Derik and I knew we wanted to take an cool trip somewhere in Germany over Memorial Day, but we didn’t realize how epic Berchtesgaden was going to be until we drove into town. It’s hard to get a genuine feel for a place by looking at Google images, and honestly half the time the images found are only of the most scenic and picturesque locations, and sometimes the rest of the area can be rather drab and boring. Not Berchtesgaden. This sleepy little ski-town is home to some of the most gorgeous landscape views in Germany (personal opinion but should be straight fact), and part of me kind of wishes to keep it all to myself and not share it with you guys. I like the fact that it wasn’t overly polluted with tourists for being a destination ... Read More
A Day in Ruedesheim
You may have already noticed on Instagram and Facebook, but we're in Germany! We couldn't be more excited to spend a couple months with my sister, brother-in-law, and our two adorable little nieces (stationed here with the U.S. military). As the weather has started to cool, we've been enjoying the great outdoors as much as possible! I'm still bogged down with work, so that hinders me from permanently living outside (I have an insane amount of content to share with you from New Zealand, Bali, Italy, and Croatia). We decided to take a trip to Ruedesheim (Rhine River — wine country) yesterday after the weather once again pulled out for the win. As we arrived at one of the many parking areas in Ruedesheim, I couldn't have been more ... Read More
Aurora Australis in New Zealand
I've been researching the Aurora Australis since before we moved to New Zealand. I was lucky enough to have spent some of my childhood in Alaska, and because of that I grew up watching the beautiful Aurora Borealis so close to me I felt like I could touch it. When I found out the Southern Hemisphere delivered the same phenomenon (just not so close or visible), I knew I just had to try and photograph it. The Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) are a bit rarer to view down here than the big Borealis is, and many people joke that Australis is Borealis' ugly stepsister. I feel like the poor Australis gets a lot of flack for it, but it's only because where New Zealand (and Australia) sit on the map degree-wise is quite a bit different than ... Read More
Sunrise at St Clair Beach, Dunedin
One of my favorite things about living directly on the east coast of New Zealand is the incredible sunrises I get to experience almost every day. The summer days are long, and the sun appears bright and early (5am early). One of my favorite things to do is go out by myself and experience the sunrise in different locations across Dunedin. With a variety of beach locations (Tunnel Beach and Sandfly Bay are some of my favorites), the Moeraki Boulders an hour and a half north, and Nugget Point an hour and a half south, I've got my work cut out for me photographing these early mornings. Derik and I are a one car family, so I typically have to wait until the weekends, when Derik isn't working, if I want to see the sunrise from a different ... Read More
The Lunar Eclipse
I meant to write this post shortly after October 8th, but time got away from me. October 8th was a significant day for two reasons, one being the lunar eclipse (blood moon) that happened late in the evening (my time) or maybe early morning yours. The second significance? It was my 26th birthday. I was actually pretty bummed during the day because I thought my husband forgot my birthday, and I didn't have a single person to go out and celebrate with. But no, I was being overdramatic for nothing, because he came home with chocolates, beautiful brown orchids (seriously they're so pretty), and a dinner reservation at a local Thai restaurant. My day immediately did a 180 degree turn, and I thoroughly enjoyed rest of my birthday with ... Read More
Long Neck Karen Tribe
I just met some of the most beautiful women on earth. Sure not in your 'modern' sense of beautiful, but the ladies of the Long Neck Karen Tribe are far more attractive to me than anyone I see all photoshopped up in Cosmo. I'm fascinated by people. I've always enjoyed reading National Geographic since I was a little girl, and I distinctly remember a story covering the Long Neck Tribe so many years ago. I would have never dreamed I'd get to meet them in real life. Yes, there are men in the tribe as well, they're mostly field-workers, and are rarely seen by tourists (and do NOT wear the brass rings). The Long Neck ladies start wearing heavy brass rings around their necks (and ankles) from a very young age, most likely around 3-5 years old. ... Read More
The temple on the sea
Notice anything different around here? Yeah, my last design didn't stick around too long. I'm very indecisive on certain things, and when I don't have it exactly the way I want, I change. :) This new design is a product of my curiosity as I dove head first into html and css coding, as well as my 'wanting something better' mindset. I'd have to say I'm loving the process of learning blog design! Each time I make a new layout for my blog, I learn more and more. Thanks for being patient readers and rolling with the flow. A couple of weekends ago I was asked to go on an impromptu girls trip to Busan. We had little to no agenda, and it was fun figuring out things to do on the fly! You may have read earlier, but we went to a cat cafe (yeah if ... Read More