Hamburg, Germany

Coming off of our trip to Budapest, we had Hamburg in the diary (as the Brits call their calendar) for the next weekend.  We were able to score some really cheap tickets through Easy Jet (not kidding it was less than 40 GBP for the 2 of us) so we were actually thinking of skipping this trip to have some downtime.  At the last minute, we decided to go and we were so glad we didn't miss out!

We arrived early morning in the cold rain but we decided to walk around anyway.  The city is located on the water and is considered one of the wealthier German cities.  We started off at the Town Hall which is beautiful and made our way to the remains of St. Nicholas Church.  The church and land it stood on was basically gutted during the air raids of WWII and you can feel the intensity as you stand there and observe all of the memorials dedicated to those who died in the war.  The beautiful entrance to the church remains intake but there is no roof.  It was definitely a chilling and interesting experience.

Next stop was St. Michaelis Church which is probably the most well-known church in Hamburg.  We spent some time exploring the inside then strolled through the city past the opera house which was Molly's favorite building.  Despite the weather, we wandered around until it was dark (well, it does get dark around 4pm in the winter so maybe it wasn't that long of a stroll) and took in the water and the city at night.  Somehow, thanks to Matt, we ended up in St. Pauli, Hamburg's red light district.  We didn't stay too long since it was definitely seedy to say the least!

The next morning, we got out of bed early to explore the Fischmarkt (open from 6am-10am) which was packed nice and early.  We wandered into one of the halls where a full on crowd was singing and dancing along to a band and drinking beer....at 8am.  We stayed for a bit to watch how ridiculous drunk people look when you are completely sober and drinking your morning coffee.  Afterwards, we walked through the Alter Elbtunnel which is tunnel that connects central Hamburg with the docks and hopped on the good ol Louisana Star river boat for a tour of the port. We loved the name ship based in Germany. : )

After the boat ride, the weather started to get better so what did we do?  We met up with one of Matt's co-workers and his partner for some beers inside!  One drink turned into multiple and before we knew it we were laughing hysterically with Jason and Chad like we had known them forever.  Afterwards, we continued our walk and ended up having dinner at where else...a Greek restaurant!  The place lured us in because of the local football match that they had on the tv - it was packed and everyone was cheering so hard that you couldn't help but get into it too.  

We spent an extra night in Hamburg and took an early Monday morning flight back to London.  For a rainy weekend and two people who were exhausted, Hamburg offered so much, is a great city and we are so happy we included it within our travels!

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Budapest, Hungary

It's been awhile since we've posted but we've had a lot of trips and visitors the past couple of months so we're hoping to get all of our updates in!  On January 15th, we took a quick 2-day trip to Budapest.  We definitely could have used a few more days there but it was one of our favorite cities and probably the most beautiful city we've ever seen at night.

For those of you who don't know (because well, Molly did not), Budapest occupies both sides of the river Danube and at one time was divided as two separate cities - Buda and Pest - until its unification in 1873.  We stayed on the Pest side and spent the weekend running across the city's various bridges (Chain Bridge being the first to connect the two cities) to make sure we saw both sides.  The weather was not great - it rained a bit and was chilly and because we went in January in Europe, the sun set before 4:30pm! 

We hit the ground running when we arrived and started at St. Stephen's Basilica which is named for the first King of Hungary (who began his rule in 975!) and houses his mummified fist (yes, seriously).  It was one of the most stunning churches we have ever seen.  We then made our way over the Parliament, on the bank of the Danube, which was built based off of London's Parliament (which we love).  Hungary's Parliament was not established until after the city's unification and built in 1885.  The Holy Crown of Hungary, which was once worn by St. Stephen, is displayed in the central hall of the building.  We had the privilege of going into one of the chambers of Parliament too.

Hero's Square is the main square in Budapest and its statues make up the leaders of the 7 tribes who founded Hungary in the 9th century.  We spent a lot of time in the square, just taking in the entire city and Molly trying to climb the statues (not a pretty site).  From there, we made our way to Vajdahunyad Castle which has pretty amazing architecture but apparently it houses the Agricultural Museum so we stayed on the outside (so cultured, we are!).  Across the way is one of the most famous Hungarian baths in Budapest.  We did not have the time to go in but there were plenty of locals in the baths in the freezing cold in some skimpy bathing suits. 

That evening, we decided to have after dinner drinks at the Four Seasons.  After the pianist left the bar area, Matt (after 2 or 3 scotches) bet Mols $1000 to play the piano for 4 minutes straight.....and that she did (after 2 or 3 cosmos).  It was a stunning rendition of "Those Were the Days" from All in the Family.  And if anyone is familiar with the song, they know that it contains all of about 5 black keys.  Thanks to Molly's brother Michael for teaching her that song at age 8!  After Molly's success (which Matt has yet to pay), we went to one of the locals......an American sports bar to watch the NFL Playoffs, of course!

The next day we were up and out early to finish off our sightseeing.  We decided to explore the Buda side.  We hiked up Gellert Hill which was tough regardless of the multiple drinks we consumed the previous night and took in Buda Castle and Matthias church.  After a few hours, we stopped for some traditional Hungarian food where Molly witnessed Matt scarfing down a HUGE plate of weinerschnitzel....there were no words.

It was an exhausting trip but one of the most fun!  We headed back to London in the evening to prepare for our next trip.  Here are some (ok, a lot!) of pictures from Budapest. 

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Dublin, Ireland

2011 has been full of trips already and we started off the new year heading to Dublin which was Molly's first trip to Ireland. It was also an opportunity for Matt to introduce her to the Irish "lads" who he used to caddy with during the summers in Southampton.  Instead of making new years promises of not drinking or eating as much, we got right back into the swing of things with plenty of Guinness and fried food.  We took an early morning flight to Dublin and arrived at our hotel in the Temple Bar area.  We were right on Fleet Street so there was plenty of action.  Matt's friends, James and Peter, came up from Kilkenny and we met at a pub called, Sinnot's.  The boys told stories of when they caddied and some of the crazy times they had - 10 Irish guys living in one house sort of sums it up.  Molly had her first Guinness ever but added a splash of black currant juice which definitely made it sweeter....and more drinkable if you ask her.  We did a mini pub crawl and ended the night not remembering much of what happened throughout the day. : )

We woke up early on Sunday so we could take a walk around Dublin and not just drink our way through the city.  We got to see all the major sites - Molly Malone, Liffey River, St. Stephen's Green, etc....The city is very cute and definitely reminded us a lot of London.  The weekend wouldn't be complete if we didn't meet back up wtih James and Peter for some more food in the afternoon...but this time we skipped out on the alcoholic beverages.  We are already planning a trip back to Ireland - hoping to get to Kilkenny at some point so James and Peter can show us around their hometown. They were great to have as hosts and so much fun to hang out with!

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Happy New Year - from Marrakech!

Happy New Year!  To ring in 2011, Matt and Mark decided to take Jen and Molly where they would fit right in.....to Marrakech, Morocco!  Ok, so they may have been the only blondes in sight but it was an incredible experience and so much for the four of us!  We arrived first and after checking into the Riad (comprable to bed and breakfasts in the US), we went right into Jamaa el Fna which is the main square within the medina.  It was even crazier than what we read about - people everywhere, motorbikes zooming by you and every single person trying to sell you something or negotiate a price with you.  There were snake charmers and monkeys and people using donkeys to carry their goods from one place to the next.  We immediately bega shopping in the souks (little markets in the square) since they really do sell everything - from pottery to handmade pillow covers to fake snakes...this place definitely had it all.  At first we found it tough to communicate but most people speak French in addition to Arabic - and most people actually have a good grasp of the English language as well. Well at least those who want to make a buck or two.  Matt's New York City lawyer skills were not up to snuff initially and he was taken for a ride on a bracelet.  But after a few back and forths, he was a negotiating machine buying pottery, scarves and even slippers for a very good price.  Molly was a bit hesitant early on but soon realized how genuinely nice the people were and they made sure you knew exactly where you were going.  The books suggested that women travelling there should wear a band on their wedding finger so Molly did just that....which of course nearly gave Matt a heart attack.  It was obviously worth being safe, but seeing Matt's face was priceless.  Both Jen and Molly also wore long sleeved shirts and pants most of the visit there out of respect for their culture and religion.  One of the more interesting and beautiful parts of the culture was to hear the chants coming from the Koutoubia Mosque.  They pray every day starting at 5am and do it 5 times a day. 

On our first full day, we decided to take a day trip to Essaouira which is a small fisherman's town a few hours away.  It was nice to be on the water and do a little negotiating outside of Marrakech.  It is said to have been a favorite of Jimmy Hendrix and a vacation spot for Cat Stevens.  On New Year's Eve day the four of us went hot air ballooning.....well, Matt, Mark and Jen did while Molly looked on.  But let's give all of them credit for waking up at 5am to do this.  We got to watch the sun rise and then the 3 of them had lift off which was really fun to see.  Afterwards, we were treated to breakfast by the locals who the hot air balloon owner had befriended over the years.  They served us their infamous Moroccan mint tea and various types of bread (which seems to be what every one eats all day!).  That night, we had a traditional Moroccan meal hosted by Joce from the riad which was lovely.  We were treated to their wines, cous cous, music and desserts.  Afterwards our guide, Hammed, took us to a club so we could ring in the new year.  The club played a mix of Spanish and French music with a little American pop.  Their party favors may have had, "Happy Birthday!" written on them, but we didn't care - we had a blast and danced through the night.

On New Year's Day, we woke up early again for an excursion to the High Atlas Mountains and Ourika Valley.  We made a stop at one of the Berber's homes (a Berber is someone who lives in the mountains) where we were served mint tea (and bread of course) and had spectacular views of the desert and mountains in the distance.  We then began our "walk" through the mountains which ended up being much more of a hike than any of us expected.  We had some of the most stunning views we had ever seen and it really was a great day for the four of us.  And it was nice to work off some of the booze from the night before.  Since that evening was our last night in Marrakech, we decided to eat in the middle of the action in the square and it was delicious!

The next day, we stopped off at the Saadian tombs to see where the Saadian Kings and Queens were buried and then made sure to have have one final mint tea before we headed back to the UK!

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