Surprise!

I've been behind on blogging lately because after two days in Berlin, Eric and I flew back to the United States to surprise our families for Thanksgiving!  We managed to keep it a secret from everyone except Eric's dad and a few friends.  There were hugs, tears, and some screaming.  (My brother and sister's response?  "Way to show us up on Thanksgiving, Laura."  My mom always says siblings are there to keep your ego in check.)  It was a wonderful way to end our eight months of travel.

Waiting at our gate at Berlin's Tegel Airport

Since then, we've been spending time with our families and starting to set up our lives back on US soil.  I feel like I'm still moving around as much as when we were on the road, but I do appreciate that I have access to my full closet now.  Soon we'll be settled in and I can finish blogging about the last few stops of our trip! 

Transylvania!

After an overnight in Budapest, Eric and I caught a night train to Transylvania, a northern region of Romania.  I did not realize it existed outside of Bram Stoker's masterpiece until Eric assured me it was a real place.  We started our Transylvanian exploration in Brasov.

Brasov's main square

I had no idea what to expect from Romania.  We had heard conflicting stories from friends and I was concerned about getting around.  After a month in England, I was also nervous about heading back to countries where I didn't speak the language.  However, most people we encountered in Brasov spoke English, which made visiting easy.

Baths of Green and Orange

One of the baths, heated by a thermal spring
How can that shade of green not tempt you to swim?

After spending a month in Oxford, Eric and I decided we should see at least one other city before we left the United Kingdom.  We chose Bath, a small city where my mom spent a semester of college.  I heard her talk about it as I grew up and I was so excited to have the chance to see where she'd been.  As soon as I told my mom where we were headed, she sent me an email full of recommendations.  "You will really feel like you are in a Jane Austin book," she wrote.

An Afternoon at Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is a short bus ride away from Oxford.  It's home to the Dukes of Marlborough and has some of the most stunning gardens I've ever seen.

The admission price for non-student adults under 65 is steep at £20, but you can convert your one-day ticket into a year-long membership.  If I lived nearby, it would be worth it just to walk around the gardens once a season.  (We saw at least one jogger running through.  I would enjoy jogging more with this as my scenery.)  Eric and I both got memberships just in case.  Fingers crossed for another trip to England before October 16, 2013.

One Month in Oxford

After leaving Paris, Eric and I flew up to the United Kingdom.  We stopped in Oxford for what we planned to be a week's stay...

I keep thinking someone plopped an English country garden down in front of the Law Quad.

... and we've been here for about a month.  We both love it.

Locks, Keys and Cheese

We arrived in Prague around the time of the attack on the US Embassy in Libya and the subsequent wave of protests and violence across many countries.  Understandably, the four of us were concerned about the tensions in wherever we'd be headed next.  Since our initial final stop on Mr. and Mrs. Reed's vacation was Istanbul, we spent several days debating whether or not to continue with the plan.  Istanbul is a cosmopolitan city, but there had been some peaceful protests at the city's main university.  Eventually we decided it would be better to choose a different location for the last six days of the trip.  Hopefully we'll make it back to Istanbul soon.

As an alternative to Istanbul, we chose Paris.  I know, I know.  "Well, I guess we'll go to Paris."  Le sigh.  We did some extreme last-minute planning, and it worked out wonderfully. 

Many Thoughts on Prague

I fell in love with Prague almost immediately.  Maybe it was the cold weather, since Eric and I have been living in an eternal summer mode since March.  Maybe it was finally being in a place with good sausages again.  (In Thailand, "sausage" often means "hot dog.")  Maybe it was the concerts everywhere or the city's history or the way the architecture made me feel like I was walking through a fairy tale.  

The cathedral at Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge