.
Our first destination in Italy was Rome… famous Rome. The tourist attractions here were awesome. I knew a bit of Roman history from studying it in University so I appreciated it more than Athens. Taking a tour of the Colosseum and of Ancient Rome were the best attractions. It was less about the architecture and more about stories that made it neat. Rome was definitely a sweet place to visit, but the roomers seemed true here… people try and rip you off. It’s pretty annoying. I ordered a meal for $9.50 and couple of drinks for $3, and apparently that equals $14. I didn’t pay it but it took me a while to get the man to “realize” that it should be only $12.50. lol, oh man.
After Rome, we hit up Venice: a pretty small place where cars are not used and canals are everywhere. The place is crowded with tourist, and no doubt, it is a place of beauty. We just wondered for hours, soaking up the scenery and the atmosphere. I did find there was not that much to see here, but instead it felt like a place to just sit and rest. Venice was the last place Simon and I travelled together. After one night there, Simon departed back home to Canada and I started my solo travels. Although I do like the solo part of this Journey, travelling with Simon was awesome and I miss him already. He’s an amazing guy, and an incredible friend.
The first place I went to on my own was this place called Cinque Terre. I spent 4 nights there, basically because I really couldn’t get away from it. It’s the best place I’ve been since Switzerland. A friend told me about this place and I had to check it out. It is five small villages situated along the sea. It’s tough to describe, but basically all the houses are built on very steep incline, and it allows for some of the most incredible views I have ever seen. It was so hot there. There were many places to hike, many swimming holes, and many cliffs. At one point, I spent almost the whole day just swimming around a rock face and then just sitting in this little rock hammock on the side of cliff. It was awesome. God's grace was incredible here. A spot where I could just sit and sit and sit… for hours and enjoy the moment of rest. For these moments, you have not a worry or a fear. It is such a peaceful gift.
Besides the hiking and the swimming, I also did some mountain biking there, which actually turned out to be pretty insane, and a little frustrating. But it seemed to spark something in me in me to seek an even greater adventure. So I decided to go back to Switzerland to try and hike the famous Matterhorn, and perhaps find a place to do some paragliding.
When I got to Zermatt (which is the place where Matterhorn sits), I was truly disappointed. When you have an image in your mind that makes something out to be miraculous before you even see it, it can be hard to enjoy anything less. That was definitely the Matterhorn for me. I got there and I could barely see anything because of the fog. Many hiking trails were closed, everything was absurdly expensive, and there was no paragliding going on because of the weather. There was one highlight about the trip though, and that was getting stuck in this one town in Switzerland for the night. I missed one of my trains on the way to Zermatt and ended in a town called Monteux. I arrived there late and while I was looking around for a cheap place to stay, I ran into this man named Demitri: A Russian expeditioner who used to work for green peace. He was in the same situation as me with trying to find a place to stay and so we decided to look together. We looked around for a bit, and, long story short, we ended up camping in this backyard of a hotel by the beach. We slept in the tent there and enjoyed some wine and caviar that he had picked up during his last expedition somewhere in Russia, lol. It was quite the spontaneity.
When I left Zermatt without much hiking or paragliding, I still carried the desire for extreme adventure (especially after hearing Dimitri’s stories). And I was led to a place called Interlaken, Switzerland (which is where I sit now). The place is known as the extreme adventure capital of the world. I knew, when I arrived, this was the place I was going to blow some the little money that I had, lol. So, so far, I have been repelling off of 12m high waterfalls and jumping off 85m high Canyons. Adventures I will surely never forget.
Besides the adventures, Switzerland is still the best place I have been so far. I think because it gives me a familiar sense of home here. I still wish I had a horse though to ride some these trails with.
Anyway that it’s for now, there is definitely so much more that I haven’t mentioned. Especially about what I have experienced and what I am being shown. It’s not just about what I saw, that’s just for you to read. I find it tough enough to explain what I saw, let alone what I experience.
Ok I’m tired of writing; I'm going to the ropes course.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
The True Beggining
Ok, so I said good bye to Christian and his beautiful, but expensive country, and hopped on the trains to Switzerland; An even more beautiful and expensive country. I know people warned me about the cost of Western Europe, but it never really sunk until now. Everything really does cost something, even to go to the washroom. Which, I bet most people knew, but I didn't.
The train rides from Copenhagen to Zurich, Switzerland was great. It was a long 20 hour Journey, but I stopped and looked around a bit in Germany and slept mostly on the night train. I only had a seat on the train, but later on I managed to sneak to back and find empty sleeping cabin.
I met up with Simon in Zurich and we drove an hour and a half to his home town. I was truly in awww for much of the drive, because the landscape was incredible with its green grass and its many valleys. The small village where Simon is from has so many farms and it definitely reminded me of home and of, actually, Pioneer Camp .... If only I had a horse to ride the trails on ... Oh man!
English in Switzerland is known and spoken much less then in Denmark. They mostly speak German here (or I guess "Swiss German"), and not many know much English. The odd case they might be able to understand a bit of English, but do not really speak it. It wasn't too much of a problem though, because Simon translated everything, he made it easy. It was awesome to go have him here to show me his home because I really got to experience the true culture and traditions of Switzerland. As you problem know Switzerland is big on their cheeses. They have this special meal called "Raclette", which is kind of like fondue but with much more cheese and more of a meal.
Besides the high prices and the big language barrier, Switzerland is definitely the most beautiful and the nicest place I've seen so far. If you come to Europe, you must come here, and you must see the country side ... the true Switzerland.
After the 4 days spent in Watwill, Switzerland (Simon's home village) and experiencing the culture from a local perspective, Simon and I hopped on the Train to Prague, Czech Republic. A 15 hour ride where we became equals: we were both tourists in unfamiliar place within an unfamiliar culture. This really felt like the start to the "Euro-trip", as it was the first time planning became essential; the first time in a European hostel and the first time asking the locals to point out the way.
We arrived in Prague in the morning and we were not too tired because we somehow managed to get a fair bit of sleep in the awkward style train seats. The second we stepped foot onto the arrival platform at the train station, we were approached by a slick-haired Czech sales men who made numerous attempts to try to get us to stay at his hostel for the night. Although he made some attracting offers to us, we decided to stick with our original plan and stayed in this other hostel we found in your guide book. After checking in we spent the rest of that day and a part of the next day checking out the city. We saw the Old Royal Castle and a couple of the huge Cathedrals, and also checked out this one famous building called the Dancing House. It is one of Prague's more modern architectural master pieces' that was designed by a Canadian architecture (it was quite Unique). We also saw the city at a few high points, and the view was pretty spectacular. It made for some great photos. Besides the scenery, another thing Simon and I enjoyed the most was the people here. Even though there was a big language barrier the people were very easy to talk to and converse with. Life seemed less busy and more laid back here than it did in Switzerland and in Denmark.
We left Prague last night and are now headed to Greece where we are going to spend a good deal of our time. With 3o hour trip on 3 different trains, it's certainly going to be a crazy journey.
I've been travelling for over two weeks now, yet it feels like it is just starting.
The train rides from Copenhagen to Zurich, Switzerland was great. It was a long 20 hour Journey, but I stopped and looked around a bit in Germany and slept mostly on the night train. I only had a seat on the train, but later on I managed to sneak to back and find empty sleeping cabin.
I met up with Simon in Zurich and we drove an hour and a half to his home town. I was truly in awww for much of the drive, because the landscape was incredible with its green grass and its many valleys. The small village where Simon is from has so many farms and it definitely reminded me of home and of, actually, Pioneer Camp .... If only I had a horse to ride the trails on ... Oh man!
English in Switzerland is known and spoken much less then in Denmark. They mostly speak German here (or I guess "Swiss German"), and not many know much English. The odd case they might be able to understand a bit of English, but do not really speak it. It wasn't too much of a problem though, because Simon translated everything, he made it easy. It was awesome to go have him here to show me his home because I really got to experience the true culture and traditions of Switzerland. As you problem know Switzerland is big on their cheeses. They have this special meal called "Raclette", which is kind of like fondue but with much more cheese and more of a meal.
Besides the high prices and the big language barrier, Switzerland is definitely the most beautiful and the nicest place I've seen so far. If you come to Europe, you must come here, and you must see the country side ... the true Switzerland.
After the 4 days spent in Watwill, Switzerland (Simon's home village) and experiencing the culture from a local perspective, Simon and I hopped on the Train to Prague, Czech Republic. A 15 hour ride where we became equals: we were both tourists in unfamiliar place within an unfamiliar culture. This really felt like the start to the "Euro-trip", as it was the first time planning became essential; the first time in a European hostel and the first time asking the locals to point out the way.
We arrived in Prague in the morning and we were not too tired because we somehow managed to get a fair bit of sleep in the awkward style train seats. The second we stepped foot onto the arrival platform at the train station, we were approached by a slick-haired Czech sales men who made numerous attempts to try to get us to stay at his hostel for the night. Although he made some attracting offers to us, we decided to stick with our original plan and stayed in this other hostel we found in your guide book. After checking in we spent the rest of that day and a part of the next day checking out the city. We saw the Old Royal Castle and a couple of the huge Cathedrals, and also checked out this one famous building called the Dancing House. It is one of Prague's more modern architectural master pieces' that was designed by a Canadian architecture (it was quite Unique). We also saw the city at a few high points, and the view was pretty spectacular. It made for some great photos. Besides the scenery, another thing Simon and I enjoyed the most was the people here. Even though there was a big language barrier the people were very easy to talk to and converse with. Life seemed less busy and more laid back here than it did in Switzerland and in Denmark.
We left Prague last night and are now headed to Greece where we are going to spend a good deal of our time. With 3o hour trip on 3 different trains, it's certainly going to be a crazy journey.
I've been travelling for over two weeks now, yet it feels like it is just starting.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
First Post
The first entry to my first blog.... I finally got to it.
Ok, I am here, 21 hours later. It was quite a long trip. I think the worst part of the long journey was not knowing how long it actually was before doing it. I looked at my plane ticket on the way to the airport and couldn't believe it said it was a 21 hour trip. But I made it.
First destination: Copenhagen. I have been to in Copenhagen for the last week visiting my friend, Christian. It is quite beautiful here. As I suspected, it is very compact and classic looking... I presume most of Europe is like this. The most beautiful architecture is in the Churches and Parliament buildings. You can tell so much detail went into these building and so much work to keep them maintained. I attended service in one of the Cathedrals on Good Friday and although I did not understand what was being said, I enjoyed just being there and experiencing the atmosphere.
Even more interesting than the buildings are the Danish bathrooms. The home bathrooms here, just to go you show how much the European's strive to conserve their space. Christian's bathroom, like others Danish bathrooms, has the toilet, sink, and shower crammed into the size of a small closet. The sink is practically just above the toilet and the shower nozzle is just above the sink. You can do all your business in just one spot..... pretty efficient isn't it? It’s a little awkward at first trying to have a shower, but you soon you learn the tricks to it.
It wasn’t just Christian’s bathroom I had issues with during my first few days, I also was a bit confused with the restaurant restrooms. The door either says “Damer” (for the ladies) or “Herr” (for the guys).... need I say more? A few times now I went up to the door that says “Herr”, and subconsciously thought ‘that can’t be it” and chose the other door. I got a few concerned looks for this, but I’ve learned now.... I think.
Christian has been a great host here as he has shown me much about his culture and country. So far I went to a Danish castle in Helsinger which was the castle that Shakespeare used in Hamlet. Then we went to this place in the middle of Copenhagen called Christiania, which Christian describes as the hippy part of Copenhagen. Christian and I went there last week and it is kind of its own little village that seem to be pretty popular. Weed is definitely common in that area, but it wasn't the only thing it had to offer. There are a few clothing stores, restaurants and houses within it. Weed is still illegal there, but the cops can never catch anyone because there is only one entrance from the street into it. So if the cops come in, there are watch people there that get on their radio to warn everyone in the area to scurry away. It was an interesting place, kind of neat actually.
On the weekend we had a big Easter dinner with many Christian friends from school. This was so fun, except I was definitely the outsider there. Everyone talking and chanting in Danish made it tough to connect with what was going on. I was told to bring this Danish drink called Aquavits, which is a Danish alcohol that tastes like crap, lol. Even the Danish guys thought it was horrible, but it apparently is a tradition to have it on Easter. It was tradition for these people to eat lots of eggs on Easter, drink aquavits, and sing and chant lots.
The Next day we went to Lego Land, which was the only place I really knew to see while I was here. It was about 4 hours away fr0m Copenhagen so we decided to make it a 2 day event. Lego Land was not very big, but you could certainly see the work they put into this place. Everything really was made out of Lego (well not everything, but most things). All in all, Lego Land was nice, but it was too expensive and it really had that touristy feel to it, which I don't like so much. The best part of the trip wasn't Lego land; it was camping the night before and seeing the country side. Because we were trying save money, we decided to pitch a tent in this random spot near the city where Lego land was. It turned out to be right by the ocean, and it was quiet. Once you go from a busy and loud city like Copenhagen to quiet place in the country, you certainly notice a difference .. It was peaceful there. I think I will try and camp more often.
All in all, over the past week and a bit, I think I most enjoyed the spontaneity in the days. I’ve liked not planning. I bet that'll change though.
Ok, I am here, 21 hours later. It was quite a long trip. I think the worst part of the long journey was not knowing how long it actually was before doing it. I looked at my plane ticket on the way to the airport and couldn't believe it said it was a 21 hour trip. But I made it.
First destination: Copenhagen. I have been to in Copenhagen for the last week visiting my friend, Christian. It is quite beautiful here. As I suspected, it is very compact and classic looking... I presume most of Europe is like this. The most beautiful architecture is in the Churches and Parliament buildings. You can tell so much detail went into these building and so much work to keep them maintained. I attended service in one of the Cathedrals on Good Friday and although I did not understand what was being said, I enjoyed just being there and experiencing the atmosphere.
Even more interesting than the buildings are the Danish bathrooms. The home bathrooms here, just to go you show how much the European's strive to conserve their space. Christian's bathroom, like others Danish bathrooms, has the toilet, sink, and shower crammed into the size of a small closet. The sink is practically just above the toilet and the shower nozzle is just above the sink. You can do all your business in just one spot..... pretty efficient isn't it? It’s a little awkward at first trying to have a shower, but you soon you learn the tricks to it.
It wasn’t just Christian’s bathroom I had issues with during my first few days, I also was a bit confused with the restaurant restrooms. The door either says “Damer” (for the ladies) or “Herr” (for the guys).... need I say more? A few times now I went up to the door that says “Herr”, and subconsciously thought ‘that can’t be it” and chose the other door. I got a few concerned looks for this, but I’ve learned now.... I think.
Christian has been a great host here as he has shown me much about his culture and country. So far I went to a Danish castle in Helsinger which was the castle that Shakespeare used in Hamlet. Then we went to this place in the middle of Copenhagen called Christiania, which Christian describes as the hippy part of Copenhagen. Christian and I went there last week and it is kind of its own little village that seem to be pretty popular. Weed is definitely common in that area, but it wasn't the only thing it had to offer. There are a few clothing stores, restaurants and houses within it. Weed is still illegal there, but the cops can never catch anyone because there is only one entrance from the street into it. So if the cops come in, there are watch people there that get on their radio to warn everyone in the area to scurry away. It was an interesting place, kind of neat actually.
On the weekend we had a big Easter dinner with many Christian friends from school. This was so fun, except I was definitely the outsider there. Everyone talking and chanting in Danish made it tough to connect with what was going on. I was told to bring this Danish drink called Aquavits, which is a Danish alcohol that tastes like crap, lol. Even the Danish guys thought it was horrible, but it apparently is a tradition to have it on Easter. It was tradition for these people to eat lots of eggs on Easter, drink aquavits, and sing and chant lots.
The Next day we went to Lego Land, which was the only place I really knew to see while I was here. It was about 4 hours away fr0m Copenhagen so we decided to make it a 2 day event. Lego Land was not very big, but you could certainly see the work they put into this place. Everything really was made out of Lego (well not everything, but most things). All in all, Lego Land was nice, but it was too expensive and it really had that touristy feel to it, which I don't like so much. The best part of the trip wasn't Lego land; it was camping the night before and seeing the country side. Because we were trying save money, we decided to pitch a tent in this random spot near the city where Lego land was. It turned out to be right by the ocean, and it was quiet. Once you go from a busy and loud city like Copenhagen to quiet place in the country, you certainly notice a difference .. It was peaceful there. I think I will try and camp more often.
All in all, over the past week and a bit, I think I most enjoyed the spontaneity in the days. I’ve liked not planning. I bet that'll change though.
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