I'm on a Boat! ...And everyone is sleeping.

We took the night ferry from Crete to Athens. First off, a night ferry is miles better than any other night transportation I've done. Night train, night bus, night plane. They are all horrible compared to the night ferry..which isnt really even that good. The ferry is like a slightly smaller cruise ship. But only in looks and some amenities. None of the excitement of a cruise is there. These are mostly locals using this for a cheap means of transport within their country..kinda like Amtrak. So after the initial excitement of being on a boat, there isnt much to do besides eat some and then try to sleep. And I do mean try. These people try very hard. Buying the cheapest ticket gets you on to the boat and a seat in the "pullman" or poor man area, middle of the boat, by the engine. But, being a cruise ship, there are tons of other places to sleep! Restaurants, halls, lounges, reception..it kinda becomes a game.. a sad, sad game. Just watch

Use it before you lose it

You’re gonna lose it, there’s no stopping it. Lose your money, your body, your looks, your hair. Once you hit a certain age all these things tend to decline. Except money. You can stack paper for as long as you live, but after that, its all lost to you. The other day, Audrey and I had coffee/drinks/kebab at a Cretan café/bar/restaurant. We sat by a pair of old couples (4 people) who were speaking English. 2 brits, 2 Netherlanders. Audrey was using her computer’s web cam, I believe as a mirror, and this sparked a convo with the couples. We had a fun talk for a while and eventually learned that all 4 of them were out here on vacation from work, not yet retired, though they seemed of nearly the right age. When they learned of our travels and our age, the brits especially, seemed to assume we were out here on our parents dime. Kinda insulting, but I do understand and it got me thinking. We are both making sacrifices to be out here, monetary and otherwise. Yes I landed a sweet deal thru Google, but traveling like this doesn’t require that, or parents’ money. It just takes a bit of planning and resolution to your goal. Living abroad can definitely be cheaper than paying rent at home. And living meagerly can do wonders to your savings account. Anyway, the major requirement of traveling like this is being fine with coming back with nothing. The mentality of being ready to start all over when you return. It’s harder than it sounds, but once you realize how fleeting everything is, money, jobs, your health, it becomes easier. You wont be healthy or strong enough to travel forever. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. So take the money you got or save a bit more, then throw it all away on some dream you want to accomplish before you die…or get old and decrepit. You may end up broke as a joke, as I likely will, but at least you did something you had to do. Too many people end up forgoing life dreams just for the sake of sticking to the program: Eat. Sleep. Work. Save Money. Retire. Why would you want to be rich when you’re too old to really enjoy it?? Well, that’s a topic for a diff post as im sure many disagree…especially one redhead in San Fran. Anyway, in regards to leaving the working world, I’ll end with a quote from a chef a few weeks before departing Google:

“I came here lookin for a job and I’ll leave lookin for one if I have to, same as I came in. Doesn’t make a difference to me.”

Updated the Map!

Finally

Smoooku Tai-san!

Quick post...Crete is bomb! This is really a cool island and Greek people seem pretty awesome, and, regardless of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", the women are very attractive..tho lacking in English a bit..Anyway, really cool island, great weather for the middle of October too. The linen suit gets a bit too hot.

Big bad part about Europe: Everyone and their mom, and their grandmom Smokes! Its horrible. Everywhere; restaurants, train stations, bars, kindergartens. There is smoke everywhere. Crete is a bit better than other places(Austria especially), but coming from the US, especially San Fran, it seems impossible to get a breath of fresh air sometimes..Its even worse to see parents sitting at restaurants blowing smoke in their toddlers faces. But i guess its all part of the European Joie de vivre mentality.

"Death & Tourists" or "Rest in Pieces"

I went to the Kaisergruft, the tomb of Franz Josef and a few other Kaisers and Kings of Vienna/Austria. Down in the cript, there are about 30~40 coffins and tombs. Some with angels and crowns carved on them, others with skulls (a strange choice for a coffin..) but all were very elaborate. Many were impressive, but you can’t help but get creeped out thinking you are 20ft underground surrounded by dead people. It was crazy to imagine that you have a dead body, nearly 400 years old, just lying in a stone box a few feet away. Especially a really famous dead body… The body cant really be in there I thought.

After leaving the crypt, I asked the receptionist/ticket lady if the bodies were actually still in the coffins. “Oh yes! “She responds. “Well, the bodies are. The insides are somewhere else.” She continued nonchalantly. “Somewhere else??” You mean they took out all the inside stuff” I asked, gesturing to my stomach to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding. “Yes, yes, the hearts are at St. Augustine’s chapel. And the rest, well the other entrails are over in the church around the corner.” Me: “Oh, so they burn the insides and keep the ashes in the churches.” Lady: “ No, no ashes.” Me: “ So their hearts are somewhere in a jar or something over in that church??” “Yes, right over there” She smiles…

How creepy. This is what kings, monarchs, and pharaohs spend so much money and effort to be remembered for? This is what these grandiose burials buy you? Your heart and insides torn from your body and kept in churches while your tombs are kept in rooms for tourists to walk around and scrutinize?? Or pharaohs, you are pulled out of your pyramid, pillaged, and moved from museum to museum around the world for people to ‘admire’ for a few minutes before they go to the next exhibit or to McDonalds???
No thank you, I’ll spend my money on traveling while I’m alive to enjoy it and take a normal burial.

1 Month and counting

It has been over a month now since I embarked on this journey. I have definitely had some great experiences, met some really interesting people, and seen some really cool places. I’ve also learned so much more about myself; how I think, how I perceive myself and others, and what type of life I really want to live.  Traveling by yourself is really an amazing experience in that it can teach you so much about the world and yourself at the same time. You never know how you will really react until you are out here. I highly recommend this type of travel. A smart red-head once gave me this quote and I have often repeated it to myself as I move around out here. It is incredibly true:

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all the familiar comfort of home & friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sun, the sky - all things tending toward the eternal or what we imagine of it.”
~ Cesar Parese

Ok so the last sentence is a bit lofty, especially since I have a ton of things out here that are mine… well at least 40lbs, and I pay for it with every step I take. Either way, this can be a brutality for sure. And trusting strangers is usually the only way to get by. There is nothing familiar about most places I am, but still I love this freedom and relish these opportunities to experience and see so much. So far, here are the top of those experiences and places:

Top 5 experiences
 -  Paragliding thru the Alps in Interlaken
- Chillin in the best Indian restaurant in Basel with good food, good wine, and great people
- Exploring the free, crazy streets of Amsterdam (and only the streets)
- Opening day of Oktoberfest in Munich
- Bullfight in Madrid

Top 5 cities
Amsterdam
Lisbon
Rome
Berlin
Barcelona