Christmas Markets 2010

My mom has been wanting to see the Christmas markets in Europe for years so she came over with Don this Thanksgiving to experience them.  We had the pleasure of taking them to a few different markets and Kloster Eberbach for a quick tour and wine tasting.

First stop was the Wiesbaden Sternschnuppenmarkt.  We walked down to the market the day they arrived and got some Glühwein and potato pancakes.

The next day (Thanksgiving) we drove to Nürnberg.  The Christmas market didn’t start until Saturday so we just walked around the city and grabbed a nice German meal for our Thanksgiving dinner. 

After that we headed to Prague for a few days to enjoy their market and try their local specialties. 

On the way home we stopped in Nürnberg to visit the market, try its world famous gingerbread, and pick up some last minute gifts.

 

It was a short trip, but definitely nice to be able to spend Thanksgiving with family.

Cape Town, South Africa

As if the opportunity to travel all over Europe isn’t amazing enough, in early November I was sent to Cape Town, South Africa, for work.  Dan and I had never been to Africa before so we decided to extend the trip and make a vacation out of it.  It was awesome!!

Cape Town is surrounded by immense natural beauty, located on the shore of Table Bay with Table Mountain providing a dramatic backdrop to the city.  The working harbor is lined with amazing restaurants and shops, and there are endless things to do in the surrounding area.  Since November is the end of spring in the southern hemisphere, we had perfect weather and got to escape the chilly German autumn for a week.

    

On our first night Dan and I experienced a “taste safari” at a local African restaurant.  We were given a wide range of dishes from all over the continent and were entertained by dancers, drummers, and singers performing traditional African dance.  We had a great time throughout the trip trying new cuisines like Cape Malay, and we even got adventurous by eating ostrich and springbok!

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Our first tour was to Cape Point, a mountainous and very scenic mass of land that stretches for about 18 miles at the extreme southwestern tip of Africa.  We stopped at various points along the way to get out and enjoy the view and ended up seeing a lot of wildlife: penguins, whales, ostriches, and even baby baboons playing on the side of the road!

 

The next day we loaded onto a bus with ten other travelers for a day trip to the Cape Winelands, South Africa's largest wine producing region.  We visited three different wine towns, stopping for tastings (wine, cheese and chocolate!) at wine estates in each.  We had a traditional African meal for lunch and quickly got to know our new friends from Australia, Germany, Austria, and Holland.  It was lots of fun!

  

Our last tour was an African safari.  We drove two hours to a private game reserve called Aquila and then rode around in a converted land rover spotting buffalo, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and lions!  I couldn’t believe how close we got to all of the animals; it was pretty exciting!

On our last full day we hiked Table Mountain by way of Skeleton Gorge, which we later found out was the most difficult way up!  The hike took 3 1/2 hours and has us climbing ladders in the forest and scrambling up rocks in a stream that flowed down the side of the mountain.  The view from the top was well worth the effort!

 

Our trip to South Africa was an incredible experience.  If we ever get the chance to go back we definitely will!

Berlin, Germany

Dan and I were long overdue for a visit to Berlin so we decided to take a road trip over Columbus Day weekend.  On Saturday we took a six hour bike tour of the city and saw all of the major sites like the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and the site of Hitler’s Bunker. 




















After learning a lot of history (Berlin is full of it!) and seeing what’s left of the Berlin Wall, we visited a beer garden for lunch where I got to try Berliner Weisse mit schusse, a sour wheat beer flavored with raspberry syrup.  We witnessed two demonstrations (which delayed our tour a bit), visited beautiful churches and squares, and pedaled down Unter den Linden, which was once Berlin’s premier promenade.    On Sunday we toured Berlin’s Parliament building, the Reichstag.  The Reichstag is topped with a giant glass dome that allows people to look down over the parliamentary proceedings and gives incredible panoramic views of the city. 




Next we stopped by Fassbender & Rausch, supposedly the largest chocolate shop in Europe.  We bought some goodies, of course, and visited the upstairs cafe for a fancy hot chocolate and some dessert.  After that I felt like seeing more of the Berlin Wall so we headed to the East Side Gallery, a 1.3 km long section that has been painted by artists from all over the world.  Pretty cool!

We ended our weekend in Berlin with two of its most popular culinary traditions, currywurst and döner kebab.  Yum!

We really enjoyed our whirlwind tour of Germany’s capital; we only wish we had more time there!

Oktoberfest 2010!

2010 marked the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, and Chris and his brothers decided to meet us there to celebrate.  Saturday was rainy and all the beer tents were full so we decided to go downtown and shop for lederhosen for me. 

 

I also decided to get a giant beer to make up for not getting into a tent.

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon really wanted to get into the Hacker-Pschorr tent so to make sure that we made it in, we woke up at 6 and were standing in line by 8.  The doors opened up at 8:30, and the beer started flowing by 9.

The next day we got to sleep in a little because we had reservations with Chris and Lily at Hofbrauhaus.

 

Oktoberfest was a lot of fun: beer, giant pretzels, and amusement park rides.  What more can I say?

Greece!

We celebrated Dan’s 29th birthday with a week long trip to Greece and ended up falling in love with the stunning views, the food, and island life.

Our trip began with two days in Athens where we braved the intense heat and visited all of the ancient sites including the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Zeus.  They were nothing short of awe-inspiring.  We also had a traditional Greek meal of mezedhes: lots of small plates of typical Greek dishes like tzatziki, yemista (baked stuffed veggies), and meatballs.  It was delicious and left us completely stuffed!

 

Next up was Mykonos, an island known for its intense nightlife.  We were excited to experience it, only to find out that the bars and clubs don’t open until after midnight, and people party until 8 or 9 in the morning!!  We decided we were too old for that and settled for exploring Mykonos’s largest town, Hora; enjoying the hotel pool; and relaxing on the beaches.

 

We spent our last three days on Santorini, a group of four islands in the Aegean Sea that were created 3,600 years ago by an enormous volcanic explosion.  We stayed in the town of Oia, in a cave house built into the side of the caldera.  It had to be one of the most amazing places we’ve ever seen.                                                     

 

Our favorite day of the trip was spent driving around the island (only 45 minutes top to bottom!) in a rented four-wheeler.  We stopped at two beaches, a red sand beach and a black sand beach, and did a wine tasting at a local winery.  It was so much fun having the freedom to go anywhere we wanted.  The sun on our faces and the wind in our hair, while we zipped around the windy roads, weren’t bad either!

We also got to explore the town of Fira, watch beautiful sunsets, and eat lots of amazing Greek food.  We discovered that we love souvlaki, feta cheese, and Greek yogurt more than we ever thought possible!  The Greeks make a pretty good crepe too :).

We had an unforgettable trip and would love to go back to Greece some day!

Day Trip to Luxembourg

I never tire of traveling, and it had been almost three weeks since our Ireland trip (far too long!), so Dan and I took a day trip to Luxembourg, the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.  Luxembourg is a tiny country (only 51 miles long and 35 miles wide) in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany, and it’s only a two hour drive from Wiesbaden!

Our first stop in Luxembourg was the Casemates, an immense underground military defense system built in 1644 by the Spanish.  The Casemates are 23 kilometers long and could shelter 35,000 people, along with equipment, horses, bakeries, and slaughterhouses, in the event of an emergency.  They were dark and full of spiders but very impressive!

The rest of the day was spent eating, wandering through the pedestrian zone, visiting the fortifications, and shopping.  We also happened to stumble upon my favorite Belgian chocolate shop!

It’s always fun to visit a new country!

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