Meet Dino, Our Croatian Landlord /
Over the last eight months, Bryan and I have shacked up in places that truly run the gamut of price, size, comfort and cleanliness. In Fiji, we stayed in small thatched huts set amidst a jungle just a few yards off the beach. In New Zealand our budget thrived as we booked low-cost, clean and well-equipped youth hostels, happily sharing bathrooms (sometimes with friends) while enjoying private sleeping quarters and a central downtown location. Of course, this was also the country of llamas, where free nights in a kitschy caravan were exchanged for animal grooming, training, and showing.
Deciding that a month-long sublet made sense in Australia, where we'd planned to spend seven weeks, we set up shop there in a suburb of Melbourne, enjoying the space and homey comfort of three bedrooms, a bathtub, a DVD player and a couch -- for less than $40 a night. In Asia we found our cheapest housing yet: Basic hotels that cost consistently between $12 and $18 for a private room with a/c, bathroom, and, on occasion, even a personalized airport pickup.
When we arrived in east Africa, we wept with joy over the unique beauty of our high-end (and pre-paid) safari lodges. The very next portion of our journey introduced yet another drastically different sleeping arrangement: six nights in two-person tents, huddled for warmth inside four-season sleeping bags with latrines outside and a twice-daily bowl of warm water for washing. After upgrading a week later to a pretty B&B on the beach in Zanzibar, we then moved on to South Africa where the prospect of sharing a dorm-like house with 20 college students sent us knocking on the door of a low-cost lodge with shared baths but big huge rooms and free Internet terminals.
The trip's South African leg also marks one of our favorite places to stay: the fun, cozy, energy-filled volunteer apartment at Baphumelele.
Since arriving in Europe, we've found accommodations to be the most expensive yet. Hostels generally offer only dorms (as opposed to the private doubles we frequented elsewhere) so we tend to spend more time (and eventually money) trying to find decent budget hotels. Of course, six nights chez Tim and Inka was both delightful and economical!
Which leads me, at last, to Dino. Croatia is one of those European countries in which locals approach you at the train station or bus depot asking "Room? Room?" We decided to arrive in Dubrovnik without a reservation, relying on Rick Steves' advice and hoping to meet up with our new landlord upon arrival. Not more than three minutes had passed before Dino came up to us at the old town square asking in decent broken English, "You need place to sleep?"
Another five minutes later we found ourselves seated around a table in Dino's home, drinking Croatian white wine and giggling at the neighborhood grandma who stopped by to discuss life with the family (and who kept touching Bryan's cheek while raving about a man named "Daniel" from San Francisco who wants to marry her.)
Sufficiently charmed, Bryan and I decided to rent Dino's one-bedroom "apartman" below his house for our stay in Dubrovink. For a few less dollars we could have stayed in a room in the family house itself, called a "soba" in Croatian, but opted to splurge for a bit more privacy. And a washing machine, and a TV that plays Fresh Prince and Roseanne in the late afternoon.
Dubrovnik is otherwise a romantic and beautiful tiny city by the sea. Part of the war just a decade ago, a walk around the city walls give you a glimpse at how the homes and the people were affected. Now, Dubrovnik is a serious vacation destination: Even nearly-off-season in late September, the main square is completely choked with tourists stopping over on bus tours or cruise ships. You know you're on the beaten path when the second morning finds you literally running into a friend from Yahoo! taking the same photo of midday pigeon madness. How small is this world, exactly?!
Tomorrow we leave for Split, a larger city with allegedly more "real" Croatian life. We'll miss Dino, but look forward to our next housing adventure.
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Strauss, Haydn, Mozart and Vedder / 
We have, apparently, arrived in the country of music. In the course of our single, delightful day in Salzburg, Bryan and I:
1. Ate lunch in a beer tent while the oompah band played on.
2. Attended a classical piano concert of Strauss, Haydn, and Mozart.
3. Dined outside at dusk while famous jazz guitarist John Abercrombie played a few feet away for free.
4. Watched this guy throw together a little Fur Elise on the wine glass. (VIDEO)
5. Stopped to enjoy "Crimson and Clover" pumping out of speakers at the local Sunday carnvial.
Since arriving in Austria's mammoth capital city of Vienna, we've also had the pleasure of hearing the Vienna Boys' Choir perform at Sunday mass, and we've dropped in for the finale of "Robert Deveraux" at the city's world-class opera house. (They have the greatest invention here, whereby people like us can buy same-day standing-room tickets for the opera for just 2 euro. Some locals stand for the entire thing, of course, but as recommended to us by one helpfully dorky travel writer, we took the opportunity to catch just a glimpse of the city at its finest. Pretty cool.)
And then, tonight, we see Pearl Jam live at Vienna Stadium.
Besides getting our fill of all different sorts of music, Bryan and I have also managed to cram in a good bit of Austrian sightseeing. We've been learning a lot about the country's history and its once-mighty Hapsburg family, which ruled almost all of eastern Europe back in the day. In Salzburg we couldn't afford the $40 Sound of Music tour, but we did fork over 8 euro to take a short walk around the old city center. We've visited lots of churches and cathedrals, climbed 334 stairs to see Vienna from up high, toured the Jewish memorial and ran across interesting art exhibits like the UN Buddy Bears. If you need a bang trim, I recommend "Young Style" on Maria-Hilferstrasse, where you can get it for free. I'm guessing that the chic young stylist took pity on my recently out-of-hand curls.
Oh and also I got my picture with George Clooney.
Per my grandmother's instructions, we stopped by the historic cafe behind the opera house last night to sample "sacher torte mit schlag." Super-yummy. There also seems to be an international food festival everywhere you turn -- on our first night we ate cajun food outside the circus. Last night we had sushi. Beer and PDA can both be found in the streets in abundance, which is weird but oddly comforting. Freedom of expression and inebriation, I guess. Today we'll have a coffee at one of Vienna's oldest cafes, because you're supposed to, before visiting the huge Schonbrunn Castle a few kilometers outside the city. At 7:30 p.m. we go see Eddie Vedder.
Tomorrow we're leaving for Croatia by plane after taking a shuttle bus to, um, Bratislava. Wherever that is! You'll be able to spot me in the crowd -- I'll be the one wearing the "Pearl Jam -- Vienna" t-shirt.
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German Pub Quiz: What Does the Indian Word 'Stupa' Mean? /
Our time with Tim and Inka has been delightfully American-retro. Sunday night was spent at a local pub watching the
Giants v. Eagles (courtesy of Sky TV satellite), while on Monday night we opted to stay home and enjoy wine, a home-cooked dinner, and the requisite card games. Then, lo and behold, Tuesday found us back at the pub for some SF-style
trivia night action. I regret to report that we got our butts whooped by the local experts, despite having the advantage of both English and German speakers at the table -- one of whom holds a PhD. (The questions were read aloud in both languages.) While the format was similar to your average U.S. pub quiz, I'd like to think that the difficulty level was distinctly German.
If you're wondering how you'd fare abroad, here's a sampling of questions:
1. What Russian instrument has six letters, with the fourth letter being "i"?
2. Name the four longest bones in the human body.
3. What soccer player was voted third player of the century in both Europe and South America?*
4. In Norse mythology, what is a "ragnarok"?
5. What does the Indian word "stupa" mean?And for all our child-bearing friends...
6. In which month are the most babies conceived?
*The quizmaster took pity on "the American team" and actually gave us the answer to this one, so I'll do the same.Of course, we've also been enjoying the European-ness of it all, shopping at the
outdoor markets, exploring Freiburg by foot and readying for our journey to Austria tomorrow. Today we spent the
afternoon in Switzerland (how weird is that?) touring the old quarter, visiting an
art museum, and marveling at the extreme expense of every single thing for sale. (The boys bought
$4 peaches but passed up a $35 -- yes, thirty-five-dollar -- burrito.)
Tomorrow we arrive in Salzburg, Austria, sans hotel and with hopes of kicking off Bryan's first viewing of The Sound of Music. We'll spend two days there before heading to Vienna, the city from which, I just learned, my grandmother's family emigrated. From there we hope to book a cheap flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia -- where we only by
days missed the local film festival (Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson were on the scene, apparently, according to my expensive imported US Weekly.) The rest of our short-term plans are still in-the-making. We do know that we'll be meeting up unexpectedly with
Kelly and Jerry in France in mid-October, where they'll be on a
break from overseas work with a little someone named Bruce Springsteen. Go figure.
And let me know how you do on the quiz, okay? I have the answers when you're ready.
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We're Coming Home!! /
Well, not quite yet. But it's true, Bryan and I have officially booked our flights home. We'll be landing in New York at 1:56 p.m. on October 30, after an unexpected one-day diversion in Dublin en route from London. (You wouldn't believe the intense itinerary-manipulation we needed to do to find a decent one-way ticket fare: flying direct from London would have cost us $776 each -- each! -- while some creative searching revealed a price of $213 from Dublin. Seriously. Madness. So we added one night in Ireland to the itinerary.) You might notice that the date coincides fortuitously with my favorite day of the entire year...
It's hard to believe that our adventure is nearly over. Of course, there will be adventures to follow (catching up with everyone, seeing our many friends' new pregnant shapes, finding jobs, figuring out where to live, all that kind of stuff) but still, how can it be time to come home already?! To be truthful, we are both really excited about our return to the U.S., for friends, family, Mexican food, our own bed (eventually), long-term unpacking, Mexican food, and of course, Savannah. And before all that we still have Prague and Budapest and Croatia to see, Brits to visit, and costumes to compile.
We're really coming home!!
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Follow that Lederhosen! /After 10 nights and 11 days in Germany, it occurred to me and Bryan that we had yet to see even the most meager example of perhaps Germany's most endearing export. Yes, I am indeed referring to
lederhosen -- those knee-length traditional togs that evoke visions of raucous dancing, Oktoberfest, and silly
Chevy Chase sequels from many moons ago. Much like our quest to find the
elusive Australian kangaroo, we felt that our visit here would not be complete until at least one sighting was captured for posterity.
Having arrived in the insanely charming Alpine town of
Mittenwald on the morning of Sunday, September 10, Bryan and I set out on foot with one goal in mind. Here is what we found.
... 9:20 a.m. ...
Bryan steps out on to our Pension Bavaria porch, taking in the mountain air and thinking about the day's goals.
... 9:30 a.m. ...
We head downstairs to indulge in our usual German breakfast of egg, salami, and cheese.
... 10:00 a.m. ...
Our bellies full and determination fortified, we set out for the Mittenwald tourist information center.
... 10:15 a.m. ...
Having been pointed in the Sunday outdoor market, we wind our way through the stalls and soon spot our very first lederhosen! Success! The wearer is shopping for Swatches.
... 10:16 a.m. ...
Hanging back discreetly but trying not to lose our lederhosen, we follow quietly and wonder: Where is this man headed, dressed in full?
... 10:20 a.m. ...
We soon begin to see lederhosen everywhere at the market -- in pairs, with women, even father/son lederhosen. Bryan stops at a stall only to learn that lederhosen doesn't come cheap.
... 11:00 a.m. ...
Having bought an array of picnic supplies, we decide to leave the market and see if we can find the source of Mittenwald's seemingly steady stream of lederhosen. We head slightly north of town, down a winding country road.
... 11:25 a.m. ...
EUREKA! Where else would we want to be on a sunny Sunday afternoon than at a sheep-judging contest, surrounded by lederhosen as well as beer, meat, and fair maidens?! Here, we spot lederhosen at the tap, little junior lederhosen, and accordion-playing lederhosen. Bliss.
... 1:00 p.m. ...
Fully satisfied and ready to put this search in the books, Bryan and I head back up the hill, the morning's memories fresh, joyful, and aplenty. Auf Wiedersehen, lederhosen!
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Free at Last /I would like to record to reflect that, seven months, nine days, and twelve hours since we departed for lands afar, for the first time, on this whole trip -- we are staying at a
hotel with
free wireless internet access. Yes yes, it's true that we had such technology while driving cross-country at the Comfort Inn, Middle of Nowhere USA -- but since leaving the United States things have been a little different. In Fiji we sat in a 100-degree closet for the privilege of paying $5 an hour for 14.4K dial-up. Asia was cheaper, if not always faster. Or cooler. In Tanzania, one lodge wanted $12 for 15 minutes, and elsewhere in Africa it took me one hour to upload a single solitary safari photo. Even just recently, in Frankfurt, we paid $25 for a single day's worth of wireless at a big business hotel. So you just never know.
The irony is that, with all this free fabulousness -- we're finally in
a place where there's far more to do than we have time. So in our spare moments, expect that Bryan and I are fighting over the laptop in order to e-mail you and sign on to IM and update
flickr and post to this here blog.
Also of immediate note is the fact that the Germans can't seem to make a decent pillow, most bottled water here tastes oddly like soy sauce, and
spatzel was a bit of a letdown. On the bright side, Mittenwald is
one of the prettiest places we've visited and we enjoyed it immensely (while giggling at the fact that we were the only couple in town under 65.) The weather has been perfection, the
slugs are huge and the signage
continues to amuse.
More soon!
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The Pros and Cons of Germany /
I like the bad news first. So here goes:
CONS
1. Knowing only three German phrases: "danke," "guten tag," and "krieger." The latter doesn't get me very far.
2. Fifty-seven cable channels, but only one in English. And it's CNN.
3. The gastric effects of incessant, irresistable sauerkraut and something called "handkase mit musik," or "hand-cheese with music."
4. Sidewalks that are ruled by the cyclists, not the pedestrians. Oh that reminds me of a fourth word! Achtung.
5. Karaoke bars that are closed on Tuesday nights.
PROS
1. German gummy bears on your $60/night hotel-room pillow.
2. 80-year-old women who drink beer at lunch.
3. The O.C. dubbed in German, thankfully, saving us from any tragic season-three spoilers.
4. It's close to France. That means baguettes and brie. The real stuff.
5. Dogs that, apparently, poop in the shape of humans.
But really, we're having a lovely time here. It's delightful, being in Europe, where the sun shines on the city squares and I'm free to roam aimlessly wearing embarassing, purple, fingerless gloves. We spent most of our week in Frankfurt relaxing, taking our time to casually explore the city and make occasional stops at the requisite museums and churches and parks. Of course, we also induldged in many a meat and sampled the local brews.
After six nights in big-hotel comfort, we left Frankfurt on Monday to hit the nearby "Romantic Road," an admittedly touristy route that will take us through charming, old-world European towns with names like Wurzburg and Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg. Lonely Planet calls Dinkelsbuhl a "colorful medieval town" that's "immaculately preseved," while Wurzburg's a "charming city known for its art, architecture, and delicate wines" and Rothenburg, apparently, includes a "patchwork of winding cobbled lanes lined with incredibly picturesque old houses and trickling fountains." So how can we possibly resist?
After all that road romance, we may try to make it to Austria (Innsbruck and/or Salzburg) before spending a few days Munich, finally arriving Freiburg on September 15 to visit with Tim and Inka.
Finally, for those of you that have requested the lederhosen installment in Bryan's Dance Series, please stay tuned. Now that Suri's finally out there I know we all need something to look forward to.
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A Mt. Kilimanjaro 'Climber' Photo Essay /
I post about as frequently as I finish reading a novel, so the content of this post isn't the freshest update on our travels. However, it is still in the front of my mind and is something I have been meaning to share with everyone.
You see, prior to leaving the United States back in February, Allyson and I drove cross-country visiting friends and family in California, Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Masschusetts. One of the things that stuck with me was a Photo Essay that we encountered while visiting DC. The essay was of five sisters photographed over the course of 20 years, each standing in exactly the same position. Through each of the pics, you gain insight into how each was feeling, how their relationships changed, and see how fashion evolved for each person and with the times.
It was this idea that I used during our climb of
Kili. The thought was to take two photographs per day ... one just after breakfast and one just before dinner. Not everyone was happy with me when I called for "picture time", especially in the morning and on summit night! We were, however, able to take most of the photos and they are posted
here.
All in all, it was an amazing experience, and one that I am proud to have accomplished. Watching the sunrise over Africa from 19000 feet was something I will never forget! However, I have no aspirations of climbing any other of the tallest peaks of the world. One and done, I say!
In case you were wondering, I am about to finish my third book on the trip (Dickens' Great Expectations). The others were Middlesex and Guns, Germs and Steel. Three in 8 months ... not too bad ... for me!
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