kristenschremm

As promised, I'm back! This is the first big vacation I've taken in three years. Two summers ago, Michael's brother got married. Last summer, we tried to go back to Europe again, but a family illness, which is fine now, came up and we did not go on vacation. Of course, you might say that I go on vacation a lot with my frequent trips to Boston, but that's much like going home. Here we are... San Diego, California. Interesting fact: before this trip, I had not been further West than Chicago, but I made it, baby! We did have one layover in Las Vegas. I must admit that I have a new fear: the desert. I thought I was most afraid of space, a la Sandra Bullock in Gravity, but being lost in a desert ... read more

Today is the last day in Europe and we are spending it in Basel. I've really come to love this city. I appreciate the cleanliness, efficiency, and safety. Basel is very expensive, but Switzerland's minimum wage is 25 CHF/hour. Swizterland definitely has something good going for it. I'm glad Michael's parents live in Basel as opposed to Paris. I don't think I've mentioned it, but Basel is famous for its fountains. There are a total of 202 fountains in the city, and you can drink from every one! You must drink from where the water is streaming (not where it is pooling, dogs drink in there/animals). Again, I love the cleanliness of Basel where I can drink not just straight from the tap, but from the fountains! So, after Michael and I woke up we went ... read more

I'm currently waiting for our train back to Zurich. Despite wearing SPF 50,I'm a bit sunburned. :( Today we had an adventure finding wear to deposit our bags at the train station. We found it. We took the subway to the LourveI which I highlyrecommend over entering the glass pyramid. We didn't have to wait at all. We also were able to see the Medieval remains of the Lourve. The Lourve was an experience. It was so crowded and many people lacked the sense to keep moving and be aware of others. It was like a mosh pit trying totire the Mona Lisa. We had the audio tours which were nice. I would enjoy it more if it was less busy. We took the open bus to Champs Élysées. It was my favorite place in Paris. ... read more

Since Monday, we have been very busy. On Monday evening, we saw The Dictator at the Orange Cinema in Musterplatz. Right outside! Kind of cool since we don't have to pay and we even got free ice cream. On Tuesday, we did so much walking! First, we climbed to the top of the Munster Basel. For someone afraid of heights, it was terrifying. It's very interesting being in a European country that experienced the Reformation. Almost all of the cathedrals here are just museums here because they were unneeded in Protestant Switzerland. One of the churches we went to, St. Elizabeth was actually a storehouse for a long time. So, we also went to the Paper Museum. Very cool and nerdy. We were able to see how paper is/was made. Then, we saw many of the ... read more

So, our flight to Detroit was cancelled. *Wah wah* Michael and I arrived nice and early. Checked out our gate then went to get some lunch. While we were gone, our flight was cancelled and we didn't know. No announcement or anything. It seems because of the storms in the eastern United States today, some flights were cancelled/or delayed. A flight that was going out before ours in the same gate to New York didn't have a plane. Then, our plane showed up. They were able to get the NY people out but they cancelled our flight to Detroit. So now, we are going to Newark at 7:15pm. Then we leave Newark at 11:00pm to London. Not exactly excited about London, I hope we get out of there ok with the Olympics going on. Instead of ... read more