Riga - what a gem!

It was one of these *spur of the moment* ideas - and it turned out to be a good one - when a friend of mine decided "Let's go to Riga together!" We booked a rather inexpensive flight with WizzAir and found a hotel near the city center and off we were. At this point I usually give you the hotel information, but I'm afraid I cannot recommend the place we stayed at...

But the City was absolutely wonderful! Riga is a perfect mix of former-Easter-Block charme and western openess and commerce (oh the shopping!) and we made quite a few culinary discoveries on our way through the old cobbled streets of the city center :)

My first recommendation is a tiny little chocolate shop called Black Magic with a stunning interior that will take you back centuries and make you feel like you're on your way to becoming an apothecary - or a witch, depending on your preferences...

Needless to say I immediately felt at home. But the actual *magic* of this wonderful little place is the typical balsam they sell - yes it's alcohol and no I haven't tasted it, but it's Riga Black Balsam since 17hundred something, so I guess it's a big deal - AND: the chocolate! Oh, the chocolate... I recommend the pistacio praline! And the one with caramel! Or try the one filled with mac the champagne! Or strawberries!!! Oh yes, the chocolate..

After a few more rounds around town, we took the elevator up one of the church squires and enjoyed a true, 306° lookout over town - wonderful! We also met some fun Swiss people on the tower, who were in no way affiliated with the Swiss people we partied with at the Radisson later that night, but it seems that Riga is the place to be for Swiss people right now. Maybe it's the chocolate...

It really is a quaint little town... The Radisson blu has a nice and not overly expensive Skyline Bar on the top floor that offers another amazing view over town, especially at night. unfortunately,  we had to pay an Entrance fee, but it was definitely worth it, since the drinks were less expensive than we had anticipated and the (Swiss) company had us dancing all night long :) 

Since we didn't particulary enjoy our hotel's breakfast offer, we chose to have breakfast at one of the many cafés around town instead and stumbled into the Index Cafe, another place which quickly became a favorite. Their coffee is great and their oatmeal and porrige is the perfect way to start the day! Plus they are one a few feet away from the Riga Version of the Statue of Liberty and the city center.

But our favorite place in all of Riga is - and always will be - the wonderful restaurant and cocktail bar Cheers! not to confuse with the Boston version of course. The sheer fact that Cheers has the nicest waiters and the best brownie desserts ever is enough to love this place. Combine that with good musik and yummy cocktails and you have a place to be at night :) 

I mean really, they even put fairy dust on the brownie!

So, yes, Riga, a must-see in Europe and so wonderful we might go back next year just to see it all again! Of course there's not just food and drinks in the city; it also has a wonderful Art Nouveau quarter and many historic monuments and buildings as well as a wonderful culture and art scene, as far as we could tell - we just happen to be two foodies in love with the wonderful cafés and chocolate shops in town :) 

See you soon Latvia!

Amazing Arizona - Part II

After two relaxing days in Durango, I loaded up on brezels, water and bananas and drove back to Arizona. Flagstaff to be more precise. The original plan was to stay there for two nights and check out the Grand Canyon the next day, but I had a feeling my still somewhat fragile health status would prevent me from doing that. But at least I got to enjoy some beautiful scenery on my way down there :)

Monument Valley! True story! *yay* 

I have to admit, I think I need to come back and drive around in Northern Arizona for a week or so. There are so many things I want to see! Like Monument Valley. I got the iconic shot, but then I turned around and headed back towards Flagstaff, because it was getting late and the day was long and I couldn't affort taking the long way around. So I'm just going to have to go back there :)

Somewhere close to antelope canyon 

The landscape up there is just absolutely amazing. Somewhere between weird moon-like craters and rock formations, red earth and endless desert. And it's just so freakin' beautiful everywhere! On that drive alone I think I could have taken hundrets of pictures...

The Destination of my Road Trip was Flagstaff, a town full of students and active adventurers it seems, with an adorable little town center and miles and miles of trails all around - none of which I was able to explore, unfortunately. I stayed at the Grand Canyon hostel. It's right in the middle of town, easily accessible, they have amble parking spaces and the hostel is cozy, clean and has great staff. I was happy :)

 Flagstaff really is a bit of an oddity, because its in Arizona, but there's a mountain in the background and people go skiing or snowboarding. Then they hop in their cars and drive south for an hour or two and they are in the desert! I don't know, somehow that still amazes me... It's also on the world-famous Route 66 - it actually goes straight through town.

While in Flagstaff, I made the incredibly stupid mistake of getting out of my car, opening my trunk, putting my keys down (I swear I've never done this before in my entire life!) and then closing the trunk without remembering to pick up my keys again. Remember that truck stop story? Me freaking out about having locked myself out of my stupid *fancy* new car? Yeah, same story... This time, I called the hotline (ok, the guy from the hostel called for me, because I was having a nervous breakdown) and they had to send over a locksmith to break open the trunk for me. The locksmith turned out to be navajo and we got to talking and, sure enough, he has distant German roots on one side of his family! What are the odds?! It was absolutely fascinating to talk to him about Navajo country, the traditions of his tribe, the hype tourist shops have with all the Navajo symbols all over Arizona (and what they actually mean!) and it was certainly fascinating to find out that, not only was his family from Germany; they are actually from Heidelberg, of all places! I've said it before and I'll say it again: the world is a village.... 

Inter-State-Hopping

After my short stay in New Mexico (and a rather unpleasant intervention at the E.R.), I got back on the road and drove north to cross over to Colorado. I've found a couchsurfer in Durango who was going to take me in for two nights and since I've never been to Colorado before, I was rather excited about the detour.

I got a rental and that car had some interesting features. For example, when I stopped at a rest stop and decided I needed something from the trunk, the car automatically locked the doors and I had a mild panic attack while I was trying to figure out how to get back in... The Sheriff (who just happened to stop at the same rest stop) couldn't help me, and since my phone and my wallet were still on the passenger seat, neither could the rental company. Luckily, some workers from the rest stop said "that happens all the time" and managed to open my car door for me (and yes, they jimmied it...). All they wanted in return was a hug, which was completely fine by me.

please excuse my camera, destroying the picturesque sky....

When I finally made it to Colorado, I was thrown smack in the middle of a dinner party at my host's house. Four dogs were running around the living room and seven complete strangers invited me to try their homemade pie and play charades with them. I was tired and exhausted from the drive and my otherwise spent night before, but I couldn't say no to this likeable bunch of people, so I joined them and we played and laughed till way after mightnight. Did I mention I love couchsurfing?

Durango is close to the four corners (and yes, I wanted to go there, but everybody said it wasn't worth visiting, so I didn't take the detour) and to Mesa Verde National Park. The Park is probably more interesting when the weather is a bit warmer, but the entire region was rather beautiful. Downtown Durango is such a cute little town, I really wish I'd had more time (and more energy) to explore it!

this picture really doesn't do it justice

I was reminded of an old TV show, Everwood, which was also set in a small Colorado town. The scenery was amazing, and I can only imagine how enchanted this must look in winter.

I already like Colorado :)

Since I couldn't really walk around much, I decided to drive around instead, do some Inter-State-Hopping and visit Mesa Verde, Farmington and Aztec, where they have a small excavation site of Aztec ruins. I definitely want to come back to Colorady though, maybe finally make my dream come true and work on a ranch somwhere around here for the summer - it's definitely worth a visit!

I like the Rockies :)

New Mexico

Since I can't stand still for too long, I couldn't stay in only one state for my entire trip. Plus there was the actual reason for my trip - the conference in Albuquerque. So after one week of Arizona heat, my Canadian family offered me a ride to Albuquerque and we managed to squeeze in one more day together where we explored Santa Fe, before I had to drive back to the city and my family made their way north.

But before we could cross the state line, we had to drive through the desert. Remember the term no-man's-land? Yeah, I have a visual now...

The beautiful desert

For at least four hours straight, all we saw was highway, desert country and a couple of lonely houses or rest stops sprinkled along the road. For a girl from a small town in southern Germany, this roadtrip alone was quite an experience :)

Santa Fe is absolutely precious! It's on the *1,000 Places to see before you die* List and I have to admit, I know why :) The city center is full of traditional adobe buildings and galeries - we thoroughly enjoyed our short stay there! We even checked out the churches (and I was impressed, although I'm not big on churches...) If you're ever in New Mexico, make sure to visit this little gem!

In the heart of Santa Fe

For reasons unknown to me, I actually left my camera in the camper, so this is the only picture I took in Santa Fe -.- Shame on me! I took the Roadrunner down to Albuquerque *yay railroads* so my family could head north. It's really inexpensive and probably the fastest way to travel between the two cities. They even recommended it for a day trip to Santa Fe at the conference in ABQ. For all of you who are hoping to get some *Breaking Bad* related ABQ pictures - sorry, still haven't started watching that show :) I just went straight to the hotel and registered for my conference, got my name badge and got ready for the banquet. The hotel was nice enough to offer tortillas in our national colors ;)

A little bit of home?

I have to admit, I didn't really explore the city... We did manage to squeeze in dinner at one of the many diners along Route 66, and I have to admit I rather liked the place. Sports on TV, books along the wall and a pool table :) What more do I need? Oh yeah, right, the ribs were pretty good too ;)

Library Bar and Grill :) The name says it all!

The one thing that I will forever remember was my short but sweet stay at the E.R. Yep, that's short for emergence room -.- Let's just say it wasn't exactly the kind of thing I envisioned myself doing on my last night in ABQ... But, oh well, just another experience I can check off my list now. And I have to admit, the E.R. personell was surprisingly nice :)

Enchanted Sedona

While staying in Phoenix, my Canadian Family and me went to Sedona for a day to check out the Red Rock formations and take tons of pictures (ok, and to check out every single jewelry story down main street...) Sedona is absolutely breathtaking!

Panoramashot - check! 

I could probably upload about a hundret pictures here, just to show you all the amazing rock formations we found around the little town. Apparently, it's also know for its Energy field, or something other supernatural, so there are all these psychics and tarot people and funky little shops in town called "the vortex" or "crystals" or whatnot... plus, Sedona had a great art scene, so if you're interested in any of that, make sure you check it out if you're ever in Arizona! As I said, we preferred jewelry stores and souvenir shops :)

Red Rock Surfing

My family has visited this little town many times before, so they took me to some of the best lookouts and altough it was a little overcast that day, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. They also took me to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is a very old church built into the side of the rock, like it belongs there (that's where the panorama shot was taken. Sorry for the accidental headshot of the tourist there...) I think I could have taken a couple of hundret more photographs that day...

Many of these rock formations have names, but unfortunately, I don't know any of them. Also, the weird spots on my camera are back, apparently...

On our way out of town, we found a trail head and stopped to check it out and capture the evening sun lighting up the rocks. Enjoy the pictures ;)

Arizona Sunset

We thought it was a rather adorable name...

Prickly Love 

My family away from home *love you*

Amazing Arizona - Part 1

Arizona - the desert state, the high oven of the United States and, of course, the Grand Canyon State... I flew over it once, but I never actually had it on my list of places I have to visit. It's just too hot for me... but then I found this conference in New Mexico and it collided with my *Canadian family's* annual trip to AZ, so I thought "why not?" and booked a flight to Phoenix. Boy was I in for a treat! I mean, seriously people, if this isn't the Wild West I don't know what is...

Welcome to the Wild West!

The temperatures were rather cozy in the upper 20s (Celcius that is - about 85°F), which is kinda high for February, but it's a dry heat, so it wasn't as unbearably hot as I had imagined. Still, I don't think I could visit this state during the summer months... We stayed in the camper at a ranch that belongs to one of my family's friends down in Arizona, a Canadian who fled the norther cold one day and settled in the desert instead. This is what caught my eye when I first arrived:

Giant Cactus anyone?!?

And yes, of course there were horses everywhere :) The main part of our trip to Phoenix was spending time at the annual Arabian Horse show in Scottsdale, where we saw many beautiful horses and I learnd about the different disciplines and rules for shows like side saddle or hunter seat. Hopefully, Randy will start here next year, and who knows, maybe I'll be back too :)

All the pretty horses...

We also checked out some of the Frontier towns in and around Phoenix. They were heaven for Roz and me; I think we went into every single store and bought tons of gifts and souvenirs for everybody :) I realize that it's all made up for the tourists, but I just completely fell in love with this one town just north of Phoenix: Cave Creek! It's just so adorable!!!

Shopping mall - Cave Creek style

Plus they have an amazing Mexican restaurant there with a little pond in the outdoor seating area and the best Mexican Food I ever had! So, if you're ever in Phoenix, check out Cave Creek and try to get a table at El Encanto!

The gang and our shopping bags in front of El Encanto :)

Thanks for an amazing time in Phoenix guys! I will always remember my first adventure into the Wild West!

Austrian charme and heavenly food - Vienna!

In November 2013, I went to my very first academic conference and it happened to be in Vienna. This beautiful, ancient city is the capital of our southern neighbour Austria and it is definitely worth a visit! I have to admit, I'll be cheating on this blog entry, because half of the pictures are actually from a previous trip to Vienna. November is simply not the best time to take beautiful travel pics ;)

Whenever you want to travel within Europe, it might be useful to check out Lufthansa flights. Major cities can be reached within only an hour or maybe two, and most fares within Europe are around 100 Euros for the round trip, which is pretty affordable. For my flight to Vienna, I booked with Lufthansa, but ended up actually flying with Austrian Airlines. They are so adorable! On our way to the runway, they actually played the Waltz in the entire aircraft! I though it was great, the perfect way to start off the weekend in the former Habsburg Empire. (The people next to me actually complained about the music - how can you complain about Wiener Walzer when you're on your way to Vienna?!)

The airport is connected to the city with an array of public transports ranging from regional trains to busses, so it's really easy to make your way into the city. What most people might underestimate is that Vienna is a pretty big city, so make sure you find a central hotel or hostel. I quickly realized that the main reason my hotel was so cheap was probably the fact that it was somewhere in the outskirts of town... Luckily, the public transport system is really good in Vienna, and the commute wasn't too much of a hassel (even though it took 40 minutes...).

But now the important part: Vienna! Oh how I love this little city! It is full of monuments and statues and old buildings full of history and character! And the food! Oh the food! Austria is one of my happy places as a foodie, because they really know how to make a foodie happy :) I went to the city center and did some last minute outfit shopping for the conference, and the very friendly shop assistant directed me to a small, hole-in-the-wall place not far from the "Stephansdom" (probably the most-famous cathedral in Vienna) called "Palatschinkenpfannerl" This will probably sound very strange to most of you, but the translation is actually pretty easy.  "Palatschinken" are Austrian pancakes and "pfannerl" means *Pan*, so basically the place is called *Pancake Pan* - very original ;) They offer sweet and savory pancakes and a few other Austrian specialties and the prices are relatively reasonable for the city center. I highly recommend this place!

The Stephansdom contrasted with a modern building in the city center

My personal favorite in Vienna is of course the "Wiener Hofreitschule" (the Spanish Riding School) where they raise and train beautiful white Lippizaner horses. They offer shows and you can watch their Sunday morning practise, but it's pretty expensive, so I've only really seen the outside so far :/

The Spanish Riding School

Statues like this one are sprinkled all over the city, along with beautiful old houses and fountains. The city also has two castles that are open for visitors. I highly recommend a stroll through the gardens of Schloss Schönbrunn on a sunny afternoon! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit the gardens this year, but therefor I was able to visit the beautiful christmas market (one of the largest in Europe) and enjoy the local delicacies offered at all those small stands around me :) Like I said, foodie heaven!

Before I drove back to the airport and left this beautiful city again, I decided to indulge in one more local delicacy and invest the rest of my money in "Kaiserschmarrn" at the Café Landtmann. The coffe house has a long standing tradition in Vienna and is one of the few places where you can completely sink in to the forgotten bourgeoise charme of Old Europe. It is located close to the infamous "Burgtheater" and it is usually difficult to find a seat there on a Sunday afternoon, but I was lucky and got to enjoy my beloved "Kaiserschmarrn" in the pompous dining room :)

Worth every penny!

Kaiserschmarrn is a dessert made of pancake batter with raisins. The pancake is torn into pieces while still in the pan, then put on a plate and covered with powdery sugar. You can *dip* the pieces in applesauce or plum sauce or simply eat it with whipped cream - delicious!

New York, New York!

As some of you might recall, I never actually made it to NYC while I was in Boston. I thought I should probably change that at some point, and since I happened to win tickets for the Global Citizen Festival in NYC's Central Park, I decided to take the bus to the Big Apple! Better later than never ;)

The infamous skyline of New York City

The good thing about going to New York was I have friends there. Since I had two tickets for the Global Citizen Festival, I asked my good friend Joseph to join me. Unfortunately, he had to cancel last minute because he had to work :( but he sent me a friend of his with the words "He's cool, you'll like him" and luckily he was right :) I practically ran from the bus stop to the apartment I was staying at (first time trying out airbnb and everything worked out pretty well), then back to the city to meet Jon somewhere along Central Park and then off to the festival.
So, here I was once again all alone and about to meet a total stranger - call me crazy, but I actually enjoy living like this :D He was waiting for me at the eastern entrance of the Park and we immediately hit it off and easily fell into a long conversation about life, experiences, travel and, yes, horses :) Unfortunately my tardiness meant we missed Stevie Wonder (bummer) and somehow we also sort of missed The Kings of Leon (we heard the music, but they wouldn't let us actually enter the festival grounds for some reason), but luckily we made it in time to see Alicia Keys take the stage. Yes people, Alicia Keys, live and Open Air in Central Park!!!! Need I say more?!?

Singing along to "New York" with thousands of people in Central Park - incredible!

The last act was John Mayer. I still can't believe I was actually there :) And to think I almost spent hundrets of Euros on a plane ticket to London to see John Mayer there a couple of weeks earlier... Open air in Central Park actually topps the O2 in London.

Afterwards, we had Burgers at one of New York's favorites: Shake Shack! I'm a fan now :)

The fries alone are worth waiting in line!

The next day I finally met with Joseph and he tried to make me love NYC by showing me all the best spots. Yes, ok, seeing the skyline from Williamsburg was pretty cool. And you really are a great tour guide Joseph :)

Best tour guide in town!

We did touristy stuff, like visiting the Brooklyn Bridge and taking the ferry to Staten Island, but Joseph also took me to his University (Columbia - gorgeous!) and we enjoyed the sun in some of the lesser known parks in the city, like the highline (you should definitely check it out, that's a pretty cool park/green area in the middle of the city!) and Washingt Square Park next to NYU. And we tried as many local specialties as possible (the pizza was great!) I was lucky enough to have three days of blue skies and sunshine to accompany me on this short city trip, but I was a little intimidated by all the skyscrapers (and the windy valleys in between!) Also, I think it's weird to wander through a foreign city and constantly think "Oh yeah, I've seen this before" (damn you film industry! ;) ) Here's the ultimate tourist *proof* pic of me in NYC:

Time Square - full of crazy people :)

So, yes, I was there and I did all the touristy stuff, but I still can't understand all the fuzz... Maybe this city is simply too big for me, I don't know... I feel like I've been there and I've done the whole *places to see* tour, but I don't necessarily have to go back there - sorry NYC fans out there. This travel girl still prefers beantown ;) and Upstate New York of course!

Back to Boston - 10 months later

After a couple of days in upstate New York, I took a bus through the night and arrived back in Boston the next morning :) I couldn't wait to spend a few days at my favorite house in all of Savin Hill! Also, I finally had the chance to see an NHL game, although it was still pre-season, but who cares? GO BRUINS! :D

Blond Boston Bruins Selfie ;)

I was also invited to join Maureen on one of the Gravestones tours *scary* and I have to say, I had a lot of fun wandering through downtown Boston at dusk :) Though it's weird to be one of the guests when you know the tour guide and driver...

Check out the Ghosts and Gravestones Tours!

And yes, you guessed it, there was also one of those *did that just happen* moments waiting for me while I was visiting Beantown: one morning, Maureen came home and said "We're gonna go to a gala tonigh!" Oh, and it wasn't just any Gala; it was a Gala filled with free food from the best Restaurants in the Bosten Area!!! *Foodie Heaven* Apart from enjoying the ridiculously delicious food samples, they also served free Wine and I got to meet the Govenor and the Boston P.D. comissioner and some of Boston's best ball players :) Oh yeah, definitely a *did that just happen* moment :D

"Hello Govenor!"

Oh how I love Boston... and Maureen! Girl, you're the best! Say hi to the kids for me!

State Parks, Graffiti and the Origin of Hamburgers :)

Hello Folks :)

I've decided to pick up this blog again and include some of my more recent adventures in the West.

Our first stop is New York State. Back in September 2013, I decided to visit some friends and explore the Empire State. My adventure started with my rental car at JFK Airport. Picking up a rental in Rush Hour and trying to get to upstate? NOT a good idea! Well, at least now I know that my nerves can handle the stress....

I spent my first night in Binghampton at yet another couchsurfer's house (thanks again Marc!) before I finally started exploring what upstate had to offer. After visiting Albany and Syracuse in 2012, I knew that the landscape up there is rather beautiful, but I was anxious to finally check out some of those state parks! So my first stop was Watkins Glen just south of the Finger Lakes. Well, what can I say? See for yourself:

The walk is about two miles long and takes you along the water. It is fascinating to see how the water made its way through the stone and shaped the Glen. Of course, I was especially lucky to have picked such a gorgeous day! :)

I then drove along the Finger Lakes (beautiful scenery with lots of local wineries to visit!!!) to Rochester to visit yet another couchsurfer. He showed me some of Rochester's graffiti Art scene at an old water reservoir and an abandoned subway tunnel. Here are some examples:

this is my favorite - it reminded me of Native American Art

The Subway Tunnel

some close-ups

Almost missed this one!

I spent a couple of days in Rochester and enjoyed the mixture of small town and upstate landscape as well as the pancakes in one of the diners ;) (I wanna say it was Jay's Diner, but I'm not sure...) I especially enjoyed the old wooden home with the beautiful front porch! I want a front porch...

And, of course, there was also a funny, *did that just happen* kind of story :) So, as some of you might know, I love Hamburg. Most beautiful city ever. And I'm German, and this always seems to come up at some point... So, I'm in Rochester, and my couchsurfer's roommate and I are talking and he brings up Hamburg, New York which is right next to Buffalo. So, of course, I tell him I used to live in Hamburg in Germany and that I love this city more than anything else and so on. He replies with "Do you know the story of the Hamburger?" and I go "Yeah, of course I do, I used to tell it on my city tour bus. Two guys from Hamburg invented the Hamburger in America and they called it Hamburger because that's what they are: people from Hamburg" and the roommate goes "Yeah, but do you know where that happened?" and he goes on to tell me the entire story about how two guys from Hamburg were selling hot dogs at a festival in Hamburg, New York, but they ran out of sausages, so they had to come up with something else, and all they could get from the butcher were patties, so they made Hamburgers! And, yep, he even had a pin from that fair for me :D I love my life!