EuroTrash 2018 - France, Estonia, Croatia, Romania and Bavaria

[EestiTiger]

Our first day 'at sea' was a leisurely trip up to Korcula. It is a regular stop on our island hopping and it was good to be back! It is a gorgeous little place. Beautiful compact old town that is easy to walk around and the marina a short stroll away.

We had a beautiful meal at LD Restaurant. Probably not the cheapest place but it was worth it. They had three types of olive oil on the table and loving the stuff, I was in heaven. Croatian EVOO is some of the best you can get.

 

[EestiTiger]

We headed to a smaller island just off Korcula for lunch the following day. It was somewhere new and we all loved it. Great food, wine and service. We spent the day eating, drinking and swimming. The restaurant came and picked us up at the marina but it is possibly to get a water taxi there too. If you have a couple of days in Korcula - I would strongly suggest you pop over to the Moro Beach on Stupe Island.

 

[EestiTiger]

We had another morning at sea heading up towards Hvar. The ACI Marina is located on another small Island just off Hvar called Parmizana. One of my favourite restaurants is on this Island so we had dinner there the first night we were in port. It is called Zori.

 

[EestiTiger]

We popped over to the little island of Vis for lunch and a quick look around. Vis is where the movie Mamma Mia 2 was filmed. It is another gorgeous little spot.

 

[EestiTiger]

Whilst we were being ferried from our boat to Hvar, we had 3 Canadair CL-415 Fire bombing aircraft circling us and taking water straight off Hvar. It was very very cool to watch up close. An olive grove was on fire the other side of the hill from the Hvar old town. It was just a constant procession of aircraft scooping up water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF8fCw_RJmI



Our last night before returning to Dubrovnik was on the Island of Mljet. It is one of our usual stops and we moor at a restaurant which is very convenient for the walk home.

 

[EestiTiger]

On our way back to Dubrovnik we had time for one last dip. It was also a chance to crack open a bottle of blue wine. Lets just say I took a hit for team by tasting it. Don't think it is going to exactly take off...



After our swim we had a late lunch at an amazing little place we haven't been to before. An Austria couple own it and there is no menu. Whatever is caught that day or is in season in the garden is the menu. We had a 9 course meal. Such a beautiful couple, location and food.

 

[RB]

Some great "off the beaten path" spots there for the Croatian Islands!

 

[EestiTiger]

I forgot to link to the restaurant in my last post. If you do find yourself cruising around the Croatia Islands I would recommend a visit. It is called Gastromare.

 

[EestiTiger]

Our last night in Dubrovnik was very low key. We stayed around the marina and only ventured up the street for a late small dinner. We flew home to Tallinn via Helsinki. We flew down in business but back in economy.

 

[EestiTiger]

Just in case traveling the whole day yesterday wasn't enough, we had an early morning flight across to the Estonian Island of Hiiumaa the next day. One of my friends had recently brought a summer house and we were heading over with his designer to start the planning for the renovation. We also used the opportunity for a small housewarming.

 

[EestiTiger]

We were only on Hiiumaa for one night so it was yet another airport trip the following day. There is no allocated seating on the flight so I ensured I had seat 1A on the return flight. With a straight view into the coughpit, this allowed me an up close look at the pilots doing their thing.

 

[EestiTiger]

I only had a few days left in Estonia at this stage so it was a flurry of activity catching up with and saying goodbye to as many as my friends as I could. It is always a sad time saying leaving Tallinn.

One last picture this summer of the old town.



Tallinn airport is such a compact cute little airport. It has its own library / book exchange and some pretty random things to do to kill the time.

 

[EestiTiger]

I had a the day in Munich before getting a train in the late afternoon to Regensburg. It was quite a hot day so I spent a fair bit of time hydrating and hiding from the sun. I have been to Munich a few times over the years so there was nothing I really needed to see.

 

[EestiTiger]

The next week was going to be spent visiting some smaller Bavarian towns that have been on my list of places to see for many years. I used the fantastic German trains to get around. My first port of call after Munich was Regensburg.

I was only here for two nights so had a lot to get around and see on my first full day. I went for a early morning run near the river through a nice park I found. It had this beautiful path through the trees.



I hired a bike later in the day and cycled down to the fair village of Matting! I found a nice beer garden and had a couple of beers for the energy to cycle back to Regensburg. It was a lovely way to spend the day.



A good friend insisted that I needed to visit some famous sausage hut for a meal so I headed here for a late lunch. It was good and cheap, despite the tourist hordes.



Early dinner that night was in a beer garden. I really doubt my morning run and bike ride did much considering my meals during the day...

 

[OATEK]

A little schweinhaxe couldn't hurt anyone - could it?!

 

[EestiTiger]

This is beautiful little Bamberg. Unfortunately I was only here for the day. It was one of the most beautiful little places I have been. I would love to come back and spend a bit more time here.




Bamberg is a beer town with a heap of breweries. I didn't have time to visit them all so chose one which turned out to be very cool. The beer was cheap, quite good and had the novelty of drinking in a glass out the front on the cobble stoned street.

Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer from Bamberg / Bavaria, UNESCO world heritage site - The original smoked beer specialty in Germany

 

[OATEK]

Totally agree, a lovely town. And they also have a great Waschesalon when you need it!

 

[EestiTiger]

I had three nights in the fair city of Würzburg. Unlike Bamberg - this was a wine town. Again, another really cute place and I am glad I spent a bit of time here. I would come back in a heartbeat.



It was a bit wet on my first day so headed to the 'Residence' a sprawling palace now a museum. I even went on a tour but unfortunately they had a strict no photography policy. I headed off for lunch to a cool little place before returning to the Residence for a tour of the wine cellar...



The cellar tour was really enjoyable. If you are in town I'd highly recommend it.



One of the local traditions, if that is the right word, is to enjoy some vino on the old bridge. Much like Bamberg you were even trusted, to some level with glass. A small deposit ensured you would return the wine glass. There are no seats or tables you just stand around on the bridge taking in the views and mingling with the other vino drinkers (as per the photo below).

 

[EestiTiger]

Overlooking the city is the Fortress. It is surrounded by vines.



Hmmm - here I am on the old bridge again...

 

[EestiTiger]

I grabbed a citycycle one day and rode it out into the vineyards and ended up a couple of towns downstream. Not sure I was meant to take a citycycle so far but it was fun.



It was thirsty work so post ride, I ended up on the bridge again... One of my good friends who traveled this way a few years ago, told me to see if they have any 'new season' wine available. They only stock it for a month. It was very cloudy and I was a bit dubious, but it was actually alright. I may have had more than one. All the wines I tried over the 3 days were a lot sweeter than the wines I'd usually drink, but they were all pretty good.