Pompeii and Positano

After two days in the Eternal City we decided to venture south. We caught a train headed for Naples, prepared for a day in Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. Although the weather wasn't ideal, the little rain did not slow us down.

Pompeii is a captivating sight. Once a thriving port and trading town, it is now the most famous and one of the best preserved Roman cities. Covered in 27 feet of ash after the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD, the city has been slowly excavated and is now an excellent example of life in the Roman Empire. Our pictures don't do it justice, but they're a glimpse of the wonderful sights of Pompeii.

Looking down a road in Pompeii. The large stones
served as both crosswalks and ancient speed bumps.

Linda in her native habitat... an old bakery with flour
grinders still standing.


One of the most interesting things we saw... this is an
ancient lunch counter where Romans could sample the
soup du jour.
Us in the amphitheater.

The four of us in the town center.

From Pompeii, our guide drove us to a little restaurant in Positano. He assured us it would provide the perfect setting for an Italian Thanksgiving feast; we were skeptical, but he was driving, so we were more-or-less a captive audience. Five courses of the best food we've had in Europe, many bottles of great wine, and an indescribable view proved him correct. It was a Thanksgiving to be remembered.

The view from our table.

The entrance to the restaurant.

The beach in Positano

Stuffed to the rafters, we walked off some of the dinner in Positano and Sorrento, a town farther up the coast. It was still chilly and somewhat drizzly, but the weather could not dampen our time on the Amalfi Coast. Looks like we have a vacation spot for better weather next summer!

Ciao

Roma!

November gave us a lot to be thankful for... Linda and Lee came to visit! They arrived the Sunday before Thanksgiving and we picked up the travelers at Marco Polo airport. No rest for the weary as we left for Rome bright and early Tuesday morning. We boarded the fast train and introduced our guests to the ambiance of Italian rail travel.

We arrived in Rome that afternoon and, after dropping our things off at the hotel, set off to explore. After a scheduling hiccup, we decided to walk and familiarize ourselves with our corner of the Eternal City. With Rick Steves as our guide, we were able to see many of Rome's most picturesque sights, including the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the Four Rivers fountain, and the Spanish Steps. We finished the day, tired from walking, with a good dinner and an early night to bed.

In front of the Spanish Steps

Lee and Linda throwing their coins into the Trevi Fountain

Refreshed, we awoke Wednesday morning to conquer ancient Rome. Our first stop was Victor Emmanuel's monument, Trajan's column and the adjacent market. Trajan's forum was an extension of the old forum, built when the city of Rome outgrew the original city center. Across the street the glory and intrigue of the once-great empire met us in the forum. We strolled the ancient grounds as we viewed buildings dating from 497 BC. A bit of imagination and Rick Steves' guide allowed us to imagined what it must have looked like in its prime. We exited the forum and made our way past the arches of Titus and Constantine to the Colosseum.

The Victor Emmanuel Monument (The wedding cake building)

Trajan's column and forum

Once home of gladiator games and pitched (albeit man-made) sea battles, the Colosseum remains impressive even in its decay. During its time, 51,000 roaring Romans packed the stands. Only 1/3 of the Colosseum remains, but the remains allow you to visualize the grand construction of the ancient world's most famous sporting venue. From the colosseum we caught a cab back to the hotel for lunch and a quick riposo before the afternoon's activities.

In the Colosseum

Shortly after lunch, we met our tour guide at the Vatican for a private tour of the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St Peter's basilica. Lucky for us our tour guide, had 42 years of experience and was able to give insights and details that made the whole experience spectacular. We made our way through the museum and entered the Sistine Chapel, completely renovated and beautiful. Our final stop was St Peter's basilica, where we were blown away by the size, wealth, and beauty of the church. Interestingly, all the works of art on the walls and ceilings are mosaics, though they could easily pass for frescoes. We exited through St Peter's square and walked out of one of the world's smallest countries to find a taxi.

The alter in St Peter's basilica

St Peter's Square

St Peter's square at sunset

Back in our neighborhood, we strolled by the Trevi fountain at night to see it illuminated. A few glasses of wine and one excellent meal later and - basta - we were ready to hit the hay. Thursday included a day trip (which we'll cover in another post) and was another great day of sightseeing.

The Pantheon at night

Lee and Linda at the Trevi Fountain at night

Friday morning we returned to the ancient city center, this time to see the Palatine hill. As we toured the gardens and palaces of the Caesars, we enjoyed the lofty position (literally) to see the Circus Maximus and gaze down upon the forum. There, we also saw the caves and huts of Romulus and Remus, the birthplace of Rome. We hurried back to our hotel and then to the train station to catch our train just in time. A short train ride later we arrived in chilly northern Italy with good photos and great memories.

Ave Cesare! Lee standing in the location of Caesar's throne

View of the Colosseum from the Palatine

The splendor of the Forum from the Palatine

Rome wasn't built in a day, but it can be toured in three. Our whirlwind visit allowed us to see the best Rome had to offer and gave us a better understanding of Italian history.

We came, we saw, we conquered... Ciao!

Oktoberfest 2010

For the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, a group of 12 of us traveled to Munich to celebrate in style...Bavarian style that is!

We arrived in Munich on Friday afternoon and quickly dressed in our Bavarian garb. Caleb and I picked out a matching yellow checkered pattern for our lederhosen and dirndl. All suited up, the group jumped on the U-Bahn (German subway) and headed down to Oktoberfest! It was like nothing we had ever seen. Resembling the Texas State Fair on steroids, Oktoberfest boasted tons of rides, games, and food booths. Seating anywhere from 1000 to 8000 people, the crowning glory, were the beer tents! We perched ourselves at a table in the Lowenbrau tent and enjoyed pretzels, beer, roasted chicken, the German band, and all the festivities.

A view of the festival

In our garb

Outside the Lowenbrau tent

Inside the Lowenbrau Tent

Saturday we went back down to the fair grounds, but the crowd was overwhelming! A few bratwursts and pretzels later, we decided to venture into downtown Munich. Along our walk, we saw the beautiful town and ended up at the Hofbrau Haus for lunch/dinner. A smaller version of Oktoberfest, we still enjoyed all of the excitement the festival had to offer.

At the festival on day 2

The hall in Haufbrau Haus

Hoffbrau Haus with the Ludingtons

After a wonderful weekend in Munich, we loaded up the car on Sunday and took the beautiful drive home through Austria and back into Italy. We had a great time with friends as we enjoyed the real Oktoberfest, a once-in-a-lifetime experience... until next year!

Ciao

Land of the Midnight Sun

While Jordan was exploring Scotland with the girls, I went on my first TDY from Aviano. I went with our sister squadron,the 555FS, to Kallax AB near Lulea, Sweden. It was quite an experience. First, the country is beautiful, at least during the summer, and we really enjoyed the town and interacting with the Swedes who were excellent hosts. It was strange to have the sun set around 11 pm and rise around 2-3 am; even at the darkest point it was only dusk.

Lulea, Sweden

The flying was pretty great. I flew two upgrade rides there: Close Air Support (CAS) and Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM). The CAS ride was awesome because I was able to drop two 2000 lb inert (concrete) bombs and strafe with the gun. We don't have these opportunities often at Aviano, so it was great training to drop actual weapons on my upgrade ride and work with forward air controllers on the ground. A lot of other pilots were able to fly against the Swedish Gripens stationed at Kallax and they really benefited from the dissimilar training.

The pilots and maintainers with the Gripen and the mighty Viper!

We enjoyed the town of Lulea even though almost everything in Sweden is far more expensive than Italy (i.e. it cost around $30 for a burger/fries). There was a large music festival the second weekend we were there and it was fun to walk around and listen to some music. That same weekend the 555FS had a naming ceremony for a lot of their wingmen and they rented a great place on a beautiful lake near the town. I helped out the other new guys and we ran errands to get food, etc for the rest of the guys.

View of the lake where the naming was held

All in all it was a great couple weeks and I was able to see Sweden. We'd like to go back and visit Stockholm and see all the sites. The TDY was nice because it made Italy really feel like home and I was very happy to return to Sacile to see Jordan, sleep in our bed, and be at home.

Ciao

Budapest Félmaraton

Over labor day weekend we took a whirlwind trip to Budapest, Hungary. Our main purpose was to run in the Nike Half Marathon; the added bonus was that we were able to explore such an amazing city!

Pre-race pic in our hotel room on Sunday morning

The Buzzettes and Buzzards who ran the race had matching shirts. This is the back...RULE!

Buzzard on the front of our shirts

The race started at 10am on Sunday morning, and with blue skies and 60 degree weather, we couldn't ask for better conditions. We have been training for a little over a month and were ready to set our own personal records. Caleb far surpassed his training and finished his first ever race at 1:59:10. He had an incredible run! I knocked 6 minutes off of my last half, finishing the Budapest in 2:14:02. We were both proud of our accomplishments, and exhausted from a hard run race!

Me and my running buddy Erica around mile 12.5!

Caleb flashing the obligatory Buzzard Claw during the race (Danube River in the background)

Making great time!

Running picture are not the most flattering, but whatever

After the race, we managed to walk our wary legs to the Terror Museum. Hungary was overtaken by the Nazi-affiliated Arrow Cross Party in the waning days of World War II. Arrow Cross members did their best to exterminate Budapest's Jews, and the building, now housing the museum, was used for the torture and execution of many of those Jews. Shortly after the downfall of the Nazi party, the Soviets took control of the battered Hungary. When the communists attacked Budapest, they took over the same building as headquarters of their secret police. It remained a place for torture and execution. For over two decades, oppression and atrocity marked this building, earning it the name the House of Terror. It was a fascinating exhibit and a chilling lesson in Eastern European/Hungarian history.

Soviet Tank in front of the wall of victims in the lobby of the museum

Once the "House of Loyalty" now the Terror Museum

Monday, still sore from the run the previous day, we decided to spend our day doing a tour through the city on a "hop-on, hop-off" tour bus. It was a fantastic way to catch many of the highlights around the city without walking on our wobbly legs. The weather was quite a bit cooler and rain came in and out all day, but we enjoyed a closer look at many of the sites we had run past on Sunday morning.

Panoramic view of the Budapest Castle, the Danube river, and the city

Matthias Church in Holy Trinity Square

Caleb and me in front of the Fisherman's Bastion. The Hungarian "Eiffel Tower"

Parliament Building

For our last night in Budapest, we made a trip to the Szechenyi Baths, one of Budapest's most popular attractions. The city has 123 natural springs that feed into the Szecheni Baths, and others like it. With many different pools offering a variety of water temperatures, we could choose how to soak our sore muscles. Caleb was a little more adventurous, standing in the 90 degree Celsius sauna and then jumping in the 16 degree Celsius cold bath! I, on the other hand, leisurely relaxed in the warm bath (which felt much like a hot tub) and soaked away my running pains. It was the perfect end to a great weekend!

From one end of the outdoor pools...

...to the other

Although we may not make it back to Budapest during our time in Europe, running the half was a great excuse to see the city. Who knows where the next race will take us...if our legs will allow!

Ciao

Scotland: part 2

Wednesday night we drove into Stirling. We found a more American style restaurant to give us a break from the traditional Scottish cuisine. Thursday morning we toured the Stirling Castle and then ventured up a pretty steep incline- via gondola- to see the William Wallace Monument. Back in the car, it was off to Glasgow. On our way, we stopped at Inchamahome Priory. Once an Augustinian monastery, it was used to hide out Mary Queen of Scots when she was a child. A small boat ferried us to the idyllic island where nothing but ruins of the monastery remain.

Stirling Castle

View of Wallace Monument, sitting at the top of the hill

Friday we drove to the Glasgow Cathedral. During the Reformation the protestants came in and white-washed all the walls, removed any art or statue that had been present, and cleansed it of everything Catholic. Fortunately, the stained glass had been recreated and reinstalled and what now stands is a beautiful, historic church. We drove to Edinburgh later that day. For the first 3 weeks of August, Edinburgh hosts the International Festival, which is the biggest Performing Arts festival in the world. The city was insanely crowded, hosting a multitude of shows in all kinds of venues. We saw a comedy show on Friday night on the history of Scotland and a contemporary dance performance on Saturday evening.

Stained glass in Glasgow Cathedral

Welcome to the Edinburgh International Festival

Night out in Edinburgh

Sunday morning we fought the crowds to get into the Edinburgh castle and took the tour. After the castle, it was off to St. Andrews!! The weather had gone back to being cloudy, so we grabbed our rain coats and headed to the Old Course, first thing. It was amazing to walk where the greats have played, and the still standing leader board from the Open was a reminder of just that. The 9 holes of putting that we played on the practice green, however, proved we were merely tourists taking in the sites!

Edinburgh Castle

Leader board for The Open

The Old Course

Monday morning we perused the British Golf Museum, and thenwalked to St. Andrews Cathedral stationed in the middle was a band (almost like a high school marching band) of bagpipers and drummers. They were fantastic!! St. Andrews castle was next on the list, and we finished off the town with lunch and some shortbread cookies before heading back to Edinburgh.

St. Andrews Cathedral

St. Andrews Cathedral

St. Andrews Castle

It is amazing how much ground we covered in 11 days, seeing most of Scotland and experiencing everything we could! I can't wait to take Caleb and go back...maybe next summer when the Italian heat is too much to handle. Until then, it's back to pizza and sunshine!

Ciao