This post has two purposes.
The first is inspired by the Experienced Tutor saying he wants to receive Blog of the Year 2013 award. Being the pro-active gal that I am, I offered to create the award for him (and risk the wrath of the WP award police). So, here it is: BOTY13 Award!
The only rule of the award is: tell us about about the most unlikely story you have ever told Written, spoken, sung, oil painting, modern interpretative dance are all acceptable. You can pass on the award if you think the recipient will appreciate its origins. (And people, if this takes off, you saw it here first.)
The second is to share some of our photos from Germany. We saw so many sights, had so many cakes, and drank so much beer and wine. After a while, I got used to the autobahns, and even overtook a Corvette! (ok, so it was stopped at the time…)
My favourite sights were the churches, monastries, and fairytale castles. We loved the UNESCO-listed Maulbronn monastery complex, with the delicate patterned ceilings, silent corridors and dim interiors. Then, there were the castles with their medieval, faux-medieval, and not-so-medieval decorations (check out the dragon from Burg Eltz!). Sadly, we couldn’t take photos inside the castles, so you’ll have to imagine the heavy wooden beams, painted wooden ceiling (in Burg Eltz), armours and shields, heavy period furniture and dark family portraits. Then, there were the famous rivers and mountains, with towns, cities and villages (and more castles!) nestled in between. I still look at a map of Germany, and think the names come from a long-ago story: Rhein, Mosel, Nektar, Lake Bodensee, Black Forest, Heidelberg, Moselkern, and Trier with its Roman monuments.
And lastly, two photos from the Mercedes Benz car museum in Stuttgart. It even won over a non-car nerd like me by the range of Mercedes cars on display. I particularly liked the Popemobil, the Gullwing, the first car engine ever built, and crazy-fantastical first-ever aeroplane.
Tagged: Blog of the Year award, blogger award, blogging, Burg Eltz, castles, fairytale castles, Germany, Gullwing, Heidelberg, Lichtenstein, Maulbronn, Mercedes Benz museum, monastery, Porta Nigra, postbox, Stuttgart, Trier, UNESCO, WP police
Saucy Gander. Adventuress in the kitchen and beyond. Amateur cook, baker, traveller, occasional dinner party hostess. I read copiously, blog unprofessionally, and eat almost incessantly. I am an un-trendy resident of Sydney inner west, have never eaten a cake pop, and don't have a DSLR. 
Saucy gander 
What can I say – thank you so much. I have never had an award made because of my moaning and whinging – in fact, I have never had an award made in my honour.
I will do my best with the unlikely story.
Hope the WP Police don’t start cyberstalking us. . .
PS Lovely photos – poor Germany got left behind in my excitement at the award!
Haha, no worries, have fun with your new award / toy 😀
(it was fun to create the award, win/win!)
What great travel photos! Fantastic to get over there to see the sights. (will you be sharing your culinary experiences as well? please say “yes”!) And how lucky ET is to have you on his side. I won’t tell WP police if you don’t 😉
I have been looking up German food recipes since we got back! There will undoubtedly be something about cake, and flammkuchen, bretzels, spaetzel, and pork, and more pork, and pork knuckles, and pork….. 🙂
Think I’ve only been to Germany three times. Yet, I won’t forget the autobahns! And I wasn’t even driving.
They are terrifying for a novice! A car appears in the distance as a speck, and next moment the Corvette/BMW is racing past as though we are stationery (we were driving at 130km)!
Hey, have you closed off comments on your still life photos? Wanted to say I like the photo of biscuits…. Have a good weekend!
Yes, I have closed comments. Thank you, re w/end. Going swell. Hoping the rest of yours is as good. Well, even better!
Love the photos, I haven’t been to Germany yet but it’s on the list 🙂
Definitely worth going, people in the know say I have to go to the Christmas markets in Frankfurt. And we didn’t make it to Berlin, which people rave about too.
So many places, so little time (and money).
Gorgeous set of photos. Thank you for letting me travel vicariously through your great pictures. 🙂
re: german recipes, please don’t forget authentic gingerbread,(nuremberg). oh,yes,can I come next time? The cliff castle needs hours of contemplation.
Yes, of course you can come next time, there are so many castles in Germany, we will need another trip. Thank you for the reminder about gingerbread! How could I have left it off the list?
Wow. I’ve never been to Germany but now you’ve whet my appetite for travel even further! So glad that you guys had a good time. Great photos. Hm. Now, all I need is enough money to fuel my wanderlust. I need to win lotto.
By the way, I love the BOTY13 award. It almost sounds political. Can’t wait to hear the results of the ‘unlikely story’ specification!
Lotto, especially if the money actually comes in a truck! I like the idea of a political BOTY13, like Kevin07 but better, I also can’t wait for the ‘unlikely story’! 😉
I love this view from outside, really! You have been right in my corner of Germany and I think I identified most places 😉
The autobahn theme – always funny. I think it’s really a thing you get used to. When we’ve been in Britain this summer the highways there felt like a joke for us and the narrow country roads were more of a challenge for us.
Your corner of Germany was amazing, and it’s fun to recognise places in other people’s holiday photos isn’t it? I am loving your photos from Wales!
And yes, the roads were very different in Scotland too, especially the one lane roads…