The Edge of Croatia

Day 26:

On the last day of the Creation, God desired to crown His work, and thus created the Kornati Islands out of tears, stars and breath -George Bernard Shaw

We've been in Croatia a week now, sans communication with the motherland. Morgan and I will give you a bigger update in the next day or two, but I wanted to share some photos now.

On Saturday we went on an excursion to the Kornati Islands, the most tightly packed archipelago in the Mediterranean, that is also a national park. The only access is by private boat, so this all inclusive day trip was our first big splurge.



It took a while to get away from Zadar, where we stayed for five nights, but once we got out to the islands it was really pretty cool. Most of the islands are rocky, cone-like lumps that stick out of the sea, or a chain of these hills strung together.

We weaved through these islands until we didn't know which way was which, an then emerged on the Western edge. The islands out here seem to be of the same stuff, but it is easy to see that the Adriatic has beat them to pieces over time, and the series of jagged cliffs left behind is something to behold.



After stopping for a couple of hours to swim and sunbathe, we went to the Captain's house on one of the islands for a meal of salad, pork, and lots of incredibly good fish. In all, it was a great day, though I think Shaw is a little over the top. Maybe I should create some quote about how amazing Ferndale is, so that my name can be slapped on tourist information for eternity...



Burpee Count: 67

Bohinj Stands Alone!

Day 23

Today we went on a walk and discovered a beautiful, hidden spot. I told Morgan it was on my "have to come back to someday" list. As we continued to talk, I realized it was the only place that had truly secured itself that spot.



Everything about Bohinj, the lake, the mountains, the rivers and the people, make it amazing. That being said, the water takes the cake. The lake is crystal clear and teeming with fish. We walked around it on Monday and couldn't believe the beauty.



Today, hiking up a gorge from Stara Fuzina towards Voje, the water was even more magnificent. I couldn't resist, but made a quick exit when my body was shocked by the glacial melt.



Tomorrow we head to Croatia, but we both agree that returning to Slovenia someday is a must!

The Story Behind the Ride

Last Wednesday we were walking through Ljubljana and I saw a poster. It seemed to be advertising some kind of bike race, so of course I went inside the store to inquire. A race up Slovenia's highest mountain pass- I had to see this.

I asked Tone about it back at the house, and he immediatly called the organizer, essentially ordering him to find me a bike and get me in. 36 hours later we were on a bus to Kranjska Gora. I was especially motivated when I heard the Justin was a full 15 minutes faster than me up to Artist Point a few days earlier!

I got to ride up on an old Univega mountain bike- and I used all the gears! Still, I managed to beat a fair number of roadies to the top, and I kind of enjoyed the plushness on the cobblestones. The rest is in the pictures...

Kravji Bal (Cows Ball)

We were lucky enough to be in Bohinj for the annual Kravji Bal celebration in which the farmers bring their cows down from the summer pastures. Think Deming Log Show in terms of the folks present. We entered in to the grounds with hundreds of other people coming and going. In the main area there were about 30 vendors of food and trinkets surrounding many picnic tables. It seems that most people come to eat. To the back, towards the lake, were the cows. There was a milking competition and judging events.

We were taken to Kravji Bal by Maia, whose apartment we are renting here. She got us in for free! We met up with some of her friends for some homemade blueberry liquor...



then strolled around looking for some cheese to buy...



Traditional dancing...



Boy dressed as a cow...



Cutest old lady...



Great day, great place to be. We will definitely be coming back to Bohinj!

Odds and Ends

Isaac is right, the z's and v's are switched on these keyboards, and though I've finally got the hang of it, sometimes I let loose a tzpo. Oh well. There are lots of other letters too, and Morgan and I are getting better at pronouncing them. For example, our current location, Bohinj Bistrica, is pronounced Boheen Beestreetsa, Not Bohinge Bistrika. The one thing I can't figure out is when to pronounce a v "vuh" and when to pronounce it "ooh," and whenever I ask, Slovenians look at me like I'm crazy. Usually it lands somewhere between those two sounds.



c's and ć's make a "ts"
If a letter has a hat, like č, š or ž, just imagine there is an h after it.

Take a look at the event I rode in, Vršič na Jurič. "Vrishich na Yurich." Oh yeah, j's are like y's... most of the time.

Anyway, the original intent of this post was to make a few things clear, especially for the less internet saavy.

First, you can click on any photo in a blog post and it wil take you to our flickr account, where you can peruse, at your leisure, all of our photos. That's right folks, ALL of them! TRY IT NOW!!!



Second, register to blogger so you can leave coments! It's nice to hear from those of you at home. It's easy. Do it.

1000 Slovenian, 2 Croatians, 1 American

Day 19: Jurič na Vršič

Introduced to my trusty steed:



26 numbered cobblestoned switchbacks (plus many unmarked):



The finish, over 800m up:



Doing my best to bring it:



First Place, North American division:



Always supportive:

Welcome to Slovenia!

Day 15

Why are we so stupid? This is the question Morgan and I asked each other, as we sat in the tourist office in Ljubljana.

Two days prior we had received confirmation that we had a host for two nights, along with instructions for meeting them and two cell phone numbers. One day prior we had received a preliminary invitation to staz with a different host for a week. We had promptly cancelled with our first host, banking on the second, and had never heard back.

Now we were in Ljubljana, with nowhere to go, having squandered a perfectly good opportunity to couchsurf with a great family.

What should we do? I guess we'll call Tone (like Tony), and see if he'll still take us. Humbly, I dialed the phone. "Tone? Hi, this is Tommy from couchsurfing..." Embarrassed, I explained the situation. Graciously, he responded. "Of course you can stay with us! I'll pick you up at the Dragon Bridge in 10 minutes."

10 minutes later we were in his car, learning about Slovenia, and completely excited to be staying with Tone.

"When we get home you and I will go cycling, but we need to leave right away!"

No arguments from me!

After borrowing pair of shorts and quickly changing, I left Morgan in the care of Tone's wife and daughter, Ksenija and Hana, we were on the road. The rain had been swept away and the roads and trails were beautiful. As we climbed, Tone told me about the history of the land, and his desire to have a house in the beautiful countryside we rode through.

"Are you doing ok?" he asked.
"I have to much pride to tell you if I wasn't!" I huffed back.

We joked our way up a road deserted from cars but saw many other bikers. The destination? A hilltop pub with a view of the entire valley. We could see Ljubljana to the west, and the mountains near the Austrian border to the north. Sitting at the tables outside were a dozen roadies, drinking a beer together before heading back home. Tone bought us each a Radler (also known as a "cyclist," light beer and lemonade) and we sat and talked while enjoying the view. I thought I was in cycling heaven.



When we finally got home after a wicked trail descent, it was getting dark. I took a shower, got some fresh clothes on, and we all sat down to a meal of pumpkin soup, delicious pasta, and community salad (we shared one big bowl). Ksenija is an amazing cook. For a third time, we were completely blown away by the hospitality of complete strangers.

Couchsurfing strikes again!

Burpee count: 17

Nordketten

Day 13 (out of order, I know)

After waiting and waiting for the skies to clear up in Innsbruck, Morgan and I finally used our Innsbruck card for one free Gondola round trip, despite the top of the cable being immersed in clouds. At the top (which was actually a funicular ride and two cable cars), we walked around a beautiful landscape while catching brief glimpses of the town thousands of meters below.



It was bitterly cold, but we walked up to the nearby summit, and then I scrambled up another while Morgan indulged my vanity...



At this point I had a decision to make: Go for the hike I had long desired, or throw in the towel due to bad weather. Those of you reading this probably know me well enough to guess what I decided. The last gondola would descend in two hours, so I decided to hike for 45 minutes and then come back, just to be safe.

Now my personal stayle of solo hiking is to pack late and go fast. I like to jog part of the time, and hike quickly the rest. Unfortunately, the sheer cliffs on either side of me (one up, one down), made this a rather unsafe thing to do. The clouds I was caught in didn't help my equilibrium one bit, and I often lost my balance when I got scooting along to quickly.



After 45 minutes, a pulled a U and headed back. There was one signpost I had passed that indicated a trail to the next Gondola down, but I wasn't able to find the trail. I passed a man headed in the oposite direction, and 5 minutes later saw him heading the same direction as me, on a trail two hundred meters lower. Thinking he was on the trail I had looked for in vain, I resolved to go back and look again. Mistake #1.



As I examined the lone signpost (more to the left in the above picture), I realized it was not firm in the ground, and could turn. Great. I found a sketchy trail that seemed to lead over the edge of the cliff (also on the left above), and decided to follow it. Mistake #2. It was steep, slippery, and overall sketchy. On top of that, 15 minutes later it began to absolutely pour. By now ill timed flash rain storms are becoming a theme of our trip.

I opted to continue down, hoping to catch the last gondola. As I got lower a was walking on grassy slopes, even more slippery. The locals did not seem the least concerned with my plight...



I made it the gondola safe and sound (thank goodness). Wet and disshevelled, I climbed onto the gondola and relayed my story to a Candian couple we had met earlier. A group of Indian tourists also took advantage of the opportunity to make me the subject of their home movies. Booyah.

I am ready to go where it's warm.

Burpee count: 11

Rained Inn

Day 15

Cycling, hiking, whatever, Innsbruck is an outdoor paradise. We couldnćt wait to get there and see the legendary mountains. I was hoping to rent a bike and get some riding in, as well as go on a massive hike.



Unfortunately for us, we didn't get achance to see those legendary mountains until we were standing right on top of them! We spent 4 nights in Innsbruck, and it rained (almost) the entire time. It certainly was cloudy, and we couldn't see the mountains that we knew were right there next to us.

We did enjoy exploring the town, and were extremelz glad we bought the Innsbruck Card, which gave us free public transportation and access to most museums. This was good because we couldn't really go to the mountains. The bus system is great, thoughI have to admit I was momentarilz terrified when we crossed the bridge and went straight into the alley you see in the picture below (between the pink and yellow houses).



That picture also gives you an idea of where we were staying' at an apartment near the top center of the picture, right in the foothills. Our host, Christoph (and his flatmate Kritstina), were gracious enough to let us have our own room in there flat. Christoph takes a utilitarian approach to couchsurfing, so aside from a few kitchen conversations we didn't see much of him. We were a little surprised by this, but still very grateful. I can imagine burning out very quickly as a host if I felt I needed to be holding my guests hand all the time.

Almost immeditaly after arriving in Innsbruck, Morgan and I checked the weather for our next destination, Appenzell. 2 degrees C during the day, and snowing overnight. At that point we decided to scrap Switzerland, and consequently, Italy, heading directly for Slovenia and warmer climates. On our last day we got on a 6 hour train to Ljubljana, still not having clear directions from our prospective hosts. Yikes!

Burpee count: 7

Things in our packs that we have yet to use...

Day 14

Tommy:

running shoes
long sleeve shirt
dress shirt
dress pants
disc
scrabble tiles
mini cribbage board
spoon
pacsafe (bag lock)

Morgan:

swimsuit
headband
sunscreen
bugspray
purple pens
sharpie
spoon
pacsafe


Burpee Count: 5

The Braunshmid Family

Day 11

What do Morgan and I like to dowith friends? Talk, play games, and share meals. Lucky us, because with the Braunschmid family that is exactly what we did!

When we arrived in Salzburg and (eventually) found our way to their house, we were greeted by sisters Verena and Olivia, along with Olivia's boyfriend Michel, who brought us upstairs and welcomed us with great (and impressively fluent) conversation. When Ansuela arrived, we were served with a platter of sandwiches and veggies. Before we went to bed that night we rodeinto town with Verena, I had gone mountain biking with Herbert, Morgan had gone for a walk and baked apfelstrudel with Ansuela, and we had all eaten together and learned to play a new game!



The next two days in Salzburg were great; the family let us use their bikes to explore the city. Still, I always had the feeling that I would rather be spending time with the Braunschmids then wandering about Salzburg. For that reason, we usually made it home by 4, and passed the time drinking coffee while chatting on the terrace or playing games in the wintergarden- the dining room surrounded by windows and filled with plants.

We made frittatas for the whole gang on our last night, a small token of our thanks. That will be a memory that sticks with me for quite some time. Filling myself with food, having yet another great conversation, listening to Arcade Fire (Herbert has great taste in music). To end the night, we learned to play dopple deutsch, and they even gave us an extra set of cards to play with!



We are probably ruined for all future hosts at this point, because I don't see how the Braunschmids can be topped. Today again Morgan and I were discussing how amazing couchsurfing is.



Burpee count: 3

You get what you pay for...

... in most cases.

As we crossed the border into Austria on Tuesday, Morgan commented on the change in the roads. We had gone from the ever present 1.5 lane strips in the Czech Republic to a beautiful highway with (gasp!) a line down the center. When we stepped off the shuttle and on to a Salzburg city bus, however, we were in for a rude awakening. 2 euros (3 dollars) each for a 10 minute bus ride! Suddenly we had the realization that we were going to be paying through the nose. Tomorrow we hop on a train to Innsbruck, at 32 euros a person. A train across the Czech Republic cost about a quarter of that.

That being said, we have done pretty well for ourselves. The Braunschmid family has allowed us to use their extra bikes, and we have ridden around Salzburg every day here. We bought yogurt and Muesli for breakfast, and the Braunschmids have fed us dinner (we are making fritatas for them tonight). For lunch...



... the Bosna Grill! Once you take a bite, all concerns about what it's made of fly out the window. Justin, you would be in heaven. Under 3 euros a pop, just over what El Capitan would charge. Of course the most base purpose of couchsurfing has also helped us, and tomorrow night we are dropping 75 Euros for one night in a hotel. Bummer, but then we will have 5 straight days of free room.

Obligatory Salzburg photo:



Burpee count: 2

Apfelstrudel for Dinner?

Ansuela is the mother in the family we are currently couchsurfing with. Yesterday she taught me how to make Apfelstrudel. I am amazed when tasty treats can be made without a recipe. She just threw together some flour, salt, oil, and water until it looked like a good dough. Meanwhile, I used the apple cutter/corer for the filling.

Step 1. Make the dough into a large rectangle.

Step 2. Spread out apples, sugar, raisins and some cream.



Step 3. (The best part!) Using a tablecloth, roll up the strudel into a log.



Step 4. Gently place it on the baking pan.



Step 5. Bake until it looks good! (Sorry no photo, we ate it too fast!)

As the strudel was baking we asked if we could use the kitchen to make our dinner. Herbert (the father) looked at us quizzically and said, "This is our dinner." So, we had apfelstrudel with vanilla pudding for dinner. I could eat that every night!

We have learned 4 new games here that are very fun to play: Make n´ break, Ubango, Hive & Saboteur. We might make you play these with us when we return home.

A Day Apart

5 hours is a fast time to hike/run 32+ km, but that doesn't mean it's fast enough. This is especially true when you're bus leaves after 4 hours and 55 minutes, and though my legs protested, I hurried down the trail from Kravi Hora wondering if I would need to hitchhike.

Morgan and I set aside yesterday as a day to do our own things, and I chose to take a bus an hour south to Vissy Brod, a town near the Austrian border, and get some hiking in the foothills. It was a very nice day, and I was ready to get cranking. I left the town and headed up, expecting to be alone in the woods. While I didn't see any people, I was surprised to see a lot of religious artifacts during the course of my hike. In the first 2 km, a relatively steep uphill trail to an ancient monastary and chapel, there where markers indicating the stations of the cross. There's no time like the present, so I took the chance to have some quiet prayer and reflection (something I don't do nearly enough these days).



On the map the different trails are indicated by different colors, and I switched from the green path over to the yellow, with a mind to find some good viewpoints and head down the red trail. Even though trails are marked with a colored symbol to let you know you're on the right rack, it is easy to get lost. Sometimes trails intersect with other trails or primitive logging roads, and sometimes they are the roads themselves. If you're not careful, you can be walking down a road and miss a hidden little path that you are supposed to spur off onto.






Sure enough, this happened to me on the way down, and by the time I made it back to Vissy Brod I only had two hours to hike the 12k up and over to Rozmberk before the bus left. Legs already aching, I tackled the hike. After tempting fate by taking the spur to Kravi Hora (Devil's Rock) I emerged onto a public road and followed it to town. After quickly checking the bus schedules, my bus rolled in ready to take me back to Cesky Krumlov in time to keep Morgan from worrying. Whew!

God Save the Queen

We are in the presence of royalty, and boy is it entertaining!

Morgan and I met Jana, our first couch surfing host, at her work place in Prague. She struck me as a kind, mild mannered girl, and to be honest I was wondering if we would be able to find much to talk about. Jana, however, is a perfect example of why you should not judge a book by its cover. Once we settled onto our train to Kladno that evening, we had a great conversation about Czech life, and immediately I felt I had an inside look at Czech politics and social issues. Did you know that the Communist Party still receives 15% of the vote in the Czech Republic? Jana pointed out a poster depicting a happy family akin to an L.L.Bean magazine, it was an campaign sign for the party. As she translated the list of campaign promises and passionately explained why, frankly, it was a load of crap. When the conversation moved to the strain that the country's gypsy population was putting on the state welfare system, another passenger joined the conversation as well.

From Czech Republic

We were learning so much, so fast, but we were just beginning to learn about Jana. When we reached her flat in Kladno, a suburb of Prague, she revaled to us her secret life as a hardcore music fanatic. Jana travels around Europe to dance parties that last an entire weekend, goes absolutely bonkers, than flies home to her routine life in the Czech Republic. On weekends when she is not traveling, she is resting up for her next big shindig. Hardcore is not so big in the Czech Republic, and only one or two other Czechs attend these parties. Jana puts it best: "I am the Czech Queen of Hardcore!"

By our last night, I'm pretty sure we've got Jana pegged. Quiet by day, crazy by night, the Queen lives her simple Czech life, and her crazy Hardcore life. Then she pulled out the jars of mushrooms. Jars upon jars of these live mushrooms, growing in a pool of what smelled like sweet vinegar. Drink the stuff for good health, or put it on a rash to help it heal. She even had a batch of "retarded" mushrooms she was planning to use for a facial! I think she needs to go into business: Jana's Magic Mushrooms!

Of course, I am leaving out the part about how Jana is a great host, helpful and hospitable. That was the icing on the cake. Because of Jana, our first couchsurfing experience was incredible. If we have the opportunity to meet more people like her, we will be very blessed indeed.

Here's a little something special for those of you reading...

Czech Czech Czech it out!

Day 5/212 (composed over two days, sorry for the broken train of thought)

Just got back from watching a Czech-Slovak soccer match, and got my first taste of Czech beer. I am basically a master of the Czech language, at his point... ok that was a complete lie. The waitress at the pub just mocked me for using a cheat sheet to ask for the bill. Earlier today, I spent 5 minutes trying to find our tram station on the map before realizing that the sign I was using was not our location, but simply said "No Smoking."

Let me give you the run down of our trip up to this point.

Day 1- After 26 hours of traveling from Seattle to Reykjavik...



...to Frankfurt to Nurmberg...



...we found ourselves in Prague, at night, with no place to stay. Thanks to quick thinking, helpful fellow travelers, and dumb luck, we got a room and conked out.

Day 2- Morgan and I saw the sights in Prague, wrestled with how to eat and not get ripped off, and met our amazing host Jana. We stayed with Jana for 3 nights.

Day 3- We took to the woods and tackled a 22k hike to a castle called Krivoklat. The bus ride to our start was interesting, because most tourists are usually on transport in and out of Prague. It was great to be out in a place where people actually live. Our jet-lag induced sleeping gave us a let start, however, and in the interest of time we cut the hike short. With 7k to go we stuck our thumbs out, and it was about 0.03 seconds before the blinker came on and the first car pulled over. Our Italian driver zipped us to Krivoklat, where we discovered we could catch a train in 15 minutes, or 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not wanting to return to Jana's at 9pm, we opted for the whirlwind tour. The hike was the highlight, at any rate.

Day 4- Another day of Prague, including the Mucha museum. On our way back to Kladno Morgan asked "What did we even do today?" It was a good question.

And you can see by the length of my descriptions the type of traveling I value. From now on, less time wandering around the cities and more times exploring places that are not filled with tourists. I hate wading through throngs of tourists, and I love when a local asks me "why on earth would you come to (insert insignificant town here)?" As Morgan said, it is great to see where people actually live, and what there lives are like. Therein lies the greatness of couch surfing, and I am convinced that Jana deserves an entire post to that effect.

Hope everyone is enjoying their time in Cube land and the start of school... suckers!

Up, Up and Away

Flight leaves in 7 hours! Here are a few things to watch for in our coming posts:

Hucklebuckle: When Morgan and I see something that is out of place or interesting, we say "Hucklebuckle," and he other person starts looking to see what it is the first person saw. We'll put down "Huckles Buckled" from time to time.

Lost and Found: We'll record what we've picked up and what we've ditched (intentionally or otherwise).

Burpee count: I'm going to try to do 5,000 burpees over the course of our trip. Do you think I can do it?

We'll also put down some running lists of top meals, hikes, sights etc.

Hit us with you other ideas!