We awoke after a decent night's sleep, got our continental breakfast. We were NOT taking a taxi!! So we walked 100 meters to the bus stop! When we went to check in, we learned that there is a new 20 Euro ($40) tax for people leaving the country!! So we dropped a quick $80, and boarded our plane.
After a 9 hour flight to Chicago, it was good to stretch our legs a bit! We needed one more flight to get to Madison, and we knew it could be a while because there was a blizzard in Chicago. Looking at the board, over 90% of the flights were either delayed or canceled! We finally got to board, then we sat while the plane was getting de-iced. When we arrived in Madison, Jen's mom and stepdad were there to meet us, and they took us to Rocky Rococo's for dinner (Jen's fav Pizza). We were exhausted, so we went straight to bed and slept great!
We were sure to look over our journal in the few days after our return. We made lists of what we need to see again, and what we can pass on next time. We made notes about packing...what we were glad we had, what we wished we had brought, and what we can leave home next time. If you are planning on taking a trip to any of the places we visited, feel free to ask us our opinions. Anyone who knows us, knows we are not shy to share our thoughts!!! Thanks for reading about our travels, and now we can blog about current life! Here we go!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Final Day (Feb 12)
This was our final day of our trip. We awoke at the Reeds, and Jerry had made breakfast... cereal, kiwi, toast, and juice. Familiar food was nice by this point! Nate picked us up before 10:00 to go climb the Torre de Hercules, the world's oldest working lighthouse built in the second century by the Romans! It was really windy, but a great view as enormous waves crashed up onto the shore.
Jen was a little disturbed by the "breastfeeding Buddha", which was really "Caronte" the boatman of the sacred river to welcome visitors. Scary! Then Nate took us to Maria Pita Prazza,
the main plaza. There were so many shoe sales! We just didn't have time to shop!! We headed back to the Reeds for lunch, then Nate took us to the airport and we were off to London. Sad to leave, but it's been a great trip!In London, we had an absolutely ridiculous time trying to get to our hotel, which was about 2 miles from the airport! First, we didn't have the postal code of the hotel, and apparently there are 4 or 5 Hounslow Roads in London! So, we had to call the hotel for the postal code and line up for a taxi again. Then, the driver took us around town, and to make a long story short, by the time we got to our hotel he wanted us to pay $100 for the excruciatingly long ride!! Andrew pretty much said "No way!" and offered him $60. The driver dropped the F bomb in his British accent, and we left the cab quickly! We got into our room and decided we were not even going to leave for dinner! We ate our travel snacks instead... bread, cheese, chocolate, and fruit!
Santiago de Compostela (Feb 11)
We took our final night train from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela, in the Northwest of Spain. The conductor woke Jen up for our stop, but apparently our tickets stuck together so Andrew did not get a friendly wake up! Luckily, he awoke on 
his own in time. When we arrived in Santiago, it was raining, so we decided to wait it out in the train station and journal for a while. Well, 2 hours later when the journaling was all caught up, it was raining harder!! So we pulled up our hoods and headed out!
Santiago is the #3 pilgrimage location in the world, after Israel and Rome. In the morning we visited el Museo das Peregrinacions (written in Gallego, the language of NW Spain). The museum was free on Sunday mornings, and at the end of our travels we were excited for anything free! Nothing incredibly notable at the museum, just nice to learn some history of this spot. We ate lunch at the small restaurant "Los Sobrinos del Padre" where Andrew got clams with his Caldo Gallego. Very traditional.
After lunch we moved to the highlight of this stop... the Cathedral which "houses the
remains of St. James". The story goes that his remains were "rescued" from Jerusalem after his decapitation, put in a small boat, and sailed here by 2 disciples through the Mediterranean and Atlantic ocean in order to hide his bones. They were rediscovered in 813 by a monk led by the stars. At that time, Spain was fighting against the Moors and needed to unite as Christian. Convenient, no?
By this time, it was POURING! So we boarded our last train and arrived soaking wet in A Coruna at 4pm. Nate Finch was there to pick us up! (Remember him? He played and sang at our wedding.) It was raining here too, so he gave us a driving tour of the city, took us to get coffee, then to his place to rest for a bit and catch up. This was our first chance to tell someone about our Europe adventures, so he got more than he bargained for when he asked "How's your trip going?"
We picked up Jerry Reed for dinner and had Spanish tortilla, salad with oil and vinegar, white wine, potatoes (french fries), and delicious pork with garlic. After food and wine, it was back to Jerry's to sleep. We were cashed!
his own in time. When we arrived in Santiago, it was raining, so we decided to wait it out in the train station and journal for a while. Well, 2 hours later when the journaling was all caught up, it was raining harder!! So we pulled up our hoods and headed out!Santiago is the #3 pilgrimage location in the world, after Israel and Rome. In the morning we visited el Museo das Peregrinacions (written in Gallego, the language of NW Spain). The museum was free on Sunday mornings, and at the end of our travels we were excited for anything free! Nothing incredibly notable at the museum, just nice to learn some history of this spot. We ate lunch at the small restaurant "Los Sobrinos del Padre" where Andrew got clams with his Caldo Gallego. Very traditional.
After lunch we moved to the highlight of this stop... the Cathedral which "houses the
remains of St. James". The story goes that his remains were "rescued" from Jerusalem after his decapitation, put in a small boat, and sailed here by 2 disciples through the Mediterranean and Atlantic ocean in order to hide his bones. They were rediscovered in 813 by a monk led by the stars. At that time, Spain was fighting against the Moors and needed to unite as Christian. Convenient, no?By this time, it was POURING! So we boarded our last train and arrived soaking wet in A Coruna at 4pm. Nate Finch was there to pick us up! (Remember him? He played and sang at our wedding.) It was raining here too, so he gave us a driving tour of the city, took us to get coffee, then to his place to rest for a bit and catch up. This was our first chance to tell someone about our Europe adventures, so he got more than he bargained for when he asked "How's your trip going?"
We picked up Jerry Reed for dinner and had Spanish tortilla, salad with oil and vinegar, white wine, potatoes (french fries), and delicious pork with garlic. After food and wine, it was back to Jerry's to sleep. We were cashed!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Our Favorites: Madrid and Toledo
Madrid
1: Good, easy to follow metro, but man hallways were too low and Andrew had to walk hunched over!
2: Everywhere seemed close to where we stayed, a short metro ride or walk. Dinner was just around the corner at Restaurante Puerto Rico! Delicious and reasonably priced!
Toledo
1: Stores everywhere selling Medieval stuff... swards, armor, shields...
2: Way more touristy than expected!
3: Like Sienna, a small town on a hill with small, hard to follow twisty roads. One difference? El Greco!
1: Good, easy to follow metro, but man hallways were too low and Andrew had to walk hunched over!
2: Everywhere seemed close to where we stayed, a short metro ride or walk. Dinner was just around the corner at Restaurante Puerto Rico! Delicious and reasonably priced!
Toledo
1: Stores everywhere selling Medieval stuff... swards, armor, shields...
2: Way more touristy than expected!
3: Like Sienna, a small town on a hill with small, hard to follow twisty roads. One difference? El Greco!
Toledo: the Former Capital (Feb 10)
We checked our bags at the train station in Madrid and were surprised to learn we needed reservations for the train to Toledo! So we got some last min reservations and boarded the train 2 min before departure! That's cutting it close for a couple of control freaky first borns!
Once in Toledo we boarded a bus and headed up, up, up into the center of town. We easily found our way to the Santa Cruz Museum, which was free because it was under renovation. There were 15 El Grecos here, and he remains Jen's favorite artist! As Rick says: No painter before or since has captured the supernatural the way he does. Jen likes it because it's not all fluffy and rosy cheeked!
We next went to the Sefardic Museum, which was recommended to us by some folks we met in Sevilla. It taught the history of Jews from Spain, their historical heritage and tradition. It was not amazing, but it was a nice change from art museums!
The moment we realized we were ready to go home was when we agreed on lunch at an Asian restaurant. There we were in the small, romantic town of Toledo, and we were having Asian food. Spanish Asian food tastes the same as American Asian food. :)
After lunch, we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tome, where we saw El Greco's most-loved painting: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. The painting remains where the painter placed it 400 years ago. The Count of Orgaz was buried here in this church in 1312.
We stood for a while and took it all in. Finally, we went to the Catedral de Toledo. There was art by El Greco, Caravaggio, Velazquez, and Bellini. Sound familiar? They did to us by now! This was a Gothic style church, and great to walk around.
Once in Toledo we boarded a bus and headed up, up, up into the center of town. We easily found our way to the Santa Cruz Museum, which was free because it was under renovation. There were 15 El Grecos here, and he remains Jen's favorite artist! As Rick says: No painter before or since has captured the supernatural the way he does. Jen likes it because it's not all fluffy and rosy cheeked!
We next went to the Sefardic Museum, which was recommended to us by some folks we met in Sevilla. It taught the history of Jews from Spain, their historical heritage and tradition. It was not amazing, but it was a nice change from art museums!
The moment we realized we were ready to go home was when we agreed on lunch at an Asian restaurant. There we were in the small, romantic town of Toledo, and we were having Asian food. Spanish Asian food tastes the same as American Asian food. :)After lunch, we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tome, where we saw El Greco's most-loved painting: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. The painting remains where the painter placed it 400 years ago. The Count of Orgaz was buried here in this church in 1312.
We stood for a while and took it all in. Finally, we went to the Catedral de Toledo. There was art by El Greco, Caravaggio, Velazquez, and Bellini. Sound familiar? They did to us by now! This was a Gothic style church, and great to walk around.
Chicago Marathon Oct 7 2007
Let's start at the very beginning.... a very good place to start... (recognize that from the Sound of Music?)
Sometime on the road trip last fall, we decided to run the Chicago Marathon. We signed up in January and began training in March after settling into our new home here in Chicago. We began to get ready before the official "Spring Training" because spring training required us to run 2-3 miles. After gaining 20 lbs with 5 months of travel, 10 min (one mile) seemed impossible to Jen! So we started on the indoor track at the university running laps and trying not to get discouraged when 3 miles seemed an insurmountable task.
After 12 weeks of "Spring Training", Andrew was recovering from a collapsed lung, and we could both run 6 miles in about an hour. Now it was time for 18 weeks of official training. We ran 4 times a week including the long run on weekends. Usually we only ran together for the first half of these long runs. Once we had completed our 18 mile long run in early September, we ran the "Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon" to prepare ourselves mentally for race day. Jen's longest race until now was a 5k in college, and Andrew had run a 25k in college, so we needed this "practice run". We woke up at 4am with Jen's friend Diane, and took public transportation to the race. It was good to line up at the start and not cross the start line for several minutes. There were 13,000 runners in this race, and it was great for our confidence and prepared us for the motions and emotions of race day! We both had a great race and felt inspired and pumped up!
Then we completed the 20 mile training run in 3:45 and began to taper to prepare for the Marathon. The week before the race was full of rest, carbs, and intentional water retention! Race morning we pinned on our numbers, rubbed Body Glide on all friction spots, grabbed our Gatorade and headed to the trains. We lined up on the starting line (or 300 yards behind it) with 40,000 runners and it was already 80 degrees. Both of us felt great the first half of the race.
However, Jen started to notice problems at the first 2 aid stations... they were out of water and only had Gatorade. So by mile 5, people left the road and jumped in a fountain in the park, then they drank from it. Then all was well until about mile 14 when we left the shade of the tall buildings and were hit by direct sunlight for the first time. When Jen reached the aid stations at mile 15 and 17, they were completely out of water AND Gatorade!! People were desperate shouting things like "We're DYING out here!" Spectators started to bring out pitchers from their homes and fill people's cups and bottles. (Jen was thankful she carried a bottle during the race.) Some people picked up dirty cups off the ground to get a drink.
That's when people started collapsing. Jen saw people go down, and like the Red Sea, runners parted to go around them. Medics were on them immediately, and ambulance sirens rang out almost constantly. More and more people were walking, so it was difficult to run around them all. By Jen's mile 17, Andrew's mile 19, we heard rumors of the race being canceled and someone told us to walk. We were confused and mumbled amongst ourselves and decided to keep running. 2 miles later, police were lined up across the road and announcing from the car's megaphone speakers that the race was canceled and we were "urged" to walk. One man was shouting "Stop running! We're out of ambulances!" Andrew was allowed to finish all 26.2 miles walking, but Jen was told to take a detour or get on a bus to the finish line. She took the detour and ended up with a total of about 24 miles. We later learned that 45,000 people registered for the race, 36,000 showed up that morning, and only about 24,500 finished.
After months and months of training that took up 10-15 hours a week (or more including recovery time) this was a very disappointing finale. But, we finished, and we finished on our feet. One man died, over 300 got medical help, over 100 hospitalized, and 5 in critical condition still 24 hours later. So if you ever talk to us about it, maybe we won't say we "ran" the Chicago Marathon, but we'll say we "did" the Chicago Marathon. And, we were part of history. This has never happened before, and I hope it never happens again.
Sometime on the road trip last fall, we decided to run the Chicago Marathon. We signed up in January and began training in March after settling into our new home here in Chicago. We began to get ready before the official "Spring Training" because spring training required us to run 2-3 miles. After gaining 20 lbs with 5 months of travel, 10 min (one mile) seemed impossible to Jen! So we started on the indoor track at the university running laps and trying not to get discouraged when 3 miles seemed an insurmountable task.
After 12 weeks of "Spring Training", Andrew was recovering from a collapsed lung, and we could both run 6 miles in about an hour. Now it was time for 18 weeks of official training. We ran 4 times a week including the long run on weekends. Usually we only ran together for the first half of these long runs. Once we had completed our 18 mile long run in early September, we ran the "Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon" to prepare ourselves mentally for race day. Jen's longest race until now was a 5k in college, and Andrew had run a 25k in college, so we needed this "practice run". We woke up at 4am with Jen's friend Diane, and took public transportation to the race. It was good to line up at the start and not cross the start line for several minutes. There were 13,000 runners in this race, and it was great for our confidence and prepared us for the motions and emotions of race day! We both had a great race and felt inspired and pumped up!
Then we completed the 20 mile training run in 3:45 and began to taper to prepare for the Marathon. The week before the race was full of rest, carbs, and intentional water retention! Race morning we pinned on our numbers, rubbed Body Glide on all friction spots, grabbed our Gatorade and headed to the trains. We lined up on the starting line (or 300 yards behind it) with 40,000 runners and it was already 80 degrees. Both of us felt great the first half of the race.
However, Jen started to notice problems at the first 2 aid stations... they were out of water and only had Gatorade. So by mile 5, people left the road and jumped in a fountain in the park, then they drank from it. Then all was well until about mile 14 when we left the shade of the tall buildings and were hit by direct sunlight for the first time. When Jen reached the aid stations at mile 15 and 17, they were completely out of water AND Gatorade!! People were desperate shouting things like "We're DYING out here!" Spectators started to bring out pitchers from their homes and fill people's cups and bottles. (Jen was thankful she carried a bottle during the race.) Some people picked up dirty cups off the ground to get a drink.
That's when people started collapsing. Jen saw people go down, and like the Red Sea, runners parted to go around them. Medics were on them immediately, and ambulance sirens rang out almost constantly. More and more people were walking, so it was difficult to run around them all. By Jen's mile 17, Andrew's mile 19, we heard rumors of the race being canceled and someone told us to walk. We were confused and mumbled amongst ourselves and decided to keep running. 2 miles later, police were lined up across the road and announcing from the car's megaphone speakers that the race was canceled and we were "urged" to walk. One man was shouting "Stop running! We're out of ambulances!" Andrew was allowed to finish all 26.2 miles walking, but Jen was told to take a detour or get on a bus to the finish line. She took the detour and ended up with a total of about 24 miles. We later learned that 45,000 people registered for the race, 36,000 showed up that morning, and only about 24,500 finished.
After months and months of training that took up 10-15 hours a week (or more including recovery time) this was a very disappointing finale. But, we finished, and we finished on our feet. One man died, over 300 got medical help, over 100 hospitalized, and 5 in critical condition still 24 hours later. So if you ever talk to us about it, maybe we won't say we "ran" the Chicago Marathon, but we'll say we "did" the Chicago Marathon. And, we were part of history. This has never happened before, and I hope it never happens again.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
El Escorial (Feb 9)
We woke up early and got to the Renfe train station to catch the Cercanias suburban train out to El Escorial. Well, we missed the first train and eventually got the next one! El Escorial is a fortress/castle commissioned by King Felipe and was built between 1563-1584. (You should click on the link to see photos!!) We saw the Hall of Battles: a long thin room frescoed with major battles of Spain's history. You could easily spend half a day trying to take it in!
We also got to see the Pantheon of the Kings, where 26 kings and queens are buried. There are 3 open spaces, all reserved! No room for Juan Carlos, the current king...
After trying to take in as much as we could, we took the train back to Madrid to see the Royal Palace! It's built on the site of a former Hapsburg Palace that burned down. It's Europe's third greatest palace, including "The Porcelain Room" made of 300 separate porcelain plates on the wall held up by screws and the "Smoking Room" for men modeled after a Chinese opium den! The "Throne Room" was amazing...gold and red. It looked fake it was so perfect!
After the Royal Palace we walked to Puerta del Sol and with Rick Steves' guide, we
saw a lot of neat things on the way. One thing is that many of these streets have been the same for hundreds of years. That means that street signs were placed before people could read, so the signs have pictures on them to help the illiterate navigate the city!
Our final stop was the Reina Sofia. The most notable piece of art here was Picasso's Guernica. 11'x26'. Amazing! It was great to learn some history and to have help understanding what was going on in this work. Franco, leader of Spain in 1937, gave Hitler permission to try out his new air force on this town. In doing so the town was leveled. On the lower left is a woman holding her dead baby, and on the right a woman dragging her injured leg behind her. It was powerful in the way I picture standing at the Vietnam Memorial to be. Silence required...
We also got to see the Pantheon of the Kings, where 26 kings and queens are buried. There are 3 open spaces, all reserved! No room for Juan Carlos, the current king...
After trying to take in as much as we could, we took the train back to Madrid to see the Royal Palace! It's built on the site of a former Hapsburg Palace that burned down. It's Europe's third greatest palace, including "The Porcelain Room" made of 300 separate porcelain plates on the wall held up by screws and the "Smoking Room" for men modeled after a Chinese opium den! The "Throne Room" was amazing...gold and red. It looked fake it was so perfect!
After the Royal Palace we walked to Puerta del Sol and with Rick Steves' guide, we
saw a lot of neat things on the way. One thing is that many of these streets have been the same for hundreds of years. That means that street signs were placed before people could read, so the signs have pictures on them to help the illiterate navigate the city!Our final stop was the Reina Sofia. The most notable piece of art here was Picasso's Guernica. 11'x26'. Amazing! It was great to learn some history and to have help understanding what was going on in this work. Franco, leader of Spain in 1937, gave Hitler permission to try out his new air force on this town. In doing so the town was leveled. On the lower left is a woman holding her dead baby, and on the right a woman dragging her injured leg behind her. It was powerful in the way I picture standing at the Vietnam Memorial to be. Silence required...
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
On to Madrid! (Feb 8)
It was a rainy morning so we took a taxi to the train station. We took a high speed train to Madrid, and found our way to "Hostal Isabel", which was at a woman's house. Can you guess her name?? That's right. It was Beatrice! We never figured that one out! Another mystery... we had a bidet in our room, but not a toilet. Oh well...
We were pooped and it was still rainy, so we settled in and took a one hour nap, then headed out to the Thyssen-Bornemiza museum. We used the metro, but we were still soaked by the time we arrived. This museum is filled with major works by minor artists and minor works by major artists. Overall worth a visit, but too much art to cover and too much impressionism for Jen! There were works by Titan, Tintoretto, El Greco, Caravaggio, and Van Gogh.
We ate a lunch of tapas, which was expensive but a great sampling of Spanish classics! Then on to the Prado! The Prado Museum is HUGE! The greatest art museum in Spain. We were overwhelmed, and starting to get museumed out! Enough "Madonna with Child" already! When there is so much great art in one place it's hard to appreciate it all. We did get to see Tintoretto's "Last Supper" which was on loan from the Uffizi in Venice. Funny...weren't we just there?? We also go to see "Las Meninas" by Velazquez.
We were pooped and it was still rainy, so we settled in and took a one hour nap, then headed out to the Thyssen-Bornemiza museum. We used the metro, but we were still soaked by the time we arrived. This museum is filled with major works by minor artists and minor works by major artists. Overall worth a visit, but too much art to cover and too much impressionism for Jen! There were works by Titan, Tintoretto, El Greco, Caravaggio, and Van Gogh.
We ate a lunch of tapas, which was expensive but a great sampling of Spanish classics! Then on to the Prado! The Prado Museum is HUGE! The greatest art museum in Spain. We were overwhelmed, and starting to get museumed out! Enough "Madonna with Child" already! When there is so much great art in one place it's hard to appreciate it all. We did get to see Tintoretto's "Last Supper" which was on loan from the Uffizi in Venice. Funny...weren't we just there?? We also go to see "Las Meninas" by Velazquez.
One Long Day in Sevilla (Feb 7)
Andrew had an interesting night on the train with the worst roommates ever! They were 2 old guys, one who turned the light on in the middle of the night to look at his watch! Hello!! Then, early in the morning before the conductor came around to wake people up, he again turned the overhead light on, got up, folded up his bed and sat in the chair waiting to arrive. It was clear to Andrew there would be no more sleeping!!!
When we arrived in Sevilla, we had a hard time navigating the city. We did as we always do, and our first stop was the tourist information booth for a map. This map had no compass rose, and we finally found our room when we realized that the top of the map pointed West, not North! Who puts West at the top of the map??
We settled in and headed out to the bullfighting ring and museum. For 4 Euros, we got a guided tour from a guide who spoke Spanish, English, French, and was able to communicate with people who spoke Italian. All this for a tourist group of 6 people! At this ring, only 3 matadors have been killed, and when they are, the bull and it's mother are killed out of superstition.
Next we went to Santa Maria de la Sede, the third largest cathedral in Europe and the largest Gothic cathedral in the world! Amazing! It has the largest cedar altarpiece ever made, of course, coated in gold. It tells the story of the entire New Testament. Another reason this cathedral is well known is that it houses whatever is left of Christopher Columbus (after being shipped around the world). We had a great tour guide here, and we climbed the Giralda tower- no stairs, just winding ramps so they could ride a horse to the top to ring the bells. This is a must see if you are ever in Sevilla!
That night we went to Flamenco Los Gallos. Each song/dance was about 15 min long and each had different dancers and musicians. The Flamenco started very calm and built to something loud with stomping and clapping and strong, sharp movements. We had a great time! then returned home and climbed into bed.
When we arrived in Sevilla, we had a hard time navigating the city. We did as we always do, and our first stop was the tourist information booth for a map. This map had no compass rose, and we finally found our room when we realized that the top of the map pointed West, not North! Who puts West at the top of the map??
We settled in and headed out to the bullfighting ring and museum. For 4 Euros, we got a guided tour from a guide who spoke Spanish, English, French, and was able to communicate with people who spoke Italian. All this for a tourist group of 6 people! At this ring, only 3 matadors have been killed, and when they are, the bull and it's mother are killed out of superstition.
Next we went to Santa Maria de la Sede, the third largest cathedral in Europe and the largest Gothic cathedral in the world! Amazing! It has the largest cedar altarpiece ever made, of course, coated in gold. It tells the story of the entire New Testament. Another reason this cathedral is well known is that it houses whatever is left of Christopher Columbus (after being shipped around the world). We had a great tour guide here, and we climbed the Giralda tower- no stairs, just winding ramps so they could ride a horse to the top to ring the bells. This is a must see if you are ever in Sevilla!
That night we went to Flamenco Los Gallos. Each song/dance was about 15 min long and each had different dancers and musicians. The Flamenco started very calm and built to something loud with stomping and clapping and strong, sharp movements. We had a great time! then returned home and climbed into bed.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Our Favorites: Barcleona
1) Hair! We saw a mohawk dating a she-mullet, a 60+ year old woman with intentional bright purple hair that matched her shirt(see in center of photo), a woman with a boy cut with one long spiral curl on each side of her neck, rat tails, dirty dreds and so much more!
2) Weird metros! To transfer ou have to exit the subway, walk a few blocks, and re-enter. You never knew if you'd be charged the transfer rate or the full rate... sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!
2) Weird metros! To transfer ou have to exit the subway, walk a few blocks, and re-enter. You never knew if you'd be charged the transfer rate or the full rate... sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!
A day of recovery (Feb 6 2007)
Well, here it is September and I'm back to blogging about February! Life has been busy, but I want to finish telling the story of all our travels!
We spent the morning catching up on our Journal so it would be easy to Blog when we got home! Then we had lunch, talked with Andy and Carol Larsen's for a few hours, and headed out to an early dinner. On the way back we stopped by Fargo's for more chocolates to bring home for family and friends. If you never received one, don't worry, no one did. They didn't make it home, but they sure were tasty!
Then we packed up and caught our train to Sevilla. Just a fun fact: In Spain, men and women do not sleep in the same cabin, so we were neighbors instead of roommates.
We spent the morning catching up on our Journal so it would be easy to Blog when we got home! Then we had lunch, talked with Andy and Carol Larsen's for a few hours, and headed out to an early dinner. On the way back we stopped by Fargo's for more chocolates to bring home for family and friends. If you never received one, don't worry, no one did. They didn't make it home, but they sure were tasty!
Then we packed up and caught our train to Sevilla. Just a fun fact: In Spain, men and women do not sleep in the same cabin, so we were neighbors instead of roommates.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
La Sagrada Familia (Feb. 5)
Back to our time in Barcelona...
We were staying with the Larsens, and we got a lot of sleep here! Once we finally made it out into the city, we went to buy a ticket to Sevilla. We just happened to walk by Gaudi's Casa Batillo on the Block of Discord. It is a block with some great architecture! Gaudi built his house and then other architects built houses down the block to try to out do him!
That afternoon we went to see Gaudi's masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family). It is a church that Gaudi started late in his life and continued working on until his death in 1929. He always knew that other architects would follow him in the churches construction and design. He left behind his blueprints, and each succeeding architect has made small changes while trying to preserve the original design. Gaudi is quoted as saying "My client [God] is not is a hurry." The construction is funded by donations, and they estimate it will take another 50 years to complete. Every aspect of the church is models after something in nature. For example, the support beams on the interior are like tree trunks, and the ceiling is like leaves in the canopy with spaces to let natural light in. Very cool! One of our favorites, and we plan to return to follow the progress!
That night we took a walk recommended by Rick Steves called "A short, sweet walk." It took us to three different chocolate shops! One was pieces of chocolate that were made on site. Another, in the photo, is "hot chocolate" which reminded me of hot, real chocolate syrup with unsweetened whipped cream on top. It comes with churros for dipping! Delicious! 
On the walk home, we passed a market with some beautiful peppers hanging! We couldn't resist a photo!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Jury Duty Scam (verified)
We received notification of this in an email. I thought all (any?) of our readers would benefit to be in the know. Check for verification on:
FBI.com
Snopes.com
ScamBusters.org
FBI.com
Snopes.com
ScamBusters.org
The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he'll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.
This is when you should hang up the phone. It's a scam.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Exploring Barcelona (Feb 4)
We slept in! Ahhh. We needed that.
We showered
and ate breakfast and met the Larsen's at the cathedral at noon. Every Sunday at noon, a local band comes to the front of the cathedral and starts to play (the same song over and over) and locals drop their bags and purses, form circles, and begin to walk/hop/dance the Sardona dance. It was a very patriotic moment, but it is patriotic to Catalan not to Spain. Spain is a country composed of regions that have strong cultural and historical identities. It was very neat to see something like this, even though the dance itself was less impressive than we had hoped!
After the dance,
we went with Erik to Parc Guell, a 30 acre park that includes Gaudi architecture. It was intended to be a high income gated community, but flopped, so now it is a marvelous park full of artists painting and musicians singing and playing for donations. This was a place full of life. 
It was easy to spend the afternoon here. Gaudi is a name you will hear again in Barcelona. His architecture looks kind of like colorful melting ice cream cones. Andrew's reaction?? "When did we enter Whoville??"
That evening the two of us visited the Picasso Museum. Picasso was from Barcelona, and this is the best collection of his art in the country. Early in his career he painted the way other people wanted him to paint... like everyone else. He was good, but we may not have heard of him if he had never found his own style. We got to see his "Guernica" and hear the story behind it. There were photos that his girlfriend at this time took of the work in progress. That is worth seeing! This museum is free the first Sunday of every month, which is when we went.
Then it was back to the Larsen's. We talked with them until midnight, when Andy turned on the Superbowl and the rest of us went to bed! We loved talking with these guys!
We showered
and ate breakfast and met the Larsen's at the cathedral at noon. Every Sunday at noon, a local band comes to the front of the cathedral and starts to play (the same song over and over) and locals drop their bags and purses, form circles, and begin to walk/hop/dance the Sardona dance. It was a very patriotic moment, but it is patriotic to Catalan not to Spain. Spain is a country composed of regions that have strong cultural and historical identities. It was very neat to see something like this, even though the dance itself was less impressive than we had hoped! After the dance,
we went with Erik to Parc Guell, a 30 acre park that includes Gaudi architecture. It was intended to be a high income gated community, but flopped, so now it is a marvelous park full of artists painting and musicians singing and playing for donations. This was a place full of life. 
It was easy to spend the afternoon here. Gaudi is a name you will hear again in Barcelona. His architecture looks kind of like colorful melting ice cream cones. Andrew's reaction?? "When did we enter Whoville??"That evening the two of us visited the Picasso Museum. Picasso was from Barcelona, and this is the best collection of his art in the country. Early in his career he painted the way other people wanted him to paint... like everyone else. He was good, but we may not have heard of him if he had never found his own style. We got to see his "Guernica" and hear the story behind it. There were photos that his girlfriend at this time took of the work in progress. That is worth seeing! This museum is free the first Sunday of every month, which is when we went.
Then it was back to the Larsen's. We talked with them until midnight, when Andy turned on the Superbowl and the rest of us went to bed! We loved talking with these guys!
Our "Day" in Paris (Feb 3)
We took a night train Salzburg to Paris EST. We got the bottom bunks in a room where the heat was out of control! We tried several times to turn it down, but it was HOT and the heat was right next to our bunks. Also, these were the shortest bunks we saw on our trip, so Andrew was not in for a good nights sleep!
When we arrived in Paris we had to take the Metro from the EST station to the Lyon station, and that was our experience in the city of Paris! We waited in the station and it was very cold! There were great pastries, croissants and apple torte. Probably good we didn't spend more time there!
Our next train
was a high speed, double-decker. We had seats on the top level, so we had a great view of the BEAUTIFUL terrain of southern France. This was the nicest first class we saw, and it was relatively empty so we spread out and rested. We cruised along at 300kph, so it didn't take long for us to arrive in Montpelier where we transferred to the train that would take us to Spain. This was in a first class car too, but it felt more like a commuter train! It was old, the seats were broken, and it felt like we would never get there, but eventually, we did.
There was a group of 4 Canadians in their 50's or 60's in front of us so we ended up talking with them. They sounded like they had a lot of traveling experience, but when we arrived in Spain they weren't quite sure how to get to their hostel. Andy Larsen and Erik Amundson were at the station in Barcelona waiting for us and offered to help the Canadians get to their hostel. It was a good chance for us to see a glimpse of the city at night. We went back to the Larsen's and talked for a while. It was great to be with other people and share some of what we'd seen. It was the start of processing for us. The Larsen's were so welcoming, and will continue to be great friends to us.
When we arrived in Paris we had to take the Metro from the EST station to the Lyon station, and that was our experience in the city of Paris! We waited in the station and it was very cold! There were great pastries, croissants and apple torte. Probably good we didn't spend more time there!
Our next train
was a high speed, double-decker. We had seats on the top level, so we had a great view of the BEAUTIFUL terrain of southern France. This was the nicest first class we saw, and it was relatively empty so we spread out and rested. We cruised along at 300kph, so it didn't take long for us to arrive in Montpelier where we transferred to the train that would take us to Spain. This was in a first class car too, but it felt more like a commuter train! It was old, the seats were broken, and it felt like we would never get there, but eventually, we did.There was a group of 4 Canadians in their 50's or 60's in front of us so we ended up talking with them. They sounded like they had a lot of traveling experience, but when we arrived in Spain they weren't quite sure how to get to their hostel. Andy Larsen and Erik Amundson were at the station in Barcelona waiting for us and offered to help the Canadians get to their hostel. It was a good chance for us to see a glimpse of the city at night. We went back to the Larsen's and talked for a while. It was great to be with other people and share some of what we'd seen. It was the start of processing for us. The Larsen's were so welcoming, and will continue to be great friends to us.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Back to Life!
Thank you to everyone who showed support and concern for Andrew with his lung collapse! He is doing very well now, especially since his scab fell off a few days ago! What is it with guys and scabs anyway?? He is planning to start running again this week, slowly at first. He still hopes to join me in the 2007 Chicago Marathon in October.
He is still working with the Department of World Mission until Greek starts in early July. We are thankful for that job and he continues to get to know more people in the Covenant. I just finished my first week off orientation at the hospital. My biggest challenge is getting to know people there. I trained with the day crew, now I work with the evening crew, so I have to learn names, who I can ask questions of, and how people work. All in good time.
The weather here has been wonderful! We have gone downtown and walked around and to a street festival. There is always something going on, we just have to pick what we want to go to the most!! We like our small apartment and we are trying to keep life simple. We have joined a CSA, which is Community Supported Agriculture. It is a share in a local farm, and each week we pick up a box of vegetables. If the farm does well, it's a big box, and if not then it is a small box.
As life goes on, I become more and more thankful that we traveled when we had the chance to. It has been great fun to talk through memories together and look at our photos. Everyone once and a while we talk about a story we remember and finish with "What city was that in again??" I'm going to continue to blog and continue to process all that we saw in our travels. Hope you enjoy reading it, or at least looking at the photos!
He is still working with the Department of World Mission until Greek starts in early July. We are thankful for that job and he continues to get to know more people in the Covenant. I just finished my first week off orientation at the hospital. My biggest challenge is getting to know people there. I trained with the day crew, now I work with the evening crew, so I have to learn names, who I can ask questions of, and how people work. All in good time.
The weather here has been wonderful! We have gone downtown and walked around and to a street festival. There is always something going on, we just have to pick what we want to go to the most!! We like our small apartment and we are trying to keep life simple. We have joined a CSA, which is Community Supported Agriculture. It is a share in a local farm, and each week we pick up a box of vegetables. If the farm does well, it's a big box, and if not then it is a small box.
As life goes on, I become more and more thankful that we traveled when we had the chance to. It has been great fun to talk through memories together and look at our photos. Everyone once and a while we talk about a story we remember and finish with "What city was that in again??" I'm going to continue to blog and continue to process all that we saw in our travels. Hope you enjoy reading it, or at least looking at the photos!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Collapse of the Lung (May 12)
"Jen, I'm afraid to even speak this out loud." "What?" she replied. "I think my lung collapsed again." So began last Saturday morning, getting out of bed at my mother-in-law's in Wisconsin. With her massive surprise birthday party that evening, we wasted little time in taking me to the University of Wisconsin Hospital.
The ideal location, timing, insurance, and connections all were in place when my lung collapsed, forcing me to credit God yet again for taking good care of me, even when it seems like a collapsed lung is more cause for complaint than compliment. Our health insurance had started on the first of the month through Jen's job, so we were covered. Through two connections, one through Jen's friend who works at the hospital and the other through doctors my mom works with in Michigan, the cardiothoracic surgeon instructed us to inform ER he was expecting us. Talk about an in.
The ER folks were nice and not too busy, quickly confirming my lung was indeed collapsed and probably moreso than when it first collapsed last July in Texas. I was not in great pain, only a little short of breath and more sore from my back and shoulder muscles trying to compensate for the lung's limitation. No trauma caused the spontaneous pneumothorax; being a tall, lanky young male increases one's odds. Better than heart disease or cancer I suppose.
The few hours of waiting for my inpatient room were well worth it. I had the room to myself, a flat screen TV, cable, DVD player, cell phone coverage, room service (that's what they called their dining options), and best of all, wireless internet. I misspoke and told someone, "This hotel, I mean hospital, is pretty nice." Exceeding expectations, the surgeon called that evening to explain things and answer a few of my questions. The surprise birthday party went off without a hitch. Jen even came to visit with me that evening and was back bright and early for the pre-op with the surgeon at 6:00 am.
The minimally invasive VATS (video-assisted thoracic surgery) procedure involved two small incisions, one on the front and the other on the back of my chest, as well as a chest tube between the middle ribs for a total of 3 holes. I was under general anesthetic the whole time and didn't feel a thing. The surgeon cut and stapled off the part of my lung that was weak and causing these spontaneous pneumothoraces. Then a pleurodesis was performed to fuse the lung to the chest wall, thereby making it difficult for a pneumothorax to develop again (4% chance of recurrence). The chest tube withdrew bad air, allowing the lung to re-expand. The procedure took about an hour.
I came out of surgery like the last Fruit Loop floating in the bowl of milk, thanking everyone in sight for their good work, proclaiming how good I felt and how thankful I was that my lung was fixed. I vaguely remember the words I spoke; hopefully my hearers quickly forget as well. I slept a lot that day and didn't eat a thing. They set me up with on demand morphine (at the touch of a button) that was kept under lock and key. It made me thirsty, which made me drink and throw up. My throat was sore from the breathing tube used during surgery.
The worst part of the day was trying to suck up a ball of mucus that would not dislodge itself from my throat. I even asked the nurse for suction akin to what they use on you at the dentist's office. After about five minutes and my sore throat worsening, I asked the nurse to take a look. She said she saw nothing. Jen solved the mystery, exclaiming, "It's his uvula!" (translation: the hangy ball in the back of your throat). It was swollen to the size of a quarter. I nearly cried and hit the morphine button again.
I spent the Monday and Tuesday taking things easy and working to regain my strength. Friends and relatives from Wisconsin ate meals with me and visited after work. My mom and grandparents made a surprise visit on Monday. I spent the evenings watching the NBA playoffs as I fell asleep. The Pistons finally won their series after I was discharged.
The surgeon removed the chest tube on Tuesday in one swift motion, revealing the bloody snake that had been inside my chest helping my lung to stabilize. Jen estimated eighteen inches were actually below the surface. I hit the morphine button as much as I could before it was removed. To my surprise, it felt like a gentle thud. I thought something had gone terribly wrong, but all was well.
I was discharged on Wednesday. Fresh air never tasted so good! My chest was sensitive to the bumps in the road. We spent that night in Wisconsin. Thursday, we returned to Chicago. I slept long hours at night and took naps during the day. The pain wasn't much. I felt sluggish, timid, weak and out of sorts in the days that followed. I'm told it's all normal after general anesthesia and a hospitalization. Walking outside, having friends visit and showering in the morning all seem to help. I will return to work this week and see how it goes.
My concluding thought is gratefulness for God's provision, family and friends who supported me through it all, especially Jen, and the wonderful advances in medicine that fixed me up so amazingly. I have to give my compliments to my surgeon and all the other doctors, nurses, aides and staff that cared for me so well at the UW hospital. I hope it never happens again!
The ideal location, timing, insurance, and connections all were in place when my lung collapsed, forcing me to credit God yet again for taking good care of me, even when it seems like a collapsed lung is more cause for complaint than compliment. Our health insurance had started on the first of the month through Jen's job, so we were covered. Through two connections, one through Jen's friend who works at the hospital and the other through doctors my mom works with in Michigan, the cardiothoracic surgeon instructed us to inform ER he was expecting us. Talk about an in.
The ER folks were nice and not too busy, quickly confirming my lung was indeed collapsed and probably moreso than when it first collapsed last July in Texas. I was not in great pain, only a little short of breath and more sore from my back and shoulder muscles trying to compensate for the lung's limitation. No trauma caused the spontaneous pneumothorax; being a tall, lanky young male increases one's odds. Better than heart disease or cancer I suppose.
The few hours of waiting for my inpatient room were well worth it. I had the room to myself, a flat screen TV, cable, DVD player, cell phone coverage, room service (that's what they called their dining options), and best of all, wireless internet. I misspoke and told someone, "This hotel, I mean hospital, is pretty nice." Exceeding expectations, the surgeon called that evening to explain things and answer a few of my questions. The surprise birthday party went off without a hitch. Jen even came to visit with me that evening and was back bright and early for the pre-op with the surgeon at 6:00 am.
The minimally invasive VATS (video-assisted thoracic surgery) procedure involved two small incisions, one on the front and the other on the back of my chest, as well as a chest tube between the middle ribs for a total of 3 holes. I was under general anesthetic the whole time and didn't feel a thing. The surgeon cut and stapled off the part of my lung that was weak and causing these spontaneous pneumothoraces. Then a pleurodesis was performed to fuse the lung to the chest wall, thereby making it difficult for a pneumothorax to develop again (4% chance of recurrence). The chest tube withdrew bad air, allowing the lung to re-expand. The procedure took about an hour.
I came out of surgery like the last Fruit Loop floating in the bowl of milk, thanking everyone in sight for their good work, proclaiming how good I felt and how thankful I was that my lung was fixed. I vaguely remember the words I spoke; hopefully my hearers quickly forget as well. I slept a lot that day and didn't eat a thing. They set me up with on demand morphine (at the touch of a button) that was kept under lock and key. It made me thirsty, which made me drink and throw up. My throat was sore from the breathing tube used during surgery.
The worst part of the day was trying to suck up a ball of mucus that would not dislodge itself from my throat. I even asked the nurse for suction akin to what they use on you at the dentist's office. After about five minutes and my sore throat worsening, I asked the nurse to take a look. She said she saw nothing. Jen solved the mystery, exclaiming, "It's his uvula!" (translation: the hangy ball in the back of your throat). It was swollen to the size of a quarter. I nearly cried and hit the morphine button again.I spent the Monday and Tuesday taking things easy and working to regain my strength. Friends and relatives from Wisconsin ate meals with me and visited after work. My mom and grandparents made a surprise visit on Monday. I spent the evenings watching the NBA playoffs as I fell asleep. The Pistons finally won their series after I was discharged.
The surgeon removed the chest tube on Tuesday in one swift motion, revealing the bloody snake that had been inside my chest helping my lung to stabilize. Jen estimated eighteen inches were actually below the surface. I hit the morphine button as much as I could before it was removed. To my surprise, it felt like a gentle thud. I thought something had gone terribly wrong, but all was well.I was discharged on Wednesday. Fresh air never tasted so good! My chest was sensitive to the bumps in the road. We spent that night in Wisconsin. Thursday, we returned to Chicago. I slept long hours at night and took naps during the day. The pain wasn't much. I felt sluggish, timid, weak and out of sorts in the days that followed. I'm told it's all normal after general anesthesia and a hospitalization. Walking outside, having friends visit and showering in the morning all seem to help. I will return to work this week and see how it goes.
My concluding thought is gratefulness for God's provision, family and friends who supported me through it all, especially Jen, and the wonderful advances in medicine that fixed me up so amazingly. I have to give my compliments to my surgeon and all the other doctors, nurses, aides and staff that cared for me so well at the UW hospital. I hope it never happens again!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
To the Salt Palace (Feb 2)
Happy Groundhogs Day!!
Okay, so the Salt Palace is not really a palace. It is what Saltzburg means in German. We got on an early morning train from Vienna to Saltzburg and shared a compartment with 3 guys (Austrian and German). They were all wearing suits, seemed very well educated, and worked for a company called CARBON Climate Protection. Cool cause to work for! These guys were one of the highlights of the trip for us! We had great conversation, and they were not bashful in telling us what they thought about everything from cars, to politics, to Ukranian women, to history and travel and general US/Europe situations like the Iraq War and the European Union. The main talker of the group said he has one book that he would like George W. to read about how great civilizations/empires fall: they spread their borders too far and neglect matters at home!! He even told us his predictions for the future of Europe, the U.S. and China.
We arrived in Salzburg and our travel companions continued on to Munich. We immediately liked Salzburg. It was a breathtaking city to walk through, and after lunch we made our way to "Bob's Special Tours" for our Sound of Music Tour!
We saw the back of the house that is used as the VonTrap family home in the movie.
We saw the avenue where the kids are climbing/hanging from trees.
We saw the gazeebo where the scene occurred that my family refers to as "the horse trot scene", and the 16 going on 17 song is sung.
We saw the mountain that the family escapes over into Switzerland (but it is really Germany on the other side of the mountain. NOT where you want to go when being chased by Nazis!)
And, Andrews favorite, we saw the international headquarters of Red Bull. It's built on a lake that the founder dug so that he could build his building in a lake.
It was really nice that they took us out into the lake district. The water here is still so clean you can drink from it safely! Many of the lakes are around 300 feet deep and lie between mountains! Beautiful! Anyone considering retirement should consider this area of Austria! Everyone speaks English and it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth! Our little digital camera could not capture the splendor.
We ended the day by buying some Mozarttafel (Mozart Chocolates) and heading to the train station. Tonight we sleep on our way to Paris.
Okay, so the Salt Palace is not really a palace. It is what Saltzburg means in German. We got on an early morning train from Vienna to Saltzburg and shared a compartment with 3 guys (Austrian and German). They were all wearing suits, seemed very well educated, and worked for a company called CARBON Climate Protection. Cool cause to work for! These guys were one of the highlights of the trip for us! We had great conversation, and they were not bashful in telling us what they thought about everything from cars, to politics, to Ukranian women, to history and travel and general US/Europe situations like the Iraq War and the European Union. The main talker of the group said he has one book that he would like George W. to read about how great civilizations/empires fall: they spread their borders too far and neglect matters at home!! He even told us his predictions for the future of Europe, the U.S. and China.
We arrived in Salzburg and our travel companions continued on to Munich. We immediately liked Salzburg. It was a breathtaking city to walk through, and after lunch we made our way to "Bob's Special Tours" for our Sound of Music Tour!
We saw the back of the house that is used as the VonTrap family home in the movie.
We saw the avenue where the kids are climbing/hanging from trees.
We saw the gazeebo where the scene occurred that my family refers to as "the horse trot scene", and the 16 going on 17 song is sung.
We saw the mountain that the family escapes over into Switzerland (but it is really Germany on the other side of the mountain. NOT where you want to go when being chased by Nazis!)
And, Andrews favorite, we saw the international headquarters of Red Bull. It's built on a lake that the founder dug so that he could build his building in a lake.
It was really nice that they took us out into the lake district. The water here is still so clean you can drink from it safely! Many of the lakes are around 300 feet deep and lie between mountains! Beautiful! Anyone considering retirement should consider this area of Austria! Everyone speaks English and it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth! Our little digital camera could not capture the splendor.
We ended the day by buying some Mozarttafel (Mozart Chocolates) and heading to the train station. Tonight we sleep on our way to Paris.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Our Favorites: Vienna
1: Everything closes at 6pm! Supermarkets, jewelry, clothing stores, souvenir stands, everything! The streets are dark!
2: Most people speak English, and speak it well! The don't stumble over vocabulary OR grammer! More than I can say for us here in the U.S.
3: WARM APFELSTRUDEL!!!
4: we've learned great history here! Wow Austria!
2: Most people speak English, and speak it well! The don't stumble over vocabulary OR grammer! More than I can say for us here in the U.S.
3: WARM APFELSTRUDEL!!!
4: we've learned great history here! Wow Austria!
Which Palace Today? (Feb 1)
February already? Only 13 days of Europe left!
Our first stop today was Schonbrunn Palace, the only European
palace to rival Versailles. It used to be the summer residence of the Hapsburgs....located conveniently 4 miles from their winter home in the city center. We took the Grand Tour and saw 40 rooms. That sounds like a lot, but there are over 1400 rooms in this Palace!!! During WWII only 1 bomb fell on it, and it was a dud. The ceiling has since been repaired and all is well.
We saw there the "Secular and Religious Treasury" that included (Jen is dripping with disbelief and sarcasm and she writes this) a piece of the cross of Christ with a nail hole in it, the nail that pierced Christ's right hand(see photo), a bowl that caught Christ's blood (see photo), and the ever important unicorn horn. Okay, it was neat to learn more about Catholicism and the process a relic goes through to become "Pope certified". 
I just had already had enough with relics on this trip. History is neat, relics are not.
For lunch we went to a place recommended to us by-you guessed it-Rick Steves! It was "Restaurant zum Scherer". Andrew got Hieferschwanzl (boiled beef) and Jen got Hungarian Saftgulasch (Gulash) and a pretzel. Cultural, but expensive for lunch. It also seems that indoors in Austria is a smokier place to be than indoors in Italy was.
We planned to go to the Opera House (Photo) for a tour, but then discovered along with some other baffled tourists that it was closed today! There go our plans! Being the flexible tourist we are, we decided to go see the "New Palace" that was never lived in because the empire was defeated before the buildings completion. They had quite a collection of musical instruments and armor. Not really our thing, but fun to see as a back up plan. We went to Demel, a high class sweets shop/bakery in Austria, to sample some Sacher torte. It is dry chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam in in covered in a hard chocolate coating. Not our thing, but a good cultural experience.
Finally from about 6:30 to 9pm
we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum that the Hapsburgs built as a museum for their art in 1888! It was huge, and "no expense was spared" according to the audioguide. Wow. Our favorite part? The audioguide had a button to push that would remember all your favorite art, and at the end they would print out a small book with the art and the discription/history. Nice! We did it, and now have a great collection of art we were not allowed to take pictures of! :)
Our first stop today was Schonbrunn Palace, the only European
palace to rival Versailles. It used to be the summer residence of the Hapsburgs....located conveniently 4 miles from their winter home in the city center. We took the Grand Tour and saw 40 rooms. That sounds like a lot, but there are over 1400 rooms in this Palace!!! During WWII only 1 bomb fell on it, and it was a dud. The ceiling has since been repaired and all is well. 
We saw there the "Secular and Religious Treasury" that included (Jen is dripping with disbelief and sarcasm and she writes this) a piece of the cross of Christ with a nail hole in it, the nail that pierced Christ's right hand(see photo), a bowl that caught Christ's blood (see photo), and the ever important unicorn horn. Okay, it was neat to learn more about Catholicism and the process a relic goes through to become "Pope certified". 
I just had already had enough with relics on this trip. History is neat, relics are not.
For lunch we went to a place recommended to us by-you guessed it-Rick Steves! It was "Restaurant zum Scherer". Andrew got Hieferschwanzl (boiled beef) and Jen got Hungarian Saftgulasch (Gulash) and a pretzel. Cultural, but expensive for lunch. It also seems that indoors in Austria is a smokier place to be than indoors in Italy was.
We planned to go to the Opera House (Photo) for a tour, but then discovered along with some other baffled tourists that it was closed today! There go our plans! Being the flexible tourist we are, we decided to go see the "New Palace" that was never lived in because the empire was defeated before the buildings completion. They had quite a collection of musical instruments and armor. Not really our thing, but fun to see as a back up plan. We went to Demel, a high class sweets shop/bakery in Austria, to sample some Sacher torte. It is dry chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam in in covered in a hard chocolate coating. Not our thing, but a good cultural experience.Finally from about 6:30 to 9pm
we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum that the Hapsburgs built as a museum for their art in 1888! It was huge, and "no expense was spared" according to the audioguide. Wow. Our favorite part? The audioguide had a button to push that would remember all your favorite art, and at the end they would print out a small book with the art and the discription/history. Nice! We did it, and now have a great collection of art we were not allowed to take pictures of! :)
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