Robert & Nancy's Swiss Adventure

All good things must come to an end...

2008-11-29T18:32:00.007+01:00

After three fantastic years in Switzerland, we have returned to Indianapolis. We have memories that will last our lifetime, experiences that we'll always appreciate, and we saw places that we'll never forget. We did everything we could to take advantage of this once in a life time opportunity.

Thanks to all of you for visiting this web page more than 4,000 times in the last three years. Our final entry is a short video summary that we hope you enjoy.

Garmisch - Partenkirchen Germany

2008-11-17T13:56:00.004+01:00

Time for another short trip to one our favorite places - Garmisch Partenkirchen. After a nice breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning hiking to a mountain restaurant for coffee, hot chocolate, and a spectacular view over the town. As the weather was perfect, we enjoyed the warm sunshine, blue skies and clear visibility to the mountains that surround the area. In the afternoon, we took a nice walk around the Eibsee. Again, very nice scenery! The lake is completely surrounded by beautiful mountains including the Zugspitze. Thanks to the Hubers for hosting us once again. Please visit their web site if you are planning to visit Garmisch. See all of our Garmisch pictures here.

Turin, Italy

2008-11-09T19:14:00.005+01:00

One of the first cities we visited in Italy was Turin - during the 2006 winter Olympics. Since we were only 2+ hours away, we decided to spend some time to get to know the city better. When we woke up on Saturday morning we looked out the window to see the full Alp range of mountains just outside the city - it was spectacular. We found the tourist office and received a great self-guided booklet of 6 different city walks. We were only able to complete 3 of them, but even before we finished the first tour we were hooked - what a terrific city. The shroud of Turin was actually on display (which is very rare), but we didn't see the original due to time constraints. We did see Galleria dell'Industria, Baratti & Milano, Mole Antonelliana, River Po, lots of piazzas and thousands of shops lining dozens of streets. There are so many things to see and do in this city we both agreed that it's worth a trip back. They even have a Choco-Pass to use at all the different chocolate shops around town - THIS alone is worth a trip back. Sunday we drove back through the Great St Bernard Pass and took our first car train through a tunnel at Loetschberg. See the pictures here.

Lausanne-Geneva, Switzerland

2008-11-09T19:01:00.006+01:00

This week Nancy was asked to give a speech to the Swiss national chapter of PMI (Project Management Institute) about IT Project Management at Roche. This was a great opportunity and it turned out to be very successful, but it also had the bigger bonus of being held in Lausanne. Lausanne is 2+ hrs from Basel so instead of driving home very late, Robert joined me and we took Friday off to visit Lausanne and Geneva since we were in the area. We visited the old town in each city and had a great time just hanging out. See pictures of Geneva and Lausanne here.

Happy Birthday Robert - AGAIN!

2008-11-01T21:26:00.003+01:00

Well, as if a week in Italy and Croatia wasn't enough for his Birthday... Nancy arranged for friends to loan Robert a very special car for the day. Not just any car, but a 1964 Mercedes 230 SL Convertible!! WOW, what a fantastic car! We took it for a drive down to Thun and Interlaken in the middle of Switzerland. It's safe to say that the car gets people's attention. Lots of gawkers on the highway and in town. Thanks to Nancy and the "bestest" friends in the whole world for making it possible. Robert loved every minute of it. See the pictures from the day here.

Bellinzona, Switzerland (Day 9)

2008-10-26T19:13:00.005+01:00

Bellinzona is the capital of Ticino and the home to three stunning castles: Castelgrande, Montebello, and Sasso Corbaro (their official web-site has some 360 degree tours). We drove home on a cloudless fall day using the eastern route of driving tour 19 from the AA Best Drives in Switzerland book. Our day ended with blog entries and laundry - the natural end to each and every vacation we've taken. See the pictures of Bellinzona here.

Locarno Switzerland (Day 8)

2008-10-26T19:12:00.008+01:00

After a few days of cloudy weather we were so lucky to get two days of blue skies and sun in Ticino. We started with the art trail in Lavertezzo - complete with a medieval bridge. It was stunning with the river, rocks, waterfalls, mountains and fall foliage. This area is also popular for divers due to the water-filled gorges caused by the Verzasca Dam (a James Bond film sight). Afterwards we had our sights aimed a little higher: Cardada. We were able to take a cable car and then a chairlift up to Cimetta to start our stunning hike where we could see the highest mountain in Switzerland, Mount Rosa. Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and got far enough along a steep, unauthorized trail that we had to continue down - the sights were stunning, but most of our concentration was focused on the matter at hand. Once safely back on the trail we enjoyed our traditional beer before heading back down. At the bottom we opted for a short driving tour which led us ultimately to Mogno, the sight of a Mario Botta designed church which was absolutely stunning. See the Lavertezzo, Cardada and Mogno pictures here.

San Gimignano/Verona Italy (Day 7)

2008-10-26T19:11:00.007+01:00

We arrived at our picturesque bed and breakfast in the middle of Tuscany and enjoyed walking around nearby San Gimignano in the evening. This town is everything you imagine a smalled, walled Tuscan village to be. Its claim to fame are its 14 towers, but it used to have 70+ towers in days gone by. After enjoying a great night in our spacious room with the perfect view we ventured into town to take some pictures in the daylight before moving on to Verona. Verona was several hours away by car, but we were able to enjoy a couple of hours visiting the famed Romeo and Juliet city which we both found charming. The town square, roman amphitheatre and other medieval architecture made it well worth the visit. See the pictures of San Gimignano and Verona here.

Assisi/Siena Italy (Day 6)

2008-10-26T19:09:00.010+01:00

Today we journeyed to Assisi, the home of the famed St. Francis. It's a lovely walled town filled with tourist and monks in traditional robes. We were able to enjoy the basilica with all of it's famed frescoes by Giotto (among others) which led the art world into its most famous period of art period: Italian Renaissance. Just down the road a piece is Siena with its terrific town square (Piazza del Campo) which includes the Fountain of Joy (Fonte Gaia). A dangerous horse race is held in the square twice a year, but we were able to enjoy some nice shopping streets and other ancient buildings before our parking meter expired. See the great pictures of Assisi and Siena.

Robert Turns 40

2008-10-26T19:08:00.005+01:00

Robert turned 40 while in Italy. We stopped at different times during his special day to take his picture with the cards he received. Thanks to everyone for sending them. Take a look here!

Alberobello/Tivoli Italy (Day 5)

2008-10-26T19:06:00.010+01:00

We decided to put Alberobello on the list of things to see from the picture in the guidebook. Its stunning houses with their conical stone roofs looked really intriguing and they did not disappoint. There are over 1400 stone roofs in the city and clustered together. They are a treat for the eyes. After a REALLY long drive, we arrived in Tivoli which is only 15 miles outside of Rome. There are several things to see here, but the most recommended sight is Villa Adriana. This complex was built by Hadrian in the early second century to represent the best that he had seen in his travels across the Roman empire. Stunning does not even come close to describing this place - we were both amazed at the size, scope and luxury that would even today be considered jaw dropping. After dark we picked our way through the traffic and darkness to arrive at the small village of Anticoli Corrado where our hotel was located. We weren't exactly sure where to find the hotel, but a local restaurant owner saw that we needed help and came to our rescue - in spades: he had a local move his car so we had a space to park, he closed his restaurant so he could show us to the hotel and then he carried one of our bags for us! The hotel owner didn't speak English so he contacted someone else from the village to come to the hotel to translate everything we needed to know...talk about hospitality! See the pictures of Alberobello, Villa Adriana and Anticoli Corrado here.

Croatia/Montenegro (Day 4)

2008-10-26T19:01:00.005+01:00

Our first adventure of the day was to visit Kotor, Montenegro. There were two main reasons to visit this town: 1) it is located on the southern-most fjord and 2) it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a walled city that has a castle that sits 4.5km above the city. It was the perfect destination for a nice fall day. Next up was Dubrovnik which is said to be the best and most well preserved medieval city in the world. The entire city is surrounded by a wall that you can walk completely around. It gives you the ability to see the town as well as the Adriatic Sea and surrounding countryside with a birds-eye-view. We took a short guided city tour in the evening to learn more about its history before having a traditional Bosnian dinner. Afterwards, we embarked onto the ferry which took us and our car 9 hours overnight to Bari, Italy. See the pictures of Kotor and Dubrovnik here.

Croatia (Day 3)

2008-10-26T18:59:00.004+01:00

Today we visited Split. This walled city in Croatia has a lot to offer: history, the coastline and narrow passages. We took a self-guided tour though the city and enjoyed a nice breakfast overlooking the boardwalk. A few minutes up with road we took some time to visit Solin, an ancient roman city complete with a forum and two theatres. See the pictures of Split and Solin here.

Croatia (Day 2)

2008-10-26T18:57:00.009+01:00

Plitvice Lakes are a remarkable natural phenomenon. There are a series of 16 lakes that cascade one into another via stunning waterfalls with crystal clear blue green water. The park is remarkably accessible with walkways over the water and close to the falls and even include trams, ferries and boat rides to make the experience truly remarkable. If we had known that it took up to 6hrs to see everything we would have scheduled the time - it was really incredible! Since the navigation system in our car didn't include Croatia we had to make our way from town to town with maps (this is not as easy as it sounds). After several missed turns Nancy saw a sign referring to Nicola Tesla. We saw several more signs and discovered that our wrong turns has taken us to the birthplace of the famed inventor, Smiljan! We made a quick stop in Zadar - an ancient walled city located on the coast before heading to Trogir. We enjoyed a nice evening there and had a great time looking at all the sail boats in the harbor for a recent race. See pictures of Plitvice Lakes, Zadar and Trogir.

Dolamiti, Italy (Day 1)

2008-10-26T18:56:00.008+01:00

Our first vacation day took us through the Italian Dolomites. There are some spectacular drives through this area and we took the most famed of them all: Bozen to Cortina (where the 1956 winter Olympics were held). This was a beautiful drive that we could have dedicated a lot more time to as there are hundreds of hiking trails and lots more routes to explore. Check out driving pictures from Italy here.

Trier/Wierschem, Germany

2008-10-12T20:24:00.003+02:00

This weekend we planned to visit some friends next to Mannheim on Sunday, but that gave us an opportunity to visit some additional places in Germany on Saturday. First we went to historic Trier which is said to be the oldest town in Germany. Lots of Roman ruins (imperial bath and porta nigra) and holy buildings (the Cathedral of Trier and the Basilica) made it a very rich visit because they are all UNESCO World Heritage sites. Afterwards we went further north to Wierschem to visit Eltz Castle. This castle has been in the family Eltz for 33 generations and still is today! The drive thru the countryside was terrific as all the fall colors are still hanging on the trees. On Sunday we visited our friends in Biblis and took in some nearby cities: Bensheim and Worms. Check out the pictures from Bensheim, Trier and Elzt Castle.

Alsace, France

2008-10-05T18:28:00.008+02:00

Alsace, the region of France that is right over the border and stretches north of Strasbourg, is world famous for its wine and vineyards. It's grape harvesting time so we thought we'd take in the area just north of Colmar that has a nice walking path Sentier Viticole des Grand Crus. We walked through several small towns: Mittelwihr, Bennwihr, Beblenheim, Zellenberg, but Riquewihr was a tourist's dream. A walled medieval city undamaged by the war with tons of great old buildings and lots of shops, restaurants and bakeries all open for business on Sunday! We could tell we were in for a treat as soon as we saw the line of buses outside the city wall. In between the cities are field after field of beautiful grape vineyards to enjoy, especially on a mild, sunny, autumn day. Some of the wine from this area include: Sporen, Schoenenbourg, Rosacker, Sonnenglanz, Mandelberg. See the pictures here.

Tour 16 & 17 Bernina & the Engadine

2008-09-29T19:37:00.013+02:00

Sunday we embarked on an ambitious driving tour with our handy Best Drives of Switzerland book. Starting in Davos we ventured to Guarda, Scuol, Mustair and then through a maze of FABULOUS mountain scenery in Switzerland, Austria and Italy on the best weather day imaginable. We ended up in St. Moritz before heading home. Guarda and Scuol have terrific buildings with preserved sgraffiti and tons of charm. Munstair is home to a UNESCO site: Church of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Johann. St. Moritz is a super swanky ski resort and is included in several James Bond movies. Check out the pictures: Guarda, Scuol, Mustair, Swiss car tour, Italy car tour...enjoy!

Swiss National Park

2008-09-29T19:09:00.005+02:00

We had a terrific forecast for the weekend and thought we'd make the most of it by exploring a part of Switzerland that's a bit out of the way. The Swiss National Park is in the southeast part of the country and is the only national park in Switzerland. It was created in the early 1900's to protect the chamois that inhabit the area (they make an incredible noise and dry your car with no streaks). We did two separate hikes: number 2 and number 17. Trail 2 offered the best possibility to see animals (it's almost impossible to see any wildlife in Europe besides birds) and it didn't disappoint: 3 red deer (they were VERY far away) and 2 marmots! Trail 17 offered a history lesson about the surrounding area in 5 languages and had some terrific views. It's a beautiful park and we're all ready to come back to visit again. See the pictures here.

Nancy, France

2008-09-13T21:21:00.013+02:00

Nancy, France is about 2.5 hrs NW of Basel in the Lorraine region and on this rainy day we decided to skip the cloudy mountain views and take in some French culture. The city is best known for its 18C architecture (recognized by UNESCO) and we could see why immediately. The main area consists of three squares: Stanislas (a palace square), La Carriere (originally designed for jousting matches) and Alliance (where the Habsburgs and the French met minds). The city is full of small squares, great parks and a fine collection of art nouveau buildings. Quiche Lorraine and macaroons both were invented in Nancy and they are also know for their bergamot oranges and bouchees a la reine. We were both sorry we weren't able to see it on a nice, sunny day considering that it was pretty fantastic even in the rain. On the way back we drove through Saint-Dié-des-Vosges where the first globe was produced with 'America' represented. Check out the photos!

Scottish Highlands

2008-09-10T13:59:00.002+02:00

First up was a drive through whiskey country: Speyside malt whisky trail. It was great to see the different distilleries and unique chimneys that give them their flavor (along with the barrels they are stored in). What's a visit to Scotland without seeing Loch Ness? Robert claimed to see 'Nessie' several times as we drove along the famous lake, but you'll have to check the pictures for yourself. Next we drove across the country looking at many different lochs (lakes) and great landscapes (see this video)on the way to the Isle of Skye (the great glen and glen sheil were terrific). Skye is a beautiful area with lots of one lane roads, coastline views and cute sheep, but we didn't see Dolly. The next day we drove on the Road to the Isles and enjoyed the craggy landscapes and wastelands of the Scottish interior at Ben Nevis and Glencoe - it was really beautiful.

Along the way we learned many things about Scotland. The history of Scottish clans, their tartans and kilts - Thompson has several - were very interesting (although we got no firsthand insight into what they wear under those kilts). We learned about haggis, tatties (potatoes) and neeps (turnips), thistles, Shetland ponies, Scotch Ale and Scottish highland cattle too. No information was forthcoming about Scottish Terriers or Scotch eggs or our favorite Scottish beer, Gordon's which apparently doesn't exist in Scotland because we couldn't find it anywhere. Did I forget to say something about golf? Yeah, they invented that too - St. Andrews was really the only thing we wanted to see, but just didn't have the time. See all the great pictures here.

Scottish Midlands

2008-09-10T13:55:00.000+02:00

We had never heard of it before, but decided to visit The Falkirk Wheel, the world's first rotating boat lift, linking the Union, Forth and Clyde Canals. As an engineering marvel the wheel was super interesting to experience firsthand - the site even contains remains of the Antonine Wall!

Next, a bit of history: Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. Stirling Castle has been around for over 900 years and is surrounded by many battle grounds. In fact, Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here. We learned all about the Jacobites and Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Wallace Monument commemorates William Wallace who was portrayed by Mel Gibson in Braveheart.

We definitely wanted to take in a distillery tour so we chose Glenturret, the oldest distillery in Scotland. We were able to learn about how scotch whisky is made and enjoyed several wee drams of different types of single malt and blended whiskeys (Famous Grouse, Highland Park, Macallan, – we had a great time. That evening we stayed in Dalwhinnie which also has a terrific distillery. Robert took lots of great photos!

Edinburgh, Scotland

2008-09-10T13:50:00.001+02:00

We started our visit at the Edinburgh Castle, part of which dates from the 12th Century. The Castle contains the Crown Jewels of Scotland, the Stone of Destiny, and Scottish Military Museums along with a great view over the city. Next we walked around the gardens and enjoyed a pub lunch in the ‘New Town’ which was designed and built in the 18th century. Afternoon brought lots of rain and wind but we took a guided tour through the Old Town and the Royal Mile, which connects the Castle and Holyroodhouse Palace (where the queen lives while she’s in Edinburgh). Afterwards we ducked in and out of the shops, and finally found a warm place for dinner.

The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour was a terrific end to the evening (Edinburgh is the only UNESCO city of literature...J.K. Rowling even lives here now). Two actors walked us through the city wynds, courtyards, and closes of Edinburgh’s Old and New Town and we visited 4 great pubs along the way. 300 years of great writing and colorful characters of Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) among others. We stayed in Leith Links, the home of The Royal Yacht Britannia and the home of the Royal family.

On the last day we had some more time in town and took in the Firth of Forth bridge, Calton Hill and did a terrific ghost walking tour in the evening that visited the South Bridge vaults. Check out the pictures here.

Glasgow, Scotland

2008-09-10T13:45:00.009+02:00

Glasgow was home to Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) who heralded an outstanding architect and designer who pioneered the Modern Movement. He was famous for designing every aspect of a project down to such details as cutlery, furniture and light fittings. We were able to visit several of his buildings: Hill House, Glasgow School of Art, The Lighthouse, and one of the Willow Tea Rooms. We had a good time visiting the sites and seeing what Glasgow had to offer even though we were only there for less than one day and found a very unique restaurant, Waxy O'Connor's. See the pictures here.

Liechtenstein

2008-09-01T21:08:00.000+02:00

We're making the most of every weekend now and decided to spend some quality time in Liechtenstein. The country was founded in 1806, has a population of 35,000 people and is only 62 square miles. We stayed in Steg which is on a crazy windy, twisty road up into mountains. On Saturday we had perfect weather and hiked over 6 hours on breathtakingly beautiful mountain trails. The hotel had a terrific chef and we ate like kings after enjoying the view from our private sun terrace. See all the pictures here.

Switzerland - The Ring of Toedi

2008-09-01T19:23:00.007+02:00

On Sunday we decided to enjoy a road trip and started Tour 15 from our Best Drives in Switzerland book. We stopped in several small towns and passed through many ski resorts but the main attraction of the day were the mountains and the valleys. The towns included Flums (with a 12 century castle and ancient church), Sargans (with a 13th century castle), Bad Ragaz (amazing resort town with several 4 and 5 star hotels) and Chur (the oldest city in Switzerland). We were in the heart of Romansh territory, the fourth official language in Switzerland behind German, French and Italian. Disentis, Andermatt and Glarus are popular ski areas, but there's not usually much to do or see unless you're skiing so we just waved as we passed through. The scenery was AMAZING and even though the drive took about 10 hours, we were both thankful to have made the journey. Check out the great pictures here: Bad Ragaz, Flums, Chur, Sargans.

Mainau, Germany

2008-08-25T23:19:00.004+02:00

Robert's back from Arizona (hooray!) so we took a quick trip to Lake Constance to visit the island of Mainau. Mainau has lots of great gardens, beautiful views of the lake and a great butterfly pavilion. The island is actually owned by the Duke of Sweden (we've decided to come back as royalty next time around - they get all the cool perks). We enjoyed a relaxing time just walking around enjoying the beautiful weather. See the photos here.

Hellesylt/Geiranger, Norway

2008-08-10T11:00:00.001+02:00

We experienced STUNNING scenery in Hellesylt and Geiranger. The cruise ship, MSC Lirica stopped to let us and 100 of our cruise buddies off in Hellesylt to drive through the Norwegian farmland between towering mountains and mountain lakes - words cannot describe the beautiful waterfalls and glacier lakes - look at the pictures. We learned a little about the significance of trolls in Norwegian culture as we continued along Olden Lake, with its amazing greenish color, until reaching Biksdal Mountain Lodge and from there walked up to the Briksdalsbreen which is an arm of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier, the largest glacier in continental Europe. After walking back to the lodge for lunch we proceeded to Dalsnibba Mountain, to experience one of the most magnificent views on the trip - it was stunning. On the way back to the ship we drove through through a kaleidoscope of mountain farms, waterfalls and lakes. Everyone must experience the Norwegian fjords (to see the northern lights you'll have to visit in the winter). As we were leaving, the ship provided a narration of several waterfalls and distinctive features (seven sisters was the best) of the fjord.

Flaam, Norway

2008-08-10T10:00:00.000+02:00

Another beautiful, sunny, warm day! At the port of Flåm we boarded the Flaamsbana train through the breathtaking Flaam valley and stopped at the Kjosfossen waterfall. After changing trains at Myrdal to the world famous Flåm Line we continued our trip through a kaleidoscope of natural scenery and stopped for a nice lunch in Voss by the Vangsvatnet Lake. Afterwards we took a bus drive through the Gudvangen tunnel and ascended the steep and narrow Stalheim valley. On a road with sharp hair-pin bends we were able to see more stunning scenery and the Sivlefossen Waterfalls and Tvindefossen waterfalls. We had the tour guide explain the difference between Nordic countries and Scandinavia and determined that there are bears in Norway, but wolverines are more plentiful. Before leaving we enjoyed a beer in Flaam's only brewery designed like a traditional stave church. Leaving the Sognefjord (the second largest fjord in the world) Robert took lots of pictures from the deck while Nancy took in the scenery inside where it was less windy.

Stavanger, Norway

2008-08-10T09:00:00.000+02:00

Stavanger, Norway is home to the Stavanger archipelago. We took a sight seeing boat for a pleasant and relaxing tour through the splendid Lysefjord until reaching the impressive cliff named Pulpit Rock, one of Norway's wonders. We had a cloudless, warm day to move freely about the sightseeing boat and were able to see everything from different points of view. We also got some typical Norwegian waffles as a snack - yummy! More great photos.

Olso, Norway

2008-08-10T08:00:00.000+02:00

Our sixth new country on the trip is Norway, another country with ties to the Vikings. We started a panoramic tour passing by the main streets and squares of the Norwegian capital, Oslo. We saw the Town Hall (where they award the Nobel Peace Prize), the Parliament, the National Theatre and the Royal Residence where Norway's royalty hangs out, but what they were most proud of was Vigeland Park and its sulptures by their 'famous' sculptor Gustav Vigeland. In the park there are more than 150 sculptures symbolizing the different stages in life. We also learned a little about the Noregian painter Edvard Munch famous for 'The Scream'. Then it was up to the Holmenkollen ski jump for a fantastic view over the city and the fjord far below. A delightful trip - see the pictures.

Lubeck, Germany

2008-08-10T07:00:00.000+02:00

We enjoyed ANOTHER beautiful day starting in Kiel with a pleasant drive to the Hanseatic city of Lubeck across the German landscape. Our guide showed us the charming old town declared world cultural heritage by the UNESCO which is actually situated on an island. We discovered the historic alleyways and courtyards which are remnants of late XIX century when the trade of the Hanseatic League was in full bloom. Admired the world-famous Holsten Gate, the seven spires, the Hospital of the Holy Ghost dating back to 1280 and St. Mary's Church – home to the world's largest mechanical organ. It was really a treat since the city was mostly untouched during the war. We enjoyed a typical German lunch (sausage, sauerkraut and beer) followed by a stop a the world famous Neideregger marzipan store and topped it off with some ice-cream to provide some relief from the heat. Lots of great pictures too!

Copenhagen, Denmark

2008-08-10T06:00:00.000+02:00

We were in Copenhagen 3 times: it was the start, middle and end of the cruise, but we were only able to get out and about one day. Denmark is famous for several things: Bang & Olufsen, Arne Jacobsen, LEGO and their yummy breakfast treat - danish. After leaving the port we started an enjoyable tour of the Danish capital passing by the main places; the Little Mermaid (inspired by Hans Christian Andersen) which is the symbol of Copenhagen and we also enjoyed Nyhavn, a colourful quarter on the canal, rich in cafés and restaurants. On to Amalienborg Palace for an external view of the Royal Family’s winter residence. Our excursion also included a stop at the “Absolut Ice Bar” where EVERYTHING is made of ice (including the chairs and the glasses) ...we had some vodka there too! The only thing we missed was Tivoli Gardens - perhaps we'll take it in next time we're there. Check out the great photos (includes cruise ship pictures too)!

St. Petersburg, Russia

2008-08-10T05:00:00.000+02:00

Yep - we went to Russia! After arriving in the St. Petersburg port we began an interesting panoramic bus tour of this important Russian town passing by its main highlights (including some information about the siege of Leningrad). We made several stops, but it's just not possible to see everything - it's Russia's second largest city and were both surprised to see how much water it has. We saw the famous Hermitage gallery, the Holy Trinity Bridge to Peter and Paul Fortress, stopped at the Spilled Blood Cathedral and drove along the famous Nevsky Prospective to St. Isaac Cathedral too. A typical Russian lunch was served (complete with vodka) before heading to Petrodvorets, considered one of the loveliest tzars’ summer residences with its wide park, rich in fountains and gardens. It was a terrific visit AND we had beautiful weather...again =) We were able to resist the temptation to buy tons of souvenirs like: nesting dolls and Fabergé eggs, but we took lots of photos to make up for it!

Tallin, Estonia

2008-08-10T04:00:00.000+02:00

Now we're in Estonia to visit another UNESCO city: Tallinn. A charming city with upper and lower disctricts. We started our walking tour in the upper town to visit the impressive Toompea Castle, presently the seat of the Parliament, the Russian Orthodox Church of Alexander Nevsky and the Gothic Dome Church. There were lots of great overlooks and views onto the port and lower city with its gabled roofs. We descended to the Lower town to visit the town hall, the XV century Pharmacy, the Great Guild, the Blackheads Brotherhood House and numerous medieval merchants' homes. After a typical Estonian lunch we continued to “Rocca al Mare”, the Open Air Museum to explore authentic examples of the local XVIII and XIX century rural architecture. Photos galore...

Stockholm, Sweden

2008-08-10T03:00:00.002+02:00

Stockholm is an absolute (no pun intended) gem! Our visit began with a visit to the City Hall. This magnificent fortress-like building has become the symbol of Stockholm and is where the Nobel Prize banquet takes place. We continued to the Royal Palace which is the King's present work place (I just put in my requisition for such an office last week). A massive testament to the Baroque, basically a huge compound of rock solid buildings on a hill in the old town, the Royal Palace comprises no fewer than 608 rooms. We walked through the old town to savour the bohemian atmosphere and had time to poke around in the shops and have lunch (we were looking forward to a smorgasbord with Swedish meatballs, but had sandwiches instead). Afterwards we went to the Vasa Museum (super, super cool!) built around the XVII century warship which sank in Stockholm's harbour on her maiden voyage in 1628. The vessel was discovered in 1956 and raised from the seabed in 1961. We loved Stockholm - arriving and leaving the port was a island-filled treat too - here are the pix.

Visby, Sweden

2008-08-10T02:00:00.002+02:00

A new country to add to the list: Sweden (home of Absolut, IKEA, Volvo and Saab). Our first Swedish stop was to Gotland island where the town of Visby is located. We drove to Hoklint, a cliff from where you have a fantastic view of Visby and the coastline before venturing into the town. From there we drove back to the old city and started a walk through the old town listed as a UNECSO site for its advances in waste management in the 15th century. We visited the Almedalen (the valley of elm trees), Visby's first harbor and site of the Hanseatic port to get an overview of the city. Next, a small and beautiful Botanical Gardens to see the roses Visby is so famous for. We continued with the visit of St. Mary's Cathedral and then headed to the Gunpowder Tower dating back to the XI century and the old remaining structure in Visby, built to protect the old port. We toured the city wall, the big Market Square of Stora Torget, dominated by the ruins of St. Katarina, once a church of the Cistercian nuns (almost all of the churches are in ruins because of the reformation in the 16th century). A lovely town where they filmed Pippi Longstocking! Check out the photos.

Hamburg, Germany

2008-08-10T01:00:00.001+02:00

Our first excursion took us to Germany’s second largest city, Hamburg. It was a 1.5 hr drive, but the guide gave us a lot of history along the way (i.e. the bride-groom tree). We saw most of the city from the bus because much of Hamburg was destroyed during the war and now it sprawls. We saw the beautiful City Hall, the impressive St. Michael’s Church and the narrow lane of Krameramtsgasse. The day we visited was a car-free day in the city after 12pm so we had limited access, but were still able to enjoy drive around Alster Lake and the “Speicherstadt” with its romantic canals. After a typical German lunch, we were able to see some great architecture (i.e. Chilehaus), and took a quick drive through the ''famous'' red-light district in the St. Pauli quarter (referenced in a beer named St. Pauli Girl). See the pictures here.

Zurich and Aargau

2008-07-13T19:54:00.008+02:00

Zurich is the home to the Heidi Weber Pavillon by Le Corbusier, for Le Corbusier. Ms. Weber, a successful interior designer from Zurich, was the first person to ask for permission to manufacture Le Corbusier's furniture designs from the architect himself for which she was granted permission. In the early 1960's she commissioned a museum of sorts to celebrate the architect. A 50 year lease on prime Zurich lake-front property was granted and Ms. Weber spent her own money to have the museum built. There is only one word for this building: MASTERPIECE! A series of cubes with fantastic spaces and an open-air, covered rooftop area to die for - we toured the place with our jaws agape. Afterwards we took a short walk along the lake and did more people watching than anything else. On the way home we took in two towns in Aargau: Bremgarten and Lenzburg. Both of these towns were totally delightful examples of cities founded in the 11th century which were worth a half hour walk through the altstadt (old town) each. See the pictures of Zurich, Bremgarten and Lenzburg.

Sedona, Arizona

2008-07-07T23:10:00.001+02:00

Robert was working in Tucson again, so over the long holiday weekend he took a trip to Sedona. The first day he drove on Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive between Sedona and Flagstaff, but an impending storm hastened his trip back to Sedona. Just enough time for a short hike, dinner, and a drive to an overlook that provided a very nice sunset. No fireworks this year... the area is too dry and the west doesn't need anymore fires. The next day he took a guided tour with Pink Jeep Tours. A nice and easy off road drive that provided nice views over Sedona. Happy 4th of July! See the pictures here.

Mt Lemmon, Tucson Arizona

2008-07-07T22:17:00.005+02:00

A co-worker invited Robert on a 6 mile hike on Mount Lemmon in Tucson. Charred trees are still visible from a fire that burned there a few years ago. Anyway, at the furthest point from the car, a freak rain storm (complete with marble size hail and ankle deep water) made for a not so ideal situation. It gave new meaning to their use of the term monsoon season. That, with common 110+ degree temperatures and the dust storm from the last trip completes the weather trifecta! See all the pictures from Tucson here.

Best Swiss Hikes: Saignelegier (33) - Gurnigel (23)

2008-07-07T21:52:00.030+02:00

In the heart of the Jura Mountains and only minutes from the French border, this hike started in Saignelegier and was perfect for me since Robert is away in Tucson. Although I like the mountains, I don't mind going somewhere close and 'flat'. This fit the bill perfectly: pretty meadows, a beautiful lake and lots of terrific wild flowers. I LOVE SUMMER! See the pictures.

On Sunday I thought I try another hike since the weather continues to be perfect (mid-80's and sunny). Once I arrived in the correct location (Gurnigel is a mountain pass, not a town so the navigation system in the car had problems finding it) - I knew I had made a mistake. This was not flat or close. I will have to return because I wouldn't want Robert to miss it. High above Thun and the Thunersee there were incredible views of the mountains and the valleys AND a ridge hike too! New views over every pass - too good not to go back. Check out the pictures.

The Home of Swiss Cheese: Emmental

2008-07-07T21:18:00.006+02:00

We took a terrific little trip to the heart of swiss cheese country, Emmental, which is just north of Berne. Starting in Utzenstorf we discovered the most charming castle (Schloss Landshut) literally tucked away in the woods. Usually they are perched high on a hill, but this one was quite hidden AND it has a moat with unbelievably clear water - we've never seen anything like it! Next up, Burgdorf (photos). Robert worked here at a Roche office for nine months, but never made it into town. Its castle is one of the oldest brick buildings in Switzerland. Our last stop was in Langnau where we went for a short hike and an unbelievable view of the Alps right in front of us - incredible!

Golzern Switzerland June 2008

2008-07-07T21:03:00.008+02:00

We went hiking in beautiful Golzern Switzerland this weekend - lots of blue sky, green grass, wildflowers, mountains, lakes and streams - the Alps at their very best. Check out the terrific pictures. We still can't believe we live in SWITZERLAND!!

Tour 5 - Best of Swizterland

2008-06-17T20:38:00.004+02:00

Sunday we ventured out into the cold, wet day for a short driving tour. We visited Baden, Brugg and Aarau. Baden is know for its hot springs (bad is the German word for bath), but this small town is also home to the international conglomerate ABB and where the inventor of LSD (Albert Hofmann) is from. It was a nice town and we were able to take in the highlights in about 20 minutes. Brugg is another small town just a few minutes away where they found a Roman settlement very near by in Vindonissa. They believe that the tower that stands near the bridge into the city was constructed in the 12th century, but extended with stones from the Roman village in the 16th century. Finally, we visited Aarau which once was the capitol of Switzerland for a few months in 1798. It has a terrific little downtown with lots of painted gables and a great clock tower. See our pictures here - Baden, Brugg, Aarau.

Besancon France

2008-06-14T21:07:00.006+02:00

Besancon is 1.5 hours from Basel and home of Victor Hugo and the inventors of cinematography (Auguste and Louis Lumière). Julius Caesar wrote about it in his journals so it's been around for a couple of years. The town has a terrific Roman arch and a theater ruin. Now the city's claim to fame is the citadel designed by Vauban in the 1600's. We took an interesting audio tour and really enjoyed the modern zoo, noctarium, aquarium and insertarium within the fortification walls. Afterwards, we took in the city's main street and almost experienced the incredible astronomical clock (poor timing didn't allow us to visit, unfortunately). We had a great time enjoying the Doubs River and exploring the town - see our pictures here.

Barcelona Spain

2008-06-09T19:14:00.006+02:00

We took a 4 day weekend to visit Barcelona. We have both been there before, but not together. Robert wanted to see a MotoGP SuperBike Race, and Nancy wanted to visit the interiors of some Gaudi buildings.

Superbike recap: They ran three races: 125cc, 250cc and 800cc bikes. The first two races were 23 laps and the last one was 25 laps - starting at 11am and finishing by 3pm. Each were very exciting and had the fans on their feet (everyone cheers for the Italian Valentino Rossi...aka The Doctor for the 800cc race). The fans were most like Indy Car fans (as opposed to Nascar or Formula 1) and lots of the fans came to the track on their own bike. We sat in Section C and each drank a beer that cost 9 Euro ($14)! See race pictures here.

City recap: We started out on a modernist walking tour that took us to visit various buildings from Barcelona's most famous modernist architects: Antoni Gaudi (Park Guell, Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló among others- all are fantastic), Lluís Domènech i Montaner (Palau de la Música Catalana and the incredible Hospital de Sant Pau), and Josep Puig i Cadafalch (Casa Martí is where Picasso held his very first exhibit). We took another walking tour of the Roman and Gothic periods and were even able to see where Christopher Columbus went to report back about his discovery of America! Catalonia has a rich history and the city is a great mix of people, shopping, restaurants and history (the Mediterranean, the Olympics, the Rambla, etc.) - if you get the opportunity to spend a week or more you would have plenty to keep you busy. See pictures from Barcelona here. Race pictures here.

Bike Ride

2008-06-01T20:35:00.004+02:00

Time for the first bike ride of 2008! Only about 3 hours in total, it was just enough to get warmed up for the year. The area around Basel is very nice for biking... Rolling hills, wide open country side, and plenty of small towns to roll through. Hopefully, we'll find more time for biking this summer. See pictures from all our rides here.

Moeckmuehl, Germany

2008-05-25T20:31:00.024+02:00

Moeckmuehl is not really a tourist destination, but it is the home of the Reifeis clan which made it worth a visit. My sister is married to a Reifeis (hi Tom!) and since the town is only 2.5hrs away I thought I would check it out while Robert is in Arizona. The city's history indicates that it was founded in 260 AD and even has a castle (which is privately owned). According to the following file (it takes a minute to load - be patient), Jakob Reifeis owned a house next to the city wall in 1853 (which is now a parking lot). I was able to find some additional information about the family on ancestry.de. I visited all 4 cemeteries in the area (Korb, Bittelbronn, Zuettlingen and Moeckmuehl) and was able to find the maiden names of Gueltig and Gauer, both on WWI memorials. Korb has a road named Raiffeisenweg (an older spelling of Reifeis) which is also the name of a huge bank in Europe. I had a great time exploring the area and found a weather rock and something built into a building (in 1832) which remains a complete mystery. Here's a short video of marktplatz - see all the pictures here.

Budapest Hungary

2008-05-18T15:21:00.007+02:00

We had the opportunity to take a short trip to Budapest last week and we were granted beautiful weather and some great site seeing. The city is actually two cities: Buda and Pest divided by the Danube River. Buda has the terrific castle hill, the citadella on top of Gellert hill and the famous Gellert Spa and Bath. Pest has great attractions like the Parliament, City Park with dozens of attractions including Heroes Square and the zoo - one of the best zoos we've every visited) and Saint Stephen's Basilica. In between there is the Chain Bridge and Margaret Park located on an island in the river. Hungary is famous for goulash, chicken paprika, a variety of yummy pastries (we tried the Palacsinta and the Rétes) and some terrific wine. Hungary has a long history including WWII and their time under communist rule. We had a great time wandering around this historic city - see the photos here!

Ireland: Belfast to Dublin

2008-05-06T16:16:00.009+02:00

In Belfast we poked around the botanic gardens and then decided to drive around town. Unfortunately the Belfast Marathon was in full swing and many of the streets were closed so we decided to cut our visit short and head back to Dublin. Not completely convinced by the brochures, we took a chance and visited the prehistoric tombs (UNESCO) at Newgrange, and Knowth. Not a single sight, but a historic landscape on the banks of the Boyne, dotted with prehistoric monuments - amazing! We had beautiful weather and the tours were incredibly interesting. At the end of the day we stopped for a 7 minute visit to the Dublin botanic gardens, had dinner and turned in early for an early flight home. What a great vacation! See pictures here and here.

Ireland: Donegal to Belfast

2008-05-06T16:15:00.016+02:00

A nice drive along the northern coast through the villages of Killybegs, Ardara and Glenties, famed for their cottage industries and the production of Donegal tweed. Heading east we added another country to the list as we entered Northern Ireland and the large town of Londonderry. We took a short detour to Bushmills Distillery and then we were off to enjoy some time outside at the Giant’s Causeway, home to the legendary giant Finn McCool. By the end of the day we were rolling into Belfast to check out the downtown area to see how it was being revitalized. See the photos here, here, and here.

Ireland: Galway to Donegal

2008-05-06T16:14:00.011+02:00

Continuing north out of Galway through Connemara towards Clifden. We stopped at the terrific Kylemore Abbey and garden along the way. Traveling through the pretty village of Leenaun, arriving at Westport on Clew Bay, we saw its 100 islands and scenic views of the North Atlantic. Heading north through Castlebar to Sligo, Drumcliff, Ballyshannon and finally to Donegal. As always the landscape was full of eye-popping green, sheep and gorse - an evergreen bush with yellow blooms that smell like coconut. Every day we stayed in a different bed and breakfast, had a traditional Irish breakfast of eggs, sausage, ham, black pudding, toast, homemade brown bread, yogurt, cereal, juice and coffee (we never left hungry, that's for sure). Ireland is known for it's round towers and they are just rare enough that each one is a treat. Interestingly, Ireland was never invaded by the Romans and was untouched by WWII - its stone walls separating pastures, its traditional music and language are Gaelic in origin. Here are some English words that come from Irish. See pictures here and here.

Ireland: Cork to Galway

2008-05-06T16:13:00.010+02:00

A short distance outside Cork is Blarney Castle with its famous stone, said to impart the gift of eloquence on all who kiss it. But today was meant for driving around the breathtaking Iveragh Peninsula, better known as the ‘Ring of Kerry’, traveling through Sneem, Waterville, Cahirciveen and Killorglin, towards Killarney. The drive took longer than we thought it would so we cut Limerick (of poetic fame) from our itinerary, hopped on a car ferry and headed north to ensure we would see the breathtaking 200 meter-high Cliffs of Moher. Then we enjoyed the drive through the bare limestone hills of the Burren to Galway, where tradition holds that Columbus prayed before sailing to America. We ate at our favorite restaurant on the trip in Clarinbridge: Paddy Burkes. Check out pictures here, here and here.

Ireland - Dublin to Cork

2008-05-06T16:09:00.011+02:00

Traveling south out of Dublin, just past Enniskerry lies the elegant Powerscourt Estate with its gardens, deer herd and the highest waterfall in Ireland. Then we traveled on to the early Christian settlement of Glendalough set at the head of a lake in a scenic glen surrounded by the imposing Wicklow Mountains. We ate our picnic lunch and explored the extensive ruins of the 6th century Irish monastery of St Kevin. Continuing south west we took a whirlwind tour of Waterford and the Waterford Chrystal gift shop. Then we made our way through Youghal (an ancient walled seaport town that provided the location in 1954 for the harbor scenes in Moby Dick) and Cobh (the doomed Titanic’s last port of call in April 1912). Then on to the day's final destination: Cork. I know you don't think it's possible, but we didn't visit the Murphy's brewery while we were there. Pictures of the scenery are here and here.

Ireland - Dublin

2008-05-06T15:59:00.011+02:00

We started our visit to Ireland with a 1.5 day visit in Dublin. Here's the top 10 list of the things we did:

- Grafton Street
- General Post Office / City Hall
- Monuments: Molly Mallone - Spire - Ha’penny Bridge
- Walking Tour: Canal District
- Jameson Distillery (Irish whiskey)
- St. Steven's Green Park
- Temple Bar + Stag’s Head Pub
- Musical Pub Tour (listened to great jigs and reels)
- Walking Tour: Historical

- Christ Church Cathedral
- St. Patrick's Cathedral

- Dublin Castle
- Trinity College
- Old Parliament Building

- Georgian Architecture (lots of great doors!)
- Guinness: Tour of St. James Gate (360 degree bar)

We also learned about the Guinness Book of Records, Irish potato famine, Irish surnames, Irish struggles with England and a little about their economy too. In between all those interesting facts we visited several pubs...The Porterhouse and Messre Maguire were two of our favorites! See the pictures here.

Spring Road Trip

2008-04-21T16:53:00.011+02:00

Today we ventured out for a nice drive in the country. First up Montbeliard, France. It has quite a history: home of Peugeot's main manufacturing plant, home of the oldest Luthern Church in France, and the home of George Cuvier - the founder of paleontology! On the way back we visited Porrentruy, Switzerland which had a nice botanical garden and a quaint city center. We were just getting on the highway to go home when we saw the Lamborghini dealership and stopped for a look inside... See pictures from Montbeliard here, and Porrentury here.

Tucson Arizona

2008-04-19T16:13:00.007+02:00

Robert went to Tucson for business and was lucky enough to stay over the weekend. Some of his work colleagues were nice enough to take him hiking in the mountains of Catalina State Park. Just a few minutes away from the office, there are a variety of trails to choose from. Even though the terrain, landscape and weather are quite different from the Alps in Switzerland, walking straight up a mountain on a clearly marked path is still the same. Unfortunately, he didn't see any of the wildlife the area has to offer like rattlesnakes, mountain lions, coyotes, scorpions, or Gila monsters! Oh well, maybe next time! See pictures from Tucson here.

Valencia Spain - Culture (1/3)

2008-03-24T10:37:00.013+01:00

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and home to Valencia oranges and the America's Cup Port. There is a LOT of seafood there, but some other Spanish favorites include: paella, hortchata and our personal favorite churros (donuts with hot chocolate sauce). The Turia River Park is an old river bed that is now a 9km park: walking, biking, soccer fields, mini golf, lots of play grounds (with a neat over-sized Gulliver), the biopark and the too-cool city of arts and sciences mostly designed by the city's own Santiago Calatrava. Other things of interest were the bull fighting ring, city gate, silk exchange, botanical gardens and the great beach. See the pictures here.

Valencia Spain - Festivals (2/3)

2008-03-24T10:34:00.011+01:00

Valencia has two major festivals each year: Falles and the July Fair. We were lucky enough to arrive on the last day of Falles to experience only a few of the 130+, 20 meter high paper-mache sculptures that dot the city. At midnight each one is set alight by a string of fire crackers that burn them to the ground. Last year the largest one cost 600,000 Euro! Kids and adults set off loud firecrackers in the streets and the evening ends with lots of firework displays. There are several activities going on in between Falles and Easter that were interesting, but we were only able to visit the cathedral to see the huge offering of flowers in the square and attend the Easter parade. Different church brotherhoods act out different parts of the Easter story so the crowd can see the progression of events - fascinating! See the pictures here.

Sagunto & Castellon Spain (3/3)

2008-03-24T10:10:00.000+01:00

We took a train to visit the near by towns of Sagunto and Castellon. Sagunto is a well preserved Roman settlement from the 5th century B.C. It had some great views and was surprisingly large. After a couple of hours we jumped back on the train to visit Castellon. Neither one of us were very impressed with the town, but it was also almost totally vacant because it was Good Friday. See the pictures from Sagunto and Castellon.

2008 Geneve Auto Show

2008-03-16T19:47:00.006+01:00

This was our last opportunity to attend the Geneva Auto Show. WOW is the only word to describe this extravaganza. Thousands and thousands of people were packed into the Geneva convention center to see a huge variety of cars you know and love (Ford, VW, BMW...), cars you could never afford (Maybach, Bentley, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bugatti) and cars you have never heard of like (Spyker). We had a great time looking at the cool cars and scoping out the cars we would like to buy when we come home. Check out the pictures here.

Lake Geneve: Montreux-Vevey-Evian

2008-03-16T19:38:00.007+01:00

This weekend we decided to take in some locations around Lake Leman (aka Lake Geneva) - the 2nd largest lake in Western Europe. Chateau de Chillon is located right next to Montreux and is arguably the best preserved castle in Switzerland. We decided to eat lunch just up the street in Vevey - the home of Nestle and the city where Charlie Chaplin spent the last 25 years of his life. 20 miles up the road is Evian-les-Bains the home of Evian water. We took a nice city walking tour which led us a long the nice city streets and beautiful waterfront. Last stop was Thonon-les-Bains. Thonon is home to Chateau de Ripaille, but unfortunately we arrived too late for a visit. Lake Geneve obviously has lots of great locations to offer and they all have spectacular views of the lake and the Alps. Check out our pictures: The Chateau, Vevey, Evian, Thonon.

Swiss Driving Tour

2008-03-09T18:12:00.005+01:00

Time for another drive through small towns in Switzerland. This time we visited Willisau, Sursee, Sempach, and Beromunster. All are less than 45 miles from our apartment and have that small town charm that we enjoy. Each town has their "old town" which usually consists of a church and surrounding buildings that are centuries old, a wall that surrounds the city, as well as the city gates. Of course they each have their own story to tell. For example, in Sempach a crucial battle between the Swiss and Austrian armies took place there in 1386. The St. Jacob chapel perched on a hill nearby the center commemorates the event. A short trip for us today, but we enjoyed the opportunity to see more of middle Switzerland. See the pictures: Willisau, Sursee, Sempach, and Beromunster.

Krakow 1/3: Old Town

2008-03-08T20:02:00.005+01:00

Krakow is a beautiful old city with the largest public square in Europe that includes a year-round flower market. The moat has been filled in and is now a park that circles the city and you can see a fire breathing dragon too! The Wawel castle and cathedral grounds have a statue of their national hero Kosciuszko. He was the co-founder of West Point and has additional interesting ties to the US. Poland is 99% Catholic and have lots of churches to prove it. The painter Stanisław Wyspiański has decorated several churches in a very unique art nuevo style. Pope John Paul II was born very close to here and Copernicus attended Jagiellonian University that has been here since 1364. Poland was partitioned for 125 years and was re-established as a country on Nov 11 after WWI was over. Unlike Warsaw, Krakow was not structurally damaged during WWII, but the people suffered greatly under Stalin from 1945-1952. Poland was under Communist rule until 1989 when Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement challenged the Soviets to regain their freedom. Poland is a member of the European Union, but retains their zloty currency until which time their economy is strong enough to withstand the introduction of the Euro. See pictures of Krakow here.

Krakow 2/3: Auschwitz/Birkenau

2008-03-08T18:04:00.017+01:00

I was able to take the opportunity to visit Auschwitz/Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945) 1.5 hours SW of Krakow. The camp is named after two small adjoining towns that no longer exist. Auschwitz has many brick barracks and Birkenau (5 minute drive by car) contained wooden horse stables that housed around 130k people to be used as camp labor. 1+ million people died here and almost 70% died almost immediately after they arrived. The others died usually within 3-4 months of starvation, exposure, disease, etc.

The museum/memorial was established in 1947. One building containing a gas chamber and ovens can be visited as well as exhibits of peoples' belongings (e.g. brushes, shoes, luggage, eye-glasses, prosthetic devices, hair) that were collected, sorted and shipped back to Germany for resale. Auschwitz is also where Josef Mengele performed horrific medical experiments. Thankfully there were no graphic photos of the atrocities.

Krakow 3/3: Wieliczka Salt Mine

2008-03-08T16:05:00.006+01:00

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of the oldest salt mines in the world - it's been around for around 700 years. Several large rooms have been converted into churches (one very large one and many small ones). Miners-turned-artists carved religious scenes into the rock salt to create some very beautiful images. Only 1/10 of the mine is open to the public and it took 3+ hours to take the tour, it covers 3 different levels! Krakow was a very rich city in the past due to the salt - it is known as white gold. See pictures from Krakow here.

Garmisch Partenkirchen - Germany

2008-03-02T18:20:00.006+01:00

Time for another visit to see the Hubers in Garmisch Partenkirchen! We were planning for a day of skiing, but terrible weather prevented that from happening. Plan B was a short trip just outside of Garmisch to a nearby town called Mittenwald. The town is located in Bavaria on a trade route that was used by the Romans (and also surrounded by beautiful mountains). In the 17th century, Matthias Klotz introduced the art of violin making to the town. Today, there are eleven violin making workshops in Mittenwald. Despite the rain, we had a nice time visiting the museum and walking around this very traditional town. As usual, the Hubers were excellent hosts and went out of their way to take care of us. They have rooms available for rent. If you're planning to visit the region, we highly recommend that you stay with them. They would love to have you! See their web page here. Pictures of Mittenwald here, and our old pictures from Garmisch here.

Swiss Driving Tour #6

2008-02-24T19:56:00.007+01:00

My favorite book these days is "The Best Drives in Switzerland". We had clear blue sky and temperatures in the mid-60s to enjoy our 8 city tour in the French-speaking part of Switzerland: Riggisberg, Schwarzsee (the lake was actually frozen, but sadly no one was playing hockey), Fribourg (an old town with lots of charm and great views) , Bulle, Romont, Payerne, Avenches (home of the largest Roman amphitheater in Switzerland) and our favorite Murten, the best-preserved example of a fortified medieval Swiss village - check out the battle panorama. Thanks to the great weather and perfect location, we were able to see the Alps in all their snow-covered beauty almost the entire day. See our pictures of Fribourg, Murten and what it looks like in other parts of Switzerland here.

Neuf-Brisach (FR) and Breisach (D)

2008-02-24T19:31:00.005+01:00

We stumbled onto a great french web-site that had photos of city fortresses and discovered Neuf-Brisach. Only 45 minutes from Basel, it was a great find. We got a map from the tourist office that guided us through the history and high-lights of the construction and military reasoning of the ramparts (defensive wall) and other defensive features. Just across the Rhine is her German sister-city: Breisach. It also has a interesting history and a great walking tour, but sadly 85% of the city was destroyed in 1945 so most of it has been rebuilt. See our photos from both the French and German sides of the Rhine.

Dusseldorf and the 1/2 Timber Roads

2008-02-17T21:12:00.006+01:00

Dusseldorf is just 25 miles north of Cologne so we deicided to take a short side trip to take a look. Unfortunately, we didn't research the city before we got there so we didn't have a specific destination. However, we did take a nice stroll around the altstadt (old city) and enjoyed the view along the Rhine River. Afterwards we decided to take in a few towns on one of Germany's many framework roads: Dillenburg, Herborn and Wetzlar. Since most of the large, famous cities in Germany were destroyed during the war they do not have original old-style structures like some of these smaller towns - they are a delight to visit. See the pictures of Dusseldorf here, and 1/2 timber towns here.

Koln (Cologne), Germany

2008-02-17T20:33:00.006+01:00

Cologne is famous for three things: its church, the fragrance made famous there, and its beer. Let's take them one at a time: 1) the Cologne Cathedral is considered one of the best known architectural monuments in Germany, it was the world's tallest building for 4 years (1880-1884) and has 580 steps to get to the top. 2) aue du cologne was invented by Johann Maria Farina in the 1700s and was named after the city it was invented in - Farina is considered the oldest fragrance company in the world! 3) Cologne has more breweries than any other city in Germany, but they only brew one type of beer: Kolsch. This beer is served in 0.2dl glasses and is usually served from a tap. We visited 4 of the 20+ breweries in the city: Fruh, Gaffel, Pfaffen and Sion. Cologne was actually founded by the Romans in 50AD and also has interesting WWII history. Take a look at the pictures here!

Fasnacht 2008

2008-02-14T10:37:00.005+01:00

Good times at the Basel "Fasnacht" (Carnival). This year we decided to attend the Morgenstreich at 4am on Monday to get started (see videos). Yes, a bit early, but well worth it. In the afternoon, we attended another parade so we could enjoy the music and costumes of the participants. The carnival atmosphere is everywhere in the city. Confetti, drums, flutes, costumes, parades, and floats just to name a few. Lasting from 4am Monday until 4am Thursday, it’s a huge party, and considered to be one of the best carnival celebrations in Europe. See all of our Fasnacht pictures from the last three years here.

Parade of Fire

2008-02-11T19:12:00.000+01:00

On Sunday night we attended Cheinbäse (a Fasnacht tradition of bonfires dating back to the 16th century) in Liestal Switzerland - just 10 miles from Basel. Since 1869 people have been carrying burning bundles of pinewood in a parade and in more recent decades they have started carrying bonfire carts with flames up to 5 stories high. Amazingly, the flames were only feet away from the people and surrounding buildings and lasted for 1 1/2 hours. We enjoyed this bazaar activity along with thousands of other spectators and an army of fire fighters. Check out the videos and pictures to see how crazy this event really is.

Cradle of the Confederation

2008-02-04T20:02:00.000+01:00

We have a terrific book of Swiss driving tours, and this week we took Tour 12: Cradle of the Confederation. We visited 5 cities: Burglen, Brunnen, Schwyz, Einsiedeln and Rapperswil. Burglen is the birthplace of William Tell (all these years I thought it was just a fairy tale). They recreate ol' Bill shooting the apple off of his son's head every summer for bus loads of tourists! Brunnen has some terrific scenery - it's located at the junction of two lakes and has dramatic snow-covered mountains in every direction. Schwyz is the birthplace of Switzerland and holds the official documents that brought three cantons together to form an alliance in 1291. Einsiedeln is the birthplace of Paracelsus and the location of a famous Benedictine Abbey - one of the most important baroque buildings in Europe! Rapperswil is on Lake Zurich and has a terrific castle housing a Polish museum and beautiful old city streets. We snaked our way through at least a dozen tunnels and each time we emerged it was a surprise of either grey fog or bright sunshine and clear blue skies. See the pictures - Burglen, Brunnen, Schwyz, Einsiedeln and Rapperswil.

Grindelwald, Switzerland

2008-01-27T14:23:00.000+01:00

Another team event allowed Nancy to visit quintessential Switzerland for three days - Grindelwald. This village is surrounded by terrific mountains (Mönch, Eiger and Jungfrau among others) and the Roche team was able to participate in several outdoor activities while we were there. Our first evening out, we took a bus up to Bussalp to start the Big Pintenfritz: the longest toboggan run in Europe (15km). Everyone got a sled, a light for their head and some simple instructions before we left. Mid-way we stopped at a terrific place for a wonderful fondue dinner before finishing the sledding. The next day we took the train to Kleine Scheidegg and started downhill on traditional velogemels (snow bikes). Before we got to the bottom we created some snow sculptures like the ones they create for the winter snow festival every January. Robert joined us on Friday evening so he could go skiing on Saturday. See the skiing pictures here, see pictures from the "workshop" here.

A sunny day in Switzerland!

2008-01-20T20:10:00.000+01:00

Today was a warm and sunny day in Switzerland, so we decided to go for a short tour in the middle of the country. The first stop was the town of Zug. It's a small town of approximately 25K and located on a lake with the same name. It provides fantastic views to the snow covered Alps just a few miles away. We enjoyed walking through the old town and seeing the buildings, shops, narrow streets, and even caged birds including Owls. (Nancy's favorite). Next up, a cogwheel train took us past the sledders and skiers on the way to the top of a mountain called Rigi. After a few beers, we took in the breathtaking views and took pictures and a video of the surrounding mountains and lakes (Robert's favorite). You can see pictures of Zug here, and from Rigi here.

Basel Museum Night 2008

2008-01-19T12:38:00.001+01:00

For such a small town (~150,000 people), Basel has over 35 terrific museums to visit and they are all open from 6pm-2am on Museum Night. We took it easy and saw only two new ones this year: the Firefighter Museum and the Pharmacy Museum. The fire museum had terrific displays of old ladders, buckets, fire hydrants, fire trucks, helmets, etc. The 3-man bike from 1899 was of particular note. The pharmacy museum made us thankful to live in modern times. There were many jars and bottles of things like frog tongues and dog teeth that made you wonder if it was a voodoo shop or a animal center. See Museum Night pictures from the last three years here.

Curling

2008-01-19T12:07:00.000+01:00

Last week my project team met for a 4-day workshop and we arranged to go curling as our team event. Only 5 of us were able to participate, but we had a great time. There is a curling center about 10 minutes from Basel and an instructor was there to tell us about the history, rules and techniques of the game. Lying prone on the ice I could tell that this sport is a lot harder than it looks! See Curling and other Basel event pictures here.

St. Gallen, Switzerland

2008-01-13T16:06:00.000+01:00

St. Gallen is the 7th largest city in Switzerland. We decided to take the city tour to see the Abbey District (a UNESCO world heritage site). The church and library are absolutely stunning! The Stiftsbibliothek has never been renovated since it was built in 1758, but it was in perfect condition. Along with terrific bookshelves and a wood inlay floor, we saw a mummy from 700 B.C, 150,000 books and a book containing the first written musical notes! St. Gallen is also known for its oriels(bay windows) and textiles. The textile museum had lots of great examples and the history of textiles in Switzerland (even a dress that Napoleon's wife wore!). It was a very wet and cold day so we left right after the tour - we need to go back to visit Switzerland's oldest brewery and a couple of Santiago Calatrava structures (bus stop and emergency service center). See our pictures from St. Gallen here.

Basel Architecture Museum

2008-01-06T16:27:00.000+01:00

Today we took a short trip... A ten minute walk to the Architecture Museum in Basel. It is currently featuring an exhibit from Pancho Guedes. He's a very creative Painter, Sculptor and Architect from Portugal. Although small, the exhibit has a little of everything, but we were most impressed by the architecture. Take a look at some of his drawings here. Overall, we enjoyed the short trip, and it was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. See all of our Basel pictures here.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-03T17:48:00.000+01:00

Another year has come and gone and our only trip back to Indy this year was packed full of family, friends and shopping! We were able to take in the new Marion County Public Library, the Roman Art exhibit at the Museum, and took a peek at the new Colts stadium as well. Qdoba was on Robert’s list and Nancy was able to enjoy some Cracker Barrel favorites - we both miss Taco Bell (if you can believe that) and Quiznos too, but somehow we didn't make it to Dairy Queen. We were reminded of the appalling amount of trash generated at the fast food places. We went out of our way to visit our old gym just about every day, watch several football games and were also able to stake out the outline of our new house on the lot. 2008 will bring lots more work, travel and good times –this will be our third and final year in Switzerland and we still have tons of things to see and do. Here’s wishing you a healthy and prosperous New Year!! See our Christmas pictures here, and our house pictures here.

Stadtkeller Basel

2007-12-11T23:07:00.000+01:00

We took our German language teacher out for a holiday dinner and he got to choose the location. His other students recommended a place called the Stadtkeller (literally: city cellar) recently and really enjoyed it. Apparently this establishment is well know and it was very crowded when we arrived. Mid-way through our salads, a deep voice sounds over the room, the lights dim, and the music comes up. A spot light directs our attention to a curtain in the corner that is pulled back to reveal an animated Freddy Mercury doll surrounded by furry dogs who proceed to belt out a non-Christmas Queen song of days gone by. Next, another curtain opens with a Tina Turner doll complete with sax-playing reindeer and a disco ball. Two additional curtained areas contained Fats Domino (who looked more like Little Richard) with hula-like Christmas trees, and Docelli with Rattitui directing his performance. We were completely stunned by these elaborate displays and of course stayed for the 2nd set. It was a great time and Robert is still kicking himself for not taking his camera.

Middle Germany - Nurnberg/Bamberg

2007-12-11T20:40:00.001+01:00

Nurnberg is a large city with (supposedly) the best Christmas market in Europe. We arrived on a Saturday evening and were amazed at the number of people and shear number of shopping opportunities. Once we found the Christmas market, it was in full swing - wall to wall people eating bratwurst (which was invented in Nurnberg), drinking Gluehwein and wandering around the market. It was so packed in some places that we couldn't even move! The most special items were nutcrackers and smoke men which both come from Germany. We went back the next day to visit the city and were delighted with the churches, streets and castle that are still contained within the city walls. Last stop, Bamberg. This is another great town that is a UNESCO world heritage site. The weather was a bit rainy so we decided to visit a local brewery for lunch: Klosterbrau. Afterwards we toured their beautiful town (which was barely touched during the war), visited their Christmas market, and dodged the raindrops before returning home. If you ever get the opportunity to visit middle Germany during the Christmas season, it will provide memories for a lifetime. See pictures of Nurnberg here and Bamberg here.

Middle Germany - Wurzburg/Buttenheim

2007-12-11T20:39:00.000+01:00

Wurzburg is the home to the famous Wurzburg Residenz (that's okay - we had never heard of it either). It was a fantastic castle, and had very interesting displays about how it was beautifully renovated after nearly being destroyed on March 16, 1945. The Marienberg Fortress sits on a hill over looking the city- we were so lucky to be there during Christmas time because they were having a medieval Christmas fair and market complete with traditional clothes, music (see video) and even a live nativity. The coolest thing about the fortress was the the view and the 101 meter deep well that was dug many centuries ago. A short trip down the road brought us to the birth place of Levi Strauss, Buttenheim. They made a terrific museum of his residence and we learned most everything you could ever want to know about jeans. See pictures of Wurzburg here and Buttenheim here.

Middle Germany - Ulm/Rothenburg

2007-12-11T20:37:00.000+01:00

We ventured out for a three-day weekend during our last Christmas season in Europe to experience the best of the best, Christmas markets...We were not disappointed! Ulm made the list not because of its Christmas Market, but because it's home to the world's tallest cathedral and it's the birthplace of Albert Einstein! The cathedral was indeed very impressive and on the windiest day of the year, we climbed all 768 stairs to the very top (whew - that was a lot of stairs!). Most of the buildings were destroyed during the war, including Einstein's birthplace, but there is a small plaque commemorating the site. They had an unexpectedly great Christmas market complete with a live animal nativity scene and we enjoyed our 3 hour visit immensely. Next stop, Rothenberg ob der Tauber - it's a walled city, ya know. This city has so much charm it's hard to believe it's real. We visited the city in the evening, walked around the market, drank some gluehwein and ate at a 700 year old restaurant! See Ulm pictures here, and Rothenberg pictures here.

Jura Watchmaking Road

2007-12-02T20:28:00.000+01:00

Western Switzerland is home of the Swiss watchmaking industry. From Geneva to Chaux-de-Fonds the road is paved with all the greats: Rolex, Omega, Tissot, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Swatch...the list goes on and on. Today we visited the International Museum of Horology (the science and study of timekeeping devices) and we were amazed at the collection, the layout and the scope - it was terrific. They profiled the history of Swiss watchmaking, the development of the trade and tools, and displayed stunning examples of Swiss clocks and watches thru the centuries. One exhibit featured new technology in GPS clock synchronization, and another featured the CERN project (the largest particle physics laboratory in the world) which is located underneath this and several other cities in the area. Our drive home took us thru lovely Neuchatel and Yverdon les Bains with a terrific view of the alps over Lac De Neuchatel. See pictures - Neuchatel, Yverdon and the Museum.

Basel Christmas Market

2007-12-02T20:16:00.000+01:00

Every year most major European cities set up Christmas markets for the holiday season. On Saturday we visited Switzerland's best - Basel. The market is a feast for the eyes and the stomach. The smell of traditional Swiss food along with warm Gluehwein fill the air and the market is packed with men, women and children of all ages and nationalities. The booths have everything: hand-made wares, Christmas decorations, children's toys, candles, jewelry and Swiss confections. It was sprinkling, but very mild from previous weather and we had a great time wandering around and enjoying the sites. Other great Christmas markets in France include Colmar and Strasbourg, but the most famous ones are in middle-Germany. We are taking a 3-day weekend next week to visit them...stay tuned! See pictures from the Basel Christmas Market and other Basel events here.

French Wallpaper Museum

2007-11-25T19:04:00.000+01:00

Since the first time we passed the sign, Robert has been begging me to go to the Wallpaper Museum. Well, today was the day - cold and cloudy - THIS was the perfect opportunity. Everything you ever wanted to know about wallpaper (in French, no less) is contained in these 4 walls. The paper, the printing machines, the designs, the scenes - it was FASCINATING and I was barely able to drag Robert away. It's no wonder - the history of wallpaper is compelling to many and there is even a wallpaper history society! See our pictures here.

Basler Stadtlauf (City Run)

2007-11-25T18:52:00.000+01:00

To kick off the holiday season, Basel holds a charity run. Young and old alike participate in this 5.5k event which takes place in the evening. Each gender is broken up by age group and start at 1/2 hour intervals; fans along the route cheer, ring cowbells and shout encouragement to the participants. Near the starting line a stage is set up and every hour a 'warm-up' session takes place with trainers to lively music. Robert and I both ran this year - after the race we donned our medals and drank a Gatorade toast to a job well done! See our Basel events here.

Basel Christmas Tree Lighting

2007-11-24T16:19:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday, Basel's Christmas lights were switched on. The festive season has begun! Throughout Basel's streets and squares, some 100 Christmas trees were illuminated at the same time. The Brass Ensemble of the Boy's Choir together with an additional choir from Theater Basel provided musical accompaniment to the event, staged at Market Square. We enjoyed the evening with some of our work colleagues and finished it off with dinner at a Spanish restaurant on the Rhine river. Nothing says Christmas like tapas in Switzerland! See pictures from Basel here.

Foundation Beyeler

2007-11-24T15:53:00.000+01:00

A quick trip to our favorite museum, Foundation Beyeler. Located on the edge of Basel, it's just ten minutes away in the car. The museum is currently featuring a "Forests of the World" exhibit with great pictures from photographers like Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Ernst Haas, Frans Lanting, and numerous others. We were shocked to see that some of Robert's best pictures weren't featured. Unbelievable. Anyway, the building was designed by Nancy's favorite architect, Renzo Piano, and anytime we have an excuse to go there, we will. See pictures from Basel here.

FCB: Football Club Basel

2007-11-10T20:57:00.000+01:00

Today we went to a soccer game for the home team: Football Club Basel (FCB). It takes place in a stadium designed by the world famous Herzog and de Meuron. One of our neighbors plays on the team: Koji Nakata - it's similar to having a Pacer or a Colt living in your neighborhood. It's a bit surreal to see the riot police with their batons, shields and helmets before the game - they are there to make sure the hooligans do not start any trouble. Soccer is THE sport in Europe, but for us, it's a good reason to eat sausage, pretzels and drink beer! See pictures from the game and other Basel events by clicking here.

Basel Autumn Fair

2007-11-10T20:32:00.000+01:00

Every year since 1470 Basel has held a their annual autumn fair. It is held across the city in 7 different locations. Each location has food and rides and some even have markets to buy hand made items. It was in the low 40's today so we just hit the high-lights: Barfuser Platz, Munster Platz and Peters Platz. Peters Platz has the best market with everything from pottery to puzzles and vegetable peelers to window squeegees. They have tons of food booths and we tried cheese quiche, wurstli (sausage) and magenbrot (literally stomach bread). It was all very tasty and we soaked up all the kids enjoying the rides while we walked thru the other areas. Munster platz has a GIGANTIC farris wheel that can be seen from all over the city. After 537 years, they must get something right - it was a great way to spend the afternoon! See lots of pictures from around Basel here.

Cirque du Soleil - Delirium

2007-11-06T13:26:00.000+01:00

We ventured out of town on a 'school night' to attend the latest Cirque du Soleil show in Zurich. Delirium offers lots of the same acrobatics that makes Cirque shows famous, but offered more music and singing than usual. Delirium was produced specificlly for short runs (3-5 nights in one city) before it packs up and moves to a different location. They did a terrific job with the special effects and really captured a dream-like quality the story line required. Another bonus was that everything was in English! We had a great time and enjoyed our night out - it was a nice change of pace.

Transportation Museum

2007-11-04T11:52:00.000+01:00

The Verkehrshaus (Transportation) Museum is a treasure of Swiss transportation history located in Luzern. It's hard to believe that the Swiss have so much to say about this topic! We toured exhibits about tunnels, trains, trams, boats, planes, cars and even funiculars, gondolas and ski lifts! They have several examples of these things (even a full-size plane) so the building is very large...it's so large they have kick scooters available to get from one area to another. The museum has tons of interactive displays to capture your interest and also touts a planetarium and IMAX theatre (we saw The Alps). We really enjoyed finding our apartment on the Swiss Arena - the largest aerial photograph of Switzerland. See all of our Luzern pictures here.

Basler (Half) Marathon

2007-10-26T20:16:00.000+02:00

Nancy (bib number 1818) has been training all summer to run the Basel Marathon, but my training fell short in the end and I opted to run the half marathon instead. The course starts just out of town and follows a lovely path along the Birs River. The weather was chilly (in the mid-40's) and it was overcast, but the leaves were turning and the 'fans' were cheering and ringing their cow bells in support of the runners. It was a great day overall and I managed to finish almost 20 minutes faster than last year. Hooray!!!

Weekend in Italy

2007-10-21T20:20:00.000+02:00

Wow - what a terrific weekend! We ventured off to northern Italy for Robert's birthday and were treated to terrific blue skies, nice fall weather and some great site seeing. First up, we arrived in Stresa on Lake Maggiore to visit the Park of Villa Pallavicino. It was a zoo (see video) and botanical garden all rolled into one (any they even had 3 owls!). Next we took a ferry to an island in the middle of the lake to visit an absolutely over-the-top villa on the private island of Isole Borromee. We could not believe the scope of this magnificent palace and gardens complete with white peacocks! We missed the ferry back to the mainland and were forced to have a beer to pass the time (darn). We ate at a great hotel/restaurant in the town of Mergozzo to finish off our perfect day. Sunday we started in Arona to visit a huge statue that is only 30 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty - Coloso di San Carlo Borromeo (check out those EARS!). That riveting visit was followed by a visit to the most beautiful garden either one of us has ever been to - Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto. We couldn't stop saying things like - that's beautiful, look at that tree, check out that view...MAGNIFICENT!!! For our drive home we took a long journey through the Alps and over a couple of passes - there was light snow falling near the top. See pictures from our weekend here, and see what it looks like to drive in the Alps here.

Mallorca Spain - Part 1

2007-10-14T16:27:00.000+02:00

The Spanish island of Mallorca is one of the Balearic Islands located just off the South East coast of Spain in the Mediterranean. Palma is the capital city with over 500,000 people including the urban areas making it the 12th largest in Spain. The history of the island includes Roman rule, a Byzantine period, and a Muslim period up to 1229. Today, the island is a favorite vacation destination for more than 20 million tourists annually, WOW! The island has plenty of things to do and see... Lay on the beach, explore many castles, drive along the coast and enjoy gorgeous views, spend a day in one of the small villages enjoying local food and wine, or enjoy never ending tourists shops full of everything you don't need! We did our best to do a little of everything. See our pictures here.

Mallorca Spain - Part 2

2007-10-14T15:20:00.000+02:00

It's hard to believe, but we actually spent a few days relaxing! Yes, it's true, we actually laid on the beach and also lounged by the pool. It was our vacation after all! But because Mallorca has so many things to see, we also spent time sight seeing around the island. Walking around in the capital city of Palma took one day, we travelled on a tourist train another day, and finally we rented a car for two additional days to get us to places like Valldemossa, Deia, Lluc, Pollencia, Alcudia, Cap de Formentor, Sa Pobla, Manacor, Arta, Portocristo and every small village in between. We enjoyed beautiful coast lines, beaches, mountains, lakes, castles, small villages, cathedrals, olive groves, different kinds of citrus trees, sheep \ goats, a light house, and much more. Of course we made time for plenty of yummy Spanish food and wine along the way. A good combination of accommodation,weather, food, and sights made our vacation in Mallorca very enjoyable. See the pictures here.