Just writing from Greece

So we’re here in southern Greece, in Monemvasia with the new host Ellie. It took a bit of time to work things out. We ended up staying in Athens and seeing the city beforehand like we planned originally. We also got caught in the middle of a yearly protest! The entire city was shutdown: streets closed and police with full riot gear on every corner. As we were walking across the city we saw the protestors (two groups) shouting, cheering, chanting, as they marched towards parliament. The atmosphere was quite surreal.

Ellie was sick and still kind of is (and that was the reason for the delay) but we’re here at the cottage now and it’s storming right now. Rain started around 4 pm and it’s supposed to go until tomorrow evening. A little bit of thunder here and there. Temperature outside is quite warm though, right around 60 degrees and we’re right near the beach, probably about a half-mile away. The village of Monemvasia is about a mile and a half away. Not sure how long we’ll stay here but the longer the better I suppose

 but we’ve been invited to stay until the end of the month. 

 

The bus ride from Athens yesterday was pretty spectacular; through the mountains and valleys. It’s easy to see why places like this spawn mythological religious beliefs like the ones believed by the Ancient Greeks. We even had a brief stop in the famous city of Sparta! Walking through the neighbourhood last night it was amazing to see the various kinds of fruit trees people have growing in their yards: grapes, plums, pears, almonds, figs, grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, pomegranates, walnuts, carob, and I’m probably missing a whole bunch of other varieties. Today we fixed the bathroom door, and cut wood. We were lucky since we just finished the majority of the work right before it started raining. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow but we’re eager to get out for a swim sometime. We went down to the ocean last night and the water must have been 75 degrees! Next clear day you’ll find us at the beach! That’s all, ciao for now! 

Zach

 

Autumn in the central Rhodopes

And now we find ourselves in Bulgaria

Somehow I've found the motivation to write at 12 am while sitting in a rainsoaked B&B in Shiroka Luka. I'm sitting in my boxers and my barefeet on the stone floor are growing colder by the minute as I sit here and continue typing. To describe the day today: the drive up the winding Rhodope Mountain road, the visit to the monastery and the incredibly colourful autumn foliage covering every inch of mountainside, later getting caught in a rainstorm as we pulled into our final destination: Shiroka Luka, the ancient village nestled in a tight valley sitting at 2,000 meters above sea level, eating traditional Bulgarian dishes, listening to traditional Bulgarian music, and finally discovering the place we would sleep: a cosy little inn with extra blankets and comfortable beds for a mere $9 a night, oh yeah, this place is awesome. And how did we come to find ourselves here in Bulgaria? Good question. I was telling a friend about my being in Bulgaria and she asked me the same question I'm sure everyone wants to know: why Bulgaria? The answer is somewhat simple and somewhat complicated. Simply put: I needed to exit the Schengen area. The Schengen area is a large region in western Europe comprised of member states that decided to hell with border crossings, we all want the freedom to drive across your border without having to stop at passport control and customs. So with that the majority of western Europe and most EU member countries fall under this category. As an American citizen I am allowed 90 days per every 6 months to stay in this area. I needed to exit because plans would have me in Prague for Christmas and by the time I checked out of Schengen I was already inside Schengen for a month. So we headed south, first to Bratislava and then to Budapest, and ultimately to Sofia, Bulgaria, yeah! And still you're asking, so why Bulgaria? Why not Croatia or Romania or Russia or some other country not in the Schengen area? Well as luck would have it, one of the hosts I contacted originally got back to me and said she'd be delighted to have us stay on for a month or two. So we said: heck yes! And here we are! Staying in a small village between Chirpan and Stara Zagora. The weather for the most part has been in the mid-20's (mid-70's for all you folks back home). Just today I was walking around in a tank top and probably could have gotten away with shorts as well! I'm sure everyone back in Seattle might be feeling a little jealous and anyone in Prague might be feeling more jealous as they've just received their first bit of snow! I'll definitely take wearing a tank top! The deal becomes a whole lot sweeter when you hear that my lovely English ex-pat host, Jane, introduced us to her English speaking Bulgarian friend, Boyan, who just so happens to have a car and also happens to be a winemaker. So we've been living the life here in Bulgaria. Working for Jane and then helping Boyan finish off (and on occasion, taste) his wine production. We're seeing heaps of the country and for the most part we've been enjoying end-of-summer-like weather so we can't complain at all! Bulgaria is one of the most unlikely of places to be but we're slowly discovering the amazing things this country has to offer. There's no telling where we'll head to next but we're thinking about making a short trip to the Bulgarian coast on the Black Sea and then maybe Greece or Croatia or Italy? With that my friends, I am signing off, my feet are freezing and it's already after midnight. Stay tuned for more updates (I hope!) and more photos from this amazing trip! Ciao ciao!

Zach

A Little Adversity

To say things have unravelled quickly would be an understatement. Last night (Friday the 21st), within two hours, our weekend and post-weekend travel plans had completely evaporated and we were required to start back at square one. First: a call to Ralph to make sure we were still able to stay with him for the weekend and possibly into the early part of next week. Next: a text message saying he would be gone for three days, returning on Tuesday and that staying at his flat was no longer possible. Second: heading over to see Iveta's friend and pick-up the car that we would take to Germany and possibly elsewhere within Czech Republic. Next: a text message saying that when they went to try starting the car, it wouldn't start and that use of the car was no longer possible. The damage inflicted: no place to stay, and no way to get there. In other words: totally fucked. So we had to quickly figure things out. My friend from Nuremburg was going to meet us Sunday in Munich for Oktoberfest. We decide to look at hotels in Nuremburg and wind up finding one for two nights with breakfast for 100 euros. Not half bad. We looked online to find pricing of trains and found out we could get to Nuremburg one-way for 475 CZK or approx $35 USD. Good deal. So we had a place to stay and potentially quite affordable transportation. Things were turning around for us. In addition to that, instead of staying in Munich for a few days, we'd meet my friend in Nuremburg and ride to Munich on the train with him Sunday morning and spend all day taking in the festivities. Afterwards we'd head back to Nuremburg, sleep in the hotel, and leave the following morning for Bamberg (a small city to the north of Nuremburg) renown for brewing the best Rauchbier (smoke beer) on the planet. After spending two days and one night in Bamberg we'd head to Plzen and stay for a few days with a friend of Iveta's sister. So for now that's the plan. A loose plan but a plan nonetheless and an excellent plan salvaged from the wreckage of a previous plan that held so much promise. In reality, when we'd gone to the station to find out the real pricing of trains we initially found it to be much more. Much more being like 2000 CZK or $120 for two people one-way. After finding the buses to be equally less affordable we went back to the station to accept the fate and pay the price to ride the train. After Iveta spoke with the woman at the desk, she helped us a great deal by finding a way to cut the cost of travel in half! So here we are in Domazlice, nearing the German border and things are fine. Update when we get to Nuremburg. Tomorrow Munich with Tilman, Monday Bamberg, Tuesday Plzen? Sounds damn good to me :] Goodbye to summer and hello to autumn :]

Zach 09.22.2012

PS: Photos and entry about Oktoberfest to come at a later date...for now we'll be heading to Bamberg for the day and night, and then we're off to Plzen for a few days! Ciao!

On being in Hořovice, dealing with idiotic hospital workers, and the enjoyment of Prague!

Currently sitting in a room in Hořovice. Currently trying to wrap my mind around and get over this idiotic predicament. Guess the best way to deal with it is just to accept it and let it go and bear in mind that it will mostly be over tomorrow. If you're wondering: this is in reference to the people we've been dealing with here at the hospital where Iveta is getting pins in her foot removed. In any case, tomorrow the real fun begins. And once back to Prague we'll try to get things with the car in order and head to Munich on Thursday. I've been enjoying my time in Czech Republic. Prague is in fact beautiful; bridges and old buildings galore! And the weather has mostly cooperated since I've arrived. I have only a few photos I feel are worthy of posting on here (and they've been put up on Facebook already). Hoping to shoot more when we return from Germany. Beer is extremely cheap. I think after the conversion rate most half-liters are right about $1.50. The other issue I've been having is the language barrier. This is something that has been giving me a lot of difficulty. It really is the first place I've travelled where it has been an issue. Iveta has to do all of the talking and barely anyone speaks English. We found this great little basement pub serving up some more beer options. Most places only serve the standard dark or light lagers. But we found some pubs which offer more ;] Haha ok for now that's the update. Will keep you updated on the car situation, I'm getting excited for it. Ciao for now! Photos to follow!

Zach

New Post?

So I have decided to blow the dust off the old blog and blow some life back into it. Why? If you don't already know, I am headed back out onto the road for more adventure. This time to new cities, new countries, and new experiences. I am super fortunate to be able to do things like this and couldn't be happier with the situation: a one-way flight to Prague. And that's pretty much it. Plans to roadtrip to Munich for Oktoberfest. And plans to visit Greece to pick olives for two-weeks in November. And aside from that, no real plans. Crazy. Where will I go? How will I get there? Who will I be with? All great questions and all with few answers. Stay tuned for more updates on my adventures. This time around things are even more undecided than last time (is that even possible?), I have no idea but I reckon I'll soon find out. Ciao for now. Zach