Pamukkale, Denizli Province, Turkey

The bus from Nevsehir (Cappadocia) to Denizli (Pamukkale) I read takes 9 hours yet is more like 10 -12 hours. We arrived early in Denizli and checked into our hostel which wasn’t far out of town and was more of a resort than a hostel (also we seemed to be the only guests there). The walk up to Pamukkale takes us through the town again (but this time without backpacks) so we stopped to get water and something to eat before heading up for our first full view of the world heritage site that is Pamukkale. The first thing we noticed was just how unimpressive it appears from far away; looking like a small hill that is still shaking off the winter snow, cold and uninviting and far away from the pictures we had seen where people play in white pools of blue water like a lagoon. We walk to a large pond which is placed in view of the travertine and sit for a while trying to find the images of Pamukkale which we were expecting. People in large numbers move up and down the travertines and we find the entrance which we will start from tomorrow. 

The next day we prepare for the day ahead (swimming shorts, money, camera, food and drink) and head up to the entrance (around TL 20 per person) you are not allowed to wear any footwear while walking up the travertine’s (it would cause damage to it). The image of Pamukkale hits you right away; you walk through the clouded blue pools and across the glowing white travertine which gently ripples down water. Larger pools of water sit at the side near to the walls like shallow hot tubs over which the limestone pours over the rocks like snow. At the side is a narrow stream on the edge where you can sit and admire the view. We entered one of the springs and covered ourselves in the claylike mud (I guess calcium?) at the bottom which everybody seemed to be doing. Lots of tourists come here and you can hear just about every language under the sun while making your way to the top. The ground has solid ridges all around so the walk to the top becomes more of a cautious limp without shoes but this doesn’t matter as what you see all around you is far too interesting to worry about your feet, looking like a glacier built for a Hollywood movie the trail leads up to the vast area of Hierapolis (Roman ruins). 

 
When you enter Hierapolis the first thing to hit is the peaceful calm after the madness of the terraces of Pamukkale. As you wonder through to see the theatre, the Apollo temple and the necropolis; the calmness of it all allows for a pleasant experience exploring the ruins. Little gardens are along the way where you can sit and look out to the landscapes beyond. The sacred thermal pool (which is filled with ancient artefacts and very beautiful) charges extra but only if you want to swim, you can sit by the pool for free (little restaurants and shops are inside the pool area).
The main highlight of Hierapolis for me was to enter the Roman Theatre which is very well preserved and offers you the chance to sit and take in the view without distraction from the guided tours.
After exploring around Hierapolis we chose to walk down the terraces to the exit (you can exit at different points) the walk down was a more pleasant experience than going up, less people where there as the sun came down and the whites of the terraces cast shadows.

 
 

Great Wall of China – Mutianyu section

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is Located 70 km north east of Beijing and takes around 60-70 minutes by bus from Beijing. We had this trip arranged by a hostel which included entrance cost.

The great wall arises in the distance, faces press to the windows of the bus with impatient smiles awaiting those images of the wall which we all know so well to become reality; and now only the thin glass of the mini bus now stands between us. We enter a large car park and walk through the many stalls selling everything from miniature great walls to banana pancakes (and everything in-between)  we receive our tickets and head up to the chairlift (for two people).  The lift rises up to the start of the wall, we decide to not waste any time and set straight off up the first set of steps to avoid walking in a group. The steps take you through a watchtower and back down to where the wall truly comes into view, spreading across the mountains as though they were not there. We didn’t know what to expect from the wall as images we had seen were of masses of people all crammed together, pushing their way forwards but this was not the case here; the wall was empty of bright hiking jackets as far as we could see.

Along the wall are watchtowers which have steps leading to the roof, from here you can see for miles in every direction (which is its purpose after all) the mountains stretch out across in every direction and appear to go on forever into the faded distance. We keep going and find that the walk becomes more challenging, the steps increase and mountains fall until they are all visible in one dramatic scene the higher we climb. The wall ahead leads up to the highest point so far at a steep angle which makes us take a break before attempting; we sit for a while which we hadn’t really done so far as we had focused more on pushing on but the break was much needed and brought into context just what we were doing.

The pictures which most people have in their minds when thinking of the great wall could never match the reality of actually being there, standing on a wall which glides across mountains and disappears out of its own view because of its colossal scale is something that only reality alone can make you comprehend just how amazing this human achievement really is.

The steps until this point have gone up then back down again but the one that we now face doesn’t seem to have a down. We start to wonder just how far we can go before we will need to head back to catch the bus...but with the curiosity of what lies over the next peak we keep going. We are still the only people in view until we climb so high that we spot the familiar bright coloured jackets from the bus and know that we are not the only ones who will be late in catching it (at this point it was comforting to know).

We make it to the top of the peak which continues forward before turning right and going straight up yet another peak (an extremely high climb at this exhausting point) we consider that we have gone far enough and that we would end up missing the bus if we climbed the next part but now that we had come this far it was impossible to turn back, we agreed that this last peak was going to be the finally part no matter what came next and set off once more.

We pushed up with what little energy we both had left, not wanting to see the view until we reached the top (which never seemed to end) until finally we reached it; I turned to see what I consider to be one the most inspiring views that I’ve ever come across; from this point you can see all that we have climbed and nothing higher ahead, a feeling of exhilaration overcomes any exhaustion especially when we read that this is the end of the wall which you can climb as the rest is unsafe. Having a confirmed end to the walk made the last part more than worthwhile and stopped us from saying the inevitable “Ok let’s just make it over the next peak and then we’ll go back” which was much needed as we wouldn’t have stopped.

The walk back to the beginning felt as though it was different part of the wall altogether, the views which were behind us the whole time now faced us with a different light, we stopped a few more times on the way back to appreciate the last views of the wall on this trip to China. When we reached the beginning (or the end) we found that you can either take the chairlift back down OR a single-rider wheeled toboggan down a huge metal track....only a madman would choose the chairlift! We joined the queue and awaited the ride but unfortunately for us we had a lady who feared speed in front so only half way down was fun (until the crash) but still one hell of a way to leave the great wall!

Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

We entered the Göreme Valley by bus from Istanbul at around 6am (the ride is 730 km (454 miles) and takes around 10 – 12 hours) hot air balloons filled the early morning sky with a demonic roar; the exhausted masses leave the bus and look out to the Fairy Chimneys which we had all come to see yet at this time in the morning the main thought was about bed and how far away it was. Our cave hostel wasn’t far away, each cave has it’s brightly painted signs and are mostly in the same area so we checked in and passed out in order to refuel for the day.

The morning came again but this time it was welcome, waking in a cave is a strange experience which shouldn’t be missed; the carved walls make you feel part of the surroundings and gives a serene atmosphere to any morning. We left for breakfast which had a full view over the valley; rock formations of every kind unfold to show everything you came to see and then shows some more. Little details everywhere that you could study all day just from this view but we chose instead to explore on foot, we headed down to the centre of Goreme (shops, restaurants and a store selling handmade rugs).

We walk until we reach rocks with no windows carved into them (a sign that you are away from the centre) we pass wild horses and men with rolled out stores who are scattered around (very nice people selling food and drink). We keep going and then find what we were looking for which is to be removed from people and to be immersed in the valley. We climb up though gaps in the rocks and slide down banks, taking breaks to sit and admire the scene of what are called the “Fairy Chimneys”. We appear to be the only two people in the valley from where we sit, the overwhelming beauty of what we where apart of can never be captured in a picture but only felt from there. The sun burnt down with a magnified heat, we walked up to the highest point in Goreme which was just above our hostel and saw Uchisar Castle in the distance across the valley so we decided that we would walk there tomorrow (around 5 km from Goreme) so after a day spent exploring we joined the cats back at the hostel (cat’s are everywhere in Goreme) and prepared for another days hiking tomorrow.

We set off to Uchisar Castle the next morning not knowing which way was best but not caring either; to pass through any part of this valley was surely going to be an experience whichever way we go so we chose to go left across the top because it appears to have the best views. The first part of the hike was part of a path which was quickly lost as it went in another direction; we entered gorges and climbed up steep rocks holding onto to scorched plants as the rocks are too smooth to climb alone. The experience of getting to the castle was more satisfying than to reach it, Uchisar Castle has fantastic panoramas of the surrounding areas from the top but feels like a hollow experience after the hike mainly due to the amount of people leaving buses and forming queues. The area surrounding the castle however (like the Pigeon Valley) is worth seeing.

After a few more days we explored on foot what feels like the whole of Goreme (which in fact would take weeks not days to do) so we decided to rent a scooter from a local store so that we could see more of the surrounding areas, instantly the decision to rent one felt like a great choice; the wind and the speed were very welcome at this point and the traffic around was barely there so we headed up to the open air museum (15 TL per person). The museum was more like a work of art made by man when compared to the valley outside, little churches with beautiful frescoes inside which you can spend a whole day exploring but we chose a few hours. After the museum we walked up through the rocks beside it which looked to be a part of it (but not as maintained) little rooms carved out with no tourists inside (expect us of course) we moved further and further up through this area which we thought at the time was better than the museum itself. Shaded areas of abandoned homes, small crossings with big falls, a view which was unmatched to any other made this place one of the highlights of the Cappadocia trip.

We thundered through neighbouring towns on our little rental scooter, stopping to talk to smiling locals who wave and yell “Hello” we found little pottery shops where the artist shows us his craft (the details of the patterns on each plate and about its history) with a passion that will make you want to buy everything in the store (if not for the price). I forget how much the rental scooter costs but I know that it was cheap by most people’s standards and was more than worth it, it allowed us to go further into Cappadocia with only the allurement of this place to guide us. The greatest thing for me about Cappadocia is that it feels like you have explored another world, people may come here and have a similar trip but never the same one. It feels like a place without a guide book (even though it actually has one) a place that says “Find your own way” and leaves you to see for yourself this natural wonder like you are the first one. 

Toruń, Poland

The medieval town Torun is famous for (as I was told when I arrived) Nicolaus Copernicus and gingerbread because it’s the birthplace of the astronomer and....well it has some famous gingerbread too. For me it was a resting place on a journey to Gdansk, I didn’t know anything about it beforehand but it turned out to be one of my favourite places in Poland.

We arrived on a bus up from Lodz and walked up to the bridge which shows the town in all its glory in the reflection of the Vistula, The sun was just going down and the town glowed yellow in the distance; people on bikes crossing the bridge blew past as distant music became louder the closer we got. People seem to be everywhere as though we have stumbled upon a celebration without knowing it, pubs overflowing and music everywhere. We walk down to the Old Town Square which is the centre of this madness; and decide to check into our hostel fast so that we can lose the backpacks and get involved. Our hostel was located in the old square itself and didn’t take long to find so we were back out onto the cobbles before the fun had a chance to die. We wondered around the square and down to the city walls immersed in all that was happening but curious to why it was (I still don’t know why). 

The next day we set out early, the city must of had a hangover but showed no signs of it. The first thing that struck me was the beauty of the buildings, tall and narrow, painted bright colours with a terracotta roof to match the dominating city hall where Copernicus stands pointing up. We walk around the main street (which seems to be a popular thought judging from the amount of people) finding little sculptures along the way (in Poland street sculptures always have noticeable wear on them from the amount of people who rub them to bring good luck) we find a dog and a umbrella sculpture which I read were the characters from a Polish comic and a donkey which looked so innocent at first yet I read that it was a torture donkey, it was once a wooden structure which was used for punishing criminals by tying weights to their legs and having them sit on the donkey which had a sharp metal blade running down it’s back (Owwwww!!!).

We then headed down to the entrance of the city walls and found the leaning tower which like Pisa had people posing in the holding up position (An impossible picture not to take let’s be honest) from there we walked over to the birthplace of Copernicus, the house which you could just sit and admire the exterior of happily yet you can visit as it’s a museum (around 10 Zloty to enter) the museum was very interesting; as you go through the maze of this huge home you learn a lot about Copernicus and gain an insight into Torun itself. After the museum we exited the city walls and sat by the Vistula which is a very peaceful place to eat and go for a short walk. 

Torun is filled with interesting buildings to visit and seems to have lots to do, I could have spent a few more days there but since we didn’t have time it wasn’t much of an insight into the place for me. There are lots of shops and restaurants and the place really comes to life at night. I finally tried the “famous gingerbread” (lots of shops sell them of course) they sold lots of different types so we bought one of each....not bad but nothing to brag about (I’ve had better).

So my advice (for what it’s worth) would be to spend 2 to 3 days in Torun, the tourist information is in the main square so stop by there and get yourself some information on the place (It’s what they do) then just....look around, you don’t need anything else in my opinion as the buildings alone and the atmosphere are worth the trip.

Oh and one more thing; inside the Toruń Główny railway station bathrooms they have a little window where a lady sits...if you don’t see her and then she yells at you it’s because she wants 2 Zloty for using the bathroom NOT for whatever mad reason your mind comes up with at the time, I only wish I had this information before.

Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain

However you chose to get there (We chose the train which takes around an hour from Barcelona) it is well worth pulling yourself from the charms of Barcelona for a day. With the train ticket you can chose if you want to take the cable car or the rack railway to the top, the cable car sounded more fun especially after taking a train to get there so we chose that. 

When you arrive to this mountain of many peaks you will most likely make your way over to the bright yellow cable cars which glide on up to the top reaching what looks like from the bottom as an extreme angle to get there; people stand waiting while taking pictures before squeezing into the cable car. A slightly bored looking man presses some switches and off we go, every window view taken with cameras and nervous smiles as ears pop all around, the view is amazing; the rock formations swallow up the cable car until you are immersed in them. After the ride you will end in Monserrat-Aeri there you walk up a path which leads to The Monastery of Montserrat, there are other buildings near which look to be carved into the rocks including an art gallery and some small gift shops but the main building here is clear from the start; shrines and a nice little square lead up to the Monastery which has seating areas and view points to take in the sights (we chose this time to eat before entering the building). A square inside of arches and beautiful sculptures show the entrance to the basilica, people stand around admiring the details with their cameras in the sunlight before moving in through the thick doors.

The first thing I noticed when entering was the sign stating “Silence” after this friendly welcome comes the gold trimmed lining of the beautiful interior, natural light enters from above as candles burn all around. People queue in large numbers at the side to be able to go close to the Black Virgin statue which stands in a little window in the centre. We chose not to join the queue as we are both not religious and the main reason for this trip to Montserrat was for the hikes which would have been taken up if we were to join what seemed like a very long wait. We left the Monastery and headed over to the museum which in my opinion was the most surprising (in a good way) that I have ever entered, inside you will find Picasso, Dali, Caravaggio, Monet, Manet and Degas among others as well as sculpture and artefacts from ancient Egypt....very much worth €6.50 to enter.

Then we walked on up to the starting point of the hiking trails (we picked a route which we had decided on beforehand) the route took us through the trees which hide religious sculptures  along the path; areas of rest are not far away and have great views. Not many people chose to walk to the top and instead chose the train which runs straight up so the trail was peaceful and not very challenging at first; the path gently weaves through more and more incredible views before we reach the point we had set out for which was a cross on the edge of a peak....after reaching it though the peak didn’t seem enough and we still had plenty of time so we carried on. 

The path became steeper and steeper and with it the views grew in scale. Just when you think that you have reached the top, higher peaks push you back down (Take lots of water) the hike was challenging but very worth the effort (even though at the time I regretting not taking the train up...especially after seeing the fresh faces leaving the train through my exhausted eyes) the views were unmatched to any other below and the hike back down was refreshing. I would recommend going to Montserrat early and spending the whole day there, I’d take food and drink with you and if you are planning on going for a hike....don’t wear flip-flops.

Summer has arrived and brought with it....