Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

LAX to TXL September 11, 2011

Filed under: Contiki,Europe,Germany,Travel — Kelocity @ 6:56 am
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We are just wrapping up an amazing 17-day trip to Eastern Europe. Lots of pictures and stories to share, but I am going to roll out my posts over the next week or so. Stay tuned!
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From August 26, 2011

Here we are again! Heading to the airport for our 4th international trip with Contiki. It is really surreal that it’s already here. We usually go in October/November so it was a treat this year to go so soon. Our original plan was to fly Delta from LAX to JFK (New York) and then to Berlin. But hurricane Irene was threatening our plans, so we called the night before and asked to be rerouted. Now we are scheduled LAX to Amsterdam (non-stop YAY!) and then on to Berlin. We much prefer those long haul flights so it worked out perfect!IMG_7004

The flight was only 9.5 hours (which was nothing compared to our 16 hour LAX to Dubai flight last year). It was super easy and flew by (no pun intended!)
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We watched a couple of movies and snoozed for a bit. I love those big planes.

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We arrived into Amsterdam on time, but we only had an hour to get to our connecting flight… and that time included going through customs and running three terminals over. Eek! It was close.

We made it just in time (but later learned that our luggage unfortunately didn’t…)

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But KLM and Berlin airport in general is very organized and they scheduled to have our bag delivered straight to our hotel just a few hours later.

The flight from Amsterdam to Berlin was only an hour (I love how close everything is in Europe!)

Welcome to Berlin!
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Despite how extremely well rested I look in the photo above (kidding) we made our way via bus to our hotel!

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Contiki hotels are all pretty much the same, but we were really impressed by the Hotel Aldea.

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I think they called it a 3-star hotel, but the beds were some of the best we’ve ever had in Europe. I loved the duvet covers. We used our free afternoon to catch up on sleep, boy did we need it. Plus this bed was just too tempting to ignore. zzzzzzzz
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Later on we met up with our group to hear more about the tour and what to expect.

Meet Joe! Our trusty tour manager. Those guys are amazing at keeping everything together and making our vacation flawless.
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We love these meetings, they definitely get us pumped up. We have a great group this time.

First stop is Berlin! We can’t wait!

 

Packing for Europe–The Essentials Part 2 September 4, 2011

Filed under: Contiki,Europe,Travel — Kelocity @ 7:37 am
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A few weeks back I posted about my favorite travel essentials for a trip to Europe. Now we’re packing up for real, so I wanted to share what my suitcase actually ended up looking like.

Let’s start with my toiletries bag. I have all the basics in here and separated into two general compartments. The clear plastic also makes things easy to find.
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Then there’s the “just in case” things I added to the left side:
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And my “I swear I’m not a drug addict I just like to be prepared” items:
(benedryl, pepto, cold meds (night and day), unisom (for the overnight train ride) and some perscription cipro. Although you can find over-the-counter drugs easily in Europe, you don’t want to have to go looking if you need it.
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I packed extremely light for this trip and I plan to wear a few items over again.

His and Hers packing piles.
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I packed 11 t-shirts that I will layer with two long sleeve cardigans.
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And I rounded it out with two cotton travel dresses.
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I also brought 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair of capris.
The pants, cardigans and dresses ended up in an Eagle Creek travel folder:
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And all my t-shirts fit into a cube:
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Socks and the such fit into a small cube, and this is everything I packed.
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I added a pair of flip flops and some sketchers that I can dress up or down.

I also packed a laundry bag and my travel sheets.

Here’s my deconstructed suitcase:
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All fit nicely into my Eagle Creek 30” rolling duffel.
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His and hers luggages… mine is only 3” taller, but it looks gigantic in this picture. I swear it’s actually a relatively small bag.
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Ok. Carry On. I brought my travel purse and collapsible tote (both from Eagle Creek) on the plane with me.

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The deconstructed contents:
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Not pictured: books, magazines and the laptop. Easy peasy.

One more thing I wanted to share. Irving’s carry on bag was his LowePro camera bag (that fits a surprisingly amount of other things too).
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He locks it shut with a simple S-clip from REI. It’s not fool-proof, but will definitely deter potential thieves.
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So there you go. That’s just about everything we brought. I love talking about packing and travel gear so let me know if you have any specific questions!

 

Grapefruit Salad… Genius! February 1, 2011

Filed under: Food — Kelocity @ 9:36 pm
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Sometimes, Irving and I eat at our desks in our office. It’s not ideal, but can be productive. We go over our calendars and lineup upcoming events, discuss emails and sometimes, just catch up on TV shows. Tonight, I looked over and said “What are you eating?”
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He’s like “Oh, a salad! It has lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives, Munster cheese slices, and some grapefruit.” Good choice on the grapefruit! That looks good!

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He can inhale a Costco-sized pack of Reeces in three minutes flat, but he also knows how to assemble a mean salad. It’s all about balance, people.

I totally had grapefruit envy. Might have to have some for breakfast tomorrow.

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We booked our next trip tonight!! This fall, we will be heading to Eastern Europe with Contiki! This will be our 4th time traveling with them, I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a no-stress tour. 
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T-Minus 5 days until my next half marathon!! Anyone else running Surf City on Sunday?

 

Sailing to the Swedes September 12, 2009

Filed under: Sweden,Travel — Kelocity @ 11:18 am
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After Estonia, we had another free day in Helsinki that we spent shopping and sightseeing. Then we boarded our overnight ferry to Stockholm, Sweden. We stood outside on the deck as our boat drifted away from Finland.
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All of Contiki was at the bottom of the boat, but that was ok with us. The party goes wherever Contiki is anyways.
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We spent the time having dinner, exploring and playing lots of Uno. (Traveler Tip: Bring Uno! Everyone knows how to play and it makes it easy to start conversations and groups together. We’ve taken it on every trip!)
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We arrived in Stokholm in the morning and were surprised to learn that the Contiki bus was with us the whole time! If you look close, you can see the bus driving out of the boat!
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YAY! We love our bus!
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Even though Sweden is in the EU, they are still using their own currency, the Kronor. It is a little confusing when you go to multiple countries, but the tour manager always tells you in advance what you need and when. We use an international ATM card, and withdraw money from ATMs when we arrive. In our experience, that is the cheapest way to do it.
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Our first stop was the Stokholm CIty Hall, which is located right on a beautiful river.
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It might seem a little boring to visit a city hall, but this place has international significance.
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It is the host venue for the Nobel Banquet (for all of the Nobel Prize winners).
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Picture this great room looking like this with almost 1,500 guests!

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After a tour of all the great rooms, we had some free time to explore Stokholm.
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Europe sure does love it’s ‘Changing of the Guard’ ceremonies. Sweden was no different. It was quite crowded, but we were able to see the processional.
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That afternoon, we visited the Vasa Museum. Inside is an old Swedish Warship built in 1628! It sank less than a mile into it’s maiden voyage.  Surprisingly, it renamed largely intact and they were able to put it together again in the 1960s.
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Also inside the museum were artifacts found onboard and the remains of 15 people who were onboard.

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We ended the day going to a Stokholm favorite: The Absolut Icebar!
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Who doesn’t want to go to a bar made out of ice?! Everything from the shotglasses to the bar itself is made out of ice. They give you space suits to put on because it’s really really cold in there!
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The next morning, our tour was over and it was time to head back to the States. It was an amazing trip, once of the best we’ve ever taken. We came home with a couple of bottles of Russian Champagne (which they call Shampanskoye!) It was so good!

 

Helsinki: Scandinavian Glory September 10, 2009

Filed under: Finland,Travel — Kelocity @ 10:36 pm
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Being in Helsinki was a much different experience than being in Russia. The mentalities of the countries are stark contrasts.
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Everywhere we travel, there’s at least one building completely covered in scaffolding somewhere. We always joke about it actually. I mean, it’s great they’re restoring these old landmarks, but I want to see it as it should be!
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We’re pretty big soccer fans (and so were all our Aussie tourmates), so when we found out that the Women’s Euro Finals were being held at the Olympic Stadium, we jumped at the chance!

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Plus, I’m a sucker for Olympic Stadiums, I’d love to visit all of them before I die!IMG_0440

On our second day in Finland, we decided to board a ferry to visit the country of Estonia. It’s just a hop, skip and a jump away!
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