Love-Snow-City

Bursting with love for snowboarding, music, food, drinks, and my friends. I live in Vancouver BC, and am always ready for the snow to fall.

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Day 18 - up and at 'em to get in a run through Tiergarten before catching our flight to Istanbul. Upon arrival we arrived in busy Taksim Square to navigate our way to our fav chain of boutique hotels - Mama Shelter. Upon checking in we grabbed a drink and headed out to get a feel for the city. We wandered down the main tourist street past Galata tower to the water, and I was immediately taken with the grand beauty of the mosques and the musical sounds of calling people to prayer. #LoveMama

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Day 17 - a late start to the day after a night out with a Norwegian couple called for some hammock relaxation in the Hotel 25 lobby. After our chill time it was time to find our way to the gold angel tower (Victory Column) we had been looking at in the distance, and off we went on the hotel bikes through Tiergarten park. Closer than we thought, we parked our bikes across the roundabout it stood upon and took the tunnel access to the center. For a small fee we were able to climb the tower for a new view of the city. I was taken with the mosaic mural and gold details found on the outside. We finished up our golden bike adventure back in the rooftop hotel bar overlooking the zoo with giraffes grazing below. Soon came dinner where we hopped on the train for our second Currywurst location on recommendation from my German friends; it did not disappoint. On the way home I also found a replica "the kiss" from one of the most famous images on the East Side Gallery. This is a cool city that may not be much to quickly look at, but if you look closer and learn about the history there is art, culture, and beauty in all directions. My only regret in our limited time was that the North American in me wasn't comfortable to venture past street front to explore the courtyard culture - next time, because we will be back!

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Day 16 - a drizzly day won't stop us from exploring the history in Berlin. First up, to acquaint ourselves we head out on a trabi safari with a guide in the lead car providing audio showing us the communist sites, contrast in architecture, and standing peices of the Berlin Wall. Next a visit to the Topography of Terrors to read up on the Hitler regime followed by a walk through the Holocaust memorial that is a beautiful monument to a terrible part of history. With the day still young we popped into the DDR communist museum for an interactive look at what it was like on the other side; in our world of technology and change it is hard to imagine this static way of life. All this history had us hungry for more food and drink: pretzels, schnitzel, and craft beers escalating to a Norwegian bar with shuffle board.

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Day 15 - travel day to Berlin by train, but first 'run the sights' tour Prague to prepare for all the food and drink to come in Berlin. First stop Berlin, currywurst followed by spätzle for dinner. Also quickly learned that beer is almost cheaper than water, what a place. Love Currywurst

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Day 14 - off to slow start took we went on a walk up to the castle to see more beautiful city vistas from above. Back in old town we were then ready for some 'hair of the dog' and headed to the Radission lobby bar for fancy cocktails! Things seen along our walk: - Statue of Kafka that has 42 moving layers in continual movement. - Prague Orloj a medieval operating astrological clock installed in 1410 that is the third oldest in the world. Love Praha

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Day 13 - a long day dedicated to beer started with a train ride to Pilsen home of Pilsner Urquell. On board the train we saw first hand the love Czech have for beer as a group of older men with nordic ski gear shared a large bottle before 9am. Upon arrival in Pilsen we went into town to explore and again were very impressed with the beauty of the town with many clocks, colored buildings, and gold trimmings. Even better was that there were less tourists and milling around. After our walk we headed to the Pilsner Urquell factory where we went on the tour to see production and have the brew master serve us fresh out of the barrel.

Back in Prague we headed off to meet our guide Alex and 2 other Canadians for a walking beer tour. Quickly we learned that sample size is full pint size so after going to 3 breweries we were well on our way for the evening. It also means I have no idea of the locations to recommend as they were all within old town but inside non descriptor buildings, or was that the beer? Either way it was a great way to get a locals perspective in English which is hard to come by in Prague.

Also shown is the Royal with Cheese that was very fitting after a long day of beer touring.

Love Beer.

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Day 12 - up and at em' early to say good bye to Amsterdam and hello Prague! As becoming routine we quickly dropped our bags and went for a wander to become acquainted with the city. Our first impression was the stunning beauty everywhere from the buildings, bridges, walkways, and bridge views. Second, the mass number or tourists milling around despite the cold. Also included is a photo of monks taking pics of themselves clearly they were impressed too. We ended our day finding an authentic Czech restaurant run by our friend Marty's cousin. The food did not disappoint in the taste category and we were treated to homemade schnapps by the chef Victor when we heard we were friends with his cousin. Stunning Love

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Day 11 - looking closer at our surroundings and finishing off the day at Beach Slang where we also discovered my new favourite drink - Wieckse rose beer.

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Day 11 - waking up to this sunrise 👏🏻 motivated us to get back on the ‘run the sights’ tour with the East Amsterdam recommended Strava route. We then carried on with a fitness day to rent bikes and explore the network of bike lanes and said traffic. Beers with a view along the way were required.

Love biking.

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Day 10 - we woke up in Amsterdam not feeling very well rested after a night on the sea. Despite our sea legs and feeling tired we headed out to explore this walkable city. We meandered the canals through markets, bought cheese, and gawked at the number of bikes parked everywhere. Later in the afternoon we headed back to Volks Hotel to check in to our room and discover we were staying in this AWESOME bike theme room! With a view like this and projector screen that came down with Netflix we decided to stay in. Thanks to our friend @thislifeintrips for the hotel recommendation. Love Volks Hotel.

[love-snow-city]

Day 10 - we woke up in Amsterdam not feeling very well rested after a night on the sea. Despite our sea legs and feeling tired we headed out to explore this walkable city. We meandered the canals through markets, bought cheese, and gawked at the number of bikes parked everywhere. Later in the afternoon we headed back to Volks Hotel to check in to our room and discover we were staying in this AWESOME bike theme room! With a view like this, window size projector screen, Netflix, and a sunset, we decided to stay in. Thanks to our friend @thislifeintrips for the hotel recommendation.

Love Volks Hotel.

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Day 9 - continued the fantastic Spooner family catch up with a walk to feed the ducks and a spot of tea in the garden. Jill being the hostess with most also managed to whip up the most delicious Sunday roast dinner before we were dropped off at the ferry leaving to Amsterdam. One of the best weekends of our trip.

Love the Spooners.

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Day 8 - a very special day for me to catch up with my friends Jill & Neil who I worked and travelled with 13 years ago in Australia that now reside in Crawcrook, England. A few new faces and we didn’t skip a beat.

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Day 7 - we woke bright and early to meander the streets up to Arthur’s Seat and the second stop on ‘run the sights’ tour. As quick as that it was then time to say good bye to Scotland as we had a train to catch to Wylam, England where we stayed in the cutest bed & breakfast with this view.

Love Medieval Streets.

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Day 6 - we awoke well rested in Glasgow, Scotland to find our way to the next train to Edinburgh. Upon arrival I was awe struck that it was like we had been taken back in time to Medieval times with the narrow streets and stone buildings of Old Town. We quickly dropped our bags at the hotel and headed off to the City Cafe as recommended from the front desk and this diner style feast including haggis did not disappoint. With our bellies full we headed up to Edinburgh Castle to explore and take in the views of our surroundings. To my delight it even started snowing while we were there.

Love Castles

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Day 5 - last day in London. We caught the tube to Kensington and meandered our way down through Hyde Park to Westminster Abby. Along the way we saw this formation of horses in costume and soon after upon arriving at the palace we saw the changing of the guard while a man wearing a feather hat was escorted by carriage inside. So fancy.

Finally we ended our day back at the train station with our luggage to catch the overnight train to Scotland, which turned out to the best sleep of the whole trip. Note that sleeping quarters were bunk beds with luggage on the floor and no standing room.

Love Train Travel

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Day 4 - a long day planned to tick a few items off the list starting with a tube ride back downtown to view the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. I was sceptical at first to go here thinking it would be very touristy, however I was pleasantly surprised to find it to very well done with different mediums of storytelling to engage with. The obvious highlight was was the crown, and that a polar bear once lived there who swam in the Thames while attached by chain; just imagine that. Keeping in the royal theme we then headed off to for high tea to Shoreditch. With a bit of research we were able to give the expensive touristy teas a miss and found our way to the Ace Hotel. In true Ace fashion we arrived to see everyone cool in London working on their Mac in the lobby, and were treated to the scrumptious treats shown above. After tea we were back on the tube headed to West Ham to meet up with our host Paul who had secured us tickets to see a Liverpool game in the away supporters section. It was an eye opener for me to see that away supporters were not welcome in bars, or had a separate entrance to the back of the bar and to the stadium. Once inside it was just as I imagined with roars of chanting and support for Liverpool. Alas, they lost in overtime and we headed out to the tube station to find a line-up that must have been a kilometre long; not the best end to the day but part of the London experience. Love London