With exactly four weeks left for our stay here in Germany, at least for the time-being, things are becoming extremely hectic. We are flying our mother over to Dublin to spend several days in Ireland, which has been a life-long dream of hers. After that, we have a couple of weeks to see as much as we can, so we’re going to take some time off of work to truly enjoy our remaining time. Once we arrive back home, we have too many decisions to make to even fathom at the moment. We have woken up in the morning with mild panic attacks over the past few days, so we need to take a mental break from the stress of heading home. This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Solitude. We are definitely believers in getting away from the world and enjoying quiet solitude in nature. Whether walking in the frozen landscape of Iceland or hiking in the mountains of Colorado, there is something special about being alone in your surroundings.
Sunrise Across the Frozen TundraThe Mountains of ColoradoAnother View of Iceland
There is something absolutely mesmerizing about watching a geyser as it is about to erupt. The pure energy and raw force of such a natural phenomenon are amazing to view, especially close up. The way that nature heats water buried below the surface, allowing it to escape as sudden burst of steam, and then repeating the cycle over an over again that is almost hypnotic to watch. To see such small amounts of water convert into huge plumes of shimmering vapor is truly spectacular. For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Big and Small, we decided to share a few photos of the famous Geyser in Iceland. We really enjoyed seeing the natural wonder during our visit there this past February.
As another new year starts and we look back on 2016, there is a lot for us to consider and to reflect upon. To say that it was a tumultuous year would be an extreme understatement, but at the same time, it was a year of tremendous opportunities. We have travelled more in a single year than any other time in the past, but we have sacrificed much in order to see the places that we have seen. As we think about the previous year, here are a few measurements points that have stood out for us as we look forward to an exciting 2017:
IcelandPrague
Countries that we have visited – We visited eight different countries this year and all but one of them were countries that we had never visited before. Iceland, Peru, Bolivia, Germany, Austria, France, Czech Republic, and Greece were all wonderful experiences for different reasons.
Strasbourg
It was our first trip to South America together and now we each have visited five different continents. We hope to make it to all seven continents at some point, but it has been an eye-opening experience to see the various cultures across so many different lands.
Cochabamba
We travelled on five airlines last year that we had never travelled on previously, Iceland Air, Bolivian Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Czech Airlines, and Aegean Airlines. We didn’t always have the best of experiences, but there were surprises as well. Of all of those airlines, Bolivian Airlines was probably the greatest surprise for efficiency and ease to use. There were also the typical suspects for travel such as United Airlines and Lufthansa, which provide reliable service, but do not make it easy to gain loyalty points.
Frankfurt
We have learned to say phrases in several new languages, including German, Czech, Greek, and Icelandic. We cannot say that we can speak conversational German, but we can definitely communicate enough, even when talking to someone who speaks no English, to express ourselves satisfactorily.
Cologne
Within the countries that we have visited, we have been to fifteen different cities, including a couple within the United States. We met so many amazing people in each of the places that we have visited and we enjoy continuing to hear about the adventures in their lives as well as sharing our own with them.
La Paz
All in all, 2016 was an incredible year. We sold our home, quit one of our jobs, temporarily moved out of the country to Germany, and travelled extensively. One would think that we would spend 2017 sleeping so as to get some much needed rest, but we expect the next few months to be as busy as the previous twelve months. We are definitely counting our blessings and wishing our best thoughts to everyone in this new year that has just now dawned. Perhaps a little belated, but Happy New Year to everyone! We truly wish you all of the best in the year ahead.
