Our Introduction to Ecuador’s Mountains: Quito Climbs and Mucho Viento en Cayambe: Jan. 13-19.

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Mike

When Sarah and I started planning the Still Moonin’ Tour, we each had our own lists of ideal destinations. Some of those were shared, and others required negotiation. Climbing in Ecuador was something I’d wanted to do for a long time, but it took some convincing for Sarah. The mountains are big, and she is not wild about high elevation. It would be expensive because Ecuador requires guides. We also would be pretty far from our normal level of fitness for climbing. When she told me that I could go ahead and do the footwork on researching, I’m pretty sure she thought either I wouldn’t follow through, or I would conclude that it was probably not the best choice for our trip after all. Yet, here we were one year later meeting our team for the next two weeks of high elevation adventure!

Much of our team was already acquainted; as Sarah wrote in our last blog, our close friend Mac had already joined us in Ecuador for our trek around the Quilotoa highlands. Right before we left for that short outing, our good friend Linda had posted on Facebook that she was looking for some type-2 fun before she started a new job in a few weeks. To our welcome surprise, she put together a trip to Ecuador in only a few days—good thing she stays in great shape all the time! Our new teammates—who would soon become awesome friends—were Sophie and A.T. I was a little worried that it would be tough for two other people to join a team of old friends and climbing partners, but both fit in well because of their super positive energy and strong senses of humor! In climbing, it doesn’t take long to form close connections with the right people, and we lucked out in this team of 6.

Our first day consisted of a logistical meeting and a walking tour of Quito’s Old Town; we met our head guide, Jose, at this time. Jose is an internationally certified guide who splits his time between his native country of Ecuador and the Swiss Alps. He didn’t need his fluent German on this trip, but he spoke great English as well. We soon found that in addition to excellent climbing skills, he was a genuinely kind person who went out of his way to ensure our experience was top of the line. I fully expect him to be running his own company someday, if that is the path he chooses.

In addition to seeing cool stuff, our goals for the Quito tour were also to continue acclimating and to start to gel as a team. It’s amazing what a few days in the highlands had done for Sarah, Mac, and I already. We were all moving with normal heart rates and no headaches, and it was much easier to enjoy our walk around Quito than it had been the previous week. We revisited the Basilica that Sarah described in her last blog, but this time we climbed the two towers. There was a pretty memorable vertical staircase that was definitely airy, but the towers provided great views. Quito is really sprawled out, and it is sort of a giant blob of civilization surrounded by nothing but high hills and mountains.

The rest of our tour included a couple of other churches—Quito’s churches are a little different than others that we have visited in South America, which was nice for us. We had a nice lunch of traditional Ecuadorian food—hello, plantains, how I’ve missed you! We also enjoyed chocolate and coffee tastings, strolled through the Grand Plaza, and visited an artesian craft market. By now, we’d also had plenty of time to chat with one another, and I think everyone felt like things were going to be good.

Day 2 was our first acclimation climb—a hike to the summit of 13,700 ft. Pasochoa. The peak has two distinct summits, and it took our group about 3 hours to reach both. Everyone seemed to do quite well with the elevation, and I really liked Jose’s slow, steady pace. He obviously knew what we needed in order to be efficient but also comfortable as we adjusted to thinner air. The hike was nice—not many people—with some cool plants, including long grass that captures dew and rain, thus becoming part of the system carrying water downhill to the people. We enjoyed fine views of the mountains, which often cloud in by mid-afternoon, because it was sunny and clear.

We continued acclimating with our second climb the following day. Pichincha, hovering directly above Quito, was a big step up in elevation—15,600 ft. Our total elevation gain was similar to the previous day, though, because we rode a chairlift up to about 12,000 ft. Pichincha is one of the most popular, accessible peaks from Quito, and so it can be quite crowded. Luckily, we were there on a Thursday, and it wasn’t too difficult to find a pocket of space just for our group. After a couple of hours hiking up a green ridge with good views of Quito and a few glimpses of bigger peaks (Cayambe and Antisana), we finished with a fun scramble through the rocks and a short patch of old forest to the summit. I had expected this to be my least favorite day because of crowds, but it ended up being quite enjoyable. On our descent, the clouds lifted over Cotopaxi—one of our main objectives later in the trip—to offer some stoke as we prepared for larger mountains.

That evening was our final one in Quito before the real expedition began. Our first big attempt—Cayambe—required a good deal of packing logistics: some stuff stayed in Quito, other stuff was to be discarded at the hacienda we’d use after the climb, and then we obviously needed our gear for the climb. Still, we were 2 for 2 and feeling strong. We liked our guide and our team, and both Sarah and I felt like good things were coming our way in Ecuador’s mountains!

 The first of our three major climbs, Cayambe, was supposed to be slightly easier than the other two. The summit sits at 18,900 ft—about 400 ft. lower than Cotopaxi—and most of the glacier travel is a friendly angle of 30-35 degrees. Most of the guides thought it would take 7-8 hours to reach the summit from the hut at 15,100 ft. Our main challenge appeared to be the weather; Jose said 40 km/h winds were predicted over the first 24 hours we’d be there, but our climb wasn’t scheduled until the day after that, so we remained hopeful.

Getting to Cayambe was an adventure in itself; we took our tour bus to Hacienda Guachala, where we’d be staying after the climb, and then hopped into 4-wheel drives for the drive up to the hut. I can only think of one time that I’ve been on a bumpier, more rutted road in my entire life. Once in the park, we met our other guides, Pepe and Mauricio. Pepe is very experienced and has an awesome positive energy 24/7 from what I could tell. Mauricio has a great sense of humor; within 15 minutes of meeting him, he had asked me if I sold drugs on the side since I was a teacher and then promised to find us some lobster in the mountain lakes so that he could make us some soup. Our three guides each had significant differences in personality and style, but they also complimented one other quite well. We were in good hands, even if that soup ended up tasting suspiciously like regular potato soup after all.

As part of our acclimation process, we got out of the trucks and hiked the last 1,000 ft. or so up to the hut. It was even windier than predicted and a bit wet. Apparently, Cayambe bumps right up against the jungle on one side, and the weather there is notoriously unpredictable. We had hoped to get the glacier practice out of the way that afternoon, but the weather continued to deteriorate once we got to the hut. I was impressed with the guides, though, for making the best of things; we spent the afternoon practicing knots (several were new to us) and even prussiked up a rope in the dining room—bringing back memories of Mazamas Lodge and ICS for some of us! Before dinner, the mountain came out for just a bit before the weather came in again.

Unfortunately, wind and precipitation pounded the mountain all night. The sun came out in the morning, though, so we set out in hopes of finding a place for glacier school. We took a more protected route than usual, but even that couldn’t keep the wind off us as we got up near the more open glacier. We ended up doubled over our ice axes or trekking poles several times. Still, it was beautiful up there, and we got up to 16,100 ft.—a new high point—before calling it quits. Every climber on the team had at least some glacier experience, so our guides were comfortable with letting us try this climb without the practice if a weather window opened that evening.

After an afternoon of hurry up and wait…not to mention a surprise birthday cake for Sophie from the small kitchen in the hut—we packed our bags and hit the sack early just in case the weather improved. No luck, though, as we awoke at 11:00 PM to find that it was still quite windy. There was some talk of trying for the sake of the experience, but Jose noticed a lenticular cloud over the mountain—an obvious no-go. So far, we were getting caught up on our sleep during our time in Cayambe.

The next morning, our guides at least found a better spot out of the wind for a little crampon practice on snow and ice. It was still really wet, though, and I think everyone knew that Cayambe just wasn’t meant to be for us. I will admit I wasn’t expecting too much from a couple of hours of glacier school, but our guides were excellent at personalizing instruction; I actually learned quite a bit about crampon technique…including that I had a bad habit or two that they helped me improve! We finished with a couple of top-roped ice pitches, which made for a pretty fun time.

I don’t usually spend much time describing accommodation on our blog, but each of the places we stayed once leaving Quito was unique and exceedingly cool. Hacienda Guachala, our home the evening after our no-go on Cayambe, is the oldest hacienda (1580) in Ecuador. It is quite rustic but also lush with flower gardens, and it features two old churches on its grounds. In its heyday, it seems to have been a town unto itself, but laws passed in the 1920’s limited the amount of land that could be privately owned, forcing it to downsize. The older of the churches also sounded a bit cultish…the priest who started it kept many mistresses, and a good deal of the congregation were his illegitimate children. It was eventually raided by bandits, and people decided it must be cursed.

Our afternoon there really wasn’t anything that sounds special, but I think it will actually stand out in our group’s memory. We’d suffered a little together in the windy wetness that morning and shared a common disappointment on the mountain. So, the community clothesline that Linda put up by the pool, the consolation beers, and the fruitless search for the mummies rumored to be lingering around the hacienda just sort of held their own charm (the avocado soup with popcorn, fresh trout in shrimp sauce, and juicy sirloin steaks didn’t hurt either).

Cayambe wasn’t a success, but it wasn’t a waste either. We spent two days above 15,000 ft. and hiked up to 16,100. We got valuable instruction and practice in our crampons and learned some new knots. Most importantly, we had fun!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Ecuador | 2 Comments

Back to Nature: Quilotoa Loop, Ecuador – January 7 – 13, 2020

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Sarah

South America was one of our favorite destinations on our Many Moons adventure back in 2012, so we were very excited to return.  It has just the right amount of daily adventure with awesome outside pursuits.  Our first destination was Ecuador with plans to climb in the Andes for 2 weeks.  We had been doing our best to stay in shape while in Europe, but neither of us was in prime climbing shape.  In the spirit of “never too late”, we opted to start our travels with a 3-day trek called Quilotoa Loop culminating at a beautiful crater lake.

We were also excited to have our friend, Mac, join us in Ecuador for our climbing trip.  He also opted to fly in early and join our “never too late” hike!  It was so awesome to share this adventure with him.

Quito is at 9,200’, so we spent our first 2 days in Ecuador slowly walking around the city trying to acclimate and do some light sightseeing.  I was pleasantly surprised by Quito.  It was more modern than I expected and has lots of green spaces within the city.  We enjoyed wandering through a botanical garden with a great orchid and bonsai collection as well as exploring old towns’ plazas.  We also dusted off our Spanish skills as we used more in these 2 days than during our 3 weeks in Spain!  I was thankful that both Mike and Mac spoke some!

From Quito, we traveled via bus to Sigchos where we would start our trek.  The bus was filled with locals, had fun Latin music playing, and vendors boarded the bus at each stop selling drinks and snacks.  Along the way, we saw glimpses of Cotopaxi, and endless green hills and farms. We knew that the km/h meter was posted for our safety, but somehow it made us feel less confident that we would survive the curvy descent from a steep pass! South America, we’ve missed you!

For the next 3 days, we would simply be walking from village to village, staying in inns along the way.  When researching this trek, there were only a few blogs to go by and no good map, so we were a bit unsure of what we would find.  It felt a bit undiscovered and adventurous.

Leaving Sigchos, we descended 1000’ to the river below.  The trail was a mix of paths, dirt farm tracks and gravel roads.  To our relief, there were good signs and trail markings showing the way.  We walked past many tiny fields of potatoes, corn and squash.  Once we crossed the river, we had to regain the 1000’ and walked through many cow pastures.  The fence posts were most interesting, as they were live rhododendrons, but trimmed/trained into a post! 

Our destination for the night was a tiny hamlet called Isinlivi with a lodge called the Lulu Llama.  The lodge is eco-friendly and gives back a percentage of their proceeds to the community.  We opted for a cabin here to share with Mac.  It was so cool with amazing views from our terrace, a full skylight shower and even composting toilets (think Smith Rock!).  Water is a premium in this village, so the lodge is trying to minimize its impact.  We enjoyed relaxing the afternoon away while enjoying the views of the valley.  Dinner was family style, and it was fun to chat with our fellow trekkers and share travel stories (although we tried to avoid the guy we called Ted, who looked way too much like the Unibomber).

The next day, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast of fresh fruits and local yogurt and cheese before continuing our trek.  I love having the only goal of the day being to hike from one place to the next.  I find it so relaxing and satisfying!  We again started the day with a descent to the valley floor.  We continued to be impressed with the scenery and got great views looking back towards Sigchos. 

Once at the river, we followed it along until we crossed it on a log.  Then our uphill portion of the day, steep, dusty switchbacks.  We were again rewarded for our efforts with a nice viewpoint over the valley with views back to Sigchos and our first view of the Quilotoa crater rim!  The final 2km were on a main road into Chugchilan.

The hostel in Chugchilan had great views of the valley and was run by a very welcoming family.  The dad, Victor, worked non-stop doing little projects around the place.

Our final day hiking was the longest, and we also gained the most elevation to a high point of 12,777!  Plus, we were rewarded with views of the Quilotoa lake.  Like the last 2 days, we descended to the valley floor to cross the river and then start our hike up.  It was Sunday, so as we walked through the tiny villages, we saw people dressed up on their way to church.  Everyone greets each other on the trail, so I got my practice saying Buenos Dias! 

We got a glimpse into farming life here as we saw a family working a steep hillside.  The men had water tanks on their back and were manually irrigating the field while the women were weeding.  Some of the fields that we saw looked almost impossible to tend, but every square inch of land is used.

After 3000’ of gain, we finally crested the crater rim and got our first views of the lake.  It is a beautiful blue color set off against the green, mountainous backdrop.  From here we, opted for the shorter hike along the rim to the final town of Quilotoa as we still had to catch a 2hr long bus.  The rim trail was awesome and was fun to see the lake from different angles. 

Our hiked ended in the very touristy town where most people access the lake via bus or car.  There were some nice overlooking platforms for us to take a few final pictures.  Our 40km trek was complete, and we were all feeling a little better about our fitness level.  We wanted to get to Latacunga somewhat quickly as we needed to be in Quito the next day to kick off our climbing trip.  We timed it perfectly, as we got on the bus right when we arrived at the bus terminal!

Arriving in Latacunga on Sunday afternoon, we soon realized that Ecuador really shuts down on Sundays!  There were lots of families out and about, but every store front was closed.  It was cool to see people spending time together and not working, but from a traveler’s perspective, it makes it a little challenging.  Finding the hotel was easy but finding a place for dinner was not.  We finally found the one joint in town that was open – pizza- and it was amazing!  It was perfect to fill our hungry bellies.

Our first week in Ecuador was exactly what we needed.  After a few days trekking in the fresh mountain air, we were feeling more fit and acclimated to the altitude.  It was made more interesting by glimpses of everyday life in small farming communities and celebration of community and family on a Sunday.  Plus we got to share the adventure with Mac!  What a way to kick off our month in Ecuador and get us acclimatized for our climbing adventure in the Andes!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Ecuador | 4 Comments

Home for the Holidays: Indianapolis and Minneapolis, USA: December 19 – January 5, 2020

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Sarah

We had an incredible four months in Europe that were filled with adventure, but there is nothing like being home for the holidays.  It was time for the Raffs to head back to the USA to celebrate with the Mathews’ side of the family.  We had a busy 2.5 weeks which we spent primarily in Brownsburg, Indiana at my parent’s house with a quick trip to Minnesota to see my brother’s family.  I’m only going to touch on the highlights.

I did find it a bit stressful to go from living out of one backpack for four months to being home and reunited with all the stuff we left behind in the van.  It was great to have a slight change in wardrobe (jeans felt so good)!  It was a little overwhelming, and a good reminder that we don’t need that much stuff to be happy.

One of the things that we missed the most while traveling was home cooked meals, so we really enjoyed being able to cook at my parent’s house.  I even got to bake a red velvet cake, cinnamon rolls from scratch and help with the family tradition of pasties!

The other thing that I really missed while traveling was a good shower with loads of hot water.  Plus, a shower door so the water doesn’t go all over the bathroom and a fixed shower head!  Oh, and I’ll just add in being able to do laundry every few days is such a treat.

However, the best part of being home was spending time with my family.  I am very lucky to have an amazing family that all get along and have fun together!  We do have a little sibling rivalry, especially when it comes to the placement of each kids’ ornaments on the tree.  My sister moved all her ornaments to the front and center of the Christmas tree, so I decided to take revenge by hiding them around the house.  Once she realized they were missing, she went on an ornament hunt which might just have to become a new tradition!

I also very much enjoyed spending time with my Grandma who will be turning 97 in January.  She perfectly timed several jokes during our Christmas celebration and even got caught cheating playing Taboo!  I cherish every moment that I get to spend with her as she is an amazing person.

We had many new experiences while being home including learning how to ride electric scooters from our 2nd cousins, being driven around by my 16-year-old niece and playing Magic: the Gathering with my nephew!  It was a treat to hang with the “youngs” even if they did call us “ok boomer”!

Craggin’ was happy to have us home, and we took him on a road trip to Minneapolis to visit my brother’s family.  We had a great visit playing with the kids and catching up with my brother and his wife.  I especially enjoyed learning new games and getting crushed in chess by one of my nephews!  Mike enjoyed wresting with the boys and playing bird bingo with his neice.  We did enjoy a few local brewpubs and a really decked out brunch place too.

We rung in the New Year with the family and enjoyed my brother’s amazing tiki cocktails.  I loved having a dance party with the kiddos, and I finally figured out how to be part of the cool club!  We toasted 2020 with our French champagne that we brought from Paris.  It was the perfect celebration.

The last few days was filled with errands and packing.  It was a tricky pack job for only a 2-month excursion to South America.  The tricky part was figuring out what gear to bring for our 2-week high-altitude climbing expedition.  We eventually got it figured out and were ready to catch our flight to Ecuador!  

It was the perfect break in our travels to enjoy lots of family time before transitioning to another continent.  I am very thankful for my generous parents who let us crash at their house for 2.5 weeks and turn their basement into packing madness.  We really enjoyed spending time with everyone and helping prepare and clean-up from the holiday celebrations.  We did miss the Raff side of the family but look forward to spending time with them in May.  The mountains are calling us again, and we must go!  Happy 2020 everyone!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, USA - Summer 2019 | 2 Comments

Paris: Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3, We’re Out (Of Europe)–Dec. 13-18

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Mike

Our final stop in Europe required some flexibility because much of France was in the middle of a transportation strike at the time of our visit. During planning, we originally included Versailles and Reims (the champagne region near Paris) on our itinerary, but those were now out of the question. Paris was going to take some patience, but how often has anyone heard, “I was stuck in Paris…it was awful”?

We immediately struggled leaving the airport. We knew that the metro was almost entirely shut down. Taxis were charging 50 Euros from the airport to town. While the bus system was also running on greatly reduced schedules, the airport bus seemed to be available for 32 Euros. We optimistically ignored the mob waiting in one unsupervised mass for three different buses; I am pretty sure we cut in front of a bunch of people since no one knew where lines started or ended. After 90 minutes and a frustrating number of buses passing without stopping, we finally managed to crowd our way on to the bus. I’m not sure it was worth saving 18 Euro, but at least we made it to town!

The bus dropped us off right by the Eiffel Tower, so my first experience in Paris was standing right below one of the city’s icons. Here’s the thing, though: the Eiffel Tower is pretty darn ugly up close in the daytime! I was starting to wonder whether we’d made a big mistake (you might remember, this isn’t our first experience in a striking country), but Sarah assured me that I’d like the tower better when it was lit up and sparkling at night. Also, cheese.

This was Sarah’s third time in Paris, and she made a great choice in booking our room near Rue Cler market street. We enjoyed strolling along here with Parisians each day to “window lick” at chocolate shops with beautifully decorated morsels, fruit and veggie markets, tempting delis, and fancy boutiques. It was fun to go into wine stores that asked, “what will you be eating?” before making any suggestions, and the fromagerie featured more stinky cheese than I could consume in a lifetime of stinky cheese tasting! Each morning, we’d stop at the boulangerie a block from our hotel, and Sarah would use her French skills to order us amazing pain du chocolate (croissants) and café allonges (Americanos).

French people have a reputation to Americans as being snooty, but we found the opposite in our time; it’s amazing what a smile and a few phrases—“Bonjour, madame!”, “Au revoir, monsieur!”, and “Merci!”—will do to warm others. In our experience with French tourists in other countries, they are insecure about their English, which makes them seem unfriendly. However, I can relate to feeling hesitant to make mistakes in other languages, and we found Parisians willing to make us feel at home.

We spent our first morning on a self-guided historical city walk. Because of the strike, we spent nearly two hours a day just walking. Luckily, we had sunny days, and much of the walking was along the pretty pedestrian boulevards lining the Seine River. It was very interesting to watch the city attempt to operate during the strike; we saw a ton of wobbly old bikes, inexperienced scooter riders, and almost constant traffic jams. We also heard a ton of sirens and saw emergency response vehicles taking over bike lanes in order to get through the jams, but mostly I think everyone stayed safe.

Our first major site was closed not due to the strike but because of fire. Notre Dame Cathedral is still a beautiful building to behold, even if we couldn’t go inside. The front exterior is still mostly intact, and we found it remarkable that they were able to save the rose window during the fire. Even with all the damage and scaffolding, I enjoyed seeing it; someday, I will get to go inside!

The Sainte-Chappelle was the highlight of the morning. King Louis IX had it built from 1242-48 in order to house the supposed Crown of Thorns (no longer there). The cliché, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” is an appropriate description for this chapel; the exterior is quite dull, but stepping inside is like candy for the eyes! The basement level where commoners worshipped has an interesting low ceiling with narrow vaults and colorful floral patterns painted on the walls. However, it pales in comparison to the magnificent upper chapel where royals worshipped. Gothic stained-glass covers nearly the entire area of the walls. No grand statues are necessary here; this colorful light-bathed chapel is perfect as it is!

With the strike limiting our options outside of the city, we focused much of our time on Paris’ famous art museums, beginning with the Louvre. Trying to see everything in this giant former palace would be impossible, and we had no interest in overdosing on a million Madonna and Crucifixion paintings. Instead, we followed Uncle Ricky’s suggested path, which has served us well in the past. Highlights included two stunning Greek statues: the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace. It was cool that we saw these statues near the beginning of our week because these two female figures seemed to pop up often in various other art and architecture around the city.

We were a little disappointed that most of the Raphael and De Vinci works weren’t on display, but I enjoyed the Mona Lisa more than I thought I would; the museum has a new system to allow a few people at a time five minutes to see her without pushing and shoving. I think this made it easier to appreciate her since the painting is not very large. For me, the many ways of interpreting her famed half smile and mysterious eyes made her very intriguing; I think you could look at her every day and match her mood and story to your mood at that particular moment.

The Louvre may have all the heavy hitters, but we both preferred the d’Orsay Museum because of its focus on Impressionism. For Sarah, it was a chance to get to enjoy some old favorites, and I enjoyed getting acquainted with a very pleasant new style of art. The building itself, housed in a former train station, is a novel and cool place for an art museum. Two iconic clocks dress the place up, especially the window clock that offers fine views of the Louvre and famous Ferris wheel in the distance.

Sarah was excited that they had a full exhibit on Degas and his “Dancers” series, so she got her ballet fix for the month, and we both enjoyed the section on Van Gogh. I thought it was interesting the way you could see his chaotic view of the world in the combination of wavy lines and bright colors he used to depict typically serene subjects like churches or his bedroom. Most of all, though, we both loved Monet for his beautiful open-air landscapes; it was amazing to me how he could layer simple broad strokes of different colors to create detailed impressions of nature in its best light.

We spent our afternoon in the Rodin museum; going in, I only knew that he was “The Thinker Guy.” I actually liked much more of his work; he was a stud when it came to depicting twisting lovers doing twisting loving things. Like the Impressionists, his works were often very pretty. He also took risks, though, and some of his more interesting works portrayed very average (even homely) humans.

Still, though, The Thinker was one of those things you need to see before you really get it…on one level, those jokes about sitting on the pot might still not be too far off the mark. On the other hand, though, the subject is a physically gifted worker struggling with deep reflection; the statue’s garden setting seems perfect for avoiding distraction or hiding from buddies who might mock him. It would have been easy for us to skip Rodin after all the art museums we’d done, but I’m glad we went.

We rounded out our art fest the next morning at The Orangerie, which houses Monet’s The Water Lilies. His masterpiece captures the pond outside his home in Giverny. It was sort of interesting to see a museum that was originally intended to hold a specific piece of art; how would you like to have Claude Monet as your interior decorator? He was old and nearly blind by the time he finished but still managed to create an opus requiring 2 rooms and 8 walls—6 ½ ft. tall and 55 ft. long per canvas. Each wall is an impression of the pond in different light; Sarah and I both preferred the morning best because the colors were pretty, but the details were more defined than the blurs of late afternoon’s intense light.

That afternoon we walked the overrated Champs Elysee to the impressive Arc de Triomphe. Napoleon commissioned it to celebrate his army’s surprising victory over Austria’s much larger army at the Battle of Austerlitz. It’s 165 feet tall and very stately. The views from the top were awesome; you could see pretty much any landmark in the city, including a cool view of the Eiffel Tower.  It was also interesting to watch traffic in the gigantic round-about below; unlike anywhere else, incoming cars have the right-of-way. To add to the fun, there were quite a few nubes on bikes trying to join in the fun! I also heard several tired tourists echoing our thoughts, “man, we’ve walked a LONG way this week”!

At this point, we were pretty much over museums, and major protests were planned all over Paris (not because we were tired of art…there was a strike, remember?) the next day. One might ask, WWTRD? You got it: wine tasting! Sarah booked a French wine class with a real sommelier! We learned a few tricks about visual cues (you can judge a wine’s age by the curved meniscus you see when tilting the glass), and it was very cool to learn about the regions of France. Bordeaux, for example, is surprisingly small but produces 6% of the world’s wine! The tasting was the best part, though, and we got to enjoy real champagne and several wines with creative cheese pairings—who knew that bleu cheese and sweet wine play well together? What a fun way to spend a strike day!

 On the way home, we stopped at Napoleon’s Tomb. Sitting below a lovely domed chapel, it’s as grand as you might expect. The walls are carved with images of Napoleon as a Greek god doing wonderful things. While his actual “coffin” looks big and fancy, it’s only the outer shell of several increasingly smaller cases—like one of those Russian babushka dolls. Apparently, his body was perfectly preserved when they opened it to move him nearly 20 years after he died. I don’t know much about Napoleon, but our week in Paris has intrigued me; thanks to Waterloo (and Bill and Ted), he’s often portrayed as a joke, but the dude conquered most of Europe within 5 years of taking the throne at age 30!

We chose to keep our last day in Paris fairly light…no museums! Instead, we walked 500 miles to walk 500 more just to be the couple who walked 1,000 miles to walk around the trendy Marais neighborhood. Actually, it was pretty fun and included the Place de Bastille, the building where Jim Morrison died, cool old mansions that have been turned into public spaces, the Place de Vosges where nobles (and Victor Hugo) once lived, and the Jewish Quarter. We ended at the beautiful city hall where Charles de Gaulle announced liberation from the Nazis. It was an interesting afternoon.

I could write a separate blog just on the food we ate this week (yup, I tried snails), but I will instead describe our most unforgettable meal in Paris. We donned our best hiking pants and $20 sweaters for a 3-course meal at an intimate little place called Bistro Belhara; it was the romantic warm environment that we picture from French dining! Our waiter was charming, funny, and so confident in his recommendations that we just followed his lead. The result was a rich, satisfying meal with an extraordinary dessert! We started with creamy pumpkin soup with a bit of duck confit and spice, and our main course was a flavorful take on boeuf bourguignon. Dessert was an amazingly aromatic, light and fluffy Gran Marnier souffle. These two foodies felt like we’d gone to heaven!

We capped off our week in Paris by standing below the Eiffel Tower as it shimmered in sparkling lights at the top of the evening hour. While I wasn’t impressed with it at first glance the week before, I’d learned to appreciate its beauty from different angles around town, and it was dazzling at the right moment in the right light. Considering some of the limitations of our visit, it was a fairly good metaphor for two very casual art fans being “stuck” in Paris during a strike before we finally came home for the holidays.

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, France | 4 Comments

Castles, Spires and History: Czechia: December 7 -12, 2019

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Sarah

As Mike mentioned in his last blog, once we had decided to head back to Central Europe to see Vienna, I quickly finished the itinerary with Prague.  I was excited to explore the city of spires and to learn about the Czech Republic’s history. 

On our way to Prague, we had a day layover in Cesky Krumlov.  The town is tiny, but it was fun to walk through the medieval streets.  Old town is full of pensions and restaurants as all the locals live in new town, so it feels a little too touristy.  However, the views from the castle and nearby hills are amazing.  We made the most out of the warm sunny day by taking a few random hikes to nearby hill tops.  It felt great to be outside in nature, and every little bit will help us get in shape for climbing in Ecuador!

The highlight was dinner at a small local pub.  The pub wasn’t busy but there were a few locals including a grandpa and his family.  Midway through our dinner, an accordion player arrived.  Turns out the grandpa was a singer and this pub is their favorite location to sing Czech folk songs.  The other patrons in the restaurants were Czech tourists, so it turned into quite the sing-along affair with the kids dancing.  It was such a fun night to enjoy the Czech beer and listen to their music!

We had 3 days to explore Prague and packed in the sightseeing.  The first day we focused on old and new town following Uncle Ricky’s tour.  We have really enjoyed these throughout Europe.  Mike  navigates and reads with his great teacher’s voice.  I take the photos (only when allowed😊).  Mike often impersonates Ricky making me laugh especially when we do the spin tours.

Old town square is in the heart of the city and is home to a big Christmas market.  The square is awesome and very large.  In the center is a moving sculpture of Jan Hus, a religious reformer, who has become a symbol of Czech Nationalism.  In 1400, he led the Hussite movement to allow everyone to drink wine at communion, not just the priests.  Eventually, he was burned at the stake here in the square.  But the Hussites prevailed and became the main religion for 200 years until the Habsburgs overtook Czechia and reinstated Catholicism. 

Towering over the square on one side is the Tyin church with twin fancy spires that are unlike anything we have seen before.  They look so elegant and pretty with numerus small spires.  The front of the church shows both its Catholic and Hussite roots…a chalice = Hussite + Mary = Catholics.

Across the square is old town hall and its famous bell tower with its astronomical clock swarmed by tourists.  It is quite the spectacle!  At the top of the hour, the clock does a fancy cuckoo clock-like routine.  There are 4 visible statues that start to move with death pulling the bell.  Meanwhile, through 2 small doors, the 12 apostles appear.  At the end, the rooster crows and a tiny bell chimes.  I thought it was hilarious that such a tiny bell ended this large spectacle! 

The clock itself is quite cool with many things that it tracks…time, time of sunset, zodiac signs and the daily saint.  We had a fun time trying to figure out how it all worked.  Amazing that it was built in the 1400’s!

Continuing our city tour, we visited the Powder Tower.  It is 500 years old and the only surviving part of the old city wall.  It was also the city’s formal entrance and housed…you guessed it: gun powder!  There was a ton of traffic as this was the main car exit from old town.  It made me thankful for the many traffic free zones that we have enjoyed during our European travels.

From here, we headed to the new town’s Wenceslas Square which was named for the duke who united the Czech people in 900 to create a nation.  This square is the home of several key protests during the communism era including the 1968 Prague Spring.  During this time, the secretary tried to lessen the oppressive restraints and let the people enjoy a little more freedom.  However, the Soviets didn’t approve, so they invaded in August with tanks and over 200,000 soldiers to gain control.  It was hard to imagine what that must have looked and felt liked while standing in this square!

Military presence remained in Prague until the Velvet Revolution in 1989.  In November, there was a student demonstration near this square that the Soviets squashed.   Nine students died and a thousand were arrested.  This kicked off another protest which lasted for a month.  Every evening, 300k Czechs stood in this square jingling their keys to express their desire for the doors to be unlocked and for the Soviets to leave.  It worked and led to a peaceful end to communism.  Again, so much history in this one spot.  One of my favorite parts of traveling is to learn about history and stand in these spots imagining what it must have been like.  It also makes me so grateful to have grown up in the States only hearing about these events and not experiencing them.

The last stop of the day was the Jalta Hotel’s Cold War Museum located on Wenceslas Square.  The museum is in a former nuclear fallout shelter that was also used to spy on the hotel’s guests.  The tour was fantastic, and I felt like I was part of a spy novel.  We got to see the air filtration system, escape tunnels and the telephone listening system.  Our college-age tour guide was super knowledgeable and quite funny.  We got to see a toilet paper roll (aka lots of thin little pieces of paper).  When they ran out, they used the propaganda newspapers as they were cheap and plentiful.  It was a great stop!

TP is the pile in the bottom left of this picture.

On day 2, we explored the castle area of town.  Our first stop was Charles Bridge, dating from 1357.  We arrived before the hordes and were rewarded with amazing views with good morning light!  The bridge is 7 football fields long and was the only bridge for 400 years.  The bridge is lined with statues of saints that were added during the Habsburg’s rule to remind the citizens to be good Catholics.

From the bridge, we walked up the steep hill to the castle square.  We were happy to see that we had again beat the rush and opted to tour the St. Vitus Cathedral first.  The cathedral is pure gothic with its spires, flying buttresses and vaulted ceilings.  The first thing you notice when you enter is the light.  The front of the church is flooded with it and draws you inside.  The church took forever to be built; started in 1344 and finally finished in 1929!  Halfway down the aisle is a slight lift in the floor which indicates the half that was finished first.

My favorite part was the Wenceslas Chapel.  Historically, the kings and queens were coronated in this chapel and the crown jewels are still stored here.  They are in a special safe that has 7 unique keys held by 7 different Prague citizens. 

After touring the church, we went into the old palace.  The great hall was huge as they built it long enough to joust indoors!  The best part was the interlacing ceiling which added a nice detail to the giant space.

Following our full morning of touring the castle area, we opted for lunch at the nearby monastery’s brewery.  It was founded in 1628, and the beer was awesome!  I ordered a grilled cheese thinking it would be nice on a cold day.  Well, it literally was just grilled cheese!  Delicious, but not quite what I was expecting.

We were tired by our 3rd day in Prague, so we opted for a low-key morning to catch up on journals and the blog.  Luckily, our hotel had a cozy living room with a fake, crackling fire and classical music. It was the perfect place to enjoy an extra cup of coffee and catch up.  We also enjoyed it each evening as they provided free wine!

After our relaxing morning, we decided to tour the Jewish Quarter which was right down the street from our hotel.  The Jews were forced to live in this swampy area in very tight quarters with many restrictions and super high taxes.  In the 1890’s, many of the medieval buildings were demolished to make way for wide streets and Art Nouveau style buildings.  Most of the synagogues survived and are open to the public as museums.

Our first stop was the Pinkas Synagogue which has been turned into a memorial for victims of the holocaust.  The walls are covered with 77,297 names of Czechia Jews who died.  The names are handwritten and organized by city and name.  Every wall of the 16th century synagogue is covered.  While touring, you listen to a recording of the names being spoken.  Of the 55k Jews in Prague in 1940, only 10k survived, and only 3k live in Prague today.

Upstairs is an exhibit of children’s drawings from the Terezin camp outside of Prague.  The teacher in the camp, had the children draw these and hid them away when she was sent to another camp.  She survived and retrieved the drawings to tell the stories.  Most of the children died.  It was heartbreaking to see the children’s interpretation of their daily lives.   

Outside the synagogue is the Old Jewish Cemetery.  This was the only legal cemetery for 400 years, and over 85k people are buried here with 12k crooked tombstones. Space was limited, so they buried on top of each body raising the level of the ground to 6’ above current city street level!

Our last stop of the day was the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest in Central Europe, built in 1270.  It is 6’ under modern street level.  The inside is gothic and quite Christian looking as it was built by Christian stone masons most familiar with building churches.

Prague held up to my expectations and it is such a beautiful city.  The sightseeing was awesome, and I really enjoyed learning about their fascinating history.  It was a great last stop of our Central Europe tour before heading to our last stop… Paris!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Czech Republic | Leave a comment

Salzburg: Mozart, Mountains, and Markets–Dec. 4-6.

Posted on December 28, 2019 by Mike

After I allegedly chose Vienna as a new destination for us, Sarah immediately requested that we go to Prague; Salzburg was almost an afterthought to break up the trip, but I started getting more excited about it after researching a little more deeply before we went. Despite having fewer big attractions than Vienna, Salzburg features a beautiful setting along a river at the foot of the Austrian Alps. Even better, we were going to be here on St. Nicholas Day, making the Christmas markets even livelier than normal.

We spent our first day wandering around Salzburg’s lovely old town area. Thanks to both a clifftop fortress overlooking the city and the ability to ship (and tax) the region’s rich salt deposits on the river (Salz+Burg=Salt+Town), Salzburg controlled half of Austria during the city’s peak. A Rome-loving leader helped give it the distinctly Italian flair that made the city famously picturesque, with interconnected squares, fountains and statues, and Baroque domes (38 Catholic churches). Many of the main squares also featured Christmas markets while we there, and Salzburg more than anywhere else put me in the holiday spirit.

Salzburg’s baroque style cathedral was a refreshing change after the long line of Gothic churches we’d toured throughout Europe. Two domed towers with balustrades and half-columns were distinguishing features of the exteriors. When you step inside, your first observation is its impressive height, partly because the central dome’s skylight draws your focus forward and upward…like a light shining down from heaven. Stucco and brightly painted murals added to this effect, and I found myself enjoying the contrast to so many of the dark gothic cathedrals we’d visited. Still though, Austrian-faced Jesus looked a little strange after all the Italian and Spanish-faced messiahs the past few months. The church contained 5 separate organs—Mozart not only played and composed masses here, but this was also the site where he was baptized.

One of the things I liked about Salzburg was the small rural feel it somehow maintained while also being a large modern city. I think the best descriptive term would be “old world charm.” A good example was the water wheel that powers a flour mill near the Cathedral. As early as the 12th century, wheels like this were used as a part of a clean freshwater system that piped water from the Alps to the city; Salzburg was among the only large European cities never to suffer the plague. Today, it also prevented us from suffering hunger; the bakery attached to the mill served up some pretty tasty rolls!

Mozart’s birthplace was probably the main attraction we toured; of course, Salzburg’s history as the real life home of the Von Trapp family would be of equal interest to many, but no matter how popular Sound of Music might be, I prefer not to spend time on things that suck. Anyway, Mozart’s birthplace is museum that covers 3 floors of the building in which he was born and raised. It’s sort of a weird hodgepodge of his possessions (combs, locks of hair, letters, his childhood “square piano”), interesting biographies of his family, and records of his accomplishments (awards, composition notes), and portraits. 

It was sort of funny that every likeness of ol’ Wolfgang Amadeus in Salzburg is thought to be a poor likeness except for one about the size of a postage stamp; I think he might not have been the best looking fellow. Also, according to the museum, Mozart did not end up in poverty, he just owed way more money than he made! Despite the ragtag organization of the exhibit, I did learn quite a bit about him, and one could do worse than listening to Mozart for an hour or two. Oh, I almost forgot, Sarah decided to take a picture of our longtime bane—the no photo plaque—only to be reprimanded sternly for the photographing “no photo”!

As usual, we spent most of our time in the city’s old town, but we also tried to venture to the new town for meals—often we have a better experience for both food and atmosphere. Salzburg has a great beer scene, and Biergarten die Wiesse brewed some of the best beer we had in Europe. This wood-paneled hall with Christmas lights draped over mounted antlers was full of both travelers and locals enjoying cheap pub grub and pints. I ordered something with some seriously stinky cheese in it, and Sarah grabbed some Spatzle with fried onions and bacon. The stars, though, were the dunkel and Christmas ale that I wished I could have taken home.

That evening we had a vast array of entertainment. As I mentioned earlier, it was St. Nicholas Day in Austria, and he was set to make an appearance in the main square around 7:00. He wouldn’t be alone, though, because he is only the good cop that rewards nice children; Krampus, on the other hand, is a horned goat thing that scares naughty children into better behavior by threatening to kidnap them in the basket he wears on his back. As many as 1,000 Krampuses invade the town on St. Nicholas Day (I guess it is actually a big problem sometimes as drunken Krampuses get carried away and even violent). We toured the Christmas market for a bit before waiting by the stage as a drum team tried to entice Krampus into the square; we had to leave, though, because we had tickets to a concert. Luckily, we ran right into the mob of creatures as we left the square—Sarah even got hit over the head by one of them, but I guess that was actually supposed to bring good luck.

The concert was great! It was set in a fancy hall that was small enough to make us feel that the string quintet was playing directly to our regal selves as we relaxed with other nobles in the court. The quintet was sometimes accompanied by an oboe and always by a harpsicord. They played Mozart, Vivaldi, and a couple of other composers I didn’t know. I’d never heard live classical music in a setting this intimate, and I found it very pleasant. The violinist and the cello both played by memory alone, and each member sort of brought his/her own distinct personality to the show. The main violinist was a real showman who put every emotion he had into his energetic and talented performance. Sarah and I don’t often go to live music of any sort at home, but we thought maybe we should start after this memorable night.

With our second full day in Salzburg, we went for hike right outside town. Neither winter conditions nor time would allow us into the mountains, but we were able to hike a couple of miles through an urban park to a great viewpoint of the old town and fortress. We enjoyed the sunny but brisk air, and the trees still held their orange leaves. It was a beautiful way to experience Salzburg while burning off some of the heavy Austrian food and beer. We decided to keep the walking theme going after returning to town; there is a wonderful trail connecting both sides of the river with pedestrian bridges.

To cap off our day, we stopped at the rowdy Augustiner Braustubl beer hall before heading home. This monk-run brewery features two giant open tavern halls and an outdoor beer garden. You grab either a ½ or full liter mug, rinse it out, pay, and give your receipt to the keg guy. He fills your mug to overflowing with cold, foam-topped beer and slams it down on the counter. The beer wasn’t quite as good as the stuff from the day before, but when else do you get to drink beer next to a table of 40 Austrian regulars (this is a beer club that is called a Stammtisch; they meet regularly and missing it results in a beer fine)?

Salzburg was an interesting mix of history, musical arts, and beautiful scenery (manmade and natural); plus, the Christmas festivities made our experience even better! Both Sarah and I wished we had more time in Vienna and Salzburg, and I think they are near the top of our list for a return some day. I am glad we experienced them around the holiday, but I’d love to explore the outdoor playground of the Danube River near Vienna and Salzburg’s Austrian Alps as well!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Austria | Leave a comment

The Raff’s in Elegant Vienna, Austria: November 30 – December 3, 2019

Posted on December 25, 2019 by Sarah

“I pick Vienna” said Mike during our planning session on where to go in Europe for our last few weeks.  I was surprised but thrilled.  Later, he said he didn’t even remember picking Vienna, but he thought it was a good choice. So, we dropped our original plan to spend longer in Morocco (you might remember we ended up not going there at all)  and headed back to Central Europe to enjoy the Christmas markets, beer and learn some more about those Habsburgs. 

Vienna greeted us with sunshine but cold temperatures and a freezing wind.  I was thankful for our new Black Friday duds that we bought in Granada (You may also enjoy us wearing something new).  It was quite the difference from Granada’s 60-degree weather!  It was so cold, that even the horses have hats.

One of the things I was most excited about experiencing was the Christmas markets!  They did not disappoint, and I enjoyed checking out the different markets around town.  One of the best parts was experiencing Gluwein, a hot red wine.  It’s not just the wine that is fun but also the whole process of renting a mug for a small deposit.  It was neat and fun to see the locals enjoying their Gluwein while walking around the markets.

Of course, I also really liked the giant pretzels!  Plus, we did a little Christmas shopping for the family.  I was surprised at the variety of each shop and the quality of the items.  Such a great way to get in the Christmas spirit!

We continued our Vienna-cultured drinking by going to several cafes.  The cafés are so elegant with chandeliers and velvet benches.  We enjoyed our cup of coffee and watched the Viennese enjoy their coffee while reading the papers.  The newspapers are held together with wooden spines.  It was exactly what I pictured it to be in my head.

The desserts in the cafés are also amazing.  The Sacher Torte was made famous in 1832 because the king took a liking to it.  There is always a line to get in, so we waited 30 minutes in the freezing cold.  The inside of the café is quite posh.  The cake was delicious as was my hot chocolate with chocolate liquor, which warmed me right up.

Continuing with our culinary experience, we also enjoyed the largest and best schnitzel I have ever eaten.  The local joint near our hotel was packed, so we thankfully shared a table with some friendly locals.  They are famous for their portions, so they even have a table in the dining room with aluminum foil to wrap up your leftovers!  It was yummy as was our first Austrian beer.

Vienna is famous for its music, so we took advantage of their economical ways to enjoy it as a local.  The first experience was attending Sunday Mass at Augustinian church.  This is the royal church where the Habsburgs attended, and it is well known for its music at mass.  We were treated to an amazing choir accompanied by the organ.  Everything was in German, so we just followed along and enjoyed the music and people watching.

We also opted to attend the opera.  There are 597 standing seats for each show for 10 Euros each.  It is quite the steal!  We got our tickets and were shepherded inside to our “seats”.  It was packed, but I scored us a spot with a railing and a wall!  We secured our spot by tying my scarf around the railing. Then we headed out to explore the beautiful building and people watch.  We got a glass of wine and found a spot to sit.  The people were decked out. We saw evening gowns and tuxes.  We did our best, but we were severely underdressed in our new sweaters and climbing approach shoes!

The opera was Don Giovanni by Mozart.  We had a little screen translating the music to English, so it was easy to follow along.  The music was awesome, and the story was funny.  What an amazing treat to see an opera in the famous Vienna Opera house. 

It is a tradition to eat at the brat stand outside the opera house after the show.  Since we were standing, we only made it through the first act.  Afterwards we were starved so headed to the stand.  We both ordered a currywurst.  The worker told us that the currywursts do not come on a bun. I said, no problem and Mike said I’ll take whatever comes on a bun.  Well, the guy misunderstood us and after a giant sigh, proceeded to slap the currywursts on buns.  We felt bad making such a faux pas, and I’m pretty sure he thought we were dumb.  Oops!

I loved walking around Vienna as you are surrounded by elegant buildings and store fronts.  We really enjoyed our daily walking commute to downtown.

In pure gothic elegance, St. Stephens Cathedral towers over old town.  It has a gothic exterior and was completed in 1453.  It is unique for its south tower (450’ tall) completed before the church and all in the gothic style.  Most of the time, the tower is completed last.  I also liked the colorful roof tiles including the Habsburg double eagle.

The interior was also beautiful.  I think the church architects had a good sense of humor. Under the royal balcony, there is a statue of the architect, supporting the entire thing. 

I especially liked the pulpit built into a column with great details in the stonework.  Wheels rolling uphill with 3 spokes (for the Holy Trinity) and wheels with 4 spokes rolling down (for the 4 elements of earth).  Plus, the designer is peaking out a window below!

To continue our education on the Hapsburgs, we toured the imperial apartments in their city palace called the Holfburg.  It included their extensive porcelain collection which showed off the pure wealth of the Habsburgs.  There were so many china place settings and salt and pepper shakers!  The highlight was a table set for a banquet.  The center piece was over the top:  all mirrors, candles, and flowers – of course all gold plated!  Each place had it owns wine and water decanters plus a full setting of silverware.  Just wow!

We continued our tour of the Habsburgs’ wealth with a quick visit to the treasury to see their crown jewels.  Highlights included:

Crown of Rudolf II (1602).  Super fancy and looked like a helmet.  It was used as the Holy Roman Emperor (HRE) crown for centuries.

2,680 carat emerald that was never cut as the cutter was too scared he would shatter it.  It was big but ugly.

HRE crown from 960.  So many giant jewels and gold!

On our last day in Vienna, we opted for a quick day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia.  The two capitals are the closest in all of Europe, only 50km apart.  During the Hapsburg rule of Hungary from 1526-1830, Bratislava was the capital of Hungry.  This made it easy for the Habsburgs to keep an eye on both kingdoms.

Old town was abandoned for years during communism and has just started to come back to life with shops and restaurants.  After the fall of communism, it took many years to figure out who were the rightful owners of each of the buildings in town.  We enjoyed walking around the town and checking out the UFO bridge.  I also enjoyed the random statues!

Our time in Vienna was jam-packed with sightseeing, markets and enjoying the local culture.  I was surprised how much we both enjoyed it, and we both want to come back someday.  I’m thankful that Mike picked Vienna, even if he can’t remember doing it!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Austria | 2 Comments

Granada: Our Spanish Grand Finale–Nov. 27-29

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Mike

As you may have figured out from our last few blogs, the bad weather in Spain drug us down a bit before a couple of great days of sun and hiking rejuvenated us in beautiful Ronda. We were happy to see the sunny weather hold as we visited Granada, our final destination in Spain. Good thing too because Granada was a beautiful city to experience a pie (on foot).

Our first full day in Granada was Thanksgiving, which meant…absolutely nothing (although Black Friday is a thing here). I was really hoping to witness an American accost some Spanish passerby in a slow, loud voice, “Do—you—have—tur—key—on—Thanks—giv—ing—in—your—coun—try?” Alas, I was disappointed and instead had to reflect on how thankful I was to be on this trip with Sarah.

We did have a funny experience that evening, though. Granada is one of the only Spanish cities that generally maintains the tradition of a free tapa with every drink; we went out for a glass of wine that evening and got a small plate of free salty fried fish bites. If you know Sarah, she was less than thrilled with the fish part. I finished my wine first and ordered a second glass…out came a slightly larger plate of fried sardines. A few minutes later Sarah decided to have a second glass also…this time accompanied by a plate of even bigger whole fried fish. I think I’m safe in saying this will be the only time I eat three plates of fried fish for Thanksgiving Dinner!

Granada was the final stronghold of the Moors in Spain before falling in 1492 about the same time that Columbus was sailing the ocean blue. Today’s old town doesn’t always seem that old, yet the city still bears much of the Mudejar influence in some places. Tio Rico (Rick Steves) notes in his guidebook the mistake it is to think of the Moors as a separate entity to the Spanish…they were in the country for 700 years (far longer than Romans, another group of conquerors that we romanticize instead). Think of how many generations of people were born and how much development a country would see in that amount of time. Moorish rulers may have been driven from power, but 700 years of people didn’t completely disappear from Spain. I thought it was a good way of changing my own perspective as I enjoyed the fountain-centered squares and minaret-turned bell towers around Granada.

After a morning touring old town’s mix of past and present, we enjoyed a different Moorish holdover—a good soak in the Hammam (Turkish bath). When we visited Turkey during our last trip, we did the whole process of being scrubbed and rinsed, a process that falls halfway between a rejuvenating spa experience and, um, waterboarding. This time, we chose to spend an hour moving between cold, warm, and hot tubs in a quiet, candle-lit, tiled and fountain-filled oasis. Sarah was her usual brilliant self and had found a great deal that came with 30-minute massages for next-to-nothing, so we left walking a little taller than we had in a month or so.

NO FOTO!!

Our main reason for coming to Granada was the Alhambra, a famously picturesque Moorish palace that covers 100,000 square meters of hillside overlooking the old town. We had tickets to see it the following day but took advantage of the afternoon sun to walk up to a good viewpoint for a sneak preview. It was crowded with selfie-snappers, Roma/hippy vendors, and bad Flamenco singers who passed the hat (propina por la musica?) after every single song, but the views were fantastic and left us excited for the next day.

We didn’t plan to save the best for last in Granada, but it certainly worked out that way. As with many of Spain’s top attractions, reserving timed entries is the only way to ensure admission, and the Alhambra sells out basically every day. Sarah had reserved tickets nearly a month in advance, and we planned everything else around it, not realizing that eventually it would work out that we’d see it on our last day in the country.

The Alhambra is the site of at least 7 palaces through the centuries and probably also hosted a fort as early as Roman times. It was the last stand for the Moors in Spain, and it is also the best-preserved major site from their time because it fell to the Christians without bloodshed. In its heyday, it was virtually a city by itself. Getting to it requires a grand parade up a pretty tree-lined hill, which apparently is part of the former walled city’s modern defense!

As with any important Muslim locale, water is a central design focus. The wonderful Courtyard of the Myrtles is built around a lovely long rectangular pool of reflective water. The buildings on the long sides of the courtyard once housed the sultan’s wives (four max), while the mistresses (as many “as could be maintained with dignity”) literally got the short ends. Because women couldn’t be seen outside, though, none of them got to hang out in the great patio like us. Another trademark characteristic is symmetry, which gave the courtyard a satisfying wholeness. In a niche at each corner, we got our first peaks at the stucco “stalactites” that appear throughout the palace; like much of the palace, they were originally painted brightly.

The Grand Hall of Ambassadors was my favorite room. Basically the throne room, it is the largest in the Alhambra. It is a perfect cube that feels even larger because of its open design below a giant dome decorated as a starry night sky, and effect achieved through 8,017 inlaid wooden pieces! If someone needed a reminder of the sultan’s closeness to Allah, he/she wouldn’t have to look far—“Allah is victorious” appears in calligraphy 9,000 times throughout the palace, and a good portion of those reminders are in the Grand Hall. It was, however, the place where Boabdil signed his surrender to the Christians and also where Columbus finished his sales pitch to Isabella—two important historical events that seem strangely unromantic for the grandeur of this room.

The Courtyard of the Lions may be the most popular sight in the palace. Its center fountain features 12 lions, so it doesn’t exactly deserve an award for most original name. Moors were good at math and engineering, and the fountain was a good example that sparked the curiosity of their Christian successors. They took it apart to see how it worked, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put it back together correctly again! It’s actually only worked correctly for the past seven years. The rest of the courtyard was exotically tiled with designs of vines, geometrical patterns, and more Allah reminders…very pretty while also reducing heat in the hot summers.

Before heading out, we enjoyed touring the pretty gardens; it was actually warm and dry enough to stroll around a bit for change. One last fun stop was called the Room of Secrets because of its great acoustics. You can stand in one corner and whisper into the wall, and your wife will be able to hear it by placing her ear against the opposite corner. Seems dangerous to me. It was a fun place to giggle a little before heading back down the hill while trying to avoid those murderous falling tree branches. Seriously, though, the Alhambra was a great exclamation point to our Spanish sightseeing!

With all that sightseeing out of the way, we wanted a final night on the town before leaving Spain. We’d been trying to get into the most popular tapas bar in town for the past 3 days at this point, but it is the most packed place we’ve ever seen. Neither Sarah nor I are big fans of crowds, and Spanish people seem to require even less personal space than the rest of the non-North American world. Since half the town was at the Christmas tree lighting this evening, though, we thought we might be able to catch it when it was just incredibly busy instead of monumentally jammed. It worked out great, and we enjoyed a nice spot big enough for two people to stand at the bar and enjoy some tasty del Duerro crianza red wine with delicious tapas before heading out for the paseo among Granada’s shimmering Christmas lights!

Spain did not quite live up to our elevated expectations, but we’ve also realized that those expectations were unrealistic for the last three weeks of November. Many of the things that appealed most to our personal interests when we originally started planning last year involved the outdoors—Basque shepherd country, mountain hikes or rock climbing, or maybe even some beach time. What we got instead were interesting cities and cultural experiences, a few disrupted plans and extra hours waiting out pouring rain and windstorms, two great days of hiking in Ronda, and a lifetime’s ration of jamon. Looking back, though, we had great experiences of some days and fun times almost every day. We may not have loved Spain, but we liked it quite a bit and are both happy that we went there. I don’t think anywhere else in Europe can give you quite the same experience as Espana, and that is not something that I have been able to say about every country here. For now, though, enough reflection…it’s time to move on to the Christmas markets and coffee shops of Vienna!

This is not Vienna.
Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Spain | 2 Comments

Rambling in Ronda, Spain: November 24 – 26, 2019

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Sarah

The next stop on the Raffs’ adventure was Ronda, a small town in the white hills.  We arrived in time to enjoy sunshine and warm weather, which was a much-welcomed treat after our days of rain in Sevilla and Tarifa. 

Ronda is known for its cliffside perch with a deep gorge, spanned by a historic bridge, cutting through the middle of town.  It has a great strategic location to protect itself from invaders.  It is also a photographer’s paradise as the cliffs and bridge get perfect evening light!

It felt so great to be in a small country town.  Street noise was non-existent, with plenty of fresh air and easy-to-pick restaurants as there are not as many options.  It was the perfect location for us to spend a few days.  Most people only spend 1 night, but we opted to throw in a full extra day to take advantage of the beautiful weather and scenery.

Speaking of places to eat, one of my favorite restaurants in all of Spain was in this tiny town… Casa Maria.  There is no menu; you eat whatever the chef feels like making that day.  You get a few starters, main course and dessert.  Sounded like fun, plus they do a wine pairing!  We loved it, and the space was cozy and small. 

The food was incredible.  We started with asparagus, salmon with truffles, scallops, and toast with tomato puree.  The main course was steak that came out on a hot rock so you could finish cooking to your own preference.  Dessert was creme caramel.  It was quite the unique experience, and I highly recommend it if you are ever in Ronda!

From town, we could see mountains in the distance, and they were calling our names.  Public transportation between the white towns is very limited so we couldn’t quite get the bus schedule to work for us.  We also didn’t feel like spending the money on a rental car.  Luckily, the TI in town sells local maps of hiking trails that start from old town.  You can basically hike in any direction from town on a variety of rural roads, paths and trails.  They are well signed and have a varied of distances and difficulty.

The first day we opted to do 2 shorter hikes with a lunch break in town (luxurious for the Raffs).  The first hike led us south out of town on a single lane road to an old Roman fountain.  We decided to keep following the path to see if we could find the Roman aqueduct on our map, but no luck.  Instead we just enjoyed the views. 

Our second hike was to descend below town and walk along the cliffs.  We got some great views of the towering cliffs and famous bridge.  The cliffs looked fun to climb from a distance, but up close they were loose conglomerate (removable handholds, so no thanks)!

On our second day, we took advantage of the nice weather and set out for a full day ramble.  We headed west toward the mountains that we had been admiring.  We walked mostly on single lane roads through green rolling hills.  We eventually came to a steeper hillside and a path that led to a summit with a tiny church and a via ferrata.  Darn, no gear, so no via ferrata for the Raffs.  As we descended toward the little village of Montejaque, we saw a group of 4 soldiers hiking uphill fully kitted out with big guns.  It was a little strange, but we just thought they were out for a training hike.

From here, we still had a little more energy, so we continued toward another cliff band which we walked below for a while.  On the top of the cliffs were huge vultures that at first, I thought were people!  Once we wrapped around the cliff, we decided it was time to turn around. 

We headed back towards the little church and saw close to 100 soldiers all taking a break at the base.  It was a little strange to see, but we just kept on hiking.  At the top of the viewpoint, we came across 4 soldiers dressed up like the Taliban with big guns.  It just took a few seconds for it all to click that this was a training exercise for the group below. They gave us big friendly waves to put us at ease, but it did get our heartrates up!

The views hiking back were great.  It was fun to see tiny Ronda from a distance on its cliff.  It was such a great way to spend the day, just wish we had more time to explore the mountains and do some via ferrata!

We did do a little sightseeing in town itself including its historic bull ring.  It was built in the 1700’s.  It had a small museum displaying historic matador costumes and explaining their history.  As part of the tour we were even allowed to walk through the middle of the actual bull ring.  We had some fun imagining what it would be like to be a matador.

We both needed a few days outside the city.  Ronda was perfect vacation from our vacation location.  Exercise plus nature makes everything better!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Spain | Leave a comment

Flexibility is the Name of the Game: Tarifa, Spain and Gibraltar, UK: November 21 – 23, 2019

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Sarah

Tarifa, Spain is known for two things: world-class kite surfing and easy ferry access to Morocco.  Our original plan was to travel from Spain to Morocco for a whirlwind 7-day tour and then head back to France.  After further research, we decided to go to Central Europe instead and just do a quick day trip to Morocco. 

We left Sevilla on another rainy day and took a 3-hour bus ride south to Tarifa, arriving in the rain.  Tarifa is a tiny coastal town with a walled old town.   The town is mostly shut down at this time of year.  Since it was the weekend, a few restaurants were open and not much else. 

Our plan was to day trip to Morocco the following day, but we received an email that due to a big storm with 40 mph+ winds, the ferries would be shutdown for the day.  So, we had a choice to stay in Tarifa an extra day or skip Morocco and continue to Gibraltar as planned.  We decided to stay the extra day in Tarifa and hope to travel to Morocco the next day.

Staying in a little town with not much to do ended up being a nice change of pace.  We slept in, wrote in our journals and even braved a few walks along the sea.  The kite surfers were loving the high winds, so we enjoyed watching them fly across the water and catch some serious air!

We also enjoyed the change of cuisine in town including an amazing vegetarian restaurant specializing in Indian and Moroccan food.  It was a nice change from the meat heavy foods in Madrid, Toledo and Sevilla!

The following day, we were up early and at the ferry station excited to go to Africa.  Unfortunately, the winds were still too high, so the ferry was canceled at the last minute.  We had 2 choices: we could wait around for the 1pm ferry which may or may not go, or we could make the best of it and go to Gibraltar.  We opted to skip town and go to the UK.

Since it was a Sunday, there were limited buses running between all the coastal towns.  So, we high-tailed it back to our room, canceled our room, packed up and quickly walked to the bus station.  Two buses and 2.5 hours later, we arrived in La Linea Conception which is the border town to Gibraltar.  We dropped our bags at a hotel and walked 10 minutes to the border.  It was the easiest border crossing ever, as all we had to do was flash our passport. 

It was quite strange to now be in an English-speaking country after the last 3.5 months.  Most people travel to here to see Gibraltar Rock, buy cheap booze and cigarettes or as a quick sunny vacation. 

Since it was so windy, the cable car to the top of the Rock was closed, so we opted for a minibus tour.  Our driver/guide was great and was constantly telling us the history of Gibraltar, what it was like to live there and their current political news.

Gibraltar Rock is prominent as it dramatically rises from the flat peninsula.  It has been a strategic military position for the UK since the 1700’s.  During a Spanish siege, they hand dug tunnels to provide better vantage points for their cannons.

 In WWII, they expanded the tunnel network and built out the airfield.  The airfield spans the entire width of the island.  As you cross from Spain into Gibraltar, you walk across the runway!

The rock is also famous for its monkeys.  They are not native but have been here for a long time.  The legend is that as long as the monkeys live on the Rock, UK will control Gibraltar.  So, they are well cared for by the government.

I enjoyed the views from the top as we could see 2 seas and 2 continents.  We could also see the town below us and how they have reclaimed land from the sea to expand their city.

The town itself doesn’t have much going for it.  Main street is tacky gift shops and booze and cigarette stands. 

We did enjoy eating at a pub for lunch.  Mike enjoyed a couple British bitters and fish and chips, while I had a steak and ale pie and a cider. 

After getting our fill of the town and feeling a little disappointed with the day, we decided to head back to La Linea for the night.  However, along the way out of town, we stumbled across a plaza with a huge stage and a band running through sound check sounding a lot like Coldplay.  We decided to stick around and see what it was all about.  After checking things out, we determined that it was Gibraltar’s Festival of Lights celebration, and Coldplay would really be playing later that night!  Yes, this day just got way better!

We stood in the center of the square watching the local entertainment.  We saw a bagpipe/drummer band who played a beautiful version of Little Drummer Boy.  There were lots of kids dance routines, some better than others.  The local high school choir was amazing. 

There were even mascots walking around the crowd.  We dubbed one of them Angry Hotdog and tried to avoid him.  He was funny looking and had us giggling all night.

As the evening went on, the more crowded the square became until there was no room to move.  They announced that over 3,000 people were jammed into this square!  There were tons of families with kids, young couples, old couples and a few other tourists like us.  It was so fun to get into the holiday spirit with all these people.

Finally, it was time for the tree lighting.  The entire square was illuminated, and cannons went off spraying the crowd with snow confetti.  It was crazy and happy and cool to see their whole community come out to celebrate! 

After the tree lighting, the crowd thinned out which surprised us as Coldplay was next.  I’m sure the parents were ready to get home with the kids, and it had been a long 3 hours of local entertainment.  I was excited to have space again and get to see one of my favorite bands live!  They put on a great show, and it was incredible to have such an up-close view!

The show ended and off we went giggling as we walked across the runway, flashed our passport and went to our room with views of the Rock.  What a night!

Sometimes, the best parts of traveling are the unplanned experiences that you just happen to stumble upon.  We couldn’t go to Africa, so we went to the UK instead and got to see Coldplay.  Pretty awesome!

Posted in 2019- 2020 Still Mooning, Spain | 1 Comment