I don't think I ever shared my pictures of Central America with everyone yet, and I just put them online to be viewed for anyone who didn't see them. This was the trip that I went on in May/June of '08. There are comments below some of the pictures.
Click this link. Everyone can see it, even if you do not have facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2188858&id=16104875&l=f316a53464
here is a video of me swing jumping into a river in the middle of Guatemala. You actually have to go to my blog to be able to view it.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
THE END OF A BEGINNING
I have been very much slacking in my last few posts since I have been home. For those of you with Facebook, I have put all of my pictures up on there. I should get the pictures up on my other site for everyone else soon.
I still have a few more blogs coming after this one.
LONDON:
I flew into London the day after they had a snowstorm, and by snow storm I mean they had 4 inches of snow... However, for London this meant that most of the city was shut down. Luckily by the time I flew the flights were back on schedule and a few of the trains we up and running. However, I must also note.. when I say I flew into London I actually mean I flew into an airport almost 2 hours outside London. It is said that London has 5 international airports, but most of them, like the one I flew into, are way outside the city.
My couch surfing host in London was great, he even gave me a cellphone to use while I was in the city. He took me out to a somewhat hidden pub and I got to eat some traditional British food. He also took me to a couchsurfing meeting where a bunch of couchsurfers in London met up at a pub for a few drinks.
On my own I did a walking tour of the city where I took my time to stroll past all of the major sights. Unfortunately I forgot my camera this day and I actually only ended up taking one picture while in London. Many people have a ton of pictures of all the major sights anyway. I skipped out on all of the museums and such. I had seen enough art and cathedrals by this point in my trip. London reminded me a bit of New York City, except they have funny looking police officers who sometimes talk with funny accents.
To make a long story short, due to some stupid and silly airline rules, I had to spend over 24 hours on airplanes or in airports. I had to fly to Dublin, sleep overnight in the airport, fly back to London, and then catch a flight to NY. By the time I got back I was tired and jetlagged, I was probably even a bit smelly, but I was greeted wonderfully to my family which put a huge smile on my face. As great as my whole trip was, I was reminded how truly lucky I am to come home to the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by loved ones.
My trip is now over, however, it is only made more more enthusiastic about traveling. My trip to Israel and Jordan gave me my first taste to backpacking, although I was quite terrible at it. My teaser trip to Central America made me realize that I really do love to travel and made me ready to commit to a long and unplanned trip. This trip was my first experience of traveling alone for an extended period of time without any concrete plans. I loved it. The good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly, it didn't matter it was all great.
I still have a few more blogs coming after this one.
LONDON:
I flew into London the day after they had a snowstorm, and by snow storm I mean they had 4 inches of snow... However, for London this meant that most of the city was shut down. Luckily by the time I flew the flights were back on schedule and a few of the trains we up and running. However, I must also note.. when I say I flew into London I actually mean I flew into an airport almost 2 hours outside London. It is said that London has 5 international airports, but most of them, like the one I flew into, are way outside the city.
My couch surfing host in London was great, he even gave me a cellphone to use while I was in the city. He took me out to a somewhat hidden pub and I got to eat some traditional British food. He also took me to a couchsurfing meeting where a bunch of couchsurfers in London met up at a pub for a few drinks.
On my own I did a walking tour of the city where I took my time to stroll past all of the major sights. Unfortunately I forgot my camera this day and I actually only ended up taking one picture while in London. Many people have a ton of pictures of all the major sights anyway. I skipped out on all of the museums and such. I had seen enough art and cathedrals by this point in my trip. London reminded me a bit of New York City, except they have funny looking police officers who sometimes talk with funny accents.
To make a long story short, due to some stupid and silly airline rules, I had to spend over 24 hours on airplanes or in airports. I had to fly to Dublin, sleep overnight in the airport, fly back to London, and then catch a flight to NY. By the time I got back I was tired and jetlagged, I was probably even a bit smelly, but I was greeted wonderfully to my family which put a huge smile on my face. As great as my whole trip was, I was reminded how truly lucky I am to come home to the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by loved ones.
My trip is now over, however, it is only made more more enthusiastic about traveling. My trip to Israel and Jordan gave me my first taste to backpacking, although I was quite terrible at it. My teaser trip to Central America made me realize that I really do love to travel and made me ready to commit to a long and unplanned trip. This trip was my first experience of traveling alone for an extended period of time without any concrete plans. I loved it. The good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly, it didn't matter it was all great.
Friday, February 13, 2009
A VISIT TO TROMSO PART 2
TWICE A MOUNTAIN CLIMB
Jon, my second host, was the expert on things to do in Tromso. One of these things that he recommended was to climb a mountain. This mountain was not actually on the island of Tromso, but rather across the water on the mainland. After a nice walk across the nicely curved bridge and a pass by the arctic cathedral, I made it to the base of the mountain. There is a cable car that runs up the mountain, but this is only done in the summer months. So I started my way up hiking. Stupidly I didn't realize there was somewhat of a path to follow up and I spent the first hour consuming all my energy as I slowly made my way up the mountain. I slid around on the snow covered mountain, but eventually I found the slightly easier path. After I made my way to the top of the mountain I took a few minutes catching my breath and taking in the amazing views. Then of course I went to grab my camera to take some pictures... but my second stupid move of the day, my battery was dead. So I decided that I would have to climb the mountain again to take some pictures. I slid my way down the mountain. This was actually extremely fun as I made my way down on my ass making a path through the trees. I made it all the way down in no more than 15 minutes. The next day I climbed the mountain again, this time taking the path that was a bit easier. When I made it to the top again (where the cable car goes) and snapped some pictures, I was not satisfied. So I actually climbed an even higher second peak and spent a good time relaxing with pure silence, except for the howling wind blowing snow all around. The best part was that the path I made from the day before with my ass slightly froze overnight. This proved to be quite the fun winding fast slide down the mountain... I should have started to charge people to use my excellently made path ( I do have some videos of this).
DOGSLEDDING
When I arrived in Tromso I learned that I could go dogsledding for 1,200 kroner or around $170 (the exchange rate is 7 kroner for 1 dollar). While this seemed appealing, it also seemed a bit out of my budget for what I wanted to spend. I thought I would think it over and perhaps still decide to do it eventually. Luckily, Jon informed me of a way to go dogsledding for only 500 Kroner or about $70. Less than half price, that was much better! I would go doglsedding the way the locals do it. I called up the company directly, instead of going through the tourist office. Instead of taking their private van to the place I had to hop on the public bus and just tell the bus driver to drop me off at the base of the entrance to the place. I was also informed I would have to forgo the complimentary lunch. This was all more than fine by me and actually ended up working out great... Since I took the public bus, I arrived at the place about an hour before the rest of the people on the private van. Because of this I was the only one who actually got to help out and put together a team. I actually grabbed dogs and attached them to their sleds. After all the teams were put together I got to pick one of the six dog, teams for myself. I think I picked the best team there if I do say so myself. At the front I had my two lovely ladies leading the way. They were smart and energetic. They were pretty twins and two of the only dogs that could be left without a leash. In the middle I had a veteran of the famous Idetarod race. He was a bit older and more experienced. He was the type to use his experience and wisdom to keep the crew together. In the back I had my two strong and silent ones. They didn't seem too bright and were not as sociable as the other dogs. However, they looked like they would pull all day if they had too and I knew they wouldn't let me down. So as I waited for everyone else to arrive I took in the workings of the place. There were around 300 dogs there. The dogs couldn't be more excited to pull the sleds. The ones who weren't picked looked to be quite jealous of those who were getting to go. Whenever one dog started barking, they all slowly joined in until there was a loud chant of 300 plus dogs speaking their minds. There were also a couple of sheep dogs who ran free and took their jobs very seriously. When a couple of the sled dogs acted up and got yelled at by the people, the sheep dogs looked like they took it personally. They ran over to the incident and personally yelled at the dogs who acted up and then proceeded to run around and warn all of the other sleds not to follow the bad example. Eventually we were under way, I was driving my own sled of dogs. I was following other sleds, but I was completely solely in control of my own sled. My team performed amazingly. When the other sleds when up hills the other people had to get off the sleds and help push, when my team when up hills I had to continue to apply the brakes because they were going so fast! It was an incredible exhilarating time. I must admit I did get distracted and my sled did flip once. Although this didn't break my dogs stride and they continued to go and I ran after them, flipped the sled back over, and continued on our way and almost noone even noticed I had flipped. Afterwards we heard some interesting stories about the dogs, I will share a quick one. There was one set of twin dogs, where one of the twins was almost completely blind. However, this never posed a problem because the other twin would always perfectly communicate to the other one and these dogs could easily lead the way. Although, when they tried to put the blind one with any other partner it never worked out and the blind one would always crash. Afterwards, I joined everyone else and was actually given the food along with everyone even though I was not supposed to get it. Additionally I grabbed the private van ride back with everyone even though I wasn't supposed to get that either. So my dogsledding trip worked out amazingly for a great price, I couldn't have been happier!
Northern Lights
When I originally booked my ticket to Tromso, the thing I most looked forward to was the northern lights. I figured I had like 10 nights, I would see the damn lights. Well I did see them, but barely. In fact so little so, that my camera couldn't even pick up the faint light that I saw. But it was funny because soon after I got there I found myself interested in the lights, but not obsessing over seeing them. I became much more interested in the people I was staying with, climbing the mountain, and dogsledding. While it would have been quite nice to see a magnificent display of the lights, that didn't happen. Its just the way things worked out and I have no regrets at all. I loved everything about my trip to Tromso and I appreciate everything I did get to do, especially the things I had no prior knowledge about.
Jon, my second host, was the expert on things to do in Tromso. One of these things that he recommended was to climb a mountain. This mountain was not actually on the island of Tromso, but rather across the water on the mainland. After a nice walk across the nicely curved bridge and a pass by the arctic cathedral, I made it to the base of the mountain. There is a cable car that runs up the mountain, but this is only done in the summer months. So I started my way up hiking. Stupidly I didn't realize there was somewhat of a path to follow up and I spent the first hour consuming all my energy as I slowly made my way up the mountain. I slid around on the snow covered mountain, but eventually I found the slightly easier path. After I made my way to the top of the mountain I took a few minutes catching my breath and taking in the amazing views. Then of course I went to grab my camera to take some pictures... but my second stupid move of the day, my battery was dead. So I decided that I would have to climb the mountain again to take some pictures. I slid my way down the mountain. This was actually extremely fun as I made my way down on my ass making a path through the trees. I made it all the way down in no more than 15 minutes. The next day I climbed the mountain again, this time taking the path that was a bit easier. When I made it to the top again (where the cable car goes) and snapped some pictures, I was not satisfied. So I actually climbed an even higher second peak and spent a good time relaxing with pure silence, except for the howling wind blowing snow all around. The best part was that the path I made from the day before with my ass slightly froze overnight. This proved to be quite the fun winding fast slide down the mountain... I should have started to charge people to use my excellently made path ( I do have some videos of this).
DOGSLEDDING
When I arrived in Tromso I learned that I could go dogsledding for 1,200 kroner or around $170 (the exchange rate is 7 kroner for 1 dollar). While this seemed appealing, it also seemed a bit out of my budget for what I wanted to spend. I thought I would think it over and perhaps still decide to do it eventually. Luckily, Jon informed me of a way to go dogsledding for only 500 Kroner or about $70. Less than half price, that was much better! I would go doglsedding the way the locals do it. I called up the company directly, instead of going through the tourist office. Instead of taking their private van to the place I had to hop on the public bus and just tell the bus driver to drop me off at the base of the entrance to the place. I was also informed I would have to forgo the complimentary lunch. This was all more than fine by me and actually ended up working out great... Since I took the public bus, I arrived at the place about an hour before the rest of the people on the private van. Because of this I was the only one who actually got to help out and put together a team. I actually grabbed dogs and attached them to their sleds. After all the teams were put together I got to pick one of the six dog, teams for myself. I think I picked the best team there if I do say so myself. At the front I had my two lovely ladies leading the way. They were smart and energetic. They were pretty twins and two of the only dogs that could be left without a leash. In the middle I had a veteran of the famous Idetarod race. He was a bit older and more experienced. He was the type to use his experience and wisdom to keep the crew together. In the back I had my two strong and silent ones. They didn't seem too bright and were not as sociable as the other dogs. However, they looked like they would pull all day if they had too and I knew they wouldn't let me down. So as I waited for everyone else to arrive I took in the workings of the place. There were around 300 dogs there. The dogs couldn't be more excited to pull the sleds. The ones who weren't picked looked to be quite jealous of those who were getting to go. Whenever one dog started barking, they all slowly joined in until there was a loud chant of 300 plus dogs speaking their minds. There were also a couple of sheep dogs who ran free and took their jobs very seriously. When a couple of the sled dogs acted up and got yelled at by the people, the sheep dogs looked like they took it personally. They ran over to the incident and personally yelled at the dogs who acted up and then proceeded to run around and warn all of the other sleds not to follow the bad example. Eventually we were under way, I was driving my own sled of dogs. I was following other sleds, but I was completely solely in control of my own sled. My team performed amazingly. When the other sleds when up hills the other people had to get off the sleds and help push, when my team when up hills I had to continue to apply the brakes because they were going so fast! It was an incredible exhilarating time. I must admit I did get distracted and my sled did flip once. Although this didn't break my dogs stride and they continued to go and I ran after them, flipped the sled back over, and continued on our way and almost noone even noticed I had flipped. Afterwards we heard some interesting stories about the dogs, I will share a quick one. There was one set of twin dogs, where one of the twins was almost completely blind. However, this never posed a problem because the other twin would always perfectly communicate to the other one and these dogs could easily lead the way. Although, when they tried to put the blind one with any other partner it never worked out and the blind one would always crash. Afterwards, I joined everyone else and was actually given the food along with everyone even though I was not supposed to get it. Additionally I grabbed the private van ride back with everyone even though I wasn't supposed to get that either. So my dogsledding trip worked out amazingly for a great price, I couldn't have been happier!
Northern Lights
When I originally booked my ticket to Tromso, the thing I most looked forward to was the northern lights. I figured I had like 10 nights, I would see the damn lights. Well I did see them, but barely. In fact so little so, that my camera couldn't even pick up the faint light that I saw. But it was funny because soon after I got there I found myself interested in the lights, but not obsessing over seeing them. I became much more interested in the people I was staying with, climbing the mountain, and dogsledding. While it would have been quite nice to see a magnificent display of the lights, that didn't happen. Its just the way things worked out and I have no regrets at all. I loved everything about my trip to Tromso and I appreciate everything I did get to do, especially the things I had no prior knowledge about.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Hello and Goodbye
This will probably be the last time I have internet access before I return home on Saturday. I have a long couple of days ahead involving one overnight in an aiport. I am a bit behind in blogs and I will be sure to catch up on them when I return home and I have more time. Thanks as always for all of the comments and emails! I hope you all will continue to read as I post the rest of my blogs in due time. Goodbye Europe!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A VISIT TO TROMSØ: PART ONE
For good reason, I have been slacking with my blog. I have been quite busy during my 10 night 11 day stay here in Tromsø. Also, I have quite a bit to say, even when cutting some stuff out. So now the day in which I will be leaving on a flight to London, I have found some time to write. It is a lot so I am going to break it up into two separate posts. Also I found it much easier for myself and hopefully for you guys to break it up into sections.
TWICE A SUNRISE
I flew out of the Oslo airport on an early morning flight through a snowstorm. As we gained height and left the Oslo airport I was able to see a beautiful sunrise through some breakage in the clouds. The flight was mostly uneventful until I was close to my destination of Tromsø, when I noticed that the sun began to set and eventually disappear from sight. I landed in what is still considered the morning hours of around 10am. Later on that same day I would get to see the sun rise and set again. Therefore, being due to my new northerly location in the arctic circle, I was able to see the sun rise and set twice in a day!
PARIS OF THE NORTH
According to my European travel guide, The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget, Tromsø has been called the Paris of the North. While it is a beautiful city surrounded by even more beautiful scenery, I see no resemblance to Paris. Unless of course simply stating something is like Paris is stating that it is incredibly beautiful, because then my answer would absolutely be yes. As my plane approached Tromsø, I noticed the scenery to be an immense empty landscape. The snow covered hilly ground went as far as the eye could see without any sign of life. It looked quite desolate to be honest. Tromsø is much different from this last description. Located about 300km inside of the Arctic Circle, it is the 9th largest city in Norway, with an oh so large population of a little over 50,000 people. Tromsø is actually an island surrounded by mountains on the mainland and other islands on the other side. From Tromsø I get a beautiful view of the mainland. I think it can best be described by how it looks at night. If looking at the mainland you immediately notice the large snow covered mountains hovering so very close. Beneath these mountains lies a narrow strip of land with well lit houses providing ample viewing light for the mountains behind them. In between the mainland and myself is a river like stretch of water with a beautifully curved bridge connecting the two pieces of land. The cool looking arctic water reflects the light of the houses from across the way to add the finishing touch on a wonderful view. Its one of those things that my point and shoot camera was not able to fully capture. The other beautiful thing about Tromsø is the relatively mild weather, due to its location near the ocean and the warming waters of the Gulf Stream. While it is cold here, it is not as bitter as other areas would be on a similar latitude of around 69 degrees north. In fact the weather has been very similar to Long Island weather during this time of the year.
THE NORTHERNMOST...
The running joke in Tromsø is that you can take almost anything in the city and say its the northernmost whatever it is the world. Some real life examples of this is that Tromsø has the northernmost university in the world, Tromsø university, planetarium, and many other local sites. However the most interesting for me was that it is the location of the northernmost brewery in the world. The Mack brewery is located on a small piece land on the island with Tromsø. And yes, I did try the beer several times.
ON THE ISLAND
During my stay on Tromsø I was lucky enough to be hosted by three separate groups of people. During my first few days I stayed with Espen and Robin, a couple of guys around my age. I spent this time familiarizing myself with the city during the day. At night Espen, Robin, a few of their friends, and myself spent time checking out the local night life. My second stay was with a busy guy named Jon. He knew all of the insider tips to the island and most importantly told me how to go dog sledding for less than half price, which I will talk about later. My first day here I was sharing his place with a couple of Australian Couchsurfers. We spent the day checking out the Polar Museum and its extensive collection of polar history and mounted animals. The next couple of days I spent climbing a mountain, which I will talk about later, and at night Jon was able to spend time showing me around town. My last stay was with Thomas and Kine, a wonderful couple with a house very close to the city center. My time here was mostly on the weekend so I was able to spend a lot of time with them. It snowed a lot, so we spent a lot of time indoors. Although Thomas did take me to multiple places to try and catch the Northern Lights, which I will also talk about later.
FOOD
During my stay with Thomas and Kine we did a lot of eating. Thomas, being like myself, is almost never full and can continually eat like me. While we spent time eating food that can be had anywhere, I also did get to sample some Norwegian specialties. One night Thomas made us a delicious reindeer stew. Last night we had whale... Most people around the world will probably not be to fond of me eating whale. Norway is one of only a handful of countries that its even legal to hunt whale. However, it must be known that the whale hunting done here is very limited, and the species of whale that is hunted is not endangered. If this still wasn't convincing enough, I am sorry but maybe you will not want to read about how I describe the taste next. Uncooked it looked like a very very dark piece of meat. When cooked, in a frying pan, it came out looking very close to how a piece of steak may look when cooked the same way. The texture of it was also very much like a steak, and after the first few chews one may actually thing they are eating a steak. However, after the first few chews a slight fishy taste became apparent, but not overwhelmingly so. As a certain someone I know might say, it was good, but not great. I am very glad to have tried it, as I love to try most foods. If it were available in the states I would probably eat every once in a while, but not too often.
TO BE CONTINUED...
TWICE A SUNRISE
I flew out of the Oslo airport on an early morning flight through a snowstorm. As we gained height and left the Oslo airport I was able to see a beautiful sunrise through some breakage in the clouds. The flight was mostly uneventful until I was close to my destination of Tromsø, when I noticed that the sun began to set and eventually disappear from sight. I landed in what is still considered the morning hours of around 10am. Later on that same day I would get to see the sun rise and set again. Therefore, being due to my new northerly location in the arctic circle, I was able to see the sun rise and set twice in a day!
PARIS OF THE NORTH
According to my European travel guide, The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget, Tromsø has been called the Paris of the North. While it is a beautiful city surrounded by even more beautiful scenery, I see no resemblance to Paris. Unless of course simply stating something is like Paris is stating that it is incredibly beautiful, because then my answer would absolutely be yes. As my plane approached Tromsø, I noticed the scenery to be an immense empty landscape. The snow covered hilly ground went as far as the eye could see without any sign of life. It looked quite desolate to be honest. Tromsø is much different from this last description. Located about 300km inside of the Arctic Circle, it is the 9th largest city in Norway, with an oh so large population of a little over 50,000 people. Tromsø is actually an island surrounded by mountains on the mainland and other islands on the other side. From Tromsø I get a beautiful view of the mainland. I think it can best be described by how it looks at night. If looking at the mainland you immediately notice the large snow covered mountains hovering so very close. Beneath these mountains lies a narrow strip of land with well lit houses providing ample viewing light for the mountains behind them. In between the mainland and myself is a river like stretch of water with a beautifully curved bridge connecting the two pieces of land. The cool looking arctic water reflects the light of the houses from across the way to add the finishing touch on a wonderful view. Its one of those things that my point and shoot camera was not able to fully capture. The other beautiful thing about Tromsø is the relatively mild weather, due to its location near the ocean and the warming waters of the Gulf Stream. While it is cold here, it is not as bitter as other areas would be on a similar latitude of around 69 degrees north. In fact the weather has been very similar to Long Island weather during this time of the year.
THE NORTHERNMOST...
The running joke in Tromsø is that you can take almost anything in the city and say its the northernmost whatever it is the world. Some real life examples of this is that Tromsø has the northernmost university in the world, Tromsø university, planetarium, and many other local sites. However the most interesting for me was that it is the location of the northernmost brewery in the world. The Mack brewery is located on a small piece land on the island with Tromsø. And yes, I did try the beer several times.
ON THE ISLAND
During my stay on Tromsø I was lucky enough to be hosted by three separate groups of people. During my first few days I stayed with Espen and Robin, a couple of guys around my age. I spent this time familiarizing myself with the city during the day. At night Espen, Robin, a few of their friends, and myself spent time checking out the local night life. My second stay was with a busy guy named Jon. He knew all of the insider tips to the island and most importantly told me how to go dog sledding for less than half price, which I will talk about later. My first day here I was sharing his place with a couple of Australian Couchsurfers. We spent the day checking out the Polar Museum and its extensive collection of polar history and mounted animals. The next couple of days I spent climbing a mountain, which I will talk about later, and at night Jon was able to spend time showing me around town. My last stay was with Thomas and Kine, a wonderful couple with a house very close to the city center. My time here was mostly on the weekend so I was able to spend a lot of time with them. It snowed a lot, so we spent a lot of time indoors. Although Thomas did take me to multiple places to try and catch the Northern Lights, which I will also talk about later.
FOOD
During my stay with Thomas and Kine we did a lot of eating. Thomas, being like myself, is almost never full and can continually eat like me. While we spent time eating food that can be had anywhere, I also did get to sample some Norwegian specialties. One night Thomas made us a delicious reindeer stew. Last night we had whale... Most people around the world will probably not be to fond of me eating whale. Norway is one of only a handful of countries that its even legal to hunt whale. However, it must be known that the whale hunting done here is very limited, and the species of whale that is hunted is not endangered. If this still wasn't convincing enough, I am sorry but maybe you will not want to read about how I describe the taste next. Uncooked it looked like a very very dark piece of meat. When cooked, in a frying pan, it came out looking very close to how a piece of steak may look when cooked the same way. The texture of it was also very much like a steak, and after the first few chews one may actually thing they are eating a steak. However, after the first few chews a slight fishy taste became apparent, but not overwhelmingly so. As a certain someone I know might say, it was good, but not great. I am very glad to have tried it, as I love to try most foods. If it were available in the states I would probably eat every once in a while, but not too often.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Great Mystery
My last post I mentioned that I would be taking one more trip before going to the UK. I had really left the place out because I was a bit tired of typing and I thought the last post was long enough. I figured why not add some slight mystery to the trip, by just leaving everyone hanging. I really didn't think anyone would notice...
Well I was quite wrong, basically every comment and email I got was about where I was going. Well now that I knew there was such interest, I couldn't just share with everyone... When replying to emails I conveniently forgot to answer any and all questions about where I am going. I actually had quite a bit of fun keeping my dad and his coworkers busy for a few days guessing places. I gave them little hints here and there, and they guessed everywhere from Helsinki, Finland to Roswell, New Mexico. Unfortunately for their guesswork, the answer was not that obvious. So finally after a few days worth of hints my dad put the pieces of the puzzle together and figured it out. Now, I can share.
I am going to a city called Tromsø, Norway. This small city is located well within the limits of the arctic circle and during this time of the year I think I will be lucky with an hour of daylight a day. So why in the hell would I go to the arctic circle in the cold winter, with little to no daylight, in a small city, and especially for nine days?!?! Well I have my reasons, maybe there good, maybe not, you be the judge.
First off I was deciding where to spend my last few precious days on my European Schengen visa. I had thought about many places around Europe where I could spend a couple of weeks. I was especially looking at places inside of Norway, since I was already here. My first thought was to go visit the Western Fjords. I had always had interest in them and they seemed quite beautiful. However, I heard from my hosts that the fjords are much prettier in the summer. During this time the grass and flowers come out from their hiding places beneath the snow and make for a much more dramatic landscape. Additionally, there are ample hiking opportunities during the summer months. So where else? Someone mentioned Tromsø. I had no idea where this city was, and what the point of going there could be. My answer was far up Norway and the Northern Lights.
I had always had interest about the beautiful lights in the sky called the Northern Lights, otherwise known as Aurora Borealis. Click here for the Wikipedia article on the phenomenon. I will say that apparently you are more likely to see the lights in winter time and Tromsø is one of the better places in the world to see them. To get to Tromsø you have basically one option. Click here to look at a map of Norway. Tromsø is up on the top left of the country, the trains don't run up this far. I am not too sure about buses, but my guess is to take them from Oslo would perhaps take days. So I had to fly. Luckily, Norwegian airlines had a flight sale going on and I was able to grab a flight to Tromsø for around $50.
Now why 9 days?!? Besides the Northern Lights I really don't know how much else to do in Tromsø. In fact I had only planned on spending a few days there, but that got changed for two reasons. The first is the housing situation. During this time of the year, quite predictably, there are not many tourists visiting the arctic circle. Therefore, all of the hostels close down until summer arrives. Hotels would be way out of my price range, so I had to use my option of Couchsurfing again. I sent out my normal amount of a few requests and was surprised to receive a few positive responses. In fact I had 3 very nice people who offered me a couch to sleep on. How to choose which one??? I couldn't pass up the chance to meet all of these people, so I worked out to stay with all of them for a couple of days. Perhaps I would have only choose two of them or at least spent less than 9 days if it weren't for the other factor. I was again lucky to find that there are actually a couple of direct flights from Tromsø to London that were also part of this flight sale. The flight on the 3rd was about $50 while the flights on the surrounding days were triple or quadruple that price (my only other option would have been to leave after 3 days on the 27th, but I didn't want to do that for the reason stated above). So the 3rd was picked, and coincidentally I believe that the third actually marks my 90 day visa limit. And that's why I am going to Tromsø, Norway for 9 days. I don't really no what to expect, but hopefully after 9 days, I better of witnessed some of the beautiful lights in the sky.
Well I was quite wrong, basically every comment and email I got was about where I was going. Well now that I knew there was such interest, I couldn't just share with everyone... When replying to emails I conveniently forgot to answer any and all questions about where I am going. I actually had quite a bit of fun keeping my dad and his coworkers busy for a few days guessing places. I gave them little hints here and there, and they guessed everywhere from Helsinki, Finland to Roswell, New Mexico. Unfortunately for their guesswork, the answer was not that obvious. So finally after a few days worth of hints my dad put the pieces of the puzzle together and figured it out. Now, I can share.
I am going to a city called Tromsø, Norway. This small city is located well within the limits of the arctic circle and during this time of the year I think I will be lucky with an hour of daylight a day. So why in the hell would I go to the arctic circle in the cold winter, with little to no daylight, in a small city, and especially for nine days?!?! Well I have my reasons, maybe there good, maybe not, you be the judge.
First off I was deciding where to spend my last few precious days on my European Schengen visa. I had thought about many places around Europe where I could spend a couple of weeks. I was especially looking at places inside of Norway, since I was already here. My first thought was to go visit the Western Fjords. I had always had interest in them and they seemed quite beautiful. However, I heard from my hosts that the fjords are much prettier in the summer. During this time the grass and flowers come out from their hiding places beneath the snow and make for a much more dramatic landscape. Additionally, there are ample hiking opportunities during the summer months. So where else? Someone mentioned Tromsø. I had no idea where this city was, and what the point of going there could be. My answer was far up Norway and the Northern Lights.
I had always had interest about the beautiful lights in the sky called the Northern Lights, otherwise known as Aurora Borealis. Click here for the Wikipedia article on the phenomenon. I will say that apparently you are more likely to see the lights in winter time and Tromsø is one of the better places in the world to see them. To get to Tromsø you have basically one option. Click here to look at a map of Norway. Tromsø is up on the top left of the country, the trains don't run up this far. I am not too sure about buses, but my guess is to take them from Oslo would perhaps take days. So I had to fly. Luckily, Norwegian airlines had a flight sale going on and I was able to grab a flight to Tromsø for around $50.
Now why 9 days?!? Besides the Northern Lights I really don't know how much else to do in Tromsø. In fact I had only planned on spending a few days there, but that got changed for two reasons. The first is the housing situation. During this time of the year, quite predictably, there are not many tourists visiting the arctic circle. Therefore, all of the hostels close down until summer arrives. Hotels would be way out of my price range, so I had to use my option of Couchsurfing again. I sent out my normal amount of a few requests and was surprised to receive a few positive responses. In fact I had 3 very nice people who offered me a couch to sleep on. How to choose which one??? I couldn't pass up the chance to meet all of these people, so I worked out to stay with all of them for a couple of days. Perhaps I would have only choose two of them or at least spent less than 9 days if it weren't for the other factor. I was again lucky to find that there are actually a couple of direct flights from Tromsø to London that were also part of this flight sale. The flight on the 3rd was about $50 while the flights on the surrounding days were triple or quadruple that price (my only other option would have been to leave after 3 days on the 27th, but I didn't want to do that for the reason stated above). So the 3rd was picked, and coincidentally I believe that the third actually marks my 90 day visa limit. And that's why I am going to Tromsø, Norway for 9 days. I don't really no what to expect, but hopefully after 9 days, I better of witnessed some of the beautiful lights in the sky.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Norwegian Impressions
I received many comments and emails about my last post and every single one of them agreed that I should come home. My own feelings combined with this reaction has made me decide for sure that I will return home. Well of course after I go on one more adventure....
In the low countries of Europe, in particular Spain, I was of at least average height. Many times, at my height of 5 feet 10 inches (on a good day) I even felt like one of the taller people walking around. Ever since the second I boarded the plane to Norway this has not been the case. I truly think that I may be one of the shortest people currently in Oslo. Its incredible, the average male seems to be at least a head taller than me. Even the average female seems to be around my height, with many of them being taller.
Another thing I noticed about Norway, or at least Oslo, is that nearly everybody speaks excellent English. From the bus drivers to supermarket checkout ladies, it seems like everybody here speaks English. While the people will speak Norwegian amongst themselves, they have no problem in regularly communicating in English. It has been wonderful to be able to take part in almost every conversation in the house I am staying at, and communicate with anyone I meet on the street. In fact I think one of the hardest things to do in Norway would be to learn Norwegian!
One of the first assumptions anyone has about Norway in the winter is obviously the cold. Well maybe this is not the norm, but the weather is surprisingly better than I thought it would be. While it is cold, it is definitely not bitter cold. The weather today is a somewhat comfortable (when bundled up) -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). In fact, I think it is much colder in New York than it is here. The place I am staying is a wonderfully large place in an excellent location in the city. I am within walking distance to all of the major museums and parks, which I have been dutifully visiting. I have become quite lucky again with wonderful hosts who have been taking very good care of me. The exchange rate is 7 Norwegian Kroner for 1 American Dollar. Though the prices more than make up for it. The average price of things are quite expensive. A cheap beer in a bar might cost the equivalent of $6 or $7 or $2 to $3 in a supermarket. The transportation is very efficient, but very expensive. Luckily many of the museums are either free or offer substantial discounts for a college ID.
I will round out my stay here in my next post. I feel like adding a little mystery for some excitement, so all I will say is that I am leaving Oslo on the 24th of January and that I arrive in London on the 3rd of February. I will be sure to let everyone in on my secret before I leave :).
Once again I wish to thank everyone for their comments and their emails. I try to reply when I can or if I see a specific question to be answered. Otherwise I very much just enjoying reading them and love knowing that I have people who support me and/or are actually interested in what I am doing on my trip.
In the low countries of Europe, in particular Spain, I was of at least average height. Many times, at my height of 5 feet 10 inches (on a good day) I even felt like one of the taller people walking around. Ever since the second I boarded the plane to Norway this has not been the case. I truly think that I may be one of the shortest people currently in Oslo. Its incredible, the average male seems to be at least a head taller than me. Even the average female seems to be around my height, with many of them being taller.
Another thing I noticed about Norway, or at least Oslo, is that nearly everybody speaks excellent English. From the bus drivers to supermarket checkout ladies, it seems like everybody here speaks English. While the people will speak Norwegian amongst themselves, they have no problem in regularly communicating in English. It has been wonderful to be able to take part in almost every conversation in the house I am staying at, and communicate with anyone I meet on the street. In fact I think one of the hardest things to do in Norway would be to learn Norwegian!
One of the first assumptions anyone has about Norway in the winter is obviously the cold. Well maybe this is not the norm, but the weather is surprisingly better than I thought it would be. While it is cold, it is definitely not bitter cold. The weather today is a somewhat comfortable (when bundled up) -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). In fact, I think it is much colder in New York than it is here. The place I am staying is a wonderfully large place in an excellent location in the city. I am within walking distance to all of the major museums and parks, which I have been dutifully visiting. I have become quite lucky again with wonderful hosts who have been taking very good care of me. The exchange rate is 7 Norwegian Kroner for 1 American Dollar. Though the prices more than make up for it. The average price of things are quite expensive. A cheap beer in a bar might cost the equivalent of $6 or $7 or $2 to $3 in a supermarket. The transportation is very efficient, but very expensive. Luckily many of the museums are either free or offer substantial discounts for a college ID.
I will round out my stay here in my next post. I feel like adding a little mystery for some excitement, so all I will say is that I am leaving Oslo on the 24th of January and that I arrive in London on the 3rd of February. I will be sure to let everyone in on my secret before I leave :).
Once again I wish to thank everyone for their comments and their emails. I try to reply when I can or if I see a specific question to be answered. Otherwise I very much just enjoying reading them and love knowing that I have people who support me and/or are actually interested in what I am doing on my trip.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Schengen Agreement
I apologize for this long post. I needed to just blurt out all my thoughts and get it out of my system before I make up my mind on what I shall do relating to the situation stated below.
The Schengen Agreement is an International treaty signed by 25 countries residing within Europe. These countries work together in many ways for a unified front. Most importantly to me, these countries form together for one travel visa.
When I originally planned my trip to Europe I had wrongly assumed that I would have a 90 day visa for each country. This may have worked a few years ago, but now, due to the Schengen Agreement, I only have a 90 day visa for all of the participating countries combined. One great advantage of this system is that if you live in one of these countries, I believe that you are allowed unlimited travel and work opportunities in the other participating countries. Basically to me it seems like they are sort of making the United States of Europe.
Only about 2 years ago there were only 15 mainly Western European countries in this agreement. This would have worked OK for me since I had planned on moving on to Eastern Europe anyway. However, since then another 10 mainly Eastern European countries have been added on. Some of these include Hungary, Poland, and Czech Republic. Interestingly some of the additional countries have signed the Schengen Agreement are not even part of the European Union. These countries are Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland (which was the most recent to join in December of '08) . Even more interestingly the United Kingdom and Ireland, while partly joining the Schengen Agreement, have both decided at this point against taking part in the travel provisions section.
After doing some basic research on this with the help of the oh so reliable Wikipedia, I thought of my options. My first thought was the basic plan anyone who has an expiring visa thinks of. Leave the country, or in this case countries, with the expiring visa for a few days, and then return to receive a brand new one with a new 90 day limit. Of course though, things could not be that simple. The Schengen Agreement says you can only spend 90 days within a 180 day period. Simply stated, 90 days in and then 90 days out before you can return again.
This is the point I was at when I was in Lisbon, I was quite unsure of what I would do. Only now have I become almost positive of what my decision will be. I had only 3 options to choose from. One would be to simply defy the rules. I know that there are many people who do so and have got away with it, and they say that the worse they do is kick you out. I knew there could be much worse punishment than this and I did not want to risk it and rely on information from other random people. My final decision on this option was made when I flew from Portugal to Oslo and the check in lady clearly went through my visa to check when I had arrived in Europe. Option 2 was to finish out the rest of my 90 days, head to the safe haven of the UK and catch a cheap flight home. I could stay home for a few months and regroup and reorganize to plan another trip in the near future. Finally, option 3 was to leave the Schengen countries and continue traveling.
Option 3 seemed like my most likely choice at first. My first thought was going to the country I skipped, Morocco. Then I realized I would be a bit trapped there. I was not prepared to head south from Morocco, most flights out of Morocco go to a Schengen country, and I was not ready to spend 3 months in Morocco in order to get a new Schengen visa. Then I thought Istanbul, Turkey. In the case of Turkey I had wanted to work my way through Eastern Europe which I would now be entirely skipping. Additionally, from Turkey, I had wanted to work my way down the Israel and Egypt, which I think I have to avoid right now for my mother's sake. So, Turkey and Morocco had similar problems. I think I would much rather come back and not skip so many countries I have so much interest in visiting and return to do the trip right. Plus maybe whenever it is I come back the weather will be warmer and hopefully peace in the Middle East. Lastly, I could just fly off to anywhere else in the world as well. Though I am not much for an overly planned trip as you all probably know by now, I do like to have somewhat of an idea of where I am going.
So it seems that option number 2 is the way to go. This trip has only increased my love for travel. I will be sure to go home and start thinking of another trip. I could come back and do Eastern Europe or maybe visit a completely other area of the world. Only time shall tell for that.
In the good news my trip isn't completely over yet. I have planned a bit of a last minute splurge, well actually I think it will turn out to be much cheaper than I thought. I will be sure to share the details of this once I have everything booked. Additionally, I still have a decent amount of time left on my trip. I have still not booked any flight home and as of now I think I will be coming home in early to mid February. Additionally, I am planning on another short trip to visit sunny Florida shortly after I arrive home!
If you have an opinion on the matter tell me what you all think. Nothing is definite yet, so the possibility to change is always there. Tell me I am making a stupid decision, tell me I making a smart decision, or tell me you have absolutely no idea. I don't care, just be honest.
The Schengen Agreement is an International treaty signed by 25 countries residing within Europe. These countries work together in many ways for a unified front. Most importantly to me, these countries form together for one travel visa.
When I originally planned my trip to Europe I had wrongly assumed that I would have a 90 day visa for each country. This may have worked a few years ago, but now, due to the Schengen Agreement, I only have a 90 day visa for all of the participating countries combined. One great advantage of this system is that if you live in one of these countries, I believe that you are allowed unlimited travel and work opportunities in the other participating countries. Basically to me it seems like they are sort of making the United States of Europe.
Only about 2 years ago there were only 15 mainly Western European countries in this agreement. This would have worked OK for me since I had planned on moving on to Eastern Europe anyway. However, since then another 10 mainly Eastern European countries have been added on. Some of these include Hungary, Poland, and Czech Republic. Interestingly some of the additional countries have signed the Schengen Agreement are not even part of the European Union. These countries are Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland (which was the most recent to join in December of '08) . Even more interestingly the United Kingdom and Ireland, while partly joining the Schengen Agreement, have both decided at this point against taking part in the travel provisions section.
After doing some basic research on this with the help of the oh so reliable Wikipedia, I thought of my options. My first thought was the basic plan anyone who has an expiring visa thinks of. Leave the country, or in this case countries, with the expiring visa for a few days, and then return to receive a brand new one with a new 90 day limit. Of course though, things could not be that simple. The Schengen Agreement says you can only spend 90 days within a 180 day period. Simply stated, 90 days in and then 90 days out before you can return again.
This is the point I was at when I was in Lisbon, I was quite unsure of what I would do. Only now have I become almost positive of what my decision will be. I had only 3 options to choose from. One would be to simply defy the rules. I know that there are many people who do so and have got away with it, and they say that the worse they do is kick you out. I knew there could be much worse punishment than this and I did not want to risk it and rely on information from other random people. My final decision on this option was made when I flew from Portugal to Oslo and the check in lady clearly went through my visa to check when I had arrived in Europe. Option 2 was to finish out the rest of my 90 days, head to the safe haven of the UK and catch a cheap flight home. I could stay home for a few months and regroup and reorganize to plan another trip in the near future. Finally, option 3 was to leave the Schengen countries and continue traveling.
Option 3 seemed like my most likely choice at first. My first thought was going to the country I skipped, Morocco. Then I realized I would be a bit trapped there. I was not prepared to head south from Morocco, most flights out of Morocco go to a Schengen country, and I was not ready to spend 3 months in Morocco in order to get a new Schengen visa. Then I thought Istanbul, Turkey. In the case of Turkey I had wanted to work my way through Eastern Europe which I would now be entirely skipping. Additionally, from Turkey, I had wanted to work my way down the Israel and Egypt, which I think I have to avoid right now for my mother's sake. So, Turkey and Morocco had similar problems. I think I would much rather come back and not skip so many countries I have so much interest in visiting and return to do the trip right. Plus maybe whenever it is I come back the weather will be warmer and hopefully peace in the Middle East. Lastly, I could just fly off to anywhere else in the world as well. Though I am not much for an overly planned trip as you all probably know by now, I do like to have somewhat of an idea of where I am going.
So it seems that option number 2 is the way to go. This trip has only increased my love for travel. I will be sure to go home and start thinking of another trip. I could come back and do Eastern Europe or maybe visit a completely other area of the world. Only time shall tell for that.
In the good news my trip isn't completely over yet. I have planned a bit of a last minute splurge, well actually I think it will turn out to be much cheaper than I thought. I will be sure to share the details of this once I have everything booked. Additionally, I still have a decent amount of time left on my trip. I have still not booked any flight home and as of now I think I will be coming home in early to mid February. Additionally, I am planning on another short trip to visit sunny Florida shortly after I arrive home!
If you have an opinion on the matter tell me what you all think. Nothing is definite yet, so the possibility to change is always there. Tell me I am making a stupid decision, tell me I making a smart decision, or tell me you have absolutely no idea. I don't care, just be honest.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
12 Grapes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Throughout my whole trip I have been very lucky to have been wonderfully received by multiple hosts in multiple countries. Some of these hosts were friends who I had prearranged staying with and others were last minute decisions made through the Couchsurfing.com service. My stay in the very small town of Valor, which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Southeast Spain was one of those last minute decisions.
With only two days to go before the New Year, I was still quite unsure where I would be staying. I had thought about visiting Sevilla, Spain, but I had not booked any hostels or any transportation out of what was my current location of Granada, Spain. Perhaps only a few hours before I would have booked my plans for the New Year I was warmfully invited to go Couchsurfing with a very nice guy about my age named Nicolas. I had requested to surf his couch in Granada, but he immediately informed me this would not be possible. His family owns a very old house in a very old town in the mountains and he said this is where I could join him and his family for the New Year celebrations.
I am in Europe, I have a range of options I could have picked to spend the New Year. Within Spain alone Madrid or Barcelona would seem like obvious chooses for their likely huge celebrations. However, for anyone who knows me, I would have preferred no other place more than the small town in the mountains.
After a few hour bus ride to the town through the mountains, I was quite glad to have arrived. I don't think the bus ever went straight for more than 10 seconds and the fast and experienced bus driver was only slowed down by slow moving cars around the numerous bends in the road. My stay was like being a new member of a family. I was immediately taken in and treated incredibly. I was fed endless amounts of delicious food and was delighted to have wonderful conversations. I could go on and on about my wonderful hosts, but I shall focus on the New Year.
The Spanish tradition for the New Year celebration is two eat twelve grapes during the countdown for the entering of a New Year. From what I heard about this tradition, it dates back to the early 1900's when there was a huge surplus of grapes in Spain. In order to deal with the surplus of grapes, the Spaniards ate 12 of them in rapid succession during the countdown. Ever since then it has become quite the tradition that it seems like almost every Spanish man, woman, or child partakes in.
In preparation for the celebration, we made ready our grapes. Individually we each peeled of the skin and took out the pits of our set of 12 grapes and wrapped them up very carefully. As the New Year loomed the town gathered in the small town square in front of the town's lone church. By typical Spanish reputation, most of the people of this small town only made it to the square with just but a few short minutes to spare. Then the time came, I was informed to wait for 4 initial ringings of the church bells and then to start eating on the 5th ringing and then each successive ring until I have finished my grapes. I somehow managed to record this event on my camera as everyone went quiet and tried to keep up with the fast ringing bells. I was able to keep up with the pace and at the sound of the last bell, champagne bottles where opened and champagne sprayed all over. Fireworks lit up the sky as the various people kissed, hugged, and shook hands with each other. It was a wonderful celebration with nothing but smiling faces.
It did not matter if you were rich or poor, male or female, adult or child, this was a time to celebrate. Remembering the good times of the past year and looking forward to a hopefully bright New Year. Of course there will be ups and downs, but try to keep on smiling and especially keep on enjoying life. This is your one life live it how your heart desires, don't be afraid to follow your dreams.
With only two days to go before the New Year, I was still quite unsure where I would be staying. I had thought about visiting Sevilla, Spain, but I had not booked any hostels or any transportation out of what was my current location of Granada, Spain. Perhaps only a few hours before I would have booked my plans for the New Year I was warmfully invited to go Couchsurfing with a very nice guy about my age named Nicolas. I had requested to surf his couch in Granada, but he immediately informed me this would not be possible. His family owns a very old house in a very old town in the mountains and he said this is where I could join him and his family for the New Year celebrations.
I am in Europe, I have a range of options I could have picked to spend the New Year. Within Spain alone Madrid or Barcelona would seem like obvious chooses for their likely huge celebrations. However, for anyone who knows me, I would have preferred no other place more than the small town in the mountains.
After a few hour bus ride to the town through the mountains, I was quite glad to have arrived. I don't think the bus ever went straight for more than 10 seconds and the fast and experienced bus driver was only slowed down by slow moving cars around the numerous bends in the road. My stay was like being a new member of a family. I was immediately taken in and treated incredibly. I was fed endless amounts of delicious food and was delighted to have wonderful conversations. I could go on and on about my wonderful hosts, but I shall focus on the New Year.
The Spanish tradition for the New Year celebration is two eat twelve grapes during the countdown for the entering of a New Year. From what I heard about this tradition, it dates back to the early 1900's when there was a huge surplus of grapes in Spain. In order to deal with the surplus of grapes, the Spaniards ate 12 of them in rapid succession during the countdown. Ever since then it has become quite the tradition that it seems like almost every Spanish man, woman, or child partakes in.
In preparation for the celebration, we made ready our grapes. Individually we each peeled of the skin and took out the pits of our set of 12 grapes and wrapped them up very carefully. As the New Year loomed the town gathered in the small town square in front of the town's lone church. By typical Spanish reputation, most of the people of this small town only made it to the square with just but a few short minutes to spare. Then the time came, I was informed to wait for 4 initial ringings of the church bells and then to start eating on the 5th ringing and then each successive ring until I have finished my grapes. I somehow managed to record this event on my camera as everyone went quiet and tried to keep up with the fast ringing bells. I was able to keep up with the pace and at the sound of the last bell, champagne bottles where opened and champagne sprayed all over. Fireworks lit up the sky as the various people kissed, hugged, and shook hands with each other. It was a wonderful celebration with nothing but smiling faces.
It did not matter if you were rich or poor, male or female, adult or child, this was a time to celebrate. Remembering the good times of the past year and looking forward to a hopefully bright New Year. Of course there will be ups and downs, but try to keep on smiling and especially keep on enjoying life. This is your one life live it how your heart desires, don't be afraid to follow your dreams.
Monday, January 5, 2009
A New Year and a New Set of Plans
I know I have been quite slow with the blogs lately... I have been moving around a bit more in recent weeks and my internet access has been a little bit more limited. For now I will just give a update on what I have done and my plans...
I left for Granada traveling alone again. I had booked two nights in the beautiful city. I believe it was the last Moorish holdout in Spain before the Christian conquest was complete. I enjoyed visiting the huge Moorish complex of Alhambra and wandering the small maze like cobble stone streets. However, perhaps my best day in the city was when I climbed the hill of maze like streets and made my way to the old city wall. Afterwards I went around the backside of the wall and rested on a quiet hill away from all of the tourists. From here on one side I had a wonderful view overlooking Alhambra and the city of Granada. On the other side I could watch and listen to the gypsies go about their business in their little community of cave like dwellings.
While in Madrid I had planned to go to Sevilla to spend the New Year. I decided to hold out on the booking until I actually got to Granada. I am so glad I decided to do so. At the last moment I was offered to go Couchsurfing with a wonderful family in a small town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the New Year. I will not divulge further details at this time as I am going to make a whole post on my stay there. However, I will say that those few days will most certainly be one of the highlights of my trip!
From here I booked two nights in Cordoba (the funny thing about this city is that the main tourist site is an old part Muslim and part Christian religious building, that is located in the old Jewish neighborhood) and was still planning on making my way around southern Spain and then to Morocco.. That was just a few days ago.... Then I got a message from my Aunt Carol that my Uncle Erik's family will be at a house they have in Oslo, Norway for a few weeks. So I decided to book a flight to Norway... So instead of going to nice and hot and very cheap Morocco, I am instead going to very cold and very expensive Norway. I made this decision for several reasons... First off the rising Mideast tensions had my mother quite worried about me visiting Morocco, and for good measure Norway was ranked as the most peaceful country in the world last year. So in part I decided to go for my mothers sake. Otherwise Norway seems like a wonderful country that I would have probably not visited due to the very high prices. However the chance to be with welcoming hosts offering a free place to stay is very nice, even if it is a "terrible" time of the year to go (I was even laughed at by a girl from northern Germany for deciding to go to cold Norway now). Plus the flight was surprisingly cheap to Norway. I am very excited for my new plans and I just hope I do not turn into one 5 foot and 10 inches tall ice cube.
Currently I am in a city called Sevilla where for 10 euro a night I get a nice hostel with unlimited internet, hot chocolate, a roof terrace, a free Flaminco show, and a lot more. Tomorrow night I head on an overnight bus to Lisbon, Portugal... another place I did not plan on visiting. I will spend a few nights there in a hostel that was actually voted as the best hostel in the world last month. I will then fly from a city called Faro, Portugal to Oslo, Norway on the 10th of January.
Otherwise yesterday (the 4th) marked two months since I have left home. I am almost positive that I have spent a few hundred under $2000 in total on my trip so far, including everything and with the terrible exchange rate. The number one cost has been transportation and that has been kept at a relatively low price considering I book everything last minute. I have slept on a couple of overnight buses and one very cold bus station. I have eaten endless amounts of food, but have probably lost weight because of all of the walking I am doing. I like to think I have become a bit of an expert of maximizing my money with my visit. I am still very happy with my traveling and I still do not have any idea of when I will be returning home. Thank you to everyone who has constantly commented and sent me emails. I love to receive them and keep them coming!
I left for Granada traveling alone again. I had booked two nights in the beautiful city. I believe it was the last Moorish holdout in Spain before the Christian conquest was complete. I enjoyed visiting the huge Moorish complex of Alhambra and wandering the small maze like cobble stone streets. However, perhaps my best day in the city was when I climbed the hill of maze like streets and made my way to the old city wall. Afterwards I went around the backside of the wall and rested on a quiet hill away from all of the tourists. From here on one side I had a wonderful view overlooking Alhambra and the city of Granada. On the other side I could watch and listen to the gypsies go about their business in their little community of cave like dwellings.
While in Madrid I had planned to go to Sevilla to spend the New Year. I decided to hold out on the booking until I actually got to Granada. I am so glad I decided to do so. At the last moment I was offered to go Couchsurfing with a wonderful family in a small town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the New Year. I will not divulge further details at this time as I am going to make a whole post on my stay there. However, I will say that those few days will most certainly be one of the highlights of my trip!
From here I booked two nights in Cordoba (the funny thing about this city is that the main tourist site is an old part Muslim and part Christian religious building, that is located in the old Jewish neighborhood) and was still planning on making my way around southern Spain and then to Morocco.. That was just a few days ago.... Then I got a message from my Aunt Carol that my Uncle Erik's family will be at a house they have in Oslo, Norway for a few weeks. So I decided to book a flight to Norway... So instead of going to nice and hot and very cheap Morocco, I am instead going to very cold and very expensive Norway. I made this decision for several reasons... First off the rising Mideast tensions had my mother quite worried about me visiting Morocco, and for good measure Norway was ranked as the most peaceful country in the world last year. So in part I decided to go for my mothers sake. Otherwise Norway seems like a wonderful country that I would have probably not visited due to the very high prices. However the chance to be with welcoming hosts offering a free place to stay is very nice, even if it is a "terrible" time of the year to go (I was even laughed at by a girl from northern Germany for deciding to go to cold Norway now). Plus the flight was surprisingly cheap to Norway. I am very excited for my new plans and I just hope I do not turn into one 5 foot and 10 inches tall ice cube.
Currently I am in a city called Sevilla where for 10 euro a night I get a nice hostel with unlimited internet, hot chocolate, a roof terrace, a free Flaminco show, and a lot more. Tomorrow night I head on an overnight bus to Lisbon, Portugal... another place I did not plan on visiting. I will spend a few nights there in a hostel that was actually voted as the best hostel in the world last month. I will then fly from a city called Faro, Portugal to Oslo, Norway on the 10th of January.
Otherwise yesterday (the 4th) marked two months since I have left home. I am almost positive that I have spent a few hundred under $2000 in total on my trip so far, including everything and with the terrible exchange rate. The number one cost has been transportation and that has been kept at a relatively low price considering I book everything last minute. I have slept on a couple of overnight buses and one very cold bus station. I have eaten endless amounts of food, but have probably lost weight because of all of the walking I am doing. I like to think I have become a bit of an expert of maximizing my money with my visit. I am still very happy with my traveling and I still do not have any idea of when I will be returning home. Thank you to everyone who has constantly commented and sent me emails. I love to receive them and keep them coming!
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