15 Short Beach Road

Travel Log: Reutte, Austria - Ehrenberg Castle Ruins

2009-07-02T16:00:00.007-04:00

July 2^nd - Reutte, Austria.

After breakfast at our quiet valley Gasthof (Pension Garni Waldrast) we ventured off on a hike up the trails right behind the guest house that lead up to the Ehrenberg castle ruins. With cliff bars and water bottles stuffed into our camera bags we followed a stream up a parking lot in the valley that serves as the launching point for hikes up the the ruins; there's also (unfortunately) some tourist facilities and small museum - we skipped all that and started up. The Ehrenberg castle ruins include several distinct fortifications with an interesting history. Our 1st destination was the closest castle ruin on the "little hill" and 1st built in the 13th century (~1296 AD). After 40 minutes of moderate hiking we were there. Walking amongst the ruins was neat, but taking in the views of the neighboring alps - in all directions - was awesome.

From what I read about the area, not a lot of Americans vacation in the Reutte area. So who do we 1st run into - a family from California. Then a couple from NY, and 2 more from Ohio. Nowhere else did we run into so many Americans - C'est la vie!

After taking in the ruins, we felt adventurous enough to make the longer hike up to the Schloßkopf ruins looming over us (the original inhabitants of the castle built the one on higher ground when they lost it in battle - then used the higher vantage point to take out the enemy and their original fortress).

This hike burned a few more calories than the 1st. Of course we had to hike halfway back down before turning up to the higher set of ruins.

More beautiful views of the top. Looking down on our guest house, the town of Reutte in the valley and other set of ruins was very cool. Alps covered with steep green pastures speckled with huts teased us across the valley. Others with ice filled ridges stood in the distance.

As we wrapped up our personal exploration of the mountain top castle fortress ruins, some storm clouds in the distance were no longer in the distance. The rain came. Fortunately some of the old castle's fortress withstood the test of time and we were able to seek refuge in a long tunnel with a couple from Canada. After 20 or 30 minutes the rain turned into a misty drizzle. With cameras tucked away, we made a run for it. It was warm and the light rain felt good. Luckily the rain dissipated as we hiked down the side of the mountain.

After freshening up at the guest house, we hopped in the Mercedes A150 explored some of Reutte (including picking up bananas at the local market) then used the GPS to venture back toward Füssen, Germany for some turbo-sightseeing. More notes and photos from that in the next post!

Travel Log: Trek across southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg to Bavaria to Reutte, Austria)

2009-07-01T23:00:00.018-04:00

July 1st. Time to check out of Pfeffer & Salz, say good bye to Gengenbach and the Black Forest. With luggage repacked, maps in hand, the GPS on hand, cliff bars and H2O to-go, we hit the road after filling up at the Frühstück buffet. Today's destination: Reutte, Austria.

First stop, Gengenbach!

Yes, we didn't even get out of town. I can't recall what pulled us into the heart of the village one more time, but it was buzzing with activity mid-morning on Wednesday. Turns out it was market day. In front of the courthouse, right where we found the band a few days ago, was a mobile marketplace. T & I have grown fond of local markets we stumble upon during our travels - they provide an insight into local life.

I parked the Mercedes A150, figured out the parking meter and we checked it out. This one did not disappoint. There was a little bit of everything, no more, no less. The meat van was there, the cheese wagon, several vendors selling locally grown berries & veggies. I picked up a small bottle of some local liquor (haven't tried it yet!) and some homemade Spätzle - those are my souvenirs. :) T grabbed some cherries, we both captured more photos of the cute little town... then we hit the road.

Free from the train tracks, we plotted a path that would [hopefully] take us through some scenic areas of the Black Forest and Bavaria. We first head south, through Hausach, past the Black Forest Museum (looked worthwhile from the parking lot; noted possibility for a future visit) and into the town of Triberg. Triberg is known for cuckoo clocks and has a waterfall which T wanted to see. We saw several signs for the waterfall, but couldn't find it. After cruising through town (twice), catching a glimpse of some huge cuckoo clocks, we bailed on that plan and headed east to Rottweil.

While weaving over secondary roads, through farm land and little villages, we made an impromptu stop at a berry stand in an area that was more-or-less suburbia of a small city - whose name escapes me, but the raspberries were delicious.

Geographic note: Most of our stops, including Gengenbach are located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, which has a lot of really nice areas. It doesn't seem to get the air time that Bavaria does, maybe it's because doesn't sound as cool.

The GPS lead us to the center of medieval Rottweil - oldest town in the area, and it looked like a good place for a quick lunch. I found a good parking spot, figured out another meter, fed it with an hour or so worth of euros and we ventured off to find some feed for ourselves. Around the 1st bend we found a wide road running up hill that comprised the real heart of the old part of town.

We hit the WC behind the TI (Tourist Information office, most towns have them - and there is usually a public WC nearby, good to know!).
We sat outside at a little cafe and enjoyed apple strudel a la mode and some over priced bottled mineral water for lunch! (what's with Europe and the bottled water? I thought the USA was O.C.D. w/ bottled water. Doesn't the tap water come from the mountain fed rivers too? This area is so much more eco-friendly than the USA, but not with the water bottles.) A lot of the buildings were decorated with elaborate murals and/or painted trim work. We saw this in several places. From a distance, the trim work appears to be ornate molding, but upon closer inspection, it's just paint. T was lured into a few shops while I snapped some more photos. (BTW, the rottweiler dog is named after the town. The town is over 2,000 years old, so I guess it was here before the dog). Seeing storm clouds in the distance, knowing we still had a lot of ground to cover and figuring our time was about up on the meter, we head back down the hill and around the bend to the car ... only to find a parking ticket! The meter maid beat us by 10 minutes. Fortunately it was only €5. Unfortunately, the ticket was entirely in German (go figure). Deciphering this would have to wait until I had Internet access.

With this unexpected souvenir, we resumed our journey. First due south, then east. As we approached the town of Tuttlingen through the rain and traffic to our left we spotted elephants on the side of the road (yes - ELEPHANTS!). Apparently the circus was in town. This was definitely not on the agenda. We kept moving.

After a much needed quick pit stop at the Netto discount grocery store in Krauchenwies (and good place to pick up German chocolate!) and a few wrong turns through some very local neighborhoods (GPS isn't much good when a construction crew closes the road) we made a bee-line into Bavaria and hit the autobahn. That little A150 Mercedes was able to top out at 180 km/hr (112 mph).

We exit the Autobahn a few miles from the Austrian border and there on the right what do we see? Camels. (yes - CAMELS!). Apparently there is a camel farm where you can ride the camels up in the alps. Interesting idea. We pulled over to capture some photos (otherwise nobody would believe us!). In the distance I was noticing some big hills... the Austrian Alps - our destination - was in sight. We kept moving.

Today's drive was a lot of fun. We saw some rural and what I think/hope is traditional Germany countryside. Small towns, old towns, farm land, woodland, all very pretty. This last stretch was gorgeous. The road to Austria took us through a tunnel to get to the other side of one of the mountains. Here the misty rain we've been skirting for hours blew away and we were welcome to Austria with an arching vibrant rainbow. It's one of prettiest sights I've seen. Of course I pulled over so we could snap some photos. It's moments like I invested in a new Canon 40D SLR camera.

Twenty minutes later we were pulling into Reutte, Austria - and looking for a simple local spot to grab dinner. It was 8pm (dusk). We found the center of town easy enough, but no restaurants. Just hotels; we didn't really want to eat at a hotel. Just as we were about to surrender to one, we spotted a "pizzeria" in the neighboring village of Breitenwang. Without saying a word, we both took a U-turn to Cafe Alina (not as fancy as it appears on the web site). We had the non-smoking atrium room all to ourselves. We plowed through a German salat, pizzas and couple pints of Heferweisen then rushed in the waining moments of daylight to "Pension Garni Waldrast".

Our hostess, (Johanna?) checked us into room 5. The pension (or inn) was small, down-to-earth (~10 rooms), very quiet and just off the beaten path. With the last breaths of dusk hanging over the alps, we could see not 1, but 2 castle ruins high up on the hill tops immediately behind the inn. And that would be tomorrow's destination!

[View from our room]

Post trip update: Unable to figure out how to pay the parking ticket online, I scanned it and my friend/colleague Falco graciously took care of it. Apparently I am now in debt a round of Boston's own Sam Adam's on his next trip to NC.

Note: Click photos in blog entries for a enlarged view.

Travel Log: more Black Forest - more Gengenbach, Germany (June 2009)

2009-07-01T09:00:00.009-04:00

Tuesday June 30th was our last full day in the Black Forest region, needless to say we covered a lot of ground. After a long day in Strasbourg, France we slept in. The day started with a 10am call from Julia at Pfeffer & Salz to see if we were going to make it down for breakfast. T was embarrassed, while I was glad we were able to get some breakfast (more of the traditional cereal, yogurt, rolls, sliced pork products and cheese - the breakfast offering was the same everywhere we stayed).

After filling up, we headed out. T went into the village to check out all the shops, we agreed on 1:30 meeting point in town, I jumped on the 11:45 train to Offenburg to pick up a rental car. I arrived at 11:54. I had the address of the rental car company (SIXT), recalled it being a couple blocks west of the train station; fortunately there was a map of the town in the station, but I couldn't find the street. Not good. I made a game time decision to grab a taxi. I was growing concerned when 2 taxi drivers weren't sure where the location was either! Once they realized I was heading to a SIXT office, we were set. Good call on the taxi, the ride was 15 minutes. I would have never found it on foot.

Hopping in my new A150 Mercedes was liberating. I love train travel in Europe, but for the 1st time I was no longer bound to the schedule and location of the trains. I took advantage of this new found freedom. Having a GPS unit on board was vital to our success. Being ahead of schedule for a change, I decided to try to check out a castle I saw from the train. Not knowing the name or address of it, the GPS wasn't much help, but I could see it up in the hills from the distance. How hard could it be? I quickly found myself off the main road heading up the hills on a road that was devolving from pavement to gravel to dirt. Nothing like putting the A150 to the test right out of the gate! I ended up zig-zagging through a vineyard overlooking the village of Ortenberg. I got close, but never reached the castle. The impromptu vineyard maze was fun. I eventually made it out - without doubling back.

With not a minute to spare, T & I reconnected precisely at 1:30 and found a very German lunch in a little courtyard adorned with a statue of children battling a witch (more sliced pork products and hefeweizen - we were getting very good at ordering hefeweizen).
Stocked up on a few supplies at a little local market (we enjoy checking out local markets on travels - gives us a momentary feel what it is like to live like a local). Headed back to hotel to switch gears - time for an authentic Black Forest hike or "wandering" as they seem to say in Germany.

The trail head was pathetically close to Pfeffer & Salz, but we took the A150 there because we could. We covered 7km in Naturpark Schwarzwald. The trail meandered through deep dark forest (the Black Forest gets it's name from this darkness), orchids, a deer farm, a little village named Santis Claus and lots of wild berries. We ate more than our share of raspberries (I love raspberry!). The 1st section of the trail was, quite unexpectedly, riddled with random German art. Photos will have to explain. We crossed paths with several "walking clubs" and a couple mountain bikers. Did not see much wildlife, but T spot some tiny toads (half inch), lots of colorful little flowers and a harmless snake.

We worked up an appetite, refreshed at the hotel, buzzed back down into the Gengenbach historic center and dined on beef filet, veggies, Pommes frites and Spätzle at Pfeffermühle as dusk turned to dark. This was arguably our best meal of the trip. The steak was awesome and we became fans of Spätzle - a German noodle, different than the Italian variety, but just as good. Maybe better. It didn't need sauce. Turned out Julia's parents, the Armbrusters, own this restaurant. BTW, Pommes frites = shoestring french fries; these were standard fare with every upscale dinner in Germany/Austria/Switzerland.

After another long day and wishing we had more time in Gengenbach and the Black Forest, we crashed hard. Our adventure continues the next day with a trek across southern Germany and into the Austrian Alps. Little did we know what we were in for...

Travel Log: Strasbourg, France (June 2009)

2009-06-30T09:00:00.005-04:00

Our stop in the Black Forest village of Gengenbach was just an hour train ride from Strasbourg, France - I heard good things about Strasbourg and it looked intriguing based on the brief research I did before we hit the road. Having finally mastered a handful of German words and phrases, why not mix it up with a day in France? We caught a morning train on Monday (June 29) and were there by 11:00. The Strasbourg train station was unique, the entire outside facade of the old station was wrapped in a huge modern glass bubble (protecting it & travelers from the elements, I guess).

Speaking of the elements, based on the forecasts posted on weather.com before I left Raleigh, the outlook was perfect - highs in the 70s, low's in the 50s, a few clouds, very little rain. Hence, I packed accordingly. Checking again before I left Heidelberg, lots of rain was in the forecast. Well, weather.com was way off. We saw virtually no rain (yay!), but it was hot - flirting with 90° in the afternoons. No lodging on our trip had A/C (which seems common in this part of Europe) which made sleeping a little uncomfortable (no fans in rooms either) and there was a lot of hand washing of shorts & t-shirts in the shower - I could have packed less. C'est la vie!

So Strasbourg was sunny & hot. Exiting the train station, one of my first sights (after the obligatory McDonald's) was a dude walking a poodle. Affirmative - we are in France.

The entire core of the historic and touristy section is wrapped inside canals criss-crossed with bridges of varying age, all of which added to the charm. Of course I wanted to take a boat ride through the canals and we heading into the heart of the city looking for the boat docks. I usually have an excellent sense of direction, but apparently not in France. There were too many twists and turns in the old city streets and the canal itself, so the search for boats was trumped by the need for food - which we found in large open square, at a place that served up panni-like sandwiches and Ben & Jerry's!

Ahhh, a little cone of heaven in France. Recharged with food, T started getting the itch to check out the shops. We meandered into the large & majestic Strasbourg Cathedral (construction started in 1176, completed in 1439 - and remained at 142m high "the tallest edifice in Christendom" until the 19th century). Aside from stained glass windows leading up to the huge vaulted ceilings, the church contained a unique Astronomical Clock, built by the Swiss (who else?) around 1547. It stands about 2 stories high.
Like a medieval contraption out of Walt Disney's It's A Small World, at 12:30 each day apostle "action figures" pop out of clock and one by one rotate past Jesus. We were there around 2pm.

But we did find some awesome french desserts and the boats! This turned out to be the highlight of the day. For about 90 minutes we were taken through the canals and out to the new/modern European Union buildings. Strasbourg is the home of "The Council of Europe" which today includes the EU Parliament, International Institute for Human Rights, European Science Foundation, and more. We passed numerous neat old buildings, I'll let pictures do the talking.

Before wrapping up the day, T wanted to do a little more browsing in the shops then the plan was to grab dinner and an 8pm train. On any trip, something always goes wacky. Last year in Venice I briefly lost my wallet. This time the department store stop ran long, dinner at a cafe near the train station was cut short, the waitress didn't realize we had to leave by a certain time, the train ticket machine didn't take cash or my credit cards and then I was looking for track 29 with 2 minutes to spare - which didn't exist!

From a distance, we watched our train pull out of the station. Headed in to customer service to catch the next train (which was leaving in ~15 minutes). Line was long, by the time we figured out how to catch the next train, it was pulling out of the station without us! Fortunately there was another train around 9:30pm. We wisely invested the extra time in a round of beers by the canal (okay, 2 rounds). It was a long dark walk back up to our hotel in Gengenbach, but made it around 11pm. We crashed hard with the sounds of running water lulling us to sleep.

Needless to say, we slept in the next day.

Next up... exploring the Black Forest.

Travel Log: The Black Forest - Gengenbach, Germany (June 2009)

2009-06-29T09:00:00.004-04:00

Four trains out of Heidelberg, we arrived in the little Black Forest village of Gengenbach on Sunday (June 28) early afternoon. One train transfer totaled less than 4 minutes, we made it.

Nobody, including my German friends, seems to have ever heard of this town. Its located halfway between Baden-Baden and Frieberg, just 2 short train stops east of Offenberg; basically in the heart of the Black Forest region. We were shuttled 2km to the other side of the village to the Pfeffer and Salz Eventhotel (Pepper & Salt Hotel) - our home for the next 3 nights. After staying in the tight old city streets of Heidelberg, finding Pfeffer and Salz flanked with a couple farmhouses, some open land and flock of sheep was refreshing.

Despite being a little tired, we felt we should check out the town and get our bearings for our stay. We were glad we did. A short 20 min walk downhill and through the old city walls led us into a very quaint and picturesque village. Cobble stone streets were edged with mountain water was flowing freely toward the river.

Cafes and small bier garten courtyards checkered the town. Four story buildings contained shops at street level and windows adorned with flower boxes above. In the open square in front of the Rathaus (city hall) a traditional band was beginning to play for the crowd. With gelato in hand, we ventured over to enjoy the band which was wrapping up a Wagner piece (I think that's what they announced based on deciphering a few words in the announcement), then to our surprise they began belting out Abba's "Dancing Queen", followed by "Mama Mia" and another Abba track.

They were pretty good and we enjoyed this random German treat. Later I learned that the band is traveling around and this was the 1st weekend they played in Gengenbach.

We circled rest of the town center, did some window shopping, saw a bunch of "cow art" on display (somehow the band was associated with this cow-art), strolled along the river, made sure we could find the train station on our own and headed back up to the hotel.

One pleasant surprise in Germany - at this time of year, the sun sets very late. Dusk kicks in around 10pm; so we enjoyed the extra daylight. We dined under the huge umbrellas on the Pfeffer and Salz patio. Julia, the owner, performed most of the tasks at the hotel (front desk person, concierge, hostest and waitress), fortunately she had a reasonable grasp of English. This comes in handy when things like the menu are all in German. I opted for the house special (Pfeffer and Salz rumpsteak), T gambled with a Greek salad - and lost (lesson learned). Unfortunately the hotel did not have an internet connection - so blog updates are far from real-time on this trip.

With a full agenda on the schedule for Monday, we crashed with the sound of running water outside our window.

Next up... a day trip to Strasbourg, France.

Travel Log: Heidelberg, Germany (June 2009)

2009-06-28T09:00:00.006-04:00

Just 4 weeks and 1 day after returning from the coastline and jungle of Belize, it was time to venture beyond the familiar confines of the USA again. This time the destination is Heidelberg, Germany for 2+ jam packed days with colleagues literately from all corners of the world (UK, Russia, India, Argentina, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Romania and more). It was a fantastic opportunity similar to our international "summit" in Heidelberg in Sep 2006 and Milan, Italy in April 2008. Last time in Heidelberg I was only in town for 4 nights, this time I decided to make the most of it - and spent a lot of late nights in 4 short weeks preparing for the summit as well as mapping out an extra week of exploring southern Germany with T.

In Heidelberg, I stayed with most colleagues in the Kulturbrauerei - a hotel in historic old town with a brewery - How cool is that? (would have been cooler if the rooms had a/c or at least a fan; several of us can attest that voices carry well between the walls of the narrow streets - particularly late at night; this hotel was good, but would be great in cooler weather).

After work wrapped up on Thursday I enjoyed a ~7 km run along the Neckar River, power nap, quick dinner and caught up with coworkers still in town for a half liter at "The Distille"; followed by an obligatory trip to The Cave. What happens in The Cave, stays in The Cave!

It took a little extra effort to get rolling Friday morning, but did - and connected with Steve from the Toronto office. We trekked up the Neckar River ~28km through a couple little towns, past some more castle ruins, through a corn field, ship yard en route to our destination - Hirschhorn. I must confess we had to push our bikes up a steep hill to reach the Hirschhorn castle. Wonderful view. We zipped back down the hill & caught a train to Heidelberg - we were feeling beat, plus there was a good chance Therece (aka "T") was going to be arriving on the 3pm train (she didn't arrive until 4:30 - and via bus, not train! - that's another story for her to share).

I shared the sights and tastes I've become familiar with in old town Heidelberg w/ T. Highlights included dinner (w/ Steve) Friday evening in the Rathaus (city hall) square, photo ops on the old bridge, a Sat morning rainy tour of the castle ruins (the French literately blew the defensive fortifications apart in March 1693, and burnt 99% of Heidelberg to the ground for good measure; lightening took care of the castle living quarters in 1764; after 400+ years of growth, it was never inhabited again), window shopping along HauptStraße, a cruise on the Neckar in a solar powered boat (largest of it's kind) and a late dinner by the old bridge at "Goldener Hecht" with 2 jovial musicians entertaining the crowd while we washed down some bratwurst, potatoes & saurkraut with Heiferweisen ("hecht" is pike in German, I didn't see any pike on the menu!).

In all, we had a great time. Heidelberg is a beautiful historic town. As I learned through 2 visits and T in 2 days, it is a great place to get inducted into the German culture - while there is still ample English available to help you along.

After another traditional German Frühstück (breakfast) with breads and sliced meats at Kulturbrauerei Sunday morning, one last trip to the old bridge and stroll through the cobblestone streets, we caught a cab to the train station for our next stop... The Black Forest!

Travel Log: Belize Jungle - Cayo District/San Ignazio (May 2009)

2009-05-31T18:07:00.012-04:00

After spending 5 days in the the paradise of the Belize coastline, we took a 15 min flight back to the mainland and trekked into the rural Cayo District (via a rickety red mini van) just outside San Ignacio on the edge of the little village Cristo Rey [map]. On the way, our guide Eric Tut gave us a tour of the Belize Zoo - a small zoo packed with Belizean wildlife - some of which we would see more of. The highlights included a tapir and getting up close to a jaguar.

To reach Crystal Paradise (which would be home for the next 3 nights) we took the East/West "Highway" - one of 2 major roads in Belize. This "highway" is equivalent of a secondary state highway in need of attention. Given the potholes in the road, I found the speed bumps ironic. Little did we know this was, relatively speaking, a highway compared to the roads to come.
Ambergris Caye was more or less third world living, a mix of local shacks and upscale beachfront homes (Jimmy Buffett owes one hideaway). San Ignacio/Cristo Rey was definitely third world. No fine dining, no Burger King, no sports bars w/ HDTV, no TV at all, or AC - for the locals or us. Despite the lack of traditional comforts, we enjoyed the beautiful grounds of Crystal Paradise - full of huge coconut trees, some cacti, cockspur trees, hibiscus, Heliconia Bihai (aka lobster claw), pineapple plants (doesn't resemble a pine or apple tree), posionwood (avoid the sap!) and others I've never seen before. Aside from some pines, the foliage doesn't resemble anything like found in the mid-Atlantic states. This "resort" is run entirely by Victor and Teresa Tut, a local Belize couple, and their 10 children!

After a hearty dinner of chicken with rice and beans prepared by Carolita Tut (Eric's sister) and a round of Belikins, we all retired early (a common trend for the trip). Our rooms were equipped with authentic thatched roofs and screened windows that worked most of the time. Despite numerous warnings, mosquitoes were not a problem - my backyard is much worse, as is the Belize rain forest area (which was confirmed by the legs of some other travels that just left that area).

On Friday we took to the trees - zip-lining! In another first for us, we donned harnesses, were clipped to heavy cables and zipped through the canopy of the forest. It was a blast and went by fast. Even T's 4 yro nephew Blake enjoyed it (he's a big Batman fan).

Following a picnic lunch and with Eric Tut leading the way and pointing out details we would have missed, including a tarantula and giant toad (I'd guess 2 lbs - and T spotted this creature 1st!), we hiked through the jungle with inner tubes for 45 minutes,
taking in the nature along the way. Our destination: the Caves Branch River. For the next couple hours we floated back down river - part of the time through a large cave. "Cave Tubing" was a lot of fun.

We saved a trip to Mayan ruins for our final full day in Belize. Everald Tut (Eric's oldest brother) ferried us in the questionable red mini-van over 2 hours worth of bumpy dirt roads through the scraggly Pine Mountain Ridge to the Caracol Archaeological Park. To quote Everald, it was "the longest 37 mile ride you'll ever take", but it was worth it. The Caracol Mayan ruins sit just 3 miles from the Guatemalan border. For safety precautions, the last stretch of the trek was completed via a military lead convoy, apparently Guatemalan bandit roam the area and rob tourists (the last incident was Feb 12th, and it was Everald's tour that was hit, lovely). This area is so remote, the ruins weren't [re]discovered until 1936 (it was abandoned by the Mayans in 1050 AD). 10 years ago the roads to the site weren't penetrable. A lot of excavation work has been complete, but a lot remains. Experts believe this could be one of the largest Mayan sites ever discovered and is home to the tallest man-made structure in Belize; the Caana temple stands 43.5 meters tall - higher than any modern building. Everald actually worked at the site for several years and was a terrific guide with lots of insights (and a few jokes). It was an amazing site.

Seeing and climbing over structures built 1 to 2 thousand years ago without modern technology and the back breaking labor that went into it boggles the mind.

The afternoon concluded with a late picnic packed by the Tut's and a visit with a cute baby howler monkey which fell from a tree and is now cared for by the rangers guarding Caracol.

We dipped into the natural Rio On pools to cool off on the route back to Crystal Paradise. We all slept well our final night in Belize.

Travel Log: Belize, Ambergris Caye Belize (May 2009)

2009-05-21T01:24:00.008-04:00

There are a lot of things I want to do and places to visit. I must admit, Belize was not on the first page. I don't know a lot about the area and traveling to areas that are more or less third world never captured my imagination. But here I am - sitting on the eastern edge of Central America, on a quiet coastal town under picture perfect palm trees drinking Belikin beer with T ... and her whole family. Her parents are scuba junkies and Belize has the 2nd largest coral reef system within eyesight of the shoreline (2nd only to The Great Barrier Reef). Who knew?

We've been staying at the Xanadu Resort in Ambergris Caye. Over the past 4 days we've explored San Pedro (the only town on the caye) via foot, bike and boat; devoured a lot of seafood (snapper seems to be the local catch); found the locals to be very friendly and helpful (even the ones that aren't trying to sell us a tour); and jumped into snorkeling.
I've never snorkeled before, but was definitely interested in trying it. After taking in more than my fair share of the sea, I got the hang of it and loved it. We 1st went out to Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The coral was neat, but the fish stole the show. The diversity was amazing. From what I can remember we saw angelfish, a couple types of grouper, snapper, several types of parrotfish (really neat), tarpin (~4 ft), southern rays, barracuda (those catch your attention!), a green turtle (very cool!) and dozens of friendly horse-eyed jack swam around us (1-2 ft). It was quite neat.

To top that, the whole clan took a day trip on Tuesday in a small boat further south for more adventure. Our fist stop consisted of visit with manatees amongst the mangroves. Then we skirted southeast to Goff's Caye, which was about a 1 acre island we had all to ourselves.This was amazing.

While one guide took us snorkeling around the island, another prepared lunch on the fire pit (fish stew, coconut rice, potatoes, homemade tortillas and brownies). Words don't do it justice, so I'll post photos soon. On the way back we stopped at another snorkeling hot spot and jumped in with a dozen friendly southern rays - one goosed T pretty good!

We loved snorkeling so much (and we can't do this at home), so we ventured out again this morning. This time highlights included a moray eel and nurse sharks.
To top off the evening and stay in Ambergris, we enjoyed a sunset catamaran sail this evening.

We'll be up early Thursday to switch gears - time to head into the jungle!

Krispy Kreme Challenge... Mmm doughnuts

2009-02-09T23:11:00.009-05:00

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. The blog is not dead, it has just been hibernating!
Spring seems to have sprung in Raleigh as fast as the stock market tanked last Oct. Two weeks ago there was snow on the ground, children sledding, cars sliding and offices/classes canceled due to some wonderful flakes. Early Spring weather, or at least of preview of what will come in 6 weeks, is a benefit of the Raleigh area (the New Englander in me does love winter weather - in Dec & Jan). It was time to take advantage of this 70° weather; what could be better than a morning jog downtown? How about 2 miles, some doughnuts and 2 more miles. Yeah!

Five years ago some NCSU students dreamed up the "Krispy Kreme Challenge". Game for trying almost anything once, I joined this 2 mile run, dozen doughnut devouring & 2 mile run back, with 5,500 of my closest friends (including T! - her 1st offical/organized race! u go girl!). A quick disclaimer - being of somewhat reasonable sound mind & body, I ran as a "casual" runner (e.g. I only ate 4 doughnuts) ... next year I might do the dozen! We had a blast. Lots of creative running outfits (including suits - 3 piece, as well as gorrilla). My favorite sight: 2 guys pushing their buddy with a broken leg - in a shopping cart! Ahhh college memories.
Proceeds ($35k) all went to the NC Children's Hospital.
Want more? Read one of several N&O articles.
Want to join next year? Register early!

Give me one good reason to vote for McCain/Palin. Someone. Anyone. Just one.

2008-10-29T00:22:00.003-04:00

One week til the election. Let's talk politics. An acquaintance recently asked (in cyberspace - does anyone still call it cyberspace??) "why do so many smart people support Obama?" - Ummm... I think that question answers itself.

I want to know why people (smart or not) support McCain/Palin. If you are hell-bent on the abortion view and can't see past that one issue, okay, you get to vote along that line. If you are pulling in over $250k and don't want your taxes raised, okay, you've got a better reason to vote republican this year.

So aside from that, why do you support Palin/McCain? I'm curious. Please comment on this post. I want to hear other perspectives. Share.

The Obama/Biden ticket seems obvious to me. Obama's campaign stresses reasons they should get your vote. McCain's message weighs heavy on why you should not vote for Obama. Obama's 1st presidential decision was his running mate - he selected Biden to compliment his skills and experience which can be leveraged running our nation. McCain (after loading up his campaign leadership w/ former lobbyist) selected someone with charisma and a pretty face. Sure, Palin shook up the race, but was a short term pawn to help win the election, not run the USA. She has no useful experience to bring to the white house, she can't even get her hometown newspaper's endorsement for that reason.

"The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation." [Anchorage Daily News, 10/25/2008]

Just look at Obama's endorsements compared to McCain's endorsements, the shear volume is astounding. I'm astounded that this race is even close. After 8 years of Bush-blunders, Colin Powell and I are ready for a change, a positive change, an intelligent change.

Rock on.

Getting Back to Nature - Camping in Great Smoky Mountains

2008-10-13T22:51:00.006-04:00

I've been in North Carolina for 18 years sporadically exploring many different pockets of this diverse state. The mountains are an area I've wanted to see more of. So when my brother was planning a family camping trip, I tagged along. Destination: Great Smoky Mountains, Elkmont Campground (technically in TN, barely). Knowing the dynamics of the trip would be tailored to the kids, I grabbed the dog (Little Mo) and we ventured out a night early to literately unplug from everything in Raleigh. No phones, no email, no TV (missed the 1st 2 ALCS Red Sox games!), no showers, no hot water. What they do have is wildlife. The campground had ample warning signs and precautions posted regarding bears. Bears. Yes, this is black bear country. All food, anything with a remotely edible scent, must be left locked in the car. We arrived Wed night, after a long drive through the rain. Fortunately the rain stopped just before I arrived. While setting up camp, Little Mo focused on woods and let out a few low growls. We took a walk to investigate; found nothing. But the kids in a nearby site informed me (in a thick Kentucky hills accent) "There was a coyote in your campsite." Nice. We dined on hot dogs & beans around a camp fire, purged the site of food and crawled into the tent.

Several hours later, I hear a "Ummmf" sound. Is Little Mo dreaming again? No - I see her sitting at full attention, ears up, facing the outside of the tent. I hear it again. "Ummmf". A deep snorting sound. "UMMMF", it is getting louder - and closer. Raccoon?, not a chance. Coyote? No way. I've never heard a bear before, let alone run into one in the wild, but I was 99% sure this was a bear. And it is close, getting closer. Not knowing if this was a 75 lb curious yearling or 400 lb hungry male, I wasn't about to go outside and verify. Little Mo let out a few low growls of her own. Not sure if this would interest or deter the bear, I decided it would be best if we were quiet and still. Fortunately Little Mo was. Fortunately the bear moved on, eventually. After another 15 minutes or so of snorting around the area. The next day some fresh bear dung confirmed it's presence - yes aside from scaring the crap out of me, that bear crapped in my campsite!

So rest of the weekend we kept hoping to see a bear (preferably from the car). Finally, on Saturday after a day trip over to Clingman's Dome as we approached the campground, I spotted a bear in a spot where Little Mo and I walked through a couple days ago. Lighting was poor, but the camera was ready & I captured a few pictures, along with many of the beautiful vistas and foliage.

Black Bear sighting! Little Mo - on bear watch

Little River Touring Cades Cove

Hammock view

Election 2008, JibJab style

2008-09-06T11:48:00.002-04:00

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Who's on first?

2008-08-08T15:03:00.007-04:00

Every summer I pick up a pack of baseball cards - sort of a nod back to childhood memories of collecting and trading cards. The brand to collect was always Topps^®. Last weekend I picked up a pack in the checkout line. Later I carefully opened it and with the anticipation of an 8 year old from Boston hoped for a couple Red Sox players. Miguel Tejada, Byung-Hyun Kim (former Sox!), Kevin Millar (another former Sox... getting closer), Jose Baustista, Mitt Romney, Josh Willing... wait a sec, hold on, rewind... Mitt Romney? MITT ROMNEY!?! What the? Mitt Romney of the "GOP" team - in a suit and tie. Mitt Romney? Mitt the Mormon! Is this some kind of joke? Did he play ball? No. At least GW had some MLB connections. Now if I was an 8 year-old and got stiffed with a Mitt Romney card instead of Jeter, I'd be PO'd! Whose bright idea was it to mix politicians into the deck?
Well no Sox cards and no gum! What happened to that stale pink chipboard they passed off as gum?
At least Mitt was governor of Massachusetts. I would rather have found an Obama card.

J is for June (& July). J is for Jimmy [Part 2]

2008-07-02T23:13:00.004-04:00

Well the month of June flew by fast.
And a lot of free time for the 1st few weeks of the month was devoted to another Jimmy - Jimmy V, specifically the Jimmy V Junior Celebrity Golf Classic. For the past couple years I've been part of the core dozen or so people that coordinate the event. All our hard work resulted in 72 children golfing with 18 local celebrities (plus Lorenzo Charles) supported by another ~150 volunteers and generous sponsors that help us raise funds (estimated $50,000) for pediatric cancer research.
I can't verify it, but I believe the "Jimmy V Junior" is the only fund raiser of its type - one in which kids are the primary participants and raises funds for kids. Some of the golfers are cancer patients, even better, some are survivors.

I gotta credit the sponsors for bringing in the funds, but a special shout out goes to all the volunteers from Larry, our Tournament Director, to the die-hard Standard Bearers. Sunday June 22 we overtook a bowling alley for the "Pairings Party" (catered by Moe's) where golf group pairings were announced and an auction raised additional funds (I was tempted - and won - some Red Sox memorabilia featuring Jason Varitek). On Monday volunteers started arriving at the course at 6am. The volunteers were, as usual, awesome. Random needs always crop up. Every time something needed attention, there was a volunteer (or 2) nearby ready & willing to jump in assist. And working with fellow enthusiastic volunteers for a good cause keeps me coming back.

Speaking of coming back, the main event, the "Big V" - the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic in historic Pinehurst, NC is on the horizon. I'll be there - August 9th & 10th.

J is for June. J is for Jimmy [Part 1]

2008-06-08T21:34:00.004-04:00

Saturday June 7, 2008 was a treat. For the 1st time since 2002, what used to be an annual event returned to my town & my calendar. Yes, it was the long awaited Return of Buffett - Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band, live in Raleigh outside. With four "fun tickets in my pocket, visions in my brain" we braved the 100° heat to partake in the tailgating ritual before staking claim to a tiny bit of grass on the Amphitheater lawn. The heat actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Perhaps the super-soakers, canopy & fan eased the heat, or maybe it was the boat drinks.

The show was excellent. It was my 14½th live Buffett concert (and counting), the 1^st for both T & her daughter (a happy belated 21st bday!) and 2^nd for her buddy Cameron (for a 21 yro, I was very impressed w/ his Buffett knowledge - but he's still trying to figure out what kind of cheese goes on a Cheeseburger in Paradise).

The set list was a great. Jimmy is starting to show is age - a little (but still going strong) - on several songs members of the band took the lead on vocals, including USS Zydecoldsmobile, Makin’ Music For Money and a personal favorite, The City. The ode to Bob Dylan with Rainy Day Women was a surprise. The common Buffett concert cover of Brown Eyed Girl was in the mix, along with most of the fan favorites (Cheeseburger, One Particular Harbor, SofSofSailor, Volcano & of course Maragritaville). The video monitors displayed footage of JB's recent trips to the Far Side of the World (Thailand, Cambodia) which was neat. Fins was part of the encore and is always a sight to see live. The autobiographical School Boy Heart was a pleasant surprise. JB updated and personalized Fruitcakes for NC and closed out the set most appropriately with another favorite from the License To Chill album, the romantic Coast of Carolina.

In summary seeing Jimmy on stage with his regulars (Mike Utley, Mac, the chick w/ the long blonde hair) felt like a reunion with old friends. I hope I get to do it again some day.

Jimmy Buffett - Thanks for stopping in Raleigh, NC!

P.S. There are photos of the event - if I get my hands on them, I'll share a few select shots. :)

Bikes, Hikes and the Gas Tax

2008-05-12T23:25:00.010-04:00

Hey - It's Bike to Work Week! Now if the weather will cooperate, I'll get the bike out (what happened to the drought?). Reflecting back on the Switzerland/Italy trip (I can't believe we've been home 4 weeks), the contrast between the acceptance of public & 2-wheel transportation over there and lack thereof in the US is amazing. It's hard to pinpoint why, obviously it is a cultural difference. With the exclusion of population dense areas like NYC, Philly, Chicago, LA public transportation seems to have a social stigma tied to it. Our cars are a status symbol. Plus, how many Americans want to walk to a bus station? Who has time to add the extra overhead of that into their schedule? I'm certainly a guilty SUV driver. So I'll ride my bike to work some days this spring to keep a car off the road a little bit, get some exercise and save some gas money. Hopefully no one will run me off the road, God bless the Greenways. A friend/co-worker also in Milan for business with me was so enamored by the Italian scooters, he bought one - and is getting 100 miles/gal.

Speaking of gas money, what's the deal with this summer gas tax break that McCain and Hillary are pushing? This is so backwards. I ran across a great article in Newsweek that succinctly sums it up. Read it now.

And the hike, well the last good hike I took was in Umbria (10km), where the blog photos last dried up. I'm processing a bunch of photos from the trip through PhotoShop and plan to get a healthy sample online soon. In the meantime, here are a few photos from the hike up (& over) the ridge in Magione. To the North was Lake Trasimeno, over the ridge and coming down the other side we saw Perugia in the distance before discovering the little village Monte Melino and weaving back to the villa.

Bonus photo:
Sunset view out our villa window on our last night at Il Cantico della Natura

I'd like to get back to Umbria and explore the area on bikes... someday...

We came, We saw, We conquered - Rome!

2008-04-14T01:41:00.006-04:00

April 11-14, Roma.
Veni, Vedi, Vici - something from those HS Latin classes finally paid off!
We plowed through as much of Rome as we could in 2 full days, saw most major sites & a little local flavor.
Legs are tired, feet are sore, and my hand is literately cramping from holding the camera so much!
Time to catch the plane home. Need to grab taxi to train station in like 20 min, so being brief.
Looking forward to returning home to the dog (hope she remembers me!), soft bread, green beans, Mountain Dew, bagels, baseball scores and kicking my feet up in the ottoman and doing nothing for a few hours.
Wish we had more time in Rome too.
Will post more photos in a day or two.
Aarrivederci,
- Mark

Two Hour Tour of Perugia, Italy

2008-04-13T19:01:00.008-04:00

On the way out of Magione to Rome we had to catch a train in Perugia, which is the big city in the area (~25km from Magione). Since we already had to take a taxi from the villa & would have a layover in Perugia if we took the train from Magione to Perugia, we decided to spend a few extra euros and head straight to Perugia. We saw Perugia in the distance on our hikes and new they had a large chocolate factory. We tried to get to the chocolate factory, but didn't have time to figure out the local transportation. We did catch a bus up to the top of the hill to the city's center, found some good views, chocolate & birthday present for my nephew who will be 7 next week.
Wish we had more time!

Vacation from Vacation - in Umbria

2008-04-11T19:40:00.006-04:00

Tuesday night-Wed-Thu, April 8-10 - a Magione hillside villa

We've scaled the Swiss Alps, visited the Milano Duomo, rode a gondola through canals in Venice, saw "The David" in Florence. It was time for a vacation from the vacation.

Our train pulled into the little town of Magione & we barely made it off (I think we were the only people deboarding). Rain was picking up & we sought shelter in the little very-local cafe at the station. Soon our host, Frencesco arrived to carry us up the hillside through the tiny village of Monte Sperello to our destination - Il Cantico della Natura. In heavy rain we wedged our luggage out of the tiny car into the warm hospitable confines of the villa dining hall.

This place was picture perfect & exceeded expectations - already set high by the web site. Since the restaurant was closed and we didn't have a car, Frencesco prepared us a spread of local sliced meat, cheese & wine (best wine on the trip, so far - a couple bottles will hopefully make it home). T enjoyed the large "slipper" tub on a cold rainy night before enjoying a good night sleep.

In the morning we found the entrance to the dining room blocked by "guardians of the breakfast lair" - 3 sleeping puppies!

Rain was in the forecast Wed & more so on Thu, so we nixxed biking plans and after a huge breakfast spread hiked up the hill, along the ridge, explored an abandoned very dilapidated dwelling overgrown with vegetation, and traversed down the back side and into the little village of Monte Melino. This village had everything it needed, small [private] castle, 1 building housing a few families, large villa w/ mean dogs, taverna, olive orchard, and beautiful church. No more, no less (well, there was a timely placed public WC!). A local elder invited us to visit the church. The hike back UP the hill (and through the village of Monte Sperello) prepared us for dinner - which was awesome (not sure what it all was, since the fixed menu was in Italian, but all was good).

Thursday - Definitely a day off. We caught up on email, explored the grounds, napped. I took a run down the hill and weaved over to large abandoned villa which intrigued me - it was viewable from our room. I found it, ventured inside, then ran (ok, walked a lot) back up to get ready for dinner.

Both Wed & Thu called for rain, but we never felt a drop, so no complaints!

So much to say about this wonderful place, definitely wish we had more time. We'll post photos soon.

Florence, Italy

2008-04-11T19:18:00.008-04:00

Sun night/Mon/Tue April 6-8 - Florence When I walked into our hotel room in Florence (Hotel La Scaletta) I really felt for the first time that we were in a different culture linked to a different time.
A few hours earlier we checked out of perhaps the "shortest" room I've ever stayed in and just walked into the "tallest". The ceilings of Room 30 were nearing 20' with a long window over looking the street below. I'd describe the walls as a fresco red, with old stone steps leading to a mirror on a wall long ago sealed off. We walked down to the hotel from the train station; it was late (~11pm) but we had enough energy to zip downstairs (94 steps, thankfully they had a SMALL lift, barely big enough for 2) and grab some late-night gelato at the Ponte Vecchio (bridge) - best gelato of the trip, so far.

Rain was in the forecast for Tuesday, so Monday was focused on outside activities. We started with a hike up to an overlook. En route stopped at a local grocer to stock up on bananas & H2O and stumbled into a quaint "paper shop". Florence was filled with these ancient paper & leather shops, as well as lots of gold/silver shops (especially on the Ponte Vecchio), and T managed to find some nice leather boots.The lookout contained a large (nearly full size) replica of The David & beautiful views of the river, bridges and churches (including the iconic Duomo of Florence). Venturing further up we found a large monastery (got to go inside) and captured many photos, of course. On the way back down the hill we spent .6 euro for a much needed WC stop! Winding through the streets we ventured into the Palazzo Vecchico Piazza, home of Neptune fountain, another David (on the spot the original was located; it was moved many years ago after someone tossed a bench out the window and broke his arm) and numerous other statues (including a bronze depicting the slaying of Medusa) and the likes of da Vinci & friends in the Uffizi courtyard.
End of the afternoon included a visit to the local market for some bartering for pashminas & photo opp w/ the bronzed wild boar, followed by a visit to the top of the Duomo dome (~450 steps, no lift). The view inside & out was beautiful.

Dinner was awesome, T ordered the best risotto we've ever had. I've noticed a trend at Italian restaurants - pasta dishes are superb, while second courses (meat dishes) are great, but not quite as good as the pasta (or anti-pasta, which would preceed the pasta, of course). After dinner we walked deeper into the local district to take in a piano recital in an old neglected church. The audience numbered merely two dozen. It was an enjoying & relaxing way to wrap up the evening. Our final day was a rush through the final "must-see" sights on our list - Galleio's finger & telescopes in the Science Museum and, of course, "The David", which was well worth it, and some turbo shopping before we were back on the train station in route to the little town of Magione in Umbria region.

Originally I was going to skip a stop in Florence, but glad we made it - and wish we had more time. Thanks for talking me into it T! Sample more photos (most taken by T).

Venice, Italy

2008-04-10T06:36:00.008-04:00

Sunday, April 6 - Venice A whirl-wind (or world-wind?) tour of Venice came & went quickly, but was well worth it. The visit got off to a scary start on Saturday. Between the train station snack bar and ticket office, I lost my wallet! After a mad-dash to retrace my steps over the past 5 minutes, I abesent mindedly left the wallet on the snack bar check out counter. Fortunately the workers turned it over to the police and we found it - with all cash & credit cards intact. Whew!

The water bus from the train station (there are no cars in Venice - zilch, boats are the only form of transportation) dropped us off by the Rialto bridge (which is wide enough to hold 2 rows of shops). Traversing the bridge w/ luggage through the crowd was a sight. A left, a right and to the end of a little alley, we found our tiny B&B. Up a long staircase we arrived at the front door.
Up another long staircase to the owner's flat. Then up another staircase to our room, which is basically a renovated attic - very well renovated - we liked this room better than the 4-star hotel in Milan (Milan was more like an average 2-star joint - it did not live up to the web site billing). The Venice room was perfect for our 1 night stint (just watch your head).

Spent a few minutes settling in, then hit the streets. Our target destination was St. Mark's Square, we intentionally deviated off the beaten path - discovered a maze of alley ways, campos (squares), deadends, characters & canals. And lots of photos opps. I logged 400+ photos (& mini-videos), not to mention all that T captured. Among discoverys, a McDonalds! - whose "water closet" was nasty, just like home! :)

Sunday morning began with the obligitory (and recommended) gondola ride, our gondalier pointed out several sites (many we saw by land/bridge yesterday), including Marco Polo's home during his Venice stay. We enjoyed seeing the locals hanging laundry out to dry above the canals. Remainder of the day was filled with a boat ride to Murano (famous glass factories & lunch; both underwhelming IMHO), an impromtu stop at San Michele Cemetery island, tour of The Doge's Palace back at St. Mark's Square and cruise back up the Grand Canal to pick up luggage (over the Rialto Bridge again) and back to the train station (with wallet secure).

The city is surreal, just like the movies (I kept trying to spot the Grand Canal Palace which was imploded in Casino Royale). Well worth the trip. Wish we had more time.

Next stop - Florence.

Ciao Milano

2008-04-05T07:30:00.006-04:00

Saturday, April 5 - We've wrapped up Milan and are on the train to Venice. Thursday evening we did laundry in the bath tub and found creative places to hang our clothes to dry before meeting my co-workers for some pizza & beer on the Navigli canal where Craig (aka "cremer") gracefully spilled one all over T & into her purse (see photo below). The quest for a Karaoke bar for Chris didn't pan out, so we settle for more beer and dancing with representatives from South Africa, Romania & Canada. After we shut down the bar T & I crashed hard. Fri am was spent catching up on sleep & lightening up our load by shipping winter clothes, souviners and some work material back home via the local office. With some panini sandwiches from a street vendor in our system, we hit the Milano subway for some turbo sightseeing which included quick tour of National Museum of Science and Technology (lots of Leonardo da Vinci stuff) , Castello Sforzesco (castle) and the hightlight - a trip to the top of the Duomo. The Duomo itself is beautiful and huge, one of the largest churches in the world. The volume of detail was amazing. The top was the best. Aside from a bird's eye view of the city (1.3 million residents) we could see the alps to the north in the distance. The trek back to the hotel included a wrong turn after the subway ride, so we resorted to a taxi (we were closer than we thought). The evening was topped off with a fabulous dinner at el Brellin, just 2 bridges down the canal from the hotel.

Some Milan photos:

Enroute to Venice now, view from the train window includes the alps again :)

Greetings From Milan, Italy - Final Switzerland thoughts

2008-04-03T11:57:00.010-04:00

T & I arrived (via train) in Milan, Italy noon-time Tuesday and immediately ran into several of my co-workers at the hotel. We all enjoyed some authentic Italian pizza on the canal (Milan has a couple canals). My work activities just wrapped up after 2+ days of meetings & presentations with colleagues from around the world. It is a unique pleasure to sit down at dinner in Italy with folks from Finland, Greece, South Africa, Canada, Romania, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands and a dozen more countries. With work wrapped up, I can start to see some of Milan before we head to Venice.

But first, some more on Switzerland - despite gray skies & light rain, we enjoyed our final full day in Switzerland (Mon, 3/31) with a short train ride to Thun (pronounced "tune") for a tour of the local castle & some shops. We finally took in some of Interlaken at dinner time - we ate Italian! (sorry Ted, we didn't find the Hooters). Definitely glad we did not stay in Interlaken, it is nice, but touristy. Wilderswil was much more our speed. A few photos...

2 Planes, 4 Trains, 4440 miles, plus 1km

2008-03-30T17:36:00.006-04:00

We made it!
After traveling via 2 planes, 4 trains for 4440 miles on 5 hrs of sleep over 34 hours we arrived late Saturday (after an afternoon of walking around Zurich waterfront, very pretty) at the Wilderswil, Switzerland train depot. It took 1 more km up a slight grade to reach our home for 3 nights: The Baeren Inn. Weather's been great so far. We have beautiful views of the alps & trekked up to Jungfraujoch Sunday and took an impromptu tour around Grindelwald. Initial impressions of Switzerland - everywhere looks like the photos you traditionally see (e.g. Swiss chalets, beautiful vistas) and is very clean (including public toilets, compared to the US).

Surprising views from train rides include: graffiti (lots of it), buffalo & tee-pees! Took a short hike and ran into a bunch of llamas. Rain tomorrow...

Lugging luggage the final km...

Departure Countdown

2008-03-27T09:55:00.006-04:00

We've entered the 36 hours till departure window. Time to pack and get all those last minute details taken care of (like finishing my presentation for meeting in Milan, yeah the primary driver behind the trip, let's not forget about that while plotting out gelato shops in Italia).
Let's see, got the dog's stuff packed for her extended field trip across town, got Buffett & Rick Steve's audio tours loaded in the iPod, camera ready, German & Italian phrase books, cliff bars!, maps ...crap missing some maps! What did we do before Google Maps & MapQuest?!?! Gotta run ... will post more from the road.
Ciao!