Europe!

I am finally back home and things are getting back to normal. It has been a busy summer for me, full of excitement. Our month in Europe felt a lot longer than a month and we fit in a lot during our time there. It would have been better if the weather could have cooperated with us (we had maybe 4 nice days out of the whole 4 weeks we were there) but we saw and experienced a lot. Here's a brief overview:

Switzerland - It rained the whole time and was quite cool but we were prepared and our rain jackets came in really handy. We stayed with Kevin's friend Tom and were able to use his car to get around places during the day. My 2 highlights were going to Rhine Falls and doing a hike in the Appenzell mountains up to a little restaurant built right into the side of the mountain. We stopped to eat our picnic lunch part way up under some trees to get away from the rain and a cow almost stole Kevin's sandwich!!

Rhine Falls

Rhine Falls

7th Heaven Restaurant

Italy- Was dirty, smelly and was full of people trying to sell things to tourists. It was not as "romantic" and beautiful as I expected. I enjoyed Florence and Cinque Terre but otherwise was not that impressed with the country. Driving was ridiculous and in Rome it was humid and 38C. Not enjoyable (especially after getting sick from the cold, rainy weather in Switzerland).

Pisa (on our way to Cinque Terre)

Cinque Terre

Slovenia- Was absolutely beautiful. We spent 2 extra days in this country as we were enjoying it so much. There are some beautiful places to go hike, we saw a couple really cool caves and spent a lot of time with Kevin's family who were wonderful.

Postojna Cave

Vintgar Gorge

Waterfall in Vintgar Gorge

Austria- Spent 3 less days than planned here and had enough time to see what we wanted. Went to Vienna for a day and a half and rode around the city on these bikes we rented (it only cost us 1 Euro each!!) Went to Schunnbrunn Palace on our way out of Vienna and then Hellbrunn Palace just before Salzburg. Both palaces were very different but both neat. Hellbrunn Palace has trick fountains in the garden that turn on and off by a switch. You can only predict where they will go off by the water on the ground around certain areas. The Archbishop who had the castle built had quite the sense of humour. Also saw a couple sites from the original Sound of Music movie which was cool.

City Bikes in Vienna

Trick Fountains at Hellbrunn

Maribell Gardens where part of the Sound of Music was filmed.

Locks covering the bridge in Salzburg - found one perfect for us :)

 Germany- Still rainy but saw a lot. Went to the Dachau concentration camp, the Eagle's Nest (Hitler's Tea House), Neushwanstein Castle (Disney was inspired by it when he built the Disneyworld Castle) and spent a day shopping in Munich. Unfortunately the Eagle's Nest is supposed to have a spectacular view and it rained the whole day. We couldn't see 6 feet in front of us. We stood below the Eagle's nest and couldn't even see the building. You looked down and saw nothing but fog :( As soon as we took the last bus down off the mountain the sky cleared up. Super disappointing. At least we did get to see Hitler's bunkers and the tour guide was super informative and good. The rain had to follow us from the first day right through to the last...

Neushwanstein Castle

Munich

Summer

So you are in for a treat. 3 blog posts in one night!! I guess I'm making up for a lack of posts this past month. Hard to believe I've been off from school for almost a month now and I really haven't written about anything I've done. It's been a pretty busy month, this last week wasn't as crazy and I actually had a few days I was bored but other than that I really have been keeping myself occupied. Here are some things I've done...

1) Went Camping in Spruce Woods for 5 days.

I went with my mom, dad, Steve, Olena and Austin. The 5 of us (6 with baby) slept in my parents trailer. It was a little "cozy" in there but it actually worked. I planned on setting up my tent so we'd have more sleeping room but our spot was a lot smaller than the picture showed and there was no room for it. It was Austin's first official camping trip and he was a little trooper. He slept pretty well at night and we had a great time with him each day. We went to the beach a couple times and for an evening stroll for ice cream in a town close by. Steve and Olena left a day earlier than we did so on that last evening and day we got some hiking in. My mom and dad even went with me on a 10km hike to the Spirit Sands and Devil's Punch Bowl. It was a long and hot walk but we made it.

Canada landed on our last night there

A small lake we crossed before getting to the Devil's Punchbowl. 

The Devil's Punchbowl

A view of the river nearby

The Spirit Sands

My parents after our 10km hike.

2) Painted the trim on my windows and watersealed my deck.

So the watersealing went super easy and looked fantastic.... for about a day. Then it rained! and rained! and the next morning I woke up to a splotchy and awful looking deck. I was so disapponted. I guess the water seal hadn't dried enough and where ever the rain was sitting on the deck over night it made splotchy marks. I was so frustrated and since the stuff is supposed to be clear, I figured a second coat wouldn't help any. Luckily it rained again the next day and it evened it out a bit more. I decided to sand down the worst spots and redid them (the railing mostly and the front step) but the rest will have to do and I just put the furniture back on the deck to cover it up. I'll redo it again next year and I guess it will even itself out from normal wear.

The painting went a lot better. I must admit I was a little scared to get up on the ladder to paint the second floor windows but after a while I kind of got used to it. Still not the funnest feeling though. So I decided to paint my window trim white. It was a reddish colour before and I never liked it. I know a few people have told me.. white??? That's so boring! (and I know one reader of this blog will think I'm just talking about her but you're not the olny one to say this) but I like the way it looks. I don't have a picture of the front of my house to show you yet but I'll post a before and after later for you to judge yourself :)

3) Spent time with my amazing nephew, Austin. Enough said!!!

4) Went golfing three times so far in the last 2 weeks.

I can't believe how long it's taken me to get out on a course this year but I've tried 2 new courses so far. I went to one just down my street for the first time and I loved it. Didn't do so great but it was my first time out this year. The second game was at an old favourite and then today I went with a new boy in my life and his friend. We went out to Teulon. It's an hour drive to get there but the course was really nice.

5) Other stuff here and there. Went for a few bike rides down the bike path near my home. It goes all the way to the cemetary where my cousin has his spot so it's nice to have a destination to ride to and to have a moment at his bench. Acutally went on a 24km bike ride with the new boy I spoke of earlier. We couldn't take the bike path because he was on roller blades and a small section was being redone so we took a very long detour and then when around some other areas as well. When all was said and done ended up figuring out it was about 24km long. I went to Corydon for ice cream. Tried out the frozen yogurt at Menchies for the first time. Had a bon fire at the boy's place. Been to a few movies including a drive-in at the church near my parents place and I went to see The Heat which I totally recommend. I've done a little planning here and there for school but nothing crazy. Still keeping up my garden and heading to the gym when I get the chance.

Other than that the days seem to be flying by. I know August is going to go by so much quicker. I have a 7 night camping trip planned for Rushing River. A 2 night camping trip to Grand Beach. A few events planned with family and friends and Rainbow Stage tickets for Mary Poppins are bought. The last two weeks before going back to school are going to be busy with back to school preperations and then that's it. Summer will be over. I'm going to make the most of it though and enjoy every minute.

Hope your summer is going great!