Uhh man, its been so long i kinda forgot i had this blog...I'm right obsessed with my modblog and modder sites, and then so knowing i had this thing to update i kept putting it off cos soo much has been happening.
right...three months in one blog!
still need a new digi camra. have some piccies on disc, but the freakin cd part is jammed.
so, first things first: the low down of summer holidays-because i haven't really written this anywhere...
flew into crete...met awesome german chick who, if it wasn't for her, i would have wound up sleeping at the airport cos its out of the way from heraklion a bit, and i hadn't really planned properly what i was doing...ended up in heraklion youth hostel and pheww it stuk of cat pee, no doors on showers or toilets, though we did have a whole dorm, and barvara spoke a little greek, so everyone loved her there^^ heraklion was a shock, as was crete as a whole really, cos its more middle east really than europe. not sure exactly why it suprised me so much, but yeah, stray dogs, reeked of stinky sea water and pollution, and housing was concrete slabs. however, the people were really nice, the food and booze was cheap, and once we got out of heraklion, the rest of the island is beautiful!
i went south to plakias, a place i'd only read about in some travel blog...and barvara went west.
now plakias was, exactly as the youth hostel described it...paradise! the hostel was in a little olive grove at the base of some mountains. so i spent my time with the fantastic other travellers there exploring the beaches (haha, and discovered quite a few nudie ones), the mountains, old greek ruins and went river walking, spotting bugs and dragonfly's of amazing colours and swimming under waterfalls. i've never been a great beach person. in oz, i've always been paranoid of being eaten by a shark. or stepping on something deadly. or getting tangled in seaweed, or jellyfish!. or getting caught in a rip...you know. the usual australian stuff.
so plakias was gorgeous! nothing deadly (that i knew of...), hardly any seawed and crystal clear water. the perfect wind down for days spent trekking:)
after one week, i realised i had to start making my way back to germany, so met bavara somehow again and wenwent back to heraklion again, her for a boy she'd fallen for, and i for hte ferry to athens.
ergh.
ferry was gross. overnight trip amongst snotty kids, flooded toilets and old stinky people...on the floor! it was with minoan cruises, and i would absolutely never take a deck pass with them again!! arrived in pireas (athens port) at six in the morning. went to the acropolis- at seven thirty in the morning. its already 35 degrees so no way i'm hiking up there with my bags!!! i wonder around, i get lost, i find my way, i get hot and bothered. old men keep asking me for sex. or marriage. sometimes both. some offer to buy me a coffee,or a hotel room. athens stinks, is heavily polluted- i want to leave as soon as possible! eventually i go back to the port, i meet a nice guy from crete, i decide since he's from crete i like him, and he's much more relaxed then these mainland greek and speak english! he carries my bags, buys me cold drinks and helps me find a hotel for the night and barters the price down for me (he still mails me and says when i come back, he's marrying me...for the record, i only kissed this guy on the cheek.once. but one thing i learnt from bavara- the greek men like to flatter you.)
ok, next morning, train to the port to catch a ferry to bari, italy. i miss it cos the train is slow, a two hour hold up, and is not direct. no air con and the windows don't open on a 40 degree day. hell. i must stay overnight in patra. i thought heraklion was bad, this place is worse! its like a refugee camp and i fear of touching anything in the bathroom and toilets! it smells like wet dog.
i can't pay for the room as noone can exchange my hundred euro bill, so i can't buy food either. after numerous attempts at restaurants, the hostel owner takes the bill (i get scared he's run off with it, he only speaks greek and french). returns an hr later with lots of food for the staff... and my change.
next morning i catch my ferry to italy. that night was the worst so far. an old hungarian with a missing thumb who speaks a little german tells me he's bought me a drink. i say no thanks. he gets angry. i leave. that night, once more i only have a deck pass. but this time at least i get a bench to sleep on...as i try to sleep, old guy has found me and proceeds to get all touchy feely and doesn't leave me alone until i kick him and tell him to fuck off and some other guy intervenes.
in the morning, i get off the ferry, go to catch a bus. all my money is gone. i'd taken all my stashes of money togethre so i could sleep with it on me, as my bags were on the ground under a table.
i start to cry. i tell a port official they just shrug. trying to to scream or cry, i ask some people if they know where the police station is. no one does. i ask for some change. a guy pays for my bus fare. i meet soe aussies. they say they'll help me. i get off the bus in the centre, dazed, forget them and loose them. luckily i still have my passport. the tourist info give me a map to a police station. on the other side of bari. no one knows the way, or speaks english. curse myself for not bringing my italian phrasebook.
i get there evntually, no one speaks english. they say i must go back to the port, to the tourist police. (well they point at my map to another place...). i sit down and cry i can't stop! (meanwhile hystericly, i realise these italian police officers are damn hot! its the cut of their uniform..its just damn sexy. i try not to giggle and instead cry harder)
they call the tourist police, a translator tellss them to drive me over.
i wait a few hours, then see a police officer and a translator and must file a report. they call my embassy and tell me to go there...they give me a pass to get to rome.
i get to rome too late. its night.
its midnight and i gather i'm going to sleep at the train station (theres lots of homeless people asleep between poles and seating on the platforms) . some american couple i saw in patra, and on my train to rome, see me. i ask where they're going- they have a bus waitng to go to outter rome. they feel sorry for me and give me TWENTY EUROS. i mean, thats quite a bit. would you give that much to someone who had a story like mine? i know i usually give a few dollars to bums with good stories in oz, but that shocked me. i give them my email adress. and when i did eventually get back to germany- they emailed me to check i was alright, and no, i need not pay them back. i was stoked! i'd seen this couple and thought something derogatory about them, cos they were so wound up in each other i was a little grossed out. and then they went and gave me 20 euros...
anyway, with this i bought some food, and was able to pee and use a proper bathroom!!
when i find a corner to sit in, a young guy with a badge walks up to me and asks if i need a romm. i feel a bit wary. he hands me his business card, and tkes me to the tourist area o show me he knows the security and they know him...i think 'ok, i'm either gonna get a room, or wind up dead'
luckily, after walking down some alleys, turns out its a legit hostel.
the polish girl working there illegally feels sorry for me, feeds me and gives me a towel to shower (anyone whos travelled would know, that not many places provide towels for free!) . that sleep was the best ever! and they let me pay after i've visited the embassy (they just get me to leave my bags there,...).
right, so the embassy, after much walking (three places are listed online as the embassy, luckil yi picked the correct one!), i find it. the security is tight. i'm checked with a metal detector, i must leave every thing in a box except my passport...i walk through one door. it locks behind me and then must wait for another door to unlock before i'm through... the embassy is hell. they make me call every single person i can first, to try for a western union money transfer...they let me cancel my stoled credit cards, id etc. then it takes almost 3 hours until they decide they'll give me a 80 euro loan.i meet othr travellers with lost passports etc. get some more free food:)
at the rome central terminal again, i wait in line for two hours to get my ticket back to germany. each preson who goes through high fives on the way out of the booking room in relief from waiting.
i feel giddy as i finally get my ticket and explore around the terminal a bit: i think rome is a pretty city, and i would like to returnunder nicer circumstances. i use the intrenet, and a myspace friend tells me if i need money he can wire me some. anything to help. i'm humbled by these absolute strangers offering me help.
on the train home i meet, a group of older men, one who's son lives in melburne and recently got married there to an aussie, a 17 year old girl with a two week old baby and her moroccan boyfriend. he lives in italy, she in austria. the girl left school at 16, but speaks five languages. i decide i'm going to marry the good loking german guy who sits there holding the baby and tries to feed it. we all laugh and take it in turns, and a korean girl, whos just come from australia, joins us.
eventaully i get home!!! ahh just to days before the family.
phew.
long story short.
i had fun and adventures.
since then i've visited vienna twice, but thats all. i'll be back skiing with the family over christmas, then to viena to meet up with some friends i've made there (from myspace of all places. but these guys are swell. and buy me drinks and show me places). then up to hamburg, to meet some friends i made on a body mod website, then to belgium to met a fellow couchsurfer. perhaps i'll fit berlin in again, too.
phew, the only other big news is- i'm doing an online university couse! yay! hoping htis month to buy a lap top, and then start the course in december. looking forward to it.
will have some new pics within the next weeks!!!
have a hell of a halloween
xx
..i have come to the conclusion that the lady i work for is ace. upon returning from a recent trip to the libary, she handed me a pile of books about african tribes- or to be more specific, books on tribal body modifications. 'something to inspire you' she told me.
These scenes reminded me of the sound of music...namely the part where they run around singing 'the hills are alive, with the sound of music...'
(Hehe, was so tempted to push them in:D)
Juri and Carlos in the rainforest exhibition. There were more wonderful fish in the pond there, but at least these ones were pretty.
German food. Hmmm. This evening we went to a restaurant where we had a 'Traditional Hessen meal'. Haha being somewhat of a gluttonous pig I take my food quite seriously! The entree was some mild cheese that looked like wax with raw onion on top, served with bread and we drank watery apple cider that taste like liquid smoke...
Alright so i conclude that it actually taste pretty good. But for a family that only buys organic and plan feasts for each night of the week i was a little disappointed! Excuse me for sounding like a wank:P I mean last night we had salad with tuna steak and raspberry dressing with a nice white wine...a far cry from eggs, potato and green sauce!!
This statue made me kind of sad, the whole cometary is so colourful and full of flowers, she looks as if she's eternally mourning someone buried there.
So my house is like an ancient artefact museum. Its full masks, huge wooden sculptures from the solomon islands, giant buddhas, pieces from south america, asian style painted vases, oh, and some art novae style prints for good measure.
Haha, but this morning was the first time i noticed this dude. He's on my bathroom wall, amongst a few others, and he's definitely my fav:)
