Beer Heist

Say Me YES!

We've come back from many a European trip and thought, we need a vacation from our vacation. Home has sometimes been a welcome respite from the cities, the hustle. Croatia, however, was just the right blend of relaxed beach time, strolls and cappuccinos mixed in with some driving tours (say me Montenegro), and short visits into the 'big' cities like Dubrovnik & Split. The country really impressed us. We found we were constantly trying to compare it to other places we'd been; sometimes reminiscent of Costa Rica, then Norway, Greece, but ultimately, a feeling all it's own. We were never more than a few kilometers from the Adriatic and every hotel we stayed either provided a view of it, or a short walk to see it. There are over a thousand islands off the coast of Croatia so each view feels more beautiful & scenic than the last. As Joe said of our first hotel / apt in Cavtat (20k outside of Dubrovnik), 'it's a million dollar view.' Then, we drove around a bit and quickly realized, damn near the entire country is chock full of million dollar views.
Dubrovnik is aptly called 'the jewel of the Adriatic' and it certainly was the highlight of the trip. The entire city is built directly on the Adriatic and is completely walled. Walking the old city walls was definitely the highlight of the trip. We arrived right after opening time (one of the perks to keeping baby hours) and for the first half of the walk had the walls nearly to ourselves. The morning sun rising over the city and the sea was spectacular.

We drove into Montenegro for a day and had plenty of fjord like views. I snapped endless crappy photos out of the moving car, just like we did in Norway, as we commented repeatedly on how pretty it was. We stopped into Kotor (walled city), where we saw a woman wearing a t-shirt which stated 'Say Me Yes,' and visited Sveti Stefan which is an island connected to the mainland by a thin, pedestrian bridge.
A few afternoons were spent at the 'beach.' In Cavtat this meant cement pad next to the Adriatic with beach chairs & the occasional umbrella. In Orebic the beach was all large pebbles, a big stack of beach chairs and some jenky hotel umbrellas. In all locations the water was stunning and 'see-to-the-bottom' clear, rich hues of blue, turquoise and emerald green as far as the eye could see.

We took the car ferry over to the island of Korcula, all the while locating the life-jackets and contingency planning. As Joe still claims, all these years later, those things 'sink all the time.' We visited another walled city and had a delicious lunch in a small town looking out over the sea. Joe ordered mussels. Yes, you read this right. Not only did Joe eat squid, octopus & mussels but he also was ordering up the bubbly water and downing the cappuccinos (many of these things have been occuring on a regular basis for a while now, but seeing them all written out together is still striking for me to see how much he & his palate have expanded and changed over the years). Back to Joe's mussels. They were listed on the menu for 50kuna (roughly $8) so Joe assumed it might not be enough food for him so he asked our server about the portion size. Response: it's one kilo of mussels. To which Joe proceeded to take down the entire kilo without the slightest hint of hesitation, and love it.

Split's most interesting attraction is Diocletian's Palace which isn't so much a palace anymore as it is an organic city infastructure/wall/tourist hell. The city has basically grown around & incorporated the old palace; restaurants, cafes, shops etc are all housed in this former retirement palace. We were much happier to be staying in Trogir, a smaller, quieter town outside of Split with a relaxed promenade to stroll and admire the yatches, charming white stone facades, and, most importantly to Joe, an UNESCO world heritage site (read: sarcasm, he wonders why places shouldn't be someday named JoeDuchek awesomest sites).

Liam seemed to love the additional attention of both doting parents on a daily basis, and certainly impressed plenty of older travelers (of which there were many, we estimated 50+% of the people visiting were pushing 60) and brought up many a conversation about grandchildren. Although our travel style had to take a complete downshift, we found so many positives in it. I read 2 whole books and half of another, we slowed down, drank more coffee, and far less beer, we found charm in the smaller towns rather than the over-crowded bustling 'larger' cities. We came home feeling almost rested (we still have an infant so can't expect miracles), and are already looking around for the fast-forward button so we can be with you all over the holidays.

Einunddreissig

Like 31yearold, like 5month old. If the kid (sorry Mar) is pulling faces like this 'I don't think so Mother' one already; I'm pretty sure we're screwed. Even I have to (sort of proudly) admit, there is plenty of me in that face.
So, my 'new birthday year resolution,' (Yes, I just made that up) is to try harder to appreciate the little things, like this facial expression. An expression I'm pretty sure only parents could love, and, in the same vein, to take less for granted. Honestly, I can't think of a single thing I need, but yet, I'm still pulling faces far more skeptical and coping tones as rough as Liam's screams. Of course, I only get upset about the most important of issues too;). Seriously though, today is my birthday, but more importantly, today, our friends 8-day old baby is having open-heart surgery. Prognosis is super positive but today an 8-day old baby, Mayla Grace, is having freaking open-heart surgery. And I still find I can get pissy about the most insignificant of shit. So, here's my open invitation to you all to call me on it (and, to keep lil Mayla & her parents in your thoughts & prayers). To remind me that I've got it more than pretty damn good....

Funfy

Five months?! I'm not sure if I like the little nugget constantly reminding me how quickly time moves by....

Heidelberg.

We piled in the car early Saturday morning and drove out through the rain to Heidelberg, Germany. Sometime along the way, the skies began to clear, Liam began to awake, and I climbed in the back to give our lil bambino a bottle (one of the perks to this 2 a bottle situation; no stopping on car trips;) and he shortly there after fell back asleep. Minus the construction it was a great 3+ hour drive north, and living on baby hours ensured our arrival to town well before noon. The Marriott (we normally do not frequent US chains, but had a free night that had to be used by the end of September, hence the reason we ended up in Heidelberg in the first place) was located on the Nacker river, about a 20 minute pleasant walk outside of the town.

The town was untouched during the war so it's all charming cobblestones, ancient architecture, big squares, a castle on a hill and old narrow brick bridges. So, a lot like, well, Europa. But here, there was Weizen beer, a gluttonous amount of pretzels to consume, a gorgeous coffee shop, a happy baby to smile at and a lovely pool & fitness center to take advantage of at the hotel. We swam with Liam and despite the water being quite chilly, and his lips and feet quickly turning blue, he did not fuss. He had a fun 3 minutes with Dad before we took him out and wrapped him up in towels to hang out on my lap and watch Dad swim. We both got a workout in while Liam slept. And that was all on Saturday! We totally felt like we actually 'got away' despite the fact it was only one night.

Sure, the pace of traveling has completely changed. Stripping a baby nude on a park bench because he has completely shit out his diaper and half his back in a 20 second poop fest is certainly interesting. And going to bed at 10pm (and apparently missing a fireworks display over the castle) when you are in a new city is a bit disappointing; as is waking up no short of 6 times in the middle of the night to tend to your child because he doesn't seem to sleep well in new places. However, we still have, take & enjoy the opportunities to do it, despite & sometimes because of these things. So, here's to hoping our upcoming trip to Croatia is as 'successful' as this one was....

Tuesday Around Town.

We met a friend out for coffee and were seated very close to the table next to us. Liam is taking after the Swiss and staring hardcore at anything that interests him. So, the guy sitting right next to us happened to be his target at the moment. All of a sudden the guy holds out his plate towards us and says, 'does he want some of this?' I kindly declined. The guy insisted, 'I think he really wants it.' Well, sir, thanks for the offer, but my four month old isn't exactly ready for you hard, jam filled cookie yet. I told the guy he could only have milk, but I'm pretty sure the dude still wasn't convinced that Liam would have gladly taken that cookie down, sans teeth, off a stranger's plate. It's going to start getting interesting around here folks.

We walked by a bus stop yesterday and there was a nicely dressed, well-groomed 80+ year old woman drinking blue Powerade out of a squirt top bottle. It struck me as highly unusual.