Halki, Greece

We flew to Rhodos early this morning (5am!) and are now in Halki, an island close by. We were here in September 2011 on Blue Raven and have fond memories of our time here. The lunch in town today and the view from our patio this afternoon confirmed that we like this place. The weather is hot and sunny, but the ocean is only 20 degrees.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/71ktGcmMn54iQBk8A

Seckenheim

The last 10 days the weather in Heidelberg has been cool and wet. Today the sun came out and it warmed up to over 20 degrees. We used the opportunity to cycle 12km to Seckenheim for lunch. As this is on the other side of the Neckar, we took the ferry in Ladenburg across the river. Paths were very busy as it is a public holiday today in Germany (Ascension Day, Fathers’ Day). Nice outing nevertheless and wonderful to enjoy the sunshine.

London and Manchester

We are in London for a couple of days, visiting Andrea. Yesterday she organized a nice program, including the show “Witness for the Prosecution”. Great! Today is our wedding anniversary (44 years), and we are going on to Manchester.

Odenwald

The weather has been wonderful, warm and lots of sunshine. We used the opportunity for hikes in the Odenwald this week, a hilly, forested region north of the Black Forest and close to Heidelberg. Yesterday, we hiked 13km and came across the 600 year old (former) village of Dürr-Ellenbach. In hard times in the middle of the 19th century most inhabitants emigrated to America and today there is only one major building left, in a very idyllic situation.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ry5s4tqzxpwbShtK8

Baroque Palace and asparagus

Today we met with some friends south of Heidelberg to eat asparagus. On the way there, we stopped briefly in Bruchsal to admire the Baroque Palace there, which also has some nice gardens. It all reminded us of Versailles, but of course a bit smaller. The weather is very hot (30 degrees) with some Sahara dust obscuring the sun.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Mx1iJeDrWYYE2osm7

Back in Heidelberg

We are back in Heidelberg, the sky is grey from Sahara sand, and we already miss the sunshine. However, asparagus season has started and I made it today for the first time this year (had to peel it myself though). Very nice lunch!

Lanzarote

We have come to Playa Blanca on Lanzarote for a week to enjoy some sunshine and warmth. It is only the two of us this week, which gives us lots of time to walk along the sea promenade (10km paved with hiking paths at either end), enjoy good food (Brisas Marina is our current favourite restaurant), and generally loaf about. A good place for that is the One Sailors Bar where we can see the boats coming in and out of Marina Rubicon. We stayed there on Blue Raven in 2013, preparing for my third Atlantic crossing.

Faro de Punta Pechiguera at the Western end of the paved promenade

Philharmonic

Today we came to Frankfurt after church to attend a concert in the "Alte Oper" in Frankfurt. It was a great Philharmonic program with a beautiful piece by Rachmaninoff and some others. Dinner before and drinks after were not bad either.

At the Moselle River

Today we took our friends from Vancouver to the Moselle River. We walked around Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Tonight we are staying in Bernkastel-Kues, a small wine growing village a little further down river. The weather was a beautiful warm and sunny spring day.

Busy weekend

We had a busy time in Heidelberg, friends from Montreal visiting last weekend, and this week friends from Vancouver are here. The weather is great, almost feels like spring.