Too Many Castles? Never!

So I've decided that the new camera intimidates me. I can take pictures with it in a low lighting situation, no problem. Those almost always turn out perfectly acceptable. To me. Daylight pictures however...eh. This is where I'll have to actually learn how to use the damn thing. I have the tools: new Sony NEX-3 compact camera/DSLR hybrid, a top-rated beginner's photography field guide, and a good friend close by who actually has a degree in the subject. So what do I do with these all tools at my disposal? Disregard them, of course,  and put the expensive new camera on the "Auto" setting. But for some reason the pictures don't turn out...quite..right...

On the other hand, the same stabilizers (or some shit) that allow me to take radtastic night photos also make photographing castles from a moving vehicle possible without looking like someone smeared a turd over the lens. Which is exactly what I did a couple weekends ago.

The taking pictures from a moving vehicle part, not the turd smearing. Or Was It?

First thought when told moving to Germany was a very real possibility: 

"Unlimited castles? This party is going to be off the hook!"

Like AD references, there can never been too many castles.

Josh is exceedingly indulgent of my castle craze. To the point that on his most recent long holiday weekend he offered to take us to the UNESCO World Heritage's Site of the Middle Rhine Valley, the fillet of castle viewing regions in, well, probably the world. Over 40 castles along 65 km of the Rhine River; you do the math regarding my level of happiness (but first convert km to miles, obviously). And he even drove the entire time! Not only was this incredibly sweet of him, but it also freed me up to sample some of the famous regional Rieslings which pleased my mouth-hole vrrry much. 

The red and orange scratchings are my personal recommendations from this route. 

Driving west from Nürnberg, we stopped to check out the town of Schwäbisch Hall and its castle. Then we made our way to Mannheim, our base camp for the weekend. We were able to take a local train from there to Heidelberg for the castle and nightlife. Our second day was all about checking out the many medieval castles and historic towns in the Middle Rhine Valley.

Below is a pictorial summary of the trip. And, okay, some narrative because it just makes more sense that way: 

Church at Colmberg castle, outside of Schwäbisch Hall.

Church at Colmberg castle, outside of Schwäbisch Hall.

Colmberg's castle wall

The gate of Colmberg castle

Schwäbisch Hall. Probably my new favorite little German town.

However, if that man's jeans were a town...there'd be some competition. (Schwäbisch Hall) 

I mean...   (Schwäbisch Hall)

...he was really working that denim.   (Schwäbisch Hall)

Am I right or am I right? (Schwäbisch Hall)

This is the park next to our hotel in Mannheim. After dark, there was a water light show worthy of Enchanted Forest.

Heidelberg Castle. The city of Heidelberg was also very nice, but our itinerary while there included more "beer drinking" and less "sight-seeing". So this all that you get.

Awww, yeee-ah. A Rhine Valley castle. Whoop!

(Rhine Valley)

You can just assume from here on out that the rest are from the Rhine Valley.

And as usual....

... you can double click on any picture to make it larger.

We visited only two castles.

But I wish we could have stopped at them all.

If you see a river jousting tournament, however, you do stop. You pull that car right over.

If you see a river jousting tournament, however, you do stop. You pull that car right over.

We did go to this one!

And promptly got caught in a torrential downpour. I thought it was romantic that we were seeking shelter under part of an old castle wall, Josh's attitude ventured more towards rain hate. Romantic feelings diminished.

But it is a beautiful castle.

Grape vines on the right. Mmm.

There are all these adorable old towns along this stretch of river with castles on the hillsides above. There also happens to be a paved path along the river connecting the towns. Plans are in the works to go back and bike it!

Town of Oberwessel

Another castle that we visited!

There is a hostel at this one and a public terrace for picnicking. Below this castle is...

There is a hostel at this one and a public terrace for picnicking. Below this castle is...

The town of Bacharach! Probably the cutest 'lil German town ever.

An old winery mural

I know that I said that Schwäbisch Hall or that man's pants might be by favorite German town...but Bacharach might have them both beat.

The best aspects of the town were hard to capture on camera.

But these pictures help. And with a sign like that, who wouldn't eat at this restaurant? I remember taking this picture specifically for my father's enjoyment. So, Dadea, this one's for you!

And of course the local beer and wine. Served in what looks like a margarita glass...oddly, this is not atypical glassware for wine in Germany.

So I know I said you only get one picture of Heidelberg. Well, I lied. Kinda.

Who Wore It Best?

I feel no explanation is needed here.

Budapest, You Will See Me Again

A couple weekends ago we killed not just two, but three birds with one stone. During a visit to the Hungarian capital city we celebrated our two year wedding anniversary, were able to meet up and spend time with our friend Greg, from Portland, and I finally got to visit the city that has been sitting near the top of my travel list for many years. Also, we made new friends with a local, Annie, and Greg's traveling partner, Chris. So really it was more like four birds.

It's difficult for me to pinpoint why I've had such a fascination with visiting Budapest. I think after my initial trip to Prague ten years ago, I just knew that seeing and experiencing Budapest was a must for me. All reports from previous visitors led me to believe that it was a beautiful city recovering from decades of oppression by foreign powerhouses. That it's a little rough around the edges, severely loved by its inhabitants, steeped in history, and offering some incredible, if not insanely heavy cuisine. I was pleased to find out that these reports were accurate.

Three days was not nearly enough time to see and experience everything on my list. Although, because of the heat (over 100 degrees and oh-so-humid) and an injured boy, the slower pace we set was just perfect for this trip. Also, we might have spent 6 hours on Monday at a thermal bath alternating between soaking in medicinal pools and drinking beers on the patio. Might have, who's to say...

Saturday 
After an 8.5 hour train, Josh and I arrived in steamy hot Budapest. A few weeks before, I took a bit of a risk and rented a downtown Pest (Budapest used to be two cities, separated by the Danube River)  studio apartment from a private person online for 45 Euro a night. Fortunately, it was as advertised and in a great location. We had a couple hours to kill before meeting up with Greg, Chris, and Annie for dinner and decided to do a meandering sight-seeing walk in the direction of the restaurant.

St Istvan's Basilica

Josh befriending the local police

A Holocaust Memorial

The Royal Palace and Chain Bridge

Annie took us to her favorite Hungarian food place. Fish soup, goulash, stuffed cabbage, fried duck, chicken-fried pork topped with sour cream and lots of grated cheese, and croquettes. Homygod, my mouth is watering just thinking about that fatty, delicious meal. Actually, it was two meals since it was so good that we all went back on Monday night. After dinner Annie took us to City Park for some night touring and beer drinking.

Heroes' Square

Vajdahunyad Castle - a replica of a Transylvanian castle built for Hungary's millennial celebration in 1896 

An outdoor bar in City Park where we finished off our evening

Sunday
Sunday proved to be even hotter than Saturday. Unfortunately Josh had been experiencing some horrific back pain leading up to this trip and after riding on a train the previous day for so long, he was basically confined to the couch for the morning and early afternoon.

I, on the other hand, went out into the scorching heat to unknowingly hike up hills. I met up with the others, and Annie took us over to the Buda side of the river to check out some monuments and great city views. There are two hills on that side of the river and the first one we walked up, Castle Hill, was no problem. However, the second one...I'm not sure what it's called...Hell, perhaps? was a bit intense. Especially since the temperature read 100 degrees before we started hiking up. Also it was significantly higher and steeper than the other.

On the Buda side, at the base of Castle Hill.

The funiculars at Castle Hill. We didn't ride up, however had they been available at the second hill I wouldn't have hesitated.

At the top of Castle Hill

The Parliament Building

See that monument on the hill in the background? That is what we hiked up to in the heat of the day.

Annie, Chris, Greg. Without Greg's gentle coaxing that I "could do it!", I would have not been present at the summit of Gellert Hill to take this picture.

Our efforts were not without rewards upon reaching the top! Matching awesome souvenir shirts that might potentially rival the artwork of "Three Wolf Moon" and deliciously cold ice cream treats. From that point on, it was all about Nogger and Hungary Horses the rest of the trip.

Our trip's sponsor.

After successfully avoiding heat stroke, we collected Josh from the couch and went to a ruin pub for lunch. Ruin pubs are watering holes in the Old Jewish Quarter of the city that are housed in dilapidated old buildings (I sincerely doubt that these are "up to code"). You can wind your way through a maze of rooms and find places to drink, or go towards the center to find an open-air courtyard of boozy awesomeness. We only visited one, and I think it was on the nicer side, but I plan on checking out more next time around because the concept is just too rad.

That evening we found ourselves on an island in the Danube for dinner. It was much cooler down by the water and as we walked down to the island we saw many locals leaving from their day at one of the swimming beaches. We were only there for a short time after dark, but Margaret Island needs to be explored further as I'm sure it holds many fun little treasures.

Buda

We caught a beautiful sunset as we were walking to the island.

Water fountain fun on Margaret Island. Everyone took a turn.

Budapest at night.

Monday
Our anniversary! Awww. This was a perfect and relaxing day. Unfortunately, Annie had to work but we met up with the boys and checked out the Great Market Hall, an indoor marketplace with three floors. The basement has booths with a variety of pickled items and live fish tanks. I'm sure you can imagine how horrid it smelled down there. Briny. The main floor had many produce and paprika stands and the second floor had food stalls and an overwhelming amount of elderly Brits shopping at the souvenir booths.

Inside the Great Market Hall

Pickled, um, items. Some have faces!

Even Greg was able to resist the allure of the cheese filled, bacon wrapped sausages. Not that we ate something much healthier...

Let me introduce you to Langos. Essentially it is an savory elephant ear topped with garlic sauce, sour cream, and grated cheese. If you can get all the proportions right, it might be the perfect food.

After the artery clogging lunch we made our way to the Szechenyi Baths (who doesn't want to get into a bathing suit after a meal like that??). We were there pretty much all day and it was absolutely glorious. I didn't even think about the damn camera so you'll just have to follow the link above to see pictures. It's pretty impressive."I don't know if you know this, but...it's kind of a big deal".

That night we feasted until we hurt. I had a food hangover the next day. Not exactly the condition anyone would choose to be in on a long train ride home.

8 plates. 5 people.

If anyone is planning a trip to Europe within in the next couple years and is interested in working Budapest into their itinerary, totally do it! We will be going back for seconds, and it's always more fun with friends.

Also, if you're a bit of a history nerd or just like an interesting story, I recommend brushing up on Budapest's and Hungary's past. It's nothing short of tumultuous and fascinating, although not without it's tragedies.

Sorry for this extremely detailed post, I'm not quite sure what came over me. A young love?

So Much Wine!: Part II

Do you enjoy the view of steep hillsides plunging into sparkling blue water, terraced viticulture, and historic villages built into cliffs?

Do you like warm, fresh baked foccacia bread in your mouth or the crisp refreshing taste of a nice white wine on a hot day?

What about hospitality from some of the friendliest, most beautiful people? Or enjoying peaceful summer nights on the second floor balcony of a mansion with good friends (drinks courtesy of an actual dumbwaiter)?

Mmmm, sounds nice doesn't it? There's more. Like hiking approximately seven of the most beautiful miles I've ever seen between five fishing villages on the Italian coast. And homemade pesto from the region that invented pesto. Oh! And let us not forget the seafood. Fish ravioli on a cliff at sunset? Seafood risotto served out of a large ceramic table-side cauldron? Lobster for lunch? Yes, please.

If I haven't convinced you yet, there is a rock enclosed lagoon to swim in or sunbathe on, fun independent shops, WWII Nazi bunkers, all the American summer break co-eds one could want (okay, wait...that might actually be a negative...), and there are more actual residents than tourists, seen every evening at the bocce ball court or out enjoying the cafes with ocean views.

You might be thinking, "Okay dammit, where is this place?" And the answer to your question dear friends is Italy's Cinque Terre.

Megan and I arrived early on a stormy evening halfway through our Italy trip and we might have been a few bottles of wine deep by the time we met Josh at the train station later that night. I'll never forget those first few moments in Monetrosso after stepping off the train. One is literally beachside after leaving the train station. After walking through a tunnel in the hill to reach the other side of town, we proceeded to walk past many outdoor dining areas, under crumbly cement catwalks, surrounded by lush vegetation, down a narrow alley, by an ancient church's open door which revealed an interior lit entirely by candlelight, and to our backpacker's dream hotel for 25 Euro per person/per night room with our own french door balcony.       

I was not sad about it.

We were there four nights, and while it's hard to choose a favorite thing or moment, I'd have to say the hike connecting the villages was a major highlight for me. The path had many steep climbs up stone stairs, usually in the hot hot sun. The barrierless trail narrowed a bit too much for my liking at a point or two* - one misstep and you're tumbling down a few hundred feet into the ocean. But the visual rewards were incredible and the goblet sized mojitos in Corniglia delightful.

(*Have I mentioned that I'm the biggest baby in the world about heights? I'm actually afraid that my body will disobey my mind and just spasm itself right off a cliff without permission. If you ever want to know how deep this fear of heights goes, just ask my Uncle Greg how I threw myself on the ground in horror when he jokingly, and without knowing of my phobia, acted like he was going to toss me over the edge of a waterfall. I've rarely seen him look apologetic about a joke...)

But enough with the wordy portion of this blog post and on to the main attraction: the photos.

Source: Consorzio Turistico Cinque Terre

Nom, nom, nom!!

The beginning of the trail leading south from Monterosso

One of the beaches in Monterosso. We stayed up the hill from this beach.

Me and the beach!

Another beach in Monterosso north of the first one.

That is a private residence. Yeah, I know...

A streetside kitchen window. Every time we passed by there were piles of seafood on the counters. Yum.

We're about to enjoy some of that delicious seafood.

Monterosso

Previously mentioned church that was lit every night by candlelight.

A quiet morning

Beginning the hike! We started south from the same town that we stayed in, Monterosso, which also happened to be the northernmost one of the five towns.

Approaching Veranzza, the second town

Shortly after this picture was taken, we were on that beach and in that water!

Josh leading the way into Vernazza.

Well, it appears that I am running out of room for this post according to my blog hosting site. If you'd like to see a few (okay, 12) more pictures including the rest of hike, please click here: The Rest of the Cinque Terre