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This is the travel page of Whitney and Andreas. We love to see the world. Read more Solana Beach, United States
  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 236

    Trier, Germany

    January 4, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Andreas and I went on a day trip from Luxembourg to the oldest city in Germany, Trier. We visited the local church. It had spectacular ceilings and carvings, with a breathtaking organ hanging from the ceiling. After exploring the city, we recreated one of our first dates at a coffee shop in an old medieval building. We recently celebrated our seventh anniversary! We are quickly realizing one of the greatest parts of Europe is its close proximity and easy access to other countries.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 231

    Colmar, France

    December 30, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    On our drive back to Luxembourg we stopped in the French town that inspired Beauty and the Beast. It's a breathtaking old town on a river surrounded by colorful houses. We enjoyed walking the cobbled streets still adorned with Christmas cheer and visiting a beautiful marketplace where we sampled toasted baguette sandwiches and chocolate eclairs; how French are we?! Next stop Luxembourg for New Years!Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    1
    Day 230

    Sarnen, Switzerland

    December 29, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ -1 °C

    After a delicious breakfast on Christmas day with my aunt, Whit and I took the train to Sarnen, a quaint little Swiss village, to unite with Whit's bestfriend Monica and her husband Rory who live in Luxembourg. We stayed at a beautiful Airbnb overlooking a frigid lake and snowcapped mountains. This Airbnb was so fancy that it housed an elevator and a sauna! We enjoyed a second Christmas with Monica and Rory, opening presents, drinking several bottles of wine, and getting weird. Our four days in the area included a day trip to Interlaken, hiking with a cheeky snowball fight, and snowboarding/sledding at a nearby ski field named Melchsee Frut. We spent our time at the house playing games, reading books, watching movies, and enjoying our time together.  At the recommendation of our Airbnb host, we had coffee and pastries at the Bürgenstock Resort on our way out of Sarnen. While the resort was way out of Whit and my price range, it had a lovely view overlooking Lucern and its surrounding lakes which we enjoyed.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 226

    Aarau, Switzerland

    December 25, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    We made it to Europe! Andreas and I both appreciate the cleanliness, no honking, great public transport, walking on sidewalks, not being asked where we are from, blending in, modern buildings, and the cleanliness (yes, I know I wrote cleanliness twice)!

    Our first stop was Aarau, Switzerland to visit Andreas' uncle Thomas, his girlfriend Pia, and their three cats. It was so wonderful to be in a home with family. After washing everything we own, we watched the last three episodes of Stranger Things 2 on Netflix. It was pure bliss. We had two traditional Swiss meals with Thomas and Pia; Cervela (Swiss sausage) roasted over an outdoor fire, and raclette - thick melted cheese over potatoes and vegetables... YUM!

    On Christmas Eve, the four of us drove to Schmitten, Switzerland to visit Andreas' aunt Fran and her girlfriend Susan. On the way we dropped into Zuchwil to visit Andreas' grandparents' grave and light a candle for them. This was a very important event for Andreas, especially to pay his respects on Christmas Eve. At Fran's we had a great time decorating the tree, dancing to Christmas music, drinking wine, feasting, and opening presents. After dinner we took a long walk around Fran's neighborhood and had a protracted snowball fight in the streets that lasted the entire walk. It was an evening full of magic. The next morning we woke up to a traditional Swiss breakfast of homemade bread and cheese before heading out on the train to see our friends Monica and Rory!    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 221

    Colombo, Sri Lanka

    December 20, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    To round off our travels with my parents in Sri Lanka, we spent a few days in the capital city Colombo. Our major activity here was buying Sri Lanka inspired/themed Christmas presents. We enjoyed a nice farewell meal with my parents at a pizza joint. Whit and I loved our time with my parents in Sri Lanka and we were sad to go our separate ways. While they head back to New Zealand for a summer Christmas, we fly to Switzerland to spend the holidays with our friends and family living abroad.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 219

    Galle, Sri Lanka

    December 18, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We spent four days exploring Galle, Unawatuna, and Hikkaduwa; all southern beaches of Sri Lanka. Galle is a large walled fort and we walked its perimeter enjoying the view of the tropical blue waters. We all had a laugh when crows started dive-bombing Jon to protect their part of the wall. Jon and Barb took us out for a delicious belated birthday dinner at a nice hotel in the fort. Jon and Andreas went snorkeling while Barb and I lounged on the beach. We saw four large sea turtles close to the shore grazing on the seaweed. We enjoyed eating at more western-style cafes in these small beach towns. It was nice to soak up the sun and the ocean before we head to Europe for the winter.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 216

    Mirissa, Sri Lanka

    December 15, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Beachy Mirissa is a popular tourist haven on Sri Lanka's south coast. We spent three days here enjoying the sun, surf, and late afternoon thunderstorms which cleared before dinner. Breakfasts were usually at upmarket tourist cafes while dinners were fresh snapper at beach front restaurants for cheap ($15nzd for two people). An Australian friend struggling to catch a crab on the beach had us all in hysterics, especially when he attempted to sell the crab to a crab vendor on the beach front.

    During our time in Mirissa, we took a three hour voyage out to sea to view the biggest animals ever to grace the face of our planet... blue whales! They were immense. Spanning about 25m in length with only about a fifth of their bodies visible; these giants were impressive. Overall, we saw about 20 individual blue whales as they surfaced between feeding dives. The funnest fact I learnt during this expedition was that baby blue whales weigh three tonnes at birth and put on about 90kg (200lb) per day for the first year of their life! What beasts!    Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 213

    Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

    December 12, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    We left our hotel at 4am to go on a Jeep safari of Yala National Park. The park is famous for its leopards and elephants. We lined up with about 80 other Jeeps waiting for the gates to open. Once it was our turn we took off at speed to be one of the first into the park and get a good look at the animals. We were lucky enough to see two leopards lounging in a tree. We were on the lookout for more animals when our guide got a phone call and started racing across the park. When we arrived we saw a family of four elephants that came right up to our Jeep. One was a tiny baby drinking milk. It was a special experience. It was however a bit shocking when 20 more Jeeps showed up to get a glimpse of the elephants. A little later we saw a different family of four elephants swimming in a pond. We had a very up-close experience when the largest elephant came up to our Jeep to investigate us. It was pushing our car and sniffing us with its nose. We told our driver to get out of there! We also saw peacocks, monkeys, wild boar, water buffalo, and a ton of interesting birds. Other than the mass of people it was a great experience.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 212

    Ella, Sri Lanka

    December 11, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Shortly after arriving in Ella we could understand why most people describe it as a highlight of their Sri Lankan adventures. Being up in the mountains, the temperature was cooler and the atmosphere seemed to be more relaxed. We spent three days here sampling the numerous restaurants and reuniting with Australian travellers we met in India (Will and Emma from our camel safari). We spent one day climbing up to little Adams' peak which overlooks the valley of Ella as well as a number of tea plantations. We hiked to a large nine-arch train bridge and, as the trains were still cancelled due to the strike, walked back to town on the rail tracks.Read more

  • Andreas and WhitneyWorld Adventure
    Day 210

    Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

    December 9, 2017 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    The trains are on strike! We had grand plans to ride the world famous Sri Lankan railway through tea fields into the mountains. Instead, because of the pesky strike, we took the much cheaper, faster, and less scenic local express bus. In Nuwara Eliya we stayed in a lovely guesthouse overlooking a quaint vegetable farm and Sri Lanka's tallest peak (Pidurutalagala at 2524m or 8281ft). Given the rural landscape, we decided to rent scooters for two days and explore the town and its surrounding areas. The first day we went on a long windy ride to a local tea plantation. Here we had a free tour of the factory and learned all about various types of tea and how it is made. We finished the tour with a complimentary cup of BOP tea, a medium-strong black tea that you drink without milk... of course. On day two, we rode in the opposite direction through farmland that reminded us of New Zealand to Horton National Park; in fact, one of these dairy farms is partially owned by a NZ company! While we hiked for three hours to 'World's End' (described as a sheer cliff edge dropping down 800m), the valley was completely clouded in when we got there. Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful and scenic walk. Next stop Ella; the trains are still on strike, so it's the crowded local bus again.Read more

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