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2008 European adventure: Nuremberg and Trier

Summary: Mandi and I drove from Nuremberg to Trier, making a stop at the Frankfurt airport to pick up Mandi’s mom Bette, her grandma Nancy, and Nancy’s friend Cassie. We enjoyed delicious little sausages in Nuremberg and saw a bunch of Roman ruins in Trier before heading to Hahn airport for our flight to Finland.

18 October

Mandi and I flew in to Prague, but flying out was crazy expensive, so we planned to meet up with the rest of our party at the Frankfurt airport using a combination of train and rental car with a stop in Nuremberg. The train ride from Prague to Nuremberg was beautiful – it looked like it’d be fun to take a couple of days, stopping in Plzen and some small town between there and Prague. Just from the train we saw rock climbers, bicyclists, and even a golf course.

Nuremberg wall tower

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2008 European adventure: Prague

Summary: Mandi and I flew in to Prague via Munich, recovered from jet lag for a couple of days by eating a lot of pork and drinking a lot of beer, then took the train to Nuremberg.

15 October

For Mandi and I, European adventure started in Prague. We tried to make it to Prague a couple of years ago but ended up in London instead due to a snow storm. We figured October would be early enough that there wouldn’t be snow, but we had our fingers crossed anyway. We flew in on Lufthansa via Munich, arriving at about 8 am. Arriving in the morning on a trip where you’re doing a big time zone change sucks, especially if you aren’t good at sleeping on planes. I bring all the stuff required for airplane sleeping – headphones, neck pillow, exhaustion – but never manage to sleep. After some confusion at the airport we figured out how to catch a bus then the metro into town and found our hotel to drop off our bags. Our room was ready, but we resisted the temptation to take a nap and instead hit the cobblestone streets looking for coffee and something edible.

Busy in Prague

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Marching on Helsinki

Marching on Helsinki

I like the shadows in this shot of the ladies braving the cold wind near Uspenski Cathedral.

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Power pole

Power pole

A power pole in La Conner, Washington, spotted during the spring 2008 family reunion.

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Water tanks in New York

NYC rooftops

I didn’t know what all the tanks on the rooftops were when I took the photo. As usual, Wikipedia knew the answer: they’re water tanks that were mandated in the 1800s in order to maintain water pressure in buildings over 6 stories. Presumably they’re still there because they work, but they’re a little precarious looking. Makes me wonder how New Yorkers can possibly claim their city water tastes good – maybe it’s like fine wine aged in oak barrels?