The Morocco Diaries Part 1: Travel Woes

When Jason and I first started thinking about how we wanted to spend our Christmas holidays, (I believe we started this discussion in September, just weeks after we had arrived in Prague. Such is the life of constant travelers.) we had two main criteria: warm winter weather and not too expensive.

We started looking at maps and coming up with new destinations, some that were just a little out of our league... "Ohhh! What if we went to the MALDIVES???" But we began looking at airfare for places that seemed a little more within our reach. Our list of ideas came down to: The Canary Islands, Jordan/Israel, Morocco or the South of Portugal/Spain. We were really into the Jordan and Israel idea, but we missed the window of affordable flights and it proved too expensive. After a visit with our new friend Dana in Bratislava, we were convinced Morocco would be the right place for us. Dana is a big Morocco fan and has made 3 trips there, one for several months. Her tales left no doubts for us and we booked tickets upon returning home from Bratislava. What a new and interesting culture, we thought. It will be unlike anywhere else we've been.

And we were right.

But before getting to all of that, there was the experience of making our way down to Morocco. We booked multiple flights to find the cheapest option: We would fly from Prague to Milan, spend the day there, fly to Madrid, spend the night there, and finally arrive in Marrakech, Morocco early the next morning.

After a stressful week leading up to our holiday, I was ready to just get away and enjoy the sun and time away from work. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite that easy (in the beginning at least). We took a rather expensive taxi to the airport at 4 AM in order to make our 6 AM flight to Milan. Tired and exhausted, we waited at the gate for our plane to arrive. Then, it was delayed an hour due to bad weather in Milan. Shortly after the announcement that our flight would be late, new agents approached the gate and announced that the flight was, in fact, canceled. Well great.

Knowing that a canceled flight means a long line of people at the check-in counter arguing for possibly hours, we grabbed our stuff and booked it up to check-in. Somehow we were the first to arrive at the counter and had our problems dealt with immediately.

"We need to go to Madrid."

"Oh, that's great! We have a flight at 4 this afternoon, we'll change your flight no problem."

And that was that. Too easy..? Nah.

We headed back to our flat and fell back into bed to rest, all before sunrise. What a long morning.

Luckily, that was our only problem of the trip, and it ended up not being a big deal. We went back to the airport that afternoon and boarded our new flight. We made it to Madrid by 8 o'clock, early enough to head into town for dinner. We hopped the metro and headed to the city center to find one of my most missed restaurants from when I studied in Spain: Maoz!! Ok, so it's not actually Spanish food. It's a vegetarian falafel restaurant that is delicious and wonderful and is popular in Spain. I think it might be a Dutch company, and they even have a few restaurants in the US on the east coast. It was perfect to just sit and eat at one of my favorite places and reminisce about late night Maoz runs in Barcelona. I finally started to relax and feel better about going on this wonderful vacation.

After some walking around the Puerta del Sol, it was time to head to our luxurious hotel for the night: the airport. That's right, we joined around 40+ people in sleeping on the cold, marble floors of the arrival hall of the Madrid Barajas Airport. People slept on chairs in the restaurants, on folded out cardboard like homeless people, atop their suitcases, and even on the baggage conveyor belts. It was quite the scene. But from what I understand, it's like this every night.

So we found ourselves a little corner of marble floor, spread out our coats to lie on, popped in the iPod headphones and slept. Surprisingly well actually. Well, I woke up a lot, but I got more sleep than to be expected. Then it was another morning up at 4 AM to stand in the long check-in line for our flight to Marrakech. We frantically moved around the things in our backpacks to try to smash them down as much as we could for the impossibly strict RyanAir; they actually check the size and weight- several times- of your ONE alloted carry on bag. Fortunately we made the cut and were finally cleared through to the gate.

Waiting at the gate, some fellow North Face-clad guys waiting for our same flight noticed us obvious Americans and introduced themselves. Mike and David, both Americans living in Madrid and heading to Marrakech for Christmas, proved to be great travel friends in the upcoming Moroccan days.

snow, Snow, SNOW!

And lots of it!

Everyone has been saying lately that it actually doesn't snow very much in Prague usually. And by seeing how they're dealing with the snow, I'm starting to believe it. It has been snowing pretty much now stop for the last four days and has really been piling up.

In the States, I feel like cities deal with snow in one of two ways:

-If it's a city that normally gets snow, they deal with it pretty fast and clean it up so people can go about their normal business.

-Or, in states where snow is uncommon, it will snow an inch and the whole city will shut down.

So I get that it doesn't normally snow a TON in Prague, but snow is a regular occurrence and they should be prepared. But no, no, no. This is not the case.

The streets here have hardly been plowed and snow is piled high on the sidewalks. I haven't seen a single snow plow in the streets and have noticed very few people shoveling the sidewalks. There is slush everywhere, your shoes get soaked, and you really have to make an effort just to walk down the street. (On a positive note, I'm building up big calf muscles rather quickly.) And many streets really haven't been cleared at all, only from the cars driving by and pushing it around with their tires.

The worst part is the trams. The city doesn't even bother to clean the snow from their tracks. So of course, this means constant delays. A tram ride that should take 15 minutes is now turned into 30. Or sometimes, the tram just doesn't come at all. So I'm really looking forward to my tram ride I have to do tomorrow morning to one of my classes. On a good day, this particular ride takes about an hour. Ahhhhhh.... snow!

Area Goes to Xian, China

I am very excited to announce that I am starting to do some travel writing! As I am out here seeing and doing all these things anyway, it's great to be able to share some of my experiences with others and get published at the same time. Thanks to my wonderful Aunt Lisa for connecting me with with Area and helping me out with these writing opportunities.

This piece about Xian, China, which I visited in December 2008, is my first story for Area Daily. The website focuses on boutique hotels, fine food, and interesting travel activities. The idea is to supply readers with ideas they are not going to find in their average guide book. I will be continuing to write more for Area my next piece being about my recent Morocco trip.

Enjoy!

HISTORY LESSON

This week Area Daily local correspondents weigh in about what’s on their radar this month. First up, Elena Sprick takes us to Xi’an, China.

Get a taste of the imperial life with a trip to this ancient capital, about an hour's flight from Beijing. As one of the oldest cities in the country, Xi’an has more than enough history to satisfy any history-starved junkie.

The famed Terracotta Army built over 2,000 years ago by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, serves as the main attraction here with an estimated 6,000 life-sized warriors plus horses and chariots erected to guard the Emperor in his final resting place. And it gets creepier... no two statues look alike and to keep the project a secret he had all the workers killed upon its completion.

The warriors are great for a day visit, or maybe more if you’re an archeology buff. But don’t worry; if you’re planning to travel all the way to Xi’an, there are plenty more things to see and do. Spend the day biking around the city high upon the walls (the views are killer). And don’t miss the Great Mosque and the winding streets of the Muslim quarter.

After a long day, relax in style at the Sofitel Xian on Renmin Square. The Sofitel has it all: enjoy a massage in the finely decorated spa or sing your heart out in a private karaoke room.

When hunger sets in, feast on dozens of varieties of tasty traditional dumplings at De Fa Zhang Jiaozi Shop (No. 229 Jie Fang Road on the north side of the Drum Tower), or wander the streets of the Muslim Quarter and snack on noodles, pancakes, rice bowls or any other number of traditional Chinese dishes for less than the price of a Starbucks latte.

Don’t have time to trek to China? Hop the train to Washington D.C. to visit a special exhibition of the warriors at the National Geographic Museum, on display through March 31.

Photo courtesy of Elena Sprick

Click here to visit the Area Daily website, where you can also subscribe to the daily travel column (Lisa shares her 'Boarding Pass' every Thursday).

...To a Prosperous 2010!

Merry Christmas from the Sahara!

So you may have noticed that I have been missing from my blog over the holidays. I fully intended to write some Merry Christmas posts and give some info about my holiday plans, but December is just too hectic, isn't it? Life was a little crazy here in Prague before the holidays and I just didn't find the time. So, sorry.

This year I spent Christmas in Morocco (on Christmas I was high in the Atlas mountains, staying at a little hotel in a mighty gorge meeting new friends and learning about the Berber culture) and New Years in Spain. But more on that later. I'll write about my adventures soon enough.

But now, a recap of my 2009:

Started 2009 in China, ended in Morocco/Spain.

Lived in 3 countries.

Traveled to 17 countries (I can't believe it myself!), and 5 states in the US.

Worked for 6 months, vacationed for 6 months (I strongly believe this is how life should always be!)

Made countless new friends, some of which I know will last a lifetime.

Did all of it with my wonderful boyfriend at my side.

So all in all, was 2009 a good year? Couldn't have been better!

What will 2010 bring? At this point, I'm really not sure. Continuing life in Prague (till sometime in July..?), more traveling (hopefully a few months in the summer/fall around Europe), and then, onto the next adventure!

And this next one could be the biggest of all: settling in back home in America.

Of course that is not the definite plan at this point, but it is the idea. Jason and I both feel ready to be back home, closer to our families and friends, enjoying the comforts of life in the USA. We're ready to start our careers and find what it is that we really love doing. Where will we live and what will we be doing? You're guess is as good as mine. And who knows, this could all change. Maybe we won't be able to find jobs back home and another year in Asia will seem like the best solution.

Just as 2009 held many unanswered questions, surprises and last minute decisions, I'm sure 2010 will be just the same. Hopefully this time next year I will be writing this same post from the comfort of a real home in America.

Happy new year! Love and miss you all!

The Life of a Wanderlust

I stole this story from my wonderful friend Megan's blog, who is currently practicing the art of being a wanderlust on her trek around SE Asia.

Maybe some of you think I'm crazy moving around and traveling as much as I have been... I've lived in 5 different countries in the last 4 years! I like to think that my desire to travel didn't begin with me, but was rather instilled by my parents. Growing up, we would regularly take trips around the US and to Mexico. I made my first trip across the pond when I was 12 years old (I was actually sad at first when my parents wanted to go to Europe instead of Mexico for spring break that year). I remember my dad waking me up on Saturday mornings when I was young saying, "Hey, want to go to Catalina today?" And so we would. Hop in his plane for a few hours and spend the weekend on the beach before heading back to school on Monday.

So clearly, this travel addiction is not my fault.

But anyway, read this great story by someone who has the same wandering travel spirit as I do (although I think he's got the bug much worse than myself!). Click here to read the story.