The homeland

There is something about flying into Ireland that just feels really, REALLY good. It is gorgeous and familiar and somehow stepping off the plane and being greeted by a good whiff of cow manure on the runway and then Scotty at the gate is surprisingly nice.

If you want fashion and style and loads of material things, don't come to Ireland. If you want to see some unparalleled natural beauty, jaw-dropping scenario, and meet some of the nicest people on earth then this is the place for you.

Once again, I've been assigned to do preseason work (not a bad gig). Writing directions, driving a rental car on the "wrong" side of the road, spending loads of time on the computer, and just enough time on the trails to keep me sane. That has been my life for one week not. Not too shabby. Check it out.

Prague

One of the highlights on my visit with Kate was taking off for a night to Prague. A short, but sweet trip we boarded the train on Tuesday, wandered the city and then headed home a little over 24 hours later.
This city is architecturally one of the most fascinating places I have ever been. It has a very strong gothic and medieval influence which is rare since so many comparable cities were destroyed during WWII. We stayed at a lovely hostel in a private room and wandered all night and all day. Here are a couple of things that I learned:
1. It's hard to find a good and honest Prague taxi driver. Just leaving the train station the head taxi guy quoted us 880 Czech koruna (about 60 dollars). Then the tourist info office called a cab for us and quoted 95. Then the guy took us to our place and charged 120. The return taxi, same route, cost 90. Ridiculous.
2. Castles can be downright creepy. Evil disney castle anyone... 3. The closer to the old town square the more expensive the ice cream and the smaller the portions (I actually new this, but apparently needed a good reminder).
4. I generally have a good sense of direction, but the combination of winding streets and a bending river leads to a very confused brain.
5. There are a lot of puppet making shops. They make mean looking puppets.

6. I may be completely insatiable. On the train back we were talking about the trip and Kate said she would probably not make it back there. It was a four hour train from her house. Me on the other hand, I said I definitely wanted to get back there "someday". This is a reoccuring theme. I don't check things off my bucket list, I just add more. Maybe I should work on that or I am going to have to start making a lot more money to support my travel habits. That said, there are worse habits to have.

More photos here.

We couldn't have done it without Josh. Thank you!

Germany

A good friend of mine from high school recently moved to Germany with her gorgeous family. Knowing I was going from Croatia to Ireland with a week off in between I scheduled a little detour. Why not. It's on the way.

I can't tell you how good it was to have down time with a familiar face. It is amazing how many friends I have, people I love dearly, that I have not seen in years. I guess it is one of the unfortunate side effects of my overly nomadic lifestyle combined with knowing really cool people spread out around the world. But with the really good friends, it is just so easy to fall back into that comfortable place.

My friend Kate is beautiful and funny and an overall blast to be around. She has always been this way. In Germany, though, I was greeted by another side of Kate: she is a mommy now and a really good one to boot. It was incredible. To watch her with her son and husband it made me so proud.

Don't get me wrong, I can assure you that I made absolutely zero contribution to Kate's development into the strong, confident woman she now is. If anything I just stirred the pot a little along the way with some mischief.

Point is: I knew her well when we were really just kids, then I saw her when we were in college a couple times, met her (then boyfriend) Josh visiting home after college one night, and then once more, I saw her while traveling the US when she was living in Colorado (Josh, her now husband, was deployed at the time). And now I have seen her in Germany where she is embracing life, and looking some real world challenges right in the eye. I feel like I have gradually seen this growth in her and I am so impressed. She is still the same old Kate at the core, but even better.

It is hard to move to another country where you don't know anyone and you don't speak the language, but she and Josh are really making it happen for themselves. Not to mention, they managed to show me around Regensburg with casual grace and abounding generosity all while carting this little one around with us. It was truly my pleasure.

Kate- I don't know how you do it, but I hope we continue to have these rendezvous for many years to come. Don't ever change "you" and never ever ever stop laughing.

More photos

By popular demand

Lynny and I took a ferry over from Bari when we did the unit drive and we did not take a lot of photos along the way but we did decide to shoot a little video. Now bear with me. I am not a cinematographer...far from it, but it was fun.

Just a little recap: this ferry is HUGE. I mean large cruiseship size and we boarded to find there were about 3 semis, 5 motor cycles and 2 cars on the whole ship (not included our van). We can only assume that these people must have bought cabins and quickly retired to them, but we did not see a single soul the whole time we were on there...except the security guy...who probably thought we were crazy...

I'm on a boat from Erin Barnes on Vimeo.

ps. After that adventure we slept in the van for about 5 hours of the 8 hour overnight ferry. Classy.

On your own

Almost every night that Backroads leads a trip we offer an "on your own" night. It is primarily so that our guests may enjoy time solo with whoever they travelled with or any new friends that they met while with us. Their choice.

A subsequent benefit is additional time with your co-leader. Sometimes this is good, sometimes this is bad...and sometimes this is just all out dangerous. Like when Lynny decided tha tthe appropriate "initiation" to Croatia is a shot that involves pounding a glass of tequila on your head...appropriately equiped with a helmet.

It wasn't as bad as it sounds. And the best part was forcing Lynny to do it for the first time after "initiating" other leaders for 6 years. HA! We're on to you Kramm. We know you better than you know yourself.

ore, more, more

Let the exploring continue

After our biking adventures, Emily and I decided to change things up a bit and spend some time on the water. Luckily we (Backroads) hire a local company ("Huck Finn") to do our van support. Huck Finn drivers are also local guides on other trips and specifically they take people out on kayaking adventures. Excellent....

We called Nikolina who was enjoying her day off to see if we could coerce our way into a free tour of the bay via kayak. We were doing really well until the storm rolled in. (note: sudden weather changes are common in Croatia during the shoulder season)

Thankfully, Nikolina was a wonderful guide and led us in to shore safely. My left shoulder was on fire from breaking with my oar, but that's probably good training in some weird way. Lesson of day: kayaks are more affected by wind than current. Good to know. Most important thing: it was my first swim in the Adriatic this season! Don't get me wrong...it was chilly. But very worth it.

More photos here. Also, you can find some of Emily's photos from the week before here.

Time off

I know it may not look like it based on the reports and photographic proof, but since I left Portland (March 25th), I have been working nearly nonstop. It just so happens that my work involves a lot of wonderful experiences.

Regardless, just like the rest of the world, Backroads leaders get tired and need some time off to recharge the old batteries.

I finished my trip on Friday and came back to the leader house, enjoyed a fantastic meal with my coleaders and started daydreaming about my "tomorrow" and all the amazing things I could do with my day off (which, for the record: I still had to work a few hours on Saturday too). Just before bed, I called Dylan and my bubble burst with a only a few words, "I'm sorry baby, but your Grandma died today."

At first I felt ok because it was expected and I know she was ready, but the sadness found a way to creep in and the more I thought about my mom and how much I just wanted to give her a hug the more teary I got. I think back and I am just so grateful. I had such wonderful grandparents. That won't change the fact that I still wish I could have had a wedding that they attended and kids they met, but I am trying to remember how much they supported me and my crazy traveling dreams too. That is what is pushing me forward this week.

Another friend from Italy, Emily, came over on the infamous Bari-Dubrovnik ferry and she has been the perfect distraction for me. We joked about these plans the last time I was in Puglia, but her following through and the timing of it all was clutch.

Sunday we drove around in circles looking for new bike rides, had a great lunch with the family downstairs and then biked up to the overlook just before sunset. The highlight of the night: I learned a new card game.

Yesterday, we took a brief hike down to the "beach house" and then scraped up some motivation to push through the drizzly rain and bike to Montenegro. It is only about 30km south of where we live and well worth the effort.

Most of what I discovered about Montenegro can be summed up with one sentence: It is a lot like Croatia. I'm sure there are a lot of differences and I'm also sure that going 10km past the border control won't really show us what they are, but it was nice. I felt comfortable being there. Same, same, but different.

The road we biked was gorgeous with huge coastal views on one side and mountains on the other. It dead-ended into a construction site where we got a little nervous then decided to persevere as if we were mountain biking. After the construction came border control. New stamp! Check! We found a room at a post-communist, "modern"/falling apart hotel and then set out to explore Herceg Novi by foot.

One of the funniest moments was taking pictures inside a Fort at the top of the hill. We asked the man on guard if we could stand on the castle walls to which he replied, "Why not? I don't fall. You fall." Typical of Europe. They don't believe that a place should be liable for injury. They think that is personal responsibility...what a novel idea.

After taking several jumping pictures however and laughing hysterically, he came back smiling: "Please, ladies. I know that you are quite fit. But this is 12th century Turkish village. Many people die here. I do not want you to be one of them." Ok...fair enough.

I am not really sure that my grandma would approve of me jumping of 12th century fortress walls, but I can picture the little gasp and head shake I would get if I told her. I can see her face, with just a little bit of an open mouth, like she's tisking me, but with a smile on her face....as if to say, "You're crazy. But I still love you."

She would often recall a story to me from when we moved to West Virginia (I was 5). She said she was over to the house and we were sitting in my room. I told her it was the worst day of my life, and when she asked why I said I didn't want to leave and I didn't want to leave her and Grandpa. She laughed everytime when she got to this part and then she told me she'd always be with me. That we'd never be far apart. The last time she told me this was in January while I was home and I can honestly say I have felt her presence a lot this week. It is a really great feeling. I am happy for her and grateful for our time together. And I DO know she would approve of the card game!

"I love you...a bushel and a peck...a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!"