Score Ten for Germany

Thirty six hours post holiday and I can honestly say I'm happy to be back in Doha, not for a lack of a royal time, but for the perfect climate that November brings to the desert. The brrrr factor came into effect the last night in Germany, so we stuck close to our castle room. That would be "inside" close. We didn't even leave for dinner. I sliced up the complimentary apples in the room, scraped up a snack pack of peanuts from our carry on, scooped up the chocolates left on our pillows and voila, din din. Did I mention that The Bellamy Brothers were playing on the radio? Could it get any cozier? No polka bands within earshot. It was a great, relaxing getaway. Germany and Austria, as it is, have colorful landscapes, but what an unexpected bonus we received for going in the fall. The bursts of reds, yellows and oranges in the foliage were amazing. Germany was already ranked at the top of our list of vacations and this trip certainly didn't lower the score. Put it on your bucket list. You won't be sorry.

Castle Hotel Auf Schoenburg
in Oberwesel on The Rhine River

View from the castle grounds

Next stop: TEXAS for me~this Friday, November 18th, while David leaves the same day for The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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Continuing Through Germany...

We took the scenic route through some tiny towns...

but we eventually made it to Heidelberg...

Schloss (castle) Heidelberg

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Forging Ahead

With Innsbruck behind us, we were back on the road...

Stopped at Lindau Island in Germany on Lake Constance for the night...

Views from our room

Next stop, we're thinking Heidelberg, but that could change in the blink of eye.

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On the Road Again...

heading to Innsbruck, Austria...

...and now forging ahead to who knows where!

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Road Trip

...through Germany enjoying the fall leaves

A bit of a change of scenery from Doha!

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Bella Toscana!

After a week in Tuscany, it is so hard to whittle down the pictures and events of our stay. I decided to summarize it with mainly the farmhouse. If we had not had a car at our beck and call, we would have been perfectly content staying on the grounds of Cretatoile and soaking up the area by foot.

The highlight of our week visit in Tuscany was our stay at Cretaiole. It is a beautiful agriturismo located in the heart of the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Val d'Orcia. David and I had a beautiful one bedroom efficiency style apartment while our traveling companions stayed in a three bedroom apartment above us. Just as beautiful as the views from our window was our hostess, Isabella, that welcomed us and made our stay relaxing, yet full of activities.

This is an early morning view of the city of Pienza from Cretaiole. The tranquility of the area was amazing. Our post sunrise hike led us past one of the most photographed sites in Tuscany, the Chapel of The Madonna di Vitaleta as well as past a cypress tree lined drive that was included in the movie, The Gladiator.

Chapel of The Madonna di Vitaleta

The scenic beauty was not the only offerings that Cretaiole had in store for us. There were wine and olive oil tastings, pasta cooking classes, biking, along with restaurant and tour suggestions. The much anticipated event of the year, the "vendemmia" was announced for the Wednesday while we were there. Yes, we wholeheartedly harvested Cretaiole's grapes, but much to my dismay, no stomping. The famous I Love Lucy episode that I refreshed myself on before leaving Qatar went to waste as that is no longer the way of the land.

After work and play every evening at Cretaiole, many of the guests met with the family patriarch, Luciano, for an evening of hand gestures and grappa, along with my new found friend, limoncello. Luciano did not speak a word of English, but somehow camaraderie and fellowship with alcohol trumped all language barriers. Salute! Oh, did I mention the fact that my brother in law speaks Italian?

Cretaiole was the core of our Tuscany visit, but we also ventured out to Assisi, Sienna, Pienza, Orvieto, among other small towns. So much to be discovered, so little time. Ciao!

Tuscan Sunset from Cretaiole's grounds

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Back From Tuscany

Back from Tuscany...fat and tired. The official weigh in was 4.4 pounds more than when I left just nine days ago. Ouch...still trying to figure out the exact cause. Was it the olive oil tasting, the pasta cooking class, the feast I was served for harvesting the grapes, the dessert at every meal, the occasional gelato thrown in to round out our three square meals (more like three meals squared) a day? Food overload from this week would be an understatement. We even got bumped to Business Class on Qatar Airways for our trip home last night. Pass the Godiva chocolates please, the right hip needs a little more.

The Tuscan sun goes down on our holiday,
but leaves great memories behind.

My Doha antics will return, but please allow me to cling to our Tuscan adventures for a bit. Yes, that means you have to cling with me. Pictures forthcoming ;P

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Berlin, Prague, Dresden ~ In Pics

The dust has settled from our Berlin/Prague/Dresden visit, so I've taken a moment to put some pictures together. Prague is by far our favorite of the three. The city is beautiful, festive, and buzzing with old world charm. It is a place definitely worth a do over, but if ever we get another chance we would try their off season (if there is such a thing). Apparently we aren't the only tourists to have discovered Prague's appeal, as it was crawling with the likes of us.

Thanks for coming along on our holiday.
We enjoyed the company!

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Czechin' In

from Prague...

Been hitting the pavement pretty hard these last few days leaving no time to blog. Prague has shown us nothing but it's beauty since arriving. Perfect weather, friendly people, delicious food...who could ask for anything more?

Ok, so those last two may not fall into the beauty category for some eyes. These things are a bit strange to mine, to say the least, but they do make interesting conversation pieces.

View of Prague from up high on Petrin Hill

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