mike starmer
Alaska Trip - June 2021

Our 2021 Alaska Trip itinerary.

Alaska Trip - June 2021

Germany & Norway June 17 - July 5, 2023

Trip Itinerary

  • Friday 6/16 Fly to FL : SW Airlines

  • Saturday 6/17 - Fly Lufthansa Direct from MCO - FRA

  • Sunday 6/18 - Land in Frankfort

  • Monday 6/19

    • Enjoyed fresh baked cinnamon bread and walked to river in Frankfort

    • Drove on Autobahn from Frankfort to Cologne to meet up with cousin Harold and His wife Beatta

    • Went downtown with cousin Harold to enjoy the Cologne Cathedral

    • Enjoyed a nice dinner out on a boat in the Rhine

    • Stayed at: (19th- 20th)

  • Tuesday  6/20

  • Wednesday 6/21

    • Drove the Autobahn from Cologne to Varel to visit Omi’s Brother Deter and wife Irene

    • Midway stopped off at road side McDonolds were Omi enjoyed a ‘MacPlant’ - when I asked her how she liked it, she responded  ‘I could not really taste there was beef, there was a lot of lettuce’

    • Had lovely visit with family and Omi’s friends from school

    • Had dinner at Hafenblink : https://www.hafenblick-varel.de

    • Stayed at (6/21 - 6/23)

  • Thursday 6/22

    • Enjoyed breakfast the hotel with 3 pots of amazing tea  - Omi, her brother Deeter and wife Irene

    • Deeter tour took us on a driving tour to see Omi’s home where she grew up.  2nd story floor right above the post office.  On the corner she pointed out that was where American GI’s gave her Hershey’s Chocolate and Wrigley’s Gum.    She shared stories about her having to go to the bomb shelter during the war, and one time bomb hit side of building and killed the post office worker because he did not go to the shelter.   She said her father and brothers were in the German Navy during the war.    She pointed out the room Cousin Harald was born in (The Cousin we just visited) and stories about how her mother helped protected her from the War and how she use to walk to elementary school with her friends, and the in middle school years would ride the train.

    • Deeter took us to the Wilhelmshaven deep water port were we saw oil and gas tankers unload and German cars (Audi, Fiat, VW) lined up to be shipped.

    • We then went to visit a windmill cafe where we enjoyed an afternoon snake and had a tour of the windmill by the Miller himself.  The windmill is one of 10 left still operational in Germany, built in 1885, and the only one that has a saw mill still working.  Learned about the grinding seeds for the animal feed, and grinding wheat for baking.   A very enjoyable visit and tour learning and seeing an old windmill in operation.

    • We returned back to the hotel where we enjoyed another pot of tea and the walked around town and to the ocean.

    • Dinner was outstanding at the hotel

  • Friday 6/23

    • Enjoyed a walking tour of Varel and seeing the Church that Omi was confirmed in.  Originally St. Peter Church founded in 1150 and grew in 1450 by adding the side expansions (creating the cross of the church.  In 1531 the church becomes Protestant / Lutheran/ now Ev.-Lutherische Kirchengemeinde Varel

    • We enjoyed meeting Stephon Bitner, His wife Stephlana, and son Daniel. 

    • We also enjoyed more walks around the bay and a family dinner at the hotel

  • Saturday 6/24

  • Sunday 6/25

    • We did an outstanding canal boat ride with ‘Hey Captain’ - enjoying 2 hour trip with Brodty seeing lots of history and beautiful architecture

    • In the afternoon we ran into our old Louisville neighbors- Cathy and Brian Bisner - so serendipitous - we enjoyed a coffee / tea catch-up - Cathy and Brian were finishing there vacation- sharing with us there trip to Germany VW manufacturing plant and Legohouse.com 3 day all Lego experience.

    • Later on we picked up a hop on hop off bus and saw the little mermaid along with other historic buildings - finishing our day with outdoor Italian pizza https://www.iloveluca.dk/

  • Monday 6/26

  • Tuesday 6/27

    • Took Omi to Airport

    • Visited parliament and changing of guard

    • Visited the  Frederik's Church ( known as Marble Church) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik%27s_Church

    • Started in 1749 - finished construction 1894

    • Inside the church was inscribed in a circumstance in the dome - in Danish - for all to read and understand John 17:3 ‘Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesu Christ, Whom you have sent”

  • Wednesday 6/28

    • We walked to Rosenborug Castle in Copenhagen and enjoy a nice morning walking through the city. 

    • We checked out of the Hotel and boarded our boat Silver Dawn in Copenhagen

    • Room 819, outstanding.  596 passengers - we began our trip to the Fjords of Norway

    • Outstanding Dinner at the Japanese’s Restaurant

  • Thursday 6/29

    • Sea day on the way to Flåm Norway (pronounced FL-OM - Like Mum)

    • Cool overclass and windy day - Temperatures at 58, but an enjoyable day of checking out the boat, hearing the lecture on Flåm, and spa visit

  • Friday 6/30

    • Flåm Norway- WOW, absolutely amazing  - breathtakingly beautiful.

    • Morning we had a four mile hike to Brekkefossen Raokjen

      • https://www.alltrails.com/trail/norway/vestland/brekkefossen-raokjen

      • a nice 1km hike up steep hill via steps to reach the photo point of the falls - just a gorgeous view, did not want to return down.

      • Met David and Lee (wife) and enjoy the days company on our train excursion in the afternoon. Meeting David and Lee was a highlight of our trip, met up over the week in tours and seeing them around. Just a great couple to hang out with.

    • Afternoon we went on the Flåm rail to enjoy a nice tea and scenic views form high up.  On the way stopped at the Kjosfossen Waterfall - 305 fee.   Enjoy the hiking and great weather

  • Saturday 7/1

    • Ålesund Norway:(All-i-/ sund)

    • Sugar Lump mountain hike

    • walked around town and enjoyed the sights

    • Dinner at 7 and finished at 9…I’m wiped out

  • Sunday 7/2

    • Trondheim Norway

      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trondheim

      • We had a nice canal tour around the old city and then walked the the old city to the cathedral https://www.nidarosdomen.no/en

      • Construction started in 1070 and finished in 1300

      • The cathedral is built over the tomb of St. Olav, the Viking king who converted Norway to Christianity and became “Norway's Eternal King”.

      • We enjoyed a nice walk back to the boat, some resting / reading / pool time

  • Monday 7/3

  • Tuesday. 7/4

    • Nordfjordeid Norway

    • Went on scenic tour to Loen lake and up the gondola +3k feet

    • Walked around top of mountain

    • Walked around NordFjord town / picture of church

    • Cold 53 and raining - took in relaxing afteroon hot tub on ship in the rain and enjoyed a good relaxing

    • Packed for departure

  • Wednesday 7/5

    • Bergen Norway

    • Hung out with David and Lee from our cruise and enjoyed the city and historical spots.

  • Thursday 7/6 - Fly Home

Banff, Alberta Canada : July 26 - Aug 3rd 2016

Here are the journal notes I took while on vacation in Banff Canada. 

Day 1:

 *   Travel Day: Minor issues with the flights, one of our flights was cancelled, but Delta got us up here and we have a fun Chrysler 200 as our rental.   Flight brought us to Calgary and then two-hour drive to Banff.   We checked into the Fairmont Banff Springs and had a wonderful check in experience.  Our room 427 has a spectacular view of the Bow River, crystal Ice blue in color, it felt like we were transported into a postcard.  The Fairmont is a castle hotel, built in1888, and has a rich history with spectacular service, an amazing spot to travel back in time to another era.  Night comes around 10pm and rises at 5am.

 

Day 2: 

 *   Today was an acclimation day.  Getting our bearings right and knowing where things were.  We did not plan any specific activities for the day, but taking time to breathe in the fresh clean mountain air and hike around.  Temperature in the morning was around 47 degrees with highs in the mid 60's.   In the morning we walked down to the Bow river to view the Bow falls; we learned the river temperature is around 50 degrees and feeds into Hudson Bay on the east coast of Canada.   We got some great pictures and hiked across the river on a walking bridge to take pictures of the Fairmont from the other side of the river.  We later walked into town and scouted out a few restaurants we'd want to check out, visited a few shops, and made our way back to the hotel for our 1pm High Tea.  Spectacular views with traditional tea service, very tasty treats and great tea.   Later in the day we enjoyed a game of croquet, teaching Josh and Sarah how to play, Sarah is all ready for a rematch.   Evening was spent enjoying a gentle rain and seeing double rainbow appear in the valley, and a nice dinner at the Bow Valley Grill in the Hotel.

 

Day 3:

 *   Today was our first adventure, driving an hour to Lake Louise.  Being a guest at Fairmont in Banff allowed us to park the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel for no cost and enjoy the spectacular lake.  This was a dream spot of mine to visit for many years, and I can say the lake is even more spectacular in person then the pictures.   The amazing blue color water is a result of the glacier grinding the stone as it moves and produces a "dust" that gives the lake its emerald blue color.  The water temperature is 45 - 50 degrees and they say the lake is frozen from November - May and the ice can grow up to 3 feet thick.  After some hiking around, we made our way to the Brewster stables for a 3 hour horseback ride up to the Agnes Tea house.  A tea house situated at 7005 feet, up from 5700' of Lake Louise.   The house is situated at Agnes Lake, another wonderful clear lake, with a water fall that feeds Mirror lake a few hundred feet below.  They serve sandwiches and over 100 varieties of tea.  I enjoyed an Assam tea while overlooking Agnes Lake.    Everyone enjoyed the ride, even though my horse "Roper" was the slowest and the last in the caravan, it was a lot quicker then walking and great to see the rich green spruce's throughout the trail.   The day ended quickly, with a nice drive back to Banff and a dip in the outdoor heated pool to relax after the ride.

 

Day 4:

 *   This morning we woke up in a morning fog, nice cool misty mountain air covered the castle.  We started out with some morning croquet and then packed some lunch and headed out to Lake Minnewanka for some fishing.  The lake is over 28km long, and has depths up to a couple hundred feet.   Mostly fished the Canadian White fish, and also tried for some Trout.  The water temperature was around 50 degrees, crazy cold, so no jumping in to cool off.  Our guide took us to a great spot where a gentle water fall streamed into the lake.  He explained this had better oxygenated water and attracted lots of fish.  We hung out and everyone caught a few nice sized fish.  The highlight was watching a Bald Eagle on the tree watching us fish and waiting for a prize,  it never came for him, but we enjoyed his majestic presence watching our catch.  The evening was quick to come upon us, with dinner downtown on the way back to the hotel and a nice relaxing dip in the pool.

 

Day 5:

 *   Today was another cool crisp morning with sun shine and bright blue skies.  After a nice bite to eat Kristin and I headed out on an adventure walk around the hotel grounds.   We ventured beyond the golf course to explore some of the surrounding woods and mountains.  We walked among the tall dark pines and ventured to the base of a mountain with slopes of shale pilling up at the bottom.   I scampered up the shale to get a fantastic view of the Fairmont Castle above the tree lines, but coming down was a little more treacherous as there was no firm footing and I ended up almost sliding down to ensure I did not end up in the emergency room.  The lush forest we explored on an old road covered with green moss and running streams trickling down the pass.   This was more like a Lothlórien in Middle Earth.    After the walk Joshua and I ventured to Norquay, about 5 minutes outside to Banff, to do some climbing 'Via Ferrata' style.   Wiki defines via ferrata (Italian for "iron road) is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations.    Our group of 7 was equipped with harnesses, helmets, and carabiners.  We ventured up the route laid out by the cables, and connected to them with our carabiners to protect us from a fall.   Our guide was an experienced climber, Katsu Goto, who was one of the original climbers to set the routes and bring via Ferrata climbing to Norquay.   The trek took us over 7000 feet to spectacular views of Banff and the Bow river.  An amazing adventure that took about 3 hours from start to finish, and Josh and I both said we'd take the longer route if we were to do it again.  A great time.   On our dive back we saw mountain goats and took a few pictures.  Later we cooled off in the pool, read, and enjoyed a fondue dinner at the Waldhaus restaurant at the Fairmont.   The evening ended with a cool rain and thunder storm.

 

Day 6:

 *   Today everyone was a little under the weather, and rain looked like 50% throughout the day, so after breakfast we ventured out to Johnston Canyon for a popular hike to see the upper and lower falls.  Even with the weather as it was, the hike was crowded, but views were spectacular.  The Johnston Canyon creek is clear ice blue and meandered through the canyon down some nice falls.   It was about a 3 hour hike in total, taking time to enjoy the sound of the river and take pictures in an attempt to capture the moment.  The memories, I'm sure, will be better than the pictures.  We ended with a late lunch, early supper downtown Banff at the Irish pub to enjoy some Fish and Chips for the boys along with Bangers and Mash for the girls. A little stroll around town and back to the castle for winding it down at the spa and some good reading.

 

Day 7:

 *   Today we started the day with a couple croquet games, and met an nice lady, Kathy, on a tour with her husband who wanted to join in.  It was nice having an experienced croquet player in the group to make sure we were playing by the rules, and not just making it up as we went along.  Later Sarah and I took an adventure and walked up Tunnel mountain.  A nearby mountain that gave great views of Banfff and the Bow River.  It was approximately 3 miles round trip, and the views were fantastic.  We stopped close to the top to watch some rock climbers make their way up the side of the mountain, took some great pictures and had some fantastic conversation about being a senior in high school and growing up.  Still feeling a little under the weather, the afternoon was spent reading and enjoying the spa's steam room / sauna / and mineral pool.  In the evening we walked into town, enjoyed a dinner at “Park” and ate some ice-cream at “Cow”…great fun “Moo” puns on the wall…. “Doctor Moo”, “PikaMoo”, “Moocraft”

 

Day 8:

 *   Our final day in Banff started with a breakfast and the adventure back to Lake Louise via the A1, a road that winds its way through the National Park and provides better opportunity to catch the native wildlife.  This journey was not to disappoint, moments after we started down this slow road we came across a bunch of Long Horned Sheep crossing the road.  Readying the cameras, we watched as the herd made its way to the other side of the road.  Further down we saw more cars pulled over and I asked a driver in the other direction what everyone was looking at, "Bear", came the reply, as he pointed to a berry bush deeper into the forest.   Sure enough, we focused on that spot and could see a large black bear foraging through the woods, eating as many berry's as he could.  We turned the car around and joined the others slowing watching is movements and taking pictures in hopes to get a "good one".  After 20 minutes the bear made its way out of the woods and bounded down the road, crossing to the other side and deeper into the forest.  A spectacular animal to see in the wild and just amazed to actually see one.   I'm not sure if my pictures will be focused, but I did capture one that shows the Bears "ear tag" as he was moving across the road.  After the bear we took a few more photos of the landscape and made our way to Lake Louise.  Taking in a lunch at the hotel overlooking the lake, we took a walk around the lake the other side.   At the end of the trail we took our shoes off and ventured into the water to feel the chill, I lasted about 30 seconds before my feet started to feeling numb, they say the water is around 45-50 degrees, just crazy cold.   The afternoon was spent driving back to our Castle at Banff and doing some resting, reading, and board game time in the lounge.  Sarah taught me Mancala, which she went on to beat me in, and we enjoyed drinking tea and eating snacks.   Tomorrow we head back to Louisville, and I must say this has been one of my best vacations.   The mountain air, cool mornings, multiple hikes, and spectacular scenery, had my every moments expressing a WOW in some form or fashion.   This was one vacation we'll want to do again in the future.

Costa Rica : June 17 - 24th 2016

My Costa Rico adventure with my father and older brother took us to Lapa Rios in the Osa Peninsula to a rainforest.  It took 5 hours to fly 2000 miles to San Jose Costa Rica, The last 240 miles was and 8 hour drive from San Jose to Lapa Rios.  Puerto Jimenez is the closest town to Lapa Rios and is a 45 minutes drive on dirt roads.   There were no local flights in the afternoon when we landed, so the resort picked us up.   This was a very long drive, but great to see the countryside and hear about the resorts history and rainforest.    Our mornings started with the 4:30am wakeup calls from the Hawler Monkeys.  This was a huge shock to me, and I can only describe that it sounded like Chewie screaming someone stole his breakfast.   Sunrise was around 5am and sunset was around 5pm.   The bungalow has no AC, phone, or TV, and was 900 steps from the main lodge, with over 200 stairs steps.   It was a long walk, so you didn't want to leave something behind.  Every dinner we brought our flashlights to make sure we had enough light to guide us back to our room.    The daily sounds were amazing, with the ocean in the distance, the bird calls, the monkeys, and the other chirping insects creating a great symphonic experience.  The heat and humidity were a constant, the main lodge at the top of the hill had a nice open area facing the ocean that generated a great "breeze of awesomeness" to refresh us.   We made daily treks for 3-4 hours into the rain forest, walking with a naturalist pointing out the features of the rainforest and the wildlife.  

Lapa Rios was outstanding and I would definitely want to return and experience the beauty of the rainforest and the animls that call it home.  

Some notes I made while I was in Lapa Rios

Arrival day:

  •   Took 5 hours to fly over 2000 miles, took 8 hours to dive 240 miles
  • Long drive - arrived at 9pm

Day 1:

  • The Mantlet Hawler Monkeys waking up at 4am for 5am sunrise - sounds like Chewie.
  • 220 stairs and 1000 steps to the main lodge for eating
  • Total day one. : 4.56 miles, 11,664 steps, 62 flights of stairs -  my calves are burning
  • Hiking with Jack to find the beach and exploring the nature walks
  • Having a Olingo explore the deck - Large mammal 
  • Photo shoot with Scarlet Macaw.  Six of them ate Almonds in the tree over our room an dropped the shells on the roof
  • The Morning Black Mandibled Toucan 
  • Hot - crazy hot and humid...drinking lots of water
  • Agouti in the woods...small animal 

Day 2:

  • Hawler Monkey wake up call 4:30am
  • Waterfall hike- 3 hours
    • Saw Spider Monkey
    • Howler Monkey
    • Three-toed Sloth
    • Hex Glass Frog
    • Golfo Dulce Dart Frog - looks like poison arrow dart frog
    • Amazing Water falls - Hot. /Hummid / various plants and very large hardwood trees.  Beautiful canopy , lush green, amazing sounds
  • Huge thunderstorm and lots of rain
  • Photographed some spider monkeys, Scarlot Macaw, Black Mandibled Toucan
  • Total stats for the day: 8,854 steps, 62 flights of stairs, total 3.5 miles
  • Calves are feeling the burn, - climbing 11 flights of stairs to go to dinning area gets exhausting
  • The humidity is so thick you can feel it's weight all over you

Day 3:

  • Hawler Monkey wake up call 4:30am
  • Osa Trail hike - 3.5 hours - hiking the old rain forest to the new forest
    • Massive hardwood trees 
    • Strangler vines that wrapped around trees, eventually killing the tree and leaving an empty shell for animals to live in
    • Saw monkeys - spider and Howler , saw sloth, along with a bunch of birds.
    • Our guide showed us where he ran into a 9 foot snake
    • Massive canopy helped shield us from the big rain storm as we hiked.
    • We learned the Macow will live over 90 years old and fly in pairs.  They couple up and are monogamous their entire life.   
  • Afternoon we saw the Macaws back in our trees enjoying the almonds
  • Spider monkeys came around and swung all over -  fun to take pictures
  • Another massive thunder storm in the evening
  • Walking stats: 13,167 steps, 5.08 miles, 48 flights of stairs

Day 4 : I noticed I didn't take any field notes, I think the heat, humidity and rain exhausted my ability to remember to update my log.  I recall it was a great recovery day, resting with minimal walks and enjoying the sounds and sights of the visitors to our almond tree.