Christmas in Prague

"Vesele Vanoce" is how they say "Merry Christmas" in Czech (although I know I am missing symbols above some letters). Christmas was warmer than we expected with no snow, Thank you Jesus, but still a little chilly. This was a good thing we had the cold so we could enjoy the hot wine they serve at the Christmas Markets! The picture above is the Market Square where the main Christmas Market was held and Christmas entertainment happened. They had many folk bands on the main stage and even held a non-denominational service on Christmas Eve here so that people of all religions could celebrate the peace and love of the season.

The people of Prague were very festive as they decorated much of the city, and did it very tastefully. I mention this because the fashion displayed by its inhabitants and Eastern European visitors was questionable at best :). They also celebrated more on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day there, in fact, the stores were open on Christmas Day more than the Eve. We had a great time exploring the city by day and visiting the pubs at night...Prague is a very fun city! I plan to blog more on the sights tomorrow and the nightlife later in the week, so stay tuned for more on this amazing city!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Heidelberger WeihnachtsMarkt

We have been a little busy this season and have only made it to the Mannheimer Market until tonight when we caught the Heidelberg Christmas Market. TJ had never been so it was fun showing him the different markets in each area of the Hauptstrasse...even though it was raining. It wasn't that cold as it was about 45 degrees, and after our weekend in Garmisch it felt even warmer! Anyway we got our cups of gluhwein and wandered the Hauptstrasse until we found a covered area near the skating rink on the Marketplatz. We hung out there for a while, collecting more mugs, until we decided to head back to the house to get ready for our trip to Prague tomorrow. I like this market because it is spread out a bit and seems to have a larger variety of gift vendors...and I also like the bar pictured above. Its a play on the Kathe Wolfahrt pieces that use candles to spin the fans. The fan at the top does spin...but the only heat coming from the bottom is that of the gluhwein! It is a good time and I am sorry its almost over.
We leave tomorrow for our Christmas trip and won't be back until after the holiday so Frohe Weihnachten...or in English, Merry Christmas!
Auf Wiedersehen!

The Zugspitze

TJ and made an impromtu trip to Garmisch, Germany this weekend to get our first snowboarding in of the season. One word could describe the conditions...cold. The traffic getting down there was also a bother as it marked the last working day for most Germans before the holiday season, so everyone was on the road and we were exhausted when we got there. We woke the next morning and quickly realized that we left the bag with our boots and mittens at home- and I am pretty sure that this will be the last time that I pack and TJ loads the car by himself. Any way that didn't stop us...we just rented some! The train ride from Garmisch to the Zugspitze (the tallest peak in Germany) ski area is about an hour and 15 minutes and it offers some really pretty views. Like this one of a small charming town's church and cemetary.




The boarding was fun and it took TJ about 5 seconds to get used to his new board and about a half hour for me to get comfortable again on the slopes. The snow was okay for being so early in the season, but the wind was ridiculous! I still have windburn and it hurts! We boarded for a couple hours before lunch and decided to take the lift up to the top of the Zugspitze to have lunch and take in the views, even though it was a little foggy. Here we are at the top...



And the view from the top.

The thought of going back out in the wind after I was freshly thawed from lunch left me almost teary-eyed, so I took off for Garmisch and left TJ, his new board, and the wind behind me.

After soaking in a hot bath to bring my core body temp back up, TJ came home and we got ready for our own Apres Ski which included dinner at Renzo Pizzeria and pints at the Irish Bar next door. Both of these places did warrant the freezing three block walk from the hotel and good times were had by all...even Tut Anthony!

Auf Wiedersehen!

The J and J Wedding

We wrapped up our time in Hawaii with a beautiful wedding. This couple is very special to us as the groom is TJ's best friend and was the best man in our wedding, they both have been dating nearly as long as us...and the bride is clearly my favorite college friend! So we have long awaited this day (as have many). I spent the day doting on the bride, and TJ spent the day golfing and hanging out with the groom before the ceremony. I think you can see from the above picture that the scenary was perfect and the bride was breath-taking!
After the ceremony we hung out to catch the sunset and take a few pictures of our last night at the beach. Here I am with Tommy Bahama...aka my hubs.


And the sunset after the wedding was gorgeous!

We then headed up to the condo to let their precious baby cock-a-poo out before heading over to the party, and a party it was! It was an open air reception in one of the houses with the most delicious food ever...my faves were the ahi tuna and the kobe sliders! And the best drink of the party was the J and J Cooler...the couple's signature drink complete with edible hibiscus flowers at the bottom. We ate and drank a bit before the couple came in and the real party began. Here they are being announced in a ceremonial Hawaiian tradition.

And like I said, then the real party started...at least in part by the J and J wedding gang as pictured below...

The special entertainment began after the couple came in and they were ah-mazing! It was a Beatles cover band called the "MOPTOPS". If you love the Beatles, you would be sure to love them!

The minute they started, everyone began dancing! It was super fun, and it wasn't long before the heels came off!

Then due to a Hualalai event curfew they had to stop which prompted the toasts and cake-cutting.

And then we stuck our feet in pool to cool down, the DJ played some hits and their was some more dancing, and definitely more picture taking! Its a event tradition amongst our friends to do a "circle of friends" photo, so we did!

And, of course, one of the high school three and their hot wives!

It was a wonderful occassion and we had a fabulous time! There are about a jillion more photos from the wedding and our time on the island on TJ's flickr, however they are private and you must be a friend of his to view them.

Although this adventure half way around the world is over for us, we have plenty more to come with a possible snowboarding trip this weekend and Prague for Christmas so...stay tuned! Aloha!

More Wedding Festivities

We kept very busy and had a ton of fun with the activites leading up to the wedding. The happy couple, being the athletes that they are, put together a group fun run for our little wedding gang of friends. I am not exactly sure how far we ran, but it felt far and we ran one of the loops in the resort. And guess what? It was beautiful and fun up until the last part...heartbreak hill! Here we are goofing around...


And then running down by one of my favorite areas in the resort. There is lava rock on either side of the path and the ocean waves crash up against it. Becky and I kept joking that views sucked and hurt our eyes!


I didn't put any pictures of heartbreak hill up because they all looked too painful. I mean the looks on the faces of our little gang...and especially me being that I couldn't breathe! But here we are at the top when it was all said and done!

It was super fun and earned a beach day for most. A few of us had other things in mind like nails and a trip to a tatoo parlor. And for those of us without it...a dreamy trip to Target!
Later on that evening was a "Guys and Girls Night" where the boys went one way and the girls went another on campus. I loved the dinner portion because we really did celebrate our love for the bride when playing my favorite game, "Say Your Favorite Thing or Memory about the Bride". Which, of course, turns into funny stories! This is our candle lit table...it was so pretty!

And afterwards a photo of the CB boy's girls! Can you tell which one of us is the bride and doesn't live in a frozen winterland?

Following the dinner, the girls met up with the boys at one of the houses for champagne and cupcakes. The cupcakes were delicious...as was the champagne! At least the bride and I thought so...

Oh and the man to the left is the groom's stepdad and one of my most favorite people ever! The next day came with a hit...nausea for me...partly do to too much fun and partly due to a much needed trip to the chiro. So we decided to punish me by going outrigging. Actually I love outrigging and it was one of my favorite things we did last time and I didn't want to miss it! It was an unbelieveable day. The girls in our boat...

And the super hot guys...the husbands!

It was amazing for many reasons...the day was beautiful, we had the best guide, we laughed a ton, and saw dolphins!!! They swam right by us! My photography skills suck so I didn't get any clear photos of their passing, but the boys got out and swam with them. This a photos of them checking them out as they passed under us. So cool!

T says there is a video of the dolphins somewhere and I will try to find it and post it. It was awesome! We then spent the better part of the day at the beach where TJ earned himself a mean sunburn before heading to the Mainlander's Dinner.

The night before the wedding the couple hosted a gorgeous dinner at the Residence Beach House on the resort. It was so pretty as we were able to catch the sunset and then particiapte a yummy feast. These photos uploaded backwards again but they are of the groom's buddies and then the brides.

It was a very sweet party complete with toasts from the Dad's, which was a favorite of mine! Later that night we listened to a set from SmashMouth as they were performing at the resort on the golfcourse and you could hear them from the condo. Sysco Corp. had rented out the resort and they were the entertainment for their last night. The festivities were fabulous, but nothing compared to the time we had at the wedding! More on that tomorrow. Aloha!

Driving the Island

The day we went to the volcano, we decided to do an entire loop around the island. It took about four and a half hours with many scenic stops and it was simply beautiful! Here are a couple of our favorite snapshots!

The photos don't actually do the images any justice...the reality is much more amazing. We had a long, but great day and wrapped it up with a fantastic meal together at one of the other resorts complete with another Hawaiian sunset. Aloha!

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Last Wednesday we took a trip about half way across the island to Volcanoes National Park. It was awesome and certainly worth the trip! The only bad part was that about half the park was closed due to harmful gases being emitted in certain areas. It was okay with us as we had a great time anyway. After about a 2 hour drive...plus some scenic stops along the way we entered the park and found our first stop, Devastation Trail. Its only about a half mile each way, but it was beautiful! You can see the lava trail on one side and then the jungle like environment on the other. The devastion side was so pretty with some plants and flowers that have grown there since.


And then the other side...with regular trees in some parts, and then rainforest in others.


There were also really pretty dead trees...I know that sounds funny but they really were. Here is my favorite.

Then it was onto the lava tube. Its basically a tunnel, or a cave, that the lava made. One part has been lit and designed for all tourists and the other part requires a flashlight and is left in its original form. Some how these pictures were uploaded in reverse order, so the first one is us in the unlit original tube. I didn't go all the way in like TJ...instead I took family and group pictures for other tourists.

This photo is of the hollowed out tube and its lit so we could get a decent picture.

Its kind of interesting that the environment in and around the lava tube is basically that of a rainforest. Then you go in and its dark and wet with little or nothing inside...and then you come out and its completely lush. Here I am going in and you can see how lush it is.

The last thing we did was hike down to one of the craters (the only one open), walk across it, and then hike back up. It was something like 4 miles, but sure didn't seem like it. This is the view we had of it from the top of the trail...it is huge!

And then another view with the smoke from one of the active vents in the distance.

This crater is called the Kilauea Iki Crater and is the site of the 1959 lava. It weird because you hike down and up in a lush forest and then when you get down there you fell like you are on the moon! Some parts are smooth and others are very rocky. There are also some smoking vents in the crater and you can feel the heat when near them. Here is T by a mound of rock...and somewhere in that mound is a vent. You can kind of see the smoke.

There are also giant cracks. Some of them you can see down to where they end, and some you can't. Others have odd green plants growing inside them. Here are some cracks and their are others both larger and smaller than this.

Here I am hiking down to the smooth part...

We finally made it across!

It was awesome and we were starving! Our bellies were crying for sushi or rumored nearby Thai food. And then we realized we still had to hike up to the car! It was a very steep but beautiful trail up.

The only thing I didn't see that I really wanted to see was the NeNe. Nope, not one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, rather the Hawaiian goose that is endangered. Oh well maybe I will catch it next time! After we left we decided to drive the other way around the island and it was so pretty! More on that later, Aloha!

Pre-Wedding Party!

After our hike last Tuesday, we were invited to a pre-wedding party at the bride's parent's house in Kona. It was a gorgeous day- perfect for a backyard party! It was one of my favorite pre-wedding festivities because it was casual, fun, and there was the most amazing mexican food ever! You know we don't get that often and it simply hit the spot that night, especially after a very long hike! It was family and friends, and of course one very special dog. The bride's Mom and Dad thought of everything right down to the table decorations...the tables were decorated in the ribbon that her wedding gifts were wrapped in! But the best part was when she gave them the most amazing traditional Hawaiian tea leaves to wear. Here they are...

Like I said, it was so much fun! And this is where I learned to play the most fun name game ever- it is fun and hysterical and I am sure I will be playing it in the not-so-distant future!

Tomorrow's blog will be all about our fun day going to the volcano and touring the island! Until then, Aloha!

The Pu'u Wa'awa'a Hike

We just got back from Hawaii yesterday and had the best time there! Things started to get busy last Tuesday with day trips and wedding festivities so I decided to wait until we got back to blog about our adventures. Tuesday we had a couple things happening...first we hiked the cinder cone and then it was on to Jess's parent's house for a pre-wedding party (more on that later as it was super). A bunch of us got up on Tuesday, filled our packs with water and lunch and headed out to hike a cinder cone at one of the state parks about 45 minutes from the resort. A cinder cone is basically formed by a volcanic vent that when exploding the magma cools quickly forming these bubble hills, and the island has several of them. It was a clear and gorgeous day...perfect for a hike in the heat! My personal photographer (TJ) grabbed his Nikon and got some good pictures of our time there...here is a good one.




It should be noted that even though the cone looks small it isn't...it was very steep and a fantastic workout! Here are a few of us making our way up some steep parts.

We were basically all alone up there besides some cows and these really cute goats!

TJ took some great photos of the views as we went up and then again from the top!

In this one you can see Maui in the background. Its pretty close, but sometimes there is fog from the volcano and you can't always see it. On this day we got lucky!

TJ and I made it to the top along with the others...we were hot, stinky, and sweaty! But, what a view!

There are all these random trees and bush's everywhere...and apparently they went up before and it was more lush with greenery in the spring...not this time. But I love this photo of TJ's buddy near one of the tree's.

We had our lunch snack, took in the views, and then took a victory photo of the group. Here we are!

What goes up must come down. I think someone said we hiked up and down in an hour and a half or so...it was a great workout and we covered something like nine miles. And we were happy to make it down. This is the bride-to-be and my we did it photo...and she looks far more energetic than me!

It was super fun and a great way to get some sun! Thanks J and J for taking us!

Aloha.