firenze/florence!

My personal move back to the US obviously wasn't going to keep me from visiting Jason in Copenhagen. So, over the Easter break, that is what I did! We chose Florence, Italy as our vacation destination via Copenhagen. What a fantastic place. Despite battling one full day of nonstop rain and an unfortunate 24 hour NASTY stomach bug (mine), we managed to get a lot of sightseeing in. It was very crowded, but we braved a couple of lines to visit some historic landmarks including the most popular one- the Duomo, whose dome is over 600 years old! You can climb to the top of it. That line was way too long and we simply didn't do it, but the Duomo's amazing bell tower is almost as high and we climbed a whopping 414 steps to get the top! We also explored the Pitti Palace, an old palace that is Florence's largest museum now. It's amazing Boboli Gardens may have been my personal favorite sight during our entire visit. An amazing, beautiful landscape!

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

triple feature - skagen/aalborg/amsterdam

I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this as three separate blog entries or one. Rather than be annoying and post different blog entries one after the other, I decided to keep it as one. You're welcome :)

So, this "triple feature" features three places:

SKAGEN (pronounced "skane")- the most northern part of Denmark. It's Denmark's main fishing port and also where tons of Danes go on holiday. It is most known for being the location where two different seas (the Baltic and North) meet. We took a ferry and drove to get here. It's about 5.5 hours from Copenhagen. We stayed at a cool old manor house pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it was a very peaceful area. Highlights were the long walk on the beach to where the seas met, seeing the fish houses along the old docks, and maybe the fierce round of "Dino Minigolf" we played in a completely deserted (but really nice) minigolf course. This was a very quiet town overall, but there was one street near the fish houses that had lots of nightlife and bars on it. It was actually pretty hysterical, as we are used to seeing teens and younger people around Copenhagen drunk as skunks. But in Skagen, it was all older people. And they were WASTED.

AALBORG- the fourth largest city in Denmark. It's culturally fulfilling and mostly known as an industrial and university city. We stopped and stayed overnight here on the drive back since you pretty much pass by on the way back from the north of Denmark. Aside from dinner and drinks, we didn't experience too much here. On the day we left, we checked out a cool round tower that offered a good view of the city.

SKAGEN/AALBORG PHOTOS (opens in new window)

AMSTERDAM- well, I don't think I need to explain! But just in case, this amazing city is the most populated area in the Netherlands. This was one of the places I wanted to visit the most during our European travels. And it was even more beautiful and amazing than I expected it to be! The Dutch people are incredibly friendly. Highlights were the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank Museum (very powerful), seeing the many beautiful canals and taking a dinner cruise on them one night, an amazing vegetarian restaurant called Betty's, a super fun tour and tasting at the House of Bohl's (a distillery), and the very unique and interesting Red Light District. And before you wonder too much about it- no, Jason and I did not partake in any drug activity- though it was a little tempting with all the "coffee houses" around and the constant scent of marijuana in the air.

AMSTERDAM PHOTOS (opens in new window)

noma

Let me preface this by saying that I didn't think this day would come. If you don't know about Noma, I will explain. You may have seen it on Anthony Bourdain's show. Or, you may have just heard it referenced as the "#1 restaurant in the world"...because, well, that's what it is. Officially, it has been rated the #1 restaurant in the world (by Restaurant Magazine) in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. Count 'em...four years total. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noma_(restaurant)

And here's a short video on Noma via YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4cJJs5bOfs

The deal with Noma is that you pretty much need several months to a year before you have even the slightest chance of getting a reservation. Jason happened to be prepared for the moment the system opened up for June reservations and was incredibly lucky to score us lunch reservations. 

It was an amazing experience. Everyone who works at Noma (people from all over the world) are incredibly passionate about their jobs...whether they are a server or chef. They are the ultimate experts in what they do and you could feel their energy radiating off of them. The food, while incredibly eccentric and experimental (hello...real ANTS), it all tasted amazing. They easily catered to me (the vegetarian) with a slightly different menu. 20 courses (yes, for real) came at pretty rapid speed. Most of them were quite small, so it wasn't too overwhelming. Still, I think we all felt pretty full (and us wine drinkers felt a little...well, you know) by the end of the experience. All in all, it took about 4 hours. But it flew by and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

This was an experience I never thought we would have while living in Copenhagen and am thankful for it. 

Enjoy...

PHOTOS

aarhus

We visited Aarhus (pronounced "Are-hoos"), the second largest city in Denmark this past weekend. Aarhus is about 3 hours or so from Copenhagen. These days it's pretty full of students going to University there, but there are some great sights to see there.

The ARoS Art Museum is very modern and houses two popular installations- the "Your Rainbow Panorama" rooftop walkway by Danish/Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Also featured is "Boy" by Australian artist Ron Mueck, which is a giant model of a crouching boy.

Aarhus also has the awesome Den Gamle By (The Old Town) which is an open-air town museum housing 75 buildings (from houses to a bakery to a post office to an old radio/electronics store) from all over Denmark. The buildings have been left decorated as they were left in either the 1550's to the late 19th century.

It was a great little (or big) city and we enjoyed the trip. Enjoy the pics!

PICTURES

istanbul

...not Constantinople :)

Last Easter, Jason and I traveled to Berlin. To say it was colder than a witches you-know-what would be an understatement. So, this year we dedicated ourselves to finding a place that would without a doubt be a tad bit warmer. A friend had said to me long before moving to Copenhagen that her favorite place that she visited in her European travels was Istanbul. So, it wasn't a hard decision to make. So, Istanbul it was.

I'm going to turn it over to Jason since he is due for a blog entry here. Hope you enjoy the pictures. There are LOTS!

-Howard-

---

Guess I better make it good then or I won't be invited back ;-)

Everyone describes Istanbul as East-meets-West.  Also perhaps first world-meets-third world, with a shiny new building next to a vacant, falling apart, hopefully abandoned structure.  But with 15 million people, it's not an overnight fix...

Speaking of 15 million people, one thing I will never forget is arriving at the hotel at 11:30 at night, asking the person at the desk if there is anywhere to go around the hotel, and him saying 'no'.  Then after a few probes, he tells us we can walk to a street a few blocks away, where as it turned out, there was probably only about 1/2 million people walking around at that time (looked like Istanbul's Times Square).

I saw in a travel book someone wrote that Istanbul was their favorite city landscape in the world. Depends what you like, but in a unique way, it is.  The Bosphorus running through the city, each side going up over a rolling hill, you get to see all the good, the bad, and the overpopulated from just about any vantage point.  But you get to see the great structures built by the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and everyone thereafter.  It's unbelievable to think of the wealth the sultans had at one time. And the Aya Sophia, as well as a number of mosques, are really spectacular.  I would have loved to have seen the Aya Sophia in its Byzantine glory.  But some day it will probably be restored.  Then you throw in the underground cisterns, and the unbelievable bazaars, and you have some pretty full days.

So quick summary for me - amazing city; well worth a visit!

Jason

PHOTOS

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

israel

Well, let me begin by apologizing for this being the first blog since the summer and our Barcelona trip. We haven't had any major trips since then, so you haven't missed much. In between, we saw some great, smaller places in Denmark and Sweden. Little towns like Odense, the place where Hans Christian Andersen grew up. And a little fisherman's village called Dragør.

My trip to Israel was, sadly, not with Jason as he was traveling for work to the US. However, I met my friend Tim (from Philly) there. We had been planning a trip here since last fall. Our plans changed in October (the originally scheduled trip) because there was talk about some violence with Syria. Because "you never know", we felt it was best to just postpone. And thus, March was the winning month. I've always wanted to visit Israel. When you are Jewish (or even half-Jewish) and are younger than 27, you can visit for free via a youth group called Birthright. I never made it there with this organization, so I was beginning to think I wouldn't make it to Israel- at least not within the next few years. So, you can imagine my excitement when Tim suggested going. Being a 4 hour flight from Copenhagen, I couldn't really pass it up. 

There's something to be said about a place that is so remarkable that it fills you with warmth, peace, and an understanding of who you are as a person. Obviously steeped in Jewish history, we all know Israel is an important place. But it's one of those situations when handfuls of friends/family/strangers can tell you how incredible a place is- and you just don't realize it until you're there. That is exactly how Israel was. The people were friendly, the weather was perfect, the food was amazing...the list goes on. 

Most of our time was spent in Tel Aviv because that's where our hotel was, but we did day trips to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Masada, and the Dead Sea. The pictures will show you (in order) all of these experiences, but here's a quick run down of each place and its purpose/history (via some Wiki help):

• Tel Aviv- the main city/Israel's most metropolitan area located on the Mediterranean coast
• Jaffa- southern, oldest part of Tel Aviv, an ancient port city in Israel. Famous for its association with the biblical stories of Solomon, Jonah, and Saint Peter.
• Jerusalem- one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy to three religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• Masada- situated on top of an isolated rock plateau; the Siege of Masada by the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War; ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families hiding there.
• Bethlehem- Palestinian city located in the central West Bank; where Jesus was said to have been born
• Dead Sea- a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Palestine and Israel to the west. Its surface and shores are 427 metres below sea level. The ability to float effortlessly occurs because of the extreme amount of salt in it. 

I enjoyed every place very much. Obviously, the Dead Sea was the coolest experience. Another place/site that doesn't seem possible until you're really there. Joking completely aside, I think it healed some of my emotional wounds. The physical feeling of the therapeutic water (it is used by Israeli doctors as a treatment for ailments like arthritis, asthma, anxiety, etc.) was an intense, beautiful experience. I encourage you to some day visit this incredible lake. It will change you. 

And with all of these experiences, there were MANY places we did not get to see during the week long trip, which is why I will absolutely return to Israel some day. 

So, please take a little journey into my trip by clicking the link below. Most of the pictures have captions to tell you a little bit about what you're looking at. DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I forget what a lot is because we were on fast-paced tours with loads of info to process quickly. Most of this happened in Jerusalem when we were on a guided tour, so forgive me for some missing captions or unknown info. Just enjoy the pretty pictures instead. And eventually, I can edit the pictures when someone helps me with the info or I sit down with my Nana who will help identify stuff.

SHALOM!

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO TOUR (click on the very first pic and navigate using the arrows. The descriptions will be in the top right of each photo.)

barcelona->pitt->philly->ocmd

Hello there, blog readers. It's been a while since the last update. As many of you probably know (mainly because we got to see you), we were on a 3-week vacation. We began in Barcelona, which was absolutely amazing. I can't tell you how many people recommended this city as a vacation spot before we made the move to Copenhagen. So, it was certainly one we wanted for the books! 

We hit most of the main tourist sites, which, despite being extremely touristy, are breathtaking. From the monstrosity that's the Sagrada Familia church to the brave hike (without gear!) we did to the top of the Montserrat mountains, there is no shortage of amazing things to see and do in Barcelona. Most of all, I was intrigued by the architecture. We hit the beaches for some sun one day, enjoyed amazing sangria, and indulged in tapas and paella! We certainly would recommend a Barcelona visit to anyone visiting or traveling through Europe. If it weren't for the many other cities we'd like to explore while living in Europe, we'd head back to Barcelona in a second!

Following Barcelona, we flew into Pittsburgh to see my family. It was a very nice and relaxing time. My parents hosted a picnic at a local park and lots of family and friends came to that. After Pittsburgh, we headed to Philly. Despite a major heat wave (it may have passed 100 degrees), we had a great time catching up with our good friends. Then, it was on to Ocean City (MD) to spend a week on the beach with Jason's family. It was great seeing them, as we hadn't seen them since we moved back in January. Before we knew it, the 3 weeks were over. I couldn't believe how fast the trip went.

Since we took the "good camera" with us, there is no shortage of pictures for you this time around. So, I'd like to re-direct you to another location for this blog entry so that you can see all of the great things we did in both Spain and America. Please note that I didn't go into lengthy descriptions with everything because there were so many shots. There are captions that tell you where the picture was taken, but I didn't make a huge effort to go into detail. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! 

Please enjoy and, as always, come back here to leave your comments, questions...whatever!

LINK TO PHOTO TOUR (will open in new window):

https://plus.google.com/photos/117970748350593806932/albums/5911500522253024097?authkey=CIeuwK--2_XzrAE