A Bike Ride Through The Heimat

How often do people live in a town and never truly see it? My guess is pretty often. We get caught up in the day-to-day stuff and usually end up spending quite a bit of our time doing things around the house or getting away. Am I right?

What do you think would happen when you took a day to be a tourist in your own town? Magical things, I bet!

That is just what Toblerone and I did one of the days we were back in Germany. He grew up in this tiny little village on the top of a mountain but I had never seen it through his eyes like I had this one day. It was truly beautiful.

We decided to travel by bike. We rode from one town to the next (where his mother’s family is from). I had never seen this side before. I missed out on the beauty of it all.

We traveled around and stopped in the next town over to visit Toblerone’s Grandpa, Rudi. Check out how beautiful his space is. I may or may not have shared a bit of champagne with him. (He probably would have preferred beer – next time!)

 

We rode past the windmills…

And of course a pit-stop for some lunch!

 

My favorite part of the day was visiting the chapel in the town.

 

We went inside (luckily I didn’t go up in flames!) and I lit 4 candles in honor of the grandparents we have lost.

 

It wouldn’t really be me if I didn’t cause a little bit of commotion before I went back home…now would it? I rang the church bell for you all! Which actually wasn’t that easy, that thing is HEAVY!

We stopped along the way to many homes of family members and friends to say hello. It was a special day and BEAUTIFUL weather! It was so nice to see this other side of Toblerone’s Heimat (home) from a different perspective!

Just the hubs and I on our little bike tour! And check me out with no make-up and my 30 year old wrinkles! LOVE LOVE LOVE the aging process 🙂

 

 

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxo

The Annual Hike In The Alps

Fresh off the boat from China…..ok, it’s more like off the plane from America but same difference,…I put on my hot pink socks, laced up my fancy hiking boots, and grabbed my walking sticks for an adventure! It’s that time of year again when the Music Club of Toblerone’s hometown takes an overnight hiking trip to the Alps. Last year, we went on a similar trip just in a different area, which you can see here.

Day 1 – View From our hotel

Once in Austria, the plan was to hike up for a good 4 or 5 hours, get to camp (which is more like a hostel with dinner and drinks!)  and spend the night. Next morning climb back down for another 4 hours or so. All together, I believe it was around 10 miles of a hike but it’s not your average 10 miles…we’re going straight up and then straight down. Literally. So it was grueling and at some points dangerous but really beautiful as usual…and as always…I loved going down MUCH better than up!

Day 2 – Loved these funky trees all over the place!

We stopped along the way to have lunch at a little restaurant and witnessed a wedding high up in the Alps. How darling! Then we trekked on towards our final destination for the night. But somehow, once we relaxed for a few hours, people convinced me to go even further to the top of the mountain where a large cross is. (As in the one Jesus carried or whatever) I Went the extra mile (or 3 more really)  and went to summit but was glad to get back and not move for the rest of the night!

Day 2 – Group shot descending

Throughout the Alps there were small clearings and houses made of logs where farmers would stay only during the summer time. Their cows and other animals would be brought up to this area to feed on the fresh grass and would be fully equipped with bells. Each bell has a certain note so the farmer can constantly hear where his animals are. Intelligent, ay? In order for the farmer to get food, it’s delivered once a week. He then can collect it from the stream/river that they send it on for him or by hiking down to the town. Here’s an example of one of the houses:

Day 2 – Favorite shot – waterfall across the way

Check out the Slideshow for more of our trip!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And of course the only way to get completely down is with none other than by Alpine Rollercoaster! I don’t have pictures of this (was too afraid I’d lose my phone!) But here is a video to give you an idea of what it looked like. SO fun!! (This isn’t the exact one but very similar to this)

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Let’s Go For A Walk, Shall We??

Every morning, it’s become habit for Harley that he needs to go outside and run and play for an hour or so. After that, he comes inside…drinks a gallon of water and passes out for a few hours. This allows me to get all sorts of things done around the house without him tailing around behind me!

So, as I mentioned before there are many walking trails everywhere…connecting to each town, etc. It’s like an active person’s dream. Notice I said active person…this is not me. However, I’m getting into the swing of things and starting to really enjoy going to explore the world around me. Of course, I bring Harley as my trusty watch dog just in case there are crazy people or wild boars. Not that he would hurt either of those in my defense.

This morning I went on the walk solo (since Harley is visiting his Omi and Opi until Thursday!) and decided to bring along the camera so you all could join me! Here’s a glimpse of it all. I literally walk out of my door, and bang a left straight up the hill into the woods (to grandmother’s house…yes, literally I could walk to Omi’s house.) Keep in mind, these paths are always there, beaten down into perfection, and I never see people on them! Crazy talk.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you found that special tree or built a fort and felt completed isolated yet totally secure at the same time? This brings me back to that magical time and I really do wish I could share it with everyone.

Side Note: Since WordPress is really starting to annoy me with the fact that when I place pictures into my blog and then save, somehow half of them get erased. SO…another slideshow it is! Sorry about that!! :-))

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Until next time, readers!! xoxoxoxxoo