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.

Spring Break 2013: Athens

Evidence of continued frustration with current economic situation. 

In case the demonstration got out of hand, which it did not.

Parliment House Athens - most of the protests where here.

The girls on a walk in Athens.

Amazing to see the bustle of modern everyday living taking place at the foot of the Acropolis.

Fellow victims of the "I have a restaurant for you" scam. Alba and Ulises Jimenez of Argentina.

Roman theatre at the Acroplis site.

Work continues on the Parthenon. Despite the scaffolding a wonder to behold.

Like Rome, some temples have been preserved and are part of the city.

The Erechtheum 

Hadrian's Gate.

 

View of Athens from the Acropolis.

The new Acropolis Museum is built on top of ancient neighborhoods - the construction preserverd this ruins for future study.

Temple of Zeus where 100+ columns used to stand.

Olympic Stadium from the 1896 Games.

Finishing our day with a lunch with Katia.

We decided to head to Greece for spring break this year. The timing was perfect as Anna is studying Greek mythology in school this year and Kate studied the Olympics last year. Both girls were really looking forward to this trip.

We arranged for an individual tour of the city's highlights. We visited the Acropolis and Parthenon, temple of Zeus, the Acropolis Museum, and the Olympic stadium built for the 1896 games. Katia, our tour guide, was fabulous. She is going to Minnesota at the end of June and we hope our paths cross again. 

We saw and heard elements of unrest due to the austerity measures and debt crisis facing Greece. We saw one protest outside the Parliment building, and riot police preparing to keep order. We spoke to some locals about the situation; they are frustrated, fatigued and I think embarrassed with the situation. The saddest part is that some don't have any hope for it getting better.

We found Athens to be a lovely city. We stayed at the center of the city and enjoyed walking through some of its neighborhoods and squares. We had fantastic weather and the people were friendly....sometimes too friendly as we found out when walking to dinner. A really nice man saw us looking at our map and offered to help. And help us he did.....he was "kind enough" to tell us we were in the wrong place and 30 minutes from our desired restaurant. But.....he knew a local restaurant and took us there. Of course it was a scam and the man lied about the location of our other restaurant. And Steve saw him after dinner speaking with the restaurant owner - we assume he was getting his commission for brining us there. It turns out that the couple from Argentina next to us had the same thing happen to them. We had a nice time visiting with them walking back together to the Titania hotel where both families were staying. We are already in touch and have been invited to visit them in Argentina!! 

Overall, we a had a great stay in this famous city.