This gallery contains 12 photos.
Today we were aiming high – looking at tackling the highest point of the island. We kicked it off in the morning with an uphill bus drive; we had our first stop after a 26km drive at the Boca Tauce … Continue reading
Today was the first day of group activities – and time for the first of many hikes of this trip. We first made it up into the mountains to an altitude of about 1400m above sea level and the small town of Vilaflor. Here we kicked if off with a quick tour through town, covering the Sanctuary of the Santo Hermano Pedro and the associated church, the town park – and the famous (well – on the island) local bakery (Dulcería Vilaflor), including a quick sample of their produce.
We left town and made our way out on a hiking trail going through the pine forest, that is typical on the island at this elevation. After about two hours we left the forest and found ourselves walking between vineyards. Wine was also the topic at the destination of this 8km hike – we were heading for Bodega Lagar de Chasna, where a wine tasting and some snacks were waiting for us (after a tour around the bodega of course).
After about two hours (and a bit of intoxication) we were picked up by bus, to get back to our base at the beach – with an opportunity for quick, refreshing dip into the Atlantic Ocean – before getting ready for some nice grilled octopus in a nearby seafood restaurant – what an upgrade to yesterday. 😉
November usually makes a good time, to leave the bad weather at home and have a trip elsewhere. As such – already back in March – I did go ahead, booking a trip to Svalbard … looking for the experience of all-day twilight, a great mix of outdoor activities and a chance, to get more than a glimpse of the Northern lights.
As it turned out, I was the only one, interested in that experience … the trip never took place – and I ended up looking for other options – ultimately deciding for a trip to the Canary Islands – covering the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera and a bit of Gran Canaria.
And now was the time – it took a flight of four hours, to get to Tenerife – and El Médano, a smallish tourist town with mainly surfers and kite surfers. After moving into my room, I got out, to explore town, walk along the beaches and make my way up two nearby small mountains – Montaña Bocinegro (36m above sea level) and Montaña Roja (171m above sea level) – to get a view of the surrounding area.
The group got together for the usual tour briefing before dinner; dinner was a bit of a disappointment, pretty much a canteen buffet – from here it could only get better (and – spoiler – it did).
Today saw us making a trip into history.
We kicked it off with a trip to the Stone and Bronze Ages with a visit of the Stilt House Museum (Pfahlbautenmuseum).
From here (after a bit of tourist rip-off) it was on into medieval times and to Meersburg, a small city at the shores of Lake Constance.
We had a walk around town, checking out the lower and the upper town – and taking in the views on the way. We eventually stopped at a bistro at the lake front for some food and drinks – before heading back to Friedrichshafen.
After another evening with the family, I left on Tuesday morning – heading home by train – and looking back to a great, eventful weekend.
Today we spent big time on Lake Constance – making our way from Friedrichshafen to Bregenz on the Austrian side of the lake, each way being a good two hours with multiple stops en-route.
After arrival in Bregenz we made it straight for the Pfänderbahn, to get up the Pfänder mountain. At 1062m above sea level – and (more important) 667m above Lake Constance views here were fabulous.
Back down in Bregenz we had a quick walk around the city center and (as by now we were both hungry and thirsty) a quick afternoon snack – before catching the ship back to Friedrichshafen.
My mother had one of those big birthdays this year – instead of a big celebration we had a small family reunion … with Lake Constance being my mother’s choice of destination.
My parents picked me up Friday midday and we made our way down to Friedrichshafen at the front of Lake Constance – a drive of about four hours.
My sister and nephew joined on Saturday – both days were spent, exploring town – and included a visit of the Zeppelin Museum on Saturday.
In Five years are over once more – and it is time, to head back to Kassel for a fit of contemporary art at the biggest exhibition of its kind on the planet – documenta fifteen.
The approach for this edition was a bit different than with previous ones, with the role of artistic director being given to the Indonesian art collective Ruangrupa. Other art collectives were asked to join – who in turn added like-minded artists. The result – in my view – was a fairly one-sided system-criticizing exhibition with (at least for me) no real WOW-moment. Well – and the controversy around antisemitic elements in several pieces of art in the exhibition is just the next thing.
In any case, below a couple of impressions from the exhibition …
We made it back to Riga after a long drive of about five hours. I had a nighttime walk around town after dinner (and drinks), to get in some final impressions of Riga – and final impressions of this trip.
Overall this has been a very loaded trip – with many, many things to do and see. The trip clearly showed off on the cultural heritage and history of the three countries – but (at least from my perspective) also gave insight into the lively scenes of art, food, drink and music in all three countries. I also quiet enjoyed visiting the National Parks and of course the gastronomic delights during the trip.
Coming back, I would probably do things differently – focusing on the main attractions only, much fewer churches – and more nature, more hikes and more focus on trying delicacies, local food and drinks. Exploring the craft beer scene here might be worth a trip on itself. But for now – Good Bye Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania!
Today was the final full day of trip. We had the morning for some final explorations around Nida – before a midday pickup for the long drive back to Riga.
The weather had changed, today it was cloudy with occasional sprinkles of rain and colder than yesterday. I used the morning, to make my way over to the Thomas Mann culture center, check out the exterior, before continuing over to the Baltic Sea for some final views of the ocean for this trip. For the way back to Nida I once more picked a trail going across the Parnidis Dune.
We had dinner in a Mexican restaurant just at the front of the lagoon. I took below photos after dinner … and now sharing those night impressions here.
