All posts by fastenurseatbelts

Holidays on the Moselle – The Perfect Weekend

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

The Moselle, also known as one of the most impressive river landscapes in Europe, is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany. It’s a site that both the younger and older generations can enjoy!

Idyllic wine villages, a multitude of hiking trails with a view of the stunning vineyards, wineries and countless rustic restaurants with a great selection of wines, as well as the tasty home-style cooking and the varied sports programme make for an unforgettable short trip to the Moselle! Of course, I have summarized exactly what you can do on a weekend or a long weekend like Whitsun or Corpus Christi, so you don’t miss out on anything.

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

Where to stay?

The Landal GreenPark Mont Royal really lives up to its motto “My holiday in the countryside”.  The holiday park surrounded by forest with its contemporary-style architecture really did it for us! We, obviously, went to the open holiday park Landal GreenPark Mont Royal over Whitsuntide, but we didn’t have any great expectations, as holiday parks often get old.

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

When entering our modern 6-bed house, I had to pause for a while and think about our Tiny House in Estonia, our apartment in Australia, and the Nordic interior decoration! The stylish furnishing with sophisticated interior design is simply impressive. Also, the houses in the park are very much the “Insta Houses.” Extremely photogenic!

The accommodations are not just a pretty sight, they have almost everything that you‘ll need! Many even have a Nespresso machine. You can find out more about this before your arrival. Think about the kitchen basics like salt, pepper, oil, and an outdoor grill!

If you are missing anything, you can always ask at the reception desk. The friendly, courteous staff will be happy to help you! A walk to the reception is always worthwhile, as there are goats, a restaurant, a miniature golf course, and a playground to look out for.

We spent a lot of time at our house. In the mornings, we had big breakfasts on the terrace, sometimes indoors, and in the evenings we saw beautiful sunsets with a glass of wine and a round of wizard.

But there are a lot of leisure activities in the surroundings that you can go for!

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is DSC02536-scaled.jpg
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

What to do?

Hiking Trails:

Kröv -Traben – Trarbach

On our first day on the Moselle, we set off with the dogs from our house in the Landal Mont Royal Park in Kröv to Traben-Trarbach.

The approx. 4.5km long hike offers great views and promises some exciting surprises along the way!

It takes only 5 minutes to cross the former fortress of Mont Royal and through the walls of the fortress to the forest paths that lead you directly to the gliding airfield “Mont Royal”. Here, one can watch how several gliders take off! It was a real highlight of the trip for me, as I‘ve never seen how it works. Those who want can also have something to eat or drink in the appendant inn.

From here, we continue to Traben-Trarbach. After another 15 minutes through the forest, you will be surprised with a wonderful view over a Moselle valley, followed by numerous vineyards and a great view of the village of Traben-Trarbach.

After the approx. one-hour hike, we treated ourselves to a delicious wine spritzer right on the Moselle.

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,
Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

Calmont Klettersteig

The Calmont Klettersteig was one of my most adventurous experiences; not only because I flew my drone into a tree, but also because of its narrow paths.

Don’t worry! It is not really dangerous. Height may be an issue because the path next to the hiking trail dips into a steep slope. However, after the 3 kilometers and 400 meters of altitude difference, you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view over the Mosel loop! If you don’t like to go that far, you can stop after 5-10 minutes and enjoy the view from there.

By the way, the Calmont is known as the steepest vineyard in Europe! So, do not forget to put on non-slip hiking boots.

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

Bernkastel-Kues

In the many stories that I read, Bernkastel-Kues was named the most beautiful town on the Moselle. I can only confirm this! Especially breathtaking were the historic market place and the beautiful half-timbered facades that the romantic old town boasts. Here, you will find many cafés, restaurants and shops.

A little tip: Try to come here on a Friday or during the week. On weekends and public holidays, it can get quite crowded.

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

Abenteuer Pur:

Pure Adventure

The Moselle Adventure Forest is only 5 minutes walk from the Landal GreenPark Mont Royal. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit, but it impressed me so much that I have to tell you about it! I have seen some climbing parks in the past, but I have never seen anything like it!

Mosel, Moselschleife, Landal GreenPark, Moselle, Deutschland,

Hanging Rope Bridge Geierlay

Have your ever had the chance to go over a hanging rope bridge? So if you are around, don’t forget to check it out! The 360m long bridge is for nobody with fear of heights! Crossing the bridge is a real adventure! But for now, check the website to see when you can cross it and from which direction. Due to corona measures you cannot cross it at any time as usual.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B46vxCjqjnb/

DIY: Last Minute Father’s Day Present

Father's Day, Vatertag, DIY, Do it yourself, Dekoration, Decor, Deko, Rosenkranz, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

After Mother’s Day comes Father’s Day, as is well known. A day to celebrate love. However, it is almost impossible to not get overwhelmed by the mind-boggling question of  “What should I give?”

Father's Day, Vatertag, DIY, Do it yourself, Dekoration, Decor, Deko, Rosenkranz, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

As you contemplate over it, the Father’s Day will come knocking right at your door! This will exactly be the scenario in just two days from now. But don’t fret. For me, my absolute favourite gift of all time has been photos! This year, however, they won’t be able to arrive on time.

And so, I have come up with something creative. On Ascension Day we will have brunch together, of course. Nothing should be amiss. To make it perfect, you shouldn’t miss out on having a beautiful trinket in hand or even a simple yet elegant table decor/present.

For that, you can simply make a heart wreath from roses or any other flower.

What will you need?                                                                     

– Roses (e.g. from Lidl for about 1,99€)

– A cord or wire

– A pair of scissors

Father's Day, Vatertag, DIY, Do it yourself, Dekoration, Decor, Deko, Rosenkranz, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

Now, the fun shall begin! While, I know many of you adore your cosy afternoons, creating small handicrafts together whether, with your partner, friends, or children is equally fun. The flower heart will only take less than 10 minutes! And you can hardly go wrong. Just follow the steps below:

1. Gather two roses to form the heart. Take the first one and tie a small knot around the end of the rose. Then twist the cord up to the neck of the rose. Be careful and gentle so that the head does not break off! At the top, you pull the cord back to the end so that you have the shape of half a heart.

2. Repeat the first step for the other half.

3. Now you have to connect the two halves with the cord. Here, you can see for yourself where you can tie the halves together. Otherwise, take a look again at my picture.

Father's Day, Vatertag, DIY, Do it yourself, Dekoration, Decor, Deko, Rosenkranz, Fasten Ur Seatbelts
Father's Day, Vatertag, DIY, Do it yourself, Dekoration, Decor, Deko, Rosenkranz, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

4. As soon as the heart is ready, put the remaining roses in the cavity of the heart and tie them.

5. If you have a nice ribbon at home, you can decorate your heart with it.

So, within a few minutes, you‘ll have your decoration or Father’s Day gift at ready. You can also hang the heart up, put it in a vase or lay it on the breakfast table.

I wish you a lot of fun with your rose heart!

Father's Day, Vatertag, DIY, Do it yourself, Dekoration, Decor, Deko, Rosenkranz, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

Do it yourself: Deco Ladder

DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten

These days our creative juices are really flowing at home. After three years, we finally decided to decorate our terrace. A bit. But we wanted to keep things as simple, cheap, and useful as possible.

I found my old maypole in the garden, and we came up with the idea to build a decorative ladder out of it. You can, for example, embellish it with hanging vases. Finally, we have a place for all our herbs!

DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten

Building a Decorative Ladder by yourself – DIY Tutorial

You don’t have a maypole or birch tree at home right now?! No Problem!

If you want to build a cheap decorative ladder, I recommend you to go into the forest and collect branches.

You will also need a string, a saw, and the hanging vases for decoration. Of course you can also decorate the ladder in other ways, e.g. with a chain of lights or candles.

DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten

What you need:

  • Branches
  • Cord
  • Saw
  • Hanging Vases

I bought our herbs for 0,99€ each at Lidl.

  1. Cut your branches to the desired length
  2. Put the branches on the ground and form the A-shape. So you can see where you connect the branches afterwards.
  3. Now you can fix the ends with the string.
  4. Try to fix all the branches relatively tight so that the ladder holds well!
  5. Put up the ladder and decorate it!

My tip: Only get herbs when the ladder is in the shade or inside. Unfortunately, our herbs died after one week. However, we have now put beautiful plants on our ladder!

DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten
DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten
DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten
DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten
DIY, Dekoleiter, Deco Ladder, Do it yourself, Dekoleiter selber bauen, Hänge Vase, Kräutergarten

Last-Minute DIY Easter Gift Ideas

Easter Sunday is just around the corner. You’re still looking for the perfect gift to surprise your loved ones?

But, wait, you can’t manage to get anything. The icing on top, there’s no order service anymore! Well, I have a quick solution for you.

What do you need?

A pen, paper bags, a ribbon, and scissors.

1. Cut the rabbit ears into the paper bags.

2. Don’t open them yet, and try to draw a face as far down as possible.

3. Now you can fill the bags. I have mine with chocolate and homemade macarons. If you don’t have any sweets at home, you can also fill your bag with a nice saying or a coupon. Moreover, you can paint some eggs and fill the bag with them.

4. Now, tie the bag so that the ears stick out, and the bag looks like an Easter bunny.

This year I have made a lot of bags. Even if we cannot visit our relatives because of Corona, we can still put a little something in front of the door so that nobody is alone! If you still need decoration ideas for your Easter table, please have a look here.

Simple DIY Easter Table Decoration

Colourful Easter eggs, sweet bunnies and lots of chocolate; I love Easter! It’s not only because my birthday is in April, but also because the family gets together again after Christmas.

Just so that your loved ones won’t forget the Easter brunch at your place, I have prepared a small Easter decoration for the first time this year. You can easily recreate it.

Do it yourself Easter decoration

If exhaustive and expensive Easter decor is not up your alley, then you’re at the right place.  You can pull this beauty within a few minutes before your family reunion. In any case, you’ll need white eggs, linen napkins (would be an advantage!) and a magic marker.

First of all, you’ll need to boil the eggs for about 8-10 minutes. And if they‘re only for decoration, put them aside. Afterwards, you can carefully paint a face on the eggs with the marker pen. Another idea is to write the names of your guests on the eggs!

My eggs got a little flower wreath on the “head” because we just had them in the garden. Maybe you will find a small wreath of flowers on your next walk or in the garden. Just in case, take two or three more with you, because it doesn’t always work out on the first try.

As soon as the eggs are painted, start folding the napkins!

Just fold the napkin to form a ribbon. Put this ribbon around the egg and tie it at the top with a cord or ribbon. The two ends of the napkin should look like rabbit ears.

That’s it for all deco lovers! If you still have time to buy napkins, you will find them here. I would choose their colour depending on the plates. Slight colour contrast actually works quite well. With white or beige dishes, I would use pink or green napkins for Easter. If you are also looking for a new set of dishes, I link you to my set here.

How do you like my table decoration for Easter? Have you already planned a decoration for the Easter holidays? If so, in which style and with which colors do you decorate this year?

10 Best Bachelorette Destinations in Europe

Your best friend is getting married soon, and you want to make the hen or stag party unforgettable? Now the only question is where to go, right? I have some ideas for you on how to combine the bachelorette party with a city trip. After all, the choice is a huge one and, of course, you want to find the right destination for your Bachelor or Bachelorette. It works for either of them.

But before you choose your favourite city, check which places are served by your airport and if they offer a flight out on Friday afternoon and a flight back on Sunday. You can easily check this on Google Flights. There you can also filter by flight times.

Now, a few inspirations for you!

1. Budapest

Majestic buildings like in Paris and trendy pubs, vintage shops, and street art like in Berlin are no rarity in Budapest. On the contrary, some European capitals should beware of the modern Hungarian capital. Above all, you will get great value for your money here. Chic and modern hotels, restaurants, and bars at affordable prices are found in abundance.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should have a budget of about 300€.

Recommended travel time: October to April

2. Warsaw

Spectacular malls, hip bars and chic restaurants are around every corner in this iconic capital of Poland. Tall skyscrapers remind one of those in Manhattan. Whoever visits Warsaw for the first time will be surprised how cool and modern the Polish capital is. Especially at Christmas time, the traditional Polish cuisine and the Christmassy decorated streets invite you to a humid and happy weekend trip!

For a weekend with flights (Ryanair), a nice Airbnb apartment, and complete catering you should expect to spend about 250€.

Recommended travel time: November to February

Warsaw, Poland, Warschau, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

3. Riga

Riga is a bargaining wonderland, even when you’re booking a flight for it! Ryanair and the airline AirBaltic will fly you from almost all German airports to the Capital of Culture. In Riga, you can live luxuriously and don’t have to worry about your wallet. In addition, you can always reach every place on foot. In springtime, the wonderful blossoming parks are a sight to behold. Here, you will also find very modern restaurants and bars. Karaoke bars are a MUST here!

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights) and complete catering you should calculate the total expense to be about 300€.

Recommended travel time: November to May

Riga City Guide, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

4. Mallorca

Mallorca has, of course, many entertaining corners. You can fly to the Ballermann to celebrate for 48 hours just partying. Or you can go to Palma for shopping and party trip or to the quiet corners of Mallorca to relax with the group.

In the mountains of Mallorca, you will find the most beautiful city on the whole island. When you visit it, you will soon realize that Sóller is not only in my eyes the most perfect city on the island. Because of the many small streets, there is only some tourism ongoing during the main season.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should expect spending about 500€.

Recommended travel time: April to October

Spain, Mallorca, Soller, Guide, Finca

5. Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a classic for stag or hen parties! Here, you will definitely find lots of entertainment in a great setting. And to relax after a long night you can always go for a canal trip. From Cologne, for example, you can be there within 2-3 hours by car or even by train.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should have a budget of about 350€.

Recommended travel time: all year round

Amsterdam, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

6. Dublin

Dublin has so much to offer that it is almost impossible to see all the sights within 2 days, but, for sure, you can see the most beautiful pubs within 2 days, and you will always have a bombastic atmosphere! Only 20 minutes away from Dublin, you are already right near the sea and can enjoy a great view.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should calculate a total cost of about 350€.

Recommended travel time: September-April

Dublin, Guinness Storehouse, Guinness, Ireland, City trip

7. Munich

That Munich is an expensive place is nothing new for many people. Nevertheless, one can also get a lot out of a trip to Munich with a smaller budget, especially the brewery culture invites to an entertaining party. Maybe you can have the bachelor party at the Oktoberfest? Just don’t forget that many shops in Munich close early on weekends.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should calculate an expense of about 350€.

Recommended travel time: all year round

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7scbysqgoS/

8. Milan

Milan is known to many for its noble design boutiques and as Italy’s fashion capital. But there is much more to discover here. Most importantly, you can fly with Ryanair to Bergamo for just under 10€ and from there, you can be in Milan within 40 minutes by bus for about 5€! A day in the student city of Bergamo is definitely worth it.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should have a budget of about 300€.

Recommended travel time: April-October

Milan, Fasten Ur Seatbelts

9. Paris

Paris, the city of love. For a more “stylish” stag/hen party, I recommend the capital of France. Maybe you could combine the city trip with a day trip to Disneyland?

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you should not need more than 500€.

Recommended travel time: April-October

10. Manchester

Besides the English capital, London, Manchester is one of the most interesting places to have a mind-blowing bachelor or bachelorette party. In the English city, there is always something going on, and there is a lot to see. Maybe you are lucky, and there is a big concert planned in the football stadium.

Ryanair offers very cheap flights to Manchester.

For a weekend with flights, a 4-star hotel (2 nights), and complete catering you’d need about 350€.

Recommended travel time: October-April

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