Journeys and destinations...

River Rhine is one of the major rivers in Europe and flows through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. This blog post is specifically about a small 65 km stretch out of the 1233 km length  of the river! The Upper Middle Rhine Valley  is the the section between Bingen and Koblenz.  Very few locations have something for all, this is one such region. If you are a wine lover , here you will be surrounded by vineyards and local wineries (German: Weingut). If you love hiking and wandering around in nature , you will get plenty of options. If you are a history buff , you can immerse yourself in the study of various castles and their intriguing stories. If you are a cycling enthusiast or love to ride your motorbike, you can ride along the Rhine and witness picturesque scenery.  Finally, if just want to have a relaxing time away from the bustle of the city life and sit next to the river and soak up the sun then this is the place for you!  Welcome to the Rhine valley!!  In Germany, i f yo

The Moselle valley is often overlooked in comparison to the world-famous romantic route of the Rhine valley. Granted, Moselle is not as mighty as the Rhine but the valley has its own charm! River Moselle (German: Mosel) flows through France, Luxembourg and Germany. As the river passes though Germany it creates beautiful landscapes and a great opportunity for wine growers. Most of the hillsides are covered in vineyards which grow the white grape variety called Riesling. The river has been used for trade and travel since hundreds of years and today we can see a high number of castle ruins along the entire Moselle valley. In this blog I am going to cover the cities (and castles)  me and my husband have visited till now.   The rivers Mosel and Rhine meet in Koblenz. The point of confluence is called the  The  Deutsches Eck  and it is a lovely must-see place. M ore about Koblenz in the next blog dedicated to the Rhine valley ! 😉 In Germany, i f you stay in NRW or  Rhineland-Palatin

Ever wondered on a Friday evening what activities can you do on the  weekend ? We eagerly look forward to the weekend but when it arrives most of the time we don't have a plan on how to spend it. Most of the expats don't have a lot of  family and friends  around them and it is very important to be out and about for the  physical and mental well being . A lot of countries have a mall and multiplex culture where a visit to these places is the norm on the weekends and holidays. But I have not seen that in Germany. Saturdays are meant for shopping as all the shops are closed on Sundays including the malls. However, there is a higher preference for being active and fit in your chosen way rather then going to the movies.  Of course, like any other place you can join a gym or a hobby club or play a sport by getting in touch with interested individuals with the help of the many available apps. But there is more that you can do occasionally! Come rain or shine there are

Provence  is the south-eastern region of France. It has a lot to offer and the highlights are the beaches (popularly known as the French Riviera ), the French side of the Alps mountains and the  Verdon Natural Regional Park. The French Riviera The 'French riviera' is the region with glamorous beaches on the south coast of France. We (me and my husband) visited Nice, Cannes, Antibes and Monaco . In these towns the beaches are the main attraction. There are mostly very few or no other typical sightseeing places like castles or museums like other touristy European  cities. Paradise  for sail boats and yachts Nice We landed at the Nice airport on 6th September 2019. We started the sightseeing by visiting the market in the Nice city center. I had read about a local vegetarian delicacy called Socca and directly went to the shop that sells it. It is made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Simple and delicious!  Socca and win

Hello readers, Me and husband did a 3 day trip (3 nights, 4 days) in November 2019 to Bruges from Düsseldorf. Some people will say that's a lot of time for such a small city. For us it was a city break over a long weekend and we did not want it to be hectic and hence spending time doing nothing and wandering around the streets aimlessly was also part of the itinerary 😄. Expectations versus reality Expectations - As always I had done my research on Tripadvisor, Youtube, Google and talked to friends who had visited Bruges and hence knew what to expect. We had already visited Gent and Brussels few years back so were aware of how things work in Belgium. Belgium is famous for beer, waffles, fries and chocolate. So having all of these was definitely on the agenda. High expectations for these 'must-haves'. The weather was going to be rainy, cloudy and cold but I am now used to such weather in Germany so we were not going to let weather spoil our enthusiasm. Rea