Return to Belgrade

I'm at the point in my life where I need to live with no regrets.  I am trying to say yes to everything, simply to see what life has in store for me.  To say that I've managed to live this way in my professional life, that point is clear.  I left the United States in 2009 to move to Italy, with the security of knowing that I had a job back in Oakland if I decided to go back after a year. I gave up that job to follow this path of what felt right....living abroad, which lead to two more years in Italy and now at least two years here in China.  I'm living without a certain way to get a job back in the United States, without knowledge or in possession of a true path.  When I was working in Oakland, that job could have been the rest of my life.  I gave that up for adventure and I'm grateful that I took this chance.

So, now I am trying to apply this to my personal life.  Lately, ok in the past few years, I have really been feeling as if its time to settle down, find someone to make a life with.  But to do that, I have to actually go out and date people.  Meet people.  See what kind of guys I'm compatible with.  Ok, yes, I've dated some in the past and learned that I can't date a guy who's parents were alcoholics (and hasn't yet gone to therapy about that issue) nor can I date a guy who is overly emotional and doesn't always think logically.  Those things I've learned.  But I've got to take more chances.  Sample the goods as they say.

So, I did that on this trip!  When I was with Brian in Belgrade, Serbia on our trip through the former Yugoslavia.  I turned on Grindr (and I had quite the time with the guys there, sorry Mom!) and for some reason checked messages on the Chinese version of Grindr.  Lo and behold I started chatting with a Serbian guy who turns out to live in Beijing, but was back in Belgrade to finish his masters in Chinese.  Milan T. speaks Chinese better than me, certainly writes and reads Chinese better than me, and is a Serbian.  I didn't have a chance to meet up with him before Brian and I left Belgrade, but for the next three weeks, he and I kept up a torrid texting conversation.  There were possible sparks there.  And because I had a few free days after Viterbo before heading to Germany to see Uli and his family......I flew back to Serbia to meet Milan.  Talk about taking a chance! 

We met up and he's a great guy, but no sparks.  But in meeting with him in person, I learned so much about how where we grow up affects our outlook on life.  As an American with my blue passport, I can see the world pretty much at will. I have advantages that I've never even thought about.  Milan, being a Serbian, has some pretty tough visa restrictions to travel to most countries. To do what he wants to do outside of Serbia takes so much more effort and documentation than I could EVER imagine. And to that effect, he sees the world as the small bubble of Serbia and the ex-Yugoslavia. It colors his attitude and there is an edge of defeatism in his view of the world.

Even though, the trip to Belgrade the second time didn't advance my relationship with Milan beyond friendship, I want to say that I'm glad I took the chance of heading back to Belgrade to see him, and meet him in person. You don't want to say to yourself, "what might have been...."  Well, I know. And that's satisfying.

However, let me tell you......I'm a HOT commodity in Belgrade, Serbia.  No need to put details here.  Let's just say, BOTH times I was in Belgrade I was not without male companionship!

Costa Concordia -- Giglio

As the crow flies, the Island of Giglio, off the western coast of Italy is about 45 miles from Viterbo.  The Costa Concordia shipwreck has put Giglio in the news.  I had never heard of it until the tragedy.  Being the gawker that I am, I HAD to take a day and go see the half underwater ship!

The accident occurred in January 2012.  When I visited in July 2013, the ship was still underwater, but salvage workers were working hard to get it prepared to be floated upright!!

I originally was unsatisfied with the view from the beach, so I climbed up and found an amazing viewpoint from which to view the wreckage.

This is how close it is to the beach and the town/port of Giglio.

The water is amazingly clear!!!

So, they have attached flotation piers to the exposed side.  I believe the plan is to the float the ship upright and then attach the same flotation piers to the currently underwater side.

The Costa Concordia will then be towed (I heard Genoa or Sicily) and then dismantled and sold for scrap!

A week in my Italian home -- Viterbo

A visit to Viterbo must include time at Anna's house.  Here's dinner with Anna, Miria and Giorgia.  Love was all around!

In town, I went to Bagalino's (of course) but it turns out that Max has sold the cafe to some Chinese-Italians.  He took a job as the regional sales person for a Viterbo based coffee company.  But he said it was too stressful, so he quit and is now just taking some time off!

Yvonne and Jadgzia are moving in with Mario.  Being the friend I am, I accompanied J to Ikea.  Of course we had Swedish Meatballs!!!

I went to the hot springs a number of times.  When I stayed with Yvonne (at her Mom's place in Vetralla) everytime I went back and forth between Vetralla and Viterbo, I would stop by the hot springs. 

My favorite part is the cold water pool.  After time in the hot springs, a dunk in the cold water is unbelievably refreshing.

Walking through the parking lot, I saw the Townsend's Opel Astra.  My life in Viterbo isn't complete without the Townsend's around.

All over town, I ran into friends.  Here's Anna M, the woman who cleaned the school!

These keys symbolize home for me in Viterbo.  The keys on the left are the keys to Yvonne's mother's apartment in Vetralla.  The gate opener on the left is the Anna's husband's (now deceased) personal gate opener.  I can just show up in Viterbo and have free access to so many homes.

Sunday afternoon is movie day with Anna.  Not sure why she's grimacing here, because it was always the highlight of her week.  We go to the multiplex (the one with comfy seats) and without a doubt, she always chooses A) Mafia themed movies or B) A movie with lots of things blowing up or C) Action movies.  No romantic comedies, EVER.  So she chose the new Wolverine movie.

Mario!!!

Alessandro!!!

Unbelievably, I didn't get a selfie with Yvonne.  But she's here in spirit!!  And the Scanlon's had taken off for the United States.  I also ran into Roberto (from my wood finishing course) at Bagolino's but no selfie there either.  Otherwise, I saw most of my friends from my Viterbo years and ate at my favorite restaurants!!!  My Italian home, no question.  I miss it immensely.

Holmenkollen

What is this????  It's the 90 meter ski jump at the world famous Holmenkollen National Arena, which has training facilities for ski jump, biathlon, cross-country skiing.  Basically ANYTHING nordic!

I've always wanted to watch ski jumping, so I'll just have to settle for the empty stadium and the jump with no snow....for now!  Hey, I've seen luge in action, who says I won't ever watch ski jumping live.

To get a sense of how steep the slope is, here is the climb.

Ok, let's look at it in cross section.  Yeah, these guys are headed down this slope....and then off a ledge to fly into the air.

Climbing up to the area where we can actually head up to the top!!!  YES!

So, this is what the ski jumpers see.  That wooden block is what they sit on before they stand up and jump!!

A private outfit is offering a simulated ski jump by using zip line technology.  I was willing to pay my $100 but it was closed!!

Florian and myself...and the Norwegian flag!

This is the view from the room where jumpers wait their turn.  Oslo looks so much like the Pacific Northwest!

The view from Holmenkollen upon suburban Oslo and the Oslo fjord.

Kayaking the Geirangerfjord

I am secretly Scandanavian, specifically Norwegian.  Underneath my Chinese exterior and American upbringing, I am fascinated and obsessed with the landscape of Norway and the way that the country is so civilized, innovative and thoughtful in the way it organizes it's society and the humane way it treats its citizens.  Perhaps because Seattle itself has a strong Scandinavian history and the weather being very similar to Seattle's that I feel so at home in that part of the world.  I've always wanted to see the fjords of Norway and so I rounded my friend DD (from my Rome days) and Florian, who brought his sister and the four of us found a guide to take us on a six day kayaking trip ending with the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Geirangerfjord.

This map shows what was supposed to be the last four days of our kayaking tour.  Originally, we were supposed to start in the town of Alesund and take two days to kayak to Stranda.  And from Stranda down the fjord on the south into the Synnulsvsfjord and then east into the famed Geirangerfjord.

Day 1........the one thing you don't want kayaking is wind.  Particularly a headwind...or a cross wind isn't great as well.  This is what we got.  Overcast and windy.  It wasn't the sunny Norway I was hoping for.

Therefore, our guide rearranged our trip and made the first two days a hike.  Above, is Myrthe (Florian's sister), on the ferry we're taking across the fjord.

DD and I reunited!!!  The ferries of Norway remind me so much of the ferries in Puget Sound.  It's a marine highway system!

Therefore instead of kayaking on the first day, we drove to a spot from which we were going to hike to a restored Norwegian cabin, which was our planned second night stop.  The cabin is called Skotet.

To reach the cabin, we had to climb up the backside of the fjord.

Reaching the top of crest of the backside of the fjord, we reached a flat area dominated by a flat lake.  We've all heard of the riches that Norwegian oil has brought to the country.  But the large amounts of water have allowed the country to dam many rivers and sell the power as well.  This country is blessed!!

We've reach the top of the hill and now it is time to march downhill with the fjord we were supposed to kayaking in the distance.

Skotet.  Many of these farms were working farms until the early 1900's.  They are a huge part and pride of the Norwegians and most of them are restored and maintained by volunteers.

The view from Skotet into the fjord at 2330.  The Geirangerfjord is at North Latitude 62 degrees.  We were in Norway in mid July.  It never really got dark and the sun rose at 330AM.

Day 2...the hike back over the mountain and down into the foggy valley where our vehicles were parked.

Day 3, in the town of Stranda, we're finally in the canoes!!

And finally ON THE WATER.  A few days late, but the water was calm, perfect for kayaking.

The view heading out of Stranda.

Our guide, Rogier, a Dutch national transplanted to Norway.

A few hours in as we were headed South in the Synnulsvsfjord, our goal being Akernusset, the wind picked up and it was a headwind.

The whitecaps started and we were working hard, paddling against the wind and not moving fast.  By this time, it was 8PM and so we had to stop and find shelter.  This was actually a bit scary as there were few places that were flat enough and sheltered enough to pull onto shore.

We managed to pull onto a really small beach and make a campfire underneath this rock.

Bart, another Dutchman, was the assistant guide.  Things were looking up as he caught a fish.

The morning of Day 4, while somewhere along the Synnusvsfjord, the wind was still blowing north (a headwind as we were headed south), so we decided to head north back to Stranda. On Day 5, we drove to Hellesylt just at the mouth of the Geirangerfjord and here's the weather.  PERFECT.

Looking directly east at the mouth of the Geirangerfjord.  THIS was what we came to see, and we had the best weather these final two days.

Alas, as we entered into the Geirangerfjord the sun went away, but as you can see, NO WIND.  It made for easy paddling and it made the tough earlier days all a distant memory.

First picture of Florian!

These waterfalls are called the "Seven Sisters".  I can only count six.

The seven sisters from the southern side of the Geirangerfjord.  You'll see another old farm house on the ledge next to those.  On the fifth night of our trip, we camped at "Skagefla", a famous preserved farmhouse that was high on the southern ridge that had this exact view from high above the fjord.

To get to Skagefla, we had to climb up this trail on the steep wall face of the fjord.

Skagefla

DD and I at Skagefla.  Turns out this farm was abandoned just under a century ago.  Farmers used to have to tie a rope to their children to tether them to a post so they wouldn't fall off the steep cliff!

Large Cruise ships come in and out of the Geirangerfjord.  I'm glad I got to see the fjord from a kayak!

The sun was out on Day 6 and after the hike down to the kayaks, I contemplated going swimming.  What an amazing place to swim.  When else was I going to have the chance to swim in a Norwegian fjord?  Especially with that view?

A final look at the Seven Sisters and west into the Geirangerfjord from Skagefla.

Day 6 was so sunny it required sunglasses.  So warm, it was the first time I sweat all week!

One more turn and we arrived at the town of Geiranger!

Driving out of the Geirangerfjord on the bus, this is looking west.  You can see how steep the walls of the fjord are.  Skagefla was on a ledge just over that large cliff face jutting from the left.

The end of the Geirangerfjord and the town of Geiranger.