The Long family - Steve, Nicole, Autumn, Zane, and Bryce - wander the Earth to live life, make friends, learn, and find things we didn't know we were looking for.
For no other reason than to keep a habit going, I figured I would do a quick post of our latest “family” adventure… five days in Whistler, Canada. Full family affairs are getting harder and harder to pull off, so this time we are a four-pack (For some reason, UC Berkeley cannot seem to align their schedule with the Acalanes School District).
Back in January, when the winter season in the Sierras still seemed pretty grim, we thought it best to find snow up north to play in for Spring Break. Back in 2011, Nicole and I spent a glorious long weekend in Whistler to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We told ourselves we would return someday. That’s how we ended up in Canada for the past five days. (Ironically, since January, the Sierras have seen another epic year of snow, and we flew away from two feet of fresh pow).
Always cool to see snow in the coastal mountains of California
Our flight from SFO to Vancouver was mostly uneventful, but Bryce did manage to crash his in-seat entertainment center. He and Zane discovered a game called Ball Defender. It reminded me of a cross between Breakout and Jezz Ball (a game from my college days). After several rounds of losing in round 15, they found a strategy that made it impossible to lose, increasingly adding bouncing balls to the point where the computer struggled to calculate the geometry. Bryce’s terminal crashed, and Zane managed to get to level 81 as the plane touched down in Vancouver. Fastest three-hour flight ever.
Customs is getting increasingly more automated. Not faster per se. Nicole struggled for 5 minutes trying to have the machine recognize her. It finally gave up and X-d her out. Ha!
Upon landing, Bryce, after seven years of world travel and never once making a suggestion to see or do anything, finally had a request! His friend recommended a hole-in-the-wall dumpling place in Vancouver and Bryce wanted to go. I didn’t care if it was one hour out of our way, we were going. As luck would have it, it was exactly on the route we had to take to get out of the city, it was definitely a hole-in-the-wall, and it was certainly very yummy.
Our place in Whistler Village sat nestled by a glacial stream in the crook of the main road precisely equidistant from the Whistler and Blackcomb base lodges. We had easy walking access to everywhere we wanted to be.
Day One:
Upon arrival, after seven weeks of feeling healthy with limited outside contact, Bryce somehow managed to come down with a sore throat and stuffy nose. Regrettably, this meant going to a foreign land, only to spend most of his time doing domestic activities (aka watching YouTube & playing on his Switch). Blurg.
While Bryce hung back at the condo, Zane, Nicole, and I headed out for the day. We started by heading up the Whistler Gondola… Timeout ... Let me orient you on Whistler Blackcomb. The resort was once two separate resorts, each massive. Really massive. Our local mountain of Sugar Bowl would need to grow in height and width by 3x just to be as big as one resort. Now string the world's longest gondola between each peak, and you have a mega-resort that is hard to comprehend. One pass, two gi-normous resorts. Biggest ski resort in North America.
After about a 15-minute gondola ride from the Whistler base we walk out onto a landing with a view onto a natural amphitheater blanketed in white that makes me feel insignificant yet energized at the same time. It’s crazy to think there is actually another third of the mountain still above us. Whistler was the site of the 2010 Olympics, and for good reason.
The three of us strapped on our boards, plunged down our first run, and were quickly reminded that this place has 5,000ft of vertical drop. We’re used to 1,500ft broken up into short 500ft sprints. Two lifts later and we crested Whistler Peak to take in the panoramic views of the British Columbian coastal mountain range. (Note, my unnatural desire to throw myself off deathly heights was in proper form on some of the lifts that seemed unnecessarily high off the ground).
Perhaps the moving through 3,000ft of elevation change in 30 minute intervals took its toll on Nicole. Who knows. But something triggered a migraine and depressingly she had to head back home. The ride back down the gondola was a touch-and-go, mind-over-matter battle with nausea. Down to two on day one…
Zane and I took the Peak-2-Peak Gondola to check out Blackcomb for the afternoon. Mindblowing how big this place is.
Zane and I toughed out a T-Bar lift (not fun on Snowboards), then hiked up a peak from there. We found ourselves at the top of Blackcomb Glacier.
Day Two:
While day one was a typical bluebird spring skiing day, day two was a stormy wet mess. We took advantage of being sequestered at basecamp with a leisurely pace of dining, shopping, and hanging out at the condo.
One of Zane’s heroes is a YouTuber named Casey Willax. He chronicles his life riding all manner of boards: snowboards, surfboards, skateboards, and wakeboards. He is a beacon of positivity and wholesome good energy. As it turns out, he was spending his week in Whistler too, and sent an Instagram shoutout to have people ride with him! Despite the rain, Zane was determined to go riding that morning to see if he could find him. We convinced Zane otherwise (“It’s a huge mountain, the chances of bumping into him is highly unlikely. And it’s cold & wet.”). Later that morning, as we were bouncing between shops, through the drizzle, I spotted a shaggy blond fella eating a cup of yogurt at a picnic table under a makeshift hut. “Casey?” He looks up with a big smile. I guess the rain got the better of him too. So that is how Zane met his hero in a foreign land.
Between bouts of rain / drizzle, I squeezed in a quick forest run. Beautiful. Found a lovely lake reminiscent of our Serene Lakes.
Capped the day with a great Napoli-style pizza, complete with a pair of scissors.
Day Three:
Rain at the base, translates to powder at the peak, 5 inches to be exact. The storm had passed and Day Three saw ideal conditions. We were not the only people waiting patiently to get back on the hill. For most of the morning, the sounds of mortar fire rattled the resort to trigger avalanches, consolidating everyone to a handful of lifts.
Bryce battled through his health for a couple runs, but decided to call it an early day after a trip across the Peak-2-Peak.
On Zane's bucket list is riding the Whistler Blackcomb terrain park. It's famous. The talent in the park was impressive, to say the least. But Zane held his own...
Wrap Up:
We are so privileged to be able to visit places like Whistler, and we hope to go back someday. (The ubiquitous images of Whistler Heli-Skiing adventures have me intrigued…)
We have found the world is generally built for groups of four; ski lifts are quad chairs, restaurant tables are square, back seats in cars are best for two, etc. So while this trip was “easier”, it was strange to go on a passport-requiring adventure without Yaeko. Assuredly there will be whole family adventures in the future, but we’re entering a new phase of life where we will be living vicariously through the adventures of others. (Yaeko is planning a three-week European jaunt in June with their friends!!!) We used to invoke the mantra, “This too shall pass,” when we were grinding through a tough patch. Yet as the years progress, this mantra is a reminder to embrace all the times we are together.
On the return, Bryce set the new record…
Bubblegum Ice Cream (Yuck), and a souvenir stuffed cow for Julia. Trip is officially a success for Zane.
Forewarning, this one is a little long. We spent a solid five days in Prague and covered a lot of ground. I also tacked on an overall wrap up section to this entry. Enjoy!
All along, visiting Prague was the real reason we needed to pick up where we left off five years ago. As an only child with fading memories, there has been a strong ancestral pull for Nicole to discover more about her Czech and Slovak roots.
Arriving by train from Vienna was the perfect way to gradually immerse ourselves into the Czech landscape and the capital city of Prague. My 25 year old memories of this place are fuzzy at best. Partly by age, but mostly due to the fact that a beer and a hot dog cost $0.50 total at the time, which made it entirely too difficult to stay fully sober. Yet I do recall loving Prague.
Our apartment was a short walk from the main central station, and of course, all the best public transit you could ask for. The apartment will forever be remembered as the house of mirrors, sinks, wall carpets, motion sensors, colored lights, and twin beds (13 twins in five rooms). Five rooms! We each had our own place to make a mess of, and a sink in each room to wash up in. The apartment was on the fifth floor with two tiny elevators, one of which did not stop on the fifth floor, requiring us to go to the sixth and walk back down the stairs. Ahhh old European buildings built before the United States was born.
View from our apartment window
Our host, David, was an interesting surfer sort of dude with a passion for volleyball. After abruptly showing us around the place and orienting us on the fantastic coffee machine, he proceeded to talk for 10 minutes about how important beach volleyball is to the Czechs. Huh… fun fact I guess. He also set us up with a private car to the airport upon our departure. Said it was more convenient for a group of six than taking the bus.
After we all settled into our respective rooms, we embarked on our first Prague adventure, a walk to a nearby beer garden overlooking Prague recommended by David. I love a good beer garden. The states need more of these. While the food was average at best, the people and dog watching, and the sunset was a great way to kick off our five day stint.
Beer is not really Nicole's thing, but again, when in Rome.
The guy pouring the beers was imposing. My boyish american charm meant nothing to him.
This was the only chair Bryce and I could find. Was shaping up to be a very nice sunset.
This park had every sort of dog you could imagine. Including this horse that understands proper sitting technique.
I understand why our host suggested this spot for sunset and a beer. The locals were out in force.
Like most European cities, Prague is a fantastic walking city. Our first full day was a walking tour of the old town with our guide, Nicole Long. She had done so much research on the city that it felt like our family had a private guide. The highlight of any visit to Prague is taking in the majesty of the old astronomical clock in the old central square, especially at the top of the hour when it chimes. The clock is nice, but the crowd reaction makes it memorable (for me anyway).
This is the famous Astronomical Clock that chimes every hour. It draws a huge crowd every hour to watch something that the creator likely never thought would be worth watching.
My Mom has been collecting Postcards from each city in the hopes of mailing them. We're now at a point where we will definitely get home before the cards do. Finding a post office has been elusive.
Even Elmo loves the clock
Before heading across Charles Bridge and up to Prague Castle, we stopped for an authentic Czech lunch as recommended by David. He said, “This place. Well. It’s not fancy. Mostly locals. Food looks like what grandma would ladle out of an old pot.” Nicole said, “Perfect! That’s exactly what I’m looking for.” It did not disappoint. It literally brought a tear to Nicole’s eyes the moment she took one bite. It was like she was teleported back 40 years.
Admittedly, Central European cuisine is not my favorite. Nor the rest of the family. But hey, when in Rome. It is various forms of gravy-like sauces smothering various forms of stewed meats with various forms of potatoes and dumplings (sometimes potato dumplings). Oh, and don’t forget the sauerkraut. It’s always so interesting to see how we gravitate to the foods we grew up on. It’s a good thing their menu was just a bunch of pictures with numbers on them.
Cafeteria Style: Grab a tray and silverware, tell the hidden lady in the corner what you want, she writes a strange code on the card you were given when you entered, a server ladles the yummy onto a plate, tell the drink fella what size Pilsner Uquell you want, go find a table and eat. At the exit, hand your card to the cashier and pay. Simple. Effective. (but very confusing to the average tourist looking for table service)
The afternoon saw us walk across the famous Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) and explore Prague Castle. The main cathedral is stunning. The stained glass is brilliant.
If something is shiny, always rub it.
The bridge is lined with elaborate statues on both sides.
Images of St Vitus Cathedral. It's impressive.
As luck would have it, there was a post office directly across from St. Vitus Cathedral.
Yaeko had heard that this place is infamous for defenestration - the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. (Thanks, AP Euro) The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. Apparently this is the offending tower.
It was another great day. By the time we collapsed back home we had logged over five miles of walking. Gotta hand it to my Mom for going step for step with us. Nicole and I still had a little gas left in the tank that evening, so we went out for an evening stroll. We parked ourselves on the main square for over priced drinks and people watching. Worth every penny.
Franz Kafka is a big deal in Prague. His foot was shiny.
The Aperol Spritz is about as ubiquitous as Pilsner in this region.
Day Two:
While every city has been fun to do a morning run, Prague was definitely the best. Such variety and little nuggets everywhere. And the only way to have the central square and Charles Bridge to yourself is to be there before 7am.
I ended up at the top of Petrin Hill, a lush hillside park with cool morning views.
Monument to the plight of communism. It really is remarkable how much suffering the people of this region have gone through over the past centuries. Even more remarkable is how they have persevered and crafted a safe, stable, positive, and forward thinking society.
Love the splash of color on the Vltava. Wonder what it would be like to touch them.
It can’t always be about walking around and looking at old things. We have all had something one of us really wanted to do, and this time it was Yaeko’s turn. Over the past year, they have picked up bouldering as a hobby. As it turns out, bouldering is a big thing in this part of the world, and they found the perfect place to spend a couple hours.
While Yaeko and Zane were scaling walls, the rest of us went on a walk. We stumbled on this eye catching statue made by a local artist, David Černý. His installations are so unique. (https://davidcerny.cz/)
Several of our worldly adventures have incorporated some kind of food experience, either cooking, or being told what to eat by a local. With Nicole running the show, we were not going to leave Prague without going on a food tour. In addition to an insider’s take on what to eat and where, it was particularly great to get to know our host, Jan (pronounced, yawn. He was not boring though). He grew up in Slovakia. As a self-avowed foodie, he is going all-in on being a food guide for this region and is trying to make a name for himself. So… if you happen to be in Prague, and you want to have a great food experience, click here: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/3131664
Several years ago, as we were sorting some random boxes in our side storage, Nicole happened upon this book…
… with hand written notes from a LONG time ago about where Nicole’s great grandparents were from. Only problem, a bit of it was written in the Slovak language. On a whim, Nicole showed Jan the images to see if he could translate it. As it turns out, Nicole’s great grandparent was from Jan’s home town!
The yummys we ate…
Knedlik - Fried dough ball with either sweet or savory fillings. Great start to the tour.
Looks kinda gross, but good gracious these were delicious
Chlebicek - My Mom’s favorite! It’s their version of Smorrebrod (the Danish open faced sandwich). This explains why Nicole’s Mom always ate open faced sandwiches.
Vertnik - Caramel flavored cream, with Caramel glaze. Good gracious that was delicious
Espresso and Tonic - Yep, that’s pretty much it. The Czechs love it. Jan said it took him three or four drinks to acquire the taste. I still have two or three more to see if I can get there. As it stands right now, it’s a one and done situation for me. (We have the ingredients here in the States, just need the inspiration to combine the two and drink it)
Mlilko pour - Nearly entirely foam. I told Jan that any person that poured it like that in the states would be summarily punished for pouring so poorly. Jan figured out that once the foam reconstitutes itself into beer again, it’s actually the most cost effective option.
That's Jan. Good dude.
What a great experience that was. (Note, I’m nearly certain that EVERY Airbnb Experience we have done has been great. We will continue to use this service wherever we travel.)
Day Three:
Something you probably didn’t know about Nicole… She loves visiting cemeteries. (Admittedly, I kinda like them too, although mostly for photography). A short tram ride away is one of the larger cemeteries we have ever visited. And it’s been around for a LONG time. Nicole, my Mom and I took a morning walk through it. So peaceful.
The Jewish community is very important in the Czech world, and we visited their old Jewish Quarter. As you can imagine, this area was a prime target of the Nazi regime, and one of the synagogues had the names written on the walls of “every” Czech Jew that lost their lives during this atrocious period. (“every” would be those they knew of…) Again, moving. Outside this synagogue was a graveyard, followed by a visit to the Spanish Synagogue, which was incredibly ornate and had an excellent exhibit on the Nazi invasion of Prague. As I read through the exhibits, I had to wonder how words can move people to do truly terrible things to perfectly innocent people.
[Insert transition music here]
Continuing with the theme of accommodating everyone’s desires, we hopped on the tram and bus to the outskirts of town to go bobsledding. That’s right, bobsledding.
Five years ago, we had the pleasure of doing a:
Self regulated roller coaster in Wales…
And a Luge ride in New Zealand…
This bobsledding was like a blend of those two…
Each one had a hand brake to regulate your own speed.
We have been so busy over the past couple weeks exploring, that we really haven’t been doing much souvenir shopping. With one day to spare, we spent the afternoon cashing in the last of our Korunas for knick knacks and whatnots. For some reason, Bryce REALLY wanted a rubber duck. That’s right, we go halfway around the world to buy a rubber duck. But hey, when in Rome.
It brings me so much joy to see how amazing Yaeko has become behind the lens. They have an incredible way of telling a story with one shot, of finding the angle that nobody else can see. The two of us went out for an evening photo walk, and on our way to a lookout, they turned around and captured a moment I would have certainly missed in my desire to "get to the spot". They always say, turn around. The best shots are often behind you. Where I am often cropping out distractions, they intentionally embrace them. They say, "...it's what makes the story real."
Starburst happens with tight aperture (i.e., f20 or so)
Shooting long exposure without a tripod sometimes requires finding something solid to lean against.
Day Four:
We had already checked off all the key things we wanted to see or do, so our final day was a bit of a hodge-podge of fun. We took the funicular to the top of Petrin Hill to summit the Petrin Tower. Well at least Nicole and I summitted the Tower. The others felt like they had seen enough views overlooking Prague and the circular stairs up 200ft was not appealing. (Petrin Tower is Prague’s version of the Eiffel Tower, just kind of miniaturized). Nicole and I quite liked the view from the top.
Next Stop, the mirror “maze”. “Maze” = short hallway with no false pathways. It was laughably lame for the price we paid, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
Our final activity, universally desired by all, was a one-hour pedal boat ride on the Vltava. It was a fun and fitting end to this chapter of The Long Way Around the World.
Zane was adamant we go for the old-timey car boat
I guess we eventually got to touch one of those colored balls...
Max speed... 2mph with full pedal power.
Parasol. Wouldn't want to get a sunburn out there. (from yaeko: It was hot and I wanted shade.)
My Mom opted for a birds eye view from the banks
Timelapse is the only reasonable way to watch a video of this adrenaline rush.
Finished the day with a tourist treat that people think originated in Prague, the chimney cake ice cream. It's everywhere here, but is actually a Hungarian treat. Yummy anyway.
Clever stack of books in the library. Inside has mirrors on top and bottom making it look like it goes forever.
Final Day:
Recall that our host, David, set us up with a private car ride to the airport for six people? At 6:15am the final morning, approximately 2.5hrs before our flight home, our driver arrived right on time… with a four person vehicle. I’m used to having to think on my toes, but I wasn’t prepared for this. Over the past couple days, we noticed several cars with Uber Airport on the side. Thus far, Uber was not an option in all the cities we visited. I gave it a go, requested an UberXL for 6 people, and four minutes later, a Prius rolled up, about 2 minutes after the other driver left. Granted, this was one of those extended Prius versions with a flip up back row that negates the trunk. The Uber driver, not the friendliest chap with only limited English, just kind of stared at us. He got out, opened the hatchback, and just started loading us up. Six suitcases, six backpacks, and six humans. The ultimate game of car tetris. Literally every cubic inch of volume was consumed, and we had certainly maxed out the capacity of the Prius motor. Twenty five minutes later we were spilling out of the car like a bunch of clowns, and made our flight with hours to spare. Our last Experience.
Random Pics and Thoughts:
Prague was a surprisingly clean city for its size and for the tourist clientele it serves. I think this fella might have something to do with it. In another life, I would be this person. For those that know me, my dream job is to be a street sweeper, not the Zamboni kind, but rather a broom and dustpan. This machine would just make it a little more efficient.
Zane really wanted to make a steak for dinner. Notice the side dish of Pringles.
Yaeko appreciated the forlorn looking fella demonstrating what to do with this button.
The entire region (Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic) were all incredibly supportive of the Ukrainian people. Everywhere we went there were Ukrainian flags.
Sometimes you just gotta stop at a good ole fashion food court in the mall for lunch.
Other David Cerny sculptures in town...
The Original Budweiser
The good news... there are lots of WC (public bathrooms) everywhere in Prague. The bad news, they all cost 20 koruna (about a dollar). In general, a credit card is all you need in Prague, but if you want to tour this town, you need a pocket full of toilet tokens.
All of the cities of Central Europe that we visited were all very clean, relatively safe, and did not have many houseless people (or at least not nearly to the degree of most major US Cities). I realize "it's complicated", but I do have to wonder what cultural norms and policies are in place that makes these cities so civil.
The public transit systems in all the cities we visited on this trip are magnificent. You never wait more than five minutes. Every bus, tram, metro is fully integrated into Google Maps, making it painless to click on where you want to go and it shows all the possible options. We bought 3 day all-access tickets for next to nothing which allows you to just get on any form of moving vehicle without showing anything to anyone (including the funicular that ascends the steep hill overlooking the city). It is effectively a free service. No gates. It’s basically the honor system. Apparently there are supposed to be attendants that randomly get on to check tickets, but during our 18 days, we were only asked once. In fact, we made the entire four-hour journey from Vienna to Prague without ever showing our tickets. They are spotless and don’t smell at all. I realize the ship has likely sailed for us Americans, but I sure wish we took a cue from any of these cities.
Final Thoughts:
During our final lunch, I asked the family, “If you had to live in one of the cities we just visited for an entire year, where would you choose, and why?”
Nicole: Copenhagen, because it is a great place to home-base to explore other regions.
Steve: Copenhagen, similarly, for the access to other areas. But more so, there is just something about the Hygge vibe. It’s a really happy place. (Note, Copenhagen often tops the list of best work-life balance cities.)
Yaeko: Tie, Copenhagen and Vienna, but a solid reason was not given. As we walked away from lunch passing a couple with a dog, Yaeko, out of nowhere, proclaimed, “I changed my mind, It’s Prague!” They said it’s more cost effective, the look and feel is about the same as the other cities, and the variety of food and culture is great. But mostly, it’s a dog loving city. (Everywhere we went, we saw a different type of dog, with at least 4 being within eyeshot)
Zane: Copenhagen, it’s a fun town with lots to do and places to go. It’s got a relaxed vibe. (note, of all the cities we have visited around the world, Copenhagen is one of Zane’s very favorite cities)
Bryce: Vienna. It's clean and orderly
Janet (my Mom): Vienna, for the culture and museums
I write this last blog entry from the comfort of our home in Lafayette, which, regrettably, has a stench of rotting fish. At first we didn’t know what happened and we feared something nasty had perished somewhere and we couldn’t find it. We come to find out, Nicole’s Aunts, who often stay at our place during our world adventures, prepared a fish dinner that somehow went horribly wrong. Well, at least we know and we can do something about it, and stop wondering if a pest skeleton will turn up some day.
While we LOVE travel and seeing how “the other” makes ends meet, it often makes us extremely grateful for the life we have created back home. It always makes us appreciate the little things that we often take for granted and the routines that keep us sane. It’s like a perspective reset. For example:
It is remarkably quiet here. We’re country mice, not city mice.
We have the best water in the world straight from the tap. While the water is perfectly safe to drink in most cities, it’s just not as fresh as what we have. There is too much reliance on bottled water.
Ice. It still seems like a luxury good outside the States. It is simply expected to have a nice glass of ice water at any restaurant here. Not so elsewhere. We chuckled that when we ordered ice tea, it was tea with one cube of ice.
Our washer and dryer are AMAZING
California still has the best fresh fruits and veggies. My gosh, the strawberries right now are heaven sent. And it’s stone fruit season. Our candy grows from plants.
Europe, for all of its progressive efforts in environmental reforms, automation, diversity, work-life balance, etc, it is still woefully behind in curtailing smoking. It’s like the 80s over there still. We take for granted that we can go months without ever ingesting second hand cigarette smoke in the Bay Area. You can’t walk 50 feet in Europe without inhaling someone else’s off-gassing.
There is nothing like a decent home cooked meal. While it’s fun to eat out and try different foods, it gets old pretty quickly. Zane remarked about one week into our journey, “You know what I really want? A home cooked meal.” (Which lately means walking to Safeway with his buddy Ben, buying a slab of meat, and cooking it over the firepit on a stick.)
As I wrap up this chapter of TLWATW, and look back on all the pictures and experiences we shared, it feels like we need a vacation from our travels. We covered a lot of ground. Zane said there are two types of families, those that vacation, and those that travel. We’re not very good at taking a vacation. Maybe next year.
