Yes it is true. David and I have seriously neglected our blog. Actually I'll be surprised if anyone even checks this anymore, but I'm holding out hope! We just had so much to write about the idea of putting it all up on the blog was daunting! So, to make things easier I will attempt to write shorter less detailed entries.
We are still alive and well. We are back in Maryland now after our fun adventures in Europe. David is getting through his final semester of law school and I am looking for a job and crafting like mad.
So, Europe! Yes we had an amazing and wonderful time. In fact I'm ready to go back right now! We ended up going to 7 different countries, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Austria. They were all incredible experiences and if you really want to here about them in detail please ask!
Ireland was definitely my favorite, such natural beauty! Living in the Netherlands was great, we are missing our little home there and the delicious food! We were lucky enough to have David's sister Kristen and her husband Tyler come and visit us for a week. My parents and sister Nikki and her boyfriend were also able to come out for a week around Thanksgiving. It was so great to have them there. Even though it was an amazing experience, being in a foreign country with no family or friends is a little lonely. We were very happy to see so many of our family members at Christmas and had a wonderful time, even though I was horribly sick with the stomach flu! We miss everyone and hope you are all doing well!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Vienna Day 1
These next few blogs are going to be rather detailed summaries of our trips in Europe. If you get bored or don't feel like reading it in depth, feel free to skim through it.
In November we went on a three day trip to Vienna, Austria. Being poor college students we decided we could only go if we could get there cheaply. We decided to take the train, a 16 hour trip one way! Not entirely sure what we had gotten ourselves into, we headed off to the train station. We got lucky! The train was Harry Potter style, compartments with six seats and a sliding door. Luckily, the train was empty enough that we had a compartment to ourselves. It wasn't the most comfortable night ever, but it wasn't much worse than a night on a stiff sofa.
The next morning (Nov 13th) we arrived in Vienna and headed to the Art History Museum. Here they had a nice exhibit from Ancient Egypt and Rome, as well as an art gallery filled with the works of famous painters. We had some rather disgusting pizza for lunch from a street vender, but made the most of it and headed of to the Hofsburg. The Hofsburg is the Imperial Palace where the monarchy used to live before Austria became a democracy. It is a large complex with many museums and interesting attractions. They had an exhibit on medieval weaponry, which David really likes, so that was our first stop. They also had an exhibit on musical instruments from the last few centuries which we enjoyed.
That evening we went to the Staatsoper Opera House. Vienna is well known for its love of opera, and we did not want to miss out on that cultural experience. This is a very famous opera house where Mozart used to perform. We got some cheap tickets and saw Madame Butterfly. The opera house was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Each seat had access to a small screen that provided the English translation as the opera was in Italian.
That night we stayed in a nice hotel with a yummy buffet breakfast (hurray for the off-season drop in prices!).
In November we went on a three day trip to Vienna, Austria. Being poor college students we decided we could only go if we could get there cheaply. We decided to take the train, a 16 hour trip one way! Not entirely sure what we had gotten ourselves into, we headed off to the train station. We got lucky! The train was Harry Potter style, compartments with six seats and a sliding door. Luckily, the train was empty enough that we had a compartment to ourselves. It wasn't the most comfortable night ever, but it wasn't much worse than a night on a stiff sofa.
The next morning (Nov 13th) we arrived in Vienna and headed to the Art History Museum. Here they had a nice exhibit from Ancient Egypt and Rome, as well as an art gallery filled with the works of famous painters. We had some rather disgusting pizza for lunch from a street vender, but made the most of it and headed of to the Hofsburg. The Hofsburg is the Imperial Palace where the monarchy used to live before Austria became a democracy. It is a large complex with many museums and interesting attractions. They had an exhibit on medieval weaponry, which David really likes, so that was our first stop. They also had an exhibit on musical instruments from the last few centuries which we enjoyed.
That evening we went to the Staatsoper Opera House. Vienna is well known for its love of opera, and we did not want to miss out on that cultural experience. This is a very famous opera house where Mozart used to perform. We got some cheap tickets and saw Madame Butterfly. The opera house was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Each seat had access to a small screen that provided the English translation as the opera was in Italian.
That night we stayed in a nice hotel with a yummy buffet breakfast (hurray for the off-season drop in prices!).
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Fun at the Zoo
When we went to Vienna, Austria lately, we visited Schonbrunn Palace, one of the residences of the Emperor. We'll write more details on the whole trip soon and post pictures (we promise!).
We thought the decorations inside the palace weren't very attractive, but the grounds and gardens were very beautiful. Part of the Palace grounds includes the Austrian Zoo. Founded in 1752 for the Holy Roman Emperor, it is the oldest zoo in the world. We love visiting zoos (especially the National Zoo in D.C. which is free) and thought it would be a great idea to have your own private zoo in your backyard. So, here's the question: assuming you had unlimited resources and were building a personal zoo, but could only have 5 animals, which would you choose? Comments required! We'll tell you what we came up with after we get some of your ideas.
We thought the decorations inside the palace weren't very attractive, but the grounds and gardens were very beautiful. Part of the Palace grounds includes the Austrian Zoo. Founded in 1752 for the Holy Roman Emperor, it is the oldest zoo in the world. We love visiting zoos (especially the National Zoo in D.C. which is free) and thought it would be a great idea to have your own private zoo in your backyard. So, here's the question: assuming you had unlimited resources and were building a personal zoo, but could only have 5 animals, which would you choose? Comments required! We'll tell you what we came up with after we get some of your ideas.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Ireland!
In October, we went to Ireland. We flew into Belfast on October the 23rd, rented a small car and headed off feeling slightly apprehensive about driving on the left side of the road. We first visited Carrickfergus, a castle fortress first built in 1180 AD. The castle has been partially rebuilt and gives the visitor a pretty good idea of what life might have been like during times of peace and war.
Ireland is famous for its natural beauties and we intended to see them despite the rain and wind! We headed to the northern coast of Northern Ireland to Giant's Causeway. The natural formations in this area are extremely unique and breathtaking, particulary combined with the continual crashing of waves.
Our next stop was Dunluce Castle. Also situated on the coast, the castle represents less of a fortress and more of a comfortable home. Dunluce is now in a state of ruin, but a beautiful ruin none the less. We love castles and found this one particularly beautiful.
We intended to spend the night in a bed and breakfast in County Donegal, so once the light started fading we set off on a two hour drive across the countryside. We stayed in a very homey bed and breakfast in Killybegs, a small out of the way town. Our hostess was extremely kind and friendly. We has a lovely room and our hostess cooked us a full Irish breakfast in the morning.
Our first stop on the 24th was Slieve League. These cliffs are famous for their beauty and height, known to be the tallest sea cliffs in Europe. Our route took us along a scenic coastal road in Northwestern Ireland. The road was narrow, but the view was spectacular. Fortunately we ran into few other people, as it was the off-season for tourists. In fact, we saw far more sheep than people in the countryside! Slieve League was beautiful and worth the trip up the steep windy road.
David lived for a few month in Northern Ireland with his parents and sister when he was 17. He lived in a town called Enniskillen, and we decided to pay his old home a little visit while we were in the area.
While driving through the countryside we saw a sign for Drumskinny, an ancient stone circle site. We decided to visit Drumskinny since it was only a few miles out of our way. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, in someone's cow pasture actually. It was fenced off so that the cows couldn't get to it, but other than that only a single sign was present to indicate we were in the right location. This is part of Ireland's charm - there are hundreds of historic sites all over the country in out of the way places. We could have spent several more days just exploring the countryside and seeing what we could find. It was fun to see Enniskillen and to do a bit of exploring. We found David's old house, walked around the town center, and visited Enniskillen Castle.
That night we stayed in another bed and breakfast right across the street from Newgrange. It was also a nice place but not quite as homey as the last place. We got up early on the 25th, had our breakfast and headed over to Newgrange, a famous and very large tunnel burial mound. Newgrange was built five hundred years before the pyramids in Egypt. The day was particulary windy and rainy, but nothing could spoil our fun. We toured the Newgrange visitors center and then took a tour out to the tomb. It was beautiful and really an amazing achievement that people from that time period managed to build it. The tomb is made up of hundreds of extremely large rocks as well as thousands of smaller ones. The people who built Newgrange had to transport the large rocks from great distances without the use of wheels or animals.
The truly amazing thing about Newgrange is its perfect alignment with the movement of the sun. At the winter solstice, the light of the rising sun shoots through a special opening in Newgrange and entersthe main chamber, illuminating it for about 15 minutes. The event is supposed to be spectacular and only 100 people are allowed to see it each year. Over 30,000 people enter the drawing to see it each year.
Next we headed in to Dublin to see some of the city. We started at Trinity College, the location of the famous Book of Kells, along with many other ancient manuscripts. The campus was beautiful and we particularly enjoyed seeing the college's old library. The bookcases in this library were stacked from ceiling to floor with thousands of old books. Dublina was our next stop. This was a rather fun recreation of a medieval fair with a musuem and viking exhibit.
Right next door was Christ Church Cathedral, one of the most famous cathedrals in Ireland.
Our time in Ireland was coming to an end, but we decided we did not want to spend the money for a hotel that night as our flight home left early the following morning. We decided to kill a few hours by getting some Chinese food and going to see a movie. We spent several less than restful hours in the airport that night, but it was worth it for our incredibly fun trip to Ireland!
We took a ton of pictures, so we won't be offended if you don't look through them all.
Ireland is famous for its natural beauties and we intended to see them despite the rain and wind! We headed to the northern coast of Northern Ireland to Giant's Causeway. The natural formations in this area are extremely unique and breathtaking, particulary combined with the continual crashing of waves.
Our next stop was Dunluce Castle. Also situated on the coast, the castle represents less of a fortress and more of a comfortable home. Dunluce is now in a state of ruin, but a beautiful ruin none the less. We love castles and found this one particularly beautiful.
We intended to spend the night in a bed and breakfast in County Donegal, so once the light started fading we set off on a two hour drive across the countryside. We stayed in a very homey bed and breakfast in Killybegs, a small out of the way town. Our hostess was extremely kind and friendly. We has a lovely room and our hostess cooked us a full Irish breakfast in the morning.
Our first stop on the 24th was Slieve League. These cliffs are famous for their beauty and height, known to be the tallest sea cliffs in Europe. Our route took us along a scenic coastal road in Northwestern Ireland. The road was narrow, but the view was spectacular. Fortunately we ran into few other people, as it was the off-season for tourists. In fact, we saw far more sheep than people in the countryside! Slieve League was beautiful and worth the trip up the steep windy road.
David lived for a few month in Northern Ireland with his parents and sister when he was 17. He lived in a town called Enniskillen, and we decided to pay his old home a little visit while we were in the area.
While driving through the countryside we saw a sign for Drumskinny, an ancient stone circle site. We decided to visit Drumskinny since it was only a few miles out of our way. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, in someone's cow pasture actually. It was fenced off so that the cows couldn't get to it, but other than that only a single sign was present to indicate we were in the right location. This is part of Ireland's charm - there are hundreds of historic sites all over the country in out of the way places. We could have spent several more days just exploring the countryside and seeing what we could find. It was fun to see Enniskillen and to do a bit of exploring. We found David's old house, walked around the town center, and visited Enniskillen Castle.
That night we stayed in another bed and breakfast right across the street from Newgrange. It was also a nice place but not quite as homey as the last place. We got up early on the 25th, had our breakfast and headed over to Newgrange, a famous and very large tunnel burial mound. Newgrange was built five hundred years before the pyramids in Egypt. The day was particulary windy and rainy, but nothing could spoil our fun. We toured the Newgrange visitors center and then took a tour out to the tomb. It was beautiful and really an amazing achievement that people from that time period managed to build it. The tomb is made up of hundreds of extremely large rocks as well as thousands of smaller ones. The people who built Newgrange had to transport the large rocks from great distances without the use of wheels or animals.
The truly amazing thing about Newgrange is its perfect alignment with the movement of the sun. At the winter solstice, the light of the rising sun shoots through a special opening in Newgrange and entersthe main chamber, illuminating it for about 15 minutes. The event is supposed to be spectacular and only 100 people are allowed to see it each year. Over 30,000 people enter the drawing to see it each year.
Next we headed in to Dublin to see some of the city. We started at Trinity College, the location of the famous Book of Kells, along with many other ancient manuscripts. The campus was beautiful and we particularly enjoyed seeing the college's old library. The bookcases in this library were stacked from ceiling to floor with thousands of old books. Dublina was our next stop. This was a rather fun recreation of a medieval fair with a musuem and viking exhibit.
Right next door was Christ Church Cathedral, one of the most famous cathedrals in Ireland.
Our time in Ireland was coming to an end, but we decided we did not want to spend the money for a hotel that night as our flight home left early the following morning. We decided to kill a few hours by getting some Chinese food and going to see a movie. We spent several less than restful hours in the airport that night, but it was worth it for our incredibly fun trip to Ireland!
We took a ton of pictures, so we won't be offended if you don't look through them all.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Leiden
David and I are now living in Leiden in a cute old row house in the Netherlands. It is a beautiful city with many canals and old historic buildings. The pilgrims stopped here for a time, and there is a museum dedicated to them. David and I both have ancestors who crossed to America, so there is a good chance they were in Leiden for a while a long time ago. Leiden is a very old city with a lot of history. Rembrandt was born here, just around the corner from our house. Einstein taught at Leiden University, where David is attending school. Leiden University is the oldest in the country. The next picture shows one of the canals near our house.
And of course there is the food. We've had some very interesting things to eat, most of which I have no idea how to spell. Some of my favorites so far have been the "vla" a pudding type of stuff, and the fresh stropwaffles -a waffle sort of thin outer crust with caramel in the middle. And the baked goods, ok all the desserts!
There is a lot to see here and we still have a lot of exploring to do!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Slugs in the Kitchen
Yes it's true. When you think of all the little creatures you might find in your kitchen, slugs is usually not one of them. I expected to find some differences here in the Netherlands, but this has to be one of the odder things I've encountered. Twice, yes twice we have gone into our kitchen at night and found slugs on the floor. We don't know where they came from or how they got in, but they have been leaving their little slimy trails all over our kitchen mat. We threw them out both times. If they come back maybe we could try to make some escargot? They're related to snails, right?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Trip to London!
On our way from Salt Lake to the Netherlands we decided to take a detour through London. Since we were already paying for the travel anyway, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see some of the sights! We spent about 3 days in London, and had fun seeing all the sights.
There are so many great things to see there, but we didn't have any trouble deciding what was at the top of our list - Platform 9 3/4 of course! We both love Harry Potter, and Julia has most of the books memorized, so we couldn't miss this tourist spot. Our hotel was just a few minutes walk from King's Cross Station. We also found a telephone booth and tried to finagle our way into the Ministry of Magic, but no luck.Our first big stop, and one of the best, was the Tower of London. The tickets were fairly expensive, but they offered discount tickets for "children, students, and the unemployed." David wasn't above confessing to the cashier that his wife was jobless in order to save $5! The Tower is most famous for being a prison and site of execution for England's notables, such as Anne Boleyn, Walter Raleigh, William Wallace, etc. But it also was used as a palace for the King and houses the Crown Jewels. We had an entertaining tour by one of the "beef-eaters" and saw the famous ravens. Legend says that the Tower and the Kingdom will fall if the ravens ever leave the tower, so they keep half a dozen there permanently. The Tower Bridge is right next door, and is also beautiful. That evening we attended Mass in St. Paul's Cathedral.
We saw most of the big sites while we where there. The British Museum is very impressive and had lots of great things. We really liked the Rosetta Stone and the marbles from the Greek Parthenon. Greece isn't particularly happy the Brits have their national treasures, but the fact that the museum has the marbles has probably saved them from destruction. We tried to see Buckingham Palace but it was partially gated off and could only get a side view. You'd think the Queen would be more hospitable.
Westminster Abbey was also a great place to visit. We took an audio tour around the Abbey and saw where all the Kings and Queens are crowned and buried. The Coronation Chair has been used for 700 years to crown the monarch. It's history is impressive, but it's not in great shape. Apparently some choir boys from the Abbey decided to carve their names and initials into the wood, so now it is pretty beat up and graffitied. The Abbey is next door to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. This building is very Gothic and we really liked the architecture. We also saw the Tate Britain Museum to see the pre-Raphaelite art (some of Julia's favorite pictures, especially by Waterhouse).
To end our trip we took the train to Harwich and then the ferry over to the Netherlands (more on that next post).
Overall, we give our trip to London two thumbs up!
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