Homemade pasta, red wine, gnocchi, seafood, tiramisu, pizza, gelato … I could go on.  We had it all and then some during our 5 days in Italy.

The first stop on our trip was Milan.  Neither of us had been to Milan before, and to be totally honest, we had relatively low expectations.  That said, in order to get to Venice, we had to change trains in Milan, so it seemed like a natural stop to break up an otherwise long trip.  Chris, unfortunately, had to work the majority of the four-hour train ride and then for another hour once we arrived at our hotel.  Luckily, he was able to finish up in time to enjoy an adult beverage in the sunshine.  That evening, we met up with Mike and Mary (our traveling partners in crime from Zurich) and their friends (who were just passing through) for a lovely Italian dinner and (maybe one too many bottles of) wine.

Sforza Castle

Sforza Catle

Castle Ruins accompanied by many a stray cat

Gardens behind Sforza Castle

We feel pretty well versed in traveling but still generally enjoy (free) tours of cities.  Most of the tours we go on offer a good overview and are led by upbeat guides who provide both historical and local insights.  Sadly, the tour that Sarah booked for Friday morning had none of these qualities.  It was led by a rambling (though extremely nice) young artist and offered little beyond the obvious.  Midway through, we decided that we were better off exploring the city on our own and kindly excused ourselves from the tour.  The central parts of Milan were swarming with tourists, so we headed to the outskirts of town to explore the Naviglio neighborhood (known for its canals and sprawling restaurant scene).  Here we had a delicious pizza lunch and enjoyed wandering through this hip part of town – a “must see”, in our opinion, when in Milan.

Naviglio Neighborhood

Picture stolen from M& M – we forgot to capture Duomo

Some sort of ruins – maybe we would have learned if we stuck around for the tour …

Front of Duomo Cathedral (again stolen from M&M)

Chris has been in need of some new pants and (in want of) a few casual blazers, so since we had no real plans for the afternoon, we decided to do a little shopping.  One shop, in particular, caught our eye, and we decided “have a look” inside.  The shop keeper was extremely attentive.  She responded to our “we’re just looking” with “put on this dress shirt, you’re going to try these things on.” For the next hour, she served as Chris’s personal shopper.  Better yet, Chris served as her personal Ken doll.  Either way, the customer service was top notch and Chris walked away with two new blazers, two new pairs of pants, a new shirt, and a lot less money.  That evening, was pretty typical for our travels (cocktail hour followed by yummy dinner with a nightcap to top it all off).

On Saturday, we headed to Venice.  Chris has been twice before, but it has been on Sarah’s bucket list for years now.  We were anticipating a lot of rain while in Venice, so we were happily surprised by the sunshine when we got off the train.  Knowing that the great weather wouldn’t last long, we quickly checked into our hotel and headed out for a gondola tour.  It was a bit expensive but totally worth it.  Aside from the beautiful views, one of our favorite parts was the banter between gondoliers.  Our gondolier (fourth generation of his family in the business) spoke with every other gondolier that passed by.  Sometimes they just exchanged small talk and other times our driver was a subject for quips from the older gondoliers (lots of “where’s your dad?” type material).  Shortly after our tour, the storms arrived and delivered the anticipated rain.  We found shelter in a small restaurant tucked away in a little alley and indulged in pizza and wine while we waited out the storm.

Views from the gondola

Gondola Shenanigans

Bridge of Sighs

Gondolier

Saint Mark’s Square

Later that afternoon, we toured the inside of Saint Mark’s basilica. Given the Easter holiday, the line to enter was rather long, but luckily it moved quickly.  Saint Mark’s is one of the most colorful/beautiful cathedrals we have seen (both inside and out).  The outside is adorned by a plethora of arches, columns, sculptures, and mosaics.  The inside was absolutely breath-taking – gilded ceilings, elaborate marble floors, massive paintings, and intricate mosaics.  We had plans to come back the next morning for mass, but unfortunately, the line was dauntingly long.  Not wanting to spend half of our day trying to get in, we called an audible and explored a park on the eastern side of the island.

Saint Mark’s Square

Views from the Park

Grand Canal

I’m a little obsessed with the Wysteria

On day two, we did another tour – but this time in a kayak.  During the two hours, we explored many smaller canals (it was very tight quarters with other boats and made Sarah a bit uneasy at times), kayaked under the Saint Maria cathedral (the only cathedral actually built over a canal), and even ventured to cross the grand canal a few times (here we learned the hierarchy of water vehicles: water taxi > gondola > personal boats > kayaks). After all the pasta and ice cream it was great to get out and do something active.  Much like the day before, a huge stormed rolled through in the afternoon, so our group found a nice little cafe to pass the time and watch the rain.

Kayak shots thanks to Mike and his GoPro

No fewer than 100 people took pictures of us while kayaking

Action kayak shot

By day three, Chris was feeling pretty lousy due to his allergies, but he was tough and suffered through the very busy day Sarah had planned.  First up was the Guggenheim Museum.  Neither of us is a huge fan of modern art, but it was right beside the Wake House (Casa Artom) which we wanted to try and tour.  The Guggenheim actually exceeded our expectations – it was pretty interesting to see the work of famous artists (Warhol, Pollock, Dali, and Picasso to name a few) but there were also many moments when we asked each other, “How is this art?”  After the museum, we tried to tour the Wake House, but sadly no one answered the door or acknowledged our singing of “Dear Old Wake Forest.”

Casa Artom’s front door

Guggenheim Museum

Sculpture Garden at the Guggenheim

That afternoon, we decided to tour the islands of Burano (known for lace) and Murano (known for glass blowing).  The 45-minute boat ride to Burano was slammed with people but still offered interesting views of the city and many small islands (including the city’s cemetery).  We spent about an hour walking around the island (literally, we walked the circumference of the island) and admired the brightly painted homes situated along small canals.  We knew that we wanted to see a glass-blowing exhibition while in Murano, but we were pretty hungry and tired when we arrived.  After a late lunch and afternoon coffee, we tried to find an exhibition but came up empty handed.  Unfortunately, all of the shops were closed for the day (womp womp).  Even though we weren’t able to actually see how the glass is made, we still enjoyed a bit of window shopping to admire the beautiful works of art.

Murano Glass

Styling in Burano

Typical houses in Burano

Burano Loveliness

Our final night in Venice was marked by an absolutely delicious dinner at Local (a recommendation from Chris’s partner at EY).  We splurged for the chef’s 5-course tasting menu, and we were not disappointed.  The restaurant itself may have an unimaginative name, but they served some of the most creative and delicious food we have had (nori risotto with bonito flakes, sashimi mackerel with passion fruit compote, etc.)  Like most other nights, we left the restaurant a bit sleepy, a little fatter, but extremely full and happy.

Bathing suit weather is just around the corner, so it’s time that we hit the gym to work off all of the cheese, carbs, sweets, and wine consumed on our Italian adventure.

Though Switzerland is a very small country, the weather can vary drastically between regions.  In Basel, we have enjoyed clear skies and 70-degree weather.  It has been so lovely that we spend most evenings playing backgammon down by the river [insert: joke about us being a married couple in their 80’s].  On the other hand, the mountains (a mere two hours away) have seen freezing temperatures and decent snow.  So even though we had “put away our boots” back in February, we decided to squeeze in one more ski trip. Bright and early on Saturday morning, we headed to Andermatt, Switzerland to meet up with some other ex-pat friends for yet another skiing adventure.

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day for skiing – clear skies, decent powder, and 35-degrees.  Wanting to have our cake [springtime] and eat it too [skiing], we both wore pretty ridiculous outfits.  Chris (master of silliness and protégé of Billy Madison) chose to wear the penguin onesie we had purchased for Fasnacht.  Knowing that wiping out while wearing a dinosaur onesie would be horribly embarrassing, Sarah opted for a less preposterous Hawaiian shirt.

There was one major accomplishment from Saturday: Sarah went down a black run (most difficult) with (almost) no objections, and she made it to the bottom without falling or freaking out.  Clearly, she should have worn the dino costume.

We had planned to ski on Sunday as well, but we woke up to very dense fog and a mixture of rain and snow.  Wanting to end the season on a high note, we called an audible and bailed, but the day was still a success:

1. We finally bought skis.  Due to some bad advice, we didn’t actually bring our skis to Switzerland. We each purchased new ski boots after Christmas, but we have been renting skis in the hope that someone could bring ours over before next season.   After sending both parents on a wild goose chase to locate them, we discovered that our skis are unfortunately in storage and therefore inaccessible.  Given this information, we asked to purchase our rental skis, and because we are nearing the end of the season, the rental company was happy to offload them for a pretty decent price.
2. Though the weather was terrible in Andermatt on Sunday, it was spectacular back in Basel – blue skies with a high of 65.  Still wearing our ski gear and carrying our new skis, we looked a bit out of place when we first got home; however, after a quick wardrobe change to jeans and t-shirts, we were off to the park.  We spent the afternoon soaking in the rays, napping on our picnic blanket, and playing backgammon.

Sunday was a little taste of what spring and summer will bring, and now that we are officially done with ski season, we are ready to embrace longer days and warmer weather.

We finally understand why the Irish drink.  It’s rainy. It’s cold.  It’s windy.  The pubs, however, are always warm and dry.  Each day, they beckoned, and each day, we obeyed.  Many Guinness were drunk and lots of food of the stick-to-your-bones variety was consumed.  Needless to say, we both left Ireland one belt loop looser.

Rocky Start

Despite extensive planning months prior to departure, we realized that our trip was off to a rocky start before we even reached Dublin.  1) Chris forgot his license.  This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but with plans to rent a car in order to travel the countryside, we were a little panicked.  Luckily, with Sarah’s license and Chris’s gold status at Hertz (and general Ferris Bueller luck), we managed to get off the lot with the stick shift we had booked (Chris wanted a manual for the curving Irish roads). 2) Sarah forgot to pack tons of things: proper adapters, glasses, cosmetics, and even clothing for day 6.  We both just channeled our inner Man Kim and turned clothing inside out on our last day (just kidding … sort of).

Dublin

We arrived in Dublin pretty late on the night before Saint Patrick’s day, and (no shock here), the city was very lively.  We went in and out of multiple bars until we finally found one that wasn’t monkey slammed and settled in for some phenomenal people watching.  Saint Patrick’s day itself wasn’t quite what we expected, but we still enjoyed ourselves immensely.  We learned that: 1) Saint Patrick’s day was traditionally a day much like Thanksgiving in that it was meant for family time 2) Americans “ruined” Saint Patrick’s day.  It wasn’t until Irish Americans starting migrating back to their motherland that it became a boozy event. 3) To keep American exchange students from getting blackout drunk in the morning (and to honor point #1), the city doesn’t sell alcohol until 12-pm. 4) Parades are fun, but certainly less so when it’s cold and raining.

While in Dublin, we also visited the Guinness Storeroom (entertaining but again slammed with people), and the Kilmainham Goal (a jail with an interesting insight into Irish political history and specifically the 1916 Easter uprising).

Our general impression of Dublin: it’s a big city with a fraternity, basement party vibe.

Doolin

Doolin was about a two-hour drive from Dublin, and it was our favorite stop on this trip.  It was a tiny village with a small cluster of homes (all bed and breakfasts), a few shops, and a couple of pubs situated a stone’s throw away from the most breath-taking seaside.  Until we visited the Cliffs of Moher, we had not witnessed the sea’s beauty and fury juxtaposed so perfectly in one location. On our first afternoon, we climbed around some of the lower cliffs and watched the ocean crash into the carved, stone shoreline for hours.  Neither words nor pictures will ever do this place justice, though this video is pretty decent.

That evening, we cozied up in the pub around the corner from our bed and breakfast and enjoyed many pints, live Irish music, and the company of locals who have lived in Doolin their entire lives. (Wildly enough, in addition to the Doolin locals, we ran into another young couple from Bethesda, MD.)

Early the next morning, we drove up to the iconic cliffs to hike around.  We saw a rainbow up close (unfortunately no gold), tried to outrun a rainstorm (the source of aforementioned rainbow), and took in truly breathtaking views (the wind actually takes your breath away).

Doolin to Killarney

We decided to take the long way from Doolin to Killarney, stopping at Bunratty Castle and driving the Ring of Dingle.  Bunratty Castle reminded us of the Red Wedding from The Game of Thrones but was otherwise relatively forgettable.  The drive around the Ring of Dingle, however, was very memorable.  It was both beautiful and terrifying.  Winding up and down mountains, there were many times when the road was only wide enough for one car.  Chris, always calm, cool, and collected, loved driving our manual Fiat 500 around the tight turns.  Sarah, on the other hand, often closed her eyes and “tested the door for structural integrity” [Read: held on for dear life].

Killarney is home to many national parks.  Though it was too cold and windy to fully embrace the great outdoors, we visited Ross Castle and Muckross Abbey.  The Abbey was definitely our favorite adventure in Killarney.  We loved exploring the ruins and imagining what life was like as a monk in the 1200s.

Killarney to Kilkenny

On our way to Kilkenny, we decided to stop at Blarney Castle.  This castle was less restored than the previous castle, but (perhaps therefore) captured our attention more than Bunratty.  The castle dates back to 1210, and much of it lies in ruin.  We loved looking into the depths of the dungeons and climbing up to the highest towers. The surrounding gardens were also lovely (and no, we did not kiss the famous Blarney Stone).

After Blarney, we made a pit-stop in Middleton for a tour of the Jameson Distillery.  It. Was. Awesome.  Our tour provided extensive detail about the whiskey making process, the history of Jameson, and a heavy-handed tasting at the end.  Of the three distillery/brewery tours we went on, Jameson was by far the best. (Further adding to our small world experience, the other couple in their 20’s on the tour were Wake Forest class of ’15.)

Once in Kilkenny, we explored the Kilkenny Castle and happened upon Kells Priory.  This Augustine Priory dates back to 1193 and is a walled fortress occupying nearly 3 acres of land.  Currently, it serves as a pasture for sheep and a playground for ruin-loving travelers like ourselves.

We loved Ireland, but after six days of Guinness, heavy food, and non-stop traveling, we were exhausted.  Back to balmy Basel for some salads and Swiss sport.

Despite our exhaustion from Fasnacht, we ventured to Lisbon, Portugal (known locally as Lisboa) on Thursday for a long weekend celebrating our buddy Mike’s birthday.

Of all the places we have visited so far, Lisbon is arguably our favorite.  For starters, the weather was wonderful.  Each day gifted us 70-degree weather and sunshine – both of which were a lovely break from the 50-degree rain which has pestered us in Switzerland lately.  We enjoyed rooftop bars, outside lunches, and even a two-hour sailboat tour.  Having spent as much time as possible outside, we left a little sunburned and wind-whipped (see Chris’s crazy hair below), but a little burn and a few tangles of the hair were well-worth the needed dose of vitamin D.

Belem Tower

Church of Santa Engracia

Street Art

Sailboat Tour

The food and drink scene was also spectacular in Lisbon.  Despite a terribly unimaginative name, one of our favorites was a place called Wine Bar.  There was obviously lots of yummy Portuguese wine, and after a small tasting in which we learned about the various regions from the house sommelier, we selected a bottle to share over a fancy snack plate of local meats and cheeses. One of our other favorites was found while exploring the Belém neighborhood after our sailboat tour on Saturday.  We made a stop at Pasteis de Belém for their famous custard tarts.  We had to wait in line for about ten minutes, but the delicious sweets were totally worth it!  We could go on about the amazing food (seafood, coffee, sandwiches, etc.) but the food is only a sliver of what makes this city great.

When we traveled to Budapest, we found ourselves craving more information about the history of the city.  As a result, Chris read the entire Wikipedia page on the history of Lisbon in preparation for this trip, and was, therefore, able to serve as our personal tour guide throughout the weekend.  He taught us about the Moorish occupation in the 800s, the explorers who helped grow Lisbon as a trade-mecca in the 1600s (the most famous of which is Vasco da Gama who is buried in Jeronimo Monastery), the longest-lived dictatorship in Western Europe which lasted until 1974, and the general peaks and valleys of this historically rich city.  Having the background of the city truly helped us to better appreciate the city’s architecture, culture, and people.

Inside of Santa Engracia

Inside of Jeronimos Monastery

Jeronimos Monastery

Praco do Commercio

Church of Santa Engracia

Our absolute favorite part of this trip was just getting lost and roaming the streets, particularly in the Bohemian neighborhood of Barrio Alto.  We had plans to visit highly rated lunch spots and cocktail bars, but after falling in love with the winding streets, we went for a more organic approach.  We popped in and out of bars, lunch spots, and cafes to our hearts’ desires.  On Thursday, we found a swanky rooftop lounge with views of the city, on Friday, a hole-in-the-wall bar with live music, on Saturday, a sleepy little pub, and on Sunday, a unique lunch spot on the water.  As Type A people, we usually do tons of research before leaving and generally over-plan for travel.  The planning of this trip was no different but the throwing of the plans to the wind (again, see C’s hair above) certainly was.  We are starting to find a balance between planning/preparation and authentic travel experiences.

Views!

Fasnacht is the most head-scratching but exciting Swiss custom we have experienced.  The best way to describe it is Swiss Mardi Gras in that the city turns into one massive street parade/party for 72 hours, and yet, there are many differences in Basel’s Carnival:

1. Chienbäse: This actually isn’t part of the famous Basel Fasnacht, but it takes place in a small suburb (about a 9 -minute train outside of the city) and can best be described as a fire parade. This hour-long event is a procession of people (men, women, AND children) carrying flaming bundles of sticks, nay timbers, or pulling massive, blazing wagons.  There were lots of fire marshals and all the participants were wearing flame-retardant clothing, but they were still parading fire through narrow streets.  Insurance companies would never allow such an event in the states.  Ever.  Most crazy of all was watching the fire wagons come through the archway of a wooden clock tower.  The fire department had to hose down the archway before and after to prevent it from burning down.  The last wagon’s fire was so large that it surged up the sides of the tower and forced all of the on-lookers to duck for cover as it passed.  By the end of the event, we were covered in ash and felt like we had smoked 10 packs of cigarettes.  Honestly, words don’t do this event justice, so here are a few videos to better explain:
   1. Fire coming through the archway
   2. Fire wagon up close
   3. One more fire wagon
      

      

      

      

       

2. Morgenstreich: Fasnacht officially begins at 4 am on the Monday after Ash Wednesday with Morgenstreich.  The entire city goes dark (you actually get fined if you are caught with lights on) and cliques parade through the city with “lanterns,” piccolos, and drums.  Cliques can range in size from 5 to 40 people and are basically groups consisting of pipers, drummers, and a vanguard. Each clique selects a theme every year and designs their lantern and costumes to match.  This year, there were quite a few Donald Trump groups (all of which were negative), a few Brexit groups, and a hell of a lot of “I have no idea what those are supposed to be.”  We are trying to fit in locally, but understanding Swiss German/Basel humor has yet to be tackled …We are very lucky in that the parade route comes right by our windows, so we invited a few friends up to watch from the comfort and warmth of our apartment.  Sarah welcomed the opportunity to play hostess and made quiche, french toast, mimosas, and bloody mary’s to help fuel our group through the early hours of the morning.  Around 7 am, the cliques started to disperse in order to rest up before the day geared up again, and we too decided to nap while the streets were relatively quiet.  Here is one video from the morning.
3. Parades and Waggis: Starting around 1 pm every day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), there is a MASSIVE parade around Altstadt.  All of the cliques march in the streets and are accompanied by parade floats featuring Waggis, who are basically clowns /jokers.  Sometimes they give (mostly throw) you candy; seasonal vegetables/fruits such as onions, carrots, and oranges; toys; and if you’re lucky, airplane bottles. More often, though, they shower you in confetti. There are also Waggis who roam the streets – they are usually teenagers who shove confetti down your shirts, pants, jackets, etc.  On the first day of Fasnacht, we tried to avoid the Waggis’ confetti bombs, but by day two, we just realized it’s part of the fun.  To avoid them is to miss out on the excitement and tradition.  Fun fact, Cliques/Waggis are only allowed to throw confetti of one color.  If you have thrown confetti of multiple colors, this means that you picked it up from the ground and you have thus violated everything the Swiss value (cleanliness and paying for things).  The parades go until the wee hours of the morning.  Never was there a time during the 72 hours that we looked out our window and DIDN’T see parades.  This video was taken around midnight – you can see that the streets are packed.

4. Guggenbands: In our opinion, Gugegnbands are the best part of Fasnacht.  Neither of us is particularly gifted in music, but we both certainly enjoy the musical skills of others.  Sure, piccolos and drums of the traditional cliques are neat, but three days of the same two songs over and over gets old rather quickly.  Luckily, Guggenbands (the non-traditional brass groups) often play modern music (AWOLNATION, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Diamond, etc.) to rejuvenate the crowds.  On Tuesday, the city actually set up two stages and arranged for the Guggenbands to perform for a few minutes at each location.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see all of the groups, but we LOVED dancing and singing along.

We had an absolute blast watching this typically sleepy and orderly town come alive with celebrations, but after 72 hours of constant noise and partying, we are exhausted to say to least.

Budapest is a city tottering between two worlds – one marked by grandeur and the other marked by ruin.  Many of the buildings reminded us of this commercial while others showed scars of world wars and years of communism.

We arrived in Budapest on Saturday afternoon and headed out for a casual lunch of beers and hot dogs.  That afternoon, we meandered around and visited the Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church, and Buda Castle.  On the way back, we stopped in at the Four Seasons bar for some classy cocktails and discovered the most delicious old-fashion.

Tiny door at Matthias Church

Liberty Statue from afar

View of Citadella Hill & Liberty Statue

Fisherman’s Bastion

Matthias Church

Citadella (notice the shrapnel)

View from the Citadella

Matthias Statue at Buda Castle

St. Stephen’s Basilica

Holocaust Memorial

After a full day of traveling and walking – we had a pretty low-key night with a delicious dinner, a few glasses of wine, and an early night to bed.

European breakfasts are notoriously underwhelming.  They usually consist of cold-cuts, cheese, yogurt, and bread.  While we do enjoy all of these things, we often find ourselves Hungary (see what I did there?) for a big, hearty American meal – and Budapest delivered just that.  We aren’t typically people who take pictures of our food, but we couldn’t stop ourselves.  It was truly the best breakfast we have had … maybe ever.

In 2010, we enjoyed our time at Széchenyi Thermal Bathhouse so much we decided to go back to the same place on Sunday afternoon.  The building perfectly captures the essence of a city that once was.  The formerly lustrous facilities are now quite dated and a little rough around the edges; however, everywhere you look, there are reminders of grandeur – statues, gilded lighting, beautiful filigree, you name it.  At risk of sounding like a hippy, I would say the place is very poetic (obviously Sarah’s words, not Chris’s).  Regardless, we had a relaxing day enjoying the indoor and outdoor pools and a 70-minute full body massage.  The best part of all is the fact that Budapest is incredibly inexpensive, so an entire day at the baths (with a massage for 2) was a mere 120 USD (or 35,000 Forints).  Yeah, their currency is crazy.

For dinner that evening we booked a dueling-piano river cruise with dinner.  The food wasn’t great and the piano performances left something to be desired, but the experience was ultimately worth it because the views were SPECTACULAR.  Plus we paid for the all-you-can-drink package, and you know us … we made sure to get our money’s worth.

On Monday, there were two major highlights.  First, we had breakfast at The New York Cafe which claims to be the most beautiful cafe in the world.  It was, in fact, stunning, but we learned that due to years of mismanagement [Read: communism], the restaurant and hotel had to be completely restored.  It may have an old-world feeling, but the cafe is actually as new as 2006.  Still, it was a beautiful landmark to check off our list.  Second, we visited the inside of the Parliament building.  While our guided tour was nothing special, seeing the interior of the building was amazing. It is quite possibly one of the most magnificent buildings we have seen.    The city may be poor and dirty, but the Hungarian government is (or at least was) opulent to say the least.

The Grand Staircase in Parliament

Parliament from the outside

Common Room in Parliament

View from Parliament

House of Lords in Parliament

This weekend, we were lucky to play host to Jessi, who was traveling for work in Stuttgart and decided to tag on a few extra days to come and play.  We picked her up in Zurich on Friday morning (obviously equipped with embarrassing signs) and headed back to Basel.

We spent the entire day walking around and showing her our favorite places.  Some of the highlights included: lunch at Markthalle, climbing the cathedral tower at Munster Kirche, and visiting the Jean Tinguely museum.  And because a trip to Switzerland wouldn’t be complete without copious amounts of cheese, we headed out for fondue that evening.  Around 12:30, Sarah called it quits for the evening, but the Milne siblings were full speed ahead.  They went out to another bar where Chris ended up singing karaoke to Wonderwall and then they rounded out the evening with a yummy Doner kebab.

On Saturday, we got a late start but headed to Lucern for the day.  When we arrived, we immediately heard music and having no firm plans for the day, decided to follow the source.  In Switzerland (and especially in Basel), there are carnival groups, known as clique, who perform music (drums and horns specifically) in groups during Faschnacht.  We weren’t really sure of the occasion in Lucerne, but we enjoyed watching different groups perform – there was a fantastic combination of traditional Swiss/German drinking songs and modern music.  Here is just one video we took from the performers.

While in Lucerne, we also went to a chocolate tasting at Max Chocolatier (a small, local shop).  Here we learned about different types of chocolates, how chocolates are made, and most importantly … we got to eat a lot of chocolate.  It was all very delicious!  In the afternoon, we tried to go up to Mount Pilatus to get a better view of the alps, but our timing was quite unfortunate.  We arrived at the gondola station at 4:05 pm and learned that the last lift up was at 4.  Sigh.  We will just have to get Jessi up to the Alps on her next trip.

On Sunday, we decided to host Sunday Funday in Basel.  We kicked off the day with a big American-style brunch buffet, and afterward, we headed to a park to enjoy some sunshine and a few adult beverages.  When it started to get a little chilly, we headed back to our place for activities (salad bowl, drunk telephone, foosball, etc.)  and some homemade Kasespaetzle.  It was truly a treat having Jessi here, and we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect weekend.

Much like the weather back in the States, it has been unusually warm and sunny here in Switzerland, so on Saturday, we put our Mustang Movers to good use (thanks for the birthday present KimSquared and MM+PG) by taking at 7.5-mile bike ride out to Augusta Raurica.

Dating back to 44 B.C., Augusta Raurica is an archeological site of Roman ruins just outside of Basel.  There we explored the amphitheatre, the foundations of a temple, an underground well, and a few other ruins.  While the site was very cool – it was interesting that there were modern (and occupied) houses only a stone’s throw away (look closely at the pictures below and you can see what we are talking about).  Typically, one of our favorite parts about visiting ancient establishments is being thrust back into time and imagining what live was like some 2000 years ago.  Unfortunately, having modern structures surrounding the area subdued those feelings.  All things considered, it was an awesome day and definitely worth a trip if you find yourself in or around Basel.

Even though our legs were pretty sore from the bike ride, we realized that because of our future travel plans, Sunday was quite possibly our last opportunity for skiing this season. Consequently, we got up early and headed to Hoch-Ybrig.

Hoch-Ybrig turned out to be an awesome spot – lots of long, open runs and only 2 hours from Basel.  One of the highlights of this trip was Chris breaking his speed goal.  He uses an app called Ski Tracker which tracks the elevation of the mountain, the length of the runs, and (his personal favorite) speed.  This past Sunday, Chris got up to the max speed of …. 60.1 MPH!  Sarah’s only accomplishment was not falling – which for her is just as epic, though obviously less impressive.  We definitely ended an already fantastic ski season on a high note.

Another skiing adventure to report, and this week, we focus on the lessons we learned:

1. Our assumption that rain in Basel equates to snow in the mountains was very wrong. We did do a little research before heading out and the slopes were advertised as ‘good but wet piste conditions.’  When we arrived in Sörenberg after a 2-hour train ride, however, we found that this actually meant patches of dirt and slabs of ice.  We were obviously very disappointed.  Luckily, it started snowing around lunch time and the conditions improved greatly in the afternoon hours.
2. “There’s something for everyone” means it’s a kids place. This wasn’t actually bad. There were lots of kids learning to ski in a safe environment – very adorable.  Additionally, Sörenberg is home to a well-known disabled skiing program.  Neither of us had any idea the technology and resources that are available to skiers who are physically disabled.  While Sörenberg wasn’t our favorite, we were happy to support such a fantastic mountain.
3. Don’t fall of the t-lift – especially not the long ones.  One of the reasons that we didn’t love Sörenberg was because of all the t-lifts.  If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, here’s a quick picture I stole from the internet.  Towards the end of the day, we were taking a very long t-lift (almost 1900-meters) to the top, and Sarah being the clutz that she is, fell off and took Chris down with her.  Shockingly, it was the only time she fell that day.  Unfortunately, we were a ways away from the actual slopes and thus had the climb up a hill on skis.  It sucked.  A lot.
4. We finally learned how to cross-country ski up a hill. Why you ask?  See lesson 3.  It wasn’t because we wanted to learn – we learned out of sheer necessity.
5. If number 3 is not avoidable, don’t break your Travel Pass when falling.  In Switzerland, you load your lift tickets onto your transportation passes (because skiing is obviously a form of transportation here).  When Sarah fell off the t-lift, she regrettably snapped her pass in half.  Consequently, it wouldn’t work at any of the turn-styles, the train conductors were less than pleased on the way home, and she had to pay 30 CHF to replace it.  Sigh.
6. Nothing can stop Chris Milne from wearing Hawaiin shirts.  But honestly, why would you want to?  Hawaiin shirts are amazing and … HE’S ON VACATION!
   

   

   

   Here’s a quick video of vacation man coming down the mountain.  Yes, Sarah did beat him to the bottom, but only because he went down twice to her once.  Shame.