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Lovable Quirks
Chasing Ideals
Gran Turismo Europa
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[ mikey's blog ]
My Adventures in New Bohemia
Ben Saunders
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©2006 Transformed Planet.
All Rights Reserved.
Mon, 17 Dec 2007
I returned to the States via Chicago O'Hare Airport. Never having been to Chicago in winter, this Phoenician had quite forgotten just how cold winter could be; though I had brought winter gear with me to Europe, the weather there had become unseasonably warm by the time we had reached Germany. So snow and ice was something I had not thought of until I got back to the US. Despite the cold, I adjusted well enough to wander around downtown and snap a few shots.
After my Chicago layover, it was home to Phoenix again. Combined with my Christmas visit with my parents, I had spent nearly a month away from home (something the $DayJob at the time was a little chagrined about, as I had taken advantage of some loopholes in the system to cram that much vacation time together). I must say, it was a trip I will never forget.
Posted at 02:46 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Before my flight back to the States, I got a chance to wander around parts of Kensington in London. These are pretty much just random shots I took as I walked around the city. I have to say London is my favorite city in the world (at least so far!).
Posted at 02:23 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
(picking up the story from the last episode posted)
Skyler and I made our way from Austria to Germany with no border control problems (since there was no border crossing between Austria and Germany to worry about). Our first stop was the picturesque Bavarian city of Bamberg. The River Regnitz runs through the middle of the town, and the ceremonial town hall actually sets on an island in the river.
The next stop in Germany, and the last stop of our tour together, was a visit with Skyler's friends near Cologne (Köln, in the local tongue). Skyler and I got to visit the city and see the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), yet another ancient cultural treasure. I was so happy to become friends with Maria, Cathin, and Andre (the family Clemens), and they took very good care of us during our visit. I was very sad when the time came to leave, but unfortunately I had a transatlantic flight to catch in London.
Traveling through eastern Europe was a unique experience I will always treasure. I had an excellent traveling companion, I saw things I had only read about in books, and met people I never would have otherwise. What more could one want in their travels?
Posted at 01:26 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 28 Mar 2007
Photo Album: Austria
Our stay in Austria was short but enjoyable. We arrived in Vienna late Sunday evening. It was after dark, and finding our way around this ancient imperial capital was proving impossible. After driving around the Innerstadt (inner city) twice, we finally stumbled upon the neighborhood we were looking for. Finding our accommodations in that neighborhood proved to be a bizarre challenge in itself. Skyler, having driven all the way from Lublijana to Vienna, was dog-tired, and as I thought I had some idea of our accommodation's location, I ventured out alone to find it. I found the address given in our travel guide relatively easily, and the sign at the door indicated the desired establishment was on the third floor. However, climbing the stairs yielded not accommodations, but a locked office door. A sign on this door indicated the office was closed and gave a number to call if one wanted a room. Calling the number on my trusty Treo 680 yielded a woman who told me in a somewhat gruff voice to go down the street to the cafe and tell the bartender I wanted a room. So I walked down the street and asked the indicated bartender, only to have him call a number on a mobile phone, which turned out to be the woman to which I had just spoken. After several exchanges between the three of us, I finally procured a room key from the bartender. The room, however, turned out not to be at the office or the cafe, but in a building between the two. Several door locks and stair flights after that, and I had finally found our room. After retrieving Skyler and our gear from the car (and an extended search for a parking space), we had some dinner and settled down for the night.
The next day we explored the Innerstadt of Vienna. Vienna is a fascinating city of art and architecture. Its buildings are architectural marvels. Monuments and statues of historical figures are scattered across the city. Even places like Burger King are located in buildings with butresses and ornaments.
While the former imperial palace, the Hofburg, was impressive, the most awe-inspiring Viennese landmark to me was St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephensdom). Shortly after we arrived, the sunlight started to stream through the stained glass windows, creating strikingly gorgeous views of the cathedral's ornate interior.
That night, despite fatigue from walking all day, we saw a performance of one of Mozart's operas at the Vienna State Opera (Staatsoper), and then turned in for the night. I wish we had more time to spend in Austria, but it was a long way to our next destination.
Posted at 03:51 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Mon, 12 Mar 2007
After enduring an extended vehicle search at the border (despite the length the border guards were still nicer than the Serbians), we entered Slovenia and made a beeline for the capital, Ljubljana, to meet up with Skyler's friends Ana and Anita. We settled into Hostel Celica, the most bizarre hostel either of us had ever stayed in. Originally a prison, it was converted into an art gallery, and finally a hostel. Each of the rooms still look like prison cells, complete with heavy steel prison doors and tiny windows.
The next day we met up with Ana and travelled to the Adriatic coast. We met up with Ana's friend Snezka and visited the village of Piran. Piran is a small village dating back to when the Venetian Empire ruled the Adriatic. As such, its culture is as much Italian as Slovenian, and the signs are written in both Italian and Slovenian. The town is so old that cars literally cannot go into the town; the streets are too narrow for even a VW Polo to get through. Today it's a haven for artists looking for inspiration (and willing to cart things to their flat in a wheelbarrow).
After exploring Piran, we risked life and limb on the Slovenian backroads to make it to Ana's house. Ana and her family were so nice; they opened their home to us for several days, supplying comfortable beds and feeding us like kings.
It was fortunate we could rely on Ana as a tour guide, as neither Skyler nor myself knew much about her country. With Ana guiding Skyler's driving, we got to visit some places we otherwise would not have known existed. This includes Predjamski Grad, the castle built into a mountain of rock. As unique as the castle was, however, the most beautiful sight was by far the river Soči at the picturesque villiage of Most na Soči. Sometimes called "the emerald beauty," the river's blue-green color was something both alien and beautiful to me. It and the surrounding foliage, mountains, and yes, water fowl were excellent fodder for a budding photographer, and I admit I took an excessive amount of pictures. Fortunately, my compadres were patient with me, and a glance at the accompanying album will show that their patience was rewarded: these are easily the best pictures I took on the trip.
After I had nearly filled my camera's memory with photos of the Soči, Skyler, Ana, and I returned to Ljubljana, where Skyler and I were again incarcerated at Hostel Celica for a night. The next morning was a Sunday, and Skyler made use of the kitchenette in Ana's dorm to make crepes for Ana, her roommate, and me. Eventually, though, all good things end, and we had to say farewell to Ana, her friends and family, and beautiful Slovenia, as we trekked to our next country.
Posted at 02:28 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Mon, 05 Mar 2007
After we left Plovdiv, we made our way towards Croatia. Though we originally didn't plan to go through Serbia, a consultation of the roat atlases revealed that the only road of any size between Bulgaria and the more western parts of Europe went through Serbia. I'll not detail our Serbian misadventures again, except to say that we were glad when we finally reached Croatia. After a night in a nice hotel room in Slovonski Brod (which we procured for a bargain price), we headed off farther west to Skyler's friends and their B&B.
Not far from our friends' B&B were the highlights of our Croatian visit: the waterfalls of Rastoke and the Plitvice Lakes national park. Skyler took pictures of Plitvice back during the summer, and was told the park in snow was equally picturesque. Unfortunately, though our visit was during the time of year when there is normally at least a foot of snow, our visit coincided with an unexpected heat wave, and there was very little snow. Regardless, Plitvice was beautiful, and we took some excellent shots. Rastroke's waterfalls were also gorgeous; this little village in Slunj is built around a series of waterfalls, making it a uniquely wonderous landscape. I only regret that I couldn't see these places in the spring when all the plants are green and blooming.
Posted at 01:49 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Sun, 18 Feb 2007
Photo Album: Bulgaria
Bulgaria was a pleasant surprise. I really didn't know anyone who had been there, and knew little about Bulgarian history or cullture. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised; despite decades of Communist rule, elements of ancient Bulgarian culture survive intact. The food, which depends a lot on tomatoes, pork, and sheep milk cheese, was excellent and cheap. Much of Bulgaria appears bleak and sad at first glance, but if you know where to look, you can have an interesting and enjoyable experience.
Part of the reason for our positive experience was the location: Plovdiv has a charming Old Town with Roman ruins and buildings from the golden age of the Bulgarian Revivalist period. There aren't many cities in Bulgaria, and most of them, including Plovdiv, still bear the concrete gray buidings and other architectural scars of decades of Communist rule. But Plovdiv provides something more: a view into the Bulgarian past, before the Communist attempt to obliterate Bulgarian culture.
Bulgaria was once, as was most of Europe, part of the Roman Empire. The highlight of Plovdiv's Old City for me was Trimontium's Theatre, the partially restored Roman amphitheater built during Emperor Trajan's reign. The later so-called Byzantine Empire also held influence here, and centuries-old Orthodox churches in the old city stand as momuments to the people whose faith Communism could not manage to stamp out.
Outside the Old City, Plovdiv is a community in transition. Just down the street from the modern businesses and shops, Communist-era bleakness still dampens the mood. Our B&B attempted to lighten that mood by displaying huge pictures of its namesake British queen outside, but its complete lack of breakfast caused Skyler and I to question the application of the term "B&B." The hotel owner's possession of East German Trabants (powered by two-cycle engines!) didn't really help. In a few years, I'm sure things will start to look better; Bulgaria just needs more time to recover from the Cold War.
Posted at 00:20 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 15 Feb 2007
Photo Album: Turkey
I must admit I experienced a wave of culture shock when I reached Istanbul. The stark contrasts in the city make it unlike any other place I have visited thus far. After finding a hostel and having a night's rest, Skyler and I explored the wonders of Istanbul. We visited the Sultan Ahmet ("Blue") Mosque, and took some photos of the Aya Sofia (originally the largest church in Christendom, later a mosque, and now a museum). We saw several other monuments, most centuries old. It was a singular experience, seeing little old ladies outside of these ancient structures talking on their mobile phones. Despite the omnipresent reminders that Turks are overwhelmingly Muslim, somehow Istanbul managed to feel European.
When we were done with Istanbul, we lugged our rather large amount of, well, luggage onto a bus for a long bus trip to Çan to visit Skyler's friends and pick up his car. They were very nice people, and we had a lot of fun. After buying a set of snow chains (it was a long way to Germany, and we were assuming there would be snow), we hitched a ride on a ferry across the Bosporus Strait back to Europe.
Posted at 02:58 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Mon, 05 Feb 2007
Photo Album: Preliminaries - London
Before I met up with Skyler, I spent almost a week in London (photos here). Even going alone this was great fun as London is my favorite city in the world.
As the photos show, the first day I started at the Tate Modern art museum (not actually pictured), then walked across the Millennium "Wobbly" Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral. I had spent a majority of the day at the museum, so the sun was starting to go down. So I walked down Victoria Embankment taking sunset pictures.
The next day found me taking a disasterous tour of the Tower of London. On the advice of Rory (who will be chastized hardily), I went to the Tower. It was fun enough at first; the Fool was entertaining, and the Beefeater tour was chock full of historical information with a delightful smile. And after that, I stopped having fun. There were just too many people there. The line to see the Crown Jewels wrapped around the Inner Wall and spilled out into the outer courtyard. I did finally work my way through the crowds enough to take some photos of the Tower Bridge, but afterward I had to vacate the tourist trap ASAP. The small war memorial park across the street from the Tower provided a welcome respite, and an excellent view of the Tower and some other interesting buildings.
On Friday I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum to view the Leonarndo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment, Design exhibit. On display were selected pages from several of his notebooks. His notes were on old, stained paper, and sometimes faded, but this was one of the most amazing and inspiring things I have ever seen. Da Vinci was a genius beyond what most people normally understand. To see a glimpse into such a person's thoughts was awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, the V&A strictly forbid photos of any kind. I did snap a few shots of an interesting musical/technological piece in the museum's courtyard.
Saturday I went with my friend Nina to Camden Market. The sky was so beautiful and the weather so good we decided to go take some pictures at Buckingham Palace (which I was told if I hadn't seen, I hadn't been to London). Unfortunately, by the time we got there the sky had turned overcast and it was raining off and on. We still got some interesting photos before we had to take cover from a sudden-onset deluge.
Sunday I met up with Skyler, Floyd, Tara, and baby Faolan at Heathrow airport. Unfortunately the Hubbardses were too pressed for time for a full-length photo shoot, so the only picture I got was of a slightly bleary-eyed Skyler. After that, we were on our way to Turkey!
Posted at 12:12 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Sat, 03 Feb 2007
As many of you know by now, I did return safely from Europe last week. It's been difficult trying to readjust to life again after being gone for so long. All the places we saw, all the people we met, all the adventures we had. I think this very much feels like returning from Narnia: I left my normal world, had grand adventures in a strange new one, and stepped back through the wardrobe to find that nothing in the real world had changed. Did it all really happen?
Unlike the Pevensie children, I do have evidence of my journey: over 2GB of digital photos that I still have yet to go through completely. I should be able to get some of them online in the next 24 hours, though.
Posted at 02:56 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink
Sat, 23 Dec 2006
I've referred vaguely in a couple of posts to a trip I was taking. Well, I'm taking another trip to Europe. After a brief respite in London, Skyler and I will be journeying to Turkey, the Balkan Peninsula, and parts of Central Europe. This region and its peoples have been fought over by various empires for millennia. Several of these groups have only recently shed the shackles of imperial communism and are embracing democracy for the first time in recent memory. These lands and cultures are unlike those I have visited before, and I am really looking forward to it.
Posted at 21:47 [/travels/gte2007] (0 comments) permalink