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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Amsterdam and Bruges

Priority number one of this fall trip was getting to the Amsterdam Marathon.  We flew in and did the expo and I ran the race on Sunday.  It was a beautiful course, winding though the city streets before heading out along the Amstel River. We then hooked back in along the canals and past the Heineken brewery.  The girls got to run their own races in the morning as well.

The next morning we were off to Bruges, our apartment nestled on the edge of a canal. Of first stop was to the Choco Story where we learned this history of the dish and, of course, ate a lot of it.  Having been in Belgium several hours already, we had to head to a beer cafe. Bruges was great for getting around; it isn't very big. All of us could get on bicycles and we rode out about 7 miles to a windmill and into a town for lunch. The ride back was more difficult for the kids, but they made it.  We also did a night walking tour and learned about the ghost stories of the village.  We saw several of the locations from the movie "In Bruges."  More beer. It was a great place to visit and we were sad to leave.

Our train took us back to Amsterdam.  The next day was packed with a boat canal tour through the city followed by a trip to the Heineken brewery.  While the boat tour is one of the gems of the city, the brewery tour left a lot to be desired. Still, beer fresh from the tap is always a little better. Our night ended with a dinner in a windmill-turned-brewery.

Weather had been great up till this point but then we hit a skid. As we walked to visit the Van Goh museum the next day, rain spat down on us.  After checking out hundreds of paintings, we rolled on to the Anne Frank House.  This is one of the coolest, if not saddest, exhibits in Europe.  Such great information and her story documented here. It is a book everyone should read and a place everyone should visit. The girls really identified with Anne and her family as they walked through the Annex.

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Scotland

Our plane laid over in Germany, so how could we not have a beer and a pretzel?  It is never too early for a beer in Germany...

Our mid-day arrival necessitated a stop from the airport until our apartment was ready. We hit up the Edinburgh Zoo, and saw many cool animals, walking though many of the enclosures and seeing the penguin parade.  The pandas, lions, and tigers were a no-show.

Our first morning, full of jet lag, had us up before 5am.  An amazing run around the hill of King Arthur's Seat started us off.  Loving what we saw, we took the kids for a hike up and over the mountain.  They persevered, pushing up the crags and to the summit which took a couple of hours round trip.  We headed to Dynamic Earth, learning lots about the creation of the universe.  Our stroll down the Royal Mile took us to Edinburgh Castle where we grabbed spears and learned how to battle like Scottish warriors. Then we took a ride in whisky barrels to learn about scotch in the Scotch Whisky Experience.  The girls enjoyed their 2nd ice cream of the day and we ordered pizza in and watched a movie to cap off the day. 30,000 steps. Exhausted.

The rain started on our drive to Stirling Castle. This castle is more fun and interactive than the one in Edinburgh, and with far less people. With great views we got to see some key pieces of Scottish history. Across the way was the Wallace Monument, which I had skipped when I visited in college, so we went in. Built as a tribute to the man, we learned lots about this piece of history, which was a lot considering my previous reference point was Braveheart. The girls climb the tower and we enjoyed a hike on the trail in a rare break from the rain.

It was raining again as we drove the long road to Inverness the next morning. Sarah was eager to see Castle Inverness, a supposed locale in Macbeth, but when we arrived there was no parking or info. It turns out the building is now a judicial center. We opted for a picture while eating soup and having a beer and a pub across the street. Finally we arrived at our stop for the night, Mansfield Castle in Tain. We chose the Tower Suite and spent the night in our own castle! The girls had a great time pretending, and Sarah read a book with a blanket in one of the sitting rooms. It was quite a place.

Departing in spitting rain, we made our way south to Loch Ness. The weather cleared just as we reached the lake and not wanting to miss the opportunity, we pulled over at a dock for a boat ride. IT was a mystical tour of the loch, keeping an eye out for the fabled Nessie, and we cruised over to Urquhart Castle, a beautiful ruin on the lake shore. There were spectacular views. Back on shore, our trip continued as we meandered through the highlands, soaking in some sun and spectacular scenery. After a long way, we pulled alongside Elian Donan Castle, one of the most picturesque sights in all of the United Kingdom. Back out through the highlands again and we ended up in Inverness for the night in a lovely B&B.

Our last full day took us south again to resume our Macbeth pilgrimage. Our first stop was to the Birnam Wood. A walk along the river trail took us into the trees and brought us to a historic tree, reminiscent of the trees that once dominated the landscape. Moving on, we ended up at Dunsinane Hill, the alleged site of Macbeth’s demise. Our final stop was Glamis Castle, the beset castle on our trip. This was the seat of Earls going back many centuries. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here. It was the childhood home of the Queen Mother. If fact, in one of the rooms, Sarah was invited to play the Queen Mum’s piano! It really was the best place we visited, and we saw the room where Macbeth plotted Duncan’s demise (in Shakespeare’s mind, anyway). Our night ended at BrewDog for the obligatory beer.

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On another trip a few months later I was able to hit up Scotland again for a conference. This time I drove up to play golf at St. Andrews, the home of golf. It was cold and windy, but still, amazing to hit a round on the oldest golf course in the world.

St. Andrews Golf

Japan

Japan is a truly magical place - a class of traditional, ancient culture with the most modern creations known to man.

On arrival, we attempted to trade in our Japan Rail voucher for a rail pass. An insane line awaited, and we missed our train while standing there. The trip from the airport was not cheap, costing us about $70 for the family to get to our neighborhood.  We wandered around, gazing at the amazing sights, from BBQ'ed meat (octopus, chicken, and maybe some other animals), to bean-flavored ice cream, and a TON of people, everywhere. We felt obligated to hit up the Delirium Cafe, Japan's partnering of the famous Belgium bar. While the beer was the same, we felt slighted. There was a cover charge to come in (at 1:30pm, with no music).  The food was incredibly expensive - we paid $15 for a cheese platter with 3 pieces, none bigger than a quarter.  It was just a taste of things to come.

We hoped a Shinkansen (bullet) train north to Nagano.  It was awesome to ride the rails.  Trains are super efficient; the leave on time. Literally, on the second. The make apologies and post when a train is 3 min late, which happened to only one train we saw the whole week.  The trains are clean and quiet, even when ripping along the countryside at 100 mph. No one can talk loudly on their phones or have music playing - your are politely asked to stop.  Reservations can be made in advance for free (with the rail pass) and you can get anywhere quickly.

In Nagano, we were picked up by this crazy guy named Heday who took us to our hotel.  He was a huge Rolling Stones fan with memorabilia from decades ago.  He quickly took us up the mountain to the start of the monkey park.  We marched up a long, muddy trail, into the woods, flanked by peaks and waterfalls.  The snow was thick but the temps reasonable.  After about a mile, we hit the hot springs and saw the famous monkeys bathing in the water.  They were playful and friendly.  We had a snowball fight and saw a man descend naked into a pool.  Back at the hotel, we had our own hot springs room - a pool pipped with naturally hot water, which was a welcome relief from the cold. The room was also very cool.  We had no beds, but just mats that were placed on the floor. The walls had that paper grating, and we wore kimonos and slippers.

Our next train ride took us to Kyoto, the city of temples.  Here there are too many amazing places to even recount.  Each temple, park, and zen garden has its own mystical appeal.  While being here in the fall and seeing the colors of the leaves changing would be second to none, being here in the spring is a trade off.  The temps are cool and rain is a certainty, but in the right window you can catch the cherry blossoms in full effect.  Unfortunately, we were about a week too early and although we say glimpses of what it could be, we missed out on the prime time.  Kyoto does have an emerging beer scene and we were not disappointed to sample a few of them. The kids tried sushi and we had some saki to complete the effect. Some walks through the bamboo forest, more temples, and an emerging beer scene completed our time.

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Not to be missed is a side trip to Nara. Just a short train ride from Kyoto or Osaka, it is worth the time. Here in Nara the deer have been made national treasures and are protected. Therefore, they pretty much have free reign of the city.  However, they opt to stay mostly in a park because tourists feed them and they stay away from cars. There are about 1200 deer in the park and will come over to eat the crackers you hand feed them.  The deer know how to bow before taking the food and can be pet while laying on the ground. They can also get aggressive if they want food you don't have.  They will go from milling around to a brazen stampede if they want to move or get threatened.  It was quite an experience.

Without planning we jumped a train to Osaka, thinking we would surprise the girls with a trip to Universal Studios.  As we got closer, more and more people go on the train, and by the time we departed, it was clear where they were going. We raced through the entrance to the ticket counter to discover everyone in Japan was there that day. Apparently, it was a school holiday for them as well and we had no chance of getting in.  After an hour in line, all of the fast track passes were gone, and within another 30 min they were estimating that if you bought tickets at that moment, you would get into Harry Potter World by 2pm (it was 930am). We hadn't moved in line.  We realized our mistake and took the kids to Hard Rock Cafe for food.  They were disappointed but a trip to the children's interactive museum bounced them back.

Japan is expensive, efficient, and beautiful. It needs to be seen again.

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