Adventures of NaDave

Friday, February 26, 2016

Nadine Germany: London (Feb 26-28)

On this next e-mail 'episode', I'll take you to 2 places that have nothing in common except two things: cold weather and "Nadine's running partners."

London - Feb 26-28

Although NaDave visited London previously in 2014 for a conference, it was easy to go back to see my friend (and very first running partner) from college, Hannah Soll-Morris. Too easy, with RyanAir flight of 30 euro round trip! So I hopped on a plane after work and went to see my friend. I don't have too many pictures, since most of our time was spent catching up, and I was able to meet her new husband Wes for the first time. (Their wedding was in Mexico, right after I moved to Germany.) Friday we stayed in and Hannah cooked an amazing mexican-themed meal. Saturday we went for a run through London, which was great, because Hannah was my very first running partner back when I thought the 200 m dash was a long race! After the run, we went around to a few different restaurants and bistros catching up, finally settling on a wine cave that is an actual cave to hang out until our evening plans. We went to a play called "Master Builder," which was an incredibly British psychological thriller! Sunday, we went for a walk around town, grabbed a coffee, and then I was on my way, feeling refreshed after a reunion with an old friend.

London wine bar with Hannah

London Theater to see The Master Builder

Friday, February 12, 2016

Nadine Germany - Berlin: Feb 12-14 (Bday)

Last weekend was my 30th birthday and I went to Berlin! Like Prague, I was able to take a 5-hour bus ride, which started at 9 am on Friday morning. This was great timing, since I couldn't pack until Thursday night due to preparations for my interview with Reebok Thursday afternoon! (I'm waiting 3-4 weeks to hear back on that, btw!) This e-mail is going to have a few more pictures, since it was my birthday weekend and a lot happened!!

Since I didn't have much time to prepare, I was reading our Lonely Planet Germany book on the bus like a madwoman. I got off the bus, onto the metro, and headed for the Reichstag/Bundestag. This is where the German version of the House of Reps meets. But in addition to a history/current events lesson, I wanted to go to this place to get into the glass dome tower to get oriented with a scenic view of the city! I ended up spending over 2 hours reading about German history, admiring the 'green' reconstruction of the WW2-bombed building, and learning (1) why Germany has such a tumultuous past, and (2) how important it is to the German people that the government is transparent (hence, the government meets in the center of the dome where the public can see them through glass!).

I thought I would check into my hostel at this point, but I realized daylight was ticking by and there were a lot of cool sites nearby. I visited the Brandenberg Gate, the Holocaust memorial (next to the US Embassy!), the parking lot where Hitler's Bunker used to be (and where he committed suicide), THEN went to my hostel. I was pleasantly surprised by its proximity to metro and the incredibly high cleanliness/price ratio. Good thing I packed light!

Friday night, I met up with the sister of a guy that Dave used to work with for dinner at a cute little vegan restaurant. Her boyfriend and his friend came to meet us, then I was surprised with a birthday cake organized by my fiance!!! It was quite a surprise! Then I learned that the Berliners stay out until 5 am, and I did my best, but could only stay out til around 2 am. Such a party pooper.

Saturday I slept in a bit, then met up with Dave's friend's sister (yes, related to the same friend! He is from Berlin.). His sister is a journalist and just had a WWI documentary premiere the night before, so her parents were in town. Well, this turned out to be a huge treat, because her parents were super nice and were raised in East Berlin. Her Dad was even dancing on the wall when it came down in 1989! So we brunched for 3 hours and talked about growing up in East Berlin, her movie, my engagement, our travels, our families, etc. It was amazing and very emotional for all.

After that, I called Dave and took a brisk walk along the river and through the park to tell him all about it. With some new energy, I saw more sites including a watchtower leftover from the Berlin wall, the 'new' Berlin (like Times Square), and the Pergamom Museum, which houses the Ishtar gate from Babylon. Saturday night I had more contemplation attending a German yoga class and visiting Checkpoint Charlie before I planned an early bedtime.

Sunday was the last day, where I visited another touching museum on the site where the SS headquarters used to be, then the 1936 Olympic Stadium where Jesse Owens won medals in the land of the Nazis, then jumped back on the bus, then on my bike, to head back home.

Monday morning, I sure was pooped from the weekend! But again, my spirits were lifted when I got to my desk and found 30 purple and red tulips from my secret fiance admirer!! I sure feel like such a lucky lady. <3

Reichstag with glass dome

Center of Reichstag... where government meets

Historic Brandenberg Gate

Holocaust memorial

Parking lot where Hitlers Bunker used to be

Entranceway to the Hostel

Birthday surprise from Dave

Going out with friends of friends

Post-brunch walk

East Berlin Tower still standing

Babylon Gate of Ishtar

Birthday Bikram Yoga

East side gallery - Berlin wall

Checkpoint charlie American side

Topography of Terrors - demolished SS building spot

Berlin Olympic Stadium where Jesse Owens made history

Biking home Sunday night

Valentine's Day flowers from my fiance!

Monday, February 1, 2016

Nadine Germany - Prague: Feb 1

This weekend, I went to Prague, Czech Republic, or "Praha" as the Czechs say it. Inspired by Dave's travel log, I'd like to send an entry of my own!

Friday I left work after a full day and biked 30 min to Erlangen to catch a discount bus, a 5 hour direct route to Prague. I arrived in and immediately checked into the Art Hole Hostel, a cute little place with good wifi and really nice people. Before going to bed, I had a nightcap beer with the Spanish receptionist for 1 euro, called my fiance to say goodnight, and headed to bed, bunking with 9 other travelers!

Saturday was the big tourism day - I ended up walking over 15 miles throughout the city! (Map of some places I visited.) First on my list was the Old City with the Astronomical Clock, then I crossed the beautiful Charles Bridge (which you may recognize from movies including The Departed and Mission Impossible) and headed to Prague Castle. I learned that the Czechs are pretty serious about their freedom, after years of being ruled by the Hussites, Astro-Hungarians, the Nazis, and the communist regime (until the Velvet Revolution in 1989). After all this intense history, I could go for a drink! No problem in Prague -- Czech beer is among the best in Europe -- so I went to a pub and had a light lunch with my first Czech half liter for $4 USD. (This was technically a gift from Ed and Deb, who left me 100 czechys from their trip with Dave earlier this year! Thanks guys!)

Post-lunch, I decided it was a good time to hike up the precipitous Petrin Hill to the panoramic scenic overlook in Petrin tower. I then swung over to the John Lennon wall, which was originally a youth-fueled protest to the Communist regime, then walked along and across the river to the National Theatre, I went to another local pub and ordered a beer tasting with my dinner. After dinner, I went to Wenceslas Square and then it was time to get ready for the highlight of my trip: The Opera! I went to see Carmen, which is a tragedy that takes place in southern Spain and is performed in French, with English and Czech subtitles. I had an amazing box seat and the performance was so beautiful that it made me cry! It was raining when I got back outside, so I headed back to the hostel for the night.

Since Saturday was so efficient, Sunday I had some time to 'live like a local,' which is one of my favorite ways to explore a city. I went to my first Czech-speaking yoga class with the Christmas-yoga-money-gift from Dave's sister, Tanya (Thank you!!), then enjoyed the healthiest post-yoga breakfast ever: Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate at Cafe Lourve (where Einstein used to hang out)!!! I also took public transit out of the city to an arts district neighborhood, which had a modern art themed TV tower. Atop the tower, I enjoyed the view of old and new city with a glass of Czech wine, then made moves to collect my luggage from the hostel and head back to Germany!

This was my first time in a long time traveling without my partner in crime. Though I missed him (and all of you!!) a lot, it was empowering to plan and execute this trip all on my own! Next on my list are Berlin, Ukraine, and Southern Spain!

Flixbus - my ride to Prague

Astronomical Clock

Charles Bridge

Prague Castle Entrance

Prague Castle - St Vitus Cathedral

Bottom of Petrin hill - tower is in the distance

Petrin tower, designed to look like the Eiffel Tower

View of Charles Bridge from Petrin Hill Tower

Czech Beer Tasting included banana and nettle beer!

View from my seat at the opera during intermission

The Opera House

Walking around the New City had a mix of old and modern

TV tower view with a glass of Czech wine

Monday, January 18, 2016

NaDave Euro Engagement Trip

This post will be different than the rest.... a play by play from our trip where we started out as dating and ended up engaged!!

12/22/2015

We are on the overnight train to Venice, starting the first leg of our journey! We will try to send at least 1 update from every city!

By the way, Dave already sweated through his first shirt because we got on the wrong train in Nuremberg (always an adventure!). But, we still made our next train in Munich with only a 1 min layover!!! :)

12/23/2015

Despite being cloudy and a little drizzly, the day in Venice was great. We arrived in on the train at 8:30 am. Surprisingly, the (amazingly quaint, let inexpensive) hotel let us check in early at 9 am, and we were able to drop our bags and be off exploring the town by 10 am. We rode water taxis all over the town, found our way through fun laneways, and stayed out until the sun went down. Then we freshened up for a nice dinner and a final drink before coming back to get ready for today's trip, to Villavallelonga!

12/24/15

We are having a great time in Villa and plan to call each of you after we eat dinner tonight. We are not sure how long dinner will take (maybe 2 hours? you know italians...we are eating with our host family w-several lippas!), but we will get in touch with you this evening!!!

12/27/15

Wanted to send a quick message that we are safely into Rome, and looking forward to our upcoming day of exploring the Colosseum, the Forum (et tu Brute?) & other Roman ruins. Sunny and warm forecast!

Yesterday was a great day in Florence....Statue of David, Ponte Vecchio & the Duomo. The city is intimately small and very romantic. We've had a great time chatting about future wedding plans!

12/29/15

Just a quick note that we are safely in Athens! We left our hotel in Rome at 5am and finally arrived at our hostel in Athens at 4pm...long day! We did a quick walk & cable car up to a great view of the city at night and then ventured home to retire back for an early night.

12/31/15

Happy New Year from Athens!! After watching fireworks over the Parthenon (!), we are in for the night and getting good sleep before our travels bring us to Cairo tomorrow. We have a long day of travel planned, but a lot to reflect on and be grateful for. We are sending out a lot of love to you all, and well wishes as the EST time zone joins us in 2016!

1/1/16

After 2 long flight delays due to snow in Istanbul (our layover point), we are safely in Cairo Egypt!

We hope everyone is having a great New Years Day. We still can't believe that we are in Africa! Tomorrow we see the pyramids!

1/2/16

We had an amazing day at the pyramids (see attached!), and now we are back at the hostel. We just finished eating a cheap, yummy meal of كشرى (Kushari), which is Egypt's national dish. Now we are enjoying some Egyptian wine, beer, and serenity above the bustle of Cairo.

1/3/16

Good news...we are safely in our hotel in Istanbul! Our flight was delayed and left Cairo around 1030pm...all the snow in Istanbul these past couple days is the reason for the delays.

Today we walked through the Egyptian Museum for 4 hours & saw it all! Then walked across town for 1 hour to the Al-Ahzar Park...an experience we'll never forget. Can't wait to share it all. Cairo is certainly a '3rd world country'.

We survived Egypt, so thank you for all your prayers. Please keep them coming as we continue through Istanbul.

Happy to be back where we can drink the water & plug devices into the wall

1/5/16

It's our last night in Istanbul, and we are having a great time. Today we went on a cruise on the Bosphorous strait, which dumps out into the Black Sea (pic attached). We also visited the Hagia Sophia/Ayasofia (pic attached), which is a museum with a history of being both a Church and Mosque. It was really interesting seeing religious symbols for both monotheistic world religions placed side by side harmoniously! We also went to a Turkish bath house...amazing after the chilly boat ride & days carrying heavy packs.

Finally, since we could, we went to Asia for dinner! Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia, so we took a quick 10 minute commuter Ferry over and had a bite overlooking the European side. We have now officially been to 5/7 continents!

Tomorrow is treasure hunting at the Grand Bazaar, then we're off to our last destination, Paris! Thinking of you all and sending love from across the world.

1/6/16

Just a quick note that we are safely in our AirBNB flat in Paris! We had a nice morning in Istanbul doing some final shopping, as well as a little excitement making our flight today (ie, Dave forgot about the butter knife in his backpack!).

We are running low on energy, so tonight will be low key. But not a bad way to spend my last evening before turning 31!

1/9/16

Bon soir famille!

We have made it safely to our hotel outside the Paris airport! Wow....it has been an amazing trip, but we are without a doubt worn out. Nadine has acquired Dave's previous head cold, and Nadine equally shared her stomach bug with Dave today. It was a slow day, but at least the sun was shining.

As we close out our travels, we are sad to leave each other (again!), but also eager to return to normalcy. Please keep praying for us, as we have one more step to complete, with our flights home. And also keep the prayers going for Dr Lippa, as she will put her head down in Germany to finish her paper revisions & dissertation by mid-March.

1/10/16

Boarding my flight and missing my fiancé already!