No Rain In Spain

Despite the fact that a turn in the weather has been predicted since my parents arrived here ten days ago, every day has consistently been clear blue skys, sunny and mid-twenties. And so it was when we took a couple of hours drive across the border to visit Spain - well, more specifically, the small holiday villiage of Cadaques.

Although it was only just across the border, it was a very Spanish town, full of white stucco houses with blue shutters, tiled walls and resraunts and cafes that didn't serve lunch until 2pm. The place was very quite as official tourist season ended a month ago, and what dregs of summery tourism that are left are closing at the end of the month (ie. today).

We (ie the parents, Claire and I) had a lovely day strolling around the villiage, small pockets of beach and the lovely beach roads. We had tapas for lunch, with a jug of sangria- so apart from dancing salsa with an attractive Spanish man, I've basically done everything I wanted to do in Spain in one meal.

After lunch there was more walking, admiring the scenery, and ice cream. On the drive home I was honoured with the privilage of sitting in the front (possilby because of the threats to vomit that I made coming long the windy mountain roads on thw way there), thus I was able to entertain dad with a game I made up called 'That Truck Is From...' . The objective of the game is quite simple - every time you pass a truck on the freeway you say (in your best gameshow voice) 'That Truck Is From... The Netherlands!' There were a lot of trucks from lots of different places heading out of Spain; from Portugal to Turkey, Sweden to Italy, all going about their trucky business as we went about our business and headed home from a fun international day trip.

A Spot of Baking

The loveliest thing about staying in a house, as opposed to the hostels and low low budged hotels that I usually stay in, is the ready access to a functioning, moderately clean kitchen. So yesterday I got a bit baking happy, with various degrees of success.

Item the first: Banana Cake

We had some bananas that were going brown and some almond meal that the last people had left, so we made a flourless banana cake and ate it warm with creme fraiche.

If you noticed on the last post, I currently have access to a digital camera, a computer and snap happy parents. Mum got a photo of the cake so I'll post it later. It looked ugly but tasted delicious.

Item the second: Parma Veggo Style

Again, a product of the dregs of our larder. i fried up thin slices of eggplant, then put cheese and pesto on them and popped the lot in the oven. Super tasty, if I say so myself. We were totally on a roll for the day.

Item the third: Roasted Chestnuts

Mum and I waited for darkness to fall so we could steal some figs from our neighbours tree, seems they were just letting them rot and fall. While out we also picked up a whole heap of chestnuts from the read and thought we'd have a crack at roasting them.

We popped a tray of them in the oven and went back to sitting around. About 20 minutes later there was an Almighty bang, as one of them exploded like a rifle shot in the oven. we opened the oven and another two exploded - disintegrating into shell fragments and white chestnut powder - both to be now found scattered around out lounge area.

We placed the tray of volatile nuts outside and went back to try them later. The best explanation I can give of their taste is that they taste like the odour to be found in large metropolitan subway systems, but a bit more buttery.

So, on the whole that's about a 2/3 success rate for a day of cooking. Today we're off for an excursion to Spain.

Scarf: Complete

After traversing half a dozen countries over 7 time zones, my green scarf that I started in Siberia is now complete!



I knitted the whole thing out on my chopsticks which turned out to be ok knitting needles once I got into the swing of it. It was 30 stitches wide, which isn't too big, but quite hard as the needles taper quickly so I was only working with a very small space. I also have knitted a scarf in an off white natural wool I purchased from a spinner in Finland, that one was only 15 stitches, so it was a quicker job, and I ribbed the ends of it.

The funny thing is, having completed the two projects, the weather here in France is amazing and completely inappropriate for scarves. We're about two hours east of Toulouse, right near the Mediteranian. Every day has been clear blue skys and mid twenties. The evenings are cooler, but seems I don't like red wine when the weather's too hot this is really a perfect arrangement.

Being Frank

This trip is a wonderful mix of the new (China, vising Poland without a visa, expensive shopping adventures, etc.) and the familiar (Sophie in Stockholm, paprika pringles, ol' blighty etc.) - but no part of the adventure has been such a delightful blend of the two than meeting my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins in the south of France.

We've taken up residence in a massive, old, lovely house for a week or so, and there's been lots of catching up, chatting, photo sharing and more chatting over breakfast this morning.

It's almost lunchtime, and time for Claire and I to take a walk to get acquainted with le neighbourhood. We're off with the parentals to visit some family friends who moved over here years ago.

Tragedy!

Claire and I are leaving for France this afternoon.

Tomorrow the new I'm From Barcelona (awesome Swedish band) album 'Who Killed Harry Houdini?' is released in Sweden.

Fate is cruel sometimes. So I got myself a håkan hellström CD and lots of hudsalva lipbalm to make myself feel better. I think they're much more exciting souvenirs that painted horses.

Nutrition

I did promise a couple of posts ago that I would let you in on the secrect of how I am maintaining my vitamin intake while travelling. Here's the secret: Coke Light, Plus Vitamins... (ie. Diet Coke to the Aussies)

This perverse piece of marketing tastes the same as the non-vitamin-laden variety of low-calorie Coke, but in a half litre bottle contains 75% of one's daily B12 and Niacin intake. Heaven's knows why these two vitamins have been selected as important, anyone apart from vegans can get enough B12 through their daily intake of meat and/or eggs and dairy. I first saw (and purchased it in Finland, but its also in Sweden, with it's sister product that claims to contain antioxidants).

Still, I had to by a bottle. Looking at the weird and wacky products that global corporations market to different corners of the world is a particular travel fetish of mine. I'd have to say that this is right up there with some of the weirder and wackier ones I've seen.

Anyway, I've had no need for extra nutrition while at Sophie's. Today Claire and I are leaving for a day long train journey to Southern France, where our parents are spending some time. I've resolved, after the last 5 days of eating, to put myself on a bit of a diet. Only fruit, veggies, low fat yogurt, good bread, nice cheeses, quality red wine, premium chocolate, plenty of croissants... dang it, this is going to be harder than I thought...

Cool People

Part two in a very sporadic series...

The guy in Estonia who pointed out to me that I left my Visa card in the ATM(/Bankomat/Cashpoint). Not one of my most lucid moments, but it was six o'clock in the morning and I'd spent a sleepless night on the bus. Unfortunately I was still in St Petersburg mode, so I thanked him profusely in Russian.

The Guard at the President's Palace in Helsinki who waved back to us when we went to visit. You won't find any of those Bearskins at Buckingham being so friendly. As mentioned in earlier posts, when it comes to Finland, everything is nice, even their gun wielding army personnel.

My Aunt Sophie, who is just like my grandmother, except more stubborn, more Swedish and, although it was thought to not be possible, more prone to constant chatter and constantly feeding people.If it were possible to kill with kindness then she would be a ruthless assassin indeed. She also lives in a very cool part of town.

Her apartment, where she has lived for 45 years, is in Sodermalm in Stockholm, an old working class area that has been invaded by students and hipsters (Melbournians, think of Brunswick but actually cool) so her neighbourhood is littered with excellent retro shopping, cool cafes and funky bars.

Today's Menu

Breakfast

Fruit (grapes and kiwifruit)
Porridge with jam and milk
6 different types of bread and biscuits (knakebrod, toast bread, Finnish bread, wafers, graham crackers, flat bread)
butter
6 different types of cheese (Gouda, Brie, Blue Castillo, White spreading cheese, yellow cheese, Gorgonzola)
tomato, cucumber, avocado and capsicum
marmalade
tea
juice

Lunch

Sauerkraut with beans
Cheesy tomato mushroom egg pie
Green Salad
Honey wine
Rum Cake with Cream
Apple Pie with Vanilla Custard
Tea
Chocolates (4 different types)
Licorice, cashew nuts, jelly lollies
Biscuits (choc wafers and almond biscuits)

Supper

Selection of breads, cheeses, salad.
Tea and juice
biscuits, chocolates and lollies

And I Woke Again Last Night, In A Strange Room

Today's blog title has been taken from a song by my friend Ben. I've always liked this song very much, but as it's a song about yearning and travelling, I've been thinking a lot about it lately.

When I am travelling, I always forget how much you take things for granted every morning when you wake up. At home, when I wake up I know what I'll have for breakfast, I know what I'm doing that day, and I know that I'll be back in the same bed at then end of it all, I know that it's likely Jen will still be asleep, and I know where the nearest post office is, and how much it will cost to send a letter. None of these things can be taken for granted while travelling; that's what makes it so much fun - but it can also make even the most mundane tasks exhausting and stressful.

Anyway I've been pondering these things because after a month, and about 16 different sleeping places by my rough count, this morning I didn't wake up in a strange room, but one that I am familiar with. Last time I was in Europe, about 5 years ago, I stayed in Stockholm, in this house and room and bed, for about 3 weeks. Stockholm is the first place in over a month where I don't actually have any strong inclination to play the tourist. I'm just going to let Sophie feed me, practice my Polish on her and walk around Stockholm pretending that I belong to this city. Because while Helsinki is nice, Stockholm is definitely cool.

(P.S. - Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day. It was exciting to be able to celebrate it in Viking territory, because we all know that they were the original and the best pirates.)

The Baltic, See

So, being unable to find an ínternet cafe for the last few days, my octogenarian Aunt has a computer with excellent connection at her house. She says she doesn't understand it or use it, but that her children set it up for when they occasionally drop in. Thus, for the next four days while we´re in Stockholm I'll be able to attend to my backlog of emails and things to do. But before all of that, I can now tell you all about the Baltic adventures Claire and I have had since leaving our trans-Siberian family and venturing off on our own.
The overnight bus from St Petersburg was the final 'stressful' boarder crossing for us (excluding convincing the English boarder patrol to let us in) on this trip. We got to the boarder at 1am and spent 2 hours sitting around, being pulled off the bus, being put back off the bus etc. Thankfully we´re now in the EU, where there is virtually no boarder control between countries, and being Aussie doesn't mean pre-arranging visas for entry.
Tallinn It Like It Is
We got to Tallinn early on a raining Saturday morning, so it was dead quiet - we had the whole place to ourselves for a while. It's a very cute old city that has been very well preserved and restored. We spent two days binging on museums, churches, galleries, and, off all things, Mexican food. It really wasn't intentional, but each day around lunch time we just happened to come across a good looking, affordable Mexican restaurant, and seems Claire hasn't been within cooee of a tortilla for 8 months we made the most of the opportunity.
Tallinn is strange in that I'm not sure where the actual population of the city lives. The old town consists almost entirely of museums, galleries, souvenir stores, bad restaurants and cafes and more souvenirs. It's like Disney for Euro-Tourists. It's not even like Venice, where if you walk down enough side streets you'll find the local population. Normally this situation makes me sad, but the Estonians who I ran into and talked to seemed to be so genuinely proud of the city, and the extent to which it's been preserved that I gained an appreciation of what a feat that is, considering that it was pretty heavily bombed during WW2.
Architecture (And Islands and Food and Shopping) In Helsinki After 2 days in Estonia we caught a ferry north to Helsinki. Now, I've heard rumours that Helsinki is cool. Like Prague, Edinburgh, Berlin and Stockholm before it, Helsinki is apparently cool du jour. I'd have to say that it's not so much cool, but it's certainly nice. It is small, clean, open, and has that effortless Scandinavian elegance - but it's just too small and nice to be cool. It's full of chic kitchen wares rather than chic fashion, and it's cafes are homely, not boho. Still Claire and I had a lovely time there, we visited the island fortress Soumelinna, and spent a lot of time at the food hall (cheap baguettes helped to offset the otherwise costly nature of the Scandinavian lifestyle).We also did something that I've been avoiding for some time now, clothes shopping. We hit up all the cheap and cheerful retailers (H&M, Vero Moda, Indiska etc) and I now own more than 2 summer skirts and 3 t-shirts. This is really a positive step, because the weather has taken a turn for the colder in the last couple of weeks. While it was 22C in Moscow less than a fortnight ago, it was 6C in Helsinki yesterday. Given my predilection for gloves, scarves, hats and coats, the change in temperature has been met with great relish.
Taking Stock(holm)After an amusing overnight ferry ride, in which we were in a cabin deep in the hull (the part of the ship in which everyone in Titanic were Irish and died very early on) we have arrived in Stockholm. We're spending the next four nights with our Aunt Sophie (nan's sister). I'll post all about how much I love Stockholm later - provided Sophie doesn't feed us to death first...

Net Loss

There is an inverse relation between the technological sophistication of a nation and the ready provision of internet cafes. They were a dime a dozen in China and Mongolia (and that's probably a fair assessment of the exchange rate as much as it is an idiom) - but now we've reached Scandinavia, where they're so tech-savvy they pay for bus tickets using their mobile phones - there is a public access internet drought.

I'll be in Sweden soon, and spending a few days with my awesome Aunt Sophie, so hopefully I'll have more time to track one down. I'll be able to tell you all about how Claire and I have contracted H&M syndrome, and how I'm currently maintaining my vitamin intake. I'll also be able to tell you all about Tallinn and Helsinki.

Big Spender

Yesterday I dropped seven grand on a pair of boots.

Lucky it was in Russia, where the exchange rate with the Aussie Dollar is about 20 to 1 - but it's still probably more than the accumulated total that I've spent on shoes in the last 5 years.

They're really awesome. Thanks to sister-Claire, Meggi-poo and Hizza for partaking in the adventure.

Alphabetter

"I can't be bothered to learn to read the acrylic"
- Simone, fellow Vodkatrain traveller.

Unlike the lazy git Simone, I decided to invest a little time in learning to read Cyrillic, the alphabet in which Mongolian and Russian are written. It's definitely had it's advantages, there's actually a lot of use of English words, but written in the Cyrillic alphabet. eg интернет сафе is an internet cafe and фреш салад, if read aloud, is fresh salad. This is really a source of hours of entertainment for me.

That, combined with my smattering of Polish, has come in a lot of use.

Russin Around

There's been so much sightseeing to do over the last five days or so that I've been a big to distracted to blog. Thus, I would like to present my top three highlights from the capital of Russia, Moscow, and the 'Northern Capital', St Petersburg:

Moscow
- I'm sure I've said it before, but the metro is amazing. Every station is unique, and decorated with mosaics, or leadlight, paintings, bronze sculpture, plaster moulding. The trains are occasionally rickety, but it's an incredibly fast, efficent and effective way to move around the city.
- Visiting Lenin. Claire was excited as she's now completed the trifecta (Ho Chi Minh, Mao and Lenin). I was excited as it was a rainy day so we had Lenin to ourselves (excluding guards). Also, we got to walk in along red square - which was the only way we got in there as it was still closed after Moscow day.
- St Basil's - It looks like it's made out of icing, it's so colourful. Ivan may have been terriblee, but he was also terribly cool for getting it built.

St Petersburg
- The Hermitage and Winter Palace. Over 3 million works of art - that's one for every member of the population of the city. We spent about 4 hours there and only saw a fraction of the art. There were whole rooms of Rubens and Rembrants and a couple of great Da Vinci Madonnas. You'd have to spend a week there and still not get to see everything properly.
- The city itself is beautiful, full of lovely churches and buildings and places of historical importance (I studied the Russian revolution and this place is seeping with important events, places and people from that time).
- The Hermitage. What can I say? I am an art nerd and this is art nerd heaven.

Tonight Claire and I are catching a bus, and when we wake up we'll be in Estonia and back in the EU! I'll make sure to write again from Tallinn.

Happy Moscow Day

The city with the world's most beautiful Metro system is celebrating it's annual day today with a lovely late burst of warm weather.

it's so good to be back in Europe - and back in the (former) USSR. How I have missed you Eastern Europe! And also your fondness for baked goods, potatoes and white cheese. I know there's more to love than the food, but I'll get to that after visiting Red Square tomorrow.

3762 Things To Do On Trains

Having completed the 78 hour train journey from Irkutsk in Siberia to Moscow, I have decided to publish a book with the above name. Below is an excerpt:

Idea 2456: Eat
We decided to use our time and money creatively and instigated a cooking challenge. The group divided the nights up among us and 2-3 people cooked for all 8. This is especially challenging given the tiny preparation area and the fact that the only cooking process you have is access to boiled water. My group made a trifle for dessert, it was awesome

Idea 2457: Get Crafty
Claire did general repairs, Meg sewed flag patches on her backpack from different countries. I found some wool for sale at one stop and decided to knit a scarf using my chopsticks. It's bright green (the scarf, that is).

Idea 2458: Discuss All Bodily Functions
Spending all day and night with the same people in a tiny box brings a new level of intimacy, discussing toilet events is a topic that everyone has something to say about.

Idea 2459: Befriend The Cabin Guard
Even if you don't speak the same language. Then you can find out all about how he's dating the other cabin guard, but also seeing his boss, who as a boyfriend at the next stop. Who knew trains were so exciting.

Idea 2460: Get Sick
Claire, Bella and Jules all did this. It gives the others something to talk about. Works especially well with idea 2458, but not idea 2456.

The land of bread and cheese....

In my first year of uni I did a European Politics class in which we spent hours of our tutorial debating whether Russia was really a part of Europe, and, if it's western flank is, whether the whole country is? Or is the eastern half more Asian because of it's geographic location?

I can safely give three arguments as to why the Eastern part of Russia, where we are currently located, can safely be classified as European and not a part of Asia:

1. Ready access to quality bread
2. Ready access to quality yoghurt
3. Ready access to quality bread

There has been much consumption of the above staples over the last couple of days, which may also account for the improvement in health.

We spent the last couple of days living on the lake - and not just any lake. We've been at a lovely guest house on lake Baikal, the largest fresh water lake in the world. It's over 600km ong at over 60km wide at most points, so it was more like being at the sea than a lake - albeit a sea with no tides, no waves and fresh water.

Two nights of sleeping on the train cured me of whatever variety of stomach bug I had, and the fresh air has done the rest. The place is rather beautiful - a deep still pool of water with mountains that come tumbling down from all sides, all lush with green pines. The lake is actually a tectonic rift that will one day split the continents of Asia and Europe in half.

We went for a couple of long walks, had a boat ride and a traditional Russian sauna, which was much like any other sauna I've had except at the end you hit each other with bouqets of birch branches. This is actually a bit less kinky than it sounds - it's a massage technique where you feel like your being hit with wet plastic bags. Very relaxing, much like the last few days.

This afternoon we start the 3 night train ride to Moscow. Next time I write I'll either be very relaxed or completely destroyed by it.