Fjord Cruise – Our last European adventure (other than packing)

We are happy to report to you, our four faithful blog readers, that we are indeed moving back to the United States later this month! Start spreading the news, we’re Big Apple bound.
Yes, it’s sad to leave Germany behind, and, if I looked at this move pessimistically, as I’m wont to do, I’d say we’re trading charming church bells for ear-splitting sirens, cobblestoned oldtowns for graffiti’d downtowns, and big schnitzels for Big Macs.

But that’s not really the truth. The truth is that our lives will be different, but not worse. Instead of weekend trips to Spain, there will be weekend trips to Maine. Instead of packages taking five weeks to arrive at our door, we can trust the USPS to get it to us in … ooh roughly the same time. And instead of lots of charming little pastry shops and knick-knack stores, there will be big grocery stores, malls, and convenience stores that, while not as charming, will take care of all our wants and needs in a cheaper and more convenient way.

Some things will in fact be a lot better. Instead of schnitzel, there will be Mexican food, doughnuts, bagels, Brazilian BBQ, Korean food, and other drool-inducing delights. Instead of paying to download our favorite shows and movies, we can go to hulu.com (not available outside the U.S.). And instead of fumbling around in foreign languages we can order from menus freely and clearly (except in some parts of NYC of course).

Yes, the weather won’t be as mild and the toys won’t be wooden. But the people will be friendlier (sorry Germans!), the sun will shine more, and the tap water (as well as the fluoride it contains) comes for free! Plus, we will be less than an overnight flight away from the majority of our family.

We’re now in the home stretch …. No more weekend trips. No more work travel. This is it.
And so here was our last European adventure – a weeklong Norwegian fjord cruise – one that we enjoyed as much as humanly possible:

Here's a short video made up of about half the videos I wanted to show (technical issues, sorry):

Geiranger – Lots of pictures from this UNESCO World Heritage site, including some of the seven sisters waterfalls and Elizabeth schnoozing in front of them. She woke up later and donned a life jacket.

Bergen – Norway’s second city was cited as the pearl of the fjords, a beautiful old harbor town with magnificent views and a lively old fish market. We liked it so much that we got a little crazy … including visiting the local aquarium, wearing some goofy free glasses that were being given away at some fest, and gorging on some local soft ice. (Instead of soft ice, Kate was über excited about some dark chocolate ice cream on a stick. Without being able to read the label, she got that instead and discovered upon her first lick that it was not dark chocolate but … licorice-flavored. Ah, Scandinavia!) This last picture is Kate’s least favorite of the bunch. But I wanted to show the nice views leaving Bergen … so just pretend it’s cropped.

Stavanger – We waved bye-bye to our boat as we headed on a smaller boat (run by “Rodne”) to see the Lysefjord. This was the best part of the whole week (except for the nose biting). The Lysefjord is home to some of the best fjord and island views in all of Norway, including the Preikestolen. When we didn’t block your view with our heads, we saw some local goats, a sunbathing seal, and a waterfall that we literally bumped into while getting close enough for one of Rodne’s stewards to hold out a bucket and collect pure mountain water for us all to drink. And drink we did, even Elizabeth.

Aarhus, Denmark – Although not a ‘fjord’ destination, Denmark’s second largest city was very a lively port with an actual old town … right next to a recreated “old town” (called “The Old Town” or “Den Gamle By”), which depicts Danish town life at least 100 years ago … a time when you could see Asian children bowling and German tourists noshing on licorice. In fact, it was on our way here that we discovered Elizabeth’s love of licorice. Perhaps she’s been spending too much time in Europe!

Kiel/Hamburg – We departed from and returned to Kiel – a city I will always remember from Herr Schmidt’s Germ 301 class as “Die Hauptstadt von Schleswig-Holstein” (the capital of Schleswig-Holstein). Although there’s nothing special about Kiel, it had a long and charming pedestrian street with outdoor cafes, churches, and a play area where Elizabeth could blow kisses to construction workers and kids alike. We then took a car to the Hamburg airport where Elizabeth flashed about 100 people during a diaper change.

Latvia and Warsaw

I almost squeaked with joy about a week ago when I heard about a potential work trip to Latvia (a country I hadn't been to yet) and Warsaw (the city from which my last name was derived many hundreds of years ago ... and which I also hadn't been to yet).

I went with a bevy of high-ranking, heavy-drinking military officers of various ages, races, and services, including an admiral and a general. Here's our ragtag crew in Warsaw, during a walking tour of the old town.

Riga, Latvia - We just spent the night here, as the actual purpose of the trip was in a small community about two hours north. But the town was really quaint and old and ... apparently ... vibrant with a wild nightlife filled with stag parties, college-aged youth, and the boom-boom beats of industrial dance music. Our crew just went out to dinner and didn't feel like dancing. I think we would have looked like the Village People.

Warsaw - I wasn't expecting much, after having heard that the city was completely destroyed during WWII, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a charming old town with winding, cobbled streets and lots of lody (ice cream) shops. I was unpleasantly reminded, though, of the alarmingly high rate of male shirtlessness seen throughout Poland, something we discovered during our first summer sojourn into Poland in 2007.

The above picture is of the Palace of Culture and Science, the tallest building in Poland and a constant reminder of the Soviet occupation. The Poles are apparently divided on their appreciation of it. The below picture is of the narrowest building in Warsaw, Poland, or the world. It's in the corner, between the other buildings. This isn't a good shot. Here's a better one.

And here are the shirtless fellows, who were about a dime a dozen. I tried to be discrete about snapping photos, hence the fuzziness and bad angles.

And finally, an apparent tradition in Polish households is to have a small picture or doll of an old Jewish man bearing money. This is to bring good financial luck into the home. At first I thought I should be insulted. Then I thought, well, everyone here does this. So it's normal. Then I thought, but wait, that doesn't make it acceptable. But then I thought, well, they're not being insulting, they're actually admiring the Jews, regardless of whether it's bigoted. Either way, I needed to bring a reminder of this trip back home ... and what better way that purchasing a mildly offensive and yet somehow respectful trinket that can so very easily summarize a place's past. We now have one in our apartment.

Our last trip to Italy ... and it was to Naples?

Naples is dirty, smelly, and dangerous. But it also has the closest big airport to Sorrento, Capri, Positano, Pompeii, and the beautiful Amalfi Coast. It also has some pretty good pizza. So, for our last trip to Italy - the country we've visited the most during our time here in Europe - we decided to fly into Naples and see what the city - and the region - has to offer.

What did Elizabeth like the best, you ask? Pizza!

And what did she think would be the grossest regional specialty? Spaghetti pie!

Here's how the trip went:

Sorrento: We spent most of our time - and every night - in Sorrento, a small city on a craggy ledge overlooking a beautiful part of the Mediterranean. Elizabeth is discovering the neat shards of 1,000 year old terracotta that litters the beaches here. Either that or a shiny piece of sea glass that still says Heineken on it.

Capri: Elizabeth vomited on the bumpy boat ride to this enchanted isle. Once there, we had a cannoli, some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a slow, steady walk around the beautiful island. Aside from blarf, 'twas most enjoyable.


Pompeii: This is a city. You've all no doubt heard that fact. But until you go, you fail to appreciate that this is not just another normal archeological site. This is a whole freaking city that had 30,000 people in it. Google tells me is 31 square miles...which is larger than the city of Fort Lauderdale. Apparently this whole city was buried under 20 feet of ash. So, imagine digging out with teeny tiny spoons and brushes the city of Fort Lauderdale. The roads. The houses. The businesses. The seedy brothels. I was blown away.

Elizabeth, it seems, was as well .... as she still thought there was digging left to do.

Positano and Amalfi: We boarded a bus for Amalfi one day, which took us up, down, and around zigzag roads with unbelievable vistas. If you love natural beauty, you would have been staring at the horizon the whole time and not noticed that your stomach was being thrown around your insides. If you're a 20-month-old toddler, you're probably peeling a wad of gum off the ashtray in the seatback ... and feeling every lurch.

Elizabeth blarfed here too.

So we got off at Positano and spent the day recuperating on the beach with pizza and, yes, freshly squeezed lemonade.

Naples: A good-hearted whore is what Linda calls this city. She (Naples) also makes good pizza. We only spent a few hours here, dodging errant vespas and ducking into quiet streets, churches, and museums. It was just enough to enjoy ourselves without catching VD.

Vico Equense: According to Fodders, this town is home to the best Italian pizza joint in the World. It also has perhaps the skankiest beach we've ever visited. It seems everyone just discards their litter, breaks their bottles into teeny pieces, and rips up napkins and straws and throws them on the beach. So after enjoying the beautiful views that surround the trashy beach and swimming around the cigarette butts and styrofoam balls we finished our pizza pie and were looking for a trashcan to discard trash...but we couldn't find a trash can everywhere. We were apparently in it.

Nice views, though. And a nice - and appropriate - finishing touch to our trip ... our last trip to Italy. Dirty but relaxing and generally satisfying.