Since Haley & I were in Queretaro, we decided to take on a client for Local Lens in San Miguel de Allende, which is only a 45 min drive. The vacation photoshoot was for Angelica & Adnan, and the photos turned out great!
-Eric
My parents, sister, and my sister’s boyfriend came to visit me here in Munich a couple days before my birthday. We started out with a Bavarian breakfast here at my house, and afterwards I showed them around Munich’s small DT area, went up the tower, and walked around Olympiapark. The next day we went to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle and at night we ate at the Hofbrauhaus… but we got some really sad news there… Thankfully we were able to stick together.
The next day we went to Vienna. We walked around the main DT area and saw some of the main sights. For my birthday we rented some bicycles, went to the carnaval, and later jumped into the Danube river. We had an amazing lunch (a schnitzel that was bigger than my plate!), and that night we went to a Mozart Concert at one of the famous venues.
Afterwards we went to Venice, and checked into this amazing little apartment near the huge white church. We went into the elaborate Cathedral, and also took a Vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. After a nice lunch/dinner, we were able to grab a Gondola right before they raised the prices for the evening rides. Aftwerwards we just got lost in the west side of town, and made it back to our apartment to enjoy some wine and some air conditioning!
The next day we went to Florence and also checked into this great apartment that was just a 2 blocks away from the main plaza. We had some CRAZY sandwiches at All’Antico Vinaio, and walked all around the downtown area. We enetered the Uffizi museum, saw the famous David statue, went up the Duomo & tower, and finished out day at the best view in town, Plaza Michelangelo.
Had the best time with them, and the trip couldn’t have been better (except for the bad news we received in Munich 😥 )… I feel so lucky to have such an amazing family! Now back to studying and time to finish my Thesis so I can return to Mexico…
-Eric
As usual, we started the trip with the free walking tour to get a good short intro to the city. We saw pretty much all of the Pest side of the city, and ended up at Parliament, which is definitely most intrinsic and beautiful building in town. Afterwards, we had some great hungarian food and took off on a night boat ride on the river. After a couple drinks, the tour ended, and we headed back to the apartment that we rented. Then we went to one of the coolest bars I’ve ever been to: Szimpla Kert. It is one of the “Ruin Bars” of Budapest. These bars are built in the old Jewish quarter in the ruins of abandoned buildings. The neighborhood was left to decay after WWII, so it was a perfect place to develop an underground bar scene.
The next day we headed over to the other part of the city across of the river, Buda. There we climbed our way up to the top of the hill, saw the castle, cathedral, and the fisherman’s bastion. After that, we headed over to the Gellért Baths & Spa. It is full of thermal waters from Buda’s mineral hot springs. The 35 °C water contains calcium, magnesium, hydrocarbonate, alkalis, chloride, sulfate and fluoride. There were also saunas, plunge pools (ice cold water), steam rooms, a wave pool, and an effervescent swimming pool. It is possibly the most relaxing 4 hrs of my life! Later that night we went to another popular Ruin Bar called Instant. A lot of fun as well, although my favorite was the other one. After just those 2 nights, I can tell Budapest has an amazing nightlife. Our last day we just went to the Heroe’s monument, walked around the park, and also went in the Contemporary Art Museum. Great weekend trip with the gang!
-Eric
Haley & I flew into Porto, Portugal, and stayed there for 2 days. My sister and her boyfriend joined us as well, and we got to see the whole city pretty well. We took the walking tour, went up the Clerigos Tower, took a Porto wine tour at Taylor’s, and walked around Gaia. Very pretty city, and delicious Porto wine.
Afterwards we rented a car and drove to Coimbra to spend half a day there. Afterwards, we kept driving to Lisbon (which I believe was our favorite city in the whole trip). There we were staying at one of the best hostels in the world, Alfarma Patio Hostel, right in the center of Lisbon’s prettiest neighborhood. We got so lucky, and found a parking spot almost right outside our hostel, which was practically impossible! The night we got there they had an amazing BBQ & sangria buffet night. The next day we took the walking tour around the city, took a train to Belem, and then climbed up the hill to the castle to see the sunset. That day alone we walked 24 km!! It was insane. The next day we went to Sintra to check out The Moor’s Castle, Quinta da Regaleira, & the Palace. Then we walked around all of Alfarma, and went to the best lookout spot in town: Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Amazing views!! Then we missed out on the Portuguese Buffet night, but we found another great place to eat.
The next day we stopped in Evora to see the famous Chapel of Bones. Afterwards we kept on driving until we reached Seville. Our parking fairy was watching over us again, because we found the perfect spot in a super crowded street right by our place. We had a nice Airbnb host which gave us tips on what to see and what to eat… but it was tough since it was Semana Santa, Seville’s most busy time of the year. So many people everywhere that were there to see the processions. We had some great tapas in Triana, the area of the city where the Spanish Inquisition all began! The museum of the Inquisition was horrible (it seems like they were trying to hide the fact of how absolutely despicable this time was, and how they were responsible for it all). We took 2 walking tours the next day: the downtown area and the Jewish Quarter. We also got to see some some processions that afternoon, but we managed to escape before the city was consumed by crowds. We headed over to Plaza de España for the sunset to take some photos. The next day we went inside the Alcazar, a Moorish palace/fort. It is one of the best examples of mudéjar architecture (Christian & Islam architecture combined). Afterwards we ate the greatest tapas at Taberna Coloniales… make sure to try Pluma! So delicious!!! Then we went to the Parasol (Las Setas), and then rented some bicycles to ride around La Macarena (yes, this is where the song got it’s name!). Then we rode the bicycles all along the river.
The next day we left Seville and drove the Portugal’s southern region: Algarve. We drove to Lagos to see Ponta da Piedade and we relaxed all day at Praia do Camilo… One of the most beautiful beaches I’ve even been to. Then we drove back to Faro and dropped off the car. The next day we had brunch at the best seafood place in town and we had crab & Golden fish. Sooooooo good! Then we took the bus to Faro Island beach and spent the day watching skim boarders, jamming out, drinking sangria, and napping on the beach. Perfect finish to our long 12 day trip! Everything went way too perfectly, and it was just an amazing trip!
-Eric
Went to visit Wally in Prague to celebrate his bday last weekend. It was crazy! Great food, great beers, and great bars/clubs all weekend long. For food we had the fried cheese, pickled cheese, czech goulash, and svickova… and for the beers, I think we pretty much tried them all. The city is so cheap! A beer costs about 1-1.50€ in every bar. We took the Sandemans walking tour in afternoon, and the city is so beautiful, but for a very disturbing reason. It wasn’t bombed in WWII because it was Hitler’s favorite city, and he even maintained the Jewish Quarter perfectly because he wanted to turn it into a museum of the extinct race. He was one crazy bastard… Anyways, beautiful city, and they even have the largest castle in the world. Awesome awesome weekend with the guys.
– Eric
It’s been snowing for the last couple days, and we took a break from our final exam studying to build a snow man!
-Eric
I know, I’m probably a little late posting this, but better late than never! Every year I choose some of my favorite photos to put together a wall calendar for my room. This year I chose these. 2014 was definitely a lot of fun, but hopefully 2015 will be even better!
2015 Resolutions:
-Eric
I was lucky enough to escape some of the winter cold of Germany and head to Mexico for Christmas and New Years to visit my family and friends. I was mostly at home in Queretaro, but we spent a week at our favorite beach, Puerto Vallarta. I just got back to Germany today, and I already miss everyone back home…
-Eric
Haley and I took a weekend trip to Prague and stayed with our friends Hector and Meagan. We went to the Hemingway bar (for some amazing Absinthe & Cuban cigars), Usudu (awesome bar), the Ice Pub, U Parlamentu (the best Czech food), and the Strahov Monastery restaurant for the best beer. We saw most of the city’s highlights such at the Tower in the main Plaza, the Castle, Charle’s Bridge, and the amazing view from the Metronome.
-Eric
There are various location to surf at here in Munich, but since Ricardo and I are only beginners, we tried the spot down river from the more popular surfing area on the eisbach. You kind of have to leap from the edge to make it to the wave, but it is excellent for learning. It was waaaay to freaking cold though, even with a wetsuit and shoes! I think I’m just going to wait for summer to come again.
-Eric
Took a day trip to Nuremberg. We walked around the Nazi Party Rally Grounds and museum, then we headed up to the castle. After that we just walked around the beautiful city center.
-Eric
We landed in London and stayed there for a 3 full days and got to see all the highlights. Kensington Park, the Free Walking Tour, went for mass at the Westminster Abbey, the bridge, London Tower, the Natural History & British Museum, Brick Lane, and our favorite pub (and oldest in London), the Cheshire Cheese.
Afterwards we went to Oxford and a friend of a friend showed us around town. It was pretty much a pub crawl that started at 12pm. The next day we went to Bath to take the free walking tour, and we went in the church for the Tower tour which was great. Later that night a friend of a friend gave us VIP treatment at a bar he used to work at… free tequila, espresso martinis, food, a Lamborghini drink… the works! Those two guys that showed us around were way too nice to us.
The next day we picked up our rental car, and after I figured out how to drive on the wrong side of the road, we headed down to the SE area of the UK. We drove through Exmoor national park, Lynton (best Fish & Chips ever!), and then made it to Penzance where we stayed at an old Castle that was turned into a YHA hostel.
In the morning we checked out St Ives, then an old roman settlement called Chysauster. Later that afternoon we went to Minack Theatre and St Michaels Mount. That night we stayed in Falmouth, a small fisherman town. It just so happened to be Monday Madness at our hostel, so we had great pizzas and cheap drinks.
The next day we went to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and then to Tintagel Castle, where the legendary King Arthur was born apparently.
The next day we drove all the way up to York and caught the free walking tour there. Amazing city, with a really great street called “The Shambles”. The next day we walked through Durham for a couple hours, and we left the best for last: Edinburgh.
There we took the free Walking Tour, went to our favorite bar in Edinburgh, The Queens Arms, had Haggis for lunch, and at night we went Scottish Dancing, which has to be the funnest way to dance in the world. The next day we walked around a little creek, had a picnic, then walked through New Town until we reached Calton Hill for the best views of the city. The last day we went to the Art Gallery and walked the whole Royal Mile. During our 3 days in Edinburgh, we tried at least 25 different Scotch Whiskies, and pretty much all of them were AMAZING! Our favorites were: Aberlour Abunadh, Auchentoshan 3 wood, Laphroaig Quarter Case, Bowmore 12, Balvenie Doublewood, and Lagavulin 16.
It was a amazing 2 week trip. Now back to classes!
After the first round of final exams, we decided to take a short trip to Rome. We managed to see so much! The Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trastevere, Piazza Novana, Piazza del Popolo, the Vatican, Castel St Angelo, San Giovanni… and the list goes on! We also made sure to eat as much Italian food as possible, so we found some great little pizza places, had the best chocolate gelato in town, and tried my first Cannoli (it definitely won’t be my last!). Rome is absolutely amazing!
-Eric
Last weekend we went to one of Germany’s best music festivals. It was a rough week of traveling, camping, and rocking out all day long for 3 days. I think my favorite show of the whole weekend was Franz Ferdinand, but we also saw amazing bands like the Kooks, Flogging Molly, Black Keys, Panteon Rococco, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Arcade Fire, Skindred, Seeed, Dropkick Murphys, Interpol, Jennifer Rostock, White Lies, and Macklemore.
-Eric
Walked around the Isar river at night in search of some cool spots for night photography. Found this really cool statue, a bike tunnel, and of course the Maximilianeum. 🙂
-Eric
Eric G. Photography 