German Picnic

Hi guys!

Today was 100° so Tanja and I decided to prepare for it with the ultimate German picnic! Which, with a baby means it’s gonna take us awhile to get it all done. 

We started the morning with a long walk, partly to put the baby to sleep and the other part to get all our shopping done. First stop was the butchers, which was really cool because this particular shop only bought from local free range farmers AND most of the butchers were women!  

Then we stopped by the bread shop which is the best place to go in Germany! They have so many options and I’m always eyeing the sweets but never allowed to eat them because of secret nuts in the flour. It doesn’t stop me from asking though! I just know I’ll eventually find a cookie I can eat that won’t kill me. 

Afterwards we stopped at a cheese shop, the supermarket, and even the pharmacy! The good thing about living in a small town is that everything is in a single row down the main street so it was really convenient. I miss having all these little specialized shops rather than one big supermarket, I think it’s one of my favorite things about living abroad. I don’t even miss Trader Joe’s, and that says something because it’s basically what I lived off of all throughout law school and being a Trader Joe’s cashier was my backup career when things got too bad in school and I wanted to drop out lol. 

After we finished shopping Tanja prepared the food for this evening while I entertained baby.  Oh and we decided Tanja would teach me how to make German bread this trip so we started with some pre dough today! 

It started getting really hot, so the three of us decided to ride bikes to the lake. I can now personally verify that riding a bike is something you never forget. I haven’t ridden one in years! And while I admit my starting and stopping wasn’t perfect, I didn’t get myself killed on the ride to the lake so I’ll take that as a win! Plus it would have sucked to carry everything in this heat and walk to the lake. 

At the lake we met up with Tanja’s other mom friends she met at mommy and me classes. The babies were so adorable! We all took a swim in the lake. Tanja laughed at me because I asked if there were any predators, she said the lake was too cold for that! And yet there were still fish sooooo I’m not sure if I totally believed her. But it was too hot and too beautiful a day to miss out on a swim! 

We rode our bikes back to the the house only to load it up again with all of our picnic stuff and meet Max’s family at the beer garden. Apparently this a quintessential German summer activity and has a funny rule where you can bring your own picnic food but you have to get drinks from the garden. This is because back in the day they didn’t have a way to keep the beer cold so they’d dig a cellar and plant a huge tree or dig a hole and keep the kegs inside. Although the beer isn’t stored underground anymore, the rule still stands. 

I tried so many different types of cheese and sausage today and definitely ate well past the point of full. But it was hard not too! I wanted to try everything and Tanja found so many options for me that are definitely not easily available in the US. Max’s grandpa kept laughing at me because I couldn’t stop dancing while I ate. It was my first time eating wurst salad, which isn’t really a salad at all, it’s just sausage, cheese, onion, pickles, and oil. I was super skeptical but it was delicious! Also, you can’t be in Bavaria without eating pretzels, they’re the best in the whole world. I had two whole ones myself! Despite the heat, the picnic was perfect and we biked home on very full but happy bellies. 

We all got ready for bed after our long day in the sun and fell asleep at like 9 pm! Fingers crossed for the weather tomorrow. Tanja says that a hot day always brings in a thunderstorm so I’ll keep you posted! Maybe I’ll need that rain jacket after all. 

Lots of love,

Carolyn 

Munich

Hi everybody!! 

I made it to Munich! As you can probably tell, it’s gotten quite busy here since I’m trying to keep up with Tanja’s son, who’s almost a year old and he has been a little grumpy since my arrival. To be fair, he’s been a bit under the weather so that’s definitely affected his mood and yet not his energy? Can someone tell me where these babies get all their energy from?! I need a nap well before he does lol. 

We made it to Tanja’s house and she made me the funniest sign! I like to pretend the guest rooms in my friends’ houses are my bedrooms. Even after 2 1/2 years Tanja didn’t forget  and absolutely cracked me up. Thanks for letting me temporarily displace you Lucas! I always wanted a zoo themed bedroom in cool muted blues. 

Actually this trip so far has been really cool because I feel like I’m getting to experience what growing up in Germany during the summer would have been like. We spend tons of hours in the gardens exploring all the bugs and flowers, we set up afternoon picnics, and when it gets really hot, we bring out the kiddie pool and play with squirt toys! I tried reading German baby books to Lucas as well, but am awful at it, so I just make the stories up. Also, we’ve got a great debate going on in the house about whether this is a picture of a train or a truck? Tanja says train obviously, but I say it’s clearly a truck! 

For today’s picnic Tanja brought home, Zwetschgenkuchen, which is a German plum streusel cake. It’s not like the plums we get at home, it’s a bit tart but also sweet almost like a berry. We made fresh whipped cream to go on top and had lattes of course! It was delicious!! And thankfully the breeze kicked in, so it was enjoyable to picnic in the garden. 

While we’ve got quite the heatwave and no A/C I think we’re doing a great job staying cool. Tomorrow we are making a German picnic basket and heading to the lake in an effort to beat the heat. 

Love you all,

Carolyn 

Last Day in Brighton

Hi guys!! 

Ugh I wish I were in a better mood but last days are always hard, and today is my last day in Brighton. Jes, Pete, and I slept in, and then had breakfast in the garden. It was already boiling by 10 am since I managed to come during a massive heat wave in Europe. So we escaped inside for a daytime movie. After such an epic road trip, it was nice to do nothing but hang out with my best friend and her new husband. 

Last time I came to Brighton I absolutely loved this little Italian cafe called Morocco’s. I couldn’t leave without at least having a scoop of gelato! So we took a long walk to the restaurant, and we weren’t the only ones with that good idea because there was a line around the block! It was no biggie since Jes and I were working out the logistics of our new goal…we’re going to do a park run together! It’s this international group that “gets together” to run a 5k on Saturdays at 9:00 am. Now Jes and I aren’t runners, so we have to work our way up to it when I get home. I’m feeling pretty confident that this new goal might stick better than our last one from 2017 of being super yogis. Spoiler alert, we’re not super yogis and we did it for about 30 days and then realized yoga was hard lol. 

Afterward we walked home, Jes and Pete made cheesy pasta with the cheese block I brought back from Isle of Mull, while I finished packing. We also brought back a can of IRN BRU, pronounced “Iron Brew,” to share for our last meal together. Fun fact, Scotland is one of a few countries in the world to have another drink outsell Coca-Cola, and IRN BRU has outsold Coke for over 100 years. One can of IRN BRU is sold every 20 seconds. With stats like that how could I not try this infamous orange drink. I think maybe I had my expectations too high because it was disgusting!! Think of a cream soda, but bubblegum flavor, and that’s IRN BRU. Thank goodness the Isle of Mull cheesy pasta was a hit! Otherwise it would have been a disappointing last meal together. 

Afterwards, Jes and Pete drove me to the airport hotel. We had a rather teary goodbye, but promised to try to meet up next year during the Baikins euro road trip!! Tomorrow I’ll be making my way to Munich to meet up with Tanja. I’m excited to see her, during covid she not only got married but she also also had a baby!! So it’s going to be quite a change from our last meeting, but I can’t wait to meet everyone. 

Lots of love,

Carolyn

1,177 Miles

Hi everyone! 

So, I’ll start this post off by saying that I safely made it back to Brighton!! It was quite the journey that we did in two days, you can see the trip below! Honestly I’m so impressed by Jes driving it all! She’s a total champ.

Last night we found a Scottish pub in Loch Lomond which would let us park our car overnight. Jes had her first zoom with her classmates for her masters degree in the morning so finding a spot with good Internet and enough quiet was a must. It also meant that I spent my first three hours of the morning inside said pub and let me tell you, it was hilarious. The Dovers Inn definitely caters to tourists, so basically they had a bunch of Italians and Spaniards in kilts serving us. Also, the only breakfast item I could eat was eggs on toast since I wasn’t in the mood for black pudding or haggis and the other options were all pork. I’m going to give the Scots credit for using all the of animal when killing it for food, but nevertheless I couldn’t bring myself to eat blood or intestines before I had a proper coffee. 

I mostly entertained myself with people watching and then with a book and part of a Netflix tv show when the bar crowd died down. I think my favorite moment was when an American ordered a Guinness and then took a photo exclaiming how Scottish he was with his drink. I didn’t have the heart to tell him a Guinness was Irish, nor did the snickering bartenders by the looks of it. I think my second favorite moment was when an American came up and asked to take a photo of me because I matched the painting behind me!! Equally embarrassing and hilarious! Maybe the painting is one of my Scottish ancestors? Haha. 

Jes finished her meeting and we moseyed our way back to England, stopping on the other side of Tebay. While the shops weren’t as good, the view was way better! It looked too perfect to be real and like a quintessential landscape of the English countryside. 

We kept driving on until we found another safe pub to park our van in for the night and have some dinner. We also may have treated ourselves to two desserts whilst being entertained by the horribly awkward date happening at the table next to us. The Victoria sponge jam cake had warm custard drenching it and was delicious! Why don’t we have our cakes swimming in warm custard back home? I think it should definitely be a thing. Also, apparently I almost started a riot by saying that putting vinegar and salt on your fries is an aberration and that I preferred ketchup instead. This chips and vinegar versus the chips and mayo is a hot debate across England and people are as diehard about it as they are about their favorite sports teams. I will happily be the outlier in their standoff. 

We spent one last night in the camper van before heading out the next morning to finish our drive home. I have somehow gotten amazing weather this week because Europe has a great heatwave, however this also meant Jes and I were trapped in traffic for hours roasting in a van with no air conditioning and only smoggy air for relief. Not ideal circumstances at all and we came home a bit crabby and completely wiped out. Thankfully, Pete greeted us with cold squash (aka juice and water) and apple trays upon our arrival. Ironically, the garden was cooler than the house! Which I didn’t believe until I actually went outside, sorry Pete for doubting you, you were right lol. 

We sat outside and recuperated for a few hours before Pete and Jes cooked a delicious curry for dinner! It’s honestly way better than mine. Guess I better practice for the Baikins’ arrival in 2024, I can’t have the Brits outdoing me in my own culture! 

After dinner we walked to a pub with a live band to hang out for the night and get Tiny outside for a bit since it was much cooler in the evening. Never would I have ever guessed I’d spend so much time in three different pubs in two days, but when in Rome do as the Romans do I guess haha. Also, pubs were safe overnight options with toilets, hence allowing me to avoid anymore “wild wee” mishaps for the rest of our trip! I’ll definitely take that win! 

And with that, I’m saying goodnight. I’ve got one more day in Brighton before I’m off to Germany! Feeling a bit blue tonight, but going to make the most of tomorrow. 

Love you all,

Carolyn 

Mink Whales and Waterfalls

Hi guys!! 

Today was an early wake up call because we are going out to sea to find whales, dolphins, and sea birds. We were determined to be the first ones at the bakery too, I can with confidence say it was the first time I’ve ever been to a bakery at opening time. I didn’t mind waiting despite not yet having a coffee because the baker was playing amazing music that included COUNTRY music. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I was totally line dancing down the streets of Scotland whilst waiting. Maybe this is a sign that Isle of Mull really is a place I belong! 

After we got our meat pastries for breakfast (and a caramel filled donut for good measure), we boarded the boat for our four hour adventure at sea. It was Jes’ life dream to see a whale, and I really wanted to see one too, but we were too nervous to actually get our hopes up. The universe definitely answered when we had not one but TWO mink whale spottings!! They were so small compared to other whales but quite cheeky as it swam from one side of the boat only to appear on the other and blow its hole at us. Apparently it’s very rare for them to pop their heads up, but our whale did it twice giving us a good once over haha. Jes and I were elated! 

The rest of the trip was less exciting to report about, but I will say that puffins are rather cute birds. Also, we had a sea bird yell at us after we left a big wake that crashed into it. That made me chuckle and reminded me of my own birds at home. Also, I’m not sure what happened but we also had amazing weather too despite rain warnings, the sun decided to shine. I think my Scottish blood was activated because I was the only one on the boat with just her t-shirt on! Even Jes had layers, and you guys know I’m ALWAYS cold, so it gave us a good chuckle that the Californian was too hot in Scotland. 

After the boat ride Jes and I were a bit green, and decided some fresh air and a nice walk on land was just the remedy. We went down the Main Street popping into all the shops that were closed the day before. I cannot get over the highland cow art! They’re so cute, I got myself a little postcard for my wall and picked up a ToBEERmory beer for Jes’ husband, Pete, since he was so cool about me road-tripping with his wife without him the day after his wedding. Sorry but also not sorry at all because we are having too much fun!! We popped back in the bakery from this morning for coffee and millionaire’s shortbread. Oh. My. Goodness. It is SO good, I wanted to eat the whole tray and probably would have if I knew it wouldn’t give me a massive stomach ache. Basically it’s shortbread with a thick caramel layer and then a chocolate layer on top, like a Twix bar but a million times better. I may just have to try and bake these at home. 

Despite walking the entire town and taking our time we had another two hours to kill so we went on a hike to chase down waterfalls. The hike was filled with such a lush green! It felt like I was on the scene of Jurassic park or something. Also, the moss here is way fluffier than ours, it was so weird to touch. It was so beautiful to have the sea to our left while still being immersed in a forest, definitely the best of both worlds. 

We did the entire hiking trail before making it back to the pub from yesterday to have some well earned cheesy fries. You know the town is too small when you become regulars the second time you go into the same pub. Our bartender cracked a joke about making space on the wall for my photo today before automatically pouring our drinks and asking if we’d like the same garlic mayo with our fries as well. Jes and I couldn’t stop laughing and decided that maybe the Isle of Mull is a bit too small to stay forever. At least it’s not as small as some of the other islands we learned about earlier where apparently the kids have to take a plane ride into the mainland and stay there all week just to attend school! I can’t imagine what these kids think when they get to university and realize most kids just take a bus or walk. Things can get quite strange up here in the highlands.

With one last farewell to Tobermory and our favorite highland cows, we drove to the ferry and headed back to Loch Lomond for the night. 

The travel was uneventful except the ferry was full of really embarrassing Americans. I made sure to keep my words and accent to a minimum while people watching in the lounge. For example, some east coast frat boy poured WATER in his whisky and told the Scot that he was talking to that drinking whiskey neat was like drinking wine without decanting it first. I think the Scot just about choked on her drink, clearly speechless and horrified. Jes was sat next to me and was equally baffled. I just apologized on behalf of the cocky frat boy and almost told him to order a soda if Scottish whisky is too strong. Jes had a good chuckle at my comeback when I shared it with her after getting back to the privacy of our van. 

We began swapping stories of the worst tourists we’ve encountered on our travels for the rest of our drive. By the time we made it to Loch Lomond, Jes and I were quite tired and quickly set up the camper-van and settled in for the night. Tomorrow we begin our ten hour trek back to Brighton. Wish us good weather for the drive! 

Lots of love,

Carolyn

Duart Castle and Clan Maclean

Hello hello!! 

This morning Jes and I had a lie in and slept to a whopping 9:30 am. Which was actually a really good thing because the only coffee shop in town didn’t open until 11 am. The real kicker is that same coffee shop closes at 3 pm!

Today is so special because I’m going to Duart Castle! Bad news, is it’s been under construction since 1910, so the photos aren’t super pretty with scaffolding. The good news is that it’s in phase 8 of 10 for renovations, so depending on the angel the castle looks great! I think you can tell by my face I could not contain my excitement at actually being here. My great grandma was a Maclean and this is the closest thing I’ve got to family history. I’m pretty sure my ancestors were never in the castle, but because we can’t confirm or deny one way or another then by that same logic I’m going to pretend they were the clan rulers. 

The Duart castle itself was a part of a dowry to Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean for marrying Mary MacDonald but only after Lachlan kidnapped Mary’s father to convince him to let him marry his daughter. Apparently the Macleans were quite a determined and slightly violent/reckless lot. One of the chiefs left his wife on the rocks to drown because she wouldn’t give him a male heir, but then the wife was rescued and the Chief killed by her rescuer, and rightly so I might add, I’d be pissed too!! The castle itself was lost because of huge Maclean debt that had to be repaid to another clan.  Hmmm maybe after writing this I don’t want to claim Maclean ownership anymore. Then again, we do have a fun clan logo and castle. 

The views were amazing from the top of the castle. The castle itself had a bit too many dungeons for Jes and my taste. Also it has the world’s worst layout where to get the food to the dining room it had to go from the kitchen past the dungeons, to the dumb waiter, to then be plated upstairs, and then finally served to the family. It was so far that the food was always served cold! Silly clansmen, highly decorated warriors, skilled artists, good fortress wall builders, yet horrible planners.

Jes told the docent I was a Maclean and he gave me a special guest book to sign! I can say with confidence I was the only one with my name in there. Honestly this entire trip was a dream come true!! 

On our way down we had a quick walk around the millennium forest which was part of the castle grounds. Since it was recently planted, I wouldn’t say it was super foresty but it was a nice little nature break. 

For our next adventure of the day we drove up the island to a colorful town called Tobermory.

It has a famous orange tabby that apparently runs around town and even lies in the middle of the road and all the cars go around it! I’d say it practically rules the city! So imagine my absolute delight when I met the cat on our way to the hostel. She was so friendly, and didn’t even budge or open one eye as kids yanked at her fur in an attempt to pet her. 

The only bad thing about small towns? They close so early!! Literally everything was closed by 3 pm, we couldn’t check in until 5 pm and the only thing open was the one pub in town. Figuring that was my best bet to charge my phone, I walked in an asked if they had a outlet to charge my phone in the wall. Apparently Scottish people have just as hard a time understanding me as I have understanding them because this poor bartender thought I was asking to put my photo on the wall!! You’d think there wouldn’t be any issues since we were both speaking English! But apparently not. So I held up my dying phone and charger and we had a good laugh before she pointed me in the direction of the outlet. 

We had a lovely dinner there before I treated myself to a Scottish tea cake, aka a delightful shortbread, marshmallow, chocolate confection that may just be my new favorite dessert, on the way back to our room for the night. 

I can’t believe the day is already over, but I’m so excited to take you on our whale watching adventure tomorrow! 

Love you lots,

Carolyn