after graduation my dad decided to take the family on a seven day mediterranean cruise! it was absolutely amazing! seriously, such luxury. the morning after graduation we flew to milan, italy via belgrade, serbia, where i was able to convince the family to go through customs for an extra passport stamp. we drove from milan to venice and arrived with just barely enough time to get on the boat. the first stop was dubrovnik, croatia, where we sauntered around the red-roofed, walled town. then athens, greece, where we took the metro to go climb the acropolis and see the parthenon with thousands of others. next was kusadasi, turkey, where we visited the new testament-era ruins of ephesus. the city is remarkably well preserved and highlights include a huge amphitheater, a library, and mosaics on ancient apartment buildings. the last stop was split, croatia, which featured a nice climbable clocktower and cheap ice cream, not that we needed more food at that point after being on this cruise, which provided all the gourmet food we could eat. and the hot tubs on the cruise ships were great too. thank you again dad!
athens from the parthenondubrovnik, croatiasplit, croatiaephesus, turkeyephesusephesusdubrovniksplit
on my way from central asia back to israel i stopped for a full day in athens. i was extremely fatigued and still recovering from the bukhara heat stroke, so after climbing the central mount lycabettus for a glorious view over athens, i wandered the streets progressively slower and slower. it was easter sunday so everything was closed.
this summer was devoted to studying for the usmle step one board exam. 14 hours/day, every day for a little over six weeks. for focus’ sake, i felt the need to go back to the temperate climate, easy conveniences and loving parents in canada. my parents had recently moved to a new town in southern alberta. i studied at the local community college, where for most of the time, i was the only person there other than the security guards. i almost went insane, but am quite proud of myself for sticking it out. even when i was driving home from the college and running i was listening to audio pathology lectures. it was very nice to be at home with my parents even though the only time i was able to spend with them was a few minutes for dinner each night. special thanks to my mother for cooking and even doing my laundry for me so i could maximize time for studying! enjoying the conveniences of canada was also spendid, things like $6 footlongs at subway. go ahead and laugh, but see if you’re still laughing after trying to find yourself a satisfying meal in israel for $6. its impossible. and driving a car again- that was amazing!
southern alberta experienced the worst flooding in its history this summer. one day i joined some folks from our local church to do some serious sandbagging to attempt to save portions of the town. it was nice teamwork. we were even working alongside the canadian military who were sent to help with the effort! attending the church my parents go to there was a highlight of the summer. its an exciting place with lots of little kids running around and a pastor who one couldn’t help but respect even after just a couple weeks. the one and only church here in beer sheva – well, my comments are probably best left off the world wide web. lets just say that i love going to church when its the right kind of church. my family also flew down to tennessee for one day to attend my cousin’s wedding. it was a great time.
i’m glad the summer of studying is over. it is a right of passage of sorts for medical students, but not really my style. on the way back to israel i had an all day long layover in athens, greece, where i chillaxed on an amazing beach! now we’re spending our time in the wards of the hospital instead of listening to lectures – a nice change!
what a funtastically fascinating country! after starting my balkan journey in athens, i finished it with three days there as well! i went to the archeological sights (like the parthenon at the acropolis!), it was really nice. national archeological museum, olympic stadium, greek salads, can’t go wrong!
art of the comrades, national gallery, tirana, albania
i took a trip around the balkans just before starting medical school.
my favorite things about the balkans:
-liquid yogurt!
-history!
-cheap! (most places)
-communism and ethnic violence are things of the past!
-liquid yogurt!
after landing in athens, greece, i took the bus up the west coast of greece to albania!
just before my bus left athens, the door knob to the restroom i was using fell off, locking me inside. luckily, someone eventually heard my incessant pounding and was able to let me out. the night bus ride to tirana was delayed for four hours at the greece/albania border because evidently someone was trying to smuggle in something illicit, which the customs guy found by literally cutting open the suitcase with a knife. this precipitated an all-bus pushing and shouting match with the between the perpetrator and the customs guy. eventually we were able to get back on the road and, after loosing a few suitcases out the side of the bus after taking a hairpin curve a little too fast, arrived in tirana!
albania – what a funtastically fascinating country!
albania has seen some tough times. they were under the control of a communist dictator named enver hoxha for most of the last half of the century, and then, swinging the other way, experienced a nasty bout of anarchy in 1997. the biggest pastime in tirana is partaking in “bar kafe” culture, in which one sits at a bar kafe and drinks expresso and hard liquor all day. they love their alcohol, starting with beer for breakfast! indeed, it was surprisingly difficult to find food amidst all the establishments specializing in alcohol. also – and i’m not kidding – there must be more casinos in tirana than there are in las vegas! the only difference is that tirana casinos are only about ten square feet and have only one slot machine. and albania loves america – to the extent that they named a main street in tirana after george w. bush.
i stayed at this nice little imaginatively named hostel called hostel albania, which is run by a german local celebrity dj named claas. went to a tiny mosque in the main square which, due to its beauty, is apparently is one of the only religious buildings in the country to have survived hoxha’s tenure. also, found a statue of mother teresa at tirana university (she was ethnically albanian!), went to the revolving top of the skytower for a nice view of the city, saw a nice albanian themed photography exhibition at the national art gallery, and climbed the hoxha pyramid – a huge pyramidal edifice built by hoxha’s son to commemorate him, later turned into a nightclub called “the mummy,” and now abandoned and covered in anarchist graffiti. perhaps the scariest moment of the trip was getting to the top of the pyramid and realizing that i had go down the same way i came up, as it was 45 degree cement all the way to the bottom!
hoxha pyramid, tiranamother teresa at tirana university, hometown hero!george w bush street, tiranatirana vista
i then took a minibus called a furgon to a city called shkoder, where, while fighting off dozens of taxi drivers fighting for my attention, boarded an unmarked bus that a police officer who didn’t speak english told me was heading for… montenegro!
