Oh, what a day...a long day, but a really fun day. We left at 9AM, and I am still posting pictures/blogging at 11PM. I still have to pack an overnight bag and then take a shower to get the chill out of my body - it rained most of the day, and we were out walking around in it. It was probably about 45 degrees and pouring, so the thought of a shower is intoxicating.
So, without further ado, here is Monday's top 10.
10. Spatezle for lunch - it is a regional dish I have had several times while in Germany. It was very yummy today - I had it at a cafe near the castle...a nice hot meal before we went into the castle. It is a noodle dish of sorts...really noodly macaroni type of thing for lack of a better description.
9. Living through the night after killing what to me was a HUGE spider on the wall. Spiders creep me out. I posted a photo to my FB page of it...eww grossed out thinking about it.
8. Getting to see the beautiful countryside of Germany. Green and lush and beautiful...why? Because it rains here - it rained on us all day.
7. Schloss Neuschweinstein - During my previous trips to Germany, I had only gone in the yellow castle. I always hoped to make it back to see the white castle, and I did. Crazy King Ludwig's castle!
6. I drove on an A Autobahn!!! A7, north to Ulm. Our driver wanted a nap, so I said "I will drive!" Went over 100 mph..well within the posted limit! I still got passed!
5. I got a hat from this cafe we ate dinner at - we needed translation help with the menu, and the lady that helped us out was crazy! Gave us all hats from an event they had last week and some Austrian schnapps. The stuff burns going down and would probably knock you out before you knew what hit you. One mini sip was all that was necessary.
4. Tomorrow's plans are to go to Innsbruck and spend the night in Salzburg. We are going bobsledding in Innbruck!
3. Jet lag not too awfully bad! I would be lying if I said I was not tired, but we went nonstop all day and it is 11 15.
2. I saw cattle being herded down the street from the window of my hotel room. There is a lot of grazing pasture around here, so cattle are prevalent. However, you don't see cattle being herded down an aspahlt road every day!!!
1. Got stopped by the Austrian border patrol upon re-entry into Austria. The other car got stopped first and then they flagged us over. Turns out we did not have the proper toll pass to drive on the highway in Austria - they got us when we came back into the country from Germany. Apparently, there are signs all over that say you need a pass, but 10 people in 2 cars never saw it. The border patrol guy was scary - I of course was driving at this point, and could not figure out why we were being stopped. I tried to tell the guy we didn't know, that we were tourists, but he had no part of it. He kept saying the same thing over and over, and I finally asked him what he wanted me to do. He said "Get out of the car" and my blood froze. I got out, and he said "You come pay". I said "I have cash" he said fine. I gave him 120 euro and off we went. I can laugh about it now...but I was terrified. We will get the right pass tomorrow.
That about wraps it up for the night...hope you are all well!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Greetings from Lustenau, Austria!!!
Well, after about a 20 hr trip, we successfully landed at our hotel, Gastof Kronele (www.kronele.com) in Lustenau, Austria!!! We started out in Columbus, stopped in Atlanta and eventually landed in Zurich at 7:51AM this morning Zurich time. The flight was fine - pretty typical. Crammed in the seat, exhausted and spending time trying to get comfy - a perpetually losing battle.
I am in Lustenau to watch the the US team at the World Agility Championships - the compeition is actually in Dornbirn, a neighboring town. My friend Jenn (who I train with) and her sheltie Blaster made the US team that is competing over here. I am here with her parents, BF, aunt and cousin - in addition to me tagging along, there are also 2 other tag alongs on the trip, giving us a group of 9.
Blaster the dog was an excellent traveler. Jenn had him in this bag that she put under her seat, and he never even made a peep. The flight crew on the way to Atlanta were a little pillish about him, but I don't think the crew going to Zurich even knew he was down there. He was quite happy to get out of his bag, use his "facilities" and get some breakfast. I rode next to him in the car on the way to the hotel, he was a very good boy.
Our hotel here is very, very nice - definitely in the top three I have been in while traveling in Europe. The rooms are pretty much "as advertised" on the website - I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when I considered the rate (68 Euro per night) and what they looked like on the internet. I guess I should have more faith. I will be testing out the shower shortly. I have provided a link to the hotel, as well as a photo above, below or wherever blogger sees fit. I have also posted several photos to my facebook page.
After getting here, we ventured out to find something to eat. I was pretty famished at this point, having skipped both airplane meals. We did eat in Atlanta, and I had a few PB sandwiches my mom made me - and I was a much happier person for eating those instead of airplane food. As you can see, I do have snacks - bagels, PB, furit snacks and granola bars. Hopefully we can find a grocery tomorrow and get some water. As many of you know, things are very expensive here and the exchange rate is certainly not favorable at this point, so we are maximizing saving oppotnities at every corner. We found a little Italian joint and got some pizza, which was actually pretty good!
We then ventured off to Bregenz, Austria, which is very near a big, beautiful lake called Lake Constance. We found a little place on the lake to sit and have a drink/dessert. I chose a dessert - some sort of Austrian Chocolate cake, which was not nearly as pretty as Tiffy's banana split! We walked around, took photos, enjoyed some scenery and came back to the hotel and CRASHED. I woke up about 9 - I will probably regret it, but I had reached the point of exhaustion. It is a 6 hr time difference, so it is 10:30 here. I am going to test out the shower and probably pop a DVD in my computer to help me sleep.
So tomorrow starts the craziness!! We are venturing off to Fussen, Germany, to see Neuschweinstein castle. Myth has is this is the castle used by Disney to create the castle you see at Disney parks. On Tuesday, we will venture to Innsbruck and Salzberg, both in Austria, and spend the night in Salzburg. We will ventrue up to Munich on Wednesday, but it will be a short venture, as we have a US team supporter dinner in our hotel on Wednesday night at 6PM. Not sure what else is planned, but that is a good start. I do know some people are going to Vienna, and if possible, I would love to tag along. We will see if that happens.
At any rate, we made it here, it promises to be a fun, exciting week. I will do my best to keep up to date with posting and getting pictures up - be sure to check FB as well.
Wiedersen!!!! (PS - blogger not letting me upload photos, check out FB)
I am in Lustenau to watch the the US team at the World Agility Championships - the compeition is actually in Dornbirn, a neighboring town. My friend Jenn (who I train with) and her sheltie Blaster made the US team that is competing over here. I am here with her parents, BF, aunt and cousin - in addition to me tagging along, there are also 2 other tag alongs on the trip, giving us a group of 9.
Blaster the dog was an excellent traveler. Jenn had him in this bag that she put under her seat, and he never even made a peep. The flight crew on the way to Atlanta were a little pillish about him, but I don't think the crew going to Zurich even knew he was down there. He was quite happy to get out of his bag, use his "facilities" and get some breakfast. I rode next to him in the car on the way to the hotel, he was a very good boy.
Our hotel here is very, very nice - definitely in the top three I have been in while traveling in Europe. The rooms are pretty much "as advertised" on the website - I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when I considered the rate (68 Euro per night) and what they looked like on the internet. I guess I should have more faith. I will be testing out the shower shortly. I have provided a link to the hotel, as well as a photo above, below or wherever blogger sees fit. I have also posted several photos to my facebook page.
After getting here, we ventured out to find something to eat. I was pretty famished at this point, having skipped both airplane meals. We did eat in Atlanta, and I had a few PB sandwiches my mom made me - and I was a much happier person for eating those instead of airplane food. As you can see, I do have snacks - bagels, PB, furit snacks and granola bars. Hopefully we can find a grocery tomorrow and get some water. As many of you know, things are very expensive here and the exchange rate is certainly not favorable at this point, so we are maximizing saving oppotnities at every corner. We found a little Italian joint and got some pizza, which was actually pretty good!
We then ventured off to Bregenz, Austria, which is very near a big, beautiful lake called Lake Constance. We found a little place on the lake to sit and have a drink/dessert. I chose a dessert - some sort of Austrian Chocolate cake, which was not nearly as pretty as Tiffy's banana split! We walked around, took photos, enjoyed some scenery and came back to the hotel and CRASHED. I woke up about 9 - I will probably regret it, but I had reached the point of exhaustion. It is a 6 hr time difference, so it is 10:30 here. I am going to test out the shower and probably pop a DVD in my computer to help me sleep.
So tomorrow starts the craziness!! We are venturing off to Fussen, Germany, to see Neuschweinstein castle. Myth has is this is the castle used by Disney to create the castle you see at Disney parks. On Tuesday, we will venture to Innsbruck and Salzberg, both in Austria, and spend the night in Salzburg. We will ventrue up to Munich on Wednesday, but it will be a short venture, as we have a US team supporter dinner in our hotel on Wednesday night at 6PM. Not sure what else is planned, but that is a good start. I do know some people are going to Vienna, and if possible, I would love to tag along. We will see if that happens.
At any rate, we made it here, it promises to be a fun, exciting week. I will do my best to keep up to date with posting and getting pictures up - be sure to check FB as well.
Wiedersen!!!! (PS - blogger not letting me upload photos, check out FB)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wondering if I will live to make it to vacation?
So it is now 5:10 PM...leaving for Austria in um...about 18 hrs. Million dollar questions:
Questions that have NO answers to them:
1. Have you packed?
2. Have you compiled lists of things you want to pack and need to get done around the house?
3. Have you checked in? (Only because I need my pasport to do so and I don't have it on me)
4. Is your laundry done to facilitate packing?
Another million dollar question - where are you? Still at work...want to run to Easton to try and find a pair of jeans. I have looked everywhere for some jeans that are not $100, but I can't find any that fit properly (yes, people, I have legs and a booty) so I am sucking it up and going to the Lucky Brand store.
Somehow, someway, I will get it all done...thank god for long plane rides and that I can sleep on a plane. I did manage to get everything I needed to get done at work, so at least I have that going for me. Off to Easton...
Questions that have NO answers to them:
1. Have you packed?
2. Have you compiled lists of things you want to pack and need to get done around the house?
3. Have you checked in? (Only because I need my pasport to do so and I don't have it on me)
4. Is your laundry done to facilitate packing?
Another million dollar question - where are you? Still at work...want to run to Easton to try and find a pair of jeans. I have looked everywhere for some jeans that are not $100, but I can't find any that fit properly (yes, people, I have legs and a booty) so I am sucking it up and going to the Lucky Brand store.
Somehow, someway, I will get it all done...thank god for long plane rides and that I can sleep on a plane. I did manage to get everything I needed to get done at work, so at least I have that going for me. Off to Easton...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Agility Weekend
One of my favorite photos of my future little MACH girl:
So...what does 5-6 and 52 MACH pts look like? See above! She is black and furry and 21.8 inches tall with a graying muzzle and has a tail with a gray tip on it. Of course, the one NQ was TOTALLY MOMMMY'S fault...and it was over quickly, at jump 2 - even after I told myself...support this jump, support this jump.
Overall, I was very, very proud of her. She earned QQ 12 and 13 and finished the weekend having 399 pts. The road to MACH is now 7 QQ's and 351 pts. We do have a quite the busy trial schedule coming up, so hopefully, by the end of the year, we will have all our QQ's (20 needed) and about 600 pts. We found out consistency this weekend, and she definitely has a little spring in her step! Held her contacts beautifully all weekend and kept the double and trip jumps up in every run!
Congratulations to my friend Jill and MACH LELAND! They earned their first MACH this weekend on Friday morning. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, that will be us as well.
So...what does 5-6 and 52 MACH pts look like? See above! She is black and furry and 21.8 inches tall with a graying muzzle and has a tail with a gray tip on it. Of course, the one NQ was TOTALLY MOMMMY'S fault...and it was over quickly, at jump 2 - even after I told myself...support this jump, support this jump.
Overall, I was very, very proud of her. She earned QQ 12 and 13 and finished the weekend having 399 pts. The road to MACH is now 7 QQ's and 351 pts. We do have a quite the busy trial schedule coming up, so hopefully, by the end of the year, we will have all our QQ's (20 needed) and about 600 pts. We found out consistency this weekend, and she definitely has a little spring in her step! Held her contacts beautifully all weekend and kept the double and trip jumps up in every run!
Congratulations to my friend Jill and MACH LELAND! They earned their first MACH this weekend on Friday morning. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, that will be us as well.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Smathering of Happenings...
Just a few random updates...
1. Yesterday, Chelsie earned her 12 QQ on the road to MACH. At the end of yesterday, she has 12 QQ and 374 pts....8 QQ and 376 pts to MACH. Leaving shortly to go for QQ 13 today.
2. Today is the first day of BUCKEYE FOOOOOOBAAAAALLLLLLL! Go Bucks, beat Navy!!!!
3. Yesterday, my little brother turned 31. Happy birthday brother butt!
And we are off...at 6:39 AM on Saturday morning!!!!
1. Yesterday, Chelsie earned her 12 QQ on the road to MACH. At the end of yesterday, she has 12 QQ and 374 pts....8 QQ and 376 pts to MACH. Leaving shortly to go for QQ 13 today.
2. Today is the first day of BUCKEYE FOOOOOOBAAAAALLLLLLL! Go Bucks, beat Navy!!!!
3. Yesterday, my little brother turned 31. Happy birthday brother butt!
And we are off...at 6:39 AM on Saturday morning!!!!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Good News from Dodd
Our patient that we saw last week that could not speak is now able to speak. He was able to give Chelsie some commands - like the good girl she is, she happily obeyed (didn't hurt that mom was standing right there holding some Charlee Bear treats).
Trip worth it last night just to see that. :)
Trip worth it last night just to see that. :)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
I can't believe this is happening....
Ok, so who out there at one point in their lives has made fun of their parents for taking off their glasses to read something in front of them? I will be the first to admit, I do it all the time.
So today, I was in a meeting...and sort of looked down underneath my glasses at the document in front of me. I was startled to realize how much clearer I could see the document without my glasses(it was actually an org chart). I took them off and it was a whole new world. As I type this, I am currently "glasses free" - and the world is an amazingly clear place.
This confirms 2 things:
1. What goes around comes around.
2. I think my body might be getting old.
No worries, I intend to put my glasses on when I drive home. Actually, I will put on my prescription sunglasses....
So today, I was in a meeting...and sort of looked down underneath my glasses at the document in front of me. I was startled to realize how much clearer I could see the document without my glasses(it was actually an org chart). I took them off and it was a whole new world. As I type this, I am currently "glasses free" - and the world is an amazingly clear place.
This confirms 2 things:
1. What goes around comes around.
2. I think my body might be getting old.
No worries, I intend to put my glasses on when I drive home. Actually, I will put on my prescription sunglasses....
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