Euro Vacay - Day 2

There is a 7 hour time difference between Oklahoma City and Zurich, so although we went to bed at a decent hour our first night in Switzerland, 4 hours later (about 3 a.m.) we were both wide awake. I got a lot of reading in and Eric played a lot of Angry Birds... three hours later, after dozing on and off we finally decided to get out of bed and get ready for the day.

The hotel had a delicious breakfast included, so we went down to enjoy. We have a disgustingly funny breakfast story... I'll start by setting up the room: Fresh fruit, assortment of fine Swiss cheese, assortment, the 'American' breakfast section with bacon/sausage/scrambled eggs, a variety of breads and bagels, cereal, sliced meats, etc. Well, in the bacon pan, they use toast to line the bottom (and absorb the grease, of course). My precious husband went up for round 2 and (unknowingly) served himself said toast and commenced to consume commenting that it sure did taste weird for a 'pancake.' Yep, he made his arteries work overtime that morning.

We still had an hour and a half before we needed to check-in at the meeting point, just a couple blocks from our hotel, so we wandered around the peaceful Zurich streets. We found a little bridge with some "love-locks," I guess people are trying to bring some Paris tradition to Zurich?!

I couldn't believe how much a mani/pedi cost!
(55 Swiss Francs = $57.31 USD and 60 Swiss Francs = $62.52 USD.) Of course, I told Eric that I get such a steal when I go in the states!

Eric found a knife store he liked--unfortunately (or fortunately for our bank account), the store was hours away from opening.

Time for our departure! 

Just the ridiculously gorgeous countryside...

First, we stopped at the Lion Monument: [Wiki explanation] The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne,Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates theSwiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France. Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."

     --I couldn't have said it better myself.--

Next, we had just over an hour to explore the quaint town of Lucerne. In the heart, we visited Kapellbrucke, or Chapel Bridge. This bridge is famous because it has a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century. It is also the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and the worlds longest surviving truss bridge.

We had our first pretzels of the trip and walked through a market with, of course, Swiss cheese!

This fabulous day was building up to the main attraction: Mount Titlis at 10,000 feet... WOW! Hanging out in the Swiss Alps was, simply put, breathtaking!

So at the top of Mount Titlis, there is a suspension bridge. When one walks across said suspension bridge, steps are not absorbed, but rather emphasized on the bouncing bridge. It was a little scary at first, but it was funnier watching the other people white-knuckle the rail :)

Also atop the mountain, we walked through a glacier cave. Obvi, it was freezing in there, but pretty neat to be surrounded by naturally-formed ice. Maybe this is where the Gaylord hotel in Dallas got the idea for the  ice sculpture exhibit?!

What a day!

We spent a beautiful day in the Swiss countryside and made it back to the city for some delicious Italian food on a patio in the Altstadt (Old Town) area of Zurich. After dinner, we wandered over to a little pub and listened to some acoustic music and enjoyed a few adult beverages. You know, this life is really beautiful when you get to spend it with the one you love. <3

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

.Saint Augustine.

xo, ms

Euro Vacay - Day 1

[I get inspired to write when cool stuff happens...] 

In May, after navigating our ever-changing work/life schedules, we chose "late September-ish" for our next vacation. Originally, I had my sights set on a trip to the beautiful islands of Greece. After hours of researching locations, hotels, beaches, excursions, etc., it dawned on me that "late September-ish" is the PERFECT time frame to visit Germany, more specifically Munich, most specifically Oktoberfest!

Even before consulting Eric, I knew the change in plans would be enthusiastically received. We wanted to visit a couple other locations, so we determined the Shults-Euro-Vacay-2014 would incorporate Zurich, Munich and Prague. In order to better appreciate Eric's heritage (i.e. consume copious amounts of bier and bratwurst) we decided we should stay in Munich the longest and frame that time with Zurich first and Prague last.

Fast forward a few months, and it's time to embark on our next great adventure!

We arrived in Zurich on Friday, September 26, first thing in the morning. [I digress (and at the risk of sounding like a lush), but how disappointing is it that United Airlines no longer offers complimentary alcoholic beverages on international flights?! This was a 2014 change that I discovered on my return flight from Tokyo earlier this year, but still... A nice glass or 2 of red wine would make the 8 hour flight a little more enjoyable. Needless to say, we still indulged, at approx $8 a bev, because why not- we're on vacation!] 

I'll try this again: We arrived in Zurich on Friday, September 26, first thing in the morning. Typically, I have a solid, premeditated transportation plan in place, but this time we had to wing it. Luckily, from the airport we just had to hop on the subway (or whatever they call it) at the airport, head to the main train station and our hotel was across the street.

Zurich 'Subway' ~ 10 hours of traveling later

I've been to Europe a number of times, but as I emerge from underground stations, I'm always excited to see the plethora of bicycles in these foreign cities. Granted, the geography is significantly different from home, but I think there is something pretty cool about just biking all the time, everywhere. 

After getting our bearings and determining where the 'front' of the train station was, we look across the street and welcomed by the grandeur building we'd call home for the next three nights. 

Hotel Schweizerhof had fabulous accommodations...

...and our view of the city was gorgeous!

The day was young, so we had some time to unpack, relax, and take in the fresh Swiss air (and chocolate--they replenished rich Swiss chocolate when the room was cleaned during the day and again at the evening turn down service!) before exploring the city. The only excursion we planned in Switzerland wasn't until the following day, so we had a whole afternoon and evening to wader around Zurich.  

Adjacent to Schweizerhof is The Bahnofstrasse of Zurich: Once populated by frogs croaking in the city moat, traffic began with the hacks in 1864. Followed by the horse drawn tramway (Rösslitram) and finally by electric tram and automobile. Today most part of the “Bahnhofstrasse” is a traffic free area. It's the most important location in Zurich for  finance and business. And the main promenade where exclusiveness, quality and variety meet. The “Bahnhofstrasse” is a must see for every visitor. Whether it is for business or as a tourist. It's the most famous “Bahnhofstrasse” in Europe!

We strolled down this important street, ventured off in the side streets, popped into a few churches, and enjoyed the afternoon.  

It was a happy coincidence that we ended up at Lake Zurich just 20 minutes before the dinner cruise began. 

We made a quick decision to purchase tickets and spend the evening on the lake watching the sunset and enjoying the crisp Swiss air. 

When it was time to eat, we went inside the cabin, switched over to wine and had some delicious pork, chicken, risotto, and fancy noodles.  

It was an absolutely pleasant evening to cap off our first day. We didn't have cell service, we didn't know anybody around, didn't speak the same language as most of the people on board, but had a wonderfully peaceful time. (note: we are clearly getting old-- there was no part of us that wanted to cap the night off at a crazy club... travel exhaustion was setting in, and the comfy hotel bed was just the place we wanted to be.)

Day 1: complete. We couldn't wait to see Mount Titlus the next day!

xo, ms

2 days down...

Lent started Wednesday. I gave up coke... but I already failed. Here's why:

I had ACL reconstructive surgery and a scope to my meniscus yesterday. Coming out of anesthesia, I was terribly hot and nauseous. After spitting up a few times in my recovery room, the nurse insisted that I have some sprite to settle my tummy. It worked, and today I start again with zero cokes (yes, that is synonymous with all 'sodas' or 'pops'--I'm from Texas) until Easter. 

So in the two-and-a-half months since my last declaration to keep up with blogging, a few things have certainly happened. As I alluded to in a previous post, I went to visit Eric in Okpo, South Korea at the shipyard he was working at. We stayed in his fully-furnished one bedroom apartment. He still had to work most of the days, but I had fun exploring the little town. 

After five days in South Korea, we hopped over to Tokyo on New Year's day. Because of the timing, we were unable to see any Sumo matches or training, nor were we able to visit the Tsukiji fish market (the biggest in the world!). However, we were able to visit a shrine, the shopping district, Shibuya Crossing, and eat at the top of the Park Hyatt, among other things. Our accommodations were INCREDIBLE at the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills. 

A couple weeks later, we made it out to Breckenridge to get our annual snowboarding trip in the books. We were joined my sister (in-law) Vicki and her hubby Ronnie, Lance and Liz our great friends from Midland [wedding Sept. 20], and Paige and Pat our great friends from Denver [wedding Sept. 13]!! We are so fortunate to have people in or lives that like to travel and we can stand to be around for several consecutive days :) It was a blast watching the Broncos win their playoff game at the bar at the base of the mountain!

The first weekend in February, I spent time with Fadya and 14 other ladies celebrating her bachelorette weekend. Between Pete's Piano Bar, Wine tours and a night out on 6th Street, we had a great time! Unfortunately, that weekend ended watching the Broncos get spanked in the Super Bowl... 

I spent the next weekend in Houston, Valentines day as the 3rd wheel with the fabulous friends we've made in OKC and the first weekend in March standing in John and Fadya's wedding. Whew. 

Meanwhile, the week leading up to the bachelorette party, I blew out my knee in an Over-25-Indoor-Soccer game, [second game of the season] so I went through February with a bum knee.

Alas, here I am, two days down and approximately 7-9 months to go before I am 'back' to 100%. I am already feeling helpless and trapped by my immobility... thankfully, the hubby and puppy are excellent caretakers thus far! Perhaps being so stationary I will post more blogs (and corresponding photos) about our 2014 adventures to date!? (Or, just watch a lot of netflix and read lots of books in between naps.)

xo.

ms.

[Old and New] Traditions

Christmas time. A time for family, friends, prayers, jokes, laughs, booze and travel. I left my new home in OKC to my 'forever' home in Deer Park. (Forever- as long as my parents live there, anyway. It's certainly been my 'permanent address' through the 72 other addresses I've had over the last several years.)

Per usual, didn't quite leave as early as expected- but I put at least 32% of that blame on the icy conditions we woke up to in OKC on the 21st....

---(I got this is in the mail that morning. As Alainis would say, "Isn't it ironic? Don't ya think?!"---

Literally, my mailbox was iced shut. I couldn't even pull it open, I had to get hot water to melt it away!! 

So as my noon departure turned into a 4 pm departure, I found myself arriving home around 11:30 pm. My house wasn't quiet at this hour, oh no, my brother, essentially another brother, parents, cousins, and their kiddos were waiting up for me! I'm sure it had nothing to do with their boozing and everything to do with my arrival, but either way, there they were margaritas in hand and hugs all around! Family = love. 😍

Of course, I had to make a B-double E-double R-U-N  when I got home, but otherwise it just wouldn't seem right. 

Sunday morning, two families came together for the annual Christmas brunch with the in-laws. I'm so lucky to not only like my in-laws, but truly love them AND (believe it or not) enjoy spending time with them!! 

Sunday night, the fam-bam went to Elf the musical. So. Great. [That is a standing tradition, going to see a musical/show at Christmas time!] 

My 'essentially sister' had a bebe in September so time between Saturday and Wednesday was spent oogling over her handsome little man!! 

Wednesday. Christmas. 

This year, we decided Christmas Day should not only include our traditional meal of "Uncle Steve's Fried Ribs," (which needs its own post to describe the delicacy) but also (our new tradition) tacky Christmas Sweater wear! 

Want to see VINTAGE?! My grandma donned her homemade shirt from '95, back when she only had 9 grandkids and zero great-grandkids. I'd like to say the original 9 are pretty great, but it's hard to beat a child's smile.

While grandma got second, mad props to my mom for making the winning shirt for my daddy-- 

The day was spent playing outside with the kiddos, skyping with my cousin currently serving in the Navy, eating until we couldn't, showering our grandma/matriarch with gifts and the usual smart-ass quips our loving family dishes.

Unfortunately my hubby was working and we didn't get to spend his Dirty-30 or Christmas together this year. Fortunately, I will spend the new year with him in South Korea! Afterwards, we'll hop over to Tokyo for some sushi for several days then return stateside so I can be back at work the second week in January. 

Our schedule is exhausting, but I wouldn't have it any other way. ;) 

Merry Christmas, ya'll.