A Quick week in Bavaria

Anna and I made the long-awaited trip to visit her relatives in Germany.  We had a fabulous time in both Bamberg and Bayreuth.  We stayed with Aunt Johanna and Uncle Hans in Bamberg, where Anna was born. Johanna bought fresh bread every morning and served us the famous Bamberger bratwurst! We did all the tourist things: the Old City, the Rose Garden, "Little Venice", the Dom Cathedral (Emperor Heinrich II had the Cathedral constructed in 1002; and it was completed in 1012), and Altenburg Castle.

Oh, did I mention the smoked beer (the original brewery is still there - since 1405)?

Entrance to Old City:

Short video at the entrance to the old city: https://youtu.be/IO_P8BkMKLU

The Rose Garden: https://youtu.be/QDvmpTr7boI

A very brief look at "Little Venice" on the boat ride along the Regnitz river: https://youtu.be/_50TFHLn3NU

DOM Cathedral 

Slideshow inside the Dom:   http://s204.photobucket.com/user/myronfeinstein/slideshow/DOM%20CATHEDRAL%20%20Bamberg%20Germany

Anna's cousin Luvo took us to the highest point in Bamberg, the Altenburg Castle:
https://youtu.be/wPz7xWQThmA

We also visited Levi Strauss’s hometown of Buttenheim.  The house he lived in is now a museum.

Luvo owns a glider repair shop.  Originally, the shop was owned by his dad, "Uncle Hans", and it built gliders. Anna and I toured the shop which now repairs old (wooden) and modern gliders sent from all over the world. And of course he arranged for us to get a glider ride.

Very short video of Anna taking off:
https://youtu.be/6DK-YKuCNPo

Then Luvo took us to his beautiful home where we met the rest of the family - Heike, Ella and Hannes; and Luvo barbecued LOTS of meat. Hannes, who is already taller than his dad, was at tennis and then went to a dance so he's not in the photo.

Next, Anna and I were picked up by another cousin, Hans-Peter, brother of Luvo, and driven to Bayreuth (where Wagner had his own opera house built).  We toured the streets of Bayreuth and then we met the rest of the family, Claudia, Anna and Katia, had coffee and wonderful cake, baked by Claudia, and later went out to dinner.

Wagner Museum:

The next day we had a spectacular breakfast and then did a hike in Franconia (where there is world famous rock climbing) with Hans-Peter and Claudia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBgIkT4435k


Hans-Peter's studio:

Anna had to return to the university:

On our last day, Hans-Peter took us to Nuremburg from where we would take a train to the airport in Frankfurt.  We roamed the streets there and of course ate some of their famous bratwurst.

Vacation in Roatán, Honduras

Anna and I went diving for a week off the island of Roatán.  The weather was perfect and the sea temperature was 83 degrees F.  We did 11 dives, one of which was a shark dive (intense!).  We have posted Anna's wonderful underwater photos and videos.  

Anna swimming with the sharks (I made this video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjL-ualG7b8
The following video of the shark dive was done by the videographer at the shark dive company.

https://youtu.be/7ZsHMJ5RU9I

Free swimming turtle: https://youtu.be/HpsSZnfiXI4

Free swimming eel: https://youtu.be/AgJvUuxoIRs

Sharks!: https://youtu.be/-l-99TKVD00

Anna's underwater photos:
http://s204.photobucket.com/user/myronfeinstein/slideshow/Diving%20in%20Roatan%20-%202018

Top Rope Climbing Progress

Anna is constantly improving at the climbing walls (Triangle Rock Club).
She climbed this short wall 5.9+ twice.  What a woman!

Adventures in Cayman Brac

Anna and I spent a week scuba diving and cliff climbing on the island of Cayman Brac, 90 miles off Grand Cayman.  Cayman Brac Beach Resort, with 44 rooms, is the only hotel on the island.  For those who are interested, "brac" in Gaelic means bluff. The bluff is 140 feet high.

The guests we met were all very friendly and interesting.  Many have been scuba diving all over the world for many years. The staff at the resort were all happy and helpful; the meals at the resort were very good.

We have captured some of the spirit of our adventures in photos and videos:

Anna's under-sea videos:

https://youtu.be/W_vLY56AVKs

Anna's Under-sea photos:

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlAa5dUOzaIOgXMu5KRlwQ6v0hs9

GoPro videos of 140 foot multi-pitch climb over the water:

https://youtu.be/yX-NQKIugZ8

Because we were the oldest people to do this multi-pitch climb, our guide, Angel, arranged for a friend to use a drone to photo-capture our adventure:

http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4e4459784d7a63304d54493d0d0a&blogview=true

Oma's 90th Birthday Celebration

Very special weekend.  The far-flung family flew in to the Triangle to celebrate Anna's mom's birthday. A dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Raleigh had been organized. But then Liz and Sean surprised us all by getting married here! The eldest brother Paul was the officiant. Then cousin Chris and Prem announced the sudden arrival (at UNC in Chapel Hill) of their first child.

Oma and Gideon

Rock Climbing Adventure in Salt Lake City

Anna and I visited the family in SLC.  The weather was warm and sunny so we went out to Big Cottonwood Canyon and did some climbing. The we went to the Saloweys for a fabulous dinner.

Click on the link to see the adventure.

http://play.smilebox.com/SpreadMoreHappy/4e4455334f5467784d5442384d5441314e5455314f5467780d0a?title=SMILEBOX%20-%20CLIMBING&image=4e4455334f5467784d5442384d5441314e5455314f5467780d0a.jpg

Weekend at OBX

Anna and I spent three days at our beach house in South Nags head, NC.  We managed to re-stain our deck.  But the rest of the time we just "unlaxed".

Who else went in?

https://youtu.be/7Q4VC8t_kJw

Short video of Anna's beach art:

https://youtu.be/We_A8r6k5EA