In Germany, there is a special deal when you take the train
in the weekend. Schönes Wochenender ticket it is called and it gives up to five
people unlimited travel in Germany, on the Saturday or Sunday of your choice,
for only 40 euro! It’s a steal, especially when you know that taking the train
from Berlin to Munich usually costs over 150 euro. So, our decision was quickly
made. The catch? You are only allowed to use regional trains, which is why our
journey took nine hours…
Traveling by train is relaxing and fun, even with the many
stopovers and changes. Mark and I were lucky no delays took place and we were
welcomed to Munich by our friend Sabine. She took us to her spacious,
comfortable and worldly decorated apartment, where husband Michael had prepared
a tasty dinner. We “fell with our butt in the butter” as the Dutch expression
goes, when you get lucky and spoiled! We hadn’t seen our German friends, whom
we met and traveled with in Mexico and who visited us in the Bahamas, for four
years, so we had a lot to catch up on. Our cruising life and their current
overland travels in Africa offered enough story material for weeks, so the
nights grew long.
Our first full day in Bavaria was filled with stories and
picture gazing during the rainy daytime hours and later in the afternoon, our
friends took us to Jachenau, near the border with Austria, where the Alps begin.
We were to spend a night in a cozy and typical Bavarian B&B, starting with
a very hearty dinner: fried onions, fries, slabs of pork meat and a massive
dollop of butter on top. The setting was very picturesque and the enjoyable
scene was repeated during breakfast the following day. Bellies full of dark and
sour German bread, pretzels, eggs and lunch meat we were ready for a long day
of hiking, to burn off all those calories.
It was a grey day, so the views had a cloudy lining, but the
cool mountain temperature was perfect for hiking. For about three hours, we
climbed one of the nearby peaks, where we had a simple, but delicious lunch.
Picnicking in nature with only the presence of cows and each other; life was
good! The walk back down took a couple of hours as well, since we were all
suffering from one or another ailment. For me, it was my right knee, which was
in excruciating pain with each descending step. Playing sports is healthy one
says, but years after, the body suffers… Getting old(er) is no joke!
Regardless, we all had a nice time in the mountains and after
the scenic route past a stunningly beautiful lake, we arrived back in Munich
and were ready for more eating, drinking and sightseeing. Michael showed us
around the touristy center of town, where we spoiled ourselves with a sushi
lunch. In the afternoon, Mark and I walked back home past a few other sights to
finish the day on the sunny balcony with yet another home cooked meal and
delicious wine.
Our last day in Munich was spent in peace for Mark and with
Sabine for me. The girls walked along the Isar River, gossiped about all things
important and Sabine, the color consultant,
figured out “my colors” (I am a summer – winter mix) after lunch. In the
evening, the four of us biked to the massive beer garden in Englischer Garten,
to conclude our stay the Bavarian way: with German sausages and liter draught
beers!
Day hike in the Alps
Michael, Sabine, Mark and I made it (sweaty) to the top!
The pretty Walchensee lake
Historical buildings in Munich
The beer garden in Englischer Garten: Prost!
Mark arrived in Belgium, stayed three pleasant weeks, and
left again. We had arranged three four day weekends ahead of time, with friends
and family, and realized abruptly that this meant there were only three weekdays
in between. Duh! The math is not that hard, but somehow, we assumed weeks
contained more than seven days…
During those short “weeks”, we hung out with my parents, saw
other people, had a few health related appointments and caught up on things.
Just like everywhere else in the world and at any other time in the past six
years, Mark needed to take care of Wirie business as well. Usually (in French
Polynesia and New Zealand), our days would start very early, to take the time
difference into account. In Belgium, however, his main work hours were between
3pm and 11pm, to coincide with office hours on the East Coast of the States.
Fridays and Mondays were a bit difficult with those commitments and the need
for WiFi and a “quiet office”, but in general, our weekends were a blast!
The first destination was Holland, where my cousin Griet and
her husband Wim lead us throughout Zeeland (with its tasty mussels and oysters)
to Dordrecht, where we stayed in a vacation bungalow for three nights. The
objective was to explore National Park De Biesbosch, stroll through the
historic center of Dordrecht, visit the impressive and oh so typically Dutch
“Kinderdijk” with its picturesque windmills, taste some of Wim and his two
friends’ homebrewed beers and chill out in good company. We succeeded on all
fronts and had a wonderful time with beautiful weather.
During our second weekend, Mark and I borrowed my mum’s car
to drive to the Ardennes, in the southeast of Belgium. Our friends Rosy and
Peter had arranged a rental house for a group of eight adults and four
children. We happened to be in the country at the right time and were invited
along. What followed was a very relaxed weekend with interesting, multicultural
people, some hikes and perfect, sunny weather. We split cooking and other
duties and had a very nice time. On the last day, two of the families had left,
but Rosy, Peter, Yanou, Mark and I made a little trip to the pretty town of La
Roche, where we visited the castle and had lunch, before the long, traffic
ridden drive back “home”.
The weekend before Mark left again, we were welcomed by
Sabine and Michael, German friends we met many years ago while camping in
Mexico. Since the last time we saw them, three years ago, they had moved from
Munich to a cute town in the German countryside, where they are happily settled
in a very unique, historic and charming cottage. They showed us around the
area, introduced their horses and cars to us, took us out to dinner, let us
savor their amazing artistic creations (photographs, movies and pottery), and
joined us to Bonn for a not so impressive Africa Festival. As always, we had a
really good time with them, exchanging travel stories and future plans. Thanks
to my parents again for lending us their only car for another four days, a car
I have been using much more than they have the past seven weeks!!
