On to Northern Ireland and back to Switz...

From Dublin we drove to Northern Ireland and spent the rest of our time there. We headed up there so that BK and J could play golf at Royal County Down Golf Club, the number four golf course in the world! They had a great time playing an amazing course. A and I did not play, but we did go out and walk a few holes with them. You'll have to ask them more about their adventures on the course; I just know they reported in that they had a great time.

Entrance to golf course from our hotel

BK on the links!

While we were in Northern Ireland we stayed at a great hotel, the Slieve Donard. It ended up being more of a resort than we expected, but it was great. It's a Victorian Era hotel that has been completely updated and is in close proximity to both the golf course and main street in the town, and also sits right on the coast, making for some stunning views. I would highly recommend and would go back if we were ever in that part of the country again.

View of our hotel from the ocean

The final two days in Northern Ireland we left completely unplanned and decided that we would make a game time decision on what we wanted to do. This included extending our stay at the hotel and deciding that we were going to stay in Northern Ireland for the duration of our trip. On our first free day we headed up to the very northern coast to see Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle and go to Bushmill's Distillery.

Giant's Causeway

Giant's Causeway was really cool and very interesting. I don't even know how to describe it, other than a rock formation, but that just makes it sound so boring. It's an area right on the coast that has stacks and stacks of hexagonal shaped rocks. You can hike around on the rocks and hike up to various outlooks for a view of the coast. The visitors center also provides you with a free audio guide so you know what you're looking for and unique formations within the rocks that people have identified over the years.

Climbing on the rocks

From here we stopped for a quick lunch, then headed up to Dunluce Castle, which is not far from Giant's Causeway. We didn't actually go inside the castle, but it is a medieval castle that clings to the side of the mountain right on the ocean. I think part of what makes all these sites so interesting is that they are all on this wild, untamed coast line that has to be very harsh to live on. We hiked around a bit at the castle, and BK and J even went down into a cave that lead to the ocean.

Dunluce Castle

We then headed to Bushmill's Distillery, which has been licensed to distill since 1608. Unfortunately they don't allow anyone under eight-years-old to go on the tour, so Baby K and I had to sit this one out. We hung out with A in the cafe while BK and J did the tour. They acted like the tour wasn't all the great, but we had to try, just to see what the experience was like. You do get a free drink with your tour, which you can partake in at the cafe. I personally don't like whiskey at all, so this wasn't of much use to me.

Bushmill's Distillery

That night we enjoyed a nice dinner at one of the restaurants in our hotel and had a relatively early night. The next day we didn't do all that much before having to head back to Dublin to fly back to Basel that night. J&A attempted to golf, but got cancelled due to heavy fog, and BK, Baby K and I slept in (or rather, all took a nap during morning nap time). We did get out and walk along the ocean and promenade, and partook in one last dish of fish and chips along the main street in the town.

Heavy fog along the coast

We took the coastal route from Northern Ireland back to Dublin, stopping along the way if we saw something that peaked our interest. Thankfully, it was sunny most of the way back. Our flight to Basel was delayed, but we made it back to the apartment around midnight that night. I was seriously stressing (inside) about the late flight back, but our seasoned little traveler did great- eating her bedtime meal on the plane, then falling right asleep for the entire two hour flight.

Back in Switzerland, Baby K and I skipped the next day's trip to Luzern with BK and J&A, as we needed a day to recover. They went up to Mount Rigi, but were again greeted with fog, then explored around Luzern a little bit. Switzerland feels a lot different from the UK and Ireland, so I'm glad they got to have the experience. Baby K and I met them at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Basel for dinner after they returned that night.

They stopped to see the Lion in Luzern

Their final day was spent in a different part of Switzerland; we took the train to Bern, picked up a car (yes, we're buying a car- more on that later), then continued down to Montreux to show J&A where we would be living in the very near future. We had lunch, walked along the lake, went to see the new house, then made a very quick trip to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. I wish we would have had more time at the museum, as it is a very interactive experience. I'm sure BK and I will go back, since we'll be living down there, but we really enjoyed what we did get to see.

Olympic Museum- uniforms and equipment that has been used

After we got back to Basel that evening, BK walked J&A around Basel so they could see some of the city, then we had an easy dinner and early night since the taxi was picking them up at 5:30am the next morning.

Tired yet? Yeah, all of us were too, but had a great time on the trip. It felt crazy that we had gone back and forth between four countries in just a few days. J&A hit the ground running with us and we never really slowed down after that. If you're going to come to Europe you might as well make the most of it though!

BK and I have had about a week of downtime, but are gearing up for our move, which is happening on Monday!! Baby K has had some big milestones the past few days, but I'll have get back to you on those soon. Right after the move we're headed to the US for a month-long visit. Busy times!

On to the next adventure: UK and Ireland

When I left you last, Carkel and JW had just left Switzerland to head back to the US after a really fun visit. No rest for the weary though...early the next morning (7am flight) BK, Baby K and I headed to the UK to meet J&A for some fun at the British Open, Dublin and Northern Ireland. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me or anything, it was just a wild three weeks with all of our visitors.

Worn out from our travels

We took the early flight over to London to meet J&A at Heathrow where they were also flying into from DFW. I'm kind of a stickler for a couple of things on Baby K's schedule, so we decided to wake her up at 4am, feed her, put her back to sleep, then we were off to the airport at 5:30am to catch the 7am flight. We fed her on the flight and she was back asleep for most of it, so all went well, but it was an early morning for all of us, and a long flight for J&A, so that's where we started in London.

BK and Baby K on the flight- both asleep shortly after this

We didn't stay in London, but took the Heathrow Express from the airport into the city, to catch a train to Liverpool, where the Open Championship (known as the British Open to Americans) was being held. I told J&A I was really trying to give them the "European" experience by having us take public transport everywhere.

They were game for it all though, so after riding the Heathrow Express (essentially a commuter train), the tube (including a line change) and the National Rail, we made it to Liverpool around 3:30 that afternoon. From there we took the bus to the Liverpool Airport where we were staying for the next two nights. I wish I would have known that day that the taxis there let you roll the stroller into the taxi, so we could have ridden without the required car seat. May sound a little risky, but it ended up being awesome for us and super convenient.

Arriving at Liverpool Station

We honestly didn't think much of the city of Liverpool, but we also didn't spend a lot of time exploring the city. The whole reason we made a stop here was to go to The Open Championship, which this year was held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. So the next morning we took it easy and then headed out to the tournament.

At The Open

I thought The Open was a great experience and something that I would love to do again. Most tournaments I have been to are more about the social aspect, but this one is serious business; it is a major after all. The Open was extremely well run, with very knowledgeable volunteers and people who are serious about golf. Of course Baby K attended the tournament as well, sleeping through some of it, but also walking around the course far enough away to not make any crazy noise when golfers were golfing. We got to see many of the big-time golfers come through, including Rory...he won the tournament, for those of you who aren't golfers.

Afternoon meal on the course; I would include a different pic,
but it's not allowed on the course

The next day we were up extremely early (think 4am again) for a 6:30am flight to Dublin. When you arrive in Dublin at 7:30am, there's not all that much to do, but by the time we got to the hotel it was probably around 10, so we set out exploring. First things first though, we had to get a car and drive on the wrong side of the road! And when I say "we", I actually mean BK. We did get an automatic, so he picked it up fairly quickly, but it was a different experience. You kind of squirm every time you pull on to the "wrong" side of the road.

Something seems not quite right here...

In Dublin, I think we hit most of the big sights, but honestly weren't crazy about it by the end. Our hotel was just down the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral, so we visited that first, then walked through St. Stephen's Green to Grafton Street, to Trinity College (where the Book of Kells is kept, although we did not wait in the long line to see it), then back to Grafton Street area for a late lunch, then back to the hotel for a tiny bit of down time before heading over to the Guinness Storehouse. We did enjoy walking around and seeing the sites, but the city just didn't have any kind of welcoming feel to it.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral

Trinity College

The Guinness Storehouse was one of our favorite things in Dublin. The Storehouse has an awesome set up, with seven floors to tour. The brewery goes through their entire history and process of making beer, ending on the top floor- their tasting room. You don't have a selection of what to taste or anything, but you do get your brew poured by an expect at the Storehouse. BK and J also did a tasting class, learning the proper way to drink Guinness to get the most out of it.

The proper way to drink Guinness

Baby K was interested as well

That night BK and I hired a baby sitter and were baby-free for a night on the town! After Baby K was down for the night the four of us headed to dinner at a great place called Brasserie Sixty-6, not far from our hotel. It did seem a little trendy, but still had a warm feeling, and the food was pretty good as well. 

Night out for the parents!

After dinner we wanted to have the real Irish pub experience and hear some Irish music as well. I know lots of tourists go to the Temple Bar area, but we heard to stay away from that area, mostly because it was so touristy. Instead we went to Brazen Head, the oldest Irish pub still serving today. A band was playing, but ironically they were playing all Americana music...no Irish jigs to be had. We were all extremely tired, so it wasn't an incredibly late night out, but we all had a great time out together.

Brazen Head

The next morning we were on to Northern Ireland and then back to Switzerland after these adventures together. But it's getting late here and Baby K gets up at the same time every day, so I'm calling it a night. More on the rest of our adventures to come soon!

The familiar sound of golf

In case you live under a rock, last Sunday was Father's Day. It was kind of weird for BK and I not to see either of our dads. Usually we see both of our dads, spending time with BK's family out of town, then usually back in Fort Worth for dinner with my dad. And there's always golf.

The US Open is one of the four majors in golf, and it is always held the weekend of Father's Day. In Texas our Saturdays and Sundays in spring and summer were always full of whatever tournament was on that weekend. For majors it also usually involved being at a parent's house as well.

I don't think it ever dawned on me how familiar the sound of golf is to me. When we turned the US Open on last weekend, I was immediately struck by the familiarity of what it sounds like on TV. Hearing the announcers talk about the leaders performance thus far and various golf legends throughout Saturday and Sunday brought me to the realization of how many of my years (all of them) have been filled with the sounds of PGA golf on Saturdays, and especially Sundays, the final day of tournaments.

BK especially liked this year's US Open because he has played on the course it was played on this year, Marion.

For the next major, the British Open, I'm excited because BK's sister and brother-in-law will be in Basel with us. It will be fun to enjoy a major with family again when the familiar sound of golf once again fills our apartment in Switzerland.