The weather is starting to turn cool here, and though we are months away from true ski season, we’ve had the itch to get back on the slopes.  Most ski resorts are obviously still closed, but Zermatt is high enough in the Alps to house the Matterhorn glacier which is open for skiing year round (or so they claim).  It was sunny and 60-degrees in Basel, but we packed up our skis, boots, and gloves and headed for the mountains on Friday evening.  We got in pretty late but luckily still in time to visit one of our favorite watering holes, Paperla Pub (see Christmas in Zermatt post for more detail).

On Saturday, the weather wasn’t looking so great, so we decided that the play call was to hike rather than ski.  Chris only really tolerates hiking, but Sarah has been wanting to do a well-known hike in Zermatt called 5 Seen-Weg (or 5 Lake Hike).  Any day outside is better than a day inside, but there were still a few negatives.  1) We made a wrong turn in the beginning (literally the start of the hike) and ended up going 1.5 hours (almost all uphill) out of the way.  We sort of suck at following trail signs.  2) The weather was so cold/foggy that we didn’t get the acclaimed views of the Matterhorn.  3) To call the hike the 5-Lake-Hike is a bit misleading – we decided it should be called 1-Lake and 4-Ponds hike.  Perhaps that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

 

On Sunday, we woke up early excited to finally go SKIING … until we learned that the slopes had actually been closed for three days due to high winds and would remain closed for the day.  Womp Womp.  Feeling a bit ridiculous for having wasted money on 2 nights in a hotel (not to mention having lugged our skis all the way there), we decided to stay local for the day and get in another hike.  A bit of research led us to a hike which featured the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, The Charles Kuonen Bridge; however, not having done extensive research there were a few surprises. 1) The first half of the hike is a very steep climb, and according to our trusty apple watches, we actually climbed 229 floors (essentially two Empire State buildings) in approximately 1 hour.  We are already pretty sweaty people naturally, but we were dripping by the time we got to the top.  2)  We got “lost” again (mostly just turned around) and had to do some backtracking, sadly all uphill again.  For two people who claim to have a good sense of direction, we aren’t so great when it comes to following the trail signs.

 

The weekend wasn’t a total failure, but it certainly wasn’t anything close to what we had hoped for.  Here’s to hoping your Labor Day Weekends back home were a bit more successful than ours.

 

We have now added two more countries and four new cities to our list of adventures, and the best part was that we were lucky enough to explore them with friends.

Stockholm, Sweden

We were the last of the group to arrive on Friday afternoon, so after dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed out for a recap tour of the city, compliments of our traveling partners: Pat, Lara, Erick, and Jess.  We saw the Stockholm City Hall (where the Nobel Prize is given every year), Stortorget Square (where the epic 1520 bloodbath took place), as well as an adorable floating bar (where we obviously enjoyed some sunshine and a glass or two of wine).

Despite the rainy weather the next day, the group decided to go for a jog on Saturday morning.  We had only planned to run a short distance, but eager to explore, we ended up running a little over 6 miles.  We were all drenched by the end, but we enjoyed getting a little exercise and exploring a new part of the city.

That afternoon, we took a walking tour of the “hip” neighborhood of Soderholm.  The tour itself didn’t offer much insight, but there were a few “noteworthy” moments:

1. We saw a Nazi/Anti-Nazi protest.  When we first heard the commotion, we wanted to stay as far away as possible; however, our guide assured us that it was a peaceful demonstration.  So with some hesitation, we ventured to an area where we could observe from a safe distance.  From here, we happily discovered that the good guys outnumbered the bad ones; however, we were still surprised by the realization that no matter where you go, there will always be monsters in the world.
2. Our guide pointed out some fabulous look-out spots.  Because of him, we discovered a cool rock high above the city center and spent the afternoon relaxing and taking in the views.

 

 

Saturday evening was an absolute blast.  We had some traditional Swedish food (meatballs, reindeer, arctic char, etc.) and then discovered a bar with … ALL THE ACTIVITIES! There was foosball, shuffle board, ping pong, darts, Air Hockey, Super Chexx Bubble Hockey, and much more.  Needless to say, we were both in heaven.  The best part, however, was that we learned a new game known by the locals as Rundpingis.  Basically, it’s a moving ping-pong match with many players running around the table.  Some of us (mostly the girls) weren’t so great, but others in our group actually won!

On Sunday, we decided to explore one of Sweden’s most famous museums.  No, we didn’t visit the ABBA museum but instead ventured to The Vasa Museum which houses a ship dating back to 1628.  During our tour, we learned that on one hand, The Vasa was the biggest and most powerful war ship of its time.  On the other hand, we learned that it sank on its maiden voyage after only 20 minutes.  Even though the ship sat at the bottom of the harbor for over 300 years, it was perfectly preserved due to the brackish water of the Baltic Sea.  The ship was obviously a failure, but it was certainly a spectacle to see.

Vaxholm, Sweden

While in Sweden, we really wanted to explore the Archipelago but seeing that we didn’t have a car / didn’t want to waste endless hours traveling, we “settled” on Vaxholm (known to be the gateway to the Archipelago).  It was a quick and easy 1-hour ferry ride from Stockholm and definitely exceeded our expectations.  In many regards, Vaxholm reminded us of Nantucket (mostly Chris because Sarah has never been).  It’s a sleepy little port town with adorable cottages, a sprinkling of shops, and a lot of locals looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  During our time here, we did a 6-hour kayaking tour around the islands and really tried to embrace the relaxing vibes of Vaxholm.

Gothenburg, Sweden

During our planning phase, we realized that we would need a stop in between Stockholm and Copenhagen (our final destination), so we settled on Gothenburg because we had heard they were known for their food and drink.  And now, after having visited, we know why.  Gothenburg is basically a college town.  There were streets lined with hip bars, the food was cheap, and the city was alive with 22-year-olds.  It wasn’t our favorite of the cities, but we definitely enjoyed our time there.  We found some really cool craft beer bars, had some very tasty (and reasonably priced) dinners, and visited the Maritime Museum.  The museum houses 19 vessels and was ultimately just a … meh; however, it did have one redeeming aspect – a submarine from the 1960s.  It was really awesome to climb down the hatch and explore all the inner workings, but after 15 minutes of a little claustrophobia and a lot of head bumps, we were all convinced that living on a submarine for weeks at a time would be the worst form of punishment.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Our first impression of Copenhagen was a bit unfavorable.  At first glance, it seemed like a big dirty city.  The walk from the train station to our Airbnb was through a sketchy part of town with some unfavorable characters.  We went on a boat tour that we all fell asleep on and later deemed “Toilet Tour.”  That evening, however, we found an American BBQ restaurant/brewery, and though it was way overpriced, we enjoyed a nice little taste of home.

Thankfully, the next day was a full 180 from the previous.  In the morning, we went on a fabulous walking tour which included lots of history and interesting facts not only about Copenhagen but Scandinavian countries as well.  Did you know that the Danes are the happiest people in the world or that LEGO comes from Denmark?  Post tour, we ventured to a place known as Copenhagen Street Food, which is basically an old warehouse housing (see what I did there?) tons of food trucks from every cuisine you can imagine.  The best part?  The outdoor seating is right on the water and provides a casual place for grub, drinks, and relaxation.

In the afternoon, we visited The Church of our Savior (known for its helix spire and external winding staircase) with intentions of climbing the tower, but sadly, due to high winds, no one was allowed to climb.  Instead, we decided to walk through the nearby Christiania neighborhood (known as a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood full of hippies selling drugs).  We don’t do drugs and we are proud that we pay taxes, so after a few minutes, we quickly realized that it was not a place for us.  Live and let be, we suppose.

Friday evening was a real treat.  We headed to dinner at Restaurant Relae, known as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world.  We opted for the five-course menu with wine pairings, and we were absolutely blown away.  We both love Mama Milne’s Christmas Eve dinner of beef tenderloin and bordelaise sauce, but this was probably the best meal we have had … ever.  Relae is technically considered a fine dining experience, but we found their approach to be relaxed and focused on the ingredients.  It was simple yet creative, bold yet unassuming.  Our friend Pat had actually just received a “spot bonus” for being an awesome accountant, so his company offered to pick up the dinner tab for us all.  An amazing meal that’s paid for by someone else?  Seems almost too good to be true.

 

 

Saturday was our final day in Copenhagen, so we wanted to live it up.  We rented bikes in the morning and headed to the outskirts of town to see Assistens Cemetery.  The cemetery is known to be the resting place of many Danish notables (including the author of The Little Mermaid, H.C. Anderson), and though we didn’t spend much time there, we were impressed by the gardens and peacefulness of it all.  On a more upbeat note, we were also very impressed by the “bike-ability” of Copenhagen.  Unlike cities in the U.S., bikes have the right-of-way.  For example, cars cannot turn right on red and people getting off public transportation look both ways before crossing the bike paths.  Most importantly, there were no trolley tracks for wheels to get stuck in!

Since the first boat we were on was a “toilet tour,” we decided to rent our own that afternoon.  For a very reasonable price of $25 an hour, we were able to explore Copenhagen by water.  We drove through the harbor and observed a competitive swimming race, pulled up to Copenhagen Street Food (mentioned above) for another round of food trucks, went fishing for 4 full beers we found floating in the water, were chased by swans through a canal, and ultimately shared a lot of good views and laughs.

Little did we know when we booked our travel, that Copenhagen was actually hosting its annual Nordic Food Festival that weekend.  Once we discovered this, we decided to partake by booking tickets to a “long-board dinner.”  We weren’t really sure what to expect, but the evening was a pleasant surprise.  The one long table in front of the harbor seated approximately 100 and was adorned with candles, ivy, and gift bags for the guests.  The food was pretty decent (though nothing mind-blowing), but the real treat was sitting down with locals.  We met and hit it off with two university students in particular and bonded over a few shared bottles of wine.  When the event was coming to a close, we decided that we weren’t ready to say goodbye just yet, so we headed to a nearby bar to continue the revelry.  They introduced us to a couple of traditional Danish shots, which all turned out to be disgusting (salted licorice and green apple shots don’t even sound good), and we introduced them to some of our favorite games.  It was a perfect way to end an unforgettable vacation.

 

 

A lot has happened in the past few weeks – so much so that we’ve fallen a bit behind on our blog posts.  We won’t go into the full detail of every event, but here are the highlights of our most recent adventures:

Munich was the first stop on the “Kims do Europe Tour.”  Sadly, Chris didn’t have enough vacation time to tag along, but we both agreed it would be a great place to show the Kims because (unlike many Swiss cities) it is rich with history.

The positives:

• Seeing the world through Woman Kim’s eyes: Mom Kim had never been to Europe before this trip and simply watching her realize “This church is older than our country?!?” was one of Sarah’s favorite parts.
• Dachau Concentration Camp: We are hesitant to list this as a “positive” because of obvious reasons, but in all honesty, it was an eye-opening experience.  Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and we felt that the memorial did a good job of owning the atrocity and remembering those who suffered and died.  It was an incredibly grim but equally insightful day.
• Culture: Bavaria continues to be one of our favorite locations.  There’s just something very comforting about sitting around a big table, drinking big beers, and eating big pretzels.  Sharing this experience with her favorite “big guy” (Man Kim) made Sarah grin from ear to ear.

The negatives:

• Delays: The Kim’s had a hell of a time getting to Europe.  Flights were delayed and trains were missed, but after many, many hours of travel, we finally made it to Munich.  Unfortunately, this meant that we missed the fabulous walking tour of Munich and thus a lot of the historical background.  Sarah did her best to relay the information she remembered, but seeing that the only other times she had been there were during Oktoberfest …. it was less than a perfect rendition.
• Neuschwanstein Castle: Serving as the inspiration for the castle at the Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Neuschwanstein is considered to be the king of castles.  The castle is obviously extremely impressive, but we found the experience underwhelming for a few reasons. 1) The bus ride from Munich to Schwangau was rather long and uneventful 2) The place was swarming with tourists 3) the brief, 30-minute tour of the castle itself provided nothing beyond what is available in the summary section of Wikipedia.

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Switzerland is more of the Kims’ speed.  It’s small, it’s quiet, and it’s clean.  After a busy few days in Munich, it was nice to have a couple of laid back days.  We used Basel as home-base and made a few day trips to some of our favorite spots.

The positives:

• Interlaken and Mürren:  It was a long day, but we had an absolute blast in Interlaken and the surrounding area.  We took the funicular up Harder Kulm Mountain for fantastic views and a tasty lunch.  Afterward, we headed to Mürren for some light hiking and photo opportunities.  We will let the pictures speak for themselves.

The negatives:

• The Lavaux Valley: Sarah had raved about this place and was excited to finally share it with the Kims.  Unfortunately, there was an accident on the train line which made our travels very challenging and ultimately prevented us from making it to the vineyards.  We were still able to enjoy a nice afternoon in Lausanne, but sadly we weren’t able to walk through the vineyards or enjoy the tasty wine.  We will just have to add it to the list for their next visit.

 

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The Rhine River Cruise was one of the first trips we started planning when we moved abroad.  Knowing that we would likely have a pretty big crew in attendance, we felt that a cruise would be a good way for a large party to see Europe without having to fret over the details.

The positives:

• Family:  When people ask us what we miss most about the states, our first answer is always friends and family (followed closely by good Mexican food and crab cakes).  In July, we were fortunate in that we got to knock around Croatia and Switzerland with some of our best friends; however, we were still desperately missing our families, so spending a full week with them on the cruise was a nice little slice of home.  We played games, cracked jokes, and made an otherwise old and sleepy clientele and little more lively and fun.
• Convenience: As anticipated, exploring Europe via cruise takes all the challenges out of traveling.  There are no trains to book, no tours to schedule, and no itineraries to map out.  As the person who does most of the planning and logistics for our European adventures, Sarah enjoyed kicking back and letting someone else figure out all of the details.
• Amsterdam: The cruise ended in Amsterdam, and we decided to spend an extra day in town with Jessi and her husband, Chris.  Little did we know when we made the decision that our time there actually coincided with Pride Weekend.  The city was a bit chaotic, but we had an absolute blast watching the parade and partaking in the celebrations.
• Bike Rides: Our two favorite excursions from the cruise were definitely the days on bikes.  While both trips were through the countryside, they offered very different views.  In Breisach, we rode through orchards, fields, and a forest, but in Amsterdam, we saw cows, goats, a windmill, and a few adorable sea-side villages.  We both love activities and felt that the excursions were certainly worth the extra money.

 

The negatives:

• Value for Money: The price tag on this trip was a bit scandalous.  Having now experienced it, we definitely could have planned a trip with better locations and better excursions for a much more reasonable price.  Are we glad we did it? – absolutely!  Would we do it again? – probably not.
• Food: We have mentioned it before, but it’s worth repeating: Swiss food is mediocre at best.  It’s honestly one of the many incentives to travel, and we love finding tasty, local restaurants in new cities.  Sadly, the food on the boat was just passable.  It wasn’t necessarily bad, but for the price of the cruise, we expected a bit more.
• “Forced” stops:  It’s both a positive and a negative that we saw many cities we would have otherwise never seen (Breisach, Germany; Strasbourg, France; Heidelberg, Germany; Mainz, Germany; Rudesheim am Rhine, Germany; Koblenz, Germany; and Cologne, Germany).  In particular, Mainz was a place we had only vaguely heard of, but we ended up really enjoying our time there.  We visited the Guggenheim Museum (really cool old books and lots of info on the printing press), we visited a spectacular cathedral (an interesting conglomeration of architectural styles), and we had time to just explore the small town on our own (one of our favorite ways to really experience a new place).  Many of the other locations, however, seemed rather forced.  They were either very touristy (Heidelburg and Rudesheim am Rhine) or so small that there wasn’t much to explore (Breisach and Koblenz).

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Via Ferrata

This past Sunday, we took a day trip to Mürren, Switzerland for a Via Ferrata excursion.  The phrase “Via Ferrata” is Italian for “iron road,” and the hiking/climbing path was exactly that.  Basically, there is a steel cable fixed periodically to the face of the rock and below that are steel pegs on which to walk.  Climbers wear a harness (yes, moms: we also wore helmets) which clips onto the cable thus eliminating the danger of literally falling off the side of a mountain.  Parts of the path were typical hiking paths, but for much of the path, we were scaling the steel pegs that were 5500 feet high.  Neither of us is afraid of heights, but we both had moments where our knees were a little shaky.

There are actually hundreds of these paths all over Switzerland, and this first adventure whet our appetite for more.  Perhaps we will be purchasing climbing gear in the near future.

 

 

We’ve been to the Lavaux area a few times now, and it continues to be one of our favorite locations in Switzerland.  It’s the complete package.  There are unbeatable views of the Alps, water activities in Lake Geneva, and fabulous wine from hundreds of vineyards.  This past weekend, we were introduced to another component that made us appreciate Lavaux even more: music.

We loved attending concerts while we lived in DC, so once we heard that Montreux hosts an annual Jazz Fest (which was actually the inspiration for the song “Smoke on the Water” — full story available from NPR), we were pretty pumped.

On Friday, we headed to The Lumineers concert and while they were very good, we actually enjoyed the opening act, Passenger, more.  Some of the band’s songs were a little low-key for our tastes, but the lead singer had great stage presence and a certain way with the crowd.  On the whole, it was definitely an enjoyable/memorable experience.

Saturday was an absolute blue chip day.  We headed about 20 minutes outside of Montreux to a small village called Chexbres (pronounced Cheb) for wine tasting.  As previously stated, there are hundreds of vineyards and tasting rooms, and we typically like to try a different one each time we visit; however, with Britton and Julia in town, we settled on our tried and true location, Domaine Bovy.  The wine is tasty, the staff is friendly, and their terrace is a perfect place to spend the afternoon.

Post wine, we had planned to go on Jazz Trains (a 2.5-hour train ride that features a variety of New Orleans style jazz bands), but sadly Sarah bought tickets for the wrong day.  Womp womp.  It was a certainly an expensive mistake, but luckily the day was not completely ruined.  We spent the late afternoon drinking rosé while sunbathing on the hotel roof.

Saturday evening was definitely the highlight of the trip.  We had a delicious (and rather expensive) meal at the Fairmont Restaurant, Montreux Jazz Cafe, followed by drinks and music at their partner bar, Funky Claude’s.  The live music was just mediocre, but the people watching was … let’s just say the bar lived up to its name.

After a few cocktails, we were ready to embrace the craziness of SILENT DISCO!  No idea what this means?  Basically, every participant wears a set of wireless headphones.  These headphones receive three different radio signals from the three different DJs.  All the participants can choose the music they want to listen/dance/sing to (note: they also played the most popular channel of music aloud).  It ends up looking absolutely ridiculous as everyone is dancing/singing to different music.  We weren’t really sure what to expect when we arrived, but we ended up staying for multiple hours and we had an absolute blast.

Sunday’s weather was just as beautiful as the previous day, so we decided that some sort of water activity was in order.  Unfortunately, if you do not have a boating license you cannot drive a boat with anything more than an 8-horsepower engine (we know … Switzerland has crazy laws).  Even with this silly rule, we felt that a slow boat was still better than no boat at all, so we rented a boat for 2 hours and putzed around the lake.  It was an absolutely perfect cherry atop a weekend filled with fun and pals.

 

 

 

We seriously don’t even know how to start this post.  This past week in Croatia was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives.  There are just too many good details to leave out, so we apologize in advance for the long post.

A Little Background

SAS (a common point of confusion for our readers) stands for Sports, Activities, and Stuff and is essentially our adult fraternity.   They are our absolute very best friends, and we have been planning a “family reunion” with them for months.

The Yacht Week is a company which offers seven-day sailing holidays in a variety of locations.  We settled on Croatia for a few reasons.  1) the waters are described as some of the most beautiful in the world 2) the Croatia route includes the most boats (at times we sailed with approximately 100 other yachts!) 3) Because this route is the biggest, it was rumored to also have the best parties.

All but two individuals from the trip were able to spend a little time in Basel beforehand, and, including ourselves, we actually crammed 9 people into our 1,000 sq foot apartment.  It was obviously a bit tight (the experience turned out to be good practice for yacht life), but it was great to show off our new city and lives to old friends.

Getting There

The morning of Yacht Week check-in was very stressful.  All nine of us had a 6 am flight out of Basel, and unfortunately, the trams didn’t start until 5 am.  Consequently, we had to walk with all of our bags (loaded down with rafts, costumes, and other party supplies) to the train station to catch a bus (which was unusually late).  Basel has a small airport that is typically quick and quiet, but lo and behold, it was a zoo.  We have been close on a few flights before, but never have we been the last ones on the plane … until now.

Day 1: Trogir

We arrived in Split around 7:30 am, and even though check-in didn’t start until 1, we headed straight to our marina in Trogir to drop our bags.  This allowed us to pal around town and check out the sites (including Kamerlengo Castle and Trogir Cathedral).  Early that afternoon, we were finally able to check-in at our yacht, The Lostovo (which we dubbed The Lost Hobo).  The yacht was a 48-foot sailboat with 4 main cabins, 3 bathrooms, a bunkbed room, and a main galley.  While it may sound huge, we had 12 people in our group and the quarters were definitely tight.

After a massive shop to stock up on supplies, we pulled out of the marina and motored about twenty minutes away to the welcome party.  Our skipper, Henrik, advised us to take it easy that night.  We were scheduled to set sail at 7 am the next morning for a four-hour tour [Chorus: A FOUR-HOUR TOUR!], and the waters were expected to be very rough [Chorus: THE TINY SHIP WAS TOSSED!].  Some of us heeded the advice better than others.

Day 2: Trogir to Vis

As promised, we left Trogir very early the next day, and also as promised, the waters, though beautiful, were very rough.  Sarah and Chris luckily have stomachs of steel, and the rest of the group was prepared with Dramamine – so we were fortunate in that there was no sea-sickness.

None of us really knew how to sail, but Henrik was fabulous.  For those who wanted to learn (mostly the boys), he taught them the basics.  For those who were mostly interested in watching and sunbathing (mostly the girls), he happily did all the work.

Once we arrived in Vis, we went for a quick swim and decided to rent scooters and explore the island.  “Scooters will be fun,” they said.  “It’s just like riding a bicycle,” they said.  While this was true for most, it was definitely not the case for all.  Britton and Julia bumped into a car, Emily couldn’t figure out how to start her scooter, and Caralyn nearly ran her scooter into the rental agency.  Fortunately, this all happened before they left the parking lot.  Unfortunately, this meant that these four were promptly asked to return the keys.

Though we were sad to be down a few crew members, those remaining had a blast.  It took about 3 hours total to circle the island, and we enjoyed some beautiful views along the way.  The most extraordinary of which was Stiniva beach (recently named the best beach in Europe).  It was a very challenging 20-minute hike down (exacerbated by the fact that none of us were wearing appropriate footwear); however, it was totally worth it.  The waters are perfectly clear and the pebbles are a pristine white, yet the looming caves give the beach a villainous lair feel.

That evening, we headed to Fort George (a 200-year-old fort) for dinner and a tropical retro themed party.  Lucky for Chris, the majority of his wardrobe (courtesy of Deb Milne) fits exactly the tropical retro theme (pictured below).

Day 3: Vis to Komiza

As previously stated, our skipper, Henrik, was THE BEST!  While most other boats stayed moored in Vis, he took us on a quick ride to a nearby bay known for its submarine bunker.  We arrived just in time to see some crazy people jumping from the opening (65 feet above the water), but per Henrik and Sarah’s requests, no one from our boat made the plunge.  Instead, we spent the entire day floating on rafts, jumping off the boat, and swimming through the submarine bunker.

We headed a short distance from Vis to a small fishing village known as Komiza that afternoon.  After showering up (note that while there are bathing houses on shore, most of us chose the more convenient route of showering off the back of the boat), we headed into town for a nice seafood dinner.

Following dinner, we headed to an open-air beach club for the “Glow Party” where we all covered ourselves in glow paint and showed off our dance moves.  The end to this party was actually one of our favorite parts of the night.  As we were being bused back to the marina, our entire group joined in singing (yelling is probably more accurate) Disney songs.  It was ridiculous and a ton of fun.  It was also the cause for our raspy voices.

Day 4: Komiza to Hvar

Day four was the Fourth of July (easily Chris and Sarah’s favorite holiday).  Though hundreds of miles from the old US of A, we still sported our Red, White, and Blue and celebrated with hot dogs, beer, and lots of country music.  In the morning, we sailed for about 2 hours to Hvar, and once we were docked at the marina, we spent the early afternoon playing games on the boat.  We played many of our silly American games including but not limited to: thumper, drunk telephone, kings, and cheers governor, and in doing so we 1) bonded with our skipper and 2) met a lot of new friends.  It was this day that made it clear to others that our crew is a ton of fun/the best.

 

 

In the afternoon, we headed to Hula Hula beach club situated right on the water to watch the sunset.  We may have enjoyed a few adult beverages as well.

To give you perspective as to the scale of this party filled adventure, The Yacht Week organized an event to start at 12:30 am.  A few of our crew members actually made it to the club and said it was a great time (laser shows, fog machines, etc.), but we will just have to take their word for it.  We were tired from celebrating America all day and called it an “early” night around midnight.

Day 5: Staying Put in Hvar

Wednesday morning was a struggle for the entire Yacht Week:  1) Having celebrated the greatest of holidays the previous day, we were all a little worse for wear and struggled to find our land legs 2) Our boat was hit by another boat leaving the marina (luckily no structural damage) 3) We witnessed the hostess on the boat next to ours get fired for her drunk behavior the night before 4) We watched in awe as someone drove a jeep straight off the dock and into the water.

It appeared as if the loose fabric that held the entire operation together was coming apart at the seams.

The lead skipper (as Aussie as they come) came by for the routine check in and pepped us up a bit.  He told us, “It’s Wednesday on Yacht week which means you want to kill yourself and your mates, but you just gotta get through it — it’s all mental, mates.”  With this in mind, the girls all attended a yoga session (which turned out to be terrible) while the boys found a beach to play activities.  Honestly, we were all just going through the motions, but no one was really home.

 

 

The sunset party was at a club called Carpe Diem, and boy did we seize the day.  For starters, we arrived around 5 (note that the sun doesn’t set until 9:30).  We also booked a table with bottle service, and let’s just say that we exceeded the spending minimum … by a lot.  The party was an absolute blast – we met a lot of great people, shared a lot of good laughs, and despite the bottle service, made some pretty unforgettable memories.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon, we headed out for some much-needed nourishment and found the best pizza ever.  Later we found Kiva Bar which played all 90’s music (think Brittney Spears, Back Street Boys, etc.) and absolutely tore it up on the dance floor.  We went home very sweaty but also very happy.

Day 6: Hvar to Natural Bay

Our second to last day was all about boats and water.  We left Hvar around 10 am and motored for about an hour for the infamous circle party.  Basically, all of the boats tie up into one giant circle and everyone has a huge party in the middle.  It was quite impressive to see the skippers all work together to pull off this nautical feat, and a day floating in the water was definitely needed after the marathon of an evening we had on day 5.

The evening was also pretty relaxed in that there were no planned parties.  All 100 boats tied up to one another (this time in a tunnel formation), and the entertainment for the evening was hopping from one boat to the next.  It was a great way to meet people and see different boats.

 

 

Day 7: Regatta Day

In planning for our trip, we read lots of blogs about what to expect.  Information varied from site to site, but the one common thread was the importance of a yacht’s theme for the regatta race.  We finally settled on Mardi Gras and brought an entire bag full of masks, bow ties, horns, beads, signs, you name it.  We were definitely prepared; so when Henrik told us on day 1 that he really wanted to win, we got even more pumped for the last day.

Seeing all 100 boats set sail at one time was absolutely incredible, and many of the boats had great themes (toga party, Bay Watch, Ghost Busters, Where’s Waldo, Little Mermaid, and disco were just a few of our favorites), but none was more impressive than ours.  We obviously had our costumes, but we also had chants (none of which are appropriate here) and dance moves (we legitimately practiced them before the start).  Given the fact that all of the yachts are rented, the regatta wasn’t necessarily about speed – it was more about energy, and we definitely brought it.

There was never a clear end to the regatta, and eventually, all of the boats just drifted apart.  Some headed back to their original marinas and some like ours found secluded bays to enjoy a final few hours of swimming.

We finally made it back to the marina around 4 pm and we were told that if we had won, we would have already received a call.  Seeing that we hadn’t received any communication, we were a little bummed.  Though defeated and obviously exhausted, we boarded the bus at 10:30 pm for the closing party and fully expected to catch the first bus back to the marina at 2:30 am.

As we were about to buy our second round of drinks, Henrik told us to stop.  Soon after, one of the lead organizers asked to have a word with us inside.  [internal monologue: Oh God, we took it too far … we did too much … do we have to leave?  Are we in trouble?]

Her words, and I quote here: “look, we were really impressed with your energy and everything.” [Internal monologue shifts: we got second place – that’s almost worse … we were so close]  “You guys were super prepared and your dance moves were incredible [group clenches hands and moves a step closer] and we loved your enthusiasm [group takes another step closer] OKAY, I can tell you all are really anxious, so I’ll just cut to the chase … YOU WON!!!” Our group actually bear-hugged this woman.  We won Yacht Week.  Out of 100 other boats, ours was the loudest, most obnoxiously energetic boat.  Usually, such a descriptor would leave us mortified, but Yacht Week is another world where one lives wildly and freely.

The perks?  A 1,000 Euro spending limit and a VIP lounge behind the DJ.  Yes, please!  Clearly, our thoughts of calling it an early night were immediately abandoned.

About an hour into the evening, they announced us to the crowd, and we shit you not, there were fireworks.  We have never felt so baller in all of our lives.

We caught the last bus home and returned to the marina with the sun.

Day 8: Kicked Off

Three hours later, we were kicked off the boat and though exhausted, we have never been happier.  It is now three days later and we are still grinning from ear to ear.

We used to say that we peaked in college, but we know now that the statement needs revision.  We peaked at Yacht Week.

 

 

 

Sharing an adventure with each other is obviously wonderful, but sharing it with friends is even better … and boy, did we have an adventure this past weekend!

 

Our friend from college, Bill, came to visit, and we wanted to show him as much of Switzerland as was possible.  Chris has been busy working on a project in Geneva that required his presence, so Bill and Sarah had a low-key first day exploring Zurich and Basel by themselves.

On the second day,  we hopped on a train and headed for the French-side to meet up with Chris.  Here we enjoyed delicious food (any break from the mundane meat, cheese, and potato dishes found on the German side is always welcome), excellent views of the Alps (though it has been consistently close to 80, those babies are still covered in snow), and the Geneva United Nations location (sadly, tickets were sold out so we didn’t take a tour).

Geneva is only 3 hours from Basel, but it offers a very different experience.  It’s a little louder, a little less orderly, and bit more lively.  We were only there for one night, but in that time, we were able to provide Bill with insight into the drastic differences between regions in Switzerland.

Our ultimate destination for the weekend was Interlaken, but because no trip to Europe is complete without seeing a castle, we decided to stop off in Montreaux (a small town in the Lavaux Valley) for lunch and a short visit to Chateau de Chillon.  The place was swarming with Asian tourists, but it was still worth the stop for the history and views.

We arrived in Interlaken just in time for dinner and drinks, and we were immediately confronted with the difference in regions.  Maybe our impressions were skewed in comparison to the tasty french food we had in Geneva, but we were severely disappointed.  The restaurant received excellent reviews, but in reality, the place was nothing more than a Swiss Applebees.  At least the beer was good.

Saturday was our big day for adventure.  First thing in the morning, we hiked Harder Kulm (the highest point in Interlaken).  The signage states that the hike should take approximately two and a half hours, but wanting to work off a bit of the beer and fried food we had the previous night, we decided to hustle.  We were all a bit tired and extremely sweaty by the end, but we managed to make it to the top in an hour and fifteen minutes, our personal record.  Needing some time to relax and cool off, we had a casual lunch and admired the views from the restaurant at the top.

Hiking the mountain in such a short time was pretty extreme compared to most days, but when compared to our afternoon activity, it was mere child’s play.  Approximately ten years ago, Chris went skydiving in Interlaken while he was studying abroad.  The adventure has been on Sarah’s bucket list ever since.  It took a little convincing to get Bill on board, but he eventually came to realize the extraordinary opportunity.

I could try to describe the experience, but I think this video we put together does a much better job.

That evening, we headed back to Basel for one final hoorah.  We indulged in a heavy meal of fondue, schnitzel, and wine and called it an early night.  We are all exhausted in the best kind of way.

 

Chris doesn’t get off US holidays, but we were lucky in that there was a Swiss holiday (don’t ask us what it was called or what it was for – we have no idea) right around Memorial Day Weekend.  With a little schedule adjustment, we were off to meet our friend, Glenn, in Italy.

Rome

The last time we were in Rome was in June of 2010 when Chris proposed.  We were only there for one day, and we spent much of that time in blissful celebration.  Needless to say, Sarah’s first impression of Rome was very romantic but perhaps a bit lacking in sites/culture.

 

 

The second impression was two-fold.  Some of the negatives:  Rome is a really big, dirty city.  Maybe it’s in comparison to Basel (a city so clean you could eat off the streets) or maybe we’ve forgotten the practical aspects of “big city” living, but we were a little put off by the filth.  Also a little off-putting were the street peddlers.  There are literally thousands of them, and they were some of the most aggressive we have encountered.

A few of the highlights include: a visit to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel (a perfect example of church power and money), The Coliseum (we saw this last time, but Glenn had never been), sunset drinks at the top of Gianicolo Hill (fabulous views), The Pantheon (2000 years old and still standing), and our absolute favorite – a walking tour of the city.  Recently, we have had a few bad tours and have begun to shy away from them; however, this tour redeemed all others.  It was a small group of only ten people, included loads of history, and highlighted sites/facts we wouldn’t have seen ourselves (Mausoleum of Augustus,  The Angels Bridge, and many fascinating tales about the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church).  Our guide, Nick, founded the company and we cannot recommend the experience enough.  Not only did it change our minds about tours, it also changed our minds about the city itself.  On day one, Rome was a big city filled with people and trash, but by day two, it had become a city rich with culture and history.

Fregene (pronounced Fra-Jenny) 

Craving some relaxing beach time we headed to Fragene on day three.  Having never been (or known anyone who has been), we were a little nervous about the location.  Sarah read lots of great reviews and travel blogs, but the sketchy train station and the bus ride there did nothing to settle our nerves.

We were pleasantly surprised.  Our hotel was lovely and the town itself is a sleepy little get-away from the hustle and bustle of Rome.  Most of the people there were locals who either retired to Fragene or drove the 45-minutes from Rome for the day.  It was one of the first truly local spots we have visited.  So much were we the outsiders that one of our servers felt the need to explain what spaghetti was.  Perhaps you’ve heard of it?

We enjoyed three solid days relaxing at beach clubs, sunbathing, drinking wine, and playing activities and three solid nights watching sunsets and eating pasta and seafood.

In a lot of ways, this Memorial Day Weekend was much like our ones back home: lots of sun, good food, and great friends.  We do miss our red-white-and-blue holidays, but our long weekend in Italy was a great way to ring in the summertime.

 

We ventured to Palma, Mallorca (an island off the coast of Barcelona) this past weekend.  It was our hope that we would spend a few days relaxing on the beach and evening out our awkward farmer’s tans.  Unfortunately, the weather was much cooler than we had expected, so we were forced to abandon our dreams of sunshine and bathing suits for other options.

Bike Tour

It’s no secret that Sarah is not a big fan of bicycle riding.  She fell off that horse once, and though she has managed to get back on it, it is always with a hint of hesitation (sometimes straight-up refusal).  Given this, Chris was surprised to find that Sarah had booked a bike tour for Saturday morning.  Somehow we both managed to break our bikes (thankfully not our arms), but in the end, the tour was definitely one of the highlights.  Not only did it provide a good overview of the city, it was also a fun (non-beach) activity.

Boat Show

We are most certainly not in the market for a boat.  We don’t even own a car.  But looking to fill our planned beach time, we decided to check-out the boat (nay, yacht) show that was in town for the weekend. We spent about an hour admiring boats we can’t afford and imagining what life would be like on yachts that are easily 10 times the size (and 100 times the price) of our apartment.

Food and Drink

No Milne vacation would be complete without indulging in some delicious food and beverage.  We had lots of yummy tapas, but one of our favorite dinners was actually at a Mexican Restaurant (yes, we know that Mexico is not the same as Spain) owned and operated by a young chef from Mexico City.  Mexican restaurants in Basel are terrible (they serve jarred salsa and consider sour cream a dip), so we were thrilled to find “the real deal.”  And when on vacation, Why Not a Cocktail Bar? (the name was actually Why Not Cocktail Bar).  This was quite possibly the smallest bar we have ever visited (just enough room for a bar, six stools, and about twelve people total), but they made one hell of a Sazerac.

Our trip to Palma wasn’t quite what we had envisioned, but we still embraced the island vibes [see Chris’s shirts] and managed to enjoy ourselves immensely.

On Saturday morning, we joined a large group of expats (mostly from Zurich) and headed to the French side of Switzerland for a wine “hike” (by hike we mean walk).  We have visited many beautiful Swiss cities/towns, but Chexbres easily takes the prize.

In an effort to keep this week’s post a little shorter, here are the highlights:

1. The views:  Oh man, the views.  Chexbres is situated on a hill on the western side of Lake Geneva and is actually part of the larger World Heritage Site of Lavaux.  The hills are lined with vines as far as the eye can see, the lake is perfectly clear and turquoise, and in the distance sit the majestic Swiss Alps (if you look closely at the pictures, the furthest peak is actually Mont Blanc).

2. The wine: We went to two different wineries, both of which had very tasty wines.  One was a little haughty for our tastes, but the other (Domaine Bovy) was an absolute blast.  We loved chatting with our wine expert and hanging out on their fabulous terrace while taking in the views.

3. The friends: Mike and Mary were definitely our “in” with the expat group from Zurich, but we have since enjoyed making our own place in the group.  They are an absolute blast to hang out with and live by our personal motto of “work hard, play hard.” 

4. The Aftermath: On Sunday, everyone parted ways and did their own thing.  Some people checked out the hotel spa, others explored the town of Chexbres, while many headed home.  We decided to walk to Vevey (about 3 miles away but amazing scenery as you can imagine).  Here we had a lazy lunch and later caught a ferry back to Luassanne.  We were originally planning to hop on a train back to Basel; however, it was simply too lovely outside to be stuck on a train.  So instead, we found a park, laid down a blanket, and enjoyed some sunshine (and naps).