Days 39 to 47 - Dubai (plus a few travel days)

(Quick Note:  We apologize to our 4 dedicated blog readers (big shout out to our parents!) for our delay in posting anything in recent weeks.  After our time in Dubai, we were in Africa and struggled getting any internet service.  Spoiler alert, we did survive Kilimanjaro, but we’ll update on that later!)

The City of Gold!  If there ever was a place that lived up to its nickname it’s certainly Dubai.  From spectacular skyscrapers to “over the top” attractions, Dubai doesn’t disappoint.  We quickly learned that Dubai wasn’t as conservative when it comes to women's attire as some of the other Arab countries, so Ines let her hair down and off we went to explore!

The first night we went to the Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world (you hear the words “largest”, “biggest”, “most expensive”, etc. throughout Dubai).  While neither of us are huge fans of time at the mall, it’s quite impressive.  While just walking around we saw the largest dinosaur skeleton in the world (shipped in from Wyoming), checked out the giant indoor ice rink, saw the four story indoor aquarium complete with sharks, and marveled at all the shops that go beyond affordability. We then ate dinner while watching the musical fountains of downtown Dubai (yep, you guessed it, the world’s largest choreographed fountain system) light up the night sky, which left both of us wondering, what are we getting ourselves into?

The next day we ventured into the old area of Dubai, where it felt like scenes from Aladdin were being played out (you have to admit, it’s a Disney classic).  The main attractions were the “Souks”, most notably the spice souk and the gold souk.  Ines immediately felt at home and went to work bargaining with the vendors.  Korey also went to work, and somehow held Ines to only buying a pair of shoes (what else) and some Za’atar spice, but narrowly avoided disaster in the gold souk (which was Korey’s main goal).  It was great to see Dubai’s heritage and history, and explore something other than Dubai showing off its wealth!

That evening we had another friend-of-a-friend connection meet up!  Korey’s friend from Baltimore (thanks Chris!) has a friend living in Dubai, so we met for dinner, drinks, and hookah at a rooftop restaurant with unbelievable views of the skyline.  We received great recommendations from him and his wife and enjoyed talking wth such interesting and fun people (hope your holidays were great Dennis and Colleen!). 

The next day Korey got his wish.  A trip to the the top of the tallest building in the world.  The Burj Kalifa is both intimidating inside and out,  with a very strict dress code to enter the restaurant lounge.  So of course, Korey’s travel shoes (which he still thinks meets the dress code) did not make the cut for the lounge area, and after awkwardly borrowing some too big pointy leather dress shoes from the hostess, we ventured near the top to the lounge area.  Ines was able to tolerate the height for a while, but eventually being up over 2,000 feet in a building (the building itself pushes 2,700) took it’s toll and we came down with some weak knees and a great experience!  Needless to say, Korey took the pictures from up above. One of the more interesting sights at the entrance to the Burj Khalifa which is also the entrance to The Address Hotel was a sighting of a red Rolls Royce with the #5 license plate (quick side note - license plates can be expensive in Dubai and are seen as a status symbol).  It didn’t seem like much at the time, but upon “googling” the person with that car, we learned the Sheik paid $6.8 million dollars to have that license plate, just insane. 

We then used one of our Dubai days to travel and explore nearby Abu Dhabi.  We rented a car and took the hour and a half drive to the capital of the United Arab Emirates to see what it had to offer.  Aside from the million dollar sports cars passing you left and right, driving in the UAB wasn’t half bad.  We easily made our way to the capital and first visited the Grand Mosque, an amazing site with plenty of history.  We drove through town to see more amazing skyscrapers, took a walk along the beach and dipped our toes for a romantic walk along the Arabian Gulf, zipped through Ferrari world (yep), and then headed back to Dubai, still shaking our heads at the over-the-top wealth of this country.

We were lucky enough to run into another friend-of-a-friend from Maryland, Ayse (thanks Melissa!).  She was there for a trade-show for work and we were able to meet up for tea before she was off to a world-wind of meetings and conference responsibilities.  What a treat! She told us all about Dubai and led us to our next adventure!

With one of our last days we decided to venture into the nearby desert, and we were certainly glad we did!  After an hour drive out of the city, we experienced a dune bashing ride in a Land Rover that left Korey giggling and Ines a little white in the face!  After that, we were taken to a desert oasis that included hookah, camel rides, henna tattoo painting, and local foods.  After experiencing everything the oasis had to offer, we sat down to dinner with entertainment that featured fire breathing and belly dancing.  We had a great time and consider it our favorite adventure in Dubai!

The last day in Dubai was spent preparing for our upcoming safari and Kilimanjaro climb in Tanzania.  Dubai started to feel too luxurious for even Ines (although Ines would like to state that she witnessed Korey actually relaxing for maybe the first time).  We are ready for the next adventure!  After washing all our clothes in the tub and drying them overnight (the joys of travel continue!), we departed to Africa!

Things we learned: 1) be careful dismounting a camel and always put the smaller person to the back.  Korey almost took out Ines and the camel's face when we tried to get off.  Luckily his amazing balance helped avoid disaster, 2) don’t go shopping in Dubai.  Just don’t do it.  It’s for Sheiks, Bill Gates, and Donald Trump, and that’s about it, 3) anything is possible.  Have an idea?  Go to Dubai, you’ll find the money you need to try it out.  Seriously, this place is the perfect place to try anything, heck, they have giant man-made islands that look like palm trees.  Because, why not?

Dubai is truly a desert with skyscrapers almost randomly jutting out of the ground

Our first evening in town, classic view of the Burj Khalifa

Largest dinosaur skeleton in the world, just chillin' in the Dubai Mall

The magical fountain with more skyscrapers in the background!

How is it that Ines still manages to look better than Korey dressed like this?

Entrance to the gold souk.  See the smile?

Sunset view from the lounge at Burj Khalifa.  Hard to believe we're looking down on 80-story buildings...

Ines doing her best to enjoy the meal!

Clearly she feels more comfortable acting goofy at the mall...

Dennis and Colleen were great to hang out with!  Thanks again!

Selfie in front of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Coffee with Ayse!  Thanks again!

Dune Bashing!  You can hear the women in the car not loving it...

 

 

Arabian Desert fun!

Camel riding.  Pretty much the not smoothest ride ever, c'mon camels

Our entertainment for the night!

Traditional Middle Eastern dinner in the desert

European Quirks - All days in Europe!

Beautiful, fun, inspiring Europe!  It’s an area of the world we have very much enjoyed traveling within, and hope to travel more within over the years.  We also found it to be full of what we will fondly remember as interesting quirks, and dedicate this blog post to what we have collected as our favorites, with love and appreciation for them all, of course!  

The bad news:  We have limited pictures (proof) to back up our statements below, as we did not think of this post until we had left Europe.

The good news:  If you believe our statements below, you may find yourself better prepared for your next Europe vacation!

Doritos nachos.  It is exactly as it sounds.  Do you remember a couple of years ago when Taco Bell came out with their crazy Doritos Tacos?  Well, it is something Europe has incorporated strongly.  Not the Doritos taco, per say, but the concept of every corn chip being a nacho cheese Dorito chip is imbedded in European food culture.  Would you like tortilla chips with your soup?  Doritos.  Would you like to order nachos?  Doritos covered in nacho cheese.  Brilliant marketing.

Bread bowl with a side of corn chips (doritos) in Iceland

The missing shower curtain.  Did they forget to put a shower curtain?  Nope, a shower curtain needs a shower rod to hold it up and there is certainly no sign of a fixture to hold a shower rod or curtain.  Maybe there is a shower door I just can’t see?  Nope, that is not there either.  Learning to contain the shower water within the 24 inch space allotted has been challenging, in addition to the challenge of not flooding the bathroom entirely.  We know the trick is in fully balancing how to use both the rain shower overhead and the hand held spray jet, yet somehow one of us managed to flood the bathroom every time.

Double whammy on this one.  How do you keep the blinds and/or floor dry?  No shower curtain in sight

Card operating light switch.  This is one Ines’ Dad wishes he had when her family was growing up.  The lights simply don’t turn on without the room key card inserted in the card slot controlling the master light switch.  Great for efficiency!  Not so great, however, when one person wants to stay in the room for the evening and the other person wants to go out and needs the card key to operate the elevator when returning.  Herein lies the master negotiation for how one person gets the room key and how the other person gets the headlamp.  The solution? Remembering to always ask for two keys or be prepared to fold your travel map into the size of the key card.  Otherwise, one of us gets to enjoy a cozy evening with the headlamp!

The European bed crack.  This one has been our greatest source of laughter, as almost all hotel beds in Europe that don’t specifically cater to Americans is made up of one platform bed frame and two twin mattresses, forming what is inevitably a crack right in the middle (sometimes as wide as three inches).  Ines would like to state that she is a fan of always having her own assigned blanket (each twin comes with its own).  Inevitably, one of us found ourselves wedged in the crack in the morning, but at least we had a blanket!

Our room in Salzburg, complete with a fantastic bed crack

The man coin purse.  Coins rule in European currency.  Coins represent both the value of a dollar (Euro, Kroner, Swiss Franc, etc.) sometimes two, sometimes three!  And paper money appears to only be used to make more change.  When Korey’s pockets began to jingle when he walked, we wondered how everyone carried these coins around in their pockets all day, and that's when we discovered the universal use of coin purses, made for both men and women, representing the bulk of any wallet.  We continue to not understand the fascination with coins Europe appears to have, and recommend rounding rules be applied to bring every price to a whole number, which brings us to…..

The metric system.  We know…the metric system is better and we don’t dispute this fact.  And, we now know….the entirety of Europe uses the metric system.   However, when already presented with the challenge of converting currency from American dollars to Euros (Kroners, Swiss Francs, etc.), with the type of currency and conversion rates changing every three to four days, one cannot also be expected to simultaneously convert milliliters to ounces and estimate the cost of an adult beverage, all before the wait staff returns to take your drink order!  We cannot tell you how much Korey thought he was getting a great deal on a glass of his favorite whiskey and received a mere tasting, and how many times Ines ordered a glass of wine and a half carafe was delivered to the table.  Oops!

We thought we ordered the same amount of beer.  We were a bit off.  The big one was Ines'

Push, do not pull.  We mean doors, of course!  This was one of our biggest challenges, as most doors in Europe require one to push the door from the outside to enter and pull the door from the inside to exit.  Seems simple, doesn’t it?  Well, when autopilot is in play nothing is more noticeable or frustrating to Korey than being seen fighting with a door and being reminded by Ines that the door must be pushed to enter or pulled to exit.  

What, no breakfast?  We love the reaction we have received with our general lack of taking the breakfast option provided by most European hotels.  Breakfast is typically held from 6:30am to 9am in the morning, with most hotels either including breakfast in the hotel cost or adding it on upon checking in.  We’ve entirely lost count of the number of times we have been asked the question….”What, no breakfast?” or “I see you did not book breakfast with us, was that a mistake?” or our favorite, “We missed you at breakfast today, was everything alright?”.  We simply are not big breakfast people, opting to grab a piece of fruit or yogurt, or simply choose not to wake before 9am.  We don’t mean to offend anyone by our lack of early morning digesting and simply wish not to be called out for not waking before 9am!  Sheesh.  Obviously no picture on this one.

Americans are either crocodile hunters, toothless, live in the wild, or all of the above.  Nothing is more satisfying after a long day out traveling and exploring everything the rich European culture has to offer than coming back to our hotel, struggling to not flood the bathroom floor with shower water, and settling into the two English speaking television channels, all while avoiding falling into the bed crack.  One universal theme we have discovered is that all English-speaking television shows distributed throughout Europe depict Americans as either wild animal wranglers or toothless feral humans living in the remote wilderness.  What the Europeans must think of Americans!  We were simultaneously entertained and appalled.  Can the American television industry please relax whatever international viewing laws preventing the showing of television that depicts a more well-rounded and favorable view of Americans?  Between wild game anglers and Trump, we don’t have much to defend ourselves with on this trip.  Please, we beg you…for the sake of our future international relations…and our sanity.

Day 35, 36, 37, & 38 - Switzerland (St. Moritz style)

Well, current activities in Turkey with Russia and Syria have put our Turkish travel plans on hold indefinitely (sorry Ines!  No turkish delight and zataar toast for you this time!).  We took this opportunity to pull out our world map and pick a new destination.  As the travel planning occurred while we were feuding (see previous post), Ines took the lead to pick our five day diversion and settled on a ski-cation in the Swiss Alps!  Seven travel hours later we found ourselves checking into our Swiss Chalet set on the edge of a beautiful lake in St. Moritz.  Little did we know Ines’ pick of ski towns is the most visited, most skied, and of course, most expensive ski town in all of Switzerland (possibly the world).  That said, Ines did manage to pick the time of the year that has plenty of snow and was just before their high season, which meant that we had the ski mountains, the Chalet, and the sweet town of St. Moritz pretty much to ourselves (in our last few days there we shared this place with about 200 Italians - more to come on this).

We spent the first day of our ski-cation wandering around the sweet Swiss town of St. Moritz, where Ines discovered her new favorite afternoon beverage, the latte macchiato (although still not enough caffeine in this to keep her awake - Korey is not sure many people know this about Ines but she is the only person he knows that can drink an espresso and then take a nap).  We unknowingly received a clue regarding the relative cost of St. Moritz.  Upon checking in, we were asked where we were headed and we responded that we were planning to spend the day shopping and walking around.  Our Chalet staff member then simply laughed and told us to have fun.  As we ascended the longest heated escalator in Europe to climb the distance from our Chalet on the lake to “downtown” St. Moritz, we realized why the laugh was delivered.  St. Moritz can best be described as the winter playground to the rich, with street after street lined with high end stores (Gucci, Harry Winston, Salvatore Ferragamo, Rolex…..and on…and on….and on).  After Korey peeled Ines away from drooling over a gold beaded 2015 resort collection Escada evening gown, we settled into a little local hole in the wall hunter styled Italian-owned bar, where over an Aperol Spritzer (Ines would like to include the recipe for future reference- Aperol, Ginger Ale, Champagne) and a Calanda Swiss-made brew, we pondered over what we had just got ourselves into for the next few days.  

The next day we were early out of bed and off to the downhill ski mountain, with over half of the runs open and plenty of snow for the taking.  The St. Moritz ski mountain is just up the steep sloped mountain of the town, and we ascended up the mountain in a tram with only about a dozen or so other skiers/snowboarders.  After being outfitted in the newest and most advanced ski gear (only the best for skiers of St. Moritz!  Actually, were are here about a week before the high season season, which meant nobody has had the chance to use the gear yet - lucky for us!) we studied the run map and were off!  Well, sort of off, anyway, as Korey was already halfway down the mountain when he looked back to see Ines hadn’t yet started.  As he yelled words of encouragement, Ines examined the steep drop off the face of the mountain and the fact that she could see our Chalet at the bottom.  After her initial hesitation and fear factor was overcome, we skied the afternoon away, with very few other skiers on the ski-hill (Ines states for the record it is better described as a ski-cliff).  In fact, we closed the place down, with the last latte macchiato of the evening being served to Ines.  We then took our weary bones and stiff ski boot walking feet back to the Chalet and enjoyed a fondue dinner where we cooked our own meet in hot oil with plenty of delicious accompaniments!  

The next ski adventure day was not as successful, as Ines discovered there was also a cross-country ski mountain close by (actually, as the Europeans call it - Nordic ski mountain).  We opted for the skate skiing option, and proceeded to bruise and batter ourselves on the nordic ice learning to skate ski on it as children and older women skated right past us.  Korey states our technique was all off and we tired ourselves out unnecessarily.  Ines, after picking herself up off the ground for the fourth time and wiping away her tears, opted to stick to classic cross-country and downhill back in the US.   This is also where Ines glared at Korey for stating that at least they burned tons of calories exercising and could enjoy a guilt-free dinner of traditional Swiss Rösti, Engadin Style, which is basically a deep-fried skillet of hash browns covered in swiss cheese melted over mushrooms and herbs.  Ines agreed it was worth the pain, but only after the fact.

That night, we discovered that the weekend was an Italian holiday, observed in St. Moritz by the annual “City Race”, where dump trucks of snow are brought down from the mountain and used to turn the winding city streets of St. Moritz into a ski-racetrack.  Sponsored by Audi (of course), the race brings hundreds of people from around Switzerland and nearby Italy to enjoy live music (Gotthard rocked!) and team ski-racing through the windy city streets.  We had so much fun!  By the way, Ines would like to take this moment to state that Italians are everywhere in Europe, adding that not only do we watch them consume five course meals with adult beverages at every sitting, they are also all young, extremely thin and extremely tan (a rash generalization, for sure but seemingly true).

All in all, Switzerland was a great experience and a great trade-in for what was supposed to be a week in Turkey.  And because we were there just before the high season, we got to enjoy a not so expensive trip in the most expensive place in the world to ski (Ines is taking credit for this - even though she had no clue prior to booking).  

Things we learned,  1) Yay for us, for luckily visiting a place just before high season (Korey will be doing more research on how to recreate this in the future)  2)  Korey has learned not to take Ines to towns where the starting cost of a “souvenir” might very well be in the thousands, however Ines wants to remind him that he is taking her to Dubai next, and 3) Skate skiing - do not try this at home without professional guidance, and muscles strong enough to take a beating.

St. Moritz celebrated their 150th year of Winter Tourism last year.  Trust us, they know what they're doing!

St. Moritz also featured the longest escalator in Europe, because, why not? (it keeps going, hard to tell from this view)

A beautiful day and reflection in St. Moritzersee (Lake St. Moritz).  You can see our chalet on the other side of the water

Hitting the slopes!  But don't worry, the falling comes later during skate skiing...

Just one of the breathtaking views from the top of the Corviglia mountain where we started our ski adventure.  Not much snow on this side, but wait...

...Ines making her way down the mountainside, all to herself.  It was unbelievable!

A little lunch break at the top of the mountain

Closing the cafe down with the new favorite, latte macchiato

Downtown St. Moritz the night of the City Race!

Teams race through the city streets, craziness!

Rocking out in 30 degree weather in the street!

Ines looking like she knows what she's doing skate skiing

 Korey showing everyone neither of us could figure it out...

Day 33 & 34 - Füssen, Germany (fondly remembered as "Feud"sen)

This is the part of the blog where we would normally tell you all the wonderful things we saw and did in Füssen, Germany, however, we decided to misuse our time in this wonderful little city that nearby houses the inspiration for the Disney World Castle (Neuschwanstein) and instead feud about the rest of our travel plans and the wedding planning.  We parted ways to cool off, and while Korey ventured to the castle (pictures below), Ines stayed behind and caught up on her travel reading.  As we write this, Korey is reminding Ines to remember how much she loves him.  No worries, we made it out of "Feud"sen with both our relationship and the wedding still in tact.  That said, there is very little for us to show you, other than we are a normal couple and have our moments.  And Ines loves Korey very much and he loves her very much right back.

Gives you an idea of the facade of the beautiful castle

View looking into the castle.  Korey realizes that maybe some photos of the castle up on the hill from a distance would give nice perspective, but he's not exactly the best photographer and didn't think of that

(Insert Ines' well taken photos here...oh wait, there are none :(....)

Day 30, 31, & 32 - Deutschland!

Guten tag von Deutschland!!!  Good day from Germany!!!  Thanksgiving day meal in Austria and a short train ride across the border brought us to Munich, Germany (München to the locals).  As it was Korey’s decision day, and of course having to follow the Michigan tradition, we found ourselves at a local pub watching the Detroit Lions v. Philadelphia Eagles with about 200 hundred Germans and tourists.  Some of which were also rooting for the Lions!  It was a winning night for both the Lions and us, as we filled our bellies with German sausages and NFL! 

The next day we met up with another friend from Baltimore, Kevin, who recently was stationed to live in Germany for his work with the military.  Thank you Kevin for your service!!!  We quickly found ourselves exploring downtown Munich, and found our way to the famous “Hofbräuhaus”, where liter beers and sauerkraut with a side of meat made us almost converse in full German sentences!  Kevin was the best at navigating the menu, as he "sprechen quite a bit if ze German". 

Throughout the day, we traversed in and out of the many quaint German Christmas Markets, wandering in and out of wooden booths holding hand-made German handicrafts.  What an amazing Christmas spirit in this city!  Our favorites were the storefront windows, one of them depicting an entire woodland winter wonderland, with small and large woodland creatures automated to move in different ways, depicting various winter activities (Ines’ favorite were the raccoons descending a cliff in Lederhosen, and Korey’s favorite were two foxes, one trying to pull the other up a steep cliff mountainside).  Korey thinks it’s important to note that one cannot visit a German Christmas Market without drinking German Gluhwein, a heated mixture of red wine, sugar, and rum (optional, especially for the lady).  This note is also in the blog to remind Ines that she did in fact not only partake in the Gluhwein, she drank too much of it and slept 15 hours into the next day.

The next day was spent touring the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) Museum and the Olympic Park, where we ooh’ed and ahh’ed our way through hundreds of German precision autos and motos.  We followed this adventure with a return to the Christmas Market, but only for moderate consumption of more Gluhwein, as the real activity of the late afternoon was Korey and Ines ice-skating in the middle of Munich, with German music playing in the background, surrounded by thousands of Christmas lights.  Korey survived without falls, while Ines only fell once on her way off the rink (so close!).  All the little German kids were laughing.  We both survived with nothing more than sore ankles (and maybe a bruised ego for Ines).  We all agreed that the favorite part of the ice-skating adventure was the miniature Zamboni that came out to smooth the ice, preceding to break down mid-way, have a group of what only can be German engineers come out to fix it it no time, getting everyone back on the ice on time.  Gotta love that German engineering!

Kevin and Korey had an even more memorable evening that night.  A boys sports night with back to back Michigan team games, complete with Korey losing Kevin and returning to wake Ines with only Kevin’s jacket and phone in his hand (it turns out Kevin was safe and sound, taking a nap nearby.  He couldn’t stand to watch MSU win the Big Ten East Division…).  With Ines rested and Korey and Kevin lacking sleep, we climbed into Kevin’s very own Mercedes, another German precision auto, and zoomed our way onto the Autobahn to arrive in Heidelberg (and in half the time estimated by google’s navigation).  As Kevin sped up to over 125 mph we began to feel the wind in our hair (Korey’s especially now that its so long), Ines kept stating she was precious cargo and needed to have a safe driving experience.

Heidelberg is a special place in Germany and one we all recommend is a must visit.  Tucked into the heart of the Black Forest of Germany, with a river running through the town, old European architecture, and winding cobblestone streets, we were enchanted.  We sat down to a light snack that turned out to be akin to a full thanksgiving dinner (in a building hundreds of year old with frescos on the ceiling and walls).  We then walked up to the top of Heidelberg’s very own castle, the most impressive of any we have seen to date on the trip.  It had acres of gardens, intricately carved into the mountainside, with parts of the castle intact, some that had been restored, and some that still showed its battle scars.  We pontificated on how the war scars were obtained, and whether any of us living in that time would have enjoyed much more glamorous of a life than cleaning chamberpots.  Korey then sang Lourdes, “We’ll never be royals….royals”…. Trust us, nobody wants to hear Korey sing...

Our journey with Kevin ended in Kaiserslautern, aka K-town, Kevin’s home, where we happily broke down and ate Germany’s very own version of Pizza Hut and finished the night watching American Football (afternoon for you, night for us).  Thank you Kevin for your amazing hospitality!!!  

Things we learned, 1) When you buy the Gluhwein, remember to return the mugs it is served in (worth 5 euros each) and you won’t end up having to mail home $100 worth of “souvenirs”, 2)  We have a new found respect for hockey players and figure skaters, not to mention Zamboni personnel! and  3) Wind in your hair on the autobahn in a german precision auto is a must do bucket list item.

A little chilly in Munich, but didn't stop our Christmas spirit!

The Christmas was almost overwhelming...

Great times at the Hofbrauhaus!

Bavarian Motor Works finest.  Imagine this guy on the Autobahn.

A custom wood-paneled speed boat made by BMW (think we liked it more than the cars...)

Ice skating in the center of Munich!

Action shot.  What you can't tell is Korey was just trying to look as cool as the young kids zooming all over.

Ines makes a lap safely!  Decent camera work by Korey following behind.  We'd also like to add that no children were harmed in the making of this video.

Looking up at the Heidelberg Castle from our hike starting point

From the castle gardens overlooking Heidelberg at dusk