Salzburg and Gimmelwald Pictures!

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Magnificent is the only word that can describe this place. During a ten hour trip here, I barely read, hardly slept, and did nothing but stare out of the train window. Each bend in the track offered a more glorious view than before. Everything is so green and lush. Wildflowers are blooming everywhere! Buttercups, daisies, roses, and tulips adorn the hillsides. We made our way past two beautiful crystalline lakes at the foot of the mountains, and eventually followed a stream to our final train depot, where we boarded a cable car to the top of the mountain.

This afternoon after checking in at our bed and breakfast, we took a hike up the mountain to the next town and did some exploring. Mountain streams cascaded down sheer cliffs, eventually joining together towards the valley, joining that stream we followed earlier. The mountaintops are clothed with snow and tower over us, even at this altitude! We are looking forward to doing some serious hiking tomorrow.

The village of Gimmelwald is everything that is quaint and lovely. Being here, I feel like nothing much has changed in the past fifty years, and nothing much will. The houses are all made of wood and are currently surrounded by some of the most colorful gardens I have ever seen. A narrow winding road curves up the mountain to meet the town of Murren. There are exactly four sounds here: the wind, the birds, the rushing of the streams, and the clanging of cow bells and goat bells. Almost everyone owns cows and/or goats. Everything else is so quiet. I bet the entire village consists of less than 100 people. We hadn't been here an hour when Richard declared this to be his favorite place that we've been so far. I have to agree with him. The Na Pali coast wasn't even this beautiful.

We are off for an evening walk before it gets too dark. No promises but I might try to upload some pictures tomorrow. This is too beautiful not to be shared!

Vienna!

Greetings from Vienna! We arrived here yesterday and this German keyboard is so weird to type on. The letters are rearranged which makes it difficult to type on, so we'll see how well this goes. Please forgive any typos!

The rest of the cruise was incredible. We had such a great time! For all the amazing stops that we made, we also learned to look forward to our days at sea. Talk about ultimate relaxation and spoilation. Free food, coffee, ice cream, and hot cocoa whenever we wanted, five hut tubs to choose from, a pool and two outdoor decks, one of which spanned the entire top of the ship, a mini golf course, a basketball court, an arcade, an impressive gym (which was well utilized due to the excessive amounts of food we were fed- I swear I gained ten pounds). The possibilities were endless for days at sea and we learned to appreciate them. Two of those days included me creaming Richard at ping pong- yeeaahhh, that's right.

I think I left off my last post at Jerusalem, so I will pick up there by simply saying that it is an amazing city and I can't wait to return! Everything we saw is a subject worthy of hours of description, but unfortunately I do not have the time to write for that long. We saw the Upper Room, the Wailing Wall, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the church that supposedly houses Golgatha and Jesus' tomb.

Our next port of call was Rhodes, Greece. We absolutely loved this little island! People would wave to you and smile hello. There were parrots perched outside restaurants where dozens of delicious smells wafted into the square. Old stone and stucco buildings with wrought iron balconies lined the streets. We walked through part of the old city and found ourselves under a tree in the moat outside the old city wall. Life seemed to be so peaceful and quiet there, despite the bustle of the market.

The next port was Kusadasi and from there we took a bus to Ephesus. We walked through the ancient city on the original streets and tried to imagine what life would have been like there 1900 years ago. Later we saw the ampitheater where Paul once preached, which was very cool. I should also add that Turkish food is delicious!

Next we docked in the town of Chania on the island of Crete. This was our last stop of the cruise. Richard and I spent the morning walking around the market and drinking in the site of clean, clear, beautifully blue water. It was truly amazing how clean that water was, even in the port. We could see straight to the bottom as if it were only a few inches deep! Chania was quaint and pretty and colorful. We really enjoyed it!

Our last day on the cruise was spent at sea before we returned to Rome. During the two days we were there we walked around the entire city twice (I am not kidding), took a tour of the Vatican, ate the best pizza, and devoured the most amazing gelato.

Next we took the train to Venice and it was definitely one of the more interesting places we've been on this trip. Canals are everywhere- we took the boat metro (very cool) to our hotel, and received a pretty comprehensive view of the city in the process! To our immense delight we discovered that there is only foot traffic and boat traffic which means...no scooters!! It really was nice to walk the streets without fear of being mercilessly run down, as in Rome. On our second day we took a tour of three of the Venetian islands, which included a glass blowing demonstration and a lace-making demonstration. We loved the island of Burano because every house was painted a different bright color. It was so pretty!

Yesterday morning we reluctantly set off for Vienna. I say reluctantly because we a) loved Venice and b) loved our hotel. In spite of what our itinerary said, we were told it would take us nearly 20 hours to get to Vienna via bus and train. Fortunately this proved not to be the case and we made it in 9 hours. Unfortunately, it was late when we arrived so we didn't see much.

Today we visited St. Stephen's square and the Hofburg Palace. Tonight we are attending a classical concert at Schobrunn, and I actually need to close this so I can go get ready! Farewell, my friends!

Pictures!

Cruise

It's our last night on our 12-day Mediterranean cruise. Europe has been incredible!

Our first two days in Rome before embarking on the cruise were so much fun! The first day we spent touring with a couple groups. We saw the Fontana di Trevi, Gipetto's workshop (from Pinocchio), the Italian Parliament building, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and St. Peter's Basilica all during the course of the morning. My personal favorite was Piazza Navona. The entire square was lined with shops and cafes, and artists displayed their masterpieces in the center. Quaint Italian homes added so much color to the square with beautiful wrought iron balconies and flowers spilling from the windows. Standing there felt like stepping back in time. It was absolutely lovely!

St. Peter's Basilica is beyond my ability to describe. The masterpieces housed in that incredible bui.ding are too awe-inspiring for me to do adequate justice, so I will leave that that job to the pictures we took. By the way, uploading pictures to this blog has proven impossible with the extremely limited Internet we've actually been able to access, so we probably won't post any at all while we're travelling. But you can rest assured that I will post them as soon as we get home.

That afternoon we went on a different tour to the ancient ruins of the Colosseum, the Palantine, and the Roman forum. It was kind of surreal to be there, actually standing in the place where thousands of people once cheered for their favorite gladiator. The view of Rome from the Palantine was amazing. The tour ended just before sunset, so we were able to get some great shots of the city. We learned a lot of history and a lot about archaeology that day, which was completely fascintating!

The cruise was amazing. We have loved every minute! Our first stop was Naples. We took a tour of Pompeii in the pouring rain. This was actually preferable to nice weather because it wasn't crowded at all. The highlights of Pompeii were the ancient Roman baths and a wealthy home. We were able to see original mosaics and paintings that had been perfectly preserved by the ashes from Mount Vesuvius.

The city of Naples wasn't that impressive. Maybe it was because it was raining like crazy and so I didn't explore very far, but I didn't really see anything that interesting. I'm sure the Italian countryside is much prettier.
　
Our next stop was Athens, and it was gorgeous! We had beautiful weather which made everything so much more enjoyable. We took a tour of the city, including the ancient schools where Socrates and Aristotle taught, and the Acropolis of course, which was incredible. Unfortunately there was a lot of restoration and preservation going on while we were there, so most of our pictures of the Parthenon have construction equipment in them, but oh well. Standing on Mars Hill was amazing knowing that we were standing on the same soil as Paul when he preached there. Very cool.

Next we were in Israel for two days. The first day we took a tour of Nazareth and Galilee and it was totally awesome. The countryside is beautiful. Our favorite spot was the Church of the Beatitudes where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Richard and I read Matthew 5 together as we looked out over the exact hill where that event took place. One thing that was interesting that our tour guide pointed out was that Jesus would have stood at the bottom on the hill while the crowd sat above him, like at an ampitheater. I had always pictured Jesus standing on the top of the hill and preaching to the people sitting around and below him, but given the time that Jesus lived, the ampitheater style seems much more realistic, especially when preaching to that many people. We also saw the Jordan River, which is more like a wide creek. It's probably only ten or fifteen feet across and houses the largest catfish I have ever seen in my life, along with muskrats.
Our second day in Israel was spent entirely in Jerusalem. We had the best tour guide ever! He was a short, highly animated Jewish man with a beard and a great sense of humor. We had so much fun with him. He showed us the Church of the Annunciation, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Wailing Wall, and Golgatha. I didn't realize that the place where Jesus was crucified and the place He was buried and resurrected were so close. One church encompasses the entire site. It was so, so humbling to stand there. I was sad that we didn't have more time for reflection, because I could have stood there all day simply giving thanks to God for the sacrifice He made for us, and the love and relationship with Himself that He has given us through Jesus.

Unfortunately I have to sign off now. It's getting late we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow between disembarking and making our way to our hotel in Rome. We are in Rome for two nights and then we take the train to Venice. Wish us safe travels!

April 22

It is pouring in Kyoto today which provides the perfect opportunity to finally update! I feel so bad that I haven't written anything yet, but I trust you'll forgive me when I say that the Internet has ben ridiculously expensive wherever we go. Our first hotel in Hawaii charged $1.50 per minute. No thank you. My hope is that our friends and family back home haven't given up on us. Yes we are still alive.

Being the type of person who keeps meticulous records of life events, I'd love to make a new post for each day of our trip. However, since we are almost a month into it and I am typing this on a Kindle, I think I will have to be content with summarizing.

Hawaii was awesome! We had such a blast, especially on the Big Island. On our first day there we kayaked with dolphins and snorkeled in a reef. It was super cool to see colorful fish, sea urchins,and even eels up close. Richard also managed to flip out of the kayak at one point which made me laugh so hard I almost inhaled salt water. All I know is I saw flippered feet go flying and then he was sputtering in the water.

We also did a ton of hiking on the Big Island. We hiked Waipio Valley which has a 25% grade. Try climbing back up in less than an hour and see how far you get. The views are phenomenal though, and the black sand beach at the bottom is well worth the effort. There are wild horses that roam here, but  unfortunately we didn't see any. After hiking Waipio we ate the best barbecue I have ever tasted at a place called Huli Sue's. This place put Famous Dave's to shame (I know this is considered blasphemy to my coworkers, but it's true). We also hiked Arch City where you can see natural arches and blowholes carved by the sea. It was high tide on a stormy day when we were there, so we got to see lots of action with the blowholes which was sweet. On another day we hiked Pololu Valley which looked like somethig out of Jurassic Park. It was thick jungle on both sides of the valley with another black sand beach at the bottom. The view from the top was beautiful.

We hiked Kiholo Bay which is lava coastline that eventually leads you to the calmest, clearest, most beautiful lagoon you've ever seen, but only after scrambling over some serious lava boulders. We were rewarded with dozens of sea turtles, jumping fish, and sharks! This day was definitely one of my favorites in Hawaii. It was warm and sunny and the magnificence of the lagoon with its sea creatures and palm trees was breathtaking.

Up until this point we were staying in Hapuna Bay on the west shore, north of Kona. After eight days there we moved to Hilo on the east shore. We were planning on spending at least two days exploring Mauna Kea, the active volcano on the island. Unfortunately, we learned that earlier in March the crater had collapsed several hundred feet, terminating all flowing lava. As disappointed as we were, we still spent a day hiking Volcano National Park. The trail we followed took us across an old crater's floor were we could see and feel steam escaping from the earth. Very cool. This was a great hike not only for exercise but because it went from lush rainforest to stark lava in a matter of seconds.

The rest of the time we spent on the east shore was spent exploring naturally heated pools and pretty waterfalls. There is definitely not as much to do or see on that side of the island. We decided we liked the west shore much better. Plus, the west side is much sunnier and doesn't receive nearly as much rain.

From the Big Island we flew to Molokai, which is the most underdeveloped island in Hawaii. While beautiful, there isn't a lot you can do on your own. Most of the island is privately owned, which automatically cuts hiking out of the picture, unless you want to pay a couple hundred per person for a guided tour. Nope! So instead we spent our time there exploring the coast on all sides with our Jeep. We found the most pristine beach I have ever seen. The sand was sparkling white and the water was so clear I could see through the waves. The beach was at least two miles long and nearly deserted in the middle of the day, which made it quite the hidden gem. We also took the Jeep off-roading, which we have video of. That was pretty fun!

From Molokai we flew to the island of Kauai. I saw two whales from the plane! When we landed in Lihue Rchard surprised me with a covertible as our rental instead of the Jeeps we drove on the previous islands. Boy did we have fun in that Mustang! The town of Kapaa where we stayed was a very ecclectic little town, but it was really fun. We hiked twelve miles in one day through Waimea Canyon on the southwest corner of the island. That was definitely a challenge. At one point we were clinging to roots with our boots trying not to fall down the mountain. At other points the trail would barely skirt a cliff edge. We are both avid hikers and we work out regularly at home, but that trail kicked our butts. I am so glad we did it though!

The day after that hike was another in the Top 5 of Hawaii. In the morning we went power hangliding over the Na Pali coast. It was absolutely breathtaking, first because it was beautiful and second because it was so much fun! Waimea Canyon is part of the Na Pali coast and we flew over part of the trail we had hiked the day before. I must confess here that I totally gloated over that trail that I conquered, and yes, I did boast about it my pilot. That afternoon we went horseback riding on a ranch on the north side of the island. Richard had never ridden before and he had a blast. We ended up at a small pool where we cooled off by climbing into the waterfall behind it. It was wicked hot that day but the water was freezing!

Our flight to Tokyo left at 6:30pm on Friday and arrived at 10:45pm on Saturday. Our first day there we spent walking around an artsy part of town called Shibuya. We also went to a park where bands supposedly play on Sundays, but we didn't see any. What we did see, however, was a dog fair. There were vendors selling everthing doggy related, from homemade treats to outfits. Apparently  the Japanese treat their dogs like children because every dog there was made up in some way or another. Most were wearing clothes including doggy jeans and cheerleading outfits. A couple were wearing sunglasses and almost all had ribbons tied around their ears. It was hysterical!

Our second day in Tokyo we visited the Tsukiji Market. This open-air warehouse specializes in two things: fresh produce and fish. It was facinating! We went early in the morning to see the butchers hard at work on the day's fresh catch. Chainsaws and table saws were constantly grinding. We saw everything from squid to octopus to tuna to eels to shrimp to snails. Some of the slabs of fish, not to mention the ones yet to be butchered, were bigger than me!

We also spent one night at a Buddhist temple, high in the mountains. That was quite the experience. As guests of the temple we were required to attend services in the morning. The altar was beautiful, decorated in deep red and gold. Two monks chanted the entire service. It was interesting, but it made me sad that they were worshipping a god that doesn't exist. After the services, we walked through a cemetery that was centuries old. Moss grew thickly over the tombstones and the trees were huge. It was so quiet and peaceful.

From the temple we took the train to Kyoto, arriving late in the afternoon. We simply hung out at the hotel that evening, taking time to rest and relax after travelling all day. Yesterday morning we found a bakery across the street that sold the most delectable pastries I have ever tasted. It seriously made me want to learn how to bake like that. We spent the day biking around Kyoto. In the morning we went to a monkey park to see these monkeys that have made that particular mountain their natural habitat. They roamed around us freely while we watched them. There was a mother monkey with a very young baby. He was absolutely adorable! Couldn't have been more than a couple weeks old. I watched him nurse and he totally hiccupped. It was so cute. In the afternoon we biked across town to the oldest part of Kyoto. It reminded me a lot of Old Town Alexandria but Japanese style. We stayed there until it grew dark. We even saw several geishas! They were truly lovely.

This morning we biked to a shrine close to the old part of Kyoto where orange gates line the mountain. We hiked the entire loop of the mountain, which consisted mostly of stairs. It was pretty cool to see the different parts of the shine. By the time we started hiking down it was sprinkling,and by the time we reached our bikes it was gently raining. We had a long ride ahead of us though, and by the time we reached our hotel we were soaked completely through. Now I am curled up in a comfy chair in our room, warm and dry. It's still raining so I'm not sure what we will do tonight. It is our last day in Japan. Tomorrow we have a four-hour train ride plus two flights.

So far we have had an amazing trip. A very special thank you goes out to those of you who attended our wedding. Our day wouldn't have been complete without you. To our families: we love you and can't wait to see you again. I will try to be better about posting on a more regular basis.

Until next time!