Ascension Trip to Bavaria: Lachen and Nesselwang

View from our apartment in Lachen.

The farm had kitties.

Anna holds one too.

Bavarian countryside.

A painting in a local restaurant. Steve thought Maria could learn from this depiction, particularly since Steve has so much Schneid.

Uli and Maria.

Kate and Leonard play on the car.

Picturesque Bavaria.

Traditional Bavarian clothing in a local shop.

Dinner in Nesselwang.

Our breakfast in our apartment.

They had rabbits too.

Kate learning about milking.

Karsten decides to take a ride.

Local church.

Bavarian cousine.

The girls enjoy spaetzle.

Steve and Karsten have a beer.

Traditional post wedding decoration - starts the clock on when the baby should arrive.

Last year we travelled to Luxembourg and Trier for Ascension weekend with our good friends, the Vierkas. We met the Vierkas in Dubai and both families moved to Europe in 2010. The Vierkas moved to Hamburg and us to Switzerland. We enjoy their company and our families travel well together. We agreed last year to meet again over Ascension. This year it was Bavaria.

Last year Uli found as terrific accomodations in a small German village. This year was the same. We stayed in furnished apartments at Veiter-Hof in Lachen, Germany. Lachen is comprised of a handful of buildings, mostly related to dairy farmers. Our hosts are dairy farmers plus work other jobs during the day. They were terrific hosts and we managed to get by despite our limited German and their limited English. 

Just up the road is the town of Nesselwang, a municipatlity in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. Though only 3,200 fulll time residence, its location foot of the Alps in Allgäuat make it popular with tourists for skiing in the winter and scenary during the summer. 

We enjoyed the local cousine and taking part in the daily activities of dairy farming in Bavaria.

Steve Birthday 2013

Girls and kitties under the happy birthday banner.

Steve ended up traveling to Pittsburgh for his birthday. So the girls (including our 3rd daughter Camilla) worked extra hard to have a fantastic early birthday. Of course, Cappuccino and Minuit worked super hard to help. We later had neighbors over for an American tradition of hot fudge sundaes.

A Bridge Too Far - Nijmegen and Arnhem

It is difficult to appreciate how the lives of so many were impacted by the War.

It is equally hard to imagine how devestated this area was.

The Airborne Museum did a nice job telling the story.

Uniforms of the British 1st Airborne.

Airborne Museum - the exact location of General Urquhart's command post.

Headquarters in Oosterbeek.

Too many of these on both sides.

John Frost's Bridge in Arnhem.

Not a great picture of Nijmegen bridge - the last bridge needed to relieve the British 1st Airborne.

Steve's new job has taken him to business trips in Nijmegen. On the way to the last visit he took the train from Schiphol to Arnhem and Nijmegen to visit the site of Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation of the Second World War. Having seen the movie A Bridge Too Far several times while growing up, it was nice to see the place where these events took place. The Dutch have done a nice job preserving the location of key events, including General Urquhart's headquarters in Oosterbeek which has been converted into an airborne museum. Nearby is the Commonwealth Military Cemetery. Though Arnhem was heavily damaged (as most Dutch cities near the operation) there is a memorial for those men under General John Frost who fought to hold the Arnhem bridge. After these visits, Steve headed to Nijmegen. He left the trip with a better understanding of the operation and, more importantly, how the Dutch people suffered from German reprisals that lead to the Hunger Winter.

Visiting Pam and Henry in Their New City

In front of the new apartment.

Pamela and Henry's street.

1928 Olympic Stadium.

We didn't eat here.

Henry in his new apartment.

At the Mexx store at Schiphol airport.

In February, Steve had a business trip to Singapore. The flight involved a long layover at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. So, Steve spent the afternoon with Pam and Henry at their new apartment in Amsterdam. Following some lovely nibblies, we took a walk in the neighborhood, including a stop in front of the Olympic stadium from the 1928 Olympic Games. We stopped at a shushi restaurant for takeaway and enjoyed a nice evening getting caught up. On they way back, we stopped at Mexx store so Pamela could give Steve an insiders view of the world of retail apparel. The visit was too short, but good to catch-up.

Spring Break 2013: Santorini

Welcome to your Dana villa!!

It is just like the pictures.

Our neighbors - especially friendly when food is involved.

Kate says life isn't bad here.

Our first of three meals at Salt and Pepper.

We slept in - and the view just waited for us to get up.

We even enjoyed the views while eating breakfast.

Santorini has a bustling wine business. 

To protect the grapes from the winds, the vines are shaped into baskets.

On our way to Red Beach.

The real thing - it's a tough climate and yields are 10 - 20% of what we get in Napa.

Our boat for the visit to the volcano.

A Santorini vineyard.

The volcano's crater.

Hiking on the crater.

We pick holiday spots with great food - Greece was no exception.

Irene from Salt and Pepper - our favorite restaurant.

The Santorini volcano is still active - sulfuric steam came out of the crater.

We said goodbye to Athens and headed to the Greek island of Santorini. It is located in the Southern Aegean Sea about 120 miles from the Greek mainland. Santorini is small, only 35 sq miles with a population of just over 15,000. The island was formed as a result of volcanic activity, which continues today. Santorini is known for its beauty - white buildings with shades of blue. The caldera side of the island offers breathtaking views of the volcano's crater and other unpopulated islands. It is the perfect spot for a relaxing holiday. 

We spent time visiting Koutsogiannopoulos Winery as Santorini is home to some fine wines, particularly the vinsanto. The winery had a museum and tour with audio guide that showed how winemaking developed on the island. It is a tough business as yields are only 20% of what is found in France or the U.S. 

We rented a car to take a drive around the island. It's hard to get lost on a small island, but we managed to do it anyway. Eventually we found our way to the Red Beach, which gave a chance for everyone to put our feet into the Aegean Sea. The beach is made from volcanic rock that gave its interesting color and texture.

Our last full day was spent visiting the volcano's crater and some hot springs. Kate studied volcanos in school and was excited to be able to get a chance to hike to the summit and look at the different craters - even and active one. We met some lovely Australians on the trip.

We enjoyed the Greek wine and food. Our favorite restaurant is Salt and Pepper. The food was fantastic and Irene, the host and wife of the chef made us feel welcomed. We at there three times and loved each visit.

Greece lived up to our expectations. We hope to be able to visit it again sometime.