Days 341 to 345 – Making our way to Greece while the sun shines

Day 341 – (Wed) This trip was totally spontaneous and only happened in large part thanks to Nakita’s strong desire to go somewhere warm before she went home (and my strong desire to go back to Greece).  After a couple of days of procrastination (read: searching for cheap flights to cool places) Nakita found us cheap return flights to the Greek island of Kos – somewhere I’d not really heard of, and not one of “the” Greek islands on the must do list but it looked lovely on the tourist websites and would be a bit cheaper thanks to its lower profile. Only problem – we had to fly in and out of Brussels!!! As loyal readers may remember Brussels is the hated travel destination of most exchange students, and we were headed to the terrible and ‘remote’ Brussels Charleroi airport. Nonetheless, we (being me, Nakita from Sydney and Ally from Canada, whom you may remember from the Faro, Portugal post :P) were stoked to be heading for 4 nights of sun, sand and Greek food!!


First glimpse of Greek islands!

We got in late at night so there was really only time for dinner. We stayed at the Koala Hotel (which I almost didn’t want to stay in because of the name) but it was a great deal for a triple share room (a bit hard to find – and Greece doesn’t really seem to ‘do’ hostels, kind of like Bali because the hotels are so cheap to begin with) but the hotel ended up being great. It was run by a couple of Aussie-born Greek blokes who were really helpful, friendly and down to Earth. They recommended a place for dinner down the road so off we went. About half an hour later (after walking down a mildly dodgy feeling street with no street lights – a sign of austerity?) we were seated at a table covered in different meals to share, cold beer/wine and good company J

first dinner

From the moment we landed it was just so nice to be in Greece. It was definitely in the top 3 of my favourite countries (which rotated frequently between Greece, Croatia and Germany). The air was warm, no cardigan necessary, able to wear a dress without leggings, a nice breeze, not too humid… perfect beer and swimming weather. And speaking of swimming, if we leaned out over the balcony of our (air-conditioned … haven’t used that stuff in a while) hotel room (probably a bit further than was safe) we could see the beach J The landscape was quite arid and really reminded me of Australia, gum trees included! We got a good look at it on a bus ride from the airport in the centre of the island of Kos to Kos town on the north-east end.

One of the strangest things about this place though is that it was almost mini-Maastricht… but with better weather. The first sign that we were actually heading to a Dutch island was the abundance of Dutch people on the plane and airport bus. Other signs included restaurant menus in Greek and Dutch (not English), signs to hire things in Dutch, Greek waiters greeting restaurant guests in fluent Dutch and… the biggest giveaway… the bicycles on every corner (including signs in Dutch to hire them!). We were told by locals that because the island is mostly flat and has always had a pretty good cycle network with good bike paths etc its become quite the popular destination with the Dutchies. Still it was enough of a change of scenery for us!

our bikes and the scenery

Day 342 – (Thurs) Our first day was spent taking it pretty easy, starting with an orientation walk of the area, from our hotel down to the beach, along the water and around to a marina. Dotted around Kos town are random areas of cordoned off old ruins and of course the cycle paths. It was quite hot already though so we made a bee-line back to the hotel to hire bikes nearby which made getting around a whole lot easier – and more fun. There was a great breeze as we whizzed back to the marina for a bit more of a wander and a look around some of the squares, stalls etc. The rest of the day was spent lunching and lounging on the beach swimming and (unfortunately for me) getting a ridiculous tan line that lasted the rest of the trip! We found a restaurant/bar on the beach with free lounge chairs and indulged in cocktails (Nakita, do you like piiiiina colaaaaadas?!), Greek nibblies and dipping into the water right in front of us. By June the water had time to warm up a little but it was still quite fresh. Eventually we cycled back to the hotel and, after a quick stop off at the shop for more bottled water (lucky it was cheap but I wouldn’t suggest drinking the water on most greek islands, very salty… as is the sea water around the place – think crispy skin after coming out of the water!) we headed out for dinner again. The plan was to avoid the really touristy places, anywhere with pictures of food or a hawker out the front (or definitely both) was out of the question. Eventually we found an unassuming place one building back from the main road along the beach with a nice waiter who didn’t hassle us – perfect. The food was really good, nice and authentic, well cooked and fresh. I had moussaka and the mascot of our trip – the obligatory Greek salad.

our view for lunch

a dip after lunch

Day 343 - (Fri). This whole day was spent on the water. We’d booked a trip the day before on a sailing boat to head out to three nearby islands. A 9am start and it was already hot under the sun (unfortunately this meant a bit more unwitting sunburn – it seems my Australian sun radar was a bit out of whack… I figured they have Ozone up there, she’ll be right… not so much … but lesson learnt for the next trip to, Croatia, I assure you). After about an hour and a half of relaxing cruising out into open waters we came to the first stop, Platti. Bascially it was a little cove with a flat white sand beach and some really cute classic blue and white buildings a bit back from the beach. We didn’t have long, about a half hour by the time we got down from the boat but it was enough for a quick dip. Back on the boat it was time for lunch – everything you’d expect; lamb skewers, rice, salad, tzatziki, bread etc etc. Was delicious and clearly home made (well, boat made… but with lurv :P). The crew on the boat were great; our captain Georgie, we called him, his wife and daughter in the kitchen by the looks of it, and … the entertainment… Kosta, the boat clown effectively. This guy was trouble – typical cheeky Greek sense of humour and only took it too far on a few occasions :P

relaxing on the boat


our 'mate' Goergie!

After lunch we puttered off to Kalymnos where it was SO stinking hot that all we could do was find the nearest geltai shop to the boat and sit in the shade and watch the harbour. It was bloody good gelati tho (I spotted an old guy nearby who had a fresh looking fruit salad and gelati so I copy-catted that). After about an hour it was back on the boat (where we were treated to some home-made delicious Greek donut thingies OMG SO good!) and then full-speed ahead for the last stop – Pserimos. This was a tiny little alcove where we could jump off the boat into the water (which I convinced Nakita to do and then we both paid for it for a while after with water up our nose!) and then just walk up around the bay or explore a little church above the rocks. Somehwere along the way we also saw some dolphins and Gorgie slowed down for us to have a look. The best part of the whole day though was simply the warm wind in our hair and that reassuring motion of the boat over teeny waves. Eventually it was time to head back to Kos Town. Dinner that night (we’d worked up an appetite swimming and lazing around all day remember!) was on the edge of a lovely little plaza in the middle of the old town. Really we just ordered a collection of starters; dolmades, lentil patties, the obligatory Greek salad etc. I was surprised to find I like dolmades these days (maturing taste buds and all that). We sat in the warm evening air with a light breeze and watched little kids run around the square. The only downer of the night was the waitress telling us we were ordering too much! Ha! We told her we were on holidays and we’d eat what we wanted!!

Nakita and I celebrating surviving jumping off the boat

'hanging out' at the front of the boat

Platti

Kalymnos

Pserimos

Day 344 – (Sat) Our last full day in Kos and we decided to hit up the hot springs for which the island is apparently famed. They did not disappoint. Usually I imagine hot springs these days to be concrete pools dug out of the ground with hot water being pumped in, completely commercial and charmless. What we were greeted with when we arrived at the beach (after a great bus ride up a slowly ascending hill, affording amazing views of the cobalt blue sea and swish resorts on the hillside) was literally some sand dug out of the ground, a few big rocks placed on the sea-side of the dug-out to stop the ocean waves coming in and a trickle of really, really hot water coming in from the cliff side up the beach. There was a smell of sulphur immediately and we could see little bubbles rising in the water. Foolishly, our first entrée into the hot spring was in the hottest side, where the fresh hot water comes in, so it was really bloody hot. It took quite a while to adjust and was honestly pretty uncomfortable at first, but after we adjusted I could see how it felt nice. Later we discovered if you sit on the ocean side, a little of the cooler ocean water seeps in and makes the temperature more bearable. The rest of the afternoon was spent lying on a sun lounger under a palm frond umbrella, reading a magazine, a quick dip and then back to the bus stop. It was a steep walk back up to the main road from the beach below, and at the top we were greeted by a real mountain goat… who decided he wanted to eat my shorts!! Thankfully an ice cream vendor was on hand to deftly shoo him away :S

Hot springs


Cliffs on way to hot springs


Goat trying to eat my shorts!! (and a great shot of dodgy arm tan line!!)

Our original plan for the day had been to cycle to the beach, but we soon changed our mind when we found out how steep it was to get up there. By the time we got back on the bus to Kos Town it felt like 100C (I think my aussie internal thermometer had been turned down during a Dutch winter and I was feeling it a bit more than usual). Sitting on the bus also gave us the chance to take in the views.

The evening consisted of a swim in the hotel pool and cocktail hour with one of the hotel guys, Angelo, who made us cocktails! He also recommended a place for dinner, a little way down the road along the beach in the opposite direction to the Marina where he said locals eat. We cycled there and pulled up to a place that was LITERALLY on the water – as in there was our table, a little wooden fence and then the beach. We could see Turkey out in the distance (Kos is only 20 minutes from Bodrum on the Turkish east coast) and there was, again, a lovely breeze. Don’t know about the locals eating there though – we ended up at a table next to some Dutch people we met coming off the plane! Again there was plenty of food for dinner; the highlight of my meal – a piece of chargrilled octopus that looked like a hand!

Angelo's crazy cocktails

My octopus 'hand'

Day 345 – (Sun) Time to go home. I started our last day with a little solo cycle in the opposite direction for a bit of an explore. Later we lunched at the Museum Restaurant, recommended to us by a fellow exchanger where again we ordered A LOT and again the waiter told us it was too much. But we showed him! Lunch was followed by a stroll in the Marina to buy a few paintings as souveniers and then a sweaty walk to the airport bus stop with our luggage. Once on the plane it was announced  that we would be stuck on the tarmac for 20 minutes. But it was OK, we passed the time staring at a gorgeous baby and his equally gorgeous Greek dad (flying solo) in the row in front!

Arriving back in Brussels “le shit-hole” Charleroi Airport (as we have now dubbed) it, we entered into the nerve-wracking process of procuring a hotel in jumbled English-French to take us to the expectedly dodgy hotel we’d booked for the night seeing our flight arrived at 10.45pm and there were no trains running back to Maas til the next day. We had low expectations of the place given its reviews but I was actually pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong, it was VERY basic and a bit grimy, with that faint smell of cigarette smoke that never really goes away. But it was generally clean, the guy at the front desk was surprisingly helpful and it had wifi and even breakfast included (those chocolate croissants I have now decided I love!).

Day 346 – (Mon) Up early and back to Maas by train. While other parts of beligum are really picturesque (think Bruges of Antwerp) but Brussels and especially  its outerlying areas really aren’t. Most of the time you just feel unsafe and dirty! Although I am going to miss good train travel….

Day 136 - apparently there's a downside to snow...

So after all my gushing a few days ago, it has come to my attention that there is in fact a downside to snow! I know, it looks so innocent right... all pure as the driven you-know-what... its got quite the reputation in movies etc, bringing happens and beauty to all. Until it gets a but mushy... or dirty... or hard and icy... then we're in trouble.

I always knew it was going to be a bit more difficult getting around on two wheels once the white stuff fell, but I severly underestimated the trickiness. Its even difficult getting around on two feet!
This stuff is crunchy and slippery and has a mind of its own! One minute you're rolling along at a steady pace with your eyes on the road ahead - the next minute the wheel hits a clump of snow/ice and your wheel shoots off in a different direction altogether. No warning, no way to control it, just hold on!

I have already learned that the No. 1 rule is Don't Panic. Other tips include:
No. 2: Two hands kiddies - always two hands on the handle bars.
No. 3: Hit the lights - just like cars in gloomy weather, its smart to put the bike lights on.
No.4: Know when to admit defeat (there's always the bus)

But this brings me to another observation - is there some shame in taking the bus? In Australia, most people drive, so taking the bus is the moral high ground. Here, everyone is expected to cycle, so the bus isn't exactly better for the environment than peddle power. And if you can ride, why pay for a ride right? So I feel as though taking the bus is copping out... But, thankfully, I was assured by one of my Dutch friends this evening that, no, it is ok to take the bus and, yes, people here do do that when the weather is out to get them. Even so, its not cheap here, and I've been warned it can take longer because vehicle traffic increases during the snow and traffic jams abound in a city filled with roundabouts and bike lanes.

Still, there are definitely those determined souls who remain out and about on their treddlies, all rugged up, you can barely see their face as they brace against the arctic chill. Honestly, it is beyond cold here now (If you won't take my word for it, believe the forecast of -11C one day this week!!!) Normal layering ain't cutting it anymore so I look like the Michelin Man every time I step out the door now. I don't understand how there's women out there who still manage to look fashionable in this weather!! (Although a Canadian friend consoled me with the epiphany that all the fashionable women are just cold! Beauty is pain, right?!). As for me, I got busted by a friend in the most hilarious ensemble the other day, featuring black gloves, red scarfe, beige jacket, grey trackies tucked into blue-grey boots and white/pink pom-pom beanie! Nothing matched, and NOTHING was fashionable. Regardless, I looked her (dressed in cute boots, skirt, jacket and tweed hat) dead in the eye and professed "what?! I don't care as long as I'm warm and dry!"

and some pictures of SNOW!!!

trying to ride a bike in the snow

bike seat covered in white, powdery snow

our guesthouse and the pristine layer of snow over the path we will have to cycle on to get out tomorrow!

infamous statues near the uni, given a new look with a dusting of icing sugar :P

the bike park at uni



bike tracks don't make quite as much impact as car tyres in the snow - this is the exit to our uni bike park

undisturbed, fallen snow - reminds me of an iced gingerbread house!

... and one of the aforementioned snow angels

Days 85 to 89 - Officially livin' the Dutch life

Day 85- (Mon) Yes, Adelaide is a proper city!
Had a meeting at Maastricht town hall this morning to officially apply to live here (bit late now right?! but that's how the system goes). I had to register within a couple of weeks of getting here, then they set you up with this meeting. You have to show your passport, rental agreement, uni forms etc, they even wanted my birth certificate but let it slide given the hassle it would be for just 10 months here (but if I ever come back I must bring it, the lady tells me in an ominous tone!). So we fill out the forms and she gets to the bit that says "Adelaide" and queries "Is this a place?" HA! I nearly burst out laughing ... all anyone knows about Australia is Sydney!! Where's Norman from Eindhoven immigration and his recognition of the Adelaide Crows when I need him!!?? Anywho, I'm now (after more than 2 months here) officially allowed to live here (even if I come frm Adelaide :P). To celebrate this status I went and bought Milo ... yes MILO!! found it in, of all places, an Asian supermarket. Has what appears to be a Chinese Olympic swimmer on the can instead of Kieran Perkin's look-a-like like at home but has that same 'just like Nesquik only crunchy' taste :) mmmmm
Also, on my way out of he town hall to buy said Milo, I passed a bridal party and was aghast to seethe bride wearing ... BLACK!!! (And no Jess, just cos a European does it does not mean its acceptable!!!)

Day 86 (tues) - Totally a Dutch student
Went to a Dutch girl's house for dinner tonight after class (although we ate tortellini, not anything particularly dutch). Then I went to my first hippy student open-mic night. The uni holds free-for-all performance nights for arty students in the common room. Cheap vego food on sale, cool kids with guitars, make-shift drums, AMAZING voices and even a girl who did fire twirling (and almost set her stockings on fire in the proces!). Made me annoyed at myself for giving up the piano... :(

Day 87 (wed) - Cashing in on the student life
Scored a multitude of old-school kitchen goods from an op-shop this avo for the miserly sum of 6 euro! then scrounged back 1.50 euro from the supermarket by returning plastic and beer bottles - e-YES! Returned for (i think) the third Zumba class this evening - we're totally pros now, we gots da mooooves LOL

Day 88 (thurs) - Telling times
Tackled the overwhelming topic of financial crises in history class today, presenting me with an opportunity to brag about Australia being the "only country to avoid recession"! Later, in Dutch class we handed in our first written assignment - a whole 50 words! (I later received a grade of 4 and was DEVASTATED ... until I found out the score was out of 5, not 10!) We also learned to tell the time in this class but its so weird in Dutch ... if its for example 8.30, we say half past 8 (as in how many minutes it is past the turning of the current hour) but the Dutch say its half 9... (as in there's half an hour to go until it turns to the next hour) SO confusing!!! although its fun and knowing these little bits of Dutch is helping out day-to-day, I've come to the conclusion that if I ever want to have a proper conversation with a Dutch person I'm going to have to put a lot more effort into studying the language ... like grammar for example, I hardly know how to describe grammar processes in English, let alone Dutch! But after a day of bragging about Oz and all things Dutch, I ended this 24hour period at an international student dinner. Basically everyone brings a plate from their homeland and we share (again with the communism!) I made ANZAC biscuits (but with stroopwaffle syrup bc I couldn't find Golden Syryp, so they were kind of Dutchy ANZAC biscuits!), some other Aussie girls cut up sponge cake and dipped it in choc and coconut to make lamingtons (YUM), but the craziest thing was this blood pudding from Sweden. It was really, really dark red, almost brown, sliced thinly and baked or fried or something (and obviously is made from, among other things, animal blood). Its a bit of a Swedish specialty apparently, tastes really bland and floury but they put this kind of tart jam on it... (I tried a small bite... :S) Unfortunately it totally looked like chocolate cake ... and this meant more than one person was duped to "try some chocolate cake for dessert" and took a BIG mouthful... eep! To round off my multicultural education I learned two swedish words tonight - "tjnixen" (or something like that) means "howdy" and "schkrinkly" (totally not the spelling but roughly how it sounds) means "crinkly" as in a crinkly shirt ... useful hey?!

Day 89 (fri) - Rookie mistakes
So I got ripped off at the market this morning ... found this awesome dip store and asked for a small amount of dip and some stuffed baby capsicums, but there were no price signs and the language barrier prevented verbal clarification so I was left with a 12 euro bill (about 18 aussie dollars!!!). Later on that night, we went to a new little beer bar and (rookie mistake no. 2) asked the bar tender to just bring us some nice beers... we ended up with one that tasted like a mix of rocket fuel and anniseed, two that were 10+ % alcohol and another that was like sweet/sour cherry medicine!!! on the upside the place had the cutest bathroom, with rubber ducky patter on the bright blue toilet seat! In between mistake one and two I managed to pop over to Belgium for dinner - yes that's right, ANOTHER COUNTRY for dinner (really we just cycled up the road to the house of a German girl I met in introduction, who lives just over the border). Had to stop in at my place between cycling from there to the bar to meet other friends bc it had rained while we were in having dinner and I'd sat on a wet bicycle seat... (I may spent 10 or so minutes blowdrying my butt! don't judge!!) And then, I am proud to report, I cycled all the way to town holding an umbrella over my head ... doing about 2km an hour! As the title of this post says, I'm a real Dutchy now!

Observations: Brie cheese is especially smelly in Europe! And supermarket-brand wine for like $4AU is actually drinkable, as chocolate for 50cAU is edible.
Also, I've realised cycling time is like "loo time"... gives you time to think. Unlike catching the bus at home where I can read the paper or do uni work, and unlike the car bc there's no radio, you just have time to think (and watch the road of course) but I come up with some of my best (if I can call it that) blog material on two wheels.

Mistakes: See above!
Mini victories: Cycling with an umbrella ringing a bell...?

Dutch I've learned: "laat maar" = "never mind"
"Ja, ik wil" = literally translated means "yes, I want" but is apparently the Dutch version of "I do"!

Days 83 & 84 - Lovin' the Dutch Oven

Day 83- (Sat) Pizza oven
After another scintilating saturday studying(!) it was time to revive an old tradition from home - pizza night! Armed with 1.50 euo pizzas from Jumbo('elke dag beter'- 'everyday better' proclaims the bright yellow sign of our favourite Dutch supermarket chain) we cruised round to fire up the oven. And now my favourite part of living in this guesthouse - the dinner company. As we waited for our mix of margherita, pepperoni, chicken and corn (on pizza, not a soup!) etc to crispify we sat around effectively a card table that passes for a dining table in or excuses for kitchens (have I mentioned all the units are the same, right down to the crappy furniture - in each kitchen there even seems to be the same combination of one good and one dodgy broken IKEA chair - it ends up being a game to see if you can take your chair to someone elses place for dinner and come home with a better one!) ... anywho, where was I, oh yes ...cramped kitchen conversation .... so sitting around this tiny table (or perched on the kitchen bench if ur unlucky enough to come last and no more chairs will fit in the room!) were 2 aussies, a scot and two canadians (and that's positively bland as far as multiculturalism goes here) but the conversation ranged from a crazy Dutch politician having a crack at Muslims, to the Canadian Mayoral race to the benefits of Milo versus European drinking chocolate. No matter what meal of the day, or in what language (when my Dutch girls pop round for dinner or Tess tries in vain to teach me some Korean) ... its never just "pass the salt pls" around here :)

Day 84 - (Sun) Muffin better to do than bake
In need of yet another study break I busted out the fall-back muffin recipe from home and filled our tiny unit with a smell yummy enough to entice Tess out of her room! Apparently the sight of fresh baked goods was enough to send her back in there to retrieve her camera! (For anyone who's interested, the muffins are now doing the rounds on FB, tagged as me!) Who knew two red-hot elements with a tray between them, housed in something suspiciously resembling a microwave could bring so much joy :P

Observations: Although I've just spent this blog talking mainly about food I'm now about to complain about the side effects - I calculated the other day that I ride at least 8km each day, to and from uni, sometimes more if I make multiple trips, yet my pins are no closer to being "insurably toned" nor has my waistline all but disappeared ... Belgian chocolate, you gotta lotta 'splaining to do! In fact, instead of resembling a two-wheeled goddess, most mornings (now that its getting foggy) I end up hurtling into the uni bike-park sweating like a pig and desperately searching for a tissue to wipe my running nose/dribbling eyes/damp forehead, before peeling off the layers to see steam floating into the air! Its been single-digit temperatures here (yes, already! grrr) but I still manage to work up a sweat, and going downhill too! Hrm....

Mistakes: And while I'm on the subject of bikes ... I have come to th realisation that mine is in fact a piece of crap! As much as I love the Moo Mobile (and beieve it was worth buying purely for the novelty factor!) I must admit it is rusty, with bald tyres, terrible sqeaky breaks, with portable cheap lights and a creaking seat! I'm sure its only a matter of time before the whole thing falls apart from underneath me one day! So I've resolved I must begin the search or a new bike, in earnest, after exams. But for now, let's not tell Daisy... she's still got to carry my at least 8km each day and I don't want my only mode of transport to feel unloved and take it out on me over a speed hump!

Dutch I've learned: "Ik hep geen broers of zussen maar Ik hep twee honds" = (oooh a whole fancy sentence!) means "I don't have any brothers or sisters but I have two doggies! (who I keep seeing on skype every time I talk to Mum and Dad :P)
For now though, "Doei ..." ("Byyyyyyyyyyeee")