When we were studying Spanish in Cuenca,Ecuador, we met Regina, a woman from Sweden who was also studying Spanish. Last New Year’s Eve we met up with Regina and several friends. One of the friends, Natasha, was from Finland. When we went to the beach several days later, Natasha shared a car with us. Eating […]
Our first stop on the Johan and Kristina city tour was the city hall. It was built in the early 1900’s and was quite refreshing as it was not gothic, romanesque, or baroque. The lines are clean and project nobility and stability. As it is where the banquets for Nobel prizes are held, it was […]
We took the train from Copenhagen to Stockholm. We were impressed with the similarities between the landscape we were going through and the landscape in northern Minnesota. Granite, lakes, pine, and bogs were common along the route. It is very flat, and we have since found out that they have quite a few moose. Johan […]
We returned from our Hamlet adventure to Casper and Gasia’s place for a delicious dinner, cooked by Grasia. The next day we had Casper to ourselves to see Copenhagen. We headed downtown where we grabbed a canal tour. We were able to see many of the standard touristic sites (i.e. the “forever disappointing” little mermaid). […]
One of the great joys of travel is running into a “relative separated at birth.” We aren’t sure if Lisa is Ellen’s daughter or sister from a previous life, but ever since running into her looking for the same restaurant in Evora, Portugal, there has been a connection. This connection was strengthened when she and […]
We started our Sunday heading out to one of Lisa and Ben’s favorite pubs for a very British Sunday lunch. I had the roast beef with mash, vegetables, and Yorkshire pudding. We then headed off to tour Audley End House, a large early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It was once a […]
What is one of the first things to be done in Cambridge, England? Why, punting on the River Cam of course. We decided to hop over the channel and visit Lisa, our travel buddy from Portugal, and Ben, her partner, for a bit. Friday afternoon we headed down to visit central Cambridge, lunch, and punt […]
Title Picture: Dirk Driving Kiki Away on the Back of his Bicycle We loved Amsterdam, and Dirk, and Kiki, but it is quite an expensive place to stay. Dirk suggested we go to Haarlem, and we’re glad he did. Once a thriving sea port, Haarlem was founded in the 1200’s. It is filled with old buildings. […]
So Dirk, our consummate tour guide/host, decided to take us home. That is to say, his familial home. But we were not to go directly. Rather we went via the Hoge Veluwe National Park. Who would have thought that there would be national parks in the Netherlands? Well, there are. And one of the nice things, […]
Those of you who knew Derek ten years ago, when he was an AFS student living with us, may be wondering about my use of the name “Dirk.” Well, in the Netherlands, “Dirk” is pronounced almost like “Derek” is in the US. Dirk took pity on us, and just went with Derek, even though he […]
Love the updates. Merry Christmas to you and a happy (...)
Merry Christmas to you two. What a great trip! Thanks for (...)
H A P P Y Holidays & 2025 Ellen and Steve: (...)
H A P P Y Holidays & 2025 Ellen and Steve: (...)
What a trip you guys. If you are still in Luang Prabang (...)