Coming Up For Air

Oh my gosh. Where did the time go?!
My sincere apologies to those who looked forward to my posts, especially our friends and family who have used this blog to keep up with our day to day lives/travels.
I’ve been preoccupied with enough photography stuff that I’ve had no desire to update as it would add more time to me sitting in-front of a computer. (I’ve already complained plenty of how slow the internet is here.)
I haven’t forgotten about this blog and I am aware that I’ve pretty much failed at recording 365 days consecutively SO… I decided that I’m going to make it mainly a travel blog. I’ve also downloaded a wordpress app onto my iphone, which I may update daily with snapshots from my phone.
I hope I haven’t lost all of you and that you continue to check back for updates. =)

To get you started, here’s what we’ve been doing since the start of 2013…

Verbier, Switzerland
1.18.2013-1.21-2013

For our first European ski trip, we decided that we would leave the planning to someone else. So, we tagged along with the Tannenbaum Ski Club – a ski club made up of military and civilians from Landstuhl and Ramstein who plan ski trips throughout the year. Transportation, accommodation, some meals & snacks, and booze on the road are all taken care of.
Although we were a little worried about going in such a large group of people we weren’t familiar with, we did pretty good linking up with a few entertaining people. It was a plus having a friend of Andy’s, John, come along with us.
Out of all the ski trips we’ve taken this winter, Verbier was one of my favorite!

Waiting for our bus to load up

On the bus
The Swiss Alps from our hotel
On the gondola
Andy Kim Photography (haha)
High up!
Our little group
Taking a break and enjoying the view
I look like a midget next to Andy
Gotta love their WC signs
An evening out with John

Kitzbuhel & Fieberbrunn Austria
2.22.2013 – 2.25.2013

We headed into Austria late Thursday night and stayed in Kitzbuhel. Since we were in the area, we decided to ski the mountains there for the first day. It was one of the worst places for me to snowboard because of the numerous flat runs connecting the slopes. It was also a confusing mountain to figure out with a poorly designed map. You can guess how exhausted my legs were already on day one!
Thankfully, we were staying in Fieberbrunn that night and for the remainder of the trip. Fieberbrunn is fabulous for snowboarders! Probably the best mountain next to Verbier, Switzerland. Wide open runs, with some easier off piste terrain, and no crowds. Not only were the slopes a hit, our hotel was ridiculous! It was ski on, ski off, great meals for even a picky eater, and they had heated lockers for ski/snowboard equipment.
On our last day, we were lucky enough to meet up with some friends from Landstuhl who were also vacationing with their families in the area. Unfortunately, the moms had to stay back at the resort with the kids and the dads had all the fun. It was great for me though. I was exhausted and it was fun watching Andy try some new stuff with his buddy Wes, who is a very good skier.
(sorry for the small pics – the photos were saved on shutterfly so I had to steal it off of there.)

Edelweiss – Cardiology Dept Retreat
2.1.2013 – 2.3.2013

We spent this weekend at Edelweiss, Garmisch with most of Andy’s department for a retreat. The slopes weren’t as breathtaking as the Swiss Alps or Austria from our previous trips but it was still fun getting the chance to snowboard again.

The med students who hung out with us quite a bit during their time here in Germany. (We miss you guys!)

waiting for the gondola to take off
Hey look at us! Jk. Just random strangers making the hike up to the top.
This is me.. miserable. Walking yet another long flat run. Ugh!
Check this lady out with her 2 dogs!
Team building activities

Venice, Italy
3.8.2013 – 3.10-2013

Andy wanted to go on another ski trip but I was over it. I wanted to move on to our next adventure away from the slopes. Time seems to be moving FAST and the more I think about it, the less time we have left to travel out here.
Next stop – VENICE! We had so much fun getting lost on this island. Andy was in heaven trying almost every gelato shop in our path, while I was snapping a million photos a minute trying to capture every narrow alley in sight.
My favorite? BURANO. An island covered in vibrant colors.

Only in Europe

Rome, Italy
3.15.2013 – 3.18-2013

I got pretty lucky and scored an apartment for the weekend in the center of Travestre, where all the best restaurants and cafes were located. One of the few places you can go to get away from all the tourist sites!
It was an exhausting weekend trying to cover as much sight seeing as possible. Rome was Andy’s favorite trip so far.
Every few blocks, there was something to see!

Coming up next…. MOROCCO!!