Historic Heidelberg Castle

On July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany4 Comments

Heidelberg is a very popular place to visit in Germany and it is certainly a wonderful city with a charming, historic feel. Clearly it is a popular tourist destination and top among the sites to visit is the castle that looms large over the old town. No matter where you are, the castle is clearly visible on the hillside above the city that lies on the Neckar River. One of the more interesting things is that as you walk around the castle grounds, the castle takes on quite unique perspectives.

View of Some of the Most Preserved Parts of the Castle

When we visited the castle, we decided to take a guided tour since we often like to hear about the history and see sights that are sometimes only available by tour. Unfortunately we were disappointed with this particular tour although we really enjoyed the castle itself. Our disappointment was partially due to two young children who misbehaved and disrupted every aspect of the tour, however, even if that hadn’t been the case, it would not have been worth the small price that we paid. The castle has been in a state of constant flux since its original construction in the thirteenth century. What is left today is a ruin of a castle, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth seeing, because it definitely is.

It is hard to imagine how beautiful it must have been during the height or its glory, but it must have truly been grand. It helps that it was a gorgeous day when we visited, which added to overall beauty of castle and the city. The castle grounds are no longer filled with lavish gardens, but it is still a beautiful place to visit. Today, the castle is rented out for weddings and special events, so one of the reasons that we didn’t like the tour was the subliminal selling message that we heard throughout the tour. Although the castle is clearly in decay, it is still very much worth visiting if you get the chance to visit Heidelberg.

Tasty Guacamole

On July 25, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Mexico, Recipes5 Comments

Guacamole is a wonderful accompaniment to southwestern and Mexican food. It is also a wonderful dip on its own and can even be used as a spread on sandwiches as well. It isn’t complicated to make and you can make it spicy or not depending upon your taste. One of the things that makes it delicious is the use of fresh ingredients. We go to Mexico almost every year and we enjoy getting guacamole every time that we do and enjoy the large portions that we get.

INGREDIENTS

2 Avocados – diced
1 Medium Tomato – finely diced
1 Jalapeno – finely diced (seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
1 Garlic Clove – minced
1 tbsp Red or Yellow Onion – finely diced
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut the avocados in half, using your knife to carve around the large seed. Twist the avocado to separate the two halves, the seed will remain in one of the halves. Using a knife, carefully chop into the seed so that the knife is slightly embedded. Twist the knife to remove the seed and carefully remove the seed from the knife blade. Use a spoon to separate the flesh of the avocado from the skin by tracing the spoon along the inside of the skin and place the flesh into a medium bowl. You can dice the avocado prior to removing it from the skin or after it is in the bowl. Add the rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly. If you prefer a creamy guacamole, you can mash the avocado dices as you stir, or leave some of the dices whole if you prefer a chunkier guacamole. Serve with chips.

Do You Celebrate Your Blogiversary?

On July 24, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Blogging10 Comments

Technically we started our site three years ago in June, but we didn’t truly start blogging with any consistency until August of that year. In that time, we have posted more than 650 posts on our site and continue to learn new things about blogging on almost a daily basis. In the past, we have never acknowledged the anniversary of our site, mostly because we have been focused on the day-to-day activities of simply sharing our stories and information about the places that we have been visiting. When we started our site, we would have never dreamed that we would spend six months living in Germany or that we would travel to 5 different continents.

Throughout the past few years we have enjoyed all of the interaction that we have had with fellow bloggers, travelers, photographers, and foodies. We try to share a little of ourselves along the way and hopefully not just a dry repetition of facts that could be found anywhere. Every now and then we look back at our older posts and consider updating them now that we know more than we did back when we started, but haven’t taken the time to do so as of yet.

So, this isn’t necessarily an official celebration of our blogiversary, but it is at least a recognition of the fact that it is occurring. Perhaps if we make it to five years we will truly take time to celebrate the moment and might even pop open a bottle of bubbly. Do you celebrate your blogiversaries or do they pass by quietly?