The days in Turkey.

As written by peter, a friend I met while traveling:

Chios
In Pyrgi, one of the old ladies asked me where I was from, and when she heard Washington she said “Ahh.. White Castle!” This is the response I get from everyone.. so now I just go with it… I think I will start telling them that I live with Obama in the white castle.
I met a girl from Seattle in Chios, who was staying at our hotel. She was an MBA student at UW, studying for a semester in Istanbul, and she was kind of crazy. She talked superfastanddidntpausebetweenherwords which overwhelmed her audience. And she had the most dire warnings about Turkey. “Oh my gosh, it is so backwards! If you leave the touristy areas you are in big trouble! It is impossible to get anywhere! “ Or, my personal favorite, “All of the signs are in Turkish!” We took everything she said with a block of salt.
My last day in Greece was a very relaxing one. Having decided to miss the 8am ferry to Turkey that morning, I slept in. I woke up and finished my book, For Whom the Bell Tolls, which was a very bleak and emotional way to start the day. I followed that up with, what else, a brilliant British comedy, ‘Run, Fat Boy, Run’ about a miserable guy who lost the love of his life to a prick, and to win her back he runs a marathon. After some lunch, Don, the owner, taught me how to play backgammon again. We figured that as long as we were heading into Turkey, it might be wise to know the national game. After a draining few hours of backgammon, a couple of games of chess, and chatting with overexcited Australian girl about travelling in Turkey, another day was done.
The next morning was an early one to catch the ferry to Turkey. Sprits were high as we said goodbye to Greece and hello to Turkey. The ferry was short, and getting our visas uneventful, and like that, I was out of Europe and into Asia (minor?).
Turkey
(November 22) I am sitting on the bus now to Cappadocia, having skipped right through the Antalya bus station. The past few days have been a lot of travelling, covering a lot of ground, but in Cappadocia I will do most of my exploring on foot.
My last email left me at Turkey, with a fresh visa in my hand. From the port of Cesme, Matthew, Brian and I made our way to the bus station after getting directions from the friendliest man in the tourism office. We got our hands on our first Turkish lira, which was great for the new exchange rate (1.6 YTL to 1 dollar), and then made our way over to Izmir. On the drive over I began to see the spires of Mosques sticking up all around.
The bus stop in Izmir was still a good distance away from where we were planning on staying, but another friendly man who spoke a bit of English showed us where we should catch the bus station, and even went so far as to write us a note for the bus driver telling us where to go, and how to get there. At the bottom it said “Help us” or something. Really great guy. So we got our bags on and started walking.. and then half a block into it we saw a backgammon hall / tea shop, through down our bags and put our newly learned skills to the test.
These backgammon halls/ tea shops are a wonderful phenomenon in Turkey. Filled with old men, cards, tea and smoke, they are unlike anything I’ve seen before. They are ubiquitous in the Turkish towns, and I do not understand how they make any money. All they sell is tea/coffee, and people just sit there playing games for hours on end. At this first one, we played backgammon for about 2 or 3 hours, drinking 12 cups of tea between us (to our credit they are very small, lotus shaped glasses). I think it cost something like 4 dollars.
The best part was when the man who had given us directions to downtown found us sitting playing backgammon 3 hours later when he came to get a tea. He was shocked, laughing and saying it was the last thing he expected. Finally we did leave, hiking roughly 8km through the city through the rain to find out the hotel we planned to stay in had no showers. One highlight of the walk was going through the bazaar of the town, all boarded up for the night, with the trash from the day being piled up like giant leaf piles on the sides of the street. Dark alleyways lined the streets, and cats and dogs were digging through the trash looking for food. I heard my first call to prayer too, which is a potent reminder that you are in a foreign place. At 6pm it is a beautiful thing, but waking up to it at 6am every morning does get tiresome.
The hotel we ended up at was very nice, and with a little haggling we ended up staying quite cheap. It even included the standard Turkish breakfast, which consists of cucumber, tomato, olives, a feta-like cheese and some bread. The next morning, the rain storm had passed over and it was a beautiful day. We explored the town a bit, played some more backgammon in another hall, and got to see the old Roman Agora in the center of town.
When we play backgammon at these places we really stick out. I can’t imagine a place muchfurther from a tourist location, so we get a lot of stares when we first show up, but most people are really encouraging and glad to see us playing backgammon. Some of the old men like to show you better moves, and anyone who speaks any English will walk up to you and ask you where you from. (America? Obama!). It is a really great way of getting involved with people.
Another rain storm rolled in on Izmir just before we left, so we were running to make it to the bus station. We ended up at the train station, which worked out too! To kill the time before our train, we walked to find a place to play backgammon.. but on the way passed a barber. Matt and Brian had been talking about getting haircuts, so we stopped in . At the door we asked how much, and they said 5 and 5 for shave/hair cut. They sat Matt and Brian down, and after a quick shave started shampooing their hair and putting a green mask on their faces ( see the pictures). A little wax was put on each cheek and peeled off ( I guess to get rid of unwanted cheek hairs). After Matthew finished, I was forced into the chair. “No no, I’m okay, really” “No you must! Problem, no problem!” The talkative barber, Mustafa, loved to say problem, no problem! , gesturing with his hands on his face and head. So I was convinced to get a haircut/shave, because, why not?
After a fun experience, we were offered tea and then, when we got up to leave, the bill. Now.. we were expecting 10 lira each.. maybe 5 for me because I just got a shave.. so when he showed us the calculator to explain that it was 50 each, well, we were a bit shocked. He kept pointing to the calculator, saying that it was 5 and 5 for haircut and shave, and then 20 for the mask on the face and 20 for the hair shampoo… both of which we didn’t ask for! I really wish I knew how to say “Hey buddy… you said 5 and 5.. you never asked us if we wanted that mask, you threw it on us without telling us a price.” Instead I asked him to show me a price list, and he pointed at one thing that was like 55. It included the word “manikur” among many others. I’m no expert in Turkish, but I’m guessing it translates to manicure. Anyway, we kept arguing and talking him down, until we just left 60 lira and left. That was the first time someone had blatantly tried to con me, which was a learning experience. Next time I will make sure the price gets written down before hand! But it was a fun experience, although the shave/haircut was not even that good. Ahh well, live and learn.
I left Izmir the following night for Selcuk, a small town just 2 hours south on the western coast of Turkey. Matt and Brian were still travelling with me, and we stayed the night at an Australian run hostel just outside town. All through the night there was a huge thunderstorm, lasting for hours and hours with lightning lighting up the sky and thunder shaking the ground. I have never been in a thunderstorm that lasted for so many hours, usually they seem to blow right past. Like the night before in Izmir, the rain was pouring down, harder than we ever see in Seattle. Apparently it was their first rain in 6 months, so I guess I brought it with me.
We woke the next day and walked down the road to Ephesus, about 45min away. On the way we met some people picking manderine oranges, and they told us to pick some for ourselves. They were some of the best I’d ever had, exploding with flavor in each bite. Ephesus is an old Greek/Roman town that, along with Pompei, is the best preserved ancient city in the Mediterranean. The marble streets still run through the town, past the remnants of temples, houses, shops , a library, and a pair of theatres. The large theatre was impressive, with amazing acoustics. Apparently they still hold big concerts there, which would be a great experience. It was definitely the most impressive set of ruins I have seen.

Pamumukale
Next on the agenda was a bus ride to Pammukale. Pammukale is a town set below a natural wonder.. . the hills have turned white from the calcium deposits of the rock. It looks like something out of a dream, from a distance it seems like snow, but then up close it looks more like white wax that has been poured down the hillside. An impressive sight, but I decided not to walk up to look from the top, where the ruins of an old Roman city sit. It used to be 5 lira to get in, but in the last few months it has become 20… and then if you want to go in one of the pools it costs an extra 20 lira. Having not gone in, I now regret it, because when will I be there again? But again.. live and learn. Plus I saved 40 lira to blow on other things later.
At our hotel there were three Spanish ladies, and I chatted with them for a bit in Spanish, which was fun. It was very easy to speak with them in Spanish when in Turkey, compared with in Spain. In Spain there is the sense of reservation because I don’t speak Spanish very well.. but when compared to my Turkish it is downright Shakespearean! Or.. Cervantesean?
Kas
We hopped a bus the next day to Kas. At the bus station in the connecting city of Denizili, we were invited into the office for some tea, and struggled through some Turkish phrases out of Brian’s little language book. They say sharing a cup of tea brings 40 years of friendship, so it is no wonder everyone is so friendly.. they are drinking tea all the time! They bring little trays of it around to the office.. to get some they just yell at someone passing by. In every city I’ve been in people are walking the streets with trays filled with tea, delivering it to other nearby shops.
Kas is a seaside tourism town with only 8000 residents. It was very quiet when we got there at night, and the pension we were looking for was closed. A neighbor walking bye asked us what we were looking for and then led us down the street, asking another lady if a nearbye pension was open. She just started hollering, then called her neighbor on phone, who then showed up and showed us the place. It was great to see how everyone went out of their way to help us find the place, and the lady yelling for the neighbor to get out and let us in was a great scene.
The next day was an exploration of Kas. First, we took off for the theatre, which was tucked up in a hill overlooking the sea. Some local kids were hanging out and causing trouble, and took the chance to practice their English with us, as almost everybody who speaks English seems to. From the theatre we hiked up the hill to find a couple of tombs. They are carved in rock and one we saw here was 2m high and rectangular, with a kid leaning up against it eating a snack. We hiked back into town, stopped for a game of backgammon and a tea at a café, and then moved on to see the Lycian rock tombs carved into the side of the cliffs. These tombs were cut directly into the cliff face all along the cliff overlooking the town. I love climbing things, so the chance to scramble up to these tombs was great. Rain started pouring in that afternoon, just as we were ready to catch our four hour bus ride to Antalya.
With no real plans for Antalya, I didn’t know exactly what to do there, but was using it only as a layover on my way to Cappadocia. But just as we arrived at the bus station, we found an overnight bus to Goreme, a town in Cappadocia, leaving 20min later. This bus ride was 10 hours long… winding through mountains into the heart of Turkey. More thunderstorms and wind shook the bus for most of the trip, but the worst part was the heat, which poured in as the bus struggled up and down the hills. Every 30 minutes I would wake up sweating, with Brian beside me glistening. The Turks on the bus seemed to deal with the heat a bit better than us, but it was truly suffocating.
Cappadocia
As the sun rose over Cappadocia and the bus turned in towards Goreme, the landscape became riddled with spires and caves, gleaming white in the sun. We arrived in Goreme at 7.30am ready (or not) for the day ahead. The friendly man working at the tourist information booth helped us to find a place to stay and also a restaurant for breakfast. Not only that, he managed to find a lost puppy while we ate breakfast and feed it and give it water! The guy was busy! We found the cheapest cave in town, left our stuff, and hiked off to see the Goreme Open air museum. The museum consists of many rock-carved churches with intact frescoes. They were beautiful, but as with any museum, there was very little sense of adventure. This soon changed when, after waiting out a rainstorm playing backgammon and drinking tea ( catch the theme there?) we took a hike through a valley leading to a nearby village. Climbing through abandoned caves and exploring the area was amazing. Really it cannot be explained in words.. so look at the pictures.
The second day in Cappadocia started off with the most amazing breakfast I’ve had on my trip. A common Turkish breakfast is Menemen, which is made of eggs, tomatoes, peppers and garlic, all cooked and served in a low, clay cooking pan. The dish is served bubbling hot, and stays that way thanks to the pan. Every meal is also accompanied by a loaf of bread, useful for sopping up the delicious food.
We started the day off with a hike to Uchisar, a town a few kilometers away topped with a castle (really just a warren of caves and tunnels carved out of the top of the hill). The hike was through Pigeon Valley, with beautiful scenery on all sides, and explorations through tunnels on the way. A pack of about 8 wild looking dogs started barking at us and following us for a bit, which was exhilarating. After not too long we made our way up to the Uchisar castle, where at the top wind and rain battered us until we retreated into a small alcove. From the top we could see sheep being herded through a valley, and on the side of the road far off in the distance we spotted a camel. We hiked down the castle, into the valley, scared some sheep, and caught a bus to head to Derinkuyu, one of the many underground cities.
Derinkuyu was very cool, going down 50 meters underground complete with churches, kitchens, a winery, missionary schools, stables, and more. But most importantly, it had little tiny tunnels going straight down into the earth you could crawl through, which was a lot of fun. They had an ingenious ventilation system, with dozens of ventilation shafts reaching the surface, so there was a pleasant breeze almost everywhere in the city. However, to get around most of the place you needed to be bent half over, and in some places the lights had gone out so you needed to use flashlights. I love that about it though, because it lets you get a sense of adventure and exploration even when in a museum. We caught a rainy bus ride home to Goreme, and found a perfect restaurant.
We ate a local dish, which is served out of a clay pot which they break open at the table. It was a good show, and they let us break open our own pots. Inside was steaming vegetables and chicken cooked to perfection.
Whew! I am finally caught up with today, as I am writing this on November 25th. Today we went to the Zelve valley, which is an open air museum. This place was a lot of fun, with the best explorations of caves yet. We got to climb up the sides of rock faces, crawl through tunnels, and go up 15 foot small square shafts. At times it was a little scary, when squeezing upwards through little tunnels wondering how you were going to get back down, or down a pitch black staircase leading you who knows where.
Tomorrow we are planning on heading to Ihlara Gorge to hike alongside a river up the valley. I then will take an overnight bus to Istanbul, and have 6 nights remaining. I may take a day trip from Istanbul, but will have to see if I can find a good place to go. I can’t wait to see everyone when I get home!

Salemi, Sicily, Italy

    So you have probably have never heard of Salemi and there isn't a ton there but it is a town that I really wanted to visit while I was in Sicily. My intentions though weren't for sightseeing. Earlier in the year I had read an article about a town that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. Much of the old town was still in rubble and the townsfolk had resettled in the valley below. Now in an attempt to boost the local economy and regenerate the town the mayor decided to sell the crumbling properties for one euro. About a buc fifty. The only stipulation was that you have to fix the property up to historic regulations in the next two years. Sounded good enough for me. Upon arrival I was a little confused; I thought I would see hardly any buildings. Instead I was greeted by a town that had the majority of building being lived in. And perched on the top of the hill above the old town was a grand castle with a trivial history as well. There were lots needing work and abandoned but they were mixed in with the rest of the community. After touring the castle I headed to the back streets and found what I had come looking for. There were more and more buildings just sitting empty. And at the bottom of a grand marble staircase there was an entire complex just empty and crumpling away. They needed a lot of work and I am no expert but they looked far from ready for the wrecking ball. I walked to the bottom of the stairs and went in to one of the houses. The floors were all slanting a good bit. It wasn't a large property, but I fell in love with it almost instantly. The view out the back overlooked the many groves of grapes and olive trees below. And off in the distance was the glistening of the ocean. My heart was won; I was in love with this town. I took some pictures and headed back in to town.

I was greeted by hoards of old men and women running errands. Most of them looked at me a bit oddly as I had my huge back, paddy cap, and flip flops on. As they were all dressed quit proper I didn't really fit in. There didn't seem to be many people my aged in town. Only school kids who didn't have a choice where they lived and the people who had been there their entire life. As it was getting dark quick I headed up the mountain looking for a camping spot. The views from the top were stunning. I sipped on some local wine and enjoyed a prosciutto and cheese roll I had bought at the market earlier. Taking it all in, I was contemplating how I can buy one of these properties and become a part of my new love, the Salemi community. As there are only two busses between Palermo and salami I had to be up early. The last bus leaves at 8 am and I had to hike back in to town. As I sat and waited I was greeted by two girls my aged asking me in Italian if the bus had come for Palermo yet. I gestured that it hadn't and that I didn't speak Italian. Then she said, oh you speak English. Turns out the two girls were there for an archeological dig fro there university. They asked what in the heck I was doing there as in the year they had been there they hadn't seen a backpacker. I quickly explained and then the bus came. When we arrived in Palermo the girls asked if I wanted to join them for a coffee. Indeed I did and we discussed what they were doing there for uni and what my intentions were there in more detail. They also wanted to relocate there but to a house that was livable, not in shambles. They also told me how the younger people in Italy didn't want to have anything to do with old houses. AS soon as they had enough money they would build a new one and move away for the historic old towns. This is one of the reasons no one wants many of the properties in Salemi. I do however, and I'll just have to wait and see if I can't get my hands on one. Who knows, maybe I'll have the two girls as neighbors. It was great to meet them and learn more about the town. I'll definitely have to keep in touch.

Next stop, Greece. So getting from Sicily to Greece isn't that easy. As Matt found out, it takes several trains, a lot of patience, and two ferry rides. I left Palermo for Villa San Giovanni. The town just back on mainland Italy. I only had a half hour to make my connecting train and as luck would have it my train was running 40 minutes late. Luckily I met a really nice Italian journalist that spoke English. She had picked it all up from books and said she never really spoke it. She could have fooled me. To save some time she said I should leave the train and take the ferry via foot. It's to me an odd setup but to get from Sicily to Italy they load the trains on a ferry and unload on the other side. It takes about an hour. However if you get off the ferry and walk to the train station you can save a half hour. This proved to be true and I made my connection by less than 5 minutes. Had I stayed on the train I surely would have missed it. 12 hours of trains and I am now in Bari, where the ferry to Greece leaves from. I have to wait until eight tonight and I will be on my way. 16 hours on a ferry, Woohoo!

Netherlands, France, and Germany

So I must say it has been great to be traveling again. With our rail passes in hand Matt and I were ready to explore mainland Europe. We bought passes that allow us unlimited travel for 10 days out of a month. It is great to have the flexibility. The biggest problem is deciding where to go and what to see. It's hard to realize you can't see it all. Since leaving Scotland a little over a week ago I have seen and experienced so many things. It started by leaving Edinburgh via train to New Castle where we caught the ferry to Amsterdam. From there we caught another train to Paris via Brussels. Next came an overnight train from Paris to Munich and as I sit here now I am on a train to Salzburg, Austria for the day before catching yet another train to Budapest tonight. It may seem like we are spending a lot of time on trains and it is true, but seeing the country side change makes it all worth it. A couple days in each city allows us to take in the sites and enjoy ourselves. Each city so far has had extremely different feelings than the others.

Amsterdam

It all started in Amsterdam. A beautiful city laced with canals and beautiful buildings. It was great to be in a place I had never seen before. The first day we met up with a friend I had met in Ireland who was making his way back home to Australia. We wondered around the city, got checked in to a hostel and started having fun. There was a carnival to see in the main square, which really took away from the palace, but what can you do. From there we grabbed pints and caught up. It was great to see Lyndon and as he had been traveling he had some good suggestions for our future destinations. Over the next two days we went on a walking tour of the city, went by Ann Frank's house, walked to the Van Gough Museum, and explored the red light district. It is an amazingly beautiful city, and the red light district is something else. Here all the rules can be broken as you can buy weed in coffee shops, or woman from windows. It really is something else, and like our trusty guide book says, so matter what, all tourist will end up here at some point. As time quickly flew by we made our way to our next destination, Paris via Brussels.

Brussels:

As we had a couple hours between our train transfers in Brussels we decided to head in to town a bit to see what it was all about. The square we came to had what appeared to be a flea market except nobody was really selling anything. Instead there was just a bunch of people rummaging through piles of stuff. To each his own I guess as most of it looked like junk but many people were quite happy with their finds. I watched this go on for about an hour while sipping a local Belgium beer before dashing back to the train station. Although I was now in a hurry I did manage to buy a waffle, and I must say the waffles in Belgium are mighty tasty!

PARIS:

After another short train ride I had arrived in Paris. It felt great, until I stepped off the train that is. The masses of people are not always fun to deal with when you have a large pack and no idea where you are going. Add that the people take pride in not speaking English and you are no doubt going to have some problems. We Headed what we thought was south of the station looking for a hostel only to get lost, and end up at a KFC for their free internet. Once online matt discovered that the number of hostels in Paris was minimal. We located one and headed towards it. A couple metro stops later and we were there, yay, right? Wrong, instead we were greeted by an unfriendly Frenchman who simply said sorry, only have one bed. We inquired where another hostel might be and he just pointed vaguely in two directions. We walked both ways, finding no such hostel in either direction. Finally we settled on a one star hotel. It was close quarters but it got us by. The next day we went on a walking tour lead by a girl from Pittsburg. She's been leading the tours for something like five years and did a great job. We saw the St. Michael's fountain, Triumph Arch, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and many other great sites. After the tour we attempted to get into the hostel again but with no luck. Instead we ended up across town at the friendly hostel. Not too bad a place but the neighborhood was extremely dodgy. After cooking some pasta and enjoying some wine we headed toward the Eiffel Tower. It was lit up blue and sparkled once an hour. Matt and I took a bottle of wine along and enjoyed the show. It was great and you could see many others doing the same. We also met two French guys who changed the negative opinion of French people a bit and had a great night. The next day we toured the catacombs which were well worth the 3.5 Euros. In the late 18^th century they exhumed all the bones from the cemeteries in Paris and moved them to an old quarry. This was due to a plague in the city and the cemeteries were simply too full. It was creepy and yet neat to see the thousands of skulls and bones. From here we went to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and Napoleon's apartment. As I love museums so much this was a quick tour. The Mona Lisa was neat and surprisingly they let you take photo's. Next up was catching a train to Munich. A night train proved to be a great investment as it provided a great night's sleep on our way to Munich.

Munich:

1. After a few days here all I can say is wow! What a place. For the first time on the trip we had coordinated couch surfing. Our host graciously met us at the metro station and helped us get our bearings quick. She took us for our first German breakfast. This meal included, white pudding with sweet mustard, a giant pretzel, and a glass of wheat beer. Can't beat that to start your day! From here our host headed to see her boyfriend and Matt and I went exploring. As we had basically a free day on the trains we went to the Austrian border to see Nueschweinstein Castle. It looks like the castle at the magic kingdom, but was actually a functioning castle. It, the stein of beer, and the pizza we had there made it worth the 2 hour train ride. The next day we made our way just outside of Munich to Dachau, the location of the first concentration camp built on the German soil. Dachau was to become the model for all others built after it. Walking around it is a sobering experience. When you arrive and walk in there is a German phrase on the gates which translated says, "Work sets you free." A cruel slogan all the prisoners had to read when they were forced in the camps. The camp was originally built for 6,000 prisoners but eventually ended up containing 30,000. You walk through the old shower house, which had pipes that could make it a dual purpose shower gas chamber, a reconstructed bunk house, and the crematoriums. The memorial is set up so people can view the camp and its history so nothing like it happens again. After being there I can easily say that everyone at some point needs to visit a concentration camp from WWII. It's a truly sobering experience. This night we went to a famous and traditional beer house. The Hofbräuhaus München is a huge beer hall. Serving delicious beer in one liter steins makes for a great night. The tables are what make this a really great experience because you have to sit down with others at long tables with benches. After introductions, the drinking and conversations take over. It really is a good time. From here Matt and I headed to the train station for another sausage and headed home. On the third and final say we simply rode our bikes around the city. We went to the parks, relaxed in a couple squares and watched the glockenspiel chime and the figures dance. From here we went to a smaller bier hause called Zam. Here I indulged with a pickled pork knuckle, sauerkraut, and fried potatoes. All in all it was an amazing time and I can't wait to go back. Although I now have a soar throat and fear I'm getting a cold I am really excited. Tomorrow morning first thing I'm catching a train to Salzburg, Austria before heading to Budapest tomorrow night. Miss you all and Cheers!
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

    

I don't think I'd walk five hundred miles!

So I've only got about 10 minutes but i thought I would try in get back in the swing of blogging. I am relaxing at the hostel in Inverness after completing two long distance walks. The first the west highland way(WHW) leads 95 miles from a suburb of Glasgow to Fort William. The second the Great Glen Way (GGW) from fort William, 77 miles to Inverness. I also climbed Ben Nevis the UK's highest peak at 4,409 feet. the total for the 3 hikes is about 179 miles. All in all i feel pretty good but if you'd have asked me most nights around ten o'clock i may have answered otherwise. As I am short on time I will try and get the places I stayed and milages i walked posted in the next day or so.

The first week and the entire WHW the weather didn't cooperate. It pissed rain at some point at least everyday and the clouds never really lifted. I still enjoyed it and met some really great people along the walk. I partied quite a few nights with a group of 5 guys from Glasgow. They even rescued me and put me put me in a spare bed they had one night at a chalet. Other than that, I camped every night. The second week the weather drastically changed for the better. Matt and I enjoyed sunshine and blue sky's for most of the walk. Only the last day did it really rain. It was much nicer. As it was dry, we could get small camp fires going at night. Of all the nights camping there was only one really cold night and it happened to be Matt's first nights camping. Luckily it got warmer as the week went on and the camping was great.

Time is ticking down, and sorry if this is a little boring, I'll try and get used to writing regularly again. All in all it was a great two weeks but my legs are ready for a break. Cheers to all and look for more posts soon.

Back in th UK!

Apologies for the long length!

So I must say that it was a bit odd to land in London and not feel like a complete stranger. I arrived back in the UK a little over 2 weeks ago. I have been having a great time since. The first day I slept most of away in the arrivals terminal at London Heathrow. I figured this was the cheapest way to sleep off my Jet lag. From here, I rented a car and drove south to a small village called Shrewton. It was a village about a mile from Stone Henge. My goal again was to see the sun rise here. As usual it was raining so I decided to sleep in the car and by morning it was still overcast so no sunrise again. Maybe next time. As this was a bust I headed south stopping in Salisbury to buy a sleeping bag. I was on my way to what the locals had told me was the best festival in England. It was called the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

I arrived about noon, only to see that if I waited until 5 the admission price was half. I decided it was worth the wait and headed two villages over to the nearest mobile phone shop. I got a phone bought, grabbed a coffee and walked around the town. It way a small village but had a lot going on. The were all sorts of tourist, I assume staying for the steam fair, primary students out and about as it was the last week before school started and me. I really enjoyed watching the local fire department hang banners for the town's festival the upcoming weekend. It felt like a town that was stuck in the simpler times, and I loved it. As the time clicked away I made my way back to the steam fair. I was to discover what a spectacle it really was.

At the fair they have the world’s largest collection of Steam powered tractors, threshers, carnival rides, vehicles, and most impressively organs. It was great walking around and hearing each of the organs belting out it’s own tune. Some even had stages out from with dancers. It was a great old-fashioned feeling fair. From here I made my way to the mid-way, and food alley. I had some local cider and traditional lamb meatball called a faggot with mash. Crazy what they call some things here. Needless to say it was great. From here I jumped in my car and headed toward Bath.

I arriver about 2 am and found a camping ground. I set up my camping hammock for the first time. It was really comfortable and I got a great night sleep. I had some learning to do though as I woke up in the morning with my bum on the ground. I’d have to figure out a better knot the next night. I was woken by t he park ranger. He wanted to be paid. I could tell he didn’t like that I had arrived so late and taken liberty to set up camp. Quite the opposite welcoming I usually get in campgrounds. He then proceeded to tell me that Hammock tents were impractical, that I had hung it wrong, and basically that I was an idiot for trying such a style of camping. He then charged me 15 pounds for the short nights stay. Needless to say, he had the stereotypical poor English attitude. I didn’t let this ruin my day and packed up, showered and headed to town. My main goal was to see the Roman baths. They were originally used by the Roman Empire and some are still used today. To be seen in them showed that you were of high status. They were very neat and worth the stop. I also learned all about the town as I took a 2-hour walking tour. Pry the most interesting part about it is the stone the city is made of. It is called Bath stone and is soft when initially quarry. It hardens very quickly and is great for building. The owner of the local quarry had done a great job selling it to the city for building but wanted the rest of England to use it. All other contractors said the stone was too soft. On this remark he ordered a great mansion to be build on top of the bluff over looking both the city and quarry. He also had a façade of a castle built on the other hill opposite of town. As it is only a fake castle it worked as a great billboard. Why go to this trouble you ask? It was all done so when he brought in people to buy his stone he could say, “With my great stone you can build cities, mansions, and even great castles.” Needless to say he died a very rich man. As my tour ended I jumped in my car and headed towards Wales.

About midnight I crossed into Wales and started looking for a campsite. I couldn’t find one and stopped in a pub to seek advice. The bar was closed but the owner pointed my in the right direction. I arrived only to find the gate locked and no one around. I kept driving following signs to a hostel about 12 miles away. It was an extremely narrow path, and crazy anything would be on it. As I was driving I came upon a father and son walking holding there cell phone up. The dad wanted to make sure his wife had gotten home safely. I didn’t have service but told them, and their big chocolate lab to jump in and I’d give them a lift to a payphone I had passed about a mile back. They were very gracious. They told me that next to their campground was another that I could stay in for the night. It worked out all around, they got to a phone, and I landed a campsite. I set up my hammock much more successfully and climbed in for a good nights sleep only to have a lantern shined on me. “Hello…is there someone sleeping in there? That’s crazy…hello?” I crawled out and started chatting with my neighbors. Turns out they thought I was night fishing. They then invited me over for a beer and told me all about the owners of the campground and that I should stay for the next night as it was the end of season party. It was a lucky campground to find and I had a blast. The party was great; with one of the biggest bon fires I’ve seen in ages and tons of local dishes that all the season long campers had made. The all called me the American Hammock and took care of me. I had a blast and look forward to visiting Wales again in the future. The next day, on there recommendation I visited the Wibbly Wobbly Church. It keeps settling and they keep adding on to try and stop it, thus there being no level doorways or windows. It is very crooked when you look at it and worth the drive. From here I headed to the main road and headed to the Lake District, about a 5-hour drive.

As par for me I arrived in Keswick about midnight. I didn’t even look for a campsite and nestled up in the car. I had come here because it is highly touted as one of the most beautiful areas in all the UK. I was going to do a day hike. I woke up early to go look at hiking boots only to find none in my size. I put on my runners and headed out. The local tourist info centre had told me about a good hike that would take about 4 hours. This was good and I headed out. I enjoyed the walk over the mountains with views of the valley and lake. It was beautiful but not as beautiful as had been hyped up. I did enjoy the fresh air. From here I made my way up to Edinburgh to meet up with Matt.

I arrived about 8 and headed to the pub where matt was working. We had a few pints and got caught up. We also decided to go hike a Monroe the next day. A Monroe is a mountain in the highlands that is over 3000 feet as there are tons of small mountains. So they aren’t huge but a lot of people hike every weekend and try to climb all of them. These people are called Monroe Baggers, and I won’t be one of them. We drove to the start and camped out for the night. We were told by the local ranger that experienced trekkers like ourselves could trek in about 3 hours. Experienced is hardly the term for us. We ended up taking about 4.5 hours. It was a lot of fun to see the highlands that way. From here I drove back to the Edinburgh airport and turned my car in. Since I have just been bumming in Edinburgh, staying with Matt and his girlfriend in there flat.

Last Saturday I went to the Braemore Highland games. I got to see the caper toss (looks like a telephone pole) and all the events which are similar to a track meet. He other exciting thing was that the Queen attended these games. She only came for about an hour but it was still neat to see her.

So as I type now I am waiting for close to dry and I am heading to Milngavie to start the West Highland way. A 95 mile hike from just outside Glasgow to the base of Ben Avis Scotland highest peak. It should take about a week and I am looking forward to it. I’ve never don a hike where I have to carry my own food but I am going to give it a shot. If I don’t plan right it shouldn’t be too big of a deal, there are towns about every 10 miles along the way. I’ll write again when I finish it and get back to Edinburgh, which may not be for 2 weeks as Matt is meeting me at Ben Avis where we plan to begin the Great Glenn way, another 75 mile hike. Wish me luck and cheers to all!

Cheese Rolling, London, Stone Henge, and More!!!

So, one post a month isn’t really that bad, is it? And to all of you I keep promising I’ll post more, sorry again. I’m guessing that there are very few of you regularly checking it for posts anyways. Where do I start? I think I’ll recall the events from most recent backwards. So I have been mainly working at Carter’s Bar. It is owned by the same guy as Thistle St. but it is across town. It is a locals pub as well, but they do open mic nights and have live music. It is a lot of fun and I enjoy it. I do miss the regulars from across town. I am quickly getting to know the regulars here as well. On my days off I have been pretty busy. Earlier this week matt and I went just outside of town and hike the Pentlands. They are some small mountains that offer great views of the city. It wasn’t a super long hike but it was a lot of fun. After the hike though, the fun was just beginning to start. We decided to have our traditional post hike pint, but had to walk a ways in to town. We finally came to one called Bennet’s. It was a small dodgy place, but the beer was nice. From here we continued walking debating whether to catch a bus or walk, as we had just passed a sign stating that it was 5 miles to city centre. We then saw another pub matt’s girlfriend (yes, matt has a Scottish girlfriend) had told him was quite nice. It was called Canny Man’s and we stopped in. The sign upon entry states, no cameras, no credit cards, and no backpackers! Us in our hiking clothes decided to risk it. Sitting next to men in suits with their younger and very attractive dates, we decided we were out of place. It is very unique with nic-nacks everywhere and great little rooms to sit in. It would be a great place to take a date but certainly wasn’t for two smelly hikers. If you are in Edinburgh check it out. We continued towards town and eventually made it. We did stop at several other drinking holes along the way. When we reached the meadows I couldn’t believe it. It is park about 15 minutes from our flat. If the sign saying it was 5 miles to city centre was right, I must say the pints shortened the walk. From here we found a hidden gem called yes, Bennet’s Bar. No relation to the one we originally stopped at in Morningside. From here matt went to his girlfriends and I went home.
The week previous to this I hosted my first guest from the couch surfing network. (www.couchsurfing.com) I have surfed but never hosted as my flats are usually the size of cracker boxes. The network is a brilliant idea. Basically I have a profile online talking about me and my flat. Others can view it and if they are in Edinburgh can ask to stay on my couch for a couple nights. In return when I travel I can do the same on couches in the area. I have surfed in Washington DC, Norway, Edinburgh, and London. And my first surfer was a great girl from Slovenia. Matt and I showed her around a bit and hiked Arthur’s Seat, an old volcano in Edinburgh. And most importantly we showed her to the Sheep’s Heid, a pub that claims to be from the 1300’s and the oldest in Scotland. It was a lot of fun and nice to finally host. I had a great time and I think she did as well. As we speak I am waiting for two surfer to call so I can give them directions to the flat.
So back a week or two from this of pretty boring stuff I had an amazing week in London. My mate Marshall met me there and we toured the town and surrounding areas. We had our share of pints as the UK has a large pub culture and took in the sites. We toured parliament our first day. Saw the Towers Bridge, and West Minster Abbey. We went to a Shakespeare play at the re-created Globe Theatre. Went to an exhibition of Dali’s famous statues and paintings, as well as the Tate Modern Museum of Art. We kept busy and had plenty of time to relax as well. While there we couch surfed 3 nights and made some new friends. Some of my favorite moments came though when we left London.
We went to Salisbury so we could see Stone Henge. This is something I had always wanted to do. So I said, “Why don’t we camp and see the sunrise at the henge?” Marshall was all for it and we bought a tent and sleeping bag and were all ready. We got in to Salisbury about 12:30 and now had to find a place to throw up our tent. Some locals at a pub pointed us in the direction or a field/park that would be suitable. It would have been better if it wasn’t pissing rain and pitch black but we made the most of it. To say the least we didn’t wake in time for sunrise but it was a moot point as it was raining and there wasn’t really a sunrise. And sleeping in a puddle in the non-waterproof tent was great. We made it to Stone Henge with a little leg work and I really enjoyed it. I hope Marshall did too. From here we headed to Avebury.
Avebury is a village of maybe 10 houses, and 1 pub that is enclosed by a large stone circle. It is very impressive. Our plans were to camp here. Again a local at the pub told us just where to go. He said, I lived in a spot just about 100 yards down by the speed limit sign. Go straight into the woods there, hop the fence and you’ll be fine for a night or too. Locals always know the best and cheapest (free) places to camp. We sat at the pub until close and went to find our site. It was a great area and it could easily be seen that others had camped here. We set up our tent, applied a rain fly to help keep some of the water out only to have the wind kick up. It was one of the windiest nights I can recall while in the UK, and a perfect night for camping (sarcasm). Luckily the rain fly didn’t blow off the first time until about 6 am. I re-attached it a couple times before backing up and heading to Gloucestershire.
I had heard of a cheese rolling festival when I first arrived in Scotland and couldn’t believe it when Marshall was going to be in town to experience it with me. You may be asking yourself, what is a cheese rolling festival? Well it boils down to this. A farmer rolls a large wheel of cheese down a really steep hill and a bunch of idiots (me included) go chasing after it. And to make it even more fun, it was a completely muddy hill as it had been heavily raining all day. Marshall took one for the team and watched the gear as I hurled myself down a muddy hill. They were out of cheese by the time my race came about but it was great to get involved. I don’t think I have had mud in some many places in all my life. Check out this link to see the festival(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpzEF0D2xfE). It may not have been the most productive day but I am glad I experienced it. From here we hiked back to town and spent the rest of the day getting back to London. We went to Chinatown for a nice Chinese dinner and both prepared to head home the next morning. I had a blast and it was great to see a friend from back home.
Going back another couple weeks and you have Matt’s parents staying with us, but that is another story for the next post, when ever that may be. And oh yeah, I booked a ticket to fly home the 25th of June and will then come back to London the 7th of August to start my next leg of European travels.
Until next time, Cheers!

sorry, again, wow time flies!

It is amazing how quickly time flies when you are having fun and working your tail off. Can’t believe it has been nearly 4 months since I added to my blog. Don’t even know where to start. Guess I’ll start with the most recent things and go backwards until I get caught up or feel like you all have had enough. So today is the first of May, I am sitting in my new flat, and getting a late start because of the festival that I went to last night. I had to move flats because the one on Thistle St. was sold and the new owners wanted to live in it themselves. Part of my responsibility while I was there was to show it to potential buyers and in return I received discounted rent. Everyone was happy it sold. So as a result I had to find a new flat. Luckily a fellow American I work with was heading back to the states and I was able to take over his lease. His flat was in a great location on Robertson’s close. I have moved from New Town to Old Town, a difference of about 300 years in architecture. It is and amazing city to say the least. I will stay here until my work visa runs out in June. Then who knows what is next. I want to make a trip home but the airfare right now is extremely high. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes. And what have I been doing to save up while I have been here? Lots of things to say the least.
From the time I got here I have been working for a temp agency. Working hospitality at night and tending bar at sports events etc. It is great because I set my own hours and am paid weekly without being taxed. As far as more stable work I have been selling men’s clothing at Ted Baker during the days and pouring pints at night at Thistle St. Bar. II put my final shift in at Ted last Saturday. I loved the people I worked with but I was easily bored as foot flow through our store during the week was a little slow. As for pub work, I am loving it. I work at Thistle St. Bar. It was exactly 11 doors down from my flat so the commute was easy to say the least. It is a very small but fun pub. There is a group of locals that you can count on seeing every night. And they aren’t afraid to take the mick out of you. (Essentially make fun of you) But it’s just there way of showing approval and the only thing you can do is laugh with them. I have been enjoying this job and always look forward to going in. I just hope I can get a few more hours there as I am done at Ted. I am looking forward to a relaxing a week or two as I have been working 50 to 60 hours a week. It is necessary as minimum is 5.52 pounds/hour. Enough to live on put tough to save up. I am comfortable now and am looking forward to seeing more of Scotland, which I started last night.
I had heard of a festival of fire from an old couch surfing friend and matt had heard about it as well. It is called the Beltane Festival (www.beltane.org) and it is a festival of fire to bring in spring/summer and leave winter behind. It involves a procession of fire, and ritual dances. It was a great experience to say the least. It takes place on Calton Hill where a large cluster of monuments are and is attended between 15 and 20,000 people. It was a great time and as expected in Edinburgh, it rained which only added to the experience. I look forward to attending more events like this. I’ll try and post soon, no guaranties. I miss you all and look to hearing comments from all of you!