Italy - Sardina and Rome

Sardinia!! Its a fairly large island to the west of Italy in the Mediterranian and word on the street is its where the richest of the rich go to vacation with their yahcts.  This was most evident when I landed at the Olbia airport and counted over 40 private planes.

The island itself is pretty rocky and dry, lots of cactus and not much vegetation or life.  Once you hit the rocky coastline the beaches and water are amazing and I could easily see why many come to vacation.

The hotel I stayed in was lovely and had great pools and was located next to all these wonderful beaches.  The water was perfectly warm and relaxing.  I just stayed at the hotel and walked around in the early am when it was still cool enough to do so comfortably.

The hotel pool overlooking the ocean

After my relaxing weekend in Sardinia, I followed it with another weekend trip to Rome in order to keep the Italian vibe going and it was a great idea!  I love Italy, the people, the language, the food, just about everything!  The weather in Rome was either downpouring rain or the swelttering heat, but I was still able to hit the cobblestoned roads and see the sights!

Trevi Fountain

Spanish steps

View of "the main" street for shopping from the Spanish Steps...this is where Gucci, Fendi, Chanel, and Louis Vuittion live.

For the weekend I used a hop on hop off bus tour which takes you to all the main attractions.  Unfortuantely my headphones didnt work so I didnt get the specifics but my explanation is that there is just lots of old stuff everywhere.  Im sure some buildings and churches are more important than others, but I just soaked it all in without the details.

One of the best by chance experiences was being at St. Peters Square during Sunday Mass.  They put up big screen televisions to broadcast what the Pope was saying and people were cheering just like at a concert.  It was a very special moment even for someone who is not religious.

Roadtrip to Interlaken Switzerland

This is beautiful Interlaken Switzerland on a sunny Sunday morning!  I had heard from some people I work with that this would be a great weekend getaway and it did not dissapoint.  The drive from Ramstein took 5 hours, which on a Friday afternoon was extremely frustrating.  Driving on the Autobahn is either one of two extremes: fantastically fast, and uncrowded or completely bumper to bumper for no particular reason.  This drive to Interlaken included both aspects but as you can see by these pictures, the drive was completely worth it!

The town of Interlaken is sandwiched between these two lakes, the one just above is to the east and the other is directly to the west of town.  The water flows from east to west through the central town and is the most beautiful color of blue.  I imagine it doesnt get much more pure than fresh alpine snow melt!

This is one of a handful of damn like gates to control the flow of water between the lakes.

This is my hotel.  It looks much nicer from this view than it was on the inside.  There are a number of lavish hotels in town which I'm sure would have been fantastic to stay in.  This hotel wasnt cheap nor is anything in Switerland, I paid $200 a night for this 3 star hotel, but the location was worth it, easy access to the delightful town and just a short trip to the nearby mountains.

One my Saturday morning I drove up into the mountains and took a steep train ride up to the small village of Wengen.  This whole area is called Jungfrau - or "the top of Europe" as it boasts access to the highest mountain peak in the alps which you can see in the background.  There are numerous train tracks and cable cars that take people up to various points of interest.  Of course I wanted to make the trip to the highest summit but it would have cost over $300, so instead I settled for Wengen and another summit slightly lower in elevation and cost.

This is the view from Wengen, which has no cars, Im assuming because it would be impossible to build and maintain a road up this steep mountain!  The view is of the town to which I drove and began the train ride literally right up the side of the mountain.  The weather was always changing so I lucked out that I was able to explore without a thunderstorm.

This ravine and town are like out of a movie...I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

This is a view from my tram ride from Grindle-something up 4500 feet to the summit of First.  The tram ride took about 30 mintues each way and was beautiful but at times nerve racking as Im not the best with heights, espeically when they are measured in the thousands!  Luckily it wasnt crowded so I had my own tram car and could hypervenilate in privacy.

Im trying to keep it together here so I could take a nice picture, notice Im facing uphill so as not to see how far up I have already gone!

One of the 3 stops up to the summit, I stayed on course and wanted to get to the top as fast as possible for fear of chickening out!

See the bottom of the valley?  Thats where I started on the tram!!

Finally at the summit, total altitude of 7400 feet.  The Jungfrau is over 11,000 feet high and you can see glimpes of it in the mountain range, usually covered by the clouds.

After my exciting Saturday mountain adventure I headed back to town just before the sky opened up and thunder and lightening stormed for the rest of the night.  Which was fine with me as all this exploring includes tons of walking and stairs all over the place!  This is probably why you dont see many gyms in Switerland!

I awoke early Sunday morning knowing my chance of sunshine would be best and also out of excitement.  The next adventure on my list was Harder Kulm which is yet another tram from the town of Interlaken up 4,000 feet to an outlook of both lakes.  While waiting for the 8:10am tram, I walked around town and stumbled upon this amazing church. 

At the top of the tram there is a somewhat short trail to the summit, this is one of my favorite shots of the mountain range.  This is facing south towards the mountains I had explored on Saturday.  It was so nice to see them in the morning sunshine.

And here it the summit of Harder Kulm!  I love the Swiss flags at each summit, you really do feel accomplished as you reach the top!  This is also a restaurant and many of my fellow tram riders had sunday brunch there, I had more exploring to do so I was back on the road in no time!

As I left Interlaken, I chose to take a smaller road to get upclose with the eastern lake and this is what I found!  It was a magical morning, the sunlight was warm, very little traffic or tourists, and again, the water is the most amazing color of blue.  Sort of like Lake Tahoe, but it seemed cleaner and clearer here.

Looking west as I said goodbye to a magical place...back to a frustrating 5 hour drive to Ramstein!  Well worth all the trouble.  The scenary is so dramatic, you sort of lose yourself in it...its so overwhelmingly beautiful I couldnt believe I was really experiencing this natural beauty.  I know most of my blogs have been light hearted about my travels and the truth is I need them to be because so much of the work week is emotionally intense and draining.  I am able to keep my sanity by knowing I will have a complete escape each weekend where I can forget my struggles and appreciate what our world has to offer.  This world has some truly beautiful places and I feel so lucky that I have been able to experience as many as I can!

Long Weekend in Croatia!

I truly fell in love with Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Beautiful weather, water, and architecture is what got me!  I was able to spend 3 days here since I had the July 4th holiday and loved every minute.  This town is located in the very southern part of the country on the Adriatic Sea.  The land is rocky with steep cliffs everywhere which makes this settlement so amazing, it's literally carved into the hills which also limits the growth as it was relatively small in size. The most amazing part of the city was the "Old City" which you can see in the above picture.  Its an anciety walled city and has remained fairly intact considering all the political turmoil and wars that have taken place in the area.

A tram is located just outside the wall and takes you up to the top of the first mountain range, where these pictures were taken.  The views were wonderful but the steep incline is intense and many areas are not fenced off - which would NEVER be allowed in the states.  I braved it in order to take some great photos all the while praying I didnt slip and fall to my death...

Drawbridge entrance to the Old City

The first of many flights of stairs which encompass the old city.  Since the topography is so rocky and steep you are constantly going up and down stairs, although I mostly just remember going up them! 

This is the main "street" in the old city.  No vehicles are allowed within the wall.

The old city is one of the most beautiful places, architecturally speaking, that I have ever been.  Most buildings are extremely old and well preserved.  It felt magical just wandering through the tiny cobblestone pathways and stumbling upon the most gorgeous buildings.  The above photo is of my favorite building.  While I was walking around a wedding party marched down the main street all singing with Croatian flags and entered into the main church for the wedding.

This is the view from my hotel which was only about a mile away from the old city.  Dubrovnik has a great bus system which is perfect for tourists because it stops at all the hotels and takes you right downtown.

This was the street I walked up to get to the tram, both sides are all rock and very narrow!

Before traveling there I remembered hearing that my first name was Yugoslavian but had no idea how popular it really was.  Jana water is all over the place there!  Its like the Coke of water, so I felt very important...

Just my favorite window...so beautiful

One of the narrow pathways in the old city, very charming but also very smelly at times.

This is the view inland from the top of the first mountain range...not much life

Again I cant say enough about what a great place Dubrovnik is...I give it an A+.  At times I felt like I was in another world because everything was just magical.  It wasnt overcrowded, although at times when cruise ships docked it livened up.  It is one of my very favorite places in the world without a doubt.