Seahawks Win the Super Bowl!!

The Lombardi Trophy!

I know this isn't really travel related, and I know I'm a little late to the party, but it's my blog and I get to do what I want. I also needed some time to really let this settle in. One of my favorite teams in the entire world, the Seattle Seahawks won their first ever Super Bowl on Sunday! It's the first major championship the city of Seattle has won in my life time (not to discredit the two WNBA championships the Seattle Storm have won because I think women's sports should be far more prevalent than they are, but the fact remains it's still not considered a major championship. Boo). My point is, I've never really had a chance to experience something like this before. And boy, what an experience it is!

My dad and brother at the game!

Growing up, I was always a big Mariners fan, playing softball myself. Ken Griffey Jr was my hero. I remember when they made the playoffs for the first time in 1995 and what a big deal it was! My classes would stop to watch the games, knowing it wasn't worth trying to teach us. It was incredible! But sadly, they didn't make it far, and they've only had 1 great season since then. I knew about the Seahawks, too, and my dad claims he took me to games, but I have no recollection of this. It wasn't until high school that I really started paying attention to football and my love increased over the years. In 2005/06, the Seahawks went to their first ever Super Bowl. Everyone knows what happened. It was so disappointing.

But here we are, 8 years later, and the trophy is finally ours! After we won, people went out to the streets to celebrate, throwing Skittles in honor of Marshawn Lynch and generally having a wonderful time. There was a parade today through the streets of downtown. 700,000+ people turned up to see the players, coaches and more bring the Lombardi trophy to its new home. I've never seen anything bring a city, state and region together as much as this has. Everyone was in a good mood, happy to be there, living a moment we'll forget.

Russell Wilson!

Oktoberfest (Wiesn) Like A Bavarian

Going to Oktoberfest in Munich where it all began, is one of the funnest things I've ever done while traveling. I'm fortunate enough to have a friend who lives there and let us stay with her. She was able to give us insider tips on how to do Wiesn like a local, right down to how you should hold your beer and tie your apron.

First of all, if you want to stand out as a tourist, call it Oktoberfest. To Bavarians it's Wiesn (Veesin). Not that you will find anything that says Wiesn on it. You just have to know. Another way to show you're tourist is to not wear the traditional Bavarian clothing. Dirndl's for women, leaderhosen for men. Every store in the city sells these approaching and during the festival. You have no excuse. For ladies, how you tie your apron determines your marital status. Bow on the left means you're single, bow on the right means you're taken.

We're single!

Opening weekend is always the most traditional. There are parades and speeches and they don't tap the kegs on the first day until noon, though the tents open at 9. If you want to get a seat in a tent (which you do, trust me), get there early. We're talking 7am. Get in line and wait until the tents open, then rush in and grab a table. It's a mad house free-for-all. You won't be served unless you're at a table and once they're taken, nobody leaves. You can sit at an outside beer garden, but you'll miss out on the fun inside.

See how they hold their beers?

Once you've got your table, plan to stay the whole day. As more and more beer is consumed, the atmosphere becomes louder and more jovial. Everyone is standing on the benches (but never the tables), singing loudly and having a wonderful time. Make sure to hold your stein not by the handle, but with the palm on the stein itself, handle over your hand. Eat. You'll consume so much alcohol over the day, you don't want to get sick (the Germans never do). This ain't no sissy Bud Light you're drinking, and you're expected to keep up. There are plenty other people who will take your spot if you don't. By the end of the night, you'll be singing right along with your new best friends to all the Bavarian drinking songs, never mind that you don't know the words, or even speak German.

Put a camera up to your face and this happens a lot.

The tents close around 11, but the festival outside goes all night. You'll definitely want to walk around this for a little while, even if it's just to watch the drunk Germans attempt the rides. They are a hilarious lot. I also recommend taking the Ferris wheel. You get a birds eye view of the entire festival all lit up that you really can't get anywhere else, and it's beautiful.

This is the largest festival in the world. Have fun with it! Who knows when you'll have a chance to come back?

Losing Your Luggage Is Lame

Having your luggage lost doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it can disrupt your entire vacation. I've had my luggage go missing twice now, most recently on my trip to Vegas for a bachelorette party. As mentioned in my previous post, I was in Chicago for work and was supposed to fly from Chicago to Portland to Vegas. Of course since O'Hare is O'Hare, my flight was delayed. Fortunately, Alaska Airlines was able to book me on another flight, directly to Las Vegas. I had to wait another two hours to depart, but since my flight was now direct, I arrived two hours earlier than planned. Great! When I asked about my luggage, they told me that Alaska was responsible for getting it to Vegas, but American (my new flight provider) was in charge of delivering it to me. It sounded so easy! But it never is.

After my flight arrived, I checked in with the baggage service counter for American Airlines. The girl at the office was trying to do 17 things at once, running out to check on a jammed conveyor belt, calming down a guy looking for a missing passenger, etc. When she was finally able to return her attention to finding my luggage, she told me she didn't know where was and filed a claim for it. She said once it was located, they would deliver it to my hotel. I was so tired, I didn't care. I just wanted to leave.

The next morning it hadn't been found. I wasn't too worried about it, but I did need to supplement my now smelly clothes with something a little fresher. And possibly a swim suit. This meant a trip to the mall after breakfast. Two hours later, I had most of what I needed, but still no luggage. We went on with our day, hanging out at the pool, getting ready for our evening out, eating dinner and finally, seeing the Thunder From Down Under (side note: SO WORTH IT!). 

Anyhoo, by the time we had to leave for the airport the next day, my bag was still missing. Now I'm pissed. The most frustrating part was that no one could tell me anything about my bags. How does that even happen? These things are tagged and scanned fifteen thousand times every time someone looks in its general direction! But all I could do was give them my home address and ask that if they ever found it, they would send it there (I didn't even get shout-y or stomp-y, though I really wanted to).

As I was sitting at the gate, waiting to board the plane home, I got a phone call. They found my suitcase and it was in Las Vegas, could I come pick it up? Um no. I'm getting out of this crazy town. But yay!! So instead they were able to put it on another flight to Seattle and would deliver it to my house after that. Two phone calls and a day later, it finally arrived. Turns out airlines don't like talking to each other very much and require constant monitoring to get anything done. But it all ended well. I got my stuff back, the airline is going to reimburse me for the things I had to buy, and I didn't have to pay a checked bag fee! Sometimes it really is the little things!

A Weary Traveler's Update

I know, I know! It's been too long! I had grand plans of updating my blog while I was in Europe so I could share my experiences as they happened, but actual computers are rather hard to find these days. All I had was my cell phone and spotty wifi that lasted just long enough to upload a few pics to Facebook here and there so my mom wouldn't call the local authorities. Speaking of phones, TMobile just announced that they are going to offer unlimited data world wide now. Would have loved to have that 4 weeks ago! I am smartphone illiterate which may or may not have led to a $200 roaming bill. Ugh.

Anyway, I'm back from Europe now (and in Chicago for work) and will be writing a few posts about my trip. Never fear, I wrote while I was there! You'll be able to read them as if you were following along with my trip! Am I clever or what? But since I left them all at home, you're going to have to wait a bit longer.

A note about Chicago though: pretty cool city! I've never been here before and I only had a day and a half of site seeing before I had to buckle down and work, but what I saw was awesome. It's a lot like Seattle, but bigger. And flatter. Which is weird. But so nice to walk on! I had 3 days at home before flying here Saturday morning (which probably contributed to this horrendous cold I have now). My boss picked me up and took me to my first NHL game, the Blackhawks vs the Sabres. We even got our seats upgraded to the front row of the second level! And they definitely made sure I had enough to drink (which also may have added to this stupid cold).

Sunday, we went up the Sears Tower and out onto the SkyDeck ledges. Then we walked the Magnificent Mile (where we narrowly avoided spending way too much money) before dashing off to do a Segway Tour of the city. Because we are that cool. Seriously. I even got to keep my yellow reflector vest. I'm telling you, this city really rolled out the red carpet for me. Anyhoo, the Segway Tour was a lot of fun and I didn't eat pavement like I thought was inevitable. It was a great way to see the city without having to burn off all the calories I consumed. We ended the day with a big Chicago pizza, because any trip to Chicago that doesn't include pizza is a failure.

Now I'm in St Charles at a massive compound for my training, which feels a bit like going to university. Except we can all legally drink. I'm here until Friday when I fly to Vegas for the bachelorette party of a good friend! We have at least 4 gallons of alcohol for the 5 of us and 36 hours in which to consume it. I'm pretty sure I'm never getting over this cold.

Tough Decisions

First, the good tough decision. I bought my airfare to Thailand! No turning back now, we're going! The price was the best I had seen and the times were really good. No 36 hour travel times for us! It will take us 19 hours to get there and 15 to get back. What's amusing is that we leave Bangkok at 520pm and arrive in Seattle at 525pm the same day. If only it was really a 5 minute flight. Pulling the trigger was difficult though. What if prices went down? Are we spending too much? Are we really ready to commit 100%?

Buying airfare is always nerve-wracking. You never know if you're getting a good deal or overpaying. Dropping a thousand dollars on one thing isn't something most people (of my acquaintance) do very often, especially with no ability to get a refund. Aside from my house payment, it's the largest amount of money I spend on anything. Plus, once you buy your ticket, you're committing yourself to spending a lot more money once you get there.

On the flip side though, I may have to make the decision to nix Bulgaria. I don't want to! I'm still holding out hope that I can make it work. But just over 8 weeks out from when we're supposed to leave and I don't have a commitment from my travel partner. She can't get an answer from her work and while she waits, airfare climbs.

Originally we were supposed to fly through Iceland to Munich before spending the majority of our time in Bulgaria, but the price of the Iceland Air flights has sky-rocketed. In May, I was looking at $1099. Now, skipping Iceland, I'm at $1322. With a 30 hour return travel time. I'm not sure if I can justify it now. I know I wouldn't regret going, but I also am not sure I can deal with myself when my credit card statement drives me to a nervous breakdown.

Having to turn down something you're so passionate about is hard. I've been looking forward to this all year. I've planned out what I want to see, asked for the time off from work, and set money aside. But at some point, I have to be an adult. I really hate those points. Fingers crossed I won't get to that point!

One Night In Bangkok

Actually, four. And several nights in other places, too! Last night, my friend and I spent several hours planning our trip to Thailand and Cambodia. It's going to be amazing! But we definitely had some things to sort out. Did we want to go to Chiang Mai? Is the expense of getting to Angkor Wat worth it? How many days can we spend lying on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi?

We knew we didn't want to spend every night in a different city. Both of us have done the backpacking through Europe in college thing and while it was great, we're getting a bit old for that now. Also, not having to rush around to get somewhere else allows for more time to get to know the city. So we limited the cities we'll visit to just the most important:

Bangkok - This is one great big "Duh". We have to fly in here. It's the capitol city. It's the hub of cultural and tourist attractions. It's close to many other tourist activities. Of course we are going to spend time here. We decided we want two full days to see the sites of Bangkok, plus two more days to visit the floating markets of Samut Songkhram and the city of Ayutthaya. But, in order to not miss our flight home, we figured it would be best to split our time here into two days at the beginning and two days at the end. Plus, then we can leave stuff behind and not carry it with us the entire trip!

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Angkor Wat is a massive temple complex near the town of Siem Reap. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and included on the previously mentioned list as the number 2 destination of top landmarks in the world (and the Bayon Temple, also at this complex, is number 5!). It  is a huge attraction to me. I want to go here almost more than anywhere else on this trip. But it's expensive to fly to. We could take a 12 hour bus for around $10, but losing two days to travel is not really worth it. Flying from Bangkok to Siem Reap and then on to Chiang Mai is nearly $500. That's almost half the cost of the flight to Thailand from Seattle! But when else would we get the chance to go? My friend was rather reluctant to spend the money, but after telling her about the $1 bike rentals to ride around the ruins, the ability to see them both at sunrise and sunset, and showing her lots and lots of pictures, she was convinced. We're definitely going here.

Chiang Mai - I was on the fence about this place. It's far out in Northern Thailand, you have to fly here, and I wasn't sure there was enough to do or see to make it worth a few days of our time. But my friend thought it was. She pointed out that the best cooking schools were here, not Bangkok. Plus you can do an elephant trek and hike into the mountains to see tribal communities. Ok, I'm convinced. You had me at 'elephant'.

Ko Phi Phi - This is really the main reason for our trip. The beach! And where better to find one (or six) than some of the most beautiful islands in the world? It also has some amazing SCUBA diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. And while considered "expensive" by Thai standards, you can still find bungalows on the beach for under $75/night for two people. This will probably be the most expensive part of our vacation, but also the most relaxing. We've definitely planned plenty of 'lie on the beach and do nothing' time. I can't wait!

It finally seems real. We're actually going. We haven't bought airfare yet, it's still 8 months away. But at this stage of planning, with guidebooks purchased and an itinerary mapped out, it's highly unlikely we'll change our minds. It's going to be an awesome trip. I'll probably take 3000 photos. I promise to post a few!

See All The Places!

Sometimes traveling overwhelms me. Not because of everything there is to do and see, or the money spent, or the time off required. Not even because of the planning most trips need (that's one of my favorite parts!). No. I get overwhelmed because I feel this desperate need to travel everywhere right now! I don't know why it is that I feel this way. The countries will still be there next year or five or ten years from now. Nevertheless, I found myself nearly hyperventilating at work the other day, thinking about all the places I want to go NOW.

It started with an email from TripAdvisor with a list of the Top 25 Landmarks - World, as voted on by users of the site. You can find the list here. I forwarded it the person I'm going to Thailand and Cambodia with, as we are hoping to go to both Cambodia locations. She responded by pointing out Petra in Jordan, a place I've wanted to see for many years! In turn, I reminded her that we still have a trip to Peru and Machu Picchu planned. From here, it continued to escalate.

Going through it again, I counted seven places I had been to. Seven. And only two in the top ten! This simply would not do! Granted, if all goes as planned with the trips I'm already hoping to take over the next year, I will add three more, but this just isn't good enough! On top of that, I have a friend who lives in Australia and might be moving to the States. I need to visit her before she leaves! Then there's Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I need to climb that while I'm still young enough (ha!) and fit enough (double ha!) to do it! And Croatia! Before deciding on Morocco in 2009, the original plan was to go to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Montenegro, but it got too expensive. Pretty sure it's not getting any cheaper!

This led me to create a list of the places I need to go to immediately, a list of places I need to go to soon, and a list of places I've already been but really want to go back to. The outcome of all this was 16 trips, 23 countries and a heart attack. How on earth will I fit it all in?! But I must fit it all in! It was just too much for me to take. I needed a break.

After a quick nap in the lobby downstairs (yes, I nap in the lobby sometimes) I felt calmer. I still wasn't sure how I'd be able to do every trip I wanted to do, and it's possible I won't get to do them soon, but I have so many trips coming up over the next year that there is no need to focus on anything else. I'm incredibly lucky to get to travel as much as I do and for now, I'm going to concentrate on that.

But a little Googling never hurt anyone...