Well, another two weekends have come and gone since my last post, and it's difficult to believe that it is almost July. I woke to yet another gloomy day, and the highs have been in the 60's for most of the month of June. I can recall maybe one day in the last two weeks in which it didn't rain at all for a 24 hour period, and we have probably had only a handful of dry days the entire month of June. However, if we were back in Oklahoma right now, I am sure I would be begging for a break from the scorching, triple-digit dog days of summer. At least the rain keeps everything lush and green here, and we have a plethora of beautiful forrest trails for running (though they are often laden with mud and giant puddles). I've gotten better at not getting lost. The first few weeks we were here, anytime I went for a run by myself I took a wrong turn and went into panic mode when I didn't recognize where I was. More than once I ended up in random towns I had never heard of. If you ever want to unintentionally train for a marathon, move to a foreign country and never bring a GPS with you when you run. Because you don't need it, you know where you're going right? Especially in the woods. Good thing I have Thomas and his ridiculously keen sense of direction to keep me on track. I guess we didn't have very good survival training in Girl Scouts. (They probably gave up on my troop after we couldn't last a night camping in my backyard.) Anyway, yesterday we went for a nice run along the main roads to avoid the muck and mire. We started in our little town in Germany, ran through another German town, crossed over the border into a Dutch town, and then looped back into Germany to finish our run. Though this might sound like a monumental feat of marathon distance, we were actually able to traverse three towns and two countries in just under five miles. This past Sunday was also a nice little multi-country adventure. We made it to Belgium by mid-morning to visit an antique market (per my request), landed back in The Netherlands for lunch and shopping around 1:00, and were home in time for a walk through the fields before the 6:00 Germany vs. Slovakia soccer game (per the husband's request). It was a win for all. Well, except for Slovakia. Womp womp.
The weekend before last, we spent Friday night in Düsseldorf. We wandered the streets a bit and walked the Rhine as the clouds rolled in, bringing a brief rain shower and necessitating a drink and snack stop.
Enjoyed some traditional German food and Uerige beers, brewed in-house.
After our first stop, we pub crawled for a bit in Düsseldorf's "Altstadt" (Old Town), and unexpectedly finished off the night with Irish coffees. "The bartenders always speak English in the Irish bars!" I insisted, as we neared the bar. And I was not wrong. If you ever get tired of language barriers, find an Irish bar, no matter where you are, and you will no doubt find the majority of the people in there are speaking English. Our bartenders were from Ireland and England, and we chatted with them for quite a while. I had actually asked for a plain coffee originally (that's when you know you are getting close to too old for the pub life), but the bartender responded with, "The coffee in Germany is crap. You might as well make it Irish." Well, alright. If you twist my arm. We had such a great time we ended up booking our trip to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day right then and there on Thomas's iPhone. See you in March 2017, Ireland!
To no surprise, the next day we were in recovery mode and eating chicken noodle soup for lunch. By Sunday we had recovered enough to venture to the grocery store (in the Netherlands because they are closed in Germany on Sunday) and made it back just in time to watch yet another parade making it's way down the main street of our town, this time in celebration of "Kaiserfest".
So our weekend adventures continue to be spontaneous and exciting. However, the grocery store trips continue to be a bit daunting, at least for me. Since I have had a little extra time on my hands during the week, I have started trying to experiment with different recipes. I figure if I can't advance my career while I am here, I might as well refine my culinary skills, or lack there of. Last week I set out with what I knew would most likely be a futile attempt to find tahini. Even with all the Greek restaurants around, none of them have falafels on their menu, and I was determined to whip up a batch myself with some homemade tahini sauce. Of course, I searched in vain for tahini, and instead found myself cursing the aisle of canned weiners under my breath. Apparently it's not enough to have two different refrigerated sections of sausages, there must also be a massive array of canned varieties in all sizes. I didn't even get my hopes up that I would find "garam masala" the other day to make my curry dish, and resolved to improvise with my own spice mixture--we'll see how that turns out tomorrow. Today I went to the market to get salmon and avocados. We have at least figured out that the weekly market is a reliable place for those items. People were ruthless today though! It might be a while before I go back. In line for the fish, I was standing behind a woman who was taking forever with her order. There must have been some kind of issue, but the conversation exchange between her and the vendor was all in Dutch so I had no idea what was going on. In the meantime, a sneaky little old lady somehow managed to weasel her way ahead of me and ordered before me! Alright, so that's how we're going to play this game huh? I tried to be a little more assertive with the avocado purchase at the next stand, only to watch multiple people who approached the stand after me happily depart, produce in hand, before I was even able to so much as make eye contact with one of the vendors. So I'm boycotting the market for a while. They'll be so heartbroken, I'm sure.
We have come to the conclusion that every town in Germany has a kebab restaurant, a pizza place, or a combination of kebabs and pizza in one restaurant. In fact, we find these easier than we find German restaurants around here. We actually have a very delicious pizza place within walking distance of us. It is one of three restaurants in our town, so typically if we are not in the mood for pizza, we cook. While Germans in our part of the country don't appear to be cooking a lot of Mediterranean food or Indian food, judging by the stock of their grocery stores, they do seem to enjoy making Italian food. There is no shortage of pasta, marinara sauces, and frozen pizzas in any of the stores that I have been in thus far. Ah, Italy. We returned from our Italian adventures about a month ago and I'm already craving a taste of all those delicious homemade pasta dishes I had over there. Which brings me to remember, I never got to mention much of our Italy trip. We spent almost two weeks there, so a lot happened! I'll try to recap as succinctly as possible.
A very cheap two hour flight to Rome reunited with my mom and sister, and from there we headed south to begin our adventures with three nights in the lovely coastal town of Sorrento. I enjoyed mussels and a glass of white wine the first day, right on the water. Doesn't get much more perfect than that!
And then relaxation by the pool with this view? I can't imagine a better way to unwind after the first day of traveling. I wish I was there now!
The next day we toured the Amalfi Coast, which was absolutely stunning. The whole coast was lined with emerald waters breaking against sandy inlets and towering cliffs, with patches of precariously positioned colorful houses, literally built into the rocks. We stopped in Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, all of which were beautiful in their own unique ways. My favorite part of the day though was when I took the picture below in the town of Amalfi. I walked out onto the pier to finish my pistachio and mango gelato (which sounds like a strange combination but it was the best gelato I had the whole time in Italy). Here I stood, taking in the rhythmic sound of the waves lapping against the rocks and enjoying the cool ocean breeze on my face while I devoured a quickly melting waffle cone of deliciousness.
The next day we took a ferry to Capri and explored the island for the day. As we pulled into Marina Grande, we were immediately greeted by a torrential downpour. Lucky for us, a few hours later the clouds rolled past the island and we were able to enjoy sunshine and mostly blue skies for the rest of the day.
To get to the very top of Anacapri (the highest point of Capri), you have to ride in a fifteen minute single-person chairlift. This is a bit nerve-wracking if you are at all afraid of heights. You also have to be somewhat graceful for the dismount at the top. I found it very awkward to get off a chairlift when I wasn't wearing skis, but we all survived and the view was definitely worth it in my opinion.
I was sad to say goodbye to Sorrento, but after a view days by the sea it was time to Rome! There aren't a lot of places in the world you can go and expect to see ancient ruins in the middle of a bustling metropolis. Rome is definitely one of a kind, and a must-see in Italy. I had been to Rome before, but seeing it again was still pretty surreal. We hit all the major tourist spots and took hundreds of amazing pictures. Okay, I can't take credit for these pictures. My cameraman had joined us by then so I was able to freely frolic about the ancient city while Thomas snapped all the pictures.
In only a couple of days we had toured the Vatican, the Colosseum, and the Forum. We ascended the Spanish Steps, descended into the St. Sebastian Catacombs, had lunch in Piazza Navona, threw coins in the Trevi Fountain, and walked the Tiber River. I'm not even exaggerating to say we walked a minimum of 10 miles per day. So we packed in a lot by day, warranting some well-earned rest and relaxation by night. And, of course, some vino. When in Rome, right?
With our hotel being so close to the Pantheon, we enjoyed many laughs and glasses of wine under the stars and the splendor of this early second century treasure.
And the below picture of St. Peter's basilica was taken after we finished an after-hours Vatican Museum tour. Seeing the Vatican at night was awesome.
My favorite nighttime spot of all though was the Trevi Fountain. Pictures do not even do justice to it's grandeur.
After Rome, my sister and I continued on to Florence and Venice just the two of us. After all the hustle and bustle of Rome, Florence was a much appreciated slower pace. Being both the birthplace of the Renaissance and easily accessible to the Tuscan wine country, Florence naturally filled our days with art, history, and more wine.
If I had it my way, every vacation would include a mandatory winery trip. Priorities in check, I booked our Chianti tour long before I booked our tickets to see Michelangelo's David. (Side note: If you plan to go to the Florence and want to visit the Uffizi or Accademia galleries, I would advise you to book in advance online to avoid the long lines). Our day at the vineyards was fantastic and I actually learned a lot about the wine-making process. We visited two different vineyards in the Chianti Classico region, enjoyed delicious wine and cheese, and had lunch at the restaurant of the "Mad Butcher of Panzano." The lunch was amazing but I made the mistake of trying Grappa afterward, which is a vile liquor made from the leftover parts of the grapes used to make wine. Take my advice, stick to Limoncello.
And if my sister had it her way, every vacation would include a mandatory ghost tour (though I don't recall her protesting much to the wine day). But if it weren't for her endearing obsession with the paranormal, I never would have experienced Venice in such an intriguing light. So for our last full day in Italy, we explored St. Mark's Square and Doge's Palace first. We made a stop into Harry's Bar, where the Bellini was supposedly invented, but promptly left when we discovered a Bellini there costed around 20 euros. No thanks. We ended up in Bacaro Jazz Bar due to the pretty decent ratings on Yelp. Despite the eccentric decorating (there were bras hanging from the ceiling) and loud music, we made it just in time for BOGO happy hour. So we each had two Bellinis for half the price of one at Harry's, and they were probably just as good. As the sun began to set, we made our way to Rialto Bridge to begin our ghost tour. For a couple of hours, we wandered through the dark streets and canals as we listened to Venetian legends and ghost stories. Of course we experienced no supernatural encounters, but we did learn some interesting historical facts. The most interesting thing I learned was about the Black Plague. The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began during the 14th century, when ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. The word "quarantine", was derived from the Italian words "quaranta giorni" which mean 40 days. These quarantines occurred on an island off of Venice called Povelgia, which is rumored to be haunted by ghosts who were never able to make it to Venice. And if that's not creepy enough, it also became the site of a barbaric mental hospital in the 1920's, and the doctor supposedly jumped from it's tower after claiming that ghosts had driven him to madness. Yikes. So if you want a real ghost experience in Italy, that's your place to go. Me, I'll stay as far away from that place as I can!
Well now that I have probably sufficiently creeped you out, I'll leave you with a pleasant little picture of Venice. It really was an amazing city! And since they say it's sinking and all, you better get out there and go see it while you can! All in all, Italy is a gem of a county with so much to offer. I couldn't even pick a favorite place out of all of our travels, because each place we went was the best, in it's own unique ways. I think we will definitely return at some point before we leave Europe!
