Short German trips, Fri, 02 Apr 21
Jemma and Simon
at a Mountain
in Europe, Germany
It’s Easter weekend and we have four whole days off work… perfect time to hit the road again and continue exploring Germany. We decided to head back to Saxony, as it is reasonably close to Berlin and convenient for a …
Short German trips, Sun, 07 Mar 21
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Forest, Lake, Ruins/Excavation, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Germany
Welterbe Bauhaus Denkmal Bundesschule BernauWalls of BernauAskanierturmBridge by the AskanierturmSilkebucheCold cold March watersJoachimsthal KaiserbahnhofAd for the Großziethen Geopark by the Dorfkirche Golzow This has been a long, long winter. We were pretty well prepared – living on the outskirts of …
Short German trips, Sun, 24 Jan 21
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle, Ruins/Excavation
in Europe, Germany
This is what happens when the Soviets occupy a neo-Baroque castle and get free reign to build concrete blocks on its grounds, so that the Stasi can use it all as a training and recreation center.
Short German trips, Sun, 13 Dec 20
Simon
with Ania, Michał
at a Lake, River
in Europe, Germany
Accompanying Michał and Ania on a part of their quest to move the Great A’Tuin from it’s parking place in Tetlow, to Nowa Sól for repairs. I left them after a couple days in Fürstenwalde and took a train back.
Short Polish trips, Sat, 17 Oct 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Sea, Temple
in Europe, Poland
In the morning we packed up to leave the apartment, and drove off East. First stop: Pustkowo. Where as a young kid I spent every summer with my grandparents. I called them to check on the specific location we stayed …
Short Polish trips, Wed, 14 Oct 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Museum, Temple
in Europe, Poland
Światowid between multisDancing like the EmperorOrgan in Kamień PomorskiSTORM!!! The weather did not stay nice as long as the forecast promised. The wailing of the wind at night woke us up a lot, and in the morning we woke up …
Short Polish trips, Tue, 13 Oct 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Lake, Museum, Sea
in Europe, Poland
GosańGosańSmoked fish in MiędzyzdrojeMiędzyzdroje beachView from Zielonka HillSpaceship treeVery accomplished on ZielonkaTurquoise Lake Bored with hanging out in Poznań and not wanting to stay in Zieleniec all the time, we decided to go on a spontaneous trip. Also, Simon has …
Short Spanish trips, Tue, 25 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Mountain
in Europe, Spain
Today started with something different – a volcanic park. The volcanos are naturally crazy old, so now it’s really just a piece of very fertile and densely overgrown land with an interesting topography and lots of nature walks. On the …
Short Spanish trips, Mon, 24 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City
in Europe, Spain
From Girona, we drove back North to Besalú – a beautiful town with a fully preserved Medieval centre and an amazing bridge leading to it. It’s really small, but extremely cute. We strolled about for a couple hours, taking in …
Short Spanish trips, Mon, 24 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Park
in Europe, Spain
The sculpture park turned out to be more than we expected. We didn’t wake up in the best moods, but the park certainly helped. Past the automated gate, the first sculptures seemed pretty wacky – heads in the grass, prehistoric-style …
Short Spanish trips, Sun, 23 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Sea
in Europe, Spain
Our first stop to the day is Cadaqués, a beautiful seaside village that is quite touristy, but very charming. Very unlike Empuriabrava – it’s all hills and little streets, a cute small harbour, a few small beaches. We failed to …
Short Spanish trips, Sat, 22 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Sea
in Europe, Spain
After Figures, we wanted to had to the beach, but decided to visit a seaside town that looked really interesting in the map. Empuriabrava just like like a ribcage of canals. Turns out, it’s a town made up of interchangeable …
Short Spanish trips, Wed, 19 Aug 20
Simon
at a Castle
in Europe, Spain
I set of four a couple days of work from the van. I didn’t set out until early afternoon, as I had a couple important calls in the morning. I headed South of Barcelona, but my intended destination, Coca Vermella, …
Short Spanish trips, Sun, 16 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Ruins/Excavation, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Spain
Cenral MarketForumForumTheatreCircusCircusAmphitheatre The Baron is just small enough to fit into the underground car parks, but sometimes it is really ‘just’. This time, poor Baron got his back scratched a little, and was not happy. Parked, we moved to town …
Short Spanish trips, Sat, 15 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City
in Europe, Spain
On our way from the Poblet Monastery to Tarragona we popped in to Montblanc, a picturesque town with largely intact medieval walls. Naturally, grown way beyond those walls since, but didn’t demolish them – they’re either free standing, or made …
Short Spanish trips, Sat, 15 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Spain
We started the trip quite late, following a Polish drinking party the previous night. Too much alcohol we brought from Poland, needed to go. So we only really left after noon. Luckily, the Poblet Monastery only opens at 3pm for …
Short Spanish trips, Sat, 01 Aug 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Mountain, Temple
in Europe, Spain
1 August 2020 Santa Cecilia monasteryThe Monstrosity of MontserratThe Monastery of MontserratThe miraculous figureErmita de Sant BenetSant JeroniSant JeroniSant JeroniGoat! The day didn’t start well. When we finally left Barca, it was not in the best moods. It’s good we …
The long return, Fri, 03 Jul 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Museum, UNESCO site
in Europe, France
Last night we drove as far as we could and ended up crossing the French border at dusk. Jemma played Edith Piaf as loud as possible, of course. We said goodbye to motorways, and soon found a nice quiet parking …
The long return, Wed, 01 Jul 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City
in Europe, Germany
From Köningstein we drove off to Meissen, to see the famous porcellain manufactury. It was all we were hoping and fearing: super interesting workshops about the porcelain making history and technique, and some horrible porcellain. Why, oh why did porcellain …
The long return, Wed, 01 Jul 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle
in Europe, Germany
We set off from Bastei and headed towards Köningstein Festung. We could see the fortress on top of another table mountain from the Bastei bridge and were super excited to visit. The views for the drive there were really incredible, …
The long return, Tue, 30 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle, Lake, Mountain, Park
in Europe, Germany
Sächsische Schweiz is a huge, beautiful park encompassing some table mountains at the River Elbe Valley, full of fantastic rock formations and stunning sights. We arrived in mid-afternoon, parked and went to the first of the many attractions the park …
The long return, Mon, 29 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Lake, Park, UNESCO site
in Europe, Germany
At about 8pm, we walked back to the van and headed towards our next stop: Bautzen. Enroute, we decided to check out another UNESCO site: Biosphärenreservat Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft. This is a nature reserve, with beautiful lakes. We pulled …
The long return, Mon, 29 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Temple
in Europe, Germany, Poland
After spending a couple of hours wandering around the Muskauer Park, we jumped back in the van and headed to our next destination: Görlitz. This is a really interesting place, again on the border with Poland. It is adjacent to …
The long return, Mon, 29 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle, Park, UNESCO site
in Europe, Germany, Poland
Muskauer Park is a really beautiful spot. It’s over 700 ha and is partly in Germany, partly in Poland. The palace was owned by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, who was a 19th c. dandy who travelled the world and got …
