Sharing the World

Our Last Big Adventure

smartin1978 — Fri, 6 Oct 2006 07:35:00 GMT

Our time here in Europe is starting to wind down, but before we left, there were a few more places that we had yet to see. This trip began as more of an excuse to see friends, but that really enabled to get to some places that we did not expect to be able to go. We’ll just provide the overview of the trip here and go into details in another blog so this doesn’t become a small novel!

Alessandro, a Brazilian, and Peter, a Slovakian, were going to travel with us to see Kristin in Norway. (All these people work with Shannon at a place that sells itself as an “American” pizza restaurant.) Kristin was at home for the summer break, and would be coming back to Edinburgh shortly after the four of us visited. The plan was for us four to meet her in Norway, stay for a few nights, then we would go to Copenhagen, and then on to Slovakia to stay with Peter for a few days. After Slovakia, Alessandro was coming back to Edinburgh, Peter would stay behind for a couple more weeks, and Shannon and I would continue on to see Austria and Germany.

This was certainly one of our most ambitious trips so far. We had three weeks to try and see 9 cities in 4 countries. In the end I think we outdid ourselves by actually getting to 13 cities. Needless to say we were exhausted by the end and eager to get back home. Here is the beginning of our trip and I’ll keep posting as I get the chance, but there is a lot to talk about and over 200 pictures to go through. I think I’ll start with Norway and Denmark in my next post. Until then…

Gallery: Berlin

smartin1978 — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Berlin, Germany

Gallery: Rothenburg and the Rhine Valley

smartin1978 — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Central Germany

Gallery: Fussen and Munich, Germany

smartin1978 — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Bavaria, Germany

Gallery: Vienna, Austria

smartin1978 — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Vienna

Gallery: Slovakia

smartin1978 — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Our Stay with Peter

Gallery: Copenhagen

smartin1978 — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 21:00:00 GMT

Copenhagen, Denmark

Gallery: Norway

smartin1978 — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 21:00:00 GMT

Norway

Life in the UK

smartin1978 — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Now that we’ve been settled in Edinburgh for a while, we’ve had a chance to really get to know this town, and what a great town it is. Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital and 2^nd largest city. With only about 500,000 people, it has all the great attractions of a city without all the crowds and craziness. We live right near the center of town, about a 15 minute walk from the castle. The people are friendly and outgoing, the beer is strong, and there is always a place to go to hear live music. Rob is still working over the internet, and Shannon found a job as a waitress at pizza restaurant. (Yes, they actually have really good pizza here!)

For our anniversary in July, we took a short trip to small town called Fort William. The town sits cozily on a loch (or lake, as we say in the States) and gave us a nice break from the “big city.” During the afternoon we decided to try a thing called canyoning. Canyoning is a new sport where you get geared up in a wetsuit, life vest, helmet, and climbing rig, jump in a river, and make your way down the canyon. (Have we ever done anything even remotely normal in our lives?) It really was a ton of fun. We slid down natural waterslides, climbed down waterfalls, and jumped off 30-40 foot cliffs. Since we were the only 2 people on this trip, we were able to have a lot of fun with our guide and take as much time as we wanted on our trip down the canyon. The area was absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately we weren’t able to take any pictures. Afterwards we went to a pub and Shannon was finally able to sing a little karaoke for the first time since leaving Chicago.

During the first weekend of August we took a 3 day trip to the Highlands of Scotland. The Highlands is the mountainous region in the north of the country. With very few roads and difficult terrain, it has a unique culture that has remained strong despite many attempts by invaders to conquer it. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable of Scottish folklore, history, and culture. He was able to take us to the places where William Wallace planned his amazing victory over the English at the battle of Sterling Bridge, tell us stories about Scottish clans massacring each other in the valleys between the mountains, and show us the battlefield where all hopes for Scottish independence was ruthlessly squashed by the British Army. (This last battle, by the way, changed the entire history of the world. Had the Scots won, King George would not have held the throne of England, the American colonies might never have revolted, and the British Empire might never have existed.) Finally, we had tea on the shores of the famous Loch Ness. We didn’t see the monster despite Shannon’s attempts to jump in the loch and try to coax it to the surface. Yes, she actually swam in Loch Ness.

Now that we are in the middle of August, the Edinburgh Festival is in full swing. The festival consists of 3 weeks of plays, musicals, shows, street performers, and any other type of entertainment you can think of. We’ve seen a few shows now, some good, some not so good. In all, there are about 1,800 shows each week to choose from, so we haven’t really even touched the tip of the iceberg.

In a few weeks we will be taking our final big trip through Europe. We will start by going to Norway to visit a friend we met when we arrived, then into Copenhagen, Slovakia (to stay with another friend for a few days), then Austria, and finally Germany. Oktoberfest will be in full swing when we get to Munich, so we’ll have a chance to experience the highlights of German “culture.”

Once this trip is over, our stay here in Europe will be near its end. More to come later on those details, though…

Gallery: The Highlands

smartin1978 — Sun, 6 Aug 2006 20:00:00 GMT

Gallery: Venice, Italy

smartin1978 — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Killer Cows in Switzerland

smartin1978 — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:00:00 GMT

The last time we visited the Swiss Alps it was the middle of winter and the snowfall was being measured in meters—not exactly ideal hiking weather. As beautiful as it was in February, being in the Alps in the summer was amazing. The snow had retreated up to the peaks, the mountain streams were gushing with the spring melt, and it was the perfect temperature for hiking.

After some discussion about which route to take for our hike, we decided that an 8 hour hike might be too much, so we settled for a path that, according to our map, would be a 4-6 hour loop through a valley, up a mountain, and back down to the little town we were staying in. Oh, and we should mention that we were sleeping in someone’s barn at the time. During the summer months the farmers take their cattle up the mountains and let them stay there to graze. A very nice woman named Esther cleans out her barn after the cows go up and lets travelers stay there for much cheaper than any hostel or B&B.

The hike through the valley and up into the mountains was amazing. Although it was difficult at times, we were rewarded with some of the most breath-taking scenery on the planet. We hiked for quite some time, and when going uphill, it always seemed like it would never end, but eventually we reached the half-way point in our hike. This was a restaurant about 2,040 meters (6,100 feet) above sea level and in the middle of nothing more than a rocky mountain face and grassy field. Getting there was a bit of a challenge, though, as the path we were following often disappeared in the tall grasses and private fields we had to hike through. However, once we arrived at the restaurant, we all ate a delicious meal made exclusively for the 5 of us, and had a chance to rest our weary feet. Talking with the restaurant owner we learned that all his supplies have to be brought up by helicopter a few times a week. There are no real roads going up the mountain, and we were probably his only customers all day.

After being fed and watered, we noticed that we had already been hiking for about 4 hours, and being half-way through a 4 hour hike, it didn’t look too promising for our hike down. The clouds had also come in while we were eating, so all the beautiful scenery was just a large wall of whiteness only allowing us about 100 meters of visibility. The fog did eventually lift, though. Well, actually, what happened was we descended far enough down the mountain that we were now below the cloud. Lucky us, this cloud was producing rain. Even though we were now tired, wet, and ready to get back to town, we encountered a very large waterfall flowing over a rock face and into the valley. Our path led behind the waterfall and reminded us that this long hike was worth it.

As we were nearing the end of this long and tiring trip, we still had one more obstacle in our way—the cows. Our path led downhill and through a gate in the fence surrounding the field we were hiking through. About half a mile down the mountain we could see the town we were staying in. The end was in sight, if only we could get past the 10-12 cows blocking our path. Now, cows do seem like peaceful creatures, but us city folk were reluctant to try and push a 1,200 pound animal out of our way. And yes, they were physically in our way. As we were standing there trying to find a way around the cows, Dawn suddenly starting walking towards to cows clapping and telling them to “moooo-ve” out of her way. They obediently did and she was through the gate. The rest of us just stood there laughing and marveling at her bravery (which was really just frustration at being out on the mountain for 8 hours! No cow was going to stop her now that we could see the end!) Following Dawn’s lead, Mike was next to try and wind his way though the herd, but he was less vocal and the cows did not get out of his way quite so eagerly. One cow in particular decided that Mike was in her way. As Mike moved toward the cow, it moved at him and head-butt him almost knocking him to the ground. Shaken and a bit startled, Mike ran back up the mountain and out of the cow’s way. This cow we named Bossy.

To our rescue, Dawn walks back inside the gate clapping and yelling at the cows and cleared the path long enough for the rest of us to move down the mountain and out of the gate. Our hero! Because of Dawn we were all able to get back to town and rest without a single cow-related fatality.

Gallery: Swiss Alps in Summer

smartin1978 — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Gallery: Paris

smartin1978 — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Paris

Gallery: Amsterdam

smartin1978 — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Gallery: First days in Edinburgh

smartin1978 — Fri, 12 May 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Pictures from our first week in Edinburgh

Gallery: Sights of Sevilla

smartin1978 — Tue, 9 May 2006 11:00:00 GMT

Some of festivals and sights around Sevilla

Gallery: Lagos, Portugal

smartin1978 — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 11:00:00 GMT

Gallery: Gribraltar

smartin1978 — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:30:00 GMT

The rock of Gibraltar

Gallery: Rest of Italy

smartin1978 — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Picture of Italy (Outside of Rome)