Journeys and destinations...

  For the long Easter weekend, I was looking for a place in Netherlands to spend some time in nature, cycle around and look at spring flowers. Amsterdam and the surrounding areas are generally too crowded so I started looking at other places in Netherlands & found Texel! Texel is an island north of the mainland Netherlands. Why specifically Netherlands you might ask. Due to the pandemic, we had not travelled  outside Germany in the last 2 years and I was really missing the natural beauty of the Netherlands, the classic windmills, endless tulip farms and the tasty hot chocolate! The way to reach the island is with a ferry. Tickets can be booked online & the website has all the required information https://www.teso.nl/en/ .  The island is very popular with families with little kids. Somehow also very popular with families with dogs . Literally every family we saw had a dog. After a while my husband started missing having a dog 😄. The island has 7 little villages. T...

The variety in flowers in nature always amazes me. Majority of the flowers in Germany were alien to me. Except roses, I guess roses can be found everywhere in the world.  This year due to travel restrictions and work-from-home, we explored Düsseldorf in spring like never before! Two more things helped. One we bought a car a couple of years ago & second I joined Instagram 😄. Up to last year we would visit a few parks in spring to admire the magnolias or the cherry blossoms but this year we planned special trips an hour away just to admire some specific flowers. The inspiration came from looking at photos on Instagram. Spring season here lasts from March to May. Every month nature (with the help of hardworking farmers & gardeners) creates displays of flowers of different colors, shapes and sizes. In this post, I am writing the timeline and places where we captured some gorgeous flowers. Every year timing of the bloom and location  could be a bit different . Hundred...

Germany is famous for the black forest region,  snow capped mountains,  numerous castles and picturesque villages frozen in time.  We (me and my husband) have checked off most of the typical touristic attractions in Germany. In t hese strange times we did not want to leave the country so I started looking for a summer vacation destination inside Germany.  Even after living in Germany for many years we had still not visited any beach in the north nor seen  Hamburg , the second biggest city in Germany. As I read more and started making a sightseeing list, I realized there is a lot more to see in north Germany beyond Hamburg. I was excited that this trip is going to be like no other as we would see amazing red brick architecture, white sand beaches, white chalk cliffs and hike through a national park😎.  I love the planning process before a trip and thoroughly enjoy creating a document with a detailed 'to-do' list for each location. Being child free allows us...

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 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 G...