Finally Jürgen could proof what he learned with his newly acquired boating license! All the guys rented a boat for a half day to explore Mallorca by sea…
They discovered all kinds of floating devices:
Afterward we strolled through Alcudia, an old town with lots of charm!
And what would a beautiful day be without great food and another gorgeous sunset?
We are spoiled by rain! Finally! Yesterday the forecast predicted 80% of rain and all we got were 80 drops of rain 🥺. What followed was another beautiful sunset
Today we took a trip to Alcudia to face the real deal: a short, heavy thunder & lightning ordeal surprised us at the harbor, and in no time we looked like mermaids 🧜♀️
Trip followed by barbecue
We took a train from Palma going north to Sóller, a beautiful town in the mountains, surrounded by orange orchards. From there a tram took us down to Port de Sóller, where we had lunch, strolled around and enjoyed this gem on the northwest coast of Mallorca. Tram up the hill, walk through Sóller, train down to Palma: perfect trip! I love train rides, especially in old trains – this one is from 1929!
It was a nice (and very hot) day! We had lots of fun riding this train and I’m already looking forward doing this again SOON!
According to Eurowings’ website, that’s what you are entitled to if your suitcase is delayed. So we managed the first 24 hours of our Mallorca trip in good spirits, despite waiting for our 8 suitcases and dealing with the impact:
#1: medicine. David had a motorcycle accident before the trip, he had surgery on his foot and is on crotches now. He needs daily shots to avoid Thrombose. But you’re not allowed to bring needles in your carry-on, so all his shots are (still) in Munich I guess 😖
#2: clothing. Fortunately we went to Mallorca, with temperatures just below the melting point. So all you need is a swimsuit, a T-Shirt and some shorts.
#3: electronics. You don’t realize how many chargers you use until your suitcase goes missing! FACT! The semester starts Wednesday. My laptop (carry-on) is 70% charged, my iPad (carry-on) 50%, iPhone, toothbrush, etc. Everything has its own charger + adapter! And my pouch with all the cables, extension cord, chargers and adapters is (still) in Munich. So should I buy chargers now? Do they even have an Apple Store in Mallorca?
#4: shoes. When preparing for this trip, people, especially females, always asked me how many pairs of shoes I’m bringing. So for this trip sequence (Mallorca-Naples-Sicily) I brought hiking shoes (Sicily), pink ballerinas (dress up), pink sandals, silver Birkenstock, and white sneakers (that I were wearing).
#5: books. Textbooks, course notebooks, pouch with office and art supplies, sketchbook, etc. I’m still in denial that those are (still) in Munich…..
Despite all this, we do have fun! We swim, cook, play, swim, eat, talk, enjoy the house, swim a little more….
We took a little road-trip to Porto Christo, shopping, eating ice-cream, then back home, followed by another jump in the pool! By now each of us has an appropriate swimsuit!
Porto Christo’s harbor
….. that you try to start your travel day extra early and end up at your destination extra late: 2 hour delay for the flight, 1 hour wait at the baggage carousel until somebody told us that our luggage was never loaded into the airplane in Munich. Another hour to take care of necessary forms to be filled, rental cars, etc
….. how quiet and empty the airport in Munich was on a Saturday during vacation times. It seemed almost deserted, forgotten – kind of like our luggage!?!
….. that it was 1.30am until we finally ended up in bed
….. house, a big, very big house, that combines country house charm with modern details
….. views first thing in the morning after a short, hot night with no sound whatsoever
….. that we made it here after all: Mallorca here we come!
We are getting antsy to be on the road again. To be precise: to be in the air again. One big group, 8 people, one of which in a wheelchair, is an adventure on its own. And here we sit at the airport in Munich and wait for our delayed flight to Palma de Mallorca…..
My mother‘s parents and two of my grandfathers sisters fled Ukraine at the end of WWII. Iwan & Olena, Tatjana, Efronisa. Their brother Fedor stayed behind, married and has two daughters. One of which, Diana, fled Ukraine at the beginning of the war and came to visit us!
Diana tries to settle down near Stuttgart, she takes German lessons and enjoys living here. No thought of going back to Ukraine 🥰
My dad was born in 1938, in Munich. My Oma struggled through the war, my Opa being away, fighting for his country in an unnecessary war that was going on way too long.
They lived in Munich and lost everything when their home was bombed while they were in a bunker. Nowhere to go, they fled to „Enkering“, a little village in the beautiful Altmühltal area between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg. My great-grandfathers family lived there and they took my Oma, my dad and his younger sister in to live with them.
That’s where my dad grew up between the age of 4 or 5, until he moved to Ingolstadt, when he became a car mechanic apprentice and worked as a test driver for Audi. His upbringing provided many stories about life in the countryside, experiencing young guys stupidities and walking the line between danger and safety. Fishing is safe, fishing with dynamite probably not so much. We heard many stories, fascinating to us!
So today Ted and I drove to Enkering, wandered around, discovered some relics and enjoyed a tasty lunch at „Zum alten Wirt“. Sandra, our new friend from Muslone happens to work in the village nearby, and joined us there.
