Europe 2015: Reflections

To think there was a time a few months ago that I considered not taking this trip.  That would have been a mistake! When you get the chance to travel, no matter where it is, take it!

As I always seem to be going somewhere and have already been to many places, this blog will continue, but here are some reflections on my big European adventure of 2015:

Most Misunderstood City: Amsterdam
The Keep Portland Weird Award Goes to: Berlin
Most Beautiful City: Vienna
The City Most friendly to visitors: Budapest
Most Surprising City: Sofia
Favorite Country: Greece
Favorite City: Budapest
Favorite All Around Location: Naxos, Greece
Best Views Santorini, Greece
Best Market : Naschmarkt in Vienna
Most Unique Experience: the public baths in Budapest
Most Unique Hotel: Hotel Cocoon in Munich
Favorite Hotel:  Hotel Grand Budapest
Hotel that Felt most like home: Galazia Studios, Naxos
Least Favorite Hotel: Hyatt by the airport in Amsterdam
Friendliest people- Naxos
Favorite Building- The Russian church officially known as  the Church Of St. Nicholas the Miracle Maker  in Sofia, Bulgaria
Best Meal- Grilled Squid stuffed with Feta in Athens
Worst Meal- I found a well regarded Hungarian Restaurant in Budapest, and while it was fine, it definitely isn't my favorite cuisine. 
Best Drink: I mostly drank beer but I had this great cocktail in Convivum in Santorini. It was a hybrid of a gin and tonic and a mojito. 
Worst Drink: Pear Palinka a Hungarian Brandy
Best Day: There were so many, but maybe when I just laid back in the Aegean Sea in Naxos and relaxed.  
Worst Day: The day I missed my train to Berlin was a tough one. 

It was a great trip! It was the third time I took a month long trip like this one, and this time i knew almost nothing about the places I was traveling to. This definitely made it more of an adventure! Who knows when or where my next traveling adventure will be?

I know places: Sofia

In planning this trip to Europe it was very important for me to go to places I had never been and knew very little about. That has been the case with the exception of Amsterdam--the place I flew into.

Even within that there are some places I pretty much knew nothing about. That would be the case in my trip to Sofia, Bulgaria.  As I prepared to travel to Europe and listed off the places that I was going to my friends. I saw a lot of smiling and head nodding until I mentioned Sofia.  Facial expressions sometimes went blank and sometimes full of wonder.  Some did not even know where Sofia or Bulgaria was, not unlike me a couple years ago.  Some wondered why? Others gave me suggestions on where I could go instead.  Some had heard it was dangerous and had a lot of poverty. I'm not going to lie. I did my own internet research (almost never a good idea) and sometimes wondered if I should go somewhere else.

Well guess what? All that was stupid.  Sofia is a beautiful amazing city.  It's a hidden gem I'm Europe.

I told my friend Boris when I arrived in Sofia that it was much different than I had expected.  There is a way Americans and perhaps other parts of the world often view Eastern Europe.  And it is often not pretty.  It's usually a gray view, a lot of concrete and a lot of disgruntled chubby people in a bread line.

Sofia, obviously, is none of those things.  It's vibrant, youthful and energetic.  It's perhaps one of the most colorful places I've ever been.  One of my favorite visual memories from my trip so far is a small place of worship in Sofia. Believe me cathedrals and temples in Europe are a dime a dozen.. But this one had the most amazing kelly green roof tiles that set it apart from other places.  It gave the building a magical enchanted look that I hadn't see in my viewings  of nearly 100 (I kid) cathedrals throughout Europe.  I should also tell you that Sofia has much grander and beautiful buildings to look at in the city. That  one is just special to me.

Every week night during the summer Sofia is busy with its residence and tourists having a beer, experiencing fine dining and then many walk into after hours entertainment.

My point is this: some people like to travel to the places they know.  And I guess that's fine.  I like to leave my comfort zone and be a little uncomfortable. But  for some reason Sofia was a little far outside my comfort zone even for me.  It shouldn't have been.  Go somewhere you know nothing about! Have an adventure! If you're afraid about safety issues, the federal government has a website that tells you where to be careful or not go.

Sofia was not on that website.  I owe the beautiful city of Sofia an apology for my preconceived notions.

Travel as in life  inherently has risk but those risks almost always pay off!

Some Like It Hot

Traveling to another country is always a great way to get,out of your comfort zone, but sometimes you have experiences in these places that are even more far removed from your comfort zone.  Such is the case with my experience of going to the public baths in Budapest.

The city of Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube River on the banks of this river there are  many thermal hot springs and Budapest has Mande some of these hot springs into public baths.  The baths that I went to were in an establishmentt called Rudas.

When you are in a foreign country you are always a bit out of your element, but sometimes I also choose activities that take me out of my comfort zone. Such is the case on the day in Budapest that I went to the public baths.

Even though that day the baths were co-ed, I still had no idea what to expect.  For the most part, things like this are not in our American culture, and from the moment I walked in I knew this was going to be an experience to remember.  

After I bought a bottle of water with gas, I walked up to reception. I told her "one" because that's a universal word. Everybody gets that.  She starts speaking to me in Hungarian and I have no idea what she is saying. Luckily a lady to my side was acting as my personal interpreter and she told me where to look to decide what package I wanted to buy.  To be honest, I just pointed and didn't really know what I was buying then reception gave me a price.  My interpreter whispered in my ear, "Do you need a towel?" So that added to the price.  Finally I was done with that, and I asked my interpreter where to go. She pointed me in a direction, and then I never saw her again.  

I managed to find the locker room. I was unsure it was the locker room because both men and women were in there. A man handed me a computerized wristband to let me in and assigned me to my locker.  It actually wasn't a locker at all. It was a small cabin.  It was about the same size as a confessional booth in a Catholic Church.  I did all my clothing changing in there, and I also left my belongings in there. Once I came out surprise surprise I didn't know how to lock the cabinet. So the attendant showed me how to lock the cabinet with my handy dandy wristband.  Then I walked with him to get my towel which was more a low thread count bed sheet than  a towel. I guess I could have brought one from the hotel, but that towel did its job. 

After some tentative wandering, I found room of baths.  I forgot to mention that because it was co-ed, everyone was required to wear bathing suits.  On same gender days that is not the case.  Anyway there is one big slightly warmer than lukewarm pool in the middle.  I sat there for awhile. It was kind of like sitting in a jacuzzi with a wonky heater except no jets and it smelled like sulfur.  After sitting here for awhile I experimented with the smaller pools In the corners. As I walked I found out each pool varied in temperature.  One was very cold, one was cool, one was warm and one was hot.  Strange as it seems, I spent the most time in the very hot one even though it was a little painful when I was first getting in. I did spend a little bit of time  in each of them.  While the whole building had been renovated the room of baths was very old  just as I expected it to be. Some people came in to relax. Some came into socialize.  It is definitely a traditional experience in Budapest culture.  

I have to admit that I wasn't getting a whole lot out of it, so I explored a little more. I saw that there was a sauna and a steam room. They  had warnings that they were only for people in good health.

The steam room was OK. It was hot but bearable.  The sign said it was 40 to 45 C.  That's over 100 degrees for the Americans.  After I left there I took a shower. They had a regular shower and then they had a more rustic big bucket that you just dump over your head by pulling a rope. I chose the latter. It was freezing water!  It was shocking to my senses but I'm glad I chose the more primeval expereince.

My final major activity was the sauna.  It was the hottest experience in my life. It was so hot you could smell the oils vaporizing from the wood.  It didn't have a temperature posted, but I was so hot that when I breathed it felt like the air coming from my mouth was going to turn into fire.  The other people sitting with me looked very calm and delighted.  I started to feel physically sick so I don't think I made it even 2 minutes. I quickly found a much cooler pool and settled for several minutes.  I discovered that those two minutes had temporarily taken all the tension out of my body.  He heat must have sucked all the toxins right out of me.  I was relaxed yet a little bit tired for the rest of the day.

In any case even though I was nervous to do it, it ended up being a worthwhile experience. On any kind of vacation, I highly recommend doing something that interests you but also makes you a little bit uncomfortable. 

To Market

When I lived in Seattle, my favorite place to go was hands down  the Pike Place Market. While it attracted lots of tourists, it never felt touristy.  I think what I like most about it as that it revealed a lot about Seattle. It shows off the cities resources as well as its quirks.  From the fish throwing vendors to the orca whale arts and crafts, you can really start to get insight into what Seattle is about--the personality of Seattle.

Most major cities in Europe have similar open air markets and they to reveal a lot about the cities personality.  I have learned a lot about the European cities I have been to by browsing through their open air markets. Each city has the essentials like produce, but every city has its own unique wares for sell.

In Amsterdam, boxes of tulip bulbs are sold everywhere in the market, several stands also sell a traditional Dutch blue and white inexpensive china pattern as well.  This time was my second visit to Amsterdam, and I noticed a newer trend at their markets.   There were many places with kits showing  how to grow marijauna.  Seeds included.  :)

Munich had lots of  heart shaped  crafts and baked goods. They also sold multiple flavor of  Schnapps.   I bought a couple bottles of the schnapps and I have to say it was definitely not the same Schnapps I was trying to get my hands on when I was in high school!


Here in Vienna, where I am about to end my stay, I've especially loved the open market called Nachtmarkt.  I've roamed through it several times. I have found traditional Viemnese cakes along with cheese stuffed olives, nuts, and lots of spices.  The spices alone make the experience different because they create an amazing smell throughout the market.   For a lunch snack I picked a fried pita like bread stuffed with feta and spinach.  It made a delicious snack! I also picked up 100 grams of vanilla caramels which I've been snacking on in my hotel room!

So if you're in a new city and you don't know where to start. Find out if they have an open air market and if they do go visit.  You can find out a lot about the culture of a new city!

Pink triangle

Across the street from the labyrinth Jewish Holocaust memorial in Berlin is a beautiful park with several small memorials and monuments strewn throughout.   I was on a mission to hunt down the memorial below.

Jewish people were obviously impacted by the Holocaust the most, but many people don't know that thousands of gay people were also put into concentration camps during this terrible time in history.  Instead of a yellow star that the Jews wore, gay people wore a pink triangle and that is why the pink triangle is one of the gay community's symbols today.  

It is not one of the popular structures to visit.  I stood near it for several minutes and only a couple came to look into the window which features a video of two men kissing.  I am glad though that this part  of history is being recognized.  It was truly an amazing,  emotional moment for me to get to see this. .  

Biting the hand that fed you

One of the big adventures of traveling is eating the types of food of the country you visit.  Generally I'm pretty open about trying food, but I have to admit the word liver in any menu description is a big turn off. It's fairly easy in countries with a lot of tourists to eat safely. You may even find some of your hometown favorites in your host city.  I'll admit when I see a rare Dunkin Donut or even a Starbucks, I scramble for my 2 euro change.  But try to resist.  :)

When I was in Amsterdam a few nights ago, a person I met invited me to come try the restaurant he worked at.  They served Dutch food. I have to admit that on my previous trip to Amsterdam the Dutch-est cuisine I had was delicious pancakes. So this time I was going to try some traditional Dutch food.  

The traditional dish I chose was called Stamppot.  I liked all the ingredients in it. I just didn't know if I'd like them mixed together. Stamppot is mashed potatoes mixed together with vegetables. I chose sauerkraut, but that night carrots and endive were also available. Then it is usually topped with a sausage and gravy. Mine was also topped with a meatball and Dutch bacon.  I was offered Dijon mustard as a condiment which I generously used.  

The verdict: it was delicious. Maybe it was a little meat heavy, but All the ingredients plus the Dijon mustard complimented each other well.  If I made an American version at home, I might make it with potatoes, sauerkraut and just bacon on top.  

But what if it had been terrible? Oh well, then I'd have had a terrible meal that I could talk to people about until my last breath on my death bed. . But it wasn't terrible.  And while it wasn't something I'd usually been drawn to on a menu, I'm glad I gave it a try.  

I'm in Germany now, and it's proving to be tricky in Berlin which is in  northeastern kind of central Germany.  The German food I'm finding here  seems to be influenced by southern Germany and Austria.  I'm going to travel to both of those places next.  I'm going to have to open my mind to adventure.  I'm going to have to find some other menu options before I'm all schnitzeled out!

 

You'll never get it right

I didn't do a lot of sight seeing today.  I gave myself recovery time for jet lag. I do this on every long trip.  Five years ago I used the first day to do a bus tour and a boat tour of Amsterdam.  I know these tours are cheesy, but I got to sit instead of walk around, and it gave me ideas on what to do for the rest of my trip.  Good tip! Thanks Marian!

But today I didn't do that because I've been to Amsterdam before. I felt a little more prepared this time around even though I'm only staying in Amsterdam a couple of days.  It made my first day which is usually my hardest day less challenging.

Most people who travel to a different country want to get it right.  Many good travelers research the differences  in culture of the country they are going so they don't commit any cultural faux pas.  If this doesn't cross your mind as a traveler, then may I suggest that you never leave your house. 😝

But here is the thing.  No matter how much you research and  no matter how hard you try, at some point probably very early on in your vacation you are going to mess it up.  You'll never totally get it right.

So my suggestion is embrace that you're going to make little mistakes. Take a breath and relax.  Stand at a restaurant with a clueless look on your face and wait for a hostess to seat you and have the greeter wonder why you won't sit down (unless of course that's not the case because it depends on the type of restaurants. ) In my first 12 hours in Europe I probably made at least a half a dozen little mistakes, and this is my 5th time here! Just don't be an asshole about it.  Be kind and say lots of pleases and thank yous.   The citizens of the country you go to will likely not negatively remember little mistakes you made, but they will remember if you acted like an asshole.

Off to Germany tomorrow!

Dan