59 Days

Post-trip stats

2005-09-04T20:06:00.000+02:00

It's good to see that Erik has had the presence of mind to post some pictures! I sure haven't.

However, I did a rough tally yesterday, and here are the results...

In total, Erik and I took:

- 5,000 pictures or so
- 329 video clips
- 339 audio clips

I was pretty impressed by the stats myself... but also a little scared, realizing I have to go through the pictures and pick nice ones to print, compile CD's, etc. etc.... But I'm sure the effort will be well worth it in a few years when I've forgotten everything and need to resort to pictures to jog my memory.

Thanks again, Erik, for posting some pictures. I might post a few more in the next couple of days to add to the collection. Just don't count on me posting all 5,000!

Pictures - France and Luxembourg

2005-09-02T11:58:00.000+02:00

Pictures - Switzerland

2005-09-02T11:55:00.000+02:00

Pictures - Spain and Italy

2005-09-02T11:51:00.000+02:00

Click on the pictures to view my comments (and find out just where we are)http://eriklsolson.zoto.com.

Well that was the coolest trip ever...

2005-08-30T23:23:00.000+02:00

So as much as I might not like to admit it, my joint travel time with Graham has expired. It went very fast. We saw lots of stuff. We have countless high-quality digital pictures to prove it. I look forward to the week it will take me to sort through all of them.

This morning Graham and I parted ways in the Luxembourg City train station, as he went back to Amsterdam where he will fly home from, and I made my way back to my German home-base of Kassel. I will be here staying (with my very gracious and hospitable host family from my CSSG days) for about a week, and then I'll be in Mainz, Germany taking in a rockin' vocal jazz conference dealeo. If you're interested, check it out at www.vocal-jazz-summit.de

I fly home on September 13th. After a grand total of 17 weeks in Europe, I think it will be nice to be back in Canada. However, if anybody is planning European travels in the next few years, I would be happy to tag along!

There is a good chance I'll be able to post some pictures either tomorrow or the next day, so check back for some more evidence of our crazy European adventure. Später.

Erik

A brief recap

2005-08-29T10:57:00.000+02:00

Here we are in Luxembourg... but a fair amount has transpired since our last posts. Let me try and summarize:

- After Locarno, we went to Claudia's chalet near the small town of Les Haudères. We had to take a bus from Sion for 50 min. to the town, then hiked up to the chalet for 20 min. We stayed there for 4 or 5 nights (?), and had a great time. It rained most of the time, but our attitudes remained sunny; the place is very beautiful, and having no electricity was fun.

- From the chalet Erik and I went to Geneva while Claudia enjoyed sunshine at the chalet. There we stayed with the Lynn and Robert Granke, friends of the family and very gracious hosts. We explored the city and bought watches and chocolate.

- Basel for one last night in Switzerland with the von Orelli's

- Strasbourg for 2 nights of pleasant wandering and a British chamber orchestra concert

- Now we are in Luxembourg for 2 nights total, last night and tonight

That's all for now, since time is short...

Yogurt

2005-08-19T13:13:00.000+02:00

So, here we are in Locarno, Switzerland, and we haven't posted in a coon's age. Oops. Hopefully both Erik and I posting simultaneously now will make amends for that.

It has been an incredible time here in Switzerland, and we have been so lucky to have Claudia von Orelli (a friend of mine from CLBI in Camrose) as a gracious host/tour guide. Meeting her family, staying with her in Basel, and getting a brief taste of this beautiful country will all be an unforgettable part of this trip for us.

After Basel, including a day trip to Bern (the capital), we went to Lucerne (where all the milk in Canada comes from), then on to Lugano. We did a sweet hike up mountains, saw Novaggio (where Claudia grew up), stayed in Lugano, now we are in Locarno.

This afternoon we are taking a scenic train to the French part of Switzerland, and we will be staying in her family's chalet there! We can't wait.

Internet (and everything else) is expensive here, but we will try to be more dilligent in posting in the future. Thanks for tuning in.

Sweetzerland

2005-08-19T13:11:00.000+02:00

So Graham may have told a little fib in the last post. As much as I love Liechtenstein, I didn't actually stay there - we went straight through from Salzburg, Austria to Basel, Switzerland. This country is incredible. First of all, 3 official languages?! Amazing. Our friend and host, Claudia, is fluent in 5 languages. That's a pretty helpful thing when we have even been having a hard time with our English grammar lately.

So we've hiked in the Alps, heard traditional yodelling and alphorns, eaten lots of milk products, seen many Swiss watches and army knives, and more is yet to come. Today we are off to a chalet in the mountains, where we will chillax for a few days. Sweet deal.

Better sign off for now. Peace.

-E.

we have done lots of stuff

2005-08-09T22:09:00.000+02:00

Since our last post we have done a fair amount, one might say... Florence was neat, Rome was informative, Venice was captivating, Salzburg is in a perpetual state of rain and cold and classical music, and Liechtenstein is the place of our dreams. Erik stayed there, while Graham moved on to Switzerland to meet up with his old CLBI friend Claudia (klow-dee-ah). She is doing great. Hopefully Erik will catch up with us in Basel soon.

Happy Birthday, Erik!

2005-08-04T00:24:00.000+02:00

So, today is officially Erik's birthday. It is 25 minutes past midnight, so I guess you can count it as the 4th of August... so, happy birthday Erik!

In honor of this special day I shall write a quick poem for him here:

Hey Erik, It's Your Birthday

Erik, Erik
What's it feel like to be old, man?
What does it feel like to be in Rome, man?
Probably neither seem real,
But that Kiwi gelato sure did (what a steal)
Now you type away beside me like an ape
Unaware of this crappy poem taking shape.

Even still, have a good day,
And don't forget to party hard,
Rocking out on the train once again.
Hopefully getting to Venice will be fun,
Enough to make the day a good one.

Ok, Erik, so that poem didn't turn out so great, but I think you get the gist of it. Happy Birthday. Wow, I am tired. I can imagine how Erik must feel, being the old man he is.

Attack of the Killer Jellyfish!

2005-07-31T14:07:00.000+02:00

Finally, a chance to upload pictures! They go back as far as Gibraltar, and do not cover everything major we've seen.

Yesterday we rented snorkeling gear and took our chances in the dangerous Mediterranean waters. We found a seemingly nice spot just outside Manarola. It didn't take long before we found ourselves under attack from jellyfish. We didn't really know how they were dangerous or what they would dohttp://hamnet.zoto.com. but now we do. Graham took the first hit, and ended up with a grand total of 4, and Erik got 2, with a beautiful bubbly pattern on his left arm.

To finish off a wonderful day, we took ourselves out for a nice supper of authentic Italian ravioli with some fantastic local wine. From there we picked up some gelato and took the train to a nearby town for some culture. A taxi got us up a long and winding hill to a 13th century church, where we took in a virtuosic clarinet and piano concert. All in all it was a good day.

Hope you enjoy the new pictures. Until next timehttp://hamnet.zoto.com.

Graham and Erik

Long time no post

2005-07-29T15:39:00.000+02:00

Sorry for slacking off in the post department. I suppose we have a lot to cover... from Morocco onwards. Since then we've been to Granada to see the Alhambra, to Valencia on an overnight train to see a traditional Spanish bullfight (one bull jumped the barricade and caused pandemonium, and another flipped the matador around like a burger for a while). Barcelona came next, with Las Ramblas and its street performers, the Olympic stadium, Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, the Picasso Museum, and some neat architecture.

In Nice, our next stop, we took a day trip to Monaco to see the Casino and palace, and then caught a British band playing at a small jazz club.... very cool. Even cooler was when Erik got to hop on the piano with them for a couple of songs!

We are now in Italy, in a region called the Cinque Terre. The small town we're staying in is called Vernazza, and it's beautiful here. We are here 5 nights total, which is a real change of pace.

From here we will go to Florence, Rome, Venice, then into Austria and Switzerland. It's been a challenge to find good computers from which we can upload pictures, but hopefully soon we can post more.

Ciao from Italy!

Apes of Gibraltar

2005-07-19T22:28:00.000+02:00

This morning we walked to Britain. Yes, we started in Spain. It only took us a few minutes.

So, just in case you´re confused, we are talking about Gibraltar, the small peninsula doo-hickey which came under British control in 1704. It´s very close to Algeciras, Spain, which is where we are staying. It was nice to see English signs and know how to ask for directions. It was even nicer to see apes. Lots of little apes. Some jumping on cars, some jumping on little children, some hissing, and all of them chillin´on the mighty rock that is Gibraltar. Pictures to follow.

When we arrived, we found out that it was too windy for the cable car that takes you to the top to run. Therefore, we had 3 options:

1) Pay lots of money
2) Pay lots of money
3) Walk

In this type of situation, we choose walk every time. Even when it´s 34 degrees out and we have to walk up the face of a mountain. Thankfully, it cooled off somewhat as the day progressed. We also got to cool off inside the mountain as we checked out St. Michael´s cave, a huge underground cavern/grotto with wonderful stalagmites and stalactites.

Tomorrow we go to Africa. Nothing to it. Morocco will be an experience and a half.

We also have tickets for a bull fight in Valencia!! More to come on this.

Cheers,

They form an 'F'

2005-07-16T01:11:00.000+02:00

Spain and Portugal

2005-07-16T01:04:00.000+02:00

We actually made it to Pamplona for San Fermin (The Running of the Bulls). Our train got in at 1 a.m., and probably the experience of wandering the streets all night was more interesting than the actual run. Unfortunately, no one got injured. I mean, thank goodness no one got hurt badly. We met some girls (Caitlin & Christina) from Colorado and ended up hanging out with them for most of our time in Pamplona. It was fun to talk with them and witness some of the insane partying that went on ALL night. For example, we saw a marching band blasting its way through the streets at around 2 a.m. We got an amazing spot secured on a barricade at the final stretch of the bull run, and we only had to wait on it for 3 hours before the event started.

So, off to Madrid. got in late, spent one day, then left. It was pretty awesome. We saw few sights, but the Prado museum was dandy. We also ate our second 'real' meal, which was quite pleasant. Erik had a prostitute grab his vitals, but not before she gave him a generous offer in English. Not so pleasant.

We got off a night train in Lisbon, Portugal. It was then that we found out that our hotel was not actually in Lisbon. It was in the middle of an industrial park in Santa Iria. Fortunately, Graham got off the hook for the booking when we discovered it was a 4 star hotel free internet, pool, restaurant, bar. Wonderful. The rest of the day we lazed around and got rested up. We also consumed a healthy amount of TV.

Today, we slept in. Graham got up at 4 a.m. and looked over to see Erik fully clothed on top of his bed. Graham was also fully clothed. He saw that the TV and lights were all still on. It appears that they somehow slipped off during Conan O'Brian. At about 2p.m. we got into Lisbon to explore the old city. It was hawt. One highlight was a castle up on the hill overlooking the ocean and city. Another highlight had to be getting offered hashish 6 times in less than 3 hours!!! One time we decided to ask what the going rate was, and found out that Moroccan hash goes for 5 Euros / gram. But we would of course get a special deal: 60 Euros for 25 grams! Yay!

Now we're back at the hotel and have just dined on cheesecake icecream, beer, yogurt, and pastry. Overall an excellent meal, a little unsettling though. That's about it, but hopefully we will be able to post a video clip from the hotel. Try viewing it here:

http://www.adoptabeard.com/59days/MVI_2333.avi (it takes about a bazillion years to load, watch out)

Check out the new pictures as well.

Pictures!!

2005-07-11T19:14:00.000+02:00

San Sebastian, Spain!

2005-07-11T18:07:00.000+02:00

Graham and I have had an eventful few days. I guess you have heard the basics about Holland, Belgium and France. Yesterday we crossed the border into Spain, and we are currently in the pleasant coastal city of San Sebastian. The reason we are in this area is for the "Running of the Bulls" which happens in Pamplona this week. It is just over an hour by bus to get there, and we intend on taking the event in tomorrow. We travel by train late tonight and arrive around 1am in Pamplona. We then have about 7 hours to get a good vantage point to watch about 10 seconds of carnage and mayhem. We are greatly looking forward to it.

After Pamplona we will head to Madrid for a night, followed by an overnight train to Lisbon. Unfortunately, all the beds were booked for that night train, so we will have to make do in our normal second class seats.

Today we explored San Sebastian a little bit. After walking along the beach we climbed up the cliff overlooking the sea. We should have some good pictures which we will upload as soon as possible.

Our spanish is horrible, but we have picked up these useful phrases...
"Prefiero el cambio automatico"
"¿Tiene una cuna para la nena?"

Hostel la vista.

Waiting in Bordeaux, France

2005-07-10T16:30:00.000+02:00

Right now Erik is at the station waiting for me to buy food and book trains and hostels. We have 4 hours of "free time" here, but there are no lockers at the station... so Erik is guarding them bored to death while i get to surf the internet. the man has character.

By some miracle we had enough time in Paris yesterday to tour 2 museums (Orsay & Rodin), climb up the Arc de Triomphe, walk along the Champs-Elysées, see the Eiffel Tower, take an hour-long cruise on the Seine, and visit an amazing little Jazz Club (though only for a little while). That is not including a 2 hour wait for train tickets at the station... not a bad day, we thought.

Well, Erik needs food and company, so until next time...

3 countries in 4 days!

2005-07-09T00:18:00.000+02:00

So, Erik and I are in Paris right now. We have been in Amsterdam, then in Bruges, now here. To summarize:

Amsterdam
- bikes
- saw anne frank museum
- heineken museum
- rijk museum
- red light district
- canals

Bruges
- neato
- old buildings
- biked 70km to Flanders Fields spur of the moment
- rented bikes and explored city
- climbed bell tower
- ate chocolate, waffles

Paris
- 362 people in this hostel... just got here, real crazy
- left ourselves 1 whole day to explore the city before we go to San Sebastian, Spain
- Monday we hope to see the running of the bulls!

So those are the straight facts... many enchanting stories to go along with them. Internet is expensive, so we should probably wrap this up.

Does anyone know what's been going on in England? Heard something was up...

Until next time..

Tick Tock

2005-07-04T07:17:00.000+02:00

Erik has managed to book us into a hostel in Amsterdam. Hurray for Erik. I have never been to a hostel, so I look forward to the experience. It seems like a nice, easy-going place to start off our ambitious tour. Check it out:

The Shelter Jordan.

In other news, Andy Steves (the son of Rick Steves, the famous travel-guide writer) and a friend just started their own little European adventure. Hopefully we can run into them somewhere... have you seen how small Europe is? Our chances are pretty good, I figure :)

In a couple days hopefully I can make my first post from Europe. Until then, thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to bookmark this site to check up on us as we travel. We'd love to get some good comments and feedback from our friends.

Testing out Zoto

2005-06-13T18:47:00.000+02:00

If you can see the picture above, then chances are my first test has proven successful. We will be using Zoto.com, or another similar service, to post a plethora of pictures to 59 Days.

By clicking on the pictures, you will be taken to another site, but don't be alarmed. It's quite user-friendly. On the site you will be able to comment on the photos, and read the comments/descriptions that Erik and I have made. Enjoy!

Welcome to 59 Days!

2005-06-13T01:49:00.000+02:00

As you can see, this is the first of (hopefully) many quality posts. Through this simple blog, Erik and I will hopefully keep you updated on our journey through Europe. We will post pictures, journal our thoughts and recent happenings, outline our itinerary, and communicate with all of our friends/admirers/stalkers through this site.

Once again, thank you for stopping by, and don't be afraid to bookmark this page! We'd love to have you back.

An important NOTE: I have set this blog's timezone to Amsterdam's time. Although I am not yet over "there," most of our posts will be made from Europe. Hope that clears up some confusion.