Diary Archive • Seite 5 von 10 • Die Meurers

Week 56: Rhinehesse

From the Eifel we went to the beautiful Rhinehesse. After the Eifel with its many varieties, landscapes and attractions Rhinehesse was completely different and quite calm. Here nothing is dramatic. There is a lot of landscape and view. Over grain fields and vine. In-between some wind turbines and some nice little villages. That’s it. If you want more you can go to Mainz, Worms or Bingen. But in the countryside there are only the small nice fine hidden and reserved things. If you open you eyes you will discover many thing and find the right thing for you. We explored many villages and have seen interesting things. For example we now know what a trullo is. We have never heard of it before. We ate ‚Spundekäs‘ – a cheese and we did not dare to drive through a brooke where no bridge exists… We are still struggling with the German and

Week 55: In the Eifel

From Kannenbaeckerland we went to the Eifel. A short trip and so we arrived quite early on Sunday in Lommersbach, a part of Blankenheim. We were welcomed by a very nice old landlady from the holiday house Höppches. We got sparkling wine and snacks. Then we moved into the small cosy half timbered house. Really rustic with an open fire place, a washing machine (!) and fast Wifi – at least in the corridor. https://twitter.com/DieMeurers/status/747019555726295040 https://twitter.com/DieMeurers/status/747029945327751168 Right after that we had our meeting with the tourism office to plan the program for the week. A huge surprise were all the regional products we received, like beer and cheese or mineral water and juices. Perfect! So we had enough to eat for the whole week. And we got a lot of reading material like brochures and flyers. After lunch we went out to discover the surrounding of the holiday home and

The Ahr valley (nearly) without wine and hiking

Two things are big in the Ahr valley (Ahrtal). Those are WINE and HIKING. But there is also another side of the valley. We spent one week there and experienced a lot other things without hiking the famous red wine hiking trail or the Ahrsteig. Okay we drank a little bit of wine. But we also have seen many interesting things and spots. We have seen the big sputterer at the spa gardens in Bad Neuenahr. You can drink the healing water but you can also watch it coming out of the depth. The spa gardens are even without the spectacle worth a visit. You can stroll through it and if that is not enough you walk the streets of the old town. And because the Bad in ‚Bad Neuenahr‘ means ‚spa‘ we visited the thermal spring ‚Ahr‘. Unfortunately only for taking pictures. Here you can bath in different kinds

Week 52: Part Two – Houseboat on the Müritz

What happened so far you can read here: Week 51: On a houseboat on the Müritz – Part 1 Part 2 Next morning we went with our skipper Rolf to Fürstenberg. The villages nearby are tiny and nice. It is really worth a stop to have a walk around. Maybe for having a coffee or doing the groceries. After that you can drive on. Or you stay at the harbour until next morning. If the harbour is too far away you can take the bike. Today on our trip there was the first self service lock. Was no problem at all. Though we had expected it. You pull a lever and everything else is announced on a display. We were lucky and did not have to wait too long. Again we had to get fresh water. Very adventurous. At the footbridge there was no hose and we had to get one

Week 51: On a houseboat on the Müritz – Part 1

Being on a houseboat. Who does not know the pictures of nice boats in a narrow channel. The ads promise total relaxation. It looks like you are always only 2 meters away from the banks and can jump any time ashore. The boat is floating so slowly that you can walk beside and pick flowers. You glide slowly along end enjoy your vacation. Every now and then there is a bollard where you can stop and sit on the sun terrace and can read or eat or do anything. Once in a while there is a small village. You land and stroll through it over a nice market place where you can get fresh food for dinner. Or you visit the village and stop in a nice coffee place. How beautiful! So much for the theory. And our ideas of it. But it was different. First you get a lot

Week 50 – Spring in Tannheimer Tal

Actually we should have been somewhere else. In Estonia or so. In our ‚tourdates‘ it stated for several months „travel agency in formation“. Well – not really. It was a travel agency which wanted to expand into a new business field. And suddenly we were not needed any more. Very annoying that we have been told on a very short notice. But… There are serial bookers. So the Tannheimer Valley used the window of opportunity and the Meurers experienced the valley in spring. In the winter times we very much liked it. We even have tried cross country skiing. And now in spring everything that was white before is green. And instead of kilometers of slopes there are ways. For biker. For strollers. For hikers. But it is still cosy. A far reaching view. No haste. Being outside. Pure relaxation. Because of a bad weather forecast we started directly after

Week 49: On the Ritten

After having been in Bolzano and finding it very relaxing, we went uphill. On the Ritten. THE Ritten! Here the summer retreat was invented – a couple of years ago. Well-tended lolling around in dizzy heights. But it is still charming. Here it looks like back then. And if you squint you eyes you can still see the ladies jaunt with their fine sun umbrellas. Jaunt or hike… Here on top there are numerous hiking trails but also very nice places to linger. Also the small train drives very slowly. And the crossings are totally romantic and mostly there are unguarded level crossings. You can even walk over them. The conductors are very relaxed. At least we have not been checked. There is no ‚ please stand back‘ but the small train just starts moving. Great! Great are also the earth pyramids. Some are really hidden and there are no

Week 48: Bolzano – Encounter of Cultures

After having stayed at the lakeside we went right into town: Bolzano. We stayed at the Hotel Post Gries. But also Bolzano is contemplative. So contemplative that on Sunday we nearly got nothing to eat. Introspectively it went on. Strolling down the street of Freedom to the river and through the park with different sports and activity possibilities. Everything here is big. Big places. Big parks. Big arcades. Big monuments. Huge alleys. Beautiful. And as slowing down as the week before. No urban bustle. More Meditarranean. Nobody runs. Everybody walks slowly. Well! In the traffic people honk. And some shout into their phone. But otherwise it is quiet. Water calms down. And there is water in the middle of the town. At least there is a laundromat. You can pass the time with a coffee. We did everything in Bolzano by foot. Our car stayed in the underground car park.

Week 47: At The Kalterer See in Bolzano Region

From the Elbe to the Kalterer See. We keep staying near the water… We said good bye to the Elbe and went towards the region around Bolzano. On our way we noticed a lot of hitchhikers. Some of them had funny costumes. At a service station we took a closer look and learned that it was a hitchhiker ralley. A challenge is just the right thing for us. So we piled all our stuff in the car and took a team (2 people) with us to Bolzano. 1000 hitchhikers started from Poland to find out who could reach Rome first. What an idea… https://twitter.com/DieMeurers/status/726780764789084160 Only a couple of kilometers from Bolzano lies the Kalterer See. Here everything is about wine. We stayed at the guesthouse Remichhof and had a nice room with a small balcony and lakeview at the side. The main view was to the – of course –

Week 46 – Saxonian Switzerland Part 2

This week we did not need to change hotels. That meant we did not have to pack our suitcases, travel and unpack again. We stayed at the hotel in Rathen. Pure luxury! On sunday we had some difficulties with our schedule but managed anyway to meet a very inspiring person: Sven-Erik Hitzer. The Bioneer of Schmilka, he is called. We had a very nice talk and we are very thankful that we met him. We got together at the chocolate manufactory where we had a fantastic frothed hot cocoa. Unfortunately we could not visit the production later… On Monday we have been in Wehlen and visited the biker’s church and the small Saxon Switzerland. Here a stone-cutter works and builds miniatures of the saxon sandstone mountains. And we met the instigator of the mile of art. There are 5 artists working and living there. Biker’s Church Stadt Wehlen Stone-cutter “Kleine