Donnerstag, 23. Juni 2016
Family Vacation
durhamfamily, 19:54h
Hello everyone
This blog is long overdue for an entry. The past 3 weeks have been exceptionally busy. For the first time, my parents visited our apartment in Germany, and then the 4 of us proceeded to travel together around Italy. Forgive me if I mix some of the days up. It all began Wednesday, June 8th…
Elizabeth hopped on a train that morning to meet my parents at the airport in order to escort them to Schwäbisch Gmünd. Although their original flight was cancelled, they managed to catch another flight a few hours later, still arriving roughly as planned. I worked a half-day, but was able to beat them to the apartment – allowing me to spend a few more moments tidying up.
It was wonderful to see my parents. They were exhausted from the flights, so we gave a quick tour of the apartment, ending promptly in their bedroom for naptime. That’s not to say that they slept the day away. They were too excited for that. Within an hour or two, they were up and ready to see the city. Well, at least a little... for beer.
Dad loves beer, and has made a hobby of trying many varieties. You can find him on ratebeer.com under “rondphoto”. His goal during this vacation was to sample as many beers as possible (within reason). We started early, picking up nearly 20 different beers on day 1. Considering that we had already selected 5 for him in advance, that beer lasted a while.
We ended the day at the most popular Döner restaurant in the area (I asked around), Ali Baba. While taking pictures of the meat tornado, mom was pulled behind the counter by the staff and given a very large knife to wield. Unfortunately, I was in charge of taking that photo, so I’m certain it was blurry and unusable.
Day 2 was even more delightful. We set up a large breakfast buffet in the apartment. There were breads, meats and cheeses, eggs and yogurts – all of the typical breakfast foods provided in the region. We wasted no time and were quickly back out into the town. Elizabeth and I showed them the usual sights: the old towers, churches, ice cream parlors, etc. My parents “ooo”-ed and “aaa”-ed. Dad spent an unreasonable time taking pictures of dilapidated gargoyles.
Later, we bought fancy chocolates, which my parents forgot to take home with them. They won’t ever see those again. We stopped for a beer at the Forum (I did, at least), and climbed the shiny tower in Wetzgau. Mom, while afraid of heights, still made it more than halfway up! That evening, we met our German teacher, Susanne, at Paulaner for dinner outside in the Martkplatz.
Susanne volunteered to watch our cats during in our vacation. We are extremely lucky to have her.
On Friday the real fun began. The entire day was spent on planes trains and automobiles. By some stroke of luck, we successfully made *most* all our connections. One of our planes was the size of a matchbox and had propellers. Mom lost her new raincoat somewhere along the way. I fed 2 vodka-guzzling Germans some apples (literally: standing at the train platform drinking out of full-sized vodka bottles). After our taxi death ride to the hotel in Pisa, dad insisted we experience the town (at 11:00 pm). We wandered through the sea of 20-somethings and landed in a small deli. Using hand signals and apologies, we persuaded the gentlemen to construct 4 unique sandwiches for us. Good times all around.
Before you ask: no, we didn’t visit the tower of Pisa. There was no time to venture to the other side of the city. Early Saturday morning we rushed to catch our train to Florence.
Florence was fantastic. It took a while to learn the layout of the city, and once we lost each other for a good half hour. We also jammed 2 museums into the day – causing Elizabeth to reach her wits’ end (Don’t worry, we all took turns being overwhelmed during the trip). Okay, so maybe the first day wasn’t the best. But it only got better from there. At the end of the day, we stopped at Brew Dog Brewery, which helped us relax a little.
And let's not forget the main attraction at the museum: the real (and gigantic) statue of David!
Sunday was our bike trip! A van transported us far out of the city, into the beautiful surrounding hills. The journey started badly, with rain and hail. We waited out the storm, eating an early lunch and mingling with the other bikers. One family from Florida had family living in Schwäbisch Gmünd! Eventually, the rain stopped and we began biking again. Our trail ended with a steep uphill. Despite everyone’s 5-minute head start, I was the first to the top! Unfortunately, they didn't distribute awards. Afterwards, the guides took us around an old castle/winery, where we sampled fresh wine and olive oil.
For dinner, we found a brewery called Mostodolce. It was great! The food was fresh and interesting, and the beers were different and plentiful. We left with more beers in bottles as well as some of their sticker labels. It was a much better experience than Brew Dog.
Early Monday morning we hopped on the train for Venice. The city is beautiful, despite being an unsolvable maze. We rode in a gondola and visited some old buildings and churches. It goes without saying that the food in Venice was absurdly unreasonable. But that’s to be expected; the tourists are literally trapped. This was the day that dad reached his wits’ end. Don’t ask him about it.
Tuesday we cooked! The group started in the center of Florence, where we were taken on a walking tour of the city. After an hour or two, we, again, were driven to the wonderful outskirts of Florence. An old Italian lady taught us how to cook several traditional dishes, with the help of a few translators. We made bruschetta, pizza, noodles, pork, Bolognese sauce, and two desserts. The class ended at 5:00 pm, but, needless to say, we didn’t need dinner that evening. But we still needed beer! The evening was spent in Archea Brewpub, sampling beer and spectacular 90s music.
Wednesday was yet another big travel day. We took our itty-bitty plane back to Pisa, and then on to Frankfurt, where we stayed for 3 days. Somewhere around here, mom got deathly ill. When we arrived in Frankfurt, mid-afternoon, she fell into her bed and remained there until morning. The rest of us went to dinner at a bar called Naiv. It was just terrible... or so we told mom.
Thursday, mom was still somewhat sick, and Elizabeth was about to join her. Nevertheless, it was a big walking day for us. We toured the city gardens and the Goethe house/museum. Lunch was at a local brewery, BrauStil. We tried all of BrauStil’s beers and ordered wild sausages from a neighboring deli. I can’t remember what else we did. Anyway, we went to Italian for dinner (seemed a bit odd, since we had just come from Italy). Luckily, they offered many “daily” dishes, which were heavily influenced by Frankfurt cuisine. Elizabeth and I tried our first apple wines.
Our last morning in Frankfurt, we toured the old town (south side of the river). We came across an outdoor market. We walked along the river, where I insisted on buying fish from a boat, but that was all. We hurried to the train station and rode back to Schwäbisch Gmünd. I think we ordered pizza for dinner? Something easy. We were all tired.
The next day began at the local flea market! After picking up tasty bakery treats, we headed over. Dad was not nearly as enthusiastic as one would hope. He didn’t buy a single glass, war medal, or beer sign. Mom, on the other hand, jumped right in and began to haggle. We kept the day easy, which was important because the next day was to be another trip! We spent all day Sunday (Father’s day) in Bamberg sampling beers. Bamberg was beautiful, and the weather couldn’t have been better. We stopped at 3 different places for beer (the smoked beer is just awful).
Monday was the last day for my parents. We were back in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Mom was mostly over her cold, but Elizabeth was getting worse. I walked my parents around the city while she slept. We ended the day together with local cuisine from the Forum followed by more ice cream.
Our 2-week vacation was wonderful. It was a nice mix of sight-seeing and travel. The travel gave me time to finish reading “Autobiography of a Yogi” and “Treasure Island”. I decided to refrain from running during the trips, which helped me relax even further. But, of course, now I’m back to the grind of work. Back to no English being spoken around me (which means that I say zero words during the day). I haven’t yet worked up the motivation to run again. I’m a little concerned that I won’t ever – and that I’ll be walking the Berlin Marathon. In any case, Berlin won’t be fast, which is okay.
The hot season has just begun here, with today reaching the low 90s. There’s no air-conditioning anywhere in the city. Please pray for us :)
Until next time.
This blog is long overdue for an entry. The past 3 weeks have been exceptionally busy. For the first time, my parents visited our apartment in Germany, and then the 4 of us proceeded to travel together around Italy. Forgive me if I mix some of the days up. It all began Wednesday, June 8th…
Elizabeth hopped on a train that morning to meet my parents at the airport in order to escort them to Schwäbisch Gmünd. Although their original flight was cancelled, they managed to catch another flight a few hours later, still arriving roughly as planned. I worked a half-day, but was able to beat them to the apartment – allowing me to spend a few more moments tidying up.
It was wonderful to see my parents. They were exhausted from the flights, so we gave a quick tour of the apartment, ending promptly in their bedroom for naptime. That’s not to say that they slept the day away. They were too excited for that. Within an hour or two, they were up and ready to see the city. Well, at least a little... for beer.
Dad loves beer, and has made a hobby of trying many varieties. You can find him on ratebeer.com under “rondphoto”. His goal during this vacation was to sample as many beers as possible (within reason). We started early, picking up nearly 20 different beers on day 1. Considering that we had already selected 5 for him in advance, that beer lasted a while.
We ended the day at the most popular Döner restaurant in the area (I asked around), Ali Baba. While taking pictures of the meat tornado, mom was pulled behind the counter by the staff and given a very large knife to wield. Unfortunately, I was in charge of taking that photo, so I’m certain it was blurry and unusable.
Day 2 was even more delightful. We set up a large breakfast buffet in the apartment. There were breads, meats and cheeses, eggs and yogurts – all of the typical breakfast foods provided in the region. We wasted no time and were quickly back out into the town. Elizabeth and I showed them the usual sights: the old towers, churches, ice cream parlors, etc. My parents “ooo”-ed and “aaa”-ed. Dad spent an unreasonable time taking pictures of dilapidated gargoyles.
Later, we bought fancy chocolates, which my parents forgot to take home with them. They won’t ever see those again. We stopped for a beer at the Forum (I did, at least), and climbed the shiny tower in Wetzgau. Mom, while afraid of heights, still made it more than halfway up! That evening, we met our German teacher, Susanne, at Paulaner for dinner outside in the Martkplatz.
Susanne volunteered to watch our cats during in our vacation. We are extremely lucky to have her.
On Friday the real fun began. The entire day was spent on planes trains and automobiles. By some stroke of luck, we successfully made *most* all our connections. One of our planes was the size of a matchbox and had propellers. Mom lost her new raincoat somewhere along the way. I fed 2 vodka-guzzling Germans some apples (literally: standing at the train platform drinking out of full-sized vodka bottles). After our taxi death ride to the hotel in Pisa, dad insisted we experience the town (at 11:00 pm). We wandered through the sea of 20-somethings and landed in a small deli. Using hand signals and apologies, we persuaded the gentlemen to construct 4 unique sandwiches for us. Good times all around.
Before you ask: no, we didn’t visit the tower of Pisa. There was no time to venture to the other side of the city. Early Saturday morning we rushed to catch our train to Florence.
Florence was fantastic. It took a while to learn the layout of the city, and once we lost each other for a good half hour. We also jammed 2 museums into the day – causing Elizabeth to reach her wits’ end (Don’t worry, we all took turns being overwhelmed during the trip). Okay, so maybe the first day wasn’t the best. But it only got better from there. At the end of the day, we stopped at Brew Dog Brewery, which helped us relax a little.
And let's not forget the main attraction at the museum: the real (and gigantic) statue of David!
Sunday was our bike trip! A van transported us far out of the city, into the beautiful surrounding hills. The journey started badly, with rain and hail. We waited out the storm, eating an early lunch and mingling with the other bikers. One family from Florida had family living in Schwäbisch Gmünd! Eventually, the rain stopped and we began biking again. Our trail ended with a steep uphill. Despite everyone’s 5-minute head start, I was the first to the top! Unfortunately, they didn't distribute awards. Afterwards, the guides took us around an old castle/winery, where we sampled fresh wine and olive oil.
For dinner, we found a brewery called Mostodolce. It was great! The food was fresh and interesting, and the beers were different and plentiful. We left with more beers in bottles as well as some of their sticker labels. It was a much better experience than Brew Dog.
Early Monday morning we hopped on the train for Venice. The city is beautiful, despite being an unsolvable maze. We rode in a gondola and visited some old buildings and churches. It goes without saying that the food in Venice was absurdly unreasonable. But that’s to be expected; the tourists are literally trapped. This was the day that dad reached his wits’ end. Don’t ask him about it.
Tuesday we cooked! The group started in the center of Florence, where we were taken on a walking tour of the city. After an hour or two, we, again, were driven to the wonderful outskirts of Florence. An old Italian lady taught us how to cook several traditional dishes, with the help of a few translators. We made bruschetta, pizza, noodles, pork, Bolognese sauce, and two desserts. The class ended at 5:00 pm, but, needless to say, we didn’t need dinner that evening. But we still needed beer! The evening was spent in Archea Brewpub, sampling beer and spectacular 90s music.
Wednesday was yet another big travel day. We took our itty-bitty plane back to Pisa, and then on to Frankfurt, where we stayed for 3 days. Somewhere around here, mom got deathly ill. When we arrived in Frankfurt, mid-afternoon, she fell into her bed and remained there until morning. The rest of us went to dinner at a bar called Naiv. It was just terrible... or so we told mom.
Thursday, mom was still somewhat sick, and Elizabeth was about to join her. Nevertheless, it was a big walking day for us. We toured the city gardens and the Goethe house/museum. Lunch was at a local brewery, BrauStil. We tried all of BrauStil’s beers and ordered wild sausages from a neighboring deli. I can’t remember what else we did. Anyway, we went to Italian for dinner (seemed a bit odd, since we had just come from Italy). Luckily, they offered many “daily” dishes, which were heavily influenced by Frankfurt cuisine. Elizabeth and I tried our first apple wines.
Our last morning in Frankfurt, we toured the old town (south side of the river). We came across an outdoor market. We walked along the river, where I insisted on buying fish from a boat, but that was all. We hurried to the train station and rode back to Schwäbisch Gmünd. I think we ordered pizza for dinner? Something easy. We were all tired.
The next day began at the local flea market! After picking up tasty bakery treats, we headed over. Dad was not nearly as enthusiastic as one would hope. He didn’t buy a single glass, war medal, or beer sign. Mom, on the other hand, jumped right in and began to haggle. We kept the day easy, which was important because the next day was to be another trip! We spent all day Sunday (Father’s day) in Bamberg sampling beers. Bamberg was beautiful, and the weather couldn’t have been better. We stopped at 3 different places for beer (the smoked beer is just awful).
Monday was the last day for my parents. We were back in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Mom was mostly over her cold, but Elizabeth was getting worse. I walked my parents around the city while she slept. We ended the day together with local cuisine from the Forum followed by more ice cream.
Our 2-week vacation was wonderful. It was a nice mix of sight-seeing and travel. The travel gave me time to finish reading “Autobiography of a Yogi” and “Treasure Island”. I decided to refrain from running during the trips, which helped me relax even further. But, of course, now I’m back to the grind of work. Back to no English being spoken around me (which means that I say zero words during the day). I haven’t yet worked up the motivation to run again. I’m a little concerned that I won’t ever – and that I’ll be walking the Berlin Marathon. In any case, Berlin won’t be fast, which is okay.
The hot season has just begun here, with today reaching the low 90s. There’s no air-conditioning anywhere in the city. Please pray for us :)
Until next time.
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