slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog - Tumblr blog

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

We are back, 8 years later. Why not keep a daily journal of our adventures again, so here we go.

Quotes of the trip:

- Children fill a void you didn’t know you had

Day 1: Tailwind

It seems these days when you take a red eye there is a tailwind. No complaints, just noticing. It isn’t right to complain about tailwinds…bad mojo.

We left JFK around 615pm Saturday, July 30th for Milan. An accident near JFK made it a little tighter than we hoped…perhaps 15 mins before boarding started. Sleeping wasn’t great on the 7.5 hour flight. Dinner was good, a few episodes of The Last Dance for me, Dungeons and Dragons or straight to sleep for others.

We got our 9 passenger VW van (stick shift) and away we went to Lake Como where Stacy had arranged a lunch. As we were approaching the restaurant we saw what looked like Old Town and found a parking spot. Following a local family with a stroller we hit the gold mine. Slowly it changed from sleepy, shutters closed, walking between castles to vibrate market with coffee shops, a beautiful church and lots of people. I tried my first coffee - cappuccino - which wasn’t bad, but I don’t think I’ll be an addict anytime soon.

Putting our plan together to have lunch and get into Milan for a tour of the Duomo Milan - we bought tickets and split up to position the car for a quick getaway. We discover the intricacies of driving in areas that are also plazas for pedestrians - not even sure cars should or could be allowed in, but they were.

Lunch over looking Lake Como was sensational. Private club to the left, lake in front and smiles all around. A nice walk, the sights of water are great for fighting off jet lag.

We drive a little more than an hour to find our airbnb next to a canal, drop off our bags, and zoom off to the Duomo. Again, cutting it tight, the last people are allowed up to the Terrace at 410 and it was 405ish. Not sure what this was all about, we get out of the elevator to find ourselves on the marble roof of a massive cathedral - seemingly as large as any other. It seems to be on the back end of a complete cleaning and restoration project. The detail at the top - where it can’t be seen from the street, is incredible. To walk around in the shade and the sun, was unlike anything we have ever done nor will likely be able to do again. No way you can do this in the US; that said, it was a brilliant way to draw visitors in, have a chance to talk about God, (re)introduce God, create a moment to be grateful, pray for others, imagine what it must have been like to…

For everything I could remember, it seemed like the grandest church I have ever seen. At least 60 marble columns that seemed at least 8 stories tall. FACTS: it is the largest church in Italy, yes largest; 3rd largest in the world and construction started in 1386. There are 52 internal pillars that are 11 feet in diameter and 78 feet tall. It has more statues 3,400+ and gargoyles 135 and 700 figures, than any building in the world. It was incredible, both in beauty and in scale. To imagine this was built so long ago and still a marvel, is incredible. Check the video below of the opera singer outside the Duomo that you could hear singing on the roof, it was like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.

No trip to Europe is complete without at least one church stop, so after checking that off the list we went to our airbnb, an apartment with AC near a main metro stop. After watching Friends episode, the showers started, mom and I went to grab some groceries and dinner. I went to bed about 7 and I’m sure by 830 all was quiet. It had been a great first day that we all powered through.

Day 2: Just like new

Alarms had to be set for 930 to make sure we didn’t sleep to late. We needed to give ourselves time to be out by 11am and on to our next adventure, which was the Cinque Terre town of Monterosso al Mare. About a 3 hour drive toward the Ocean, we got our first taste of winding, narrow roads that seem like Cat Rock Road. A temperamental transmission rearing its head and opposing drivers that seem to like the middle of the narrow road made it a good intro for the legendary Amalfi Coast road ahead. Our mirror got its first hit, but once we got to our destination we realized it just popped into place and it was just like new.

The drive into town and to our apartment was only doable with google maps, it would be hard to describe otherwise. Our parking spot could only be introduced to us with video, again to hard to describe in native language, much less another. It required a key, a gate, faith and being good at using the clutch going up hill. The walk back was twice as quick, again, with a sense of adventure, a little faith and lots of luck, we found a trail as if we were locals.

Quick change and head to the beach - smiles and happiness were instantly found in the blue waters of the Ligurian Sea. A big rock was a great place to swim out, climb and jump back into the water - Piper holds the record for number of jumps.

Again, I’m reminded the common happy place is near water, ideally a beach with waves.

A walk, a return to the apartment, showers and a plan for dinner emerges. Catina Miky is found and devoured. Date night for me and Stacy with the kids at a separate table. Both tables started with anchovies, which is the speciality of the area, which was great. Stacy and I had two more fish courses of specialities but still saved room for gelato. Two and half hours for dinner in Italy requires the neutral gear; perhaps at some point I’ll be able to be so chill, I won’t need to ask for the check.

We head out of the restaurant to find a full moon so close it seemed we could reach out and touch it.

Day 3

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

So great speaking to Britt last night. Huge fan of FaceTime!! Thanks Britt for making our night.

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

So good to FaceTime with Britt tonight. She is doing great. Shocked it has been more than 3 weeks.

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

And then there were four :(

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

One Final Note

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Piper had been limping around the last couple of weeks, but being a trooper about all the walking, etc.  She never said she needed to stop or didn’t want to do something.  

After we got home she was still treating it with ice and propping it up.  Stacy took her to the doctor this morning and sure enough they found a fracture.  17 days ago in Salzburg we did a “heel clap” photo opportunity like in the Sound of Music - that you Julie Andrews - the doctor confirmed the timing looked about right.

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 53: Friday, August 21, 2015 - Zurich>JFK

Up and at em!

There was excitement in the air about today's activity given the wake up call for the girls at 620.  We packed, dad got gas for the car and we all drove to the airport.  The rental car return was a piece of cake compared to Florence.  Finding where to check-in for American Airlines wasn't so easy, but being weathered travelers we figured it out.  We validated our suspicion that swiss chocolates are cheaper in local small town grocery stores (Coops or Migrates) versus the duty free shop in the airport, but we bought anyway.

About to land...

We had a good breakfast in the airport and took our last train of the trip - 60 second ride to Terminal E for the international departures.  Unfortunately we had a delay of about an hour once the plane was fully boarded but no big deal.  

The US Customs officer commented on all the stamps (it seemed that many countries didn't stamp because we did so much via train) - but there was seemingly zero scrutiny.  If you saw the movie "We are the Millers" - the concept is correct - a goofy family doesn’t get questioned.

There are various delays with luggage but we make it though, catch the car home and arrive to find Mamarob and Joey.  

It was about 4pm EST/10pm Switzerland time.  The unpacking started, we had sushi for the first time in 54+ days and by 9pm it was completely dark in our house.  Britt had a date and was home by 830 - you know she was tired!

Two of our vehicles had issues with not being used for 2 months so arrangements had to be made for them to be towed/picked up for service.

Not doubt the experience will hit us over the next few days, weeks as we get back into the grove.  I felt the American marketing machine right away, you notice how much bigger the cars, trucks and roads are here.  We were blessed that no one ever got sick.  Funny enough three of us had stomach issues Saturday night and Sunday  morning - odd that it happened on re-entry.

The question that can't be answered is, "what was your favorite place?".  The best places were great for different reasons.  There were great places that I doubt I will ever go back to.  Others need more time.  More than the natural beauty of this planet and the beauty of people in their cultures, at the end of the day we saw people love their family and friends.  In local restaurants we saw family and friends laughing and in deep conversation.  We saw parents parenting.  We saw grandparents with grandkids.  We saw family and friends spending time together and ultimately that is what this was about for us.

We were so lucky to have had the opportunity.  We were lucky to have been inspired by those that had the courage to do even longer trips or the courage to go places that aren't the main stops in the books.  Timing is so much a part of life and the timing worked great.

Some final stats:

53 days away from home

19 countries visited

25 different locations that we spent the night

9 day trips to various cities, countrysides (Normandy, Morocco, Interlaken, Verbier, etc)

3 Escape Room visits

20 different airbnb places, for 37 nights

2 friends/family we bummed off for 8 nights

4 hotels for 6 nights

6 plane trips

1 red-eye (Reykjavik to St. Petersburg via Helsinki)

29 train trips (some trips required us to change trains)

2 overnight trains

1 bus trip

4 rental cars

2 dryers available to us

Key items that we used all the time

iPhone - if I could have only 1 thing, this was it

earphones

Gregory duffle/backpacks - 45 liters for the girls and 65 liters for mom and dad

Eurail passes - for this type of trip, train passes were great.  It is really easy arriving into the city center and going from there.  We generally got to the station about 20 to 30 minutes prior to our scheduled departure.  Rarely were trains late leaving our station, but it did happen.

TripAdvisor - this hooked us up for probably 85% of our meals.  It also was responsible for nearly all our tour guide selections, except Fat Tire Bike Tours, but that scored really high anyway

Google and apple maps - it is really crazy to imagine just using maps to drive or walk around

Birkenstocks for the girls - they all have sandal tans

Day back packs

Rail planner app for train schedules

Photo transfer app - moves photos from iphone to PC 

HydroFlask water bottles - we used them constantly and they were great at keeping cold water cold, even when it was hot outside

2 Bath houses

Blue Lagoon in Iceland and Turkish bathhouse in Budapest

Bodies of water with at least our toes into:

Greenland Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Gulf of Finland

Baltic Sea

North Sea

English Channel

Mediterranean Sea

Adriatic Sea

Cetina River (Croatia)

Lake Leman (Geneva)

Tours:

6 bike tours

3 segway tours

1 ebike tour

4 van tours

8 walking tours

1 horse tour

4 adventure tours

2 bus tour, including one shameful hop on/hop off - NEVER AGAIN

3 boat tours

2 kayak tours 

Final itinerary:

Tuesday, 6/30 JFK to Reykjavik

Reykjavik, Iceland

St. Petersburg, Russia

Copenhagen, Denmark

Stockholm, Sweden

Oregrund, Sweden

London, England

Caen, France

Lisbon, Portugal

Seville, Spain

Tarifa, Spain

Tangier, Morocco (day trip)

Madrid, Spain (just for a few hours)

Barcelona, Spain

Marseille, France

Nice, France

Piza, Italy (day trip)

Greve in Chianti, Italy

Florence, Italy

Split, Croatia

Budapest, Hungary

Vienna, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Prague, Czech Republic

Krakow, Poland

Berlin, Germany

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Saint-Gingolph, Switzerland

Zürich, Switzerland

Friday, August 21: Zürich to JFK

Each of us completed a questionnaire on the flight home that was to capture our thoughts while they were still fresh.  As I read everyone's I got tears in my eyes reading what impacted each of them. They wrote about: the impact of WWII on Europe, the value of speaking multiple languages, the natural beauty of Switzerland, Austria, Split, Iceland and the tolerance of several countries.  We all noticed the trade off of business urgency versus time with self, friends and family.  

Details of the trip will fade, for me, I already have a hard time separating some cities and experiences.  Selfishly, this blog was really for me to read later so I could put the pieces back together and relive it all again.

Thanks for following along!

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Days 51 & 52: Wednesday and Thursday, August 19-20, 2015 - Road Tripping in Switzerland

by Chris:

After a day of hanging out it was time to move, so after a lazy morning we set out for Verbier and Chamonix, France to check out a couple of serious Swiss and French Alp ski towns.  Verbier was about 80 kms from our place and Chamonix was 70 kms from Verbier.  This was a return trip for me and Brittany - we had a chance to ski there over the past winter break, so we were anxious to show it to the rest of the family.

The drive is ridiculously beautiful.  Seeing the villages up and down the mountains, wondering how the farmers work the land on the terraces they have built on the mountain side.  (Side note: we were in a car for 5 people so the girls were troopers about “squash buckling” in the back seat.)

Once we made our way thru the 20ish switchbacks to Verbier we hit Offshore for their burgers and all day breakfast, plus a milkshake never hurt anyone.  We took a couple of gondolas to the midway point of the mountain, did a little hiking and finally made our way down.  

Unfortunately it was cloudy and misting, but it was still great to be up there.  After a little shopping (jerk alert: dad bought a pair of skis.  I thought we had a rack on the top of the car, but we didn’t, so this additional luggage added to the experience in the back seat) we were off, but unfortunately by the time we left there wasn't time to hit Chamonix so we headed back, had dinner in Villeneuve again - at the other restaurant in town before heading back to our place.

On Thursday morning we did our traditional cereal and eggs, packing and saying bye to Pia we were off again.  Our plan was to take the shorter but much more time consuming route to the Interlaken area and specifically to Lauterbrunnen and Jungfrau (aka: Top of Europe at 11,332 feet above sea level).  The drive was spectacular, equivalent to the Big Sir drive in California - simply epic.  

We went through villages in the valleys, then via switchbacks, up the mountain then down again, all the while seeing numerous villages.  Instead of eating in a restaurant we stopped into a grocery store and got food for a picnic, hoping to find a place that had the combination of amazing spot with a parking area near.  The area is long on amazing spots, but unless you were on a bike, it was tricky to find a place to pull over.  There isn't a lot of room when driving in the mountains on a two lane road.

We finally made it to Lauterbrunnen after passing the Interlaken area.  Imagine the two lakes that make up Interlaken, surrounded by the Swiss Alps.  

We drive back up the mountains to the south to reach Lauterbrunnen.  Along the way we saw uncountable waterfalls, incredible mountain peaks. It was a sunnier day and the sunny was deciding exactly which parts of the mountain to hit - it was just beautiful.  

I was actually getting bummed that we had to leave the next day because this was an area that would be great to have two or three days to explore.  

We park, buy train tickets to get to another village called Kleine Schiedegg which connects to another train that takes you to the Jungfrau area.  While you are at 11,000+ feet you aren't at the actual peak.  A couple of amazing points. All the villages on the mountain past Lauterbrunnen are only accessible via train.  There is a village called Wengen that has about 600 full time residents, but 8,000 beds and swells to 30,000 for the annual FIS World Cup Ski Race, which is the longest course on the World Cup circuit.  Everything in the village arrives via train, EVERYTHING.

This was all hard for me to process.  The vastness of these mountains, the logistics of creating it all, the fact is was done in the late 1800s, the terrain, the hiking paths - instead of signs with mileage to go to the next town there were signs telling you how long the walk was to villages.  It was incredible.

As the day went on, it became more cloudy, but we had come this far we were going to the top of Europe.  By the time we got on the train in Kleine Schiedegg it was 5ish and it was scheduled to arrive at 530.  The last train back down left at 615, so we only had about 45 minutes at the top.  Apparently they have all kinds of activities to do up there - hiking, zip lines, etc, but given the hour it was all closed.  

The entire trip is through a tunnel that took more than 15 years to complete in the late 1800s/early 1900s.  I could only imagine what it must look like on a clear day up there.  Supposedly you can see into Italy and France.

We made it back down and stopped into Wengen for our last meal of the trip. While we were looking for fondue on TripAdvisor, we found a place that looked good and went in.  Fate was good to us, it was great, the owner served us and provided a great last meal experience in all regards.  You have to love a place with so much cheese, wine and dogs.

We caught a train back to Lauterbrunnen and drove to Zurich to an airport hotel.  We arrived about 1130pm. We extracted as much as we possibly could on our last day.  

It was very bittersweet knowing this trip was coming to an end.  We all recognized how special this was - knowing that 1. we likely would never be constantly together for that long again, and 2. traveling for that amount of time again.

We could only giggle through the tears as it was time for us to “ausfahrt” the trip.

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Days 49 & 50: Monday and Tuesday, August 17 & 18, 2015: Chilling in Switzerland

by: Chris

We had an early train from Amsterdam - 727am.  Unfortunately there wasn't an overnight to Basel, it would have been perfect.  When we booked the train tickets for this last long leg we weren't yet to Italy - so it was at least 4 weeks ago.  The tickets were to Lucerne.  A few weeks later as we started working on places to stay there were many options for us near a lake on airbnb or VRBO so we shifted our location to the eastern side of Lake Geneva based on what was available on airbnb.  We wanted a place that was near the mountains but on a lake - sound familiar?  There were local trains, one even called the Golden Pass because of the views that were available.  Because we knew we wanted to do a few day trips we decided to rent a car in Basel and drive from there. 

Early trains call for train sleep time, which was certainly had at one time or another.  

The good news on this train, with the temperature about 55 degrees F when we left Amsterdam and we were expecting about 60 when we arrived in Basel, we didn't experience another hot train.  On our trip I saw a temperature sign at a business and the temperature was 14 degrees C - which made me laugh thinking about the 42 degrees C in Sevilla. 

We arrived in Basel about 3pm, picked up the car and headed out.  Our host had given us general directions and the car GPS was working so we were in good shape.  We stopped in Montreux which was directly across the lake from our house.  It was the largest lake side town in the area and a definite tourist town.  There were too many buses so we lasted about an hour there.  We got in the car and stopped in the next town which was Villeneuve and found a great place for dinner.  This was a locals place, they barely spoke English.  

Afterwards we were off to our house.  By now the sun has gone down.   It was a little tricky to find the exact spot but when we did we found a gracious host - Pia - and two lakeside cabins - one for the girls and the main house for me and Stacy. Pia's cabin was in between ours.  The real payoff was the next morning, when the sun came up.  See below:

Tuesday was as much of a chill out day as we have had since we were in Tuscany with Nana and GPJerry.  There was napping by the water in the beach bungalow, grilling lunch by the lake, book reading, SUP with Pia's dog Nora, exploring the area (the French border was about 2 miles away, which cut through the town of Saint-Gingolph).

There was even an epic game of Monopoly involving 5 of the 6 of us.  

All of this was followed by the second fully cooked meal at our house for the entire trip.  It was a great day!

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Days 47 & 48: Saturday and Sunday, August 15th and 16th in Amsterdam

by Chris:

We were all excited about Amsterdam.  I had the chance to go for the first time in June with a handful of YPO members led by Volckert van Reesema who clearly has Dutch roots, so I had a pretty good idea of what we needed to see and do.

For most, I think Amsterdam is this mystery city that has unknown expectations but you know there are things going on there that aren’t normally allowed.  I think the girls all sensed this.  We had no tours planned so we slept in.  It was a long night getting there.  We woke up to a grey and cool day - probably in the mid to high 50s.  We wore hiking pants for the first time in at least 5 weeks. The weather called for rain both Saturday and Sunday.  

Stacy and I got up and went for a walk and brunch.  The girls seemed thrilled to get some “parents-are-away” time.  Our apartment was about a block from the Anne Frank House for those that know the city.  It didn’t take us long to find a table riverside at a cafe.  Soon after we found an awesome bakery with cupcakes and macaroons.  We strolled through the red light district so Stacy could see for herself what we had in front of us.  It is about as civilized as you could expect.  At 1130am we did see ladies in the windows ready for work - you certainly don’t see that everywhere.  There were lots of coffee shops offering all the smells you expect in Amsterdam.

We went back to get the girls and set out walking towards the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.  

This town was all about Stag and Hen (how funny is that name?) parties.  And they didn’t waste time.

We found the “I amsterdam” spot

We have definitely gone easy on the girls regarding museums.  So when I said we were going to the Van Gogh museum, they were all game.  This is one of best museums I have ever seen.  Van Gogh was as much of a student of his craft as anyone.  

Afterwards we needed some grass - the traditional kind.

The next day mom got up early to get in line at the Anne Frank museum.  She was in line at 740, the girls got up about 800ish and we walked up to mom about 3 minutes from entering the museum.  There are a few must dos in all of Europe - and this is one of them.  There are so many angles that can be interpreted or discussed...that said, at the very end, right before the exit there is a short video of Otto Frank - the only survivor of the family - that was filmed shortly before he died in 1980.  He talks about reading her diary and realizing that he really didn't know his daughter.  He wasn't aware at all of her feelings in depth or range.  There is unfortunately so much truth in that comment - probably not to the same degree, but still there is a lot of truth.  It struck me since here we were on this trip together for such a long period of time - how deep and honest were we actually talking to each other?

We finished, grabbed lunch and got on a boat for a ride around the canals. Clearly a must do.  Seeing it from the river is such a great vantage point.  For me, this was a great memory because everyone was genuinely enjoying just cruising on this little boat.  

Our driver found the "Fault in our Stars" bench, which was a big hit for the girls.

After a little shopping it was off to what would be our last "tour" of the trip.  We had a bike tour at 4pm.  Stewart was a great guide.  As fate would have it, the group got divided and we had a private tour with Stewart, clearly an advantage of a large family! 

Stewart was great.  He was open about the city's history and culture. Interestingly he talked about how conservative the city was and the shame it felt for not doing more to help its Jewish residents.  He said that it is believed that 2 of 3 citizens were helpful to the Germans in some way.  His theory that since them the attitude of live and let live is an attempt to learn from that previous mistake.  He talked about the drug culture and prostitution.  We went through the red light district and the girls had a chance to see it for themselves.  

We had another great dinner, got photobombed by the waiter and then had some ice cream.  

When have a chance to have a Magnum ice cream bar experience where they custom make it, you will agree it is a great way to spend 4 euros.  I'm just saying that some of us had two within 6 hours.

We had an early train to Switzerland Monday morning so we walked home, showered and packed up. This is a shot of the stairs to our apartment - we were on the top two floors.  When in Rome...

Finally a note about Uncle Mike.   A couple of hours after I woke up I was texting Mike, it was probably 330 or 4am in Canada as he prepared to do the IronMan race.  Jansyn kept us up to date with pics and status reports.  

Whenever we had a break we were tracking his swim, bike and run.  It was amazing because he was going the entire day.  Terrin put up a post that said "what did your dad do today?"  Right before I turned out the light Mike had about 3 miles to go on the run.  What an amazing achievement!

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 46: Friday, August 14th - Berlin trip to Amsterdam

by Chris

I got a quick run in; sometimes a city just inspires a run and Berlin is one of those cities.  Running through the Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, past the US, French and British Embassies, through the Memorial to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews and Hitler's bunker is pretty heavy stuff.  We have our eggs, cereal, pack up and head to the train station.  Our train to Amsterdam is at 400ish in the afternoon (1600) so we store our bags for about 5 Euros and head back out.

Berlin is a unique city in that it was 2 cities under two experiments - one communism and the other capitalism.  There are signs of the differences everywhere.  One way to know you were on the East German side was the crosswalks.  This is the East German side:

We wanted to head back to Checkpoint Charlie to see two outdoor exhibits on the Berlin Wall - one called the Topography of Terror then do another Escape Room challenge before heading back to the train station to eat and head out. As we arrived at Checkpoint Charlie we walked past a barber shop that did shaves.  After 4 weeks, I was ready to get rid of my beard.  The girls seemed to be ready also, especially the most important girl - Stacy.  After a shave and haircut we were on our way again.  

This Friday brought extreme heat once again, but the good news was it was the last day of the heat wave for most of Europe.  The Topography of Terror, while interesting was very hot because it was all stone and few trees.  We thought about getting to the Escape Room early in hopes we could start a little early.  

Have you ever wanted to try to save world from aliens?  If so, head to Berlin.  In case you noticed that you woke up and survived on Friday, August 14th - you are welcome because it was - mission accomplished!  This one was harder than the other two we did, perhaps because the starting point was unclear and there was so much going on.  As we worked through it, it was clear that we had done a few.  We were comfortable working in separate groups, coming together when someone broke through and found new clues.  Britt really was the MVP on this one, she completed a couple of few of the more difficult tasks - the monitor even commented the same.  He was impressed or thought she was cute or both.

After celebrating and pictures we caught our last Berlin tram to train station for lunch at Valpiano - now our fourth time to eat at this chain on our trip - a trip record.  The concept is your order at a counter and they cook it right in front of you with the ingredients you want.  The food is very fresh and very good.  It is pasta, pizza, calzones and salads.  Rumor has it that they have dessert, although we wouldn't know since we don't like sweets.  Before we boarded our train to Amsterdam, we had 15 minutes so in true EscapeRoom form we divided up - a group to get bags out of the storage lockers and a group to go get cookies from Millie's.  Surprisingly we haven't seen many cookie places and it was clearly time for a good chocolate chip cookie, I mean how much ice cream can one family eat?

As our train pulled out and we found ourselves in another compartment for 6 on the train, we agreed that: 1. our family preference is not to have these compartments for 6 - we like just having seats, they provide a little more space and room for us to individually reset ourselves and 2. Berlin is a world class city that deserves more time.  If Stacy and I go back, we need to explore a few more museums, perhaps do a Cold War tour, take in a Berlin Philharmonic performance and discover a few more great restaurants.  It is a great walking city.

For the second train in a row we had AC problems.  It was what appeared to be the last real day of a heat wave that had been over Europe for much of the summer.  On Thursday the high was 88 but Friday went back up to high 90s.  The stress on the train systems was apparent.  The heat also caused delays, so instead of arriving at 11pm into Amsterdam we got in just before midnight.  That is several movies, episodes of Castle (Stacy, Sloane and Britt are all addicted), Stacy has a book she is knee deep into, Darby has been great about writing in a journal - without question the most disciplined about that great habit, Piper has watched her collection of Zoey 101.

We made it to our apartment to find that it was a great location, authentic row house but was really intended for college students or a group of guys that didn't mind a slight mess, not one chair or a table.  That said, it will work.  We get settled and fall asleep to the sounds of Amsterdam after midnight on a Friday evening.

Meanwhile back across the pond Uncle Mike is preparing for his IronMan race in Mont Tremblant, Canada...go Mike!!!  I’m sure he would have been pissed to do all that training and have aliens blow up the earth a couple of days before his race...you are welcome!

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 45: Thursday, August 13th - Berlin

Breakfast of champions = Dunkin Donuts.  Instead of eggs, we scramble to understand subway system, which was a little tricky because there are basically 2 systems--remnants of the divided city.  But, we figure it out and make it to our bike tour with minutes to spare.  Our tour guide was Kaley, who was originally from Seattle but had lived in Berlin for 6 years.  Kaley did a great job - great info, good personality, concerned about making sure everyone was safe and with the group.  

Highlights of the tour:

understanding the differences between East and West Germany, how it happened in the middle of the night, exactly 54 years ago to the day.  Between 1am and 6am the East German border was fenced off with barb wire, the  border was closed.  If the kids were at a sleepover at the grandparents or a friends, if you had to go to work on the other side, if you had a one night stand on the wrong side - you couldn't cross back over.  

Seeing Checkpoint Charlie - learning about the border of the city and country after it was divided between the US, Britain, France and Russia. The stand offs at the border in the early 1960s.

Seeing pictures of the East German side in 1990 after the unification - it looks like it was taken in the 1950s - it was like Cuba today but with war torn buildings.

Seeing the monuments that the Russians put up to signify their victory in Germany; that incredibly still stand

Observing this city that was once controlled by a dictator that is as far right as imaginable, become a still of tremendous tolerance, innovation and rebirth.  Berlin as it was always meant to be, the locals believe.

The memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust is so interesting in the number of ways it can be interpreted and its prominence in the city is very meaningful.

Seeing the apartment complex and parking lot area that below it was the site of Hitler's bunker.  The Russian's tried to blow it up but couldn't since it was so fortified, so apparently it is just filled in with dirt and sand and now has a parking lot over it.  Other than a sign in the corner, you would never know that Hitler spend the last few months of his life, got married and killed himself there.

Museum Island - a beautiful mix of old and new buildings that house all things that matter

One ironic point - one of the few Nazi era built buildings still in use is a building that was built as the Luftwaffe HQ (Air Force).  Today it is the Department of Revenue or the German IRS.  Crazy.

Brandenburg Gate - very cool to think all the things that happened on that spot.

Our apartment was located in this very cool in area that was on the East German side - Potsdamer Platz - which prior to the war was a key area of the city and it went dormant for years.  It is now a key area once again and it very new.  The architecture was meant to catch your eye and imagination.  In our building was a movie theatre.  We were so comfortable in the city that we sent the girls to the movie and gave them money for dinner at a Vapiano - very good Italian restaurant that we discovered in Prague - while Stacy and I ate at one of the city's finest restaurants.  FACIL had a couple of Michelin stars.  We decided to just walk in and see if we could get in, which we did.  It was a great dinner and a nice evening.  On the way home we hit the ice cream shop that we discovered the night before.

We got home to find the girls all situated, showered and completely plugged into their ipads for whatever book or tv show they had become addicted to.  

Good day in a great city for sure.

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 44: Wednesday, August 12th - Morning in Krakow; Train to Berlin via Warsaw

by Stacy

Off to a great start...we awoke at 8:30 without an alarm.  Chris and I slept in the living room, while the girls slept in the bedroom that had two double beds. Sloane was next up, so we enjoyed some cereal together.  Just like the Pavlovian theory, the rattling cereal bags drew everyone else to the table.  It was a relaxed morning since our checkout time wasn't until 11:00. 

Yesterday's tour out to Auschwitz left me feeling the tangible hole in the timeline of humankind.  There was no need to take photos yesterday.  Never to be forgotten.

I felt a need this morning to take a closer look at today's Jewish district.  We had read and heard that this area was a key part of the city scene...a city in it's own right to be accurate.  We walked out of the apartment at 9:45 and within minutes stumbled into a gentleman in an oversized golf cart that tours people around - we had seen them all around.  Who knew we'd have the good fortune to meet this very well- travelled, wise host and guide.  He was disappointed to only have 1 hour to show us the key sites because he wanted us to love his city as much as he did.  His enthusiastic personality made each stop an adventure as he highlighted things easily missed.

When we got to Kesmierz, the Jewish district, it's significance was immediately apparent.  The old synagogues had stories to tell.  The restaurants, bars, parks & understated memorials all had a vibe that deserved more than a drive by.  

I'm still processing all that we've encountered along this journey, all the things brought to light.  Grandiose cathedrals & grounds that were built in no less than 4 centuries to smaller less touristy places of fellowship.  

Are they reaching those most in need today?  This question was brought to life in this whirlwind tour.  Outside a small place of worship, a man stood in front of the entrance...wobbly gazing upward.  He stood there a few minutes as our guide shared the tortured history of this house of worship.  As we walked around him to gawk inside this historical building, an overwhelming smell of alcohol made me wonder how he was even standing.  The attendant stopped us to pay a fee and I felt offended we weren't allowed entry.  Incensed, low on time & zoltys...we turned & walked out.  The drunken man had walked in behind us.  I'm not sure if he was met by the attendant or if he made it that far, but I do know he walked back out shortly after us, steadying himself and turning his head back up toward the symbols above the front door.  Was he turned away because he couldn't pay?  Wouldn't pay?  Was he seeking help?  Was he lost and needing directions or just a new direction?  I hope he finds his way, finds faith, finds strength in this neighborhood that just 70 years ago was marched out to Auschwitz all because of their beliefs.

Escape from these thoughts is easy as we jump back in our jolly guides' cart and head back to the apartment.  We hugged him and he squeezed back on our departure.  So grateful to have found him.  

He was like a favorite uncle we never knew we had.  Sometimes fate really rewards you when you just jump.  

Train to Berlin pulled us through fields of hay bales, wind turbines and past unpronounceable Polish train stations.  A fine dinner was cooked (not microwaved) and served to us on white table cloths on the train. 

We arrived into Berlin and were told to go to the Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz and to meet our apartment host at the Lego Giraffe.  He agreed that was a funny landmark, but "you can't miss it" and we didn't.

Wow!  It's remarkable what's been built in this area formerly known as the "Death Zone" between the east and west walls. Hotels, apartments, office buildings, malls, restaurants, subway stations, public areas--probably the equivalent of 10 brand, new, square blocks in NYC.  This was the view outside of our living room window. 

All built within the last 20 years, of course, and adjacent to the Tiergarten--the Central Park of Berlin.

Other structures of wonder...towering, ice cream creations. 

On the way home we saw our first Berlin Wall posing spot...

Off to bed to rest our tastebuds. 

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 43, part II: Tuesday, August 11th - Salt Mines

After Birkenau, it was about 300pm and we drove for more than 1 hour to get to the Salt Mines.  We were emotionally wiped out.  It was a quiet ride.  We had no idea what link if any the Salt Mines had.  For some strange reason we didn't ask.

Conrad pulled into a parking lot and we piled out.  He said we were stopping first at an authentic Polish restaurant for lunch.  We did and it was good.  We had goulash, chicken and rice, dumplings with mushrooms and fried donkey tail (just kidding, I wanted to make sure you are awake).  We shared some dessert that had all the makings until I discovered a bad ingredient - cheesecake with chocolate frosting with raisins (...raisins...who does that?) and apple pie with vanilla ice cream.  

Off to the salt mine, whatever that is.  Turns out it is a very cool mine that dates back to the 13th century.  The place is huge.  It goes over 300 meters below the surface.  We went down 3 levels to 100 meters below the surface.

They had it all figured out.  There were 40 places of worship and one that was a full blown church with room for 700 people.  The alter, artwork and pulpit were all carved out of the salt.  Even the chandeliers were made of salt.  

It was a fascinating tour of something you never really get a chance to see.  The logistics of the mine were fascinating.  At one point more than 100 horses worked below ground.  Once they go in, they don't come out.  The guide said that horses usually got better treatment than the men.  All the artwork - randomly throughout the mine and around the worship areas were all done by volunteer, amateur artisans during off hours.  The massive church took 68 years and was done by 3 men.  There was a lot of homage to Pope John Paul II since he was from Poland.  He was actually from a small town about 60 km from Krakow.  He was a priest and bishop in Krakow prior to becoming Pope.

By the time we were down, it seems like a week that we had visited Auschwitz. Honestly I think everyone needs the diversion of thought.

Again, we had a very good guide with a great sense of humor.  She gave us a location at the main square for great ice cream.  Once Conrad dropped us off at our new apartment, we headed off for our daily IC.  After hanging out for a while we headed back for the nightly cool shower, Castle bing watching and off to bed very thankful for all our blessings! 

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 43: Tuesday, August 11th - Auschwitz, Birkenau and Salt Mines - near Krakow, Poland

by Chris:

This stop on our trip was 100% inspired by Brent and Britta Kessel - friends who travelled around the world for 12 months with their two boys.  They keep a blog and I still remember reading about their trip to Auschwitz.  As we prepared for this trip, one of Brent's tips was this stop. 

We planned to visit three places just outside of Krakow...Auschwitz, Birkenau and the Salt Mines.  We followed the Kessel’s itinerary.  I knew about Auschwitz, but wasn't as familiar with Birkenau or the Salt Mines.  I actually thought the Salt Mines might be tied to the holocaust in some way.

Conrad, our driver, picked us (& our luggage) up about 9:15, since we had a different apartment for Tuesday night (remember we came into Krakow early at the last minute).  The drive is about 1 hour out of town. During the drive he showed a 50 minute documentary that was done by a Russian army filmer who was with the Russian Army that liberated Auschwitz.  It was actual footage of what they found upon arrival in January 1945.  It was very heavy.  At this point, I started worrying that perhaps we might be asking too much of Piper and perhaps Darby to experience this movie and the day ahead.  At one point we needed to pull over because Piper wasn’t feeling well.  I think it was a combination of carsickness but also the content of the movie.  This movie certainly set the tone of what we were about to experience.

The camp is now on the edge of a town.  The town has grown, when it was originally used it was a bit more rural.  But it sneaks up on you.  I looked out the window and saw a train track near the road.  I asked Conrad if this was the track to Auschwitz and he said it was.  It makes me sick and sad to think about what that track represented.  We pulled into a parking lot that was modest and not that big, but yet had lots of buses and vans - but I would be surprised if it held more than 300 vehicles.  We got out and walked toward some buildings.  

One could sense in your bones that you were entering a very bad place. Because we were in a "tour" and not traveling as individuals we had expeditious entry through security - very much like an airport.  We got our amplification equipment so we could hear our English speaking guide.   Our guide was a Polish woman - probably early to mid 30s.  She spent 5 years in Chicago.  She was very good at what she did.  She had the perfect tone for the tour and I didn't hear a question that she didn't have an answer to. Our first stop was the entry gate and platform where the trains would pull in.  

Again, it was a very eerie feeling.  You can't help but feel for those poor souls that were brought here and you certainly can't get your arms around the monsters that created and perpetrated this most heinous of crimes.  You see everything imaginable - more than you care to.  

You walk on steps, down hallways, into rooms, gas chambers, across tracks, into courtyards that were the same exact ones that so many innocent people walked over 70 years ago.  70 years ago - my mom is almost 70, this isn't that long ago.  I found myself getting angry, trying to understand how someone or some people could think this was a reasonable idea.  Ultimately, I realized I couldn't.  That this was perhaps the largest case of delusion by the masses perhaps in history - certainly recent history.

There were several exhibits and rooms that we removed Piper from.  They had pictures or left over items that were too much.  Too be fair, there weren't many children on the tour.

We spent 2 hours at Auschwitz then took a ride of 3 kilometers over to Birkenau, which was the second of 3 camps that together were consider all part of the Auschwitz complex.  We spent another 45 minutes at Birkenau. 

Birkenau was much a bigger "facility" relative to Auschwitz.  We got a sense for the conditions and sleep barracks.

At this point, I felt very guilty about feeling like I had had enough.  Guilty because, we were there for about 3 hours in total just seeing the facilities and I was done.  Guilty because I couldn't begin to fathom the feeling of being a prisoner there.  

Eighty percent of those that arrived were immediately gassed - the elderly, sick, pregnant women and young children were the first to go.  The rest were slave labor.  Only those 20% were registered.  There is a wall of pictures that shows the birth date, arrival date and date of death.  All prisoners are in their clothes.  You see people that are 30 years old that look 50.  You see pictures of people that died two days after arrival, 1 month, maybe 1 year.  We saw a picture of a prisoner that was alive when the liberators arrived in January 1945.  He was 42 years old.  He honestly looked 85.  There was a women that was alive when the liberators arrived.  The picture was taken after 4 months in a hospital after liberation and she was 25 kilos.   

It is estimated that 1.1 million people were killed at the Auschwitz complex in about 4 years by the Nazis.  Ninety percent of those were Jewish.  Each one of those was someone's son or daughter, niece or nephew, father, mother, grandchild.  Everyone of them has a story.  

I watched Schindler's List for the first time about 2 weeks ago.  He saved about 1,200 Jews.  When the movie was released in the 1990s there were more than 6,000 descendants.  I can't get over what the world was deprived of because not only of Auschwitz and the holocaust, but also because of WWII.     

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 42: Monday, August 10th - Moving Day, Prague to Krakow

by Chris

We decided over dinner that we would stay in at our place in Prague and chill out.  Wake up whenever, eat breakfast whenever, no expectations all day.  I think we were each excited for our own reasons.  I was thinking about posting some blogs, doing some research for our upcoming stops, especially Switzerland.  Our plan was dependent on our host letting us hang for the day.  

When we checked in he said he didn't have any guests for a few days.  This plan B would allow us to stay on our originally planned train which leaves Prague at 1000pm and arrives in Krakow at 7am - our last overnight train.   We got word about 1130pm that we needed to leave the apartment - Taylor from Colorado had rented to people checking in the afternoon.  Rather than just bum around town Stacy and I decided to try to catch a 1016 train from Prague to Krakow, Poland with a change in Katowice, Poland.  We also thought with a very full day on Tuesday of Auschwitz and the Salt Mines, a chance to sleep in an apartment was better preparation. We wouldn't book a place in Krakow for the night until we knew for sure that we could catch the earlier train.   I wake up about 7am, pack up, see that Sloane is up.  Stacy makes bfast - you guessed it cereal and eggs (although we went crazy and bought cheese and ham).  Sloane and I get into line at the station.  Surprisingly it was mainly a bunch of college aged backpackers up early going wherever they were going.  We got our tickets and we were on our way.

Prague is without question a beautiful city and not one that I wouldn't have suspected we would skip out early on - first time on the trip we did that, although we wanted to do it in Seville.  I think the prospect of a very hot day, feeling like we saw what the city had to offer.  Budapest, Vienna and Prague are also very similar in style - which may not be entirely fair to Vienna.  Either way, we were ready to leave and we did.

Another airbnb place came through about an hour outside of Krakow so we were set.  We got off the train to find a little cooler weather, which is to say it was high 80s.  We went for a cab but the cabbie said it was about 500 meters away.  We started what turned into a 25 minute walk - definitely longer than 500 meters.  The office for key pick up (which was the first time we had an arrangement like this) was in the Main Market Square, which is the city center square of Krakow.  It is the largest such square in Europe - very, very neat and beautiful, especially at night.  

After getting checked in, we decided we would go full on tourist by eating at the Hard Rock Cafe in the Main Market Square - it was a short walk from our apartment.  We have seen so many of them on our trip so we decide we would give it a try.  Turns out it wasn't bad.  Unabashed American food and experience, but it was a welcomed change for us.  

We got back to our room about 10pm to find the door slight ajar and lights that were on, were off.  This was my first real moment of concern.  I immediately thought that someone could be in the apartment.  When we left, Stacy and Piper were the last to leave and they didn't have a key.  With our trust iPhone flashlight I checked out the apartment, just like I learned in the movies to clear a room. As I was doing this, I noticed our bags hadn't been touched or moved.  

The light switches weren't working.  It was time to check the fuse box and we found the culprit.  We flipped the tripped fuse and another one tripped.  This time it killed all the lights.  We called our corporate host - this was an example of an airbnb host that was a company with 20+ apartments.  They send the host and handy man, but it would about 1 hour before they showed up.  We sent the girls to the shower armed with an iphone flashlight, soap, shampoo and a flashlight.  About an hour later the handy man showed up, checked the master fuse box that was locked in the hallway and at 1130pm we were back in business.  

Regarding the door being ajar.  We think that it was never completely shut and no one ever entered the apartment.  We were missing anything and nothing appeared to have ever been touched or move. Stuff happens, what are you gonna do?

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 41: Sunday, August 9th - Prague, Czech Republic

By Chris

The plan was for everyone to sleep in.  We discovered two challenges...the girls room was neat in the way it was set up as a loft for 4 people but it didn't have an air conditioner and two, there was a church very near us that used its bells effectively on Sunday mornings.  

As we all woke up on Sunday morning, Sloane and Britt were interested in running out for groceries.  I saw a Tesco grocery store across the street from Cafe Louvre where Piper and I had dinner last night.  We needed our daily eggs and cereal.  It took them a little longer than expected but they made it there and back and not doubt it was a good experience for them.  I went for a run (first one since Italy - yikes).  Based on my run, I could tell we were in the heart of the action and there was a lot of action.  Prague is a beautiful town on a river with large hills.  

We readied and started walking.  We had about 45 minutes before we were expected to check in for our ebike tour.  We hadn't even scene an ebike, so we didn't know what to expect.  They wanted us to get there early so they could access whether Piper could use the bike or not.  The walk over was great, since much of it was on a cobblestone street that was closed for traffic with lots of shops.  Once we got there they put Piper to the test.  It should be noted that this was the cleanest and most organized tour office I had ever seen. 

They were very chill and optimistic about Piper.  A sharp contrast to our experience in Budapest on the Segway - where a large man made a big fuss that she was 100% at our risk if she got hurt.  The ebike was a touch too big for Piper but it seemed workable.  The bikes were very nice looking bikes with a metal column that was inserted on the frame near the pedals.  As we all tried the bikes for the first time, it was a very strange sensation - as you pedal you feel a boost - like a hand pushing the bike.  it was a very odd feeling, particularly over the cobblestone roads.  As we pedaled up the hills, the glory of this great invention was most obvious - it couldn't have been easier.  There was no motor that was obvious by sound.  It wasn't like a moped or motorcycle engine clicked in.  It was very cool.  We went all over the city - covered about 10 miles in 3 hours, which included lots of stops, even a snack break in the park.  The highlight of the trip for me was probably the cathedral in the castle grounds, Stacy said for her it was the view of the city from the Palace gardens.  

The Charles Bridge was built in the 13th or 14th century and was the only bridge for the city for 500 years.  Also interesting was the Soviet era TV tower that everyone hates.  Most interesting was the faceless babies that are climbing up the tower as "art" - oh the power of TV to wipe away personalities. Piper did great considering her bike was a little big and they have a lot of cobblestones.

The tour was fun and afterwards we walked the Charles Bridge.  Again the walk to the Bridge was also cool, since it was again on a pedestrian only road with tons of shops. As we got closer to the bridge, the roads narrowed - you could easily imagine the same walk in the 1500s.  The bridge itself was an experience.  There was the legend of the priest who was killed on the bridge and later made a saint.  In the middle of the bridge is a memorial for him, that off course brought luck if you rubbed it. 

As we crossed the bridge again, tripadvisor noted a top 10 restaurant near the bridge so we decided to have our earliest dinner of the trip - at 630.  We weren't sure we would meet the dress code and we were sure we didn't meet the smell code.  Once inside we delighted in the bathroom.  It even have qtips, lotion and deodorant.  I wasn't sure the girls would come out.  We had a great dinner with tremendous service (the wifi code was "yeswecan").  We passed on dessert so we could find some ice cream along the walk back home.

We got home about 830 or 900 - which was early.  Of course cold showers were next, along with laundry.  This place had a dryer, which we hadn't seen since Stockholm.  Late at night I got word from Taylor that he was now expecting guests on Monday afternoon so we wouldn't be able to hang out at his apartment.  Given that news we decided we would try to catch an earlier train to Krakow rather than the overnight train. We will see how this works out!

[slightlycrazylovelessfamily-blog]

Day 40: Saturday, August 8th - Salzburg

by Stacy Let's start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start.  Fraulein Maria's Bike Tour...here we come.

Clearly I'm not the only one who thinks this is the all-time best movie.  Would love to know details of the positive impact this movie still generates for it's hometown.  

We'd done the bus tour 18 years ago, but we loved seeing the area by bike even more.  

Joanna, our cheery, young tour guide shared behind the scenes stories from the filming as well as updates on the remaining Von Trapp family members. Some juicy tidbits we learned today:

~ Julie Andrews was angry/frustrated while singing the opening "Hills Are Alive" song apparently because the camera crew in helicopters flew too close to her & kept blowing her down ~ the film was over budget before filming began due to a 3-week rain delay~ rain delay also meant Christopher Plummer spent more time in the pubs and his weight gain stressed the costume designers that had to add a row of buttons in the end

~ Liesel  sprained her ankle in the gazebo and the wrap is visible on camera prior to digital retouched versions

~ they had to film the gazebo scene for Julie and Christopher in the dark on account that they were too giggly and you can apparently see them shaking with laughter

~ Gretel can't swim so when their boat tipped, Julie was supposed to catch her only they didn't fall on the same side of the boat so there's a time Gretel is under water and out of the picture while a camera man jumped in to rescue her

~ Gretel was pampered with cakes & sweets throughout filming which led, of course, to weight gain (just like us on this trip!)

~ Gretel is not in the final scene hiking into "Switzerland" because Christopher Plummer refused to hold her since she'd gotten heavier.  Funny, sad, hypocritical...you decide.

We couldn’t dance in the gazebo because someone fell doing so in 2002. Unfortunately, this person sued the town of Salzburg and unfortunately this person was an American.  We hung our heads and decided to do the best we could anyway.  The girls were so proud.

Stunningly, beautiful day.  Incredible historical retreat.  Saw a headstone that dated back to 939 a.d. and a church built in 705 a.d. and heard the angelic voices of the nuns in the oldest nunnery in the world. 

Yearn to return someday soon.  So long...farewell (for now.)