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.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, May 19, 2008
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
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
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
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!"
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!"
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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)
Friday, January 11, 2008
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!
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!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
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
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
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
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?
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?
Thursday, October 18, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
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.
Pictures from Switzerland trip are finally available on www.DnMAdventures.com. I will be blogging later today about the Italy portion on the trip.
Monday, October 01, 2007
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!
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!
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