We are off to France for a few days. The drive is comparable to going to Calgary so why not. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament among other things. It has a colossal Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg which was the tallest building in the world for over 2 centuries. This is a magnificat […]
We have assembled the house and actually moved some furniture around today to get that new minimalistic look we are hoping to achieve here. Basically no one is carrying any more boxes upstairs and no one is interested in assembling anything anymore. We are in a travel mood. After 10 days of hard graft, it […]
The Mozejko’s are leaving today. Our first guests, and visitors, are heading back home today after a nice, albeit hot as hell visit. It was a great visit and as always a one that was far too short. It was also a hard one too as we are in the middle of assembling out […]
Other than the garbage outside which is full of our boxes, we now have 3 separate storage places for all the boxes that have to be cut up packaged and disposed of. Its insane how many boxes there are and there are still more, standing in the house, awaiting their turn to be turned into […]
L’Osteria again, finally everyone manned up and ordered a pizza today followed by ice cream followed by – what the hell were we thinking eating this much… Luckily we are walking home to get some pretend exercise.
The little Dane is turning 13 today. We went out to one of out favourite sausage restaurants today and followed it with a cake at home. It is true that we have moved in to our new apartment but for now we still have more furniture in boxes that we have furniture that is assembled. […]
It is unbelievably hot. At 11:30 last night it was 27°C and no wind in sight. This morning at 9:30 it was 32°C and at 11:30 it climbed to 41.5°C and stayed there until about 4:30 pm. We spent most of the day at the apartment moving things, assembling the furniture, shifting boxes and packing […]
The great Danes are here. We are heading out for a quiet dinner at our favourite go to pizza place in town. Food is always great, service is excellent and the atmosphere is amazing. What more could you ask for?
Today we took delivery of an apartment full of furniture. The furniture showed up at 7:15, I was rushing to get there, I got lost! I thought I knew my way to the house but it turns out I did not. Finally I got there and opened the door and the crew of 3 started […]
So we have had a chance to drive our new old car back from Poland. We put just a bit over 2,000 km on the car and so far we absolutely love it. I don’t think this car will go faster than 250km/h or even 240km/h for that matter. In fact loaded up to the […]
We headed out to do some shopping for the apartment today and then went to the beach. Once again the sea was angry today, but the water was so nice and warm. Great way to waste an afternoon.
As if Malbork wasn’t impressive enough on its own – there was one more surprise in store for us. Malbork Castle and its grounds are serving as a stage for a sculpture exhibit by a number of famous Polish artists. Feast your eyes.
There are a lot of impressive sights in the world and a great number of wonderful buildings. To me there are very few as impressive and as memorable as the Malbork Castle. The sheer size of it, the scale of buildings and the magnificent decor and layout are simply stunning. Malbork is 3 castles in […]
A short drive from Gdansk, is the seaside city of Sopot with its grand pier that stretches into the Baltic Sea. At 511.5m, the pier is the longest wooden pier in Europe. A lot has changed here, there are a lot more stores and restaurants, but don’t come here looking for traditional polish food. We […]
Tourist trap heaven, but if you know where to look – you can find a nice slingshot which is naturally what Evelina bought!
On the other side of the great old town buildings is a narrow little street called ul. Mariacka. The street is lined on both sides with artisan shoppes where you can find all sorts of amber and silver jewellery and pretty much everything else made out of amber which in Gdansk is king. In one […]
A stroll down ul. Dluga. It still is as beautiful as I remember it – less the 50,000 Zywiec umbrellas littering the street on both sides. We could not ask for better weather, with sun and a bit of breeze this was a beautiful day to explore the old town of Gdansk.
So after almost 30 years I am back in the city I grew up in. While a lot has changed it here, not much really did. In the end it is really all a matter of perspective. What seemed bright, huge and wonderful as I remembered it, is now aged, dull and all plastered in […]
TIR stands for Transports Internationaux Routiers” or “International Road Transports. TIR-owka then is a lady that works in a service industry, that stands in a forrest, on the side of the highway, usually dressed in a very revealing and easy to spot from the distance neon clothing ready to help the big truck drivers relax for […]
We went to explore the house where Copernicus was born, where he lived, studied and in the end turned the world of astronomy on its head. His house was comprised of two buildings. Even by modern standards this was a huge house. It is also worth noting that Copernicus was a distinguished guest at the […]
Since we are not in a great rush today to get to our destination, we are taking a few stops on the way to explore some things worth seeing. First on the list today is Torun, a city where Copernicus was born. A leisurely stroll through the old town, and around the old Teutonic ruins, […]
Meanwhile somewhere in Poland, on the side of the road is this guy with a wide array of forest goods for sale – all nicely displayed on the hood of his car. I think it is time to give our Alfa some personallity. We are going for that off road rugged country style look. It […]
This then is the official European Vacation Wala Family Chariot. It is a bit shorter and less powerful than the Volvo we have been driving but I think we are going to like it very much. It is an Alfa Romeo 159 Stoprtwagon Ti Turismo. It’s black and it ‘s pretty, and it converts diesel […]
Since we are not in a great rush today to get anywhere in particular today, we made a quick stop in Gniezno as we were driving by. This then, according to legend is the birth city of Poland – officially in 966. It is quite beautiful here.
Obviously we are not very with it when it comes to train travel. First we almost missed our first stop where we were supposed to get off and switch trains. We pulled up to the platform and suddenly we realized that we are not packed. Anna and Boris run off while I was waiting for […]
We are traveling in style First Class on the bullet train with coffee service to boot. Life is good and this journey should be nice, pleasant and short with service like this.
We are setting off to Nordhausen to pick up our car. We are taking a train there and once we pick up the car we are setting off on a bit of a holiday/business adventure. Essentially we are pushing more paper into the bureaucratic back hole.
File this under: what was I thinking? Just to make sure that the first time I managed to eat the entire pizza at L’Osteria, was not a fluke, I challenged myself to do it again. Once you eat half of this pizza, it then starts fitting onto the plate. The pizza is about 42 cm […]
It’s official. We are finally going to go and pick up our car. We booked the train to Nordhausen for this coming Thursday. We are taking the ICE train which is the German equivalent of the bullet train. We are looking forward this experience. After all, its been at least 15 years since I took […]
Today we got our plates for the car. Running like a proper well oiled german machine should the process of registration, vanity plate making and road tax paying took about 30 min to accomplish. With driving and parking 45 min for the round trip. Now we can finally go and pick up our car. Bonus […]
Sunday is a perfect day for brunch. Today we went to the downtown apartment and had lunch with Volker’s mom and two great Danes, who have been our neighbours for the last two months. This is a proper way to laze around 6 hours – sitting around and drinking and eating.
It has not even been three hours since the breakfast was cleaned up and here is lunch.
Today we are signing a rent deal on our new home. We can’t wait to have a place of our own – I think it will be spectacular, and we are all ecstatic.
It’s 8:00 pm and it’s 28°C outside – a perfect evening to explore the city in a convertible. We are unleashing the fury of Volker’s Audi S5 on the town. This car is beautiful and seeing the city with the top down gives you different perspective. In Nuremberg you are never more than a 5 […]
This is the first time we saw an accident on autobahn. It looked alike a 3 car accident with a big van overturned and laying on its side. After that, miles and miles of traffic. \
On the way to Harztor we passed through the largest village in the region. Nordhausen has a population of about 44,000 and was 75% destroyed during the bombing raids during WW II. This little town is very charming and well preserved. It has been rebuilt and renovated and it certainly worth coming back to for […]
We see it when we go for a walk, we see it when we drive into the neighbourhood, we see it on the way to school, and on the way to the bakery. Its so central and majestic, and yet so medieval and rustic. It is a beacon of this community and today we explored […]
There are no other ways of describing this sighting. The original Trabant 601 DeLuxe Limousine – all in one piece. The best thing about this car was the old country sticker on the back window which read DDR with both the first D and the R faded out. This is the car that outlasted the country […]
There are a lot of great things to do in Nuremberg and vicinity for a family for under $15.00. Today we went to check out the Toy Museum. There is something for everyone here. Mostly though there are some phenomenal vintage toys from the late 18 and ealy 1900s. Toy kitchens with working stoves, wind-up […]
I remember these from Poland when I was Evelina’s age.
Bamberg’s historic city center is a listed UNESCO world heritage site. Sometimes, the locals refer to it as the German Venice. This truly is a beautiful little town with charming streets and shops, and two magnificent churches, set on two opposite hills. We only spent a few hours here to get a quick look at […]
Altenburg Castle is perched on top of Bamberg’s highest hill and is one of Bamberg’s major landmarks. The castle was first mentioned in 1109 and was used at this time as a refuge. In the 14th and 15th centuries it served as a richly furnished residence for Bamberg’s bishops, but was almost completely destroyed in 1553 […]
It seems that every time we turn around there is a demonstration somewhere protesting this that or the other. Today, on the demonstration agenda are the dolphins at the Nuremburg Zoo. I have to say that we much preferred the noise of the kilted musicians to the bells and chanting of the dolphin parade. After […]
I could never understand why Italians have such admiration for Alonso, Schumacher or Gilles Villeneuve – some of the great drivers that graced Ferrari with their skills. Italy produces some of the best sport cars in the world. Bugatti, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia and Lamborghini just to name a few, but are there no Italian drivers capable […]
Built in the first century AD Arena di Verona was the third largest amphitheatre in the empire. It used to hold 30,000 people when it was completed. Today Arena di Verona is a great venue for many concerts and performances from the likes of Muse, Radiohead, The Pink Floyd and many others. There are also […]
William Shakespeare made Verona famous with its tragedies. Verona is a gorgeous city with its quiet streets, many churches, the magnificent Arena and of course Juliet’s balcony. We did a lot of walking around, a bit of shopping and a whole lot of eating as we usually do. I think we will be coming back […]
Navigating the Italian gastronomical universe is not an easy task. In the galaxy of choices that are presented on an average menu, in an average restaurant one can easily get confused and lost and ultimately regret not ordering just the right meal. The easiest way to deal with this issue is to follow my simple […]
Today we are doing an activity chosen by the children. It turns out that our Legoland Annual Pass also gives us a free one time access to Gardaland which is about 8 min drive from where we are staying. The entrance fee to Gardaland is €138 for a one day family pass. The place was […]
A drive around Lake Garda is slow but rewarding. One town is more beautiful than the next. Each villa is bigger and more ornate with a nicer park and a longer driveway than the next, each residence more secluded and more beautiful. Absolutely stunning and breathtaking. We are so glad that we decided take the […]
Today we are heading out to Salo, another beautiful town on Lake Garda. Then, if the weather cooperates we are planning to drive around the lake to take in the views, other smaller towns and the crazy roads and tunnels that encircle the lake. Stop for a coffee or two and buy some local […]
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