Tuesday March 15th was our longest travel day of the whole trip. Not only did we travel 230 miles over 4 hours by car, we also had a 50 minute, 135 mile flight over the Aegean Sea to the island of Santorini. Around 10 a.m. we set out from Meteora with me in the driver’s seat.  The route back to … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 15th From Meteora to Santorini →

Monday was the first day of Eastern Orthodox Christianity’s forty day Great Lent.  In Greece this is a public and religious holiday known as Clean Monday. The faithful turned their thoughts and prayers to the church, and by coincidence we did too.  It just so happened that we chose Monday to visit the grouping of monasteries outside … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 14th Meteora →

On Sunday we said goodbye to Athens and hello to the open road. This time, instead of renting a small cramped car, we rented a large spacious nine passenger van, and instead of driving south, our road trip took us north.  On the itinerary was a stop at the ruins of Delphi, where the most … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 13th Delphi & Meteora →

Melissa finally decided to join us on Saturday, having spent the previous two days working in Switzerland.  Europeans do get a lot of vacation, but not an unlimited amount, so she only took 5 days off for Greece.  In our busy trip itinerary, Saturday was the only day planned for sight seeing in Athens, and … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 12th Athens →

On Friday, our first full day in Greece, we were ready to see it all. Being American’s, that meant going on  a road trip.  There are trains and buses in Greece that go all over the country, but the network isn’t as dense or frequent as other European countries. For the freedom of going where … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 11th Sparti & Nafplio →

The cradle of western civilization, the birthplace of democracy, western philosophy, western arts, and incubator for early Christianity.  There are many reasons to want to visit Greece, but there is also a refugee crisis, a financial crisis, and a language and alphabet quite unlike English.  So when the Olsons, my mom Julie, brother Mike, brother … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 10th Athens →

All good things must come to an end… so it goes that yesterday was the end of our 10 day tour of Greece with the Olsons.  We had an amazing time, with all our expectations exceeded, and all our worries about the current political situation unfounded. In true American style we tried to see it … Continue reading Greek Vacation with the Olsons →

Two weeks ago we had just come back from a long, fun, but also tiring day of travel all across Switzerland.  After setting my bags down in the apartment I wanted a nice cold glass of water, but when I poured one from the refrigerator pitcher, the water was warm. Everything in the refrigerator was … Continue reading Apartment Maintenance →

Last weekend Melissa and I went on a grand-loop tour of Switzerland by train.  We left early Saturday morning from our home in western Switzerland, and rode through the north of the country all the way to the eastern border.  In the east we made a detour across the border to visit the country of … Continue reading Liechtenstein and The Glacier Express →

For my 30th birthday my wonderful wife sprang to take me alpine skiing.  I had been bugging her to go for a while, but I was happily surprised when she actually agreed.  Our trip was her first time downhill skiing in five years and only the fourth time in her life. She was swayed to … Continue reading Alpine Skiing →