another post of pictures!

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting (again) but hopefully you'll enjoy these pictures from the last month or so...


here were out couchsurfing friends (and Russell)from Melun (in France), Jerome and Annick. They were so kind to let us stay on their couch for 3 nights! Couch surfing is a great way to get around!





And while we're talking about helpful people in France, this is a picture of Bob and Corey, the owners of the lavender farm where we worked in Normandy. Work Away is another great way to travel around!!





After France, you'll remember, we took a loooooong trip down the Italian coast to Capri. There we spent time with family,




more family,





and our friends, Josh and Chrisinda! This picture was taken on a hike around the side of the island, on the ocean the entire way, up and down cliffs, beautiful!!





and Josh and Russell had fun boy time climbing rocks and jumping from them.





After a quick stop in Zurich (just long enough to let us know that even with a better exchange rate, it was still way way too expensive for us),




(in Zurich in front of the cathedral)


we made our way over the Bodensee to Langenargen to meet Andi's sweet sweet parents who have helped us out so much this trip,





and Mr. and Mrs. Gonner, neighbors who have also been a huge help, showing us around, driving us around, and checking on us now and then.





Germany has been great so far, here is us on our bikes that we have loved so much and the apple fields that we keep talking about (but picture this hundreds of times over)







and a few other pictures from the Bodensee area of Germany...



-all of the churches in the area had up harvest displays at the altar, full of fruits, vegetables, plants, flowers, grains, etc etc....very neat to see all of the different takes on it, and very colorful. This one is from Tettnang, where one of the main crops is hops, so you can see the hops and the beer in this display.




yes. it is this cold. and I love it.






One of the many beautiful sunsets over the lake.





Langenargen. One of our favorite pictures thus far.


This is one of Russell's sunset pictures...another favorite of the trip.



and one more picture from the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. Just to remind you how big they actually are...those little dots up on the cliffs? Yeah..those are people.

Thanks again for reading and keeping up with us over here! We miss you all, and it is nice to feel like we're not forgotten even though we've been gone for quite some time :)
More soon,
Maria and Russell

Food and other fun things

Happy 30th post everybody!!
If you've been reading from the beginning, thanks for sticking with us even though sometimes we go for a while without a post.

Anyway! I'll update you on Langenargen quickly....
First, there is snow!!!! Welllll not here, but we can see it covering the Austrian alps! How bout that? Walk out your front door and see snow covered jagged peaks in another country! They are beautiful lit up by the sun behind the lake. Really stunning.
Second, bike riding through endless apple fields (the smell is amazing) then coming home to fresh, hot, local apple cider is a great experience. It is apple season here on the Bodensee and we are enjoying every bit of it. A 5 lb bag of local apples from a roadside stand is only €2. They are some of the best apples I've eaten. Period.

All this talk about apples remindsme that I've been meaning to write about the food we've eaten on this trip. Not only the food we've eaten at restaurants, or in other peoples houses, but the food we have made ourselves. If you know me at all, you know I love to cook and that Russell and I both enjoy good food. With such a limited budget, sometimes it is hard, but I would rather miss museum or two in order to eat a little better. Many many times on this trip we have come up with a grocery budget to stick to for 3 days or a week...whatever...But always the budget is as small as I can make it. As a cook, it is a fun challenge. As a young couple, it is always an important lesson in using every penny as well as we can and stretching every dollar (excuse me, euro) as far as we can. And stretch we have!! I have been super proud to have made 2 or 3 meals a day for 3 or 4 days for £10! And this is without a pantry full of staple ingredients like flour, oil, etc. We have been lucky with some hostels offering a 'free' box of things left from others. The box is always fun to look through and has even given us a complete meal or two!! It contains things from soy sauce to carrots (in the fridge) to garlic butter, olive oil (yay!!!), flour, pasta, coffee, carrot cake to things like half eaten chocolate bars and nearly empty, open boxes of cornflakes.
Mostly though, we have eaten from supermarkets. This is the first thing (after a place to stay) that we look for in a town. And we aren't eating ham sandwiches every meal, either! On this trip we have eaten all sorts of wonderful( and.some mediocre) kitchen creations! For example:
Pumpkin risotto (all sorts of risotto, actually... It is great)
Quiches of all flavors
La crique (French bubble and squeak)
Beef stew (oh yeah...I've eaten quite a bit of meat on this trip)
All sorts of pastas
Zucchini parmesan
Eggplant Parmesan
Chicken salad
Salad with lemon and potatoes (yummmm!!!)
Caprese salad
Stuffed mushrooms
Pumpkin soup
Endive soup
Potato soup
Pancakes
Omelets
Bacon, biscuts and gravy
Roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans
Coronation chicken salad
Oatmeal
Sweet oakcakes
Savory oatcakes
Rarebit with roasted broccoli
Cheese fondue
Tarte tartin
Stuffed shells
Dutch butter bar cookies
Beer braised brats with german fried potatoes and sweet and sour red cabbage and apples
French toast

And that is only the beginning! So no, it isn't gourmet or fancy, but it is good and like all of our trip, handmade! This has been such a super saver on the trip. Having a kitchen. In places that you stay is key. Eating out is nice, but can put a strain on the budget. Thanks to generous people and family and every now and then a night out, we've been able to eat many things we wouldn't have otherwise!
The key to cooking in another country for cheap is buying what you know will be good in that area!
For instance, in England and Scotland and Ireland, oats were really really cheap, good and versatile!(hence all the oatcakes above,..)
Other things were good and cheap there too! Potatoes, fruit, and hummus!!! Really good, cheap hummus! And eating out? Amazing Indian food.
In France, Brie and camembert were fabulous and nearly a quarter the price you would find them in the states!
So we ate a lot of cheese! :) and fruits and veggies that were so fresh and wonderful
In Italy? Pastas of beautiful shapes and sizes, Mozzarella, parmesan, and tomatoes!!
In Germany, apples (of course!), brats, potatoes,and other german yummies
Of course, fruits and veggies and bread from the local stores are always cheap and amazing.
While groceries tend to be on the cheaper side here in general, there are a few exceptions. In St. Tropez, for instance, we decided to have a taco night (remember taco night when you were little?) so we found a store that had taco kits! $2 tops in the states. This one (remember, shells, sauce, and an envelope of seasoning) was €6 or around $8 (and you wonder where our money goes?!)
We got it anyway and had really good tacos!
And don't try to get peanut butter anywhere! A tiny container will cost you an arm
And a leg!

So as I finish this blog, I encourage you to stay in instead of going out! Make your meal tonight. With what you have! Take a look in your own 'free food' box or at the vendor down the road and put together your own travel inspired menus and meals! Take a look above for some easy suggestions! Write for recipes or to tell us about the yummy things you've made!

We can't wait to hear from you! We always love to read your comments! :)

Maria and Russell

Ode to a bicycle

A bicycle. It is amazingly simple. I never thought I would see the day again when I would get overly excied about riding a bicycle. But there have definately been these days (sunny days preferred) for Maria and I over the past week. Bodensee is a huge lake. Europe's third largest. Looming on the shores opposite us are Austria and Switzerland, the giant alps launching upward behind the small towns. Maria and I bounce around almost daily on 3 or 4 hour bike rides. We've both surprised ourselves as we had forgotten how efficient and effective bike riding truly is. We'll step off our noble steeds after an hour of riding only to discover we've gone 15 kilometers. It is fantastically easy and enjoyable, and we both feel sort of like kids again, playing around, killing time, and riding bikes. I even attempt riding a 'wheely' from time to time, but I've sadly come to realize that while one may never forget how to ride a bike, one can certainly forget how to ride an impressive wheely. I used to look smooth and polished while leaning backwards, wooing the ladies as I careened my bike forward, balancing on the rear wheel. Now I fear it looks like I'm wrestling a cow to the ground as I never quite acheive lift off with my front wheel. No worries though, it is enough for us to ride along trails, across bridges and through the never ending apple orchards of southern germany. It is truly a bit of paradise. When I reference a map, I notice that in perspective, we haven't explored much of Germany at all, just a tiny section. But on our bikes, I feel like we've discovered a hidden country along an immense lake, full of perfect little towns with brick pavers for downtown streets and beautifully colored tiles that adorn the tops of old churches and even fire stations. These towns are every few kilometers or so, stretched along the banks, all accesible on our bicycles, a few pedals away. It helps that the paths are completely geared towards cyclists, making navigation easy and safety a near guarantee (provided you don't endanger yourself trying to attempt a wheely).
A few days ago, one of our friendly neighbors offered to take us to a nearby town where we could spend the day walking around. It was a rainy morning, and he gave us the option of staying in the apartment or going along with him and his wife. As Maria weighed out weather to stay or go because of the rain, Mr.Gonner reminded us that 'there is no bad weather, only bad clothing'. I loved that quote, it may be my favorite of the trip. One other favorite quote came from our second day here. We were talking with Ute (another friendly neighbor) about how beautiful the sunset had been the prior evening. Ute said "we're only given a sunset like that once a year. If it happened every night, people wouldn't see it anymore."

A handmade holiday with Russell and Maria

Ah Germany...even sweeter when it took so much to arrive.
In all, our trip consisted of this:
A walk from our perfect little apartment in capri to the port (last Italian gelato of the trip in hand)
A (much nicer) boat ride from Capri to Naples
A walk from the port in Naples to the train station (walking? You ask?- yes...we're running out of money, remember?)
A long wait in the train station pretending to eat mcdonalds food so we could sit in their chairs...
A train ride up nearly the length of Italy from Naples to Milan. Overnight in a 4 person 'couchette' with two guys
A train ride from fashionable Milan to Zurich
A walk around Zurich and a grocery store lunch for a lot of money
A train ride from expensive Zurich to Romanshorn (I had no idea where either, don't worry) through beautiful Swiss alps
A ferry ride with some friendly german newlyweds across Bodensee to Friedrichshafen
A train ride on a tiny train from Friedrichshafen to Langenargen
A short car ride (with supermarket detour) with our friend Andi's mom to our apartment here!
Total? 29 hours of travel. Wow.

So! Now we are here enjoying the beautiful fall weather, the lake, the cute cute towns around the giant lake (central europe's third largest), and riding our bikes to the towns and to the apple festival we attended today!
Now, you might ask "they keep talking about 'no money, no money' so how are they doing things and having so much fun?!" well!! We are the masters of improvisation and creativity is how! We have created everything that we need with what we have or what at can buy at the grocery store for cheap!
For instance...
We don't have a tv here, but we watched a movie on my iPod tonight on YouTube with Internet 'borrowed' from some sweet person nearby who doesn't lock their Internet!
We are missing the storytelling festival back home, but have no fear! We created our own here (again) with youtubed storytellers. We opened the window for the outdoor effect, bundled up in a blanket, and listened and laughed all night!
No radio either... Solution? Radio application on iPod hooked up to speaker on portable DVDplayer and podcasts!! Now we can listen to all the car talk, wait wait don't tell me, and weekend edition that we want!!
This has happened all through the trip!
Tours at museums and churches? Who needs em? We researched things ourselves, copied them down and read them at the appropriate location!
We've made cheap as dirt restaurant quality food, picnics, music, art, travel guides, made our own games, everything!
We even made our own Oktoberfest! We decided that it would cost too much to get to Munich and stay there and get back. So we made decorations, played music, created an Oktoberfest game (with buckets and shower curtain rings) and laughed our faces off. I made german food for the occasion: brats in rolls with grainy mustard, sweet and sour red cabbage with apples, german fried potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and chewy sour cherry black forest oat bars! And get this... The entire meal, everything, came out to €3. total. That is it! Yipee!
So as I leave you on this chilly german night, I say 'who needs to buy it?' who needs premade, preassembled, preplanned fun? We have more fun making our own trip, we laugh harder and enjoy it more when we create it ourselves. Handmade fun, handmade food, handmade trip, handmade love on a handmade honeymoon. And you can't get more perfect than that. (that isn't to say we don't enjoy a good night out every now and then though....) ;)