BootsnAll Travel Network
Add this blog to: MyYahoo, Google, Bloglines, RSS


Archive for the 'Living Abroad' Category

« Previous Page — « Previous Entries
Next Entries » — Next Page »
« Home

What I Did This Summer – Part 1

Sunday, October 21st, 2012

I can believe it’s the middle of October already!  After Kirchtag we had a realization that summer was going to be over soon. We quickly made plans to fill up just about every weekend for the last 2 months with things that we thought we would have done earlier.  Of course that also means that I haven’t had much time to blog about any of it, so I’ll try to catch up with the highlights over the next few posts.

One of our favorite things from last summer was an overnight bike trip on the Danube cycling trail (Donauradweg).  The trail follows the entire length of the river from it’s start in Germany all the way to Black Sea, but some of the most popular stretches are right here in Austria.  We decided to try a new section of this year.

The area from Passau, Germany to Linz, Austria is especially nice, well equipped with cafes and guesthouses just for cyclists.  We rode it over 2 days staying overnight  in Schloegen, a place where the river makes two 180 degree turns to form a giant S curve.

The trail switches occasionally from one side of the river to the other (and sometimes there is a trail on both sides).  There are very few bridges, but there are ferries along the way.  Some take both cars and bikes, but others are small and only for bikes.  It’s a fun way to see the river and the countryside, as well as cross the border from Germany to Austria (there are no customs anymore, by the way).

Here’s a view of me and Danube.  More soon about the rest of our late summer adventures.

Posted in Austria, Germany, Living Abroad, Travel | 1 Comment »

Noch einmal… (one more time…)

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

I wrote quite a few blogs last year about Kirchtag, the large festival that takes place in our town every August.  I won’t repeat the descriptions, but since we spent a lot of time eating, drinking, listening to music, and even riding the rollercoaster this year, I thought I should post a few words about it.  It was even a little better this year, since we knew what to expect, the best places to eat, where to avoid when the crowds come, and have a few more friends here to enjoy it with.

Of course, Kirchtag wouldn’t be Kirchtag without a little Tracht, so here’s this year’s version of the obligatory lederhosen picture…

Posted in Living Abroad, Travel | No Comments »

Kalifornien

Monday, August 27th, 2012

We recently had some visitors from California to our little corner of the world.  Two different groups of friends from So Cal happened to be visiting the same week, so we took off and did a little sightseeing with them both.  It was great to get together and catch up on what’s been happening in all of our busy lives! We spent a little time in Austria on the Grossglocker road, visited an ice cave (so cool – literally and figuratively!) and ended up in Innsbruck.  One of the best things about the mountains here is that they all have “huts” which serve up great food with a view.  Here’s a typical dish called Gröstl with a backdrop of the city.

From there we struck out on our own for few days in the Zillertal to do some hiking.  The weather only cooperated for one day, but I made the best of it and got some relaxation in too.

Finally we got Zurich and met up with our other friends.  Switzerland never disappoints with the sights, and our side trip to Luzern reminded me how beautiful that city is.  Thanks to our friends for visiting and letting us share their holiday with them!

Posted in Austria, Living Abroad, Switzerland | No Comments »

Under the Tuscan Sun (or Over the Tuscan Hills)

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

We’ve been enjoying the summer and I’m once again behind on blogging.  Eric spent a month in Korea on a trip for work, but as soon as he got back we hit the road and spent a long weekend in Tuscany.  The region had everything we’ve heard about – lovely villas, great food and wine, and lots of sunshine.  It also has some seriously steep hills which I didn’t expect.  When we were in the Piedmont region a few years ago, everyone told us it was “just like Tuscany.”  Based on the small rolling hills there, we planned a bike ride through the countryside in Tuscany. It turned out to be a bit more like a stage of the Giro than the casual pedal through the vineyards that I had imagined. Once again I was reminded about why we travel.  You can read and hear about a place, but it’s never quite the same as experiencing it first hand.

After the sufferfest on the bike, as least I could comfort myself with some amazing Chianti Reserva and Steak Florentine – two things that also just have to be tasted to be understood.

One the way home, we decided to take a detour to visit one of the smallest countries in Europe, San Marino.  It turned out that there is no direct highway to get there from where we were staying, so we ended up spending hours on tiny winding roads crossing over the middle of Italy.  This drive falls into the category of things that might be better not experienced in person.  San Marino was worth the drive, however.  It’s not much more than some castle towers and a small town perched on the top of a peak, but it’s dramatic and the views are great.  Plus we got to add another country to our “been there” list.

The beautiful, but tiny San Marino:

Posted in Italy, Living Abroad, Travel | 1 Comment »

Low Carb(on) Diet

Friday, May 11th, 2012

We’re back from a long weekend in Copenhagen that I’ll write about later.  We also made a side trip to Malmo and Helsingborg in Sweden.  It was just a day trip, so we didn’t have a lot of time to stop for a long lunch.  Instead, we just popped into a fastfood place for a quick burger-fries-coke combo.  The burger itself was one of the better ones I’ve had in Europe, but came with a side order of guilt. Check out the menu below.  They don’t list the nutritional values of the food, instead it’s the carbon footprint!  I suppose my ‘original’ was better for the environment than Eric’s ‘Grand de Luxe,’ but we’re both going to have to do some walking to make up for both the calories and the CO2.

Posted in Living Abroad, Sweden, Travel | No Comments »

« Previous Page — « Previous Entries
Next Entries » — Next Page »