Slovenia (Venice and Munich)

Our second country to visit over the summer was Slovenia. We spent a few days in the capitol city of  Ljubljana, home of this statue which guards one of the city's bridges. Ljubljana is a pleasant place to spend a few days. The city has an old world feel as well as a modern hipster-y atmosphere, sort of like if Portland had been built in the 1200's. 

 We spent most of our time in Slovenia exploring rural areas, mostly around Triglavski National Park.

Just like in Croatia, it was evident that many people take responsibility for producing some portion of their own food. Homes had impressive gardens and many families kept a few animals. A traditional form of beekeeping is still common. The photo on the left shows a group of small hives stacked together. It was believed that bees could find their own hive using a colorful uniquely painted door.

Collecting wildflowers near Bled.

Slovenians are passionate about the outdoors and opportunities for hiking are plenty. 

The Julian Alps

The Sava river, high and off-color after heavy rains, is normally an intoxicating shade of glacial green.

Zasip Village

Ornate door of a Ljubljana Church

Pilgrimage church: Lake Bled

In the Sava River Valley we realized we were only a couple hours from Venice. We took the opportunity to spend a couple nights.

Flying in and out of Germany of this trip also enabled us to spend a few days in Munich and Frankfurt.

Most notably. this included an informative and somber tour of the work and prison camp at Dachau.

We also made a stop at a number of popular beer gardens.

Standing wave in the English Garden, Munich's largest city park.

Croatia

We have just returned to work from a long vacation that afforded us some great travel experiences, as well as needed time with friends and family in the States. This year we had the opportunity to do something unprecedented for us... travel in Europe. Our first stop was Croatia.

We flew in to Dubrovnik. Neither of us realized how much we had missed greenery, mountains and rivers after spending most of a year in the desert. We were also struck by how old and quaint much of the country was. In the hilly coastal areas it was clear that the roads predated cars, and this created some nervous driving situations. Old stone houses were tucked into nooks and crannies in the rural areas and the cities still contain walled fortresses.

Old Dubrovnik was choked with tourists on the day day we visited. However, it was fun to drink from the city fountains. We also came across some locations we recognized from King's Landing in Game of Thrones. And like many of the other tourists who visit, we took advantage of some great seafood, wine, and even found some good craft beer.

The Fakin IPA was probably our favorite. Not only delicious, but features hipster chickens on the label. 









We spent most of our time in Croatia camping on the islands of Mljet and Korcula. Both places offered beautiful beaches, and lots of opportunity to explore villages which seemed to be tucked it to just about every flat coastal area on what were otherwise very hilly islands. Just about any road would lead to an enclave of a few old stone homes with vegetable gardens and a nearby church. Some had their own olive orchards and wine grapes. Others offered rooms for rent or had simple restaurants serving local seafood.

We realized that many parks and natural areas in Europe are integrated with civilization to a much greater degree that one would see in the states. Mljet National Park, where we spent a day hiking and canoeing, had modern residential areas committed to preserving their simple communities, and sustainable tourism alongside many structures which had stood for hundreds of years, some in disrepair, while others were still being used. This monastery on an island in one of the park's lakes was constructed in the 12th century and is now a restaurant. 

Hilltop church overlooking the village of Korita

Wild boar crossing and a day spent exploring little islands near Lumbarda on Korcula island.

Evidence of civilizations going back hundreds or thousands of years was apparent in many places. Some areas were protected sites with interpretive information explaining some history. More  often it was simply encountering an old structure while wandering the country side and being left to wonder who lived there and what their lives might have been like.

Sun set from our guest house balcony on Korcula Island. We did take some breaks from camping. Croatia has a long history of promoting tourism. We happened to visit before the height of tourist season. In many places people rent out rooms to travelers indicated by a sign saying "sobe". Air B&B and TripAdvisor have made finding lodging almost anywhere a snap. However, we had more interesting and affordable experiences by knocking on doors and asking if any rooms were available.  

We did spend a few days inland in Croatia and found it to be equally pleasant as the archipelago areas. This was the sunset we encountered driving towards Plitvice National Park.

Wine is an essential component life in Croatia. Most of the reds produced come from the same type of grape but take on different characteristics depending on where they are grown. Dingac a very full, dry, and somewhat affordable variety from the rocky, nutrient poor, coastal areas was our favorite wine not only in Croatia but, compares favorably to wines we like most from the States and South America. 

In the interior of the country it was also apparent that they had not fully recovered from war that took place after the fall of Yugoslavia. In areas that had not been widely rebuilt many buildings were missing roofs from shelling that took place or had walls wracked with bullet holes, like this abandoned school that seemed to serve as a hangout/playground area for the nearby town.

In an effort to save some money we mostly prepared our own food and did not get full experience of the local cuisine. Inland the food seemed to be largely limited to simple meat and vegetable dishes and pastas. Truffles are common in some areas and we did opt to spend some money one day on some amazing black truffle spread. 

 In the coastal areas it was hard to go wrong with fresh local seafood prepared simply with a slice of lemon and a generous amount of olive oil.

Traveling and Living in the Arabian Gulf-Year One

"Is it safe?"
"Can you drive?"
"Do you have to wear a burqa?"
"Are you crazy?"


We heard all of of this and more as we prepared to move and in our first few months here in the Middle East.  I know that the things you've heard in the media about this region leave out so many of the positive aspects of the area.  Central Asia, as it's more accurately named, can be a tough place to live, but also offers a fascinating learning experience and some amazing travel opportunities.   After some reflection on our time here, there are definitely some things I have come to appreciate about our current home.


The People of the Arabian Gulf

People from this part of the globe (and others) have committed terrible acts of terrorism, without a doubt.  However, there are 1.6 BILLION Muslims on Earth and the assumption that all Muslims believe in, support, or commit acts of terror is just plain wrong.  Our experience here is just the opposite, in fact.  The Muslims we have met here do not consider those who carry out attacks on other people Muslims; they don't include them in their definition of Islam. It's been our experience that all places, religions, and cultures have good and bad people, and the Middle East is no different.  We are also quite far geographically from the places you hear about on the news like Syria, Yemen, and Turkey. 

While I get frustrated with the way things work here at times, I have found that the people here just want to be able to run their country and practice their religion their way--without extremism and without interference from the outside.

We've now been in Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar and our experience has been overwhelmingly positive.  We've been invited in to the homes of strangers, shared lovely conversations in each country, and enjoyed exceptional hospitality.  While I certainly do not agree with some of the tenets of Islam, I respect the Muslims I have met and have been met with a "live and let live" mentality when our differences of beliefs are discussed.

Safety

The Gulf countries are very safe.  Violent crime is extremely rare and personal crimes like robbery are also rare.  Crime carries severe punishment (deportation or even death) at the hands of the government here and many think that this dissuades people from committing crime.  I walk around in the dark, by myself,  and don't think twice about it.  I cannot say the same about Seattle or South America, two places where we've been the victims of theft.

Modesty in dress and behavior is definitely an expectation here, especially for women.  While I sometimes resent the oppression I feel as a Western woman living here, I understand that I am a guest in this culture and I try to follow the cultural norms, which include wearing clothing that covers knees, shoulders, and chest.  While it's not illegal to dress like a Westerner, I've found that I'm more comfortable in public when I try to adapt to the culture by wearing long skirts and shirts that cover my shoulders.  Clothes that are considered immodest draw a lot of staring and the occasional rude comment coupled with a disapproving glare--usually from an Arab woman.

Safety goes out the window when we get on the road, but that's another story...

The Food

This is absolutely the best part of living here!  The food is diverse and rich in historical significance.  Any time we want, we can eat Lebanese (my favorite), Egyptian, Iranian, Moroccan, Turkish, Indian, American, Thai, Chinese...but the Arab food is the best.   Fresh, airy bread is served with most meals in copious amounts.  The hummus is rich and creamy and comes in a dozen varieties.  Lamb is very popular and my favorite version, "kofta" is ground with spices and then grilled on a kebab.  We've tried many foods we've never had before and some of them have become staples of our meals out, including Fatoosh, a salad with a spice called sumac and toasted pita, Mutabal, a roasted eggplant spread, and Za'atar, a spice that goes on anything and everything.

I eat pounds of this stuff at a time.

                                  

We like to eat at the market (souk) where the food is cheap and comes with enough to feed a whole family.  The lamp chops are one of my favorites.  The waiters watch you eat and come around with more hot bread every time they think you need more, which is apparently every 5 minutes. 

The busy souk on a Friday night in Doha

Unique things to see and do

Souk-a marketplace similar to others around the world, usually a maze of closet sized shops selling everything from cheap plastic stuff from China, to housewares, to beautiful rugs from around the region.

Painted lamps hanging in the souk

Downtown-The Gulf countries especially are quite young.  Their downtown areas are full of interesting and unique skyscrapers.  My favorite so far has been Doha, Qatar.

This is the grand mosque in Abu Dhabi, the grandest of the grand in the Gulf

Mosques-Each country has a 'grand' mosque along with the hundreds of smaller ones.  They are incredible works of art, with thought put in to each and every detail of the architecture, design, and decoration.



Living in another culture that is fundamentally different than my own has its challenges, but one thing I've learned about living abroad is that you have to focus and be grateful for the things you have to gain from the place instead of focusing on what you are giving up or missing.  With this in mind, I'm excited for what Kuwait and the Gulf has to offer us in our next year of adventure and travel.

Sri Lanka

For Spring break, we decided to spend the week on the island nation of Sri Lanka. We were treated to warm weather, clear water, and this view for 5 days.

We ate well and spent a lot of time enjoying beer on the beach.

We also toured a small family run cinnamon farm,where 

this man demonstrated how the bark is removed by hand to dry and sell. 

 Sri Lanka was once ruled by many different cultures and nations before their final independence from Britain in 1948.  There are some leftovers from the colonial period, especially in the southern city of Galle.

Home to many different religions, Sri Lanka was a welcome retreat from the Middle East for the variety it offers.  We saw many Buddhist and Hindu temples, as well as dozens of mosques and churches.