2015 March Seattle & Oregon

We made a two weeks trip to Seattle and Oregon. Visiting Astoria, Lewis & Clark sites, then driving down the coast to Coos Bay with several stops. In Coos Bay Seija visited second cousins, they found each other through Ancestry.com.  Pictures

2015 January- February Puerto Vallarta Mexico

This year we went again for one month to our favorite Mexican place - Puerto Vallarta. We stayed in a hotel at the beach in the Romantic Zone. It was again a perfect time to get away from the Chicago winter. Pictures!

2014 Italy. Rome - Umbria - Tuscany - Carrara - Lucca - Pisa - Cinque Terre - Parma - Venice - Rome.

A 4 week adventure by car.  PICTURES

Driving from Rome to Umbria (5 nights) then to Greve in Chianti Tuscany (7 nights) visiting Tuscan hill towns on to Lucca (3 nights) and La Spezia (3 nights) to visit Pisa, Carrara and Cinque Terre then to Parma and Venice for 3 nights each. Returning to Rome for a weeks stay.

2014 Netherland - Belgium - Luxembourg - Germany

In April 2014 we went on a rail - drive trip of Netherland, Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany.

We flew to Amsterdam from there by train to Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brugge, Brugge, Brussels, Luxembourg and Trier. From Trier we drove to Heidelberg, Rothenburg ob de Tauber and Munich. We returned from Munich after 4 weeks.  PICTURES

2014 Winter Puerto Vallarta

Our Winter Break 2014 we spent in Puerto Vallarta.  PICTURES

2013 India - Kathmandu, Nepal

In October we went on an organized 15 day trip with smarTours to India and Kathmandu, Nepal. The trip included visits to New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Khajuraho, Varanasi and then Kathmandu.    Pictures

2013 Barcelona, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal

In mid April we flew to Barcelona, explored the city for 4 days and then by train to Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Tarifa, then by Bus  to Gibraltar, by Ferry to Tangier and on by bus to Ronda, Seville and finally to Lisbon for the final 5 days. We spent a total of 30 days on this trip before returning via Philadelphia to Chicago. PICTURES

2013 Hawaii and Seattle

January - February we spent 10 days in Seattle and then we flew to Hawaii, first the Big Island for one week and Oahu for another week. Back to Seattle for a few days and then Chicago.  PICTURES

2012 October - November, Santiago Chile to Rio de Janeiro Brazil

We finally decided to visit Northern Argentina. After planning and changing the trip we decided on Chile to Rio.

Trip Map

We flew to Santiago, Chile and then trekked to the Northern part of Chile to San Pedro de Atacama, over the Andes to Salta Argentina, exploring the are and the Train in the Clouds. Then on across Northern Argentina to Iguazu (all by bus). From Iguazu by plane to Rio de Janeiro and then back home. All together 35 days.
Link to Blog HERE   Link to Pictures HERE

At the Brazilian Falls

2012 June, Whitefish, Montana and Glacier National Park

A three week road trip from Chicago to Whitefish, Montana. Stayed in Erik's home and visited Glacier National Park several days including the surrounding areas. Pictures HERE

2012 Jan.- Feb. Santiago, Chile

We spent the winter, 4 weeks, in an apartment in the center of Santiago, Chile. From there we explored the city and nearby Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Pictures are HERE.

2011 October, Croatia and Slovenia

September -October 2011 we traveled with Grand Circle to Croatia and Slovenia, it included side trips to Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. We left two days earlier to spent extra time in Dubrovnik and two extra days at the end to visit Ljubljana Slovenia.
Blog and Pictures.

Dubrovnik

Bled, Slovenia

2011 April - May East and North Germany

This time we wanted to see Hamburg again and the former East Germany now Eastern Germany. We had plane tickets Chicago to Frankfurt (stand-by thanks to Ari), We were put in Business class on the first plane out April 12 and arrived April 13 in Frankfurt. From there we toke the train to Wurzburg, Bamberg, Leipzig, Wittenberg, Dresden, Meissen, Berlin, Hamburg, .......    We of course had a German Rail Pass for 6 travel days, but with the extra stops we added we paid for some short trips and did not use the card.    Picture Meinhard and Seija at the Swinger in Dresden.     See Pictures or Blog

2011 January- February Puerto Vallarta Mexico

This year we went again for one month to our favorite Mexican place - Puerto Vallarta. We rented an apartment one block off the beach in the Romantic Zone. It was a perfect time to get away from Chicago weather. Pictures!

2010 September - October Egypt and Jordan.

Egypt is a land of superlatives: the largest and most ancient temple complexes in the world ... the grandest, most inspiring pyramids ... the priceless treasure of Tutankhamun ... and some of the friendliest, most welcoming people. Explored the kaleidoscopic city that is Cairo and  Pyramids of Giza. And sailed for seven nights along the Nile, where daily riverside life unfolds as it has for countless centuries, and where time stands still in glorious temples. 

Continue our trip with 7 days in Jordan including a stay in Amman and a visit to 2,000 year-old Petra, considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world. Also Mount Nebo and Wadi Rum National Park.
Pictures Jordan and Egypt.

2010 Summer - Seattle, Cabo San Lucas, Vancouver

Early July we flew to Seattle stayed one day then off toCabo San Lucas for five days to stay with friends. Back to Seattle (Ballard) to visit with Erik and Ari. Erik spent most the time in Europe (Biking, climbing) so we had his car and townhouse. Made side trips to Leawenworth WA, Vancouver BC and had relatives visit us in Ballard. Great 4 weeks on the West Coast. Pictures from Cabo San Lucas, Vancouver BC and Ballard Seattle.

2010 Argentina South Patagonia

We decided to spent the Winter of 2010 in Argentina and travel around the country.
We arrived in Buenos Aires January 11 after three days we flew to Puerto Madryn and stayed six days to visit Peninsula Valdez, Punta Tombo and Gaimen. Then on to Sarmiento (Petrified Forest) and Perito Moreno (Cave de los Manos). Of course we planned and went RT 40, on a bus, from Perito Moreno to El Chalten, a great experience. We stayed in El Chalten and El Calafate to see all the glaciers and mountains / parks. Up South by plane to Bariloche, Nequen (Dinosaur finds) and then by bus to Mendoza. After a week in Mendoza by bus back to Buenos Aires and a week in the city. Link to our BLOG is HERE, and Pictures only HERE.

2009 Turkey and Greece

In May and June of 2009 we went on a two week Tour of Turkey with SmarTours after flying on our own to Istanbul and then meeting up with the Tour group. After the tour we went to explore Greece for an additional 3 weeks on our own. In Greece we traveled by Ferry to Rhodes, Santorini, Naxos and then back to Athens. We made notes on a Blog from our trip Click Here. 

2009 Colombia

On January 29th I flew to Bogota, Colombia, to meet Helmut for our 33 days trip around Colombia. We wanted to follow the route we did 42 years ago and also see where Ari went the year before. Our trip was not as tourists in secluded hotels we traveled by bus and stayed in local hotels or hostels. This way we met many local people and many travelers from all over the world exploring Colombia, most of the from Europe and in the late 20. We visited Bogota, San Augustin, Pasto, Popayan, Silvia, Cali, Cartagena, Taganga, La Guajira (Cabo de la Vela), San Gil and back to Bogota. A Link to our Blog we wrote while in Colombia. Pictures here.

2008 Argentina and New Zealand

2008 November - Melbourne Austarlia and New Zealand, a five week trip. The first 4 days in Melbourne then over to Aukland, New Zealand, where we rented a car and traveled the North and South Islands ending up in Christchurch to fly back to Auckland and then Chicago.

Pictures from the trip.

2008 January / February - Buenos Aires Argentina. We rented an apartment in the center of Buenos Aires (Las Canitas) where we stayed for 4 weeks. Ari visited for two weeks, he was traveling in South America and friends from the Chicago area stayed with us for two weeks.

Pictures from this trip.

2007 Mexico, China, Russia and Finland

2007 August - Finland on our own, we visited Seija's family and friends in the Lauma / Punkalaidun area and spent time in Helsinki.

Pictures from this trip - Helsinki,  Finland Country side,  Seija's Family and Friends,  Punkalaidun the town,  Punkalaidun Outdoor Museum,  Rauma Heritage Site,  Turku. 

2007 July - Russia River Cruise, after arriving in Helsinki from Chicago we spent a few days in the city and then toke a plane from Helsinki to Moskow where we joined a River Cruise to St. Petersburg and then flew back to Helsinki.

Pictures from this trip,   Moscow,   River Cruise,   St Petersburg.

2007 March - China, Hong Kong and Japan, we toke a Grand Circle tour of China which included a River Cruise and a pre trip to Japan. The tour ended in Hong Kong where we stayed on our own a few additional days.

Pictures from this trip Japan,  China Beijing,  China Shanghai,  Yangtze River Cruise,  China Xian, China Guilin, Hong Kong.

2007 January - Cancun, three weeks in two different resort in Cancun and nearby area. 

Some pictures are here.

2006 Mexico, Combodia, Thailand and East Coast USA

2006 July East Coast - Car trip to visit friends on the East Coast. Ontario Canada, Vermont, Montreal Canada, Connecticut and Lake PLacid New York. 

Pictures from our East Coast Trip.

2006 May Thailand - a trip with Grand Circle and on our own a week on Ko PiPi Island.
Pictures from the GCT Thailand GCT tour,  Pictures from Kho Phi Phi Island.

Thailand

2006 May Combodia - a tour with Grand Circle, this was a Thailand pre-tour option.
Pictures from Combodia.

Combodia

2006 January Mexico - living a month in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Some Pictures from Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico

2005 Retirement Year - West Coast Car Trip, Southern Germany and Caribbean Cruise.

2005 August - Four week trip by car to the West Coast. We helped move Erik from the Chicago area to Seattle where he started his first job. We drove with a few stops to Seattle but spent time in Seattle and visited relatives in the Portland OR area then down the coastline of Oregon and back up towards Vancouver Island BC where we also visited a relative. On the way back we made stops and stayed in Yellowstone, Bad Lands and Mount Rushmore.Link to some pictures from the West Coast Trip.

Yellowstone Park USA

2005 May - Southern Germany. Meinhard retired in April. We flew to Munich and then traveled for 4 week with a rental car around the Southern part of Germany - Stuttgart, Black Forest, Freiburg, Bodensee, Salzburg and back to Munich. This was our first long trip after retiring.

Link to Pictures from our Southern Germany Trip.

2005 May Germany

2005 January - A Caribbean Cruise with Finnish Friends.

2004 Budapest, Krakow, Prague

2004 we made a 3 week trip, by train, visiting Budapest, Krakow and Prague. Pictures Here.