Christmas Elf

Now that I’ve got a baby, I notice baby culture everywhere – are there changing tables, high chairs, stroller-friendly accessibility? This is not one of Brussels’ strong points, so I was amazed at how many parents with babies I saw out and about in Stockholm, especially with the freezing temperatures. They just bundled their kids, put them in a baby carrier or stroller, and headed out. The bassinet buggies with four big air-filled wheels were very popular.

My Favorite Christmas Present

You would probably never see this in the US, but a Danish mom recently told me that where she’s from, children are bundled and put in their strollers outside for naps. Thomas’ mom said this is done in Sweden too. After seeing how well Pumpkin napped during our winter walks, I can understand (though I’m not ready to leave her outside myself).

Dreaming of Sugar Plums

Children seemed very welcome everywhere we went – the mall, the movies, restaurants. While sitting in a mall food court during our trip, I counted 4 or 5 breastfeeding moms. There were also high chairs, and a baby lounge and play area. It was quite a contrast to Belgium where young children are not really encouraged in restaurants. You rarely see highchairs, changing tables, or kids’ menus here.

Enough Photos Already!

It’s apparent how welcoming Sweden is to children when you look at the parental leave provided by the government – all working parents are entitled to a joint 16 months paid leave per child – encouraged to be shared between the parents. We’ll have to keep that in mind when we’re ready for baby #2. :)

Despite the harsh winter weather, it was a great holiday, and very nice to see the positive baby culture there. It’s a shame that Pumpkin won’t have any memories of this first Christmas, but hopefully she’ll see how special it was in the photos we took. I’ve posted the album to PicasaWeb.

• Pumpkin’s First Christmas (49 photos)

Transportation in Venice (Gondolas and Water Taxis)

One of the downsides of a city with no cars is that everything has to be brought in by boat – food for restaurants, merchandise for stores, and even construction equipment for building. I was very entertained by a building near our hotel that was under renovation. Since the sidewalks were so narrow, they had a crane and scaffolding balanced in a boat next to the building. Yikes!

Matching children playing in a puddle

We had relatively good weather for the weekend, except for one intense, 30-minute rainstorm. We parked ourselves in an alcove of St. Mark’s Cathedral and watched people with wind-blown umbrellas run for it. We were amused by these matching, soaked, children playing in a puddle afterward. While we were there, we also explored a few sites – the Correr Museum, Frari Church, and the San Marco Piazza. Other than that, we did our usual people-watching and food-tasting.

Venice at Night

The next day, we rode water taxis to a couple of the neighboring islands – Murano and Burano. Murano is known for their glass-blowing, and Burano is known for their brightly-colored homes. The islands are a bit touristy, but we had gorgeous weather and enjoyed looking around.

Colorful Homes in Burano

Honestly, I’d say that you could thoroughly see Venice in a weekend. Don’t get me wrong – I did enjoy it and it’s a beautiful city with architectural details hidden everywhere, but it is compact and crowded. The views were gorgeous and seeing the gondolas everywhere gave it a bit of a magical feeling. I spent that weekend humming the song from the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp.

If you’d like to see more photos, I’ve posted them on PicasaWeb:

• Weekend in Venice (51 photos)

Crystal Clear Lake

We planned to rent a tiny automatic SMART car, but the Italian rental agency wouldn’t allow that model to cross into Eastern Europe. Luckily, they had another car we could rent, but being a manual transmission, I was a bit nervous. In Atlanta, I had tried teaching Thomas to drive my manual VW Bus, but it always ended in tears — my tears for my sweet bus’ transmission. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my driver’s license, but Thomas swore he had learned manual driving on his motorcycle. Note: Motorcycle clutches are controlled with the hands, and shifting is with the feet – opposite of cars. Thomas did great! I provided extra guidance on when to shift and what gear he was in, and he didn’t stall on the road once.

Soča River

We started our Slovenian tour in Kobarid, a little town filled with lots of WWI history. This town is famous for the Battle of Caporetto, which Ernest Hemingway wrote about in A Farewell to Arms. We visited a great war museum which explained the local battle, hiked along and waded in the gorgeous crystal blue Soča River, and visited the Kozjak waterfall.

Kozjak Waterfall

That night, we stayed in a cute little B&B (can’t beat 16 euros/night/pp) in a neighboring village called Drežnica. It was mostly farmland, but had fresh, crisp air, gorgeous views of the mountains, and fields of wildflowers.

Dancing in Wild Flowers

The next day, we headed up the Vršič Mountain Pass, the highest pass in Slovenia at a mile high. It was originally built by Russian Prisoners of War during WWI to deliver military supplies to the front. The pass has 50 switchback turns, which Thomas aced with his newly learned manual driving skills. I’ll admit I held my breath a couple of times, but the views from the top were amazing!

Church Island in Bled Lake

Later in the week, we headed to Bled, a tourist town famous for it’s lake and the church floating on an island in the middle of it. We didn’t visit the church, but we did swim in the lake, and ate plenty of the delicious cream cake originating from that area. We also went hiking at the nearby Vintar Gorge. It was beautiful with water so clear that we saw trout in it and a 3-tier waterfall.

Vintar Gorge

Our final stop in Slovenia was the capital, Ljubljana. We got there during the day, but quickly retired to our hotel for a nap and to escape the heat. Once the sun set, we headed back out to discover the wonderful night life – from street musicians to salsa lessons. We watched a folk band play and it made me think how much I miss live music and bluegrass.

Shadow of Ljubljana's Dragon

I’m not sure our pictures do justice to how pretty Slovenia was, but it’s imprinted in my mind. It was a wonderful, relaxing week where we could really connect with each other, and definitely a trip I’d recommend to nature lovers. More photos are posted on PicasaWeb:

• A Week in Slovenia (60 photos)

Visitors enjoying Park Güell

Most of our trips become culinary adventures – this one included. I assumed the food would be similar to Mexican food, or maybe Paella, but Barcelona is known for it’s tapas (little dishes holding just a couple bites) or pinchos (little slices of bread topped with various ingredients, held in place with a toothpick). Below was my favorite pincho that we tried – cream cheese, jam and fresh mint. They’re set out at a bar so you can sample whatever kinds you want. Each one was about $1.50, and when you’re done, they just add up the toothpicks to calculate the total.

Cream cheese and jam pinchos

Though flamenco dancing didn’t originate in this area, we went to a dinner theater one night and had front row seats for a flamenco show. The dancers were impressive and tapped faster than I could snap my camera. I’d like to see them up against some Irish folk dancers. :) Dinner was tapas – bread with chopped tomatos and olive oil, fried potatoes with aioli sauce, various cheeses and dried hams, and Padron peppers, also known as Pepper Roulette. These are generally very sweet tasty peppers, but every once in a while you get a spicy hot one. They look identical, so you can’t tell which is which until you taste it.

Flamenco Dancer

One of my favorite sites was the Sagrada Família church. It was designed by Gaudi, famous for his modernist designs, in the 1800s and still is not complete. The detail and style are what is unique about it. I particularly liked the inside which was modeled after science and nature concepts like plants and trees.

Interior of church modeled after tree trunks and branches

On Sunday, we found locals gathered outside a cathedral dancing the Sardana, the Catalan national dance, with a full set of musicians to the side. The dance looks somewhat like a traditional Greek dance, where the dancers form a circle, hold hands, and tap and kick their feet. We stayed on the sidelines, but I loved seeing the older locals dancing along – many wearing white cotton shoes laced up their legs.

Catalan dancers on Sunday morning

The other thing I wanted to comment on was the conflict in Barcelona’s identity that weekend. We happened to be there during the final World Cup game, where Spain beat The Netherlands. There was much celebration and pride in their country. However, the day before, we stumbled upon a huge protest (over 1 million people) who wanted the Catalonia region, including Barcelona, to have independence from Spain. Even though it’s part of Spain, it has it’s own language – Catalan rather than Spanish – and a very strong culture. After living in Belgium, with 2 different languages, cultures, and even governments split down the middle of the country, it’s a little easier to understand, but the flipflop from one day to the next was what I found humorous.

Barcelona protesters wanting independence from Spain

I’ve got to add one more note about a famous Barcelona site we saw…the Barcelona Naked Man. This is a real human (older) man who proudly walks the streets of Barcelona, sporting only a hat, tennis shoes, and a tattooed on pair of shorts. I had read about him, but was shocked when I actually spotted him. I quickly told Thomas, who with no shame, stood right in front of him, snapping away on his 80-200mm lens. The guy was not impressed, but we came home with some amusing photos.

For those that want to see:

• From the Front
• From the Back

It was only a weekend, but we took a bunch more photos on our trip to Barcelona. If you’d like to see them, they’re posted on PicasaWeb:

• Weekend in Barcelona (60 photos)

The Costa Rei Beach

A couple weekends ago, Thomas and I headed down to Sardinia. It’s an island just off of Italy, on the southwest side between Corsica and Sicily. It was wonderful! We stayed on the eastern coast (Costa Rei beach) in a quiet little resort town with gorgeous beaches and clear blue water. The other tourists were definitely European (mostly German), as most of the men wore speedos and women occassionally went topless. I think a bigger shock to some may have been the naked or topless children on the beach. As long as they’re sunscreened well, I guess I can’t see any problem with it.

Shallow pools and smooth rocks

Speaking of sunscreen, we got our fair share of burn. Traveling with only a carry-on, and limited to 3 oz of liquids, we skimped on the sunscreen and came home with peeling feet and shoulders. When I went to the baby doctor the other day, she was concerned about the marbled spots on my legs and asked if everything was okay. I had to explain that I just didn’t do a very good job at spreading my sunscreen evenly.

Delicious caprese salad

So other than the sun, the water was wonderful. It was warm enough to swim, and the beach had huge sandbars and smooth rocks that you could walk out on. The food was delicious too. Thomas was the photographer for the weekend and spent a lot of time on the local birds. We mostly saw sparrows and swallows, but also some martins, flycatchers, and a cormorant in the ocean.

Sparrow on a rock

Cormorant in the ocean

On our last day, we drove back along the southern coast, and stopped at the salt marshes outside of Cagliari. We had heard that flamingos often visit here, and we found them! There were a bunch, maybe 60 at least, but they were on the other side of the lake, so we didn’t get that many photos. It was interesting to see pink feathers on the shore, but with a bird-touching phobia, I didn’t bother to bring any home with me.

Flamingos in the salt marshes

So if you ever need a little getaway with gorgeous weather, relaxing views, delicious food, and plenty of swimming, I recommend Sardinia. If you want to see more photos from our trip, I’ve posted them on PicasaWeb.

• Weekend in Sardinia (45 photos)

Picking Wildflowers

Closeup of Maypole Decorations

Thomas was working in the US and I couldn’t go along, so I headed up to Stockholm to visit my in-laws. In Sweden, Midsummer’s Day is a national holiday. Celebrating the longest day of the year is important when their winters have only 5 hours of daylight. The celebrations start with raising a maypole decorated in greens. Then, with wildflower wreaths in their hair, Swedes dance around the maypole and sing traditional songs.

My favorite is called Små grodorna:

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.
Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

English translation:
Small frogs, small frogs are funny to see.
Small frogs, small frogs are funny to see.
No ears, no ears, no tails have they.
No ears, no ears, no tails have they.
Quack quack quack, quack quack quack,
Quack quack quack quacka.
Quack quack quack, quack quack quack,
Quack quack quack quacka.

To celebrate, my in-laws took me to Skansen, an open-air musem and zoo in downtown Stockholm where there was a big Midsummer’s Day celebration.  Until it started, we toured through the 19th-century replica town, where my Mother-in-law pointed out things that reminded her of her grandmother’s home.  We also checked out the Nordic animals in the zoo, and watched visitors picnicking and making wildflower wreaths.

Traditional 19th-century farmhouse

Making wreaths

In the afternoon, we headed over to the maypole where there was a band in traditional costumes singing and dancing.  They raised the maypole and everyone joined in a circle for more singing and dancing.  Thankfully, my mother-in-law translated for me. :)  It was great fun to let loose and be silly – folks of all ages were joining in.

The Midsummer parties head on late into the night. At this time of year, the sun is up almost to midnight. Swedes enjoy a smörgåsbord (large buffet of Swedish food – bread, cheese, meatballs, pickled herring, strawberries, etc. – and lots of vodka. Bonfires are another tradition. They say that if you jump over the bonfire (the vodka may help here), the height of your jump predicts the height of the crops in the following year.

Overall, it was a really fun celebration and I can’t wait to go with Thomas and Baguette there sometime in the future. If you’d like to see more photos from Midsummer’s Day, I’ve posted them on PicasaWeb:

• Midsummer’s Day Celebration at Skansen (36 photos)

Marisa and Baby Emiliano

Meeting Baby Emiliano

Remember the baby shower I posted about a couple posts back? That was for my friend Marisa, and she had her baby right before I went to Taiwan/Japan, but I had the flu and couldn’t meet him. I finally got over there for a quick trip right before our US trip, when he was already a month old. He’s adorable, but I’m sure he’s already changed a ton since then.

• Meeting Baby Emiliano (11 photos)

Fly to US

The week before we left, the volcano in Iceland cancelled most European flights. We anxiously watched the news, and we’re lucky to be one of the first flights back in the air. We arrived in the US without a problem, just some lost luggage, but it arrived before Thomas had to fly out the next morning.

Dave and Lauren’s Wedding in Dominican Republic

Happy, Tired Clover

Thomas was the Best Man for his friend Dave’s wedding in the Dominican Republic. It was a tiny wedding (just 9 people there), but Thomas said it was beautiful. Thomas also posted some amazing shots of birds he saw around the resort.

• Birding in Punta Cana (25 photos)
• Dave and Lauren’s Wedding (85 photos)
• Partying at the Resort (33 photos)

Relaxing in Raleigh, NC

Unfortunately, due to costs, I couldn’t make the wedding, but that gave me some much needed family time in Raleigh. My whole family was traveling, but coordinated so that I could visit with each person at some point through my trip. It was great to be able to drive a car, speak English, and know where I’m going. I spent lots of time shopping, snuggling with Clover, eating American food and watching American television – it was even worse than when I left. :)

• Puppies and Flowers and Parks, Oh My (12 photos)

Monks blessing the Mandala

Meow Kiat and Nick’s Wedding, Bloomington IN

When Thomas got back, we headed up to Bloomington, Indiana where I went to graduate school. We attended my friend, Meow Kiat’s wedding, and had some time to visit our old haunts. It was such a joy to have all our old friends reach out to us to get together while we were there. We also fit in some geocaching and saw a new mandala being built at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center.

• Meow Kiat and Nick’s Wedding (30 photos)
• New Mandala at the Tibetan Cultural Center (12 photos)
• Geocaching in Bloomington (8 photos)

Connor plays with her Grandmother

Connor’s 3rd Birthday

As soon as we got back, Thomas headed up to Lenoir, NC for work. He came home on the weekend to spend Mother’s Day with me and my Mom. We also went to Connor’s 3rd Birthday – yup, the same Connor from Belgium, except her family moved back to the US on the same day we flew there. Since Reid and Kirk’s families live in Raleigh too, we will surely overlap some of our trips ‘home’.

• Connor’s 3rd Birthday (8 photos)

Three and a half generations!

Mother’s Day Trip to see Mama C

Thomas headed back to Lenoir, and my Mom and I flew out to Beaumont, Texas to visit my Grandmother for a late Mother’s Day. It was a relaxing long weekend with lots of time to chat, a chance to visit with some of my Mom’s sisters, and I got my Rummikub fix with Mama C. Meanwhile, Thomas was able to celebrate Amanda’s 5th birthday back in Raleigh.

• Late Mother’s Day Trip (12 photos)
• Amanda’s 5th Birthday Party (11 photos)

Thomas’ 32nd Birthday in Boston

When I got back, Thomas had headed up to New Hampshire for a DNS conference where he spoke about his latest open source project, Namebench. At the end of the week, we met up in Boston and celebrated Thomas’ 32nd birthday with his family who was also in town. We stayed in an awesome YWCA hostel and did some touring of the city.

Meeting Friends and Family in Boston

Thomas and his brother, Dr. Michael

Thomas’ entire family, plus some family-friends from Sweden all flew in for the weekend to celebrate Thomas’ older brother’s PhD graduation. We enjoyed many good meals with his family and did some touring too.  We met up with a couple friends – Thomas’ friend, Aaron drove in from New Hampshire, and Georgy met up with us a couple times.

• Boston with Friends & Family (19 photos)
• Michael’s PhD Graduation (27 photos)

Dallas and Sarah Jump!

Saying Bye to Sarah

We flew back from Boston to Brussels, switching from gorgeous 90 degree weather to rainy 46 degree weather. Fortunately, we had no plans for a couple days and were able to focus on laundry and catching up on sleep. My quilty friend Sarah spent the night before she moved back to Canada at our house. I’m going to miss her, but Thomas captured his favorite-style jumping photos of us before she headed off.

• Jumping with Sarah (4 photos)

At the moment, we’re enjoying having no further travel plans this year, but I’m sure our calendar will fill up with a trip or two before too long.