Quick updates to this blog is all we seem to have time for right now Our being busy this summer, however, has not been a bad thing! I just look forward to when things slow down a little bit and we have some time to digest all we've done over the past few months.
There may be some big changes coming both our ways in the near future. We'll keep you all updated when we have more solid news. If it all works out, Dawn's 2.5 hours of commuting each day will be a thing of the past. That is a great thing!
This weekend Dawn and I will be heading down to Garmisch, Germany to do a bit of camping and hiking. The weather looks like it will actually be decent in that portion of the Alps and we'd like to take advantage of it! Jef is off for Budapest this morning for a week of travel. It sounds like he's got a fun trip planned! His first real solo journey since being here. I'm sure he'll have a great time.
Our trip back to Chicago and Minnesota is approaching fast! We're both really looking forward to it! It will be nice to get back to the US, even if it is just for two weeks.
If you've checked lately, you may have noticed that the link to my photo blog is broken. The new site should be up within the next week.
We'll write more later when we get a chance to breathe. I look forward to sitting down, going through the pictures from our trips and doing a bit of writing about what we experienced in each place. See you all soon!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Week Vacation- Cinque Terre
I suppose it’s my turn to write something, and I have a few minutes while my server is down. Hope you’re all enjoying your summer. Ours has been busy, but exciting. Most of you may know that Nate’s brother Jef is here spending some time travelling with us and on his own, while looking into job possibilities teaching Crossfit.
We spent some time in Cinque Terre, Italy last week. Actually, it was a whole week of vacation, not something we usually get to enjoy. The weather was warmer than we were used to, upper 80s and humid. It seemed no matter where we walked we would sweat for about 10 minutes after stopping. We made sure to swim almost every day in the cool water to combat the heat. Time was also spent kayaking, hiking, and just relaxing on our patio.
Cinque Terre, meaning five towns, includes five small towns in the Italian Riviera. Each town has a unique ambiance and we quickly picked out our favorites. We stayed in Riomaggiore, known by locals as ‘Rio,’ and it quickly felt like home. Having an apartment to stay in was great for watching people from our balcony, and allowed us buy and cook our own food fresh from the gardens in the 5 cities. By the end of the 6 nights we were helping other tourists as if we lived there for years.
The other cities in order north were Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. Manarola and Vernazza were my favorites, very peaceful places and fun short hikes to take to beautiful views. There were a few days Nate and I thought we’d ‘take it easy,’ and found ourselves hiking high up for great sunset photos.
The quick hike to Manarola was only 15 minutes and was called the “Lover’s Walk.” We took this many times, because the view was so pretty, and Manarola was good in all light. Many people left locks with their names on them and a tunnel of spray-painted with names and messages. We claimed one, as we didn’t think we really needed to spend 8euro on a lock with people drawn on it.
We discovered the town of Levanto late in the week, just a little farther north from Cinque Terre. The town was more local and less tourists. We took a nice stroll near the beach, took a few pictures, and Jef got a beer, warm of course. It was a little strange to see them selling it out of a booth ion the street, but why not?
We left Friday to head towards the mountains. We planned to camp in Garmisch, but the weather was rainy, so we stayed in the Italian Alps. We found a few towns to wander through and continue our relaxing vacation. We left Brennero and headed home Sunday. It was nice to get in a bit early and unpack and start the huge pile of laundry.
Cinque Terre was a beautiful place to stay, maybe next time in the late fall time period. We also know Italians go to bed after 1am and get up yelling again by 6 or 7am in the morning. Did you know that Italians think driving on the middle line on the freeway is safer because you drive straight? Yeah, that’s what I thought too…
We spent some time in Cinque Terre, Italy last week. Actually, it was a whole week of vacation, not something we usually get to enjoy. The weather was warmer than we were used to, upper 80s and humid. It seemed no matter where we walked we would sweat for about 10 minutes after stopping. We made sure to swim almost every day in the cool water to combat the heat. Time was also spent kayaking, hiking, and just relaxing on our patio.
Cinque Terre, meaning five towns, includes five small towns in the Italian Riviera. Each town has a unique ambiance and we quickly picked out our favorites. We stayed in Riomaggiore, known by locals as ‘Rio,’ and it quickly felt like home. Having an apartment to stay in was great for watching people from our balcony, and allowed us buy and cook our own food fresh from the gardens in the 5 cities. By the end of the 6 nights we were helping other tourists as if we lived there for years.
The other cities in order north were Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. Manarola and Vernazza were my favorites, very peaceful places and fun short hikes to take to beautiful views. There were a few days Nate and I thought we’d ‘take it easy,’ and found ourselves hiking high up for great sunset photos.
The quick hike to Manarola was only 15 minutes and was called the “Lover’s Walk.” We took this many times, because the view was so pretty, and Manarola was good in all light. Many people left locks with their names on them and a tunnel of spray-painted with names and messages. We claimed one, as we didn’t think we really needed to spend 8euro on a lock with people drawn on it.
We discovered the town of Levanto late in the week, just a little farther north from Cinque Terre. The town was more local and less tourists. We took a nice stroll near the beach, took a few pictures, and Jef got a beer, warm of course. It was a little strange to see them selling it out of a booth ion the street, but why not?
We left Friday to head towards the mountains. We planned to camp in Garmisch, but the weather was rainy, so we stayed in the Italian Alps. We found a few towns to wander through and continue our relaxing vacation. We left Brennero and headed home Sunday. It was nice to get in a bit early and unpack and start the huge pile of laundry.
Cinque Terre was a beautiful place to stay, maybe next time in the late fall time period. We also know Italians go to bed after 1am and get up yelling again by 6 or 7am in the morning. Did you know that Italians think driving on the middle line on the freeway is safer because you drive straight? Yeah, that’s what I thought too…
Thursday, July 8, 2010
One conference and one trip down
Hey all! I just wanted to write a quick update while I had a few minutes. As reported in my last post, things have been very, very busy for us. Last week saw us at a conference for work up in Grafenwoehr. Not really much to say about that as it was work after all and I'd rather not have to relive the experience by writing about it. However, after cutting out on a Thursday meeting early, we did manage to make our way up to Amsterdam for the long July 4th weekend. What a great, great, great city that is! Dawn, Jef and I all had a fantastic time up there and really hope we can go back soon.
The highlight of the trip to A-dam had to be experiencing the jubilation and utter craziness that ensued when Holland beat Brazil in the World Cup. Having lived in Germany during the WC four years ago, seeing celebrations when a big win has occurred is nothing new to me. However, this was different. The entire city went absolutely bonkers, and for the most part, it was pretty civilized. No overturned cop cars, no looting or burning of private property, and only one little scuffle that we witnessed. It was really cool to see so many people so damn happy. I'm not the biggest soccer fan, but I love the spirit of the World Cup. Quite possibly one of the coolest sporting events on the planet.
I did take many, many pictures on the trip (600+) but it's going to take some time before I get through them. I just have no time right now. We leave for the Tuscany region of Italy tomorrow evening and will be gone for 9 days total. I'm going to be so backlogged on pictures by the time this summer is over......... Well, it will give me something to do when the weather inevitably turns bad in Germany!
I hope everyone is doing well!
The highlight of the trip to A-dam had to be experiencing the jubilation and utter craziness that ensued when Holland beat Brazil in the World Cup. Having lived in Germany during the WC four years ago, seeing celebrations when a big win has occurred is nothing new to me. However, this was different. The entire city went absolutely bonkers, and for the most part, it was pretty civilized. No overturned cop cars, no looting or burning of private property, and only one little scuffle that we witnessed. It was really cool to see so many people so damn happy. I'm not the biggest soccer fan, but I love the spirit of the World Cup. Quite possibly one of the coolest sporting events on the planet.
I did take many, many pictures on the trip (600+) but it's going to take some time before I get through them. I just have no time right now. We leave for the Tuscany region of Italy tomorrow evening and will be gone for 9 days total. I'm going to be so backlogged on pictures by the time this summer is over......... Well, it will give me something to do when the weather inevitably turns bad in Germany!
I hope everyone is doing well!
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