Oberschwaben (Upper Swabia) and the Allgau

 There is no noticeable difference between the two regions in the title, it's just that the latter is closest to Austria and Switzerland.  So both are in the foothills of the Alps.  We zigzagged back and forth between the two the last two days, seeing some amazing sights.

Yesterday we started at Steinhausen, a lovely baroque church in a tiny town.  It is currently under restoration. (The kids always said you could recognize a church by the scaffolding around it.)  This Sunday they will dedicate the cross and orb which will be lifted to the top of the spire in the next few weeks.  Fabulous painting, carvings and free standing figures.  Take a look:

In the afternoon, we ventured to the Federsee, site of a primitive settlement in the area of 5000 years ago.  The lake that they settled around has diminished considerably and today it is little more than a 1 meter deep pond, but home to dozens of swans and families of ducks.  The walk to the lake is a 1.5 km boardwalk with marsh plants encroaching more and more into the lake.  It was amazing that the original settlers here lived in teepees and log houses so similar to the North American natives.

Today we had a totally different (delicious) focus:  A cheese fest in Lindenberg.  Almost all the cheeses were of the area, but the variety of flavours and textures was amazing.  Kids even took a ride in a goat-pulled wagon.

We needed to go for a walk after all that cheese sampling and there is no better place than along the water, so it was back to Lake Constance at Langenargen.  OK, we couldn't pass up the elderberry ice cream, or the extra black!

The Lake Constance area is a major fruit growing part of Germany.  It's mostly apples, some pears and hops.  The trees are dwarfed, and grown under fine netting to protect them from birds and hail.

We have put many kilometers on Johanna's car in the past two days, but always enjoyed the ride together.  And then there are the meals --oh my!

So much to see and do!!

 Over the past 4 days, the phrase which keeps coming up is "next time",  Yes, there are so many castles, museums, monasteries, gardens for the tourist to enjoy and then, there are the special family villages, houses, grave sites and, of course, people, that I truly hope there will be a next time for me in this part of the world.

Any of the places I mention have much better descriptions on the internet than I am going to provide.  Look them up if you are interested.

Maulbron Monastery is a huge complex started a thousand years ago for monks and lay persons for whom the Benedictines had become too lax in their religious practices.  The biggest surprise of the spectacular buildings was the remnants of colour on the walls and ceilings.  Those monks were not all grey and dull.

After the Monastery, we went to supper at a Besse.  Yes, that means broom in German and no one was able to give me a good reason why a traditional slaughter meal served in a barn at a vineyard, had that name.  All those sausages my Dad made when he slaughtered a pig were available, as well as Maultaschen.  Notice the similarity to the monastery name?  The legend has it that the pasta pockets filled with ground meat and spinach were developed there.  There is more to the legend which you need to read for yourselves.

I think every traveller in the world has heard of Neuschwanstein castle, but what about Hohenzollern?  It rivals the former in size, was completed where Ludwig's was not, and is still occupied by some of the Hohenzollern family.  For me, it is much more a castle to live in than the extravagance shown in Ludwig's 4 castles.  And what a lovely escape it would make!

Today it was a step into the past and a step into the future.  The Porsche museum showed everything from the first concept car to the latest racers and street machines.  Then it was about 1 km up the road to have lunch at Neuwirtshaus.  The building where I was born no longer stands, but in its place is another inn built in the same style and still serving great food.  Ok, the spaetzle were made by machine, not off the board as my Tante Dina would do for special guests.

Johanna and I have now landed in Berkheim where we will spend the next few days.  She went to school here in the Oberschwaben region (southern part of Germany just before the Alps) and will show me around.  Can't wait!

Mainau Island

 There is a very good reason why the "Flower Island of Mainau" ranks so highly on lists of things to see in this area.  It is AMAZING!  More on that later.

Since they did indeed decide to fly, Air Canada did a fine job of getting me across the Atlantic and into Frankfurt on time.  Got a ticket to Vaihingen which involved 2 changes.  Unfortunately we were delayed and I missed the last train, but there was another half an hour later, so still got to Franz's house just about 4 pm.  (The Germans are quite disgusted with their train as they are not as punctual as the Swiss, but for me, being able to get just about anywhere on a train seems like a great system.) Considering I had managed only 30 min. sleep, I was good for a piece of cake, some planning and then bed at 8.

The Bodensee (Lake Constance) was about a 2.25 hour drive south, some of it through construction but also some of it along stretches which still have unlimited speed limits.  I saw us hit 184 km/hr.  Franz drives the Mercedes very well.  We chose Meersburg as the embarkation point along the lake for our ferry ride to the Minau island.  Imagine a garden whose climate is moderated both summer and winter by the water around it, which was planned as a garden for a rich family and which has a clientele  who come to see beautiful nature.  That is Mainau with themed areas of trees, perennials, shrubs, bulbs and a palm house for the truly tropical plants to live in when the weather gets too cold.  I could go on and on, but will let some pictures speak for me.

Forgot to mention that it was the most amazing showing of dahlias that I have ever seen--250 varieties!

 

 It has been exactly 4 weeks since we touched down here and now I'm sitting at the airport again.  The bags are checked and the boarding pass is in hand.  The plane from Lisbon is  late, so we will be delayed.  Well, the forecast at home is for snow or rain or both, so I am not too anxious to get there anyway.  The saddest part of today was dropping off the bike at Carolina's again.  That always makes the end seem so final.  But enough!

It has been quite a different trip from our other vacations here.  We have had 3 sets of company who have chosen Azores on our recommendation.  Some we saw most days, others we saw occasionally, but we have felt like hosts and tried to make sure the others saw the best of the island.  Now, two trips to Furnas to see camellias was NO hardship, but any time that there is more than just me, I am responsible.  I did promise some flower pictures from the Camellia show:

As you can tell, they were spectacular.  Someday I will come and see the garden in another season.

What am I bringing home -- besides some clothes (bicycle attire), I have 30 spoons.  WHAT? you say? Yes, tiny spoons (24) for all kinds of condiments on a charcuterie board, and long spoons (galao) for deep jars or perhaps I will some day get proper tall latte glasses.  Strange what passes for souvenirs when it is your 10th visit.  

This was my final sunrise this morning;

Choices

 It is a rainy morning.  In fact, it will be a totally rainy day, if the weather app on my phone is to be believed.  It has been wrong before, but the situation outside at the moment certainly confirms the forecast.

We have now been here almost 3 weeks and the weather has been much rainier and windier than in past visits.  Once, while riding up the mountain, I had to get off and push as the combination of incline, wind and avoiding highway accesses proved too much.  Can't navigate safely when the wind is blowing so hard as to push you around on the road.  So, the bike riding has not been the greatest.  

Instead I have been walking -- my 5km first thing in the morning.  On nice days, I take my sticks and stride along the waterfront for 2.5 km and then turn around.  The experience of the ocean next to me is on some days so calming and on other days, when the spray hits me, very invigorating.  

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPBjL4mNoCUDlGIQljJzyQsDD_irCeGePZWpdQ2

On not-so-nice days, like today, I walk in the underground parking garages here on the harbour.  There is space for about 500 cars in the two lots and they have accesses up to the street level as well as onto the water level.  There is a large crescent-shaped commercial zone for the tourists, particularly for the ones that come on cruise ships.  It is possible to walk along, under the covered area and not get wet.  

But on nice days, I have been making a point of visiting the gardens here in town -- the little ones that are in between streets or outside public building, as well as the 3 major gardens.  My favourite is the Antonio Borges and it is free and open almost 24 hours a day.  Besides spectacular trees, there are many azaleas in bloom and peaceful pools to sit and enjoy.

If I lived here all year long, I would have such a garden!  But I would not trade living in Chippawa for living in Ponta Delgada.  Having stated that, I still say that I'm glad I'm here now rather than at home in the snow.

We all have choices for our lives.  Choose wisely.

I have never been

 I have never been to an outdoor garden of orchids planted in the ground.  Yes, I have visited Parque Terra Nostra many times before and today I enjoyed the camellias and the cycads as much as ever, but the plot of orchids past the gardener's office, had never been open to me before.  I looked at the lush, profuse abundance of colours and shapes and sizes and was amazed.  I hope the pictures do them some justice!!

I love that there are always surprises!

It's been four days

 It's only been four days since we touched down here again in Ponta Delgada.  It has rained -- sometimes hard -- on each of those days, but you go with that.  Some highlights of the first few days:

A spectacular hibiscus just growing in a front yard hedge.

Groups of kids singing for the "lady of the stars' festival

Leaning on the same Norfolk Island Pine as I did on our first trip here in 2014.

Watching a goose catch flies off the leaves.

All those cute little pineapples.

I have known for a long time that I enjoy being around children when they learn something, master something, experience something new for the first time.  I relive my excitement of doing that even though I have now done it probably hundreds of times.  We have friends of Ian's visiting here with us and seeing their "OH, WOW!" brings back that excitement of the first time.  We invite anyone to come and experience this part of the world.