Berlin: Partytown

The sun's reflection on the TV tower was seen as a Christian cross in West Berlin, but as a "plus" sign - meaning positive for socialism in East Berlin.

During their visit to Berlin, Anne and Mark visited several historical sights dating from World War II and earlier, and from the Cold War, including the TV tower pictured above.  However, it was not all history and education.  In addition, Anne and Mark visited some pretty big parties.  First, they stumbled upon a fan festival related to the World Cup for Women that is taking place in Germany.

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The actual ball used in the tournament is probably smaller 

Near to the fan festival, Anne and Mark noticed a red carpet set-up and a couple of secret service-looking guys with ear pieces and dark sunglasses.  This seemed to be a bit much for a fan festival.  Who could be coming to it?  Some German politician?  A famous soccer player?  No, neither makes any sense.  The former would require secret service, but not a red carpet.  The latter, vice-versa.

So, Anne and Mark took in a bit of the fan festival and then moved on.  A couple of blocks later they ran into another crowd.  They assumed that this was also associated with the soccer thing, but it soon became apparent that this was a different crowd.  This crowd was dressed up a bit more and contained a lot more high-pitched screaming.  Anne and Mark went in to investigate...

Anne and Mark wandered near to the Sony Center, a huge complex that contains a sports arena, shopping mall and movie theatre.  Significantly, it also contained an oversized Decepticon logo (above).  

 Anne and Mark had stumbled upon the European premiere of the movie Transformers 3: The Dark of the Moon.  This solved the mystery of the red carpet and secret service security.  Who are the only people who need to be treated as both important and popular?  Movie stars!  Anne and Mark waited for nearly minutes to see if Stephen Spielberg would walk by, but then decided that the high-pitched screaming from the fans was unbearable and moved on.

Eventually, Anne and Mark headed back to where they were staying, which was a neighborhood in what was formerly East Berlin that the locals call "Casting."  The nickname comes from the fact that this neighborhood is very fashionable and all of the beautiful people hang out there at night - so much so that it looks like central casting in Hollywood.  (Naturally, Mark was immediately recognized as a tourist among all these beautiful people.)  Back in Casting, Anne and Mark were invited to a birthday party put on by their generous hosts.

Two beautiful people from central casting (also, generous and from a real good college).

Rough Living in East Berlin

In the classic 1996 film "The Rock," Former covert SAS soldier John Mason (masterfully portrayed by Sean Connery) has been imprisoned for several decades and reacts with surprise upon learning that tourists have been taken hostage on Alcatraz Island - "The Rock has become a tourist attraction?"  From time to time a visitor may get the same feel when visiting places now available to visitors in what was formerly East Berlin.  For example, the bunkers.

The East Germans and Soviets had come up with contingency plans in case of World War III.  Part of these plans involved underground bunkers.  The bunkers have been sold to private interests and are no longer operative, if they ever would have been.  The bunkers designed to protect the citizens of East Berlin have enough food, space and supplies for two to three thousand people to wait out there for anywhere between 48 hours and 2 weeks.  Unfortunately, the city held several hundred thousand people who would may have needed to hold out for months or years in the case of world war three, so....

The East Germans planned to used the subway system as a bunker.  Prior to the division of the city into East and West, a subway system had been in use.  As you might imagine, a subway running from east to west would be a huge inconvenience for the East Germans (who did not want anyone going west).  This subway was actually even worse than that for them because it started in the west, traveled through the east and then returned to the west.  The East Germans decided to close off the stations in East Berlin, but still allowed the train to run through them, providing service to the West Germans.  The East Germans then fortified some of the "ghost stations" with stored supplies and prepared to use them as bunkers.  Ultimately, this would have been tough since each station typically had only one air intake and one air filter.  If the war on the surface were to destroy or disable the air intake, there would be no oxygen and the airtight bunker would quickly become a tomb.

Nicknamed "Stalin's Grass"

 If you were a resident of East Berlin and were looking to make a move to the west, you might try to take advantage of the fact that the subway was still open.  Unfortunately, the Stasi (the East German secret police) were always trying to stop you.  If you were able to plan your escape without having an informer turn you in and were able to slip past the guards in the ghost stations of the subway, you had a chance to run along the tracks until you reached a western station or a train and could get away.  When the Stasi figured out that people were doing this, it installed the nefarious device pictured above.  While running between the tracks of the subway through a dark tunnel, imagine the horror when you or one of your companions step on a sharp spike sticking up from the ground.

Other popular methods for escaping from East to West Berlin included crawling through the sewer system or digging a subterranean tunnel.  There are 68 known tunnels or partial tunnels, most of which were started from the west and borrowed into the east.  Students and former East Berlin residents were often in charge of these daring attempts and some were successful.  It is not known exactly how many were successful and how many were not.  However, if you were not successful, you could be shot or sent to prison.

One of the worst prisons in East Berlin was the Hohenschoenhausen Prison.  This prison is located within the city and was one of the places that the Stasi took prisoners during the Cold War.  Its history goes back even further, as it was originally used by the Nazis and then by the occupying forces of the Soviets after World War II.

This prison was designed to break the spirit of the prisoners, as a confession (valid or fabricated) was the preferred way to resolve a case under all three entities that used it.  The prison used both physical and psychological methods to break the resolve of its inmates.  The photo above shows a typical cell in the prison.  Under normal conditions this cell would house between 5 and 12 inmates.  What is missing from the cell?  A toilet (although inmates report that a bucket was provided).  Ventilation.  A window.  After a few days (or longer) living like this, the inmates were ready for interrogation.

Come in, have a seat.

Many of the inmates who were housed here under East German rule are still alive and actually volunteer to give tours of the prison.  Many report that they were eager for their interrogation because most had committed no crime and thought that they could explain themselves and be released.  In fact, this was often not the goal of the interrogation.  In these cases, the interrogators had already decided what the confession should include and would use whatever methods they felt necessary to convince the prisoner to acquiesce.  Rather than beat the confession OUT of the prisoner, the interrogators first had to beat the confession IN to the prisoner.

If that did not work, the prison was equipped with "enhanced interrogation" equipment.

The photo above shows the water torture room.  The inmate would be placed so that he was face down, immobilized and his neck was between the two buckets.  Then the top bucket would be tipped so that a constant drip of water hit the inmate on the back of his neck.  Then the room was locked for a few hours or days.  According to researchers on the subject, after a few thousands drops, the body starts to feel pain with each drop, even though it is just water.

If the inmate was still not on board with the confession, he or she (this was a co-ed prison) would be placed in solitary confinement.  One place to do this was in the padded rooms in the basement.  The rooms were round and the doors had no handles.  The window was closed (it was only opened after the inmate was removed in order to air out the room) and the light bulb was constantly left on.  After a few hours, this had the effect of leaving the inmate disoriented as to time and space.  It also was a type of sensory deprivation, as the "pads" on the walls were not there to protect the prisoner, but to isolate him or her from any noises. 

But now, to the surprise of the East Germans and John Mason, all of these sights are tourist attractions.

WWII and Cold War in Berlin

Berlin is one of the key cities in World War II history, and much of that history is still on display.

As the Soviets attacked Berlin from the east, the Germans mounted a stubborn resistance.  A vicious block-by-block battle for the city raged, which the Soviets eventually won.  In some parts of what was formerly East Berlin, some of the remnants of these battles are still visible.

In the photo above, the facade of the building shows signs of bullet holes that date back to World War II.  (The exposed brink may be exposed as the result of artillery, although our guide could not say for sure.)

In the photo below, an elegant memorial has been placed where a residential building used to stand.  Although most of the buildings that were destroyed during WWII have been rebuilt, some have not.  In the space left vacant in this photo, an apartment building formerly stood.  Rather than rebuild the apartments, the people of Berlin have made this into a memorial.  Each of the white signs on the building contains the names of the people who lived in the apartment that formerly had been in that space.

Berlin has many monuments to the victims of WWII, but certain other sights are given short shrift.  For example, the place where Hitler spent the last days of the war, and eventually committed suicide, was a bunker (called the Fuhrerbunker).  This place is off limits to visitors and buried beneath a parking lot.  In fact, if you don't know what you're looking for, you could pass right by and never notice.

The bunker is below the mini-vans parked on the left of this photo.  The crowd in the distance is looking at a small marker noting what is buried here.

Following WWII, Berlin was divided up by the Soviets, Americans, British and (later) the French.  Shortly after this division, the people running the Soviet-controlled part of Berlin found that they had a problem with their people going to "visit" the west and never coming back.  To fix this problem and protect their citizens from being drawn into and trapped by the slavery of western capitalism, the Berlin Wall was erected.  To further protect their people from the evil and unfulfilling life that awaited them in the west, the East German police would attack or arrest anyone attempting to leave the workers' utopia of East Germany.

One of the few places that people could cross from east to west after the wall was built was called Checkpoint Charlie.  During the Cold War, this was a heavily fortified location probably crawling with spies and definitely crawling with security.  Now, it is a tourist attraction crawling with Starbucks and McDonald's.  (Score one for the capitalists!)

Anne checks in at Checkpoint Charlie

Most of the Berlin Wall itself has been torn down.  The people of Berlin really hated the wall, so when that they could take a sledge hammer to it without risk of being arrested or shot (in 1989), they did so with enthusiasm and the wall was quickly and rather unceremoniously demolished.  The photo below shows the bricks that run throughout the city showing the location of where the wall once stood.

In most places the wall was only this wide.  It was fortified near the Brandenburg Gate to a greater width.  All of the pictures you see of people standing on the wall in 1989 are from that location because most of the wall was not wide enough to stand atop for a demonstration.

Most of the wall was destroyed.  Some parts of it were crushed and taken as souvenirs.  Several small sections of the wall were removed and some are on display in various parts of the city.  There is also a small section of the wall that remains standing and is made into a memorial.

Mark stands next to a surviving portion of the wall at a memorial near Checkpoint Charlie.

I am a Jelly Doughnut

Ever heard that belching after a meal is a compliment in Germany?  Apparently they had never heard that at this restaurant...

After returning from the mountain birthday celebration, Anne and Mark had a quick turnaround before making a trip to Berlin.  Berlin is one of the great capitals of Europe and probably the best city for Cold War enthusiasts, bohemians, and beer drinkers.  And that makes for a fun crowd.

Berlin's documented history reaches back to the 13th century, but Anne and Mark did not dig much past the beginning of the 20th.  But even since then, so much has happened in Berlin that nearly everything you see as you walk around has a story and historical significance.

On the first day in Berlin, Anne and Mark took a bicycle tour of the city.  The distance was not a problem, but Mark's ability to stay on the bike was questionable - especially when traffic caused multiple stops and slow riding.  Thankfully, however, the group avoided any major crashes and made their way around to the major sights of Berlin.

As you can see, the couple in the clear plastic parkas were desperate to appear on this blog and inserted themselves into nearly every photo taken on the bike ride.

The top photo was taken at the Reichstag which is the current home of German parliament and a significant location in World War II history.  The second photo is taken on the East Berlin side of the Brandenburg Gate.  This gate is one of the main symbols of Berlin and has been at the center of a great number of significant events.  Originally, Berlin was a completely walled city with a series of gates through which visitors and residents entered and exited.  This was the most grand of those and the one the king used (according to our guide, the middle of the 5 passages was reserved for the king only).

The statute of victory on top of the gate was placed there as a symbol of peace.  Later it was stolen by Napoleon during a French military invasion, so apparently, it was not terribly effective as a peace symbol.  Years later, the French decided they didn't want it and sent it back for store credit.  In appreciation of this act, the square near the gate (where Anne and Mark are standing) is named after the Parisians.

Interestingly, the US Embassy in Berlin is also located next to the gate (a corner of it is visible in this photo - it is the tall white building on the left of the photo).  Not that long ago, this territory was very difficult to even visit for Americans.  In fact, when Kennedy was in Berlin to give his famous speech (the one containing the line that the title of this post is referencing), he only saw the other side of the Brandenburg Gate, and not where the embassy now stands.

Later in the visit, Anne and Mark also saw the other (West Berlin) side of the gate.  They went back to this area on Saturday night.  Berlin is a large, vibrant city, so it is not surprising that a large festival was taking place.

This particular festival was called the Christopher Street Festival, and it was a celebration of gay rights in Berlin on or near the anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York.  As noted earlier, Berlin is a very Bohemian city.  Anne and Mark ran across more than one building that was described as "residences for artists."  The city's values tend to run in favor of tolerance and away from formality.  Anne and Mark would not have been surprised to see a "Keep Berlin Weird" sign posted somewhere.  So it was quite livable and liberal.  Not quite 'clothing optional,' but don't be surprised if you see a little skin now and then.  For example, while at the festival, Anne noticed a party-goer having a good time:

Sponsored by Lufthansa

Although the photo above has a bar in the way, Anne and Mark can report that the gentleman on the Lufthansa party bus with the angel wings was a bit "cheeky."  At first, Anne and Mark chalked this up to party revelry.  However, they also saw this at a shopping mall:

 For those of you who cannot see what is going on here, the woman on the left is topless and the gentleman with the black t-shirt is painting her.  Not painting a portrait of her, actually painting her.  Obviously, this is not the type of thing you would expect to see at a mall in the U.S.  This was set up as either a performance art exhibit or some type of advertising gimmick or something outside of the electronics store immediately to the right.  In either case, it appears to be for the purposes of gathering attention.  What is amazing about this episode is that no one paid much attention.  The shoppers (and yes, the mall did have shoppers) just went about their business as if nothing unusual was going on.  Maybe, for them, nothing unusual was.

Happy Birthday to Anne @ 7 Lakes

Anne recently had a birthday (the exact date will not be posted on this blog because I cannot remember it to avoid potential identity theft).  As is tradition, Anne and Mark do something special on her birthday to celebrate.  Last year, Anne and Mark went to BeerFest in St. Paul.  Anne had a great time, although the only way she knows that is because everyone tells her so.

Anne having a great time at BeerFest!

And because BeerFest had positive consequences for about 4 hours and negative consequences for the next 24 hours or so - and because Anne is a little wiser now - the birthday festivities for this year were a bit more scenic and much less imbibe-able.

Anne decided that she wanted to go hiking to the 7 Lakes for her birthday.  The 7 Lakes is a very scenic hiking and campground area located within one of Bulgaria's three national parks.  It is about an hour and a half drive from Blagoevgrad to Panichishte, where most visitors begin their journey to the 7 Lakes.  After arriving there, a ski lift takes visitors to the lodge at the base of the hiking trail.  Anne and Mark had decided to stay the night at this lodge, so once they arrived at the lodge, they took their time getting ready to hit the trail.

Birthday meal: Bean soup.  Mmm mmm good.

After a hearty breakfast at the lodge, the birthday girl was ready to hit the trail.

Let's go this way.

The path from the base lodge to the highest of the seven lakes took about 4 hours to hike.  It was fairly well marked and manageable.  This is not to say that it was an easy or simple hike.  No, instead, hikers on this path need to bring their "A" game.  In addition to the climb of several hundred meters (for those of you who are not familiar, the current exchange rate is 100 meters = $57 and 3 gallons), there were also obstacles that tested balance, dexterity, endurance and courage:

Crossing the raging rapids.

Scrambling across the melting snow (notice the use of arms to maintain balance as well as prepare for a fall into the stream)

As Anne and Mark got closer and closer to the peak, they began to ask questions.  Was this really worth the risk?  Was the view from the top that much different from the view from here?  Why are all of these old ladies passing us?  But eventually, Anne and Mark put these questions aside and pressed on.  

Every once in a while they looked back and noticed the scenery.  In the photo below, you can see the kidney lake on the left and three small lakes on the right.  Between them is a large field with barely visible formation of rocks.

If you cannot see the rocks, you will have to take our word for it.  Anne and Mark did a little checking and found out that there is a group called the "White Brotherhood" that may use this area.  

CAUTION: DO NOT GOOGLE "White Brotherhood."  

The group that we are discussing (that may use this circle) is NOT a racist prison gang - wrong white brotherhood.  The "W.B." relevant here is a group of followers of a guy named Petar Dunov who came up with a cult/religion involving yoga, sun worship and the like in Bulgaria right before communism came in.  The group got small under the rule of the communists, but did not totally die out and they still practice today.  The brotherhood that follows Dunov's practices dress all in white (hence, "the white brotherhood") and meet here to worship the sun on what they consider to be new year's day, August 19 (give or take a day or two).

After noticing all they could notice, Anne and Mark bravely risked life and limb and continued to the top of Mt. Idontknowhowtopronouncethis.

Anne arrives on the top of the mountain, which is also the place where they hold the Bulgarian Jenga championships.

Other than a pair of unfortunate slips on a snow-covered side of a mountain - which Anne and Mark agreed to not photograph because they both fell and would look equally as silly recognize the importance of supporting one another - Anne and Mark made it to the peak unscathed.

Well, relatively unscathed...

Oxygen...  

After a rough day (well, afternoon, at least) of sunshine, fresh air and sightseeing, it was time to enjoy the fine accommodations provided by the Rila Lakes Huts.

Inferiority Complex

Whenever Anne and Mark travel outside of Bulgaria, they bring certain items back upon their return.  Some of these items are not available at all in Bulgaria.  Like Hershey's chocolate syrup.  However, the majority of the items are brought back because they are of a higher quality than those available in Bulgaria.  For example, peanut butter is not very popular here, so the selection at the local outlets is always limited.  If we want Jif, Peter Pan, Skippy, Smuckers (yes, they make peanut butter, too), or any kind of organic or otherwise healthier than normal brand, we have to bring that back from the states.  Ok, no problem there.

But many products available in the U.S. and around the world are available here as well.  For example, Coca-Cola.  Coke is one of the most well-known brand names in the world, and we all know what a Coke tastes like.  Anywhere in the world at any time, a Coke is a Coke is a Coke.

Except in Bulgaria.

Apparently, the EU has found it to be no violation of any rule for companies to provide inferior products to certain countries.

The entire article is available here.  Basically, what is inferior about the products being supplied to Bulgaria?  As you can tell from the photo, they have pictures promoting Sex and the City 2, a clearly inferior movie.  So that's a problem.

The issue that the article chooses to focus upon, however, is the ingredients, rather than the packaging of the food products.  In particular, the article mentions a claim made by the Slovak Association of Consumers - who else would you trust on issues of product quality? - that Coca-Cola is using corn syrup in the ghetto (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary) but using actual sugar in the upper class neighborhoods (Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic).

For a look at both sides of the argument over the pros and cons of corn syrup as a sweetener, you can look here for a link to an essay written by NY Times writer Michael Pollan and here for a message from the Corn Syrup Producers of America.

Which begs the question - which kind of sweetener does Coke use in the U.S.?  And regardless of which type it is, would we ever consider it to be "Discriminatory Use of Food, Drink Ingredients"?

Invasion of Granada

 The Alhambra

After spending a few days in Cinque Terre, Anne, Bren and Mark drove back to Rome and then flew back to Madrid (Bren's airline ticket was into and out of Madrid).  After having been out of Madrid for a couple of weeks, the trio had plenty of time to think of anything that they had wanted to accomplish in Madrid but did not during their first time there.  On their return trip to Madrid, they set about accomplishing these goals.  And what did they want to accomplish before leaving Madrid?  The same thing everyone wants to do in Madrid: Eat Chinese food.

Typical tourists: eating Chinese food in Madrid

The next day, Bren flew back to the U.S. and arrived safely.  Then Anne and Mark moved on to Granada, another city in Spain south of Madrid.  Granada is a beautiful city with tremendous historical and cultural sights and a former capital of Spain.  It was the city where Christopher Columbus approached Ferdinand and Isabella with his radical idea of sailing west.  It was also one of the last strongholds of the Moorish rulers before being overrun by the Christians.  As a result of this historical legacy, Granada has a great deal to see.  First, we saw a place where caravans on the Silk Road met and set up shop in relative safety.  The area is no longer in use, but looks remarkably similar to how it looked during the height of the Silk Road trading period.

Pretty much how the courtyard looked when caravans stopped in.

Later, Anne and Mark visited the Alhambra, a palace located on a hill overlooking Granada.  The Alhambra was built by the Moors when they were ruling the area, so it is actually a very good example of Islamic architecture.  Later, it was overtaken by the Christians.  Ferdinand and Isabella ruled Spain from the Alhambra.  In fact, legend has it that this is where Columbus presented his proposal to them, and this is the room where it all happened:

The place where Columbus uttered the famous phrase: "Issy, Ferd - listen to this:  I think we can find the east by sailing west.  Whattaya say?" (roughly translated)

Anne ranks the Alhambra as the third best castle she has visited (behind Versailles and the Royal Palace in Madrid).  The Alhambra is pictured at the top and bottom of this post.

While Anne and Mark were visiting, the Alhambra has an exhibit of art works done by M.C. Escher.  Escher was an artist with a unique view and this exhibit had some of his less well-known works, as well as some that are easily recognizable.

A work that Escher stole from the movie "Inception."

Editor's note: The management acknowledges that this may not be orientated correctly (rotate 90, 180 or 270 degrees)

But Granada was not all historical sights and cultural treasures.  It also has some other things.  For example, it is a bit of a college town.  There are several universities located there and Anne and Mark saw many university students, including a fair number of students from the U.S. studying there on exchange programs.  But not everything was great.  Anne and Mark also side the dirty underbelly of the city.  How dirty?  Hippie Dirty.

Ah, the horror of hippies.  And not just hippies, but the worst of all - protesting hippies.

Los hippies.

As Anne and Mark walked by the park, they noticed a large group of hippies setting up a camp.  It looked like they were digging in for the long haul.  Now, Granada is kind of known for its hippie problem population.  Apparently, this is where children of rich Spanish go to disappoint their parents.  However, this squatters camp was unique.  Spain has a ridiculously high unemployment level (around 20%) and it is particularly acute among the youth.  On top of this, the country is going to institute austerity measures, which will lead to even more unemployment, especially among the younger workers.  Their response?  Bring out the hippies.

In fact, throughout Spain, Anne, Mark and Bren saw protests against austerity measures.  There was also an election in Spain while they were in Spain, so there was a large amount of organized chanting pretty much everywhere they went.

But, at least in Granada, the protests were limited to a fairly small area, just around the park.  Anne and Mark saw it, but then moved on to St. Nicholas Church overlooking the city for a nice view of the sunset.

Hiking Cinque Terre

Dinner with a view

After getting all culturified getting all culturized visiting culturally significant areas in Madrid, Barcelona, Rome and Florence, Anne, Mark and Bren headed north for some pure Italian Riviera relaxation.  To the north and west of Florence is an area called 'Cinque Terre' - which is an Italian phrase but translates (roughly) as "you're in for a lot of hill-climbing, fat boy."

There are five towns in the Cinque Terre area and the trio stayed in a resort on one side, near the town of Riomaggiore.  The place they stayed was built into the side of the hill on the outskirts of town.  After checking in, they headed in to town for provisions and prepared a lovely Italian dinner, which Anne did a lovely job preparing.  The next day they woke up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and ready for some hiking.

There is a hiking trail starting at one end of Cinque Terre National Park, continuing through the five towns that constitute the area, and concluding at the other end.  Anne, Mark and Bren drove part of the way from the hotel to the first town and parked.  They walked the remainder of the way and began the hike in a picturesque little town called Riomaggiore.

It's white shirt day!

When they got to Riomaggiore, they began the hike along the main trail in the Cinque Terre National Park.  Unbeknownst to them, the trail between the second town (Manarola) and the third (Let's call that one ... ThirdTown-ola) was closed for repairs.  As they approached the area where the trail was closed, they noticed a large number of people walking the other direction on the trail, but none of them said anything.  So, our trio continued along.  When they reached the point where the trail was closed off, they realized that they, too, would have to turn back.  They initially wondered why no one said anything about the closure as they passed as a courtesy to prevent them from making the needless walk to a dead end.  That seemed odd.  The response by Anne, Mark and Bren?  On their way back, they also did not tell anyone approaching the trail closure that it was a dead end.  Maybe it would have been better to warn these hikers, but come on, when in Rome...

Hey, Mom!  I'm in Cinque Terre!

Since the hiking trail was closed down, the only way to proceed was to take the train that connected the towns of Cinque Terre.  The next train would arrive in an hour, so the trio headed into town for a quick bite to eat to pump up their blood sugar levels for the hike ahead.  And remember, when in Cinque Terre, eat like the Cinque Terrians do (which, apparently, is while sitting on a staircase).

Since part of the trail was closed, our Italian explorers needed a new plan of attack for Cinque Terre.  The train stopped at each town, but they did not know how much of the trail was closed for renovation.  It would have been quite unpleasant to stop at the next town (ThirdTown-ola), realize that the trail was still closed and have to wait an hour or so for the next train.  Eventually, they decided that they would ride the train to the fourth town (Vernazzo), hope that the trail there was open, and then do the 90 minute hike to the last town (Monterosso al Mare), which had a nice beach where they would be able to rest and refresh.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the word "hike" - it is one of those rare words with two different etymologies.  One, from the Latin, comes from a root word 'hyke' meaning "walking through nature for pleasure."  The other, 'hiike,' from the Greek, means "walking great distances as a form of punishment or torture."  ***Editor's note: see below.

Obviously, as demonstrated by the two different takes on the definition of "hike," walking great distances through nature is a wildly different experience based on your point of view.  For example, if you are an athletic, adventurous female who enjoys nature, beautiful views and fresh air, like Anne and Bren, you may enjoy hiking a tremendous amount (as the Latin definition suggests).  On the other hand, if you are a male carrying around an extra 100 pounds or so who enjoys florescent light and re-circulated air conditioned air over anything found in a forest and has a clear and long-standing position regarding all of nature (Pave it!), hiking might be a little lower on the "enjoyment" list and a little higher on the "tightness in the chest" list - more along the lines of the Greek definition.

Answer: About this many.  Question: If Mark were to fall forward while taking this picture, how many victims would they find at the bottom of the mountain?

But eventually, all three members of the trio, those who were enjoying the hike and those who were merely surviving it, made it to end of the 90 minute, medium-difficulty hike and took a celebratory self-portrait.

Champions!

After a long, hot hike through the woods, it was time for some rest and relaxation on the beach.

The photo below demonstrates just how much trust there is between Bren and her uncle Mark (a cynic might point out that the photo points out how misplaced that trust may be).

"No, seriously, it's a tradition to take a picture with a coin in your hand the first time you go to the sea - it's for good luck, just like that pigeon in Rome .... good, now hold it just a bit more to the left - not your left, my left...."

Uncle Mark is so immature.

After the hike and a brief splash around in the sea, Anne, Bren and Mark hung around town.  They sampled the local lemonade (a bit tart, as the local custom does not involve adding any sugar at all) and shopped at the local crafts fair.  Then they returned back to the hotel in the side of the cliff to watch the sunset.

The cat really seems to enjoy a nice sunset.

***Editor's note: this entire paragraph appears to be made up with no actual basis in Latin, Greek or etymology itself.