كارله سفر بلوق في العربية

السلام عليكم. هذا العام سافرت الى مغرب و ذهبت الى فاس رباط مراكش وزاكورة. احب مغرب كثيرا. هذا الصيف اسافر الى مغرب و ادرس اللغة العربية في فاس. ادرس الغة العربية في مغرب لمدة ستة اسبوع. انا متحمس السكن في بلد العربية واريد السكن مع اسرة عربية

So if you did not run to google translate to figure out what I just said here are the basics. (Title reads: Carl's Travel Blog in Arabic) After traveling to Morocco over spring break I am officially headed back! I plan to study Arabic in a six week intensive course at the Arabic Language Institute in Fez, Morocco. I am excited to spend more time living in an Arabic country and I also have signed up to live with an Arabic host family during my six week stay (space willing). My course starts June 1st (so right away) and ends on the 12th of July. Within a week of that time I will probably make my way home to Minnesota where I will spend several weeks this summer before heading to the East Coast in the fall.

As a final note I would just like to apologize to any native Arabic speakers who read my Arabic paragraph above as I imagine my grammar is atrocious....but even they should get the basic idea of what I am trying to say!

Biking Italy: Florence to Siena (or at least that was the plan)

So today a friend and I decided to do a one day bike trip here in Italy. A lot of our friends from SAIS have biked from Florence to Siena or Siena to Florence and raved about it! As the ride is all through Tuscany it is absolutely gorgeous with rolling hills covered in vineyards and wine towns! In addition the route goes through the Chianti region of Tuscany which needs no introduction for its world famous wine.


So early this morning at 6:45 am my friend and I caught the regional train from Bologna to Florence (the early trains are way cheaper!). The early morning was not all the encouraging as it was raining quite a bit on the way to the train station and the weather did not improve much at first while we were on the train. Yet by the time we got to Florence it was only partly cloudy and getting quite sunny and warm out! So we hopped on our bikes and slowly made our way through the tourist packed streets of Florence and past the world famous Duomo before finally getting out of the town and into the country side of Tuscany.

Tuscan Countryside

It really was just like all our friends had told us as it is an absolutely beautiful ride! The entire ride is around 70 km (43.5 miles), and most people did it in two days, but we decided this was easily do able in one day. Considering my past biking adventures, trips, and tours this distance did not worry me at all. Early on it was going wonderfully as we quickly completed around 35 km and made it into the town of Greve in Chianti. There we stopped to spend some time exploring the city, getting some lunch, and of course tasting the regions famous wine!

Greve

Unfortunately while we were eating exquisite pastas and drinking our fabulous wine the bad weather caught up with us and the rain started. We waited for a while hoping it would not last long, but eventually decided to get on with our bike ride as we still had a decent ways to go. So we trudged on into the poor weather, not enjoying our ride quite the same as we had before lunch. After about a 5 km climb up another huge hill out of Greve the rain had finally stopped and we were looking forward to a big easy downhill portion of the ride, but only just after we had started the down hill our trip came to a grinding halt. As I was going down I heard a loud BANG, and my heart sunk and I knew that my back tire had just blown out. Investigating the damage it was clear that the tire was completely shot and there was no chance of riding on it. Being in Italy and not back home with my normal biking equipment I did not have a spare tube and tools to change a flat on the fly. So my friend and I walked back up the hill we had just started to go down to where there was a small town. We hopped to find a bike shop where we might be able to fix the tire and continue. These hopes were soon dashed as there was no such shop. Luckily there is a bus service along the road we were biking and we were able to catch a bus about 40 mins later back to Florence, from where we caught take the train back to Bologna.

So after about 40 km of biking in Tuscany I must admit that we were defeated and forced to turn around. Still overall I would encourage others to go to Tuscany as it is a really popular place to bike and absolutely gorgeous! I am disappointed that I did not make it to Siena as it is a town that I would of liked to see and I am not sure I see myself making it back in that direction before my time is up here in Italy (just over a month left!).

The final lesson I guess I learned is even when you are a cheap student living abroad and biking a second rate bike, it is still worth investing some money in the basics of spare tubs, tire levers, and other basic bike tools! Still my experience for today did make for another fun adventure!

Biking Italy: Lake Garda

So I know what you are thinking....this guy needs a vacation after a week long vacation?!? Well.....Yes! Most students here at SAIS actually skipped Thursday and Friday in loo of a longer spring break. I at least showed up to class, but with a beautiful weekend weather forecast, a low load of homework, and the foreboding end to my year in Italy drawing close (only alittle over a month left!) I decided to get out of Bologna for the weekend.

I decided to go to a spot I had wanted to go all year Lake Garda! After traveling to other places in the fall and then the winter not being a good time to visit (too cold & most things are closed), I decided the time was prime for a visit. I decided though not to take the ferries, buses, or a car to get around though. Instead I brought along my bike and spent the weekend biking around the entire lake!

So early Saturday morning I got up and caught a train to the lake and began my ride! The weather Saturday was absolutely beautiful with temperatures between 65-70 and almost no clouds in the sky. The cool thing about biking lake Garda is that you get to bike next to huge mountains but never do much climbing as the road stays next to the lake where the altitude is generally constant! On saturday I did the eastern half of the lake from Peschiera del Garda to Riva del Garda which was 65 kilometers (about 40 miles). Overall it was not too hard of a ride. Despite my frequent stops to take photos and take in the beautiful views, I still made it into town by midday. In town I enjoyed eating at a local pizzeria and relaxing on the beach and reading a book (water was much too cold to swim!). In the evening I stayed at a local hostel and went to bed early so I could get an early start to the next day as the weather forecast was not as optimistic.

Path along the lake early on Saturday

As I get further North the Mountains continue to grow larger and more beautiful!

I stopped to watch people parachuting (probably a more specific name, as this was not normal parachuting), the girl pictured was doing flips and all sorts of tricks high above the lake! Lake Garda is a huge place for adventure sports such as Rock Climbing, Hiking, Windsurfing, and many others!

Riva del Garda (far north end of Lake Garda)

View from the beach

Sunday I was up reasonably early (at least for me) and biking before nine. I saw far fewer bikes on the western side of the lake and after biking I can tell why. Most of the first half of the ride is in tunnels which while normally well lit are quite boring to bike it and often do not have as much space for biking. Once I finally emerged from the tunnels I met many more bikers. I also noticed that the road on the western side of the lake is significantly more hilly. Still despite all this the western road has its moments as the road curves along the cliffs and looks like it was made for a James Bond car racing scene! The weather Sunday was a bit schizophrenic as at times it was beautiful and clear, cloudy and cold, and occasionally drizzling. One constant no matter which direction I went was the wind. I thought I was going into the wind on Saturday, but it was nothing compared to the headwind I encountered on Sunday. This was particularly unfortunate as I had a longer ride on Sunday (I did 85 kilometers or about 50 miles). All the same I finally made it and by then I was very happy to be done!

Road along the cliffs (and a small tunnel)

Road curving along the cliffs and lake

Mountains, still snow capped!

Town along my route

While the ride was definately not the fastest of my life (due to a small, old, italian bike and having to carry my overnight stuff in a backpack) I can say it was my favorite in Italy thus far! The sights were absolutely gorgeous and I would love to do it again some time. Some bikers even do the whole thing in one day (150 kilometers or about 90 miles), which while I have done that distance before I would need to be in a lot better shape to do it now (especially considering my bike!). If anyone is interested in splitting it up or just doing half, I highly recommend the eastern half of the lake as it is much more scenic as the road stays along the lake more and rarely has tunnels. Overall though the entire lake is a great ride that I would highly recommend to any biker!

On the Brink of the Sahara Desert

So my final major adventure in Morocco was to take a two day overnight desert trip from Marrakesh to Zaroga. Despite Marrakesh being quite inland and near the desert it is still quite a trip to make it to the desert. This is because the atlas mountain range is in-between! So on the day of the trip we were up bright and early and the caravan was packed and on its way by 8:30 am! Most of the day was spent driving as we crossed the mountains, but the sights of the mountains and the desert on the other side was well worth it. We stopped several times to take pictures, stretch our legs and get some food here and there. Towards the evening we finally made it to our final destination just outside of Zagora Morocco. Zagora is probably only a couple hours from the real Sahara desert (but after many hours in the car we were not complaining about stopping here), and already the landscapes around us resembled much of what one would expect from a desert with dry barren landscape, an occasional oasis, sand dunes, and of course camels!

Our first major adventure in the desert was to ride the camels into our camp sight for the night! This proved to be a fun and unique experience. While I cannot say I prefer camels as a mode of transportation I will say that it was fun and I would do it again! By the time we made it to our camp it was night time. Once at our camp sight we made ourselves at home for the night in our Berber tents! The Berber people are the locals of the region. That evening our Berber hosts fed us and provided us with entertainment by signing around a camp fire (it gets plenty cold at night in the desert, so a fire was appreciated). That night a bunch of us tried sleeping outside under the stars. While I have heard a lot about how great the stars look from the desert I will admit I was not overly impressed. I have seen much better in northern Minnesota, but that was probably because a lot of dust from the desert was in the air obscuring the view. By the end of the night basically all of us ended up back in the tent as the temperature continued to drop. In the morning we could finally see what was around us and it was a neat sight. Sand dunes in almost every direction, and the general rough landscape of the desert surrounded us. After some exploring in the area and a quick breakfast though it was time to hop back on our camels and begin the trek back out of the desert and then the car ride back to Marrakesh.

SAISers in the Van to the Desert

Atlas Mountains

Town along the route!

Desert Oasis

Our Camels await!

And we are off!

On my camel

Our place for the night

Inside of our tent

Eating with our Berber hosts

Music at the campfire

Sunrise in the desert

Exploring the sandunes

More sandunes

Getting ready to head back

Once we made it back to Marrakesh we had an evening to relax and find dinner, before we needed to head back to Fez. That night we took a night bus back to Fez. In the morning we had a little time to go into the old medena in Fez to get some food before heading to the airport and flying back to Italy to complete the Moroccan adventure!

Marrakesh

After my crazy stay on the roof in Marrakesh I actually got to spend some time exploring the city! I spent two complete days in Marrakesh and parts of another two there, so I had a good amount of time to see some of the different sights and engage in the local culture!

The first full day in Marrakesh I spent most of the day wandering the souks (markets) of the old medena. The Souks go on and on and on....and you will get lost in them. As you pass each souk the owner will come out and try and get you to enter their shop, and no tactic is below them. Some just ask you to enter, others tell you they have the best stuff in town, others still will run after you once you pass them and try and bring you back, and once they get you in their shop the haggling and bargaining has only just begun! There is no such thing as just looking as the owners are normally in your face telling you how great each thing is and trying to negotiate a price and then offended if you leave without buying anything. It is a stressfull environment, but it is more then worth it for the fun of seeing all the different Moroccan things you can buy and to try your hand at bartering. Throughout the day I did not really buy much, but it is still fun to bargain and watch your friends do the same.

Photo of the souks in Marrakesh

Overlooking the old medena and souks of Marrakesh from the terrace where we had lunch

After essentially a full day in the Souks my friends and I decided we wanted to relax for a bit so we headed to a traditional Moroccan Hammam! A Hammam is basically just the local type of spa, but Marrakesh is well known for the quality (and low prices) of its Hammams. So we decided to give it a try and experienced their massages, steam rooms, and other amenities. It proved to be an excellent way to relax after a busy day.

Another fun activity in Marrakesh was the main square. There you could get all sorts of different food. Watch Snake Charmers charm snakes, take photos with monkeys, get henna (a type of tattoo that last only about a month), listen to local music, and do a number of other things!

My second day in Morocco I headed with a friend to some of the local gardens. We were trying to go to the Kings gardens in Marrakesh but apparently the current King does not allow people to visit his gardens. There were others though outside of the city center that we were able to explore and relax in though. So we spent a good part of the day wandering around the gardens and exploring the outskirts of Marrakesh and in the
afternoon we made our way to one of the old palaces.

In the gardens

Fish pond in the gardens

Palace

In the evening we met up with a bunch of other SAIS students for dinner and had a good time relaxing and having a leisurely dinner in the new part of the city. Also some of us decided that the following day we would leave Marrakesh for a two day desert trip which would be our final major adventure in Morocco!

A $5 Night

After spending some time in Rabat, I decided to go on to Marrakesh with some friends. My friends already had a place to stay in Marrakesh, but as the typical last second student traveler I of course did not. As far as I was concerned booking ahead for places in Morocco was not advantageous, as many places did not have websites and those that did were normally more expensive. So of course I figured the best plan for this trip was just to show up and find places once I got into town!

Arriving in the chaotic environment of the main square in Marrakesh (it was crazy with performers, street vendors, and street restaurants)

That strategy worked fine at first, but fell apart (or perhaps worked splendidly) in Marrakesh. After an evening train and some delays we arrived in the old medena of Marrakesh at around 11:00 pm. So I confidently strolled down the streets and alleys in order to find a place, but I was met at each reception by a full sign. As I found more full hotels/hostels, ran into random Moroccans who claimed they could find me a place (really just wanted my money for taking me to already full hotels), and the hour started to creep into the early morning it had appeared that I had finally struck out and was in a dire situation. But that is exactly when fate intervened a hotel offered to allow me to stay on the roof terrace for just $5 (WHAT A BARGAIN!). I checked it out and it looked good enough for me so I agreed! They provided me with a mattress but were out of blankets (there were a bunch of other people already up on the terrace sleeping). So I went into the town and bought a cheap blanket for the night. After a quick dinner with my friends I went back to my hotel and slept the night away on the roof!

Outside my home for the night: Afriquia Hotel

Overall it I did not think it a bad experience (although I did not sign up for another night on the roof). It was a little cold but not really all that bad. I will admit that the 4:45 am call to prayer was a bit of a rude awakening....but then again I was just getting a taste of the local culture! When I finally got up in the morning around 7:45 am I looked around at the other hotel terraces around me and quickly noticed that many other hotels allowed people to also sleep on the roof! So I am glad I did not miss out on such a important Moroccan experience! Many other students from SAIS arrived in the following days also later in the evening and ran into similar housing problems (ie nowhere to stay), while they all were offered the chance to stay on the roof as of yet I am yet to meet anyone else who did so! Most of them continued to look much longer and ended up paying quite a bit of money for their rooms (way more than $5)!

Sleeping quarters on the terrace

My home away from home!

View from the terrace

As a final note, I would like to say that this officially sets a new personal record for me for the least amount of money spent for a night while traveling at $5 (excluding home-stays). Previous record was at $20 in Spain. As most of my previous travels had been in Europe this is not too surprising. Should I ever break my new record, I am sure it will be quite the experience and provide me with another great topic to blog about!

Moroccan Parliament & Rabat

After the day in Fez, my friends and I traveled on to Rabat where we checked into our hotel. That evening we wandered out into the old medena and markets of Rabat in order to absorb some of the local culture at night! The markets were full of life with all sorts of things to buy or foods to eat. We tried some foods, and tried our hands at bartering (useful skill in any trip to Morocco....as basically any price in Morocco is negotiable). I had great sucsess in my first bartering experiences, but after getting the seller to decrease his price by 60% on a Soccer jacket I decided I still was not that interested in buying it after all. I learned an important skill, if you are willing to walk away from the vendor they will run after you and continue to lower their price....I still did not buy the jacket but I definitely used the tactic in the future when I did want to get something! After a fun evening out we returned to our hotel exhausted from traveling (Bolonga to Milan, Milan to Fez, and Fez to Rabat) and settled down for the evening.

Markets in Rabat

Main street in Rabat the following day

The only planned meet up for most of the SAIS students was the second day in Rabat where many of us met for a privately organized tour of the Moroccan Parliament. We were given quite the reception. There was an official photographer there documenting our visit and we were greeted by a Moroccan counselor (a type of Parliamentary member) who took us into a fancy sitting room where he told us about the political process in Morocco and gave us a chance to ask questions about Moroccan Government (all while enjoying cookies and hot Moroccan Tea). The session was neat as we got to discuss intruiging topics such as the Role of the King in Moroccan Government (much more active and still has real power), controversy over the Western Sahara territory with Algeria, and other prominent issues. After the session was over the President of the Parliament came and introduced himself to us as well! After a brief chat we moved on to touring the different parts and chambers within the Parliament building and having several more talks with governmental officials. Overall it proved to a very exciting visit.

Parliament building

Meeting with the Counselor (notice the portrait of the King in the background, we saw these everywhere from the Parliament to local street vendor shops)

First House of the Parliament

Second house of Parliament

Fez: Launch Pad for a Moroccan Adventure!

So after mid-term exams were finally over I got the chance to head out on Vacation! Thursday morning I took the train from Bologna to Milan and then a bus from the Milan city center to the "Milan" Airport to catch my Ryanair flight (Ryanair never flies out of convenient airports, the airport was an hour outside Milan...but it was cheap!). Finally a three hour flight later I was officially on spring break in Morocco!

Arriving in Morocco!

We planned to just spend the afternoon in Fez as we had plans to meet up with other people from SAIS in Rabat the next day. So we caught a Taxi into town (after negotiating a price first...always a must in Morocco) and found a restaurant to have lunch at in the old medena (city). The place served us all sorts of different foods in three different courses, with meats, couscous (very fine rice, typical in Moroccan foods), breads, fruits, and of course tea which is essential at any time of the day for Moroccans. Throughout the trip I think I drank enough tea to last me a lifetime, especially as I am not a huge tea fan in the first place! All the food at our restaurant was amazing though and the restaurant was in a beautiful old building and a great way to start our trip.

At lunch in our first Moroccan restaurant

Fancy interior of the restaurant

After lunch we decided to explore a bit of the old medena before heading on to Rabat to meet our friends. A friend of our taxi driver explained to us that the city is very confusing and that we will get completely lost no matter what and offered to take us to a couple cool spots. We were skeptical at first, thinking he just wanted money, but he brought us through tons of different small streets (which we would become lost in), told us a lot about the city and its history, and even took us into a Riad (fancy Moroccan Hotel) that was being built. Inside the Riad we got to see the handcrafted wood decorations being made and were able to climb up to the top terrace where we had an overlook of the entire old medena, which was beautiful! Eventuallly we wandered out the city with our guide, who actually refused any money, and headed off to Rabat!

Blue Gate entrance to the old medena of Fez

In the old medena, notice the Arabic!

Handcrafting the wooden decorations

Inside the Riad

View from the top of the Riad overlooking Fez

A week later I would eventually make it back to Fez (barely) in order see some last bits of the city and catch my flight back to Italy! A more general experience that this trip provided me with was a chance to try using my Arabic (both reading and talking). After seven months of only classroom Arabic it was really refreshing to try and use it in the real world! That said, it was most definitely not all smooth sailing. Seven months of Arabic does give a base, but only a very small one. As one of my friends put it "The problem with speaking Arabic is that people speak back to you in Arabic!" essentially meaning we could put phrases together but what we heard back was much more complex and used words we were not yet familiar with, making sustained conversations difficult. It was very convenient to be traveling with friends who spoke a good amount of French as it is also basically a universal language in Morocco! Despite the toughness and challenges of trying to speak Arabic I will admit that this experience has only re-encouraged me to continue taking it and trying to improve!