Balvarian Sauage & Salty bread

Well it's rude not to isn't it :)

Munich & sunshine- a perfect combination to start a 5 day break :)

We meet up with Gordy & CC who brought Iona & Shona into town. G&C must have been camera shy as I've not got a snap of either of them, which is strange given how quiet & bashful Gordy is!

Never to miss a party Doug & Kirsten also flew in to join us. We all meet up in the St Peter's platz before Dougie decided it was entertainment time - nice try fella.

The weekend wasn't destined to be all happy. A sobering trip to Munich's North East side had us visiting Dachau the first Nazi concentration camp. The camp stands quiet & somber as a memorial to those that suffered so much - for more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp

Returning to Munich after a night in Gutung (The Finley's souther suberb) we headed for the English Gardens, Munich's Hyde Park were a great morning visit. Being some 10kms in length we went to find wheels & hopped on 2 rental bikes to explore. City goers were out enjoying the weather & by early lunchtime the Beergardens were starting to fill up with weekenders & tourists alike.

Instead of partaking in more beer & sausage during the afternoon we made tracks for the Austrian border town of Fussen & it's fairytale castle countryside & picturesque scenary. We travelled down by train, taking the countryside in as it went by. We spent much of the early trip avoiding being given greif from old grumpy locals keen to shut the drafty open train windows. I let them enjoy the after effects of too much Sausage & cloudy Weisbeer instead!

Neuschwanstein castle is situated in the town of Hohenschwangau 5kms from Fussen. We checked into a local B&B & went for an evening stroll. There's a father & son thing going on in Hohenschangau, with both sides of the valley decorated in these grand buildings. If you want more history click on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein


Karina & I ate Deer Goulash & Gnocchi in a delightful local restaurant before crashing early. We been warned about the tourist buses arriving from 10am onwards so up early & 1st in line to buy tickets. The hike up into the mountains had the heart pumping & the sweat going but it was infinitely more fun than an experience than taking a bus to the top.

The interior is magnificently decorated with every surface painted, carved or cloth covered. The only let down of the castle is that given it's size, it is incomplete. The King's death halted building so most of the buildings are actually unfinished & inaccessible. What was on display however was just the dreamland world that he had tried to create.

Brussels, beers & Bruge

A superb sunny bank holiday weekend in Belgium with Vanny & Rashid, our weekend tour guides :) was relaxing & educational too. Karina & I explored as much as we could given the 3 day time limit we had.

1st port of call was the near by Waterloo memorial, basking in the sun south of Brussels.

we then headed into town to explore the centre of the capital.


Of course it wasn't all site seeing either. Waffels, Ice cream, Chocolates & beers all washed down an array of main course delights.


Day 2
Chez Van Gough

then Chilling in Mons post a long lunch, the heat knocked us out for a while!


Our final day of exploration was Brouge, smaller than Brussels but significantly more picturesque.


Canals & squares fill the city centre


Finally, on route home we stopped at Ypres for a round robin tour of a few World War I sites. However, with limited time & poor historical geography we found it ifficult to find our way around.

Storm hits 1 !

Where has the year gone? was the topic of initial conversation for everyone, except P&H. The Saturday was a kids affair spent with other young families. Mum brought Uncle David along & even Barry & Lyn popped in too, so it turned into a right old social catch up.

Saturday pm turned into a more parental celebration & with Storm sleeping off day one of the B'day wkd P&H set about the demolition of numerous bottles of vino & port. Sunday morning saw P looking v baggy, much to my amusement.

Storm received his first Rugby ball from us & immediately set covering it in dribble & snot before off loading it to dad in scrum half pass of notable style.

Fitzy, Christie & Louis gave the little fella a fab little "rocking/ running" motorbike. The self evident pictures show how much he wasn't enjoying his 1st ride....... many more to hop on me thinks !


The proud, but hungover parents then proceed to help him take her for a spin


We escaped before more guests arrived to enjoy the spring sun & unseasonable delicious weather.

Val D'isere

1st week of March & the Robinson/Hatchard clan traveled to France. Up at 3am (the photos are banned) & out from rainy Gatwick we arrived early into the picturesque setting of Val D'isere.

A sunny start to the week quickly deteriorated & the weather quickly closed in on day 2. 3 icy, snow filled days followed leaving the trees & lifts frozen & white when they finally appeared from the white out conditions.

Not to be deterred we skiied & boarded the fresh powder ably guided down the slopes by dad's florescent 80's all in one suite, now fashionably back in style!

& celebrated too

Val's evening entertainment included a fantastic (-ally cold) aerial display battle with Pro riders & skiers all competing in the falling snow for a big air prize.... what ever that is?


The sun returned on our final day & Karina's rapid progress in her 1st week on the slopes joined us to ski high above the valley cloud on La Fournet glacier.

Video from the Top of the world

Relaxing Lake Chapala

Stunning scenery idyllic setting & just the 2 of us! one of the benefits of being out of season. A retreat high above lake chapala was the location of our final evening.

We explored the Aztec sculptured grounds & peaceful yoga platforms before we relaxed with an hour long full body massage & a swim in thermal baths set WITHIN the Aztec platform.