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Hiking and Eating in the Dolomites with some VIPs
Let’s have a little intermission from the Thailand blog post series and take a little trip to the Dolomites in Italy. Last September some very important people came to visit us in Munich, my best friend from college Sarah, and her husband Malcolm. It was their first time visiting us here and we were so excited to have an adventure with them. Prior to their arrival we discussed some different ideas for seeing something outside of Munich. Alex and I had been wanting to visit the Dolomites for awhile and I thought it would be great to share the European hiking experience with Sarah and Mal. Until coming to Europe I had never done a hike that has a mountain hut at the top, waiting to serve you some delicious comfort food. And I had definitely never done an overnight stay in huts like this. Sarah and Mal were on board with just a few requirements. They weren’t keen on staying in a dorm-style room with other smelly and snoring hikers. No complaints from me on that decision! We found a couple different options that offered private rooms and planned out the trip.
The Italian Dolomites are a mountain range in Northeast Italy, in the region of Südtirol or South Tyrol. From Munich this was about a 3.5 hour drive. The Dolomites have some history in World War I as they were the line between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces. There are open air museums there now detailing some of the history, one being located at Cinque Torri (Five towers), which was on our list of stops. The region itself is a blend between Italian and Austrian cultures which we could especially notice in the food and the languages spoken. Food was a highlight of this trip and all dietary restrictions I normally follow gladly went out the window. A few days of feeling bad post trip was well-worth it and I can say I didn’t regret any of my choices.
Our first stop was in a tiny village in the north of Bolzano. I had booked two rooms at an agritourismo called Oberfellsonnerhof. All of us were excited as we headed into this valley and could see the tips of the Dolomites within view. There was a slight snafu when we pulled into what we thought was our accommodation and the woman greeting us told us there were no rooms available. I had been the one to book the rooms and had exchanged many emails with her. She seemed to remember me but was saying that she told me they had no vacancies. I was panicking and pulled up the email on my phone to show her. When she read it she breathed a sigh of relief and told us that I had booked a place just up the street and we were at the wrong location. Somehow Google maps had lead us to the wrong place, and coincidentally it had been a place I had tried to get a room at and was denied. Once at the correct location we were warmly greeted by our real host and shown to our rooms. Very cute and comfortable with balconies looking out over the valley. Perfect for sitting and having a drink before dinner.
There was one restaurant in town inside a hotel (Hotel Überbacher) . Originally I thought we’d drive into one of the bigger towns for dinner but we were all tired of being in the car. I was a little worried that being the only restaurant in town would mean that they didn’t need to have very high standards. We took a nice little walk through the village and easily found the restaurant. I wasn’t blown away by the ambiance but luckily they had a really large balcony sitting right out over the valley with an excellent view. The menu had a really nice option which was to choose two dishes from the list and you’d get a half portion of each. We decided to each order something different so we could try as many things as possible. OH MY GOD…this food was amazing! Every single thing was delicious. In Germany I had tried dumplings (knödel) a few times and never really cared for it. In this restaurant, in South Tyrol, it was a completely different story! Our waitress spoke excellent English and was really nice, which is a welcome contrast from service in Munich. Even though we were all completely stuffed at the end she sold us on dessert when she described a Nutella dumpling. When the dessert arrived there were audible gasps at our table when we sliced into the dumpling and warm Nutella oozed out. While the presentation wasn’t amazing the taste made up for it. You know a dessert is good when you’ve eaten until you’re about to bust and you can still lick the plate clean. Or we’re just pigs!
The next morning we drove south to Lago di Carezza. I had looked up a bunch of lakes and been given some advice from a Dolomites expert, Erin Babnik (check out her amazing photos of this area). I knew I wanted to find some turquoise lakes and Lago di Carezza did not disappoint! One thing that I didn’t expect was the fact that the lake was roped off with a boardwalk going around it. Likely due to how visited the location is by tourists. I was surprised to see tour buses here and had imagined it to be more isolated like our experiences in Switzerland and Slovenia. However, we learned the whole Dolomite region is pretty popular and this lake was one of the highlights. While I don’t like touristy sites I would still highly recommend visiting this spot. The color is unbelievable and especially beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop. There was a nice little fairytale about the color of the water, but I’ve already forgotten what it was about. We ate a packed lunch here to fuel up for the hike to our next accommodation, a mountain refuge overlooking the famous Cinque Torri.
On the way to the start of our hike we passed another beautiful lake. If you’re a fan of mountain lakes and beautiful scenery, South Tyrol does not disappoint. The hike up to Rifugio Scoiatolli took us about 2 hours stopping quite often to admire the view and take photos of the unobstructed views. I would say the hike was of medium difficulty. Not too much skill involved but the incline was enough to get you breathing hard. Alex was the hero of the day when he carried most of our overnight stuff, photography gear, water, and the wine up the mountain. Once at the top the view was even more impressive!
The rifugio was a compromise between dorm style and private. Meaning our rooms were private but the toilet and showers were shared. The room was small and furnished with a bunk bed and closet with access to the shared balcony and great view. For me, this is all I need when hiking. It’s actually a luxurious step up from the dorm-style open rooms we’ve stayed in before with just a sleeping mat. If you really want to splurge at this place you can even rent their wood-fired hot tub for the evening. We didn’t partake as it wasn’t really affordable for 4 people, but it would be nice if we ever return with a bigger group. A 3-course dinner and breakfast buffet was included for an amazing price and we were spoiled once again to some more regional dishes. This place can definitely stand on it’s own as a restaurant. The nice thing is that even if you don’t want to hike up there is a gondola that will bring you to the top. While we waited for our dinner the sun began to set and Alex ran out to get some photos. He also played paparazzi and captured us just as our food was served, I think you can see how happy I am about it. After the sunset and once it was dark we went out again to do a little night photography. It ended up pretty interesting because we had a full moon and the photos could be mistaken for daytime. We took a nice one that will be our album cover if we ever form a band together.
Our 3rd day in the Dolomites started with the breakfast buffet and then hitting the trail back down. The trail passed through the World War I open air museum where we took our time strolling through the restored trenches and encampments. At one point I found a treasure hiding on the roof of one of the encampments. It was a lost purple my little pony. The rescue attempt was dramatic but I saved it and placed it back in the majestic scenery where it belongs. Perhaps its owner will come back and find it one day. Between taking our time there and misjudging the route down, the hike was a lot longer and more tiring than we expected. Once again Alex carried down the heavy pack which still included the bottle of wine we’d brought up. So far this bottle of wine had traveled with us from Munich and still not been consumed because the wine at dinner was so affordable and good that we had plenty there. I was feeling a little bad that Alex was the mule so when we reached a part where I thought we were just about 10 minutes from the car I said I wanted to carry it. That was a huge mistake. When I put it on I nearly tipped over from the weight and I was immediately filled with even more respect for my husband. He didn’t complain even once and this thing was ridiculously overpacked! Unfortunately for me I misjudged how long we had left in the hike AND didn’t realize that we would have to hike uphill at this point. But, I stuck to my word and got a nice workout the rest of the way.
After soaking our feet in the freezing cold stream by the car, and snacking on some trail mix, we loaded up and headed to the nearest village to get some much deserved lunch. We explored the quaint little village and had some pizza for lunch. Then it was back in the car to Passo di Giau where we had booked our last night’s stay in Berghotel Passo Giau. When we arrived we were a little shocked to see so many cars in the parking lot. The hotel rests right next to the mountain road at the top of the pass. The outdoor eating area and restaurant were filled with people and we were a bit worried that staying there wouldn’t be very relaxing. However, we soon realized that the restaurant in the front didn’t reflect the rest of the hotel. Once shown to our rooms we passed through to the hotel area where you couldn’t hear a single noise and it felt like you were in a different place. Our rooms were the best by far for the whole trip. On the top floor with panoramic views of the scenery and beautiful wood furnishings throughout the room. We were in heaven! Even though we were all exhausted from our earlier hike, we took a nice walk up the hill with the rest of the tourists, passing some horses and just enjoying the hot weather. At the top Sarah and Mal decided to head back for some relaxation/napping in their comfy room. Alex and I stayed and spread out the picnic blanket to get a little sunshine.
Later that evening we had another great meal in the hotel’s restaurant which advertised “slow food”. There were so many memorable meals on this trip and not a single disappointing one. It was really nice to travel with friends that also appreciate great food. The funny part of dinner was that while we were in a nice dining room the music being played was AC/DC. Alex complimented the owner on her music which she seemed to appreciate and then she brought out probably every AC/DC album that exists and said we can select what we’d like. Definitely a quirky place! The highlight of this meal though was for sure the tiramisu at the end. Alex and I are big fans of the dish but my mom has always held the title for Best Tiramisu. However, this particular one definitely could have taken the title. I can’t be sure until I go back to the States and try my mom’s one more time. Alex and Malcolm were the biggest fans and the noises they were making while eating it were entirely inappropriate for the dining room! We were treated to another beautiful sunset here and then Alex and I took the camera out in the dark once more to experiment with some night photography. Again, the moon was super bright. In the morning we did one last little photo by the sign before beginning the journey back to Munich.
To break up the car ride we planned one last stop at another turquoise lake, Lago di Braies. This one was also popular with the tourists but since it was a bigger area there was a bit more to enjoy and it wasn’t roped off to us I think I liked it a bit more. I do sort of wish I had jumped in. There were plenty of great rocks to jump off of but since nobody else was interested I decided to skip it. So, that just means I will have to go back again another time!
I seriously hope this isn’t our last European adventure with Sarah and Mal. Although I talk to her almost daily it’s a completely different thing to be able to spend time in person with your friends and to share your life with them. I feel so lucky that I’ve had so many visitors since moving over here and I hope it never ends! When living abroad gets difficult (which happens often), it’s trips home and visits from friends that I can look forward to.
Next time we’re back in the Dolomites, via ferrata will be on the list of things to do!
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4 Weeks in Thailand: North to Chiang Mai Thailand
After a long night on the train from Bangkok we finally arrived in Chiang Mai. We walked with our bags in the heat a good 20 minutes to our next accommodation, Swiss Lanna Lodge. We knew we picked a good one as soon as we arrived. The whole thing was constructed from Teak wood and with an airy feeling throughout. It sort of felt like a tree house. We were greeted by Toto our host and immediately treated like family. Thais are seriously great hosts!
While unpacking it didn’t take long before Alex discovered his iPad was missing. The only explanation was that he had left it on the train. Our hosts graciously called the station for us and were told they would call us back. Alex was understandably upset. I was trying to remain positive which is easier to do when you’re not the one that lost it. After a shower they still hadn’t called back and Alex resigned to just planning our day and moving on. I stubbornly persuaded him into renting bikes and riding to the station just to check. Then at least we know we did all we could. Well what do you know? They actually had it! In fact, they had a very serious system for lost items. They’d already filed some paperwork for it and Alex had to prove to them that it was his somehow before seeing it. Then they made him sign the paperwork and took a photo of him with the train officer and the two of them holding the iPad. It was very ceremonial! We were just so happy that a simple mistake wasn’t going to put a damper on our trip…and that the people working in that train were so honest and helpful. We gave them 10 USD as a thanks which seems like nothing to us, but I hope was enough.
So, first things first, some exploration. We crossed the Ping River and headed inside the old city wall. At the city gate there were a ton of street vendors selling all sorts of interesting things. Freshly cooked fish, exotic (to us) fruits, brightly colored fresh juices, etc. We both got pretty hungry. We wandered around a bit more while heading toward New Delhi Indian Food Restaurant, which was recommended in our Lonely Planet. Chiang Mai has a really large ex-pat community and you could see its influence throughout. While there was still plenty of amazing Thai food to be found there was a lot more variety of food than I had expected. I had swore that I would never get sick of Thai food but after only a few days I was happy to have something different. While the wait was quite long here it wasn’t a shock because they had a sign warning you that they made things fresh and it took time. The food was really good. Unfortunately, not long after eating, the thing I had been dreading happened. My stomach was angry! We headed back to the lodge and I took one of the many varied stomach medications we had brought with us for just this occasion and had a nap.
In the evening we grabbed a tuk tuk and went to the Anusarn Night Market. I was already succumbing to the elephant pant virus, which seems to effect most tourists, and practiced my bargaining skills for awhile. The best part of this market though is the food. Booth after booth of all sorts of types of food. I got my first Thai iced tea here. Not first ever, but first in Thailand. I paired it with yet again, pad see eiw. Alex tried some banana roti for dessert which is basically like a crepe with some bananas inside and sweetened condensed milk on top. It’s extremely popular but I found it to be too sweet.
Heading back to the lodge we noticed some people launching some lit paper lanterns from the bridge. We stayed for awhile watching them trying to get them in flight. I always loved this tradition…even though I realized in that moment that its a bit of a fire hazard!
Day two in Chiang Mai started with breakfast at the lodge. Nothing special but its nice to have it included in the price and not have to plan every meal. We had reserved a scooter the night before and it was conveniently dropped off for us. We packed up some snacks and beers and drove through the city, onto the highway and into the neighboring mountainside. Nature, at last! We stopped at a park that said it had waterfalls. It ended up being 10 or 11 levels to the waterfall and was a really beautiful hike. There were others there walking and relaxing but it wasn’t overcrowded and it seemed to be a lot of local people. The walk was longer than we expected so at the end we decided to eat from one of the vendors at the park even though everything looked a bit questionable. Luckily we survived that meal without incident. I also recommend bringing some baby wipes with you in Thailand because if you need to use the toilet often you will leave feeling pretty disgusted. It’s sort of like using a port o potty and not have a place to wash your hand… hand sanitizer or baby wipes to the rescue!
Then something happened we were unprepared for. It got freezing cold! We were dressed for the heat that we had in Chiang Mai and had no idea that buzzing through the mountains on the scooter would be so cold. Especially as the sun was going down. The ride became painful and seemed endless. I named the scooter “Black Scorpion” in hopes that a badass name would help it climb the hills a bit faster and get us back to the warmth of Chiang Mai.
So some people told me I had packed too much and that I wouldn’t need all the warmer clothing items. WRONG! We used them quite a lot actually. From the airplane ride to the air conditioned train. We could have used them on the scooter ride. And now back in Chiang Mai the evening was actually pretty cold. We changed clothes and headed to a restaurant (Tab-Tim-Krob J – UAN Restaurant) that seemed to have 100% Thai clientele. A very good sign. Every single thing here was delicious. After dinner we tried the special Thai dessert. It’s sort of like a frozen yogurt bar except sweetened coconut milk with crushed ice and the various toppings are things I’ve never heard of. As weird as it looked, we both loved it. Afterward we walked around the city a bit and stopped for a drink at John’s Place (also recommended by Lonely Planet). The plus was that there was a traditional Thai dancer who was fun to watch and a rooftop bar. The minus was that the place seemed like a complete tourist bar but also had a super weird vibe.
On day 3 we decided to do a self-guided temple tour. Giving the Lonely Planet another chance we followed a route suggested by the guidebook. Before starting the tour we needed breakfast and stopped at a bakery that we had passed a few times. We quickly grabbed a few things that looked tasty and brought them with us. Then we made another stop at a pretty cool cafe (Akha Ama Coffee) for some coffee and Thai iced tea and had our breakfast outside. The baked goods and cookie packaging were all in Thai so it was a surprise biting into them. Coffee flavored cookies (yum), cream puffs (yum), and sweet buns with fish inside (??). With breakfast out of the way our next task was to get me a scarf to cover my shoulders for the temples since I was wearing a sundress.
We visited around 5 temples that afternoon, each one having its own unique features. There were some really nice traditions being practiced that I would have liked to learn more about. We were told that pouring water from one bowl to this sort of fountain would wash away your sins, gold leafing the statues honors the teachings of Buddha and also can relieve pain if you foil the same spot on Buddha as where you have pain, and dropping coins into the many donation bowls is supposed to bring good fortune.
In between the temples we took a break for lunch at Kow Soy Siri Soy. Finally a recommendation from Lonely Planet that was spot on. This was a restaurant specializing in a famous local dish called Koi Soy soup. It as extremely spicy but still edible for our untrained palates. We ordered one soup with chicken leg and egg noodles and one dish of chicken and rice and shared them. It was a great combination and both were super satisfying. Lots of locals in this place too which is always a good sign.
After our long tour we decided a foot massage sounded lovely. We headed to Lila Thai Massage and got ourselves a 1 hr massage for 200 baht (that’s about $5). We really liked supporting this place (as little as it was) because it employs women who are newly released inmates from prison in an effort to integrate them back into society.
Getting pampered was a great end to our city stay in Chiang Mai because what was up next was a little more rough. We packed up and said our goodbyes to Toto and friends and hopped on the truck that would be driving us into the jungle.
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4 Weeks in Thailand: Arrival in Bangkok
1 year ago this month Alex and I were enjoying the warm weather in Thailand, eating tons of Pad See Ew and lots of new and delicious dishes. Currently we are sitting here in Munich on a cold winter day with some fresh snow on the ground. Facebook’s Memories feature has been reminding us every day of our amazing 4 week trip last year and so I figured it’s about time I sit down and write about it. We covered a lot in for weeks so this will definitely have to be broken into a series of posts. So, here we go…
After spending Christmas in Tiefenort with Alex’s family, we headed back to Munich where we were greeted by the first real snow of the year and we began packing and preparing for our trip. Neither of us had been to Southeast Asia before and this was one on the top of my list for the majority of my life. My interest in visiting Thailand began way back in middle school when my friend, whose mother is Thai, came back from having spent a school year in Bangkok. The stories she told interested me enough that a few years later in high school I decided to write a comparison essay for English class on the differences between American high schools and Thai high schools. We were required to have a few sources and one had to be a direct source. I don’t remember so clearly but this was back in the days when we had AOL. I somehow got on a message board for Thai high schoolers and I posted a question there. I guess when I signed up I put in my mailing address because for the next 4 years I was receiving letters for teenagers in Thailand wanting to be my pen-pal, best friend, marry me, visit me, etc. Most were written on Hello Kitty stationery and many included photos. These photos were a real glimpse for me into the life and culture in Thailand…which was so drastically different from anything I knew. I can clearly recall a photo of a boy with a rice hat on in a boat on the river. Aside from all this my Dad had many business trips in Thailand and introduced us to Thai food. By the end of high school I had a shoe box full of letters, a new found love of Thai food, and just knew I had to visit one day.
So here we are, freshly vaccinated and preparing for 3.5 weeks traveling through Thailand. Nothing much planned other than our flight in and out of Bangkok and the hotel we would stay in for the first couple of nights while we recovered from the jet lag. We packed as light as possible having been told that we could buy anything we needed once we were there. Both of us had a 65L pack and we managed to get everything we needed in there. In the end of course there were quite a few things we didn’t really need but that’s just how it goes with travel. Our flight was booked through Emirates airlines and we had a layover in Dubai. This was by far the largest plane I had ever been on! The flight was very comfortable and the service is incredible. They even come around with a Polaroid camera to make a nice travel memory for you. The only complaint I had was with the food service. They took so long to clear the trays that everyone was trapped in their seats. By the time they were cleared people were racing to the restroom all at once. To make things worse, we hit some turbulence and they made everyone go sit down! I’ve never seen so many looks of desperation. I’m pretty sure I looked the same. Luckily no one peed their pants as far as I could tell.
We arrived to Bangkok late in the evening, extremely tired and in need of a shower and bed. After picking up some free SIM cards they were handing out at the airport we took the city express train to Prayha Thai. I had already read that the taxis are not to be trusted by tourists and that you should always get a price before getting in one. As soon as we exited the train there was a very official looking “Airport Taxi” offering rides but it was quickly apparent this wasn’t an official taxi. So we walked past and flagged down a tuk tuk. Anyway, glad we did this because what better way to start our visit than by whizzing through the busy streets of Bangkok on a hot summer night in a tuk tuk! As tired as we were I think we both had huge grins on our faces as we took it all in. The driver got us to our hotel, Chillaxin Phra Nakhon. We booked two nights there so that we could get in some sleep and lounge at the pool while we decided on what the next part of our trip would be. This was one of the “fancier” hotels we stayed in on our trip and it was sufficient for us. The air conditioning unit was quite loud in the room, it actually sounded like a man snoring, but other than that we enjoyed the infinity pool with view of the city and the free breakfast in the mornings.
Aside from trip planning by the pool with plenty of tropical drinks while we scoffed at the tourists with their selfie sticks, we also explored Bangkok a little bit. We took a walk to Khao San Rd. which is known as the backpackers road. The street was filled with vendors selling t-shirts, elephant pants, and flip-flops. We didn’t waste any time trying out the street food and we really enjoyed the experience of eating right at the street and seeing how the cook and clean the dishes all right there. The food was amazing! We were cautious of what we ordered as neither of us wanted to end up sick. So no seafood or raw stuff (it was tough to resist all the fresh fruit and juices!) but I could live off Thai noodles so that was fine for me.
I had read all about scammers. One of the main ones is tuk tuks that offer to drive you around all day for a low price but end up taking you to very specific locations where you’re expected to buy some things. We wanted to avoid this at all costs. As we wandered we stopped to look at a sign with a map on it on the street corner. A Thai man approached us and began chatting with us about where we are from in the U.S., how he’s an English teacher at the school across the street and he loves the U.S. He recommended a place for lunch and a festival happening at a temple and wrote it all down for us. Then he gave us some warnings about which tuk tuks are official ones and which to avoid. At that point he flagged down one of the “approved” tuk tuks for us, haggled on the price in Thai, gave the main instructions where to take us, and we were on our way. Man, these guys were good! We were already on the way to these pre-set destinations before even realizing what happened! The “festival” was over when we arrived but the temple was still nice to see. The restaurants were almost all closed but we were starving so we settled on one that turned out to be decent enough. Then of course the catch was that we have to go to the tourism center because it gets the driver gas vouchers. We expected to be pushed to book something but they only printed out some possibilities for our Chiang Mai trip and let us leave. The driver then took us all the way back to our hotel. In the end it was a good deal because it would have cost at least that much just to get back.
Our trip planning pool sessions concluded in us deciding to head North to Chiang Mai and then do some nights in the jungle a bit further north. We booked our overnight train tickets through the hotel concierge for New Year’s eve. We were both looking forward to celebrating the holiday on the overnight train. We figured we’d be among other backpackers and have a very unique celebration.
The next day we packed up and began a half day walk around the city with our loaded backpacks until our train was departing. We were able to visit Chinatown which was near the train station and wandered into Wat Traimit – The Temple of the Golden Buddha – where a festival was going on. It was pretty cool to see with all the people there attached to strings that all eventually attach to Buddha. After exploring there for a bit we went in search of food and found some delicious BBQ pork buns. These are one of my favorite things so I was super excited to find some. Alex loved them just as much so we ordered seconds.
Finally it was time to catch our train. We boarded and found our assigned sleeping car and quickly realized this wasn’t going to be the New Year’s party we had hoped for. Our bunk mate was a middle-aged Japanese business man who spoke very little English. We didn’t see many other people on the train at all. No matter, we were both pretty tired still from jet lag and walking around all day. So we shared a beer with our bunk mate and called it a night.
If anyone is wondering what it’s like to ride on a train like this I will just say that you shouldn’t expect a good night sleep. The train is extremely loud, even with earplugs in and a sleeping pill. It’s constantly screeching to a halt and bouncing back and forth. The beds were decent enough. At first you’re just sitting on them like seats but towards the evening a train worker comes around and makes up your bed for you with clean sheets. They also took your order for breakfast in the morning. There’s a curtain for privacy however, I couldn’t really relax at all and I kept dreaming that I could hear someone entering our car and rummaging through our stuff. I guess I’ve watched too many movies. It’s also important to know that the air conditioned cars get extremely cold. I slept with leggings, socks, and a fleece jacket on. I would have preferred a fan car but the cheaper tickets go faster and they were all sold out. The bathrooms were also interesting in that the toilet is just a hole that empties out into the moving ground beneath you. Good reason to not walk along train tracks…aside from the risk of getting hit by a train of course.
We woke up groggy the next morning with a “Sawasdee Kap” and warning that breakfast would arrive soon. We were both pleasantly surprised at how good our rice soup was for a train meal. The other treat was waking up in a drastically different landscape than Bangkok. The train lurched through jungle, rice paddy fields, and stopped at tiny train stations along the way. After another couple hours (about 12 hours ride in total) we reached Chiang Mai station.
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Our Austrian “Familymoon”
Part III of my wedding week posts covers the days following the wedding. Or what I am calling our “familymoon”. As mentioned in my previous post, one of the reasons we chose to keep our wedding small was so that we could spend some of our budget on a trip with our families. It was the first time our families met and the first time my family was visiting us in Germany so we really wanted it to be special.
Ever since my first visit to Europe, a constant feeling I have when I visit a new place is that I wish I could share it with my family. I’m so grateful that I can share via technology with Facebook, Instagram, Facetime, this blog, etc. But I always imagined how amazing it would be to have them here with me in the moment. I was so excited to finally get to experience this!
We spent a lot of time thinking about and doing research on places to go. Ultimately we decided on a place we had actually looked at as a potential wedding location. It was a rental house we found through HomeAway.com. Alex and I had already scouted it out during a weekend trip when we camped in the area. Nestled in the Tyrolean mountains, Mesnerhof-C is a 400 year old restored farmhouse in Steinberg am Rofan, Austria.
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com The farmhouse is unlike any place I’ve ever stayed before. So much attention was paid to restoring it in a way that kept the character of the original farmhouse. I absolutely love old places like this and imagining the history that took place there.
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com It’s always a bit worrisome when you plan a trip that involves 12 people staying under one roof, especially with two small kids. However, the place was so big that there was a bed for everyone and plenty of room for relaxing. Everything we could have needed was there. A full kitchen and even some pantry items and beverages you could purchase if needed. We had a washer, linens, towels, a BBQ. There was even the luxury of heated flooring in the shower! While all of this was great and added to the comfort of our trip, the real standout of the place was the view. We spent countless hours sitting outside and just feeling like we were characters in a fairytale book, or in The Sound of Music. We walked through the fields surrounding the house while the kids picked wildflowers and we discovered an amazing playground at the church just a few hundred meters away and all became kids again. I think the greatest part about this house was the child-like feeling it brought out in all of us. Family, nature, fresh are and good food. Can you really ask for more?
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com Sure you can! Ok, while it would have been more than fine to spend our days relaxing at the house, we wanted to do a lot of things with the family so that they’d get the full experience. Since we were only 15 minutes driving from the gorgeous lake of Achen, or in German Achensee, we knew we’d have to have a visit there. We decided to combine it with a hike we’d heard about to a waterfall. In the end the hike was more challenging than expected. The description made it sound suitable for our group–we wanted something easier since we had two kids with us–but with the heat and the quick gain in altitude it was a bit more than we bargained for. However, everyone pushed through and we made it to the waterfall where we were rewarded with a cool mist that only slightly cooled us down. Then it was back down to the lake where we could really cool off with a dip in the clear turquoise water and a beer on the shore where the kids went into wrestling mode and the Dads took a nap.
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com The second full day we drove to the Hintertuxer Glacier. In the summer you can take a gondola to the top (3,250 meters) and get a little taste of winter. I loved that we were able to do this because it was a way to share the experience of some of the amazing views we get to see when we go on hikes in the Alps. It took a little bit of convincing to get my mom on the Gondola, but in the end I think she was really glad she overcame her fear of heights and went to the top with us. The view is just spectacular and there is enough snow all year round that skiers and snowboarders are still getting in some turns in July. I think this was really cool for the kids to go from swimming in the lake one day to playing in snow the next. We took a bunch of the required tourist photos from the top and then tested out the complimentary snowtubing hill which was lots of fun. Afterward we took the gondola back to the mid-station where it was a bit warmer at a lower altitude and enjoyed some beers and ice cream in the sun.
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com The rest of the time in Austria was spent exploring more, touring a castle, cooking and eating together, playing games, and going for walks. Just some good, old-fashioned, quality family time. It couldn’t have been any more perfect!
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com On the final day in Austria we were already one person short as Kristin had already flown back to the U.S. More goodbyes took place as we parted ways with Alex’s family temporarily. My parents, Alex and I would join them again in Tiefenort (their hometown) the following day. First we had to head back to Munich for one final night before taking Lauren, Jeff & Co. to the airport. We drove the scenic route back to Munich and made a couple stops to stretch our legs and check out the scenery. When we stopped to take across Sylvenstein Bridge for the view and we stumbled into the setting of a movie…literally! There was a film crew filming a scene with a guy who looked like a version of James Bond, driving a fancy car across the bridge. We had to stop and wait for them to finish the scene before we could walk across. None of us knew who the actor was though so it remains a mystery. Any readers recognize him? We made one more stop in the cute, mountain village of Mittenwald for some beers and souvenir shopping for the kids. The restaurant we chose had a nice view of the mountains and a TRAMPOLINE! Something you would never see in the U.S. for liability reasons.
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com 
photo credit: jeffmasseyphoto.com Back at the apartment we had one final evening together and there was no avoiding it since for this night EVERYONE stayed with us in our small apartment. My parents in the guest room, Lauren, Jeff, and Harper in our bed, and Alex, Brayden and I had a slumber party on the convertible couch. I woke up the next morning to start my birthday with Brayden crowding me out of the bed and stealing the covers and I couldn’t be happier. While I ran out to the bakery, unbeknownst to me my family was preparing a birthday surprise. I came home to flowers, a birthday breakfast cake, and presents. I was completely surprised and so happy to be celebrating a birthday with family…it happens so rarely now. I only wish they could’ve stayed the whole day!
After more goodbyes at the airport we traded the giant van in for a smaller car and started the drive to Tiefenort. We spent a couple wonderful days there where Alex’s parents were amazing hosts and fed us all well. We BBQd for my birthday dinner and had the best Black Forest Cake I have EVER had. We took my parents on a tour of the salt mines in Merkers. On the final day we did some fishing together and had a nice BBQ at the local hunting lodge. I am still completely amazed at how well our parents were able to communicate with each other regardless or not speaking the same language. Body language, and facial expressions go a long way I guess!
What incredible experiences and memories we all made together. I hope it inspires them to all visit us again (and soon!). It was really a once in a lifetime trip for all of us I think and will probably be one of the best memories of my life.
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Our Bavarian Wedding Week
So, after a full year of planning, our wedding week was finally here. But let’s back up a minute and briefly talk about how we got here. As I think many newly engaged women do, I went a bit insane right out of the gate in terms of wedding planning. I found it so stressful to make the big decisions. How big would it be? Who would we invite? How much would we spend? And of course the biggest question, where would we have it? We discussed having it in the U.S., having it in Germany, or having it somewhere in between. I won’t go through all the points of why we settled on Germany but mainly we decided it’s where we are going to begin building our life together so it just made sense. Plus my family wanted to visit at some point so what better reason than a wedding? At first we had a list going of about 80 people we wanted to invite. We planned with this number in mind for awhile but I was still stressed and feeling insane. Eventually it all came to a head and I realized that we were planning a wedding that wasn’t really what I wanted. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see all 80 of those people on our list. But with my family being so far away I didn’t want the whole thing to go by in a blur. So there it was, we decided to keep it super small and by keeping our budget the same we were able to plan what I’m calling a “familymoon”. We decided that for us, sharing some of the amazing places we’ve seen with both of our families was just as important as the wedding.
But then we also decided to get married in the States. Confused? Well, we already had a visit planned for early September 2014 and after doing some research we learned that it’s actually quite complicated to do the legal marriage in Germany. America on the other hand was super easy. I mean proof of that is that I actually legally married my best friend to her husband. And all I had to do was register my email address online. In North Carolina, where we were visiting, you can actually get married 24 hours a day. If the local courthouse is closed you can go to the county jail. No joke! We opted for the courthouse. Originally we wanted this to be completely no fuss. Just the two of us. Then we learned we need two witnesses. Then we thought it would be nice to have my brother-in-law photograph us. At that point we realized we might as well have the whole family there, so we told our families the plan and Alex’s sister was able to make the trip over with us to act as Alex’s witness.
But I’m getting off track now and our first wedding deserves its own post, which will come later. So back to our wedding week in Bavaria.
We ended up choosing a location about an hour from us in Samerberg, Germany. We had a lot of checkboxes to fill and Duftbräu filled almost every single one of them. We had turned wedding venue hunting into nice excuses for weekend trips but nothing had really won us over completely until we found Duftbräu. Our vision was to have a nice place in the mountains, on a lake, easily accessible, with good food, beautiful surroundings and a place for everyone to sleep. The only thing we didn’t accomplish was the lake, however there was a natural swimming pool within a short distance and a waterfall just a hike away. Our first visit to check it out was in the fall and we actually couldn’t see what the view looked like at all because it was so foggy. We were won over first by the beautifully renovated but still rustic restaurant and accommodations. Then when we met the owner and his family we were sold. They were so welcoming and we felt like we could trust them to make our day special. We were so right!
We invited our guests to spend the whole weekend with us if they wanted to. My family was getting in earlier in the week so that we could spend some time exploring Munich and they could get over their jetlag. On Friday we packed up a giant van and headed to Duftbräu where Alex’s family would be meeting us. This was the part I probably was most nervous about. It was the first time our parents would be meeting each other which is stressful in itself. But also, they don’t share a language. I really didn’t know how this was going to turn out and had worried about it quite a bit leading up to the moment. However it was only hours after meeting that I spotted our Dads sitting together “chatting” by themselves. I rushed over to try and help translate so it wouldn’t be awkward and found that they were somehow successfully communicating with body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. In that moment I was able to relax and realize everyone was having a great time.
Most of our guests also arrived the day before so we had a really nice time hanging out that evening and everybody got to know each other a bit before the big day. The next morning our guests went out for a hike, a swim or just relaxed while Alex and I got things ready. We still had some things to prepare and decorating to direct (thanks to everyone who helped with that!) before we could go get ready ourselves. I’m pretty sure it was the hottest day of summer (no exagerration!)
I’m lucky to have a hairstylist in the family so Kristin styled my hair while Lauren and Christin were on bouquet duty. This was probably the only frantic part of my day. There were a bunch of loose ends to tie up and it’s hard to do that when your hair is being done and you have to delegate to others. We only had around 30 guests and I honestly cannot imagine planning something bigger. I don’t know how people do it. Alex on the other hand was enjoying beers with his boys while they got ready in his room. Typical!
Once ready we chose to do what the photographers call a first look. This means our first look at each other is before the ceremony and is captured by the photographers. I really liked this as it wasn’t as nerve-wracking having everyone witness that moment. Our guests had a cocktail hour while we had our photo session and then we headed over to the ceremony site to wait for our guests. We had asked my brother-in-law, Jeff, and Alex’s sister Christin to perform the ceremony. We knew they would both do an excellent job and we wanted to be able to have the ceremony in both English and German so it worked really well. Instead of walking down the “aisle” – which honestly has always been a nightmare for me when I think about my wedding – we decided to have our guests walk to us. We had hung some streamers from a tree branch and we hid behind them with our two officiants and my nephew Brayden, the ring bearer waiting in front. We chose an instrumental version of Sigur Ros’ Hoppipolla by Vitamin String Quartet as the entrance music. Once our guests arrived we had a ring ceremony. Brayden handed out one long string of ribbon among all of our guests. At the end of the string were our rings and they were passed along our guests, one by one, where people were invited to send us blessings, prayers, good thoughts, whatever you would like to call them onto our rings. Alex and I had some fun peeking out at our guests during this. I later found out that some of them didn’t even know we were back there until we came out.
The ceremony was beautiful. I don’t know how to put it into words how meaningful it was to us but I’m sure everyone realized when I started sobbing in the middle of it. I really really did not think I would cry. But in the moment all the emotion came rushing in and this ceremony honestly felt much more official than the one in the courthouse almost a year prior. With everyone standing there witnessing it, and being married by two people we love instead of a complete stranger, it felt totally different. It felt more like we were getting married for the first time.
When the ceremony ended I finally looked out to our guests for the first time. While there were many people’s faces missing from that crowd I was so happy and grateful for the ones who were there.
The first thing I did once we were back at the reception area was run to the bathroom and hold my dress up over my head. It was soooo hot!! My sister kindly wiped me down with a cold towel. I ended up having to do that a few times before the sun finally set. But honestly nothing was going to really bother me on this day. Everything was perfect.
We had a lovely dinner served in the gazebo. The staff there did an amazing job setting up all the decorations we had made. They even built a signpost for the wayfinding sign Alex and I made with all of our favorite locations on it. And a local florist made little wildflower bouquets to put in our vases. Outside we had setup some giant jenga and cornhole games. We planned on games instead of dancing because, well, actually we’ve never really even danced together. All the traditions of the first dance, father/daughter dance weren’t really our thing so we thought games would be a better fit. We totally underestimated our guests. Once dinner was over a few games were played including a surprise game from two friends. Since it was July 4th we lit some sparklers in honor of the holiday. And then, to our surprise, a serious dance party broke out and continued until the staff was telling us it was time to go to bed. Somewhere in there the cake and cupcakes were served. Made by an American friend I’d met in Munich they were called “the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” by one of our guests. Shortly after cake, a mosh pit broke out. It was the most unexpected and hilarious thing of the night and it was thoroughly entertaining to watch. I decided to exit at some point to avoid witnessing any damages. Luckily everyone survived and the gazebo was unharmed. Even with only 30 guests the night went by too quickly. I was really happy we had decided to make a weekend of it, otherwise I would have felt like I didn’t get enough time with everyone.
The next morning people trickled down to breakfast a little at a time and we reminisced about the previous evenings shenanigans and said our goodbyes. But the events weren’t over yet. Next up was our planned “familymoon” in Austria. What the hell is a familymoon you might ask? I think I made it up. Essentially we decided that instead of taking a honeymoon right after the wedding we would ask our families to join us on a trip so we could take advantage of my family finally being in Europe. For our actual honeymoon we are planning to take a road trip in 2016 and try and visit many of the people we would’ve loved to invite to our wedding but weren’t able to.
What follows on the next two pages are first, the photos my brother-in-law of Jeff Massey Photography took of the day preceding and the day following our wedding. He captures things better than I ever could. On our wedding day he was on duty as officiant and we wanted him as a guest at our reception so we had some amazing photographers handle that day for us. I can’t explain how lucky I feel to have found Urška Majer and Domen Kolšek of Urška & Domen Photography. They were a perfect fit and captured our wedding day like the fairytale that it was to us. I didn’t know how important wedding photos would be to me until we got these back from them. If you’re reading this and looking for a photographer I would highly recommend them. They’re willing to travel!
On to to the Photos!
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My Family Visits Munich
The night before my entire family arrived in Munich to visit me for the first time I was a huge ball of emotion. I was excited, nervous, happy, giddy, stressed… Something I know about myself is that I get really paranoid that my guests aren’t having a good time when they visit. I was worried I would ruin the experience for myself if that happened. With the jetlag and my niece and nephew being here, and so many people in one house…there was no telling how things would go. People kept reminding me that my family is coming to Europe, how could they possibly have a bad time?!
Alex and I decided the only way to greet them at the airport was to do it properly. In traditional Bavarian dress! So in the morning we woke up feeling like it was Christmas morning (well I did, Germans celebrate Christmas at night), I put on my dirndl and Alex put on his lederhosen and we hopped on the train. This was my neice and nephews first plane ride and I was anxious to hear how it went. We waited for them outside the gate and I don’t think I could’ve been anymore excited. Having my whole family walk out of the baggage check exit is something I won’t soon forget. I just couldn’t believe they were all here with my in Munich.
We had rented an apartment for Lauren’s family through Airbnb and Mom, Dad and Kristin were staying with us. Everyone took naps as soon as we got back from the airport. That was really hard for me to handle since it meant having to wait longer to hang out with them, but I knew it was for the best.
Alex and I had a list of potential things we could all do. However, we really only had one day to do them. They arrived on Wednesday and we took it easy at home that day and had a BBQ. So then we just had Thursday for sightseeing since Friday we needed to leave for the wedding. Because we knew they’d be jet-lagged and since we had two small kids with us we didn’t set anything in stone and instead just picked some things off the list that seemed to fit with the mood and the day. The only unfortunate thing was the heat. I’m not 100% sure but I would guess it was one of the hottest weeks of summer. If not the hottest. By the end of the day Alex and I were both exhausted so I can’t imagine how my family was feeling. All I can say is that they were the biggest troopers!
As we always do in my family, we ate and drank well throughout the visit. We served up a big Bavarian breakfast complete with weißwurst and beer to start the day. The we all hopped on the train to Nymphenburg Palace and walked around the grounds. I think for Brayden he would’ve been happy enough just riding the trains, trams and buses all day. He loved that we were riding the train underground. For the rest of us though we could’ve done without the stifling heat on the public transport. Since we were all about to die of heat stroke we headed to Augustiner Biergarden to have some lunch in the shade. We order a bit of everything to give them a sampling of Bavarian food. Some fresh whole trout, a giant pretzel, obadza (a camembert cheese spread), and a variety of meats. Of course we all had to order a Maß to rehydrate. The kids enjoyed the playground while the adults rested. Once we were somewhat revived we headed into the city center, starting at Stachus where we played in the fountain a bit to cool off. Then walking through the city, we checked out some churches, street musicians, and entertainers until we made our way to Marienplatz and the Rathaus. Then it was a short (some people would probably argue that it wasn’t short) walk through the Hofgarten and into the Englisch Garten where we stopped to watch the famous surfers on the Eisbach. Finally we cooled off in the shade with a few beers. At that point we were all ready to head home and have a nice BBQ on the terrace.
My brother-in-law, who is an incredible photographer captured the entire trip and left us with some amazing memories. Just to give him a little plug, more of his work can be seen here: Jeff Massey Photography The following photos are all credited to him.
The visit continues with our wedding festivities. Click here to read on.
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Road Trip by Motorcycle: Croatia and Slovenia Part 2
Read Part 1 first, click here.
Next on our stop was Plitvice Lakes National Park or Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera. But first we needed lunch and a campsite. For lunch we stopped at a small restaurant on a creek. I love that you can get so much fresh fish in Croatia. It’s not always as available living in Germany. After lunch we had a small mishap. I was still in my swimsuit and decided I needed fresh clothes on for the rest of our ride. We hadn’t seen any cars on the road so it seemed safe enough to change at the side of the bike. I worked quickly at getting the leather pants off. No cars were in sight, but just as my swimsuit dropped around my ankles a car came slowly around the curve and was subjected to my full ass staring him in the face. I locked eyes with the driver who was laughing hysterically. Probably he was laughing at the look of sheer horror on my face! Well, at least I made someone’s day. (No photos of that part of the trip, sorry.)
The ride was absolutely beautiful, at one point we passed this gorgeous landscape with a lake and herd of sheep in the fields. Landscapes like this were a surprise for me. I had no idea parts of Croatia looked like this. We came to our campsite just before evening. It was located not too far from the park entrance so we could get up and start the day early there.
This is the second time I’ve visited Plitvice and I would recommend always going right when they open (I think around 6am). Especially if you plan to do the full route as it takes a half day and by then end the park is swarming with tourists. Since you’re walking the whole way on narrow boardwalks it can become quite annoying when you get stuck behind a crowd. And needless to say it’s just not as nice to experience nature with throngs of people, especially when many seem to have no respect for their beautiful surroundings.
In my opinion this is a place that is worth putting up with annoying tourists for. While Krka is also gorgeous, this place just has a lot more in the way of “wow” factor for me. We ended up taking so many photos because every single place you look is photograph worthy!
After the full day at Plitvice we drove on to Opatija. This town was unlike any of the others we’d visited in Croatia. In the late 19th century it became an extremely popular destination for Austro-Hungarian nobility and many hotels and villas were constructed in this style. The architecture here was a huge contrast to what we had seen in other areas and we both commented that we somehow felt like we were in Cuba. Why Cuba? We have no idea, we’ve never been to Cuba. I was curious how we both could feel that way and with some quick googling discovered that both cities are built in the Neoclassical and Art Nouveau styles. I guess subconsciously we both recognize architecture styles a bit.
After exploring on foot we had dinner at Ruzmarin. Another mishap occurred here when I promptly dumped my entire cocktail into my lap. The chairs were some sort of non-absorbent material, so the drink pooled in my seat making my entire dress look like I peed myself. Awesome. Luckily, I found one of those super high-powered hand dryers in the bathroom and stuffed my dress in there and it was dry in seconds! However, I almost got caught with my pants down again when some lady came in the bathroom while I attempted to blow-dry my undies. I’m starting to feel that exposing yourself is just a normal part of road-tripping by motorcycle. Moving on…the highlight of this restaurant was the molten chocolate cake. If you ever find yourself in Opatija go to Ruzmarin and get this cake. It was the best ever! Unfortunately we ate it before we could take a photo.
After dinner we hopped back on the bike and drove through some very windy, very dark, and very scary dirt roads until we finally came to Sveta Marina where we’d found a campsite for the night. Some people probably feel that camping at a campground isn’t real camping. However, I have to say that after a full day of riding on a motorcycle I welcomed the idea of a hot shower and real toilets. This was by far the most luxurious campsite we’d stayed at to date. We managed to get a seaside site but since it was dark when we arrived we didn’t get a view until morning. Waking up in a tent and looking out onto the Adriatic Sea was probably one of the coolest camping experiences I’ve had.
We enjoyed the nice shower facilities they had and then had a nice breakfast with a view. Then we sunned on the beach while watching the scuba divers and eventually took a dip ourselves. I wished we could’ve stayed here longer and relaxed but we were on a schedule at this point and so we packed up headed out. The drive back up the peninsula was much less scary in daylight. This was our last day in Croatia and next we were headed to Slovenia.
Having been to Slovenia a few times now we knew what we wanted to see…the mountains! This was our last night so we just enjoyed the ride and another amazing campsite on the Soča river. Slovenia never disappoints and the turquoise color of the water is breathtaking every time I see it. It was a great way to end an amazing trip!
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Road Trip by Motorcycle: Croatia and Slovenia Part 1
in July of 2014 Alex was invited on a sailing trip in Croatia with some of his work colleagues. He decided to ride his motorcycle there and then we planned that I would fly down after his trip and we would make a one-week road trip back to Munich through Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.
I will keep this post brief and just mention all of the amazing places we visited. The pictures speak for themselves and it was definitely the way to see Croatia.
So I arrived at the airport in Split, Croatia where Alex picked me up on the motorcycle. He had most of my gear packed already on the bike and I just arrived with my helmet and dry bag full of the rest of my things. I changed in the parking lot getting a few odd looks from people walking to their cars. I guess it looks a bit odd to be leaving an airport on a motorcycle packed full of camping and road tripping gear.
Prior to arriving in Croatia I had messaged my friend from High School Justin. He was in Croatia for his wedding and he and his lovely wife invited us to visit them on the island of Supetar just a ferry ride from Split. So we headed from the airport to the ferry intending to find a campsite on the island. When we mentioned our plan Justin and Andrea generously invited us to stay in the gorgeous house they rented for their wedding trip. One night turned into three and we had such an amazing time with them. They took us to their favorite restaurant, the same one they’d had their reception dinner at. There we enjoyed really amazing seafood and grilled meats. The highlight was probably the squid ink risotto and the world’s best White Russians we had for dessert.
Alex and I didn’t want to impose to much so the next day after some beach time we took the motorcycle to the other side of the island to see another town and have some dinner. We had another great meal overlooking the ocean and after exploring the streets a bit and observing the night life we headed home. The drive back on the pitch black winding and hilly roads was a bit scary for me. Something that will take getting used to. We met up again with Andrea and Justin for some more White Russians.
The next morning we stopped at a bakery where Andrea ordered us some Börek, a fried pastry filled with meat or cheese. I stood there in amazement as she fluently spoke to the Baker in Croatian, turned and had a conversation in Swedish with Justin, and then confirmed the order with us in English. Puts my German learning skills to shame! We took our “healthy” breakfast to the beach and enjoyed the sun and the sea. After some relaxation we were feeling like we needed to move around so we decided to try out the floating action park. I thought this would be like a medium level of fun but it was way over the top! We paid for 30 minutes I think and it went by so fast as we jumped from the giant inflatable iceburg, bounced recklessly from one platform to the next, slid down slides, climbed walls, and then finally challenged eachother to a timed race. We were having so much fun we attracted all the pre-teens to try out our race too and so we timed them as well. Happy to say that us old folk had better balance and speed than the youngsters. We checked out another beach and spent the rest of the day lounging in the sun, swimming, and jumping off the pier. The next morning we left on the ferry early with Andrea and Justin who were ending their vacation and flying home.
Once back in Split we tried to explore a little. Andrea had recommended seeing the old part of the city. We parked the bike and within minutes the sky looked like the world was coming to an end. We decided we should get on the road and get as far as we possibly could since we had no idea how bad the storm would be or how long it would last. So we managed to take a few photos of Split, which was really gorgeous with the white stone buildings and green shutters. We basically got about 2 minutes onto the highway before the sky opened up and it started raining…hard. Of course there was NOTHING on the road. We debated turning back and then saw a random cafe out in the middle of an industrial area. We parked the bike in an open garage and ran inside. I’m not sure when the last time was that I saw rain like that. It was just coming down in sheets and you couldn’t see anything beyond the road. When the sky finally cleared, maybe two hours later we got back on the road and headed to our next stop, Sibenek.
Another beautiful seaside town and similar to Split with the white and green buildings. We had found a highly rated restaurant on Tripadvisor called Pelegrini. They weren’t quite open yet so we checked out the Cathedral of St. James and then walked up through the narrow alleys to St Michael’s Fortress. The journey up through the streets was the best part. It reminded me a little of exploring the small hidden corners of Piran in Slovenia. The view from the top wasn’t too bad though either.
After lunch we left Sibenik to continue to our next destination Krka National Park. Roadtripping in Croatia offers some really interesting landscape. We drove through lush forests, mountains, desert life terrain, and wide open plains. The countryside was dotted with many abandoned and gutted buildings. Some were covered in what looked like a spray of bullet holes. I can only assume this is devastation from the war which was never rebuilt.
We arrived to Skradin in the late afternoon. After finding a small campsite and setting up for the night we walked into town in search of some dinner. We bought some local figs and salted almonds from some vendors and then tried to select the least touristy restaurant we could find. Our choice was decent. Not the best of our trip but an enjoyable meal and wine and by the end a trio of musicians roamed the restaurant playing at the tables. It reminded me a lot of Mariachi bands in San Diego and made me a bit nostalgic. After dinner we explored the streets of Skradin, bought some gelato and hiked up to the Fortress of Turina to check out the view.
The next morning we woke up early to take the ferry to the park entrance. We were one of the first ferries of the morning so aside from us and the others on our boat the park was uncrowded. At Krka there is one roped off area where you can swim in the unbelievably clear, turquoise water. In hindsight we should have done this first, but we decided to try and get the walking tour started before the park filled up with people. Krka has many beautiful waterfalls and it just seems that everywhere you look is breathtaking. At the end of the walking tour we headed toward the swimming area to find that it was packed with people. I decided I at least have to get in for a little bit to test the frigid waters as I usually do. Alex took my word for it, it was cold!
We took the ferry back to Skradin and had one more thing to check out before hitting the road. Before arriving in Croatia I had seen Justin post a photo of a bridge he jumped off of. I asked him for the name of it and it happened to be in Skradin. I didn’t want to leave without also jumping. Justin had warned us that it might not be legal so to just do it and leave. When we arrived there was some sort of park ranger looking guy at the dock so I was a little nervous. We first scoped out the area a bit and he didn’t seem to be bothered that we were there. I then tested my nerve by jumping from the underside of the bridge. Piece of cake. I hiked up to the top of the bridge while Alex got ready to snap some photos. Once at the top a man on a bicycle stopped to watch. Standing at the top of the bridge in a bathing suit, it was obvious was my intentions were. To be honest, if he wasn’t there watching I may have wussed out. But since it’s important to impress strangers that you’ll never see again I jumped without much hesitation. My form was poor and I screamed pretty loudly but I think it was warranted since it was one of the highest jumps I’ve done I think. Something about jumping from heights into cold water has a way of etching memories of my trips into my brain.
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Nerja and Granada Spain – Alex’s 30th Birthday
Coming up on one year ago Alex had his 30th birthday. As always a long overdue blog post.
I wanted to do something grand and memorable for the big 3-0. After much research and deliberation I decided we could pull off a long weekend in Spain without going too overboard. I found some airline sales to Malaga, Spain. In March with the weather being still pretty cold in Munich, the south of Spain seemed appealing. After doing a bit of research I found that Malaga wasn’t a prime destination but that there were some inviting beach towns a short drive away and also quite a few options for interesting places to see. I was actually torn between the beachside town of Nerja and Ronda which was more inland. Google Ronda to see some amazing scenery.
photo credit: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/608815 Ultimately my choice was decided by the accommodation I found in Nerja. I was looking at airbnb.com and found a lovely apartment with a beautiful terrace. Alex loves terraces and eating outdoors and I figured this would be a great spot for morning breakfasts. When I also saw that the owner offered to cook authentic Spanish meals for an addition, and very reasonable, extra cost I was sold.
Did I mention all of this was a surprise? I told Alex to secure Monday off from work and that we’d be going somewhere. It was pretty hard to keep a secret like that for so long. I emailed Belén, the owner of the Airbnb and explained that it was a 30th birthday surprise and that I was interested in a birthday dinner. All of the menus she offered sounded great. I mentioned that I try to maintain a gluten-free diet but that if it’s a hassle not to worry about it. I recieved the most amazing response from Belén. She explained that her profession is a wedding planner and that she would be more than happy to make this a special dinner for Alex. She was more than willing to accommodate the gluten-free request as well even though I stressed to her that I wouldn’t die if I consumed gluten. I told her we eat pretty much anything and that Alex is a big fan of cheesecake. We set a budget and she said she’d let the menu be a surprise.
I had Alex pack a bag for the weekend and we woke up Saturday, his birthday and got ready to go. I told him he needed his passport even though it wasn’t necessary (just in case right?). I messed up a bit when I realized he’d packed his hair product (not travel size) and I had to tell him that he couldn’t do that (we weren’t checking bags). At that point he knew we were flying. No big deal though since he’d realize soon enough as we headed to the airport. The secret was kept all the way to security where there was a giant screen overhead with all the flights leaving that gate. There were only a few and Alex guessed Malaga on the first try. I can’t keep a straight face so the secret was revealed.
We flew with Vueling airlines which wasn’t the nicest flight ever. The flight was also a bit longer than I remembered it being when I booked. I was so nervous about Alex liking the surprise that I was putting a lot of pressure on everything to go perfectly. We arrived in Malaga and, well, things didn’t go perfectly. I hadn’t booked a rental car because I don’t have a license anymore and I wasn’t sure if Alex would want to drive. I figured I’d let him decide if he preferred to drive a rental or take the bus. First we stopped at information to ask about buses. We were told that getting to Nerja would take like 3 hours or something. This was not what it said when I researched! I started to panic. After a lot of frustration about how long we’d have to drive Alex decided we should rent the car. The lady tried to explain where the car rental was and we headed that way. It took us probably 30 minutes to find it! We walked back and forth, asked directions a few times…there were no signs anywhere! We finally found it, we weren’t even that far from it but since there were no signs we’d turned around before reaching it. So we get there and there is a massive line! UGH!!! I was totally regretting things at this point. Alex was probably sick of my apologies. We were both so hungry and tired at this point and the people in front of us that were basically getting lessons on how to start a car weren’t helping the situation. We finally go in the car and dialed into GPS to check the route. Only 45 minutes! I knew that’s what I had read online originally. I then realized that there was another town called Níjar about 3 hours away. I guess there was some miscommunication. We set off in the car and…it’s raining.
So, we finally arrive at our airbnb. We get our key and check out the apartment. It’s actually the night of the birthday dinner so I tell Belén that we’re going to explore the town. As we leave the apartment she calls me back inside under the pretense she has to tell me something about the key. Alex waited outside while Belén and I figured out what time we would come back for the dinner and decided that we should eat inside since the terrace would be too cold (a bit disappointing). I was nervous Alex would be suspicious that she called me back in but he had no clue. So we went out and checked out Nerja. A very cute little beach town which is quite sleepy in March. We were both starving and even though dinner was only a few hours away I knew we had to eat. We stopped for a small meal and then wandered into a bar for a drink until I told Alex we should head back to get ready for our “dinner reservation”.
As we approached the door I could already smell the food. Spanish music was playing from behind the door and I was so afraid he heard it and knew something was up. However he was clueless. I got the door open and I think I was just as surprised as Alex when I saw everything. I don’t think I could have done a better job if I had done everything myself. I was so happy that I started to get a bit teary. It was just amazing! Balloons, candles and decorations, a table with enough food for at least 10 people. Champagne, wine, a second small table with an entire cheesecake! And the details…there as a printed menu with a note saying it was arranged by me, she’d even printed out my photo from my airbnb profile. Such a clever lady!
Oh my God…the food! We ate until we couldn’t eat another bite. There was gazpacho, melon with proscuitto, roasted peppers, stewed chicken legs, spanish omelette, fish with oranges and olives, cheeses, fruits, salad, etc. The cheesecake had a crust made from gluten-free sugar cookies and the filling had a hint of lemon. We didn’t actually even pop the champagne or eat much dessert because we were so full. No matter though, we had a mini fridge and the leftovers fed us all weekend. I was even contemplating taking the unfinished cheesecake back to Munich with me but I could tell Alex thought I was being a piggy.
With all the big surprises out of the way we discussed what we wanted to do with the weekend. It wasn’t quite beach weather so we decided on Sunday to make the drive to see Alhambra, a palace and fortress in Granada. We arrived early on Sunday amidst many other tourists. After another long line we got inside. I had no idea what to expect and was blown away by the size and magnificence of this site. I still can’t fathom the amount of skill and time it would take to complete all the detailed carvings in the palace. We spent the day taking it all in and snapping a photo at every corner. It was just so beautiful. When we had finally exhausted ourselves we set out for a place to eat. Well, don’t expect too much on a Sunday during siesta hours. I guess this is what happens when you just wing it. We finally found a bar that was serving tapas…free tapas! It wasn’t the most gourmet food ever but you got a free tapas with your drink and so it was quite a bargain. I guess this is fairly normal in Granada and it used to be the tradition with tapas. There aren’t many areas still doing it this way. I would’ve loved to have the time to go back and explore (and eat!) on a day when things were open.
On our final day we had beautiful weather so we drove up the coastline. We stopped to hike out to a viewpoint and get a really good view of the ocean. We couldn’t leave without getting our feet wet (who am I kidding? I was the only one brave enough to test the waters.) and stopped for a while on the beach.
And as quick as that the weekend was over and Alex had started the 3rd decade of his life. It was really just a 2.5 day trip and a tiny taste of Spain but it was enough to leave me wanting more. Until next time Spain… 🙂
