Holiday bike tour – Five Rivers – FünfFlüsseRadweg

Perfumes for this week were mostly the same, i just took a decant of Eau de Rochas on tour. But when i got home, i wore Fiore dell Onda, Givenchy III and Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche

nice historic renaissance houses, the Ludwig-Donau-Main-Channel

the old railway track was made a bike lane, view of the „Steinerne Brücke“ in Regensburg, cooling our feet and river views

drinkable water fountains on the way, the cells in the Fronfeste, typical views. from Frankonia

This week we went on our first longer bike tour, beginning on sunday. We drove to Wendelstein near Nürnberg , parked the car and started our adventure. The first day was a shorter ride to Schwaig, but we visited a bit of Nurnberg city and had some cake and coffee.

Monday was the longest and hilliest part of the tour, 75km in the scorching heat with 36C. Gladly there was a lake, where i took a short swim to cool off. The river we followed was the Pegnitz, which was a lovely meandering river and luckily there was also a bit of shadow. In the afternoon we reached our destination Amberg, where we booked a room in the Fronfeste, a former historic jail. We got the jail directors suite, which was nice and roomy and thankfully also cool! After a beer. and some Schweinebraten with dumplings we were soon fast asleep….

Next day we biked along the Vils river, some part of the tour was an old railway track and it was mostly flat, so the 80km were not to exhausting. After a stop in Kallmünz with some Leberkäs in a bun we finally reached Regensburg, where we had a room in the historic part of the town near the Danube river. We did a bit of sightseeing and had a nice vietnamese dinner.

The next day was a shorter ride, about 55km to Riedenburg along the Danube, the Altmühl and the Donau-Main-channel. Lots of views and old castles to see. Nice meal with Schnitzel and potato salad in a historic town center.

Thursday we went to Neumarkt along the historic old Ludwig-Donau-Main-Channel, built in the late 1800 by the first King Ludwig of Bavaria. In just 10 years they finished over 170km of this channel, its unbelievable! The path mostly went along the channel, so it. was an easy ride. We had a room in the St. Josef cloister, which was simple, but clean. Dinner was indian food.

Friday we rode back to our car, had another Schnitzel in the town where we had parked, bought some lokal sausage (Nürnberger Stadtwurst) and drove home again.

This was really a great tour, that i can recommend. Its not too difficult, mostly flat, no great inclines, great bikelanes and wonderful nature and rivers to see! There are enough beergardens and restaurants on the way, so you cannot starve, although we mostly. bought some buns from the bakery or the butchers for lunch…

Weekly diary and Easter holidays

Thankfully this week was a shorter one because of the holidays. The weather got nicer every day, so i wore more fresh and springlike scents. Starting with Sens & Bois, Pour La Belle, Womanity, my special mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre ( you should try this, soo good), Chypre Siam, Scherrer and Doe in the Snow

Views from a very long walk around Ludwigsburg

On my plate I had pasta with turkey-tomato-sauce, lots of leftovers from the freezer, a Falafelburger on our long walk plus icecream and a burger with fish fingers and salad. Saturday was pasta again, this time with shrimps, miso butter and bottarga. Sunday we ate lots of braided easter bread with ham and hardboiled eggs plus persian celery-beef ragout with lots of parsley and mint.

This time we stayed at home over the easter holidays, so we just relaxed, watched videos, took some walks. The long walk on Good Friday was nearly 18km, so i was really exhausted and went to bed very early. I also took some time sewing some sleep shorts from a green seersucker fabric and finally started with my bike-clothes in earnest. I also managed to bike twice that week to work, which is not a bad thing, because this means nearly 90km biked!

Morning view on my bike commute, cold, but sunny

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were a combo of Fils de Dieu and Roma (works great), Scherrer EdT, Sens & Bois, Chanel No 19, Aromatics Elixir, Choc de Cardin, vintage Janine D and Untitled L´Eau for a warm and sunny sunday.

My Brompton Mortimer got his first spring outing today

We did not spend too much time in the kitchen, because we had some leftovers, but we had red cabbage with balsamico and ducks breast, scrambled eggs with kimchi, fresh truffle tortelli with salsa ai funghi plus a big salad of fennel and oranges, some other pasta for sunday and tete de veau with sauce ravigote and potatoes.

I tried to get my ebike to work again, sadly the display did not work anymore, the battery is too old now. So we ordered a new battery and hope we can repair it ourselves. Otherwise i have to buy a new display control panel for 100 euros, which is not so nice. We ´ll see how it goes. I was hoping to commute by bike next week with the milder temperatures, but this will have to wail.

My fitbit Versa also tried to die on me, because the display was falling off the housing, but my boyfriend managed to glue it back in place, so it still works, but i am looking for a new tracker, maybe this time a Garmin, i am still undecided.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were Chanel No5 L’Eau, Chypre Siam, Pour La Belle, Womanity, Scherrer EdT, Camelia Chinois, What I did on my holidays and Dryad, of which I finally got a used bottle. I like Dryad quite a lot, it’s such a great scent with herb notes and a bit of animalic background on my skin.

On my plate were more zucchini, this time fried and a batch of pickled zucchini. Plus chicken with zucchini and potatoes. I made a lot of Hummus with pumpkin seed oil and Shakshuka on Sunday.

We went cycling on Saturday, this time along the Siebenmühlenweg, the valley of seven mills, then further along the river Aich and then along the Neckar until we reached Esslingen, 48km in all. We had lunch in a nice beer garden and later a big coffee with icecream. Thankfully we decided to go on Saturday, because today it’s raining nearly all the time.

I spent some time working on my handwriting and trying out my new fountain pens from TWSBI, the Go and the Swipe. I like the Swipe a bit better, but both are writing really nice.

Weekly diary

Perfume this week was Dryad, Tea Rose, Elephant, Untitled L Eau, Camelia Chinois (still try to thunk this bottle) and Fils de Dieu. The NST community project was backup bottles, so I wore Covet a d Aromatics Elixir. I could have worn L Air de Rien or Theo Fennel, but it was too warm for them.

On my plate I had a lot of different foods. A salad with borlotti beans, bulgur and bell peppers. Greek avgolemono soup with rice. Sausage salad with kimchi, green bean salad with Miso and roast sesame. I made pasta with zucchini sauce, zucchini fritters and chickpea cutlets (from post punk kitchen blog). We ate out in a Greek beer garden on the Neckar River and have gyros and salad. Sunday was korean pork belly with rice and kimchi plus a Asian cucumber salad.

We did another bike tour on the Neckar bike route, but this time we rode home another route, which was a bit hilly. I managed most of the inclines, but had to walk my bike on two steeper hills. Still not totally fit, my heartrate goes up too fast.

Sunday was sent on finally making the taxes, which I hate. Although I always get a good amount of money back, so I dont know why I procrastinate. Well, it’s done now and I have time until next summer.

I also bought some new sewing patterns, because I want to try making a swimsuit. This will be interesting.

Weekly diary and along the river Enz

Perfumes this week were Beachy, Agent Provocateur, L Air de Rien, Chypre Mousse, which my colleague liked a lot. Cardin Choc, Doe In the snow, Ninfeo Mio, which survived a whole day of cycling and Camelia Chinois after shower.

On my plate I had Borscht from the freezer, gyros with cream sauce and fries, boiled potatoes and herbed quark, sausage and kimchi salad, pasta with zucchini sauce and fried bread crumbs plus tinned sardines. We had a big icecream while cycling and later baked eggplant slices with mozzarella on top.

This weekend we went cycling along the Enz River, went to Mühlacker by train and cycled along the river to Besigheim, where the Enz disappears in the Neckar River. Nice sunny weather and some beautiful scenery. I am quite content with my brompton bike, it’s easy to transport and rides like a bigger bike. It’s not great at hills, but I think this problem would be the same with a regular bike. It’s my legs, that are not in great shape, because I never was much of a biker. But there is always room for improvement, I think. And I still tire more early after my covid infection, so I try not to strain myself too much.

Weekly diary Neckar River cycling

Perfumes I wore were One Love, Covet, Aromatics Elixir, Miss Dior, which sadly wears me and not the other way round, again my mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre, What I did on my holidays and Batucada.

On my plate I had fried zucchini and goat cheese, a red beet quiche, red beet hoummous, burrata with cucumber, lamb brats with potato salad, Krautwickel with potatoes, a big falafel and pasta with zucchini. Yes, it’s zucchini season. We have five!!! plants in the garden.

We did our first two day cycling tour along the Neckar River from Besigheim to Heidelberg. First day with sunny weather. Had a lunch break in Bad Wimpfen, which has a beautiful medieval center and slept in a small hotel in Hassmersheim after a big dinner at a rustic restaurant. 50 km the first day.

Second day started grey, but thankfully not wet. We had a break for a cone of icecream in Ebersbach and then went along to Neckargemünd, where we had a big falafel wrap. It got sunnier around midday and we reached Heidelberg in sunny weather. The way home we went by train. 66km that day, and I managed all on my Brompton bike. This was really fun, and we are just planning the next weekend tour.

Weekly diary plus staycation

We had a week of holidays plus a big heatwave, so my perfumes were summery ones.

I wore a mix of Camelia Chinois and Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche twice, What I did on my holidays, Doe In the snow, Fico D Amalfi, a mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre, which I quite like. I wore Granville, but although I find it interesting it reminds me a lot of a clay ointment for sore throat my mother put ony neck as a kid. Hmmm, strange

Thankfully we did our bike tour along the Neckar River on Monday, because the next days it would have been too hot. We cycled from Kornwestheim to Zuffenhausen and then down the river to Besigheim. We had a drink outside and then took the train back home. It was the first longer ride on my Brompton and I coped well. At the end of the day we had cycled nearly 50km.

Tuesday we visited a friend in Ulm, ate Pizza outside and had some icecream later.

The next day we drove to Messkirch to visit Campus Galli. There they are building a medieval abbey from the 9th century with historical technology. It was a nice site to explore and maybe we will come again some years later to watch the progress.

The next days it was really hot, so we had to stay inside and I had time to finish some sewing projects. I made another teahouse dress from embroidered chambray and a Tessuti apron for the boyfriend, because he wanted his own kitchen apron.

I also made a Peppermint pocket shirt from the fabric above, but it was too stiff and a complete fail….

We had more time to cook so we had Risotto with chicken liver, mushroom tortilla and cucumber salad, sausage salad with kimchi, bulgur salad with Feta and peppers, bun noodle salad with minced meat and peanut sauce and homemade Focacchia.

In all, it was a nice week and we got some things done, so I am quite content with our staycation.

Weekly diary

Perfumes is wore were vintage Cinnabar, which my mother wore (this is so not me…), Margiela Untitled, AC Cafe Tuberosa,, for which I got a compliment from a male coworker, Felanilla for one of the first perfume loves after the rabbit hole, Monteil Secret Royal and Bottega Veneta

Early morning commute in the dark, Felanilla and homemade pizza

I did not a lot of cooking, ate lots of frozen leftovers, but we made pizza on Friday, had fried Maultaschen with kimchi and egg, a lentil salad with tuna, olives and pomegranate seeds and a big bowl of borscht on sunday

I biked to work two days and bought winter biking gloves, because my arthritis in my index fingers hit a lot plus a nice ride on my recumbent on Sunday with the boyfriend.

Watched Chesapeake Shores, which is the equivalent of chick lit. Still reading the Amuylet series. If you like all age fantasy, it’s a nice read. And I started socks for the boyfriend, which come along nicely.

Weekly diary plus quarantine

Perfumes I wore this week were L Ambre de Merveilles, L air de Rien, Fat Electrician, Bulgari Black, Dzing!, Fille en Aiguilles and Agent Provocateur

The doctors outdoor covid testing station, sunrise at my bike to work and New biking shoes

On my plate I had rabbit in vermouth sauce and polenta, chili con Carne, veggie burger, Korean pork belly with cabbage and rice and lentil soup

We spent the first two days quarantined and just got outside for our covid test. Funnily our physicians practice has a small terrace, so all patients wait on the sidewalk outside to be tested there…. I biked to work two days and a third time Sunday with the boyfriend, so I could train a bit on my recumbent bike. There will be some unknown sore muscles tomorrow… And as my old walking shoes I used for biking fell apart we got to a local bike shop and I bought my first real biking shoes with cleats plus a waterproof jacket and a padded boxershort. Now I am set for more biking in the colder months, because I don’t want to use public transport at the moment. I hope I will manage at least two bike commutes per week.

Weekly diary

Perfumes I wore this week were Café Tuberosa, Olympea, Coromandel, Vetiver Fatal, Memoir Woman, Rose de Petra, What I did on my holidays, Ninfeo Mio amd Tommy The Girl.

I did not cook a lot. We had pumpkin soup, a chicken curry with tamarind and coconut, damson crumble and cauliflower salad. Ah, and fried Maultaschen with egg and kimchi. We went to eat at the Greek restaurant and the waiter did not even bother to wear a mask at all… Saturday we met with friends at a Thai to eat outside and I had Pad Thai.

Effects of riding a recumbent bike for the first time

I tried to ride my recumbent and sadly fell, as I tried to do a u-turn. It did not even hurt, but at night my knee swole and next day the surgeon said it was the Meniskus again. So I had some rest and now it feels okay again. I tried again yesterday and managed nearly 10km without any accident. At least I had time to watch some Netflix

Weekly diary

I was still mostly warm, so I wore Bracken Woman, Fils de Dieu, Acqua di Sale, Vintage Miss Dior and Chanel No19, Chypre Mousse, Gucci No3 and finally Dzing! for a wet and cold sunday

More biking and some fried apple rings with ice cream

We still have lots of tomatoes, so we ate Caprese salad, fried salmon steaks with cucumber salad, zucchini with tomato, pasta with homemade Bolognese sauce and Agriade de St. Gilley with beans and pasta.

I did a lot of biking this week. On Saturday the boyfriend and I biked 20km to a Besen Wirtschaft (the wine producers are allowed to serve food and wine to the public for just some weeks a year, so very rustic food). We ate traditional svabian tripe and roast potato and apple fritters for dessert.

On Sunday we spent much time on the couch, watching Once upon a time in America.