At the beginning of this trip, we hardly knew anything about the United Kingdom and Ireland division and past tensions. In fact, our travel friend whom we met in Bulgaria, Brian, graciously took the time to explain that Northern Ireland is actually part of the United Kingdom and how it worked. Even then, the deep … Continue reading A City Divided: Belfast, UK
Honestly, our trip to Manchester started as a mistake. Originally, we had intended to ferry to Belfast or Dublin from Liverpool, a city adjacent to Manchester. During the process of booking Airbnbs and forward travel, we realized a flight was cheaper than a ferry. So, with Manchester already booked, we decided to fly from there. … Continue reading Manchester, UK: A Place to Work
The first day or two were foggy and cold with some occasional rain. At this point, it was late June in the UK, but we were still wearing our puffer jackets, while it was 100+ back home in Houston (40+ Celsius). The damp weather can make it slightly more difficult to enjoy landmarks, views, and … Continue reading Two Harry Potter Nerds and the Quest of Edinburgh, UK
The initial reason we chose Aberdeen was cheap direct flights from Stavanger via Wideroe Airlines. We walked out onto the tarmac to a small propeller plane. I had ridden in one before, but it was not confidence instilling that time, either. The flight was about 30% full, and they asked if anyone could move to … Continue reading Aberdeen, UK: Land of Grey and Seas of Oil
Hannah was so excited to visit this city. She lived here for 2-3 years as a young girl when she was around 7-9 years old. She had certain vivid memories of places that she wanted to revisit. We spent time each day retracing her steps to her old home, playgrounds, bus stops, lakes, and landmarks. … Continue reading Childhood Memories and a Fjord: Stavanger, Norway
Oslo Opera House Throughout our first 3 months of travels a strange happenstance had dogged some of our adventures. We seemed to repeatedly land in cities while national holidays occurred. This was a double-edged sword. Surprise processions and festivals or traditions had pulled us curiously in to witness the local celebrations. Conversely, closed restaurants, stores, … Continue reading Old Neighbors and Oslo, Norway
It's A Ritch Life 