Tag: travel

Munich's Christmas Markets

Munich’s Christmas markets: My top 5

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How is the weather wherever you are? Still warm, sunny and all that summer-y feeling?
Well, then let’s get started with the first Christmas post for this year! A few lovely ladies in the HPL Group on Facebook have been asking about Christmas Markets in Munich. Instead of writing all my little secrets into one private message, I decided to post on here. Even though this totally comes in between my last vacation/road trip post which is still in the making!

Munich's Christmas markets: My Top 5. These are the nicest and most special Christmas markets in Munich: My personal Top 5. | www.travelthewholewideworld.com

I’m sure there are more than five nice Christmas markets in Munich and it’s up to debate which ones are in the top five. However, the Christmas markets that follow are my personal favourites, the ones that I try to visit at least once each year and the ones that I choose over the official Christmas market of Munich (in city center) which is crowded and full of tourists who don’t know better. If you are a tourist in Munich, choose wisely!

5. Winter Tollwood

Technically, this isn’t an official Christmas market, it’s more than that. Winter Tollwood which takes place each year on Theresienwiese (Oktoberfest place) has its equivalent in summer – Summer Tollwood. It’s a festival with concerts, theater and a huge market that sells all kinds of food and goods. This year’s motto is “bewegt” (moved) and it deals with mobility and sustainability. I love to just walk around and look for Christmas presents there!
When: 23.11.2016 – 31.12.2016
Where: Theresienwiese (U 4/ U 5)

4. Christmas Market at Weißenburger Platz

This Christmas market has a very nice atmosphere, it’s located in Haidhausen on a circular square, so you will be able to get lost and walk in circles after a few Glühwein. Enjoy the lights there and watch out for locals enjoying their end of the work day!
when: 26.11.2016 – 24.12.2016
where: Rosenheimer Platz (S-Bahn)

3. Pink Christmas Market

The Pink Christmas Market in Munich is a special place to be! Organized since 2005 by Munich’s LGTB community, it’s a meeting point not only for the gay scene of Munich, but also for the entire community of the Glockenbachviertel! Granted, it’s small, but it offers a unique atmosphere and great food and drinks!
when: 24.11.2016 – 23.12.2016
where: Stephansplatz (U 1/ U 2/ U 3/ U 6 Sendlinger Tor)

2. Christmas Market at the Residenz

They say it is the second largest Christmas market but that shouldn’t scare you away. Of course, there are always lots and lots of people there, but in this case location is key. You’ll walk through a stone gate into one of the squares of the Residenz. Surrounded by the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs you will find exclusive sellers of arts and crafts and – of course – food.
when: 21.11.2016 bis 22.12.2016
where: Residenz (U 3/ U 6/ U 4/ U 5 Odeonsplatz)

1. Medieval Christmas market

The medieval Christmas market is by far my favourite. I love to meet there with friends for some honey wine and a boar sandwich. It’s a special place to be, so different from most of the other markets. The stalls don’t sell your typical Christmas knickknacks, that’s very refreshing!
when: 24.11.2016 – 23.12.2016
where: Wittelsbacher Platz (U 3/ U 6/ U 4/ U 5 Odeonsplatz)

If you have time during your stay in Munich in December, make sure to visit at least one of the markets. My very special advice would be: Do a tour! Start at one of the markets for a little walk and then either take the subway or if it is not too cold, walk! That way you won’t feel bad if you eat and drink all of the good stuff! And make sure to drop me line which one you liked best or if I missed one that you really loved!

Take care,

E.

My days in Portland

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Ooops, there has been so much stuff going on that I totally forgot to write about it. Very often I went to bed before 11Pm which is something I would never do at home. Let me tell you about my days in Portland, OR!

My last day in Portland I did a walking tour that I really should have done earlier. The guide, Eric, was entertaining, informative and pointed out a lot of cool places and things to do. Some of them I had already done, some of them unfortunately not. Oh well, maybe next time, Portland is a place that you want to come back to.

After some more shopping I attended a Portland Thorns match at Providence Park. It was nice to see so many people cheering for a women’s soccer club. Even though they lost, the atmosphere was amazing and fun. I originally had bought tickets to an arena football game but since it was all across town I decided to walk five minutes to the soccer game. Did not regret that!

My train ride to San Francisco was relatively uneventful. Except that it was so long and cold that I could hardly bear it! 17,5h to Emeryville and another 30 minutes to San Francisco. I found a nice older lady as a travel companion sitting next to me. As we shared our travelling stories a lot of time went by very fast and besides that I even slept a few hours! The view was interesting, you pass so many different landscapes. Good to do once but I’ll certainly fly next time!
I’ll post more on San Francisco and my adventures later, now it is time to sleep and recharge my energy for my last day tomorrow! I’m quite sad to leave already!

Talk to you later,

E.

Happy in Hipster Portland

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I have been remarkably busy here in Hipster Portland, hitting my pillow always around 10PM and being asleep within a few moments.

Portland is as the title of this post suggests a very hip town. I don’t think that I have ever seen so many vegan/organic places or a food aisle that long with just organic products. I’m still very fond of supermarkets, there is a Trader Joe’s nearby that I will probably visit tomorrow to buy snacks for my long train ride.

Microbreweries

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of the day with some other people from the hostel watching the Euro Championship. I hated to see Germany lose against France but also felt it coming during the game. Nevertheless, we had a good time. Portland is famous for its microbreweries, so we watched in a local pub. I didn’t try the beer though as it was noon and I had planned to do more sightseeing later.

Powell’s book store

Unfortunately I only made it to Powell’s Bookstore that day. Powell’s is this huge and very famous bookstore with the size of a block (imagine a Karstadt full of books). They actually give you a map for that place as it is oddly sectioned. It took me a while to navigate and after looking for one book for half an hour I asked someone and was handed actual directions! Very friendly staff! I then had to turn around because it started to rain and I hadn’t brought my umbrella (silly me, I was so sure it wouldn’t rain).

Street markets

I later went to an art festival in the Pearl District with my roommate Julia. This time with an umbrella. Rain in Portland is different from rain at home, very often just a light warm drizzle. Still it becomes annoying after a while.

weird ice cream flavors

Later that night, I joined a group of people to this very special ice cream place where they have all those funny flavors such as olive oil or cinnamon snickerdoodle. It was a very nice dessert!

My day today started a little late, I had just installed Pokemon Go and I am already really addicted. Most of this morning I had to catch Pokemons and level up! It is so much fun!

Portland Art Museum

I then walked over to the Portland Art Museum to get my dose of culture. It’s a neat place, they have a wonderful collection of Native American Art which is of course new to me, but also a smaller collection of European Art (that is on display). The Modern Art is in a connected building which I didn’t expect to be that big. I only took some pictures (plus that very weird selfie).

The rest of the day was spent on a major shopping walk though I ended up ordering half of it on Amazon (thanks Prime!). TBC tomorrow when I hopefully will know more about nice boutiques!

Portland is very very lovely, I like it a lot and would have rather stayed here longer than I did in Seattle. People are so friendly and some actually say hello on the streets.

I will now go on and relax a bit. Maybe catch more Pokemons!

Talk to you soon!

E.

How to handle jet lag

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I know there are probably more ways to deal with jet lag than I can count. Everyone I know has his or her own way and idea what is best.

However, since I feel that I had a bad case on my hand and am now (on Monday) more or less getting over it, I decided to share how I have handled it so far.

1. Keep hydrated!

Drink, drink, drink… Water is best, so no coffee (or just a small amount). Tea is okay I guess or I have been drinking a lot of a soda that is called VitaminWater which I remembered from Ohio. It says zero calories, so not sure about that, but it tastes so good!

2. Get into a schedule!

The worst that you can do is arrive and go to bed (depending on what time it is). I arrived here around 2PM and I was naturally exhausted after being awake for almost 24 hours. I could have gone to bed at 6PM when I arrived at the hostel, but I stayed awake until 10 PM. That meant a lot of yawning and I swear I blacked out a couple of times. But it also meant that I only woke up once during the night and almost slept for 10 hours. The nights after that I would also wake up once, check the time and go back to sleep.

3. Keep moving!

It can be challenging to keep busy and not decide to go to sleep, take a nap or just chill somewhere all the time for days. I figured out that for me it is better to keep walking, see things, get my mind off of being sleepy. I do have blisters now and my feet hurt (on Saturday I walked 15km – so proud of myself), but it also meant that I was tired enough to sleep at night when it would have been hard because my body was on Munich time.

4. Eat something!

With me, jet lag means also loss of appetite. Basically it seems like my body doesn’t know what time it is and thus decides to concentrate on other things than being hungry. It is important to have regular meals with some greens and vitamins! Get on a schedule for that as well! Have breakfast, even if it means getting up earlier than you want, eat a small lunch and have dinner!

What do you do against jet lag? Any helpful ideas out there?

Cheers

E.

Happy 4th of July!

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Typing this on my phone right before bed: Happy 4th of July, you all!

Though the day was quite uneventful, the evening proved to be a lot of fun with new acquaintances from Britain and Canada, some beer and greasy food and watching the fireworks!

On our way back some lady’s car got stuck as she was trying to make an illegal u-turn. Some people helped and they managed to push it back. It involved a lot of cheering, too!

Tomorrow (well, today) I’m going to Bainbridge Island for a day to take a walk.

Cheers,

E.

Seattle adventures

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Hi everyone! I have arrived safely in Seattle, it is now 4th of July and since I am taking a slow and relaxing day today, I finally have time to write a bit about what I have been doing the last couple of days, i.e. my Seattle adventures.

Way to Seattle

I started my journey on Thursday after an incredibly busy week at the Munich Filmfest where I have been watching films back to back. My flight was pretty much uneventful. The safety measures in airports are understandably long and extensive. I had a bit of a scare in Munich when the very grumpy KLM lady at check-in asked for my printed ESTA slip and I had actually forgotten to print that. It took me a good 30 minutes to find proof that I had it and she was not helpful at all. I found out later that you are not required to print anything since ESTA is linked to your passport, so I don’t know why she decided to be such a bully. Everything else went fine, I didn’t miss my flight which I was scared of most.

During landing in Seattle we had to wait for clearance, so the plane circled the mountains and since it was a very clear day, I was able to take a few nice shots out of one window.

I’m really bad at geography so I have no idea what I took a picture of. But it was great seeing so much from above. From the airport it is pretty easy to get to downtown Seattle or Belltown where I am staying. 35 minutes on a train and a 10 minutes walk later I reached the City Hostel where I had reserved a bed in a female-only 4 bed en suite dorm. The hostel is conveniently located, very clean with very nice and helpful staff. They are very strict about who they let into the hostel and there are some rules which I appreciate because I feel much safer knowing that not everyone can walk in and that for example smoking inside is forbidden.

Since smoking pot is legal in Washington state, that is a big issue here. Seattle has a big homeless population (although I am told it is even worse where I am going) and many of them smoke pot and/or suffer from mental illness. It took me a while to get used to the fact that many places and people smell like pot and to ignore those who wander the streets shaking and talking to themselves. It puts the whole legalize cannabis issue in Germany into perspective.

Arrival in Seattle

On my first day in Seattle, I couldn’t do much. After I had checked in, I met my two roommates at that time with whom I had dinner that night. After that I passed out pretty early. I have been battling jet lag ever since. It’s a 9 hour time difference to Munich which is 3 hours more than Ohio/East Coast where I have been before. Thus I planned to have a relaxing first full day (and ended up doing most of the sights). And by relaxing I mean going to a museum, in that case the Seattle Art Museum.

Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum is pretty nice, they have a nice collection and I spent almost 3 hours wandering around, reading books and taking pictures:

 

They had that nice exhibition of Graphic Masters with Dürer and Goya. I especially liked that they actually told you to take pictures and post about the exhibition. It is really straight forward because often you are technically allowed to take photos but you can’t be sure.

Space Needle + EMP

After a short visit to the hostel, I went to visit the Space Needle although I decided not to go up. A fellow traveller told me that it was cheaper to go up another tower in Seattle with a better view.

Right next to the Space Needle there is a museum for pop culture called EMP (Experience Music Project). Everyone at the hostel had been talking about that so I decided to go in as well. It is a lot of fun, you learn a lot about music (grunge, Jimi Hendrix etc.) and they had a nice horror film exhibition. Everything is very interactive which always takes me some time to get used to. As I went on a Friday of a long weekend it was unfortunately very busy with many families. I also enjoyed the Seattle Seahawks exhibition there (currently I am wearing my new Seahawks shirt).

Capitol Hill

On Saturday I met up with a Robin who I had gotten in contact with through that a nice group on Facebook called HPL (Her Packing List). She had offered to show me around Capitol Hill, her favorite neighborhood, and I had gladly accepted her offer. It is always much more fun to be shown around by a local! Capitol Hill is/ used to be the gay neighborhood but people there struggle a lot from gentrification (reminded me a lot of Munich). Fancy apartment buildings are being built and the rents go up, so that all freelancers and creative people hardly can afford to live there anymore. Still, the vibe there is unique and different to Belltown or downtown. I was listening so intensely that I hardly took any pictures, but sometimes it is more important to stop seeing things through the lens of a camera.

Above you also see the Starbucks Roastery which is located there. It’s very touristy and crowded but I went back on Sunday and had a scone there. They sell amazing (and expensive) pastry and I enjoyed people watching there so much. In the morning I had been to Pike Place Market for the first time where it had also rained for the first time. Very uncomfortable and crowded so I was glad to move on really quick.

Frye Art Museum

I also visited the Frye Art Museum on 1st Hill which was quite a bus ride away (you gladly take buses in Seattle if something is located in a neighborhood with “Hill” in its name). The Frye Art Museum certainly is a nice place if all rooms are open. Unfortunately, I chose a time when they were assembling the new Hammershoi exhibition so almost everything was closed except for one room where they restaged the hanging of the original salon with works of the Munich Secession and the Munich Künstlergenossenschaft.

I took a very long nap that afternoon and only walked for an hour that evening. Roughly I had been walking between 10 and 15km everyday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am a bit exhausted right now so I will probably spend today just relaxing and watching Netflix. They’ll have a barbecue later here at the hostel which I want to attend.

Tomorrow I’ll probably take a ferry to Bainbridge Island just for the sake of the ferry ride (I love boats!!) and for seeing something different. I’ll keep you posted!

Cheers,

E.

PS: Totally hooked on Netflix shows: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Baby Daddy and Gilmore Girls are my favorite currently.

My US West Coast Packing List

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As most of you know, I will be going to Seattle, Portland and San Francisco in a few days. I’ll be staying in these three cities for a total of 19 days. These days will be almost equally divided between these three cities where I will be living in hostels. This will actually be my first try to not pack as much as usual. I tend to overpack. First of all, I always worry too much, so I try to be prepared for all occasions. And then, I never want to do laundry, so I try to bring enough clothes. So, this time, different approach: I have read so much about different ways to travel only with carry-on and I wanted to give it a try this time. This is my US West Coast Packing List:

This time I divided my bags and I made a table to sort which bag is going to hold what:

I’ll be travelling with my Kalahari camera bag, my Herschel Backpack and a smaller Carry-On suitcase which has four wheels and has been proven to be very convenient for travelling.

Camera bag

My camera bag will fit into my backpack and is, of course, holding:

I added a plastic bag, in case it might rain. My camera bag will be my daybag as well, even though it doesn’t look that nice, it can hold all the things that I need when I’m adventuring.

Backpack

My backpack will include:

  • my camera bag
  • my Apple iPad mini + Logitech case
  • all chargers and cables
  • my two Lonely Planets for Seattle and San Francisco (I just can’t leave them)
  • small notebook and pen
  • small plastic bag with medication and liquids that I want to bring on the plane with me
  • my scarf (against the cold, or to use as a blanket or pillow on the plane)
  • phone, money, tickets, passport etc.
  • small bag with an inflatable pillow, Ohropax
  • my collection of sunglasses
Carry on suitcase

I decided a few days ago to check my small suitcase simply because I am too lazy to carry it with me during the layovers that I have. I purchased Eagle Creek Pack-It cubes though to hold most of my things. I’ll be bringing:

  • shoes: Minnetonkas, Birkenstock-like sandals, flip flops for the shower
  • travel towels
  • travel-size hair dryer (it was shortly on my list to be left at home, but I get a cold very easily when I don’t dry my hair)
  • two pair of pants (1 jeans, 1 slacks)
  • dress + leggings
  • underwear+socks for a week
  • my umbrella
  • Bikini
  • seven tops
  • three cardigans or pullover
  • toiletries

Am I missing something? As always, I keep checking my list over and over again, fearing that I might forget something very important!

My must-pack items

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It’s exactly 8 days until I am leaving for this year’s adventure. Since I won’t rent a car this year, but will be travelling by train mostly, I tried to plan ahead and think about what I really and absolutely need to take with me and what will be unnecessary baggage. Still, I noticed that there are a few things that I depend heavily on, especially while being abroad:

Sunscreen and skin care in general

Since I can remember, my skin has been high-maintenance. I get breakouts from almost everything such as food, dust, sun or stress. Since travelling combines many of these factors, I am careful to pack all of my skin care things. This time I will bring my favorite cleanser from Sebamed in a travel size and probably stock up on the things I used while I lived in Ohio which was mostly from Neutrogena or AcneFree. Both work fine for me.

As I have very fair skin, I usually end up with a sunburn within the first two days even if it is cloudy. Last time I went whale-watching and even though I used sunscreen, I ended up with a nasty burn and blister on my nose. It took me a week to get rid of it otherwise I would have ended up looking like Rudolph on my friend’s wedding pictures. This trip I thus come prepared: First of all Neutrogena Clear Face Sunblock Lotion with 30 SPF which I like a lot because I don’t feel like I bathed in oil after applying it to my face. The second sunscreen that I am bringing is a foundation with 30 SPF from Shiseido. It is one of the few foundations that don’t cause breakouts with me and that I can use everyday.

My Iphone and other technical stuff

I know I am a typical smartphone addict. My iPhone holds all of my everyday information that I need, all of my contacts, my calendar, my music. I have tried travelling without my phone, without service or without data, simply relying on free WiFi in restaurants or cafés. It doesn’t work for me so far. I hate having to stop somewhere to connect my phone to Wifi in order to look up some places or to google the way. I love using Twitter and/or Instagram when I’m travelling and posting pictures right away. Call me spoilt, but my Vodafone service works all over the EU which is why I decided to go with an American SIM card this time. I’ll probably be able to tell you more after the trip when I can say for certain that it worked. As of now: I ordered a SIM from SIMbee online for 30 USD. I will have unlimited texting and calls within the US, plus 300 MB of data (after that it will become slower), plus a certain amount of free calls worldwide.

Ohropax

Usually, I’d say that I’m a heavy sleeper. I never wake up to any noise outside because I have got used to it, I guess. When I travel, however, I feel like I sleep more lightly which means that in hostel dorms I constantly wake up due to noises. Two years ago, in Boston, I got really mad at the A/C in my dorm room that couldn’t be turned down and kept making so much noise right above my head. The staff at the hostel was very sorry and they provided me with a dozen free pairs of ear plugs. I have to admit that it takes some time to get used to them, but since then I don’t travel without Ohropax anymore.

A scarf

Be it summer or winter, I always bring a XXL scarf which I can use as a scarf, a blanket or a pillow. Air conditioning can be cold even during summer and when you have to spend some time freezing, a scarf can safe you from getting sick. Been there in Thailand where I caught a bad cold from air conditioning on a bus (didn’t have any blankets) and had to stay in bed for three days missing out on a good time on Koh Samui.

Comfortable shoes

Shoes are always a big question mark on my packing list. They take up so much space and still I can never decide on which and how many to bring. They are often the reason that I overpack. I guess gone are the days where I only brought my trusted Converse and a pair of Havaianas to walk around. Lately I had issues with my knees and I know for certain that I will need comfortable shoes on my trip if I don’t want to take an ibuprofen every night. So far (list is not finalized yet) I decided on my Bata shoes which feel like Birkenstocks but don’t make my feet look that big, a pair of sneakers with insoles and my Minnetonkas. I’ll also bring old flip flops for showering in the hostels, just to be safe. Since I like to go shopping anyways, I’ll have a reason to go if it turns out that I really need more shoes (I always do) or that one of the pairs I brought isn’t comfy enough. I was thinking about buying these sandals from Crocs which is something I thought I’d never say about anything from Crocs.

What are your must-pack items? Is there anything that you can’t live without while being abroad? I’m curious!

Things to do in Bardolino

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You might have noticed that I couldn’t keep up with my travel diary. Writing was just way more work than I could or wanted to do after 11 PM. Also, it seems that I am still on a war path with the WordPress App and its functionalities. So instead of several posts it has to be one with a more general guide on things to do in Bardolino. This was my first holiday after a year of working and writing that I spent without books or any plan, so I had a wonderful time relaxing and exploring the town.

First of all, Bardolino is probably the busiest town at Lago di Garda, especially during Bavarian holidays or during one of the two wine festivals in May and October. But if you catch a less busy time and once in a while step off the tourist streets, you will see great places! Here come my favorite things to do:

1. Take a walk along the lake shore, watch the ducks and be active.

All the pathways have been worked on in the last few years, so you can walk along the shore between most towns undisturbed except for some people on bikes.

2. If you don’t like walking, you can also decide on taking a boat.

It’s fairly cheap and compared to the bus actually on time. Another option would be getting a taxi, but traffic gets quite busy during the day and you’ll be stuck most certainly. The boat ride is a lot of fun, you’ll get a good overview of the lake and catch some fresh air as well!

3. Explore other towns!

I especially like to go to Lazise or Garda (which has the best bakery ever!!), but next time I will make sure to go there on a day when there is no market. The crowd was crazy and made it almost impossible to find a café to enjoy some cappuccino.

4. Choose a bar or café close to the lake!

Put your legs up, order some vino and simply enjoy! If you are into people watching like me, that’s the best way to do it. I loved watching the boats on the lake, the people playing with dogs in the water or simply families strolling by.

5. Leave the crowded streets and take a different way back to the hotel.

If you keep your eyes open, you’ll see so many things: Beautiful houses and gardens, flowers, street art or even funny coincidences such as the walking frame next to the Harley Davidson sign.

6. Go to church.

Or rather go into churches. I’m very often bored when I have to walk into every church in a town or city, but Bardolino is home of my favorite church. It is called San Severo and I am in love with the Romanesque frescoes. Some time ago, I had to do a presentation on Romanesque frescoes and one of the examples that I could choose from was San Severo in Bardolino (what a coincidence!).

7. Follow the locals.

As creepy as this may sound, I found the nicest park to hang out!

8. Go to the markets.

If you can, choose smaller ones that mainly sell food. The bigger ones mostly sell clothes and shoes, but the food markets are great and have so many things that you won’t find at home like those sweets and little cakes!

9. If you happen to be there when there is a wine fest/ tasting, try to enjoy it.

There will be a lot of people and later a lot of drunk people, but on the upside, the town will be decorated beautifully. For the Palio di Chiaretto the chosen color was obviously pink. You could take a picture on Juliet’s Balcony and go from booth to booth tasting samples of the new Chiaretto from app. 20 different wineries.

10. Most importantly: Enjoy yourself, put on sunscreen and soak up the sun.

You’re on a holiday, so eat, drink and savor every moment of it!

I hope you’ll all have the chance to go to Bardolino (or any town at Lago di Garda) any time soon, it’s a great place.

I’m already busy planning my next trip to Seattle, Portland and San Francisco and I’m so excited. The To-Do-List writing has begun!

Tell me: What’s on your packing list? What shouldn’t I forget in any case?

Talk to you soon,

Eva

Lago di Garda Day 2: Boats, shopping and gelato

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Hi everyone, buonasera di Bardolino! As promised yesterday, a short description of where I am. Sorry for all the typos and weird mistakes, I’m still working on the whole blogging-while-travelling-without-my-laptop etc. The WordPress App is quite cool, but some things just won’t work for me.

Currently I am travelling with my mom on our annual trip to Italy. We are staying in Bardolino which is located on the eastern coast of Lago di Garda in the part of Veneto. I have been coming to Bardolino for many years now, many of the best holidays have been spent here, first with my parents, later with friends and now again with my mom.

Our hotel is called Taormina, it is a two star rated hotel and I can only recommend it so far. The rooms are small, but clean, and have all amenities that are necessary. The best thing is that the hotel is located very close to the town center and also very close to the lake and everything else.

Today we took a boat to Lazise which is 15 minutes away (by boat) to visit the weekly market, look around and see the older part of the town. Lazise is as beautiful as Bardolino, but I didn’t like the crowds and I wasn’t able to take as many pictures as I wanted due to me being part of a moving crowd. It’s ridiculous, everything at the market can be bought in stores as well and still people go crazy. It’s not even a bargain, things are often cheaper in smaller stores!

So we only looked around for a little while and then escaped into a café for coffee and some people-watching. Seems like Bavaria (and Munich maybe) might be deserted with many Bavarians here. So much fun watching people! We later took the boat back again, instead of walking 45 minutes in the sun. Call me lazy, but I was so glad that I could sit down for a few minutes!

The rest of the day was spent with napping, a picnic at the lake and more shopping. It’s easy to spend time shopping in Bardolino, I guess. Many shops have similar things and you shouldn’t be to conscious about fair products as many things are most likely made in China. However, if you are on a budget, looking for a bargain and some cute summer clothing, it is the place to go. Tomorrow I’ll try to find some shoes! I love shoes!

I ended the day with my first gelato this year (as in bought and eaten outside) and it was delicious. Papaya and chocolate are a perfect mixture and can only be beaten by Mango and dark chocolate. I even decided against a glass of wine (so this is sober-me writing here) in order to be able to eat all of it. Absolutely will do that again tomorrow!
I’ll head to bed now, it truly is a holiday with lots of food and catching up on sleep.

Talk to you all later,

Eva