Cycling in the Taunus

At this point I was living in Taunus, near my office and was cycling almost daily in the hills.  Here my Dad comes and visits to the Roman Fortress that's near by.

Luxenburg

With a friend from work, we decided to do to Trier and nearby Luxembourg.  On the way we stopped by the American cemetery where Gen. Paton and many fallen troops are buried.

Wank

Hiking the Wank in Garmisch.

Camping in Garmisch

In the summer I went down to Garmisch for a weekend trip.  Always liked going to the Bavarian city and for this trip I camped under the Zugspitz on the Austrian side of the border.

Römerkastell Saalburg

This is quite a cool place just north of Frankfurt in the Taunus.  It's a reconstructed Roman fort with  the buildings rebuilt the way it would have been when Roman troops were stationed along the Limes defending the realm.

http://www.saalburgmuseum.de/

World Cup in Germany

This was quite an event, the world cup was being played in Germany and the city of Frankfurt was a massive party.

Driving back from Italy

With my rental Audi, it was time to drive back home to Germany.  I did enjoy the Audi a lot and really pushed the car to the limit.

Pantheon

Roman Pantheon - I love this building.  There's something special in a building that has a whole on top and has been standing here since the Roman times.

Tuscan Landscape

Some photos of the Tuscan landscape on my Italian roadtrip.

Florence

Going down to Italy I stopped by Florence.  Funny thing was I didn't know the Italian name and had only German and Italian maps with me.  After that I started writing down the local names when traveling.

Italian Road Trip

Back in 2008, I rented a Audi A3, with only 3km on the odometer.  The clutch was stiff, and everything new.

I took it down to Tuscany, drove around on the small side street and passing hill-top villages, visiting Rome, Florence, Siena and finally coming back North though the Brenner Pass in Austria.

3000km and 7 days later, I retuned the car.  Happy and with the broken-in clutch.

Amsterdam

In October, before the winter would arrive, I made a day trip up to Amsterdam.  Stayed in a hostel that was quite a strange experience and then toured the harbor early in the morning.  I love waking up early in a city and walking around before the tourists show up.  It's the best time to have a coffee and see the color of the morning sun shine.

Bitche Citadel

For the dad's birthday we did a road trip to France to see the Bitche Citadel.  It's quite an impressive fortress with a lot of history.  The irony is that is was bypassed during WWII, so it wasn't really used.

German Summer

Hikes in Germany during the summer are quite nice.  The towns really shine and the countryside is very photogenic.