Ancient Wonders

You know you’re back in Europe when you can flush toilet paper down the toilet and enjoy a good flat white. That was me yesterday with three flights to get me home after an exhausting, pretty overwhelming but incredible two weeks in Egypt. 

It’s one of those topics at primary school that I think most people remember if they did it; Ancient Egypt. The world of pharaohs, mummification, pyramids and hieroglyphics. I remember being totally captivated by it, so to be standing in front of the pyramids in Giza and then to have the option to actually climb and walk inside one of them was something I never imagined I would do.

As well as the pyramids, I visited Abu Simbel, Karnak temple, cruised down the Nile on a felucca, visited the temple of Kom Ombo lit up at night and explored the Valley of the Kings. Walking into Tutankhamun’s tomb, seeing the brightly coloured baboons painted on the wall and standing in front of his mummified body was a day I shall never forget. It seemed unreal to be looking at the actual body of the boy king and also to think what it must have been like to be Howard Carter discovering the tomb back in 1922. He recorded in his diary that he found the first step on 4 November (my birthday!) The photographs and artefacts in the Cairo museum help to tell the story of the greatest archeological find.

Ancient wonders, tasty falafel, intense heat and a great bunch of people with an archaeologist as our guide to explore and learn about this fascinating country with. What a memorable trip!

Taking a break in Tirana

My travels exploring the east of Europe continue, this time in Tirana, Albania. Just a short flight away, yet a warmer climate, delicious food with Italian and Greek influences and a young generation who are determined to celebrate their freedom after hearing stories from their parents and grandparents of communist times, made for an interesting and thought-provoking few days. 

As a city, it is easy to explore Tirana on foot. Venturing further afield there are buses, but leave time to navigate the traffic! I loved the mix of architecture in the city from rustic to modern, Italian influenced and colourful. Some of the buildings reminded me of Hundertwasser’s work (which I’ve seen in a public toilet in New Zealand of all places!) Tirana is changing though and changing fast. Lots of construction going on of modern, high-rise apartments and office spaces.

Albania is a secular country and the two largest religions are Islam and Christianity. During a walking tour the guide told us that despite its turbulent history, Albania has never gone to war over religion and prides itself on welcoming everyone to the country. It’s hard to believe they have only been a democracy since 1992. I visited Bunk’art 2 which is a museum in a nuclear bunker telling the history of the political police during communist times. It’s documented and presented very well and is definitely worth a visit to learn more of this period in this country’s history.

So, for a dose of sunshine, plenty of food choices inspired by the Mediterranean, a warm welcome in a country kind on the purse strings, consider visiting Albania (before it becomes over-developed.)

Venturing East

My favourite place to be on a Saturday morning is a quiet, footpath, surrounded by trees with a small spaniel happily exploring ahead of me. My second favourite though is in complete contrast; an airport. People making journeys for all sorts of reasons. This morning by 6.30am I had met a lady in her 80’s who was off to Vienna and told me she would never stop exploring and that her wheelchair had never stopped her and another lady who was flying to pick up her daughter. I love an airport! 

This time a short two and a half hour flight brought me to Riga in Latvia. After a bus ride into the city (which for a Saturday seemed amazingly quiet,) lots of women were walking around carrying bunches of tulips. Funnily enough I knew the reason as when I was looking at visiting Latvia I came across another traveller’s blog, who had mentioned it. The 8th March in Latvia is International Women’s Day and women are given flowers or chocolates. This is indeed true as when buying some lunch I was given a free chocolate gift!

The next day brought bright, blue skies, perfect for hiking so I took a train to Sigulda (about an hour from Riga) to walk some of the trails in Gauja National Park. The route took me via Krimulda and Turaida, where I visited castle ruins and a hill fortress. The trails were well marked and incredibly quiet, but with plenty of ascent and descent via many sets of steps!

Monday I hopped across the border into Lithuania to visit what has become a pilgrimage site, The Hill of Crosses. An amazing array of crosses left by people for many reasons.

That left a final day to explore the rest of Riga - the old town, library, central market, art nouveau district and the KGB headquarters, where a tour into the darkest of human stories is told. 

Riga is a compact city (you can walk everywhere) with warm, friendly people and it is good value for a short break. It’s history and geographical position could lead Latvians to live in fear, instead my experience was that they don’t worry and that they welcome tourists with open arms. I hope some of you will decide to visit this Baltic nation.