Home again

I was walking thru Terminal C at Newark Airport last week, flying back to Paris for what would be my last trip as a European based FedEx crew member.  I was heading to Gate  C-91, Paris.  On the way C-83, Madrid, incredible fountains, the Prado. Spent time there with Corey and Allison, Janice and I.  Next gate, Barcelona. Sagrada Famiia.  One of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen. Also the ending point of our first ever cruise on The Windstar’s Wind Spirit.  C87 -  London, the Queens jubilee, the city was as vibrant as I’ve ever seen it.  Ready for both the Olympics and the Queens celebration.  Further down the concourse, Budapest, Oslo, Florence, Zurich.  Have we really visited all these places?  The scary part of my trip down memory lane was how fast the 2 years had flown by.  In retrospect, we knew it would, but after waiting for 3 months for our internet connection or spending an hour in the grocery store for a trip that should’ve take 15 minutes, the bad times, if I dare call them that, maybe just the inconveniences of being a “foreigner”,  seem somewhat trivial now.  We learned many new expressions while living in Germany.  “Not possible”, while largely something we never even think of in America, is quite the norm overseas.  Don’t even try, “Have you considered doing it this way.”  Remember, “Not possible.”

So here we are at 24 months and 2 weeks.  We’ve sold our car, and all our German possessions.  I remember telling a friend that this is stuff that we would never have in our home in the U.S., faux leather (i.e. plastic) cheap mahogany, etc…. but after 2 years, it was part of our house.  Janice put together a great German home.  She decorated it like I never would have imagined.  It felt good to come back there after a 3 week drive thru France and Spain.  It was home.  I felt comfortable, just passing thru Cologne between trips to Italy, or getting ready for my next flight to Scandinavia.  We made a home in Germany, and we loved every minute of it.

Wall to Wall.  Beginning to end, start to finish.  Wall, NJ to Wall NJ.  That’s where our  blogs name came from.  Now we’re at the end of this adventure.  One thing that I can say for certain is that this has opened our eyes to much, much more than we’ve already done.  We’ve never seen much of our own Pacific coast.  We’ve been talking about Charleston for over 30 years,  Driving to Nova Scotia can’t be any further than our drive to Zagreb.  And they speak English in Nova Scotia, I think.  While we visited 3 American cemeteries in Europe, we’ve never visited Gettysburg, the historic battlefield 2 hours from our NJ front door. We can’t wait to get started.

In 25 +  years of FedEx employment, Janice has probably met fewer than 5 of my coworkers, and 3 of those 5 were couriers who delivered to our door.  After Cologne, she has an extended family of FedEx ex-pats that comprise over 90 families.  Missing home, or looking for someone to get some exercise with, there was always a friendly and understanding FedEx friend to call.  We put our new family friendships at the very top of our 2 year experience, and while we know that we may never see many of them again, the experiences will last a lifetime, and certain friendships don’t require daily or even annual contact.  Just friends with a very common bond.

 What were the highlights?  Where do I begin.  I thought Mürren, Switzerland was as pretty a place as I’ve ever been.  That was until we visited Norway. Take a “You Tube” look at Rick Steves travel to Solvorn and The Walaker Hotel.  We were able to spend 3 nights there.   We visited Paris at least a dozen times in 2 years.  It was our go to city.  3 hours on The Thalys train, a reasonable hotel room, compliments of our Starwood connections, Caitlyn and Nik.  There’s no place like it that I’d rather spend a leisurely weekend, and we did, often.  Twenty countries in 24 months, and that doesn’t include the  20 minute drive thru Lichtenstein.  I’ve seen enough churches to last me a lifetime, but we’ve learned that when you take al little bit of extra time, you might learn something about Louis XVI or Henry, fill in the blanks.  I now know the difference between Doric, Ionic and Corinthian architecture.  We stood in the amphitheater where Paul spoke to the Ephesians.  Janice wanted me to run a lap at the site of the original Olympic games, but where would I put my Starbucks latte.  We never knew how beautiful Montenegro was, or how badly Dubrovnik was bombed in the 1990’s.  Our last stop on our European adventure was Venice.  Can you think of anyplace better?  OK, maybe Paris, but we really enjoyed getting lost in Venice. (literally)

So now it’s Monday, and I’m in Paris until Friday. Janice is in the States, probably unpacking the 38th of our 40 moving boxes dropped on our doorstep the other day.  It’s a good time to not be home, but….. Paris is not the same.   It’s time to go home.   We’ve been on an extended 2 year vacation and we’ll cherish every moment of it but….. Manasquan Park never looked so good.

A Final Entry from Janice

German flag welcoming us home in New Jersey

A favorite topic of conversation among our Ex-pat FedEx friends was the likes and dislikes of German and American cultures.  We compiled a list of favorite, and not so favorite things about our years abroad.

Top Ten Things I Will NOT Miss in Germany

Trying to decide if someone is just being rude or if there is a cultural difference I just don’t understand yet.
Smoking!!!
Lack of eye contact and lack of friendly hello’s as you walk down the street, shopping, or in the park.
The way people “police” others all the time!
Grocery shopping and checkout cashiers.
Being told things are “not possible”, without a second thought.
Lack of knowing how to queue, with manners.
Lack of help or common courtesy on trains and trams with suitcases and bags.
The German language, it is so difficult to learn!
Cloudy, dreary winter months.

Top Ten Things I WILL Miss

Ease of transportation.
Sundays, where nothing is open and the day is for outings, and social gatherings.
Fresh vegetables, fruits, and most of all, the flowers.
Bakeries and fresh bread!
Clean public bathrooms.
Civilized driving, where drivers follow the rules.
Cafes where you are welcome to linger with a wine or cappuccino.
Public spaces and city squares, both the number of them and size.
Sharing our experiences with visitors from home.
The FedEx camaraderie, which felt so much like a military squadron, where everyone depends on each other for fast friendships and shared common experiences! It was the best!

I was so very happy that the list of the things I will miss was far easier to compile than the other.  I think that reflects on all the wonderful, positive experiences that I will never forget.

'Willkommen' from our family! Happy to be home too!

Our Final Trip

Our final trip before moving back to the states ended up being perfect! After 2 years of traveling to so many countries, small towns, cities, churches and fortresses we were having a difficult time trying to pinpoint exactly what we were looking to do. We settled on a cruise, a bit apprehensive being that our first one ever was less than a year ago, a very small ship, and a unique experience. This time we went a little larger with Silversea’s Silver Spirit Ship because of the destinations, size, and quality of the cruise line.  

Sunsets in the evening were awesome!

A benefit to cruising in October is there are not many ships still in the European waters as they head to warmer places for the winter leaving the ports pretty empty here. Our ship was only about half full with fewer than 250 guests, so I think there was more crew than guests. Pretty nice for us!!! It is a first class operation so we spent our 8 days feeling like kings and relaxing in luxury.

Sunrise was spectacular too!

     Our destinations were Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Croatia, and ending in Venice. The negative to a cruise tends to be not having enough time in each destination, but after two years of so much traveling we loved unpacking once, and the elimination of decisions about where to stop, where to eat, and navigating how to get places. It left us focusing our efforts on exactly what we wanted to see and do when we arrived in port. You can accomplish a lot when you eliminate so many decisions in your day!

     The destinations in Greece and Turkey were excellent for exploring ancient ruins that dated back to 500 BC. We thought sights we had seen in Europe we so old compared to the US, and now we were in Athens and Ephesus and we were predating the birth of Christ! Absolutely amazing and humbling.

Steeped sloped amphitheater located below the Acropolis

 Parthenon

Poseidon Temple outside of Athens

Athens, Greece

We flew into Athens three days before the cruise left so we could take our time and visit the Parthenon and surrounding ruins. The Acropolis is so striking because it sits up on a flat top rock in the city of Athens. The view from our hotel at night was just awesome, but even during the day it could be seen from all around the city. We were so fortunate to have a guide who tried to educate us on the empires that occupied the area – Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman. Words we hadn’t heard since maybe high school and even then I don’t think I understood what we were being taught. We would hear about these empires many times in the next week of traveling. We were shown examples of differences in types and styles of architecture in the temples, theatres, and palaces. Truly amazing places to see. Without a knowledgeable guide we would have been lost and not known the significance of so many of the sights we were walking by.

Ruins of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus

In front of the Library of Celsus

Theatre in Ephesus

    

 In Turkey we had the privilege to tour Ephesus, a city that at one time had a population of 50,000; where the Gospel of John was written and spoken to the people who lived there by the apostle himself; and it is thought that this is where Mary spent the last years of her life.  We were walking on ‘streets’ made of stone worn down from thousands of years of foot traffic. All around us were stone fragments and architectural building pieces casually stacked and piled near pathways and structures that were vibrant markets, buildings, and temples in another time. The restoration continues using modern technology that is a marvel in itself.

Olympia, Greece

     

   

The destinations in Greece were so very different than the Greek islands we had visited back in May. Along the Ionian Sea, Greece has green hills and so much more vegetation - definitely not as arid and dry as the islands in the Aegean. Corfu, Greece was so very green and such a pretty island with olive trees and beautiful buildings where you could see Venetian influence as well. In Katakolon we rode out to Olympia, another destination to explore ruins. Ancient Olympia had played host to the original athletic games and inspired what we celebrate today. The torch was lit here just weeks ago and it is now on its way to Sochi for the Winter Games. A pleasant side trip in Katakolon was to an old family winery perched up on the Ionian Sea. It was a surprising gem, even though Greece is not well known for wine making we met the wine maker, walk around the beautiful grounds of his winery with him, and sampled wine, olives, and cheese from the region. 

Mercouri Estate and Winery

The perfect setting for wine tasting

Montenegro, Dubrovnik, and Hvar all offered beautiful small port destinations with history not as ancient as Greece and Turkey, but beautiful, serene, and striking. Kotor, Montenegro presented the most dramatic entrance to a harbor on the trip. You travel up a fjord for over an hour with steep rugged mountains all around to the Old City of Kotor that in the Middle Ages was Serbia’s chief port becoming an important economic and cultural center in the country. Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful fortified cities. It has a massive wall around the Old Town that you climb up to and spend hours walking on. The views from the wall were awesome. You look down on the orange-tiled roofs, copper colored domes, and tall bell towers. The day we were there the sun was shining and glistening off the sea, just a beautiful day! Our only disappointment was a War Photo Museum that displays world renowned photojournalists’ work from the Balkans War in the 90’s was closed on Monday, our only day in port. The gallery sounded like it would provide a powerful view of a very recent war that there is no evidence of in this picturesque city. Hvar was a spot we had already been to in June and spent a day sailing around the neighboring islands with our children. We said then it was a place we would like to come back to. Wish granted! This day we spent riding motor scooters up into the hills of the island, which offered very pretty views of the surrounding sea.

Corfu, Greece

Kotor, Montenegro

Silver Spirit in Kotor Harbor

Dubrovnik

Wall surrounding the city of Dubrovnik

 Before heading back to Koln and moving onto New Jersey, our last stop was Venice. Again it was a very interesting entrance into the Port of Venice. A much less stressful way to enter than when we arrived by car earlier in the year! Unfortunately, it was not as clear this day. There was a travel guide on the ship that narrated the entire ride in explaining history, points of interest, and the situation of floods and rising waters in Venice. A bit overcast, but still a remarkable and amazing place to visit. It is just such a unique city, precariously situated on lagoons that rise and fall depending on the weather conditions. The architecture is just awesome and it is one of the best cities to wander in without a map and just see where you end up!

Entering Venice

A wonderful end to a two-year adventure that we never imagined would be as grand as it was! We were so very, very fortunate to have this opportunity to travel, live in Europe, and have so many friends and family come and explore with us!!!

A Visit With Jillian

 

When your children graduate from college and go off on their own, it is so rewarding as a parent. The one thing that also happens is there are fewer occasions when you get to spend extended time together. There are always work and commitments and life….

So recently spending five uninterrupted days with our daughter Jillian was very special. Spending it in Paris was even more special! All of our children have had the chance to come and visit us while we have been living in Europe, which has been wonderful. We now have adventures and memories of places together that we never dreamed of.

Paris never fails to intrigue us.  It just so happened to be fashion week when Jillian came. Of all our children, Jillian would be the one that would appreciate that event the most. She was able to teach us a few things about what was going on. Lots of incredible cameras being carried around the city, some wild outfits, beautiful people, and activity everywhere you walked.

We fit in a night tour of Paris on bikes – got to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle it’s lights ever hour from various locations in the city. It was a unique way to explore and see the city from a different perspective.

We took a tour in the Latin Quarter with a girl who is opening a bakery in Paris next month. The tour’s title was Baguette to Bistro. Laurel explained all about French food, wine, and the culture and history of food in France. Lots of stops to sample chocolates, cheese, wine, and of course various breads and pastries. She was a great tour guide – fun, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. Can’t wait to go back sometime and visit her bakery.

Knowing it was our last visit to Paris for a while we had a couple special dinners out at some restaurants that we have been to during our stay in Europe. Glad we could share this time and experience with Jillian.

A Week Vacation in Norway

Norway has been on our list of places to visit for sometime now. We were originally going to go in February hoping to see the northern lights, but then I broke my leg and so we delayed...

We flew into Oslo and spent 2 days exploring the city. It has a population that is about half of what Koln is, so it is not a large city and quite manageable. They have a great tram, bus, and ferry system where you can buy a pass for your stay making it very easy to get around. The waterfront has gone through a massive renovation and is quite modern and a definite draw for tourists. There is still quite a bit of construction going on and many beautiful, high-end condos being built right at the water’s edge. Restaurants, bars, and entertainment are plentiful there.

The National Ballet and Opera House is new on the waterfront and seems to invite tourists to explore. You can walk around, up, and on top of the building. Very cool and unique. After walking around it we went on a cruise on the Oslo Fjord and had a great view of it from the water. There is a structure in the water near the Opera building and we were told that it is suppose to represent an iceberg that has broken off from the main structure, a commentary on global warming.

We took advantage of the warm, sunny weather and spent part of one day in the Vigeland Sculpture Park. It contains over 200 bronze and granite sculptures by Oslo’s most famous artist. The park has fountains, a bridge decorated with 58 of the sculptures and open grassy areas and paths for wandering. Some of the pieces were fascinating; some were funny, and others a bit disturbing. Overall, a very interesting park and nice place to stroll and enjoy a pretty day.

 

 

On the cruise on the fjord we traveled around some of the small islands near Oslo and could see many summer homes spread up in the hills. Along the waterfront these homes had little ‘bath houses’, which were amazingly well maintained, and unique providing owners with a small space to enjoy near the water’s edge. The surrounding islands are idyllic and seem like the perfect getaways yet still just a ferry ride into the city. From what we could gather not many of them are inhabited in the winter months.

 

 

Something we were pleasantly surprised at was the Viking Ship Museum. We took a ferry out to one of the islands right by the city and walked out to the museum. Inside were displayed three of the best-preserved Viking Ships ever found. They were buried over 1000 years ago to carry their royal owners to the ‘other side’. The immense size and some of the detail on the ships was amazing. The displays were so simple and the reconstructed ships, awesome and authentic.

 

 
We rented a car and spent the next five days far from the city exploring the countryside, which was dotted with farms, endless forests, and breathtaking fjords. Some of the scenery was very similar to Switzerland, which we thought was the most beautiful until we witnessed what Norway had to offer. In Norway the scenery is just much more expansive and vast. We also found as we drove that the terrain and backdrop changed often. There was a time we were driving and felt like we were on the moon – we thought film crews would just love it because it was so incredibly desolate. Once you leave the city of Oslo you drive for hours and see villages, but few towns and even fewer hotels and restaurants.

Our favorite stay was three nights in the village of Solvorn on the Lustrafjord. The Walaker Hotel is the oldest hotel in Norway and proved to be the perfect place to relax, hike, cycle, and explore the water by ferry and canoe. No matter which we explored, the views were magnificent! We took a ferry across the fjord to visit the oldest stave church in Norway too. There were over 1000 stave churches at one time and now only 28 exist. The Urnes Stave Church dates from 1129 and we marveled at the fact that it is totally made of timber with lighting that holds candles and it has never burned down! They have very few windows and are very dark inside and out, so different than the cathedrals of Europe. We ended up coming across three other churches as we drove in other parts of the country. Before this trip I had never even heard of a stave church. As always, it has been a real education!

Cottage in the village of Solvorn.

View from our hike

Walaker Hotel - wonderful stay!

Garden at the Walaker

Urnes Stave Church

As you can guess from the pictures, traveling along the fjords was just remarkable. Being that we were there in September there were very few people on the ferries, so you could take as many pictures as you wanted and from where ever you wanted on the deck. It was wonderful! We did ask about the peak time to see the waterfalls and one of the workers said the end of May, so if you are thinking of planning a trip that might be an ideal time to see the waterfalls at their prime!