Woman of Steele

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Salt Lake City ➡ Amsterdam ➡ Warsaw ➡ Lviv ➡ Vienna ➡ Warsaw ➡ Amsterdam ➡ Salt Lake City

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Well, the entire trip started out with the craziest fiasco ever, so hopefully that tells you what an exciting trip it was! Monday, we left for the airport and checked our bags at the carside bag check, and headed inside to print out our boarding passes.... only to find out my dad's passport expired in less than 90 days! Thank you, EU, for having the dumbest rule ever that passports have to be valid for 90 days before entering the country, or they won't let you enter. After getting a flat tire on the way home, having his passport expedited, and delaying our trip (twice), we were able to set out for Europe on Friday afternoon!

First class... can I just say? Amazing. First class international? I felt like a freaking celebrity. It was glorious. They fed us. They let us watch free movies. Seats that roll into a bed? Yes, please.

We spent the night in Warsaw, Poland, and had the entire morning to do a little bit of exploring in Łazienki Park before we left for Lviv, Ukraine. What an amazing city! Despite the tension in the eastern part, Lviv was extraordinary and beautiful. There were churches everywhere, tiny narrow streets that made driving a nightmare, historic statues and cathedrals and everything was crazy cheap (One Ukrainian hryvnia was worth $0.045 in the US). We stayed in the Eurohotel across the street from a gorgeous church and just a half mile from the city center.

We also got to eat at a restaurant called "Meat and Justice". Not kidding! It was SO good. Just platters of meat. Oh, we about died. So so so good.

The competition in Lviv went well, and everyone was so welcoming to the US team! Our S5 team ended up placing 4th in that particular event, and we were able to see old friends and prepare for next year's competition!

The reserve day was spent exploring bits of Lviv, including hiking up to the High Castle, seeing St. George's Cathedral, and checking out the Lviv cemetary. What an amazing city. I seriously loved it.

That Friday, we boarded and plane and headed through Vienna and back to Warsaw, staying at the Radisson Blu in the central part of the city.

Can I just say how excited I was to go to Poland? Our great-great-grandparents immigrated from Poland in the early 1900s and I am so extremely proud of my German-Polish history. So I was excited to visit the country of my family! This was a HUGE deal to me, and a HUGE dream of mine! And it did NOT disappoint!

Saturday, we went to explore Warsaw Old Town, which was mostly destroyed during WWII, but the Poles rebuilt the city to look identical to what it had formerly been. What an amazing (and colorful) area! I could have stayed there forever. We followed a free tour guide around, who spoke amazing English, and who took us all around Old Town and explained the buildings and history of the area. He was so cool! We ate at a local restaurant, and I had the most delicious pierogi with strawberries. And then we had Hard Rock Cafe for dinner! Hooray for American food, though. At least they give you a full glass of soda instead of like 1/4L.

Guys, I love Polish food. So much.

Sunday, we had the opportunity to go visit Wilańow Palace and Gardens. They call it the "Versailles of Poland" and it was spectacular. It was really neat to be able to go through the palace and look at all the paintings and trinkets and bedrooms and learn about the history of some of the Polish royalty. The gardens were absolutely stunning as we walked through them.

Monday was our last day in Warsaw, and we didn't waste a second! We spent the morning visiting the Warsaw Uprising museum, just a mile from our hotel (and I saw the missionaries!!!!!). The museum portrays the history of Warsaw rebelling against Soviet/German occupation during WWII and was so interesting. There was even a 3D theater where we could watch a video of what Poland looked like after it had been bombed and destroyed, as well as a large theater where we could watch actual footage and see photographs taken during the war. It was so interesting, and so amazing to see how strong and hardy the Poles are, and makes me so proud that that's in my blood.

After the Warsaw Uprising museum, we headed to Praski Park, where we visited St. Florian's cathedral, walked through the park, and saw the three bears that live on the concrete island within the park itself. Did a little bit more shopping in Old Town, and then we had dinner at the most amazing Polish restaurant just down the street from our hotel.

We had to wake up at 3:30 AM the next day to catch our flight to Amsterdam, and then head home, but luckily we were 1st class again, so it went as easily as possible. Seriously, what an amazing trip. I was so glad I was able to go this year and see all of these amazing places!

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☑ United States

☑ Mexico

☑ Germany

☑ Serbia

☑ France

☑ Slovakia

☑ Austria

☑ Netherlands

☑ Hungary

☑ Bulgaria

☑ Poland

☑ Ukraine

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Yellowstone has always been one of my family's favorite places to visit. We're what you would call "outdoorsy" and whether it's the wildlife, or the hiking, or the gorgeous views, we just can't get enough of this place. We're not your typical Yellowstone visitors either. While many tourists like to visit the "big" places, like Old Faithful and the hot springs and hot pots, we pride ourselves on our animal stalking stills. Not kidding! 5:30 AM is LATE for us to get up, because we like to be out the door and on the road by dawn. Best animal sight-seeing time, guys, I'm telling you. And we are basically pros at that. At least, that's what we tell ourselves!

If you're planning a trip to Yellowstone and want to do more than just watch Old Faithful erupt, here's my best tips for you to get the most out of your trip (and see things you can't see anywhere else!)

Get up early and get going. It's hard, but dawn and dusk are when most animals are active. Moose, elk, bison, and the harder-to-spot animals, such as black bears, grizzlies, and wolves are . You can definitely see them during the daytime- a lot of our good finds were midday- but the morning and evening hours are the absolute best. There's less people driving and/or walking around, and honestly, it's just a lot more beautiful.
Stay in the park. If you can afford it, it's worth it to stay in lodges or cabins inside the park itself. Mammoth Hot Springs has become a particular favorite for us (and it's only an hour drive out to Lamar Valley, which makes all the difference when you want to be out there by 6:30 AM!)
Don't spend all your time at tourist traps. Yeah, Old Faithful is awesome and it's really cool, but if you stick around to watch it twelve times, you'll be lucky to see anything more than a bunch of crying kids. Go beyond those, find more off-the-beaten-path hiking trails, and you'll be surprised what you come across.
Be prepared. You're driving pretty fast, and sometimes you can depend on the eagle eyes of others to catch those bears before you do- but work hard and look hard, and you'll see more than you could possibly imagine.
Know safety tips. Don't go stand next to the bison and it's baby. Don't get too close to that black bear on the side of the road. Don't pet the elk. Don't be stupid. That's how you die. Because either the bear will kill you, or I will.
Be willing to stop... and wait. Watch for people with large scopes or camera lenses. Those people aren't waiting for elk to come around the corner. They're watching for grizzlies, black bears, wolves, badgers... the more evasive and harder-to-see creatures that grace the area. They'll be your best bet, and will know some of the best spots to animal-watch, because for some, it's their entire career to find and photograph these animals.
Realize that sometimes, you may be able to see harder-to-spot animals, and that it may be worth it to invest in a good scope or camera. Most people will be more than happy to share their scopes with you, but if you want nice photos or a better view of that little speck that's actually a grizzly bear, bring or rent a scope. It'll be worth it when you can see every last gray hair on that wolf resting in the willows.
Visit the northern and eastern part of the park. Most of the people tend to stay by Old Faithful and West Yellowstone. You'll have the most luck (and the best views!) by visiting the northern half of the park. Think Mammoth, Tower, Canyon (and especially Lamar and Hayden valleys). The less people- the more animals. It's worth it, trust me. Both Lamar and Hayden make bison-viewing very easy (there are literally hundreds roaming around here), but Lamar is best known for wolf sitings.
Do what you love and do what makes you happy! The point is to enjoy the park. Don't feel like you have to stick in a rut! Change your plans, change your mind, and most of all, just make sure that you have a good time. It'll all be worth it, no matter what!