Hi Ho Bauer Take V

Between their first and second visits to Dublin, Dr. and Drs. Bauer had the trip of a lifetime traveling on Ricardo Stevecchio's Best of Europe tour, where they saw pretty much the best of europe. But of course they made it back to their favorite place in Europe, Pembroke Road Ballsbridge baby! Well, maybe not, but they did come back for another round of pints to conclude their adventure.

It was also the actual day of our anniversary, so we celebrated in good fashion with a bottle of wine that the Doc's bought for us on their trip. We then went to our local and had a pint of the black stuff. Thanks so much for stoppin, and thanks Bauer for being one of the most dedicated visitors there is!!!

Anniversary Numero Uno

We made it!! One year; no bruises, no bumps, only the sweetest memories of a whirlwind year.

From Erin's yard last July to the Bemedji lakes, to the cabin (Borgies of course) to DC, to Utah, to MN (lissa's wedding), back home, to Penske truck rental cross country moving our stuff home. To EGF again, to Minneapolis, to Cleveland (MN), to Dublin, to Latvia, to York, to the west of ireland, to Brussels, to Asia (thailand, Kao Yao Noi (Honeymoon)), to Krakow, to Africa (Marrakech), to Italy, to Dallas (x4, Lou only), to EGF (erin only), to Bristol, to Copenhagen....and, phew....to my antique reading chair in our ghetto apartment reflecting on the amazing year we have had. Incredible adventures only to share with my new and wonderful wife!!

For our anniversary, we attempted to re-enact our engagement day by getting a picnic together with olives, bread, cheese, grapes, grilled chicken drummies, and chocolate cake. Not quite the same as overlooking the Shenandoah valley, but a stream in suburban Dublin had to do. We borrowed our friends bikes and toured the city on two wheels, going to a movie afterwards. It was a special occasion as we NEVER go to the movies!

It was a pretty mellow saturday compared to some of our recent adventures, but needless to say, the day was spent celebrating and reflecting on the best year of our lives!

Swimmin in Sweden

On Sunday, after two good nights out in Copenhagen, we packed our stuff and took the long bridge (13 or so km) to Malmo Sweden, to check it off the list as well as check out the town, which is supposed to be quaint and warrant an afternoon of touring.

In order to see the most of the town, we rented bikes for 3 hours (costing about 50 Kr or $10 each). It was an amazing way to get around the town and we'll definitely do it in the next places we visit. We covered the town in 5% of the time it would have otherwise taken. We cruised around the old town, with its cobblestone streets and 18th century buildings, through the city parks, and out to the new part of town, at the developed seaside, which is filled with trendy restaurants, swimming areas, and beach volleyball (for our single friends searching for their Swedish soul-mate).

After biking the old town squares and parks, we made it out to the new area, stripped down behind Erins scraf-thingy, got the swim trunks on, and went swimming in the Baltic sea! It was very refreshing and a beautiful place for a dip. Afterwards we biked back to the old town, had a lunch and were off to the airport (timing was a little tight to say the least, thankfully we made it from Sweden to our gate at Cophenhagen airport in about 40 minutes....I don't recommend it!

A thrilling end to yet another memorable weekend!

Copenhagen, Denmark

As an ex-patriotic salute to the fourth of July, we headed off to Copenhagen, Denmark for a weekend with our buddy Joel. So instead of fireworks, smores and the lake, we celebrated with beer, hot dogs, bike rides and even did a little swimming in the Baltic Sea...so basically the same, minus fireworks. Although it wasn't for lack of attempt. Our first night, we trekked across the city to catch a light display at the reknowned Tivoli Park, an old-fashioned amusement park, but missed the show. Instead we wandered down Europe's longest pedestrian street with a 6-pack of Carlsberg in hand (drinking in the streets is encouraged. There are even beer stands next to public fountains.) and headed off for a late night evening at club Vega. When we sauntered out at 3:30am, it is like we had fallen asleep sipping martinis....it was soooooo light out. Here is a shot of Lou on the way home:

On Saturday, we wandered a few blocks to the colorful Nyhavn harbor that is filled with cafes and restaurants. Hans Christian Andersen lived here where he penned his first fairytale. The street looks like it is out of a fairytale and probably served as good inspiration along with the Carlsberg.

After people--watching in the harbor and grabbing some caffeine in a nearby farmer's market, we took part in a canal tour of the city. We highly recommend this as it is a great way to see the contrast in architecture between the old and new. As a whole, Copenhagen had a very progressive and modern vibe. We both wish Minneapolis or the US in general was clued in to public biking. There were literally platforms built up for bike riders along every road and even public bikes that you could just hop on and go. It makes sense and the people seem really happy to have such freedom and not be stuck on the freeway.

One of the best parts about our visit to the city was the jazz festival. Everywhere you went, whether a neighborhood square or the Rosenborg Have, the massive public garden, had a stage set up with really impressive jazz ensembles playing all of the crooning classics. http://festival.jazz.dk/ It made for a really beautiful atmosphere while we wandered the historic old town.

For dinner that night we sat down at Cafe Victor, which was widely praised in lots of our travel research. It was a nice meal that had a great Parisian atmosphere, but may not have been quite worthy of all of the accolades, especially for the price. After dinner, we went out for a drink and were then so exhausted from the beating sun that we took one more stroll by Nyhavn and called it a night.

Here Comes the Sun

Living overseas isn't always as fabulous as it appears. So while most of our posts do nothing to support this statement, I'm determined to use our blog to also on occasion highlight the eccentricities of living across the pond.

Everyone knows that rain is no stranger to Ireland. This is partially true as it does rain often, but it is usually short-lived. However, while we prepared for daily rain, we were not aware just how cold Ireland is in the summer. For example, the barometer barely reaches above feeling like a crisp October day.....in July.

On the rare occasion that it feels like it is warmer than 60....we dash outdoors. Here are photos from a recent Tuesday night picnic in St. Stephen's Green when the weather did just that.
Recent sunset from our apartment at 10:35pm.Sure while we may get 25 mandated government holidays every year, not including Christmas and Easter...he he he.....we also deal with some of the more traditional modes of operation including......odd and early operating hours, archaic banking rules that forbid a wife from being added to her husband's account (this one particularly erks me when I have to ask for my allowance) and our latest grievance.....the cost of electricity.

We recently found out that despite our lack of most common household appliances....namely a tv and microwave.....we have been racking up 150-200 dollar a month electricity bills. The culprit.....our clothes dryer. Thus, thanks to a recent purchase back in MN, our apartment now proudly features a retractable clothesline.

A Game of Horse

Not the elementary basketball challenge, but fulfledged professional polo was the name of the game for a recent weekend spent in the Cotswold region of England. Our friends Sarah and Mark invited us over for a relaxing weekend of polo, tours of the English countryside and a horse-barn bbq. We visited Mark and Sarah several years ago, so it was great to get to catch up since they got married and purchased a traditional Cotswold stone home in a quaint village outside of Bristol. Lou and I had never seen a live polo match before so we were fascinated by the sport. Luckily, Mark (Sarah, too!) is a bit of an expert as a player and because his family is intertwined with the start of polo in Argentina. Each player needs between 4-6 horses each per game and usually changes horses at the end of each chaukre (quarter). Each player also has a range of mallets, as every horse is a different height. The mallets are made of bamboo.On Saturday morning while Mark tended to his horses ahead of a match and Sarah got a picnic ready, Lou and I wondered around the charming little village they lived in including the church they were married in, local wildlife and an old phone booth.

During the day on Saturday, Lou and I explored the city of Cheltenham. It was a nice day to walk around, but the city itself was pretty lackluster compared to others we have visited so after a little bit of exploring we laid down in a park and took a little nap before Sarah and Mark picked us up to head to a bbq.
This was not the typical bbq. First off, the locale was a change from the standard deckside/driveway grilling as we were in a real, fully-functional horse barn. And instead of the traditional hamburgers and hot dogs, we grilled a massive peice of lamb. It was delicious. The following day (photos at top of post) we attended a professional polo match and had a picnic on the lawn with Sarah, Mark and their friends, capping off a wonderful weekend away.

Hi Ho Bauer (and Lissa and Emily) Take IV

Dr. Bauer again out did himself, making yet another trip out to see me. If he wasn't married I'd be a little worried as he visits more than anybody! But he brought Emily this time, on the front end of a whirlwind Ricardo Stevaccio adventure across Europe, known as the Best of Europe tour. They would of course experience the best first, Pembroke Road D4 holla!

On Friday afternoon, I had more visitors (and thank God cuz I missed my wife, who was back home (see previous post). My favorite sibling also showed up for the weekend. Hi Ho LISSA!!!! Lissa arrived on Friday afternoon, we grabbed a late lunch, and Joel, Lissa and I grilled out at Strauss' that evening, taking it easy.

On Saturday, Bauer, Lissa, Emily, Joel and I braved some seriously nasty Dublin weather and did some touring. We went to Kilmainham Goal, Dublin's famous prison. It was an awesome tour and probably gives a better background on Irish history than any other tourist attraction. The prison was really cool and the tour well done. All the political prisoners who later become heros of Dublin were held and many executed there around the Easter Monday uprising of 1916.

After the jail we hustled our way to the Luas in the heavy rain, and of course the Luas (light rail) stopped about 3 blocks before the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), so again it was to the rain to the train. We finally made it out to Howth, fairly damp, but alas, there is always a warm fire and autographed Little Jerry Seinfeld photos on the wall at the Cock Tavern! The name scared Joel too much, so we opted on the Ye Ole Abbey Tavern instead, which has good fish and chips and pours a nice pint of the priest.
After we went on a short hike around the cliffs before returning to town to grab Joel, who decided to opt out of the medicore weather and have a few more beers.

We dragged him back to town to have a dinner at the Canal Bank Cafe, one of our favorites. We had a few more at the Schoolhouse bar before saying goodbye to my friends for now!

Thanks for coming out guys!!!

Take Me Home....Country Roads

After several months of exhausting job searching, I decided to head home for two weeks to catch some R&R at home and hang out with my family. My parents drove to Minneapolis to pick up Jamie, coming in from a month May term trip in Egypt, Israel and Rome, Linsey, moving home from Boston before her move to big move to CA from grad school, and me, coming in from Dublin. It made for interesting conversation and a long-awaited reunion for the Utz girls -1 on the way home.

Linsey, Jamie, Jenna and I enjoyed our days away by playing cards, hanging a swing in the back yard, gardening, four-wheeling, laying on the hammock, learning how to make bread and cheese, running and biking on country roads, cooking, reading, watching TV.....Linsey's recent One Tree Hill obsession was unfortunately contagious, depressingly peaking at our things in storage wishing they could be put to use and spending quality time with my parents, who so graciously flew me home. Of all the places I have traveled this year, this trip was right up there!

Biking to grandma's

Dad's birthday

Seriously stuck in the mud

Bocce in the backyard

Serious nuts (a mix of solotaire and speed) tournament

No joke....this is the entrance to the EGF movie theater!

Bettering Our Blog

We are trying to upgrade the look and feel of our website....starting with the oh so fabulous Lindsey's eyes green/blue background (that is actually the name of the color...who names colors anyways?) and slowly incorporating more high tech gadgets including photoslide shows from our travels. As anyone that has traveled with us or had the (misfortune) pleasure of sitting down with Lou in front of our computer, we take A LOT of photos. So instead of picking the 5-6 best shots from our trips, which is time-consuming and difficult, we are looking forward to providing you with a more personal, in-depth look as we explore our new surroundings.