Europe 2019

Posts from our European adventure in 2019

Europe by the numbers (recap of 2019 summer trip)

Well. That was fun. And fast.

Our summer of fun has come to an end. The summer continues for AJ for another two weeks, but Jan returns to work today.¹

We had a couple of goals when we set out planning our Europen vacation. First was to see as many of the Au Pairs that lived with us over the past decade. Second was to show AJ where we used to live when we were stationed in Germany and show him some of our favorite places. And lastly to find new places and see new things.

So how did we do?

Pretty darn well. Continue reading “Europe by the numbers (recap of 2019 summer trip)” →

August 19, 2019 0

Our favorites and the notsomuch in Iceland (8/7/19-8/9/19)

After our first day in Iceland, things did pick up and 2/3 of us really enjoyed the country. The other third was feeling under the weather and that may have clouded his opinion. Instead of a daily recap, we will cover our favorite parts and our not so much favorite parts. Continue reading “Our favorites and the notsomuch in Iceland (8/7/19-8/9/19)” →

August 14, 2019 0

Goodbye Finland, hello Iceland. Or lava land. Or Puffin land. (8/5/19-8/6/19)

We didn’t pack enough clothes for Iceland.

Continue reading “Goodbye Finland, hello Iceland. Or lava land. Or Puffin land. (8/5/19-8/6/19)” →

August 14, 2019 0

Helsinki Act 2: We play (8/4/19)

Yesterday we were tourists in Helsinki, seeing all the major sites and learning about the history of both the city and the country all while wandering around looking up with our mouths open saying deep things like ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah.’ Today is totally different…we are going to have a day that is less touristy and more like a day we would have if we were back home. Continue reading “Helsinki Act 2: We play (8/4/19)” →

August 13, 2019 0

Helsinki in two acts: Act 1 (8/3/19)

Did you know that Helsinki is way the hell up north? And that it borders Russia? And that during WWII it somehow managed to fight both Russia AND Germany? We didn’t. But do now!!

We have two full days to check this city out and they are two very different days.

Day 1: We are tourists

Day 2: We hang out like normal people (or as normal as we get anyway)…

Continue reading “Helsinki in two acts: Act 1 (8/3/19)” →

August 13, 2019 2

“Did you forget you left me, or did you just not care” Estonia (8/2/19)

Ah, Finland, we hardly knew ye. Less than 16 hours in the fair city of Helsinki, we are leaving on a ship for Estonia. You did nothing wrong and we (as a man once said) shall return. Today is the opportunity to go see a country we may never be able to see again, so off on a ferry we go to Tallinn, Estonia. Where we leave AJ. And he complains. Continue reading ““Did you forget you left me, or did you just not care” Estonia (8/2/19)” →

August 11, 2019 0

We fly with the band from the video of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” (8/1/19)

Do you remember the video from the mid-80s? Robert Palmer, dressed in a white shirt, tie, black pants and singing in front of a band of four women who have their hair severely pulled back, a mask of makeup that contrasts with their bright lipstick. Little did we know that the ladies from the band were working a flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki. Or maybe their daughters. Or granddaughters.

Continue reading “We fly with the band from the video of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” (8/1/19)” →

August 11, 2019 0

Tacky without being Gaudi and cooking Paella (7/31/19)

Can there be more Gaudi in this city? The answer, as we find out this morning, is yes. A whole town’s worth of Gaudi. Plus we learn how to cook Paella.

Continue reading “Tacky without being Gaudi and cooking Paella (7/31/19)” →

August 8, 2019 2

A walk about Barcelona (7/30/19)

After our big day of museums yesterday (for the record, it was two, but you would have thought it was 1,000 the way the gallery was yelling), the decision was to minimize the museums unless they were ‘fun.’ Today we would be walking through the town seeing the highlights.

Continue reading “A walk about Barcelona (7/30/19)” →

August 7, 2019 0