Road Trip to Baja California

Once in a lifetime road trip through Baja California and Baja California Sur in Mexico: 45 Million visitors are coming every year to this beautiful country.  Most of them are flying to Mexico, and just staying in a resort - unfortunately not seeing much of the exciting nature and stunning landscapes that the country offers.  A year ago I took the plunge and drove through central Mexico, and via boat ferry over to the extended pacific peninsula of Baja California.  Two months later I traversed the almost 1,500-kilometer-long Mexican state - one of the most wonderful road trips I ever made!

Along this road trip, you will find amazing beaches, canyons, and cactus forests.  Don't miss visiting surf spots on the Mexican Mainland and on the Baja California peninsulae, such as Playa Cerritos, Acalpulquito, La Ventana, Scorpion Bay, La Fonda, Playa San Miguel as well as beaches with calm blue water like Mulege, Santispac, Requeson, Playa Balandra, Lovers Beach, Divorce Beach, Medano Beach, and Chileno Bay.  

http://content-on-demand.blogspot.com/2023/01/scuba-diving-in-baja-california-sur.html

Find great snorkel spots as well as free beachfront camping and low-cost camping for van life as well as tent camping.  I discovered lovely, inexpensive hotels (all with enclosed parking garages) on my route through Baja California.  And I always felt very safe when traveling alone.

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 Cabo San Lucas

There are oases and missions located in Loreto, San Ignacio, and Mulege.  Amazing also the flora and fauna of Baja California with a variety of more than 4,000 plants. Or enjoy wine travel in the Northern part of the Baja.  Read about Mexico's wine country, and Valle de Guadalupe.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2019/06/06/mexicos-valle-de-guadalupe-must-wine-lovers/1359712001/

Living the Ex-pat Life in Mexico

Mexico has affordable health care, affordable housing, and a very low cost of living in most parts. If you have ever thought about living the ex-pat life in Mexico: These are some of the best places in Mexico for digital nomads to make that dream a reality:

• San Miguel de Allende
• Merida
• Tulum
• Ensenada
• Mazatlan
• Alamos
• Durango
• Sayulita
• Campeche
• La Paz

These videos show the best places in the World to Life as a Digital Nomad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-a-u1A8sSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BYJhDIa1cc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRvt9Nvpqas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAYBtT44X8c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUeg8f6ifGg

See you in Mexico this year!

Read more about road trips in Baja California:

https://a-happy-traveler.blogspot.com/2022/02/photo-impressions-of-baja-california-sur.html

https://a-happy-traveler.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-art-of-building-palapa-in-mexico.html

https://a-happy-traveler.blogspot.com/2021/11/la-ventana-baja-california-sur.html

https://garden-dream.blogspot.com/2021/12/o-ver-4000-plant-species-and-subspecies.html

https://garden-dream.blogspot.com/2022/02/plants-of-baja-california-sur-part-2.html

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Dessau, Germany, and Junkers Aircraft

 

As an aviation enthusiast, an admirer of 'Bauhaus' architecture, and an avid gardener, Dessau had everything I could wish for in this week-long trip. Let's start with 'Tante JU'. The city north of Leipzig has a small museum that is dedicated to Hugo Junkers, the creator of 'Tante JU'. 

Hugo Junkers Museum

Hugo Junkers was a German aircraft engineer and designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes.  His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works), was one of the mainstays of the German aircraft industry in the years between World War I and World War II.  He was also one of the main sponsors of the Bauhaus movement and organized the move of the Bauhaus from Weimar to Dessau (where his factory was located) in 1925.

The Junkers Museum is rather small but showed my favored plane, the 'Tante Ju' - superbly restored.  The story of Hugo Junkers - ingenious inventor, constructor, and entrepreneur  - is told in a beautifully restored old factory building.  Explanations are in German and English language.  There are lots for the technical enthusiast to get excited about with all kinds of engines, drawings, photos, and the like.

Bauhaus Museum

The huge Bauhaus Museum in Dessau’s inner city with its all-glass facade houses 52,000 cataloged exhibits and is the second-largest collection worldwide on the theme of the Bauhaus. The building makes a connection between the built-up part of the city on the Kavalierstraße and the green periphery of the park.  A post office from the late 1900s mirrors beautifully in the glass walls of the museum.

To see most of the Bauhaus architecture throughout the city, enter the Hop-on, hop-off bus #10 that stops at all the important places in Dessau - from 9:45 to 17.00.  Purchase a day pass from the bus driver (5 Euros) and enjoy his explanations of the city's highlights.

Schloss Orangenbaum & Woerlitz Park

Another highlight just out of the city is the beautiful Woerlitz Park, an outstanding garden park with lakes and sculptures.  The oldest English park garden had been established in 1765, shortly after the creation of Woerlitz Castle in classicist style was finished.  Other small castles, one in neo-gothic style and another in Italianate style had been added to the park.  Visitors can also enjoy a leisurely tour throughout the meandering lakes in an Italian gondola.

Tips for a Visit to Dessau:

Kulturpfad Dessau: Follow the bronze plates on the sidewalks to historic buildings, cultural sites, and squares. Bike rental at the Tourist Information, Ratsgasse11

https://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/en/museum/architecture-bauhaus-museum-addenda-architects.html

Day ticket 5 Euro from the bus driver

Hop on, hop off bus #10 stops at all the important places in Dessau - from 9:45 to 17.00:

Kornhouse Terrassen restaurant at the Elbe river - accessible and very accommodating to physically impaired customers.  Marvelous huge restaurant patio with breathtaking Elbe view, delicious food, and friendly service.

More Museums:

Anhaltisches-Theater.de

TechnikMuseum-Dessau.de

Johannbau  Castle:  Stadtgeschichte.Dessau-Rosslau.de

Kurt Weil Center  Kurt-Weil.de

Bauhaus buildings, Meisterhaeusser, Kornhaus, Bauhaus Museum Dessau

UNESCO WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE 

Woerlitz gardens:

Gartenreich.de

VisitDessau.de

Take the special train or bus #304 to the Woerlitz park

Guided tour of the city Orange Tree Sundays 10 am April to October

Outstanding garden park with lakes and sculptures, the oldest English park garden had been

established in 1765, shortly after the creation of Woerlitz Castle in classicist style was finished.

Other small castles, one in neo-gothic style and another in Italianate style had been added to the park. 

Visitors can enjoy a leisurely tour in an Italian gondola.

https://www.welterbe-gartenreich.de/

Ferry from Coswig to Woerlitz

Stadtwerke-Coswig-Anhalt.de

Bus line 310 to Orangenbaum Castle

Bicycle Europaweg R1, Elberadweg 

Radfahren-in-Anhalt-Wittenberg.de

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