August 19, 2012

"Travel is Broadening"

I am not the first person to note that this cliche can be true both figuratively and literally. My mind, and waist-line, are expanding as we speak!



Gosh, I wonder what's up with my mysteriously shrinking jeans?

So we're about two thirds of the way through the Great House Swapping Adventure of 2012, and, as I feared, I still seem to have no ability to blog away from home.

There are some good reasons for this (internet access issues, having too much fun doing things) but also I've been struck by my usual travel-induced web paralysis. Strangely enough, this condition does not prevent me from surfing aimlessly or reading email. Yet I can't seem to get it together to respond to anything, or even find my Twitter and Facebook passwords. And as to blogging? Yikes, suddenly it's way too hard! Too much to say, but none of it seems to cohere into any sort of theme, let alone one related to health and fitness.

However, since many of you... er, several of you... um, well ok, two of you have said "at least post some pictures fer chrissakes you lazy crab" (not an exact quote), it seemed time to suck it up and throw some crap up here. Also, there's a guest post coming up and I wanted to at least pop in once before turning over the reins again.

So what follows are some highlights and lowlights of our adventures, complete with obligatory photos.

Because gosh, viewing other people's travel photos is as fascinating as hearing them describe their medical ailments! Or that funny dream they had last night with the Russian mafia and Lady GaGa and the stolen Mercedes that kept changing into a pink tricycle. So, um, enjoy!


Europe So Far...

First up, here are our German hosts Ute and Christina, who not only drove hours and hours to pick us up from the airport, but took us sightseeing in Prauge, Dresden, Potsdam, and Berlin. Plus they fed us, housed us, and spoke German (very handy at restaurants, especially if you don't want to accidentally order pigs feet or something). Oh and they just happened to be two of the most fun and funny traveling companions we could have asked for.




You would never guess Ute's profession from her liberal sense of humor and propensity to swear like a drunken sailor (one of the things we have in common). But Ute is a pastor who has congregations in several adorable German villages. These villages are set among scenic forests and lakes and somehow have not been f-cked with throughout the centuries, so to call them "quaint" is a vast understatement. 

Alas, no pictures quite captured her village, but here's the interior of her home church (where she presumably does not swear quite so much).  And let's just use this as a stand-in for the 8 million other pictures of church interiors and exteriors we took, ok, even if some of the others were perhaps on a grander scale?  It turns out there are a lot of churches in Europe!



What about jet lag, you may ask?

Well, while some days we felt quite perky,


other days, not so much.  Jet lag, I've learned, makes for some really flattering travel photos.


It was very difficult not to nod off when in any moving vehicle. Which was fine if we were driving back home after seeing some lovely sight, but not so ideal for tour buses and boats etc.


(And yeah, so technically beer may not be the recommended treatment for daytime sleepiness.)  Anyway, our German friends now probably think all Americans are lumbering, bumbling low-energy creatures prone to napping at every pause in the conversation.


So everywhere we go there seems to be some grand cathedral or picturesque canal or castle or palace or something.  







But I'll just stick with those few examples, because, well, photos don't really capture the feeling of being surrounded by this stuff. Every twist and turn of a narrow cobblestone alleyway seems to lead to some new surprising sight, whether it's charming or awe-inspiring or just plain weird.


What, you don't get your feet nibbled on by fish as part of your personal grooming routine?

Oh, and yes, we are still adolescents who must take pictures whenever we see the word "butt."



Just be grateful there aren't endless examples of "Ausfahrt" signs.

Of course, some cities like Berlin, which had the crap bombed out of it, tend more towards the modern and edgy.  In fact the whole city seemed to have a very young, vibrant and at times dissonant feel.



And sharing grafitti "art" seems to be something of a local pastime.


I have to confess, I felt a bit like an old fart there.  Plus, there's that annoying "you must pay to pee" thing.

Since arriving in Edinburgh, we've been having a blast seeing the sights, strolling the streets, going to museums (FREE! We love FREE!), checking out the Military Tattoo,


and of course, seeing a ton of great stuff at the Fringe Fest.

Our favorite so far? An Australian comedian, Hannah Gadsby. You know when you laugh so hard you are weeping and have snot dripping out of your nose and you have to rummage around quickly to find Kleenex because sitting in the first row of a stand-up comedy show in a small venue you do not want to be noticed at all, let alone for having snot coming out of your nose?

OK, so maybe you don't know.

Anyway, if you live Down Under, check her out.  If, that is, we haven't kidnapped her and stuffed her into our luggage and smuggled her home with us.
 

 Let me out, stupid Yanks!

(And yeah, you'd think that since we saw two of her shows, I could have snapped a photo of my own, but I would have felt self conscious. Please don't sue me, Hannah!)

And so let's see, what else...

Well, before we got to our lovely flat in Edinburgh (where we can shop and cook), we were eating out a bit more often than we usually do.  Fun!



Yet restaurant meals can be a bit...



pricey. (The above was supposed to be sort of a pictorial "Ka-ching." I have no idea what a Pf is.)

Besides the expense, we also seemed to be eating a lot more ice cream, beer, bread, and butter than we were used to...



Oh yeah. And cheese. Europeans? Big on cheese.

As to the health and fitness implications of all this? Well, since we've gotten to Edinburgh we've been trying a little harder to eat healthy, visit the gym, do a little hiking...


a little biking,


and a crapload of walking all over the city. The goal is not necessarily to keep up with our normal routine, but to avoid descending into such a hellhole of gluttony and sloth that it takes months to recover. So given the high bar we're setting for ourselves: so far, so good!

Next up, we'll be toodling off for some sightseeing around the countryside, and beware, there may be more photos.

And yet again, apologies for not catching up better with you all... and much gratitude for those who continue to stop by and read or comment!

How y'all doing? What am I missing out on? Having a good summer?

54 comments:

  1. What a wonderful post. It looks like you're having a blast and your photos are so lovely. I'd love to walk some of those quaint streets and eat some of that pricey food. Keep on enjoying and I look forward to more pics.

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    1. Hey thanks Hilary! I can't IMAGINE what might transpire if you were to be let loose here with your camera, you of the Awe-Inspiring photography skillz. And bet you'd have a blast.

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  2. Crabby, greater travel post. Thanks. It really gives a feel for what you're seeing and doing. More pics, please.

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  3. Hannah is gorgeousness. We love her in Australia. A regular on Gordon St 3mins50: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57MUkIwThjU

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    1. Thanks for the link Anon, am eager to check out her youtube stuff and otherwise stalk her all over the interwebs. Am jealous you're in the same continent! Why is she not world-famous yet?

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  4. For not really doing a post, this was one helluva post! Glad you are having a great time. I say enjoy the food there - it's much easier to pass on normal American stuff when you're home than to think back and say "I wish I'd had that cheesebeer crepe" or whatever gastronomic delights are tempting you!

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    1. OMG cheesebeer crepe, if such thing does not already exist someone must invent it.

      Thanks Shelley!

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  5. I was in Germany when I was 14, and so you can imagine how much tittering I did with all of the -fahrt signs I saw. Not that I would titter any less now at 38....

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    1. Oh 14 would be the perfect age for it! But sounds like we're both 14 giggly year olds at heart. Either that or just crude!

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  6. We loved your post! We also trade and love to travel in Europe as you know. Right now we are living in Umbria and the farm house we are in converted the former pig sty into the master bedroom... You would have had a lot more fun with that idea��
    Enjoy the rest of your trip and look forward to smiling and laughing through your next post!!!

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    1. Hey thanks you guys, great to hear from you and have gotten so behind on Facebook I didn't even know you were in Umbria. What a great destination!

      Hope the "converted" pig sty is comfy and that the pigs have moved on, or if not, that they are friendly pigs!

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  7. Thanks for checking in! It looks like you're having a grand old time. Great photos. And it looks like the weather is perfect. I think you have the right attitude about eating, drinking, and exercise. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. Don't worry about us. We'll be here when you get home.

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    1. Thanks Debbie, and yeah (knock wood) we have been blessed with fantastic weather wherever we've been. And glad to hear you'll still be here!

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  8. Am about to head to Italy and I am preparing for a week of pizza, pasta, and gelato. That's what happens on vacation

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    1. Excellent plan. It would be criminal to go to Italy and subsist on celery and tofu and egg whites. Have a blast!

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  9. Your waist may be expanding, but your arms look fabulous! Totally hate you for that BTW. Must be all the stein curls.

    I love a cussin and jokin' pastor and her church is incredible - lucky little parish I am thinking!

    I recognize the Amsterdam pic - Keizergracht. The Emperor's Canal. Been along that stretch many times in various states of inebriation - I mean fascination.

    Looks like you have had perfect weather and yummy food and drink and wonderful places to horse around and burn calories and make zee muscles! No wonder you haven't felt inclined to blog.

    I am so glad I am not the only one that takes pictures of snicker worthy signage.

    Love the pic with the people getting fish to pick at the feet. Hilarious. Thanks for vicarious vacationing. Aren't we having a great time?!

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    1. OK, so at first I thought you were referring to some fancy weight lifting move and then it occurred to me that "BEER stein curls" was most likely what you meant. So yep, definitely keeping up with "weight" lifting. Bigger beers = more resistance = better workout, right?

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  10. Thanks Munchberry! The nice thing about a vicarious vacation is when the credit card bills come due at the end of the month... no cardiac arrest! We, on the other hand, are flashing plastic and playing with funny foreign money that looks so cute! But we're not actually tracking exchange rates all that carefully. Fingers crossed...

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  11. I'm going to quickly de-lurk to say Pf probably = pfennig (pre-Euro German denomination of currency) and the M also seen in the picture = (Deutsch)Mark.

    And have to say before I disappear into the lurk again, you write a fab blog!

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    1. Emma, thank you!! And any time you wanna poke your head out of the lurk again, it's lovely to see you. You sound quite pleasant and well informed and the comment section would love to have you visit more often!

      (The comment section is getting rather tired of this Crabby McSlacker person mouthing off all the time, pretending that conversing with folks on her own blog is as good as the more generous (but time consuming) practice of going off and visiting other folks lovely websites. But she's lazy like that).

      Anyway, thanks for the info and the visit!

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  12. Not to worry about us!! You just have fun & enjoy such an amazing adventure!!! I am boring as all get out so you are not missing anything here from me unless you wanted to enter a Gardein vegetarian giveaway! ;-)

    If you want some more time suck - you can add Instagram to your phone & Instagram pics to all of us! :-) I LOVE THIS POST & hearing all about your travels & seeing fun pics - tired or not! Life is wonderful at times without social media - isn't it! :-)

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    1. Hey Jody!

      Well I hope anyone else reading this scurries over and enters your giveaway. I'm still enjoying the stevia stuff I won over there, thank you very much!

      And as is typical for me, I sorta signed up for instagram then promptly forgot all about it before I ever figured out how it worked, much like pinterest, klout, etc. Too many freakin' social media outlets!

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  13. Replies
    1. WE LOVE YOU TOO!

      AND IT'S FUN TO HAVE AN EXCUSE TO GO AROUND SHOUTING IN CAPITAL LETTERS!

      HUGS TO YOU AND TORNADO AND REN MAN!!

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  14. You must be having a marvelous time, and thanks for the pictures. I wouldn't worry about the jet lag too much: in that picture you look significantly better than the man behind you in the pink shirt and mirror shades, who appears to be a zombie.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. Whew, close call, he could have eaten my brains!

      Or, heck maybe he did. I just referred to Brussels as a country over on the Cranky Fitness Facebook page. But then geography has never been my strong suit. Thanks Solarity!

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  15. Oh, you are so blessed! Especially to be in Edinburgh for the Tattoo and the Fringe! Post as many pics as you like, you are bringing memories of my own travels back to me and i love it.

    Have fun!

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    1. Don't I know it! Plus the weather's been lovely. I hope the rest of my like doesn't suck to make up all the good karma I'm using up.

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  16. I'm all for blowing off blogging when you're doing something as spectacular as this! I'm blowing it off and not even doing anything...

    I'm also one who firmly believes in eating whatever I want when on vacation and especially when being presented with things you might never. see. again. Don't have any regrets, just enjoy!

    For a no posting post, this was some post!!

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    1. Awesome Helen, with your permission: WATCH OUT SCOTLAND!!!

      My ability to consume ridiculously large quantities of food is somewhat legendary.

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  17. You make me wish I could of tagged along! This post was anything but boring. You might want to think about becoming a beer-and-cheese reviewing travel health blogger :) Looking forward to the next update!

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    1. Excellent plan! Let's add chocolate and wine to that list, scrounge up a sponsor, and you could come too and handle the twitter, FB etc. Thanks Joyce!

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  18. While I understand what you mean about photos not really capturing the experience of being there, I really enjoyed seeing them so thanks for posting! I will be happy to look at more if you get a chance to post again.

    I spent an afternoon wandering around Digby, NS, with my sis and bro-in-law a few years back, due to my missing the ferry and having to wait for the next one. Walking down the street we saw a sign for a lawyer's office and the guy's last name was Outhouse and I so wanted to take a picture, but my camera battery chose that moment to die. (Apropos to the photos of 'Butt')

    I have always wanted to go to Scotland and now I want to go even more!

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    1. Outhouse, seriously?!? I so totally would have wanted to take that photo too. Evil camera battery!

      I always love your blog photos too and you are way more talented with the camera.

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  19. What a great post Crabby. It looks like the two of you are having a wonderful time. Great photos, I know how hard it is to resist taking yet another photo of a beautiful church or castle or picturesque street. The till is beautiful and I am pretty sure the Emma is correct about the Pfennig and Mark being the currency of it's time.

    Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

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    1. Thanks Reb! I always love when you share photos too and you always have an eye for architecture. The frustrating thing has been how many beautiful streets and views just don't translate into good pictures!

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  20. See now I always thought the Edinburgh Military Tattoo was a kat von d masterpiece of the Queen Mother on a giant bicep. Who knew! Wunderbar!

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    1. Too funny blogomamma! I actually had no idea what the hell it was, people just kept saying "you have to see it" so we bought tickets. Turns out it was quite fun, with military bands from a bunch of different countries. (The U.S. contingent, sadly, was the lamest of the bunch with a "Dennis the Menace" and Random Assorted Superheroes theme. But the rest were great!

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  21. So we're heading off to check out the highlands and islands and will be offline for a few days, but see how much better I'm getting at replying to comments on the blog rather than just in my head? Will be back to read and chat and very grateful for those of you who are stopping by!

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  22. Great pictures! And what a truly enjoyable post, it must be the beauty of the place you visit, you just have to stop and enjoy with foods and buddies. Cheers! mytravelfitness.com

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  23. This was so fun to read. Isn't it strange that even when you are "settled" in the new time zone it is still exhausting? I was even Germany as a teenager and I still got tired. I also believe I lived on ice cream. Enjoy. You are also walking a ton and taking it all in. I bet you are doing much better than you think.

    I remember Berlin was a huge shock to me compared to the German farming community I was living in for two weeks prior. Especially coming from the relatively not diverse and much smaller Seattle area.

    Having local tour guides as got to be the fun way to go!

    Ute sounds like a fabulous pastor and her church is amazing. :)

    Thanks for the updates.

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    1. Thanks QD! Hmm, ice cream may be the answer to all jet-lag related problems. Oh wait, is this a health and fitness blog?

      You would love Ute, and I suspect vice versa!

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  24. It looks like you and the Lobster are having SO MUCH FUN!! Well deserved, I say. Keep broadening those horizons and send us more pics.

    Are you home soon? Will be at Matunuck in RI if you're in the area and need to detox on vacation food slowly. We're planning a clam fritter omelet on day one.

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    1. Clam Fritter omelets? I have no idea what that is but it sounds fantastic! Hope we make it back in time!

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  25. Edinborough Fringe and cheese?
    Sounds fantastic :)
    Glad you popped in to show us a bit of your holiday. I'm glad you're having a great time there.
    If you can get to Arran Isle while you're in Scotland do it. It's beyond beautiful...

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    1. Didn't get to Arran, dang it, though it looks fantastic! But holy cow is there a lot of cool stuff to see. Spent some time on Mull and other gorgeous spots a long the way and... wow. Beautiful!

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  26. Dear Crabby - Ditto all those "this is a helluva post for not being a post!" comments AND enjoying those great pics!! Just know that the "paralysis" you feel is in my world simply called "relaxation while on vacation"! I think it is supposed to be that way, right???? Soak up this last week or so while you can! And. for heavens sake - cut into one of those gigantic cheese wheels!!!
    PS - Thank you, Mary Anne in Kentucky for making me not feel like I was the only one fixated on the neon shirted zombie in the background of that one photo.

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    1. Oh no. I noticed it right away too. :)

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    2. Funny, I had plenty of chances but didn't see it at all until Mary Anne pointed it out. But now I find myself somewhat haunted by that zombie dude. Hope he stays out of my nightmares, yikes!

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  27. Looks like an amazing trip. For someone who has never been, I appreciate the pics. Simply beautiful. I guess I should study some German before I go some day so I can avoid pigs feet too. Not very appetizing :)

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    1. Actually, in the bigger cities you're pretty safe--English speakers are well taken care of in Germany. Makes me embarrassed at how bad we are in the U.S. at helping those who don't speak our language. It was only the smaller towns where we were in danger of ordering Weird Stuff accidentally. Thanks Dr. Mark!

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  28. that was hilarious, crab!!! ausfahrt never made me laugh before, and i could have sat in the "butt" without realising where i had mine parked...
    i even could have bumped into you guys on the street... although me wearing ultrahip sunglasses "berlin-style" kinda makes me blind...

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    1. Was looking for you but there was so much ultra-hipness I couldn't make out individual faces. I have never felt so old, American, and unhip... but what a dynamic exciting city!

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