T'was a nice end of summer, with things in motion and stuff constantly going on. This is the feature of my girlfriend and her family, with whom my usual August heat getaway spanned over almost 2 months this time.

Plenty of that time was spent in a country house in the southern part of Germany. We were navigating our way on bicycles, and the way often led through the nearby lake, providing a bathing stop - sometimes with a cafe opened on our side of the shore.

The cats were unavoidable and followed us everywhere. Which was good since they were enjoying their time outdoors. I've had some troubles with an allergy quite expectantly, but it seemed under control up till the end of the trip.

Sometimes we've found ourselves in very strange places, like this one biergarten oriented specifically towards cyclists and bikers.

The other times we've appeared on Polish streets, on Swiss lake shore, on top of the Austrian Alps. Reaching everywhere on trains from our strategic points.

My collection of favorite places is extended by two. First is the Church of Ulm that is a magnificent building: one can climb at the top of the highest spike in Europe and enjoy the bombastic stained glass window interiors.

The other is the town of Goslar, that is as nice as Bruges (maybe more), but not by far that crowded, and feels like a live cozy town, not like a soulless touristic attraction.

Pity we could not get into the mines this time. The tours were already full by the time we got there, and anyways, there were no tours in English. As we were told, some of them are, but only in June to August time.

It was a pleasant and productive workation, despite all odds.