Woke up last Wednesday to a veritable snow storm. It was the day we were planning to drive to Italy - which meant crossing the Alps on the Brenner Pass. We still had our snow tires on the car so we took off and hoped for the best. There was actually no snow on the Brenner, I needn't had worried. The abundant snow - abundant at least for this time of year - made a nice contrast to the sunny side of the Alps.

Our first stop was in St. Michael, a small wine growing village in the South Tyrolean community of Eppan, where we treated ourselves to a fine meal and a good bottle of wine. It was our wedding anniversary and we celebrated.

The next morning we continued on to Lake Garda, leaving the mountains behind us. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful spring day.

It was a short trip. We spent two days in Moniga de la Garda and were home for the week-end ... where we are still waiting for spring temperatures.

Flawless weather and it's only a 20-minute bike ride from home to Munich's Botanischer Garten. Mainly tulips and daffodils are blossoming, but some cherry trees are still in bloom and the magnolias are magnificent this year. Loved it!

 It's a sunny morning and we have a traditional bicycle date. Every spring sometime around Easter, that is whenever we get a nice day, we ride our bikes with our friend Jane to Schleissheim, 13 km north of Munich, for a beer garden breakfast - without beer. Bavarian beer garden etiquette allows you to bring your own food but not drinks. But since we were there early and knew that the stands selling either coffee or beer wouldn't be open yet, we violated the tradition and brought our own coffee in a thermos, Jane brought the Easter cake.
We enjoyed our picnic at the tables under the chestnut trees. The leaves on the trees were just beginning to open, but then we didn't need shade. The sun was welcome.

As tradition will have it, after our coffee we took a walk in the park behind  Schleissheim Palace.

Perfect weather for our pre-Easter outing. Although the morning was cool, by the time we got on our bikes for the ride back home we didn't need our warm jackets any more.

A sunny spring day and you don't have to ask me twice to go on a bike ride to a beer garden for lunch. It wasn't quite as warm as it looked however. It was definitely too chilly for the bike shorts that I was wearing. But the sun was  grand and the trees were budding a tender green.

Janos and I cycled out of Munich to the west, past Nymphenburg Palace and Blutenburg Palace and its church which is well worth visiting. The interior is beautifully furnished in the late Gothic style.

After 17 km we arrived at the  Bienenheim beer garden in Lochhausen. We sat outdoors of course, as it was a beer garden, but it was still a little too cool. I ordered a proper Bavarian meal and hoped that would warm me up. It helped.

The sun was stronger for the return trip and by the time we pedaled the final kilometers, I was feeling as warm as toast.