Season's Greetings From Newfoundland!

A late post and late Christmas wishes to those who celebrate the season from Newfoundland!  Patrick and I are celebrating this year with my family as next year we plan to celebrate it in Ushuaia Argentina with other motorcycle travellers.  I have celebrated in Switzerland with his family, and I have come home alone to celebrate with my family since moving to Germany, but this year we decided that this was the year he would finally experience a Newfoundland Christmas.  I have gained 8 pounds and couting.  He has gained nothing other than a Newfoundland accent.  This seems highly unfair to me!

In the coming months we will be busy preparing for our around the world trip which will begin June 1st.  I promise to post the developments as they go.  A massive component will be making "lists" to make sure we actually do everything we need to do.  I wrote a little about these lists on my personal blog so I will not repeat it here.  But let us say that you would be surprised at how much you can achieve when you indulge in a little anal retentiveness! 

And for your viewing pleasure I leave you with Episode 8 of Journizing The Throne Of The Gods.  Southern Bulgaria is proof as to why you need to be open to new experiences on the road, because if we had stuck to our original plan we would have missed the absolute bikers paradise that southern Bulgaria in fact is!

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Season's Greetings From Newfoundland!

A late post and late Christmas wishes to those who celebrate the season from Newfoundland!  Patrick and I are celebrating this year with my family as next year we plan to celebrate it in Ushuaia Argentina with other motorcycle travellers.  I have celebrated in Switzerland with his family, and I have come home alone to celebrate with my family since moving to Germany, but this year we decided that this was the year he would finally experience a Newfoundland Christmas.  I have gained 8 pounds and couting.  He has gained nothing other than a Newfoundland accent.  This seems highly unfair to me!

In the coming months we will be busy preparing for our around the world trip which will begin June 1st.  I promise to post the developments as they go.  A massive component will be making "lists" to make sure we actually do everything we need to do.  I wrote a little about these lists on my personal blog so I will not repeat it here.  But let us say that you would be surprised at how much you can achieve when you indulge in a little anal retentiveness! 

And for your viewing pleasure I leave you with Episode 8 of Journizing The Throne Of The Gods.  Southern Bulgaria is proof as to why you need to be open to new experiences on the road, because if we had stuck to our original plan we would have missed the absolute bikers paradise that southern Bulgaria in fact is!

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Dreaming Of Bulgaria On A Wet Rainy Sunday Or Episode 07

It has been a while since I have posted in the blog as the last post was written by Patrick and even that was a bit of time ago. (My excuses include work and starting NaNoWriMo to write about Iceland, but really excuses are just that!)  So I thought I would share the next Journizer video to show the blog is not dead.  End result:  stomach sickness from being jealous of myself and wanting to go back to Bulgaria again!

Bulgaria was in fact an unexpected jewel in our trip.  We had no real intention of riding through it, and the original plan was that we would spend as long as needed there as we went along the Black Sea coast into Turkey.  However rain drove us South instead of East, and as a result we ended up spending almost an entire week enjoying some of the best riding in Europe.  I say that even after a storm drove us to seek refuge in a monastery with this guy:

Trip Planning: Tip #1: Set A Date

Your dream is to go on a trip. Not on a one week vacation, but on a big trip.

One day you will go since this has always been your dream. Not now but one day, maybe when this project is finished or after the car is paid off, then one day...

Sorry to disillusion you but I guess you will never go. There is always the new project, the car, stuff to do with the house, grandma's birthday, the dog and 1000 other things that get in the way. And you know why?

Because you do not have a set date. When the next project starts you have to deal with it. No matter how inconvenient it may be, you can not fight it however as that date is set, when you hit the date the project starts and you have to deal with it.  And the most amazing part is that you will.

But what about your big trip? It has no date. One day is no date, its merely a nicer word for never. So it will always be pushed further and further back by all these other things that may not be important but they have a date. Dates rule our lives.

So if you want to get serious about a big trip (or anything else you want to achive):

Set a date and...

Our Budget For Iceland: What We Spent & Where We Spent It

Warning:  This post has been written by Sherrie.  If you want our budget breakdown and only our budget break down then you can jump straight to it here:  Our Iceland Budget.

Despite what you might think this blog has not been abandoned. I know that in blogging time allowing 2 weeks to pass between posts is the same as announcing the blog is dead, but in our case we are honestly just too busy at the moment.  I am trying to finish my Masters as well as working, and Patrick is Swabian and always works like a maniac when not on a trip, plus he has started a new blogging project over at P.S. Refocus.  Work is winning over writing for the reason that we are saving our pennies like mad for our next big trip (Patrick has written a post about it, it just needs some fine tunning and that should be out later in the week as well!).  And so onto the actual post! ( But first a pretty picture!)

More Tales Of The Land Of Ice & Rain To Come..Till Then Enjoy A Motorcycle Ride Over A Non-Existent Bridge

Shame on me as I have been completely neglecting the blog since returning to Germany, and there are in fact more tales to come.  But as I am teaching English AND still working on my Masters, AND trying to learn German, AND trying to have some semblance of non contractual contact with the outside world I find that even having 20 mins to sit down and write a post to be a challenge.  I finish my course load at uni next month however, and so I hope to have more time then.  (Plus that means there will be a thesis to avoid writing, and that means I will have tons of time to write everything BUT my thesis!).

But as episode 10 just came in to be translated this morning, I found myself thinking that I could at least share the next Journizer episode here instead.  The bridge that does not exist, and me talking nonsense (I did it all by myself but with help????  I meant I rode the bike through that grass alone but I followed the tracks the boys left.  Arg, something about a camera makes me the dork queen as opposed to the dork princess).  :-P

 

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Tourist Traps For Your Birthday

It does sounds like a disease, but just as you know the ways certain diseases are spread, yet in the heat of the moment you can not resist and fall into something nasty, so is it with the tourist trap.  On our trip to Turkey I decided that what I really wanted for my birthday was to visit Pamukkale.  And it was heartbreaking in the disappointment it brought.  It may just be the only place in our travels that the pictures we took look better than the reality.  Not to let experience deter me however (I swear rats have higher learning curves) on this trip I declared it was to be the Blue Lagoon.

Patrick warned me, cautioning me with tales of Pamukkale, and so I concluded that we would check out Myvatin's nature baths Jarbodinl instead, and if we loved it we would brave the Blue Lagoon -  if not then I still got a day soaking in blue water followed by lamb.  (Sorry to my vegetarian readers, and also to cute furry animals everywhere, but they are delicious, and I have discovered that when hungry I would in fact divulge state secrets not under torture, but rather after a couple of days with just a little food followed by the scent of bacon frying.  Who am I kidding here, after a couple of hours).

"Iceland Does Not Give Up It's Treasures Easily" Or "The Road To Askja Is Not So Much Difficult As Damned"

We debate how many times we tried to visit Askja.  I say 3, because there were 3 days when we actually said we were going to Askja that day, and the third time is a charm.  Patrick however says 4, as the day we rode to Kverkfjöll to see the ice caves we debated if we should stop and see Askja on the way back, but decided against it as we thought we would run out of gas.  Better to go the next day after filling our tanks at our camp site (and so began our first attempt to see Askja, part one here, and part two there!).  But enough with the rambling, I am incoherent enough evenwhen I start out with a proper beginning, let alone when I try to tell a story from the middle on out.  So a quick outline of our attempts before our last, and then the reason why we think the road to Askja is not so much hard as damned.

"Iceland Does Not Give Up It's Treasures Easily" Or "The Road To Askja Is Not So Much Difficult As Damned"

We debate how many times we tried to visit Askja.  I say 3, because there were 3 days when we actually said we were going to Askja that day, and the third time is a charm.  Patrick however says 4, as the day we rode to Kverkfjöll to see the ice caves we debated if we should stop and see Askja on the way back, but decided against it as we thought we would run out of gas.  Better to go the next day after filling our tanks at our camp site (and so began our first attempt to see Askja, part one here, and part two there!).  But enough with the rambling, I am incoherent enough evenwhen I start out with a proper beginning, let alone when I try to tell a story from the middle on out.  So a quick outline of our attempts before our last, and then the reason why we think the road to Askja is not so much hard as damned.

Lambchops IS Out To Get You

It would appear to be a generally accepted fact what the murderous motives of Iceland's fluffy livestock in fact are:

So it is not just me.

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Reindeer Did Not Eat Our Helmets

AKA Wilma Got Nailed & Betty Got Screwed; AKA Part 2 Of "Scratch The Hype, You Are Never Alone In Iceland".

You may wonder why I only told half the story of our first attempt to visit Askja.  Those of you who understand German got the whole story from Patrick over on Journizer.  And if you read his description of events then you understand full well why I waited until we were back in Stuttgart before putting this post up.  Especially for those of you who know my mother.  Ever since I started to travel she has decided to send me her Clairol  bills claiming any sightings of gray hair as a direct result of my wandering ways.  However since reforming from a backpacker to a motorcycle traveler she has declared a box no longer cuts it, but rather a trip to her favorite hairdresser is in order.  This means that the bill has significantly increased, and I have responded in kind by sharing things after the fact.  The denial keeps everyone happier. But the truth is reindeer did not gnaw on our helmets.  In fairness nobody believed me that they did, but now I am willing to divulge the truth. 

 I left off with Wilma's flat tire, and the inability for even 5 minutes of privacy in which to pee in peace.  I was also cursing over the fact that I had decided against taking a book that morning, as I honestly believed I would not need it as I was on the way to spend the day swimming in a collapsed magma chamber that has since filled with water. But that was not what fate had in store for us.  Instead,  I was left in the rather rainy desert of Iceland's interior with nothing to do while waiting for Patrick to return with the hopefully repaired inner tire tube. (Cursing the entire time that I broke one of my golden rules of travel, always have a book!)

Return he did, but with bad news.  The nail had destroyed the entire inner tube.  Shredded it in fact.  We needed to ride 2 hours to the next big town to buy the tube there.  Askja was out for the day.  So I jumped on back and we took off in the direction of the ring road.  When we got back to our campsite we checked the tire pressure and then headed for the “safer” ring road.

I don't actually know what happened next.  I remember we were on the paved road, I remember we were approaching a hill, and I remember the bike wobbling and Patrick fighting to keep it upright.  My next conscious memory  is sitting in the middle of the road, Patrick behind me, trying to explain what happened.  Namely that we were in Iceland (I had no memory of getting there, despite the fact we were there 4 days at that point), that his bike had a flat tire, that we were on the way to get a new inner tube, and more importantly, that we had an accident.  At which point I cried out “WE HAD AN ACCIDENT?” Apparently this had in fact been going on for over half an hour, where I would get upset we had an accident, before asking him where we were, what was going on, and why we were in the middle of the road before getting upset when told we had an accident, then I would go all dazed and confused and that would be time to cue the loop.

But the last time this happened is in fact the beginning of my complete memories.   When told for the 30th time that we had had an accident it sunk in and I asked how, and how did we even get to Iceland, before it all came back to me, the ferry ride, Patrick's flat tire, and then a vague recollection of the bike wobbling before nothingness.  The good part was that with no memory of the accident I had no real fear of the bike.  I did however have a hell of a lot of fear of not remembering anything, and a hypochondriac at the best of times I had visions of brain lesions and  internal bleeding.

For the curious, it takes a little over an hour for the ambulance to get you when you are outside a major center in Iceland, but still on the highway.  I do not want to know what would happen if you severely hurt yourself in the middle of the interior.

An hour and a half later we are in hospital in Neskaupstadur, I have a concussion but I am otherwise fine, and Patrick has severely bruised ribs but is otherwise fine.  We get a 2 day stay in hospital, and may I say, if you are going to land yourself in hospital on your holidays, you could do worse than an Icelandic one!  The nurses were all smiles, you get lamb for lunch and coffee and cake at 3, fruit before bed, and doctors who map out the best places to ride in Iceland! 

And why did Betty blow her tire on the highway despite it being brand new and the tire pressure checked before riding off?  A giant screw she picked up on the ring road.  And that is why Wilma got nailed and Betty got screwed.  (That is a direct quote from Patrick's facebook status, never say the boy does not have a way with words!).

 

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I Was Serious About The Food, Or A Little History For You

Success!  We rode from Southern Iceland through the interior to Northern Iceland and no one was hurt!  Perhaps this was aided in part by the fact that we bought 6 chocolate bars before we ventured in.  Patrick has learned from experience that Sherrie + hunger is a generally dangerous combination.  I was not really joking in the previous posts when I stated that when I do not have food Patrick stands to lose vital body parts and/or organs.  It is not that Patrick does not like food, as we made it through the interior on our bikes and camped wild the last 3 nights, and tonight we have kitchen, we indulged in lamb and cous cous.  Heaven! 

Flickr is being really evil at the moment and will not load up my pictures, and so I will save my stories of Iceland until I have some more pictures to go with it.  Instead I will share with you Episode 4 of our Journizing The Throne Of The Gods when we rode to Turkey and back.  What I like about this episode is that after a slight hunger induced freak out I get Patrick to explain about our first real fight, which happened in Argentina after a couple of hours without food.  The best part is the look on his face when he is not really sure if the question is a trap or not.....

 

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I Was Serious About The Food, Or A Little History For You

Success!  We rode from Southern Iceland through the interior to Northern Iceland and no one was hurt!  Perhaps this was aided in part by the fact that we bought 6 chocolate bars before we ventured in.  Patrick has learned from experience that Sherrie + hunger is a generally dangerous combination.  I was not really joking in the previous posts when I stated that when I do not have food Patrick stands to lose vital body parts and/or organs.  It is not that Patrick does not like food, as we made it through the interior on our bikes and camped wild the last 3 nights, and tonight we have kitchen, we indulged in lamb and cous cous.  Heaven! 

Flickr is being really evil at the moment and will not load up my pictures, and so I will save my stories of Iceland until I have some more pictures to go with it.  Instead I will share with you Episode 4 of our Journizing The Throne Of The Gods when we rode to Turkey and back.  What I like about this episode is that after a slight hunger induced freak out I get Patrick to explain about our first real fight, which happened in Argentina aftera couple of hours without food.  The best part is the look on his face when he is not really sure if the question is a trap or not.....

 

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Why Did I Deny Myself Orange Club Cookies For So Long & Other Tales Of Oatmeal‏

First off, since arriving here in Iceland I have been treating myself to coffee soaked cookies just about every morning.  It is delicious and divine.  Normally they are either of the oatmeal variety, or Jacobs Club chocolate cookies.  And then the other day I bought Orange Club, just to see what they tasted like.  HOW COULD I HAVE DENIED MYSELF THIS BLISS FOR SO LONG????  I came so close to not buying them, and to my knowledge they do not exist in Germany.  And now with less than a week left to the trip I must binge on them in an effort to purge myself of this new need for them that can not, and will not, be fulfilled in Stuttgart.  So much deliciousness that I miss in Iceland, to find something that borders on pure heaven this late in the game is a cruel trick indeed!

And this brings me to my original subject, food!  See there are many aspects of the German that I love.  He rides a motorcycle, he likes to travel (particularly ON motorcycle), and he likes Naruto almost as much as I do.  This allows me to overlook the fact that he thinks my webcomics are a waste of time.  But one fault line in the relationship comes to food and our relationship to it.  And the fact I turn into a troll whenever I am not fed poses something of a problem.

You see I love food.  I adore it.  My life revolves around it.  When I travel I want to eat the food.  I want to eat at street stalls and at canteens and at restaurants.  Food is a vital part of a people's culture, and I even love going to supermarkets just to see how they are arranged and what it all looks like.  I can not stress how important food is to me.  My father is a cook by trade, and he raised us to believe that ketchup is evil outside of hot dogs and hamburgers, and that food is a gift and a way to show your love and appreciation for your friends and family.

Patrick however sees food as sustenance.    Of course he loves a good meal, and better something delicious than not.  But he does not NEED food.  If you ask him to describe the perfect day, chances are he will forget about the food part. And his day has yet to be ruined by a really crappy meal (a lack of one - yes, but a crappy one is disappointing,  but hardly earth shattering.  For me it is shattering indeed, as in addition to a love of food, I inherited my father's temper, only amplified, and plates can smash.)

Toss in there that Patrick is Swabian (translates into likes to save rather than spend money) and we have the one friction point of travel.  I want to eat out and eat well.  He wants to save and eat to live.  iN A cheap country this works out for both of us.  An expensive one like Iceland and, errrrrr.

BUT, I may have found a solution.  Coffee drenched cookies are part of it (I never said my tastes were expensive, just that I love anything that tastes good), but we have created a meal that is simple, cheap and makes both of us happy in the morning.

Oatmeal with bakers chocolate melted inside.  About 33 cents a meal.  My palate sings, and Patrick gets to keep his face minus long scratch marks.  I am like a Gremlin, only I turn into one when not fed, time independent.....

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Clever, Not Beautiful

Patrick and I have come up with some “little jokes” over the weather in Iceland.

Such as:

What do you call sunshine in Iceland?

A lie!

And our favorite:

What is a good day in Iceland? Rain and wind at your back!

What is a bad day in Iceland? Rain and wind from all directions, particularly the side!

 

And how do we brave let alone survive this cruel weather that tosses and turns us every which way?

In the wise words of Hawksley Workman “If your goal is plain survival then be clever not beautiful”

Clever may not be camping in Iceland in September, but I tossed beauty out the window and I've gone for survival baby, as in WARMTH.

Mock not, as I have said before, it was on sale, it keeps me warm and dry, and 9 year old Sherrie is green with envy over the colors and style.

And you should see Patrick's new beard....

 

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Clever Not Beautiful

Patrick and I have come up with some “little jokes” over the weather in Iceland.

Such as:

What do you call sunshine in Iceland?

A lie!

And our favorite:

What is a good day in Iceland? Rain and wind at your back!

What is a bad day in Iceland? Rain and wind from all directions, particularly the side!

 

And how do we brave let alone survive this cruel weather that tosses and turns us every which way?

In the wise words of Hawksley Workman “If your goal is plain survival then be clever not beautiful”

Clever may not be camping in Iceland in September, but I tossed beauty out the window and I've gone for survival baby, as in WARMTH.

Mock not, as I have said before, it was on sale, it keeps me warm and dry, and 9 year old Sherrie is green with envy over the colors and style.

[[posterous-content:XrQovFcfwYYNbUhmtSt5]]

And you should see Patrick's new beard....

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Iceland: AKA The World Of Margaret Weiss & Michael Ende/Insert Favorite Fantasy Author

Despite extensive travel over the past 11 years on 4 continents I have never before felt like I had entered a fantasy novel.  (Well, except for being fairly convinced that if fairies did exist they had a kingdom in the gardens of Catherine Palace, the Romanov's summer palace just outside of St. Petersburg, but I digress!).  The point being, I am a dork, and despite ranking anime, comics and fantasy novels as among some of my favorite things, I rarely look about me and go “THIS is what I have always pictured in my head.”  That is until this trip to Iceland.  And this goes beyond soaking your body in blue steamy water...

We headed into Iceland's interior almost immediately, and although Patrick declared it was like venturing into Mordor, I felt like I truly understood what the characters of  the Dragonlance<img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=busmrimo-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0786955538" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> series felt.   (This was THE series for me throughout highschool, I named my Iguana Kit after the dragon rider in the chronicles, but again I digress, but not without a point!  Which is - that this is in fact a high honor for the country indeed). 

Here was a land where I could finally understand the meaning of grotesque beauty.  Despite thinking I had in mind what was meant by this, it was not until last month that I truly comprehended the extent of what this phrase could mean.  Resembling the moon at points and Mars at the other, always completely alien and yet enthralling, no camera can capture the eerie beauty of Iceland's interior.  

And eerie it is.  You feel like you are someplace where you are not entirely welcome, despite the fact that there is no population to speak of.  (I also think that this feeling of the land itself rejecting you is what makes people remember it as more isolated than it really is, because although no one actually lives there, during the summer months at least you can expect no less than 30 Germans and a scattering of other tourists to come barreling down in their Jeeps).  So although far from crowded, you are never alone (just try to pee!).

As we headed northward we entered the world of Micheal Ende.  In the English world he is best known for Neverending Story<img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=busmrimo-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0140386335" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> (I still love that movie).  But his other works have not made it into popular culture. Jim Knopf<img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=busmrimo-20&l=as2&o=15&a=3522149807" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />  however is a treasured icon in Germany.  (Or at the very least among the Schweizer family, with both Patrick and his cousin Joscha naming their motorcycles after characters in the novel).

Emma the steam locomotive and Nepomuk the half dragon/half hippo of the books:

Their motorcycle namesakes:

Emma:

Nepomuk:

Still I digress, while visiting Krafla Patrick and I looked at each other and declared “Kummerland!”  (Or at least he did, I squealed “that place Nepomuk is from!”)  Surrounded by these bubbling, sulphuric pits of water and blue goo I began to think that a tour of Iceland must be part of a fantasy writers rite of passage.

But the final episode (at least to date, we still have 12 more days here!) was when I truly felt we had entered an area that Tolkien himself must have himself experienced.  For here was a feeling of such evil and impending doom that an army of orcs would be preferable to meeting whatever was watching you.  For it was in the Glama moors that I stopped seeing why people believe Iceland is inhabited by the supernatural, and rather joined their ranks of believers. 

We don't have pictures to show you because the feeling of evil was such that we did not want to stop.  Maybe it was because it was twilight, maybe because the fog was so thick that when I looked in my mirror all I could see was the black road; Patrick; and a layer of fog that literally hung there more like a sentient presence than a natural phenomenon (and I am a Newfoundlander, fog does not frighten me unless  a moose suddenly looms out of it and I am in a car hurdling directly towards it), but whatever it was, there was such an abject feeling  feeling of terror that neither of us stopped until we were out of there...

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Iceland's Number One Road Hazard: Fluffy, Cute, & Oh SO Deadly

The dangers of Iceland's roads include nails, screws, pot holes and Icelandic drivers themselves. But surprisingly none of these compare to the beady eyed master of ambush most commonly thought of as a sheep. Especially for the motorcyclist. Sure, if you in your car hit Lambchops and her play along friends your holiday might suffer a slight set back at the rather unpleasant mess that is sure to ensue. However, unless you put yourself into a ditch while trying to avoid it you will come out ok (and if you did, or drove yourself off a cliff because a lot of Icelandic roads lack guard rails, then you understand just how deadly fluffy and cute can be). But if you are a motorcyclist, then you truly understand how cunning and crafty these beasts can be.

As those in the center of the road distract you, and then run away to safety, you begin to speed up again, and THAT is when you have been lured into the trap the sly sucker has set for you and will dart out of the ditch to throw himself under your wheels. Or at the very least because he figures if his friends are safe on the other side of the road then he better run AT the metal machine to join them.

Sheep my friends, are an insidious evil.

 

 

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Resistance Was Futile...

I fear I have succumbed to assimilation.  When I first arrived in Germany it was suppose to be short term, just a trial run so to say, in order to see if me and the German would work out.  Plus I was thinking that it was in the center of Europe, and therefore how bad could it be?  After living there however for 3 months and making less pretax and deductions than I had previously made after tax and deductions I concluded that it could be very bad indeed.  And when one of my middle aged students threw a pen across the room while screaming that in his "40 years of learning English I have never heard of a phrasal verb" and therefore, obviously, I must be making it up in an effort to upset him, all of a sudden I was awash with nostalgia for Asia and a plane ride out was sounding mighty fine.

Scratch The Hype, You Are NEVER Alone In Iceland

Even without the scary tourist information man's speech of the impending doom that awaits all those who dare venture into the badlands of Iceland's interior, the place had already been hyped to us by guidebooks as an isolated, only for the hardcore and the brave, zone.  Although not entirely untrue, (I am in fact very glad our trip was canceled last year, as I think the roads of the interior would have had me hauling off my helmet, slamming it into Patrick's face, and then sitting down and crying at the futility of it all), neither is it quite Thunderdome's "2 man enter, 1 man leaves."  And isolated it is not!  Although it is very true that Icelanders tend to leave the place alone, Germans in particular are drawn to it, as are the French.

Seriously, on the one hand you are told to be prepared to die alone should you venture in there, on the other hand just TRY to pee without someone seeing you.  The place is a desert, but as soon as you pee, someone is driving around the one bend you managed to find. (Or cruising through a river, jumping out and rubbing his hands together, and exclaiming in a thick German accent "It always AMAZES ME where these mopeds of yours end up.  You know you took a wrong turn somewhere to be on THIS road, correct?")  Wargle.

Even when we took the "are you mentally unbalanced" path by accident on the way to Kverkfoll, I was still unable to pee!  And then there was the incident of the nail....

Welcome To Iceland! Too Bad I Hate It Here....

The road to Kverkfjoll

 

Picture this:  Us, bright eyed, enamored with Iceland, so much so that our first day we never made it out of our first fjord because we could not comprehend that Iceland was not just all we thought it would be, but in fact much much more.   (And we were not even in Lonely Planet land yet, just a slight recommended detour for those with too much time on their hands).  We were in 7th heaven.  We had 4 weeks stretching in front of us, and we wanted to make the most of them.

So we venture into the local Tourist info to get "the local know how" on what roads would be the best option for us, especially for Sherrie as she is not an experienced off roader.  (Try, actually, not one at all, she had a 1 day course and declared she hated it).  But we thought that this was perhaps not the best info to share, but rather of the sort to keep to ourselves in case they try to discourage us.

Perhaps one of our brighter ideas, as when we told the guide we wished to venture forth to Kverkfjoll, which had a road rumored to be sent from the devil himself,  well let us just say we met one of his minions at the tourist info.  When we asked about the road he puffed himself up, sneered at us in disdain and declared that "I, MYSELF, have never been there, I for ONE, am not into this Hemingway crap, but that road will eat you up and SPIT you out.  I am much more a London or Paris person myself." 

And then he rolled his eyes at us.

Because You Can Find Us Everywhere...

.... and not just around the world but also all over the web.  We also blog over at Journizer, the same people who did (and are still doing, the episodes continue to come out!) our Journizing Turkey podcasts (I know technically vodcasts, but I just can't bring myself to say vodcasts, I am a creature of habit and the habit says podcast!).  Either way, we write a logbook over there, and when we have time our pictures go there as well (I double post to Flickr, Patrick posts only to Journizer).  A logbook means a general summary of our day rather than the type of post we write here.  But if you are actually interested in the details, then there is where you want to go!  It has a rather neat map (yes I wrote neat, herrrrr) and when we have the time we retype our daily notes there and back date them.  So far there are only a couple of entires for this trip, but more will go there.  But we have one laptop and 2 computer geeks, and it makes it hard to get everything done.  Especially since we are here to ride Iceland and not to spend it on the internet!  That is for when we get back!  (This was an autopost written on Friday!)

 

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In Iceland & Already The Camping Card Has Paid For Itslef!!!

We made it!  2 days and 2 nights on a ferry (we arrived here the morning of the thrid day!) and finally yesterday morning we arrived!  We took our bikes off the boat, and decided to check out Skalanes, a 20 km ride on a 4 wheel drive trek (we thought we might as well jump in feet first) and then we would decide from there what we wanted to do.  10 hours later we had covered all of 40 kms (20 in and 20 out), we were back in the ferry port, and we were grinning from ear to ear.  Gone were the memories of the ferry ride when we debated pucking off the others limbs just to hear the other scream in an effort to alievieate the boredom.  THIS is what we came for, this is pure bliss, and whatever the costs, it would be worth every penny! For the reason we took so long was not the difficulty of the riding, but rather how spectacular the scenary was!

And financial wise we made a smart decsion on the ferry.  We bought the 2010 camping card that lets us stay at selected sites for free.  We worked it out, and after 5 stays on a site it had paid for itslef.  We plan on staying in a tent as much as possible, so even with wild camping and the use of the hot springs, we figured we would still require 5 showers.  And then we discovered how much internet costs (try 2 Euros per half hour).  And then our campsite has free internet.  And just from being able to access the internet the card has paid for itself.  If you are coming to Iceland to camp buy one of these!!!!

 

 

 

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I'm on a boat!

Fuck trees I climb buoys!

We are on the ferry to Iceland! :-)

 

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"Iceland Bound", Or "Better Late Than Never", Or "Does This Seem Familiar To You?"

2 days late is better than never! (3 if you want to really argue it, but Thursday evening was never really a plan, just a “what if”, so we are 2 days late and that is my story and I am sticking to it. Plus I worked Thursday evening, it cant be considered a real departure date). I would love to say that the stress of the past 2 days was unusual and new, but lets be honest, we never leave on time. We always leave at least one day later, and 3 seems to be the norm. It's a combination of the fact that I am always way too optimistic on how much time we actually need, and the fact that since we ride our bikes we do not normally have a time pressure of taking off at a set date and time. But now the bikes are packed, everything is strapped, and the only cost is that we wont get to be tourists in Hamburg. I can accept that for 4 weeks in Island with our motorcycles! And so I leave you with the third episode of Journizing The Throne of The Gods, where we were also 2 or 3 days late before we actually left. :-P

 

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Iceland Bound....The Packlist

Patrick's note: If you are here for the packlist, and just the packlist, and not for Sherrie's round about way for talking about anything and everything, click here to find our Iceland Pack List as a stand alone page, otherwise, enjoy the rather convoluted path she takes to talk about what we want to pack.

In just a couple of days we will be “unterwegs” and Iceland bound. And with a 6 week “mini” break coming up fast and furious you would think we would be scrambling to get everything ready. We are scrambling, but we don't seem to be doing so well on the getting things ready (this could in fact be due to the fact that we are doing everything BUT getting ready for Iceland, rather we are finishing up work and uni projects and going to weddings and bachelor/bachelorette parties, as well as traveling around Germany with visitors from Canada).

This lack of organization is not a problem for me, I am chaos and I think its fine to pack the morning of departure, it is a little more distressing for our German engineer friend (my mother may have something else to say about my apparent coolness as she witnessed me jumping on my suitcase screaming obscenities and threatening to destroy said suitcase at 3 am in the morning, about 8 hours before my flight back to Germany, but really, all that sugar after Christmas would make anyone scream and cry and smash the things that are so obstinate that they refuse to bend the laws of physics and just accommodate whatever it was that I was trying to fit into the damn case.) But I digress.....

How things tend to look when I pack...

Then I was over on Nomadic Chick and she did her Gypsy Wednesday post on her packlist for girls. Patrick has said to a million times that our next post should be on our packlist for Iceland, and she has inspired me to get my butt into gear. Not for actual packing, but at least a coherent list that will keep us from screaming at each other come Friday (as we frantically run around cursing the irresponsibility of the other) when we plan to pack the bikes in order to ride off into autobahn madness on the morning of the 6^th. (We figure we commit to one day of autobahn hell in order to have a stopover in Hamburg, I have never been and Patrick has a cousin who is awesome there, win win!).

A packlist means we can cross everything off as we attach it, strap it, or stuff it onto the bikes. It may even help one of you in the future, and we promise to review it when we get back, which will probably help you more, as even after 5 years of traveling together (and longer apart) we still tend to overpack.

Last (ahem) quick comment before the list, it is fair to say that you can commit as much effort or as little effort into planning and packlists as you wish. When we took off for the Ukraine 3 summers ago we talked lots, did nothing, and then the morning of grabbed everything we thought we needed and headed in a general eastward direction. It was an awesome trip, and as we had planned nothing and had no expectations, we ended up in Romania after about a week in the Ukraine. Western Romania remains one of my fav places to bike, so there is nothing wrong with trying to leave room for spontaneity in your adventures! Showing up without your passport however is rather silly. (And Ive done it, so I can say it's silly!)

 

Packlist For Iceland:

 

This list is not so different for our longer trips, it seems like if you go for a weekend or a year, you bring more or less the same stuff. And so without further adieu the list! (Actually I lied, one further comment, note the use of categories, that is because Patrick is German, I just make chaotic notes that I hope cover everything, and then curse and swear as I backtrack over the apartment and curse the difficulty of living in Germany, as I have now decided all problems can be blamed on my adoptive land!)

PACK LIST!

Documents

Passport

Bike Insurance

Credit card

Drivers License

Health Insurance Card

Schutzbrief ADAC (magic thing that Germans have where they call ADAC when they are in trouble with their car or bike and they come rescue them. Makes the ADAC one of the best loved companies in the land as it strikes at the center of the German heart, fast, efficient, reliable and most importantly, it focuses on the light of their life, their car!)

 

Backups (Just In Case Stuff)

 

Copies (photos) of all important papers, cards, and numbers as a backup in dropbox and in our email accounts.

Second key exchange with each other

First Aid kit

Travel guide

Map

Compass (Patrick had his with him the entire world trip and never used it, but as we are going without a GPS so we figure better safe than sorry. Of course if we have to use it it probably means we are already sorry. )

 

Camping Gear

 

Tent

Sleeping bags

Air mattresses

Headlamps

Toiletries (basics for our shower, teeth cleaning, and to the best of our abilities, underarm needs. This may be futile if its really hot and your offroading, which is why sometimes its nice to ride your own bike, you both stink equally).

1 pot, 1 plate, and one fork, knife and spoon each

Cooker (How to know you have not been in your own country for a long time, I don't even know if cooker is the right word for it, but it is not a proper kerosene stove. We will put some pics up later and review it after Iceland, but basically its a little gas thing that is super small, and can run on gas from the bikes if we need to use it. Its real name, I need to find out.)

Wind shield for cooker (our German hero has made one in 10 mins out of an old license plate, I love it because its reusing old crap that is meant for the garbage, buy less ride more and be nicer to the planet while doing it)

Metal cups

Muesli, Rice, coffee (you can normally buy this anywhere, and on most trips we pick up food and supplies that we need daily, but it is our intention to buy it before we go to a notoriously expensive island. You may mock us for this, but there is a reason why we are able to afford 6 weeks in Iceland, and its not because teaching English in Germany is such a lucrative job.)

Soup packages (instant powder variety)

Emergency chocolate (when all other food is gone and I am thinking about what Patrick would look like after Ive plucked out his eyes)

 

Clothes

 

Rain Gear (LOVE the rain pants that zip on and off from the sides, so much easier to get into the damn things, I think I will actually write a post before the week is out on how much I love my side zipped rainpants, and how my 1983 chic rain jacket was worth every penny as well)

pants

shorts

bathing suit

7 pairs underwear and socks

2 t shirts

1 hoodie (for those of you who speak German I almost wrote pulli instead of hoodie, and then thought with horror that not only is German sneaking into my English, but I cant really speak German, so Im just losing my ability to speak either language, and opening myself up to the mocking of what “packing a pulli” might mean).

Flip Flops

Longjohns for Patrick and leggings for me (so much more comfortable than riding with jeans on or bare skin)

 

 

Other Stuff

 

Gloves

Earplugs

Sunglasses

Lighter

First Aid Kit

Mini Pharmacy Stuff (anti-diarrhea pills, sunblock, burn cream, blistex)

Disposable books (normally guilty pleasures that we don't mind trading, losing, or getting wet)

Tiny laptop (for blogging, emailing, and maintaining some kind of income on the road)

Cameras

 

 

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Journizer Episode 2: Getting A German Motorcycle License, And Things To Think About When Planning A Major Trip

When we planned our first motorcycle trip together as 2 riders rather than a rider and pillion, we were ignoring one vital detail. On the one hand we had traveled together before through South America and an Eastern European trip, so we knew we were on the low end of the likelihood to kill each other.

 

Side Note: If you think this is us being melodramatic then you absolutely must do a trail run before committing to long term travel with anyone, let alone your romantic partner. Go on a long weekend trip first, if you both come out with all your limbs and you still like each other, try a longer trip! If one of you is missing vital organs due to lack of shower/fire/food/wild animal that you fed your travel partner to rather than listen to them wine over the lack of fire/smoke from fire/the cold/the dampness/lack of available supplies to maintain sex appeal/or just because of their unwillingness to maintain sex appeal while camping, then you might want to reconsider your travel plans.

So we knew that so long as Sherrie had something to eat everyone in the vicinity would get to keep their eyeballs and the hateful comments would be kept to a minimum. (Hence our emergency chocolate stash, for those times when you are in the middle of nowhere and nothing is to be found or when so it is closed).

We had two motorcycles, two riders, experience traveling together, everything more or less, except one vital detail, Sherrie's drivers license.

And so began the hellish experience of the German motorcycle license, with the additional pressure that if I failed, our trip was delayed by 2 weeks.

And THAT hopefully explains the shrieking like a banshee.

Hopefully.........

Or it could just be genetic....

Enjoy!

 

 

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Journizer Episode 2: Getting A German Motorcycle License, And Things To Think About When Planning A Major Trip

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When we planned our first motorcycle trip together as 2 riders rather than a rider and pillion, we were ignoring one vital detail. On the one hand we had traveled together before through South America and an Eastern European trip, so we knew we were on the low end of the likelihood to kill each other.

Side Note: If you think this is us being melodramatic then you absolutely must do a trail run before committing to long term travel with anyone, let alone your romantic partner. Go on a long weekend trip first, if you both come out with all your limbs and you still like each other, try a longer trip! If one of you is missing vital organs due to lack of shower/fire/food/wild animal that you fed your travel partner to rather than listen to them wine over the lack of fire/smoke from fire/the cold/the dampness/lack of available supplies to maintain sex appeal/or just because of their unwillingness to maintain sex appeal while camping, then you might want to reconsider your travel plans.

So we knew that so long as Sherrie had something to eat everyone in the vicinity would get to keep their eyeballs and the hateful comments would be kept to a minimum. (Hence our emergency chocolate stash, for those times when you are in the middle of nowhere and nothing is to be found or when so it is closed).

We had two motorcycles, two riders, experience traveling together, everything more or less, except one vital detail, Sherrie's drivers license.

And so began the hellish experience of the German motorcycle license, with the additional pressure that if I failed, our trip was delayed by 2 weeks.

And THAT hopefully explains the shrieking like a banshee.

Hopefully.........

Or it could just be genetic....

Enjoy!

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Why Honda Sucks & BMW Rocks

(And this is not sponsored in any way by BMW, although we would gladly and unashamedly accept their money).

 

Back in the 1980's the Western world was living a life of unmitigated excess. Michael Jackson sold millions AND was still cool, the A Team blew shit up on your TV screen, and big hair and big shoulders were a sign of just how awesome you were.

 

And yet amid this time of luxury and yuppies the German car industry, traditionally a symbol of class coupled with dependability, was challenged and by the end of the decade shattered. In its place the Japanese car industry established itself as a leader in dependable and affordable cars. The time of excess was ending, And amid all of this in a period of extremes the ultimate travel bike was born.....

 

Born out of a desire to have a Paris-Dakar competition bike it came with 2 cylinders, 650 cc, 220 kg, 60 horse powers, excellent offroad qualities while still being street friendly, reliable, and the dream of overland travelers for the next decade. At the time the tough traditionalists claimed it was too much technology with it 6-valve, four spark plug, liquid-cooled engine, it has since evolved to be accepted as the overland travel bike.

Bring it forward to 2010, the first decade of the second millennium is coming to a close, and the glory years of the 1980's have been crushed and buried under the events of the past 20 years. Michael Jackson had to die to become cool again, the A Team is still blowing shit up only this time on the big screen, big hair is seen as unfortunate and shoulder pads can get you shot (or at the very least as the subject of open scorn and mockery as the unsuspecting victim of a fashion reality TV show), and while Toyota stumbles from one scandal to the next, Mercedes and Audi are once again the reigning symbols of luxury and class in the car industry.

 

And a new star has risen amongst the overland motorcycle travelers.

 

It has 2 cylinders,798cc, 207 kg, 90 horse powers, excellent offroad qualities while still being street friendly, reliable, and with it's ABS it is pure, unadulterated bliss to ride. Although tough traditionalists claim it is unsuitable for long time travel as it comes with too much technology such as on-board fuel computer, alarm, sat-nav, heated grips, ABS and a fuel pump, it will advance to be THE travel bike.

 

But this bike no longer bears Honda's wings.

 

In its place stands Bavaria's propeller, BMW amid the white and blue.

Honda, what have you done? The new Transalp was castrated into a street bike, and we have no words for your fat Varadero so we won't even try, and the Africa Twin, the once proud object of overland travelers desire, is not even chopped and sucked into a street machine, but rather has been abandoned, neglected and sacrificed to allow BMW to completely dominate the overland travel motorcycle market. Which is why Honda sucks, and BMW rocks.

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Book Review: Vagabonding By Rolf Potts

For those of you with little time but the desire to know what we said here is the condensed version:

If you are a first time traveler buy this book!  It is inspirational and packed with web resources.  If however you are already a seasoned traveler and looking for ideas on how to travel longer or better, give it a skip!

Now for slightly more detail:

Here on Unleash Your Adventure we focus on motorcycle travel because motorcycle traveling is our preferred way of travel, however we want our site to be aimed towards travelers period. Particularly backpackers and campers, because as we said, it is not that anyone is not welcome, but rather if you want to stay at the Ritz we doubt our experience tenting on a salt lake in Argentina is of much interest, as you would rather stay in a hotel.  So with this in mind we decided our first book review (which we hope to make a monthly event) would be a general travel book.  And to that end we choose Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, himself a world traveler of the shoestring style.

What we loved about the book:  Potts is writing from his own experience, and he is honest about the joys and hardships (but much more the joys) of travel.  And like so many others who have chosen to take time off for long term travel he argues that it is not only possible to do so, but gives applicable advice on how to do so.  The chapters are short, packed with inspirational quotes that will have you packing your bags and booked on the next plane, train or bus out, and each chapter comes with 2 - 3 pages of web sites you can consult to help you plan your trip, or aid you on the trip.

What we didn't like about the book:  Anyone who has already taught English or saved money and took the plunge to travel for a period of months to a year will not find anything new here.  The chapters are short and inspirational, but if you have already taken the trip you find yourself nodding along and saying "yes, yes, oh yes, absolutely, I agree" and in the end you close the book and say, "very nice, he is absolutely right, but I already knew that."  Because once you have done it you know how easy it is in fact to do.  If you were looking for how to sustain yourself a little longer on the road you may instead want to look into something like Timothy Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich<img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=busmrimo-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0307353133" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, which I felt I took more away from.  (But not the subject of this, but rather a future review!). 

Or if you are more experienced you may want to buy a fellow traveler's book that is a less a know how and more a story of their experiences.

 

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The Evil Neighbor

I wrote a book about my first world trip with Emma (you find her story on the about the authors page as well), and the following is an excerpt from my book. The best part is that this is not an exaggeration, and is something you may find yourself saying as well, that the people in THAT country are evil and bad, when in fact they are people just like us, who want good things for their families and to follow their hopes and dreams, and who think YOU are the bad guys.  ;-)

The post is in German, but below you can find the English version as a Journizer special. 

Der böse Nachbar
Jemand lebte in seinem Dorf vor sich hin so wie es alle anderen Leute auch tun. Es gab viele nette Leute in seinem Dorf. Einige waren seine Freunde. Eines Tages hörte er von dem Land Polen. Er fragte sich was die Leute dort wohl so machen. Er wusste es nicht. Daher beschloss er hinzufahren und nachzuschauen. Er erzählte seinen Freunden von dem Plan.
„Du spinnst! In Polen wohnen lauter Diebe. Die klauen Dir alles.“     
„Woher wisst ihr das? Wart ihr denn schon einmal dort?“ fragte Jemand seine Freunde.     
„Nein, natürlich nicht, aber es weiß doch jedes kleine Kind, dass die Polen Diebe sind.“     
Jemand war nicht überzeugt. Er wollte sich seine eigene Meinung bilden.
Also fuhr Jemand nach Polen. Er lernte viele nette Leute kennen. Einige davon wurden seine Freunde. Beklaut wurde er jedoch nicht. Jemand blieb eine Weile in Polen. Da hörte er von Russland. Er fragte sich was die Leute dort wohl so machen. Er wusste es nicht. Daher beschloss er hinzufahren und nachzuschauen. Er erzählte den neuen polnischen Freunden von dem Plan.
„Du spinnst! In Russland wohnen lauter Räuber und Mörder.“
„Woher wisst ihr das? Wart ihr denn schon einmal dort?“ fragte Jemand seine Freunde.     
„Nein, natürlich nicht, aber es weiß doch jedes kleine Kind, dass die Russen Räuber und Mörder sind.“     
Jemand war wiederum nicht überzeugt. Er wollte sich seine eigene Meinung bilden.
Also fuhr Jemand nach Russland. Er lernte viele nette Leute kennen. Einige davon wurden seine Freunde. Beraubt und ermordet wurde er jedoch nicht. Jemand blieb eine Weile in Russland. Da hörte er von der Mongolei. Er fragte sich was die Leute dort wohl so machen. Er wusste es nicht. Daher beschloss er hinzufahren und nachzuschauen. Er erzählte den neuen russischen Freunden von seinem Plan.     
„Du spinnst! Die Mongolen sind schlitzäugige Barbaren. Die trinken nur verschimmelte Milch und fressen ihre eigenen Kinder!“     
„Woher wisst ihr das? Wart ihr denn schon einmal dort?“ fragte Jemand seine Freunde.     
„Nein, natürlich nicht, aber es weiß doch jedes kleine Kind, dass die Mongolen Kinder fressen.“
Jemand war nicht überzeugt. Er wollte sich seine eigene Meinung bilden.
Also fuhr Jemand in die Mongolei. Er lernte viele nette Leute kennen. Einige davon wurden seine Freunde. Er trank mit ihnen die vergorene Stutenmilch. Kinder wurden jedoch keine gegessen sondern liebevoll in bester mongolischer Tradition aufgezogen.
So kam Jemand in die verschiedensten Länder der Erde. Er lernte viele unterschiedliche Menschen kennen. Die allermeisten waren nett. Er traf auch böse und schlechte Menschen. Aber dazu musste er nicht weit gehen. Die gab es auch daheim in seinem Dorf.

Want to read more? Checkout the book (but make sure you understand German)

Fernweh Mit dem Motorrad um die Welt 196 Seiten im Taschenbuchformat mit 41 farbigen Abbildungen und 9 Karten.

 

Sherrie's note:  I LOVE this.  Check out my German Newfoundlander.  Patrick and my father bonded over Oma's (granny's) homemade schanps, and as my parents had just spent 2 weeks with us when this was filmed, Patrick had begun to tag "right" onto everything.  (Newfoundland is known for its distinct dialect, of which my father is a proud speaker.  But not in a nationalist way.  More in a "Ive always spoken this way so F$%k off and don't talk to me if you don't like it" kind of way.)

 

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Planning A Motorcycle Trip: 3 Months From Germany To Turkey and Back

Warning:  You may accuse us of many, many things.  And this is where Patrick would say "speak for yourself," but since I have accused him of many things, the sentence stands. But there is one thing you can not accuse us of, and that is taking ourselves too seriously.  Because if we did we would never let these videos see the light of the day.  MAJOR dork content.  But then I guess I had to earn my nickname "Dork Princess" somehow.  And in all likelihood it was not by being cool....

So, with the warning out of the way and to continue on with the post, we filmed our last trip with a regular point and click digital camera, as in the older version of the Olympus Stylus Tough and we passed the raw material onto our friend Andi who in addition to doing an awesome job transforming them into episodes for your viewing pleasure, he also does it while having to sort through my muscle spasms whenever the camera is pointed at me.  (We do improve with time, promise)

So without further adieu, here is the first one where we start to plan and prepare for our trip:

And may I also say that after doing these videos I now have a brand new appreciation for anyone who does live TV, as there is something about a camera pointing at you that makes you feel (and act) like a complete and utter turd.  Even if you suspect that the only people who are even going to watch it are your mom, your close friends, and the random person who stumbles over it by accident while searching for something else on Youtube (like a cat video).  The fact that our views range in the 2000 views (from about 400 up to almost 9000) just goes to show what a fantastic job Andi did!

 

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Travel Tip: How To Budget For A World Trip (Or Any Trip!)

 

 

I met Patrick on his first world trip (his second is planned for next year, and in between there has been a multitude of motorcycle trips lasting a weekend to 3 months, most of them with me along for the ride, and the later ones with me alongside! Or 200 kms behind depending on how fast he is going, but again I digress.) Patrick is a natural born saver. He hails from Baden-Württemberg, an area of Germany known for their wealth (Porsche, Mercedes and Bosch are just three companies that hail from the region) as well as their insistence on locking their millions in a vault and arguing over 50 cents.

 

 

This would imply that Patrick may be the better author for this entry. Prior to meeting him I funded my travel though the teach and travel method, never the months at a time without a job style that we do now. And although he does not have millions tucked away anywhere, he is a natural born saver. As in it does not cause him physical pain to deny himself something and put his money in a savings account. He only spends money he has, and creditors have no idea who he is. But then I thought a little more about it, and if I can save money for a major trip, then anyone can. Admittedly there were tears in the beginning, I may (or may not, its my word against Patrick's) thrown things at his head and called him less than kind names, but in the end, my ways were converted.

 

For our major 3 month motorcycle trip from Germany to Turkey I managed to save the 3000 Euro required to go for 3 months (our budget, in the end we spent 2600, but we also returned almost 2 weeks early because of rain), as well as pay the 2000 that it cost to get my German motorcycle license, and actually buy the bike. (But as I was also paying off old credit cards and student loans, Patrick did have to help with the bike purchase). But again, rambling!

 

I did that while still paying my half of rent, contributing to the food budget, and living. I was not living the high life mind you, but I was still living. And although I still have one outstanding student loan, my credit card debt is gone and I am living within my means. So despite it being not always easy, it is not impossible. And although I have passed on budget saving ideas in other blogs, this one is revamped for Unleash your adventure, and with my present wisdom in mind. So without further adieu, my top 5 simple recommendations to afford to travel (and long term travel in particular).

 

# 1 - KNOW your travel style

Number one however is almost always the same. KNOW your travel style. If you are here because you are a motorcycle traveler then chances are you know you are a camper. Paying nothing and camping wild is something you would do even if you did have that million in the bank. You want to factor in the occasional shower (on the road I shower every 3 -5 days on average, its true, keep that in mind if you ever see us and want to have a meet and greet. We are always open, but maybe you won't be so open to us. ;-) ) Your budget wants to take into paid accommodation for city stays, when you are sick, or when even your travel partner declares you need a shower. (You can also shower on the side of the road, therefore extending the amount of time in between paid accommodation. We think its fun.)

 

 

Of course that does not mean you HAVE to camp. If you are a backpacker or a motorcyclist who likes a little more luxury, check online at hostelworld or hotelbooking.com to get a feel for the prices of the style of accommodation you need. It makes no sense to lie to yourself about the costs you will anticipate. It just means that you will need to save more or find income on the road. When I was teaching English in Japan my trip to Thailand cost almost as much as my 3 months to Turkey and back. I could have done it cheaper, but I wanted to splash out.

 

You can also use hospitality club or couch surfing on the road as a free place to stay, or if you want to work for your board check out WWOOFing. However if the idea that staying with strangers freaks you out, don't count it in when you take stock of your travel budget. You will either ignore the option and spend more than you planned on accommodation, OR it will suck the joy out of your trip. Neither option is optimal.

 

Another aspect of travel style that we forget to take stock of is our time. The faster you go the more money you need. That is why 3 months through a country will often cost the same as the same trip in 2 weeks. When time is a pressure you need to pay whatever price is required, or choose faster and more expensive over slower and cheaper.

 

# 2 - The Travel Jar

After you've taken stock of how you like to travel, you now need to go about accumulating the money you've decided you need. My number one recommendation: The Travel Jar. (It almost deserves music). But whenever I make plans that get canceled (be it movie, dinner, whatever) I consider it money spent. That money goes into the travel jar. At the end of the day, all my coins go into the travel jar. Yes setting aside a set amount out of your pay every week/month also works. But you would be surprised how fast you amass travel jar money when you play by the rules. And if you are faithful enough to take a set amount out of your pay that goes into another account to cover your budget, use the travel jar as money to buy something you want but do not necessarily need for your trip (like a new camera when your old one is still adequate, or those boots which you know will pay off but the thought of taking out a chunk of change come next pay day just hurts) or your on the road “treat” money. (A nice restaurant for your 3 month on the road anniversary, or a balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey)

 

 

 

# 3 - The library

The library is your friend. I love books. I do not just love to read them, I love to touch them, I love to smell them, and I particularly love the way they look on my shelf. But once I declare that I am saving for a trip, my book buying drops drastically. When I want to buy a book I go to the library first, and then the money I would have spent I put in the travel jar as money already spent. I borrow DVDs from the library, and I go there instead of to the local coffee shop when I want peace time between classes (be it the kind where I am the teacher, or the kind where I am the student), and again the money I would have spent on coffee goes into the travel jar. (That is not to say complete denial, I still meet my friends for coffee, it is just when I am alone I do not.) And when I find myself wavering I think of something like this:

 

 

# 4 - Use your employer

Find out if you even need to save. If you are really lucky you are a teacher within the regular school system, or in a union that lets you do “2 over 3” or the equivalent, in which you get less pay your first 2 years that you work, but then you get to take a year off with the same pay as the 2 years previous, Plus your job is still there when you get back. (And even if not, and you are less afraid of the money aspect and more of the job aspect, check to see if you can have an unpaid leave of absence).

 

# 5 - Buy less and buy smart!

I can't even tell you how many dresses I have that I never wear. Chances are you have a closet full of clothes you barely wear and you keep adding to (men do it too!!!) The sad part is despite being aware of this I still spent almost 100 Euro at a Mango outlet in Ankara. 10 dresses, all less than 10 Euro! I bought them the end of March, it is now the end of June, and I have worn ONE and that was ONCE. I admit I will bite you if you try to take them from me. But now I avoid outlets. But if I had to buy clothes, I would recommend an outlet.

 

# 6 - Be environmentally friendly!

Environmentally friendly means using less of everything, less electricity (you don't need to freeze over the winter, but if you are from a cold country think about an extra sweater rather than reaching automatically for the thermostat.) Your planet and your wallet will thank you. Before jumping in your car think about how far it is to walk, can you do it instead of wasting money on gas? Car pool instead of driving?

 

When you think about your wallet and the planet before buying something everyone wins. Do you really a need a brand new sofa set? Is “new to you” just as good? We can't keep consuming at our present rate, our planet will give up and there will no longer be a point to travel (unless that is you always wanted to test your skills in the Thunderdome). Buying second hand is your friend!

 

# Most Imortant

Finally, outside of sticking to the budget, the number one rule of traveling is to not just pick a date, but tell everyone about that date. Then when you are tempted to buy things you don't need, or break into your travel jar, you just need to remember how embarrassing it is going to be when everyone looks at you and asks why you haven't left on that trip yet.....

 

Posted via email from Unleash Your Adventure