A Stop for Lunch in Kallstadt

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day so we hopped on our bikes and rode to Kallstadt and picked a random restaurant with a nice patio for lunch. Below are some pictures from around Kallstadt. Some day I hope to have geraniums like the locals do. Mine were definitely not so happy this summer.



We had lunch at Weinstube Fleischmann and we managed to pick a place with great wine and food. They obviously took the time to choose wines from all over the Pfalz that were actually good instead of only wines from one specific winery. We each tried a new wine and they were both excellent. I ordered a Pfannkuchen for lunch which is like a big pancake, and it was filled with ham. It was delicious but way too big so I didn't manage to finish it. I certainly tried though.



Some pictures of the vineyards surrounding Kallstadt:

Hike Around the Drachenfels

Our friend Nick (whom we met in Zürich) is visiting us from the US this week so we took him hiking in the Pfalzerwald. The hike was really beautiful with a touch of fog to make the forest a little mysterious. We did end up getting lost and adding a few miles to our trek, as usual, but it was a good time. We also brought along our friend Eric and his dog Maya. Maya was a trooper and didn't complain once, unlike the rest of us. :)



Here's Maya, sitting in a puddle at one of the lookouts. Unfortunately it was really foggy out across the hills so the view wasn't worth much but Maya didn't care.



Back into the forest:



This is blurry, but I think it's neat:



Eric and Nick, following us and hoping we'll get them out of the forest eventually:



I'm not sure if this is lavender or something that looks a lot like it but it was growing up over the trails and was really pretty:



Nick and Martin (Maya's in there too). I really like this one:



Sorry, no picture of us drinking schorles at a hut in the middle of the forest! Rest assured we did drink wine schorles, I just forgot to take a picture of it.

Montenegro

Our last day trip from Dubrovnik was to Montenegro. We booked with a company called Amico Tours, which I'd highly recommend. We had a private car with a driver and he drove us down the coast, stopping in the towns of Kotor and Budva. As soon as we crossed the border into Montenegro, we stopped for a little photo shoot. The coast of Montenegro consists of 2,000 meter-high mountains dropping right down into the ocean. It's gorgeous. And sometimes there are little villages right on the coast.



And of course I found a cat!



After our brief picture stop we drove on to the town of Kotor. Kotor, along with its wall, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The wall of Kotor was built in the 6 century or earlier and is the third longest wall in the world, the longest being the great wall of China and the second longest being a wall in Ston, Croatia (which we had driven by the previous day but didn't take a picture of). The fortifications of Kotor were built up the mountain behind Kotor to protect it. Unfortunately I did not get a good picture of the walls. It was an option to walk along the wall to the top of the mountain but that involved 1300 steps and it was hot and humid out so we opted to stay in the town.



This is the best picture we got of the walls, you can see them going up the mountain:



And I found another cat. There were a lot of cats in Kotor, there were T-shirts being sold with the logo "The Cats of Kotor" and pictures of cats on them. It was my kind of town!



Some pics of the mountains behind the town:



On our drive to the next town, Budva, we stopped for a photo opportunity above the town of Kotor. No town on the ocean is safe from cruise ships in this part of the world! Great view from up here otherwise.



I didn't take many pictures in Budva but we had this amazing lunch there at a place called Jadran which consisted of the biggest plate of mussels I'd ever gotten - for just 10 euros! The beer and wine there were also cheaper than where we live in Germany! This was the first place I've ever been to where beer and wine were cheaper than in the Pfalz. 2 euros for a 0.5 liter of beer and 1 euro per deciliter of wine. Crazy. Be sure to get to Jadran when you're in Budva.



Budva was similar to Kotor in that it had narrow streets with little shops but it was more crowded and touristy. Since there were so many people around I didn't take any decent photos. It also has I think 35 beaches to enjoy (Martin went to one of them while my dad and I wandered around the town). And out of a total population of 18,000 people, 500 of them are millionaires. So, the coast is lined with luxury yachts. It's a playground for the rich and famous. Cute town, glad I went, but Kotor was more interesting.

And here are some pictures of our ferry ride across the narrowest part of the bay on the way home. Montenegro is a beautiful country! We have to get back there some day.

Mljet

During our Croatia trip we decided to spend 3 nights on the island of Mljet. Mljet is a beautiful, wooded, hilly island with a huge National Park at one end of it. There are two large saltwater lakes in the National Park that you can bike and walk around. On our first day on Mljet we rented bikes from in front of our hotel in the village of Pomena and biked around both lakes (almost). Below are lots of pictures of the scenery (and us) around the lakes.



Dad, resting on the neat rocks:



Dad really liked the rocks.



Our lunch view:



On our second day we chose to hike from Pomena to Polace, first walking along the lakes and then turning off through the woods and over the hill then down into Polace, which is another village on the ocean. The hike is 4 miles one way, max, which is plenty when it's hot and humid out.



The view coming down the hill into Polace:



The tiny village of Polace (lots of good seafood to be eaten here though!). It's a one-street town. The first picture below is of some Roman ruins.



Sunset from our hotel, the Odisej (it's the only hotel on Mljet, it's a little outdated but the service is amazing and you can't beat the views!).



Our hotel "pool". All hotels have a strip of coast and a roped-off area in the ocean for swimming. It's kind of nice.



Our private ferry ride back to mainland Croatia. Another gorgeous day! I could sit on boats and enjoy the views forever.