Oh, Scotland {Part 2}

In case you missed Part 1 about our trip to Edinburgh, Scotland for New Years be sure to check out the post here.  You will know after reading Part 1 that I became quickly infatuated with Edinburgh; it was a rather immediate love affair to say the least. For anyone who has visited Edinburgh it is clear where this infatuation stems from, because really what is there not to love? After we left Edinburgh and landed in Hamburg, I thought maybe this infatuation was all due to the fact that it was the start of our big adventure, and that no matter what we did or where we went it would all be overly spectacular. In a way this is true. I was ready for an incredible journey with Jeremy to start and no matter where we went and what we did, I knew my heart would be full of adventure, and pumping with excitement.  At the same time, I think this was partly due to the fact that we had very little expectations for the trip. We were so busy up until we actually sat down on our first flight from San Francisco to London, that we hadn’t actually thought about the move and the New Years trip outside of logistics. Meaning, we figured out where we were going and staying, what items we were shipping and packing, what personal information we needed to take with, etc.  This also meant that we didn’t set too many expectations for our trip, and in fact we did little to zero tourist planning! Ultimately, because we didn’t have any real expectations for our trip (besides to relax!) we weren’t letdown in anyway.  I wouldn’t always recommend going about a vacation this way, especially when you are on a time constraint, but for this particular situation it allowed us to really relax without any added pressure.

As I mentioned in Part 1 we spent a good amount of time exploring old town Edinburgh. There was just so much to see and, thankfully, it was all a short walk from our flat in the Grassmarket area. 

During the day on New Years Eve, we spent a good portion of time touring through the Edinburgh castle.  The castle is a famed focal point for tourists and residents alike.  There is rich history imbedded in its stone walls, that provides a full backdrop to Edinburgh’s  royal history.

The Royal Mile, which connects the Royal Palace of Holyrood House and the Edinburgh castle, is where many main attractions were found. The Holyrood House is where Queen Elizabeth (and royalty before her) stay during their visit to Scotland, thus making the “Royal Mile” truly a royal affair! It was neat to walk and feel as though much of it hadn’t changed.

On New Years Eve we participated in the Hogmanay festivities which included concerts in the Princes Street Gardens and a street party in Edinburgh’s city centre that culminated  in the midnight fireworks show. We started out the night at a local pub meeting people from Spain, Germany, and even Colorado! We then proceeded to the city centre in preparation of the fireworks show. To say that there were a LOT of people filling the streets would be a severe understatement. Moving through the the crowd, we were able to move maybe 3 feet each minute as we literally pushed our way through. There were even various groups of strangers banding together, linking arms to essentially move through the crowds quicker! I have never truly felt claustrophobic before, but this was definitely the closest I have come…and I could not stop giggling. Does anyone else giggle when the get scared, nervous or..claustrophobic? I sure do. It’s always been my bodies go-to coping mechanism. I can’t be the only one right? In any case, after twenty straight minutes of being human sardines Jeremy and I were ready for some air space. Not to mention I was also holding a full bladder and could NOT get to a bathroom fast enough. Big crowds + needing to relieve oneself REALLY do not mix…and giggling, can’t forget the giggling. We miraculously made our way to the back of the crowds and found rows of glorious port-a-potties (choice word, I know, but since I was 2.5 seconds away from peeing my pants, on New Years Eve, they were absolutely glorious).

After we could finally breath again and the giggling subsided, we awaited midnight and the fireworks show.

Our plan for New Years day was to travel out of the city to the Highlands, St. Andrews, and maybe even a stop at Lochness. Unfortunately, not too long after midnight struck on New Years Eve, Jeremy didn’t feel well at all. He had an obvious fever and was fading fast. He woke up New Years Day not feeling much better so we decided to just relax and get better. This is where we were both even more thankful that we were staying in a fully furnished Airbnb flat…complete with a DVD player and good movies. : )

The next day Thursday, January 2nd, Jeremy had broken his fever and felt much better. He was still under the weather but he felt well enough that we ventured out. It was our last full day in Edinburgh and we spent it mostly walking around Old Town and going into the shops and little cafes that we spotted on previous outings. It was a great ending to our time in Edinburgh! Early on Friday morning we boarded a plane out of Scotland, and headed to our new home, Hamburg Germany!  There is still plenty more that we didn’t see in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland in our trip. It is certainly a destination we hope to visit again soon.

Have you ever been to Edinburgh or experienced Hogmanay? Do tell! Or maybe you have started your own big adventure living abroad?  I would love to hear what that was like for you, please share below. : )

*****

Things are getting more and more settled here. We have moved into our awesome flat and are currently in the process of finding furniture to fill it.  However, we still don’t have internet set up which is why its been longer than I hoped to post! Thankfully there are many Starbucks here to mooch off.  But be sure to check back for more Hamburg posts and a new blog series that chronicles our “nesting” process.

P.S. All the snow I talked about here has melted! Still fairly cold here, but the sun is shining.

XO

Cold Front

I’m taking a break from our jam-packed week to let you know that snow is officially here, and if the pictures aren’t evident enough…its cold.

While looking out of our living room window, our days have generally looked like this:

However this past Saturday morning we woke up to this:

 (Insert wide eyes and open mouths)

Growing up in central California and residing most recently in sunny southern California, snow is not something I am used to seeing, even in winter. Instead of shorts and sun dresses that my friends and family are most likely wearing right now back home I’m wearing most of my wardrobe. I look like a puffy, marshmallow stuffed eskimo. Regardless, we are still enjoying this drastic weather change. It’s very new and exciting for us to actually experience a winter season, and before you know it snow and 15°F weather will be nothing!!

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This week is a big week for us because we sign a contract and get the keys to our very own apartment in Hamburg! This step was a tough one, but throughout the process we are learning a lot, and will add it to our repertoire of things learned as expats. ; ) I will definitely be sharing more on this soon.

Also, check back soon for part two of our Scotland adventures! If you missed part one, check it out here.

XO

Real AND Surreal

It actually happened. Since we found out in late October that our visas were officially approved, we have since spent many {MANY} hours, days, and late nights dreaming and planning for our move to Hamburg, Germany. And after two crazy months of planning the move, packing up our southern California home, spending time with loved ones for the holidays, an almost 6,000 mile plane ride, a pit stop in Scotland to celebrate New Years…we finally arrived to our new home!! Even though we feel more and more settled each day that passes, it still sounds and feels so surreal at times to know that we are now expats living in a foreign country we have never been to before. And to tell you the truth…we are absolutely loving it! Our world instantly became 1,000 times bigger, and slightly stranger, but we are doing our best to soak it all up and make the most of this experience by embracing all that is offering us. : )

Lots has happened in the past two weeks, and I am excited to catch everyone up!  We are currently living in a cozy Airbnb vacation rental that we have until the end of January while we search for a flat and get ourselves set up here. There is LOTS to share, so be sure to check back soon.

XO

“Biggest Blizzard in Years”

Can you believe its already close to the end of February?? We had friends tell us that once you get married, life seems to go by at triple speed. Now that we are almost seven months in, we understand this statement completely! These last two weeks have been crazy busy for both Jeremy and I, which is why I haven’t made it to the computer to entertain you all in a while.

Just a little recap, at the beginning of week one, Jeremy traveled to the east coast for work.  Since tickets to Boston in February were so low we decided that I should join him for a long weekend together, in celebration of our first Valentine’s as a married couple! Little did we know we picked such a special weekend… On that Wednesday, the night before I flew out, Jeremy called me from the east coast to inform me that there was a huge blizzard that was to hit the Massachusetts area over the weekend.  Before then, I hadn’t heard a thing about this so called “Blizzard” and I had even checked the weather reports starting a week in advance.  Needless to say, since the hubby didn’t sound too worried, I threw an extra scarf in my bag and didn’t think too much of it. This trip was our first getaway together since our honeymoon and I was just so excited to meet up with him and explore somewhere new together, that I wasn’t going to worry about what the weatherman in Massachusetts was saying. Besides, don’t they usually get it wrong?

I left San Diego early (so very early) Thursday morning and headed to my first stop in Atlanta. Have any of you flown into Atlanta airport before?? That place is cray cray (crazy), and undoubtedly too big.  Our flight ran a little late, which meant I had all of ten minutes to make it to my next flight before it left me at the Atlanta airport. Lucky for me, we came into terminal A and my next flight to Boston left out of F. Wait, F?! Did I mention that Atlanta airport is cray cray and too big to get from A to F in just 10 minutes?? Ok, sorry, if you can’t tell I’m still a little emotional about this whole ordeal that went down. I will just let this do the talking for me now:

Is it just me or does that always seem to happen? Although, running like a crazy person through the Atlanta airport and yelling at the staff to hold the plane and open the gate doors because I made it at the last second before the plane left me, would have been a better story I was thankful for a few moments to rest and grab something to eat since I was able to realize I hadn’t eaten anything all day besides two small bags of pretzels.

But, it wasn’t until my flight from Atlanta to Boston that I really began to question this innocuous blizzard. I sat next to a lady that was traveling to Rwanda on a missions trip, and a tall scruffy guy from Tennessee.  We all had the initial small talk like most strangers do on a plane.  I found out that Mr. Tennessee was being flown into Boston to work the electrical lines during the storm, and that he wasn’t sure how long he would have to stay depending on the damage. To which Mr. Tennessee further explained, “This is said to be the biggest blizzard to hit the east coast in years”. He then turns to me and asks, “Where are ya’ from and where is ya’ final destination to ma’am?”

Cue the sweaty palms. 

Me – “I’m from San Diego and I am actually going into Boston to visit with my husband who is already there on a work trip”

Mr. T – “(frowning) Oh. So y’all are having a vacation in Boston during this Blizzard??”

Me – “(chuckling, playing it cool) Haha, ya! We didn’t expect it but should be exciting still”

Mr. T – “Well, good luck with that. Ya’ may get stuck there for a few extra days, just warnin’ ya.”

Luckily, within the next minute our flight showcased a movie for everyone, which meant we all put earplugs in and I tried to focus on the movie and not the looming notion that I was headed straight for a storm that I was not mentally prepared for…

I can not tell you how relieved I was to make it to my Husband in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that day.  Our original plan for the weekend was to stay in NH for two nights and then head to Boston for the next two before coming home. In the end, we stayed in Portsmouth one night longer do to the fact that we couldn’t drive on the icy roads, and it allowed for some relaxation. While the “Blizzard of 2013” did hit most states in the coastal north east, we actually were able to stay warm (for the most part) and relish in the fact that we were able to experience a trip unlike many that we have had together.  We walked through snow covered streets, went sight seeing, realized that we both loved the quaint little towns of the east coast, ate amazing meals, relaxed by the fire, watched a few movies, and above all enjoyed our special time together. Below are the highlights from the trip:

Portsmouth, NH

Warm and ready to brave the cold

A beautiful church in downtown Portsmouth

Love him!

Walking downtown, look at all the snow!

Jeremy trying to stay warm

Had dinner here. It was such a cozy little place by the water, and the food was beyond amazing!

They had such a good sense of humor, and allowed us to take their picture!

Outside of our window when the storm began

Back in our room, bundled up and enjoying the fire

Boston, MA

So. much. snow.

We loved the old architecture of the churches in Boston.

We didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be in the church (the doors were unlocked!). An overseer kindly let us take a look around before we left, slightly embarrassed!

Locals were loving the snow day, check out the sledding!

Although we had a rental car, we decided we didn’t want to risk driving on icy roads in a foreign city. Instead, we decided to walk the freedom trail! It allowed us to see much of the historical part of the city and enjoy our limited time in Boston.

We made a pit stop at Starbucks along the trail, mmmmm.

See the little antenna peaking out?

After dinner, we treated ourselves to a yummy pastry dessert!

All in all, despite getting stuck in a blizzard that covered everything in lots of snow, we both returned home still warm, happy, and thankful for a little time away.

Did any of you experience Blizzard 2013? I would love to hear your experience!

hugs, Lauren