May 27, 2015

Dive Log: Grüblsee in Styria, Austria

May 27, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

We took advantage of another long weekend in May (there are quite a few of them this month!) and headed to Austria for some diving and to check another item off of our bucket list. We booked two day tours with a dive shop out of Vienna, Neptun Diving. On Saturday, we dove at Grüblsee near Vorndernberg, Austria. And what a dive it was! The small lake, more of a pond really, is located at about 800 meters (2600 feet) in elevation, with a small dive shop and school next to it. It is officially the highest dive school in all of Europe! Surrounded on three sides by mountains and looking over a nearby ski area, the scenery is pretty awesome. We were blessed with beautiful weather too - not too hot for dry suit diving, but not too cold so that you couldn't warm up between dives.

May 15, 2015

Dive Log: Diving in Iceland - Part 3 (Bucket List Item!)

May 15, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

I remember the exact moment that I first learned about Silfra. We were on our way back from Roatan, having just spent a week diving in clear, warm, Caribbean waters, about a month after getting certified. We were waiting to board our last plane from Atlanta back to Detroit when Aaron looked at me and said, ''We should dive Iceland someday.'' I balked. That water was cold! What is there to see in Iceland? And that's when he showed me the pictures. I was sold. But we were still new to diving and missing some crucial gear (i.e. a drysuit) and experience. Not to mention flights are usually fairly expensive from the US to Iceland. So, I thought it would be years and years before we were able to dive it.

May 12, 2015

Dive Log: Diving in Iceland - Part 2

May 12, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

The next day, we were supposed to be diving in a lake fed by a geothermal hot spring. However, a storm had washed away part of the gravel road leading to it, therefore making it inaccessible while we were there. That's a testament to just how rugged the landscape is in Iceland. Even though it has been inhabited for over 1000 years, from when the first Vikings landed there, very little of the island has been tamed by man. But, it's a good thing to leave some things unspoiled.

April 10, 2015

Dive Log: Attersee, Austrian Alps

April 10, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Easter weekend is a long weekend in Europe and most people have Friday and Monday off. We would have hated to waste the long weekend sitting at home, so we did what we do most weekends: traveled! At first, we wanted to go back to the Netherlands, to Keukenhof, to see the tulips in full bloom, but hotel prices were through the roof! I couldn't find anything less than about 120 euro per night. And over 3 nights, that can get expensive. Enter plan B: Austria!

March 13, 2015

Bucket List: Visiting the Poseidon Factory in Gothenburg, Sweden

March 13, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

One of the items on our European Bucket List was the visit the Poseidon factory in Gothenburg, Sweden. Conveniently, we were already going to Sweden, so it was just a matter of strategically planning flights (which ended up being 3 one way tickets; to read about planning flights, visit this blog post). We left on Thursday night after work, flew to Gothenburg via Copenhagen. We spent the night in Gothenburg and Friday morning, jumped on a tram and headed to the factory.

March 03, 2015

Dive Log : Bodensee

March 03, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

And another month down! I can't believe it's March already! Seriously, where is this year going?! I can't think of a better way to usher out one month and welcome the next better than diving, and so that's how we spent the weekend. Some friends of ours invited us to head down to Bodensee with them for a couple of weekend dives. Bodensee is the largest lake in Germany and the third largest in central Europe, and it is nestled in the foothills of the Alps.

February 05, 2015

Underwater Cities

February 05, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

On Sunday, we checked off another item on our Bucket List - diving in Sundhäuser See. I can't remember exactly how I found out about this lake, although I think it was this PADI article I read about a year ago. What caught my eye was the underwater city part. And the fact that it was one of the closer ones to us that was listed. We weren't going to be far from the lake so it naturally made sense to pay it a visit.