Making Memories

For the last week, Kevin and I have been busy playing host and tour guide for my Aunt Ruth.  When she expressed her desire to come over, I was super excited and when she finally booked her ticket, I started planning immediately.  I love visitors!  I love playing host!  I love traveling!

This was Ruth's first trip overseas and I wanted to make sure she saw as many places as possible during her time here.  We started with Innsbruck.  Ruth and I were on our own for this one so it gave me a chance to show her my manual driving skills.  The drive went well, but the weather wasn't the greatest.  The skies were overcast so you couldn't see the mountains and it was pretty chilly.  For the most part, we just walked around Old Town and down by the river.  We only stayed a few hours before making our way back to Vipiteno to catch the Broncos hockey game...and they won! 

Ruth by the Inn River.

Our next stop was Venice.  Kevin was able to come with us for the day so he drove (best husband ever).  We introduced Ruth to our favorite take away pizza place, the local drinks, and gelato.  Ruth also did some serious shopping here!  Kevin had to head home that night, but Ruth and I stayed.  We were pretty tired so we just ate dinner and were in bed by 8:30...not asleep until 10:00 though.

Ruth was sick of pizza by the time she left.  Kevin and I can still eat it everyday.

Impromptu photo shoot by a crazy man at the Rialto Bridge. 

Baby Reiter's first trip to Venice.

We woke up the next morning to rain so we decided to head to Verona to see what the weather was like there.  There was rain, but it was warm so we decided to stay a few hours.  We caught up with Juliet at her casa, bought Baby Reiter the cutest outfit at Zara, and stuffed ourselves with pasta before boarding the train back to Vipiteno.

The rain wouldn't ruin our fun.

Ruth refused to rub Juliet's boob for good luck.

Our day in Vipiteno was a lazy one.  We had some serious snow here so we popped on our snow boots and headed to town so I could show Ruth around.  We had coffee, Ruth got to try a Krapfen, and we took her for pizza (again).  Kevin had to work that afternoon/night so Ruth and I bummed around and watched the inauguration.  She also got all packed up.

The next morning, all of us headed to Dachau to check out the Concentration Camp Memorial Site.  After a few hours there, we drove to Munich, checked into our hotel, and then made our way to the sights.  We hung out in the Marienplatz, had beers at Paulaner Beer Hall (I had coffee), bought treats at the Viktualienmarkt, and ate dinner at the Hofbräuhaus.

Ruth and I in the Marienplatz.

Kevin and I warming up at Paulaner Beer Hall.

When in Munich, eat a big pretzel. 

Our beers didn't stand a chance.  PLEASE NOTE: My beer was non-alcoholic. 

We dropped Ruth off at the airport yesterday and I can report that she made it home safely despite some delays and lost luggage.  Kevin and I are back to our normalcy.  That means he works and I play the role of pregnant house wife.

Our next BIG trip will be to the hospital so we better start packing for that! 

Update

I know I’ve been MIA for about two weeks, but we had one of Kevin’s friends in town and we were out and about.  We did a lot of traveling and saw some new places, but it’s nice to be home now. 

Brian got here on April 10.  He flew into Venice and we went there to meet him.  It just so happened that we also had family friends in Venice at that time so we all got together for a day of sightseeing.  We did a tour of the Jewish Ghetto (something we’ve never done), checked out St. Mark’s Basilica, walked around the markets, had pizza, and drank Spritz.  We thought about trying Bellinis at Harry’s Bar, the home of the first Bellini, until we saw the price.  £16.50 (about $22) for a 6-ounce Bellini!  That price made us all get out of our seats quickly and hit the streets for the next best thing…gelato.  

Pizza break with Emma, John, Cathy, Brian, and Kevin

That night we made our way to Verona where Brian, Kevin, and I were staying over.  It was already late so we checked into our hotel and then went straight to dinner.  After a bottle of wine and a few beers, we were exhausted so we called it a night.  We woke up the next morning to rain.  I’m not talking about a light sprinkle either.  This was a downpour.  After a few hours of walking around in the rain, checking out the Roman Theater, and rubbing Juliet’s boob, we decided it was time to head back to Vipiteno.

 Kevin got a quick boob rub in for good luck.

After a day spent in Innsbruck and a day in Vipiteno, we made our way to Florence.  We decided to drive since we were only staying two nights and it made more sense money wise.  We don’t have a GPS so we figured Google Map directions would work just as well, but we ended up getting lost a few times.  It took about an hour longer than it should have to get to our hotel.  We were actually parked illegal in a place we weren’t even supposed to be driving and started running around asking people if they knew where our hotel was.  Turns out, it was about 40 meters from where we were parked and the parking garage was just around the corner. 

Our first afternoon and night in Florence was rainy.  We had drinks, then dinner, then more drinks, and then called it a night.  The next day, we had scheduled a ½ day trip to Pisa and were bummed when we woke up to rain.  But as we started driving away from Florence, everything cleared up.  We got a guided tour of the main square in Pisa and then had a few hours to ourselves.  We spent most of this time holding up the Leaning Tower and snapping stupid pictures.

Piazza del Duomo, Pisa

 I'm just holding up the Leaning Tower for a bit.

That afternoon we had a few more hours of no rain in Florence and took advantage of it.  We checked out the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and walked around until dinnertime.  For dinner, we checked out a cute little place that had a pasta sampler.  It was served family style so you could just take what you want.  Everything was delicious, including the three bottles of Chianti that we took down.

The Piazza del Duomo in Florence

 The Ponte Vecchio

We finally woke up to a clear sky on our last day in Florence.  We walked the 460 steps (give or take a few) to the top of the Duomo, where the view was breathtaking.  Then, we headed over to the pizzeria where the cast of the Jersey Shore worked (please don’t judge).  In started to rain a little so we decided we should probably just head home.  Luckily, since I was in charge of the directions, we made it out of Florence and home without getting lost once.  It should be noted that I was with two directionally challenged men.  

The Last Judgement (on the left) is painted on the ceiling of the Duomo.  

 

Kevin and I at the top of the Duomo.

  Yep, we ate where the Jersey Shore cast worked.

After two days to recuperate in Vipiteno, we made our way to Munich.  Our first stop was Dachau Memorial Site, which I would highly recommend to everyone.  It was depressing, yet educational and some of the stuff that happened there is unbelievable. 

 The gate prisoners passed through when entering Dachau.  The inscription means "Work Brings Freedom."

Once we made it to Munich, we walked around the Marienplatz area and then heading to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner and a big beer.  One turned to two and then two turned to three.  And by the time we left there, we had each consumed three liters of beer.  Well, maybe not me…I was having trouble drinking the third one so I kept pouring it in the boys’ beers when they weren’t paying attention.  On our way home, we got so lost because somehow the map had gotten torn and the important part was nowhere to be found.

 The Marienplatz

 Round one of beers at the Hofbräuhaus.

That next morning was rough for everyone, but we wanted to get an early start because Kevin and I were heading out that afternoon to come back to Vipiteno.  We checked out the Viktualienmarkt, where I had a big pickle and a coffee and Kevin had a foot long sausage on a 6-inch bun for breakfast.  After doing some shopping and checking everything out, we headed to lunch where we all had a Wiener Schnitzels that were bigger than our heads.  Needless to say, none of us finished it.  Kevin and I said our goodbyes to Brian (since he was staying to fly out the next day) and we headed back to Vipiteno.

 I might have found the cure to hangovers.

 You can't visit Germany without getting a Wiener Schnitzel. 

Yesterday morning Kevin left for Asiago.  He will be there for the next 8 days working as the goalie coach for the Italian National Team.  It is a huge honor especially for a first year coach and I’m so excited for him.  I’m here in Vipiteno and have decided to spend my time alone getting back on a schedule.  I need to hit the gym hard and get back to eating like a normal human being.  Once Kevin gets back we’ll have a little less than 3 weeks here and we’re hoping to get to a few more places before returning back to the States.   

Come Back!

I cannot even explain how much fun it was having Jana and Kathy here last week. I am so sad that they are gone and I just wish they would come back, but I know that isn't going to happen.

The day we went to pick them up in Salzburg was miserable. It was raining, snowing, or sleeting the whole drive there. Luckily, once we got to Salzburg there was only a light rain. Since we were running a little late, Kevin dropped me off at the train station where I ran in to meet them. Their train was slightly delayed so everything worked out perfectly. I was standing on their platform for about 2 minutes before they pulled up.

We decided to take a hop on, hop off bus tour to see the whole city. Then, from there we walked around and saw the stuff we really wanted to see and did some shopping. We had an amazing meal at the Sternbräu in the Old Town, saw where Mozart lived, and saw where the scenes from The Sound of Music were filmed.

Our lunch at the Sternbräu.

We spent our second day in Innsbruck and the weather was perfect. We took two cars so Kevin could leave early to get back to work so that left the Tomasewski women's lives in my hands. And I would like to say that my driving was impeccable. I might have finally gotten the hang of it after 4 months.

We started our day off with some coffees and decided to go to the top of Bergisel Ski Jump to get a view of all of Innsbruck. We were told that it was a 10-15 minute walk and then there was a tram to take you to the top. Well, it turned out to be about a 30 minute walk, uphill most of the time. Then once you make it to Bergisel, there is a lift to take you to the top I must say all the walking was worth it.

What an amazing view of Innsbruck.

Showing the hubby some love.

Once we made it back to Old Town, it was time for Kevin to go. Us girls walked around Old Town, did some shopping, checked out the river, and had more coffees before heading back.

Jana and Kathy taking a break from shopping.

We decided to show Kathy and Jana our tiny little town on their third day here. There isn't much to see, but we figured a light day would be good for them. We had Spritzes and Hugos in the square and did some shopping. That night Kevin had an away game so us girls went for pizza at the Derby because no trip to Vipiteno is complete without a pizza from there.

Another gorgeous day.

Day four we were up bright and early so we could make our 7:30am train to Venice. We got there, checked into our hotel, and set out. We started with pizza (of course), went to the Rialto Bridge, checked out St. Mark's Basilica, and walked along the Grand Canal. At around 4:00, we decided it was time to sit down for a drink. From there, we pretty much made up our own bar crawl. We drank Prosecco, Spritzes, Bellini's, white wine, and red wine. It felt like well after midnight when we got back to our room, but it turned out it was only 10:30 and we were getting old.

Every Italian city tour should start with pizza.

The Rialto Bridge

Pass the Prosecco, please.

Day five started off with Jana and me being locked in the hotel room. Kathy got up before us and took the key with her (locking us in). After Jana and I got ready for breakfast, we realized the key was gone, we were locked in, and had no electricity (the key controls the electricity). We didn't know how to call reception from the hotel phone and my phone's charge lasted just long enough for her to tell the receptionist that we were locked in Room #114. Needless to say, the lady at reception was not impressed with us regardless of how much we apologized. And to top it off, while we were locked in the room, the man across the road from us was running around his apartment naked from the waist down.

After being rescued and having breakfast, we headed back to St. Mark's Square to take pictures and then headed out to find the cutest gondolier (per Jana's request). We met Niccolo and headed out for our gondola ride. In my previous two visits to Venice, I had never done a gondola ride so I was pretty excited. Niccolo provided us with tons of information about Venice and even sang to us. Before leaving Venice, we grabbed lunch, walked along the Grand Canal again, and grabbed some last minute gifts.

I now know why they say a gondola ride in Venice is a must.

Niccolo was full of information that I forgot already.

From Venice we made our way to Verona by train. Since it was already about 6:30, we basically checked in to the hotel, dropped our stuff, and went out. We walked for a bit and then stopped to have dinner at an amazing restaurant, Ristorante Greppia. All the pastas there are homemade in-house and it was the best pasta I've had since I arrived in Italy.

Spaghetti with black and green olives, spinach ravioli with a creamy tomato sauce, and gnocchi with radicchio and mascarpone cheese...Delicious!

Day six was another gorgeous day in Verona. We checked out the Arena, the Roman Theatre (which I recommend), saw Juliet's balcony, and had pizza...again. Verona is pretty small and everything is close together so 24 hours there was enough for us.

The fountain in Piazza delle Erbe.

Taking it all in at the Arena.

The Roman Theatre

I am so lucky to have had these two amazing women come to visit Kevin and me. These are memories we will have for a lifetime and I can't wait to reminisce about them in the years to come.

Thanks ladies! Love you both! XX

I'm so excited, I'm losing sleep!

When I told my best friend, Jana, that Kevin and I were going to be in Italy this year she swore to me she was going to come visit. I, of course, didn't believe her. I cannot tell you how many times people have said they were going to visit us in our 3 hockey seasons overseas, yet we have only had visitors twice...Kevin's parents our first year and Marina and Sergei, our Latvian visitors, in January.

Well, Jana kept her word and Kevin and I will be picking her and her wonderful mother, Kathy (also known as Momma T), up tomorrow. They flew into Munich on Thursday and have been doing some sightseeing and I still can't believe we are in the same time zone. Tomorrow morning, they are taking a train to Salzburg and we are going to meet them, check out the city, and then head back to Vipiteno. The plan is to check out Vipiteno and Innsbruck on Monday and Tuesday and then us girls are heading to Venice and Verona for 3 days (Sorry Kevin, you have to work).

I have been looking forward to their visit since Jana bought her plane ticket. This past week, I've been having trouble sleeping because I am so excited! I've kept busy by preparing for their visit though. I got my hair done (so I don't look a hot mess in our pictures), our refrigerator is stocked, the house is clean, the laundry is done, and the car is fueled up and ready to go. In less than 24 hours, Kevin and I will be taking in the sights of Salzburg with the Tomasewski ladies!

Only one more day and I'll be reunited with these lovely ladies!