A year later, the story begins again

It's been one year since we took off on the adventure of a lifetime.  It has been our most ambitious vacation to date but who knows what the future may bring.  With a year of perspective we still have so many stories to share and it's high time I got back to it.

Frankfurt as seen from our hotel.

We set off for Frankfurt on the 20th of September 2012.  I am not terribly fond of Frankfurt but the journey started here so we could save a substantial chunk of money on the airfare.  There isn't much to say about this city since it was mainly a jumping off point.   We decided to take a late train from Zürich and arrived in the city shortly before midnight.  There wasn't time for much but we decided to have a drink before bed and headed down to the lobby to see what they had on tap.

I've recently found an appreciation for gin and in particular martinis (especially when they are made well).  When I spotted the ingredients behind the bar I decided to go for it.  Maybe I should have changed my order when the bartender asked how to make a martini but this wasn't the first time I've heard this question in Europe.  Usually when you order a martini over here you are served a glass of Martini brand vermouth.  I explained the process to him and what he turned up with a few minutes later was one of the most amusing presentations of a martini I have found.  I ended up with two different sized glasses, each with differing amounts of gin and vermouth in them, and a few cubes of ice for good measure.  This is a flattering detail as ice is considered a luxury item and rarely do you encounter more than one cube at a time. I decided to round out the experience by purchasing a can of green olives from a nut and snack dispenser to add as a garnish.  Though it was one of the saddest 'martinis' I've had, it is also, by far the most memorable.

Ready for takeoff on our first flight.

We slept that night at the first of nearly 30 hotels.  After check out I decided that I would take a photo of all of the places we slept over the next two months.  It was too late to capture the first bed so instead I snapped a photo of the hotel sign and the view from the stairwell.

We headed to the airport after a decent night's sleep and visited the lounge to wait for the first of many flights.  It is 8.5 hours to NYC and we figured the best way to start the day would be with a decent breakfast.  The lounge in Frankfurt was amazing.  I didn't want to be all touristy and silly by snapping photos and decided I would have plenty of opportunity at future locations.  Little did I know, it was the most amazing one that we would encounter in our travels.  In addition to what seems standard around the world - light snacks, open bar, and comfy seats, Frankfurt hosted it's own sandwich bar complete with a server to make you your dream sandwich from fresh ingredients and half dozen fresh baked breads.  I guess that makes it sound like sort of like Subway but think upscale.  They were slicing the veggies right there for you as you ordered.

Home Sweet Schweiz

We've been home from our amazing adventure for two weeks today and what an adventure it was!   After 9 weeks away, so many strange places, and over 20 different beds, even our home feels a little strange at this point.  Somewhere around week three my dear husband declared that he was finished traveling...  for good.  He was happy to complete the journey we were on but after that maybe we should stay home for a while.  True to form, we were already off on a small adventure the weekend after returning home.

We've been working hard to settle back in to 'normal life', whatever that means for us.  This week we had a visitor already, I've had three meetings to start up various new initiatives, made a small speech at the holiday party, he's already on call, and I'm planning a huge dinner for friends later in the week.  There's no down time for us as this seems to be business as usual.

The past two weeks have provided a chance to relive the memories as we catch up with friends.  Everyone's favorite question seems to be "What was your favorite place (or thing)?".  We both think really hard before answering and it's impossible to choose.  We've decided to tell a different tale to everyone and hope that the stories get passed around until they are all eventually posted here on the blog.

About a month in to our trip we started playing a game.  It started after a particularly amazing event that we just couldn't believe we were a part of.  It served as a way for us to remember and reminisce even before the journey was over and I hope it tides you over in the weeks it will take to sort through photos and start posting stories again.  It always starts in the same way but continues in no particular order after that.  Often it is just one statement, but sometimes it's a description, or explanation about what was so wonderful.  We take turns back and forth until we run out of ideas. Our longest game was on our last night of the trip starting over dinner on the 36th floor of our hotel in Tokyo, continuing through drinks on the 37th, a long wander through the city to Rapongi Hills, and most of the way back.  It goes a little something like this:

"We won the hunt!"
"What?  Did that really happen? Crazy."

We won the hunt.
We rode in a rickshaw.
We saw the Statue of Liberty.
We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.
We had a family reunion (all of my husband's siblings in the same place for the first time in 6 years).
We had chicken and waffles.
We went to Avery Midnight Breakfast.
We attended the GABF (Great American Beer Festival).
We finally made it to Dogfishhead (brewery and Rehobooth pub).
Sam Calgione poured us a beer (yet again).
We met The Oatmeal.
We saw the library from Ghostbusters.
We saw the Liberty Bell *This is his name for the game because I always bring it up because it was so random and unexpected and it always amuses him that it makes the list - I'm just amused and amazed.
We went to Hobbiton.
We saw an eclipse.
We saw a cassawary in the wild (and a crocodile, and kangaroos, and wallabys...)
We had dinner in the rainforest and heard tales told by an aborigine.
We went to a Hangi. (Traditional NZ maori feast).
We saw glowworms.
We stood where New Zealand was founded.
We stood on 90 mile beach and watched the craziest waves I've ever seen.
We surprise reunited friends who had not been in the same place for many years.
We met Frank.
We went to pre-opening night events for a New Zealand health show.
We saw Bibi (and Ricci, and Josh, and Nic, and Katie, and Shannon, and John, and Aaron, and countless other friends and family around the world!).
We touched a space shuttle.
We ate in Hell's Kitchen.
We saw a(n off) Broadway show.
We rode down the Hudson, and up the East River (or is it the other way around?).
We stayed at a hotel at Times Square - 34 floors above the chaos with an amazing view.
We saw Rockefeller Center.
We stood at Grand Central station (it's not so busy on a Saturday night).
We ate at Beer Table.
We played games at Barcade.
We ate lunch at Google with a view of the New York skyline.
We toured the Met.
We tried to hail a taxi in the rain (and walked many, many blocks in the process, having a true NY experience).
We ate dinner with a view of ancient ruins.
We hiked Machu Picchu.
We tried chicha (morada, not amarillo - a Peruvian corn based drink).
We saw ancient erotic pottery.
We tried so many new foods but, sadly, Guinnea Pig was not among them.
We ate unidentified foods from street vendors that we could not communicate with.
We saw train tracks that went nowhere.
We watched dogs dressed in their Sunday best be blessed.
We saw an amazing sunset over Miraflores while dining at a fancy restaurant completely underdressed and exhausted.  *there were crabs outside, all along the jetty, and people surfing in the sunset - magical.
We met Nelson. (our guide and taxi driver in Peru).
We ate Coca Cacao.
We played instruments with Peruvians.
We saw the Andes.
We drove through the Rockies.
We saw the base of Mt. Fuji.
We ate dinner in a private tatami room.
We were served a crab feast in Kyoto on Thanksgiving.
We saw the 100 Yen store.
We went to Hiroshima.
We toured a Japanese castle.
We watched the maple leaves turn fall colors in Arishyama.
We found Summer in November in Australia.
We swam in the ocean, inside a stinger net, at night, while the bats were hunting bugs along the surface of the water.
We rented a beachfront condo for a week.
We went for a long drive in the middle of nowhere and found a hippie camp site and a few hundred wallabies and went for a wander and photographed joeys in their mama's pouches.
We walked on 5 continents.


OK - well, I'm guessing most of you have given up reading by this point but you get the picture.  The game goes on, and on, and on...  What an amazing adventure!  Truly the trip of a lifetime with so many big and little experiences that I hope we never forget.  Now do you see why you will be waiting months to hear all the tales?  And the pictures....  we've got a little over 5000 of them to sort through.  They are coming, I promise!

Eclipsed

That was the single most powerful thing I have ever experienced.  I can't even describe all of the things I thought or felt or experienced over the few minutes of surreal daytime darkness standing on the beach under a completely eclipsed sun.

Nothing on our trip has gone as expected so it's no surprise that today's big event was no exception.  We've spent a cloudy week in Cairns, watching the weather reports all week and seeing clouds, and more clouds at every turn.  Earlier in the week when I looked at the 5 day forecast with Wednesday, the eclipse day in the middle, it wasn't looking promising with photos of  sun, clouds, clouds, clouds, sun. When the first 'sunny day' arrived along with slightly smaller banks of clouds than the cloudy days, we accepted the strong possibility that we would not be witnessing an eclipse this time around.

We played the 'what if' game all week.  Playing out scenarios about what we expected to happen, what we thought we might see, how many people would be there, where we should view the event from, and eventually deciding it didn't matter if we couldn't see anything since the trip has been an amazing thing in itself.

Amusingly enough, as I pictured the anti-climatic nature of what we might witness this morning, I forgot to think about a lot of things...  almost everything, in fact.  I had been so narrowly focused on the idea of watching the last bit of sun disappear or spotting the shadow running across the ground toward me that I never could have imagined how amazing the rest would be.

This morning I was standing on a beach, before sunrise, on the edge of Cairns, half way around the world from where I live, with a thousand people, all gathered here for the same purpose

This experience has eclipsed all before it.  I cannot imagine a feeling more amazing, or overwhelming, yet serene at the same time.  In that two and a half minutes, in those few dozens of seconds, I died and was reborn...  I understood the universe in an entirely new way, no longer feared death, was perfectly accepting of everything, connected to thousands of years of human history, and stood quietly in awe and silence along with every human and animal within eye and earshot.

The moment of totality, like much of the nearly hour long process of eclipsing before it, was obscured by clouds.  Standing and sitting with these others in anticipation and wonder of what we were or were not about to witness you heard the communal oohs and aahs as the clouds would thin and offer a glimpse of the eclipse behind.  Just minutes before totality there was a giant cloud bank slowly making it's way across the sun.  Everyone thought we had seen the last peek at the sliver that remained but there was a thinner patch of cloud that provided a clearing and exposed the sun again for a few more seconds.  It was so close to the moment of totality that before it was obscured again you could see a thin sliver of light with one large pearl of brightness in the center.

The drama of the clouds both when it exposed and obscured was met with claps, shouts of joy, oohs and aahs.  You could hear the disappointment as the clouds covered again for the final time but then everyone took their glasses off and looked around, at each other, at the cloud bank, at our surroundings.   The day had grown dim, like twilight, or a colorless sunset.  I thought it was fairly bright still, brighter than I expected at totality.  I wondered why it wasn't dark enough to see the stars, confused if this was as dark as it would be and curious if something more dramatic would happen.  Less than a minute later you could tell the exact moment of totality despite the cover of clouds because there was an instant and dramatic shift in the lighting.

The world paused for a bit.  Everything stopped.  Inside me, and outside.  I was overstimulated and trying to take it all in and everything just paused for a moment of pure perfection.  There was an instant of reaction and emotion, a collective moment of amazement from everyone and then calm. The bird's panicked squawking disappeared, the waves rolled slower and further up the beach, the dark sky above was a deep rich blue but not black as night, with lighter colors along the horizon.  We stood in as much light as a night with a full moon but the world wasn't lit from the sky, it was lit from the horizon, far away from the sun, where it's rays were still being cast far out over the ocean.

My chest swelled and I had no words, just in that instant. I was literally moved to tears by such a powerful and instantaneous shift in environment - both from the drama of nature and the change in our surroundings as well as the proximity of the nearby thousands on the beach being moved by the experience in their own way.
___________________

I sit in my room and write this just an hour after experiencing this dramatic event and I feel changed by it, like I have been reborn or cleansed in some way and the world is full of new possibilities.  I am sure it is from the wash of indescribable emotion I felt in those moments witnessing the power of nature - the dramatic scope of such a simple yet astounding action of being briefly separated from our sun.  It's a feeling that I am sure will fade with the day, or perhaps with the week, but for now the sky looks brighter than it should, the day more surreal, life feels strange and different and miraculous.

I have been so lucky and blessed in this life.  I think this often and am thankful for feeling it in an even more profound way that I imagined possible in a moment of surreal peace this morning on a beach half way around the planet from my home with my husband and a few friends at my side.

Hello from Cairns!

The eclipse is not less than 24 hours away.  I have a ton of things to say and share but not enough time (or reliable internet connection to share it) while we are traveling.  Don't worry, the stories are recorded, the photos are taken, and there will be a flood of posts in the weeks after we arrive home to fill you in on the adventure.  For those of you who are facebook friends, there are occasional posts and photos there that are marking the journey.  

We've had a full week of clouds here in Cairns and expect the same tomorrow.  Despite the unlikely occurrence of clear skies we are hopeful to see the eclipse in the morning.  We are staying at a beachfront apartment and have a great viewing point from our balcony.  This is fortunate as they have closed many of the roads and best vantage points for the duration of the eclipse, I'm guessing to help control the hoards of people that will be flocking to each destination. 

In case we can't see it in person, we will be trying to watch from the webcam but expect it may have the same view as us since it is positioned nearby at Trinity Beach.  

<!-- cairns web cam start -->

<div style="width:240px; background-color:#d5ccc8;margin:0 auto;"><iframe src="http://media.travstar.com.au/webcam/shared-cam.php" border="0" frameborder="0" width="240" height="293" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p style="margin:0 10px 0 0;text-align: right;font-weight:bold;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:10px;line-height:12px;text-transform:uppercase;"><a href="http://www.cairnsinfo.com" style="text-decoration: none;  color:#006699;">Cairns Webcam Sponsored by cairnsinfo.com</a></p></div>

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In case the mess above doesn't turn in to an actual webcam, you can check it out live or find out more information about the area we are staying and the conditions this week at:  www.eclipsecairns.com

I have to run as we are leaving to explore Daintree Park.

The Middle of the Trip

We have hit the halfway point in our journey.  Today is pretty much the middle point in our trip, at least as far as the date goes, and it is a fitting day to arrive in Phoenix.  It was a day filled with typical travel frustrations that passed with little conflict or impact (we're getting lots of practice at adapting to ever changing schedules after a month of traveling).

We overslept, under planned our time for the morning, left a half an hour late but made great time in traffic and still arrived at the airport our typical 2 hours before the flight.  The flight was delayed, suitcase arrived already opened, reservation was mixed up at the rental car place yet we arrived at the hotel just 5 minutes after check-in began for the day.  We headed out for our first meet up of the day to find ourselves alone at the restaurant due to a mis-recorded calendar date so we grabbed a delicious  quick meal alone and heading out for some time with my parents.  We left there to get ready for our second meet up of the day which was cancelled just as we arrived back at the hotel so we tossed a book and a couple of games in our bag and headed over to Papago and ran in to some old friends (and made a few new ones).

All in all, I think it was the near perfect day despite of, or perhaps because of, all of the little 'inconveniences' that travel can bring.

________________________

Some numbers for the trip so far:
Days away from home: 34
Continents explored: 3
Friends visited: 22
Friends missed: 4
New friends made: 7
Beds slept in: 19
*'beds' is used to describe anything we have spent more than an hour sleeping on including but not limited to chairs, floors, planes, hospital benches and actual beds
Laundry days: 4
Pieces of clothing worn out: 4
Beers collected along the way: 5
Packages sent home: 1
Items lost/left behind: 1
Movies watched: 14
Texts with my sister:139
Days left until Chicken and Waffles: 1

The Last Day

Today is our last day in Colorado. It is the third time I have had to say goodbye to a city what seems all too soon after arriving.  After three recent (and countless past) shots at this, I've found that it is the last day in a place that always seems the hardest.

It is a day that holds the responsibilities of preparing for the journey home (or in our case, moving to the next city). It is a day full of preparations like packing, checking in for a flight, checking out of the hotel, rounding up last minute souvenirs  mailing postcards, etc. It's a 'back to reality day' before you actually arrive back home.  It also, and more importantly for me, bears the burden of all the expectations left unfulfilled for that particular journey.

On the last day I often find myself anxious, excited, melancholy, and occasionally frantic to fit in just one more, ten more, things.  Every place, person, meal, or item that I didn't get around to enjoying for the rest of the trip now sits on the 'hoped-to-do' list.  Instead of being able to chose one or two things to enjoy on this day that should be able to be just like the others, I ponder and contemplate and mourn the missed things.  Sometimes I try to cram 20 things in to that day, other times I give up and waste it, not managing to chose a single thing to do.  Planning in advance helps, but you can't plan every detail of a trip or you leave no room for spontaneity and discovering new things.

I've gotten better about time management the more we travel.  We often start a visit to Phoenix with a calendar and a list of possibilities.  Emails go out, tentative events come in, we piece it all together like a complicated game of Tetris and by the time we leave we usually have something resembling a manageable schedule.  After our first few stressful but still satisfying 'wing it' trips, we started planning ahead a bit instead. As a result, we've gotten quite good at visiting Phoenix.  Applying this method to places that are unknown doesn't work out quite as well, but it usually helps me hit the hilights.  

In New York, the last day list was so long I couldn't figure out where to start.  One solution we've used in the past, and decided was the best approach for NYC, was resolving that 'we'll just have to come back again'.  Places that are so large, or important, and relatively easy to get back to often fall on this list.  Peru, however, is a 'less likely to return' scenario as it is cost and time restrictive being so far from our current home.  For this leg of the journey we were able to prioritize a little better, compromise between our travel companions in a more useful way, and accept that we may not have seen it all but still saw plenty of amazing things.  Do we want to visit again? - absolutely.  Will we actually make it back? - not sure.

Colorado offers a third perspective on saying goodbye to a place.  Two years ago we visited for the first time to attend our first ever Great American Beer Festival.  At that point we were still entertaining the idea of an eventual move back to the US and it was a toss up between Boulder, CO and Kirkland, WA.  We enjoyed the city, the beer climate, and had good friends there.  We enjoyed our visit so much we planned to return every two years to repeat the experience.  Here we are two years later, doing as we planned, but this time we really felt like we got our fill of the place.  We went back and visited the places we enjoyed last time, picked up a few more places that we missed out on, returned to the GABF, and shared plenty of good times and good meals with our friends.  I'm satisfied with our experience of Colorado and don't think we need to go back.  That's not to say that we won't be back at some point, but it's good to feel finished and satisfied with a place.  I've had to learn to let some old things drop of the travel list to allow space for new places to fit in.

In today's last day, our last day in Colorado, I've got a list of 'wanted to-dos'.  It's too big for the day, I know it.  It's OK if I dont' do it all, I know that too.  Today might be my last day in Colorado... not just for now, but forever.  I'm going to grab it, not waste it - seize the day and see what it brings.  Tomorrow is another day, and another city, another chance to get the last day right.  I'm getting better at this, the more we travel.  I wonder what the last day of the entire journey will bring?

Arriving in Cusco (part two)

We are welcomed in to our hotel through a tiny private wooden doorway that opens on to a larger inner courtyard.  Check in goes smoothly and after we drop our bags in the rooms we reconvene in the courtyard for our welcome drink - a cup of Coca tea.  The altitude here is a sickening 3,400 meters (11,200 feet).   It is literally sickening with an estimated 1 in 4 visitors suffering from altitude sickness.  Our ratio was a bit higher with 3 out of the 4 of us suffering from symptoms for days.  The coca tea and coca candies are a local (and yes, legal) remedy for the symptoms which are brought on by lowered air density.  It is a bit like having a horrible hangover without the fun night before hand.  I seem to have been having the hardest time adjusting out of our group with insomnia, headaches, and dizziness, in addition to my companions symptoms of shortness of breath, decreased appetite, and general fatigue.

We relax at the hotel until after sun down, each coping with our fatigue in our own way - napping, coca, writing, reading.  I have to admit, I'm not exactly sure what we've gotten ourselves in to at this point after the view from the cab to the hotel, and now this strange sickness that started with euphoria and some tingling sensations upon landing and evolved into something a bit more vicious.  We head out together in search of dinner and supplies and wander down the skinny street from our hotel to the center of town.   I'm not sure the name of our street but we've renamed it ourselves to the street of internets and dentists.   In a place with so much poverty, I'm surprised to find that every third or fourth business on our street is an internet cafe with another quarter of the businesses being dentists and the rest are tiny single room closet sized shops filed with what looks like boxes of whatever fell off of a truck and is on special for the day. 

As we walk along in the single stream of pedestrian traffic, with cars beeping their horns and belching black and grey smoke from their backsides as they pass, we start to notice a few dogs here and there.  After a few blocks and dozens of dog sightings, we realize that there is quite a large stray dog community in this area.  Every few doorsteps you can find one scavenging, napping, or wandering with a friend.  Most are unleashed and seem to have no interest in the people of the city.  They run in groups or saunter along alone carefully checking for traffic before crossing to the other side of the street.  Many are dirty from the dusty streets, some with matted hair, but none seem dangerous and in fact, they rarely interact with the people walking past.  They do not beg, they do not ask to be pet, they are just independently living here, another part of a busy and simple city.  

We make our way towards the city center, taking in the smells and sounds and sights along the way.  I had chatted with my best friend for a bit before leaving the hotel and we were trading stories and links about Cusco - me reporting what I had seen so far and her sharing what she was finding online.  From the photos linked on Wikipedia we thought we must be just outside the nicer tourist area of town. Once we arrived at the end of our street near the large outdoor market and one of the many churches, we spotted the long ancient wall leading to the gate entering the town.  I had just seen a photo of this online and it did not offer a clear perspective on what I was now seeing with my own eyes.  The refined and beautiful photo online managed to focus solely on the gate and cut out all of the poverty, life, and excitement along the streets and sidewalks at it's edge.  

This is one of the things I absolutely love about traveling - the perspective it provides.  Not only the way you look at a photo afterwards and have a complete understanding of the area, but the way it makes you reflect on your own place in this world.  It helps you appreciate things in a new light, gives you a chance to redirect your passions, to let go of your own struggles and find new ways to be helpful to others.  I imagine that all the time and money I have donated to causes in the past could go so much further in a place like this and simple acts of generosity and kindness can mean so much more here.  

I'm inspired not only by the things I have seen this week but also by the recommendations of friends who are conscientious travelers.  They pointed us at Los Ninos Hotel started by a Dutch woman who came to Cusco in the mid 90s and felt a similar pull to make a difference here so she decided to stay and help make a positive impact on the lives of children in the area. 

___________________________________________________ 

Learn more about Los Ninos and consider making a donation:

http://www.ninoshotel.com/html-eng/accommodatie/accommodatie.html

Learn more about the joys of altitude sickness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_sickness

Learn more about Cusco and see some of the photos we were chatting about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cusco

Arriving in Cusco (Peru)

Peru is changing me... either that or the altitude sickness is finally getting the better of me.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes this afternoon and I am writing to you from the patio of our modest room at the village that serves as the last waypoint before Machu Picchu.

This week has been eye opening for me.  Peru is not at all what I expected.  I have seen three different glimpses into this culture so far and I am moved and astounded by the things I have seen.  While Lima and Agua Calientes have their own distinct personalities, it is Cusco, where I have spent the last three days, that has had the largest impact on me.

There is so much life here, so much poverty, and a vivid and challenging history.  As our plane came in low over the high mountain peaks I captured the first glimpse of a sprawling city much larger than I imagined.  We banked sharply left in the tightest u-turn maneuver that I have ever experienced so we could descend quickly to align with the tiny airstrip in the middle of it all.  Our flight was host to a school group, many of whom were flying for the first time.  Every bump and turn was met with screams of delight and awe starting from our takeoff in Lima.  When we landed gently on the strip of concrete in Cuzco the plane lit up with cheers and applause for what must have been the most amazing ride of many of their young lives so far.

After sorting a few common travel difficulties including one missing piece of luggage and an MIA driver, we managed to sort out our transportation to the hotel. Along the drive we were granted a closer look at theis larger than expected city.  I was surprised to find that the strip of buildings that ran along the main road and defunct looking train tracks were in a shocking state of disrepair reflecting a level of poverty that I did not expect to find in a large tourist destination.  Store fronts were dirty, the buildings falling down, inside the shells of the ground floor of each building were people sitting or standing near piles of things - fresh fruit, stacks of egg crates, hand woven clothes.  Each store had a mismatched selection of goods in small quantities, stacked on bankets, or on simple tables, the sight of which resembled some kind of indoor/outdoor flea market.

I started to have one of our reality check moments as we looked at each other and wondered where we were.  As we rode further through the streets on our way to the hotel, there were more of the same hardworking people, with dusty clothes and shoes, carrying blankets on their backs wrapped around bundles of sticks, or the days groceries, their babies, or their handcrafted goods.  The streets here are narrow, just wide enough for a single car to squeeze through and accomodate a single file flow of pedestrian traffic on either side.  When we arrive at our hotel, we have to jump out quickly, grabbing our bags and paying the driver in a single quick motion so as not to back up traffic.  Even though we tried to be quick, the honks of the cars behind us began to sound as soon as the break lights were lit.

To be continued...

NY - the first full day

Our first few days have been amazing and busy, chaotic yet full.  We have seen so many strange and amazing things already and are consistently amused any time we are walking down the streets here. We have fit in many of our top sites and have already visited with our friends in the area over the first 30 exhausting and fun-filled hours after landing.  

I was lucky enough to have a window seat on the flight and as we drew closer to landing the captain announced that Manhattan would soon be visible out the left side windows.  I started bouncing in my seat like a kid - "I can't believe we're finally going to see New York!!!".  I leaned my head on the window so I could see as far forward as possible, straining for my first glimpse of Manhattan.  It took about 10 more minutes before it came into view but I was in awe.  I've seen plenty of skyscrapers before but these were massive.  And there were so many of them!  First a smaller group appeared, then a larger and taller group, then a third group, across the water, came in to sight.

I was snapping photos while gabbing away, trying to identify things from the air - orienting what was within my sight with the map I've looked at so many times in the past month.   My first reflections were on the the buildings, both the quantity and height, then the compactness of the island, Manhattan is such an important place yet it is only 23 square miles.  We came in from the north so after the awe of the skyscrapers, I spotted lady liberty on her tiny island just next to Ellis.  She is dwarfed in stature when compared to the skyscrapers on the land just across the water from her.  The third thing I really noticed about the city was the stau (German for traffic jam).  Bumper to bumper, a constant stream of unmoving lights tracing lines across the bridges and and in the cities on both sides of the water.  After landing we would get a closer look during our 2 hour, 31 mile journey from Newark airport to our hotel in midtown NYC.

During the longer than expected, but fairly reasonable priced taxi ride to our hotel, the time difference had a chance to hit us and we decided we were exhausted.  I tossed my original plan of spending a late night out on the town for a more modest steak and a martini followed by a small stroll near Times Square, Broadway, and Rockefeller Center.



We turned in at a reasonable hour Friday and then woke up earlier than expected the next morning (gotta love jetlag!) so we decided to meet our friends for the first Circle Line harbor cruise of the day. This three hour tour goes around the entire island giving a water side view of each city and borough that touches the waters edge along the Hudson, the East, and Harlem Rivers, including a jaunt further south to get a closer view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  

After the tour we decided to head to lunch at a restaurant that might be able to compete with my love of chicken and waffles called 'Burgers and Cupcakes'.  Their double thick bacon was more like a half inch slice of pork belly, fried crisp and amazing.  It was an affordable meal that definitely did not disappoint.

Later in the evening, after we parted ways with our other friends, the three of us headed off on foot to explore some of the interior sights of midtown by foot.  We went to the New York Library, Bryant Park, Grand Central Station before heading back to the hotel by way of Madison avenue.  I had a strange curiosity about it courtesy of my love of Mad Men but I'm not sure it gave me a clearer picture of the area as it may be the same place but the environment has changed since the 60s setting of the show.

We headed back to the hotel after an exhausting day and had just enough time to take a quick shower when one of our other friends in the city managed to finally catch up with us after an afternoon of missed connections.  What should have been the end of the day if we were sane humans, was the beginning of a third exciting part of our day.  We took a taxi to the East Village and headed off on foot to find a good meal and pint to catch up with a friend we haven't seen in nearly 4 years.

We first tried for a pint and wings but found a packed bar and a $10 cover charge to watch the UFC fight.  It was so loud in there, we couldn't even manage to get off a drink order before giving up and heading off for someplace more conductive to conversation.  We wandered for a bit, taking in a completely different part of the city.  The restaurants, bars, shops, and people of this neighborhood were justa as fascinating in a completely different way than the hustle and touristy bustle of Broadway, or the more business feel of midtown near the library.  It reminded me a bit of my college days in Tempe and for the first time since arriving, I could imagine NY as a place that people could actually enjoy living.  

After an interesting dinner of sushi and beef cooked over a small fire pit in the center of our table, we decided to call it a night.  It had started raining while we were inside which wasn't such a big deal but makes a huge impact on your ability to catch a taxi.  We ended our first full day with a 24 block hike in the direction of our hotel, attempting to flag a taxi the entire time.  Despite the conditions we passed many amusing things and even found the Stuyvesant park and neighborhood where HONY(*) seems to photograph many of his subjects.



In our over half hour walk in the drizzly rain a few hundred either occupied or off duty taxis rushed past us in the opposite direction.   We found 5 taxis with their lights on but it seems that wherever you happen to be waving your arm in the street, there is someone else at least 10 feet ahead of you who manages to catch the ride.  At the time I was exhausted and cold but even before we made it back to the hotel I was amused to have had the experience of attempting to hail a taxi on a busy, rainy, Saturday night in New York City.
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* HONY - Humans of New York
I have been following this photographer over Facebook for the past month or so and it has change the way I look at portrait photography.  Amusingly enough, after so many faces witnessed and stories read, as I walk down the streets of NY, the people have more depth for me, I can imagine their stories, and I'm curious about strangers as I never have been before.
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/


Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
http://www.circleline42.com/new-york-cruises/cruise-details.aspx?id=1

New York: Expectations

I'd like to find some kind of pattern for my writing about each place we visit but we'll see how that all pans out once we are on the road.  For each location I hope to start with a post about expectations.  The word 'expectations' sounds too lofty though, it leaves room for disappointment.  Really what  I would like to share with you the the things I'm excited about in each place, what I've dreamed of seeing, what I anticipate happening or feeling, or possibly just some fascinating things I discovered in my research.

New York - Hopes, Dreams, and Desires
Having been given ample opportunity to travel and explore over the past four years, the one place that many Europeans seem to ask us about is New York.  "How could we not have seen it?" they ask.  Well, the US is quite large and we are from the other coast.  It has actually been on my travel list for about 10 years.  After a coule of failed Christmas in NY attempts due to lack of interest by my other half, I have finally found a way to fit it in.

NYC is an American icon.  The biggest problem here is figuring out how much we can see in a week without over doing it.  Of course there are the classics to start with - Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, the Guggenheim, Broadway, and more. Then there is the food, the nightlife, the clubs, the cocktails, the shows, the history, the architecture...

The thing I am most looking forward to is having a map of the city in my head. There is nothing like the feeling of seeing a place you've traveled to in a photo or film and knowing that there is a tiny little restaurant around the corner that serves an amazing dish or that you should cut over two blocks for a more scenic stroll between there and the hotel you stayed at.

With such an overwhelmingly huge list of sites and desires for NY, I have actually had a hard time deciding what to do.  I expect that we may see a show or two (both on and off broadway if possible), maybe take a stroll down the Coney Island Boardwalk, and take a harbor tour to see Manhattan from the water.

The Statue of Liberty is a must see.  I'm not sure that I need to climb to the top but I would like to stand at the base, or at least see it from the water.  I have interest in seeing many of the more famous skyscrapers from the outside, and maybe the view from the top when practical.  I'm sure once I see my first view from the top of one tall building in NY, I will likely not need to repeat the experience with a slightly different perspective from the building next door.  I will, however, have to conquer the Empire State Building, and perhaps the Chrysler Building.

I would love to check out the nightlife over the weekend - this is always fun in a town that doesn't sleep.  I have interest in dining at one of the famous restaurants that are notoriously difficult to get reservations at but can't be bothered to put in the time, nor pack the fancy clothes for such an occasion.  Instead we will likely try out the tiny corner delis, have a real greasy slice of New York pizza, perhaps a hotdog on the boardwalk or from a street vendor, and check out a brewery or two.

I'm mostly over the idea of visiting museums but it seems a shame to pass up at least a quick walk through the Met, MOMA, and the Guggenheim.  When I was younger I dreamed of performing, or at least catching a show, at Carnegie Hall.  Since I spent so many years working in the book industry I would also like to see the McGraw Hill building though I'm not sure there is much to do there other than say I stood at one of the largest American publishing houses.  The NY Library is also on this bibliophile's list.  Because of all those silly police dramas I've watched, I'd also like to visit 1 Police Plaza so every time I hear a TV cop say "1PP" I'll have an image pop in to my head of the view from the street.

I want to stand in Times Square, to take in all the chaos and lights and people and life.  I am contemplating a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge, or at least a meal at a tiny cafe at the base of the bridge with a view.  I want to sit on a bench in Central Park, or perhaps lounge in the grass with a book while people go about their normal busy lives around me.  FAO Schwarz is a dream destination ever since seeing 'Big' as a kid.  Even big kids can enjoy a bit of shopping at the worlds most famous toy store.  I will try to resist the giant floor piano though.

Who knows what the city will bring.  I know that there is way too much to accomplish in our short time there but I'm looking forward to seeing as much as I can without completely exhausting my travel companions.
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What's playing on and off Broadway right now?
http://www.broadway.com/

Chopsticks performed on the giant floor piano at FAO Schwarz (from the movie "Big"):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETT3UHEEc1A

A booklover's dream and my first choice for hotel before I saw the prices:
http://www.libraryhotel.com/experience.html

I love it when a plan comes together!

The pieces are all falling in place and we might actually have everything prepared before we take off on this crazy adventure.  Sure, we still have a few important reservations to make.  There is packing to be completed and a couple of household projects to be wrapped up in the next week. Toss in some unexpected factors like surprise visitors, a last minute floor repair, and a bit of seasonal garden prep per our landlord and you've got a recipe for a full and potentially exhausting last week in town.

I've been so buried in the details of planning and organizing that this week is the first time that it has really started to sink in and the excitement has started to build.  We are actually doing this!  I can't believe we are going to travel for two months and see five continents, visit dozens of friends, see strange new cultures, be exposed to new languages, have a chance to brush up on our Spanish, learn all about the Outback, eat so many strange new things, finally see NY, explore ancient ruins, discover some new beers, share countless meals with friends, road trip to Mordor (or at least the shire), possibly witness the moon eclipse the sun, snorkle, swim, relax...  pfew.   I need to stop and catch my breath as this list is just the beginning of what I imagine the next two months will hold.

I'm horrible about sending letters but I have delusions of popping a note or two in the mail while we are away.  Let me know if you would like to receive a postcard from the road and I'll see what I can do.  Does anyone want anything from any of these places? Does anyone want to meet along the way (there's always room for more people to join!)?  These questions may seem strange at first but we have already collected a mix travel companions for various legs of the journey and have had a request to seek out a Maori flute even before we asked.

This will likely be my last post for the planning phase of our trip.  I'm not sure how consistant our internet access or free time will be but I expect my writing to switch gears and hopefully become more frequent.  From here on out this will serve as a kind of public travel diary of the things we are discovering and exploring along the way.  If all goes as planned, the posts will be a mix of photos, the unedited experiences we are having, and some plans and expectations before moving on to the next destination. Feel free to leave feedback, send us suggestions for things to see, or tell your own stories of the places we are visiting. You are a part of our journey as well and I'm excited to be sharing it with you as it happens!

Packing

I think it's hard enough to decide what to take when I go away for the weekend.  How *does* one pack for 9 weeks away?  And not just for 9 weeks in the same location, but for a variety of distinct climates and activities...

I'll need the things I take when I fly and all the things I would need for at least a week away.  I need hiking gear, beach gear, clothes for a night on the town, presents for friends. Speaking of presents - where am I supposed to fit all of the beers and souvenirs that I collect along the way?

Rarely will you use everything that you think you need on a vacation.  It is nearly impossible to underpack.  Overpacking, however, can be a huge burden.  We started tackling this problem together by thinking about how much bulk we really wanted to drag around from city to city and have come up with a plan.

I have faced a decent amount of packing logistics problems over the years but this trip serves as my greatest feat yet.  Fortunately I have picked up a trick or two from past vacations and have learned how to pack for any situation.  One of the best pieces of advice I was given a couple of years ago is to first pack what you think you need and then cut it in half.  Another useful tip, and the best place to start, is to create a packing list.

Our trip is still a few weeks away but there is already a small pile of essential travel items building in the guest room and a trip specific packing list growing on my laptop.  The goal is to have just one small rolling bag a piece plus a purse or backpack, basically a second carryon sized item that can be carried hands free.

Our normal packing goal is one pair of pants for every 2-3 days and a fresh shirt, socks, and undies for every day (plus one extra pair of everything, *just in case).  With long trips the formula is adjusted to account for how much time I want to spend in laundromats while we are away.  It just doesn't make sense to drag around 9 weeks' worth of clothes even if I hate doing laundry on the go.

Though some items are length-of-trip dependent, we always carry a single set of layers for unexpected weather - this includes a tank top, a thin long sleeved shirt, and long johns.  Other items like thick socks to fend against cold or a hat and sunglasses for cloudless days are also a good idea.  In addition to all the clothes, you can't forget toiletries, essentials (which vary by destination and occasion but include things like tickets, presents, sport equipment, etc.), and lastly a bit of entertainment - in our case usually a book, a game, and a couple of DVDs.

You'd be surprised how a few little things can make you feel at home when you travel.  After many summers traveling in Europe, a leg injury, and too many naps on the floor of the airport, I've started traveling with a few creature comforts.  I'm convinced that by traveling with my pillow, a thin cotton sheet, a travel fan, and noise canceling headphones, I can find comfort anywhere!

In the end, even with so many considerations, my final check list as I walk out the door is a simple one - tickets, passport, and credit card.  As long as we can get where we're going, get back home at the end, and have the ability to replace anything that we can't life with out, everything else can wait for our return.
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*So far our 'just in case' situations have included a full and unfriendly bird, falling in a river, ankle deep mud, broken heating in an arctic cold snap, broken AC on a long and overfilled train, and countless attempts to wear our meals.

Accommodations

Organizing a trip is hard work even for a seasoned traveler. Fortunately, I've gotten better at parts of the process over time.  I've learned tips and tricks over the past few years worth of adventures that make packing and prepping a breeze.  Overpacking is a problem of the past, I have a good idea of how to choose the most convenient places to stay in any city, and rarely do we come home to forgotten surprises like moldy dishes in the sink.

While some bits have become easier, there are parts of the planning process that I feel may always provide some frustration for me. Unfortunately, these are major and unavoidable parts of any vacation.  Topping my short list of travel prep frustrations is researching and booking transportation and accommodations. I place the majority of the blame on the tools that were designed to assist in planning a trip in the modern age - travel comparison sights and internet booking forms.

I love sites like Tripadvisor.  It is a great idea to offer a place for personal reviews of everything a city has to offer all ranked according to a variety of appealing aspects.  I can know that the toilet in the 3rd floor room runs all night or that the 'amazing view' is really a peek into your neighbors shower.  The benefits to being able to completely weigh your options are amazing - you can find exactly the right room for you, the most comfortable seat on a plane, or the best and most reasonably priced meal near your hotel.  You can plan your vacation to perfection.

The problem with having the option to research so many aspects is that you lose perspective on what is important and you can obsess over tiny details.  This hotel is 2 minutes closer, but this hotel is $20 cheaper, but this one has a bathtub and the other one has a view.  After a half an hour of weighing options it is easy to forget that you are looking for a place to lay your head for a night or two, not choosing your future home.

Once you can overcome the nearsightedness of too many options and not enough perspective it is finally time to commit to a decision.  I click on 'reserve' and the favorite part of my adventure begins.  First the room rate goes up, then the dates chosen are not actually available.  You reevaluate your options, change your mind a few times, settle on something else and finally make it to the details form.  You fill it in and click 'submit' feeling a sense of relief that this task is finally accomplished just to find you have taken too long, or forgot to click the 'i agree to your terms' button and the form restets itself and you get to begin all over again.

Perhaps this week's post should be subtitled 'frustrations' as it surely feels like the storm before the calm before the trip. This journey is a huge undertaking.  In fact, this will be largest and longest vacation we have planned to date.  From a planning perspective it is not really one large vacation so much as bunch of little ones all back to back.  That means a heck of a lot of accommodations to book!

What I really love is deciding on a place and discovering what there is to see - looking more at the big picture than focusing on the small yet important details.  I'm looking forward to the part where I get to be there, finally enjoying the benefits of all the hard work, planning, and frustrations. Well, I'm off to attempt yet another hotel booking.  I'm feeling lucky, maybe this time it will only take me three tries to get the confirmation.  ;)

Timing

When *should* one embark on an around the world adventure?  I suppose the best time might be when your desire, time, and money all abundantly converge.  This can require a bit of advance planning or a lot of luck or perhaps a mix of the two.  In our case, it is definitely a mix.

We've been saving for years for that mysterious 'something' - the undefined future, retirement, a large milestone purchase, or some crazy treat for ourselves.  Really, we've been saving because that's what we hear you are supposed to do.  Saving has become a goal into itself at this point.  I've also been told that you should choose to go for your dreams when they are within reach. Turning a retirement dream into a reality a few years early seems like as good a reason as any to finally tap into the piggy bank and take a bite out of savings.

As for time, and timing, these seem to lean a bit more towards the luck side of things.  A few people have asked how we can take so much time off work. This is where the luck part comes in.  It turns out Europeans take their vacations much more seriously than Americans with the average company offering 4 weeks of vacation a year right from the start.  Add to this some on-call compensation time and past years banked holidays and you end up with plenty of vacation time lying around and a manager that would really like you to use it.  

Then there is the timing issue as in 'when should we go?'.  This depends on what you want to see and why.  We started with one date in mind - November 14th, the date of the eclipse.  When we started fleshing things out a bit we started looking at what else was happening between here and our destination and when.  We popped in dates for things that we enjoy (like the Great American Beer Festival), traditions (like the Treasure Hunt in Phoenix for our friend), or special occasions (like birthdays and holidays). We took this giant mess of dates and places and considered the limitations of how long we could afford to be away from home and ended up with a two month adventure this coming fall.

As for the third and final bit, desire, I guess it doesn't count for either side.  It is not restricted by luck nor planning, it is self sustaining and always exists without consideration for your conditions.  So basically when asked "When is the best time to take a trip around the world?", my answer would be when you have the desire and you have saved enough that you feel like to can spend a little and your boss says you should use some of your vacation time and you really feel like your dream has waited long enough and it's time to make it a reality.

I guess that means my short answer would be - "Now!".

Destinations

Our current itinerary looks like this:
Zürich -> Frankfurt- > New York -> Delaware -> Peru -> Colorado -> Phoenix -> Oahu -> New Zealand -> Australia -> Tokyo -> home

Each place has at least a small reason that became the inspiration for deciding to find out what else is there for us to see. You can find out why each place made our itinerary below.


Frankfurt
I actually don't care for Frankfurt.  It's a busy modern business city and looks like any major American city center, skyscrapers and all. Come to find out, this is exactly what makes the city appealing to many of our European friends.  Frankfurt happens to be a short train ride away and we will save around 15% on our airfare by starting our journey there instead of Zürich.


New York
NYC is an American icon.  The biggest problem here is figuring out how much we can see in a week without over doing it.  Of course there are the classics to start with - Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, the Guggenheim, Broadway, and more. Then there is the food, the nightlife, the clubs, the cocktails, the shows, the history, the architecture...  It is going to be a crazy busy week, for sure.


Delaware
One word: dogfishhead.

For those who know us, we will finally fulfill a beer dream and visit the Rehoboth Beach brewpub where it all began.  We may even consider a brewery tour though we've taken plenty of those over the years, maybe we will just skip to the beer tasting at the end.


Peru (Lima and Cuzco)
Even though I was never terribly fond of social studies, I remember first learning about Peru while in Jr. High.   Who wouldn't remember the names of places like Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca?  In addition to the fun names, Peru is still so incredibly different from anything I have seen while traveling and living in Europe.  This will be our first visit to South America.


Colorado (Boulder and Denver)
There is always a business trip on the horizon.  Boulder is one of those places we will likely visit for work about once every two years.  As luck would have it, it's the right time of the year to catch the Great American Beer Festival.


Phoenix
Though it may no longer be our home, there are still plenty of people and places that we love in Phoenix. We decided to pop by for an extended weekend to say hello to friends and family and visit a few of our favorite places while our travel companion participates in the annual AZ Treasure Hunt.


Oahu
When given the choice of layover place it didn't take long to settle on Oahu to visit a good friend we haven't seen in about 4 years.  Plus, who doesn't love Hawaii?


New Zealand (Auckland and somewhere on the south island)
Our travel companion visited last year and has recommended it for it's natural beauty and accessibility to extreme outdoor sports.  It is likely we will spend a decent amount of time relaxing on the beach and catching up on our naps between adventures.  We chose Auckland for visiting a friend who used to live in Zürich.


Australia (Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef)
The eclipse is the motivating factor for the entire trip.  The only inhabited place that the eclipse can be seen in totality is about 30km north of Cairns. Cairns and Queensland are also the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.  I don't have a 'bucket list' per se but I do have an idea of amazing experiences I'd like to have and diving the GBR is definitely high on the list.


Tokyo
It fits our qualification for 'somewhere in Asia'.  We didn't want to duplicate our companions trip from last year so opted out of Korea, "One Night in Bangkok" sounded exhausting, China offered too many choices.  Since this is mostly new territory for us, we decided on a place were we would have a potential tour guide.  Now if our friend in Japan will just check his email...


Home
The best place to end any vacation!  Our original goal was to be home in time to toss a huge Thanksgiving celebration with our friends but it looks like we will be missing by just a couple of days.  After 9 weeks away home will be a welcome sight but I still feel like we could fit just one more place in before returning to Zürich.

Evolution

"I will see the world this year, I will feel it's size and see amazing things." 31 December 2011

I'm not exactly sure when the plan changed from 'see the eclipse' to 'see the world' but I wrote the above in my new years eve review this past year.

When the idea started morphing into something larger than an already amazing one month in Australia, I envisioned this grand trip crossing every continent and visiting remote islands to see every place I had ever imagined I might visit. When we started to put ideas on paper we had this incredible list of possibilities - Reykjavik, Freetown, Galapagos, Tahiti, Easter Island, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangkok, Lebanon, and on and on... We filled in dates of events, homes of friends, strange sights that we might not otherwise see.

We made a map called "Around the world in two months or less" and put all of our potential spots on it. We filled in the gaps on the map until we broke our path into 4 to 6 hour flight segments around the planet. We ended up with this beautiful dotted tour covering the entire map full of possibilities and at least a years worth of travel.

The map sat for a couple of months. I daydreamed, browsed travel guides, and searched websites for interesting tips. I envisioned this amazing journey to tiny out-of-the-way places for weeks before we sat down with our friend to talk in more detail. We chatted about the limitations of an around the world ticket, how many flight segments we would have, how many miles were allowed in each tier, how much time we could really spend away from our responsibilities, and exactly how much this would end up costing.

In the end, practicality began to win out. We each chose 3 locations that we would like to see and proceeded with planning on a much smaller and more realistic scale. Our next challenge would be which airline alliance to go with since there is more than one from which to choose. More procrastination, more indecisiveness, and more restrictions continued to mold our trip into something new.

The reality of mapping a journey with multiple destinations becomes quite challenging for many reasons. From point A to point B there can be multiple changes and layovers eating up both time and flight segments. The worst situations are when 'you can't get there from here'. With each alliance you can only stop in cities that are serviced by that alliance. This meant that getting places like Tahiti or the Galapagos were impossible on the same trip as heading to Australia by way of New Zealand.

We played with a few different itineraries and possibilities before deciding to go with Star Alliance. For me, it was the front runner for the final bump up to frequent flyer status. Fortunately, it also happened to have all of the places we had currently settled on.

The evolution of the plan went from 'some day see a solar eclipse', to 'this year a month in Australia for a solar eclipse', to 'fantasy trip of the lifetime around the world journey of amazingness', to the current (and final?) pragmatic yet still decadent 9 weeks, 5 continents, lots of friends, a little bit of work, a festival, a treasure hunt, an eclipse, and still the trip of a lifetime!
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Plan your dream vacation around the world using the Star Alliance trip building tool.

Click on "Book your around the world trip now" near the bottom of the page to create and save an itinerary.

Inception

The idea for our journey began with a long held desire to see a total solar eclipse. I once heard a story describing the shadow of the moon rushing across the plains towards those sitting on top of a mountain awaiting totality of an eclipse. From that point I knew I needed to see this in person. I had already wanted to see a total solar eclipse in my lifetime but this changed my dream to not just any place, but on the top of the tallest thing I could find to witness not only the eclipse but the all-encompassing shadow running towards you from miles away.

A couple of years ago I decided to start fleshing out details for my list of natural phenomenon that I would like to see in my lifetime. On the list were things like the Aurora Borealis, Catatumbo Lightening, mass migration of animals and insects, and of course - a solar eclipse. The next upcoming total eclipse was only visible from remote places in the South Pacific and South America. We looked at the possibility of getting to Easter Island to view the eclipse in its totality but flights were both ridiculously expensive and extremely limited for weeks surrounding the event.

With that trip seeming quite cost and location prohibitive, we set our sights on the next opportunity - 13 Nov 2012. This one would be visible from Australia and we figured, with so many airport choices, getting to the continent would be much easier and hopefully more affordable. So, two and a half years ago, we tossed the idea around to some friends, marked the date our calendar, and made plans to discuss it further a year before the event.

One of our friends and coworkers decided to join the plan right from the beginning. In the summer of 2011 we decided we would need to make hotel reservations as soon as possible and choose more exact dates that we would head to and from Australia. With the possibility to work at a local office, we decided maybe 3 weeks to a month would make the day-long flight worth while. We set our now proposed month-long visit to Australia on the back burner for another 6 months.

Earlier this year, we started to look at the details a bit closer. Busy schedules kept us from getting far at first but one thing I did know is I was not looking forward to the flight. We would be flying half way around the world in a single shot and it would make for one very long and miserable travel day for an aviophobic. It was when we thought of it that way - half way around the world - that the trip started to evolve.

Our friend had purchased an 'around the world' ticket for a journey last year. It was more like a business trip with a couple of fun stops added in before heading home but the ticket itself was an inspiring idea. You can purchase a single ticket good for hopping across the planet in the direction of your choice. You have one year and a set number of milage and flight connections to make the journey. Instead of heading to Australia and back, we decided we would head west from Zürich until we arrive back home.
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Learn more -

Dates and locations of past and future solar eclipses:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html

Different types of eclipses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

Aviophobia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_flying

Catatumbo Lightening:
Images and History

Aurora Borealis:
Images

Animal migration:
Crabs, Butterflies, Turtles