Balkan Tour: Herzegovina

We were all up early and on the bus to head to Međugorje, a very religious town, unbeknownst to me, which came as quite a shock as I was not expecting this. They coined it the Vegas of the Holy world due to the gold and popularity of the continued apparitions of Mary, the crying statue and the two mountains to climb during ones pilgrimage. The only thing in the brochure that hinted towards this being very religious was it stated ‘Sunday mass is optional’. I was going to give the nightly masses a miss since they were not in English, and well, I am not religious. I cannot even follow a mass in English, let alone in any of the other languages they were doing it in. After our plain feast of fish (since it was a Friday) our table made sure to finish off not only our wine, but the wine at the next table, as well as the wine of the table next to us. We could not let it go to waste! Since we were to be locked in each night at midnight, we went for a quick stroll past the hundreds of little religious shops selling statues, pictures, jewellery, crosses, you name it, they had it with some religious theme. I am not exaggerating when I say I saw millions of Mary statues.

The next morning was Apparition Hill, where we climbed a steep hill to where Mary had first appeared to 6 children nearly 30 years ago. There were 5 stops up the hill, where at each station we did a decat of the rosary. For those that do not know, since I did not know, it is one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be. I was able to blend with the group and able to hide that I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea what to say or do since it was said in Croatian or Gaelic just to make it more difficult. We had to do all the hiking in silence, which was OK, as I needed the exercise as well after eating so much good food in Croatia. At the top was a statue of Mary, where she had first appeared, where we were to pray and stuff. I sat in the shade and took in the countryside view. I only moved out of the much needed shade when a little snake slithered past me. I am not afraid of snakes, but I am of those that are poisonous, and these ones were. We took a leisurely climb back down where we boarded the bus for a lunch of a roasted piglet and lamb on a spit. After filling our bellies it was off to Kravice Falls. They may not have been Niagra Falls, but in the semi circle of rock there were dozens for small waterfalls cascading down into a large pool before heading off as a river. It was absolutely breathtaking and the mist was a warm welcome after the sun that decided to pierce through the clouds.

The following day was a very early climb, with only five of us, up Mount Križevac. This was MUCH larger than the other hill. Hill vs Mountain. This mountain had 14 stations of the cross, but by the end of it we had done 17. There were only 5 of us willing to do the hike, so come station number 6 when it was my turn to do a decet of the rosary, my secret was out, and my heathen ways were known. Out of respect, I participated by reading them from a little book Jožo our guide had given me to lead the group. I was slow on my first one, but by the last one I lead, I was super fast. The cross at the top contained a piece of what is alleged to be Jesus’ crucifixion cross, so there were many people up there praying at it. I was amazed by the view. Since the mountain is a big overgrown, I could not see the views until the top. They were spectacular of the entire valley. We took a long winding, not so steep path back where we enjoyed a few beers, before heading to mass. This was the one time I was going to go since the young girl did not want to go alone, and thankfully it was in English. There was even an Irish film crew there filming it for the 30th anniversary show that will be June 24th. Who knows, I may even end up on the telly.

Balkan Tour: Montenegro

One of our day tours from our hotel was down into Montenegro. They were smoking everywhere, and I had become so accustomed to having smoke free pubs/restaurants that it was quite a shock to have someone chain smoke right next to me, luckily I was outside. It was warm, even though there was no sun to be found. We snaked past the inlets and bays from the sea where pirates once stalked. That is one of the reasons why so many of the old towns were walled and heavily fortified. The water was so blue and sparkled in the sunlight that broke through the clouds. We weaved through the Sveti Đorđe and Gospa od Škrpijela islets off the coast of Perast, stopping to take photos along the way.

Our first city stop was in Kodor. It was a much bigger walled city, with a wall that serpentined up the mountain. Their religious background is a bit different in that the communists wanted atheists so a lot of their churches wend into disuse and they practiced in secret. Many of the churches were Orthodox so it was strange to see no pews, organs (musical instruments), no statues and only iconography 2D images. The city is part of the UNESCO world heritage so we had another tour guide. Montenegrins are very tall, and our female tour guide, towered over me. It was so great to see so many tall people again as I can feel like a giant in Ireland at times. We went through the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, as it contained relics (mummified body parts) that were of someone once important. This started tourism hundreds of years ago, as people would travel far and wide to see religious relics. Strangely enough they use the Euro but are not a part of the EU, so that worked for me since I had a few quid still on me. I had to pay to use the toilets and the WC woman spoke German to me, so it is good to know I look my roots. The WC woman proceeded to speak in 5 other languages to other customers, so she just spoke what she thought was the most appropriate. As I said before, I love blending into Europe.

The second city we stopped at Budva, where Ben had even done some design work, so it was great to see his sight. The streets of this smaller walled town was reminiscent of Greece with a look of Venice. The sun came out during a lunch stop for some pizza where I made my first friend on the trip, Collette and her mum, Mary. We swung in our bench and watched all the cats run about. There were everything. The beach just through the wall was beautiful sand, with many enjoying the fleeting sunshine. The city was packed with quaint churches, small shops and great eateries. Russians flocked to this area for their holidays since they use the Cyrillic alphabet as well as the Roman one, and are also Orthodox. The land around the area was quite cheap which is why Ben had looked at putting a hotel there in his office.

With the sun setting we took off down the coast again, but instead of driving hours around, we drove right onto a ferry with another buss and about 8 other cars, and sailed across the Boka-Kotor Bay in about ten minutes. We got hassled a bit at the boarder trying to get back into Croatia, but that just meant more stamps for me, in my nearly full passport!

Balkan Tour: Croatia

Dubrovnik was the first stop in my multi-country tour. It was a bit rainy, but I did not let that stop me from exploring the winding streets and steep steps of the city. I took this trip alone, since Ben could not get the time off. I wanted to prove to myself that I could enjoy a holiday on my own. The town was nearly impossible to get lost in as the walled city took about 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and there were only two entrances. Well, a third if you count the harbour. The city was crawling with Texan cruise ship people, and as with most of my holidays, I avoid the Americans and try to blend in. The tour group I was with consisted of about 26, most of whom were well over the age of my parents. Our tour guide, Bozo (and no I am not kidding), lead us through the steps, working off our huge breakfast. Fresh fish is one of their more popular lunch items, so after trying to get myself lost in the maze of streets, I stopped for a lunch to people watch. Ben would have had a field day taking photos as I am sure I failed to capture the beauty as he does since I sort of run by and take photos, barely slowing down. I did not let the rain stop me in exploring, but it did stop my pitiful attempt to sit by the pool and get some sun. The thunder and lighting frightened me off to my nice, warm hotel room.

The following day, I branched out from the group and took a boat ride to see some of the Elaphiti islands. While on the boat the two girls next to me pulled out their Ireland water bottle, and next thing I knew I had two new friends for the day, sisters Jackie and Catherine. The first stop was Koločep a very small island which was beautiful with palm trees, on lazy pub and a tiny market. A distant hotel and a few housed dotted the hills around the small bay. We only stopped long enough for a drink and a bit of rest in the shade since there was not a whole lot to do.

The longest leg of the boat tour was to Sipan, a larger island that was dotted with ruins. There were two pubs as well as a larger harbour area. We went for a meandering walk up a path to get a bit of sunshine, and take in the laidback island life. We stopped for a cold drink and to use the loo, but with no electricity, it made for quite an interesting experience when I walked in on a man using the ladies room, and trying to use a toilet and sink in absolute pitch black. When we returned to the boat, we had fresh fish that was grilled right off the back of the boat with as much wine as we could drink, and did we take advantage of that.

The last island was Lopud was not necessarily the biggest, but it was the best, with the beaches nestled off the bay of Šunj. The boardwalk was right up against the sea, that lapped against the rock just a few feet below. We walked the entire boardwalk stopping at all the little shops, ending at the end of the pier. The sun was out in full force and I was ready for it. It was even warm enough to dip our feet into the water and sit with the water lapping over our legs as we sunned ourselves again a wall. Upon realizing that we were turning various shades of red, we decided to grab a cold drink at one of the many restaurants. Our table was right at the edge of the boardwalk, with the sea only a few feet below us, which was quite relaxing to listen to the sea as we enjoyed our drinks. After a few hours, we boarded the boat to head back to town, with all of us having a bit of a snooze on the boat before heading back to the hotel.

Strange Anomaly #68

Even though we may be living through some pretty tough recessionary times, I have to commend the Irish as how generous they are. I have always donated to good causes, and still slip in a few coins here and there into boxes or when teens are asking to help out their schools, but right now I am the ‘good cause’ and have not been donating as much myself. I am whole heartedly impressed with their generosity as a country!

Dublin Hurling Finals

Got to love free tickets. Especially when it was for Dublin versus Kilkenny in Dublin’s first finals match in 62 years. First up though was the Gaelic Football Minor Finals which was Ben’s first football match. He liked it as it was fast paced and high enough scoring. It was not like almost getting excited like in football for a near goal. I explained what few rules I knew from my last Gaelic Football Kerry Final and we cheered on the underdogs.

Next up was the Hurling finals. We of course were cheering for Dublin, especially since they were not supposed to win. It was harder to follow as the ball (the slitter) as it is so small, and was smacked around with the hurl (thick field hockey looking stick) faster than our eyes could follow. The players absolutely walloped on each other, smacking each other in the head, which I was glad that they were wearing helmets that apparently that was only a new addition to the pitch, as well as body checking each other and almost rugby like tackles. Kilkenny were down some of their best players, and were not exactly playing that clean, but Dublin did manage to win for the first time since 1929! I mean that is 82 years! We saw history in the making!

Green lands in Iceland: Day 4 & 5

Although the tour company we used had good tours, I wanted something special for us, even though it was a long 14 hours on a bus. Upon leaving town, we passed by some charming villages and farms that were effected by Eyjafjallajökull where last year’s eruptions took place. All the lands looked scorched as a thick layer of black ash ash had covered nearly everything in its wake. Our first stop was a farm that we got out to take pictures from I even recognized from the news since it was so dramatic how close the farms cling to these active volcanoes. The surrounding little waterfalls of the glacial melt from Eyjafjallajökull where cascading down from the high cliffs, but due to the high wind, they stream changed mid fall and was lost in the breeze as a spray of water.

A few minutes down the road we stopped at the Skógafoss waterfall which still had thick black sand choking the steam of water coming down off the high cliffs. Ben was able to walk right up to it and the mist encircled him. I wish I had had the camera since the white mist enveloped him, and a few minutes later he reappeared. Just as we were getting back on the bus the sun made a 30 second debut just to snap that one sunny photo.

Just before we reach the lagoon we pass Iceland’s biggest volcano, Öræfajökull glacier which has the highest peak of the island, Hvannadalshnjúkur (2110 m). The mist rolled off of it in such a haunting way with the weather changing constantly from rain, to hail, to cloudy, to a little tiny bit of sunshine and then back to rain. It took us nearly an hour to cross the moss clad Eldhraun lava field past Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The green moss had nearly obscured the sharp jagged edges of the black lava rock. It was nearly a metre thick in some places.

We crossed a mile long bridge that only had a trickle of water below it, since the glaciers move around so much, they can never truly predict where the water will runoff at. We pasted wreckage of a bridge that had once been there, but taken out in the ’96 eruption. It was a metal mangled mess. Their bridges are all very temporary looking since they are destroyed so often. The big stop for the day was at Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, nearly on the other side of the country, that started to form in the early nineteen twenties and is getting bigger every year. Huge blocks of ice that had broken off Europe’s biggest glacier, Vatnajökull, would float out into the lagoon and then out to the ocean only a kilometer away. It was stunning to see the sun come out just as we arrived and shone brightly on the icebergs. Since it was unbelievably windy, most of the icebergs had already floated out, but there were a fair few. The wind was so gusty that Ben and I could lean into it at nearly a 45 degree angle and it would hold us up. I jumped into the wind and it blew me a few extra feet which was a bit unnerving, so I did not do that again. For anyone that has not seen a glacier or an iceberg floating past you, it is something that you have to add to your ‘Do before I Die’ list.

As we boarded the bus the sun disappeared, and started to rain, so once again, the sun may have been absent most of our trip, but it came out when we most needed it. With the tourist season not quite kicked off, and it being Easter Sunday, we were able to make a very cool unscheduled stop at Svínafellsjökul glacial snout where we climbed up the mountain side to get a better look. We may not have been able to walk on the glacier, but to be within a few metres was pretty cool.

Along the road back, we stopped in the coastal hamlet of Vík in Mýrdalur valley which is the southernmost village in Iceland with beautiful black sanded beaches. This was the first time either of us had been on black sand. We had a quick meal of their yummy Icelandic meat soup again so we could have time to wander the beaches. It is said to be bad luck to take anything from the island, so I made sure to not collect any rocks or shells. The waves coming in off the ocean were huge, and we really had to keep our eye on the waves coming in. The waves were thunderous as they crashed against Reynisdrangar, the basalt sea stacks at the base of the mountain Reynisfjall. The small church on the hill was the highest building in town, where the reckon when the next volcano goes, and the glaciers melt causing a large flood, everyone would be safe at the church, so they have eruption drills for the whole town to run up there.

As we headed back to Reykjavík we stopped in the centre of the lava field and built our cairn for good luck. I always like a bit of extra good luck. As the sun was setting we had one last stop at Skaftafell National Park. At the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, we could have walked behind it, but even with Ben covered head to toe in Gortex (a walking advertisement for Columbia) he decided not to get that wet since he was drenched just standing close to it. Plus it was getting dark, and it was a very narrow path, and I used my little bit of common sense and figured he should not walk on the wet, mossy path. With the sun setting so late and rising so early, our long tour was nearly all in daylight!

On our last and final day, we had another lazy morning, packed up, enjoyed our large breakkie and headed to the Blue Lagoon on the coach. It is a man-made oasis in the lava field that is the leftover water from their steam turbines. The salt would corrode the pipes if they were to store it for heat like they do with other magma heated water. An employee of the steam plant one day decided to bathe in the warm water that bubbled up into the lava fields, and eventually realized it was good for his psoriasis. Thus, the Blue Lagoon was born. The salt has coated the rock with a thick white crust, so most of it is quite smooth, but there were a few rough patches our feeties would find. The mineral-rich water and silica mud mask left my skin feeling like a million bucks. With the constant new streams of water coming in, you had to move around to find the warm patches, and I found some hot ones. I love it when the water is nearly warm enough to scald my skin off. After a few hours of soaking in the water, it was time to finally head to the airport where we were bumped up to first class. May not have gotten the first class treatment, but the roomyness and comfort were a once in a lifetime experience as well!

My Little Pony in Iceland: Day 3

This was our one lazy sort of day. So after stuffing ourselves at breakfast we took a walk down into the old town to go to Reykjavík 871±2 , an exhibition of an archaeological excavation of a Viking age longhouse, from about 930 AD. After our strange run in with Swedish Museums, we wanting GOOD viking information, or at least, logical and unstrange information. We also ventured over to the harbour to get a few pics and then popped inot the strangest flea market, ever. Words cannot truely paint a picture of how weird this place was. You just have to see it for yourself. We had been told that the national food, and their best food, was the hotdog. We stopped at mall hotdog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, in central Reykjavík to fule up for our horse ride!

Ben grew up on a farm, therefore he does not like anything farm-like. I grew up in the city, therefore, the farm fascinates me. It was very important to me to see and ride Icelandic Horses (my horse bit me when I called it a pony). The barn supplied all our riding gear which was very waterproof and wind proof, and we needed it. The weather was still not very nice. What makes these horses so special is that on top of being able to survive in this harsh climate, they can do 5 gaits. The fourth gait is a four-beat lateral ambling gait known as the tölt. We were able to sit it, even Ben was able to do it with no experience. The Pace is the fifth gait, which is for racing and is very hard for a person to sit on top of a horse while they do it, so needless to say, we did not do that gait. Our ride started into beautiful Heidmork with its numerous caves and canyons. The moss on the lava fields was breathtaking. It even started snowing a bit, which made the moon like landscape even more unique and interesting. My horse really wanted to go, so I was at the very head of the queue and we rode fast. It was great to get my confidence back on, and after fighting for dominance, my horse conceded and the second half of the ride was very enjoyable. No more of the horse trying to brush me off into their scraggly “trees” and no more biting. I even caught Ben smiling a few times, so I know it was not all painful for him.

After being dropped back off at our hotel, we took a hike up the mountain near us to go up to Perlan or The Pearl, a glass dome resting over five hot water tanks. We were hoping to get a wax figure museum tour of the Nordic Saga, but like everything else in the town, due to Easter, it was closed as well. It had great vistas over the city and it was actually clear enough to get views of their tabletop type mountains and sprawling cityscape. This is where we encountered our friendly bunny and the sunken troll living areas. You would have to see it to believe it.

Strange Anomaly #67

Waffles do not exist in Ireland. No where. That is just a travesty! Travesty I tell you! Find me waffles, good waffles, and I will be a happy camper! Anyone up for the challege of finding me a place?

Iceland Excursion: Day 1 and 2

Our trip started out good getting the emergency row for the extra leg room even though it was a short flight and since it was the first day of summer we got some free icecream onboard. The coaches were at the airport, waiting for us in the blistering wind and lashing rain, ready to take us into Reykjavik. Our hotel was just on the edge of town by the domestic airport. We first wandering into the newer part of time to see Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland, which is shaped like a rocket ship. The inside was very stark, yet well done. There were a group of children inside singing ‘Day-O’, the Jamaican song, which was just strange, yet beautiful. We wandered down into the old town were we found some fantastic Belgian type waffles. I love waffles. With a bit of warmth in our bellies since it was no where near warm, we walked down to their main pond in city centre, Tjörnin.

Right on the pond was a well-designed building which was their city hall, Ráðhús Reykjavíkur. It had a living wall along the water, which is great to see growies on a building. City hall was right next to Alþingishúsið, the Icelandic parliament which was not such a fantastic building, but was important to them historically since their parliament is the longest running in the world. As we pottered back to the hotel we caught sight of their ample wildlife in the city, Bunnies and Geese. Their sidewalks were paved with Geese poo galore. I had a great little book that could lead me to all the free things to do since with the Easter Holdiay weekend, nothing was open. I my little book, I did find a local’s favourite restaurant where we had an amazing meal of yummy wild bird, otherwise known as Puffin, and their Minke whale. I feel ethically ok with it since they have been sustainable hunting these animals for a thousand years, use everything from the animal and do not overhunt since they have done extensive studies on their population and they are not near extinction like most other whales. Ben had been so exhausted from working crazy long hours, we were in bed and asleep long before the sun went down, even with sunset at nearly 11:00.

The next morning we headed out on our bus to the national park Þingvellir to view the Hellisheidi plateau which is one of the most historic site on the island. We stopped right at the Lake Þingvallavtn, the largest lake which is known for the scuba diving. The canyon that runs through the park is where the continental drift between the Eurasian and American tectonic plates are pulling away from each other about 10cm a year. It is the only place in the world where you can view this since the others are under water or heavily vegetated over. The waterfall there is normally very small, but with all of their rain is was a gushing torrent of water, where in historical times they drowned the adulteress women. The old clans used to meet at this area where the first parliament or Alþingi was established in 930 and remained there until 1789 when it moved to Reykjavik

Next stop was the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. The work geyser comes from the geyser Geysir. Even though this one is still bubbling, it is dormant so we got to see Strokkur erupt every 7 minutes, and it even had another eruption just seconds after the first one, although it was much smaller. The smaller pools around there were nowhere near as stinky as the Yellowstone ones with the sulphur. One lady was even stupid enough to put her finger into one of the boiling pools. Some people have no common sense.

We left there to head to the Hvítá river which the Gullfoss waterfall is located, which is one of the most impressive waterfalls in Europe. We had our yummy meat soup that was much more appetizing than it sounds, before bearing the rain that pelted us as we walked up to the waterfall. The mist was hauntingly beautiful and also froze along the walls of the canyon. The roar of the waterwall was amazing. We were able to walk right out to it and get some great views down the canyon, although we got quiet wet.

Next stop was the Skálholt Cathedral (Skálholtdómkirkja). It was a very modest church, located on ancient catholic ruins. The stained glass and Jesus paiting were very modern.

The last stop of the day was an a lake within a crater, Kerið. It is nowhere near as impressive as Crater Lake in Oregon, but it was still beautiful none the less. Bjork even held a concert in the crater with everyone on little rafts. Now that would have been a great concert since the acoustics were great.

Strange Anomaly #66

The Big English wedding. Kate and Prince William got married and as the rest of the world got excited (my mother taped it since the wedding was going on while she slept); here they all denied wanting to watch it, and yet, they all did! And they got giddy when they had their romantic balcony kiss, twice! They were all in denial in being interested in anything going on across the Irish Sea, but deep down I knew the girls were. We enjoyed watching it a work, and had our own cake, and ate it too, while watching the wedding!