10 Things to See and Do in Norwich, the Best City in England

(Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes, 32 seconds)

After living in Norwich for a year as a US Fulbright Scholar and visiting over 15 other cities in England, I've concluded the following: Norwich is a must-visit for any traveler to England, or for any English resident who hasn't yet been. I'd go as far to say it's the best city in England, but you'll need to go to decide for yourself. 

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Why Oregon is the Best State in the US

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 40 seconds. 

Oregon has it rough. People from the East Coast can't usually produce our name (it's Ore-again, not Ory-gone), some think we still use covered wagons, and even Jon Stewart once commented that Oregon was “California’s Canada, Washington’s Mexico, and Idaho’s Portugal.” It's time to set the record as straight as the southern border of Oregon: We are #1. 

Proof of Oregon's greatness

Why make this bold statement? One, it's something that people in the US need to know. Two, I’m officially fed up with people from the UK not knowing about the glorious fountain of wonder that is the state of Oregon. Here’s a common example:

• UK Person: Whereabouts are you from in the States?
• Me: Oregon! Have you heard of it? It’s only the coolest state in the union.
• UK Person: Ya, Oregon, umm, that’s umm… near Minnesota? Midwest somewhere?

Yep, totally Midwest. Really, what’s a few thousand miles between friends? I don’t blame them though, there are 50 states to remember, and these people are not originally from the US. In fact, they'd probably score better than most Americans on a similar test. To turn it around, how many Americans could name any one of the 48 counties in the UK? (Nope, London isn’t one, nice try).

So I don't care if you don't know all 50 states in the union. But you should know Oregon. Oregon is different. Special. Unique, Brilliant. Forget about all of those other states, and memorize these two facts:

1. West Coast Best Coast. It’s simple, and oh so true. Why do you think so many left the East Coast and took the Oregon Trail? Because they wanted to get to someplace awesome.
2. Oregon is the best state on the West Coast.
3. Therefore, Oregon is the best state in the US.

And this proof would hold up to the highest levels of academic scrutiny. Well, assuming the academic is from Oregon. Let’s dive a bit more into the specific reasons why.

1. We have the best beer city in the US

Could there be a better place to start? I actually have facts to back up this assertion! Portland is ranked as the best beer city in the US, and is consistently ranked in the top 5 of beer cities in the world, with over 50 microbreweries within the city limits.  We are have big beer names, with Deschutes, Rogue and Widmer all birthed in Oregon. But in the end, it’s the not the number sold, it’s the quality of the beer (call this the Coors Light proof.). If you’ve ever tried Rogue’ All American Amber or Oakshire’s Espresso Stout, you know the kind of quality I’m talking about. And this is only the beginning… 

2. We are the goal in the game “The Oregon Trail”

If you haven’t played The Oregon Trail  before, I demand that you whip out a ’95 Macintosh computer with MSDOS and buy a CD Rom copy off ebay. Or for less dedicated players, you can read about it here.

This game may have been the most exciting yet tragic offering for kids under 10 ever conceived. Here is a quick review:

• The premise: Load up a wagon with your friends and family and head west, toward the wonderful state of Oregon.
• The actions: Ford some rivers, hunt for some food, and soon you’ll be in the paradise of the West Coast.
• Any risks? Not really. Only that at least 1 member of your family will drown or die of typhoid or cholera, and there is about a 50% chance that your venture will end in starvation or your own death. But no, no big.

Again Nicole? Really?!? 

3. We invented the freaking bottle deposit… and more

Ya, you’re welcome. Actually, Oregon has been at the forefront of a number of cutting edge social or environmental programs. According to former Oregon senator Frank Robert, Oregon was also the first to grant widespread public beach access, the first to have statewide voter registration, and the first state to celebrate Labor Day. Boom. 

This picture is literally how I feel, and is available for purchase from these wonderful artists.

4. We don't use umbrellas

Who needs them? Not using an umbrella comes down to simple pride, and is a perfect example of Oregon's resilient and wacky spirit. We are one with the rain. If you can't handle it, grab an umbrella and move to Washington. If you are a true Oregonian, but on a rain coat, some boots, and tough it out. 

Try graduating while holding an umbrella in Oregon... Not going to happen. 

5. We have the most applicable state mottoes

“She Flies With Her Own Wings.” Yep. It says it all. Progressive, daring, independent, Oregon. And when did we come up with that motto? Freaking 1854. That's right, we've been doing it right for over 150 years. 

The most recent Oregon tagline is "We Love Dreamers." I think this picture tells you about all you need to know:

6. Oregon Looks Like This:

So there it is Rhino Nation, it's settled. Oregon wins. 

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Kurt Berning

Hug the Rhino
For a better life

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Two Weeks of Budget Adventure Travel in Peru

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes, 22 seconds

I backpacked across Peru for about two and a half weeks of, and am writing this blog as a guide to other budget travelers in Peru. It give a snapshot of my trip and offers tips and advice for other travelers. 

Two weeks in Peru  – The Itinerary

What can you do with two weeks in Peru? Well, here was my schedule:

• Lima - 2 Days  Explored Lima with Aaron Morris and Nick Etzel, my travel partners for Peru and Ecuador.
• Arequipa - 4  Days Took a 19 hour bus to Arequipa, Peru, enjoyed a wonderful 4^th of July celebration and trekked for three days through the Canyon del Colca.
• Cusco and Machu Picchu - 6 days: Caught a 5 hour bus to Cusco, Peru, toured the legendary city of Cusco and trekked for four days to Machu Picchu.
• Lake Titicaca - 1 day: Rested from the Machu Picchu adventure, and hopped on a short 5 hours to Puno, Peru to visit Lake Titicaca (the world’s largest high-altitude lake).
• Bus Travel - Lake Titicaca to Ecuador - 2.5 Days Completed a rewarding journey of over 1,770 miles from Puno, Peru to Guayaquil, Ecuador. This included two overnight busses of 19+ hours. Quite ridiculous.

Peru Travel Tips

Weather: It's winter in the Southern Hemisphere in July, meaning that temperatures drop into the 60's-80's. Pretty comfortable. Actually it was pretty cold in Cuzco and Puno, where the elevation topped 13,000 feet and temperatures were just above freezing during the night. 

Budget : Usually we stayed in hostels priced around $8 a night (with breakfast, wi-fi and hot water included, booked the night before using wifi at a previous hostel), spent $1.50-$4 each for lunch and dinner at local restaurants, and took 20 hour buses for $20.

Tips for Bargaining: Almost everything is up for negotiation. In Cuzco we brought down the price of our meal from $6 apiece to $4, in Lima we lowered a bus ticket from $20 to $15, and so on. Don't go overboard, but speak a little Spanish, be a little reluctant, and the price will drop.  

Food: Lunch and Dinner in Peru is marvelous. Expect two course meals for most dinners; the first a rich vegetable/meat soup, and the second a main dish with rice, vegetables, and meat topped off by a steaming mug of coca tea. Breakfast is been simple but filling: toast with butter and jam, eggs, and more coca tea.

Getting Around: After arriving in Lima, we exclusively traveled by bus. Peru's buses are very safe, offer frequent service, are mostly on time, and are very cheap. Standard price is about $1 per hour of travel. More than half of our bus rides were on night buses, which saved paying for a night at a hostel and opened up the day for activities. (And made the 12hr+ trips much shorter). Usually we purchased tickets 1-2 hours before the trip at the bus station, and looked up bus times either online or at the station (when we arrived on an incoming bus).

Packing: I didn't overthink my packing list, it's not much more complicated than hiking anywhere, and I knew that packing too much would slow me down. I took a small hiking backpack with hiking shoes, a couple pairs of walking pants, a few shirts, a few days worth of socks/underwear, a mini-laptop and basic hygiene products. 

*Special tip*: Don't forget a headlamp, and if you are really hardcore leave the towel behind and learn to "squeegee" water off your your hands (Step 2)

Exotic new fruit, plus some of the best avocados in the world.

Arequipa and Canyon Country

Colca Canyon is the 3^rd most visited place in Peru, which makes sense as it is about twice as deep as the Grand Canyon (13,650 feet at the deepest point). It is also home to some of the strongest indigenous groups in Peru, and is the perfect place to escape the rigors of modern life and lose oneself in the beauty of nature and indigenous culture.

We left on July 5^th for a three day trekking trip through the canyon, with a group that was essentially a mini United Nations, (with 3 people from the US, 2 from England, 2 from Poland, 2 from Holland, and one from Colombia). We spent the first day trekking for four hours into the depths of the canyon, where we took a break for lunch and an afternoon exploring exotic local fruits.

The next morning we trekked another four hours to a local oasis, where we swam, ate more fruit, and played a friendly game of soccer with our fellow trekkers. Yes, I will admit that we were all bested by Thomas, a 55 year old Polish soccer wizard. After another tasty Peruvian meal, we hit the sheets early and readied for a 4:45am wake-up call. Remember that second deepest canyon in the world we had trekked down into? Now it was time to go back up. Don’t worry, it was a shallow section of the canyon at depths of only 7,000 feet. Two punishing hours of later, we were out of the canyon and on our way back to Arequipa.

Canyon Trek highlights: Exotic Cactus Fruit, New International Friends, and World Class-Trekking

Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley of the Incas

Quick but substantive backstory: Incan cities, buildings and roads were dismantled by the Spanish during their conquest of the Incan Empire.  This was no easy task, seeing as the Incans had built over 40,000 km of roads in extremely mountainous areas (twice as many as the Romans). Machu Picchu was one of many provincial capitals in the empire, but was left intact because the Spanish never discovered its remote location.

So obviously it wouldn't be a blog about a trip to Peru without a section talking about Machu Picchu. The city is itself a story of Peru’s history and people, both modern and ancient. So here is the story of our four day “Jungle Trek” to Machu Picchu

• Day 1: Same type of rich group diversity (3 Americans, 1 Chilean, 2 Swedish, 1 British, 2 Dutch, etc.), same flavorful Peruvian food (and was able to eat vegetarian the whole trip), but a whole new adventure. We spent the first part of the day biking 33 miles from glacier laced peaks down to lush rainforest (a drop of over 8,000 feet, and then had an hour and a half of group-bonding through white-water rafting in the Urubamba River (part of the headwaters of the Amazon).
• Day 2: And then it was time for trekking. Basically we hiked for about 18 kilometers, crossing sections of Inca trail, small coffee plantations, and learning lessons about Incan culture and Peruvian geography.
• Day 3: And then it was time for more trekking. I hiked for about 18 km, while the other guys ziplined and hiked  about half that distance(when your girlfriend’s Mom works for a zip lining business, it’s not worth the money). By the end of the day we had hiked all the way around Machu Picchu (which we could see perched upon a nearby mountain), and into Machu Picchu town.
• Day 4: And then it was time for climbing. We woke up at 4:20am, make it to the gate of Machu Picchu (open at 5am) by 4:50am, and were about 100^th in line. But a short 45 minute sprint-climb later, we had moved up to second set of gates, and 20^th in line. After entering we spent about an hour taking pictures and waiting for the rest of the group, three hours touring Machu Picchu with our guide, and then another 3-4 hours climbing Machu Picchu Mountain.

Machu Picchu Jungle Trek highlights: Whitewater Rafting, Biking, Late Night Card Games, and Making it up the top of Machu Picchu Mountain.

Final thought: Stay as long as possible!

If all you can spare are two weeks, I hope this guide was helpful in planning your trip. If you've got more time I'd recommend staying longer and getting to know some local people. You could easily spend more than a month in Peru getting to know local people and spending more time in each city. Whatever your travel plans, happy adventures! 

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Kurt Berning

Seize the Day
Hug the Rhino

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