Time to hibernate

View from our balcony

Imagine you drive on a sunny road with a beautiful view. In front of you a tunnel is approaching. While you wonder what will happen, the jaw of the tunnel opens wide. Suddenly you are in the dark, losing orientation just following the white lines of the tracks on the ground hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel rather sooner than later.

When we arrived in Germany the sunny warmth of the last months turned into cold and wet weather. Chilly nights and rainy days announced the end of summer. Eventually the dog refused to leave the RV, and our mood was going south.

Birds too need a rolling home.

Camp sites in Germany do not meet the standards that we experienced in Norway or Sweden. Apparently camping in these countries is a preferred lifestyle to explore nature. In Germany camping often is only a low-budget alternative for people who have no garden. This doesn't help to lift our mood.

Wifi Internet connections are rare. If provided, signals often can only be received close to the reception, with us sitting outside in the cold or rain. Even then prices for accessing the web can be incredibly high. This halted all blogging activities for the last weeks.

Time to plan for a break. After having complained enough about the weather and Germany, we decide to settle down for the winter season. We arrived in Munich just in time for the famous Oktoberfest. We opted for a holiday apartment in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the edge of the wonderful Alps, far enough from the Oktoberfest to avoid all the drunken people. Luckily we can park Ronda in front of the apartment house. So, we can enjoy a settled life without abandoning our faithful vehicle.

Depressing weather near my parents' home.

Shortly after we have arrived the rainy summer turns into a Golden October similar to the Indian Summer that is typical for this region. Being so close to impressive mountains I cannot resist having relaxing mountain hikes and spending a quiet time in nature. Time to set down the impressions of the last months and plan for the future.

Our original plan was to spend the winter in Spain living in Ronda to avoid the cold season here. Enjoying nature in Germany and the relaxed lifestyle in the vacation area of Garmisch made us change our mind to set up our home base here, and start new adventures from here. We have started searching for an apartment and hope to find one soon, so JY can plant her bulbs before the first frost arrives.

Same mountain, this time revealing the dragon's breath.

Today we booked our tickets to KL. Next will be to look for a winter home for Ronda and get her hibernated. Then we can head off to Asia.

Thanks to all readers who followed us on our exciting trip through Scandinavia. I hope you enjoyed the stories. I will interrupt this blog until we reach the end of the tunnel and face again the warm spring sun, ready to head off for new adventures.

Kreuzeck mountain overlooking Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A perfect place to contemplate.