On the outskirts of Nuremberg there is a huge forest with an old canal that was built in the 18th century. Since it wasn’t blistering hot outside we went out for an afternoon stroll in the park.
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Meanwhile at IKEA
Drink a beer, have a ball, buy some wine and shop for some furniture at your local IKEA shop.
Wonder no more!
Following my intensive eating training in Italy, we have once again visited our favourite pizza place in Nuremberg – L’Osteria. I am happy to report that my earlier challenge about eating an entire pizza has been laid to rest. Not only did I mange to eat the entire pizza, but also try some of Boris’ […]
Toy Museum
There are a lot of great things to do in Nuremberg and vicinity for a family for under $15.00. Today we went to check out the Toy Museum. There is something for everyone here. Mostly though there are some phenomenal vintage toys from the late 18 and ealy 1900s. Toy kitchens with working stoves, wind-up […]
Memories
I remember these from Poland when I was Evelina’s age.
Pool Time
Once the kids got home from school, we had a quick lunch and went out to the pool. Its an outdoor pool which has been recently renovated. It seems that the designers have gone mad with stainless steel. The pools are stainless steel, the bottom the sides the edges all stainless steel, as are the […]
Still no Rain.
It’s 8:00 p.m. and it is finally safe to come out of the house. We decided to hit our favourite little Italian gelato place for something cool. After that a short trip to the river valley to scope out an outdoor swimming pool where tomorrow we might seek some solace from this menacing heat.
Could it be any hotter?!
Today went out for another test drive, top down, black leather seats and the air-condition was not working. OMG! It was like staring at a supernova point blank for a thousand years!
Bamberg
Bamberg’s historic city center is a listed UNESCO world heritage site. Sometimes, the locals refer to it as the German Venice. This truly is a beautiful little town with charming streets and shops, and two magnificent churches, set on two opposite hills. We only spent a few hours here to get a quick look at […]
Altenburg Castle – Bamberg
Altenburg Castle is perched on top of Bamberg’s highest hill and is one of Bamberg’s major landmarks. The castle was first mentioned in 1109 and was used at this time as a refuge. In the 14th and 15th centuries it served as a richly furnished residence for Bamberg’s bishops, but was almost completely destroyed in 1553 […]
Something to say
It seems that every time we turn around there is a demonstration somewhere protesting this that or the other. Today, on the demonstration agenda are the dolphins at the Nuremburg Zoo. I have to say that we much preferred the noise of the kilted musicians to the bells and chanting of the dolphin parade. After […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gardaland
Today we are doing an activity chosen by the children. It turns out that our Legoland Annual Pass also gives us a free one time access to Gardaland which is about 8 min drive from where we are staying. The entrance fee to Gardaland is €138 for a one day family pass. The place was […]
Lazise at night
After a long drive around the lake, we went back to the old town in Lazise for a dinner and a quick stroll on the promenade in search of a new gelato place to try On the dinner menu was sturgeon, I had to try it, as I have never seen it on the menu […]
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 […]
When in Rome?
First, dress the part. The basic theory is to get something louder than Eddie Jordan would wear and try not too look like a clown, although that part is optional. Second, when it doubt order two main courses just to try them both – live to regret it later. I have a new plan. Today […]
Feeding Swans
After a lazy morning we went back to Garda to hang out by the lake. Feeding swans is now off of the bucket list. These swans do like the German and Italian bread, although the grey swan was kind of dumb and kept getting all of his food stolen by its sibling. Then is started […]
New Friends
Evelina made a new friend today. Walking from the pool to the main house she heard a little bird chirp. Being a good soul that she is, she helped it get off the road and back into the shade in the grass where it could be cool and safe.
We made a terrible mistake!
PBC, PBC – Pretty Bad Call, Pretty Bad Call. We booked a quaint little place on Lake Garda Peninsula. Surround by lake views from 3 sides this seemed like an idyllic little place to relax for a bit. Well that is what the internet listing said. What is should have said is this: When […]
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 […]
Nuremberg at night
A quick dinner and out for ice cream. Nightlife in the old town.
Evening Stroll
After dinner its ice cream time, and what better place to have it than the old town.
Anna – in white again
Topless
FertighausWelt – Showhomes
There is a little place outside Nuremberg where a set of home builders built a small village of homes they showcase. You have to pay to get in and see these homes €5 per family for two visits – but no one makes you take off your shoes as you go through and explore them. […]
Little People
Tilt shift is simply hours of fun and playtime.
Finally some sun!
Trim
In goes Grizzly Adams out comes Boris GQ – after a long overdue haircut.
Locomotion
Evelina got a new scooter. It almost rusted sitting in a box for a week with all this rain we have been having. Finally today the clouds broke and a bit of sunshine dried up the pavement so promptly she took it out for a spin. I think she is loving it.
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 […]
Schllos Weissenstein
Garden Show. Every year, twice a year, for the past 16 years Volker’s brother who is a landscape architect organizes a garden show. One of the shows is at a nice little castle outside the city, about 20 min drive from Nuremberg, and the other is at the family residence, which while not as grand […]
Going Italian
We are planning a short trip to Italy next week. Today we decided to go for a pizza and some pasta to start getting our guts used to, not only the wonderful flavours of Italy, but also to the crazy portion sizes. At L’Osteria, a quiet little place on a side street in Nuremberg, real […]
Around Nuremberg
After the beer fest, and the walk around the castle grounds, we walked some more around the old town before going home. Every time it seems we get out for a stroll we find new and interesting things to look at and take in. Good times.
Castle Gardens
After some fun in the moat at the beer festival we went for a walk around the castle gardens and then the old town. It actually did not rain – unbelievable.
Festival Fun
Germans love their beer – that much is true. We don’t, but we try an occasional sip or two. Kids on the other hand can just run on beer fumes.
Half a meter of experience.
Many of you might be thinking that this adventure of ours is all fun and games, and you would be right for the most part but… In order to give you the best and the most immersive and realistic impression of this trip we face a huge burden of having to try and test as […]
Bierfest
Today is, if you are a god-fearing folk, a Happy Cadaver Day, literal translation in German. This means it’s a holiday and everything is closed except churches and beer gardens, both of which are open for business and will gladly take your money. Since we don’t drink beer, but have been to church before, we […]
Triumph
While we have not managed to triumph over the Polish Bureaucracy yet, we have in fact spotted this classic Triumph bike on our way to a Beer Festival at the castle in Nuremberg. Not only did this thing look and sound great – the guy rode it like he meant it too!
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 […]
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 […]
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.
Łazienki – Beautiful Warsaw
Łazienki or the Royal Baths is a 17th century park in Warsaw. This is the largest park in Warsaw and it is located in the centre of the city. We went for a nice afternoon walk, listened to Chopin concert in the park. The kids run around trying to scare the peacocks and force them […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Nuremberg – Großgründlach Walk
Today we went for another walk around our neighbourhood. We went towards the centre of the neighbourhood where we found more beautiful and quaint old homes, shops and old buildings – some dating back to 776.
Visit to Volker’s Mom
Today we went to visit Volker’s mom for a Sunday lunch. She lives on the other side of Nuremberg in a beautiful home with a pool, backing onto a huge park and some impressive trees. The most prized possession in her garden is a heritage peony flower that grows more like a shrub with wood […]
Autobahn
A practical approach to distracted driving. We have been here for almost a week now and it seems that every time we get in the car we have to get on Autobahn. Autobahn is a precarious thing. It seems to have a life of its own. There are speed limits and there are a lot […]
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