More Family Time

We've just left the Netherlands after three weeks of (mostly) family time and probably the nicest stretch of weather I've ever experienced in the country. It was fantastic to be able to go out for long bike rides in the country and really get to see the farmland and lovely homes in the area near Rijnsaterwoude (where Michiel grew up and his father still lives). For much of the time, the skies were blue, the sun was shining and the storks, herons, swans, ducks, goats, cows and sheep were frolicking - a glorious time to be in Holland!

For one week of our time there, the entire family rented a couple of bungalows in a holiday park. We played lots of games (including laser tag, a newspaper fashion show and casino night), ate incredible ethnic food (prepared each night by one of the siblings) and celebrated Bonpa's (my father-in-law) 80th birthday with a day out in the Biesbosch National Park. Our day in the park included a horse and cart ride and a boat tour of a water area that has long been managed by dikes.

Here is a collection of photo highlights:


Celebrating Marilyn May's 6th birthday



Bonpa and his sister, Marion


Ton and Oneida on Queen's Day (thus the orange shirts)


All contestants in the newspaper fashion show



Team one: Seneca, Wilbert, Gwendolyn, and Ton


Casino night: Seneca, Marilyn, Joey, Gwendolyn and Tonny


Marie-Birgitte and Anne-Charlotte


Cocktail hour: Marie-Birgitte, Wilbert, me and Chantal


Ethiopian food!



The brothers-in-law: Bart, Perry and Ton

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From the land of smiles to....

the land of grimaces??

If you want to take a step back into time and/or have your stereotypical expectations of Eastern European gruffness, lousy food and lack of modernization met, fly with Malev Airlines (the Hungarian national airline) and then go through immigration in Budapest. We've seen more than our fair share of immigration officials, but these were right up there in the top 5 most hateful for their wordless slapping down of our passports on the counter (and it wasn't because I'm an American) and the sneers of contempt. The topper was the lady immigration official who stormed out of her cubicle to yell at a Chinese tour guide who was trying to gather his unruly flock of middle-aged women travelers. "Please be quiet. Vee are trying to vork here!" I'm not sure if he completely understood her, but he was stunned into silence, as was everyone else in the baggage claim area.

Yep...Hungarians are a sad looking people and a folk not given to warm hospitality...at least not in shops or restaurants. We walked out of a restaurant when our waitress didn't return to our table to take our orders. Perhaps she decided that she didn't feel like trying to speak English, maybe it was time for a cigarette break (and, my God, do these people smoke!) or perhaps this is normal. We left the restaurant and opted,instead for stall-purchased fyllo-dough wrapped potato and cheese strudels.


Franz Liszt

All this aside, it was great being in Budapest again. I had visited in 1999 when western food chains were just starting to crop up on shopping streets and the bulk of the visitors were roving groups of Russian men in black trench coats. These days, there are more visitors from western Europe (especially Italians) and there is a definite sense that a lot of money has gone into fixing up buildings, roads and shops. In fact, the apartment we rented was purchased by an Englishman who is putting a lot of money into fixing up the place and furnishing it with all the comforts of a western European apartment (actually, this apartment is only 3 square meters smaller than the place we lived in in Amsterdam). It was a great deal and it felt really nice to have a little "home" for a few days.



We enjoyed warm, sunny spring weather and the lilacs and blossom trees were in their full splendor. The trees all had new leaves of a brilliant bright green that you only see in the beginning of spring. All around the city, locals pruning off lilac flowers to bring home and young couples making out in public places seemed to be common signs of spring.




Chain Bridge

We did loads of walking, traveling from Buda (the older city) on one side of the Danube to Pest on the other. The architecture is beautiful and the imposing facades of the large stone structures give way to charming courtyards with wrought iron railings (if you were lucky enough to catch a glimpse through an open front door). The sidewalks are wide and roomy (maybe we only noticed this because we were coming from Bangkok, where it wasn't unusual to encounter small sidewalks with deep holes, trees, salespeople, dogs, etc.) which made it a pleasure to stroll. The broad streets and sidewalks are in marked contrast to the claustrophobic supermarkets and shops. Shopping for food was truly unpleasant due to the lack of personal space and the total lack of healthy or tasty looking items on the shelves. The bulk of the food is from Hungary and not imported, which meant that there issn't a very big variety of produce (though LOADS of Hungarian sweet peppers) or of packaged goods. The one exception was the wonderful market hall, which had a wide selection of meats, veg and, of course, souvenir packs of Hungarian paprika.




The Synogogue

One day we rented an audio tour (like the ones you get in a museum) for self-guided walks around the old castle and the Citadel on the Buda side. We also spent a half day in one of the 15 thermal bath complexes in the city and really enjoyed the pools of varying temperatures, the outdoor thermal pools and the strong current pool.


Szechenyi Thermal Bath complex and an impending storm

Buda Castle


Parliament

While in Budapest, we also ran into a couple of friends from the ice (we're everywhere!) and we enjoyed some meals together. I particularly enjoyed hearing their different perspectives on the things we were seeing. For example, I felt that there wasn't a whole lot of English spoken or written in the city (either on menus, billboards, or shops), while they were surprised at how much English there was. One thing we all noticed and enjoyed was the frequent use of exclamation marks in Hungarian. Was this a direct correlation to their frequent use of directives (especially by civil servants)??? Who knows...but we did enjoy that they also used these exclamation marks when they translated sentences into English and German....Press the foot pedal to operate the water!!! All visitors must use a locker!!!


Fishermen's Bastion


Chain Bridge with St. Stephen's Basilica in the background


St. Matthias and the Fishermen's Bastion

What one really misses after a short period of time in Budapest is some diversity. Traveling on the train for a short day trip to Szentendre or on the metro, you can't help but notice that everyone is pasty white. For me, though, the food, the tiny markets, the lack of diversity and the lack of warmth from the people did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for Budapest. The feeling of spring amongst the beautiful streets and buildings was enough to make me happy!

P.S. As I finished writing this posting, I switched to the New York Times online to see a front page article about the rise of Anti-Semitism in Budapest. There are currently more than 80,000 Jews in Budapest, more than in any other part of central Europe and the fact that Hungarians, 19 years after the end of communism, are now able to show that they are believers might be part of the same zeitgeist that allows far-right extremists to now show their hatred. I've grossly simplified the situation, so please see the May 7, 2008 article for more in-depth analysis of the situation.

Off to see some family

Leaving Tasmania was hard but made easier because we knew we were on our way to Thailand for two weeks with Jon, Aor and Jake. We hadn't spent much time with our nephew so it was exciting for us to have the time to get to know the little guy (4 years old). We also hadn't really seen Jon and Aor for quite a while and it was fun to see how they live in Bangkok and spend some time at the International School where Jon works.



Jon had asked us to give a presentation on Antarctica to his 5th grade (10 year olds) class. We spent some evenings in our campervan in Tasmania putting together films and photos from our time on ice. (There WAS a good reason for Michiel to be carrying around those extra hard drives!) The kids were well prepared for our talk and had lots of questions for us as well as a surprising amount of attention for our slide show and videos.



For most of the rest of the week, we stayed at a great hostel in the newer and trendier part of Bangkok and didn't worry ourselves with being tourists, seeing the city or battling the heat. We hung out with Jon and Jake at the aquarium, the children's museum, the park, the massive shopping malls, the bowling alley, and at home (where Aor taught us how to properly cut mango and papaya). It was wonderful!














Michiel returns to the womb at the Children's Discovery Museum



We did leave Bangkok for a few days to do some snorkeling on the island of Koh Wai, near Koh Chang. But the heat was so unbearable and the wind was non-existent, so we had to upgrade from our cozy and hospitable resort to a larger resort with all-day electricity and fans. There was a ring of coral around the island which meant that we didn't need to take a boat in order to snorkel (as is the case with many of the islands in that part of Thailand). We snorkeled and relaxed in the sun for a few days, then returned for more fun in Bangkok.

Cruisin' Tassie

After finishing the Overland Track, we returned to Hobart to pick up our campervan. A campervan is a great way to travel around (you can leave your "room" a mess and just drive away) - especially since there seemed to be few restrictions on where you can park overnight. We had a few really great parking/camping spots at the beach where we could listen to the sounds of the surf or, in one case, to the raucous noises of fairy penguins coming ashore for the night and gathering the troops to go back to sea at dawn.

Our van had a full bed, a two-burner stove, large water container, dishes and storage containers. It was quite basic but also quite comfortable.



We managed to see quite a lot of Tasmania, but weren't able to see the far reaches of the northeast and northwest as the roads were unpaved there. Roads in Tasmania are, overall, very tiring to drive anyway (windy, narrow and with speed limits so high that the local drivers take the curves in a pretty reckless manner; 80kph on really windy parts was not uncommon) so we opted to (mostly) stick to paved roads with the exceptions of access roads to National Parks or beaches.

We traveled clockwise around the island with the thought that we would visit the rainy west before the "rainy season" got into full swing. It was a good decision - we had generally dry and warm weather which might have even been slightly detrimental to our enjoyment of the mossy rainforests.



Rather than bore you with the day-to-day itinerary of the trip, I've opted to post our surprisingly long list of trip highlights (in no particular order) with some explanations.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Whether it´s due to the hole in the ozone layer or not....the quality of light in Tasmania is unforgettable. The blue skies are more blue, the greens are greener and everything is sharply defined.

The amazing show of animals at sunset at Narawntapu National Park, called the Serengeti of Tasmania. We finally got to see lots of wombats, as well as wallabies and pademelons (and a GREAT sunset!)





The Overland Track: climbing Mt.Ossa, our camping spot at Lake Windemere, spotting platypuses at Lake St. Clair and a spotted quoll at dusk, pre-historical landscapes, pandani trees and buttongrass, Michiel taking a very cold swim in the Narcissus River, dodging skinks on the trail and our secluded camping spot in Pine Valley.



Wineglass Bay: This Tasmanian favorite was so overrun with tourists that we were sure that we´d have an awful experience, but once we climbed up and over the mountain, we were treated to pure, white sand and a quiet camping spot where we watched a ray on patrol at dusk and got a blackback salmon from a fisherman who couldn´t eat all the fresh fish he caught.



Cape Hauy hike: After a less than thrilling 3 day hike to Cape Pillar, we truly enjoyed the coastal cliffs of this day hike, especially because of our encounter with an echidna on the trail that allowed us to watch him closely.







Seeing both kinds of possums (ring-tailed and bushy-tailed) on our night hike at Mt. Field National Park. Though we didn´t fully experience the glowworms, it was really fun to hike in the dark without head lamps (the light upsets the glowworms and they stop producing their bioluminescent chemicals).

Diverse and entertaining bird life: cackling kookaburras (they sound like crazy jungle monkeys), ravens that sound like flying babies, hyperactive little birds and lots more!

Experiencing the groovy outdoor concert that occurs every Friday night in downtown Hobart - complete with sangria, beer and wine.

Going to the Antarctic exhibit at the Tasmanian National Museum - we actually learned quite a bit there!

Learning about Tasmania´s history as a location for deported British convicts and visiting former prisons and prison towns, such as Port Arthur (extremely well-organized and -presented information and buildings), the villages of Ross and Richmond.

Getting a very personal look at the fairy penguins on the northern coast. A local penguin enthusiast and self-appointed protector of the little critters offered an in-depth discussion and explanation of their behavior. We sat with him at the seashore at dusk to watch the rafts of penguins come to shore in order to return to their nests for the night. We saw possibly 80 penguins that night. Fantastic experience!

Visiting the limestone cave at King Solomon. Excellent tour and beautiful stalagmites and stalagtites.



Free camping and friendly people.

BARK! It is truly amazing how many different colors of bark you can find on eucalyptus trees and after a rain the colors are even more intense. Michiel took dozens of photos of the stuff.





Finally, one of the most memorable parts of our trip was meeting Peter and Anna, a couple from Hobart, whom we met during our Overland Track. It is common to get friendly with the people who are on a similar trekking schedule and over the course of several days on the trail, we learned more about each other. They gave us their phone number in the event that we needed a contact in Tassie and to catch up with them when we returned to the capital city. We looked them up and they not only invited us to their home for dinner but also to stay in their guest room. Their hospitality was amazing!