I have totally neglected our blog. For the two that read it, I apologize. Our lives are always exciting and there is always something going on. Sadly, and happily, I keep my Facebook updated better than my journal and my blog. It dawned on me that I should keep the blog updated for those few that may not keep up with us on FB. Furthermore, the blog often allows dialogue that is more detailed and more emotional.
As Summer transitioned into Fall, Pooh and I traveled to Europe. We went with a specific purpose in mind, but as life often does, we were thrown a curve ball and had to adapt. The result was a bit of disappointment, but a wonderful experience nonetheless. Most who know us know that Pooh and I have struggled with building our family. With nothing necessarily "wrong" with either of us, we have been labeled with "inexplainable infertility". Ultimately this means that with all measures taken, there is no reason why we have not added to our family naturally. The next step after adoption and several attempts at AI, was IVF.
In our local area, IVF runs about $12,000 and of course there is no guarantee. I tend to be very conservative in my money management and my taste for risk versus reward tends to be conservative as well. It pains me to consider spending or investing money with the possibility of no return, meaning, I would gladly pay considerably more to do an IVF procedure if I knew it would be successful. On the flip side, I have a hard time paying so much with no guarantee of success. For this reason we determined the route for us would be to pursue the IVF path in Europe, where, worst case scenario we would walk away with an experience we otherwise would not have had. We have friends who have successfully done IVF in Eastern Europe and the cost is about 1/3 of the cost here. This means we could enjoy a two week vacation and do the procedure for slightly less if we stayed in the US. We like to travel anyway, so it made sense. Unfortunately, sparing you the details, we ended up not being able to do the IVF procedure. This of course was a ginormous disappointment. It bummed me out and really crushed Pooh. When faced with the decision to return home early or to stay and take advantage of a great opportunity, we chose to stay and see the sights. We are happy we did, though we would trade every great day and more for the chance to be successful in this venture. We had a fun time in Czech Republic, Austria and France. I realize you may have already seen our Europe pictures on FB. If you have not, I have included a very small portion of our pictures in this post. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and just about everything in Europe.
My favorite part was traveling with this hot chick! She is such a fantastic travel partner. She is a planner and I am not. I get easily frustrated in situations where I feel vulnerable and lost and she does so much to make sure we always have a plan and transportation.
We loved the History and it was amazing. The history of many of the sites and cities we visited were hundreds and hundreds of years old by the time our history (American) was just beginning! This is the desk where the Treaty of Versailles was signed to end the first World War...at least the treaty that ended the war between the Allies and Germany.
We loved the people there. There were all sorts of people. This was the only person I got a picture of. Pooh wouldn't let me take pictures of some of the "different" people we saw.
We enjoyed getting a small taste for the opulence and excess of the royals in Europe. Particularly at the Palace at Versailles in Paris (as seen here), Schloss Schonbrunn in Vienna, the Louvre in Paris and Hrad Praha in Prague.
Again, the history was amazing. I could have spent all day in Les Invalides which is, among other things, the military museum of France, the burial place of Napolean and a military hospital.
Pooh was able to check a few places of her bucket list such as seeing L'Opera House in Paris where the story of The Phantom Of The Opera finds it's setting. Here she is seen at Box 5.
We loved the romantic everything of Europe. The sidewalk displays, people watching, outdoor cafes, parks, architecture and, well, everything! Here is Pooh looking at paintings on the River Seine with Notre Dame in the background.
We loved the food everywhere we went. We always tried to sample something different each meal. Here we went to a French Fondue and Salt Rock Restaurant where the food is cooked at your table. Yum!
Another bucket list for Pooh. Kissing in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
This is the famous invisible statue on display at the Louvre. The only part of the trip I didn't enjoy was how crowded the Louvre and Versailles was. It seemed to me that Asia was empty those days as they had all visited Paris.
Pooh and Venus. The art culture of Europe is amazing. We loved all the statues and monuments. They were everywhere. You didn't need to pay to see them at the Louvre, though to see the famous sculptures you did. Otherwise, they were plentiful around town.
The freshness of the food in Europe was awesome! I don't think we ate any preservatives the whole time we were there. Simply amazing. While we were not disappointed with the French Cuisine at all, we were surprised at the quality in Austria and Czech Republic. The best pastries were from Czech Republic when one would assume they would be from France. The best chocolates were also from Czech Republic when one would assume they would be from Austria.
We loved the bridges along the River Seine. Each one different than the next, but just as beautiful and romantic.
We LOVED the French Onion Soup. Turns out in France they just call it onion soup.
VAVAVOOM MON AMI!
Of course, we loved the iconic Eiffel tower, but this is different than any other structure I have ever seen. It captures the skyline from everywhere and you can't help but to take picture after picture. What an amazing thing.
Of course we loved most everything about France. Even when we got scammed by a gypsy at this street corner of Champs E'lysee and Victor Hugo in front of the Arch De Triomphe.
We loved that the colors of fall were setting in while we were there. How? I have no idea. For the most part it was warm, but the trees were not fooled. They knew it was October.
Again, the Eiffel Tower.
We loved all the shops where each store seemed to focus on one thing or another. There were no super stores or even smaller stores like 7-11s that had a variety of products. They each supplied a product that they specialized in.
We loved the culture of each city we visited. We didn't like that we got chased out of this store for taking a picture!
Another bucket list item for Pooh. Swan Lake Ballet at the Famous Stadt Opera in Prague. The original choreography done by a Czech. This was an amazing show and I don't like ballet.
What an experience!
We loved the city of spires, Prague.
We loved the red roof houses and close networks of narrow streets. So beautiful.
Did I mention how much I love this woman?!
We loved the churches. There are so many all over Europe. Most of them being older than our nation or built even before North America was settled by Europeans. They are amazing mountains of stone glass. So ornate. So beautiful. In Prague, they are EVERYWHERE! Unfortunately, after 50 years of Communist Soviet oppression, Czechs are 70% athiest and the buildings are now owned by history. What an amazing place this would be to serve a mission and teach of Christ. There has to be so many thirsting for truth.
I have read many places that Austria is the most beautiful city in Eastern Europe and possibly all of Europe. It was easy to believe.
I loved how clean Prague was. There was an abundance of graffiti, but not much trash. As opposed to Paris where trash was EVERYWHERE! Trash, cigarettes, poop, peeing drifters, etc. Not in Prague though. They take great pride and care in their city. So beautiful. There wasn't much trash, but we did find this chair in the street.
As the once capital of the Holy Roman Empire, Prague was a beautiful and history laden city.
Another bucket list for Pooh. I was happy to be a part of it. We saw an opera with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in this old church built in the 12oos.
Again with the food. The Czech cuisine is as if time stood still 50+ years ago. Czech Republic, as referred to by Anthony Bourdain, is the land that vegetables forgot. They love meat, potatoes, onions and cabbage.
We loved the good weather. We packed for mid 60's and got mid 80's. We were a bit warm, but we love the sun.
We enjoyed the chocolates and pastries of Czech Republic. At this candy store we bought some hot cocoa which was literally melted chocolate.
We loved the color and architecture of the buildings.
We loved Salzburg and the surrounding region such as the lake district as seen here.
We loved trying new treats such as Almdudler, the national drink of Austria. It is a lemonade with herbs.
Bucket List gaining checks by the day! Pooh absolutely loved the Sound of Music Tour. Don't tell any of my buddies, but I did too. It was a fun time. Here she is by the "I am sixteen going on seventeen" gazebo.
Again the lake district.
We loved everything Baroque about Europe such as these Baroque style gardens. Like Pooh says, if it 'aint Baroque, don't fix it.
Schloss Schonbrunn. HUGE! Beautiful! Amazing.
Excess and opulence at it's height.
Visiting places like this, you could almost be taken back in time to imagine what it would have been like.
What a cutie!
We loved staying at different hotels such as the Hotel Nestroy in Wien.
We also enjoyed going on a bit of a culinary vacation by dining at famous restaurants such as Plachutta.
We loved the sidewalk cafes. The food was awesome, the people watching was entertaining and the overall ambience was unique and easy to love. I think there were only a couple meals we at indoors.
We loved the clinic we visited. Granted, it didn't turn out the way we had hoped and prayed, but we appreciated how they treated us and the level of service we received. Doctors in the U.S. could learn a thing or two from the private medical community in Czech Republic.
Again, the history and the culinary aspects were probably my favorite aspects of this trip. Here is Pooh at "The Cabbage Market" in Brno, CZ. Amazing fresh produce and other agricultural products in a market that has been a weekly staple since the 1600s.
As mentioned before, the food in CZ was great, but suppressed. Each restaurant had the same fourthings on the menu (Ghoulash, Sliced pork loin with potato dumplings, sliced beef sirloin with bread dumplings and rabbit) with maybe one or two specialty meals.
While we don't love the Soviet oppression, it was fascinating to see and feel it's affects it had on the country of CZ.
We loved the unique hotels and restaurants we visited everywhere we went (though the hotel in Paris sucked big time). We loved the culture, the history, the food, the modes of transportation, the architecture, the colors, the smells, the sounds, and the people. It is my hope that those who visit our country feel as welcomed and received as we did there. I know I, for one, will go out of my way to be kind to those visiting from other countries. We are truly blessed to live in a country that grants us so many freedoms. I pray that I will never take those blessings for granted. I pray that I will always count every small detail of what I have as a blessing. I am grateful for the experience we had to learn so much. I hope our experience was not in vain. I pray our dreams will soon be realized. Thanks for traveling with us, even if it is just the two readers we have. Bonne Nuit! Gute Nacht! Dobrou Noc!
