The Palaces of Potsdam

Potsdam is a suburb of Berlin that can be accessed within 45 minutes of the city centre (thanks to the amazing transport system again). However, back in the days of Prussia kings and queens, it was far enough away to be the ideal location for summer retreats.

This delightful town boasts several grand palaces that circle the enormous Park Sanssouci. I spent the day wondering amongst the ancient grandeur.

The park provided me with a complete autumn experience. The leaves were all in full colour and collecting in huge piles. There was a nip in the air and animals scurrying to prepare for winter. I love autumn back home so was glad to have a hint of it here.

Fall in Potsdam

With rosy cheeks I stroll down paths once frequented by royalty. The park is filled with high hedges, mature trees and hidden walkways. Tucked in everywhere are hundreds of statutes that capture a long ago lifestyle. Women playing musical instruments or tending to flowering urns, young warriors flexing their muscles or showing off their hunting trophies to impress said women. I guess some things have not changed in time.

The palaces themselves are in several states of repair or disrepair. The city is desperately trying to raise awareness to fund the incredibly restoration work that needs to be done. They have a long way to go, but their efforts have maintained this opulent area rather well so far. I have not seen so many intact statues in one place.

The other sites of Potsdam also speak to its history of being a destination for the rich leisure set. There is none of the commercial work-a-day life of Berlin here. Nor are there signs of Germany´s wartime past.

I wrapped up my day with a hot chocolate overlooking the Havel river. It was a perfect end to a pleasant fall day in Potsdam!

Neues Palace, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam

Burrrr-lin

I love Berlin! Despite the chilly temperatures and drizzly days this place can capture your heart. I am currently wearing 6 layers of clothes and am still dying. What I am going to do when I am faced with the minus temperatures. Ugh!

Friends and family told me Berlin was a great place, but I was still overwhelmed by how captivating it is. It helps that I am staying in a great quiet little pension just off one of the main streets and that I bought a multi-day transit pass so I get zip around the vast city at will. The transportation system here rocks; trains, subways, buses and trams. Overall the city is clean, inviting, and offers plenty to do.

I have traipsed through several museums. The Berlinische Gallerie was a great example of how Germans love their art. It was a lovely look at modern art via photography, impressionist paintings, graphical design and installations. I was also taken by the Jewish museum. If for not other reason than it shows the importance of the Jewish people to Germany´s rich history. It covers well beyond the atrocities of WWII. And finally there was the outdoor East-side Gallery. Local and International artists use one of the last remaining sections of wall as a canvas to showcase their work. There are highly detailed pieces with strong political views as well as basic statements asking the audience to simply appreciate life´s little wonders. What a great way to repurpose the past.

Outdoors East-side Gallery, Berlin

Berlin is also a green paradise. There are green spaces in every neighbourhood. The city centre surrounds an enormous park, Tiergarten. It acts as a refuge for the city dwellers and manages to create a climate bubble to keep the harshest temperature during the summer and winter at bay.

Berlin will be celebrating 20 years of being a wall free city next month. There are lots of activities underway to prepare for the anniversary of that historic event. I can recall seeing the news reports all those years ago. People dancing in the streets and swinging pick axes at the cement barriers. Both sides desperate to release the other. It is remarkable how important that event was on Europe´s preceding history, but yet it does not define this city today. Like so many other places I have visited this year, the place has moved on. Berliners acknowledge the past, but value the future more.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

It is a great lesson for me to remember that not matter how impacting an event can be in my life, ultimately the rough edges will smooth over and the experience will give way to other moments. Hopefully the experience leaves enough residue that my future experiences have a richer tone. But the truth is, nothing lasts forever.

Athens is in the ruins

Typical of this year, I had not done much research before arriving in Athens. I had realized beforehand that the time of year wasn´t conducive to island hoping and the weather report back up that theory. So I dedicated myself to the ancient ruins, museums and local flavours.

Athens is a series of producthoods. Each area of the city is specialized by what the stores sell. There is the park of a million carpets (reminiscent of Turkey and Morocco), back alleys of bookstores, hubs of flower stalls, meat markets and more. The neighbourhood I choose to stay in did dual duty: prostitution and cocaine. Nice combo. I knew before I got there that both were rife in the downtown core, but was still taken aback by it. The street walkers were of little concern. I wasn´t of interest to them, unless I lingered too long looking at my map. Then the dirty stares came flying. Note to self: don´t stand on the actual corner when reviewing which way to go!

The police presence came and went without doing much to stem the tide of drugged out coke heads. One morning I watch two guys casually draw up two lines of cocaine on the saddle of a motorbike in front of my hotel. They finished off just as a cruiser swung past.

Despite the "local colour", I did enjoy my time in Athens. The ancient ruins were impressive. Not so much in their scale or abundance, but in the way they define this quite modern city. Atheans take a lot of pride in their unique historical perspective. Unlike many places I have visited the pride doesn´t have an arrogance to it.

I am also constantly amazed at how these tremendous sites are open so completely to the public. There is little more than a rope between the public and centuries old relics. However there were the occasional shrill whistle blows heard. These were from guards and researches working the ruins to stop visitors from reaching over the barriers to nip a sample of history. Can you believe it? Some people actually think it is acceptable to walk off with a bit of the Parthenon!

Parthenon, Athens

One other highlight was the changing of the guard in front of parliament. I had been told to not miss it by a few previous travelers. It is a good thing that Greece is not likely to go war anytime soon. These guys are hilarious. They have a fantastic ´funny walk´ to rival Monty Python and the giant pom poms on their shoes do nothing to instill a sense of furiousness.

Changing of the guards

The National Archaeological Museum was surprising good as well. There were lots of statues and an excellent exhibit on "Women and Worship: Ancient Goddesses" exhibit. I speed through the vase and pottery section. I still can´t get excited about clay pots. It must be linked to my lack of interest in cooking.

Athens was a good stop along the way, no regrets. But I can probably bypass it next time and head straight for the islands!

PS: I saw my first christmas display in a store window today. Ahhh! Time is flying by so quickly.

Istanbul baby!

Wrapped up my Turkey tour in Istanbul and the hung out for four days with my friend Kyoko. She flew in from London for a short break.

We hit the main sights, haggled our way around the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market and even picked up some great Mavi jeans. The highlight, however, was the last night...

We'd been out all day and decided to stay local for something to eat for dinner. The night before as we dodged through the guantlet of restaurants veying for our business. We had used the excuse that we were meeting friends somewhere else to get away from the annoying "see my restaurant", "my turn to show you menu", and such. The kicker was that we actually ran into people I knew. Two of my tour mates were dining at one of the places we blanked. As we stalked off past the restaurant, Rene was madly knocking on the window. She eventually ran out and down the street after us and we ended up joining her and her husband, Jerry for a drink and snack. They raved about the food, so Kyoko and I decided to give it a try the next night. That's where the fun begins.

I had taught Kyoko backgammon the night before, and we were determine to get some more practice in. The problem is that cafes with boards don't generally serve drinks, plus Kyoko was looking for some shisha. Our restuarant jumped into action and brought all the elements to us. This meant that we'd keep drinking their beer. We started to attract attention and pretty soon had some Germans from the next table and locals join us in the fun. We were slamming tiles and rolling the dice like pros. Eventually, the restuarant needed to close, but fear not, one of the locals owned the hostel next door and had a roof top bar. Whoo hoo - let's move the party.

We had Marco and Philip from Germany, Anna from Vancouver, Anthony the local hostel host and a cast of other characters that came and went over the course of the night. The drinks were flowing and the gang was lively. We even managed to paint Philip's nails on his left extremdies. Don't know how he was going to explain that one to his buddies the next day.

Kyoko and I made it home at 5am. Good stories to be told, photos to prove it and a full blown Istanbul hangover for me the next day. All good souvenirs.

Ahhh ... the Med how I love thee

I have dipped into the Mediterranean again, this time from the north. We spent a wonder day and night on a Turkish boat bobbing through the sea.

After leaving the centre of the country we traveled south through Konya. Konya is famous as it is the home of the Whirling Dervish started by the Melvana Mohammed Jelaleddin Rumi. Although we didn't see any spinning you could definitely tell the city atmosphere was far more conservative. Which is odd as the sect has very liberal philosophies.

On our way towards the coast we make a few stops to see Roman ruins along the way. As I am not a huge history buff, I focused on more of the architectural details rather than who conquered whom at various points in time.

For me another highlight came as we stepped on board the boat and set off into the sea. We tucked into a few coves to give us a chance to swim and eat. It was incredibly calm and not too chilly. In the morning we had a great breakfast, donned our swimsuits and made the most of the warm waters. It was a day of swimming, eating, sun tanning, a few archaeological views and more swimming. Heaven in other words!

Our hosts were also adorable. A husband and wife that make their living taking tourists around the coast. They made us feel welcome and took excellent care of us all.

After leaving the boat behind we had a quick trip into our next seaside town, Kas. This adorable place could easily be a vacation destination for me. It is a sleepy town with excellent food and beautiful views. It over looks several islands that are apparently Greek. It has a few beaches nearby so it is a perfect chill out spot.

We are now heading north again back towards Istanbul. Still lots to see and explore, not to mention lots more baklava to be eaten!

Turkish Treasures

Arriving in Istanbul, Turkey I was immediately struck by the kindness of strangers. While I was trying to determine how to get to my hotel, a sweet gentlemen came up to me to offer support. He didn't hesitate to call up the hotel to get instructions on the best way to get there. It turned out we were on the same bus into Taxsim square and had a great chat about the development of Istanbul. He further instructed the bus driver to show me where the next connection point would be. Which he did despite not speaking much English. These people are very hospitable.

I joined my GAP group at the hotel and we set off the next day around the country for our two tour of western Turkey. Thankfully I have four days to explore Istanbul when the tour ends. It looks like a fascinating city - more to come on that.

We reached Ankara by overnight train. Not my favourite time spent, but it was better then previous train rides. In Ankara we visited Ataturk's mausoleum. He was the father of Turkey's revolution and still revered highly by the country.

We ended the day in the Cappadocia region with a delightful meal in a local family home. They accepted us with open arms despite our smelliness from not having showered in two days. The food was great, the kids cracked out the music and danced for us, even grandpa giggled in the corner as some of our group attempted the dancing.

The treasure of the region are the Fairy Chimney rock formations. There are tens of thousands of these pillars that have been formed by a combination of volcanic eruption and water and wind erosion. Centuries ago (maybe longer) the three volcanoes in the area erupted and covered the land in metes of ash. They also deposited chunks of basalt rock around the area. Then over time water traveling down to the Red river carved around the basalt rock leaving only the area under the rocks. Wind also carried away the ash and topsoil not held down by the basalt rock. Later further eruptions lead to the pillars being coated in basalt ash therefore creating a protective hard shell around the pillars. They became hard enough to withstand the elements and to form a solid structure but soft enough to carve into.

Over time people in the region turned these pillars into home, businesses, places of worship and more. They would hollow out the pillars to create multilevel spaces. The first forms of condos!

We spent two days hiking through various valleys and scrambling over these formations. It is like a jungle gym for big people. It was so cool. I have always been amazed by nature's ability to create great beauty, but this year I have found a new appreciation for the expanse of diversity in that beauty. Nature is a truly surprising artist.

In Cappadocia the group also decided to go for the Turkish Night event. This include dinner and a show. Normally I stay away from these events as they are very touristy and the food is never very good. This was no exception, but at least there was an open bar. The night included several styles of dance and music. We started with the Whirling Dervish which were not overly impressive. Then we had several forms of folk dances. One of them even included the classic tale of a boy trying to impressive the girl with his strength, dancing prowess, and financial means. In the end, it was when he showed his true heartfelt feelings that she softened and accepted his proposal. Even in Turkish folklore romance wins out. The evening ended with a belly dancer. She was pretty good, but was outdone by our very own Alan. He had been selected to go up with several other men from around the room. He strutted his stuff and shimmied like a pro. Clearly this is not the first time he has strapped on a bedazzled veil and shock what his Mama gave him!

As we left Cappadocia we made a stop at an underground city. My claustrophobia kicked in big time as we descended into the tunnels, but unlike the Chuchi tunnels in Vietnam I managed to get through without a major panic attack. I was glad I did it, but even happier to get back out into the fresh air and open space. Like camel riding, I think I can now say that I have done it, ticked the box, and no longer need to experience it again.
Next stop Konya and then to the southern coast. Yeah - back to the beaches!

Rounding out Spain: Sevilla to Madrid

I was back behind the wheel again for our trip from Cordoba to Sevilla. I can´t express how much I have missed driving this year. It is a sense of control and freedom you just can´t get from any other mode of travel. Thankfully my travel companions were willing to indulge me, especially with a few stalls in intersections as I got used to a stick shift again.

The drive was great until we arrived in Sevilla near dust, under the threat of dark rain clouds, and with a map that didn´t list even half of the streets, let alone which ones were one way. We all did remarkably well and after almost two hours of circling our hotel we eventually got their. Thank goodness for Celia´s Spanish and the kindness of strangers.

As we turned in the car to the rental agency, I realized that although I love to drive, I take for granted that I generally do so in a country with wide roads, grid pattern streets and proper maps. I was glad to leave the car behind and head for the taxi stand.

Sevilla turned out to be an lovely surprise. Although I had not done much reading up on the place, I wasn´t sure if there was much to the city. Turns out there is tons.

We visited the Sevilla Cathedral (another over-the-top monument to the Catholic faith) and the Real Alcazar. The Real Alcazar was another Moor style palace and gardens situated right in the middle of the city. It always amazes me to experience such expansive grounds in the heart of a city. It is nice to see that the city values these landmarks and preserves them.

I have to admit, that by this time I was reaching my threshold of religious and architectural sites. I had to balance out my time with some other pastime... shopping.

On our last day there, Celia and I made our way to the Plaza de Espana which was wholly impressive too. It is a dedication to the entire country with lovely mosaic pictorials for every region of Spain. In the centre is a grand foundation. The Spanish never do anything in half measures.

Madrid has been a great city to end our tour in. We are staying in the heart of the city center so we can easily walk around. We did the Prado museum and generally chilled out.

One highlight of our time here has been a fantastic Flamenco show we saw last night. The musicians we expressive and guitarists kept us all entertained. However the three dancers (two women and one man) were definitely the stars. They threw down such unbelievable moves that even the musicians were picking their jaws up from the floor. We had gotten great seats right at the stage so the fast foot work was right up close and personal. I was awe struck several times at the speed and strength of their movements. It is definitively a passionate dance, but these dancers gave 200% of themselves and left everything they had on the stage.

As I leave Spain I am certain I will visit it again. It has so much to offer and in such a comfortable way. The people and places are genuinely worthy of more exploration.