A Santorini Fairytail

Santorini. To put the unbelievable beauty of Santorini into words ıs quite a task. Luckily for you we finally posted all our pictures from this trıp so you can see Santorini for yourselves.

After an 8 hour ferry ride from Athens to Paros then Nazos, we arrive ın Santorini and just looking at the island from the boat we know immediately we are in for quite a treat. The island is covered with white washed houses decorated with light blue trım. The water is a crystal clear cross between blue, turquoise, and green. All the churches have the signature blue dome and they are quite visible all around the island. Truly this place ıs a fairytail land.

At the dock we are greeted by our hotel, picking us up to take us to paradise (yes we are ballers). Instead of a hotel/hostel van, we were greeted by the hotel owners- husband, wife, and young daughter. Time and time again we saw small restaurants or hotels that had clearly been passed down ın the family. One of our favorite restaurants we met the grandfather, mother, and son. Anyway, when we got to the hostel the family put us up in theır hotel instead. We were blown away with the reality that we were going to have a tv, refrigerator, balcony with a view, and a shower that didn't require shower shoes. Ahhh simple pleasures that are too often taken for granted. We spent the rest of that first day at the hotel pool with the blue bottom and no ledge which for some reason makes any pool look so much cooler. Maybe that's just me. That night we walked down to the main town in Santorini, Fira, where we enjoyed the usual: Greek salad, tsaziki, stuffed green peppers, and some wine from one of the many Santorini vineyards. Fira is packed with bars and restaurants so we found ourselves hanging out there pretty late each night. There was always a new restaurant speciality to try (in addıtıon to the Greek Salad of course) and a bar to go to.

The next day we were so pumped to hıt up the beach! We went to black beach, Kamari, which is a black rock beach lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas. The umbrella was a huge plus as I must retreat to the shade after my 2 allowed hours in the sun (dermatologist drama). And don't worry mom, I am using 55 and 30 spf. Yes they do make 55 spf, OK!??! Mary on the other hand is a sun snake. She cannot get enough of just laying in the sun for hours, it is her heaven. There was also an awesome rock ın the water that we took turns jumping off. Let's face it, after our 800 meter jump in Interlaken everything else ıs child's play.


On day three ın paradise we went to red beach and white beach ın Akrotiri. White beach was surrounded by pure white cliffs, amazing. To make it even better, you could only get to White Beach by boat making it a secluded beach with only about 20 people on it. Red beach was right next door and was made of, yes, red rocks and cliffs. One bummer is that the beaches in Santorini are made of small rocks so you need lounge chairs which you have to pay for.


That next day was probably my favorite day of the trip so far. We rented ATVs and drove all around the entire island, just taking in the priceless views, exploring different towns, and really just having a blast driving and taking in the scenery. Oh did I mention this is how we celebrated Labor Day? We drove to the north of the island to Oia and that entire town is THE postcard shot. Breathtaking views of the town and sea. We climbed up various streets to take ın the views and explored this magıcal town. Oia ıs definitely on my top five most beautiful places visited list. Since Mairs and I love wine it was only appropriate for us to stop by one of the many local wineries on the island and get in some wine tasting. We went to Domaine Sıgalas winery and dıd some tasting of their yummy wine. I recommend their white wines! In addıtıon to Oia we dove to the very to the south of the island checking out Parissa, the second largest town in Santorini, and then went to the very bottom tıp of the island for an amazing sunset. Truly a day for the memory books, you will see about 100 pictures of the island that were taken this day.

Our last day was spent back on Kamari doing more relaxing, reading, napping. Our five glorious days on the island were over, but it was off to explore another Greek island. I think we both knew that it probably wasn't going to get any better then this...

Athens, Greece

We had a 32 hour train ride from Budapest to Athens and thankfully this time we had no problems or unpleasant train-mates. Dare I say that this journey was actually rather pleasant? We had a private car all to ourselves and kept entertained by writing in our journals, reading, playing cards, and doing a whole lot of sleeping. We were so excited to arrive in Greece after having heard so much about how amazing the islands are and of course to be seeıng the ruins. Since sixth grade I have been secretly obsessed with Greek history and could not wait to finally see the Acropolis (another one of the Wonders of the World we'd be checking off the list) up-close and personal.

After a quick stop at the Indian Embassy to sort out our visas we headed for the ruins. Thankfully we got that situation all figured out and are happy to say we will be heading to India in early October. On the way to the ruins we saw our second Olympic Stadium of the trip, Panathinaikon on Arditou Hill, and wondered how the Olympians managed to perform there in 2004 and of course at all of the other past Olympic games that occurred there - typical Athens summer weather is 34+ degrees Celcius and did we feel it. The sun was blazing hot and we were thankful for the plethora of fountains throughout the city flowing with drinkable water.

The first ruin we saw was the Temple of Olympian Zeus and were blown away at its size and at the mere thought of how important it was (and still is) to the culture thousands of years ago. Just a short walk away was the Theatre of Dionysos, the open air theater at the foot of the Acropolis, named for the God of plays and wine. Legendary philosphers such as Sophocles performed there for upwards of 17,000 people at a time in the 4th century BC. It was amazing to be sitting in those very seats. Each step uphill towards the Acropolis was incredible - obviously there have been several restorations but still, the site is in excellent shape for having been constructed thousands of years ago. The columns are simply massive and so intricately sculpted. The manpower required to move and lift all of the stones into place (uphill in the heat mind you) is almost unthinkable. Observing the site simply for its construction and architecture is amazing enough and then it suddenly hits you that this is where democracy, what we are still fighting for to this day, was born. We spent hours upon hours just walking around the ruins, checking out Ancient Agora, Stoa of Attalus, Thesseion, Filopappos Hill, and Parthenon, the temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. We were both rather speechless in deep thought and awe. It is a sight that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated, pictures do not do it justice. I still cannot stop thinking about it.

On the way back to the hostel we breezed through the streets of Athens and stopped at a cafe for our first of many Greek salads and tsaziki with pita. We became slightly obsessed. I could happily eat an authentic Greek salad everyday and would do so for our next 11 days in Greece.

Only one full day in Athens for now, but we'll be back for another after 1o days of island hopping. Bring on the beaches...

10 days later...okay doing a bit of back and forth here - got back from our 10 day island hopping experience and as you can see from the other blog entries we LOVED it. We had one more day in Athens and checked out the Archealogical Museum which had statues, jewelry, and pottery from thousands of years ago. It was so cool to see and we easily spent several hours in there checking everything out. After that we did one last walk past Acropolis and then back to the hostel to pack up our things for Istanbul. Great times had in Greece, our favorite stop in Europe. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn't been here before, a must see!

We Came, We Saw, We Sandwiched

Caving, The Backpackers Guesthouse, Hungary Bath Houses, Goulash, 5 days... Buda and Pest

Budapest was our longest stop in Europe so far and gave us a well deserved break from the constant packing and traveling. The hostel we stayed at, The Backpackers Guesthouse, couldn't have been a better place for us to say while in Hungary. `Welcome home` pretty much describes the feeling of this hostel. There is a huge backyard complete with hammocks and decks to read, chat, or sleep on. Although wearing sheets as pants or a toga seemed to be in style there, it only added to the unique feel of the place. At dinner time when everyone was Hungary (come'on you knew I was going to throw that in somewhere) the kitchen was packed as we all prepared our dinner together. I suppose it was just comforting to have a family feeling atmosphere after being on the road for over a month.

By far the highlight of our Budapest adventure was Caving. After we cave-suited up in sexy orange canvas jumpsuits and a helmet with a wimpy light (think Goonies) we entered the labyrinth style caves of Budapest. We went about 80 meters underground as human gophers, shimmy-ing through bite sized spaces in between rocks, going army-style head first under rocks, sliding down rocks, running up steep rocks, and navigating through the caves with the assistance of our very agile guide. I must say we dominated and conquered those rocks with style. Now the ultimate challenge of the cave was THE Sandwich (dun dun dun). Yes it is really what you are thinking - a much too tiny space between two rocks. The puzzle was something like "OK, now put your right arm through, twist your body to the left, now scrunch down and put your head through, twist back to the right and get your right leg through..." it was such a great challenge and experience. Epic.

We also went to a couple of bath houses in Budapest - Szechenzyn Baths and Luckas Baths. We weren't really sure what to expect, well besides the 60+ year old men wearing much too tight Speedos, but the baths were pretty cool. Szechenzyn was the best one once we realized there were outdoor pools in addition to the indoor ones. All the pools were all at different temperatures ranging from teeth chattering cold to burn your skin hot. There were pools with huge fountains, human whirlpools, jumping water droplets, bubbles, and even guys playing checkers in the pool. Fun for the whole family. I do however blame Luckas Baths for the awkward red bloodshot eye that kept me in glasses for the next four days. Don't worry, pink eye averted.

Additionally, our time in Budapest was filled with all the famous sites of the city: Mathias Church, Buda Royal Palace, St. Charles Bridge, the Opera House, and Hero's Square. We climbed the Citadell for an amazing view of the Pest side of the city, and while at the top of the Istvan Basilica we got a great view of the Buda side. We had a yummy traditional Hungarian dinner - fisherman's soup and two different kinds of goulash. Paprika is on everything giving all the food a slight orangey color, even the bread. Don't get me wrong, the food was awesome, just slightly orange.

Budapest was a wonderful stop as we made our way down Europe to Greece. Greece = Acropolis, Beach, Sun, Relaxing. About time.

Wien?

Let me set the scenario - 11 hour overnight train from Interlaken to Vienna. We arrive at the train station, ready to embarque on our journey (earplugs, blow up neck pillows, and eye masks in hand). We have reserved seats in a 6 person private cart and find we will be sharing with 2 other people, a quiet woman and a 60-something year old man whose cough sounds like he is well on hıs way to some serious lung conditions. He goes on a smoke break every tıme the train stops. Around midnight we turn off the lights to go to sleep thinking that the rest of the ride will go fast sınce we will be asleep for most of it. Sarah is a pretty heavy sleeper so she is out like a light within minutes. I take a little bit longer (the man hacking up a lung every few minutes cannot be completely drown out even with the earplugs). Finally I fall asleep and am rudely awakened a few hours later by my feet being aggressively pushed off the empty seat next to Sarah. I was startled but immediately assumed it was Sarah since she is not too fond of feet, but oh no, I was wrong - it was emphysema man throwing my feet off of the seat so he could lay down. Needless to say I was pretty annoyed and at this poınt extremely uncomfortable since I had nowhere to put my feet and had to sleep for the next 5 hours in an upright position. I did manage to fall back asleep and when morning came and Sarah awoke from her peaceful slumber, the man looks over at us and speaks his first words in 11 hours - "Wien?" to which I curtly reply in a somewhat bitter tone "Yes". We love it how he waited 10 and a half hours to ask if he was on the right train. It would have been so much more comical if the train were going anywhere else...welcome to Vienna.

Beautiful cıty, tons of museums and churches. We hit up The Albertina, where we saw pieces from Van Gogh, Monet, and my personal favorite artist, Chagall. It is a classıc city that embodies both charm and romance. We made a day trip to Grinzig, a quaint town about 45 minutes away that is famous for its wineries and picturesque views of the city. The people in the town were so friendly despite the fact that none of them spoke a word of English. The restaurants were filled with locals, all dressed in their Sunday best for a 3 hour lunch and a glass of house white. The view of the city of Vienna from the top of the hill was incredible, we were able to see the peaks of all the cathedrals and the meticulously neat rows of vines surrounding. On the way back down we stopped at a wine cellar that had display cases full of hundreds of crazy corkscrews (check out the pictures) and a violin and accordian player that walked through the outside seating area serenading couples. It was a beautiful and peaceful day and totally worth the hike out of the main city.

We spent our last day with 3 boys from Holland - Coen, Daan, and Michiel, who were staying in our hostel. We had met them the night before in the common kitchen/TV area while watching Michael Phelps beat all of his own previous World Records, we were so amazed and proud. We went to the gorgeous city palace and raced through the hedge-labyrinth which Sarah and I embarrassingly took forever to figure out. On the way back we walked through the famous Vienna street market where Coen's eyes lit up at the sight of all the fresh fruits and vegetables. Did we mentıon that he is a chef? He insisted on cooking all of us dınner to which we simply could not refuse so we bought fresh figs, olives, cheese, and pasta and he cooked us all a goodbye feast. It was a wonderful ending to our stay in Vienna.

Sad to say that this is the last tıme we can say "Auf Wiedersehen", as we are leaving German speaking countries and now have to learn how to say goodbye in Hungarian...

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken was nothing short of amazing, some of the most breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps I could ever imagine. The town itself is quite small and quaint, it was a nice change from the big cities. The air was crisp and the lakes were crystal clear, just phenominal views. Interlaken is actually the extreme sports capital of Europe and we just had to take advantage...

Day 1 - we decided to jump right in (literally) and went canyon bungy jumping. It was intense - an 85 meter plunge into a rocky canyon with nothing but a bungy cord strapped to our waists. Unlike regular bungy jumping where you just have one downward plunge, with canyon jumping you have the intial plunge, then you swing back and forth like a pendulum for about 30 seconds. Sarah and I both tried to be brave, but it was pretty scary once you looked over the edge and the dude told us to jump. We were both so glad we did it, such an adrenaline rush and not many people can say they jumped 85 meters into a canyon in Switzerland. Pretty extreme if I do say so myself.

On the way to the jump we met Carl, a fellow American traveler from Texas who has been traveling for about 6 months on his own through Asia and Europe. He gave us tons of great advice and it was just really exciting for us to meet another American with our same passion to see the world (to this point we've met mostly Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis). We all had a nice post-jump glass of wine and chatted about where we have gone and where will be going. Talking with Carl just excited us that much more for our future journeys, especially SE Asia. Carl - thank you so much for the inspiring note and we hope that you had a safe journey back to the US. Hope to see you somewhere in South America next spring...

Day 2 - We decided to give white water rafting a go, so we wet suited up and headed for the river. We got to the river, went through the whole lesson about following the commands with our leader, Carlos, and were ready to go. Did I mention it was pouring rain? Well as we were about to put the boats into the water all of the instructors talked and the water level was just too high and dangerous so unfortunately we had to cancel. So we went back to the lodge, de-wet suited, and spent the rest of the rainy day drinking wine and playing a cool German dice game with Carlos and our Aussie and Kiwi roommates. We also watched our first rugby match with our mates and cannot wait to check one out live when we get to New Zealand. Turned out to be a crazy night, but we were disappointed that rafting had to be put off.

Day 3 - Perfect weather and white water rafting was rescheduled. So we re-wet suited up and headed out again. Despite never having been on the water, Carlos was so impressed with our rafting skills that he left us to teach and lead the raft. It was so much fun, great rapids and incredible views of the snow capped Alps all around us. The water was about 6 degrees Celcius, but it was so crisp and refreshing that everyone in the boat jumped right in after we got through the rapids. Hope you enjoy some of the pictures below. We got back in the early afternoon and had time to squeeze in a hike 1000 meters up to overlook the entire city which was just amazing. Overall an awesome day of extreme sporting.

Day 4 - We ventured outside of the main city to Grindelwald, a quaint town with incredible hiking. We hiked to the top of the mountain for more beautiful views and explored the town. It was a nice little day trip and a great way to end our stay in Switzerland. It was definitely the most naturally beautiful place I have ever seen.

11 hour train to Vienna coming up next...

Just another day at the office

White Water Rafting, Interlaken, Switzerland, August 2008

Danke Schöen

Did I mention that we love Germany? Munich was no exception however is a completely different type of city than Berlin. To bring you all up to speed on the basics- a beer in Munich is actually considered a beer in a liter glass, hence a liter of beer (watch out for those people who say 'I have only had four beers'), Munich has HUGE pretzels, and people actually wear lederhosen... we were huge fans from the start. Overall, Munich is safe, clean, and practical. Plus, we were back to speaking German and our vocabulary has increased to about six words which I like to think makes us a little special. Additionally, as I am sure everyone enjoyed, I got to have 'Danke Schoen' by Wayne Newton stuck in my head for another five days. Come'on, you all know how it goes- Danke Schoen... oh oh Danke Schoen...

I must give some serious Scripps Ranch love to Eric, Chris, and all their friends for showing us girls Munich... how to drink bier, eat Bavarian food, and how to be hungover with style. It was really great to see a new city with old friends. Prost! (eye contact or you know what)

Our first view of Munich was with Eric and Chris, at a bier garden (Augustine Bier Garden), with an amazingly large, wonderful pretzel, and a liter or two of beer. Would you really expect anything else? We spent the weekend seeing the city with them- went to a couple bier gardens, hung out with their friends, and ate some really awesome German food.
Sunday was a beautiful day and Eric, Chris, Mary and I got to see a different side of Munich, away from all the tourists. Besides the beer, the city is full of beautiful parks and gardens. When the weather is nice, everyone takes advantage and is outside. We went to a park and a bier garden just outside the city center, near Eric and Aneta's apartment. The park was packed with people just out enjoying the day. The atmosphere at the bier garden was incredible... families in their Sunday best enjoying a liter of beer after church and a cheesy band playing everyones favorite classics (think CCR and Doobie Brothers). The only downside was the wasps, man those wasps are everywhere in Europe. We also got some yummy Bavarian food. I had the Schwaben-teller and Spatzle, which is some sort of pork, noodles, and cheese concoction. It was pretty darn good.
On Monday and Tuesday Mary and I cruised around the city. The city is primarily centered around Marienplaz, which is filled with lots of clock towers (yes Greg, more clock towers). And again, one of the clock towers has creepy gnome type things that move on the hour. We took a bike tour which is always a great way to see a city and get some actual history on a place, which we are total nerds for. We also met up with Eric's friend, Thom-ass, for a bier garden picnic and a drive around the city to see the famous futbol stadium, soccer for all you Yankees, and the tents that were being set up for Oktoberfest- which I cannot believe we are missing, mostly because we now don't get to see Eric and Chris in their lederhosen, haha. On Tuesday we went the Olympic tower and park for an amazing view of the city and went to the Nymphenberg Castle. All in all, we had an absolutely wonderful time in Munich.

We made a quick day trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for the Disney Cinderella Castle. A gorgeous site, absolutely unreal. Pictures to be posted as soon as we get to an internet cafe where we can plug in our cameras.

'Y en otros noticias... Interlaken'

Czech mate

Prague, Prague... what a beautiful city. I can't believe how different each of the cities we have been to are. Prague is a city with windy streets, canals everywhere, magnificent castles and clock towers. Truly a city different from any other. I was here five years ago and this trip I was surprised to see all the commercialism that has infiltrated the city in the past few years. At least there was more then I remember. Despite all the McDonalds and Starbucks the city still holds quite a majestic charm.

Since we love walking and exploring we spent our first day in Prague walking all around the city... the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square and it's clock tower (with the creepy gnomes that slowly move at each hour), and walking down the side of the Vltava River. Over our next two days we visited the Prague Castle and Cathedral, checked out the Jewish Synagogues, and hiked up to the top of a mountain for a breath taking view of the city. The weather while we were there could not have been better. The Olympics started while we were in Prague and we watched the opening ceremonies in style, at a crowded Czech bar at 3pm on a Friday.

As in all the cities we visit, we made it a priority to experience the traditional cuisine. We found a cool cafeteria style Czech restaurant where we experienced pork and beef goulash, goulash soup, and lots of dumplings. Not to bad I have to say. Oh, did I mention the beer? Yes, beer is also a big part of the Czech cuisine, Pislner was my local favorite. Sidenote: they do have a Budwiser Budvar Beer that is similar to the American version, apparently court is still in session over who owns the actual Budwiser name.

Of course we met a bunch of great people in Prague which always makes a city even more special and memorable in our minds.

Berlin

Took an early morning train from Amsterdam to Berlin and arrived in the afternoon with plenty of time to explore. Very cool city, I (Mary) had never been before and immediately loved its vibe. On the first day we wandered around and checked out one of the remaining sections of the Wall and got a feel for our new surroundings. Sarah and I are both big walkers, we love just cruising around with no particular destination to see what's around.

The hostel was very nice and we were fortune to have 2 awesome Australian roommates, Johanne and Peter, who we immediately hit it off with. We became partners in crime and went pretty much everywhere together. Along the way we also met 2 Brits, Sam and James...how cliche - 2 Americans, 2 Australians, and 2 Brits cruising the streets of Berlin. We loved just having a few beers and talking about our travels - it's so great to be in Europe in the summer when everyone is on holiday and traveling all around. So many people we bumped into along the way have similar paths as us and we have all been so excited to share our experiences so far and give advice/suggestions where we can.

As for the city of Berlin itself - love it. We walked around a ton and also did a bike tour led by Mike, an American who has lived in Berlin for 3 years and does tours in his spare time to support his art career. He knew so much about the city and was so enthusiastic about sharing his thoughts and observations about the history and how much it has changed even since he moved there. Sarah was in Berlin several years ago and was amazed at how different the city looked and felt in the short time she had been gone. The city seemed more alive, loads more cafes and shops through out the city then the last time Sarah was here. So much is being built up, we counted at least 10 cranes along the skyline from the hostel rooftop bar. We both said that we'd love to come back in a few years to see how much more developed it becomes.

There is such a huge art influence, graffiti is everywhere, but it is done in such a way that it gives the city a certain feel of youth and innovation. We spent some time at a contemporary art museum and in the Tacheles, a factory-like art house that serves as a studio for young artists to develop and explore their techniques. Mike told us that it costs them less than 1 Euro for a month's rent to stay at the studios, pending their acceptance of course. As much as we love seeing the Renaissance paintings it was a nice change to be surrounded by modern art - even though Berlin is an old city that has been through so much it is still young and constantly growing and changing.

During our stay were were even fortunate enough to meet some of Sarah's friends who currently live in Berlin for drinks and had a great time discussing our travels and cultures. For us meeting friends and fellow travellers along the way has already been the highlight of the trip...Peter and Johanne - we will definitely be taking you up on your offer to stay with you in Melbourne, see you down under sometime early next year. Cheers mates.

Prague is up next.

iamsterdam

So we made it. Smooth ride despite the heat and the bag that I swear I am going to remove items from this time. Hostle was a bit of an experience... elaboration not necessary. Fun fact- Mary HATES snoring, especially when it is choke/snoring. I am sure we have all been there...

Mairs and I have both been to Amsterdam before, so we laid off most of the touristy infested sights. Did I mention we were there over gay pride weekend?!?! The streets and canals were packed with people, honestly hard to move at many points. The gay pride parade was on the canals, obviously, and the boats were quite extravagant. The weekend celebrations were clearly a family affair, little kids on parents shoulders and grandparents taking down massive amounts of beer filled the parade canel routes. Everywhere you looked you saw joyville people wearing pink shirts (note: flamango colored) and showing their pride/support. Check out all the awesome photos (once they are posted, and yes they eventually will be).

In addition to the parade, bars, coffee shops and the massive consumption of fresh squeezed oj, we did make it to the Van Gogh museum, iamsterdam sign, and did a ton of walking around the city exploring the hidden gems. We were there two full days and with the weekend celebration I think we were both ready to go and get this trip started with Berlin.

I will leave you with this: Hunter's. Greenhouse. Blue Dolphin. Basjoe, The Grasshopper. Hill Street Blues. Baba. 36. Old Church.