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It’s home time. How did that happen? As usual, a very sad goodbye. I don’t think it will ever get any easier.

We spent the morning enjoying a leisurely walk in the forest with Wulfi and Zenka, our little Grand Dogos! How good to have it just behind the house.

Of course, we’ve eaten too much and drunk too much, had lots of laughs, and still my spoken German is shite!!

STATS: 4350 kms in 4 rental cars, 9 countries, 4 cruise boats, 3 boat tours, 2 car ferries, umpteen busses, Ubers, and 31 different beds!! Some scorchingly hot days and a few chilly ones. So I think we’ve covered many bases.

There are so many happy times to treasure and new memories and friends made along the way.

But there’s someone who’ll be happy we are home. See you soon Neko!!

Our day began with a family chat before heading to Stolberg to see Luisa’s father Georg and his friend Jane, visiting from Brazil. There was also a town fundraiser fun run taking place. T and L took part two years ago. The start/finish line is at the Schloss Castle which dates from the 13th century, where a few food stalls were available for lunch. A beautiful sunny day.

Again, another beautiful medieval timber town. We saw two foxes on the way home!

We have been here numerous times and have driven through the same parts of the small town of only about 10,000 but not really explored it. It’s a sleepy little town and is virtually in the centre of Germany. A good commute to the larger town nearby of Nordhausen where Annett works and has many friends. I joined them again for the stand up paddle board yoga. My balance was a bit wobbly, but no splashes into the water.

Bleicherode has a timeline stretching from medieval forest clearings to potash mining and World War II rocket production.

Many old homes and many on their way out unless someone restores them. But also when the nearby salt mines were in operation, some very large homes were built on the fringes. Well supported by more supermarkets than Ashburton. A bit short on restaurants though. We went to Nordhausen to an Italian restaurant owned by a friend and enjoyed this little treat afterwards

Delicious!!

There are so many towns and villages within a small distance of each other. Duderstadt is 40 mins from here and near where we played golf.

The earliest documentary mention of Duderstadt was in 929 AD, and the city celebrates its anniversaries counting from that year. Every street contained the half timber style houses. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in one, with sloping floors and crooked rooflines.

It’s as if life has stood still. Amazing place. 20,000 live here.

Today was a hot 27 degrees. Thank goodness as yesterday was quite cold. 21! Unbeknownst to Luisa and Thomas, there are several golf clubs within a 30-40 minute vicinity from Bleicherode.

A fun thing on the 6th hole is this disc. Underneath is a deep hole containing drinkies.

Such a beautiful setting for a golf course with stunning views. Started with 5 golf balls, lost 5 but ended with 13! And I’m sure there’s plenty more out there in the rough. A fun day.

It’s not 27 degrees as predicted. Potentially tomorrow. We had a home day with a good walk in the forest behind the house.

Luisa baked a lemon and thyme cake which was yum.

A very sweet indulgent day. Pancakes for brekky, sweet Rudesheim brandy iced coffees at lunchtime, birthday cake in the afternoon as is the custom. Thomas chose to have dinner at home – mushroom risotto and NZ caramilk cheesecake. Luisa’s Oma, who lives on the property also came to celebrate.

Another happy and relaxing family day.

Happy Birthday to Graeme. 64!

🎈🎂🥂.

Today we drove almost four hours to Luisa’s childhood home in Bleicherode. Her brother Philip and wife Anna were there celebrating little Wim’s 4th birthday from August 18, the same day as Lucas turned 12. We also got to meet Anna’s family from the neighbouring village, which was nice, including her niece who turned 18 on August 8, four days after Charlotte’s birthday, also turning 18. Fritz was born only a few days before Grace in 2017. Happy coincidences. Philip and Anna live in the 16th century city of Halle about 90 minutes away.

Dinner was a delicious goulash cooked over the open fire.

A lovely day with extended family. Annett is a wonderful host and has recently had knee surgery so should have been relaxing. Delicious food, wine and a few schnapps! The family knows Graeme well, as he received wine and chocolates, including some special ones Thomas and Luisa bought when driving through Bordeaux.

For our last night in Nußbaum we joined the locals at the sports club after Luisa saw a notice board advertising paella and sangria for a fundraising dinner, with schnapps for dessert. All very tasty. Our neighbour and landlord was also there. At least one familiar face. Lots of families and a social atmosphere.

A lovely sunny afternoon after a shower this morning. The nights are closing in. A clean up day here. It’s been a lovely little cabin to stay in.

Off to Bleicherode tomorrow to see Annett.

We filled the BMW today. €170!!!! And it wasn’t completely empty. I don’t think Graeme likes it now lol.

After the dogs had a check up at the vet we left poor Luisa working at home, and set off to Koblenz, one hour and 4 minutes away according to Google maps. Pretty accurate. This is the town where the Moselle joins the Rhine.

Koblenz was a military post, circa 8BC. Quite hard to comprehend really. Its name originates from the Latin word cōnfluentēs, which means ‘at the confluence’. It is now known as German Corner, a symbol of the unification of Germany that features an equestrian statue of Emperor William I. The city celebrated its 2000 anniversary in 1992.

A monastery stood here from at least the 12th century. Under Napoleon it was an agricultural operation.

The Fort, completed in 1827, was named after the brother of the Russian Tsar Alexander I, Konstantin Pavlovich. It served as an observation point for a much larger fort, not in existence now, for Kaiser Alexander. It was a bunker during WWII and then a refuge for bombed families before falling into disrepair. Over the past 30 years it has been preserved and is now used for concerts and events.

It was a cloudy old day so photos are a bit dull. Lunch today was very tasty Vietnamese. Home made pizzas for dinner. Covering all nationalities. Delish.

We popped back to Rudesheim for a few hours. An easy 40 minute drive and car ferry across the Rhine which is even lower than last week.

My main goal was to go to the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop. It felt way bigger in 2017! Some of the decorations we bought back then are still available – a testament to quality perhaps? I did visit one in Bamberg last week but thought I’d have better luck here. Maybe I have enough.

We also drove alongside the Rhine and saw a few of the castles we should have seen from the cruise stretch that we missed. Damn

Definitely Autumn feels at night now. We remember this happens virtually overnight around this time.