Las Otras Ciudades de España

Valencia
Couch surfing took me to more fabulous places again while in Valencia. I was hosted by Elodie and Manuel. They showed me around the city and took me to a great cheap paella lunch. That evening I went with Manu to watch his Capoeira class, but his teacher made me join! It was a great workout and lots of fun. There were also people gathered in one of the plazas doing Capoeira; very cool! The next day Manu drove us into the mountains and we went to a beautiful natural spring swimming. The water was warm and SO clear! That night we watched the sun set at the natural conservation area; an area where a river and sea meet creating a thriving bird habitat. That night Manu taught me how to make a Spanish omelet! My third day in Valencia we went to a nearby village where there was a castle! This was unlike any castle I have visited! First the Romans built it, and then the Arabs came and used the same spot and much of the same building but added their own archway. After the Arabs, the Catholics came and used the same spot! It was pretty cool, Roman columns, Arab archway and catholic crosses. We had a nice picnic dinner on a mountain where we could see the city of Valencia and the sea. Absolutely wonderful.

Granada
After Valencia I took a night train to Granada where I wanted to visit the Alhambra, the Arab palace and estate! Granada is a very interesting multi-cultural city, very influenced by northern African culture. I arrived and cruised the city through the old part of white buildings, narrow alleyways and old Arab history. That afternoon I went to the Arab baths…woah! It was just what the doctor ordered after a week of craziness in Barcelona and sleeping on a train! For an hour and a half I soaked in three pools of different temperatures; incense burning, tea to drink, lovely music, and it was all topped off with a massage! That evening I went to a great local tapas bar where my Spanish was put to its first test…I passed! I made friends with 3 women and we shared dinner, drinks and dancing; none of them spoke English! With a bit of patience and a very handy pocket dictionary we had a great time all evening!

The second day in Granada I met with another couch surfer from Argentina who was also visiting. We went to the Alhambra together. It was really amazing. The Arab palace, still in very good shape, was full of interesting history, including the room where our good buddy Chris Colon asked for funding and ceilings that inspired the famous mathematician and artist MC Escher! The palace of great beauty and detail was very contrasting to the other palace on the estate, built a bit later by a new king who wanted Roman architecture. The fortress was only a ruin but fun to explore. My favorite part of the Alhambra estate was the garden! Full of flowers, trees, gardens and great views of the city and the Sierra Nevada, it was such a great place to watch the sun set.

Sevilla and Tarifa
Just when I think that couch surfing has thrown all it has at me, I have the most adventurous, exciting time ever! I was picked up by my host and his friend when I arrived in Sevilla. They asked if I wanted to join them and some other friends at the beach for the weekend; of course I did, I’m traveling with no plan for this reason! We get their stuff, meet a few more people for lunch and then head to the beach El Palmar for one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen…and it was on the Atlantic! My host and his carload of people meet up with us and we went to a beach town for dinner and then headed to Tarifa. From here we could see the lights of Morocco...only 14 km across the sea and I peed where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet! We stayed in an amazing flat with views of the ocean and a huge veranda to hang out on until the sun came up. It was the most amazing sunrise…orange sky and a huge rainbow over the sea! I was supposed to learn to surf Sunday but it was a huge storm, not exactly beginner surfer conditions, but it was great watching the kite boarders under the shelter of the veranda!

I headed back to Sevilla and spent 2 days there. I was shown around the city, had great local (cheap) food, relaxed in the Alcazar and enjoyed sunny weather. The Alcazar was another Arab palace…and is the oldest palace in Europe. The building was beautifully decorated with the ornate hand made tiles but the gardens were the best. Fountains, orchards, a labyrinth, and plenty of benches to sit and bask in the warm November sun. It was also the first city I visited that had Christmas lights on! So beautiful and romantic!

Cordoba
As much as I loved Sevilla, I needed to move on (and I didn’t have a couch to surf anymore in Sevilla!) so I headed to Cordoba. What an interesting town. I stayed in a hostel and made friends with the 2 girls in my room…both couch surfers too! We enjoyed tapas and some beers together. We also met with some other couch surfers at a bar with live music and were recommended the best, cheapest tapas place yet! We spent the next day together at the Mezquita. What a powerful place. The Muslims built the Mezquita as a temple. Over 800 columns, with double archways supporting the huge ceiling, it was very impressive. The archway to Mecca was so beautiful! What I found was the most interesting part of the Mezquita is that it is now a catholic church; instead of the Catholics coming in a knocking it down and building their own holy building, they removed 16 columns and put a temple in the center, leaving the rest of the building as the Muslims built it! After touring the Mezquita we went to the history of Cordoba museum where I was even more impressed with the city; it was once a city home to Jews, Muslims and Catholics where they were educated together and shared their ideas about science, math, theology and more! In such a conflicting world today, it was very cool to be somewhere where everyone once lived so peacefully! We also walked around and visited the patios, something the people in the south of Spain are famous for. They open their personal gardens to the public's viewing; boy were they beautiful. Lots of small and large pots of plants, water features, and Andalusian ceramics on the walls. Fabulous alternative to gardening! Then it was off to Madrid!

Madrid
I was expecting more of Madrid, so it was a bit sad to make it my final stop, but I still managed to have a great time. The first 2 nights I stayed in a hostel. I wandered the streets and plazas that the books and maps say you need to see with some others from the hostel but the real fun stared on Friday night! I got a message from the person that was going to host me Saturday (until Wednesday) that there was a group of couch surfers meeting to go salsa dancing; I warned him of my two left feet but it was no problem. I had a blast! Everyone was very nice and we laughed a lot! I met with Jose, my host on Saturday and went to the palace and the Prado with the other person he was hosting. We enjoyed the sunny weather, museums and laughed at the ridiculous Christmas lights that were up everywhere! Sunday I cruised the city with Jose; we went to some really cool, free, small art museums and monuments. I went with him to a dinner with all of his Venezuelan friends and got another good round of Spanish practice! The REAL fun was on Monday night. There was a group of couch surfers meeting for tapas so we went too. There was about 20 of us from 10 countries. After eating, we went to a bar where we were given the cellar to ourselves…and the fun began! 3 people left to “go change” and when they returned, the two guys were dressed as women and were ready to go out clubbing. I had made a new friend from Mexico, It was a fabulous way to bid farewell to Spain (and to Europe!)

Hola España! Bar-ce-lo-naaaaa!!

WOW! What a kick off to Spain! Barcelona is such an amazing, bustling city that never slows down. Couchs were impossible to find so I foudn myself at an amazing hostel. I joined the hostel the first night for tapas where I made a few friends, including Brent, my eating partner for the week! I explored Montjuic (mountain of the Jews) where there are great views of the city and sea. I met 2 other american women and we explored the Olympic area, castle an enjoyed sunset.

I had a rainy day so I slept in...I am on vacation right?...and enjoyed the Picasso museum. It was really great. I didn´t realize how much different art he made prior to his cubist period...I especially liked his ceramic work. Super cool platers with cubist faces 3d.

I enjoyed a great day with my eating buddy...we went to Montserat for a day. It was warm, sunny and spectacular. It is an important spiritual area in Spain, with a monestary and the oldest music school in Europe. We arrived just in time to listen to the boys choir...it was really moving, even though they were speaking Catalan. We hiked around the area...crazy rock formations and old setelment ruins.

After a beautiful day at Montserat I had another day of chilly overcast weather so I again slept in, chilled in my hammock in the plaza by the hostel, encountered Spanish police (no hammocking allowed in plazas!) and went to the Miro museum. Another really cool modern artist.

Brent and I became pretty good buddies. Another american from Arizona, we enjoyed the cuisine of Barcelona together everynight. Using luck and lost-ness to find great hole-in-the-wall local tapas bars, we ate very well! Lots of sangria, rioja y cerveza, it was great. When Renee arrived Friday to have one last European adventure with me, Brent was still a fixture of Barcelona tapas!

Friday Renee arrived and we had so much fun. I did a bit of shopping and we saw most of the Gaudi buildings. Had lovely tapas for lunch and dinner and lots of great laughs! We visited the renound 2euro shot bar Chupitos and made some spanish friends. Continued on to a total local dive bar and returned home early...4am!

We spent out second day cruising the city on bikes, exploring the Gaudi park, enjoying a little more shopping and lots more tapas! Another crazy night of tapas with Brent, drinks with people we pick up at the hostel and loitering in the plaza at our hostel until the sun came up...that how we roll in Barcelona!

Sunday...needless to say was a late morning, and a great day to rest off a hangover on the beach! We ate amazing paellea and sangria, Renee had a beach massage and we had yet another fab night of tapas, wine and each others company.

A sad day monday...Renee and I parted ways for good. She back to Switzerland and me off to Valencia!

More adventures to come!

Tschüss, Adieu, Auf Wiedersehen...parting is such sweet sorrow

What a last few weeks in Switzerland. After my parents left I was sure a busy girl. I didn't realize how much I still wanted to do until I realized how little time I had left!

The weekend after mom and dad left Malin, from Sweden, came and spent the weekend with us. She will be the girls new AuPair in January. What a nice girl. We had a nice weekend around Basel and took a trip to Lenk where there was my first snow of the season and a really crazy parade!

The next weekend was another spectacular weekend with Renee. It was World Peace day and Global Warming Awareness Day. Renee and John, a friend from Pacific living in Germany, and I did a Global Warming Demonstration. The 350 organization allows people to post group demonstrations all over the world for people to join and then gets to exhibit all of the 350 demonstration photos at the UN Global Warming meeting in December as a way to show how many people are aware of the global warming that is happening. For our 350 demonstration we hiked with a bunch of other Swiss people to the Aletch glacier, the largest glacier in Switzerland, and took a few photos of our group and our 350 there. It was really fun meeting the other people in our group and being part of something...even though I was such a small part, I am still making a statement. Bus aside from the 350 demonstration, it was such an amazing day. Beautiful weather, fun people and amazing mountains!

After our great hike Renee, John and I headed to Sierre where we couch surfed with 2 really cool German students in the village of Bluche. Bluche, accessible by funicular, is a town of 750 residents and 1400 students attending the international school or tourism management. What a cool place! We met so many different people. When we woke up it was also BEAUTIFUL! Right in the heart of the Alps we were so close to great hiking! Renee, John and I spent the day hiking around the area. We went to the Crans-Montana ski mountain to start our hike and went along old irrigation water ways on the sides of the mountain. It was another amazing day...the only clouds were the ones to make amazing photos!

Adieu to John but Renee and I were together again the next weekend for Halloween. I spent the week turning the Bleich's basement into a spooky house for the Halloween party that we had for the kids. I made a bunch of Halloween theme food and Norbert got dry ice for a cool table! I told a spooky story and even went trick-or-treating at the neighbor's house! It was fun to celebrate Halloween. The grown-up Halloween party was the next night at Renee's house in Biel. We made food and I made the best 80's party mix and we hosted an awesome 80's party! There were people there from so many places, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and probably more but I "can't remember." I had a sweet Jane Fonda aerobics costume! I can't believe that I wore that much colorful spandex all night! It was the best costume of the evening though!


Halloween was a blast but I was ready to relax. Spend my last few days with the girls and family and enjoy Switzerland! My last night was beautiful...family dinner. Wolfram and Lydia, Christian and Petra and the kids, Christina and her family and Renee all came over for delicious Norbert risotto and Renee brought Key Lime Pie!

Off to Spain for more adventures!

Mom and Dad do Europe....last stop Basel, Freiburg and Colmar

We did wine, we did Alps, then we did Luzern, Basel, Colmar and Freiburg before bidding farwell! Luzern was another gorgeous day. We cruised around the town and had a beautiful boat ride and picnic on the lake...literally, we ate on the boat! Chapel bridge was breath taking with its huge planter boxes; Mom and I had a great time taking silly photos on it! We enjoyed walking through the old city walls and towers and seeing the Lion monument.

Back in Basel we had our first day of rain. Mom and dad and I took Käte to the Tinguley museum where we enjoyed the crazy sculptures of local artist Jean Tinguley. The sculptures, made from recycled "junk," are motorized and fun for adults and kids. We enjoyed more of Norbert's great cooking and headed to Colmar to enjoy some Alsatian cuisine.

Colmar is such a beautiful French town. With water canals and old buildings, it is both a time warp and being in a post card! The buildings were so old that some were beginning to collapse and others were so crooked it is amazing that they were standing at all. We had a delicious Alsatian lunch and mom and dad and I visited a museum and art gallery. That night we headed to Freiburg Germany to stay with Lydia and Wolfram, Norbert's parents.

Freiburg, a great little city, was another day of rain, but we didn't let that stop us. We cruised around town seeing the old buildings and beautifully painted government houses. We had a delicious lunch at Barbara and Norbert's favorite brewery and we went to the top of the Münster (large cathedral). Hundreds of stairs up with the kids, mom was able to join us to! It was amazing to see photos from the Freiburg boming; the Münster was the only thing that wasn't hit...everything else was complete rubble! Dad was in heaven as Lydia had huge meat plates at dinner every night and it was very interesting to hear Wolfram's stories of being in Germany as a child while under attack.

On our way home from Freiburg we had a great last day together in the little German town of Staufen. It had a quiet little town center, lovely castle surrounded by vineyards and a famous bakery...and was it AMAZING! The bakery had at least 50 different cakes to choose from. Mom and dad both got Black Forest Cake, the region's specialty, but with so many to choose from, I looked for the prettiest one (which was not easy as they were all gorgeous!) and ended up with an amazing champagne cake!

In 2 and a half weeks, we were able to have great times eating, drinking and hiking. My American family got to meet my Swiss family, and everyone had lots of fun. It was great to have mom and dad visit and I was sad to see them go, but it won't be too long before I have to go back to the States!

Mom and Dad do Europe...Alps Baby!

After a great time in Beaune, we headed to Chamonix in the French alps. What a wonderful place! We had a beautiful drive on back French roads through wine country stopping to get a one of many amazing meals! Crepes and pizza...yummy! On the way to Chamonix we learned about French toll roads (which lines to go in!) and went over one of the most incredible bridges I have ever seen...long and HIGH!

In Chamonix we had a great hotel with a SPECTACULAR view of the alps...including Mt. Blanc. We rode cable cars up to the top with great views of Mt Blanc...always winter that high up! We enjoyed cloud covered mountains for a few hours and just as we decided to head down to hike, the clouds lifted and we were at the top of beautiful rocky, snow covered peaks. we took only one of the 2 cable cars down and hiked above tree line for a few hours...colors changing, huge peaks, sun out! Really great! We took another train down; it was from another valley, again another glacier! No matter where you turned, it was SO beautiful! We also had a second day of beautiful weather and a nice leisure walk along the glacial river. It is so different; it is sort of milky and greenish blue!

After 2 great days of hiking/walking in Chamonix we returned the rental car and took a beautiful scenic train through the alps from Geneve to Interlaken, which would act as a base for the next few days! The train, which I have seen advertised and read about in guide books, really was nice! It has clear ceilings so you can see all of the mountains that surround you and it takes you over dozens of bridges and through dozens of tunnels! We went through little Swiss towns well equipped with cows (wearing bells!), lovely chalets, overflowing planter boxes, and rolling hills contrasting jetting mountains!

In Interlaken we joined up with my friend Renee and spent the next few days hiking! The first day hiking was along the base of the Eiger rock face. Mom was loving the wild flower seed collection and I loved catching up with Renee. We had a great picnic lunch (wine included, love dad for carrying it!) and stayed in a great lodge in Grindelwald. The following day we had another great hike, stunning views of glaciers, Eiger, Jungfrau and alps, and another great lunch with another great bottle of wine! The Bort lodge was also amazing, views, food, place! Our third day in the area, again a GREAT hike, loaded with glaciers, we were joined by the local military! Apparently Switzerland lets France and Germany use the Swiss alp for fighter plane training; we had jets buzzing the mountains around us all morning...cool the first couple times, a bit noisy after the third or fourth round! We had a great hike and a beautiful bus ride back to Interlaken, through the smallest town in Switzerland!

Although I had been to his area a few times before, this was the best time I had there! I did a few different hikes and they were all so different. We ate amazing food (usually i have some cheap snacks) and had wine all the time! Yum yum! I don't think that I will get enough Alp hiking! After all this hiking, we are back to Basel, then to Colmar and Freiburg! More up next!

Mom and Dad do Europe...first stop Basel and Beaune

After 13 months in Switzerland, my parents have been able to come visit. When they arrived (very jetlagged) we had fun unpacking...it was like Christmas for me! They were able to meet Barbara and Norbert and the girls and have 2 fabulous dinners with the family. I toured them around Basel and they also got to see the VanGogh exhibit at the Basel art museum. After a couple days in Basel we rented a car and were off to France.

We stayed in Beaune, the heart of Burgandy and GREAT wine! Beaune was very nice...Frenchy! We explored the small town, toured the Hotel-Dieu, rode bikes, and drank wine! Beaune still has portions of the old wall around the city that you can walk around and see; we enjoyed this walk, but we LOVED the bike ride we did! We rented bikes for an afternoon and thought that we would ride to some vineyards and taste wine...we didn't realize we would ride through NOTHING BUT vineyards and have lots of wine drinking oppurtunities. We would ride through vineyard countryside and at each town, in many garages, were people making wine!

We did a nice self guided walk through the Hotel Dieu. It was built in the 1200s after the plague as a hostpice for the poor but was sure nice! The buildings were asbsolutely beautiful, especially the ornate roof tops. The building also has the most weather vains than any other building in France! It was interesting to walk through the hospital wards, chapel and the pharmacy. It is also home to some beautiful tapestries and paintings.

Beaune is the larger town in the area so we spent a day cruising the Burgundy countryside driving...destination Chateau Alil. We took little back roads and drove through some of the cutest little towns I have ever seen. My parents couldn't believe how you have this idea, postcard beauty, of what it will look like, and in this area, IT DOES! The chateau was really pretty and had great views of the valley. We continued on to Pully-Montrachet and tased lots of great wine.

Beaune is also where we ate Burgundy food...and was it amazing! Escargo, chevre salads, everything cooked in wine, a separate cheese course...we managed to do pretty well! Next stop...Chamonix!

September: Fall is in the air!

WOW! Where did the time go? September sure flw by! I was able to enjoy the last few days of Switzerland summer and catch up with friends. I had an amazing weekend with my friend Renee again. This time we adventured around Switzerland on the trains hiking and seeing some amazing glaciers. We spent a day in Saas Fee. It is a super cute, alpen town...planter boxes, mountains, shutters...just like the post cards! We took a gondola up the moutain and did a great hike along the bottom of the glacier. It was a beautiful fall day, sunny, and the glacier and glacier river were spectacular. We explored the town a little bit, before leaving on the bus, when I discovered that Saas Fee is one of Steamboat's sister cities! Who would have known!

We took an incredible bus to and from Saas Fee (from the neares train station). The bus was on a super narrow road with a few hundred meters of drop on one side. There was a white line and a guard rail (about a foot high) along the side and we went up up up into the valley! A bit scary but great views!

We also hiked up to the Trift Glacier with a bunch of other couch surfers. Renee and I camped in a near by town and met up with a bunch of Swiss people and we took off on a bus to the hike. Unfortunately we arrived and there was a 2 hour line to take the cable car up...so we did the hike! It was non-stop UP for 2 and a half hours, just to the top of the cable car, then another hour 15 to the glacier. Although it was grueling, it was SO worth it! Not only is the Trift glacier and the Trift valley beautiful, there is a new suspension bridge connecting the two sides of the valley. It is the longest suspension bridge in Switzerland and has GREAT views! Renee and I has lots of fun on the bridge taking photos adn anjoying the scenery! We hiked down to the top of the cable car with the couch surfing group but Renee and I didn't like the idea of the long, steep downhill, so we took tickets for the gongola and while we waited we treated ourselves to hot cider, soup and raclette! Good rewared for such a grunt of a hike!

With the Bleichs I also celebrated Oma's (the girls' grandmother) 75th birthday with a very nice party and lunch in Freiburg. Clara and Alma dressed up in their German dresses and were SO cute. Clara played her violin for Oma and then played in the market for change (she actually made quite a bit of money too)! It was very cute...and she is pretty good, especially for an 8 year old!

But, the best part of September was picking up my parents at the train station! I will have 2 weeks to travel with them! We have adventures planned for France, Switzerland and Germany while they are here! So now I'm off to drink wine, hike mountains and eat great French and Swiss food with my parents (who I haven's seen for over a year)! YeeHaw!

August: The One Year Mark

In a year gone by I have done so much and also feel like I just arrived! Visiting 12 countries, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and camping the Alps, exploring castles and savoring cuisine has made for an amazing year! With all I have done, I suppose it is only normal to get a bit exhausted and August was a month of relaxing, recovering and realizing how much fun Basel really can be. In the 4 weekends that were in August, 3 of them were spent in Basel sitting by the Rhine and swimming in it!

The Rhine in the summer is the place to be for everyone. The Rhine (swim-able through the heart of the city) is the hang out, bar-b-que, sun tanning, swimming spot for all people. Different sections of the river are often taken over by different groups (hippies, nudists, families...) and they all have their own atmosphere, bar, restaurants and fun. My friends and I love it! There are always people jamming out with guitars, ukuleles, drums and other fun instruments. The buvette (seasonal/portable bar) where we hang out has cheap ice cream and cold cidre (cider beer). We spend evenings at our favorite bar...an area that used to be a train yard; now it is a huge field, unused railroad tracks, and dilapidated buildings that they serve drinks out of. There are always multiple genres of music being played depending on what part of the area you are hanging out so it is always a fun social evening!

Weekends have become meeting my super cool friends (who I met through Couch Surfing) on Friday nights, going to the old train yard bar and staying out late enjoying the music and people watching. Saturdays I get up noon-ish, migrate to the river where we enjoy swimming, floating, napping in the sun, reading and relaxing. Grab a quick bite to eat at the cheap Indian places in the neighborhood, eat by the river, and then make our way back to the train yards for another night of fun.

I have discovered a very fun side to Basel that I didn't know existed. Most of my friends I have met through Couch Surfing. My good friend Renee, from French Canada, lives about 45 minutes from me and we have spent a few very fun weekends together! From camping, Jazz fest and now a weekend of Hip-Hop and swimming, we have really hit it off! I visited her in Biel/Bienne and we enjoyed a weekend of hip-hop shows and spent the days by the lake swimming, reading and napping!

I can't believe that it is already September. I have another adventure with Renee planned and get to see my parents! Yay!

Photos on the way!

School's Back for the School year (sung to the School's Out tune)

A fun last day of summer in 37C (98.6˚) weather! Fun being silly with the girls one last time before school starts! And for 5 and 7 year olds working the video camera, it isn't so bad! LOVE water proof video cameras!

July: Whew!

In 31 days 14 were spent utilizing my sleeping bag! I kicked off with the celebration of Le Toree in la Chaux-du-Fonds, Switzerland. I'm not really sure what it celebrates but it is a well known weekend of fun in the Couch Surfing community, with scavenger hunt, bar-b-que, camping, swimming in Lake Neuchatel and meeting people from all over the world. There were 42 people camping that evening from 12 different countries! Alpin horn players showed up, MJ tributes were danced to, and many new friends were made! It was SO SO much fun. I also made a great new friend, Renee from French Canada.

Renee and I spent the following weekend at the Montreux Jazz Festival. We didn't actually hear any jazz, but lots of great music, beautiful lake views, the Alps and the Chateu, and lots of fun dancing and eating! Unfortunately we weren't able to find accommodation that weekend; all the couches were taken and there was no space at the hostels, but we went anyway and improvised. We danced all night long and then slept in a field where there had been shows the prior day! It was quite the site when we woke up at 8 and they had cleaned the entire field, raking around us! Most of the great music you had to pay for (Prince, Dave Matthews, BB King) but there was a few good free shows and a really good group of local guys that wheeled a piano to the sidewalk by the lake and chilled on a couch with a guitar, drum and plenty of beer, jamming out all day!

The following weekend I flew to Helsinki! Helsinki has won me over! It is my favorite city in Europe; I can't explain exactly what it is about the city that made me love it so much, but I just felt so comfortable there. Tons of young people wearing hemp neclaces and Birkenstocks, lots of groups jamming out in parks and there was great live music at numerous bars everynight of the week! When I arrived, my host lead me to a concert with 3 Mexicans, 2 half Finn/American, a Dane, a Dutch and a bunch of life size puppets! It was quite a show and man we danced! I cruised the city, seeing the incredibly different churches (some were so Russian!), took boat throught the islands, and a little bit of shopping. My host and I, and some of his friends, took a ferry to a really small island where we BBQed, played frisbee and walked all the way around it.

After 5 days in Helsinki I took a ship to Stockholm. The ship was quite the experience for me, considering the largest boat I had been on was for snorkeling! While on the ship I had great views of all of Helsinki (and Stockholm when I arrived there). At night, from the north side of the boat, it never got completely dark; from the south side the only thing you could see was a bunch of lights from other ships. Taking these ships is a very common weekend vacation for Finns and Swedes. The ship was huge (I thought) with many restaurants, a few bars, a casino, huge duty-free shop, and tons and tons of rooms, but when I saw it docked next to other ships, I realized it is the smallest (and cheapest) boat that does that route! I didn't get a cabin on board (it was much cheaper) so I stayed up, hanging out in a lounge with some live music and a new friend from Finland, and then I discovered the "sleep in" room, an unused conference room for people without cabins to sleep on the floor.

When I awoke the ship was squeezing between the islands of the Swedish archipelagos. The islands nearest the city have beautiful houses/palaces that have been preserved...which I ended up taking a bike to and riding around later in the day. Stockholm is the most beautiful city that I have been to in Europe! Every building is beautiful and there is the water which adds an enchanting feel and beautiful reflections. I spend 2 days with my host in the city. While he worked I went on bike rides, took a boat through the archipelago, and admired the beauty of the city. I learned to cool a real Swedish dinner-herring stuffed with "Swedish caviar" (caviar mixed with mayo and tomato in a metal tube!) and baked with a bit of butter, salt and rosemary. It seemed a bit odd but I gave it a try and it was delicious! The second 2 days in Sweden we went backpacking along a lake where there were Viking ruins! It was so cool! The best one was a "burial" ground, although they don't bury their dead, they burn them. They built a "ship" out of boulders (a circle the same shape and size of a ship) and in the middle they bury the ashes of the recently deceased. The ship then carries them down the River of Death. I thought it was pretty cool! There were also caves and sites of Viking towns. We also went to a Viking museum at the end of the hike. We hikes 49km (30.4mi.) in 2 days and when the hike was over I went directly to the airport to fly back to Basel! We had a great camp site on a cliff overlooking the lake. It was a great, quick, Swedish experience. The only thing that I didn't like was that it didn't get dark till about 11:30pm and was only dark until abut 4am. I didn't get much sleep at all!

The day after I returned we celebrated Käte's birthday with a trip to EuropaPark, the huge theme amusement park in Germany. Each area of the park is a different European country with that nation's famous sights, food and music. Eg, France has an Eiffel Tower ride, Italy has gondolas to ride in, Portugal has beaches and wave pools, Greece has Pegasus roller coaster, Scandinavia has seafood restaurants... It was a fun and exhausting day, but I'm sure Käte enjoyed herself! We also went the following day to the Van Gogh exhibit at the Basel Art Museum; it was fantastic! It was an exhibit of his landscape artwork throughout his life.

And as if this wasn't a great enough month, it departed with the Swiss National Day Eve events. One more thing that the Swiss do well is they give the 1st of August off for the holiday, so all of the night events are on the 31st so that you can recover on the 1st!! I did a Basel Couch Surfing event with swimming the Rhine, BBQ and watching the fireworks from one of the bridges. Myself and a few friends continued to enjoy ourselves all night at our favorite summer bar at the old train yard!

With all that said, I'm not sure I'll have the energy to do anything in August! HAHA! Just Kidding!!! There are plans for August but plans change so I'll just see where the wind blows! The weather is warm, sun is shining, drinks are toasting and with every night there is another day for adventure!

June! Time flies when you're havin' fun!

WOW! Didn't I just do one of these?! Amazing how June flew by! I started the month with a road trip to northern Germany in a few small villages near Münster with a friend from there. We visited her family and went to 2 really cool castles, one surrounded by 3 different "moats" and another that was huge on a big rock! (I can't remember the names of either or find the piece of paper where I wrote the names!) This trip was also the first time that I was behind the wheel since moving to Switzerland...and the majority of the drive was on the German Autobahn! I was in the slow lane most of the time (going fast still!)

I also had a great adventure weekend with my Aussie friend Molly. We camped in Interlaken and hiked in the Jungfrau area in the Alps. We got our butts kicked by the huge mountains and hot weather, but the views were do great it didn't matter! Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau are huge, beautiful mountains! We also did a really great (and short) rafting trip on the Lütschine River ending in the Brienzer See. It was a short, fast, cold, scenic trip! Lots of rocks, a funny guide, and 8˚C (46˚F) water. We were in full wetsuits and when we were able to jump in, no one stayed in for over a minute! We finished the trip in the Brinzer See where we all jumped out of the raft and swam for a while (still in full wet suite) in the "balmy" 14˚C (57˚F) water! The glacial water is so clean and beautiful (and cold!).

I also spend a few weekends in Basel...after being away for 4 weekends! I swam the Rhine for the first time. Such a huge river but there are regulated areas where you are allowed to float! You get a dry bag, put your stuff in it and hold on as the current pulls you down...you get out at the designated areas with ladders and parks. It is great, and while you are sun bathing afterward there are guys walking around selling caparenias! Not a bad day! I'm enjoying the summer, using Couch Surfing to meet people, attend bar-b-ques, swimming days, dance nights and explore Basel. Oh yeah, school ended for the girls so I am now hanging out with them all day...every morning at the pool for swim lessons and afternoons at the pool, rollerblading, at the library, parks, biking, or hanging out in the yard (which has a pool!) So I work much more, but still play! Woo Hoo! What a job! Cheers for summer!

May...I am officially declaring it "Castle Month"

April was a month of flowers...May has been a month of Castles. I adventured off with Barbara and the girls to the Loreley Valley of the Rhine River in Germany for a tour of castles! Among 60km of river there are 18 castles! Everyday there are more than 300 ships that pass through the Loreley Valley and there used to be many little tiny countries all along the river that would tax the ships to sustain themselves. Most of the castles were damaged during the many wars over the past 500 years and were restored for visitors, some are only ruins now, and one remains undamaged!

We arrived to the small town of Bacharach and stayed at a little old grandma's house. The town of Bacharach is home to the Stahleck Castle, city towers and lots of Riesling vineyards, cobblestone streets, traditional buildings and chasing 3 girls! Climbing almost 400 stairs (yes, we counted) was fun, but the ice cream after was just as good...they had Riesling flavored ice cream! Yummy

Day 2 was to the equally cute town of St. Goar, home of the Rhinefels Castle. We arrived by boat down the Rhine passing Schoenburg, Gutenfels and Pflatz castles. Schoenburg and Gutenfels are both up on the hills, surrounded by vineyards and were equally beautiful, but the Pflatz, positioned in the middle of the river and shaped like a boat, was used to tax all of the passing ships. In St. Goar we went to the Rheinfels castle, the largest castle on this part of the valley. Once huge, now it is just ruins, but this didn't stop the girls and I from having fun and exploring. The well preserved ruin, still with dungeon, mine tunnels, towers, pharmacy, grape press, well, cannon balls and more, had great views of the river and was a full day of fun!

A short drive to the Marksburg castle was another day of fun. Marksburg is the only castle in the area remaining undamaged. Our tour (in German with an English book to follow along in) walked us through the castle still partially furnished. The kitchen was was equipped with a huge wine press...the people there used to drink 3-5 liters of wine per day because the water was dirty. We also enjoyed a beautiful dinner of white asaparagas and Riesling wine!

Or final day was to my favorite castle, Rheinstein. This castle, still standing after being purchased by a baroness, has furnished rooms and beautiful gardens. Although small, it was absolutely enchanting; built into the rock on the cliffs of the valley walls, surrounded by vineyards and passing ships, i wished that i was a princess there!

As if that weekend wasn't amazing, I spent the following weekend with a Canadian au pair friend in Lugano and Bellinzona, Switzerland. We hiked a mountain along Lake Lugano, met other travelers and enjoyed a free music festival. A day of rain didn't stop us the next day and we boarded a ferry around the lake, going in and out of Italian and Swiss waters. The quaint town and amazing houses built ON the lake are so beautiful along with the landscape!

The best part of the weekend was the perfect weather and amazing World Heritage area in Bellinzona where we visited the 3 castles. Highest on the hill is the small Sasso Corbaro castle. Unfortunately the tower wasn't open for visitors due to being struck by lightning the day before, but still has great views of the town, lake and other two castles. The next castle down the hill is the Montbello castle. This castle, surrounded by vineyards, is straight out of some "Nights of the Round Table" tale! With towers and walls that are so "cliche" it was spectacular! The grandest of the castles is Castlegrande! Built into a huge rock/mountain, it has even bigger towers than Montebello and really cool fortifying walls that you can walk atop and inside! Kiaya and I had a blast making up stories for every room and hole in the wall. One of my favorite things about going to castles is letting my imagination run wild...just as I seem to be doing!

Amazing April!

April has come and gone so quickly...with so many adventures.

I began the month with a day trip to Stuttgart, Germany. It was the first true day of spring, shorts and a t-shirt, sun screen and flip flops are finally being used again! The city is beautiful with so many old, preserved buildings including a palace and palace gardens in the heart of town!

My girls also had Spring Break so I ventured off with the Bleichs to Paris for Easter weekend. It was great. We stayed near the Pantheon where there were great restaurants, cafes and plazas to sit around in. We walked about Luxembourg Gardens and did some fun shopping too. One of our themes for the trip was to do the self-guided "Madeline" tour...from the children's books (and now movie too). We went to all of the places in the movie and drew pictures of them, just like Madeline does. We visited Notre Dame, Pont Neuf (where Madeline falls off the bridge), and the Eiffel Tower. But we did much more to; played in Tuileries Park, toured the Fashion Museum and saw the city from above at Sacre Coeur. We wandered an antique market and enjoyed the sweets of Paris...crepes, ice cream, eclairs, and macaroons. I am now oriented in the city so I look forward to going again!

Norbert and I took Kaete to her first football game. We went to Freiburg and watched them beat some team (I have no idea who) 3-2. It was a fun game but really you go to hang out before and after the game at the beer gardens around the stadium!

I also experienced Amsterdam! I really feel like I got an all round good impression of the city. Arriving was so exciting; the earth was a patchwork quilt of colors...not just the browns and greens of farms, the blue, yellow, red, white of tulips! I spent a day at Keukenhof, the largest (and most beautiful) spring garden in the world. Over 32 hectares of gardens and paths, all of the flowers in full bloom right now! There are also viewing decks of the tulip fields! I kept saying, "Oh, this is my favorite," then 15 minutes later I would have another favorite! It was truly breathtaking!

I spent that evening with my couch surfing host, a Canadian grad student in Amsterdam, and her visiting friend from Canada. We went to a sweet party with her classmates (mostly Dutch and Danish) and I made some really cool new friends! I also spent the next day with Michelle (my host) and her friend cruising the local markets; I found a skirt for 1 euro! But it was most enjoyable listening to all the chatter (in many languages), a variety of music blasting from different stands, and shoving your way through to the 1 euro piles of clothes!

That evening I set out on the town alone but quickly met up with some other American girls (we were both searching for the Red Light district) and we spent the evening gawking in windows! Among the ladies selling themselves, there are all sorts of "unique" shops in the red light district. We also were sure to check out a "menu" at a coffee house and get a beer in Dam Square.

My last day in Amsterdam was my Museum day. I toured the Anne Frank House. Done in good taste, it tells the story through the narration of Anne with direct quotes from her diary. I also Spent quite a bit of time at the VanGogh Museum. The majority of VanGogh's works are here, and I couldn't believe how many of his paintings I really am familiar with! There was also an exhibition of his work with night light and it had works of other famous artists that inspired some of VanGogh's paintings. And last but not least, with only a couple of hours left before my flight, I visited the Hemp, Hash and Marijuana Museum. It was actually quite interesting...not just about stoners! It had the history of smoking in cultures from all over the world as well as all the different things you can get made out of hemp; did you know you can insulate your house with hemp?! They also have a growing room with a bunch of different varieties of marijuana plants and explained how they grow. Silly but interesting!

Now I have trips to plan for May and June before the girls have summer vacation. Then it will be more work and less play (maybe!).

March Mayhem

March was a month with little photos to testify to all the fun I had! I spent a weekend in Chur, Switzerland couch surfing where I stayed with an AWESOME host. We went snowboarding at 2 different mountains (Brambruesch and Arosa) and I met his friends. We celebrated a birthday and played fusball (table soccer). Sunny skies and long groomers made for a very fun weekend!

I also spent 3 days in Nice, France. Some of my Swiss girlfriends used to live there so we all went and stayed with Damion, one of their friends. His flat, right in the middle of town centre, was great, hosting a party for us and going dancing every night with a bunch of "Frenchies" (I was the only one not able to speak French!). I spent days wandering the beautiful city and taking in France for the first time! Around every corner was something beautiful: flower stands, pottery shops, fabric stores, butchers and cheese shops, cafes and creperies. My favorite was the Gelati stand with 65 flavors, including tomato flavor and even beer flavor (but they didn't let you do any tasting). The Castle Hill (with no castle still there) was beautifully landscaped and had AMAZING views of the city and sea. I even put a foot in the Med, but it was still REALLY cold so I didn't swim! Afternoons were spent on the beach, hanging out with some local French guys, drinking beers and chilling. It was a great, relaxing holiday weekend.

I also went with Norbert and the girls skiing for the last time this winter season. Norbert's brother's family came too (wife, son 8 and daughter 4). It was a nice weekend but the snow was pretty bad! Very sticky and lots of fog at the top. I am getting much better at my tele-turns and had my first official tele wipeout...over the front somersault. It was real spring skiing, but that is ok...it means SPRING IS ON THE WAY!

February: Friends, Fasnacht, Freshies, Freeriding!

It is hard to top a 5 week trip around Europe, but things seem to be just as great! February kicked off with a day trip to Saanenmoser (a Gstaad Mountain) with TONS of new snow and me on tele skis! I'm not sure if Kaete (4 years old) or I had a more difficult time but we still had fun!

Emily also visited from CT. We had a beautiful day in Basel, stuffed our faces with food (it wouldn't be us if we weren't always eating!) and had an AMAZING raclette dinner! We had a beautiful blue bird day in Montreux visiting Chateau Chillon and cruising the Olympic Park in Lausanne, both on Lake Geneve with GREAT views of the alps! Unfortunately we weren't lucky with clear weather while in the Jungfrau in Interlaken area the next day! Total blizzard so Emily can say she was in the middle of the Alps, but didn't see them! We still had a great day walking all over the mountain walking trails and taking various cable cars! Luzern was beautiful, again no clouds! Right on the lake with beautiful huge mountains, the city is so majestic! We stayed with one of my Swiss girlfriends and ate fondu...again with the great Swiss food! It was a wonderful power tour of Switzerland and I was so glad to catch up with such a great friend!

After Emily left, I went to Jungfrau snowboarding with my Swiss friend Priscylla. We stayed in Interlaken and had the most amazing day! Possibly the top 5 best days I have EVER been snowboarding! It was so sunny, the Alps are breathtaking, and the runs are all long, wide, groomed and end at huts with great food and cheap beer! Pris and her dad also weren't bothered by my frequent stops to take photos or just breathe in the beauty of the place. You know the scene when Julie Andrews is singing "The Hills are Alive" and she is SO happy dancing in the fields, well that was me, but I wasn't singing or dancing but snowboarding!

When we got back from Jungfrau the HUGE carnival of Fasnacht in Basel was kicking off. In all of the towns there are parades, music, and TONS of confetti. It is a very traditional celebration in Basel with drumming, piccolo players, costumes, wagon floats and parades. I'm still figuring it out! (more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Basel ) I also went to the fire parade in Liestal (near Basel). It was really cool. Men carrying huge fire torches, beautiful lanterns and floats and the HUGE flaming wagons that go through the tower tunnel whisking away winter and welcoming in summer. Again, another weird but cool tradition that I'm not to sure about the history but it was cool to go to! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chienb%C3%A4se ) After going to the 4am Morgestreik parade...the official beginning to Basel Fasnacht, we headed home to get in a nap before 3 days of more skiing at Gstaad with the girls.

Fasnacht is a week long holiday for students and there are 2 official days off for businesses in Basel so we spent them skiing. Again, the snow was great, skies were clear (one day) and the girls had a great time. I am improving on my tele skiing but need to get in better shape to be able to make tele turns all day!

February was a busy month and VERY fun! Now I'm all ready for March...which will but equally as busy and fun with trips and snowboarding planned!

Crusin' Italy with the Bro!

My poor bro hopped off the airplane and onto a train from Rome to Venice. No time wasted! We Couch Surfed in Venice for a couple days. It was foofy but BEAUTIFUL! We did just as the guide book recommends, and got lost in the winding streets, bridges and waterways. We spent time goofing around at Campo del San Marco, people watching and being attacked by pigeons! THE FOOD WAS GREAT! *Dill and I averaged a pizza a day for the 3 weeks we were there!* Our second day we went to Murano (one of the many islands making up Venice) and watched them blow glass...very impressive. We took the boat "taxi" up the Grand Canal and enjoyed lunch with our host.

When we felt not foofy enough for Venice we moved on to Verona where we saw Juliet's house and the Colosseum (not THE Colosseum) where they sill hold plays, operas and concerts. It is the 3rd largest in Italy and was beautiful. This is also where we discovered the wonderful world of Italian pastry shops. We would go in and get 2 or 3 each and share them... Verona was beautiful but small so we went on to Florence.

I had a GREAT time in Florence...mostly because we were in such great company. We Couch Surfed with Davide and he was a great host. He had 2 other visitors and his roommate had 3 visitors so were were practically in a hostel with a bunch of locals! We had some great Sicilian food (the best cheese I have ever eaten) that Davide brought back from Sicily and drank endless amounts of red wine. We cruised the city; the Duomo is UNBELIEVABLY HUGE. We went to our first museum/gallery where we saw the statue of David. Absolutely stunning, the size, detail, accuracy, all out of one piece of marble. New years was brought in with friends, wine and fireworks by the river... We did a day trip to Piza, not all that much there but the Leaning Tower in the Piazza s. Marcoli, but we had a great lunch, took the cheezy photos and had great weather.

From Florence Dill and I headed to Siena where we were a bit more off the beaten path. We stayed in a nice hostel and wandered the city, found a random water pool (old water storage or for bathing, we weren't sure as it wasn't on the map we had!) Food was great (it was great everywhere we went) but it was one of the first places that had a main street with "real" shops, not foofy, designer shops. Siena is small and our time there was short, but we were ready for Rome

Rome was where we were the real tourist. We stayed in a nice hostel near the Vatican. We spent our first day at the Vatican Museum where we saw teh beautiful Rafael paintings and of course the Sistine Chapel. We went to the top of the St. Peter's Basilica Dome and the view of the city were great. The Pope sure has a great pad! We power toured central Rome: Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Piazza Nuovo and met up with friends. We had a great bread, cheese, and wine dinner on Giancolo Hill with views of the city lights and found some funky bars in Campo di Fiori. The next day we toured teh Colosseum and Roman Forum. VERY interesting. We saw a few more sights and had a great meal. Dill and I also toured some catacombs and did some shopping.

We went for a few days south to Naples...where it was pouring rain so we didn't do much sight seeing, and to Pompeii and Herculaneum, where we had gorgeous weather. They were so well preserved...painting still vibrant, mosaic tile work everywhere, pottery and architecture practically untouched, and 1930 years old! Although Pompeii was amazing, the highlight of this part of the trip was the food. Naples is the birth place of pizza and we were sure to eat plenty of it! We went to a famous pizza place and had one of each of their pizzas: marinara and margarita! AMAZING! But the next night we splurged and went to a nice place and had the most delicious seafood. Dill had homemade pasta with a white wine, clam, artichoke heart sauce and I had homemade ravioli in a tomato seafood sauce...with fresh fish, muscles, clams and calamari! We also had a buffalo mozzarella cherry tomato pizza. As much as we wanted to hit up another pastry shop, we were so full that we didn't, but it was the best food EVER!

Dill and I had a great time...we got along, ate REALLY well, and saw tons of the country. It was like a party some of the time and like a hands on history lesson other times. Now I am back in Switzerland and Dill back in Boulder, looking forward to my next adventure.

The Rest of my Euro Winter Holiday

So my initial plan was to update my blog every few days, when I went to a new city. Well, it turns out that when you finally get a break while traveling for 29days straight, you don't want to spend a break on the computer. So needless to say, I will condense the rest of my trip.

After Berlin I went to Poland. Warsaw was very interesting. It is still a city recovering from Communism; the city was destroyed during the war and they are attempting to rebuild and restore what is important to the city's history. There was a great museum all about Warsaw's role in during the war and beautiful buildings within and around the city. The palace of art and science was very beautiful and had GREAT Christmas lights. From Warsaw, I continued south to Krakow where I felt like I was living a flash back.

Krakow has the commonly visited Wawel Hill, an area with a huge castle and chapel, that has been growing for hundreds of years with each new ruler. I stayed in a great hostel where I made friends with one of the young women working there; we headed out for drinks and some awesome bars...I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1970's! My trip on Krakow also included the revolting tour of Auschwitz-Brikinau. As disturbing as the sight was, I have a huge appreciation for life, diversity, and government!

With trains on strike in Hungary, I had an interesting journey getting to Budapest, but when I arrived, it was AMAZING! The city (which used to be 2 cities on opposite sides of the river, Buda and Pest) was so full of culture and life. I spent the first day with a woman I met on Couch Surfing and we had Hungarian fish soup for lunch and went to a really interesting museum. I Couch Surfed with a really nice woman and she took me to some of the funkiest bars...in caves, live jazz, Janis Joplin cover band. I explored the Buda Castle, underground caves, local markets, but the best part was the thermal pools. There were tons of pools, large and small, some with jets, some with currents, as hot at 105 and as cold as 52. Lots of saunas and a fun place to meet people. I could have spent the entire week there!

From Budapest I went to Vienna, where I spent Christmas. I Couch Surfed there with a really cool young woman and she had 2 other surfers at her place from Italy and Brazil; we had a great time wandering the city, cooking, and drinking together! I also joined her family for Christmas dinner...cheese, bread, veggies, fruit, wine. AMAZING! While I was in Vienna, I spent a day in Bratislava, Slovakia...what a dud of a trip. The city was closed for Christmas (they celebrate the day before Vienna so we didn't know it would be a ghost town!). I met some other travelers who were also greatly disappointed, we found the only open restaurant and tried all the different types of Absinthe...I guess it was still a good Eastern Europe experience!

From Vienna I took the night train to Rome to pick up my brother Dillon and continue on exploring Italy...