Malaga, Spain 2017 (Part 2)

Alcaucín

The charming streets of  Alcaucín

In my previous blog entry, I wrote about my trip to Malaga and especially the National Park Parque Natural Sierra de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama where we went for a walk every morning.

We stayed at the small town Alcaucín (approx. 2000 inhabitants) which is located about 1 hour (in car) from the airport in Málaga and 30 min from the beach. The town is surrounded by mountains…and I love mountains! The expression of the mountains changes depending on the sun, skies and time of day - I can spend hours just looking at them - It gives me a peace of mind and is balm for my soul.

The mountains opposite of our house had roads and at night time the roads were quite busy, and we enjoyed looking the cars driving up and down the dark roads - a bit silly to write about - but again - it is a fine picture of our much-needed vacation - just being able to sit and spend time doing nothing but that is just… a luxury!

Square in central Alcaucín with cafes and restaurants

Alcaucín has a couple of grocer´s where you can buy water, bread and milk etc. The selection is small and during our research in Denmark (about Málaga) we were recommend to do a larger purchase at a shopping mall (with a huge supermarket) on our way to Alcaucín.

It turns out that next to A7, which is the road from Málaga to Alcaucín, you´ll find Eroski/Center Juan Carlos I
Check website here:  Eroski

So it was actually just a short stop on the way, and later that day we all agreed that the time there was well spend - we didn´t have to leave the vacation house in the afternoon and could enjoy the sun and the pool.

During the week we went back a couple of times to fill up the fridge. Since we were 7 adults and 3 kids it made sense to do most of our shopping there. We mostly had all our meals together and enjoyed barbequing at dinner time.

On our way back to the house - steep street!

We went out for dinner a few times and enjoyed nice meals. We especially liked Venta la Parra - they have the most spectacular view from their terrace (don´t forget your sunglasses) and the food is great! So is the service by the way😊

Visit the website here:

Venta la Parra

Our house was rented through Air BnB and it fulfilled all our needs. With 4 families in the house we still had room for privacy. We did have to share bathrooms, but it went well. We all agreed, that we would love to do it again. 

Pool at the house

Our house 

In my next blog entry I´ll write about our trip to Norway this summer - stay tuned!

Malaga, Spain 2017 (part 1)

Where: Alcaucín, Malaga, Spain

When: July 2017

Duration: One week

Accommodation: House, AirBnB

Malaga stays in your heart!

Sun rising in the Naional park

I have visited Spain several times before, but never Malaga. After a week I was ready to plan my retirement (in years to come) in Spain. The climate was very agreeable, and we enjoyed the warm nights on the porch - and the food, of course, delicious as always in Spain!

The National park: 

The small town Alcaucín (approx. 2000 inhabitants) lies at the foot of Parque Natural Sierra de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama - a beautiful National park. A steep walk uptown and you´ll reach the park. The roads/trails in the park are in a very good condition and it is easy to get around.

Walking into further into the park

We were hoping to see a mountain goat - it is supposedly a visible animal in the park, but unfortunately, we never saw one - maybe the time of the day was wrong or the area.

Had we had more days to spend in Alcaucín we would for sure have tried out other trails of the park.

You can read more about the National park here: http://www.andalucia.com/environment/protect/tejeda.htm

and here:

http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/medioambiente/servtc5/ventana/mostrarFicha.do?idEspacio=7321&lg=EN

The walks

We got up at 06.45 every morning and went for a walk in the park for an hour. Some days we walked from the house and into the park, other days we parked the car outside the park and walked further in.

 

A look from the trail

We could see the sun rise on our walk back to the house/car - so beautiful! We almost had the park to ourselves. After the first two days we realized that we were not the only ones who liked an early exercise......

Every day on our we back we met “the talking sisters” - two women in their fifties…you could hear them before you could see them 😊

Then “Indurain” - a tiny, very young cyclist dressed in cycling clothing on a very old mountain bike. No matter where we saw him on the mountain he was going fast with an even pace. We will be looking for him in next years “La Vuelta” or “Tour de France”! 😊

The last person we met on our walks was an elderly woman in her eighties - dressed in at neat skirt with a cane in her right hand and her straw hat in the left hand - walking up hill slowly but steady.

All of them made us feel welcome with a “Buenos dias” when we met them - we felt very much at home at “their” park.

Fresh mountain water

In my next blog entry, I will write a little bit about the small town Alcaucín where we stayed. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Flensburg, Germany

Where: Flensburg, Germany

When: December 19, 2017

Why: Christmas Market

Duration: 1 day

Enjoying Glühwein 

It´s no secret that I love Germany - I teach German in Junior High School and visit Germany at least once a year. Berlin is my favorite - I have stopped counting the times I have been there. I promise I will share my best tips in a later blog entry. But other cities in Germany also have wonderful things and places to explore.

Christmas time in Germany has a very special atmosphere - during the four weeks of Advent you will find Christmas Markets in Germany and many German speaking countries. It´s a street market with small wooden stalls in the town square and in the streets leading up to the it. 

Buy your mug as a cheap souvenir. 2 Euro.

The Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt in German) is the perfect way of getting in to the Christmas spirit. The cozy atmosphere, the smell of barbeque, sugar roasted almonds and the sound of people taking a break from the Christmas shopping - laughing and enjoying time together - it´s so evocative. 

A glass of glühwein (mulled wine) will keep you warm - you can even spice it up with snaps if you like it strong 😉  Enjoy a perfect barbequed sausage e.g. a Bratwurst or a Krakauer with bread when hunger takes over. 

Krakauer hotdog

And when you are all filled with new energy you can move on with your Christmas shopping at the main shopping street…and maybe return to the market to complete a lovely day with a cold German bier or warm tea… 

Lots of sweets

Next year I would love to stay for two days. I have never been to a Christmas market a night time - I would love to see all the lights and sense the atmosphere after the darkness falls.

I you would like to read more check out the webside: https://www.flensburger-foerde.de/en/christmas-market/

What about you? Would you like to go to a Christmas market in Germany?

Welcome

Picture: Cayo Jutítas, Cuba

Here the journey begins!

I´ll take you back to all the amazing places I´ve visited through the years. I´ll start with the latest trip and then move backwards in time - only interrupted by new journeys.

I have two trips planned for the nearest future - Germany (one-day-trip) and Georgia.

You are more than welcome to comment on my blog entries or share your great traveling advices!