It's finally time to hit the road again. We have finally decided to get out of the house for a few days and treat ourselves to a little change of scenery in other realms. These other realms may not be a world away, but we still hope that we will be able to switch off a little and forget the daily grind for a while.

As usual, our plans were hanging by a thread this time too and we didn't know until the last moment whether we could really dare to set off. Everyone around us is sniffling, wheezing and coughing these days and we're observing these symptoms all over the place. We have not been spared either, but fortunately it now looks like we are fit enough to go on a little adventure. Although we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that everyone stays healthy.

As so often in recent years, we are once again drawn to the Aizu region in the west of Fukushima Prefecture. We have become quite familiar with this region and have grown very fond of it. Even though it's far away from the big tourist crowds, there's always plenty to discover and to see and we've always had a lot of fun here.

And of course that's how it should be this time too. We first want to relax a little, but perhaps also explore a bit of new territory if possible. Let's see how the weather plays along, which at this time of year is another uncertain factor that is difficult to plan for. But we'll just let ourselves be surprised and hope that we have fortune on our side during this trip.

To get us and also you guys in the mood, here are a few first pictures that I took on the drive there. Let's see what else there is to see and what we will encounter this time. I will of course report back to you, so please check in here again soon.

Well then, off we are...