Most people associate lederhosen and liters of beer with Oktoberfest, but little do they know that Germans have many other, equally rowdy festivals.  This past weekend, we headed to Stuttgart, Germany to meet up with friends and partake in their acclaimed Fruhlingsfest (translates to Springfest).  Below are the highlights.

The Floor is Lava: We arrived around 7pm on Saturday and immediately headed to the tents to meet up with our pals, Cori and Bennett (who we met on Yacht Week and with whom we have since had Munich Oktoberfest and Swiss skiing adventures).  The party was in full swing when we arrived, and Cori and Bennett had secured a prime spot right by the band.  We quickly consumed one of our favorite fest delights (roast chicken like you’ve never imagined), and before you know it, we were up dancing on tables and making friends with strangers.  We’d like to say that our dance moves are better without the ski boots, but let’s be honest – Sarah dances like her old man [read: poorly].

 

 

Carni Rides: Sarah has carni in her blood, so no matter how old we get or how many beers we’ve consumed, she always insists that we ride at least one carnival ride.  With a little convincing, we all ended up driving bumper cars (rather Chris and Bennett drove while Sarah and Cori rammed their cars into the side wall for a few minutes trying to figure out how to go forward), and we raced down the slides (Chris won all three times because, well, he’s a cheater).

Stuttgart: Stuttgart, though big, is really lovely, so on Saturday morning, we were happy to enjoy some outside time palling around the city.  A little time in the park, a quick glance at the typical-European, touristy stuff (castles, churches, etc.), and a lovely lunch were exactly the rejuvenation needed to hit the “fest” again.

Cherry On Top: Saturday was wasted away with more time at the festival grounds, but this time, we were fortunate enough to meet up with Sarah’s cousin, Josh (who was in Germany for work).  We met his army-reserve pals, shared a few beers, spent the afternoon catching up, and stayed a little too long at the tents.  We didn’t feel great the next day, but we have no regrets.  It was so good to see him and fun to show him our “new life” abroad.

Champagne Sunday: On Sunday, we celebrated Bennett’s birthday as a white-DINK (double-income, no children) does – drinking champagne from a terrace overlooking fabulous Stuttgart.  We met many of Cori and Bennetts Stuttgart friends (all of whom were lovely), grazed on the extensive, American spread, and indulged in their recent bubbly purchases from the Verzany villages of Champagne.  Everything about it was bougie and wonderful, and when it came time to catch a train back to Basel, we weren’t ready to leave.

 

 

We’ve been a bit lackadaisical about our blog lately.  Between skiing, hanging out by the river, and applying for new jobs (Sarah, not Chris), there’s been little time to sit down and put pen to paper.  Here’s an attempt at bringing you up to speed.

Easter in Saas-Fee, Switzerland

Chris actually got a full 4-day weekend for Easter, so we made the most of it and headed to Saas-Fee for what we thought would be our ski season closer.  (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.)  We caught an extremely early train from Basel Friday morning and were at our hotel by 9 am.  The skies were blue and the mountains were calling, so after a quick bag drop and boot change, we were headed to the top.  A mere 45 minutes later though, the conditions had drastically changed.  Blue skies were replaced with storm clouds, and we were faced with quite possibly the worst whiteout conditions we’ve experienced.  We stuck close to each other, but at times, we could see nothing but white.  It was extremely disorienting* and bit scary, so after a few runs, we called it a day.

*That moment when the wind is blowing snow in your face so hard that you can see nothing and all you can hear is the wind – all senses are devoid, so you brace for the next bump in the ski run – “I got this, I can ski by feel… ok, this is going pretty smoothly” … and then you realize you have been standing still for a full minute…

The snow that started Friday mid-day simply didn’t stop.  It actually snowed so much and so quickly, that the resort closed all the mountains due to high avalanche risk.  Obviously, no skiing happened on Saturday, but we embraced a lazy day with open arms.  We slept in for the first time in weeks.  We perused adorable ski shops, and we wandered down a few snowy hiking trails.  We splurged on a fabulous lunch, and we found a bar with Monopoly … and yet another which served popcorn.  As a teacher, Sarah has gotten a lot of snow days in the past years, but this was the first proper snow day we’ve shared in a long time.  It was glorious.

With approximately 2-feet of fresh powder, we were anxious to hit the slopes early on Sunday.  The pistes were a bit crowded given the fact that everyone was snowed in the day before, but we still managed to have ourselves a fabulous day.  The definite pinnacle though was the apres ski bar at the bottom: cheap(ish) drinks, excellent live music, and some stellar sing-alongs to our favorite throw-back songs.  Exhausted and ready to get out of our ski boots, we finally made it back to the hotel around 7 pm – only to realize that we had left our only pair of shoes in the ski room at the lift station.  We definitely got some strange looks when we came lumbering into dinner wearing full ski attire.

Monday was a PERFECT ski day, and we absolutely got after it.  Having discovered a new section of the mountain that was much less populated, we managed to get in a whopping 18 miles of skiing before lunch.

 

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Season Closer in Zermatt, Switzerland

We had originally thought that Saas-Fee would be our final ski weekend, but with the Easter “blizzard,” we were able to squeeze in one final weekend where the 2017/18 ski season had all started – Zermatt.

Despite spending a little too much time at our favorite watering hole on Friday, we were on one of the first trains up the mountain Saturday morning.  We were lucky to have the company of some good pals and even luckier with the weather.  It was quite possibly the nicest day we’ve had this season, and with the longer days of spring, we stayed on the mountain all day.  We stopped for a delicious lunch at our favorite mid-mountain restaurant, Chez Vrony, found an awesome Igloo bar at the top, popped in for an opulent glass of Veuve 3/4 of the way down, and finished off the day dancing in ski boots to live music at the base.  Even with all those stops along the way, we managed to surpass our personal distance record – clocking in at a staggering 31 miles.

We skied one final day on Sunday, which was equally awesome, and instead of giving you more of the same, here are a few fun facts about our 2017/18 ski season:

• We skied a total of 27 days.
• The total ski distance of the season was almost 500 miles – basically, the distance from Washington, D.C. to Charleston, South Carolina
• Our ski vertical was over 450,000 feet – the equivalent of skiing Mount Everest 15 times
• We are officially ruined for when we move back to DC.  We have come to love our ski weekends here, and giving those up will certainly be an adjustment when we move back … whenever that may be.

 

 

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Finally, Springtime!

With our ski gear put away for the season, we are now in the full swing of spring/summer.  Last Saturday, we broke out the bikes, grills, and ladder-ball for a full day in the park with pals.  It was a nice little taste of the warm weather and long days ahead of us.

 

 

On Sunday, we met up with some friends from the States, Samantha and Erik, who were on a long layover after their trip back from Africa.  We were happy to play tour guide and show them around this beautiful country.  We enjoyed a long ferry ride across Lake Luzern, ventured to the top of Mount Rigi for some excellent views of the Schwyzer Alps, and topped it off in true Swiss style with a delicious but horribly overpriced dinner…  Welcome to Switzerland.

 

 

After 2 full weekends with no skiing, we were thrilled to hit the slopes again.  Even better, though, was getting to do so with friends – both old and new.

We have been to a lot of places and met a lot of people along the way, but one aspect of the world that continues to amaze us is the human connection.  During The Yacht Week, our skipper, Henrik, was one of those people with whom we just “clicked.”  In all honesty, we are unlikely friends.  He is German, we are Americans.  He is 23, we are 30.  He is a university student writing a thesis and studying for exams, we are working adults with careers and a mortgage payment.  However different we may be, pals we are, and at the risk of sounding corny, friendship has the power to transcend age, language, and culture.

Having learned that Henrik’s family owns a chalet in Grindelwald, Switzerland (one of our favorite ski areas), we quickly set about planning for another SAS reunion.  Life got in the way for most of our group members (babies, jobs, moves, inability to ski, etc.), but we were able to convince Emily to make the trip from New York.  A big thanks to her for traveling 4,000 miles for a 5-day trip!  Though few in numbers, our adventure and fun were large in sum.

The skiing, per usual, was fantastic.  We had a full 4 days of great weather and despite a few late starts, were able to get in over 65 miles of skiing.  But enough about skiing [note: we’re going again this weekend so there will be more to come], this past weekend was about so much more.

 

New Friends:  This was a trip where worlds collided.  Henrik brought 3 of his friends from university.  We brought 2 friends from Basel and 1 friend all the way from NYC.  Maybe Henrik and his friends are mature for their age (probably).  Maybe we are just immature for ours (definitely).  Whatever the reasoning, it didn’t matter because we became instant friends – sharing stories, our favorite drinking games, and family dinners.  We taught them our (better) version of hammerschlagen/stump.  They taught us the “Mexican Drinking Game.”  They presented us with delicious kasespaetzle for dinner, and we opened their eyes to the world of taco night.  Together, we all stayed up (too) late, danced in ways explained only by liquid courage, and relished in laughter and good company.

Inspiration:  Henrik’s mom, Heidi, is quite possibly the most interesting and inspirational woman we have ever met (obviously no offense to our moms who we hold in the highest regard).  Heidi is a busy woman – she’s a mother of 3 children and a grandmother of 1 new baby, a successful artist, a coach/motivational speaker, and a mountaineering “junkie” (her words, not ours).  Despite her busy schedule, she offered to give us a short presentation on her life and accomplishments.   She explained to us that in order to understand her highs, we had to also understand her lows; and so, she began by describing her not-so-distant battle with cancer and subsequent depression.  She admitted that she has always been drawn to the mountains, and so, when faced with surgeries and chemotherapy, she made a promise to herself: if she recovered, she would climb to the top of the world.  And she did … quite literally.  A mere 2-years later (and hundreds of hours of training), she was on the top of Mount Everest.  She walked us through her journey to the top of the world, and along the way, she taught us that she wouldn’t have made it were it not for two things: her goals and her team.  She stressed the importance of always setting goals, and she urged us to never stop reaching for the next thing.  She also helped us to see teamwork through a new lens.  We often jokingly say that “teamwork makes the dream work,” but more often than not, we are both of the “I can do it all by myself” mindset.  Heidi’s presentation, however, made us more aware of the importance of trusting our team, be that friends, family, or coworkers.  We may not be going out to climb 8,000-meter mountains anytime soon [read: ever], but we definitely left this weekend feeling inspired to continue growing and lucky to have gained such an amazing team of friends.  In the end, this weekend was a good reminder to embrace every opportunity and to live the biggest and fullest life possible.

Should you be interested in Heidi’s story, check out her website.  She is truly an incredible woman.

 

It may be turning to spring back stateside, but we are still in the full-swing of ski season here.  This past weekend, we met up with some friends in Davos, Switzerland for … yup, you guessed it … more skiing adventures.  By now, we’re sure you are tired of our “ski porn,” so we will keep it short by sticking to the highlights:

1. Friends – we met Cori and Bennett on The Yacht Week back in July and immediately hit it off.  We have only known them for less than a year, but after a few shenanigan-filled weekends, we feel that they have become good friends.  We shared a lot of laughs, a few good bottles of wine, and an infinite love for being silly. 
2. PIZZA! – For the most part, the skiing abilities of everyone in our group were equally matched.  When we wanted to athlete our way down the mountain with proper form, we did so; however, we had a blast goofing-off and pretending to “pizza” our way down the pistes like a little kid on skis for the first time.  When will we grow up?  Never.  Ironically enough, the only “fall” we had during the whole trip was when Cori pizza-ed into Sarah.  The moment was outrageous, and luckily, Chris caught it all on video.
3. Apres-Ski – one of the reasons we wanted to visit Davos again was for its superb apres-ski scene, and this last trip didn’t disappoint.  On day 1, we enjoyed a quick stop at the top of the mountain to warm our bones with an Irish coffee before skiing all the way back into town, where we were once again greeted with adult beverages and a looming half-pipe.  None of us were confident, nay stupid, enough to try the half-pipe on skis, but we all agreed that sledding down on our butts would be great fun … and it was.
4. Blue Chip Sunday – Day 2 was a beautiful ski day.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the ski conditions were absolutely perfect. We decided to pack up a little early and head one town over to Klosters to explore an area of the Rhaetian Alps we had not seen before. After heading up the mountain from Klosters Platz, we discovered an amazing expanse of ski runs which kept us entertained for the full day. The highlight of the day was when Bennet spotted from the lift a red run that appeared to have barely been touched that day. We made our way over to where we thought the piste began but ran into a fence blocking the path. It turned out that the beginning of this piste was cordoned off for a ski race (in retrospect, this is why the latter part of the piste had barely been touched). Many folks would turn back, accept defeat, and take another piste down… I think you know how this story ends – we went around the barrier and shot off down the side of the race course (comically, just as a group went off the blocks).  It is inconclusive based on the video who won the race, but regardless, it was a ton of fun exploring this new ski area with our pals.
5. Home at last – After all of this great fun and a three-hour train back to Basel, we were absolutely pooped – all we wanted was a quiet evening back in the apartment with our feet up on the couch. We were not granted such pleasures. While on the tram from the main train station in Basel back to our apartment, we realized that we would be getting off halfway home and walking the remainder of the distance – the streets were slammed with people all watching the bands of Fasnacht perform. Unlike regular Fasnacht, the bands were all in plain clothes (as is the tradition for the three Sundays following the main festival). This made for an interesting walk home, as we were laden down with all of our ski gear, trying to make our way through the throngs of people between us and a comfy couch. We were playfully heckled and at times became part of the parade as we made our way back. Ultimately, we got back to the apartment and took a “when in Rome” approach – we got changed and hit the streets for another taste of the Fasnacht magic.  We did finally get our feet up that evening, as we crawled into bed for some of the hardest sleep we had enjoyed in a long time.

One of the hardest parts of living abroad (let’s be honest, there are very few) is missing friends and family; however, we have been very fortunate with the many visitors we have received.  Most recently, we were able to convince the Pfieffer family (probably the oldest friends of Chris) to change their annual ski trip location from Park City, Utah to Zermatt, Switzerland.

Switzerland Part I: Zermatt

We arrived in Zermatt in the early afternoon on Thursday with just enough time to squeeze in a half day of skiing.  The complete white-out conditions were a little rough, but the few hours of skiing were a good warm-up for the longer ski days to come, and our spacious apartment (complete with fireplace) was exactly what we all needed after a long day of traveling and skiing.

 

 

Day two was an absolutely full day of skiing.  We caught the first funicular to the top of the mountain and enjoyed some serious powder – probably the most we have ever experienced.  Having convinced the Pfeiffers to travel over 4,000 miles to go skiing, we were thankful that the conditions lived up to our promises.  26 miles of skiing later, we tucked into what might be our new favorite apres ski bar.  The Champagne Bar, nestled beside one of the pistes that runs into town, is the definition of opulence.  Sipping a glass of Veuve, overlooking the Swiss Alps, surrounded by friends, we realized that life doesn’t get much better.

 

 

No trip to Zermatt is complete without a stop at our favorite mid-mountain restaurant, Chez Vrony.  And so, on Saturday, we took a long (and much needed) lunch break to savor delicious food, breath-taking views of the Matterhorn, and the company of fabulous friends.

 

 

Little did you know that pandas, dinosaurs, cows, penguins, and giraffes are all old friends who holiday together during the winter months.  Don’t believe us?  Here is some photographic evidence of our final, blue-chip day of skiing in Zermatt.

 

 

Someone Call the Zoo Video

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Switzerland Part II: Fasnacht

The timing for the Pfeiffer’s trip couldn’t have been more perfect because it coincided with the start of Basel’s famous Fasnacht.  Sunday evening was marked by Liestal’s Chienbaese (the infamous fire parade outside of Basel), Monday morning came early with Morgenstreich (the 4-am parade which we watch from our apartment), and Monday afternoon was bolstered by hours of street parades (complete with confetti showers and a visit from “Roger Federer”).

Much like last year, words can’t really describe the event, but here is our best attempt at a math equation:

Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail + New Year’s Eve in Time Square – 500,000 people + Mardi Gras – women flashing + 100,000 clowns playing instruments = Basel Fasnacht

Still don’t understand?  Here are some photos and videos to help paint the picture of this very weird, yet wonderful celebration.

 

Mummies Playing Drums Video and Roger Federer Attacks Mrs. Pfeiffer Video

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A special thanks to the Pfeiffer crew for their travels, their company, and the endless laughs we shared together.  We are so lucky to have friends who travel the world to share in our adventures.

 

It’s been a few weeks since our last post, so clearly, we have a bit of catching up to do.  Here are the highlights from our most recent adventures.

Weekend in Jungfrau: We met up with Mike and Mary for another ski trip, and despite a world-famous ski race being held on the mountain, decided to head back to Grindelwald/Wengen (located in the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland).

• Cons:  The Lauberhorn ski races meant tons of people, turning the time to get to the top of the mountain from 30 minutes to almost 2 hours.  Basically, imagine Black Friday expect instead of Target everyone is trying to get to the mountain, and instead of wearing sneakers and pushing a shopping cart, your wearing ski boots and carrying around 10 pounds of gear.  It wasn’t great.
• Pros: Despite a rough start to the day, we got to see an incredible air show (consisting of 5 fighter jets and an old Swiss Airbus) in some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable.  The Swiss military planes obviously don’t get a lot of action these days (or really ever for that matter), so unlike the typical American fly-by, these planes continued their display for nearly an hour.  At one point, we decided to clip out of our skis and actually hike a small ridge to watch in awe.  Here’s a quick video, thanks to our buddy, Mike.

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Cooking School in Bologna, Italy: Sarah just turned the big 3-0, and Chris outdid himself by sending Sarah to Italy for a week of cooking classes.  If you’re thinking that a week of cooking is like buying a woman a vacuum cleaner, you couldn’t be more wrong.  It was simply fantastic.

Each day, she brainstormed with a chef to conceptualize the day’s dishes; visited a local market to hand-select produce, proteins, and dairy; cooked in a fully-equipped professional kitchen; and, best of all, she didn’t even have to clean the dishes.  It was all the fun and none of the work.  We will save you the details of the full daily menu, and instead, focus on the highlights:

• Deboning: Sarah’s top priority for the class was learning how to properly debone various proteins, and the instructors definitely delivered.  She worked with chicken, rabbit, duck, goose, and a rack of lamb ribs – all of which she deboned, some of which were pretty.
• It Smells a Little Fishy: She also learned to descale, gut, and fillet a variety of fish including but not limited to: tilapia, sea bass, cod, squid, mackerel, and even sardines
• Pasta: Though it wasn’t the focus of the class, no Italian cooking experience would be complete without a little pasta, so she stuck to the basics – making homemade tagliatelle with traditional bolognese sauce, lasagna, tortelloni (stuffed with cheese), and tortellini (stuffed with meat and served in traditional brodo).  Buon Apetito!

Sarah left Italy feeling full – both of inspiration and food.  For her, the biggest takeaway was understanding how to become a more resourceful and thrifty cook.  She learned that in Italy, like so many other cultures, some of the best dishes were born out of poverty; indeed, many of these dishes have been long forgotten, but a great number continue to serve as the cornerstone for their food identity.  She learned to save parmesan rinds to flavor soups, to use rabbit heads/old hen’s legs to make a delicious stock, to use that same stock meat to make delicious meatballs, and to repurpose day-old bread as a substitute for parmesan.  So many cooks/cultures toss products that are not needed in a dish, but Italians use every last piece.  Being the waist-conscious people that we are, we don’t think we’ll be indulging in the bowls of pasta or duck breasts that Sarah had in Italy, but perhaps a new age of thrifty cooking has arrived.

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Day Trip to Laax (Braaah): Switzerland now has the most snow it has seen since 1990, so after a day of birthday presents and fun in Basel on Saturday, we headed to Laax, Switzerland for … you guessed it, a day of skiing on Sunday.  Sadly, the winds caused many of the lifts/runs to be closed, but we had a pretty solid day out on a very powdery mountain.  The best parts? Watching the resort employees clear 2 feet of snow from the roofs of the gondola stations and listening to “Call Me Al” being blared from the top of the mountain.  There may be a high risk of avalanche in some parts of Switzerland, but damn it, people just need to hear the sweet, sweet tunes of Paul Simon.

 

We just simply can’t sit still, so on Saturday evening, we headed to Grindelwald, Switzerland in order to hit the slopes early Sunday morning.  Here are the highlights from our most recent skiing adventure:

1. Warm temperatures: Unlike the east coast, Switzerland has been unusually warm lately with temperatures hovering right around freezing.  For the first time this ski season, we enjoyed a day without ice in our hair and a mid-mountain outdoor lunch.
2. Walls of ice and wind: Though it was warm, the winds were gale force.  Sadly, this caused many of the slopes to be closed in the morning, but we still found a few good runs to enjoy.  By the afternoon, the winds had “died down enough” to open a few more pistes.  We excitedly made our way to the top of the mountain where we were met with walls of ice.  Seriously, the gusts were so strong at times that we had to stop skiing, plant our feet, and protect our faces from the icy wind.  At other times, it was so strong that it actually pushed us up the mountain.  It definitely wasn’t a day to break any type of speed records.
3. Most miles skied in one day: Grindelwald is a huge ski area, and in a single day, we managed to ski a mighty 25 miles.  By about 3 that afternoon, we were a bit exhausted (and a lot windblown) and decided to call it a day.  That said, there is a still a lot of mountain there left to explore, so we can easily see a trip back in our near future.

 

Just when we were starting to recover from the jetlag of traveling back from the east coast, we were on a plane bound for Asia.  Total travel time was about 18 hours and included a stop in Doha, where of all places, we ran into an old friend from Potomac, MD. Once again, we were reminded how small the world really is.

 

Phuket, Thailand

Phuket proper is a busy beach town known for its nightlife, and while we have been known to enjoy a good party or two, we opted for a quiet locals-beach, Nai Yang, about an hour away.  We know – we’re such adults now.

We arrived at 6:30 in the morning and decided to spend the day reading on the beach [read: napping] while we waited for our friends, Brandon and Eleanor, to arrive.  Oddly enough, when we booked this trip, we had planned to spend Christmas all by our lonely selves; however, we soon learned that our pals were also planning a trip to Thailand around the same time.  They were kind enough to adjust their trip to include a few days with us.

We were all fading fast by late afternoon, but we wanted to force ourselves to adjust to the new time zone.  Consequently, we (mostly the girls) decided that a night out was in order.  Lady Boy Shows (not far from what you think they are) are supposed to be famous in Thailand, so despite a bit of moaning from the boys, we headed into Phuket proper for a transgender extravaganza.  We didn’t do a ton of research, and in the end, we regretted the excursion for a few reasons: 1) the cab ride there and back was not only long, but legitimately, white-knuckles-on-the-handle scary, 2) we expected something a bit risque, but it was really nothing more than a caricature of the Rockettes show, and 3) we ended up paying about $30 a person, and most of us slept through the majority of the show.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and we spent the day chilling on the beach – we swam, we SUP’d (standup paddleboard), we went for walks, we napped, we drank frozen cocktails, and we were merry.  That evening, we walked to town via the beach (thankfully, we remembered to bring the flashlights because there were crabs everywhere) for a fantastic dinner at Black Ginger.

On Christmas Day, we said farewell to Brandon and Eleanor, as they headed to their next destination, and then we were off for a day of sightseeing.  Our tour had many positives (feeding monkeys at Wat Suwan Kuha and canoeing through sea caves), but a couple of the stops were extremely touristy (an ancient Muslim floating island and the James Bond Island).  Though it wasn’t a perfect tour, it was a great way to get out and see many of the islands, and we’re glad we did it.  That evening was one of our favorites – we walked to town and popped in and out of bars (nay, huts serving beers) before heading back to the resort to Facetime with family back home.

 

Bangkok, Thailand

We weren’t really ready to give up our R&R in Phuket, but alas, Bangkok was calling and we were excited to see our friends, Eric and Danielle, who recently moved there.  We know that this may come as a shock, but guess what? – Bangkok is a big dirty city.  In many ways, it reminded us of New York: it can be intimidating if you don’t know where to go, it has awesome food and drink if you know where to find it, it smells like trash, and the big attractions are swarming with tourists.  We had only planned for a little over 36 hours in the city, so we focused on the “must-see” attractions.  After indulging in the world-famous Bangkok street food scene (found some excellent vendors down by the Victory Monument), we visited The Grand Palace (very cool architecture and home to the Emerald Budha) and Wat Arun (nothing really special about this one but still pretty neat).  Unfortunately, the weather was uncharacteristically cold and rainy, so instead of visiting another temple, we chose to get massages.  For a whopping total of $40, we each got a 90-minute massage, and those tiny (but shockingly strong) Thai women worked out any remaining kinks from the eighteen-hour flight over.  The massages were absolutely fantastic and honestly one of our favorite “attractions” in the city.

 

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai is a small town located in northern Thailand known for its surrounding jungle.  Early on our first full day, we loaded into a van to begin our trek into the jungle. We made one stop at a local market (where our guides stocked up on food) and another at a waterfall (where Chris and Eric both braved the chilly water for a quick swim) before we started the hike.  In total, we ended up hiking about 10 miles during which time we learned a little about the jungle and got some pretty fantastic views.

After a full day of hiking, we were well into the jungle and hunkered down for the night in a few huts/lean-tos on an elephant sanctuary.  Where our “hotel” for the night lacked in amenities (running water, beds, electricity), it more than made up for in charm.  Our guides cooked us an absolutely delicious dinner, and we spent the night drinking and playing card games.  Even though our guide spoke almost no English, he (re)taught us the game of spoons.    He also introduced a new high-stakes element that we loved.  For each round, the winner had to (nay, got to) spread charcoal soot from the dinner pan on the loser’s face.  As evidenced by the picture below, some of us fared a little better than others (our guide was definitely cheating).  Around midnight, we had finally consumed enough beer to sleep on the floor in our huts and so retired with full bellies, happy hearts, and faces smeared with soot.

Day two of the trek was equally fun.  First, we were able to feed and pet two elephants (aged 28 and 30) who live in the sanctuary.  Fun facts about elephants: they can live to be 70 years old and pregnancy lasts 22 months.  After the elephants, we hopped on a hand-made bamboo raft and navigated our way down the river.  Our guide steered the front (by steer we mean mash bamboo poles into the river bed) while the boys manned the back.  Danielle and Sarah just tried to keep their balance and stay on.  We arrived back at the hotel tired, stinky, and thankful for a real bed.

The morning of New Year’s Eve was a lazy one; we slept until nearly ten and chilled by the pool for a few hours.  That afternoon/evening, we went to a Thai cooking class where we learned to make a variety of local dishes (Tom Yum Soup, Penang curry, fried spring rolls, and mango sticky rice to name a few).  Sarah obviously excelled in the kitchen, and Chris (despite claims of not being able to cook) proved to have formidable knife and cooking skills.  That said, we don’t expect the household dynamic to change much.

 

 

Following the cooking class, we made a quick stop at a fantastic jazz club for some libations and entertainment before heading out into the streets for lanterns and NYE celebrations.  Though Chaing Mai is a small town, their festivities were big.  Hundreds of thousands of lanterns illuminated the sky for hours, people set off fireworks in the streets, and the party raged well past 3-am when we finally called it quits.  We have never been big on New Year’s resolutions, but Sarah is going to try to buckle down on her German and Chris is going to try to read… more.  Read more.

 

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

For our last stop, we ventured further east to Vietnam.  Here are a few fun facts:

• Their currency is called the Dong (we obviously made endless jokes about this) and is not worth much.  The 4 million Dong we got out of the bank is worth about $90.
• They have two seasons: hot and really hot
• Scooters are the main form of transportation.  It’s not uncommon to see two, three, four, even five people on one.  They even use scooters to move materials such as dishwashers, ladders, palates of eggs, etc. It’s also crazy that anyone under the age of seven is not required to (and rarely does) wear a helmet.  Seeing hundreds of babies and toddlers without helmets on scooters weaving through the most chaotic traffic was simply mind-blowing.

On our first full day, we treated ourselves to another 90-minute massage (similar in price but different in technique) and wandered through the labyrinth that is the Ben Thanh Market.  For the evening’s food and entertainment, we went on a “foodie” tour by scooter.  It was quite the adventure – zooming in and out of traffic on the back of a motorbike driven by a tiny Asian woman and eating all sorts of interesting foods.  We had many foods that were “normal” like pho, crab claws, scallops and grilled prawns, but we also had some food that pushed us out of our comfort zones.  We tried grilled frog legs (both with and without skin), goat breast, banana wine, and the weirdest of all … duck embryo.  We each took a bite of the bird fetus to say that we had tried it, but we couldn’t really stomach much more than that.

The following day was our last day in Asia, and after having read raving reviews, Sarah booked a walking tour of the city.  Though the tour was one-on-one (we each had our own guide which was completely unnecessary), the tour itself was not very good.  Their English was quite poor, they didn’t seem to know much about the history of the city, and they weren’t able to answer most of our questions.  We also visited the Vietnam War Remnants Museum which was also quite off-putting.  We found it to be very biased and painted American soldiers as criminals.  We suppose it’s important to see other viewpoints, but we were both pretty eager to leave.

Not wanting to end our trip on such a downer, we decided to get pedicures and chill at the hotel rooftop pool (it was especially hot – around 95 degrees) before boarding the last flight out of Saigon (on that particular day).

 

Final Thoughts

This was our first time to Asia and also one of the first times that we have felt the impossibility of fitting in.  No matter how many Thai or Vietnamese words we tried to learn, it was horribly obvious that we were tourists.  Chris’s Hawaiian shirts obviously didn’t help.

This trip was also a glimpse into what real poverty looks like.  We learned that most Thai and Vietnamese people only make about $200-$300 a month – where we spend that on a hotel for an impromptu ski-weekend.  We left feeling humbled and thankful.

While we really loved this adventure, we are glad to be back in a place that’s clean, a place that has an abundance of drinking water, a place that values order and rules, and a place that’s always clean and green.

Though we wrote this post before Christmas, we are just now getting around to publishing it on the web:

We are sad to report that Chris’s Mema recently passed away.  The family decided against formal funeral services, but we were determined to support/distract Chris’s parents, so on Thursday afternoon, we pulled the trigger for two last-minute flights back to the states on Friday morning.

Florida Highlights:

• Surprise at the airport: After nearly 20 hours of travel, we finally arrived at the Tampa airport.  We were exhausted but obviously excited to see Mama Milne and Papa George.   Little did we know when we landed, though, that we had lucked into a two for one deal!  Sarah’s parents actually flew down for the weekend and completely surprised us (we were so out-of-sorts at the airport that it took us a while to actually realize what was going on).
• Sunshine and relaxation:  One of our favorite days of the quick trip back was a lazy Saturday at the dog beach.  Skiing and traveling are obviously wonderful,  but we’ve been very “go-go-go” lately, so it was a treat to have a chill day at the beach with our families, our pup, a few beers, and bocci ball.

 

DC Highlights:  On our way back to Switzerland, we made a quick stop in DC (long layover is probably more accurate of a description).  Sadly, with only 24 hours to spare, we missed a lot of people (Matt, Ryan, & the kids, Jessi and Tyree, EY people, Kilmer people, and many DC friends to name a few), but we were thrilled to connect with the few friends who were available.  Many thanks to our pals who came out to “celebrate” our homecoming despite it being a Monday.

As if this short trip wasn’t enough of a whirlwind, tomorrow we head to Thailand!