Stuttgart Half Marathon ~ June 22, 2008

Tim and I both ran the Stuttgarter Zeitung half-marathon on 22 June. It was an extremely hot day for us here in Stuttgart. They were hosing us down at the water stops and the neighborhoods were kind enough to drag out there hoses for us to run under. This was my first half-marathon that I completed - I finished in 2:25. This was a fun run for me as I ran with my co-worker Joy and her friend Kirsten. We crossed the finish line together. Tim completed in just over two hours. He is more ambitious than I am as he has signed up for the Amsterdam marathon.

2008 June ~ Santorini, Greece

Well Tim and I finally went back to Greece for a much needed relaxing vacation. We stayed at a resort called Mira Mare, directly across from the beach in Perivolos. www.miramare-resort.gr For us this was a perfect time because the tourist haven't flocked in yet - we weren't waiting in lines for anything and pretty much guaranteed a spot on the beach. Just about a mile and half up the road was another town called Perissima ~ we spent a lot of time up there checking out different restaurants. We tried traditional dishes such as Mousaka, Greek salads and baklava. We enjoyed the area so much we didn't want to do much of anything else. We did go to a Santorini Festival ~ which included wine tasting, an excellent Greek buffet and traditional Greek music and dancing. We also rented a car one day and drove to Fira (Thira), Oia (IA) and Red Beach. Other than that we were content hanging out on the beach or walking around the towns nearby. The last day was extremely windy - so I guess it was a good time to go.

2008 Memorial Day Weekend ~ Vienna, Austria

Tim and I went to Vienna for the long Memorial Day weekend. After a seven hour drive there we were relieved to park the car for the weekend and start exploring on foot. Our hotel was across the street from a beautiful park, where they held Mozart concerts. We didn't go to a concert but we did visit the famous Lipizzaner horses, toured Hudertwasser house and shopping village and visited the Schloss where Napoleon's son passed away. It was a jam packed weekend but we are glad we went.

Rothenburg, Germany February 2008

My friends Karen, Becky, Rich and I spent the weekend in Rothenburg for their Volksmarch. We stayed for the second time in the Hotel Diller which is across the street from the criminal museum. The hotel is in a very central location and I would definitely recommend it! We had wonderful weather for a volksmarch. The first day we walked an 11K which kept us mainly inside the city and the second day we walked a 5k which took us outside of the city.

Bern, Switzerland

On February 9th my friend Becky and I took a USO tour to the capital of Switzerland, Bern. This was their weekend for a big Fasching (Mardi gras) celebration. We had a quick tour of the town and then we were on our own to eat, shop around and to take in the parade. Becky and I ate with her friends and a couple of others at a traditional Swiss restaurant. Here we tried a plate called rosti's (which is like fried potatoes) ~ I think we were all pleased with our meals even though they were a bit heavy. I really enjoyed the Fachsing parade as it was similar to what I am used to in St. Louis - vs Germany where they dress up in animal type costumes and procede to mess with the crowd. We discovered that the Lindt chocolate was originally made in Bern and has since moved to Zurich and Toberlone was originally created and is still made in Bern.

Tuscan Christmas - 2007

Tim and I rented an old farmhouse in Tuscany, Italy with our friends the Ubbelhodes (Bob, Miriam, Emily and Jessica) for Christmas. So we packed up our car and borrowed our friends cargo carrier and headed to Tuscany. The drive was nearly 11 hours as we hit traffic right outside of Florence that slowed us down for awhile.
We had such a great time hanging out with the Ubbelhodes and our dogs. We were the only ones on the property so Josie and Leo were able to explore without being stuck on a lead. We stayed near Arrezo not too far from where we stayed in 2005 (Chianti region). We visited Siena, San Gimignano, Deruta and a monestary. We cooked in our farmhouse on several nights (Tim being the head chef). We feasted a lot on pasta's we bought at the local markets. Tim made a fabulous Christmas dinner which consisted of saltimbocca and tortellini. Emily and Jessica made our Chistmas dessert (chocolate cake's shaped like Christmas trees).

The first night we were in our farmhouse we went to a local restaurant. The food was delicious the service was excellent and the restaurant was quaint. This would turn out to be a repeat place for us. When I woke up the next day and started to gather my things I realized I didn't have my purse (what a way to start a vacation) so I had Tim run me back to the restaurant to find that it was still there in tact. What a relief! The owner recognized me immediately (although he spoke no english) he was able to convey to me how he found it and wanted me to make sure that everything was still in it! There are a few honest people in this world!

Our first post....

We just celebrated our 5 year anniversary by spending a long weekend in Brugge, Belgium. Brugge is a gorgeous quaint city. We explored by foot and by horse and carriage. They had their Christmas market in full swing along with a ice skating rink. Tim and I had a great time watching all the different people (especially on the ice skating rink).