blauboy’s posthaven

Rain! Heavy rain: Wet shoes, soaked clothes, flooded highways! No, we’re not getting used to rain during our city-trips. Surprisingly, the Turkish megacity of Istanbul – formely known as Constantinople – presented itself in fog, rain, wind and grey, when we were there end of October. Predicted were sun and around 20° Celcius (~ 68° Fahrenheit). But nevertheless, we made the best out of it:

• We visited the almost 1500 years old Hagia Sophia and her sister temple, the “Blue Mosque” (Sultan Ahmed Mosque).
  
• We found delicious sweets and had an excellent dinner at a great seafood place on the Asian side of Istanbul – one of those rare restaurants in Turkey, which offer alcohol (beer, wine and Raki).
  
• We walked the city from famous Taksim Square down to the Galata Tower and further, across the Galata Bridge to the piers for the ferries to Üsküdar, across the Bosphorus.
  
• We went shopping, got shaved by a barber (me, husband) and massaged in a women’s hamam (wife).
  
• Furthermore, we didn’t get lost among those officially estimated 15 million people that live in Istanbul!
  
• And we enjoyed the hospitality of our friends Ema and Peter. Thank you so much! See you next year in Germany!
  

You call it "Indian summer", we call it (in German) "Altweibersommer": old crone's summer. Why that?
Over here, in warm and sunny autumn days, newly hatched tiny spiders spin a long silk that carries them through the air. When these silk filaments shimmer in the sunlight, they look like old women's long light hair. That's where the name comes from.
Today, mid October, we had one of those rare old crone's summer days - and took advantage of it: campfire, roast chestnuts and potatoes, boating.

"Like Barcelona, but with rain", that's what I thought when I arrived in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I didn't have much time to explore the city, but when the German train personal went on strike, I gained an unexspected extra day of my business trip. So I strolled throught the streets and along the canals of the old commercial city, enyoing the beautiful house facades, some great tasting beer and the craziness of the Dutch, who ride their bikes without helmets, but with an umbrella in one hand - and an iphone in the other!

Deep relaxation: Using the long weekend in the beginning of October, we drove eight hours to the Slowene border, towards a small Austrian community named Leutschach. There, at the winery of the Pronegg family, our lovely hosts I first met back in 2010, we spent two days in perfect leisure time. We collected sweet cheastnuts in the woods and roasted them above a campfire; we ate pumpkin cream soup every day because it was so yummy; I saw (and touched!) my very first fire salamander; the kids enjoyed to play with the even-aged daughters of Sandra and Karl, the hospitable vintners. And we, the parents, savored their pinot gris, which is extraordinary good! Actually, the only stress for us was where to get our next wine bottle from...

Back on Crete, back in the village of Kokkino Chorio, where we already went last autumn to marvel at an old Peugeot 203, rusting in the courtyard of a glass manufacturer. This year, same location, we found another object of admire and desire: a lovely BMW motorbike. According to Google, it should be an old BMW R 12. With its sidecar, the R 12 was the standard combination of the Wehrmacht in World War II. Between 1935 and 1942, BMW built 36.000 units of that motorcycle (source). This one (serial number 284133) is one of it!

For the second time within a few weeks we experienced a fascinating stone landscape in Blaubeuren-Gerhausen. 14 days after visiting the "Jurassic Alb" within the old abandonded quarry of our village, we went to see an art exhibition in the "new" quarry (- the one which is still in use). The exhibition took place the third time since 2010 and was featured throughout the local media as a "high-caliber project under the open sky". Decide for yourself!

The best thing about this holiday was that we could sit outside actually every night in shorts and t-shirt. The best thing next to the turquoise sea, of course. And the hospitality of the Cretans. And all our friends. And the laughter, we shared. And the delicate scent of Jasmine. And the wine. And the sun. And being barefooted, all day long. And the panorama. And the pool. And the fresh fish on the plates. And the stifado. And the grilled lamb. And the garlic paste. And the lemon chicken. And the zucchini croquettes. And the stuffed wineleaves. And the octopus, cooked in red wine. And the raki. And the flowers. And the pine scent in the air. And the sandy beaches. And the shells. And the mountains. And the sunsets. And the sound of the ocean waves at night. And the relaxation. And the Mythos. And everything else.

Adventures, right on your doorstep (II): Two years ago, an abandoned old quarry near Gerhausen was transformed into a sort of private wildlife reservation. It hosts wild horses and wild cattle, both species new cultivars of extinguished savage animals. The parc is a state-wide model project, with the concept of species conservation by grazing and well supervised by nature conservation authorities. It's not open to the public, but since we know one of the owners, he took us for a private tour across the area and within three hours showed us almost every corner of the 75 hectares (185 acres) large property. We were just stunned: We'd never assumed so much beauty of animals and landscapes alike!

Adventures right on your doorstep: Used the weekend for a lovely canoe trip on the Blau river, through the beautiful reed landscape of Blaubeuren. Almost two hours of relaxing paddling and silent bird watching. Found a shopping trolley in the water, starled a pair of little grebes (in German: "Zwergtaucher") and their hatchlings and, finally, avoided the attack of a swan family (of eight!).