Music and Mountains in Slovenia

From hot and fabulous Croatia we made our way across the border to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.  For being a capital city it has a real small feel to it thanks to it's old part of the city which is a buzz with people day and night.  While there, we climbed to a castle for sunset, drank beers on patios, had a pic-nic in the park and hit up several local festivals.  A music festival was underway which we took in, then a photography exhibit sent us to several galleries and finally a film festival.

The journey to the film festival was half the fun as it was a really underground event and no one seemed to know about it it or where it was being held. As we wondered around looking for it we stumbled upon what felt like an alternate dimension as we left the world of order and sophistication to a area of buildings covered in graffiti, piles of rubble everywhere and small cafes and clubs in every corner.  We learned later that the area used to be a prison and is now a local hangout for the alternative crowd.  And it is here we found our festival location, settled in to our seats with a beer the film started....a French film that is subtitled in Slovenian.  It was about a band and we like the music so stayed and enjoyed our walk back through the crowd at the prison before heading home.

From Ljubljana we headed into the Alps to the small town of Bled.  This place is something out of a fairy-tail with an emerald lake, church on a small island and a castle perched high above looking over the town. We stayed three nights and spent one day hiking at the near by national park.  We were well prepared, we bought a map, packed a lunch and lots of water as well as our first aid kit, left early in the day etc.  The trails in the park are marked with red and white round markers which fells kind of like playing a massive game of connect the dots in the wilderness, so no chance of getting lost.  Our only issue being our map we bought did not indicate the quality to trail and what looked like a simple route took us over cliff faces area where we had to do some major searching for the markers. We planned a 4hr hike and when we got to what we thought was the half way point a sign indicated we were in fact 5 hrs from our destination...holy crap. 

We kept our spirits up, climbed several peaks (1200m gain in elevation...no big deal) to some amazing views, stopped at a hut where some Slovenian mama's sold beer and food, bandaged our blisters, guzzled spring water and kept on truckin. And at 10 hrs of hiking when we got to the bus stop 5 minutes before the last bus left back to town we concluded that we are in fact awesome and celebrated our newly discovered awesomeness with a hearty Slovenian dinner. Bellies full of beer and sausage we fell asleep instantly  which was welcome as we shared our dorm with seven 20 year old girls who we are sure as individuals are lovely people but in a group dynamic make you want to tear your own ears off.

The weather forecast was poor for the next day which suited us fine as we planned to rest our aching bodies, but the sun came out and this combined with the fact that our roomates conversation about fingernails was going into its second hour, we were driven to leave the hostel and took a leisurely (aka flat) 10km stroll to a nearby gorge which our muscles actually liked and to reward them for a second day of activity we went to the local pool for a soak at the end of the day.

R

Croatia!

Our travels in Croatia began in Pula which is in the NW corner along the Mediterranean. We were greeted with 35 degrees and blue skies..a vast improvement from the grey weather in Western Europe. First stop was the bakery for some pizza (Italy is only 80 km away - so it is Good!) followed by a tour of an old Roman coliseum. The next morning we headed for a day trip to the old town of Rovinj which protrudes into the Mediterranean making for a terrific setting. We also made a quick stop in Bale (tiny old village) on the return trip to Pula.

The next day brought about some excitement and buzz in the city as Croatia was scheduled to play a Euro Cup match in the evening (more on that in a moment). First things first, we rented a couple of bikes and toured up the coastline visiting some amazing swimming holes and caves. The hostel was kind enough to give us free snorkels which we made good use of (No reefs but lots of fish). We got some insider knowledge from our host to go to the farmers market and pay a visit to the lady selling eggs (egg stall 2), and ask for some ''special vino''. We did just that and got a bottle of homemade wine for 3 dollars, she sells it under the table and you get it in a 1.5 L plastic bottle...how could we say no?! We estimate the alcohol content to be pushing 25% as we were both pleasantly buzzed after one glass.

Next stop was the football match to be viewed with a few thousand die-hards in the town square. Earlier in the week Croatia Football federation was fined $100,000 dollars for hooliganism at previous football matches. We confirmed they are both passionate and hooligans by our beer soaked clothes and constant dancing around flares and fires. It was a A-class cultural experience!

Off to the capital, Zagreb. We didn't even know what or where Zagreb was 2 days earlier, nonetheless here we are. The city is in constant buzz all day, few tourists, just locals. We stumbled across a pub serving a 7.5% dark beer from a microbrewery. (Large Beer  - $1.50) It was so good we went back the next day. We also came across a vast lake in the middle of the city where the locals go for a dip. We joined them for a swim, being 36 degrees it was much needed.

The night life is very lively with people walking around with bottle of wine making stops on the street to listen to live bands. Great atmosphere throughout the city, with bakeries and ice-cream shops on every corner. In 2 days we entered (to buy OR just look) 20 bakeries and icecream shops. They are addicting and tasty!

COLIN

Brugge, Paris and Croatia, oh my!

In the wee hours this morning, while most of Paris' youth were still out celebrating a victory for France in the Eurocup, we jetted out of western Europe and landed safe and sound in Pula, Croatia!

 This last week we've been with Colin's family and traveled from Holland to Brugge, Belgium; a medieval city well know for many things but our favorite was it's chocolate and beer.  One pint of their hefty lagers and we all started to walk a little funny (9.5%!).  Our next stop was in Northern France where we visited the impressive Juno Beach Memorial and Museum.  We were all quite moved by it and would recommend it to any Canadian visiting the area.    

Our final stop with the whole family was Paris!  It started out with a lot of excitement as we tried to navigate our two rental cars through the chaotic (understatement) streets of Paris.  Somehow our gps decided that taking the round-about through the arc-de-triomphe was the best route...for those who have not been to Paris, know that the traffic around this monument is like nothing you have ever seen, there are no lanes, there are no rules, there are 13 non labeled exits and  hundreds of cars all trying to figure our where they were going!  We did make it to our hotel without a scratch and immediately found a parking garage where we left the car for the three days we were in the city.

We had great weather and hit up all the sites.  I have been fortunate enough to visit Paris before but each time I came the line up at the Eiffel tower was so long I didn't even bother but this time there was a surprisingly short line, the catch, of course, was we had to get up it on our own steam.   We huffed it up the 700 steps to the second level of the tower and then took the teeny tiny lift up to the very top which was spectacular!  Tired from a day of sightseeing most of our afternoons were spent in a local cafe/bar near our hotel, the beers less potent than in Belgium but well deserved.

I wish I could post a few pictures with the whole family but after taking some 30, 000 photos our camera went on strike.  We got a small replacement for the remainder of our trip but no family pictures on that one...apologies to Colin's family back home hoping for some family shots.

R

Colin's Family is Here!

 This week brought a pleasant change of pace as several members of my (Colin's) family arrived in Amsterdam. My Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Sister & her Boyfriend all landed in one piece. It was a good thing 6 of them came as the odds of one of them becoming bicycle roadkill casualty are very high in Amsterdam (especially when jet legged). We made great use of the tram system getting around the city visiting some of the great sights such as the Leidseplein Plaza, Red Light District, Heineken Museum, Vondelpark and a great tour of the Canals. 

After a couple of days we picked up the rental cars which were registered as Mazda's, but they were out so we were "upgraded" to brand new Mercedes and Volvo cars. We luckily escaped Amsterdam without any Bicycle splats on the windshield and headed to Rotterdam. 

En-route we made a stop at Kinderdyke, home to a significant collection of operating windmills. I was enjoying climbing up inside the wind-mils and found Grandpa at the top of the stairs smiling so big I thought he was having difficulty with his dentures. (Not the case, just having a good time)

Rotterdam was a pleasant surprise being a stark contrast to historical Amsterdam. The city had been levelled in WWII resulting in a present day city full of modern buildings and architecture. The entire family enjoyed the buildings as each has its own twist of creativity, some of which are downright impressive! We were fortunate enough to meet up with family friends Hanneke and Tjeu who reside in the city. They showed us to an amazing restaurant overlooking one of the harbours making for a fantastic meal.

While in Rotterdam, our original plan was to take a 8 person water taxi across the harbour to the New York Hotel. As we waited, a boat floated by with 100's of gallons of water splashing over the top due to rough water, Grandma's eyes looked like softballs bugging out of her head. We ended up taking a pass. In the morning Hanneke and Tjeu were gracious enough to take the 8 of us to visit the New York Hotel for coffee followed by a grand tour of the  SS Rotterdam cruise ship which has been remodelled to look as it did in the 1950's.

Next stop was Winterswijk where we met up with Renee's family...Oma, Rens, Dirk, Monique and all of the kids. We enjoyed some great food, beer and wine, and of course had some great visits. The Willink family showed us some great Dutch hospitality including a world class tour of the countryside from Dirk and Monique. Oma treated us all to some terrific Dutch Pancakes, and Rens along with Yara accompanied Renee and I to the Disco!

With 8 people in tow things must be significantly more planned and organized, but all is going great! Off to Belgium for some chocolate and beer.

COLIN (pics to come)

Windmills, bikes...and rain!

We have made our way from one sin city to the next and are currently catching our breath in Amsterdam after a week of visiting family and friends in The Netherlands!  Not until we touched down in Europe did we realise the wear and tear our clothing had taken over the last 8 months....blue shirts turned yellow by the sun, shoes with holes and multiple layers of dirt, shirts stretched to twice their original size...we were quite a sight; embarrassed we ducked into a couple shops and bought some new clothes to last the rest of our trip. 

Looking spiffy (aka clean) in our new gear we started our tour of the country.  My second cousin Daan hosted us when we first arrived.  He lives in Amsterdam's equivalent to central park and when I tell locals where he lives they usually think for a moment before carefully asking "so, is he like...homeless?" No he is not homeless, the park has one house in it, build it 1867 and that is where he lives.  Daan took us on a tour of the smaller towns outside of Amsterdam which was really enjoyable after we adjusted to driving on the right hand side of the again, the first 30 min were terrifying as at every turn we thought we were turning into the wrong lane.

From Amsterdam we headed north to Groningen to visit good family friends Arie and Diana.  The weather being quite poor we spent the afternoon at a museum with a exhibit on Vikings.  My knowledge of vikings was limited to horn decorated helmets (myth by the way) and so I really enjoyed the exhibit.  From the north we headed to the east where my grandmother and aunt and uncle live in Winterswijk.  The rain continued but that meant we had a lot of time to catch up with family as well as sleep as we slowly got over our jet lag. 

Fully rested, we visited my aunt, uncle and cousins in Elst.  Rain followed us and so we waited it out at the local bowling alley, an activity Colin chose for all of us and then conveniently won. We spent the night after a lovely dinner and tour of the historic surrounding areas.  On our way back to Amsterdam we made a final stop in Eindhoven for a lovely lunch with my aunt Yvonne.  Tada, full loop!

Now back in Amsterdam we are soaking up the city.  I love this city, it has a lot of character and anything goes.  Last night while walking the city we stumbled across a beach volleyball tournament being held in the middle of the historic part of the city.  Sitting on one side of us was a homeless man drinking a beer cheering on every on both teams, behind us two men in full suites, in front of us a family and on our other side two young men with a crate (24) of beer and a huge joint just chilling....fabulous!

Summary of Asia

Asia is a sharp contrast to camping in New Zealand or backpacking in South America. It was an eye opening, exciting leg of our trip.

-Fresh Fruit (Pineapples, Mangos, Papaya…list goes on) everywhere you look. Absolutely delicious!!

-Don’t need to mention the food anymore, wow!

-The local people in all of the countries (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand) were very very friendly and helpful. Renee and I had a hard time with people approaching us as it felt like a sales pitch for a tour or souvenir, but usually they just want to visit and practice their English.

-In South America the roads were sometimes scary but the drivers were good. In Asia it is the opposite, the roads are good but the drivers are terrible. It goes like this:

Question - “We need a driver for our bus, can you drive?”

Answer - “Nope”

Reply - “Good enough, you start tomorrow.”

-If you are on a tight budget, Asia is the place to go. Outside the tourist towns, some meals would be so cheap, we truly felt terrible paying only $1 for an amazing meal. You almost want to give them more money because they are hardly making $0.10 profit on the sale.

-In most places the locals eat rice or rice noodles 3 meals per day. Renee and I found it funny that they would buy “White WonderBread” for the tourist to eat at breakfast. They assumed all tourists liked toast in the morning, but that’s NOT toast…It’s Cardboard! Please give me what you are having for breakfast…breakfast curry on rice, yum.

We are now in Europe visiting some family for a week, then off we go to Belgium and France followed by several countries in Eastern Europe starting with Croatia!

COLIN

Summary Of Thailand

Our last leg of Asia is now complete as we have safely moved our way to Amsterdam. We were sad to leave Asia however excited to see friends and family in Europe!

-The food in Thailand is second to none anywhere we have been. Fresh, Sweet, Spicy, Sour, Salty, a little bit of everything. Very affordable as well.

-We found 1 month in Thailand to be a great length of visit, however we only covered about 1/3 of the country. If you wanted to see it all you would need 3 months at least.

-The main tourist season in from Dec – Apr so arriving in May was perfect for good prices on accommodation. The downside being some of the people involved in the tourist industry were slightly “tourist fatigued” by May. As we moved off the main tourist paths, the people were exceptionally friendly and hospitable.

-The downside of May is free sweat baths everyday; 85% humidity and 32-38 C is a mighty warm combination!

Costs:

Bottle of water: $0.25

Hotel Room: $8.00 / person

Meal for 2 with drinks: $3.00 – $5.00

Beer: $1.00

6 hour bus: (No A/C $5.00) (A/C $12)


Colin