vacation

March 15, 2024

Spring Break 2024

This year for spring break we headed out to California. We spent the first part of the week in Yosemite National Park and the second half in San Francisco. The travel day getting there was very long – we left our house around 6AM and didn’t get to our AirBNB until about 9PM California time, but we made it work and were able to spend four good days in the park. We were also surprised to drive into a snow storm about 30 minutes after we got into the park. By the time we got to our house about 90 minutes later there was about two feet of snow on the ground. Not what we expected, but we rolled with it – though it would have be nice to have a few warmer pieces of clothing.

Lauren surveying the area in her “snow outfit”

The first hike we took was to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, which was amazing. Because of the weather there weren’t many people, which made it that much better. In general, we were a few weeks ahead of the big crowds, which was great. We definitely had a chance to enjoy the hikes more.

Over the next two days we did a few different hikes, including to the base of El Capitan (Dave and Sophie were brave and ventured a little further than Lauren and me), Yosemite Falls, and around the Merced River and Coulterville.

After Yosemite we headed back San Francisco for a few days. We rented a house that was right off the Pacific Coast Highway and overlooked the ocean, which was beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn’t have great weather – it was chilly and rained a bit – but we forged ahead and still did everything we had planned.

We spent some time in the intertidal zone looking for cool things that emerge during low tide, and did a few light hikes to different areas overlooking the water. One day we headed into the city and checked all of the touristy boxes like Pier 39, Chinatown, and Lombard Street.

On our last day we went to the Muir Woods in a complete downpour. While I wish we could have spent more time there, what we saw was still completely amazing.

Our last stop before heading out was the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, which is across the bridge from San Francisco. It’s a huge facility that nurses back to health any stranded marine animal, which when we were there was mostly sea lions. We also got to watch a dolphin dissection, which was both gross and cool.

Looking forward to the next time we can get out there – especially Yosemite!

April 17, 2023

Spring Break 2023

For spring break this year we headed to Costa Rica, a destination that’s been on our bucket list for a while now. We decided to focus our time in the rain forest and not visit either coast. That just means we’ll have to go back again! We had some flight issues getting out and ended up staying a night in Charlotte, which meant that we lost a day and a half, but what can you do?

The first part of the week we stayed near the volcano Arenal. While the volcano was technically in sight of our house, we never actually saw it because it was covered by clouds the entire time. Apparently that’s pretty typical. We finally got to the house late Sunday night, so didn’t get to see the grounds until the morning, and when we did it was beautiful. There was a lake in the distance and a lush backyard filled with all kinds of birds. There were a ton of different hummingbirds, all much larger than we see at home, Toucans and parakeets.

On Monday we headed out and did a whitewater rafting tour. It was a ton of fun. In our raft we were paired with a father and daughter from Madrid and led by our guide Juan Miguel. It ended up being a little rougher than at least I was expecting, but I’ve also never done it before. We had a blast. Along the way we stopped at a little island and they guides cut up fresh fruit (the fruit all week was the best I’ve ever had), and we also saw a 2-toed sloth in a tree along the way.

After rafting we hopped in buses and they took us back to their basecamp, where they fed us a traditional Costa Rican lunch, the first of many we would have throughout the week. It consists of a protein (chicken, beef, pork, fish), rice, beans, a vegetable and friend plantains.

That evening we had dinner at the house, and headed out the next morning to hike down to one of the better known waterfalls in the area. It was the first of many we saw. The hike down was quick and included a lot of steps. When we got there Dave and Sophie decided to jump in and swim. Lauren and I watched, nice and dry, from the side. They said the current was really hard to swim against, but it was nice and cool. We then had to walk all of those steps back up, which took quite a bit longer.

Later that day we headed to Ecotermales of Fortuna, which are essentially natural hot tubs headed by the volcano. There were a series of pools that were fed by waterfalls, each getting a little cooler as you got further away from the volcano. You can buy a timed ticket to sit in them. We got there a little early and had the place to ourselves for a bit. Apparently there are minerals in the water which are supposed to be good for health. We did enjoy a cocktail while sitting in the water, so maybe it balanced it out?

We had dinner back at the house and had to pack to move on to our next destination the following morning.

The next day we traveled to Monteverde, which was about a three hour drive. On the way, we stopped off for a hike to another waterfall. This one was actually much taller than the one we’d seen earlier, but a little more complicated to get to, and way less touristy. We only saw two other groups of people the entire hike.

We finally made it to our next house and it was an interesting one. We assume it was owned by a musician or other music group because of the way it was designed and that fact that it had a huge amphitheater on the property. It was wild. Also wild was the wildlife. A ton of cool birds again, and also monkeys! They came to visit us on our porch every day, and wanted to get in the house very badly, so we had to be strategic about opening the doors.

The next day we went to an adventure center that had sky bridges above the tree canopy and ziplining. It was a lot chillier than we were expecting, so we definitely weren’t dressed as warmly as we would have liked. The area is called the Cloud Forest, and true to the name, much of it is in the clouds, which means a lot of drizzly rain.

We all walked across the sky bridges, which I did basically because I had no choice. They were incredibly high in the air and swung back and forth a bit when you walked on them. But I sucked it up and did it. However, after that it was time for zip lining and Lauren and I both decided that the bridges were enough for us. We sat and drank some lovely coffee and hot chocolate while Dave and Sophie zip lined. They said it was really cool, but also, they couldn’t see much because they were completely in the clouds.

Before heading back to the house we did another hike through a reserve area. It was incredibly lush and beautiful. And we also ran into almost no other people the entire time. Amazing.

The next day we took a tour of a coffee and cacoa farm. It was the most “educational” thing we did all week, and the girls were not thrilled, but they did get to make their own caramel from cane on the farm, and we all drank coffee from their beans, which was delicious.

That evening we did a night tour of the rain forest. We were with a guide and a group of about 10 people who all had flashlights. We walked through the forest looking for animals that come out at night. We saw a huge tarantula, a few sleeping birds, and a lot of night insects and bugs. Not a jaguar in sight. Actually, our tour guide told us he’d been giving these tours for 20 years and has yet to see one, so we weren’t too hopeful.

On our final full day we did the best hike all week. It took us about 4 hours and was deep into a canyon with about 6 waterfalls along the way. Once we got to the bottom, we hopped on horses that took us back up to the top. Once we got to the top they fed us, a traditional Costa Rican meal of coarse. It was an amazing way to end the week.

I’m already dreaming about getting back there. Maybe checking out the coasts next time. The nature was amazing, the food delicious, and the people welcoming.

February 7, 2023

Puerto Rico Get Away

vacation

At the beginning of February, Dave and I took a 5-day trip, kid free (!) to Puerto Rico. The trip was a company “reward” for Dave for top salespeople and select leadership. Although we were there with about 200 other West Rock folks, we had a lot of time to ourselves, which was lovely. The weather was perfect – that temperature when you walk outside and it doesn’t feel like anything – with lot of sunshine.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve, which was in Rio Grande, about 40 minutes outside of San Juan. The resort was situated on 500 acres with lots of areas to hike around and explore. It was huge, so we were able to find beaches all to ourselves.

One day we took a hike to El Yunque National Forest, which is a rain forest about 30 minutes from where we were staying. It was lush and beautiful. At one point we hiked down to a river and Dave dove in (it was too cold for me).

Another day we went into Old San Juan to do some shopping and had an amazing dinner (at a restaurant that I will never remember the name).

I’m so thankful that my mom came up from Virginia and stayed with the girls (even the insane girl dog) so that we could get away for a bit. It was lovely to relax, not work, and reconnect 🙂

February 22, 2022

Trip to Florida

Over the last two years we’ve traveled very little. We had the big spring break trip last spring, and lots of road trips to VA and MD, and now in the last two months we’ve gone to NY as a family, Dave and I went to Chicago for the weekend, and the we headed to FL for the long President’s Day weekend. I’m so happy to be moving around again, but it also feels strange. Over the last two years, we been in very few crowded places and standing or sitting less than six feet from another person has been “unsafe.” So to crowd onto a plane and sit nearly touching knees with strangers is a surreal experience. Anyway, that’s just what we did.

For Christmas, we decided to take my family for a trip, and found a great house on a little island off the west coast of Florida called North Captive. Apparently it used to be connected to a larger piece of land, Captiva, but a hurricane in 1921 separated the northern tip and it became it’s own island, with no paved roads, no cars, and just a few houses. Most of the island is a nature reserve.

We flew into Ft. Myers, then hired a van, and finally took a ferry to get to the little island where we picked up our golf cart for the weekend. It was only a four seater, so we had to take two trips from the ferry to the house to carry all the people and luggage, but fortunately it was only about a quarter mile away (as I said, small island).

The house was bright blue and had a heated outdoor pool and was also a short distance from the ocean. It was exactly what we needed to escape winter in February.

Sophie with a coconut in the front “yard”

We arrived on a Friday, explored the island and bit and then headed to the beach. The weather was really foggy and cooler, in the 70s, but felt a little cooler because there was no sun. Dave and I had a long walk along the beach to check it out and the girls stayed with mom and dad to relax and play.

That night Dave cooked dinner for everyone at the house. Since there is no grocery story on the island, we had to have all of the food ordered and delivered before we arrived.

The rest of the weekend had amazing weather – warm and sunny. We spent more time at the beach and exploring the island. Dad’s favorite thing to do was the cruise around on the golf cart. The house also had a roof deck and mom mustered up her courage and walked up the metal spiral staircase to see it. She had made a deal with Becky – if she could confront her fear of flying, mom needed to confront her fear of heights. So overall, I would say they were both successful, if not super thrilled about either.

Saturday night we went out to dinner at one of the three restaurants on the island called Barnacles.

On Sunday, Dave took the kids and Becky on a fishing trip. They had a blast and caught a lot of fish, but none big enough to keep. They also had a dolphin who swam alongside of the boat, hoping for some lunch to be thrown over the side. It’s the first time Ari has seen a dolphin, and she was thrilled.

While they were fishing, mom and dad biked around the island. They had bikes with huge tires so you can pedal on the sand. And I grabbed a kayak and went out to explore the area. Lots of birds, a few dolphin, and some nice quite time to myself!

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and watched the sunset.

tortoise munching away on the path to the beach

On our final morning, Becky, Dave and I woke up before sunrise to hike out to the tip of the island – or as far as we could go. It was quite and beautiful and the perfect way to end the weekend (which we were all sad to see end). We walked along the beach as the sun was rising, and then moved to a trail that took us through the center of the island before ending up at the beach again.

The next time we go to North Captive, and I’m sure there will be a next time, we’ll stay for more than three days. It was such a nice, quite get away and I’m already looking forward to going back!

September 5, 2021

One Last Summer Hurrah!

The last week of August we took a week vacation on the boat in the Chesapeake. My leg is healing and I can hobble around a bit more, so we thought we’d give it a go. Aside from getting on and off of the boat, there’s not actually a lot of walking around needed, so that was a plus.

We met up with the Townsends for the first part of the week and rafted up for two nights.

This was also the first time we’ve taken Petunia on the boat for more than a few hours. I was a little nervous about it, but she was great. She may actually be a better boat dog than land dog to be honest.

She actually got out on the kayaks with us a few times. I don’t think that she absolutely loved it, but she was game.

The week mostly consisted of kayaking, paddle boarding, and relaxing.

Unfortunately, the sea nettles had invaded the area, so swimming wasn’t a great option. Instead of swimming, the girls did a lot of swinging off the side of the boat with the bosuns chair. Fortunately they can entertain themselves for hours with that chair!

Lauren off the side of the boat in the bosuns chair

Along the Wye River we found a swing that someone had made with some rope and a big stick. The kids had hours of fun on it, while Dave and I kept an eye out for sea nettles.

Here are a few more shots from the week. It was a fabulous, low key time with the family and what we needed before diving back into the new school year!

August 14, 2021

Ocean City 2021

This summer we took our Ocean City vacation a little later than usual and were there the second week in August. We had an unusually laid out house, but it was ocean front with a big porch, which is where we spent a majority of our time.

We had almost a perfect weather week, with just one day of rain.

I’m still on crutches, and using them on the sand is nearly impossible, so each day I traveled to the beach like a royalty, in a giant wheeled throne (nana and I shared the same moving throne!). Poor Becky ended up being the one who did most of the pushing. She certainly got the workout that I was missing.

The house was a ways from the Boardwalk, and we didn’t really want to spend much time there anyway since we’re still in the throws of this pandemic, so we ventured up there only a few times. We hit Wonderland one night so the kids could go one some rides.

Lauren and Ari were of course close as thieves. I love that they’re such besties and hate that they don’t get to see each other as much as they want.

But mostly we spent time at the beach, which was just what we all needed!

It was a great week!

April 1, 2021

Spring Break 2021

vacation

The trip we took for spring break 2021 was two years in the making. For spring break of 2020 we had been planning to charter a catamaran in the British Virgin Islands (a trip that Dave and I took for New Year’s of 2000). It’s a trip that requires a lot of planning, so we had begun to map it all out in 2019. Then of course the pandemic hit in March of 2020 and all trips were cancelled. This March of 2021, we decided that we really (really really really) needed to get away. Even though no one was vaccinated yet, we decided to go ahead and take it. The BVIs were out however because of their very strict quarantining rules, so we decided to move the vacation to the Exumas, which is where we visited the Sharps in 2018. We were also taking the trip with the Townsend’s and they’ve never been before.

The wait was worth it.

On March 28th we got a direct flight from Philly to Nassau. It was a packed flight, full of college spring breakers, which made us all feel a little uneasy, but fortunately it was quick and no one got sick. Once we landed, we rented a car and headed to Palm Key Marina where we got the boat. The Townsends were already there by the time we arrived.

While Crystal and I unpacked everyone into thier spaces, John and Dave went to the grocery store to provision us for the week. We knew there was only one place we were stopping all week that would potentially have food, so there was a lot they had to buy.

We chartered a 45 foot catamaran that had 4 bedrooms. Lauren and Bella shared a room, Sophie had her own room, and then each couple had a room. It had a great outdoor dining areas, as well as an indoor dining area, kitchen, and top deck seating area (where I drank coffee and watched the sun rise almost every morning).

On Saturday we headed out for the week, with our longest distance ahead of us to Shroud Cay. It was a rough ride – we were against the wind the entire time and the waves were big and relentless. Everyone but Dave and Sophie felt sick, with yours truly yacking off the side a few times. Not the best start to the trip, but we knew it would be a rough day, and fortunately the only one.

We arrived in Shroud Cay in the late afternoon and had time to do some exploring. We took the dinghy through a protected mangrove area where we found ourselves at the most picturesque beach. On our way to the beach we saw a few sea turtles and a lot of cool birds.

The next day we headed from Shroud to Waderick Wells Cay where we we got a mooring ball – one of the few available because there is such a small area that is deep enough during low tide.

That afternoon we did some hiking to an amazing beach we had all to ourselves (which was fortunately most beaches we found) where we had afternoon cocktails and snacks. Dave brought his drone so he got some pretty amazing shots of our whole trip, including this beach.

The next morning we hiked again, to another part of the island called Boo Boo Hill where boat owners leave wooden signs with the names of thier boats on them. We had left a sign with the name of Sharps boat, So Many Stars, in 2018, but couldn’t find it again. There are hundres of signs there, so I’m sure it was just buried somewhere.

looking for the So Many Stars sign from 2018

After Waderick Wells, we made our way to Staniel Cay, one of the only islands with inhabitants on it. On our way we made a detour to see the swimming pigs. When we got there we were the only dinghy on the beach and the pigs were very happy to see us – one in particular. The girls feds them lots of carrots, and when they started to try to climb into the boat, we had to back away a bit.

Once we made it to Staniel Cay we anchored in the harbour, which was the most crowded place we’d been to yet, and took the dinghy in to get COVID tests, which was requried on our 5th day in the country. The testing “clinic” was more of a pop up tent in the parking lot of the Staniel Cay yacht club, but they all came back negative and were submitted to the government, so we’ll take it! After that Crystal and I took the girls to the beach and Dave and John went to the liquor/laundry mat to replenish our refreshments.

the “clinic” where we got our 5-day COVID tests

Right outside of Staniel Cay Yacht Club is where fisherman clean their catch from the day, which attracts a slew of sharks. They’re mostly Nurse sharks, so not super aggressive – unless you’re fish guts.

the table where the fisherman clean their fish

After that we went snorkeling in Thunderball Grotto, a famous place to snorkel that is a cave with an opening at the top to let light in. In the water are thousands of cool fish and above water is this amazing cave to explore. It’s a little chilly because no sun reaches it – but worth it!

The next day we left Staniel and headed to Cambridge Cay. On our way we made a stop where we found another smaller, but still very cool cave to go snorkeling called Rocky Dundas. It had stalactite and stalagmite formations and an opening at the top to let light in. We also explored a place called Rachel’s Bubble Bath, which is a calm lagoon separated by the sea by a rock bar. Every so often the waves will crash over the rock bar into the lagoon, making a bubble bath effect.

We then continued the trip to Cambridge Cay where we got a mooring ball in a mooring field with about a dozen other boats. After we hung out for a bit we took the dinghy to an area called The Aquarium, which is known for it’s snorkeling. It did not dissapoint.

That evening we hiked to a beach for sunset cocktails and snacks. Dave took his drone out again and got some good shots.

The next morning we headed out early to an area called Highborn where we anchored next to an island known as Bitter Iguana Cay, which is filled with iguanas. I’ve never seen an iguana in the wild, and this island had hundreds of them. It was nuts! We kayaked over and the girls fed them lettuce. As soon as the boat landed on the island the iguana emerged from every corner – creeping from behind trees and climbing over rocks – it was super creepy. But they were just there for the lettuce.

That afternoon was yet another beach with cocktails and snacks. Fortunately, we found a beach with fewer iguanas. The girls spent hours looking for creatures (and came back with quite a few).

drone shot of the girls looking for creatures

That night the adults stayed up late on the top deck star gazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many starts in my entire life. It was amazing. The next morning we visited the iguanas one more time before we had to make the trip back to Nassau. Fortunately the trip back was much (much) calmer. The wind was with us this time and we ended up sailing most of the way.

We spent our final night at the marina, dinner of a combo of leftovers and food from the restaurant, and a late night dance party. It was an amazing trip! We can’t wait to go back!

August 21, 2020

Chesapeake Vacation, Part II

Our planned August vacation this year was supposed to be Alaska, but since that couldn’t happen, we decided to do another week on the boat on the Chesapeake. We didn’t travel quite as far as we did the first go round, but did stay in a new spot each night. This time we also met up with our friends the Townsends, who were supposed to be in St. Maarten the same week, but obviously couldn’t go. They chartered a boat out of Rock Hall and we met up 4 of our 7 nights out. At one point we also met up with a family we had met down in Tangier the last time we were on the boat. A dad and twin 7 year olds who have been on their boat nonstop since the spring.

We spent a few days with the Sharps in Rock Hall before heading out.

The girls with Mom Mom and Pop Pop on a beautiful night in Rock Hall

We always travel with sea kayaks, which are the best way to get around into little coves and shallow rivers. The Townsends up the game with inflatable standing paddle boards, which were pretty cool. Sophie in particular loved them and was really good getting around on it.

The Townsends also brought along a huge pink blowup unicorn, which was of course a hit with all the girls.

5 girls getting ready to set sail on their pink flying unicorn

Bella with an ice cream face in Havre de Grace. Ice cream was a destination in each place we stopped and this place was by far the best.

It was another amazing week on the boat!

July 14, 2020

Chesapeake Vacation 2020

The summer that we planned for in the beginning of the year is turning out a lot different than the summer we’re experiencing. Two of the three summer camps the kids were planning on attending have been cancelled and our August trip to Alaska has been cancelled. We did however plan to spend a week on the boat and decided that since we’re already working from home, why not extend time on the boat and work from there. So we spend the last three weeks on the Chesapeake. The first week we were at my in-laws house in Rock Hall, and then we hopped on the boat. The kids spent two straight weeks on the boat and then Dave and I and his parents traded on and off traveling with them.

We took the first leg from Rock Hall to Broad Creek, the Wye River and then to St. Michaels. The Sharps met us in St. Michaels and spent the next five days traveling down to Smith Island, Solomon Island and then to Crisfield, MD, where we met them for another switch.

The weather on our first day out was not ideal – rain and chilly – but fortunately that was the only day of bad weather we had.

Smith Island is known for their cake, which has multiple layers of cake and icing. It was a hit.

Over the next seven days we traveled a little further south to Tangier, Va., which is a small island off the coast of Virginia.

It’s been a destination on Dave’s list for a while, and I’d actually never even heard of it, even though I grew up in Virginia! It was like no other place I’ve been in the US, and felt a lot like coming into a small Caribbean island. The marina hasn’t been well maintained, mostly because it’s run by a man named Mr. Parks, who has been running it for decades and is now 89. It’s unclear if there is a succession plan in place, but based on our experience, when Mr. Parks is no longer with us, I think the marina won’t be long for the island. But that might not make a difference because it’s projected that the island won’t be there for much longer anyway. It’s slowly sinking into the Chesapeake. It’s also beautiful.

There are about 450 people that live there full time, most of them professional crabbers. We were able to walk the full island and we saw 2 ice creams shops, 1 restaurant called Lorraine’s that had the best soft shell crab I’ve ever had, 2 churches, 1 K-12 school, 1 island history museum, and a heck of a lot of Trump supporters. Most everyone drives around in golf carts on the roads that still exist, and parts of the island that are no longer accessible via golf cart are accessible via boat. We brought our sea kayaks along with us and explored the island that way as well.

Dave and Sophie exploring an area that used to be a road

Lauren sitting on the front of the kayak I was paddling. It was so shallow here she could have just stood up and talked next to the boat.

A fellow sailor told us about a beach that we could walk to, which was about 1.5 miles from the marina. One day we walked there and fortunately on the next day we brought the girls razor scooters so they rode there – much less complaining 😉

After two days in Tangier we headed back north and over the next five days hit Lookout Point, Solomon’s Island, North Beach and Flat Island.

We anchored out the last night at Flat Island, but the other spots we docked at marinas. Most had pools which was nice because it was pretty hot and unfortunately in a few of the places there were sea nettles, which hurt terribly when they sting, so the kids couldn’t jump off the boat and swim.

The girls did a lot of fishing off the back of the boat, but only made one catch all week, which was unfortunately too small to eat. They were not deterred though.

Over the two weeks Sophie learned to crab from a fellow boater we met. She caught over a dozen crabs, but we didn’t end up keeping any. Lauren learned to dive and by the end of the week had almost perfect form. And I worked on my boat handling skills. The bar was pretty low there, but still, there was good improvement.

We made it back to Rock Hall for the 4th of July and the weather was just too nice, so we hopped back on the boat for a day of anchoring and swimming at our favorite spot, Swan Creek. The Sharps joined us and Dave brought his sunfish to sail around on.

It was just the long break we needed! At the end of the two week the girls 2 hit 10 ports of call and 273 nautical miles. Not too shabby!

September 2, 2019

Germany & Czech Vacation

vacation

For our last week of summer we headed over to Germany to visit Lydia. We flew in and out of Prague so we also spent a few days in Czech. Both countries were really amazing.

We had one small snafu before leaving the US. The girls had a dentist appointment that day – about 4 hours before our flight was schedule to leave – plenty of time (we thought). When we got there a cavity that we knew Soph had had actually turned into an abscess and she needed to have it removed, ASAP. Our dentist jumped into action, extracted it in about 10 minutes, and we were out of there and to our flight in time. Soph was a trooper. She was really upset when she found out she had to have it out, but she did it, and then flew with a mouth that didn’t stop bleeding for almost 12 hours.

The girls before we boarded the flight. Poor Sophie had to have a tooth removed just a few hours before we were schedule to take off and her mouth bleed for most of the trip over.

We flew overnight Friday, arriving mid-morning on Saturday. The girls both slept about 5 hours on the plane, but unfortunately Dave and I did not. When we arrived we rented a car in Prague and drove straight to Leipzig, which is about a 90 minute drive. We stopped for lunch in Czech right before we hit the border at a little restaurant on the side of the road where little English was spoken. We got our first taste of Eastern European food, which is mostly meat, gravy, and potatoes.

In Leipzig we stayed in an apartment, which was the third floor of a house. It was perfect – 2 bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and living room. It also had a back garden that we could use, complete with a trampoline.

We stayed on the 3rd floor of this house
Trampoline in the back yard where Lauren was in her element
So was Sophie

After we unpacked Lydia arrived and it was so great to see her again! The girls were especially happy to see her. We went to her apartment where she made us a delicious traditional German dinner. That night we crashed and all slept for 12 hours! The next morning we headed back to Lydia’s apartment where she put together a traditional breakfast and we finally got to meet Stefan.

Loving on Lydia
Breakfast at Lydia’s

After breakfast we took the train to the center of Leipzig where we met Lydia’s parents and sister and they showed us around the city. That night they took us to a traditional German restaurant located in an area surrounded by private gardens. People who live in the city can buy these little plots to grow their own gardens. Most also have little huts where they can stay for a night or two.

Our tour guides for the day
statue of Bach outside of the cathedral where he’s buried
Bach’s grave
Battle of the Nations Memorial, erected 100 years after the defeat of Napoleon
Inside the Memorial
View of a castle from the top of the Memorial
The entrance to the restaurant where we had dinner
One of the garden plots with a hut

The next day we hopped into the car and drive about 90 minutes to a little town called Erfurt. It was the quintessential German town with traditional architecture and small cobblestone streets. It’s also home to the Merchant’s Bridge, the longest series of inhabited buildings on any bridge in Europe, and beautiful cathedral.

Citadel above the city
view of the cathedral from the citadel
inside Ehfurt cathedral
in from of Merchant’s Bridge

That night we had dinner back at our apartment. The next morning we headed out again, this time to Karlovy Vary, a city in Czech known for their hot mineral springs. It was a bit of a hike to get there, but very worth it. The town is built on either side of a little river that bubbles up in places with hot springs. It’s also filled with spa hotels, none of which we actually went into, much to the dismay of the girls. People walked around the town with these little cups with built in straws drinking the water from springs around town.

hot spring fountain
view looking down on the town
mineral water known for its healing effects

That night we did dinner again at the apartment, and also packed up because the next day we needed to check out. We left early the next morning to go to Dresden, about an hour car ride away. It’s a bigger city, closer to the size of Leipzig (thought not quite so big), with a beautiful central square, in the middle of which is the Church of our Lady, which was bombed during WWII and rebuilt in 2005.

It also has the Fürstenzug, a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony, and is the largest porcelain artwork in the world.

Church of our Lady
Remaining original wall
Furstenzug Mural
Opera House

That afternoon we said goodbye to Lydia, who took a train back to Leipzig, and we headed on to Prague. We stayed in a Hilton right in the center of town, so didn’t need the car for the remainder of the trip (which we were all pretty glad to be out of).

We spent the next 2.5 days exploring the city. The main part of the city has two squares: Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. Old Town Square was very crowded and touristy, but had some cool things, like the Astronomical Clock which was installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still operating. Every hour it still chimes. The square also has the Church of Our Lady (popular name over there), and St. Nicholas church, both built in the 14th Century.

Wenceslas Square is more known for historical events, such as demonstrations and celebrations.

We also walk by two famous buildings, together called The Dancing House because they look like they’re intertwined in a dance.

St. Nicholas Church
Church of our Lady
Wenceslas Square
Dancing House
Astronomical Clock

One day we crossed over the St. Charles Bridge, the only pedestrian only footbridge, to explore the other side of the city. We took a tram to the top of a hill where we climbed up to the top of the Petrin Tower to get a great view of the whole city. We then walked back down to Prague Castle, where we saw the changing of the guards. A very formal, if not small, ceremony that happens every hour. Inside the Castle grounds is St. Vitus Cathedral, which was beautiful from the outside, but unfortunately closed for visitors when we were there.