No hangover from last nights beer tasting (that was good stuff!). Best weather. And, hey, it’s Sunday. The decision was made: a little road trip to Bella Italia, or „Germany’s Tuscany“, as it’s called by its locals.

We are back. Back again on the delicious German wine road. 1800 hours of sunshine making delicious wine! Agreed. We love the area: every little village is a beauty itself. Surrounded by many many vineyards including fruit plantations.

Today: wine tasting at our favorite vineyard. Successful shopping included. Stocked up again for dinner(s) & Christmas (and another potential Corona lockdown… you never know…). Anyhow, we are ready for whatever is next 😉

Grapes are harvested and produced into wine. New wine.

And another reason for coming: Fall has arrived. Also in the vineyards. Beautiful!

We had a lovely trip. Now enjoying a glass of wine on the sofa. Happy Sunday!

First fall impressions.

I love fall!

2020, the year in which everything is a little different. And sometimes we just can’t make it Munich. But that didn’t stop us from throwing a mini Oktoberfest. Corona friendly, of course.

Our at-home Oktoberfest wasn’t anywhere near the size of the original in Munich (I hear eight guests are easier to cook for than 7 million anyway…). We are not in Munich but in Hemmingen.

It’s not a tent at the Theresienwiese but our living room. We do not have a giant Ferris wheel and Alpine views in our backyard, hordes of strangers streaming in and out of your front door, or horse-drawn beer carriages parked in your driveway (luckily). And the biggest advantage: no queuing to enter this years party location. Or the restroom. Or the beer bar queue! And nobody has to pee in the garden. Lol.

We had delicious Oktoberfest beer.

Not only our guests dressed in beautiful traditional outfits.

We even had Lebkuchen Herzerl! Super cute.

And the coolest (and youngest) dude at the party:

We definitely had the best guests.

At Oktoberfest in Munich, 500,000 roast chickens, 124 giant oxen, and about a gazillion pretzels are served each year…

Our dinner was just as fabulous & traditional Bavarian: obatzda served on home baked sourdough bread, Haxn, Hendel & salads. And Brezn, of course.

And desserts are all about apples:

O’zapft is!

Just a simple tomato sauce. Made out of garden tomatoes. Prepared with love. Prepared for now. And more for fall. And winter.

So simple. So good!

The first of many long weekends until end of the year. Yeah! (you have to see the positive side, even in crisis time. I think we are getting very good at that…). And: all kids are back to school, the parents back to work. Yes! Time to finally travel south and explore the gorgeous Lake Constance. Van life with Charlie, of course!

270km of sparkling shoreline dotted with vineyards & the most charming towns. That’s Lake Constance – shared by Germany, Austria & Switzerland.

And that’s the famous lake: huge, beautiful, shiny. Enjoying the spectacular views while having lunch.

A visit wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Zeppelin.

Lake activities.

It’s harvest time: apples, pears, plums and hops. And soon pumpkin to follow. Yam!

Hops & villages called “beer cellar” – only in Germany.

The sun is setting down. Wow! That view… stunning. A wonderful day is ending.

Sleeping between apples & hops. Listening to the owl not far away. Wonderful & peaceful.

There aren’t many places in the world where you can visit four countries in one trip without traveling farther than a few dozen miles. One weekend: four cultures, four languages (kind of and definitely for hubby. Lol.), four different cuisines. No borders (even in corona times). Sounds fabulous! Let’s do it.

Good morning, Lindau!

First cappuccino at the market stand with fresh goat milk, followed by a second one in a beautiful side street cafe. That’s Lindau, charming with beautiful alp views.

Crossing borders all the way up to the top of the Pfaender in Austria. You need strong nerves for driving up (and later back down). But once up: hiking, catching the most beautiful sunshine on 1064m & enjoying delicious lunch. It’s a perfect Saturday with spectacular views over the Swiss Alps and Lake Constance. Stunning!

Cruising on to the world’s sixth smallest country: Liechtenstein. Ever heard of the smallest country on this continent (we even had to google the currency & language…)? With just 37,000 residents and only 24km from end to end, this country is full of quirks and absolutely not full of tourists which makes the place even more endearing. Liechtenstein is also were half a liter of beer is called “Kübel” and where cows are walking on the main roads.

And the beer tastes best with a great view 1500m above sea level. Surrounded by cows again. Very peaceful. We spontaneously decided to stay here over night. Best choice.

Good morning, Liechtenstein!

Cruising on to Switzerland, finishing our trip around Lake Constance. We are passing the German speaking part in Switzerland where sparkling water is called “loud”.

Breakfast in St. Gallen.

“Chocolate is the answer to everything, no matter what the question is”. Oh yes, and that’s (one of many reasons) why we love (and stop) in Switzerland. All it needed was a charming waiter and ladies next table convincing hubby to dive into that chocolate mousse (he shared one bite with me… it tasted heavenly).

We had another fantastic van trip. And I have to admit we both fell in love with the tiny but gorgeous country Liechtenstein. Those beautiful curvy country roads! Ohh, I just can’t explain how beautiful it is! You need to see this place with your own eyes!

We were warned by friends: if we manage to cram all of this into a few days, we may just need another vacation to see more (or recover from the beauty) – oh it’s a hard life!

This weekend fed again our wanderlusting soul. Europe is beautiful!

…the next long weekend is coming up soon…

PS: 2nd battery was keeping up this time! Well done!

After tomatoes there is chilies. And the combination of both is the best.

Someone taking good care of them: Charlie is chilling next to the chilies 🙂

The combination & new favorite dish – OMG soooooo good!

And sometimes it has to be berries from the garden.

Love our garden & harvesting!

2 visitors. 3 motorbikes. Four people. Perfect weather and finally realizing a long-term plan. Let’s go exploring the curvy roads of the beautiful Black Forest.

Getting ready: sound check the night before.

Good morning!

Honda. Moto Guzzi. BMW. Or black/red/gold – German colors. Lol. Off we go. On the road.

Cruising the beautiful Black Forest.

Beer garden breaks along the way are the best.

Along the famous half-timbered houses.

Bikers need proper dinner. The night before.

After the tour.

And the morning after.

What a fantastic ride with my 3 favorite guys.

Chilling deserved.

Best film to finish our weekend on wheels.

Looking forward to the next ride.

Tomatoes. Beautiful & perfect tomatoes. Sun kissed.

Self-seeded & home grown in our garden. The neighbor in the raised bed: basil. The smell of both is amazing. And the taste… Yum!

So many. So good. It’s the season. Our neighbors call us the “tomato kings”.

And now what to do with them?

Making dried tomatoes in olive oil & rosemary in jars (quite a bit of work and already looking forward to eat them).

The classic dish: caprese or tomatoes topped with mozzarella (every other day…). Simple & delicious.

Gazpacho. Wow! So good!

Bruschetta the Irish way: Tomatoes on Irish soda bread with fresh garden tomatoes & basil.

Tomatoes part of the lamb shank.

The story to be continued… Spaghetti with fresh home made tomato sauce…

The rest of the tomatoes goes to mummy. Daddy. Brother. Neighbors. Friends. And more for our bellies. Yum!

Our little European world tour is ending. Unfortunately. It was fabulous. We made it all the way back via Ireland – Wales – England – France – Belgium – Netherlands & Germany.

The Irish Sea calmed down for us to cross over. Storms are gone. Bye bye magnificent Ireland. Cannot wait to be back.

Hello beautiful Wales! Nice to be back! This time for a wonderful sunset.

Good morning, England! A costa kind of morning.

Bye bye Dover!

I will definitely miss being called „my love“, “my darling” or „my dear“!

Our road trip continued from France to Belgium. We made it back to „our“ city Bruges. Including many beautiful memories from 10 years ago. Oh, it’s so wonderful to be back. This time only a quick stop for favorite beer & fantastic burger. Only in Belgium: served with chocolate sauce. OMG… this city is adorable. We’ll be back, promise!

And our trip continues. Everything is possible in Holland: Cadillac gummy bears. Yam!

We made it over the border to Germany. Ready for a good night sleep in the green.

And arriving for the weekend destination & family events in the north of Germany, Bremen.

Baking fairy muffins with my nieces.

Celebrating 1st day at school & 1st Kommunion. A festive & wonderful weekend with the family. We still have a bit of a hangover (that amazing red wine from Italy & Jan Torf…).

Our road trip continues back south with 2 stop overs meeting good old friends.

Lunch in Hildesheim, the city we met & lived before moving abroad. Great to be back.

(Spanish) Dinner stop in Göttingen.

Friends & breakfast. Excellent combo.

Taking a 2nd souvenir back home: another wasp sting. Ouch! (Started wearing a leather jacket now so both arms are safe… fingers crossed).

We had a fantastic road trip. Met lots of family & friends & visited old places we loved to hang out in the past. So good to see you all!

Happy to say that the dog is still alive (many many thanks to my parents). The van is still running and did an amazing job (total distance: 4600km)! Yeah! We successfully imported beer from almost each of the 8 countries we passed on this trip and will enjoy (of what’s left) in our garden back home.

Back at home & back to work tomorrow… and sure very soon back on the road… van life to be continued! And in-between we will serve coffee in royal cups – received many requests already. Lol.

Tonight’s dinner is local ribeye steaks on the BBQ, hubby’s birthday dinner.

…and just before we arrived back home… the last curve… the self-installed battery system started smoking… all good. A bit excitement on the last meters. What an adventurous trip!

Back in Ireland. And that means surrounded by the lush green, quite a bit of rain, afternoon tea with scones, the best cooked lamb by mother-in-law, a good book followed by sipping Guinness, Kilkenny, Smithwick’s or Harp and a bit of Irish music… what a beautiful relaxed vacation. Surrounded by Irish family.

Cottage love.

Ireland, the green fabulous island.

Hubby finding old & new cooking books (there will be loads of soda bread back home…). I am gifted by granny’s old china made in England and hand painted – wow, loving it. All boxed up and on the way back to Germany. Whoever visits us next, cake & coffee will be served royally!

Listening to Irish radio (and not understanding a word!).

Irish summer can also mean quite a bit of rain and cool temperatures (which is actually not so bad after the heat in Germany). And hey, there must be a reason why this country is so amazing & green, right!

Getting spoilt by the family: Irish breakfast(s), lamb shoulder, beef roasts, carrot & parsnips, fresh garden tomatoes & lettuce, home made lasagne, steaks… and sometimes it just had to be a fish & chip or Indian take away.

That’s also Ireland: you are either hot or cold. Sometimes both within minutes.

Happy 70th birthday, so good to see you and share this special occasion! The main reason why we came here.

Atlantic Ocean near Wicklow: wild, wet, rough & just amazing (you wouldn’t get that on a sunny day!).

…and the next day…

Cruising through the Wicklow mountains all the way to beautiful Glendalough. Tucked away amid deep forests and surrounded by rolling hills. This misty glen is a truly magical place.

Tea time!

We had an amazing time. Thanks for hosting & spoiling us – as always. The van is packed with many goodies (sauces, vinegar, mint jelly, lemon curd, Guiness, short bread, galaxy chocolates, local crisps…). Now back on the road returning to Germany via Wales, England, France, Belgium & the Netherlands.

Taking a little souvenir back with me: a swollen arm from a bee sting. Ouch!

Slan slan! Bye bye!