Even though I am not traditionally a fan of light beer, when in Köln, you need to try the Kölsch! Both places we visited only had the traditional light beer on draft and it comes as a standard 0.2dl...
Blog posts from International Travel
Summer Euro 2013: Köln / Cologne pt. II
After a mid-afternoon nap we were off to The Flora und Botanischer Garten Köln, just a few tram stops up to the zoo stop, then a quick walk past the zoo to the free gardens. Usually we see...
Summer Euro 2013: Köln / Cologne pt. I
The massive Kölner Dom fills your view as you leave the Köln central train station. While the exterior could use a vigorous power-wash, it remains absolutely stunning. fancy handle; impressive...
Summer Euro 2013: overview
A little more than a year ago our friends Dave and Jake announced they were hosting a party and invited us to attend. Fellow avid travelers (we originally met in Peru on a train returning from Machu...
Germany & France, July 2013: long layover in London
Given the opportunity I will gladly spend time in London, and on my way back to the US I enjoyed an 18 hour layover. As with earlier trips, I stayed along the Piccadilly line since it runs out to...
Germany & France, July 2013: Toulouse sights
Work was my reason for visiting Toulouse, so my sightseeing was limited to two evenings. Still, I had several hours to wander parts of old town and thoroughly enjoyed the surroundings. On my first...
Germany & France, July 2013: Berlin street art
My flight from JFK arrived fairly early in the morning, so after checking in I headed out to join the 11a 'Alternative Berlin Tour' since I knew it would highlight some of Berlin's famous street...
Germany & France, July 2013: Berlin sights
Leandra and I visited Berlin over a long weekend here in 2009 so I had seen some of the tourist checklist items, leaving me a bit more freedom to explore a few new places. This time I was in Berlin...
Germany & France, July 2013: overview
I spent the second half of July on a business trip to a conference in Berlin, Germany, and then a lab outside Toulouse, France. Unfortunately for both of us, Leandra couldn't go, so I was solo on...
Scotland 2013: food & drink in Callender and Stirling
The Lade Inn -- We were only in this area for one night, so when we found out that this place not only had good food and their own beers on draft (thanks RateBeer!), but live music on Saturday...
Scotland 2013: Stirling sights
We stopped in Stirling for dinner on our way to a hotel near the Edinburgh airport, and given the lateness of sunset in late May we had enough light to enjoy some of the views. Stirling Castle is...
Scotland 2013: Highlands sights day 2
Sunday morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at our B&B, then drove to the parking area for Bracklinn Falls on the outskirts of Callander. The area was quite lush with moss and other plants...
Scotland 2013: Highlands sights day 1
Bidding goodbye to the buses of Edinburgh, we picked up our rental car at the airport, then drove to the Falkirk Wheel. This engineering feat is a boat lift to connect the upper canal to the lower...
Scotland 2013: Edinburgh sights
Edinburgh is a fantastic city, with lots of old buildings, interesting views and friendly, creative people. The transit situation is not one of cities strong features; their tram line construction...
Scotland 2013: Edinburgh castle
On our second morning we started with Edinburgh Castle using our internet-purchased tickets to avoid the ticket office queues. the imposing front The castle has been variously used as a garrison,...
Scotland 2013: food & drink in Edinburgh
Bow Bar - Our first pub of the trip, we ordered a Black Isle porter and an Edinburgh #3 from Stewart Brewing. Beers were good but the standout was the delicious blue cheese and steak pie for 2£! At...
Scotland 2013: BrewDog Edinburgh
front entrance on Cowgate We missed an opportunity to visit the Camden location because of a Tube issue in London last November, so we were even more excited to get to try this pub in Edinburgh....
Scotland 2013: overview
Over the Memorial Day weekend we flew to the UK for our first visit to Scotland. Since we left on my birthday the lounge staff in RDU gave me a chocolate cupcake! This paired nicely with the Mumm...
Our Itinerary
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina + Brazil (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London + Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)