Spring equals shoulder rehab, bike rides and travels to Germany

With the shoulder on the mend and a slow recovery process on tap, spring was a time to find some new adventures to keep us entertained. The first few weeks were a challenge as physical activity was limited to not using the left arm and nothing that could potentially lead to a fall. It was a perfect time to explore some of the gems Calgary has to offer. Be it going to the farmers market, checking out the library or strolling through the parks, March came and went...

Calgary has an architectural award winning library, Brian poses at the entrance

While Eva poses in the library...

and poses some more...

Meanwhile Brian finds a book

and contemplates life in the big city

Thankfully a short stroll from home brings us some peaceful solitude along the Bow river

As April rolled around classes came to an end and Eva jetted off to Germany leaving Brian to his own devises for a few weeks. Spring time in Calgary never really wanted to cooperate, it snowed, it blowed and it snowed some more.... View from front window on April 20th... hmmm....

That said Brian was able to get some biking in, a gravel ride out in Rosebud...

East of the rockies in the plains, its an area famous for its bridges...

Other rides were impaired by the weather - sometimes its best to heed the warning

mud north of Calgary

and riding in snow in the foothills to the south...

As April came to an end Brian joined Eva in Germany to meet the family and explore Eva's home. Eva and her dad, out for a walk. The Canola was about to bloom!

Brian and Eva reunited

Much time was spent in the Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz), Eva's home away from home...

here we are hiking with Dad

exploring the rocks

taking in the views

which way do we go?

maybe best to go down to the river

Even though Brian was injured Eva managed to get some climbing in with her friends.

and have a weekend reunion with friends at one of the local climbing club huts

Exploring the Saxon Switzerland with Eva was a treat, even if Brian couldn't climb...

But our time was limited so it was time to leave.... a short ferry ride to the train station

Up next was a bicycle adventure from Dresden to Meißen to Freiberg to the Ore Mountains to Pirna and back to Dresden. 3 Days and 200km of peddling.

Getting bikes prepped...

and ready to go!

Eva all smiles in the forest behind her house

Brian also all smiles as we pass by central Dresden...

Meißen is an old town on the Elbe river - famous for its white porcelain!

Eva navigating the way

Out of town the Canola was in full bloom!

Fields of Canola...

It being a Monday and not tourist season accommodation proved tricky - thankfully this hotel in Hetzdorf allowed us to stay even if they weren't officially open

Breakfast was not included so the next day we headed down to the local bakery - Eva enjoying a Pretzel and tea

while Brian enjoyed a coffee and bread with chocolate pieces! Brian doesn't care if its for children - haha

From here we rode to Freiberg - taking a route somewhat off the beaten path...

The university at Freiberg is Eva's alma-matter. Here she is in front of her old Geology building.

Things have changed and memories cloud over the years so we check out the local map of town so as not to get lost.

Before leaving town we stock up at Eva's old market - she used to live in the apartment above (or there about :-))

Heading south out of Freiberg we head to the Ore Mountains.

Stop and have some lunch

and try and find our way - which arrow do we follow?!

Brian sill smiley 130 km in, only the Altenberg stand in our way...

Eva smiley on top of the Altenberg - its all downhill from here! or so Brian thinks

Another night of trying to find a hotel has us staying again in a place not officially open but the owners are nice enough to let us stay - to tired and worn out and happy to have a place to sleep we take a break from picture taking - the Hostel im Osterzgebirge - picture shamelessly taken from google...

Being at the top of the Ore Mountains - Brian eagerly awaits a day of riding all downhill...

Eva seems less certain - hills hills and more hills...

Starting out going down on the right path?

Whenever you cross a Schloss you know you couldn't be going the wrong way...

That said Brian needs to take a break atop hill number 1

Is that a Schloss atop that hill?

Eva admiring the Schloss high above Liebstadt - is that the love castle?

Somebody isn't so sure we only go down...

riding up through Canola while the local residents look on...

Somewhere the road must go down?

Must have missed the turn to the downhill because we eventually end up down in Pirna!

Only a 'little' hill to go up and we are home, turns out that little hill was over 12% grade covering 1.1 km! haha... at least we didn't have too much stuff! Eva riding out of town before the hill

Thankfully at the top and guess what there is a Schloss! (Zauberschloss)

From there it is a short down hill ride home - for real this time - where we wash up, rest, eat and tell our tales of adventures and woes - all in all a great success. My stead for the ride, Evas fathers, Diamant, the BMW of German bicycles.

The next day was a well deserved rest... Every morning Eva goes to the local bakery to buy fresh bread and other baked goods - it was no different this morning!

The rest of the day was leisurely spent exploring Dresden and doing some shopping... Eva enjoying the sun in the old town above the Elbe. .

While Brian enjoys a cappuccino and contemplates getting a gelato

Our final day in Germany was spent with family... a nice long walk with dad down to the Wasserpalais Pillnitz. A palace on the river Elbe with diverse garden of trees... Here Eva contemplates life without cake...

taking a selfie with Canola

Checking out an old tree on the way

at the water palace

thankfully a trolly took us back up the hill to home

The day finished off with dinner with Dad (Wolfgang), Eva's brother (Karl) and his girlfriend (Katrin), Eva and Brian!

The next day was the long flight home - thankfully it was uneventful, mostly forgotten and not overly documented.

It was a pleasure to meet Eva's family and they treated me (Brian) with great hospitality and while there were some language barriers I was still made to feel at home and I am thankful for them allowing me to be a part of it...

And with that you would think Spring would be over... well in the Canadian Rockies its only begun! After returning home it was time for an outdoor farewell party for Eva's long time lab manager Will - her group came over and we enjoyed sausages and good conversation around the fire.

We've gone for hikes - some in the front range following trails that may or may not exist...

Brian enjoying the views

Collected some wood for fires....

found gates that tried to keep me out...

Attempted to scale peaks (Opal north ridge), on the way up...

still a ways to go!

perhaps there is still to much snow?

but enjoyed the views

and even saw some geology

we also took time to explore the city by bike

and find some food

Spring also marks the time to work on the garden - Eva planting new apple tree

and preparing the beds

Brian meanwhile spent a few days cycling up in Banff, making it all the way out to Emerald lake

he saw some sheep

some elk

and being off season lots of open roads

and with that another spring in the Rockies (and Germany too) comes to a close - excited to see what summer brings till then -

the giraffe signing off!