Our plans, decisions, and adventures
Taking the fast northern route, Bern, Switzerland's capital city, is about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Stans, where we are staying. But the longer south route looked much more scenic. There were actually so many "wow" moments where I wanted to stop and take photos, but there was no place to do it. So... Continue Reading →
This country, or at least the part that we have seen so far, is webbed with gondolas. With so many mountains around us in the Alps, taking a ride up one peak opens up a world of mountain tops. Depending on the weather, mountain tops might be all you see, with bands of clouds, like... Continue Reading →
We flew into Zurich a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't seen anything of the city except the highways and tunnels leading out of it to our house sitting home in Stans. So, on a day that didn't bode well for views from mountain tops, we drove about an hour to this city to wander... Continue Reading →
Though, as close as the night before, this day trip just about didn't happen (see TripBits, below), we ended up having a lovely time and were so glad we had persevered. As we poured over the map and checked out the towns along the way, trying to decide how far to take the train, we... Continue Reading →
We drove to Luzern, about 20 minutes away, and parked under the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern (the Culture and Congress Hall, also known as the KKL). Up the escalators and outside we easily found the large archway that was our meeting place for our Free Walking Tour. Our guide was a future secondary school teacher, and... Continue Reading →
When we arrived in Zurich, we were met by one of our house-sit homeowners and driven about an hour to the town of Stans, Switzerland, our home for the next month. Along the way, I was surprised at the abundance of concrete infrastructure that loomed all around us--highway overpasses, tunnels, and bridges. In our little village of... Continue Reading →
Howth We took the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) train from the Connoly Train Station to Howth, a small fishing village on a peninsula about 26 minutes east of central Dublin. A walk down the pier, just around the corner from the train station, had us drooling over all of the fresh fish and seafood... Continue Reading →
It hadn't occurred to us that we could visit Northern Ireland while we were in Dublin. Without evaluating our options, and with heads filled with outdated media soundbites of violence and strife, I think we had unconsciously assumed that Ireland (south of the border), was the only part of the island that was legitimately open... Continue Reading →
Here in Ireland, I have had the pleasure of sampling a few Irish whiskeys and a number of Irish beers. On our Pub Culture Tour, we learned how the craft (small batch) beer market has grown in Ireland over the last couple of years following in the footsteps of Canada and the USA. However, Ireland... Continue Reading →
Dublin feels big, robust, substantial. Its population is not quite 1.3 million, almost identical to the city of Calgary, and twice the size of the city of Vancouver, the two cities I have tried on the most. Dublin's metro area is 1.8 million compared to Vancouver's, at 2.5 million, and Calgary's, at 1.4 million. Similar... Continue Reading →
Our time in Waterford is over. I was working a few hours most days to cover for a vacationing colleague. This, along with the furry beasts under our care, meant that we ventured no more than about an hour away from our home base. Since the home was comfortable and spacious (designed by one of... Continue Reading →
Just left: West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Now: Qualicum Bay, British Columbia, Canada
Up next: Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada
Life: Phase Next 