So...why did we move...?

Summer 2015 started with a two week dose of the familiar as we headed back to the USA for Jon and Emily's wedding in Colorado and my youngest brother's graduation in Las Vegas.  We couldn't have planned it better to have both things happen within a week of each other. For real, perfect timing.  Covering four states in two weeks, we hiked in Zion National Park, walked the Las Vegas Strip, visited the place we got married, ate our favorite Mountain Sun nachos, watched a Mets game, agonized with the hometown crowd when the Cavs lost it in overtime (as we watched the game at the Cleveland airport on our anniversary during the worst flight delay ever), and tried to see as many of our favorite people as possible as much as possible.

Jon and Emily got married where we got married!

And it was so great.  Sigh...

In all honesty folks, I had been feeling kinda down on Denmark in the weeks leading up to our visit.  The weather was s&!#.  Aalborg was boring.  My job wasn't perfect.  I was incompetent in Danish. People weren't welcoming to foreigners. The beer was expensive.  There was nothing that could escape the scope of my complaining (just ask David).

It doesn't get any more Boulder than a morning hike by
the Flatirons followed by Mountain Sun nachos for lunch.

With those thoughts on the brain, I headed to the USA. And I think the people I talked to will vouch for me when I say that I didn't really gush on and on about wonderful Denmark while I was there.  Then we actually returned to Denmark, and the post-homeland-trip-slump only magnified my negative feelings.  Why did our time in the USA seem so great in comparison?  Well, it was probably because we spent two weeks surrounded by people we love and hadn't seen in a long time.  And it certainly didn't hurt that we didn't have to work or clean the house or go grocery shopping or run errands or worry about any of that day to day stuff for two weeks.  So of course vacation time always seems better than "normal" time and that realization helped move my perspective in a bit more positive of a direction.  But still, if all I was going to do was complain, then why did we move to Denmark?  We made it back for this wedding and this graduation, but there have been a few weddings that we've missed out on.  Why were we choosing to miss kids being born, PhD defenses, birthdays, other important things?  What were we thinking when we made that decision?  What did I expect to happen on this journey?

Some good looking kids.

There's a tendency to think (among people I've talked to and myself too) that moving out of the country is kinda like a really long vacation.  All those things you worried about at home don't matter, and you're in this cool new place trying all these new things.  And it did feel like that for a little while.  But eventually, you realize that you have to make a life in this new place.  On vacation, it doesn't matter if you make any friends or not, it's only temporary.  But when you're living somewhere long term, you want real friends in your actual location.  And all of those work-related stresses that come up on a daily basis still come up on a daily basis even if you're in another country.  Now they're just partially (or maybe totally) in another language.  And every day isn't some grand life-defining moment of self-realization where I'm sitting on the beach laughing with my Danish friends as the wind perfectly blows my hair around my face.

Was I totally off base 1.5 years ago when I thought moving to another country would be a good idea?  Well, no, I don't think so.  In my ignorance of what the experience would actually be like, I may have had some ideas that didn't turn out to be true.  But a lot of things I thought would happen actually did.

On top of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park.

We have met SO MANY people from pretty much all over the world.  Denmark, Romania, Lithuania, Costa Rica, Honduras, South Korea, China, India, Malaysia, Ghana, Philippines, Iran, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands.  It does seem to happen that when you're a foreigner in a country, you meet a lot of other foreigners.  Something about solidarity, I guess (and getting put in the same Danish class).  This really is the coolest part.  Hearing the stories of people who grew up so differently than me, I appreciate being able to learn more about a country than what's in a (typically negative) news article.  Cliche but true...we have a lot more in common than we think.

I now know all this stuff about Denmark.  A lot of it is random, like that the Queen turned 75 this year.  But I'm also fortunate to know a couple of Danish people who have been willing and interested in talking with me about Danish culture and history and values and how that compares with my American perspective.  Evaluating how/if certain Danish concepts would work in the United States, discussing pros and cons to various laws and traditions from each country, realizing that politics and politicians are crazy just about everywhere.  I may complain about some things here that I'll never really "get", but this isn't the first time that I've mentioned the amazing Danish pastries, and Denmark is really beautiful in its own non-mountainous kind of way.

I have a million times more compassion for people who are trying to learn another language because I too have to try my hardest just to communicate some really simple concept very slowly and with mispronounced words and verbs in the wrong tense.

And it's not just language learners, but everyone feeling uncomfortable in a new place.  Never before in my life have I been in such a regular state of feeling uncomfortable.  And it's no one's fault.  Well...actually...it's my fault because I chose to move to a different country.  In general, people have been very friendly, but there are still instances where I'm just not sure what to do and I'm just praying that the person I'm interacting will be patient and gracious with me while I attempt to learn their language and culture.

Of course, one of my biggest hopes when moving here was that we would be able to travel not just around Denmark but to lots of different countries around Europe.  I am SO thankful it's worked out that we've been able to do this.  I think I'm uncomfortable in Denmark then I find myself in Greece where they use a completely different alphabet, and I'm even more dependent on other people's kindness.

Somebody wasn't too excited about the Mets game.

I never studied aboard in college or in grad school so this was my first experience being not a tourist in another country.  Obviously, I still have a ways to go, but it's been helpful to think about just what I expected when we made this move and consider that in light of reality 1.5 years later.  I'll credit you in the USA for reminding me that the opportunity to live abroad is really cool.  Thanks for letting me attempt to impress you with funny and embarrassing stories about our time here.  You too can have funny and embarrassing stories to tell your friends if you come visit us (bring some Sriracha and Trader Joe's mango slices, please!).

Greece has good things too.

So there's been a lot of questions surrounding Greece recently.  Will they/won't they default on their loans?  Is the drachma coming back?  And who exactly came up with that word "Grexit"?  It's all been pretty negative (not unexpected given the situation), and Greece doesn't exactly seem like the best place to be right now (which is quite unfortunate for them given that it's high summer holiday time right about now).  But even if Greece loses the Euro, I don't think it will be losing its gorgeous island sunsets, its beyond blue Mediterranean waters, or its title as the birthplace of democracy any time soon.  So it wasn't too hard to decide to meet up with Justine and Ryan in Greece (friends of ours from CO who now live in Australia) while they were doing some traveling in Europe back in May.

   

We headed to Athens a few days early with the intention of checking out one of the nearby islands for a few days, but a May 1st ferry strike changed our plans.  We ended up along the coast outside of Athens, and we never would have gotten eaten by fish or discovered the best Waffle House ever if not for the change of plans.  Let me explain.  The beach town of Vouliagmeni is about an hour bus ride outside of the city (and I got closer than I wanted to be with what seemed like half of Athens on that bus ride).  Besides its gorgeous beach, it's home to Lake Vouliagmeni, a natural mineral lake fed by underground hot springs.  And Lake Vouliagmeni is home to those little black fish that eat the dead skin off your feet.  I can't say that I enjoyed the fish experience (I guess I'm too ticklish), but David was a different story (it's his feet in the photo).  Vouliagmeni is also home to the best Waffle House ever.  I'm not sure anyone's told them that the name Waffle House has a bit of a sketchy reputation in the USA, but the line of people out the door at this place made me look past the name.  I was rewarded with freshly made waffles topped with homemade ice cream, and we went there 3 times in 2 days.

Back in Athens, Justine and Ryan met up with us for a day exploring the ancient city.  And just in case you start to forget how old this city is, all you have to do is look up and see the Acropolis presiding over everything or turn the corner and find another archaeological site.  The first part of the day was a walking tour of central Athens (accompanied by several of the city's homeless dogs and led by a funny guy who would say things like "The Parthenon was built in...shall we say...450 BC").  Then, we popped into the Acropolis Museum for air conditioning and frappes (and maybe a brief nap during the introductory movie about the Acropolis...shhhh) before climbing up the hill to check out it out for ourselves.  I still don't think I can fully wrap my mind around just how long those pillars have been standing there.

  

Changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Hadrian's Library

Climbing 1000+ years old steps

History!

Acropolis Hill

With the three day weekend over on Monday, David headed back to Aalborg to resume satellite building duties while I tagged along with Justine and Ryan to the island of Milos.  Milos is basically the opposite of Santorini or Mykonos in terms of party reputation, but it has all the pretty white buildings, delicious Greek food, and fantastic swimming and kayaking that we could ask for (and for much cheaper).  We arrived at the tiniest airport imaginable at 7am.  Luckily, Petrinela's Guesthouse was so wonderful and let us into our rooms that early.  I took a nap while Justine and Ryan climbed a nearby mountain (morning people...ugh) before spending the day swimming, hiking around the island, and fending off the sickly-looking cats that seemed to appear anytime we were eating something (what's with this country and its stray animals).

         

                                                                                     

Slathering on the SPF 50 like crazy, the second day on Milos was a kayak tour to some cliffs, caves, and coves only accessible from the sea.  Now, sometimes when you see pictures of the Mediterranean, you think (or at least I do) that photo has got to have some Photoshop going on; water really isn't all those colors.  But I was wrong, folks, I was wrong.

Back on the mainland, I said goodbye to Justine and Ryan as they took off for further adventures, and I spent the few hours before my flight checking out the Monastiraki Flea Market in Athens.  I found a place that makes custom sandals for your feet and learned from the shopkeeper about the poet who revived the sandalmaking business in Athens.  Later on, hoping to get in one more gyro before heading back, I stopped by a restaurant planning to just grab one to go.  But I must have looked sweaty or something because the man running the restaurant insisted (in Greek) that I sit down and have some water and rest a while.  These encounters were fairly representative of the people I met throughout our trip...friendly, hospitable, ready to help (and to chat).  And that's what I remember about Greece...the spectacular beauty, the delicious food, and the friendly people (most of whom readily admit that their government is not doing so hot these days).  Yes, we did have some requests to pay in cash rather than credit card, and we heard a few protest rallies going on, but honestly, the Greece in the headlines was not the Greece that I saw.  The people we met were proud of their country, and based on our experience, they have every reason to be.

Focaccia is my new favorite food.

Do you like...
  hiking  ✔
  pasta  ✔
  wine  ✔
  the sea  ✔
  gelato  ✔
  charming villages  ✔
  friendly people  ✔
?

Then, search no further for your next vacation spot...Cinque Terre is your heaven.  David and I took advantage of the extra, extra long weekend over Easter in Denmark and spent a few days saying "Scusi, non parlo italiano" and stuffing ourselves with focaccia as we hiked through Cinque Terre National Park.

The name means "Five Lands" and comes from the five small villages sitting along the coast of the Mediterranean.  The villages are surrounded by the national park, and there's no cars allowed through the small streets (like they would fit, anyway).

Stepping off the bus into Portovenere

We started at the southern end of the Cinque Terre region

Hiking around Isola Palmaria just off the
coast of Portovenere

in Portovenere with its tall colorful houses built close together to help fend off pirate attacks back when...well...back whenever pirates still attacked these villages.  The village isn't technically one of the "official" five lands, but it oozed plenty of charm (and Italian food) nonetheless.  We met Giuseppe and Donatella who made us feel so welcome at their restaurant/guesthouse despite them not speaking much English and our lousy attempts at speaking a (very) limited vocabulary of Italian.  We knew Giuseppe was a good chef when even I could say that I liked the seafood he cooked (in all honesty, I liked some but not really all of the seafood dishes, but I tried, ok?).



From Portovenere, the plan was to walked northwest along the coast and end up in Riomaggiore (the southernmost of the official Cinque Terre villages) for the night.  Well, we did end up in Riomaggiore for the night, but it was after about two hours hiking through a light drizzle, about 30 minutes hiking through some soaking rain, attempting to fuel ourselves with focaccia in Campiglia (the halfway point) but ultimately deciding to wimp out and take the bus/train the rest of the way, making puddles in the fancy restaurant that also was the only place in Campiglia to buy bus tickets, buying french fries from the McDonalds (I know, I know, don't judge) at the train station in an effort to get some warmth back in our bodies, and ultimately ending up in Riomaggiore as the clouds cleared and the sun returned (of course).

Looking back towards Portovenere and Isola Palmaria from
the trail...it's about to get wet

Starting the hike from Portovenere past the old
castle wall and towers

Waiting for the bus and trying to warm up

We found the trail into Riomaggiore that we
would have taken if we hadn't wimped out

Fortunately for us, the weather redeemed itself the next day as we made our way from Riomaggiore through Manorola, Corniglia, and Vernazza and ended up in Monterosso al Mare.  Cinque Terre knows how to do hiking: start in one village...hike a couple hours to the next village and eat some focaccia...hike to the next village and eat some gelato...keep hiking to the next village and break for some wine overlooking the water...then end your hike in the last village with a dinner of pesto and homemade limoncello.  As much as I enjoy PB&J while hiking, I think this way is my new favorite.  The trails wound through the villages and the vineyards that overlooked them, and I definitely got in my stairmaster workout for like...the entire year but all while enjoying breathtaking coastal scenery instead of looking at other sweaty people in the gym.

There was a lot of this...

...and then a lot of this

Most times, we go for a hike to get away from civilization, but here I think the villages only added to the loveliness of the place.  The tall, colorful houses, the narrow streets, the sense that the villages are about to tumble down into the water.  They served as very conveniently-spaced pitstops to fuel up on exactly the carb-loaded food I like.  Not to mention the generous, hospitable people who welcomed us into their hotels and guesthouses (and are lucky enough to live in this beautiful place).  Sign me up for that any day.

Finishing the last stretch before Monterosso

The only thing we managed to bring back to less-than-tropical Denmark from this lovely corner of the Mediterranean was a fresh lemon snagged from one of the ubiquitous fruit trees.  Well, the lemon and legs that ached for three days every time I tried to walk up or down stairs.

#5 of 5...The End!