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September, 2007 Is anybody out there?August, 2007 First photos of a TCP packet travelling the networkSomeone captured TCP packets travelling the portuguese network and posted the photos at tcp.pt http://www.tcp.pt/ :D September, 2006 Interrail 2006 journey logThis year I took holidays all together from 27th May to 16th July and traveled in 9 countries:
Portugal (2d): weekend in Porto Santo island Holidays in Portugal was with co-workers, Spain was with family and the rest was Interrail trip travelling alone but meeting friends in some of the places. It was my first time in every place except for Serbia (2nd time in Belgrade and Novi Sad), and Spain (2nd time in Toledo, 3rd in Granada, 5th in La Manga). Traveled by plane from Lisbon to Prague and the way back from Belgrade to Frankfurt then Lisbon. Between Prague and Belgrade did Interrail - my first - and besides plane and train I also traveled U-Bahn (metro), S-Bahn (tram), city bus, tourist bus, taxi, car, bicycle, boat and my feet. Spent a total of 3300€ (77€/day average). About 50€ in Porto Santo, 500€ in Spain and the rest in Central Europe: 90€ with ticket planes (bought with free miles), Interrail global pass was 550€, hotels were about 1000€ and the rest: food, other transports, museums, souvenirs, etc. For the time of holiday I think I didn't spent too much but also wasn't cheap. Tried to manage without being concerned about it cause the most important was to have a good time in every place. But maybe next time I'll try not to spend so much in hotels! A good thing was to feel safe in every place. Police was showing presence in important public places, specially because of World cup. Taking into account my past experience as a tourist I am glad not to have had bad experience with stolen things and specialy because I had no previous experience doing interrail and was travelling alone. I met many friendly people which was one of the best experiences on this trip. I made some new friends and had nice chats with portuguese, brazilian, british, german, spanish, bulgarian, french, croatian, slovenian, serbian, italian and norwegian people (uff). That's the good thing about Europe. This is the european year for mobility and I hope progress can be made for easiness of people to live and work anywhere in Europe. The Euro currency is almost everywhere but still I had to exchange to other currencies: CZ Koruna, SI Tolar, HR Kuna and YU Dinar. Not a big problem, and what is left can always be a souvenir or useful for next visit. I was able to use my mobile everywhere except in Serbia where automatic roaming didn't work. Also as souvenir I collected some newspapers (maybe one day I can read them) and 24 maps of the cities and countries. I took 1600 photos (3,24GB) - an average of 37 photos/day. These photos are available as Bubbleshare albums (http://www.bubbleshare.com/users/profile/48533) and some were and will be posted on Deviantart (http://iznogoud.deviantart.com/gallery/). Please have a look at it - an image can be worth a 1000 words.
Now my impressions of each place I visited: Portugal: was good to be with co-workers and not talk about work. Porto Santo is a desert and only good for beach. We did some sports like Kart racing and Slide. And had a good time at night in some bars. Czech Republik - Prague: The river-side is beautiful. Very nice monuments: the Powder Tower, Old Town Hall, Astronomical Clock, Petrin Lookout Tower (smaller version of Eiffel Tower), Church of St. Nicholas, Old Town Bridge Tower e Lesser Town Bridge Tower. The Strahov gallery and Strahov library are amazing. The Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) is very nice to cross and also to take a rest and enjoy the scene. Good food and drink (beer). A lot of tourists specially from Italia and Japan. Czech women are very beautiful. Walked a lot, felt safe with police everywhere and took many photos. Saw Ferraris (my favourites) and I had the nice surprise of watching the making of movie scenes in front of the national theater. Its a city I hope to see again - its not a big city but takes a little of the beauty of Paris and a little of the magic of Barcelona.
Germany: now I understand why the Deutsche Bahn is "Die Bahn". If all public transportation were like them, we wouldn't need cars. They keep the schedule to the minute, are well organized being possible to get all information we need, nice connections with other cities, surrounding countries and other transport connections. Everything was thought for bikes, disabled people and business travelling. And last but not least its a comfortable ride. Germans also did well with the World Cup preparations and almost everything was ok to receive foreigners. I really liked to see so many bikes in the streets of the cities and also the enormous gardens they have. One detail about cars is that they can choose the plate they want. And good cars they have - also saw some Ferraris but they're more for Porsche. People who have BMW seem like middle-classed :D
Dresden - I've only been one day. Enough to see what they did for celebration of the 800 years of the city. I had a nice lunch at Försters where you can try a Sauerbraten. The Zwinger Palace is the main monument but there are many worth of a visit. Also they did a wonderful work with reconstruction of the Frauenkirche(church).
Berlin: I never wanted to visit Berlin. Never thought it was special. But I talked with a norwegian and two german guys when visiting Russia last year and I asked them where in Germany was the best place to visit and they said "Berlin of course" like I was doing some stupid question. Well, I liked all places I visited in Germany but Berlin is indeed a must-stop-by. Specially for people who like to see museums and (war) history but also good for having fun at day and night. I saw the very nice Art-Center (www.art-center-berlin.de), the great Jewish Museum that besides the usual history of WWII and the Holocaust, had a special "Happy Birthday Dr. Freud" exhibition. And walking around you have always something to see. By luck I saw the Fan Fest Opening where I had the chance to see Nelly Furtado playing live and also Pet Shop Boys and Andrea Bocelli. Had a nice time with german and brazilian people there. So, it was a good surprise because I didn't knew was going to happen when I planned the trip. The garden is also great and useful to rest. After getting the only bad health condition on this trip: a big pain on left achilles heel it was really what I needed. The transports were good but the problem was to find the Hotel which was referenced to be in some "Reinickendorf" street. I thought "Reinickendorf" was already a long enough word to be only one but there were two: "Alt Reinickendorf" and "Reinickendorf" streets. So, look well to the address or you end up going to the wrong street like I did. And before you get used on how to change from U-Bahn to S-Bahn it can take some time. About U-Bahn (Metro) it was funny to see how they check the tickets (for those who bought it of course). A guy dressing casual like going for skating, just gets up from his seat when the train is moving and shows up is ID asking all people to show their tickets. I don't know if this is usual in other places but in Portugal they are all identified with proper dressing and also control his usually made on entrances to subway. So, Berlin is no exception to the rest of Germany: everyone uses bike to travel. But I also saw more people in wheelchair than usual. I can see two reasons: by having more people using bike the number of serious bike accidents might be higher but it also seems that cities are more ready for disabled people and so, they're not afraid of going out.
Frankfurt am Main: it was great idea to put two big screens in the middle of the river facing each margin. They really gave meaning to "am Main". The other great thing was the english fans completely invading the city. They know how to party peacefully and confraternize. And drink a lot of beer. To be near the river, watching english fans filling completely each side of the margin and listen them singing their national anthem, is something I will never forget. The hotel sucked. The most expensive I went and besides having the name "Frankfurt Airport" its not close to it (about 2km away). And the closest U-Bahn is still 1km away from it. And they're not even good with portuguese because in the front door they had the "Welcome" message in all languages but portuguese was "dar as boas vidas" (to give good lifes) instead of just "Bem-vindo"(welcome). "boas-vindas" is "to welcome" but even there they forgot the 'n'. In this town I got fully recovered from pain in foot with a nice rest near the river while watching football and watching celebrations. I saw Portugal against Angola and met two german girls daughter from portuguese. Although there were more portuguese fans, we were the only making some noise but not good enough to shut up the angolan fans - only one angolan women there, true. But around 50 drunk english fans supporting Angola by singing adapted british songs. And they knew so much about Angola that when I showed up my flag, they asked if they could use it until I told them that it was not Angolas flag but portuguese! Another funny thing in Frankfurt was to be portuguese in Germany having lunch at an italian restaurant and talking in english with french girls. Europe! :) Munique: first place where I should meet a known friend, Boro. But he was in Croatia for an urgency. Still I met Iosuna, his spanish girlfriend and Claudiu, his friend from Romenia. They were very helpful in taking me to apartment and show me the city. I took the chance of copying pictures from camera to flash. Saw the Olympiapark, a students festival (Tunix 2006) and the wonderful and very big english garden. A good example of how cities should be organized. Austria-Salzburg: so, enough of Germany. One thing about Austria is that it has many resemblance with Germany! Nice monuments and friendly people. At the WirtHaus Hotel they let me leave the big bag and as to thank I had my lunch there where I eat a nice Schweinebraten meal. The castle is the main atraction and souvenirs are also good. I liked the dolls and bought one to offer latter. I didn't brought many souvenirs from Portugal because it would be hard to travel with them all the trip, so I went buying and offering on the way. The city is small so you can visit it in one day. At night I had a nice time with girls from Germany that were studying in Austria. Then I took the train. The resemblance with Germany stopped here. From a train that I was informed to be from Munich to Postojna, it was from Berlin to Zagreb. Completely full of Croatians that watched their game in Berlin stadium the day before. So, I didn't sleep and sitted on the floor of the train, stopping at Ljubljana and changing train to Koper with stop in Postojna
Slovenia: the nature is amazing and seems to be very good for outdoor sports. Every house is full of flowers on the windows and people are clean although a little unorganized. Many small villages, no walkways and with the good kind of tourism (not too comercial). Better to visit by car or to have a bike (or rent it).
Postojna - very nice Hotel/Hostel Sport where you can rent bike and get information about sports. Visited the Postojnska jama (the main cave) which is 1km away from hotel and also Pivka jama (5km). The Predjama castle and its cave are 10km away. So, rent a bike and enjoy the nature. You can also rent at the camping near the Pivka jama. Caves are cold.The main one goes down to 8 degrees but you can rent jackets if you don't bring one. the bike track is available in the KMZ link below (for Google Earth).
Koper, Portoroz, Piran - on the adriatic coast, from Koper you can easily go by bus to Trieste (Trst in Slovenian), Piran and Portoroz. In Portoroz was able to rent a bike and visit Piran. Here you can visit the Marko Jezernik Galerija (www.jezernik-sp.si). The slovenians have no problem with other languages and on the adriatic coast everything is in slovenian and italian. You can't say the same on the italian side. I saw the Pandolo traditional game that I haven't seen before (has some resemblance with baseball).
Italy-Trieste: seemed expensive and they don't speak other language. But in the hotel the manager was a slovenian women. So, between speaking Italian or Slovenian...bene, puedo parlar un pouquito italiene/espanõl. And I managed well. The city is dirty and there are a lot of motorbikes. Was lucky to be in Trieste when it was the Festivalbar and saw Moony sing "For your love". Great music. The tickets to the concert were expensive so most of the people were outside the limited area but still could listen to the music, see the stage from a distance and enjoy the seaside.
Croatia: with many natural beauties including women. Pula: you see the anfiteatre and nothing much. I think its a nice place just to go by or maybe I didn't search well. While traveling by train from Koper to Pula I had a nice chat with 3 norwegian doing also interrail. They traveled more countries and didn't find expensive because to them the rest of Europe is half price their living. Still they did like non-stop travel almost traveling all the time at night. Personally I think its not the best way to take the most of an interrail. Better less and better. The portuguese singer Sérgio Godinho sings in one music "...à espera do comboio na paragem do autocarro...". This music is about failed rendez-vous and this sentence means "...like waiting for the train at the bus stop...". That almost happened literally to me when leaving from Koper to Pula. Because from Postojna to Koper, the train stopped at a previous station (Kozina) and we had to take the bus from there to reach Koper. The trip to Pula had also to stop in that station so I thought I had to take the bus to get to Kozina station and from there by train. In the last minute I was luckily informed that depending on the day of the week, it can be train or bus and that day was train. So...I almost waited for the train at the bus stop!
Zagreb: in Croatia people work from 8 to 16h which is great. In Portugal that schedule would be good specially in summer time because we still can enjoy the day from 16h to 21h (still sunny). In Zagreb I met my friend Vladimir. We first met in Angola when I was working there. His son works and lives in Munich but we didn't met even in Zagreb because he already had left when I arrived. And later we were both in Spain but oposite places so we didn't met again. Vladimir showed me the city and told me about the stories that I had read in a magazine. The oposition between the Kaptol - part of the city with the church power - and Gornji grad - upper city with the political power. The Krvavi most street where once was a bridge, also symbol of those fights. I visited the Dolac market - haven't seen one like that in years and thought they were already inexistent. The Tkalãiçeva street, once a river stream. The "Lenuci horseshoe" group of streets where all buildings are from an urbanistic construction project of XIX century. The Hotel Esplanade - one of the most famous Hotels from the Oriental Express route. The Ilica street - the longest in the city and where the president of Croacia lives in a house like any other house. So, we can learn a lot with a local friend but also he can go to places he didn't went for years like it happened :) I also saw the Mandusevac fountain that has a legend. It says that once a vice-king with his army arrived to a once dry territory and when he stuck his sword into the ground, water started to come out and he said "Manduso, zagrabi" asking a young lady of name Manduso to take the water (zagrabiti = catch/take). So, the fountain got the name Mandusevac from Manduso and the city the name of Zagreb (from zagrabiti) The food is also great and if you go there also try the Millenium ice creams. I also felt safe and two proofs of that were to see the house of the president only with one policeman and to be next to the mayor of the city when watching a philarmonic concert in the main square. It was Vladimir to call my attention because he was dressing completely casual and walking in the middle of the public. Plitvicka - this journey log is a collection of the things I wrote in my diary while travelling. About the Plitvicka I can only say that an image is worth a 1000 words. Go to http://iznogoud.deviantart.com/ or see the album and you'll understand what I'm saying. And if you have the chance go there and also do what you can everyday to help have more of this protected nature all over Europe and the rest of the world. Protect, recycle, don't waste,... To go to Plitvicka I went by bus from Zagreb and traveled with a very beautiful woman of name Kora. Her name was given from the river Korona that crosses near Plitvicka and is very clean. On the way back I met an english guy and his croatian girlfriend. We almost had to spend the night there but were lucky to have a bus to come back because it was holiday that day (anti-fascist day) and there were almost no buses to Zagreb. Since June, Portugal has 3 weekly flights from Lisbon to Zagreb. This is very good news for someone like me that fell in love with the former Yugoslavia and would like to see more of eastern Europe. For an outsider, it is for me sad to see a nation splitted in so many pieces when the people have more in common than in difference. I love YU all.
Serbia: the most friendly people. Nice hospitality and nice food. Belgrade: the first time I was in Belgrade I just stayed for a few hours. This time I was several days and my good friend Natasa besides letting me stay in her apartment, showed me the city also with the help of her friend Danijela. Also had the chance of taking photos from her work which is one of the tallest buildings in Belgrade. We also spent one weekend in Zlatibor where we had nice walks and chats. In Belgrade I'd recommend the Plato cafe specially at night when you can listen some music bands. There are many good restaurants like Dorian Gray and Sesir Moj and maybe you'll listen to Cesária Évora songs while having a meal. Or maybe a traditional band will play at your table. From the fortress you can see the Danube and Sava rivers. And don't forget to visit the main monument which is still under contruction but already beautiful: the Sava cathedral. In the tourist shops or bookstores try to find the map of Belgrade with the cover shown in my photo album - its not just a map but a work of art. In Belgrade I met Danijela, friend to Natasa, and Jelena, friend to Danijela. Jelena wanted to meet me after knowing from Danijela that there was a portuguese guy visiting. She likes very much the portuguese people because she's also been to Angola and Portugal. We talked in portuguese because she learned it by herself very well. And here's another wonderful story. On January, 2004 I was working in Angola and one Saturday I needed to go to work in a different place. So I took my camera and on the way stopped in the marginal of Luanda to take some shots. After locking the car, I crossed the street and took 6 photos. Then went back and when inside noticed that my bag was stolen. That bag had a laptop computer and after talking and dealing with the kids in the street and searching for 7 hours in places where no foreigner would think of going to, I recovered my laptop in exchange of 800 usd to the thieft and the people who helped me find him. So, those were the most expensive photos I took and you can see two of them at http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/1678767/ and http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/1938190/ In Belgrade I found out that although me and Jelena never met before, Jelena had already seen me before: because she lived on the top of a building near the marginal where I parked the car. And she saw everything: me getting out of the car and crossing the street to take photos and the guy ripping the rear cover of the jipe and stealing the bag. What a coincidence! Novi Sad - this city is small but its magic for me. Maybe because there lives my best friend Jelena and because I always have a good time with her and her friends. This time met new friends Sania and Tania, twin sisters and also great artists. Went to see the fortress once again but now with preparations for the Exit Festival (www.exitfest.org), one of the most important events in Serbia that happens yearly and with the visit of many foreginers. The center Kuda.org is always with nice exhibitions and this time had one about computer virus named "I Love you". Novi Sad has one new chinese restaurant and it was surprise for not looking like traditional ones. For example doesn't have chinese employees and decoration reminds more of a mexican restaurant than a chinese! This time I also had the chance to travel to towns around Novi Sad and also to visit Subotica which is also a very beautiful town. I'm happy for having taken many nice photos. Only a few times I didn't travel with camera when visiting places. and I regreted. A friend already had told me that we should always be with it cause we never know when a beautiful moment happens. And she was right. I learned a lot about photography but not only technics but how live a photo can be.
Spain: probably you've heard about siesta hour. The time between 14h and 18h when spanish stores close because its too hot outside and so people stay at home, have lunch and rest/sleep a while. Córdoba, Granada and Toledo are towns worth of visit for their monuments and their singularities. If you meet local people it will be best because they can tell you the hidden secrets of those cities. So, I'll tell you a secret: in Granada go to bar Huerto del Loro and listen to a nice Flamengo. In La Manga it was my 5th time there. If you like beach and nothing else, then its all you need. I always have a good time there for pure summer holidays. But I did one thing I didn't do since I was in Angola: to kill a big cockroach in the middle of the night. But don't be bad impressed. La Manga is a nice place: a 17km long extension of land into the mediterranean sea. Good water temperature, good beaches and many hotels and restaurants to choose. Loved this Interrail so much that I'm sure to try another one in the future. Wanna try? In all this trip, there was the football world cup and one funny thing was to watch Portugal play in different places: Germany: Portugal-Angola in Frankfurt am Main near the beautiful river and met portuguese fans Finally, here is a list of points for those who have GPS. These were marked mainly for orientation purposes and not necessarily touristic points. You can also download file for Google Earth at F ID---- Latitude Longitude Symbol------------- T O Alt(m) Comment September, 2006 MyBLogHi. How do you do?
This is my first blog. So, this is my first entry to my first blog. I see a blog as a diary but I don't expect to write daily. Maybe not even weekly. I have a diary, a private one, where I write down my private thoughts. This one will be for open thoughts. To share them.
So, have a look around and feel free to come by. |
M@R-----ooOo--*_*--oOoo-----
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