Dave's Photo & Travelblogue

Tenerife Sunsets

Here are a few sunset timelapses and other scenes from Tenerife’s west and north coasts. Tenerife is a beautiful island if you avoid the super-touristy parts. Enjoy!

Taken with a Nikon D7000 using the built-in intervalometer, and an 18-200mm VR lens.

Mount Olympus Timelapse

In my post about hiking Mount Olympus in Greece, I promised a short timelapse & documentary video (Nikon D7000 + Canon pocket cam, try to guess which clips are which camera). Here it is…

I’d love to go back to Olympus and spend more time there. Lots of other trails, huts, and peaks looked good. Unfortunately we had quite a limited amount of time – so we just headed for the highest peaks, Mytikas and Skolio!

Extreme Hiking on Mount Olympus

There’s limited information (in English) on climbing Mount Olympus in Greece, the home of the ancient Greek gods. Here’s my Mount Olympus advice.

Dave’s tips for climbing Mount Olympus:

• Fly into Thessaloniki. Relax for a night and drink some (not too much) Ouzo.
• The next morning, take a bus to the main bus transfer station in Thessaloniki.
• At the transfer station, take the bus to Litochoro – the town at the base of Mount Olympus.
• The bus to Litochoro goes to another town first (you may have to transfer, or your bus may go directly like ours did).
• In Litochoro, take a taxi to the Prionia parking lot (25 euro each way!) and get the driver’s number for the way back in case you can’t hitch a ride down after the hike.
• From Prionia (1100m), hike up trail E4 to the hut called Refuge A (2100m), Spilios Agapitos. The hike takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours, 6.4km long gaining 1000m with very little downhill.
• Refuge A is a great hut with food, (bottled) water, and blankets. You will want a sleeping bag or camping sheet. There are no showers or potable running water, but you can buy bottled water relatively cheaply. Sleep overnight and start rested the next morning.
• Leave heavy items in the hut if you plan to come down by this same trail. After a breakfast of bread and coffee (yes, the €4.50 breakfast isn’t too impressive), start up to Skala. It’s a relatively short hike of under 3 hours, but the path is very steep.
• From the peak of Skala at over 2800m, you have the choice of Mytikas (2917m) or Skolio (2911m). Mytikas, the highest point in Greece, is a difficult scramble with potentially fatal consequences if you slip and fall the wrong way. Don’t attempt Mytikas unless the peak is free of high winds, rain, snow, and fog. The alternative of Skolio is not the highest point in Greece, but it’s a safer walk to get there. And it’s still a peak on Mount Olympus.
• The way down is tough because of loose  sand and rocks on the steep trail. Here you really want some good hiking boots. Walking poles wouldn’t hurt either.

Another possibility to make life easier would be to rent a car for the 2 days in Thessaloniki. I think this would be cheaper, because we paid €15 each for bus tickets and €25×2 for taxis. Renting a small car for 2d should be less than 80 euro. There is ample parking at Prionia (though it might get full on summer weekends). It would be a lot faster by car as well, without having to wait for so many taxis, buses, etc.

My impressions: this is a serious hike. It isn’t quite as technical as climbing Zugspitze in Germany (because no climbing gear is needed as it is on Zugspitze’s Hoellental route), but the overall energy needed is similar. The vistas are phenomenal! I shot several timelapse sequences with my Nikon D7000 during the climb… those will be in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Beauty around Buda Castle

Buda Castle sits high atop a hill overlooking both sides of the city, Buda and Pest. In the evening you can find stunning nighttime panoramas. But under the castle is yet another world of caves and tunnels, used by man since prehistoric times. Unfortunately the Labyrinth of Buda Castle was misused during the Cold War, turned into a concrete-lined bunker. Since then it has been converted into an interesting artistic display of history.

In some caves are reproductions of prehistoric art, mostly copied from Lascaux in France.

With a mini-tripod and a bit of patience you can get a nice naturally-lit shot like this without needing flash. You’ll need low ISO for a clean photo, and custom white balance. The hardest part was staying still for 15s…

My favorite display was about a newly-discovered extinct race of hominids found in Hungary. You’ll have to visit the Labyrinth to learn more about Homo consumes.

Outside Buda Castle it’s spring!

I’ll leave you with this lovely sunset shot taken from near the castle.

If you’re headed to Eastern Europe I highly recommend to make Budapest a priority on your itinerary. It’s well worth the trip!

Getting dirty in Pest

Buda, Pest, and Old Buda merged in 1873 to form the modern Budapest. I took these shots while wandering around the streets of Pest.

Bus seat graffiti

Here’s the nostalgia tram, where (for 400 Forints) you can ride in style like they used to. Note: I don’t recommend trying to stand while this thing is moving – it’s not exactly as smooth as Munich’s S-Bahn. But it was free of graffiti, unlike the Pest buses.

This was floating in a small carnival by a children’s park for a few minutes before some thoughtful old man took it down. On the side, in Hungarian, it reads “Size does matter.”

This statue cracked me up. So regal in the last golden rays of the setting sun… except for his cap.

Next post, back to the beautiful side of Budapest.

Budapest Streets

Those long familiar with the blog might remember some prior posts about street photography. Candid photos of city denizens and visitors tell you a lot about what the place is like! Take this woman agonizing over what to buy in the farmers’ market:

From afar it really looked like we were about to enter a field in the middle of the city. I guess a few hundred years ago this might have been the view.

The couple and the single… who is happier?

We must have watched this dog playing in and around the fountain pool for half an hour. Finally I got the shot I’d been waiting for!

No comment required on this last one. All in all, it was a beautiful day of sun, photos, sights, and frisbee on the streets and in the parks of Budapest.

Relaxing in Budapest

German holidays are great, as long as you can avoid the traffic. Leaving at 7am from Munich we missed most of it and made it to Budapest in the early afternoon. Our greeter was an enthusiastic howler in need of a toenail trim:

Late lunch at the hotel restaurant. This fantastic dish of homemade smoked salmon and quail eggs was six euro. (The pumpkin soup was also up there with the best I’ve ever had, for 2.50).

After wandering around the beautiful castle above the city at sunset…

…we had a coffee and enjoyed this great night view! I think this is officially the best view I ever had from a coffee shop. It was definitely worth the pricey cuppa. (Hungarian expensive = Munich standard price!).

I’m already looking forward to the next 2 days of sightseeing!

Happy Easter. Just to cover my bases, I’ll be pouring one out for JC… probably a real Czech Budweiser

Catacombs and Crypts of Rome

Maria Rainer is a freelance writer & backpacking enthusiast. She’s written a great article for the Travelblogue about catacombs and crypts in Rome. As photography is not allowed in the crypts, she’s included a few various photos of famous Roman sights nearby. Enjoy!

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Originating from about the 2^nd century AD, the Christian Catacombs of St. Callixtus (also known as St. Callisto) takes you to a whole new level of history—literally. It stretches nearly 90 acres twenty meters below the surface across 4 vertical levels. They’re named after the deacon Callixtus, who was appointed by Pope Zephyrinus as the administrator of the official cemetery of the Church of Rome.

When you arrive, you’ll have to wait to join another group of tourists before you go under (the ground, that is). The full price is 8 Euros, but the reduced rate (effective as of 2010) is 5 Euros.

Going down

Walking down into the catacombs is like being swallowed by darkness, to employ a tasteless but a very accurate metaphor. The air instantly cools and feels slightly thicker in your nose with moisture. It gives you a sense of uneasiness entirely separate from the fact that you’re entering a millennia-old crypt.

An unlikely story

Although one assumes that so many Christians buried underground means they were sent there by some form of prosecution, the tour guide surprises you with a little known fact: the tombs were never secret. Christians buried here were never “driven” underground. Instead, the tomb represents one of the most fundamental Christian beliefs: resurrection. Since pagan Romans preferred cremation, ancient Christians buried their dead (all 500,000 of them, including 16 popes and tens of martyrs) underground outside the city limits.

Boo, no photography

The tour guide lets you know before entering the catacombs that no flash photography is allowed, since such bright lights can over time damage the delicate frescoes representing early Christian art. This makes me a very sad photographer, but at this point I’m too numb to really care. It’s too dark for cameras, anyway, and flash photography in what’s basically a narrow cave is hardly artful. The wannabe archaeologist in me was just happy to let my palms run lightly against the cold walls.

Navigating the crypt

The first thing you see when your eyes adjust is the crypt of nine popes. Some of the marble tablets on their tombs are the originals. Later, you come across the crypt of St. Cecilia. She’s the patron saint of sacred music. How did she become a martyr, you ask? She took three axe blows to the neck. Ouch.

As you go on, the passages grow narrow. They wind, networking for almost 19km. You’d be here all day just trying to find your way out, but lucky for you, the tour guides know where they’re going (you hope). Occasionally, you glimpse stumbling tourists in the group behind you, but seemingly miles down a long passageway that you swear wasn’t there a moment ago.

Still later, you get to admire ancient frescoes that, admittedly, leave more to be desired if you’re used to the stuff in the Sistine Chapel. Much of the 3^rdcentury art in the famed Cubicula of Sacraments is deteriorated, but you have to admire that it stuck around at all almost 2,000 years.

When the tour is done, you have the option of dropping by the gift shop. There’s nothing terribly fascinating there, so you might as well keep exploring the other catacombs in the area.

Also on the Appian Way, and another creepy place

If you’ve still got time but want to see something other than catacombs, consider strolling along the Appian Way. It boasts a beautiful countryside complete with stinky but adorable sheep and quaint houses as well as the Church of Domine Quo Vadis. Although you’d never think it by its exterior appearance, this tiny chapel houses the stone that supposedly shows the indentation of Jesus Christ’s foot [see top of article]. The church gets its name from the story that Peter, escaping Rome and persecution, met Christ along the Appian Way. “Domine,” Peter said to Christ, “quo vadis?” (Lord, where are you going?) Christ supposedly replied, “Rome, to be crucified.”

Not too impressed by the catacombs? No big deal. Once you get back to Rome, check out the Capuchin Crypt beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini on the Via Veneto (near Piazza Barberini). In the 17^th century, Capuchin monks made use of the 300 cartloads of dead friars they’d brought along by making art with their skeletons in a series of underground rooms. Some of the bones are those of children, and don’t be surprised to find arches, altars, candelabras, and even entire walls of brown, oxidized skulls. The Catholic Church says it’s not meant to creep you out (are they kidding?). It’s meant to express the brevity of life. Unfortunately, no photography (flash or no flash) are allowed inside.

Catacombe di San Callisto (Catacombs of St. Callixtus)

Via Appia Antica, 126

00179 Rome, Italy

www.catacombe.roma.it

9:00 AM– 12:00PM, 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Closed on Wednesdays

How to get there:

From Roma Termini Station, take bus 714 to Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano. Next, take bus 218. Fosse Ardeatine is the 10^th stop on this bus. The catacombs are just opposite it, so get off there. When you’re done crawling around catacombs, take bus 218 back along the Appian Way back into the city.

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Thanks again for the fantastic article, Maria! You can find more from this lovely guest author at the online degrees site.

Omakase at Sushi-Dai

At Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, there are several sushi restaurants where tourists try out never-frozen fish at what is truly a bargain price for some of the world’s freshest sushi. I went to Sushi-Dai. After a mere 2h in line (starting at about 7:30am) I sat down in the tiny restaurant for my Omakase (chef’s choice) breakfast. This is the entire restaurant, which explains the long wait times:

Here’s my delectable piece of Toro, or fatty tuna:

This one I don’t recall the name, if anyone knows just leave a comment. I am guessing red snapper?

The first piece is Uni, or sea urchin. The second, Aji or horse mackerel (I think).

Yet another “no idea” (I should have brought a pen and paper!).

A few rolls, then Anago (Sea Eel) and another slightly-unsure.

There were a few more, 10pcs in all plus 1 more of my choice (anything on the menu); then the rolls, layered egg nigiri, and miso soup. Well worth the 3900 yen (roundabout $40 depending on the exchange rate).

Let me be clear: this was the best sushi I’ve ever eaten anywhere, for any price. By far. Never frozen, well prepared by a good (and friendly) chef. Tsukiji is truly amazing!

Verona at Night

When I arrived in Verona with a friend, the first thing we found was a lingerie fashion show in the central square. Verona is one happenin’ city! I’m going to have to pore over those photos… maybe I can find one or two that are (ahem) suitable for a later post… but here’s what we saw afterward. All photos taken with a tripod.

The Arena in Verona dates from Roman times:

As the evening’s pop concert emptied out of the Arena di Verona, I got some ghostly photos of high heels and a bike on the Piazza Brà. ISO200, f/5, 2s.

Here’s what 0.8s will get you:

And finally, an interesting church, well-lit at night.

Verona is a great city to visit, and even though you can’t shop at night, the town is abuzz with activity. Bars, events, and restaurants are packed full, spilling out onto the streets. It’s definitely worth a full weekend looking around this beautiful city!