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Morocco

January 29, 2016 by Casey

Leaving behind the cold of Norway, we flew to sunny Morocco and spent 10 days bouncing around. We decided to forgo an expedition to the Sahara, as most of the 2-3 day trips involved several hours of driving crammed in a minivan, and not much time spent in the desert, and we’ve spent time in the desert before. Instead, we stuck to a few of the cities and attempted to slow down our pace. As each area is so unique, we’ll use one word to try to sum up the essence of each city.

Marrakech- Chaotic

Chaos. Utter chaos. Cars, bikes, motorbikes, donkeys, horse-drawn carts, cats, and pedestrians all vie for position on the roads. And the motorbikes don’t yield to anything or anyone. The maze of streets in the old, walled medina is home to a massive outdoor market (called a souk), where it’s possible to purchase anything from earrings to baskets to calf hooves. Each product has its own section.

For instance, there are a few streets on which only jewelry is sold. Another handful of alleys make up the carpet section. Then, there’s the smelly live chicken area. At the heart of this maze lies the main square Jemaa el Fna, which is a teeming with juice stalls, snake charmers, used (stolen?) mobile phone hawkers, and buskers.

Sunset over Jemaa el Fna on a quiet evening

The one oasis of calm in the city is the Jardin Majorelles. The garden, once owned by Yves Saint Laurent, is a quiet, peaceful area, with a museum painted in bold colors. Marrakech is a maddening city, but it’s exactly what we expected from Morocco, and the reason we came here.

Chefchaouen- Blue

All the buildings in this mountain town are painted different shades of periwinkle, sky blue, indigo and aqua. The blue color is meant to repel mosquitos and also ward off heat in summer. But whatever the motivation behind the paint, this azure town is a photogenic delight.

[Read more…] about Morocco

Catching up with friends in Oslo

January 18, 2016 by Casey

It seems like the cars that countries produce kind of mirror their character. For instance, Ferraris are fashionable, fast, and full of life, like Italians. England is old, classic, and posh, like the Aston Martin. And while I know that Volvos are made in Sweden, they are the car brand that best describes Norway’s capital. Like Volvos, Oslo is efficient, tasteful, family friendly, and well equipped to work in the snow, yet it lacks pizzaz.

Oslo is attractive in the way that, well, a Volvo is attractive. It looks nice, but nothing you would gush over. Everything runs smoothly. The buses and trams are punctual and frequent. There are loads of museums and cafes, but there’s not a lot of oomph. Nothing, exactly to make Oslo stand out.

3 Days of Night

January 12, 2016 by Casey

One of our bucket list items was to see the Northern lights, so in early December, we flew to Tromso (Tromsø) in northern Norway, in hopes of seeing them. Since Tromso is above the arctic circle, there is no sunlight this time of year. This phenomenon is called Polar night. It is dark all day. Conversely, they experience the midnight sun in July, when the sun never sets. It was so bizarre walking around in the middle of the day in the pitch black.

In reality, there was a twighlight-like period for about three hours from 10-1, but otherwise, it was totally dark.

Every building in Tromso has a stuffed polar bear

Tromso has been inhabited for thousands of years, is the largest city in northern Norway, and has the northernmost university. It also has the northernmost brewery! Perfect for us, except that beers cost $18!

Our faces when we realized that two beers cost $37!

Being December, there are many Christmas beers, also called juleøl – sounds like yule ale – being served in Norwegian bars. The tradition of Christmas beer began in northern Norway over 1000 years ago, when the local rulers required all farmers to brew them a batch of Christmas beer. If they didn’t comply 3 years in a row, they were banished. To qualify as a Christmas beer, the ale must be maltier than the regular pilsners, and contain spices. The type of spice depended on the area of the country. Interestingly, there is a ban on alcohol advertising in Norway, so breweries rely on word of mouth for sales.

So, what the heck are the Northern Lights anyway? When charged particles from the sun collide with gases in the earth’s atmosphere, light is produced, causing the Aurora borealis (the scientific name for Northern lights). Red, green, and purple lights can be seen, depending on which type of gas the charged particles collide with.

[Read more…] about 3 Days of Night

Bergen

January 9, 2016 by Casey

Bergen, on Norway’s west coast, was the perfect introduction to the country. An important port for years, Bergen was at one time Norway’s capital. There is a neighborhood of historic wooden houses, called Bryggen, which is on the Unesco list.

As it is located on a fjord, Bergen was a good spot from which to take in nature. I wasn’t too clear on what a fjord actually was before coming here; it is a crack carved by glaciers in a mountain, that water and ice gouged out over time, eventually allowing contact with the ocean. Our favorite thing we did in Bergen, was ride a boat on a fjord.

It was so cold, the water was beginning to freeze, but we loved standing on deck, with steep mountains on either side, observing the waterfalls, and wondering what it would be like to live in one of the tiny villages with red and white houses and no road access. We also glimpsed porpoises swimming in the frigid water!

We rode on the Flåm railroad, which travels up a steep mountain, crisscrossing back and forth to avoid areas prone to avalanches. 18 of its 20 tunnels were carved by hand.

[Read more…] about Bergen

Stalin World

January 6, 2016 by Casey

When we I planned a 2 week stay in Russia, it wasn’t because I thought we would need all that time to sightsee. Late November isn’t exactly the prime season to visit the country. Basically, the lengthy stay was to give us a fair chance of seeing the Bolshoi Ballet, whose schedule hadn’t been released when we initially booked our flights. As it turned out, we got tickets to the ballet on our 6th day. That left us with another 8 days in Moscow. Since I’ve wanted to visit Russia for as long as I can remember, I didn’t see a problem with this. Until we learned how expensive Moscow is.

When the opportunity arose to use a minuscule number of our hotel points to have 3 free nights in Vilnius, Lithuania, we didn’t think long before booking flights. This would provide us the chance to visit a place I’ve wanted to visit for a decade: the Soviet theme park, Stalin World!

Technically called Grutas Park, this exhibit in the woods, an hour and a half outside Vilnius, houses Soviet relics and statues. There are innumerable statues of Lenin, along with several of Stalin and Marx. Nestled amongst the trees, and meant to simulate a Siberian camp, the park doesn’t put a positive spin on the atrocities committed by the Soviet totalitarians. Instead, it showcases Communist statues and propaganda items, which otherwise would have been destroyed after the fall of the U.S.S.R. Paired with these statues is factual information about the lives lost under the regime.

Lithuania, like most countries in Europe, suffered great losses during WWII. At the start of the war, 1/3 of the capital’s population was Jewish, and there were 100 synagogues in the city. Now there is only one. Annexed by the Soviet Union at that point, they spent the next 46 years under communist rule. Since declaring independence in 1991, Lithuania has eagerly joined the Western world.

"Urban knitting" or putting sweaters on the trees. — “Urban knitting” or putting sweaters on the trees.

Vilnius is a city with a sense of humor. It’s classical but full of hipsters. The weather is cold and gray, but the flag represents the sun. Church steeples are used as mobile phone towers. Pagan symbols adorn churches.

Wall of art, dedicated to different authors

Their mayor, tired of people parking in bike lanes, drove a tank over an illegally parked car, posted it on YouTube, and now hands out stickers with the slogan “Don’t make me get the tank!”. He was awarded an “Ig Noble” award from Harvard for this.

There’s even a section of the city that has declared itself an independent republic. Užupis, as this artist inhabited area is called, has its own president, constitution, and flag. Though, It’s a bit tongue in cheek, as their Independence Day is April 1. It sounds like they throw raging parties to celebrate, even making beer flow from a public water fountain one year.

Independent republic of Uzupis. Note the smiley face and Mona Lisa symbol.

One of the artworks on display in Uzupis

Speaking of beer, Lithuanians say their 2nd religion is basketball, and their 3rd religion is beer. We sampled so many, tasty craft beers while here. As for their first religion, it’s officially Catholicism, however pagan symbols are prevalent all around. Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe, not converting to Christianity until the end of the 14th century.

The birthplace of Hannibal Lecter, Lithuania is a beautiful, surprisingly flat, quirky country, that feels more Western than Eastern European. We were really impressed with the hospitality, architecture and beer we encountered.

Beer of choice: Dundalis Simkala Smash IPA

Happy New Year!

January 4, 2016 by Casey

We’re going to break the order of our travels with this post to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We arrived in Paris at the end of December, and were surprised by my parents and brother. Paul and I were sitting in a cafe, and up walked my family.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a surprise, as it’s hard to keep something secret in the age of Facebook, but nonetheless, it was wonderful to see them.

Paris is a fabulous city. The buildings are beautiful and the culture is vibrant. There are so many iconic monuments scattered all over the large metropolitan area.

We ate delicious French food, and as my family was there, we dined at a higher caliber than we are used to, which was nice.

That's a lot of wine glasses! — That’s a lot of wine glasses!

The five of us spent an exhausting half day at the Louvre. It is such a big museum, that we walked 4 miles while looking at exhibits.

We elected to spend New Year’s Eve here, as the city is famed for its NYE celebrations. Like New York and Sydney, hundreds of thousands of people gather in the street to watch the fireworks display. This year, in the wake of terrorist attacks, the festivities were scaled way back. Unfortunately the fireworks were cancelled, but that didn’t stop people from gathering in the Champs élysées to party. The main street, beautifully decorated with lights, was closed to traffic. There was a video projection on the Arc de Triomphe, displaying snippets of Paris. Security was really beefed up. 1,600 policemen were stationed along the Champs Elysees alone, and there were checkpoints at every entrance. Yet, even with all the security concerns, everyone around us was in a joyous mood.

It was incredibly special to be able to ring in the New Year with my family, and we are thrilled to explore a new city together. We’re so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends, and to be able to travel the world with some of them. Here’s to a great 2016. Happy New Year!

Watching the excellent sunset behind the Eiffel Tower :) — Watching the excellent sunset behind the Eiffel Tower 🙂

Beer of choice: Wine

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