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,
by Missie Hills | Oct 6, 2015 | Asia, Europe, International Adventures
As we near our next big trip, Jason and I are going a bit stir crazy here in Texas. Yes, we do love it here, and we stay quite busy doing Texan-y things, like going to the rodeo and watching football. But nothing can quite replace the rush we get when we experience a complete different culture from our own. And that wanderlust in us has us looking back on our past adventures in envy. So, today I am thinking about our exploration of Istanbul, the city of charm.
After our 8 days at sea, it was nice to wind down on land. Ok, wind down? Maybe, not. Istanbul is not really a city you wind down in. But either way, we were on land. And we had two days to see the city. Two days is a very aggressive timeline. But if you know me, you know that I can see a lot in two days.
We started our tour of Istanbul at the famous Grand Bazaar. The title of the Grand Bazaar should have prepared me for what we were up against. But the word “Grand” doesn’t really capture the essence of this bazaar. Perhaps it should be called “Colossal, paralyzing, in-your-face” Bazaar. Because that is how I felt from the moment I walked in. And I LOVED it. Yeah, I was scared to death to look any shop giver in the eye out of fear of being talked into buying a rug. And yeah, being chased down the aisle because you ignored aggressive shop owners was also uncomfortable. But looking past the aggressiveness of it all, I was astounded by the never ending stimuli that continued to catch my senses. The colors of the lamps, scarfs, and beads… The aromas of the exotic spices… The taste samples of the Turkish delight… Oh My! Yes, maybe it was a bit of sensory overload. Still, Jason and I let ourselves get caught up in it all. And we left with a good amount of trinkets to take home.
Our next stop was at the Basilica Cistern, the largest of several ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. The semi-long wait to get down into the cistern was worth every minute. The moment you walk into the cool underground you feel an eerie sense of being pulled into a dark underworld. However, the mass of touristy people in all directions brings you back to reality quickly.
The next morning we woke at sunrise to try to beat the crowds for Istanbul’s main attractions, the mosques. And despite the unexpected downpour, we headed out wrapped in rain gear to the
Hagia Sofia. After some creative deals with street tour guides, we were the first guests to walk through the Hagia Sophia doors that day. Our early rise paid off. The former mosque and former Christian church was undergoing restorations while we were there. However, we still were knocked breathless at our first gaze up to the iconic dome.
Then, we strolled across the square to the Blue Mosque and waited in a line that seemed to last an eternity. The reward of seeing the millions of blue tiles filling the mosque was good enough to pay off the wait. However, we were crowded into the small room with many other people forcing us to snap a few photos and leave quickly to get fresh air.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the city soaking in the local culture and ended the night with a wonderful dinner in a rooftop bar overlooking both beautiful mosques.
Istanbul definitely has that charm I expected from an old Turkish city. At the same time, it had that bustling big city feel you’d expect out of one of the largest cities in the world. Every corner presented something new. Every alley was a mini adventure. Every shop and bistro was packed full of culture. It was a wanderlust’s dream getaway, and the memory of every bit of it has me begging for more: more culture, more charm, and more adventure.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Jul 26, 2015 | Asia, Europe, International Adventures
As the weather continues to get hotter and the days continue to get longer, I find myself daydreaming about my next adventure. Sadly, our next scheduled trip isn’t until November. What was I thinking when I decided to skip this year’s summer vaca so that we could spend the holidays in Europe? I must have been crazy thinking that I could last that long in between travels! Now, all I have is my memories of last year’s summer vacation spent in the perfect mild weather of the Mediterranean Sea to feed my wanderlust.
When Jason told me that his number one bucket list country was Turkey, I thought to myself, why? OK, maybe not to myself. Maybe, very openly and rather bluntly. “Turkey, how boring! What about Paris?! What about Rome?!” But he quickly made me feel pretty sheltered and naïve. And all it took was a few Google image searches of Istanbul and the Mediterranean Sea. It was time for this small town country girl to step outside her comfort zone and experience something completely different.
So, after convincing our family that visiting Turkey was perfectly safe, we packed up and headed on a non-stop flight to Istanbul. And one more short flight and bumpy bus ride later brought us to the coastal village of Fethiye staring into the pure blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
We had just enough time to explore Fethiye’s famous tombs before our sail boat left the docks. These 2,400 year old tombs were carved into the mountainside by the Lycians. These were the first of the many tombs we saw scattered throughout the Turkish coastline. As we gazed up at the massive rock structures, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and amazement. Plus, the view of the city with the blue sea backdrop was breathtaking.
We could have stayed up here all day, but we had a boat to catch. So we walked the small curvy roads towards the coast until we found the docks. And excitingly, we boarded our boat ready to meet our new boat mates. We had 8 days at sea ahead of us. Which was a little nerve-racking as we had no idea if we would get along with the other 12 people on the boat. However, it didn’t take long for that worry to go away. We had an amazing group of people from Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and of course the US.
After introductions and learning the house rules, we began our sail. We spent the night anchored in a quiet cove where we swam in the Mediterranean water for the first time. Then, we had a delicious fish dinner on the boat and a night of drinking games to wrap up our first day at sea. That night, we were rocked to sleep in our cabins by the soft ocean waves while we dreamt of our adventures to come.
Those dreams were interrupted by the sound of the boat’s motor at first light that morning. I rolled onto my side to ignore the loud hum, and for a second, I thought I would go back to sleep. Then the boat started to move, and as it gained speed causing it to rock heavily, I quickly learned I was not going to sleep any longer. So, I stumbled my way to the deck and found a resting spot at the back of the boat. Soon everyone else joined, all looking quite green. The captain brought us loaves of bread, which seem to help with the sea sickness, and we all loaded up on Dramamine, which seemed to help a little more. And after a few heaves over the side of the deck, we all started to question how exciting our adventure at sea would actually be. However, despite the sea sickness, we still were in awe at the beauty that surrounded us. Eventually, we came to stop and had a wonderful Turkish breakfast which was perfect for refueling our now empty bellies. Then another short ride later, we arrived at Butterfly Valley, our first stop on the coastline tour.
Butterfly Valley is exactly what the name claims. A huge valley in which butterflies migrate to every year. Unfortunately, we were not visiting during butterfly season. However, that did not diminish the spine tingling views. As we neared the valley masked by a layer of morning fog I felt like we were about to step foot into Jurassic Park.
Once ashore, we took a short beautiful hike into the valley where we found a small waterfall. We climbed up the waterfall and were rewarded with an amazing view of the valley and sea. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend in this one location. So, we all reluctantly re-boarded the boat and started back at sea once more, this time better prepared for the oncoming sea sickness.
Our next stop was Gemiler Island, also known as St. Nicholas Island. Yes, Santa Clause himself. The island contains the ruins of five Byzantine churches. We spent our afternoon trekking through the ruins. Every corner we turned brought something new and exciting.
We spent the night anchored outside Gemiler Island. We had a pretty easy night as everyone was still feeling a little queasy from the first day of sailing. We settled in our cabins for a much needed good night’s rest. That was the idea anyhow. Mother Nature had other plans. I woke up that night with the boat heavily rocking back and forth. I could hear the hard rain hitting the deck above and the loud roars of thunder. I wondered if we were safe. Surely the captain and crew would let us know if we in danger, right? As the boat creaked from the heavy rocking, I feared it would rip apart. But there was nothing I could do, other than curl up and try to think of better things. Eventually the storm passed and the boat survived. And once again I was awoken by the loud hum of the motor at first light. I made my way to the deck and found my wet seat. A few minutes later, we were off to sea.
That day we were awarded with a walk through the village of Kas. It was nice to get our feet on solid ground for a bit. Then, we spent the clear night under that stars enjoying life.
The next morning, we started our day in a small village called Ucagiz. It seemed like nothing more than a fishing village, until we wandered across these tombs.
After a few hours of exploring, we boarded back up and rode by the Sunken City, which sounded a lot more interesting than it actually was. Then, we arrived at Kaleko, where we explored a crusaders castle dated back to the 4th century B.C.
For the night, we headed to a nice cozy cove area. We found a pirate cave to explore and then spent the rest of the evening swimming. That night the boys headed to shore for a crazy bonfire, and the girls stayed on the boat and slept under the stars, slumber party style.
The next morning, we stayed in the cove and spent the day swimming and kayaking around the cove. That night we got all dolled up and went to a small pirate bar hidden in the cove. We spent the night dancing with all the other travelers sailing in the area.
For the last couple days, we sailed back in the open sea stopping at a nice beach here and there. When we arrived back in Fethiye, we spent our last night together in a hookah bar knowing that we would most likely never see each other again. That is the bittersweet part of traveling. You meet amazing people and get to know them closely for a very fleeting moment. Then you part ways and go back to your own corner of the world. Sure, you exchange emails and become Facebook friends. But as the days pass you realize that the people you met on that trip are quite different then the people you see in your Facebook news feed. But then again, you never know when our paths may cross again.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | May 3, 2015 | Asia, International Adventures
After two weeks touring Thailand with our dear friends from Miami and Chicago, a little alone time was welcomed. And what better way to wind down our trip than with a quick stop in Cambodia to explore the temples of Angkor Wat? OK, so maybe the “wind-down” wasn’t as relaxing as one would have hoped. But after a few days on the beaches of Phuket, I was ready for a little more adventure before our return to reality. So, we said our tearful goodbyes and hopped a quick plane to Siem Reap where the adventure began, Tomb Raider style.
Thailand is a pretty touristy destination. Technically, Angkor Wat is too. So, I’m not quite sure what I expected when we got off our plane and stepped into the tiny one terminal airport. Perhaps we had become accustomed to the busier streets of Thailand. Cambodia, on the other hand, was a bit more laid back, made obvious by the children riding their bikes to school and the random cows grazing in the ditches. After a leisurely ride on many dirt backroads, we arrived in our small boutique hotel bubbling over with anticipation of seeing the temples. So, we wasted no time. The hotel set up a tuk tuk driver, Mr. Theon, to cater to us for our entire stay. So after buying our three day passes, we immediately headed to the best temple for watching the sunset.
This temple required a short hike up a hillside where it was situated high enough to get a good glimpse of the sunset over the forest trees. And right away, we got to experience the crowds of tourists that Angkor Wat temples are famous for. It’s quite amazing how many people flock to these temples every day. I suppose that proves just how amazing the views and atmosphere of these ruins are. However, it does dull the experience a tad when you need to share it with hundreds of strangers. Nevertheless, we took it all in, our first temple sighting and the vast jungle surrounding it.
We headed back in to town and found a small local restaurant nearby where I had the best duck of my life. We would have liked to explore the city’s nightlife, but it was a long day of carrying backpacks through the airport. Our backs ached. Thankfully, we were able to get massages in our room which put us right to sleep.
The next morning, Mr. Theon met us 5:00 AM. The hotel packed us a breakfast and we headed to the temples while it was still dark outside. We arrived at Angkor Wat with hundreds of other tourists all stumbling in the dark to find the best spot to watch the sun rise. Most people gathered around the pools setting up tripods and staking their claim on precious space. We tried this, but the crowd proved to be a little much for me. So, we set up the tri-pod directly in front of the entrance into the Angkor Wat complex and sat on the stone pathway to eat our breakfast while the sun slowly rose above the horizon. And as the sun did its thing, we starred in amazement at the vast temple before us.
You can read all about Angkor Wat and the other surrounding temples here. I am not a history buff, so I will spare you all the butchering of the details. Yes, knowing its history made the temples that more grand. But even without a tour guide giving us blow by blow details, I was in awe. Still, I had Jason with me who had read quite a bit about the temples prior to arriving in Cambodia. He was all the tour guide I needed.
As the sun came up, it started to get hot. Really hot. I mean seriously. I live in Houston. I should be used to this kind of heat. But I wasn’t. That didn’t stop us, we loaded up on water and continued to explore while soaking our cloths with sweat.
Our next stop was the ancient capital city, Angkor Thom, which contained many small temples (well, small compared to Angkor Wat but still rather large). We started by exploring the temple Bayon, most characterized by the dozens of faces carved into the temple towers. This may have been my favorite temple, although it is really hard to pick. The other temples in the area paled in comparison to Bayon, but that didn’t stop us from exploring each one of them. At one point we did get somewhat lost in the jungle. We wondered around on a beaten path hoping we didn’t stumble upon any landmines.
After making our way through the entire city in the high noon heat, we could have called it a day. However, we didn’t have time for that. So, we climbed into our tuk tuk, and Mr Theon drove us to the next temple, Ta Prohm. This temple is best known as the Tomb Raider Temple. It was a smaller temple then some of the others we had explored, but it had its own charm about it. It was overtaken by the forest. Huge tree roots had dug their way into the stone and started to bring the temple down. I really did feel like Angelina Jolie, well minus the hundreds of other people crowding the temple with me.
And after climbing through the ruined temple pretending we were in an Indiana Jones movie, we were exhausted. Mr. Theon dropped us off at a restaurant where we re-fueled and debated calling it a day. No time though. So, back in the tuk tuk we went. We hit up multiple more temples, all too small to remember their names, before we couldn’t take the site of another temple and finally called it a day.
Back in the hotel, we showered the red dirt and sweat off and relaxed our aching feet. Then, a bit refreshed, we ventured out to find food. We landed on Pub Street, which was bustling a bit more like what we encountered in Thailand. There was a pretty vast market in the area. So, we shopped and ate some street food snacks before settling in at a restaurant and filling up with beer.
The next morning, we met Mr. Theon at 6:30 AM and headed out to finish up the last of the temples. We stopped by Angkor Wat one last time to catch a few shots of the sunrise. And then took our time through the remaining last temples, soaking it all in. We bought some Cambodian treats, including tiny little clams in a spicy sauce. And then we were through. We were all templed out. It was an exciting three day trip. Perhaps, not the relaxing end to the long vacation one might of hoped for. But that just isn’t our style. We made our way back to Bangkok for one last night before returning to reality.
And now, I sit on a rough turbulent plane ride on yet another boring work trip, dreaming of the day I can return. Southeast Asia has won our hearts. And there is still so much more to see.
Until next time,
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