Calabria with Sicilian sight

Eleven girls, eleven different personality from different points of the city were about to approach the airport on a sunny Wednesday afternoon even in June. Destination: Lamezia Terme, Italy. Mission: to break free from the weekdays, have fun under the sun and the moon, by sea and by land and by train, and last but not least to explore Reggio Calabria, the bow of the boot and East Sicily. This so-called camp was actually something that I was prepared for 2 years ago. Now with extra - I made use of my basic Italian vocabulary! 

I think I completely became saturated with the Italian attitude towards life. This was mostly thanks to certain girls out of the eleven who are returning visitors of the region, speak Italian fluently and have extended companionship there. (I also became addicted to the rubbish along the streets, to the pushing fellows, to the Italian style of ristorantes and trattorias, to the Aperol Spritz, to the leisurely way they do everything.)

Starting our first day (and ending our last day) with lieing under the sun on the beach in a fishing village named Scilla, the traditional site of the sea monster Scylla of Greek mythology. Carrying on the line up of gorgeous beaches, we visited one of the most beautiful beaches around the world, Tropea. Seeing the water from above it seems just like a really big amazingly crystal clear pool. This place unfortunately meant the end of my camera's lifetime; it was dipped into the salty water and stopped working not only for the rest of the vacation but also forever... 

Thanks to the dearest unselfish photographer Katica, I stayed for only one day without camera. She was so so kind to lend me her professional camera while she was using her GoPro. Otherwise I think I would have died. Everytime I saw a great composition to catch and was unable to record, I felt a huge vacancy or even worse, a prod into my heart. That's why I was totally saved by Katica and reborn with camera in my hands again.

To get Sicily by ferry from Reggio takes 20 minutes. We did this more times. At first when we made a trip around Aeolian Islands (referred to as Lipari Islands) including Panarea and Stromboli as well. This was the hardest but fortunately the only day that was spent without camera. I just tried to enjoy it as it was. 
The boat tour was a memorable part and was again a substrate to conceive of my new feeling that was arisen in Japan first. The feeling that drives me to stay much longer in one place, to mingle with the local people, to live their lives without rushing from one place to another. Here, just to jump in a boat very early in the morning, to pull out to the sea, to fish or just to enjoy the scenery, the salty fragrance of the air, to feel the rising sun on my skin, then dip into the water and swim the way as if nobody's seeing. These little islands were isolated enough to create such lifestyle there. 

Panarea is an inactive volcano with a total surface area of 3.4 km2 and the second smallest island of the eight Aeolian Islands. There are currently about 280 residents living on the island year-round; however the population increases dramatically in summer with the influx of tourists. In recent years, the island has become known internationally for its celebrity visitors. Panarea and the entire Aeolian chain were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. 

Stromboli made me to theorize. Approaching with the boat I saw a little island which was itself one of the three active volcanoes in Italy with dwelling-houses at the foot of it. And there was nothing else just sea in more kilometres radius and more hours sailing distance! Who are so decided to choose life in the middle of the sea at the foot of an active volcano?! The island's population is about 500. The volcano has erupted many times and is constantly active with minor eruptions, visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea around 8 PM every day, and so giving rise to its nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean". 

What a feeling to stand on a boat seeing a volcano to erupt on right hand side and seeing the glowing orange sun to disappear at the horizon into the sea on left hand side at the same time. Furthersailing, some fancy yahts were seen parking peacefully in lonely bays as an advertisement of luxurious way of relax.

Our another adventurous Sicilian day began with Gole Alcantara Botanical and Geological Park. This is a great spot to cool off, really. The river runs year round and thousands years ago its cold water helped to quickly cool Etna's lava which resulted unique ballast rock columns. 

Next stop of the day was Isola Bella, the Pearl of the Ionian Sea. The small island was a private property till 1990 then it was being turned into a nature reserve, administrated by World Wide Found for Nature. There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach. It has a small and rather rocky beach which is a popular destination for sunbathers and not so popular for families with kids.  
Although, step and dip into the water was a challenge for us as well, we definitely needed to cool off because the temperature was well above 40 degrees on that day. Isola Bella (part of Taormina) was followed by the Ancient Theatre of Taormina (Teatro Greco) and the old town. The view is a reason to hold your breath for a while (with Etna fuming in the background).

We could also taste a little bit of Greece by visiting Bova and Area Grecanica. Former remains memorable from the big cross on the top where some girls were dancing, some were taking gorgeous photos of the nice view and of the dancing girls but all enjoyed and were amazed by being there. 

We also had the chance to enter into a real Greek village, to hear real Greek words and music, to dance with real Greeks and all there in Italy, at the bow of the boot. What made me really impressed is Roghudi Vecchio, a ghost town. Roghudi, whose history is documented as far back as the 11th century, was completely abandoned in 1973, after two floods made it impossible to live in and too many (kids') death happened due to the steep location of the houses. 

Therefore one day soldiers came, and all inhabitants were forced to leave their homes immediately - against their will. It is really the place off the beaten track enclaved into the mountains. It was so creepy to see the posthumous household objects all over, preeminently to see how everything was left by the last inhabitant who returned despite of the prohibition and lived there for years completely alone on weekdays and returned his family on weekends in New Roghudi (finally, he died in his car moving backwards instead of going ahead by mistake and fell into the deep and it was too late to help him since nobody was there). We were warned not to step into the houses because of risk of collapse. 

Driving in the mountains we met nobody on the roads just wild goats and cows which were enviable by me because of the gorgeous view they partake all day long. The view, the road, the spirit of the place all were awe-inspiring and made me to conceive of a new plan, namely riding bicycle here in Sicily in the mountains, possibly as a part of a group. I was said that this is something that surely can be done because such tours are often organized at that area. 

Finally, one person to mention. An old chap, Tito, the owner of the gelateria of Reggio Calabria. Some of the girls know him very well from the past. They got to know him when they worked and lived in Italy long time ago. We visited him and his gelateria more times when felt like eating gelato. He was happy to see the familiar girls and to see even more girls! He nobly invited us every time, what's more, he decided what kind of ice-cream composition will match our personality one by one. 

This way we weren't in a trouble which gelato cup to choose and were keen to taste his choice. He sat to our table, called for champagne, and while we were spooning the dessert, he was telling us true stories from his youth, also about a Hungarian girl. He invited all of us to his house next time and told which dish to cook to whom one by one. It was strange to hear the name of the food he assigned to each girl because the previous night each girl ate totally the very same food in a ristorante. As for me, he said Carbonara spaghetti and I ate Carbonara the night before. Awesome! 

Return to JAPAN

Preparing for the second (business) trip to Japan is a little bit different than for the first one. You are now aware where you are going. You are going to another world, respectfully. 

Why Japan is a so unique country? Past, present and future are presented here at the same time. Ancient and new, traditional and modern are living together in perfect harmony. From tourism point of view, Japan is not the most popular destination because of the high price level. Its society and economy has one of the highest standard worldwide and possess exeptional natural and built places of interest. Here, things are working and they are working perfectly. Because when they are doing anything, they are doing till excellence, and not less. 

Since Tokyo is the most populous  city of the world with its 30 million citizens, it must work, they have to keep the rules strictly, otherwise it would became possessed with chaos. Although, Tokyo is overcrowded, it is undoubtedly clean, well-ordered and GREEN. People take care of each other, take care of themselves, of the tourists and of every little detail. They are wearing masks if they are ill which is self-evident. They are carrying sunshade not to expose themselves to sun even on a cloudy, partly sunny day inside Tokyo. They process all constructions on the quickest and cleanest way so that you hardly recognize it. They always prove to be very helpful in guiding or finding the right way. They never want to tell anybody "no".

It is also said to be a reversed world. Japanese people often eat their food cold and drink their wine hot. The center of the body is not the heart but the stomach. They start to count from the little finger  and laugh when they're sad. They take the shoes off first and not the coat. They grab the umbrella on the top when carrying and use their surname first, not their given name. They write from top to down or from right to left, their books start on the last page according to ours. They use EN (East North) and WS (West South) on the map, not NE and SW. The doctor gets his salary only if his patient is healthy.

Being familiar with the Tokyo Metro lines is a good thing that makes the beginner proud and makes the advanced say that it is so logical! This time I felt that I would stay much longer. Just to try how it feels to live there and to merge in this nice nation and try their lifestyle. I think I could. 

This time I managed to visit Nikko with the Toshogu Shrine which is a Shinto shrine from 1617, UNESCO World Heritage site. Enchanting place; torii, pagoda, karamons, Yomeimon, all leave you unwordly, no matter how big the crowd is around you. The Three Wise Monkeys (hear no evil, say no evil, see no evil) also can be seen here. This was followed by a traditional Japanese feast. 

More dishes, too many but little portions. I was undecided which one to eat first then I was suggested that it was up to me. Although, Japanese couisine is not my favourite, there are a couple of things to follow. A man from Singapore sat in front of me while eating whose son lives in Tokyo. 

The lunch was followed by the scenic Lake Chuzenji in Nikko Nat Park with its depth of 163 meters, created 20,000 years ago. (Here we could still see some cherry tree to blossom.) Next stop was the Kegon Falls with the height of 97 meters, was recognized as one of the "Eight Views" which best showed Japan and its culture in the Showa period. 

Tasting "Skyberry", visiting EDO Wonderland (Japanese cultural theme park) in Tochigi prefecture, seeing rice-swamps, walking in the Imperial Palace garden in Tokyo, seeing muscular rickshaw guys, seeing women dressed simply, comfortable but still elegant on the weekdays, in kimono on weekends,  seeing men dressed in white shirts demonstrating the term of white-collar workers, shopping, eating freshly served mochi in the market, meet Senjo-ji the ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa area again, buying sushi (bento) from the supermarket for much less money than in Hungary, yes, these all are made in Japan...  

I really had the plan to see the sunrise from Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest and most prominent mountain. Such experience in the country of the rising sun can make for lifelong memories. I made investigation just before departure and realized that such adventure is more difficult than I imagined. Firstly, the official climbing season is limited, lasts from July to August when the trails and mountain facilities are open. During this period the weather conditions are said to be stable, otherwise it is windy, snowy, icy and cold and climbing requires special equipment, warm clothes and you might suffer from altitude sickness. The 5th station is the last one that accessable by car/bus till 2300 m (already been there in 2013) and then there are different paths to choose to climb to the summit of 3776 meters on foot. My original plan was to start from here in the early evening, to climb up by night in the darkness so that I can reach the rising sun by 04:30 or so. Brave idea and definitely will be carried out another time, not alone, not within a frame of a business trip.

And of course, I still have a couple of plans what to see upon a next time visit if any: Ueno Zoo for giant pandas, Kyoto reached by Nozoumi shinkanzen, a sumo tournament in Tokyo, to walk in as many Japanese gardens as I can, possibly to try the Japanese home visit system.

Four Flight Tickets

I do not remember if I ever had four flight tickets reserved in my hands at the same time. Now I have! And I'm happy with them, I'm treading on air. Blissful days. I read somewhere that each person who sat on a plane should plant a tree after each trip because of the healthy balance of the environment, as a compensation of the pollution caused by the increasing air traffic. So if someone travels six times a year by air, this requires six new tree to be planted by that single person. Worth considering!

May, JAPAN

June, ITALY

August, DENMARK

October, IRELAND

 

*Written by Dominik*

Hello, my name is Domi. I'm 10 years old. I'm tall. I'm wearing glasses. My hair is blond and my eyes are blue. I live in Budaörs (Hungary) in a family house with my mum. Her name is Rita. I have got a pet. It is a hampster. His name is Darwin. He has got a special cage. My favourite pets are hampster, dog and cat. My favourite foods are broccoli cream soup, meat soup, mushroom soup and Carbonara spaghetti. My favourite movies are Harry Potter and The Avengers.

I'm in the third class. My favourite subject is English. I have got three friends in the school. My friends' names are Viktor, Balázs, Kevin. I like travelling by plane, I like hiking and being outdoor. I'm doing some sports: skiing, swimming and basket ball. I'm happy.

Italia & Nederland

It seems that things happen faster with me than I can record here. On one hand this means a pleasant frequency, on the other hand this can mean a pleasant saturation. However, I do not want to miss to record any of my recent trips.

ITALY IN JANUARY

Our Italian market required some changes. The opportunity found us and we reacted by changing distributor. Italy called us, we travelled there and also found time for sightseeing as well. We started and finished with the tourist part in Venice and San Marino and arranged the business part in Faenza (near Bologna). Here I'm going to deal with the tourist part of it, of course.

Venice

Third time being in the town of canals and lagoons. First with the choir during elementary school, second with my ex-husband during carnival season. Each trip is different experience. This time I had the chance to look around in the Palazzo Ducale - thanks to my boss. Man is just marvelling and lost in wonder inside. Particulars, circumstantial details on frescos and ceiling paintings, prepared with meticulous care by ancient artists like Tintoretto, Titian, Veronese... How they could make it? How long did it take to create such masterpieces? Art. This is undoubtedly called ART. And history and so much more.

Nowadays, Venice is struggling with the rising level of oceans which could cause its complete collapse under water. 

Scientist are searching for a solution to this arduous problem: one example is the construction of a barrier (known as the MOSE project) to prevent the flooding and sinking of this unique little architectural and urban jewel, the city of Venice.

Republic of San Marino

Unesco World Heritage Site. Third smallest country in Europe, only Vatican and Monaco being smaller. Its size is just over 62 km2 with a population of 33,000. Only country with more vehicles than people. :-)

Although, it was not my idea to visit this country enclaved in Italy, but was definitely a good idea. It gave something that I always need when travelling: scenery. The microstate has no flat ground, therefore the panorama is beautiful from each point of the country. 

Although, the highest point is just 749m on Monte Titano, you can feel yourself in heaven if the position of the clouds seems you are above them. Pine scent, rainbow, candles, good lunch with great view and a parking ticket machine made the trip memorable. 

Latter said "Stampa biglietto in corso..." and this sentence made me happy to realize that a lot of words can be deduced easily on English or even Hungarian base. I started to play with the idea again of learning the Italian language there at the parking area of San Marino. I already had thought of the same in the past more times but never started seriously.

THE NETHERLANDS IN FEBRUARY

Amsterdam

The Dutch capital and the RAI welcome us as old returning visitors/exhibitors. This year's exhibition gave me the final shot to arrive at the decision of learning the third language. This was partly thanks to our Italian partners' habit and attitude, their 'perfetto' communication

with their customers brought to DEXON's booth, partly to the host of values of Italy (history, fashion, food involving pasta & pizza, vespa, wine, etc...), partly to my Italy-fan friend's enthusiasm over the country. Thanks to our boss (again), each member of the DEXON staff got a free day. The third day was mine out of the four show days.

Giethoorn

This city made me enchanted even before my arrival. Right at the end of the second day of the exhibition I went to the train station at Amsterdam Zuid to travel till Steenwijk. I was prepared and careful but was a little bit afraid. It was my first time trying 'airbnb'. Based on the ratings of my certified host I shouldn't had have to. Erik seemed a reliable, perfect host with practice and had a beautiful farm house, exactly the one I wanted to be accomodated during my stay from location point of view as well.

 The name Giethoorn means “Goat horn” and is derived from the first inhabitants’ discovery of hundreds of goat horns in the area. Unfortunately, today you can’t find any horns here. Giethoorn is often referred to as the 'Dutch Venice', 'Instagram famous village without roads'. For me, it is just simply a 'fabledom'. It is so peaceful, so different and has just simple beauty that is hardly seems real. Even the village’s website says that “the loudest sound you can normally hear is the quacking of a duck or the noise made by other birds”. The village is only fully accessible by boat. (Usually by “whisper boat”, which has an electric, noiseless motor, because diesel engines are forbidden in this area.) Most houses of the village is located in small, private islands which are connected by bridges (over 180).

Getting off the train even the first breath smelled very different. (Especially, if someone was coming from Amsterdam...) Snow. There was snow! I haven't seen actually any snow in the season at home. Real fairy tale began in the fabledom. My host was waiting for me and it wasn't very difficult to find me because station Steenwijk is a small one, not many people were there then. Erik stood at the entrance. 
He was tall, had medium-long curly hair, was wearing long coat and gloves. He was elegant. After the introduction he invited me to his car which was a nice black roadster seated for two. On the way his house we spoke in an easy-going way. (I was sparkling and well in practice in English thanks to the whole-day discussions on the booth.) After parking the car we needed to walk. And I definitely wasn't disappointed. Everything was just like I imagined or even better. Erik's house was a roomy family house with cats, living alone, divorced, his children of three grew up, left the nest. 
Naturally, I needed to take a night walk upon my arrival before bedtime. To tell you the truth, it was a real Winter Wonderland! Serenity, tranquility. Fresh air. And snow. Did I already mention the snow? A friendly cat cozied up to my shin unexpectedly while I was taking some photos. Next day I explored the whole village on foot and enjoyed the scenery. I met not so many people. Two walkers with dog, a smaller Chinese tourist group, a postman and a film maker group of four. That's all.