Tired of Traveling

Don’t worry… we are definitely not tired of traveling! We’re actually trying not to think about the fact that we are down to the last 3 stops on our trip. The picture above is of a random tourist we happened upon outside of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. Hopefully she got a second wind later that day!

On Thursday, we spent our first full day in Vienna taking in the major city sites (Hofburg, Spanish Riding School, Museum Quarter, Opera House, etc.) and doing a little light shopping. In the early afternoon, we spent a little over an hour searching for the allusive “brat in a bun,” only to figure out that it was sold at a vendor stand that we had already passed 3 times. It was well worth the time and effort though! Here is a picture of Jonathan enjoying his “brat in a bun” and a beer in the historic city center of Vienna.


Thursday night, we had our second Asian meal in Vienna. We didn’t know Austrians loved Asian food so much! We also stopped by one of the famous cafes (Café Sacher) to sample their Sachertorte, one of the best desserts of the trip!

We spent most of Friday at the humungous Schonbrunn Palace. The palace is so large and includes so many different sites that it would be easy to spend more than one day there. Here is a picture of us with the palace garden and Gloriette in the background.


We limited our visit to a tour of the Imperial Rooms and later a stop at the garden maze/labyrinth. Heather scoffed a bit at the maze when we entered it, thinking it was going to be a breeze, but after repeatedly getting lost, she finally had to get out the maze map. Below is picture of her in front of one of the many dead ends we encountered. Unfortunately her map reading skills are not that great, so it still took us quite a bit of time to find the center of the maze and eventually get out!


On Friday night we found a local artsy neighborhood that was having a block party. It made us a little homesick because the neighborhood really reminded us of Decatur. At one of the local shops, the owner (who was actually from California) recommended a micro-brewery in the neighborhood for dinner. We decided to take his recommendation and were not disappointed! The 7 Stern Brau brewery had amazing beer and really good food! It is possible to get vegetarian dishes in Austria! We wanted to try more of their beers but had to quickly make our way across town to make it to a show at the Porgy & Bess Jazz Club. The club was awesome, and the band performing played really cool and interesting music (kind of a fusion of jazz and latin).

Yesterday we visited Naschmarkt, Vienna’s huge outdoor food market. It was a bit different from the markets we visited in other cities, and we were really surprised to find an entire row of Asian restaurants. Seriously, these people love their Asian food! After lunch at the market we took the train to visit an Austrian “Heuriger.” The Vienna area is known for these “wine-gardens” where you can sample the young wine served from the wine-growers own grapes. The place we visited (Zum Alter Pflug) probably would be really cool if more people would have been there and the servers were a little nicer. The setting was really cool, but boy was our server grumpy! Below is a picture of “Mr. Grouchy Pants.”


He even tried to stiff us on our wines, until we pointed out that we can read the difference between 1/8 a liter and 1/4 a liter of wine. Here is Heather giving the wine two thumbs down.


After the wine garden we headed back into the city to watch the USA vs. Ghana soccer game. We first tried a well known bar/restaurant, but after checking out place, decided (for the first time on our trip) to go back to 7 Stern Brau (the same restaurant we visited the night before). The food and beer were both delicious (once again), and the only bad part of the night was the USA losing the game.

Yesterday we took the train from Vienna to Prague, arriving late in the evening. You can expect Jonathan’s beer list to really grow in the Czech Republic! Hopefully not his waistline too!

Beer List:
• Gosser Marzen (an Austrian Marzen)
• 7 Stern Marzen (an Austrian Vienna Lager)
• 7 Stern Summer Bock (an Austrian Bock)
• 7 Stern Prager Dunkels (an Austrian Munich Dunkel Lager)

Is this thing on?

On our way to Salzburg this past weekend, we spent one night in Bolzano, a mid-sized city in northern Italy. The highlight of our brief time there was our hotel upgrade to an executive suite about the size of our condo in Atlanta. Thanks Starwood Preferred Guest points! It was also interesting to see the German/Austrian influence in the Italian town – architecture, people, language, etc. It was very different from our previous two stops in Italy (and much colder).

We arrived in Salzburg Sunday night and luckily found one restaurant still serving dinner near our guesthouse. Although completely charming, the place we stayed was about 20 minutes outside of the city center. We spent most of Monday walking around the city, avoiding the tour groups, and enjoying the food! Below is a picture of Jonathan with his first, but not last, pretzel of the day!


From her study abroad days, Heather remembered the famous Augustiner Braustubl Tavern beer hall/garden, and Jonathan was definitely looking forward to a visit. This was our favorite beer hall/garden so far! It was much less touristy than the beer halls in Munich and also much larger. Visitors can actually bring in a picnic or purchase local food from the vendors. Below is a picture of Heather enjoying our dinner Monday evening and her 1 liter beer!


One thing that Heather missed while studying abroad in Austria was the "Sound of Music" movie tour. After much debate, we decided to do a self-guided tour of the major movie sites in Salzburg (which we recorded with Heather commentating), rather than joining a tour group. The highlight of our tour was visiting the Stift Nonnberg (Abbey) where several movie scenes were filmed. The nunnery is actually considered to be the world’s oldest with constant occupation of the site since the 700s. Below is a picture of the alter area of the church. We also heard the nuns singing their morning prayers, which was really cool!


Even though he hasn’t seen the movie and isn’t really a fan of musicals (shocking!), Jonathan was a good sport! Below is a picture of Heather after narrating an explanation of a movie scene filmed in the beautiful Mirabell Gardens.


After a long day of filming, we decided a return trip to the Augustiner Braustubl Tavern was necessary. Luckily it was sunny enough to actually go out into the gardens! The picture at the top of the blog was taken while we were trying to set the timer on our camera to capture our experience in the beer garden. They also had TVs set up so we could follow the World Cup games!

Last night we ate a four course meal at our guesthouse that was one of the best of our trip! We should have skipped lunch! Interestingly, we were seated next to an Australian couple also on a three month holiday! We decided we live in the wrong country as the husband described how he gets 15 weeks of vacation a year (1 for every year with the company) plus the standard 4 weeks!

Today we took a train to Vienna (on which Heather accidentally squirted hand-sanitizer in the eye of the guy sitting across from us) in time to drop our bags off at the hotel before catching the USA soccer match! After the game (which the USA dramatically won in the final minutes), we grabbed dinner, explored the city a bit, and then shared coffee/dessert at one of the city's famous cafes.

Beer List:
• Stiegl Weizengold Hefefein (an Austrian Hefeweizen)
• Stiegl Weizengold Dunkel (an Austrian Dunkelweizen)
• Stiegl Zwickl (an Austrian Zwickelbier)
• Augustinerbrau Kloster Mulln Marzen (an Austrian Marzen)

The Spillmans are Finally Tan(ish)

After just over a week of enjoying the sun and beautiful views of Italy’s coastline, it is official that we are looking “somewhat” tan. Don’t worry though… we have already gone through one bottle of sunscreen and are getting ready to purchase another. If only we could find a store that sells SPF 50!

Last Friday we made our way from Naples down to Sorrento, Italy. It was so beautiful and we really enjoyed our time there! Saturday and Sunday were spent exploring the town, shopping, and laying out by the hotel pool. Saturday night, we found a really cool bar to watch the USA vs. England World Cup game. The only bad part about the bar was that it was filled with England fans and we were the only people cheering for the USA. Since we didn’t bring any USA t-shirts with us, we both wore the next best thing – University of Texas shirts (see picture below). As a side note, don’t worry – we don’t plan to make a habit out of dressing alike! All of the England fans were actually really good sports though, and congratulated us on ending the game in a draw.


After the incredible pizza in Naples, we were slightly disappointed with our meals in Sorrento. The pastas and pizzas were not very flavorful. Jonathan’s mom and grandmother definitely put the dishes to shame!

On Monday we spent most of the day on the beautiful island of Capri (see picture below), browsing the shops, roaming the beach, and enjoying a delicious lunch. Tourist season is definitely in full swing, though, and the place was packed! We wanted to take a boat tour of the famous Blue Grotto, similar to the caves we visited on our honeymoon in Portugal, but missed the chance due to high-tide. Maybe next time! We spent our last night in Sorrento watching the Italy soccer game and enjoying the liveliness of the town as they cheered on their team.


Most of Tuesday was spent traveling by train up the Italian coastline, eventually reaching Manarola (one of the five “Cinque Terre” towns) late in the evening. We both agree that Cinque Terre (Manarola specifically) is the most beautiful place we have ever been and is our favorite stop on the trip so far! Below is a picture of us in front of Manarola and the house we stayed in (yellow house on the hill)!


Besides the picturesque views and the charming quaintness of each of the towns, the food was beyond amazing. This area of Italy is known for their pesto sauce and after discovering this, we ordered pesto on everything. It was incredibly delicious, and we made sure to bring some jars home with us! We both ate so much pesto that we ended up with stomach aches, but it was totally worth it!

The house we stayed in had an amazing terrace overlooking the sea and we spent a lot of our time hanging out on it, working on our “tans,” and drinking local wine. We took a break from our relaxing for a short swim in the Mediterranean, which was pretty chilly! Unfortunately Jonathan cut his foot on a rock, so we weren’t able to swim very long. Luckily, we brought a first aid kit! If we could stay here for the rest of our lives, we definitely would! If anyone wants to go in on a vacation house here, let us know! Below is a picture of us on our terrace.


The only disappointing part of our stop in Cinque Terre was that we were not able to hike between each of the five towns (which is one of the most popular things to do here). Storm showers during our stay forced closure of a number of the trails between the towns, preventing us hiking the whole way. We did get to hike to the next town, though, and were able to take the train to visit each of the other towns. We know we will definitely be back, so we’ll just have to save the hike for our next visit!

Today we are headed to a town in northern Italy called Bolzano for a one night stay in route to Salzburg, Austria. We should be in Salzburg by late in the afternoon on Sunday. Hopefully the weather is beautiful there, so that we can enjoy some of the many beer gardens!

Beer List (we drank quite a bit of wine on this leg of our trip!!):
• Peroni / Nastro Azzuro (an Italian Euro Pale Lager)
• Becks (a German Pilsener)

Bagnoli or Bust!

Yesterday, after arriving in Naples just after eight in the morning, we rented a car for our day trip to a tiny Italian town called Bagnoli del Trigno.

Although he has lived in the U.S. for most of his life, Jonathan’s grandfather (Vito) actually grew up in Bagnoli del Trigno. He left Italy at the age of 16, moving to Ohio with his family and starting a new life in America. The house he grew up in is still standing, and there is actually family that lives in it for part of the year. Of all the stops on our trip, Jonathan was most excited about this one!

The car we rented in Naples wasn’t the nicest vehicle we’ve ever been in (to put it nicely), including a broken air condition, no radio, missing hub caps, and a fourth gear that didn’t quite work. On the bright side though, it thankfully made the two-hour drive back and forth safely. Unfortunately, due to the broken air condition, all the chocolate we bought in Switzerland melted inside Heather’s backpack!

Bagnoli del Trigno is located in central Italy, and the drive was really beautiful. This section of the country is filled with trees and mountains, and doesn’t look at all like the Mediterranean Italy we’ve both visited on previous trips. Below is a picture of Bagnoli del Trigno from a distance on our way in.


Since neither of us speaks any Italian, and we were pretty sure that practically no one in the town would speak English, we prepared our visit with a “cheat sheet” containing some phrases that would hopefully help us to find the house Jonathan’s grandfather grew up in. After stopping a number of residents in the town to ask for directions (none of which spoke English), we finally arrived at the house (see picture below). Unfortunately, the relative that lives there for a couple months in the summer was still in Rome, so we were not able to go inside.


The great news, though, was that a couple of the town residents pointed out that more of Jonathan’s relatives lived in another house just down the road and were actually home at the time. A really nice old man (who kept mumbling in Italian the entire time) led us to the relative's house, where we were warmly greeted! Salvina (Jonathan's grandfather's cousin) and her husband Rafella even invited us in for coffee, biscotti, pie, and a personal tour of their house (see picture below). Neither of them spoke any English, but we were still able to communicate with each other a little – mainly about family members and where they live.


After about an hour of visiting with Salvina and Rafella, we made our way back to the center of town to do some more exploring before driving back to Naples in the late afternoon.


For Jonathan, the trip definitely lived up to his expectations and is something he will always remember. We took tons of pictures (and video) to share with Jonathan’s grandfather (who celebrates his 80th birthday in August) when we get home.

Of course you can’t visit Naples without trying their pizza, so last night we went to one of the most famous pizza places in Naples, Pizzeria Starita. The pizza definitely lived up to all the hype. It was amazing and probably ruined American pizza for us!


We spent last night in a really cool guest house in the center of Naples that was actually a palace for a Duke at one point. This morning, we are heading to Sorrento for a couple days of relaxing and enjoying the Italian coast. Fortunately, our sunscreen didn’t melt in the car so we should be able to avoid becoming lobsters!

Say Cheese!

We arrived in Munich on Monday (May 31st) and immediately regretted our decision to give Amy our jackets to take back to the States. Thankfully we kept our umbrellas though, because it rained the entire time we were in Munich! On our first night there, we decided to be a little adventurous and try the top-rated TripAdvisor restaurant – El Gordo Loco. As a rule we try to avoid Mexican food abroad, but this place was surprisingly delicious (not just by European standards)! Apparently the chef is the only authentic Mexican chef in Munich, as the owner proudly told us.

On Tuesday, we braved the weather to take a walking tour of the city. Much of Munich was actually destroyed during World War II. However, as the war started to ramp up in Germany, the German people carefully took pictures and made drawings of the major buildings so they could be reconstructed after the war. It was really amazing to see the Old Town Hall and other architecture around the city. Although the buildings look very old, most were actually rebuilt in the 1960s in preparation for the 1972 Olympic Games.

Munich has a really awesome outdoor market which we took advantage of for delicious brats and pastries. Here is Heather enjoying the world’s largest macaroon, or at least the largest one we’ve ever seen.


With the bad weather, we were “forced” to spend most of our time hoping in and out of beer halls. Below is Jonathan at the famous Hofbrauhaus. Luckily Heather didn’t get kicked out this time like her last visit with her study abroad group!


After Munich, we headed to Luzern, Switzerland. We arrived on Thursday night after a long day of travel to a hotel room that greatly resembled a college dorm – complete with bunk beds! On Friday morning we awoke to absolutely perfect weather and were finally able to break out our short sleeves again. Luzern is definitely the most picturesque city we’ve visited yet – situated around Lake Luzern, with the Swiss Alps in the background.


We spent Friday morning exploring the downtown shopping area and then "spontaneously" decided to rent a peddle boat in the afternoon to explore the lake (see picture of Heather below). We should plan better for our adventures next time because we both got quite sunburned!


Friday night we had a traditional Swiss meal, including cheese fondue (see picture of Heather at top of post) and a delicious plate of rosti. We love this country – they put cheese on everything!

On Saturday, we decided we needed to work off some of that cheese, so we hiked to the top of one of the surrounding hills. The view was absolutely beautiful (see picture below)! We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the lake and avoiding the sun!


Sunday we headed to Lausanne, a Swiss city situated on Lake Geneva. Overall, this wasn’t our favorite city we’ve visited. However, one of the highlights of our time there was visiting the Olympic Museum. Below is a picture of Jonathan putting his old shotput skills to use in the Olympic Park.


In the museum, they just opened a new interactive exhibit where you could test your sports aptitude (apparently we both have poor hand/eye coordination). They also have an entire floor dedicated to the history of the Olympic Games, including the actual torches from each of the games (see picture below).



Our favorite activity in Lausanne was kayaking on Lake Geneva. We virtually had the lake to ourselves on a Monday afternoon. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures (we were too busy paddling), but here is a picture of the lake from the shore.


Our last stop in Switzerland was Geneva. Again, this wasn’t our favorite stop on the trip, but this side of Lake Geneva was also very beautiful.


Most of our time was spent window shopping the amazing jewelry/watch displays and eating more cheese fondue. On the lake front there was also a really cool photographic “World Peace” exhibit that we happened upon. Below is a picture of Heather with a special message for our readers.


Tomorrow we head to Naples, Italy on a really early morning flight. There we will be renting a car and driving to the birthplace of Jonathan’s grandfather, Bagnoli del Trigno. After that we will head to the Amalfi Coast!

As a side note, over the last week or so, Jonathan went from a full beard to a goatee, to a mustache (YUCK!), and finally to a clean shaven face. After all of that, he is now in the process of regrowing the beard.

Beer List:
• Augustiner-Brau Dunkel (a German Munich Dunkel Lager)
• Augustiner-Brau Edelstoff (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Augustiner-Brau Weissbier (a German Hefeweizen)
• Augustiner-Brau Lagerbier (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Hofbrau Dunkel (a German Munich Dunkel Lager)
• Hofbrau Original (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Hofbrau Munchner Sommer Naturtrub (a German Kellerbier)
• Schneider Weisse (a German Hefeweizen)
• Lowenbrau Original (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Lowenbrau Triumphator (a German Doppelbock)
• Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse (a German Hefeweizen)
• Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel (a German Dunkelweizen)
• Paulaner Original Munchner (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse (a German Hefeweizen)
• Hacker Pschorr Munchner Hell (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Eichhof Lager (a Swiss Munich Helles Lager)
• Feldschlossen Original (a Swiss Euro Pale Lager)