Positive Energy

On the road again: to Moscow and Beijing

2011-09-08T16:23:00.006+03:00

I must admit flying with AEROFLOT was a pleasant surprise! Smooth flights, good service and eatable food (vegetarian in my case, special request, mostly salads). Flew from Athens to Moscow and after a bit of waiting from Moscow to Beijing.

Flight to Beijing it happens I changed seat with a chinese girl so she can sit with her boyfriend, so I found myself sitting beside a Russian 30 years old guy who has a big bottle of whiskey with him, mixing with cola and drinking like water. Eventually after a bit he is so drunk and hilarious, asking me all kinds of funny questions as why I am not married, why I don't have kids (he had two already), why I don't drink alcohol, why I don't drink meat and stuff. Finally he got so wasted drunk that after trying to stretch his legs by putting them through the space between the seats resulting to giving the front guy a good kick almost on the face with his shoe-feet, fell asleep ON ME so I stood up my seat for a bit for him to get a better sleep and for me to check the beautiful sunrise through the windows having a chat with N., a sweet and cheerful stewardess who was really helpful to me with my veggie food and my blocked seat video screen :)

Beijing is really beautiful, been here just a couple of days now, going around and chilling. Tiananmen square is indeed the biggest and magnificent, Maos portrait is hanging on the gate of the Heavenly Palace and many chinese people get their photos with it.

All the tourists and crowd gather in the main pathway leading to the forbidden city, but paying just 2 yuan (25 cents of a euro) I went to the Workers Cultural Palace where I enjoyed solitude being only me and a few chinese, mostly newlywed couples who were for marriage photos, being so beautiful at their happiest moment of their life.

There was an arms demonstration for some reason and I felt in awe with the accuracy, discipline and focus of those involved!

Staying at the moment with a chinese girl who is moving out of Beijing next month to the west of China, in her neighborhood are no tourists at all and visiting the local underground market was an exhilarating experience with people trying to help me buy the vegetables and fruits I needed communicating only with smiles and sign language...

Ozora Festival 2011 Video Part 1

2011-08-30T00:22:00.002+03:00

Ozora was magic once again, big story (should be updating more often, will do) but I found myself back to Europe because my dog got sick, fortunately she managed and since she was better I dropped by my favorite festival in Europe... so this is a video with impressions, another one with the main dancefloor is coming soon :) Love n light!! :)

8 sweet puppies searching for home in Greece :)

2011-06-17T16:39:00.006+03:00

Once again street puppy dogs are calling for your help!!!

There are 8 puppies, 5 from a stray mother which were born just a few months before and 3 unfortunate abandoned puppies (somebody placed them on the beach while being only 1 month old!), a total of 8 puppies. They are all very sweet, playful and lovely. Of course no pure breed, mixed, female and males.

They are all in Agioi Apostoloi which is 50km out of Athens, near Kalamos and Oropos. At the moment its Summer but I doubt they will be able to survive during the hard winter, when the people who are living there move out thus no people to take care of them and the cold comes down hard, rain and snow. Plus the place is known for dog poison (fola) which some people who believe strays shouldn't exist throw on the streets from time to time, especially when they are many and attract a lot of attention. I have personally witnessed whole family of puppies and mother vanish in less than a week in that place in the past...

So this is a call for help, for you or any friends of yours who would love to have a new dog at his/her house. I can't take any of them as we have already taken in two medium-big size dogs, the last one an injured handicapped pup the same as them, from the same place last year.

I am not in Greece at the moment so for anybody interested please contact my brother Victor for more details at the mobile number (+30) 6946687813. You will need a car to go and pick up the puppy if you decide on keeping one of them.

Lets do our best to find these innocent happy souls a new home!!! :)

Back to Japan: Ukiha :)

2011-05-23T18:37:00.006+03:00

After three months in India and Nepal, which sadly I didn't manage to do any post due to lack of time or too much happening, I finally came back to one of my favorite countries, Japan :)

I based myself in Ukiha, a beautiful town in Kyushu on the south of the country,

visiting friends,

chilling in shrines,

relaxing in hot springs

and diving into delicious food...

Spring has came in Japan

so decided it was about time to go look for a bicycle to buy and then cross the country from Fukuoka to Tokyo by bicycle...

Back to Istanbul on the way to India

2011-02-14T16:57:00.002+02:00

Somehow found out about a new bus line going straight from Athens to Istanbul in just 16 hours for 60 euros one way and decided to use it :)

Rain and cold in Athens, Im so delighted entering the bus to see it has very comfortable seats, super clean, Lcd screen for every seat (on the back of the front seat) in which they have some movies and animation (in Turkish) but you can plug your usb and play your music and divx movies! There is a service guy who comes every two hours around and gives free sweets, water, tea and coffee!

Passport check on the border is very straight forward and fast, a few people, a big contrast to the train where they have to check so many people and wait for an hour or so.

So back to Istanbul, a really beautiful city. Didn't take so many photos this time, as I took too many the last time a few months ago when it was warm, but haven't posted or published anything yet... This time it’s a bit too cold to go juggling on the streets, I meet my friend and his family, they are so nice to me and his mother is cooking some amazing delicious stuff, especially without meat. I feel like part of their family and I am so lucky to be with them, such wonderful people. They say Im too skinny and should eat a lot before going to India :D And as a tea lover I enjoyed endless Turkish tea!

Was pretty cold as well so no juggling under the Galata tower this time, walking around a bit but sometimes it was so freezing that I had to enter shopping centers to get some warmth. At least this one had a nice fountain with music and kids looking amazed :)

The way to Sabiha airport is a long one, because its way out of town. The close by Ataturk airport is expensive to fly out-in so cheap airlines fly to Sabiha. Metrobus change to the Turkish side and almost on the end of the line change to another bus going to the airport. Very strange this bus goes up to mountains and all kinds of places and seemed that nobody was going to the airport. One guy with lots of facial and long hair was looking at me, at some point started talking, he though I was from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He looked like a communist something with his small hat and stuff. Then I told him Im from Yunnanistan and going to India. He was delighted, greeted Salam Alekum and smiling. On the end finally reached the airport, not so many people flying out from there, mostly people getting in. Found my flight, checked in and it was time to wait, good thing they have free WiFi.

Next destination… India :)

Ozora Festival 2006-2010 Photobook & Notebook PUBLISHED!

2011-01-16T19:06:00.003+02:00

FREE SHIPPING UNTIL THE 31st of JANUARY more info below

Finally, I finished my two books about Ozora Festival covering the years 2006-2010.

One color photobook (size 18x18cm or 7x7 in), 120 pages with more than 300 photos complete with layouts, themes, quotes and lots of positive energy and emotions.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1924742

And another one to be used as a notebook or diary to write on (size 15x23cm or 6x9in), with 440 pages with photos from Ozora Festival 2006-2010 on the background of the pages. All the photos are black and white, most of them cropped, on the background of the pages and transparent enough to be able to write on them clearly. If you would like to have them in color and original form, please check the normal photobook above. So now you can carry with you this amazing positive vibe of the gathering and the beautiful smiles of the people everywhere you go on this planet. With many pages, so no needed to change your journal soon, a few maps, calendar and open air festivals schedule all over the globe.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1924826

Screenshots and preview of the books:

Ozora Festival 2006-2010 Photobook

You can preview all the pages of the book with more detail here:

Ozora Festival 2006-2010 by Dia KL | Make Your Own Book

PsyNotebook Ozora Festival

You can preview all the pages of the book with more detail here:

PsyNotebook Ozora Festival by Dia KL | Make Your Own Book

Costs & Shipping

The color Ozora photobook is available for 25 euros while the Ozora notebook for 16.5 euros.

SHIPPING COSTS ARE FREE UNTIL THE 31st of JANUARY!!

Please use the following codes when you order from blurb, depending on where you are shipping to:

if you are shipping to the US: SHARE

------------//---------------- UK: SHAREUK

------------//------------Europe: SHAREEU

------------//------------Canada: SHARECAN

------------//------------Australia: SHAREAUD

you will enter the code just before the checkout, don't be alarmed when blurb shows you the shipping costs on the start of the order, choose the cheap shipping option and before you complete you can add the code to the box and then shipping costs will disappear.

Free shipping exists for only ONE order up to 3 books for every person.

After January 31st the shipping costs for 1-3 books order, is a flat 6€ for Europe, 4£ for the UK, 7$US for the USA, 8$CAN for Canada and 10$AUD for Australia.

In a single order it is not possible to have a color and a B&W book together (blurb printing methods something), so if you would like to buy both of the books you either do two separate orders with different names (so you can use the free shipping twice) or contact me.

--!I have noticed that in some cases shipping to some countries include a small tax of around 1 €£$!—

Blurb payment methods include Paypal, American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard. If you have any problem in ordering please contact me to assist.

Enjoy, hope to see you again under the sun on the dancefloor :)

All photos & artwork by Dia KL

Homeless puppy searching for home PART2

2010-09-07T15:53:00.002+03:00

So the desperate quest for finding a home for Naya (the name we gave her) continues. We have updates and news. We took Naya to vets and we have interesting facts. She is around 8-10 months old and weights around 13 kilos. She has NO BROKEN BONES, her disability is due to a nerve problem, which most probably was cause by a car accident. By the time will heal, but it will need time and not 100% recovery. We have her now for one week and she is already moving her leg much more!! We give her medication to strengthen up her nerve system and vitamins.
I wish we could keep Naya, but we can't. We already have a dog (Yuna) which we took from the streets 3 years ago in a bad condition, we loved her and kept her, despite my mothers and brothers allergies. But with two dogs their allergy will go much worse. I am leaving Greece in mid-October to go back to travel, I can't leave my family with two dogs to take care... so I am in a DESPERATE SEARCH FOR A HOME FOR NAYA, as soon as possible.

I am willing to chip her, do the paperwork (have already health certificates), and TAKE A FLIGHT TO ANY COUNTRY IN EUROPE to deliver her to a home with love and care :)
If you or anyone is interested on Naya please send me a message, lets save another dog from the streets of Greece, especially this one that needs more love and care :)

Confession of a 3 months homeless puppy

2010-08-30T14:55:00.003+03:00

...my name? I do not know. Nobody gave me one. I was born on the streets and from the first moment of my my life I knew it would be a hard one and I would be on my own. But I said to myself that I will do my best to survive and be a good dog. Even when that night the car did not see me, hit me and broke my leg, I did not loose my faith. Ever since, I limp. Every step with my three functioning legs hurt because I have to drag my other broken leg on the ground, which leaves me a small fresh wound every day. But again I do not give up. I run around with the other homeless dogs. I tried to chase the cat. I went in search of food. I can do everything the other dogs can do. I tried to give love so I can then, receive love...

The other three grown up homeless dogs do not give any attention to me. I understand and Im happy they are around, so I am not the only one. Some peple are nice and try to help us. The old lady that comes and leave us food from time to time. The two brothers that provide us fresh water every morning and night and some food. I want to be near the people and play with them. But I do not understand why they do not like me... even when some of the kids want to play with me, some angry grown up will shout and chase me away... why do they do that? What wrong did I do to them...?

The two brothers are nice to me, I like them. They also have a dog which I play with. They always play with me and somehow I feel they love me. So happy to see them that I follow them everywhere they go near my place. And when they go up to their small apartment open door, I go and sleep outside their door to show how much I love them. But again, angry grown ups are not happy to see me. They tell to their kids not to touch me or play with me. Most of the kids like me but one tried to hit me with a piece of wood to chase me away. Fortunately one brother saw it and stopped it. Went happy to sleep again outside the door but this time another grown up run towards me shouting, was so scared I had to run away. They say Im peeing on the stairs and they have to clean it. I am so sorry about it.

Now all the people on the floor are picking on the brothers about me, that they bring me on the floor and this should not happen. Because some people believe Im dirty and I will make them sick. But I am not dirty. I clean myself everyday. I am so sorry about it. I am afraid to go up so I wait for them in the dark, maybe they will come for me.

And in September some people from the village will throw poison for us homeless dogs, as they do for so many years now. I might be tricked, eat it and die in horrible pain. Why do they hate us so much...? So I want to confess my biggest sin as I understand now, I am so sorry I was born in this world, your world, where nobody wants me. The only thing I want is a small warm place to call home and some love...

These are real facts and the 3 month puppy is looking for a home. If anyone is interested I will deliver it anywhere and I will pay the expenses for its health care for its leg, vaccines, everything, will deliver and happy healthy puppy. Please leave me a message or give me a call at +306938881696 if interested.

A day in Athens... :)

2010-06-02T01:36:00.008+03:00

People use all kinds of things to express themselves... I think for me photography and writing does the thing :) So through my photos and some thoughts I would like to share with you this day that went by in Athens...

It started off in the afternoon, in a japanese restaurant... have a new friend there, people think she doesn't talk, but she observes and knows everything and even more... she whispered to me while going out the door... "time is almost here for you to go back to your life traveling again... this time even further, to faraway lands and people... but one thing that traveling taught you is to seize the day and live and enjoy every moment... so do this today, in this beautiful day in Athens"

I went by one of the most central places, Syntagma square. I saw a homeless dog begging for food in some woman who was sitting on a bench eating something. She wasn't feeling any pity for the dog and was trying to make it go away.
In his eyes, there was just a bit of sadness. But then again, if you looked really into that beautiful eyes, there was one feeling that conquered everything else... "absolute freedom" :) Maybe he didn't manage to get food from that woman, but he would manage from the next one. He is free to do as he likes, even by living on the streets. Absolute freedom comes with lots of sacrifices I guess... but if you taste it, its so sweet, you never want to let it go again...

I proceeded a bit and found this tough pigeon. I was reading recently that in India the eyes of the people talk better than the language. I agree and I will take it even further, not only in India or humans, but to animals as well. So this pigeon gave me this fierce look with his red eyes as if telling me I should get moving not disturbing him. And I did after telling him that I would come back to feed him some corn to ease his heart and mind :)

Then I found myself in one of the touristic spots, the front of the Parliament with the guards and the monument to the unknown soldier. As usual, there was one soldier taking care that everything is in order. His eyes were going around and around on the crowd... I tried to read them and felt like maybe he would like to throw out his military uniform and join the crowd as a spectator as well...

And so these are the soldiers which are called "evzoni". Beautiful aren't they? :)

Started walking away but then I was a bit amazed by one specific pigeon doing some patterns with his feathers. Only for a few seconds, so was happy I managed to catch the moment. Felt like a display of power! But only for a few seconds... and I believe this is the way. The real powerful don't need to show their power. They have nothing to prove because they are content within their souls and minds. Maybe from time to time they just want to remember who they are so they display it only for just a bit, as this pigeon did. And then went back to his humble self... humbleness is a virtue not easily found... I always believed that only by being lower than the lowest, then you can learn to be higher than the highest...

And so continued to one of my favorite places on the center, and one of the few green ones, the national gardens. There is some kind of art exhibition going on with art statues scattered all over, with the name "the soul of the place". One of the security guards was getting a lot of questions from mostly male visitors hihi...

Found this one quite interesting and liked the reflections :)

hehe this priest there for some reason he wasn't really in his best mood... :D

Walking around I stumbled upon this one... dont know exactly what the artist wanted to present, but I guess the beauty of art is that everyone can perceive it on his/her own way :) So for me, this represented the souls of some people... they are in a situation in which its not their favorite, but instead of making the move and changing everything, they compromise and continue doing what they are doing... and the years go by and the "fence" arounds them grows more and more... because there is one thing they can't stop, and this is time going by, which goes really fast.
When the "fence" is still low, if you search deep inside you can find the will and energy to do a big leap and jump over it to the unknown. You will not know if its gonna be better or worse, but you will know you are going for it with all your heart and soul. And if again you find yourself in a situation not pleasant and the fence is building up again, then off you go again... and maybe from leap to leap at some point, you will find the peace somewhere that will not make the fence grow anymore, no matter the years going by... :)

There was this lady sitting very close by. For some reason I wanted to catch her on a photo, but she wasn't very ease with the camera (resulting to really fast shooting->not the best focus). Its always the people who give most of the energy in a place... :)

One of my favorite birds is the sparrow. Im so happy we have many here in Athens, found some today in the gardens as well. So cute small little fellows, they live free flying around, sneaking in and taking food from the pigeons (:D) and being happy... maybe in another life I will be a sparrow too :)

Fly away little sparrow, fly away free... :)

My road took me near Kallimarmaro stadium, its the place where the Panathenaic games took place in honour of the goddess Athena :) So where hundreds of people used to sit and watch ancient greeks compete naked, today was a girl from India taking her small experience of history... :)

The seasons are really overlapping the last few years... transition from Spring to Summer goes so fast... but Spring always leaves some of its marks so we never forget her beauty due to the endless sunshine and warmth of Summer... :)

Afterwards this cat said hi ;) I was entering the cat world which is...

Up these stairs, is my shortcut going home from the center. Apart of being so much peaceful and nice, its a haven for homeless cats.

And there they were, all these homeless kitties... so beautiful in their own special way... :)

I found one nice lady who was giving them some food. We smiled to each other and sat down for some talking, she told me she was vaccinating all the kitties and feeding them. All from her expenses... she is part of one of the animal rights groups of Athens. A few years ago, the state gave them just a bit of money for the expenses and their effort to the homeless population of dogs and cats... now they give them nothing. So they are paying for everything. She told me she was sad because she couldn't sterilize them all due to lack of founds, but she has managed to get good prices on the vets. So nice this lady... and then she told me that the future lies on our hands, the youth! That we should take our lives to our hands, survive and even further, go search for our dreams, be awaken not to be driven like sheep from todays system that makes the world go round... she also told me how happy she was that more and more of the youth are starting to wake up and seek alternative and different things... she added "if you don't seek, you will never find"... I loved her, wanted to take a photo of her but she refused politely cause she told me that many people dont like her helping the animals because they dirty the pavements...
There is another cat lady very closeby there who also takes care of the cats, and this is the entrance to her home where 30 cats find refuge. Its a poem about cats, once I saw her and talked to her, she told me that animals are better than humans and understand so much more...

Once again on my way to home, a happy father was taking his daughter back home after another school day...

I know Athens is definitely not a city which you would call really beautiful, but apart of the overcrowded touristic spots, it has some small little spots like this doorway which I like a lot :)

Passed by this abandoned house (?) which I always felt like that it would a perfect squat :)

And then I entered a church. Im not religious, but I am spiritual. And I have reasons to believe, as life taught me when the hard times were there... it doesn't matter which religion. Culture makes people having their own different religion, but for me, if you are good, feel good and do good, then you are on the right path. Christians, Muslims, Buddists, Hindus... we are all brothers and sisters and we should start focusing on all the things that connects than the things that keep us apart.

I love candles. Good for meditation, good for the soul. A small breath of appreciation for all the gift of life... :)

And once again going home, I just stopped and saw this little colorful shop with all kinds of spices, tea and herbs.. have never seen it before, and its so close to my place. Didn't even think about it, stepped in and smile to smile I found myself chilling and having a nice little chat with the girl owner and her friend. Its two years old and its going pretty well. I told them about traveling and they were really happy. I wished her all the best for her shop and the told me that she believes that if there is good positive energy, than always good things happen... sooooooo nice!!! :)

And so that was one of my regular days in Athens... maybe ordinary, but again, so special on its own way... I enjoyed every moment of it :) I hope you are doing the same, wherever you are, with all the lovely people :) Enjoy, give and receive lots of love and keep on smiling... :)

PS. Entering home I found our dog hiding under a desk, she is so afraid of the rain, with the tiniest drops she gets scared like crazy... :D

Ozora festival 2009, Hungary

2009-11-25T16:07:00.001+02:00

The only festival I've been 3 times and I just cant get enough... and once again magic happened this last August of 2009 in the green valley of Ozora in Hungary... the most happy crazy wonderful beautiful people on earth gathered and we danced under the sun and shared all the good energy and smiles... this video is for all of you!!! Simply the best :)
Love and Light :)

Europe 2009 :)

2009-11-12T02:18:00.002+02:00

A video I made from this year wandering in Europe... happy wonderful people and nice experiences...

Love & Light :)

The journey never ends... :)

2009-10-31T01:05:00.030+02:00

Birds love in Amsterdam... because we all need to share the love around :)

Happy hello again!
Its been again almost 2 months since I last wrote from the south of France. In the end I didn't find work harvesting grapes there...but I found the same in lower Austria! And even better, I was involved in all the process of making wine which was really interesting. I would never imagine that making wine would require so hard work, the harvest of the grapes which many people complain about was the easiest part. Furthermore, the wine grower I worked for is selling his wine only in private circles and at his "heuriger" which is a traditional Austrian restaurant style which serves its own wine. So it was TOP quality! First glass of wine came usually around noon on the break. And afterwards, in every break-launch-dinner whatever, wine was endless wonderful :D Hard work but so much fun! The winegrowers were so nice to me, I almost felt part of the family, they even cooked food for me without meat!! And oOoooOo some of the most delicious food I've tasted ever!!! :) I think I was so lucky to work for them, really wonderful nice people! Also there I met a 69 years old guy who was/is a real hippie when he was in his youth. I liked to drink with him listening to his stories when he hitched in Greece on the 60s, crossing north Africa with his motorcycle on the 70s, getting a boat working there and going all the way to Australia where he embarked and found a job in a circus, going around in Uzbekistan and all kinds of amazing stuff... and oh my, he was still so young in the heart, his eyes full of flames, always having fun while working together!

Yeap, that was the easy part, collecting the grapes... :) :D :P

Thats the motorcycle he crossed north of Africa on the 70s... RESPECT!!!! :)

During my time hitching out of Austria towards Slovenia it was so freezing I had to jump up and down with my sign...but got some rides, one even with a crazy super luxury BMW and the guy even pressed some buttons and warmed up my seat! When its too cold to hitch, it means you need to change continent... ;)

But before I leave Vienna, I met some really special friends there. Apart from being happy wonderful people, they are also musicians, playing the hang, an UFO shaped instrument from Switzerland with magic sound. They play on the streets, on festivals, anywhere, they travel the world with their music and making people dream... so I met them in the streets of Vienna by the cathedral and had a magical street music night, full of positive energy, love, smiles, laughs, so many wonderful feelings. Ah ok and a bit of wine+beer too hehe :D And it wasn't only us, but almost all the people who were passing by as well. It was so amazing to watch them stop, listen and then just closing their eyes, moving a bit of their body and letting themselves dive into the magic of the moment created by everybody and the hang music... its the same people I met in a paradise ecovillage in Hungary some months before, then getting all the positive energy of the world in Ozora festival and then again in the streets of Vienna... we call it the ding dong connection :)

DING DONG CONNECTION!!!! :) :) :)

Amin and Norbi making magic in the streets of Vienna with the Hang

They left for Ljubljana to play in a legalization festival, I went a few days after because I wanted to chill out a bit more after working with the wine and also visiting a good friend. In Ljubljana I did a small trek climbing a small mountain with a church on the top. Up there the view was great and I was filled with strong feelings of freedom and bliss... then I met one of these happy musicians, she was still there and as I found she had just hit the road for good with no real plans! Absolute no plans means absolute freedom and going with the flow yeah! :) DREAM BUT NOT PLAN!! So we went around a bit to the squats there which are truly wonderful. Full of colours and vibrating alternative energy! On the one squat she was staying (ROG), at night we had a "sound bath" session. In a room lit only by candles, we lay on mattresses on the floor. And there was one man, just one man, playing so many instruments, from gongs, didgeridoos and flutes to Buddist bells and Indian sitar, he played some of the best ambient dreaming live music sessions of my life! And we were just four people there, laying on the mattresses by the candles, each one of us living his/her own moment, taking his own ambient dream and feeling the energy connecting us, which kept us warm even when the temperature was quite cold. It was really special...

On the top of the small mountain overlooking Ljubljana.

Happy people :)

In ROG squat where we had the sound bath session.

Metelkova, the most known squat :)

Then I went on to Croatia. Where I had an amazing time meeting some happy wonderful people! Honestly, it was once again, laughing, smiling and loving overdose!! Sooooooooo good! It was the super alternative colorful law student girl. Super cheerful, super happy loud and so cool! Intelligent to know that apart of her heavy studies she needs to live life to the fullest as well...and she did! Her happy flatmate which she just got back from abroad and had so fresh the amazing happy nostalgic freedom feelings that only traveling can give you. We talked a lot and she made a deep impression to me with her thoughts and views about life which were quite similar to mine. A very chilled and peaceful no stress character which could turn into a party animal and blow the night away dancing and smiling. Simply lovely wonderful!
And there was something more: I met a guy who was one of the coolest, happiest funny persons! With his photo camera and good energy, together with some other happy people, we had a great night drinking beer, smiling and talking. But what was the special thing about him? Something that for me didn't make any difference, but for some people does. He was deaf. But he could read lips and sign language. We communicated in english with a piece of paper and pen. And I was so happy, because where I grew up, you can't meet people like him. Because they are afraid to go on public, because many people react weird. But he wasn't like that at all. Super cool and sociable, I had so much fun with him and good connection! I wish for the society that nobody cared about somebody being deaf and that you could meet people like him everywhere. Found out that he is trying to make some events to bring other deaf people closer to the public, interact and hopefully starting to have a life as everybody has. He is my HERO!!! :)

Happy people :)

On my last afternoon in Zagreb we went juggling on the park. Creative energy and random people start joining. One of them was an old guy who was homeless, and at that specific moment, pretty drunk. He was clapping and looking at us juggling. He seemed happy :D I went at him and gave him a handshake with a smile. And he was so thrilled and even more happy!! I dont care that he was drunk. I know how it is to be homeless. You are stigmatized and all these "normal" (?) people look at you like a piece of shit. Some even kick you out of places because a homeless is always something to be avoided. Something things may get even worse. Being treated like this, with nobody giving them even the smallest sign of love and existence, the most of the homeless become more and more outcasts of society. Well, I dont know if it matters, but that afternoon, I wanted to give to that homeless guy a little bit of love and the feeling that there are still some people in this world who care about him. And it was amazing, the guy was so happy, super big smile, jumping around, trying to juggle (drunk xD), hugging me and handshaking me. Well on the end he really wanted to do some acrobatics which got me scared, he could smash his bones. But fortunately he didn't :) He even kissed me the way a father is kissing his chid, on the forehead and then he disappeared. I hope the next day he remembered the whole thing so he can get some positive energy :)

And then it was time for some more happy wonderful people, this time in Serbia!! It was the couple I stayed with which gave me so much! Their combined energy was really great, even their parents were simply amazing and took so good care of me, buying me breakfast every morning and giving me rakia. I met their families, experienced their lives, their thoughts, their love for each other, it was great! It was the two girls who were studying Greek and Japanese (!!), spending an afternoon together walking, smiling, smoking some shisha with tea and sharing our dreams and thoughts. It was the two sisters and him a nice night watching festival movies (Ozora!!), smiling and longing for the dancefloor under the sun to reunite us once again. And it did, maybe not under the sun but in a small but powerful local party in Belgrade, in an indian cozy place. The music was some of the best with all my favorite oldschool tracks pounding the sound system and I couldn't help myself dancing up and down with all my soul. And it was so wonderful, some special festival people were dancing there with all their heart as well! I could feel their amazing energy, our eyes met, we exchanged smiles and then the magic of the dancefloor happened again, were good friends without even knowing each other! Dancing everybody on its own but all together as well, we shared our energy, love and bliss that night... :) Happy beautiful wonderful people... :)

Happy people :)

And then I went to Skopje, where I spent only a few days with some more happy people but enough to strengthen my main point of views about the people. That in the end w are all humans with our emotions and dreams. Politics brainwash the people and drug them into the world of lies and filthy games. So afterwards its easy to manipulate and control. But there are the ones who are open enough to see what is going on around them. The ones who don't compromise and don't receive all the bullshit as passive sheep, but are seeking and spreading the truth. So maybe if all these people unite, maybe we could solve many problems, finding solutions based on the needs of the people and not stupid politics...

So it was time to go visit my home country. But before going back to Athens to meet my family and dog which I love so much even being far away all the time, I made a stop in beautiful Thessaloniki. In Ozora festival I met a Greek young couple which impressed me deeply because their combine energy was extra ordinary. Both free, both travelers, both festival goers, both openminded, both intelligent, both enjoying and sharing every moment with lots of smiles. I was so happy to meet them in the festival, but I wanted to meet them again, so I visited them in Thessaloniki. And this was the best thing I could have done entering once again my home country. I received so much love from them that Im still overwhelmed... their energy, smiles and love for each other filled me with joy!! :)

I tried to hitch my way back to Athens but I failed. Hitching all day and absolutely NOBODY stopped, not even to ask something. I got very few smiles form the hundreds of cars and many suspicious and in times angry faces who even shouted at me. It happens in other countries too sometimes, but definitely not to this extend. As its my 2nd time failing to hitch in Greece, I know now my home country is not open enough for hitchers, as of many reasons. But the sky was blue and the sun was shining! :) And maybe the drivers were not happy, but the old people at that tiny village near the motorway were more than happy! They talked to me, greeted me, smiled and helped me being curious asking about my life. And then I saw this homeless dog that reminded me my own dog. I smiled and as if the dog understood, jumped on me with happiness! He stayed with me during all my time in the village, giving me his hand, licking my trousers and hands and resting his head on my feet. Some people when they saw him approaching they were telling him to go away. He always tried to put his feet on the bench and bring his eyes near mine. This dog, even living on the streets had so much love in him... but suddenly the bus came and the driver wasn't very happy with my big backpack so I had to throw everything inside and go fast. And I will never forget, when I looked back at the open bus door, the dog was still there looking at me with a sad face... he even put his head in the bus, as if telling me goodbye and pulled it out as the driver pushed the button to close the door... I shed a tear in the bus for this dog, which at the time of my solitude, having failed to hitch, he was there for me, to give me his love which he didn't receive on the streets... I will never forget this dog...

So... I am now in a night train going back to Athens. People talking, sleeping, playing with their mobiles... everything seems normal... but its not. Because the journey never ends. I feel blessed that I met all these happy beautiful wonderful people, YOU! Because you gave me true love asking nothing back... special people. I travel around hoping to meet you everywhere and once again this year in Europe was very much fulfilling. But now I feel like Asia is calling back... things to be done, experienced and learned... we think with our minds but we should live with our hearts :)

I will leave you here for now... stay as you are because you are special and continue chasing your dreams, we are one. Wishing you love and light wherever you are... until our paths cross again :)

Yours,
Dia :)

"Happiness is only true when shared" I read somewhere ;)

From here to there feeling the connection :)

2009-10-04T21:47:00.003+03:00

Sunset in the cranes in Copenhagen, a few months ago

Hello hello… :)

Once again it has been a while since I wrote last time. There were many times I started writing and then I got so full with my emotions that I stopped writing. But tonight, I want to write. I guess I write for me. And then I like to share, with you… :) Happiness is true when it is shared, I read somewhere. Maybe its true :)

So I guess last time I wrote was around 2 months ago. Lots of stuff happened, I think I will write more often. From Copenhagen I went to a massive festival in Denmark , made some money in recycling, then hitched back to Amsterdam where I chilled for a bit. Then off to Hungary and Ozora festival, a bit of Budapest , off to Vienna , then a small stop in Munich and now where Im writing these lines Im in a window under the moon, facing the roofs of Lyon … :)

On my way to Amsterdam I made a stop to visit a good friend in a German town just by Hamburg . I slept under a bridge. And it was so beautiful. How can be sleeping under a bridge be so beautiful…? Was cold and wet, so was crouching inside my sleeping bag. But on the first light I could see the trees. And then it started raining. And it was so beautiful, to just listen and watch the rain dropping on the trees, sleeping under a bridge… no people, just the sound of the rain and the small stream below the bridge.

And then I visited a woman, which I met out of the blue, hitching from Berlin to Germany . She is one of the most remarkable persons I have met. Almost in her fifties, but still so young, full of life and love, and so beautiful :) Beauty in the soul many times reflects the appearance too… :) She is doing many things, teaching kids that there is a different truth out there and most important, making them understand, in their own way, how to help the people. She is the “chosen” mother of a kid in India , which she will go visit soon. And I was thrilled to see the results of her work, on the writings of the kids. Kids writing about how they want to travel the world and help those in need, open organizations and clinics, help the animals, experience the unexperienced… things sometimes people my age do not even imagine, these kids had them in their minds. I can just simply respect and say thank you to this woman, giving hope and love to the world. And we talked and talked, about life, about dreams, spirituality, hopes and love. And she told me amazing things. She is the kind of person you can listen to all night and day with a glass of wine :)

Chilled out in Amsterdam for almost a month, and then went back to Hungary , for one of my favorite festivals, Ozora festival. And once again, it filled my heart with so much joy, love, happiness, freedom and bliss… how can it be that in that green Hungarian valley, around 12000 people gathered once again, and they shared so much love and smiles and good energy… it is a month now since it has finished, and I am still overwhelmed… once again I danced and danced all day under the sun. With all these amazing beautiful wonderful people. Smiling to each other, knowing in our hearts that everything in this world can be better, if we continue to have each other, connecting and sharing love and peace.

On my last night, something amazing happened. With some wonderful friends, we lighted up a big paper lantern and holding hands, we released it to the sky. With our love, dreams, thankfulnes, and hopes for the future. It went up high to the starry sky and I felt all the good energy being released. I smiled and let myself to the bliss and happiness of the moment. It was a silent prayer, for all of us… that night, after a wonderful conversation, I climbed a hill. And there I put my sleeping bag and slepted under the stars… overlooking all the valley where this amazing gathering had taken place. And I was so happy, I could not sleep. From my happiness, I did not feel the cold but instead I felt so much warm.

All these stars up there shining bright to me, I was contemplating all the energy I got from that gathering. And was thinking about a small island in the Philippines , which is where I used to sit under the stars as a kid, because there was no electricity. And they told me that the stars are like the people, all together in the sky, but each one alone, making its path, following its own dreams. People who leave this world become stars, and the brightest the star the better was the soul of the person, so it shines bright down to earth reminding everybody of its kindness. I loved the connection of the people with the stars. I still believe in it. And I found out something very interesting.. Sometimes two stars come close to each other. And then the gravity of the one starts to use the gravity of the other, pulling them slowly slowly, shanti shanti together. It takes a long time, but in the end, the stars meet each other. And then, they stay together forever as one, with their energy creating a huge explosion that shakes the galaxy, which is known as supernova. Maybe the same thng can happen with people… :)

After Ozora, spent some days in Budapest and then went to Vienna to visit a friend. I spent some time with some really wonderful people, connecting, dancing, smiling, creating, sharing love and happiness. Everybody went on its way, so did I, and found myself here in Lyon, in the south of France . And tomorrow I will be on the road again, going to every village-town on the way to the north, trying to find a job picking up grapes in the vineyards. Picking season started early this year, and I am late as usual, many of the teams are full, but I have nothing to loose. Most probably will be sleeping somewhere out on the nature again :)

My last afternoon in Vienna I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. Its amazing how every sunset in your life is so special. Purple, orange and red explosion of colours and clouds that looked like from a painting filled the sky. I felt rejoiced and very happy to be able to enjoy that simple fulfilling moment… On my way out of Vienna , I hitched again, towards Germany . Got some rides a few hundreds km, but then I got a ride that dropped me on the wrong motorway. And after staying there for a few hours, exchanging smiles with people who were going to the opposite direction, I saw a young couple, a red haired girl with a blue haired guy, full of tattoos with their baby. They looked at me for afar, and I felt that if they stop, I will take this ride, no matter where they go. And of course, they were going to a city on the opposite direction where I was going, around 200+km. But I did not care. So I sat in the back with two dogs, which the one thought I was a lollipop and was licking me all the way :) And what a beautiful way it was through the Austrian mountains. Had a full moon and reached the city at nighttime. Slept on the park with a homeless old guy, and later on an super drunk old guy joined. He was a mix of an artist-philosopher, with his sunglasses (at 3am), long white hair and clothes. With a beer in hand was shouting some German, laughing like a pig and giving the finger to the cops on their face shouting “fuck the police”. He gave me a warm handshake and introduced himself. So much fun. Mumbling in German, he was telling me after “happy sleep haha, happy sleep”. Lots of fun. But around 4am the cold was really getting into my spine, so I decided to go find a warmer place, and I did by a bank where the walls were really narrow.. And from there, apart of sleeping a bit, I watched how the night turned into day, in the city of Graz :) And it was a beautiful sunrise! All the night was worth it!! :)

Its amazing, all these simple things, can fill us with so much bliss. This peacefullness that we all have inside us, but many people do not manage to reach anymore, because they have forgoten to enjoy the moment and live the present. Because their stress for the future blindfolds them. Or sometimes they are stuck in the past… I wish all the people could feel this feeling. The feeling that you want to go out on the streets and start hugging and kissing all the people you meet in your path. But there are people who manage to reach this bliss. If only we could all unite and try to make this world a better place, united and loud. Maybe we could succeed… :)

What is this all about…? Making money? Having a career? Expensive cars? Making a family, kids, grandkids…? I do not know, I do not think I am the person to say. But what I can say, is that we should go after our dreams, no matter what the cost or what society and people say. And the ones who really love you, will understand your path, respect, appreciate and love you even more. Doing the things you love, will make you realise the love you have for yourself, your inner being. And after accepting and loving yourself in everybit, you can then love others too. But love in the pure form. The kind of love you give and expect nothing back from where you give. The love that has no commitments, no contracts, no laws, no bonds, absolute freedom. And this pure love, is the strongest one. Feeling this, then life becomes more colorful, wherever was black there is now white, where there were troubles there is hope. Even through the ups and down, which of course they exist in life, they take part in a higher level. The universe rewards the ones who take risks on its behalf and when you give love, it will give it back to you, one way or another. I believe this very strong by now, because I have witnessed it many times. So I choose to continue living my life free, trying to give as much as I can… :) Because it is all about the people… :)

So these are my thoughts at the moment, Im happy to share with you. Before I finish I would like to say how much I love my family, who are always by me with their energy and love, even being always so far away. My father, mother and brother (and my dog), who never opposed me, no matter what path I choose to take in this life :)

I send you a lots of love, light, happiness and a big smile :)

Yours, Dia :)

Ozora 2009 hang opening

2009-09-23T21:42:00.002+03:00

These are two good friends and brilliant musicians, Norbi from Hungary and Christian from Austria, opening the Ozora 2009 festival playing the Hang and their magic music in front of thousands of crazy crowd!! :)

Video by Dia :)
[Ozora 2009 video coming soon!!]

Traveling with Dia DVD

2009-02-01T17:08:00.004+02:00

Finally I created my 1st DVD available for sale hihi :) If you like the 2 videos posted before, then you will like this one :)

Watch the trailer:

And if you wanna buy it from here:
EBAY Traveling with Dia DVD

Thank you!!! :)

Somewhere in the Philippines :)

2008-12-29T00:45:00.001+02:00

I went back to the Philippines this Summer, after a long time of absence... spend a couple of months, mostly in Molocaboc island, a tiny island in the Visayas with no running water, no electricity apart of a few home generators, no streets, no cars... just nature, people, animals and lots of seafood!!

I was amazed even more by the culture of the people and the love I received from them, having so little, almost nothing, but being able to be happy with it, REAL happy, and wanting to share it... :)

Was really challenging, the simplest things we take for granted there were something to consider, if it didn't rain we didn't have water (water equals with gold in the island...), if we didn't catch fish, we didn't have food... but if somebody had 4 fish for his entire family, he/she would give you the one!!!!

I appreciated once more being born in Europe, having an EU passport and being able to access everything I would ever need in this life... water, food, clothes, we even have more money that we need, so we can travel...

Did some construction work on the island, and took some side trips as well, apart of going to the mainland for supplies from time to time, went to Bohol with its amazing chocolate hills and the cute tiny Philippino Tarsier, Cebu, Cavite and some other smaller towns...

So I wanna make a short documentary with the video I shot, trying to show a little bit of the experience living there... this is a teaser trailer hehe, hopefully will finish the whole thing at some point and upload it somewhere!!

P.L.U.R.

Ozora festival 2008, Hungary!!! :)

2008-10-27T17:13:00.009+02:00

Every year, during the Summer, its time for the open air festivals!! Happy crazy wonderful people all around the world gather to share their energy, smiles and spirit in various open air events all over the world, in Europe as well, known as GOA or Psychedelic festivals.
So we meet again, and dance under the sun for days or catch up enjoying a good chai in a chaishop... absolute freedom of mind, body and soul!!!

I went to Ozora festival this year, in Hungary, was there 2 years ago and loved it, and this year was even better!!! And I decided to create a video to try to transfer a little of the atmosphere of the festival, its a short 20 min. video. Please be a little patient to download, hope you like it!!!

Happy smiles, cu on the dancefloor on 2009!!!

Happy kids mass in Helsinki, Finland :)

2008-10-11T01:13:00.003+03:00

When I was in Helsinki, Finland, was passing by a really wonderful church, and saw many happy kids gathered there. They were entering the church and the priest there said that it was not allowed for tourists. But I was smiling to the kids and playing, so he invited me in!! And it was something we dont have in my place, it was a mass only for kids!! And it was so nice, the kids interacting and smiling and singing. Of course in Finnish, but I could feel the atmosphere, which was really nice!! I was so happy I was able to attend it, it felt like Finland :)

Outside it was freezing cold and I managed to catch a photo I really love, a girl kid giving a hand to another boy kid (I think her brother) to go up the stairs. It was just really magical to see that!! Simple, happy and wonderful kids spirit!!! :)
PS. I had made this post real time, 1 year ago, but somehow the photo was erased, so I decided to repost with more images this time :)

Uppsala, Sweden, a university city!! :)

2008-08-27T01:09:00.008+03:00

I really enjoy visiting university cities!!! 2 years ago I was in Sweden but didn't manage to visit Uppsala, but Im back to Sweden so this time I didn't miss it, so I spent the weekend in this beautiful town, 100km north of Stockholm :)

Apart of the magnificent cathedral which dates back to the 15th century...

There is a lot of green, flowers and beautiful places where you can relax...

But of course the most important element is the university and the students, who give a special feeling to this town!! During their free time, since we are going through the last days of Summer (at least for Scandinavia), they spend a lot of their time on the river banks...

And when they are on the playful mood, I guess they do stuff like this :D Somebody went home without shoes... :)

What I also liked is that the river creates a canal that sweeps through the city, reminded me a little bit of Amsterdam...

And there are some cute dogs around as well, found these two guys in the Botanical gardens...
So if you happen to pass by Sweden, if you have the chance to visit Uppsala Im sure you will leave with a big smile, being a student or not!! :)

Squatting and buying in Sofia, Bulgaria

2008-08-20T10:21:00.002+03:00

I was really recently in Sofia, Bulgaria and one thing that really made an impression to me was these squat shops, called klek, a window in a basement level that sells all kinds of snacks, from coffee, beer etc. to small house stuff, something like an underground minimarket. Kleks are all over Sofia. They are reminders of the past, since western-style mini markets and even bigger stores are everywhere now as well, but at those years, expanding a basement window was cheaper than creating a shop in a ground apartment.

And so this mister has something on his mind to buy and...

There he goes, squatting, having a small chat and buying!

The old, the new and the statue of Liberty in Odaiba, Tokyo!

2008-05-03T13:37:00.004+03:00

Odaiba is one place in Tokyo, Japan to visit for some futuristic design architecture and for some really cool shopping and entertainment districts :) So I couldnt miss this place :) There are many ways to get there, I choose to cross the well known Rainbow Bridge with the train which was quite thrilling :)

When I got there, at some point, I couldnt believe in my eyes, I saw a cartoon like real boat-ferry with lots of people (mostly kids) inside. It is the boat "Going Merry" from the famous anime series "One Piece". Yeap, you can come to Odaiba using this one :D

But then, another thing caught my eye, which I thought it went out straight from a futuristic movie, another ferry-boat vessel, the one you can see below!! I could only say "wow...." :D
From one moment I watch the old style cartoon boat and then I watch this full futuristic "himiko" vessel! Especially during the night with all full neon lighting, it was really spectacular.
" Newly constructed Water Bus “Himiko” Produced by Mr. Leiji Matsumoto,one of the best renowned Japanese cartoonists, now runs from Asakusa to Odaiba Seaside Park, to Hinode Pier and then back to Asakusa.
“Himiko” is a completely unique water bus with its streamline shaped body with 3D windows. Mr. Matsumoto designed based on its concepts, “the image of teardrop” and “the ship appealing to children.” During the daytime the futuristic ship runs through old Edo and modern Tokyo while enjoying 360-degree panoramic view. At night the floor panels are lit up and emphasize the ship’s sophisticated design. “Himiko” is named after Queen Himiko who was the first recognized independent lady in Japanese history."
It costs 1.360 yen to catch a one way ride from Asakusa to Odaiba using Himiko :)

Managed to catch a photo with the two boats together, nice contradiction isn't it? :)
There is even the statue of Liberty there!!! Overlooking with the Rainbow Bridge on its back.
hihihi welcome to Odaiba!! :)

Jokulsarlon, an iceberg lagoon :)

2008-03-08T14:31:00.009+02:00

WAH once again its been a long time since I posted! So decided to skip the Blue Lagoon interior and go to another crazy place in Iceland, Jokulsarlon, a lagoon filled with icebergs :)

Was planning to hitch hike there, but unfortunately there was heavy rain when I got out of my tent, so hitch hiking was out of the question hoho ;) I decided to take the bus from the place I was, 20 min. bus ride to Jokulsarlon costed me around 12 euro! Yeap, Iceland is expensive but its worth it! So when I got down the bus, I was really "wow...." :D

The rain was falling so strong making it extremely difficult to take photos (since I dont have a water resistant camera). But I was determined hihihi, holding with my neck the umbrella up to my head and trying not to be blown away by the strong wind, I gave all the protection to the camera resulting me getting wet, but NOT the camera weeeee :) So I managed to take these photos, even some stitch panoramic ones :) Quite happy about that hehe ;)
In order to comprehend the amount of space of the lake and the icebergs I managed to catch an inflatable boat making its way in the lake. This boat is used for a small tour in the lake, giving close insight of the icebergs and birds chilling on ice :) The guy was doing a test run, and afterwards started taking people on board. But with that kind of rain, I wasnt in the mood :/

Starring at the icebergs my eye caught this bird on the top of an iceberg, I dont know but I love this photo, gives me a serene feeling :)

I then walked along the lake taking random photos and wished for a better weather, the whole place must be magical when the sun shines. Definitely coming back to this place at some point with a better weather.

The lake has a depth of around 200 m. making it the 2nd deepest lake in Iceland.

The icebergs are calving off the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier.

After walking and walking and feeling really amazed by the whole place, I realized that I was extremely wet and the wind was blowing harder, so some of the rain was falling on my camera, no matter the umbrella-neck trick. So I decided it was the time to go into the small tea-house by the lake, which was cramped with people waiting the rain to stop (it didn't) or drinking hot coffee and tea to warm them up. Changed clothes in the toilets and decided to go on my way.
But before I leave, I couldn't resist to take one more panoramic-stitch photo, for the beauty of the place... :)

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland!! (part A - outside)

2008-01-13T19:50:00.000+02:00

I was really excited because in a few minutes I would land in Iceland, a country I always wanted to travel to. But before landing, I saw something outside of my seat window, and I was lucky to be fast enough to grab a photo. "Wow, this must be the famous Blue Lagoon..." I whispered and immediately scenes from sci-fi films came into my mind. It was very near Keflavik airport and I knew this would be my 1st stop en route to Reykjavik.

Yeap, here I was, after a short bus ride, at the entrance. For those of you interested, there is a bus that goes to the Blue Lagoon (Bláa Lónið in Icelandic), stays a while and then continues on to Reykjavik, for the price of 3900 Icelandic Kronas (around 48 euro or 70 US$, yeah Iceland IS expensive), including entrance to the Blue Lagoon. I used hitch hike to save money in Iceland, but only when the weather permitted (not often :D).
I knew Iceland would be something different, and I felt it immediately. I was walking in this lunar path just after the entrance. It felt like I was on a path to the moon ;) It was quite cold (but not freezing) and a light rain had just began. A woman saw me I was checking the rain with my hand open and she told me smiling "this is good weather, you ARE in Iceland you know..." :)

And there I was!! "WoW!!!!" was the only thing in my mind when I first saw this deep blue filling the dark black rocks. Steams were everywhere and I was feeling that after a while I would see some aliens or goblins around :)
In this photo, you can see the geothermal power plant which feeds the lagoon with its water outpout (its behind the fumes). Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal hot water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in, and this is the interior of the Blue Lagoon Complex, a really amazing SPA (this will be the next post, part B).

I went around a little bit feeling totally amazed by the place and then I entered the SPA entrance, it was time to join the people and get IN the hot endless blue!!! What I saw inside was... (to be continued, next post, The Blue Lagoon part B inside) :)

[all photos by Dia]

Article for Slovenian newspaper about Greece & EU

2008-01-06T20:50:00.000+02:00

Soldier in traditional Greek uniform guarding the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, Athens

The Greek flag in Acropolis, Athens

Cats (and dogs) everywhere in Athens

Hello hello!!!! :)
Happy New Year YEAH!!! :) Bye bye 2007, welcome 2008 heheh ;)

A friend of mine asked me to write an article for a Slovenian newspaper, about Greece, the EU, and myself being part of these two. Its because Slovenia will be on the head of the EU from 1st of January till 3oth of June 2008. It required three photos of my choice plus one photo of myself. So the photos in this post are the photos sent, and what I wrote is as follows:

Greece is my home country, I was born and raised in Athens, the capital city, where I have been living so far. I have completed my studies in Business Administration department, TEI of Peiraeus, and have just worked for six months in the National Bank of Greece. I intend to seek occupation in Europe in the near future, and then work of several years in the Far East.

One thing important for Greece is the Mediterranean climate, warm weather and the sun is shining most months of the year! Because of this, Greek people are always in the mood of going out, having fun and partying. The result is that you can find people in the streets no matter what time or day, everyday every time can be a party time in Greece. A funny fact is the “coffee time”. The Greeks can spend in a cafeteria more than three hours, drinking just one coffee! Usually chatting and playing backgammon, a table game.

Hot tempered, funny, outspoken, having no fear to raise voice if they see something wrong, are some of the characteristics of the Greek people today. Of course you can find the stressful and grumpy people you find in all the large cities of the world today. People in the country and especially the islands tend to be more easy-going and cheerful. Country people keep up with the Greek traditions and customs, which tend to disappear in the big cities.

Greece has enjoyed benefits due to tourism, which has been increasing steadily. Tourism infrastructure has boomed and many improvements in the cities and islands have taken place because of the increased number of tourists visiting the country each year. The 2004 Olympic Games was for sure a milestone in the tourist activity and Greek development of Public Works. Not many Greeks travel abroad to other countries, compared to the citizens of the other EU countries. Tourists may still be strangers, but they are eagerly helped and taken care of, especially in non crowded places.

Being part of the EU from an early stage, Greece has gained many benefits that have effects in every sector. Large amounts of funds supplied by the EU have helped to transform the country in a better way. In the city I live in, Athens, the construction of the underground subway (metro), a new airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) and a new road section (Attiki Odos), crossing the whole of Attica region (Athens is part of it) changed our way of living to the better. Transportation has became faster and more reliable.

Traveling always fascinated me and after some years became a way of life for me. Having traveled to the most of Europe, and to almost all the EU countries, being a citizen of an EU country has helped me a lot. With the relaxed border controls (almost non-existent between the EU countries), traveling from an EU country to another has become extremely easy, fast and hassle free. The single currency of EURO has transformed transactions in other countries as if you were in your own country. You can compare prices easily and, most important, no need to change currencies, which is stressful and time consuming. Living and working in another EU country is an option for all of us now. As a result of this freedom, people are able to travel the whole Europe from a young age. People meetings and cultural exchanges between the different EU nations have strengthen our ties as citizens of Europe, but most important as human beings. We discover that no matter how much different we may be, growing up in countries with different culture and way of life, in the end, we are all people, people who learn, enjoy, love and smile. Even without knowing the language of each other, and in cases there is no common language knowledge, there is one international language that all the travelers I have met (including me) have used a lot, and this is nothing else than smiling and having the good will to communicate and understand. This feeling of unification and friendliness is a very pleasant surprise to me.

Another important benefit is the numerous programs that are coordinated by the EU. I have not personally participated in something, but during traveling I have met many people that were using Erasmus and EVS. Everybody was very excited and satisfied with the program. And me as well, being able to meet all these people.

Taking all the above into consideration, I feel privileged to be a citizen of the EU. If there were some things I would like to see from the EU in the future, this would be stronger and more decisive influence on global issues. And for that to be able to happen, all the country members should cooperate and act with priorities on social improvement, a better way of living, protecting the environment and promoting world peace.

Social improvement and a better way of living for all the country members by trying to adjust all the issues to some standards, the European standards, which will be agreed and acknowledged by all the country members. For instance, reducing people working with salaries below the average and without social insurance means reducing corruption as well. Human rights reinforced, especially children protection and rights, because children are the future. For the sake of industrial revolution and progress, we have damaged the environment and the results are already visible, though not so in several parts of Greece. If we do not pay the attention needed, the world which we all live in and care of may suffer, and we will suffer along. In order to achieve coordination in environmental issues, the positive influence of organizations and unions is needed, I believe that the EU can play a major and important role in this. Promoting world peace means providing aid and condemning war actions openly. Negotiations should take place in order to achieve agreements. The EU should have more unity and will, in order to become strong enough to prevent wars.

So, concerning the future of the EU, I hope that new country members will be introduced and that the EU will be more decisive and strong as a universal organization. Disputes between the country members can be reduced, followed by cooperation for the common good.

I wish that all these would be realized, because we, the human race, have proved that we can not only destroy ourselves through wars, but that we can also rebuild, progress and live in peace. There is a lot of hope, and I have discovered that through traveling. As long as good people with strong will, respect and responsibility continue to exist everywhere on Earth, in every country, in every city, there will be always hope for a better future.

As for my future, I hope to find myself traveling as much as I can in order to learn and understand our world, and try to help with my own way as much as possible, through volunteer programs, NGOs and humanitarian work.

All these from a humble Greek, 25 year old citizen wishing for a better world in the future…

Merry Christmas and a homeless sweet dog :)

2007-12-25T18:53:00.001+02:00

Happy hello!!! :)

oOOOooOOO its been a long time again since I wrote in my blog, but now Im back to Athens and gonna remain here until early May, I finish my military duty at that time and hit the road traveling! Cant wait hihihi ;) So I'll try to post often from now on :)

My brother found this cute dog wandering around my neighbourhood, she (she is a girl) was shivering cold and very hungry. We couldnt leave her on the streets so we took her in the house, but the problem is that we cant keep her because there is usually nobody home to take care of her or take her out for a walk... the amazing thing is that she must have been living in a home, its unbelievable how easy going and peaceful she is!! She listens to everything we say, and just sits in her carpet :) Of course if we take her out she is full of energy, but in the house she is silent and doesnt mess things up! :) Perfect dog for a house, I would love to keep it if I could!! :)

Somebody told me she is a pointer (?), dont know. The thing is I try to avoid giving her away to the homeless animals services, dont know exactly what they do with the animals if they dont find a home for them... :) So if anybody read this and is from Athens, Greece, if you are interested plz give me a message :)

Wish you all Merry Christmas!!! :)

in the Faroe Islands... :)

2007-08-15T14:37:00.000+03:00

Happy hello!!! :) :)
This time I just wanna write about a place that I really found enchanting, wonderful, full of magic and happy people!! :) The Faroe Islands!! :)

In Torshavn, one of the 1st thing I observed was the grass roofs in peoples houses! Yeah, I have seen it in Iceland too, but in Iceland it was mostly in museums or houses for demonstration, in the Faroes, people are actually living in these wonderful houses!! :) And its sooooo beautiful to see them all together, with their grass roofs... feels like really being in a far away place in a fairy tale... a nostalgic smile... :) Above is a photo I took of these houses :)

Now, maybe you think there are workers who do all this job, but while I was walking through some nice alleys in a nearby town, I saw something that brought a big smile on my face!! :)

I stopped walking and stayed there for around 1 hour, observing these happy kids fixing their house roof with grass!!! :) They were so happy, singing, smiling and playing!! :)

Going again to take some more grass for the roof hihihi ;)

Yeap, doing the job, and really well!!!! It was such a nice feeling to see these happy kids working in their house roof ;) It was such a contrast to the city life I have been used to... how different can life be, from place to place, and mostly, from urban to rural places... :) Maybe because I was grown up in a city, but I just love these kind of things!!! :) Simple and wonderful, just like life... ;)
hihihi :) There I was, staring at the kids and with a smile on my face... :)

Finally, for those of you who wanna learn just a little bit more about these grass roofs and their purpose apart from being beautiful, I just found some info on the net, which I found useful to provide:

"The grass roofs are probably the first things you notice, and these have been a feature of the were first settled. In the Viking Age farmhouse with its curved stone walls, the roof was supported by two rows of posts in a large common room with a longfire in the centre. Along the outer walls benches or seats were placed and a Faroese home today is still called a sethús (seat house) after these seats. And there is a good reason that the ancient name has survived, for on the Faroes the original longhouse lasted longer than any other place in Scandinavia. The house, with its protecting stone walls and the large grass roof, gradually developed into the traditional Faroese dwelling with the stall at one end, in the middlethe smoke room with the working and sleeping areas, earth floor and the open fireplace with the louver in the roof as smoke outlet and light intake. At the other end of the house was the glass room, the farmer’s fine parlour with windows and jamb stove. Inside the smoke room and glass room there were vertical planks set in a groove between the posts and sills. This is the same construction that was used in the historic Norwegian stave churches, but in tree rich Norway the stave constructed houses were gradually replaced by the shorter loghouses with horizontal logs. The stave constructions, which required less wood continued in the Faroes until the beginning of the twentieth century. Gradually the stonewalls were replaced by wood, except perhaps in the ends of the houses oriented against the fiercest wind direction. From this originated the classic Faroese house a low and small longhouse, tarred brown or black with white painted mullioned windows, blending into the terrain under a large grass roof. The churches were built in the same way. They were modest buildings, not much bigger than the other dwellings, but with a distinct difference: the little white bell tower, placed parallel or diagonally over the ridge of the roof. The inside of these churches are like chests made of untreated timber. All the designs are visible and simple, but every detail has its own special carving or image and the chancel wall, the half open wall between the nave and the choir, received the finest treatment. Times changed and with the development of sea fi shing new kinds of houses appeared. The longhouse was sup er seded by a more refined house on a high basement, and with dormers in the attic, but still tarred and with turfs of grass over a layer of beech bark. Then came fervent individualism, corrugated iron was placed as protection on the outside of wooden boards and together with the corrugated iron came paint in many colours. This colourful individualism has become respected through the years and even the authorities have supported it in later years, most directly in some experimental construction with individually built ter raced houses in the northern part of Tórshavn.

The painted roofs dominate, but you can still see new buildings with green grass. The most im portant of these is the Nordic House, where, as in the older dwellings, the roof lies over the house like a protecting wing and enhances the lines of the landscape. The grass still has something of a symbolic meaning and maybe it is a type of nostalgia when it is used on private houses. On the other hand it is a living material, which insulates and protects and requires very little aintenance. It also follows the beautiful seasons of the year and paints itself: brown in the autumn, white in the winter, burgeoning light green in the spring and lush green in the summer."

:) Wouldnt you love to live in such a house, work through the internet and do your travel plans with a hot cup of tea or coffee, under the clear sky and the fresh air of the Faroe islands...? :)
I certainly would!!!!!! :) :) :)

:) Everything happens for a reason!! :)

2007-07-23T19:18:00.000+03:00

Hello hello!!! :)
By now, Im convinced that everything happens for a reason!! For sure!! Even bad things that may hurt us at time, they do have a reason to happen.... so something that happened in the past and I have a reminder of it for the rest of my life (and hurts from time to time) actually it proved a good help at the current situation!! Woo hoo!!! Happy happy!!!!! :) :)

Dont have so much time so I decided to post a photo I had taken in Miyajima island in Japan, while I was trekking down a nice mountain. Entered a nice temple and I found this Buddha, which for sure was devoted to kids, I found it sooooooo wonderful!! :)

Furthermore I wanted to post something like that, these days Im doing a lot of meditation which is extremely good while being in the army, and its really helpful, feeling like opening my horizons a little bit more :)

Just want to say thank you for keep on visiting my blog even though I dont post so often, while in the army the free time outside of the military camp is really limited!!! :)

Finishing with a quote:

"Kindness in words Creates confidence,
Kindness in thinking Creates profoundness,
Kindness in giving Creates LOVE"
LAO-TSE

Kids mass in Helsinki :)

2007-07-07T18:58:00.000+03:00

Happy hello!!
This is going to be a quick post because theres no time hihihi ;D Today I saw some kids near a church, and it reminded me something I experienced in Helsinki. I was passing by a really wonderful church, and I saw many happy kids gathered there. They were entering the church and the priest there said that it was not allowed for tourists. But I was smiling to the kids and playing, so he invited me in!! And it was something we dont have in my place, it was a mass only for kids!! And it was so nice, the kids interacting and smiling and singing. Of course in Finnish, but I could feel the atmosphere, which was really nice!! I was so happy I was able to attend it, it felt like Finland :)

Outside it was freezing cold and I managed to catch a photo I really love, a girl kid giving a hand to another boy kid to go up the stairs. It was just really magical to see that!! Simple, happy and wonderful kids spirit!!! :) :) So I decided to post this photo for this post :)
I think I will post some more on the subject, it was sooooooo nice and interesting, but I need to find the time when Im out of the camp again hihihi ;)

all the happy best ;)
enjoy the sun and summer!!
-dia*

P.L.U.R. !!! :) :)

2007-07-02T16:35:00.000+03:00

Happy hello everybody!!! :)

I'ts been a long time since I've posted into my blog, but I have decided from now on to post quite often, traveling posts and my thoughts as well :)

As you know, at the moment Im doing my military service, obligated to (read previous post about it). I've been sent really far away, the training is harder than the usual but the good thing is that I will have some time to use the internet, and I want to spend time writing and updating my blog because its wonderful to cherish memories, places and people, especially now that Im in the army :)

I am so sad to discover how much money, technology and effort the human race is spending in order to be able to kill other human beings... of course I know its political+army stuff involved which of course I wont even go into these things, I just hate all these lies! But we are supposed to be progressing, and what's the situation? Millions of people starving to death and living in poverty, and nations spending outrageous amounts of money on military equipment and wars... it shouldn't be like that!!! The more I use the guns and weaponry, the more I hate these things. And now, going through my military training, I can tell for sure, I HATE everything that has to do with war, the military and everything that has to do with it. Now I can have an opinion, maybe I havent been to war (thank God) but I grasp the feeling through my military training and use of weapon equipment.

Enough with that! I posted in my previous post that I would post about my military experience, but I have changed my mind, its not worth it. All I needed to say is said. I will continue posting about previous traveling experiences, places, happy people, thoughts and feelings! Because thats my life, this is what makes me happy, and Im waiting soooooooooooo patiently to finish with the idiot army and go back to happy life! Full of colours, smiles, positive thinking, peace of mind, happy wonderful people, love, openminded and most important FREE!!!! :)

For this post I chose a photo I took in Hiroshima, in the peace park, its the base for the Children's Peace Monument. I believe the photo speaks for itself :)

Everybody smile, enjoy the sun and enjoy every moment!! :)
Gonna start posting again, so if you have time, drop by again ;)
P.L.U.R.

PS. For all of you interested in Japan and traveling to this wonderful crazy country, I have added a new link, a website created for traveling in Japan on a budget by two really wonderful travelers who have traveled half of this world and happen to be very good friends of mine. Check it out, its really really good!!! :)

Im BACK!! :)

2007-05-09T02:06:00.000+03:00

HAPPY HELLO!!! Its been some time since I posted to my blog! But now, since I have a new high speed connection, Im very happy to start posting again! :)

mMMmmM things that happened, was working in a bank, went traveling again, got back, graduated from the university and now I have to...GO TO THE ARMY :D haha :D yes, in Greece, we are obligated to go to the army , for 1 year!

Just some quick facts:
-we are getting paid 8 euros per month (yes people, you read that right, 8 euros!!)
-its obligatory for all boys
-NO social service option, only military training
-we actually SPEND money on the military

For example, I have already spent 70 euros on stuff I needed to buy (extra military t-shirts, socks, locks, etc.).

So tomorrow I join the military, 6th Regiment Infantry Corps. Took out piercings, cut my hair really short and tomorrow I take out all my colours! So I disguise myself into a different "Dia" just for the army hehe :D

But I really SMILE!!! Because this army thing is my final obligation here, after that my real life will start, going after my dream, meaning Im leaving Greece and go travel around the world, working, traveling, experiencing life to its best!! And I know 1 year will pass really fast, time flies!! :)

I decided from now on, to post all my personal experience in the Greek army here in my blog! So if you are curious to learn about the greek military and how it is to go through it, plz come again hihi :D I will try to post whenever I have a pc available!

I wish you all the best, smile, dance and be happy, wherever you are!!
Enjoy the sun and Summer is HERE!!! :D

The power of changes... :)

2006-11-09T00:19:00.000+02:00

Its amazing, after a cold week, all the people here in my city thought that Winter came, but thats not the case, Summer is back this week, the sun is out and shining all day, the sky is crystal clear blue, only enough clouds to take some crazy colours during the sunrise/sunset, and the temperature has rised to 20 degrees....yeah!!! :)

Once again, I observe the changes around me, of the people who surround me and most important, the changes on myself...cause everyday, everything changes, and we change as well... :) IF this doesnt happen, then maybe something is wrong, or maybe we try to avoid changes...and then we have so many people trying to find out why they feel bored...but everything is part of the game of changes:

Through cold and winter

We then appreciate warmth and Summer

Through sadness

We then appreciate happiness

Through a confused face

We then appreciate smiles

Through solitude

We then appreciate companions & friends

Through loneliness

We then appreciate love

Through the past

We then appreciate the present and the time being

...and the list can go on forever... :) I've been through many changes in my life and I feel blessed, through them I have learnt to appreciate so many simple things, thus having a wonderful feeling of happiness and euphoria...and yet, I've done nothing and I am nothing to this huge world, so many more things to do and experience, so many more things to learn...I will try, try to do the best out of it, and make as many people as possible smile :)

So lets not be afraid of changes, sometimes strange, sometimes unexpected or expected, sometimes good or bad, so many things, so many feelings...but maybe everything has a purpose and nothing happens without a reason, so the changes are just things that lead us to our way... we just need to find the positive thing, and go for it with a smile, whatever it is... :)

Sunrise and sunset feelings... :)

2006-10-29T01:25:00.000+03:00

...Copenhagen sunrise...

...Copenhagen sunset...

...its been a while since I wrote to my blog...already, 1,5 months have passed since I came back to Greece... :) But tonight, I feel like writing, and I think I will write more often from now on, even through I dont have the time, I will manage to steal some...
I will write about travel stories but not only, I feel to write about some of my thoughts and feelings at the moment as well :) Afterall, a blog is a personal diary and to my case, I write things for me, and Im happy that other people are interested to read them as well :)

I took the 2 photos above from the window of the apartment I was staying in Copenhagen... watching the sunrise in the morning...and watching the sunset in the evening...these were moment of silence and solitude... I cant describe the feeling... I wish for all the people could feel it!!!

...good or bad, from when I was a kid, many people and my friends trusted me, telling me their problems and personal lives. Maybe Im a good listener...I dont know, but I was always interested to listen to their story, and help them in any way I could. 'Cause I believe everybody has a story to tell, from which I can learn many things... :) I have learnt so many things from listening to other peoples stories and problems...so I want to post some of my thoughts about people:

a) Theres a lack of communication, trust and respect
People these days dont communicate well, and most important, they dont trust each other...how should they, the world isnt what it used to be, someone might say...but there ARE good people out there, I know it, I have met many of them while travelling and I consider myself very lucky. Respect and trust are the most important values for everything, society, friendship, love... without these...everything is a big lie... so I noticed... many friends dont trust friends, they dont trust their boyfriends/girlfriends, even worse, some parents dont trust their own kids...

b)Theres a lack of appreciation for life
Watching the sunrise and sunset at Copenhagen, at these particular moments, once again, I was falling in love with life...and I felt soooooo happy!!! Its so simple...the sun, the clouds, the colourful sky, the air...all these things make me extremely joyful and happy. And then, there are more, feelings like love, excitement, happiness, joy, laughs... for all these Im grateful and I feel blessed... I wish all the people could feel this... many people now give so much attention to things that are so unimportant...then they spend so much time thinking about these unimportant things...so they miss the magic...the magic to really feel and live the moment, and find the happiness inside them, and in the simple things that surround them :)

BUT Im so happy to have met some people who share the same feelings as me...once again, I need to say it again, I feel very lucky to have met them, I think people you can really connect with are rare these days...and the lack of communication derives from this fact, people arent really connected...after the minor travelling I have done, I now know that happy crazy wonderful people exist in every part in the world...you just need to be lucky enough to meet them. And in some places, maybe you may meet even more special people that can become your soulmate... I miss these people I have met...I miss them soooooooooo much...but I smile...and feel very very happy. Cause I know they are also somewhere smiling, and when the time comes we shall meet again... :)

All these are enough to give me a super wow smile on my face, together with the sun shining during the day (even though it supposed to be winter here), and the stars during the night. I cant see many of them from the city, but when I can, I go out of the city, so I can see them, I have a special feeling for the millions of stars during the night... :)

...and so life goes on here...!!! Im now working in a bank, 6 months of training work, its part of my graduation procedure from the university. Working in the bank brought me very close to the system, the closest I will ever be I guess, and its a good experience...through it, I realise many things, mostly about myself... :) I want to write about my "bank experience" but not yet, Im only 1 month there, when I'll be in the middle, I will devote some posts to it;) Im studying some spanish once a week, in 1 month I have my 1st official exams for the 1st japanese language certificate, so of course I attend japanese classes and study japanese a lot. I intended to go to Danish classes as well, but the class was CANCELLED because the number of students was low...of course Im not surprised, Im living in Greece...so I will start learning on my own, the very same way I started learning japanese 1,5 year ago... :) Im teaching to only 2 kids during the weekends (no time), fix some computers when it happens and have time for this (good extra cash). Plus, Im working on my university thesis, I need to have it done by the end of March, this is when my "bank job" will be over, and graduate from the uni!!
If everything goes well, I will join the army on May, Im obligated to and after some thinking I decided to go through it, cause the consequences if I dont go are not good...so its going to be 1 year in the army, my final obligation and my final step to become a free man...and then...I move out of Greece hihihi... :)

With all these in mind and watching the sunrise every morning while walking-running to work, I continue to dream and see what tomorrow will bring to my life...I have a hint that major changes will take part...but whatever it will be...I will go for it...with a huge SMILE!!! :)

...and thats all what I had to say for tonight...happy goodnight :)

Happy kid - happy hair :)

2006-10-07T03:57:00.000+03:00

I saw this kid while I was walking in the streets of Oslo, he was trying for some time to fix his hair with some gel hehehe :)

oOooOOoOOooo there are SOOOOO many things I want to post about, so many photos and things to say...I was on the run but from now on (correction, after some days), I will post in a day by day basis...and most important, I want to visit all my favorite blogs that I havent checked for a long time now...

Im working in a bank now, 6 months training job from the university, its quite fun but I understand many things about the system...but this will be another post!! Im happy than ever, energy full on positive from the last trip, my mind is still travelling...some foreign languages as well and my final thesis...and then my dreams hehehe :)

I will post soon!!! :)
all the happy best :)
-dia*

A little bit busy :)

2006-09-26T03:10:00.000+03:00

Happy hello!!! :) This is my 1st post since I came back to Greece hihihi :)
Too many things going on right now so I havent got the time to start updating my blog, but I will soon, will try to update day by day, have taken SOOOO many photos hihihi, plus I will try to upload some videos as well somewhere :)

For now I just post this photo I took from Jokulsarlon in Iceland, a crazy iceberg lagoon which you have to see (and feel the cold) to believe it :) Many more photos and stories soon!!! :)

Like every dream... :)

2006-09-17T15:12:00.000+03:00

Hello hello!!!!! :)

Once again its been a while since I wrote hehehe, but the weather was the best so I wasn't in the mood to stay in front of a pc (although I was in the mood to write :)

Barcelona...one of my favorite cities. 2nd time there and again I hadnt enough, it was really hard for me to leave. But this 2nd time I really "felt" the vibe of the city!!! YEAH!!! Went to small spooky alleys that normally I wouldnt go (so nice because the tourists dont go as well), with all kinds of people there, wandering around, from prostitutes & pimps to mysterious businessmen with suits. And in these alleys were hidden some of the nicest bars-places I've ever been to, 100% aunthetic atmosphere filled with crazy alternative spanish people, everybody happy and having fun...plenty alcohol but for me, beers and sangria did the trick hihihi :)

I got lost again and again in the alleys and streets of Barcelona, I love to do this in all the places, no specific place to go on mind, no map, just walking and going from street to street that you find beautiful, interesting or just has this something that attracts you. Its amazing the kind of places you discover out of the blue and you usually you meet the most crazy-interesting people in this way. And all these exist in none of the travelling guides hihihi :)

For my 1st night I didnt have a place to stay, I was with a cool Australian guy I met in the train from the Netherlands and I decided instead of sleeping in the beach or a squat to go to a hostel - after some squat research I found out that in Barcelona theres a nice squat scene active BUT they are receiving lots of pressure from the police lately, resulting to NOT so good situations. But I didnt go to sleep to any squats after all, so I will found out myself next time :) Actually, many times I like spending a day or two in a hostel, the reason: you meet other travellers. BUT only travellers and not the locals... And it was nice, met people from Australia, New Zealand, the States, Austria, Cyprus, the Balcans, Brazil and more and more hihihi :) Its amazing how many people you can meet in the kitchen just by cooking with a smile and moving around hihihi :)

The next day I met a crazy spanish guy through couchsurfing and then a spanish girl which I stayed in her place for the rest of the days in Barcelona. She was super nice and once again proved me that age never matters, its all in the mind, heart and soul. She was 32 years old but so openminded, cheerful, smiling, interesting and with lots of energy, she was working until midnight and after we were going out until 3-4am!!! Yeah!!!! I wish when Im going to be 32 I will have the same energy hehehe :)

I didnt do any sightseeing, I had done this the last time I was there, this time I went fo the vibe of the city and the people. But I did go to Park Guell again, simply because I love the place, its like it got out from a fairy tale or something. I strolled with my own pace, listened to the music of the street performers and spent many hours till the sunset, gazing at Barcelona, the sea and beautiful sky...and feeling happy hihihi :) I also went up to castle Montjuic, just to enjoy the view of Barcelona from the top, from a different angle.

I LOVE high places, especially at night...maybe because I grew up in Athens having many-many nice high places in which I have spent endless nights...so in every city I try to find a high place, anything, from a mountain-hill to a view from the window of a high apartment. Up there, when the sun goes down, the city transforms itself to a surreal psychedelic portrait of colourful lights, others standing still and others moving...and there you are, gazing speechless, the hours pass like minutes and once again you get this feeling of appreciation for life, your mind and soul seem lighter and you catch yourself having a peculiar smile on your face... :)

...and this is also the feeling I get when I go to Placa Espanya, the nights when the magic fountain is playing... Its supposed to be a touristic attraction, and yes, there are many tourists there (but some locals as well), but for me, its a special place with a special atmosphere, maybe because it reminds me a little bit of the open air festivals I love, but in a totally different concept :) ...the amazing fountain changing all kinds of shapes and psychedelic colours, the speakers (integrated in the fountain) playing classical music (which is not my favorite but fits perfect for the place), fire jugglers and many people enjoying...and me too, lying on the ground with my sangria, beers and lollipops and once again feeling happy... :)

It was hard to leave Barcelona, but of course, as always, I went on my way...

In the train station, thinking where to go next, Costa Brave sounded good on my mind, chill out on the beach away from the crowds...but then, a crazy Italian guy I met in Denmark popped into my mind and my next destination was instanly set: Florence! It was the usual funny thing in the ticket office: "I wanna go to Florence" - "when?" - "eeee...now" hihihi. I laughed out of surprise when the guy told me the train schedule, 23 hours - 5 trains hahaha "you gonna see the world!" he told me laughing - "of course, why not?" I replied with a smile :) But I had to wait in Barcelona for another 6 hours before my 1st train departed...and exactly there at the ticket station, I meet a cute spanish girl that proved to be a truly amazing interesting person!!! She spoke super wow excellent english, french (and spanish of course), some italian, some japanese (she studied japanese for 3 years). She is studying to be a translator (what else hihihi) and has been living in France for quite some time. Soon she will move to Italy (Rome), to master Italian and gain experience. Her 1st trip alone was when she was 15 years old, went to the States where she stayed for 1 year with a host family. She is exactly that kind of person that when she talks to you, the way she express herself and the look in her eyes, if you have travelled just a little bit, you understand that she is the kind of person who likes to move...a nowdays nomad! :) And thats part of my dream when I finish my obligations (which will happen soon :), so Im really happy to meet these kind of people. She was going back to France, changing train in Cerberes, a tiny coastal french village close to the border with Spain which maybe you cant find on the map. I checked and could catch a connection train at night from there, following my route to Florence, so I jumped on the train with her :) The following 4 hours where extremely interesting, exchanging travelling experiences, I mostly focused on Asia and she mostly on the States and France. I learnt many things about the french way of thinking and behaviour hehehe :)

In Cerberes we said Von Voyage and I had lots of time until 10pm, when I would catch my next connection, so I decided to explore a little bit, even though the lockers were out of order, meaning I had to walk with both my daypack and backpack. When you get out of the staion and walk a little bit, you think that theres nothing there...but after going down some stairs, you discover the hidden beauty of a place free of tourists, a picturesque tiny coastal village with a charming harbor, some small beaches with round stones and surrounded by mountains, VERY CALM AND BEAUTIFUL, exactly what I needed!!! So after walking the surroundings a little bit, I chilled on the beach, watched a beautiful sunset and then the night came...and it was SOOOOOO super wow nice!!! Lucky enough, it was a full moon night and the whole scene was magic to my eyes. A small harbor, a huge full moon reflecting on the calm sea, and what a colourful sea it was...blue, pink, purple and white reflections on the sea, from 2 small bars-hotels and the surrounding lights. I was eating a mellon and an icecream and hallucinating that Im watching a movie...title: "simple natural beauty" :)

So I just sat there in silence and smile, and the special feeling flowing again... I didnt want to go to catch the train hihihi. But eventually I went back to the station and...mistake! My train was leaving at midnight hihihi, so back to the full moon and the colourful sea :)

I didnt have a sleeper in the train cause I was already running low on money, but I managed to break my body and have a few hours of sleep on some of the most uncomfortable train seats I've ever seen! Of course they were stinky, all the train seats are, but the design was like they did it on purpose for you to be impossible to sleep in 2 seats...it was funny to watch all my fellow passenges trying to find a convenient position for their body to sleep. I did the trick using my waterproof covers for my backpack, they are like tiny pillows when packed so I situated them on my back and knees to relief me of the rough pressure, broke my body into 2 and placed me between the seats the way you put a kitten inside a box hehehe, sometimes Im really happy being thin and small :)

So in the morning arrived in Nice, changed train to go further to the border with Italy. It was really funny, 2 old guys were near me, the one asking me strange questions with his voice sounding like Darth Vader from the Star Wars and the other guy was playing with his tongue (!!! yikes hohoho). The train made a stop soon, I looked outside and saw the station sign "Monaco"...for some strange reason I felt like jumping out of the train, and so I did hehehe :) Monte Carlo...I was hearing about it a lot when I was a kid, I had passed it again in another Eurotrip, so this time, by instict, my feet threw me out of the train :) Obviously, Monaco isnt orientated for backpackers, there are no lockers in the fancy luxurious train station!!! I was redirected to a hotel where I payed 5 euros even for a few hours for one piece (my backpack). Monaco was nice, one funny thing: while walking, I listen to a guy asking desperetely where is the casino (!?!?!?). By his english accent I can tell he is greek, and Im right, he is carrying a plastic bag from a famous greek bookshop. Eventually he comes to me. He asks in english, normally I reply in english and people dont understand Im greek, its quite fun, but with hits guy I wanted to speak greek. "I bypassed it", I reply to him in greek. He puts on a big smile and laughs saying "oOOOooOOOo you ARE GREEK!?!?!" hihihi. He asks me if I flew to Monaco, the I tell him about my trip and the next question is "are you a hippie?" hahahhahahah!! :D He was really friendly and saying all the time "nice, nice". I helped him to find the casino, was visible from the point we were. The guy came all the way to Monaco but now he just wanted to gamble! hihihi, crazy Greeks, yeah!! :)

Eventually I was back on my way to Florence, changin trains. I was quite late, but I quite close as well, on a train to Pisa and then finally change, going to Florence, when I received a text message from my crazy italian friend (the one I was going to visit), telling me that that night would have a small illegal party on a beach, and asking me where I was. My reaction was similar to the one I had when I found out that Infected Mushroom were performing in Copenhagen, started jumping around and running through the train corridor with a smile. After some minutes I calm down and notice many faces looking at me, with a funny _expression on their face, but the only thing that matters to me is to reply the message, informing that Im on my way to Florence and at night I could be at the party, so my friend could wait for me, maybe the party was far away, I didnt know. And then I realise that I DONT HAVE CREDIT IN MY CELL PHONE, SO I CANT REPLY!!! Some more jumping around and then I turn to a girl I noticed she used a cell phone some minutes ago, and try to explain her about my situation, being 20+ hours on the road, cell phone with no credit, italian friend, party, and my need to send a message...but I speak so fast she doesnt understand a thing (I was still on my hyperactive phase) and just stares at me with a slight smile... "OK OK, I have to chill out" I say to myself and try to speak extra slow "PLZ, I need to send a message, its very important, I will pay you 1 euro!". And it worked, YES YES YES, I was saved, hihihi :)

Arriving in Florence, before I meet my friend to go to the party, I go to eat a slice of pizza in a small pizzeria. While eating, a homeless comes in and asks for some alcohol. The owner of the shop appears from the cooking room, obviously frustrated and a little bit irritated. But he is not aggressive, just tries to kick out the homeless in a nice way. After some minutes, while the owner is still trying to kick out the guy, 2 beautiful (and very sexy) girls enter the shop. And suddenly, the face of the owner change from a frustrated one into a face with a smile filled with euphoria. And what he does, totally forgets about the guy, cuts down some flowers from some vases in the shop, and gentle gives them to the girls! Crazy Italian lovers hihihi :)

My staying in Florence was more than SUPER WoW GREAT, I cant find the words to describe...dancing in the beach by the river, getting to know the Italian people, drinking Italian beer, eating lots of pizza, smiling, laughing overdose, doing all kinds of crazy staff, being alive and live every exciting moment to the MAX!! 2 more guests were in the house, 2 young Danish guys, totally ADDICTED to beer hahaha, I've never seen a guy drinking so much beer, they were so funny and they taught us the art of Skaal (the danish "cheers"), the crazy danish guy even drew a while guide for Skaal on the door of the house hahaha!!! The BEST!!! We tried to follow the Danish beer schedule, resulting being drunk every night hihihi :) When they left, a polish girl who spoke super wow excellent italian came, and a crazy guy from Spain, who is going to do Erasmus (student exchange) in Florence for 1 year, he would stay in the house until his flat was ready. Both of them kept on the wild crazy spirit, amazing the guy is studying medicine and eventually is going to be a doctor and he is really cool, openminded, "into" everything, lots of fun, an artist, a rapper, a little bit of everything: alternative different people :)

oOOOooOOOooO so many nice people in Florence, my italian friends cousin who is just as wonderful and crazy as his cousin, the other italian friends...YEAH!!!!

We were hanging out in a tiny bar-club with live music that Im usre its not in any travel guide, but the place is very special, cause of the owner. A crazy Italian guy who, at some point, went to travel in the Americas and stayed for 2 years with an Indian tribe (!!!). I bow of humbleness to his experience... He is one of these people that you understand he is a "true" person and doesnt care about money (I love this), plays the guitar AMAZING SUPER WoW SPECTACULAR, sings and writes music, he could be really famous but instead he chooses his small place, his regular customers, his wine and his smile...the 1st night we went, we were very late, the place was almost closed and there was only the owner and a VERY CRAZY english couple, but he was kind enough to perform for us some songs...but the next night, we went on time, the tiny place was full and he with his fellow performer-friend TOTALLY ROCKED THE PLACE!!! Truly amazing, everybody couldnt stop clapping, playing rhythms on the tables, shouting, many times laughing like crazy (if you listen to some of his tracks you will understand), everybody that night were part of the amazing happy vibe that only 2 people, with 2 guitars and their voices created...truly amazing, truly wonderful!!!

About the CRAZY english couple, they were from London, they 47 years old, the gilr maybe around 15 years younger (didnt ask). My italian friend had met them there before and they were so kind, they invited my friends to their place for dinner. SO we walk in, get acquainted, and the guy tells me "you must be in the party scene...", my eyes flash, my mind spins and I reply with excitement "of course, I LOVE the scene, especially open air festivals, Im going to the festivals for some years now..." and I tell him about the festival I went in Hungary and how great it was. His eyes now flash as well, "he's my guy, he knows exactly what Im talking about!!!" tells to the rest of the people, and we go on with a full on party conversation, both very very excited. I tell him about the countries and festivals I have been and then he tells me a little bit of his story. The guy has been in the party scene since it started, 20+ years ago!! He made one of the most known clubs in London that helped spread the goa-trance music around at that time. Many of the artists in the scene are his friends, he was living in India in GOA (where else hihihi) for some time, and he was throwing parties together with GOA GILL in the States...he has been to all kinds of crazy festivals around the world, they invited him, Burning man, Manhattan in the early years, GOA of course, and the list goes on and on...AND he still goes to festivals AND he still dances...and its so amazing, that 47 years old guy told me exactly the same things I feel about open air festivals: the dance until you drop for days, the happy colourful crowd, the amazing unique vibe, the nature, the stars during the night, the sun during the day, the psychedelic deco, teh visuals, and finally, the most important, this feeling when you dance, you can close your eyes and let your body move to the rhythm of the music, not caring about how you look, where you are, with whom you are or how you dance...you just dance with a free spirit and mind, and you realise you have a crazy smile on your face...and you feel HAPPY!!!

OOoOOooOOooo I need a festival NOW!!!! hihihi :)

Whenever I meet people who like to dance, but truly dance, not because its cool, there are beautiful girls, wanna take drugs and other fake staff like that, TRULY DANCE, I always tell them about open air festivals :)

Before we leave he tells me "go to the festivals now that you young, its the best time of your life, dont let it slip away..." - I tell him I wish when I reach 47 to have the energy to still go to the festivals, he tells me he wishes he was my age to go to even more... "Take your friends to the festivals!!" he yells at me, "I TRY, I TRY!" I reply with a smile hihihi :)

...sometimes its amazing where the flow may lead you...like everything is connected in a strange way through a special energy, that gives you signs and awaits for you to follow it, go after your dream... - ...I send an email...I meet some super wow wonderful people in Denmark...they are soooooooo super wow wonderful that for the 1st time, I return to the same place in one trip, and so I go back to Denmark for the 2nd time in this very same trip, after travelling (and dancing) a little bit in Eastern Europe (where I met wonderful people as well)...in this 2nd visit to Denmark I meet the crazy Italian guy who is now one of my best friends...and then I find myself in Florence...he takes me to that place and I meet the crazy guy from London...and I hope these connections will continue...as long as I go after my dream!!! :)

So...where am I now...? In an internet cafe, in Patras-Greece, after arriving by ferry from Italy....what I love about the ferry leaving Ancona at this time of the year, is that i leaves at sunset...I depart for home with a beautiful orange sky as the sun goes to sleep....so I took a chair and gazed the sun and the sky, until it became night...and all the memories of this trip started to pop into my mind, one after another, and I had a silly nostalgic but happy smile on my face...

...so I just felt like writing about all these before I go to the train station to check when theres a train that will take me back to my home city, Athens :)

These last 3 months passed like 3 days, seems like a dream now, and like every dream ends when you wake up, this trip has finally, reached to an end... but every dream ends, until you dream again hihihi...

This Eurotrip exceeded by far my expectations, so many emotions, met some of the best amazing people out there, "true" people, the ones you are lucky to meet in this life, experienced sooooo much kindness and hospitality, smiled, laughed, danced like crazy, watched endless sunrises and sunsets, went through winter to summer, to the ice, mountains, seas, forests, islands, cities, villages, took flights, ferries, trains, buses, hitchhiked, slept into hostels, houses, floors, couches, stations, beaches, parks, under the stars, on the grass...this trip had a little bit of everything, I feel more alive and happy than ever, once again feeling a better and changed person than the person who started this trip 3 months ago... :)

Once again I took thousands of photos, but the best moments are never on the photos, but only in my mind for me to cherish...

So this is the final -on the road- email for this trip. FIrstly, I want to say thank you to my family who are always by my side with their hearts and mind, everything I am, I owe to them :)

Then, I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU, EFXARISTO, TAK, TAKK, TACK, MERCI, GRAZIE, GRACIAS, ARIGATOU, XIE XIE, KHAUP KHUN KHRAP to all of you who took time to read all these and writing to me! :)

A 3rd SUPER HUGE THANK YOU to all the people I met in this trip, for trusting me, for giving me a place to stay, for making me part of their lives for a while, for introducing me to all their friends, for travelling with me, for talking, smiling, laughing, drinking, dreaming together...for all these moments we shared, i humbly THANK YOU, you know who you are, simply the BEST!!!! :)

I wish our paths to cross in the future, so then we meet again, but until then...I WISH YOU ALL THE HAPPINESS INTHE WORLD, ALWAYS BE WELL, SMILING, HAPPY, CHASING YOUR DREAMS and enjoy every moment of this wonderful life!!!

take care and smile :)

all the happy best

-dia :)

PS. Im leaving Athens to go to a small house by the sea to chill out and study, by the next week I will be back and start to post day by day, photos and many stories hihihi :)

4 Sep 2006 - Happy happy in the Netherlands :)

2006-09-12T16:48:00.000+03:00

Aloha!!!! :)

ooOOooOOooooo its been SOOOO nice to come back to the Netherlands and visit friends :) I spent some time in Maastricht with my friends, I felt SOOO nice to see them again :) And some time in Amsterdam hihihi, I was planning to go to a party there, but at around midnight the weather was not so good and it would be an open air venue, so I ended up in a hardcore punk party in one of the squats hihihi, there was a punk group performing live, it was good fun cause the atmosphere was really punkish, everybody giving 100% of their energy, throwing beer to the air, smashing each other and having fun hihihi :)

If you ever visit Amsterdam, forget the travel guides and the places they mention to go out at night, just GO TO THE SQUATS!!!! Just go outside the squat a little bit late and knock on the door hihihi, there will usually be some girls who will open the door for you and enter, theres a bar; music -sometimes live, like in my case-, reallly alternative people and the whole atmosphere is really cool, and your money goes directly to the people living in the squat. And of course, everything is EXTREMELY cheap!!!!!

I met some nice people from spain and some really nice Italian girls who had moved to Amsterdam, they were so kind to offer me a ride with their bike at 3am, I had forgotten my map and didnt remember how to get back home hihihi :)

Of course, all the other things that Amsterdam is famous about were full on, since it was the weekend, the red light district with the girls on the windows calling you for pleasure and the coffee shops filled with tourists, experiencing their -legal- weed and herbs hehehe :P But Amsterdam is only these things, as many people think...its a beautiful city with many canals and all kinds of staff, MANY MANY open air markets where you can shop everything and finally, nice people - its a multicultural city :)

2 things: a shop and a guy. I found a really nice shop in Amsterdam selling staff from Tibet, the woman inside was a volunteer and she didnt got paid for being there, all the money they earn go to the Tibetan people. Of course maybe they are lying many people will rush to say, but we had a very nice conversation about Tibet and Asia, because Im planning to volunteer as well, and I felt she was a genuine person :)

oooOOooOOOOooo I really want to go back to Asia...it has nothing to do with the fact that my mom is from Asia, but I just know I have to go there and spend some time...and discover many things hihihi :) ...and the time is getting close... :)

About the guy, in my train to Amsterdam, there was a guy on the seat in front of me. He took out some colourful papers and started constructing something...everybody looked at him with an _expression like thinking "is he a nerd?" or "does he have a problem?" but I was observing his face and mood...he had an AMAZING smile while contrstucting his small thing with his colourful papers. -happiness can be found in a grain of sand...- I went to tell him :) He finished his construction, it was a colourful paper cube, I asked him to take him a photo -will include the photo on the next email with photos-, eventually he was a really cool normal guy, a musician who was going to play in a concert in a place near Amsterdam :) It feels nice to meet these simple people, who many people think they are outcasts but the truth is that they are A LOT HAPPIER than everyone else hihihi :)

:) A nice feeling in this trip I discovered is of revisiting places. You see many changes, memories just pop into your mind...its a different feeling from the one you have when you visit a place for the 1st time!! :) And its a NICE ONE as well!!!!

So I decided to visit again one of my favorites cities in Europe, in a couple of hours Im leaving the Netherlands and go to...BARCELONA!!!!! YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I can practise a little bit of my minor spanish hihihi :)

So once again, its bye bye to friends and go on...further south this time to say hello to the sun hehehe and I really LOVE Barcelona so I know its going to be SUPER WoW!!

Everybody take care and super smile!!!! :)

Happy crazy colourful smiles :)

-dia

Grateful to live :)

2006-09-01T15:58:00.000+03:00

Hello, hi, geia sas, konnichiwa, bonjour, hola, nei hao, annyong haseyo, sawatdee krup (or ka for girls), and many more.. :)
One world, one life, many smiles and many dreams... :) And the only thing you have to do is to go after that dream, your dream hihihi :)

:) You know the person you are before you start travelling but you dont know the person who is going to come back...ITS SO TRUE!! Once again in this trip, I experience this feeling that nothing else in the world can offer me...and Im learning so many things :) I feel so humble when I think all the things I have to learn further in my life, once again, in my 23 years old I understand I dont know nothing, always learning...and I WONT STOP!!! :)

I look back to myself when I was 14 years old...then I look back when I was 18, then 22 last year, and now, at this moment, 23 to 24...and I see a different person :) And Im so happy to believe that as the time goes by, this different person becomes a better person :) Day by day, year by year :) Its about people, dreams, smiles, emotions, friendship & love and experiences...all these things that create the perception we have in our small minds about our world, from the simplest thing to the most complicated one. And all these can be found in just one travelling experience, its so amazing... :)

I know that the time to go back to Greece is not long any more...of course I dont know exactly when, but I feel its getting closer, because some things -obligations- are starting to calling. What do I do...? I respond? At this poing yes, I go back to Greece to finish something I have started some years ago and take care of some other things as well, but the next time I will leave again Greece, I wont have any other things calling...why? Because there WONT BE ANY MORE OBLIGATIONS!!!! At least not in my life hihihi :) And then its time to really start my dream, my life, moving out of Greece, working in different countries, learn all kinds of staff and languages and experience something I havent experienced before, TOTAL FREEDOM! :)

Of course my family which I love more than anything else will be in Greece (or to the Philippines? hihihi smile dad ;), and my friends as well :) Of course Greece is my home country, and I will never forget the place that I grew up :) But I will go after my dream, and somehow I know, that at some point in this dream, I will find happiness :)
ooOOoooOOooOOO have you ever had the feeling being so happy that you want to go hug all the strangers in the street, who are looking at you and think you came from Mars or something? You DONT need drugs to have this feeling, just LOVE FOR LIFE and APPRECIATION. Appreciation for all these simple simple things that make us happy...they are not expensive cars, not expensive clothes, no luxury, nothing material :) Its the sun when its out and make us want to fly away to distant places, the stars in a clear night at summer, the rainbow after a rain, the sunrise, the sunset, the sea, the mountains... and together with people you get the smiles, the love and all the wonderful feelings that bind together one word and one phrase -HAPPINESS- and -LOVE FOR LIFE- :) Why do I keep on talking all the time about this...?
Because I feel it so much, I want other people to feel it as well!!! hihihi :)

Somewhere I read that everybody has a treasure waiting for him :) And that when a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realise his-her dream :) Its so amazing, that in trip, I experience things that have to do with this thing...first I read a book...then I learn about an amazing guy from India who travels around the world and speaks about it, happiness and love for life...then I experience emotions I havent experienced before and again, my love for life grows stronger and stronger!!! :)

Of course, the way to the dream, is not an easy one. As a matter of fact, its the most difficult way, and thats why many people dont go for it...but even through the bad experiences in life, we learn so many things!!! -Everything in life is an omen- (I read this in the book as well), everything happens for a reason. I really believe that :)
And what ever you do, you will always get it back, one way or another, you do good, you will receive good, you do bad, you will receive bad :)
Plus, theres a balance in what you give and what you receive. I believe this balance is different among people :) For me, the smiles of the people who surround me, in any place, either Im in Greece either in another country, when they are happy, keep the balance going on :) And thats why, I want to give as much as I can to people, as long as they continue smiling :) Their smile is my reward :)

Through the experiences of our past -good and bad- we improve at the present, and when we improve at the present, the future will follow as well :) I have wrote it many times and I write it again, we must NEVER get stuck to the past...whatever that past maybe :)
Life ALWAYS goes on, and if we think positive and smile, we shall discover that its full of these wonderful surprises. If we get stuck in the past, we dont enjoy the present and thus, we dont enjoy every moment of our life...and this is very important!!!

Of course, bad times and some sad feelings will always come up to our lives. Its part of the game :) There will be times we will feel lonely, times that we shall miss someone, times that bad things will occur... and again, we have to be strong, smile even then, go through it, and become stronger and continue to live and going after our dream:) So we learn and go on :) And SMILE!!! :)

:) One more reason I love travelling is because it fills me with all the positive energy I need, then I can study, work, smile and go on and on!!! :) When I go back I will have to work (probably in a bank) for 6 months in order to graduate, do my final thesis (which is Japan related hihihi), continue doing some private lessons to kids, fix some computers, continue learning japanese, catch up with my spanish and why not, just for fun, self teach myself the basics of another language? hihihi, language leads to communication, and its very important hihihi :) And then...mmMmmMMmmMm, I leave this part open, we shall see hihihi :)

Back to the trip, Im in the station at the moment and its going to be some time before I take my 1st train, I will have to change I have 6 hours standby, then 7 trains for the next 15 hours hihihi, and of course, travel through the whole night (and the half day tomorrow, since my 1st train is leaving at 2am hohoho :) Destination: the Netherlands, travelling a little bit around and visiting some very good friends I havent seen for 2 years!! At this poing, somebody would say that I would be bored, frustrated or even unhappy with the situation, having to wait and change so many trains through the night :) But its exactly the opposite, I have a HUGE smile on my face hihihi, because its part of the game, travelling without a plan :) Of course you always have a hunch on when to go next, but you never actually know, and thats why you DONT buy any tickets hihihi :) And believe me, its FEELS so free!!! :) Maybe its the same with life...? hihihi :) I dont buy the tickets (no serious plans) but always have my hunches (my dreams), and go with the flow and see what happens hihihi :)

One funny thing was the face of the guy in the ticket station (I use it to get info since I dont really have to buy any tickets, have purchased myself an interail ticket some time ago). I came at around 7+pm and it went like this: ''hello, I would like to go to the Netherlands'' - ''ah, thats nice, when do you want to leave?'' - ''...eeeee now...'' (hihihi), then was just a few moments of stare and then a smile and then lots of clicks to reveal my happy 6 hours stanby, and then 15hours and 7 trains through the night schedule hohoho :)
When I started travelling, I travelled in a different style. I had a plan on my mind, sometimes I bought some tickets in advance and sometimes I rushed things. Of course it was travelling as well, but now, in this way, its more fun and free :) Because the most amazing things that happen, are always the unexpected ones hihihi :)

Im so happy to go and visit friends :) Its so amazing, I havent seen them for 2 years, and now just like that, I go and meet them again...sometimes I believe its a kind of magic! You meet so many amazing people while you travel, with some of them you may spend just a few minutes together, with some others whole days, or even travel together :) And then you have to say goodbye...but saying goodbye isnt actually goodbye, its ''until we meet again''. The world is a small place after all and I believe that with the people you get connected (which are not many in this world), you will always have them in your mind, even if you dont meet for years, and then someday you meet again and you think its actually a dream and not reality hihihi :)

mmMmMMmMMmmmm this email has a more personal character, I just felt like writing about all these things hihihi :)
Happy smiles :)
-dia

Party, Hungary and Czech Republic!! :)

2006-08-28T15:29:00.000+03:00

Hello hello!!!!!!
ooOOOooOOOooOOOOooOOOoo the party was SUPER WOW GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!! Im still dancing on my sleep hihihi, it took me 2 days to reach the party venue from Denmark, but it totally worth it :)

The place was truly amazing, full of green, trees, a wonderful green valley that transformed into a psychedelic village for 4+1 crazy colourful days (and nights hihihi).
One thing, the buses outside Budapest are a little bit unreliable hihihi, just imagine, I lost a connection bus because the driver forgot to change the destination sign (!?!?!? hahahaha), I ended up with some mad czechs calling all kinds of bad names about the driver who left hahahah, but it was I met them, cause nobody (and I mean it, NOBODY) in that small beautiful connection village was speaking english hihihi, but somehow I managed to reach the party venue hihihi :)

I was there one day before the party starts, and it was great, met many party friends (people from Greece too hihihi) and all my neighbour tents were Hungarian people, I spent some time with them and told me so many things about Hungary and the way of life, they cooked dinner for me in huge pots (Hungarian food, mmmm yum yum), offered me lots of beer and Palinga (Hungarian alcohol hihihi, quite strong). But I was a little bit bored without the music the 1st day, I was going around smiling so I got a job hihihi, worked in a psyshop selling clothes and nice staff, the girl who had it was from Austria, she and the 2 crazy guys working there were really nice :) Its my 1st time I work a little bit in a festival and it was a really good experience hihihi :)

So for the next 4 days it was waking up around sunrise, lollipops, lots of chai and dancing until around 3am, then transfer to the chill out stage or go lying and sleeping in the nature hihihi :) It was a happy surprise that I met there some greek friends, even people from the party scene I havent seen for years!!! hehehe, these parties are our meeting points :)

Once again I realised that these open air psy festivals are not only about the music and dancing, you get connected with the nature, feel happy to be alive and enjoy each moment of the party, while dancing at the main stage under the sun, while chilling in the chill out stage, while meeting all kinds of crazy happy interesting people, while watching psy kids playing, while watching fire jugglers doing amazing staff, while sleeping on the grass under the trees...and during the night, ooooooo the sky was SOOOO clear, it was full of stars, small fires in some tents and the stars all over the sky...I stayed for hours lying on the grass, observing the starry sky and feeling happy hihihi :) One afternoon, while lying on the grass, I turn my head and there was a HUGE spider, just in front of my face hihihi, with a really cool web. Normally, I should stand and start running...but this is what I was meaning you get near to nature, I stayed there for a long time, observing this wonderful -and a little bit scary- creature, feeding itself :)

Once again, old people, kids, colours, music, dancing, smiles, and most important, a VERY GOOD HAPPY VIBE made this party one of the best I have been!! There were not so many people, around 4000-5000, but maybe its better, everyone was happy hihihi :)

On leaving I met a hungarian girl which became my guide until we reach budapest, it was amazing because she was actually studying to be a travel guide!!! So she spoke excellent english, knew everything about Hungary and she was really nice. A party guy from Denmark joined later, and there were also a couple from Israel, of course, all of them from the party hehehe :) Especially the guy from Denmark was very interesting because he was 30+ years old and have been going to open air festivals for 10 years hihihi, and he was living near Christiania!!! He was surprised to hear that I had just came from Denmark to the party, so it was endless talking about festivals and happy Copenhagen hihihihi.

In Budapest I stayed with a girl and her wonderful family, it was super wonderful!!!! Her parents were SOOOo nice and openminded, always smiling and in a good mood. Her father was producing mushrooms, and he was kind enough to take us to the facilities he works, it was extremely interesting to see how mushrooms grow up, and the procedure it takes for them to reach the market, and finally, our food hihihi :)
There was also a guy from Turkey that joined us, together with the friends of my host-girl we had a wonderful time, going to place I would never go without because I would never know about them, really nice alternative places and lots of beer hihihihi :) Later a guy from Russia came as well. There was also the National Holiday of Hungary, so we watched fireworks, but a crazy storm started, resulting to some people getting killed and many injured!!! Fortunately for us, we were at an amazing home, on the top of a 5 floor huge building, with a wonderful night view of Budapest.
Budapest is a really beautiful city, especially at night!!!!
One last note about Hungarian people, they gave me a really warm feeling. In the bus going to the train station to take my train, I was a little bit confused, a really old lady who didnt speak english at all, took my small map and papers, and somehow using the universal language, we communicated and she told me when I had to go down:)
In the McDonalds I wanted to just eat some quick junk food, the girl smiled to me while giving me my order and gave me an extra icecream "a present for you" she said, WoW!!!! This has never happened to me to any McDonalds in the world hihihi :)

So here I am in Chech Republic, Prague is SOOOOo beautiful as well!!!!! Im staying with a really nice couple, they have done lots of travelling and I listened to all the things they told me...especially about the communism era which the guy passed through it (he is 35). It was EXTREMELY interesting all the things I learned, which of course I wont write here, dont want to start a political conversation. He took me to really wonderful cheap places and tasted some of the best local food and beer in Chech hihihi, especially one meal, it was raw meat filled with raw egg, we added some spices on it, make a mix, then take bread, rub a piece of garlic on both sides, and then put the raw mix on it, it was VERY DELICIOUS, but after the meal I couldnt speak to people closer than 15cm HAHAHAHAHAH, this garlic is really strong hihihi :) The guy has his own company here and he gave me a tour on his headquarters, really nice hihihi :) He is a collector of old staff and his place is like a museum, I could easily spend a whole day discovering all kinds of staff hehehe.
One interesting point, the Czech language is very unique and different to the languages of the neighbouring counties because its...Finnish based (?!?!?!?!). Now how is it possible that Finland and Hungary to share the same base for the language, ask the ancients hihihi :)

oh oh, its getting late and I havent slept for ages hihihi, so I should better go and have a happy sleep. mmmmmm whats going to be, for the rest of the trip will be some more travelling and visiting good friends in various places hihihi, plus an event of MASSIVE ATTACK hihihi, 1st time to listen to them live and I havent been to an event-concert for some time so Im going to LOVE it, but of course, whatever whenever hihihi, free as a bird YEAH hihihi :)

Everybody, take care and super smile!!!!! :)
all the happy best :)
-dia

Hello Denmark : IM IN LOVE WITH LIFE!!! :)

2006-08-09T02:59:00.000+03:00

Hello hello!!!!! :)
Once again it has been some time since I wrote a -on the road- email hihihi, but believe me, these last days couldnt have been better, Im having some of the best time of my life!!! And with all that joy, you dont really feel the need to sit infront of a pc for more than 15minutes hihihi :) But today, here, I wanna write!!! But fast, cause the sun is SHINING ALL THE WAY out and is so GREAT!!!! :)

I went to Lund, a university city in Sweden and stayed with some exchange students there. It was really great!!! Im a student myself, and I will be a student for the rest of my life hihihi, always learning!!! So I lived the life of a student for 2 days in Lund. The most amazing fact is that I met one guy 25 years old, who was really great, a CS embassador who speaks 8 languages (mostly Asian ones!!!), from Peru, his father is a chef and he cooked the most amazing food I've ever eaten!!! And we are talking about high class restaurant food, this guy made breakfast, lunch and dinner for all his friends (and me), it was great!! Plus, he was very interesting, we were chatting about lots lots of things!! With his friends we went running, rolling down grassy hills (very funny!), sitting on the roofs with beers, talking, laughing, being drunk and having lots lots of fun!!!

Afterwards I went to Malmï¿½, the city that connects Denmark and Sweden through a crazy cool bridge, the ï¿½resund Bridge :) I stayed there with a couple, a Chilean girl and a Swedish guy. They were really alternative people and I enjoyed their time with them, they took me to a place where there was a band playing live music from Serbia!! And I LOVE these kind of things!!! Malmï¿½ is a different city from the other cities of Sweden (at least the ones I travelled to), it has a more multicultural feeling. And its a beautiful one as well, with a contrast, the old town with the nice old houses, and the new area which is being developed in the waterfront. It reminded me scenes from movies, the sea and the waterfront, hundreds of people bathing and sunbathing, kids playing and jumping from high above in the sea, rollerblading, skating, yeah, it was NICE!!! BUT I must say, because the area is just new and its EXTREMELY expensive to buy (or rent) a flat there, the people are a little bit, how can I say, not my kind of people, posh style and bla bla bla, but this is just my personal opinion, if you like expensive cars, women posing with their swimming suits, posh style, cafes and staff like that, you will love the place!! And theres a really interesting architectural building, from an architecture I know from the Olympics in Athens, Calatrava heheh, the building is really twisting 90 degrees!!!

And then I took the train, crossed the beautiful bridge (which is one of the longest of its kind), its really nice, you look outside and you really feel that you are travelling on the water with the train, and then it goes underground to emerge again in Copenhagen!!! And so I entered Denmark...and one thing I have to say, Denmark is TRULY AMAZING!! And the people are SOOOOOOO AMAZING TOO!!!! I knew Copenhagen would be beautiful, but really, ITS SOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!! One amazing thing is Christiania, a place that you HAVE to visit!!! Its a place situated in the island of Christianhavn, on the eastern flank of Copenhagen. So what makes Christiania really special and unique? In 1971 an abandoned 41-hectare military camp on the eastern side of Christianshavn (todays Christiania), was taken over by squatters who proclaimed it the 'free state' of Christiania, subject to their own laws! The police tried to clear the area but it was the height of the hippie revolution (YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!!!! hihihi) and an increasing number of alternative people from throughout Denmark continued to pour in, attracted the concept of communal living and the prospect of reclaiming military land for peaceful purposes (ISNT IT GREAT!?!?!?!?!?! :)
Bowing to public pressure, the government at that time allowed the community to continue as a social experiment. About 1000 people settled in Christiania, turning the old barracks into schools and housing, and starting their own collective businesses, workshops, and recycling programs :) And thus, Christiania was born... :)

AND ITS GREAT!!! I really loved the place!!! Its like being in Wonderland, but its real!! Full of alternative people and feeling, happenings, nice shops, legalized hash (more about this further below), ultra colourful, ultra cool and ultra happy, YEAH, thats Christiania!!! Now listen to this, the people there DONT pay taxes!!! And we are talking about 45% tax rate!!! Isnt really amazing?!?!? And this is an issue, which I discussed with a nice guy who just moved there. He told me that Christiania is totally amazing BUT the people living there should be a little bit more grateful about what they have :)
Now about the legalised staff, as the people told me, until about 2 years ago, there were open stalls selling hash and staff. But with a new goverment with strict rules about everything (not only concerning Christiania, but the whole Denmark as well), Christiania is taking a lot of pressure. And thats why you see in many walls in Copenhagen, a message written: ''FORSVAR CHISTIANIA O O O'', which means ''Defend Christiania'' and the 3 circles are Christianias flag :) Hash is not legal anymore, but you can still buy if you hang around a little bit in some specific places. Plus, as I was told, the police is now patrolling from time to time...
So everybody wishes Christiania to remain as it is, and not be part of Copenhagens history...and its true, apart from being a SUPER WOW CRAZY WONDERFUL PLACE, the people have so many memories attached to Christiania...so destroying Christiania would be like taking away peoples memories...I met an old Danish lady in the S-train and we had a nice conversation. It was yesterday, my last day in Copenhagen, which was ''Dia the Tourist'' doing some sightseeing :) She asked me how long I have been in Copenhagen and where did I go. I told her that Im more interested into people and the way of life, than sightseeing, and she was very happy to hear about it. Then I added that I went to Christiania with my friends, and they showed me around. And what did she say with a HUGE smile: ''Well, this is all what you need to see in Copenhagen'' hihihi, I LOVE meeting old people with her spirit!!! And of course she wasnt an ordinary old lady, she went around the world when she was young...now she would go trekking in Norways highest peaks with 3 of her friends, isnt great!?!?! I really wish I reach her age, have the experience she had and have the will and power to do more, and she does!!! She was married but her husband died 8 years ago, but she continued on with her life and trips...and this is part of my philosophy as well...dont get stuck in the past!! What ever happened happened, good times are to remember, bad times are just to respect and learn...and life goes on, it always does!!! And if you smile and think positive, then you will find out that life is full of crazy wonderful surprises!! And OH YEAH IT IS!!!! Respect and learn from the past, enjoy and live every minute of the present, dream (but not plan) about the future...and go with the flow, and see what happens... :) And maybe like this you will be happy... :) I learn about this everyday, especially while travelling :)

In Copenhagen I stayed with a girl and her wonderful friends, and it was one of the best times I have ever had!!!! Really special people, now, if I hear ''Copenhagen'' my mind always goes to them and Christiania...and not the Little Mermaid, Rosenborg Slot, Slotsholmen and the other sightseeing (which I did, in the final day). And once again, I understand something that the more you travel, the more you learn about it, thats its all about the people in the end... :) You may travel to crazy places, but its always the people you meet and share smiles and thoughts, that you will never forget!!! hihihi :)

So, where am I now? Im in Odense hehehe, and Im staying with a really nice cool guy!! He is very interesting and hooked up with pcs, cause he is a web designer-programmer. As you already know, I teach some computers to kids and sometimes work as a computer tech, so this is quite interesting to me. BUT he is not the kind of person who spends his whole life in front of a pc, he uses it for his work, research and to make his life easier, and thats it! He plays amazing accordion, and he used to be a street performer when he was a kid, and he was making around 300Dkr per hour!!!! This is around 40 euros, 32 dollars, 5400yen!!! He is so nice, I entered his appartment and the 1st thing I saw was 3 boxes of beers!!! YEAH!!! hihihi, ''what kind of host would I be?'' he told me HAHAHAHAHAAHAH!!! :D He is great to be with and we are laughing all the time here, plus, he has some nice music which Im listening right now and thats why Im taking so long to write this email, Im almost dancing with the laptop hahaha :D

And in this point,I want to tell something about this AMAZING project, called The CouchSurfing Project .(just click on the link if you want to check it out, which I really recommend). Its a hospitality site (NOT A DATING SITE), where travellers (and hopefully, NOT tourists), can meet other travellers and stay in their place:) OF course, the 1st thing that pops into your mind about this, is that you are going to stay for free, which was the thing that came into my mind as well :) But this is really unimportant, the most important about this is that you really meet people!!! And if you are lucky, these people will share their lives with you while you are there...and the experience you will get is not written even in the best guide book in the world!!! When I first became a member there was a technical problem so I was asking for some info. Then a CS (CouchSurfing) embassador, a Philippino girl travelling around the world for a long time, send en email and told me that this project may really change your life...and believe me people, SHE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!! YEAH YEAH!!!! :)
You are not obligated to host all the people who send you messages (which will be TOO MANY), only the people you want and can, you may even set it not to host but just meet travellers to show them around. So, nothing to loose! So, click on the link and become a member hihihi :) Dont think ''what if'' and ''how about..'', and things like that, JUST GO FOR IT, and you wont regret it, I guarantee it!! Of course maybe you will meet some people that you may not connect with, or maybe it will not be the best experience, but that exists everywhere in everything, and again it will be an experience :). And I must tell you, the majority of the people using this project, are all unique in his-her own kind of way:)
OK, enough talking, just go and become a member hihihi :)

Back to my trip, I will spend some days here in Odense cause my host is really great, I will chill out a little bit hihihi :) My plans have changed once again hihihi, I just found out about a 5 days open air psychedelic festival in Hungary. In Copenhagen I went totally crazy when I found out that INFECTED MUSHROOM were playing in a party in Copenhagen!!! Of course I couldnt loose it...it was in a factory place. The thing is that I havent been dancing since my Half Moon party in Thailand, last year...so I went to the party with 2 friends, and immediately I found out how much I really need to dance free, at least 1 time every year...the party was one of the usual indoor parties in cities, all kinds of people, many of them not really into the music, many wasted people, extremely hot and crowded. But I managed to dance the hell away hihihi, because you cant do otherwise when Infected Mushroom play...their music is a mix of psychedelic, rock elements, even classic staff, I would say its unique and VERY POWERFUL, when it was my party time, whenever they performed, I was there!!! I havent heard them for some time, so it was nice to go to that party hihihi :) And I checked a little bit the psy scene people in Copenhagen :)
So I didnt have to think a lot yesterday morning, when I decided to go to Ozora Festival 2006, an open air psychedelic festival in Hungary (if you wanna check it, just click on the link). One really nice thing is that the venue of the party is the same one as Solipse that took place in 1999, and its a really nice place as I have been told. The line up is good and powerful, the festival is 5 full days, AND IM SO EXCITED AND HAPPY!!!! YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!! The dates are 16-20th of August. So its going to be again 5 days of endless dancing under the sun, with thousands of colourful crowd from all over the world hihihi, yeah yeah, cant wait!!! Smile, dance, chill out, smile, dance, chill out. And of course all the amazing staff that only these kind of parties-festivals can offer, workshops, crazy juggling, international feeling, recreational staff etc etc. and all these inside nature, breathing the fresh air and enjoying the sun, check the web page for details.
So if you have nothing to do at that dates, and you are up to it, just come!!! hihihi, I'll meet you in the main stage, I will be there everyday from the sunrise till the sunset hihihi :) LETS GO SHARE SOME POSITIVE ENERGY AND DANCE WITH A FREE MIND!!!:)

So, some days in Odense, then I go play with some lego staff, visit a friend in Aalborg and then I will go straight from Denmark to Hungary, to the party hihihi, at least this is it for now, cause you never know hahahah, go with the flow ;)

mmmmmmm this email became quite a big one hohoho, I hope you are not bored reading all these staff hihihihi :)
Everybody, take care and super smile!!!! And enjoy the sun!!!! :)
all the happy best :)
-dia

1-7-2006 BEAUTIFUL SWEDEN!!! :)

2006-08-03T19:18:00.000+03:00

Happy hello!!! :)

Once again its been a while since I wrote my last email or updated my blog hihihi :D

STOCKHOLM was more than wonderful!!! Built in small islands and with the star attraction "Gamla Stan" (The Old Town), its impossible for you not to love this city!!! ANd if you are a boy you have one more reason hihihi, the girls here are more beautiful than ever!! :) Its so funny, every (male) traveller I met, they always tell me first about swedish girls and how beautiful they are, and then they tell me about the city HAHAHAHAHHAAH. BUT I met female travellers as well and told me that they found out that the Swedish boys are very handsome. So, I guess doesnt matter if you are a boy or girl, come to Sweden to fall in Love hihihihi :D
I stayed in a HUGE hostel, which wasnt exactly a hostel, it was a school or an orphanange some years ago, the place was the best and so huge you felt you needed a map the 1st days to find yourself to the toilets, kitchen or your dorm hehe :)
The guy who owns it is from Chile, so many people (I think all the people) who work speak spanish hehehe, and english of course :) In my dorm I met a guy from Hawaii and a guy from the North of the UK, really cool guys, we hanged around a little bit and I cooked for them a HUGE pasta hahahaha, we enjoyed our meal along with beers :)
Plus some Swiss girls, which we practised our skills in table tennis hihihi, havent played for many years.
The weather continued to be wonderful with the sun shining, just a little bit of rain but it was OK. Gamla Stan is really a wonderful place to be, with all the old buildings, narrow lanes and streets, filled with shops of all kind, the roayl palace, some cool museums and lots lots of people!!! Stockholm in general has a wonderful atmosphere!!!
If you walk for about 40 minutes, just outside the central, you would never think that you are in the capital of Sweden!! Beautiful canals, boats, people enjoying, kids playing, I felt like I was in the country :)
Swedish people have a really good style! Plus One more thing I noticed, PUNK is not dead here in Sweden hihihi, I came across many punk kids (or maybe street fashion? dont know) hihihi :)

After spending 3 days in beautiful Stockholm, I felt the need to move on. So I went SouthEast, in a town called Ystad. I needed to change 3 buses and be inside a bus for almost 12 hours to reach the place!!! While on the last bus, there was twilight zone and a cool mist was surrounding everything...looked really amazing and spooky hihi:)
My main purpose here was to visit Ales Stenar, the Swedish Stonehenge, which Im sure many people just have never heard of it (as I for example). And it was brilliant!! On the top of a grassy hill, stones just like Stonehenge, but not in a circle but in the shape of a viking boat, and without the crazy crowds of the Stonehenge, yeah, Ales Stenar! As with the Stonehenge, nobody knows who and why built this...mystic place again... :) Down of the hill was the wonderful sea, and some km further there was a really nice beach! The place is 20km out of Ystad, a tiny settlement with beautiful houses...I hitch hiked my way back, and I realised hitch hiking in Sweden is not really easy. And the woman who picked me up, she was Swedish and told me the same, hitch hiking is not really popular here heheh :) But I managed to get a lift, I had to stand only 40 minutes, which is a really good time, especially for here :)
Because I have already blown up my budget here in Scandinavia from the very beggining, I decided to start using my right to camp almost whenever I want, a wonderful right you have here in Sweden. So around midnight, I just went to a small harbour which had a tiny park, and placed my tent. Its in the centre of the town, but no problem, I woke up at 5.30am and by 6am there was no evidence that a tent was ever placed there hihihi :) One more thing I woke up so early is because according to the weather forecast, heavy rain was expected that day, and believe me, wild camping (meaning camping on your own without any facilities), and trying to set out your tent while the rain is pounding, is NOT a good experience. And I was really lucky, by 6.30am it started raining really hard!!! Found myself inside the ferry terminal, watching the rain and being happy that I woke up really early hihihih :) But the rain lasted only a couple of hours, and then it was sunny again, so I managed to stroll around beautiful Ystad!

Yesterday night I took the decision to come to Malmo. I arrived late and I did the same again hihihi, went a little bit further this time (must have been around 1,5km), found again a park with grass near the beach, and placed my tent. Its really funny feeling, around midnight, you are with all your staff and just searching in the darkness without a soul nearby, with a flashlight to put your tent for a nights sleep hihihi. Again I woke up early today morning, and took the train to Lund, which Im writing right now. Its a wonderful university city, with a very beautiful cathedral with a very atmospheric crypt, down there I felt I was in a videogame or something hihihi, really nice. I will go back to Malmo tomorrow to spend a couple of days, before going to Denmark :) The good thing, from today I have arranged to couchsurf, meaning I will meet nice people and sleep in a home hihihi, this wild camping can be fun but really exhausting as well some times, searching with all your staff at midnight a place to set a tent and bla bla bla :)

The thing is that I think after travelling in Denmark, I will just buy myself a Global Interail Ticket, which I have used it in the past hihihi, this will allow me to be more flexible, fast and go visit lots of places I havent been yet hihihi :)

Thats all for now!! :)
Take care and super smile, enjoy the sun and Summer!! :)
all the happy best :)
-dia

26-7-2006

2006-07-29T22:06:00.000+03:00

Hello hello!!!
Well, it has been some time since I wrote hehehe, I was really busy hhehehe, no I wasnt, just travelling hahahhaa.

Oslo was really nice, it has all these simple things that Athens doesnt have, like good city planning, less population, big pedestrians, bicycle lains and staff like that. I stayed in an amazing chinese girl, she has travelled a lot around the world and she is really crazy, it was really good to share experiences!!

The sun continued to shine in Oslo which was really nice, I had my hosts bicycle so I managed to go around and observe life hehehe, it was so lively because of the nice weather, all the people, Norwegians and tourists enjoying the sun. I checked also a little bit the night life, but it was the same as usual, many drunk people having fun with all the things that this means heheheh, plus, the night life in Oslo is extremely expensive hahahaha. But at least they have fun. One thing, all the people are BIG, meaning in their body size. Suddenly I felt really tiny inside the crowd, Norwegian women and men were really tall and big hihihi. They always check your ID whereever you go in Oslo at night, mostly for the age. But it was a good experience, Im not really into night life when I travel (expect of course when I go to open air many days parties hehe, which is totally different) but if I have a chance, I take it. ANd since my host was so nice and crazy, why not hehehe :)

One thing I loved in Oslo was an amazing park, Vingeland park, which was full of sculptures of the same name artist, and had many flowers, ducks, fountains, and a crazy sculptured column at the top of a small hill of stairs, it reminded me the atmosphere of many videogames I was playing younger, because the column was sculpted of people, all of them trying to reach the top!!! It was really nice, took some photos, maybe I'll manage to send later, along with some other photos as well hehe.

Another thing was the Nobel Peace Center. I guess we all know about the Nobel prize, maybe some of us know how the whole thing started (which I wont take time to analyze in this email) and thats the reason why many people (me as well now) dont really appreciate the prize. My point is that I viewed and listened to the award speeches of some people, like Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa...and especially, Mother Teresas speech was one of the best I have heard in my life, a hymn for the poor and the unwanted, and how important is to give and help other people in need... the words went directly to my heart, and my mind again went to something I will definitely do, at the start of the big big trip, not because I have to, but because I feel the need to, I want to do it, and this is volunteering in India, and other countries as well... :)

Everywhere people were enjoying the sun, so we did, one of the sunny afternoons we went to a nice huge park and just enjoyed sitting on the grass under the sun, eating some wonderful indian food and drinking mango juice hehehe, nice nice :) THe place was full of kids playing around like crazy and people having barbeques, and a big group of drunk lesbians who provided us with a quite funny show hihihihihi :)

So I left Oslo with a smile again, and here I am in Gothenburg!!! THe weather continues to be really amazing, sun shining and VERY WARM!! I didnt expect to be SOOO warm here hehe, its a pleasant surprise. So I really need to send back by postal email all my -ice, waterproof and cold- equipment, such as hiking boots, coat, and some other things, Im carrying it all in my backpack cause Im wearing my summer clothes now and its around 20kg, which after some time walking is really painful, when I did the trek I only had 14-15kg in my backpack, because I was wearing all the staff mentioned above hehehe, plus I had left some staff in my Icelandic friend, she and her family are sooooooooo nice!!!

I want to make a point here, while travelling you meet all kinds of people, but you usually meet wonderful people and families, especially when they host you! They almost spoil me being so nice to me! So my point is, hospitality and wonderful people exist everywhere, in everypart of the world, and while travelling Im so happy I can experience all this kindness!!! It makes you feel that the world is really a better place, and that good people REALLY exist, so we really have many hopes as a human race, no matter what we hear in the news... :)
Fellow travellers, people and families who host you...all of them are such wonderful people with many stories to share...but I guess all these are one of the things that makes travelling such a magic and unique experience!! All these and many more!!! :)

After my wonderful host in Oslo, Im staying here in Gothenburg with another chinese girl, she is an exchange student for 10 months, and she is a wonderful person too!! We explored together some places in Gothenburg she hasnt been yet, because she is using all her time here to study and she is travelling as much as she can in Europe, she just came back from a trip, she has a new trip planning, she is even moving to a different place, but again, instead of relaxing, she accepted to host me for some days!!! Thats exactly what I mean about wonderful people, and this amazing feeling shared between travellers...she told me "I was treated really nice while travelling, and I want to do the same and give the same nice treatment to other travellers..." :)
And I really believe, if you do good in your life, you will receive good, one way or another, and of course, if you do bad, you will receive bad, even worse hehehe :)

Plus, Im interested in Asia and its really nice that my hosts are Chinese, I can learn many things :)

Gothenburg is not a very special city but it has some really nice points, Liseberg, a fun park that is the top attraction here and attracts LOTS LOTS of people, many nice parks and some interesting cultural museums. PLus, its my first experience in Sweden. But the best museum for me here, its the "World Cultural Museum", which is free!!! YEAH!!! Its an amazing hitech museum, a new open, opened only last year, and is still getting new themes. As for now, I experienced 2 wonderful themes, "Voices from Africa" and "The stories and life of the Orinoco people and the sister of dreams". Everything, from culture to everyday life, from history to present, is presented with a wonderful hitech style, believe me, if you are into travelling you will definitely love this, is A MUST SEE. And from September, new themes will be available (maybe then I guess an entry fee will also appear hehe). So I spent half a day learning about many African countries, about Voodoo, about the life of Bob Marley, about slavery, culture, progress, war and all these facts about Africa...and then, Orinoco is a place in Venezuela inhabited by many tribes, many of them still living on their own way and practicing their religion, culture and customs...it was really wonderful!! The sister of dreams is supposed to be death for the Orinoco people, because its a state that you are neither awake, neither sleeping...I learnt about shamans, about traditions and many other very interesting staff...and then I had really the feeling that I dont want to go back to Greece (again...), but Im happy because after this trip, I take care of my final obligations (which are going to take me quite some time) and then Im free, and thats when the real trip will start hehehe :)

Well, have to go to the post office now hehehe, a BIG package going home to Greece hihihi, and the sun is still shining so Im going to enjoy the day hehehe :)
Tomorrow Im leaving for Stockholm!!!

Everybody, take care and super smile AND ENJOY THE SUN!!!
All the happy best
-dia

UPDATE AT LAST!!! :)

2006-07-19T12:11:00.000+03:00

Happy hello to everyone!!!

At last, I managed to update my blog!! You cant imagine how many times I wrote things, and tried to post photos as well, but for some reason, I couldnt do an update, I was getting all kinds of error messages, like that my URL doesnt exist (?!?!?!?!) and staff like that...

But I was writing emails to all my friends, and what I wrote to the emails is just about what I would write to my blog. So, I decided to post all the emails with their dates on, so it will be like I was posting to the blog then! I cant understand why, but I still cant put photos...I really dont like my blog like that, its like a newspaper, photos would be nice, and I have taken SOOO many until now!!! And I have some ready to post but...cant post!! mmmm so I guess I will leave it the -newspaper- style for now, and start to post photos with the stories when I go back to Greece...

So this is a big update hehhe, I hope I will manage to update more often now, I cant understand if it was blogger or the provider in Iceland that was causing the problem, but at least now I know its fixed!!! But still no photos...

Happy to be back hihihi, take care and super smile!!!!
all the best
-dia

19-7-2006 Hello from Bergen - Norway :)

2006-07-19T12:10:00.000+03:00

Happy hello!!!

heheh, Im in Bergen now, its a really nice coastal city in a wonderful fjord. But the most amazing thing is the sun IS SHINING!!!! Yesterday AND today, the whole day!!! And Bergen is supposed to be one of the rainiest cities in Norway, expect rain about 275 days per year!!! Well, I guess from the remaining days, the 3 of sunshine are mine!! YEAH!!! Its sooooooooo nice to feel some sun after so much rain (and some snow), and cold hihihi, so Im back on my trainers, tshirt and colourful clothes hohoho, feels so nice to wear the trainers after almost 1 month of wearing my hiking boots!

Bergen is really nice, it has an Unesco World Heritage Site, and this is the old warehouses in a road, called Bryggen. All are connected with nice narrow lanes, stone streets and while you walk, you feel a little bit of the past and nostalgia (again hihihi), smelling the wood, and watching all the nice wooden old houses...the most of them are now serving as tourist shops selling all kinds of souvenirs, and some are restaurants etc. but they really retain the nice feel, its like the whole square just came from the past!

Apart from that, the city has really nice architecture, old buildings and is surrounded by 7 mountains!!! I walked yesterday to the top of one of them, and the view was really outstanding!! Many trails criss cross and you can walk from one mountain to another, if you are up to it and have time. And since we are having such a wonderful weather, why not hehhe.

One more thing, yesterday, I had my 1st -night- after almost 1 month of travelling hahahah! yeah, I havent experienced a night for almost one month, due to the midnight sun hihihi, so I can say it felt a little bit nice to see the night and the night lights of the city hihihi, this is how Im used to live, light by day, dark by night hohoho.

Now I really understand how important is the climate...I was born and raised in Greece, so Im used to the sun and nice warm weather...Iceland and the Faroe were really beautiful, but I could never live there...due to the CRAZY weather, changing from summer to winter all of a sudden, you have the wonderful sun, and in 10 minutes the sky is true gray, fog everywhere, you can see a thing, the wind blows like hell and heavy rain is hitting you in your face!!!! This may go on for hours, and then its possible that the sun will come out again, like nothing happened!!! And in the highlands of Iceland, to all these add the crazy snowstorms and blizzards we experienced on the first 2 days of the trek...heheh, it was a wonderful experience, but not the conditionios (for me) to live hehhehe, Im a child of the sun, I need it!!! Thats why Im so happy that the sun is out here heheheh :D

mmmmm do you believe your country is expensive? Well, just go spend some time in Iceland (and Norway) and then you will really appreciate how cheap your country is!!! I mean, Iceland must be one of the most expensive cities in the world!!! Unbelievable!! Norway is really expensive as well...hehehe, its crazy!! You see your money flying just like that, and your budget is totally blown away without realizing it...mmmmm thats why Im moving to the south as quick as possible hehhehe. But of course, I allow the days I need to check out and experience staff. So I will stay here in Bergen for 3 days, and then I take my train to Oslo. I read that this route, Bergen-Oslo, is supposed to be one of the most beautiful scenic train routes in the world...mmm we shall see hehhee, thats why I booked a train and not a bus, even though it was a little bit more expensive, but only a little bit because I managed to book a minipris ticket, so it was half price hehhehe.

Well, thats all for now...
everybody, take care and super smile!!!
happy happy!
-dia

16-7-2006 Faroe Islands...a step into the past

2006-07-19T12:03:00.000+03:00

Hello!!!

Well, here I am, in the Faroe islands, a wonderful place!!! 18 islands with crazy shapes, full of birds and crazy cliffs, where people are easygoing and friendly, where the girls are beautiful as ever!! Yeap, here is the Faroe islands!! So small, but so beautiful, and with a touch of the past...houses with turfed roofs, sheeps, horses, all these coexist with the houses of the people, even in the -capital- of Torshavn!

The total population of this tiny nation, under the supervision of Denmark, is as tiny as 50000 people!!! All of them are very friendly and ready to help the small amount of tourists that their islands receive.

The ferry from Iceland was late 12 hours (!!!!) because it had an accident on the Faroe islands on the way to Iceland (!?!??!?!). We departed at around 1pm, where we should normally depart at noon!! But at least we departed in the end hihihi.

One more thing about the Faroes...the weather is as windy and as rainy as ever!!! Especially today, it has been raining since 6am, and now its almost 6pm!!! And I thing it will go on like this...tomorrow morning I go take my ferry for Norway. I was thinking to extend my presence here in the Faroes, but this is not an option a) 10 days for the Faroes are TOO much, the distances are as short as 30-40km, and besides the cliffs and birds, theres nothing to see. Of course there are things to experience, but again, even the locals told me, 10 days are too much. b)the smyril line is not open on Sunday!! And on Saturday, when I went, it was closed again!! because they told me theres a cancellation fee that I have to pay to go with the next ferry next week=more money AND with the current situation, a small possibility to loose my ferry..? c)I have already spent quite an awful amount of money in Iceland, and staying in the Faroe islands another one week will cost more money as well d)I have arranged couchsurfing in Bergen and Oslo happily, so no accomodation expenses and of course I will get to know the life from the real local people which is great, plus, today I just booked my minipris ticket...whats that, there are special tickets for the train, only in summer, almost half price!! BUT you have to book at least 5 days before...and thats why, today, I had to walk several km in the crazy rain and wind, just to come here, theres only 1 place with only 1 pc available for internet on Sunday here (!!!!). But finally, I booked my ticket and saved a respectful amount of money hehehhe, its cool how much money you can save just with a little bit of planning. The 50 euros that night in Iceland...if I had planned something, I could have saved them as well hehehe :P

Its amazing here in the Faroes, how the people went by the difficulties of time, crazy weather but they always had the sea as their friend, they survived by fishing in the wild atlantic sea!! The history museum near the capital is one of the best, with amazing photos and a wonderful nostalgic feeling....yeah, the Faroe islands are quite a nice experience...

Yesterday there was a glimpse of the sun, so I washed my clothes...of course to go and find them all wet and struggling to stay on the hunging ropes, in the rain...so I have some wet clothes now trying to dry in the camping toilets (the only place where you can leave something to dry), its not nice to depart with a bag full of wet clothes...plus, tomorrow, if the weather is like this...something I hate, taking out my tent with full rain...everything totally wet put inside....yikes!! We shall see...

So tomorrow morning I leave the Faroes to go further on my trip to main Scandinavia, Norway here I come hihihi :)

take care and super smile everyone!!!
all the happy best
-dia

12-7-2006 Iceland

2006-07-19T12:02:00.000+03:00

Hello hello!!!

Im here in Seydisfjordur now, a cute lovely little town in a fjord, where its the departure point of my ferry hehehe. Its raining outside (as usual here in Iceland) and Im now in a super wonderful nice little coffee shop, with 1 pc, the only one in the whole tiny settlement!! Im enjoying a cup of coffee with some nice music heheh. The girl who owns it has been to Athens!I hitch hiked the 350km of the 650km to this place...but unfortunately, I didnt manage to save any money...because yesterday I stayed in a guesthouse and payed 56 fuckin euros for one night sleeping bag accomodation!!!!!But lets get it from the start, I started hitch hiking 2 days ago, a nice old couple of farmers gave a ride of 15km. Then, I was out in the middle of nowhere hahaha, but after some time, a big big truck picked me up. The track driver didnt speak english at all, but somehow, we managed to communicate hehehe. He dropped me off some 25km further in a small town. Then, there was a nice couple of Germans who picked me up. They stopped 20km further, but after half an hour, they continued east, I was still there hitch hiking so they picked me up again!! Nice people. Then I was still on the road hitch hiking...the thing is that that day was full on sunny, so I had to go the furthest as possible by hitch hiking, nobody gives you a ride while in the rain...suddenly, I saw 2 more backpackers coming out on the street...they stood a little bit further to me, but before me, meaning that if someone would give them a ride, they would be the ones to take it instead of me!! Hey hey, that wasnt fair, since I was waiting for a longer time...but what the hell, I continued eating my candy and waited...and then, the best people came and gave me a ride!!! One guy from New Zealand and a German girl, they picked me up and drove me the rest of the 350 km!!! We made some stops in some interesting sites, and of course, I treated them some coffee hehehe. Then we ended up in Skaftafell national park, a park situated in 2 glacier tongues!!! We did some hiking together to the glacier tongues, it was really beautiful!!! I thank them and camped there for the night. But...there were no cooking facilities...and I only had some make your self pasta...but the guy in the camping reception was so kind, and he brought me into his hut, where I cooked and ate my pasta peacefully. It was 10am by then, and I told him that tomorrow I had to go on my way. ''BUT YOU HAVE TO SEE SKAFTAFELL!!'' he told me, so what we did, we went hiking until 1pm!!! heheheh, only about 10km hike, but it was amazing, the midnight sun on our side, no other people around, just nature!! We climbed to a peak where I had a super wow amazing view of the glacier, and then hiked to one of the most famous waterfalls of Iceland heheh, it was truly amazing. Plus, the guy knew many things about Iceland and the places, so he was something like a guide to me, explaining all kinds of things, from the 1st guy who came to settle in Iceland in a small piece of land visible from where we were, to the volcanic stones surrounding the waterfall!!! It was great!The next day -yesterday- there was lots of rain...I had to use the buses from now on...I went to a glaciar lagoon which was on my way, even with the rain it was truly wonderful, floating icebergs and birds above the ice...truly awesome place!!The bus to Hofn, where happened what I explained above, and wasted quite an awful amount of money...plus the bus for today to here, but hitch hike to here would be almost impossible, I only saw 3-4 cars in the whole 250km to here!!!So here I am...today hihihi, but ok, thats travelling, some times you have to waste money...cant avoid it...but from now on its going to be SUPER FULL BADGET heheheh. One thing I give myself some food, cause after all the hiking I need it heheheh, so Im not starving as I was in other trips in the past heheheh.So, in order to visit the Faroes and Norway, it costed me another 200 euros until now, and of course more money on accomodation and food that I will spend in these places...I could just take a flight to Stockholm from Reykjavik...but this would be the easy way, plus I would loose many more things...I could save some money...but its one time you visit Iceland, so the hell with the money!! heheheh, plus, my fathers advice was to go to the Faroes, and I always follow my fathers advice, whenever I do otherwise, I know I loose something hehehhehe, thanx dad!So...tomorrow noon I leave for the Faroe Islands, arriving the day after tomorrow at 5am hehehe. And from then...we shall see! I will check the weather report now, cause I want to go to one of the most isolated islands in the Faroes, called Mykines, where its one of the most enygmatic and beautiful ones...and one of the most difficult to reach, due to weather conditions sometimes its been cut off for days, and even the helicopter (yeah, they use a helicopter in the Faroe as a bus, and its quite cheap thus making it a bargain heheheh) cant fly!!! But it must be worth it, Im on to it!!! hehehhehehmmmm Im leaving Iceland with a big smile, it was wonderful...I met wonderful people and the family of my friends I spent some days with were truly amazing wonderful people TAKK FYRIR TAKK FYRIR!!!! It feels so nice meeting wonderful people all over the world...and now I know, they truly exist everywhere!!! Do good, and you gonna receive good, in one way or another, thats my moto hehehe.Did a wonderful trek with, met nice people there too, went to other amazing places...ooooooooooo yeah, Iceland ROCKS!!!The only thing I didnt like was the amount of rain hehhe, but its ok, its Iceland, I had some sunny days as well and I really enjoyed them!!! And now its time to move on, to a place not many people travel, so I guess its going to be a wonderful experience as well...Im prepared for more rain, more wind for sure and a smile to my Faroe islands visit! hihihiBless bless Island (bye bye Iceland) heheheheTake care and super smile everybody, thank you so much for your lovely emails and sorry if I dont reply personally, I read all of them but sometimes I have no time to reply to them, you know how it is while on the road hehehhe.all the happy best!!!-dia

9-7-2006 Iceland

2006-07-19T12:01:00.000+03:00

Hello!!!!

Im back to the civilization heheheh, the trek was truly amazing and challenging hehehe. One of the best experiences of my life! Going to my starting point (Landmannalaugar), our bus broke down!!! The interior of Iceland is a very crazy place, full of glacial rivers, diverse landscapes and rough soil...the bus was going really fast, fjording rivers (yeah, the busses that go through the interior of Iceland are not ordinary busses, they are fjording (crossing) rivers, and running through really rough surface! So, the result was the bus to break down in a black sand dessert, the driver tried to fix it but no luck,so we waited in the middle of nowhere for almost 3 hours for a new bus to take us to Landmannalaugar. Heheheh. The trek from Landmannalaugar to Thorsmork is know as the Laugarvegurinn -Hot Spring Road- and its the premiew walk in Iceland. Its a total of 54km, which we walked in 4 days. It can be done in less days, but my backpack was really heavy (carrying some clothes, food for 5 days, and camping equipment plus tent) so 4 days were ideal. Its 4 parts of 12, 12, 15, and 15km, each day ending in a hut. Theres also another trek of some more 24km, and many people combine the 2 treks into one big trek of 79km total. I was planning to do that, but my food was over on the end of the 1st part (the 55km trek). The good thing is that there are 2 points where you can take the bus back to civilization, on the 55th km, or on the 79th km hehehhe. So I ended up the trek in Thorsmork, where the most of the people do hehehe. The thing is that the first 2 days, which are the most difficult because we are ascenting from the 600 meters to 1100 meters altitute, crossing many mountains, we had lots of snowstorms and blizzards!! At one point we were ascenting with so much heavy snow, that it was hitting us in a face really painfully!! All these, with our heavy backpacks, and walking in thick snow, was really exchausting hehehe. So we were extremely happy to see the 1st hut, in the fog and snow hehehe. It was really warm, and of course, no word of camping, hell was loose outside!! The thing in Iceland is that weather can change every minute, an in the interior (which the trek goes), this is done in a grander scale!! So, at the 2nd day, when we woke up at 7am, and seeing all the crazy sun out, we rushed to go on. But of course, the snow was very thick from the day before, and we encountered some more snow storms on our way, but not like the 1st day. The landscapes are absolutely stunning, and Im sad that in the photos the beauty of what my eyes were seeing cant be depicted...thick snow, colourful mountains, fumeholes and smoke going out from thermal areas just inside from the snow, sulfur smell. Many times we had to ascent and descent mountains, so from the top of them, we gazed to the amazing view...having nothing to say but feeling happy!!! In some points, we had to walk on glacier bridges, so we had to cross one by one, so to avoid the possibility the bridge to collapse from the weight!! The 2nd day we descented, so the landscape and weather changed. We also had to cross our first river, but it wasnt so big after all, we managed to throw our backpacks to the other side and jump, wetting a little bit one of our feet hehe. The 2nd hut was situated in a wonderful scenery with a lake, some nice mountains. We had time so we went up to the mountain, and the view was wonderful, glaciers, rivers, mountains, a big lake and some more mountains hihihi. We also did a training small river crossing, so we knew what to expect, the 3rd day involved at least 3 river crossings! And it was quite an experience!!We started with the wind blowing like hell!! You could almost think that you would be blown away!! The rivers are not ordinary, are glaciar rivers so the water is extra super cold! One of the rivers we crossed was deep, the water went higher than the knee, which is supposed to be the danger lever, the current was a little bit strong as well, but it was ok heheh. I started the trek with a wonderful french couple, afterwards a swiss guy joined (who have travelled the whole world and hiked to everywhere as well) and on the 3rd day, another nice couple, a girl from the Netherlands with a german guy.After the river crossings, our feet were numb and cold, even some time after we had put our heavy warm socks and boots heheheh. I can say that the 3rd day was a little bit boring, because it was mostly in one concept, black desert and black sand dunes. It was cool, but always the same, makes you a little bit tired for all these km heheh. Plus, we had hard rain in the end, but just in the end heheh. The hut was warm and we dried ourselves while resting and eating our lunch hehehe. The 4th day was nice as well, we had to cross the most challenging river, the -killer- one as some people call it, because some people were killed while trying to cross it. We didnt know what to expect. The thing is that it was really wide, but NOT so deep because we were lucky. No rain all night, and we reached the river quite early, so the tide was low. BUT it was really wide, our feet got so numb, but inside the river you only think that you have to go on and reach the other side, no matter what! And of course you have to be careful of the current, you dont want to fall inside the water with your backpack and all your things!!! After the river, we already entered the oasis of Thorsmork, one of the most greenest parts of Iceland, and yes, there were trees!! Trees are really rare here, in fact, these might be the 1st I really saw!! It was a wonderful place for the end of the trek, green with trees, birds singing, small rivers and full of flowers! I greeted goodbye to the group, I had to go to a different final hut, to try to catch the bus back to civilization.So I runned but finally missed the bus for about 5 minutes! So I camped there for the night. 3 German guys who were also trekking came after a while heheh, plus, 3 icelandinc couples who also did the trek joined. The nice thing is that while hiking this route, you always see the same people while doing it, and even if havent spoken in some of the huts, you are familiar with them. The german guys were really ahead of us, but were waiting for the bus in the wrong hut!! hohoho! Really nice people, they bought me some beers and offered some food, all of my food was finished heheh. That hut in Thorsmork had a geothermal pool, and we ended up in a pool party full of beers, with the germans and the icelanders, with lots of culturar exchange. Plus, we learned of a custom, at midnight, some crazy icelanders roll on the grass naked!!They do it in Solstice, but they did an exception for us HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, it was SO fun to see that!!!!Everybody got really drunk hohoh, but I didnt, only drunk a few beers (the german guys bought about 30 plus beers!!!! There was lots of fog and some rain, so I went to sleep in my cold tent. As I realised, my sleeping bag is NOT for the temperatures stated, and of course, since it costed only 35 euros, and the good sleepers cost around 250-400 euros!!!! I couldnt afford that hehehe, so I ended up sleeping with my coat hohoho. And the next day, the designated 7.20am DIDNT come!!! Everybody was little apset hohoh, and after calling the bus company, they said that they would send another bus. We ended up waiting until 10am, where another bus came, took us through the interior to the main road, where we changed to a small bus going to Reykjavik. The 1st bus driver was going SO fast, I felt like being in a rollercoaster, so I fastened my seatbelt!!!I ended up in Hveragerdi in a good friend :)Concluing, this trek was a really wonderul amazing experience!!! It wasnt only the experience of the trek, but also the wonderful people-group we had, everybody was really cool and unique in his own way, we really did a nice group trekking together! And all the other people we met doing the same route, were nice people as well. The equipment I bought before I leave Greece, really saved me, the coat, the boots and the waterproof staff heheheh. Yeap, this trek needs good all weather gear, its like travelling through the 4 seasons! Days of snow and blizzard give their place to days of sun and then to days of hard rain and wind, and you are there, walking with your heavy backpack hehehe.The food I carried with me proved to be a little bit insufficient, so I did a small food planning, but some pleasant unexpected things kept me going (like the 3rd night in the hut, there were a group of Irish people, and they had lots of food left, they gave it to us, the WHOLE hut ate, and there was lots of it left, and then they even brought us a dessert!!! Fruits with chocolate mmmm yummy yummy, I love Irish people!!). I used for 4 days of trekking plus one day at the start, so 5 days, 1kg of bread in slices, half kilo of salami, half kilo cheese (all slices), 2 make your self pasta, 4 cans of food. The concept was: sandwich in the morning, can food after arriving in the hut and pasta for dinner. About water, I was filling my bottle in every hut hehehe.The thing is that due to the bad weather conditions which I didnt expect (really, I had more snow on my face in these 2 first days, than I have had in my whole life!!), I had to stay in the huts and not camp, a fact that has blown my badget!!!Im staying with a wonderful Icelandic family, learning many things about Iceland and Icelandic life, on Monday I will go hitch hike, I need to cover 650km until Thirsday morning, where theres a ferry to get me to the Faroe Islands. If I succeed to hitch hike all the way,I will save around 150 euros!! Yes people, the buses for 650km in Iceland cost around 150 euros!!! I cant believe it, but its true! So, hitch hike is what is going to be hehehe, wish me luck!!!Until now I have to say, Iceland maybe extremely expensive, a little bit cold, but its sooooooooo beautiful!!! And in a unique way!! Today the family Im staying with were so kind to give me a daytrip with their jeep to many nice places, so beautiful crazy waterfalls and nice landscapes...yeah, Iceland ROCKS!!But its time to leave...heheh, Faroe Islands our next destination hihihi. But I still have some time here heheheh.I will send another email with some photos from the trek, I have taken so many photos, so I just send a few now heheh, I will try to make extensive review in my blog when I go back to Greece in September heheheh.Take care and super smile!!!All the happy best-dia

30--6-2006 Iceland

2006-07-19T11:59:00.000+03:00

Hello!!! :)
Well, Im here in Iceland, its cold but wonderful, have never seen places and landscapes like these...I checked out Reykjavik a little bit, tomorrow I go for a 80km trek in the wilderness heheheh, its gonna be really cold, rainy and maybe snowing as well, crossing unbridged rivers and staff like that, but I guess its going to be good.
Wish me luck!! I will try to find some people in the starting point of the trek to go together, its not the best idea to go on my own heheh :)

Iceland is so different in many ways, the way of living if really easy going and low pace, which for a city boy like me is nice. One more thing I experience here is the midnight sun, its truly unbelievable, we have 24 hours daylight!!! Its NEVER dark!!! The most strange thing is that the birds sing even at 3am, which is light of course, do they ever sleep or something? I dont know how all the animals here adjust to this kind of thing, and then in the Winter is 6 months of very short light breaks during the day, or absolute darkness...doesnt sound very nice...but now the Midnight Sun is really wonderful, and its going to be a good help in my trek.

Icelandinc weather...totally unpredictable!! I experience all the seasons in just one day, it may rain for 15 minutes, then its going to be sunny and warmer for some hours, and then suddenly it may rain again...up in the highlands I will add snow into this, plus fog bla bla bla...during the daytime (its always day, but I just call daytime the hours we have light), in the towns so far at least Im staying, we have about 10-14 degrees which is good. Up in the Highlands for the trek, its going to reach 0 at some point, cause the path leads between two glaciers. The altitude is not very high, max 1400 meters, but in Iceland, this is capable of dropping the temperature, and during the nightime its going to be around freezing point. I have bought some equipment and clothes, I hope they will do their job!! The people here dont seem to be bothered a lot of the cold, I could even see kids with t-shirts out while I was with my full on coat and feeling some cold as well...the thing is that the wind blows like hell here, and this makes it really colder that it sounds in the temperatures of 10 degrees.

Reykjavik is a nice little city, with around the half population of Iceland situated in and around it (around 150000 people) heheheh. On my 1st day I went to a really crazy strange place called the blue lagoon, a hot spring (touristic but nice), powered by the tourbines of a power plant, and the bluest water I have seen in my life...all these in strange lava rocks and a steaming aura around you while bathing...I took some photos, I hope I will be able to send you some tonight. I learnt many things about Icelandic life which I will note down in my diary and hopefully write about them later in Greece.

I expect to do the trek in about 6 days hehehe, so I guess I wont be sending anything for a week. mmmmmm some people asked me for my hair...mmmm yeap, its short hair Dia...I didnt want to be camping near the glaciers with the temperature hitting zero and having my hair as a burden...plus, in the campings is again cold, and I would like to be going around with all my hair wet in my back...would catch a cold for sure! heheheh, so short hair Dia now.. :P

Take care and super smile!!!
All the best:)
-dia

Bye bye UK, going to Iceland :)

2006-06-28T03:04:00.000+03:00

Hellooooooooo!!!!!! :)
For some reason, once again I cant upload my photos to my blog!! I will just write my thoughts and upload them in this post or a new one when Blogger is fixed... :)

This is my 1st email on the road heheh ;) Im now here in Brighton, after spending some time in London, and visiting Stonehenge and Bath as well :) I must tell that England gave a wonderful present to me, and that is, wonderful sunny days!!!!! I really cant believe it, everybody was telling me about cloudy and rainy days, but I spent 1 week in England and had 6 days of sun, only 1 day of rain!! :)

London...one of the most central cities in Europe! Everyone has been there, but for me was my 1st time. I stayed with a nice couple, couchsurfing. If you dont know what this is, just click on this link The Couchsurfing Project and this is my profile.
They were wonderful people, they even gave me the keys to their home, so I could do whatever I wanted!! :)
The 2 first days in London I didnt use any means of transportation at all. Just walking from 10am to 10pm, visiting sights, people watching and observing :)
London is a big city, with all the pros and cons that come with this fact. Yes, its crowded, noisy and little bit dirty. BUT, the city planning is truly amazing, everything is where it should be. But the most amazing thing, was the number of huge green parks!! I wish Athens had the half of the parks of London! Huge, green, and many times with lakes and ponds, these parks make the difference in London :) And the London people love them! Im so lucky it was full on sunny, you could see hundreds of people in the parks, having picknicks, reading their books, kids playing, or people just laying under the sun. Yeah, as I understood, the sun is not always shining in the UK, so when it does, its really appreciated by the people :)
Im not going to go into details of the sights of London, Im sure almost all of you have been here ;)

After that I used the tube a little bit, just to experience it :) I didnt know that London was the first city to use an underground rail system, subway-metro, or the "tube" as the call it here. Its about 100 years old! So if you use the old lines (like the Bakerloo which I used to go home) they are old and dirty, and then you use the Jubilee line, and its like the underground lines in Tokyo with huge nice stations!! :)

One more thing, I learned (and realised) that the neighbourhood I was staying at, was a ghetto (!!) heheheh :) So, I had to be a little bit extra careful when I was walking home every night ;) I was staying near Elephant castle. Inside the nice narrow streets, there was Portland str., which was my street ;) After Elephant castle there werent so many people in the streets hehehee :D Every morning I noticed the police car running around there heheeh :D The 1st night walking home, I saw some guys smashing up a car!! Some people around it, and a guy kicking it...I went to the other side of the road, wanted to take a photo but of course, it wasnt a good idea so I just went on my way home. And another night, some guys were fighting heheeh :D
You know what, I think the changes of me getting mugged or something here, are the same as walking in Omonoia square in Athens at night (which I have done extensively, especially while a teenager). I just have my eyes and ears open, and practise common sense;)

Stonehenge was really nice, very touristic though, but nice! I took some happy photos, I plan so send soon. The history of it, being built about 5000 years ago, and nobody knows why and how, its really mystifying ;) One more thing, on my way there, I noticed, England is really flat hehe :)

Then I went to Bath, which was really nice, wonderful town architecture, Roman baths and a nice feeling. Again, very touristic, but I walked uphill, getting out of the crowds and visiting some nice peaceful spots;) Its the only city in England that has natural hot springs. Its a nice story, there was noble guy who was infected by leprosy. So he decided to become a pig shepherd, to hide from people due to his decease. While going around he found a hot spring. One thing I didnt know about pigs, they have almost the same skin as humans. So pigs get sunburned easily. His pigs were really sunburned bad. But, when the pigs bathed in the hot springs, they were cured!! So, he went bathing in the hot springs as well, and guess what, he was cured as well!! So he decided to found a city, and thus, Bath was founded ;) All the important people of the 18th century, had visited Bath ;)
Lastly, I checked a little bit the costs of buying a property in Bath...almost had a heart attack hohoho :D EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE!!! :)

Finally, Im in Brighton and Im leaving tomorrow for Iceland :) Brighton is a really wonderful place, if I had a choice to live in the UK, I would definitely want to live in Brighton! It has the beach, nice streets, colourful happy stores, cool alternative people, many pubs, wonderful atmosphere and a nice feeling :)

...once again (I wrote this before), while travelling, one thing that always stays in your mind, apart from all the sights, is the people...and here in the UK I was with some of the best people I have ever met in my life!! Firstly, the couple that hosted me in London were wonderful. Then, I met (again) a friend in London, she treated me extremely nice, she was so kind and nice to me!
I can NEVER forget Brighton...not only because its a super wonderful place, but because of my friends and their family that offered me a place in their warm happy home...and they treated me soooooooooooooo nice, I can still believe in fairy tales....I have no words to express my feelings. IM SOOOOOOOO HAPPY when I meet such wonderful people, they give you the feeling that human values, kindness, smiles and good feelings still exist in our world, and these people are here to prove it :) Sometimes while travelling you may make friends for life!!!
We shall meet again... :)

So...I leave the UK with a HUGE smile on my face, met some super wonderful people, experienced hospitality to its best, and a wonderful sun by my side to all the places I visited:)
Its time to go to one of natures best kept secrets...Iceland!! :)

2morrow I fly :)

2006-06-21T03:07:00.000+03:00

Im so excited, tomorrow once again I leave Greece and go travelling hihihi :D
Scandinavia this time, tomorrow I fly to London to spend a week, and then its gonna be Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, maybe Finland, Denmark and from Germany we shall see...:)
I estimate about 2,5-3 months, I will be on a really tight budget heheh :)

Once again I want to thank you all for your time visiting your blog, I hope I make you smile, and Im sorry I didnt have time to visit your blogs as well...so busy! :)
I will be posting on the road hihihi, how the trip goes, some experiences and I believe some photos as well ;)

Have a super happy wonderful Summer!!! :)

...what can happen... :D

2006-06-10T20:40:00.000+03:00

2 years ago, I was on a Eurotrip using Interail global pass for 1 month. I was in Lisbon when I realised that I had to come back to reality, I had 20 euro in my pocket, a credit card billed to the limit, and my interail pass would expire in 2 days! It was noon, when I decided to go to Lisbon train station and ask if its possible to be in Ancona to take the ferry in 2 days. In Lisbon there are 2 main train stations, the 1st one had the department for international train travel closed, so I couldnt find information. So I went to the other one. There, a very cool guy showed me a route changing trains, that would take me all the way to Ventimiglia, the 1st station after entering Italy through the coastline of France. YEAH!! But...the train was living in about 2 hours...my camping was about 30-40 minutes from there by bus...I had to run for it!!! Go take my staff, and come back to take the train. I went back to the camping, I lost time waiting a guy asking all kind of questions while paying, so I didnt have time to pack my tent...I found a kid near my tent, I just took my backpack, and on my way out, I told him "hey kid, do you like this tent?", he replied its good, so I told him "its yours!!" heheheh :D
But again...the bus to take me to the station was late...I was waiting and waiting...only 30 minutes were left and I was still outside the camping!!! So, I decided, I would take a taxi, I told the driver the situation, he was very cool, passing the traffic lights all with red hahahah, he managed to get me to the station 5+ minutes before the train departs, phew! I had barery enough money to survive, but I had to give him a tip, he deserved it :)
In my sleeper crossing Spain were some crazy people, we had lots of fun along with some fine wine :) The next morning in Bordeaux, I changed train in order to cross the south coast of France (the sleeper was going to Paris). Went down to (dont remember where) and had to change train once again. I lost time because none of the girls in the ticket station (it wasnt a big one) were speaking english!!! I managed to get me a ticket all the way to Nice, I would arrive there at about 10pm. "good" I thought, according to the guy, it would be easy to find a connection to Ventimiglia from there, then there wouldnt be a chance to miss the boat. But when I got down in Nice there were cops all over the place and shouting some words...all the people in the train went down and runned...I guess I should do the same, and I did, we got out of the station really fast!! I asked a cop what was going on, he was talking to me in French, couldnt understand a thing...fortunately, there was a guy near who translated, the station was to be closed due to BOMB alarm!!! "OH NOOOOOO"!!! hahahahah:D
I was waiting near the station, but then I thought that if there was really a bomb, it wasnt a good idea to be near the station...so I just went to a small park...but there were some guys there, looking at me suspiciously..."oh oh oh not good, not good" I though hihihi, I put my backpack on my back and started to walk away the place...they guys stared at me and starting coming to my way as well...without 2nd thought, I started running back to the station!!! When I was quite near, there were still cops in the middle of the road, stopping cars from approaching, I felt safe when I saw them. But the one of them was a little bit strange, started talking to me asking me questions with a strange tone, maybe because I was running with my backpack. I tried to explain, but no luck, he was -once again- speaking to me in french. Again, to my good luck, there were some people passing by, the explained him. Then he was good, he told them to tell me to stay there, and that he would tell me when the mess would be over. And thus I did...at about 2am, the bomb alarm proved to be false, and the cops left...but then, I went back to the station, and there was noone there...and the station had closed...I was totally alone!! And the road in front of the station was spooky...but I couldnt do anything...I had to wait until the morning ...

This was my view the whole night...but I was SOOOOOOOOOO tired and sleepy, I couldnt hold myself, I decided to sleep some hours, I had to sleep on my backpack (so to be sure nobody will steal it while sleeping), the place was extremely dirty, but what could I do...

This was my "sleeping" place for a few hours that night....

In the morning hours, before the sunrise, the station opened, and took the 1st train to Ventimiglia. Inside the train, I just saw the sunrise, and slept for about 1 hour, Ventimiglia was really near. There, with the help of a wonderful machine, I found the shortest route (having in mind time) to Ancona, I had to change 2 more trains, going to Genova, then to Milano, and from there, to Ancona...but the time breaks between trains were 2-8 minutes...especially in Milano (which I remembered, it was a big station), I had only 4 minutes to board on the train to Ancona...but it was my only chance, that way, I could reach Ancona at about 4+pm, and my boat was living at 6pm! Fortunately, the guy there in that tiny station of Ventimiglia, was able to issue all the tickets, but he told me I should run in the stations in order to catch the next train...plus, if in any case, there would be a delay...bye bye...OH YEAH!! :D

I reached Genova, managed to catch the train to Milano hehehe :) But in Milano, I knew it would be more difficult, the train station was big, and I had to run and find my train in 4 minutes...and so I did!! I catched it just before leaving hehehe :) So inside the train...

I decided to have some sleep...I was tired, sleepless, hungry and dirty hihihi :D But I WAS going to Ancona...no more train changes, I was near to my goal hehehe :)

I reached Ancona on time, YEAH!!! I even had some time to have something to eat (a pizza), I still had some euros in my pocket!
Then I went to the office to issue my (free) ticket (due to my interail, and thats why I had to make it, otherwise I would have to pay, and I didnt have any money). They guy there was surprised, "you made it just in time" he told me hehehehe :D

My ferry to Patras hehehe, I made it!!! :) Soon I was on it, and saying Ancona bye bye... :)

Bye bye Ancona... :)

Inside the ferry, of course I went to my favorite spot to sleep, on the upper deck, just before getting out on the deck, where the stairs end, it has a soft carpet floor, ideal for sleeping, thus, I made myself comfortable hehehe :D I was so tired, I slept until the morning, when a guy told me that I had to get up from that place, because it was day again... :)

And then we reached Patras :)

Back to Greece...but what I didnt know was, that my small adventure wasnt over yet!! I arrived with zero money, but I went directly to the bus station, to issue a ticket with my credit card. But to my surprise, they couldnt use a credit card!!! So, they told me to go use the train, they could charge a credit card there...mmmm ok ok, I went. The only train that day (it was Sunday) not full, was at 10pm, and it was about noon at that time....OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH, but nothing I could do, I gave him the credit card. The guy was surprised that I tried to use it, but he passed it though the machine...and then, there was a "beep". He repeated this again and again...he told me there was a problem with the machine (!?!?!?!??!). At that point, I was feeling like Candit Camera would pop up minute by minute, telling me "hehe you're on the air, we are joking with you", but this was to good to be true...I COULDNT BELIEVE IT!!!! "no worries kid" said the guy, and called another guy on the phone. But the guy, couldnt come until the next day (Monday), so, once again, I was stuck in Patras...mobile phone without credit (and battery), no money, just a credit card nearly to the bill limit. The guy suggested me to go and withdraw money using the credit card. "but of course, how I didnt think of it in the 1st place?" hehehhe, and so I went. I found a bank, put my credit card and then..."PIN:......", "oh **$@#@%^xxX^#%$#, I dont know any pin...", I had never used the credit card to withdraw money. The bank of course was closed, it was Sunday...my 1st though was to find a store, to charge my credit card, and instead of buying something, to give me the money. But again...it was Sunday, all the stores closed, I ended up asking in some fast foods, if there was any shop able to use a credit card...no luck!
OK, hitch hike time heheheh :D I went to the closest road for the way to Athens, and I hitch hiked...for about 3 hours...NOBODY picked me up!!! I had hitch hiked in so many countries, but now, IN MY COUNTRY, after all that crazy way from Lisbon, nobody was giving me a ride to Athens...I gave up, I decided that I would spend the night in the station, and wait for the next day, to finally fix the idiot machine and get a train...walking to the train station, theres a security girl there...really cool and young, beautiful with red hair. I smiled to her, she smiled back, and asked me for my story, because she told me she saw me going around and around for hours...and so I told her. And what did she do...SHE TAKES HER PURSE OUT, AND GIVES ME 10 EURO, so I can take the bus to Athens (students price)!!!!! SHE SAVED ME!!!! I asked for her address, so to send her gifts, but she said it was OK, and then she was joking on me, telling me that people would think I was hitting on her...so I gave her a small colourful handicrafted bag, I had bought it from a 3 days party in Portugal, in order to give it as a present to one friend girl of mine...but I needed to give her something to say THANK YOU!!!! heheheh :)

So...after all that, I managed to reach Athens!!! There was a lot of traffic, the time seemed to be endless heheheh, fortunately, there was no ticket check in the busses I used to get home (of course, I didnt have money to buy tickets), so I ended up in Home Sweet Home, taking a super hot relaxing bath... :D

World Expo 2005 :)

2006-05-28T13:53:00.000+03:00

I had never been into a World Expo. I had been to the place where the 1998 World Expo took place, in Lisbon, Portugal. I was amazed by the structures and architecture. But nothing could prepare me for what I would experience in the World Expo 2005, held in Aichi (near Nagoya), Japan :) It took place from March 25 to September 25, and the theme was "Nature's Wisdom".
Plus 3 sub-themes "Nature's Matrix", "Art of Life" and "Development for Eco-Communities".
Almost all the countries of the world had one pavilion, in which they displayed their country, history, culture, food, way of life and many other things, using video projections, structures, handicrafts, emulators, sounds...of course, locals from each country were there to assist you and communicate with you. Plus, the most advanced technologies of the world...to help make the world a better place. The feeling and atmosphere was so great, inside the country pavilions, you really felt you were travelling just for a while...

As you can see, the venue was ULTRA HUGE!!!! I couldnt believe it!!! We are talking about huge distances, and thats why there was transportation inside the Expo, for within the venue there were the IMTS (Intelligent Multimode Transit System), driverless busses, for between the venues there were fuel-cell hubrid buses, and of course, there was the cable car (you can see it on the photo above) :) In order to reach the place, I used a maglev linear motor car, nicknamed "Linimo", it was going really smooth! :)
The countries were divided into sectors, in the 2nd photo its a part of the "Global Common 6 Zone, Oceania-Southeast Asia".

Inside the Australian Pavilion :)

In the Cambodian Pavilion :)

This one was either in the Cambodian either in the Vietnamese Pavilion (cant remember) :)

Since I was going to Thailand after Japan, I visited the Thai Pavilion :)

And when I got out, I found this nice colourful parade :)

Outside the Greek Pavilion :)

Outside the Netherlands Pavilion :)

Outside the combined French-German Pavilion :) [which I couldnt enter, it was so popular, I had to wait for 1 hour in order to enter!!]

Outside the Nepalese Pavilion :)

Inside the Chinese Pavilion :)

A happy girl from the States, demonstrating the [cant remember the name, cool thing].

The USA Pavilion was nice as well, displaying the history of the States (but the presentation was in Japanese...couldnt understand a thing, just watch:) but I didnt take any photos, it was the only Pavilion that we had to pass through metal detectors again (we passed through at the entrance of the Expo), plus check our bags and staff, so I didnt take any photos, maybe I could get in trouble :)
From my quick run through the country pavilions, I think that the most popular pavilions for the japanese people were the USA, France-Germany and Egypt Pavilions :)

At night, before the closing of the Expo, there was a colourful happy parade, please forgive me for the photos, you cant imagine how crowded it was, so there was not a chance to set my mini tripod, and I used zoom sometimes, so all of them are blurred :)

The parade lead us to another venue, in which the final closing ceremony took place every night, it was so nice, the cute Expo creatures and the dancers, plus fireworks and people holding light stars...it was SO crowded, I had to hold my camera on the air and take the shots, there was nothing better I could do, but at least, I have some photos ;)

Closing this post, I want to say, I only experienced just a little bit of the World Expo in a full day. Then I understood why there were weekly, or even monthly tickets! Because I believe, in order to experience Expo, maybe you need 2 weeks or 1 month!! I was just running from each country pavilion to another, I didnt enter to many of them, didnt enter to any hi-tech pavilion, called "Corporate Pavilions", I missed so many things, but I believe I managed to see as much as I could in one day :) Apart from the country pavilions, I managed to enter the "Global House", in which we saw a wonderful presentation about our planet and life, in a 2005 inch (yes, thats RIGHT!!!) screen!! And I saw a real frozen woolly mammoth from Siberia, being kept in a freezing place, the world's first display of such a thing!!! :)
If I had more time and money, I would love to stay for at least one week...after this Expo Experience, Im looking forward to manage to go to another one, and that time, I will have the money and the time to really experience it!
One last thing: if theres a World Expo happening in your country...DONT MISS IT!!!! :)

The way to Leela beach :)

2006-05-25T01:05:00.000+03:00

Ko Pha Ngan island, Thailand :)

After some uphill walking, passing some nice bungalows on the rocks with a wonderful view, finding a nice rocky outpost, I found myself looking down these wooden stairs. "Cool..." I thought, and started going down :)

And there I was, this wonderul wooden path above the sea, by the rocks, leading to a wonderful beach, a little bit more secluded and peaceful, Leela beach :)

So, I walked down the final stairs :)

What a nice place, I couldnt wait to reach the beach and get into the sea :)

When I looked back, the scene reminded me of some adventure games I was playing younger, and there was not one person on that wooden path the same time with me, it was so nice! :)

Finally, reached the end of the wooden path, alright! :)

The beach was REALLY beautiful hihihihi :D

mmmmmmmm would love to be there right now, we have 35 degrees celsius in Athens at the moment, its SO hot and sticky, a swim to the sea is what I need! :)

HeLLo SuMMeR!!!!! :)

2006-05-22T18:41:00.000+03:00

ooooo it has been a while since I wrote to my blog...the truth is I have been really busy, but in about a week, "busy" is over and the time to travel is near! :)
I want to say "WELCOME SUMMER!!!" with this post, so I post a photo I took in Ko Pha Ngan island in Thailand, its Leela beach, a wonderful beach a little bit more secluded than the famous Hat Rin Nok (Sunrise beach).

The weather in Athens has gone crazy, the sun is shining all day, the temperature has bursted into 30+ degrees celsius and its soon going to be 36c!! :D 暑いね！

Everybody take care, smile & enjoy the Sun!!! :)

When nuclear energy went boom...

2006-04-26T21:43:00.000+03:00

20 years have passed since the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Pripyat went boom...and the world remembers...
I have not been to Chernobyl. But I have been in 2 another places, where I tried to comprehend the destructive powers of nuclear energy, not from a nuclear accident, but from a nuclear bomb. Of course Im talking about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since it was also the 60th years memorial since the bombing, my timing for visiting was good.
The A-Bomb dome is the 1st thing you usually see when you enter the Peace Park in Nagasaki...it was a very strange feeling...I was in the place where 60 years ago (61 now), a nuclear bomb was dropped...

I want to write the words that were written in the sign below:
"The building now known as the A-bomb Dome was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel and completed in April 1915. With its distinctive green dome, this magnificent building was soon a beloved Hiroshima landmark.
The hall was used to display and sell prefectural products. Its offices provided market research and consulting for local commercial enterprises, but its galleries also served as venues for art exhibitions, fairs, and a variety of cultural events.
Through the years, the name was changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, then Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, as its functions expanded. As the war lengthened and intensified, the hall's promotional activities dwindled. By April 1944, it was housing the Chugoku-Shikoku Public Works Office of the Interior Ministry, the Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation, and other government offices."

"At 8:15 am, August 6, 1945, an American B29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb, the first atomic bombing in human history. The bomb exploded approximately 600 meters above and 160 meters to the southeast of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. THe building was crushed and gutted by fire. Everyone in the building died immediately.
However, because the blast came from almost directly above, some of the walls of the building remained standing, leaving enough of the building and iron structure at the top to be recognizable as a dome.
After the war, the badly damaged skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall came to be known as the A-bomb Dome.

"For many years opinions about the Dome were divided. Some felt it should be preserved as a memorial to the bombing, while others, callling it a dangerously dilapidated structure that evoked painful memories, advocated its destruction.
Gradually, as the city was rebuilt and other A-bombed buildings vanished, the desire to preserve the Dome gathered strength. In 1966, the Hiroshima City Council passed a resolution declaring that the A-bomb Dome would be preserved in perpetuity. This led to a campaign to raise funds required to physically preserve the Dome. Donations poured in from those who wished for peace in Japan and overseas. The first preservation project was implemented in 1967.
Subsequently, several preservation projects have been carried out to ensure that the Dome will always look as it did immediately after the bombing."

"In December 1996, the A-bomb Dome was formally registered on the World Heritage List as a historic witness to the tragedy of human history's first use of a nuclear weapon and as a universal peace monument appealing for the aolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of lasting world peace.
To help protect the Dome, the national goverment designated the area around it as a historic site under Cultural Properties Protection Act, with a larger area in and around the Memorial Park set aside as a buffer zone."

Happy Easter!!! :)

2006-04-21T03:14:00.000+03:00

With this post I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you taking time to visit my blog, I hope you have an extra smile when you visit here;)

Im sorry I dont post so often these days, and I dont have so much time to visit all of my favorite blogs :) But I try to visit from time to time :)
Im studying japanese at the moment (they really need lots of study), researching about the educational system in Japan because I chose it as the subject for the final graduation university assignment plus I have started to do some serious trip planning for my upcoming trip, only 2 months left, Im already very excited!! :) Cant wait to have my backpack on and leave Athens once again;)

I want to wish you a super happy Easter :)
Take care and super smile :)
P.eace
L.ove
U.nity
R.espect

Sea creatures in Spain this time;)

2006-04-17T02:47:00.000+03:00

mmm since I posted about sea creatures, I'll just give one more post about them, I was in the aquarium in Barcelona that time;) Its in this place, Port Vell, it was very nice :)
They had a similar sea tunnel, as I had gone first to this one, when I was in Osakas aquarium I was reminded of this one;)

"Are you talking to me?"

This guy just didnt want to stand still...so I managed only to have him blurred :)

Hello Mr ;)

And of course some penguins, but I dont remember what kind of :)

One cool thing was this one, in the end of the aquarium, you could actually go underneath the platform in some narrow lanes of glass and see them passing just in front of your face;) You can see it in the 2nd photo;)

heheh I guess that enough of sea creatures...mmm let me see...I have also been to the aquarium in Lisbon but I didnt have a digital camera so I didnt manage to take any good photos with my poor camera there hehehe :)

Happy Easter Everybody!!! :)

Hello Sea Creatures :)

2006-04-14T02:23:00.000+03:00

When I was in Osaka, I couldnt miss the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, which is considered to be one of the star attractions:) -again not a straight photo, sorry guys- :D

This was the Aqua Gate tunnel tank, it was 11 meters long and it was cool to go through the blue world :)

A huge strange sea turtle :)

Some cute King penguins :)

This guy, the Whale Shark, it was too difficult for me to photo, not only because he was always surrounded by all kinds of fishes, but also because he was moving like crazy al the time. He is located in the Pacific Ocean tank which was 9 meters deep with 5400 tons of capacity ;)
I was feeling this guy was looking at me (I forgot the flash on and reflected doh!) :)

And these were the guys I have never seen in another aquarium :) Giant Spider Crabs, the largest in the world!!! And believe me, they were HUGE! They reminded me of the Alien movies or something :D
Japan deeps are 8000 meters deep and these guys are living in the trench slope that is 200-400 meters below the surface of the water... :)

And finally there were some interesting jelly fish :) I always enjoy visiting aquariums, Osakas one is worth it for sure, Im always reminded that its a totally different world down there in the sea... :)

This is what I need at the moment :P

2006-04-12T02:56:00.000+03:00

This guy was chilling in a spot on a small mountain in Ko Pha Ngan island, Thailand :)

Im sorry I havent checked your wonderful blogs and from my part, I dont post as often as I used to, Im a little bit busy at the moment hihihi, japanese exam test tomorrow, final graduation assignment from university on its way, trip planning, spanish, arranging some things on my HUGE mess here, teaching some kids, fixing some computers from time to time (well, I must earn some money from somewhere right?;) mmmmm oh YEAH! :D Give me more hihi:D
mmmm the hours Im awake are usually not enough for the things I wanna do during the day (if you noticed, I always "blog" really late heheh), so Im usually sleepy and now I just wanted to be like this guy on the photo hehehehe :)

PS. I just put the word verification on because I started getting spam comments, spam...DoH:P

In Sensoji temple (浅草寺) :)

2006-04-09T16:34:00.000+03:00

This is the 2nd part of this post :) I had some problems with my phone network (again) form time to time so this post was delayed hehe;)
This temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) which, according to legend, was miraculously fished out of the nearby Sumida river by two fishermen in AD 628. The image has remained in the spot ever since, though successive rebuildings of the temple. The present temple dates from 1950. Whether the ancient image of Kannon actually exists is a secret, I didnt see it anywhere in the temple and they told me its not on a public display.
Above is the Five-Storeyed Pagoda, it was on my left after passing through Hozo-mon（宝蔵門）.
This is the place just outside the temple, where you tie your omikuji (fortunes) so your fortune will come true :) Its a nice procedure the way you get your omikuji. I payed 100¥ and I was given a hexagonal box with a small hole on the top. Inside contained hundreds of small sticks, each stick had a nubmer on it. I shaked the box and from the small hole, a stick fell out. The number directed me to one of the hundreds of drawers (you can see them on the photo, on the backgroudn), I opened it and I got my fortune;) Unfortunately mine was only in japanese so I didnt know what it was saying...but of course I tied it so my fortune would be good :) (in other temples I went, there were some bilingual omikuji, hehe they though of the poor tourist who doesnt know how to read kanji :)
In every temple, theres always a small fountain like this one :) I did exactly what I read I should do (and what other people were doing as well) :) I took one of the long cup-spoons, I threw some water on my hands to wash them, then I put some water from the cup on my mouth and spit it out of the fountain and finally, I threw some water out of the fountain :) I was cleansed and ready to proceed:)
I had one more thing to do before I go in the temple. In this photo (I took it facing backwards the temple, so what you see is not the temple but the entrance gate, and thats why the pagoda is on the right) you can see a large incese cauldron in the middle. The smoke is said to bestow health and many people rub it into their bodies though their clothes:) So I stood in front of it, breathed deeply and also directed the smoke to all my body and clothes;)
I didnt take photos in the temple because there were people praying and I respected this, I usually dont take photos of people praying in temples, only if its an open air space (what is the difference you may ask..? I dont know, I just dont feel OK to take a photo of someone praying under a temple)
The most of the people overlook the shrine just beside the temple, Asakusa-jinja (浅草神社）.
That gave the shrine a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, and its just beside the temple:) I stayed a little bit there to relax, it was nice :)

After passing the stone torii, Asakusa-jinja (浅草神社）

I really liked the wooden prayer tablets :)

Other temples in Japan are more beautiful but because this is (usually) the 1st temple you visit (since Tokyo is usually the arrival point of the most people, mine as well) , the feeling is striking:)
Its one of the numerous pleasant contradictions you will face in Japan, modern meets tradition and the past is mixed with the future... :)

Japanese class JP dinner :)

2006-04-06T13:12:00.000+03:00

Last Saturday the whole Japanese class and our teacher arranged to go to a Japanese restaurant so everybody gets to know a little bit about Japanese food :) Of course I took my camera with me heheh;) Above is my teacher with her kid, sometimes I like not to use the flash and have a little blur in my photos, but some people dont like it. Of course in some photos the blur is too much and the photo is ruined :P

Happy happy :)

Time to drink some cold Sake :)

Trying to use the chopsticks :D

She was kind to pose for me giving me this look :) Too many things in front of her but if tried to get them off the table everybody would yell at me hihi :D

OK people, this is how its done :)

This kid was happy to pose together with the Japanese chef :) He was only 8 years old and already learning japanese for 1 year, private lessons with my teacher:)

DoH! I forgot, I wanted to continue the post of the temple...hihihi, now I remember, next post:P

Apart from the part that me and the guy with the long hair (2,3,4th photo) were running [and laughing with the stares of the people] with all the sushi and JP food and Sake in our stomach to catch the last subway (the restaurant was really far away), it was a happy Japanese food night:)

2 days without phone :P

2006-04-05T23:18:00.000+03:00

We had a problem in the phone network in my neighbourhood and the phone lines were cut for 2 days, fortunately fixed today:)
And I understood how much the internet makes my life easier, I do my research about assignments for my university, planning my next trip, stay in touch with friends, read wonderful blogs...its amazing! Are we net addicted? Nah, we just use it to make our lives easier and more interesting;)
hmmmmmmmm well, I go now check my favorite blogs hihihi and then I'll post to mine :)

The first temple I visited in Japan （浅草寺） :)

2006-04-03T02:32:00.000+03:00

Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate) - Sensoji temple (浅草寺）

I will never forget the 1st place I decided to go in Japan. Tokyo was my arrival point, it was a long flight, 10 hours to Bangkok from Athens, 2 hours wait and then 6 hours to Tokyo :) After sleeping the 1st night on the guesthouse I had booked, I discovered that I had underestimated the size of Tokyo, and the camping ground I wanted to go was really far away...but the staff was extremely kind, they found me another guesthouse (wasnt on my guide), same price, very comfortable, near the one I was then (it was fully booked). So after all these, and a few hours sleep (couldnt sleep because of time adjustment) I decided I wanted to see something to really give me the feeling Im in Japan, so I chose, Asakusa and Sensoji temple :)
The temple is not as beautiful as other temples in other places (like Kyoto) but its usually the 1st many people see, and the feeling is definitely striking :)
As soon as I saw Kaminari-mon a large smile was drawn on my face..."yeap, Im in Japan" I thought :) Sorry for the photos, some are not good, guess I was really blown away from the place (nah, its just Im not good photographer hihihi:P)

These guys were just in front of the main gate, they were telling some things to the people but I couldnt understand anything :)

Nakamise-dori

After passing through the main gate, I found myself on a beautiful street with shops, Nakamise-dori. The roof had some beautiful patterns and paper lanterns were hunging everywhere, so many colours, I was very happy! :)
I went on and this shop gained my attention, he had a old automatic cookie machine:)
And this was the first kimono group I managed to photo heheh, I was too shy to go in front of their faces to take the shot, it was also my first moments so I was OK with a back shot.
"Wow...people are going around in this ultra modern city with their colourful kimonos" I thought :) In my place, just by wearing my colourful clothes, many times I get the stares.
And then I saw this sweet shop, I just wanted to eat everything! :)
There was an interesting kimono shop there and it was my first chance to speak some japanese. The lady was surprised and she asked me how did I learn. When I told her self teaching, she congratulated me which made me feel utlra happy (of course she was also very polite, I know now the japanese I spoke were terrible hihihi:D)
Finally, after a wonderful walk, I reached Hozo-mon, the final gate to the temple (once again not a "straight" photo, sorry;). And there I had my 1st temple experience which will be the next post, temples are indeed something very special in Japan... :)

Eclipse :)

2006-03-31T21:53:00.000+03:00

While I was waiting on the Lykavittos hill for the eclipse to happen, this guy was selling handicrafts to the people. I waited and waited, it was the time they said the eclipse would be happening and still nothing...
This is what I was seeing (almost), I dropped a little bit the gamma on this (I dont know about post processing, I only resize photos, and in rare cases I fix a little bit the cololurs, the most photos I post are directly from my camera) so we can see the shape of the sun, it looks full. But it wasnt...the eclipse was really happening and I was loosing it. I didnt have any special filter not even these special glasses they said about, idiot me. But there were some girls who gave me these "eclipse" glasses, I put them on and....voila! The eclipse was happening but I didnt know that you wouldnt see ANYTHING without the glasses. I thought I would see something, but no. It was 86% in Athens. I thought it would get dark or something, but nothing, it was like a cloudy day during the eclipse. Then I holded the glasses just in front of my lens and managed to take the photos below :)
There is a lot of grain because I forgot the ISO at 400 (this is it, isnt it?), I was shooting full manual and as a newbie I was a little bit confused hehehe. But I was experimenting too, I know these are not good photos but they are better than nothing I guess ;)
Silly me, going out to take photos of an eclipse without filters hihihi:D