Countryside Trip

That was a very long trip we had last summer 2012.  Our final destination was in Calella, Spain.  From Grafenwhoer, Bavaria in Germany,  it took almost a day  for our bus to reach Calella. I told myself, I won’t do such a long  travel with the bus like that. But we  had a lot of fun during that trip.  Our bus passed-by some areas in France.  I was taking pictures of the signs along the street. One of the signs caught by my canon IS camera  is  Miribel. This town  is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. It is a suburb of Lyon.

The long travel was all worth it because we visited some places in Spain including Barcelona, Montserrat,  spent some times in the beach of Calella and we also had a wine tour  somewhere in that area.

Passing this sign during in France highway going to Spain last July 2012.

The weather is finally getting better. We had sunshine today and the past two days. Yesterday, I had a walk with a friend under the sun. I felt that my happy hormones are working more because of sunshine. It was a wonderful day being out in the nature again. Many people also went walking yesterday. Some have their dogs with them. One lady was pulling her two dogs when we were approaching near them. The dogs were quite huge and were so active. She should read about dog shock collar reviews to have more information and ideas on how to control her dogs. I should take a photo while she was pulling her two dogs away from us.

So far, we had fun yesterday. Walking is not only good for the body but the fresh air that we breath outside also makes us feel good. Thanks goodness for that lovely day. Here is an image I took from our  walk yesterday.

The blue sky above, trees without leaves  and  snows are  still lying on the ground. I love this scenery!

That was quite  not  a good timing. It was raining so hard and the wind was so strong when we visited the Curonian Spit in  Nida, Lihuania  last year. It was the beginning of autumn season in Europe when we went there. You cannot expect that the weather is really friendly.  I am just  happy and contented that my dream of visiting the Baltic Region finally came true.

The  Curonian Spit, called by the Germans as  Kurische Nehrung, is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. Since it was rianing so hard, we did not really had the chance to go walking there. I am thankful that I  had an umbrella and I was able to go out from the bus to have a quick look of this  beautiful place.

The southern portion of the Curonian Spit lies within Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia and its northern within southwestern Lithuania.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by the two countries.
© www.countrysidetrip.com

The Sundial at the Curonian Spit in Lithuanian part. This was taken during our visit last September 2012.
© www.countrysidetrip.com

GEOGRAPHY
The Curonian Spit stretches from the Sambian Peninsula on the south to its northern tip next to a narrow strait, across which is the port city of Klaipėda on the mainland of Lithuania. The northern 52 km long stretch of the Curonian Spit peninsula belongs to Lithuania, while the rest is part of the Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia (see the map). The width of the spit varies from a minimum of 400m in Russia (near the village of Lesnoy) to a maximum of 3,800 m in Lithuania (just north of Nida).  wikipedia

I was watching television awhile ago and was updated with the weather in the next few days. Yes, spring is finally coming soon. This is one of the best seasons of the year which I love! I can’t wait for the festivals that are coming around. Festivals means fun, entertainment, live bands, carnival rides and food to taste. One of the fair that I love is in Regensburg. It is called the Dultfest. I love watching the live bands performing  in the beer tents. They produce good music and I am quite sure, some of these musicians are using akai mpk25 . I also love listening to the folk songs. I find it unique. Unlike many loud musics we hear these days,  German folk music are soothing to the ears.

Festivals means fun, entertainment, live bands, carnival rides and food to taste.  I can’t wait to visit  the Dultfest in Regensburg this year. Anyway, this city is located in Bavaria, Germany and is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is what you can see if you will go inside the Festzelt or beer tent  in a German festival. That blue lights you see in the far middle  is  a live  band playing music  inside the tent.   This one was taken in Regensburg last 2009.
© www.countrysidetrip.com

That was a wonderful time cruising in Danube River in Hungary. The sky was blue and was simply a perfect weather for sightseeing. Danube is the second longest river in Europe after Volga. I had the chance to have a mini-cruise in this part of Europe. One of the places we passed-by was Esztergom. My friend whom I invited to go with me to the  this trip,  was so happy experiencing this river cruise. It was not really a  long cruise but it is enough to see the beauty of nature in that area. We also passed-by many small towns and villages.

What caught my attention is this structure  we took sight of while passing Esztergom, Hungary. You can see it in my first photo here. It is the  Esztergom Basilica which is considered to be the largest church in Hungary.  I was saddened because we did not had the chance to go inside this building.

The Esztergom Basilica. Its official name is, The Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and St Adalbert, is an ecclesiastic basilica in Esztergom, Hungary, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary. It is dedicated to the Saint Mary of the Assumption and Saint Adalbert. (more…)

My sister who lives in Las Vegas posted an image in her facebook profile last month. She had an outdoor swimming pool. I had the chance to go swimming there during my visits. I should tell her to visit poolsupplyunlimited.com for a pool heat pump. She did not expected  that their temperature will drop  to sub-zero this winter time. She also said that it is not good when the water in the pool will get frozen or else it will be damaged.

I can’t  wait to visit her again in the future and have fun in partying and swimming in her pool.

I found again some  interesting photos in my external hard drive.  These images were taken during a famous festival in Straubing called Gäubodenvolksfest. For all I know, this is the second largest folk festival in Bavaria, Germany after the Oktoberfest in Munich.  This festival is more family friendly that Oktoberfest.  I had the chance to visit it last 2009. Since then, I never had the chance to go back there again.

Like any other volksfest or festivals in Germany, you can find carnival rides, kiosks selling foods and you can taste local foods as well, beer tents  where you can sit  down drinking beer while listening to the live bands and many other things that you can experience in a festival. You can find many Bavarians and tourists wearing the Bavarian costume called the Trachten in Gäubodenvolksfest. In fact, I see more people wearing Trachten here that at the Oktoberfest. Thinking of visiting it again this year.

Carnival ride in Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing. You can see a lot of  people wearing the traditional Bavarian Costume called Trachten.

Festzelt or festival tent, also called a beer tent in Gäubodenvolksfest.

The Gäubodenvolksfest was founded by Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria in the year 1812 as an agricultural festival to organize an annual meeting of the people in the Danube region.

The Gäubodenvolksfest is a modern and family friendly festival with about 120 carousels, roller coasters and six big beer tents.

Nothing and nobody can stop me especially when I am going somewhere. This is the freedom of being a travel blogger. You don’t have a boss or employer to ask for permission and approval for a vacation leave. I can go anytime and anywhere especially when I see cheap trips.

I am glad to announce that I already booked for incoming trips next month. Honestly, I need a vacation tracker to trace which city or country I travelled during the year. I hope I can find or make a list or inventory of my trips for my own ease and convenience.

My trip for March 2013 will include Ireland, Lichtenstein, St. Gallen in Switzerland and many places in Italy like Milan, Ascona, Locarno, Stresa and Ortasee. I am quite excited to visit these places.

This is perfect especially when you are having a long drive during a trip. I always love listening to the music in my ipod. My sister gave me one during my visit in the United States. I just need a kind of shure headphones for it. I know I can find a lot online about hid gadget.

Listening to music when travelling will surely get rid of your boredom. I even see a lot of people having their headphones on when riding a train. For sure, they just want to entertain themselves while travelling.

A Hispanic friend told me not to miss watching Flamenco when I will visit Andalusia, a region in Spain. I followed here advice. We really did witnessed women dancing Flamenco in this beautiful little town of Albayzin in Granada. For all you know Flamenco is a famous culture especially in Andalusia. It is genre of Spanish music, song, and dance which include singing, guitar but not banjo playing, dancing and handclaps.

I remember when our tour guide mentioned that there is really no steps for Flamenco but it is the dancer who dance with the music played by the guitarist. They can make their own steps and dancing and clapping tuned with the music.

I can say, the night when I first witnessed this tradition in Andalusia is a one of a kind experience for me. Besides, I don’t see it everyday and I am happy to watch it once in my life. That night  in Albayzin, watching Flamenco was truly lovely and romantic! I miss that!

A  lady ready to perform  Flamenco dance in  Albayzin, Andalusia,  Spain. You can also see the musician who is holding a guitar on the right side. This show was fantastic!