Cleatus the West Virginian

Places

Germany

2 trips · 79 entries · 2013, 2015

Iceland, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia 28 Aug – 17 Sep 2013

  1. 28 Aug And we're off!! SFO>SEA>KEF Easy morning making our way to SFO across the old Bay Bridge one last time.
  2. 29 Aug Huge waterfalls, an Israeli and wet pants We arrived at KEF at 630am after a night of rough sleep for me, none for Andy. It doesn't matter, we made it!
  3. 30 Aug Diving between tectonic plates in 35 degrees, hail pelting my face,ninja jumping Didn't sleep too bad last night. The loud rain kept me up more than the cold.
  4. 1 Sep Big events! Today was pretty special. We woke up at 930 after sleeping the whole night in a dry tent in Hverageroi.
  5. 1 Sep Taking it easy before the big hike Up at 530 from a magnificent sunrise lighting up our tent. Good thing Andy could get up and take pics, it was too early…
  6. 4 Sep Last day in the land of fire and ice Up at 8 after a well needed night of sleep. Taking it easy today and not walking if at all possible.
  7. 4 Sep Testing our limits Let me preface this by saying why I like to expect the worst. When I expect the worst, things can only go up.
  8. 4 Sep The Laugarvegurinn hike is on- let's do this! We didn't have to catch the bus until 10 so we got up, drank some coffee, got goods at the store and made some sammies…
  9. 7 Sep Paradise in Croatia We wanted to sleep in but we were up at 730 and ready so see some sights.
  10. 7 Sep Slovakia and fun in Bosnia Up at 630 to get an early start to the day, and to our surprise we have visitors.
  11. 7 Sep Wilkommen lieber Deutschland (Germany) und Ostersteriech (Austria) Up at 530 to quickly pack and head to the airport. Iceland was amazing and we'll be back to do the rest of Iceland,…
  12. 8 Sep Hvar today, Venice tomorrow (Andy's pun) Slept like shit last night. Apparently there's a club on the other side of the camp's wall and they get the party…
  13. 10 Sep Hiking in Switzerland with a thermal bath ending Slept in until 730 this morning, much needed after a couple days of going and going.
  14. 10 Sep More pizza, pasta, and San Marcos in Venice Up at 630 after a night of thunder and lightning with just a touch of rain.
  15. 12 Sep Family and delish food in Germany Up at 630 to get out of the camp spot and on the road. Once again there was no one at the gate so we didn't have anyone…
  16. 14 Sep Flip flops and shorts at a wedding I forgot how nice it was to sleep in a bed and its fantastic. Maybe it's waking up to a huge breakfast and coffee and…
  17. 15 Sep The big fat Germany wedding What can I say? Another delish breakfast at the Seigmann residence with the whole family.
  18. 17 Sep As much schnitzel as you can eat Today was pretty chill. Up at 11 for breakfast. We unfortunately missed Cathrin before she left for Munich to pick up…

Nepal, Tibet, India Golden Triangle 27 Nov 2015 – 31 Jan 2016

  1. 27 Nov And we're off! 11/27 I like to get to the airport early. I can't help it. I can thank my mother for that.
  2. 29 Nov Sitting and waiting 11/28 We've been traveling for over 36 hours. The flight to Frankfurt was fast since we passed out the majority of the trip w…
  3. 30 Nov I'm gonna need some fresh air 11/30 We slept for 13 hours, woke up at 4am and felt like champs. Andy needed some coffee so he went downstairs for hot…
  4. 30 Nov We made it! Get me a beer 11/29 We finally reached the gate for Kathmandu at 3 AM. Our flight was supposed to leave around 7 but it was scheduled for…
  5. 1 Dec A day w few plans turned out to be amazing 12/1 Awake at 3, I guess we really didn't conquer jet lag after all.
  6. 3 Dec Finally nature! 12/3 Day 1 Up at 6 and enjoying the sounds of the water rushing near us. We slept well in our sleeping bags, well I did.
  7. 3 Dec Travel day, a tiring one 12/2 Up at 4:30 this am and one last coffee on the rooftop before heading to the bus stop at 7.
  8. 4 Dec Holy shit that was a lot of up 12/4 Day 2 Whomever said this hike was moderately difficult I want to bitch slap them. Today was really hard.
  9. 8 Dec Best day ever (so far) 12/7 Day 5 Up at 6 and had breakfast w our new Croatian friends. I tried the local porridge which wasn't so good.
  10. 8 Dec Pressing on into pine tree forests 12/6 Day 4 Up at 6 and breakfast at 7 in the tiny room they call a restaurant. This time we had museli w apples and and egg.
  11. 8 Dec The bee that almost killed me 12/5 Day 3 Up at 6 again after 11 hours of fantastic sleep. Breakfast consisted of musli and two hard boiled eggs each.
  12. 9 Dec Kicking ass and acclimating at Ice Lake 12/8 Day 6 We took our time today, had lunch at 7:30 of veg omlettes and hit up the bakery downstairs for a chocolate croissant…
  13. 11 Dec I failed my duty of being the voice of reason 12/9 Day 7 We didn't know what we were going to do when we woke up. Andy wanted to do Tilicho Lake w the others, I was up for it…
  14. 11 Dec Lake Tilicho at 16k ft 12/10 Day 8 No rush today since we were only going up the mountain and back but we got up at the normal time anyway.
  15. 11 Dec Prepping for the summit 12/11 Day 9 We had to backtrack back to Manang today to get our heavy shit.
  16. 14 Dec Climbing for 4 hrs plus a rest day! 12/12 Day 10 Up at our normal time and a quick breakfast of apples and muesli w warm sugar yak milk and Andy had a veg omelette.
  17. 14 Dec Thorang Base Camp 16k 12/13 Day 11 Not sure what happened last night but some dude started screaming at 11 and flash lights were going crazy.
  18. 14 Dec Thorang La Pass F yeah 17.8k!! 12/14 Day 12 Up before the alarm because of the loud ass kids. No worries, I slept like shit from a major headache and wanted to get…
  19. 15 Dec Down the mountain we go 12/15 Day13 We have no destination we must reach so we took it easy this am.
  20. 16 Dec Annapurna done! Happy early bday to me! 12/16 We woke up at 5 in an attempt to find a flight out of here. There's no one up.
  21. 17 Dec Bday in Pokhara 12/17 Slept in a cush bed and it was so warm, no sleeping bag, and a fluffy pillow. What?!
  22. 19 Dec Moving on from the 1% 12/18 We took our time this am to soak in the rest of the hotel. Andy got us some croissants and lattes and we ate the rest…
  23. 19 Dec The roller coaster ride to Sauraha 12/19 Took our time getting up this am. The bed was really hard so the sleep was shit.
  24. 20 Dec Rhinos!... and a tick in my eye 12/20 Up at 6:30 for a toast and omelette breakfast before our jungle walk departure w our two guides into the Chitwan park.
  25. 21 Dec I touched a baby elephant 12/21 Andy woke me up this am, it was supposed to be a sleep in kinda of day, but I guess 10 hours is enough.
  26. 22 Dec Nepal review and back to Kathmandu 12/22 Last night was the first time we encountered someone who needed punched in the face.
  27. 23 Dec Temples, Juju Dhau... and tick in my arm 12/23 In bed at 8 after a cold ass shower! This is why it's not worth taking showers here.
  28. 25 Dec Edge of Kathmandu Valley 12/24 Took our timing getting up after a rough nights sleep on a hard ass bed.
  29. 25 Dec Xmas Kathmandu style... and a tick on Andy 12/25 Up at 3am. Andy alerted me that had as a tick. Really how do u know? I just do. Yep, right on his fucking collarbone.
  30. 2 Jan 2 miles from the big E! 12/30 Up for breakfast at 8, Chinese buffet style! We (mostly Andy) had seaweed, picked cabbage, bok choy, boiled eggs, pork…
  31. 2 Jan Debating monks and armed police vehicles 12/28 We met X at 10 this morning. We headed for Phaphongkha monastery first.
  32. 2 Jan Get me out of here 12/2 So we thought there would be no issue getting the rest of the cash out to pay X since its a new day.
  33. 2 Jan Happy New Year Tibetan style 12/31-1/1 We drove back to Shigatse yesterday. I slept most of the way since I didn't sleep last night from my cold.
  34. 2 Jan Hello Vegas! I mean Lhasa 12/26 Annnnnnd we're back! No posts for the last week due to China oppression and their apparent dislike for anything Google.
  35. 2 Jan Shigatse- the monks are watching you 12/29 We started our car ride to Shigatse at 10 this am. We found out the reason our driver drives so damn slow is because…
  36. 2 Jan Yak butter tea and armed oppression 12/27 Up at 7 hoping this was going to be a shower day. The heater was working as much as it was going to so now we need hot…
  37. 3 Jan Until next time Nepal you lovely country! 1/3 Back to our regular early bed time of 9 so we were up before 7. Travelers' Inn wasn't bad!
  38. 5 Jan Darjeeling unlimited 1/5 Up at 6 after sleeping for 12 hours. We went to Glenary's cafe for wifi, croissants, muffin, and cappuccinos.
  39. 5 Jan Long travel day into India 1/4 We reached the border at 8 after a shitty night of trying to sleep.
  40. 7 Jan So where are we going? 1/6 Up early, headed back to the cafe for some croissants, cappuccinos and wifi.
  41. 7 Jan Taj- check! 1st stomach revolt- check! 1/7 Up early to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. I forgot about the male (2)/female (1) line cue again and had to move.
  42. 9 Jan Goal weight achieved! 1/8 Puked all night long and ate nothing during the day. Thanks India for allowing me to reach my target weight only by…
  43. 9 Jan Pink city monkeys 1/9 Up at 6 w the first 10 min call to prayer (Jaipur is a Muslim and Hindu city).
  44. 10 Jan I can't go for ghat, noooo, no can do 1/10 That was all Andy's pun. Anyone who knows me know I'm not down w them but I'll make this exception.
  45. 12 Jan Don't get stuck between a tuk tuk and a cow 1/11 The dogs bark and howl all night long, even in the city. Andy wasn't feeling too swift, said he feels like he ate a jar…
  46. 12 Jan RIP Bowie (and we're in the desert) 1/12 This am we walked through the streets and up to the fort, Mehrangarh, on top of the hill.
  47. 14 Jan Desert sunrise 1/14 The sleep last night was very peaceful. No dogs howling, no horns honking. Andy wakes me to watch the sunrise.
  48. 14 Jan Sleeping under the desert stars 1/13 We headed out to tour the fort this am. Jaisalmer is the golden city because it's made out of sandstone.
  49. 15 Jan Rats, real rats, on our feet 1/15 We left Jaisalmer and headed out for Bikaner to break up the long drive back to Delhi.
  50. 16 Jan Goodbye kite runners 1/16 We walked around the fort this am in Bikaner. Andy's getting pretty sassy w people.
  51. 17 Jan Let's bounce this country 1/17 We are so ready to go, we've been ready to go. Last night was a shit show of sleep.
  52. 19 Jan Two tickets to paradise 1/18 Up so early at 4. That was a short 3 hour nap. We reached the airport quickly and hit up Coffee Bean (yay chain that…
  53. 20 Jan Diving in a fish tank 1/20 We found the egg station for breakfast his am. That's good because it's very important to have eggs each am and they…
  54. 20 Jan This place is ridic 1/19 Up at 7 to hit up the buffet before our dives. The spread was impressive so we stocked up and when I say stocked up I…
  55. 21 Jan Big ass sting ray 1/21 Slept so well last night I didn't want to get up for our dives but powered through.
  56. 22 Jan Snorkeling like a boss 1/22 Amazing snorkel day!! We headed to the jetty after another huge breakfast and jumped in because we heard they feed the…
  57. 23 Jan Last day for the Americans 1/23 Many people commented on how we are the only Americans on the island.
  58. 25 Jan Liebe Deutschland! 1/24-25 Our travel day was uneventful. Short 20 min flight to Malè, then to Sri Lanka, then Delhi, then a red eye to Zürich.
  59. 27 Jan Family time with schäufela 1/27 Up early since we are a bit jet lagged then the amazing breakfast was had!
  60. 28 Jan Schnapps and rotwürst 1/28 Another beautiful sunrise over France, it looked like the sky was on fire.
  61. 31 Jan Alas- it has to come to an end 1/29 It started to rain this am. We haven't seen rain since last spring so we were lovin it.