Max and I decided it would be fun to take the subway all the way to the end of a line in New York City. We ended up going to Coney Island. Before visiting, I had preconceived notions of a quaint place, with ladies walking around in dresses circa 1900, carrying parasols over their shoulders in one hand, little boys dressed in suspenders in the other. This was definitely not the case. Among the scantily clad tattooed young teenagers, we saw many other interesting characters including this one:
This woman struck me as incredibly interesting and then I saw her again at the East Side Gallery. More to come on this amazing open-air gallery later. Perhaps she was the model for this painting 20 years earlier?
I would like to pay homage where homage is due to Luigi Diamanti, creator of the beautiful vintage world map that I am lucky enough to be able to use for free with mention of Luigi. This is mandatory, but in my mind is voluntary. Digital art at its finest! I love the way it makes me feel about my travels. There is always something new to discover about the world. I know no more today than explorers and traveler's of vintage times. The world changes so rapidly, it is impossible to know any more today, than the greatest explorers in history.
We have been sleeping more than 11 hours every night for the last week. But today we ventured out for the first time. We are staying one block away from Tempelhof Airport, site of the Berlin airlift, just one more layer of Berlin’s rich history that I was not privy to prior, but one that I am super excited to learn about.
As you can see, it is quite a beautiful day...we are lucky. Berliners have not been blessed with an early spring. In fact, just two weeks ago, they were still experiencing winter temps in May. Tempelhof field has just been converted to a huge park where people come to fly LED-lit kites at night, roller-blade by day and BBQ around the clock.
I wish I had my roller-blades! This runway is a roller-blading dream! Really, the sidewalks in this neighborhood are all cobblestone.
We got our first glimpse of Alexanderplatz, Berlin’s edition of the Seattle Space Needle, Toronto’s CN Tower, etc. It has been said that the best place to view Berlin is to go to the tower because it is the only view of Berlin that is not spoiled by the tower itself. “Alex” as the tower is commonly referred as, has been a great landmark so that we don’t get lost—as much.
Look to the right, you can see it way in the background.
Ok, and closer up:
The park, being in Neukölln, has made the residents worried about gentrification. No other city I have previously visited has been so obviously divided as the neighborhoods here. Every decade, one neighborhood after another goes through the gentrification process. Neukölln is next. The park just speeds up the process of increasing rents, yuppie bars, and boutique hotels.
But I am just happy to be here at this point in time when the park is in its infant stages of development, happy to be staying in a neighborhood which personality mimics mine. Anti-establishment, a bit away from the center of things, and one that is just being discovered. Or maybe just by me.
I have finally emerged from the jet lag fog and have taken the first notes of the world around me. I feel like a bear coming out of hibernation, as well as a young child debuting on stage amidst very bright stage lights. I am in culture shock and I am humbled by this. I always thought myself at one with the world, foreseeing that I would be instantaneously comfortable anywhere. This has not been the case.
We set up housing for Berlin prior to arrival and did absolutely no research beforehand. We are renting a room in a flat with an artist we literally passed in the sky from Iceland. She is there now on an artists retreat of some sort. I really do not like Neukölln. It is "decorated" with graffiti that resembles vandalism more than art.
I think I missed history class the day the teacher discussed the Turkish population in Germany. I am culturally shocked by the multitudes of Turkish people here. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a racist bone in my body. It is just a reminder to not hold any expectations. I was expecting a native German population. You know, blue-eyed, blond-haired folks like me. This is not the Germany I was expecting.
Little did I know that Turks are the largest ethnic minority here. Upon doing some research, Turks originally came to Germany in the 1960's since there was vast unemployment in Turkey and a labor shortage in Germany. Thus, many Turkish came to Germany to make money and find a new life, most probably with the idea that they would return to Turkey to make this new life, with the money they had made.
At second glance, the Turkish population here is just as much German as the native German population is.
Read more about the Türkisch in Germany here: Turks in Germany. Quite an interesting story they have.
I am definitely excited to be in such an ethnically diverse place!
After getting to the Keflavik airport on Thursday and discovering that our flight to Berlin was already 3 hours delayed, which would get us into Berlin at a very late--or very early hour, depending on how you look at it, we asked Iceland Express to book us on the next Berlin flight, on Sunday, June 13th.
Bryndis (pronounced somewhat like "Pren-tees") at Hotel Keilir had treated us so well, that I thought we were being pampered and babied a bit. She literally took care of our every need, such as meals, taxis to the airport, etc. Here is a link to her hotel
If you are ever in Keflavik, this is the only place you should stay!
Max even wanted to go back there to have her help us with finding accommodations from Thursday to Sunday. But I thought it would be fun to hitchhike to Reykjavik since I had never really hitched a ride before, and didn't want to pay $14 each for the bus. Five minutes after holding a sign, we got a ride from a gentleman who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ivar. He was a young guy and filled us in on life in Iceland during our 40 km ride to Reykjavik.
We first learned of the municipal elections that had taken place 10 days prior, and literally, the Best Party won. The government in Iceland has been corrupt for decades and the economy had deteriorated so much, that people wanted to vote for anyone else, other than those who had been in office. The man who won was a comedian. Max told Ivar, "in bad times, people just want to laugh." This is just like Stephan Colbert winning the South Carolina primary.
We also talked about environmental issues, such as the whaling industry. Most fish stocks have been depleted, but the local populations of whales are maintained. Everyone wants to whale, but they don't want to eat the whales. Whales are actually quite a lean meat, but Max told Ivar, "McWhale! We could start a whale burger joint. All we would have to do is mix the meat with the blubber!" The three quintessential ingredients in fine French cooking is, butter, butter, and butter. Fat makes everything taste better, a fatty whale burger would be just the thing.
After arriving in Reykjavik, we stayed at a hostel which was a communal room, but we had it to
ourselves the whole night. Lucky us! So much luck! For a whole day, we explored the capital city of Islande, and even hoofed it all the way from the hostel to downtown, then up to the Pearl, an old geothermal plant that had been renovated into a hilltop viewing point for the entire beautiful area all the way from Keflavik to Reykjavik and beyond. Max was surely going to kill me for walking with our 30lb packs so far, if the pack didn’t kill me first. Luckily, we found a stashing place in some trees and brush.
Once up on the viewing platform, I thought I saw the Keilir mountain, and asked a man if he was Icelandic, and whether that was the Keilir mountain. Way in the distance, it was indeed, Mount Keilir, or cone. It looks just like a cone. I then made the mistake of asking him if he was from Reykjavik, and he was not, proving Ivar’s point, that the surrounding municipalities have much pride in their own towns. He said, “some say, ‘the greater area of Reykjavik,’ but I say, ‘the greater area of Hafnarfjörđur.’” The Pearl, more formerly known as Perlan, has one of the most beautiful vantage points I have ever seen. It doesn’t rival too many others. A tourist trap, yes, but one worth trekking to. There is Keilir on the right.
By this point, we were starving and asked the local where we could get some great local food. He suggested a few fish restaurants which we should have done, but the bus station was closer and they had sheep’s head there. We walked there and found out that this was the same exact place David, the American we met at the Blue Lagoon, had bravely swallowed a sheep’s eye. Of course this is tourist food, but we had to try it anyways.
We still didn’t have a place to stay that night, so we checked our messages, and there was a message from another American guy, Santiago, who was living with three other Icelandic guys. He had been there for only a few days, and they told him they didn’t know what to do with this extra room they had. So, Santiago suggested craigslist. So we were their guinea pigs. It ended up being great fun to stay with them for two nights. Only 5,000 ISK! We all went out for drinks and it was awesome getting to know them.
They were born on the island of Vestmannaeyjar, and started a band three years ago, Depublic. Again, the fishing industry came up, as it did with Ivar. We were told that even if Iceland hunted twice as many mink and skirt whales per year as now, (150/year currently), they could still be within ecological balance in 30 years. Cod is Iceland's largest export, 60% of their economy.
Iceland falls on two converging plates and are literally being pulled to the USA one way, and Europe, the other. This is why they have active volcanoes and such intense geothermal activity. When you turn on the hot water here, it is instantly hot, and smells just like sulphur. It sure makes for a short shower! Iceland is both literally and figuratively being pulled to USA and Europe. While we were out, they spoke in English most of the time, which is an incredibly beautiful language. But there were a few uncomfortable moments for Max and I. After a few minutes of Icelandic, Max, told two other girls in the bar, “I’m with this guy,” and a few moments later, “he speaks the truth.” The two girls looked like they were trying hard to stifle a laugh, so who knows if they were talking about us or not. However, it is great fun for them to make fun of a guy that leaves the room, and we were still there, so probably not, hehe.
There was a girl staying there, Valdi’s girlfriend, Elizabeth. We got talking since we were surrounded by way too much testosterone and she said that her parents live in the south of Iceland, and their farm was in much trouble after the volcano. She was going to be spending the summer to help them clean up the ash, and this was not a good time to be starting a new relationship long-distance but she would drive a long distance when missing someone. She asked about our situation, how long we would be traveling and she said, ah, it will all work out. She said, “þetta Reddast” which means it will all work out in the end. One way or another, things always work out. I didn’t think much of it until we had a talk with Valdi.
So a day later, they had a house meeting about rules with Santiago that turned into a raging party. Lucky us, we had an open invitation since we were staying there. And unlucky for you that I won't be posting the pictures from the party because they made me promise not to!
But the party didn't start until we had a nice conversation with Valdi. We learned that alcohol is expensively taxed, and has increased astronomically since their economic crisis a few years ago. It has gone from 10 to 15 to 25% taxed. So, a regular 1 liter bottle of cheap Irish whiskey was $90!!! If we had known better, we would have bought duty-free alcohol at the airport for $20, same bottle. Sales on alcohol has decreased by 30% because many people now just make illegal moonshine, it’s pretty much everywhere. There is a 20,000 kroner fine for making your own alcohol. According to Valdi, there had been so much upheaval in the recent years, that now they all just say, “fuck it,” or “þetta Reddast.” This has always been sort of my philosophy, but in this sense it seems almost sad to say it. Seems like a resignation, of sorts.
As we were about to leave, they asked Max and I, “so, since you are the first people who responded to our ad, what do you think of the place?” We stumbled for a minute and I replied, “it’s a fun place to stay, but don’t come here on your honeymoon.” They thought this was absolutely hysterical and seemed a bit concerned that it may indeed by our honeymoon. We assured them that it was not, but they may want to fix the exposed pipes in the shower that will burn you if you touch them.
Here is Max making friends with some very artistic graffiti in Reykjavik. Statues and now, graffiti, his best of abroad friends. Little did we know, that our next destination, Berlin is covered in it!
OK. So here I am. Ready to rock. NYC to Berlin - in just 10 hours or so.
Yes, I know I look ridiculous. Anywhoo, off to the airport at 4:30 pm and 30 hours later half way there in Keflavik.
And yes that is 10:40 pm not AM, the sun never really gets all that low at night in Iceland(at least during the summertime)
Iceland is a beautiful country day or white nights. We’ve been taking advantage of the fact that you can take pictures of gorgeous sunsets at 2am and great shots of scenery any time of night or day. Really the sun is only barely below the horizon and it never gets much darker then a beautiful sunset that lasts 4-5 hours.This is at about 3am.
We were put up in a really nice hotel in Keflavik by the airline called Hotel Keilir. It is a beautiful hotel right on the ocean in Keflavik. The woman who owns the hotel was very kind and helpful to us talking to the airline and arranging fancy fish meals for the airline to pay for. We really liked her a lot and we loved her hotel. Basically 30 angry people showed up at her hotel at 11 or 12 o’clock and she got rooms ready for all of us and woke up a local restaurateur at home to come to his restaurant the Duushuus to prepare us a special fish dinner. Though we were given free airline sandwiches and snacks on the plane we were now 19 hours later our scheduled arrival in Iceland and very very hungry having eaten some cookies and some crappy airline sandwiches. This dinner which I know we would have loved even if we were not at wits end and starving was simply amazing. Breaded Halibut and Cod lightly pan fried with a green salad and some pan roasted potatoes on the side. We sat at a table with 2 Swedes and a Norwegian who couldn’t stop exclaiming “This tastes just like home!”
There is a cute little free museum in Keflavik which has hundreds of model boats of the fishing fleets of Iceland over the years. Clearly fishing is a huge part of Iceland‘s past and present economy. After two days in Fabulous Keflavik we basically have run out of things to do. We wandered around and took pictures of these interesting rock statues, we visited the Blue lagoon and had a good time getting to know a very cute Belgian couple, Philippe and Perrine. They went with us to the blue lagoon and the second nights dinner at Duushuus (thanks Iceland Express).
The Blue Lagoon is a beautiful sulfur spring created accidentally when they constructed a geothermal power plant outside of Keflavik. The water is really stunningly blue and kept regulated in the designated swimming area. Really nowadays it’s a major tourist trap and is quite expensive to get in but our entrance was paid by Iceland express(thanks again) even if the bus wasn’t(though they said it would be on the phone - no thanks Iceland express). Under the strongly sulfurous smelling water was a kind of salty silica clay that people would rub all over their body and it was supposed to be very good for the skin. After extensive testing and sitting around looking like a woman at a spa I can honestly report that though the nice hotel owner instantly declared that we look 20 years younger, I can see no difference nor do I think I looked like a 6 year old. After all that we decided we were done with Keflavik and we decided to move on to Reykjavik in the mean time.
I pulled 10,000 ISK from the ATM, Indubitably I am quite the baller-shot-caller. (this is only like 75 dollars US.) On to Reykjavik!
So, I really don’t blame the airline. Even when we had already taken off an hour and a half late, spent an hour and a half in sweltering conditions in the airplane, hours and hours of no food, no quiet place to sleep…ok. So I feel like I am bellyaching and there was a hilarious hippie who seemed to be a professional vagabond who cracked up each and every one of us at some point in the night who reminded us that being in the terminal was not such a bad life. Things could be worse…much worse. Although at the end of the night he contradicted himself by saying he had been in jail several times and in foreign countries and there you at least get cigarettes, food, and tv. Even the poor counter guys who were not Icelandic Express employees, but had already been working a 12 hour shift when 150 beleaguered and weary travelers asked them a barrage of questions that they probably did not know the answers to. We were not offered food, hotel rooms, etc. But this guy, Daniel suggested we all play hide and seek together, all 150 of us. Or that we build forts with the segmented benches at the airport that are 4 chairs wide and have armrests rendering them completely useless for sleeping. Most people just slept on the floor, until….. You know how when you get to the airport and you are taking your bags out of the car and you hear a robotic voice tell you, “This is an important message. It is necessary to take your laptop of its case at the security checkpoint.” Then about five minutes later she says “May I have your attention please. Each passenger is allowed one carry-on bag and one personal item. No other bags will be allowed.” Then a few minutes later another message tells us all that unticketed passengers will not be allowed past the security checkpoint.” This makes it nearly impossible to sleep although some people obviously have better luck with these types of things.
All in all, it was quite interesting to see how a group of people act when they realize that they are at the mercy of the airline gods and there is nothing that can be done to get the plane off the ground any faster.
Max and I made the best of the situation by taking pictures of the beautiful sunrise over Manhattan and making friends with our fellow detainees. We followed each other all the way to Keflavik and continued our journey with them at Hotel Keilir.
Somebody pinch me please! The dream is finally turning into a reality! For the last ten years, I have dreamt about traveling overseas. And now, just before my 30th birthday, these dreams will finally come to fruition. Today I received a notification from the State Department that my passport is in the mail! I am so happy I could scream, but I was at work and they don’t know about my plans for obvious reasons. All I have to do now is sell the Jimmy and find a home for Sidney! Whom I will miss tremendously. I looked into bringing her with me and it did seem feasible if I chose a place to go where she would not be quarantined. But to be so transient for a few months, I feel it would be best to find someone to watch her for a few months until I am able to bring her to a more permanent but temporary home. Here is a pic of my adorable dog:
I feel very fortunate that my friend and co-worker, Angela, and her husband Ryan have been wanting to get a dog for awhile and they like pugs! I had been so worried that I wouldn't be able to find a good home to watch her. The three of them are now living happily along with Angela and Ryan's parakeets!
Getting prepared to go overseas was an adventure in itself. It is unbelievable to look at purging things I have been carrying around for years. I am trying not to think of all the money I spent buying things and not using them. Being quite the bookworm, I could not help but to buy many books over the years, usually at full price. Many of which I have not read. There was also the dirt bike gear...for the dirt bike I sold two years ago. There will be something almost primal about carrying everything I own on my back and starting over when I get back to the States. I will not want to have very much, that is for sure. And I don’t think I will buy much new. Maybe underwear, maybe. So much money is wasted at retail stores. I could buy everything I have at garage sales for next to nothing.This is not revolutionary, even to me. I frequently shop at thrift stores and garage sales. I think I made about $200 at the garage sale, selling things, and at the end of the day, so much was still left and I said screw it, this is all going to Goodwill. Maybe I will buy some of my own things back someday!
Never again will I spend two months of my life purging my belongings!
For $212 dollars we got a one way ticket to Berlin on Iceland Express! Not only that but it came with a free sauna (the plane was about 95 degrees), a free tour of the 5 boroughs of New York City both by night, when the plane took off at 10:30 two hours late, and returned to Newark one hour later and when we took off again at 11:02 am the next day. We got a real life lesson in cabin pressure (when the forgot to close the door, they told us it was a “bad seal” but I think someone just forgot to close it all the way)
We got to spend 14 glorious hours in a small cordoned off area around the gate. We were told we are allowed to leave to go to other parts of the airport but we couldn’t come back to the gate through security until 7:30 am when the TSA people came back. TSA also threw in an extra security screening when they kicked everyone out of the gate area at 7:00 am to “sterilize” the gate. BUT WAIT there’s more! Since the cabin was never pressurized the first time Jessie who’s ears never pop got to feel the thrill of a precipitous drop and increase in pressure without being able to “pop” them! Just when you though it couldn’t get any better we take off at 11:02 am the day after our 8:30pm flight for another spectacular view of the 5 boroughs this time in the daylight!
Really the only saving grace was some spectacularly funny people who we passed the time with
(they probably weren’t actually funny we were just zonked on all the free food and booze the airline provided us with during our 14.5 hour delay. Oh wait we didn’t get any food or drink until 8:00 am after we were kicked out through security and me and Jessie bought some food ourselves. Not to mentions we didn’t eat lunch or dinner the day before and everything in the airport was closed when our aborted flight got back. Actually at about 3 am one of the Newark airport guys(not an employee of Iceland express) went out to the store and bought a chocolate cookie and a bag of chips for 145 people on his own dime. not very good for an unsettled stomach at 3 am but it was a nice gesture. Thanks Iceland express.
I would say you get exactly what you pay for but I talked to a girl who paid 900 dollars for her one way flight to Iceland and of course missed the funeral she was going back for anyways. The real icing on the cake was the cute couple who were quietly snogging next to us on the first leg around NYC. Later we found out that they were flying to their own wedding in Nice carrying on her wedding dress and his tux. Unfortunately the wedding is starting approximately 4 hours before we are going to arrive in Iceland; I hope they don’t get started without them. I told them I legally was allowed to marry people by the Universal life church, and I think they were starting to consider it as a valid option. I wish I had a good photo of them they as they were a very cute couple.
We planned for months to leave but really all of the work seemed to happen at the last minute. Cleaning up the apartment, finding a new tenant at the last moment, cleaning and painting the place. Not to mention selling everything I own. Actually as I’m sitting on this flight to Madison my car is still not sold. Only because Jessie’s dad and step mom offered to sell the car for me am I not sitting on $500 from a dealership. I think it’ll sell well I hope it’s not too much work for them, I have a feeling it will be more work then they think, even though they have already sold cars before and I have a lead in San Francisco who thinks they want to buy it.
During the garage sale a parking enforcement lady stopped by to look over our wares, she heard that I was trying to sell my car and was awesome enough to offer to put fliers all over the city in sheriff’s offices and police departments and the parking enforcement offices. I think this is where the best leads have come from so far. Daphne is loud, happy, and a sweet person.
I consolidated all of my stuff into 2-3 boxes I left at Jessie’s dad’s house along with the 20-30 boxes Jessie consolidated her stuff down into. I feel like I have nothing left in the world holding me down with no possessions (Except for that damn car.) Anyone in San Francisco want to buy a 2002 Saturn with 73500 miles on it? No? Hopefully it’s already sold if when you are reading this entry.
We booked one way tickets to Madison for 130 dollars each but ended up checking 2 bags each for an additional 120 dollars…. Don’t you just love the new system the airlines have going?
Clean out the apartment was quite a feat, we had a carpet cleaning guy come through and do all the carpets(thanks Ivan!), I sold my bed and it was carted off 3 days before we left.
I wish we already in Madison but we have another hour or so plane ride to Minnesota and then we’ll have another 1.5 hour layover before we can board the 45 minute flight back to Madison. We’ll get there though and we’ll finally have a few moments to breathe. I swear I don’t think we have paused to take a breath in the last month. It’ll be nice to try to sleep in past 6 am for once and not have anything to worry about. I just have to get vaccines and I just realized Jessie needs to get hers too. Well that was a wasted 2-3 hours on the phone calling all the different travel clinics all over the bay area to price them out. Hopefully we’ll get some vaccines in Madison I already have my appt. but Jessie does not. I think Jessie might just be more disorganized then I am… I don’t think that’s a good sign. Nor did I think it was physically possible.
It’s really nice being a man. I can travel anywhere and pretty much be happy and I don’t need any “special products” Unfortunately I now know more than any man should about the “special products women need daily and their availability overseas and… you know what never mind, I don’t really want to think about it and neither should you. You can read Jessie’s post, maybe she mentioned something. Uhhhh you know maybe you shouldn’t read her post. Just read my half and I’ll protect you.
I bought a Gregory Palisades Large 80 liter camping backpack. Hopefully that will hold everything I need for the next (indeterminate time frame). I love my new backpack; I found it on clearance at an REI store for 33% off. Even so it was still 220 dollars! But it should be well worth it if we have to move around a lot and quickly. Its super duper comfy and I can put a lot of weight in it and it still feels really good and distributes the weight well between my waist and shoulders. Since High school when I slipped one of my lumbar disks in my spine I have had trouble with that part of my back. But I think this bag should keep my back healthy. I need to take some kick ass pictures of me and my bag while it’s still all pretty and fancy looking. I actually can’t wait for the time that my pack looks all travel worn and I look like a true world traveler and not the greenhorn that I am.
OK this plane is coming down(hopefully in a controlled manner)(the pilot assures us that it is) so I had better sign off before the flight attendant decides that my laptop poses a security threat and I get carted off to a black prison in Azerbaijan or where ever they keep those nowadays. But hey at least I could be getting overseas on the cheap!
We set up housing for Berlin prior to arrival and did absolutely no research beforehand. We are renting a room in a flat with an artist we literally passed in the sky from Iceland. She is there now on an artists retreat of some sort. I really do not like Neukölln. It is "decorated" with graffiti that resembles vandalism more than art. 
Little did I know that Turks are the largest ethnic minority here. Upon doing some research, Turks originally came to Germany in the 1960's since there was vast unemployment in Turkey and a labor shortage in Germany. Thus, many Turkish came to Germany to make money and find a new life, most probably with the idea that they would return to Turkey to make this new life, with the money they had made.
