tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26037715785564522052024-03-05T17:08:16.866-08:00KellersinGermanyWillkommen- THIS BLOG WILL KEEP OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS UP TO DATE ON OUR EUROPEAN ADVENTURES WITH STORIES, PHOTOS, AND VIDEO AS WE SAY GOODBYE TO THE BIG-D AND GUTENTAG TO FRANKFURT!!!SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-69361102172090701282010-06-27T11:08:00.000-07:002010-06-27T11:14:21.254-07:00Auf Weidersehen Deutschland...Howdy Texas Party<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdHQG8qSw10QHR14U7rU6F9NdEU3IJxWjvpwAm9dZGpPkrVMU1ngg8ZDm_hK2b7sfAZJWrfE4CX6kLOr6D-3eo6PmTI-5MrTNs-Cl-eFHqrwost2Vupu9mnt6QOLxxCkUQd3dpaHk5rDG/s1600/Around+Frankfurt+130.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdHQG8qSw10QHR14U7rU6F9NdEU3IJxWjvpwAm9dZGpPkrVMU1ngg8ZDm_hK2b7sfAZJWrfE4CX6kLOr6D-3eo6PmTI-5MrTNs-Cl-eFHqrwost2Vupu9mnt6QOLxxCkUQd3dpaHk5rDG/s200/Around+Frankfurt+130.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487518073719709490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ot0cBzHzpm7nWaX9Syo-64HxHKTG8Tm8dGjV69m24Na0kQdIqjxXERPrsBEvDcfj0ZzXeEyXmikRCK2KeWTt4IA7GwrKL5GRQ97zYXg0glC13hLz2AXmG4IaCRy8UFI21ywAvWlOsrUx/s1600/Around+Frankfurt+127.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ot0cBzHzpm7nWaX9Syo-64HxHKTG8Tm8dGjV69m24Na0kQdIqjxXERPrsBEvDcfj0ZzXeEyXmikRCK2KeWTt4IA7GwrKL5GRQ97zYXg0glC13hLz2AXmG4IaCRy8UFI21ywAvWlOsrUx/s200/Around+Frankfurt+127.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487517620607215058" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:black;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:black;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:black;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:black;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">On Friday, June 26th, we hosted a going away party at a local restaurant to say "</span></span></span><em><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Tschüss"</span></span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">to all of our Frankfurter friends. A number of Shea's coworkers, friends from church, and German friends we have made along the way, came to wish us farewell and that we all intend to see each other again along the way. We hope that is true, as we have greatly enjoyed all of our time and experiences here. We both feel we have learned a great deal about ourselves and a little bit about the world we all share from our years in Deutschland. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Thank you everyone!</span></span>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-29439969938130646182010-06-27T10:32:00.000-07:002010-06-27T11:07:59.965-07:00Sailing on the Edersee<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR8al9ouXyvizpEPgSP-nwzW9eJpqHYdogWoA5N_G5LI3s39STxDpOk31JB7-ExI24ErwByiCpWBwE3pG4X7ybj1Gq0w1OE_-2GVCgBk5v6LK8HmwAnbs4rAQnAyLU8DA2Xd7gMAALJ8B/s1600/Around+Frankfurt+135.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR8al9ouXyvizpEPgSP-nwzW9eJpqHYdogWoA5N_G5LI3s39STxDpOk31JB7-ExI24ErwByiCpWBwE3pG4X7ybj1Gq0w1OE_-2GVCgBk5v6LK8HmwAnbs4rAQnAyLU8DA2Xd7gMAALJ8B/s320/Around+Frankfurt+135.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487516101639717618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7xGVJVBT3E3lR2g9EIf1jhO3KI5x5iVAwPBbw0Ovca-roiOPK9CIcaOirmShJMmzPpsyBTnIYexeT20zbJ786YepTsRMmQ6Ri__mX8WQLIrMQPnzdNPCTNpqTRr2CNkVK8Df9Vftz588/s1600/Around+Frankfurt+149.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7xGVJVBT3E3lR2g9EIf1jhO3KI5x5iVAwPBbw0Ovca-roiOPK9CIcaOirmShJMmzPpsyBTnIYexeT20zbJ786YepTsRMmQ6Ri__mX8WQLIrMQPnzdNPCTNpqTRr2CNkVK8Df9Vftz588/s200/Around+Frankfurt+149.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487515688012478850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6kAhLDgvGgc4PkwXbvMUTv2p4NAjTszOjwoTOdg8eQMZiHP94GxSMfZV07rTSJMWQDRJYbMsY0jZGq49Fry3A3AO9nQZ3QC8wg3seFSfm2v3x_hRAhfy1BJl9RpUlIQ6uWbEAJlc92qX/s1600/Around+Frankfurt+138.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6kAhLDgvGgc4PkwXbvMUTv2p4NAjTszOjwoTOdg8eQMZiHP94GxSMfZV07rTSJMWQDRJYbMsY0jZGq49Fry3A3AO9nQZ3QC8wg3seFSfm2v3x_hRAhfy1BJl9RpUlIQ6uWbEAJlc92qX/s200/Around+Frankfurt+138.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487515288271060866" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Shea and I were invited by one of her co-workers for a day on the Edersee. The Edersee is a lake in a nature preserve about a two hour drive from Frankfurt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We woke up early and met her co-worker and the captain of the ship at the main train station. From there we all drove together to the lake, where we meet the last of the group and boarded the roughly 30-foot sailboat. We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon enjoying the beautiful landscapes of this pristine area, while letting the wind do all the work. We had a nice time "learning the ropes" and taking our turns at the helm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We really enjoyed our time on the lake and Shea is now planning to purchase an eye patch and parrot.</span></span></span>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-48248895004407598962010-06-27T05:41:00.001-07:002010-06-27T10:30:06.553-07:00Agadir, Morocco for Shea's 30th Birthday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9hVEf36dXe5l36Ah0c3PIMSwh_zzqdyRKqTdVvvlFtCvTYiiBu-OL4ylpTAQ09iAsYIPqpcfpbRzfbyByOpq7Eu5pLm_7m2SjeqNZH2Ba5Av-8kFdQSgUVCoF9kLyR6esw_sR8UIrfy4/s1600/Agadir+for+Sheas+30th+Birthday+(20).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9hVEf36dXe5l36Ah0c3PIMSwh_zzqdyRKqTdVvvlFtCvTYiiBu-OL4ylpTAQ09iAsYIPqpcfpbRzfbyByOpq7Eu5pLm_7m2SjeqNZH2Ba5Av-8kFdQSgUVCoF9kLyR6esw_sR8UIrfy4/s200/Agadir+for+Sheas+30th+Birthday+(20).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487507016834434786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP5spY39NhncXF1_UWSqQ2wyMZJ4s7lnK99um2yVUzPveMUr-UKnJtiGCVIWc6VbjV80J9ewEkrxgnbB1Jt_G0-abEulhHrOe8n8J93e6Aq-hIq0hAd5mM2qnG4sG7SEOr1PT96X1Wspl/s1600/Agadir+for+Sheas+30th+Birthday+(54).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP5spY39NhncXF1_UWSqQ2wyMZJ4s7lnK99um2yVUzPveMUr-UKnJtiGCVIWc6VbjV80J9ewEkrxgnbB1Jt_G0-abEulhHrOe8n8J93e6Aq-hIq0hAd5mM2qnG4sG7SEOr1PT96X1Wspl/s200/Agadir+for+Sheas+30th+Birthday+(54).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487438375028653954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawhkQT_sIcrikLq9x_d3ImkzF-Xe2C_d3-SAuitkJfGUv-f1EXYgvHKM7Lvpq38YgqWVwP8IAEz_5wDR7Q65VJeTW6wk_X261ISZtH6ULlPXjUrx5YeR_VMi6JSPdEC2LjOcyQKmzAeXu/s1600/Agadir+for+Sheas+30th+Birthday+(14).jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawhkQT_sIcrikLq9x_d3ImkzF-Xe2C_d3-SAuitkJfGUv-f1EXYgvHKM7Lvpq38YgqWVwP8IAEz_5wDR7Q65VJeTW6wk_X261ISZtH6ULlPXjUrx5YeR_VMi6JSPdEC2LjOcyQKmzAeXu/s320/Agadir+for+Sheas+30th+Birthday+(14).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487437796760183202" /></a><br />For our last big trip before heading home and to celebrate Shea's graduation from her wild 20's to her super-wild 30's, we stepped over to a new continent for us...Africa. We caught a flight for a 4 nights stay in Agadir, Morocco at a wonderful beach resort. Usually on our trips we race to see as much as possible, but the vibe on this trip was set to lazy. We ate, drank, and sunbathed to our hearts' content. <div>Each day we would head down to the beach and get a chuckle out of the diverse cultural differences between the Europeans and their choice of bathing attire (or lack thereof) versus the Moroccans and their beach burqas. Neither influence offending the other. </div><div>On Monday, for Shea's big day, we made reservations at a Moroccan restaurant to get an authentic taste of their cuisine. They treated us like kings and made it a very special special evening for Shea, with a bottle of champagne, cake, and an interesting version of "Happy Birthday". Each night we would wander down the boardwalk and try to walk off a bit of our overeating. We weren't successful. </div><div>After a couple of days of rest, celebration, and relaxation we bid the resort "adieu" and headed home for our last few weeks in Frankfurt. </div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-13241091201407716002010-06-01T03:00:00.001-07:002010-06-27T05:40:46.633-07:00Scotland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORU6HKJXHTO2kf1LLXkeq5qKyQvdIaxT0_0G-jb34_reWp9UlqQJxVN4ZnHTlq5WZ5d1xRUxGfg8QWInSlG1KOh5PcSAxOpr1JmmbdsMhEbjv3SEXrXzl_s8W85iAkYpLdt76_LdEe1L1/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORU6HKJXHTO2kf1LLXkeq5qKyQvdIaxT0_0G-jb34_reWp9UlqQJxVN4ZnHTlq5WZ5d1xRUxGfg8QWInSlG1KOh5PcSAxOpr1JmmbdsMhEbjv3SEXrXzl_s8W85iAkYpLdt76_LdEe1L1/s320/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485539452442113394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-t3OEHhiYr75wuIaUVfBLxkiF9hL1ESmf6wsJz-DRVmuzWSUhOyv4NA5AcabGeoPVrAdeWuTqairVq-In8-8bPG4edg2WPSIjnPqYmadGSXZtZXkkx5VkUzX6ZvCoSkrwIUXajsinmx_/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+355.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-t3OEHhiYr75wuIaUVfBLxkiF9hL1ESmf6wsJz-DRVmuzWSUhOyv4NA5AcabGeoPVrAdeWuTqairVq-In8-8bPG4edg2WPSIjnPqYmadGSXZtZXkkx5VkUzX6ZvCoSkrwIUXajsinmx_/s200/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+355.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485538987930061474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-hlmBSx8NcK6wMQf0qx-Sxf_D-nJ8pFqso-sjlmON5HwU-NYuU5lwwD7ZjXnpxvqWoB4E4CzSvE4y48y7EgFUjgHAsppAj6OdtUO2cZGpyJNooQGEM9dihv6WzYbkINi_yLBbsIoLsDn/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+326.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-hlmBSx8NcK6wMQf0qx-Sxf_D-nJ8pFqso-sjlmON5HwU-NYuU5lwwD7ZjXnpxvqWoB4E4CzSvE4y48y7EgFUjgHAsppAj6OdtUO2cZGpyJNooQGEM9dihv6WzYbkINi_yLBbsIoLsDn/s200/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+326.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485538624077126930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwT6Z2E-RgZYOuTwQaSNNiP8FYgTTNvmbbIOfwU9kB5GAjxCcVutjgSjPOfv-LDbGZ_b6jnWazmm5tnhV4kFZCJA3cvVMGABL97i75inEPJLobg0MhZk-hahpaXA0FnEPpWCv8UQ43di9W/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+334.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwT6Z2E-RgZYOuTwQaSNNiP8FYgTTNvmbbIOfwU9kB5GAjxCcVutjgSjPOfv-LDbGZ_b6jnWazmm5tnhV4kFZCJA3cvVMGABL97i75inEPJLobg0MhZk-hahpaXA0FnEPpWCv8UQ43di9W/s320/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+334.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485537965124985698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f5KffQYxHv4Y2OpWRZyAYTeHr7BHgH7RtecjhfZkEKApCOMwkmDbYdZGj0qJ9u5BOnxt4kDg6-0RTsuqt8rsW5cprwU6OTB1yawqDbklknHKOQL8FXa-npQq5ZN5UxavbT2UkbjSiLAt/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+305.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f5KffQYxHv4Y2OpWRZyAYTeHr7BHgH7RtecjhfZkEKApCOMwkmDbYdZGj0qJ9u5BOnxt4kDg6-0RTsuqt8rsW5cprwU6OTB1yawqDbklknHKOQL8FXa-npQq5ZN5UxavbT2UkbjSiLAt/s320/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+305.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485537259827028562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTa5UwvDiLe84S_k2LxzOdRmwPsrCRaT0iUdBSs9BlIjrB4w970J4n09xR6cSRtSqd5WE4L37wnRwFRilRe_Lr71Obcw_MjqEDqM74LaM-k75y4bKkdS6EGSRQ480otbIf-5nePP3AhkQb/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+302.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTa5UwvDiLe84S_k2LxzOdRmwPsrCRaT0iUdBSs9BlIjrB4w970J4n09xR6cSRtSqd5WE4L37wnRwFRilRe_Lr71Obcw_MjqEDqM74LaM-k75y4bKkdS6EGSRQ480otbIf-5nePP3AhkQb/s200/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+302.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485536821285407698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmgGFokbVnc1l7hUG3mDYlCcIjsjDpoyZOYvAEciNHATr8kQVzcm9yv2nrxkxJj9NzpG8i-PYCtdWCU6RtUowIQyfuCIyaK9Ohn39MIsmkq1Q3uUYKlnaNvdl-B0pMkvvX5_8Q9XYjgIe/s1600/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+160.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmgGFokbVnc1l7hUG3mDYlCcIjsjDpoyZOYvAEciNHATr8kQVzcm9yv2nrxkxJj9NzpG8i-PYCtdWCU6RtUowIQyfuCIyaK9Ohn39MIsmkq1Q3uUYKlnaNvdl-B0pMkvvX5_8Q9XYjgIe/s200/Edinburgh,+Highlands,+and+Loch+Ness+160.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485535596202461570" /></a><br />Shea and I flew over to Edinburgh, Scotland from Friday, May 21st through Monday, May 24th. We arrived around lunchtime and took a bus from the airport to our B&B hotel near the heart of the city. We dropped off our bags and headed back into the city for a 3:00 walking tour that took you along the famous Royal Mile. They told us a lot about the history of Scotland and Edinburgh as they showed us the Edinburgh Castle, Prince's Street gardens, Greyfriars Cemetary and Greyfriars Bobby, William Wallace and the Stone of Destiny, the home of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and of course for you Harry Potter fans the original Hogwarts. <div>Known for its bad weather, we were treated to nothing but bright sunny skies and warm temperatures throughout the length of our stay. We thought the city was amazing with beautiful views and wonderful old tenements all leading up to the castle seated atop the hill. After the tour, we headed to a local pub to reward ourselves with some traditional Scotland cuisine...haggis, neeps, and tatties. Haggis is sheep, but I will spare you what parts, neeps being turnips, and tatties are mashed potatoes. We had heard that most Scottish cuisine was based on a dare, but we found the food to be delicious. </div><div>After filling our stomachs, we headed back to Maggie Dickson's Pub and sat outside and made our first Scottish friends until it was time to head to bed. </div><div>On Saturday, we started the day with a traditional Scottish breakfast...blood pudding, beans, egg, hashbrown, ham, and spam (our arteries will remember this trip longer than we will). We then headed to the Edinburgh castle for a tour of the inside. We arrived as the military was on parade with baggers and kilts everywhere. We took the tour of the castle, which took several hours to complete. Then we walked back down to the other end of the Royal Mile to see the Royal Palace and the new modern Scottish Parliament building. From there, we wandered into the "New City", which is the more modern area of town dating back to the Enlightenment period when Edinburgh became known for its writers, poets, artists, and culture. We were rewarded with some amazing views of the city from here. </div><div>That evening we had some dinner, then stopped into a pub to watch the end of the European Soccer Championships. We were quickly adopted by some new Scottish best friends, who proceeded to show us all the best pubs on a makeshift pub crawl. After hours of laughing, drinking, dancing, and trading stories, we headed home for bed in preparation for our Highlands tour the following day.</div><div>On Sunday, we woke up early and headed into town to catch a bus for a Scottish Highlands tour. The tour guide drove us into and through the Scottish mountains, with breathtaking views of waterfalls, lakes, and mountain summits. Along the way, we were introduced to some shaggy haired Highland cattle and Shea took the opportunity to feed them while doing her best William Wallace impersonation. The tour then drove us North to the famous Loch (Lake) Ness, where we boarded a boat to do some Nessy hunting. Unfortunately, we didn't get a glimpse of the old girl, but we did get to enjoy some natural splendor and a taste of some local whiskeys. The tour went as far North as Iverness, before we headed back to Edinburgh and over the Firth of Forth, finishing a 12 hour mad dash through the middle of the country. </div><div>Monday, before the rain started to come in, we caught our flight back to Frankfurt. We had an absolutely wonderful time in Scotland. The people were out-of-their-way friendly and the landscape was historic and beautiful. We would love to get a chance to go back someday and experience it even more.</div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-74405456425390871262010-05-31T13:01:00.001-07:002010-06-21T13:55:39.192-07:00Luxembourg & Mosel River Trip<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8RsaA3Vic7Qch1jhHdArMujYwG6wLJaBKKFuOHNDBlpNGYkopttkoDZDV-iSAuzDQeQlwi0qPPQ-BTR8gQJB1AVMookEqzssW1d9VD_o6SWZUe2Vusa3N-16ubEoIi87ha4lGzAXPBTO/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+272.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8RsaA3Vic7Qch1jhHdArMujYwG6wLJaBKKFuOHNDBlpNGYkopttkoDZDV-iSAuzDQeQlwi0qPPQ-BTR8gQJB1AVMookEqzssW1d9VD_o6SWZUe2Vusa3N-16ubEoIi87ha4lGzAXPBTO/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+272.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485223228409411298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1S2nwtLTnLlbfyc5bdMA03_Cz8ZohVH3CeL2Sd08-FOqnd6Bf1HmMcbXrDGper2ghqNm0d-DA4atru7Q31jsTHN5Ms6j28GCcPpj71enn5FkxXXiEH_PdAUcdhJQfN3BJrQLP_Dhl9buq/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+280.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1S2nwtLTnLlbfyc5bdMA03_Cz8ZohVH3CeL2Sd08-FOqnd6Bf1HmMcbXrDGper2ghqNm0d-DA4atru7Q31jsTHN5Ms6j28GCcPpj71enn5FkxXXiEH_PdAUcdhJQfN3BJrQLP_Dhl9buq/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+280.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485222732984988354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUxFnAac_GlG-ZkDg7u_CdKhQH2Q1XbaYmwOkI2o812eaIkOkbrQp_Ug_DB4mt_QmCXWG5BMET1pGd6ptsvyu_FZe9V7bUE57hSsvdMCghufB81eD6_UxF6da7UUS_jHjSjRKOuRLkq7s/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+274.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUxFnAac_GlG-ZkDg7u_CdKhQH2Q1XbaYmwOkI2o812eaIkOkbrQp_Ug_DB4mt_QmCXWG5BMET1pGd6ptsvyu_FZe9V7bUE57hSsvdMCghufB81eD6_UxF6da7UUS_jHjSjRKOuRLkq7s/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+274.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485222009095688802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa4bJOiYxHlBL5gvN7yEbnfa0FJhxXbX5FWtCe_STglFCi733M1HJkM-Nb24FuPUr_LyB_8CRGHoKZ6MCBayDMKllre6C3nR4TO82Q4iM5uLQczxCKgLmgkTFfVVfKStJAYTwtXPdHtAX/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+115.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa4bJOiYxHlBL5gvN7yEbnfa0FJhxXbX5FWtCe_STglFCi733M1HJkM-Nb24FuPUr_LyB_8CRGHoKZ6MCBayDMKllre6C3nR4TO82Q4iM5uLQczxCKgLmgkTFfVVfKStJAYTwtXPdHtAX/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+115.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485221432661530290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMk_CVgIwvC5hPn9WMJ_ahcggk0zSo-Y_nl6Tr20UOPPcw9K89k7akGn7qDSmmel13wxrEBrW29CC_UyudRB5cHOYHOby4-9vVFIgoed6D5SLantskKTUdzpjjzPJ_P3iSoKfe3Jfq4yr/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+087.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMk_CVgIwvC5hPn9WMJ_ahcggk0zSo-Y_nl6Tr20UOPPcw9K89k7akGn7qDSmmel13wxrEBrW29CC_UyudRB5cHOYHOby4-9vVFIgoed6D5SLantskKTUdzpjjzPJ_P3iSoKfe3Jfq4yr/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+087.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485220952100767970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySQGzyDH5CpTTCCHR8Rea0N1mtjqOlfslEzamLGPK1g_k_tV8PnikDYgoSwY9OOSKWOXxM-Pdk6ROcgNP9Dti2z2DMF5jNXES6aoBLnLH8Vskcq1y9WeUrId8TTZUetGoVgyzsTIihTjl/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+013.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySQGzyDH5CpTTCCHR8Rea0N1mtjqOlfslEzamLGPK1g_k_tV8PnikDYgoSwY9OOSKWOXxM-Pdk6ROcgNP9Dti2z2DMF5jNXES6aoBLnLH8Vskcq1y9WeUrId8TTZUetGoVgyzsTIihTjl/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+013.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485220103370361682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZFZqZgDo2megESamEJogTtxXBfGWO1ee3-JsWTgfarSR9kegp6qI6HaQan4QIqGWVGHyZciEFLbQ1p-IZmI5z0GWJD2uhWHHsWYKCG9kj3C8vrufSoXIEQ2USbWTSuC-dFb2jvPtyrqK/s1600/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+110.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZFZqZgDo2megESamEJogTtxXBfGWO1ee3-JsWTgfarSR9kegp6qI6HaQan4QIqGWVGHyZciEFLbQ1p-IZmI5z0GWJD2uhWHHsWYKCG9kj3C8vrufSoXIEQ2USbWTSuC-dFb2jvPtyrqK/s200/Luxembourg+%26+Mosel+River+110.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485219665669049538" /></a><br />Thursday, May 13th, was a holiday here, so we took the long weekend opportunity to rent a car and drive to Luxembourg and through the western wine district of Germany. <div>Shea tells a story about a map project she did in elementary school and how she always remembered thinking that Luxembourg was soooo small and that it was funny that its capital city and country shared the same name...well, you made it to see with your own two eyes kid. </div><div>We drove in our rented Fiat Panda to Luxembourg city and toured around the beautiful city for the afternoon. We then headed over to the WWII American Military cemetery, which is home to over 5 thousand fallen American soldiers including the famous General George S. Patton. From there we headed back into Germany, where we checked into our hotel in Trier...the oldest city in Germany dating back to the Roman era over 2000 years ago. We visited the ancient Roman coliseum, toll gate (Porta Nigra), Constantine Basilica, and the birthplace of Karl Marx...quite a history for this little city. </div><div>We headed out in the Panda alongside the Mosel River to drive from Trier to Koblenz, Germany on the Weinstrasse (or Wine Road). The road follows along the river with steep hills/mountains on both sides that are used as the vineyards for the famous Riesling wines. Every several kilometers you enter a small quaint village with not much more than a couple of vineyard B&B's, a few restaurants, a beautiful old church, and a castle just up the river. </div><div>Shea and I took our time stopping in several small villages along the way. We hiked up a couple mountains and through the vineyards to visit a few castles to try some wine while taking in the wonderful views. We stopped for the night in a small village called Ernst, where we checked into a small B&B. We were walking through the village when an elderly man peeked his head out of his vineyard barn and invited us in for a taste test of his personal vintage. We sat around his wooden table with another couple from Belgium and listened to his life stories while he poured glass after glass of delicious wine and practiced our German. Before we knew it...we had been there for hours and knew it was time for dinner. </div><div>The next day we finished our drive up the Mosel to the city of Koblenz, where the Mosel and Rhine Rivers meet. We then crossed the Rhine and followed it south back toward home while making a few more village stops along the way.</div><div>We had a really nice driving trip over the 3 days and got to take in some amazing scenery, castles, and delicious wines. It's a place you feel lucky for having gotten to visit.</div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-22066186261027906502010-05-31T13:00:00.001-07:002010-06-07T13:40:29.137-07:00Prague<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDxNPa8WTwHMhzIQ5ZGnBVjn2xU514kcNMJhsSvpE-5a25kS4ueax3sO_7Wzxhd76qMNEaTjBNrpYS0VN5FnMvAhmAlOHH_sRihCCEcdb8VWSJi0i4QHoFp3oCZHzrWXwk8PzC1NAh2-G/s1600/Prague+070.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDxNPa8WTwHMhzIQ5ZGnBVjn2xU514kcNMJhsSvpE-5a25kS4ueax3sO_7Wzxhd76qMNEaTjBNrpYS0VN5FnMvAhmAlOHH_sRihCCEcdb8VWSJi0i4QHoFp3oCZHzrWXwk8PzC1NAh2-G/s200/Prague+070.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480133485301253570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNjniCm2ZxdWQ_8PUdSP0JMIvMAYdT2lPCbCjNoUkgFRZVhNm42esWXcPI_b1XC9C9-Eq_KEIKMrCUlB-EGdIRxXO94DCgt2Mp6S5NmuKzTwVk-PiS2gCXynp8BsN9zJzrvKDjA3pj30H/s1600/Prague+285.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNjniCm2ZxdWQ_8PUdSP0JMIvMAYdT2lPCbCjNoUkgFRZVhNm42esWXcPI_b1XC9C9-Eq_KEIKMrCUlB-EGdIRxXO94DCgt2Mp6S5NmuKzTwVk-PiS2gCXynp8BsN9zJzrvKDjA3pj30H/s200/Prague+285.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480132959208885266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VyWD-ORNmWtvj4dVwDZxjHXToM5M6cag2vc_4iE8N_ay2vy9VR7ukwaI9LbahmgrTdLQs0F2SynW9Koi7uvoEX0BrWyxv9ckUKE6YfNUGynTOx1OmU_W-u8r0J4-0iDQtPDoCX0DZCrZ/s1600/Prague+292.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VyWD-ORNmWtvj4dVwDZxjHXToM5M6cag2vc_4iE8N_ay2vy9VR7ukwaI9LbahmgrTdLQs0F2SynW9Koi7uvoEX0BrWyxv9ckUKE6YfNUGynTOx1OmU_W-u8r0J4-0iDQtPDoCX0DZCrZ/s200/Prague+292.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480132119686007362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2OhRIO5gUVfuDzyFWtrKPaydg-ZwW_65aWFFjj7MqAHsT-_LhkdkNMN7IAJpX1JTO_2PiZqD0LQEjZY60IHxX1JHor5VY9ZSUxURhPRMuqmxpa1yjTQlUFHb8cp1oRpxNkoTmvr-XmqK/s1600/Prague+017.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2OhRIO5gUVfuDzyFWtrKPaydg-ZwW_65aWFFjj7MqAHsT-_LhkdkNMN7IAJpX1JTO_2PiZqD0LQEjZY60IHxX1JHor5VY9ZSUxURhPRMuqmxpa1yjTQlUFHb8cp1oRpxNkoTmvr-XmqK/s200/Prague+017.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478138899872544930" /></a><br />To complete our busy April travel schedule we popped over to Prague, Czech Republic, on Friday, April 30th for a three day stay. We had heard amazing things about Prague (being very pretty, relatively inexpensive, great beer, etc.) and were really excited to check it out for ourselves. <div>Known as the city of a thousand spires, we arrived in Prague late on Friday night and got to bed for our early tour of the Stare Mestro (Old Town) on Saturday morning. The tour started in the old town square at the famous astronomical clock, the Kinsky Palace, The Church of Our Lady before Tyn, and St. Nicholas Church. Our guide did his best to narrate the Prague history associated with this public square and its status amongst medieval Bohemia, the Roman Empire, the Nazi, and the Communists. <div>From there we headed to the Estates' Theater where Mozart famously premiered Don Giovanni in 1787. The city still takes great pride in that fact, and visitors can still catch shows at several theaters around town. Afterward we visited Wenceslas Square and learned more about the Communist occupation of Prague. From the square you can see the expansive National Museum, where several student protesters martyred themselves in the 1960's against the Communist regime. Today, the Czech's treat these students as national heroes, and their memorials were definitely worth a visit. </div><div>Next, we swung by the Powder Tower (old fortification that used to hold all the gun powder) on our way to the Jewish district. Here we stopped to learn about the Czech Jews and their fates during WWII, before heading over to the famous Charles Bridge and a beautiful view of the Prague Castle. </div><div>From here Shea and I took the opportunity to walk over the Charles Bridge to the New Town, located at the foot of the Prague Castle. We had some afternoon snacks and enjoyed our first taste of the some local beers. We decided to take another tour for the Castle and New Town on Sunday, so we headed back to the Old Town to inspect some sights more closely. We toured some of the churches and wandered through the quaint streets and learned about a 20 year Independence celebration concert that night. We decided to attend after some local specialties for dinner, which included goulash for me and Shea with some wild game...both of which were really good. We then headed over to the concert and partied with the Prague-ians.</div></div><div>On Sunday, we headed back to the Astronomical Clock tower and watched the centuries old top of the hour trumpeting. We then headed to the top to get a view of the city from up above...and were treated to a spot to take some really great pics. </div><div>Next we headed over to our New Town tour where we were shown the world's largest medieval castle that has ruled over Prague since the 9th century. We visited the palace just a few weeks after Barack was here to sign the nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia. We went to the Strahov monastery and brewery, where both Shea and I agree we had maybe the best beer ever...too bad that is the only place you can get it. We were shown the "garden of eden", the Black Tower, Mozart's house, and lots of other interesting spots. </div><div>From there we headed back to collect our belongings and then headed on to the airport. </div><div>We really did enjoy our weekend in Prague and would rate it toward the top of the list of the trips we've taken. The people, the scenery, the history, the food, and the beer (and the prices!) add up to one great trip.</div><div><br /></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-32360492460491642432010-05-31T12:59:00.003-07:002010-06-01T11:26:38.290-07:00Brussels- Our 5th Anniversary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Dsa6QJ78frf_DDVZ08qWeZCB-sxrEEgpCaKBxs3jrpY_PiKVPmcRnrZM93pTiNJQcItjkSIKfrwaHyzW2AKr2GmXZSlc-AVIvo6zWHHtprVTIwCI1mH1lMgRybaS3qj7FtKOvOBUH5X2/s1600/Brussels+148.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Dsa6QJ78frf_DDVZ08qWeZCB-sxrEEgpCaKBxs3jrpY_PiKVPmcRnrZM93pTiNJQcItjkSIKfrwaHyzW2AKr2GmXZSlc-AVIvo6zWHHtprVTIwCI1mH1lMgRybaS3qj7FtKOvOBUH5X2/s200/Brussels+148.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477783312367145010" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlBSeW2HCareg31Jv6ZJ84PLoKhjuRiOCZjfX0QRWOHfaBRmK2VMVcBD5HJdf6XmtIS7wJr6TZuAplUbqwvSQdXZg3GH61u0FwqrHliJa1awogvvySIhSamPqK5qgBoQo43Fp55SOaHrn/s1600/Brussels+036.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlBSeW2HCareg31Jv6ZJ84PLoKhjuRiOCZjfX0QRWOHfaBRmK2VMVcBD5HJdf6XmtIS7wJr6TZuAplUbqwvSQdXZg3GH61u0FwqrHliJa1awogvvySIhSamPqK5qgBoQo43Fp55SOaHrn/s200/Brussels+036.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477782522018793154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwNF-TDjVW63Rz-9jZw-pxB0JMFLxEBrh_llflfCfU9VE_tM79S83unk8ggazEA_-50_yfq17bfAXMkvm7nVkP5x2fojYVy4EXQ-9gZGr4nNlbe98Yf0gmKcet7nbXYAD1smZJXjBt1uT/s1600/Brussels+057.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwNF-TDjVW63Rz-9jZw-pxB0JMFLxEBrh_llflfCfU9VE_tM79S83unk8ggazEA_-50_yfq17bfAXMkvm7nVkP5x2fojYVy4EXQ-9gZGr4nNlbe98Yf0gmKcet7nbXYAD1smZJXjBt1uT/s200/Brussels+057.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477781664039585890" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxlvo-PDM6PwI1OxrAJvk4BK9pIENN3V_uFGYICArrok1CNjGHA23011dFSsC8-o_tShOQTLDiXRTSouG-wImih59leWTKWoaI5x-c3EnB5ajOQdZhmo6zLi8W1GBLME1XzF8VokcFMf0/s1600/Brussels+137.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxlvo-PDM6PwI1OxrAJvk4BK9pIENN3V_uFGYICArrok1CNjGHA23011dFSsC8-o_tShOQTLDiXRTSouG-wImih59leWTKWoaI5x-c3EnB5ajOQdZhmo6zLi8W1GBLME1XzF8VokcFMf0/s200/Brussels+137.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477781120891221042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyI1AhSbfaLvJTd4s-D5wLkBrNqRLRVglY4SWbwVEREv1miZT40NINaOjAmvcdFzvBbULZ9km2hFql2T7kktwu_bl0GdKoWfmF74q69BE9M-OV5do3bENX-vbVlQdl8Rs45sTB9-9iA8Yq/s1600/Brussels+135.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyI1AhSbfaLvJTd4s-D5wLkBrNqRLRVglY4SWbwVEREv1miZT40NINaOjAmvcdFzvBbULZ9km2hFql2T7kktwu_bl0GdKoWfmF74q69BE9M-OV5do3bENX-vbVlQdl8Rs45sTB9-9iA8Yq/s200/Brussels+135.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477780599619783714" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Mussels in Brussels: check</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Belgian Beer: check (with Shea tending bar)</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Belgian Chocolate: check </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Belgian Waffles: check</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">For our 5th anniversary, we headed over to Brussels, Belgium. We arrived on Friday, April 9th (our anniversary) and stayed through Sunday night. After checking into the hotel, we headed over for some massages that Shea had set up. We both really enjoyed being pampered and then we headed back to the room to freshen up before walking to a very nice French restaurant for dinner. We celebrated reaching 5 years and talked about all our experiences and then wondered about what the future has in store for us...good times, of that we are sure. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'times new roman';">On Saturday, we headed into the heart of Brussels. It is an interesting city, balancing both centuries old history and traditions with the future as the headquarters of the European Union. We started our tour with a visit to the Royal Palace. From there we walked through gardens to the Galeries Royales St. Hubert, which could better be described as an old European shopping mall. After some window shopping, we headed into the Grand Place. The Grand Place is the old main square in town (a portion seen above). On one side is the impressive municipal building and across is the Musee de la Ville de Bruxelles (Museum of Brussels). The square is completed by a grand hotel and across from it centuries old homes with splendidly decorated facades. After taking in its sights, we walked the few blocks to see the well-known water fountain known as Manneken-Pis. It is, as you see above, a toddler doing his thing. Belgian humor.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">We then headed into a Belgian Beer Brewers Museum, where we learned about the evolution of Belgian beer making. Of course there is no better way to end a museum tour than with a beer. They teach you how to properly pour a Belgian beer, and of course Shea volunteered to play barkeep after her instruction. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">From the museum, we headed over to St. Micheal's Cathedral. We wandered around inside then came out to find a Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce calling our names. We answered. Delicious.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Next we headed into another area of town where we found the Belgian war memorial, dedicated to the soldiers killed in WWII. Located just down the street from this monument is the European Union headquarters building with its grand fountains and surrounding Parc de Bruxelles. We walked through the park back to the elegant Royal Palace. We then headed over to the Notre Dame du Sablon chapel and toured around inside. After the visit, we stopped in and bought a box of Belgian chocolates to keep us company for the rest of the evening. Also delicious. Our final tourist stop for the day was the Justice Palace seated atop a hill looking over the city. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">After a full day of walking we decided it time to eat some dinner. So, when in Brussels it's time to devour some mussels...and as you can see above we did exactly that. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">After a night cap at a Belgian bar sipping on some Belgian beer we headed for Belgian bed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">On Sunday, we woke up, put our bags together, and started back into the city. Along the way while changing trains on the subway, a woman stopped us and told us our backpack was opened...uh,oh. We'd been Belgian burgled. They got away with Shea's wallet when we weren't looking. So, we quickly called and cancelled our credit cards and bank cards, and fortunately (thus far) have had no problems. We did actually get the final laugh though because Shea had exactly 10 cents in her wallet. They probably thought they were getting some rich tourists and haha...10 cents- suckers. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">After a couple hours of getting that all cleared up, we toured some other areas of the city we had yet to see. We then headed on to the airport and caught our flight back to Frankfurt.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Even though we had a bit of bad luck on Sunday, overall, we had a great trip and really enjoyed our little Belgian celebration. 5 years long and going strong!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">(How many times did I use "Belgian" in the post? First, correct answer gets a Belgian beer on us...)</span></div><div><br /></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-90017056666753602232010-05-31T12:59:00.001-07:002010-06-21T05:07:11.912-07:00Vienna<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbVJ-Bjw04In4c2OiXHbLhDT5yis0kntbkBvhf4Q_gB6EDjST2b7JIfNJU8IhIrYo1Nz3iRzWJCj3gcH83LLCkaO998G_ovSifgO9VTFl-c2osZMyiahajfMHdBFs7PSaDxleL_NBjkrC/s1600/Vienna+129.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbVJ-Bjw04In4c2OiXHbLhDT5yis0kntbkBvhf4Q_gB6EDjST2b7JIfNJU8IhIrYo1Nz3iRzWJCj3gcH83LLCkaO998G_ovSifgO9VTFl-c2osZMyiahajfMHdBFs7PSaDxleL_NBjkrC/s200/Vienna+129.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477776428795388722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76DlIZQ7PGBZQpX5pb_ELO00FDJfc5flogPHMyCBQ0VOnTfHodLqgjl8rSF8wyU6llayNRF0yvcuQ6Pdt0YotGntBYrQQjOejHXadEqhPiItaOycNDg4HTJgtApxJzF11_i72p9rggg9P/s1600/Vienna+062.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76DlIZQ7PGBZQpX5pb_ELO00FDJfc5flogPHMyCBQ0VOnTfHodLqgjl8rSF8wyU6llayNRF0yvcuQ6Pdt0YotGntBYrQQjOejHXadEqhPiItaOycNDg4HTJgtApxJzF11_i72p9rggg9P/s200/Vienna+062.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477774887411404002" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#551A8B;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></u></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OS0GSZGA4mLu88Em9FC8AKhpynRf1fguTzLsqN-81Gp341ag7hpbzTAwRX1pstw4kJknRh3ynDn9bsiJ2NORjeMx4qb4sqkBlF0YM9bdVbNKzk7VZPX2pFrBCaR3NNetdn1r-0vUPnH0/s1600/Vienna+037.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OS0GSZGA4mLu88Em9FC8AKhpynRf1fguTzLsqN-81Gp341ag7hpbzTAwRX1pstw4kJknRh3ynDn9bsiJ2NORjeMx4qb4sqkBlF0YM9bdVbNKzk7VZPX2pFrBCaR3NNetdn1r-0vUPnH0/s200/Vienna+037.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477751795127458258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8HkZHrb8m-_YeRmaFhKf2LRMEAWDAyWaLSveZhXA0IqcbM3mlfSdtxPnXB0anIP2ULl86SDDc-2tloaDiuQPzpJrQxf9y5ywH1N3W3yzAIg9EapapD9yk5e5vot_L6r2Fu-fXaBtsMwP/s1600/Vienna+012.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8HkZHrb8m-_YeRmaFhKf2LRMEAWDAyWaLSveZhXA0IqcbM3mlfSdtxPnXB0anIP2ULl86SDDc-2tloaDiuQPzpJrQxf9y5ywH1N3W3yzAIg9EapapD9yk5e5vot_L6r2Fu-fXaBtsMwP/s200/Vienna+012.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477748540897544338" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Recently voted the number one city to live in...in the world, Shea and I flew down to Vienna, Austria from April 2nd to the 4th for Easter to see what all the fuss was about. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">To get our bearings, our first stop was St. Stephan's Cathedral (pictured here) founded in the 12th century in the center of the city. We took an elevator to the top of the north tower constructed in 1579, which offers a panoramic view of the city and the Danube River. We then set out for the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Schönbrunn</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Palace (pictured above) just outside the heart of city. It was the seat of the Hapsburg dynasty, and is an enormous palace with over 1400 rooms. We opted for a tour of the Imperial apartments, and with their 24 carat gold ornamentation and porcelain, we were able to see how royal society lived. After our tour, we strolled through the amazing gardens and soaked up some of the warm Spring sun.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Vienna is known for its cafes, so we headed from there to a famous one known as Dommayer near the palace. This place is known to have some of the best sacher torte (sacher torte is a traditional cake made of chocolate with an apricot jam filling</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">) in the world. After getting our caffeine and sugar buzz going, we headed back into the heart of the city for the afternoon. We headed over to the Spanish Riding School to see about tickets for Sunday. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in, but what we could do was walk over to the stables and see for ourselves all the white Lipizzaner horses. We then visited the opera house and Mozart park. This place lays claim to Mozart, even though he wasn't from here, but you find statues, stores, and buildings dedicated to him everywhere. We then walked through the Hofburg palace area, which houses the royal treasury, art museum, royal city apartments, and impressive courtyards. The size and beauty of these buildings were amazing, and you could see why the Prussian dynasty lasted for so long...they had all the money! </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After a day on our feet we were ready for a nice heavy meal. We headed to a traditional Viennese tavern where we rewarded ourselves with some true wienerschnitzel. Though the German's adopted the wienerschnitzel, it is actually from Vienna, so we had to test ourselves to see if we could taste any differences. It's a taste test I could repeat daily...as I love the stuff (thats picture is me about to 'do work'). We capped off the meal with some apfelstrudel before heading back to the hotel.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sunday was Easter, so we headed to an English mass at 10:30. After mass we went back into the heart of the city, where we strolled around city hall and the Hofburg theater. From there we visited the Votivkirche (Votiv Church) with its beautiful centuries old gothic towers. We made our way from there through an outdoor Easter market where we sampled local cuisine and checked out some artists at work. We then walked over the Danube and caught our bus back to the airport.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We had a lot to see in our short amount of time there. Their city was very beautiful, and both Shea and I felt it certainly rivaled Paris in terms of majesty. The only thing we wish we had gotten to check out was the Vienna's Boys choir, but I told Shea she could karaoke with BJ and hear the same high notes. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-629457054541591292010-03-31T05:26:00.000-07:002010-04-06T04:25:27.638-07:00Look kids...Big Ben!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZjiReleKCmmWdZGESBPxa-S0pjIEFR_rujD6RJJUQK8CHy5ffrewpstuHC9tFhdsrBLpf6Rf9YOsAAvl3IWE729YbzRMlkWfPcbnnSF8Y60kl_ToGDAaJh26FZnReTdXeKGOZd4k8Hen/s1600/London+03142010+to+03172010+(61).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZjiReleKCmmWdZGESBPxa-S0pjIEFR_rujD6RJJUQK8CHy5ffrewpstuHC9tFhdsrBLpf6Rf9YOsAAvl3IWE729YbzRMlkWfPcbnnSF8Y60kl_ToGDAaJh26FZnReTdXeKGOZd4k8Hen/s200/London+03142010+to+03172010+(61).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454809460441757730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGXEYdhb3KkuQOuAshCMQ1o06PNsCLuKfN-vzAt3_XVA5Vid8iKYgERxE5AofBFYyfwSTMf7ZGPqa_na-YNqYnHOjPpnmbH0dLCVrAaxhYxSSLJi6zBhOq4KWRa-QblnpvtGR8ewiTiFv/s1600/London+03142010+to+03172010+(90).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGXEYdhb3KkuQOuAshCMQ1o06PNsCLuKfN-vzAt3_XVA5Vid8iKYgERxE5AofBFYyfwSTMf7ZGPqa_na-YNqYnHOjPpnmbH0dLCVrAaxhYxSSLJi6zBhOq4KWRa-QblnpvtGR8ewiTiFv/s200/London+03142010+to+03172010+(90).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454809095705719346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyVV4Qku2ucdgWMOEpr-_KsStR5AStYBwZ37IGACJ9AoL8kR-XD5NTO6KAc7FPQjDAZPuQN5URQLhVuiE_bi_2K18P3JxCio23YMSwue_dtimYwrKyEOeCDLr66zSxFWpex9kUmf2Xo4m/s1600/London+03142010+to+03172010+(259).jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyVV4Qku2ucdgWMOEpr-_KsStR5AStYBwZ37IGACJ9AoL8kR-XD5NTO6KAc7FPQjDAZPuQN5URQLhVuiE_bi_2K18P3JxCio23YMSwue_dtimYwrKyEOeCDLr66zSxFWpex9kUmf2Xo4m/s200/London+03142010+to+03172010+(259).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454808618181265730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbdczh33OLb8uc7k0I3XXwEJEOe8WJYuNlls7_lUkCFrvJOJopFiJOlsTcA_f_0aI81ilbNY2P61ZnhH84Rx0lCVLkYhMdQi67hKyl8hcgHJAs6TeApSj9vIfhUpP0uYmVTlW2j38vW9Q/s1600/London+03142010+to+03172010+(168).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbdczh33OLb8uc7k0I3XXwEJEOe8WJYuNlls7_lUkCFrvJOJopFiJOlsTcA_f_0aI81ilbNY2P61ZnhH84Rx0lCVLkYhMdQi67hKyl8hcgHJAs6TeApSj9vIfhUpP0uYmVTlW2j38vW9Q/s200/London+03142010+to+03172010+(168).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454807868597454258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewgg0D6INrSXvLtVYk2-ZpD0Y59kPDNnGu8znNoIBzTvhyevukEtzZV8eujkrluUjujXIr9VwHrYM-2bIZlGY9xfRMVfGLFyJJ3JCDPlCgS7rqkULypae2DfpjPY-0baU6g7CiFjOGuih/s1600/London+03142010+to+03172010+(233).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewgg0D6INrSXvLtVYk2-ZpD0Y59kPDNnGu8znNoIBzTvhyevukEtzZV8eujkrluUjujXIr9VwHrYM-2bIZlGY9xfRMVfGLFyJJ3JCDPlCgS7rqkULypae2DfpjPY-0baU6g7CiFjOGuih/s200/London+03142010+to+03172010+(233).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454806855623928194" /></a><br />My sister, Jocelyn, and b-n-l, Stephan, arrived in Frankfurt the morning of Friday, March 12th, ready for a European vacation. I picked them up from the airport and ran them around Frankfurt showing them the all the sights before they crashed from the jet lag. The next day we hopped a train and headed down to Heidelberg to let them check out the castle and wander the quaint city there. During these first two days of sightseeing, Shea and I were sure to get them walking as much as possible, so their legs would be numb to all the hoofing we would be doing in London!<div>On Sunday, we woke up early to catch our flight to London. We had to take just about every mode of transportation imaginable to make it (minus, maybe...unicycle) but we got there all the same. In London we found our way to our hotel in the Marylebone area of town, very near Hyde Park and only about 2 kilometers from all of the well-known tourist attractions. We checked in and freshened up before taking the world-famous Underground (a.k.a. Tube, a.k.a. Subway) to Piccadilly Circus. There we walked around London's equivalent to Times Square with the enormous neon lights and billboards touting all of the world-class shows in town. From there we walked down to Trafalgar Square, where we stumbled upon the St. Patrick's day festival for the city. Everyone was decked out in green and double fisting Guinness Stouts around the world famous National Gallery and Nelson's Column. We didn't witness a single person jump into the fountains, but then again we didn't stick around till the end of the celebrations either. </div><div>After making our way through the party, we headed south away from the square down Whitehall Street. Along this street we snapped pics of the Admiralty Arch, the Horse Guards Parade and Cavalry Museum, Downy Street (where #10 Downy Street is located, which is where the PM stays but you aren't allowed anywhere on the street), and the Cabinet War Rooms-where Winston Churchill met with leadership underground to discuss strategies to defeat the Germans while the city took waves of bombings during WWII. </div><div>After making our way down the street, we found ourselves standing at Parliament Square, with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to our left, Westminster Abbey directly before us, and the King's Court to our right. A very impressive sight to behold. </div><div>From there we headed over to the river Thames and crossed over Westminster bridge to the London Eye (which is best described as an over-sized ferris wheel). As sunset was nearing, we decided to take a ride and were rewarded during the loop with a magnificent sunset and seeing the beautiful lights of the city turn on and brighten the sky. </div><div>After our view of the city from on high, we headed back across the Thames and came across the Texas Embassy restaurant. Joc and Stephan were kind enough to let Shea and me enjoy our first quality Tex-Mex since leaving Dallas...it was great and the ice cold Dos XX's also tasted amazing. From there, we headed back to the hotel room to get some rest after a long day of travel.</div><div>On Monday, we headed out and walked along Hyde Park to meet up with a walking tour at Wellington Arch. We saw all of the military monuments to the British colonies that fought for the Empire. From there we headed down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace, where we took in the changing of the guards. Impressive display. Unfortunately though, the Queen wasn't in, otherwise, I'm sure Shea and Joc would have been invited in for tea. The tour then led us to St. James Palace, which was the original home to the royal family, before upgrading to Buckingham Palace. Outside we each took turns playing the part of soldier in the guard shacks and having our picture taken. The tour then wound us through the a number of the same sights we had seen the day before, but only this time, we were able to learn about the history of what we were seeing. Very interesting and definitely worth the time. After the tour, it was time for lunch, and we all decided it was time for some traditional English flair. We headed to a restaurant and rewarded ourselves with fish and chips (fried fish and fries), wrapped in (simulated) newspaper, (almost) like in the old days. "Jolly good lunch, Governa"</div><div>After lunch we headed over to the Covent Garden area of town, which is a trendy area with plenty of shopping, but also home to many of the theaters of London. We decided to take in a show that night and were able to buy some cheap seat tickets to one of the big name shows in town called "War Horse". We wandered around that area of town for a while, and then headed back down to Westminster Abbey to take in a prayer service/choir performance at 5:00pm. We got to sit and enjoy the wonderful choir, while at the same time soak in the 1000-year-old cathedral. After the service, we grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the theater to make our 7:30 curtain call. We all really enjoyed the show and after it finished caught a late night Tube ride back over to our hotel and called it a night. </div><div>On Tuesday morning, we headed over to the Notting Hill area of London, famous not only for the Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant movie, but also for the Portobello Road Market, which is a mile of shops lining the street with antiques, collectibles, food stalls, top designer and vintage clothing. Stephan and I were very thankful that we had afternoon plans and were able to get the ladies out of there before any credit damage was done. Although the refrain heard through the rest of the trip was "do you guys think we can get back over to Portobello before we leave?"</div><div>So, from Notting Hill, we headed back into the city to make our bus to go and see Stonehenge. It took almost two hours to get there, but we were able to watch the city fade away and then see the beautiful English countryside stretched out before us. Let me say here that we were amazingly lucky with the weather in London...we had nothing but clear bright skies and temperatures in the 60's during our entire trip. Unheard-of weather for London in March, but Joc and Stephan were kind enough to bring some of the Texas sun along in there pockets and share it with their English speaking brethren. </div><div>We arrived at Stonehenge and took the audio tour around the site. We were pretty amazed at the size of the stones, and it is remarkable to think that we don't really know how or why the ancient people brought them there around 5000 years ago. Best guess is as an ancient sundial calendar...although Shea is sticking with her guess of ancient ice-age drinking Jenga blocks "make fire or drink 5" (+2 GK bonus points for all readers who get that joke). After our tour of Stonehenge, we took the bus back into the city and decided it was time for a night in a famous London pub. </div><div>We headed to the "Cittie of Yorke", which has operated as a pub since 1430 and claims to have the longest bar in all of England. We headed down to the cellar where we grabbed some English pub grub, which let me say, does a great job of sticking to your ribs. We then headed back upstairs to indulge in some more of their tasty adult beverages. We had a great time chatting it up, and I can honestly say that we closed the bar down, but don't be too impressed because London bars close at 11 pm. </div><div>On Wednesday, we headed over to the oldest parts of the city of London. There we quickly peeked in St. Paul's Cathedral and then walked over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Museum. We didn't have time to tour the Museum but kept that on our list of places to hit next time. We walked over to the reconstructed Shakespeare's Globe Theater and then popped in the infamous Clink Prison museum...ghastly what medieval people would do to each other. We then took the "Queen's Walk" down the Thames to the Tower Bridge and over to the Tower of London. The Tower is best known of course for being the place of imprisonment and beheading of Anne Boleyn and also for housing the crown jewels. Seeing all these things allowed us just enough time to blow through a souvenir shop and then head for the airport to catch our 8 pm flight back to Frankfurt. </div><div>London was an amazing trip and though we saw lots of stuff, we feel like we were really only able to scratch the surface. It is probably one of those places that you would have to live in in order to have the time to take in all it has to offer. Maybe that is were we need move next...</div><div>Just kidding moms.</div><div>We got back to Frankfurt and packed Joc and Stephan up to send them by train off to Paris for a romantic getaway. They really enjoyed their time there together and then they headed out from Frankfurt Saturday morning back to Dallas. It was a great trip with them, and though they likely needed a vacation after their vacation, we got to see and experience many new things together!</div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-10828621441998552752010-03-07T10:12:00.000-08:002010-03-09T11:53:58.894-08:00Istanbul...not Constantinople<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUOUs9PDVHV84JKUWIGpn0S2ElNokIROK8ycGc-x9ZW9rBFuPDCniRWT64ox57E8l8ZtgqzPmKS_WipFF0_pTLjROOMkLgC36HfZw6tLnK0kIDR3kgLek4_hwYeGUMq-g85WQm_oAbnDR/s1600-h/Turkey+232.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446600995113414546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUOUs9PDVHV84JKUWIGpn0S2ElNokIROK8ycGc-x9ZW9rBFuPDCniRWT64ox57E8l8ZtgqzPmKS_WipFF0_pTLjROOMkLgC36HfZw6tLnK0kIDR3kgLek4_hwYeGUMq-g85WQm_oAbnDR/s200/Turkey+232.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaB7Qgnz3gsTqJgCzvbIDIr8bAofw6IIH49MhAIznIt4Jn53C86okB5ewZ7NmQVPq7ORjExFZW558jmnNla6USYms3yyCXvJ3z5OppD0gjUi96FAF6g5vdkwhnESz4cqcaBbOelkx_hIk/s1600-h/Turkey+044.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446599939427275794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaB7Qgnz3gsTqJgCzvbIDIr8bAofw6IIH49MhAIznIt4Jn53C86okB5ewZ7NmQVPq7ORjExFZW558jmnNla6USYms3yyCXvJ3z5OppD0gjUi96FAF6g5vdkwhnESz4cqcaBbOelkx_hIk/s200/Turkey+044.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnaOFEb72OX0X6tnd-cuiGwJ3cM-zGtiP0un37Z_LGkLLPPbti0M6z3Xu54lzzQ-wxLTETmPuVw70YnR5qG1v4iXBzRm9jgz2Gk0EqAtSIrqM6wyE3jB4dRUuS1X5eQANe0hOdD6NGG2RB/s1600-h/Turkey+153.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446599501606703618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnaOFEb72OX0X6tnd-cuiGwJ3cM-zGtiP0un37Z_LGkLLPPbti0M6z3Xu54lzzQ-wxLTETmPuVw70YnR5qG1v4iXBzRm9jgz2Gk0EqAtSIrqM6wyE3jB4dRUuS1X5eQANe0hOdD6NGG2RB/s200/Turkey+153.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Istanbul, Turkey is one of the largest cities in the world and is the only one that sits on two different continents. It has acted as the gateway from Europe to Asia for thousands of years. It is pinched between the Marmara Sea to the south and the Black Sea to the north, and the Bosphorus Strait connects the two seas and at the same time divides the city and two continents. Istanbul has been fought over, passed around, and claimed as the capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and today the republic of Turkey. <div>So, we jumped on a flight on Friday, February 26th to check this place out for ourselves. We arrived late that night and caught a taxi to our hotel, which was located in the heart of the city and within walking distance of the major historical and tourist sights. Along the drive we drove past the ancient walls that have unsuccessfully protected the city for centuries and the Marmara Sea. We checked in to our hotel and got ready for our sightseeing the next day. </div><div>On Saturday, we headed out early and went first to see the hippodrome. The hippodrome was once a big stadium for chariot races but today all that is left are several obelisks that mark the course the chariots would race around...like a scene out of Ben Hur. From there we went to the famous Blue Mosque immediately adjacent to the hippodrome. With its imposing 6 minarets, the mosque's interior is adorned with blue tiles giving it its name. Shea and I took off our shoes and were able to walk around inside and check out the beauty of the building for ourselves. From there we visited Hagia Sophia, which was a church for 916 years, then a mosque for 481 years, and now a museum for the last 80. It was incredibly interesting with a mix of Christian symbols, including stucco paintings of Mary and baby Jesus and gilded mosaics walls of Christ next to Islamic symbols of faith with their Arabic scriptures painted into the center of the dome and Islamic pulpit. It was amazing to see how the building was adapted over the ages for use by the differing religions rather than destruction of the religious art. </div><div>After taking the morning to visit some of the big tourist spots, we then grabbed a lunch of some ever-popular Turkish doner. If you have been able to visit us in Germany, than you already know that the doner has been integrated here and is more popular than MickeyD's. After lunch we visited the basilica cistern. It is an underground palace with rows of decorative columns that has collected water for the people of the city for centuries. Some of the decorative columns from the roman period include large sculptures of Medusa with her hair of snakes. </div><div>After the cistern we walked through a new beautiful city park. The flowers were in bloom and many people were out enjoying the warmer weather. We stopped and snapped several pics of about a half dozen Muslim women, covered head to toe, with only their eyes visible playing volleyball. Not something we had ever seen before! We walked through the park to the Topkapi Palace. It was a home of the Ottoman Sultans and included a large harem chamber for the Sultans' many wives. </div><div>From the Palace we headed to the Grand Bazaar or what could also described as the first indoor mall. Since 1451, tradesmen have been selling all sorts of rugs, spices, fabrics, jewelry, pottery, and metals in this location. You could haggle as much as you like here and were expected to give it back as good as they gave. After some haggling we decided to sit for a while and refresh with some tea, local specialties, and desserts. We tried some handmade breads made by women hard at work over the stove. It was very similar to tortillas, filled with your choice of potato, spinach, or cheese. </div><div>After catching our breath, we ventured up one of the main streets in town and were rewarded with some beautiful views of the surrounding city and sea. We found a historic Turkish bathhouse and decided that we would return Sunday morning to experience it firsthand. </div><div>We headed up to a rooftop bar and relaxed with a beer as we watched the sunset and the city lights come to life. </div><div>We had found a restaurant earlier in the day that offered belly dancers as entertainment during dinner. The owner had a great personality and promised there would be a male belly dancer as well for equality purposes, and that Shea would really like it. So, we decided to return and see what this was all about. The restaurant was small with only about 7 tables and we were rewarded for our return with a table by the cozy fireplace and a wonderful 3 course meal with wine. At about 9:45 the female belly dancer came out and performed her show. It was fun, but then as she finished the owner comes bouncing in and starts belly dancing. He is blowing the female belly dancer out of the water and has the whole restaurant clapping and laughing hysterically. He pulls Shea and several other women up and proceeds to put on a belly dancing clinic. Everyone was having a blast. Come to find out after the performance, this restaurant owner was actually a professional bellydancing instructor and taught for years all over the world in places like Australia and Germany. It topped off the night, and Shea's laughter as she was belly dancing in the middle of this restaurant are awesome memories. We got back to our hotel room about midnight and racked out hard after a full day. </div><div>On Sunday morning, we woke up early again and headed over to the Turkish bathhouse. We were shown to our separate sauna areas. This bathhouse has been in existence since 1581, and you are directed to lie on heated marble platforms that are suppose to purify your system and relax you. There are warm and cool water basins where you splash water all over yourself when you get to hot. Then if you want, you can be given a bath by an attendant who massages you as you lay on the heated stone. Shea and I went with the self service sauna, as hey, this was our first experience and we didn't know how friendly these Turks would get. After you are done relaxing in the sauna, you are able to take showers and dress followed by an offer of tea or water to rehydrate. We both really enjoyed it and felt really relaxed after our time there. </div><div>From there we headed down to jump on a hop-on hop-off city bus to get outside of the downtown area. We were able to see the Sirkeci train station, which was the last stop of the Orient Express, the Galata tower, which protected the ancient port of Istanbul, and a bunch of other large mosques. We got off at the Dolmabahce palace and took a ferry boat across to the Asian side of Istanbul. We ended up in an area call Kadikoy and experienced our first visit to Asia! We wandered around some of the open air markets and the shopping district before stopping for some lunch. After several hours, we then got back on the boat and headed back to Europe and our bus. We then saw Taksim square and its shops and famed restaurants. We were able to take in some wonderful views of the "Golden Horn". The golden horn is the natural harbor that is formed by Istanbul and is named for the golden hue the setting sun makes on the water there. We then saw the Golden gate, which is the main entrance gate to the ancient walls of Constantinople, or what is present day Istanbul. </div><div>We hopped off again and headed to see the ancient Roman Aqueduct before jumping back in a taxi and heading back to the airport for our 8pm flight.</div><div>It was a crazy fast trip, but we had an amazing time there. The people were incredibly friendly, and the food and atmosphere were wonderful. We would definitely go again and spend more time there!</div><div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-39841562400422130072010-02-21T12:41:00.000-08:002010-02-24T08:43:04.901-08:00Köln (Cologne) Karnival<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQs-s5_Eqf82a4qNfmyHqSAtK9-rhKMQpPYxgZ__eSyIWIVJ6Qqe5Ujm0Lv-ENitVENjKLEtNFJKYFCq2G4kxbb_0SuEl4R07HuEOYdNe8yiuddwshz6Weim1LxYIi454O1v8ce2tHNqkE/s1600-h/Koln+(Cologne)+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440806715153291282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQs-s5_Eqf82a4qNfmyHqSAtK9-rhKMQpPYxgZ__eSyIWIVJ6Qqe5Ujm0Lv-ENitVENjKLEtNFJKYFCq2G4kxbb_0SuEl4R07HuEOYdNe8yiuddwshz6Weim1LxYIi454O1v8ce2tHNqkE/s320/Koln+(Cologne)+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrhvCx58xe6RBgqjh1RIFoIUkfNik8KRahlraWU3DmQoccsf5VU8u9J5ZSMTIJMqbNqWpftmklvukTZGTN7c3Q3oNi38Q7XbPjJn8eQt90-0aAu_O97L_wgwDFeFk-ght-9M_po0Fa7dT/s1600-h/Koln+(Cologne)+069.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440806220007344866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrhvCx58xe6RBgqjh1RIFoIUkfNik8KRahlraWU3DmQoccsf5VU8u9J5ZSMTIJMqbNqWpftmklvukTZGTN7c3Q3oNi38Q7XbPjJn8eQt90-0aAu_O97L_wgwDFeFk-ght-9M_po0Fa7dT/s200/Koln+(Cologne)+069.jpg" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Lent is upon us, so it is time to get all our partying out of our systems. In Germany, Cologne is to Karnival what New Orleans is to Mardi Gras, so of course we have to go check it out firsthand. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">We took a fast train the little over 2 hours to Cologne. As soon as you disembark the train at the main train station, you find yourself standing in the shadow of Cologne cathedral, which is one of the largest in the world. Outside people are dressed up in all sorts of elaborate and colorful costumes. If you recall, Shea and I went to Mainz last year for Karnival, so we were able to re-use our costumes. Hello, Poncho Villa and Old blue-haired Lady...good to dust you off again. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">We followed the bands of musicians through the streets and stopped in any number of bars where the local beer is flowing. Heck, if the bar was too crowded to get inside you just party right there in the street. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Cologne is known for its </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Kölsch beer, which is very strong and served in small glasses. We definitely helped ourselves to our fair share. We checked out several different bars and had a great time dancing, singing, and meeting people from all over the world who came to Cologne to celebrate. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">After partying ourselves in to the late night hours, we headed to our hotel and hit the sack. We woke up Sunday feeling really rough...you could call it a Köln Karnival Kölsch Kater ("Kater" is German for hangover). We had a little lunch and then caught our train back home. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Next year, we'll meet you all there!</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><br /></span></span></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-80621785117125613542010-02-03T05:59:00.000-08:002010-02-20T03:33:00.924-08:00My Big Fat Greek Vacation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v9XVR-Hik8DuWYnfnBKWI_WDf3y2x64bmHbVLUjs35nK_YbLbsbrzT_WeyRtvDnvV3Zep2bFbtBSa6_yWCPgkjrwOt8-JUc75rMV6BEKaIPAq8zWxrpBbVejoSX-l_5dCrcIh9SicUf9/s1600-h/Athens+(149).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v9XVR-Hik8DuWYnfnBKWI_WDf3y2x64bmHbVLUjs35nK_YbLbsbrzT_WeyRtvDnvV3Zep2bFbtBSa6_yWCPgkjrwOt8-JUc75rMV6BEKaIPAq8zWxrpBbVejoSX-l_5dCrcIh9SicUf9/s200/Athens+(149).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440285674374945730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrI6zf0lIee_fjfFMOQEhX4XrhI3LZ7X6jBpmFEajHSeUqo-CPMNJrVyxK5_RtJU3n5q8gBvwRX6pD6LyOXV5na_UclHGr9hqOQr8UBaCOMMH_o8el1s4xZFehn2oncj7amiRWjPKJz3O/s1600-h/Athens+(131).jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrI6zf0lIee_fjfFMOQEhX4XrhI3LZ7X6jBpmFEajHSeUqo-CPMNJrVyxK5_RtJU3n5q8gBvwRX6pD6LyOXV5na_UclHGr9hqOQr8UBaCOMMH_o8el1s4xZFehn2oncj7amiRWjPKJz3O/s200/Athens+(131).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440284866351720114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZUpoRHBoYzVyi656Ym50pmnsVz-U4AWMSrUECQoWFbWmOC2pNfiqJDzAylR8XQy1CHHrw0XgIsx2zEpck1SnJYciLL2Bm1cpnN8id4p9c80OcEAJpzUabJS5i-YE2SqgiyEzDVxi5u8h/s1600-h/Athens+(72).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZUpoRHBoYzVyi656Ym50pmnsVz-U4AWMSrUECQoWFbWmOC2pNfiqJDzAylR8XQy1CHHrw0XgIsx2zEpck1SnJYciLL2Bm1cpnN8id4p9c80OcEAJpzUabJS5i-YE2SqgiyEzDVxi5u8h/s320/Athens+(72).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440284206689959650" /></a><br />Frankfurt is cold...cold and snowy. The snow is fun for a while, but eventually it's just yuck. <div>So, what better idea than flying on down to Athens, Greece, to soak up some sun and check out some ancient history. </div><div>After a nice long flight delay in Frankfurt due to the aforementioned wintry precipitation, we arrived in Athens a little before midnight on Friday night January 29th. We found the right bus and headed into the heart of the city where our hotel was located. From the main bus terminal, we then walked the short distance to our hotel, woke the night desk-man, and checked in. We debated heading back out, but decided to settle-in instead and rest up for the weekend.</div><div>On Saturday, we woke up to sunshine, bright blue skies, and warm weather. Ahhhh, we were definitely ready to welcome some sun-kissed cheeks. </div><div>We headed first thing to a pastry shop just across the street for some breakfast. Shea ordered a Greek coffee, which neither of us had ever tried. The coffee is definitely more of an acquired taste, but the shot of rose liqueur and square of candy that are served accompanying the coffee more than made up for stout java.<br /><div>From there we walked to the Greek Parliament building to pay some respect to the founders of democratic government. As we approached the front of the building we noticed a large crowd of people gathered to watch the changing of the guard at the Greek tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was an interesting display with lots of high leg kick marching and timing - and men in skirts. We toured around the outside of the Parliament to the National Gardens. There was beautiful foliage and rows of orange trees. We noticed that there seemed to be enormous amounts of fallen oranges that were going to waste and we wondered why no one was putting them to use? We selected two from a tree and put them in our backpack for a later snack. We then finished touring the gardens with its small zoo and headed back into the heart of the city to the ancient market area. </div><div>At the market area, you find yourself at the foot of the plateau with the Acropolis sitting atop. The Acropolis and Parthenon dominate the city, and you are easily able to see why it has been heralded for thousands of years. </div><div>We were going to head on up to the top, but when we went to enter the historical park, the ticket office told us if we came on Sunday, the park was free...see you tomorrow Acropolis.</div><div>Instead, we went and visited an ancient amphitheater and then toured the Acropolis museum, which houses artifacts from the site. We decided to enjoy our oranges and after one bite the burning from the acidic slice was enough to show us why nobody was eating these things. After several hours on our feet we had a late lunch and enjoyed meeting and talking with a nice older couple on a world tour from Norway. For dessert, I had my first taste of baklava...I loved it and was determined to have it at every meal for the rest of our time there.</div><div>After our late lunch, we toured around the more modern shops of Athens and headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We followed our guidebooks suggestion and headed to a traditional Greek restaurant for dinner. It was wonderful with fresh vegetable, salads, and seafood (and of course baklava). We tried some of the local wine and tried a digestive of the world-renowned ouzo (whoa - and we thought the Greek coffee was stout.) After dinner we toured around the historical roman agora (roman plaza) and then headed into a club to enjoy a nightcap before heading to bed.</div><div>On Sunday, we woke up to the sound of church bells from the Greek Orthodox Church across the street. We grabbed some breakfast, which included some Greek yogurt for Shea. Shea really enjoyed it with the wonderfully sweet honey. From breakfast, we headed up to the Acropolis and walked around the ancient site taking pictures of the modern city laid out before us. We walked around the Parthenon and were amazed at the size and age of the structure. We toured the ancient park and walked through the remains of the ancient legislative buildings the Greeks used to develop democracy. </div><div>We then decided to head over to the port for lunch. We thought we might be lucky and get to stroll along a beach, but to our misfortune, the port of Athens is a very busy dock and not much of a spot for romantic strolls. We were able though to enjoy a great lunch of gyros, so much so that I had two. Opa!!! (Greek for hooray)!!!</div><div>We then took the subway over to the site of the 2004 summer Olympics. The site had a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains, and we enjoyed seeing the more suburban lifestyle of the Athenians. We headed back into the city to watch the sunset from our rooftop balcony and enjoyed a late dinner. </div><div>We really enjoyed our short trip to Athens - the city, the people, and the food were all warm and friendly. We were able to get a slight rose on our cheeks just as we had hoped. During the trip, Shea and I decided that I must look Greek, because at least a half dozen times people speaking Greek politely asked me questions that all I could do was smile back and reply, "sorry, but that's Greek to me."</div><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-87645195273764147972010-01-10T11:18:00.000-08:002010-01-11T06:13:26.333-08:00New Years- Italian Style<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRV0I5uixmyH3oT3mVfAnkD8OExe0FV_odSOMHzvIe06KnihAob8pZwRN7_KHpibmn7R-ZoMOhpBwGfh1s95rvE47gn9W-hNdmTs4F-gS7LoIco8MXxhiOiz512Bde-AuJ_mjLSsq0RlP/s1600-h/Italy+050.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRV0I5uixmyH3oT3mVfAnkD8OExe0FV_odSOMHzvIe06KnihAob8pZwRN7_KHpibmn7R-ZoMOhpBwGfh1s95rvE47gn9W-hNdmTs4F-gS7LoIco8MXxhiOiz512Bde-AuJ_mjLSsq0RlP/s200/Italy+050.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425211919113183330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZc1xRmf6xKoZ11wi0Bhb8CRL4gXrZwn1tYe_DZJuD9MXTBHUm9VlWuIjZJQX6dfziHfx3DKM2NwicA0wQE_GT6mahwYwjARMz_vYrb_PtdtW9RDtuoFAiTU0h1uqoilhIpbDILJVr3-yw/s1600-h/Milan+(8).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZc1xRmf6xKoZ11wi0Bhb8CRL4gXrZwn1tYe_DZJuD9MXTBHUm9VlWuIjZJQX6dfziHfx3DKM2NwicA0wQE_GT6mahwYwjARMz_vYrb_PtdtW9RDtuoFAiTU0h1uqoilhIpbDILJVr3-yw/s320/Milan+(8).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425209379107349746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifElF-ctqTg5ufgmn6IP8roK6YfOKD7C_-pB8V_dAg3PeZBRfvKX5tUUfw6JhSDCKX-r9u_oZcVfT3m-jS8mGEwjG1Z7TzKZGUBDEHvdDUSeexPuiItTBGVub3bUFUSsU5UOJ6trgkYYZv/s1600-h/Italy+087.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifElF-ctqTg5ufgmn6IP8roK6YfOKD7C_-pB8V_dAg3PeZBRfvKX5tUUfw6JhSDCKX-r9u_oZcVfT3m-jS8mGEwjG1Z7TzKZGUBDEHvdDUSeexPuiItTBGVub3bUFUSsU5UOJ6trgkYYZv/s200/Italy+087.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425207956779787154" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJURlDRddorDHiAy-Vc-Qk5vXvMan6pS9nZ3_lWx5G34wMcvzTiHM2Df5KIp3CyVkiNY3aI12wnfcbisyiJdN0pUnJSotAOjEpz1p-DDtigSdke2QRoYCb0K7IQlVQSywgMYqhjZa-ox8C/s1600-h/Italy+132.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJURlDRddorDHiAy-Vc-Qk5vXvMan6pS9nZ3_lWx5G34wMcvzTiHM2Df5KIp3CyVkiNY3aI12wnfcbisyiJdN0pUnJSotAOjEpz1p-DDtigSdke2QRoYCb0K7IQlVQSywgMYqhjZa-ox8C/s200/Italy+132.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425206904845263826" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Happy New Year! Buon Anno!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Welcome to 2010! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Benvenuti al 2010!</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For New Years we decided to head south to bring in the new year in a more romantic locale. How about Venice? Perfect.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, we had an early morning flight from Frankfurt on December 31st to Milan, Italy. In Milan, we jumped on a train and took the 3 hour train ride along the southern Alps to Venice. We weren't the only ones to have this idea, as the train to Venice was packed, but luckily I had booked us a room for two nights in Venice and then one night in Milan. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As we got off of the train in Venice and made our way to the boat to head to our hotel, Shea and I quickly noticed that many people were walking around in waders...weird fashion statement we thought, but hey their Italians, they know fashion, right? We made our way to our bed and breakfast, which was only a two minute walk from the famous Piazza San Marco. As we checked in, excited about the concert in the Piazza that night and being in such a wonderful location, our hotel owner told us we timed our trip perfectly for the flood that was coming in that night at 11:00 with high tide. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Oh man, time for Shea and I to jump on the Italian-wader-fashion bandwagon!</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, we headed out into the city and did a bit of sightseeing around Piazza San Marco. We found out that the concert was still to take place, so we went to invest in a few items...1) some bottles of wine 2) two sets of waders. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Problem was that waders were running at a premium, as every tourist in town was in the market for them, so we went with the heavy grade trash bag glued into a plastic sandal waterproofing-system instead. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We were impressed with the city. Even though it was cold and rainy (and ready to flood) the city had a certain romantic charm that was unlike anywhere else we had been. The canals, gondolas, beautiful churches, gelatto, and wine create a wonderfully romantic environment to bring in 2010. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After some sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel room to dry out before heading back out at 10:30 to celebrate with everyone.<br />At 10:30, we headed over to Piazza San Marco and found a place to put on our waders. We then ventured out to the one of the higher points in the Piazza and danced our wet way into the new year with several thousand of our new closest friends. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The next morning after properly drying out our shoes (the heavy weight trashbag waterproofing-system finally gave out to the floodwaters and dancing near the end) we enjoyed some breakfast and waited for the tide to roll out about 11:30am. Once it did we were high and dry for the rest of the day. We toured the inside of St. Marco's, visited Doge's Palace, Gallerie del Accademia, St. Maria Del Salute, and Campo St. Stefano. We loved just slowly wandering through the sidewalks and taking in the canals and beautiful scenery. We had a nice long meal that night that included several courses and acted as a nice end to the first day of the new year. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The next morning we woke up and packed our bags to head to Milan. We were treated to a nice tour of the city via our boat ride through the Grande Canal to the train station to catch our 12:50 train to Milan. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In Milan, we checked into the hotel and then headed back downtown to the famous Duomo Cathedral. Our timing couldn't have been better as we arrived just as the sun was going down, and we were able to take in the beautiful cathedral in the darkening blue twilight. The stained glass windows shown brightly and gave the cathedral life (see photo above). We walked inside and noticed it was 5:28, and that 5:30 Mass was about to get underway. We acted liked we belonged and took some seats in the pews to take in mass in the 4th largest cathedral in the world. After Mass, we walked through some of the famous shopping areas adjacent to the Cathedral. We found a restaurant to eat in and had some good pizza and pasta. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On, Sunday we checked out and deposited our bags at the train station, where we would pick up our bus to the airport. We headed back to the center of the city and toured through the Duomo in the light. We then headed over and toured the Castello Sforzesco (Castle Sforzeco) and happened upon a winter festival, complete with bunny hills for skiing. We left the castle and walked down the main shopping street to the famous La Scala Opera house and Galleria Emanuele II. Unfortunately, the museum housing Leonardo's "the Last Supper" was closed the entire month of January, so we were unable to see it, but we were able to head over to the mecca of shopping in the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Via Montenapoleone fashion district. Shea window shopped through all the major fashion designers of the world, and I felt happy to not have to keep up with these Jones's. We found a local market and before heading back to the train station, we enjoyed a Cannoli and our last few minutes of Italy. All in all, it made for a wonderfully memorable New Year's celebration...flooding and all.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-15687461074694803722010-01-10T05:07:00.000-08:002010-01-11T08:53:06.881-08:00Israel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAAHJFnXNS82noANdd0yeq4eOW6Xjy0islBQey5izIZT9Brjh__UHvqJh27gOp8F5Ucga8Jgu94sk3g58pY4L228z0ZQqAV4DupRwoiclQOsQnhJDFByYb4n-2U2cvlHpBUzWFLPgoO6hl/s1600-h/Wailing+Wall+Friday+sundown-start+of+Sabbath+(2).jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAAHJFnXNS82noANdd0yeq4eOW6Xjy0islBQey5izIZT9Brjh__UHvqJh27gOp8F5Ucga8Jgu94sk3g58pY4L228z0ZQqAV4DupRwoiclQOsQnhJDFByYb4n-2U2cvlHpBUzWFLPgoO6hl/s200/Wailing+Wall+Friday+sundown-start+of+Sabbath+(2).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425182544424786050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyEIzq_vMO_tSTVrONhrNz3a1zVthLHKCK1kp2qrYwZ9HEhvlmgve8j3Potr8qNfiYazjy8YWscDe5kNyJC6yYnfkLIkFrzsxb7V-sEUb_0Xj3Fm1DSmBw_UyCrUOfiejhU5b656yDrpy/s1600-h/Dome+of+the+Rock.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyEIzq_vMO_tSTVrONhrNz3a1zVthLHKCK1kp2qrYwZ9HEhvlmgve8j3Potr8qNfiYazjy8YWscDe5kNyJC6yYnfkLIkFrzsxb7V-sEUb_0Xj3Fm1DSmBw_UyCrUOfiejhU5b656yDrpy/s200/Dome+of+the+Rock.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425181167385228786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYHGo0OvMuuuFcBIL4i7GCO_6ZiA3SQRO46rpmSua2hXQ8l8eBBaGL5NFo7EZCkwytzeCMpT-fSgyb7Jzg2yQHu-zGmmA2osHJe5QqVBC8trB4E55mLHhJbjCBnYMoxlFSDlyfCJKMB3O/s1600-h/View+of+Old+Jerusalem+from+Mt.+of+Olives+(5).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYHGo0OvMuuuFcBIL4i7GCO_6ZiA3SQRO46rpmSua2hXQ8l8eBBaGL5NFo7EZCkwytzeCMpT-fSgyb7Jzg2yQHu-zGmmA2osHJe5QqVBC8trB4E55mLHhJbjCBnYMoxlFSDlyfCJKMB3O/s320/View+of+Old+Jerusalem+from+Mt.+of+Olives+(5).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425180137036475426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhuR78AEdMeaS17nKeAcqg8qWkv23KzAp4QFWrvm2TVQgVV2uHZv94UjM1pEvFTuXn1PLMOK7gRJG4nEBhHQTLgkXwMMsC7CWFSc58X2zEQgcLDa0hTd6BWsjUcvuIryxC8DHh0YCfDmU/s1600-h/Dead+Sea+(11).jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhuR78AEdMeaS17nKeAcqg8qWkv23KzAp4QFWrvm2TVQgVV2uHZv94UjM1pEvFTuXn1PLMOK7gRJG4nEBhHQTLgkXwMMsC7CWFSc58X2zEQgcLDa0hTd6BWsjUcvuIryxC8DHh0YCfDmU/s200/Dead+Sea+(11).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425179081925600786" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What better place to celebrate Christmas than the place it began, right? So, after some discussions with some German friends who went to Israel last summer, we decided to make our own trip to the holy land during Christmas week 2009. It took several weeks to research flights, hotels, and tours, but we were able to put together a whirlwind trip that would allow us to see a number of sites in a 5-day trip. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We flew into Tel Aviv, Israel on Tuesday, December 22nd. We decided that Jerusalem would be our main point of interest and the hub from where we would embark on all our trips, so we took a shared taxi to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Jerusalem is only about an hour by car from Tel Aviv, but in reality you are driving 2000 years into the past, leaving a vibrant modern city in Tel Aviv with skyscrapers and modern conveniences and arriving in a city divided along religious and cultural lines that has been disputed and fought over for thousands of years. Jerusalem sits on the dividing line between Jewish controlled Israel and the Palestinian territory, and the city is divided accordingly with western Jerusalem occupied by Jews and eastern Jerusalem occupied by Palestinians. The old walled city of Jerusalem is divided into fourths with the sections known as the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian quarters - each of which tending to house holy sites important to the differing religions. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, we arrived at our hotel, which was located in eastern Jerusalem and were greeted by the owner of the hotel with delicious pea soup and tea with fresh mint leaves. A nice warm welcoming. We arrived around 9 at night and were a bit hungry still, so he ordered us a pizza, while we settled in and then we came back downstairs to eat and meet some of the fellow hotel guests. There were people from all over staying there and we chatted with some graduate students from the US who were currently studying in Egypt. After eating most of our pizza we headed back up to our room and headed to bed, because we had an early tour the next morning. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On Wednesday, December 23rd, we meet our tour at 7:00am outside Jaffa Gate, which is one of only 7 entrances to the old city of Jerusalem. From there we loaded onto a shuttle bus that would drive us to sites in the northern territories of Israel in "the Galilee". Along the 2-hour bus ride to Nazareth we watched the landscape change drastically, from the baron moon-like-scape of the Judean Mountains and Dead Sea, to sparse grasslands, and finally lush valleys and prairie near the Sea of Galilee and River Jordan.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Our first stop was Nazareth, which was the home of Mary and Joseph before the birth of Jesus. There we toured the Basilica of the Annunciation, which is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of a Byzantine church and a Crusader church. The church incorporates the cave in which the Virgin Mary received the news of Jesus from the angel Gabriel. The cave that is enshrined inside the basilica was identified no later than the 4th century as the place of the Annunciation, and has been a destination for Christian pilgrims ever since. The basilica centers on the cave of the Annunciation and is topped with a 55-meter dome that is shaped like the Madonna lily. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After touring the basilica our next stop was the town of Cana on the outskirt of Nazareth. Cana is known as the location of the first miracle performed by Jesus when he turned water into wine at a wedding. There we toured the Catholic Wedding Church of Cana, which is a tribute to that event. Shea and I, never ones to miss an opportunity, renewed our wedding vows in this small quaint chapel. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">From there we drove through the town of Tiberias with amazing views of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding hills and grasslands, stopping in Tabgha, which is the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Located here is the modern Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, but with its mosaic floor depicting two fish and basket of bread, which dates back to Byzantine times. It's a great place to stop and think about how much you are blessed. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">From Tabgha, we drove along the Sea of Galilee to the Kfar Nahum ("Capernaum") and the House of Peter. Capernaum was a settlement on the shore of the Sea of Galilee that was the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James, and John. According to Luke, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum and the remains of a synagogue from that period has been found and excavated. Additionally, the ruins of the ancient city of Capernaum have been uncovered and a church to St. Peter has been constructed over a small area of the ruins. Shea and I toured the church, walked around the ruins, and through the synagogue. From there we went down to the beach at Capernaum and dipped our hands in. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After Capernaum, we drove alongside the Sea of Galilee to the River Jordan. There we stopped at Yardenit, which is the site of the baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist. There were groups there from all over the world that were dressed in white robes and being baptized. It was remarkable to watch. Shea and I both sprinkled the water on our heads and then renewed our baptismal rights. I celebrated with a beer. Nothing better than a baptism and a cold beer.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We loaded back onto the bus and headed back to Jerusalem. We arrived back close to 6:00pm, and Shea and I strolled into west Jerusalem and found an outdoor restaurant on the main walking strip. We people watched and enjoyed some kosher kebab and our eighth helping of hummus...oh, and another beer. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After dinner we walked into Old Jerusalem and toured the ancient streets lined with merchants and vendors. We got lost for a bit in the maze of alleyways and finally made our way out through Damascus Gate. We walked back to our hotel and crashed after a full day. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On Thursday, Christmas Eve, we slept in a bit in preparations for a full day in front of us. We had a nice breakfast of pancakes, sesame cakes, eggs, hummus, olives, tuna, and cheeses and then headed to Jaffa Gate outside Old Jerusalem to meet our walking tour of Old Jerusalem. Our tour guide, Noam, was amazing. She had an incredible knowledge of history and religions, and led our group on a 5-hour walking tour of Old Jerusalem. She first took us to Mt. Zion through the Zion Gate and there we visited the room of the Last Supper. We spent some time there and then we went down to the Western "Wailing" wall. We then got in line to go up and visit the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, as the Muslims only allow non-Muslims up to the level of the Dome of the Rock and Mosque for 1 hour per day. She took our group up to visit one of the holiest spots for the Muslim religion and then explained why the Dome of the Rock has so much significance for both Jews and Muslims. First, the Dome of the Rock sits on the spot where the holiest of all Jewish synagogues once stood...the Temple Mount that housed the "Holiest of Holies". That is why they pray at the Western Wall, as it is the closest they can now get to that spot that once stood. As for Muslims, the Dome of the Rock houses the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven. From here we had a beautiful view of Old Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. After our hour there, she led us out to an area of the Western Wall that is hidden and she gave us a history lesson on the wall's</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> significance. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">From there, she took us on a tour of the Via Dolorosa, which is the path Jesus carried his cross to the Hill of Golgot</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">he, pointing out the stations of the cross as we went. Shea put her hand in an imprint supposedly left by Jesus as he caught his balance. The Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. She took us inside and up the stairs to the top of the hill of Golgothe (or Calvary) to the place where Jesus was crucified. From there we were shown were Jesus was buried and the stone of the anointing where Joseph of Arimathea prepared his body for burial. The tour took us back to Jaffa Gate and Shea and I had lots of things to go back and inspect closer on Christmas Day, but for now we had to catch a bus to Bethlehem!</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">When Shea and I decided to go to Israel for Christmas, we knew we wanted to be in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve. We had done some research and were put into a lottery to receive tickets to Midnight Mass at St. Catherine's Church in Bethlehem. We were fortunate enough to receive tickets and had picked them up just before our tour of Jerusalem started. We took a public bus to Bethlehem, which is in Palestine and populated by Arab Christians. The bus dropped us off about a 10 minutes walk from the center of town and the church. The city had a carnival type atmosphere with live music and lights, and thousands of thousands of people celebrating.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We had met another couple from the US on the bus ride over and the four of us went to grab some dinner before heading back to stand in the mass of people waiting to get into the church. As we were standing outside, we also happened to bump into the American students we had meet at our hotel two nights before. So, we now had a small group of us and we chatted and made friends as we waited for the church to open and the security screenings to begin. We stood in line from about 8:30 until 11:15, when we finally made it inside the church. It was standing room only, and the church was packed. Television crews broadcast the Mass around the world as the Bishop said mass in Latin, and delivered his homily in at least 8 different languages. We left Mass after it ended at about 1:45 and caught a taxi back to the Palestinian/Israeli checkpoint. From there, we took our bus back into the city and made it home to our hotel room about 2:45 in the morning. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On Friday, Christmas Day, we reserved the day for touring Jerusalem on our own. We walked over to the Mount of Olives and toured the Jewish cemetery there, which houses over 150,000 burial sites. Jewish tradition holds that this is the place where God will return to collect his people. Also on the Mount of Olives, we toured the burial site of Mary, the garden of Gethsemane, and the Church of All Nations. We walked back into Old Jerusalem through Lions Gate and then walked the entire Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross. We went back into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and spent some time inspecting what we had only seen on Thursday. We waited in line and touched the top of Calvary, where a Greek Orthodox altar protects the site of the crucifixion. We then waited in line and toured the inside of Jesus's tomb. We watched as a Franciscan Mass processed through the church and touched the stone of anointing. Pretty amazing to say the least. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">From there we headed over to the Wailing Wall, as Jews begin their sabbath on Fridays at sundown. Shea and I cleared the security lines and watched as masses of Jewish people celebrated and prayed outside their holy site. Men and women have separate areas of the wall to pray too, so Shea and I wrote down our prayers and headed off in separate directions to cram our prayers into the wall. I grabbed a paper yarmulke and did my best to fit in as I squeezed into a spot between prayers to deliver my prayer. Shea and I met back up and watched the large throngs of people celebrate as the sun went down and pray intensely in Hebrew. It certainly was a sight to behold. From there we went into the market and bought a manger scene that Shea had her eye on...she successfully negotiated the guy down and after years of saying she wanted one, she finally had one to call her own. As an alternative to the usual Christmas ham, Shea and I went crazy and decided we were really in the mood for some sushi. So, we found a nice restaurant in New Jerusalem and enjoyed a nice Christmas meal together...complete with raw fish. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On Saturday, December 26th, we had another 7am tour. This time we were headed south from Jerusalem. Our first stop was the Qumran caves. These caves were the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, which altered the study of the Old Testament. They also unearthed ancient communal towns, which demonstrated how tribes survived and practiced religion thousands of years ago. After Qumran, we headed to Masada, which was a fortress built by the Roman emperor Herod on a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod built the fortress between 37 and 31 BC and furnished it as a refuge for himself, filled with food, water, palaces, barracks, and an armory. We took a cable car to the top and enjoyed the views and amazing Roman architecture...bathhouses included. We took the "snake path" back down which took a sweaty 35 minutes to complete. Nothing better after a sweaty walk then going swimming right? Well, that is exactly what we did next...but this time it was in the Dead Sea. The tour went to a beach located on the Dead Sea, and we were able to go swimming and treat ourselves to a "do-it-yourself" mud treatment. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth (on dry land ) at -420 meters below sea level, and the salt content and chemical make up of the environment make it the world's original health spa. People use the salt and minerals from the sea to create cosmetics and herbal health treatments. Shea and I floated in the super-salty water and felt like little kids trying to figure out our buoyancy. We caked each other in mud and took pictures for you all to see (and make fun of).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We showered off and headed next to see the ancient city of Jericho. Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world dating back to 9000BC. We were able to see the tree of Zaccharus and the Mount of Temptation there. We then headed back to Jerusalem, where we stopped on top of the Mount of Olives again for a view of Jerusalem at night. The lights of the city were beautiful. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We then went back to our hotel and collected our belongings. We ordered up a shared taxi and took it to Tel Aviv along with our American friends from our hotel. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Shea and I stayed in a hotel just 5 blocks from the Mediterranean Sea, so we checked in, showered off again, and changed clothes and went for a moonlight walk on the beach. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and a beer and then walked around the city until about midnight. We hit the sack for our 5 am wake up call on Sunday to make it for our early morning flight back to Frankfurt. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We had a wonderful trip in Israel and really felt very fortunate to see everything we did. We crammed in as much sightseeing as possible and truly feel blessed to have been there.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-64118098204498617212009-12-29T08:57:00.000-08:002010-01-10T12:40:19.713-08:00Oslo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S6MzEMseMekMBRYevwQX744ZbWx4MmOq8qD6JAiPxRxiqN_8IF4R_HDcOFbzniGJegUJ1ePdpyqVgTFSxg-LG-ZRn_k69TzV5QrXkspJKjmHStYr-azVV1aVmHQdzwinal7RosDqd7bb/s1600-h/Oslo+015.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S6MzEMseMekMBRYevwQX744ZbWx4MmOq8qD6JAiPxRxiqN_8IF4R_HDcOFbzniGJegUJ1ePdpyqVgTFSxg-LG-ZRn_k69TzV5QrXkspJKjmHStYr-azVV1aVmHQdzwinal7RosDqd7bb/s200/Oslo+015.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420726152090717874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrDaQwadeYPjwfaNfbF_9JCWZr_FwiHXMkhlMV9abZkYXGFDuqElL3lnGzlLqdSti9-_O6M2yn04wcM38FQo6rJFYhaBuTCKeZ68xXMFBc2oyWjcBCeTlMQS0ePbrOKB0esr5H3Kx5X71/s1600-h/Oslo+068.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrDaQwadeYPjwfaNfbF_9JCWZr_FwiHXMkhlMV9abZkYXGFDuqElL3lnGzlLqdSti9-_O6M2yn04wcM38FQo6rJFYhaBuTCKeZ68xXMFBc2oyWjcBCeTlMQS0ePbrOKB0esr5H3Kx5X71/s200/Oslo+068.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420725393657841778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASxoOCi2qr5SoQvmbjEovEEqoQGRd3QaelPHj6Q25P0kblG9C4otvSPDQ1Fu9FFfGPoBrS7diWhJsZL_PvMcpN5JZtsi-J-q6k7BplBr4mc0jpEufhhfMZfk6Y_MiIQaVy-sBKIzRFRJe/s1600-h/Oslo+132.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASxoOCi2qr5SoQvmbjEovEEqoQGRd3QaelPHj6Q25P0kblG9C4otvSPDQ1Fu9FFfGPoBrS7diWhJsZL_PvMcpN5JZtsi-J-q6k7BplBr4mc0jpEufhhfMZfk6Y_MiIQaVy-sBKIzRFRJe/s200/Oslo+132.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420724817027345346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjnxhHeJJF-ISbB2lbslEh3bbM2Isz1jP5OpcP2tAbt5_SAxScn3L1RaJOT7Lh1YrbUDiGU7O1x3H18Xc0jwGUiWlYQDv1KEsMerjjO0ZrNawDKy_OfR8bkSarnQuvVBLyOX93yRzGmw4/s1600-h/Oslo+139.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjnxhHeJJF-ISbB2lbslEh3bbM2Isz1jP5OpcP2tAbt5_SAxScn3L1RaJOT7Lh1YrbUDiGU7O1x3H18Xc0jwGUiWlYQDv1KEsMerjjO0ZrNawDKy_OfR8bkSarnQuvVBLyOX93yRzGmw4/s320/Oslo+139.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420724119080164338" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">First and foremost we would like to thank the Brusevold family for hosting us on our recent trip to Oslo over Thanksgiving weekend. Jan and I went to UT together, and at the Scharnell wedding this last summer, he was kind enough to invite us to come visit him and his family for the holiday. </span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We flew into a small airport about an hour and half south of Oslo right along the coast. As we came in for the landing we were rewarded with some beautiful views of the famous Norwegian fjords and their rocky coastline. We took a bus to the central station in Oslo and met Jan and Hope there. They gave us a brief tour of the city as we walked to the ferry to catch our ride to Jan's parents' home for dinner. We boarded the ferry and chatted away during the 20 minute commute over the fjord to the area where they lived. Jan's mom picked us up and ushered us home to a meal she had prepared for us. Not just any meal mind you, but a Norwegian specialty...moose. It was delicious, and we had a wonderful dinner sharing time with everyone. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">On Saturday, we woke up and Jan and Hope took us to Oslo to tour the city. Oslo was filled with excitement due to the visit from Barack in two weeks' time to collect his peace prize. We saw city hall where the ceremony takes place (pictured above). We toured the Nobel peace prize museum, which was very interesting and had a wonderful exhibit on the transition from the time of MLK to the time of Barack. Each of us won a Nobel peace prize while we were there, only ours were better than Barack's because they were filled with chocolate.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We saw the royal palace and the impressive new opera house. We saw Norway's parliament building and the University of Oslo. Then we took a boat cruise around the harbor, which dropped us off at different points of interest. We toured the viking ship museum, the Con Tiki museum, and the Fram museum (which is the first ship used to explore the poles in 1892). We went at sunset to the Vigeland sculpture park with its numerous nude statues showing different stages in the circle of life. From there we went to eat a nice dinner and then headed back to the Brusevolds to try to take in the OSU/OU game for Shea. Unfortunately, we didn't get the game, but luckily it wasn't a bad game to miss. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">On Sunday morning we were invited to a wonderful breakfast at Jan's cousin's house. She lives in an apartment near the Brusevolds so we were able to walk through the neighborhood and get a good sense of the area to take some splendid pics of the harbor. From there Jan and Hope went with us back into the city where we toured the Christmas market, visited the Norway World War II museum located in the Akershus Castle</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and then did a few minutes of shopping. Shea and I then jumped on a bus back to the airport to catch our plane to Frankfurt.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We had a wonderful visit with the Brusevolds and really appreciated their hospitality over the holiday weekend. It reminded us of home, and we are thankful to have such great friends.</span></span></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-22664946937288615472009-12-15T07:18:00.000-08:002009-12-15T13:23:03.315-08:00Amsterdam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7qbxnPAf-YvB005nJ-sAanWWQa0Df_DmVXhwo8vafuQQDJhGkpskeD3X_qk2xwuGA-NlRApUiaRGRPqHle2eyK588FSRJwZVudYODkMXGtKnl6pwR4NTP3FcHAwxx7KMysKR1Q0w-1_u/s1600-h/Amsterdam+004.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7qbxnPAf-YvB005nJ-sAanWWQa0Df_DmVXhwo8vafuQQDJhGkpskeD3X_qk2xwuGA-NlRApUiaRGRPqHle2eyK588FSRJwZVudYODkMXGtKnl6pwR4NTP3FcHAwxx7KMysKR1Q0w-1_u/s200/Amsterdam+004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415502224778940882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwo5wy-jEaYNOYfSeL0Tdwk9jGjjuFMdA6ldEkZz_jnTdAtVZd8OYfRQ8B56HDuL3YHgEIGeQYW-rm3YUduXUCA8xfc_9r_cTJIXJZyQyC9OMMvrTe_e_GhLtiVW-DWyGc8oYWqHnJQ8J7/s1600-h/Amsterdam+005.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwo5wy-jEaYNOYfSeL0Tdwk9jGjjuFMdA6ldEkZz_jnTdAtVZd8OYfRQ8B56HDuL3YHgEIGeQYW-rm3YUduXUCA8xfc_9r_cTJIXJZyQyC9OMMvrTe_e_GhLtiVW-DWyGc8oYWqHnJQ8J7/s200/Amsterdam+005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415501781341511778" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0T-y356IbO-p0fYx6yaM4TRS-UZFwUdARBf7qBM7dasKVOtnCpqw27Bxg0T7IrTJE6fGaNLQT8PKiw5VMtbim2-QEv93CSElATASxoCO21omE7zk238i3ouXb7UvAWOHQFqSTVThvLdx/s1600-h/Amsterdam+071.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0T-y356IbO-p0fYx6yaM4TRS-UZFwUdARBf7qBM7dasKVOtnCpqw27Bxg0T7IrTJE6fGaNLQT8PKiw5VMtbim2-QEv93CSElATASxoCO21omE7zk238i3ouXb7UvAWOHQFqSTVThvLdx/s320/Amsterdam+071.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415501185980746354" /></a><br />We know what you all are thinking, but no we didn't take part in "everything" Amsterdam has to offer.<div>On November 20th, we were supposed to wake up early and take a direct speed train to Amsterdam to meet Seth (Shea's brother) to celebrate his birthday weekend. But ya know how sometimes alarm clocks don't work like they are suppose to...ya, that happened. So after several hours of transfers we finally arrived in the late afternoon. Fortunately, it gave Seth a chance to get lost for a while and get a sense of the place. From the train station we all headed back to the hotel to check in and drop off our bags.</div><div>We all freshened up and then went for a walk through the canal-lined streets. As it was raining cats and dogs we huddled under our umbrellas until we found a tucked away bar in the "Jordaan" district. The Jordaan district is an artistic and residential area in Amsterdam known for its quaint shops and friendly atmosphere. </div><div>We hung out with all the locals in the bar and the bartender was helpful in picking out some traditional foods and beers to try. As we were all a bit tired from our full day of travel, we headed home about 10 and were soon fast asleep.</div><div>On Saturday, we woke up to clear skies and mild temperatures...alright! We had a 10:30 tour appointment at the Anne Frank museum, which is located in the building where she hid for two years during WWII and wrote her world-renowned diary. We learned about her life, both before and during the Nazi occupation of Holland. We were able to tour the cramped spaces that 8 people called home and were struck by how difficult life was for them all. </div><div>After our tour there, we stopped for a bite of lunch and then headed to our 1:00 walking tour of the city. We met the group at the train station and then walked to the front of the royal palace in the heart of the city. From there we toured through the red light district and learned about the history of the city and its liberal leanings toward prostitution and marijuana. We were shown underground Catholic churches that survived during the Reformation and the Dutch East Indian Trading Company, which was a model for much of our modern corporate structure. We walked through a portion of the Amsterdam Historical Museum and visited the Jewish quarter with its 1960's architecture. Taxes used to be assessed according to the size of the front of your home, so we were shown the narrowest home in Amsterdam - which wouldn't allow you to lie down sideways - but did have a lovely view of a canal. </div><div>After the tour we enjoyed a great dinner to celebrate Seth's birthday on Sunday. He had done a little research and wanted to visit a popular jazz club in town. We figured out how to get there and headed out for a night on the town. We found the place and had a great time listening to some live mellow jazz and drinking some local Holland beer. We left and got some late night pizza and then caught a late night bus back to the train station near our hotel. Great times!</div><div>On Sunday, we woke up late (imagine that) and headed back into the city. We found a mass to go to that was in Latin...very pretty, but after the late night we had had it was rough for all of us to keep our eyes open. From there we headed over to Vondelpark, which is a beautiful park in the interior of the city. We left there and went to the Van Gogh museum where we toured and saw his many famous works. Don't tell Shea but the chewed bubble gum I gave her is not the found portion of his ear. Another late dinner and we called it a night. Happy Birthday Seth!</div><div>On Monday, it started raining again, but we went to an underground church museum and then walked for a while through the city, taking in the canals and the beautiful architecture of the city. </div><div>We headed back to the train station to make our train and left Seth to enjoy one more night in town before his plane back to DC in the morning. </div><div>We had a great time in Amsterdam, and we really appreciated getting to see it with Seth. </div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-31806026780676239712009-12-14T08:16:00.000-08:002009-12-15T13:23:24.182-08:00Marburg<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4eJBBrlgQoLQ_sN_uDndxjo2Yc0mTlDJxysKUWY396hp8gkKAdGYw7Cjl51LTuqU65TSgxni8B4Cw4d0faJmACuVz713BxxuZElcQ2uGWtUFbETy4XUBkpqPcsWb8zWzUBlrBsOS01yB/s1600-h/Marburg+077.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4eJBBrlgQoLQ_sN_uDndxjo2Yc0mTlDJxysKUWY396hp8gkKAdGYw7Cjl51LTuqU65TSgxni8B4Cw4d0faJmACuVz713BxxuZElcQ2uGWtUFbETy4XUBkpqPcsWb8zWzUBlrBsOS01yB/s320/Marburg+077.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415134229076558114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoR5NucWMgvHXzRJXq-DSgxOM23HyHqCPadHNjSoJM06SKSWuUl-Wo8z8p44jumcOn_STx6l8CH99RVkYUPldlhvXm3RA7mNQ_l_28XxyhnQRNtaocaC1-rjIDgefSraob2gIsrIeJwhuc/s1600-h/Marburg+045.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoR5NucWMgvHXzRJXq-DSgxOM23HyHqCPadHNjSoJM06SKSWuUl-Wo8z8p44jumcOn_STx6l8CH99RVkYUPldlhvXm3RA7mNQ_l_28XxyhnQRNtaocaC1-rjIDgefSraob2gIsrIeJwhuc/s200/Marburg+045.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415132942101412338" /></a><br />Sorry for the delay in updates. Over the next few days I will be writing about several trips we have taken this Fall.<div>In late October, we took a day trip to Marburg, Germany. It is a quaint university town with one of oldest Gothic churches north of the Alps, St. Elizabeth. The university was founded in 1527 and is most famously the school that the Brothers Grimm attended and where they collected their fairy tale stories. Marburg is also the home of the Marburg Colloquy, which were meetings between Martin Luther and Zwingli to develop and establish the Protestant church. </div><div>Shea and I arrived and first visited the cathedral. It was very beautiful with amazing stained glass and a handcrafted tomb made entirely of gold. We then toured through the hilly city streets and enjoyed the half-timbered houses and shops. We followed the streets up to the castle, which dominates the city. Though not quite as big as the castle in Heidelberg, it was still impressive and offered beautiful views of the city and river valley below. From there we walked through the university district and felt a little old seeing all the university students who looked like they could pass for pre-teens. </div><div>It was a nice day trip to a pretty little town with some interesting historical significance.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-52655056980239314472009-10-07T09:48:00.000-07:002009-12-29T10:43:04.908-08:00Mustaches vs. Cancer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvde_chh68d0MOj4uVBUJfJZ14sua31tzQPcELs3Rgpzecf_Zwo1o8PXxZUPtqfWl2WQPXuaSW5R5xe-IT3mjIn6Co1Z_nezgKezx4QLF45xEWvY56V4B-LL_0wk50WsKm2QnriHa6SbOq/s1600-h/2228.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvde_chh68d0MOj4uVBUJfJZ14sua31tzQPcELs3Rgpzecf_Zwo1o8PXxZUPtqfWl2WQPXuaSW5R5xe-IT3mjIn6Co1Z_nezgKezx4QLF45xEWvY56V4B-LL_0wk50WsKm2QnriHa6SbOq/s200/2228.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420730492843642882" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div>Ladies and Gentlemen- to the absolute repulsion of my wife, I have endeavored upon a great mission. What mission you ask? A mission to grow the meaty-est mustache any of you have ever seen.<br />I know what you are thinking..."Why, Tom Selleck, what are you up too?"<br />Some people run races or marathons, some compete in triathlons, some come back after retirement and finish 3rd in the Tour de France...all in the name of raising awareness and money for the research of a cure for cancer.<br />I have taken up a much less athletically demanding crusade for trying to raise money for cancer research. I simply signed up at <a href="http://www.mustachesvscancer.org/">http://www.mustachesvscancer.org/</a> and vowed to grow a sweet stache to help raise money to aid childhood cancer research because, as they say, "kids can't grow mustaches, and they shouldn't have cancer either."<br />So, the benefits of this event are two-fold, I get to increase my rugged handsomeness and (more importantly) raise money for this great cause. The second part of the two-fold equation is where you come in.<br />I hope that those of you who read our blog would do me a favor and swing by <a href="http://www.mustachesvscancer.org/">http://www.mustachesvscancer.org/</a> and drop a few dollars into my collection (you can type my name into the search function or just look for 'Sir Stachalot'). All the money goes to the charity and you get to watch my mustache progression with weekly photo updates on the website. As long as I receive $10 in collections each week, I promised to keep the mustache. So as long as you guys promise to keep putting a few dollars in...I can promise you a shockingly hairy upper lip...that, as a Keller, I can guarantee. The event kicked off on Monday, October 5th, with all entrants clean shaven and then ends November 25th...that is when Shea will be seen with me in public again.<br />So...after you check out the website and put some money in the collection...feel free to ridicule your hairy lipped friend here- My mustache promised to defend me from all negativity. <div>(November final product pictured above)</div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-45757831729247685132009-10-03T02:20:00.000-07:002009-10-04T07:52:43.748-07:00Oktoberfest Munchin 2009<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitr9Gtq8MwxLn3cde2QhY3lvpRD-R5b9vCfCGIExOYe2W_lHSFgnEAhiGAD1vWoy1LHERjKekibzUVPteXXgW-fe6NFPBq4CtT6u7z4fJWo5OgxM_yMYmONR0vnW3HBaTwlz5W5bjoWEb-/s1600-h/Oktoberfest+2009+008.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388320041944032642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitr9Gtq8MwxLn3cde2QhY3lvpRD-R5b9vCfCGIExOYe2W_lHSFgnEAhiGAD1vWoy1LHERjKekibzUVPteXXgW-fe6NFPBq4CtT6u7z4fJWo5OgxM_yMYmONR0vnW3HBaTwlz5W5bjoWEb-/s200/Oktoberfest+2009+008.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictRBo6WjzCc2LKrnwWVap5rwUpiVG7Mhy_22M2u9MhoQL2EiLGWRhFGvmNqTodSpeYxb65HLabyvo1E3c5g4nskREoOA_kLNNexMmJU6kYukTq4rP9fNEi1QCakesudsaKi-FEeI8gpo2/s1600-h/Oktoberfest+2009+101.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388319732123248114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictRBo6WjzCc2LKrnwWVap5rwUpiVG7Mhy_22M2u9MhoQL2EiLGWRhFGvmNqTodSpeYxb65HLabyvo1E3c5g4nskREoOA_kLNNexMmJU6kYukTq4rP9fNEi1QCakesudsaKi-FEeI8gpo2/s200/Oktoberfest+2009+101.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-QwC25aNpBxLvGXD4y5Pe16Fs9VvDlbq0nwpMovD8-tEnxwuF6rmxKWBTdFWsfQzAMozfw2AMPM-0j4vzm7niRV7yvLVbsmBjZmJ-ubVI3VkfriSDg87XrI28BtIvQ2KbNDHJXtqAwsd/s1600-h/Oktoberfest+2009+054.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388316991899702770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-QwC25aNpBxLvGXD4y5Pe16Fs9VvDlbq0nwpMovD8-tEnxwuF6rmxKWBTdFWsfQzAMozfw2AMPM-0j4vzm7niRV7yvLVbsmBjZmJ-ubVI3VkfriSDg87XrI28BtIvQ2KbNDHJXtqAwsd/s200/Oktoberfest+2009+054.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div><div>For my 33rd birthday this year Shea treated me to a trip to Oktoberfest...yep- "the" Oktoberfest filled with lederhosen, women in dirndls, and big beers...what a cool gift. </div><div>Now, if I could only remember it.</div><div>We left Frankfurt on Saturday, Sept. 26th, on a train at about 10am and arrived into Munich at 1pm. As soon as you step off the train you are surrounded by people dressed in the traditional garb. The Oktoberfest grounds are just a 10 minute walk south of the main train station in Munich and our hotel was situated directly between them both...so to say we were in the middle of the mayhem would be absolutely appropriate. </div><div>We checked in and immediately changed clothes..."into what" you may ask...that would be my lederhosen and Shea into her dirndl! Yep, we were all decked out!</div><div>We headed over to the Oktoberfest grounds and were impressed by the size and number of people there. The best way to describe it is to equate it to the State Fair of Texas, but instead of having the fair halls filled with the baking competition winners, hand sewn prairie skirts, and next years line of Chevy's...fill them with tens of thousands of beer drinkers looking for a party. Unbelievable. </div><div>We walked around to get a lay of the land, and unfortunately by the time we got there in the afternoon, the beer tents are packed full and security won't let any new revilers in. That simply meant that partying inside a beer tent would have to wait till tomorrow and today we would have to party at one of the outdoor beer gardens. </div><div>Looking the part, security assumed we were locals and quickly allowed us into one of the Hippodrom beer gardens. We sat at a large table with a collection of Bavarians who we shared the evening with drinking beer, eating, and having a great time. They were super nice and gave us all the insider scoop on how best to enjoy the festivities. Now, Oktoberfest starts everyday at 10 am and then ends each night at 10:30. We didn't want to ruin ourselves for Sunday so we called it a night about 9 and went and got some dinner. We headed back to the hotel room and could hear the party leaving for the next several hours...people were having a good time.</div><div>We had been told by our new Bavarian Oktoberfest friends that we wouldn't need to worry about getting to Oktoberfest super early on Sunday to get in a tent. Usually, people start lining up by 8 to get in the tents on the other days. We followed their advice and got to the festival site a little after 10:00. We were able to walk around and duck in all the beer tents and get a few pics of them and decide on which one we wanted to try first. </div><div>When we stepped in the Hofbrauhaus tent at 10:30, it was packed and there were already people dancing on the tables and singing. Decision was made for where we would hang out first. We found a table, made quick friends with our table mates, and ordered our first round of giant beers (1 liter each).</div><div>At noon, we were already into our second beer and had eaten a roasted chicken for lunch. All us Oktoberfest-ians were ready and in marched the band which started the next 10 hours of ever-repeating German drinking songs. We finished our second beers and decided we wanted to go ride some of the rides and see some of the areas we hadn't been able to see yet. </div><div>We rode a huge ferris wheel which offered great views of the festival and of Munchin. We then slid on the giant slide and ate some dessert. After that, we said enough of the rides it's time to get back to business.</div><div>We headed into Augustiner beer tent and sat down at a table. Our table mates this time included 3 guys from Holland who were hilarious and made for great comedy over the next several beers. We had our own party going on that included our table and all the ones surrounding us. Great fun!</div><div>We had to leave at 8 to walk back to the train station to catch our train back to Frankfurt. We made it in time and fell asleep for our 3 hour trip home. </div><div>It was a great time and a wonderful birthday and we hope to get to go again some day.</div><div></div></div></div></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-53992144215414822342009-09-23T06:38:00.001-07:002009-09-25T05:36:08.000-07:00Gonzales European Vacation<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0xbSh-a7HpPBG7Kn4Rkc97KjT3hyphenhyphen2VRvJr2LaV7VeJLlOCnkevz8PiJsKhRBFBVmrzUZOwgrTAEcHbViqK6YtNDOWa6eKqyGLQAfZgvkUMhyphenhyphengE6VJLZbnsC2vg7tV8CW21NsPP2nFPG8/s1600-h/Berlin+006.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385382636101573298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0xbSh-a7HpPBG7Kn4Rkc97KjT3hyphenhyphen2VRvJr2LaV7VeJLlOCnkevz8PiJsKhRBFBVmrzUZOwgrTAEcHbViqK6YtNDOWa6eKqyGLQAfZgvkUMhyphenhyphengE6VJLZbnsC2vg7tV8CW21NsPP2nFPG8/s200/Berlin+006.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpetvhh9lpMqV7A8UBHJZ9SgyVbAIP2ES6BAUXfXgYCpJ0eWGvAq0-o83_84XAaLUnKs8kQc2_6AXZn1-0XuoxAeIRpklQEwBfY79GFUjDXRPYVaFssELjIAMYnGZNXELT5ThKdbTR29gS/s1600-h/Berlin+219.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384677254895125730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpetvhh9lpMqV7A8UBHJZ9SgyVbAIP2ES6BAUXfXgYCpJ0eWGvAq0-o83_84XAaLUnKs8kQc2_6AXZn1-0XuoxAeIRpklQEwBfY79GFUjDXRPYVaFssELjIAMYnGZNXELT5ThKdbTR29gS/s320/Berlin+219.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUEjGlruUrLg4jD8w4oEVSIVg-VEP1IgRyHk534KPixzPUQc8zkDCKsW8YP2FpydVIBh_o8rRbG7nThpj6VHUZG4ihUcYiIvmbP2Zvs3GQAdB898mrvngyS-JiU4hUHzBBnBh9SlvwvDI/s1600-h/Zurich+Sept+09+(84).jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384676625516267666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUEjGlruUrLg4jD8w4oEVSIVg-VEP1IgRyHk534KPixzPUQc8zkDCKsW8YP2FpydVIBh_o8rRbG7nThpj6VHUZG4ihUcYiIvmbP2Zvs3GQAdB898mrvngyS-JiU4hUHzBBnBh9SlvwvDI/s200/Zurich+Sept+09+(84).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidokLKYrT9jxBgz57KE1OGXipU3OBbKhXH5rfE6IZcnyD71gUTO3b3C42w0dS55TbttIMC7UYDO0cVqN14QTzoZIhPdd7hLr3i982npClhS7_kH-bZU4bzAL7UE0AoEohUOf4tpIsdTW_Y/s1600-h/Zurich+Sept+09+(72).jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384675939617799154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidokLKYrT9jxBgz57KE1OGXipU3OBbKhXH5rfE6IZcnyD71gUTO3b3C42w0dS55TbttIMC7UYDO0cVqN14QTzoZIhPdd7hLr3i982npClhS7_kH-bZU4bzAL7UE0AoEohUOf4tpIsdTW_Y/s200/Zurich+Sept+09+(72).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYTBMuN8n5-i4r9AzOWKWzjsHCqwJ2MVplPsbtnDmnqSBRlu34VfWQbha17alHDXMiCW6Tchyphenhyphen6qteTcbaVjqlOrsKhCoMsPinOPLuaTvdrUp8H5hzYPEwoacgV_ZXFwdGQgsjkzTcEas6/s1600-h/Zurich+Sept+09+(12).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384675367367651298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYTBMuN8n5-i4r9AzOWKWzjsHCqwJ2MVplPsbtnDmnqSBRlu34VfWQbha17alHDXMiCW6Tchyphenhyphen6qteTcbaVjqlOrsKhCoMsPinOPLuaTvdrUp8H5hzYPEwoacgV_ZXFwdGQgsjkzTcEas6/s200/Zurich+Sept+09+(12).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384674399867036098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiti4VhX_QyWZev8sxUpPKOY0K4D6TfrhZFMNhLQ9anIewN62sZ0dIZ4ROo5_QGV68EWyChyO9f-2yo9zzmwko6J-KWIIjCgzRiWDf3aUwjlBxgGDjG4y61oPltfSgmvD5tf7YKLEebzlUL/s200/Berlin+147.jpg" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJly_s6dE5aYgehFsnQ1JFTZuCOoPvrnpE-aoINNcsPIID55_iK1yxBvfUxbC1ckZh1wBZG5fWJLX43Y0LXyo869PSox8iiX6f4TaMDAqod8BPGMKEpUs20cwWPCZriRNILPViypPVl5dG/s1600-h/Berlin+029.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384673734185154674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJly_s6dE5aYgehFsnQ1JFTZuCOoPvrnpE-aoINNcsPIID55_iK1yxBvfUxbC1ckZh1wBZG5fWJLX43Y0LXyo869PSox8iiX6f4TaMDAqod8BPGMKEpUs20cwWPCZriRNILPViypPVl5dG/s200/Berlin+029.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div>So our close friends Adrian and Kelly Gonzales came to visit us all the way from Georgetown, Texas. They arrived on Friday, September 4th, and stayed through Sunday, September 13th, and did a bunch of traveling in between.<br /></div><br /><div>They got into Frankfurt around 7 am on Friday, and I picked them up from the airport. We came back here to the apartment to drop off their luggage, and then out the door we went to see some of the sites in Frankfurt. They saw the Roemerplatz, the Main River, the Dom cathedral, and the Zeil shopping galleries all before 2pm. To say that the Gonzaleses were ready to get their "vacation-on" would be an accurate description. We came back to the apartment and packed up because at 6 we had a train to catch to Berlin. We met Shea at the train station and took the 5 hour train ride to the German capital city. We hopped in a taxi to our hotel and then watched the Gonzales's pass out after 26 hours of being awake. Gotta love jet-lag. </div><br /><br /><div>On Saturday, we got ready and headed into the heart of the city. The weather was cool, but clear, and we were ready to see what this historically significant city had to offer. We decided to take a walking tour that included all of the major sites like the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the last remaining section of the Berlin wall, the Reichstag (German Capital Building), Hitler's bunker, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, East German Government Buildings, the location of the Nazi book burning, and numerous museums, churches, and memorials. We were all thankful we did the tour as the history and significance of the sites just wouldn't have been the same without the perspective the guide was able to impart to the group. After the tour, we headed back into what used to be East Berlin and had dinner at a traditional German restaurant, before heading back towards our hotel and closing down a bar. </div><br /><br /><div>I, for one, was feeling a bit rough on Sunday, but we headed back out to more thoroughly investigate some of the sites. We went back to Check Point Charlie and walked around for quite a while checking out the history of the wall and its significance in an outdoor museum. It told the history of the end of WWII, the division of Berlin and Germany by the Allies, the development of the Cold War and construction of the wall, some stories of successful and deadly escape attempts, and the final re-unification of Berlin and Germany. It brought a whole new understanding to the video images we could all remember from our youth of the German citizens standing on the wall with sledgehammers and pickaxes destroying the symbol of division. From there we went to the Memorial for Murdered Jews of Europe museum. We toured the facility and we were all silenced by the atrocities history must never forget. From there we walked around a while and then headed back towards our hotel and enjoyed a late Thai food dinner. </div><br /><div>On Monday, we headed back to the Reichstag, which allows visitors to tour the glass dome that sits atop the legislative chamber. After standing in line a while, we were then treated to a view of Berlin from on high, as well as, a lesson on Germany's representative Democracy. The building itself has an interesting history, and we were glad to have gotten to take the tour before our train headed back to Frankfurt early that afternoon. </div><br /><div>On Tuesday, Shea went to work, while Adrian, Kelly, and I went to Heidelberg. We took a 9am train and got there in time to meet an old friend of Adrian's from high school, who lives and teaches in Heidelberg. We met him, his wife, and newborn son and enjoyed a nice lunch, before touring the old city of Heidelberg and heading up to the castle. We took the tour of the castle and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding landscape. </div><br /><div>On Wednesday, we toured Frankfurt some more and gave Kelly and Adrian a chance to do a little shopping downtown. We then repacked and caught an afternoon train to beautiful (yet expensive) Zurich, Switzerland. We got in late and went to bed, then woke up Thursday morning to nice weather. It wasn't quite as clear as we had hoped, but as the day wore on we were able to make out more and more of the Alp summits to our South. We took a train to the top of one of the surrounding mountains that overlooked Zurich. We climbed to the top of an observation tower and looked out as far into the horizon as we could. We then headed back down to the city and walked through the shopping avenues all the way to the lake. There, we boarded a ship and were treated to a short cruise around the lake. People were out sunning and swimming and enjoying the last bit of summer before the altitude and change of season takes hold. After the cruise, we walked through the old city of Zurich and enjoyed the quaint feel of the older sections of town. </div><br /><div>On Friday, the weather was a bit cooler and cloudier, so we rented bikes and made our own bike tour of the old town and around a portion of the lake. We stopped for some lunch and then ate it lakeside, doing our part to feed the swans, ducks, and seagulls. We then toured some of the old churches of the city, seeing magnificent stained-glass windows that were created by the artist Chagall. Friday night, our friends Brian and Tiffany Mooney from Dallas arrived in Zurich, after they had just completed some traveling through Italy and Switzerland. The 6 of us went out for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and enjoyed each others' company. It reminded Shea and me of good times back home. </div><br /><div>On Saturday, we all met up with the Mooneys again and had some lunch, before we headed back to the train station and then Frankfurt. We got in to Frankfurt and enjoyed some good ol' American burgers, beer, and college football at a local sports bar and toasted what was an exciting week with good friends.<br />We had a wonderful time having them here, and Shea and I were sad to see them go. But we were glad to have gotten to experience those places with them and hope that they get to come again soon.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-11195515526585725402009-09-21T06:26:00.001-07:002009-09-21T07:41:18.310-07:00Hamburg<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOH1k1yWB0eYrqEa3O-Pv7YG9dBSBxOrpl4jnf9835oa21MaSdewndAkeeMb3HdmqOFCpj9JD-Wek-iEUfE_7rGNHEObt5MSb71oc2nM9E2XJYMsZsW4_EPPBJzRUZ0PC72xNPFV4EsK_s/s1600-h/Hamburg+139.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383925590513074354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOH1k1yWB0eYrqEa3O-Pv7YG9dBSBxOrpl4jnf9835oa21MaSdewndAkeeMb3HdmqOFCpj9JD-Wek-iEUfE_7rGNHEObt5MSb71oc2nM9E2XJYMsZsW4_EPPBJzRUZ0PC72xNPFV4EsK_s/s320/Hamburg+139.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDpgiuZJM0lXOHywnbXgOLBlfP7mxU5jcR2Z4Ji0a7mBrLJVBlA5XsCfBX82F5hAD65j10_L3JS8HPeDOEArQuYN224V8j68pq2O9TrUgQA1xZmTxbNbGx8GQBTR_0qY6VtHN_6BgABj2/s1600-h/Hamburg+234.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383924955941994210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDpgiuZJM0lXOHywnbXgOLBlfP7mxU5jcR2Z4Ji0a7mBrLJVBlA5XsCfBX82F5hAD65j10_L3JS8HPeDOEArQuYN224V8j68pq2O9TrUgQA1xZmTxbNbGx8GQBTR_0qY6VtHN_6BgABj2/s200/Hamburg+234.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383923607364151570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsWCZOk4UibudbjkZnjOax_BefJkOGIZL3izKw7ZyfHLPQFD3GSrHLZj9QruDC_pjryAfzyc5GH0EBhp3YlULJ0SZ_HvYqcbAm74oWxpM55z7tWQ5O61KOYSi1qE4n_bwSlIEfObPxHvi/s200/Hamburg+173.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLu4ZS_Q8UxC2m6201hqgGYayNuEIIvAjFwz0E6MKCIxihoui4HUHY3eXntOipFDEfzdDYA3QcBpVjXkAY3X1EmSjleCjyx_RPUjb2oWc3d_W8klCGJwT7lI1bYMeHvr22umgtWYPU0zsa/s1600-h/Hamburg+222.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383922958112091122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLu4ZS_Q8UxC2m6201hqgGYayNuEIIvAjFwz0E6MKCIxihoui4HUHY3eXntOipFDEfzdDYA3QcBpVjXkAY3X1EmSjleCjyx_RPUjb2oWc3d_W8klCGJwT7lI1bYMeHvr22umgtWYPU0zsa/s200/Hamburg+222.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFtcXUR-KqNZmv5GyV2_Qhsh-ayI_bR1y5GXlzNYQj47Xib_SomMldKS9nji8PbFKXonEt1R9sBgpC-4rtf-ziFTzYOOArokzoCKTtv5LAyO59ddf7sz969QEVBGS9Lqp1s31Bc219kB3/s1600-h/Hamburg+099.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383922358553844338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFtcXUR-KqNZmv5GyV2_Qhsh-ayI_bR1y5GXlzNYQj47Xib_SomMldKS9nji8PbFKXonEt1R9sBgpC-4rtf-ziFTzYOOArokzoCKTtv5LAyO59ddf7sz969QEVBGS9Lqp1s31Bc219kB3/s200/Hamburg+099.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and is one of the largest shipping hubs in all the world. Everyone is quick to point out that Hamburg has more bridges than Venice and a colorful history that includes pirates, kings, WWII devastation, the Beatles, and high fashion. </div><br /><div>Being that Hamburg is in the very North of Germany and has a close association with the water and sea, Shea and I decided it was definitely better to visit during the summer than in it would be to visit during the colder time of year. We took a bullet train from Frankfurt to Hamburg which took a total of about 4 hours and got us in at about 9pm on Friday, August 21st. We headed from the train station to our hotel to check in and drop off our backpacks. Our hotel was just outside of the city center and was located in a building that was once the home of the city's gas production. The hotel and surroundings had been re-done in an ultramodern design that kept some of the industrial look and feel which added up to a unique hotel atmosphere. We had a late dinner and then headed to sleep to prepare ourselves for our walking tour the next day.</div><br /><div>On Saturday, we stuffed ourselves on hotel breakfast and then headed downtown to city hall to begin a walking tour that included all of the major sites and historical markers in Hamburg. We toured City Hall, a visit to the top of the St. Nickolai Church WWII memorial, a visit to the centuries' old warehouse district, a walk through the design district with its modern shops and high-fashion stores, a stroll down the boardwalk at the harbor, and finally an "interesting" wander down Reeperbahn in the St. Pauli district (which is considered Europe's largest red light district, and was where the Beatles got their first real start in the early 1960's playing in several of its brothels). We finished the night off with another late meal and made plans for a harbor cruise on Sunday to enjoy the great weather. </div><br /><div>Sunday, we headed back downtown to the harbor and jumped on a short tour ship. It showed us some beautiful views of the city from the harbor, beautiful parks, and multi-million dollar homes sitting adjacent to the water. We sat by the harbor and enjoyed some ice-cream and a live rock concert before heading to the train station to make our trip back to Frankfurt. Hamburg was a great city, and we are glad we got to visit it during the warm summer. Here are some photos for you to enjoy.</div><div></div></div></div></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-28915570545631403732009-08-28T08:22:00.000-07:002009-08-28T08:45:47.181-07:00Wiesbaden<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze2rD_0J9Ew6fyaJhnktzLCmnbVrLPrFHVDiF24rbhycN7Z0cRmlDLthZxVHq-Cn_w_HnDsZ6djTjmtMlXvl2unzNjHteLNd09kqeTUfKXEZCduSTY7aMDg6tHsBIj1r7_vUjpMTIjaX-/s1600-h/Wiesbaden3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375040217046668034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze2rD_0J9Ew6fyaJhnktzLCmnbVrLPrFHVDiF24rbhycN7Z0cRmlDLthZxVHq-Cn_w_HnDsZ6djTjmtMlXvl2unzNjHteLNd09kqeTUfKXEZCduSTY7aMDg6tHsBIj1r7_vUjpMTIjaX-/s200/Wiesbaden3.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdszaXWg8fTh13KRSTQ55n4lfEwDBZjAhQtNHVMO4xKWO5lVg7aLdhdOl9__Zwo2dPUMhyTDS1325L8TSUiIM-tHOsTbu8ApTnBtVeum1Rz0cbFPQ-oYmTN4Yj8PpTOMrIjNeJmxR__Ny5/s1600-h/Wiesbaden3+(1).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375039380407340898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdszaXWg8fTh13KRSTQ55n4lfEwDBZjAhQtNHVMO4xKWO5lVg7aLdhdOl9__Zwo2dPUMhyTDS1325L8TSUiIM-tHOsTbu8ApTnBtVeum1Rz0cbFPQ-oYmTN4Yj8PpTOMrIjNeJmxR__Ny5/s200/Wiesbaden3+(1).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQtOOWl2j5xS6bG4geHfUMkcg45IgKfqlcWwmLfTwrQY1v_PaK6XdZOUPT5iUnUecfVqg3v-LY1ne-kWwmG15vcqbjdo25VM9VXXCFbiq0rfMKAxBMrnJVXJRmD-bk2GDF8YBoEr58ETW/s1600-h/Weisbaden+3+(3).jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375038699181757618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQtOOWl2j5xS6bG4geHfUMkcg45IgKfqlcWwmLfTwrQY1v_PaK6XdZOUPT5iUnUecfVqg3v-LY1ne-kWwmG15vcqbjdo25VM9VXXCFbiq0rfMKAxBMrnJVXJRmD-bk2GDF8YBoEr58ETW/s200/Weisbaden+3+(3).jpg" /></a><br /><div>Well, the weather sure has been amazing here this summer. We have to admit we haven't missed the Texas heat a bit. </div><br /><div>When my Aunt and Mom were here in March, my Aunt was kind enough to get us a gift certificate to a restaurant in Wiesbaden for our anniversary. Shea and I held onto it until the weather got nice this summer so we could head over to Wiesbaden and enjoy it. </div><br /><div>We went on a Saturday in July and had a great day. Only 45 minutes away by train, Wiesbaden is the capital of the German state of Hessen and is known for fashion, it's elegant spas, and ritzy casino. We ventured over and took in the sites and enjoyed an outdoor lunch at the wonderful restaurant (Thanks Aunt Marianne!). After that we indulged in an hour massage just to completely pamper ourselves. We really enjoyed our visit there and will definitely be back.</div><br /><div></div></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-20363266454161153782009-08-10T22:01:00.000-07:002009-08-16T13:21:28.002-07:00The Romantic Road<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIidLwZE2dCs6nNnv-qUKvFUuShDOezNCWPcdLYa8e1Hj18bOqGuuvsFUJROiOsIQmPetY7Sxh0ln_hraSSthNcqtupW921fHgDemQXNusebEssYxPKz4dMo65dUYiWa14vxt71MVc8V9w/s1600-h/Rothenberg+6+(1).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369112790965109938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIidLwZE2dCs6nNnv-qUKvFUuShDOezNCWPcdLYa8e1Hj18bOqGuuvsFUJROiOsIQmPetY7Sxh0ln_hraSSthNcqtupW921fHgDemQXNusebEssYxPKz4dMo65dUYiWa14vxt71MVc8V9w/s200/Rothenberg+6+(1).jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCtblANgYwy8gJ_OTUJ2rbcXssOH9rqiQ8CLwp6U0n5xj83d2ksuN2R8ztvF28Vwq86gBZtChOsjyhIQPqAX32l-LSgVkS13DG63_d89LT3JqaaOav7NxtrZFHcbYlvWqHID3Cb7P5G0s/s1600-h/Garmisch.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369112227039159938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCtblANgYwy8gJ_OTUJ2rbcXssOH9rqiQ8CLwp6U0n5xj83d2ksuN2R8ztvF28Vwq86gBZtChOsjyhIQPqAX32l-LSgVkS13DG63_d89LT3JqaaOav7NxtrZFHcbYlvWqHID3Cb7P5G0s/s200/Garmisch.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEii6aAUSj3ZdvZ1UnHU79N747PJoHd6XGdJDnGmlEJeWbrx_H8GNfrgPcJcryMcNJ59t6PqdQ-Fdr9bBCnxwhk_e425N3v-YdCWUStzlE3-vn6E1NQc2wz0R4vZMGgdGYJinbQI_z1nk/s1600-h/Fusson+4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369111683535564274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEii6aAUSj3ZdvZ1UnHU79N747PJoHd6XGdJDnGmlEJeWbrx_H8GNfrgPcJcryMcNJ59t6PqdQ-Fdr9bBCnxwhk_e425N3v-YdCWUStzlE3-vn6E1NQc2wz0R4vZMGgdGYJinbQI_z1nk/s200/Fusson+4.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYE6ubU6V_Ov0qf60eBvmCz93-L_qMps_tN4ObBFaEIZ20w7Tndc94e-hLOtOEmRU_eA0LF39z2Jycvm72jrECJSoF0-nIJa9iA7LRaaS3j9GOBKxOzIF5_2X4EPxT5UGHn1J76v3OWqX/s1600-h/Fusson+2+(1).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369111035827479858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYE6ubU6V_Ov0qf60eBvmCz93-L_qMps_tN4ObBFaEIZ20w7Tndc94e-hLOtOEmRU_eA0LF39z2Jycvm72jrECJSoF0-nIJa9iA7LRaaS3j9GOBKxOzIF5_2X4EPxT5UGHn1J76v3OWqX/s200/Fusson+2+(1).jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><div>Hugs and Smooches await you if you completely read this post....that should set the stage and put you in the right mood for the tale of our trip down the Romantic Road.<br /><br />The Romantic Road is a series of small two lane roads that run from the Main River (about an hour East of Frankfurt) south all the way through Germany into the Alps. The trip takes you through river valleys, beautiful fertile fields, through vinyards, over crystal blue lakes, through forests, and then into the breath-taking mountains. Along the way you drive through numerous medieval towns and small villages, and you are rewarded with stunning views of castles and peeks into quaint German life.<br /><br />We rented a car and left Frankfurt on Wednesday, June 17th, in the afternoon. We got out of town a little later than we had hoped so that meant that I had to do my part and see what this little rental car could do on the Autobahn. As it turned out, it wasn't much, but we were happy to be together on an adventure. The Romantic Road-Warriors consisted of Shea, her Mom...Elaine, and Dad...Rob, and me. (Her parents have been party to our adventures before...See Hola Barcelona post and posts around Christmas 2008)<br />Once you turn onto the Romantic Road from the Autobahn, you are immediately amazed at just how dramatic the landscape is. We were greeted by the most beautiful open fields that stretched as far as you could see. Pretty soon we started to recognize that the entire way of living is different from what we are used to. About every 5 miles you entered a small little village that probably wasn't home to more than 250 people. There would be several homes, a beautiful church that dominated the village, maybe one local restaurant, and a Bed and Breakfast. That was it. Adjacent to the people's homes would be there their barns where they kept their farming equipment and tractors. Almost all of them were open this time of year and we could see people working together and filling their lofts with hay. It made us realize how peaceful it was here, and we were all amazed at the beautiful simplicity. Farmers pedaled their bicycles in their overalls down the road, who knows, maybe to check their fields or to go drink a beer with someone in the next village over. Super cool.<br />After traveling for about two hours, we made our first stop in the medieval city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is a well-known city that sits atop a hill overlooking the Tauber River, and it is completely surrounded by an enormous stone wall. We parked and went inside one of the gates and were struck by the beauty of this place. It is the ideal romantic image of ancient living. Historians have been drawn to this place for hundreds of years, and it is easy to see why. We only had about an hour and a half to spend here because we had a Bed and Breakfast reservation to make 2 hours down the road. We were all a bit hungry, though, so we decided to eat here. We found a marvelous little restaurant and were told the only available seating was inside at the "English Conversation Club" table. We all looked at each other and said, "We certainly have the prerequisites down" and were ushered to the table. We made room for ourselves and were quickly engrossed in conversation with people from all over the world. We came to find out that every Wednesday night this club has been meeting at this restaurant for the last 25 years. Started by local Germans from Rothenburg who wanted to work on their English, the famous travel personality from PBS Rick Steves stumbled upon this club many years ago and writes about it in his travel books about Germany. The German members of the club were very proud of that fact and told each of us about it close to a dozen times.<br />I was more intrigued to hear the stories from the two elderly German men in their mid-80's seated next to me. I spoke with them several minutes when they started talking about "the War". They were very open and honest and told us about their time in the Nazi Army and what their jobs were and where they were stationed. They told us matter-of-factly about their time in American prison camps and later French prison camps, and how they came to arrive back in Rothenburg. They both expressed admiration for the United States, its military, and its way of life, and I felt amazing pride. Thanks "Greatest Generation"!<br />We all ordered dinner and thought that if we could eat quickly we would be able to get out of town and make our reservation. One of the 80 year olds leaned over and said to me "Oh, you ordered dinner? Guess, I will see you here next week", we all then knew we might be here for a while. Dinner finally arrived and we ate quickly and made for the door. Though it took a bit longer than we expected, it certainly was a night filled with stories we will remember.<br />We hit the road and called our Bed and Breakfast in Donauworth (about the half-way point of the Romantic Road) for the night. Fortunately for us, the owner was extremely generous and waited up for us as we ended up not arriving till well after midnight due to my amazing ability to get us lost and then even more lost.<br />The next day we continued our road trip south and started entering some different landscape with tree filled rolling hills and grazing land for cattle. Rob is an honest to goodness Oklahoma cowboy, so he was in heaven seeing the cattle surrounded by such a beautiful backdrop. The weather was amazingly clear on Thursday and as we drove south checking out the scenery...all at once it seemed that we were struck by the panorama of the Alps laid out before us. Simply breathtaking!<br />We continued driving until we reached the town of Fussen near the German and Austrian border. Fussen is home to the castle Neuschwanstein, which is the castle Walt Disney based the Disney World castles on. We took our time and stopped at the most cystal blue mountain lake in Fussen and took some stunning pictures of the landscape, before heading into the town and then on to tour the castle.<br />We ate some lunch and then made it up the mountain to the castle for our tour. The castle is pretty remarkable but the views from it and its surrounding trails are just as exquisite. After taking some time to soak it all in, we headed back down to the car and drove from Fussen, through Austria, to Garmisch, Germany. Garmisch is the home to the tallest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze, and a cable car is available to take in the Alps from the summit.<br />We were all looking forward to the views but didn't quite make it in time to be able to get to the top on Thursday. Come on Friday weather!<br />{Bass drum rolls and cymbals crash} Unfortunately the clouds started dumping buckets early on Friday and prevented us from our summit possibility. We asked around and everyone said that it would be a complete waste of money to go up because we would be encased in clouds, so we missed being able to take in the mountain view. So…looks like we will have to make the trip again in order to see it? Anyone up for it?<br />We hung out in Garmisch for a while on Friday and then decided that since it was going to rain all day, a trip to Munich would provide ample opportunity for Rob and Elaine to take in a giant beer and scratch their Polka music fetish...so off we went. We drove into Munich and hit the big sites quickly, Glockenspeil-Check, Dom-Check, Haufbrauhaus-Check. During lunch we devised our gameplan, back to Garmisch to gamble on the weather for Saturday or back to Rothenburg...All in favor-Rothenburg. Everyone had so enjoyed it there that we wanted to go back and get to tour the entire city. So, a hotel reservation was made and off we were. We got back into Rothenburg and spent Friday evening and Saturday morning walking the cobble stone streets and touring the town with its wonderful sites.<br />After lunch on Saturday, it was back to Frankfurt to pack up Rob and Elaine to send them back to the States road weary and German beer drunk.<br />All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and we would love to take some time to tour it again.<br />As promised for those of you who finish this blog here our your coupons for your Hugs and Smooches…please see Shea for reimbursement.<br />XOXO </div></div></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-58553302440942167692009-08-10T07:39:00.001-07:002009-08-10T11:25:37.232-07:00Hola Barcelona!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9aiGP4aZ8XKh8qQPhPThU5sPM0bAddewPRyYukrApeic5aorU3uYmuF82DQh44Z_amTpumN6t_kRK7u05Y-0sK73jkkno7m_0ZNDlz12bgAhUANmxpBSt9OyZlbQpQhjzsRhSQ0DQfUM/s1600-h/Barcelona+088.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368402650378413922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9aiGP4aZ8XKh8qQPhPThU5sPM0bAddewPRyYukrApeic5aorU3uYmuF82DQh44Z_amTpumN6t_kRK7u05Y-0sK73jkkno7m_0ZNDlz12bgAhUANmxpBSt9OyZlbQpQhjzsRhSQ0DQfUM/s320/Barcelona+088.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pdWYf3jTTR78-q9gUBcoHAkv7QTFb6EH-wJfnhuwGP2QRbIZlcsgYphPzDQZQyS363Bnv_9OPBUdvX6yR7YORBdwIniOIKTmCt1G4ZiXhb97pF7c4enYXdYKmzQVYYTexPYfc5Q_wJYX/s1600-h/Barcelona+171.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368401548280440242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pdWYf3jTTR78-q9gUBcoHAkv7QTFb6EH-wJfnhuwGP2QRbIZlcsgYphPzDQZQyS363Bnv_9OPBUdvX6yR7YORBdwIniOIKTmCt1G4ZiXhb97pF7c4enYXdYKmzQVYYTexPYfc5Q_wJYX/s200/Barcelona+171.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5O2lce0RW-Nka6k6if3uJfGFuLvDQAsLxuG2q8KmQc0wzwfT3jYkcmhEeM0a0kC1FPb0mVTsHqanb1aGysLc4Pk_Sq90UzwfYsJsOrUlKpVOEtLOs-gw3OBxuj8BenRazt4GVaMWCPkKa/s1600-h/Barcelona+003.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368400725436737490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5O2lce0RW-Nka6k6if3uJfGFuLvDQAsLxuG2q8KmQc0wzwfT3jYkcmhEeM0a0kC1FPb0mVTsHqanb1aGysLc4Pk_Sq90UzwfYsJsOrUlKpVOEtLOs-gw3OBxuj8BenRazt4GVaMWCPkKa/s200/Barcelona+003.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uVkBllNQaJLy3Vhnf_y8tFdD922NTEHzcqeX4a-5YJ_HmUvkVxV0nyr6w-k0_mrpbwEGZwEBYEMb3PY3f89wNUXiqmENRpYdzE4SV6SoRlkkdUVgU3-sA7tqBELevZ_hAKBcHMHWbO1C/s1600-h/Barcelona+148.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368400369447165266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uVkBllNQaJLy3Vhnf_y8tFdD922NTEHzcqeX4a-5YJ_HmUvkVxV0nyr6w-k0_mrpbwEGZwEBYEMb3PY3f89wNUXiqmENRpYdzE4SV6SoRlkkdUVgU3-sA7tqBELevZ_hAKBcHMHWbO1C/s200/Barcelona+148.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div>I know, I know...I've been slacking off and this post has been a long time coming- Sorry for the delay. </div><br /><div>So, on Thursday, June 11th, Shea and I met her parents in Barcelona, Spain, for a few days of sightseeing and sunbathing. </div><br /><div>Let me start by saying that Barcelona is incredible. There is so much to see and do...and when you throw a beach in the mix the mathematical "This place is really cool" quotient jumps up a few points. Barcelona is located in the Catalunya area of Spain, were you are just as likely to hear Catalan as Spanish. It is home to around 3 million people and is nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and Collserola mountains, making for a picturesque city with many beautiful views. It is most famously known as the home of the architect Antonio Gaudi and his masterpiece La Sagrada Familia Cathedral, the 1992 Summer Olympics, and lots of Sangria in our tummies. </div><br /><div>We arrived a little after lunchtime and caught a taxi to our hotel set on the boardwalk of the Mediterranean. Perfect spot to enjoy the beach and easily catch a bus into the heart of downtown. We met up with Shea's parents at the hotel and decided to head for a walk down the boardwalk. We caught a late lunch and a pitcher of Sangria. Delicioso! </div><br /><div>We then headed to the beach and quickly noticed that even my vast Speedo collection would be over dressing for this beach. Shea's Mom turned about the color of our recently imbibed red-wine Sangria's. Hola Bare-buns-celona!</div><br /><div>After we all took in the sights for a few minutes (wink-wink), we decided to head back to the hotel to freshen up before going downtown for a few hours of sightseeing and dinner. We took a bus to the center of town and enjoyed walking through the beautiful buildings and fountains. We walked for a bit and came across the historic Catholic cathedral in the center of the city. It was undergoing a lot of renovation so we meandered on by and zig-zagged our way through the small streets of the older areas of the city. We discovered the main government buildings, as noted by the large demonstration going on out front. Everyone was a little tired and jet lagged from the day's travel, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.</div><br /><div>Friday was beach day! So, after a nice breakfast on the boardwalk we headed down to soak up some rays. I got to swim in the Mediterranean for the first time and Shea got to sunbathe in the warmest weather we had seen in 10 months. With the surfside bar serving Sangria less than 50 feet away, we may have been heard uttering,"this is the life" a time or two. The sun was definitely hotter than we were used too, as it did a pretty good burn number on Shea's Dad. So, after a few hours we headed back to the hotel before heading downtown for another nice meal in the city. We made our way into a tucked away restaurant with a large courtyard. We enjoyed a quiet meal together...that is until a marching band made its way into the courtyard and started serenading what seemed like the whole city. We finished up dinner and strolled through some shops were the ladies did only a little damage, wrapping up a wonderful Spanish evening. </div><br /><div>On Saturday, we took a hop-on/hop-off bus tour. There was so much to see and we certainly didn't want to miss anything. We started the tour bright and early at 9 and didn't finish until 5. A full day at the office. We saw all the beautiful sites of the city including the Olympic area, the National Museum, a Castle of the royal family of Catalunya, Futbal Club Barcelona's home stadium, the Port area, and numerous parks. We decided to take the special tour of La Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The Cathedral has been under construction for over 120 years and still has another 30 to go. It will be the tallest Cathedral in all of Europe once completed. Gaudi was inspired by nature and his designs for the church make it like none other in the world. It was really amazing (but they still have a long way to go!) We also saw numerous other buildings designed by him as well. </div><br /><div>On Saturday night we followed a suggestion and tried a seaside restaurant called La Fonda Del Porto Olimpico. It was an amazing meal, and we all truly enjoyed our last night in Barcelona before our early departure on Sunday. </div><br /><div>We had a great time and would love to get back and travel around outside the city and enjoy more of the Catalunya culture.</div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div></div>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2603771578556452205.post-69795007403973429902009-06-09T09:08:00.000-07:002009-06-09T10:46:28.492-07:00It's the little things...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnnR2AE7-oJVur4ExbluD6IV7mxx9WuDwNEsRNq-cGMwVw7nnweKPAGRrA_JM_AVXVYO2cQG_6qwqv0FHDj5H-wP-i3Jm3K-7PAHwWDK2pDW_xEkI-qytH5reQtexhX6TQkC2IEpmDYuY/s1600-h/Rainbow.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345367097753330386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnnR2AE7-oJVur4ExbluD6IV7mxx9WuDwNEsRNq-cGMwVw7nnweKPAGRrA_JM_AVXVYO2cQG_6qwqv0FHDj5H-wP-i3Jm3K-7PAHwWDK2pDW_xEkI-qytH5reQtexhX6TQkC2IEpmDYuY/s320/Rainbow.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>Shea and I were talking the other day and after our first 8 months here we can certainly notice that we are growing more accustomed to German life. Don't get us wrong our German is still terrible, but the differences in culture that were at first so prominent, now are just part of everyday life.<br />But you find it funny some of the things that you notice you miss. Of course family and friends, but the other stuff you would have never thought of...I'll give you an example. Up until about two weeks ago, we had seen plenty of rain in our time here, but no thunderstorms...no lightening, no rumbling of thunder...the sounds us Texans and Okies are well accustomed to falling asleep to (and blaming for knocking-out our power and explaining why we are an hour late to work...wink).<br />So, today I am sitting in the apartment 16 floors up and watching a thunderstorm head our way...makes me feel kinda excited, just like it used too. I could see the "Blitz" (German for lightening) lighting up the sky, hear the "Donner" (thunder), and smell the "Regen" (rain). It was a great little taste of home topped-off with a little rainbow treat.<br />Tschuss for now.<br /><br /></p>SheaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03689357107456574077noreply@blogger.com1