Sardinia

4th.  of.  July.

No fireworks, but we spent the 4th of July holiday in sunny Southern Sardinia.  We rented a car at the airport and drove to the resort, which took about 45 minutes (I didn't navigate very well and got us off track a few times....).  The resort itself was pretty isolated (we did half board with brekkie and dinner), but the beach was more crowded and lively.  It was a nice long, white sandy beach!  We enjoyed walking along the beach, which provided good people-watching as well as exercise - work those calves!

Didn't do a whole lot other than relax, read, swim and eat (rinse and repeat the next day)!  There were a lot of Italian families on holiday.  We were definitely in the minority - no kids and the only Americans!

One day we went exploring, driving along the rugged coastline over to Villasimius and the surrounding areas.  The landscape, turquoise water and abundance of little coves was quite stunning!

On our way back to the airport, we stopped in the main town, Cagliari, for lunch.  We didn't have a lot of time, but were able to snap a few photos of the pretty architecture in the old town area.

Düsseldorf & Köln

Altbier. Kölsch. Cathedral.

Cheap tickets on EasyJet took us to Düsseldorf & Köln for the summer solstice.  Located about 500km downriver on the Rhine, Düsseldorf is Germany's wealthiest city (the only city in Germany not currently in debt) and is known for fashion (the Königsallee is Germany's busiest upscale shopping street) and partying (the old town has the "longest bar in the world" - home to more than 300 bars).  We arrived late Friday night and the streets of the old town were filled with people enjoying the summer night and the city's famous Altbier (served out of small wood barrels).  Very crowded and we saw a *lot* of stag parties!

On Saturday it didn't take us long to explore the city (it's pretty small).  After walking through the old town in daylight and enjoying a pastry & coffee, we walked along the Rhine past the Rheinturm (a large communication town) to the harbor, recently renovated with cutting edge architecture.

 

We spent the afternoon window shopping along the Königsallee, enjoying the mix of high end shops and more reasonably priced options.  Kate managed to find a casual dress from a Japanese store called Muji, shrink wrapped into the size of a large ring box!

To celebrate the solstice the city set up the "longest table" along the Rhine, a continuous table spanning multiple city blocks with food and drink vendors lining one side.  It was nice to sit along the river eating good food and enjoying cool drinks.  Wish it was warmer, but at least it didn't rain.  (STILL waiting for summer over here!)

On Sunday we took the train to Köln, about 30 minutes from Düsseldorf.  Known mainly for its cathedral (the most visited landmark in Germany), the old town feels a bit more modern than Düsseldorf (95% of the city center was destroyed during WWII). 

Köln & Düsseldorf have a fierce rivalry, with each city producing their own style of beer (the darker Altbier from Düsseldorf and the lighter Kölsch from Köln). We tried both, and keeping with our Swiss residency we have decided to stay neutral on which one we like best - they are both good!

Altbier

Kölsch

Overall not one of our most exciting weekend getaways, but still an enjoyable time.

Liechtenstein

Summer finally arrived in Basel this past weekend so we decided to do some hiking and visit a new country at the same time.  Liechtenstein is about 2 hours Southeast from Basel, and while an independent country it feels like a part of Switzerland (they use the Swiss Franc and there is only a small sign indicating you are entering the country - no formal border crossing).  The country is only ~15 miles long by ~4 miles wide, bordered by the Rhine on the West and the Alps on the East.  Matt found a hike that started up in the Alps and then continued to go upwards to the top of a ridge.  On our drive up through multiple switchbacks we passed lots of cute chalets, all extremely well maintained (a Swiss colleague of Matt's even made the comment about how well maintained Liechtenstein is, even compared to Switzerland).  As is typical in Switzerland there are cows (with bells) all over the mountain fields providing a pleasant "tinkling" soundtrack to our hike.  At the top there were beautiful views of the small towns below and the snow capped peaks of the Austrian and Swiss Alps.

Kate or Heidi?

On the way home we drove down the main strip through the country to view the famous Liechtenstein castle (where the ruling monarchy still lives).  Other than lots of banks and a small pedestrian area there isn't much to see... oh well, we can check another country off our list.

Art Basel

Art Basel was in town this past week so we decided to see what all the excitement is about and attended the show Saturday afternoon.  Art Basel is the world's premier international art show for modern and contemporary works, featuring around 300 leading galleries from around the world displaying works from over 4,000 artists (some established, some up-and-coming).  The show is held in the Basel convention center and includes an area for "over sized" works (our favorite space) as well as booths for all the different galleries.  Overall we enjoyed the show, even if we didn't quite "get" all the pieces.  
 

Best name of a piece of art at the show!