Some running updates

After I declared that I was going to re-commit myself to running, I totally fell off the wagon.  (Typical!!)  After a random morning run with my friend Ashley, I had sent her a casual email titled "turkey trot?" asking if she wanted run on Thanksgiving morning.  Ashley ended up organizing a mini-event!

Three people in this picture are from Tampa!

After my whirlwind of Poland, Germany, Estonia, Germany, Switzerland, the last thing I actually wanted to do on Thanksgiving morning was get up and go running.  But that is what accountability is for!  I dragged myself out to meet everyone, and we did a nice little 5K together in the morning.

The next time I put on my running shoes was just this past weekend.. about ten days later!!  I ran in the Course de l'Escalade here in Geneva this past Saturday.  The race was through the Old Town of Geneva, and it was a huge event!  Over 38,000 runners participated in the various races (they are grouped by gender and by age).

These guys were supposed to not let the front of the pack go out too fast?  I didn't really understand.

At the start of the race!

My race was a bit blah, but it has definitely proven to me that I need to be running more often!  Hopefully the cold weather won't keep me indoors too much, but I've also been on the hunt for some more cold weather running gear!  If you have any recommendations, let me know!

Weekend in Krakow

So we shall return to the topic at hand.. Poland!!  Lena and I spent a weekend in Krakow after her first weekend in Switzerland.  When I told people that I was going to Poland for the weekend, the most common response was, "why?"  Haha.  Krakow was actually really lovely!

I flew in late on Thursday night, so there wasn't much exploring done on the first night, but when we woke up on Friday morning, we were off to see the city!  I was immediately in love with the vibe of the city.  Even though it was gray and cold, the architecture was so lovely, and the city felt peaceful and content.

Directly outside our guesthouse

The other side of the square

Getting oriented!

Lena had bought a Rick Steves book on Poland before coming over, so we followed a self-guided walking tour that Rick had outlined for us.  (This was actually my first time using anything Rick Steves, and I was impressed!)

We started at the top of the Planty, which is a giant walking path that used to be the moat to the outside of the royal city!  It was really beautiful.

Fortress to the Old Town

The fortress stands directly in front of the gate.

The gate has the crest of Krakow shown on it.

Through the tunnel...

There are some musicians!!

And oddly.. this sort of reminded me of Disney.  Smooth paved streets with adorable buildings along the edges, and a castle at the end of the road.  (Out of the frame, you cannot see the McDonald's, which really makes it like Disney!)

There was also a big street art set up by the city walls!

Apparently, Rick isn't such a genius.  The path that he took us on is quite popular.

We wandered into the main square, which looks a little empty here, but it was really nice.

Loved this doorknob!

Stunning altar.

Bubbles!  I mean, come on.. how could you not love Krakow?

John Paul II's home in Krakow.. this guy was ALL over the city... they sure love him.

We ended our self-guided walk at Wawel Castle, which had a lot of cool buildings on the grounds!

You can see here how this church was built up over time based on the architecture styles

Castle grounds

After we left Wawel, we headed over to a milk bar for a late lunch of soup and pierogis.  Rick Steves mentioned that Polish soups are excellent, and since it was so cold outside, it was the perfect thing to eat!  The milk bar was a bit intimidating - it's sort of cafeteria style - but it was delicious and cheap :)

We then wandered over to the city's Jewish quarter before heading over to the Schindler Factory Museum.

I'm not going to post pictures of the Schindler Factory or from our trip to Auschwitz.  But I'm sure you can all imagine that they were both very moving experiences.  I'll just leave it at that.

Overall, the trip to Krakow was really good.  Even though it was gray and cold, I did really enjoy it.  There was a lot to see, and I definitely felt like I learned a lot!  And I found the city to be incredibly charming - in the summertime, it must be insanely gorgeous!!

A day

Hello friends!  Today has been a DAY for me.  After a long weekend in Berlin (post forthcoming!), my inbox was flooded with things to take care of when I got into work this morning.  Even though a busy day sometimes means a stressful day, it definitely makes the time go by!  I was happy to leave work around 6.30 tonight, but as I sat on the tram, I realized that I hadn't taken my house key with me.  (My door automatically locks when I shut it, so I don't need to physically put a key in the door to leave.)

Long story short, I am finally inside of my apartment, but I am a little bit poorer, and there is a discolored tiny hole in my door.  Ugh.  What a DAY.

All that has nothing to do with anything that I was going to blog about tonight. I was going to tell you about my trip to Krakow, but in the spirit of this DAY, none of my photos are loading very quickly, and I just don't have the patience for it tonight.  So pictures of Poland will have to wait.  Sorry!

The Open Border

Good morning all!  I'm writing to you from my hotel room in Tallinn, Estonia. Supposedly this is actually a really nice place, but I don't know if I will be able to see much of the sights, as I'm leaving on Wednesday night.  A quick trip!

In the past 48 hours, I've gone from Poland (more to come on that!), to Switzerland, to Germany (layover), to Estonia.  And I've shown my passport a total of zero times.  The open border is still a totally interesting concept to me.  I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing haha. Have a happy week my friends! I'm thankful for all of you!

Day trip to Gruyere

Hello my friends!  Sorry for the long silence.. things have been busy / I have not been very motivated to spend time on the computer when I am not at work.

Since Friday, Lena has been visiting!  She left Geneva earlier today, and I will be meeting her in Krakow, Poland Thursday night.  After quite a stretch of time spent at home, I'm ready to get out and do some exploring!  (I actually have quite a brutal travel schedule coming up here, and while I'm looking forward to it all, I have a feeling it will leave me wiped out.)

Presents from Target... woooo!!

After Lena got in on Friday, we took advantage of the mild weather and walked around town for a bit.  We stopped into several chocolate shops to pick out a few pieces, then sat at Globus and had a glass of wine and a self-made chocolate tasting before heading to bed early (the jet lag got to her!)

Saturday was a super rainy day, but it was nice to just sit around in our pajamas and catch up for most of the day!  We finally left the house when we met up with a new co-worker and his wife for lunch.  Then we did the quintessential European rainy day tourist activity - visited a museum!

Patek Philippe is a Geneva based luxury watch maker that has a museum dedicated to watches.  We were lucky to be there for the opening day of a new exhibit, and the museum itself was really cool!  Lena and I both left the museum wanting to get watches, but a quick Google search at home verified that I definitely cannot afford a Patek Philippe!  Seriously though, the details and the complications are unreal.

Saturday night fondue!

Sunday, we got up early to get on the train to head to Gruyeres.  I was a little worried because the forecast earlier in the week didn't look that great, but my friend Lauren assured me that it would still be a good way to spend a Sunday with visitors.

I was so happy when we woke up and the sun was shining!  The train ride is a little over two hours from Geneva, and we had some incredible views of the lake, the vineyards, and the mountains along the way.  iPhone pictures could never do it justice!

We had to change trains at one point, and this was one of the advertisements in the hallway of the train station.  I just found this to be hilarious.  And creepy.

When we arrived in Gruyeres, it was the perfect day!  A little cool, bright blue skies, and snow on the tops of the mountains.  Our first stop was meant to be the Chateau, which is about a ten minute walk from the train station.

Lovely day!

Uphill walking path

Cute little town square

We stopped for some hot chocolate along the way

Chateau!

Seriously - these views!

This little map helped you identify what mountains you were looking at

Stopped for a meringue on our walk back through town 

Too bad that damn trashcan photobombed me

I don't know if you can really see it, but this fountain was made in 1980.  I just found that really ironic - it seems so old!

We climbed down the hill and stopped for some lunch before heading to the Gruyeres cheese factory.  The cheese making process was supposed to last from 12:30 to 2:30, and I was pretty interested in seeing that!

Cheese

For 7 CHF, we got entrance into the factory museum and some samples of cheese!  I liked the 10 month cheese the best.

Cheese making

The museum is pretty basic.  You walk around learning some stuff about cows, cheese, cheese making, etc.  I learned some stuff, but it was nothing life-changing.

The cheese making itself was kind of a bust.  This guy just kind of walked around this vat and stirred it every now and again.  We didn't stay the whole two hours, so maybe it got way more exciting, but I just couldn't stay there and watch this guy wander around any longer.

We hopped on another short train to get to Broc Fabrique to visit the Cailler chocolate factory!  I had actually never heard of Cailler before I moved to Switzerland, but it's a division of Nestle (which is also a Swiss company - didn't know that either!).

Train station - so cute

We're here!

I'm not really sure how to describe the factory tour.  First of all, when we arrived, it was packed!  We actually had to wait about 45 minutes before we could start our tour.  Luckily, there was a little theater where we could watch short films and commercials about Cailler until it was our turn to line up.

In the "staging area", we saw a lot of vintage posters and had a little history lesson on Cailler.

When the tour actually started, it was totally not what I expected.  There were Disney-style sets with narration of history.  It was kind of interesting, but just not at all what I had imagined.  There were props and skits to teach us about the history of chocolate.  The first 20 minutes or so was like this.  Then we moved into an area that actually had information about the chocolate making process.

The proprietary recipes are kept secure!

We watched some chocolates being formed and packaged.

And nibbled on a few.

Then we turned a corner, and there was an entire tasting room of chocolates!!  We were able to sample all different types of Cailler chocolates.  I took my time and tasted every single piece, and I walked out feeling like I definitely got my 10 CHF (admission price) worth and like I had a stomachache!

One last look at the beautiful scenery

And with that, it was time to head back to Geneva.  Overall, it was a great way to spend a Sunday!