Lake Bled

About halfway between Salzburg and our final destination in Croatia we stopped in Lake Bled. The lake is a famous tourist attraction in Slovenia because it is quite scenic with the mountains as backdrop.

 The water has a green blue color

A good time for lunch at a restaurant by the lake. It was super busy with many tourists and we were lucky to find a parking spot. The cold Union beer  "Radler" was really refreshing on a hot summer day and it would become the favourite drink of our vacation

Waiting for lunch to get ready

A last look at the lake before leaving

When we finally made it to our final destination Medulin at the tip of the Istrian peninsula it was getting late. When we walked to the beach it was almost dark

Salzburg

After a nice breakfast we took three hours to explore the old town.

The river Salzsach used the be a trading route on which the city became weatlthy

At noon we hopped in the car again and crossed the Alps towards Slowenia

Last Day of School

The last day of school ended with a church service at the church two blocks from the school.

 Then it was time to start the big road trip together

We had thought to leave right after school but there was a problem with the minivan we had rented so we started at 2 pm and not at noon as planned. Since traffic was bad we then made it to Salzburg - our first stop - just when it turned dark.

The Washington Girls

With Christoph and Shika in town we met Martin and Kelly for dinner and the five girls that were all born in Washington DC and know each other from there had a nice evening together

The State Firemen Festival

This year the five yearly meeting of the firemen in Baden Württemberg was in Heidelberg. We had a look at the shows and activities in the old town

Mia had to try the bungee jumping at the small fair that was set up at the university square

Then she watched a demonstration how firemen rescue someone from a smokey room

The main exhibit was by the river - and included some music performances

A boat by the fire department of Mannheim showed what it can do

A tombola with a guaranteed bag of gummy bears - what not too like about this

Lots of old fire trucks from the 1920'ies and 30'ies

 An impressive water cannon

The highlight was the ride on a lift that went 40 m high. Well worth the 30 minute wait

The view was great and very unique

At the end we had another look at the old firtrucks

Summer Concert

The school year at the music school ended with a big concert. It was a bit crowded with a lot of performances but then there was the world cup final in the afternoon so everything had to be performed in the morning

The 10 K run

A large cancer clinic and research center organized a run in Heidelberg Neuenheim just across the river. A good opportunity to run with some colleagues - especially if the employer pays the entramce fee.
The finish line was marked by two big beer bottles - advertising alcohol free beer of one of the sponsors. There were plenty of it waiting by the finish lines.

 But first there was a bit of running to do on a hot summer afternoon

The run took about an hour - time for Mia to relax with a good book

 ..oh one runner has already finished

 After the run there was also real beer, food and some live band on a beautiful mild summer eveneing