2016.05.31 - Mamma Mia! The Life Here is Good!

Dear travel/earth/road:

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know,
My my, I could never let you go.

The Mamma Mia soundtrack started the morning off enthusiastically here at Hostel Plakias. After the travel stress of the last couple of days, it was a much needed enthusiasm. My trip included 5 busses, 2 planes and a train (and a lot of waiting around). Plakias is a tiny village with a few hundred people on the southern coast of Crete, in Greece and home to a hostel rated 9.9 on Hostelworld, a virtually unheard of score. Being here though, I think it deserves the extra 0.1. 

For 10 euros a night I get a comfy bed, hot showers, a great location, a fantastic common area with tables and hammocks, a guest kitchen, drinks available for purchase, beach and snorkel gear to use, wifi and lockers. Also, the hostel is definitely an all-age hostel which I really like. In fact, I would say that in my mid-30s, I am on the young end of things. I don’t love staying at places with a bunch of 18 year olds. 

Now, drinking my morning tea to the upbeat tunes of Abba, I feel like I entered a new, better world of beaches and relaxation. This should be good. Life is good. For the next 2 weeks I will stay here in this place. 

The olive grove of Hostal Plakias

My dorm at Hostal Plakias

Having Tea at Hostal Plakias

Hammock area at Hostal Plakias

Daily Spending:

$6.01 - Towel

$2.00 - Toothpaste

$0.89 - Soap

$3.56 - Jam

$1.01 - 2 Bread Rolls

$0.45 - Orange

$0.29 - Pear

$6.35 - Greek Salad

$1.50 - (Greek) Edam Cheese

$0.40 - Fresh olives

$2.67 - Canned Dolmades (rice wrapped in grape leaves)

$1.89 - Orange/Carrot/Lemon Gelato
$1.89 - Beer

$11.13 - Accommodation

Day # = 2

Daily Total = $40.14

Grand Total = $192.64

Daily Average = $96.32

Greece Total = $192.64

Greece Average = $96.32

2016.05.31 - First Glimpses of Crete

“Bravo!” boomed the bus driver, pleased with our ability to board the bus and seat ourselves without incident. As the bus started traveling along the coastline from Heraklion to Rethymno, I tried to enjoy the view but my first glimpses of Crete were through eyes that could barely stay open. I had been awake 25 solid hours at that point with no end in sight. In Rethymno, I caught another bus to Plakias and met a couple of travelers headed to my hostel. The office was closed so we dropped our bags and headed to the seaside. After dipping our feet in, we relaxed at a restaurant and ordered fresh anchovies and a Greek version of what was essentially mixed mezze. Deliciousness. Back at the hostel, I immediately showered and went to bed, sleeping for 12 solid hours. 

Heraklion

View from the bus, cutting through the island to head south.

So, so sleepy.

Daily Spending:

$80.36 - Flight from Athens to Heraklion

$1.34 - Bus from airport to central Heraklion

$9.24 - Bus from Heraklion to Rethymno

$0.89 - Water bottle

$5.46 - Bus from Rethymno to Plakias

$11.13 - Accommodation at Hostal Plakias

$28.73 - 2 Books (Zorba the Greek, The Odyssey)

$15.35 - Dinner

Day # = $152,50

Daily Total = $152,50

Grand Total = $152,50

Daily Average = $152,50

Greece Total = $152,50

Greece Average = $152,50

Book Review - Netherland

Netherland, written by Joseph O'Neill, is a a novel about a Dutch man living in New York during 9-11 and the toll that the stress of that situation takes on his marriage and his life. The book is basically a series of flashbacks that the main character has as he tries to piece his life back together and includes a lot of stories of his youth in the Netherlands.

The book is actually pretty dark, but the author is thoughtful and intelligent as he writes about a deep (and deeply unhappy) man who, despite everything, just seems to want to be a good father as he muddles through his life working, playing cricket and trying to make friends. Truth be told, he is not a particularly likable character (especially at first) but I didn't completely dislike him and anyhow, the other characters weren't so great either.

This book jumps around in time quite a bit, but the author makes the jumps surprisingly seamless as he tells his story. One distracting part about the book was the feeling that each and every sentence was written and then subsequently rewritten to be infinitely more complex than it needed to be. The  author was clearly trying to put his thoughts down in a way he felt was beautiful and did them justice, but a lot of it was much too contrived to be truly beautiful.

I originally picked up the book because it was on a list of books to read about the Netherlands, but when I started reading, I felt like it ought to be on different list (New York? cricket?). As I pressed onward however, I did enjoy the book and its descriptions of a vividly described Dutch childhood.

If anyone is interested in any of these topics (Netherlands, New York, 9-11, cricket or trying to keep a marriage together), I would recommend the book. Although it is not a light/happy read, it was enjoyable and easily kept my attention throughout.

Book Review - Girl With a Pearl Earring

While in the Netherlands, I read Girl with a Pearl Earring before going to see the The Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague which houses several Vermeer paintings. The book was a historical fiction based on the life of the girl in the painting that the title describes.

I am, by no means, a connoisseur of art, and this was the first time I’d ever learned about a painter beyond the audioguides or informational plaques supplied by museums. It was a good book and definitely drew me into the 17^th century world in which Vermeer inhabited. The storyline was pretty simple and nothing to write home about, but even though reading the book wasn’t life changing, it did keep my attention and it was enjoyable. While not much is actually known about the life of Vermeer beyond city archives (births, deaths, marriage and debt), the author does a good job spinning these meager records into a decent tale.

The best part of the book was simply the fact that upon seeing Vermeer’s paintings in person, I knew why they were so appreciated and I could actually understand the genius in his use of light and positioning. The book itself was good, but the enjoyment I got out of seeing Vermeer’s paintings after reading it will forever change the way in which I approach art museums.

2016.05.19 - A Day in Haarlem, The Netherlands

Yesterday I took a train only a couple of stops to the town of Haarlem in the Netherlands. The weather wasn’t good and I am still traveling by myself, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. After arriving at the train station and orienting myself towards the city center (centrum), I walked as quickly as possible to the Grote Kerk van,  St. Bavo (or Great Church of St Bavo) and ducked inside out of the drizzle. I paid the 2.50 Euro entrance fee and seated myself on a simple wooden chair.

The view was breathtaking. The stained glass, the ceiling, the immense columns, the nearly 100 foot high organ that was played by Mozart as a child. The church was beautifully constructed between 1370 and 1538 and it really was a grand place of worship.

The famous organ played by both Mozart and Handel

This old church doubled as an old cemetery. The entire floor was covered in over 1500 grave stones. Citizens of the town built the church and simultaneously made up the foundation. I walked around to stay warm. The cold stones and tall ceilings have a way of ensuring cathedrals are cold even on the hottest of days. This is a far more pleasing characteristic when one finds themselves inside a cathedral much closer to the equator.

Eventually I sat back down to look at my map. The wooden chairs seemed so simple compared to the grandeur of the building. Their plainness seemed out of place. I guess chairs don’t need to be fancy to be important. Should the building collapse tomorrow, I guarantee the chairs would be replaced far more quickly than the columns.

Enough about chairs, my apologies. Here are some oddities far more interesting than chairs.

In the Dutch imagination of 1499, this is what a pelican looked like.

In the olden days had longer fur and more
exposed breasts in church...apparently.

And Europe had monkeys which went to church and ate belts.

And this part is true: "In the Middle Ages, a dog-whipper's task
was to discipline unruly dogs and to maintain order in the church."
I can't help but wonder why unruly dogs were allowed in church?

After spending a well over an hour in the church, I stopped at a popular eatery that only sold freshly made fries (or Vlaamse Frites as they are called here). The Dutch seem to love their fries and there are shops that exclusively sell this food all over the place. They are not however, eaten plain. No, no! When one orders fries, they also choose a condiment from a long menu of condiments. This sauce is then slathered generously on the top of the fries and the entire mess is eaten with a tiny (not overly useful) fork. The most common condiment here is a sweet mayonnaise. For the sake of tradition, I ate this combo for lunch, although I probably won’t do so again because really, if I am going to eat that many calories in one setting, I can think of infinitely more appealing ways to do so.

Lots of sauce options for fries.

This was the small. Seriously.

I ended my day at the Frans Hals museum where I wandered around and looked at paintings for an hour and a half. Last week, I prepared for the Vermeer museum by learning about Vermeer and this week, I did the same for Frans Hals. I watched a few Youtube videos on the artist including a wonderful, hour-long lecture at Yale. I have said this before, but THIS is the way to see art museums. I appreciated every brilliant brush stroke today because I actually knew why they were brilliant.

Frans Hals

An ancient travel book. Basically a precursor to Lonely Planet. 

When the museum closed, I stopped for Haarlem's famous Jopen beer which was small and expensive, but good.

Haarlem's Jopen beer.

A canal in Haarlem

Then, I walked back to the station in the rain. In the warm train, I flew past rainy, cow-speckled Dutch farms. Once back in Leiden, I alternated between trudging and rushing through the rain on the long walk back to Michael’s flat.

I arrived cold and exhausted and kinda wishing I had a travel partner again. Of course my friend only left last week and I must give myself time to find someone else. I take heart in the fact that I have never ended a trip alone. In the meantime, I will keep busy, see the world, take some pictures and keep this journal.