Now with my vacation nearly finished, it seems to be time to put together a few of my impressions.

The landscape here is really breathtaking. I like it a lot and have found quit a few places where I could imagine to live myself. The more rough scenery along the coast is rather nice and impressive. But the more I did like the White Mountains and the Green Mountains. Forest around … that is me! A nice lake surrounded by trees and a house close by the lake, That is what I would go for …

The people over here are rather nice and friendly! I’ve never had trouble and found quit a lot of exceptional friendly and helpful individuals. Getting in contact and even talking about the one or other more critical point like the coming up US Election was done easy and I enjoyed these dialogs a lot.

But … and that is not said with some bad intention …. People over here are different.

I can’t express it better. They are not wrong, not strange and not at least a bit of bad …. Just they are different.
Sometimes loud and the one or other time a bit superficial for my feelings. But never wrong!

Maybe too words now with less sense …. But truly! I liked my visit here and the things I have seen very much.

It was somewhat early that year when my brother came up with the news that he had bought some reasonable priced GPS by following some info he had found on the net about this device could easily loaded with a bigger variety of all the famous navigation software packages like TomTom, Navigon or iGo.

Great I said, but didn’t really go into it as for since my time at the German Air Force (no, I wasn’t a pilot) I’m trained in finding my directions by using some good old maps.

So all the years, on all my journeys and trips I’ve never needed more than some more or less recent map about the area I was going to cruise and I never got lost. But it wouldn’t have been my brother coming back to it again and again … at that point we both a very much alike!

Hey have a look an what I have done with it again and again …. until the day he called me with the news: "I’ve ordered one for YOU!!"

Great :-/   That is my brother!  A 100 Euro for nothing I thought!

For what would I ever need a GPS for?! It came like it had to came. I did put it aside all the time, until shortly before this vacation now when my brother told me about he would have some North America Map for me.

Ok, why not I thought and did take it with me finally.

Now believe it or not. This little device does a great job … All the time I keep it navigating me so far. And besides one single issue when the info where to go wasn’t really clear - the good old map did help - I have nothing to complain about it’s route suggestions.

Guess there is a "sorry and thanks" necessary when I will be home again and being able to tell my brother about.

I think that I here recently talked about me buying a push bike. Now being a sworn in real biker, I have to confess that I’m not really trained to use some. My only memory  about using one last, goes back to a really lovely day trip, I did together with friends while staying with them as part of a vacation trip in 2005.

Ok, every beginning is hard, so was mine. Getting the body warm and out of hibernation and finally getting familiar with the near gear, finding my own rhythm again during the first 10km was a need. While the next 20km weren’t a big deal anymore. Then we had to return because of upcoming rain …. What a pity!

Sure, and I’m honest at this point! Although increasing fuel prices lower the fun using the real bike, the sonorous sound of my with  98PS powered Suzi is more like my taste. But from time to time … doing it yourself … seems not really bad to me anymore.

This morning  the mild and sunny conditions are back and I’m aware that I should feel more gratefully about. Just I’m sure that the previously planned 4 to 5 days timeframe for a motorbike trip until the end of the week into the alps will now hardly work out anymore. :-/

Hmpf!!

Anyway thats a great chance for another day trip and I guess I will grab it now!