The next bunch of days in Greece were very relaxing. The first day we were there (the one where we arrived so early) we took a nap right away. While we did that Emmy and Litsa went down to the fish market to get the next couple days’ dinners. Dan woke once our hosts had returned (probably sometime around 1000 hrs). Ashley followed not too long after. Dan learned that if you have a fishy smelling fish or a floopy fish, it ain’t a fresh fish. We both learned how to clean fish, but Dan was the only one with enough guts to do it (excuse the terrible pun). For the small fish (Sardines me thinks) it was rather simple. You just pop off the whole head and pull. For the big fish (Mackerel) it was ... read more

So, night train to Venice. Most night trains need reservations; in fact, I think all night trains do. This wasn’t a point lost on us, but due to the loosey-goosey nature of our trip, the possibility of a night train filling to capacity had not fully dawned on us. So if you’ve guessed that the Tuesday night train to Venice was fully booked, quit jumping ahead, it takes a lot of the fun out of telling the story. When we got to the English language ticket counter (how thoughtful, or pandering, I haven’t decided which) we were informed that there were no vacant seats on our preferred date, being that day. Being, as aforementioned, loosey-goosey we were not terribly concerned and inquired as to whether the unavailability was due to German holidays; the ticket agent assured ... read more

On Friday it was time to cross the border into Germany to make our way to the family reunion. It started out like any other train day. We had no idea of the horror ahead. Oh, the horror! We left in the middle of the day and Sem and Truss came to see us off at the train station; although no blood relation exists it really felt like we were leaving family (thanks again Netherlanders). We got on our connection in Hengelo no problem. However, not too far from Hengelo, the train came to a stop at the last station in the Netherlands before the border, causing us to miss our desired connection (fortunately it was an hourly train). Meanwhile, it is a blazing hot day, so we’re thinking “at least there’s air conditioning”. However, as ... read more

Our flights were uneventful. We flew from Calgary to Halifax where we had a lobster dinner; market price in the airport was higher than we wanted to pay, but how often do we get lobster?? We also bought a wrap to eat along the way. Food was a must since you don’t get any when you take 3 four hour flights. We boarded the Iceland Air flight to Reykavik. Both Dan and Ashley wrote in their journals but Dan also found time to take a nap (What a slacker). We were really hoping to see more of Iceland from the sky but there were too many clouds. Once we got below the cloud line we could see some of the terrain. It’s so different from Canada where all you see is squares and straight lines. Iceland ... read more

Well, we've left the city of Edmonton, long time home (for one of us; tears were shed). We left a little later than planned (1700hrs instead of 1200hrs); but neither of us wanted to wimp out so we headed to BC anyways. After hours of night driving (intermittent snoozing, extended by Nap Sac's (thanks Pratt & Co.)) and a stop at Tim Hortons for iced caps we showed up in Armstrong in the wee hours of the morning (0600hrs) to visit family. Welcomed by the only awake occupants, the bernese mountain dogs, we crept into the house to get ready for bed. Low and behold who should awake but little Cindy-Lou Who (or a close approximation). Ashley's little cousin was the first to wake up and welcome us with hugs and smiles (must have been a ... read more