We travelled back to Switzerland with Melanie and Adam August 17-19. This time we camped in Lauterbrunnen at Camping Jungfrau.
Because we really only had Saturday, we tried to cram in a lot. We toured Trummelbach Falls, a set of falls that had cut through the mountain so much that it was like seeing waterfalls inside a cave. For lunch, we stopped in Interlaken, where we enjoyed traditional rosti and had an amazing view of Jungfrau. After lunch, we hiked around Interlaken and found an old castle. Then we drove to Grindelwald, and drove up the mountain to 2000m... the girls freaked out due to the small roads, but the view was amazing. For dinner we had some awesome fondue.
Sunday we packed up camp, hiked up to a waterfall by our campsite, then drove home. On the way out of Switzerland, we stopped in Bern, the capital of Switzerland and had lunch.
It was a quick but amazing trip. Switzerland still ranks as our favorite place to visit. Carrie and I just feel so refreshed after our trips there.
Check out the pictures!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Switzerland
Last weekend, we met up with some friends in Hasliberg, Switzerland. The 5 hour trip South was mostly grey until we passed through an incredibly long tunnel in Switzerland. On the other side of the mountain, the sky was bright and clear and there were magnificent mountains to either side of us. Since neither of us have never seen the Rockies, this was our first experience seeing "real" mountains. It was exhilarating! And these were only the foothill of the Alps!
On Sunday morning, we went for a walk along a wanderweg. Basically, we walked out the back of the house and went up...and up...and up. Although the morning was a little foggy, it was still a beautiful walk! In the afternoon, we went to the Aareschlucht Meiringen, or the Gorge of the Aare Meiringen, a gorge carved by glaciers. The water flowing through the gorge was a gorgeous (no pun intended) blue green color and the walk though it was amazing! In the evening, we relaxed on the balcony staring at the mountains in the distance. We were able to see a glacier capping one mountain and enjoyed watching the clouds seem to get caught on the top of the mountains. Later that night, we went to dinner, intending to have fondue, but the small restaurant required a day's notice to prepare it. Maybe we'll get some later this summer when we go back camping with friends!
We've enjoyed every trip we've taken so far, but we've definitely been most impressed with Switzerland. It is incredibly peaceful and majestic and we're looking forward to visiting again!
Click below for our photo album of the trip
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| Switzerlan |
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Visit to Trier, Germany 14 July 2007
On Saturday, we traveled with the Marxes to the ancient Roman town of Trier. Trier was the capital of the western portion of the Roman empire and was once ruled by Constantine the Great and claims to be the oldest city in Germany. It took us about 2 hours to drive out and our first stop when we arrived was the Porta Nigra or Black Gate. It is the last remaining of 4 city gates that were part of the original city walls. The sandstone has turned black over time and is held together by large iron staples instead of mortar.
Our next stop was St. Peter's Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, two adjoining churches and UNESCO world heritage sites. After touring the churches and their gardens, we stopped for traditional German food at an outdoor restaurant just across the plaza.
After lunch, we went into Constantine's Imperial Throne Room, which was built around 310 AD and claims to be the largest surviving room from antiquity (220 ft long x 90 ft wide x 110 ft tall). We visited the remains of the Imperial Baths (Kaiserthermen) and then took quite a long hike to the remains of the Roman Amphitheater where gladiators once battled in combat.
By the end of the day, we were getting pretty tired and hot, but we made one last stop to the house where Karl Marx was born before walking about 2.5km along the beautiful Mosel river back to our car.
When we got home, we wrapped up our day with burgers on the grill and a movie. =)
Our next stop was St. Peter's Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, two adjoining churches and UNESCO world heritage sites. After touring the churches and their gardens, we stopped for traditional German food at an outdoor restaurant just across the plaza.
After lunch, we went into Constantine's Imperial Throne Room, which was built around 310 AD and claims to be the largest surviving room from antiquity (220 ft long x 90 ft wide x 110 ft tall). We visited the remains of the Imperial Baths (Kaiserthermen) and then took quite a long hike to the remains of the Roman Amphitheater where gladiators once battled in combat.
By the end of the day, we were getting pretty tired and hot, but we made one last stop to the house where Karl Marx was born before walking about 2.5km along the beautiful Mosel river back to our car.
When we got home, we wrapped up our day with burgers on the grill and a movie. =)
Click below to see some pictures from the day.
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| Trier |
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Rhine Aflame!
Last night (7/7/07!) we went on a Rhein river dinner cruise. We boarded the M.S. Loreley in Wiesbaden and sailed west on the Rhein, from Biebrich to roughly Trechtingshausen. On the ride out, we passed about six castles and several quaint German towns to include the famous Rüdeshiem, and the soon to be famous Assmannhausen (Seinfield anyone?).
Once we got to Trechtingshausen, our ship turned around and waited with some 70 other boats, in eager anticipation of the celebration about to begin!!! (Carrie made me write that). Just before 10 o'clock the fireworks began. It was a little odd seeing fireworks at sunset, but we enjoyed it nonetheless (yes, the sun now sets around 10 - 10:30 here).
We proceeded down the river, stopping at the castles we passed which were now "Aflame!" They used bright red flares to illuminate the castles, and at several, they launched fireworks from the ramparts. At one, they had special fireworks that streamed over the edge of a tall tower, making it look like a waterfall.
It was a fantastically fun night, but we were very tired by the end - docking at 2:00am and not getting home until three. Hope you enjoy the pictures and the short video.
Once we got to Trechtingshausen, our ship turned around and waited with some 70 other boats, in eager anticipation of the celebration about to begin!!! (Carrie made me write that). Just before 10 o'clock the fireworks began. It was a little odd seeing fireworks at sunset, but we enjoyed it nonetheless (yes, the sun now sets around 10 - 10:30 here).
We proceeded down the river, stopping at the castles we passed which were now "Aflame!" They used bright red flares to illuminate the castles, and at several, they launched fireworks from the ramparts. At one, they had special fireworks that streamed over the edge of a tall tower, making it look like a waterfall.
It was a fantastically fun night, but we were very tired by the end - docking at 2:00am and not getting home until three. Hope you enjoy the pictures and the short video.
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| Rhein Aflame |
Dublin Trip
In mid-May, we met up with John and the rest of the University of Penn Glee Club in Dublin. It was definitely a whirl-wind trip, but it was so much fun! We went to the Guinness Factory for a tour. We didn't have a lot of time to make it through every floor...but we were sure to get to the most important part, the Gravity Bar for our pint! Best Guinness we ever had! We also visited Trinity College, and although The Book of Kells had technical difficulties that day, the college and the rest of the library was amazing to see. Since we weren't able to attend any of the Glee Club's performances, John got they guys to do an impromptu concert while we were at Trinity. They definitely impressed a lot of people...however, security did show up to chase us away! (Be sure to look at a short video in our photo album below!) We had a good time walking through Dublin, eating lunch at a pub, and finding The Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest Pub. We also toured Saint Patrick's Cathedral. The entire church was magnificent, from the stained glass to the stonework.
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| Dublin Trip |
Click on the picture to see our album!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Catch Up Time!
Ok, so it's been almost a month since we blogged last and really we don't have a good excuse. We have been busy and time seems to fly by and before we know it, we've done a ton of stuff and haven't told you guys about it at all! Hopefully, now that we're more settled in our house and getting more and more of the initial and one time only things out of the way, we'll be more efficient about keeping you informed. The nights seem to fly by...by the time we both get home, check email and the interwebs quickly, and eat dinner, it's at least 7 and then if we have to go to the store for anything, either groceries or a printer or vacuum or whatever, we have to get there before they close at 8. Since the time changed about a month ago, it stays light here until roughly 9 pm which is super exciting, although a little misleading at times! We're excited for the middle of summer, rumor has it that it's light until past 10!
So enough rambling, what have we actually been up to? There are a 3 new posts below, so keep on reading!And check back soon for some more info and PICTURES!
So enough rambling, what have we actually been up to? There are a 3 new posts below, so keep on reading!And check back soon for some more info and PICTURES!
Trip to Holland
The weekend after Easter, Kurt and I went on the Tulip Time bus trip with Enjoy Tours to Holland. We boarded a bus in Darmstadt on Friday at 845 pm which took us to Mannheim, where we (luckily) boarded a larger, double-decker bus for the actual trip. When we boarded the first bus and sat down, I wasn't even comfortable. The seats were so close together, I didn't know how I would make the 6 hour trip to Holland! I knew Kurt couldn't possibly be comfortable and even offered, before the bus pulled out, to just forfeit the money and get off the bus rather than have a miserable weekend! Luckily, we were only on that bus for about an hour before we transferred to double-decker!
We drove overnight to the Netherlands. We arrived at a little bed and breakfast type place around 630 and got cleaned up as best as possible in a public restroom before a traditional European breakfast of primarily bread, meat and cheese. Postcard Charlie boarded the bus with us after breakfast and gave us a brief history of Holland dressed in traditional garb. He went with us to the first stop on the tour: the Cheese Farm, to explain the cheese making process. Attached to the cheese house, there was a little souvenir shop where we tasted several different types of cheeses and shopped for wooden shoes and other little souvenirs. I even saw some of the same souvenirs my Grandma brought back for me as presents when she went on a European tour when I was a little girl!
From here, we went to the Ratterman Wooden Shoe Factory. It was pretty impressive to see how a pair of wooden shoes is made in just a few minutes! Even though there were a number of patterns and colors to choose from we decided that we didn't really have the right outfit to wear with wooden shoes. =) But we did find a little pair for to use for a Christmas ornament!
By mid-morning, we were heading into Amsterdam. As soon as we arrived, we went on a canal tour of 'the Venice of the North.' An amazing amount of land that makes up the Netherlands actually was under water until the land was 'claimed from the sea' when dams were built. As a result, there are canals throughout the city that people use for transportation and have houseboats on. It was kind of surreal when the tour guide pointed to an industrial section of town and said that 5 years ago, that land wasn't there, it was under water.
Afterward, we toured the building that was the original Heineken Brewery. The tour was similar in concept to the Chocolate Tour at Hershey Park but fun all the same! There were several interactive portions of the tour, the favorite being "What is it like to be a beer bottle?" We stood on platforms and were jolted this way and that as if we were a beer bottle. We started in the factory, and went through the entire bottling process to being shipped and then opened at a club. Ok, so I lied, the favorite interactive portion of the tour were the two times we got free beer. About midway through the tour we each got a half pint and then at the end we got a full pint...Very nice. The end portion was so packed and sort of dimly lit and smelled like beer. We all agreed that it felt like a frat party...ah the good old days! =) The free gift at the end of the tour was a bottle opener that is the size of a credit card that fits in your wallet...pretty ingenious! =)
Amsterdam is one of the most bike friendly cities in the world. There were people riding bikes Everywhere! We saw women in short skirts, long skirts, people in dress clothes biking. There were kids sitting on handlebars and what looked like wheelbarrows attached to bikes. It was crazy. Seriously, when we wanted to cross a street, we had to be more cautious of bikes than of cars!
For dinner we went to a 'Traditional Chinese-Indonesian Rijstable (rice table) dinner' which basically seemed like a family style Chinese dinner. We had fun visiting with other friends on the tour with us, but felt that it was overpriced and we would have been just as happy eating at a bistro down the road!
After the bus got lost for about an hour trying to find the hotel in The Hague, we checked in and then went on a walk with 7 other friends who were on the tour with us. We originally set out to go to a beach on the North Sea but it got late and we were worried we would get there and then not get back before the buses stopped running for the evening.
On Sunday, we visited the Madurodam, the miniature city , where landmarks of the Netherlands have been constructed on a 1:25 scale. The detail is perfect and we could have easily spent an entire day browsing around the city! There were even miniature tulips! We also walked through an Ice Zoo. I've seen ice sculptures before, but nothing like this! Literally, it was very cool! No wonder Europe doesn't have air conditioning, all of it was in this building! In addition to the zoo, there was also an ice slide and ice maze that we navigated through...very fun!
From there, we went to the Delft Porcelain Factory. The process of making the porcelain was explained as was the art of hand painting each piece. It was interesting to learn that the design is first painted on with a black paint and it is only when the piece is correctly heated in the kiln that the design turns the signature blue color. There are only a handful of factories that make authentic Delft pottery any more. There were some really pretty pieces there, but nothing that we absolutely had to have for the prices!
The highlight of the trip, without a doubt, was the Keukenhof Gardens. Unfortunately, we only had 2.5 hours there. We easily could have walked around all day! Maybe next year. The day was gorgeous, barely a cloud in the sky and about 80 degrees. The flowers were brilliant and fully blossomed...we really lucked out! Some of our pictures make the flowers look like they were glowing! They really were that bright and colorful in person! It was really cool to see some of the flower fields...they really look like the pictures. Rows and rows flowers! How beautiful would that be to wake up to every day!?
On the way out, we stopped at a stand along the edge of the road, I bought 50 tulips for about $10! It was fabulous to have 5 vases of flowers around the house for a while!
Sunrise in the Netherlands (Click to see more pictures!)
We drove overnight to the Netherlands. We arrived at a little bed and breakfast type place around 630 and got cleaned up as best as possible in a public restroom before a traditional European breakfast of primarily bread, meat and cheese. Postcard Charlie boarded the bus with us after breakfast and gave us a brief history of Holland dressed in traditional garb. He went with us to the first stop on the tour: the Cheese Farm, to explain the cheese making process. Attached to the cheese house, there was a little souvenir shop where we tasted several different types of cheeses and shopped for wooden shoes and other little souvenirs. I even saw some of the same souvenirs my Grandma brought back for me as presents when she went on a European tour when I was a little girl!
From here, we went to the Ratterman Wooden Shoe Factory. It was pretty impressive to see how a pair of wooden shoes is made in just a few minutes! Even though there were a number of patterns and colors to choose from we decided that we didn't really have the right outfit to wear with wooden shoes. =) But we did find a little pair for to use for a Christmas ornament!
By mid-morning, we were heading into Amsterdam. As soon as we arrived, we went on a canal tour of 'the Venice of the North.' An amazing amount of land that makes up the Netherlands actually was under water until the land was 'claimed from the sea' when dams were built. As a result, there are canals throughout the city that people use for transportation and have houseboats on. It was kind of surreal when the tour guide pointed to an industrial section of town and said that 5 years ago, that land wasn't there, it was under water.
Afterward, we toured the building that was the original Heineken Brewery. The tour was similar in concept to the Chocolate Tour at Hershey Park but fun all the same! There were several interactive portions of the tour, the favorite being "What is it like to be a beer bottle?" We stood on platforms and were jolted this way and that as if we were a beer bottle. We started in the factory, and went through the entire bottling process to being shipped and then opened at a club. Ok, so I lied, the favorite interactive portion of the tour were the two times we got free beer. About midway through the tour we each got a half pint and then at the end we got a full pint...Very nice. The end portion was so packed and sort of dimly lit and smelled like beer. We all agreed that it felt like a frat party...ah the good old days! =) The free gift at the end of the tour was a bottle opener that is the size of a credit card that fits in your wallet...pretty ingenious! =)
Amsterdam is one of the most bike friendly cities in the world. There were people riding bikes Everywhere! We saw women in short skirts, long skirts, people in dress clothes biking. There were kids sitting on handlebars and what looked like wheelbarrows attached to bikes. It was crazy. Seriously, when we wanted to cross a street, we had to be more cautious of bikes than of cars!
For dinner we went to a 'Traditional Chinese-Indonesian Rijstable (rice table) dinner' which basically seemed like a family style Chinese dinner. We had fun visiting with other friends on the tour with us, but felt that it was overpriced and we would have been just as happy eating at a bistro down the road!
After the bus got lost for about an hour trying to find the hotel in The Hague, we checked in and then went on a walk with 7 other friends who were on the tour with us. We originally set out to go to a beach on the North Sea but it got late and we were worried we would get there and then not get back before the buses stopped running for the evening.
On Sunday, we visited the Madurodam, the miniature city , where landmarks of the Netherlands have been constructed on a 1:25 scale. The detail is perfect and we could have easily spent an entire day browsing around the city! There were even miniature tulips! We also walked through an Ice Zoo. I've seen ice sculptures before, but nothing like this! Literally, it was very cool! No wonder Europe doesn't have air conditioning, all of it was in this building! In addition to the zoo, there was also an ice slide and ice maze that we navigated through...very fun!
From there, we went to the Delft Porcelain Factory. The process of making the porcelain was explained as was the art of hand painting each piece. It was interesting to learn that the design is first painted on with a black paint and it is only when the piece is correctly heated in the kiln that the design turns the signature blue color. There are only a handful of factories that make authentic Delft pottery any more. There were some really pretty pieces there, but nothing that we absolutely had to have for the prices!
The highlight of the trip, without a doubt, was the Keukenhof Gardens. Unfortunately, we only had 2.5 hours there. We easily could have walked around all day! Maybe next year. The day was gorgeous, barely a cloud in the sky and about 80 degrees. The flowers were brilliant and fully blossomed...we really lucked out! Some of our pictures make the flowers look like they were glowing! They really were that bright and colorful in person! It was really cool to see some of the flower fields...they really look like the pictures. Rows and rows flowers! How beautiful would that be to wake up to every day!?
On the way out, we stopped at a stand along the edge of the road, I bought 50 tulips for about $10! It was fabulous to have 5 vases of flowers around the house for a while!
Sunrise in the Netherlands (Click to see more pictures!)
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