Scotland: part 1

While Caleb has been TDY for the past few weeks, I had the privilege of meeting my friends Brianna, Tiffany and Lindsey, in Scotland for a whirlwind adventure. The girls had long before planned the trip, and when our next assignment brought us to Italy, we decided that it was perfect for me to join them. What better way to spend the beginning of August than in rainy, 60 degree weather, eating haggis and fried everything?

We started our journey in Aberdeen, on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. After landing in the airport and a quick rendezvous, we packed up our rental car and headed out. First up was a hike to a WWII memorial and Dunnottar Castle. It was a great introduction to Scotland (complete with fish and chips for lunch). We spent the night in Aberdeen and woke up early Saturday morning to start our road trip. We drove in the direction of Inverness, stopping at The Glenlivet and Glen Moray whisky distilleries. At Glen Moray we took the tour of the distillery, learning the ins and outs of distilling genuine Scottish whisky. I even got to bottle my own whisky after the tour! We pulled into Inverness later that evening, just in time for dinner and a good night's rest at a quaint b&b.

Dunnottar Castle

Glenlivet Distillery

Glen Moray Distillery

About to put on the label

Sunday morning we went to the Highland House of Fraser kilt maker workshop/museum/tourist trap, and wandered around picturesque Inverness. From there, we drove to Loch Ness and had a picnic over looking the lake from Urquhart castle. Unfortunately, no sign of Nessie! That night we made our way to a tiny village type place called Ratagan. We managed to find the only restaurant for miles and made ourselves at home. We had an interesting dinner and breakfast at this restaurant (which we deemed, "Grandma's house") before moving on.

Inverness

Urqhart Castle with Loch Ness in the background

Kilt Museum

After breakfast on Monday, we drove to the Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most iconic and photographed castles in Scotland. The tour was fascinating and included a fully staged kitchen to reflect the workings of a medieval castle kitchen. Our next stop was the Isle of Skye, where we made a 4 hour driving loop around the northern most tip of the island. Along the drive, we pulled over to see some beautiful waterfalls, Kilt Rock, and Hammish!

Eilean Donan Castle

Kilt Rock

Hammish the Highland Cow...the most famous animal in Scotland!

Tuesday we set out for Glencoe, making a stop in Fort William for lunch and taking a gondola up Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. We bunked up for the night in a hostel in Glencoe after finding, again, the only place to eat in town. The next morning, we went on a hike to find a noted waterfall. Not sure the length of the hike, we decided it would be smart to bring the essentials with us...water and shortbread cookies. And finally...the sun came our for the first time!! Next on the list, we drove to a town called Killin to see the Falls of Dochart- another series of waterfalls. Lucky for us, it also happened to be the day for the Killin Highland Games. Big men in kilts throwing hammers, bag-piping competitions, and Scottish dancing...what more could you ask for?!

Enjoying our first morsel of sunlight

Falls of Dochart

Highland games competitor

La nostra piccola macchina

Smart- (adj) neat, trim, appealing to sophisticated tastes (Merriam-Webster, 2010)

Ok, maybe "sophisticate taste" is a bit of a stretch, so let's just say fun. We added a baby Smart car to our stable today. The doctors said it's healthy and full grown. We think our older car may be feeling jealous, but I guess that's what happens when families grow.

Caleb rode the train to Vicenza (about 2 hrs away) to purchase the car. It is a 2002 Smart "Fortwo", as in, it's for two people. It has a nice moonroof and leather seats. The transmission is a sequenzionale which means we can select either automatic mode or shift manually, but without a clutch. The air conditioner works well, which is awesome considering that our Fiat is climate controlled (that is the climate controls the temperature).

We have shared a car for the past 4 months, which has strengthened our marriage. It is truly a blessing to purchase this car and we are happy to be able to accommodate both of our schedules... and zip around Sacile in our Smart!



Ciao

Casa di Cienski

We have been living in our apartment for almost a full month, and there is still so much to do! We are trying our best to be patient in acquiring furniture and hanging things on our (concrete/plaster) walls, but with two perfectionists, it is quite a challenge. And there is only so much you can grab at Ikea!! So here are a few pictures of our apartment pre-moving in, just to whet your appetite...

A view of our building from the street

The kitchen (including a table)

The bathroom (these Italians love their tile)

The guest room

The master bedroom

We love the hardwood floors in the bedrooms, and the kitchen is big by Italian standards. There is also an over-sized living room that we are using as a living room/dining room/office, and a big hall closet right off the entry way. We even get a ceiling fan in the master, another anomaly in Italia. We are a 2 minute walk from our sweet friends, the Gertisers, and a 3 minute walk to the square in Sacile. It is a work in progress, but all in all, this is the perfect place for us to be for the next three years!!

More pictures to come when we are a little more settled in.

Ciao

Destinazione Svizzera

Hooray for the red, white and blue....and the red and white as well!! Friday afternoon we ate lunch at the golf course on base (had to get a cheeseburger in for the 4th of July!) and then headed out of town...Switzerland bound!! Chocolate, cheese, and church history awaited us.

Friday night we arrived in Geneva around 10pm after a long car ride and lengthy delay at the Swiss border. Along with our friends the Wilhoits- Juila, Steven and sweet baby Hannah- we were chomping at the bit to explore all that Geneva had to offer. Armed with a good night's rest and milder heat than we left behind in Aviano, Saturday was jam-packed with sight-seeing.


We boarded the lake taxi Saturday morning and headed across Lake Geneva to the Old Town district. On our way across the lake we passed the Jet d'Eau, the world's highest fountain that launches water 140m (460 ft) skyward.

Our first stop was at Cathedrale St-Pierre. Originally built as a catholic cathedral, it became a Protestant church during the Reformation in the 1500's and houses some of the relics of that important period (including Calvin's chair the tomb of Henri de Rohan, the head of the Reformed Church in France). Quite different from the catholic churches we are used to viewing in Italy, St-Pierre was purged of all catholic decoration, leaving only the stained glass and an interesting scene of austerity for the visitors.


We hiked up several spiral staircases in both the north and south bell towers of the cathedral, leading us to a spectacular view of the city of Geneva. Another perfect opportunity for some panoramic shots!



After St-Pierre, we ventured underground beneath the cathedral to an archeological museum dedicated to the history of Geneva and the birth of Christianity in the region. Since excavation began, archeologists have been able to identify ruins of life and worship in Geneva from the 4th century, and have continued to uncover information about the building and renovating of the cathedral throughout time. It was an incredible site to walk through.

Proceeding through the city's historical offerings, our next stop was the International Museum of the Reformation. Luckily, on our drive to Switzerland we listed to a series by Tommy Nelson on church history and the Reformation, and the impact it had not only on spirituality in Europe, but socially across the western hemisphere as well. At the museum, we were able to learn more about Jean Calvin himself and the impact the Reformation movement had on Geneva and Switzerland, specifically. Different rooms housed artifacts, manuscripts, paintings and audio-visual displays to cover all of the highlights...including the chance to step into Calvin's shoes.


Being Italian residents now, we all decided "riposo" was necessary before dinner. So on our way back to the hotel, we made one more stop by the Reformation Wall to round out our day of church history. Built in the early 1900's to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Jean Calvin, the wall includes four 16-ft statues of the leaders of the Reformation in Geneva (L to R: Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Theodore de Beze, John Knox). Must have been some party!


After some down time, the five of us walked to Edelweiss Restaurant for a traditional Swiss meal. And what does that include, you may ask? Cheese! For an appetizer, raclette: boiled potatoes smothered in melted cheese and grilled onions. For the main course, 3 pots of fondue: mushroom and cheese fondue, 5 cheese fondue and beef in red wine. All this delicious food in a restaurant designed to resemble a Swiss Chalet, complete with entertainment by yodelers and songs played on the Alphorn (8ft long wooden horn...think Ricola commercials) and cowbells. It was quite the Swiss experience!!




On Sunday, the gang jumped back in the car for another drive to the beautiful town of Tasch. We parked the car in Tasch, transferred into a taxi, and rode into a town at the base of the alps- Zermatt. This is undoubtedly one of the most amazing places we have even had the opportunity to see. A clash of traditional Swiss culture, spas and resorts, intense hiking, skiing and outdoor activities, all while looking up and the Matterhorn, Zermatt is unlike any place on earth; we fell in love immediately. The rest of Sunday was spent walking around town, shopping, and picture taking, with another incredible fondue dinner (this time with chocolate fondue for dessert!). It was early to bed Sunday night to prepare for a big day Monday...


In order to beat the clouds blocking our view of the mountains, we decided an early start to the day was necessary. Upon arising for breakfast at 7, the Matterhorn was still shrouded in clouds. We were discouraged, but thought another walk through the town would cheer us up. Not but 3 minutes after we left the hotel did the clouds start to break. We knew this may be our only chance, so it was off to the gondolas to head up the mountain. Since there are many summer skiers and a few of the lifts were closed for repairs, we chose to ride up to a point called Schwarzsee Paradise, at 2583m (8,474 ft). Again, it was a view like we had never seen before. The Alps are in a category of their own and seeing the view in July was especially neat. Snow covered peaks butted with glaciers, all supported but lush, green mountain bases and rocky cliffs. These are some pretty amazing mountains. We spend about an hour and a half hiking around, taking pictures and enjoying every different view offered. About 11am, the clouds rolled back in, and we headed back down the mountain; a small window of time was all we needed to see God's creation in all of it's glory.





Monday afternoon meant Tuesday was just around the corner, so we packed up and headed home. Another incredible travel opportunity, Switzerland is definitely a place we will be visiting again in the near future. We have left over Swiss francs and a hankering for melted cheese...

Auf Wiedersehen!