Yeah it's almost the end of autumn now...but I am feeling more like winter already...it's around 5 degree in the morning now....just wondering how it will be in the winter...:-(
Everything seems running fast and faster, I was really busy recently as we prepare for the new release of our software. Also with german course for twice a week. But that's nice....it's getting closer to my going home in end of December....it's already less than 2 months to go now :-) I plan to stop by in Singapore, meet my mom and dad there, and spend three days exploring Singapore. I will spend one and half week in Malang then I will visit some friends in Jakarta and stay there for more or less one week. Hope everything goes as it plans..
My VT friend, Win, had an idea to have a fall foliage trip to the valleys along the Rhine river and we did it last weekend. I passed those areas twice by train, when I visited Trier several years ago and Heidelberg last August and I really admire it. It is so beautiful region with the Rhine and the valleys in both sides of the river, plus several castles on it. We expected several friends to join us, but unfortunately only the two of us finally made it. The weather was not in our side that day, it was cold (around 7 degrees even in the afternoon) and it was raining lightly, so it needs quite a strong courage to still go with the plan.
I met Win in Remagen, a town where he is currently building his new house. I just realized that after Bonn hbf the areas in the direction of Koblenz are already hilly areas. Our first destination was Bad Neuenahr and Ahrweiler. He showed me some nice spa resorts in Bad Neuenahr (it has Dorint and Steigenberger hotels) which is famous as thermal bath, spas and special clinics for the people with long term illness. We visited Ahrweiler, a small town surrounded by city wall. I thought that it is just a small fortress, but in fact it is really an old small town which has beautiful old german houses….really pretty ones. The wall is still complete and it is quite touristic, but more for local tourists. The shops were even open when we were there on Sunday.
Then we visited Maria Laach abbey, a beautiful Roman abbey dated from around 1000 AD. I do not really interested in church with Roman architecture before (because it looks plain) but Maria Laach is a different one, I like the small garden (it's called paradise) before we reach the main gate.
After that, Win drove me to Deutsche Eck and we walked around the city centre of Koblenz. It was a nice trip, I love the autumn feeling when I saw the brown-red-yellow color of the leaves, and it made me realize my buried passion (recently) to travel and explore new areas again. Now is 'nach dem Urlaub ist vor dem Urlaub' mode on!!
