Barcelona

Authors Note: Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted – I had very little connectivity in our last location (South Africa!!)

Barcelona…. The thing about Barcelona is that a friend joined us in Barcelona. HA. And by us I mean me – because Lane took full advantage of the fact that I had someone else to hang with – and he vegged almost the entire time. HA. Hey – everyone was happy, so who cares?

Lane and I arrived much later in the day than my friend. So he handled checkin at the apartment and also some grocery shopping! Yay! We arrived In the evening.   Then we headed out for a drink and a bite. We wandered toward the Gothic Quarter, taking in the sights. We were a bit hungry so we decided to stop at a beautiful second floor bar/restaurant. We had to wait a few minutes for a table but it was worth it. We had great sangria, some paella and grilled veggies. It was a wonderful evening and we enjoyed talking and catching up.

The next day we decided to take a walk around an area someone had mentioned. We had looked into seeing the beautiful church of Segrada Familia but couldn’t  get tickets until the next day. Our walk wandered through a park with multiple fountains and it seemed directly uphill to a castle. From there we could see the Mediterranean Sea. This of course made us wonder if there was a beach nearby but I will get to that later. Ha

We stopped for a mojito on the way down and managed to wander our way, a slightly shorter route, back home again in time to get changed for dinner. A funny thing happened while we were sitting on a bench drinking our mojitos. A group of people from India came up and asked to take pictures with us. Weird right? First a woman, then another woman, then a guy. I would say in their 40s and 50s. We obliged, but I wasn’t sure what the draw was??

Saw this sign on the way home. Not sure why it’s necessary to tell people NOT to drink from the sprinklers, but….. it made me giggle.

On the way home we texted and asked Lane if he needed anything. Dinner. Ha. He wanted to stay in rather than head out with us. Ok! Empanadas on delivery!

My friend and I had great dinner at an outside table. We tried some new and fun foods.

The next day we headed in a different direction. First to the Sagrada Familia, which was so different and stunning!  And this coming from someone who has had enough of churches. Ha.

 

 

After that we had a little break and then headed to the Guell Park. Unfortunately, when we got there, the tickets had been sold out. But we had a nice walk around the park anyway.

 

After all that walking.  Yes, more uphill, I made a command decision to get a taxi home to save some time and energy for dinner.

The next day we played it low-key. We had a tapas tour schedule for the evening so we just wandered around the Gothic Quarter, and Las Ramblas for a while.

The tapas tour was great. As usual with a tour, I learned a lot. But, also as is typical, we had to tolerate some less than ideal conditions. In this case a rather obnoxious American guy. Uggg. Anyway the food was amazing. We learned there are different types of tapas for the different regions of Spain. Mountain or rustic. Ocean/seafood. Traditional. And Pintxos (pronounced pinch-O’s).  We got to try all different kinds of tapas and a drink at each place. It was really neat. At the last place we were served ice cream and drank dessert wine from a special carafe – called a porron –  designed to do what kids call ‘water-falling’ a drink. Which means to drink without touching your lips on the container.  Ha. This is a random picture from Google. We didn’t get any pics at the time.

Above, a pic from one of the oldest tapas bars in Barcelona. These are the original ‘refrigerators’ – ice boxes.

LOOK at that spread! HA

The next day was our last day in Barcelona. Lane and I had decided to send the skateboard home with our friend along with some other things including the big blue duffel we had been using. So I definitely needed to get a new suitcase. Once that was accomplished we had an afternoon left. We researched the nearby beaches and decided we could use a break from the city so we grabbed a taxi and headed out. The traffic was particularly bad probably having to do with some of the political issues at the time ( this was leading up to the Catalonia vote and there had been many signs of “Si” in support of the vote. And also some pot and pan banging the last 2 nights from 10 to 1015pm.

Anyway we arrived at the beach and it was beautiful! And quiet! Hardly anyone around. We made ourselves comfortable in a couple lounge chairs and ordered sangrias and mojitos until we got hungry.

 

 

Have you ever seen so many people on one paddleboard? Let alone all men. HA!

We asked Google – and the waiter – for suggestions for dinner. We walked to the end of the concrete pier, then wandered back on the lower level which was at a big marina. There were so many restaurants to choose from! Most of them had crazy seafood displays.  We ended up at one the waiter had recommended and it was amazing. We had our own version of surf and turf. I ordered a couple kinds of seafood. Razor clams and mussels. (Funny, I have seen razor clam shells on the beach in Ocean City my whole life – but had never eaten them. I don’t think they serve them in the states.)  The staff were crazy friendly. We had the best waiter. When I inquired about a particular seafood that I didn’t recognize he immediately got us a sample to try. Barnacles!! Crazy. Big ones. They are eaten raw. And are so sweet. Like a very firm clam. But pink and small. I didn’t get a picture before I ate it but I got a picture of the shell afterwards (I still have the shell – it smells a bit funny. HA!)


The man above was dunking octopus into a steaming pot of water.

The waiter was kind enough to bring us some Limonchello-type dessert liquor to finish off our night.

YUM!

What an amazing day.  And night! We went home, packed, and were trying not to think about the fact we had to leave the next day.

Lane and I were off to Porto, Portugal!

Prague – Czech Republic

The flight into Prague from Santorini via Athens was uneventful. Unless you count the other Americans who were anxious and obnoxious about the transfer in Athens. Ha!

We arrived at our beautiful flat and loved the terrace and the view of the leaves changing. As usual, the initial arrival at a new place is a little nerve racking. Almost every place feels a little unwelcoming. But that usually changes once I get around a bit. New and different is scary to me at first. But soon it feels comfortable, like home.

 

Taking the tram to go shopping was a bit of a challenge. First, realizing I need to buy a ticket before getting on board. Then the machine only takes coins. And I don’t have any.  Then it only takes exact change which I don’t have. So I end up buying a 24 hour pass even though I know I don’t need it. Because that is the one I have exact change for. Ha.

Shopping is always an experience. I wander the store taking mental inventory to figure what is there that I can make into a meal. Then I wander around picking up stuff. Forgetting some. Ending up with 4 times as much stuff as anyone else.  Ha. Most times people are looking at me suspiciously like I’m going to steal stuff. Ha. I just try to smile and not act any more suspicious than necessary.

Home. Cook dinner. Drink too much wine. Ha. Chill. sleep!!

Next day is a chill day. I spend a lot of time researching South America. And updating the blog itinerary and uploading pictures for the blog.  Cook dinner.

The next day we are scheduled for the bobsleigh Trip. It is delayed slightly due to rain. Which kind of messes up our afternoon plans to see the bone chapel an hour outside of Prague.  Next time I guess

The bobsleigh/tobogganing was really fun. It looked like nothing when we got there. No cars around and just a snow/ski shop up front. You would never know it was there! Just a nondescript set of steps leading back to it.

As usual in Europe vs the USA there is minimal safety enforced. We are told if we go too fast around turns we might flip or be tossed out. And if we are tossed, to get back on again before the person behind us catches up and hits us. Ha. I work up speed over the 5 runs we take. We have a single lever. Push it forward and it’s no brake – full speed. Let it go and it’s in the upright position with some braking. Pull it back for maximum braking but, Still, this doesn’t stop you too fast. As Lane knows because at one point I hit her. Ha. I guess if you stop TOO FAST you will go flying. Ha.  We have the place pretty much to ourselves. It’s very quiet almost no one else is there probably because the weather isn’t great. It was really fun though.

 

 

 

 

Pizza and beers are included but they frown on drinking before you ride. Ha

Our guide Tina is really friendly and we talk about places we have been and things we would like to do. She and her boyfriend are into sports similar to us. Snowboarding. Wakeboarding. . Though water isn’t Tina’s favorite thing. We connect on Facebook and I hope I hear from her when she comes to the US.

After we’re done our rides and pizza and a beer for me, Tina drops us in the old town area.

She points out a bar where the drinks are delivered by train. Very cute!! The tables are marked with a number and the same number is on the track. The train stops for a certain period of time I think. I take time to get a picture and almost don’t have enough time to grab my drink before it shoots away!  Our table is by the window on the far side of the restaurant so we have to lift up part of the track to get to our table and back out again. Just have to be sure there’s no train coming! Ha! It opens ‘up’ like opening a counter to get behind a bar.

 

 

 

We wander a bit in the old town. Wenceslas Square.  Buy a pastry of unknown name and taste but it’s very good.

I’m feeling a bit punky so I treat myself to some hot mulled wine. Hit the spot. Love That I can buy that on the street from a food cart. Ha.

We do some shopping and wandering around then have an early dinner. Asian. Ha.

Then catch the tram home even though it’s early because we are both tired. On the way to the tram we pass a cool candy store. I took a couple pics before Lane told me that pics are not allowed. Very cool place.

 

On the way to our place I had seen this bar a few times. I’m not sure what the Idea was with this name and sign but I  personally don’t find it too welcoming.

Home for chill and bed.

 

The next day is Friday. Our last day in Prague. Now is when I really regret that chill day. But sometimes you just have to do it!!

We are scheduled for a shooting experience the next morning. Steve picks us up in his car and we drive about an hour. It’s great talking with Steve because he has traveled to a place I am currently planning.  Borneo. This is an island of Malaysia and Indonesia and one other small country called Brunei. He promises to send me some suggestions for when we are there. Places to stay (City/towns) and things to do. Seems we are somewhat like minded in what we like to do.

We arrive at a place in the middle of nowhere. It’s amazing how much Lane has changed since we started this trip. In the first few weeks he would have been eyeballing me during the drive like “where is he taking us?” And “this is the middle of nowhere.!!” “How do you know he’s not an axe murderer???”  Now he’s just chill. Ha.

 

It IS the middle of nowhere. But I guess that’s the best place to shoot guns right? Where no one can be hurt?

 

There are several shooting areas. We go to the furthest and our driver says we can get out. I ask if he is staying. He says yes. Ok. I was just a tad concerned about whether the shooting range folks would speak English and know about our experience/package etc. No reason to worry, though, as Andrew – our gun guide- is very friendly and speaks great English just like Steve. He walks us through a safety briefing. Which I listen to intently (because I can only understand about 60% of what he says HA!). Then they show us some guns and we start shooting!

 

Included in our package are:
AK47
M16
Magnum .357 (Ruger GP100)
CZ Scorpion EVO 3submachine gun
Dragunov Sniper rifle
Beretta 92 9mm
Kris Vector .45 ACP (semi automatic)
Desert Eagle .50 AE
Fabarm STF 12 (12 Gauge pump action shotgun)

 

Below: AK 47

Below: M16

 

Below: CZ Scorpion EVO 3


Below: Magnum 357 Ruger GP100

 

Below: Fabarm STF 12gauge Pump Action Shotgun

Below: Desert Eagle

Below: Dragunov Sniper

 

Below: Beretta

 

Below: Kris Vector

I go first – shooting each of the 4 guns on the table. Handgun, then 3 rifle type guns. I am slow to aim, but do pretty well in hitting the primary target areas! I score a 35 out of 50 on most of them.

 

Lane is next. His shooting is similarly good!

 

After we finish with the first 4,  they give us options on adding more to our experience. They show and explain about 12 different guns. Between the accent and not knowing ANYTHING about guns, I glaze over after the first few. Most of these words mean nothing to me. One I understand – Desert Eagle. Looks bada$$. Lane chooses a Beretta and a Kris Vector semi automatic. I chose the Desert Eagle of course. WHOO HOO! This one costs as much to shoot one round as the others do for  5 shots. YIKES! And they tell us we will go to a different range for the shotgun and the sniper shooting.

 

 

As I’m getting ready to shoot the Desert Eagle everyone is watching (there were 3 other guys there besides Andrew) and they are all smirking. I’m like “what are you all smiling at? What am I getting into here?”  “Just a big kickback” they say. Ha. Yeah!!!  Like it popped right out of my left hand!!! the right hand held firm though. I had no idea it would pop UP. I would have held on more tightly. Ha. But I hit the target. That was one hell of a handgun. Heavy. And with 50 caliber bullets it made a big hole!!

 

 

 

Next was the pump action shot gun. This was on a different range, too. With metal targets. We both hit 5/5!!!! There is something so cool about the pump action. You definitely feel like a bad ass when you shoot and pump. Ha.

The sniper rifle was last. With a scope and all – so the target was 100M away. I mean you can’t even really SEE the target from where you stand. But we both hit it. All 5 times!!

Afterwards we went to the clubhouse for sandwiches and a beer. Fanta for Lane. We had an interesting discussion about hunting in Czech Republic and about homeschooling. This is interesting. I’m not sure how it is in the USA  but Hunters in Czech belong to clubs. Each club is responsible for a specific geographic area. Not just for hunting, but for overall health of the animals. Feeding them if needed. Killing sick or injured animals. Keeping the population at the right levels for health, etc.  As far as homeschooling, well, it’s the same as Germany, it’s illegal in the Czech Republic. Andrew wishes it wasn’t because he has a 4 year old he would like to homeschool.

After that we head back to the apartment for a bit to touch base with friends at home and then we head back out on the tram for some more sightseeing and dinner. Lane goes somewhat reluctantly. Ha.

In walking to Charles Bridge we come across the Ice Bar and decide to give it a shot. They give you warm cape-like coats and gloves and the whole place is made of ice including the Bar, the walls, the tables and the cups they serve the drinks in. It’s very cool – literally it’s quite cold!! We leave early as our fingers are going numb. Ha.

BTW in Prague, Tina tells us, I can take Lane anywhere and everywhere.  Even a disco/dance club. “This is how it should be, no?” Says Tina. “He is your child!” I wholeheartedly agree!!  Not that I’m going to any dance clubs. But it’s good to know we don’t have to worry about it. It was annoying in some places that we couldn’t have dinner in a pub because Lane wasn’t old enough.

This was a funny public restroom sign.

 

Charles Bridge is beautiful and busy. The best part was this quartet. Lane and I confirm that girl fiddlers are adorable. This is the 3rd cute one out of 3 that we have seen. Ha.

 

 

 

 

We head across another bridge to a park where I saw some statues. I was curious about them from seeing them from the tram. The figures are broken in varying degrees and ways. And are walking down a set of steps. They represent the damage that communism did to the people   Pretty moving.

 

 

 

We stop at a small traditional Czech restaurant for dinner and it’s lovely. Warm inside with great service and food. I had duck and cabbage and gnocchi. Lane had steak with gravy   We shared some grilled veggies which were awesome. Lane again had a berry flavored soda. It had real raspberries in the bottom. Quite sweet but very good.

 

We headed home on the tram and chilled the rest of the evening.  Next day we are off to Switzerland.

 

 

Ireland

Our flight is delayed by an hour or so. Not a big deal. We aren’t on a schedule.

We arrive into Dublin by plane. We make our way through immigration and baggage claim and customs. Though not without some drama and aggravation. It seems the passports fell out of someone’s pockets while on the plane and so we don’t have them when we get to immigration. An airport employee tells us to wait in line for immigration and that they will let us through to get to the airline desk to inquire to see if they have been found. Turns out this is true. Of course, though, because we are not European, we are escorted and our immigration escort waits with us for the passports to show up. And that takes about 45 minutes. We have a nice chat while we wait. He is quite friendly, I think, although Lane tells me later he got a strange ‘not trusting’ vibe from him. Like he thought we were lying. I suppose what he passed as conversation may have been a bit of a test – a light investigation of us. In case the passports were not immediately found he would have as much information as possible to make a judgement call of what to do with us.  This kind of thing doesn’t bother me at all. I have literally nothing to hide and feel our ‘story’ is a good, honest, positive one.

Our host meets us at the door of our airbnb and shows us around. I am immediately out to get some groceries. The Uber driver told us tonight is when 15 and 16 year olds get their exam results so it might be a little crazy out. I am definitely cooking. Plus I haven’t cooked anything substantial in a while.

Lane enjoys some alone time in the bedroom and I enjoy some wine and cooking. It was a nice chill night. Don our host comes and goes while I talk to Matt and Dad on FaceTime. I don’t think either of them (Matt or Dad) is too happy about us staying in a guys apartment but Don was great and I don’t think posed any threat to us if you know what I mean.

I manage to get a load of laundry done. Much needed. Ha.

A quiet night followed by a slow morning. It’s amazing what travel takes out of you!  And the last couple places we were only there a few nights each so we have had more then our share of travel days lately.

We finally get out around early afternoon.  We wander to the Temple Bar area though intermittent heavy rain. And I try to find this pedestrian street I visited with Bob and Jeannine when we were here years ago (1999). I think I found it but it’s not the same. No biggie. Lane spots a merengue (bezy) bigger than his head in a shop window so we go in. I notice the food smells GREAT and it’s a hot and cold buffet at a tiny restaurant so I get a few things. So glad I did-  it was awesome. I realize everything is house made with no preservatives. This is why it smells and tastes so good. It’s not cheap but it’s so worth it. I want to eat here every day. Ha.

After that Lane and I do some shopping. At H and M as usual. We both get a couple new tops. We are SO SICK of the clothes we have. Lane is much more tolerant of this than I am. And he has probably only 60% of the clothes I have. I do miss my wardrobe at home.  I can buy new stuff but then I have to get rid of something. That can be hard. Plus I don’t want to pay a lot for anything because at some point THAT ITEM will be in the toss pile. Ah well. I know you don’t feel one bit bad for me. Ha.

We stop at a cool microbrewery and pub for a rest then head home to drop our stuff.

    

We head to Bram Stokers Castle Dracula.   Unfortunately, it only opens on Friday and Saturday nights. So we head back home and I prepare some dinner. I manage to convince Don we have enough food for him too so we have dinner together, the three of us. Don is in software similar to me but I think he’s a developer. We also share a passion for living below our means and saving money. I guess that’s why he opens his home to airbnb-ers . For the extra cash.

We head to bed and get up the next morning pack up and head to catch our bus to Galway. Can’t wait to see the Cliffs of Moher and do some caving. Whatever that is. Ha. ITS MY BIRTHDAY!! I pop around the corner from the bus station to get Lane a subway and realize I’m close to that great buffet restaurant again so I get their AMAZING chicken salad to go. Yay!

Arriving in Galway at the bus station we pick up a taxi and are dropped at our airbnb. Paul is very welcoming and shows us to our room and shows us how the hot water and shower work. Our room is very small and our mattress is on the floor. It’s going to be a cramped few nights. It’s not my favorite place ever. It feels a bit like college kids live here although I suspect Paul is much older than that. Paul tells us that his band will be playing traditional Irish music at a local pub tonight and I say we would love to go see them. He texts me the name of the place and then Lane and I go in our room to relax a bit. It is at this point, we ask Paul and find out there is no wifi in the house. YIKES. You might think this is no big deal but it kind of is. It’s not like in the US where your phone does pretty much everything you need, though maybe a little slow.  Many times things don’t work at all on my phone and Lane has no service at all. To get around we will need google maps, bus schedules, etc.  hmm.  Plus Lane needs a new book to read and his schoolwork is wifi dependent. We put our stuff in a bag and decide to walk to the center of town. We see a bus at the bus stop and decide to give it a shot. It’s the bus stop the taxi driver told us to use to get into town.  But many bus stops have multiple bus routes but take a chance. We pay and sit and feel like we are going in the right direction. And we are, and we get off at Eyre Square and walk into the bustle of things. I saw the pub where our hosts are playing tonight on our way there. So that’s settled.  We pick up a few necessities at the pharmacy then I spot a vodaphone store. I say let’s go see about a SIM card. Lane is skeptical because it wasn’t easy getting one in Germany but I say we give it another shot. This time it’s so much smoother!! We even get extra data because Lane is a student and I have our passport cards to prove it.  So now we have data. Lane’s phone is now WAY faster than mine and we are told the data is good for 30 days in all of Europe. Perfect. We will be in Europe for almost exactly 30 more days.

We do a bit of window shopping and wandering around then we head to the pub just in time for the 6 pm start. We order drinks (Latte for Lane) and eventually dinner and we enjoy the music. It was very nice. Our host Paul is playing a single drum that he holds. His roommate Tara is playing fiddle and a guy we never meet plays the guitar and I think a banjo. After that we wander a bit. Try to get on a bus but it goes the wrong way so we get off and grab a taxi home.

IMG_3891

 

The next day we have a bit of an adventure planned. A small group tour to include the cliffs of moher, caving, and cliff diving. Oh and lunch 🙂

It was a great tour, by the way. If you’re headed to Galway and looking for a great adventure tour experience, check out www.epicireland.com. Also search for videos on youtube!

The tour picks us up at our Airbnb early, like 8am. We pick up a few more people and take about an hour drive out to what seems like the middle of nowhere. We are ‘geared up’ in what, to us, seems like striper gear. Waterproof jackets and pants, and boots. We are given helmets with headlamps. And we walk a ways up the ‘road’, into the beautiful woods, and Emma, as it’s her birthday, is told to go first into the cave entrance, which looks very small, and muddy, and Emma says it smells bad. Yuck. I’m not sure I’m up for this! Micheal says it opens up inside. Well, he has Emma turn around for a picture and then announces “We’re not going in there! Are you nuts!? It’s awful! Get out of there Emma!” He was just kidding but Emma got to get all muddy. HA. Poor Emma.  Anyway, he then led us further to a more respectable looking cave entrance. It was in a hole in the ground and water was coming down by the opening. But it at least looked like you could walk into it (not crawl like Emma did).

Off we went into the cave. Micheal asked if anyone was claustrophobic. We all said no. He said we would know in the first 5 minutes if it was an issue. We entered the cave, it was walkable height, but very narrow. It was really cool. The water had been running through this path for thousands of years, which created the cave in the limestone. The bedrock, above our heads, was as flat as a ceiling in your house. That rock is too hard to be dissolved by the water, apparently.

In walking through the caves, and we did walk most of the time, sometimes you needed to walk sideways to fit, with your butt inching alone one wall while your feet braced the floor edge on the other side. At times we had to climb up, like up a water fall. Or crawl through a small crevice. Not too often, though. There were great formations above and around us. And often a white line on the floor, the calcite, I think it’s called. At one point, we turned around and headed back, and then Micheal put me in the lead (we all took turns leading through the whole 2-hour period) and he told us all to grab the person in front of us by the shoulder and turn off our headlamps. We walked in complete darkness. I was in the lead so was careful with my steps, and, as Micheal instructed, told the person behind me what to expect. We had done this all along but it was more important in complete darkness. WOW. what an experience. It was messy, wet, muddy, and cramped, but really really fun!

After that, we removed all our gear, changed into dry clothes (at times we walked through water a foot deep, so it went OVER our boots and our feet and lower legs were wet), and Micheal drove us to a small cafe in Doolin. We had an AMAZING lunch of home made soup and chicken salad sandwiches on the famous Brown Bread of Ireland. Then, he drove us to the Cliffs of Moher.

What an amazing sight. Not only that, but Micheal knew of some quiet places to go to see it. He dropped us at a gate and pointed in the direction to go. He said ‘when you see signs telling you not to go, that it’s dangerous, just keep going’. HA. This is my kind of guy.   There was hardly anyone around. I felt so privileged . While we were viewing the Cliffs from a glorious spot – quiet and hardly anyone there but the 6 of us – we could see people walking the top of the Cliff. Surely that is fun and interesting, but, really, the viewpoint we had was so much better. We could SEE the Cliffs, not look down on them. The spot was completely ‘hidden in plain view’. It was basically a walk from the road through a farmer’s land full of cows. Apparently it’s OK with the farmer. HA.

 

SO the down side was, it started to rain, so Lane and I started to hustle back down the path to get to the bus. AND, Lane twisted his ankle. Badly enough that he pretty much could NOT walk. I carried hiima bit, then Emma and Rachael came back and took turns carrying her (piggy back style). It was so sweet of them. I could not have done it myself.

Next up was to be the cliff diving. Lane had already decided he didn’t want to jump in the cold Atlantic water, but he had planned to go with us and watch us do it (Emma, Rachael and I. There was another couple with us for caving but they opted to do the Cliffs hike instead of the cliff diving). Well, clearly Lane could NOT make the 20 minute hike to the diving spot, so he bravely and selflessly told me to go while he stayed in the van, parked at the Doolin Inn (no, it was not dangerous to leave hi, there, trust me, i was there).

Well, the hike there was a bit strenuous for this American. Not for the Irish folks, though. They are so much more used to walking and treacherous ground than I am ! HA. I managed to keep up and not look like the ‘old person’ which I was now that the other couple had left us for the hike. HA.

We got there, and expected it to be deserted, but there was a group of guys there, wrapping up doing what we were about to start. We donned bathing suits and wetsuits – I was cold just from the walk! The idea of jumping into the water did not appeal to me, but I knew I had to do it. Micheal had mentioned a cave in the water that we could jump from the top. I looked at that cave and my heart fell into my stomach. It was pretty darn high! and the ocean looked a bit treacherous to me.

Emma and Rachael had no intention of jumping from any kind of height so Micheal pointed them to a low cliff and told me to follow him. Well, there is no record of this first jump and it’s just as well. I was terrified, of course, but I had no idea what I was doing. Micheal tried to explain, definitely land on your feet NOT your back or butt or you will DEFINITELY FEEL IT. Guess what I did? Not intentionally, of course, but I landed on my butt. Even with a wetsuit, I swear I haven’t felt that kind of sting EVER in my life. Followed, of course, by the shock of the cold water! Yikes! I couldn’t move my legs for about 5 minutes while I merely paddled to the nearest rock. The sting VERY SLOWLY wore off. While we jumped from some lower cliffs. Then, it was time to jump from the top of the cave. I think it’s about the same height as the first jump. But now, I am equipped with the knowledge of how much it hurts if you land badly. HA!

Well, I did it. it was awesome. still makes my heart pound thinking about it, and it was like a month ago now!

IMG_3891IMG_4292

We headed back to the van, Lane was completely content having had some screen time and rest for his ankle. Michael was kind enough to stop by a store for us on the way to dropping us home, to get some food (and wine) for the night, knowing we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without a car.

WOW what a day.

The next day we were going to do something. Micheal had offered to take us on his other adventure tour, free of charge, but Lane couldn’t walk, so we chilled at home. I got Lane a cane to help him walk (but he refused to use it so we left it there, HA).

The next morning, we were out of there. Bus to Dublin, Flight to Barcelona!

Scottland – Inverness and Edinburgh

The trip from London to Inverness was a rather long train ride. I’m sure we will have longer but 8 hours is probably the longest to date

It was somewhat scenic but more so towards the end when we started to see rocky cliffs dropping into the water. VERY COOL. No pics, though, the train was moving too fast! HA!

Our place in Inverness was in the home of Kimberly though we barely saw her. It was a cute little house with 2 bedrooms. One thing was kinda new. It was chilly! We needed HEAT on occasion! Kimberly had coffee and tea and some food staples for us. So nice.

When we first arrived we literally dropped our bags and hopped back in the taxi to go to dinner.  I picked the closest pub possible (via google) and it was a great choice. Because as we were getting there, a two person band was setting up. YAY!!!   I was impressed that Lane decided to be a bit adventurous – he ordered some venison sausage for dinner. I had some pork stroganoff. And “a side order of Veg”. It was all really good as was the beer  – but the music was amazing. It was an adorable young woman playing the fiddle and a young man playing guitar. They took turns singing.  So fun. Exactly what I wanted from Inverness.

IMG_3676

 

I did notice pretty quickly that people were very prone to smile and were very friendly in Inverness. Which completely adds to the fun of any destination.

The next day it was predicted to rain so I had planned to stay home, do some blogging and some laundry and some trip planning. Well it wasn’t raining so by early afternoon I was itching to get going. So I did. Lane had his heart set on a chill day so I left him home. I wandered into town with the intent of seeing the Inverness castle, the High Street and shopping area and maybe hitting the Hootenanny where there would be live music 230 to 430

On my way walking a nice gentleman engaged me. I think talking about the weather or the traffic. As I has predicted with Lane, people are definitely speaking English – but that does NOT mean you will understand them. Ha. I needed to hear most things he said two times. We had a nice conversation about how he was from the northern part of Scotland I think the isles? And about how funeral homes make a lot of money. We were passing one at the time.  He asked what my plans were (as he walked his bike, pausing frequently) and said I should join him at the Hootenanny because they play live music every Saturday. I told him that was part of my plans after I walk about a bit.  We walked a ways further so he could put his mail into the post box and then we parted ways. He made me promise him 3 or 4 times that I would come to the Hootenanny. I had no trouble with this promise. Ha. Beer and live music and this sweet man. Oh did I mention he was no less than 85 !?!?

I stumbled across the Victorian Market where I wandered a while. Window shopping and talking on the phone.

Then I wandered the nearby streets in the general direction of the castle and high street. I popped into a few shops, checking out the wool and cashmere scarves and shawls. No room for those but they were lovely. I eventually did get a classic red plaid scarf in Edinburgh.

I saw the castle and took a few pictures from the bridge then realized it was getting late so I made a bee line for the Hootenanny. It was only a couple blocks away. Good because it had started to drizzle. When I got there it was PACKED. Not a free seat in the house!  Except one. My sweet friend Danny had saved me a seat at a table for two near the front. He was so happy to see me. We drank Guinness, teased the other old men there how we were going to get married. And we would invite them to the wedding. Ha. We had a few dances. It was great fun.  One guy sitting nearby told me he like my WHOO. it took a few times to understand what he was referring to. When the band finishes a song everyone claps. I also shout wooo wooo. Ha.  I do this everywhere. Lane hates it. It embarrasses him but I don’t care. Ha. Gotta be me.

IMG_3700

 

Danny was particularly proud of the young man in the band who would play keyboard or the BIG accordion and would sing. He kept telling everyone he was from his area or town in Scotland. So cute. I stayed until the end at 430. Then grabbed a taxi home and promptly napped. Ha. I had planned to go to dinner that night but was just SO exhausted. So was Lane. So for first time since we left home we ordered a pizza delivered. It wasn’t great but it was still pretty good. And we were cozy and warm in our heated house.

The next day again it was supposed to rain and blow at 20mph. It didn’t, but we stayed at home anyway.  Lots of planning. And catching up on other necessities. Eventually we went to dinner. At Johnny Foxes. They have live music every day. Unfortunately it doesn’t start until 1030and we were too tuckered to stay. I’m not sure Lane could have stayed anyway.  The U.K. Is rather strict about their pubs and drinking. Mainly a minor can’t be in the pub after a certain hour. Sometimes as early as 7 pm. We did have a nice dinner (I had mussels. So good) and saw some interesting things in the bathroom before we left. It should be noted that this pub is also attached to a sister bar that is a club called The Den. So…. kind of explains it. But not all of it.  Ha.

      

     

The next day sadly it was time to go and we boarded train to Edinburgh.

A fairly short 3 hour train ride was made more interesting by the chatty woman sitting across from us. She was very friendly and very happy. Unfortunately her accent was so strong we could hardly understand ANYTHING she said. It was painful. It got to the point where it felt so rude to keep asking her to repeat herself (and simply nodding and smiling when we still didn’t understand her) that we both put in headphones and listened to music.

In Edinburgh we taxied to our airbnb where we met David. Not the actual resident of the apartment. But rather, the brother of the guy who lives there with his girlfriend. The couple was on holiday in Peru doing the Manchu Piccu trek – which we plan to do later this year. David lives in South Africa in Cape Town and is visiting while he finishes his masters in I think it was Economic History. Davids brother is expecting him to move to Edinburgh when he is done his masters but David isn’t so sure and asked me where our favorite places were. He seemed to take it very seriously when we told him.

Sidebar – Everyone asks this – about our favourite places.  Skip this if I’ve talked about this already – but this is a very difficult question to answer. For starters I don’t want to insult anyone. Plus MY experience with each place is hardly typical and definitely not thorough enough to judge. If I stayed a few months or a year in each place – then maybe I could give a solid opinion. But my opinion is based on a lot of factors. Weather for starters. Every place looks SO MUCH BETTER when the sun is shining. RIGHT? Also my energy level. Which you know varies greatly. Plus where I have chosen to stay. Much of our experience tends to be in our ‘neighborhood’ (of where we stay) and with the amount of planning I can tolerate and our budget – we may not be in the BEST SPOT all the time.

ANYWAY. We meet David, settle in and get to the usual routine. Lane chills with a screen and school work while I head out to walk the Royal Mile (which is a mile and an eighth, I’m told later, A Scottish mile) and pick up some food for breakfast and for snacks the next day. When I return Lane isn’t up for going out so I head out for dinner and leave him with some dry pasta to cook. Ha. When I get back from a lovely seafood dinner he still hasn’t cooked it. So I make it for him. We get to bed early because it’s been a Travel day and we have rock climbing in the morning!

The rock climbing adventure starts with a pickup outside our door. Love this. (It gets tiring figuring out the public transport in every city, and/or walking). We drive to the outskirts of the city and walk about 10 minutes through a park to a fairly large rock structure. We get geared up with a harness, safety rope and get to our fist climb. It’s very interesting seeing how it all works. The safety gear and the anchors in the rock at the top. We initially have Lee manning the safety line (fulfilling the role of belayer) and later we belay for each other. Just once, though,  we both prefer that Lee do it. Ha. Climbing is great. We move to different parts of the rock for more challenging climbs. The abseiling down is a little scary at first but we get used to it. It’s not the jumping and pushing off the wall that you see in videos but more of a walking down backwards. But you are nearly vertical, putting all your weight and trust in the belayer.

We change it up a bit and do a different version of abseiling – maybe called rappelling this way – I’m not sure – where we control our own descent. Before it was up to the belay, how much rope they put out. In this version you control it yourself with a figure 8 made if metal and the rope that winds through it .  You pull out the rope at the pace you want to descend. I like to descent fast. Ha. Keep in mind that Lee is still belaying. From the top. With a separate rope.  A safety rope. Liked this part a lot and now l am looking forward to doing more of it when we go canyoning in Porto. Which is like this but with water involved. Or so Lee tells me. I have no idea what I’ve signed us up for. Ha.

We get home and rest briefly then shower and head out. Lane groans when I tell her I want to go to the Camera Obscura museum in addition to dinner. But he ended up loving it. It had some really cool stuff.

IMG_3789

So at least ONE museum wasn’t total torture for Lane. HA!

Bonus – on the way TO the museum we see a man holding an owl on the sidewalk.  On the way back there are TWO OWLS and we get to hold them, pet them, kiss them and get pictures. So great. They were Insanely fluffy. Like their feathers were piled four inches deep.

    

     

After that we do dinner. I wanted fish and chips in a pub but they wouldn’t seat Lane after seven so we settled for Thai and Indian. My meal was pretty good.  Best masala sauce ever. My lamb was a little tough. But the naan made up for it. Laney, unfortunately, was spicy despite us asking for no spice. It’s always a gamble. He was a good sport. He ate the meat because he was so hungry.

As we leave the restaurant Lane realizes he has misplaced his super man baseball hat. Almost certainly where I bought my Scottish scarf. It’s closed now but I promise to go back in the morning to get it.

The next day we are up and getting ready to go. We are flying again with a weight restriction so we pull out the old nylon bag and pack it with heavy stuff to keep ‘big blue’ down below 20kg. Overall it goes smoothly and Lane stays in the apartment while I head out to buy another length of silver necklace  I had bought the other day. And I get Laney hat. Yay!!  Off the to the airport and off to Dublin.

 

Antwerp – It’s all about the Beer at the Kulminator

The trip from Amsterdam to Antwerp should have been a direct train of about 3 hours. Instead it was 3 cancelled trains (and 3 transfers) and about 6 hours. AH well.

Arriving in Antwerp I was so pleased with the Airbnb. It was lovely, 2 bedrooms, in a bustling area (but not too busy) and very near the centre (Meir). As usual, we settled in a bit and I went to the store. I was determined to cook some meals, after not being able to cook at all in Amsterdam. I bought some chicken, peppers, onions, some tortillas. I had 2 dinners planned plus some breakfast items. Unfortunately, the only chicken there was frozen so we weren’t going to be cooking that tonight!!

That evening, Lane had pasta. I went out to dinner to a place I had read about in one of the books in the flat. Turns out it was a pretty fancy place! But, you know, once you are ‘there’ well, you’re kinda stuck. It was really nice, though. Some great sample apps came with my dinner. Oysters, fish. The dinner and bread and wine were all great. And, since Lane was home eating pasta, it didn’t break the budget. HA!  I’m terrible, I know.

The next day, Lane wasn’t feeling too well. Headache and a bit of soreness in one of his ear piercings. SO, I was on my own. I was also a little tired so I chilled, worked out, cooked dinner and headed out around 3 or 4 for the very ‘interesting’ beer bar I had read about, also online. I think I googled best places for beer in Antwerp. Lucky me, one of the best in town was right up the road. The Kulminator Cafe.

When I walked there, before I even walked in, I could tell this was going to be ‘an experience’. The front windows were full of books and overgrown plants and you couldn’t even SEE inside. In the front small foyer type of area, where stacks of crates full of (I think empty) bottles. Like, you could barely get passed them and I thought they might topple as I passed.

When I walked in, the scene got even more interesting. It was like being in someone’s very cluttered living room. Only one other patron was in the place. I approached the bar counter, and, not knowing if the (Woman) bartender spoke English, I only said Hello and she indicated I should sit down. I found a comfortable spot, and she brought me a beer list. And by list, I mean an entire, 2″ thick BINDER. None of it in English. I perused it for a few minutes, then promptly closed it. HA. When she came around, I asked her if I could do a sample of 4 or 5 beers. She asked me what kind, I asked her to pick. She asked if I like sour beers, I told her I LIKE ALL BEERS! She brought me a great selection. I was in beer heaven!

 

Soon after, I engaged in a conversation with the man nearby. I never got his name but he was from Brazil (and Italy, sort of), and now lives in Antwerp. He recommended a chocolate place (which we never got to), and we talked about his life and travels, as well as ours. He was quite pleasant. A few more people wandered in, my new friend left and I promptly struck up a conversation with a family that had sat down next to me. They were from Madrid. Mother, father, grown son and grown daughter. The mom didn’t speak much English, but the daughter and Dad did. The daughter is currently living in Wales, so her English was very good. The Dad was also pretty good. I had a great conversation with them about travel, and differences between countries. One thing they had a hard time with? Drinking without food. How can you have a beer without some bread and cheese at LEAST! HA. The Kulminator offers no food. Not even pretzels or peanuts. It was great talking to them and enjoying my multiple beers. We left about the same time.

I headed home, and we ate the dinner I had cooked earlier. It was still warm in the oven.  Chicken, sort of like I make at home. And some broccoli. Only, this time, I had to toast bread and crush it to make breadcrumbs. HA. Too much work. And I had to mix oil and vinegar and some salt, pepper and a bit of sugar to make the ‘dressing’ that goes on the chicken.

Some chill time and bed

The next day Lane still wasn’t feeling good, and honestly I wasn’t up for travelling, so instead of getting a train to Brussels or Bruges, I decided to take a walk around the centre (Meir, pronounced, I think, Mayor) of Antwerp. On my way there I stumbled across a ‘Street Food Warehouse’ type of thing. Similar to where we went in Copenhagen. It was a very big place with lots of cool places to eat. I ordered a mixed platter of middle eastern food then settled at the bar with a beer until they brought it over. The bar had these HUGE tanks behind it, holding the beer. The whole place was pretty cool looking. The pictures didn’t turn out nearly as well, but the food was very good.

 

 

I thought this was a cute name for the Asian place. HA

When I got to the centre (Meir), it was clear there was some kind of celebration going on. That made sense to me, since Ellena (Spanish daughter from the day before) had mentioned a parade that was going on.  At the time, she didn’t know what it was about, but I guessed it might be the celebration of Antwerp being freed from German occupation at the end of WWII (based on the date, it was a pure guess) -I was right. There were US and UK and Polish (I think) and other military vehicles all around, as well as many men in uniform. A few looked old enough to have been there themselves. It was very moving, as I have experienced before, the gratitude and recognition of the American contribution to the war.

 

Saw this beautiful building on my walk home.

I wandered a bit, saw a castle, some beautiful churches, lots of cool shops, then headed toward home. Of course, by way of the Kulminator.

 

This time, being a Saturday instead of a Sunday, the place was PACKED. I couldn’t find a seat. And I had to wait FOREVER for the lovely bartender to free up. She was so cute. At one point, someone tried to get her ‘ahead’ of me and she pointed at me and indicated I was first. HA. So sweet. I had told her I would be back and she remembered. Anyway, I got my beer and, after struggling to find a seat, a nice guy mentioned that he and his sister and some others were ‘in the back (the outside seating) behind the huge stack of beer boxes’. HA. I made my way back there (it didn’t look like it was intended for public use, but it was), and it was so quaint. Seating was in a square. Probably enough to seat 10-12 in a cozy way. And a couple barrels for tables, and lots of old candle drippings on the candelabra. Oh, and cases of beer that looked like they might topple onto us at any moment. HA. There were 5 of them. Mostly younger than me I think, but not by too much. They were very welcoming. Two from Switzerland (originally from the states) and 2 from the San Fran area, and one world wanderer. A chef, doing perpetual travel (no end date in sight), and working or volunteering as a chef at unique places. Very interesting group. Oh, and at least one of them worked in the beer industry. At least 3 of them were real beer experts (from my perspective). They were happy to share their thoughts and we exchanged tastes of different (some expensive) beers. Very cool.

Cool beer sign at Kulminator. Stuffed in the back.

    

These (or some version of these) are some of the beers that I tried while at Kulminator. Loved them.

After that, I headed home, made dinner and chilled with Lane.

The next day, I did NOTHING. I wasn’t feeling well, so after a workout and a shower, I got dressed. Then changed back into my PJ’s and only left the house later for some fruit and juice. 🙂 I think I got a touch of what was affecting Lane.

The following day, it was time to go. Off to London for us (Via Brussels).

 

 

London – feels familiar!!

Well, the journey to London was expected to be painless. A short journey from Antwerp to Brussels via a local-type train. Then get the Eurostar to London. Fortunately, we had an early start and caught the earlier train to Brussels, which left us some excess time. We picked up some chocolates in the train station (we never did do that chocolate tour we thought about in Antwerp), and failed to find Lane a new converter/charger (left behind in Amsterdam I think), and headed (rather early) to our train.

Well, thank goodness we went early, because first, it was kinda far – for being inside a train station – like a 10 or 15 minute walk. THEN, well, I hadn’t anticipated plane-type security. There was no line, fortunately, but some threatening posters about knives, etc. And, yes, we have that pocket knife (Swiss Army) from Switzerland, plus a weatherman with a knife that we brought from home. I debated calling it out and offering it up for confiscation, then thought, no, let’s see. Well, it was buried in the big bag, with the skateboard on top, and both were stuffed into a boot, so they probably looked like a block of metal on the X-ray. But they apparently went undetected. Good/Not Good.  Perhaps it/they were not big enough, even if I had called it out, to be a violation. Who knows. I guess that’s the kind of thing people would research if they were only doing a few hops on a holiday. These are the kinds of details we don’t bother with. HA!

The train ride was only a couple hours. Lane and I zoned out mostly. there isn’t too much to see, really. Part of the trip you are underground. Obviously. HA.

Arriving in London we grabbed a taxi (very cool taxi’s in London. Not all were the traditional black cab so I was glad we got one of those). Arrived at our flat and met our hostess Mel. The place was lovely. It was a downstairs flat, like below sidewalk level. We had a bedroom and shared the rest of the house with Mel and her cat, Oscar. Turns out, Oscar’s not really her cat. It had belonged to a neighbour – and was a bit of a shared cat among the people who live on her street (it’s a whole-block building, square in shape, with a courtyard in the middle with a playground, etc. – so the cat probably remains mainly in the courtyard – might have to now that I think about it. I’m not sure there is access to the courtyard except from the houses themselves. hmmm). Anyway, the primary owner had died and another moved away so Mel adopted Oscar, who is quite old. I got the impression Mel wasn’t completely happy with the situation, but felt it somewhat of an obligation. She openly stated that she likes animals but does not want pets. HA.. Oscar is a very friendly cat who loves attention and loves to purr. We were happy to have a furry friend for a while. We miss Bubba.

    

We relaxed a few minutes, not long because we were both hungry! We were in the Notting Hill section of London, which is quite posh, and has lots of good shopping and restaurants. It didn’t take us long to find a nice Thai restaurant. I finally convinced Lane to try Thai (he insists he liked the Asian in Berlin and I told him the dish he had there was Thai, and that not all Thai is spicy).

Anyway we had a wonderful meal and then headed to the Tube station to get to Covent Garden. The weather was good and I wanted Lane to experience that area, and to see any buskers or street performers. I vagueldy remember the area being fun for that kind of thing. And I was not disappointed.

  

  

 

Let’s just say that a street performer finished up a performance and promptly started a new one, and dragged me into it! HA! It was fun, of course. The performance was intended to be a comedy, but the performer never spoke a word, it was all gestures and physical. When he first pulled me from the crowd, he grabbed my hand and lead me off through the large square that the crowd had formed around him. Stopped at the edge of the crowd and waved as though we were leaving. HA. That’s just an example.  Anyway, Lane has the whole thing on video but he’s forbidden to share it. He can show you if you see him. It’s pretty funny. Rather humiliating for me, but funny.

After that, we wandered around a bit, spent some time in the big Apple store there, and then headed home.

The next day we went to Madam Tossaud’s Wax Museum, which was a ton of fun. Very big and quite different from the others we had been to. There was an IMAX type short film and some other ‘ride’ type things.

We went home for a bit, then headed out to our dinner before our show, The Woman in Black. Dinner was Thai again (YAY, I’ve turned him to the dark side). We arrived a bit early for the theatre so we had a chance to sit in the bar for a bit. It was a very small place but quite lovely. I had a wine. I think Lane had a water. We had very good seats,  they were called Row C but were actually the second row right in the middle. And there was no one in front of us. I think those seats might have been TOO CLOSE – you could probably touch the stage with your foot from that first row.

The show itself had no intermission, I think due to the suspenseful nature of it, they don’t want to lose the suspense momentum by having a break. It was JUST the kind of show I was looking for. Low ‘production’ – meaning minimal props, it was all about the actors. And there were only 2 that spoke. It was captivating and scary and entertaining. It reminded me of the show I had seen in London years ago called Blood Brothers. Similar, that had few props and few actors but was a great story.

Lane laid his head on my shoulder at one point during the show – I feared he was bored. But later he said he loved it and that his neck was hurting him. YAY.

After that we headed home – we were TIRED.

As usual, we spent some time in the kitchen/living room talking to Mel. She has traveled quite a bit. She was a photographer for documentaries, if I understood and can simplify a bit, so she told us a little about her time in vietnam and Thailand. We also talked about people, relationships, kids. It was nice to be in a place where we had a common language. It’s generally easy to ‘get along’ in a country that speaks a different language, but it can get lonely after a while, Lane and I only having each other to talk to. I enjoyed Mel’s company very much. I hope I get to see her again someday. Lane mentioned maybe coming back to London when she’s older and surprising her. Mel and I exchanged numbers (with Airbnb, you can communicate with your host while you are there, via the app and email and text, but they mask everything and after the stay is over, the communication is ended I believe).

While we were in London, as well, Lane started his school work. Yes, very begrudgingly. But, once he got started on the Kahn Academy, I think it didn’t seem so bad. We worked out a schedule of a certain number of lessons (or whatever you call them) each day. I took out weekends and travel days, so we won’t have to deal with that. And gave him a reprieve on the first research project. We’ll start that in 2 weeks.

The next day, we were to take a train to see my friend Carla, where she lives with her husband and son and daughter, about an hour outside London. Carla is from America, the Boston area. Her husband is from England, which is how she and her family ended up there. Anyway, Lane and I hopped a train but not until mid-day (around 2 I think), as her kids are in school and she was working. Carla picked us up at the train station and we went to her house. Not too long after her kids were home – one guitar lesson later we headed out for a walk to a lovely pub, followed by a walk through a woodsy-park where the kids played hide and seek for a bit. then we walked past a rowing lake and headed home. It was a great time. We ended up spending the night there, since it was late and no reason to trek back to London so late.

Arriving back in London around noon the next day (our train was a bit delayed), we showered and headed out to the South Bank of London. Passing by Big Ben, The London Eye, we visited the London Dungeon. This was similar to the other dungeons we had visited, but, like Madam Tussaud’s, it had a ride and other things the other dungeons didn’t. It was very cool.

it’s hard to show in a picture but this English 5-pound note has a clear spot on it, I put a receipt behind it. Very strange.

After that, we wandered down the South Bank area, where there is lots to see. We snacked on some empanadas from a street vendor. Came across a cool skate park. Some interesting art/park benches.  A cool pub. We people watched for a while. Lane got some roasted nuts from a street vendor, he says he usually gets them with her Grandpop at Knoebels. Then, we hopped back on the tube to head home. Only we got on the wrong train. It wasn’t a tube at all. It took us WAY out of town. like 45 minutes before it stopped. HA. Well, we got back on another train right away that headed back to London Kings Cross and got (mostly) all fixed up. When we finally exited the Tube at our stop at Notthing Hill, we had some issues, with the non-linear (and perhaps time lapse) of our Oyster (tube/metro) card, but one of the attendees was kind enough to help us out so we got away with our mistake (which could have cost us serious fines for going so far without paying). I don’t feel bad about trying to trick the system in this way because it’s not like I WANTED to go where we ended up. Nor did I get any pleasure from it. HA.

Home again. Time to pack. The next day we head to Inverness!

Overall, London was great. Lane really loved it. I think it was a combination of our great host Mel, and the familiarity of the English language (a relief after so many other countries and languages) and a cool city vibe. For me, it was a bit like coming home. Things were familiar in a way but new, too. I didn’t remember all that much in the way of specifics. Of course, I vaguely pointed out to Lane areas where I had been, lived, etc. But that’s all ancient history. 🙂

Amsterdam

I am so sorry it’s taken me so long to publish. We have been travelling a bit faster than usual (2-3 nights per place, instead of 5) and in some cases had no wifi, so it’s been tough!

Our arrival in Amsterdam (8/26) was pretty standard. Arrived at the train station, grabbed a taxi. Arrived at our HOUSE BOAT! YAY! Taxi was insanely expensive BOO! HA. Oh well. Our host met us a few minutes later and showed us around. It’s not very big, but it IS ON THE WATER. We have chairs on the deck. A ladder for getting out of the water (yes, we can swim, they say it’s very clean). And just a basic room with a shower and a table/chairs, and a bathroom. There is no sink in the bathroom. Only in the ‘kitchen’ area. No ‘living room’. No kitchen really, we can’t cook on the boat. Fire hazard maybe? We can make coffee. We have a tiny fridge. It’s really quite quaint and nice.

Of course, once I’ve studied the map a bit, the tram system, and decided a few places we would like to go, it’s time for a nap. HA. After that, a nice dinner outside at a neighbourhood restaurant, and bed time. As many of you have heard, Europeans savour their dining time. So, dinner is never a quick affair. It’s assumed that you want to stay there for hours, unless you specify otherwise. No biggie. I enjoyed the locally-brewed beer and schnitzel. Lane had a caesar salad with chicken.

The next morning, we were still moving a little slow. A load of laundry. Downloaded some new books from the OC library. A workout. A swim 🙂 off the dock. Chill in the sunshine a bit. Finally get ready and head out. We are mostly in search of food. HA. Though we are headed to the centre to see what there is to see.

We used our Scrubba for our swim – (laundry bag and washer. now flotation device!)

We do some shopping. There are so many stores. Some are familiar, some are new. H&M. Primark. We take a picture of this beautiful hallway. A few days later I get an email in my inbox from Atlas Obscura about it. check it out here  Amazing how similar their pictures are to mine, though theirs are obviously much better ha.

We also saw this unique tram. Perhaps painted for the recent Gay Pride celebration in Amsterdam

While walking to the tram stop to get home, I notice a tattoo and piercing shop. Next to it (you can’t miss it) a sex shop. Hmmm I say. The Airbnb host (Paul) said he recommended a specific piercing shop. He marked it on the map and said it was next to a sex shop. We check the map and YUP, that’s the place. So we go in, and ask a very nice young woman about ear piercing. She asks how old Lane is and if I am her mother. 13 on the day of the piercing and yes. Well, apparently we need ID because piercing of minors is not allowed without a parent. NO problem. We’ll be back in a couple days. The place seems very nice, clean (sterile almost) and the woman explains pricing, etc.

We head home for the night, grab some groceries and some beer. Chill on the deck. Call home. Listen to music, play some cards.

The next day is similar. Coffee. Workout. A bite. Head out late again. This time we have some goals. The Cat Boat. The Flower Market. The 9 Streets area. We accomplish 2 out of 3. HA. The Cat Boat was neat, though a little sad with one cat there in very bad shape. I give a donation and then find 20 EUROs on the floor, so I gave them that too. Then we wander around the 9 streets. Its a traditional Amsterdam neighbourhood with cobblestone streets, lots of canals and bridges, and some unique shops (not the big names that are in the centre). We both end up buying new shoes. Of course, part of the negotiation (internally and out loud) is which shoes will we get rid of in order to make room? This is always the dilemma. HA.

Lane isn’t up for any more for the day, especially the Flower Market (floating, by the way). So we again grab some food and head home. Pick up a couple more Radlers too.

Same routine pretty much at home. It’s a good one. Beers on the deck. Talk to people at home.

The next day, while finishing my work out and getting some sun on the deck, one of our hosts comes by. I’ve not met Robert yet, but he is so sweet and friendly. He mentions they will be going for a boat ride in about an hour would we like to go. OF COURSE. I know Lane’s #1 priority is getting his ears pierced. But, we’ll leave about 1230, be gone about 2 hours, so we can go do the piercing in the afternoon. Along with maybe the Flower Market. HA.

The boat ride is wonderful. Paul and Robert are very laid back, and open-minded. We talk about life’s history, dreams and plans. Robert and Paul own a restaurant, and hope to work hard at that for 5 years and then get a place in Spain where they can vacation in the Amsterdam winter. They have traveled a good deal, and been to Thailand a few times. They give me some tips on the culture there. They love it, but at times grow tired of the ‘false gratitude’ and maybe it’s a little too laid back at times. Like when things don’t work, and they don’t bother to fix them (like water in your room). Lane and I talk a bit about our ‘adventure’ and whether the pace is too fast or too slow. We generally agree that 5 nights isn’t enough in a place you love, like Amsterdam. But maybe too much in a place you don’t love. And you don’t know until you get there.

An interesting (to me) side note here. All of Europe seems to be very competitive when it comes to what is the ‘best’ place to visit or live in Europe. They all want to hear that THIS is your FAVORITE place. As if it really matters what I think. HA. There’s a lot of rivalry in other ways too. A lot of it about WWII. Lots of people still resent the Germans. I find that hard to believe so many years later. People are generally grateful for the Americans, though. Still, from our role in WWII. I don’t know how to respond to it. It’s not like I did anything. Or even my ancestors, as far as I know.

Anyway, as we ride around the canals, as we do when sitting on the deck, we wave at people. It is customary here, as Paul told me when we first checked in. As if, not waving, while sitting on their deck, would reflect badly on them. So, we ride the canals, we wave. At one point, a man shouts something (of course, I don’t understand). Robert responds to the man. I look at him questioningly. He tells me “He said you have a nice smile. ..I told him you don’t understand Dutch and you don’t like him.”  We laugh and Robert admits he only said the first part. HA.

I ask Robert and Paul a lot of ‘practical’ questions. Lane laughs and says I think too much and always need to know how things work. Like, on some canals there are big houseboats. On others, just small recreational type boats. How is this managed? I never got a straight answer about the recreational boats, but the houseboat ‘spots’ are managed by the city (or some such entity), and there are 2,200 if I understood correctly. The ones in the city centre are a specific rate. Outside of that, it’s less money. It’s an annual type of fee. Paul and Robert were offered a new spot, because they complained about the current one. There is a train that goes by their spot, and, it seems, it’s running more frequently now, and they complain of the noise. So, Robert says, they were offered one of the ’emergency’ spots that is kept open. They show me the spot. They are considering it. They think their houseboat might be too big to fit, unless the next one moves down. Or too wide. They tell me that a houseboat, the structure itself, is many times built on the water because the surrounding bridges are too low to pass it through. And that a houseboat would cost in the neighbourhood of $400k. Depending on size and condition, of course.

Robert remarked how people (men, he says) ‘size you up’ by the boat you are driving. This is somehow funnier, coming from Robert, who is unmistakably gay, with an accent that makes everything he says funnier.  He talks a little about the gay community in Amsterdam. How things are changing. Lesbians can be more feminine than they used to. Though, he jokes, some “are more man than me”. And he tells them so. I still laugh thinking about that. It’s funny in so many ways.

 

 

I insist that we want to eat at their restaurant, which is closed Monday and Tuesday (hence they have time to take us on the boat) so I promise to go the next night, our last night in Amsterdam.

After the boat ride, we head out for the piercing. The girl had explained that a gun would be used for the piercing, but it was completely different than what I expected. IN a good way. We wait our turn a bit, tell the girl what we want and which earrings Lane wants. She sends us downstairs. The girl there is also very nice and professional. She swabs Lane’s ear (as the mom I need to ask to be sure it’s alcohol, it looks like water, HA), dots the with some (I assume) iodine. Has us check the placement of the dots. Adjusts one. Then pulls out two plastic boxes in sealed containers. I can see the earrings. I keep looking for, and waiting to see the ‘gun’. I’m picturing something like a staple gun, or a hole punch. Nope. It’s in the container. Two small pieces of white plastic, each holding a part of the earring (front and back). She holds it up to Lane’s ear, slides the two pieces together and DONE. Lane didn’t even flinch. She does the second one and we are out of there. Lane looking a little foreign to me with earrings. HA. It was great, though. I had no worries about them being clean or sterile.

So, we get Lane a donut (He said he wanted to eat donuts all day on his birthday).

We wandered to the Flower Market after that. Lots of plants, lots of bulbs. We saw some cool things but it wasn’t ALL THAT. HA.

We then stumbled across a Torture Museum. Well, all things dark and terrible are Lane, so we did that. It was very interesting. All the different torture devices used throughout the ages.

Then some ‘real’ food, if you consider Subway real food. I opted for the Wok and Walk. So good. I’m going to open one of these on the OC Boardwalk.

 

 

We head home again, for another chill evening.

The next day it’s raining, so an even more chill day than usual. HA. It slows down a little so we tackle the things Lane wanted to do – Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum and the Dungeon. We would have done them on his birthday but we did the boat ride instead. Because it’s raining hard, we opt for the first one we see, which is the Dungeon. This is pretty cool. They move a large group of people from one creepy room to another with a kind of story, there are live actors who play scary characters. Once or twice someone jumps out at you. And they pick on people in the group/audience. Lane in particular. He was accused and sentenced to death for being a warlock. He took it all pretty well. Enjoyed it, in fact. At one point, they asked him what his name was. He said Lane. Had to say it a few times. Eventually they just called him ‘Strange Name’. HA. No pictures were allowed in the Dungeon so you’ll have to imagine Lane being burned at the stake. Because he was.

After that, Madam Tussauds. It was fun. Mostly the Marvel area. Funny, in another country there are lots of ‘famous’ people that we don’t recognise. Sports heroes. Royalty, and leaders. THESE, we get tho. HA.

Headed home after that, in the rain. Saw some interesting stuff on our way

We got changed and ordered an Uber to the restaurant. At first we were at the wrong one (Uber dropped us at not quite the right place). We found the place and Robert was so excited to see us, they had reserved a table for us! We had an amazing dinner. It’s just the two of them that run a small menu. I asked what the name of the restaurant meant, Robert said ‘The Small Menu’. De Kleine Kaart. It was a small menu, in my opinion the sign of really good food. And it was GREAT. They were nice enough to make a birthday dessert for Lane. It as kind of like carrot cake/spice cookie, with creamy filling with coconut. Some of Lane’s favourite things. And that ‘candle’! WOW!

That is Robert and Paul’s dog, Pepo. She was allowed to sit with us once everyone else left the restaurant. She LOVED Lane. Robert told me about how Pepo has a girlfriend, and how difficult and embarrassing it is for him and Paul to have a gay dog. HA! He says it all with a straight face, so hilarious.

This is that incredible dessert that Paul made for Lane. He let me have a FEW bites. HA

Once they wrapped up, Robert gave us a ride home. And a ride to the train station the next morning.

Off to Antwerp! Was intended to be a quick, easy, train ride, but it wasn’t! That’s a story for the next blog.

 

Bremen – Back to Germany

Hello! As you may have read in my post from Copenhagen, we decided to make a stop on the way to Amsterdam, because the train ride would be 11-12 hour otherwise. And, if we can avoid that, I guess we should.

The stop in Bremen was mostly a rest. We stayed in an Airbnb, again. This time we had a room in a lovely lady’s house. I don’t think there were any other ‘rooms’ – there weren’t any other guests, though it had the feel of a B and B. She even made us breakfast. It was my first time eating a soft-boiled egg in one of those egg-holder cups. I was glad there was no one but Lane there to witness my clumsy attempt at figuring all that out! HA! I loved it though. I may need to add that to my food repertoire on a regular basis. I do eat a lot of eggs. Tho, I will need one of those special cups. Hmm.

The first day there, we arrived in evening. After settling in a bit, we wandered down the street for dinner. I had a great piece of fish. Lane had a steak that he couldn’t really eat, it was so grisly. Oh well.

The next day we mostly chilled. Worked on blogs and future plans. By afternoon, we decided to head into the main part of Bremen, get some dinner, etc. Again, with the tram system. HA. it worked out fine. In doing just a little reading, I decided on a ‘funky eclectic’ area. Those are usually the most entertaining. This was no exception. Lane picked the restaurant, and he did a lot better than I had the night before. The prices were better, the people were nicer, the beers were great, and Lane had a GOOD steak for a lot less money. HA.

I was surprised to see they serve the Brooklyn Lager. HA. I didn’t have that. I had something German, of course.

Before our dinner was served, I checked with the waitress and found out they didn’t take credit cards so I wandered out to find a Bankomat (that word seems to work in all European countries, by the way). I wandered a while and, not seeing anything, I asked a group of people sitting outside a convenience store. It was clear they didn’t speak much English, but they pointed to a building down the street  and said ‘Red’. Well it had a red logo, and it turns out it was a bank. I waved on my way back.

As our dinner was wrapping up, the restaurant got very busy (it was empty inside, but busy outside when we got there). Then, there was some kind of march or something. A group of people, walking down the street (blocking traffic), chanting. I was not frightened, but I was glad we were inside. When we left? The group came back the other way. I backed Lane into a wall until it all passed. It was a little unsettling, not having any idea what they were saying. There was maybe 100 people? And, typical for the area, they were not the most wholesome looking people. HA. It was getting dark so we headed for the tram stop. We saw a few cool things on the way, then hopped on the tram to get home.

Cool ‘hallway’ that leads back to a restaurant, but on the side was some openings to a deli. There is glass in the openings. I thought it looked really cool.

Skull. Lane. ‘Nuff said

More my speed. Namaste.

The next day, our hostess called a taxi and we were on our way to Amsterdam. So excited!

 

Copenhagen!

After a few hops, which don’t seem as painful as they once were, HA, we arrived in Copenhagen!
First we flew from Gdansk, Poland to Malmo, Sweden. Then we took a bus to the Malmo Central Station, then we grabbed a bite to eat (we had an hour) and then took a train to the Copenhagen Central Station. Then after a brief wait (our room wasn’t ready yet, we were early) we took a taxi to our room. A couple months ago, this would have seemed like torture. Now, it seems, we almost revel in the challenge, and treasure the down-time  – either at a station (hopefully with wifi, or good food) or on the train.
At the Malmo train station, we grabbed some food. I got a salad at a salad bar at a grocery-store type place. Great salad. Even though it was 9am. HA. When you get up at 2 that’s lunch time. Anyway, I loved this. The lid for the salad had a perfect little spot for the dressing tub. Kind of reminds me of Switzerland. Everything ‘just so’.
Yes, I’m overly amused by the little things. HA
Our hosts met us as we exited our taxi on the street in front of the apartment building. Such a typical Nordic-looking couple. Can I say that? Tall. Blond. Attractive. Emma (23) and Anders (27) were moving out of their apartment, into Emma’s Dad’s, for the 4 nights we would be there, Sunday to Thursday. This is the first Airbnb that we have been to that meets the original intent of Airbnb (at least, what I think the original intent was) I think it was intended to allow you to rent out your own home, when you are away. In this case, Emma and Anders basically have a certain amount of money they consider ‘worthwhile’ to move out. They make some money, in exchange for some effort and some inconvenience. Pretty good deal. I mean, if you have a neat/clean house, and someone would pay you $2k for the week (say in OC, during the summer) might be worth it, right? Especially if you have somewhere else to stay.
The place is gorgeous! It’s on the 7th floor (with a lift, or I would NOT have rented it – HA) with views over the rooftops of the places around it. A great terrace for drinking coffee and wine. This has become an important criteria for me in looking for Airbnb’s. I find it adds SO MUCH to the experience. Allows me to be ‘out’ without ‘going out’, which is great for those ‘rest’ days, which there are a lot of. Plus all that in-between time, and some place to ‘phone home’ from when I’m talking to Dad or friends. I keep meaning to suggest to Airbnb that they have a ‘filter’ for that. So I can find the ones that have a terrace instead of looking through reviews or messaging the host.
ANYWAY. We have a beautiful place. Time for the usual routine. Lane chills from the stresses of travel (HA) and I head out to find the essentials. It’s become the same almost everywhere. I check to see what we have, then buy what we don’t. Sugar. Coffee. Salt. Fruit (raspberries, mango, peaches, strawberries, whatever looks good or is available). A green vegetable (usually broccoli or zucchini), eggs, cheese, milk, Nesquick (Ha, or something like it. Milk in Europe has an unusual aftertaste), wine, maybe crackers or bread. Sometimes pasta for Lane. Butter or oil to cook with if there isn’t any. This will get us through a couple breakfasts, and snacks.
This time, the place is right next door. I thought about doing a walkabout, but I was tired and Lane was STARVING so I headed straight home to cook him some pasta. A little later, I headed out to go have some dinner. It was my first attempt at the public transportation system in Copenhagen. It’s the same in every city, I pick one primary mode of transportation, learn it, and try to stick with it. Depending what’s closest. In this case, the 1A bus line. Turns out, I can get almost anywhere with this. Supposedly I can buy a ticket on the bus, but this proves challenging a few times. It all works out, but not without some glitches. This evening, I end up going to a few places near the downtown centre of Copenhagen. Drinks and snacks mostly. I scope out a dinner place our hosts recommended – called Cocks and Cows. No, I’m not kidding. That’s what’s on the bathroom doors too. Are you a Cock or are you a Cow? I’m not sure I want to be considered either! HA! Is there a non-gender-specific bathroom for me please? HA.
A good night sleep that night and we are off on our first day in Copenhagen. I figure Lane has had enough of ‘sightseeing’ so I follow our hosts suggestion and we check out Tivoli Gardens. It’s an amusement park, behind the main train station. Hmm. Sounds interesting, but is their idea of an amusement park the same as mine? YUP. Lots of rides. Cotton Candy. Ice Cream. Carnival games. Lane and I have a great afternoon. It wasn’t very crowded at all. Even the biggest, most popular, rides only have a 7 minute wait. This is my kind of place. It’s small. Kind of crammed together. What you might expect considering it’s in a city and real estate is probably expensive. I like it that way, though. No need for a map, no risk of getting lost. And not so much walking!! Took some convincing to get Lane on the big Daemon roller coaster and the swing-thing. It goes up really high! Ironically, he was the one hesitant to go, but I found once I was up there, I had a little nausea. HA. I think it was from trying to see too much from that height. My head whipping back and forth. HA.  Lane liked it too. He said it reminded her a bit of Knoebels, where he goes with his Dad’s family every July/August. He missed it this year, sadly, so I was glad he got something similar. Of course, Knoebels is MUCH BIGGER. HA. But he says is smells kind of the same. Like cotton candy, maybe 🙂
Anyway, after we hit all the top rides, and played a few games, we went to dinner at Cocks and Cows. Their specialty is burgers, and I can see why! WOW. I think mine was called Brazil. Spicy with fried mozzarella. YUM. Lane had a classic burger. Then, we decided to go back for one more run on the Daemon.  When we left,  as happens a lot there in summer, we were hit by a rain shower. My experience is that every evening, in spurts of about 7-10 minutes, it pours, then the sun comes out again. Lane noticed that on one side of a ‘tunnel’ in the park, it was raining, but not on the other. HA. We decided to head back to the park even though it was raining. It was only drizzling. We got on the Daemon roller coaster, and as the ride started, so did the RAIN. I thought it was going to hurt, like waterskiing in the rain, but it didn’t. We did get wet, though. HA. We gave away the points we had earned playing the carnival games. Had another cotton candy, and headed home. Via the 1A bus. Again. HA.
The next day, I tried ordering the bus tickets online, but delivery to my phone failed. I called the company. After a few attempts, we had to give up but they gladly refunded my money.
Lane and I had a chill day. Almost didn’t leave the flat at all. I did some blogging, some planning of the next phases of our trip (Porto, Barcelona, Greece, Prague). I didn’t nearly get it all done, but made some good progress. Sat on the terrace with a beer and some music. That was the best part of the day. HA. Talked to a couple people from home. Then stepped out to get a pizza and brought it home, along with some more groceries. Lane and I watched a movie. The Circle. It was like being home, but not. HA.
With our chill day, we now had 2 things we wanted to do the next day. Lane wanted to see a park called ‘the Red Park’. And I wanted to see the Nyhaven canal area, and eat at the Street Food Market, which was recommended by our hosts. Instead of dealing with sometimes surly bus drivers, I decided to try one last effort and got the DOT app, and bought us 24 hour tickets through that. This time it worked. Much easier. HA.
We went to the red park first, it wasn’t quite what we expected, but still pretty cool. Some skateboard areas, some fitness areas, some chill areas. Then we headed home for a bit.
This (above) was a cool combination you would never see in the US. It’s a skate park area, AND a basketball area, plus nets for street hockey. I’m thinking whoever gets there first gets their choice!
After a while, and a chat with a friend, we headed back out again to Nyhaven for a drink and a walk. I think Lane is hooked on Mojitos. They were very good and we sat by the water drinking them and just absorbing the scene, the people, the buildings.
Nyhaven was beautiful.
The building was fully stuffed with…. LIFE JACKETS. Crazy but cool.
Then we took a stroll along the canal to the Christiania area, then to the Street Food place, which is a bit like Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Lots of different foods and drinks in a warehouse type of building. Only the variety of foods was insane!!  I had Moroccan. Flatbread with chicken, tzakiki sauce, hummus and salad. And a Bombay Pale Ale. There was Thai, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Turkish, BBQ, Fish and Chips, and many other kinds of food to choose from. It was a hard choice, but our hosts has been spot-on with the pizza place, so I went with their suggestion on the place called Marakesh. SO good. You could see them cooking in front of you. The woman was flattening the ‘bread’, which looked like dough, then fried on the grill, next to that a big frying pan of chicken, vegetables and spices was cooking in batches. YUM!!
HA! All this food to choose from. Salad in a jar. Only Shawn would eat Salad in a jar here! HA!
Above, this sign at the bus stop (1A of course) advertises a drinking bus?
We definitely enjoyed Copenhagen. Being there only 4 nights I think we felt it was a little short. Many places we are there 5 nights, and in Poland it was like 11 or something crazy. But we were happy with what we got. HA. One thing I can say,  the weather (aside from quick showers) in Copenhagen was perfect. The kind of dry cool air that you are a bit chilly in the shade but a little hot in the sun.
A few random pictures from around Copenhagen
We went home pretty early that night, by 7, more chill and terrace time, more blogging, and off to bed.
Headed out in the morning for Bremen, Germany. Yes, back to Germany. Only because the train ride to Amsterdam is 12+ hours and that’s just too much, so I broke it into 2 legs of 6 hours each and Bremen was a reasonable middle point. I’m not sure I’m going to be happy with that decision or not. I’m on the train to Bremen now, as I write this. We shall see. I somewhat wish I had these extra two days somewhere else, like Barcelona or Greece or Prague or Switzerland, but we can only do SO MUCH. HA. Live and learn.

Poland

I have been desperately trying to catch up on my blogs, so I can post more ‘in real time’. Ideally, I think I’d like to blog every day, but then again, maybe not. HA!

I have to warn you, this is kind of a LONG ONE. We were in Poland for quite a while. Maybe 11 nights? I’m not sure. But we sure enjoyed it!

Poland has been amazing!! We first arrived in Krakow, and our Airbnb host was nice enough to offer to arrange a taxi to take us from the airport to the apartment. Little did we know we would get David. Oh my. His English was great, although with a funny ‘sing-song’ way of talking.  (Sounded like how an American would imitate an Italian. Like he learned English by watching American movies about Italians ‘just off the boat’). He was super friendly and energetic. He was so excitable, upon walking out of the airport, he told us ‘wait here, I will go fetch the car’ and he didn’t turn around before starting to walk, and literally fell over a concrete pillar. He laughed it off and kept going. What a start to our visit in Poland! HA!

David took us to our apartment (OK, actually not exactly, he dropped us at 4, we were supposed to be at 14, and, funny, we never corrected him. We used him and his service a few times in Krakow and they always met us at 4). Anyway, no biggie. Short walk. Our place in Poland was BIG and Beautiful! And, as those of you on Facebook already know, right on the square where the pierogi festival would be taking place. YAY!

In our usual routine, I unpacked (Lane does not – ever), and Lane chilled while I headed out to get a feel of the neighbourhood and pick up a few essentials.

As soon as I walked out the door, I LOVED it. A happy vibe. A small town feel. We were surrounded by bars, restaurants, shops. I got what I needed came back, and Lane was still chilling so I went in search of a drink :). Around the corner, I saw this bar set back with lots of greenery, so I walked in. I think I was the only ‘real’ customer. I had a beer (no idea which one I had, I just said give me something polish from the tap. ha). It was great. The staff were hanging around talking, ignoring me. A girl sat at the table next to me drinking a beer too. She seemed to know all the staff. After a while the conversation died down and people started doing some work so I engaged her in conversation, asking if she worked there. She said no, she works at the Homemade chocolate place near by. Oh, I saw that I said. She knows the staff because her boyfriend plays in a band there. Well, he wasn’t playing that night, but the next night. Pop music. Cool. The name of the place is Black Gallery, so with Lane’s love of all things black, I thought I could  convince him to go. I asked about minors in a bar. They said it’s fine, as long as he is with me. On his own, not so much. HA. (Drinking age in Poland is 18, BTW).

In my walking around, I saw this sign. Of course it was everywhere. Every time I saw it, I laughed thinking “If you drink too much, you might act like an…..”. HA!

That night, I went out for pierogi (a variety plate). And borscht.  And a beer sampler. HAPPY HAPPY DAY. It was glorious. ALL THE FOODS, ALL THE BEERS!!  I ordered some for take away for Lane. And here is where I felt ‘wanted’ as a tourist. The waiter didn’t just bring me an extra order of pierogi, he came back, and said he would like to order the take away when I am done my meal, if that is OK. OMG perfect! Thank you for speaking English, for caring if my take away is hot, and for taking the initiative. No offence to other nationalities, but we didn’t get much happy smiley, helpful people in Italy and France. There are exceptions of course, but I always felt like I was BOTHERING them. Of course, they are peak tourist locations in peak tourist cities, and we were there at peak tourist season, so no blame, just an observation.

Pierogi of ALL THE KINDS. Meat. Cheese. Potato. Sauerkraut with Mushroom. YUM!!

I had asked David to take us to the Salt Mine on the first full day. He was going to call us but didn’t so the next day I hadn’t heard and assumed we weren’t going. Turns out, someone showed up to take us, but they weren’t upset that we didn’t go. Lane wanted a chill day so I headed out for a Free Walking Tour. There were multiple kinds, I chose the Jewish Quarter/Ghetto, because I knew Lane wouldn’t want to do it, and I probably wouldn’t get there otherwise. I set out for the walk. It was a little further getting there than I thought (and, sadly, very hot again). But I found a shady ‘park path’ to walk, so it wasn’t too bad.

I had a little time before the tour, so, of course, I stopped to eat. A nice green salad and MEXICAN NALESNIKI! (crepe). OMG SO GOOD. I stuffed myself. HA

After that, I found the ‘Old Synagogue’ and joined the tour. The walking tour was VERY informative. I learned a lot about Jewish history and the reason why there was a high population of Jews in Poland. What kind of life they lead and how they thrived prior to WWII. Very cool. A few interesting examples are that the Jewish were welcomed (in the 1600’s?) because they brought goods to trade, and the people were educated. At that time in Krakow, which was rather ‘rural’, not too many people could read and write. Also, in order to support the Roman Catholic church (as government and church were so intertwined), Synagogues were not allowed to be ‘higher’ than the RC churches. One wealthy man got away with this Synagogue, though, as he bribed a Bishop to allow it to be taller. HA.  Aside from this restriction, though, Jews were treated very well in Krakow. They were ‘protected’. It was known that to hurt a Jew was the same as hurting a King. So, it was kind of a hate crime way before we defined hate crimes as we do today. Pretty cool.

The Jews thrived except for a few incidences. Apparently invasion by Sweden skirted Krakow proper (what is now Old Town) due to it’s wall/defenses, and instead focused on the Jewish Quarter. This cost lives and apparently money, as a ‘tax’ was levied on the Jews. Sadly, another tax was levied later, I think by the Polish government. Can you say double-whammy? The tax was the equivalent of 2 years income for the entire quarter. OUCH.

Later, the sector was hit by a kind of sickness or plague, that wiped out a large percentage of the population. All of this in the 16th century if memory serves.

You should read this history in Wiki, especially if you’re Polish. The first few paragraphs gives a good, brief, history. Further down you find the details. I’m going to quote some of it here, as well.

From Wiki: Poland became more tolerant just as the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, as well as from Austria, Hungary and Germany, thus stimulating Jewish immigration to the much more accessible Poland. Indeed, with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Poland became the recognized haven for exiles from Western Europe; and the resulting accession to the ranks of Polish Jewry made it the cultural and spiritual center of the Jewish people.

The most prosperous period for Polish Jews began following this new influx of Jews with the reign of Sigismund I the Old(1506–1548), (YAY SIG! ZIGGY! That’s my Dad and Grandad’s first name) –  who protected the Jews in his realm. His son, Sigismund II Augustus (1548–1572), mainly followed in the tolerant policy of his father and also granted autonomy to the Jews in the matter of communal administration and laid the foundation for the power of the Qahal, or autonomous Jewish community. This period led to the creation of a proverb about Poland being a “heaven for the Jews”. According to some sources, about three-quarters of all Jews lived in Poland by the middle of the 16th century

From WIKI:By 1764, there were about 750,000 Jews in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The worldwide Jewish population at that time was estimated at 1.2 million

From WIKI: Some Jewish historians have recounted that the word Poland is pronounced as Polania or Polin in Hebrew, and as transliterated into Hebrew, these names for Poland were interpreted as “good omens” because Polania can be broken down into three Hebrew words: po (“here”), lan (“dwells”), ya (“God“), and Polin into two words of: po (“here”) lin (“[you should] dwell”). The “message” was that Poland was meant to be a good place for the Jews. During the time from the rule of Sigismund I the Old until the Nazi Holocaust, Poland would be at the center of Jewish religious life. Many agreed with Rabbi David ben Shemu’el ha-Levi (Taz) that Poland was a place where “most of the time the gentiles do no harm; on the contrary they do right by Israel” (Divre David; 1689).[52]

OK I’m not into history, but I found this interesting! As you can tell!

Onward and upward. Of course, during the tour and discussion of Jews in Poland, the topic of the movie ‘Schindler’s List’ was referenced and we visited Schindler’s Court, where a few scenes from the movie were filmed. Of course, the court was named (this) after the movie was filmed.

We visited the Jewish Ghetto, where Jews were forced to live, and were eventually kicked out in the time of Hitler and the German occupation of Poland. Some of the circumstances around this really surprised me. In many cases, people were gathered under the false accusation of not having proper working papers (because the need for the papers had just been created, and there wasn’t time/ability to GET the papers).

I am planning to read a book by this man, who owned a pharmacy on the square where the Jews were often gathered, and sorted, for death and the concentration camps. He was able to keep his pharmacy open by declaring ‘need’, and likely with some bribery. He served the Jewish community and documented what he saw.

The tour ended at the Schindler Factory.  A couple things the tour guide wanted to be sure we were aware of. The concentration camps were on German soil. German occupied soil within Poland. Goes without saying, I think, but an important distinction when talking about it, historically. A very very small percentage of the Polish people cooperated with Hitler, and those only under duress (for example those who worked in the concentration camps, who were likely under threat of death or death of their family). The ‘registered’ Jews of Poland are numbered very few, now, relatively speaking.  However, there are likely MANY people who are Jewish, but, having been adopted (as children) after WWII by Christian families, they may not even know, or recognise their heritage. Lastly, and probably most importantly, Schindler was only ONE of the many people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. He is an example of many, not THE one.

On the way home, I spotted this sign. It contains my maiden name, Rutkowski, so I took a picture of it. My friend Justyna translated. She says it’s an offer for music courses, level 1 and 2, and references a ‘famous’ music teacher, Rutkowski. Pretty cool!

Alright, onto other subjects (sorry that ran a little long). HA

That night, Lane and I went back to the Black Gallery for the live music. It was supposed to start at 7 (per the girlfriend). It actually started around 830. The band was really good. At first, we sat upstairs (at the top of the ‘tree’ – with all the grapevines, similar to Ravello/Amalfi, it felt like we were in a tree), then we moved down to be closer to the band. They were quite good, sang lots of songs we knew. Lane and i also met a lovely couple from Ireland. They were on a short holiday, just the two of them. They were very sweet, and we’re now friends on Facebook :).

Obviously, when the band wrapped up, we headed home. The next day we had a trip to the Salt Mines planned.

The salt mines were incredible. Literally we went down so many steps I couldn’t count, and this was the view down the middle of the staircase. Everything there was made of Salt. There are 30 chapels in the salt mine! Miners are rather religious people, for obvious reasons, and there is a chapel built, apparently, for all different reasons. Especially (but not only) for accidents in the mine. Below are some cool pics from the salt mines. We ended up as far down as 110 Meters! Thank goodness there was an elevator ‘up’.

This is a view down the centre of the stairs going down. it’s a LONG WAY DOWN!!

Looks like block but these are made of SALT! Looks like marble or granite. Weird.

Dwarves, in the salt mine

Entire chapel, above, made from salt.

These were in the big chapel, made to look like they had great depth but they really don’t. Only about 7cm deep

 

Hard to see because it was up high, but this is a nativity. Made of salt.

 

Pope John Paul II. Who visited the salt mines as a child. He intended to visit as the Pope but an illness prevented it.

That night, Lane and I went to dinner. Lane was wanting some potato pancakes. I think I had the (fried) pork chop, mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut. All awesome. Lane sorta liked her potato pancakes, we had better ones the next day 🙂

The next day, we headed to Auschwitz and Birkenau, the concentration camps. Both Lane and i knew it would be a tough day, but we were determined to go, to honor those that suffered and died during the Holocaust. It is something that must be known, and must be remembered.

What we saw and learned and felt there was amazing. Overpowering and frightening and sad. Here are some pictures.

Many people don’t realise (have you noticed the English spelling coming out? I have to imagine it’s because I’m in Europe. My spell check doesn’t like the American version of words. Like ‘realize’ comes up as a mis-spelling, so you have to deal with the auto-correct, HA). Anyway, many people don’t realise that Auschwitz was actually quite small compared to Birkenau. Birkenau was where most non-Jewish prisoners were sent, to work. For the most part, in the selection process, all Jews were killed. Non-Jews were selected for work or death, depending if they were judged to be capable of working.

After the concentration camp experience, we headed home a bit somber, of course.

That night, I needed a bit of a distraction, so I headed out for a beer at the pub next door. I ended up meeting the coolest group of guys – of course- on a stag party from England. It was a toss up for a few minutes. I was too old, really, to hang with the bachelor crowd (though, welcomed), and a bit young to be hanging with the groom’s Dad and his friends, but I ended up hanging with the older generation. They were hilarious and fun and very ‘safe’. HA. What a blast. We lost the young guys for a while. Got a bit rowdy (they did, not ME) at a pub and actually got scolded. Eventually the young guys found us again, for a final pint or two and then we headed home. The last few beers were at a restaurant/bar near the middle of the square, and I took these pictures on the way to the bathroom. Yes, The tower was where the bathroom was, and the rest are pictures from below. Only in Europe do you take pictures of beautiful architecture on the way to the bathroom. HA!

 

Another cool thing I noticed in Poland (and again in Copenhagen and this may be a practice in Germany and Italy as well, only it was too hot there) – when sitting outside at a bar or restaurant in the evening, when it turns chilly, if they aren’t already there, the waiters/waitresses will offer you a blanket. To drape around your shoulders or put on your lap. In my experience they are practically new, quite clean and it was awesome how it made being outside comfortable, longer!

Our last day in Krakow, FIRST we had pierogi’s. The Pierogi festival had started and I was feeling a little rough from being out so late the night before, so I hit the festival, literally asked the one vendor ‘I will have one of each, plus 5 extra ruskie (potato)’ (for Lane). Took them home and had them with a Radler. Great hangover helper. YAY.

You should have seen the look on the face of the guy when I asked for one of each of these pierogi’s. HA! Yes, I ate them all. They were awesome.

That night, we decided to walk around to find something different to eat. I mean, even I can only eat SO MANY PIEROGIS. We ended up at a cool Japanese restaurant. I had my favourite, Yellowtail with jalapeño, and then some Pad Thai. Lane had beef and noodles. SO GOOD. And there were cute little boats floating around the bar. HA! Eventually the sushi chef’s put some sushi on it, but by then we were full.

You can see the little boat, just barely, in this pic

In this pic, above, you can see an example of using Philadelphia in a menu item to describe the ingredient ‘cream cheese’. I thought this was hilarious. We saw it in Bulgaria too. And Philadelphia is sold in stores too. Not called cream cheese, though, as far as I can tell. Just Philadelphia. HA.

The next day, I managed to convince Lane to take her skateboard to the park. There is a circular park around Old Town Krakow, which is where the wall once stood around the original town of Krakow. It’s a beautiful park. We went around to Wawel castle, chilled a bit on a half-fallen tree, and just generally had a relaxing day.

After the park, we had a couple beers and decided to die Lane’s hair blue again. Just the underside. This was quite an undertaking for me. Keeping in mind I was trying NOT to make a mess. I didn’t have any towels, really, that could get blue dye on them, and our other facilities were limited. Well, it was interesting, but fun, and I think successful. HA. Blue Hair! BTW, Lane expressed that this was the ultimate ‘test of trust’ between a mom and a teen. I guess I passed. HA. For today.

That night, we went to a GREAT restaurant for dinner. I think I had read it was the only one in Old Town that locals would go to. THIS is where we had EPIC potato pancakes. I also had borscht and ushki. And an insane chocolate crepe. It was so good I swore we would come back the next day because I had other things on the menu to try.

The next day, we packed up, ready for our flight to Gdansk. We still had several hours to kill so we left our bags in the storage room, and FIRST went back to the Pierogi Festival. This time, I wanted to try these ‘baked’ looking pierogi. I don’t think they were fried. But they weren’t noodle-like. More like tiny calzones. Again, I had ‘one of each’ and some potato for Lane. YUM!!  And, of course, a beer. HA.

After that, we went to the 2 wax museums, which Lane had spotted a couple days ago. They were fun! Then we wandered and found a nice place with wifi, had a beer, wandered some more. Lane had a ‘taste of home’ with a Subway sandwich. I had THIS! Mushroom soup, meat pierogi, AND a spinach crepe. I made Lane pretend like she was eating some so I wouldn’t be embarrassed .It was literally enough food for almost 3 people. I didn’t quite finish it all, but I wanted to. It was SOO GOOD. The crepe was my least favourite. I think it was the cheesy sauce. Too much for me. Anyway, ALL THE FOODS!

And, this is proof that beer is as cheap as water in Poland. The mineral water is the same price as beer! HA!

After that, we headed back to the room, got our bags and waited for our ride. Same company, Davids. Unfortunately, 15 minutes after the scheduled time they still weren’t there, so we grabbed a taxi instead and were off to the airport.

In the Krakow airport, we went up this. It’s a pretty steep incline but not stairs, a ramp. Hmmm. Have never seen that before. HA

Arriving in Gdansk wasn’t quite as entertaining as Krakow (remember David falling over) but it was pretty good. Our Airbnb host Radek met us there. He said he would be holding a sign with my name, but I guess because I told him Lane had blond and blue hair, he figured a sign wasn’t needed. He spotted us right away. HA!

Radek was great. I had to ask him to stop for food on the way home because, unlike me, Lane had not had that HUGE lunch and she was starving. It was now almost 10 pm and he had to make a special stop because the places closest to our flat would be closed. We picked out some pasta and a few other essentials. Those of you who follow on Facebook know that I had some trouble identifying the butter in the little store. My gesturing of buttering bread with butter worked and the man working there gave us what we needed. I think he was a little surprised that we bought so much stuff. HA. Milk. Pasta. Butter. Bananas. Wine. Crackers. Yogurt. Eggs. Bread. ALL THE FOODS. No seriously, it’s almost like we buy the same stuff everywhere. HA.

Speaking of everywhere. We have stayed in about 10 or 11 Airbnb’s at this point, I SWEAR THESE SAME IKEA KNIVES have been in at least 8 of those places. no kidding. Ironically for me, they are super sharp, most of the time. Because i brought my knife sharpener in a full-on-Doris-move. HA.

We arrived in our apartment and I will be honest, in the dark the area looked a little sketchy. In the morning it seemed a little better, and when I headed over to the store, it got even better.

 

That night we took a taxi to Sopot for dinner and that was like coming home. Like the Ocean City boardwalk, but with bars. HA. Seriously it was really fun. We had dinner at a seafood place. Seafood Station. Mine was incredible. ????? app and crab legs for dinner. Lane’s steak was so-so. Ah well. After that, I followed my friend Justyna’s advice and bought a piece of Amber jewelry.  And Lane got cotton candy. Again. This was a MEDIUM! Can you imagine what the large looked like? We also got this light up flying/fling thing that you shoot into the sky. It goes up about 60-70feet then comes down like a helicopter. Very fun. We enjoyed that for quite a while. We came across another live band/duo. Like a Polish ‘Melanie and Tony’ from down in the OC area. Very nice.

 

Not as much in Krakow, but in the Gdansk and Sopot area, waffles are the big thing. Pretty much every place that sells ice cream also sells waffles.  With any number of toppings. Usually whipped cream and chocolate or another sauce. Or fresh fruit. Or Jimmies/Sprinkles. I had a couple while I was there. Mostly with fruit and whipped cream They are DELISH. I plan to have more in Amsterdam, where I think they are also a thing.

 

The next day I was told by our host I could walk to the beach. Without checking distances, and leaving Lane home to ‘chill’, I headed out. about 45 minutes and 2+ miles later, I had some blisters from walking in my  Birkenstocks. Do NOT trust a European when they say something is walkable CHECK THE DISTANCE!! HA.

 

I saw these beautiful gardens on the way to the beach. The Cannas remind me of Dad, of course. 🙂

I also saw this street sign, which I thought was adorable.

Anyway, the beach was interesting to see. It wasn’t a real warm day and the water there is about 67. I was just hoping to catch some sun and chill n read my book. Sadly, it started raining 10 minutes after I got there. Mass exodus, just like in OC. At least, though, the long walk forced me to learn the tram system. Having watched the same tram pass by me about 20 times during my walk (bus 3 I think it was), now I knew what tram to take home. HA. I found the station, managed to buy the right ticket, I THINK (it said 1 hour, so I figure that means I can travel in any direction on any tram, within an hour). And I took the tram back. PERFECT. So much better than the long walk.

I also learned on my long walk that the neighbourhood is quite nice. It also includes a produce stand, AND a bakery, within a half block of our place. I enter the bakery thinking ‘baguette’, but alas no such thing. Instead I buy Lane some bezy. Finally called bezy after it being called meringues all through Italy. And a few mysterious pastries, one looked like spinach in phyllo. I literally just point to order. I speak almost no Polish, and she speaks no English but we manage. HA. At the produce stand, similar only I have to literally hold out a hand full of coins and let her take what is appropriate. Because I don’t know the Polish numbers and she doesn’t know the English ones. Sometimes, when this happens, the clerk will print it out, but this wasn’t that kind of place. No biggie, She took what she needed. We both laughed. 🙂

That night I couldn’t resist going back to Sopot. I just loved it. unfortunately, it was raining pretty heavily. Once again we took an Uber, thank goodness for Uber. We walked around a bit, did some shopping (we both needed a couple new things. so SICK of the stuff we packed, HA), and then settled into a traditional Polish place with a specialty in beer. Nope, not an accident. The waitress said ‘let me know if you would like some recommendations’. YES PLEASE! I went with the Goose, the house specially, with plum sauce, and dumplings. Lane, also a recommendation, shocking, steak. They were both incredible. As was the beer sampler I had. Even with an Uber home I couldn’t finish them. They were like 4 full size, 12 oz beers! I was thinking 4 LITTLE ONES. Ah well. They were awesome and the meal was so cheap. Maybe $40 all in. I love Poland.

Above is the Goose with plum sauce. YUM

Lane’s steak, potato and grilled veggies. Also YUM

This was the restaurant.

Poland was big for us, for laundry. We had a real washer, real detergent, and lots of hangers. HA. I was a laundry fiend! I think I did 6 loads in the 3 nights we were in this apartment. We had clothes hanging everywhere. It had been a while since we had a real washer. HA. A lot of the next day was spent doing laundry and chilling, along with a workout. TRX of course.

The next day, we packed up and headed just a few miles away (via Uber of course) to our new place in Gdansk still, but on the beach. This was the last minute add-on, since we decided to chill a bit longer in Poland vs. going to Stockholm.

Well, even the driver remarked that our new place was quite expensive to buy and was in a gated community. Not that it needed to be, it was a beautiful area, and we were literally 50 M from the beach. And next to the beach was a beautiful pathway, one for walking and one for biking. AND the property bordered on a HUGE park of trees and small dirt paths, interspersed with larger walkways and bikeways.

I went out for a walk as soon as we got there and saw a place to rent a bike (so I rented one). I rode up to Sopot, checked out some other fun things and headed back to see Lane.

We headed out to have dinner at a place our host recommended and it was beautiful and awesome. I had halibut, at the waiters suggestion, which was served over half of a roasted eggplant. Crazy good. Lane had steak, which he said was very good. Again, drinks and dessert and still it was only about $40. wow.

The next day, Lane and I both rented bikes and I asked the guy if we could keep them until the following night. No problem. As it was, he had let me rent the day before and this day with no identification. Usually they take your ID (license, whatever) and hold it until you bring it back. He only asked where i was from, America I said. He said OK. See you later. HA! he was a lot more friendly when I brought Lane along. ‘This your son?’ ‘yes’ ‘how old?’ ’12’. I have a daughter, 15, looks the same age. Yes, he looks older than his actual age. He rides bikes with you? Yes, I said. He responsded “My daughter is thin, nice figure, but she doesn’t like to move won’t get off her ass”. HA we both laughed at how teens are stuck to their screens. Off we went. We rode about an hour and a half though small, sometimes barely perceptible, paths in the woods. occasionally crossing the paved paths for bikers and walkers. The terrain was perfect. Hilly enough to be challenging at times, but flat and hard surface to ride on. It was really great. We were in the shade it was cool, the only down side was if you stopped – mosquitos! We had had rain recently so I guess they were out in force. We finally stopped at a clearing with some parks and playgrounds. Got some water, then headed back on the larger paved bike path, which eventually merged with our beach-front bike path. We headed home for a bit. Then back out to check out some motorised transportation. We ended up not renting the Segway, or the motorised scooter, or the ‘extreme’ off-road, motorised skateboard that goes 40kmh. We decided we were happy with our bikes. HA.

OK so if you can’t tell from my face, I’m a little surprised they named a park in Gdansk after Ronald Reagan?

In Poland, as well as later in Copenhagen, we saw outdoor fitness equipment. Usually in parks of some kind. It varies from standard pull-up bar kind of stuff, to these machines, which, I didn’t try but appear to use your body weight to do exercises like weight machines at the gym. Pretty cool

On the way home we stopped for pizza and beer on the beach. Then home for some chill time.

I think it was when we got home that day, or at some point, we met a nice kitty. Lane named him Smokey. He was clearly a resident, and was hanging out in the garden/courtyard of the building we were staying in. He was VERY friendly. And very much reminded us of Bubba. He had some similar markings, was grey obviously, but had a slightly more squished face, a bit like a Persian

That night I went to dinner by myself. First I stopped at the seafood place that our host suggested but the line was long, it looked like counter service (order and then pick up later), and the line wasn’t moving. So I went to the next place he suggested. I’m so glad I did because there was live music there! YAY! they played a ton of songs I knew, some I had forgotten about. I had a pork chop dinner – best ever. 2 beers. I ordered Lane some take-away pierogis, and met some guys from YET ANOTHER stag party. This one from Norway. HA. Nice guys but we didn’t talk long. The band ended and I needed to get the food home to Lane. SO GLAD I caught that band. It really made my day.

The next day, was our last day in Poland. Lane was still in the mood to take it easy, so I called and booked myself a massage. Until then, I did some booking, planning, and blogging. The massage was awesome. And it was a short bike ride from our place. They managed to fit me in for an hour, even though when I called they said they only had 30 minutes. WHOO HOO! This is funny, though, I had to wear a hair net, and disposable underwear. Strange, but whatever. HA.

After that I headed home, did some packing, and we returned our bikes and grabbed another dinner along the beach. Lane said her steak was almost as good as Izakayas! that’s saying something! HA!

Off to bed, for an early (2am!!) wake up for a 6 am flight. Yes. one hour to get ready n pack. 45 minutes to the airport. Be there 2 hours ahead. UGG. It’s all good though. It’s not a vacation, it’s an adventure. HA!

The next morning, I got notice our driver had arrived. I texted him to go left once he was in the gate. Well, just in case I decided to walk out of the complex. There were 2 cars there. Just as we pulled up, one of them left. That would be our driver. UGG. Fortunately, the other driver there was available, not sure why, but we ordered him on Uber and off we went.

Copenhagen, here we come!