My first impression of Ljubljana was when we arrived at our hostel and were greeted by this sexy mural.

Sexy accommodations were not exactly what my sister and I were going for.  There was also a hole in the door to the shower.  Peep show anyone?    However, despite the lovers embracing over our twin beds and the interesting bathroom accommodations, Slovenia turned out to be a one of the most picturresque places I have ever visited, and despite the complexity of my first impression, it was a quite charming.

In the city center, there were a plethora of outdoor cafes lining the Ljubljanica River with various cuisines and ambiences to choose from.  The first night we started at Cafe Romeo with margaritas – banana for me and raspberry for my sister.  I followed up my booze with a salad.

The river was alive at dusk, and in an attempt to continue to enjoy the atmosphere, the margaritas were followed with a few bottles of Radler – half juice, half beer, pure delight –  while enjoying the view and engaging in some highly entertaining people watching.  Needless to say, it was a good night.

On Tuesday, my sister and I took a bus to Lake Bled.  It was gorgeous.

We took a rowboat to an island in the middle of the lake and proceeded to do some yoga poses in odd places  - usual Fahle antics.

Being at Lake Bled made me feel as if I had stepped out of real life onto a pinterest board, and I kept taking pictures and ogling at the scenery with fascination and heartfelt appreciation for the organic beauty.

We we got back to Ljubljana we ate at a pizza joint, where I was graciously accommodated with cheesless pizza, and we had a plethora of new friends join us for dinner.

We finished off the evening with some vegan cake (yay!)  before boarding the night train back to Munich.

Overall, I couldn’t have been happier with our trip to Ljubljana.  Okay, I take that back.  I could have done without staying in a hostel, but aside from the sub-par accommodations, Ljubljana, coupled with the day excursion to Lake Bled, was the perfect low key city to visit before returning to Munich.

However, our journey to Salzburg did start off with a few hiccups.  Our hostel flooded, and our first night in Salzburg, the hostel put my sister and I up in a hotel that was outside of the Salzburg in Uberfuhr.  At first, we were a bit skeptical about the situation, but we quickly discovered that we had stumbled upon some good luck or good karma.  The view from the hotel was unbelievable, and  I was thrilled to avoid staying in a hostel for an extra evening and took full advantage of the private bathroom with free towel.  As soon as we arrived in Uberfuhr, my sister and I took an evening stroll along a path by the river with divine scenery.

The next morning we enjoyed the wonderful scenery and enjoyed free breakfast and two pots of coffee outside before taking a taxi back into town.  We spend the rest of the day riding our bikes through town and the Austrian countryside.   Halo Salzburg!   The pictures do not do the scenery justice, in the least.

Riding our bikes in Salzburg was completely whimsical.  I instantly developed a crush on Salzburg with its bike friendly atmosphere and breathtaking scenery.  My love for Salzburg was instantaneously solidified that evening when my sister and I randomly found a bio (organic) restaurant with vegan food.  Additionally, the hostel had kombucha.  I had tried kombucha in London, and it was bland and severely lacking in effervescent.  But, Austrian kombucha was another story.  Although it wasn’t quite as good as my favorite kombucha stateside, it held it own in the world of bubbly probiotic drinks.  It almost made up for the fact that I had to stay in a hostel and shower sans towel, almost.

Our Monday agenda consisted of an assortment of things, but most importantly, the Sound of Music tour.  Thank goodness my sister and I ended up Salzburg together; I don’t know how many other people could have listened to my  painful rendition of Do-Re-Me or 16 Going on 17  or Edelweiss all day long.  One of our first stops was the backyard used for Captain Von Trapps’ house.  Aside from the fact that I loved the Sound of Music as a child, my Mom also went on this tour almost 30 years ago.  Neat, eh?

The tour also took us to the lake district, which was beyond beautiful.  Glassy water, snow capped mountains, cute German homes, and more kombucha coupled with crackers made for a pretty unbeatable day.

And the tour ended at Mirrabell Gardens, where a large portion the Do-Re-Me was actually filmed.  I, in no way shape or form, jumped up and down the stairs, ran around the fountain, or patted the signature troll on the head while re-enacting the movie.

After the tour and after a really awkward encounter involving lots of European men and a beer garden, we visited Cafe Mozart to try a Salzburg speciality – nockerl, which is a sweet dumpling made of egg, flour, milk, and vanilla.  It was a essentially a huge, middy egg flavored soufflé.  It would have been pretty bland without the sour cherry jam lining the bottom on the dish, but since my options for dinner were either bratwurst or nockerl, I happily devoured the majority of this by myself.  In my book, anything with egg counts as a protein.  Plus, as an American, I try to my best to live up to our stereotypes of eating entirely too much in one sitting.  Mission accomplished.  Our waiter’s eye were dancing with amusement at the empty dish.

Salzburg’s atmosphere was surprisingly intoxicating, and honestly, I would have been content to spend a few more days exploring Austria and drinking the  kombucha.  Alas, our pre-booked hostel reservations demanded we move onwards, so, my sister and I boarded a train for Slovenia.  More tomorrow friends!

Friday, I flew to from London to Munich.  Aside my annoyance at traveling with way-too-much luggage (when will I learn!), I was beyond excited to see my sister and enjoy the flawless weather in Munich.  After enduring a couple weeks of rainy, chilly, and disappointing London weather, my body was happy to soak up a heaping, healthy dose of vitamin D.  Tired, yet ready to see the sights of Munich, my sister and I took Friday afternoon in Munich to meander through the Englicher Garden.

Aside from being lovely and quite lively, Englicher Garden is known for it nude sunbathers.  My sister and I stumbled across some naked male sunbathers, but don’t worry, I was too busy gawking and feeling awkward to take pictures.  I enjoyed the river surfers and the huge pretzels much more than the naked men.  River surfers are also much less embarrassing to take pictures of.

Once the sun set, we hopped into HofBrauhaus to meet some of my sisters friends and drink the obligatory liter of beer (Prost!) and taste sausage and sauerkraut.  Yes, my vegetarian-self totally ate a bite two bites of bratwurst.  It was completely underwhelming, but that is another post for another day.

The next morning consisted of more lesiurely wandering and pretending to be less-toursity and more European.

Then, we stumbled across a loose rooster, and the tourist and animal lover in me had to bust out my dslr to take a picture.  He was quite the looker.

After seeing a live farm animal roaming the street, I didn’t think my day could get much better, but  by chance, we stumbled upon a bio (organic) restaurant where we saw salad bowls overflowing with tempting green goods.  Few things in life make me happier than a good salad (not even kidding), especially when I’ve been surviving off carbohydrates, knock-off nutella, and copious cups of coffee.  Beetroot, cucumber, mushrooms, and lemon orange vinagrette – oh my.

And before I realized, it was time to don our luggage and make the hellish trek to the train station – destination Austria. More from Salzburg!  Tschuss!

Last weekend, I finished my third (and fastest!!!) half marathon underneath beautiful blue skies in Edinburgh, Scotland. I convinced my friend Heather, who previously denounced  half marathons, to fly across the ocean to keep me company on the  gorgeous 13.1 mile course with promises of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Thankfully, for Heather’s sake,, aside from boasting inaugural half marathons,  Edinburgh is not short on photographic scenery, tourist attractions, or charming cafes where J.K Rowling used to shorthand the Harry Potter manuscripts.

Heather and I ran a great race until mile ten, where it became a battle between body and mind.  I was literally blabbering about anything and everything to take my mind off the pain.  Thank goodness I had Heather listen to my incessant rambling;  I would have looked like a damn fool talking to myself.   But, in the end, my friend Heather and I finished strong – probably a little too strong considering we both experienced some uncomfortable IT band pain for the following days.  Yet, despite the pain, when I finished, I didn’t hate running or question my sanity.  Usually, after finishing half marathons, I swear off running for months, so it might be safe to say that my running mojo is officially back, or in the alternative, I have officially lost my mind.  This is favorable since I am registered to run my first marathon in October.  Eek!

Further, we all know the most important thing about racing is the post race meal.  Based on some review for cheap places to eat in Edinburgh, my friend Heather and I ended up at the Red Squirrel – cost effective and vegetarian friendly were priorities, but I though the name was pretty cute too.

And apparently, red squirrels are endangered in Scotland, and since I am a crazy, animal lover, I love institutions that bring awareness to animal issues, especially if they do so with cute graphics.  I am a total sucker for cute graphics.

Plus, they had exactly what I wanted – flavored beer and a vegetarian breakfast, complete with pseudo haggis and vegetairan sausage.

All and all, it was the perfect ending to a nearly perfect, albeit slightly painful, race day.

I am crossing my fingers I will be back tomorrow with reports of decent Mexican food in London.

And last weekend, I enjoyed a lovely mini break in Istanbul, Turkey. And although I had to  deal with a massive amount of school work (when will I learn not to procrastinate),  I loved Turkey (seriously, I am totally obsessed) and wish I had had more time to enjoy the city, instead of furiously attempting to meet deadlines while enjoying the scenery inside Starbucks.  Thus, yesterday morning when I finished my last presentation, I breathed a sigh of relief, try to brush off some lingering disappointment, and attempted to come down from my caffeine induced high.  However, while I am still trying to let the caffeine dissipate from my system, I thought I’d share some of my favorite pictures from my weekend in Turkey.

The Blue Mosque was absolutely incredible.

Hagia Sophia.

Asian toilet, turkish toilet – whatever it was, it took my about 5 minutes how to, uh, use this.  Some more yoga experience probably would have come in hand here.  Don’t worry.  I put the dslr away first.

Shopping anyone?

The street food was probably a mistake.  I’ll let you take from that what you will.

Crossing the Bosphrous.

The view – from Asia!

Oh, and I got my first tattoo.  Sorry Mom.

So far, Turkey has been one of my favorite places I have traveled, ever.  I loved the chaos, the history, and the pervasive ambience of a distinct culture.  I could have asked for just one taxi cab ride that didn’t leave me with white knuckles or end in a minor accident, but they had awesome baklava, humus, and vegetarian friendly food.  Plus, all the bakeries give you copious free samples.  And lets not kid ourselves, food is the way to my heart.

Whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, I don’t know, but it needs to be topped off.” Words of Wisdom from an Irish Taxi Driver

Sunday morning, I was dreading my long run.  I was visiting Cork, Ireland for the weekend, and while my friends went to visit a small fishing town, I decided to take a day off from touring to run.  Honestly, I was pretty bummed.  I was on a mini-break (Bridget Jones anyone?), and I was opting to spend my morning running 10 miles.  I was not thrilled, but after breakfast, I bid them goodbye, waited a while for my food to digest, and dutifully laced up my running shoes and got out the door.

The first couple of miles were painful.  I could barely maintain a reasonable pace, my calves were burning, and my ankles were sore, but unfortunately, I was more than aware that I was capable of finishing the run despite those annoying, yet minor aches and pains.  As I continued to run alongside the River Lee, the pain in my legs became a little less pronounced, and I  finally settled into a comfortable pace.  Soon, I found myself on a scenic nature path: on my left, there was a gorgeous  river with waterfalls and moss covered rocks, and on my right, I could see the buildings of Cork rising on hills in the distance.  So I just  ran and soaked up the glorious sunshine and embraced the euphoria of running.  Eventually, I weaved back through the city center running back and forth across pedestrian bridges, by churches and Cathedrals, past vegetarian food stores (go Ireland!), and past stores readying themselves for Sunday shoppers.

When I finally stopped running, I was tired as hell, my calves were sore, and I was cursing myself for running without water, but I honestly could’t have thought of a better way to  spend my morning. I finished proud and totally elated.  Since I started law school, I haven’t really enjoyed running.  It is a lot easier for me to remember that running isn’t fun.  It can be physically uncomfortable.  It takes away the serenity of a lazy Sunday morning.  To my dismay, it forces me to curb my drinking on Saturday night.  But, running makes me feel good – plain and simple.  It makes me feel accomplished.  It makes me appreciate my body for its strength.  It makes me realize that – as long as I can put one foot in front of the other – things are going to be okay.  Because running is about so much more than running, it is a way for me to temporarily escape reality and be forced to take a deep breathe.  Running is something that  I can do something for myself, and it has been entirely too long since I have spent a Sunday pounding pavement and a Monday complaining about walking down stairs.

P.S. This weekend I kissed the Blarney Stone, and I expect that the entirety of my future blogging endevours will be more eloquent.

However, despite my epic failure to adhere to the arbitrary rules I set for myself, I really enjoyed this challenge, and although I wasn’t particularly stringent about following the guidelines I set for myself, I learned a lot.  It allowed me to explore my relationship with sugar from an objective perspective and provided some key insight into how to manage my cravings in the future, which was the point of the whole shenanigan anyways.  Additionally, I waited a few weeks to post my most relevant lessons because I wanted to observe my relationship with sugar as I started reincorporating it into my diet.

My sister, who was previously a vegetarian, has renounced her vegetarian ways since she has been living in Germany, and we got into a discussion about the perceptions of vegetarianism.  After being a vegetarian for two years, she said that eating meat had helped her body image and allowed to her to eat less because she felt satiated from her food.  In contrast, while I was refraining from eating meat in Germany, I was starving and eating copious amounts of peanut butter, crackers, pretzels, dried fruit, and chocolate in a feeble attempt to provide my body with enough fat and protein to physically feel full.

Bottom line, sometimes being a vegetarian sucks.  When I don’t have access to my normal dietary staples, I usually subsist on crap.  Eating crackers and peanut butter is a great snack, but when that is all you eat all day long, it isn’t pleasant.  During our last dinner in Germany, I ordered a salad, which consisted of iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and a handful or boiled eggs, so I ended up filling up on numerous pieces of white bread.  While I was eating empty carbs, my parents and my sister were filling up with salmon or meat.  They left the restaurant satisfied.  I left the restaurant in a mad frenzy for my next chocolate fix.

For me, eating a well balanced diet, enjoying your food, and feeling properly nourished are all intertwined.  When I eat crap, I can eat a lot of crap.  If I eat healthy, I usually feel satisfied and don’t crave crap.  But, these realizations made me reevaluate my decision to be a vegetarian all the time.  Being a vegetarian can be a inconvenience, and ultimately, I don’t think that eating meat is inherently bad, so why don’t I eat meat in certain circumstances?  I support eating meat that is raised humanely.  I think that meat can be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet.  A lot of times I turn down meat simply because I don’t enjoy meat that much, and when I am in America, I don’t need meat to round out my well-balanced diet.  But when traveling, I have developed such negative, internal connotations of eating meat, I can’t bring myself to even taste things I previously ate without a second thought.  I used to be a full fledged cheese and meat lover.  Proof.

And I think my mindset embodies one of the inherent problems of vegetarianism and veganism.  I turn up my nose at meat.  Sometimes I flinch when I see meat on the table. I say I am okay with other people eating meat, but I can act embarrassingly prissy about it.   I am not shy about voicing my opinion that I think meat is gross.  I spout vegetarian rhetoric all the time in person and throughs social media.  But, these actions can be alienating, and they don’t necessarily do a good job of spreading the message I want to spread.  I say all the time that I think vegetarianism is a personal choice, and I understand people’s decision to eat meat.  I would even go as far to say that I think that vegetarians are entitled to meat every once a while.  I ate fish once this summer, and I still consider myself a vegetarian.  I eat with meat eaters all the time.  I eat vegetables have that touched meat.  But, I also really believe in the importance of reducing dependence on meat, and I firmly believe that  the way to encourage this isn’t by alienating meat eaters or openly denouncing or sticking my nose up at their choices.  I think the way is to lead by example and make sure that I am 100% enamored and confident about my choice to be a vegetarian.

Ideologically, I absolutely value my decision to make a vegetarian.  I don’t want to eat animals, and I think that is a important part of who I am as a person.  However, I go back and forth between wishing I had taken a bite of my sister’s bratwurst (my. favorite. meat. ever.) and being happy that I didn’t intentionally eat meat.  But, truthfully, I just couldn’t disassociate myself from the pig.  When I was holding that sausage in my hand debating whether or not to sink my teeth in, I just couldn’t do it.  And, at the end of the day, I am completely content with that decision.  Honestly, I am grateful for my ability to make the decision to be a vegetarian and willing to make the sacrifices that accompany it

Would you have take a bite of the bratwurst? No judgement, I promise.

My fascination with Freiburg only increased when my family strolled into town, and there were small bachles (kind of similar to a mini-canal) running through the streets.  Uber cute!

Luckily, we were able to meet up with one of my sister’s friend who has been living in Freiburg since the Fall of 2011, and she quickly became the Fahle Family tour guide.  The first point of interest was another climbing adventure.  Although the climb wasn’t all that difficult, I sprinted up what seemed like a million stairs to get some photos before the sun went down.  I never expected working out on the stair stepper to pay off in real life.

During our trek to admire the sunset, my family and I worked up quite the appetite. so my sister’s friend took us to a place to get schnitzel.  Schnitzel is flattened and fried meat, so I passed.  But, after a few days of relying on copious amounts of peanut butter and crackers, I was giddy to see a vegetarian menu.  Gnocchi may not be German, but it wasn’t peanut butter and crackers.

We ended the evening with a beer at a local brewery or the portion of the night that involved my parents at least.  There may have been a few more bars along my way home.

In the morning, I had to bide farewell to Freiburg and got a pretzel from the local organic grocery store – obviously.

Then, it was onto more driving through the countryside and enjoying the beautiful scenery of Germany.  Freiburg was – by far- my favorite part of our trip, and I only wish I had a few more days there to drink alongside the river, ride my bike, and enjoy freshly baked pretzels and freshly brewed beer.  But, at least, I have a good reason to go back.

St. Goar is home to the Rheinfels Castle.  Although the castle was closed, we were able to trek to the top to get an amazing view of the city and the river.  And as an added bonus, we got in some legitimate exercise.

After making the descent back into town, we drove along the river for a few minutes before ending our drive for the evening in Bacharch.  Although the town of Bacharach seemed essentially deserted for the  season, it did serve as a great place to spend a relaxing evening and enjoy the distinct German vibe of the city.  Plus, one of the restaurants had a vegan tasting menu.  I wasn’t hungry enough to beg my family to indulge me and drop thirty euros on a meal, but I was seriously impressed and intrigued.  A vegan tasting menu was the last thing I expected in Germany, especially since I spent the day subsisting off peanut butter, crackers. and chocolate (of course) for lack of any appetizing vegetarian options.

We spent the next morning meandering through some seriously empty streets and enjoying the serenity of a curiously empty German town.

Then, I, once again, found myself  following my family up the side of a hill to  get an unparalled view of the city and the countryside.  I think the five days I spent in Germany I climbed more hills than I have ever climbed in my life, but the idea of recreational exercise is growing on me.  The views aren’t bad either; they certainly beat the scenery (or lack there of) while I bob up and down on gym equipment.

Next on our agenda was Freiburg.  Frieburg was – by far- my favorite part of our road trip.  Needless to say, I was happy to feel like I was back in civilization and a uber cute civilization at that.  In fact, I liked it so much I am going to dedicate a whole blog post to it.  Tschuss!!   Be back tomorrow!