Tag: craft beer

English Garden Hike

I said it before, and I’ll say it again.

The best way to see a city is to hike it.

It was time for a quick stop in in Munich. This time, I saw it like never before. We spent an entire day hiking the English Garden, and we didn’t even cover the whole thing.

It starts off with massive stretches of well manicured park dotted with cafes and beer gardens. If you are adventurous enough, you can explore portions of the other side. There are long stretches along the water and trails through the lush forest. Despite the size of the city, you will feel like you aren’t even in one. Deep in the upper portion of the park in the forest, we saw a herder, in his attire, grazing his sheep. His herding dog put on an impressive show.

We covered a good portion of the garden. Including the trek to and from the hotel, we clocked around 27 km. It might sound like a lot, but it’s doable. I’ve been hiking more back home and setting a certain pace. I’ve also been working on my metal space when the hikes get long. After a while, it comes naturally. It’s invigorating, allows you to truly experience more of the cities you visit, clears your mind, and builds up an appetite for the local culinary delights.

On the day of the English Garden, I was quite happy with my ability to keep the pace, physically and mentally. Being in the forest does have a magical effect on me and puts me into a better place.

On the map, close to the point of the figure 8 crossing, there is a mini hofbrauhaus. It’s a small outdoor version of the big beer hall in the core of the city. We covered most of the upper portion of the park before stopping at the mini beer garden. At this point, we only had the last leg to get back to the city center.

Once back near our hotel for the evening, we hit the main beer hall and stayed for a while. The beer is great. I particularly liked the Helles. The food at these beer halls is amazing. We grazed on a small charcuterie, then shared a roasted pork knuckle. If you’ve never had one, you should. The beer halls Munich know how to roast meat. We even caught some live music.

Don’t get me wrong, Munich has lots to offer, but don’t miss out on the nature embedded within its core.

My city hiking tips: carry a small pack with water, rain coat, sweater, emergency snack, and sun screen. Also have some spare change on you in case you need to use the facilities when in Europe.

Follow along on Strava for all the hikes and click able maps.

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For the Love of Brugges

If you’re familiar with the story of just a girl and a bike, then you’ll recall I had only a quick one night affair with Brugges during my cycling adventures.

There are some places that just make your soul feel warm. Brugges is busy, but it’s beautiful, friendly, and a lovely place to spend some time.

There are three things I highly recommend. The city tour walk. The unique and interesting bars underground in cave like structures with massive high end bottled beer lists. Take time to breathe, the aura of the city is amazing.

We did a city tour hike two days in a row. Ar 19 km, it’s a good hike that can be done in under two hours if you pace well. The entire time, you are on trails and pathways, and even find yourself immersed in forest. It’s a beautiful way to see the entire city in a short time, and it leaves you feeling invigorated. I’ve attached the map below.

I did take time to breathe. Brugges has that effect on me. One of my favorite moments was when we visited the Beer Wall. When we walked in, I wasn’t sure. I had picked the place. It was bustling. Dance music was pumping. We got in line and quickly noticed the multiple bottle lists with high quality beer.

I slipped out to the patio on the canal and luckily snagged a spot, leaving my hubby to choose the beer (he’s the expert). When he came out with a bottle of Cantillon and two glasses, my heart sang. When the people at a table right on railing left, I was ecstatic.

There we were, drinking a bottle of lambic beer (my favorite), watching the boats go by. What a lovely moment. One of those times when you are completely present.

There are so many things to experience in Brugges. I fell in love with the Gothic architecture. We found ourselves in some really interesting places. Because the architecture is so old, a lot of brick arches, restaurants and bars have a unique vibe.

A special moment was going to La Trappiste. It’s in an underground cave like structure. Don’t be fooled by the beer on tap. Take a look through the bottle list and try something delightful. Once you’ve had trappiste beer, your idea of what beer is changes forever. Trust me.

Have you ever been in a place that just makes your heart melt? This is Brugges for me.

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Brussels by Foot

It’s been a while since I’ve been on a proper adventure. You might be familiar with Just a Girl and Her Bike. This time, it’s Just a Girl and Her Boots.

Yes, that’s right. Back pack loaded and hiking boots laced up, I was more than ready to see new parts of the world.

This trek started with a 2 week stretch through some big cities. The best way to really see a big city is by hiking through the parks. I was utterly surprised and delighted with the immense green space in Brugges, Munich, and Prague. But, we’ll get to that.

Let’s start with Brussels. We arrived in the afternoon and hit the ground running. Putting on your walking shoes and getting in some steps right off the bat is the best way to reinvigorate yourself after a long journey and to keep yourself awake and not suffer long effects of jet lag. Just lace up those shoes and go!

We made a proper first stop at Moeder Lambic for some outrageous beer. I gravitated to the lambic style that they had on tap (this doesn’t happen at home). I replenished with moules & frites. The lover of creepy things on me came out when we grabbed a night cap at a high-end beer place that used to be a theater and is filled with puppets!

Our second day gave us a full day to hike and see things. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to walk through the forest areas that we thought we could. When it doesn’t go your way, find another one. We turned the day into a big city tour and covered a lot of ground.

We started off with a visit to a Gothic cathedral. The style is stunning, inside and out. There’s something sureal about looking up at windows, arches, and structures riddled with intricacy and that must have taken a long time to create.

We then fuelled up with a proper local breakfast of Croque Madame and a delicious beer.

We hiked all through the city and up a hill to a science center. Keeping a good pace and meandering off the main route to cover the occasional little bit of forest is a sure way to get your body and your mind feeling great after a long day of travelling. I highly recommend setting at least a guideline for your route with a target pace and distance. It’s the key to feeling great from the beginning of the trip.

After our invigorating walk, we kept the steps going. We made two stops at the famous Delirium brewery. It’s an entire street of separate places, all serving up fresh pints!

The day was getting long, and it took us a bit, but we found an amazing spot for dinner, down in a cave like place. This is when patience paid off. I was famished. The day was getting long. But when we walked into this place, I knew I needed to tap into my zen. When a plate of rabbit slow cooked in lambic beer was set down in front of me, I was in heaven. When it gets long, take a deep breathe a d regroup. Travelling by foot can be amazing if you can tap into your patience and your calm energy.

Here’s my route uploaded to Strava. Follow me there to see all the hike and the details of each.

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Nature Walk and Happy Hour

I have recently fallen in love with nature walks.

Through the various phases and stages of lockdown, my husband chose a fantastic way to deal with closures and isolation. He walked. Everyday. Sometimes for hours.

He even got a rotation going where he would walk with different friends on different days. It was a fantastic way to achieve both mental and physical health.

I started going with him. Two or three times a week, even during the coldest winter days. With the right gear, and right attitude, a dose of physical activity and nature can be good for the body and the soul.

Today I had my head buried in a couple of writing projects. Late afternoon I realized my brain was done for the day and I felt blah. I decided to put on some walking gear and do a beautiful forest loop close to home.

My hubby ended up joining me. Two hours later, forest loop done, I feel revived and relaxed. Time for a home brew on the patio.

What do you do to stay healthy, physically and mentally?

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Saturating in Summer

It has been a long time since I have posted something here. For those of you still kicking around, thanks for being here! For anyone new, welcome!

So, what have I been up to? Writing, writing, writing! Although I haven’t been posting anything on my lovely bike site, I have been writing up a storm. If you haven’t checked out my new works of fiction, please do. Pop on by my new site – Killers and Demons – for tales of dark crime and horror, with a head bang or too.

Interested in more outdoor adventures? Then stay tuned here. Although I haven’t shared much for a while, I assure you, the adventures are still happening.

We’ve all been through a bit of a rattling time. Our worlds have been turned upside down. Things keep changing. I hope that through it all you have been able to find ways to stay healthy and balanced, to get fresh air, exercise, and to clear your mind and calm your soul when anxiety and stress have seeped into your life.

I am still biking. Through the winter, I had a pretty solid spinning routine going, and I added in some squats, sit-ups, push-ups, all with a weight vest and ball. Basically, I took the equipment I had and made whatever home gym I could. With gyms and yoga studios closed, and fitness equipment sky-rocketing in price, I made do. It’s always possible.

Something else that I started doing was walking outside, no matter what the weather. My hubby walked almost every day through the winter. He chose a positive path to stay healthy—physically, and mentally. I latched on at least once a week, sometimes two or three times. He would pace us, there would always be hills, and we would aim for distance goals.

Now that summer is here, full on, we kicked it off with a bang.

Yesterday, the first super hot day we have had, and the first day that patios are allowed to be open again, we did a 24 km loop that would lead us to the patio of one of our favorite breweries. It was hot. Too hot. I had to ration my water carefully. The walk was harder mentally than physically. I had to take a deep breath a few times and choose to continue on strong with a good attitude. But I did.

We reached our destination to find a cool spot on the patio in the shade, sucked back several jugs of water, then enjoyed a couple of new releases. My favorite was the Summer Saturation, a play on one of their core beers with mango, papaya, and guava. Perfect for a hot summer day.

LEFT: Summer Saturation. RIGHT: Fruit infused Berliner Weisse

So, here’s to more posts here on this site that I love so much but have neglected. Cheers to hot summer days, and cold fruity beers!

How have you been doing out there? What have you done to stay healthy, positive, and balanced? Do share your own tips and tricks on the comments. I am always looking for new ideas.

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