We (finally) made our long-awaited return to Spain, after a couple of years of being thwarted by the pandemic on a combined Portugal/Spain itinerary. The trip focused solely on Andalucía, for cycling with Bike Spain Tours, and birding with Wild Andalucía (Álvaro Peral) and Doñana Wings (Vicent Esteller). Keeping the trip all in Andalucía meant no pesky border crossings and thus only one set of rules/restrictions to keep in mind. Although we didn’t actually know for certain that we would get there until less than a week before we flew, as the guidance kept changing!
What started out as a trip to Germany for a family event – a symposium honoring Adolf Weissler, Robert’s great-grandfather – quickly grew into a bigger trip encompassing Iceland and Scotland. The joys of retirement – no need to hurry home! This could probably be three posts, but we’ll try to do it in one.
We cycled along the Elbe, toured Berlin, and traversed Norway on the Bergen Railway. What next? A couple of days in Iceland, taking advantage of IcelandAir’s stopover deal. Just enough time to figure out whether we should go back and see more – and the answer is an emphatic yes.
After a wonderful cycling tour along the Elbe from Dresden to Magdeburg, and visiting Berlin, the four of us (Liza, Robert, and Tom and Diane) flew from Berlin-Schoenefeld to Oslo for a week in Norway. We spent a whirlwind day and a half in Oslo before embarking on one of the great railroad journeys of the world, the Bergen Railway. This is the second of three posts.
In May we set off for Germany to cycle the Elbe Radweg, to visit the great cities of Dresden and Berlin, and to visit some Weissler family history sites. While planning the trip, Robert said, “you want to go to Norway, right?” 🙂 Yes! the Bergen Railway from Oslo to Bergen is something he did back in 1976, but was definitely on my own bucket list (routinely ranked as one of the “great railroad journeys of the world”). And finally, we were able to fly with IcelandAir and get the “free” layover on Reykjavik. So off we went! This is the first of three posts. Continue reading Germany: Cycling the Elbe; Dresden and Berlin – May 2018→
“Spain…didn’t you go there last year?” Well, yes, but it’s a big country and there’s much more to see (and we’re not done, either!). This trip included a week of cycling the Camino de Santiago from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela, bracketed by birding in the Sierra de Gredos west of Madrid plus a little bit in Extremadura, and the Picos de Europa up north in Asturias and Cantabria.
We’d wanted to return to Spain since our 2009 biking adventure there, and finally made it back this April. This trip combined a number of activities – birding in Extremadura (west and southwest of Madrid), cycling, seeing the sights in Madrid and Barcelona, a few days in the quieter city of Girona, and a drive on the Costa Brava.
In July we were quite happy to have a quick trip to Germany to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Johannes and Bärbel Weissler in Erlangen. (Johannes’ father Fritz and Robert’s grandfather Otto were brothers.) We took the opportunity to make a little “pre-trip”. Continue reading Germany and a Party! July 2015→
In June we joined fellow Downhill to Breakfast rider John Black and Brooklyn friends Mark and Joanne Guralnick on a VBT cycling tour of the Dreiländereck (border triangle) region where Slovenia, Italy, and Austria meet. The adventure began with a week pre-trip in the Karst region of Slovenia and the Istrian peninsula of Croatia. Click here for a trip summary and links to (lots of) photos!
Robert, Bob White, and John Black navigating … more or less
In May 2013 we joined fellow Downhill to Breakfast riders John Black and Bob White on a self-guided tour along the Mosel River, from Trier most of the way to Koblenz. Click here for more!
