Baltic Cruise

Baltic Cruise

This may have been one of our most anticipated trips since we moved to Europe, and we felt that a cruise would allow us to take advantage of this rare opportunity to see so many of cities in one trip. We took a ten day cruise on the Emerald Princess through northern Europe. We picked this cruise for several reasons, the itinerary was perfect, it hit all the cities we were interested and it fell over the right number of weekends and holidays so that Keith didn't have to take off too much work.  For such high expectations, the trip truly didn’t disappoint, it was amazing!!!  We’ll try to break this down so people can skip around to what they are interested in, the cruise itself, the cities, and some other random info:

The Cruise:

We have never cruised with Princess before and really weren't sure what to expect. The ship itself is amazing, a lot less tacky then some of the others we've been on or seen and we upgraded to a balcony room, which was totally worth it!  Unlike our Mediterranean cruise the sea and ports were amazing to watch from the comfort of our own room.  This was not your typical cruise, it was not about relaxing pool side, or soaking up the sun in the Bahamas or Caribbean, instead this was a full itinerary of sight seeing, and very cool temperatures – no need for a bathing suit on this trip.  For those looking for warmth stay away from Northern Europe at the beginning of summer, we mostly had temperatures in the high 50’s low 60’s with showers periodically.  The cruise did off a flexible dining option, which was great; you don’t feel the need to eat with 10 of your not- so-closest friends just to have a nice dinner.  One thing that was fairly dramatic on this cruise was the over 55 crowd, what's difficult to know is whether it's was the itinerary, or the cruise line that failed to attracted anyone younger. We've always been young on cruises, but the entire ship had about 15 couples under the age of 55. But when thinking about it, this is not a cruise that attracts a very young crowd, it's ten plus day off work, expensive airfare from the states, and pretty cold climates.  One fantastic program offered by the ship that we totally took advantage of was their port lecturer.  They paid a contractor to talk about each port and how to do it on your own instead of through the overpriced excursions.  We managed to get around every city other than St. Petersburg on our own, thanks to this guy and his great information.  Despite the age differences and the cool temps, the cruise really met all our desires in terms of seeing so much of Northern Europe for a reasonable price.

The Cities (highlights):

We started in Copenhagen, Denmark, despite being rainy, cold and expensive was a neat city.  One of the highlights is a fairly large amusement park / garden right in the middle of the city.  It also had an extremely charming little old town street with cafes lining the canal, each seat with its own blanket to stay warm in the cool temps.  Since Belgium really stays away from anything American, it was really funny to see tons of Seven Elevens everywhere.

Our next day was at Sea a great way to get familiar with the large ship.  We found ourselves hanging the casino mostly, they did have amazing pools and hot tubs, and an movie under the stars program but sadly it was just a bit too cold.

Stockholm, Sweden

We found Stockholm to be an easy city to do by foot.  We took a 15 minute shuttle ride from the dock into the heart of the city and set off to the main sites from there.  First stop was the city hall, which despite it's drab exterior was very interesting as it is where all of the Nobel Prizes are awarded (except the Peace Prize, which is done in Oslo).  Next, we wandered down to Gamla Stan, which is the old town heart of the city.  It's a charming little area that has the church where the Nobel Peace Prize winner delivers their acceptable speech.  It also has a beautiful sculpture of St. Peter slaying the dragon, a theme which is very popular in the Baltic area.  Finally we went by the Vasa museum which contains a perfectly preserved 17th century war ship.  It sank on its first voyage and due to the brackish water in the bay, was pulled out a few years ago in perfect condition.  It was difficult to get a good picture due to the lighting, but it was an amazing sight to see.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki was probably the least interesting of the cities we visited on our tour, but it was a lovely day and a nice city to walk around in.  The main attractions here were mostly churches, and the main market area.  The market is loaded with local crafts and food, with guys selling grilled fish from the boats that they just used to catch it.  We wandered the market area and the two main churches (one a Russian Orthodox church with amazing architecture)...but the most interesting thing here was the Rock Church.  This church is built underground in the area carved out of a huge bolder in the middle of the city, meaning that all of the walls of the church are rock.  Strange, but very beautiful.

St. Petersburg, Russia

We had two days in Russia and needed every minute of it to see everything.  Despite the slow growth post end of communism, the city has so many amazing things to see.  According to our tour guide, many of the Russian kings had an obsession with showing off their money and power, so the palaces and churches are simply incredible here.  The first palace that we visited was modeled after Versailles in France, and was strikingly similar in both architecture and the gardens around it.  We visited several beautiful churches, which are always beautiful in Europe.  Despite not being a museum person, I found myself really liking the Hermitage museum.  Not only was it a simply beautiful structure, the collection of artwork was simply amazing.  They had works from all of the greats...Van Gogh, Picasso, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo.  On our second day we took an early morning canal ride, and saw the city from a totally new perspective.  The city was design to be seen from water, and it really took on an entirely new feel from the boat.  We also visited the incredible Church of the Spilled Blood.  This is a traditional Russian Orthodox church, complete with the colorful bulbs at the top of the building.  At first we were both fairly frustrated with our tour guide hurrying us inside, wanting to stay out and take pictures of the awesome architecture, only to discover one of the most shocking and unique interiors we've ever seen.  On the inside, the entire church is covered from wall to wall with mosaics.  We agreed that this church ranks in the top five most amazing things we've seen.  Both days we were served great authentic meals, including Russian Caviar and Vodka, a nice touch before buttering us up for the rows and rows of Russian dolls for all us tourists, ranging from traditional to Obama and Simpsons dolls. 

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is easy to overlook, and we even considered for a second staying on the boat this day...but we're sure glad that we didn't.  This amazing place is an authentic medieval city that has been mostly untouched by the wars, so it's original and in excellent condition.  There is a upper level where the nobility lived surrounded by a wall, and then the commoners lived in the lower area.  There is a great deal of former Soviet influence here, so it makes for an interesting mix when King Authur looking buildings sit next to a Russian Orthodox church.  Overall it was a small but beautiful city.

 

 

Gdansk, Poland

Gdansk was a pleasant surprise from what I was expecting.  The port town where we landed, Gdynia, was poor and run down and not exciting at all but we took the 20 minute train ride into Gdansk, which was much nicer.  Much of the city was drab, but the main square has clearly undergone a lot of renovation and is actually quite beautiful.  The painted buildings and fountains made for a lovely place to stop and have a beer (and soda for Elizabeth).  The prices were especially nice after a few days in Scandinavia...here a 1/2 liter beer was about $1.75, as opposed to about $12 in Stockholm or Copenhagen.  Yes, that's right...$12 for a beer...more on that later.  Anyway, it was a lovely town right on the river where they were having row boat races...and there was clearly a soccer match this day as the town was flooded with guys in red shirts drinking heavily and singing songs.  Now that was exactly what I expected in Poland.

At Sea

Next was another day at sea, and it was all about Rest, rest, rest!  It was nice to take it easy after all of the sightseeing we had been doing, but we can only handle so much bingo with old folks and blackjack.  We did take the time to see a comedian, who unfortunately was more uncomfortably weird as opposed to funny...but it was something to fill the time.

Oslo, Norway

Oslo was another beautiful Scandinavian city, but one I would probably rather live in that visit on a tour.  The city is rather small, which made walking it easy.  There are lots of lovely gardens and fountains, and the downtown was remarkably quiet for a Monday morning.  Very few cars here, which made it very pleasant.  The main sights to see are the city hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and Viegland gardens.  Here a single artist created hundreds of sculptures showing his take on life.  Apparently there was a lot of controversy over the park as all of the statues are naked, but it was beautiful.  Hard not to chuckle at the "Angry Baby" and "Man Overwhelmed with five babies" almost a little too lifelike? 

Finally, we had to write something about the cost of things in Scandinavia.  Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo were roughly the same, and just for comparison:

- Grande Starbucks coffee : $8

- 20 ounce Coke bottle: $5

- 7-11 muffin : $4

- Burger King Whopper meal : $16

- Paperback book  : $23

Needless to say, we did our best to eat on the ship in these cities...

Venice

I had a three day weekend last week, so we decided to take a quick trip down to Venice.  We found a good deal on Ryanair and went down Friday morning and left Saturday night.  We did almost no research on Venice before we left so we had no idea what we wanted to see or do when we got there, but we've discovered that we love just wandering cities and stopping at anything that looks interesting.  This served us well again in Venice, except for our arrival.  We took a bus from the airport into the city and got off with no map and no idea how to get to our hotel.  We purchased a 2 Euro map from a street vendor and just started walking.

We quickly discovered that Venice can be a difficult place to get around.  There are no roads in the city, just canals and with sidewalks on either side.  We tried to just wander in the general direction of our hotel, but ran into countless dead ends.  After a bit of wandering and a quick stop for lunch, we finally found our hotel.  When we checked in, they told us that they had upgraded our room to a canal view, so we had a lovely room with a little balcony overlooking the canal.

After getting settled in the room, we went out to wander the city.  The only thing we knew was that St. Marco's plaza was the main attraction in Vencie, so we took off in that direction.  We

strolled for about an hour through tiny little alleys and along canals, stopping to get some gelato at one of the countless stands throughout the city.  St. Marco's plaza is a beautiful square with an amazing church and bell tower, but just packed with people.  We couldn't even find the end of the line to get into the church, so we just took in the view for a few minutes and then wandered through the streets again.  We stopped at a cafe for a cold drink and enjoyed watching the people and soaked up the 75 degree, sunny weather...something we haven't seen much of living in Belgium.  After a quick nap at the hotel, we went out and got a wonderful Italian pizza for dinner.  Then, we purchased a bottle of wine and went back to the hotel to sip wine (water for preggers) on our balcony and enjoy the view.

Day two in Venice was more of the same...just wandering the city, stopping for coffee and gelato here and there.  It was fascinating to see how Venetians handle their everyday tasks with no cars or trucks.  The police cruise the city in boats, even ambulances and mail are boats too.  It's very strange to spend two days in a major city without seeing a single car, truck, motorcycle, or even a bicycle.  Everything is done on the water.  It really makes Venice very unique and charming, since it operates like no other city in the world.

The one problem we found with Venice is the cost of traveling on the water.  Gondola rides were 70 Euro per person and a water taxi (which are beautiful boats by the way) from our hotel to the bus station was 70 Euro.  We passed on both of these and used the "bus" system, but even that was 16 Euro / person for a day pass.  The cost really forces you to walk everywhere, which as I mentioned can be difficult if you're really trying to get to a specific location.

Saturday evening we made our way back to the airport and after a brief delay due to the hail and lightening storm that passed through, we were on our way.  Overall it was a wonderful trip.  Venice was the fourth Italian city that we've visited, and probably our favorite as well.

Schaffer Visit

We’ve got the European whirlwind tour down to a science, just ask the Schaffer’s.  We jam packed our visit with Keith’s dad and Peggy with all sorts of European fun.  After the obligatory nap upon arrival (probably the only real rest they got while they were here), we headed out to the local cheese lady.  She normally is closed on Thursdays but was kind enough to open for us, and we of course made it worth her while by purchasing ten pounds of cheese!  Once Keith got home from work we all sat down with some wine and cheese as we watched a bit of an amazing slideshow they created for Keith.  They had scanned in and organized every photo they own relating to Keith, pictures of his grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., all in chronological order.  It was pretty incredible!  Although it difficult to pull ourselves away from the thoughtful gift, we ended the evening in Mons with dinner at the famous Steak on a Rock.  

On Friday we headed out for a day trip to Monschau Germany, just one of those adorable towns to stroll through on a beautiful Spring day.  It was in this picturesque town that we learned of Jim’s interest in making pictures into jigsaw puzzles.  It’s amazing how many things you come across; flowers, old buildings and window displays that make for great jigsaw puzzle pictures! 

Most of our traveling was done over Saturday and Sunday when we headed to the Netherlands.  Keith and I are both agreed that we would love to retire in the Netherlands, the people are amazing, the Country is truly beautiful and for some reason you just feel relaxed, even when you are running around.  We spent Saturday wandering Amsterdam, from the red-light district to the flower market, to a beautiful canal ride.  Keith and I were excited on Sunday to return to the Keukenhof gardens.  The arrangements of flowers are spectacular, and seem never ending. It’s even more amazing that they change the layouts every year, so it was all new to us, despite having gone last year.  The heavy rain was kind enough to hold off until we were leaving the Gardens.  On our way home we decided to hit the highlights of Brussels including the Atomium, the Grand Place, and of course the Delirium bar with the 2004 Guinness Record of the largest number of beers in available.

Monday Keith went back to work and we headed to Brugge.  Not much new to add about Brugge since I’ve been so many times, other than it remains one of those cities that I love to go to over and over.  I never tire of the canal ride, or the chocolate shops!  We ended their last day here with dinner at a local restaurant and a few Belgian beers back at the house.  We still can’t believe we managed to see so many things in such a short amount of time, gotta love Europe! 

Irish Easter

I had a long four day weekend over Easter, so Elizabeth and I decided to make a trip up to Ireland.  We flew out Thursday night and went straight to bed when we got there as we had booked an early tour for Friday morning.  The next morning, we headed to the train station for our train / bus tour around the island.  It was about a two hour train ride to our first stop, Bunratty castle.  Here they had setup a little medieval village around an old authentic castle.  Apparently the castle was falling apart until a wealthy British family bought the castle and restored it.  They also brought their collection of authentic furniture and tapestries, so it was quite interesting to see furniture that was hundreds of years old, but still in excellent condition.  After the tour of the castle, we walked around the little village for a while.  Unfortunately it was Good Friday, so many of the little shops were closed, but it was still a lovely place to walk around. 

According to the original tour description, our next stop was an authentic Irish pub.  Unfortunately, there are two days in Ireland where they don't drink, and Good Friday is one of them (Christmas Day being the other).  So, anyplace that serves alcohol has to close.  Instead of the pub, we stopped at a little hotel restaurant for a good, but unexciting meal.  Then, it was off to the main attraction, the Cliffs of Moehr.  Here you can stand near the edge of a nearly 1000 ft drop off into the Atlantic Ocean.  This area is the inspiration for the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride, if you have seen that.  (If not, I highly recommend it)  The view was simply awe-inspiring...I can't describe it and pictures don't do it justice.  It's just something everyone should see for themselves.  After that, we were back on a bus to another area, The Burren, where the ground was an endless sea of rock.  It's really hard to describe, you really just have to see the pictures.  We then drove to Galway, where we were supposed to have an hour or so to explore the city, but apparently the tour ran late.  So, we just hopped back on a train to Dublin.  I was thrilled by the things we saw on the tour, but it was about 10 hours of traveling and 4 hours of seeing things...just too much travel for one day. 

On day two we rented a car and drove down to Youghal to visit the Irish family that Elizabeth lived with when she worked in Ireland just after high school.  The drive itself was quite an experience as, like the British, they drive on the left side of the road and the right (not correct, right) side of the car.  It took me a little while to get used to shifting with my left hand and it took a lot of concentration to avoid turning into oncoming traffic, but once we got out of Dublin and onto the highway it was fairly easy.  Unfortunately, the last hour of the drive was no longer highway, it was windy mountain roads that were two way, but barely wide enough for one car. Plus, sheep and goats were wandering the streets, so I had to be on the lookout for them as well. It was still a fun as we drove through beautiful countryside and cute little towns. 

We arrived in Youghal in the early afternoon, and Elizabeth took me on a little tour of the town to show me where she worked and ate while she was living there.  After that, we went to the family's house for dinner and drinks.  Elizabeth has always spoken very fondly of her "Irish

Family" and after meeting them I completely understand why.  I have never met a group of people that had the ability to make me feel like a family member when I barely knew them.  The parents, two daughters, and another family friend joined us for dinner and wine, and we just chatted the night away.  That evening, one of the daughters was kind enough to put us up for the evening, and even cook us a traditional Irish Breakfast in the morning, except for the blood sausage...I just couldn't bring myself to eat that. 

The next morning we stopped back by their house to chat a little more.  They all kept saying how despite it being 12 years since Elizabeth lived there, it was like she never left.  They picked up right where they left off.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to Dublin.  This time we took a different route and went through Waterford, where the famous crystal is (was) made. Unfortunately, this famous Irish landmark has fallen to the bad economy and declared bankruptcy.  You can still take a tour of the facility, but it's more of a museum now.  Plus, it was Easter Sunday, so it was not open anyway. 

When we got back to Dublin we took a walk through the city checking out some of the sights.  We really just wandered for a few hours, stopping in a pub for a pint of Guinness...it's always a great beer, but it really does taste better in Ireland.  We did a little souvineer shopping and then headed back to the hotel.  The next day we took the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city, which gave us a nice overview of the main attractions, including St. Patrick's Cathedral and of course the Guinness Brewery.  We took the brewery tour, but I have to admit I was disappointed.  They no longer show you where they actually brew the beer, they just have a bunch of TV's telling you about it.  It was an impressive building, but a little anti-climatic for me.  The highlight of the tour is that you get to go to a bar on the top floor of the building and have a pint of fresh Guinness (or Sprite in Elizabeth's case) while enjoying a beautiful view of the city.  I'm not sure if it showed up in the picture, but the head on the beer has a perfect shamrock shape in it.  I thought that was a great touch.

Overall, I would say that Dublin was a little unimpressive, but the Irish countryside and friendly people certainly did not.  Our visit with Elizabeth's "Irish Family" was just fantastic and made the journey up there well worth it.

Weekend in Bavaria

Our little group of Americans in Belgium has grown steadily over the last year, and there are now 7 people from our company working here. Since we all had different holiday schedules and couldn't make the company holiday party in DC, they decided to send us on a European outing instead. After a quick vote, it was determined that we would all fly to Munich for a 4 day weekend with our significant others. The company covered our flight and hotel room, so we had an almost free trip to Bavaria.

To keep the price within the company guidelines, we had to take the 7am flight out of Brussels, 

so we left the house at 4:15 in the morning. After a short 1:15 minute flight, we landed in snow covered Munich. On our first day, half of the group wandered the city, and the other half (including Elizabeth and I) rushed to our 11:00am tour of the former concentration camp, Dachau. This was my second trip to the camp, but it was a first for everyone else. It was just as sobering of an experience as the previous visit. We walked through the tiny rooms where they stuffed in hundreds of prisoners as well as the gas chamber and crematorium. We had an even more realistic experience than most, as it was brutally cold with 8 inches of snow on the ground. Hard to imagine what life was like for the prisoners with no heavy coats or warm food.

After the tour, we returned to the hotel for a while to warm up for a few minutes...then it was off to a group dinner. We found a nice table at the Augustinerbrau restaurant and enjoyed some

Augustinerbrau beer (by the liter) with our bratwurst and sauerkraut. My favorite part is that instead of bread, they bring out big chewy pretzels like you get at the ballpark...only better! After getting up at 3:30 am, walking around Dachau, and then a few beers, we were all exhausted and headed back to the hotel.

On day two, the whole group went on the Bavarian castles tour. The first one was King Ludwig II's main home, a modest 8 room castles tucked in the alps. 24 karat gold covered most of the rooms, and priceless works of art were all around. From the pictures we saw in the gift shops, there were apparently some beautiful gardens out front, but they were covered in a foot of snow while we were there. After that was a brief stop in Oberammergau, the site of the famous German Passion Play. We wandered this beautiful little snow covered town in the Alps for about an hour, then back on the bus to the main attraction, Neuschwanstein castle. We had lunch at the base of the mountain, then spent a little time in the shops before the 20 minute hike up the mountain to the castle. This castle was King Ludwig's main project, although he died part way through construction and it was never completed. It is a bizarre place, complete with a fake cave in the room next to his bedroom. Apparently it was quite modern for it's time, with plumbing and door buzzers to tell the servants where the king was when he needed something. This one was less ornate, but much larger than the other castle. There were some spectacular views from the top, and it was just a fun place to see.

For day three we all hopped on the train to Salzburg, Austria. Unfortunately the weather really didn't cooperate with us on this day. It was foggy with rain and snow all day. This was especially disappointing as I had been there before, and there are some spectacular views of the Alps from the Citadel in Salzburg, but we couldn't see them on this day. We did take the funicular up to the top of the castle anyway, but it just wasn't the same. We went back down for lunch, then the group broke up to see their own things. Elizabeth and I went to visit a beautiful graveyard and a 500 year old church, then a quick walk though the catacombs (dug into the side of the mountain) where religious refugees hid during the Crusades. Overall, we still had a good time despite the weather.

That evening, we all had dinner together at the Hoffbrauhaus. This is the most famous beer hall in Munich where Hitler himself liked to visit. They serve beer by the liter, enormous pretzels, and have an authentic German band (dressed in lederhosen) playing drinking songs. Always entertaining...

On our final day, we finally spent a little time in Munich. We went to the Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel chime at 11:00. It's basically an enormous cuckoo clock built on the side of a building. Little men spin around and play instruments and dance for the king. This was another bizarre creation by the eccentric King Ludwig. Carnival was also starting up this day, so there were tents with food and music, and people were dressed in all sorts of crazy costumes. We had a quick Gluwine at a tent, then headed back. We would have spent more time wandering the city, but once again the cold wet weather was getting to us.

Overall it was a good trip. We were able to cross off a lot of places that we wanted to see, although we probably would have preferred to do them during warmer months. We couldn't argue with the price though!

Amazing Journey

So anyone who has ever watched any reality show such as Survivor, The Bachelor, American Idol, Apprentice, Top Chef, knows that at the end of the season the contestants whether winners or losers refers to their experience as an “Amazing Journey”. I’ve always thought it was such a corny phrase, and still do, but I finally get to use it! It’s difficult to describe our first year here other than to say it’s been an Amazing Journey!

It’s pretty hard to believe that we have been here in Belgium for a year now, it has truly flown by. Things have changed quite a bit over the course of a year. When we first got here we were so nervous, excited, and anxious. There was so much to do, find a house, get the dog here, and figure out how to get everything set up, including SHAPE and Belgium ID’s, drivers licenses, and getting a car. It’s not just the set up stuff that was hard; it was all those things we took for granted back home like going to the grocery store. Finding foods labeled in French, figuring out how to weigh and label fresh fruits and vegetables, finding the “special” trash bags and remembering to bring bags to bag our groceries. How we spend our time has changed a lot too. It seems a like a long time ago now that my days were preoccupied with making curtains while Keith handled tons of paperwork!

A year later we are settled and have a great routine. We have our favorite restaurants, a great group of friends, a kooky vet that loves Bailey, and best of all, we call this place home. I no longer spend my days sewing and hanging curtains. Instead I spend a lot of time on the base volunteering with a group that does training for the Army and their families. I also keep busy with work from my old company back home…. (thanks HT!) Although the paperwork is probably never ending, Keith at least has some work to keep him busy. And obviously the travel really has made this whole experience fantastic. We’ve gotten to go to so many places… and not just the major tourist destinations, but also the local day trips. We are busy planning our trips for 2009, including Munich, Ireland, a Northern European Cruise, and Prague! One other thing that has made this past year so much fun is the blog. We’ve had fun writing it and we totally appreciate everyone who follows it, we love your comments. Hopefully we'll have fun adventures to share soon!

Friends, Musicals, Roman Baths, And A Big Pile Of Rocks

My boss from the US was in London on vacation a few weeks ago so we decided to train it up to meet him and his wife. We caught the Eurostar on Thursday night so we could make an early tour the next day, and then planned on meeting him on Saturday for some tourism and a show.

On Friday, we took a long but interesting tour all around southern England. The first stop was Windsor Castle, the Queen's weekend home. It's quite a magnificent place that still looks like an old medieval castle. We walked through the chapel where Henry VIII is buried, as well as several other famous British rulers. Unfortunately the state rooms were closed, so we weren't able to go in there...I've heard they are quite beautiful.

From there it was a 1 1/2 hour drive in the pouring rain to the famous Stonehenge. Just as we approached the site, the clouds parted and we were treated to a nice, dry view of the site. To be honest, it's a big pile of rocks in the middle of a field. This was one of the few times that I've really enjoyed having an audio guide of a place. We learned that the 3000 year old structure was built from stones over 100 miles away. How people at that time could transport 40 ton rocks that distance just blew my mind. We also heard about the many theories of who built them and why...ranging from a timepiece to plant crops to a big practical joke by aliens.

The final stop on the tour was Bath, where a Roman bath house was discovered on top of the only natural hot springs in the UK. Here we roamed around the well restored piece of history, imagining what it was like in Roman times and admiring the amazing architecture and plumbing that the Romans were able to create. We had a little extra time after the tour so we spent some time wandering around the beautiful city. We stopped at Sally Lunn's Buns to pick up the "best bun in the UK" from the bakery in the basement of the oldest house in the city, built in 1482! It's amazing to me how short America's history seems after visiting some of these places. After that, it was a long 2 1/2 hour ride back to London. We were mentally exhausted after the trip, so instead of researching a restaurant we returned to our "favorite" dim-sum spot from our last London trip. Same experience as last time...terrific food, lousy service.

On Saturday we were planning to meet with Chris at 2:00 at the London Eye. We took it easy in the morning, grabbing coffee and making our way to Leicester Square for lunch. After lunch we hopped on the Underground only to find Chris and his wife standing right next to us in the car! What are the odds? So, the four of us made our way to the London Eye. Now, I've been to London two times before this trip, and the only thing I haven't done is the Eye...I'm terrified of heights. But, this time I had convinced myself to give it a shot. So, of course, the giant ferris wheel had broken down just two hours before we arrived. A little bummed, we decided to walk across the river to Westminster Abbey...only to find it closed as well. So, we did the only things left to do in London, hit up a pub! After a couple of pints we retired to our respective hotels to clean up before dinner and a show.

The four of us met up again and enjoyed a nice dinner in the SOHO area, and then cabbed it over to the theater to see Wicked. Chris had found absolutely amazing seats for us, which added to an already wonderful show. After the show, we parted ways quickly as the rain and crowds made it difficult to stand around and chat.

London is always a fun trip, and it was even better to be able to experience it with friends.

Home for Christmas

The stars were aligned for us to have a fantastic trip home at Christmas...we got a direct flight for a great price, NATO was closed so Keith had the time off, and we had friends willing to watch Bailey. The trip itself flew by; there is just no way for us to see everyone we want to see in just a week. My parents were gracious enough to let us crash at their place, and since they are storing our bedroom set in their basement we has a very familiar place to sleep. Possibly the best part of staying at their house was that they are taking care of Pumpkin for us, so we had our furry friend curling up with us most nights. Despite hectic Christmas schedules we were able to coordinate with several people, mostly over lunches and dinners.

On one of our first days, friends had organized a group dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. After a full year being deprived of Mexican food out here, we were quite excited. Several of our friends brought their beautiful new family additions, and we chatted away the evening over margaritas and burritos. Sadly we forgot our camera on this night, so we'll be relying on them to keep us supplied with baby photos. We had three or four other meals with friends, coworkers, and ex-coworkers during the week. Unfortunately there were still many people that we missed due to holiday travel schedules, but it was great to catch up with as many people as we did.

On the 23rd, Keith's mom drove up from Norfolk and stayed with my parents through Christmas. It was really great to be able to have our families together on Christmas. Other than a few shopping trips for some last minute gifts, we took it easy. The whole family took a trip to the church on Christmas Eve to watch our nephew's Christmas play. It was a cute and wonderful version of a Christmas story. Then, on Christmas day we had a blast watching my dad put on every piece of clothing he received...all at the same time. The rest of the day was spent preparing and enjoying the Christmas feast.

We spent our remaining days back home visiting friends when possible. Wendy was kind enough to bring Maya and her mother by a few times, so we got to spend a while with them. It was amazing how much she'd grown already. Our nephew Brandon also stopped by and hung out with us a bit, and we even took a trip to our old home that my brother Tom now owns. He introduced us to Rock Band, and the three of us and his roommate spent the evening playing and singing (apparently poorly as the game told us) away. We were also able to fill another craving with a trip to China Garden in Rosalyn for Dim Sum! It was exactly as we remembered, maybe even better :)

Several people asked us if we noticed anything different now that we've been away for awhile. We were both pretty blown away by the traffic, not that we didn't know it was bad, but it really stood out how crazy the drivers are there. Here, slow traffic truly stays to the right, it is illegal to pass on the right and you can't sit in the left lane, and people follow the traffic rules. I guess I've gotten used to it, that it was a shock to the system to be back with people swerving in and out of lanes, people going 55 in the left lane, and 90 in an exit lane. On a positive note, we loved going to see a movie. It's amazing to have so many theater choices, and movies without all the subtitles on it. I do wish we could add one feature that some of the theaters here have, pre-seating selection. When you buy your tickets you pick your seats, which reduces waiting in lines only to race and elbow others out of the way to save seats for your friends getting popcorn. Nonetheless, it was great to see a movie back home. Another great part about being home was being able to shop on a Sunday! We both needed to run some errands and almost forgot that we could do some of it on Sunday. And who doesn't love a 24 CVS? Ahhh..... the land of Convenience! Our other observation was no big surprise, but we were both pretty overwhelmed with the portions of food! The US really does bigger, sometimes better, but always bigger! It was not hard to feel a little sick after all the meals out with friends.

Anyway, after an uneventful but long flight back to Belgium, we had 5 days to recover from the jet lag and acclimate to the sub-zero temperatures here before Keith went back to work on the 5th. Despite not being able to see everyone that we wanted, it was still a fantastic trip home.

Love It, Hate It, Miss It – Part 3

Third in a running series answering the questions, what do I love about living here, what do I hate or dislike and what do I miss. Here are some more of my reflections:

Love It
Location: So we put down the little town we are in quite often. Just get Keith started and he’ll tell you all that is depressing about our part of Belgium, but we both agree that our town has a great location. In less then two hours driving we can be in four different Countries...France, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. By train and plane the list is extraordinary. We live less then five minutes from a train station and just minutes from the major highway so it’s very easy to get around. We came here for the opportunity to travel and our location has been really perfect in allowing us to get all over Europe. My favorite part is the fact that the highway sign by our house says “Paris” on it, a pretty nice change from “Richmond”

Cafés: I know I’ve talked a lot about us heading into the Grand Place to sit at a café, or that we’ve gone to a café for dinner...but it’s hard to explain how much we both love the café atmosphere. Town centers filled with tables under awnings, people out to have a beer or a coffee, and in no hurry. It’s a big adjustment from any eating/drinking experience in the States. Service is terribly slow, they don’t really check in on you, and it takes forever to get a bill, so why do I love it? Because you can sit for hours and just soak up the atmosphere watching people. You can order one drink and never be bothered or given a dirty look to hurry up. Even in the winter they have heaters under the awnings so you don’t miss a moment of the Christmas Markets. Cafes are just such a great part of the European lifestyle that I am enjoying so much while we are here.

The patient stare: So this actually used to be a Hate It topic about the Bureaucracy in Belgium, but discovering an answer has made it a love it or tolerate it. Basically Belgium has a standard response to any question...“no”. However, we have now discovered that "no" does not mean no, it means ask again, someone else, or be more persistent. We learned within our first weeks here that if at first you don’t get the response you want try, try, try and try again. In fact when I first arrived and needed an ID to get on the base I was given the standard no, and circular logic….“you need to get this badge first” which of course those people told me I needed my ID first. Finally I just stood at the window and stared, not angry, just waiting for some guidance, waiting, staring…. VIOLA! Success, “ok, just this time I’ll give the ID and will fix it in the system.” Not long after Keith and I attempted to get our drivers licenses, which surprisingly was not met by no, but instead the insistence that they would have to keep our American licenses. Again I simply, kindly, stared at the woman and said “No, that is not possible”. A day later we had our licenses without surrendering anything, all with a simple pause. Over and over this tactic has worked. It is still somewhat frustrating to always be met with an immediate no. It feels like people would rather spend an hour resisting or making excuses for doing work then just taking the five minutes to do a simple task. But I love knowing how to overcome it!

Hate It
No Websites: One of our biggest frustrations here is that almost none of the businesses here have websites. Those that do are very limited and have only the most basic of information. Surprisingly, the fact that they are in French isn’t really the problem, we’re pretty adept at translating information so that hasn’t really been the issue. I think we’d be more likely to try more restaurants and stores nearby if we could check them out a bit more online. We have been able to do all our banking and bill pay through the web, however, so we’ve been lucky that way.

TV: It’s like they are taunting me! They have a lot of great shows here on TV like The Simpsons, Friends, Lost, etc. but they are all in French. No subtitles, everything is dubbed in French. We get a few channels in English, CNN, BBC, and then there are some Dutch stations that play some shows that are in English with Dutch subtitles. So I can watch Star Trek the Next Generation, Monk, Magnum PI, etc. We even get the North American Sports Network that covers all the major games of the week, so we have been able to catch some Hokie games! But in the grand scheme of things English TV is limited.

Miss It
A Dishwasher: Overall our house has been great, a nice size, nicely furnished, and has all the modern conveniences we need minus one….a dishwasher. I really didn’t think I’d miss having one so much but it gets tiring doing dishes all the time. There are just times you want to throw everything in the dishwasher and walk away. We’d probably only have to run it once or twice a week but it’d be nice to keep the counters cleaned off in the meantime. Our kitchen is pretty dinky so it’s not really an option let them pile up. One can dream.

The Search for the Best Beer in the World

When Mike came to visit a while back, a beer loving friend gave him a list of must-try Belgian beers. I was ashamed to admit that despite living in Belgium for almost a year now, I had never even heard of the one at the top of the list...Westvleteren 12. On a side note, the number indicates the alcohol content...meaning 12% alcohol! I took a look in our Lonely Planet guide to Belgium and noticed that they too had rated it the best in Belgium. After a little more research I discovered that last year it had achieved the title of "The Best Beer in the World" by ratebeer.com, a popular beer aficionado site. (It has since fallen to second...still, not too shabby)

We started by going to our favorite beer shop in Brugge, which has every beer imaginable...except this one apparently. Several beer stores in Brussels proved fruitless as well. I tried the Delirium bar in Brussels who is famous for its beer selection, which is currently at 2004 available brews....again no luck.

As it turns out, the monks that produce this beer make a very limited quantity, and don't sell to stores or bars. The only way to get it is to drive to the abbey and pick it up yourself. Even then, you have to make an appointment by phone (which is impossible to reach, and they only speak Flemish), and you are only allowed two cases (about 40 beers) per car. I read online that there is a cafe attached to the abbey where you could get a glass of the beer, and sometimes purchase six packs when they are available (which is apparently never as I found out). So, we took a Saturday afternoon and headed to the abbey to try the "Best Beer in the World."

Upon arriving at the abbey in the middle of Nowhere, Belgium, we found the little cafe that the websites spoke of. I eagerly walked in to purchase my six pack at the little store, only to be greeted with a chuckle when I asked. Apparently about two times per year they will sell a case or two, but no more, and they don't know when they will get it. However, you are able to purchase a little kit which has 1 of their famous beer, 1 of their second famous beer (apparently the 10th best beer in the world), two of their "regular" beers, and a glass with the abbey's name on it for about 20 Euro. We tried to pick up several of these sets, but you are only allowed to purchase 1 per person. So, Elizabeth and I each bought a set for ourselves and then sat down for lunch, where we were finally able to try this famous beer.

I must say, I was not disappointed. The beer itself is dark like Guiness, but less bitter and a lot more flavorful. It's absolutely fantastic. I don't know if I would call it the best in the world, but it's certainly one of the best I've ever had. I'm sure that some of its fame comes from its rarity too, but it's absolutely worth a try if you ever get the chance. I found a few places that have imported it to the States, but it seems to run about $30 - $50 a bottle. If you're a big beer fan though, it might just be worth the price.

McCrea’s, Thanksgiving, Germany, France…. And so much more……

We are way behind on our blogs, hopefully we'll have a bunch up soon! But here is a bit about our Thanksgiving with the McCrea's

Winter weather didn’t put a damper on our fantastic visit with Kevin and Stefanie. We picked them up on Thanksgiving Day at the airport and gave them the quick tour of Brussels. Unfortunately the first day here is pretty much a waste; it’s pretty exhausting coming our way so we try to keep the sight seeing to a minimum. After a few quick looks around the city we headed back to our house. Bailey was so excited to see some of her friends from back home. Since NATO doesn’t have Thanksgiving we decided to postpone our celebration to Friday, in the meantime we introduced them to “Steak on a Rock” and Belgian beer. Thankfully, neither disappointed.

Other than Keith having to work a short day on Friday it was not unlike a typical Thanksgiving. Kevin and Stefanie got to sleep in, and I did last minute grocery shopping. Our friends here bought us the necessary fixin’s from the military base. The local store doesn’t sell Turkey (only whole chickens), or any of the boxed favorites like Stove Top stuffing. While I started the Turkey in our tiny oven (cooking in Celsius) Keith took them out to meet the cheese lady to pick out some yummy items for the evening. The food turned out wonderful and the night was great, we had the McCrea’s and our Friends Dan, Susana, their daughter Sofia and dog Emma, we couldn’t ask for better company on Thanksgiving Day. Overall a great Thanksgiving!

On Saturday and Sunday we went spent going to two different cities, Brugge and Monschau, Germany. The holiday season is clearly a fun time to be in Europe, all the villages and cities set up outdoor Christmas markets. Brugge is no exception; all the booths were set up selling all sorts fun items. We took them on the standard walk through town, on a canal ride and of course stocked up on beer and chocolate. Monschau, Germany is about an hour and forty five minutes from our place. It’s a small village just outside Aachen. Basically it was like something out of a fairy tale. A perfect German village nestled in the bottom of the mountains with a stream running through it. It didn’t hurt that while we were there for their Christmas Markets it started snowing! It was something right out of a movie. The town was decorated for the season, and pine booths were set up throughout selling Gluevein (the spiced hot wine) hot chocolate, bratwurst, waffles, and all sorts of yummy goodies to keep you warm. We had lunch on a glass enclosed terrace overlooking the stream, watching the snow. Kevin and Stefanie had success in purchasing an authentic German Cuckoo Clock, Keith and I are sure to get one before we move home.

Keith headed back to work on Monday after dropping us off at the train station. The three of us headed into Paris for the day on the high speed train, we only had one mission to accomplish. Stefanie wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We walked around for a bit letting the grey sky’s clear up and checked out their Christmas booths along the Champs Elysees heading from the Louvre to the Arc de Triumph. After lunch and a slight clearing of the skies we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. To my delight the lines seem to disappear with the winter weather so we made it to the top with little delay or complications. Mission accomplished. The rest of the day was just bonus.

Their whole trip was a real treat for us. Not only do we enjoy getting to show people where we live, but we really love getting to go on these day trips with our friends and family. The only problem is the time seems to go by so quickly.

Working At NATO

Working at NATO has been a fascinating, frustrating, and educational experience....

First let me say that the people are fantastic. Sometimes strange, often fun, but always interesting. On my team we have people from Canada, Poland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Turkey. I enjoy watching the interactions between these different cultures as everyone has a different way of going about things...and many of the stereotypes are true. The Germans are methodical about everything. They like to organize and hate the ineffeciancy that is so common here. The Italians and Belgians seem to take their time with everything and enjoy their long coffee breaks and wine at lunch. The guys from the lesser developed countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary are lots of fun and love a good drink, but are also quite hard working. I especially love to hear stories from the Polish guys about life in a communist country...they were only allowed to purchase six loaves of bread per month, but that didn't matter since bread was rarely available at the stores. If you owned anything from America such as blue jeans or a Coke, then you were either filthy rich or worked for the government. For example, one guy told me about the time his father saved his monthly $20 salary (everyone in Poland was paid the same wage, regardless of what you did) and bought him a pair of real Levi's jeans...for $17! Apparently when he was a child, there was a food shortage and the government went on TV and told the people that America had dropped "Stonka Bugs" from a plane to eat all of their crops! At the time they believed it, as there was no independant media to tell them otherwise.

The NATO employees have a pretty fantastic deal here. They are paid very well, pay no taxes to any country, get tax free shopping, tax free cars, half price gas, free healthcare, and free education (including college). In addition, there are 19 official holidays, and they get 35 vacation days!!! Also, every two years they get an additional 10 days to return to their home country and their travel expenses for the whole family are paid by NATO. So, every other year they have 3 months vacation. When they are at work, it's generally very low stress. Since people have so many vacation days, no one is ever here. So, any time you need approval for something, you have to wait until they're back from holiday. Nothing ever gets done.

The base itself is quite large and has most everything people need to survive. Several thousand people actually live on the base, so there are small houses and apartments in the back. There are a couple of schools with soccer and baseball fields, a movie theater, bowling alley, barber, dry cleaner, and grocery store. As far as I can tell, the people who live on the base never actually leave it. Unfortunately there are very few restaurants within 10 minutes of the base, so I generally eat lunch at the cafeteria. The building that I work in is about 60 years old and has had almost no updates. The most glaring problem is the lack of air conditioning. Now that I've been through a summer here I can say that it never really gets that hot relative to DC, but there were definitely a few weeks that we were sweating it out in the office.

Absolutely everyone here works the same schedule, there are no "flex hours" like you see back home. You are expected to be here 8:30 - 5:30, Monday through Thursday and you eat lunch at 12:00. No more, no less. The nice part is that Friday is 8:30 - 3:30, so you get an early start on the weekend. I wish I could be more flexible with my hours, but when there are only 38 per week it's hard to complain. The other nice part is the coffee breaks...these guys LOVE their coffee. Most everyone takes 30 minute coffee breaks at 10:30 and 3:30. We go as a large group and spend the time socializing. As I've said in blogs before, these guys work to live, not live to work.

There are a lot of differences between the work environment here and one back in the US. The first thing you notice here is that there are almost no women. Part of this is due to the fact that it's a military base, but even the NATO civilian positions are almost always filled by men. The women that are here are dressed in ways that are just not appropriate for work in the US. Low cut tops, short skirts, tall boots and fishnet stockings are standard for the civilan women. For the military, it seems that many of the countries have a competition to see who can dress their women in the shortest skirts. The environment is similar to what I picture for the US in 1950. Women are treated as objects, not employees, and people are rewarded for their age, not their competence level. Crude jokes and bad language are the norm, and commenting on people's appearance (especially women) is perfectly acceptable. For the men, you see some very interesting outfits as well. Uniforms that are way too tight or way too big, foot-tall fuzzy hats, and handlebar mustaches are all on display here. Sometimes it's hard not to chuckle when I walk through the hallways.

The best part about working in an international environment is that I get to experience parts of other cultures in a very authentic way. The guys here love to share their favorite drinks from home...so far I have received a few bottles of Slovakian moonshine made by my coworkers father, Italian wine, and a bottle of Polish "Bison" vodka complete with a blade of grass in it. Apparently the bison urinate on the grass, and that gives it a "special" flavor. I haven't had the guts to open that one up yet. Also, many of the countries are currently holding Christmas Markets on the base where they bring authentic food, drink and products from home. Last weekend we attended the Norwegian and Canadian markets. At the Norwegian market we had some Gluvine (heated, spiced wine) to go with my reindeer sandwich. Yes, apparently I ate Rudolph. At the Canadian market I picked up a bottle of "Moose Milk"...which is more like heavily spiked egg-nog. It has nothing to do with moose other than the story behind it.

Overall, it's been a great experience so far, and I'm looking forward to another year of new experiences with my international friends.

Cheese Lady

Yesterday Keith had off for Armistice Day, marking the end of WWI. We were pretty happy to have a day to take it easy; we've obviously been on the go with the cruise and Mike's visit. As part of our day of chill we decided to check out a farm nearby that someone at the base told me about. The farm is own by a woman and her husband that make cheeses. We took some of the craziest one lane roads, winding through fields of cows and sheep, thank goodness for the GPS, I don't think we would have found it without it. The whole thing was so awesome. This was one of those unique experiences that makes living here really cool. Thea Oostendorp owns the farm and hand makes the cheeses from milk produced by their own organic cows. The cheeses are amazing, she has garlic, Italian spices, peppers, beer, nettles, plain... and so many more. After taste testing almost all of her cheeses, Keith and I bought a bunch of different flavors, our only regret.....not buying more. We both thought this unique experience was going to cost us a bundle, but were completely shocked at how cheap it all was. It was significantly cheaper than the grocery store, and so much better. Guess it just means we'll have to go back soon! Although not a glamorous destination, still one of the neatest things we've done while living here.

Mike's Visit

We were honored that Mike chose to visit us for his frist trip outside the U.S.; it was really great to see him. Surprisingly enough we didn’t leave Belgium during his entire visit. He was pretty clear about his interests…..Beer, Chocolate, Waffles, and Military History...probably in that order. So, we did our best to make sure he got to experience the best of what Belgium has to offer. He actually flew into London and took the Eurostar into Brussels which can be a real cost saver but also can make a long trip even longer. We took it easy for the first couple of days so that he could adjust to the time difference, but I was sure to take him into Mons for his first waffle. He was happy to discover they are not the breakfast waffles we are use to back home but instead are a sweet, fantastic dessert. We made our way up to Brugge to see all the chocolate shops, hopefully he can resist eating all his purchases and manage to get most of the chocolates home as gifts as intended : )

On Friday he and I headed up to Waterloo, a neat historical site, but in terms of tourism needs a lot of work, as the films and explanations are clearly dated and vague. Still incredible to see the spot where Napoleon was defeated. Although climbing the 226 stairs was not all that fun in my out of shape condition! Next, we stayed on the historical kick and the three of us headed to Bastogne (Battle of the Bulge) on Saturday to check on the WWII memorial there. The site was much better in terms of information and background, but still not as comprehensive as I might have liked. Keith also took him to a cemetery near the house that apparently is the only one to have U.S., British, and German soldiers buried in the same location. Now that Mike has seen some of the actual WWII locations he is re-interested in the Band of Brothers mini series, so we watched a few in the evenings. So with Chocolates, Waffles, and history checked off the list the only thing left was BEER.

On his last day Keith took Mike into Brussels to check out the Grand Place and a bar that we’ve been meaning to try. The Delirium bar has the Guinness World Record for having the most beers available at any one time, which amounts to 2004 different brews. So, Mike had an opportunity to try the best of what Belgium has to offer. Obviously we had plenty around the house for him to taste test, but we certainly can't compete with their selection. Due to some scheduling complications Mike decided to head back into London a day early to make sure he was on time for his flight. Although they don’t have the beers we do, I am sure he is having a great time.

Cruisin’ the Mediterranean

Last week we finally took off on our week long Mediterranean cruise that we've always dreamed of doing. Seven nights at sea on the Norwegian Gem visiting exotic places sounded like just what I needed after a few of my taxing 38 hour workweeks and work trip to sunny San Diego.

Our cruise began with a short flight to Barcelona...or so we thought. We decided to take the low cost airline, Ryanair, not realizing that when they said Barcelona, they meant Girona...a town over an hour from the city. This wasn't an issue on the way out, but since we scheduled our flight back for 6:15 am the following week, it made for a brutal morning wakeup call at 2:30am. In hindsight, we should have done more research, but live and learn I guess. After an uneventful flight and hour long bus ride to Barcelona, we were on the boat by 2:00 pm and relaxing with an umbrella drink by 2:30. The boat didn't leave until 7:00 that night, so we had a few hours to sip drinks and enjoy the views of the city from the top deck of the enormous cruise ship.

Day one was a day at sea, which we used to sleep, drink, and gamble. The ship had a large casino and plenty of areas to sit and relax and listen to music. It was a nice relaxing day, just what we needed after all of the recent travelling. The next day we arrived in the island country of Malta, a place which I had never heard of and knew nothing about. It's a small island off the southern cost of Italy and a former British colony, which meant that most people spoke English. Malta was one of those places that looks amazing in pictures and from a distance, but once you get into the city (called Valetta) there isn't a whole lot to look at. It's nice enough, but was a little old and rundown, and not many exciting things to see. We took a bus to the center of the city and then spent a few hours walking back to the ship. There were some beautiful ocean views, but not much else. The highlight of Malta was finding a small area full of little shanties housing local fisherman. There were two men on the dock fishing, with three cats waiting impatiently to pounce on anything they caught. It was fun to watch the cats jump up in anticipation every time they pulled their lines out of the water.

On day three we arrived in Naples, Italy. Since there is a major NATO base there, many of my coworkers have been to the city and warned us that it is not a place where you want to wander around on your own. We took their word for it and scheduled an excursion to a small village just south of the city called Sorrento. The drive down took us through Naples, which I must admit didn't look too impressive. However, Mount Vesuvius loomed in the background and was an amazing sight to see. Our tour guide was a native Italian whose broken English made her sound just like Borat..."we stop here and you can make the picture niiicccee." Sorrento turned out to be exactly what we were looking for, a beautiful little seaside town with small shops and restaurants. We wandered the city a little bit and then had coffee and gelato (Italian ice cream...AMAZING stuff!) at a cafe overlooking the ocean.

Day four was in Rome...or more specifically Civitavecchia, the port about 1 1/2 hours from Rome. As we had just been in Rome a few months ago visiting my mom, we decided to stay on the boat that day. Despite the predictions of rain, it was 75 degrees and sunny, so we spent the day in the pool and jacuzzi. Usually these were too crowded to enjoy, but with most of the guests in Rome it was quite pleasant.

Day five took us to Livorno, Italy, which is the port town close to Florence and Pisa. Here we decided to pay the money for a tour to both cities. After an hour drive to Florence, we had a nice walking tour of the city. Unfortunately I think we had our expectations set too high for Florence, as we were both a little disappointed. The city was very nice, but nothing too spectacular. It is a several hour wait to see Michelangelo’s David so we didn’t have time for that, and the full size replica was under renovation, so we didn’t even get to see it. The tour did include a nice lunch at a 5 star hotel which was fantastic. We had authentic Italian lasagna (good but no Stouffer’s…kidding of course) and more gelato. At the table we even sat next to another American family living in Belgium…what a small world!

After Florence the tour took us to Pisa, where we were able to stand under the famous leaning tower. This bizarre building did live up to expectations as it was both beautiful and scary…it really looks like it’s going to fall over at any minute. We took our obligatory photo of Elizabeth holding it up, and then headed back to the bus. I have to say that if you’re ever looking for a fake Rolex or Gucci bag, that is the place to go. I can’t even count how many times that I was offered a “Rolex” for only 30 Euro.

Next on the list was Villefranche sur Mer, a small town just outside Nice, France. There wasn’t really a port here, the ship just anchored in the bay, and they stuffed us on the lifeboats to go to the shore. This town was absolutely beautiful. Mansions built on the side of mountains overlooking the crystal blue water and little seaside restaurants and cafes were everywhere. We took the ten minute train ride into Nice and spent the day wandering the town and strolling along the shore. We are definitely going to plan a trip back to Nice…it seems like the perfect city to spend a few romantic and relaxing days.

Finally, the boat brought us back to Barcelona, where we spent our last day. After getting off the ship and checking into our hotel, we took the bus tour of the city, getting off a few times to see some touristy spots. There is a famous architect named Ghadi who designed many buildings there so we spent a while hunting them all down. His designes alone are worth the trip to Barcelona, as they look like something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Dramatic colors and siding that appears to be melting seem to be his signature, and his buildings are both beautiful and bizarre at the same time. The church that he designed (Sagrada Familia) has been under construction for over 100 years as it’s entirely funded by donations. There really aren’t words to describe it, but it’s worth a few minutes of web research to see some photos of it…simply amazing.

The next day we woke up at 2:00 am to take a cab to the bus station, then a bus to the airport, and then fly back to Belgium. Unfortunately the fog was so bad at our airport that they circled for an hour, attempted two landings and aborted, then finally redirected us to another airport. From here they put us on another bus to the original airport where we finally picked up our car and drove home.

Despite the long trip home, it was still a wonderful vacation. Next up, a Scandinavian cruise!

Oktoberfest: We Came, We Saw, We Drank

Our trip to Germany consisted of five nights in four different beds. We planned our trip to Germany with some of our friends here, Dan and Susana and their daughter Sophia. Dan is the man with a plan, so we were happy to tag along when he said he had a place to stay in Munich. This story is full of family ties, so I'll do my best to explain. Dan's wife Susana has a sister, Sandra, who lives in Stuttgart with her husband Michael. Susana, Sophia and Sandra were in Portugal their home town and were flying back to Stuttgart on Thursday. So we left Mons with Dan and on Wednesday right after work for Stuttgart. With me so far? Hopefully most of the confusing stuff is out of the way :) Five hours later we pulled into Stuttgart and met Michael, our friend's wife's sister's husband! We crashed at their place for the night.

On Thursday we took turns ducking our head in the shower; Michael, Sandra and their one year Lucas live in a truly European apartment with really cool funky space right out of an IKEA catalog. They have done an amazing job maximizing the little space they have. After a German breakfast of breads and pastries from a local shop we headed out to see Stuttgart. First we headed by the Porsche factory, awesome! They have a skyway crossing the road from one building to the next that actually has the Porsche bodies rolling across it! Michael, a native German, took us to a local beer store and loaded us up with a crate full of different German beers. Really cool experience, nothing we would have been able to do if we weren't traveling with Dan and his family. We then made it to the festival in Stuttgart, not technically Oktoberfest, but basically the same idea. Huge beer tents and major festival activities. I clearly had no appreciation for how huge these festivals are and what a production. I had no idea how many major rides they have. This is no state fair with a ferris wheel and some bumper cars. This is full size roller coasters, a full size log flume, things right out of Kings Dominion (or better). We hung out in a tent for lunch and some German drinking songs, then strolled through the grounds of the fest. The guys went to pick the girls up from the airport while we checked in to a local hotel. We all met back up for dinner then Keith and I took a stroll into the city center of Stuttgart. The city is amazingly green, you would have no idea that it is somewhat of an industrial city, so cool in that it twists and turns through the hill sides.

On Friday morning, Dan, Michael, Keith and I packed up the car again for the two hour drive down to Munich. Dan knew a guy who lives in Munich who was going to be out of town and said we could use his place. Despite the five flights of stairs and TOTAL cigarette saturation it was worth it, his place was five minutes from the festival and free! We dropped off our stuff and made it over to the festival. As warned it was packed and we couldn't get into a tent, but the food was yummy! We found some benches under some outdoor heaters and just took our seats for the day/evening. We all said we wish we could have a tape of the night to playback at high speed, to watch all the folks who came went around us. We had a fantastic time meeting all sorts of wonderful characters. Of course I befriended the Irish at the table next to us with my trademark "For fucks sake, it's feckin' grand". We did finally go into a tent at the very end of the evening, amazing to see about 90% of people dressed in authentic Bavarian dress. The term tent really doesn't do it justice. These "tents" makes tents at weddings look like you are going camping. They are huge! I've already been asked how it compared to Mardi Gras, and I guess I would say that it was significantly less sleazy and less sexual than Mardi Gras. The drinking was about the same though. A major difference is that the tents close around 12:00, so it's really meant to be a day time festival, not something that starts at night.

As we strolled back to our nicotine patch apartment, mild manner Michael suddenly burst with excitement over a Japanese restaurant/bar, so we strolled in at midnight. What better way to end an evening at Oktoberfest in Munich than at a Japanese bar? We hung out for a good two hours, had a great time and made friends with the folks working there.

Surprisingly we weren't too hung over on Saturday.... I guess when you space the drinking out over a full day it's not too bad. Michael served as a tour guide of down town Munich, unfortunately the rain and cold really put a damper on things. We did get to walk through their amazing market, saw the Glockenspiel, the major church, and the Hoffbrau House. We wanted to go in, but the mass of people standing outside (lines are clearly an American thing) just wasn't worth fighting. They were being let in like they were at a cattle call. "I have a group of six, four, three" then had to fight your way through. Keith and I are hoping to make another trip to the Bavarian area during a non-Oktoberfest time so I am hoping we can try again.

On our way back to Stuttgart we stopped at a place on the side of the highway advertising Marklin train stuff. For those of you who don't know, Keith is really into model trains, and owns several Marklin engines. Michael, our amazing host, found out about this place and we made it just in time to see their incredible displays. Really awesome setups with loads of detail. Back in Stuttgart we checked in to our hotel and took it easy for the rest of the night, hanging out with Sandra, Susana and the kids. The journey back on Sunday was uneventful, we were pretty ready to sleep in our own bed after all our travels.

Lonnie Visit

A whirlwind of European fun is probably the only way to describe our visit with Keith's mom. She and I rode the train back from the airport last Thursday and just took it easy until Keith got home from work. Since Keith's vacation days are numbered he wasn't able to join in the festivities on Friday so his mom, Jen (another consultants wife), and I went to the Parc Paradisio to stroll around and check out the gardens and the animals. Because it was a week day the park was fairly deserted, and the rain held off just long enough for us to see everything we wanted to. I still can't get over how close you can get to the little monkeys!

Saturday the three of us headed for Koln (Cologne) Germany. Yes, it's where cologne comes from. The fourth largest city in Germany is only about two and a half hours from us. Not the most spectacular city I have ever been too, but still pretty neat. Most of the city was devasted durning the war so they have done a lot to rebuild. The main draws are the church, which was pretty spectacular and it's location on the Rhine. We strolled through the city and had a lovely lunch with German beer. Have to say, so far, I prefer the Belgian stuff.

On Sunday we took it easy, we watched Bailey play with some new toys that Lonnie brought from home and then headed up to Brussels to catch a movie. The Kinepolis theater in Brussels is a sight to see. It's three stores tall with over 20 theaters. There was watched Wall-E, complete with French and Dutch subtitles, an intermission, and sugar popcorn instead of salt. Very strange...

Monday we headed to Paris, this time by car. Keith braved the rush hour city driving - probably the worst I've ever seen, but he got us there and back safely. It's a longer trip by car than by the high speed train but we still managed to squeeze a lot in. We managed to see the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, a boat ride on the Seine, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc du Triumph, and have lunch. Obviously there is so much more to do in Paris, but to see it all you really have to stay there for several days. We finished the night off with a nice dinner in the Grand Place back here in Mons.

Tuesday, Keith was back to work and Lonnie and I headed out for a leisurly day in Brugge. All along Keith and I have been knocking the little town of Mons that we are in, it's a fairly poor city, that has lost it's life and spirit, and Lonnie thought we were being a bit hard on it until she saw Brugge. I don't know how to explain Brugge other than it is exactly what you think of when you think of a cute european town. It's upbeat, picturesque, clean, charming, or as my mom would say it has "pizzaz". Both Keith and I wish that SHAPE could be located in Brugge instead, but I guess if it were we might not ever leave Belgium. Once Lonnie saw Brugge she understood why we are so down on Mons. It just isn't the same. We walked through the busy city streets, checking out the chocolate and lace shops. We walked along the canals and Lonnie got her first chocolate waffle, a fitting end to her trip to Belgium.