xoxo
Ann
Thursday, June 25, 2009
If I Sent You a Postcard...
xoxo
Ann
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Being Homeless is Much More Exciting Than it Looks
It's true.
Though I'm fairly certain over the past 10 days or so we have actually done less than the average homeless person daily, it helps when Megan has a new stalker in each city. Never a dull moment...
After Budapest, we spent a little over a week travelling throughout Croatia:
First we spent a night in Zagreb - Croatia's cute little capital city. But a day was definitely enough considering that the map literally had a small pink tourism loop with about 5 sites marked (including the ice cream shop our hostel owner recommended).
Then it was just a short train ride to Split - the largest coastal town in Croatia (but somehow this trip was insanely miserable - we were all soo sick and our fellow passengers were very annoying). We enjoyed several days on the beach and even made our way over to Hvar (one of the Dalmatian Islands). We left feeling like we really knew our way around the little town. Also, Megan made a special little "friend" in Split - a 50+ year old, speedo-wearing man who loved to massage oil on her back. We ran into him at the supermarket the next day - it was a great moment. (Don't worry Rachelle and I photo-documented the romance)
Finally, we took a bus down the coast, and actually through Bosnia at one point, to our last stop, Dubrovnik (known as the Pearl of the Adriatic - I think I've now visited every "pearl" there is...). Again, we took full advantage of the nearly empty beaches all along the coastline. It was here that we shared a hostel with the Aussi, Bentley (or maybe Berkeley - we can't actually remember his name). He had been in Dubrovnik less than 48 hours, yet felt he could tell us all the best things to do and places go in Dubrovnik. He was also the most talented person any of us had ever met. And in love with Megan, of course. (also photo-documented!)
The Adriatic water was crystal clear, but I still didn't last long swimming - much too terrified of the ocean animals - which was not helped by the snake and crab we saw on shore... On land I wasn't much happier about Croatian wildlife: our hostel owner kept roosters who crowed 24/7, and the entire city was infested with cats (according to our BFF Brentley they were let loose in the country by a Venitian ruler to cure an outbreak of mice - I'll let you choose whether or not you want to believe it).
We learned our way around everywhere in Croatia quickly because none of the cities really gave maps with all the street names. Not so helpful. Take into account that to go anywhere we were constantly climbing an insane amount of stairs, the one or two times we got lost, and our calves are more toned than when we arrived.
Travelling from Croatia to Greece was ridiculous - two overnight ferries, back-to-back. This meant on the first night literally sleeping on the floor of the wooden back deck of the ferry. Not exactly comfortable. It was a long 8 hour trek, and we weren't even halfway there! The morning brought some entertainment though, as Megan met a nice Croatian boat-boy who appreciated her Italian heritage...
I think we walked the entire city of Bari with our packs during that day - all in search of a supermarket (we really love them). Sadly, we didn't find one, but we did find a McCafe - the next best option providing fries and ice cream cones!
The second ferry from Bari was a major upgrade - we were inside, lounging across airplane-type seats! Thanks to Tylenol PM we slept nearly all of the 16 hour trip. Add on to that a 3 train ride from Patras to Athens, and after over 48 hours of travelling we finally made it to our next hostel!
Athens was fun since Megan and I had been there before - so it was familiar and easy to navigate.
And, while there, I found all kinds of American treats, including Starbucks!
Overall, European peanut butter just isn't Jif though (Dubrovnik), Subway is no substitute for Jimmy John's (I made a feeble attempt to satiate my cravings in Athens), and Facebook/Gmail just can't accurately capture the faces and voices that filled the place I once called home.
So here I am "on a boat" (yes, it's true) to Santorini! We'll finally be settled on one place for 5 whole days - I can't wait!
But as I look out over the back deck of our ferry, I can't keep my mind from drifting back to Bloomington - where I know my friends are out on a *slightly* smaller boat in a *slightly* smaller body of water. Even though I really miss those moments, I'm so excited for the rest of our trip! And I know that soon enough Nutella, gelato, and real Greek salads will be what I miss most. And so, for now, all my little temporary 'indulgences', though they are never as good as the real thing, are more than enough to make me feel at home.
ITB ;)
Though I'm fairly certain over the past 10 days or so we have actually done less than the average homeless person daily, it helps when Megan has a new stalker in each city. Never a dull moment...
After Budapest, we spent a little over a week travelling throughout Croatia:
First we spent a night in Zagreb - Croatia's cute little capital city. But a day was definitely enough considering that the map literally had a small pink tourism loop with about 5 sites marked (including the ice cream shop our hostel owner recommended).
Then it was just a short train ride to Split - the largest coastal town in Croatia (but somehow this trip was insanely miserable - we were all soo sick and our fellow passengers were very annoying). We enjoyed several days on the beach and even made our way over to Hvar (one of the Dalmatian Islands). We left feeling like we really knew our way around the little town. Also, Megan made a special little "friend" in Split - a 50+ year old, speedo-wearing man who loved to massage oil on her back. We ran into him at the supermarket the next day - it was a great moment. (Don't worry Rachelle and I photo-documented the romance)
Finally, we took a bus down the coast, and actually through Bosnia at one point, to our last stop, Dubrovnik (known as the Pearl of the Adriatic - I think I've now visited every "pearl" there is...). Again, we took full advantage of the nearly empty beaches all along the coastline. It was here that we shared a hostel with the Aussi, Bentley (or maybe Berkeley - we can't actually remember his name). He had been in Dubrovnik less than 48 hours, yet felt he could tell us all the best things to do and places go in Dubrovnik. He was also the most talented person any of us had ever met. And in love with Megan, of course. (also photo-documented!)
The Adriatic water was crystal clear, but I still didn't last long swimming - much too terrified of the ocean animals - which was not helped by the snake and crab we saw on shore... On land I wasn't much happier about Croatian wildlife: our hostel owner kept roosters who crowed 24/7, and the entire city was infested with cats (according to our BFF Brentley they were let loose in the country by a Venitian ruler to cure an outbreak of mice - I'll let you choose whether or not you want to believe it).
We learned our way around everywhere in Croatia quickly because none of the cities really gave maps with all the street names. Not so helpful. Take into account that to go anywhere we were constantly climbing an insane amount of stairs, the one or two times we got lost, and our calves are more toned than when we arrived.
Travelling from Croatia to Greece was ridiculous - two overnight ferries, back-to-back. This meant on the first night literally sleeping on the floor of the wooden back deck of the ferry. Not exactly comfortable. It was a long 8 hour trek, and we weren't even halfway there! The morning brought some entertainment though, as Megan met a nice Croatian boat-boy who appreciated her Italian heritage...
I think we walked the entire city of Bari with our packs during that day - all in search of a supermarket (we really love them). Sadly, we didn't find one, but we did find a McCafe - the next best option providing fries and ice cream cones!
The second ferry from Bari was a major upgrade - we were inside, lounging across airplane-type seats! Thanks to Tylenol PM we slept nearly all of the 16 hour trip. Add on to that a 3 train ride from Patras to Athens, and after over 48 hours of travelling we finally made it to our next hostel!
Athens was fun since Megan and I had been there before - so it was familiar and easy to navigate.
And, while there, I found all kinds of American treats, including Starbucks!
Overall, European peanut butter just isn't Jif though (Dubrovnik), Subway is no substitute for Jimmy John's (I made a feeble attempt to satiate my cravings in Athens), and Facebook/Gmail just can't accurately capture the faces and voices that filled the place I once called home.
So here I am "on a boat" (yes, it's true) to Santorini! We'll finally be settled on one place for 5 whole days - I can't wait!
But as I look out over the back deck of our ferry, I can't keep my mind from drifting back to Bloomington - where I know my friends are out on a *slightly* smaller boat in a *slightly* smaller body of water. Even though I really miss those moments, I'm so excited for the rest of our trip! And I know that soon enough Nutella, gelato, and real Greek salads will be what I miss most. And so, for now, all my little temporary 'indulgences', though they are never as good as the real thing, are more than enough to make me feel at home.
ITB ;)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Evidence of My Survival
-African dancing with kids at Nyaka (literal translation of the song lyrics were "get low" - obviously)
-Tea time (our favorite!)
-Talking with girls at Nyaka
-Crossing the equator
-Animals on our safari & boat cruise
-Using a panga in Kisiizi (now you can all believe it!!)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Please Send More Puffins
Not surprising.
You are all much too aware of my bizarre infatuation with this over-priced, organic cereal. Already wishing for my favorite snack while in Uganda, I sent pathetic emails begging Megan and Rachelle to feed my cravings by sneaking a bag in my pack. Of course they indulged me. And so I carefully rationed out the supply over the past two weeks.
Today I'm grieving. I finished the very last 'Puffin' while waiting for the Metro to take us to the train station. My Euro-trekking homelessness has now also left me tragically Puffin-less.
In Vienna I had half-a-bag left - it was lovely. Though it was supposed to rain nearly the entire time we were there, the weather really held out for us. The first two days we just walked through the narrow streets of the city - visiting Parliament, the Museums District, the Danube Canal, Hapsburgs' Theatre and City Palace, the Naschemarket, and Prater.
We even attempted laundry in Vienna! "Attempted" is definitely the best term used here - though I'm aware no one is shocked that I struggled with this chore, you should all expect better from Megan and Rachelle. Two loads in the wash somehow equated to wringing out socks over the sink, five drying cycles cumulatively, and still hanging our "lights" all over our 8-person dorm room.
Since our train for Budapest didn't leave until mid-afternoon on Wednesday, we used our remaining time in Vienna to walk out to Schonbrunn - the summer house of the imperial Hapsburg family. It was idyllic: a stunning palace, surrounded by rose gardens, featuring the oldest and only Baroque zoo (2 weeks in Europe and we're already architectural experts) and complete with an insane view of Vienna! We couldn't have asked for a better ending to our time in the city.
Megan (still happy from our adventurous day in Vienna and the bag of potato chips we annihilated during the first 15 minutes of our 3 hour train ride) greeted us with a "Who's hungry in Hungary?!" We had a quick laugh before being bombarded with offers for apartments to stay in and taxis to take. We practically screamed "tourists" in our over-sized backpacks and could immediately feel Budapest was different... Harsher. Poorer.
Clutching our bags, we navigated our way through the crowds, train info, and shadey metro ticket purchasing options to find our hostel (even managing to search out an ATM along the way). It was still a little light out when we located the old apartment building our hostel claimed to be in. But we didn't actually want to go inside.
Megan pressed "5", said "Hi" to the voice on the other side of the intercom, and we slowly opened the old wooden door. The hallway was dark, paint peeled off the walls and though we had pushed "5", the Blackberry-retrieved internet directions said we should go up only one flight of stairs. Megan told Rachelle to put the crowbar we found behind the door in it to keep it open - ensuring we could get out. But, after a few moments of debate, Rachelle decided this would be "letting street criminals in" and against our better judgment. So we walked up the stairs - along the way I offered that we should "pay more to stay somewhere else" and that I thought "this is a really terrible idea" - while I strategically placed myself between Megan and Rachelle to prevent being kidnapped. We opened what we hoped was the right door, revealing a modern, IKEA furnished apartment (with some of the best kitchen appliances we've seen in Europe) and our fears quickly subsided. (Mom: you can breathe again - we're fine!)
The more we walked around Budapest, the more comfortable we became with the city - both in navigating it and just in its unique architecture and feel. We even took a day to go to a medicinal bath (a famed feature of the city) - definitely an experience. Not one I need to ever have again, but I did it, even despite my germophobia! Seemed more like a scam than anything to us - we all left feeling covered in Eastern European diseases rather than cured of any and were deeply scarred by the Europeans' acceptance of their bodies (really not ok!).
Though we enjoyed our time in "the Pearl of the Danube", as we talked and planned more of our trip over popcorn, Lion bars, and Coca-Cola Light, we all agreed last night that we were ready to move on to Croatia's beaches and leave the very smelly streets of Hungary behind (seriously, so wretched).
It was only 05:10 this morning when we sat on the bench at Astoria metro station. I turned sadly to Rachelle and showed her the empty bag that my Puffins left behind, simply telling her "They're gone!" She understood my pain: "I finished my last meal bar this morning too - we're on our own now, kid."
You are all much too aware of my bizarre infatuation with this over-priced, organic cereal. Already wishing for my favorite snack while in Uganda, I sent pathetic emails begging Megan and Rachelle to feed my cravings by sneaking a bag in my pack. Of course they indulged me. And so I carefully rationed out the supply over the past two weeks.
Today I'm grieving. I finished the very last 'Puffin' while waiting for the Metro to take us to the train station. My Euro-trekking homelessness has now also left me tragically Puffin-less.
In Vienna I had half-a-bag left - it was lovely. Though it was supposed to rain nearly the entire time we were there, the weather really held out for us. The first two days we just walked through the narrow streets of the city - visiting Parliament, the Museums District, the Danube Canal, Hapsburgs' Theatre and City Palace, the Naschemarket, and Prater.
We even attempted laundry in Vienna! "Attempted" is definitely the best term used here - though I'm aware no one is shocked that I struggled with this chore, you should all expect better from Megan and Rachelle. Two loads in the wash somehow equated to wringing out socks over the sink, five drying cycles cumulatively, and still hanging our "lights" all over our 8-person dorm room.
Since our train for Budapest didn't leave until mid-afternoon on Wednesday, we used our remaining time in Vienna to walk out to Schonbrunn - the summer house of the imperial Hapsburg family. It was idyllic: a stunning palace, surrounded by rose gardens, featuring the oldest and only Baroque zoo (2 weeks in Europe and we're already architectural experts) and complete with an insane view of Vienna! We couldn't have asked for a better ending to our time in the city.
Megan (still happy from our adventurous day in Vienna and the bag of potato chips we annihilated during the first 15 minutes of our 3 hour train ride) greeted us with a "Who's hungry in Hungary?!" We had a quick laugh before being bombarded with offers for apartments to stay in and taxis to take. We practically screamed "tourists" in our over-sized backpacks and could immediately feel Budapest was different... Harsher. Poorer.
Clutching our bags, we navigated our way through the crowds, train info, and shadey metro ticket purchasing options to find our hostel (even managing to search out an ATM along the way). It was still a little light out when we located the old apartment building our hostel claimed to be in. But we didn't actually want to go inside.
Megan pressed "5", said "Hi" to the voice on the other side of the intercom, and we slowly opened the old wooden door. The hallway was dark, paint peeled off the walls and though we had pushed "5", the Blackberry-retrieved internet directions said we should go up only one flight of stairs. Megan told Rachelle to put the crowbar we found behind the door in it to keep it open - ensuring we could get out. But, after a few moments of debate, Rachelle decided this would be "letting street criminals in" and against our better judgment. So we walked up the stairs - along the way I offered that we should "pay more to stay somewhere else" and that I thought "this is a really terrible idea" - while I strategically placed myself between Megan and Rachelle to prevent being kidnapped. We opened what we hoped was the right door, revealing a modern, IKEA furnished apartment (with some of the best kitchen appliances we've seen in Europe) and our fears quickly subsided. (Mom: you can breathe again - we're fine!)
The more we walked around Budapest, the more comfortable we became with the city - both in navigating it and just in its unique architecture and feel. We even took a day to go to a medicinal bath (a famed feature of the city) - definitely an experience. Not one I need to ever have again, but I did it, even despite my germophobia! Seemed more like a scam than anything to us - we all left feeling covered in Eastern European diseases rather than cured of any and were deeply scarred by the Europeans' acceptance of their bodies (really not ok!).
Though we enjoyed our time in "the Pearl of the Danube", as we talked and planned more of our trip over popcorn, Lion bars, and Coca-Cola Light, we all agreed last night that we were ready to move on to Croatia's beaches and leave the very smelly streets of Hungary behind (seriously, so wretched).
It was only 05:10 this morning when we sat on the bench at Astoria metro station. I turned sadly to Rachelle and showed her the empty bag that my Puffins left behind, simply telling her "They're gone!" She understood my pain: "I finished my last meal bar this morning too - we're on our own now, kid."
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Revision
So I didn't entirely "hate" Munich - our last day in the city was actually quite nice. I didn't give it enough credit.
I'd like to blame my 30+ hours of delays in getting there, rainy weather, and continued distaste for Germans' beverage of choice. However, rumors of my bad attitude must have gotten around because it was rather enjoyable for our final day, making me feel pretty guilty for my prior judgements.
Megan, Rachelle and I just took time to soak up the beautiful weather, walk the city, lounge in the English Gardens, and snack all along the way.
Still not in my top 10, but if you love beer and have a jacket (preferably waterproof) then go!
Training to Vienna now - just so happy that all of my stuff fit back in my backpack!
I'd like to blame my 30+ hours of delays in getting there, rainy weather, and continued distaste for Germans' beverage of choice. However, rumors of my bad attitude must have gotten around because it was rather enjoyable for our final day, making me feel pretty guilty for my prior judgements.
Megan, Rachelle and I just took time to soak up the beautiful weather, walk the city, lounge in the English Gardens, and snack all along the way.
Still not in my top 10, but if you love beer and have a jacket (preferably waterproof) then go!
Training to Vienna now - just so happy that all of my stuff fit back in my backpack!
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