Ireland & UK

Ireland-

After three amazing nights in Amsterdam, we left our roommate (Miep the cat) and flew to Dublin. Once we arrived, we picked up yet another car, but this time we were met with the challenge of our first experience of driving on the left side of the road. This took a bit of getting used to, but we eventually figured it out and headed towards Killarney.

Along the way, we made our second family-related stop of the trip, this time into the town of Cork, where Nolan’s great-grandparents were from. We had a fish and chips lunch in the town, along with a Guinness and explored a bit before continuing on our way.

In Killarney, we stayed at the magnificent Killeen House Hotel, where Nolan’s family has stayed in the past. The hotel is still run by proprietors Geraldine and Michael, who were insanely gracious hosts and made sure we felt right at home. We spent the next day and half exploring this amazing part of the world: The Dingle Peninsula, Valentia Island, the Skellig Ring and the Ring of Kerry. We explored the sights on a rare bluebird day and the landscapes were some of the most stunning either of us had ever experienced. Where the narrow Irish roads allowed, we pulled over at every chance we got to snap a photo. The highlight of this day trip was visiting the Minard Castle on the Dingle Peninsula, where we had the entire beach to ourselves. The photos and drone video cannot do it justice; it was incredible and an experience neither one of us will forget for quite some time.
 

Minard's Castle on Dingle Peninsula 

After an awesome two nights in Killarney, we headed into Dublin for a night. We explored St. Patrick’s Cathedral and of course toured the Guinness Storehouse, where we learned the history of the beer, how it is made, and how to properly drink it! While it was a bit touristy, it was a lot of fun and worth the trip.

Manchester, England-

We flew from Dublin late (after our Guinness tour) and arrived in Manchester, England and were greeted by a wonderful Airbnb host who gave us all kind of tips on Manchester and visiting the Lake District, which we had intended to do on our first full day. We also got to catch the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko boxing match, which had the entire country of England screaming at their televisions just as we arrived.  

While in Manchester we spent full day visiting the Lake District on a recommendation from Nolan’s dad and it did not disappoint! Beautiful scenery of rolling hills, old stone walls and stunning lakes. Oh, and sheep everywhere! We stopped at a grocery store and had a picnic before embarking on a 3-hour hike up Cat Bells just outside of Keswick for amazing views and photos. It also reminded us how utterly out of shape we are…

Nolan on Catfells getting a few shots of the sheep

On our last day up north, we grabbed coffee in downtown Manchester and decided to take the scenic route (the long way) to London. We stopped in the Cotswolds for lunch, which was incredibly picturesque and then drove to Stonehenge. While this latter stop was quite touristy and in the middle of nowhere, we are glad we took the time to experience it before making our way to foggy Londontown.

London, England-

We spent the next three nights in London, which had been on Kirby’s bucket list for quite some time and we had an amazing time! We stayed in North Kensington and had a blast hiring bikes to explore Hyde Park and the surrounding neighborhood of Notting Hill. We also had a proper touristy day of exploring Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, riding the tube and having afternoon tea. We even spent our final night taking sunset shots of the gorgeous Tower Bridge. 

London was also great because we were well-connected! We got a lot of work done, caught up with some of Nolan's old work colleagues and were even able to do some laundry, which was much needed…. We spent the better part of our last day enjoying the beautiful BA lounge at Heathrow as we anxiously awaited the arrival of our family and trip down to S. Africa!!

We cannot wait to get the pictures and blog up from our week in South Africa. It was incredible, so stay tuned!

European Road Trip (Part 1)

This is well overdue...and we are sorry for the delay. I don't think either one of us realized how hard it would be to keep this updated while traveling. But like many things with this trip, we are learning as we go. So without further adieu...

We absolutely hustled through Northern/ Eastern Europe. We spent 13 days in 10 European cities (8 of which we stayed at least one night). We are rather certain if we could go back, we would have slowed down immensely. The pace and the travel wore on us for sure. But, we were motivated and jammed a lot in. Here is a stop-by-stop view of what we did/saw/experienced:

 

Berlin, Germany-

The day we left Copenhagen to travel into Germany was probably the lowest our morale has been thus far on our trip…

We rose early to begin our 7-hour drive to Berlin, but about 10 minutes into our drive we got a flat tire. This forced us to pull over during the morning rush and put on the spare. As luck would have it, as soon as Nolan got under the car to start working, it began to pour! Classic. Once we got the donut tire on the car, we knew we had to make alternative plans because there was no way this tire was taking us all the way to Berlin. We stole some Wi-Fi from a coffee shop, found a local Hertz branch and began the exchange process.

Once we exchanged rental cars, we drove 10+ hours (with tons of traffic and accidents) to Berlin. Despite the beautiful cars the Germans make, we did not find them to be the best of drivers! When we finally arrived in Berlin, we realized we were missing a bag…come to find out, in the car exchange, one of the camera/electronic bags got left behind! Full disclosure: it was Nolan’s. We panicked, especially since at this point in the night every office in Europe was closed, so we fired off a few panic emails and tried to get some sleep. Luckily though, the next morning we received an email from Hertz Copenhagen that they had our bag and we entrusted the folks at LuggageFree.com (who were super helpful) to get the bag sent to a future hotel destination (Munich, Germany), where we would receive it a week later. It was a whirlwind of emotions, but luckily it ended positively!

Once the bag situation was under control, we explored the city of Berlin, which was rich with history, including the Reichstag Building, Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Berlin Wall Memorial. Graffiti was also abundant and is a huge part of the culture there. We also enjoyed a few of the local specialty coffee shops, including Ben Rahim and Five Elephant Kreuzberg, which both had excellent pour overs.  

Nolan in front of the Berlin Wall

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

We also had a lovely night out with our Airbnb hosts, who were super friendly and gave great suggestions for food and drinks. Even though Scandanavia tried to keep us (and our luggage) we enjoyed spending our first few days in Germany’s capital city, which would set the tone for the next few stops in our journey…

Prague, Czech Republic-

After a few nights in Berlin we drove to Prague, which was a mostly flat drive with HUGE wind turbines everywhere. We arrived at our hotel in Prague in the early evening and went out for a traditional Czech meal in the middle of the Old Towne Square. We had an awesome dinner, which included weiner schnitzel, sausages, veal tartare, and of course Pilsner Urquell. We experienced the Prague Astronomical Clock, which is the world’s oldest operating medieval astronomical clock. It comes to life on the hour with the “Walk of the Apostles” show of figures and other moving sculptures.

Kirby enjoying a Trdelnik at the market in Prague

Easter Sunday in Prague

The next morning, we once again explored Old Town Square and went to Easter Mass at the Church of Our Lady Victorious. En route, we walked over the Charles Bridge and got stunning views of the city itself. Furthermore, on this particular weekend, the city was insanely vibrant with street festivals and lots of people out and about due to the holiday. It was a great way to celebrate Easter Sunday and one we will not soon forget…

Oswiecim, Poland; Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum-

After we finished mass in Prague, we had some lunch and then drove a few hours into Poland. We stayed in the small town of Oswiecim at an amazing boutique hotel called the Hotel Gallenica and Spa. We also had an awesome dinner with traditional polish fare before crashing.

The next morning, we woke up very early and went first thing to embark on a self-guided tour of the Auschwitz concentration camps. Words simply cannot describe the unforgettably moving experience we had visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. We only snapped a few pictures from outside the camp (for obvious reasons) but the experience itself will be one neither of us will ever forget.

While we know this trip will be full of lots of beautiful places, we also had to remind ourselves that there are a few dark places that are part of our world’s history that are necessary to experience. This was certainly one of those places and helps to put everything into perspective.

It took us about an hour of driving in silence until we discussed what we had just experienced. To this day, it is impossible to communicate the emotions felt, but we are glad we made this stop to recognize this time in history and pay our respects to all of those affected…

We made a brief stop in Krakow for lunch to regroup before driving south to Budapest.

 

Budapest, Hungary-

By far one of the best cities we have ever visited! Everyone was friendly, the food and coffee were great and the city had an energetic vibe to it that we really enjoyed. Budapest almost feels like Paris and our Airbnb was right in the city center and the building we stayed in was over 100 years old and used to be the home of the owner of the Hungarian National Museum (which was right across the street).

The Hungarian chicken paprikash with spaetzle was delicious! We must learn how to make it when we get home! We also learned that Hungary has a very rich wine history, dating back to at least the Roman times, but many believe they may have been making wine even before then! The wine regions of Hungary actually sit on very similar latitudes to those in France and we actually drove through some of the vineyards on our way out. It was beautiful.

While in Budapest, we got some good photos atop St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Citadella. We also had a beer at a very interesting ruin pub called Szimpla Kert. Ruin pubs are located in abandoned buildings of Budapest’s District VII neighborhood, near the Great Synagogue, which was once home to a flourishing Jewish community pre-WWII before tens of thousands of Jewish residents were deported. It’s amazing how many countries across Europe were affected by the atrocities of the Nazi occupation.

We spent a total of three nights in Budapest and wish we had stayed longer. It was probably the biggest positive surprise of the trip so far. We had a blast walking around this stunning city and will absolutely have it on our list of places to go back to and spend more time! Highly recommend!

 

Vienna, Austria-

We arrived in Vienna in the afternoon of April 19th and it was snowing! Let us rephrase: it was a blizzard. Obviously, this was extremely abnormal given the time of year, which we confirmed with our Airbnb host.  This was certainly not the “spring in Europe” we had envisioned! For whatever reason, between the long drive and the poor weather we both hit a wall the first day we arrived. I think we went to bed around 8pm without seeing an inch of the city, but we needed a recharge.

The next morning, we got up early and pretty much had the city to ourselves. We strolled the streets of Vienna all morning and early afternoon to quickly experience a bit of the city’s atmosphere and architecture. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at a traditional Viennese café called Café Central, which initially opened in 1876 and was a regular meeting place for many historical people, including Freud and Trotsky.

Cafe Central, Wien

Karlskirche, Wien

We walked through the old city center and were enamored by the amazing architecture and beauty of the city. We also visited Belvedere Palace, where the flowers had just bloomed. While it was a quick stop for us (1-night) we felt like we got a taste for the city and can see why it came highly recommended by so many people. I think we also started to realize we needed to get a little more strategic with our travel times and length of stays. Again, we are still learning!

Passau, Germany-

From Vienna, we drove east toward Munich, Germany. But, along the way we decided to stop for lunch in the quaint town of Passau, where Kirby’s great-grandmother grew up and eventually immigrated to the United States from.

We loved this town! It was beautiful and situated right where the Danube meets the Inn and Ilz rivers. The town itself almost felt like it was stuck in time: old cobblestone streets, family businesses and beautiful town squares. We even talked to a store owner who knew of Kirby’s family. Crazy!

We had an amazing lunch at a small family-owned and operated restaurant before ascending to the highest point across the river so we could get some aerial shots of the town. It was gorgeous to see the city below and the rolling farm hills off in the distance. We were so glad we made this stop and we know Anna Roth Kirby was smiling down somewhere!

Kirby in Passau

Traditional German fare in Passau

Munich, Germany-

Beer.
Schniztel.
Beer.
Pretzels.
Beer Halls.

We arrived in Munich in the evening and went straight to our first beer hall. Nolan wanted the authentic experience and we sure got it! Long wooden tables, no English and seated in close quarters with complete strangers who gave us ugly looks and only wanted to drink their beers and eat their food without anybody bothering them. It was pretty cool!

The next day we finally got some spring-like weather and discovered the open-air farmer’s market in the city center as well as the various landmarks such as the Marienplatz and the Englischer Gartens. We spent our second night at (surprise surprise) the Augustiner-Keller Beer Hall, where we befriended a few gents from Manchester, UK as well as three young locals. Due to the quick comradery we had a few more pints than we bargained for, but it was a great way to experience Munich and learn about the city and culture from some folks who lived there!

 

Brussels, Belgium-

The drive from Munich to Brussels was very picturesque, which was quite welcome due to our beer-hall induced headaches. We drove along the border of France, through Luxembourg and into Belgium. Rolling hills, wind mills and even a few hot air balloons graced the sunset as we drove into town. Had there been places to pull off we would have taken a ton of pictures! Simply stunning.

After we got settled, we went out for a traditional Belgian dinner, including a Belgian waffle for dessert! We then visited Grand Place where Nolan got some incredible night shots. It was amazing to experience this old town square at night with the beautiful buildings lit up.

One of our good family friends gave us a tour around the city the next day and shed some light on life in Brussels. It was a lot of fun to catch up and converse with some friends from home. We even went to one of the oldest beer halls in Belgium (as if we hadn’t had enough) for a pint as we walked the narrow city streets on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. We also ended with a stroll through the Parc de Bruxelles to see the Royal Palace.

Even though we used Brussels as a stopping point for 2 nights, it was still a beautiful city that we could see ourselves visiting again. We also know we skipped a few day trips (such as Bruges) that would have been worthwhile if we had planned a bit better. Next time for sure!

 

Amsterdam, Netherlands-

While we had heard amazing things about Amsterdam, we couldn’t believe how magical this city was! The canals, the homes, the culture…it was all just incredible. We decided to stay 3 nights here, but could have easily stayed much longer.

Amsterdam

We started our visit by going to see the incredible tulip gardens and farms at Keukenhof. The tulip season in Holland is from mid-March to mid-May so we could not have timed this better. Kirby probably could have stayed there all day and neither one of us had ever seen so many flowers in one place. It was remarkable. After walking through the gardens we stopped at a few farms and there were fields of tulips for miles. It was crazy. We also stopped on our way home to visit the famous windmills outside the city.

On days two and three we walked the entire city of Amsterdam. We walked through centrum, the various canals, the red light district and stopped by the Rijksmuseum. While we heard the Anne Frank house was a MUST visit, the two of us were mighty sobered enough by our previous stops that we decided to skip it this trip. We also learned the hard way the difference between a Café and a Coffeeshop…look it up.

On one particular day we even walked home through the evening commute where we could not believe all the cyclists coming home from work dressed better than most who frequent a board room! It was an incredible sight to see and it seemed most of the daily commuters had better bike handling skills than anyone we have ever seen cruising in the US (particularly NYC)! We also couldn’t believe the beautiful homes strewn along the canals and the beautiful houseboats that rested below the streets.

This city is a must-go for anyone traveling to Europe and if you are into flowers, definitely try and visit in the spring! The unique charm and character that we felt in Amsterdam is definitely something we had never experienced before in a city.

We traveled to Ireland & the UK next. Stay tuned this week for an update from that part of our trip!

The rest of Scandinavia (minus Finland)

After we left Iceland, we flew to Bergen, Norway and spent the next two days exploring Norway’s west coast including Sognefjord. Sognefjord is Norway’s largest fjord and is the world’s second largest. The views were absolutely breathtaking and certainly gave Iceland a run for its money! The day we visited the fjords we did not have the best weather, but it was still truly amazing to see the scenery and we have made a note that we want to go back and spend more time in this part of the world.

Kirby atop Floyen in Bergen, Norway

We then drove across the entire country, including two snow covered mountain passes and made our way to Oslo where we spent a night and then drove to Stockholm, Sweden for a night as well. We moved pretty fast through these two cities but stayed with some local hosts who gave us the lay of the land so we could taste the local flavor in such short stays. It was a lot of driving and probably not the best design, but we are learning as we go…

Nolan under cherry blossoms in Stockholm, Sweden

Our last stop in our Scandinavian tour was Copenhagen, Denmark. We decided to spend three nights here because we had heard so many amazing things about this place and it certainly did not disappoint! The canals, the beautiful homes and all the bikes! It was a pretty spectacular city.

We are currently in Ireland and off to the UK tomorrow, which will be our 15th country!!! We have been moving pretty fast and are naturally quite behind with updating photo galleries and blogs. We will get to it in the next few days (hopefully) as our schedule slows down.  Hope you enjoy the photos!

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Amazing Iceland

Our first stop on our adventure to explore the world was Iceland and it did not disappoint! Iceland is truly a remarkable place with incredible landscapes, changing geographies and insanely volatile weather. I am not sure we will ever experience the sudden changes that we experienced in Iceland. One minute we would be driving in lush, green valleys and the next we would be in an all-out blizzard with not more than a few feet of visibility. Furthermore, when we got to the outskirts of Ring Road, we would drive for hours without seeing another car or human being. It is quite a stunning place!

We landed bright and early in Keflavik on March 30 and we got our first taste of the aurora activity in our plane! A few hours into the night flight we looked out the window and noticed the lights. It was so incredible that neither of us never really slept since we were just staring out the window the whole flight.

Since we knew Iceland was a wild place with tons of opportunities to sleep under the stars, we decided to go the camping route. We also knew that if we could last a full 7 nights camping, maybe the rest of our travel accommodations would be easy by comparison. So, after we landed, we went and picked up our camper van thanks to Happy Campers Iceland (https://happycampers.is/).

Kirby in front of our camper before the aurora kicked off...

After we stocked up our van at a grocery store, we headed straight to the northwest to see Kirkjufellfoss, not only because it was a beautiful starting point, but also because we received a tip that (due to the weather) this was our best chance to chase the northern lights during our entire week in the countru. Not only did we make it to the falls for an amazing sunset, but we also found ourselves smack in the middle of the most insane aurora activity as soon as the sun went down. It was freezing but we could have been out in the elements all night watching and no words or pictures could ever do justice to standing there and seeing them. As we camped that night, we had the constant glow of dancing lights above our heads. It truly was amazing and an incredible way to start our Icelandic adventure and our trip!

Over the next few days we circumvented Ring Road by driving counter-clockwise. We covered the Golden Circle on Day 2, explored the Solheimasandur plane wreck, discovered Glacier Beach in the north, drove through the Myvatn lava fields, did our natural hot spring bath and then spent our final 2 nights in Reyjkavic exploring the largest city in Iceland. It would be impossible to cover everything we did in a single blog post, the hidden gems along ring road are truly endless!

Riding dirty...

We have gotten some feedback that a few people would like us to post our full itinerary with specifics on what to see and how. If you are one of those people definitely contact us. We plan to add a page to the navigation bar called, “guides” and we will post our full itineraries with all the details on sights to see, places to stay and eat (including the best coffee spots), navigational guides, etc. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the pictures and our little promo-video on Instagram thanks to the drone. It was quite hard to widdle down the pics, Iceland is quite a photo-rich environment…

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We have been on the move big time these past few days. After Iceland we were in Bergen, Norway for two days, drove to the fjords and Oslo (in the same day), stayed in Oslo for one night, drove to Sweden and no are currently in Copenhagen catching up on e-mails and enjoying this amazing city for the next few days. We will get pics from our most recent adventures up in the coming days.

Speak soon!