Nick & Dani's 2006 Travel Blog

World Cup Fever Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:09:00 +0000

Today we woke up, ate breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, and headed into the downtown of Munich to begin our first full day in Germany. Our plan was to spend a little bit of time seeing the historic buildings in the downtown area and then join Mike's Bike Tour around 11AM and get the full overview of Munich.

During the 20 minute walk down to the Altes Rathaus (Old Courthouse), we noticed people wearing soccer jerseys and carrying around the flags of the countries playing in the World Cup: Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, England... lots of English flags, but only 3 Trinidad & Tobago flags. Knowing that Trinidad and England were playing today in Nuremberg, the overwhelming English support was too much for Danielle, and we decided to jump on the next train to Nuremberg to watch the match!

We did just that, and after waiting for the next train and taking 2 hour ride, we were in Nuremberg. We didn't have tickets for the game, but the Germans have set up "Fan Zones" in all of the game cities. In Nuremberg, the Fan Zone was a kilometer from the stadium, and the organizers set up a giant screen to watch the game and beer and food stands. Danielle's favorite part was the tent that had been set up the T&T Tourism Ministry. They were playing soca music, had pan (steel drum) players, and overall hosted a great party. The Germans loved it, and even the English fans were getting in on the mix!

Danielle runs into a friend from home at the match.

A couple of Trini fans.

Danielle and an English fan

Nick and Danielle

The game was surprisingly close. T&T kept the game at a tie until about the 85th minute, which is when England got their first goal. They got another goal in the final seconds of the game to make the final score England 2 and T&T 0. Even though Trinidad lost, we had a great time with the English fans.

Also somewhat surprising is that all of the Germans that we saw at the game were supporting Trinidad & Tobago. I think that this is mainly that German tourists love visiting Tobago, and also they were hoping that T&T won so that Germany wouldn't run into England in the later rounds!

The train back at midnight was long, but we got back to Munich safe and sound.

World Cup Fever in Munich

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 19:45:00 +0000

We returned to Paris on the night of the 13th from Morocco. We spent the morning and afternoon today doing chores, washing our clothes, and relaxing a little bit before we complete the second leg of our vacation.

We left Paris and arrived into Munich around 8PM. The first order of business was to check into our hotel and then go to the nearest beer garden so that we could watch the second half of the Germany v. Czech Republic game. We went to the Augustiner Biergarten, which was about two blocks away from the hotel, I feel that it was our first real taste of World Cup fever.

It was incredible to see over 1,000 Germans with glasses of beer the size of their heads (and some had two or three!). All of them were chanting and cheering for the German team (except for the dozen or so Czech fans). When the game ended and Germany had won the match, the noise was deafening and lasted for the entire night. Even in our hotel room hours later, we could hear the cheering and car horns in the street.

Nick with his beers

Germany Wins!

As a sidenote, we were amazed that even when they were drunk and stumbling down a completely empty street in the middle of the night, Germans do no walk against crosswalk. We followed their way for a while and followed the rules, but after the third time we waited for the walk signal on an empty street, we followed our New Yorker impulses and crossed the street.

Now this is Fez!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 15:14:00 +0000

Today! Today is the day we truly got to discover a little bit of Fez. We walked around the old medina, saw Bab Boujeloud, had pastilla for lunch, bought some pottery, avoided the tanneries and were all in all completely taken in by the city. Now I understand why they say Fez makes you feel like you are living in ancient history. The city is not as intense as Marrakech, but it is intensely intriguing. As you wander up and down the hilly and winding streets passing the "medina taxis" (mule-drawn carts) you can't help but be drawn in by the colours. If the pottery in Marrakech was pretty, the Fassi pottery is just stunning. The old city hides its modernity much better than Marrakech - you do not see as many westernized hotels, and there is no square filled with people there put on an exotic show for tourists...at least none that we could find.

Inside another Medersa

View of Bab Boujeloud

Kidnapped by the Fassis...part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 15:00:00 +0000

This morning we met with Samir outside the McDonald's again. He had insisted that we meet with him so he and his friend could take us sight seeing. Excited to discover the city we rose bright and early to meet him.

We went up to the top of the valley, in front of some ruins, and got a fantastic view of the entire city. Fez is in a valley so it is shaped like a bowl, a bowl of old buildings piled one upon the other, and dotted with minarets all over the city (hundreds of minarets in total, from what we understand).

View of Fes

After this wonderful introduction to Fes, we drove down to the city where we visited an old medersa (a Koranic school), a silk weaver's atelier and the potter's souk where we got to see the entire process of the artisans painstakingly making their mosaics by hand.

Inside the Medersa

And then...we went to see the rug vendors.... They seduced us with mint tea, they dazzled us with beautiful berber rugs, needle point, and wool rugs, they flattered us and fussed upon us all in the attempt to get us to buy a rug. So again, we ended up spending a good chunk of time in there... Hmm what about the rest of Fez? Maybe another day.

Inside the Carpet Souk

Tired at the end of the day, we headed to a restaurant in the Medina to have dinner and then home. Instead, we found Samir again who insisted that we come have dinner at his house again. We were honored by his kindness, but we really did want to just hit the hay and start out on our own early in the morning. However, after his insistence we agreed to meet him for dinner again. Unfortunately, dinner turned out to be a very similar affair as it was the previous night. Our host had his cousin drive us to his house where we met again his sisters. We spoke with his sister for about 3 hours and watched Lebanese television. Around 11PM, Samir came to his house, picked us up, and then dropped us off at the hotel. Tomorrow is our last day in Fes, so we are planning on spending a lot of our time doing sightseeing. Samir insisted that we meet with him again tomorrow morning, but we are not sure if we want to meet with him again. He is very nice but does not take no for an answer. We may just decide to skip the meeting entirely.

Fez??? Fez??? Where are you?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:34:00 +0000

On the train ride to Fez we got a very real taste of Moroccan hospitality. We met a guy named Samir; a student who has lived in Long Island, NY and is currently studying in Barcelona. We chatted about life in the U.S. and about our sightseeing plans in Fez. He gave us many great tips about what to see and what to avoid in Fez and invited us to eat dinner with him and his family that night. At first we were hesitant, but seeing that he gave us a lot of information that proved extremely useful we decided that we simply had to go.

View of goat herd on train from Rabat to Fes

We met at the McDonald's a few blocks from our hotel around 7:00 p.m (This may be a good time to mention our amusement at learning that Mc Donald's has a hamburger on its menu called the Mc Arab - a burger in pita bread). Anyways so we met Samir who took us to his house where his mum, 3 sisters and brother greeted us with mint tea, cookies and fruit. Samir had to excuse himself because he needed to help his father, so we stayed in the house with his mum and sisters for a while.... a long while... We sat there watching music videos on a Lebanese T.V. channel (which were quite sexy we thought for a muslim country) and making broken conversation with the one sister who could speak French with Danielle, all the while wondering what had become of Samir....

Samir eventually resurfaced about 4 hours later (he was helping his father with the farm). He then insisted on feeding us again so we had shish kebab for dinner.

By this time it was quite late so our hopes of doing any evening sight seeing had been dashed - our first day in Fez and we spent it watching T.V. But on the bright side at least we did not meet up with murderers, rapists and gangsters....

Sorry there is nothing too exciting to report other than our run-in with Fassi hospitality - better luck tomorrow!

In defense of Rabat

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 19:58:00 +0000

After days in Marrakech fighting insistent snake charmers and monkey trainers, seeking shade from a merciless sun and gorging ourselves on cous cous, tagine and ice cream, we are in Rabat; Morocco's capital.

For anyone coming to Morocco (and smarter than we are) - this is probably the best place to start out on a first trip. Rabat is cool and laid back - but at the same time very orderly as it is the administrative center of Morocco. It seems a bit overlooked, as there are not many tourists here, but after the intensity of Marrakech this is great because the merchants aren't as aggressive and you let your guard down a bit. The best thing about Rabat is that it gives you a better understanding of Morocco - its not as much of a culture shock so you are able to see the subtle similarities and differences between the realities of these two cities.

We wandered around the old town for a bit - through souks that played reggae music from Sean Paul as opposed to the Moroccan pop music we heard in Marrakech. We visited the Andalucian gardens which were cool and beautifully manicured; we toured the kasbah and the roman ruins (Chellah); we wandered streets with whitewashed houses accented with blue paint; and peered over the walls of the kasbah to the sea where, apparently only men assemble to swim and sunbathe.

Andalusian Garden in the Kasbah

View of the Chellah

Nick with a Moroccan guard of the Hassan Tower & Mohammed V Mausoleum

Danielle in the Kasbah

We had dinner with Isam, (a Moroccan friend who Dani met years ago in NYC), at an excellent sushi restaurant. The idea of sushi in Morocco was a little scary after all the warnings about travelers diarrhoea, but given that we've both had sushi in Trinidad, which can't have a much better image in the minds of rich Westerners and Europeans - Moroccan sushi seemed fine. Anyways we did not get sick - and the food was terriffic - and very authentic according to Isam who's lived in Japan for about 6 years.

We're sad to be leaving Rabat after only one night. In some ways it is even more intriguing than Marrakech. Marrakech is - (cringe at the word) - "exotic." But you are also conscious that this "exotic" nature is partly construed. Why would some man hang out in a square and charm snakes or play with monkeys, in exchange for money except to amuse tourists? There seems to be an unspoken acknowledgement from both tourists and locals about the nature of this "exotic" scenario but everyone gets caught up in it anyways. In Marrakech the intrigue lies in the ways the authenticity sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Young teenaged couples socializing openly in city parks, lavish Riads that hide behind the delapidated facades of old medina buildings, internet cafes housed in buildings in poorly lit rooms that are in need of renovation.

Rabat, on the other hand is where you see a more honest portrayal of the interactions between ancient and modern; and rich and poor. People are less self conscious of the parade that is staged in order to keep the tourism industry alive, people are less inclined to ask you for some money in exchange for their kindness. People seem far less conscious of the importance of tourism to Morocco...but then who are we to say? We're only here for one day.

A taste of...

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 20:46:00 +0000

After a couple of days here we are still simmultaneously overwhelmed and seduced by Marrakech's intensity. We have visited ruins of the el Badi and Bahia Palaces. They are so incredible one cannot begin to imagine what they looked like in their hey day. Inside the ruins are gardens with fountains that no longer work, massive courtyards and pavillions and of course, the Moroccan mosaics and woodwork that are becoming so familiar to us. On top of the ruins are perched several giant storks guarding their nests. Apparently storks are a sign of good luck in Morocco and it is not unusual to see them perched on top of minarets, ruins, or other places that have a relatively high elevation (see the movie below of an especially protective stork at El Badi Palace). Both ruins make for a dramatic setting and tell of a different side of Marrakech - one of tremendous splendour that is difficult to imagine given the standard of living that we have seen in the Medina.

Storks in El Badi Palace

El Badi Palace

Courtyard in Bahia Palace

We also visited the Jewish cemetary where apparently Jews from all over the world come to visit the graves of loved ones. The cemetary is frequented by many tourists as well. "Madame Bill Clinton" as she was called by our tour guide was there last year. We observed many smaller tombs there which were apparently the tombs of children who died from typhoid fever before Morocco had the facilities to provide proper water to the country.

Entrance to the Miaara Jewish Cemetary, which was founded in 1537.

Interior of the Miaara Jewish Cemetary

Lastly, we visited the Saadian tombs which are spectacular mausoleums decorated in Moroccan woodwork and mosaics some of which date back to the mid 1500's and house the tombs of some of Moroccos Saadian princes. The garden where the tombs are located is quiet and peaceful and we wondered around for a while to escape the bustle of the souks and narrow winding streets...

Saadian Tombs

By nighttime we were back again in the Djemaa el Fna (main square) to see the action and to have a delicious dinner for a grand total of $15. You cannot help but get caught up in the electric, carnivalesque atmosphere of this square that, at night becomes filled with snake charmers, dancers, colorfully dressed water vendors, monkey trainers, women painting henna on hands of tourists...the list goes on.

During dinner we observed the wide selection of foods - kebabs, couscous and tagine along with the less familiar snails and roasted sheep's head. We took pictures with the guys working in the stall where we ate and chatted with them for a bit. One of them has a brother living in Alaska (a pretty cold place for someone from Marrakech) and was very excited that Nick was also from the USA. We had a meal of pastilla, brochettes and roasted veggies. Pastilla has become Danielle's new obsession - its a chicken pie made with fillo dough and topped with cinnamon, nuts and confectioner's sugar - strange but amazing. Walking away from the square after the meal we could see the smoke from the grill and the festive lights floating in the air the Djemaa el Fna. It was hard to leave, but we were exhausted after a very long, hot busy day

Dinner in Djemaa el Fna

Tomorrow we leave for Rabat and from there 3 days in Fez!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 16:06:00 +0000

It's taken us a few days to set up this blog but we're in Morocco! We arrived on June 6th. Marrakech is alive and intense and like nothing weve ever experienced before. You have to always be alert because everything calls for your attention. The people are incredibly warm and friendly and very willing to help out - but nothing is free; they always expect a tip. It's fine though because there is so much poverty that you want to give them something anyways - and at the exchange rate of 10 dhirams to 1 US its not at all expensive.

The sun is hot here - 98° in the shade - as Ethan (Danielle's brother) would say its not the sun it's the FATHER. We have chapped lips, tourist hats and a parasol and look ridiculous - though its safe to assume that even without those trappings we would look like tourists. Today we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up walking for 2 hrs in the blazing hot sun by which time I (Dani) had a near tantrum which could only be cured by downing 1 litre of water and gorging myself on the most incredible icecream EVER.

Everyone here believes that my name is "Rasta" and if not, "Jamaica" so I guess I have to thank my braiding lady from the Ivory Coast for her work. Whatever - "you doh afi dread to be Rasta" as the song says. Nick has not acquired any pet names as yet everyone assumes he's a French tourist and he's making a huge effort to prove them right by using the French he's acquired.

The Medina (old city) is a maze of souks: tiny stalls where brilliant carpets, leather goods, pottery, spices, and textiles are on sale and you need a healthy dose of self restraint in order to not go broke. Men fly by on scooters and bicycles and you have to watch that they don't hit you as the streets are narrow and winding and you get hopelessly lost. Nick had the brilliant idea of bringing a compass and we have been able to find our way around reasonably well.

One of the best aspects of Marrakesh is the Djemaa el Fna, which is a very large public square. By day is a place for stalls selling nuts, dried fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, and all other manners of food. There are souks are stream off in a maze from all corners of the Djemaa. At night, it becomes even busier. Over a hundred food stalls are set up every single night in which great and cheap food is served to throngs of tourists and locals. Surrounding the food stalls, there are dancers, singers, and other performers that are surrounded by tourists and locals. It is quite the experience, and our favorite part of Marrakesh.

It smells wonderful in the spice stalls - we bought some paprika because we never knew it actually had a smell. And a man tried to sell us some Moroccan aphrodesiac tea that he swore worked very well as he "drank it every night."

One place that doesn't smell too rosy though is the tanneries. This is where they make the leather after soaking it in vats of lime and urine and pigeon-doo that the Berber women collect and bring from the mountains. LADAMERCY what a stench - they give you a sprig of mint so you don't pass out from the stench. It's a process that has been around since the 11th century. And Nick was so interested in this urine stomping history that he kept asking questions and prolonging our visit so that by the time we had left my mint sprig was almost expired and I had suffered near brain damage from lack of oxygen. But stinky tanneries sure do make some purrdy leather goods. We bought a leather ottoman dyed brown by cinnamon that we HAD to purchase: all self restraint has officially been left behind.

That's all for now! Enjoy the pictures

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