Obsession...

I've become a bit obsessed with the parasols on the beach. I spend most of my mornings flat on my back on a lounge chair staring at their hypnotizing geometry. Mesmerizing, no? Maybe it's just me...    

Weather update...

We've been here a week and the skies have not been overcast (during waking hours) for more than a couple  of hours total. This is the second morning to which we woke up with gray skies that quickly gave way to sunshine. The past couple of days have felt a bit cooler than the previous ones, a welcome change. The breeze on the beach has to be felt to be believed: close to heaven for beach bums like us. Yesterday, while walking to the tennis courts, I snapped a few shots of parts of the resort I hadn't seen yet. I even found a pool we didn’t know about (right beside the tennis courts)! Enjoy.   Here are a few shots of the beach bar that serves beer, soft drinks and ice cream (and very light snack sandwiches).

Evening lights…

Since we stayed close to our room around dinner time, I snapped a couple of shots of the last rays of light cresting over the mountains behind the resort. The evenings here are really nice, with moderate temperatures and a slight party atmosphere. The lights up near the main buildings were just coming on and live music (a solo keyboardist) was already playing from the bar by 8:00 or so.

Finishing touches...

While the resort isn't 100% complete, it's awfully close. In our experience, any remaining landscaping or fit and finish work is done very discreetly during times that are least likely to invonvenience guests.

A couple of days ago, they added the rails to the pool steps just before dinner, while most folks were in their rooms getting ready. Although we continue to hear of small issues from folks we're meeting here (and continue to experience a few of our own, like a jammed sliding door), it's clear the staff here are doing their best to make people's stays as enjoyable as possible.

By the way, I confirmed today that the spa is open from 9-21:00.

Finally, I’ve added a few more pictures and even video to some of my previous posts; I didn’t keep track of which.

A bit of Bavaria…

Last night we didn’t make it down to the beach early enough to get a table at the theme restaurants so we tried one of the simple joints in the middle of the resort, the Beeraria. It serves a slightly modern version of traditional German food. The Würst (sausages) would never pass muster in the Fatherland, but the food and atmosphere in general were good. Two of our kids had Schnitzel and I had pork steak. Our waitress was particularly friendly. By the way, this place doesn’t seem to fill up. One more note: try the “onion pie” appetizer. It was so good, I forgot to take a picture.

The wife still isn’t up to full speed, so she had a fruit plate that looked so good I had the same for desert. A nice light option after eating and drinking too much for days!On a completely random note, a baby bird wandered into the restaurant while we were having dinner. This kept the girls entertained for quite some time.

Dictator of Darts…

As I mentioned in another post, the animation team does their best to keep things lively on the beach, especially for the kids. One of the more interesting characters is Alex, the Dart Dictator from deepest, darkest Romania. You either play by his rules or bear his wrath in the form of yellow cards (soccer style) until he flashes the dreaded red card, at which point you must do “wishy-washy”, a fate no one deserves and which I shan’t describe in a family-rated blog.

Under threat of death from “Alex the Impaler” and his henchmen, I managed to capture some hidden video.

Tennis anyone?

A couple people have asked, so I sauntered by the tennis courts today. As far as I know, they’re as functional as they’ll ever be (Astroturf and all!).