Do Not Be Alarmed! Venice Floods!

January 28, 2016 / morganonthemap / Leave a comment

As I was sitting on the train heading to Venice I was researching what I might do when I arrived. This is how I stumbled upon a news article that literally left me in a panic. I’m not kidding, I even had to call my mom. What was in this news article that had me all worked up? It was all about how, at the very specific time of year that I was currently heading to Venice (November), Venice was typically in a state of flooding. It talked about roads filled with water, tourists not being able to get around or see anything and people being stuck in their hotels.

I. Was. In. Crisis.

What was I going to do? Could I even get to my hotel? Would I be able to see anything that Venice was famous for???? Now that I’ve been, experienced, seen and know the answers, I am here to tell you not to worry. Everything was fine. In fact, I recommend going in the Fall when the flooding is happening. It’s quite an interesting experience.

Venice, as you likely know, is a city famous for its water. Water is to Venice as roads are to basically everywhere else. What you may never have thought to consider is what body of water all this wet is coming from. Venice is situated on the Adriatic Sea, which, as seas tend to, just so happens to have tides. In the wintertime, when the tides are different than the summer and the winds are blowing from the south you get exceptionally high tides. The Venetians call this acqua alta (high water.) Do not let it scare you away from visiting Venice in the Fall and Winter months. I repeat Do. Not. It can be quite beautiful, and serene, and by midday when the tide goes down it’s all a moot point anyway. Plus, it really only effects the lowest areas of Venice, most notably, St. Mark’s Square.

I get it, it looks scary. I promise it really isn’t. It’s like a freak lake suddenly appears in the middle of town, then goes away again… ok, I admit that makes it sound worse. It’s isn’t!

With all this water (that is only there for a couple of hours a day) how ever will I get around? I hear you asking this, I think, through the power of digital screen thought transfer or something. Well luckily for you you actually have a few options. Neither of which did I get a great picture of, but we’re going to make a solid effort here so bear with me.

Option one: Raised footpaths. There are people who work for the city of Venice (I assume) who, during acqua alta, quickly build raised footpaths alone the most needed walkways and across the deepest water. The people of Venice are used to this happening. They know where the water comes in, where it will be the deepest and where people will need to walk for deliveries, shopping and touristy things during the high tide. They use that knowledge to put up paths to help keep your poor, unfortunate, rubber bootless feet dry.

Here you can see two lovely people walking along one such raised footpath. Yes this is one of the best pictures I had, yes I regret not getting a better one.

Maybe you’ll like this picture better? Here you can see the raised walkway along the bottom of the image. Though you may notice there’s no water, there had been just an hour or so earlier.

Option two: If you are more adventurous or don’t like being confined to specific walkways then you can pay about 12-20 euros (depending on the guy you buy them from) and get yourself a fantastic pair of the most fashionable fake rubber boots you’ll every see. These will allow you to cover your shoes with brightly coloured fake shoes and go skipping through the mini lakes of sea water.

I mean just check out those colours! These people went for blue and orange, but there are many colours to choose from. Are they not just DIVINE? Who can go wrong with plastic booties that clearly don’t clash with anything anyone would ever wear!

Option three: This one might be hard for some people to swallow. It takes courage and guts and nerves of steel and… who am I kidding it’s not that bad. Just wear whatever shoes you have and get wet. They are just shoes and it is just water. Go out and enjoy your trip. However, if you have a full day of walking in mind, I do recommend changing into that spare set of shoes I know you couldn’t resist bringing with you “just in case” after the roads dry up. This is it, this is your just in case, congratulations you and your spare shoes have been vindicated.

Water is what makes Venice so beautiful and so famous. Water is natural and beautiful and amazing. Go to Venice, don’t be afraid of the flooding or acqua alta. It doesn’t last and you’ll get to enjoy Venice at a fantastic time of year, surrounded by what I expect to be fewer tourists than normal because it’s a little less warm and a little more wet. Don’t be afraid like they were, and don’t miss out on this wonderful and unique city.

After all, a little water never hurt anyone. It sure didn’t ruin my trip!

A Celebration of Stinky Breath at Bern’s Onion Festival

March 10, 2015 / morganonthemap / Leave a comment

Want to know why I’m covered in confetti and standing in a market? Read on!

The Onion Festival (Zibelemärit) that is held once a year in Bern, Switzerland isn’t all about stinky breath, though from the wares on sale at this festival celebrating the onion you could easily make the mistake of thinking that it was! The festival is also known as the Onion Market, and is one of the strangest and most unexpected things I encountered during my recent trip through Europe.

This popular festival happens only once a year, on the fourth Monday in November, and it draws quite a crowd. Me being well, me, I clearly didn’t even know it existed until the night before I was going to leave Bern. I was really lucky that my train didn’t leave too early in the morning so I wouldn’t end up missing the festivities. Wait… did I mention yet that this thing starts at 5 am? Yes, this giant event starts long before dawn and everyone still comes out to party!

The sun is just coming up but the party started ages ago!

Farmers, who obviously grow onions, bring their wares into the capital and set up their stalls long before I ever think of being awake. They often sell their onions and garlic (as I said, super stinky but tasty foods) in decorative forms. They make braids, wreaths, horseshoes and even hearts out of woven onion and garlic. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to take them apart and cook with them or hang them in your living room, but they are definitely cool!

Don’t you just want to chop them up and make a stir fry? Or give them as a gift? …or hang them in your house? I don’t know, I’m confused.

They even make little dolls out of onions! Wait, these are actually kinda creepy. Are these for kids?

Malt wine is another big part of this early morning festival. I mean, why not get plastered while talking about onions at 5 am? But the wine isn’t alone on the ingestible treats side of the market. There’s gingerbread and candy for the kids, soups, pretzels and cheeses for those who want something hearty, and something that I’m referring to as “some sort of deep-fried apple in a doughnut thingy covered in sugar and cinnamon” because I can’t pronounce Apfelchüechli. Whatever it was it was amazing.

I was drawn to these things like a moth to a flame. A flame that was deep-fried and covered in awesome.

I could have eaten these all day. I would have been horribly and violently ill later when I was on the train, but I would have been happy!

But that’s not even all there was at this early morning market. You have to have a motivation to get the kids out of bed that early, you know, if the motivation of having Apfelchüechli ever wears off (how could it.) So they also sell giant baggies of confetti, which the kids run around chucking at each other and strangers and the ground and basically everywhere. It turns the whole of the old town of Bern into a giant colourful confetti party, and I love it.

Here I am, taking a fist full of confetti straight to the face! Kids! (It was awesome)

I don’t know who has the job of cleaning up after this festival, but I pity them and the nightmares they must have about confetti.

The onion celebrations also take on a bit of a resemblance to Mardi Gras in my mind with the beaded necklaces they make and sell and wear throughout the morning. However, these beaded necklaces are actually made out of candy, that resembles onions all tied together. Because how could they not?

Because who doesn’t want to run around wearing brightly coloured onion themed necklaces all day?

If you had never heard of the Bern Onion Festival before reading this article, then you’re welcome. Now that I’ve been, I recommend that you get your onion loving buns over to Bern next November to experience it for yourself! Just remember, it’s early in the morning and you don’t want to miss it!

Visiting Fredericton: Sugar Bush at Kings Landing

May 24, 2014 / morganonthemap / Leave a comment

Maple syrup: it’s a Canadian staple and the best way to enjoy it is melted into fresh white snow (Again, that’s white snow, NOT yellow!) and then wrapped around a stick and popped directly into your mouth like a lollipop. That or on pancakes, or both if you can manage, and you can. Often called Maple Taffy, I recently enjoyed this gooey treat at Kings Landing Historical settlement outside of Fredericton NB, Canada.

Kings Landing goes all out for their Sugar Bush event weekend, which happens every year in March. They do everything historically and by the books – no new technology here. Once the sap starts running in the maple trees, the workers take their buckets out to the trees and start collecting the not so tasty maple sap. They then put it into giant black cauldrons over toasty fires to boil it into maple syrup. Then they open the park for the first time in the season, and let the customers in.

Boiling the maple sap into syrup!

Because Sugar Bush takes place in March it’s a good idea to bundle up before you go. If you do find yourself getting cold though, you can huddle around the fires and listen to one of the kind gentlemen working the syrup as he explains to you how the process works. Plus, the table where they make the candied snow is right beside the fires, so you can set yourself up with a steady stream of sugar as you heat up, for only two dollars a pop.

Making Maple Taffy

Once you’ve had your fill of the Maple Taffy, be sure to explore the rest of the historical settlement. You can hop onto a free sleigh ride, pulled by giant horses, that will take you past old homes, brought to the settlement for historical preservation, and give you magnificent views of the, currently frozen, St. John River. You can hop off and visit the farm, where there are pigs, horses, cows and sheep. Kids love going inside the barns, but this is no petting zoo – these animals are huge. The man who takes care of them assures me they are safe, and is clearly attached to his oversized “pets.”

The caretaker of the animals

Beside the barns you’ll find the first of the old houses. Inside it’s like a small museum with antique furniture showing how people used to live and do their chores. However, it smells nothing like you’d expect in a museum, no musty old odour. Instead it smells like fresh pancakes. Head into the kitchen and watch the ladies cook on old-fashioned cook tops, then sample the tasty pancakes they serve up. See, I told you you could manage Maple Taffy AND pancakes! Before you leave this house, be sure also to ask to try to spin some wool on the wheel.

Finally hop back on the sleigh ride and make your way to the other side of the settlement. Here you’ll see the famous mill up the river and the main building called the Kings Head Inn. At the inn you can, and should, enjoy a hot chocolate or a hot apple cider. Then buy a voucher to try venison being cooked over yet another camp-fire up the path.

The Kings Head Inn

If you’ve never had venison before you should definitely try it. If you don’t know what it is, it’s deer meat. This year was my first experience eating it, and while I’m glad that I tried it I can’t say I liked it very much. My friends that I was with loved it though. It’s a bit chewier then meat that I’m used to eating, and it has that “gamey” taste that had previously been described to me. It’s also covered in maple syrup BBQ sauce, so that part was amazing.

Overall Sugar Bush at Kings Landing is a must do activity if you are in the Fredericton Area in March. Stepping into Kings Landing is like stepping into a time machine. Don’t rush a visit, there is so much to see, do and learn. Wander around, take some pictures, have some candy, and immerse yourself in the history presented all around you.

Morgan On The Map

The Stories of my World Travels

travel

Do Not Be Alarmed! Venice Floods!

A Celebration of Stinky Breath at Bern’s Onion Festival

Visiting Fredericton: Sugar Bush at Kings Landing