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On Italy

I could never understand why Italians have such admiration for Alonso, Schumacher or Gilles Villeneuve – some of the great drivers that graced Ferrari with their skills. Italy produces some of the best sport cars in the world.  Bugatti, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia and Lamborghini just to name a few, but  are there no Italian drivers capable […]

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Arena di Verona

Built in the first century AD Arena di Verona was the third largest amphitheatre in the empire.  It used to hold 30,000 people when it was completed.  Today Arena di Verona is a great venue for many concerts and performances from the likes of  Muse, Radiohead, The Pink Floyd and many others.  There are also […]

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Verona

William Shakespeare made Verona famous with its tragedies.  Verona is a gorgeous city with its quiet streets, many churches, the magnificent Arena and of course Juliet’s balcony.  We did a lot of walking around, a bit of shopping and a whole lot of eating as we usually do.  I think we will be coming back […]

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Eating in Italy

Navigating the Italian gastronomical universe is not an easy task. In the galaxy of choices that are presented on an average menu, in an average restaurant one can easily get confused and lost and ultimately regret not ordering just the right meal.  The easiest way to deal with this issue is to follow my simple […]

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Around Lake Garda

A drive around Lake Garda is slow but rewarding.  One town is more beautiful than the next.  Each villa is bigger and more ornate with a nicer park and a longer driveway than the next, each residence more secluded and more beautiful.  Absolutely stunning and breathtaking. We are so glad that we decided take the […]

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Salo – Italy

Today we are heading out to Salo, another beautiful town on Lake Garda. Then, if the weather cooperates we are planning to drive around the lake to take in the views, other smaller towns and the crazy roads and tunnels that encircle the lake.   Stop for a coffee or two and buy some local […]

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Recharging

We are taking it easy this morning.  Lazying around the pool in the middle of nowhere enjoying some sunshine and a nice breeze coming off the hills.  There are few things more relaxing than watching paragliders sail above in the clouds and listening to the water drop off the infinity pool.  Life is good.  

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Tenuta la Presa – Wedding

Tenuta la Presa – the not so little winery hotel we are staying at is hosing a wedding this evening.  The preparations started first thing this morning.  Grass was being cut, the tents and tables set up, white linens covering all tables and chairs, and of course well before noon guests started arriving for tonight’s […]

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Meanwhile in Italy..

By lake Garda a small family of whales was spotted wobbling towards a restaurant.  It’s been at least 6 minutes since our last meal, we have done a lot of hard work, lazing around the pool and having a 3 hour nap which of course requires more nourishment.  Tomorrow I will simply cut a hole […]

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Lazise

Lazise is a small port town with a great castle dating back to late 800s.  Like most old European towns this one too has a small beautiful square a nice old church, Saint Nicolò, dating back to 1200s and beautiful painted houses.  Of course the lake is the dominant feature of this little municipality so we try […]

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Hostaria la Cross

Today is Kasia’s and Volker 16th wedding anniversary so staying at Hotel Dogana was not an option.  The winery at Tenuta Le Presa was a more appropriate choice and one more befitting the occasion.  To celebrate this we went out for a dinner at a local spot called Hostaria la Cross where German really is […]

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Tenuta la Presa

Agriturismo at its best. Kasia and Volker know this little place called Tenuta La Presa.  It is a winery that is also a hotel with a proper pool and marble floors and clean everything.   There is a wine rack in the lobby and a set of glasses and you are free to drink and […]

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Lake Garda

Lake Garda is simply stunning.  Imagine Lake Louise but 52 km long.  Imagine it surrounded by towering maples and  skinny Tuscan cedars.  Imagine it peppered with small towns and old castles and miles and miles or wineries and olive trees. That’s Lake Garda – we can’t wait to check in after a short 5 hour […]

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Family Palace

Not as grand as Schllos Weissenstein but equally as charming and far less expansive to heat and staff is this little residence Volker’s brother calls home. This little house is a bit of work in progress, after years of neglect it is slowly being restored. Whatever the shape – the family has its palace and […]

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F1 Style

I still have not seen the last F1 race from Monaco. I though I would be watching it already but we are still over 350km away from home.  Having been stuck in traffic for over 3 hours it was time to stretch our legs a bit and make up for some lost time – F1 […]

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Baustelle

Baustelle – at first that sounded like some exotic French pastry we thought.  After a nice rest we drove by  a sign that read “Baustelle in 7 km”.  With a bit of traffic on the road going rather slow around Leipzig, we looked around at all the nice cars including this great looking CLS wagon. […]

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Amazing Things

The toll highways in Poland are quite amazing.  Rain or shine there is always someone working on their maintenance.  Always!  The second amazing thing is that, and I never will get tired of this, is that trucks are always and always in the right lane and they are restricted to going 90km/h. How awesome is […]

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Going Home

We are leaving rainy and cold Warsaw today and going back to Germany. Now that we have updated the maps on the GPS we think we should get to Nuremberg in about 8 hours or so, maybe a bit longer with the heavy rain. We noticed that a lot of people have secondary antennas on […]

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Often Imitated..

.. but never duplicated.  I think today I found the missing link and the explanation as to why some Eastern European women wear carrot tops on their heads, and they do it with such pride. “Words are very un-necessary” here so just click through and shake your head in disbelief.  

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Bransk – here we come

Today we are heading to Bransk, a small town of about 4000 people in the eastern part of Poland.  We are picking up some more documents and visiting family.   On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received a city charter based on Magdeburg rights from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon. It was the first city in Podlaskie to receive such a […]

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Bylaws are good

Lord thundering Jesus.  I never thought I would say this but I do now see the benefits of bylaws.  I say the more the better.  Edmonton is said to be the king of bylaws and everyone always complains about it.  This is what happens to a city that has little to no bylaws.  This is […]

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Plock

Our relentless pursuit of the required documents continues.  Sometimes I think it would have been easier to find a Yeti in the Himalayas than to get the right stamp on the correct piece of paper in the Bureaucratic Republic of Poland.  Undaunted we forge ahead.  Today we set out to Plock, the last place where […]

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Storming of Warsaw

There is much that can be said about navigating the Polish bureaucratic maze and perhaps even more that shouldn’t be said about the same. I have to say that while no one is particularly helpful about what we need to do, everyone is exceptionally nice and polite about it.   I feel like we are […]

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To Poland and Back

Today we are going to Warsaw!  For me it is a first trip back to Poland in 29.5 years.  For us, as a family, it is the first trip to Poland.  We are going to be staying in Loziska just outside Warsaw with Anna’s cousin Robert.  The drive itself is about 960km but we managed […]

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Pottenstein

The plan for this Saturday was to go to Pottenstein.  Pottenstein is a small village about 60km north of Nuremberg.  It is famous for its cave, its trout smokehouse and the summer sledding park as well as a beautiful castle perched on the top of the hill..  We decided to spent a relaxing day away […]

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Legoland – Deutschland

The happiest place on earth, at least right now for Boris and Evelina is Legoland.  About 197km outside Nuremberg or 1.30h drive from Nuremberg  is Legoland-Allee, Günzburg Legoland.  We got a family pass for all Legoland attractions throughout Europe for 1 year, unlimited admission for €257 including parking.  This includes all Legoland fees, free parking, London […]

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