Spring/Summer 2026 Back across the pond

And, we’re back in the saddle! If anyone is out there still getting alerts from this page, we’re going to give it a go to post a little about our 2026 Italy/England/Wales/Ireland/France trip. We’re approaching it more as our photo album/diary, but if others are interested, all the better. 

We’ll see how it goes—since we haven’t posted about many many trips hiked or biked the last decade. 

To catch up to when we got in our bikes: we flew to Italy for a combined trip to visit one of my (Alaine) Bavarian cousins, Sigrid, and her Karl at this hime-in-progress in Anduins, Italy. We started out first in Trieste for a couple days to settle into the new tune zone and explore the city a little.

Nesslau and Bühl, Switzerland - photos a la Finnian

Säntis, with the tower, finally out of the clouds.

Martina & Martin—the Swiss wedding celebrations (not in order, alas)

Nessslau and Bühl, Switzerland...a rainy walk up to the top of a nearby ski area for local apfel cider, games outside and in, the civil wedding and celebrations with Swiss and Bavarian friends and family of Martina and Martin, a long and sunnier walk along the Thur River, with the hope (and final success our last evening) of seeing the fogged-in and elusive Säntis.

European return - Ulm, Germany

Inspired by the invitation to the two weddings of “cousin” Martina (I met her mother, my 3rd cousin, when I traveled in 1990, and Martina and Finnian were both born in 1992, 3 months apart; they share a great great great grandmother, Kathrine Hofbauer Sr.), Paul and I have returned to Europe, this time without bicycles, but with Finnian. The first wedding (a civil ceremony and celebration, photos to come) was in Nesslau, Switzerland, on Friday, 6 September, and the 2nd wedding (a church service followed by another celebration) will be in Aidenbach, Bavaria, on 5 October. Before, in between, and after we will travel by train, bus, car, and foot to explore as much as we can.

We began in earnest—after 3 flights between Bellingham and Frankfurt, with some long layovers and a cramped overnight on the long haul section—in Ulm on the Donau, where we enjoyed a lovely afternoon walking the old town, including a visit to and up the Ulm Münster (Paul and I stopped there  by bike in 2015 also).

Finnian has much better photos, which we’ll try to share as well...if we are able.