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Tag: Spring Break

Over the River and Through the Air

20+ hour bus ride: Hour 1

20+ hour bus ride: Hour 1

Over spring break, a group of seven of us traveled on a 20+ hour bus ride from Windhoek, Namibia to Livingstone, Zambia to visit Victoria Falls. The bus ride was not nearly as bad as you would expect (sleeping pills are a life-saver). Crossing the border was an interesting experience as there was little communication of what we needed to do. We filed out of the bus and got exit stamps on our passports from Namibia. We then had no idea where to go, as the bus was now empty and everyone from our bus was nowhere to be found. Eventually, we discovered that we were supposed to cross the border on foot and walk to the Zambian border control where we were escorted to a tent. Inside, a lady sat us down in a row and shot a laser into our ears and handed us a piece of cardboard which supposedly showed that we were Ebola free. Wooo! Eventually, we made our way down the bumpy Zambian roads to Livingstone and our backpackers, Jolly Boy’s.

Hike down to Boiling Point

The bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe

Double rainbow over Boiling Point.

Double rainbow over Boiling Pot

On our first full day, we traveled to Victoria falls and hiked around the park. We encountered many baboons who were very interested in our food. So interested in fact that they grabbed Emily by the backpack and pulled her backwards until they got a wrapper out of her bag. After recovering from this encounter, our group hiked down to Boiling Pot which is just past Victoria falls. We also hiked up to the falls themselves and got drenched in mist as we made our way to the world’s largest waterfall.

Boiling Point

We made it down to Boiling Pot

Ready to Raft

Ready to Raft

Our second day was spent white water rafting in the Zambezi river along with our new friend and roommate Tom. The water was extremely high because of the rainy season so we couldn’t start under the falls but we did begin slightly downstream. To get to the river we had to “hike” (We mostly fell) down the gorge.

Our rafting began with a quick safety talk where we learned commands such as the “oh shit” command where we had to duck down and hold onto the rope for dear life. I assumed we wouldn’t need to ever actually use this but sure enough on the first rapid we were quickly told to duck as we hit a massive wave. After we came back down, we watched as the other raft capsized.

IMG_1028IMG_1030Rafting was incredible and we were subjected to some intense level 3-5 rapids. Our raft capsized twice and both times I ended up under the raft. The first time I was quickly able to work my way out, but the second time I was not only stuck under the raft but also Olivia. I had to kick and struggle for almost 10 seconds to work my way out from underneath her and the raft. I now know what it’s like to have your life flash before your eyes. That night we went on a sunset cruise on top of the falls where we could look over the edge and also see some hippos.

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Bike tour of Livingstone

Bike tour of Livingstone

On Tuesday we went on a bike tour through downtown Livingstone and the surrounding villages. We visited various homesteads and markets as well as a local school that is funded by the profits from the bike tour. After biking, Luke and I explored the city, found some delicious food, and played some billiards in the park.

The Gorge and the Zambezi River

The Gorge and the Zambezi River

Wednesday brought with it adrenaline. Luke and I had the brilliant idea to book a full day of adventure activities at the Gorge just past Victoria Falls. We were driven out to the falls where we discovered that we were the only people in the entire place. This meant that we could do everything as much as we wanted without any need to wait around. They started us out with repelling down the Gorge cliff face as we slowly walked our way down and began to push off the cliff. We worked our way down to the bottom and then hiked our way across the gorge and climbed our way back up to the top. We then did the Flying Fox which is a zip line that spans across the Gorge. You harness in with the rope on your back and then you

The World Famous Gorge Swing

The World Famous Gorge Swing

run off the cliff, diving forward, so that you can “superman” across the Gorge. This was pretty easy and was more like a relaxing break from what we would be doing next. The next thing we did was repelling again, but this time we did it “Mission Impossible” style which is face down so that all you see is the ground and you lay completely horizontal to the cliff as you push off. By far the best thing that we did was the World Famous Gorge Swing. You walk up to the edge of the cliff with not one but two harnesses on, hanging your toes off the edge. The guy then counts down from 3 and you take a huge step and the next thing you know is that you are falling over 100 meters down the cliff. The rope then catches you and you swing back and forth from one side of the gorge to the other. I did this swing three more times and it didn’t get any less terrifying. Walking up to the edge of a cliff and stepping off the edge makes you think about your life….

Africa-Zimbabwe-Victoria-Falls-thumb….Anyway, Victoria Falls was an amazing experience that let me witness one of the wonders of the world while also pushing myself far beyond the limits of my comfort zone.

One more look at the falls

One more look at the falls through the mist

The Best Things I Ate: The European Tour

 It’s time for the last installment of “The best things I ate.”  Check out parts 1 and 2 if you haven’t yet. This time, instead of dishes from Germany, I’ve collected all of my favorite meals from various countries I visited over spring break. Since this post required extensive research, it will be rather long, but I have to share these things because they are such an important part of why I love travel, and they are what inspire me to create new recipes of my own. Whether I’m at home or halfway around the world, I try to branch out and try new things, as well as authentic classics, and here, you’ll see a good mix of both, organized by city.

Prague:

This was the first dinner I had in the first city of break, and it was a great way to kick it all off! It was roast pork with horseradish mashed potatoes and a gorgeous gravy. It was classic Czech food with a little added elegance. Another reason to love Prague is that even fancy restaurants are ridiculously cheap because of the exchange rate!

This little treat is something I grew up eating at home. Kolacky are little Bohemian cookies filled with jelly or cream cheese that come in all shapes and sizes. I saw these at a bakery stand at a local festival and just had to have a real one!

Budapest:

For even cheaper fancy food, this is the place for you! This was my birthday dinner, chicken with beetroot risotto. I’m not really a fan of beets, but I am a huge fan of risotto, so I decided to take a risk and order it. And not only does it look beautiful, it tasted perfect too!

Vienna:

A long time ago, I did an entire post about my favorite foods in Vienna, but one thing I regretted missing out on the first time was some real Wiener Schnitzel. So this time, I found a restaurant that was really popular with the locals and finally had some. Some of my friends got the giant version that was bigger than the plate, but I opted for this one to get the sides. That way, it didn’t look entirely like a heart attack on a plate. At least there was some lettuce.
Venice:
 

Unlike Prague and Budapest, food in Venice can get pretty expensive. But one thing that’s always a deal is pizza. Honestly, my favorite pizza in the world is still Chicago style deep-dish, but for authenticity’s sake, this one was pretty good too. But it was a struggle to eat with a knife and fork.

Rome:

It was here that I first learned how to eat like an Italian. Apparently, the giant bowl of pasta is only the first course, and you’re supposed to have room for a meat course after that. I usually just picked one or the other, but this pesto was my favorite pasta course, mostly because I believe you can never have too much basil.

Cinque Terre: 

As a general rule, whenever I’m lucky enough to go to a restaurant where I can see the ocean from my table, I order fish. And that’s almost the only time I order fish. This was the first time that I ever got one with the head still attached, but after respectfully laying a piece of lettuce over the face, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.
So far, I haven’t mentioned any restaurants by name, but I feel compelled to for this next one. Based on rave reviews from Rick Steves and Tripadvisor, I had to try Il Pirata in the tiny town of Vernazza. I’m sure all their food is great, but I specifically wanted to go for breakfast.

First, there’s this little cup of wonderful. The owner gave us a little free sample, describing the mix of fresh strawberry slush and whipped cream as “the Italian yoghurt.” That little taste was not enough. And just the fact that this is considered just like yoghurt here is just another reason why I love this country.

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Finally, yes, I did order a cannoli for breakfast. I had to do it, and it was the best one I’ve ever had. And now I know better than to order a pre-filled one. These are filled only after you order them so that they stay delightfully fresh and crunchy.

So that’s how I ate my way across Europe. Next week, I’ll write my last post as I prepare to go home for the summer. I’m sure it’ll be bittersweet and super cliché, but hopefully it’s a good final chapter.

Spring Break Part 2: La Dolce Vita

After the first week of break, the first three cities, I already felt like I had seen a lot, done, a lot, and walked a lot.  But the Odyssey continued. After one of the longest train rides I have ever been on, we arrived in Venice to start our full week of exploring Italy. Now, Italy was one of the specific places we were “strongly advised”not to go, mainly because of pickpocketing and other issues that past groups have dealt with there. But I’ve always wanted to go to Italy. I know at least a dozen people who have spent extended time there and have never had a problem. And the truth is, there are a lot of more dangerous places to go in the world, places that I actually do want to see someday. So I respectfully ignored the warnings, and guess what! I had a great time with no problems at all, and never once felt unsafe. So my advice is to go to Italy. Be a nerdy tourist and strap your valuables to your body, research good places to stay, don’t talk to strangers, and just go! During the week, we went to Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, and Florence. Once again, I’ll try my best to sum up all the fun.

Venice:
     I loved Venice. In fact, it’s one of my favorite cities. However, this place gets a lot of mixed reviews.  People either love it or hate it. I love it because it is exactly as beautiful as I pictured it. It’s just a beautiful city that looks like it hasn’t changed much in centuries. The main thing to do there is just to walk around and get lost in the narrow streets. And you will get lost. There’s really not much point in looking at maps, and it will take you about four times longer to find things than you would expect. Some people don’t have the patience for this, but I found it fun. Instead of rushing around to a million tourist attractions, you can just wander, take your time, and enjoy the views. The public transport system here is the water bus, which is especially fun to ride at night, to see the city light up. One thing I regret missing out on was a gondola ride. People seem to think they are a tourist trap, but in reality, they actually aren’t that expensive. If you get a full group of 6 people, the cost would divide to 13 euros per person. If I had realized this sooner, I would have done it, so I’ll have to come back someday.

 

Rome:
     I wanted to love it, I really did. I liked it, but in the end, I think it fell a little short of my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of things in Rome that everyone should see in their lifetime, but now that I have seen them, I feel like I can just check this place off the list. Experienced travelers recommend that if Rome is “too much for you” you shouldn’t go further south, implying that it is one of the more intense tourist destinations. While I do think that it was a little much for me, this wasn’t because it was somehow too intensely Italian. It was because of the hoards of crazed tourists. There were just too many people in town. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the fact that we were there right after Easter, but still, I’ve never had a stronger urge to shove people in my life. It’s a shame because the museums, the ruins, and the Vatican are beautiful. I probably would have loved it if it were February. Go to Rome, but book museum tickets in advance, and remember to bring extra patience.

Cinque Terre:
     This area is a slice of heaven. Formerly known as “Italy’s Hidden Riviera,” it has now been discovered and become a top destination (Thanks, Rick Steves.) It’s five tiny, quaint towns along Italy’s western coast, linked together by hiking trails and trains. Unfortunately, the trials were closed when we were there, and the train system could use a lot of help. But if someday, they can fix it, so that it doesn’t take 2 hours to go 5 minutes up the road, this place would be absolutely perfect. I may seriously consider learning Italian, moving here, and opening up a bed and breakfast. It would be a good life.

 


Florence:
     I really enjoyed Florence, the birthplace of the renaissance. Some people I know may take offense to this, but I thought of it as a more manageable, mini version of Rome. There are plenty of museums and attractions to see, but it maintains a somewhat relaxed atmosphere. And it’s walkable, which is always a plus. Aside from admiring all the renaissance art, my favorite part of the day here was walking up to Piazza Michelangelo, where I took this photo:

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   So that’s Italy. I loved it, and am so glad I decided to go after all. I’m proud of myself for getting through over two weeks of intense travel. Each of these places challenged me. I clearly wasn’t in Germany anymore, but I learned a lot. I learned how to read a map and not get lost, how to get lost and be okay with it, how to get by in places where I didn’t speak the languages, and how to get up every day and look for adventure. But as much as I loved all the places we went over break, the most important thing I learned is that Germany is my home, and I can’t ever take it for granted. I now have a greater appreciation for the fact that I know how things work here, that I can speak German, and that this is also a very unique and beautiful country. It’s good to be home!

 

Spring Break Part 1: Exploring Eastern Europe

It’s been a while since my last travel post. Where have I been all April? Well, it feels to me, like almost everywhere. I just returned from two and a half weeks traveling around Europe. It was an Odyssey. It was like the Amazing Race, only without the actual race and the million dollars at the end. I feel like I just walked across half of this continent. But it was unforgettable, a true once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’ll cherish forever. Since there’s no way to cover the entire trip in one post, I’m going to split it into three. First, there were the eastern cities of Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. Then, there was Italy. Finally, I’m going to have one more installment of “The Best Things I Ate,” a spring break edition.

Prague:
     We kicked off our break in Prague, a place I’ve wanted to visit for years. It was one of the cities on our itinerary that I was most excited for, and in the end, it still was one of my favorites. Everyone says it’s ridiculously beautiful, and everyone is right. It’s more similar to Germany than even I had expected, and that made me feel at home, despite the language barrier and confusing currency. My favorite things we did there were the very thorough free walking tour, seeing the castle (and the whole city) light up at night, and most of all, learning about my Bohemian heritage. All weekend, I just kept eating everything I could find that my grandma and mom make at home.

Budapest:
     The language barrier I had experienced in Prague was even worse in Hungary. Still, it helps that in these smaller countries, no one expects you to speak the language, and it’s not too difficult to get by. This was definitely the city that felt most foreign to me. It’s the farthest east, it’s not super touristy, but the good side of that is that it’s even cheaper than prague. Despite the challenges, I found the history of this city really fascinating, and found a bunch of fun things to do. Here, we went to the third best bar in the world, and we spent our entire second day in one of the famous bath houses, which I highly recommend.
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Vienna:
     This was my second time in Vienna, so I had mixed feeling about coming back. It is one of my favorite cities in the world because of its imperial elegance and long list of cultural attractions. I did really enjoy coming back because I got to do all different things than the first time. Last time, I really wanted to have Wiener Schnitzel in Wien, but I ran out of time, so I always told myself I’d come back someday just for that. Besides the Schnitzel, my favorite things were the grand tour of the Hapsburg’s Schönbrunn Palace and the view at night from the oldest Ferris wheel.
     These three cities made up the first week of my break. Each has its own distinct character, and I love them all almost equally for different reasons. For the second week of break, we went south to explore some of Italy’s greatest cities, but that’s another story for another post.

 

Unexpected Twists part two

After our unexpected detour in our plans in Marseille, two days later in Milan, Italy, another hiccup happened in our plan. In some hotels in Europe, they charge by the amount of people staying in the room rather than just the room itself. We thought we could sneak around this system and have three people stay in a room instead of the two people we had told them were going to stay. We came up with the idea that two of us would check in and bring in all the luggage and then the third person would just be visiting us later. But like any good mischievous plan, karma set in.

The first night went according to our plan so we woke up and toured around Milan. We visited the famous cathedral and were able to walk on top of the roof. We also walked around their “central park” and of course window shopped at the designer stores. After a long day of touring around the city and geeking out because I was able to see DaVinci’s “Last Supper,” we were ready for some delicious Italian food. So we attempted to beat the system again and went to a bar where they serve free appetizers when you order a drink. We ended up eating enough to make a dinner out of it, we headed back to the hotel. While we were relaxing around our room, we suddenly got a phone call and as we slowly answered it, we were asked how many people were staying in our room. And our cover was blown. A few seconds later we had a knock on our door and one of the workers started talking to us in rapid Italian implying that only two people are allowed in the room and visitors were not welcomed. So as our trio soon became a duet, we frantically searched for any hostel that was open and was available. When we finally found one, we ever so discretely took down a third of our luggage all while being watched by the workers.

In the end everyone had a bed to sleep in (whether it was extremely sketchy or not) and we were happy to check out of our hotel that morning. Though at the time it was quite stressful trying to figure out whether or not one of us had to sleep on a park bench, we know look back on the whole story and just laugh still trying to figure out just what the worker was telling us. All I can really say is, don’t try and outsmart the system because the system will win.

 

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos/113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

 

Unexpected Twists part one

Marseille, France

Life throws many unexpected twists when traveling. As much as we pride ourselves in our planning and reading about all the different places we are going to, random, out of the blue, occurrences have happened over the course of the last few weeks. From missing trains, to having our water shut off, to having to find a hostel at 11 o’clock at night, we have had quite the experience learning what “just go with the flow”, and “thinking on your toes” really mean.

Our first encounter with life’s unexpected twists was our second night in Marseille, France. We had a full day of touring around the city and taking a boat ride to a park off the coast of the city, we were ready to come back to the apartment we were renting to cook dinner and relax. About ten seconds into filling up a pot of water, the water stopped. At first we thought we had broken something, however, after calling the owner and speaking broken French to a guy at a pizzeria next door, we figured out that the water was shut off in the area until 10 am the next morning. So as we ate pizza rather than the pasta we were planning on making, we came to terms that we would not be showering or drinking water anytime soon. We didn’t however, come to terms with the fact that we didn’t have a bathroom.

So our solution was to try and find a public bathroom (which in Europe, this is very rare). While we were on our quest to find a bathroom, we found a 24 hour convenient store and bought water. After about an hour and half running around the city, we desperately went into a hotel, water bottles and all, begging to use their bathroom to a man who couldn’t understand English. When we finally got him to understand that we didn’t need a room for the night but just a bathroom, he very graciously let us use a bathroom. We came back to our apartment to find that while we were frantically running around the city, our water turned back on. Though at the time it was sort of an inconvenience, we still laugh about it and the next day we were fully hydrated from our newly bought water bottles.

Château d'If

Check out more of my photos from Spring Break at https://plus.google.com/photos/113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

 

Spring Break Part IV: Crete

Rethymo

Our ferry from Athens docked in Heraklion, Crete at 6:00, making it our second early morning in a row.  The weather matched our feelings; rain and a hostilely cold wind greeted us as we trudged from the shipyard to the bus station.  After an hour and a half’s ride to Rethymno, the city that would be our home for the next few days, nearly the entire group elected to take a long nap.  When we awoke several hours later, we found that we had slept through the inclement weather and awoke to the sun just coming out from behind the clouds.  In the increasingly warm temperatures we explored the city, adjoining beach, and made plans for the next two days with our extremely helpful hostel owner, Ivan.

Walk to Balos Beach

 

We were advised to rent cars because doing so would be cheaper than taking buses and would give us far greater mobility (you only have to be 18 and have a US drivers license to rent in Crete).  We got off to a bit of a late start the first morning, so instead of following our original plan and driving all the way to the opposite coast we decided to attempt to find Balos Beach at the northwestern tip of the island.  However, as we drove closer the condition of the road grew increasingly worse (maybe the road costs too much to maintain during the offseason?).  We ended up parking our cars along the side of the road and walked 5 kilometers to the beach.  At the beach we found our compensation for coming weeks earlier than other tourists:  we were the only ones on the beach!  The beautiful turquoise water (warm enough to swim in) was framed by sand and enclosed by the surrounding foothills.  But seeing as how we still had a long walk back to our cars, as soon as the sun began to set into the Mediterranean horizon we started retracing our steps towards our vehicles.  This time, instead of the view looking out to the sea, the walk back was towards a small coastal village nestled below the snowcapped mountains.

Returning to the Cars

During the second day in Crete we had intentions of visiting a pair of caves, but once again we ran into the problem of traveling during the offseason.  Both were closed.  However, our switchback route among the mountains left us within a relatively short drive of Preveli Beach.  Although the day was a little cold for swimming, Preveli Beach is adjacent to a palm forest.  After spending an hour or two alongside of the river running through this forest, we returned home at a slower rate to admire the view from the tops of gorges in the mountains.

Returning from Preveli Beach

The last day of our spring break was perfect.  Instead of stretching out the vacation by trying to do too much, we essentially took the day off.  After sleeping in, we stopped at a crepe stand (we had gotten to know the employees rather well by our third day) and for ice cream.  After this brunch, we visited the Fortezza in Rethymno for an hour or so and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and enjoying the sun – forming the perfect ending to Spring Break!

Walk to Preveli Beach

 

 

 

 

Missed an earlier destination?  Take a look at my visits to Venice, Rome, and Athens!

Also, see more photos on Picasa or follow me on Twitter!

 

Spring Break Part I: Venice

 

Venetian Sunset

First stop of my spring break:  Venice, Italy.  This beautiful city was the perfect place for the group of us traveling together to start our trip to mainland Europe.  Being a very popular city for tourism, the language barrier is pretty minimal compared to a lot of other places.  Also, the city is on an island, meaning that it is impossible to get too lost while wandering around.  Everything in Venice is within easy walking distance, meaning we never had to deal with potentially confusing public transportation.

Gondola Ride

The Grand Canal winds through the main part of Venice with many other canals interlacing throughout the city.  The local Venetians use boats like most American use cars.  In fact, most houses in Venice have two doors, one with an entrance onto the street and another door opening to a canal.  Due to the water bound nature of the city “the thing” do to while in Venice is go on a gondola ride.  In order to keep the cost of our ride down we didn’t go on a very long one, but we spent over half an hour gliding along the back canals of Venice (which included going by Marco Polo’s house).  The countless bridges throughout the city are very scenic, but few have ramps, making transport difficult for those with strollers or wheelchairs.

Venice has several notable sights that tourists from all over the world come to visit like Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square.  Rialto Bridge was very crowded, but the views of the Grand Canal from the top were amazing.  St. Mark’s Square was great to see both at night and during the day.

View from Rialto Bridge

I enjoyed going to both locations, especially St. Mark’s, but my favorite place in Venice was the walkway along the waterside.  Of course, there are hordes of street vendors attempting to sell just about everything a tourist could be tempted to buy in every popular location.  But because I was traveling during the offseason, most of the others along the waterside were just other tourists like myself looking for a scenic escape from the main part of the city.

 

Besides its canals, Venice is also captivating for others reasons such as its famous glassware, carnival masks, and real Italian food.  I loved the pizza and pasta, but the real treasure of Venice:  gelato!

Ponte della Costituzione

Missed a blog or want to see what else is going on in Cambridge?  Check out: http://blogs.valpo.edu/studyabroad/category/cambridge-england/

Look at more photos on Picasa at:  https://plus.google.com/photos/112463823006344854498/albums?banner=pwa

Follow me on Twitter at:  https://twitter.com/#!/CambridgeUKJohn

 

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