Author Archives: cdub

Italy 2014

Leave a reply

We had a great time in Italy! We didn’t really plan on being in Italy very long but we ended up staying for quite some time – around eleven days total. We didn’t see a lot of Italy, actually, we didn’t travel much at all. Instead, we focused on spending more time in one place and took cooking classes along the way! Our time in Italy was in a small area of Italy: Bologna to Padua (near Venice) to rural Varenna (Como Lakes region). The flat areas of Italy smelled and felt a lot like Minnesota in the summer: farm like and a bit humid. Varenna, a city on a mountainside, was a really cool little town.

I was completely unprepared for the beauty of Italy. The food was magnificent, just brilliant. We learned a few simple recipes at at couple different places that were just delightful. Some of the more fun recipes was learning how to make pasta and pizza.

Fun facts we learned while traveling in Italy:
* Italians tell us there is no “Italian” cuisine or language. Italy is all about the city and the city’s specialty. In Bologna, our spaghetti had no tomato sauce and that’s considered normal for Bologna.
* The wine and the champagne were oh so good! We didn’t have to spend much to get something great! One of the wines we enjoyed the most was a whopping $1.50 for the bottle. I have no idea how anyone can make money off that.
* There’s an encyclopedia of pasta. Something like 5,000 different pasta recipes. That’s a little under seven factorial so that small amount of combinations results in a lot of different recipes! I never realized the pasta world was that complicated.
* There’s some things that are absolutely flabbergasting about Italy. Namely, how individuals buy fare for public transit. In a million years I would never have guessed that the nearest news stand or random shop closest to the stop would be the place to buy a ticket. When I asked a local about this he said, ‘Well I could just say, “that is Italy”, but it’s more complicated”.
* Food is serious business. Criticizing one region’s food seems to be quite the faux pas.
* Venice seems to have mastered the art of extracting tourist’s cash.
* Rick Steves is everyone’s tour guide and Rick Steves has groupies. It’s hilarious!

Overall, we had a great time. We’d love to go back to the Como Lakes region and explore all the little towns and do more hiking!

[Show slideshow]
1 2 3

Enjoy the photos :).

Oktoberfest 2014

Leave a reply

Wow, what a spectacle! We showed up early the night before Oktoberfest started and had a chance to run around the different tents before they opened for Oktoberfest – a very nice treat! The day of the event was crazy. We heard that the tents fill up well before the event starts so we woke up early, made our way down to the tents and found one that was open. It just so happened were able to view the parade that passed too! It was so much fun to be at the event as it started and, then, of course, enjoy the beer!!

Enjoy the pictures!

Chris W.

[Show slideshow]

Innsbruck, Austria, 2014

3 Replies

We visited Innsbruck, Austria, since it was on the way to Italy. We went up a tram to the top of a mountain near Innsbruck and had a wonderful view of the valley and the Alps. The weather was perfect and it was a lot of fun to have the experience. It’s been some time since I was last in the mountains, I really soaked it up! The town of Innsbruck is rather small but still has some cool stuff like good restaurants and a neat Catholic church. Innsbruck held the Olympics a few times so they have really good transit for such a small town.

I took a timelapse of the clouds rolling through the mountains. It was really cool and can be downloaded here: DSC_7449.

Enjoy the pictures!

Chris W.

 

[Show slideshow]

St. Goar and Rothenburg ob der Tauber 2014

Leave a reply

I decided to break up our Germany trip into two posts because St. Goar on the Rhine River and Rothenburg ob der Tauber are pretty different than the rest of our travel through Bavaria.

We really liked St. Goar. It’s a tiny little town on the Rhine River. We rented bicycles and biked up and down the river finding all sorts of plants (hops, pear trees, apple trees, raspberries, and so on). The Rhine region is known as a Riesling region so we took advantage of the delicious wines with typical German meats and cheese! We rode a riverboat up the Rhine and saw all sorts of castles along the way. We hopped off at Bakarack and hiked up to the castle above the town. Whether by boat, car, bike or train, the Rhine River region between St. Goar and Bakarack is astoundingly beautiful.

We then went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and was blown away by this medieval city. The original city walls from long ago are still intact and most of the inner city is as well. It was quite an experience and everything was done up in the traditional medieval way. It was very touristy but still fun to visit: we had a chance to walk the city walls, see a neat night tour, enjoy meat & cheese & bread and just had a very fun time!

On the way to Dachau were saw more of the Bavarian countryside and saw a lot of hops growing :). Germany isn’t a whole lot different than the Netherlands. There’s a lot more room, the trains are super easy to navigate, and the trains are very comfortable. The only downer is probably due to the internet. A lot of places that have advertised internet with their lodging have super crappy internet or have internet that only works in the common area. Otherwise, the food here in Bavaria is delicious and the people are great too!

[Show slideshow]
1 2

 

Enjoy the  pictures!

Chris W.

Amsterdam 2014

Leave a reply

We had an absolute blast in Amsterdam! We spent four nights in the same location, pretty different from our trip so far! We didn’t actually do that much in Amsterdam, we spent the time recouping and then spent the rest of the time aimlessly walking around. Jacquelyn had her 30th birthday in Amsterdam and we did it up in style with a very nice dinner, drinks, and a romantic stroll :). We loved the city, it was great weather and very friendly people. Four days was not enough, we look forward to visiting again some day!!!

 

Amsterdam was different compared to anywhere else we’ve visited. Here’s what we learned:

  • So many people. The pedestrians really lose out. Traveling by bike is the best way to go about visiting Amsterdam!
  • So compact. Everything is made to be small. Stairs, houses, roads, and so on.
  • The alcohol was so cheap! It sure beat the expensive alcohol in Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland.
  • The sweets, oh, man, the sweets were so good. So many things are sugar-ery delicious there!
  • The people were so friendly to us!
  • The vices. Almost everything is legal in Amsterdam. Pretty crazy!  I think that is what leads to the laid back and very open attitude of the locals.
  • Food was cheap, way cheaper than what we have been accustomed to paying.

 

It’s hard to describe how great the visit was, we really want to go back as soon as possible!

[Show slideshow]
1 2

 

Enjoy the photos!

Chris W.

 

Ireland 2014

Leave a reply

We spent about a week in Ireland;  we made a clockwise circle from Dublin -> Cork -> Killarney National Park -> Dingle -> Limerick -> Galway -> Dublin. The sun was out almost the entire time and we were even were sunburned from hiking for a few hours around the Cliffs of Moher! The scenery was fantastic, so green and lush. The people were very warm and welcoming, a very chatty bunch. Ireland was a lot of fun!

My most enjoyable experience in Ireland probably had to be the Cliffs of Moher. The pictures don’t really do it justice and it’s hard to explain. It was a gorgeous day and there weren’t many other people. We walked a few miles on the path along the cliffs. It was quiet, serene, and beautiful. It wasn’t an experience that happens often and I’m very happy that we were there to enjoy the cliffs :). The second best experience was in Galway. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed it to the max with the locals while drinking “cans” in the park.

Here’s what we learned:

  • Things were generally cheaper in Ireland with the Euro compared to the pound in Scotland. Gas is about $7/gal versus almost $10/gal in Scotland. Food is cheaper and lodging is cheaper, in some cases, by a large margin (25 – 50%).
  • The population density is higher in Ireland so there’s a lot more people clogging up the roads. It’s common to go about 1/2 the speed limit on single lane roads because of tractors, tourists and other cars.
  • People walk / run on the roads. These are very narrow roads that have no shoulders! When I asked one of our host about it, he merely said, “don’t walk in the middle of the road if you don’t want to get hit”. Great advice.
  • There are multiple Irish stouts, not just Guinness! Well, duh, most would think. However, they are just as good as Guinness! We spent time in Cork, where Beamish is made, and enjoyed a few pints. Our Cork host said that people in Cork don’t drink that Dubliner drink (Guiness) but drink a good beer, Beamish.
  • Ireland is super small. After driving across the width of the country we ended up forgetting something and we had to drive back only to turn around and go back to our original destination. It’s not often I can say I drove across a country four times in one day.
  • A full Irish breakfast comes with breakfast sausage and that sausage tastes terrible. It’s just like Scottish sausage. So gross. Breakfast beans are delicious.
  • The car rental was crazy cheap compared to Iceland and Scotland, about 30% of the rental costs we had in Iceland and Scotland.
  • It took less than two tanks of gas to make our entire drive around Ireland.
  • The Renault Clio is the biggest piece of crap car I’ve ever driven.
  • People still chat about the financial crisis like it was yesterday. From what I’ve gathered, Ireland’s still hurting. Some of the IMF “reforms” require Ireland residents to pay for their trash pickup and water usage (!?!?!?). It amazes me that an industrialized nation has citizen who do not pay for those items.
  • Raspberries grow wild all over the place in Ireland.

Enjoy the photos!

Chris W.

Scotland 2014

Leave a reply

We had a great, albeit, quick visit to Scotland. We flew into Glasgow from Iceland, drove up to the Isle of Skye, ran over to Aviemore, and our last city was Edinburgh. Surprisingly, we had quite a few sunny days! We really enjoyed the scenery, the people, and, especially, the cask ales. Jacquelyn was able to find a cask cider that was out-of-this-world delicious in Aviemore.

We were able to see the highland games outside of Glasgow in a very small city of Dunoon. Very, very, cool experience. We showed up to the Isle of Skye on a sunny day and had beautiful scenery. The single lane roads were tough to navigate at first but I was finally able to handle the narrow roads and driving on the wrong side :).

Here’s some things we learned:

  • Driving on the wrong side of the road is super tough, at first. Pulling out of Glasgow airport to drive to our first destination near downtown was an absolutely terrifying experience. The shifter is in the middle of the car and I have no coordination with  my left hand!
  • Scotland is a few weeks from a vote on independence. It’s pretty cool to see the various political banners throughout the cities and countryside. It appears as though farmers are not big fans of independence. Maybe a subsidy related thing? I’m not sure.
  • Scotland has a hog-pogg of measuring systems. Speeds and distances are in imperial (miles, mph) and volumes are in metric. Weird.
  • Scottish sausage (think breakfast sausage) is terrible. I worked in a meat processing facility while in college and it tastes like like how the meat processing area smelled. Terrible. Just terrible.
  • We had mind-blowingly awesome fish and chips. Just out of this world delicious.
  • Driving on the wrong side of the road is already bad enough. Driving on the Isle of Skye where the two lanes (my lane & opposing traffic) drop to a single lane for both directions is insane. Buses, trucks, cars and sheep all share the narrow road.
  • Cask ales are the best. It makes me re-thing what I’m doing with my life and makes me want to drink only cask ales. It’s too bad cask ales are not common in the US.
  • The faucets are ridiculous. I guess the technology of combined hot / cold faucets hasn’t arrived to Scotland yet. Everyday we looked forward to either scolding hot or freezing cold water. No in-between.
  • We had very good weather in Scotland. I guess that’s not common.
  • Much like Iceland, gas is expensive at about $10/gal

 

Enjoy the photos!

Chris W.

[Show slideshow]
1 2 ... 4

Highland Games in Dunoon, UK, 2014

Leave a reply

We happened to come across the Highland Games in Dunoon Scotland. It was a very interesting sight to see! There were a ton of bag piping bands and then there was an actual competition between a group of guys and gals to throw various heavy objects various distances. I have no idea what the game names are so I’ve done my best to come up with the titles and the objectives:

  • Name: Tree trunk throw. Point: throw pointing tree trunk farther than the other guy.
  • Name: Ball and chain throw. Point: throw a ball and chain farther than the other guy.
  • Name: Stone throw. Point: throw a stone farther than the other guy.
  • Name: Rectangular stone toss. Point: throw a rectangular stone higher than the other guy.
  • Name: Baton toss. Point: throw a huge baton around without injury anyone.
  • Name: Sorta wrestling. Point: Wrestle with each other without using hands – so bear hug and body slam.
  • Name: Dance. Point: Dance.

I get some of the sports. I’m not too  sure about all of them. I think lots of alcohol was consumed, bets were made and all of a sudden it was a sport for the Scottish.

Enjoy the photos!

Chris W.

 

[Show slideshow]

Iceland 2014

5 Replies

Fortunately for us, the volcano Bardarbunga  didn’t erupt and we were able to leave for Iceland as planned. We saw a lot of natural sites like waterfalls, mountains, and so on. We spent some time in Iceland’s biggest city, Reykjavik, and then went out into the countryside to see the natural beauty of Iceland. We didn’t see the sun too much except for the last day.

Interestingly enough, hot dogs and lobster soup see to be the national delicacies. We had both and, unsurprisingly, they were delicious.

We spent four nights in Iceland, I think that was just right unless we spent more time exploring the countryside. If I were to return, I’d really like to drive the entire ring road.

Things we learned about Iceland:

  • Tiny coffees that are expensive: 8oz for about $3. Don’t tell Starbucks or they may lower their serving size and increase the price.
  • The Icelandic language is very difficult to learn and say. It’s pretty much the only place I’ve visited were I decided that learning, “Please” (vinsamlegast) and “Thank You” (þakka þér) are not worth it.
  • Gas prices are about the same everywhere. In the US, it’s common to have different gas prices in different areas with touristy / remote areas being the most expensive. Not the case in Iceland. That was really cool!
  • Outside of Reykjavik, it’s really desolate! About 2/3rds of Iceland’s population (~300,000) lives in Reykjavik.
  • The topography is amazing, it looks a lot like Alaska but way more accessible and no trees.
  • Hot water from the tap has a sulfur smell. Cold water not only tastes great but is nice and cold.
  • It’s not sunny like all the pictures portray. In fact, it’s quite cloudy and damp.
  • It’s completely possible to take a little Hyundai i10 offroading.
  • Hay and sheep seem to be the main crops for the locals.
  • Everything looks like it was purchased from Ikea.
  • Most everyone speaks English and Icelandic.
  • Iceland’s international airport is really nice.
  • Gas is super expensive at about $8/gallon.
  • There are no stop signs, just yield signs.
  • The grass & lichen are neon green.
  • The roundabouts are awesome.

Enjoy the photos!

Chris W.

[Show slideshow]
1 2 3