Ireland

Arriving into Dublin was a first for the both of us. Driving on the other side of the road was also a first (and potentially last). It may have been easier to find a potato during the potato famine then a proper street sign in the city of Dublin. The "20 minute" ride from the airport to the hotel was an all out adventure (and took closer to an hour). Note: when traveling to Ireland bring your own street map. The map Hertz provides is mockery of modern geography. It should be noted that Hertz also had dozens of signs throughout the airport and ride to the rental center for "Never Lost Navigation Systems". When we asked for one, the representative kindly replied - "oh, we don't have any of those". Fitting.

Discovering Dublin: Trinity College tour, the Book of Kells, walked O'Connell street, and Grafton Street. Maneuvering on foot is the way to see this fun city! After catching some of the key sights of Dublin, we were ready to tackle the Irish countryside...

The countryside brought us through towns along the east coast like Wicklow and Arklow. As we drove inward our instincts behind the wheel, proved to be comprised (again). It should have been an hour to our final destination - Kilkenny, but turned out to be a human game of Chutes and Ladders throughout the green fields of Ireland.

Kilkenny was the Medieval capital of Ireland. Town still has a very medieval feeling including Kilkenny Castle, many churches, stables, pubs and ruins. Our favorite Pub was Kyteller's dated back to the 1324, the owner was thought to be a witch. See below for another one of our favorites.


The B&B we choose might be the only B&B in Europe with louder traffic than our apartment in Zurich. The heat was also turned up to sauna like levels. D wanted to ask the Hotel clerk what time the safari would start because it was so hot, however better judgment prevailed. This was the only time D came close to losing his cool:)

We survived rain, roads, sauna conditions, but the locals could not have been warmer or more welcoming. We look forward to returning with a bit more planning on holiday. If you'd like to view a few more of the photos, click here.

London

Our first trip to London together! Day 1 was very solid culminating with a great dinner at Boisdale with some of K's colleauges who had amazing international traveling experiences to share with us. One might argue this could turn out to be the most expensive dinner we've ever had... As this trip was planned last minute, D was able to sneak in some golf during the day. Click here for golf pictures....



The second night made for fun adventures. After walking around in a cold, damp London evening through Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square we stumbled upon a great little Italian restaurant called Giovanni's. When we walked in the crowd was sparse, but by the time we ordered the place was packed; we realized we stumbled upon a true local establishment. The walls were decorated with many pictures of famous people, who had dined at Giovanni's. A short time into dinner I asked K why she was staring at the other table (practically drooling) - she informed me that Miss Ireland was at the table across from us. I asked if we could switch seats - she said no!.... That wasn't our only guest of honor. K noticed that the gentlemen next to us was dining alone, dressed in a top line tuxedo. We asked him if he had attended a function, he frowned and replied - "I was supposed to, but I mixed up my dates. The function was last week!" When learning how I spend my last two days (Sunningdale and Royal St. George's), the gentlemen asked (very jealously) where he could find another one like K. We then retired to a local pub for a quick pint and called it a night....

Apartment Update 9/24

• We blew our first socket!
  
• Tot learned how to dribble a ball.
  
• The pigeon returned.
  
• Not our best day

Interlaken Day Two

Today we were afraid we would not be able to walk, but we woke up feeling great! Much better than the Aussies next door, who were hooping it up till the wee hours. First thing first we hit breakfast downstairs and came up with a plan: we would locate the hostel D stayed in years ago (Balmer's) and then train up to Zweilutschinen for a hike to Grindelwald.

After a little wandering through town we finally came across Balmer's and heard stories of adventures in Interlaken from years earlier. We decided to keep walking onto Wilderswil and pick up the train to Zweilutschinen. The day before we were supposed to hike through Wilderswil, but somehow we missed it... :) It was nice to see the town we spent hours talking about the day before. The hike from Zweilutschinen to Grindelwald was intense. The steep inclines, plus the soreness from the prior day setting in, was laughable. We came across a few goats and a pig (thinking fondly of Buffalo).

Once we finally arrived in Grindelwald the sites were outstanding. The glacier was amazing and we could see sister peaks of the Jungfrau. Shameless plug: you can check this out on Google Earth, it is outstanding.

The trip home was its own adventure. D and I running through Interlaken to catch the train was belly aching funny. Both of us sore from the two days of hiking and with backpacks on our backs we looked like umpaloompas waddeling through mudd. After we dodging every tourist in Interlaken to make the train. We settled into the two hour train ride with our post hike staples swiss baked bread, Gruyere cheese and two bottles of severely shaken beers (they were in the backpacks). Our lovely home was coming soon...

Interlaken Day One

Just two hours from Zurich by train, but a world away. Interlaken, known to many as a summer college backpacker's town - we found to be an entry into the alps. The city is even more beautiful than you can imagine and it is just the beginning.

We decided to hike from Interlaken up to Wengen (alt - 4182 ft.). Hiking is not new to either of us, but we don't understand any German. Of course all the sign postings are in German, but still we did not think this was an issue. Needless to say, we spent hours walking with no idea if we were headed in the right direction. We saw waterfalls, castles, cows with Christmas Trees tied to their heads, and the greenest fields you can image. The hike was amazing and we almost forgot we had no idea where we were going. Finally, we managed to find ourselves in Lauterbrunnen - an amazing little town just below Wengen. It was beginning to get dark so we hopped a train to Wengen to check things out.

You may have heard of Wengen before - there is a major International Downhill Slalom Championship annually. No cars are allowed in the city and it is breathe taking. The air is so clean; everything just looks clearer the blue sky, green hills, white snow and the bright colors from all the flower boxes. This is certainly on our list for a ski weekend.

We sat and had a well deserved beer to celebrate our hike before we catch a train back to Interlaken. Nearby we noticed the gondola stopped for a long time. Then we noticed children are being lowered from the gondola with ropes..... unfortunately our pictures did not turn out from this episode. This may have been a safety test but I am not ready to jump on that gondola anytime soon. We are in search of another ski weekend destination:)

We had lots of laughs and no falls. The day was amazing! Check out some of our photos.

Apartment Hunting in Zurich

When looking to rent in Zurich some helpful tidbits no one shared with us. Apartments turn over twice during the year in early September and in early March. It is not uncommon for apartments to be rented minutes after going on the market. If you are looking to rent be prepared to commit - immediately!

Since no one shared these nuggets of information we find ourselves in a pickle. We had three choices: 1) stay in a hotel for our extended visit 2) live next to an enormous train yard 3) or live in the middle of Zurich University (note - great location) but on a tram line. We choose the tram line apartment.

Upon reflection we should have asked the following important questions: 1) Does a toddler (who will be called "Tot" for the foreseeable future) live upstairs and did Tot just learn to run? 2) Take a look at the shower and make sure you can fit in the shower. Now add water - can you AND the water fit in the shower? 3) Does the furnished apartment come with curtains? Do the curtains work? 4) When will that Pigeon have babies and move out of our bedroom window sill?

Notes about the apartment for future visitors ear plugs and eye patches are necessary - please provide your own. Our supply will be in use!

Zurich, Switzerland

We have finally arrived in Switzerland! Our travels were hassel free and much easier then anticipated. Today was spent apartment hunting and dodging a cold rain.... Hope to have more information on the site in the next couple days... Tonight we are off to fondue for dinner. So nice to travel together! Talk soon...