A Nice Surprise in France...

Dinan, France

December 13, 2007
N48°27.018
W002°02.657

Our journey north through France continued a little before 11:00 AM. We only wanted to make it to a little town named Dinan. According to the map, the drive should be 150 KM; a little less than 100 miles. No problem, after being on the road for several hours yesterday, a two hour drive would be a breeze.

The view across the countryside was much more enjoyable today, especially since all of the fields were covered with frost. It was nice to look out of the car window, but I didn’t want to venture outside since the outside temperature registered at -1C; it definitely sounds warmer when you think of it as 31 degrees Fahrenheit.

Luckily, the drive was very easy (especially since I was the passenger) and we arrived in Dinan a little before 1:00 PM. We found a recommended guest house inside the old castle walls and set out to explore the town. The Old Town, or area within the castle walls, was built in the 14^th century; again reminding us how young our country is.

Dinan ended up being a quaint, picturesque, village we thoroughly enjoyed; taking us back to our visit of Cesky Krumlov. At night, the streets inside the castle walls were decorated for Christmas, thousands of lights and trees illuminated our way. We finished our night in at a local pub that has been in business for over 20 years and enjoyed a pint of a French stout and the company of the bartender and a couple locals.

We enjoyed our time in Dinan, even if was only for one night, it was one of those little surprises we’ll look back upon fondly.

Moor Castles...

Sintra, Portugal

November 26-27, 2007
N38°47.583
W009°23.309

The UNESCO heritage town of Sintra is a short 45 minute train ride from Lisbon. Our guide book described the small village as a fairytale town with castles and views out to the Atlantic Ocean several kilometers in the distance. After enjoying the picturesque UNESCO village of Cesky Krumlov outside of Prague, we figured spending a few days checking out the quaint village of Sintra, Portugal would be time well spent.

We walked across the street from the train station and dropped our packs at a quiet little guesthouse and immediately made our way to the town center. The village, situated around a large castle with a Christmas tree in the middle, is exactly the kind of undisturbed, charming place we were looking for after several nights in larger cities. The narrow streets were lined with handicraft shops, wine and Port stores and tons of restaurants serving up local Portuguese cuisine. The clip-clop-clip-clop sound of horse and carriage echoed off the windows of the local shops stenciled with snow reading “Boas Festas,” or what we translated into Happy Holidays.

It didn’t take us very long to cover the entire village. We trekked up and down the cobblestone steps and through tiny alleys when we stumbled upon a tiny market. The market sold regional wine, local cheese, fresh bread and a variety of other staples. For us, they had all we needed for rest of the afternoon; we headed back to our room to enjoy some wine and cheese, catch up on reading and simply relax for awhile. More importantly, we planned to rest our legs for the hike to the castle the following day.

This morning we woke up fairly early, grabbed a tasty café cortado at the local coffee shop and headed up—straight up the stairs and steep alleyways that led us to the Moor Castle, or Castelo Dos Mouros, and Palacio Nacional da Pena, the Portugal site nominated as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The ascent through the isolated forest was challenging, but the crisp fall air made the trek up to the castle a little easier, allowing us to push the pace a little harder. It was good to feel our legs burning again.

After visiting several castles in Eastern Europe we were slightly castled out; however, the Moorish Castle, with an entirely different architecture and stunning views, didn’t disappoint. Once in the castle we climbed the stairs to the look-out point, approximately 1500 feet above sea-level, and starred out in amazement at the Atlantic Ocean to the west (yes that is strange to say) and the other gothic castles surrounding the fortress built by the Moops in the early 900’s. Further up the hill, still in the distance, was our final destination of the day, the National Palace.

As mentioned, the Palacio Nacional da Pena was nominated as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, but it didn’t make the final list when the winners were announced on 07/07/2007. The palace was impressive, vast and beautiful, but it didn’t really compare to some the final winners (except for that stupid statue in Brazil—sorry, had to say it).

The golden hue, dusty blue and rose colored building made for beautiful pictures, especially in the middle of the day with the intense sun shining and casting rich shadows. The palace, located in the middle of a National Park, is surrounded by a densely wooded forest and a labyrinth of trails. When we finished snapping pictures of the palace, we ventured out to see some of the other sights within the park—our favorite being a bench, carved into a rock, providing a picture perfect view of the castle across the forest.

After walking around for several hours we decided to make the trek back down the mountain. It was time to grab lunch and, more importantly, relax our legs. I have a feeling my quads will be pretty sore tomorrow after all the stairs and hills we climbed today. Thank goodness all we have to do is sit on a train to reach our next destination.

Oh, What a View...

Hvar Island, Croatia

September 25, 2007
N43°09.936
E016°26.542

The hour and a half ferry ride from Split to Hvar Island was as picturesque as one could imagine. All of the tiny islands and white tipped sailboats scattered across the bright blue waters of the Adriatic Sea held our attention for the entire crossing.

There were dozens of sailboats coasting across the water on the remarkably sunny day. As we passed, I could see the sun-burnt smiles of those on board and thought to myself how much fun it would be to just sail the waters of the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean with no particular destination. A group of us could sip wine, drink cold beer, eat fresh seafood, and soak-up the sun, only occasionally stopping at a secluded beach on a tiny island… not a care in the world. Marc contradicted my dream by telling me I wouldn’t last six hours cooped up on a sailboat in the open waters, no showers, no internet and no fancy kitchen. He said I would go crazy and he’d be fishing me out of the sea after I jumped overboard.

When the ferry reached Hvar Town there was a bit of chaos on the pier with all of the locals trying to rent out their rooms for the night. We already booked a place to stay and quickly pushed our way through the throng, acting like we knew where we were going, even though we didn’t have a clue. We found the first tourist office to help us with directions.

Susan and Paul, an Australian couple we met in Cesky Krumlov, recommended Bicanic Apartments to us based on their daughter’s visit to Croatia. We looked it up on the internet, liked what we saw and locked ourselves in a few weeks back. It’s a good thing since they’re packed. Apparently we missed Susan and Paul by a few days; they recently left Hvar Island and headed back to Australia.

When Miro, our host at Bicanic Apartments, showed us our unit we walked straight to the balcony to check out the views. The balcony has incredible panoramic views of Hvar Town, the harbor and, most importantly, the crystal blue waters surrounding the popular tourist island. We were already smitten with our little apartment, outfitted with a small kitchen, perfect for our next five nights in one location.

In fact, after a quick trip to the local market, we just sat on the balcony for the rest of the afternoon reading, admiring the views and breathing the air. And, in case we got tired of sitting on the balcony, we could take a break, lie down on the bed, and admire the magnificent view from a soft pillow. This is by far the best view we’ve had on our trip so far. I think it even edges out the sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge from our stay at Angela’s place—tough, I know.

Tomorrow we’ll venture out a little more to explore the island and what it has to offer. One thing we know for sure—there is a lot of fresh seafood.

It's Always Beer-Thirty...

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

September 4, 2007
N48°48.763
E014°18.920

The sun was shining when we headed out of our hostel this morning. We took the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine; however, we still had to bundle up in our jeans, long-sleeved shirts, fleece jackets, and for Marc, his wool hat to cover his newly bald head. The sun provided a chance for Marc to get some better photos of the castle in town and some much needed sun for his white dome.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Czech Republic, both in Cesky Krumlov and Prague, and are a little melancholy about leaving so soon. We’ll miss the magnificent architecture, excellent food and cheap, tasty, beer, but plenty of sites still lie ahead for us in Europe and we need to keep movin’.

Speaking of food, we loved the local cuisine in the Czech Republic because it’s something we can’t get at home. Well, we can, but it isn’t as good as the food here. In other countries, excluding the beef in Argentina, we found we can usually get better food in San Francisco than in the originating country (there were exceptions, of course). This includes spicy, authentic Thai food from Little Thai, piping hot Pho from My Canh and excellent Indian food at Shalimar or Naan N Curry. (The food at Abbas and Zainab’s house was pretty darn good though!)

Typical Czech food consists of a serving of pork or beef, sauerkraut, bread dumplings, all covered with a tasty gravy. Other dishes include goulash, sausage, chicken and mushrooms, duck, garlic soup, potato pancakes, red cabbage, and other meat and potato combinations. Regardless of what you order, it should be washed down by one of the local beers—light or dark. The idea is the food compliments the beer and provides a “base”, allowing you to drink even more beer. The Czechs drink far and away more beer per capita than any other country in the world! Yes, even more than the Irish and more than the Germans.

Pivovarsky Dum, a microbrewery in Prague, not only serves up the standard light and dark beer, but they also pour a tasting menu that consists of wheat, cherry, coffee, banana and vanilla. Yes, all beer. The beer is served in either a .3 liter or .5 liter portions, but most locals, who sometimes have a beer with breakfast, go for the .5 liter. If you want a puny .3L beer you must tell the bartender or you will automatically get a .5L pour. We normally wait until beer-thirty, and of course always get the .5L. For $1, why not?

The food and beer compliment each other very well, especially when the temperature is dipping into the 40s (F) at night. Both do an excellent job warming us up inside and out before strolling through the chilly streets. We figure we’ll find similar food and beer in the neighboring countries, including Austria (#5 in beer consumption per capita) where we’re headed tomorrow.

Overall, our time in the Czech Republic has been very enjoyable, and a highlight of our trip. We hope to visit the beautiful country again sometime in the future.

Laundry and a Haircut...

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

September 3, 2007
N48°48.763
E014°18.920

Today was a laundry day. Yes, one of those dreadful days where we walk around trying to find a place to do our laundry, sit there while the machine is spinning and then wait for everything to dry. The other task for the day, besides site seeing, was finding a barber for Marc.

We completed our laundry, without incident, and even met a nice couple from Australia who were also doing there laundry. They felt the same way as us, trapped inside, when they should be out exploring the rustic town. As soon as we finished our laundry we grabbed a light lunch (cheese, bread and bananas) and sat on the bank of the Vltava and watching kayakers roll over the small rapids. From our vantage point we took pictures of a weathered multi-colored abandoned house and discussed what life must have been like during communism. We agreed, no matter how much we read, or stories we’ve heard, we’ll never really understand.

One thing we’ve noticed as we make our way through the Czech Republic is the people are shocked when you say hello or simply ask them how they are doing. For example, in a café, if we greet the barista by saying, “How are you doing today?” They’ll look at us warily, like they’re shocked and unsure how to respond. Most times they don’t even respond, acting like they didn’t even hear the question. As we were walking through the park we wondered if this may be residual behavior from the days of communism.

If you think about it, less than 20 years ago, most of these people couldn’t trust anyone—their neighbors, their friends, and possibly even their family. Anyone could be part of the secret police and turn them into the government for something that might even be misconstrued. We thought this might be part of the issue, the skepticism towards friendliness, but aren’t totally sure. Also, not surprising, most people we meet don’t want to talk about their lives during that period. People are obviously happier the way things are now, who can blame them.

After lunch we got lost strolling through the cobbled streets and finally made our way back to our hostel where Marc got a haircut. After searching in Prague, Kunta Hora and Cesky Kumlov for a barbershop, we decided that barbers don’t exist in Eastern Europe. So, Marc decided to shave his head since his hair, which was now maybe an inch long, was, in his words, out of control and mangy. I used a pair of small medial scissors, maybe a half inch in length, to cut the majority of the hair before Marc jumped into the shower and used a razor. I cleaned it up a bit when he got out of the shower. He is now completely bald and as his brother Joel said, “It looks like he’s getting photographed prior to being sent into his own padded little room.” Check out the mug shots!

Must Love Dogs: The people in the Czech Republic definitely love their dogs. It is completely normal to see dogs lounging around restaurants and cafes, riding metros and buses, and enjoying the luxuries of a hotel with their owners. All of the businesses are very pet friendly. The most common breed is probably dachshunds—which my family is very fond of.

Czech Please...

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

September 2, 2007
N48°48.763
E014°18.920

Since the train schedule required us to pass through Prague on our way back from Kunta Hora we figured we would spend one more night. Plus, we had a few more errands to take care of before heading south to Cesky Krumlov, another UNESCO heritage site.

The train ride to Cesky Krumlov was comfortable and even enjoyable. We were able to read, listen to music on our iPods and enjoy a couple sandwiches we bought at the train station for lunch. This was luxury as compared to our travel days in South East Asia. The high speed train zipped through the countryside making a few brief stops at rural train stations. As we got further south, we ventured through a beautiful, scenic pine forest, before we rolled into the 13th century village of Cesky Krumlov.

Walking down the cobblestone streets from the train station into the village we felt a calm come over us. As we crossed the Vltava river via an ancient cobbled bridge, covered by a towering archway; we were immediately pleased we scheduled three nights in the village. This would give us a chance to unwind, and escape the hustle-and-bustle of the large cities we’ve been in for the last three weeks; ever since we left the comfort of the beach on Koh Phi Phi.

It felt like we were transported back in time. The village, though modernized, has a very old feel to it, almost medieval; especially when gazing upon the amazingly well preserved Krumlov Castle. The castle is the main focal point for the town and immediately captures your attention. As we wandered down alleys, and criss-crossed the Vltava on little bridges, we realized the village has much more to offer than the beauty of the castle. The village is surrounded by endless green pastures, picturesque buildings, flower gardens, and meandering pathways along the river, the town almost seems surreal.

We have to thank Edana, whom we met in Prague, for telling us we must visit Cesky Krumlov before leaving the Czech Republic. Even though it’s listed in our guide book, we probably would have cruised right by it on the train to Salzburg.

Note… I have to say I get a kick out of asking for the bill at dinner every night. Marc typically says “check, please” making a little motion with his hand like writing the bill. However, in the Czech Republic we say “bill, please” we don’t want the Czechs to be offended.

Yes, I make the joke every night and still think it is funny. Marc makes a fake laugh across from me with his hand on his belly like it’s a real gut-buster. He says, “Check, Czech,… get it, get it?” It’s the little things in life, right? Ha…