Christmas Road Trip

Since the Christmas season is just about officially over (even here in Italy), I figure it's about time for a recap of our holiday adventures.  It is difficult to travel to any touristy sites here in Europe for Christmas since many things are closed and the usually cheap intra-Europe flights are pretty expensive, so we decided to road trip to visit our friends who live in Heidelberg, Germany.  Although we visited Heidelberg last year for New Year's, we decided to take our time driving and hit up a few spots on the way.

Shop windows in Germany

Stop One: Luzern, Switzerland

Unfortunately, the weather was very uncooperative on our trip here and prevented us from doing any site seeing.  We arrived at night and had enough time to grab dinner.  The combination of wind and freezing rain was not at all enjoyable and we did not get to check out much of the town.  We will be back.

Some rough weather made for far too few Swiss pictures.

On the plus side, we did discover a hidden gem of a hotel.  High above Lake Luzern, this hotel is currently undergoing renovations and will likely be expensive some day soon.  In the meantime, it is a real bargain!  Our room was easily the biggest one we've had in Europe, complete with a balcony overlooking the lake.

Unfortunately, this was the best shot of the view.

Stop Two: Strasbourg, France

We took a quick detour into France on day two to experience the oldest Christmas Market in all of Europe.  Strasbourg is the self-proclaimed "Capital of Christmas" and it comes as no surprise.  The city was packed with vendors, decorations and all sorts of Christmas cheer.

Christmas in France

If you ever get the chance to visit Strasbourg outside of Christmas, I highly recommend it.  It's a delightful town just over the Rhine River (the river is the border between Germany & France) with lots of Germanic flair and French charm.  Back in the day, the French and Germans frequently swapped this land because they both disagreed on their country's borders.  Now, it's a cute and quaint town with lots of unique architecture, a ton of bicycles and a massive cathedral.  Ironically, it's sister city in the US happens to be Boston (which probably explains why I liked it so much!). 

Christmas Market Vendors

Strasbourg Cathedral

Christmas Everywhere!

The streets of Strasbourg

Oldest Christmas Market in Europe!

Pretty buildings

Strasbourg

 Destination: Heidelberg, Germany

Ending 2011 in the same place we started it!

We arrived in Heidelberg on Christmas Eve and caught up with our friends- the Gonzales'.  We met the Gonzales' in North Carolina a few years ago and they are now stationed in Germany.  In the past year, their family has grown and this was the first time we got to meet their six-month old son and reunite with their English bulldog puppy.  We spent the evening walking the streets of downtown Heidelberg, which were pretty empty since Germans celebrate Christmas on the 24th.  Most shops were closed and the restaurant we ate at was closing as we left.

Heidelberg's oldest building....quiet on Christmas Eve

Christmas Day was relaxing and quiet as we enjoyed watching the baby open his gifts (he's now a huge Red Sox fan!), the generosity of our hosts and some delicious cooking.

Although we missed our families back home, it was nice to be in the company of our friends overseas who were wonderful hosts throughout the weekend.  Last year, we had an Italian Christmas, this year a German one and hopefully soon, the rest will be in Quincy!

Buon Natale, Joyeux Noel, Froehliche Weihnachten & Merry Christmas!

**Side note- As a sign that the above Christmas wish is meant to come true, we ended up behind a car with Massachusetts license plates when we crossed the Swiss border on our drive back.  What are the odds of that!? (And who knew you could drive in Europe with US plates?)

Go East

This post is long overdue, but that can be attributed to a massive home internet outage, visitors from home and then a Thanksgiving trip across the pond.  Our trip to Krakow, Poland happened almost two months ago now, but there's still lots to talk about.

Welcome to Polska

If I haven't discussed our love of travel to Eastern Europe...I will say it again- we love Eastern Europe.  And Krakow might just be the most "Eastern" place we've been yet.  It was a little rough around the edges, but the historic center of the city was very charming and picturesque.


Here's a brief recap of our adventures in Poland:

A visit to Wawel Hill, site of the Wawel Cathedral where lots of famous Poles are buried (think Westminster Abbey)...

The front of Wawel Hill

Is this Italy?  No!  It's a Renaissance Courtyard at Wawel Hill.

 Walking around Market Square complete with St. Mary's Basilica and the Cloth Hall...

The two different spires really catch your eye.

Cloth Hall at dusk

Viewing the former residence of the "Greatest Pole" aka Pope John Paul II...

JP II We <3 U!

And also a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.  (While obviously a very emotional place, the tour guides are extremely informative and the site is an expansive museum with very touching memorials and exhibits).

The train tracks at Birkenau

The gate at Auschwitz

The highlight of our trip to Poland (and I can't believe I don't have pictures) was our private room for watching the Patriots/Jets game at the only sports bar in Krakow to show the NFL.  Oh, and our $16 bar tab after buying drinks for the entire game so they'd let us stay.

Did I mention Poland is awesomely cheap?  I obviously can't wait to go back.

Oktoberfest!

It's been a busy fall here in Italy.  Temperatures have finally started to drop and even the leaves are changing color.  It's not New England foliage, but we'll take the burnt yellows here and there.

Fall is synonymous with Oktoberfest and of course, most Americans want to travel to Germany to experience the renown beer festival held annually in Munich.  Although we were actually suppose to go to this event (blame me...I had to work the weekend we planned to go), we found a suitable alternative.

Beer & Pretzels- Both GF!

Just outside of Munich to the northeast lies the suburb of Aschheim.  This small town is not only home to the BMW test track, it also hosts a Gluten-Free Oktoberfest!  How could we not go?

Signs demanding GF nutrition-  This place is for me!

After a long 5+ hour drive, we arrived at the local civic center for the festival, which was hosted by the Celiac Society of Bavaria.  It was primarily reserved for local Germans and when we arrived speaking English and from the US, the event organizers were shocked.  How did we find out about this?  Why were we here?  Did we come all the way from the US just for this event?  While in line for some delicious food, we spoke to a German man who, upon learning that we were American, asked if we had found a "cure" for Celiac Disease yet.  If anyone would have it, it would be the Americans, he argued.  I didn't want to tell him that GF living in Europe seems a lot better than in the US.

I could get used to this!

Speaking of the food, the Munich Dietician School was on hand serving delicious GF schnitzel and strudel.

Delicious Food

While this was certainly not a rowdy event like the famous Oktoberfest is portrayed, it was certainly authentic.  An oompah band played on stage and men and women dressed in lederhosen and dirndls.

Very authentic...

The festival was also a chance for many gluten free vendors to sell their products and I left with samples of many new treats, a GF cookbook in German (it has nice pictures and it was free) and snacks made by my favorite GF brand of all- Schar!

Look at all my goodies!

After the festival, we ventured back through Austria and visited the town of Hart im Zillertal.  While this small town is nothing more than a church, school, hotel and some homes, we were passing right through our namesake and decided we had to stop for some good photos.  It was a beautiful day and the views and surroundings were worth the effort.

Cemetery in Hart

Willkommen in Hart!

From Hart, we ventured to Innsbruck, Austria- a favorite small city of ours.  Although we've been to Innsbruck before, we decided it was a good stopping point for the night.  After a brief stroll through the city, we headed to one of our favorite European restaurants and enjoyed some more good food.

The Golden Roof in Innsbruck

While we didn't make it to Munich for the spectacle of Oktoberfest, we certainly experienced our own local and more authentic celebration of German (and Gluten-Free) delicacies!

Ten Things We Learned About Sweden!

Over the Labor Day Weekend, we ventured north to Sweden.  This was actually a rebooking of a previous trip.  You may remember that we were registered to run the Stockholm Marathon in May, but due to B's knee surgery date being the week before, he was obviously out of contention and unable to even travel if I had decided to run.  So we postponed the trip and decided to go another time.  We also decided that we would not go to Stockholm and instead rent a car and explore rural Sweden.  We settled on the Southeastern side of Sweden and enjoyed a long weekend exploring this not-so-touristy area.  Here are ten things we learned along the way:

Welcome to Sweden!

1. Not all Swedes have blonde hair and blue eyes....but they do all drive Volvos.
We went into the weekend thinking that everyone would look like that famous American Girl Doll Kirsten Larsen, but we were surprised to find that Sweden has a very large immigrant population.  Not sure if this has to do with their generous social benefits, but our dark complexions did not make us stand out at all. (Update!  The rising number of non-native Swedes has to do with the fact that Sweden does not require visas for residents of EU countries.  Many people from the "new" EU countries have found their way north because of this.)  There were many different ethnicities represented in the area where we were.  Although we did not experience this stereotype, we did notice that almost all Swedes drive a Volvo!  There were Volvos everywhere.

Volvos for everyone!

2. Swedes speak English.
Although the predominant language was Swedish, most Swedes spoke very good English.  They also seemed excited to use English.  Although we were mistaken for Germans on more than one occasion, we enjoyed their frequent use of English and their friendliness when using it. Our only issue came one night when ordering pizza.  The special was a pizza called Batsman, which we learned meant boatman/sailor.  We tried saying it like the superhero and the man could not understand at all what we were saying.  Apparently, it's pronounced like Botsman.

They spoke English, but nobody could tell me what Rhode Island dressing was.

3. Sweden is much similar to the US than Europe when it comes to alcohol.
Unlike the rest of Europe where the drinking age is low and alcohol is inexpensive, Sweden is much similar to the US.  Drinks are pricey and the legal drinking age is 20.  You can only buy beer (not wine or liquor) in a grocery store and the beer has a very low alcohol content (as mandated by the government).  Also, Sweden does not joke around about drinking and driving.  On Sunday morning at 9 am as we set out for the day, we were stopped at a mandatory checkpoint and B had to take a Breathalyzer to pass through.  Very interesting.

4. Sweden looks a lot like New England.
It's no surprise that Swedish immigrants settled in Maine, Canada and Minnesota.  Southern Sweden looks almost exactly like the woods of North America.  There are lots of lakes and birch trees.  I actually forgot that I was in Europe for most of the trip.

New Hampshire....or Sweden?

5. There must be a high population of Swedes with Celiac Disease.
Swedes take gluten-free food to a new level.  Almost every store and restaurant we went to had GF food and even fast-food places served a tallrik option.  A tallrik- the Swedish word for plate- was a platter of food instead of something with bread (a Hamburger tallrik was served on a plate sans bread).  Speaking of cuisine- the Swedes eat a lot like we do and they LOVE doner kebabs.

Swedish cuisine!

6. Sweden is moose country.
Much like New England, there were several signs for moose crossings.  We even enjoyed ourselves on a moose safari where we go up close and personal with these creatures.  Side note: in Sweden, moose are called "European Elk".

Moose Safari!

7. Everyone has a red house.
In Southern Sweden, many of the homes are painted the same shade of red.  We late discovered that this paint is made from the high iron concentration in the land and that the paint serves as a protectant for their wood homes.  Even we had a nice red cottage!

Our awesome cottage

8. Swedish summer ends in August.

We ventured out to the island of Oland (a large island in the Baltic) on a beautiful day only to find that most attractions were closed!  When August ends, so does the summer.  The place was deserted even though it was a beautiful September day.  Side note: Oland is the Swedish equivalent to Martha's Vineyard.

A beautiful day on Oland, but where is everyone?

9. Sweden is the birthplace of Pippi Longstocking.
Who knew?  The author of this series- Astrid Lindgren- was born in Vimmerby, which we decided to visit.  Nearby, they have recreated a Pippi Longstocking amusement park complete with a real-life Pippi!  Sadly, we decided to skip this.

In Vimmerby with Astrid Lindgren

10. Americans are a real rarity in Southern Sweden.
We made our base for the weekend in the lovely coastal town of Vastervik and everywhere we went, people were surprised to find that we were Americans.  Are you German?  British?  Australian?  We heard it all.  Everyone was surprised to find us in that area, but it felt about as close to home as anywhere we've been in Europe.

Visitors!

It wouldn't be summer without a visit from K & J Poles...and true to form, the traveling pair showed up in Italy mid-August during another (whirlwind, crazy, ambitious) visit to Europe.  Luckily this year, they knew how to operate our door, we knew more restaurants and places to visit with them and we all had a more relaxed time.

In between their travels to neighboring countries, they joined us for two weekend trips:

Weekend 1: Germany/Austria

The Tea House- Hitler's Eagle's Nest

During the long, hot summer last year we decided to book a hotel in Germany for this summer.  It happened to be the same weekend of the Poles visit so we all decided to head to Bavaria.  Although we have been in that area several times before (and are going back soon!), there were still a few sites we had not seen.  Unfortunately, K & J had seen the sites we had been too and vice versa.  We decided to head different directions- we went to Berchtesgaden where Hitler's Eagles Nest is located and K&J headed to the Neuchwanstein castles.

As you can see, it's quite the tourist attraction

Berchtesgaden is a town right on the German/Austrian border south of Salzburg that is known as the site of Hitler's mountaintop hideout.  It was the location of many top Nazi homes and bunkers in the hills in what was a favorite retreat place during World War II.  Although it was eventually bombed by the Allies near the end of the war, the bunkers and the tea house remain.  The tea house- or Kehlsteinhaus in German- is now a functioning restaurant, which is very strange because it's also a bit of a museum complete with a fireplace that Mussolini gave Hilter as a birthday present and a room dedicated to Eva Braun.  I honestly thought there would be a lot more substance to the whole place- the only real "history" is in the nearby Documentation Center, which is all in German (but with an English audio guide).  The bunkers were probably the best part and I don't have any pictures!

The birthday fireplace- right behind this is a modern restaurant

To get to the mountaintop, you must take a special German bus to an elevator that is powered by a UBoat engine.  The views are very nice on a clear day and we got enough of one to be able to see into the surrounding towns.  Speaking of surrounding towns, our tour made a stop in the town of Berchtesgaden.  The town was rather sleepy on an August afternoon, but picturesque nonetheless.
We met up with K&J for a nice German dinner and prepared for another day.

The town of Berchtesgaden

On day 2, the skies were picture perfect blue- a real rarity in Germany.  We decided that now would be the best time to attempt the Grossglockner Pass.  The Grossglockner is a high alpine road that connects Germany/Austria/Italy with magnificent views of the highest point in Austria and a glacier.  It also happens to be my father's absolute favorite sites in Europe and he has not stopped talking about it since his visit last fall.

The windy roads of the Grossglockner

Hi Dad!

The road is very scenic and we had the perfect day....

Really out of the way...

Unfortunately, we did not realize how out of the way it brought us and we spent the majority of the day in the car.  We ate all our snacks, listened to the same songs, stopped talking because we were tired of listening...it was a long day.

Weekend 2: Croatia


K&J really wanted to add as many countries to their travels as possible, so we ventured out to Croatia on the following weekend.  We decided to try the Istrian town of Rovinj on a recommendation from Rick Steves.  The seaside town did not disappoint...and neither did our accommodations.

The lovely apartment

We rented an apartment in a very residential section of town from a lovely lady who spoke no English.  Upon our arrival, she had her grandson attempt to translate for us, but his English was spotty and we got by with some hand signals.  The place was spacious, comfortable and in a cute neighborhood.

The rugged coastline

On Saturday, the weather was surprisingly very warm, so we ventured to the "beach".  I say "beach" because there was really no sand.  Instead, the Golden Cape coast is a combination of woods, bike path/walking path and rocks.  We were definitely in need of some good aqua socks in order to swim, but we were able to find a place to get in easily.  The water was very warm and enjoyable....until we saw a
massive Adriatic jellyfish.  My fear of all things aquatic initiated a very fast exit.  We can also cross off "Go to Nude Beach" from our bucket list as we ventured onto one while wandering around.

The Golden Cape

We enjoyed a lovely dinner right on the Rovinj harbor and walked around the Old Town, which just happened to be having a festival.  The city was packed with people, all the way past midnight and the fireworks show.  We also caught the performance of now famous Croatian cellists- Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic.  If you aren't familiar, check them out!

Rovinj Harbor at dinner

The downfall of the weekend came on our walk back to the apartment, which was a good distance from the Old Town.  My famous last words sounded something like..."We should just go back the way we came..." but my travel companions decided they knew a quicker way.  The quicker way got us lost near a Croatian nightclub in the woods where people were tailgating in the abandoned parking area nearby.  We were hopelessly lost without a map or any idea where we should go.  Eventually, we did make it back and argued for a while about whose decision-making got us back on the right track.

Entry to Old Town, Rovinj

On Sunday, we returned to Italy and bid K&J farewell with a nice dinner overlooking Vicenza.  We know they'll be back soon!

Epic Fail...

A few Saturdays ago, we had some awesome plans.  B was all set to go fishing in the Adriatic with some buddies from work.  I was all excited to finally be able to go on my Venetian lagoon tour (which I have already attempted to do twice before).  The plans were set.  We went to bed early.  And then it just all went downhill...

Off to Venice!

B was up and out at about 4 am and was very excited to go fishing.  I had my train all picked out for the quick ride to Venice and my Rick Steves book handy for the best route around the islands.  While on the vaporetto on the way to my first island, I got a text..."Epic Fail."  Thanks to the ominous sky and rough seas, the fishing trip was cancelled.

I continued on my way, since I was already in Venice and headed to the island of Murano.  Murano is most well known for its glass making and that's pretty much all that is on the island.  I stopped in a store to see a glass-making demonstration and wandered around some of the shops.  Foolishly, I thought that the folks of Murano were glass blowers...but in fact, the glass is made in a furnace and they do all sorts of neat things to it (kinda like a bad ass blacksmith).  I was impressed.

The island of Murano

The island is a nice break from crowd-invested Venice.  It essentially has the same things- canals, bridges, boats, shops and churches- without the people.  Even on this July weekend, I found myself on completely empty streets on more than one occasion.

Empty long enough for me to take a reflection picture without people in the way!

After Murano, I planned to try to go to Burano, the lace-making island.  But, that ominous sky that cancelled the fishing trip ruined those plans and I instead headed back to Venice.  On the way, we passed the island that is only used as a cemetery since back in the day (and probably still today) there is no way to really put someone in the ground in Venice...and not much room to put them above it.  We also came in a different direction that the usual Grand Canal route, so I got a good look at the more residential side of the island.

Murano= Venice-Lite

I spent the day in Venice only using the vaporetto to get around.  If you've already seen the streets of Venice, the vaporetto (or water bus) is the way to go.

When in Venice, I find it impossible not to take pictures, even though I've been a number of times...

Venice by water

While the day wasn't a total failure, it came close!  I still have a few more islands to see and more of Venice to explore.  Until next time...

I will return!