Reinicializar a pesquisa
Will Hess
Will Hess

Will Hess

viajou para 15 países Leia mais🇺🇸Wisconsin
SeguirMensagemEstatísticas
  • Will HessSonoma Bike TourViajante

    Day 3 Ride - Dutcher Creek

    27 de maio, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Last ride of the trip! We started an hour earlier than previous days in order to make it back in time for hotel check-out and a send-off lunch.

    We had the standard route overview from one of the guides and quickly made our way out of town north to Geyserville before peeling off west to Cozzens Corner and Dutcher Creek Road. This meant the majority of the ride was in Alexander Valley -- famous for being the largest and most planted wine region in Sonoma where Cabernet Sauvignon reigns king. Merlot and other Bordeaux varietals are also noteworthy as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

    Today's ride ended up being the shortest ride of the trio, which was not at all a bad thing. My traps were complaining at the 25-mile mark where we stopped for a water bottle refill and some snacks. At this point, Chris split off for the Avid ride (a long climb out-and-back) while I finished the regular route back to Healdsburg.

    Feeling accomplished, I cleaned up and joined the other non-avid riders for the final part of the Trek Tour program, a food and wine pairing from an Australian IT-exexutive-turned-vintner's tasting room next to the hotel. Having done a number of wine tastings before, I appreciated the inclusion of a food pairing. Our host went into detail about how the notes of the wine elevated the food and vice-versa. The wine was fine, but after several hours of biking, the food stole the show. Chris was able to join about halfway through, but missed about half of the food. Some of the other guests were staying for an additional two days of biking, but the rest of us said our goodbyes and thanks to our guides for a great experience.

    Since we needed additional food to halt our bodies from eating themselves, we stopped at the bakery that supplied the sandwiches from our Day 1 lunch. They were just as good the second time around. We wolfed down the bonus lunch and then hit the road to start back to San Francisco. Naturally, we encountered traffic that prolonged the journey, but finally made it to our hotel near the airport.

    Chris relaxed in the hotel room while I went out for a walk along Oyster point to catch a sea breeze and keep my legs from cramping up. Neither of us were up for going back out, so we ordered Mediterranean food in and spent a low key evening watching a playoff hockey game and drinking the bottles of beer Chris had bought at Russian river. Not a bad way to round out the day.

    Far from the most sedentary vacation, it was a great time, and one I'm sure I'll think back on during future bike rides.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSonoma Bike TourViajante

    Day 2 Ride - Armstrong Redwoods

    26 de maio, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Day 2! Again, we woke up with plenty of time before it was time to convene. We took our time having coffee and getting breakfast before suiting up and heading over to the bikes.

    Our guides gave us the lowdown on the day's route. I started the ride feeling a bit saddle sore and stiff, but not prohibitive. Once I got going, I felt fine, which was a relief.

    We cruised along as a peloton for the first two miles until we made it out of town and then the group drifted apart. Chris and I held back in the vanguard before accelerating and joining a woman in the middle of the pack.

    After about 10 miles, we turned left onto what ended up being a rather busy road. Riding on the shoulder and trying to dodge glass shards left by previous accidents. After a few miles, it finally clicked that our GPS has stopped giving us cues, and that it was unlikely they would have planned a route along that road for that long, given the volume of cars buzzing by us.

    We pulled over to confirm our suspicions, called one of the, and figured out how to get back on course. Which of course meant backtracking to the point where we were supposed to go straight (and then left). Great. Bonus miles.

    Unfortunately, getting back on course wasn't the end of the misfortune, as almost immediately my bike decided to throw another curveball and have the chain pop off while shifting mid-climb. I nearly went over, but managed to unclip my shoes from the pedals in time to avoid disaster. It was fully wedged though, and neither Chris nor I were able to unlodge the chain from the carbon steel frame. We called for help again and one of the guides rode down to us and tried his best to fix the bike. We felt a little better when he also struck out and had to summon the van with more tools. Teamwork makes the dream work and we were able to get the chain back on the bike and resume our ascent. We didn't have long to go at that point as the first rest stop was only 10 or 20 minutes away.

    After the break was the most challenging climb of the day, but we hammered our way up and then flew downhill. My rear wheel started to slide out from under me -- I had just enough time to think "absolutely not" and corrected it before it could manage to bring an end to the trip.

    Mercifully the rest of the ride to lunch was uneventful. We stopped at the Korbel winery. Though it was Memorial Day, we were pleased to find that it wasn't packed to the gills with other tourists and enjoyed a sandwich from the deli and a crisp glass of dry champagne in the shade.

    Feeling sated, we hopped back on the bikes for a relatively short ride to the stopping point for the day, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. We enjoyed some light hiking (and a beer) while they packed up the bikes onto the van, taking in the giant trees and generally enjoying a different activity than biking. The Redwoods were truly stunning, it was awe-inspiring to see how wide around, and straight-upward tall some of them were -- the oldest was 1400 years.

    We relaxed on the van ride back to town, and then settled in for a nap before dinner time. Dinner was a 5-course tasting at Valette. Each course was fantastic, and it was the perfect amount of food. The bone marrow absolutely stole the show. A cocktail and glass of red wine helped round out the night.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSonoma Bike TourViajante
    Pre-lunch cooldownA little wine before hopping back on the bikeSpoonbarRussian river brewpub

    Day 1 - 40 Mile Ride

    25 de maio, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    When Chris asked if I'd be interested in a 3-day Trek travel bike tour, I'll admit that I was skeptical. I enjoy a good bike ride here and there, but doing effectively the longest ride I've ever done three days in a row seemed daunting. Nevertheless, it was an excuse I needed to take a vacation and some motivation for some exercise/training.

    We left Madison in the morning yesterday (Saturday) and arrived around 1pm Pacific. We snaked our way through downtown San Francisco, working through traffic leading up to the Golden gate bridge. I white knuckled the car across it, since the car's lane assist did not agree with me where the lanes were and was trying to drag us over into the neighboring lane. It took us another two hours with various slowdowns, but we ultimately made it to Santa Rosa, where we'd be spending the night. Santa Rosa is home to Russian River Brewpub, whose beers Chris holds in high regard. We sampled their flagship IPA and some of their Belgian-style beers, which were all pretty spectacular.

    With our bodies still on central time and a day full of exertion looming, we called it an early night. Unsurprisingly, we also got up early, unable to sleep any longer past 5am PT. We ultimately decided to pack up and drive the remaining 15 minutes to Healdsburg and have coffee/breakfast there instead of remaining in Santa Rosa.

    After a hearty breakfast, we made our way over to our hotel, since the lobby served as the meeting point for the adventure. Other guests trickled in until it was 9am and one of our guides arrived. He introduced himself as "Hershy" and gave us the lowdown on how things were going to work. We migrated to a nearby parking lot where the van/trailer with all the bikes was staged. It took about an hour to get the bikes customized, hear the safety lesson (wear your helmet), and prep for the ride. We'll see if I made a poor judgement call in foregoing the e-assist bike. Even without, the bike (Trek Domane SL 7) is definitely a step above my bike at home. Lightweight and responsive with electric shifting.

    We set out of Healdsburg just before 10:30 on our Dry Creek loop. We started off easy working out way out of town, and then the group separated based on desired pace. We rode for about an hour before making a quick stop near Geyserville where the van had parked alongside the road. We refilled water bottles and wolfed down some snacks before hopping back on bikes to continue riding.

    After another bit of riding, we reached the toughest part of the ride -- a climb of several hundred feet leading up to the bridge crossing above lake Sonoma. Once we reached the bridge, Chris elected for the "Avid Option", which continued climbing an additional ~600ft and another few miles. I elected for the "this is plenty Avid, thanks" option and turned around at the prescribed location. Since what goes up must come back down, I went for setting a speed record flying back down the hill, topping out at 41.7mph.

    After reaching the bottom of the hill, the route veered off down a side road. I misunderstood my GPS device's cue and started down a nearby road, but quickly realized I was off course when it began beeping incessantly at me. Not eager to add additional miles, I whipped around and found the adjacent entry to a vineyard which was the planned site for lunch.

    I sat in the shade overlooking the vines for a peaceful break while waiting for the Avid crew to rejoin those of us who forgo'd the extra challenge. Once the majority of guests arrived, we sat down for some phenomenal sandwiches from a local bakery, served alongside salad, fruit, and some killer cheeses.

    After slathering back on more sunscreen, we finished the remaining distance -- another 13 miles to round us out to an even 40. It was high fives all around, and then time for a shower and nap to kill time before rooftop drinks and dinner.

    After some snacks and drinks, dinner was right next to the hotel at a place called Spoonbar. They had a pretty cool art piece of water flowing down an array of small, suspended spoons, plinko-style. We sat next to the eldest couple on the trip, and it was a competition to see who could make it the longest until we succumbed to exhaustion and needed to excuse ourselves. We outlasted them, not by much, but at least until dessert arrived.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Tuk-Tuk Fondue Tour of Geneva

    21 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    We spent the last few hours of our time in Crans-Montana going through our standard routine: breakfast and coffee, gym, pool. Having enjoyed our time there, we checked out and took the funicular down and train over to our last stop in Switzerland -- Geneva.

    Geneva is known for great hotels, and ours was nestled right in the heart of the city. Once we checked in, we had some time to look before dinner. Laura stayed in the hotel to deal with some work, while I went out to walk aimlessly. There are so many monuments and landmarks packed together that I didn't really need to have a plan. After popping into the Cathedral Saint-Pierre, I ended up down by the lake to see the massive fountain, and circled back to walk through the English gardens. Legs stretched, I rejoined Laura to get ready for dinner.

    We walked down to the meet up location, and then clambered into our guide's Tuk-Tuk. In the middle of the vehicle was a cleverly crafted table that held a fondue pot, forks, a, bread basket, and a wine bottle / glasses. While neither of us were all that fond of all the attention and looks from the other tourists, we'll both admit that it was a pretty good way to see some of the highlights of Geneva in a short amount of time. The cheese was quite good, too!

    And with that, our trip to Switzerland comes to its conclusion. We had a blast travelling around the country and enjoying all the different regions and activities. Switzerland definitely has a place on the would -go-back-someday list. Tomorrow is a long travel day, but we'll be ready to get home to our doggies, our own bed, and the "real world".    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Dinner at LeMontBlanc

    20 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    [Post by Laura]
    For our final night in Crans-Montana, we had a reservation at the chef's table of the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, LeMontBlanc.

    We were welcomed and ushered through the restaurant and back into the kitchen where we were offered a glass of champagne and seated at high bar stools at the stainless steel counter where the kitchen staff did final plating of each dish. The chef, Yannick Crepaux, came over to greet us and immediately started the evening with three different amuse-bouche bites.

    The explanation of the food is always one of my favorite parts, especially when they explain how you should eat it. Once the three bites and glasses of champagne were finished, we were moved from the counter back to the single cozy chef's table, where we had a great view of the entire kitchen and staff. The chef's table dinner is a tasting menu that is a surprise to us - we didn't know how many courses there would be or what they would bring. We had just told them that I didn't eat red meat. Dish after dish was brought to us and explained, either by the chef or one of his head wait staff. Everything was phenomenal - so creative and unique, from the flavor pairings to colors and textures. My favorite dish might have been an artichoke stuffed with truffle.

    We noticed that throughout the evening, other people were brought into the kitchen to have a welcome drink and the first three amuse-bouche bites at the counter, but then continued their dinner in the main dining room as there is only one chef's table in the kitchen. It was impressive to watch the kitchen work their magic - it was surprisingly quiet and ran smoothly, each person having their own station and area of responsibility. However, as they evening progressed, you could feel the hustle and urgency increase.  As tickets came in, Yannick would shout out the orders to the very attentive staff as they responded, "Oui, chef!" Some of the more senior members of the kitchen were clearly mentoring newer members, pointing to plates that needed some sort of adjustment or correction, helping them to plate the food to meet what were clearly high aesthetic standards.

    The end of the meal was two dessert courses, a melon and lavender sorbet, and then a dish that had highlighted the peach - it was prepared three different ways. Finally, they brought a sampling of chocolates that we just didn't have room for, so after snapping some pictures, they boxed them up, along with another loaf of the incredible pine needle bread and sent us on our way.

    10/10 would do again.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Mountain Biking Adventure

    20 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Today is our last full day at the Crans-Montana resort. There was a bit of a snafu with our bike tour (something about an exploded tire on their van) so it was pushed back from 10 to noon. We used the extra time to spend a little time at the gym, and then just hung around on our balcony reading or staring out at the mountains.

    Our guide did indeed arrive around noon, and had the bikes all set up and ready to go. We got a quick demo on how to operate the electric-assist, change gears, and raise/lower the seat on the fly. A moment later we were off. We made our way back towards the area we had hiked yesterday and began to climb.

    We demonstrated ourselves competent hikers yesterday, and we were determined to match that performance on our bikes. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. I started us off by getting stuck on our very first steep rocky hill, at a pitch where remounting the bike was nearly impossible without flipping backwards. I managed to pull it together after relearning how to manage the gear+assist-level combo, and then immediately managed to tumble over while attempting to hop my front wheel into a bridge a staggering 3" off the ground.

    Laura took over the struggle from there, as the loose rock caused nerve-wracking slippage and the narrow turns left us stopping and starting with some regularity.

    Still, we made through our 3 hour journey in one piece and largely in good spirits, if somewhat wounded (pride or scraped). We also got up close to waterfalls and a herd of cows. Laura drove through a cow pie, but I one upped her by planting my foot firmly in one while attempting to photo a cute calf. Worth it!

    We stopped in town to grab some cold beers and snacks as a reward for the day's exertion, which we slammed down before spending the pre-dinner hours at the pool once again. We were pretty well exhausted, but also looking forward to the main attraction of our stay at the resort -- a chef's table dinner at the michelin starred restaurant. Look forward to Laura's write up of our dinner.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Gourmet Hike + Dinner Repeat

    19 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    We spent a little time at the hotel gym this morning after breakfast, but were careful not to overdo it so that we were fresh for the main activity of the day -- a guided hike.

    Our guide met us in the hotel lobby at 11, and we were thrilled to see that he was bringing his dog along for the hike. In fact, he introduced her (named Shooki? Jeuqis?) as our guide for the tour, which we initially took as a charming comment, but indeed, she ended up leading the way for the majority of the hike.

    We hopped in in the guide's van and rode about 25 minutes east until we pulled off and parked on a treacherous roadside cliff. Soon we were off. He spoke little English, which was just fine as we took in the views and watched our doggie guide plop down into every water source to cool off, before shaking off the water and running ahead to resume her guide duties. She made the hike all the better, as we also thought fond thoughts about our own doggies at home.

    We were pleased that our guide evaluated our fitness as above average, and so elected to take us on the longer and more challenging loop. We stopped near the top of the climb for picnic on a large flat boulder, and simple (but gourmet) selection of bread, meat, cheese, and pickled veggies. In total we hiked a bit over 5 miles, with many enchanting waterfalls spotted along the way.

    Once we got back we collapsed into bed for our now-standard afternoon nap, and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon again at the resort pool and sauna.

    We loved our dinner so much last night that after evaluating our options we decided to go back to the same Italian restaurant. It proved to be the right choice, as the owner was thrilled to have us back and delighted us with freebies of amuse bouche, pallette cleansers, and grappa/amaro. We got the same Gorgonzola gnocchi to share, and Laura doubled down the chicken dish we shared last night, while I branched out and had the pork belly with ratatouille. We made sure to save room for the dessert we had to decline last night, and enjoyed the 4 flavors of sorbet and home made glace.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante
    1The grass stain was worth it

    Swanky Crans-Montana Resort

    18 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Largely another travel day today as we say goodbye to Ouchy/Lausanne and head to the resort in Crans-Montana.

    Our morning was free, so we decided to walk up to and through the botanical garden. We found some funny statues mid tumble down the hill, which I was compelled to mimic, much to Laura's delight.

    We checked out of the hotel and did a quick load of laundry at the laundromat, urging the dryer to speed it along so we could race up the hill and catch the next train (we made it).

    Once we disembarked in Sierre, we rode the funicular up to Crans-Montana the hotel shuttle was waiting for us. And by shuttle, I mean Maybach. After muscling our luggage up to and off of the funicular, I thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioned massaging seats while our driver raced through the twisting and turning roads winding the way up the hills to the ski resort.

    We enjoyed the view from our room's balcony with a glass of champagne. We enjoyed a quick nap (I'm still dealing with that head cold), and then went to enjoy the resorts pools, hot tub, sauna, and steam bath.

    Our driver took us back down into town for dinner, where we ate outside at a charming Italian restaurant. The owner was delighted by Laura's mastery of Italian, and ensured that every part of our meal was delightful.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante
    Chasselas GrapesShe's stunningWorking Press >100 years old

    Lavaux Wine Tour

    17 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    We slept in a bit, so we had to hustle to eat breakfast and get out the door for the day.

    We caught the metro and train towards Montreux out in the countryside along the hills. Our wine tour guide met us at the station, and after applying some sunscreen we immediately embarked upon our tour.

    We wound our way along the edge of various plots and service roads while learning the history of the region, the nature of the iconic Chasselas grape the area is known for, and the various responsibilities and growing styles the owners follow to tend their vines. We were grateful we had the late morning tour before it started to get too hot, though I was still suffering a bit walking down the steep slopes given the damage that my legs are still working to repair post-hike.

    Some wine tasting quickly addressed those pains, as we finished our tour at a family's home / winemaking cellar. The woman we met was delightful, sharing her experience as the wife who married into the family's winemaking business and talking us through their seasonal task, harvest, and pressing. We tried two varieties of white wines in her shaded verdana, before she took us into the cellar to see where they press the grapes and store the wine in massive barrels called "foudres" (translates to lightning). We finished by sampling a red Pinot Noir, and concluded the tour. Probably our favorite wine tour we've done, beating out Bordeaux and Napa vineyards.

    We had lunch at a very small restaurant down the road in town. The special of the day was parmigiana, which was right up my alley, and Laura had the lake perch.

    We took a nap to sleep off the wine, and spent the afternoon at the hotel pool. In the evening we went out to the city center to see the cathedral, and then had dinner at an outdoor sushi restaurant.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante
    1

    Travel Day to Lausanne

    16 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Yesterday was largely a travel and chore day. We checked out of the hotel in Grindelwald, caught the train to Interlocken, and then settled in for a long scenic train ride on the Golden Pass Express to Lausanne.

    Laura hustled off to the Laundromat, while Caty and I took the metro over to Ouchy and checked into our hotel. We had a simple lunch at a Kebab stand, and walked along the pier looking at boats on lake Geneva, and seeing the Olympic clock.

    Shortly after Laura rejoined us, it was time to take Caty over to Geneva to catch her flight to Rome to spend the next few weeks in Italy with her dad. I seem to have caught my obligatory vacation-cold, so I stayed in the hotel for a nice nap. When Laura made it back, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel's restaurant. You can definitely tell we've arrived in the French-speaking portion of Switzerland, as the menu changed from sausage/potatoes to a more varied selection. We enjoyed a bottle of wine alongside dinner, which made it a great meal.

    After dinner we took a brief stroll along the waterside before calling it a night.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Ballenberg Muesum & Rothorn Hike

    15 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We started the day catching a series of trains and busses to go to the Ballenberg Outdoor Museum. A particular high point was making our own butter out of cream, perhaps tied with seeing some piggies, cows, and goats. We spent a good amount of time walking about and walking through old farm houses, granaries, and workshops. After a while, Laura started giving me the "I'm hungry" cues, so we found one of the restaurants and had a simple meal of soups/salad/sandwiches, though Caty got the local comfort food of Mac n cheese n applesauce.

    Caty was struggling with the heat and not feeling up for any further activity, and so we decided to split our party once we arrived in Brienz. Laura took her back to the hotel to recuperate and I followed our itinerary by taking the Rothorn bahn, a steam cog railway train, up to the peak of the mountain. As has been the theme this trip, the views along the way were ridiculous, whether looking down at the lake or up at the mountain.

    Lacking my chaperones, the real brains of the group, I made a snap decision when I got to the top of the mountain. I immediately turned around and started to hike the trail back down to halfway point of the mountain, Planalp. The trail was one of the more difficult ones, partly due to the nature of the descent, partly due to the nerves that come with sheer dropoffs on each side of the path, partly because I was racing to catch the last train of the day, and partly due to... aggressive cows.

    I arrived at the station in good spirits, primarily because I hadn't been maimed by a momma cow. Or been zapped by the electric fences and questionably marked bypass gates.

    I beat the last train by a healthy margin, so I sat on a bench and settled in to the panic-inducing thought that they maybe wouldn't let me actually get on the train at the halfway point, or it would just go on by me (fear unfounded). The conductor did give me some trouble, not because of my ticket, but because I needed to show both my ticket and the swiss pass. Tickets validated, I relaxed and enjoyed the view on the steam train back down, and narrowly caught the other trains that took me back to Grindelwald. I rejoined Laura and Caty for dinner at the hotel restaurant.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante
    View from the Summit

    Jungfraujoch

    14 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    We were out the door by 9 today to catch a series of trains back to Interlocken, and then up to Kleine Scheidegg. From there we took the ride through the tunnels up via the Jungfraubahn. It was a steep climb, and we were glad to have packed some warm clothes. When we reached the top, we were at an elevation of over 4100m. The place was packed with people, so after quickly cramming into the elevator to view the summit, we made our way through the tunnels to get outside ASAP.

    We trudged our way down a snowy trail for a bit, but Caty started to suffer the effects of altitude sickness, so we made our way back to the station and got back on the train down the mountain.

    We hiked a bit more down/back-up a trail to kill some time, seeing an old refuge cabin along the way. Once back up, we took the gondola back to the Grindelwald terminal. We had an excursion planned, but Caty was too tired for it so we walked back to the hotel.

    Since we had unanticipated free time, Laura and I enjoyed an adult beverage or two and then floated in the resorts pool while Caty hung out in the hotel room.

    The rest of the evening was low key, and we had fondue and swiss cuisine for dinner at a restaurant in town.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Interlaken Kayaking

    13 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We woke up early to get suitcases packed in time for the luggage transport. After breakfast, caty went back to bed while Laura and I went out to check out the Saturday market. The misty rain kept the crowds away, but we each grabbed one of the "quite large" umbrellas for ourselves and kept dry. After taking in all the veggies, flowers, and meat/cheese stands, we jaunted over to the guard towers on the northern side of the city that our tour guide had called out. We entered the Zytturm tower, and climbed up to see the old astronomical clock contained within.

    Afterwards, we collected Caty and boarded our train to Interlocken, which proved to be the most scenic ride yet. The lakes all look pristine, and we spied many waterfalls spilling down from the mountains.

    Once we arrived at the Interlaken train station, we took the path up towards the beach where we had a kayaking tour reserved. We met our guide, West, and the other couple that was going on the tour with us. We got fitted for our life jackets and before we knew it we were pushed off into the water. Since it had been raining really hard for the prior day, the lake was a bit stirred up but it was still Jade in color and cold from the mountain runoff. We spent two hours leisurely paddling along the lake, taking in the sights of the mountains surrounding us.

    Once we made our way back to shore, we took a bus back to the train station, and then hopped back on a train to ride to Grindelwald. We checked into the hotel, and then enjoyed some welcome champagne on the room's balcony. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, where Caty and I shared a meat smorgasbord for two. The wait staff didn't think we had it in us, but we conquered it without too much difficulty.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Lucerne City Tour & Mount Stansserhorn

    12 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    We started our day with a guided tour of the city. Our guide met us in the hotel lobby and proved to be a charming woman. She took us across several bridges crossing the Reuss (river), which had centuries-old paintings, commissioned by the wealthy ruling class primarily as forms of religious propaganda.
    The Spreuerbrücke's motif was death, with morbid paintings showing how common an occurrence death was in the era. Laura thinks this one gave her nightmares. We also got to hear more about the cross the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge -- the iconic one lined with flowers), and hear how much of it burned down a few decades ago, losing many of the paintings in the blaze.

    On our walk over to the Jesuitenkirche, our guide gave us a glimpse into Swiss society by explaining their school, tax, military service, religious demographic, and Canton makeup. She dispelled the common outsider belief that Switzerland is a progressive nation, with the example that women only gained the right to vote in the 70s. Good exposure for Caty, though I'm certain Laura and I got more enjoyment out of the conversation. All in all, it was one of the better city tours we've taken.

    After a light lunch we took a bus over to Stans, and then rode the funicular and then cable car 🚡 up the Stansserhorn mountain. We spend about an hour hiking up to the summit, and then down/back-up a more challenging trail. It was a much clearer day than yesterday, even with some periodic light sprinkles of rain, so we had terrific visibility. The view in all directions was nothing short of spectacular. We also enjoyed the sound of cow bells jangling resonating up from various herds located further down the mountain. No luck getting Caty to jodel, unfortunately.

    After we got back to Lucerne, Laura and I braved the rain in search of a pre-dinner cocktail. We shared the hotel's umbrella that was advertised to us as "quite large". Maybe something was lost in translation, as we really had to glom together and still could only keep 80% of ourselves dry. After a martini (which is locally called the American drink, much to the offense of some Canadian customers) and a Moscow Mule, we paid our tab and went back to pick up Caty for dinner.

    Caty will be a guest author covering our fancy dinners... as soon as we can get her to prioritize it...    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Mount Pilatus

    11 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Today we said our goodbyes to Zurich so that we could continue on to the next leg of our journey in Lucerne.

    Apparently jet leg was, in fact, not done with Laura and me, but caty managed to get a full night's sleep. We powered through and got the sleep that we could, before packing up so that our luggage could be transported to Lucerne.

    After breakfast and a quick workout, we boarded our train for the ~60m ride to Lucerne. We had a big fancy dinner planned for the evening, and so we were determined to "eat like rabbits" until dinner time.

    Since we caught one train earlier than needed, we used the extra time to drop off some a few of our backpacks at the hotel before catching our boat as the first part of the "Golden Pilatus" round trip tour. We stuck to the shady side of the boat to avoid roasting, which made it a pleasant, picturesque 90m ride to our dock at Alpnachstad. We boarded the cable car (originally built in 1889!), which took us up the hillside 7000 feet, at times at nearly a 50° slope.

    We were above the clouds at the summit, which apparently fulfilled one of Caty's childhood dreams of "touching a cloud". Luckily they came in and out, so we were able to see the vistas periodically as we walked a few of the trails along the edge of the mountain.

    We took the gondolas back down the other side of the mountain towards Lucerne, and made our way back to the hotel. On the journey down, we realized that A) our fancy dinner reservation was at a restaurant allll the way across the lake, and B) our luggage transfer was not slated to arrive until sometime between 6-9pm. This was not a good combination of factors.

    Luckily, the restaurant was very accommodating and allowed us to push our reservation back to 8:30, and our luggage arrived closer to 6 than to 9. We scrambled to get changed, and then caught a sunset cruise across the lake to Vitznau. We made it on the boat right before it started to rain, which meant we got to enjoy a rainbow on the waiter when it cleared up and the sun came out.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante
    1
    1

    Dinner at Sens

    11 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    [Post by Caty]
    To get to the restaurant, we took a little path that was right on Lake Luzern that was surrounded with trees. Restaurant Sens is a little white restaurant that sits on the water. Every plate was beautiful and unique, and the entire time we had a beautiful view of the lake and sunset. The waiters were all very kind, and the experience as a whole was amazing.
    When we were seated, the servers gave us champagne and gave us a welcome snack. It was a puree vegetable paste that was served on a piece of lettuce and had different spices on top.

    The first appetizer was melted, foamed parmesan with a quail egg and mushrooms at the bottom. On top there was truffles. The waiter instructed us to scoop all the way to the bottom so you can taste everything together. With the warm mushrooms and still hot parmesan foam, everything fit perfectly together, which made this my favorite dish.

    The second appitizer was served in mini cones. They were filled with spiced beet, chives, and grated cheese. The cone was a nice crunch, and plate was very unique that just added to the experience.

    The last appitizer was a little tart. Inside was caviar, sliced beans, and a squash puree with flower petals on top as garnish. The tarts were on a plate of moss and leaves, which made the dish extremely pretty.

    The first course was squid with peas, and a coconut sauce. They first brought out the textured bowls that had everything but the squid. They then brought out the squid and placed them in hot rocks to cook them, and then put hot water and put a lid on to steam it. We mixed the squid with the sauce and the other ingredients. This was also another favorite for me, between being able to see part of the meal being cooked in front of us, and how good everything tastes together.

    The second course was a small salad that had brussel sprouts and other greens. They came out with a little pitcher and poured a fermented plantain sauce on the side.

    The third course was their homemade pasta with tomato and mandarin leaf foam. There was a tomato and Campari sauce. Will thought it tasted vaguely like Spaghetti-o sauce, while Mom thought it was one of the best of the night.

    In between the third and fourth courses we were brought out bread with miso butter. This was one of Will's favorite parts of the dinner.
    The fourth courses was pike perch and had two different sauces, potatos, greens and olives. The servers came out and poured an olive, cream, and tomato sauce on the side. The plate was beautiful and very unique.

    The last main course was a bitter salad that had beans, spruce, and they came out with a white sauce that was placed on the side. Then, the waiters came with a jar full of pine cone syrup and they drizzled it over the salad.

    After that, they came out with the pre-dessert, which was ice cream that had a fennel oil and had a green dusting.

    Finally, we had the main dessert. There was a meringue with smoked hay ice cream. There were dried raspberries all around the plate and other fruits in there as well. As a final trick, a waiter came out with a wooden bin of dry ice, and took the flower from our table that was being used as a decoration, and put it in the dry ice. Then he sprinkled the petals over the dish for an extra crunch.

    The dinner was amazing and so was the experience. The view and the location of the restaurant made everything so much better. They never reused a plate, and everything was thought through so well, and I would definitely go again.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Zurich Food Tour

    10 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    It was just the three of us and our guide, Cornélie, who took us to an eclectic sample of restaurants around the Industriequartier. Each place we visited was adjacent and sometimes named/themed after a former powerhouse business. There were 6 stops in total, and by the end we were quite stuffed:

    1. Ribell, located in the 25 Hours Hotel (one of two in the city) . We were served a spread of Italian meats and cheese, sparkling lemonade. The building next door was a A former milk processing plant focused on cheese/yogurt/milk powders, which is now an art school

    2. Kitchen Republic - Passion fruit and Mango Iced tea with a Poke bowl. The iced tea was a hit with the girls. This building formerly housed soap production.

    3. Wurst & Moritz - A currywurst snack house whose name was inspired by an old children's story about Moritz and Max. Both boys were incredibly naughty, and and the end of the story they were tossed into a grinder and turned into sausages, which were eaten by birds. The restaurant continues the story that the birds laid an egg and Moritz came back out. Dunno why max was so unlucky, or why that story makes the swiss want to eat sausages, but they were tasty...

    4. Brauerei Steinfels - A local brewery. We had beer and chicken wings. Hard to get it wrong with that pair.

    5. Ahoi! We walked by a protected building, Schiffbau on the way to our next step, which formerly made large boats of all kinds. The tea shop we stopped at served us breads with roasted pepper or beet based spreads, as well as quiche and pickled fennel and radish. And also some white wine for the adults.

    6. Markthalle - Adjacent to the viadukt, it was an indoor market with a collection of shops reminiscent of an Eataly. We picked up some ice cream for dessert, while our guide explained that many of the businesses and a residence in the area were tied to a foundation supporting individuals with various handicaps.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante

    Hiking up Uetliberg

    10 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Everyone enjoyed a mega snooze (10hrs 18m according to my watch), which did wonders to fight jet lag and put us on Central European Time. The hotel served an amazing breakfast spread, and we ate our full to prep for the day. There's a good number of Americans around, in for a Taylor Swift concert this evening. They provided our mealtime entertainment, as one of the dads mistook a huge slab of butter for a soft cheese. Laura and I had a hard time keeping it together.

    We took the train up to Uetliberg for some hiking, which only took about 20 minutes. The train system is amazing here, seems like you can get anywhere, everything runs on time, and if you miss a train you won't have to wait long. We took a relatively short path up to Aussichtsturm Uetliberg - Top of Zurich and enjoyed the view of the city from above on the left, and a stunning, cloud laced vista of the countryside on the right. We hiked back down the path, passing the Artilleriebeobachtungsbunker Löwenbräustübli (say that three times fast) and hooking our way back up to the train station to catch the train back to Zurich.

    After a nap, the final step in the fight-off-jetlag plan, we went to the gym and had a light lunch from the Aldi right around the corner from the hotel. We were careful not to overeat before our day's main event, a Zurich city food tour.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSwiss SabbaticalViajante
    14

    Arrival in Switzerland

    9 de julho de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    An 11am scheduled departure made for a low-stress morning. I snuck in a run since I'd be spending the next many hours completely stationary, and we completed final preparations / tended to the dogs before their grandparents came to pick them up.

    Laura thoroughly enjoyed watching the fighter planes take off from the airport, while I did my best to ignore the various conversations happening around me from Epic staff flying out to their customers.

    We sprung for premium plus seating for the extra leg room on the flight from Chicago to Zurich, and I traded a woman for the exit row seat for extra-extra leg room. Laura and Caty were a few rows behind me, and sound asleep well before takeoff.

    4,444 miles later (and 7 hours later due to the time zone change), we landed in Zurich. No one got a ton of sleep due to crying babies or a general inability to sleep in all but optimum conditions, but we had to power through until the hotel had a room available. And so we spent the morning walking around Zurich, winding through crisscrossed streets to look into the shops. After wandering aimlessly, we popped open a map to find some landmarks, and meandered over to the opera house, and then down to the Limmat to watch ducks and swans float down the river. We strolled down the boulevard until we encountered a local outdoor market and took in the smells of the flowers and local cheeses being hawked. The jet lag was hitting hard, but luckily a room opened up, so we crashed hard for an afternoon nap.

    After a late lunch, we hopped on the train to the main event for the day -- the Lindt Home of Chocolate. Laura and I both enjoyed the museum portion, but for Caty it was all about the samples. On the walk back to the train I came to regret the pre-flight run as our step count hit levels we only achieve on vacation.

    Dinner was at Zeughauskeller, an old armory converted into a beer hall which featured Wilhelm Tell's arbalest /crossbow on the wall. Caty and I devoured a plate full of sausages, and I knocked back the Haus beer and a dunkel for good measure. We trudged our way back to the hotel, hoping for a long deep sleep.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessWeekend in VegasViajante

    Weekend Vegas Getaway

    29 de dezembro de 2023, Estados Unidos

    We went to bed extra early the night before our trip, after fully realizing how early we would have to get up in order to make our flight. Indeed, the alarm went off pretty early in the morning but, following some coffee, we remained in high spirits as we drove over to MKE.

    Travel was efficient and painless (even I managed to doze a bit), and we arrived in Vegas around 10:30am -- enough time for a full day of stuff. We had early check in at our hotel (the Aria -- our go-to), so we dropped our stuff off in the room and went out in search of lunch which ended up being something simple at the food court inside the Aria.

    We had a late dinner and show on the docket for the day and so we decided to get a nap in so that we stood a chance of making it that late. Afterwards, we decided to walk around some of the adjoining hotels and spend a little bit of time at the pool. While this time of year Vegas isn't hot, it was still warm enough in the sun to be able to enjoy the pool and hot tub even more so.

    Our first dinner was inside the hotel at a restaurant called cathedral which had a really cool aesthetic in the entryway and in general. I enjoyed some brick oven chicken and Laura had some sort of fancy breaded chicken entree, along with a very fancy cocktail and subsequent glass of wine. Following dinner we went to see Absinthe outside of Caesar's Palace so we pushed through the drunken Vegas crowds but got to see the Bellagio fountain show on the way which never gets old. We had seen absinthe on our last trip to Vegas and it was highly regarded by both of us. The second show did not disappoint.

    Day two was fairly packed. After enjoying some coffee , we went to see the botanical garden inside of Bellagio, which had been transformed into a spectacular Christmas arrangement. We caught a glimpse of it the day before when we were just walking around, but as we got closer to it, we realized that pretty much everything was crafted from flower arrangements. What we had originally thought were large statues were in fact intricate collections of arranged flowers to make statues of various scenes from The Nutcracker. It was truly impressive.

    After a quick breakfast, we walked all the way over to Mandalay Bay (partially outside, partially inside) to visit the shark reef aquarium, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. It was appropriately named because the last tank had the largest collection of sharks that I've ever seen. The sharks were certainly impressive (Including a very menacing set of great whites), but we enjoyed seeing all of the fish, turtles, rays, jellyfish and other sea creatures.

    After lunch and another nap, we spent a little bit of time at the gym before we got ready for our dinner at the showcase restaurant of the trip -- Wakuda. We asked them to customize their six course tasting menu to add on an additional appetizer and salad which they of course we're happy to oblige. Each dish was fantastic but the highlight was definitely their signature dish: the Seabass Miso.

    Having enjoyed dinner immensely, we hustled across the street into treasure Island to catch our second show of the trip, Cirque du soleil's mysteré. Laura's seen the show previously but it was new to me. We both had a good time even though it was very apparent that we were at the early "kids show", given the audience population.

    That concluded our trip since we were leaving in the morning the next day in order to get out of Vegas before it shut down for New Year's Eve, and, as always, we were excited to get back to our pups.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessWeekend in Carmel-by-the-seaViajante

    17-Mile Drive & Point Lobos

    2 de dezembro de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Since I'll be in silicon valley for a work trip all week next week, we took advantage of the work-funded travel and spent the weekend in Carmel-by-the-sea.

    We got into San Jose Friday night and used the remaining daylight to drive down highway 1 to our hotel in Carmel. We checked in at the hotel Carmel, and then headed out to find a wine tasting and snacks to hold us over until our pacific-time dinner reservation.

    Dinner was a low-key affair at Flaherty's, where we enjoyed some fantastic West Coast oysters, bubbles, and fish. We walked around the town looking at the shops before calling it a night.

    Bodies still on central time, we woke up early, which was problematic since the hotel didn't do coffee or breakfast until 8am. We decided to walk down to the beach as the sun came up, which proved a brilliant idea when we found that it was doggy play hour down there. We walked along the beach watching dogs chase after balls, birds, and each other before heading back for croissants and coffee.

    We rented ebikes, and, after some tentative test laps around the parking lot to ensure we didn't have operator error at a critical moment, made our way to the start of the 17-mile drive. The ebikes were great helping get up some of the steeper and longer climbs, but we both got a good workout in over the course of the loop. We stopped a few times along the way to take in the views, and generally had a great time.

    The bike ride worked up an appetite, so we dropped our bikes off and headed back into town to have lunch at Alvarado Street brewery, washed down with some local beers. That made us both sleepy, so we took a nap, but woke up in time to do some hiking at Point Lobos national park. We saw a few seals sunning themselves, and a few otters flipping in the water, grooming themselves, and generally being adorable. It was exactly what we had hoped from the hike.

    From there, it was back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the main attraction of the trip.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessWeekend in Carmel-by-the-seaViajante
    1

    Dinner at Aubergine

    2 de dezembro de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Laura scored us reservations at Michelin star restaurant Aubergine, where each course was a surprise, and each was incredible.

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSan DiegoViajante

    Torrey Pines hiking + more beach time

    5 de agosto de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    The forecast called for overcast weather all morning, so we decided to catch a ride out to the Torrey Pines state natural reserve for some hiking. We got dropped off outside the gate, and started our way up the hill leading to the visitor center and a cluster of trails. We did three loop trails, plus the hike back down the hill for a total of around ~4.5m, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The views of the ocean from the cliffs were fantastic, and we were delighted by the little lizards we found hanging out on the sand and rocks. Laura was on high alert for rattlesnakes, and there was one close encounter... That turned out to be a bird rustling around in a bush.

    By this point all of the carbs from our morning's light breakfast were long depleted, so we hailed an Uber and went back to the boardwalk in search of lunch. We found a somewhat touristy option called "Draft", and the name was enough of a calling card to earn our selection. The tap list featured an IPA from local "Hess" Brewing, so we had to give that a try (it was good!)

    Full, and otherwise absolutely wiped, it was nap time. We had a mega nap, and then suited up to spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach. The weather was still overcast, and neither of us were particularly interested in swimming, so we primarily watched the waves and various people on the beach.

    At the advice of a previous driver, we had scheduled our pickup for dinner in advance, as few drivers are willing to go into mission Beach during the 4-6 hour range unless you're willing to pay $120 for your ride. We showered and put our "going out" clothes out, and caught our ride. For the ride's destination, Laura dropped a pin in the general vicinity of the evening's restaurant, near Balboa Park. We discovered this also had the distinct honor of being at the very bottom of California's longest and steepest hill, perhaps slightly exaggerated as we felt every step of the day's prior adventure. We trudged up slowly with the sun at our backs having some good laughs as we suffered our way up.

    Dinner was at "Mabel's Gone Fishing", a charming Gintoneria & Oyster joint. We sat outside in the shade -- the weather was perfect. We enjoyed gin-based cocktails and a battery of tapas-style dishes. The star of the meal was definitely the grilled snapper, though the oysters we started with were also quite good.

    San Diego definitely earns a spot on the would-visit-again list. We'd love to come back some day to see more of the city and surrounding areas. We had a fantastic quick getaway, and picked up a little bit of a tan along the way.    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSan DiegoViajante
    The star of the dinner

    Mission Beach & La Jolla

    4 de agosto de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Our rental apartment is located on the most southern point of Mission Beach, and is great in almost every aspect. Since there are frequent plane fly-overs and boats going through the channel, it is equipped with two white noise makers, which helped us sleep in until 5:30am (PT). The one flaw of the unit is the severe lack of decent coffee options. We drank a barely passable cup of instant coffee, salvaged by the view of the dog beach across the channel right out our window.

    Heeding the body's call for real coffee, we grabbed the two bicycles from a nearby garage, and set out biking down the boardwalk at a leisurely pace. We found a small cafe and enjoyed a real cup and some oatmeal, and then stopped at a market to grab some essentials for the apartment (like coffee and soap). The beach cruisers, while a bit worn and with seats too low, were perfectly serviceable, especially in comparison to some of the bikes we rented in French Polynesia or on other vacations.

    We decided to squeeze in a run before the clouds were scheduled to disappear, running along the boardwalk to the crystal pier and back. Even after the run, we were feeling pretty good, so we made the bold choice to bike down to La Jolla instead of calling a rideshare. We raised the seats on our bikes, slathered up with sunscreen, packed a backpack, and hit the boardwalk again. We weaved through joggers, rollerbladers, and beachgoers for about three miles before jumping over to La Jolla Blvd for the remaining ~4m, cruising at our bike's top speeds of 9 mph when traffic allowed for it.

    We arrived about 50 minutes later, and set about the surprisingly difficult task of finding a bike rack to chain up our bikes against. We consulted the internet, which suggested an option up a steep hill. We walked our bikes up, and were rewarded with a viable option. Starved, we did a quick search of close by lunch options, and chose a small, cute restaurant called the Cove House. Laura had Stone Crab Eggs Benedict served over an amazing biscuit, and I had a Stone Crab BLT w/ avocado. Both were fantastic in their own right, made even better with a margarita.

    Satisfied, we walked back down the hill to check out the cove and tide pools. We hadn't really done our research about La Jolla, so we were surprised and delighted when we walked down the stairs to La Jolla Cove to find tons of Sea Lions and Seals! We had a blast watching them rolling around, playing in the tide, and snoozing in the sun / barking at each other.

    As the tide picked up, we scrambled back up the stairs and hiked our way back up the stairs to retrieve our bikes. Since the brakes on Laura's bike were somewhat questionable, we decided not to chance it and walked them back down, before hopping back on and riding back to Mission Beach.

    The ride back was enjoyable, and even the hills didn't seem too bad, but we were definitely ready for a nap by the end. We made another cup of coffee, suited up, and walked down to the beach with some chairs and a pair of boogie boards. After getting tossed around by the waves, swallowing a healthy amount of sea water, and losing my sunglasses, I decided the world had seen enough of my masterful body boarding. We soaked up the warm temps and sea breeze doing some people watching for a while longer before heading back to get ready for dinner.

    Dinner for the day was back in La Jolla at a ritzy restaurant called Nine-Ten, where we had reserved the "Mercy of the Chef" 6-course tasting menu:
    * Summer Tomato Salad w/ shaved pecorino cheese
    * Seared Scallops
    * Mushroom Cacio e pepe
    * Duck breast
    * Cow's milk cheese with fruit compote + nuts
    * White chocolate cheesecake and guava sorbet

    Everything was amazing, of course. We finished off with a glass of port (Laura) and Armagnac (Will).    Leia mais

    Ver tradução
  • Will HessSan DiegoViajante

    Arrival in San Diego

    3 de agosto de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Off on another adventure! Our flight from Madison didn't leave until around 11, so we had an easy morning before smooching the dogs goodbye and heading to the airport. Laura sprung for first class tickets, which made our flight to Dallas, and then to San Diego much more enjoyable.

    We arrived in San Diego on time, and hustled to drop our stuff at our rental (South Mission Beach) and get ready for dinner at Top of the Market, a seafood restaurant just across from the USS Midway carrier.

    We settled in at our table outside, relishing up the cool temperature and breeze
    We carefully selected our appetizer, the crudo, before placing matching orders of Sauvignon Blanc and seared tuna. The food was superb, matched by the view of the sunset, sailboats, and lights on the giant carrier ship.

    After dinner we took a short walk before heading back to snooze (way past our bedtime in the Pacific time zone!)    Leia mais

    Ver tradução

Tenha seu próprio perfil de viagens

Gratuito

QR code

FindPenguins para iOSFindPenguins para Android