Dear ECS,
Well honey, we are back in Addis after a whirlwind 2+ weeks in Europe and England. What a trip, and I am very happy to tell you that we didn’t have any Griswold-esque escapades. In fact, as the trip wound down, your mom and I were talking about how this was a trip with our fewest hiccups. Was everything perfect? Not quite, but that is travel and exploring. You know that well, even at your tender age of two.
On that note, we ended our trip with a a cool moment on New Years, as we saw midnight from 40k feet over Tirana, Albania, with the city's fireworks impressively popping very far below. It was a reminder of how far up you are in the sky when flying, since fireworks seemingly are high in the sky on their own.
Well honey, we are back in Addis after a whirlwind 2+ weeks in Europe and England. What a trip, and I am very happy to tell you that we didn’t have any Griswold-esque escapades. In fact, as the trip wound down, your mom and I were talking about how this was a trip with our fewest hiccups. Was everything perfect? Not quite, but that is travel and exploring. You know that well, even at your tender age of two.
On that note, we ended our trip with a a cool moment on New Years, as we saw midnight from 40k feet over Tirana, Albania, with the city's fireworks impressively popping very far below. It was a reminder of how far up you are in the sky when flying, since fireworks seemingly are high in the sky on their own.
 |
| First light of the new year from 40k feet |
Our trip worked
out to three locations – Munich, Germany; Innsbruck, Austria for Christmas; and London.
Munich
We started our
trip in the large southern German city of Munich.
Neither mom or I had ever been there and it was a fun city to settle
into the vacation. The best parts by far
were the numerous Christmas markets sprinkled throughout the city. We went to at least 8 of these just while I
was there and I am pretty sure you went to a number of others after I went
skiing in Austria. These markets are
amazing – a mix of a farmers/craft market, an amusement park, a bar and a restaurant. My favorite were the two closest to our
Airbnb in the southern part of the city, one was our local market and the other
was in this cool industrial park.
Our "local" market (closest to the airbnb) took up a triangle of sidewalk near the metro line, kind of on top of a
metro stop. The best thing by far at
this one was the carrousel ride. You
absolutely loved the ride, and we bought A TON of ride tickets. At first, mom or I went with you but as you
got comfy, it became obvious you could handle the ride on your own. So it was ride after ride, on the mini helicopter,
an old Cadillac, a motorcycle and a bus.
My favorite memory, one I will have for the rest of my life, is you
waving excitedly to us as the ride went around.
So cute. Mom and enjoyed the
mulled wine and it was a perfect family outing – one which we seemingly shared
only with Germans. The second cool market was walking distance – and set in an
industrial park, or maybe even a parking lot.
I love the combo of classic tents with an indie band playing while you pursue
cool art. Old and new all wrapped up together.
You also adored seeing your cousins, your aunts and your uncle. You loved playing with the 6 big "kids" --cousins aged 10-21. And your aunts and uncle worked their parenting magic on you. So much fun!
You also adored seeing your cousins, your aunts and your uncle. You loved playing with the 6 big "kids" --cousins aged 10-21. And your aunts and uncle worked their parenting magic on you. So much fun!
Innsbruck
Let’s be honest
– your dad's favorite vocation and a bit of an addiction is skiing. I love it so
much. So it was great to be able to
explore the Austrian Alps – and being up to 8 ski days including lots of powder
turns when it is early January makes for a very happy dad. Of course, I
want more than 8, as I always want more,
more, more. Overall, the terrain was good, more like west coast US skiing
than in Chamonix: http://livingthekoroldream.blogspot.com/2016/03/peak-experience-off-piste-in-chamonix.html.
Your mom, skiing for the first time since her ACL surgery last Jan, and doing
well, which was great to see, liked it more than Chamonix. I really
enjoyed the fact that Austrians mostly like to ski groomers and left
basically unlimited powder turns for me.
The powder in Innsbruk stayed good for days on end since-- for the first week, I skied fresh lines constantly. My favorite place to ski was Axamer Lizum. They have a train that goes almost 2500 vertical feet in like 5 minutes. I was doing laps every 20 minutes, and skiing 7,500 vertical feet or so of powder in an hour really gets your heart going. Another day, the top of the resort I was skiing opened for the first time and so i was ripping cool lines in pretty deep powder. The last run of the trip had my sister-in-law and I skiing home on the side country. It was pretty amazing, using a gps watch and our eyesight to get us to the hotel - with the last turns through a cow pasture with corn snow. So memorable.
The powder in Innsbruk stayed good for days on end since-- for the first week, I skied fresh lines constantly. My favorite place to ski was Axamer Lizum. They have a train that goes almost 2500 vertical feet in like 5 minutes. I was doing laps every 20 minutes, and skiing 7,500 vertical feet or so of powder in an hour really gets your heart going. Another day, the top of the resort I was skiing opened for the first time and so i was ripping cool lines in pretty deep powder. The last run of the trip had my sister-in-law and I skiing home on the side country. It was pretty amazing, using a gps watch and our eyesight to get us to the hotel - with the last turns through a cow pasture with corn snow. So memorable.
London
In London, we crashed at our dear friends' apartment in the northern part of the city--Angel/Islington area. Unfortunately, they were in Norway for the holidays -- but being in their place brought back many fond memories of times with them in the U.S., the Bahamas, and of course, London. Mom and I have spent a ton of
time in London (http://livingthekoroldream.blogspot.com/2012/11/travel-thoughts-lisboa-and-london.html),
and the person we stayed with the most and explored the most was Jeff. He is a great host and we were so honored to
be part of his family and friends for his wedding at the end of the trip. Jeff and Beth are a wonderful couple and
being there to support and celebrate them was so special. We got in a trip to
my favorite museum in the world, the Tate Modern, and walked all over the
city. Great times and we will be back a
lot during your childhood, I am sure.
love you,
dad
