Day 1 - Cyprus, Paphos, Pegeya, here we come...

Cyprus is also on our shortlist. It's supposed to have a similar climate to Mallorca, the scenery is beautiful, and the locals are friendly and laid-back.

If we were to consider moving there permanently, we'd have the advantage of only needing to be there for 60 days a year, leaving us plenty of time to explore the world elsewhere.

We're really excited and will keep you updated.

Day one, The journey

Kerstin, of course, had packed everything perfectly, as always. We're each allowed two pieces of hand luggage today, which is more than enough for us. We quickly stored our beloved bikes in our otherwise unused apartment.

Beautiful living...is somehow different😬

We were picked up early in the morning by Mehmet via shuttle service. He brought along his super cute Shisha, a miniature Pomeranian, who immediately jumped into my lap and wanted to be petted... Very unusual: Firstly, I've never had a complete stranger jump into my lap before, and secondly, no animal of any kind has ever jumped into my lap voluntarily.

I would have loved to take him with me ❤️ (and I'm sure Bibi would have too)

At Cologne Airport, where we had been looking forward to a delicious breakfast in "The Lounge," we were quickly brought back down to earth:

Not only does this provincial airport only have one lounge, but it also offers nothing but cleanliness and good coffee. At least we enjoyed that, unlike the stale rolls and the egg-based breakfast pods—yuck!

Food is on its way 🤩 and so is my sweetheart 😍

The first leg of our flight from Cologne to Munich is about to begin. I've already spotted the plane. For those interested in the technical details: it's a Canadair (Bombardier) 900. I had a good laugh at the little thing; it almost felt like a private jet. The upgrade to business class is only noticeable because of the single empty seat next to you and the exceptionally good cabin service.

It's astonishing how much thrust the two rear-mounted engines generate during takeoff. We're pressed into our seats with tremendous force.

It's also astonishing what the service manages to provide in such a short one-hour flight: simple, yet plentiful.

Having landed safely in Munich, we set out to find the nearest lounge. After all, we'll have more than three hours here before our flight to Paphos departs. Today, we could access the Lufthansa Senator Lounge by combining various flight class and credit card states. Let's see what awaits us there. We read that massages are also offered at the airport. You have to treat yourself sometimes…

Time at Munich Airport flew by, with all the walking – plane – bus shuttle – passport control – finding our next gate, all the way back to the nice but crowded Senator Lounge and back to the gate again. 😃

The second leg, Munich to Paphos, went smoothly, allowing us to land on the sunny island on time. I'm now seriously questioning the added value of a business class flight with Lufthansa, at least in our case. The available space had shrunk to just one empty seat between Kerstin and me. Do I really need that? While the meal selection was extensive, consisting of a multi-course menu, and quite delicious, the dining experience—served on a small folding table with tiny plates and accompanied by the noise of the aircraft—wasn't exactly an upgrade for me, even though the attendant seemed to ask if we wanted a drink every five minutes. Looking back, we found last year's trip to Dubai with Emirates in economy class to be significantly more comfortable: better seats, everyone gets a blanket, pillow, and earphones, and a monitor with TV, videos, etc., in front of them.

At the small airport in Paphos, we were greeted by Akis, our car rental agent, who picked us up with our car and drove us to his office in Paphos. A very special service that we greatly appreciated. Akis is a really nice guy, seems even a bit older than us, and the cars he rents out sometimes have scratches and aren't polished to a shine. He probably knows why: even in the passenger seat, driving on the left felt quite unnerving. I imagine the accident rate among tourists is very high...

Akis is definitely worth recommending: affordable, uncomplicated, great service...

Akis & Maria Car Hire Paphos +357 99 683 421

From Akis, we set off for Pegeyia to our Airbnb. Driving on the left was quite an adventure, as was navigating it. Our internet connection was completely unreliable on both devices. Kerstin, however, handled it brilliantly and, despite road closures, manually guided me to our destination using Google Maps – GPS works even without internet. We immediately understood why the address was called Christina Hilltop. We'd never seen such steep roads. You wouldn't believe such a small car could manage these hills. We promptly abandoned our original plan to rent an e-bike. The clunky bikes available for rent here would never make it up these mountains.

We were rewarded for this with a breathtaking view from our terrace over the entire Coral Bay.

After settling into our apartment, we went to a taverna in the village in the evening, where we indulged in meze with more than 10 different dishes, and then, with full stomachs and heavy legs, we laboriously climbed back up the mountain to sink wearily into the pillows.

Feel free to check out our other reports about Cyprus as well.