GUTEN TAG FROM MUNICH

The holiday begins !

Our first time in Germany.

We have five nights in a lovely apartment very close to the Old Town of Munich.

Lots of new food to try.  Pretzels, strudel, ........

Walking towards the Old Town we passed this lovely building but as with many of the buildings we could not find any sign to tell us what it was.

Early Spring means the gardens are full of tulips. Lovely displays everywhere.

Down into the Old Town we arrived at the Rathaus 

just in time to see the famous Glockenspiel jump into action.

We wandered on and on till we came this lovely Garden behind the Residenz

It was cool but the sun was shining and people were sitting around soaking up the welcome warmth after Winter.

We were looking for the English Garden so we walked along with everyone and eventually came upon it.

It is huge, with sprawling grass and trees and winding paths that covers about 900acres.

Through it runs a stream - diverted to run here by man- creating pretty scenes and that wonderful sound of water running FAST !

So fast in fact that it is possible to surf on a wave caused by the current.

We stood and watched in fascination as surfers in wetsuits took turns to step onto their boards and ride the wave.

Incredible !

Day 3

The next day we made the pilgrimage to see Dachau Prison Camp.

It's a cold lonely place as you can imagine but one we thought we should take the opportunity to visit as it is so close to Munich.

Day 4

We were happy to leave the city behind and set out into the lovely countryside to visit Herrenchiminsee New Palace built by King Ludwig.

This trip involved travelling by train, bus and ferry always an adventure for us as we inevitably catch the wrong one or go in the wrong direction.

Never the less we ended upon a ferry that stopped at this pretty little island so off we got.

Very pretty but didn't look like there was any Palace here so we asked. 

Wrong island !!!

So back on the next ferry and off to the next island  ......a much bigger one !

Where we followed the path that lead through the beautiful Forrest of lime green new leaves

Until we came to the Palace.

This is a copy of Versailles soeverywhere you look you see vistas reminiscent of Versailles 

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside but it was very impressive.

Interestingly, the palace is unfinished as the king died and youcansee the bare structure without its final   Decorationof marble or wall paper.

The weather was perfect and as we strolled back towards the ferry I would not have been surprised to see Julie Andrews appear over the top of this hill

Singing........

"The hills are alive......."

Cheers.

ROUNDUP

It seems that I  have only been able to post here once a month but I'm hoping that this will change very soon.

This month so far.......

Cocktail Nights have continued to delight us. They are introducing us each fortnight to new places 

as well as new cocktails. They have all been delicious.

The weather has remained very warm, in fact hot so the meal of choice each night has continued to involve the BBQ.

Summer seems to last longer every year. We are looking forward to Winter ( if it ever comes ) very much.

On the crafting front I have just completed a knee rug for my lovely daughter-in-law

And shipped it off to Sydney where the weather is cooling off.

Tony's mother recently passed away peacefully, just three weeks before her 96th birthday.

We were pleased to tell her that her second great-grandchild is expected in September. 

Yes, Tony and I will finally be grandparents !

And finally....

We're off !

To Austria,

 Southern Germany .......

and Paris !

That should give me something to blog about !

Cheers !

CYCLONE DEBBIE

Here is a photo which demonstrates the magnitude of the cyclone which recently brought so much rain and devastation to the northern parts of Queensland.

Reports of damage from the winds of up to 220 + km per hour are just beginning to filter through as communications have been difficult with electricity out and telephone towers down.

The lovely resorts of the Whitsunday Islands copped a lot of the storm as it hovered above them for several hours before crossing the coast near Bowen.

Here are some photos that are coming through ( courtesy Courier Mail )

These solar panels not doing much good now !

Our Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk and the man in charge of the cleanup,  Christopher Field flew up to inspect the damage together.



The Army mobilised as soon as it was safe driving down from Townsville .....

The cyclone turned into a very slow moving Low which then made its way down the coast and yesterday parts of Brisbane and the nearby holiday mecca of the Gold Coast and Northern NSW received over 400 mm of rain.

That's 16 inches in 24 hours people !!

                                It has caused flooding and lots of damage like this !

Supplies were packed and despatched to the North from Brisbane today as the onslaught was finally over here too.

So today dawned sunny and thankfully cooler and the recovery begins.

With Easter close and school holidays starting a day early as all the schools are still closed, resorts are looking at huge losses as most will not be ready for this prime holiday time.

That's Australia for you - drought or flood. We don't seem to do moderation !

Cheers.

FEBRUARY DOINGS

1. Cocktail nights have been going well.

This is one New Year's Resolution that we are having great fun keeping for a change.

We've been exploring the city and trying new places. It seems the thing these days to locate wine bars and groovy cocktail bars down dingy alleys where all the garbage bins are lined up at the rear entrances of buildings.

 

Like this one.

It was called Brooklyn Standard and so had an American style with good old Liberty near the unassuming front door down one of these alleys.

A rustic iron staircase took you down to a pleasant bar area.

We arrived at 6:00pm  when there were not many people around on a quiet midweek night and were soon studying the cocktail list.

We are trying to have a different cocktail each time - and, at the price, one is all we can afford !!

Tony's "Daryl Dixon Zombie" is on the left below and my "Brooklyn Colada" on the right.

Both were terrific.

Below is another place we've visited called Sixteen Antlers - a rooftop bar with views over the city square.

We travel into the city on our beloved City Cat ferries and as usual the city sparkles at night on our way home. Great times !

2. Movies

Recently we went to see Allied and enjoyed it very much.

3. Cooking

I've recently hosted Mahjong Mornings and had the reason to try a couple of new recipes for the morning tea that comes at the end of a pleasant morning playing this great game.

Raspberry Sour Cream cake was a great success.

4. Sunsets

We've really been sweltering over the last couple of months and dinner many nights has been cooked on the BBQ..... and the sunsets have been quite spectacular viewing while out by the BBQ waiting for the food to cook.

5. Birthdays

Tony and I have both had birthdays and there has been a little bit of quiet celebrating.

6. Planning
Planning is almost completed for our upcoming 6 week holiday to Austria/Germany and Paris.

Can't wait !

Cheers.

AUSTRALIA DAY 2017

26TH   JANUARY
The day we celebrate the first white settlers landing in Australia and claiming this land for England in a time when European nations were exploring and annexing newly discovered territory.

A public holiday when families and friends get together at the beach, or for friendly games of cricket  or just a backyard BBQ.

We eat steak, lamb roasts and snags (sausages) followed by pavlova and lamingtons and in our case

Vanilla Slices !

I've never attempted this delicious treat before.

In fact I haven't eaten one for decades.

But I saw a recipe on an Australia Day site and decided to give it a go as the recipe sounded easy.

Two thin sheets of puff pastry containing a thick chunk of delicious sweet custard and capped with passionfruit icing.

So far, so good !

I approached the cutting into slices with trepidation.

The recipe said to use a serrated knife and all will be well

and so I did !

Success !

Oh my !

A million calories per serve but oh so sweet and tasty.

Just get rid of the rest of this to the neighbours

and back on the diet tomorrow.

Oh wait, tomorrow is the first of the year's Cocktail Nights !

Perhaps Monday ???

Cheers.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

No more crazy resolutions about losing weight for me !

Last night Tony and I went out on the town to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary.

We started the night off with these.

They were called a "Chocolate Monk" and a "Kiwi Bikini"

Great names and delicious !

We toasted the last 45 years and sipped the lovely drinks in a cool rooftop bar we have only recently found.

Ummmmmm    de-licious !

That didn't take long to go down !

The view was lovely as the light began to fade and the effects of the cocktail began to take their toll on the photographer (me !)

So .........

My New Year's Resolution is...

to drink more cocktails...

they're fun !

Cheers.

CHRISTMAS....and A NEW ADDITION

Well, that's Christmas for another year.

I hope where ever you are you had a lovely day with those you love around you.

Our day started with a visit to Tony's 95 year old mother in the Nursing home.

With the rest of the family away we ( Sally, Tony and I ) took some goodies and champagne and spent a couple of hours with her there.

Nana loves  the sweet stuff so she had a ball.

She also loves animals so Scout came along too.

and so did Sally's new addition....

"Jem "

( there's a little "To Kill a Mockingbird " theme going on here )

More about him another time - 8 weeks old and very cute!

Note to self : Drinking champagne in the middle of the day can be dangerous !

We arrived back home round 1:00pm and all three of us were soon dozing in chairs around the house.

So were the dogs !

Our Christmas Dinner was eaten at night this year and with only the three of us for a change it was very relaxed.

No dressing up in good clothes for us.

Comfortable shorts and t-shirts were the order of the day.

However we did not skimp on the good stuff for dinner.

The ham was the standout.....absolutely delicious.

  and the rest was pretty good too.

( Sorry forgot to take a photo till it was half gone !)

For dessert there was a choice of

Pavlova

or

Christmas Pud

( this year we had Heston Blumenthal's pudding with a whole candied orange in the centre - O my !

Of course we all had a bit of both !!!

As we say every year - tomorrow the diet begins

( after we've eaten all the leftovers !)

Cheers.