Berlin with a Baby!

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever!  We have done some traveling, but to repeat destinations.  We went back to Paris in January and then I had our baby in March.  We traveled to America, but no offense, that donesn't need a blog post.  :)  Since we've returned to Germany, we headed back to Nuremburg and Prague and also hit up Berlin, which was a first.  So, here goes..
Berlin was one of those places that we just had to visit while we lived in Germany.  We didn't feel like we could leave here, never having been.  So we flew up for a few days along with my sister, Olivia, who had just graduted college.  Happy Graduation!  Our hotel was in a great location, within walking distance to the up and coming part of Berlin.  Tons of restaurants and a quick walk to the sites.  We enjoyed just walking around, taking a slower pace now when traveling, and taking in all the sights and people that we probably would have missed had we not been with our little Elsie.  We took out the stroller and carrier most days so she could have a little variety and I had a place to change diapers, keep the diaper bag and my all important water bottle safe.  We spent a day at the Berlin Zoo, which is wonderful.  Although everyone agreed that Stuttgart's Zoo is better.  We also spent some time at the KaDeWe, similar to Harrod's in London.  All in all, it was a nice trip away and the first European trip with Elsie.

Thanksgiving at the beach!

We spent turkey day on the beach off the coast of Africa in the Canary Islands.  We had a great time!  Great weather, great food, and a great find of an apartment by yours truly!  This picture is of the pool area at our place.  We spent the days at the beach and then the later afternoons early evenings enjoying the warm pool water.  We played mini golf one night after dinner and enjoyed a nice walk along the ocean every night back up to our resort.  I highly recommend visiting if you want nothing to do besides beaching it!  :)

Our Favorite Trips and Cities

Many people ask us what our favorite trip has been.  I have favorite trips and then favorite cities.  I've shared them here in case you're interested...it's hard to narrow it down!
Favorite Cities
1. Paris, France- it's so romantic and I love the eiffel tower and French food
2. London, GB- love the different areas and seeing and hearing English is really nice too!
3. Krakow, Poland- so much to do, cheap shopping, and yummy food!
4. Vilnius, Lithuania- not touristy, quaint and romantic, super cheap to travel there
5. Venice, Italy- love Venice as it's so different and lovely!
Favorite Trips
1. Istanbul, Turkey April 2010- This was my first experience with middle eastern food, culture, people, etc.  Fascinating place!
2. Fez, Morocco Dec. 2010- Fez is unlike anywhere I have ever been.  Magical!
3. Two week long driving trip around Northern Italy Dec. 2009- The driving in Italy is an experience itself.  We visited so many cities on this trip packed into the MINI with the two dogs.  Fun!
4. Greek Isles Aug.2008- Lovely trip, lovely places, love Greece!
5.  Scandinavian/Russian Cruise July 2011- I had always wanted to go on this cruise.  Very cool to visit Russia and I loved Finland especially.

Trips in June 2011-June 2012

Because I arrived here in June of 2008, I typically plan our trips from June to June.  We started the traveling season this year with a Scandinavian cruise to Latvia, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.  In August, we drove down to Italy to celebrate our 4th anniversary in the Cinque Terre Region.  The Fall brought trips to Edinburgh, Scotland; Nancy, France; and Vilnius, Lithuania.  We'll be spending Thanksgiving in the Canary Islands and Christmas in Egypt.  For the second time, I'll ring in a birthday in Paris, France.  Right now, trips for Feb-June 2012 are still in the early planning stages.  Our baby is due in April, so I'm not quite sure where we'll go once we're a party of three.  We are planning a trip to the States in late June..will this be the baby's first trip?  Who knows!  As it is, our lucky little fetus will have been to at least seven different countries traveling in the comfort of my growing belly!  Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, and Normandy are all relatively close by cities that are high on my list to visit.  Trips to Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Southern Ireland are also on my list..so little time, so much to see!

Lithuania? Why not!

Vilnius, Lithuania.  I found a cheap flight here for Veteran's Day Weekend and asked Brian what he thought.  He was up for it, so after finding an apartment to rent, we were all set.  After being in Vilnius for about 3 hours, we had declared it to be on both of our top 5 favorite cities list.  We had originally decided to take the train to another city in Lithuania, but after falling so hard for Vilnius, we cancelled that hotel room and decided to spend the whole time in this quaint, romantic city.  We had our own apartment, right downtown in the old city center.  It was a perfect location and for 30 Euros a night, I couldn't have found a better deal!!  We spent the days shopping, eating, walking around.  

Ducking into cathedrals and just getting lost (Brian of course knew right where we were!) in the windy neighborhoods.  Vilnius was like what we expected Prague to be, but better.  It had parts of what we loved about Kraków as well.  The old town, the weaving streets, the old worldliness to it all.  All in all, Vilnius is now one of our top favorites.  If you have the chance to visit this city, please do!  If you fly into Kaunas (whcih was the other city we were going to stay in), you can just take the Airport Shuttle bus to Vilnius.  It takes about 1.5 hours and cost about 8 Euros per person.  Don't bother going downtown, just go right from the airport.  We went to dinner at some great restaurants, so check out the Trip Planner section before you go.  

Girls' Weekend!

This past weekend, four of my friends and I headed to Nancy, France.  This pretty city is just about 3 hours away from Stuttgart.  Although we got stuck in some awful traffic on the way there, yummy treats, fun conversations, and just being with friends helped the four plus hour drive go by quickly.  Our hotel, although budget, was in a great location.  We went out to dinner for our first night at a brasserie I had found online.  I had salmon because I love the way the French cook salmon.  I was not disappointed.  Crème brûlée for dessert and dinner was a success!  The next morning after breakfast, we walked around the city.  The center of Nancy is said to be the most beautiful in all of Europe.  It was lovely.  We had found a spa right around the corner from our hotel and booked treatments before our arrival.  I had a prenatal skin treatment/massage.  It was amazing.  We had dinner at a bistro, very yummy, and headed home the following morning.  The weekend was just perfect, fun time spent with friends, good food, and an afternoon spent at the spa!  Thanks Kristen, Stacie, Jennifer, and Lindsey for a wonderful weekend!

Edinburgh

The view of the city from the Castle

This Columbus Day weekend, we headed to Edinburgh, Scotland.  What an amazing city!  The people were so friendly and I loved the ease that comes when traveling in an English speaking country.  Of course, I could still barely understand what they were saying, with their Scottish accents and all!  Their trams are nonexistent, but they have a great bus system.  The people were just so friendly and helpful.  Each time they saw us with a map or my guide book, they would stop and ask us if we needed directions or help.  Most of the time, I was just looking up where to eat!  :)

Street performer on the Royal Mile

Our B&B was quaint, serving a lovely Scottish breakfast to us each morning, complete with decaf Scottish tea...I couldn't have been more happy!  I chose our B&B based on the fact that the reviews said that Jill, the owner, made fresh scones for breakfast.  She did and they were amazing!  We spent the first night just wandering around the city and stumbling upon the most amazing restaurant..I had mussels and a rhubarb something for dessert.  HEAVEN, I tell you!  The next day, we toured the castle, complete with a live guide for the first part.  Bagpipes playing, rain sprinkling, it was a great day.  We also toured the Britannia, the royal yacht.  Very exciting for me, but I'm sure Brian was not as into it as I was!  The next day we decided to do some bus tours, with live guides, they were awesome!  We did some shopping and more eating of course!  I've listed restaurants and the B&B info in the Travel Planner section, so be sure to check those out if you find yourself on the way to this wonderful city!