“ Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.” – Jennifer Lee..png

This is my Germany trip 2019 recap in not so many words as in pictures. It has been 7 years since the last time I visited and the years had a positive effect on me. I have fallen in love with old and new and parts of Germany I haven’t visited before, especially the countryside.

Let’s just keep my ramblings easy and get right to it. Before I embarked on this journey I posted a shout out on Twitter for fellow readers to help me decide what to read on my trip. The response was amazing and helped me a lot selecting 3 amazing books!

The Travel

Malice on the flight! This book practically needed it’s own seat at almost 700 pages. I hauled that hunka through every checkpoint, security, passport control and baggage claim ;)

(And later a cruise down the Autobahn)

The Books

One of the first things I did after my arrival in the city of Frankfurt was visit a bookstore. I know…it’s strange! I did not visit the tourist spots like the Roemer or the Zeil (shopping mile), nope…my mission was to find some familiar titles and check their German covers. And it was so much fun!

The Foods

There are a few things I missed since I have been there. Especially foods! So, before I went I made myself a list of all the dishes, desserts and snacks that I would devour at least once while visiting.

During my stay I was graciously hosted by my cousin Stephan and he made sure the fridge was always stocked and no cravings left unsatisfied. Let me show you some of the dishes I could not do without!

Behold from left to right! The first two dishes are a must: 1. Herringsbroetchen (Yes, it’s a roll with pickled fish on it!), 2. A famous Frankfurt seasonal dish: Gruene Sosse and this my friends is what I could have bathed in!!! I love, love, love that stuff even as a kid I did. It’s an herb sauce that is traditionally made and or sold around the Easter time. In the picture it is actually served on Tafelshpitz (Beef tips) and roasted potatoes….yum. Pic 3 is the ultimate Grillteller at a Greek restaurant. I know, not traditional German nor authentically Greek I bet, but a Schnitzel Wiener Art has been added for the united culinary experience ;) What can I say about the last two pics….ice-cream! In Germany this usually equals Italian Gelato though in Italy that would be even better of course. The last pic…that’s one of my favorites: S p a g h e t t i ice cream! It has the whipped cream underneath and it freezes a bit under the vanilla…nom, nom.

Ok, I better stop talking food for now, but there will be more pics along the photo album with other good stuff…these are just a few of my must haves :)

My temporary Dig

I stayed about 45 minutes outside of Frankfurt for my main stay. My cousin has a lovely little basement apartment and the above neighbor’s cat was a welcome touch to the already sweet set up. Taking some walks in the local neighborhood I had a chance to take my first pics of the trip :)

In Bloom

I have forgotten how lovely most yards and towns are gardened and tended to. There were flowers EVERYWHERE. Streets are lined with beautiful shrubs and windowsills are full of potted plants. Simply lovely. Since I am practicing with my camera, this was the perfect opportunity to try myself on shooting some lovelies. Later excursions of which I will still post will show some of the streets lined with flowers and gardens in greater perspective. For now, just a few practice shots :)

I am a total beginner in photography and these gorgeous flowers made the perfect models to practice on.

During my trip I was mostly unplugged from social media due to limited WiFi around. Every summer I like to take some weeks where I simply take a break and in this case focus on a hobby, a good cause and or family & friends. I planned on and made it a purpose to try out my cam and it’s manual settings on this vacation while I have more time. I am by no means a lot better at this point but what you see are my efforts in it’s infancy. One of my goals this year is to delve deeper into photography aside from reading. Both of these forms of hobby balance my life and make me internally happier.

So, this was a small part of my trip. I will be posting more if I can. Other highlights were my visit to the Lueneburger Heide, a part of Germany that is just under Hamburg and a famous area for its natural beauty, and a trip to cool scenic visit to Stuttgart, 2 hours south of Frankfurt.

Let me know if this is remotely interesting to you or if you have any experiences to share traveling to Germany or getting into photography.