blauboy’s posthaven

Maribor (pop. 112.000) is Slovenias second largest community and a cosy city along the Drava-river, about 20 kilometers away from the Astrian border. We were here before, but never in summer. So this year we took some time to explore downtown. Like the the vintage Vinagova vinska klet: Up to 18 meters below Maribor's central Freedom Square (Trg svobode) hides the city's old wine cellar. For small money you get a guided tour of 40 minutes down there plus a wine tasting afterwards. It's 7 Euros, including three wine samples. More than worth it!

Our probably last trip for this year lead us to Sicily, Italy, to see our friends Sara and Fabian in Pedara, near Catania. Among all the fun, food and music, we shared, one opportunity came unexpected, but the more fun it was: Cruising with Fabian on his Harley Davidson trike! We drove on Mount Etna and towards the south to Syracuse and we also gave Sophia the chance to celebrate halloween. What a wonderful travel this was - thank you so much, Sara and Fabian! Hope to see you again soon, wherever it might be!

Days 371 to 379: so much time did we already spend on our favourite Greek island, since we started to come here 23 years ago. How do I know? Ask my scrapbook... This time, we actually did nothing else than relax. Which included friends, sun, sea, swimming, diving, laughing, drinking and eating. That was it. Good enough. Who knows, for how long this paradise for us all might continue...

It was only 1969, that the necropolis of Armeni was discovered ten kilometers south of Rethymnon. The cemetery goes back to the late Minoan age (1400 - 1200 B.C.). So far, around 230 tombs have been uncovered, that were all dug into the rock. They consist of a corridor and a chamber - the latter the larger, the more wealthy the deceased family used to be. In some of the chambers you can even stand, while most of them are not bigger than a small car's trunk.

Back on the island at Giorgi's Blue Apts, we enjoyed a week full of sun, sea, relaxation and philoxenia. Here are some impressions to dream about. Next time you come with us? We will again be visiting Crete in September!

A visit to the fahr(T)raum museum in Mattsee, just 15 minutes east of Salzburg, Austria. The exhibition is dedicated to Ferdinand Porsche, the automotive pioneer and great car designer.

What a gift to be able to travel!
For two days we escaped the cold and grey November in Germany and flew (better: fled) to Lido di Ostia, the beach of Rome just 30 kilometers west of Italy's capitol. We were welcomed by sun, 63°F (17° Celcius) in the shade, excellent espresso and great Italian sea food. It could not be better!

The end of our autum trip through Austria led us to Graz, capitol of Styria and Austria's second largest city. We paid a visit to the old town, climbed ap the sun-kissed Schloßberg and had a fantastic Styrian schnitzel, breaded in pumpkin seeds, in a local brewery restaurant.

For the fourth time this year we set up our tent in Leutschach, at the winery of our endearing friends and hosts, Sandra and Karl. Purpose this time: to check out the wheather conditions in southern Styria in November. Our hopes got satiesfied - as one might see by the following pictures of the Styrian wine route. Maybe one day we want to settle down here for retirement...

Spend some marvelous hours at Lake Atter ("Attersee") in Austria. One week after the end of the season we enjoyed a quit and peaceful surrounding on our little lake tour from the villages of Attersee, via Litzlberg to Seewalchen. Ending up with a cup of cappuccino in a nearby coffee shop, wearing t-shirt and sunglasses in the surprising warm November sun. And, no: we did not go for a swim!