Blogs from Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Europe - page 9

Just some pics for now. I haven't blogged for a while. I will write when I get a chance. Soon. Paul... read more

Friday 10 July 2015 After a good night's sleep in our wonderfully appointed apartment in the Mosel Valley village of Sankt Aldegund we have a full day to get to Metz by late afternoon. We went to say our goodbyes to our host and were introduced to a Belgian couple who were staying on for a few days. Their English was very good, explained by "Nobody else speaks Flemish so we have to learn other languages...". It would have been easy to stay on enjoying the chance to chat with this couple and our hosts but we have some serious meandering to do up the Mosel Valley, so it was into the car for a self-directed excursion. Polly can be silenced but faithfully records our movements on her map, so we never feel entirely alone. Our ... read more

Wednesday 8 July 2015 Today is for meandering up one side of the River Rhine and down the other. We have made the brave decision to turn Polly off and find our own way using nothing but sheer Kiwi intelligence. There is a feeling of daring and anything could happen as we negotiate the roads leading to the east bank of the Rhine. A couple of attempts at connecting with the appropriate road and we were there close to the water, trying to snatch photo opportunities before they disappeared. Castles on hill tops, river views often with barges, sometimes two joined together, large river cruise boats, small river cruise boats, trains constantly running past, as well as car ferries taking the place of bridges, all these and more kept our cameras working hard as we made ... read more

Dzień zaczęłyśmy od kąpieli i małej zimnej kawy. Sprawdziłam skąd i o której odjeżdża autobus. Okazało się że mamy autobus całkiem niedaleko naszego hotelu. Postanowiłyśmy iść na 9.43. Zdążyłyśmy dosłownie na ostatnią sekundę. Byłyśmy bardzo zadowolone ponieważ następny był za godzinę. Postanowiłyśmy że najpierw pójdziemy coś zjeść a ja jeszcze marzyłam o dobrej kawie. Wysiadłyśmy na dworcu i po rozeznaniu się w sytuacji i terenie poszłyśmy w stronę rzeki Ren kierując się jednocześnie w stronę centrum. Ren i okolica nie były ujmujące jako że niebo było zachmurzone i brakowało dobrego humoru. Przez jakiś czas szłyśmy wzdłuż rzeki jednak Gloria zdecydowała się iść do informacji turystycznej a potem zaraz na śniadanie. W informacji kupiłyśmy mapę Koblenz i poszłyśmy coś zjeść. Miałyśmy duże szczęście bo trafiłyśmy na fajnie wyglądającą restaurację która miała certyfikat of excellence Tri... read more

Where the hell is Landau/Pfalz, many of you might ask now. You have no idea how many times I had to explain this to people during the two years that I lived in the small town. It is located roughly between Karlsruhe and Heidelberg in the southwest of Germany (no, the one on Lake Constance is Lindau…) and is surrounded by vineyards. Consequently there are a lot of wineries. The landscape around Landau is rather scenic, with the Pfälzerwald close by, which is great for hiking, climbing, and cycling. Alsace is not far. Thus the surroundings are really nice, but Landau is of course anything but a cosmopolitan city. I did my undergraduate studies there, not by choice, but I was sent there by ZVS, an authority that at the time allocated applicants who wanted to ... read more