Germany Archives - Page 2 of 3

Jul 29 2014

The Most Annoying Things about Coming Home from Vacation

I bet M misses drinking in the First Class Terminal too

Vacations are great. Coming home, not so much. My friend asked me today if I’m going through vacation withdrawal, and while I honestly answered no (I’m glad to be back), there are still some issues that are annoying me in the 24 hours since we got back. Not including finishing the trip report. 😛 What really inspired me to write this post is my lost mail – so let me start my venting list with that.

Organizing Piles of Mail

Usually I really hate sorting through all my junk mail when I get home. Back in the day, it was pretty easy to throw out…well, basically everything. But these days I have to be on the lookout for special mailed credit card offers, or reimbursement checks, or various other things related to this hobby – so it takes some concentration. Not a ton of time, but time nonetheless.

I sure wish I had one of these right now

Well, what usually is a 3 on my annoyance scale got upgraded to like a 7 today when I realized I don’t even have any mail to sort. We generally have the US Postal Service hold our mail when we are gone and it always shows up the day we get back. Well, disconcerting sign #1 was the fact that when I got home last night there were like 5 or 6 pieces of mail in the mailbox (i.e., delivered before the end of the hold). Disconcerting sign #2 was the three pieces of mail I got today – as opposed to the fifty I was expecting, including some new credit cards (old accounts with card reissues).

So…that all kind of sucks. I didn’t check the mail until after 5 PM so I had nobody to call and I really hate waiting for this kind of stuff. I can’t even say my mail is lost in the cloud…

E-mail clean up

While on the subject of the cloud, another tedious task that needs to get done is cleaning my e-mail inbox. Again, this was easier when I didn’t have to keep an eye on various hobby related offers. It’s just something that takes time and energy and a reminder that you are no longer in Bavaria eating pretzels all day. Well, I guess I could still be eating pretzels all day. But yeah, first thing I do when I get back is clean out my inbox and make sure all my bills are paid (or that nothing went awry since they’re all on autopay).

Dishes

In terms of “things I like most about traveling”, not having to do the dishes is towards the top of the list. Sure, I had to do them a few times when we were staying in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but when you’re in a hotel – no dishes! I’ve done the dishes about 5 times in the 30 hours we’ve been back, which is kind of ridiculous.

“But Joe, why don’t you use a dishwasher?” one might ask.

My response: Good question. As always, I’m kind of stupid about a lot of things

I should consider using these as more than just drying racks

Jetlag

Either I’ve been hit by reverse jetlag or I am fine considering I am up at 1 AM writing this and not tired at all. The new wrinkle though is dealing with M and jetlag. Really, readjusting her to “normal” sleep habits is going to be interesting overall since she was sleeping in the same room as us for the last week and a half (and even in our bed once or twice). She kicked things off by waking up at 2 AM ready for her day (8 AM in Europe). If anyone has tips for dealing with toddlers and jetlag, please share!

Unpacking

Our house is a disaster zone right now since we haven’t found the time to unpack or haven’t had the energy. To top it off, our dog just weaves in and out of suitcases and laundry baskets depositing her hair over all of them. So, I’d better get on that post haste. Jess would kill me if I showed a picture of our living room, but luckily USMNT Soccer player Alejandro Bedoya had a tweet about the same subject this morning.

Real Life

Of course, the worst and best part about coming home is real life. I don’t have to go to work yet so I don’t have much to complain about – but in general it’s so tough to adjust mentally and physically when you get back to your normal life and routine. I don’t envy people who travel for a living though. In the end, despite my complaining, I love home and don’t mind being back.

Final Thoughts

This is just a silly post I’m writing while frustrated about a specific situation. But it did get me curious – a lot of the times the talk is all about the destination (and how we get there) – what annoys people about coming back? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Let me know in the comments!

Oh and if you were following along our trip to Germany and Austria and curious about what we ended up doing regarding souvenirs: three bottles of wine, a bunch of free ducks from Lufthansa, a couple of Christmas ornaments, and tons of Ritter and Haribo. Think that will do just nicely.

Jul 27 2014

Bavarian Summer: Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

The clouds moved into Berchtesgaden quickly

After singing the Sound of Music in Salzburg, we back tracked into Germany to visit Berchtesgaden and the Eagle’s Nest. As we arrived at the Intercontinental Berchtesgaden for check in, I was glad to be back in Bavaria. Although I felt the views were better in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the valleys and mountains around the Intercontinental were beautiful in their own right. After checking in, Jess took a nap and I took M out for a walk. As we were walking, the rain clouds rolled in – and they didn’t leave Berchtesgaden until 20 minutes before we did.

Like the Intercontinental Thalasso in Bora Bora, the Intercontinental Berchtesgaden seems to be designed to be an idyllic retreat. It’s located up on the mountain which means the main town is a 15 minute drive away. It’s a little tougher to get there than you think since the road is one of the steepest in Germany. Unfortunately, bad weather takes away a lot of the hotel’s charm – we would have been happy staying there and hiking nearby if the weather had been good – but the bad weather forced us to explore the area in our car more.

This was kind of the last we saw of the Eagle's Nest — This was kind of the last we saw of the Eagle’s Nest

It wasn’t Garmisch-y bad weather either. In Berchtesgaden the weather ranged from light drizzle to all out downpour. The first night we just stayed at the hotel and ate the most expensive meal of our entire trip. On the second day, we visited the Dokumentation Center, a World War II museum. We drove through rain instead of taking a nice little 15 minute hike.

The fog made for some pretty cool pictures

It was a well put together museum, although you need to buy an audioguide in English since everything is in German. That’s no big deal since altogether it only costs 5 Euros. My problem with the museum is that it’s a bit of a downer – I mean, World War II wasn’t happy times. I respect the matter of fact way the information is presented and it left me wondering how Germans today feel about everything that went down back then.

Then again, it wasn’t too much of a downer because I spent 10 minutes walking around the museum and an hour plus entertaining M. Museums + awake toddlers don’t really mix too well. I do recommend a visit and wish I had been able to concentrate more (oh, she stole my audioguide too).

We decided not to visit the Eagle’s Nest that day due to weather, which turned out to be a mistake in the end. The next day we spent the bulk of our time at Konigsee, a beautiful lake 10 minutes from the main town of Berchtesgaden. We took a slow but scenic boat ride, again through a ton of rain, and ate some freshly caught smoked trout.

The lake was beautiful even in the fog and rain, and halfway through the boat ride they stopped the boat to show off the mountains’ echo via trumpet blast. M was a big fan and led the applause.

So he just happened to have a trumpet lying around!?

She also spent 15 minutes yelling at ducks in Chinese, which was entertaining. It also gave Jess and me a nice window to eat some gelato when she wasn’t paying attention.

That night we had our last dinner in Bavaria and it turned out to be our best. I’m going to do a “food” post (so people who hate that kind of stuff can skip it), but this restaurant deserves special mention. We actually just stumbled upon it – the Gastof zum Neuhaus. Even the dreary weather couldn’t dampen that experience.

On our last day in Berchestgaden (our travel day to Vienna), we made our way up to the Eagle’s Nest. Let’s just say visibility was poor. Also, being a genius, I forgot that when you go up a mountain it gets cold. I spent most of my time in the restaurant, although we did venture out a little bit. I wish I could say we had some amazing views, but alas we did not. Still, Bavaria left me with enough amazing views that I didn’t mind too much. After that, it was on to Vienna!

Final Thoughts

Berchtesgaden was the place I was looking forward to the most before we came to Europe, but the weather really hurt the experience. It’s like, I could tell how beautiful the place is and can be – but we only caught glimpses. It’s too bad, but that’s what happens sometimes. I think in our five years of travel together this is the first time Jess and I have really had weather ruin an entire destination. OK, ruin is a bit strong, but you get the drift. Oh well, we still love Bavaria anyway!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Jul 23 2014

Bavarian Summer: Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Zugspitze cable car — Cable car ride to Zugspitze

After being thwarted by weather, we finally made it up to Zugspitze on our last full day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was a pretty clear day to go up, although of course the day we left town it was even clearer. As I mentioned in my other post, we bought a 60 Euro combination ticket that allowed us to visit AlpspiX and Zugspitze once each at any time during the summer.

If you’re unfamiliar, Zugspitze has the honor of being the highest point in Germany. From the summit you can see four countries: Germany, Austria, Italy, and I forget, sorry. Since even we are not crazy enough to hike up to 2,962 meters with a child, we took the express funicular. We were packed in like sardines and it was so fast (10 minutes) that our ears popped. M has figured out that drinking prevents this. I was impressed.

It's on a sign so it must be true — It’s on a sign so it must be true

At the top we were treated to some amazing views.

I don't really think pictures do it justice — I don’t really think pictures do it justice

A neat thing about Zugspitze is that you can ascend from either Austria or Germany, so we checked out the views from the Austrian side as well.

Now I'm in Austria! — Now I’m in Austria!

We also ate at the restaurant on the peak and got some nice views from there.

But the most ridiculous view I saw was the view of my wife climbing up to the highest point on her own. It was one of those ascents where there is a warning about possible death.

She says it wasn’t too bad, but I was worried for a bit there. I got out of doing the climb because M was asleep in the carrier – phew! Jess’ climb did of course lead to a great photo op.

Zugspitze was pretty cool, though I almost preferred the peaks where we got to hike as well. We decided not to hike around Zugspitze just because we weren’t sure if our sneakers would be able to handle hiking on a glacier. That and I was feeling lazy.

P7171890 — M has a knack for missing the good stuff

After Zugspitze Jess and I hiked halfway up Mount Wank, which I had wanted to do since our first few days in GaPa. We didn’t have time to hike the whole thing because we didn’t want to leave my parents to put M to bed, so we only made it up to the halfway point (where you can conveniently get on the cable car if you’d like).

We didn’t take too many pictures because we were too tired, but the hike was one of my favorite experiences in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and a great way to say goodbye to the town. We ended it with a walk through town to Jess’ favorite bakery where she proceeded to buy some (more) cake.

The mountain makes me look even shorter than I am in real life

Alas, after 8 nights, it was time to say goodbye to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. I’ll have some final thoughts about the town in the end, but if you’ve been following along, I think you know how I feel about it. On our way to Salzburg we stopped at one more little Bavarian town – Mittenwald.

We went, ostensibly, because the town is famous for violin making. We visited a violin making museum which was actually pretty cool and ate some pizza made by Italians. We switched right from our non-existent German to our broken Italian! It was a good time. Of course we couldn’t leave an Italian influenced town without buying some gelato!

After some awful traffic, we made it to Salzburg and checked into the Crowne Plaza: The Pitter. I’m not going to do a review or anything, but just a couple quick notes about the hotel.

– As an IHG Platinum member, they upgraded both our rooms to Junior suites, which was nice because we could “hide” M’s pack and play in the hallway (and separate her from our main living space). I’m Platinum just for having the IHG Rewards Card.

Minibar - what doesn't belong? — Minibar – what doesn’t belong?

– I also received a coupon for a free drink, which, coupled with the 5 Euro credit we got for NOT having our room cleaned got us a glass of wine and a diet coke at the bar

– The Crowne Plaza is right by Mirabelle Gardens, so about a 10-15 minute walk from Old Town. Not super central but it also means parking isn’t annoying (18 Euro/night in their garage). Also, conveniently, our Sound of Music tour started at Mirabelle

– They are finishing up some renovations, but we weren’t disturbed at all (and you can tell the difference between renovated/non-renovated sections

– All in all, a nice stay and a good value at 30,000 IHG points/night!

Final Thoughts

I realize I’ve ventured into beating of dead horses territory, but we absolutely loved Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We stayed in the Partenkirchen side, which is less touristy and quieter – and closer to the hiking trails. The town was quaint, the scenery beautiful, the hiking plentiful, and the memories unforgettable. I’m sure every town in Bavaria is just as charming as well. Bottom line: Bavaria is the bomb. I’d recommend putting it on your list, for whatever that’s worth to you.

Hope to be back some day... — Hope to be back some day…

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Jul 18 2014

Bavarian Summer: Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

We'll miss all this space — We’ll miss all this space

Sadly, our time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen has come to an end. Though today’s post won’t cover our last day here, today will be the last day I’ll be typing here – who knows what internet will be like the rest of the trip. Most of all I think we’re sad to say goodbye to this house – with a toddler, renting a house is the way to go. I’m sure she will adapt to our upcoming hotel stay rooms, but it’s just been so great to have all this space.

Zugspitze under fog — Zugspitze was a no go in the fog

The Zugspitze Alternative: Garmisch-Classic Lift

So on Tuesday the weather was supposed to finally clear up. We made plans to go to Zugspitze, aka the “Top of Germany”. When we got to the parking lot we looked up and the entire mountain was covered in fog. We spent an hour walking around nearby Lake Eibsee hoping the fog would lift, but alas it did not. So instead of going up, we bought a two peak pass that covers both Zugspitze and the nearby Garmisch-Classic lift.

Trying to wait out the fog walking around Eibsee

If you’re into saving money but not into hiking up an entire mountain, this is the way to go. It cost 60 Euros for both lifts, Zugspitze by itself costs 51, and you can go up anytime during the whole summer. So we decided to hit up the Garmisch-Classic instead, hoping the fog wouldn’t be at the lower altitudes and saving Zugspitze for later.

Making our way up to the start of our hike

The Garmisch-Classic actually gives you access to three lifts. One goes to the top, one goes almost to the top, and one connects the two (that’s a super simplified version). Jess and I took the shorter lift and made the 1.5 hour hike to the top, the so called Pleasure Adventure Trail. This was the hiking trail for kids I mentioned in my last post.

The "friendly" mountain giant turned into stone — The “friendly” mountain giant turned into stone

We loved the hike up to the top, it was strenuous but the trail was very well maintained (like every single trail I’ve been on here). There were also signs speaking about a mythical “Mountain Giant” that once lived there. The funny thing is, the trail is designed for kids to walk DOWN, so we were reading the story about the giant backwards.

It was funny because Jess thought the giant was a friendly giant, but in reality the giant is EVIL and hates humans. OK, maybe only I find that amusing. Alrighty then. Anyway, we were treated to some pretty dramatic views.

At the top of the mountain, there is “AlpspiX“, which is a platform extending over the edge of the top just hanging in mid-air. I won’t lie, my heart was palpitating out there – the intense fog didn’t help. I also didn’t get any good pictures because of it, unfortunately.

Beautiful views towards the top of the mountain

This picture of AlpspiX doesn't really convey the freakiness — This picture of AlpspiX doesn’t really convey the freakiness, though it does convey the fog

Disney World Special: Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles

The next day, we made our way to two of Mad King Ludwig’s famous castles – Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. I cannot stress this enough – unless you are on an extreme budget, buy your tickets online first. It costs 3.80 Euro per person. You are given two times for your two tours, and you must arrive one hour before your first tour to pick up your tickets (or else you might forfeit it, although we were 15 minutes late and okay). Here is the line I waited in with an online reservation.

Here is one third of the line for people without reservations.

Although Neuschwanstein was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disney World’s Cinderella Castle, I gotta say these castles are tough for toddlers. A) A ton of walking – a TON. B) They can’t touch anything. C) You can’t really let them run around because of “B”. D) TON OF WALKING.

Of course you're smiling, you're not doing any of the work! — Of course you’re smiling, you’re not doing any of the work!

It was a fifty minute walk from Hohenschwangau (which you visit first) to Neuschwanstein. All uphill. We’ve done a fair amount of hiking since we got to Bavaria, but I think that was the worst (due to the stroller).

Neuschwanstein is about an hour walk from this point at Hohenschwengau

Inside the castles, we put M in our Beco carrier. The insides of the castles are okay – I mostly feel like seen one castle seen them all. You have to go on a guided tour (around half an hour), so you have no real control of the pace, which is pretty important for parents with young children. I kept looking for emergency escape routes in case of meltdown but it would have been tough, I would have had to run through other tours to escape.

Neuschwanstein Castle — Possibly my favorite shot of the entire trip thus far (of course Jess took it)

At Hohenschwangau, M got pretty fussy at times, luckily we brought stickers to distract her, but that only worked so long. Stickers, incidentally, that she tried to stick onto 200 year old walls…yikes. She also tried to close every single door after she saw the tour guide doing it – that tour was rough. I heard and learned absolutely nothing. She finally, finally passed out before our tour of Neuschwanstein, and she slept soundly in the Beco throughout.

So are these castles worth a visit even with a toddler? I think so. There’s a beautiful lake, Alpsee, nearby. You can take horse drawn carriages to avoid the walking (or a bus, though probably not that with a toddler because people are packed like sardines on a windy road).

And the views really speak for themselves – I can’t imagine someone used to LIVE in these places. Some rich guy for sure, but still. Amazing. Oh, and bring a picnic lunch to save a bunch of money – the grounds are a beautiful place to eat but everything is overpriced and not worth it. One exception, they have straciatella soft serve – that’s whassup.

Straciatella soft serve on the left, Movenpick on the right, cool nerd glasses glare in the middle

Final Thoughts

The castle tours were probably the toughest it’s been having a toddler in Bavaria thus far. They were worth it but if you’re going with a child that age, be prepared. The views we got on those two days, first on the mountain, then at the castles, were to die for. I love Bavaria a little more and more each day. We’re on our way to Salzburg tomorrow – Sound of Music time. The hills will be ALIVE.

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Jul 17 2014

Bavarian Summer: Observations After a Week in Germany

Trip reports can get long, and while I’m enjoying “live reporting” this trip, I recognize not everyone is interested. It also is a bit tiring to type for an hour every night Doogie Howser style. But what I’m sure everyone is interested in is my thoughts and observations about this wonderful country, Germany, after a week here! /sarcasm.

Couldn’t help it, sorry

Still, this family travels because it wants to experience different cultures, and blogging about it helps me process what I see, so please bear with me. Or, you know, ignore this post. Also, apologies for two list-type posts in a row – I should be better than that. But I’ve also been drinking a lot of Weissbier and Riesling, so…

1. Unsurprisingly, Germans speak English pretty well

It never ceases to impress me how well Europeans speak other languages, and Germans are no exception. In Brazil, it was pretty difficult getting around not knowing any Portugese (in fact I felt more helpless there than in any other country I’ve visited besides Japan). But here in Germany, even the people who say they only speak “a little” English speak more than enough to get their point across.

Finally got to try that monk brewed beer - not bad! — Finally got to try that monk brewed beer – not bad!

Example, bought a Riesling, was told “Drink cold.” This Riesling is cold and it is good. I can neither say the word “drink” or “cold” in German. Anyway, it’s a shame how on average Americans are not as adept with foreign languages as our European counterparts. I don’t remember anything I learned language wise in high school (OK, I took Latin, yes I’m a loser, but Gallia est omnia divisa in partes tres okay?). The only languages I know are from family use – Mandarin and Cantonese. Ooh I did learn one new German phrase. Everytime Germans see M passed out they smile and say “kaput”. Heh.

2. Germans take their hiking seriously

Somehow, I did not know this before I got here. I blame this on the toddler. The Bavarian Alps are all about hiking and everyone here is serious about it. I’ve seen people from the age of 6 to 60+ hiking these trails, and I’m talking the ones at the top not the easy trails at the bottom. One hike we took the other day even had stops for kids where they could read about a “mountain giant” – almost like an intro to hiking type thing.

Hiking up to AlspiX — Hiking through the fog feels like I’m in Lord of the Rings. Though to be fair, any excuse I get to reference LOTR…

There are also walking sticks to “borrow” at the top of most of the funiculars (gondolas) – I love the friendly hiking culture here.

Proof my wife takes better pictures than me

Every single trail here is also very well marked. I’m more of a “hike on vacation” kind of guy, so I’ve never appreciated how most of the hikes I’ve done in the States are like, “hey, follow the white crosses on the trees even though there is no arrow!”. What can I say, I’m a n00b. Every single fork in the road I’ve seen here has explicit, clear signage and often has hike times as well. No ribbons stapled to trees. I am a fan.

3. Bavaria is a great place for families

Jess and I were remarking today that we could spend our full two and a half weeks here in Garmish-Partenkirchen and not run out of things to do. Aside from all the hiking that’s possible, there is so much to do within a one hour radius of almost anywhere you stay. You can visit Munich, you can visit a million little towns (each with something unique to offer), you can take walks around lakes, you can go boating on said lakes, etc. etc.

Alpsee (lake) near Neuschwanstein Castle — Eibsee near Zugspitze

I wish M were older so I could force her to hike – I see so many families hiking with their six, ten, and sixteen year olds. Or you could come here in the winter, see the Christmas markets, and ski in amazing surrounds. The pace is nice and easy, perfect for families, and there are little to no mosquitos. If there were wineries close by, this place would be…one step greater than what I just described. But I’ll just settle for Weissbier.

M is starting to get the hang of this walking business

4. Everything shuts down early here

One thing that differentiates this area from much of the rest of Europe (that we’ve visited) is all the stores close by 6 PM. If you walk down one of the main streets in Garmisch-Partenkirchen after 6 PM nothing is open except for the restaurants.

This includes tourist attractions; everything shuts down before 6. Kind of weird that everything is closed but the sun doesn’t set until after 9 PM. It’s a bit unfortunate that the funiculars shut down at around 530 PM because it’d be nice to experience dusk up on the summits – but I think the reason things shut down so early is…

5. Germans know how to relax

Somehow I had the impression that Germans, due to their extreme efficiency, probably weren’t good at relaxing. Obviously that was stupid since Germans take their beers so seriously but I’ve never claimed to be full of common sense. The reality is, after 5 PM or so, everyone is chillin’ around here.

Outside Garmisch's biergarten — Outside Garmisch’s biergarten

I walked into a store thinking it was open, they were just smoking cigars, drinking beer, and eating some grub. Meanwhile Germans and tourists were sitting on picnic benches outside a restaurant drinking, eating, and listening to an accordion player. Cool vibe. So the stores and tourist attractions might close early, but the beer gardens and restaurants are still there for your enjoyment.

6. (Bonus) Austria is serious about their traffic violations

Couple things about driving in Austria.

1) You can’t drive on Austria motorways without buying a vignette sticker. Don’t get caught without one it’s like a 100 Euro fine.

2) They take their speed limits seriously. I’ve only seen one police car in seven days in Germany – I saw three in one hour driving through Austria. There was a literal speed trap where the speed limit dropped from 100 to 70 to 30 in what felt like 100 meters, with a cop on the end. Careful!

Final Thoughts

We’ve been having a great time in Germany thus far. I’m starting to really get a feel for the culture around here, at least I think I am! I’m almost disappointed we need to leave Garmisch-Partenkirchen soon, but I’m sure there are many more adventures ahead! Tomorrow I hope to write about what we’ve been doing the past few days – we’ve seen some pretty amazing sights!