Off to Ireland

Last weekend, Joe's parents came over from the States to visit. It was their first time in Europe and we met them in Dublin to start their trip.

We rented a car and drove to the Southwest region to see a bunch of famous sites - Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry, Killarney, Cork, etc. On the way, we also saw the typical Irish countryside - lots of greenery, sheep, cows, ruins of castles, pubs, and of course - rain. All in all it was a great way to start their journey!

More pics from Turkey & Greece

To Munich for Oktoberfest

I just got back from a long weekend in Germany hanging out with some friends from Atlanta - Rebecca, Frank, Sarah & Bart (who's stationed at Ansbach, Germany). I flew out Thursday evening after work and met the gang in Munich (Joe had to work this weekend so he couldn't make it). We went to Oktoberfest on Friday morning and attempted to get a table in one of the festive tents but it was as if everyone in the city had skipped work, dressed in their finest leather leiderhosen and come to have beer for breakfast at Oktoberfest. It was packed!

We settled for a table outdoors, had some lunch and beers and then headed on some of the rides (its like a carnival with all the classic fesitval rides - with a german twist). The whole place was very clean and fun. As it started to get a bit more crowded in the afternoon, we left and wandered around the city center. On Saturday morning, we packed Bart's car (literally - it was packed with 5 of us in a 4-door Subaru sedan) and headed to BMW World - a showcase for how BMWs are made. The architecture alone in the building was awesome. After that, it was on to Bart's place in cute Ansbach and to dinner that night via train in Nurnberg. This morning (Sunday) we once again packed the car - this time for Frankfurt and I headed home on a super-cheap Ryanair flight and the gang headed on with their trip around Germany. It was great to hang out with them all weekend!

Joe and I also heard last week that he'll be re-assigned to Birmingham, AL in May of next year (2010). My aim is to move with him at that time and we're both excited about being closer to eachother and family/friends, but sad to leave the UK.

I still have some pictures to add from the trip to Greece and Turkey, so I'll have to do that in another post!