Summer

Our one day of sunshine in Bavaria was well spent

Beer at the lodge at the end of the ascent

The busy summer continues. Over these past few weeks Stefan and Wang Man have come and gone. They traveled from China to Europe for most of August.

Technically, the drinking age is for beer 16 in Germany, but that is often ignored.

Kate and I were able to meet them in Stefan's home town in Germany, Mittenwald. It is in

Bavaria, close to the Austrian border. Despite 3 days of heavy rain, we had a good time.

We were able to get in a day of hiking when the weather was nice. Most of the time was spent

hanging out with Stefan and Wang Man's friends and family, playing soccer, drinking beer, and eating more meats, cheeses, and breads than we should have.

Rainy day at a mountain lake

Pre-flight, Munich

Following Germany, we all flew to the UK for a few days. I had to get to work to prepare for a conference, but we were able to take advantage of the weekend. We spent a rainy Saturday in York and a sunny Sunday walking around Fountain's Abbey.

Cliffords Tower, York

Studley Royal, Ripon

Stefan and Wang Man spent a few days in Scotland. They went to the North Sea camp site that Kate and I stayed at with Allen, but they ended up breaking in the Skoda with car camping due to the rain. Luckily, the rain broke for a great sunset and sunrise. From there, it was a day and a half in Edinburgh, and ended with tent camping in the Lake District.

Following their visit, I was off to the US for a week long work trip. I was able to meet up with some old friends, which is always fun. I hadn't seen Patrick since Australia last April and Dan and Jenny since I left Hawaii. It just so happens that Dan and Jenny bought a townhowse this week, so I also got to take a look at that. The plan is to buy a wedding gift that isn't on the registry. I just need to find something with a lot of gold highlights...

I flew to Germany last night and am currently in my hotel room. I tried (somewhat) hard to stay awake all day, but I passed out on the couch for 3 hours this afternoon and now I am wired at almost 10:00pm. Traveling east to west is so much easier than west to east.

After a couple of days in Germany, I will be back in the UK. Next month, another trip back to the US for the cabin trip and wedding. I'm excited.

Some Rain

These past few we have been lazy on the weekends. Last weekend we spent a rainy evening at the Opera in the Park in Leeds. Kate got some tickets from a co-worker and we made our way down to Leeds for some culture.

We prepared a pretty large picnic and traveled with a couple of the regulars to our weeknight dinners. We brought a lot of wine, along with some curry, bread, cheese, snacks, and gummy bears. Despite the rain, it was a pretty good time (thanks to the wine?). We are at the point now that a little rain can't ruin a good time, even if it is a picnic.


There were apparently 50,000 other people in the same boat as us, but most of them had umbrellas while we had to settle for garbage bags. A lesson for the next time.

This weekend we went up to Sutton Banks near Thirsk in order to go for a walk around the famous white horse. Sadly, it was not an impressive site. It was run down and hardly looked like a horse. Even from a distance it is a bit hard to make out. It was made about 150 years ago, so that may have something to do with it.

Part of the disappointment was the rain. After about 45 minutes of walking in the rain we decided to go back, but we got stuck behind some old people eating ice cream. We hooked a left on to a new trail, the weather cleared, and we ended up having a good time.

We made out way through some wheat fields, through some pastures with lots of cows, some sheep and goats, and a field of rabbits. We ended up finding the largest natural lake in the Yorkshire Moors (not very large).

At the lake, we found a rope swing that ended up being strong enough to hold adults. We spent some time on that before heading up the hill and back to the car. When all was said and done, it ended up being a good day, despite the wet start.

(You can't really tell, but I am very high up over the water here. I swear.)

On Tuesday Kate and I will be flying to Germany to meet up with my old roommate, Stefan. He and his wife Wang Man are in Europe for a month before heading back to China. After 4 days in Bavaria we will all fly back this way for some time in the UK. I am really looking forward to it.

The last time I saw Stefan and Wang Man was in 2004 when they were living in Germany. I crashed with them for a couple of days as I was backpacking through Europe. One of the things I remember is eating dinner with them in their apartment. We were eating by candlelight while listening to Goldfrapp. As they were clearing the table I laid on the floor and fell asleep until morning. Hopefully I don't repeat that. I felt a bit rude. In my defense, I was really tired.