Remains of St Biagio's Church in Rovereto, Italy

A great way to enhance outdoor activities is to go Geocaching. I've written before about this fun hobby and you can read about it in this post,  "Fun Things to do on a Walk- Geocaching" In a nutshell people hide things called caches, mark the spot with coordinates, you  track the location with a GPS and once located, you sign the log and record your find online. What I really love about Geocaching is that it takes us to places we never would have ventured to on our own.

While visiting the town of Rovereto, located at the southern edge of the Alps in Italy, we found one such spot.

Chiesetta di S.Biagio

At least what's left of St Biagio's Church!

According to the informational signpost St Biagio's Church is from the 11th century and was doing quite well until it was damaged by artillery fire in 1916. Then in 1940 a bomb pretty much signaled the end of the church. All that remains is a little of the foundation and the beautiful Romanesque bell tower.

Seeing this bombed out church with the bell tower still standing reminds me of the resilience of faith. To be damaged not only once but twice and yet not completely destroyed.

How easy it would have been for the town's people to finish knocking down and clearing this plot of land and yet they chose to leave the remnants of this church. Perhaps as a reminder to future generations of the consequences of war. 

It's a peaceful place. To get to the remains of the church you have to take a walk through a small neighborhood and then take a trail up the side of a hill. Once on top there are picnic tables and a grassy area for the kids to play and the remains of the church. The entire spot is surround by a fence and has lovey views of the mountains and the town below. 

If you're in the area and would like to check out St Biagio's Church grab your GPS and plug in the coordinates. You might even find the hidden cache!

N 45° 51.159 E 010° 59.491

Greenways of Florida - A.J. Alford Greenway in Tallahassee, Florida

Greenways 

According to Merriam Webster dictionary a Greenway is "a corridor of undeveloped land preserved for recreational use or environmental protection".

Florida is fortunate to have many areas designated as greenways. These areas are typically located in urban settings offering a reprieve from the concrete jungle and traffic of the city. 

A few weeks ago we visited our son and his family in Tallahassee our state's capital. We took a nice long walk at the A. J. Alford Greenway. The greenway sports miles and miles of trails through an oak forest and around a beautiful lake suitable for boating and fishing. It's so strange that less than a half mile off a busy, car infested road you'll find yourself in such a quiet peaceful place. 

You can read about another Greenway we've visited by checking out this post Eagan's Creek Greenway. And you can learn more about Greenways and Trails by visiting Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation.

Lace up and take a walk at one of the many Greenways in Florida. You'll find out quickly that there's more to Florida than Disney World!

Check out other 'G' places to visit...

The Market in Freiburg, Germany

One of the many stalls set up to sell farm fresh produce. 

Freiburg is a lively university town filled with medieval history. It's located at the foot of the Black Forest in southern Germany.

Check out this post to see more of Freiburg - Walking Tour of Freiburg.

A Walk Around Munich and A Stop for Chocolate!

We flew into Munich at the beginning of our trip but we didn't stay. We met up with our travel companions, got our rental car and hit the road. At the end of our journey we decided to spend the last full day exploring the city. 

An excellent way to see a city is to walk. We used the self guided walking tour in Rick Steves' Germany guidebook. Complete with maps, history and directions you can't really go wrong. 

It was hard to resist all the good food in the Viktualienmarkt.  This open air market boosts vendors stocking cheese and olives, fruit, veggies, breads and confections. 

We passed up the sweets in the market but then we found the Milka store. 

This store was massive. The shelves below show just a small portion of the Milka candy available. We brought quite a bit home with us!

And of course we had to make it to the Marienplatz in time to see and hear the glockenspiel do it's thing. You can watch the jousters daily at 11:00 and noon. 

We had to do the tourist thing and stop for lunch at the Hofbräuhaus. So much fun and the food and beer was really good. 

Time for a walk in the Hofgarten. A lovely park with a 400 year old Renaissance-style gazebo. The day we visited a street performer was playing a baby grand piano for tips. Apparently the acoustics are top rated. 

Munich is a thriving city full of history, beautiful churches and wonderful food. This was just a small sampling of all the Munich has to offer. 

Triberg Waterfall Germany

At 500 feet Triberg Waterfall in the town of Triberg is Germany's highest falls and probably one of the prettiest. To enjoy the falls be sure you have on good nonskid boots or shoes and be prepared to walk UP! 

You can park at Scheffelplatz entrance and it's a 5 minute downhill walk. Or do like we did and park in the center of the town at Haupteingang and walk up. According to the sign it's a 2 minute walk. Not sure about that. When your huffing and puffing your way up it seems a lot farther. 

But well worth the effort!

Our band of happy travelers. 

Into the Black Forest

From the top of the waterfall we took the trail through the woods. 

This is in my mind what the Black Forest should look like. Dark and damp with large rocks covered in moss. I can just see Little Red Riding Hood walking this path with her basket of goodies while the wolf lurks behind a tree. 

A bird we encountered on the trail. I've never seen one like this. All grey with some white, black and a touch of blue on his wing. The bird was about 8" long. Anyone know what kind of bird this is?

From the very top of the trail looking down. 

The Triberg Waterfall will cost you € 3,50 a person but it's well worth the cost. 

If you don't want to pay you can see a glimpse of the falls through the trees near the lower entrance. 

But why do that?

 Pay the money, lace up your shoes and take a walk!

PorchFest - Music and Food in Historic Springfield

Springfield is the oldest residential neighborhood in Jacksonville. The area has had it's ups and downs over the years but it appears to be in recovery mode. 

We enjoyed a nice walk through Springfield today as we took in the sights and sounds of Porchfest. This is the second year Porchfest has been held and it appears this free, family friendly event is a success.

What is Porchfest?

"A Music Festival on the Welcoming Porches of Historic Springfield."
Jacksonville Porchfest

Nice crowds of people roamed the shady, tree lined streets.

 Food trucks provided enough variety for any appetite. 

The porches provided the stage and chairs and blankets the seating as local talent entertained the crowds. 

Indie band Complicated Animals

R&B and Soul - Groove Coalition 

There were twenty different bands playing in two sessions on various porches scattered throughout the neighborhood. Something for everyone. 

It seemed that all the neighbors were getting into the spirit of the event. 

Porchfest was celebrated on a beautiful, sunny Florida day. A day filled with fun, food and music bringing a community together and showcasing a lovely neighborhood.

A Walk Through Historic Lloyd, Florida

Located at the intersection of Highway 59 and 158 the town of Lloyd is tiny but full of interesting, historic buildings. There aren't any sidewalks but also no traffic to speak of so walking is pretty easy.

Most of the homes in Lloyd were built between 1855 and 1920. The town was named after Walter Lloyd a blacksmith from New York. In 1857 Walter Lloyd opened a store and took advantage of the railroad boom.

(I'm sharing just a few of my favorite photos.)

The Railroad Depot 

Built in 1858 the depot is the oldest surviving brick station in Florida. The golden era of the railroad in Lloyd lasted until the 1930's. In 1968 the Seaboard Coastline gave the station to the Jefferson County Historical Association. It was later turned over to the Gulfwind Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society. The depot currently houses the post office.

Laffette Store 

ca. 1912

Currently being renovated.

And a charming house in need of renovation. 

Love the tin roof and porch complete with a swing.

A tiny replica of the Bethel A.M.E, Church

The original Bethel A.M.E. Church was built in 1870 and closed in 2011 after 141 years of service. The church merged with another A.M.E. church in Jefferson County and the original building was demolished. The property owner built this replica to keep the history alive. 

Beautiful, old oak trees are in abundance in this area.

If you're traveling on Interstate 10 near Tallahassee take a short detour and get off on exit 217, Fl 59 S. Travel less than 1 mile and you'll see the sign for Lloyd. Lloyd is a Florida Heritage Historic District. 

Just a short ways off the highway and you can take a walk through history!