Now that you've heard of Live Escape Rooms, go do one.

It's still surprising to me that there are people who haven't heard of Live Escape Rooms. I know they are sweeping the planet, available in most cities.

So far we've done these...

Istanbul (I&M, with friends): MazeUp - Ottoman (2016)
London (all of us, 2 teams): HintHunt - Zen Room ^
Paris (I&M): HintHunt - JM's office
Amman (5 of us plus an extra, 2 teams): Escape the Room - Secret Storeroom
Amman (Ian, team building): Escape the Room - Detective Office
Berlin (I&M): House of Tales - Kowloon (adult) (May 2017)
Prague (all of us, 2 teams): Mind Maze - Alchemist's Chamber
Belfast (all of us): Escap3d - Heroin Den
Frankfurt (all of us): Escape Events - BioHazard
Frankfurt (all of us): Secret Escape - The Secret of the Dolls (added June 2017)
Dublin (all of us): Adventure Rooms Dublin - Classic Black Queen (added July 2017)
Dublin (all of us, 2 teams): Escape Dublin - EMCU Trials (added July 2017)
Copenhagen (I&M): TimeQuest - Prison Break (Oct 2017)
Copenhagen (I&M): TimeQuest - The White Room (Oct 2017) ^
Trier (I&M and boys): It's a Trap - Mechanic Shop (Nov 2017) *
Trier (I&M and boys): It's a Trap - Photography Lab (Nov 2017) *
London (all of us, 2 teams): ClueQuest - Plan 52 (Mar 2018)
London (I&M and girls): ClueQuest - Operation Blacksheep (Mar 2018)
London (I&M and girls): ClueQuest - Revenge of the Sheep (Mar 2018) ^
Budapest (I & N): E-Exit - 1984 (Aug 2018)
Copenhagen (I & N): Escape Room by Midgaard: Sherlock (Oct 2018)
Malmo (I & N): The Alley: The Control Room (Oct 2018)
Wraclow (I&M): Let Me Out: Wonderland (Nov 2018)
Wraclow (I&M): Exit19: Identity (Nov 2018)
Wraclow (I&M): Let Me Out: Hexit (Nov 2018) (In a deviation from the norm, we will comment on this room: we do NOT recommend Hexit.  Every room has its challenges, but this one is designed FOR PROGRAMMERS.  And perhaps people who take programming as a serious hobby who can manage binary, hexadecimal, python, a weird form of computer Sudoku, a data/program flowchart, a server room with all sorts of stuff we couldn't figure out....)
Geneva (the fam): Lost'n'Scape, teams split between Alcatraz and Van Gogh, one group escaped (Becca, Amanda, Nicholas and me) and the other didn't (Ian, Katherine, Jonathon) (Dec 2018)
Geneva (the fam): TripTrap - Brotherhood of Stone (identical rooms, 3 in one room (M, K, J) beat the 4 in the other (I, B, N, A)) (Dec 2018)
Copenhagen (I&M): ClockedIn:  Vlad D Hanson's Cocktail Party (March 2019) *
Malmo (I&M): The Alley Escape Room: The Last Hand (March 2019) ^^
Krakow (I, M, J and friends): Combinator ExitGame: Pirate Room (April 2019)
Krakow (I, M, J and friends): Combinator ExitGame: Krakow Beast (April 2019) ^
London (M, J): Escapeland: Right to the Throne (Sept 2019)
London (M, J): Escapeland: DaVinci's Exploration (Sept 2019)
Colchester, UK (I, M, J): Escape: 221B Baker Street (Feb 2020)

St. John's, Newfoundland, CAN (I, M): EscapeQuest: Best Kind Rewind (July 2024)^

St. John's, Newfoundland, CAN (I, M): EscapeQuest: Land of the Faeries (July 2024)

U.S.:
DC (Ian, team building): Insomnia Escape Room - Alchemist
Orlando (all of us): The Escape Game - Prison Break (2016)
Orlando (all of us):  The Escape Game - Heist (2016)
Savannah, GA: Encryption - Shanghai Savannah (April 2019) - be aware, this place will group you with strangers unless you book a private room
Jacksonville, NC: Cracked It! - Defcon 1 Red Alert  (April 2019) - be aware, this place will group you with strangers unless you book a private room
Fairfax Station, VA (Ian and J for 4 rooms, I, M, J for Mansion Murder): all 5 rooms - Escapology (June 2019)
Virginia Beach, VA (I, M, J): Breakout Games - Island Escape (June 2019) *
Surf City/Topsail Beach, NC (the whole fam!): Topsail Escape Room - Movie Theater (June 2019) *
Herndon, VA (I, M, J):  Escape Room Herndon/RavenChase Adventures - 8-Bit Escape - this place will book you with strangers unless you have 50%+ in your group for the room, then you can request for them to block the rest of the room without charge (June 2019) ^
Atlanta, GA (R, N, J, M and a friend): Room Escape Atlanta - The Rescue (Sept 2019)
Atlanta, GA (R, N, J, M and a friend): Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta - Enigma (Sept 2019)
Fayetteville, NC (I, M, N): Escapology - MayDay (Nov 2019)
Atlanta, GA (I, M, R): Breakout Games - Operation: Casino (Nov 2019) *
Arlington, VA (M and Kids): Escape Room Arlington/Ravenchase - Supervillains (Dec 2019)
Arlington, VA (M, I, K, N, and Erich): Escape Room Arlington/Ravenchase - Glitch (Feb 2020)

Fairfax Station, VA: Escapology - The Code (J, K, Erich) and Cuban Crisis (I, M, R) (July 2020)

Fairfax Station, VA (I, M, J, R): Escapology - Narco (July 2020) *

Arlington, VA (I, M, J, R): RavenChase - Mind Trap (Aug 2020)

Arlington, VA (I,M, J): RavenChase - Secret in the Attic (Aug 2020)

Raleigh, NC (I, M, N, and Matt): The Tower Escapes - The Castle of Loches (April 2021)

Lake Tahoe, NV (I, M): Puzzle Room Tahoe - Below Ground (May 2021)

Lake Tahoe, NV (I, M): Puzzle Room Tahoe - Lost Cabin (May 2021)

Lake Tahoe, NV (I, M): Puzzle Room Tahoe - Valley of the Kings (May 2021)

Reno, NV (I, M): Break Through Reno - The Centurion Heist (May 2021)

^ A Favorite
* Not Recommended

The general idea is the same for all escape rooms. You are "locked" in a room, given 60 minutes to unravel the clues and puzzles, and escape. Some rooms are decidedly easier than others, most rooms need 3-4 brains to get out in time. If you have a 2-person team it's easy to miss simple things, especially if the room(s) is particularly dark.  If there are more than 4 players you run the risk of tripping over each other as spaces also tend to be small, especially if you have multiple rooms to work through.

You'll also have an eye-in-the-sky in the form of an employee who tosses you clues if you're plain stuck. That help can come in different ways.

The best rooms are non-linear, meaning that everyone on your team has a puzzle to focus on and enough items in the room to investigate.  We enjoy rooms with hidden doors, use of tech, and clever puzzles. Our favorite was probably HintHunt in London, and least was Escap3d in Belfast (though Belfast still gets talked about, not necessarily for good reasons).

Obviously, all this is very general, for good reason. Never give away any information as it ruins it for others.  Really best to go in blind and just enjoy your time. We encourage you to give them a go, and let us know which ones you recommend.

Find one near you. Just search Escape Room Near Me.

A quick anniversary trip to Berlin

Happy 21 years to us :)

Ian and I hopped up to Berlin for a couple days.  While it's driveable in 5 hours, when you only have a couple days it is easier to fly. Thursday evening we wandered around to Checkpoint Charlie and had dinner at the Seaside.  We recommend the Seaside as you choose your fish from the ice counter and pick your sides (my spargal risotto was beyond tasty), and it was all fantastic.  We had great weather on Thursday, so while we were indoors all the glass doors were open to the street.

Friday morning we made our way across the street to the Einstein Kaffee for breakfast.  Ian and the gentleman behind the counter struck up a conversation in Arabic - way cool.  We went there for breakfast the next morning too.

The day was stunning, warm with clear blue skies.

Checkpoint Charlie

We had a plan for Friday.  First, the DDR Museum, an interactive look into life in East Berlin.  I'm used to my museums American-sized... huge and too much to do in a trip.  European museum are like their fast food... small portions in small packaging. But the DDR is a hands-on museum, so to read and do all it offers still takes 2-3 hours. The only drawback, and I don't think it's avoidable, is it's the perfect place for a school group.  You're not going to lose your students in a German museum, but they do take up ALL the physical space, and the noise they make takes up all the audio space. Since they also had a scavenger hunt sheet to fill in, they also took up all the moving around space. Ian and I just sighed.  The museum is well done and well worth a visit. Try to time it without the school group. Good luck.

After an early afternoon break at the hotel we found our way to the Liquidrom.  We don't usually pack swimsuits but with the potential of the Liquidrom, we tossed them in. After living near the Dead Sea (a decidedly interesting but gross place to hang out), we looked forward to floating again in salt water. We spent 2 hours and the first 30 minutes we had the salt pool all to ourselves, floating in bathwater, watching the colored lights, and listening to the classical music under water. Swimsuits required in the salt pool, but optional in the rest of the facility. We had a quick snack and sat by the outdoor pool for a bit before enjoying one of the saunas and the steam room. Germans are very free at their spas, saunas, steam rooms, parks, swimming pools... The saunas were towels only.  The steam room was no fabrics. NO fabrics. Farewell towel. Farewell swimsuit. It's the most German thing we've done.  For 5 minutes. Steam rooms are really hot and uncomfortable. Back to the salt pool for more total relaxation. It was a delightful time, so glad we went.

Back for a little break and it was dinner time.  On the next block was the Rausch Schokoladenhaus - Cafe & Restaurant - everything is touched with chocolate. The bread was infused with cocoa nibs.  The pasta had chocolate shavings. The meat was sprinkled with cocoa and chili. The cafe is over the chocolate shop, and the dessert options looked beyond delicious. The molten chocolate cake definitely was. Of course we recommend it. Go early, it closes at 7.

Saturday we weren't heading home until the later afternoon, so over dinner we checked Trip Advisor for its recommendations.  We knew we'd walk down to the Brandenburg Gate at some point, but before that we figured.. what about an Escape Rooms.  I figure I'll write a separate blog post about Escape Rooms (it's such a surprise still when people don't know what they are).  There are a number of options in Berlin, but one a few blocks away won due to proximity. On Trip Advisor it's called Team Escapes and said it was open until 9:30.  We stopped in to ask about a reservation.  They've changed their name to House of Tales, and have 4 rooms. Check out their website to see their offerings, but we were encouraged to take on Kowloon - Walled City. We weren't fully aware, but as it turns out, Kowloon was their hardest room and claimed to handle 6 people (up to 12 if you have enough for 2 teams).  We needed one more person to get out in time, someone to double- and triple-check puzzles and catch on to things a little quicker, but 6 people would have been tripping over each other so don't do that.  But fair warning, Kowloon is for 18yo and up. Seriously. It is extremely mature. Adults only. No, srsly.

We had a ton of fun but didn't make it out in time, so that was disappointing. They did let us finish. The only recommendation I'd have is to have a visible timer, or a reminder that the phone they hand you can be used as a clock. The first time we had a warning was with 10 minutes left.

Across the street from the escape room was the Trabant Car Museum. We were a little confused why there was a museum dedicated to the crappy Easter German car produced that was made of largely recycled plastic waste. I guess I answered my own question right there.

We made our way to the Bradenburg Gate and planned to walk through the Tiergarten but the entire area was closed off for a race. It was then we realized the true attraction of the Trabant... the Trabi-Safari. Trabants were making there way through the streets of Berlin, mixed in with the Segway tours, the Hop On Hop Off buses, the bicycles, the Hot Rods... It looks like it'd be a great way to see Berlin.  Who wouldn't want to ride around in a cardboard and plastic deathtrap?

So happy 21st Anniversary to my sweetie.  Thank you for the trip to Berlin.  Time with you is always fun and I love to laugh with you and see the world with you. This journey is amazing and I'm so glad I get to do it with you walking next to me.

Frankfurt ComiCon

SO many people were dressed up, but no, no photos of them. I'm not one to ask strangers for their photo.  How many Negans and Deadpools can one ComiCon hold?

Look it up.

We saw Podrick signing autographs.

Look it up.

There were little sets all over with costumed folks setting the scene and inviting people for photos, like the Governor's room with his heads in fish tanks, and a spot for the various storm troopers to collect with a Star Wars hall behind them. It was fun to watch people take their poses.

We'll probably go next year :)

Back to all odds.

Wish Nicholas a happy 17th birthday :)

Nicholas is 17, Jonathon is 15, Rebecca is 19, and Katherine is 21. Kinda nuts.

A weekend in South Africa

Most of the places Ian travels to aren't hot spots of awesomeness. Most are middle of the road, some are kind of "challenging," but there are a couple that are pretty neat.  Copenhagen, yes.  And I was lucky to accompany him to Johannesburg.  It's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing because chances are pretty good we won't get down that way for a tour.  And just like our fantastic trip to Moscow when the Gormans were there, we were lucky to have the Hales in Pretoria for our time in South Africa. (and Dan in Stuttgart when we went through, and Rebecca in Copenhagen, and the Woodards in Munich...) Hotel living is fine but it's really fun when you have some friends showing you around.

The Hales live in a house on the side of a hill that overlooks a conservation park.  When they're lucky, they see wild animals from their gazebo.  And 15 minutes away is a safari park. (They spend their vacations in safari parks all over, one of their latest trips was to Botswana).

Part of the park is sectioned off for their lions, who were all doing a very cat thing. Sleeping. The park has 2 males and 4 females, broken into 2 rotating groups of 3 for 5 days inside the small enclosure and 5 days in the broad sweeping open area.

Welcome to Jurassic Park.

She's so pretty.

In the main park there are no tall animals due to lighting strikes (bunches of trees are charcoal, keep the giraffes out of there!), but plenty of zebras, ostriches, eland (big antelope), and even some rhinos and medium cats.  The cats there, as expected, were never seen.  Not with those tall grasses and it being the middle of the day.  We did track down a rhino which was very cool and we'd not found it unless someone pointed us in the right direction and it started moving in the shade of a tree.

Dark blob under tree = Rhino

The safari, as undersold as it was by Jason, was very awesome.  I know it doesn't rank with open jeep trips in massive parks following herds of elephants, but for a quick trip down the road on a weekend visit to South Africa.... Fantastic.

They took us to dinner at Crawdaddy's, showed us the Voortrekker Monument, found a Starbucks so I could get a Pretoria mug, and let us stay overnight in their home (thanks Noah!). We promised the Hales we'd visit while they were in SA and they took great care of us.  Thank you!

Wait, let me back up.  The Voortrekker Monument. Wow. I have to say I'm amazed it hasn't been torched and torn down brick by brick.  The history of Dutch (and British) advancement into South Africa is one that mirrors almost down to the tale of the colonizer advancement into north America. Covered wagons, indigenous peoples, backstabbing, sorties, guns vs spears.  And it's all told in a huge relief carved into the walls of the monument.  The Dutch are civilized.  The natives are barbaric. It was really awful.  The museum in the basement was interesting in a "hey, we have these identical things back in the States." I'm glad I went, I'd never go back.

Back in Johannesburg, Ian had some work, but we also had a day off so we got a tour guide through the hotel and went out for a day.  From the Apartheid Museum to the South Western Township (SoWeTo... Soweto), we spent all day out and about with our guide, Shepherd.  I think the most eye-opening part was realizing that the architects of apartheid learned from the processes, and mistakes, of the Nazis and other oppressive regimes.  Their design was brilliant and horrifying.

Stones in the garden plots outside Mandela's home.

Awesome birds wandering around.

Soweto matchbox home.

Bear with me, I know you know all this already, but I learned a lot (which is the point after all).  After reading Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, I was more aware of how much I didn't (and still don't) know about SA history.  Everyone knows that Mandela was released from prison in 1990, was elected president in 1994, and died in 2013. He was in prison for 27 years for conspiracy and sabotage against the existing government. Apartheid ended between 1990-1993, but of course, like in our own history, that doesn't mean that racism went out the window and everyone lives happily together in a grand world of middle-class abundance.  Far from it.  One of Mandela's promises was that houses would be built and given to all those who needed one - the matchbox homes... two rooms with electricity and water. The promise has still not been fulfilled. Part of our tour was visiting the home of a man who still lives in a shack.  His mother still lives in a shack.  She has been on the list to receive a home for 30 years.  Now with his own family, he is on the list as well, much further down. If there's anything that drives home white privileged American, it's visiting a man in his home made of random boards and corrugated plastic and metal sheets. Like my time in Antananarivo (and Lomé and Chennai and...) seeing this level of poverty is nothing new to me, but...

Black Madonna of Soweto

And then there was the visit to the Catholic Church where in June 1976, a Soweto student uprising led to children and teenagers converging on the only place that was open to them after police began shooting.  In the mayhem in the streets, one particular child became the touchstone for the movement. Hector Pieterson was shot and killed, along with hundreds of others. What were they marching against?  The language taught in the classroom. It's a convoluted tale and best read elsewhere, like here.

And our last stop was at the former home of Nelson and Winnie Mandela.  Mandela was married 3 times, the middle one was Winnie who still lives in Soweto, but elsewhere.  It was an interesting glimpse into where Nelson Mandela became the statesman.

A visit with a touch of learning. We may never go back to SA, but I know this trip will stick with me.

Madagascar (& South Africa)

With Ian's job, he has a team of folks on his team... a group in Frankfurt, one in DC, one in Johannesburg, and one in Bangkok. While he has a set of countries in his portfolio, he also accompanies each of his team members on a trip every year or two to one of the countries in their portfolios. For this trip, it was with his Joburg team member to the island vacation spot of Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Antananrivo gets high marks as a posting.  People seem to love living there, and the Embassy crew seems to get along well. As a vacation spot though, the city is not great. Get out of the city to the rest of the island for ecotourism, beaches, etc. and yes, Madagascar is pretty amazing.

But Ian was working, so I hung out at the hotel on a short street with gates and guards at both ends and a handful of shops in the middle. Had lazy breakfasts. Read a lot. Got a massage. And had plenty of time to relax and do nothing. Looking back, it was a nice break. While there, I admit I was approaching bored.

Then we saw lemurs and the world sparkled again. The nearby Lemur Park is only 45 minutes outside the city.  There are 9 types of lemurs, 6 diurnal and 3 nocturnal.

The countryside is pretty awesome.

The park tour is guided and lasts about an hour. Lemurs are fed several times a day so it's not hard to see them and the park is shaded and relatively small.

We returned to Johannesburg for a few days of both work and vacation. With a weekend to spend, we took the Gautrain to Pretoria to visit some friends from our Amman days.

Blue skies in Copenhagen.

The second day of wandering around Copenhagen was less directed.  What I did accomplish was a haircut and a trip to the Statens museum, their national gallery of art.

My visit with Gerti the hairstylist came from a stroke of luck.  Everywhere else I stopped in was booked for days.  Gerti had a slot open an hour later and was a block from the hotel. We chatted for an hour about Trump, kids, hair, Obama, movies... She showed me photos of Nyhavn when it was being filmed for "The Danish Girl" and her shop had its sign removed and she "became a fish monger." I learned one of her sons is the Danish voice-over for Batman... the regular Batman, and the Lego one... and is currently in South Africa working in the next Tomb Raider movie. A friend of hers stopped by and absolutely had to show me her clothes, clothes she'd made herself. I had a delightful time, and forgot my credit card in the machine on my way out. A block later back at the hotel I noticed and returned, where she was standing with my card.  I recommend Gerti at Nyhavn 6, 1051 København K, Denmark.

Beautiful blue skies.

The rest of the day I really did wander, until Ian was almost done with work, and I wandered to the Statens museum of Kunst.  The State Art Museum. With only an hour to check it out, (my goal had been the Hirschsprung Collection, but it closed an hour earlier), I visited the Danes. The audioguide is free and only covers the main pieces, but it was enough.

A kind of art I'd never seen before, death
stealing a child from its mother.

In the French and "general European" sections down the hall I didn't see much that grabbed me. They do boast a couple Matisse, but even those... not a huge fan.  But the Danes really have something going on, akin to the Dutch and I'm sure that's not a coincidence. There is something remarkable in their story-telling of day-to-day lives that isn't completely judgmental, mythological, or other-worldly. Normal people doing normal things in a brilliantly rendered way.

That evening we had dinner at the home of one of Ian's A100 classmates. Thank you Rebecca!

Saturday was another gorgeous day, and one I was able to spend with Ian wandering the streets.  We followed the noontime marching band to Ameliasborg Palace and watched the changing of the guard, or the moving of the flag, or something (never did figure it out, haven't looked it up), and made our way to the Strøget where we had a delightful lunch outside, people-watching. As it was outside, our waitress told us the house policy was to charge folks immediately for their order.  We had a good chuckle at that, and asked how they managed dessert... in a separate bill? We didn't care one way or the other how they managed their billing, but after that question she asked her manager and came back with the announcement that our bill would come at the end of the meal.  I guess we didn't sound like we were going to make a run for it.

The Strøget is your typical pedestrian tourist trap, if there were cars driving across it and parked through it. Kind of annoying. I brought him to my old haunts (I was there the day before, I can say that), and that's when we saw this place.

Oh yes we did!

I'm not sure if I recommend getting your feet chewed on by fish or not.  I'll admit that my feet came out quite nice, but is it worth the 20 minutes of tingling like they've both fallen asleep? Is it worth knowing that, according to the words on the wall, the fish magic comes from fish spit? Is it worth sticking your feet into water that also has fish droppings? Seriously, these fish have a diet of dead skin on people's smelly feet? Isn't that considered animal cruelty? Glad we did it, don't think we'll ever do it again.

With such lovely weather, and it being a Saturday, the city was teeming with people. We ambled about and returned to the hotel to collect our bags, but not before taking the typical Nyhavn selfie.

The sun ruined it!

And we discovered that on the pier next to our Admiral Hotel (look it up, it's AWESOME), was a sauna and hot tub set up.  My coat smelled like burned sauna fuel (oil? wood? peat? horse hair?) for days afterwards.  And those weren't your average every day hot tubs.  Oh no.

Next time... better than fish, I'm sure.

We'd recommend spending some time in Denmark.  Truly, before I went up I looked on Trip Advisor and wasn't all that impressed. Maybe people just don't rave about it? Are they calm and serene people? But I had a great time and there are things I still would like to see (Kronborg Castle aka the inspiration for Elsinore Castle in Hamlet) and that Hirschsprung Collection, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Thank you Denmark for a lovely time with lovely people.