Impressions of 2022

Of course many days were filled with dull routine stuff like... work, eat, sleep, repeat. We also had some challenges ahead of us such as moving my Mom into a retirement home (which went pretty well with all involved by the way) and coordinating the final works of our own new place. We are thankful that all our loved ones made it through the pandemic without major issues, and happy to be able to get back to normal socialising with friends and family.

However, as difficult as the world seems right now with a war on our doorstep and the undeniable impact of climate change (+20°C on new year's eve) we appreciate what 2022 has dished:

A wet January was spent hiking the Nibelungensteig (Odenwald).

A cold but sunny February made for the opportunity to take the Alemannenweg (Odenwald) under my feet.

A frosty March had a wellness outing in the Taunus region as well as an outdoor overnighter in the Gramschatzer Forest (Lower Franconia) in store for me.

In April we rediscovered pedal powered two-wheeling and and spent some days camping in the river Nahe region, then snow hit again while on a trip to Bamberg (Upper Franconia).

May saw us venturing south to Italy for a yet another beautiful sojourn at Lago Maggiore.

A time slot in a hot and dry June presented the opportunity to hike the Pfälzer Höhenweg trail. And end of the month we were off camping in the Bavarian Alps for a deserved vacation.

July came with a mixed bag of weather so we moved our camp to Austria for some more hiking and biking.

I left for a spiritual journey in August on the Moselle Camino and came back with a (thankfully fairly mild) case of Covid. 

Recovered from Corona the month of September offered another great camping trip to Bavaria.

In October we got to explore the meteor crater Nördlinger Ries.

November found us hiking the Rhön mountain range, the former border region of East and West Germany taught us a lesson in (cold war) history.

Our new home awaits! So we moved one more (last?) time in December and have now settled in the Eifel, a low mountain range in Western Germany close to the Belgian border.

Happy New Year 2023! Be happy and healthy and live life to the fullest.

Illuminations

Currently we seem to travel from one Christmas market to the next.

Feuerzangenbowle

On this occasion we were meeting friends in the Eifel region, a low mountain range in Western Germany, close to the Belgian border, and a region we will soon call our new home (yes, we are on the move... again!)

Happy Holidays and a wonderful year 2023!

Leaving 2022 with impressions from a random rare cold snap.

Christmas Market in Mainz

Recently we had the opportunity to join our friends Guido and Andrea in Mainz, who were on family visit in Germany. The Christmas market can be found in front of the Cathedral St. Martin, and the little huts around the church, selling handcrafted art, snacks and Feuerzangenbowle (a delicious variation on mulled wine), gave it an almost medieval touch. 

However, despite the lovely seasonal atmosphere we quickly made a beeline for a nearby café. The market turned out to be a bit too loud and too crowded plus it started to drizzle, and who would have thunk... conversation became so much easier once indoors. 😉

It only had been our second visit to Mainz, because cathedral aside, the city is just another cesspool with lots of traffic and people.

Fun fact: These days Mainz is rather known as headquarter location of BioNTech, one of the biotech companies which developed an mRNA vaccine against Covid.

Another interesting detail we missed during our previous visit was the archeological findings an another church. Mainz has in fact a second and much older cathedral, which was only discovered during restoration and renovation works. Although a mere construction site today due to ongoing scientific excavation the building was open and nicely illuminated. The artefacts and remnants go back 1500 years in history.