Sticky Apple Kisses

So today we leave Switzerland to head back to Germany, we will spend the night at Oma`s and then tomorrow afternoon collect our key from our sublet and move back in. No, we are not kicking him out. When he wanted to sublet we told him the rent was for July 11 - October 11, or the time we had planned to be on our trip. He needed it for the 1st to the 1st however. So we let him stay on our coach (it turns into a bed), but he still had to pay the rent for when the apartment was free. Now we are back early because of the cold wet rain, (it was hardly the weather one wishes for your Orlando golf vacation, but we enjoyed it nonetheless) and it just works out he need to leave early.  So I am off to pack up the bike again, but for one of the very last times on the trip.

So here are some shots from Sarajevo to hold you over while I pack.

from this bridge the shot rang out that gave the excuse for the first World War.

And the reminders that not that long ago they were under siege.

It is such bliss to be sitting here drinking REAL coffee. For 3 months we have been given nescafe, only in Albania did we actually get proper coffee, probably due to the Italians that flock there for vacation.  (Patrick`s parents have a fancy Jura coffee machines and I have already had to refill the beans once). heh heh And I am just aimlessly checking out blogs and web comics I have missed out on, maybe coming back so early was a good thing. Originally I would have had just the weekend to unpack, settle away, and start classes again on a Monday. It may have proved too much of a shock to my fragile system.

I am also trying to update everything (slowly) as well as semi prepare for the return to teaching. I thought I would share why one needs unlocked cell phones, as after my little knee bump we drove through Istanbul, and I lost Patrick. WHO had no cell phone with him. I had mine, but his was dying and we decided we didnt need it.

uhh huuuuh:

I am quite confident that I have ruined my karmic balance for the next 6 lifetimes over the curses I slung at the drivers of Istanbul. Slow fiery deaths trapped within the confines of their metallic death mobiles being one of the milder I flung at those who tried to run me over, push me off the road, or cement me in between two cars as one refused to allow me my own space on the road (after all a motorcycle doesn’t need as much space as car so why not fit two or three cars into the one lane with me) and the other decided they did not need to wait and could pass on the hard shoulder.

I HATED driving through Istanbul, and this was just the highway through.

And just when I thought that it could not get any worse my worst nightmare came true. Patrick noticed that we were in the wrong lane and did the run of death to get into the right one, as I sailed passed off the ramp and headed into the actual city, now separated from Patrick by about 600 cars and a new highway.

What did your cool calm and collected heroine do?

She pulled over to the side of the road, stopped her bike, and began to scream at the top of her lungs in between inconsolable sobs of grief. When that made me feel a little better I chanced the screams from inhumane howls to random swear words. When I was able to breath again and fought back the panic and the fear (I was lost in a city of 16 million, unofficial count coming in at 24 million, I had no money as Patrick had it, it would be dark in a little over an hour and driving here was as close to death as I have knowingly come in my life).

Patrick had said however that if we got lost from each other we were to head to the toll booth and he would wait for me there. So gathering my wits about me, I took a deep breath and began the battle to the Edirne exit.

4 VERY close calls to death later I was waiting for Patrick where he said I should. He should have been there ahead of me. he wasn’t. So I texted Joscha knowing that Patrick would eventually check his email in his hunt for me.

30 minutes later Patrick was still not there and we had now been separated for almost an hour. Dark was coming fast, I had no idea how many exits from Istanbul to Edirne there actually were, and I knew that even if I could turn the bike around to fight my way back to the city, I would rather sleep at the toll booth than do so.

So I texted Joscha again, told him to tell Patrick I was headed out to the next exit out of Istanbul, and used my last 4 lire (or about 2 Euro) to get my ass back on the highway and out of the city of evil.

the story continues with an amazing stroke of luck. I drove for 30 minutes, took an exit that I was sure was safely out of Istanbul, and as dusk fell I began to look for a hotel that I could stay at until I could make contact with Patrick. I forgot I still had 35 Euros, so that would cover me for the night, and anything extra I figured could be covered once Patrick finally found me again. (Truthfully the temptation to keep driving to Greece was overwhelming, but I fought it off).

I had no sooner pulled over to ask about hotels (and lock myself in there for another fit of overdue hysterics, and to berate myself for not having my own source of funds, stupid stupid stupid move) when my phone rang. It was Patrick calling from an internet cafe. one more hour later, and in the pitch dark, we were reunited, and about to face our second worse fear. Driving in Turkey at night. Potholes and crazy drivers, roads unexpectedly and without warning covered in loose gravel, and bus drivers.

Our preferred camping place:

As much as I love to travel, and I do so love to travel, it is also a great feeling to return home.  I think some of my friends do not know that about me.  They assume I just want to go go go.  That is true, its rare for me to turn down a trip, or not to be plotting or saving for the next one.  (I have 3 planned ones at the moment).   But I also enjoy the process of coming home.  Even if it is a second or third home, like Germany, or even Switzerland, which is not my home at all, but it feels like it is.  And returning to Newfoundland is always best of all.  Even if my visits there are becoming further and further apart (however more and more people are finally coming to visit me, maybe this is what happens when you stay put for more than a year).

Part of travel is to meet new people and see new things, and have these experiences become part of you.  The other part is to appreciate just how lucky we are.

After experiencing  sites in Turkey blocked by the government (like Youtube), and travels in Albania that up to the early 90s was closed to outsiders, I love being able to flip on my computer, and access any site I want. HDMI switches being something I can write about or not, but at least I can access the site, let alone have no need for computer related gadgets. In this house at this moment there are 4 computers going, none of them belong to me, and Patricks mother is not here with her laptop. Normally 6 computers would be here, and we get upset if the wireless goes on the frtiz.

It also made me happy that in Canada there is no forced military service (unlike Germany or Switzerland, or Turkey or etc etc etc).

In Albania we spent the night on a beach:

Lovely camp site really (other than the hell of reaching it).

But you can see the one man bunkers in the back ground.

These things were EVERYWHERE in Albania.

Me driving under one on the road (I had no idea the pciture was being taken).

It just reminded me how spoiled we are in so many ways, and yet I am so grateful for all my comforts of home.

So the trip is more or less over.  More or less because our apartment is not free until October 1st and therefore we will hang out at Patrick`s parents place in Switzerland for the next couple of days. It rained from our second day in Albania until today, and it seems to be following us as Switzerland had no rain until we arrived. it does mean however I have regular internet again. Wheeeee, so I will be updating my blogs with pictures and country summaries. Until then the second podcast is out (and the final one before the trip actually started). I know I should promote that I love my weight and my body and blah blah blah, but break out the fat burners. One year of over eating is evident in the podcast I think. Sniff. Instead of the fatburners however you can wrap yourself in leather and a helmet and spend your days sweating it out in Turkey eating only cumber and tomatoes. It worked for me. 15 pounds gone like snap. heh heh.

So sad, but true, the weather here has turned against us. After the giant downpour where we faced death by lightening and woke the old monk up for shelter in Bulgaria (the story is up over on Journizer), we were blessed to have nothing but sunshine for almost 6 weeks of wonderful riding (and camping!). However since we crossed the border from Greece into Albania we have had nothing but rain rain and a little more rain. (In Albanian we could actually SEE the clouds moving in, and were defenseless as within minutes we were drenched as well)

In Montenegro the weather cleared up for 2 days of what may have been the best riding this whole trip (and given how much awesome riding we have done, that is no small claim), and then the temperature plummeted down to 10 degrees (up until about 4 days ago we were saying that the 30 degrees in Greece was a nice temperature, warm, but not TOO warm). Now we are huddled in a hotel in Sarajevo, after arriving yesterday in the cold (but at least sunny) afternoon, we woke up this morning to freezing rain. So we left the bikes parked, pulled out our maps, and accepted the inevitable – our trip is coming to an end, about 2 weeks earlier than we anticipated. We will now cross into Croatia at its narrowest strip between Bosnia and Slovenia in an effort to get some kilometers in tomorrow – hopefully in the sun if not in the warmth.

As an extra kicker, the side of my face has erupted in acne. Patrick keeps saying its cute, I keep saying I am almost 30 years old, when does this stop!!!! Differin is something I am suppose to want at 16 isnt it?

Maybe a sauna in Switzerland will help. It will be our main motivating factor as we push towards Switzerland and Patrick´s familý house if the weather continues as it has been!

But we cant complain, this trip has been phenomenal.

So we have decided to skip Serbia, we head north through Albania, into Montenegro, Bosnia, Northern Croatia, Slovenia and then Austria into Switzerland.  I think we will rest a couple of days at Patricks parents before we then head back to Germany and rejoining regular life.  Work begins on September 13th, and I already have a full week’s of classes waiting for me! I also have more links to share on diet pills, which makes me wonder if someone signed me up after hearing my depressive rant on the weight gain. Damn it!

So now its looking like Sunday evening before we make it to Greece.  And it is obvious Betty is the superior motorcycle.  The sealing on Wilma´s fork is broke and is leaking oil, and its headed straight down to the front break disk.   So we are in Ankara tomorrow getting that fixed.  The good news is that its not THAT expensive.  The nice thing about BMW, their parts are not so badly priced. But you do not need Lasik eye surgery to figure out Betty (despite being the same bike ) is superior. She gets 20 kms more per liter, AND my bike has not quite double the kilometers without the problem. )

However, as Dont Eat The Fruit mentioned he would like to see an overview of my stops, I do have a map over on Journizer that I update each stop we make. However I did a screen shot of it so you can see the trip to date!