Germany, February 2013

Winter trips to Germany can be rough when the weather is nasty. It's not so fun to go "exploring" when it's below freezing and windy and you have to run into a store every ten minutes to thaw our your fingers and toes. 

But not this trip! It was above freezing, though it did rain and snow a bit. Overall, pretty good for February in Deutschland. 

Sunday we flew to Frankfurt and had a cozy dinner at Rucola on Bergerstrasse, around the corner from Olaf's old apartment. This is where Olaf and I ate on my very first day in Europe, in 2005. I had the same thing I had seven years ago, salmon and spinach. Same servers, same atmosphere. It was great :)

Alte Oper in Frankfurt

View of Frankfurt from hotel room

Olaf's old flat!!!

Baeckerweg 5, where Olaf lived

Bergerstrasse

Artwork on Bergerstrasse

On Monday we took the train to Cologne. We had dinner at Brauhaus Päffgen, which was totally booked and we had to sit in the service area. Or I should say we "got to" sit in the service area, because many parties were turned away after we snatched the last table. 

Tuesday we headed by train to Stuttgart. We booked the fastest train, the ICE. However, there was a suicide on the tracks so our train was diverted to the slower, scenic route. An unfortunate cause, but a good result as the scenic route follows the Rhine River between Cologne and Frankfurt. We've taken this route in the past, but it'd been a few years so we easily settled in and enjoyed the ride. 

In Cologne, with the Dom (cathedral) in the back, before catching our train.

Along the Rhine River, it was cute village after cute village

Olaf working on the train

Schloss (castle)

Snow as we arrive in Stuttgart

Our train to Stuttgart

We spent the afternoon in Stuttgart, before heading back to Frankfurt. Olaf, of course, had business meetings. I went wandering and found a nice gourmet grocery store, Feinkost Böhm. We were visiting Daniel and Sabine later that night, so I picked up some cute kids books for  their daughter at Wittwer.

Our train ride to Frankfurt was bizarre. While speeding through a deep tunnel, the train suddenly ground to a halt. We were eating dinner in the Bord Bistro, and had to grab our glasses and plates to keep them from flying off the table. People started freaking out, until finally, the conductor announced that we had hit a "wild animal" and that the brakes had been automatically triggered by the collision. Which didn't make sense, because we were deep inside a mountain and what animal would be in there? Anyways. After 20 minutes we finally got going. 

Stuttgart

 

Charming German children's book ;)

We finally flew back home on Wednesday night. We were soooo glad to get back to our own bed!

On the train back to Frankfurt

Olaf working on the train

Daniel and his mini-me

SOOO happy to get back to London after two weeks of traveling

Bye Bye, Frankfurt!

Switzerland, February 2013

We've been spending lots of time in Switzerland lately. Our homebase is usually Zürich, which wasn't very exciting until we discovered the Sorell Hotel Zürichberg. The hotel is located on the top of the Zürichberg (Zürich mountain), at the entrance to the Weierholz (Weier forest), and a quick fifteen minute tram ride from the center of town.

Olaf took the photo above in the morning, on his way to the tram. 

Walkway up to the Zürichberg

View of Zürich city and Lake Zürich from the hotel

The Hotel Zürichberg

The best part of staying on the Zürichberg is running in the forest. The paths are covered in snow and ice, which is no problem so long as you wear shoe "chains." You have to run a little slower, but the scenery is wonderful. 

Map of the forest paths

Running path

I took my phone with me, in case I got lost or hurt, but just ended up taking photos.

Tips of the Alps on the horizon.

Zürich

You can see the forest from here, above the city.

Frozen fountain

At the Cafe Felix am Bellevue, where I had a tasty Teuscher hot chocolate.

Caran d'Ache Store

View of Olaf's office from a seat at Babu's Bakery and Cafe.

FIFA, the world soccer federation, is based in Zürich, just down the street from the Zürichberg. We visited their restaurant in another part of the city, for a scenic drink before heading back to London. 

At the FIFA restaurant

 

Instanbul, Turkey

Hello again! In January, I turned 30 years old! Olaf organized a weekend trip to Istanbul for the big milestone. I am, without a doubt, now an adult. And it's kinda nice :)

Olaf was on a business trip the week before my birthday, so I met him in Vienna. A massive storm came through and didn't let up the whole time we were there. We headed to the airport early on Friday morning, but still didn't get to Turkey until dinnertime. 

Vienna street as the storm comes in

When we finally got to Turkey, we were both tired and cranky. Two things cheered us up: the comparatively warm air, and the kitties roaming the streets around our hotel. 

A weekend isn't enough time to do much in Istanbul, apart from the big tourist things. While we usually shy away from tourist attractions, the "top 10" Istanbul sights were things in which we were actually interested. 

First thing Saturday morning we headed on foot to the Grand Bazaar. It was huge, but filled with a nice mix of locals and tourists. Olaf bartered for and bought a handmade backgammon set and a glass tea set.

Afterwards we walked to the Spice Market, which was packed with people and full of tempting goodies. We bought a box of turkish delight, some instant tea and a few bags of different spices. 

We were starving by mid-afternoon, so stopped for a döner kebab for Olaf and a fresh pomegranate juice for me. Delicious! On the way back to our hotel I snacked on a bag of roasted chesnuts and pet lots of kitties. 

Walking down to the Spice Market

The Spice Market

Handmade turkish delight at Hayat. I liked the nougat the best.

Dried fruits

Spices in the Spice Market

Olaf and his döner

For Olaf, döner is the main reason to go to Turkey

After a little walk, we stopped at a baklava shop for a sugar fix. I've never seen so many different kinds of baklava! 

At sunset we walked to the Galata Bridge and watched the fishermen doing their business. Olaf wanted to join in, but we were too tired so skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

The Bosphorus, separating Europe and Asia

The New Mosque

New Mosque

Fishermen

It's someone's bedtime!

On Sunday we visited the Blue Mosque. After mid-day prayers, we were allowed to go inside. We bagged our shoes, but thankfully didn't have to wash our feet. It was a little to cold for that! I swung my scarf over my head, to be respectful. I felt like Carrie from Homeland. 

In the back of the mosque there were was a caged off area. The sign said it was the women's area. The men can use the whole, big mosque, but the women stay in the cages in the back?!? Not my style. 

Prayer cages for women

Before entering the mosque, we waited in the courtyard for the faithful to finish their prayers. A sweet little black kitty came up and fell asleep on my lap. When I tried to move him, he cuffed my nose and growled at me! I still loved him :)

The Hagia Sofia

Courtyard in the Blue Mosque

By the end of our trip we really liked Istanbul, but we were very happy to get back home to our own kitties.