Trip To Germany - Our Accommodation (4/4 parts)

Dear Family & Friends

This is the last of my trip to Germany post... *sigh*...I know it's a long series huh? but...I just have to share with you where we stayed during our holiday for it was one good memory for us:)

At the top of small village, we found a lovely, and homey self contained flat to stay

We pre-booked all our accommodation arrangements to make it easier as we intend to move from one place to another. Most of our stay were with youth hostel. No, it's not just for the youth but they also cater to families. It's probably not to everybody's taste but it was OK for us.

Our homey apartment bedroom for the night

We also tried a stay at a private self contained flat/apartment. Not as fun as a hostel for you don't see anyone else. OK, we met the owners and had a good chat with them and remained in touch....which is a good thing.

We even had our own kitchen facility...but I'm on holiday...no cooking please!

Perhaps, a flat or apartment would be good if you stayed for a few days...you can cook and relax within...just like a home-away from home.

That castle on top of the hill is going to be our accommodation for the night!

The very first hostel we stayed with was a bit disappointing...we prebooked a family room but we were given a small room with 4 bunker beds...toilet was down the end of a long corridor, shower room was right at the basement floor! It occurred to us to leave and look for another accommodation, but in the end we stayed....it was not worth looking around for another, just for the night. Anyway, our little girl concluded at the end of our trip that: that was the best accommodation experience for her. You see, bunk bed was a great novelty for her...and she really enjoyed sleeping on the top bunk! A real holiday treat!

The pathway to our castle! "How much more climbing do I need to do, Dear?"

Jungenbergen Youth Hostel is something like "McDonald"....you can find them everywhere, easy to locate, and you know what they offer. No need to do a lot of thinking for that! But you actually need a hostel membership card for a cheaper deal. Youth Hostel in Europe is usually good and clean.

Finally, we reached the entrance to our castle!

The most interesting one we stayed was a hostel in an old castle, in a very picturesque town of Bakaraach! Down side is: No car parking in the castle premise...we have to park the car off road along the hillside leading to the castle. Probably it was different in the past...they had horse and cart! If we had such transportation, we probably could get right to the doorstep;P

We stayed at the second floor of  this castle tower! 

Otherwise, travel light to afford a walk up the hilly lane to get to the castle for the night! I was complaining all the way...no one listened to any of my complains which was a good thing. But I vowed that once I'm up there, I'm not coming down till it was time to leave. So, I more or less turned myself to Princess Rapunsel as we had all the second floor of the castle tower to ourselves!

Solid stone, spiraling stair way leading to our bedroom. 

In the castle tower, our assigned family room had so many bunk beds, a dozen of them... all to ourselves! (to the delight of my little girl, of course! )...There was a toilet and a shower room with the most beautiful view you could ever see right from the window while brushing your teeth!

Inside the castle tower was full of bunk beds!

With a Youth Hostel, they serve breakfast buffet inclusive. Breakfast was a selection of cold cut meats, cheeses, boiled eggs, slices of fresh tomatoes and cukes, freshly baked bread rolls, breakfast cereal, fruit jams, choco spread, yougurt/quarks, fresh fruits, cold and hot drinks to choose from! 

The most gorgeous view from our bathroom window!

All guest were assigned a reservation breakfast table. We ate with other guest. I noticed how the Germans are very quiet and polite people. One thing that impressed me so much was I watched how they get up from their table after their breakfast, carry and clear up all their used cutleries/plates to a kitchen trolley...and came back to wipe the crumbs and sticky stuff off their breakfast table with a damp cloth! Isn't that cool manners!!

The neighbourhood houses just further down the hill of the castle ground

Our family really enjoyed our trip to Germany and we all want to go back again. It's definitely one of the most beautiful country to visit in Europe.

Hope you enjoyed my sharing with you about the humble family trip we did. Sorry I wasn't able to make this into a much concise post...but you are very patient indeed to read all four parts of it.

Wishing you a lovely day today!

Yours

Trip To Germany - 3 countries in a day (3/4 parts)

Dear Family & Friends

If there's anything that was interesting for us during our recent holiday trip to Germany, it must be the experience of visiting 3 countries in a day, in just a matter of 5 to 10 minutes drive! On that beautiful sunny day...we were in Luxembourg, Germany, and France!

Sign post that points to 3 directions = 3 countries

There was no border check, so you don't even notice that you were already in another country as you drive around! Radio station in the car will somehow tell you where you are because it picks up station with either French, Luxembourgish, or German speaking radio programme.

Noticed the blue French style shutters...that tells us we were in France!

You can also observe that there's a slight difference in their house facade character...

As we entered France territory, Eiffel Tower came to view:)

The French with their rustic village look....while the Germans with their orderly ways etc... it''s visible within their environment.

French town

Luxembourg town

The landmark for Shengen (Luxembourg)

I didn't know much about Shengen, although I have heard this term in the past. This time, I know a bit more after a visit to a musuem. Shengen is actually a place in Luxembourg. But it is here (in the middle of a river)  that they signed an agreement to form EU member state.

Then, back to Germany

After the short visit to France and Luxembourg, we drove back to Germany...yes, back to the vineyard on mountain slopes scenery:)

Next and my last blog post for this trip...would be about our accommodation...another interesting experience that we would always cherish.

For now, I wish you a lovely day:)

Yours 

Trip to Germany, places to see (2/4 parts)

Dear Family & Friends

Before going on our holiday trip, we planned everything: where we're going to stay, our road map route, places to see for each day. Really the planning stage was the start of fun. We did a bit of research online...including preview on Google earth to see where we are going! 

We're not city people and are more geared to the beauty of country living! Germany is a vast country, with places of historic interest, culture, and also natural sights! 

Porta Nigra - ancient Roman influence in Trier, Germany

We followed the Rhine and Moselle rivers. This brought us to see lots of castles and quaint towns and pretty villages. Few places we visited were: Along the Rhine: Saarburg, Bingen, Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard, Along the Moselle: Trier, Bernkastel-Kue, Traben-Trarbach, Cochem, Koblenz. Outside Gemany: Shengen (That's in Luxembourg), and Thionville (in France).

Interesting  character old haus with cobbled old streets to match

Along the Rhine river and the Moselle, there's lots of cycling route areas which our girls would have loved...but we didn't do any of that:( There were also boat cruises around the river, but we didn't really want to get stuck on the boat...after all, we can watch and enjoy the scenery from land. 

Timber clad old houses...now mostly turned into hotels and shops

This area is not only known for their vineyards, but it is also dotted with lots of old castles! Most castles are on top of mountains and hills.

Castles...lots of castle in this part of Germany. This one is in Cochem

One thing I enjoyed is seeing old houses with their own individual character. There's lots of them and it's just so pretty. I also get attracted to gardens and even managed to see a glimpse of people's vegetable garden!

Vineyards on mountain slopes...all very neat and orderly:)

So grateful for the trip we had, Hopefully I could see a bit more of the country sometime again. Next post, I will share with you a unique and exciting experience we had...no, we didn't just visited Germany on our short trip...we also popped in to two other countries!

Till my next post! Wishing you a good good day!

Yours

Trip to Germany - Rhineland Palatinate (1/4 parts)

Dear Family & Friends

Taking holiday break in Autumn season can be risky as we chance with the changing weather. The advantage is it's so called low season, airfare comes down, accommodation are more available, most holidaymakers have already gone back to school or work. Thus, we tend to have our family holiday at this time of the year.

When we left home for holiday, it was raining... but upon arrival in Germany, it was clear most days except for one rainy morning during our stay. When you roam around, clear days makes a lot of difference.

Crispy cool, misty mornings that gives way to bright sunny day:)

Germany is beautiful. We love their countryside. Everyday we wake up to misty mornings as we were in valleys surrounded by mountains. By mid morning, it clears up, bringing excitements to our day.

This is in the town centre of Saarburg...very pretty

We visited Rhineland Palatinate area...which is famous for their vineyards. None of us enjoy wine drinking, but we were fascinated to see how they grow their grapes on mountain slopes, all very neat and very orderly! Some on slopes that seems almost vertical!! Along the mountains ran two wide rivers, the Rhine and Mossel...and that's the route that we followed during this trip.

The river fed by the waterfall in the town centre (Saarburg)

We started our trip from Frankfurt Hahn on budget airline. Renting a car gave us the freedom to roam around the beautiful countryside of Germany, specially at this time of the year, when vast forest trees turns into golden yellow!

Driving around Germany is pleasant. Roads are wide and well maintained. Unlike Bulgaria, drivers are not aggressive... and with well posted road signs...who needs GPS!

All for now but I have more to share about this trip next time:)

Hope you have a nice week and lovely days...till then:)

Yours