What a Long Strange Trip it Has Been

On March 13, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Romania8 Comments

Now that our European adventure is over (for now), we thought that we would take the time to trace our steps and truly acknowledge how many wonderful places we were able to visit. In chronological order, here was our trip in a snapshot, it certainly makes our heads spin.

Frankfurt, Germany – It may have been our home, but it was still a wonderful city and we have a lot of incredible memories of our time there.
Old Town Frankfurt
Kassel, Germany – It was the first place that we visited once we found an apartment and is the home of the Brother’s Grimm Museum and is part of the Fairy Tale Road.
Lowenbrau Castle
Heidelberg, Germany – Truly one of the idyllic cities that we visited while in Germany.
Heidelberg Castle
Koblenz, Germany – One of the most amazing train rides that we have ever taken and an amazing city on the Rhine.
Suburbs of Koblenz
Hochheim, Germany – A truly small hamlet experience.
Vienna, Austria – Our first trip outside of Germany and truly a center for the arts.
Cologne, Germany – Amazing Dom and a wonderful old-world city. We had been told that it was a place that we had to visit while we were in Germany and we would definitely agree.
Wurzburg, Germany – Another small town experience that we had been hoping for and one of the best of Christmas Markets that we had visited.
Statue in Wurzburg
Strasbourg, France – Wine, medieval villages, and some of the friendliest people that we had the opportunity to meet, and that is saying a lot.
Prague, Czech Republic – One of the places in Europe that everyone should visit at some point in time. We were there over Christmas and it was spectacular.
View of Prague Castle
Athens, Greece – There are few places in the world as historically important as Athens.
Amazing History
Bucharest/Brasov, Romania – Definitely one of those special places where the experience far surpasses anything that you might read.
Dracula’s Castle
Nuremberg, Germany – An unexpected surprise, so much history, both new and old that it became one of our favorite memories of our time in Europe.
Medieval City with Current History
Paris, France – Not our first visit there, but it is still one of our favorite cities that we have ever visited, even if it was rainy the weekend that we were there.
Eiffel Tower
Dublin, Ireland – A special trip for personal reasons as we flew our mother over to see us and it will hold a special place in our hearts.
The Irish Countryside
Amsterdam, Netherlands – One of our last adventures while we were in Europe and definitely an interesting city full of history and art.
Canal Upon Canal
Florence, Italy – Part of our farewell tour, this is an incredible city that will fulfill any romantic visions of Europe that you could ever dream of.
What an Amazing City
Rome, Italy – So much to see, the history, the arts, the Vatican City, and for us a very special meeting with a fellow blogger.
The Roman Forum is Amazing
Lucca/Pisa, Italy – A quick day trip from Florence, but it rounded out our trip to Italy perfectly.
Pisa is All About the Leaning Tower

So, as you can see, we had about twenty-five weeks in Europe, part of that time finding an apartment as well as working every week, but we definitely made the most of our time. It will be the trip of a lifetime, perhaps several lifetimes, and we are extremely thankful for every moment. Expect details of these wondrous adventures in the coming days and weeks as we plan our next crazy experience.

Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland

On February 18, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Ireland5 Comments

Christ Church Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity) sits in the heart of Dublin in the medieval section of the city. Dublin doesn’t have an old town like many other places in Europe that we have visited, but it does have some historical points of interest, of which this medieval church is one of its gems. Both the interior and exterior of the church are visually stunning, although perhaps not as ornate as some other churches from the period.

Of particular interest is the crypt that lies below the church. It contains the remains of many monuments and historical motifs that are quite fascinating to see. It is the largest crypt in all of Ireland or the UK and definitely worth taking the time to go below the church and checking it out. One of the oddities on display are a cat and rat that were mummified in the pipes of the organ in the 1800’s. Perhaps a little macabre, but still interesting.

Considering that the majority of Dublin is a modern city with only a few historical landmarks remaining, the Christ Church was well worth the visit. We ended up visiting the church on our first day in Dublin, partially just to get out of the rain, but we ended up passing by it a few times before our trip was over. Each time we passed by, we seemed to find another point of interest such as the memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide and a “Homeless Jesus” statue that was gifted to the people of Ireland.

Clearly it is more spectacular on a bright and sunny day, but whatever the weather, we found Christ Church to be very interesting. Obviously the medieval architecture is always interesting, but the artwork is fascinating as well. Since we cannot and wouldn’t use flash photography, there is only so much that we could share, but hopefully you find it as interesting as we did.

A Few Days in Ireland

On February 16, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Ireland4 Comments

We had a wonderful time over the past few days visiting the land of our family ancestors. It was too short and the weather was not ideal, but the trip was very memorable despite those things. We visited several sites, which will be very special memories that we will always treasure. There is very much for us to describe and talk about, but for now, please enjoy a few pictures of our recent trip and we look forward to sharing all of the details in the coming weeks and months.