This gallery contains 32 photos.
A business trip got me back to Budapest for the last eleven days. This being my sixth visit of town, there was no real stress for me … the key attractions I had already seen and done. I ended up … Continue reading
I have been a member of the friends’ association supporting the local volunteer fire brigade for years. With this year marking the 125th anniversary of that association, the management committee here had decided, to invite its members to a very special excursion as a sort of anniversary celebration.
The idea had been a trip down into history, which was brought to live by a trip on an actual steam train. As such – this morning, we made it to the local commuter train station, where we were picked up by a 1943 produced steam locomotive.
From here we enjoyed a trip of around three hours, making our way via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim to Heidelberg.
In Heidelberg we had about four hours, to explore town, its nice setup at the Neckar river and the world-famous views of the castle and the old town.
At about 17:00 we had to be back at the train station, to board the train and get back to Rodgau again via Weinheim, Bensheim and Darmstadt.
Below some impressions from both the train, train ride – and of course the mandatory shots of Heidelberg.
This long (Pentecost) weekend saw me having a small family reunion in Germany’s Allgäu region. We spent the full weekend in the CenterParc resort (so no photos here). On the way back however we decided for a detour towards the Alps and had a stop at a longtime favorite of my parents – the Tegelberg (i.e. in direct vicinity of Neuschwanstein castle).
We decided to take the ropeway up the mountain for some incredible views over the region. After a short walk around the mountain station we made it down again, to continue our way home.
We took it easy today and had a leisurely start of the day. Around midday we made it down to Oakland’s ferry terminal, to catch a ferry over to San Francisco and a late oyster lunch at the Hog Island Oyster Company outlet right in the Ferry Building.
After lunch we enjoyed a walk along the piers from the ferry building all the way up to pier 41 with various stops on the way (including one at pier 39, to catch a glimpse of the sea lions). From here it was back to the ferry and across the bay to Oakland.
In retrospect this has been a nice week over in California – again with great food, great views, interesting excursions and drinks to try on the way – plus of course perfect company and hosts – THANKS Lisa and Harry – it’s been a great time (again)!
The plan for the day was, to head up for the coast in Sonoma county, about 100km North of San Francisco.
As my hosts had to replenish their supply of sparkling wine, we had a stop at the Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville on the way. This winery (as the name might suggest) is specialized in the production of sparkling wine. We had a tour of the winery, to then make it for a tasting and an order. To me the sparkling wines were mostly too sweet, the (still) base wines though were decent.
We continued along the Russian River Valley – until eventually the river made its way into the Pacific and we had arrived at Jenner. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the mouth of the river and beaches.
After lunch and a post-lunch port with a superb view, we continued to one of the beaches, we had seen from the restaurant – Goat Rock State Beach, a part of the Sonoma Coast State Park. Here we had a short walk along the beach, including an opportunity for a (toe) dip.
We were now already heading South on highway 1, initially along the coast (with more great views) and then into Tomales Bay with a stop at Point Reyes Station for a bit of cheese shopping (the Sonoma area is a cow paradise, so plenty of milk and cheese) – before making it inland for US highway 101 and the San Rafael / Richmond bay bridge – and finally back to Oakland.
Those of you, who have been following my stories for a while, may remember, that – over the years – I have done a number of trips, to visit Lisa and Harry in California. With the last trip now about two years ago, we decided, that it was about time for another trip. So I saw myself flying over from Frankfurt to Oakland on April 30th.
I got into Oakland in the evening of the 30th and was warmly welcomed. Over a light dinner there were plenty of things, to catch up on.
For May 1st the plan was, to have a closer look at Oakland – a city usually overlooked, as people head out across the bay to San Francisco.
We drove down to Lake Merrit, where we got started with a walk around the lake, before having a stop at Cathedral of Light, to then – after a coffee stop – continue towards Broadway and the central business district. We soon left Broadway again, to get a closer look at the Fox Theater, from where we followed along Telegraph Avenue and eventually reached the “Cathedral Building” and as such made it back to Broadway.
After a quick stop at the town hall we continued to Swan’s Market for a quick pre-lunch oyster snack; lunch itself turned out Korean in a restaurant further down the street.
After lunch we continued towards Jack London square, did check out the mall and had a look at Jack London’s historic cabin. Before making it back home, we hit a tasting room of a winery right at the ferry terminal. Time for some California classics: buttery Chardonnay and a good Zin or two 😉
On Wednesday we stayed local again, making it to Oakland’s neighbor city – Berkeley. I did not take any photos today, so you will have to do without those.
We started the day with a walk around Berkeley’s Aquatic Park; a really nice park, right at the water, complete with a disc golf course – and unfortunately (this being the big, big minus) also facing a major interstate highway.
From here it was a short drive to the Takara Sake Brewery, where we got an introduction to the traditional way of Sake production – followed by (of course) a tasting in their tasting room, featuring both local Berkeley, as well as imported sakes from Japan. The sake turned out an aperitif for us, as we continued to a Vietnamese restaurant for a pho lunch. This was followed by a short trip around the Berkeley campus and a visit of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (aka. BAMPFA).
After all this culture and education, it was about time, to go and try something else; so we ended up in the Rare Barrel – a brewery specialized in sour beer. Sour beer is a rather odd drink … and so far I have not been a fan of it. We ended up having a small selection of different beers (i.e. from different barrels), to get the different flavors. Two in our collection were essentially, as I remembered sour beer from other tastings (so not to my taste), two though were drinkable and the remaining two – surprise, surprise – really delicious. Well – it pays off, to be open 😉
I left Puerto Princesa around midday of the 28th and got back to Manila in the late afternoon. This time I had picked a base in another area of Manila – in the city of Pasay, close to the Mall of Asia.
Originally I only had planned a night here, but with my return flight being canceled, I had to extend my stay by a further night.
With the weather on the rainy side, my options were kind of limited … and I pretty much spent my time either in the hotel or in one of the malls in the area. With the Mall of Asia one of them (currently the 12th biggest mall in the world) there was certainly enough to see and do – including the fireworks (ever Friday and Saturday at 19:00) or the little amusement park (a ride in the Ferris Wheel surely was a must). Otherwise I concluded my packing, got some last minute souvenirs, did feast on the famous jollibee spaghetti 😉 – before making my way to the airport midday of the 30th to catch my flight home.
In retrospect I have to say, the second part of the trip was different from the first. It turned out less active and less involved (which was probably not a bad thing, given my ankle condition). Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed the activities done, though – after a perfect first part – it felt as if something was missing, also as there were no real options beyond the activities already covered – despite the time still available.
In any case, it was a good thing, that I had seen and experienced both parts of the trip and as such also the two extremes on offer in the Philippines. Overall I have to say, the Philippines are really a country of options, there is literally something on offer for anyone and for any interest – add the friendly people, good food and there is everything necessary for a great holiday destination. And with me just having touched about six islands of more than 7000 – who knows, I might well be back …
Today we made it back from El Nido to Puerto Princesa. With breaks the 270km trip had taken us about six hours (including another visit of the Palawan elephant).
We got into Puerto Princesa in the early afternoon, so enough time for a bit of exploration in Puerto Princesa.
First stop was at the local craft brewery – the Palaweño Brewery – literally down the road from the hotel, to try the local IPA from tap. A solid IPA with citrus flavors and yet the to-be expected bitterness – – certainly an interesting and unexpected find 😉
From the brewery we continued to the town center, got to see the cathedral and the City Baywalk Park (complete with Christmas decorations) – to then make it back to the hotel.
Later in the day the whole group made it back to the baywalk park. A boat was waiting for us here, to get us over to the other side of the bay and then (on a smaller boat) into the Iwahig river. The sun had set by now and it was dark, so we were able to see the fireflies (or rather their lights) and see them react on our sounds (seems, the chicken sound was not that impressive for them).
The second final dinner did follow after our return, though turned out less involved than the first one (not unexpected though).
Today was basically a copy of yesterday – spent island hopping again – though this time only up until the early afternoon.
We were first heading out for Ubugon Lagoon – with more snorkeling for me.
We continued to a nearby beach – and this time an empty one – with no other boats around. The reason for that was simple: big waves (two+ meters) were coming in and making the beach accessible to strong swimmers only. I spent most of the time in the water, playing in and with the waves.
We continued for a further beach; this time with the usual sun bathing and snorkeling option – – and made it back to town in time for a late lunch.
In the afternoon it started to rain – so it turned out a lazy one … reading, walk into town for an espresso and really nothing more.
This gallery contains 15 photos.
Today was Christmas Day – and what better to do on that day, than heading out for reefs and beaches on an island hopping trip in the tropics? Well – today saw us going for an all island hopping trip … Continue reading