Pack your bags and dust off your passport. I’m taking you on a new adventure in Europe. My husband and I will be back traveling the back roads visiting charming small towns and a few famous city centers.
We will be driving through Germany, France and Austria. You can sit in the comfort of your home and pretend you are in the back seat.
Fall is a lovely time to be traveling…whether through the Black Forest, Alsace, the area around Lake Constance, through the mountain towns of Austria, or visiting well known cities such as Salzburg or Munich. Picturesque houses with window boxes overflowing with flowers and perhaps a castle. Wine roads and small villages, main squares and historic buildings.
Watch what your eating because I’ll entice you with food that may put on a pound or two. This trip will be about finding local markets where chefs get their fresh ingredients, traditional cuisine and a perhaps a few surprises, and one meal prepared by one of the most famous chefs in germany. From outdoor beer gardens to lovely fine dining, we will eat and drink well.
I am looking forward to sharing our experience with you about places you may or may not have visited. I hope you will enjoy the ride because we are up, up and away.
Back Road Journal 
Oh, how wonderful – I can’t wait! What a fabulous trip!
Hi Laura, It should be a wonderful trip. I hope the weather is nice so I can share the beautiful scenery. Thank you for your nice comment…I think you will enjoy following along.
Lucky, lucky, lucky!! I’ll be looking forward to all sorts of tempting food porn 🙂
One thing you can be assured of John, there will be lots of great food consumed on this trip and I will be taking lots of photos. Low light in restaurants is hard but I’m going to do my best to give you an idea of what awaits anyone that follows in our footsteps.
I cannot wait – until I can go there in person I will armchair travel through Germany and Austria with you. Happy Friday:)
Hi Adventurer, Happy to have you along on the trip. Thank you for your comment.
Bags are packed! Ready to go….
Hi Clanmother, Happy to hear your bags are packed, we are on our way. Thank you for your comment.
Sounds amazing!
Thank you Phil, hope you enjoy the adventure.
How exciting for you. I’m sure you’ll have the best time. Looking forward to tagging along in the backseat xx
Thank you Charlie, for your comment. I know it will be fun…glad to have you in the back seat.
Your trip sounds fabulous! Thanks for bringing us along on your European adventure!
Hi Daniela, Thank you for stopping by for a visit and your comment. Hope you will enjoy the adventure.
Gosh, thanks for inviting us, virtually speaking, along on the trip. I love it when someone else drives! Really looking forward to seeing the sights and eating new foods. And enjoying your company, of course! What a terrific idea – I’m looking forward to this.
Thank you John, for your nice comment. Glad to have you along…you can look out the window and leave the driving to us. We are going to have a good time and I know you will like the food.
Have a great holiday Karen. Shame London isn’t on your itinerary.
Hi Kay, Thank you for your comment. I’m sorry London isn’t part of the trip. Will only be in Heathrow to change planes.
Well I hope it’s a smooth transfer, but if there’s any delay, I live really close to Heathrow (though not TOO close), so give me a call!
Thanks Kay, I really do appreciate your kindness.
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me share your journey!
Hi Mary Ann, Thank you for stopping by and your comment. I hope you will enjoy the adventure.
What a great trip you have in front of you. Enjoy each and every minute, and I’ll be looking forward to what you share.
Hi Linda, I do think it will be a great trip. Hopefully the weather will be good so that I can share some nice photos with you. Thank you for your nice wish.
Wow! Have a great trip and I’ll enjoy my arm chair travel 🙂
Thank you, Susan. I think it will be lots of fun. Happy that you will be doing some arm chair traveling with us.
Can;t wait to share your journey. Sounds so wonderful. I love back road travel lin general and fall is always such a lovely time to explore. Happy travels!
Thank you Victoria, for your nice comment. The back roads of Germany and Austria are some of the most beautiful to travel on. Happy that you will be sharing the journey with us.
I’ve never been across the pond. I hope you have a wonderful and safe trip.
Thank you for your wish, Richard. If you have never been across the pond, maybe our adventure will have you thinking about doing it some day.
I’m so excited to ride along with you as you take this amazing journey. Fall is such a wonderful time to travel.
Hi Cathy, Glad to hear that you are excited to ride along with us. Fall is a lovely time of the year to travel in Europe. We should have some lovely scenery along the way to show everyone.
I can hardly wait to tag along!
Glad you will be tagging along with us, Marlene.
Yea!!!! Thanks so much for sharing………our adventure will be in April to Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Sicily and Malta…….you have wetted my appetitie. Glorious Photos!!!
Hi Emil, Thank you for your nice compliment…glad you like the photos. Happy to hear that I am getting you excited about your trip…I will be following it this spring.
I’ll be traveling next fall. I can’t wait!
Hi Chunklet, Fall is a great time of the year to travel. I know you are excited about your upcoming trip.
Oooh, I can’t wait! Thanks for taking us with you, Karen! 🙂
Hi Celia, I’m happy to be taking you along with us…it should be fun.
Hey thanks for the invite! I’m a great passenger – and I look forward to all this! You are so much fun.
Hi Kelli, I always look forward to good company in the backseat. I’m glad you are along for the ride…we will have a good time.
Wish we could be with you on this trip. Will you be there for Oktoberfest? We spent five weeks in Europe in 2010 seeing Italy, Paris, Prague, Budapest, Brugges and Amsterdam along with one week cruising on the Danube. You will love it. Not that you are seeing many places that we went, but you might be interested in my blog – reg45.wordpress.com (Our European Adventure, including Paris for one week). Bon voyage! While you are gone we will be in Mexico City, Morelia and Janitzio, Mexico celebrating Day of the Dead. That blog is – mexico1012.wordpress.com (should you ever decide to visit Mexico).
Hi Reg, We try to go to Europe every year. This trip will be fun because we are returning to some of our favorite places in Germany and Austria plus a few new ones. We always make sure to avoid Munich during Octoberfest…the crowds are too much. Have a good time in Mexico.
Looking forward to your upcoming blogs!
I am very excited to armchair travel with you. Have a wonderful trip!
Thank you Little Sis, for your nice wish. I’m happy that you will be enjoying the trip with us…we will have a good time.
I want to visit Europe again and glad that I can do it through you (some day I will make the trip again)! Can’t wait!
Hi Ming, Until you get back to Europe yourself, I hope that you will enjoy following ours. We will be traveling to some lovely places.
Simply can’t wait: priceless scenery guaranteed and lots of local autumnal food offerings, please 🙂 !
Hi Eha, I’m glad that you are looking forward the our adventure. The scenery will be beautiful and there will be plenty of autumnal food along the way. Enjoy!
That sounds incredible my friend, I’m already inside a suitcase ready to tag along 😉
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Hi Uru, There will be plenty of room in the car…glad to have you along.
I’ll be in the neighborhood… Hamburg. Look forward to your adventures…
Hi Wendy, I’m sorry that I am not going to be in your neighborhood. All my fellow Germany blogging friends live north of our travels. We will be in the same country…so close and yet so far away. There have been very few years that our travels to Europe didn’t include some part of Germany…we love it.
Travel safely and have fun! I look forward to reading all about the adventures 🙂
Thank you Tandy, for your nice wish. I’m glad that you are looking forward to our adventures…happy to have you along.
Oh how very exciting to be taking us a long for the trip Karen. I am looking forward to every step of the way.
🙂 Mandy xo
Hi Mandy, Happy that you are excited about joining us on the trip. I’ll make sure you follow every step of the way.
Looking forward to seeing your view of Europe. Wonderful shot from the top of the vineyard down into the valley. Was that in Alsace?
Hi Roger, I so enjoy our travels in Europe. I hope you will enjoy seeing it through my camera lens. I only take my point and shot but hopefully you will enjoy the photos. The vineyard was in Alsace.
Sounds like a wonderful trip, I think I recognised the Spatenhaus in your photo is it the one in Marienplatz, Munchen?
Hi Maggie, I think it will be a good trip. You did recognize the Spatenhaus in Munchen, just off the Marienplatz.
Sounds like this will be a nice ride 😉
Hi Mad Dog, It should be lovely along the back roads. I think it will be fun having everyone join me for the ride.
wonderful! i love your photos, so clear and vibrant.
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for stopping by for a visit and your nice compliment.
Travel safe, Karen, and send lots of photos!
No Fall trip for me this year, so I’ll be enjoying yours!
Thank you Marie, for your wish. I’m happy to share our fall trip with you. I’ll be sure to send lots of photos…hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Looking forward to it!
Hi Michelle, Glad to know you are going to be following along…I hope you will enjoy the adventure.
I am in the back seat with my packed bag beside me. I am so going to be enjoying this trip with you as the tour guide/
Hi Norma, I have a spot on the backseat for you and your bag. I’m looking forward to being your guide…I think you will enjoy the trip.
This should be spectacular! I can’t wait to go along for the ride!!!
Hi David, I think you will enjoy the trip…if the weather is good, it really should be spectacular. One thing I do know that come rain or come shine the food will be outstanding. I’m glad you are looking forward to the ride, grab a seat.
Have a lovely trip–my husband is considering bidding Cologne for his base in a few years–I am always up for an adventure!
Hi Stacey, Thank you for your wish…I know we will have a lovely time. I’m glad that you are coming along on the adventure. Germany is one of our most favorite countries to visit in Europe.
Your photos made me homesick in an odd kind of way! I hope you have a wonderful time. I’ve not been to Austria, so I will be intrigued to see your photos there in particular.
Hi Helen, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Austria and Germany have wonderful countryside. I hope we have sunny weather so that everyone can appreciate the beauty of where we will be traveling.
Sounds like a great trip – I’m packing.
Hi Larry, Happy to here that you are packing. I’m looking forward to having you along for the ride. I’ll think of you as we are winding and twisting on the high mountain roads without guardrails. The beauty is breathtaking but I’m going to try to not look down. LOL.
You are just the sweetest person in the world to take us along. Of course I am putrid green with envy but I am pushing that aside so that I can enjoy this “version” of the journey. I mean really…after all, you could have just gone, not told us about it or invited us along and then just mentioned it in passing when you got home and were writing about some elaborate, five course meal you decided to replicate from France. I can read it now:
“Whilst sitting in the Cafe de Jambon (yes, I am sure there is a Ham Cafe somewhere), savoring every bite of my five course meal, I realized that I could perfectly replicate this recipe, if not better it (please recall the fish tacos), for my readers…like Heather, whose pathetic little life doesn’t allow her to travel (unless it is to a 3rd world land where damn-devil-bugs like to bite her) to her favorite country in the world (France!) and sample the delicious fare that is tantalizing my own tastes buds this very moment, sitting here, in this cafe, in this bucolic village…in FRANCE. And here is the first step…”
So MERCI! for giving me a passport to enjoy this sojourn…I know I am going to love it.
xo
Where do I start Heather, but to smile and say that even though you are green with envy (I’m sure it is a lovely shade of green by the way) I’m glad you are going to enjoy following along again this year. You know me so well…there will be some multi course meals in Michelin starred restaurants. I like to take my readers to the best places to eat, you know. But we will also stop for cakes and coffee, some beers and pretzels and of course a glass of wine or two I’m sure while on this shared adventure. I always enjoy your comments…you have started by day with a laugh.
This is going to be a FUN trip! Your teasers have me really, really excited!
Hi MJ, I didn’t mean to tease…more like entice you to come along. I’m glad you are excited about following the adventure as I think it will be fun. Thank you for your comment.
Another fantastic trip is in store for us all, thanks to you, Karen. This should be beautiful and I cannot wait to see more.
Hi John, We will be going to some beautiful places. I do hope we have nice weather so that my photos can do justice to the lovely countryside that we will be visiting on this trip. I’m glad you are looking forward to the trip…thank you.
Karen have a great trip! I like these countries and their special cultures, I ‘m sure that your husband and you will enjoyed it too.
Thank you Rita, for your nice wish. I have to agree with you…these are some of our favorite countries to visit.
Have a great trip. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Hi Bonnie, Thank you for your wish. I know it will be a great trip and I’m happy that you will be following along.
Have a great trip. We are in Italy at the moment so our paths won’t cross. The weather is glorious for the moment though further north it might be different.
Thank you Suzanne, for your nice wish. I’m happy to hear that you are having lovely weather in Italy. I hope the weather is good…usually fall is a great time to travel.
My bags are packed and I am all set!
Thank you for taking us along Karen. I am in love with your photography and I know I will love every single picture
Hi Sawsan, There is room for your bags…glad you are coming along on this adventure. Thank you for your lovely compliment about my photos. I hope we have sunshine so that the photos will show the beauty of the countryside we will be traveling through.
Sounds like a fun-filled eating trip!
Hi Carolyn, I do think the trip will be fun. It will definitely be a food filled trip for sure. Thank you for your compliment.
I am now excited with your next post, looking forward to see stunning sceneries
Thank you Raymund, for your comment. I hope you will enjoy the journey through the beautiful countryside of Germany and Austria.
gorgeous pictures and what a wonderful trip, I can’t wait to see more pics of your adventure in Europe ^^
Thank you Trang Quynhm, for your nice compliment. Hopefully we will have wonderful weather so that I can share photos of the lovely countryside we will be visiting.
Wonderful – looking forward to “joining” you – safe travels!
Thank you Tanya, for your wish. I’m glad you will be joining us on our new adventure.
I love following along on your travels. Can’t wait to hear about the wine.
Hi Greg, I’m glad you enjoy following along on our journeys. We should be discovering some new and delicious wines to go along with all the good food we will be enjoying. I’m sure there will be a few good beers as well.
I can NOT wait! Bon Vacances!
Thank you Trina, for your nice wish. I know we are not we are not visiting your favorite country of Italy that you love so much but Germany and Austria are beautiful countries to visit. I hope you will enjoy following along on our adventure.
Sounds like a wonderful trip and I can’t wait to follow along.
Hi Mary, I’m glad the trip sounds good and I’m happy to hear that you will be following along.
Have a great trip! I can’t wait to follow along!
Thank you Jane, for your nice wish. I’m glad that you will be following our adventure.
My passport has been getting entirely too dusty this year. Seems this is a year of “house-stuff” but hopefully next year will be a year of “travel”. So, thanks for taking us along… its the closest I’ll get this year! Sigh…
I’m glad you are dusting off your passport, Rachel and coming along with us on our latest adventure. “House-stuff” is very important and I know that you will work in some travel in the future.
Very envious. Have a great trip!!
Hi Jed, Thank you for your wish. Don’t be too envious…you do some great traveling yourself.
True, but I haven’t been back to the continent for over six year and that is simply too long for me. 🙂
I do have to agree with you…six years is a long time.
I cannot wait, Karen!! Enjoy and have fun!
Hi Zirkie, Thank you for your nice wish…I know we will have fun. Glad to know you will be following along.
I’m so happy that you’ll be taking us along, I’m already home-sick to go back (I must have lived there in a past life). The history just seeps from every crack and undulation in the cobblestone roads. I look forward to our trip together; and please do have a salad or two, I just don’t want to put on any weight!
Hi Eva, So very glad to know that you will be following along. I can’t wait to catch up on your trip when I get back. You had me chuckling about the salads…I don’t know if I can eat enough salads to make up for all the great cheese I will be having at breakfast each morning on the lovely seeded breads that are so famous here.
Enjoy your trip!
Thank you GG, I know that we will have a wonderful trip.
Have a terrific trip and happy eating!
Thank you Ducky, for your nice wish. There will definitely be a lot of great eating and sightseeing on this trip.
What fun! I have my sight-seeing glasses at the ready, and know it will be a terrific trip. Bon voyage, Karen! 🙂
Thank you Betsy, for your nice comment. I’m glad that you will be following along on our adventure.
What a fabulous adventure & I’ll be watching. Appreciate you saving me all this money too 😉
Hi Diane, Yes…following along on our adventure does save a lot of money. Glad to have you along.
I am super psyched!! As I am doing some “catch up” blog reading and I see the first installment of you trip is already up!! Should I read it now and wait breathless-ly for the next installment or should I let them all build up ( like my DVR) and have a marathon one day…. Hmmm.. decisions decisions!!
Hi Carol, Glad to know that you are psyched about our trip. I can’t wait to see what you decide. LOL.
Catching up in reverse order, but YAY!!!! I’m so excited to enjoy your adventures from a virtual backseat. 🙂
Hi Kristy, I’m glad you are following along on our adventure, no matter the order you are reading the posts. By the time I get home, I’m going to have lots of catching up to do with your posts as well.
Happy travels Karen !
Thanks Claire, it is going a lovely trip.
Yay! Another adventure. I’m enjoying my “backseat” already 🙂
Hi Ruth, Happy to have you in the “backseat” on our new adventure. Thank you for your comment.