Category Archives: Travel

Norway, Travel

Oslo in Spring

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No matter how many times we find ourselves in Oslo, we are always finding new areas and new things. And no matter how many times we go, I always enjoy going back.

Oslo is especially lovely when the sun is shining and the flowers are in bloom. And that is exactly how we found it when we there about a week ago.

It was a perfect day for walking around the city, with coffee in hand and friends by our side.

And that is exactly what we did. Once we arrived in town, we kept our distance from public transportation and just enjoyed the city on foot.

I loved seeing all the colors, both in decor, and in nature.

 

 

 

 

As is always the case in Norway, when the sun comes out, the people come out.

And Karl Johans Gate, the main pedestrian street in Oslo, was certainly bustling with people and activity.

It was another fantastic day in the capital city!

 

 

 

Norway, Travel

Norwegian Patriotism

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We made some friends in Oslo on our last visit…I was initially reluctant to ask for a picture. But then I thought to myself: if they dress like that, and walk down the most touristy part of the city, then surely they shouldn’t be shocked at such a request.

And they were great sports, even posing with props from the souvenir stand!

Travel

Signs

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I’ve posted before (HERE) about the funny signs we see from time to time.Here is one I saw on a recent trip to Poland. I think bathroom signs tend to be the most entertaining!

What are some of the strangest or funniest signs you’ve seen?

cross-cultural living, Travel

Signs

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As I’ve said before, I always enjoy the signs we see when traveling. Sometimes because they’re funny, sometimes because they’re ridiculous, and sometimes because they’re true.Here are some of our favorites during our first two years outside the states…

From Budapest –
Not just any breakfast – THE breakfast
Ingen fart, uten bart (no speed without a mustache!)

 

You can’t live well, love well, or sleep well –
if you don’t eat well

 

Poop signs are always funny

 

From Paris – Beware of words

 

Ah, the international bathroom signage

 

Please don’t drive into the fjord!

 

Travel

Budapest: Dove family Top Ten

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We had a great time in Budapest. As we normally do, we looked for ways to make the most of our time without spending a lot of money. So we didn’t pay to go in a lot of places (only the cave church, and it was a nominal fee). But you can see and do a lot for free!I thought I would share some of our favorites from our time there (in no particular order).

  1. Castle Hill – we explored the area twice, once in the daylight, and another time as the sun was setting. Our walk down the winding paths at sunset was especially enjoyable, with so many spots to stop for a great view of the city and the Danube.

     

     

     

     

  2. Matthias Church – we only saw it from the outside but it was beautiful.
  3. Bridges (the bridges across the Danube between Buda and Pest) – we walked across Margaret Bridge, Chain Bridge and Liberty bridge. The best was walking Chain Bridge at night.

     

     

     

     

  4. St. Stephens Basilica – only saw it from the outside but it was pretty and there was a nice Christmas market just outside.

     

  5. Mexican restaurants – our favorite kind of food, and we have no Mexican restaurants in Norway. We enjoyed the food at Iguana. But we kept finding ourselves going back to Arriba Taqueria (similar to Moe’s or Chipotle).
  6. Central Market Hall busy, crowded, and lots of interesting smells! But a great place to purchase souvenirs, including paprika and goose liver pate. And be sure to stop at Fakanal for goulash (we tried the stew and the soup).

     

     

     

  7. The Gellért Cave Church – heated by the thermal springs in Gellért Hill

     

  8. Memento Park – a ‘statue graveyard’ of Communist monuments

     

     

     

     

     

  9. Váci utca- a great pedestrian street with shopping, restaurants, and so much to see

     

     

  10. City Park and Heroes’ Square – a large park that is home to a circus, zoo, ice skating arena, thermal bath, and a Transylvanian castle. And Heroes Square reminded me a little bit of Independence Square in Kyiv (Ukraine).

     

     

     

celebrate, Travel

Godt nytt år! Happy New Year!

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Sending greetings from lovely (and COLD) Budapest, where we are already three hours into 2015…

Hope everyone has a safe and happy time celebrating New Years Eve. We’ve enjoyed a fun but busy day, exploring more of the city with friends.
Here’s to a new year filled with lots of opportunities to improve areas that need improvement, get rid of things that are holding you back, focus on things that matter beyond just today, and find ways to show love and help others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel

And then there was Hamburg

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Getting to explore so many new cities was great. But one city stood out from the others as we made our vacation plans.

Hamburg.
Not because of any certain landmarks or sightseeing or anything like that. No, it was because of some very special friends. Some of our friends from Atlanta are now living there, friends we hadn’t seen in close to two years.
I have to say it was like Christmas morning for me. Watching the hours and then minutes tick off the GPS. Pulling up to their street and seeing three of them standing on the corner, waving us in. Getting out of the car and looking up on the balcony to see one of my best friends standing there (and then running down to greet us). And the hugs. It had been too long. And yet once we were back together, it was as if no time had passed.
The kids immediately fell into playing like normal. And we fell into conversations with people who know us, understand us… and still like us!
For an entire week we lived together, cooked together, ate together, explored together, laughed together, and chilled together. It was a week I will never forget, and just what we needed. I’m incredibly grateful that God has allowed our friendship to continue to grow despite the distance between us. And we look forward to them coming to visit us in Norway at some point!
Travel

Dusseldorf

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On our second full day in Germany, we decided to do a little walking tour of Dusseldorf. We enjoyed exploring the churches and wandering up and down the small streets. And we did some shopping as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel

Exploring Köln/Cologne

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As I mentioned in our last post (here), our first stop on our trip to Germany was Dusseldorf. We went there to visit some of our colleagues. They invited us to make the short drive with them to Cologne.And we are so glad we did! We were only there for a few hours, but we had the chance to tour the cathedral. A giant amongst its neighboring architecture, it was hit numerous times but managed to survive the bombings of WWII. Many war experts and reports suggest that it was not specifically attacked because it served as a very visible landmarks for finding other locations that were to be hit.

We didn’t see a lot more than that. We managed to get our obligatory Starbucks city mug, and had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (wow, we sound like typical American tourists!). But it was a fun afternoon getting to see yet another beautiful part of one of our favorite countries.