9:30 a.m.
Shortly before departure. After 12 years of family trips a holiday without children, who we know are in the very best hands with Petra (my wife Claudia's sister). Until the last minute it was again not clear whether we would have to postpone the trip again, as Malta lifted the travel ban for Corona cross-vaccinated people (in my case AstraZeneca + Moderna) only a few days before.

3:00 p.m.
Searched like idiots for half an hour for the hotel entrance in Sliema. Due to restoration work in the lobby, check-in was only possible in the neighbouring hotel, but unfortunately no one told us about that. Instead, we learn at the reception that hotel guests should use the staircase instead of the lift to minimise the risk of a Corona infection. Since our room is high up on the 7th floor, and still having our suitcases in tow, we don't really feel like climbing the stairs at almost 40 degrees. Instead, we tried to hold our breath in the lift, and so we arrived panting and sweaty at our room.

9:30 p.m.
In the afternoon, we explored the surrounding area on foot, sweating in the heat like pigs in cellophane.
At least I have already found a nice photo location for the blue hour at Balluta Bay. The church "Knisja Tal-Karmnu", located directly at the bay, is quite pretty, and I can already see the finished picture in my mind's eye - with colourful clouds in the background.
However, I doubt very much that we will spot a single cloud during our holiday week: According to the weather forecast, there are only blue skies with maximum temperatures around 42 degrees available.
Even now, having dinner by the pool on our hotel‘s roof terrace, it is still over 30 degrees.

10:00 a.m.
Finished with breakfast and going to relax a bit by the pool. Afterwards, we want to rent a scooter, which lets us explore the island independently.

1:30 p.m.
Brilliant idea to look for a scooter rental in the midday heat! Not.
But now the scooter is ours for 5 days, but it acts somewhat stubborn. Because of my only rudimentary expertise with such vehicles, I can't even get the scooter off the stand, so I have to embarrassingly ask the rental company‘s employee for help. Due to his critical look, I believe that from now on he no longer has confidence in my driving skills and fears the worst - probably rightly so.

2:00 p.m.
Drove a few laps around the block on my own to familiarise myself with the scooter and left-hand traffic. Although I am still feeling rather insecure, I confidently let Claudi jump on the back, and we take off at random. What could possibly go wrong?

3:00 p.m.
I have no idea where we are, but I know I need a break. The heat, the busy left-hand traffic and not at last Claudi screaming regularly on the back seat take their toll. Again and again, my beloved wife scares me with loud false warnings when I enter a roundabout in a clockwise direction.

4:30 p.m.
Apparently, while wandering haphazardly around the island, we have made it to the city of Valletta. So now we might as well take advantage of this unexpected opportunity.
We decide to park the scooter just outside the old town to explore this place on foot.

7:00 p.m.
After a nice stroll through the city and some delicious ice cream, it is time to head back to the hotel.
The first impressions of Valletta were quite positive, also - and especially - from a photographic point of view.
I am really glad I have already found two quite appealing compositions for the imposing Carmelite Church.

7:45 p.m.
Hooray, we are still alive! Not having a holder for my mobile on the roller, the return journey was more than bumpy, as I had to pull over again and again to memorise the way for the next two minutes. Add to that the stress of left-hand traffic and the still reliably wrong squeaking Claudi: I'm exhausted and urgently need to shower.

And yet I shouldn’t complain, as I have learned when we happened to be following the rubbish collection.
Due to the extremely dense development, there is hardly any space for bins here, so the residents deposit their waste in plastic bags in front of their houses. While the truck manoeuvres amazingly fast through the narrow streets, the driver's colleagues have to sprint behind him, pick up the rubbish bags left and right and throw them into the back of the truck - at still 35 degrees in the shade.
Note to myself: I don't want to be a garbage man on Malta!

11:00 p.m.
Freshly showered, we took the scooter again to go to Balluta Bay, where we found a nice restaurant right by the sea. The food was great, the prices moderate, and our children are also in good spirits, as we found out during a phone call with them. Apparently, good old Petra burns off a colourful firework of attractive activities, so far we are hardly missed.

9:30 a.m.
While I‘m already awake and perspiring on the balcony for a good hour, my sweetheart is still in bed. Here’s the plan for today: Relaxing by the pool, reading a bit and maybe working on the texts for my online shop.
In the evening we will go to Valletta again, but this time by ferry - and with my camera equipment. After all, the spots I have scouted yesterday have to be photographed properly.

8:00 p.m.
While I'm setting up the camera, the lights of Valletta are slowly coming on, and Claudi has made herself comfortable with a book on the fortress wall. Now that's a reading spot with a very special view!
Photographically, I have to deal with a minor problem: on a roof terrace in front of the church, a wild and colourful party has started. The extreme highlights of the light show bring too much unrest into the picture, forcing me to change the composition slightly. I am not sure whether the contrast between the chaotically interlocking residential buildings in the foreground on the one hand, and the architecturally very clean Carmelite church in the background on the other hand, will be preserved by the tighter cropping that is now necessary.

3:00 p.m.
We slept in, had a sumptuous breakfast and spent the day so far by the pool.
Later today we want to go on an extensive scooter trip to the northwest of the island. We’d like to visit the set of an old Popeye movie, which was built in 1979 and converted into a theme park once filming was completed.
Right for the blue hour, we plan to be - well prepared with both book and camera - at a vantage point with a magnificent view of the town of Mellieha.

6:30 p.m.
Seems like we have got used to the left-hand traffic and arrived at "Popeye Village" after a good hour's drive. Claudia does not agree with my now somewhat faster driving style, although the airstream provides us with some much-needed cooling.

It is particularly hot today, and the fact that we are rather heavily packed with my camera equipment doesn't make things any better. But now we can finally take off our helmets, have a look around and take a few photos.

8:00 p.m.
After a short drive we arrived in Mellieha on time, and I even had half an hour to look for a good shooting spot. Conveniently found one next to a park bench, so Claudi can have a read right next to me. I would have liked to have integrated an attractive foreground for the picture, but all the plants on the rocks in front of us are completely parched.

9:00 p.m.
It is getting too dark, but I was able to take all the shots I need. In addition to the usual set of exposure brackets, I have also taken additional pictures for the light trails and some f/16 shots for the star bursts. Not quite sure yet which exposures I will use for the final image.

11:15 p.m.
Claudia and I have to go to bed hungry tonight. After we had placed our order at the hotel restaurant around 9:50 p.m., we were told 15 minutes later that the kitchen already closed - but the fine Chinese next door was still open. We felt a bit out of place there, but despite the critical look of the service staff, we just ordered a "Combination Basket" for two people. Instead of the expected sumptuous meal of Asian delicacies, we only received a mini plate with some finger food, so we were already finished after two minutes. It is no longer possible to place an additional order: now the kitchen is closed here, too.

4:00 p.m.
Just spent a relaxing day by the pool, read a lot, worked on the texts for the shop and enjoyed some music via headphones. Claudia is off to our room, and on her way out she drew my attention to a group of 8 very loud Italian women, who - thanks to my headphones’ noise-cancelling - I hadn't noticed before. But I immediately understand Claudi's annoyance: the ladies are talking in such an unbelievable spirited and noisy way that other guests are also irritated. Somewhat funny for three minutes, but now I'm annoyed too. To escape this cacophony, I decide to order something at the bar for Claudi and me.

4:30 p.m.
Today is not my lucky day. I wanted to order a beer for me, and a Pina Colada for Claudi. Since the latter doesn’t show up on the cocktail menu, I politely asked: "Do you have Pina Colada, too?"
Unfortunately, the good man apparently understood: "Do you have Pina Colada? Two!"
With two Pina Colada plus one beer, I made my way to our deckchairs, but Claudi still hadn't

returned - but the loudness of Italian origin had.
Claudi's absence, the heat, the annoying chatter of the ladies and, last but not least, the mistakenly ordered second Pina Colada (I really hate this drink!) are wearing on my nerves.

11:30 pm
In the afternoon, I was able to lighten my mood by silencing the Italo gang: When Claudi finally reappeared at the pool, I greeted her from a distance screaming, "CLAUDI, LOOK WHAT I HAVE ORDERED US! PINA COLADA!" Then downed the coconut-pineapple pudding in one spirited gulp and continued yelling at full volume, "HMM, DELICIOUS, RRRREALLY TASTY! YOU HAVE TO KEEP TELLING YOURSELF, DON'T YOU?"
The Signoras were only briefly impressed by this, but still!

In the evening we walked down to Sliema for dinner. Claudi got some reading done at the town beach until the reserved table became available, I photographed the church at Balluta Bay - and even got a few clouds!

Over dinner we made some plans for the next day: We are going to explore Malta's beautiful little sister island Gozo tomorrow!
For the sake of simplicity, we will take the ferry from Valletta to Gozo and rent bikes or a scooter locally. First we will visit the small town of Xewkija, then we will go on to Victoria. There, among other things, we want to have a look at the AirBnB accommodation that we unfortunately had to cancel in 2020 and visit the Old Citadel afterwards.

While walking back to the hotel, we got so sweaty again that we had to take another shower. Not really surprising with still 30 degrees, the heavy camera backpack in tow and a steep uphill way back.

2:00 p.m.
Arrived on Gozo and, because of the heat and the camera equipment, decided to rent a scooter instead of riding around on bicycles in the blazing sun.
However, the company only had a few 120cc scooters available, which I am not actually allowed to drive with my driving licence. But unlike Claudi, who fears new speed records, the company has no problem with my license‘s limitation.

We first want to go to the town of Xewkija and visit the impressive John Baptist Church, which I plan to photograph again later from a viewpoint at the Old Citadel in Victoria.

2:15 p.m.
Wow, that was fast! We arrive in Xewkija after a 10 minute drive and realise once again that we consistently misjudge distances on Malta. The main island is not large, but Gozo seems to be tiny. Unfortunately, it still takes half an hour until the church opens for the public. We make good use of the remaining time by having a coffee break at a lovely nearby street café.

5:30 p.m.
After visiting the John Baptist Church, we strolled a little through Xewkija and took a few snapshots here and there. We then drove to Victoria within 15 minutes by scooter.
Looked for (and found) the really nice accommodation we had to cancel because of the Corona pandemic in 2020.
Unfortunately, the house seems abandoned and is currently rather not in a rentable condition.
Overall, Gozo seems to be less touristic and more relaxed than the main island. We especially like the beautiful and deserted alleys, as well as the incredible variety of doors - from noble to old.
The magnificent interior of St. George's Basilica in Victoria, which was partly scaffolded on the outside, was also quite impressive ...

9:30 p.m.
Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Old Citadel in Victoria, which was a wonderful experience in every respect. From the Bishop's Square just beyond the gate, over the freely accessible ruins, to the breathtaking view from up here: Great!

By now it is dark, with only the city lights twinkling in the distance. A gentle breeze pleasantly cools us, and in the church a group is apparently rehearsing, treating our ears to the most beautiful Gregorian chorales. Claudi and I could stay up here forever, but we still have to find a restaurant, hand in the scooter and catch the ferry to Valletta - so we now have to leave with heavy hearts.

11:45 p.m.
After a delicious dinner at St. George's Square in Victoria, we parked the scooter at the harbour, threw the key into the storage box and managed to catch the ferry to Valletta on time. By now it's almost midnight, and Claudi and I are pretty exhausted from today's long stay in the heat and all the running around. Some mobile phone snapshots of Valletta's harbour area later we will be driving through the night back to Sliema.

6:00 p.m.
As planned, we spent the last full day of our holiday without any major activities.
Until early afternoon we sun-bathed and splashed around in the pool. Small triumph: The lifting figure with Claudi finally worked out after several unsuccessful attempts in the last few days. In recognition of this tight performance, there was even restrained applause from some of the present hotel guests. However, grace fell by the wayside during our clumsy artistic performance: Unfortunately, we are not getting any younger either.

We took the scooter to Valletta at around 4 pm for a last stroll through the city and bought a few souvenirs for Petra and the children.
Now we have to return to Sliema, fill up the scooter with petrol and then hand it in. Surprisingly, so far we had come along with the amount of fuel we got at the beginning of the rental period.

7.45 pm
How does the pre-selection of the fuel quantity at the automatic petrol stations actually work? A Maltese man we consulted doesn't own a scooter, but is reasonably sure that you have to reckon with about 10 euros to fill the scooter’s tank. Wrong! After about 5 euros, the tank spilled over. The next customer enthusiastically accepts our involuntary donation of fuel.

8.30 p.m
Money burn No. 2: We accidentally left the scooter directly in a no-parking zone when we returned it to the rental company, which we were informed about by phone a short time later.
At first we fear a draconian fine, but we will get off with 25 euros plus administrative fees.

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