Rome all to myself

With working days and pretty tired at night, my sightseeing in Rome is limited to early morning. There is something special about walking a town and not seeing another sole out, especially one as busy and crazy as Rome. I had planned to go running a couple of times, but it has been way too cold to run in the shorts and t-shirt that I brought. So instead, I have been going for walks. One morning was around the Coliseum, another morning around Circo Massimo and over to the Mouth of Truth.

One morning I actually managed to get up even earlier and take a long walk. I started at the hotel and worked my way to Trevi Fountain going through Piazza Campidoglio. There was not another sole there. I had it all to myself. From there to the Spanish Steps where I saw my first car of the day (imagine, Rome without any cars, it is almost hard to believe). I continued to walk to the Piazza del Popolo where I turned around and headed back to the hotel walking back by Piazza Navona and the Pantheon (which has to be one of the coolest buildings in Rome). Arriving back at the hotel just in time for my morning espresso and fresh oranges from the orange trees outside my room.

I did do a couple of tourist things though. Went to the Vatican and had a walk through that. Also, one night after pizza I found myself walking into the church Saint Maria in Trastevere. Right when I was about to leave, service started and I sat down, sung some hymns (in Italian, or course) and got my card stamped. Now I just have to bring M back for a romantic weekend (meaning kid free).

More pictures on www.DnMAdventures.com later today

Eating my way through Rome

One thing about Italians, they know their food. The first time I went to Italy was in ’95 (sounds, and feels, like such a long time ago) and we got perhaps the best introduction possible to the country and specifically Rome. We ate at all the local places and were introduced to all the food that we needed to have. This time was similar. All day is spent with Romans at work and I just pester them to give suggestions on where to eat. Thus far, we have not been given a bad suggestion.

The best, with no doubt, is Renato and Lusia. The table was booked for 8:30, which is when they opened, and it was a good thing we got reservations. Every table in the house was reserved and full. In the entire room there was only 3 non-Italian speakers, two at our table and a German speaker sitting with four Italians. I let the waitress pick my food and it was excellent. I started with goat cheese balls covered in crushed walnuts, honey and parmesan flakes. It melted in my mouth (helps that I am a sucker for goat cheese, my mother would have hated it!). Main course was wild duck with a chestnut sauce which had whole chestnuts which were marinated in some sort of sauce. My mouth is starting to water just thinking about it. For dessert it was fresh berries over fresh ricotta cheese. All of it was wonderful.
One thing that I have been taking advantage of almost every night has been the gelato. Why can all ice cream be as good as the gelato? Sadly, I did not make it to my favorite one, but I have managed to have some almost every night. The pine nut flavored one is the best, followed by chestnut and then lemon.

Here is a shirp brachetta, which looked so good!

My goat cheese starter. I am getting hungry looking at the picture.

Lastly, my fresh fruit ricotta. My gelato photos, but I can still taste it.

All Roads Lead to Rome

Work trips are usually not fun. Part of it is that you have to work while you are on work trips, which is always a downer (hence the name, “work trips”). The other part, at least for me, is that I always go to the same two spots. Not this time, this time I get to go Rome. I have been to Rome before. I fact, Rome is one of my favorite cities I have traveled to. I had a great introduction to it. In 1995 I traveled here and a local, of sorts, took us around. We ate at all the local places and were treated like we had been living there our whole lives. So I have always had fond memories of Rome.

The trip itself was uneventful…for the most part. The first flight was empty, well the seats next to me were empty and that is all that matters. A small layover and then a second flight on a smaller plane. Here is where the trip became a little more eventful. The guy next to me was a bit weird. Firstly, he smelled really, really bad. I had to cover my nose to be able to breathe. I would have moved to get away from the smell, but the flight was totally full. So I attempted to hold my breath for almost 3 hours. The other thing about this guy is that he was just weird. You could tell he was nervous about something. Plus he continued to touch himself (and I do mean touch himself). I was so ready to get off that plane and was thankful when I finally got to.

Took a taxi to the hotel, which was super easy from the airport. My hotel is placed perfectly in the historical center of Rome. From the front door you can see the forum and the coliseum. I am ready for food, being a tourist and more food!

Machu Picchu Rescue

It was almost 9 years ago that M and I were at Machu Picchu. We had rain, but not as much as they are getting right now. Here is a picture from today's Metro of the rescue "mission" of the thousands of people who are standed there or at the city below. Though a helicopter ride over Machu Picchu would have been cool.

Sime08

A while ago work sent an email out to everyone and asked if anyone would be interested in attending the Sime08 conference in Stockholm. I took a quick look at the proposed agenda and said that if there was space available, then why not. As it got closer and closer, I started to question my decision to attend. Work was/is busy and the more I looked at the agenda, the more I wondered if it would really be worth it.

It is a two day conference (the first of the two days is today) dealing the tech. Basically it is a nerd’s conference. That is not really fair, a Star Trek conference is a nerd’s conference. This is dealing with real issues and real things, so it is actually the Super Geek’s Conference. The website says that on the days of the conference, “the smartest people in Sweden will go missing.” I almost hate to admit it, but I enjoyed almost every speaker today (the first day) and I actually got motivated to do something with www.DnMAdventures.com. I mean, I get motivated all the time, but I mean actually motivated. That is hard to believe.

The highlight was actually two different speakers. Joi Ito was excellent. His presentation was a mixture of entertaining and yet it was very informative. He started a company called Creative Commons, which allows people to share information/photos/music (you get the point) legally and to the benefit to all parties. The highlight though was Dave Sifrey. He presented a new business of his called Off Beat Guides. It is very frustrating to a certain extent, but it is an amazing idea. It is personalized guidebooks. It is brilliant (and has officially made Christmas shopping a whole lot easier), but I talked to M about this very idea 6 months ago. I just did not have a clue on how it could be done and now it is.

Train Week!!

This week is suppose to be dedicated to trains (and specifically the train weekend we just took), ironically the train into work yesterday was over an hour late, so I am running late with everything. Anyway, today is a simple one, this is the postcard that we bought on our train weekend and sent to Grandpa and Grandma. It is actually one of my favorite postcards I have seen in a while.

Post Cards from the Edge

Here is a lovely one we got from the Rock (taken from the Spanish side). If you look close enough, you might be able to see some monkeys!

Gum Tree/Wall

I saw this in Metro the other day. It is a tree outside a night club in Mexico.

It reminded me of the gum wall in San Luis Obispo that we saw when we took our California Road Trip in March this year. Both of them are pretty gross.

Airplane Seats

It is of my opinion that airlines should advertise fairly and responsibly, especially in there inflight magazines. Here is what they should actually look like:

The Lidingöloppet

Stage one of the Swedish Classic is over for me… again. It should have been stage three, but it did not happen as planned (just in case, the Swedish Classic is 4 sporting events that a participant has to complete within a calendar year. They include skiing, biking, swimming and running). This time around I started with the one that I was the most worried about- the Lidingöloppet. It is “only” a 30km trail run, though it is known as the toughest footrace in Europe. To me, the idea of running for 30km sounds miserable, though it is something that had to be done and now that it is over, I hope to never do it again.


It started easy enough. My start time was at 1:30 (I was under the impression that it was at 1:00), so I got there way too early. After waiting around for several hours, I ended up seeing a couple of people I knew. We turned in our bags and then walked to the start line a couple of kilometers away. Before the race, I had done a fair amount of training. I had run two times per week on average, at least one of them around 15km, though nothing ever more then 15km. To be honest, it felt as though I was ready. My body was feeling good, I felt pretty sure about myself, but I still was a little nervous about the race. The idea of running 30km is scary, or at least it should be a scary thought and for sure a scary thought to me.

One big difference between the Lidingöloppet and other races is that the start time is determined by when you registered for the race, not how fast you think that you will run it. That means that even though we were one of the last groups to start, the potential winner of the race may start right next to me (or the person who would be the slowest of the race might be there as well). So when the race started, I hung back a little. I knew that I did not want to run with the fast guys, so I stayed in the middle of the pack. Boy am I glad that I did. After about ½ a km, the trail broke off to the right and to the left. Of course by this time, the fast people were up front. Right as I was reached the Y in the trail, several people behind me started to scream. Everyone had turned left, when we should have turned right. I quickly turned around and was back on the right trail, but every person who hurried to the front of the pack, were now in the very back and had to run an additional kilometer. I laughed so hard, that I am sure that I my energy level dropped. I went from the middle of the pack to one of the front ten people.

The first couple of kilometers were tough, though the first couple of kilometers of running are always tough. At the end of first 10km (59min 52sec), I was feeling good. The pace was good, slow enough that I thought that perhaps I would be able to keep up with it. After the first 10km, the track started to get smaller and smaller. At some points during the race, the track was barely large enough for two people to walk next to each other, let alone 30,000 people run together. At 15km, the trail was more up and down and pretty narrow. Even with that though, I had managed to maintain the same pace (1hr30min26sec) and was feeling pretty good.

That all stopped at kilometer 17, my knee locked up on me. I pulled over to the side for a minute to stretch it out and it helped instantaneously, but it was not long before it locked up again. Both knees were sore by the time I reached 20.2km (2hr14min06sec). I rested for a couple of minutes to take some additional water and snacks, but most importantly to stretch out both knees. I did not want to stay too long, because I knew it would be tough to get back going if I waited. So I pushed forward, still running some, but walking a whole lot more. The sad part is that my body felt good. I really did not feel tired, it was just that my knees had given up on me. The hardest part of the race began after 25km mark (2hr52min21sec). The biggest hill was after that point, and everyone walked up it (I wanted to crawl). It was grueling, to put it lightly. From that point until the final 500 meters, I pretty much just speed walked. Walking, I would pass people that were running. Then on the downhill, if my knees would allow for it, I would run as best as I could.

When the final 500meters were posted, I started to run as fast as I could. This is a difficult thing for me. My nature is to take it slow towards the end, needing additional motivation to continue running. My motivation was simple, I wanted to look good. I finished with 3 hours, 36 minutes and 27 seconds. I am happy with the final time, though I am not overly impressed. People who run the entire way, or almost the entire way, are more impressive to me. Even if they have a slower time then what I had.

At the end of the Vätternrundan (bike), they were asking people if they thought that they would ever do it again. The overwhelming response was no. I knew at the end of that race that I wanted to come back and do it again. I am not so sure about the Lidingöloppet though. I like the idea that I am finished with it, but I do not think that I will ever do it again. I would consider running another long race, like a marathon, but never the Lidingöloppet. Maybe it should be the Athens Marathon or the New York Marathon. First I have to get ready for the Vasaloppet (skiing)- only 138 days remaining.

Hot Air Ballooning

I actually have never been in a hot air balloon. It is not from a lack of trying though. We have been very unfortunetly. We were planning on doing it in San Diego, but the wind was not right. Then in Stockholm, but it rained (big shock there), so it is still on my list to do. Though I have a "New Hope". I saw this in the paper yesterday morning, it is from Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. I really want to go in the Darth Vader Balloon, way too cool.

Sore Legs and Weak Knees

Sore legs and weak knees, that must mean that I just did the Midnattsloppet again this year. My goal for running it was under one hour (last years time was 59 minutes and 57 seconds), though I have done almost no training for it. So it was not for sure if I actually would reach/beat my goal. It was also a first for a couple of things- the first time running with music and the first time running with a knee brace. Last year when I got to km 8, ny knee popped and it hurt for days after. So I wanted to protect it as much as possible.

Timing of the event was horrible. A couple friend that we have called on Thursday to say that they were in town from Australia and wanted to meet up, so I had to miss the first night with them. The race was colder this year. As I was standing there waiting for our time to go, I was freezing. The positive side was that this year I did not have to go pee before the race started (learned that lesson last year). Eventually our number got to start.

For some reason, the first 3km is the hardest for me. Part of me wanted to stop there and just call it a day. The nice part about running in a large group like that is that I control my speed. Normally I would try to run faster then I should, but in a group, I keep it under control. By the forth km, I was feeling good. Around 7km is the big hill. I do well running up it. I don’t know why I can run up a hill. The sick part is that I enjoy running up the hills, it feels good. By the 8th km, I was feeling great and it only got better. I actually finished strong and could have “easily” gone on. I guess in reality I did go on further, since I had to get to the train station. In the end, I managed to complete the 10km loop in 55min 20sec, over 4 minutes faster then last year.

I am using the Midnattsloppet as a training for the Lidingöloppet. The first of the Classic for me (I had to start over, typical). A 30km race that is off road the entire way. Sounds like a pain, so I am not sure why I am doing it. They say it is harder then a marathon. It is only 29 days until the race and I have not really trained that much. My goal, right now anyway, is less then 4 hours. Maybe, with some additional training, I will be able to do it.

A Finnish Sauna

Every once in a while a traveler gets the opportunity to take advantage of a truly unique cultural experience. One of my best friends married a Finnish girl this weekend and we went over for the wedding. It was a beautiful service, with the two of them over looking a lake while reciting their wedding vows. After the dinner, this was itself a cultural experience, those who wanted to could partake in a Finnish sauna. I have taken plenty of saunas in Sweden and in other countries, but Finland is unique.

First of all, it is hot, real hot. It was well over 100 degrees. So when you walk in the door, it hits you like a brick wall. It is of course a wet sauna, meaning you can pour water on the element to create steam/heat. Which means it gets even hotter. The thing about a Finnish sauna though, is that you are not suppose to sit in the sauna just because. You sit in the sauna for a short period of time, say 5 to 10 minutes. Then you get out and hop in a lake.

The unique part happens when you get back in the sauna. Sitting in a bucket of water will be some green birch branches. Basically, after setting the wet branches on the coal for a few moments, you beat the living crap out of yourself or the person next to you with the branches. It, surprisingly, feels really nice. It opens up your pores…supposedly. It relaxed me at least. In the end, the sauna takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. It was brilliant, a must if you find yourself in Finland. It should not be too hard to find a place with a sauna. Finland has 5.3 million residents and almost equal number of saunas. They even have public saunas. Though if you go to one of these, be careful. It is like the local bar, people have there seats that they always sit in.

Cadbury Chocolate Factory

We have been trying to find things to do while we are in England. It is easier said then done really, since our kids are so young. So when M found the factory tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, we decided that it was a “must”. In my mind, it was going to be a cross between Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and the Coke Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. My fear was that it was going to be closer to something like the tour of a box factory (Simpson’s episode). In the end, it was closer to the first two, just without the Oompa Loompas. I guess they did something close to Oompa Loompas.

When we found it, it felt a little overpriced. If it ended up being good, then it wouldn’t be. If it was excellent, then it was a value for the price. When you pull up to the factory, you are not really sure if it will be good. We walk in (actually we ran in, since it was starting to rain) and got the tickets. The tour is in two parts. The first part is the actual tour of the factory and a little history of chocolate/Cadbury. It was alright. The kids were not interested in it at all, other then the snacks that they gave to eat on the way. It was not until the Disney like ride through Chocolate Land happened that the kids were interested in the tour part. Here you got to follow like drops of chocolate on the way to the Cadbury Factory. N thought that it was great (here is where the kind of like Oompa Loompas happened). I actually liked the factory tour. It always amazes me how much gets produced and how it is produced. I loved watching the video on the Cadbury Egg production.

The second part started with a stupid video about how they came up with the idea of putting 1.5 glasses of fresh milk in each candy bar. I guess it was cute, but a little much maybe. After the show, you got to produce your very own candy treat- milk chocolate on top of your choice of treat. I picked popcorn, N had wine gums and M had cereal. Z loved it. She was covered in chocolate before it was over. Everyone was taking pictures of her. It was all over her.

The girls liked it, but I think that the highlight for them was a combo of the snacks around the factory and the playground with swings, probably more the other one. They were happy though, and we thought that it was excellent. They did have an elevator, just not a glass one.

On the Road Again

For over six weeks, we were on the road through 7 countrys, 5 ferry rides and unknown number of miles in our little Fiat Punto. All four of us and all of our gear fit in the car without too much problem. The Punto is a surprisingly roomy car for its size.

Back Home

After being on the road for over 6 weeks, we are finally home. Over the next month we are going to be blogging about all of our adventures, and we had lots of them. I will also (in theory) be posting some recipes and drinks on the 80 Meals blog as well, so you need to check that out as well.

Here are some of the highlights to come:

Camping in Denmark
Day Out With Thomas
Sea Life
Cadbury Chocolate Factory
Oxford
Monet's Garden
Disneyland Paris

and much more.

Road to England

The trip to England was a bit of an experience this time. It took three nights to get here, with the first night only a couple of hours away from the house. The second night was in a tent in Aalborg Denmark and the last night was on the ferry between Denmark and England.

The tent night was interesting. I was not overly interested in staying in a tent. I love camping, but I am guessing that I am going to get my fair share of it this summer. M was driving though, so she decided. It rained during the night...of course. The girls loved it though. They got sleeping bags for Christmas last year and thought that it as the coolest thing ever to sleep in their very own sleeping bags in a real tent. They were warm and happy all night. I wish I could say the same about M and I. We fought for the sleeping bags and were a little cold the entire night. In the morning we quickly put up the tent before it started to rain again (we failed).

The last night we took to the ferry from Denmark to England. M thought that the boat was a little small. It was not the biggest boat I had seen before, but it was not small. In reality, the boats to Åland have more things to do on them then this one and we were on this one for 18 hours. I guess it was a good thing that we did not have any alternatives on what to do- we slept for 12 of the 18 hours. While we were taking a little fika in the food area, we sat next to 3 couples chatting. They were all chatting about the different yachts that they own/have owned. Then they started to chat about the different places they took dance lessens- "I took a month long tango lesson in Argentina." "Well, I look a salsa lesson in Africa." The conversation went on and on. The joys of having way too much money.

We arrived in England with no problems and even got to the flat with out any problems. It is pretty nice and sits right on the Thames. So much so that I am going to have to be extra careful with the girls in the back yard.

Weekend's Training

Vätternrundan 27 days
Vansbrosimningen 56 days
Lidingöloppet 132 days
Vasaloppet 280 days

Saturday
biking 0
swimming 0
steps 10231
skiing 0
other hosted my inlaws for dinner, that counts for something...right

Sunday
biking 40 km (average speed of 25 km per hour)
swimming 0
steps 8,102
skiing 0
other 0

Steam Days in Didcot England

Swedish Classic Update

Vätternrundan 28 days
Vansbrosimningen 57 days

Lidingöloppet 133 days

Vasaloppet 281 days

biking 40km @ 27km per hour and 6km

swimming 0

steps 18,919

skiing 0

other 0

Yesterday's Training

Vätternrundan 29 days
Vansbrosimningen 58 days
Lidingöloppet 134 days
Vasaloppet 282 days

biking 0
swimming 0
steps 25,943
skiing 0
other 20 minutes of spin

Swedish Classic

Some say that the Swedish Classic is a true athletic accomplishment. Most people would probably say you are nuts for trying to complete it. It is made up of 4 exhausting races- skiing, biking, swimming and running. The first race of the year is the Vasaloppet (www.vasaloppet.se). A 90km cross country ski race held in March. The second of the events is the Vätternrundan (www.vatternrundan.se). A gruelling 300km one day bike ride around Sweden's 2nd largest lake. The third event is the Vansbrosimningen (www.vansbrosimningen.se). A three km swim, two km down river and one km up river. The difficulty of the swim depends on the amount of rain in the weeks previous to the race. The last event is the scariest to me- Lidingöloppet (www.lidingoloppet.se ). A 30km, off road run, said to be the toughest in Europe.

I don't really know the history of the Swedish Classic. What I do know is that it started in 1972 and that more then 28,000 people have completed it. I can imagine how it started though. I am guessing about three friends (no idea why it is three friends) sitting around bored one night (and probably drunk) after a day of skiing. The conversation went something like this:

"Whatever, you're a wimp!", said friend A.
"No I'm not, I'll prove it!", said friend B.
"Ok, then do all these events, and you won't be a wimp.", said friend C.
"Yea, and in the same year!", said friend A.
"Umm, ok, then I say say that I did the Swedish Classic, haha. You know, other people will try to prove themselves like did afterwards I bet", said friend B.
"Whatever!", said both friends A and B.

At some point, I decided that I wanted to complete the Swedish Classic (it is possible that it is nothing more then a midlife crisis that I am going through right now, but it is too late to back out of it). I was not really planning on completing it this year, though I had thought about it. It wasn't until work volunteered to pay for it that it became this years project. I skipped the Vasa this year and will compete in next years. So the first event is coming up fast. The plan is to post the amount of time left and the amount of training I do everyday until the completion of it (at least the completion of the Lidingöloppet).

So here we go. The training is yesterdays numbers:

Vätternrundan 30 days
Vansbrosimningen 59 days
Lidingöloppet 135 days
Vasaloppet 283 days

biking 0
swimming 0
steps 23,833 (of which 4km running)
skiing 0
other- none

Kids Say the Darnest Things

M just got back from yet another trip to Oxford. While she was gone the girls and I just on with everyday life. The night before M was suppose to come home, she talked to both girls and explained that she was coming home the next day. The next morning we were sitting at the breakfast table (which happens to be the same as the lunch and dinner table) when we saw a picture of an airplane and said "Mamma plane today."

When M got home (at 3:30 in the morning), I asked her if she explained to N that she would be taking a plane that day. She said that she just explained to N that she was coming home from England. That means that N understood in order to travel from England, one would have to take a plane (yes, I know there are different options, but whatever). Once again the kids impress me.

This Week's Joke

Subject: Kennedy Airport Flight

A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good, so we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax... OH, MY NO!"

Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!"

A passenger in coach yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine!"

Product of the Week- The Spork

M got these for her 30th birthday from her brother. We have not used them yet, but they seem pretty good. The weight of them is nothing, they are super thin and seem to be pretty durable (we let the kids play with them and they managed not to break them, that says a lot!).

Cost: No idea, we got them as a gift

Worth getting: Since we have not used them yet, it is hard to say. Though I would think so.

Colors: They have all colors (pictures of them are in the camping cook book that we got to go

with the sporks)

Sir Edmund Hillary- A Hero




It does not really matter if you are into mountain climbing or not, Sir Edmund Hillary should be considered a hero to all. One can not ignore the fact that he was the first in the world to climb Everest (with Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953). It is because of this that he was able to do so much good in the world.

He brought education to many people in the world who never would have received it, he highlighted the need for humanity in the world and condemed the lack of it in the climbing world, and he was just an all around nice guy.

He will be missed!

Pictured with his climbing partner and friend Tenzing Norgay.

The New Youth Hostel

Sweden is getting a new youth hostel. I guess that in and of itself is not big news. Sweden, as a general rule, is very youth hostel friendly. They really are not too much on the "youth" part of the title. It is more families then backpackers staying there.

This youth hostel is going to be special though. It is going to be in an old Boeing 474 at Arlanda Airport (Stockholm). They are taking all the seats out and making 25- 3 bed bedrooms on the main floor. On the 2nd floor there will be 2- 2 bed bedrooms.

The plane has been sitting at the airport since 2002. It will open next year about this time. Attached you can see the plans for it and the guy who is behind it.

The Final Trip

Have you heard about this? Apparently it is now popular to dump your ashes (and I am not talking about cigarette ashes) on the different rides at the Disney Park. At first it was just the Haunted Mansion that it was done at, but now it is popular on the other rides as well. A couple of weeks ago Disneyland closed Pirates of the Caribbean ride due to the fact that they saw a women pour something into the water on the ride. Now she says that it was just baby powder, but who really believes that.

So which rides would be the best to have your ashes placed? Here are my three picks:

3) Haunted Mansion- OK, so it has been done before. I am sure all the rides have had ashes poured in them. Though if you believe in ghosts, then maybe your life ever after will be with all the ghosts there. Plus, your love ones can come back and at the very least say that they saw your ghost.

2) Space Mountain- Scotty in Star Trek had his ashes shot into space, but not everyone one can afford that. Space Mountain is a cheap alternative (well, given the prices of the Disney Parks these days, maybe not).

1) It's a Small World- For a traveler this would be the perfect spot. Think about it, you get all the countries at one time. OK, you would have to listen to that annoying song for all eternity, but for every country/continent it might be worth it!

Here is the story if you want to read it for yourself:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311922,00.html

Is it possible to get tired of Traveling?

Since the start of June, I have traveled 3 of those months to 8 countries and five different states. In the past 8 weeks, we have been home for four days (most of that time without interent, thus no posts). I leave tomorrow for several days to Austria. So here is my question, is it possible to get tired of traveling or am I just getting old?

4 Days, 6 Nights

Warning!!! If you have a ton of luggage, then the Milan train station is not the one you want to go to. We got there from Switzerland without any problems. N loved the train, of course. It is just that since we got kids, we travel with suitcases, which is perhaps the worst part of having kids. I miss my backpack!

The train to Verena was interesting, and a far cry from the Swiss trains that I could totally get use too. Since we had so much stuff (lugging the car seats with us as well, otherwise it really is not too bad), we really did not get seats together. Plus the train was super full. Z was happy though, for perhaps the first time on the trip. She loves Italy. All the older ladies go crazy over her (even if they think that she is a boy. Later in the week, we put her in pink and ruffles, still they thought that she was a boy).

Our flat in Verena was nice. It had a view over Lake Como. It took all of a half of day to discover it all, but it is a beautiful city. Of the four days, two were nice weather and two were really crap weather. Unfortunately the crap weather days were really crap. We did not leave but once the second of the two days. If we could have avoided that, we would have. Though we did get our Italian Ice Cream. Mmm, good stuff.

The highlight, besides the ice cream, was a little grocery store in town. They have two of them. The one I liked had a little old lady who worked it. She did not speak a word of English, at least she did not speak a word of it to us, but the store was a piece right out of Italian guidebooks. The type of place that you hope you find.

We left the flat at 5 in the morning for the long day of traveling. Off to the next stop- Utah!

Pictures from Switzerland

Pictures from Switzerland trip are finally available on www.DnMAdventures.com. I will be blogging later today about the Italy portion on the trip.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

So we have been on the road for two weeks thus far, and everything has been good...so far. Travel to Kandersteg Switzerland was long. We got there though. N loved it. She thought that Switzerland was the greatest place on Earth. I can not argue with her too much. For her it was all the cows with bells, dogs and trains every five minutes. We see trains all the time, but something here just triggered her excitement with them. Z is a home person. She was miserable the entire time. In fact, she got sick. One night she had a fever of 104.

The highlights for us were the hiking (not nearly as adventurous as usual) and the cheese fondue. Doris, a friend from when we lived in Kandersteg, owns the Hotel Crystal. She made us the best cheese fondue that I think that we have ever had (and I ate one every week for almost 2 years). It was fabulous!

The Finish island Åland

After spending three weeks in Texas with my family, it was time to spend a little time with M's family as well. It has almost become a tradition that they rent a house for a week and then we and M's brother comes for the week. Normally it is somewhere in Sweden, but this year they hired this amazing house on Åland. The house was the best that they have ever hired. It was right on the beach and it was big and clean. Not always a feature on rented summer houses. Other then the cost (1,100 euros per week), I would totally think about going there again.

To get to Åland, you have to take the boat. Well, I guess you could fly as well, but the boat is pretty easy. The trip is fast and it has tax free on board, so you can stock up on your "needed" goods as well. Once there, it is short distances between everything and easy to navigate.

A little history of Åland. It belongs to Finland, but it speaks Swedish rather then Finish. It also has it's own postage stamps, post system, airlines and license plates. It is basically its own little country, but not really. Helena Drysdale takes about it in her book "Mother Tongues: Travels through Tribal Europe". For those who know Sweden decently well, it is like Gotland or Öland, just without the large crowds.

The highlight of the week was the wine tasting. Åland is also home to Finland's only winery. They offer tours and tastings. The wine itself is OK. It is not something that I would run out and stock up on it because I love it so much. Though it was decent. It is the atmosphere of the place that is the highlight. I missed most of the tour (Swedish Only) because of Nova, but I did make the tasting. We tried four different types (you can see pictures on www.DnMAdverntures.com if you would like to get a better idea).

Probably the most traditional known things in Finland, is the Sauna and it is not too different on Åland. The place we stayed had a nice one right on the water. We did not beat ourselves with birch branches, but we did hope into the "freezing" Baltic. When I first moved to Sweden, I was not too crazy about saunas, but now I really dig them. If we ever have a summer house, we will have a sauna.

In regards to food, we did not really eat out. Everyone shares with the cooking throughout the week. The one thing that we did get though was Åland Pancakes. I thought that they were good, especially with raspberry jelly and whipped cream (you can get a recipe for it on www.DnMAdventures.com). Though the last night M and her father got sick. Then her brother and his fiancee and finally Nova. Important to note is that I never got sick!

OK, so that catches me up on our travels. Now that I am caught up, I will be doing better...I hope!

St. Louis Cardinals

Ever since I was little, St. Louis has been my favorite team. I am sure part of it was that it was my father's favorite team (OK, all of it). My favorite player, Ozzie Smith. So Dad and I try to catch a St. Louis game when we can. Last year we took a trip to Houston to see them, this year we went to St. Louis.

In my great wisdom, we left early in the morning on Saturday. Part of me argued that it would be pointless to leave Friday night since Dad would have to work and that we would be tired. The reality of it was that I was not overly interested in leaving the girls for two nights. The drive was miserable, but we managed OK. We got to St. Louis about 3 pm and headed over to the Bud Brewery for a tour. We didn't get in, way too many people. So then we headed to the Ballpark.

Now, we got there three hours ahead of schedule. This never happens when you go to a game with my father. He is the one who shows up late and leaves early. We were no the the only one early, about 20,000 people were there. I am not kidding. It was the special, you could meet the players and everyone was there. It was amazing. The thing about St. Louis is, it is a baseball town. I bet that 80% of the people there (male, female, child or adult) were wearing some sort of St. Louis clothing. It was totally incredible. The game was 100% full. Several factors were probably involved in that- weekend of the 4th of July, Saturday night and they were playing Bond's Giants; but it was still full.

The Giants took a good lead over the Cardinals and managed to keep the lead through out the game. Had we been at a Texas Rangers game, it would have been empty by the top of the 7th (in reality it would have been empty from the start almost). No one left the game until it was over. The place was still full when the game was done. I went to the first playoff game that the Texas Rangers were ever in. The "fans" had left by the top of the 8th. It was sad. When we left, we were the last people there.

I have to make a comment about the Ballpark. Places like that, and the Ballpark in Arlington, is the way baseball should be played. The place is beautiful. Even a non-baseball fan (if such a thing is possible) would appreciate the beauty of the place. Plus with all the statues of former St. Louis greats, it caught the history of it as well.

If you want to see some pictures of it, go to http://www.dnmadventures.com/.

Texas in July

Part of me feels like I should be skipping this entry all together. The Texas Trip was the end of June and the first three weeks of July. Though it feels like such a waste not to write about all of the adventures. So instead of about 15 different posts, it is going to be one big one to make me feel good about it.

We took US Airways, the first time for that. I think that it is kind of nice that a museum is still flying. They have to have some of the oldest air crafts in the sky today. It was fine though. The girls did good and the staff were very friendly. Our plane landed 2.5 hours late, so we were told that we missed our flight. In the end, our 2nd flight was late and we ended up getting it. Only thing was that our bags did not get there. We did not think that they would, since the girl at the American Airlines counter had to run us through security.

That is OK though, right. The bags should be sent on the next flight. Well, we went to Texas for three and a half weeks, we never got our bags. Imagine traveling with two girls under the age of two with no clothes what so ever. A big shopping trip and lot of new clothes. Which will be good, as long as the bags come. The first one did, the week after we got back to Sweden. The second did about two weeks ago. After 90 days of the bags being missing, we still have not gotten our last one. The last time I talked to American, the lady was rude and just a real witch. So, we will wait some more.

The first weekend we were there, we went to San Antonio. Been there so many times. Once, the water was drained out of the river walk (to my surprise). This time, it was full. In fact, super full. Texas got more rain this summer, then they got all of last year. We really went down there for Sea World. The plan was that we go on the first day, but my cousin lost her keys. The next day we went and N loved it. She was not that impressed with Shamu, but the coral reef was great. I decided that I wanted to show that I was young and road on the Great White roller coaster. I felt like crap the rest of the day. It sucks getting old! Right as we were leaving, it started to our down. We just made it to the car when it happened and it continued for several hours.

Speaking about the rain, we decided that we would go to Texas in July since the weather is usually nice in July. It is hot, but that is what air conditioning is for. It rained almost every single day we were there. It was crazy. I have never seen anything like it!

We did eat good while we were there. N's favorite was mac and cheese and hot dogs. I think that she would have been happy to have that for ever meal (instead we had it for almost every lunch). Her cousins thought that it was great, the first couple of days, then they grew tired of it. Here is a couple of places that I would recommend if you are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area:

1. Loco Coyote- it is located in Glen Rose and the food is amazing. The place itself is a dump, but the food is great (a picture of it is on www.DnMAdventures.com).
2. Lone Star- Also in Glen Rose but in the town itself. Good BBQ and a nice "feel" to it
3. Hamburger Bar- Cleburne Texas, I wrote a blog about it a while ago. It was not as good as usually. In fact, I was very disappointed. With that being said, it is still worth it just to see the place (a picture of it is on www.DnMAdventures.com) .
4. Movie Tavern- Great idea, tavern food while you watch a movie. The food is fine, but it does not matter. The room is dark and you can't see it anyway. IT is a small chain all over the States.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science was having a exhibit on Star Wars and how it works. It was excellent. OK, I am a little biased, since I do believe that Star Wars is the greatest movie ever made. With that being said, I also think that it was done in such a way, that someone that does not care for Star Wars (M for example) could appreciate it. Well worth a visit, where ever it is now.

We also went to a Texas Rangers game. It was the first one for N and Z. N thought that it was great. Lots of music to dance to, fireworks, clapping and the best part was...ICE CREAM! I was just happy to get to go to a game. That is one of the worst parts of being in Sweden- no baseball!

The trip was good and we had a lot of fun. It felt like we were messing with trying to get our bags back half of the time and the weather was crap the other half. We had several things that we wanted to do, but just was not able to. Maybe next time we will.

If you want to see some pictures from the trip, go to www.DnMAdventures.com.

Starting New

Ok, I know it has been bad. I feel bad about it. Life, well life is just busy. I am going to make a real effort in updating the blog. It is going to work. Plus I want to update www.DnMAdventures.com as well. Make is more "cool" and "hip".

So, I am not going to bore you with tons of posts about Texas two months after it happened. Nor am I going to bore you with a ton of posts about the Finland trip either. Both of them will get one post...this week. So I am running out of time.

Then it will be back to business as normal (cough cough). We are leaving on a trip next week which I plan to use as the launching of the new and improved DnM Adventures!

Here is a picture from this weekend of camping. Thought you might enjoy it.

Sorry to interupt this regularly published blog (cough cough, I promise I will get better at it), but I thought that I tell about the adventure we had this weekend. We took Z camping for the very first time and the second time for N. It was a place in Enköping Sweden where M grew up. She has been wanting to take me there since I moved here, but this was the first time. We went with my brother in law and his girlfriend.

On the Texas adventure (which I will finish writing sooner...or later), we bought a new tent. Our small camping tent was a little small for the four of us. So we got a four person tent. It is huge. I think our entire flat could fit in there. Which is fine, not like we are going to be hiking with it (22lbs). The problem was that it was about 35 mile winds as we were putting it up for the first time. The wind was blowing so strong that the tent was actually flat. We managed to get it up, barely. Of course, then the wind stopped. Murphy's law.

Both girls loved the tent, especially N. Z loved the sleeping bag. They shared with us, but they are going to get their own for Christmas, yes we have already bought them.

If you want to read more, then you can read more on the American Dad blog site. The address is located on the side!

Travel To Texas

I would love to say that the travel to Texas was smooth as can be, but I would be lying. I can say that the travel to the airport went smoothly. The long term parking worked great. In fact, better then expected. Check-in to the flight was fine. We managed to get the bulkhead seats to Philadelphia, always nice. The plane looked as though it was going to leave on time, they even asked for all people traveling in first class or people traveling with children to line up. Which we of course all did (giving up our seats). Then we continued to stand in line for the next 2 hours and 30 minutes. It was miserable! Can you imagine standing in line with two kids under the age of two for that long- through lunch time and through nap time? They finally brought out a snack at the very same time that they started to board. So we did not even get one. Once on, the flight went well, meaning no real problems. N wanted to roam around and Z wanted to be walked around, so neither of us got to sit pretty much at all during the flight.

Since we left 2 hours and 30 minutes late, of course we arrived late. The ironic part is that we paid extra to have a shorter layover in Philadelphia- 1 hour and 45 minutes. Add to the problems that I got called in for an extra security check (I think that the first security guy was having a bad day), and that we were switching airlines, the chances that we were going to make our flight was slim to none. The American Airlines flight was several hours late, so the wonderful girl ran us through security and we were the very last people to sit on the plane. We literally had to run to get onto the plane before the doors closed. The girls slept the entire way there. When we finally arrived at DFW (3 hours late), we had to circle over and over because of bad weather. Finally we were given a window to land and a bumpy landing it was.

Out to the baggage carousel we go, knowing that our bags would be there waiting and my parents there with a big smile on their faces. Neither of them happened. We know our bags were not going to make it on the flight, though the guys at American did not want to help until they were sure. The parents read the arrival board and it said that we were going to be landing in 15 minutes.

In the end, after only 24 hours of traveling, we arrived at the parent’s house.

Going Home

It is not often that one gets to be a tourist in his or her very own home town. Most of the time we take the town that we live in for granted and just do not do the touristy things. A friend of mine moved to London and he swore that they (him and his wife) would do something every single week and weekend in or around London and of course they did not. It is not an uncommon thing. M and I wrote a list long ago of things that we would like to do in Uppsala. Only ten things are on the list (which was written several years ago), but we have only done one thing off the list.

So this is what I have done. We will be going back to the Texas to show off Z for the first time. We (meaning me) have written an extensive list of things that we need to do (renew license), should do (clean out all of my crap) and things we would like to do (things to see, places to go, food to eat). We are going to be tourists in a familiar place.

Important thing to note, some items on the list are there not because I think that we actually have a chance at doing them (Big Bend National Park), but because eventually we would like to do them.

Swedish National Day

Yesterday, the 6th of June, was Swedish National Day (and N’s 1.5 yr birthday). After living in the country for almost 7 years, this is the first year that we celebrated it. The thing is, last year I became a Swedish citizen. That means that I have a Swedish and an American passport, makes me feel like I am James Bond traveling with two passports. I was suppose to be out of town, but because of unforeseen circumstances, I did not get to extend my trip. So I was actually in Sweden.

Every year on the Swedish National Day (which only became an official holiday last year) the local governments have a special ceremony for the new citizens from the previous year. When I thought that I was going to miss it, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed.

I drug the entire family with me to the ceremony. It was a beautiful day, so we walked into town. Before the ceremony started, so had a picnic lunch in the park (which is full of Linnè stuff). The ceremony itself was located in the Uppsala castle in one of the ball rooms. Even through I have lived in Uppsala for 7 years, I have never been in the castle before. They gave some Swedish food and a little cider. Then the actual ceremony began. Three speeches were given, but I missed them. It is not the easiest thing in the world to listen to speeches when you have a 2 month and an 18 month old. N loved the traditional folk dancing and the choir.

The part that I thought was the most interesting was the number of people there that were truly proud of the fact that they were now Swedish. It was one of those experiences that made me happy at the end of it. M disagreed with me, but I think that I have never seen so many people happy about being Swedish at the same spot before. They were obviously proud of the fact that they are Swedish. From my experience, most Swedes will hide the fact that they are proud of their heritage.

We skipped the parade into the park. It was past N’s nap time, so we needed to go home. In the evening we went out to the lake and grilled. We all took our first swim of the year in Sweden. Overall it was a very nice day.

The Damn Finest Burger Around

I have narrowed down the best burger in the world contest to two different locations. The race is to close to call, so I have decided to have two winners, but it is not a tie. Ties are stupid and should be saved for soccer and hockey. Instead we are going to say the finest franchise/chain burger and the best private burger.

Bar none, the best chain burger has to be In and Out Burger in California. It is beyond good. They have no freezers in the place. Everything arrives in the morning and is made only after the order has been taken. Thinking about it makes my mouth water. The fries are good, but the chocolate milkshake to go with the burger takes the price. Apparently all the meat is free range beef and the vegetables are all ecological. They treat their employees well, so there is really nothing one could complain about, except for the fact that they are only in California!

For the best mom and pop style burger, you have to go to a small town just south of Dallas/Fort Worth called Cleburne. The town itself has about 27,000 people (with about 70 Baptist churches). The Burger Bar is located just off the square behind Patrick’s Floral. The restaurant, if that is what you want to call it, can fit in the back of a pick-up truck. You can either eat it there, on one of the four stools by the counter, or you can take with you. If you stay, be prepared to talk to the chef/owner of the place. This place is true Americana! Next time I find myself in that area, I will take a picture of it and post it, because the building is part of the experience. The other part is a damn fine burger of course.

Traveling without even having to leave the house

My parents were in town not too long ago. I wanted them to experience something that they had never experienced before, so we took them to an all you can eat sushi buffet. I was in heaven as I gorged myself with 21 bits of sushi, plus some Thai food. My parents took the Thai food and ignored the sushi completely (with the exception of the Wasabi, which mom took a generous portion. Only because she thought that it was guacamole).

I did not grow up eating seafood. The only time we ate anything that came from the water was on Fridays when we had to have fish sticks (at the time we were Catholic). If we wanted to have an exotic meal, we would have Chow Main. It was then we were having “authentic” Chinese. Boy how times change. As the world travels more and more, the Earth is getting smaller and smaller. When we travel, we try to eat “ethnic” food (ethnic being a very general term that encompasses everything from Italian, to Moroccan to Mexican and everything in between). Then when we get home, we want to have that same, or as close as we can get to the same, food again to remind us of the trip and the travels we have taken.

Looking in my food cabinet, I discovered just how true that is. We have a blending of just about everything. We have curry sauces, coconut milk, ginger chutney, jambalaya, bulgur, minso soup, sushi rice and wrap, olive cakes from Spain, glüvien and Mozart Balls to name a few. In the fridge/freezer we have snitzel, kebab meat, moose, reindeer, four different types of olives and three different types of soy sauce, bamboo shoots and lemon grass, peanut and fish sauce, and three different types of hot sauce. If you look at our wine “collection”, we have wines from at least ten different countries that was purchased mainly from the country it is from or from friends who traveled to that country. The beer collection, even though it is getting progressively smaller, is similar.

Right now, Southeast Asian is some of our favorite. In order to get the “right” ingredients, we go to specialty shops that specialize in Asian food. That in itself is an adventure. When friends travel to Italy, we have then pick up olive oil; when friends travel to France, we get cheeses and the list goes on. When I travel with work, my bag will be half empty when I go down, but will be totally full on the way home, full of food and wines.

My parents are not nearly as “bad” as we are, but if you look at their cabinet it is not too different. They will have a mixture of food from a multitude of different cultures. If you compared it to what it was 15 or 20 years ago, it would almost be shocking. As traveling has become more affordable and more people are traveling for pleasure, the food in our cabinet has diversified.

If you are unable to go to Italy this year, that is ok, bring Italy to you. Turn on a little Italian music, light some candles, have some good olive oil with olives and fresh mozzarella, and pop the cork on your favorite Tuscan wine. Then have Italy in your very own kitchen. If that is not enough, turn a soccer game on in the background for the added effect!

Last of April in Uppsala Sweden

The last of April, otherwise called Valborg, is a holiday which is celebrated in Sweden. The holiday (though most people do not actually get it off), is basically a “coming of spring” celebration. Most of Sweden has to work during the day, but not in Uppsala. If you find yourself in Sweden for the last of April, the only place to be is in Uppsala. It is a full day of activities.

There is a strict set of guidelines that one has to follow in order to do everything in the traditional set (though in reality, it does not matter at all). You start the day off with rice porridge, strawberries and champagne. The funny part about this is that most students never make it to class first thing in the morning or never actually get up before 10, except for today. Breakfast has to completed by 8:30, because at 8:30 you head to the centre of town for the boat races.

The boat race is a little special. The tradition goes back 20 some odd years when a couple of engineering students were out drinking (as students do) and decided that they were going to build a boat to float down the Fyris river which goes down the centre of town. Every year since then, students have built boats out of Styrofoam. The night before the big “race”, everyone builds their boat in the soccer field of a local high school. At 9 the next morning the race begins. The boat are usually creative. I have seen everything from a huge longhorn cow, the Millennium Falcon or a bowl of spaghetti from the Italian exchange students. It is not so much a race, but more of float down the river and through the rapids. Most of the boats are destroyed going down the rapids, which is part of the fun.

After the race, everyone either heads to the local System Bolaget (the only place in Sweden to buy alcohol) or home for a little rest. At noon it is time for lunch. The traditional lunch of cooked potatoes and flavored sill is on the menu. The best place to have it is around the castle (only problem with this is that there is no toilets, 10,000 drinking students…). The food is important, but the most important part is the snaps and beer/cider.

At 3, all students gather below the library, located by the castle. The president of the University walks onto the balcony and makes a speech. No one can hear what he says, and in reality it does not matter. He then takes off his hat, which all students have, and waves it. Followed by all 10,000 students take off their caps and do the same. Then all at once everyone starts to run to one of the nations (student clubs) for Champagne.

Up to this point, it is pretty standardized. All students will be doing this with very little variation. In the evening, the activities will vary. Most people will do one of four activities. Every nation has a ball with a nice meal and lots of drinking, though you have to buy your tickets in advance for it. Another option would be to have/go to a personal party with lots of drinking. The final two are for the more boring type of people. At 7, the best choir in Uppsala, who is having their party in the castle, will come out and sing traditional spring songs. This is a nice option, even if you go to a party. The final event for the day is traditional for all of Sweden, they have a bonfire. The biggest is out by Old Uppsala. Of course, usually more drinking is involved for this as well, but you could also bring the family.

So if you find yourself in Sweden in the end of April, you need to try it out!

Top Ten Things To Do In Ft. Worth Texas

10. Fort Worth Zoo
This is truly a world class zoo. I can remember the first time I went, the big cats were in cages which are now used for parakeets (my uncle got peed on by one of them). Wednesday is the day to go, tickets are half price.
http://www.fortworthzoo.com/

9. Cowgirl Hall of Fame
Located next to Will Rogers Coliseum, this museum is dedicated to the cow girl. They even have a Jessie, from Toy Story fame, doll.
http://www.cowgirl.net/

8. Bass Performance Hall
This beautiful performing arts center opened up in 1998. It is located in downtown Fort Worth. On the outside of the building are two 48 foot angles made from Texas limestone. Inside, it is known for it excellent acoustics. It also plays host to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Robert Earl Keen every December.
http://www.basshall.com/

7. Water Gardens
Finally they are opened back up. They have been closed for a couple of years due to a tragic accident that happened there. So now is your chance to enjoy the beauty of them.
www.fortwortharchitecture.com/water

6. Stockyards
Perhaps the best of Fort Worth and the most historical. At one point in time the cattle pens went on for miles. They have saved some to hold the 20 longhorn cattle which get moved through town every day by some cowboys. The shopping area has a great store to try some Texas wine and plenty of stores to get that cowboy hat you have been wanting to have. If you stick around in the evening, try dinner at cattleman’s and then head over to Billy Bob’s for some country dancing.
http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/
http://www.billybobstexas.com/

5. Cultural District
It is actually a hard call on which one is better in Fort Worth, the Cultural District or the Stockyards. I guess it depends a little on what type of mood you are in. The cultural district hosts three world class museums. The Modern Art Museum, in their new location, was the worlds first “modern art” museum. Up until a few years ago, it could have easily been a skip, now it is well worth a visit. The Kimball Art is studied around the world in art history classes. The collection is amazing and improving consistently. The museum is unique in the fact that they will sell part of the existing collection once they have a new/better piece to replace it. My favorite museum though is the Amon Carter Art Museum. It is packed solid with Remingtons and Russells. The museum focuses on the Americana style of art and hosts the largest photography collection in the United States. The story of Amon Carter is worthy of a museum in and of itself. The man was a legend.
http://www.fwculture.com/

4. Log Cabin Village
Often missed, this little gem of a place is located across the street from the zoo
and is a perfect location on a hot summer day. The trees make the area cool and the stroll through pioneer cabins is enjoyable. The staff are well educated and a pleasure to talk to.
http://www.logcabinvillage.org/

3. Colonial Golf Tournament
The week after the Byron Nelson in Dallas, the Colonial is one of the premiere golf tournaments in the PGA tour. The major players will usually play in it and the 13th hole is the best place just to sit with a margarita and watch the players/people go by,

2. TCU game
At one time TCU athletic program was a joke, that is not the case anymore. TCU football is consistently a good team. The basketball and baseball program have improved over the years. When school is in session, you can usually find some sport going on. If not, head over to the campus anyway and try some nachos at Cario’s. The restaurant may not look like much, but it is authentic Tex-Mex.
http://www.tcusports.com/

1. Stock Show
Every February all of Fort Worth shows up at the Will Rogers coliseum to watch the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. They have something for everyone. If you want to see a rodeo, then this is the one to go to (even if you are going to cheer for the animals, though I would not recommend cheering for them too loud).
http://www.fwstockshowrodeo.com/


Almost made it on the list:
Main Street Arts Fair
May Fest
Omni (Imax)
Night life in downtown
Botanical Gardens (especially the Japanese Gardens)
Casa Mañana

Taking it Easy on the Brazos

My mother and M have wanted to try kayaking out for a while. I am no expert in the sport, but I have done it multiple times at camp. M is always in good shape and my mother goes to the gym at least three times per week. So fitness is not going to be an problem. We start with a little test run on a pond and now they are ready for something more adventurous.

My Father's work is right next door to the Brazos River. Through the years he has made friends with all the neighbors. One of them is an old man who owns about a mile of river front property. He also owns about a mile of property on Lake Granbury. The property is beautiful. If we could manage somehow to buy this property, I could settle down in one place for the rest of my life. The property is just that beautiful. It truly is God’s country.

The day is sunny, but the wind is blowing and it is a little cold. Nothing too bad. We set off down the river. We have a cell phone in a zip lock bag to call when we get close to the pickup point. It is about 8 in the morning when we start. We have drinks and snacks for the morning. Since we have not looked at a map, we have to guess how long the trip is and how much time it is going to take. We are guessing it is about 5 miles down river, and that we will be at the highway 67 bridge at 11 or 12, just in time for lunch.

The Brazos really is one of my favorite rivers, if not my favorite. It is a nice calm river to go on. One of my dream trips, that I will take some day, is to canoe/kayak the entire river- from the source of the water until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Kind of a “Goodbye to a River” extended version (“Goodbye to a River” is an amazing book by an author named John Graves. I would highly recommend reading this classic of travel/Texas literature). End of March is a good time to be on the river; it is not too hot, nor is it too cold; their not too much water, nor is there too little.
Everyone is doing well on the river. We are floating along. After about 2 hours, we take a break and eat some of the fruit that we bring along. In our mind, we have about 1 hour to 1.5 hours until we are at the pickup point. The wind has been with us for most of the morning and we are feeling good. We continue for another hour when we thing that we see the bridge. I call my father and say that we can see the bridge in the distance and that we will be there in 15 minutes. As I look closer to the bridge, I can see that it is obviously not the 67 bridge, but the rock quarry bridge. This may not sound important, but it is very important. We thought that we passed the rock quarry bridge 1.5 hours ago. The quarry bridge is the half way point.

We pull over to talk about our situation, though there is not much to talk about. What can we do about it? Absolutely nothing! There is no bridge that we can be picked up on until we reach 67, so we are in for the long haul. That is ok though, everyone is feeling good and the wind has been behind us the entire way. Our luck, of course, was about to change.

As we were going under the bridge, I was on the phone with my father telling him that he did not in fact need to pick us up because we are only half way there. This was a very bad plan on my part, because this was the only place thus far in the river where we have a strong current and deep water. The back of my kayak hit a tree branch and I flipped the kayak. The water was strong enough to sink my kayak instantly and I was soaked. This also meant that everything in my back was also soaked. No problem, we placed everything into zip lock backs. I swam to the shore and pulled the kayak to where I could touch the bottom of the river, drained it and did a quick check of everything. Phone- ok, food and water (what little remained)- ok, new digital camera sealed in a zip lock bag- floating in a zip lock bag full of water. I must not have closed the bag tightly, the camera was ruined.

By the time I caught up to the ladies, I was already dry, but the there was not to do for the camera. It was now noon, the food was about out, we were starting to run a little low on water and to make matters worse, the wind had changed direction. We were now kayaking into the wind. This makes a huge difference. When one kayaks with the wind, life is good. When one is kayaking against the wind, life sucks. Especially after one has only kayaked half way when we thought that we were almost finished.

Everyone did good, no one complained (too loudly) and we made it to the end. Dad was there ready to pick us up with lemonade and subway. We downed it all like we had never eaten in the last 6 months. We did not do anything that evening. We had planned to go to the movies, but it did not happen. We just went home and let Dad take care of us. The next day we thought that we would be sore, but we were not. Already the next day we could laugh (with the exception of the camera that I ruined) at our day.

Spring Time In Sweden for DnM

Thank God, winter is finally over. The family took a little bike ride today since the weather has been so nice. While biking around, we saw tussilagos (little yellow flowers, no idea the name of them in English). That means that it is officially spring in Sweden!!!

Other signs it is spring in Sweden:

Ever kitchen table in Sweden has tulips on it
Families have birch branches with feathers tied to the end of them
And every Swede is looking up to the sky when they are in the sun
(wondering what the warn orange thing in the sky is)

Sitting here on a rainy day

Well it is raining outside and I am to lazy to put on my raingear to go outside. How sad is that? It is ok, I really do not have the energy or the desire to do anything. I really do not even have the desire to read something. So all it does is allow the mind to wonder. Like normal, the mind wanders to travel.

Today it is about where I would like to travel this year. Thus far this year I have not done any traveling (not counting the one trip to Gibraltar for work). That is a new record for M and I. So my list is actually quite long. It is normally long, which is ok. In reality, like usual, the majority of them will not happen.

Here are the ones that will more then likely happen:

Texas to visit the folks
We made a separate list of things that we would like to do in Texas and all of these things will not happen. We are not going to have enough time to do it all. Though, even if we had the time to do it all, we still would not “want” to do it with two kids under 2.

Östersund to visit a couple of friends
They just had their first child, so it should be fun. We are taking the train, 10 hours. We will see how N does.

Wedding in Northern Sweden
A nice long weekend. One of M’s friends is getting married, a nice weekend away.

Åland with the in laws
Sadly I will miss most of this one, since I have to work and it will be the last week before I take Parent Time Off, but M and kids will be there the entire time.

Work Trips
These are always a bit up in the air, but it looks like I will be going to Moscow for a couple of days, Cape Town for a week, Vienna and a Athens.

The rest of just dream trips. You know the type, the ones that are fun to think about on a rainy nasty, stay inside with a cup of tea. The big one though is M’s 30th birthday is in January next year.

Eating ones way through Vienna

One thing has been for sure on this trip to Vienna, I will not be losing any weight. In fact, I would be shocked if I did not gain some weight. We have eaten so much food the previous 6 days. Some of it has been traditional Viennese food and some has not been. It is not M and my style to eat out so often. In fact, even when I go on these business trips, I will usually just eat some “street” for or stop by a grocery store. This week, since N is with us, we have to eat out to ensure that she gets enough food.

I guess we should divide this into different categories, to make it a little easier to read. Otherwise I would go from day to day. I guess we should start covering the street venders, which being Christmas time there are extra many of them. Then we will cover with the most traditional- Viennese food. Then finally we have to cover everything else.

I am not sure if this would actually be categorized as Viennese food or not, but from my observation they will be- chestnuts roasted over an open fire (Jack Frost nipping at your nose). Just about every other street corner had a chestnut proprietor. We found our favorite on the corner of Schottenring and Schottengasse. They were always fresh and were just about the least expensive ones we found. I think that over a period of 8 days, we had them 4 times, that is how good they are. The other street Viennese food we had was sausages from a street salesman. It was not until the last full day that I finally got my sausage. If M and N did not come, I would have ate one every single day for dinner (and saved a small fortune).

We actually only ate at one traditional Viennese restaurant. Still located in the city centre, but off of Am Hof square, Brezlg’wölb (1, Ledererhof 9) is an excellent choice for good food and phenomenal atmosphere (sadly the service was below sub-par at best). M had the weinerschnitzal and I had the dumplings. The dumplings were good, but the weinerschnitzal was fabulous. Yes, I was totally jealous of M and wished that I had ordered it myself.

A couple of nights later we went to an Austrian pancake house called Palatschinkenkuchl (1, Köllnerhofgasse 4). The place was small and cozy. The waitress was very helpful, even though she did not understand my German, but then again no one understands my German. The pancakes are not the traditional American or French style of pancakes, but more like an oven pancake which has been cut into little strips called kaiserschmarren. Then they are covered with powered sugar and preserved fruit. M had apples and I had plums, both of which were good.

Ironically M and I ate mainly at Italian places. N loves pasta, it is by bar her favorite type of food. She will eat almost anything, as long as pasta is included. The first night we ate at a little place behind the Börse- which was really bad. It looked bad before we ever went in, but thought that we would give it a try anyway. The other nights we went to a place closer to the hotel. Both of which were good, but not really worth mentioning. The other nights we had Japanese takeout from Mr. Wongs. It will never get a Michelin Star, but not a bad option. M has a favorite lunch option called Salado on Währinger Strasse- very kid friendly and reasonably priced. In fact, they thought that N was so cute, that they gave her a little treat.

With all that mentioned, how could we add anything. Well, we are missing one very important thing- the sweets. Vienna is known for their café life. We had several sweet breads from the different Christmas markets. M had a donut with cream filling. They filled the vanilla cream when she ordered it. They filled it up so much that the cream shot out of the donut the other side. I had a pretzel with coconut topping- different. The crème de la crème though was a visit to the Demel. This is one of the oldest cafés in Vienna and one of the upper class ones. I had a snowball and M had apple strudel. Of course we had coffee to go with it. What a café culture, with about 20 different types of coffee- putting Starbucks to shame (plus if you have kids and a stroller, they have an elevator that you can take, though it is a little difficult to find).

When one comes to Vienna, food is not the first thing one would think of. I personally would think more on the alcohol side then the food side, but the everyone has several options in all price ranges.