by Missie Hills | Jun 8, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
After our warm welcome in India while on the backwaters of Kerala, we were rested and ready for what the country had in store for us. Through all of our travels, on only one other occasion did we get the opportunity to spend our time with a local family truly immersing ourselves in the culture surrounding us. Now that we have done it twice, we agree, this is definitely the way to travel. Yeah, you might miss out on the resort style luxury where the staff caters to your every whim. And you might miss out the privacy of having your own hotel room stocked with a mini fridge of beer. But in exchange, you gain a deep relationship with your hosts, the generosity of strangers treating you like family, and personal exposure to the local lifestyle. Yes, this is the way we like to travel.
We were invited to Kerala by our friend, Jit. Jit moved to the States to work as an engineer, which is how he and Jason first met. We spent a lot of time with him eating Indian food in Mississippi while we chatted about how different our two countries are. He promised me that once he was ready to get married, he would invite us to attend his wedding in India. A few years later, he upheld that promise. So, despite our pre-planned trip to Europe at the same time, how could we say no? We shortened our Europe trip and made time to visit Jit and his family for his upcoming nuptials.
Jit had a whole agenda ready for us. We were just along for the ride. Most of the time we had no idea where that ride was taking us. The ride started by Jit’s brother, Jipin, and cousin, Manu, picking us up at the houseboat dock and taking us to see the ocean. Technically, we saw the Laccadive Sea, but we thought it was the Indian Ocean, and we were ecstatic to mark another ocean off our bucket lists.
We then took a long scenic ride through the jungle to Jit’s summer home in Pathanamthitta where his family was waiting for us with lunch. After meeting the family and settling into our cozy room, Mom had lunch waiting for us on the table. Dad sat with us while we ate and the ladies served us. The conversation was quiet, probably due to the language barrier. Also, it was a little awkward to have everyone watch us as we ate. But the food was delicious! And it just kept coming. As we finished up our meals, the men in the house begin to eat. This is when we first noticed that we were the only ones eating with utensils. The rest of the family ate with their right hand. Suddenly, I understood why everyone was watching us eat. We must have looked so strange eating with forks, and I know they went through a lot of effort to find forks for us in the first place. Once we (as the guests) were done and the men of the house were done, the women ate last. It was very traditional and very different then dinners back home. Jason and I were stuffed.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house before Jit and Manu took us on a drive of the country side. We drove through the jungle keeping our eyes out for wild elephants. We stopped for a short hike to a waterfall where we met some more locals that we followed up to the top. A nice dip in the water was refreshing and worth the steep hike up.
We then visited Manu’s home and met some of his family including his pet cows. His family was so happy to see us. They fed us snacks and tea, and I even got a beautiful necklace as a gift.
We never spotted any wild elephants. So, Jit and Manu took us to an elephant sanctuary that next morning. Once again, I came face to face with these massive lovable beasts.
Then, Jit and Manu took us to visit his mom’s family home. We visited with her parents, sisters, and nieces. They showed us the massive garden they kept in the neighborhood. It wasn’t the type of garden I am used to seeing here in the states. This garden was wild, thick and full of every fruit and vegetable we had tried in India so far. Mangoes, bananas, coconuts, peppercorn, even coffee beans! And of course rubber trees. They showed us how the rubber was gathered from the trees and processed right there in the backyard. We had a wonderful traditional lunch served on a banana leaf before we headed out for the next stop on the agenda.
Next, we stopped at a local stream where we rode a little round boat through the jungle. The ride was serene and perfect for the nice weather outside.
After more driving through the jungle-side, we ended up at Jit’s dad’s family home. We saw the house that Dad was born in. Then we walked to a local Hindu temple while the family attended church. We watched as they prayed to their gods. That next day Jit would be married to a beautiful woman who was waiting for him in Trivadrum. Two families would join. They had a lot to be blessed for. And as I watched this beautiful family gather under the temple roof and pray to gods I did not know, I couldn’t help but be amazed. I thought of my own family back home, my mom, my dad, my sisters and brothers. I thought about Jason’s family and how they are now mine too. And I thought about the family that Jason and I were creating at that moment, the baby growing inside my womb. In that moment, I whispered a prayer to my god, thanking him for reminding me of the faith we can find in family.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | May 30, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
Getting to Southern India is no easy task, even if you leave from Vienna. An 8 hour flight, 6 hour layover, and 4 hour flight all in the middle of the night proved to be a bit more than I could handle. At least a bit more than pregnant Missie could handle. So by the time we landed in Cochin, I was shot. Thankfully, we had a houseboat waiting to float us through the beautiful backwaters of Kerala in Indian luxury fashion.
We arrived to the backwaters just in time for the start of houseboat season. So, the normally crowded canals were wide open and peaceful. As we boarded our private houseboat, we were in awe of the luxury they had waiting for us. Our room was decked out with flowers, fresh fruit, and chocolate. The king sized bed was calling my name. But I knew better then to snuggle in and waste our entire time in the beautiful country side tucked inside. A cold beer for Jason and a short nap for me on the roof top lounge was just what we needed to reboot our systems.
We stopped for fresh seafood at a local market mid-afternoon. During this stop, we shopped for some local woodworking souvenirs and visited a Catholic church. This turned out to be the oldest church we have ever explored, being built in 427 AD!
Then as it begin to rain, we boarded our houseboat and waited patiently for the dinner we just bought at the market to be cooked. We ate our wonderful dinner as the rain pitter-pattered around us. When we were through and after the rain passed, we took a canoe out into the smaller canals and watched as the locals continued on through their daily lives washing their cloths, their dishes, themselves, (pretty much anything) in the water as we floated by. We saw families dressed in bright colors and draped in gold as they walked the banks to the Hindu temple for the night. Their lives were fascinating and so different from our own.
We spent the night on the water as the boat swayed softly and the crickets chirped sweet music outside. And when we woke up at sunrise to the sound of kingfishers singing their morning songs, we couldn’t help but to feel the warm welcome India had given us.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Apr 29, 2016 | Europe, International Adventures
After the quite somber stop in Poland, it was nice to find ourselves in another bright city full of amazing architecture. We didn’t have a lot of time in Vienna, but it was enough to learn how special this city was. The beautiful buildings filled with art and history were a perfect backdrop to the laid back, café-lounging attitude the city possessed. And laid back is exactly what we needed by that point.
There are many things to do and see in Vienna. Between the art museums, the opera house, and the classical music, you could find yourself spending days here wrapping yourself up in the culture. We had one afternoon. So, saying we had the true Vienna experience would be a major stretch. We could have done our usual plan of stuffing in as much as possible in the shortest time frame imaginable. But, the first thing I really wanted to do was find a café and relax. So, that is exactly what we did. And it never really got much more exciting than that.
We roamed the streets and parks, popped in to a few museums and churches, and then had a nice dinner before turning in for the night. It was actually a quite pleasant visit and a nice end to our European adventure.
We were anxious and excited to completely switch gears and head to India the following morning. After exploring 5 bustling European cities, the Indian jungle was calling our names.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 5, 2016 | Europe, International Adventures
After a long night train, we arrived bright and early in Krakow ready to explore a city full of history. For once on this trip, we planned on venturing away from the city to explore the infamous WW2 concentration camp, Auschwitz. We set a full day aside for the somber depressing walk through the one of the world’s most tragic events in history, thinking we were fully prepared to handle the emotions we knew would arise. But first, we had a day to spare and time to burn before we could check into our hotel.
We boarded a train and took a short 20 minute ride to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. I guess I knew what a salt mine was. I knew I’d be underground, and I knew there would be some walking. What I didn’t know was that we would be trekking down over a thousand feet deep into the ground through a labyrinth of dark tunnels filled with marvelous carvings made from the surrounding salt deposits. A thousand feet! Just think, that’s about the height of New York’s Chrysler Building. I had no idea I was capable of walking that much. I also didn’t know I would feel a slight sense of panic when I realized that there was a thousand feet of dirt between me and fresh air. However, the wondrous surrounding salt statues and beautiful sparkling caverns kept my mind occupied. And my love for salt (seriously, I really love salt!) was brought to a new appreciation, especially when we walked into the huge Salt Cathedral made completely from salt down to the beautiful chandeliers.
The salt mines took a lot of energy out of us, especially since my body was busy producing another human. So we spent the rest of the day relaxing in an underground pub eating pirogis (Polish dumplings) and preparing for our morning trip to Auschwitz.
The following morning, we loaded up in a decently comfortable van and took a two hour drive out of the city. Our guide prepared us for the trip by playing a documentary in the van. The documentary did the trick. There was no laughing, no friendly banter between guests, no jittering from anticipation. It was solemn and quiet when we pulled up the foggy barbed wired camp. I could feel my chest tightening, knowing what my hormones were about to put me through.
Turns out, the weather also helped set the mood. It was a dreary, drizzling, foggy day. As we walked slowly through the camp, we could feel the presence of suffering, pain, and sadness. It took over me like being dunked in ice water. I did my best to keep my emotions in check. But I broke, many times. And as I tried to hide the tears running down my cheaks, I realized, I wasn’t the only one struggling to keep it together.
You might be wondering why we would spend our much needed vacation in such a depression place. The truth is, I welcomed it. I needed a dose of compassion for human kind. I needed to be reminded what we are capable of. For those of us that have been blessed with cushiony, plush, lives, sometimes it can be easy to forget about the suffering others must endure. Some perspective will bring you back to realty quickly.
By the time we arrived back in Krakow, my emotions had drained me of energy. So, Jason and I sat down to a quiet dinner and discussed how we felt about the experience. It was very different from our average conversations where we would recap the adventures of the day. In a way, the sentiment was so deep that it brought us closer to have shared the moment together.
The next day, we brushed the sad emotions aside and headed out to see what made Krakow such a delightful city. We spent the day touring churches and castles, eating the local street food, and strolling the town square. We ended the night with a romantic ride in a horse-drawn carriage before saying our goodbyes to the beautiful city.
Through all the sad history Poland has endured, we were still able to experience the wonder and amazement this magical city contained. I like to think we left Poland as better, more mature people, ready to make a difference in the world our child would grow up in. We slept that night on the cramped train dreaming of a world in which our future child would never have to experience such pain.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Feb 10, 2016 | Europe, International Adventures
Ahhhhh, Prague… the Golden City.
Well, yeah, it is quite golden. But I would like to rename it “the Tourist City”, because it is also packed. Packed with young 20-somethings looking for a cheap, loud, European party. And then there was me, very pregnant me. However, I was still able to find the charm the city had to offer, and this city had plenty of it (that is once you could see past the half price shot bars and the loud bass music blaring from every corner).
We arrived mid-afternoon. After a long debate, we decided to make the trek with our packs across town to our hotel. It was only a 30 minute walk after all. However, we didn’t realize that this 30 minute walk meant winding ourselves through tiny streets packed with lots and lots of people. This was our first view of the Golden City. And even though the sun was setting during our walk, it was hard to see the shimmering gold streets through the mass of people. Still, the architecture definitely had my eye, and my anticipation of getting back out with my camera on my neck was growing.
Once we did get back out with the cameras, we spent two long days walking to church after church after church. We would stop for some good food here and there, some hot chocolate occasionally, and of course some Czech beer (for Jason). We also strolled the Charles Bridge and wondered through the Jewish cemetery. And we even waited in the rain for what felt like a long time just to see the tick tock of the famous astronomical clock. But the best part of the trip was our long night walk along the Danube hand in hand as we dreamed of what our future had in store. It was quite romantic. But the romance was quickly lost as we came across two statues of men peeing on each other. (I spared you those pictures. I’m sorry, and you’re welcome.)
Before we headed back to the station to catch our night train to Poland, we found a traditional pub to rest in. They had around 300 different beers for Jason to try and some excellent Czech food for me. It was a perfect end to a rather good trip. Prague proved to have a personalty of its own even through its touristy, gimmicky side. And once we saw through that touristy, gimmicky side, we were able to see the streets shine in gold after all.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Jan 25, 2016 | Europe, International Adventures
The political environment in Europe has been quite tense. Sense the attacks in Paris, the whole world has been on edge. Two days before we boarded our flight, the US issued a worldwide travel warning. So, that along with pregnancy hormones raging through my body, I was a little nervous. But nevertheless, we boarded up, slept the long 8 hours, and arrived in Frankfurt, Germany on Thanksgiving morning ready to explore.
Frankfurt was a short stop on our list. We only had the afternoon before we needed to catch a train to Munich that night. But Frankfurt ended up being one of our favorite cities. We started out the trip by what would become our main theme: walking, walking, and more walking. We walked to a quaint restaurant and had a wonderful German dinner. This place was perfect for Jason because they brewed their own beer and perfect for me because they had potatoes and gravy. And I needed that. It wouldn’t quite replace the Thanksgiving turkey that I craved, but it was still wonderful. We missed our family, but it was nice spending the holiday with just the two of us too (well three of us if you included the bun in the oven). It made us realize, we were our own little family now.
We spent the rest of the day wondering the city, taking in the architecture and local culture. We found ourselves climbing a bell tower that ended up being much taller than we thought it was, 329 steps to be exact. It was a bit much for my pregnant body. However, the views at the top proved worth the climb.
And even though my feet ached and I was tired and cranky, afterwards we walked some more until it was time to board our train to Munich that night. The high speed train was a perfect spot to relax and catch up on some zzzz’s. When we arrived in Munich we headed straight to the hotel ready to start the next day.
I’d like to say we really got a good view of Munich and took the city for all it could offer. But, my pregnant body had other plans, mainly sleeping. So, after wasting half the day sleeping in and enjoying a large German breakfast, we finally headed out to explore. And we walked… and walked… and walked… We found time to stop in the famous Hofbräuhaus for lunch. We walked in to exactly what I had pictured in my beer garden dreams, a huge room full of long tables, noisy guests, a nice polka band, and a rich aroma of German foods. At this point it hit me hard that I couldn’t drink. No German beer? Seriously? However, the conversations we had with the local Germans dressed in full lederhosen attire made up for the lack in drinking. We chatted as much as their broken English and our non-existent German would allow. They tried to convince me that beer was good for the baby. Don’t worry I didn’t fall into the temptation. Then our new friends offered some snuff to Jason. He accepted hesitantly, and then quickly became a fan. We said our goodbyes to our new local friends with one last “Proust”, and off we went for more walking.
We were lucky enough to be in town for the grand opening of the Christmas Market. We caught the end of the Mayor’s speech and listened to the band play while the large Christmas tree lit up. The market was open for business. And the people came, oh did they come. We shopped, drank mulled wine and hot cider, and ate sausages. Then we shopped some more.
And as the night went on, we saw the charm the city really had to offer. Germany is a beautiful country with supreme hospitality and a relaxed atmosphere that invites you to stay forever.
Until next time,
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