austria: zell am see

Most of the time when Bo and I travel together we meet up somewhere. This time I wanted to visit him where he was living at the moment.
I took my first train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which left at 0630. (Again leaving me questioning my sanity in choosing such an early departure time.) I had plenty of time to make my on time connection in Innsbruck, that was easy.
I don't know how, but this train arrived 15 minutes late at my next destination. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but this was an Austrian train, and I always expect those to be on time.
No matter though, Bo was waiting for me at the train station in Zell am See, Austria. It's a small town, in a skiing area of the country. This wasn't where Bo lives, but it was the closest train stop.

I could've done this part of the trip entirely by bus, but it would've taken heaps longer, and sometimes there is value in paying more to be faster.
Bo had the day off, and we were already there, so we decided to explore Zell am See for a while. As I said earlier, it is a small town, so we knew exploring wouldn't last long. I dropped my bags in his car, we found a proper place to park, and off we walked.
First we walked through the city center. It's super small and cute. There was a tiny market in a platz near the church, as well as multiple cafes with chairs outside. All the buildings were kept up well, everything was pretty.
We stepped into the church, which was bigger inside and more decorated than I'd expected. In my head I tend to equate a small town with a small church. This wasn't big, but it definitely wasn't small.

It sounds crazy, but at this point we felt as if we'd seen most of the town. People who come here in winter come for skiing, not the town itself. In summer, they come generally for the outdoors as well. 
We decided to grab food from the supermarket, and have a picnic next to the lake. After eating we decided to walk along the lake front as far as the path would take us.
The walk was quite pretty, and really peaceful. Judging by the number of boats (rowboats and canoes and such,) tied up to mini docks, boating is a big thing here.
The lake next to which the town is located is really pretty, and on a calm day the mountains surrounding it reflect beautifully in the water. The day we were there it was not calm, it was actually really windy. 

During our walk we found a sign telling us about a visit by an Empress Elisabeth (sometimes known as Sisi,) of Austria, and how the hotel where she stayed still exists. Apparently she was quite the walker/hiker/trekker.
After walking for a while we turned back and decided we were ready to move on. We hopped in the car, and drove to where Bo lives, 15 kilometers down the road.
I'm not sure I would return to Zell am See specifically, but I would definitely come back to the region.

Ukraine: Ivano Frankivsk

My visit to Ivano Frankivsk started a lot earlier in the day than I would've preferred...to get there from uzhgorod, I had to take two trains; the first to Lviv, and from there to Ivano...my second train arrived at 0415...ugh...even at this time of year, the sun isn't up at that hour...since I barely slept on either train (1828-0043 and 0114-0414) I was completely out of it and really need some sleep...I sat in the waiting room in Ivano for a couple hours, trying to fall asleep while at the same time holding into my belongings in a way that prevented anyone from taking anything...it didn't work well, but helped a bit...it was hard to do in a regular chair, not spread out at all...

Around 0630, a police officer came through the room, waking people up and kicking all of us out...he came over to me twice, apparently I wasn't moving fast enough...booo...
I started walking, since there were no other choices...it was sunny, but chilly, and because of the hour (on a Sunday morning!) there was no one else on the streets...
I found a big WW2 memorial...i should be used to it by now, but it still amazes me to see these memorials in almost every city or town it visit in Ukraine...the US could learn something from the way Ukraine and other countries actually memorialize their dead, and soldiers who are still living...

(Memorial Day in the states is more about family BBqs and shopping sales)...memorials here are big, with many individual names listed...
I kept walking, finding my way to the city center...along the way I walked through quiet residential neighborhoods, and past the regional government building...in front of that building was the Ivano version of the protest camp set up on maidan in kyiv...the Ivano version is a bit smaller, with just one tent and a truck...there was also a memorial area (with photos, candles, and flowers) of those who died on maidan, in February...the flag (see the photo to the left) looks like angels are flying...

I passed two lovely churches, and found city hall in the middle of the square in the city center...city hall is a very modern building, looking nothing like anything else I've seen in Ukraine...hard to explain..as I was walking through this area I could see people setting up a market...
I walked to a pedestrian area, looking for a place to have breakfast...since it was still before 0800, nothing was open...one of the places listed in lonely planet wasn't there anymore...I ended up at a place called street coffee, having tea (with lots of milk) and cherry strudel...they had free wifi, and I found a plug with which I could charge my iPhone :)

After wasting two hours in the cafe, I walked again...I failed in my mission to find a place that seeks postcards, booo...by this time, the market (which seemed to be spread all over the city centre area) was in full swing...I'm still kicking myself for not buying any of the honey I saw...lots of places selling 'traditional' shirts, and so much else...I don't know if this is a weekly market, or a one time thing, or a holiday market, etc...
I walked along a street, eventually making my way to the city lake...I'm guessing it is man made, but I don't know for sure...there is a small island in the middle, connected to the 'shore' by a pretty little bridge...

I walked all the way around the lake, which didn't take me long as the lake isn't big...I saw a lot of people fishing off the edge, I wonder if anything was biting? Bugs loved me, so I didn't stand still anywhere for long...
Back into the city centre, just wandering...eventually I found a place for lunch...it wasn't a great experience, as the guy who originally took my order had to come back and ask again, as he had forgotten what I ordered...then, two more waitresses came to ask for my order, not knowing I'd already been asked...this restaurant didn't seem organized at all...when my food came, only half of it was correct...

I said so, but they left the wrong food on my table and in my bill...I showed the waitress what it was I had actually ordered, and I thought she would bring it to me, but that never happened...when I asked for my bill and found the wrong item still listed, I was really irked...how many mistakes can be made in the order of one particular item??? I only had to pay for the item I did order, and eat...
I went back to street coffee, as they knew what they were doing :)
My train left Ivano at 1700...for over an hour I was stuck sitting next to a couple alternately talking and making out...GET A ROOM!! Ewww...

germany: hamburg

since one of my cousins had visited me in kyiv in january i felt it was only fair to visit her...so i booked flights to hamburg over a long weekend...one advantage to an early morning flight is the total lack of traffic on the way to the airport...the taxi ride was fast :)...on the way i could see the remains of roadblocks that had gone up during the madness of Maidan...
my cousin picked me up at the airport in hamburg, then we rode a couple different s-bahn trains, and walked a little to get to where she has been living...she told me the home was once a rowing club, but was purchased and renovated by the family into a private home...it's fantastic!!

after dropping my bag, we went to the supermarket to get lunch: warm pretzel rolls, salami, butter, frischkase, cheese, etc...i love these kinds of lunches
after lunch we started walking...tyra has had a few visitors, and has worked out one and two day tours of hamburg, hee hee...we crossed a canal or two on the way to one end of the big lake...she pointed out some of the huge houses along the canals, wow...these homes stay in families for generations, and often have multiple generations living in them at the same time...

hamburg is the 2nd largest city in the country, and does not have enough housing...
since we were out walking earlier on a friday than tyra normally would've been able to do so, we came across a fleamarket she doesn't normally get to see...stands with yummy food, yahoo...of course i bought too much, i figured we could have snacks a few times through the day :)
walking around the lake we stopped a couple times to eat the snacks, and enjoy the view...something about relaxing in or near water always makes me a happy camper; if only i could do it more often...

we weren't the only people out by the lake, it must be one of the most popular places in the city...plenty of people out running along the path...as we passed one gelato stall i bought some, even though tyra said it was too cold...(i live in ukraine, it's never too cold for ice cream!)
after walking most of the way around the lake, we made our way over to a main shopping street...postcards are crazy expensive in hamburg, argh...lots of people out strolling, window shopping, enjoying each other's company...

we saw the rathaus, a very complicated building...there is no place to get a good photo, it obviously wasn't built with photographers in mind, hee hee...maybe someday i will get to go to the top :) ...the roof is green, and was obviously not always that colour...
it rained a bit as we made our way home, stopping at a supermarket again...i bought cereal and ritter sport bars to take with me back to ukraine...(ukraine is sorely lacking in the cereal department)...even though we'd already been in one supermarket earlier in the day, i was still happy to wander all around this one...

dinner was a family affair...tyra and another girl living with the family made risotto, and did a fine job considering they hadn't made it previously...i added hot sauce...it was nice to chat with the mom and the roommate...
when i took my socks off that evening i noticed splotches of red on the insides of each ankle...i have no idea where it came from, or what it was...it didn't itch, or feel anything at all...i fell asleep as we were watching inglorious basterds...(i fell asleep in the middle of the movie again the next night...is it that bad, or was i that tired?)

the next morning i was the first awake in the house, which didn't suprise me at all...(i'm a morning person, and i normally live an hour ahead of germany)...when tyra got up we had tea and yogurt for breakfast, then got on our way...
i got a haircut! the first time since argentina the previous july...i needed it...i know i could get it done in kyiv, but i'm always worried about translation...
we walked a lot again this day...after the haircut we walked to a justice looking building, with an exhibition in front...i think it was an art exhibition?

the weather was awesome, i was thrilled...this was really close to brahms platz...another side of the platz had a theatre, and yet a third side had the building in which tyra works...one of the entrances has an elephant on the side of the building...
we visited st michaels church next...a big church, with a great open, airy feeling...lots of light pouring in through the windows...not far from the church was an apartment residence building, it looked a bit like a ship...given that hamburg is on a lot of water, it made sense...i love the feel of the variety in architecture in the city...traditional, but modern at the same time...

we visited an alleyway that used to be where wives and children of sailors would live when the men were out at sea...it's a tight alley, and was the sight of a disease outbreak at one point because of the close quarters...now it's a touristy area, with cafes and tourist shops...i bought a coffee mug...
we walked to a waterway which was actually pretty big...along the way we passed 4 scandinavian churches! one of my family members is obsessed with the swedish side of the family, so of course the scandinavian churches were a point of interest...

i bought my first (and so far, only) fisch pushkin...basically a fish sandwich...there are fried and 'raw' options available...apparently it's a very hamburgian food...i didn't love it, i didn't hate it...
walking along the waterway, tyra pointing out that some of the boats are public transport, how awesome is that? just like a trolley or bus, but on the water...we walked down a lot of stairs at one point, and walked through a tunnel all the way under the water, and up the stairs on the other side...(i was breathing hard when we came up)...a nice view over to the side on which we started...after soaking up the view for a bit, we went back down and under...

tyra then walked us over to the speicher stadt...it's her favourite area of the city...the old warehouse district...i can't describe it, but there is definitely a feeling to it...picturesque in a way...it was neat to see how everything used to work in terms of shipping and delivery in the city...some of the old warehouses have been renovated into modern apartment buildings, i didn't like any of those i saw...not really my style...
we briefly walked into another church, neither of us thought much of it...so we walked into one of many branches of balzac coffee shop...several hot chocolate options, yay!!

dinner that night was another family affair, with ellie and tyra cooking again :)...the next morning was sunday, and apparently brunch is extensive in this house...everyone gathered around the table again, including a couple more living in the house...lively conversation, and i got to tell what i thought of the events in ukraine...
then i flew back to kyiv...

argentina: bariloche

bariloche is a well known town in argentina...the town itself is an outdoors town, not a cultural town...you go to bariloche to take part in activities outside the town...i was hoping to go for a couple hikes...
on my bus to bariloche i was in one of the front seats, so i had fantastic views driving across the country...beautiful lakes, views of the mountains in the distance, etc...awesome...as we got closer to bariloche, the weather started turning bad...and it stayed bad until i left bariloche...boooo...i wanted to go for a couple good hikes, or at least go into hills just outside town, but none of that happened...i felt like a drowned rat for two days!

after buying bus tickets to my next destination, i took a taxi to the center of town...the taxi dropped me off at a hostel, i went in to check prices...the prices were significantly higher than what was listed in the guidebook, it was clearly another instance of lonely planet syndrome...(prices go way up after being listed in the guidebook)...i walked a bit, and then randomly ended up talking to a guy on the street...mike, from canada...he said he comes to bariloche every year to lead ski trips...he directed me to one of the hotels he uses, and i was very pleasantly surprised to find it affordable...yahoo!! thanks canadian mike!!

even though it was raining, i hoped the weather would calm down, so i went for a walk...my first stop was at an ice cream shop...YUM...
as i said, the economy of bariloche is built on people staying in town while participating in activities around the town...you can see (when it's not too cloudy) beautiful mountains around the lake...most of the shops in town are of two varieties: chocolate shops, and athletic gear shops...i have no idea why there are so many chocolate shops in bariloche, there are heaps...over my stay in town i think i stepped into most of them, just to see the differences...
i saw a lot of people wearing ski gear, which surprised me, since i've heard that this was not a good ski season so far...not much snow on the nearby mountains, and what snow is there is crappy...i don't know how the number of tourists this season compares to most seasons...my visit was at the beginning of august, so there is still a month for the season to continue...

i walked to the lakefront, hoping for a nice photo or two...that did not happen...it was all grey, low clouds, and really windy...
i ended up having dinner early...the steak wasn't as big as i've been eating during this trip, but it was cooked perfectly...woo hoo!!
on the way back to my hotel a man asked me to go get a drink...he said he'd seen me around town all day, and i fascinated him...uuummmm, no...i was a bit creeped out, thats just wierd...approaching a strange woman after dark is not cool...
instead, the rest of my night was spent working on postcards, i have heaps of them that need to be written...
the next morning, it was still raining...BOOOO...my hotel breakfast was tasty, i ate slowly...i didn't leave my room very early, there was no motivation to do anything with the crappy weather continuing...
i had more ice cream, yum...i took a few more photos...it wasn't raining as hard, but it was still cold rain, and super windy...trying to keep a hold on my umbrella, and keep the rain off the camera lens was a losing battle...
i bought chocolate at several shops...YUM YUM YUM...
that night, i had trout for dinner...tasty :)

Running Geneva

While looking at a calendar of holidays and running races, I realized I had a long weekend at the same time as Geneva would host a marathon...I also realized cloe lives only 20km west of Geneva, just over the French border...it was the perfect chance to see a great friend and run a race...after the ridiculously unorganized race I'd run the weekend before in kyiv, I was super excited about 'Swiss efficiency'...
I flew into Geneva, transiting through Brussels...(that airport does not have free wifi, how annoying)...after landing, I took the free (!!!) train into the city centre, then walked to my hostel...it's been a while since I've stayed in a dorm room of a hostel...

One of my students last year in kyiv has been living in Geneva this year with his mom while she attends school...while getting ready for this trip I made plans to get together with them, just for a catch up...I was able to find their flat, it was nice to hang out and chat for a couple hours...
The next morning took full advantage of the giant breakfast included in the price of my hostel...nothing is cheap in Switzerland, so 'free' breakfast is a great thing...food was served in a large room, filled with people...the hostel houses a lot of people, many more than I thought...there were several floors of dorm rooms...

I replaced my stuff, then found my way to the hotel I'd booked for my next night...finding and getting to that hotel took longer than expected, but I had time...then I went back to the main train station and met Bo as his train arrived...(he'd just spent a few days in garmischers after finishing his job)...
We dropped off his stuff, then used the free public transport for a day passes provided by our hotel to go back into the city centre...Geneva is a financial centre, a classic town, but it isn't particularly picturesque...there are no scenes that make you think wow, Geneva...but it was still nice to walk around...

we picked up dinner from a supermarket, and ate while sitting on a bench near a tree...after more walking we found the chocolate section of a big supermarket...apparently a lot of people buy heaps of chocolate to bring home with them...we saw numerous people with bags and bags of chocolate...I like Swiss chocolate, buuuuuuut...
The next morning Bo and I visited another supermarket to get breakfast...bakeries in Switzerland are soooooo much better than what I've seen in Ukraine...properly baked items...good bread...lovely cream...lots of variety...heaven...

We took the bus into the city centre, and found the English gardens, where the marathon village had been set up...I love this part of a marathon...at an expo you get to see different races, products, gear, etc...and of course the important part of picking up my race shirt and number...the race in kyiv didn't have anything other than race numbers and tshirts, and even that was amazingly unorganized, so I loved Geneva even more...I realized I'd forgotten my running hat, so I bought a hat to wear during the race...(useful both for keeping the sun and sweat out of my face...since I'd signed up for this race a month in advance, my name was printed on my bib number!! :)

We picked up our stuff from the hotel, then went to the train station to meet cloe...we ended up waiting longer than expected, as cloe was coming with her boyfriend, and he was having issues at work...anywho, they rolled up, cloe and I were super excited to see each other again...it had been almost a year since she left kyiv...
Victor drove to Cloe's flat, we got the grand tour, then we had some snacks and chatted...mostly in English, but a few phrases in French, Russian, and Portuguese...good times:)
We walked to the town bakery the next morning for breakfast, cloe lives in a very small town...not surprisingly, my eyes are much bigger than my tummy...oops...anywho, so good...eventually we hopped back in the car, and went to the supermarket...cloe hadn't been in her flat in over a week, so she had very little food...plus, Bo said he would cook dinner that night so he needed ingredients...it was awesome to be in a supermarket with so many choices, and so many products I haven't seen in a while...

Later that afternoon cloe took Bo and I to see the school where she has been teaching this year...fun:)...across the street from the school is a park with a nice walking trail...Bo and I went for a walk, as the weather was lovely...
Dinner by Bo, yum!!
The next morning everyone was up early, we left the flat around 0700...I wanted to arrive 30 minutes before race time and google maps said it would take 30 minutes...we added in extra time in case of detours or getting lost, hee hee...we arrived just when I wanted to arrive:)...I had run half marathons previously, so I knew what was happening...Bo used to race bicycles, but hasn't run distance races...victor and cloe had never seen this sort of event up close...I love the energy during prerace time...some people talk with friends, others stretch...some people do warmups, I just make sure my number is pinned on securely...(ive always hated warmups, even when i was a swimmer...why would you want to use all that energy before the event that counts????)

the race was organized to start in waves, i started out in E section...race time came, the crowd slowly moved forward...I started the GPS/distance gizmo on my iPod nano...eventually I crossed the start line, people spread out a little, the race started and I settled into a good pace...(I hadn't trained at all, so I knew not to go as fast as would have felt okay at the begging of the race)...the course was lovely...half countryside, half city...I got to see fields of bright yellow flowers and a few small villages...everything was well marked, and there were people out cheering everywhere...I loved hearing my name, from people who didn't know me at all!!

Not surprisingly, the last few kilometers were tough...my legs weren't happy, but I still finished with a good kick...the finish was at one end of a bridge, so there is a nice straightaway that is great for trying to sprint the finish...it's also great for people gathered on each side of the street...lots of cheering...awesome...
I saw cloe, Bo, and victor at the beginning if the race, another time in the middle, and again at the finish line...awesome!! They held my bag during the race, and watched all the runners while drinking wine and eating cheese ( cloe is French, after all)...I grabbed treats at the finish line, as well as a couple bottles of water, then walked back to the marathon village with cloe, Bo, and victor...we walked slowly, but I made sure to keep moving the entire time, so my legs didn't tighten up...
After walking around a while, we got back in the car and drive back to Cloe's flat...Bo and I both fell asleep in the back seat, cloe was nice enough to document that with photos of us looking awful:)
After relaxing for a while back in the flat, Bo cooked dinner again...yum, of course...
The next morning cloe had to go back to teaching, Bo came with me to the hospital...I loved the efficiency of checkin and security, I was sad to leave...

barcis

a beautiful lake town, surrounded by mountains...barcis is slightly north of pordenone and aviano...it's a small town, and doesn't take long to drive through...the reason people go to barcis is to be around the lake...it's a beautiful colour...
we started the afternoon by trying to keep me up to date on my goal of eating gelato every day during the trip...i'm not sure it was real gelato we had, it tasted an awful lot like ice cream...oh well...i tried...
this was the first town in which i saw magazines named after me...woo hoo!! i wanted to add to my collection of things around the world named after me...it's getting to be a bigger collection than i ever expected!

we walked along one edge of the lake, just enjoying the lovely weather and the beautiful scenery...there is a bridge across the lake, it's a VERY narrow bridge...just barely big enough for a single lane...when i stood in the middle i was almost able to touch both sides!! i hope traffice never gets backed up there, it would take foreva to wait for a queue to cross the bridge...
after walking around for a while, we tried to go to a store to get postcards for me...the sign on the door said it would reopen (after the siesta) at 1600, so we waited...we waited until 1615, and still no one was there...so i didn't get any postcards from barcis...gutted!

mandy decided she wanted to drive back by going a way she'd never driven before...up the mountain on the other side of the lake, and down the other side of the mountain...a very very switchbacky road...i was motion sick pretty quickly...i managed to keep my head up for a while, but then i put my head down, and closed my eyes...that made it all much more tolerable, though i missed out on a few great views...argh...i hate that i'm so susceptible to motion sickness...i envy those who don't have the problem...
dinner that night was home made...steaks on the grill!! YUM YUM YUM...after dinner mandy and i pedaled into town for gelato...after the fake gelato earlier in the day, i wanted the real stuff:)

central bali: munduk and around

After the longer than necessary trip to tanah lot, I figured it was a good idea to get a proper map of bali…I’ve always loved maps…I feel much more secure when I can point to where I am on a map…after looking at the map for a while, I figured out how I’d taken the long way to get to the temple…figuring that out also made it easier for me to figure out how to drive north…I’d been baking on beaches for a little over a week, and I’m as dark as I have ever been…(which still isn’t dark compared to some people, but that’s besides the point…you should see my tan lines!)

I counted on getting lost several times while trying to bypass denpasar, and I tend to drive more slowly than most people on this island, so I got on the road early…it was Sunday morning, which meant there wasn’t a whole lot of traffic…yay! I managed to get all the way to munduk without having to turn around at all…woo hoo!! I was actually able to keep track of where I was the whole time…signage isn’t always there, but I’ve gotten better about guessing which way to go if I’m forced to make a turn…when going through towns the main road often turns several times, which is hugely annoying…I’m always terrified I’ve gotten off the main road without knowing it…

I was only wearing shorts and a shirt, figuring that would be enough…but as I got north of denpasar, I realized I was constantly going up, at least a little…and I was cold…eventually I pulled over and put on my jacket from lululemon…(thanks mom!!)…it didn’t block the wind completely, but it made a big difference…toward the end of the drive, the road was a lot steeper, and quite twisty…when it went through shady patches it was downright cold, I was relieved to have the jacket…at a couple points along the twisty parts of the road I saw places on the side of the road where people could pull off and enjoy the view…with a whole lot of monkeys joining them…what is it with this island and monkeys?  I’ve had enough monkeys for the time being, lol…

The last 10km or so to munduk involved driving along the ridge of a crater…a lake on one side, hills and rice paddies and coffee plantations on the other side…fantastic views all around…more twisting road, so I wasn’t able to look around nearly as much as I would’ve liked, but I spotted a few lookouts, and knew I could come back…munduk itself isn’t anything exciting…just a little hill town…not even a town really, just a village…I found a place to stay on my first try…it’s twice as much as what I was paying in kuta, but it’s at least twice as good…breakfast is included, there is a drying rack, they provided a towel and toilet paper, the lighting is good, the view is amazing, the room is spotless and there is a mirror…

After settling in and figuring out what I wanted to see, I got back on the bike…drove back in the direction from which I came, stopping at a few of the viewpoints…at the last place I stopped, I zoomed in a bit with my camera and saw a temple…it looked a bit like the temple I’ve seen on gbillions of postcards, and it looked like there were a lot of people there…when I got to the bottom of the particular hill, I realized traffic was absolutely nuts…soooo many cars and bikes pulled off the road to park…I didn’t know where I’d find an official spot, so I just pulled over where I found room, and started walking from there…

I thought I was going to see the famous temple…but I was wrong…the temple I did see has a very similar name though, and is on the edge of the lake, as opposed to on the lake itself…I saw pura ulun danu buyan…it turned out that the gathering I’d seen from above was a political group gathering…PDI PERJUANGAN…according to angie there are over 180 political parties in Indonesia…the colours of this party were red and black, and everyone was wearing them…flags all over…I could hear plenty of comments in English as I walked down the path, but I pretended not to…across from the temple there was a stage set up, and just as I got there, someone started speaking…needless to say, I didn’t understand a word…lucky for me, the temple was completely deserted…I didn’t know whether I’d be able to go in, but the gates were open…it wasn’t a very exciting temple, I think it’s relatively new…

On the way back I had to walk past all the same people…being a single, blond foreigner makes me really nervous at times…fortunately, it was easy to get back into traffic from where I’d parked…driving down the road I got to the turnoff to the temple I’d been looking for the first time…pura ulun danu bratan…(notice how similar the names are)…there was a big carpark, and I was directed where to go…at tourist spots like these there is usually an area for motorbikes…I bought my entrance ticket after passing a bunch of souvenir stalls…(just in case you REALLY need that bingtang t-shirt right now)…it was crowded with tourists, but not unbearably so…tourist money gets put to use, the temple is in really good shape…unless you’re a local and in traditional garb, you don’t get to go in a few areas, which is fine by me…I was able to see the temple on the lake, and have my photo taken with it…people in general were doing a good job of noticing others taking photos and staying out of them…yay!! It was sunny, the sky was blue, life is goodJ

I ended up eating lunch across the street…

Driving back toward munduk I stopped at even more viewpoints…so pretty…I like the lake side views better than the valley side views…I stopped at a tiny area that said parking for a waterfall…it said 246m to the waterfall, but I’m guessing that meant height, not distance…there was a clear path, much of it steps…some of the steps were quite large…I’ve got good knees, but that wouldn’t have been easy for anyone with slightly bad knees…I heard the waterfall before I saw it…quite pretty…15m or 20m high? To get to a decent viewpoint, you cross over the top of the waterfall, then come down…when I crossed it I didn’t realize just how close I was to the top of the falls…there is a tiny little restaurant looking over the falls…peaceful, and quiet…the water falls hard enough that you can feel the splash a ways out…I liked that…unfortunately, you can’t hike behind the falls…I followed the path a little way down the creek, to see if it went anywhere in particular…It didn’t…

Climbing back up I drove back the rest of the way to munduk, skipping signs for another waterfall…maybe tomorrow? I parked my bike at my guesthouse, (they call themselves a homestay, but it is more of a guesthouse) and took off walking…walking to the edge of town didn’t take long…along the way I passed tourist information, so I stopped in to ask about possible treks in the area…I’d like to trek, but don’t really want to pay a fortune to do it…at that point it seemed like it had been a long day already, though I don’t think it had in reality…I read in my room for a while before going to get food at a local warung…I ordered something written on the menu outside, but she said they didn’t have it…oh well…I had something else and it was fine…

A number of the treks I’d seen in the information office had waterfalls, and my guidebook had a couple listed, including the one I’d seen my first day in the area…my second day in the area ended up being a day of waterfalls…I started by going to gitgit, which angie had recommended…I had to get back to the main road, and head north…the entire way there was twisty, and I was constantly amazed at the blind corners on which people passed…I don’t have the guts for that kind of driving…I was expecting a bigger sign, but I only saw one…and the carpark was tiny…the guidebook said entrance was 6000rp, but it was only 3000rp…(less than $1USD either way, so it didn’t matter much)…there is a path all the way to the waterfalls…there were actually quite a few in this spot…while first walking on the path I came to a spot where I could either keep going straight, or cross a bridge…I went straight, and eventually got to a spot where I saw two waterfalls pouring into the same pool…beautiful…I could see a rainbow toward the bottom, but it doesn’t come up very clearly in any of the photos…I had fun putting my camera on a timer and posing…I can be really shallow sometimesJ…after running down the battery, I walked across the bridge and followed that way until I got to see a whole bunch more waterfalls…each of them very different from the others…awesome…after checking out every path I could find, (including one that took me close to someone’s home, and the dogs came howling after me) I got back to my motorbike, and drove a little further…

the guidebook said there was a second set of waterfalls about 2km down the road, and angie had mentioned something like that as well…the second set was by donation, and the donation wasn’t actually required, which was nice…I gave anywho…this set of waterfalls wasn’t nearly as good as the first bunch…but there were several more paths to check out, and at one point I realized I’d hiked back up to the first set of waterfalls…nifty…I realized that when I ended up in front of a house I’d walked by earlier…I was about to go back, when I heard a little voice say hello…it wasn’t loud, and I couldn’t figure out where the kid was at first…then I looked up into a tree, and there he was…he then proceeded to rock out, much to my amusement…singing quite loudly, shaking the tree…it was awesome…I watched for a couple minutes, then went back down toward the waterfalls…I checked out every path this time as well, and ended up trekking around for over an hour…fun…it’s a beautiful area…

the only thing I didn’t like about these waterfalls was the way “guides” try to forces themselves upon you…they ask if you want to know anything about the falls, and tell you they are trying to create jobs…they start to walk with you, and you have to say no thanks, I just want to walk by myself…if you let them walk with you, they’ll end up asking for a guides fee when you leave, and it’s usually quite large…I know that much of what is said wouldn’t be remembered, and I don’t need a guide when I can see the paths on my own…I did end up seeing several small groups with guides, though none of them were the guys who tried to talk to me after I parked my bike…I’m guessing these were official trekking guides, and that these people had signed up for treks the day before…given that I found various paths on my own, I was relieved I hadn’t signed up for a trek…I’m sure they have plenty of information, and could’ve shown me great places, but I was content with what I did…

on the way back to munduk I saw a pretty temple and pulled over to check it out…I don’t know how I’d missed it on the way down, but I guess it wasn’t in my line of sight as I was driving…the main area was closed, but the front bit was open…I’m guessing it’s a fairly new temple, the rock still had really sharp edges from the carving, and no moss growing…at least, not yet…

the waterfall I’d skipped yesterday was where I stopped next…there were two carparks for this one, each really small…and unlike yesterday, there was an entrance fee for this one…still less than $1USD, so I’m not complaining…the path took me straight there, the only time I had to choose which way to go was at the spot I paid the entrance fee…there was a sign there pointing which way to go, so I went…that was the most crowded place I went all day…four other people were at the bottom of the waterfall when I arrived…it was pretty, though not spectacular…the falls were thin, but strong…a couple of the guys had clearly gone swimming…as I walked back up to my bike, I took the other path at the ticket office, just to see where it went…it ended up at the back side of a resort, after winding through quite a lot…I’m pretty sure that’s not the way people usually get to the resort, as the path was quite narrow…

after returning to my bike I realized I was quite hungry, and had a very very late lunch at a roadside warung…I got to have what I wanted last night, yay…from there it was back to my room, where I finished a book and relaxed for the rest of the eveningJ