Thur 28/11/2019 – Mon 02/12/2019

My first impressions as we cross the border from Germany to the Nederlands are that the land is very green, quite flat and that there is lots of farmland!

It was a rainy day for our drive from Koln in Germany and for the first 100 kilometres we stuck to the motorway. As we approached the border we exited for a slower drive to appreciate the local landscape.

The trees here show signs of winter with fewer leaves and as the land flattened out we start to see some of the dykes and canals this country is known for.

We see lots of windmills, the new tall, alien looking turbo kind and when I finally spot my first of the older kind, I’m not quick enough to get a photo.

We are staying in Almere, North of the city of Amsterdam and on the other side of the Amstel River. It is not far from the city as the crow flies but about 20 kilometres of freeway. We have three days to explore this amazing city.

Friday 29/11 – Amsterdam and Van Gogh Museum

After navigating one of the most extraordinary freeways (6 lanes each side plus ramps) and the tram system, it takes us about 45 minutes to enter the city. There are lots of roadworks around Central station but it’s obvious the tram system is highly efficient and before long we are at the Van Gogh Museum.

Van Gogh is my favourite of the old artists and it is an absolute pleasure to learn more of his life, writings, drawings and artwork.

This collection was started by his sister in law Jo shortly after his death in 1890 and cumulated in the opening of the gallery by his nephew; also Vincent in 1973.

Apparently Vincent painted himself repeatedly, often with different eye colouring as he experimented with colour and emotions in portraiture.

Vincent painted many pictures of peasants both in the field and at rest as he continued to explore human emotion which he believed peasants embodied to a higher degree due to their life of manual work and daily struggle to survive.

We finish the day with a stroll around the book market and the flower market which at this time of year is all bulbs.

Bicycles are widely used in Amsterdam and in the city centre there are hundreds.

Saturday – Sunday 30/11 – 1/12 Amsterdam

We spent the weekend exploring the city and on Sunday we took a canal tour of the lights, an annual art event that occurs at this time of year.

I like Amsterdam. It has a vibrancy like no other. It is widely known that is has a very liberal way of life with a thriving red light district and cannabis is legalised, sold and used everywhere. The city is also full of culture, with many museums and has lots of history too.

It took me a bit to get used to crossing the bike paths that flank the roads and don’t forget the trams too but I really enjoyed this city with it’s curious mix of old and new.

On Saturday we took a big walk loosely following a tour I found in the City Walks app starting from Central station. The walk took us through the red light district; where the madams display their wares behind glass doors and just around the corner is Oude Kerk, one of the oldest churches then on past Dam Square, the Royal Palace, Madame Tussaud’s and the Anne Frank museum to name a few. Everywhere we walk the scent of cannabis occasionally drifts by…

West Kerk (Church)

On Sunday we also visit Begijnhof. One of the oldest historic housing areas, situated at medieval level (a meter lower) than the older city centre. Originally a beguine, almost an enclave of holy women but not as strict as a convent.

One of the oldest wooden houses…

As the day starts to wane on Sunday we make our way to the canal where we board our Floating Amsterdam boat for our tour of the canals and the art light festival. Our tour guide tells us the light installations are representations of our changing climate. I’m not sure I understand all the messages in the art but the lights and the city by night are certainly a sight to see.

What an awesome weekend!

Monday 2/12 – Drive to Bruge, Belgum.

Sunrise at 8:30am today, the short days continue as we enter Winter in Europe!

We are driving into Belgum today with a short two day stop plan in Brugge. On the way we will detour to visit the windmills at Kinderdijk.

This is a group of 19 monumental windmills in the Alblasserwaard polder, in the province of South Holland, Netherlands listed by UNESCO.

Most of the mills are part of the village of Kinderdijk in the municipality of Molenwaard, and one mill, De Blokker, is part of the municipality of Alblasserdam. (Ref Wikipedia)

The day has been patchy with rain til now but as we park for a walk along the canals and windmills the clouds start to clear and the sun smiles at us. Sometimes it feels like the sun finds the Aussie travellers and shines just for us :-).

Two boys are fishing and it looks like a fine catch but it’s catch and release as moments later the trout is released to live another day.

The windmills date from the 1700’s and their old world charm reminds me of the tales of Hans Christian Andersen that I read as a child and evokes images of children skating on ice past the windmills.

So beautiful!

Now it’s onward to Brugge!

Mon 25/11/2019 – Thur 28/11/2019

Stay: AirBnB Rosrath

Temp: 1 – 6

We left the Rhine late on Monday, checking out at midday and the rest of the day was taken up with driving, shopping and settling into our next stay at Rosrath about 20 minutes outside of Koln.

Tuesday morning we were up and into Koln, the day was grey and chilly but the promise of Christmas markets beckoned, there are six good ones in Koln I have read and they just opened on the 22nd.

We drove in and parked just off Siegburger Straße under the Severinbruck Bundestrasse bridge for €4 per day.

We walked over the bridge and straight into the…

1st Market – the Harbour market, on the Rhine and in the grounds of the Chocolate Museum nearby which we hoping to get to later. The market had just open though so there were only a few stalls operating.

We bought some hot roasted chestnuts – Maroni; my first ever try and they were delicious. We also found a small cooking cod over flames which smelt amazing!

Continuing onward we walk along the Rhine heading to the Cathedral who’s imposing outline dominates the Koln skyline. As we walk we take in the architecture and structures that make up the city of Koln

We come to the 2nd market – Cathedral market but skip past to see the Cathedral.

It’s Gothic, dark and so big it’s difficult to capture close up. Inside is a vast space that is awe inspiring in it’s beauty and reverential and grand on a scale you can only imagine.

The Cathedral markets with approx. 150 stalls are also grand, bustling and busy. We ended up returning here later in the day just to take photos of the lights. So charming and whimsical, I’ll start with those.

The market stalls are filled with handmade products, Christmas decorations both glass and wooden, candles, jewellery, beanies and gloves and lots of food which is what Rob and I were most interested in, however I did manage to buy a few small gifts too!

The food was amazing, German potato pancakes, bratwurst and other sausage, waffles, strudel and Gluhwein of course! I’m hooked – Christmas in July at our place next year and I promise to make some!

Rob and I share the potato pancakes and bratwurst before moving on.

The 3rd Christmas market – Heinzelmannchen or Old Market has an ice rink a carousel and is just near the local Rathaus (town hall). So named for the little folk Heinzelmannchen of the Cologne legend that used to help with housework until some silly housewives tried to catch them, so they stopped as I recall from my childhood books!

The 4th market – Angels or Neumarkt is the original Christmas market.

A big day due to a second go round for night photos of the lights, we walked over 14 km!

Wednesday 27/11/19

Today we planned to visit the Chocolate Museum and the other two markets so another busy day.

The chocolate museum has several levels and provides information on the history, growth, cultivation and economic cycle of the cacao product and how chocolate has informed history and entered our culture. The museum also has a fully functional Lindt chocolate manufacturing plant so that you see all the steps in the process and you can even make you own special bar if chocolate. Plus they give you a few samples along the way. Yum!

The history is fascinating and we really enjoy it. There are a few school groups in too we could see the kids enjoying it too. Who wouldn’t enjoy a chocolate experience!

Next up we were off in search of the remaining two markets.

Market number 5 – Rudolfplatz in the city has a “Village of St Nicholas” Everything you could want for Christmas is here! The reindeer above the entrance moves and sings and as Rob and I munched through a stick of meat we watched a little girl sway and clap along with him. Just gorgeous and the pork was good too.

Market number 6 – Stadtgarten (city garden). It took us a while to find so we took some pictures along our walk and it was dark and drizzly by the time we found it so we grabbed a hot drink and sat under shelter until the rain passed. We ended up chatting to a lady who spoke English because her husband was from Oxford which was nice!

As we walked back over the bridge tired after another big day, about 14 km’s again, I took a few last photos of the city. We really enjoyed our visit to Koln (Cologne), a city well worth a visit.

Next stop Netherlands and Amsterdam.

Thur 21/11/2019 – Mon 25/11/2019

Stay: AirBnB Kestert

Avg Temp: 1 – 4

A misty cold morning in Mannheim that promised a crispy clear day didn’t eventuate, although we did have a glimpse or two of blue skies on the drive up towards the Rhine region along the way after getting our new wheel fitted.

It’s not a long drive from Mannheim and as soon as we turn alongside the Rhine I see a castle and then another and another!

Our stay for the weekend was in Kestert but as it was only just after midday when we arrived we thought we would find somewhere in the town for a local German cuisine lunch.

This proved harder than we thought as every Restaurant including the tavern was closed until 5pm! We had expected this to some degree as a few people along our travels advised that the further we would get into winter a lot of restaurants would be closed, so we just back tracked to Loreley; about 7km’s and after a few attempts found a charming restaurant overlooking the Rhine called the Cafe Rheingold. I had a Schnitzel with a crisp glass of Riesling and Rob had Sausages and Potato with a local beer.

After lunch and picking up some groceries in Loreley we checked in. Our stay in Kestert was a in a cute little apartment above the main residence. It had up and down steps and quirky sloping floors and lovely 180 views of the Rhine.

Friday was a very cold windy day staying at 1 degree above zero so we stayed in admiring the view, watching all the traffic on the river and catching up on washing.

View from our windows…

Saturday dawned bright and clear at 1 degree with a promise of 4 degrees, blue skies and sunshine too, so we decided to do a drive to Koblenz and then up to Cochem to see the Mosel and then do a loop back to Kestert.

A beautiful drive, we saw amazing castles, swans, little markets and lots of Vineyards! The Rhine banks are peppered with gorgeous Bavarian villages, grand churches and of course all the castles.

Cochem on the Mosel River is a charming medieval town with Celtic origins and mentions as early as 886!

Cochem Castle is high and imposing with views spanning both reaches of the Mosel. We climbed up for a look but then decided to do the tour which was well worth it, especially with an English guide.

After the castle we walked down to Cochem village to look for a warm drink. Castles are always cold and even with the blue skies it’s still only 4 degrees!

Cochem is cute, a classical Bavarian village. We find a lovely warm Gluhwein to keep us going back to the car.

As we drive home, cross country from the Mosel to the Rhine we saw Swans by the river, not castles and had the soft sunset light over the countryside before a magical sunset reflected in the magnificent Rhine River.

A really lovely day!

The next day Sunday also dawned bright, cold and fine. We were expecting rain so got out of the house straight away for an early run!

Back home, after 4 km’s and breakfast it was still fine so we decided on a hill walk. Good choice as it stayed fine and we had a great day! We found that above the Rhine there are many paths and that you can walk all the way along, ducking down to the various villages to stay overnight so you could do a significant walk. Food for thought for another trip perhaps…

Mon 18/11/2019 – Thur 21/11/2019

Stay: AirBnB Hanhofen

Average Temp 4 – 8

Monday morning we had to deal with a flat tyre! An indicator had come on over the weekend but we hadn’t found any problem. Now we had found it… Rob tried to change it but the wheel wouldn’t come off so we rang the lease company for assistance which was included. A fellow arrived fairly efficiently but turns out it was more than the tyre, the rim was buckled!

The week before, when we left South Tyrol we had travelled some road that was storm damaged from all the recent rain and there were some big pot holes so we think that’s where the damage occurred.

So change of plan, we now have to get the whole wheel replaced. We decided to drive to Lindau as there is a dealer there and see if they can help.

On the way we spy this beautiful view of the Austrian Alps.

Up to 10 working days to order and get in a replacement wheel was the answer in Lindau so after some to-ing and fro-ing with Renault we decide to drive to a bigger centre to hopefully get it done quicker.

We decide on Mannheim which is on the way to Cologne, about half-way and as we had lost the morning there was only a few hours of daylight to drive in. I found accommodation on the way about 20minutes outside the city in Hanhoff and we arrived about 5pm. Along the way I took this pic of a German Autobahn and yes they drive very fast in the the far left lane!

Next morning we arrive at Renault early and they are very helpful but it takes some time as they basically have to reestablish the problem, talk to Renault, wait for them to come back etc but in the end the wheel is ordered and may be in by 2pm the next day, Wednesday. Not too bad!

We spend the next few hours doing a big walk, about 15 kilometres around Mannheim which was great fun!

Here’s what we found!

First up we head for the palace which is closed for renovations this year but still awesome from outside.

Then we cross the River Rhine and as we walk into Galleries a shopping centre looking for a warm drink we see a small Christmas market – our first one! They have a “Gluhwein” stand and of course we have to try one! Gluhwein is basically a sugar syrup with spice and OJ added and then reduced with red wine added to heat but not to a boil at the end (I made some later that week). The version we tried also had schnapps added so was very warming! Just the thing during a long cold walk.

As we walk we see many beautiful spaces in Mannheim. We cross the Rhine again and walk thru an industrial patch and come across this huge artwork, about 4 stories.

Later we pass through a green idyll in the heart of the city. Located around the water tower “Wasserturm” is one of the largest art nouveau complexes in Europe. Built to be one of the “most beautiful places in the world” it surprises you as it suddenly appears and yes it is very beautiful!

The Friedrichsplatz at the water tower “Wasserturm” would also be the perfect place to relax – if it wasn’t so cold out….

Statue of St Francis of Assisi by Martin Mayer

Tuesday we had a slow morning before going to the Technik Museum in Mannheim. The museum covers industrialisation in the Southern and Western regions of Germany. A great museum which would be even better if they included English in the information displays. Even so there where also lots of practical displays with English instructions so Rob and I had quite a bit of fun.

Finally got a call that they could fit our wheel the next day Thursday so we had to find a third night’s accommodation, this time we stayed in town close to the dealer.

Funny story about dinner. Rob and I had been eating in a lot so we thought we would try to find a typical German restaurant. Turns out there was a place around the corner from our stay – Gaststatte Odenwalder, reportedly the “best Schnitzel in town”.

So just before 7pm we head out – it’s freezing, the restaurant looks good, smells good and sounds busy, great! Great until we find they are packed, no tables.

No problem,we think we can wait a while so we go back to our place, wait another hour, really hungry now too, so once again we head to the restaurant… oh, no… still full.

The only other food nearby was Burger King…

That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Next day we get the new wheel fitted at 9am and we are off. Our next stop will be the Rhine region and then Cologne and the Christmas Markets.

Fri 14 – Mon 18 November 2019

Weiler-Simmerberg is a market town in the Swabian Lindau district.

It’s typical for a small town and it’s cold and dark when we arrive late Thursday afternoon so there are not a lot of people about.

Friday we did a walk up along the creek that flows through the town following a trail but had to turn back as it was barricaded. We later found out there had been a land slip due to recent heavy rain in the area.

Later we had the most spectacular sunset as we walked around town. Our last stop for the day was a visit to the local brew house where we sampled some German beer.

Sat 16/11/19 Meersburg and Lindau

Meersburg is a picturesque town in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg and about 50km’s from Zurich in Switzerland.On the shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee), it’s surrounded by vineyards.

We visited Meersburg on the suggestion of our host in Weiler; Coralie, who said it is was a very pretty place with a Castle and several Museums. We got away late as it had been a very foggy misty morning but along the drive the day cleared to crisp sunshine and we got some great views of fall leaves, apple orchards and vines along the way.

Meersburg and Lake Konstance lived up to their promise of beauty with charming streets packed with Bavarian style buildings and the Castle overlooking the lake.

We walk around enjoying the streets, the lake and some interesting artwork but don’t visit the castle or museum’s as we also wish to visit Lindau.

On the way we see an airship!

Lindau

Lindau is a town also on Lake Constance (or Bodensee) in Bavaria, Germany, known for its old town on Lindau island. The harbor has a Bavarian Lion statue and a stone lighthouse with lake and mountain views.

On the harborfront Seepromenade, the 12th-century Mangturm is a former watchtower with a pointed, tiled roof.

Nearby restaurant-lined Maximilianstrasse, the Gothic Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) has a painted facade.

We reach the far side of the town and find a park with some very old trees, the fall colours blending with a small Japanese maple (I think) and also see a very fat little sparrow on the sidewalk who is not terribly shy at all, allowing me to get really close for her photo…

Circling back the town there are more charming streets filled with interesting shops including an antique toy store.

Today is Kat’s 21st Birthday!We hope she is enjoying celebrating the occasion with family and friends and send her all our love. Happy birthday darling! xxx

A lovely day out and on the way home we receive another spectator sunset.

Sunday 17/11/19 Sulzberger

The forecast was for snow overnight and today but we have woken to a very cold and overcast day. Rob has planned a drive to Sulzberger, a hike to Buchenegg Waterfalls and then a visit to the town of Immenstadt.

When we arrive at Sulzberger it is immersed in fog that started as we drove up so we won’t be able to walk there!

We push on for the falls and enjoy a very steep hike down through forest to the falls. I only go part way as we didn’t take poles and it’s very steep and slippery! Rob soldiers on though!

After our invigorating hike and back in the car we drive on through Immenstadt and also Lindenberg.

We have had an interesting few days in a typical German town. Next we are heading to Koln (Cologne) for the Christmas markets!!!