Iranian Woes

Taking a break from travel logs, the news of the recent Iranian cabinet shuffle has intrigued me. In particular, it has confirmed for me that Ahmedinejad is a pretty inept administrator and leader, who prizes rhetoric and loyalty over competency (i know, i know, it sounds familiar). This particular quote from the Washington Post article today struck me as exemplary of the deteriorating situation within the Iranian government:

"In another move bound to anger critics, Ahmadinejad appointed the highly controversial Ali Kordan as special inspector on Sunday, according to the Mehr news agency. Last year, Kordan was impeached as minister of interior after his Oxford law degree turned out to be a fake. In his new job, Kordan will investigate cases of corruption and fraud within the government."

I mean, honestly. That's just plain idiotic.

Location 13: Sarajevo

I believe we left off during the train to from Zurich to Ljubjana. Not that it was that crazy or anything, but it was an overnight train for which the sleeper cars were sold out. So I bought a seat, figuring that maybe there would be few enough people to stretch out. Not so much. As it turns out, my car was full (its the typical arrangement here, a compartment with 6 seats, 3 facing 3). We also had a dog (who was being smuggled onto the train), and a lady who just would not be quiet. Plus, there was no air conditioning, and it was crazy hot. Now imagine that for 10 hours. Ugh.

But it was worth it, b/c Ljubjana is a beautiful city. I took the city tour, wandered around the old and new cities for a bit, and just in general hung out by the river. The weather was still quite hot during the day, but the evenings were nice. The local food was interesting and engaging (horse meant, yum) and the people were fantastic. I met some locals who helped show me around a bit. It was a ton of fun. It´s actually a small city, but that was nice because it made the whole thing very walkable.

From there I caught took three trains overnight in order to get to Mostar, a city in southeast Bosnia. Not that I was planning on going there originally, but I heard from a few people that it was really worth a visit, and hey, why not? And I'm glad I went. The main attraction there is the Stari Most, which is a beautiful old bridge built by the Ottomans in the 1500's. It's kinda the national icon for Bosnia. It was blown up in the war, but subsequently rebuilt using the same stones that the UN divers fished out of the river. Speaking of the war, it is still evident on some of the buildings where you can see bullet damage and bombed out shells. Of course the war has been over for 15 years now, and there are hordes of tourists there, but still you can sense its on people's minds on occasion. I also took a day long tour of the surrounding area, visiting an old Turkish town, a massive natural spring (Blagaj), and a beautiful waterfall area where one can take a refreshing swim in the freezing cold water.

After a nice long stay in Mostar (3 days) I hit up sarajevo. More on that later. My trip is almost done....and I'm so sad because there are so many more places I want to see and adventures I want to have and people I want to meet and food I want to eat. Ah well.

Location 11(?): Ljubljana

Let's see, I believe we left off in Florence, after which Neha and I travelled to Roma. Rome is a beautiful city. Once again mobbed by tourists, it still has a large local population and enough of a presence and charm such that the omnipresent sound of english and french does not detract much from its splendour. And its splendour lies in its history, which spans millenia, and is ever present as one wanders the streets.

One of the most charming aspects of Rome is to wander around the city and stumble upon, almost literally, a beautiful old church from thousands of years ago. Careful planning has led not only to the admirable preservation of these buildings, but also for thier integration into the city as a whole. This of course can be both a blessing and a curse. At night its wonderful to turn a corner and discover the Pantheon staring you in the face, but then it might remove some of the magic to find a McDonald's literally across the plaza, from which you can enjoy a Big Mac as you contemplate one of the largest domes ever built in Roman times.

The food of course, and the wine, are wonderful. We took our time in Rome quite easy....instead of a long march to see all of the sights, we took our time wandering the streets and trying valiantly (though ultimately largely unsuccesfully) to stay out of the brutal midday sun. And so passed Rome, at the end of which Neha flew home, and I took a train to Sierre, Switzerland.

Well, not exactly Sierre, which is in the valley between two mountain ranges. Up one of the mountains a bit is a town called Crans-Montana, which is actually quite a popular Swiss ski resort in the winter. There I met a friend of mine, who joined me from Basel where he is working this summer, and whose family has a beautiful house in Crans. Another friend joined us that evening, and the next morning we set out to hike up a mountain. All in all we hiked to an elevation of about 3000 meters, which is impressive for me considering how out of shape I am. The view from the top of the glacier was stunning, and the hike was difficult and rewarding. At times I was not sure whether I would make it up, but the sense of reward upon reaching the top was well worth it. We stayed at a hut (outfitted with beds of a sort, and which served a nice dinner) maintained specifically for hikers moving across the Alps, and then we came down the next day to a much needed shower at my friend's house. After dinner, I caught a train to Zurich....

But was derailed in Visp. I was supposed to transfer in the town of Visp to go to Zurich, but my friend and I had lingered too long over dinner, and it turned out that when I got to Visp there were no more trains to Zurich. So, stranded in a strange town at 10:30pm, I set out to explore. I found a small cheap hotel reasonably quickly (thank god, because at this point my legs were about to give out after that hike), and stayed the night. The next morning I caught a train to Zurich, where I checked my bag into an overnight locker and set out to explore the city. There's not much in the way of sights in Zurich, but the city itself is beautifully laid out. I should mention here that Zurich, with the possible exception of Rome, is the most expensive city on my trip. It was quite impressive to walk down their equivalent of 5th avenue, with beautiful people everywhere and the endless parade of designer shops at very high prices. I made the obligatory stop at Sprugli (the original swiss chocolate shop) and enjoyed my 10 hours in the city, and then caught an overnight train to Ljubljana.

Now the overnight train is another story with some drama, but it appears that I'll have to save that and a description of Ljubljana for another time, cuz I'm out of time here. Adios.

Location 7: Firenze

I arrived yesterday afternoon in Florence after 3 days in Venice, which in turn were preceded by 2 days in Vernazza. Vernazza, a small coastal town in northwest Italy, is part of the popular vacation area "Cinque Terra." The area derives its name from the five coastal towns that it encompasses, and the area is sometimes called the Italian Riviera for the abundance of natural beauty, both on land and sea. The two main highlights from that excursion are as follows... First, the hikes. It takes about 90 minutes to hike between each town, for a total hike of several hours if you want to hike the entire five-town route. Neha and I hiked between Vernazza and the town to the south when we arrived, and between Vernazza and the town to the north the next day. These are the two most arduous hikes, and the one to Monterroso (on the second day) is particularly difficult if you don't enjoy hiking or are out of shape. Neha had a tough time, but we both made it in good form. The hikes themselves traverse the hillside and cliffside along the water, making for gorgeous views. Second, the food. The seafood is particularly good, as it is in most coastal towns where it is all freshly caught and served in the local fashion. However, I found that I enjoyed the two things the folks in that area take particular pride in: pesto and foccaccia (separately, though of course they can go together). They claim to have invented both, and their pride is well justified. Very yummy.

On we go to Venice, about which I don't have too much to say. I imagine that once upon a time it was quite a beautiful vacation spot, but to me it's lost most of that charm. The streets and alleys and canals are overrun by tourists (who far outnumber the locals), which just saps the experience of something new and engaging that I enjoy. If one wanders the streets and alleys late at night, taking odd turns here and there to escape the more travelled routes, one can still sense the haunting beauty of Venice that inspired so much devotion in years past. The alleys can get quite small, usually softly lit, and you turn a corner to encounter a simple stone bridge over a canal, under which a local lies in his boat having a cigarette. That stuff is very cool. Some of the sights were also quite impressive of course, but you can read about those in the books.

And so we arrive in Florence. Today Neha and I completed a bike tour, in which we biked across the hills of Tuscany, stopping for a nice lunch, and pausing for a tour of a local winery and olive oil producer. The tour guides were very nice and funny, which is key for any tour, and the group was filled with folks our age (or younger). The only downside was the heat. It was about 95F today, and we all were sweating profusely. I'm personally proud that I made it up the large hill we had to tackle without the aid of the van, which most of the group utilized....though I'll admit I had to walk some of it, and I was dying when I got to the top. The Tuscan countryside, it should go without saying, is picturesque, filled with vineyards and olive trees and small towns that look sublime. So far I can't say the same for the city center, which is almost as bad as Venice in terms of the number of tourists (Americans and Canadians dominate). Luckily we've met some nice locals who've given us great restaurant recommendations, so at least we should be eating well.

Ciao ciao.

Venecia

My apologies regarding the lack of posts recently. The internet cafes in Venice are more expensive than I would have thought (as is the entire city).

I've been in Venice for the past two and a half days, and it's been a lot of fun. The city is filled with more than just water (it's comprised of over 100 distinct tiny islands, all connected via bridges), but includes a cool ambiance and great seafood. The downside is the tourism.....on any given day there are as many tourists here as locals. Being that Venice is so small, the entire economy seems to run off sales of Venetian masks, Murano glass, and other tourist traps. There are hordes of them everywhere. However, it's not too hard to get away from them if you stick to the side streets, and then the magic of Venetian alleyways and small bridges over quiet canals becomes quite apparent.

My time is limited here for now, but I promise....and this time I mean it....to post more details upon reaching my next destination. I'm off to the train station right now: destination Firenze (Florence). Neha and I have an appointment with the Uffezi museum upon arrival, and then I'll find an internet cafe. Until then, ciao ciao.