• Stephan Döge
  • yiyi ling
  • Stephan Döge
  • yiyi ling

Road trip to Málaga

After almost 2 years without a real holiday due to the Coronavirus, we took the desire to visit our cousin in Málaga as an incentive to make a road trip by car, avoiding the crowds at bus/train stations or airports. Read more
  • Trip start
    July 27, 2021

    Leaving home

    July 27, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Getting the show on the road: Making sure everything is packed, including all the paperwork (e.g. passports and vaccination certificates) and fitting everything nicely into the rather small trunk, so that the car won't be cluttered with stuff. It was not too difficult, since we are used to taking minimal baggage.Read more

  • Metz: first stop away from home

    July 27, 2021 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    After finding an affordable place to stay (not too hard nowadays with all the many apps and online services), we enjoyed a veritable feast at a local Bistro in Metz after enjoying the change of scenery.
    The drive (about 700 km) was rather demanding and this helped with starting to get into a proper holiday feeling.
    Read more

  • Reaching the Atlantic Ocean

    July 29, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After living in Southeast Asia for almost a decade and half the family originating from the other side of the Atlantic, it was a special moment to reach its shores from the European side.

  • San Sebastián: first night in Spain

    July 29, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    It was getting a bit harder to drive and we crossed the border later than anticipated, so we stopped a little sooner. We found a reasonably priced place in San Sebastián and enjoyed the little tour around La Concha, the city beach, and the old town centre, before we escaped the growing crowds that were coming out for the night.Read more

  • (Almost) stuck in the (narrow) past

    July 30, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Today we really noticed the lack of the air con in our car. After passing Madrid in the early afternoon, the outside temperature rose to 34°C and since it was impossible to drive 120 km/h with open windows, it got really uncomfortably hot. The sun was shining straight into the cockpit and the phone that we used as a navigation system shut down due to overheating just as we arrived in Toledo.
    Not knowing the city at all, we took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of the historic centre where many streets are narrower than a car and it was an adventure of its own to just get out of this labyrinth without getting stuck between the dangerously narrow walls. In the end we gave up trying to find a way to our hotel by car and left it in a nearby parking garage.
    We made our way to the hotel on foot and after a couple of phone calls and messages, they opened the place remotely and let us into the most breathtaking accommodation we have been in a while. A tastefully restored historic mansion right in the middle of the old town that even had a balcony overlooking the rooftops. We felt like royalty!
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  • Toledo: living history

    July 30, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 32 °C

    Once settled and not worried about how to get around by car, we enjoyed an evening walk through this amazing historical town. Every corner is extremely photogenic and it's impossible to give more than the smallest glimpse of it with our pictures. We breathed in all the history and ended the night with a wine overlooking the roofs of the old town.Read more

  • Through Quixote country

    July 31, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    On the way from Toledo to Málaga we passed through the country of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. On one of the hills in the distance there were so many windmills, I couldn't believe it. The scenery was great during this particular drive.Read more

  • Arriving in Málaga

    July 31, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    That's what it looks like when you haven't seen your cousin in almost a decade and suddenly turn up at their work place in the middle of the day...
    Before we went to their home, we had to pass by the beach, of course, and had lunch in an authentic Argentinian restaurant.
    #ChéBolú
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  • Lazy Sunday

    August 1, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    A relaxing Sunday with an unusually late lunch (17:45) because "las primas" - as we are now calling our cousin Lola and her partner Vale - had been working. In the evening they took us on a trip to Fuengirola where they serve the best burgers in the world!
    #SandyBurguerFuengirola
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  • Málaga: back at the beach, finally!

    August 2, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    What should you be doing on a regular Monday? Go to the beach, of course! We enjoyed our first proper beach day since New Year's 2020 in Thailand, only the water temperature was a little challenging. On top, we enjoyed Argentinian food again. In the evening, Max bonded really well with Ñeri, or was it the other way around?Read more

  • Getaway to Benalmádena

    August 3, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    When there's a supermarket with Argentinian products, we have to go. So, after fixing our car's air con, we made our way to Benalmádena and bought the indispensable alfajores and dulce de leche accompanied by some turrón y maní and bon-o-bon. Happy with our spoils we got only happier when we were served a huge foot-long milanesa napolitana with fries at a small restaurant nearby. It said "for two", but it could have easily fed all four of us.
    #Acholinos
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  • Torremolinos: cocktails

    August 3, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    In the evening, las primas took us to a nice little gay bar, El Gato Lounge, at the sea side of Torremolinos, complete with cocktails, mariachis and evening mist.
    #ElGatoLounge

  • Dumplings, beaches and asado

    August 4, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Las primas wanted to taste our Asian cooking, so we went to work and made some dumplings, followed by an afternoon at the beach. In the evening, we were invited to an Argentinian party, where we had real asado, a treat that we have been missing for ages!Read more

  • Málaga: city tour

    August 6, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Since it was a weekday and Vale had to work, Lola took us on a little walk through the historic centre of the city. We were happy to finish the tour with a cooling drink in the Café del libro.

  • A night out

    August 6, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    After the usual problems finding a place to park the car in central Málaga, we dined with Lola and Vale at the regular Spanish dinner time - 11 pm...

  • Museo Picasso

    August 7, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Making use of the morning to visit the Museo Picasso while las primas (or better "las tías") were taking the kids shopping. We saw the Picasso collection and a temporary exhibition: Miquel Barceló. Metamorphosis.Read more

  • Cueva de Nerja

    August 7, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Spectacular cave, just about an hour away from Málaga. We only got to see a small part of what must be a really huge system of natural caves in these mountains.

  • Fun in rough seas

    August 7, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Cooling off in the sea after the walk through town in the afternoon sun proved to be a little more difficult. A lot of caution was needed to not get crushed by the big waves, but the water was way more pleasant than the cold waters of Málaga.Read more

  • International meeting

    August 7, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    How's that for bizarre: a Hungarian, an Argentinian and a German national who have worked together in Malaysia, are meeting in Spain for dinner...
    #POWIIS

  • Good-bye lunch

    August 8, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    To say good-bye to Málaga and our primas they took us to a place that specialises in all kinds of rice. We shared two incredibly tasty Paellas before we had to get on the road to Murcia.
    #Arrozeando

  • Murcia: just a night

    August 8, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We left Málaga feeling a little sad, because we were going to miss Lola and Vale, and also, because it meant we were on our way back home, towards the end of our vacation. We stopped just one night in Murcia, so Amely could meet a friend. But we also had the most amazing tapas and a pool at the hotel.Read more