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Returning home after years away, a reunion with old friends leads to newly-retired Kiwis Lee and Tony Straw setting off on a journey to Central Europe. The plan is to visit those friends in Berlin, but New Zealanders don't travel such long distances for just a single destination. So the journey grows. And grows.
Their meanderings take them through San Francisco to Germany and several countries sharing a border with Germany, not ignoring tourist attractions but leaning more towards lesser-known diversions. Setbacks happen, but often these lead to new adventures that turn out to be every bit as enjoyable as those they had originally planned.
Come along with Tony and Lee, and occasionally too with Tony's son, Martin, for a fun ride, humorously told, filled with good beer, good - or at times mediocre - food, as well as castles, rivers, mountains, monuments and a sometimes stroppy GPS called Gretel.
About the author
Tony Straw grew up in a large town in New Zealand's South Island and, after a career spanning two countries and several industries including forestry, film production, social services, travel and hospitality, is now retired with his wife, Lee, in a small town in New Zealand's North Island.
When not travelling or planning his next trip, he spends his time pottering around the garden under Lee's close supervision, socialising with friends, rating beer by sampling it in sometimes immoderate quantities, and helping out as a volunteer in local community organisations. In moments of reflection when he thinks no one is listening, he can be overheard wondering aloud how he ever found time to hold down a fulltime job.
Embarking belatedly on a new career as a writer has only added to his bewilderment.
