Greece

Coming to Greece has always been a dream. We almost came a couple of summers ago, but I went climbing in South America and we bought a house instead. So this was our year. We almost didn't make it here. Our plan was to do some white-water rafting and trekking in Nepal. All plans were made, but in September, I felt the marathon calling again, and decided to make a trip of it. Never have I planned such an endeavor so close to the date.  But when we landed in Athens, it all became a reality.

We quickly jumped in the car and drove several hours to Delphi. "According to mythology, it is here that the two eagles sent out by Zeus from the ends of the universe to find the navel of the world met. The sanctuary of Delphi, set within a most spectacular landscape, was for many centuries the cultural and religious centre and symbol of unity for the Hellenic world." -visitgreece.gr We strolled into the ancient site, tucked away on a hillside, not knowing what to expect. Our first surprise was that entrance was free. We explored the museum first because, as with most sites in Greece, all of the good stuff is being preserved away from the elements indoors. Outside are ruins, and the whole scale of the site cannot be appreciated without understanding what it should look like if it were still standing. Then we walked the grounds, seeing the famed Temple of Apollo, the theater, and the stadium. Delphi is nothing if it is not hilly! But our efforts were rewarded when we had dinner at Taverna To Patriko Mas, a wonderful place overlooking the valley. If the views weren't enough, we demolished Greek salad, haloumi cheese, tzatziki, and wine.  The service was also excellent - so good, in fact, that we went back a second night.

Our drive back to Athens took us to Lavrio, on the coast, where we attempted to have a seafood lunch; however, all the places were either closed for the season or opening at night. So we pushed down to Sounio to see the Temple of Poseidon overlooking the sea. It was quite a sight standing on the hilltop and we braved stiff winds to get there. A relaxing night in had us ready to fly.

We caught an early plane to Santorini the next morning.  If there is one place that is iconic to Greece, it must be the caldera views on Oia.  Everyone has seen the white marble homes with blue domes overlooking a brilliant sea.  And the best part is that this is exactly what it looks like when you arrive.  We drove in, first to the lighthouse on the southernmost point of the island for a hike above the sea, then down to the Red Beach for a look at the water.  Bother were stunning. When that wasn't enough, we stopped at Santo Wines for a tasting.  Now, people always talk about the food in Greece being amazing but I have never given much thought to the wine.  Was I every ignorant! The wine was amazing, and we quickly purchased several bottles.   The rest of the day was spent enjoying our cave house which not only had a room for the kids carved into the stone, but its very own hot tub for enjoying the views. A seafood dinner and catching one of the best sunsets ever capped off an amazing day!

Goofball kid copying dad

The next morning we were spoiled by a comprehensive breakfast before heading out to do some horseback riding.  Dad, of course, wanted to stop by the Santorini Brewing Company to sample, although we can't say it was anything to write home about. A hike around the peninsula, more seafood, more hot tub and wine, more sunsets...it wasn't hard to hang in Santorini.  There were very few people as we were in shoulder season, and I assume it would be a horrible mess at its peaks. 

We flew back to Athens and, after finding out there was a taxi strike, managed to figure out how to take a train into the city.  We emerged from the station in a total downpour and ran the (thankfully) 1 minute to our place, a lovely, large apartment right near the Acropolis. Friday was spent at the Acropolis, both the museum and on the slopes.  We climbed to the top for a view of the Parthenon, perhaps the most famous site in Greece.  Although we went early in the day, the tourists still mobbed the site and it felt crowded, though it can be far worse. Also near our house was the Temple of Zeus.  I had to pick up my packet for the race and the rest of the time we ate pasta and waited. 

The next morning, after a long bus ride,  I am sitting on the cold track of the Marathon town stadium, 25 miles from Athens, Greece. We will (roughly) retrace the route run by the messengers to Athens. The course itself is unimpressive; it runs between two iconic stadiums but every bit of it is just a paved suburban highway. Historic sites are off the path and the hilltops and valleys could be many places. But it is the novelty we seek: paying homage to the original route that started this madness. For me, it will be my 75th open (non-ultra, non-Ironman) full marathon. It is a loose milestone, not like 50 or 100, but the 75th has a bit of a draw.

I ran well, perhaps too fast for my training, and ended in 3:13 in the Olympic Stadium in Athens. It was nice to run the course that started this whole extravaganza.  But after some bubbly wine and a shower, we raced to the airport where two flights and a long connection awaited, only to arrive in the morning and go straight to work.  I can't say that was pleasant, but the memories of Greece will last far longer than the discomfort of that day.

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Oktoberfest Munich 2018

We made it back to Germany, this time without kids and with some friends. AES members joined us as well as our good buddy David from the USA. We had an amazing time.

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South Africa 2018 - The Return

South Africa was a wonderful place to live and we had four great years there. Returning for a holiday was amazing because we could take the highlights of our time living there and do a "Greatest Hits" trip.  It started by flying into Johannesburg.  We made our way directly to Riversands for some beer and pies. The place had changed a lot and what was once a shack by a river was now a happening boutique of stalls.  Taeyln tapped into biltong and kept at it for the week. Next we dropped by our old school and took a walk around. Much of it had been updated and looked very nice.  We finished the day at Papachinos, our old haunt where the kids made their own pizza, played on the structures, and we drank our cheap but amazing wine and had the obligatory bacon, avo, feta pizza.

The next day we were off to Ukatula, the lion preserve, to play with the lion and tiger cubs and see the other cats.  This is one of the best things to do in the area. The pictures cannot be beat. Where else can you hold a baby lion?!?

Soon we were flying out to George where we drove back to Knysna on the Garden Route.  This is probably the best part of the country.  We headed out to do some zip lining. The girls sailed down the lines and even picked up a chameleon for a ride. We went to the elephant reserve and walked with the giants in open fields, feeding and petting them.  Anyone who doesn't marvel at an elephant has never really been to Africa.

We drove the next day to Oudtshoorn for a tour of Highgate Ostrich Farm.  It starts with learning about the leather and feathers of the bird. Then we played with the babies before feeding the adults.  Not to be missed is the sitting on/riding of the ostrich.  We watched a jockey race and, of course, had ostrich for a meal. It is quite delicious. The only thing we missed out on this time was the standing on the egg which our entire family can do at once!

A long drive over the mountains brought us to Franschhoek, a beautiful mountain town know for its wine.  We stayed in an amazing house at the foot of the mountains near town.  The food was great, but the wine unstoppable.  A few tastings was all it took to know that South Africans still do some of the best wine in the world.

We spent the remaining days in Cape Town, walking the Waterfront and eating.  We returned to the Two Oceans Aquarium, but we were unable to go to Robbin Island. We headed out around the Cape Peninsula and stopped at Boulders Beach to walk with the penguins.

We ended the week with what we really came here to do: The Two Oceans Marathon.  The 56km tour of the peninsula is very pretty but extremely difficult.  The kids opted for a shorter version the day before and pounded out about a kilometer in the rain.  The weather, which had been great all week, turned ugly on the weekend. Luckily, it cleared in time for my run.  I finished in a respectable time, albeit slower than my previous attempts when living there. I was quite sore for the plane ride home.

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European Christmas 2017

Fresh off the plane and back in Germany - there isn't a better way to kick off Christmas than flying down the autobahn. First stop: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the medieval gem in Bavaria. We met up with our good friends, The Jettners, and proceeded to the Christmas markets, enjoying shopping and mulled wine. We visited the Medieval Torture Museum again and did the night walk of the city.

Rothenburg at night

Our next stop was Nuremberg, home to Germany's largest Christmas market. The people here were plentiful and space was tight, but the vast size is something to marvel at. We ate and drank our way around the stalls, meeting up with a family from Qatar. Jared, Kris and I all watched Michigan State hand out some punishment on the basketball court.  After a day of fun, we rolled down to Munich and stayed put for a few days.  Munich offers multiple markets and we enjoyed the size and speed of the Marienplatz while also having fun with parades, musics, and drinks of fire at the medieval market.

On Christmas Eve we headed to Hofbrauhaus, the world famous beer hall, for a mid-afternoon dinner. The place was so busy we had to sit at multiple tables as we had nearly 20 people. It was loud and hectic, but the beer flowed like wine and the food and music made up for the discomfort.  After we headed to the hotel and did a gift exchange with all the friends who had joined and gotten gifts for each other from the markets.   The girls got pajamas and watched a movie.

On Christmas morning we awoke and did presents under the small tree we had purchased in the square.  Then we headed down to the Jettners room to do an exchange with them.  But after breakfast it was off to our favorite activity to do on Christmas: the water park. Since nothing else is open that day, what better way to spend it than ripping down slides, floating in lazy rivers, and soaking in hot tubs?  Our evening finished by reuniting with all of our friends at Augustiner Brauhaus for dinner.

The Walkers and the Jettners said goodbye and flew to Chamonix, France, to spend the week in the mountains.  A winter wonderland awaited, with gorgeous views of the mountains all around.  Evenings were spent walking the streets and tucking into pubs to keep warm while the day time was filled with activities. Skiing was a hit and we spent several days on the slopes, with Taelyn getting much better by then end.  She could even go down the largest and longest of hills and was keen to work on the ski jumps (and crashing).  Kaelia was more reserved and opted to sled - Sarah had no objections joining her.  Sledding was also fun and we found several great hills to go down around town. We ice skated at the foot of a mountain.

Our biggest disaster was trying to go tubing. On day one, we drove around following Google Maps to the site.  It took about an hour and we kept climbing up and up the mountain. It never felt right. When a road terminated on the ski slope and we had 5K left to drive, we knew it was not right. This place was on the mountain top.  There were no directions.  The next day we went to the hill via bus as the parking was insane.  Jammed a million people into a bus, we made about 70 stops from our house to the hill then got in a long line for the cable car to the top. We repeatedly asked about tubing and the operators called the top to be sure it was on; it was. We paid about 70 Euros to get a lift ticket and we were off.  When we reached the top, there were no indicators of where to go, no signs. Just a huge, white mountain top.  We asked and asked but no one knew or just didn't understand. The rudest French people we ever met were the ski instructors who could not be bothered by us.  So we started walking. After tramping through the snow with the kids for a long while, we thought we saw a park for tubing. It was down a long, ungroomed hill. Kris went ahead, ducked into a lodge-like structure and asked. He gave the thumbs up.  We battled down the hill in waist-deep snow, soaking ourselves (I only had on shoes - the last time I would make that mistake).  When we got there, tubes were piled together and buried in 4 feet of snow. The course to go down was ungroomed, the belt to the top was not visible, and it was clear that there was no tubing happening here. Soaked, cold, and tired, we headed down the mountain.  We took the kids inside a care for hot chocolate and we had a beer while Sarah battled with the operator for 30 min to get a refund for our wasted trip.  We headed home, gased. The Jettners wanted to ski. Hours later we saw them return, soaked from the rain, not happy. We might have made the better choice that day.

Another highlight was dog sledding. We met the dogs and hooked up the sleds for a 5km ride around the park at the foot of the mountains. It was a wonderful time, cruising along the snow with white mountains above, green trees, blue skies, and the sounds of the dogs barking. It is an expensive activity, but worth it 100%.

Kris and I also took in a hockey game watching the local team battle Grenoble. It was a fun experience and we were definitely one of the few non-locals there.  Most of the time this week was spent outside and the kids had snowball fights, built forts, and rolled snowmen.  We had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Nicole made a task for the kids for every hour (ex. have a tea party for the stuffed animals, do compliment cards, create a skit, etc.) and we all stayed up together for the New Year. Fireworks went off in the valley. I don't think I have made midnight on New Years in a long time!

Chamonix in Winter

The view from our living room

The Jettners departed and we had a few more days as a family in Chamonix. It was hard to leave and after a long, wet drive, we arrived in Zurich.  Our only purpose in coming here was to fly out, but we had a couple of days to kill.  The food and beer places were nice, but the cost of eating out in Zurich is so insane that it was a tough sell. We did an escape room and hit the pool, went for some runs, and took the kids to the playground. To say we did anything in the city would be a massive oversell.

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