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  1. Greetings from Istanbul. Here for a week with my girlfriend and her family. wave
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJun 30th 2013
    Cristian wrote
    Photos from my hike with Bregt and Aaron in Bucegi Mountains

    https://www.facebook.com/cristian.lee.3 … amp;type=1

    It was an amazing hike. I'm glad I was the guide for Bregt and showed him a part of our beautiful mountains. My favorite moment of the day was when we drank belgian beer and we watched the sunset above the clouds.

    Soon I will post photos with the landscapes.

    Enjoy!


    Great pics, thanks!!
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeJul 3rd 2013
    Very nice Cristian, looks like my kinda hiking. cool
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
  2. absolutely nothing for me, but it does look amazing smile
    waaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Where's my nut? arrrghhhhhhh
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeJul 3rd 2013
    Thomas Glorieux wrote
    absolutely nothing for me, but it does look amazing smile


    I presume you mean hiking? Ever tried it?
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013 edited
    I'm back! The only blood I lost was during the last night when we were attacked at night by ... mosquitoes. Romania, with our focus on Transylvania, has left quite an impression. Poor lives so close to rich. It's very confronting to see horse and carriage driving alongside modern cars. Some of Romania is still living a century ago. What we saw during one train trip was a whole adventure and quite a 'shock' with the bigger cities that we had visited before. But I think it's going in the right direction!

    Brasov, Sighisoara and especially Sibiu are amazing cities, with clear Saxon influence and very European in style. What a history this part of the country has! Dracula is nowhere never far away but it was never silly, except perhaps in the town of the Dracula castle (where our hike also finished) with tens of boots for souvenirs. The Transfagarasan lies in a fantastic scenery, very Iceland-like, and quite busy too. The highlight was the hike for sure, but also the little villages and meeting with Saxon people who came back to discover their country.

    Cristian wrote
    It was an amazing hike. I'm glad I was the guide for Bregt and showed him a part of our beautiful mountains. My favorite moment of the day was when we drank belgian beer and we watched the sunset above the clouds.

    Yes, a great hike, two days but intense. The views were often stunning. We experienced a crazy storm too, walked above and through heavy clouds and fog, saw lots of sheep and dogs, entered a dark forest the second day, ate sausages and drank tea+rum at one of Romania's highest peaks (Omu) and walked the longest road in the world...

    Thanks again Cristian for also joining us 5 a few days in the city of Brasov. He also guided us around a bit in Bucharest at the end of our holiday. We all appreciated your cool, hospitality and time you took for us.

    Captain Future wrote
    Stella Artois ?

    I brought a good beer, so it couldn't be Stella. tongue
    It was Westmalle Tripel, a strong Trappist.
    Kazoo
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    It all sounds brilliant Bregt ( but only 2 days hiking? uhm )

    Looking forward to seeing more pictures.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    Timmer wrote
    but only 2 days hiking? uhm

    Yes, that was practically the best option. I was with 4 other friends and only one wanted to hike with Cristian and me. So we didn't want to be separated from the others too long. We also had to be in Brasov to start the rest of the journey. Also Cristian was not able to take more days off.

    Short indeed, a day longer would've been great, but I think it was perfect.
    Kazoo
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013 edited
    Seems like you jammed a lot of stuff in there, as usual. Love the pics Cristian put out on facebook. I always think it's amazing that you're able to arrange these non-touristy trips with lots to see and experience -- and lots of nature -- with such a low budget. Then again, I guess it's always a matter of what comfort you require.
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    I tell ya, it wouldn't work for me!
    I require my hiking to have hot and cold running water and fresh cappuccinos.
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    Edmund Meinerts wrote
    Greetings from Istanbul. Here for a week with my girlfriend and her family. wave


    I gather it's a bit unquiet down there, Edmund.
    Any troubles that you noticed?
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    Martijn wrote
    Edmund Meinerts wrote
    Greetings from Istanbul. Here for a week with my girlfriend and her family. wave


    I gather it's a bit unquiet down there, Edmund.
    Any troubles that you noticed?


    Oh, tiny post at top went unnoticed by me, hoping you have a good untroubled time Edmund.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    Posted some pics on Facebook. Not the best series I made. The weather did not allow. Lots of clouds and sharp light makes pictures rather flenzy. Not sure if that word exist, but it certainly sounds like what I mean!
    Kazoo
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2013
    "Flenzy"....sure. Music composed by Lon Goodwin.
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeJul 11th 2013
    Thor wrote
    "Flenzy"....sure. Music composed by Lon Goodwin.


    With a rejected score by Henly Mancini
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJul 11th 2013
    Lets go back on topic and talk about wold tlavelling.
    Kazoo
    •  
      CommentAuthorchristopher
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2013 edited
    My wife and I just got back from our drive across the middle of the U.S. Over 1800 miles from the southern Nevada desert, over the "spine of North America" (the Rocky Mountains), across the heartland, and over the mighty Mississippi. What a trip!

    I think this link will take you to some pictures of the trip I uploaded to facebook.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2013 edited
    LONG READ, BUT DOES CONTAIN SOME PICTURES OF MY TRAVELS! SOME OF WHICH EVEN STAR *ME*!
    So, you know, it's, like, totally worth it.


    So, last week, to prevent myself going slightly mad with professional, psychological and emotional annoyances, I quite impulsively (which just goes to show how much I am deviating from my own quirky but lovable self: normally I plan any spontaneoous impulses at the evry least three months in advance) decided to go on a brief sojourn.

    It needed to be close, it needed to be somewhere I never visited before and -obviously- it needed to have palm trees.
    No matter what lies Bregt will try and impress upon one, one CANNOT have a holidays without palm trees.

    So, assuming that it was a country in dire straits and therefore most delighted to receive rich northern tourists, I decided upon Greece.
    That assumption, of course, was incorrect: in fact, prices in Greece are quite steep, aside generally from restaurants where one is more often than not presented with meals fit easily for two or three Ethiopian refugee camps all at once, for a fee so modest it would buy a single ice cream cone in Rome.

    Speaking of Rome: I have visited there before in my younger years.
    Yes, younger, for as much as I am still not unlike a young Adonis today (a fact often confirmed by elder aunts and creepy old men in suspect bars) I too feel the ravages of time and am continuously in a state of amazement that 1993 was not, in fact, just roughly five years ago.
    But I digress.

    What I noticed in Rome was, overall, the lack of sense of classical history.
    Oh sure: there was the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum, the remnants of the Via Appia... but they were dirty, unkept, and swarming with vendors making a quick buck selling plastic wind-up dolls. In fact, it seemed to me Rome much more celebrated its Renaissance history and its ties to the Vatican than the -to me- awe inspiring footsteps of the Caesars, the unmatched politics of the once Centre of the known world, the depth and power of an unparalelled empire.

    I came away...not disappointed, but slightly crestfallen.
    This the home of Caesar? This the setting of Ben-Hur?

    I feared much the same would befall me in Athens.
    Mere unrecognisable rubble, strewn with tourists and street vendors.
    And the sense of the strongest philosophical, artistic, political and military civilisation of 2500 years ago having long since been erased.

    How wrong I was.
    Athenians are proud, VERY proud of their heritage. As are most Greeks.
    The classics are referenced and quoted everywhere! Ancient ruins are being watched over as if the gold is still there and any mention of invaders having destroyed temples or sanctuaries as much as four hundred years ago will bring fire to their eyes and set teeth on edge. The Turks are NOT forgiven for using the Parthenon as a munitions dump (which rather unamazingly then blew up in 1687).
    But by far the most hated and reviled name in Athens is not a Turkish one: it's lord Elgin's, (and I quote the Acropolis museum's official audio guide here: ) the "thief", who "destroyed" and "mutilated" Greek monuments, and "ransacked" the city.
    Greeks do NOT forgive easily.

    It's an attitude I found wholeheartedly refreshing in contrast to Rome's denizens.
    For all the trouble Greece is in (and it's truly heartbreaking: a whole generation is growing up unemployed), they are consistently aware of their history, and honour it, until -and I have heard more than one Greek make this exclamation!- such a day as another Leonidas rises and wipes the country clean from corruption, nepotism, complacency, fear...and foreign invaders.
    Me, I won't be caught with my pants down: I'm a-learning Greek and for one welcome our Hellenic overlords!

    My travels didn't take me far from Athens mostly: there's SO much to see!
    The Acropolis, visible from anywhere in Athens, is splendid in its majesty, even if the local wildlife is slightly less impressed.
    And while cats, marginally annoyed by continuous tourist attention, roam the monuments freely, I can't help but notice the ancient Greeks may not have liked animals all that much...
    (I only much later learned that this is not in fact a squashed horse on the Parthenon's main top panel, but part of the chariot of Selene, the rising moon. Nevertheless, the poor thing certainly seems to be in a bit of discomfort).

    Close to the Acropolis two monuments caught my eye: Hadrian's Arch which -there's a clue in the name there!- was erected by the Roman emperor Hadrian.
    It made me laugh as, in a brilliant bit of compromise, it seems to be a typical Hellenic gate on top of a typical Roman gate!
    Yet, the Roman ego takes precedence as it's written (or so I've read: the lettering is too badly worn to make out) on the one side: "This is Athens, city of Theseus", while on the other side it says "No, it's not Theseus'. It's Hadrian's city.'.

    The Temple of Zeus, sadly, is mostly destroyed (by earthquakes), but the columns that remain still suggest a grandeur that is as imposing as the greatest of cathedrals.

    Recommended soundtrack: what else? Miklos Rozsa's Ben-Hur.
    Yeah, wrong empire.
    Right tone.

    So then a quick peek-in at the relatively well-preserved theatre of Dionysos (that boasts some stunning reliefs at the back of the stage), to see what was on. But sadly it only was home to some two hundred kids on a mandatory school excursion, being bored out of their little skulls while a teacher in an increasingly loud and fast tone desperately tried to convince them that this was FUN! And IMPORTANT! And INTERESTING! And would count for FORTY PERCENT OF THEIR GRADE!
    (My Greek is a bit rusty, but the tone was pretty unmistakable wink ).

    A quick nourishing meal (shotgunned horror from the deep with extra-gloopy entrails) led to a very fast exit towards cocktails.
    Gents, ladies, unto Thee I say: I can heartily recommend the Baba-Au-Rum which sports a roughly infinite number of types of rum (including Peruvian!) and whose staff is perfectly happy to make anything for anyone (whereby an order like "I would like something like that first one, but a little more citrussy. With poppyseed. And green." won't even make them blink an eyelid).
    Prices are so reasonable I rather overimbibed, helped merrily along by an absolutely lovely cocktail waitress Heleni-Ana whom I otherwise totally failed to get off with.
    *sigh*
    It must have been a Thursday.
    I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

    Anyway!
    Having boosted my ego back up to acceptable operational levels at the Olympic Stadion (yes, the original one. Like, you know, the first.) it was finaly time to walk in the footsteps of giants in history.
    But not before visiting the Museum of Zombies.
    Seriously, sometimes these ancient Greeks simply didn't plan ahead.
    ...

    Visiting ancient Corinthe, and standing in the very spot where the apostle Paul walked, was quite humbling, but it was nothing compared to my next visiting Mycenae, and standing beneath the Lion's Gate: the very spot from where 3500 years ago the troops walked to their ships, right behind Mycenae, under the command of the great king Agamemnon, to set sail for Troy...

    Being there, being present on that very spot that forever lives in mythology, legend and history, is something that greatly and deeply impressed me.

    It was a quiet, warm day, and being out of rush season, there was nary a visitor in sight.
    Being somewhat above see level, the wind whistled -coming down from the mountains and finding strong opposition in the huge boulders that make up the great walls and pathways of Mycenae- as it must have for millennia. And never so strong was the sense of walking through history as when I made my way up that rampart, through the gates, up, towards the great palace of Agamemnon. Walking those same steps, taking those same turns as the great general and his troops must have done all those millennia ago.
    Being physically, in person, so confronted with the very vestiges of world history gave me great pause.

    Recommended soundtrack: what else? Gabriel Yared's rejected score for Troy...but just for a while.
    The wind through the ruins gives them a voice of their own, and it's one worth listening to.

    That massive, major highlight could not be followed by anything else but a visit to the great man's grave: Schliemann, excavator of both Mycenae and Troy is buried in a tomb on the huge and opulent First Athens Cemetary...where, with quite a bit of difficulty, I was also able to find the grave of T.H. White, the author of that wonderful retelling of the Arthur legend The Once And Future King.

    Oh, and after all that, there was still a little time left for a MainTitles micro-meet... wave
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2013 edited
    But what about the booze, man? THE BOOZE? Any wild partying?

    Seriously, thanks for the write-up. And you got to meet Stavi! How nice.
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2013
    punk cool beer punk

    p.s. I'm one of those people who believe the Marbles should be returned, Elgin seriously vandalised them.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    •  
      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2013
    Thor wrote
    But what about the booze, man? THE BOOZE? Any wild partying?


    You missed my reference to Baba Au Rum? wink
    I can't really remember most of that night...

    But wild partying...no: you're not going to get in anywhere without an invitation or having been introduced by Athenian friends: it's a very reactionary society in many ways.
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2013
    What do you mean? You can't get into pubs and discos and night clubs without invitation?!?
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2013
    Ooooh, sure! That's no problem!
    But hooking up, that's another matter entirely!
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2013
    Timmer wrote
    p.s. I'm one of those people who believe the Marbles should be returned, Elgin seriously vandalised them.

    Fully agree.
    There's really no excuse at all not to.
    Aside from the fact that, yeah, they simply are Greece's national heritage and property, the Akropolis museum is one of the most modern, best curated museums I have ever visited. The merest consideration that the Greeks should somehow not take good care of them is absolutely ludicrous.

    Thor wrote
    And you got to meet Stavi! How nice.


    Oh, considerably better than just nice.
    We spent a fun few hours together discussing pretty much everything but soundtracks.
    And she's as smart, witty, fun and charming in real life as she's in the digital world of MT! love
    Seriously, a major highlight of the trip!

    I wish I could have swung by Cyprus to see D. as well.
    Oh well. Next time. smile
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2013
    Sounds like you had a great time Martijn cool beer
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2013
    Martijn, that was fabulous a read, thanks a lot! Did you visit the new Arcopolis museum?
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
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      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2013
    p.s. the last photo put a big, big smile to my face, thank you Martijn and dear Stavi ! smile
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2013
    Demetris wrote
    Martijn, that was fabulous a read, thanks a lot! Did you visit the new Arcopolis museum?


    Indeed I did: a VERY fine, modern and well-curated museum.
    I was very impressed.
    Especially the top floor where the circumference of the actual Parthenon was "recreated" was particularly moving.
    Clearly a great deal of love and effort and love has gone into this museum.

    p.s. the last photo put a big, big smile to my face, thank you Martijn and dear Stavi ! smile


    biggrin
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
  3. For future reference, knowing your need for palm trees, a visit to the West coast of Scotland looks on the cards at some point?

    Plockton and its palm trees
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2013
    ORDERED!

    I mean BOOKED!
    Oh, you KNOW what I mean!
    punk cool
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn