Hooray! Curt’s 40th! To celebrate we took a 5-day trip down to Sicily at the end of Jan. The flight from Stuttgart was an easy 2 hours, albeit with a very turbulent landing and takeoff in Palermo because it’s apparently always windy on the north/Tyrrenhian-coast of the island. The weather continued to be a little challenging, as you’ll see in the pics, but we took it in stride and were still able to appreciate the dramatic, volcanic scenery. (Please forgive the blurry pics, our camera slowly died on this trip; although this now gives Curt an excuse to buy a new one:) We took the first day to explore the main city of Palermo and get our Sicilian bearings, and found the best part of the city were the enormous outdoor markets that wind their way through the ancient alleys. It really is a feast for all senses, where you could people-watch all day long (make sure to play the videos on our gallery page so you can hear the vendors yelling out their daily specials…it’s a great slice-of-life.) This first day of the trip was also Obama’s inauguration, and since our hotel didn’t have anything other than Italian TV, that evening we searched and searched for somewhere to go watch the ceremony. But since most bars and restaurants in Sicily don’t open until 8pm, we were pretty much out of luck; However we did catch the updates on Curt’s iPhone so we weren’t totally in the dark. It was still very exciting and we were so happy to kick off his b-day trip with such a momentous occasion!

After Palermo we caught a train to Catania, on Sicily’s west/Ionian coast, usually a 3.5-hr trip right through the mountainous center of the island. However from the heavy rains the night before, there was a mudslide under the tracks about an hour in. The conductor didn’t speak any English and our Italian doesn’t go much beyond restaurants so it took us a while to fully understand what he was telling us, but we soon found out: Everyone had to de-board and get on a tour bus which set out on a windy country road, because there is no Autostrada through the center of the island. We had no idea how long we’d be on this bus so every stop we made to pick up more people we kept asking the conductor, “Catania qui?” And finally after 2.5 hours they dropped us–just us–at an abandoned-looking train station in a town called Caltanissetta where we waited another 1.5 hours for the train to Catania.Later that night we finally arrived at our destination, and granted we were just glad to see any civilization, we were pleasantly surprised by Catania: The old town is very regal, with grand baroque architecture built of the lava stones from nearby Mt Etna. And we loved the fact that there were great trattorias on every corner, esp. after going all day without food and water on our train/bus adventure. So that night we ate at a highly-reco’d Slow Food restaurant called “Metro” that had the most tasty and creative veggie antipasti; it was heaven. The next morning, on Curt’s actual b-day, we had breakfast at our hotel where we met a nice American guy who owns a house in the Italian ‘Marche’ region (where we went in April ‘08.) The three of us decided to go explore Catania’s famous fish market together, which was large and spread through many streets like Palermo’s, but boasted displays of fish so impressive they could probably only be rivaled by the famous market in Tokyo.

That same day we took a train down to Sicily’s southeastern point, Siracusa, which was originally founded by the ancient Greeks. The old town is located on a little island off the coast of the new city and it’s called Ortygia. Since our hotel was out on the end of this island, we had to walk about 1.5 km from the train station on the mainland. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but the sky decided to open up as soon as we got off the train, and the downpour immediately transformed the old narrow streets into rushing rivers (see the video!) By the time we got to our hotel we, and everything in our bags, was soaked. Alas this is travel in the winter-even so we were still very glad to be in Italy where it was about 30F degrees warmer than DE. The next days in Siracusa were thankfully sunny and warm so we got to explore the fascinating ruins of the Roman and Greek amphitheaters.

After that we rented a cute little Fiat “Cinque Cento” and drove along the south coast of Sicily with a stop in Agrigento and the Valley of the (Greek) Temples. Curt was in Athens recently but I have never seen any Greek ruins, so it was quite humbling to be standing under these gigantic structures that are so significant and unbelievably old. We wish we could’ve spent more time there, but we had to keep driving to our last destination, Castellammare del Golfo, which is on the northwest point of the island. It’s one of Sicily’s main beach resorts but being winter there weren’t any tourists around. The torrential rains and high winds also returned that night, so we didn’t get a true feel for the place-but I did get to enjoy some of the freshest and tastiest seafood ever.

Sicily really is such a gorgeous and historically rich place, and we only got to sample its beauty in the five days we were there. So we definitely want to go back during proper beach weather, especially to check out some of the outlying Aeolian Islands, where snorkeling in the warm, clear water is supposed to be fantastic.

We went back to the west coast for our holiday break; hitting Seattle, San Francisco and Phoenix. It was a little odd to be back stateside, mostly because you don’t realize how used you’ve gotten to not being around so many other Americans. It was almost startling in Frankfurt airport to be able to overhear people’s conversations again and understand everything they’re saying. But it was nice to speak (west-coast) english freely and feel like you’re totally understood, without working so hard mentally. It was great to be back home, but the first few days in Seattle were a little rough because of the snowy weather: Turns out we flew home just in time for the biggest snowstorm in 20 years, which everyone in the NW had coined, “Snowpocalypse.” Seattle was beautiful under a big blanket of snow, but the lack of plowing and salting on the streets unfortunately kept a lot of our friends stuck at home and not able to see us. Luckily we were able to spend time with Doug & Susan (who generously put us up!) as well as Lisa, Daria, Gilles, Clay and Elizabeth. We also got to stay with Erin and Steve, who very kindly schlepped us out to a snow-buried West Seattle. Then after canceling our plans to stay in Hood River due to their 5 ft of snow, we rented a (non-4WD!) car and drove south for OR, where we were very happy to be able to see Chuck, Emily and their cutie 9-mo old son, Gus. However the visit was a short one because another storm was coming in, so we hit the road only to be stopped by a huge pot-holed-ice-mess on I-205, on which we sat in one spot for about 8 hours (def. not the way we envisioned spending our time back home!) But we slowly made it out of the heavy snow and ice, and after a night in Salem, eventually made it down to Jamie’s stepsis, Carolyn’s, house in Ashland. We had a great xmas eve dinner with her and her husband, Dan, after which they showed us around their charming town. On xmas morning it was snowing again(!) and we actually had to buy chains to go over Siskiyou pass near Mt Shasta (even though they really weren’t necessary.) However soon we were in CA and the San Joaquin valley, which greeted us with some long-awaited sunshine. We arrived in SF that xmas evening and celebrated with our friends, Lisa and Darren, who put us up in their cool house in Fort Mason. Next day we met up with Jamie’s mom, dad and bro at the new De Young museum (fantastic) in GG park, and later that night it was crab on Fisherman’s Wharf…touristy, yes, but exotic for us these days! That weekend we also got to see Karen and Marta from frog design and got a chance to see their new, cool office near south park. We rounded out the SF visit with a stay at Quentin and Alex’s place in the inner sunset, where we had a blast at a sushi place that I’m pretty sure doubles as an insane asylum. And at the remodeled Cliffhouse, we also reunited with my cousin, Tracie, and her partner Jenny, as well as Annamarie, Alan and Jackie; so good to see all of our CA peeps! We then flew down to Phoenix–where it was a gorgeous and sunny 75 degrees–to spend the last four days of our vaca. with Curt’s family. It was great to see them all: Maia is getting so big and is def. a ‘tweener’ now; we had a lot of fun playing her new Wii with her. Jill and Jamie went for a big girl’s night out (to remember) on NYE, and the whole fam went to dinner for Maia’s b-day beforehand. Curt and his Dad were even able to get in a climb up Squaw Peak one morning. On the way out of PHX, we stayed out at Curt’s mom’s place in Laveen, which is in the quiet countryside down near South Mountain. One thing’s for sure, we ate awesome Mexican food every day we were there. It seems trivial, but aside from seeing all of our loved ones, some of our favorite experiences of the trip involved sampling the endless ethnic foods (Burritos in the Mission–xxoo) that are available in the states: It was really nice to have so many choices again. We’re looking forward to going back in a year or so for another US vacation!

For my 36th b-day we took a very fun, quick trip to Prague. It was a pretty, 4.5-hour drive northeast; cutting across the Romantic Road in upper Bavaria, then on a brand new stretch of autobahn into CZ. Only an hour after the (deserted) border and we were there; unbelievable! Not surprisingly, CZ looks a lot like DE, with the rolling hills and thick forests divided by little farms. But the architecture was the main difference: the houses were a little more rough and rustic in the country side, and there’s a noticeable increase in onion-domed churches. In Prague city there are endless gothic spires–and my favorite part–the lavish, wedding-cake baroque details. It was easy to see why Prague is known as the “Golden City of Spires.” We spent a day strolling the squares and climbing the hills of the city with the dogs, enjoying the last hours of pleasant Fall weather. Later that night we actually had Mexican food, which sounds crazy but since Czech cuisine is pretty similar to German (which we get a bit tired of,) whenever we go to big cities we often end up eating ethnic: sushi, vietnamese…whatever we can get outside of our little corner of Swabia. The next day–my actual b-day–we drove back home and along the way stopped in the town of Plzen, or more familiar to our beer-drinking buddies, Pilsen. The biggest draw-and employer-in the quiet, industrial town is of course the Plzensky Prazdroj brewery, whose most famous product is Pilsner Urquell. We didn’t have time for the big tour and just had lunch in their big bier hall, but the historic cellars and brewing antiques of the place definitely require a special trip back…maybe combined with a Czech spa town tour Aside from seeing Prague, Curt’s other ‘gift’ to me was letting me enjoy all the beer while he drove all the way back to DE. Yipee!!

The last week of September we met up with our good friends, Erin and Steve, in France. We picked them up in Colmar, Alsace on the way down to Burgundy. It was so good to see them and catch up on life and the Seattle news since we moved away last November. The four of us (+ 2 dogs) stayed in Beaune for two nights and fully enjoyed the Borgogne food, wine and the gorgeous vineyards at harvest time. We then parted ways: Crosiers heading to the French alps, Piemonte and Italian riviera–Curt and I heading south to Provence. Everything you’ve heard about the Provencal warm sunshine and delicious food (olives–yum!) is true; the whole region bathes in a sunny, yellow-orange glow. We stayed a night in Avignon and saw the impressive palace on the Rhone the Popes once occupied in the 14th century. Then the next day we visited limestone cliff-top Les Baux, had lunch in Aix-en-Provence, and stayed a night in a village near Cannes famous for its parfum, Grasse. After that we headed inland a bit, along hours of very windy Alpes-Maritimes roads, to see the biggest canyon in Europe–the Gorges du Verdun. Once that was conquered we were coast-bound: a quick drive-by of Saint-Tropez (no parking unless you’re a yacht!) and then the Cote d’Azur around to Nice and our much anticipated destination, the beautiful harbor village of Villefranche-sur-Mer (thanks to Erin for discovering this little slice of heaven!) We spent four relaxing beach days in Villefranche, and on the last night reunited with Erin and Steve to live it up one last time before they headed home to the States–in which an Amsterdam layover apparently proved especially blissful for Steve…But I digress…Curt and I closed our trip with one last sunny drive along the Med, stopping in Monte Carlo for a stroll (yes, it’s as over-the-top-opulent as you’ve imagined) and then into Italy. Once we hit Genoa we headed inland toward Milan, which given its insane traffic we luckily bypassed for a town about 15 miles northeast called Monza. This is where frog design has their Italian office, so we stayed a couple nights and had the chance to meet our friendly southern counterparts. Italy is always good to us; we have not been to a country yet that can match the food (specifically veg for Curt) or the wine. But trust me, we will continue our quest

In mid-September we met up with Curt’s aunt and uncle from Ohio, at the end of their big tour through the Austrian and Swiss alps. The weekend was a bit chilly and overcast but dry enough to enjoy some long strolls through downtown Zurich–along the Limmat river, a pretty sight any time of year, and then a relaxing cruise on the Zurich See (lake.) On the way home Curt and I stopped in Liechtenstein, which I must say was somewhat of a disappointment. We only saw the town of Valduz so maybe the rest of the tiny country has more to offer. Regardless, it was so nice to spend some time with family, especially because we hadn’t seen Boyd and Virginia since summer ‘07. If we could bring our family and friends over whenever we wanted, then living in Europe might actually be perfect.

We had a nice 5 day weekend in Berlin recently, even if it was another rainy trip. We explored most of it on foot and sometimes via U-bahn (subway) because Berlin is just huge (apparently 5 x the size of Paris) But it’s an incredibly vibrant and artistic city undergoing constant change. We were lucky enough to end up renting an apartment in ‘east’ Berlin in a lovely neighborhood called Prenzlauer Berg, which oddly has the highest birthrate in DE. It was filled with young hipster couples all of whom seemed to have a toddler, or a dog. We noticed Berlin is very dog-friendly–not surprising given that it’s so cosmopolitan compared to our “provincial” Schwabia. It was really nice to be in a big city again–a place you can get a civilized brunch!–we can’t wait to go back, so much more to see.

In June we took a quick weekend trip down to Venice along with Curt’s sister, Jill, and niece, Maia. We had a great time exploring the endless alleys and canals-especially once the unseasonal rain stopped, the sun came out and we finally got to take our long-awaited Gondola ride. Così divertimento! And the best part: Maia claims Venice (and Europe in general) is MUCH better than Disneyland back home. Success! It was an epic drive (7.5 hours) but one of the most scenic you can make in this area–down through the Bavarian/Austrian alps and into the Trentino and Veneto regions. The changing scenery along the way is just amazing: Cliff-clinging Schlosses in the north and Castellos hugged by hilly vineyards in the south. We also got our second glimpse of the Dolomites in Italy which are so dramatic; Definitely a lot more to be discovered in that region with some Italian boarding this winter!

But in mid-April we finally took a well-deserved trip to Italy, with a stopover in Zurich on the way down. Click here to see albums from both CH and IT. In Italy we rented an apartment in the Le Marche region of the Adriatic coast. It was in a tiny town called Monterado, about 15 mins inland from the beach resort of Senigallia. We had heard that Le Marche is “the new Tuscsany” and that most tourists don’t even know about it yet. We discovered that is still very true as we were literally the only foreigners in most cities we went to, with the exception of Assisi and Perugia (but that’s because people already know about Umbria)

It was a very relaxing week as we could just sit back and take in the Italian culture…and food and wine…lots of it! The dogs came along and had a blast running on the beaches and hiking in the Sibillini mountains with us. On the drive home we stayed one night in Verona, which is now one of our favorite cities. It’s known as “little Roma”–colloseum ruins with cosmopolitan atmosphere; We really enjoyed the place and will definitely be going back soon (sans pooches:)

This is the Bodensee-or in english, Lake Constance. When it’s not freezing and windy in the winter, it serves as Germany’s major, mediterranean-like, summer destination. Geographically, it’s pretty interesting because it’s bordered by Germany, Switzerland and Austria. We took this pic from the German/north side and you can see the Alps on the Swiss/south side. A summer wine-tasting trip is definitely in store–plus we found out recently that our wedding rings were made here (!) so we’d like to go down and visit the jeweler sometime for sure.

Last Sunday the weather miraculously turned to a sunny 67 degrees F. It’s only February, people! Whatever, after living in Seattle for five years I have sworn not to question nice weather ever, ever again. So we made the most of it and went on a leisurely bike ride up to the neighboring village of Bebenhausen. (Side note: Since Curt and I are silly dorks, up until this point this town was merely a running joke for us: Every time we drove by we would say in our best Wayne’s World voice, “Dude, do all the babes live in Bebenhausen?” Yes, we really are that mature:) But seriously, we had heard from a few people that it was a nicely preserved medievel Schönbuch village with an amazing church and cloister, so we really felt like we needed to check it out. Well, plus I had two free tickets for the cloister from Tübingen city hall’s foreigner office—I guess they feel like they need to show us “auslanders” where to go to absorb the German culture! It was a great day; After this cold winter, my first ever really, it was so nice to be in the warm sun wandering through the cobblestoned streets of Bebenhausen (umm, note to cyclists who are newbies like me: be careful walking on old hilly streets in your clipless shoes!) The village is pretty tiny but it does have an impressive gothic church with some very well-preserved artifacts from when the monks were the only inhabitants.
I am sad to say, however, that after an exhaustive search we came to the conclusion that there are no Babes in Bebenhausen.