Grand Canyon National Park

So, for the husband's 31st birthday, we had a road trip to the Grand Canyon! He has lived in the USA for 3 years now and has not been, so we thought it would be a great birthday adventure. Most importantly, we could bring our son, Mr. Butters!

and away the family goes!

The husband and I are not the biggest fans of the heat, so this also is the perfect time to go as it is crisp and cool; perfect autumn weather. We got up super early on Saturday morning to drive to Flagstaff. The drive was pretty cool. Going from beaches in San Diego, to mountains, flat desert, over the Colorado river, into the cacti filled deserts of Arizona, then finally arriving into the forest(like) town of Flagstaff. I thought Flagstaff was going to be a cute college town as Northern Arizona University is a great school and is located in Flagstaff, but it was pretty red neck and we ended up putting all the furniture in our motel room up against the door! Butters spent the whole night growling at our ground floor door as people walked by. I mean, what did we expect though? We picked a pretty cheap motel! The motel was clean and nice, but the people around that area seemed pretty rough.

Again, we got up early the next day and spent 4 hours along the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. It was stunning. It was a clear day, so we could see the canyon stretch as far as the eye could see. Also, because it is currently not the peak tourist time, in some spots, we were the only people around which made the experience that much better. Being able to hear the wind blowing through the canyon, while looking at these amazing red crevices before you is truly a once in a lifetime must see. It was fantastic.

We were going to stay the night in Flagstaff again, but as we had that warm and homey feeling the first night, we decided to make the 8 hour drive back to San Diego! On the way home we took a slightly different route on more secluded highways through the desert, which added to the adventure. I was back in time for work on Monday! Obviously, I was exhausted, but the trip was well worth it. The Grand Canyon, yes I will say it.... is truly GRAND!

oh yes we so took family photos!

Happy Birthday, Husband!

Vienna, Wien, Austria

Vienna, Austria. It has now been almost 6 months since I have visited Vienna, but I still think about this city daily. Austria, is my "new" favorite country. I say "new" as every country and city I have been to always becomes my "new" favorite place for different reasons. However, Vienna is a truly amazing city filled with rich history, amazing museums, and delicious cafe's. Words cannot express how much I enjoyed my week in Vienna, let alone my time in Austria. So, this post will be mostly in pictures. Leaving the opinion, literally, in the eye of the beholder. 

Graz/Thal Austria, June 12th 2014

We actually spent two nights in Graz, but we got there so late on the 11^th and left SO EARLY on the 13^th, we really only spent one day here. Our main trip to Graz was to actually head to Thal; the birthplace and home of Arnold Schwarzenegger. My husband is a mega fan of Arnie’s and has seen every single one of his movies and has lots of “useful” knowledge of the history of his life.

I have to admit, I thought it was going to be a waste of my time, but in actuality it was a great day trip! The bus rides (two busses need to be taken from Graz to Thal) were so beautiful. Large houses were nestled in the green hills and farmlands outside of the city. Then when we found the home of Arnie, we were the only ones there! I have a general theme of not liking crowds, so it was awesome having the entire home turned museum (called the Arnie’s Life Museum) to ourselves. The rooms were transformed into periods of his life, from childhood and early body building days, to movies, to politics. I actually enjoyed the politics section… after all, he was my “governator” in California!

As we were the only ones there, we made friends with the guy working there. My husband and him were huge Arnie fans and talked for ages… which ended up with us being allowed to pick up the sword from “Conan the Barbarian” and sitting on one of the motorcycles from “The Terminator”. We ended the trip lazing in the back garden sipping on a beer and Jayda pestering me to admit I had fun. I didn’t admit it to him, but I did. When in Graz, make the trip to Thal. It’s a cute little village and the Arnies Life Museum is worth the trip.

As it was opening day for the World Cup on the Thursday June 12^th 2014… we didn’t do too much siteseeing in Graz. We walked around for a bit and got dinner. The city is old clashing with modern. Modern art is everywhere within the historical walls. It seemed quite interesting, but other than that I didn’t do anything else. It was straight back to the hotel to watch the opening ceremonies and the match! When in Graz, go to Thal. It is well worth it !

Graz, Modern art in the river

Salzburg, Austria: June 9-11, 2014

Salzburg was absolutely beautiful! Actually, all of Austria is absolutely beautiful. Everything is so green and mountainous and absolutely gorgeous. Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart, so there is a TON of history here. It is also where “The Sound of Music” was filmed, so you can just imagine the green landscape surrounding the city. A huge Fortress also sits perched upon a mountain overlooking the city, so overall, it is quite a picturesque place.

My favorite day was our “mistake” day. We went on our own walking tour of the city and decided to take a detour. It ended up being a hike up a small mountain that overlooked the city. We had the entire place to ourselves with 360 degree views. It was sunny, hot, sweaty, and gorgeous! Salzburg is great, but due to its rich history, there are a lot of tourists in the city. Not an overwhelming amount, but after spending 3 days in Innsbruck where we felt like we were the only travelers, it was a different experience.

views from our hike

Salzburg has a ton to do, has great food, and is a stunningly beautiful town. However, due to all the tourism, I have to recommend exploring the other less traveled villages and towns as well. Austria is an amazing country rich in history and nature, almost every town and city will have a ton to do and see. A bonus is that they will have less tourists and will likely be surrounded by mountain ranges just begging to be explored.

Austria is a MUST VISIT country, but when you do visit, Salzburg is also a must see. It is too pretty to not go for at least a day to walk around and site see. Plus, there is a “love lock” bridge and if you’re lucky enough you can put a lock on the bridge and throw away the key! That way you've locked down your love forever in a beautiful setting. It is also A GREAT excuse to come back to the city and attempt to find your lock! I loved Salzburg, but am thoroughly enjoying Austria in general. 

Innsbruck, Austria: 6-9 June 2014

Hands down, the most beautiful train ride I have had in my life was when I was on my way to Innsbruck. We took the train from Zurich, Switzerland to Innsbruck, Austria. Deep blue rivers and lakes surrounded by the Alps. The train going in, out, and along the mountains overlooking such great valleys.  I cannot recommend enough this train journey. Taking the trains through Europe is always fun as there are always great views, but Zurich to Innsbruck was particularly incredible. Where else are you going to take a train ride through the Swiss Alps? We didn't leave on our train journey until almost 7pm, but as it is is summer and light outside until 9:30pm or so, we got to watch the sun set over the Alps. Incredible!

doesn't do it justice, but the view from our train ride to Innsbruck

Innsbruck is definitely a town for the outdoor adventurer. In the winter, there is an abundance of ski slopes and snow activities. In the summer, I also was surprised at how much there was to do. The “old town” is very small and quite possible to do all the sites and best museums within one day. The next day can be spent heading up to the mountain for great views of the mountains and the city. Once at the top of the mountains, there are A TON of mountain bike trails, hiking trails, and tons of people paragliding. We opted for a small hike and to watch the outdoor extremists take on the mountain. 

singing in the mountains !

our little hike above Innsbruck

Innsbruck itself is a tiny & adorable city. There are lots of interesting museums to go to. We opted for one that held exhibits on the cultural history of the Austrians. This may be one of the creepiest museums I have been to. Not that Austrian history is scary, but the artifacts and background music was so eery! There was an exhibition on masks, some of the scariest masks I have ever seen! There also was a section on the dress and fashion of Austrians, which would have been interesting if they were not displayed on creepy wooden life sized dolls. The museum was full of interesting items, but I couldn't help but being completely and entirely creeped out! It didn't help that my husband and I were the only ones in the museum.

creepy museum

My husbands favorite site was going to the Olympic Ski Jump; The Bergisel. It was interesting, but I enjoyed the views from it more as no one was actually practicing. However, it was SO STEEP and gave you an entirely new appreciation of the ski jump as a winter activity. It always was one of my favorite winter events, but actually seeing it, the athletes have to have some huge cajones to actually go through with it!!!

the Bergisel

Also, while in Austria, you cannot leave without having a huge giant glass of beer with sauerkraut & pretzels. Summer time in Austria is absolutely stunning. Sipping on large pints (mugs called a mabkrug) of beer and eating traditional food under the sun, surrounded by mountains, was just phenomenal. I actually was surprised by how hot it was. When in the Alps I always think of the snow, but it was 31 degrees Celsius or so every day! About 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

me and my mabkrug !

Innsbruck is an awesome town, like in Zurich, we enjoyed going to the grocery stores for picnic lunches and dinners and enjoying the sites of the town. Innsbruck in the summer is great, but I also would love to come back in winter as I can just imagine how adorable it would be with Christmas markets and instead of having beer I would be sipping on mulled wine. I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Austria and enjoying the laid back culture.