Archive for the Travels category
Egypt, day 1
Posted on Mittwoch, Mai 27, 2009 at 5:27 PM by Reka
On the 27th of April we (my friends Iris and Walter and I) started out for Luxor via Munich and Cairo. Our first bit of culture shock came at the Cairo airport, where we had to change planes for Luxor. We landed and bought our visa in a cool, fairly modern building and went through passport control.
We then asked the way to our connecting flight. "Out the door, then down the right!" was the answer. So out and down the right we went, down a dirty sidewalk to another more decrepit building. We were greeted at the door by a gruff cry of "Tickets!!" from the policeman in charge of the x-ray machine and metal detector. He was not pleased to see the paper we had printed from the Internet, which didn't look like any "Tickets!!" he knew. "Tickets!! Tickets", he repeated. But we had nothing else, and he finally waved us through while throwing our paper on top of the x-ray machine. It took us a good ten minutes to convince him we needed that oh so insignificant paper to get on the next plane.
Next, we fought our way tooth and nail past various tourist groups whose guides helped them through the intricate steps of the quadrille needed to get tickets and baggage checked for their flight. Unfortunately, our guide was meeting us in Luxor, and we were on our own. After a near clash with a group of German women who didn't realize they were finished and it really was our turn at the counter, we finally got our tickets and got on the plane to Luxor.
We were glad to arrive in Luxor near midnight after being on the road since 9 a.m. When we saw the gleaming white taxis waiting to whisk us to our hotel, we thought we were home free. And when a smiling young man came asking if we needed a taxi and wheeled our bags to the nearest one, we could already see the soft beds waiting for us at the Nile Palace. Ha! We were surrounded in no time by a group of excited men, gesticulating wildly and yelling. The young man with our bags picked up mine and put it in the trunk of the waiting taxi, only to have it pulled out by one of the other men. This happened repeatedly until I got firm hold of it and we threatened to take another taxi. The arguing went on, the group having swelled to some fifteen yelling men, with the young man and me each holding my bag and refusing to let go. Soon I just had to stand back and laugh at the comedy unfolding before us. Things quieted down when another man showed up and quickly settled the situation. Our young man explained that his boss defended him against his friends. "Bah! Friends!" he said contemptuously. It smelled a bit of Egyptian mafia, but as long as we were on the way to our hotel, it didn't really matter. Twenty minutes and a few baksheesh later, those soft beds were finally reality.
Posted in Friends (RSS), Travels (RSS)
A surprise trip
Posted on Dienstag, April 21, 2009 at 5:28 PM by Reka
I realized I haven't written anything about one of the most exciting things to happen to me in quite a while.
One of my best friends called me up about three months ago and said she had to talk to me. "Uh-oh" was my immediate response. She assured me it was nothing bad, and we made a date to meet at the wine bar the next day. When we got settled down with a glass of prosecco, she told me the couple they go to Egypt with every year was unable to make it this year and would I like to go with them? That floored me. Egypt! It had never been one of the places on my short must-see list, but who could turn down the offer of nine days with a private tour of Egypt?
Soooo, on Monday I am leaving for Egypt! We fly to Luxor by way of Cairo and spend a day there in the Valley of the Kings and Karnak. Then we leave for 5 days in the oases of Kharga, Dakhla, Fayoum, Farafra and Bahariya, passing through the Black and White Deserts and spending two nights in tents in the middle of the Sahara. We have our own Jeep, driver and tour guide! The last two days will be spent in Cairo and Gizeh.
Oh yes, and I will have my own private bodyguard! Apparently there are stricter security regulations concerning Americans in Egypt. My friend and I joked about me getting a bodyguard. Until our guide informed us that a policeman will have to accompany us through the desert! All that is missing is a huge sign on the Jeep advising any watching terrorists: "American on board!"
This will be my first trip to a Moslem country (the reason my friend didn't even bother to ask my husband if he wanted to go) and the first real trip for me to a country where I don?t speak the language. (I don't count our three day trip to Slovenia with Eduard's soccer team, which was not exactly one of culture and hobnobbing with the natives, if you get my drift!) Up to now, my five languages have gotten me around with no problem, but Arabic, in this case, is not one of the five! I am also a bit apprehensive about sleeping in a sleeping bag on cold hard ground (grumble, grumble). I do appreciate my comfy, though firm mattress. :-) But I am looking forward very much to a new culture. And new cuisine, for those of you who know how much I love to cook, and, unfortunately, eat! One of the things I am most looking forward to is the spice market in Cairo.
So here's to new experiences and to my return in May!
Posted in Friends (RSS), Travels (RSS)
Prosecco!
Posted on Samstag, November 15, 2008 at 10:45 PM by Reka
Eduard and I took four days off to travel around the Prosecco area of Italy, in the province of Treviso. The first three days consisted of patches of gray surrounded by rain, but I managed to take a few pictures anyway, which I have added to my gallery starting here.
The Prosecco region is named after one of its most important products, a white wine made in three styles - regular, spumante (sparkling) and frizzante (semi-sparkling). The Treviso area is also well-known for its many varieties of radicchio. We had a hard time of it with all the good food and wine, but fought our way valiantly through every meal. ;-) We ended up coming home with over 25 bottles of Prosecco (from 3.50-15 euros) and a desire to go back again.
Posted in Food and Wine (RSS), Travels (RSS)