Happy Mosel 2007

It's that time of year again...the start of FEST SEASON. On Sunday, June 3rd, Matt and I took part in the annual Happy Mosel event for the 2nd time (last year was our first year to Happy Mosel). Happy Mosel is reserved for one day out of the year where the entire road that winds along the Mosel River is shut down to all cars and is only used by bicyclists and rollerbladers. It's also the start of the fest season. Along the river, there are tons of food tents, beer trailers, and wine stands set up for everyone's nourishment needs. This year, we had a group of about 15-20 people Happy Mosel with us from Piesport to Bernkastle and back (about 30 miles total).

We had a fun time, although I couldn't do any cool tricks like ride without holding the handle bars (since I'm pregnant)! 30 miles doesn't sound very far on a bike, but my bum would tell you a different story!

Here are some pictures from Happy Mosel 2007. Matt was really fascinated by the fact that the Fire Station was selling wine and beer from inside the fire house garage. As you can see from the photos, they converted a part of the garage into a bar (you can see all their gear hanging in the background!). Oh, and there's nothing like having a cigarette machine mounted on the outside of a fire station...

Sopot, Poland

(this picture makes me look more preggers than I really was at the time!)

For Memorial Day weekend, Matt and I (along with about 16 other people from our squadron) went to the beach in Sopot, Poland. I didn't really know that there was a beach in Poland, but there is. Sopot sits up on the far northern coast of Poland on the Baltic Sea and is a huge European summer destination. Since it was only the end of May, there weren't too many tourists, so the beach wasn't too crowded. We really lucked out with the weather, as it was beautiful, sunny, and in the mid-high 70s the whole time we where there. To no one's surprise, it rained that entire weekend in Germany, so we didn't miss anything back home.

Matt and I had a fantastic weekend in Sopot. Being the beach bum that I am, I loved just sitting in the sun reading and Matt had a fun time hanging out with the rest of the group at the beach. When we weren't at the beach, we were taking in the luxuries of our hotel. The person who booked our hotel, Mehow, is best friends with Boose (a guy in Matt's flight and a friend of ours) and just happens to be Polish. Mehow moved to Boston when he was 6 and grew up in America (which is how he met Boose). After college four years ago, he moved back to Poland to teach English and be near family. Well, due to the fact that Poland isn't that far from Germany, Mehow has come to visit Boose a few times and has managed to come along on trips with everyone in the squadron. So, all of us are thus friends with Mehow--which was the main reason we all went to Poland for the weekend--to see Mehow.

Anyhow, Mehow booked our hotel for us and it was AMAZING. We pulled up to the hotel in our party bus and all of us were in shock, as our hotel was a 5-star luxury hotel that sat on the beach. It was AWESOME! We all had ocean view rooms, the beds were so comfortable, plus there was A/C. Here are some pictures of the outside of our hotel and the view of the beach from our room.

Before the trip, the guys had designated Saturday night as 'Money Night.' So, the guys had to wear suits and ties, the girls had to wear cocktail dresses, and we were to go out to dinner at a really nice restaurant and then go to the casinos afterwards. Since Matt's and my idea of fun has drastically changed in the past few months, we never made it to the casino at 1am, but we had a great evening with all the guys. Here's a picture of the group that was taken in front of our hotel on 'Money Night.' It was really a lot of fun to have everyone dressed up and looking sophisticated for the night.

We had a great relaxing weekend in Sopot and managed to get a light tan as well!

The ING Luxembourg Marathon

So, just when you thought we were crazy for running in one marathon this year, we went out on May 20th and ran in another one--the ING Luxembourg Night Marathon. Well, Matt RAN in another one and I walked the half. I wasn't planning on participating, but I figured that I could use a little bit of exercise (after being on 'bedrest' for 2-3 weeks) and I had already signed up and paid the entry fees a few months prior.

Well, walking a half marathon and running a half/full marathon are two different ball games. I think those 13.1 miles were the LONGEST 13.1 miles of my life! Luckily, I had a friend, Lee Anne, who also walked with me and kept the conversation flowing for the 3 hours that it took us to finish. Lee Anne's husband, Chris, ran with Matt in the full, so Matt had a running buddy to keep him company too.

Matt and Chris did great and Lee Anne and I finished (which was our only goal). Although, the Luxembourg police did try to kick us off the course once--as they said that the event 'was not a game and that we should either stop or run.' We just ignored them and kept walking--and we successfully were the LAST people to cross the finish line for the half marathon!

Finishing the marathon was the best part, as the race ended inside a stadium that was equipped with all sorts of lights, smoke machines, loud music, and screaming spectators. It was the COOLEST marathon finish that we will probably ever take part in...although the stadium had no A/C, so in a literal sense, it was incredibly steamy and hot inside. Above is a picture of the finish area before the marathon started (the crew was still putting it together only a few hours before the race started) and below is a picture of the course leading up into the stadium.

Sardinia

On May 10th, Matt and I took a quick weekend trip to the island of Sardinia. Sardinia sits off the Mediterranean coast of Italy (it's 'owned' by Italy) and is absolutely beautiful. This weekend get-away was a much needed trip, as Matt had been working 14-16 hour days for a few weeks straight and flying twice just about each of those days--so he needed to relax and I just wanted us to get to spend some time together.

Well, our objectives for the trip were accomplished, as we were able to relax, spend some great quality time together, and add yet another European location to our list of travels.

While in Sardinia, we ate some amazing coastal Italian food, seafood (our rule is that we only eat seafood if we're near a body of water or surrounded by an ocean/sea), and of course, gelato. Given that I'm not a big seafood eater and am pregnant, I was very selective about any seafood that I ate, so don't worry, it wasn't like I ate a pound of it each day! We were also really lucky to have beautiful weather while there (apparently it rained both the week prior and the week after), so we both came home with a little bit of a tan.

Since the island was so small, one of Matt's main requirements for the trip was that we rent a SMART car (they're these ridiculously small cars that people drive here in Europe). I thought it would be fun and we've both been wanting to rent one, so I didn't have any objections. Well, when we got to the Alghero airport, we were both bummed with the news that the rental car company didn't rent any of the small SMART cars (because there is no trunk or room for luggage), so the one we had rented was the FOURFOUR, the biggest of the fleet. As you can see, we got a beauty (lime green with a huge scratch/dent on the front and a missing hub cap)! We laughed about our FOURFOUR, but she was truly the perfect car for our trip.

Since weather was so nice on the day we arrived, Matt and I took the FOURFOUR out to a grotto north of Alghero. Not only was there a grotto to be seen, but about 700 stairs to go down and then back up (they wrapped around the coastal rocks). Here's a picture of me on some of the stairs. Since Matt and I are in pretty good shape, the stairs weren't too challenging...although my calves were a little sore the next day!




The next day, Matt and I took a fantastic drive along the coast from Alghero down to the coastal town of Bosa. It was like driving on Pacific Coast Highway in California but in Sardinia. Along the way to Bosa, we spotted a private beach that was tucked away in the cliffs in a small cove. It took us a few minutes to try to figure out how to get down to it from the highway and then about a 15 minute hike, but once we made it down there, we were so glad we had found it. It was beautiful (and there was sand)! Here's a picture of the private beach (taken when we were hiking down to it) and a picture of us out on some of the rocks. Matt managed to go explore the cliffs while I made myself at home reading in the sun.













For our drive back to Alghero from Bosa, we decided to take the inland scenic route through the rolling hills. Although not as beautiful as the coastal drive, this drive offered us some great views of the coast (in the distance) and the opportunity to see some cork trees. Sardinia is a big producer of cork--and it's made from the lower bark of the cork trees. Once a tree's bark is stripped for cork, it can no longer be used for any more extractions. As you can see, these cork trees have already been stripped and will continue to exist only to help create oxygen.




Then, the following day Matt and I went sailing on an 80ft wooden sail boat. There were 2 other couples on the boat with us and together, we all had a wonderful time (and I never felt sea-sick, which was a plus). The boat, the Andrea Jensen, was owned by a British couple who moved to Sardinia with their boat to turn their hobby into a job. We set sail in the morning and were taken out into the Mediterranean ocean where we sailed north along the coast until we reached a beautiful cove where we were served lunch, went snorkeling, and played in the water.


Matt got to help put up the spinnaker and all the other sails, so here is a picture of him working hard. We got back to Alghero that evening and then cleaned up and walked down to the old part of town (no cars allowed) for another great dinner by the water. Here are some pictures of our sail boat (they let me go out in a dinghy to take the pics!).














In all, we had an excellent time in Sardinia. It was a great relaxation weekend and one that allowed us to spend some much needed time together.