My first thoughts upon arriving in Dubrovnik swirled around the comprehension that this was the last stop on the voyage. I am really not sure where the entire summer went; it just went by in the blink of an eye. Knowing that realization was bittersweet. Dubrovnik was also one of the shortest ports, in terms of time spent, so the group was determined to soak it all up and just enjoy the last three days we had in port!
A few interesting facts about Croatia and Dubrovnik, specifically. As socialist republics within communist Yugoslavia, Croatia, along with Slovenia, declared their independence as their own republics in 1991. In October of ’91, the city of Dubrovnik was held under siege for seven months while the entire city was shelled by Serbians. While now an independent, democratic country, Croatia is still tending to its wounds from a war-torn past that no one wants to acknowledge.
The city of Dubronik, second largest in Croatia, is located in the extreme south of country in the state of Dalmatia (yes, where Dalmatians originated). Labeled as the “Pearl of the Adriatic,” by Lord Byron and others, Dubrovnik is the most visited city in the Adriatic Sea. Croatia is also over 90% Catholic. Dubrovnik is also completely encased in limestone walls, left over from the fortresses that now serve as museums in the heart of Old Town.
Armed with this information, Marco, David, MJ and I set out to go to Old Town. At this port, the ship was not docked in a berth, but out in the middle of the harbor, so we had to rely on tender boats to actually get us over to land. After mastering our tendering skills, we first stopped off at a fruit market and withdrew some cash, then we were on our way. On our hike into town, we walked along a boardwalk of sorts that looked out into the Adriatic Sea. Several people were perched on cliffs, diving off into the sea. It looked pretty amazing. Unbeknownst to us, the walk into town was about 40 minutes. By the time we arrived in Old Town, the temperatures hit 100 degrees and we were dying for water and some shade. We went to a delightful little restaurant, Dubrovnika, which was quite tasty. After our walk into Old Town, the islands off the coast were calling our name. We stopped by a ferry operator, bought our tickets and hopped on the first ferry that was leaving port, destination unknown.
After a 20 minute boat ride, we disembarked on the island of Lokrum, which is a beautiful nature preserve, thick with wooded areas and rocky beaches. MJ and David found some spots on nearby rocks, so we headed down for a little R and R. The water was absolutely fantastic, so blue and clear, I felt like I was in a bathtub. We enjoyed ourselves immensely during our time on Lokrum and spent the entire afternoon sunbathing and swimming in the Adriatic.
We trekked along to the other side of the island, where MJ and I discovered a nude beach. After pondering for a few minutes "should we" or "shouldn't we," we decided to shed our inhibition (and our bathing suits) and bared it all for the rest of the nudies on the rocks. Hilarious because not only were we two of a handful of women, but the youngest ones by at least 4 decades. Those factors enabled us to be a bit more confident in this adventure. MJ jumped in first, but before diving off, a ferry boat went by and snapped some pictures! Scandalous!
We took the late ferry back to Old Town, where we did our first share of sight seeing. Old Town is absolutely incredible; it’s streets are gleaming white marble and all of its buildings are made of limestone and marble. When the sun hits just right, it feels like you are literally walking on sunshine. Many of the old castles and fortresses have been converted to gift shops, hotels and churches. There is no shortage of outdoor cafes in Dubrovnik, either. We stopped at a tiny shop for some gelato (because sunbathing and swimming is very grueling) and were able to watch the last 20 minutes of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics….it looked awesome, but couldn’t really get a feel for the action as it was in Slavic. But a nice treat nonetheless, since those moments are the only ones that I have of the Olympics thus far.
Upon recommendation from some Croatian college students on the way back to Old Town, we went to an amazing seafood restaurant in the harbor area. The mussels rivaled those found in Brussels, the seafood risotto was amazing, as were the shrimp. To eat shrimp in Croatia takes a little bit of effort, as they are brought to your table whole, but so worth it. The sun was beginning to set in Old Town as we walked through the streets. Soon gas lamps were lit at outdoor cafes and the city took on a beautiful pink hue. I bought some blackberries from a market and the four of us watched the sunset while savoring a little treat. It was truly a picture perfect moment. A great end to a great day. We took the tender back to the ship, where I promptly crashed.
If you can imagine, my second day in Croatia was even better than the first one. Megan and I set off early to see if we could head to another island a little further out from Dubrovnik, but to no avail. So we found a great outdoor café and enjoyed a morning cup while we just chatted on a variety of topics. By the time we finished cup two, I looked at my watch and realized we had been sitting there for two and a half hours. But coffee with a good friend and good conversation is always a great idea J
We took a bus into Old Town, where we ate a fabulous lunch seaside along the city walls. Afterwards, we strolled through Old Town, browsing in book stores and other shops for the last of the souveniers. Croatians are beautiful jewelry makers as well, and so we stopped into several jewelry stores looking at amazing creations, mainly constructed from Adriatic coral, which was just breathtaking. After shopping, it was time to hit the beach. We ended up circling back to a staircase that took us 163 steps down to a secluded area amongst the rocks where about 10 people were sunbathing and swimming. After laying our towels down, we went for a great swim in the Adriatic, again, it was just fantastic water. MJ and I watched the cliff jumpers for a while, people literally diving off rocks, and diving off the platform where all of our stuff was; probably a 40 foot drop off. MJ, being more adventurous than I, wanted to try it. After watching a brother and sister, whose combined age couldn’t have been more than 16, diving off of rocks like they were diving off a springboard, she climbed right up on the rocks and dove back down into the water. I myself, not so brave, trying to calculate the risk to my life, decided to keep on swimming.
And that’s how the majority of the afternoon went, we would lay out and swim, Megan would dive off large rock (the same rock in my facebook pic), while I would read US Weekly. After awhile, I started to think that perhaps it didn’t look too bad, that perhaps it was relatively safe……after making a couple of failed running starts off of the cliff, a young Croatian woman, who had been watching in unveiled amusement at my fright, walked right up to me, pointed straight out into the Adriatic, and the next thing I saw was a flash of leopard print descending from the cliff into the sea. I waited for her to be out of reach and then on the count of three, I made a mad dash to the end, plugged my nose and dropped for a good 3-4 seconds. What an adrenaline rush, I tell you! Omg, while probably pretty stupid in the grand scheme of taking care of myself and being safe on the trip, it was exhilarating! Soon enough, I was launching myself off the rock and 1 other time off of the cliff. It is just such a rush; and apparently a national pastime for Croats, according to the leopard bikini-clad local that made fun of me. The sun was starting to set as we made our way back to the tender ferry. The rest of the night for me was strapped to the ship as I was on call, but had my final conversation with Brian on the phone, which was fabulous.
Day 3 came and went way too fast. I met up with David and Marco and we made our way into town one last time for some pictures of the city and for them, to get rid of their Kunas, the Croatian currency. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, took some great photos and then it was time to head back to the ship. The weather was just stunning, the Adriatic sparkling. It truly is a gorgeous country and Dubrovnik is just such a fascinating city all on its own, with its red-tiled roofs and marble streets. There is nowhere in the world like it (or at least that’s what some faculty experts said).
My last duty while on land was to work gangway duty, making sure that everyone was board before on ship time at 7 PM. By this time, the ship had pulled into an empty berth and we were able to board without tender boats. The last group of students came just under 7 PM and with everyone on board, Justin and I took a final look around the harbor. I got a bit emotional, knowing that this was the last time I would be boarding the ship and the next time I would leave it, would be for good when we disembarked in Norfolk. A lot of emotions overcame me at that moment; I felt ready to come home….but where had the summer gone? Was that really our last port? What the hell am I going to do on this ship for almost a 2-week stretch? I couldn’t call anyone….it was overwhelming to think about all that I have been able to see and do over the course of the last ten weeks. Through tears, I walked up the gangway and headed onto the MV Explorer for the last time.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
OOOOPAAA! GREECE BLOG
Greetings friends, neighbors and facebook stalkers!
Greece, our seventh and second-to-last port, did not disappoint. Definitely up there as one of the coolest places on Earth and just wicked. It’s hard to believe that we were there only a short week; ago, it seems like the time has gone so fast.
We docked in Piraeus on August 3rd, the day after the Sea Olympics. After departing the ship, we made the long walk from the port into downtown Piraeus, a very quaint harbor town and took the metro into Athens. Athens, and Greece in particular, have always been places that I have longed to go my entire life. I have a special affection its history and through my history courses and Greek literature classes in college, I have been intrigued and fascinated by a country so rich in history, in brutality and war, and yet a people so passionate and romantic and patriotic.
We took a quick 10 minute Metro ride into Athens, right outside the Acropolis. After walking out of the Metro station, you look up and to your left and there up on the hill, lays the “City on a Hill,” the Acropolis. You can only see the left side of the temple of Athena Nike, but it’s one of those moments that just takes your breath away, knowing that you are so close to seeing in person on of the most ancient works of civilization in the world. One that you have read about and seen and heard about dozens of times in your life. It was just like the anticipation of seeing the Roman Colosseum or the pyramids for the first time; excited anticipation.
The sun was really intense on our walk up to the Acropolis. On our way up the southern slope, we were able to see crumbling marble columns of buildings gone by, marble statues and the Theater of Dionysus, the oldest theater in the world, seating an impressive 17,000 people on marble bleacher seats and in some cases, marble thrones for the nobles. After the Theater, we walked through the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, another theater that was constructed by Herodeus, the teacher of Marcus Aurelius, who built the 5,000 theater in 160 AD. It is extremely well preserved in person, but pictures do not do it any justice.
As soon as we had reached the top of the southwest slope, there is was: The Acropolis! My first observation was of the Temple of Athena Nike, in honor of the Goddess of Victory. It is believed that the marble temple was built by Callicrates, the architect also responsible for the Parthenon, between 427 and 424 BC. The Turks destroyed the original temple in 1687, In 1835, after the parts had been discovered and identified, the temple was rebuilt in its original position. Its Ionic columns and statues are just otherworldly. After snapping off a few pictures, we came face to face with the granddaddy of them all, the jaw dropping, intimidating Parthenon, constructed in 432 BC. It is an embodiment of classical Greek ideals and spirit. Phenomenal.
Our time at the Acropolis was short-lived after savoring these two temples, we spent a little bit of time at the Erechtheum, a temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon and then decided to leave due to the unrelenting heat and the enormous amount of tour groups that all ascended to the Acropolis at the same time. The hour and a half spent there was just a mixture of awe and wonder.
Any road leading out of the Acropolis will take you to fabulous cafes, trinket shops and rows and rows of fruit vendors. We took the southeast exit out into Athens and we were not disappointed. After doing some shopping, we sat down for a quick bite before heading back to the ship. The group, including David, Megan, John, Caroline, Marco and myself, feasted on some delicious saganaki (fried cheese), stuffed red peppers, suvlaki and Greek salad. What an amazing meal. Our tummies full, we took the metro back to the ship to quickly pack and head out to catch our ferry to the island of Mykonos.
Early on in the trip, a group of us had talked about going to a Greek island for a couple days for a little off-the-beaten path adventure. As it turns out, the entire month of August is holiday for Europeans, including Greeks, so by the time we started doing some research, the opportunities were slim in terms of getting a ferry out to an island, getting a ferry back to Piraeus, AND finding a decently priced place to stay. Thanks to some extensive research by Marco, Mykonos came out the winner. Almost every RD on staff jumped at the chance and between our different calendars, we were all able to get out to Mykonos for one or two nights. I was lucky enough to extend my stay to two nights. In a last minute change of plans, MJ joined John, Marco and I on the two-night Mykonos trip. It was pure heaven.
The ferry ride to Mykonos takes around 4 and a half hours and by the time we landed, we were exhausted. After tracking down our hotel shuttle, we made our way through the winding roads of Mykonos to the San Antonio Summerland hotel. All of the rooms were set up bungalow style, and ours had a balcony with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. Exhausted after being in the sun all day and the bumpy ferry ride, we had a great dinner on the outdoor terrace of the hotel. The Summerland is a fabulous hotel in that its built into the side of a hill, so the hotel just runs downhill, the sugar cubes stacked on top of one another, sloping down to the amazing pool. We slept well that night with the balcony doors open and a soft breeze lulled us to sleep.
We were up and ready to go the following morning, eager to see Mykonos in the sunlight. We made a quick start and took the hotel shuttle into town, where Theodore (at least we think that’s what his name is), we couldn’t tell because he spoke in Greek and then laughed at everything we said. He was a character.
Our walk around town was fantastic. Nothing but cobbled streets, whitewashed stores and majestic views of the Mediterranean. There are no words to adequately describe the scenery other than majestic. Love it! We meandered for a little bit, enjoyed an iced cappuccino and did a little shopping along the shoreline. Mykonos, from what we learned AFTER we got there, is quite the party island for Greeks and tourists. That was evident early on, as most shops and businesses did open until noon or 1, then closed from 4-7 PM. We were able to amble along for a bit when we came across a sign for handmade leather sandals at a small store on the second floor of an old building. We walked up the stairs and were immediately struck by the tiny shop, where a lone cobbler, Nikos, and his dog, Creta, passed the time. Nikos, a business man turned cobbler from the island of Crete, had been making sandals on the island of Mykonos for 15 years.
We had an amazing time while we were there. Megan and I walked out with five pairs of sandals between us and John and Marco were sized for custom-made silver rings that Nikos fitted for them. It was a pretty great experience! After our mini shopping spree, we headed to lunch at Scarpas, a tiny café literally butting up to the coast. As waves crashed around us, we enjoyed a quick lunch. After lunch, we walked around downtown Mykonos and headed back to the hotel for a little bit of R& R. We were thisclose to renting vespas on the island, but after being scared away by some tourists that crashed into a stone wall in front of us, that idea was quickly nixed.
After sunbathing and enjoying some wine, it was time to get ready to head out to meet David and the rest of the RD crew for David’s birthday dinner. We ate at a terrific seafood restaurant downtown—roasted peppers, Portobello mushrooms, saganaki and salads were all devoured family style. The only RD missing was Justin. After singing happy birthday to David, we headed out for a night on the town. Nightlife in Mykonos doesn’t start until after midnight, so we found a couple of outdoor patios to sit in.
Midnight came and went and David and crew were tired and went back to their hotel. John, Marco, Megan and I were ready to go out, so out we went. All of the shops, restaurants and art galleries were open and alive with people, gorgeous people. Mykonos was truly the playground of Europe’s beautiful, albeit surgically enhanced, twenty and thirtysomethings. It was so unfathomable to me that as we passed the Puma store, it was packed with people trying on shoes, art galleries were full of people browsing and jewelry stores were hopping, as women and men tried on some pricey pieces of bling. We ended up at the club Joy, which was pretty fun. While Marco and John were hitting up the bar, Megan and I were enjoying the people watching. Tired of the smoke and the crowds at Joy, Megan and I decided to walk our way through the throngs of people crowding the streets. We turned off the main street, found a tiny alleyway which led to this fantastic outdoor bar/lounge, Privo. It was just terrific—everything was white, including the bar, which was made of white marble, and there was just an ink-black sky dotted with stars. I ran back to get the boys and we ended our night hanging out at Privo, enjoying some good conversation under a blanket of stars. It was one of those “Who am I “ moments that have occurred so frequently on this trip. Fabulous conversation with fabulous friends is always makes for a great evening! We got back to the hotel super late (4:30-ish) and crashed.
Marco left early the next morning to return to the ship for duty that night. Megan, John and I had a fairly early start and headed back into town for more sight seeing and picture taking. This place will never be adequately captured by any camera….it’s just so breathtaking. The weather during our stay was balmy and breezy and just perfect; not too hot, and the breeze off the Mediterranean was fantastic. Megan and I split off from John to do a little souvenier shopping. We stumbled along a little hole-in-the-wall bakery where I sampled some authentic baklava, which was an enthralling experience. It was by far the best baklava I have ever had. We continued to walk the streets; grabbed some lunch and decided to head back to the hotel for one final dip in the pool and to bask in the sun as long as possible.
After changing at the hotel, we met up with Shauhin and David, who were also booked for the return on the same ferry as us, had dinner (amazing chicken gyro) and headed to the port to pick up the ferry. I don’t remember much of the return trip as I fell into a quick sleep. I didn’t wake up until we had returned to Piraeus. Tired and sunburned, we hobbled off the ferry for the 20 minute walk back to the ship.
Our final day in Greece was spent in Athens. Given that we had to be back by 5 PM, we got an early start with the same group that went out the first day to Athens: John, Caroline, Megan, Marco, myself and David. We perused some local vendors for last minute gifts, had a fabulous lunch and ran into Zuri. The group split off after we met Zuri, some of us wanting to go to see the changing of the guard, the others to go exploring on their own. Megan, Zuri and I went to see the changing of the guard, which was pretty cool. The Greek uniforms were interesting as was the changing of the guard, very different from what I observed in Denmark and England. There is a series of choreographed movements and high kicks. One of the guards lost his fez during the process and we watched as his supervisor admonished him in front of the crowd. Definitely an awkward moment for everyone there. We walked around a bit more, but the heat and humidity were proving too much for the tired bunch. I grabbed some coconut pieces from a street vendor and sat down to write some postcards. Shortly thereafter, I met up with David and we took the subway back to Piraeus.
I had an absolute blast at this port, just outstanding and full of so many fun memories. If you haven’t been to Greece, put it near the top of your list to visit! Ooopa!!!!
The Croatia blog will be coming soon, but life on the ship has been really busy the past few days. A big shout out to everyone who has kept in touch through cards, letters, emails, and facebook messages. Love you long time!
Greece, our seventh and second-to-last port, did not disappoint. Definitely up there as one of the coolest places on Earth and just wicked. It’s hard to believe that we were there only a short week; ago, it seems like the time has gone so fast.
We docked in Piraeus on August 3rd, the day after the Sea Olympics. After departing the ship, we made the long walk from the port into downtown Piraeus, a very quaint harbor town and took the metro into Athens. Athens, and Greece in particular, have always been places that I have longed to go my entire life. I have a special affection its history and through my history courses and Greek literature classes in college, I have been intrigued and fascinated by a country so rich in history, in brutality and war, and yet a people so passionate and romantic and patriotic.
We took a quick 10 minute Metro ride into Athens, right outside the Acropolis. After walking out of the Metro station, you look up and to your left and there up on the hill, lays the “City on a Hill,” the Acropolis. You can only see the left side of the temple of Athena Nike, but it’s one of those moments that just takes your breath away, knowing that you are so close to seeing in person on of the most ancient works of civilization in the world. One that you have read about and seen and heard about dozens of times in your life. It was just like the anticipation of seeing the Roman Colosseum or the pyramids for the first time; excited anticipation.
The sun was really intense on our walk up to the Acropolis. On our way up the southern slope, we were able to see crumbling marble columns of buildings gone by, marble statues and the Theater of Dionysus, the oldest theater in the world, seating an impressive 17,000 people on marble bleacher seats and in some cases, marble thrones for the nobles. After the Theater, we walked through the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, another theater that was constructed by Herodeus, the teacher of Marcus Aurelius, who built the 5,000 theater in 160 AD. It is extremely well preserved in person, but pictures do not do it any justice.
As soon as we had reached the top of the southwest slope, there is was: The Acropolis! My first observation was of the Temple of Athena Nike, in honor of the Goddess of Victory. It is believed that the marble temple was built by Callicrates, the architect also responsible for the Parthenon, between 427 and 424 BC. The Turks destroyed the original temple in 1687, In 1835, after the parts had been discovered and identified, the temple was rebuilt in its original position. Its Ionic columns and statues are just otherworldly. After snapping off a few pictures, we came face to face with the granddaddy of them all, the jaw dropping, intimidating Parthenon, constructed in 432 BC. It is an embodiment of classical Greek ideals and spirit. Phenomenal.
Our time at the Acropolis was short-lived after savoring these two temples, we spent a little bit of time at the Erechtheum, a temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon and then decided to leave due to the unrelenting heat and the enormous amount of tour groups that all ascended to the Acropolis at the same time. The hour and a half spent there was just a mixture of awe and wonder.
Any road leading out of the Acropolis will take you to fabulous cafes, trinket shops and rows and rows of fruit vendors. We took the southeast exit out into Athens and we were not disappointed. After doing some shopping, we sat down for a quick bite before heading back to the ship. The group, including David, Megan, John, Caroline, Marco and myself, feasted on some delicious saganaki (fried cheese), stuffed red peppers, suvlaki and Greek salad. What an amazing meal. Our tummies full, we took the metro back to the ship to quickly pack and head out to catch our ferry to the island of Mykonos.
Early on in the trip, a group of us had talked about going to a Greek island for a couple days for a little off-the-beaten path adventure. As it turns out, the entire month of August is holiday for Europeans, including Greeks, so by the time we started doing some research, the opportunities were slim in terms of getting a ferry out to an island, getting a ferry back to Piraeus, AND finding a decently priced place to stay. Thanks to some extensive research by Marco, Mykonos came out the winner. Almost every RD on staff jumped at the chance and between our different calendars, we were all able to get out to Mykonos for one or two nights. I was lucky enough to extend my stay to two nights. In a last minute change of plans, MJ joined John, Marco and I on the two-night Mykonos trip. It was pure heaven.
The ferry ride to Mykonos takes around 4 and a half hours and by the time we landed, we were exhausted. After tracking down our hotel shuttle, we made our way through the winding roads of Mykonos to the San Antonio Summerland hotel. All of the rooms were set up bungalow style, and ours had a balcony with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. Exhausted after being in the sun all day and the bumpy ferry ride, we had a great dinner on the outdoor terrace of the hotel. The Summerland is a fabulous hotel in that its built into the side of a hill, so the hotel just runs downhill, the sugar cubes stacked on top of one another, sloping down to the amazing pool. We slept well that night with the balcony doors open and a soft breeze lulled us to sleep.
We were up and ready to go the following morning, eager to see Mykonos in the sunlight. We made a quick start and took the hotel shuttle into town, where Theodore (at least we think that’s what his name is), we couldn’t tell because he spoke in Greek and then laughed at everything we said. He was a character.
Our walk around town was fantastic. Nothing but cobbled streets, whitewashed stores and majestic views of the Mediterranean. There are no words to adequately describe the scenery other than majestic. Love it! We meandered for a little bit, enjoyed an iced cappuccino and did a little shopping along the shoreline. Mykonos, from what we learned AFTER we got there, is quite the party island for Greeks and tourists. That was evident early on, as most shops and businesses did open until noon or 1, then closed from 4-7 PM. We were able to amble along for a bit when we came across a sign for handmade leather sandals at a small store on the second floor of an old building. We walked up the stairs and were immediately struck by the tiny shop, where a lone cobbler, Nikos, and his dog, Creta, passed the time. Nikos, a business man turned cobbler from the island of Crete, had been making sandals on the island of Mykonos for 15 years.
We had an amazing time while we were there. Megan and I walked out with five pairs of sandals between us and John and Marco were sized for custom-made silver rings that Nikos fitted for them. It was a pretty great experience! After our mini shopping spree, we headed to lunch at Scarpas, a tiny café literally butting up to the coast. As waves crashed around us, we enjoyed a quick lunch. After lunch, we walked around downtown Mykonos and headed back to the hotel for a little bit of R& R. We were thisclose to renting vespas on the island, but after being scared away by some tourists that crashed into a stone wall in front of us, that idea was quickly nixed.
After sunbathing and enjoying some wine, it was time to get ready to head out to meet David and the rest of the RD crew for David’s birthday dinner. We ate at a terrific seafood restaurant downtown—roasted peppers, Portobello mushrooms, saganaki and salads were all devoured family style. The only RD missing was Justin. After singing happy birthday to David, we headed out for a night on the town. Nightlife in Mykonos doesn’t start until after midnight, so we found a couple of outdoor patios to sit in.
Midnight came and went and David and crew were tired and went back to their hotel. John, Marco, Megan and I were ready to go out, so out we went. All of the shops, restaurants and art galleries were open and alive with people, gorgeous people. Mykonos was truly the playground of Europe’s beautiful, albeit surgically enhanced, twenty and thirtysomethings. It was so unfathomable to me that as we passed the Puma store, it was packed with people trying on shoes, art galleries were full of people browsing and jewelry stores were hopping, as women and men tried on some pricey pieces of bling. We ended up at the club Joy, which was pretty fun. While Marco and John were hitting up the bar, Megan and I were enjoying the people watching. Tired of the smoke and the crowds at Joy, Megan and I decided to walk our way through the throngs of people crowding the streets. We turned off the main street, found a tiny alleyway which led to this fantastic outdoor bar/lounge, Privo. It was just terrific—everything was white, including the bar, which was made of white marble, and there was just an ink-black sky dotted with stars. I ran back to get the boys and we ended our night hanging out at Privo, enjoying some good conversation under a blanket of stars. It was one of those “Who am I “ moments that have occurred so frequently on this trip. Fabulous conversation with fabulous friends is always makes for a great evening! We got back to the hotel super late (4:30-ish) and crashed.
Marco left early the next morning to return to the ship for duty that night. Megan, John and I had a fairly early start and headed back into town for more sight seeing and picture taking. This place will never be adequately captured by any camera….it’s just so breathtaking. The weather during our stay was balmy and breezy and just perfect; not too hot, and the breeze off the Mediterranean was fantastic. Megan and I split off from John to do a little souvenier shopping. We stumbled along a little hole-in-the-wall bakery where I sampled some authentic baklava, which was an enthralling experience. It was by far the best baklava I have ever had. We continued to walk the streets; grabbed some lunch and decided to head back to the hotel for one final dip in the pool and to bask in the sun as long as possible.
After changing at the hotel, we met up with Shauhin and David, who were also booked for the return on the same ferry as us, had dinner (amazing chicken gyro) and headed to the port to pick up the ferry. I don’t remember much of the return trip as I fell into a quick sleep. I didn’t wake up until we had returned to Piraeus. Tired and sunburned, we hobbled off the ferry for the 20 minute walk back to the ship.
Our final day in Greece was spent in Athens. Given that we had to be back by 5 PM, we got an early start with the same group that went out the first day to Athens: John, Caroline, Megan, Marco, myself and David. We perused some local vendors for last minute gifts, had a fabulous lunch and ran into Zuri. The group split off after we met Zuri, some of us wanting to go to see the changing of the guard, the others to go exploring on their own. Megan, Zuri and I went to see the changing of the guard, which was pretty cool. The Greek uniforms were interesting as was the changing of the guard, very different from what I observed in Denmark and England. There is a series of choreographed movements and high kicks. One of the guards lost his fez during the process and we watched as his supervisor admonished him in front of the crowd. Definitely an awkward moment for everyone there. We walked around a bit more, but the heat and humidity were proving too much for the tired bunch. I grabbed some coconut pieces from a street vendor and sat down to write some postcards. Shortly thereafter, I met up with David and we took the subway back to Piraeus.
I had an absolute blast at this port, just outstanding and full of so many fun memories. If you haven’t been to Greece, put it near the top of your list to visit! Ooopa!!!!
The Croatia blog will be coming soon, but life on the ship has been really busy the past few days. A big shout out to everyone who has kept in touch through cards, letters, emails, and facebook messages. Love you long time!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
HOORAY for Sea Olympics 2008!
Last Saturday was a great day for the ship; and probably one of the best days at sea yet. My big event, the 2008 Summer Sea Olympics! Now the hype and anticipation leading up to this day of activity all began when the original day of Sea Olympics was moved from mid-July to early August. Then, after tough pre-Olympics competitions such as volleyball, Sea Jeopardy and Improv Night, the anticipation built and built; teams were anxiously awaiting the day after we sailed from Egypt to kick the other seas’ butts at a high level of competition. Too bad the night we left Egypt, half the ship came down with Pharaoh’s revenge. I won’t go into the details, but I am sure you can figure out what happened. The Arabian and Baltic Seas were both out to early leads going into the day, the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea (faculty/staff/lifelong learners) close on their heels.
Opening ceremonies kicked off at 10 AM in the Union, with Captain Kingston officially opening the games. The Sea Captains (a male and female elected from each sea), proudly carried in their Sea Flags to the cheers of their fellow sea mates. After Captain Kingston opened the games, yours truly (also suffering from Pharaoh’s revenge) reviewed the day’s activities and then we were off!
The first competitions of the day were the Scavenger Hunt, where teams had to collect items from their seas, utilizing the list and asked for items from each port. The Ping Pong tournament kicked off at 11:30, followed by the Water Balloon Toss on Deck 7 at 11:30. One of the highlights of the day came at high noon, time for the Synchronized Swimming competition, where each sea utilized the pool on the ship to create a 3-minute routine. The pool deck and upper decks were jam-packed with students, staff and faculty all taking photos and cheering on their teams. The synchronized swimming was hilarious! You saw it all—Speedos, women in swim caps, Disney themes to seas poking fun at the TAs. Things got really spicy when two women jumped into the pool with their life vests on. Too bad the staff captain was outside watching the games and immediately ordered everyone to return their life vests to their cabins. At the end of the event, the Dead Sea, on the strength of their Little Mermaid/Raining Men/Jump On It routine, took first place.
After the morning’s activities, the Arabian Sea pulled ahead to take first place overall, placing in all of the morning’s events.
Next up was the Tug-of-War and Limbo competitions, which were both hotly contested and both won by the Arabian Sea. Those folks were on fire! At this point, they looked unstoppable. My sea, the Mediterranean Sea, was holding their own in 4th place.
The Iron Chef challenge and Mashed Potato Sculpture were up next. Thanks to our amazing hotel and food and beverage managers, each team was supplied random items and had 45 minutes to create and cook a pizza, using the pool bistro’s pizza ovens. Each team was supplied dough and items ranging from peanut butter to white chocolate chips, soy sauce, pickles, and other random assorted items provided by the chef. After making a Thai peanut-ish pizza with soy sauce, the Baltic Sea took first place in Iron Chef. The Mashed Potato Sculpture contest was underway on Deck 5 outside. Each team was given a plate full of potatoes and had 30 minutes to create a nautical-themed sculpture. The Bering Sea pulled out a win in this category with the Dead Sea coming in a close second.
The hot hula hoop contest was next, a modified musical chairs. All teams had 2 participants and had to pass a hula hoop through their bodies. When the music stopped, whomever was left with the hula hoop was out. After a brutal battle, one of our own professors took home the gold medal. The basketball knock off competition was over in 10 minutes as a whiz from the Baltic Sea knocked all other participants off one after another.
Following the hula hoop, the art/sketch competition was being judged at 3 PM. Each student participating was given directions at opening ceremonies to draw/sketch their favorite staff, faculty or crew member on the ship. The work that was submitted was absolutely incredible. After judging, the work was posted in Tymitz Square (the social hub of the ship) for everyone to see.
Our Assistant Executive Dean, Randy Lewis, who has the fortune of making all shipboard announcements each day, announced results throughout the day and going into the last three events, it was still too close to call. The Baltic, Arabian, Yellow and Dead Seas were all in it to win it, it would be a race to the end.
Next up was the Greek God and Goddess Runway Toga Showdown, where each sea had a male and a female create togas, with the caveat that ship-issued items (shower curtains, bed sheets, comforters, towels or any linens) was strictly prohibited. David Pe emceed the event and did a fabulous job. The Union was packed to capacity as each sea strutted their stuff; and bared a lot of skin. My favorite team was the Dead Sea, in which Bill and Sue, two lifelong learners in their seventies and a husband/wife duo, strutted their stuff as the God and Goddess of Food and Drink; Sue wearing what looked to be two tablecloths, an Egyptian head covering with spangles and a bra (over the tablecloths!) made of lettuce leaves. Bill, also wearing a tablecloth and a lettuce leaf over his bits and pieces, strutted his stuff while also whipping around a wine bottle. Both were absolutely adorable and hilarious and received the best crowd reaction. At the end of the day, the Baltic Sea won the competition with their Russian-inspired looks. It was hilarious!!
The Sea Cheer/Sea Sing was immediately following. Kyle, one of my most adorable students and lead singer for the on-board band, ABandOn Ship (clever) emceed the events and did a fantastic job. Immediately after the cheers, we went straight into lip sync, which was a good time. One of the RDs dressed in drag as a Spice Girl, Marco did a spin on Enrique Igleasias, Justin showed off his dance moves with Cupid’s Shuffle and I somehow had the pleasure of lip syncing to Pimping All Over the World and David twirled a hula hoop to the song “Around the World.” The Union was again packed and everyone was having a blast.
At the end of the night, however, there could be only 1 winner: the Baltic Sea was able to squeak it out in the end and they will be the first people off the ship when we dock in Norfolk on the 22nd. The Arabian Sea placed second, Yellow Sea third, Dead Sea was fourth and the Mediterranean came in 6th.
With Sea Olympics officially closed, I immediately went to my cabin and crashed, hoping to rest up for Greece. Overall, it was a fantastic day and really got students involved and excited. I was pleased to hear nothing but positive comments and I chalk it up to a fabulous success!
Opening ceremonies kicked off at 10 AM in the Union, with Captain Kingston officially opening the games. The Sea Captains (a male and female elected from each sea), proudly carried in their Sea Flags to the cheers of their fellow sea mates. After Captain Kingston opened the games, yours truly (also suffering from Pharaoh’s revenge) reviewed the day’s activities and then we were off!
The first competitions of the day were the Scavenger Hunt, where teams had to collect items from their seas, utilizing the list and asked for items from each port. The Ping Pong tournament kicked off at 11:30, followed by the Water Balloon Toss on Deck 7 at 11:30. One of the highlights of the day came at high noon, time for the Synchronized Swimming competition, where each sea utilized the pool on the ship to create a 3-minute routine. The pool deck and upper decks were jam-packed with students, staff and faculty all taking photos and cheering on their teams. The synchronized swimming was hilarious! You saw it all—Speedos, women in swim caps, Disney themes to seas poking fun at the TAs. Things got really spicy when two women jumped into the pool with their life vests on. Too bad the staff captain was outside watching the games and immediately ordered everyone to return their life vests to their cabins. At the end of the event, the Dead Sea, on the strength of their Little Mermaid/Raining Men/Jump On It routine, took first place.
After the morning’s activities, the Arabian Sea pulled ahead to take first place overall, placing in all of the morning’s events.
Next up was the Tug-of-War and Limbo competitions, which were both hotly contested and both won by the Arabian Sea. Those folks were on fire! At this point, they looked unstoppable. My sea, the Mediterranean Sea, was holding their own in 4th place.
The Iron Chef challenge and Mashed Potato Sculpture were up next. Thanks to our amazing hotel and food and beverage managers, each team was supplied random items and had 45 minutes to create and cook a pizza, using the pool bistro’s pizza ovens. Each team was supplied dough and items ranging from peanut butter to white chocolate chips, soy sauce, pickles, and other random assorted items provided by the chef. After making a Thai peanut-ish pizza with soy sauce, the Baltic Sea took first place in Iron Chef. The Mashed Potato Sculpture contest was underway on Deck 5 outside. Each team was given a plate full of potatoes and had 30 minutes to create a nautical-themed sculpture. The Bering Sea pulled out a win in this category with the Dead Sea coming in a close second.
The hot hula hoop contest was next, a modified musical chairs. All teams had 2 participants and had to pass a hula hoop through their bodies. When the music stopped, whomever was left with the hula hoop was out. After a brutal battle, one of our own professors took home the gold medal. The basketball knock off competition was over in 10 minutes as a whiz from the Baltic Sea knocked all other participants off one after another.
Following the hula hoop, the art/sketch competition was being judged at 3 PM. Each student participating was given directions at opening ceremonies to draw/sketch their favorite staff, faculty or crew member on the ship. The work that was submitted was absolutely incredible. After judging, the work was posted in Tymitz Square (the social hub of the ship) for everyone to see.
Our Assistant Executive Dean, Randy Lewis, who has the fortune of making all shipboard announcements each day, announced results throughout the day and going into the last three events, it was still too close to call. The Baltic, Arabian, Yellow and Dead Seas were all in it to win it, it would be a race to the end.
Next up was the Greek God and Goddess Runway Toga Showdown, where each sea had a male and a female create togas, with the caveat that ship-issued items (shower curtains, bed sheets, comforters, towels or any linens) was strictly prohibited. David Pe emceed the event and did a fabulous job. The Union was packed to capacity as each sea strutted their stuff; and bared a lot of skin. My favorite team was the Dead Sea, in which Bill and Sue, two lifelong learners in their seventies and a husband/wife duo, strutted their stuff as the God and Goddess of Food and Drink; Sue wearing what looked to be two tablecloths, an Egyptian head covering with spangles and a bra (over the tablecloths!) made of lettuce leaves. Bill, also wearing a tablecloth and a lettuce leaf over his bits and pieces, strutted his stuff while also whipping around a wine bottle. Both were absolutely adorable and hilarious and received the best crowd reaction. At the end of the day, the Baltic Sea won the competition with their Russian-inspired looks. It was hilarious!!
The Sea Cheer/Sea Sing was immediately following. Kyle, one of my most adorable students and lead singer for the on-board band, ABandOn Ship (clever) emceed the events and did a fantastic job. Immediately after the cheers, we went straight into lip sync, which was a good time. One of the RDs dressed in drag as a Spice Girl, Marco did a spin on Enrique Igleasias, Justin showed off his dance moves with Cupid’s Shuffle and I somehow had the pleasure of lip syncing to Pimping All Over the World and David twirled a hula hoop to the song “Around the World.” The Union was again packed and everyone was having a blast.
At the end of the night, however, there could be only 1 winner: the Baltic Sea was able to squeak it out in the end and they will be the first people off the ship when we dock in Norfolk on the 22nd. The Arabian Sea placed second, Yellow Sea third, Dead Sea was fourth and the Mediterranean came in 6th.
With Sea Olympics officially closed, I immediately went to my cabin and crashed, hoping to rest up for Greece. Overall, it was a fantastic day and really got students involved and excited. I was pleased to hear nothing but positive comments and I chalk it up to a fabulous success!
Things I Did In Egypt: Saw the Pyramids, Posed with a Sphinx and Rode a Camel Named Douglas
Greetings friends!
I feel so behind on the blogs; the ports are coming faster than what I can keep up with!
So we left off en route to Egypt, which was absolutely phenomenal….just a thrill for the sights, sounds, and taste buds. How cool is it that we get to go to Egypt as an “alternate” port? Who does that? Oh wait, we do! I felt a little unprepared for our destination as I certainly did not know how to speak or to read Arabic, but there is not many on this ship that do…..in many aspects, it was like entering Russia all over again.
We arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on July 30th. My immediate impressions of the port were very favorable. Alexandria was founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great. At 4 million people, Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt, and often thought of as its crown jewel city. It is a place where many from Cairo flock for vacation or the weekend. After being in Cairo, I can attest that at 4 million people, Alexandria feels like a small resort town in comparison.
Now, I need to take a time out to commend the ship’s field office for doing a spectacular job arranging trips for us while in Egypt. With less than 24 hours notice, they pulled together jeep and camel safaris to the pyramids, three day trips to Cairo, overnight trips to Cairo, city tours of Alexandria and much more. They did an excellent job and I commend them for their fantastic work. I of course jump all over the jeep and camel safari. All of us acted like we were in elementary school, jumping up down, exclaiming how we were going to be camel riding and actually seeing the pyramids of Giza.
So last Wednesday morning, I disembarked in Alexandria and immediately stepped onto a motor coach that whisked us off for Cairo. I was lucky enough to be on the same trip as Megan, so we bunked up for our 2 and a half hour bus trip. Unlike any other port, each trip was equipped with trip leaders and armed guards (each one wearing a suit and carrying a small machine gun on their back under their jacket). Our tour guide, Baghat, was just awesome. He chatted on and on during our ride, giving us some history of the majesty and splendor of what we were about to see. So down-to-earth and funny, Megan and I chatted with him the whole way to Cairo, where we learned about kartooshes, mummification and much much more. Baghat is such a culture buff that he is starting his Ph.D. next year in Egyptology at the University of Chicago. He also taught us an important phrase on the bus, “habiby,” which means friend or sweetheart, depending on how you use it. So, habiby to you all J
Our trip to Cairo, the capital of Egypt and one of the most densely populated cities on the planet at 18 million, was pretty uneventful. Once we were out of Alexandria, it was nothing but flat desert. We saw many mud-brick huts along the roads and several leathery-faced men walking pack mules, destinations unknown.
To my surprise, the town of Giza, home to the great pyramids and the Sphinx, is located minutes from the outskirts of Cairo. We were in Cairo, and the next thing I knew, I spotted a pyramid outside of the bus window….and then it just kept getting bigger; and then they multiplied. There are three pyramids in total still intact in Giza, which makes for an awe-inspiring sight. Seeing the pyramids in person, it’s a cathartic experience. My heart skipped a beat and tears welled in my eyes upon seeing them. Just to be in their presence and to realize their magnificence, and the fact that they are over 5,000 years old, constructed on the backs of nobles to create one tomb for one pharaoh to get to the afterlife is just incredible. Each mud and sandstone brick used to construct the pyramids weighs 15 tons. And to think that all that was used was a basic pulley system to build these pyramids makes you stop and wonder if we have really evolved that much as a species in 5,000 years. I thought that many times while I stared in amazement. The first pyramid we saw was the Cheoees pyramid, the second one belonged to King Cheaphren and the third, and the smallest of the three was Mecrenious.
With time being very limited at the pyramids, Baghat gave us two options: we could either go inside a pyramid (but you couldn’t take pictures) or to the Solar Boat museum. At first, I was all about going inside a pyramid, but after hearing that you basically couldn’t see anything and all of the pyramids had been stripped of their treasures millenniums ago, I decided to go to the Solar Boat museum. Now before thinking I am the biggest nerd on the planet, let me tell you about this Solar Boat. The Solar Boat was excavated in 1953 by Egyptian archeaologists, who found the boat only a few feet away from the base of the King Cheaphren pyramid. When the discovery was made, archeaologists found well preserved cedar planks that were all numbered. After piecing the planks together, a 48 meter long cedar boat was constructed. The Solar Boat was used as an offering to the gods when Cheaphren died, he would take his solar boat into the sky and into the next life. This solar boat is in almost perfect condition—and over 4,700 years old. It was so well preserved because the Egyptians used a process of sealing off the tomb where light and moisture could not get to it. The boat, in it’s 48 meter glory is completely assembled in the museum and the museum is constructed on the site in which it was found. You can even see the excavation area where it was found. To me, that’s just so mind-boggling and amazing!
After squeezing off a few more pictures of camels and pyramids, we boarded the bus and headed down the road 2 minutes to see the wondrous Sphinx. WOW! Honestly folks, words cannot do it justice. It’s just unreal. The Sphinx, it is believed, was discovered centuries ago by a group of Egyptian aristocrats who were out in the desert camping. One of the aristocrats had dreams that he was sleeping on something sacred and ordered his servants to dig. What they found was the head of the Sphinx, and they were sleeping on the granite portion of her headpiece. The Sphinx was once covered in limestone to protect it from the weather, and was completely buried in sand until the aristocrats dug it up. You couldn’t go on the Sphinx, but we got some amazing photos of it. Just wondrous, it is so spectacular and spell binding to be there, I was just in a state of euphoria the whole time. To see that, some people wait their entire lives to see it, or say they want to go, but never do. This is something you have to see in your lifetime. I don’t know how else to explain it, but pictures and TV are nothing in comparison to the experience of being present in the same time and place as these mystical ancient relics of a civilization that was there 5,000 years before. As I was walking around the sites, I thought a lot about the activity that took place where I was walking, the paths that I was following. Did a pharaoh walk here? Did someone’s house used to be in this same spot? Unreal, people. Unreal. Another cool experience that happened as we were boarding the bus was the sound of Arabic over an unknown loud speaker. Someone asked Baghat about it and he said that it was time for 1 PM call to prayer.
After our Sphinx and pyramid experience, everyone was in a state of bliss, amazement, and hunger! We traveled outside of Giza to the city of Sakara, which is world famous for its carpet schools, where young Egyptian children go to learn the craft of carpet weaving. We had a delightful lunch at the Sakara Country Club and filled our plates with chicken kebabs, rice, hummus and other vegetable salads. We also sampled some Egyptian coffee and a wonderful selection of Egyptian desserts, none of the names that I can remember, all I remember is their main ingredient was honey and they were absolutely addictive. Megan and I sat with Baghat at lunch, processing through what we had seen and heard, taking copious notes on our maps of Cairo. We were also joined by Carl and Abbey and Courtney. We enjoyed sharing our morning experiences and passing cameras around the table.
Baghat had us on tight schedule and next on the agenda was a trip out to the desert of Sakara, where we visited the tomb of Mer-Ruka, who lived in 2340 BC. We were lucky enough to go inside his tomb, where we found each room was covered floor to ceiling with hieroglyphics. According to Baghat, each pharaoh’s tomb took over 20 years to create because of the variety of laborious processes that need to be completed. After erecting the tomb, the floors and ceilings are plastered, then the designs for the hieroglyphics were traced, then carved out. After the carving process, each series of hieroglyphics were painstakingly painted by hand. All of the scenes in the tomb are to depict the daily activities of the pharaoh. We were not allowed to take pictures or touch the walls, but the hieroglyphics have been astonishingly well-preserved. Some of them still have pigment from the paint, a lot of paint having been destroyed over millienias by sunlight and heat. Again, just to fathom the construction and the painstaking carvings, many of which depicted water bearers, hunters and Mer-Rukas wife, were all done by hand over the span of 20 years. Just for one man. Astounding.
After our visit to Mer-Ruka, we walked over the first-discovered pyramid, the Step Pyramid. Why named so? Because it looks like giant steps, stacked layers on one another that go all the way to the peak, unlike the others with their smoothly angled sides. There is no date on when the pyramid was constructed, but the very first one. Again, according to Baghat, many Egyptologists believe that they have only uncovered about 30% of ancient Egypt, much of it buried beneath thousands of years of sand.
The step pyramid was on our way to see the first stone building ever constructed, which was believed to be the entryway into ancient Sakara. Built completely of smooth limestone, the building is pretty well-preserved, much of its architecture very much looking Grecian, many Ionic columns and pillars are found over the site. Crunched for time, Megan and I snapped some pictures of the place and were amused by the many old Egyptian men, who were charming the students of promises of marriage and 2 million camel. All in good fun, it was pretty hilarious.
We boarded the bus back near Mer-Ruka’s tomb, the temperature had now climbed to over 100 degrees. Now it was time for the Jeep and camel safari!!!
Surprisingly enough, we drove back to the Sakara country club, where our off-road Jeeps and drivers awaited. Students and faculty and staff alike were pumped for this experience. Megan and I, along with the Teachers at Sea, Meghan, Sarah and Caroline, hopped into a Jeep, and we were off! Many of the Jeeps took off at the same time and before we knew it, we were out in the barren desert. It was such an incredible feeling, a feeling of total abandonment and freedom, to be bajaing through the desert with no windows, just sand and sun and a Jeep flying over sand hills, up and down peaks and valleys, it was so awesome. I was able to catch some of it on video; it’s pretty hilarious, but so, so exhilarating; our adrenaline was pumping.
Before we knew it, we crossed over to near Mer-Ruka again, where we saw a huge pack of camels and camel drivers in the distance. Now was the time to go camel riding!!!! We got out of the Jeeps and headed over to the camel drivers, who waited patiently with their camels, who were all laying down in the sand, their long gangly legs tucked underneath them. All of the camel drivers spoke a little English and was soon ushered over to white camel by a boy who couldn’t have been more than 14. We made eye contact and I asked him not to spit on me. My driver assured me that he was very pleasant. I threw myself up in the saddle, and before I knew it, the camel was up on all fours and ready to go! The best part of this story comes now: the camel’s name? Douglas. Immediately thinking of my friend Doug, I let out a long laugh and patted Douglas’ side and knew immediately that we would be cool. The ride out to the desert was pretty great. Douglas was very friendly and only tried to nibble on my ankle just once. Before I got on, Megan and I had exchanged cameras, so I could take pictures of her with her camera and vice versa. I took a few good shots of Megan and her camel, Michael Jackson, and just enjoyed our leisurely stroll through the desert. It was so much fun to see the students and the faculty and staff getting into it as well. Douglas stayed at a good leisurely pace as the sun began to set in the distance behind Cairo.
Douglas and I parted ways and then it was time to head back to Alexandria. Most folks were pretty wiped out after all of the day’s activities, but Megan and I chatted with Baghat on the way home and learned a great deal about Egypt, its politics, the still-ongoing caste system, the status of women in a Muslim country, etc. All fascinating discussions and conversations, which I will keep to a minimum for the sake of the blog. I know I write too much as it is.
After a first day in Egypt like that, the rest of the time spent was a bit less dramatic and wondersome. A bunch of folks went into Cairo on the second day, myself included, although I had to come back that night because I was on duty on the ship. My observations of Cairo were fairly limited to cab rides and just observations on the city streets because I was only there 4 hours. I am glad that I was able to go, but while I was there, I observed that it is such a dichotomy between the haves and the have nots. Beggars in the streets, just scraping by, while these giant 5-star hotels loom in the distance. The part of the Nile River that I saw was murky, at best, and I noticed a dead cow floating by. And the traffic! I have never seen anything like it. While I was in a cab with our friend Courtney, she observed that the only thing more chaotic that she has seen is in India, but instead of cabs and cars and buses, it’s mules and rickshaws. Honestly, there are no lane markers, no stoplights. It’s every man, woman and child for themselves. The Egyptians also use their car horns as a communication system more than an expression of warning; they honk their horns to change lanes, pick up passengers, drop off passengers, stop for pedestrians, you name it, they use their horns J
Returning to Alexandria, I definitely appreciate the beauty and relatively peaceful and quiet atmosphere it has. I tried my hand at bartering at some nearby shops and succeeded pretty well. The trick is not to barter at all, I learned. Just ask a price to the merchant, say no and walk away. Soon enough, the merchant will ask you what price to you want to pay. He’ll say no, you walk away. Soon enough, the price goes tumbling down and you walk away feeling good about your purchases and the merchant still generates some revenue. It was delightful. I bought some hand-painted perfume bottles, a wooden camel set, a stuffed leather camel and two kartooshes—one for me and one for Sarah. Kartooshes are extremely popular in Egypt—they are necklaces and bracelets in either gold or silver with your name spelled out in hieroglphics. Pretty damn cool.
Some other interesting tidbits about Egypt include that the average monthly income for an Egyptian is $500 USD, most children stay at home with their parents until their thirties because the cost of getting married is so expensive. Baghat told us that most Egyptian men need to save $40,000 USD before getting married because men need to provide a furnished home, a savings account, and pay for the wedding. Most Egyptians go to college, adoption is illegal and the dream of each Egyptian child is to one day visit America.
I will treasure my time in Egypt for a long, long time to come and many of memories will live on past me through photos. This for me, was just a magical experience and one that I never thought would happen in my lifetime. It was just incredible and left me incredulous.
I feel so behind on the blogs; the ports are coming faster than what I can keep up with!
So we left off en route to Egypt, which was absolutely phenomenal….just a thrill for the sights, sounds, and taste buds. How cool is it that we get to go to Egypt as an “alternate” port? Who does that? Oh wait, we do! I felt a little unprepared for our destination as I certainly did not know how to speak or to read Arabic, but there is not many on this ship that do…..in many aspects, it was like entering Russia all over again.
We arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on July 30th. My immediate impressions of the port were very favorable. Alexandria was founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great. At 4 million people, Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt, and often thought of as its crown jewel city. It is a place where many from Cairo flock for vacation or the weekend. After being in Cairo, I can attest that at 4 million people, Alexandria feels like a small resort town in comparison.
Now, I need to take a time out to commend the ship’s field office for doing a spectacular job arranging trips for us while in Egypt. With less than 24 hours notice, they pulled together jeep and camel safaris to the pyramids, three day trips to Cairo, overnight trips to Cairo, city tours of Alexandria and much more. They did an excellent job and I commend them for their fantastic work. I of course jump all over the jeep and camel safari. All of us acted like we were in elementary school, jumping up down, exclaiming how we were going to be camel riding and actually seeing the pyramids of Giza.
So last Wednesday morning, I disembarked in Alexandria and immediately stepped onto a motor coach that whisked us off for Cairo. I was lucky enough to be on the same trip as Megan, so we bunked up for our 2 and a half hour bus trip. Unlike any other port, each trip was equipped with trip leaders and armed guards (each one wearing a suit and carrying a small machine gun on their back under their jacket). Our tour guide, Baghat, was just awesome. He chatted on and on during our ride, giving us some history of the majesty and splendor of what we were about to see. So down-to-earth and funny, Megan and I chatted with him the whole way to Cairo, where we learned about kartooshes, mummification and much much more. Baghat is such a culture buff that he is starting his Ph.D. next year in Egyptology at the University of Chicago. He also taught us an important phrase on the bus, “habiby,” which means friend or sweetheart, depending on how you use it. So, habiby to you all J
Our trip to Cairo, the capital of Egypt and one of the most densely populated cities on the planet at 18 million, was pretty uneventful. Once we were out of Alexandria, it was nothing but flat desert. We saw many mud-brick huts along the roads and several leathery-faced men walking pack mules, destinations unknown.
To my surprise, the town of Giza, home to the great pyramids and the Sphinx, is located minutes from the outskirts of Cairo. We were in Cairo, and the next thing I knew, I spotted a pyramid outside of the bus window….and then it just kept getting bigger; and then they multiplied. There are three pyramids in total still intact in Giza, which makes for an awe-inspiring sight. Seeing the pyramids in person, it’s a cathartic experience. My heart skipped a beat and tears welled in my eyes upon seeing them. Just to be in their presence and to realize their magnificence, and the fact that they are over 5,000 years old, constructed on the backs of nobles to create one tomb for one pharaoh to get to the afterlife is just incredible. Each mud and sandstone brick used to construct the pyramids weighs 15 tons. And to think that all that was used was a basic pulley system to build these pyramids makes you stop and wonder if we have really evolved that much as a species in 5,000 years. I thought that many times while I stared in amazement. The first pyramid we saw was the Cheoees pyramid, the second one belonged to King Cheaphren and the third, and the smallest of the three was Mecrenious.
With time being very limited at the pyramids, Baghat gave us two options: we could either go inside a pyramid (but you couldn’t take pictures) or to the Solar Boat museum. At first, I was all about going inside a pyramid, but after hearing that you basically couldn’t see anything and all of the pyramids had been stripped of their treasures millenniums ago, I decided to go to the Solar Boat museum. Now before thinking I am the biggest nerd on the planet, let me tell you about this Solar Boat. The Solar Boat was excavated in 1953 by Egyptian archeaologists, who found the boat only a few feet away from the base of the King Cheaphren pyramid. When the discovery was made, archeaologists found well preserved cedar planks that were all numbered. After piecing the planks together, a 48 meter long cedar boat was constructed. The Solar Boat was used as an offering to the gods when Cheaphren died, he would take his solar boat into the sky and into the next life. This solar boat is in almost perfect condition—and over 4,700 years old. It was so well preserved because the Egyptians used a process of sealing off the tomb where light and moisture could not get to it. The boat, in it’s 48 meter glory is completely assembled in the museum and the museum is constructed on the site in which it was found. You can even see the excavation area where it was found. To me, that’s just so mind-boggling and amazing!
After squeezing off a few more pictures of camels and pyramids, we boarded the bus and headed down the road 2 minutes to see the wondrous Sphinx. WOW! Honestly folks, words cannot do it justice. It’s just unreal. The Sphinx, it is believed, was discovered centuries ago by a group of Egyptian aristocrats who were out in the desert camping. One of the aristocrats had dreams that he was sleeping on something sacred and ordered his servants to dig. What they found was the head of the Sphinx, and they were sleeping on the granite portion of her headpiece. The Sphinx was once covered in limestone to protect it from the weather, and was completely buried in sand until the aristocrats dug it up. You couldn’t go on the Sphinx, but we got some amazing photos of it. Just wondrous, it is so spectacular and spell binding to be there, I was just in a state of euphoria the whole time. To see that, some people wait their entire lives to see it, or say they want to go, but never do. This is something you have to see in your lifetime. I don’t know how else to explain it, but pictures and TV are nothing in comparison to the experience of being present in the same time and place as these mystical ancient relics of a civilization that was there 5,000 years before. As I was walking around the sites, I thought a lot about the activity that took place where I was walking, the paths that I was following. Did a pharaoh walk here? Did someone’s house used to be in this same spot? Unreal, people. Unreal. Another cool experience that happened as we were boarding the bus was the sound of Arabic over an unknown loud speaker. Someone asked Baghat about it and he said that it was time for 1 PM call to prayer.
After our Sphinx and pyramid experience, everyone was in a state of bliss, amazement, and hunger! We traveled outside of Giza to the city of Sakara, which is world famous for its carpet schools, where young Egyptian children go to learn the craft of carpet weaving. We had a delightful lunch at the Sakara Country Club and filled our plates with chicken kebabs, rice, hummus and other vegetable salads. We also sampled some Egyptian coffee and a wonderful selection of Egyptian desserts, none of the names that I can remember, all I remember is their main ingredient was honey and they were absolutely addictive. Megan and I sat with Baghat at lunch, processing through what we had seen and heard, taking copious notes on our maps of Cairo. We were also joined by Carl and Abbey and Courtney. We enjoyed sharing our morning experiences and passing cameras around the table.
Baghat had us on tight schedule and next on the agenda was a trip out to the desert of Sakara, where we visited the tomb of Mer-Ruka, who lived in 2340 BC. We were lucky enough to go inside his tomb, where we found each room was covered floor to ceiling with hieroglyphics. According to Baghat, each pharaoh’s tomb took over 20 years to create because of the variety of laborious processes that need to be completed. After erecting the tomb, the floors and ceilings are plastered, then the designs for the hieroglyphics were traced, then carved out. After the carving process, each series of hieroglyphics were painstakingly painted by hand. All of the scenes in the tomb are to depict the daily activities of the pharaoh. We were not allowed to take pictures or touch the walls, but the hieroglyphics have been astonishingly well-preserved. Some of them still have pigment from the paint, a lot of paint having been destroyed over millienias by sunlight and heat. Again, just to fathom the construction and the painstaking carvings, many of which depicted water bearers, hunters and Mer-Rukas wife, were all done by hand over the span of 20 years. Just for one man. Astounding.
After our visit to Mer-Ruka, we walked over the first-discovered pyramid, the Step Pyramid. Why named so? Because it looks like giant steps, stacked layers on one another that go all the way to the peak, unlike the others with their smoothly angled sides. There is no date on when the pyramid was constructed, but the very first one. Again, according to Baghat, many Egyptologists believe that they have only uncovered about 30% of ancient Egypt, much of it buried beneath thousands of years of sand.
The step pyramid was on our way to see the first stone building ever constructed, which was believed to be the entryway into ancient Sakara. Built completely of smooth limestone, the building is pretty well-preserved, much of its architecture very much looking Grecian, many Ionic columns and pillars are found over the site. Crunched for time, Megan and I snapped some pictures of the place and were amused by the many old Egyptian men, who were charming the students of promises of marriage and 2 million camel. All in good fun, it was pretty hilarious.
We boarded the bus back near Mer-Ruka’s tomb, the temperature had now climbed to over 100 degrees. Now it was time for the Jeep and camel safari!!!
Surprisingly enough, we drove back to the Sakara country club, where our off-road Jeeps and drivers awaited. Students and faculty and staff alike were pumped for this experience. Megan and I, along with the Teachers at Sea, Meghan, Sarah and Caroline, hopped into a Jeep, and we were off! Many of the Jeeps took off at the same time and before we knew it, we were out in the barren desert. It was such an incredible feeling, a feeling of total abandonment and freedom, to be bajaing through the desert with no windows, just sand and sun and a Jeep flying over sand hills, up and down peaks and valleys, it was so awesome. I was able to catch some of it on video; it’s pretty hilarious, but so, so exhilarating; our adrenaline was pumping.
Before we knew it, we crossed over to near Mer-Ruka again, where we saw a huge pack of camels and camel drivers in the distance. Now was the time to go camel riding!!!! We got out of the Jeeps and headed over to the camel drivers, who waited patiently with their camels, who were all laying down in the sand, their long gangly legs tucked underneath them. All of the camel drivers spoke a little English and was soon ushered over to white camel by a boy who couldn’t have been more than 14. We made eye contact and I asked him not to spit on me. My driver assured me that he was very pleasant. I threw myself up in the saddle, and before I knew it, the camel was up on all fours and ready to go! The best part of this story comes now: the camel’s name? Douglas. Immediately thinking of my friend Doug, I let out a long laugh and patted Douglas’ side and knew immediately that we would be cool. The ride out to the desert was pretty great. Douglas was very friendly and only tried to nibble on my ankle just once. Before I got on, Megan and I had exchanged cameras, so I could take pictures of her with her camera and vice versa. I took a few good shots of Megan and her camel, Michael Jackson, and just enjoyed our leisurely stroll through the desert. It was so much fun to see the students and the faculty and staff getting into it as well. Douglas stayed at a good leisurely pace as the sun began to set in the distance behind Cairo.
Douglas and I parted ways and then it was time to head back to Alexandria. Most folks were pretty wiped out after all of the day’s activities, but Megan and I chatted with Baghat on the way home and learned a great deal about Egypt, its politics, the still-ongoing caste system, the status of women in a Muslim country, etc. All fascinating discussions and conversations, which I will keep to a minimum for the sake of the blog. I know I write too much as it is.
After a first day in Egypt like that, the rest of the time spent was a bit less dramatic and wondersome. A bunch of folks went into Cairo on the second day, myself included, although I had to come back that night because I was on duty on the ship. My observations of Cairo were fairly limited to cab rides and just observations on the city streets because I was only there 4 hours. I am glad that I was able to go, but while I was there, I observed that it is such a dichotomy between the haves and the have nots. Beggars in the streets, just scraping by, while these giant 5-star hotels loom in the distance. The part of the Nile River that I saw was murky, at best, and I noticed a dead cow floating by. And the traffic! I have never seen anything like it. While I was in a cab with our friend Courtney, she observed that the only thing more chaotic that she has seen is in India, but instead of cabs and cars and buses, it’s mules and rickshaws. Honestly, there are no lane markers, no stoplights. It’s every man, woman and child for themselves. The Egyptians also use their car horns as a communication system more than an expression of warning; they honk their horns to change lanes, pick up passengers, drop off passengers, stop for pedestrians, you name it, they use their horns J
Returning to Alexandria, I definitely appreciate the beauty and relatively peaceful and quiet atmosphere it has. I tried my hand at bartering at some nearby shops and succeeded pretty well. The trick is not to barter at all, I learned. Just ask a price to the merchant, say no and walk away. Soon enough, the merchant will ask you what price to you want to pay. He’ll say no, you walk away. Soon enough, the price goes tumbling down and you walk away feeling good about your purchases and the merchant still generates some revenue. It was delightful. I bought some hand-painted perfume bottles, a wooden camel set, a stuffed leather camel and two kartooshes—one for me and one for Sarah. Kartooshes are extremely popular in Egypt—they are necklaces and bracelets in either gold or silver with your name spelled out in hieroglphics. Pretty damn cool.
Some other interesting tidbits about Egypt include that the average monthly income for an Egyptian is $500 USD, most children stay at home with their parents until their thirties because the cost of getting married is so expensive. Baghat told us that most Egyptian men need to save $40,000 USD before getting married because men need to provide a furnished home, a savings account, and pay for the wedding. Most Egyptians go to college, adoption is illegal and the dream of each Egyptian child is to one day visit America.
I will treasure my time in Egypt for a long, long time to come and many of memories will live on past me through photos. This for me, was just a magical experience and one that I never thought would happen in my lifetime. It was just incredible and left me incredulous.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
VIVA ITALIA!!
Italy
Viva Italia!!!! Greetings friends! I apologize for my long absence off of blogspot, it’s been a whirlwind since arriving to Italy and really hasn’t stopped. So thank you for your patience and I now present my recap of my time in Naples, Rome and Capri, Italy.
We arrived in Italy last Tuesday, July 22nd. The views coming into Naples were pretty spectacular, as we were able to see the islands of Capri, Sorrento and Mount Vesuvius. Very impressive indeed. Now before I get really started on the blog, let me fill you in a little bit on our friends, the Italians.
Italians really and truly have a zest for living the good life. Even though the economy is not doing so hot right now, Italians take pleasure in simple things such as family, friends, and good food and wine (sign me up!). Most Italian families are small these days, usually only one child per family and because of the expenses of living on your own, it’s not uncommon for many Italians to live with their parents through their late 30s. While wine, espresso and cappuccino are savored here, I was introduced to a delightful liquor called limoncello, which is a lemon-infused alcohol that is just delicious. Be careful to only drink one or two or you’ll end up forgetting most of the evening. A few days before arriving in Naples, we were told to beware that a garbage strike had seized the city and talks had broken down between unionized workers and the city. Luckily, two days before we arrived, the situation was resolved! Hooray!
With no real plans in mind on the first day, my ever-reliable traveling buddy, Megan (MJ) and I decided that with the gorgeous weather, it was a day to enjoy at the beach. Following the advice of our boss, Sally, we packed a towel and our sunglasses, grabbed our friend John, and headed off the ship to find the hydrofoil to the island of Capri. As luck would have it, the hydrofoil dock was literally a 100 yard walk from the ship. We purchased our tickets and hopped on the 10:35 boat to Capri. The trip was magnificent, spectacular views all the way there. We again saw Mt. Vesuvius and Sorrento…we even had an Italian woman helping us with our Italian. It was nothing but clear blue skies, sunshine, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. When we started to make our arrival to the island, I was just awestruck. I had never seen anything like it. Capri is built into a mountain, basically, and is surrounded by palm trees, pastel-hued buildings and fruit stands every few feet. There is not a bad view on the island, anywhere. After doing some investigating, we took the furnicular (remember that from Norway?) up to the top of the island, and were met with spectacular views of the Mediterranean…..truly paradise!!
We walked around the island for a bit, soaking in the weather, the people and all of the cute stores that dotted sun-drenched streets. Stores selling limoncello to hand-made Italian sandals (the shoes were to-die-for) to Prada and every huge name in fashion all lined the streets.
We walked around for a little bit and decided it was time to get some authentic Italian pizza. It is believed that pizza was founded in Naples, as well as the invention of the margharita pizza, made with mozzarella, tomato and basil. The pizza is named after Queen Margharita, who visited Naples and loved the pizza so much, the inventor named it after her. The pizza also represents the three colors on the Italian flag.
John, MJ and I decided on a hidden pizzeria, recommended by some locals, tucked away on the edge of a cliff. Even the restaurant was incredible. The restaurant sits on a cliff and has no windows, so it was just unobstructed views of the Tyrrhenian Sea spread out before us. After savoring our pizza and a bottle of wine, it was time to hit the beach. To get to the beaches, we had to go down again, but we were told that there were man-made pathways winding down the hills that would lead to the beach. Well, you wouldn’t think it would be so hard, right? Yeah, well, wrong. Several of the paths that we took were dead ends, so we would hike back up and start all over again. Finally we saw a cute little coffee bar tucked away inside a hill and stopped for directions and a shot of espresso. Once we got directions, we were on our way. A half an hour later, we ended up at a private beach, Faraglioni, on the most western point on the island. The beaches on Capri are very rocky, but so incredible. We ordered some drinks from the beach bar and it was time to soak up the sun. The beach was located in a cove and was just incredible. There was an isolated spot to jump into the water and during our time, we saw several boats pull up about 200 yards from the beach, drop anchor and swim up to the land. MJ, John and I had a blast and all the while swimming in the Tyrrhenian, I kept thinking to myself, “who am I? and how the hell did I get to be here?” I can’t really describe how wonderful it was….all I needed was Brian and it would have been a perfect afternoon. I asked him to look up some prices to go to Capri for our honeymoon, but it’s a bit steep. We will definitely get there someday, though.
When it reached 5 PM, we realized that we needed to start heading back, as we were on the complete opposite side of the island from where the hydrofoil was. And the last one left at 7:10 PM. We were able to get a boat that took us from the beach, around the island to the north side. I took some great shots, there were yachts just hanging out in the water and these HUGE lava rocks that rise out of the sea. Once we got off the boat, we took a bus across the island, then the furnicular back down to the port. We got there in just enough time to enjoy a gorgeous ride back to Naples and were able to see the sunset sinking just behind the city.
If that wasn’t enough stimulation, I had my 2-day trip to Rome the following morning. The trip left at 9:30 AM, when we boarded our bus at the pier and headed to Rome. Rome is about a 3 hour drive from Naples, 4 hours if traffic is congested. Our tour guide, Poala, was awesome! The landscape from Naples to Rome is pretty countryside and I was able to have some delightful chats with students on the way there. When we arrived at the outskirts of Rome, we stopped at a wonderful restaurant for lunch. Now with 90 of us, it was a big group, but we were accommodated so well and treated to a three course lunch which included pasta, heaps of bread, baked chicken with peas and fingerling potatoes, and tiramisu for dessert. Everything was absolutely delicious and while I have never been a huge tiramisu fan, to get the real deal and not something frozen was just great. After our huge meal and our bellies full, we headed into the heart of Rome, which took about 20 minutes. I was so excited to see everything, as you see Rome in movies or read about it in books, but to be there, really there, for me was just humbling and exciting simultaneously.
Our first stop was Palatine Hill, which are the ruins from the palaces of ancient Roman rulers and is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and one of the most ancient parts of the city. It is believed that there were people living on the hill since 1000 BC, and is the site of where Romulus and Remus (the founders of Rome) were found and cared for by the she-wolf. We did not get out of the bus to visit it more extensively, but I was able to capture some great pictures.
Rome is a very interesting city in that it celebrates its ancient roots while embracing more modern architecture. To see some of the more classical European architecture juxtaposed against the Colosseum or the Pantheon in the heart of the city is pretty wild. Our next stop was the Colosseum and let me tell you, it’s worth the hype, it’s worth the incredulity, it’s something to behold. Just the shear size of it and to recognize that it was built in 72 AD, almost 2000 years old, is awe-inspiring. When I first saw it from the bus, I was really speechless, and then to see it up close and to actually go inside it, where gladiators fought for their lives for 500 years; where they would flood the Colosseum for shows involving ship battles, and to think that Emporers and Senators and the people of ancient Rome all gathered in this one spot for entertainment just makes you feel like you are a part of history, that you walked where they walked, and that the remnants of such a highly sophisticated and world-dominant empire still exist today. Fascinating! The Colosseum itself is largely made of limestone.
After the Colosseum, we headed to our hotel, which was centrally located near Piazza Novanna. We all headed out to dinner shortly thereafter, at an adorable Italian restaurant. Tucked away on the left bank of the Tiber River, the place filled everyone’s romanticized version of Italy—the outdoor tables with red and white checkered tablecloths, gas-lit lanterns, the restaurant itself covered in ivy vines. A 5-piece band playing guitars, harmonicas, and accordians, serenading us with Italian love songs and operettas under a clear black sky. It was pretty much one of the most romantic places I have ever been….by myself (another Miss Brian Moment). Dinner was delicious…more bread, more pasta (cannelloni stuffed with meat and another stuffed with mushrooms), housemade red wine and some gelato for dessert. I would say that Italians lay supremacy in the realm of ice cream. It’s amazing….eat your heart out, Coldstone and Dairy Queen. I dare say it’s even better than Culver’s frozen custard.
After dinner, we boarded the bus again and headed to Trevi Fountain, Rome’s largest and most famous fountain, built in 1629. While on the bus, Poala informed us of the legend of Trevi Fountain. If you want to make a wish, face away from the fountain, put the coins in your right hand and throw them over your left shoulder and make a wish. If you throw one coin, it means that you will one day return to Rome. If you throw two coins, you will fall in love with an Italian. If you throw three coins you want a divorce. Clearly, the obvious choice for me was 1 coin, and I did make a wish to return to Rome one day….with my little love bug J I heard that over 3000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day….which would be about $5,000 USD. There is great picture on Facebook of me throwing the coin—check it out. Trevi itself is a sight to behold. It’s very unassuming because you are walking along these cobblestone streets with cute little shops and gelato stands every two feet, and then all of a sudden, the street widens to a piazza, and there it is. It is absolutely gorgeous at night, as the fountain is lit up. Neptune is the formidable figure in the fountain and it’s just plain cool. There were a few hundred tourists milling about, kissing in front of the fountain, elderly couples sitting on benches near the fountain, families with kids eating gelato enjoying a Roman night. Bellisima!!!!
After our walk to Trevi, we walked to the Pantheon, which is the oldest intact structure from Ancient Rome and the best preserved building in the world for its time. The Pantheon was originally built as a temple to all of the Gods in Ancient Rome. We were unable to go inside of it, but the walk by it was lovely.
After making our way to another piazza, we had some free time to shop at the outdoor vendors selling paintings, drawing, caricatures and just souvenier junk. I found myself a gelato stand and enjoyed a delicious pistachio treat. Yum!
Exhausted, we boarded the bus back to the hotel to get ready for our big day at the Vatican.
For me, and I know for Brian, one of the most exciting highlights of the entire voyage was going to the Vatican. I think it goes beyond the fact that it is the spiritual epicenter of the Roman Catholic Church, but that it’s place in world history has been so tragic and so celebrated. My time there was one that I am still reflecting and processing. For me, it was a soul stirring experience and you feel God’s presence with you. Mark the Vatican is my 8th country visited on this trip. Some of you asked if there is an actual border or if we needed to show our passports to enter the Vatican and the answer to that question is no. I didn’t realize we were at the Vatican until the bus stopped because the entryway for groups is very non-descript. There is a simple sign marked “Vaticani” that indicates where we are. After entering the museum, we were quickly ushered to the palatial outdoor courtyards, where our guide Monica walked us through the different rooms of the museum and Michaelangelo’s timeless, genius work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. We only had a taste of what the Vatican Museums had to offer as we were on a pretty tight schedule and the place was absolutely bursting with tourists and school groups. We made our way through the candelabara room, where we saw priceless marble statues, and some Egyptian artwork, marble sarcophoguses and beautifully painted ceilings emblazoned with the Pope’s different crests and seals (ironically, no candelabras were found). The next great hall that we visited was the Tapestry Room, which was just spectacular. These huge tapestries hung from the ceilings, the artwork, the stitchery, absolutely priceless and beautiful. As we walked through the tapestry room, I was able to get a shot of the Vatican radio station through an open window. Pretty sweet. The next hall that we went through was the Map Room, which were beautiful maps drawn and painted from ancient times.
Up next was the Sistine Chapel. I could feel my heart beating faster as we entered the chapel. Folks, it’s a religious experience in and of itself to be in there. When I looked up at the ceiling and saw it, I wept. It was so powerful and moving, and just indescribable. The work is just a feat of genius and gorgeous expression. Painted between 1508 and 1512, the ceiling depicts the book of Genesis, with the Creation of Adam being the best known scene. In it, God is giving life to Adam, with God being held up by Angels and Adam lying in the grass with his arm outstretched. It is just stunning to see in person. The nine scenes the creation, rise and fall of man. Just unbelieveable. Religious or not, Catholic or not, please check out the Sistine Chapel photos online if you can. The creation of Adam and the picture of the Libyan Sibyl were my absolute favorites. On the sides of the these paintings, above the windows of the chapel are lunettes, which depict the ancestors of Christ with their names. And if this wasn’t a feast for the senses, Michaelangelo also painted “The Last Judgment” on the far wall of the chapel, which for me, would take a few hours to be able to see the landscape of it all. In the middle of the wall is Jesus standing with Mary, one of his hands pointing towards the sky, indicating those who had been saved, and one of his hands pointing down, indicating those who were going to hell. Just the artistry and the humanity brought to these images was enough to take your breath away.
The crowds in the chapel started to get a little congested, and Monica ushered us out and onto St. Peter’s Basillica we went. St. Peter’s, while not the largest basilica in the world, is probably the most famous. Some highlights from St. Peter’s (aside from just being there), were Pietra, the marble statue by Michaelangelo of Mary holding a dying Jesus, the Statue of David, and the Statue of St. Peter. St. Peter’s feet have virtually been rubbed off by the thousands even millions of visitors who have walked through the doors and rubbed or kissed his feet. I opted to rub St. Peter’s feet, said a couple of prayers, and toured the rest of the basilica. Again, time quickly slipped away, but not before I went outside the basilica and was able to overlook the square, which is just so impressive. The square was designed by Bernini, one of the most famous Italian architects and artists of his time. I also stood under the balcony where the Pope stands when he is first selected by the College of Cardinals and where he gives Mass every Easter Sunday. Pretty neat. The Pope was in Australia at the time of our visit, but we did get to see the Swiss Guards, the Pope’s personal body guards, who are 100 strong, all Swiss and basically some of the best trained killers in the world. They were decked out in their splendidly hued regalia dating back to the 1500s, when Michaelangelo designed the original uniforms.
After St. Peter’s, we were able to enjoy some free time on our own to explore. I was able to stop at a bookstore in Vatican City and buy some postcards, which I mailed off to Brian and his parents. I also bought some rosaries while there and if you can imagine, I ran around Vatican City looking for a priest to bless them, which two of them did (I was so nervous I was only able to get two out of their boxes so I had to get the third one done separately). Afterwards, I bought a book on the art inside the Vatican and just basked in the sun in St. Peter’s Square. It was a glorious afternoon, and one that I will never forget. The place was absolutely amazing and really spiritually moving to feel that God is close to you. Fascinating…..
We returned to Naples immediately after the Vatican. There, I met up with Marco, Zuri, Megan and Aaron and we proceeded to go to a late dinner. We stopped at a hole-in-the –wall restaurant along the coast and had an amazing feast! Bread, shrimp, prawns, octopus, pizza, you name it. We also had peach wine and complimentary limoncello and meloncello, which was refreshing and delicious. The waiter kept bringing out more liquor to try, which was hilarious. I think MJ took a photo of Zuri surrounded by bottles. It was an excellent meal that lasted well into the night with good friends.
Our last day in Naples was spent eating pizza, shopping, eating gelato and souvenier shopping. We headed back to the ship at 5 PM and waived goodbye to Naples.
In the wake of the bombings in Istabul that took place Sunday night, the ship diverted last night and we are on our way to Alexandria, Egypt! The field office was able to get trips organized there, so at this time tomorrow, I will be riding a camel to the pyramids in Giza! Can you believe it? How cool is that? While I will miss Istanbul, I am getting really excited to see one of the last man-made wonders of the world. Egypt is somewhere I never thought I would go in my life, so Africa, here we come. Our trip here is short, as we were at sea today, so we will arrive tomorrow and leave on Friday; arrive in Greece on Sunday.
Love to everyone!!!!
Viva Italia!!!! Greetings friends! I apologize for my long absence off of blogspot, it’s been a whirlwind since arriving to Italy and really hasn’t stopped. So thank you for your patience and I now present my recap of my time in Naples, Rome and Capri, Italy.
We arrived in Italy last Tuesday, July 22nd. The views coming into Naples were pretty spectacular, as we were able to see the islands of Capri, Sorrento and Mount Vesuvius. Very impressive indeed. Now before I get really started on the blog, let me fill you in a little bit on our friends, the Italians.
Italians really and truly have a zest for living the good life. Even though the economy is not doing so hot right now, Italians take pleasure in simple things such as family, friends, and good food and wine (sign me up!). Most Italian families are small these days, usually only one child per family and because of the expenses of living on your own, it’s not uncommon for many Italians to live with their parents through their late 30s. While wine, espresso and cappuccino are savored here, I was introduced to a delightful liquor called limoncello, which is a lemon-infused alcohol that is just delicious. Be careful to only drink one or two or you’ll end up forgetting most of the evening. A few days before arriving in Naples, we were told to beware that a garbage strike had seized the city and talks had broken down between unionized workers and the city. Luckily, two days before we arrived, the situation was resolved! Hooray!
With no real plans in mind on the first day, my ever-reliable traveling buddy, Megan (MJ) and I decided that with the gorgeous weather, it was a day to enjoy at the beach. Following the advice of our boss, Sally, we packed a towel and our sunglasses, grabbed our friend John, and headed off the ship to find the hydrofoil to the island of Capri. As luck would have it, the hydrofoil dock was literally a 100 yard walk from the ship. We purchased our tickets and hopped on the 10:35 boat to Capri. The trip was magnificent, spectacular views all the way there. We again saw Mt. Vesuvius and Sorrento…we even had an Italian woman helping us with our Italian. It was nothing but clear blue skies, sunshine, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. When we started to make our arrival to the island, I was just awestruck. I had never seen anything like it. Capri is built into a mountain, basically, and is surrounded by palm trees, pastel-hued buildings and fruit stands every few feet. There is not a bad view on the island, anywhere. After doing some investigating, we took the furnicular (remember that from Norway?) up to the top of the island, and were met with spectacular views of the Mediterranean…..truly paradise!!
We walked around the island for a bit, soaking in the weather, the people and all of the cute stores that dotted sun-drenched streets. Stores selling limoncello to hand-made Italian sandals (the shoes were to-die-for) to Prada and every huge name in fashion all lined the streets.
We walked around for a little bit and decided it was time to get some authentic Italian pizza. It is believed that pizza was founded in Naples, as well as the invention of the margharita pizza, made with mozzarella, tomato and basil. The pizza is named after Queen Margharita, who visited Naples and loved the pizza so much, the inventor named it after her. The pizza also represents the three colors on the Italian flag.
John, MJ and I decided on a hidden pizzeria, recommended by some locals, tucked away on the edge of a cliff. Even the restaurant was incredible. The restaurant sits on a cliff and has no windows, so it was just unobstructed views of the Tyrrhenian Sea spread out before us. After savoring our pizza and a bottle of wine, it was time to hit the beach. To get to the beaches, we had to go down again, but we were told that there were man-made pathways winding down the hills that would lead to the beach. Well, you wouldn’t think it would be so hard, right? Yeah, well, wrong. Several of the paths that we took were dead ends, so we would hike back up and start all over again. Finally we saw a cute little coffee bar tucked away inside a hill and stopped for directions and a shot of espresso. Once we got directions, we were on our way. A half an hour later, we ended up at a private beach, Faraglioni, on the most western point on the island. The beaches on Capri are very rocky, but so incredible. We ordered some drinks from the beach bar and it was time to soak up the sun. The beach was located in a cove and was just incredible. There was an isolated spot to jump into the water and during our time, we saw several boats pull up about 200 yards from the beach, drop anchor and swim up to the land. MJ, John and I had a blast and all the while swimming in the Tyrrhenian, I kept thinking to myself, “who am I? and how the hell did I get to be here?” I can’t really describe how wonderful it was….all I needed was Brian and it would have been a perfect afternoon. I asked him to look up some prices to go to Capri for our honeymoon, but it’s a bit steep. We will definitely get there someday, though.
When it reached 5 PM, we realized that we needed to start heading back, as we were on the complete opposite side of the island from where the hydrofoil was. And the last one left at 7:10 PM. We were able to get a boat that took us from the beach, around the island to the north side. I took some great shots, there were yachts just hanging out in the water and these HUGE lava rocks that rise out of the sea. Once we got off the boat, we took a bus across the island, then the furnicular back down to the port. We got there in just enough time to enjoy a gorgeous ride back to Naples and were able to see the sunset sinking just behind the city.
If that wasn’t enough stimulation, I had my 2-day trip to Rome the following morning. The trip left at 9:30 AM, when we boarded our bus at the pier and headed to Rome. Rome is about a 3 hour drive from Naples, 4 hours if traffic is congested. Our tour guide, Poala, was awesome! The landscape from Naples to Rome is pretty countryside and I was able to have some delightful chats with students on the way there. When we arrived at the outskirts of Rome, we stopped at a wonderful restaurant for lunch. Now with 90 of us, it was a big group, but we were accommodated so well and treated to a three course lunch which included pasta, heaps of bread, baked chicken with peas and fingerling potatoes, and tiramisu for dessert. Everything was absolutely delicious and while I have never been a huge tiramisu fan, to get the real deal and not something frozen was just great. After our huge meal and our bellies full, we headed into the heart of Rome, which took about 20 minutes. I was so excited to see everything, as you see Rome in movies or read about it in books, but to be there, really there, for me was just humbling and exciting simultaneously.
Our first stop was Palatine Hill, which are the ruins from the palaces of ancient Roman rulers and is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and one of the most ancient parts of the city. It is believed that there were people living on the hill since 1000 BC, and is the site of where Romulus and Remus (the founders of Rome) were found and cared for by the she-wolf. We did not get out of the bus to visit it more extensively, but I was able to capture some great pictures.
Rome is a very interesting city in that it celebrates its ancient roots while embracing more modern architecture. To see some of the more classical European architecture juxtaposed against the Colosseum or the Pantheon in the heart of the city is pretty wild. Our next stop was the Colosseum and let me tell you, it’s worth the hype, it’s worth the incredulity, it’s something to behold. Just the shear size of it and to recognize that it was built in 72 AD, almost 2000 years old, is awe-inspiring. When I first saw it from the bus, I was really speechless, and then to see it up close and to actually go inside it, where gladiators fought for their lives for 500 years; where they would flood the Colosseum for shows involving ship battles, and to think that Emporers and Senators and the people of ancient Rome all gathered in this one spot for entertainment just makes you feel like you are a part of history, that you walked where they walked, and that the remnants of such a highly sophisticated and world-dominant empire still exist today. Fascinating! The Colosseum itself is largely made of limestone.
After the Colosseum, we headed to our hotel, which was centrally located near Piazza Novanna. We all headed out to dinner shortly thereafter, at an adorable Italian restaurant. Tucked away on the left bank of the Tiber River, the place filled everyone’s romanticized version of Italy—the outdoor tables with red and white checkered tablecloths, gas-lit lanterns, the restaurant itself covered in ivy vines. A 5-piece band playing guitars, harmonicas, and accordians, serenading us with Italian love songs and operettas under a clear black sky. It was pretty much one of the most romantic places I have ever been….by myself (another Miss Brian Moment). Dinner was delicious…more bread, more pasta (cannelloni stuffed with meat and another stuffed with mushrooms), housemade red wine and some gelato for dessert. I would say that Italians lay supremacy in the realm of ice cream. It’s amazing….eat your heart out, Coldstone and Dairy Queen. I dare say it’s even better than Culver’s frozen custard.
After dinner, we boarded the bus again and headed to Trevi Fountain, Rome’s largest and most famous fountain, built in 1629. While on the bus, Poala informed us of the legend of Trevi Fountain. If you want to make a wish, face away from the fountain, put the coins in your right hand and throw them over your left shoulder and make a wish. If you throw one coin, it means that you will one day return to Rome. If you throw two coins, you will fall in love with an Italian. If you throw three coins you want a divorce. Clearly, the obvious choice for me was 1 coin, and I did make a wish to return to Rome one day….with my little love bug J I heard that over 3000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day….which would be about $5,000 USD. There is great picture on Facebook of me throwing the coin—check it out. Trevi itself is a sight to behold. It’s very unassuming because you are walking along these cobblestone streets with cute little shops and gelato stands every two feet, and then all of a sudden, the street widens to a piazza, and there it is. It is absolutely gorgeous at night, as the fountain is lit up. Neptune is the formidable figure in the fountain and it’s just plain cool. There were a few hundred tourists milling about, kissing in front of the fountain, elderly couples sitting on benches near the fountain, families with kids eating gelato enjoying a Roman night. Bellisima!!!!
After our walk to Trevi, we walked to the Pantheon, which is the oldest intact structure from Ancient Rome and the best preserved building in the world for its time. The Pantheon was originally built as a temple to all of the Gods in Ancient Rome. We were unable to go inside of it, but the walk by it was lovely.
After making our way to another piazza, we had some free time to shop at the outdoor vendors selling paintings, drawing, caricatures and just souvenier junk. I found myself a gelato stand and enjoyed a delicious pistachio treat. Yum!
Exhausted, we boarded the bus back to the hotel to get ready for our big day at the Vatican.
For me, and I know for Brian, one of the most exciting highlights of the entire voyage was going to the Vatican. I think it goes beyond the fact that it is the spiritual epicenter of the Roman Catholic Church, but that it’s place in world history has been so tragic and so celebrated. My time there was one that I am still reflecting and processing. For me, it was a soul stirring experience and you feel God’s presence with you. Mark the Vatican is my 8th country visited on this trip. Some of you asked if there is an actual border or if we needed to show our passports to enter the Vatican and the answer to that question is no. I didn’t realize we were at the Vatican until the bus stopped because the entryway for groups is very non-descript. There is a simple sign marked “Vaticani” that indicates where we are. After entering the museum, we were quickly ushered to the palatial outdoor courtyards, where our guide Monica walked us through the different rooms of the museum and Michaelangelo’s timeless, genius work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. We only had a taste of what the Vatican Museums had to offer as we were on a pretty tight schedule and the place was absolutely bursting with tourists and school groups. We made our way through the candelabara room, where we saw priceless marble statues, and some Egyptian artwork, marble sarcophoguses and beautifully painted ceilings emblazoned with the Pope’s different crests and seals (ironically, no candelabras were found). The next great hall that we visited was the Tapestry Room, which was just spectacular. These huge tapestries hung from the ceilings, the artwork, the stitchery, absolutely priceless and beautiful. As we walked through the tapestry room, I was able to get a shot of the Vatican radio station through an open window. Pretty sweet. The next hall that we went through was the Map Room, which were beautiful maps drawn and painted from ancient times.
Up next was the Sistine Chapel. I could feel my heart beating faster as we entered the chapel. Folks, it’s a religious experience in and of itself to be in there. When I looked up at the ceiling and saw it, I wept. It was so powerful and moving, and just indescribable. The work is just a feat of genius and gorgeous expression. Painted between 1508 and 1512, the ceiling depicts the book of Genesis, with the Creation of Adam being the best known scene. In it, God is giving life to Adam, with God being held up by Angels and Adam lying in the grass with his arm outstretched. It is just stunning to see in person. The nine scenes the creation, rise and fall of man. Just unbelieveable. Religious or not, Catholic or not, please check out the Sistine Chapel photos online if you can. The creation of Adam and the picture of the Libyan Sibyl were my absolute favorites. On the sides of the these paintings, above the windows of the chapel are lunettes, which depict the ancestors of Christ with their names. And if this wasn’t a feast for the senses, Michaelangelo also painted “The Last Judgment” on the far wall of the chapel, which for me, would take a few hours to be able to see the landscape of it all. In the middle of the wall is Jesus standing with Mary, one of his hands pointing towards the sky, indicating those who had been saved, and one of his hands pointing down, indicating those who were going to hell. Just the artistry and the humanity brought to these images was enough to take your breath away.
The crowds in the chapel started to get a little congested, and Monica ushered us out and onto St. Peter’s Basillica we went. St. Peter’s, while not the largest basilica in the world, is probably the most famous. Some highlights from St. Peter’s (aside from just being there), were Pietra, the marble statue by Michaelangelo of Mary holding a dying Jesus, the Statue of David, and the Statue of St. Peter. St. Peter’s feet have virtually been rubbed off by the thousands even millions of visitors who have walked through the doors and rubbed or kissed his feet. I opted to rub St. Peter’s feet, said a couple of prayers, and toured the rest of the basilica. Again, time quickly slipped away, but not before I went outside the basilica and was able to overlook the square, which is just so impressive. The square was designed by Bernini, one of the most famous Italian architects and artists of his time. I also stood under the balcony where the Pope stands when he is first selected by the College of Cardinals and where he gives Mass every Easter Sunday. Pretty neat. The Pope was in Australia at the time of our visit, but we did get to see the Swiss Guards, the Pope’s personal body guards, who are 100 strong, all Swiss and basically some of the best trained killers in the world. They were decked out in their splendidly hued regalia dating back to the 1500s, when Michaelangelo designed the original uniforms.
After St. Peter’s, we were able to enjoy some free time on our own to explore. I was able to stop at a bookstore in Vatican City and buy some postcards, which I mailed off to Brian and his parents. I also bought some rosaries while there and if you can imagine, I ran around Vatican City looking for a priest to bless them, which two of them did (I was so nervous I was only able to get two out of their boxes so I had to get the third one done separately). Afterwards, I bought a book on the art inside the Vatican and just basked in the sun in St. Peter’s Square. It was a glorious afternoon, and one that I will never forget. The place was absolutely amazing and really spiritually moving to feel that God is close to you. Fascinating…..
We returned to Naples immediately after the Vatican. There, I met up with Marco, Zuri, Megan and Aaron and we proceeded to go to a late dinner. We stopped at a hole-in-the –wall restaurant along the coast and had an amazing feast! Bread, shrimp, prawns, octopus, pizza, you name it. We also had peach wine and complimentary limoncello and meloncello, which was refreshing and delicious. The waiter kept bringing out more liquor to try, which was hilarious. I think MJ took a photo of Zuri surrounded by bottles. It was an excellent meal that lasted well into the night with good friends.
Our last day in Naples was spent eating pizza, shopping, eating gelato and souvenier shopping. We headed back to the ship at 5 PM and waived goodbye to Naples.
In the wake of the bombings in Istabul that took place Sunday night, the ship diverted last night and we are on our way to Alexandria, Egypt! The field office was able to get trips organized there, so at this time tomorrow, I will be riding a camel to the pyramids in Giza! Can you believe it? How cool is that? While I will miss Istanbul, I am getting really excited to see one of the last man-made wonders of the world. Egypt is somewhere I never thought I would go in my life, so Africa, here we come. Our trip here is short, as we were at sea today, so we will arrive tomorrow and leave on Friday; arrive in Greece on Sunday.
Love to everyone!!!!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Belgium: Land of Waffles, Beer and Chocolate
Greetings Everyone! We have officially set sail for Naples, Italy and I could not be more excited. The trip to Belgium was absolutely fantastic, surely my second favorite port of the trip! Belgium was great; so much to see and do and I would love to come back.
Here’s some info on Belgium for all of you, because frankly, I am a nerd. Belgium is one of the smallest countries in Europe, both geographically and population-wise. They have had a checkered history of hostile takeovers and invasions throughout the centuries, but have a stabilized government and a monarchy still firmly in place. Brussels, Belgium is not only the capital of the country, but also the capital of the European Union. Antwerp, where we docked, is the second largest city, with a population of 500,000. There is some political upheaval right now in Belgium, as the country is facing some issues of identity. In the southern Waloon region of Belgium, the majority of people embrace an overwhelming number of aspects of French culture, including the language, while northern Belgium has embraced more of the lowlands (Luxemborg, Netherlands), and the official language is Dutch. In addition to their first language, Belgians also speak excellent English, so the country was very easy to navigate.
More information about Belgium, and some of my favorite things: while I am not a huge beer fan, the Belgians are! Over 10,000 different brands of beer are produced in Belgium and the country is touted as crafting the world’s best beer. After this trip, I must agree. Belgian beer is so good and so popular, the Belgian beer conglomerate, InBev, is in talks to purchase Anhieser-Busch, for an estimated $60 billion dollars. Belgians also claim to have invented the frites (which we call French fries), but since they are the originators, it’s simply “frites.” Waffles! Oh my goodness, the waffles are absolutely incredible! Hundreds of combinations, flavors, toppings and waffle stands are as prevalent in Belgium as Starbucks is in the States. YUMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And don’t even get me started on the chocolate….if you know me, you know I love, adore, savor, worship, cherish anything deliciously chocolate or smothered in chocolate. I have developed even more of an obsession with it while being here, and I don’t think that I can ever go back to regular chocolate after savoring this experience. Belgium is also the world leader in chocolate production and exportation, with Godiva being one of the best known companies. Also, mussels are to die for! There is a saying, “the best mussels are found in Brussels.” I would confirm that statement, as you will read below.
Okay, so enough of the background, I will start a little bit before we arrived in port last Monday. Last Saturday, the captain announced that we would be re-routed and taking the Kiel Canal to Antwerp, instead of going back out to the North Sea. The Kiel Canal, which is German owned and operated, was created in the late 1800s by the Germans as a way to develop a more sophisticated (and quicker) way to export and import goods and services to the country. It is now the busiest canal in the world, as ships from Asia and all over Europe and north Africa utilize it. The trip was incredible! We left Copenhagen a few hours later than originally planned and by 8 AM on Sunday morning, our ship lined up behind a host of others to go one-by-one through the VERY narrow canal. On either side of the ship, 100 feet away from you, were sea walls and homes, churches, schools, outdoor cafes and shops, people riding the streets along the canal on their bicycles, just going about daily life, like it wasn’t a big deal that a massive cruise ship with curious passengers were staring at them in fascination. I took a couple of pictures of the German pilot boat that guided us through parts of the canal and also took some pictures of German signs. So add that to the list of countries that I was in this summer. It was really something neat to see. After about 10 hours of riding through the canal, the waters opened up again and we were at sea, but not for long. We saved so much time going through the canal, that we arrived at midnight on Monday, instead of 8 AM. We docked at port Amerikana, about a 2 minute walk into downtown Antwerp, in the heart of the city. The city was lit up and Antwerpians were there to greet us at the dock. It was pretty neat to see.
Monday proved to be a fabulous day and we were ready to explore Antwerp! The weather was amazing, warm and sunny, which according to locals, does not happen very often in the summer. Megan, Aaron and I got off the ship and went out to the city, looking to convert our money to Euros (the USD is not so great; its 1.67 USD to 1 Euro), oy!!! After our Euros, we found an outdoor café and sat down to have some coffee and our first authentic Belgian waffle experience. OMG…..amazing!!! I am still having issues with blogspot in posting pictures, but I took some pictures of my waffle; just a simple rectangular waffle with powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream. Ugh, it was so incredible!!! So delicious, such sweet, sugary goodness!!! It’s to do for. I officially declare that I will never eat frozen waffles again!!! Scrumptious! It was gone in about 5 bites, but it was so delicious. We didn’t have much time for exploring, as we headed back to the port to catch the city tour of Brussels.
Brussels is about 35 miles away from Antwerp by bus and just a gorgeous, old-world European city. On our way, we saw beer factory after beer factory and some remnants of Jewish concentration camps from World War II that the Belgian government uses as a site of historical significance that each student visits while they are in k-12 education. It was interesting to drive by and see that something like that still remains today as it did almost 70 years ago. Belgium was seized in World War II by the Nazis, and liberated in the north by the Russians, and in the south by the US and Britain.
Brussels is a wonderful, bustling city full of life and energy. Often, Antwerp is considered Belgium’s fashion and culture capital, whereas Brussels is the capital of business and government. We drove past the headquarters of the EU, which is impressive, also comes with an impressive price tag: it cost over $1.6 billion to construct. We also drove by a few embassies, including the US one. Interesting to note that the US embassy was packed with police officers, barricades and security guards outside of it. None of the other embassies even had a guard outside. I took a picture of the US embassy from the bus, and a security guard accosted me and told me to put my camera down. Interesting……
We arrived in the center of Brussels, a district known as the Market Square, which was fabulous, an eclectic mix of stores, restaurants, outdoor markets, chocolatiers and souvenier stores. The Market Square is adorned with old-world gothic buildings, and cute window boxes filled with flowers. The streets are crafted in cobblestone and the side streets are adorned with outdoor beer gardens, cafes and African restaurants. There is a lot of African restaurants in the area due to a large African population migrating into the Netherlands and northern Europe area.
We wondered the streets, just exploring the energy and the life there. It wasn’t totally packed with tourists, which was a delight for us. Our first stop was to see the “Peeing Boy Statue.” Classy name, I know. I am not sure what the historical significance of this statue is, but honestly, it’s a national symbol—it’s everywhere. The peeing boy statue is pretty small (literally and figuratively) and has over 800 costumes. We were lucky enough to see him in his Musketeer regalia. Fancy.
After the Peeing Boy status, MJ (Megan) ran into one of our Life Long Learners on the trip, Ruth. Ruth is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and is feisty and energetic. Ruth was saying that she felt silly being in Belgian and had never had a beer in her life. MJ invited Ruth to have a beer with us at an outdoor beer garden and she was delighted. I have some pictures of Ruth commemorating this historic milestone in her life. She was so appreciative and thankful and just so sweet about it. It was fun to be a part of that experience for her.
We decided to stop at a beer garden that also offered up mussels. The group at this point was 8, and we decided to order a bucket of mussels and Belgian beer. Each of us ordered a different brand of beer, which was cool to try. Another interesting aspect of Belgian beer conassiuership is that each different beer has its own beer glass of different shapes and sizes. Very delightful! I brought a couple of beer glasses back for Brian and Doug. I tried a “blonde” wheat beer called Lambric, which was very tasty. Other ordered Kriek (pronounced like CREEK) cherry beer, malted beer and a raspberry beer aptly named Framboise, which was all delicious. The mussels were even better. Tasty and buttery and melt-in-your-mouth, the mussels were just succulent and delicious. Needless to say that the bucket was emptied within a matter of minutes J
We strolled through the city, exploring chocolate shops and making stops for souveniers, the day quickly turned into evening and then into night. As we were walking around the city, we came across an Ethiopian restaurant that sounded pretty tasty. As I had never had Ethiopian food, I was up to the task. But before we went there, we had our dessert before dinner and ended up at a waffle stand. My second waffle of the day was shortly thereafter consumed, this time it was a plain waffle with powdered sugar and smothered in Nutella, which is a fantastic chocolate and hazelnut spread. OMG, folks, this confirms that there is a heaven, as I have been there and back. My new religion is waffle and I get down on my knees and pray for a time when I will have another Belgian waffle. So delicious……so incredible…….
Okay, so we ended up eating at the Ethiopian restaurant, Kibob, and it was fabulous! Ethiopian food is always served with dahl bread, which has a spongey, moist consistency. Food is served family-style on the dahl bread, and additional bread is brought to the table. The bread also serves as your cutlery, so you are scooping up the food with the bread to eat. It was delicious. After all of the food is eaten off the bread, you eat the bread that the food was served on. We ordered lamb, spicy beef, a turnip and white cabbage salad, cucumber and yogurt salad, and some spiced carrots. Delicious!!! So yummy and it continued our trend of eating random ethnic food in a foreign country. MJ and I are guessing that we will at some point eat Mexican in Italy (just kidding)!
After dinner, we walked around the city, now dark and just soaked it in. We took some pictures and then headed to the train station for our jaunt back to Antwerp. Loaded up with souveniers, I chalked up Day 1 to a wonderful day and I was so surprised by this port—such a hidden gemstone.
Day 2 was the Tour of Flanders bike trip! And I was excited! Ready to get my heart pumping and my legs churning, the trip left from Antwerp at 7 AM. Each year, the Tour of Flanders championship brings world class cyclists throughout the world and is the second most popular biking tour in Europe after the Tour de France. Belgians love cycling and it is one of their favorite pastimes. We bused about an hour and a half away to the small city of (well, I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but it started with an O). From there, we met up with the outdoor adventure company and picked up our bikes. And off we went. I was in the “slow” group and good thing that I was! It was a lot of uphill biking, but the views of the Belgian countryside were otherworldly. Absolutely beautiful and serene. We rode by old stone-and-brick houses, rolling green pastures where cows where tending to their cream-colored calves; we rode by acres and acres of wheat fields, sheafs of wheat blowing in the wind. Red poppy flowers popped out of the grass and was twisted around old fence posts. It was wonderful to have such a calm, peaceful feeling and to see a part of the country that I otherwise would not have been able to see. It was phenomenal. Horses were out in pastures and it was rolling hills for miles. One of the best parts of the cycling experience was going downhill, whizzing through towns on cobblestone streets. It was such a rush and so much fun!
After some heart palipitations, our 25-mile cycling trip was complete by noon. After showering, the bus took us into down for a delicious three course meal, including filet mignon and homemade vanilla ice cream. Delicious! I conked out on the bus ride back to Antwerp. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I was in desperate need of some sleep, and while I was to meet up with Marco, Laarni, David and crew in Amsterdam, I decided to go in with MJ the following morning.
Sleep was just what the doctor ordered! On Wednesday, MJ and I walked to the Antwerp train station and headed for Amsterdam. While it was cold and rainy in Antwerp, I was keeping my fingers crossed for good weather in Amsterdam. One of my favorite moments of the morning was grabbing a muffin and coffee in the train station, listening to some Lionel Richie. Amazing. We arrived in Amsterdam at 11 AM, and were immediately on the hunt for some lunch. On the train with us to Amsterdam was our friend Jill, who is one of the TAs, and her friend John, who flew over from London to spend some time with Jill while in port in Antwerp.
Amsterdam is such a lovely city. Tons of bridges, canals and bikes everywhere. Much like Copenhagen, the Dutch are also very into biking and is the main mode of transportation in the city. The weather was fantastic and gorgeous!
After lunch, we realized that time was escaping from us as the last train back to Antwerp left at 9 PM that night. So we headed to the Van Gogh museum, which was absolutely incredible. Impressionist art at its finest! Most of Van Gogh’s famous works were there, most notably missing was the residence hall room favorite, “Starry Night.” Not sure where that one is currently, but will look up soon. I have five days until we get to Naples. The work was just amazing; the museum opened in 1970s and average 1 million visitors a year. Pretty incredible; I am so thankful for the opportunity to go because while you see his prints everywhere, to see the real paintings and the stories behind them were really cool. For instance, one of his most famous works, “Almond Blossoms,” was a painting that he made for his brother Theo, to commemorate the pending birth of Theo’s son, which he and his wife named Vincent. The almond blossoms signify the coming of spring and new life. The other incredible thing about Van Gogh is that he didn’t start painting until he was 26; and committed suicide at the age of 37.
After leaving Van Gogh, we headed for the Rijke Museum, where we saw a lot of works by Rembrandt and Johnas Vermeer (famously known for “Girl With the Pearl Earring”). After the museum tour, MJ and I toured the flower market area, and headed to the Heineken Factory for a brewery tour. Unfortunately, the brewery is closed for renovations until Sepetmber L MJ and I took a time out for a caffeine/coffee break at an outdoor café and just did some people watching for a bit. Then it was time to head to the world-infamous Red Light District. Now I am sure that going to the Red Light District in the cloak of night is different than visiting at 7:30 at night, but I don’t see what the hoopla is all about it. It was dirty and yes, the first couple of times I looked into a window and saw a prostitute in a neon-colored bikini, I was a bit disturbed, but it was still light out and not so taboo; there also weren’t a lot of clients on the lookout for some hot sex. It was rows and rows of theaters (where for 2 Euro you can see a live sex show), porn shops, DVD shops and coffeeshops. MJ and I also learned that there is a huge difference between coffeeshops and cafes. Coffeeshops are where you go to smoke down and cafes are classy coffee-drinking establishments.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Amsterdam, but I will be honest in saying I could take it or leave it to visit again. MJ and I got on the late train and headed back to Antwerp. Shortly thereafter, we met up with Zuri, who was meeting two of his friends from his time living in Antwerp and we all went out for a beer.
Yesterday was my day to devote entirely to chocolate shopping for loved ones. I had to test out several chocolatiers so I could make a well-informed decision about my selections. We visited a few chocolatiers, with my favorite being Burie, where I made several purchases including loose chocolates for myself, which I plan on eating throughout the rest of the voyage, and some chocolate bars for family and friends. We also visited another chocolate shop, where I picked up more bars, which look fantastic. It’s true that you have never had Belgian chocolate until you have had Belgian chocolate….oh, god, Belgium is just a food paradise. Belgian chocolate is made from over 60% cocoa butter, and made with real butter, as opposed to margarine. It was just melt in your mouth smooth, and just had this amazing texture that is creamy and rich…and of course, delicious! Chocolates in hand, I made one last stop for some cheery beer, and then it was time to get back on the ship.
We departed Antwerp last night around 9 PM and are on our way to Naples. Please keep your grandma and my mom in your prayers…mom is recovering from a hysterectomy that she had on Monday and is doing well; she came home yesterday and I had the opportunity to talk to her last night on the phone. It’s hard to be so far away from home when loved ones need love and care, and I really miss everyone! Thanks for all of the mail, the cards, letters, even just the facebook comments and the blog comments. I really appreciate knowing there are so many people out there keeping tabs on me J
Also, we are still scheduled to go to Istanbul at this time. I’ll update you if anything changes. Thanks!!
Here’s some info on Belgium for all of you, because frankly, I am a nerd. Belgium is one of the smallest countries in Europe, both geographically and population-wise. They have had a checkered history of hostile takeovers and invasions throughout the centuries, but have a stabilized government and a monarchy still firmly in place. Brussels, Belgium is not only the capital of the country, but also the capital of the European Union. Antwerp, where we docked, is the second largest city, with a population of 500,000. There is some political upheaval right now in Belgium, as the country is facing some issues of identity. In the southern Waloon region of Belgium, the majority of people embrace an overwhelming number of aspects of French culture, including the language, while northern Belgium has embraced more of the lowlands (Luxemborg, Netherlands), and the official language is Dutch. In addition to their first language, Belgians also speak excellent English, so the country was very easy to navigate.
More information about Belgium, and some of my favorite things: while I am not a huge beer fan, the Belgians are! Over 10,000 different brands of beer are produced in Belgium and the country is touted as crafting the world’s best beer. After this trip, I must agree. Belgian beer is so good and so popular, the Belgian beer conglomerate, InBev, is in talks to purchase Anhieser-Busch, for an estimated $60 billion dollars. Belgians also claim to have invented the frites (which we call French fries), but since they are the originators, it’s simply “frites.” Waffles! Oh my goodness, the waffles are absolutely incredible! Hundreds of combinations, flavors, toppings and waffle stands are as prevalent in Belgium as Starbucks is in the States. YUMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And don’t even get me started on the chocolate….if you know me, you know I love, adore, savor, worship, cherish anything deliciously chocolate or smothered in chocolate. I have developed even more of an obsession with it while being here, and I don’t think that I can ever go back to regular chocolate after savoring this experience. Belgium is also the world leader in chocolate production and exportation, with Godiva being one of the best known companies. Also, mussels are to die for! There is a saying, “the best mussels are found in Brussels.” I would confirm that statement, as you will read below.
Okay, so enough of the background, I will start a little bit before we arrived in port last Monday. Last Saturday, the captain announced that we would be re-routed and taking the Kiel Canal to Antwerp, instead of going back out to the North Sea. The Kiel Canal, which is German owned and operated, was created in the late 1800s by the Germans as a way to develop a more sophisticated (and quicker) way to export and import goods and services to the country. It is now the busiest canal in the world, as ships from Asia and all over Europe and north Africa utilize it. The trip was incredible! We left Copenhagen a few hours later than originally planned and by 8 AM on Sunday morning, our ship lined up behind a host of others to go one-by-one through the VERY narrow canal. On either side of the ship, 100 feet away from you, were sea walls and homes, churches, schools, outdoor cafes and shops, people riding the streets along the canal on their bicycles, just going about daily life, like it wasn’t a big deal that a massive cruise ship with curious passengers were staring at them in fascination. I took a couple of pictures of the German pilot boat that guided us through parts of the canal and also took some pictures of German signs. So add that to the list of countries that I was in this summer. It was really something neat to see. After about 10 hours of riding through the canal, the waters opened up again and we were at sea, but not for long. We saved so much time going through the canal, that we arrived at midnight on Monday, instead of 8 AM. We docked at port Amerikana, about a 2 minute walk into downtown Antwerp, in the heart of the city. The city was lit up and Antwerpians were there to greet us at the dock. It was pretty neat to see.
Monday proved to be a fabulous day and we were ready to explore Antwerp! The weather was amazing, warm and sunny, which according to locals, does not happen very often in the summer. Megan, Aaron and I got off the ship and went out to the city, looking to convert our money to Euros (the USD is not so great; its 1.67 USD to 1 Euro), oy!!! After our Euros, we found an outdoor café and sat down to have some coffee and our first authentic Belgian waffle experience. OMG…..amazing!!! I am still having issues with blogspot in posting pictures, but I took some pictures of my waffle; just a simple rectangular waffle with powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream. Ugh, it was so incredible!!! So delicious, such sweet, sugary goodness!!! It’s to do for. I officially declare that I will never eat frozen waffles again!!! Scrumptious! It was gone in about 5 bites, but it was so delicious. We didn’t have much time for exploring, as we headed back to the port to catch the city tour of Brussels.
Brussels is about 35 miles away from Antwerp by bus and just a gorgeous, old-world European city. On our way, we saw beer factory after beer factory and some remnants of Jewish concentration camps from World War II that the Belgian government uses as a site of historical significance that each student visits while they are in k-12 education. It was interesting to drive by and see that something like that still remains today as it did almost 70 years ago. Belgium was seized in World War II by the Nazis, and liberated in the north by the Russians, and in the south by the US and Britain.
Brussels is a wonderful, bustling city full of life and energy. Often, Antwerp is considered Belgium’s fashion and culture capital, whereas Brussels is the capital of business and government. We drove past the headquarters of the EU, which is impressive, also comes with an impressive price tag: it cost over $1.6 billion to construct. We also drove by a few embassies, including the US one. Interesting to note that the US embassy was packed with police officers, barricades and security guards outside of it. None of the other embassies even had a guard outside. I took a picture of the US embassy from the bus, and a security guard accosted me and told me to put my camera down. Interesting……
We arrived in the center of Brussels, a district known as the Market Square, which was fabulous, an eclectic mix of stores, restaurants, outdoor markets, chocolatiers and souvenier stores. The Market Square is adorned with old-world gothic buildings, and cute window boxes filled with flowers. The streets are crafted in cobblestone and the side streets are adorned with outdoor beer gardens, cafes and African restaurants. There is a lot of African restaurants in the area due to a large African population migrating into the Netherlands and northern Europe area.
We wondered the streets, just exploring the energy and the life there. It wasn’t totally packed with tourists, which was a delight for us. Our first stop was to see the “Peeing Boy Statue.” Classy name, I know. I am not sure what the historical significance of this statue is, but honestly, it’s a national symbol—it’s everywhere. The peeing boy statue is pretty small (literally and figuratively) and has over 800 costumes. We were lucky enough to see him in his Musketeer regalia. Fancy.
After the Peeing Boy status, MJ (Megan) ran into one of our Life Long Learners on the trip, Ruth. Ruth is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and is feisty and energetic. Ruth was saying that she felt silly being in Belgian and had never had a beer in her life. MJ invited Ruth to have a beer with us at an outdoor beer garden and she was delighted. I have some pictures of Ruth commemorating this historic milestone in her life. She was so appreciative and thankful and just so sweet about it. It was fun to be a part of that experience for her.
We decided to stop at a beer garden that also offered up mussels. The group at this point was 8, and we decided to order a bucket of mussels and Belgian beer. Each of us ordered a different brand of beer, which was cool to try. Another interesting aspect of Belgian beer conassiuership is that each different beer has its own beer glass of different shapes and sizes. Very delightful! I brought a couple of beer glasses back for Brian and Doug. I tried a “blonde” wheat beer called Lambric, which was very tasty. Other ordered Kriek (pronounced like CREEK) cherry beer, malted beer and a raspberry beer aptly named Framboise, which was all delicious. The mussels were even better. Tasty and buttery and melt-in-your-mouth, the mussels were just succulent and delicious. Needless to say that the bucket was emptied within a matter of minutes J
We strolled through the city, exploring chocolate shops and making stops for souveniers, the day quickly turned into evening and then into night. As we were walking around the city, we came across an Ethiopian restaurant that sounded pretty tasty. As I had never had Ethiopian food, I was up to the task. But before we went there, we had our dessert before dinner and ended up at a waffle stand. My second waffle of the day was shortly thereafter consumed, this time it was a plain waffle with powdered sugar and smothered in Nutella, which is a fantastic chocolate and hazelnut spread. OMG, folks, this confirms that there is a heaven, as I have been there and back. My new religion is waffle and I get down on my knees and pray for a time when I will have another Belgian waffle. So delicious……so incredible…….
Okay, so we ended up eating at the Ethiopian restaurant, Kibob, and it was fabulous! Ethiopian food is always served with dahl bread, which has a spongey, moist consistency. Food is served family-style on the dahl bread, and additional bread is brought to the table. The bread also serves as your cutlery, so you are scooping up the food with the bread to eat. It was delicious. After all of the food is eaten off the bread, you eat the bread that the food was served on. We ordered lamb, spicy beef, a turnip and white cabbage salad, cucumber and yogurt salad, and some spiced carrots. Delicious!!! So yummy and it continued our trend of eating random ethnic food in a foreign country. MJ and I are guessing that we will at some point eat Mexican in Italy (just kidding)!
After dinner, we walked around the city, now dark and just soaked it in. We took some pictures and then headed to the train station for our jaunt back to Antwerp. Loaded up with souveniers, I chalked up Day 1 to a wonderful day and I was so surprised by this port—such a hidden gemstone.
Day 2 was the Tour of Flanders bike trip! And I was excited! Ready to get my heart pumping and my legs churning, the trip left from Antwerp at 7 AM. Each year, the Tour of Flanders championship brings world class cyclists throughout the world and is the second most popular biking tour in Europe after the Tour de France. Belgians love cycling and it is one of their favorite pastimes. We bused about an hour and a half away to the small city of (well, I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but it started with an O). From there, we met up with the outdoor adventure company and picked up our bikes. And off we went. I was in the “slow” group and good thing that I was! It was a lot of uphill biking, but the views of the Belgian countryside were otherworldly. Absolutely beautiful and serene. We rode by old stone-and-brick houses, rolling green pastures where cows where tending to their cream-colored calves; we rode by acres and acres of wheat fields, sheafs of wheat blowing in the wind. Red poppy flowers popped out of the grass and was twisted around old fence posts. It was wonderful to have such a calm, peaceful feeling and to see a part of the country that I otherwise would not have been able to see. It was phenomenal. Horses were out in pastures and it was rolling hills for miles. One of the best parts of the cycling experience was going downhill, whizzing through towns on cobblestone streets. It was such a rush and so much fun!
After some heart palipitations, our 25-mile cycling trip was complete by noon. After showering, the bus took us into down for a delicious three course meal, including filet mignon and homemade vanilla ice cream. Delicious! I conked out on the bus ride back to Antwerp. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I was in desperate need of some sleep, and while I was to meet up with Marco, Laarni, David and crew in Amsterdam, I decided to go in with MJ the following morning.
Sleep was just what the doctor ordered! On Wednesday, MJ and I walked to the Antwerp train station and headed for Amsterdam. While it was cold and rainy in Antwerp, I was keeping my fingers crossed for good weather in Amsterdam. One of my favorite moments of the morning was grabbing a muffin and coffee in the train station, listening to some Lionel Richie. Amazing. We arrived in Amsterdam at 11 AM, and were immediately on the hunt for some lunch. On the train with us to Amsterdam was our friend Jill, who is one of the TAs, and her friend John, who flew over from London to spend some time with Jill while in port in Antwerp.
Amsterdam is such a lovely city. Tons of bridges, canals and bikes everywhere. Much like Copenhagen, the Dutch are also very into biking and is the main mode of transportation in the city. The weather was fantastic and gorgeous!
After lunch, we realized that time was escaping from us as the last train back to Antwerp left at 9 PM that night. So we headed to the Van Gogh museum, which was absolutely incredible. Impressionist art at its finest! Most of Van Gogh’s famous works were there, most notably missing was the residence hall room favorite, “Starry Night.” Not sure where that one is currently, but will look up soon. I have five days until we get to Naples. The work was just amazing; the museum opened in 1970s and average 1 million visitors a year. Pretty incredible; I am so thankful for the opportunity to go because while you see his prints everywhere, to see the real paintings and the stories behind them were really cool. For instance, one of his most famous works, “Almond Blossoms,” was a painting that he made for his brother Theo, to commemorate the pending birth of Theo’s son, which he and his wife named Vincent. The almond blossoms signify the coming of spring and new life. The other incredible thing about Van Gogh is that he didn’t start painting until he was 26; and committed suicide at the age of 37.
After leaving Van Gogh, we headed for the Rijke Museum, where we saw a lot of works by Rembrandt and Johnas Vermeer (famously known for “Girl With the Pearl Earring”). After the museum tour, MJ and I toured the flower market area, and headed to the Heineken Factory for a brewery tour. Unfortunately, the brewery is closed for renovations until Sepetmber L MJ and I took a time out for a caffeine/coffee break at an outdoor café and just did some people watching for a bit. Then it was time to head to the world-infamous Red Light District. Now I am sure that going to the Red Light District in the cloak of night is different than visiting at 7:30 at night, but I don’t see what the hoopla is all about it. It was dirty and yes, the first couple of times I looked into a window and saw a prostitute in a neon-colored bikini, I was a bit disturbed, but it was still light out and not so taboo; there also weren’t a lot of clients on the lookout for some hot sex. It was rows and rows of theaters (where for 2 Euro you can see a live sex show), porn shops, DVD shops and coffeeshops. MJ and I also learned that there is a huge difference between coffeeshops and cafes. Coffeeshops are where you go to smoke down and cafes are classy coffee-drinking establishments.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Amsterdam, but I will be honest in saying I could take it or leave it to visit again. MJ and I got on the late train and headed back to Antwerp. Shortly thereafter, we met up with Zuri, who was meeting two of his friends from his time living in Antwerp and we all went out for a beer.
Yesterday was my day to devote entirely to chocolate shopping for loved ones. I had to test out several chocolatiers so I could make a well-informed decision about my selections. We visited a few chocolatiers, with my favorite being Burie, where I made several purchases including loose chocolates for myself, which I plan on eating throughout the rest of the voyage, and some chocolate bars for family and friends. We also visited another chocolate shop, where I picked up more bars, which look fantastic. It’s true that you have never had Belgian chocolate until you have had Belgian chocolate….oh, god, Belgium is just a food paradise. Belgian chocolate is made from over 60% cocoa butter, and made with real butter, as opposed to margarine. It was just melt in your mouth smooth, and just had this amazing texture that is creamy and rich…and of course, delicious! Chocolates in hand, I made one last stop for some cheery beer, and then it was time to get back on the ship.
We departed Antwerp last night around 9 PM and are on our way to Naples. Please keep your grandma and my mom in your prayers…mom is recovering from a hysterectomy that she had on Monday and is doing well; she came home yesterday and I had the opportunity to talk to her last night on the phone. It’s hard to be so far away from home when loved ones need love and care, and I really miss everyone! Thanks for all of the mail, the cards, letters, even just the facebook comments and the blog comments. I really appreciate knowing there are so many people out there keeping tabs on me J
Also, we are still scheduled to go to Istanbul at this time. I’ll update you if anything changes. Thanks!!
Friday, July 11, 2008
I Heart DK (Denmark)
Greetings from Korsor, Denmark!
I am sitting on the MV Explorer, and it’s about 2 PM here. We depart Denmark in 9 PM this evening and will be on our way to Antwerp, Belgium, expecting to arrive at 8 AM on Monday. It’s crazy to think that Antwerp will be our fourth port on the trip; which means only four to go! But the final four are the ones that I am looking the most forward to—I’m so excited.
I thoroughly enjoyed Denmark. While it was probably the country I was the least excited about visiting, I would rank it #2 behind Russia at this point in the journey. Korsor, where we are currently docked, is about an hour and a half away from Copenhagen. Students were pretty disappointed to learn this at first, but due to the cost associated with docking in Copenhagen versus Korsor, Korsor won out in the end. But it is an absolutely charming city that I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. Let me break down the week for you.
We arrived in Korsor on Tuesday morning at 8 AM. And we were met by the locals with a great deal of hype. Apparently, we were a pretty regular item in the Korsor paper, as the town prepared for our arrival. Apparently a ship with 600 American college students invading a sleepy harbor town of 12,000 is huge news. We were met with a band, and literally, a red carpet out at the gangway. The students were pretty excited to see this. After a quick disembarkation process, Megan, Zuri and I met up to travel into town. Megan and Zuri have become two of my favorite traveling companions, as they are really up for seeing anything and aren’t really super structured in terms of staying on a schedule. The walk into downtown Korsor, we wandered into some shops and strolled around. Korsor reminds me a little bit of my hometown of Marine City, in that it is very quaint, quiet and cozy. On some parts of the street, it was so quiet you could easily hear a pin drop. The main mode of transportation in Korsor is bicycle, and they are everywhere. The weather was phenomenal, so strolling along in the sunshine and a cloudless sky was quite lovely. At one store that we stopped in, we learned that there was a free outdoor concert at the old medieval castle in town that happens every Tuesday night during the summer. Armed with this information, we had our plans for a Tuesday night on the town J
After perusing some stores, we came across a delightful local bakery….OMG, THE DANISH KNOW THEIR PASTRIES! Some of have posed the intriguing philosophical question is, “do Danish people call danish pastry danish?” The answer to that question, my friends, is no, the Danes call danish pastry, “weinerbrod,” and let me tell you, I love weiner(brod)!!!! So scrumptious and yummy.
After a light lunch, we headed back to the ship for a day of relaxation (ie, a nap). After napping, we ventured out again to pick up a picnic dinner that we could take to the outdoor concert. We stopped at the local grocery store, Fotex, and picked up a few picnic staples including olives, wine, bread, cheese, crackers and of course, more weinerbrod. The concert was delightful, it is in a natural open-aired pavilion, where everyone camped out with their checkered blankets on the slopes of the large hill, and watched the concert in the shallow valley below. The concert material was surprisingly Americanized, including Tina Turner, CCR, Blues Brothers, James Taylor and Bette Midler. Overall, it was a delightful way to spend a summer evening in Korsor. We returned to the ship to make our plans for Copenhagen the next day. I was really sad that a lot of our students did not experience the charm and communal feel of Korsor, as many of them literally got off the ship and headed directly to the train station to go into Copenhagen. Everyone is amazingly friendly!
Wednesday morning, Justin, Zuri, Megan and I headed to the Korsor train station, where we picked up the train to go into Copenhagen. Trains from Korsor to C-town run every half an hour and for a round trip ticket, it cost roughly $40. Expenses in Denmark are a lot like Norway—everything was WICKED expensive!
When we emerged from the train station, I was immediately struck by the old-world European feel of Copenhagen. It was so charming, lots of brightly colored buildings, and many squares break up the large-city feel. Much like Korsor, the vast majority of Danes ride their bikes, and it is the main mode of transportation in Copenhagen. Fabulous! We immediately headed to our Bed and Breakfast to set our luggage down and head out to explore. The B & B was fabulous! The B & B is in the heart of downtown, located on the third floor of an old apartment building. It was amazing and the views from our room were incredible! After freshening up, we grabbed some coffee at a coffee shop right around the corner from the B & B as we had some time to kill before meeting up with Aaron, Marco and Courtney, who had gone into Copenhagen on Tuesday.
Off we went to explore the city. Armed with only a city map, we just set out to walk and see what the city had to offer. I really enjoyed the fact that we had no plan in place, we just went where instincts told us to go. We walked along the gorgeous canals (from what I am told are a lot like those found in Amsterdam) and stopped for lunch at a lovely Mediterranean restaurant called Riz Raz, located in the Latin Quarter. A cheap lunch in Copenhagen costs anywhere from $15-$20 USD. After enjoying some delicious veggie lasagna, falafel, tomato couscous and spinach on an outdoor patio, we went exploring some more….the people watching was incredible! Let me give you my insights into Danish people:
Denmark is a very family-oriented country, in which the men get two months of paid paternity leave. Most of the school-aged children I saw where being escorted to school by their fathers.
Danish women and men are STUNNING! Honestly, it’s just the land of gorgeous people. Everyone is very fit, blonde, blue-eyed and uber stylish and sophisticated. And so very nice! Danish also speak fluent English, a lot like in Norway, so that was also very helpful.
Denmark is also a very gay-friendly country and passed laws back in 1989 legalizing gay marriage and all of the rights that come with being married.
Danish pregnant women are STUNNING! I don’t know what’s in the water over here, but even 8-9 months pregnant, the women are just gorgeous and effortlessly put together. So cute!
Saying “hi hi hi” means “goodbye.” That was confusing for about 10 seconds.
Enough of my gawking, let’s continue on. Wednesday afternoon was just roaming the city squares, window shopping and taking in some coffee at the lovely outdoor cafes. The Copenhagen Jazz Festival, one of the biggest draws for the city, is also going on right now, so it was great to be able to hear live jazz music at the outdoor cafes. We went to the Danish Design Studio, which was pretty cool. It was a museum of sorts in which showed up and coming designs for food packaging and furniture. There was also a very neat exhibit in the basement of the building, which was a series of statements made about the human condition and that the innate instincts of humanity cannot be packaged or bottled or sold. It comes from the human heart and spirit. I will post some pictures on facebook so you can see what I am talking about a little bit better. It was pretty neat.
We met up with Marco, Aaron and Courtney later that evening at one of Copenhagen’s classiest gay bars, “The Jailhouse.” Needless to say, it was hours of fun for me as I sat in smoke-saturated rooms while paying $10 for a drink. However, I decided to make my own fun and took some pictures of me “behind bars” and wearing a Danish policeman’s hat, so I was quite entertaining. Thank goodness MJ was there. Later, we went out for dinner and the gays wanted to go to a lesbian bar, Chacha, and that’s when I called it a night.
Thursday was a fun-filled and fabulous day!!! We woke up and hit up the city on another gorgeous day. We had heard there was an amazing pastry shop around the corner from our B and B by the name of St. Peter’s Bageleri, and we were not disappointed. The pastries were to die for!!! Yum!!!! We met up with Marco and Courtney and headed out. Part of Copenhagen is divided by canals, so we transversed some canals and ended up visiting the micro nation of Christiania. Christiania is a hippie commune in the middle of Copenhagen that takes up about a full city block. Established in I-don’t-know-when, Christiania, is not affiliated with Denmark, and the people there do not consider themselves Danish, but “children of the Earth.” They have their own national flag, schools, and local government. They do not use the Danish kroner, but they barter for their own goods within the government, but do accept Kroner from tourists. The micro nation’s main source of income is tourism. They also smoke weed opening in public and they were huge. That is what I will take away from my very brief time in Christiania—the land of weed and un-neutered dogs. Fun.
The day definitely picked up from there. We walked a little further across the bridge and spotted a delightful bakery/café. Let me tell you Panera doesn’t have anything on Danish café/bakeries. OMG—delicious. You can spot the really good pastry shops a mile away because all of them have a distinctive sign hanging in front of the shop—an upside down pretzel with a crown on the top. That is the universal symbol for delicious Danish goodness as far as I am concerned. It was so good, our friend Justin bought an entire baguette, just to snack on. Out of control.
At this point, the group split up and Megan and I decided to go check out the Copenhagen Opera House, which is world famous for both its design and the performers that it attracts to Denmark. Lou Reed performed there as part of the Jazz Festival Wednesday night.
The Opera House is only accessible by boat, so we took some pictures from across the harbor. After the Opera House, we ventured to the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guard. I was pretty excited to see this in part because when I was in London a few years ago, all of my pictures of London were lost, including those of the changing of the guard, which was a major bummer. We got to the palace and had a few minutes before the guard change, which was pretty neat. I snapped some video of it, which is pretty neat. Unfortunately, the royals were not home, but it was cool nonetheless. After the palace, we skipped over to see the Danish Parliament Building and the Supreme Court, which was pretty cool. From there, we went to the Danish National Library, dubbed as the Black Diamond, because, well, it looks like a Black Diamond. We walked into some more little shops and headed back downtown to meet up for dinner and write out some postcards. After dinner, Megan and I took the train back to Korsor and spend the night relaxing, and sharing stories with other students and staff members who had also returned.
Today was a relatively low-key day. I walked into Korsor to enjoy the beautiful weather and mail my postcards and now I am back on the ship, updating the blog and uploading some photos.
We sail tonight for Antwerp, so catch the latest post sometime next week. Also, I am sure that you have heard about the shooting outside of the American embassy in Turkey. Not sure how that is going to effect our stop in Istanbul. We go on the instructions and advise of the State Department, so we could be re-routed from that port…..perhaps to Spain or Morocco, but I will keep you posted as we hear of those developments.
Love you all! Take care and I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying the sunshine! Also, please keep my grandma in your thoughts and prayers. I found out on Wednesday that she broke her pelvis and is currently at home and resting. Please keep her in your thoughts! Hope to hear from you soon!
Love you! And as the Danish say, "hi hi hi!!!"
I am sitting on the MV Explorer, and it’s about 2 PM here. We depart Denmark in 9 PM this evening and will be on our way to Antwerp, Belgium, expecting to arrive at 8 AM on Monday. It’s crazy to think that Antwerp will be our fourth port on the trip; which means only four to go! But the final four are the ones that I am looking the most forward to—I’m so excited.
I thoroughly enjoyed Denmark. While it was probably the country I was the least excited about visiting, I would rank it #2 behind Russia at this point in the journey. Korsor, where we are currently docked, is about an hour and a half away from Copenhagen. Students were pretty disappointed to learn this at first, but due to the cost associated with docking in Copenhagen versus Korsor, Korsor won out in the end. But it is an absolutely charming city that I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. Let me break down the week for you.
We arrived in Korsor on Tuesday morning at 8 AM. And we were met by the locals with a great deal of hype. Apparently, we were a pretty regular item in the Korsor paper, as the town prepared for our arrival. Apparently a ship with 600 American college students invading a sleepy harbor town of 12,000 is huge news. We were met with a band, and literally, a red carpet out at the gangway. The students were pretty excited to see this. After a quick disembarkation process, Megan, Zuri and I met up to travel into town. Megan and Zuri have become two of my favorite traveling companions, as they are really up for seeing anything and aren’t really super structured in terms of staying on a schedule. The walk into downtown Korsor, we wandered into some shops and strolled around. Korsor reminds me a little bit of my hometown of Marine City, in that it is very quaint, quiet and cozy. On some parts of the street, it was so quiet you could easily hear a pin drop. The main mode of transportation in Korsor is bicycle, and they are everywhere. The weather was phenomenal, so strolling along in the sunshine and a cloudless sky was quite lovely. At one store that we stopped in, we learned that there was a free outdoor concert at the old medieval castle in town that happens every Tuesday night during the summer. Armed with this information, we had our plans for a Tuesday night on the town J
After perusing some stores, we came across a delightful local bakery….OMG, THE DANISH KNOW THEIR PASTRIES! Some of have posed the intriguing philosophical question is, “do Danish people call danish pastry danish?” The answer to that question, my friends, is no, the Danes call danish pastry, “weinerbrod,” and let me tell you, I love weiner(brod)!!!! So scrumptious and yummy.
After a light lunch, we headed back to the ship for a day of relaxation (ie, a nap). After napping, we ventured out again to pick up a picnic dinner that we could take to the outdoor concert. We stopped at the local grocery store, Fotex, and picked up a few picnic staples including olives, wine, bread, cheese, crackers and of course, more weinerbrod. The concert was delightful, it is in a natural open-aired pavilion, where everyone camped out with their checkered blankets on the slopes of the large hill, and watched the concert in the shallow valley below. The concert material was surprisingly Americanized, including Tina Turner, CCR, Blues Brothers, James Taylor and Bette Midler. Overall, it was a delightful way to spend a summer evening in Korsor. We returned to the ship to make our plans for Copenhagen the next day. I was really sad that a lot of our students did not experience the charm and communal feel of Korsor, as many of them literally got off the ship and headed directly to the train station to go into Copenhagen. Everyone is amazingly friendly!
Wednesday morning, Justin, Zuri, Megan and I headed to the Korsor train station, where we picked up the train to go into Copenhagen. Trains from Korsor to C-town run every half an hour and for a round trip ticket, it cost roughly $40. Expenses in Denmark are a lot like Norway—everything was WICKED expensive!
When we emerged from the train station, I was immediately struck by the old-world European feel of Copenhagen. It was so charming, lots of brightly colored buildings, and many squares break up the large-city feel. Much like Korsor, the vast majority of Danes ride their bikes, and it is the main mode of transportation in Copenhagen. Fabulous! We immediately headed to our Bed and Breakfast to set our luggage down and head out to explore. The B & B was fabulous! The B & B is in the heart of downtown, located on the third floor of an old apartment building. It was amazing and the views from our room were incredible! After freshening up, we grabbed some coffee at a coffee shop right around the corner from the B & B as we had some time to kill before meeting up with Aaron, Marco and Courtney, who had gone into Copenhagen on Tuesday.
Off we went to explore the city. Armed with only a city map, we just set out to walk and see what the city had to offer. I really enjoyed the fact that we had no plan in place, we just went where instincts told us to go. We walked along the gorgeous canals (from what I am told are a lot like those found in Amsterdam) and stopped for lunch at a lovely Mediterranean restaurant called Riz Raz, located in the Latin Quarter. A cheap lunch in Copenhagen costs anywhere from $15-$20 USD. After enjoying some delicious veggie lasagna, falafel, tomato couscous and spinach on an outdoor patio, we went exploring some more….the people watching was incredible! Let me give you my insights into Danish people:
Denmark is a very family-oriented country, in which the men get two months of paid paternity leave. Most of the school-aged children I saw where being escorted to school by their fathers.
Danish women and men are STUNNING! Honestly, it’s just the land of gorgeous people. Everyone is very fit, blonde, blue-eyed and uber stylish and sophisticated. And so very nice! Danish also speak fluent English, a lot like in Norway, so that was also very helpful.
Denmark is also a very gay-friendly country and passed laws back in 1989 legalizing gay marriage and all of the rights that come with being married.
Danish pregnant women are STUNNING! I don’t know what’s in the water over here, but even 8-9 months pregnant, the women are just gorgeous and effortlessly put together. So cute!
Saying “hi hi hi” means “goodbye.” That was confusing for about 10 seconds.
Enough of my gawking, let’s continue on. Wednesday afternoon was just roaming the city squares, window shopping and taking in some coffee at the lovely outdoor cafes. The Copenhagen Jazz Festival, one of the biggest draws for the city, is also going on right now, so it was great to be able to hear live jazz music at the outdoor cafes. We went to the Danish Design Studio, which was pretty cool. It was a museum of sorts in which showed up and coming designs for food packaging and furniture. There was also a very neat exhibit in the basement of the building, which was a series of statements made about the human condition and that the innate instincts of humanity cannot be packaged or bottled or sold. It comes from the human heart and spirit. I will post some pictures on facebook so you can see what I am talking about a little bit better. It was pretty neat.
We met up with Marco, Aaron and Courtney later that evening at one of Copenhagen’s classiest gay bars, “The Jailhouse.” Needless to say, it was hours of fun for me as I sat in smoke-saturated rooms while paying $10 for a drink. However, I decided to make my own fun and took some pictures of me “behind bars” and wearing a Danish policeman’s hat, so I was quite entertaining. Thank goodness MJ was there. Later, we went out for dinner and the gays wanted to go to a lesbian bar, Chacha, and that’s when I called it a night.
Thursday was a fun-filled and fabulous day!!! We woke up and hit up the city on another gorgeous day. We had heard there was an amazing pastry shop around the corner from our B and B by the name of St. Peter’s Bageleri, and we were not disappointed. The pastries were to die for!!! Yum!!!! We met up with Marco and Courtney and headed out. Part of Copenhagen is divided by canals, so we transversed some canals and ended up visiting the micro nation of Christiania. Christiania is a hippie commune in the middle of Copenhagen that takes up about a full city block. Established in I-don’t-know-when, Christiania, is not affiliated with Denmark, and the people there do not consider themselves Danish, but “children of the Earth.” They have their own national flag, schools, and local government. They do not use the Danish kroner, but they barter for their own goods within the government, but do accept Kroner from tourists. The micro nation’s main source of income is tourism. They also smoke weed opening in public and they were huge. That is what I will take away from my very brief time in Christiania—the land of weed and un-neutered dogs. Fun.
The day definitely picked up from there. We walked a little further across the bridge and spotted a delightful bakery/café. Let me tell you Panera doesn’t have anything on Danish café/bakeries. OMG—delicious. You can spot the really good pastry shops a mile away because all of them have a distinctive sign hanging in front of the shop—an upside down pretzel with a crown on the top. That is the universal symbol for delicious Danish goodness as far as I am concerned. It was so good, our friend Justin bought an entire baguette, just to snack on. Out of control.
At this point, the group split up and Megan and I decided to go check out the Copenhagen Opera House, which is world famous for both its design and the performers that it attracts to Denmark. Lou Reed performed there as part of the Jazz Festival Wednesday night.
The Opera House is only accessible by boat, so we took some pictures from across the harbor. After the Opera House, we ventured to the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guard. I was pretty excited to see this in part because when I was in London a few years ago, all of my pictures of London were lost, including those of the changing of the guard, which was a major bummer. We got to the palace and had a few minutes before the guard change, which was pretty neat. I snapped some video of it, which is pretty neat. Unfortunately, the royals were not home, but it was cool nonetheless. After the palace, we skipped over to see the Danish Parliament Building and the Supreme Court, which was pretty cool. From there, we went to the Danish National Library, dubbed as the Black Diamond, because, well, it looks like a Black Diamond. We walked into some more little shops and headed back downtown to meet up for dinner and write out some postcards. After dinner, Megan and I took the train back to Korsor and spend the night relaxing, and sharing stories with other students and staff members who had also returned.
Today was a relatively low-key day. I walked into Korsor to enjoy the beautiful weather and mail my postcards and now I am back on the ship, updating the blog and uploading some photos.
We sail tonight for Antwerp, so catch the latest post sometime next week. Also, I am sure that you have heard about the shooting outside of the American embassy in Turkey. Not sure how that is going to effect our stop in Istanbul. We go on the instructions and advise of the State Department, so we could be re-routed from that port…..perhaps to Spain or Morocco, but I will keep you posted as we hear of those developments.
Love you all! Take care and I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying the sunshine! Also, please keep my grandma in your thoughts and prayers. I found out on Wednesday that she broke her pelvis and is currently at home and resting. Please keep her in your thoughts! Hope to hear from you soon!
Love you! And as the Danish say, "hi hi hi!!!"
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