Tag: Travel

Athens – good news and bad news

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The good news: my knee is still doing fine!

The bad news started on this exact intersection 4 years ago (on Ted’s birthday!), when a pocket thief stole my wallet out of my zipped crossbody bag despite Ted standing right next to me, on my right side where the bag was facing. When crossing this intersection, we had to stop in the middle to wait for the green light. Once we were across the street, my wallet was gone; my bag zipper closed again.

Damage: blue wallet, credit card, debit card, €300, my German drivers license (which cannot be replaced) 😖

So today we took the tram to downtown Athens, when 5 or 6 big tall guys with black puffer jackets entered the tram together with us. You have to validate your ticket upon entering and they all created this commotion when I realized that my purse’s zipper was open and my notebook was missing. I immediately knew what was going on and shouted out that my notebook was stolen. I tried to shout to Ted that he should check his things, check his wallet, passport, everything, but those guys blocked me from Ted. I was furious and those guys all of a sudden “found” my notebook. Then Ted realized that his passport and his wallet were stolen out of the front pocket of his jeans and he started to make a fuzz and got loud as well. Suddenly those guys “found” the passport and the wallet on the floor as well. I told Ted to check his credit cards and those guys got all agitated and aggressive that we accused them of theft. Peter started to argue with them, and they got cold feet. They quickly got out at the next station and disappeared. Then Ted realized that his credit card was taken out of his wallet and was gone. Along with those guys. This whole thing took only a few minutes, a lot of emotions and accusations were exchanged and fortunately we got everything back except Ted’s credit card. One phone call later that problem was resolved. We were very lucky, but traumatized! I was so sure that the way I wear my bag was foolproof. But I was wrong! And Ted’s jeans pocket? His front jeans pocket?!?

This is how I wear my bag, which is a Fanny pack with the zipper right at my chest.

Damage: credit card 😵‍💫 and mentally traumatized!

Athens – National Archeological Museum

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So when you are in Greece, especially in Athens, you want to see old stuff, really old stuff, right? And if you don’t want to, don’t go to Athens then, because there is plenty of old stuff everywhere! Not only out in public, on the streets and underneath the surfaces, often displayed under glass floors or behind glass walls, but also in many different museums, one of which we visited: the National Archeological Museum

Animal head with gold horns
Weapons from a grave, 16th century BCE
Duck shaped vessel – made from a single piece of rock crystal! Minoan craftsmanship excellence (Edith’s favorite piece)
The Antikythera Mechanism – Ted’s favorite piece and the reason why we ended up at the National Archeological Museum (see separate post)
In front of the National Archeological Museum

6 Things to Bring for Traveling in Morocco

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Along the usual travel essentials that you need anywhere in the world, this list is about specifics to Morocco.

1. Don’t let geography and travel postcards fool you: Morocco can be very cold! For example in Chefchaouen we got rain and cold weather. Our tour guide told us that it even snows in the winter! Despite that, the houses don’t have a furnace or an air condition. Hotels may vary of course. So bring a warm jacket and a rain coat!

2. Have toilet paper with you every time you need to go. Public bathrooms don’t even have a toilet roll holder; the whole concept is unknown.

3. Closed toe shoes are a must especially in the Souks! Lots of stray dogs and cats, many donkeys, puddles of unknown fluids and dirt. You get it, right?

4. Your smelling will be challenged. Not only body odor in crowded areas are overwhelming, visiting the tanneries will make you gag! A trick would be to have a piece of cloth (or cotton ball or tissue paper) wrapped around your index finger and secured with a rubber band. Then spray it with a scent (aesthetic oil or perfume) and hold it under your nose when needed. A perfect way to use those perfume samples from the pharmacies or drugstores.

5. For women: Bring clothes that at least cover your knees and your elbows; no need the cover your hair! For men: long pants

6. Be prepared for steps and stairs everywhere. A few steps up followed by a few steps down without reason, steps in unexpected areas, be prepared! Riads usually don’t have elevators! Bring shoes that are easy to walk with, but also think about your luggage! A big suitcase with bad wheels is a nightmare to roll / lift / schlepp through the medians and up to the third floor of your charming Riad! Better to have a small suitcase with good wheels + a backpack

6 more nights at home…

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… and 5 days left until we leave: those will be filled with a few college related, end-of-the-semester meetings, final grades and all that stuff. And it will also be filled with lunches and dinners with our besties, our friends who we will not see for a while. Some of them have to wait until we are back in town, some of them can’t wait and they will come and visit us in Spain and Italy, join us for a cruise in Iceland or other places in the good old world. And we are so looking forward to this!!!

So if you are traveling in Europe these next 6+ months, please get in contact and we’ll figure it out: There is always something to celebrate: my birthday (during the cruise from New York to London), our anniversary (Hamburg), Ted’s birthday (Iceland), etc. Never a dull moment! And if there is nothing to celebrate, we will celebrate our friendship, our adventures together!

But we are still here and getting ready to pack our suitcases – between lunches, haircuts, doctor’s appointments and more lunches and dinners…..

Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

Leaving Salinas

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Yesterday was a big day: we left Salinas. Meaning, we moved out and away and that was a lot of work! Sorting through memories, collections, paperwork, (Ted) and books and clothing and more books and way more clothing (Edith). This has been difficult. Downsizing to a house that is 1/4 the size of the Salinas house didn’t help.

And then there is the emotional wake-up-moment when you change your address and you don’t go there any more. This is difficult, especially for Ted, who was born and raised in Salinas, who plays/played dominos with his brother every day they both are/were in town (and they both are/were in town almost always), who never left Salinas except for college and a 4-year stay in Arizona. For me, Edith, leaving Salinas was not that difficult, except the moving part itself. Sorting, schlepping, donating, combining, reducing, blending and merging; that sort of thing. And then there is this glimpse of a heartbreak to leave that picture perfect resort like house with a pool and my spacious studio! But hey, let’s go on a trip! How about we start in Europe?

Isn’t it the memories that count? Not the pounds?

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Eight days until we will launch our combined weight of 357.7 lbs into an airplane, that then will fly us to New York. Upon arrival we will have lost 20 lbs, our combined Covid-add-ons and we can lightweightedly sail over to the old world, “where they lived happily ever after”.

End of the dream. It is true though, we do have a combined 357.7 lbs and – to be realistic – we’ll keep them for a while. But we do have many walks and hikes planned: for example up a volcano in Iceland (Ted’s birthday hike), a funky history walk in Reykjavik or an 8 day hike in Sicily (Aeolian Islands & Taormina). But that follows a whole week of eating and cooking, wine and olive tasting in Naples. Hmmm, I guess we will just see how many pounds we will bring back home…..

Shoes

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How many shoes do you need when you go on a trip? Of course it depends on your destination. And the weather. And the activities you’re planning. And the season.

So what if you travel everywhere from Iceland to Morocco, you travel from June until December, you plan city walks, museum visits, dinners from fancy to street food simple, go dancing, walking, swimming, rainy weather and sunshine, etc. etc. etc.

And what if you are a fashion forward fun and fancy outfit fan, who packs everything in blue, white and pink?

Part of all those nights we have before we take off will be spend sleepless, filled with thoughts of the shoe collection…..

A: exercise / walking / hiking / colder weather / rain / travel

B: shopping / dining / looking pretty / dancing

C: swimming / beach / hot weather

What do you think?????

England, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, etc…..

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The initial plan to visit Eastern Europe to follow the footsteps of my mother’s family in Ukraine came to an abrupt halt when Russia decided to start a war and invade Ukraine. Travel plans were changed, instead of Eastern Europe we decided to visit Northern, Western and Southern Europe instead. Details will follow as we go, photos, lots of photos will be published and – of course – we’d like to stay in contact with everybody. So please feel free to send us a little “hello” or “hallo”, to comment on our posts, and to just let us know that you haven’t forgotten about us…..

26 nights until take-off

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When my sons were little and we were about to go on a trip, I always told them how many nights they have to sleep before we’d go visit Oma & Opa. This way they were able to get a perspective on much longer it takes before we’d go.

So here we are, fast forward 30 years later, and I remind myself that we have to sleep 26 nights before the big trip starts…..