Trisha Ray - Log of a Travel Artist

Barge Living - Off to Search for a Canal Boat in France

We're going to France.

To look for a BOAT.

Kyanna is for sale - but at 24m, probably too big for us.

Squid fishermen? This is probably NOT the kind of boat we're looking for.

A canal boat.

One big enough to live on, at least for a while.

This one is in England - they have lots of narrow canals there.

Canals stretch all over Europe.

Rivers, too.
-You can cruise from one end of France right up to Berlin - on canals!

I know it's kind of a weird idea.

But ever since we rented canal boats, I keep thinking what a great lifestyle it is.
Floating through the villages and towns, at the pace of a walking horse.

Since canals are flat, bicycling is easy.

Every canal has a towpath beside it.

We'll have bicycles on the boat.

Ride into villages.

Stan off for a morning baguette. Maybe two. Those are BIG barges moored on the left.

Visit French markets for boat groceries.

It's mobile - and it's slow.

You can stop anywhere, moor along the bank.
Just pound a couple of stakes into the ground and tie up.

- Or - just keep going.

This is one of the boats we rented - on the Canal Du Midi.

The rental boats are great - practical, and luckily, somewhat indestructible.

It looks ENORMOUS, but - that's only 15m!

Apparently, we aren't the first ones to think of this.

There are all sorts of wanderers, living aboard barges all over Europe.
Some live right in the middle of Paris and in London - inexpensive housing in pricey cities.

Others are a sort of international floating community.

We've met a few liveaboards, and they all seem to enjoy it.

This one is a luxury vacation boat. Ours may be simpler.

So: Stan's been busy learning French.

We're both reading the boating regulations to pass the tests.

Since we already have our sailing licenses, and coastal cruising certifications, it's just a matter of taking the inland waterways test. (Unfortunately for Stan, I think it's in French.)

The kids monitor our progress as we go under a low stone bridge.

So this boat we're looking for - has to be low enough to fit under small bridges.

And narrow enough, too.

And not too deep either, for the canals.

The canals are filled with locks - the canal system dates back to the 1600's. Usually, there's a lock keeper.

I made a spreadsheet (of course) of all of our top choices - and I'm keeping it updated.

With a list of "must have" and "would like to have" items.

Of course.

- Some boats even have wood-burning stoves!

These are all boats we've investigated. All for sale, at a surprisingly wide range of prices.

Some of the barges are over a century old.

They were used to haul commercial goods.

Recently they've been converted into pleasure boats.

A lot of them are REALLY long - up to 38m!

We're trying to find a one closer to 15m - still a BIG boat - about 50 feet.

On a boat, you might need "duck bread" - otherwise known as old stale baguettes.

So, as it stands now, we'd be spending most of our time on a converted barge.

Mostly in France.

But - who knows? I'll let you know what happens - in November!

(Rumor has it the wine's not bad, either.)

Bikes in Berlin and a Brandenburg Weekend

The entrance to our rental apt in Berlin is NOT promising!

Inside, the apartment is fine. It's okay.
It's in Prenzlauerberg, where we want to be.

Mikey and Iris are living nearby.

(And there's a baby on the way-!)

Your own fault for making that face, Mikey! Nice Itchy Feet t-shirt, though.

We borrow their bikes and terrorize the city streets.
Not intentionally.

People actually follow the Rules of the Road here.
Not like New Mexico.

We're used to riding where and how we want.

It's hard to remember to obey traffic rules.

And: we're NOT the only ones on bikes!

Everyone's on a bike!

So - when we stop suddenly to check the map:
Everyone behind us nearly crashes into us.

You can IMAGINE the chaos we create.

The downside to living on the 5th floor.

Café lifestyle.

Berlin is flat.

Bikes are a great way to enjoy the city.

Lakeside in Berlin. Summertime! Last time we were here, it was bitter cold and snow.

And then?

What else to do in Berlin in July?

(We save the many museums for our winter visits.)

Head to the country!

We rent a small house somewhere in the lake country of Brandenburg.

The flowers! The fruits!
Everything so ripe. Lush.

There are 12 different types of fruit growing in the garden.

Things would NEVER look this juicy in New Mexico.

So what do you do with ALL that extra fruit?

- Make schnapps.

Good coffee - and homemade schnapps!

The owner, Lore, has 7 different types of homemade fruit schnapps.
Each type is in a different, old-fashioned bottle.

We promise her we'll try at least a few.

(We did - I think the raspberry won.)

We're REALLY in the country here.

It's the "back of beyond" to those living in Berlin.

Corn fields. Wheat. Chickens. Jam.

They sell blueberries, cherries, eggs, and chanterelle mushrooms by the side of the road.

It's an honor system.

With a box for you to leave your money.

It's VERY rural.

We explore. We read. Draw.

Mostly, we just chill.

Then - Stan makes a salad for dinner.

Afterwards - a small glass of homemade schnapps as a "digestive".

See? Our life isn't always high adventure.

On the Beach in Poland - a Retro Experience

European SUMMER VACATION - at the beach in Poland!

That's a first. At least for me.

The place is PACKED.

Excited kids carry sand pails and

plastic shovels.

Parents follow with beach chairs and umbrellas.

Teens stand in line for ice cream.

Grandparents tote sun hats and books.

EVERYONE pitches in when it's time to build a sand castle.

It feels like a scene from the 1950's.

Multi-generational. All ages.

Sunburned and happy.

Just enjoying the heck out of being at the beach.

Even these stripey wind shelters feel retro. (We ARE on the Baltic Sea, after all-).

I've only just seen them in old photos.

The town is crazy busy.

In the evenings, the polka music is loud.

There are folk dances.

An emcee invites people up on stage.

An excited crowd shouts encouragement.

We can hear it from our balcony.

We find a lovely room in an "Aparthotel" in Swinoujscie.

But : NO ONE speaks English - or German.
Even though Germany is a 5 minutes' drive.

(And there's no border anymore, which I still find weird.)

That's our balcony - at the top - with the red plastic chairs.

Our room comes with dinner and breakfast.

Very Old World.

Potato soup, dumplings, meatloaf and tomato sauce.

All very hearty.

We share tables with other guests.

But no one speaks to each other.

(Smiles are extremely rare, too.)

And - the breakfast!

A vast buffet.

Salads, cheeses, jam, pancakes, hot dogs.

-And 11 types of meat.

Only one small problem with breakfast:

INSTANT coffee.
A spoon in a jar of Nescafé. That's it.

Stan just looks at it - in total dismay.

(Have I mentioned that Stan is rather fond of morning coffee?)

So - first time either of us has been in Poland.

Just a small corner of it.

It wasn't really planned.

We rented a car in Berlin, and headed north.

Apparently, we're on an island. Had to take a ferry to get here. Our GPS did NOT like that.
It kept telling us to "TURN AROUND! TURN AROUND! GO BACK!"

Found ourselves in Poland.

With the European SUMMER VACATION in full swing!

Like peeking through a window to another world.

Unexpected.

Then - back to the German side. Nice. They're friendlier here.

Iceland - Elves, Hot Rocks and Dried Fish

Summertime...in Iceland!
Geysers. Glaciers. Volcanoes.

While most of Europe and North America is HOT,
we head NORTH.

66 degrees north -

Iceland is WAY up north.

Look how FAR beyond Scotland and Ireland it is!

There are only 300,000 people who live in Iceland.

In summer, plenty of tourists.
But most visitors stay in a very small area.

Once off the main route, it feels like there's NOBODY there.

We can stop our car in the middle of the road to take pictures.
No one for miles.

-Maybe a few of those Icelandic ponies.

Or a few nesting Arctic terns.

(Which, by the way, are extremely aggressive! Yikes!)

Ok, these may not be terns. But they ARE Icelandic birds.

The terns migrate from Iceland - to the Antarctic - every year.

That's over 12,000 miles - each way.

Further than any other bird.

No wonder they're cranky.

Water, water everywhere.

Lakes, rivers, inlets.

Waterfalls, fjords, bays.

Geysers.

Tide pools, and the ocean all around.

There's even water in the volcano craters.

Hardly any trees.

Mikey and Iris join us from Berlin.

We rent a tiny "Elf's House".

It has a hot tub, which fills geothermically!

There's a hose - to add COLD water - if you need it.

The whole house is heated by hot underground rocks!

How cool is that?

It's July.

So it pretty much stays light 24 hours.

The light itself - is wonderful!

It feels like northern light.

Elf Story
The owner of the Elf House, Siggi, shows us a glen by his house.
His Elves hang out there, he says. (He's quite serious.)

So - Mikey found some wood, a saw, and some red paint in the workshop.

He constructs a small house for the Elves.
Puts it in their glen.

Happy Elves.