Our First Taste of Summer

Haley and I just got back from a short weekend trip to Belek, Turkey!  We booked an all-inclusive package with a travel agent in Garmisch. Even though we were staying at a 5 star resort on the beach, we were a little nervous because Eastern European "5 star" standards are a little different than ours. But our hotel, Crystal Resort and Spa, was gorgeous! Everything turned out perfect, and it was so nice to stay at a nice hotel with our own space instead of our usual hostel experience.

Yay we made it and the hotel is nice!

View from the balcony of our hotel room

We spent the first day laying by the pool and at the beach, relaxing. It was warm, but not hot hot, so we didn't think we needed sunscreen... maybe not the best choice as we are both a little red now! We also got massages. We were a bit surprised to walk in and find 2 men in sarongs...??? Turns out part one was actually a Turkish bath.  They use a special scrub and lots and lots of bubbles. Quite an experience, which was followed by a more traditional aroma therapy message.

Our spot by the pool

Day 2 we decided to take a tour and see a little bit of Turkey.  The tour was all in German since we booked our trip through a German travel agent, which made things a bit interesting.

 We thought we would be surrounded by retired Germans, but we weren't the youngest ones on our tour... this is Sofia--precious but very whiny! 

We visited the town of Manavgat. First we stopped at a waterfall and then a "market" which was more like a knock off junk store.

Then we took a little boat cruise and spent some time on the beach.  After we visited a Mosque where we were required to take off our shoes and cover our heads as is the custom in the Islamic religion.  We also heard the Islamic prayer, the Salaat broadcast from the Mosques, which happens 5 times a day.

 The Mosque... notice the 4 towers, or Minarets--each one has a speaker to broadcast the Salaat. 

We finished a tour by visiting a "bazaar," or street market.  We stopped in a bakery to get a little taste of one of our favorite Turkish treats... baklava.  The worker did not know any English, so we ended up with a whole box of baklava which we had no problem finishing!

Our favorite Turkish treat, baclava

 We ended the tour just in time to catch the end of the sunset back at the resort

Then it was already time to go back to the airport. We had a bit of a scary flight home with lots of turbulence. We felt like we were on a roller coaster for most of the ride, but we made it safely to Munich after what felt like an eternity.  Caught the train back to Garmisch just in time for me to head directly to work for a busy night in Zuggy's! 

I think it is finally spring here in Garmisch, and I can ride my bike to work again! We are already planning some fun warm weather activities here, and hopefully soon it will be as warm here as it was in Turkey!

My Birthday in Budapest

Walking Across the Chain Bridge

Chenea and I ventured to Eastern Europe for the week... Budapest, Hungary! We did run into a few obstacles along the way, but we had fun.

We decided it would be a good idea to drive since it was cheaper than flying.... which worked out fine until we got into the city.  "Jill," our handy GPS, kept telling us to cross a bridge that was not cross-able by car. But eventually we figured it out and made it to the hostel, where the hostel attendant helped us park the car in the ever-so-narrow street! But we could not get the parking machine to work so we thought it would be okay if we left the car for a little while until we moved it.... oops. We ended up getting not just 1, but 2 tickets, which we, of course, couldn't read. So we ended up paying a little more for parking than we intended!

Budapest is actually divided by the Danube River into 2 parts, Buda on one side and Pest on the other.  We stayed in Pest where most of the excitement is!  We walked A LOT and saw pretty much everything our favorite tour guide, Rick Steves, recommended.  Churches, Parliament, shopping, and eating of course!

The Holocaust Memorial

For my birthday, we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant! Quite a treat since Mexican food doesn't really exist in Garmisch. The best part may have been the fresh squeezed lemonade... best I've ever tasted! We liked it soo much that we even went back a second time.

We also went to the Hungarian Baths...what an experience. We took Rick's recommendation and chose the one that is more local, and less touristy. Maybe not the best choice because nothing was in English and no one spoke English.We eventually figured it out and enjoyed some time outside in the large heated pools.  Never would I have thought I'd be swimming outside in March.

We spend the evening at the Opera... Budapest has one of the best opera houses, aside from Vienna. I'm still trying to figure out the story, though, since it was in Italian. But it was very beautiful and my first opera experience. It did have 2 intermissions which was very confusing... we almost left at the second one but then realized it wasn't over yet!

The first 2 days were cold but sunny, but the 3rd day was snowy! We went over to Buda for the day and visited Castle Hill, but by the end we were so wet and cold we headed for the mall. After a little shopping, we also saw Alice in Wonderland, also a treat since the closest movie theater to us is in Munich!

Castle Hill in the Snow

Now it is back to work in Garmisch for a few days until Haley and I take a little getaway to somewhere warm next week!

Adventures Throughout My 23 Years

Mom suggested I blog about all the places I've been so far, so I decided to take her up on the idea.
Hopefully I can remember all of my adventures!

I know I started traveling at quite a young age to one of my favorite places... Grandma and Grandpa's condo in the Lake of the Ozarks.  Favorite memories include stopping in Rolla to get BBQ ribs (although the highlight for me was actually getting the Andy's mints they sold at the counter), getting to unbuckle my seat belt and ride in the front seat once we hit the gravel road, our traditional 4th of July week trips, and of course swimming endless laps in the pool.  I even snuck in one solo trip with just my friend Lauren....although I guess Grandma and Grandpa didn't trust me because they sold the condo shortly after! Mom and Dad used to always ask me where I wanted to go, and I always just wanted to go to the lake... nowhere else... oh how that's changed these days!

And of course there is also the Kremer side tradition, our family reunions in Cherokee Village, Arkansas.... never heard of it? Well, yes, it is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but we always had fun on our annual trips.... canoeing, rafting, boating, and playing lots of cards! Hopefully, I will actually be able to make it this year, since I haven't been to the past few.

Next, I remember getting to miss a week of 2nd grade (I think) to go to Disney World! I didn't really like the rides.... except for It's a Small World... I'm sure Mom and Dad never wanted to hear that song again after the trip was over.  I much preferred to get my autograph book signed by all the characters. The Genie was my favorite because he didn't let the big kids butt in front of me!  I also had a scare when Bear went missing when the cleaning ladies washed the sheets... but luckily they were able to find her!

Then, I won the 8th grade Pro-Life essay contest at school, which meant I got to attend the Pro-Life March in D.C.  Dad agreed to chaperon, which he probably regretted after our 22 hour bus ride to D.C. And once we finally made it, we only actually stayed for about 12 hours!

Then, Mom and I had our traditional trip to Saugatuck, Michigan, where we stayed at LakeShore Resort and got to walk on the beach every morning.  Quite a relaxing getaway! 

Our tradition of writing in the sand at every beach we visit! 

And then our high school long-awaited junior trip to Memphis, where we visited Beal Street.
Next were lots of college visit trips. Boston with Mom. It snowed a foot... not the best for touring college campuses.  Xavier, Dayton, University of Illinois, and Illinois Wesleyan with dad, and then finally I decided on Tulsa.

Then came the fun post-graduation trips.  First I was off to Disney World with my engineering class.  We entered the parks early and learned how the rides actually worked. And I finally rode my first roller coaster, Space Mountain, and loved it! 

Though I still loved pictures with the characters! 

 Shortly after, I was off on my first European adventure, this time with my French class. We took a 2 week tour around France.  I loved Nice, and we just missed Tom Cruise proposing to Katie Holmes at the top of the Eiffel Tower... I remember being really sad about that.  Climbing to the top of the tower and parasailing in the Mediterranean were my favorite memories!

Lauren and I by the Eiffel Tower!

Next, I headed to Tulsa, which led to many college trips to visit friends, the first one being to Colorado to visit Alivia over Christmas break. I had my first skiing experience!

  Over the summer, I was off to to Rio Rancho, New Mexico, to visit my best friends Jeneva, Amanda, and Alison.

 I had my first four-wheeling experience in the mountains of New Mexico! 

And then a trip sophomore year to good ol' Sherman, Texas, to visit the Hubbert triplets and see why they kept telling my Texas was soo great. And I can't forget my first trip to Chicago for spring break with Monica.... who had a herneated disk in her back so she couldn't sit for the entire trip! haha... that made things interesting.

I think the Chicago skyline is a little better than the STL one! 

Next was study abroad in Salamanca, Spain. During my time, I visited lots of places beginning with London.

 Big Ben! 

Then off to Lisbon, Morroco and all over Spain.... Malaga, Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian, Santander, Bilbao, Sevilla, Granada, and lots of little towns along the way. 

 

 My travel partner, Abigail and I in Sevilla, Spain.

 The girls in Lisbon!

 Riding a camel in Marrakesh!

During my time in Spain, I made a new best friend.. Ash. I made my first trip to Cali to visit her in LA the following spring break. Let's just say I'm more than a little jealous of the 5 minute bike ride from her house to the beach. We also visited Orange County and Laguna Beach, and I think we got frozen yougurt.. the big fad at the time, at least once a day.... maybe more.

Ash and I on the famous Rodeo Drive

Then it was time for law school visits.... a good father daughter trip to Virginia and D.C.  Lot's of schools and a bit of sightseeing along the way as well.

Good view of the Washington Monument

Next, we headed to New York for my long awaited trip to see the huge Christmas tree.  Ash joined us for the trip. Highlights include see the Rockettes and Matt and Meredith on the Today Show.  We are just not cold weather people though, so we were ready to get back to our warmer states by the end. 

Ash and I

I think that brings us to the present!  And you've already heard about all of my adventures over the last year...Lake Garda, Italy, rafting in Austria, jazz festival in Montreux, Switzerland, Amersterdam with Rach, Copenhagen, Malmo, Krakow, Italy with Mom, Prague, my solo trip to Berlin, and one of my favorites, Dublin.  Still on the list: Croatia, and my last and much-anticipated trip to Greece! And I am heading to Budapest tomorrow to celebrate my birthday with Chenea!

I have been blessed to see so many places and am looking forward to seeing many more in my next 23+ years!  Top on my list...the Northwest to visit Rachel, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada!