Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

My parents visited us in the fall and bought their tickets well in advance to come back in the spring so they could experience the Skagit Tulip Festival. We just missed it when we moved out here last year so I was excited to experience it too. Unfortunately our plans were somewhat thwarted by Mother Nature. …

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Coffee Roastery and Museum in Hamburg

One of my favorite finds in Hamburg, Germany was the Kaffee Museum in the Warehouse District, known as Speicherstadt. Brian and I discovered it one of our first days while wandering around but it was after hours and already closed for the day. I decided to check it out after returning from a day trip one …

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Germany: Day Trip to Luneburg

We had an incredible week in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany and our final day trip to Luneburg was the perfect ending to our travels. Given we had an early flight the next morning, I didn't want to travel too far from Hamburg or return exceptionally late on our last day trip. Luneburg was perfect-- a half-hour …

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Germany: A Day in Kiel and Lubeck

While I had an incredible week exploring different towns in Schleswig-Holstein during my solo day-trips around the region, I was excited for Friday. Brian's work conference was over, and instead of using the day to travel home, we used it as one of two days to explore the region together. I had mapped out the different …

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Germany: Day Trip to Lubeck

As I researched things to do in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany in preparation for our trip, the city of Lubeck seemingly always topped the lists of 'top places to see' and 'the best day trips from Hamburg.' Only a 45-minute train ride from Hamburg, this city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987-- the first time …

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Germany: Day Trip to Bremen

After an awesome day exploring Schwerin, Germany, I was more than ready for my second solo day trip from Hamburg-- this time to Bremen. I took the metro to the main train station and grabbed a cappuccino and chocolate muffin again prior to boarding. As part of my preparation for our trip to Hamburg I …

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Germany: Castles and Cathedrals of Schwerin

We spent our initial days in Hamburg exploring the harbor area, visiting museums and enjoying the outdoors, but on Tuesday reality set in and Brian had to go to work, e.g. attend his work conference. While he headed toward the convention center, I headed toward the train station for my first day-trip to Schwerin, Germany. I've …

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