After a couple of really exhausting months, it was finally time for me to take a couple of days off and do some traveling. I remembered a trip I did 2 years ago and since it was awesome the first time, I decided to go back – to my second home Italy. Now – to be honest…Italy isn’t really my home since I was born in Germany. But during my childhood and youth I spent every summer (sometimes even spring and winter) in Italy with my parents (my dad is Italian) and I have some beautiful memories of that time and somehow I really feel at home whenever I am back.

My dad is from Calabria – an amazing region all the way down in the south of “the boot” and Bari isn’t that far away from where I used to go – it’s only around 350 km on the other coast of the country. Long story short: I went to Bari to spend a couple of days away from home, away from the Octoberfest (which I hate) and away from the gray, cold German weather.

I was staying at a beautiful nice little hotel close to the main station, slept in, walked around town all day and spent an afternoon at the magical spot you can see in the top image. This is Polignano A Mare – a little town 30 km south of Bari which can easily be reached by train within 20 minutes. Its location is breathtaking: literally hugging the coast, the old part of town drops off into the deep aqua-colored sea which is absolutely clear so you can see all the way to the bottom. There is only a small sand beach and the rest is rocks that in parts almost look like stairs. In summertime you can watch the locals jump off the cliffs and there are some cliff jumping tournaments as well I’ve been told.

After breathing in this stunning panorama for a little while, I headed into town to a little Trattoria to grab some good local food and – of course – the obligatory caffè…

I took photos, had wonderful meals every day, an aperitif while watching the crowd in the Piazza Mercantile, walked the little streets in the old town, spent time at the pier and the fish harbour, enjoyed breakfasts in the wonderful hotel garden and really relaxed. If you ever plan on visiting Italy and seeing the really traditional lifestyle – go to Bari! You will be amazed on how easy going Italian culture in the south is.