Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, Empire, Michigan

 When I was ten years old my Grandpa and Grandma took me to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Empire, Michigan. Their ability to find interesting places (even nearby) was astounding considering they didn't have the internet. They were epic travelers in the last stage of life. They went to Peru, Cairo, Japan, and even Australia. Their propensity to travel has fueled my love of it. So last week when I was lamenting my "Staycation" and basically just feeling sorry for myself for having "no where to go" I thought about this lovely place and the wonderful memory I had of my grandparents.

The drive was 2 1/2 hours. So it was a very long day trip. Upon arrival in Empire there were signs, but it almost seemed like you had to walk to the dunes. You don't. I didn't remember walking to them, nonetheless I needed the exercise and I wanted a walk, so I stopped along on of the trails and went on my way. There were signs to the dune climbs and it was a walk of about 2 miles. As I traveled along the trail I periodically stopped to fly my drone in the air and take beautiful pictures of the Michigan Skyline.

When I got close enough I could see the dunes and the parking area. I was sure there was a parking area and if I had driven far enough I could have just parked, but as I said, the walk was good for me. The woods were calming and I needed some peace. Michigan woods are the best place to find peace. 



When I got to the dunes I flew the drone as high as it could go and looked around the top of it. As I was flying it, I climbed. In a world of social distancing it was a great place to be. There were people on the dunes (not as many as I remembered when I was 10-) but there was lots of space and no one was anywhere near each other.  The sun beat down on the hot sand and I continued to climb until I came to the top. I discovered, 30 years later, the walk was not as easy, but it was just as satisfying. It was also more fun to run back down. 

Austria: Land of a Thousand Pastries

On our jaunt around Europe we stopped in Vienna. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I thought "Music, Culture" sure lots of great composers were from and lived in Vienna. The name also conjures up a desert we used to have in the 80's with some crunchy ice cream- but I'm sure it's just a phonetic similarity.


Anyway- It was not at all how I was expecting. (I don't know how I could expect much because I didn't even know they spoke German) To me, Vienna is like France and Germany got married, Italy catered and they had a baby made of Swiss chocolate. Hopefully it's not offensive to anyone in Austria, but it's a beautiful fusion of culture and it really does create it's own unique place. I loved it. Everything I saw reminded me of something and touched me in a completely new way. The streets were old and cobbled, the people were distant, but accommodating, and the food, honestly, the food was mostly Italian. The wieners were delicious and the pastries were unbeatable. Every where we turned there were delicious pastries and cakes, followed quickly by amazing coffees. It was so European and it was so wonderful.




We saw palaces and we even went into a shopping district where we found really old buildings that had been converted into shops. Everything was lovely, even the tour of the plague pits. We went on a tour of St. Stephen's Cathedral, famous for its plague pits. This old Catholic church is the resting place of Habsburg's family organs. Yes, organs. There were sealed barrels in the basement containing the remains of the families of this Austrian nobility. It also houses plague pits and many of the former clergy. The tour was given in German and English, but only because there were two people (My sister and I) who only spoke English. Vienna has seen 12 plagues over the centuries (I don't know if our current situation counts as 13...) and the problem of where to put the bodies was solved by using pits under the church.

We also found a concert. Vienna is full of concerts. Having been the home to so many famous composers the city seems to pride itself on all the musical talent it has living in the area. The concert we found was in a church and it was beautiful. Small seating, probably only 100 people and it was a string Quartet. The entire church was golden and amazing. We were lucky to find such a place.

Even the McDonald's is fancy here. 

We also found the "Butterfly House". Its a botanical garden filled with butterflies. I think it runs year round. The air was warm and there were butterflies everywhere.

Someday I hope to return. It is an amazing place with more to explore.

The shopping district 

Prague, capital of the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic (Czechia) used to be part of a bigger country, Czecholovokia. Then they quietly spilt into two countries, Czechia and Slovokia. Prague is a jewel. It is the capital of the Czechia and the city of a thousand spires. It is nicknamed this because of all the spires on all the buildings and cathedrals. Just walking around was amazing. There were a thousand things to see and I feel like I barely scratched the surface.


The most delicious thing we found in Prague were these funnel cakes filled with ice cream. The entire city was like one giant carnival surrounded by cathedrals and gothic architecture. (Seriously people were walking around with the ice cream funnel cakes, corn cobs, and other delicious looking carnival-ish treats.)




The alchemist, the hotel we stayed in, was amazing and in the center of a great deal of the older architecture. We were able to walk to the giant astronomical clock, which is an amazing site. It is the oldest working astronomical clock in the world and has a great story behind it. Anyone who tries to fix it or change it goes mad or dies. So no one has done any work on it in a very long time, but if it's not broke why fix it?



Crossing bridges and walking down ancient footpaths we found our way easily. The cobble stones are not the most gentle on feet and my calves were feeling the punishment for days. It's probably a good way to lose weight and tone up if it weren't for all the ice cream/funnel cake stops. The natural landscape is very hilly and there were a lot of inclines on top of all the cobble stones. It is not a good place for bad footwear.


We had dinner one night in a tavern. It was actually built inside the rock, like a cave, (More like a cavern than a tavern... haha) During dinner this establishment put on a show, medieval fighting (with swords, axes, maces), a belly dancer, and a very talented juggler/comedian who could do amazing things with fire. It was exciting and the food was really great.


We also went to the top of a really tall tower. We had to walk up really crazy spiral staircase, (it was like 200 steps). The view was completely worth it. We wandered into Cathedrals and castle. The artwork, woodwork, and stained glass was breath taking.

There were a million things to do and we didn't even get time to see the new buildings. There is an entire city life we didn't even get to touch. We weren't there as long as we would've like to be, but just being there at all was amazing and a check off my bucket list.

Where we went and stayed:

http://www.alchymisthotel.com/en/home.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_astronomical_clock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bridge

http://www.krcmabrabant.cz/