"How do a bunch of people with hand tools build all this?"

"The same way they built the pyramids, or the Great Wall of China."

"Aah. The aliens helped them."

That is probably my favourite part of National Treasure; I just about fell off my seat I was laughing so hard the first time I saw it. But it's a good question - and one that I asked myself the other day. For a very good reason:

strong like bull

I mean, it's quite obvious that I would easily be able to hold up that ridiculously enormous rock by myself... But I'm spiffy like that. Thousands of years ago though... sheesh!

My host family and I took a trip onto the Military base a couple weekends ago to visit the Siebensteinhäuser - aka. the Seven Stone Houses. There are actually only five houses, and they're actually graves... but still.

stone graves from 2300 B.C.

Here's an aerial view of two of the graves.

This shot gives you just a little bit of perspective of just how stinkin' big these rocks are!

cheese!

The best host family EVER:

peek-a-boo!

Afterwards we went to an Antique Café for a piece of cake and a cup of coffee. They're quite neat little places, pretty much everything in the store is for sale: the tables, the chairs, the paintings, the candlesticks...

And that is how we spent a rather wet and chilly Saturday afternoon. Good times :)

Cheers,
Sandy

That'll be 650 for the coffee please.

Talk about outrageous prices!! Or at least that's the message my eyes were sending to my brain the entire time I was in Hungary. 1 Canadian dollar = 194 Hungarian forints. Thus, the seemingly ridiculous prices. Although, I rather enjoyed holding a bank note with the number 10 000 on it...

So began part 3 of my spring travels - Easter weekend in Hungary with my fabulous friend Szandra (you pronounce it as if the z was invisible). And here she is, looking brilliant in the garden by her apartment:

We spent the next 2 days strolling about and taking in just about every major tourist attraction and beautiful building in the city. Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever had the privilege to visit. The city scape is incredible. We started our tour at St. Stephen's Basilica.

I'm a yellow-belt Vanna White

The basilica definitely makes it on to my list of pretty churches I've seen in Europe - and I even met a lady from Canada there!

Next, we wandered to the main shopping district where there happened to be an Easter Market. We joined in the celebrations for a little bit - there were musicians playing Hungarian folk music, lots of little stalls selling knick knacks and a few places where you could buy chimney cake (Kürtöskalács)

As you can see - it's a sweet dough, rolled around a stick-like sort of thingy and then roasted over a charcoal fire. Very tasty and I was quite excited about eating it!

I was shocked, however, when I realized I got the whole foot long roll - I thought they'd cut them into smaller pieces! But my sweet tooth sure wasn't complaining.

For lunch that day, I tried real Hungarian goulash - which, for the record, is nothing like what the rest of the world thinks goulash is. It's actually soup, and really good soup at that!

We wanted to go look at the Central Market Hall, but we were 15 minutes too late and the building had closed for the day. I did get a view of the outside of it, which, like a lot of Europe, was very pretty.

Even though I didn't get to see the Central Market, Szandra and I were at another market that morning to pick up some fresh produce for the weekend. We also ate Langos for breakfast - and while I normally try to steer away from freshly deep-fried batter before 2pm, I made and exception for this delectable Hungarian snack.

hanging out with Sissy (Empress of Austria)

Later on, we took a walk on Maragret Island - which is situated in the middle of the Danube (the river that runs through the middle of Budapest) - to take in a men's waterpolo game.

woo!

On my second day as a tourist in Budapest, Szandra took me over to Buda. Budapest is actually composed of two words: Buda (= mountains) and Pest (flat). This very accurately describes the city since on the Pest side of the Danube it's flat, and on the Buda side it's hilly.

While on the far side of the river we checked out:

Matthias Church

Sandy & Szandi

the view of Parliament from across the Danube

how's that for incredible?!

And the National Gallery

see, it's actually quite small

That evening we went out to experience the city skyline after sunset. Chain Bridge at night is breathtaking. We just stood there, because you couldn't tear your eyes away.

Chain Bridge & St. Stephen's Basilica

cityscape

Both of those pictures are compliments of Wikipedia - I tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to get a shot of the city by night, but we were just too far away for me to get a clear shot. So, I found some shots so you could get a taste of what my eyes feasted on.

The next morning was a rainy day. So we made our trip to Hero's Square a short one.

Short isn't bad when it's raining - especially when you're taking off for the pool when you're done! And this is what the pool hall looked like in Budapest:

Széchenyi Bathhouse

... *crickets chirping*

Little different that what we build back home, eh?

In any case, we spent the morning relaxing in the pools, hot tubs, thermal springs and steam rooms.

a shot of the pools

That afternoon we headed over to Debrecen to visit Szandra's family. Before we hopped on the train, we stopped in the mall for a quick bite to eat. Which lead to a fun little surprise!

For here you see a Hungarian and a Canadian standing together in front of "'Niagara Falls' - Canada's Millennial gift to the Hungarian People" (it's a fountain in the mall). Talk about an unexpected maple leaf... not gonna lie, I looked for a Timmy's nearby!

2 thumbs up for Canada!

The time with Szandra's family was super! We wandered around the city a little and I got to try some traditional cooking (thereby adding turkey neck to my list of strange things I've eaten - it was one of those "Eat it first and then I'll tell you what it is" moments).

AND! This made my day - I got to try Tokaji (spelt Tokay in English)!! I've wanted to try it since I discovered that the deliciously described drink I read about in The Golden Compass actually existed. And it was just as delicious as expected.

And so my mini-series comes to an end - after a looooooong trip home (I was on the road from 11am til 11pm)!

Thanks for joining in - keep watching because something new and exciting can't be far away!

Toodles,

Sandy

I've fallen in love...

...with Norway.

I spent 5 fabulous days on the 63 parallel in the incredible country of Norway with my good friend Karin. It was an experience I will never forget - Norway has found it's way into my heart and isn't going anywhere.

We flew together out of Berlin, and let me tell you! It was such a treat to travel with someone this time :) We had a short layover in Oslo, which was where I first experienced the joy that is Norwegian money. They have coins, with HOLES in them! How cool is that?!

Next, we hopped on the plane to Trondheim and were picked up at the airport by Karin's mom. Trondheim is a lovely city, which I discovered when we went to dinner in the tower restaurant. It's got a revolving floor, so you get a 360 degree panorama of the city.

Trondheim is located on a fjord too. Not the really steep walled, in between mountains sort of fjord, but more open. That didn't make it any less beautiful. Plus we got to watch the sunset as we ate.

Next part of the journey was a car ride home. It took a couple hours, but that was ok. I was more than content to look out the window at the scenery flashing by. Norway reminds me a little of Canada actually, and it was a lovely mixture of home and something completely new and strange.

I love the houses in Norway. They're all blue or red or yellow and it makes me heart smile to see them. Then you add the snow and the mountains... *smile*

Karin

It's great - my last day in Poland was about 20 degrees and there was zero snow to be seen. Then I flew to Norway, and although it wasn't cold... well you can see for yourself how much snow is still on the ground!

Day 2 was a beautiful morning - blue skies and sunshine. I got distracted after getting out of bed and spent about 10 minutes staring out the window before I remembered that I was putting on my socks.

What with the great weather, we decided to drive to the little town of Røros. (p.s. how fabulous is that letter?!) It was a copper mining town at one point in time, and the mine has now been turned into a museum. On top of that, there a streets with cute little houses, lots of artists with shops and eclectic cafés.

Some of the older houses still had grass roofs. And apparently lean a little...

That's the Røros church in the background and the colourful Norwegian houses in the foreground. Are you starting to understand why I fell in love?

Heading back home, we stopped to take a picture of one of the oldest stave churches in Norway. It was built sometime around the 1100's. They're called 'stave' churches because of the giant posts that carry the weight of the building. They're also built without the use of a single nail.

I'm smiling, but the sun is hurting my eyes... aaah

We still had a good chunk of the afternoon left to enjoy after arriving home. What better option is there, than to sit outside on the porch with a cup of tea and a good book? (that was a rhetorical question by the way :) with a view like that there is no better option! Can you understand now why I got so distracted in the morning?)

R & R

Day 3 was unfortunately a rainy day. It was about 0 degrees and the clouds couldn't decided if they wanted to rain or snow. So they did both, off and on all day long. But since the national pastime of the Norwegians is to go cross-country skiing, I wasn't about to let something like rain and terrible snow conditions stop me! Especially since I'd never been nordic skiing before.

It didn't take me long to find that perfect form:

this is how the pros do it, right?

We weren't too optimistic as we were setting out - mushy snow + fog + rain + a first-timer = "let's give it a whirl and see how far we get"

We got far.

Here we are, on the mountain trail 7km away from home. We met up with a friend of Karins and popped in for a visit - after signing the trail book nailed to a tree of course!

Wood fire, cozy chairs, hot chocolate... How 'bout now? Can you feel the love yet?

Day 4 was a trip to check out the Norwegian fjord scene. First, we drove to Sunndalsøra - and there was really low cloud coverage and snow pretty much the whole way. Not so helpful with the whole "gazing up at the mountain top" plan I had. But we found a little tiny patch of blue sky while looking for a nice place to eat lunch. Can you find it?

Karin then tossed out the best advice of the day: "Follow the blue!" So we did, and it paid off :)

Because of our detour, we also made it to Ålvundfjord and Surnadalsfjord. And! We had to take a ferry across Surnadalsfjord to get to the road home. So much fun!

whee ferry!

On my last full day in Norway, we popped into the city of Trondheim to do some sightseeing. We checked out the 'sugar cube' fortress (so nicknamed because it's a white cube. Literally.), a really really steep hill (so steep they have a bike escalator thingy), the harbour, and did a little window shopping on the side.

Here I am standing in front of the Nidaros Cathedral - the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world and the second largest church in Scandinavia.

a little size comparison for fun

The view from the fortress over Trondheim:

We went out for a beer that evening (after watching The Blindside - which was a great movie by the way!). We tried to get into a pub/restaurant called Grandmother's Living Room (Mormors Stue), but it's always packed! Unfortunately we didn't get a table, so we went to a café instead where I had apple cider with... whipped cream. Thought that was a little weird, but it tasted really good!

On the 30th I flew back to Germany - my trip to Norway was nearing completion. But the journey wasn't quite over yet. First I had to live through a 5 hour layover in Oslo. So instead of sitting on my butt watching people walk by, I decided to grab the express train into the city and do a little more sightseeing before going home.

Oslo was nice enough - it wasn't so fun to wander around by myself after a week of touring with a friend. But I did manage the highlights. I saw the fortress and the harbour and took a stroll on the roof of the Opera House.

You can just see the people standing on the very top to the right of the big white piece.

And that was it. I was back in Germany for a VERY much needed break before the last leg of the holiday.

Next up: Sandy takes on the World - Part 3. Same time, same place, same bat-channel.

Toodles,

Sandy

Polska in a nutshell

The last three weeks of my life have been jam-packed-out-of-your-mind CRAZY! In order to fully appreciate the beautiful spring weather, we got nearly 3 weeks for the spring holidays. Such a gift is clearly meant to be taken advantage of and there was no way I was planning on sitting around the whole time. So I got in touch with my friends from the summer and planned a trip of 3's. 3 weeks, 3 countries, 3 friends and... well that's about all the 3's there are actually :)

First trip of the break was a short-but-sweet 4 day trip to Poland to visit my friend Gosia. And when you don't have a million dollars just lying around in your change jar, you tend to look for the... economical travel opportunities. This meant that I was flying into Kraków although Gosia lived in Warsaw. However, she met me at the airport and we killed a couple hours wandering around the city centre before catching the train to Warsaw.

Now, you should know, the train ride to Warsaw takes 3 hours. And there were about 200 people waiting to get on the train. There was some serious duking it out over seats. Luckily we managed to snag a couple and didn't end up sitting on the floor. Phew!

Day 1 in Warsaw started with a delicious lunch of that oh-so-Polish dish: Perogies!

it's a perogie explosion!

There are so many different sorts to choose from. I tried ones filled with meat, potato & cheese, sauerkraut & mushrooms, and cottage cheese. That last one was a new combination since the dough is made from potatoes but it's served with a sweet yoghurt sauce.

On the way into the restaurant I was treated to a view of the Warsaw Palm Tree... erm, right. That's art for you folks :)

if I really concentrate I think I can hear the sea!

Unfortunately, Gosia had to work while I was there, so her friend Madga took me to the Warsaw Uprising Museum for the afternoon. The Poles tried to kick the Germans out of the city at the end of WWII and there is a super interesting museum dedicated to the event. It was one of the most interesting museums I've ever visited in terms of the way the information is presented. For the most part it's crazy interactive - below I'm wandering through a replica of a sewer system.

eep! Small spaces!

Later that night, Gosia and I took a walk around the old part of the city. I can't get enough of cities by night - they're always so beautiful when they're lit up. We stopped by a group of much-loved pubs to try honey beer (delicious by the way) and I'm not going to lie... they looked really dodgy. Bars on the windows, off the beaten tourist track... but quite cozy on the inside. There are about 15 little pubs and each one has it's own theme: luau, bowling alley, retro...

The next day I was given a tour of the old city by Patryk - another Bamberg-ian. Below you can see the old town square:

Interestingly enough, the "old" city was built in 1950. During the war, the city was completely flattened by bombs. I mean, there was nothing but rubble. Nothing. So from 1951-1953 they rebuilt the entire old city. Hows that for fast?!

tadaa...

This is the 'Mermaid of Warsaw' - the emblem of the city. Everyone say hello.

As we wandered along, we ran across a bench. A bench that played music! A bench that played Chopin's music!!

I was impressed.

Here is a shot of the Grave of the Unknown Soldier; a monument to all the men who fought, gave their lives for their country and weren't able to recieve a proper burial. May we never forget.

Things got much lighter after that. Patryk and I strolled through a park and at one point in time I very nearly jumped out of my skin. There I was calmly sauntering along and then... HOLY CRAP THERE'S A PEACOCK!!!

It was like 2 feet from me and ENORMOUS and tried to eat me. Ok, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm not much of a bird fan (I credit the bluejay who tried to scalp me when I was 10) and so it came as a bit of a shock. Granted they are bea-utiful birds!

Lunch came afterwards and in an attempt to soothe my still racing pulse, I thought I'd try some more traditional Polish cuisine. On the menu this time: Gołąbki. Cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and pork. Delicious.

Last stop of the tour was the Palace of Science and Culture - a gift to Poland from the Soviets while they controlled the city. It's not exactly loved by the Polish people, although the negativity has diminished over time.

Patryk and I went up to the 30th floor (114 m) to the viewing deck for a 360 degree, bird's eye view of Warsaw.

Wandering around the city again later that night, I was treated to a glimpse of the National Theatre all lit up:

Beautiful.

On Wednesday morning, I headed back to Kraków since I was flying back to Berlin that afternoon. I spent a little more time wandering around the city centre:

the Opera House

St. Mary's Basillica

(instead of church bells tolling the hour, they have a trumpeter who plays from the tower)

Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul

I also attempted to check out Wawel Castle, but there were about 10 hundred million people wandering about with stickers and rolls of tape preparing for some sort of race-dealie and I got fed up trying to push through them to find the entrance. Instead I went to the airport, took of my shoes and basked in the balmy weather until my flight an hour later.

And that was Poland. You are now 1/3 of the way through my holiday. Stay tuned for Vol. II

It's epic.

Lots of love,

Sandy