Reset search
The SadovyisThe Sadovyis
SatelliteEdit route
traveled in 16 countries Read more Madison, United States
  • TravelerGerman Holiday
    Day 5

    Cologne for the Night

    December 13, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We took the train from Berlin to Cologne (or Koln? We haven't quite figured out the right way to reference the city).

    Here we stayed at an adorable hotel, Hotel Ernst. Real old classic vibes. While I was slowly recovering Igor collected some snacks around the city, bringing me back some McDonald's - the ultimate cure.

    This morning things are looking much better and we had a big breakfast at the hotel before exploring the stunning Cologne Cathedral. It is home to some of the best stained glass I've ever seen and the impressive tomb of the 3 wise men. The relic was brought to Milan in 380ish AD and moved to Cologne in 1170.

    We're currently waiting on our rental car that we will take to the German countryside and the Moselle wine region!    Read more

  • TravelerGerman Holiday
    Day 4

    Berlin History

    December 12, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    After dinner at Faelt things turned south for the Sadovyis, with a case of food poisoning. We suspect Christmas market oysters are to blame. Hence our lack of posts the past few days.

    That said, we're on the mend now! So a quick recap of our last 2 days in Berlin. We spent Monday walking around the city and went to see Checkpoint Charlie. On the way we walked through a museum along some remaining part of the Berlin wall. A somber place and a sad history but important to remember.

    We wrapped up our last night in Berlin with a lager before the food poisoning set in good for the night. And after a less than idea sleep, a struggle of a train ride and many waters and tea later, we made it to Cologne!    Read more

  • TravelerGerman Holiday
    Day 2

    Dinner @ Faelt

    December 10, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After a few hours of downtime we headed out to dinner at Faelt, a 1 star Michelin restaurant in a cute neighborhood.

    I was slightly regretting the number of snacks I had earlier but don't worry, I rallied by the 3rd course.

    The restaurant itself was adorable, sitting 10 couples in total, with 5 staff across the whole restaurant.

    We opted for the full course set of course, but showed some restraint with a single wine pairing split between us.

    The food was amazing, hitting a perfect elevated but local food balance. We started with some cute appetizers with tasty mini pretzels. My favorite course was the Jerusalem Artichoke dish which is basically a root veggie tasting a bit nutty and sweet. Igor fav, the kale wrapped cabbage and meat roll with potatoes.

    Everything was delicious and we had a lovely time eating our fill with many nicely paired Germany wines! We finally rolled into a cab and made it back to our hotel.

    Night night from this side of the world 🌍    Read more

  • TravelerGerman Holiday
    Day 2

    Parks & Christmas Markets

    December 10, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    We've had a successful first 24 hours in Berlin!

    We spent most of the day walking around Berlin and enjoying the slightly rainy but not too cold day. After a light breakfast in the lounge we walked through Tier Garten and to the Soviet war memorial. After such a busy morning we decided to treat ourselves to a snack: currywurst and Berlin lager. A perfect pick me up.

    Refueled from our snack we headed towards the Christmas market, stopping by the Brandenburg Gate and the somber Jewish memorial. Doing so we crossed from West Berlin into East Berlin, the wall marked with a line of stones along the road and pieces of the wall found throughout the city.

    The Christmas market was picture perfect. Full of cheery people even in the rain, cute stalls of holiday decorations and places to pop in for a drink. We grabbed a cocktail to wait out some heavier rain, I had to drag Igor away from the festive drinks and potato offerings.

    The rest of our time at the market included a hat purchase for Igor and some sheeps wool mittens for me! And of course more food: oysters, sardines, and champagne.

    We wrapped up our visit with a cup of Gluhwein and a cute take home mug 🤗    Read more

  • TravelerGerman Holiday
    Day 1

    Hallo Germany

    December 9, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    It's vacation time!

    We're spending the better part of December exploring Germany. We just arrived at the Ritz in Berlin, after an uneventful plane and train ride.

    After arriving in Frankfurt from the states, we caught our train to Berlin. Train travel is truly the best. We got on our train around 10:45 and we're in Berlin ~5 hours later. On board we: napped, ate, had a beer, and enjoyed the views.

    Tonight the name of the game is to stay awake for a late dinner (at 9pm!). Igor booked a cool looking regional place that offers wine pairing. So that's a pretty great incentive to stay up.

    For now we're enjoying a few glasses of sparkling in the lounge and freshening up a bit at the hotel.

    Stay tuned for Christmas markets and winter adventures!    Read more

  • TravelerMaldives, Singapore, & Vietnam
    Day 20

    Obi reunion

    March 24, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    We made it back without issue to the great state of Wisconsin! And our most loved furry friend was waiting us when we got home 😍 big shoutout to mom for giving Obi the best vacation and letting us relax without worry. And to Chamiyah for the 3* Uber ride 🚘

    Thanks for following along on our adventure, it feels good to be home!    Read more

  • TravelerMaldives, Singapore, & Vietnam
    Day 20

    ....and Back Again, a Lounge Tale

    March 24, 2023 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Hanoi to Tokyo was a nice easy flight, grabbing some delicious snacks and drinks at the Delta SkyClub in Haneda Airport. As you may imagine, the food remains on point!

  • TravelerMaldives, Singapore, & Vietnam
    Day 19

    Last night of vacation

    March 23, 2023 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    We soaked up as much vacation vibes as we could on our last few days of the trip. Which entailed much relaxing, reading, spa enjoying, and eating.

    Hanoi is a really cool, happening city with a lot of variety. From little street food stalls to really nice restaurants and gardens. I feel like we got to see a good amount of it but still didn't scratch the surface of all the area offered. We did try to squeeze in and enjoy many of the local favorites as possible. Including some local spirit tastings and local coffee drinks.

    Our last night we ate at the Home Moc restaurant which was all you can eat! We got to try the Vietnamese highlights we missed along our journey including some duck and squid.

    We're headed to bed a bit early as we've got an early flight in the morning - completing our circuit around the world!

    Full tour includes:

    🏡 Madison
    🚗 Chicago (ORD)
    ✈️ Paris (CDG)
    ✈️ Malé (MLE)
    🛩️Tiny St. Regis island
    🛩️ Malé (MLE)
    ✈️ Singapore (SIN)
    ✈️ Hanoi (HAN)
    🚗🛥️ Ha Long Bay
    🛥️🚗 Hanoi (HAN)
    ✈️ Tokyo (HND)
    ✈️ Detroit (DTW)
    ✈️ Madison (MSN)
    🏡 Home!    Read more

  • TravelerMaldives, Singapore, & Vietnam
    Day 17

    Final stop

    March 21, 2023 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Sadly we have reached the last leg of our trip. The good news is we've got 5 nights of an uninterrupted stay which means we can really settle in and take our time exploring Hanoi.

    We're staying at the Capella Hanoi which is right across the street from our first night. A great location obviously. The Capella is a beautiful hotel styled around the opera with a nice bit of over the top decor.

    In addition to a cool basement pool and spa area, they have a free cocktail hour every day which we've yet to miss. We've also tried out two of their free activities including a whiskey and oyster pairing (actually quite nice coming from someone who loves oysters but is iffy on whiskey). And this afternoon we tried their gin tasting with a local Vietnamese gin!

    We made it out of the hotel too of course. And have gotten a nice sampling of local beer and street food. Igor claims the bun cha we had for lunch was "one of the best meals" he's ever had. Bun = rice noodles and Cha = charred meats.

    Tonight we're again at happy hour enjoying a daiquiri and the love potion punch 🍸🍹 then off to dinner at a sushi place close by!    Read more

  • TravelerMaldives, Singapore, & Vietnam
    Day 15

    Ha Long Bay

    March 19, 2023 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    I'm writing this post from our little cruise balcony, enjoying some instant coffee. Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba are two major regions of limestone cliffs jutting up from the sea. It feels remote out here though it's definitely found its place catering to tourists. Many ships floating about, with varying itineraries.

    We chose the "Stellar of the Seas" which is quite stellar but we can't help but wonder if we should have chosen their other boat offering "Elite of the Seas"... Sounds like we missed out!

    Boat names aside, our cruise has been lovely. The water is super still so no sea sickness 👍 and it's quite small, only 20 or so cabins, making it feel cozy and personal.

    We spent our first afternoon kayaking through the Dark & Light Cave which was beautiful. It was great being up close to the bluffs. The water is very different here than the Maldives - extremely salty, very clear but it looks murky - if you put your hand in you can see it clearly a ways down but the rock/silt must make the bottom of the water muddy (as opposed to the sandy floor of the Maldives).

    On board we enjoyed a little bath in our room, pretty fun watching the cliffs go past while enjoying a bubble bath!

    We partook in every food offering they provided, all included and you know we can't say no to snacks. Lunch included a cheesy/baked lobster and salmon. Dinner was a BBQ with all sorts of meats - steak, prawns, squid, fish, pork, on and on!

    Our night concluded with some not so successful squid fishing, but we did try! Apparently squid season is May to August, so not an ideal time to catch anything but we did see the main fisherman catch one off the back so that feels close enough! Regardless of our lack of squid we had a great time talking with the crew and making a few friends of our fellow passengers, many from the US.

    This morning we are enjoying the views from the deck and are about to set sail for the main docking area then back to Hanoi 👋    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English