We left Bruges on Tuesday and after an adventurous trip and an overnight in Bonn, via Cologne, are now in southern Germany - Bavaria the beautiful! The train from Bruges to Cologne took all day rather than the scheduled three hours, picking up the rental car and making our way to Bonn was also a challenge, but we finally made it to the home of our new friend, Ilse - only five hours later than planned!
She was a bit frantic as she hadn't heard from us and expected us for lunch at 2pm not dinner at 7. Lunch/dinner was exquisite - all Italian thanks to her having just returned from two weeks at Lake Maggiore and still feeling very 'la dolce vita' in the kitchen.
We had a lovely evening catching up on her travels, looking at all her artistic creations, and hearing more about her upcoming party on September 26th. Alas, we won't be there to celebrate with the scores of long-time friends. Our original plan was to have lunch and then head south to our rental flat in southern Bavaria, but by the time we finished dinner it was almost 10pm. Ilse graciously offered us a spare bedroom which we gladly occupied.
Ilse seeing us off after breakfast with a bottle of coffee!
Onto the autobahn!! Tim has been so stoked about driving this famous road system it's hard to describe how disappointed he is with the reality. The trip from Bonn to Fussen, our destination, is just under 400km (250 or so miles) and it took us EIGHT HOURS!! At least 75% of the autobahn on our route is under construction and it's stop and go, usually at 30-50km per hour. The last 1.5 hrs is really smooth and we arrive at our flat well before dark, stopping for a couple of photos just a few km from the flat.
One of the two famous castles we've come to visit . . .
And this is the other . . .
But first we need a good long recuperation at our flat . . . with a view of the beautiful Bavarian countryside.
We'll be back after a long rest!!
She was a bit frantic as she hadn't heard from us and expected us for lunch at 2pm not dinner at 7. Lunch/dinner was exquisite - all Italian thanks to her having just returned from two weeks at Lake Maggiore and still feeling very 'la dolce vita' in the kitchen.
We had a lovely evening catching up on her travels, looking at all her artistic creations, and hearing more about her upcoming party on September 26th. Alas, we won't be there to celebrate with the scores of long-time friends. Our original plan was to have lunch and then head south to our rental flat in southern Bavaria, but by the time we finished dinner it was almost 10pm. Ilse graciously offered us a spare bedroom which we gladly occupied.
Ilse seeing us off after breakfast with a bottle of coffee!
Onto the autobahn!! Tim has been so stoked about driving this famous road system it's hard to describe how disappointed he is with the reality. The trip from Bonn to Fussen, our destination, is just under 400km (250 or so miles) and it took us EIGHT HOURS!! At least 75% of the autobahn on our route is under construction and it's stop and go, usually at 30-50km per hour. The last 1.5 hrs is really smooth and we arrive at our flat well before dark, stopping for a couple of photos just a few km from the flat.
One of the two famous castles we've come to visit . . .
And this is the other . . .
But first we need a good long recuperation at our flat . . . with a view of the beautiful Bavarian countryside.
We'll be back after a long rest!!
