Well, we are still on a lock down here in Germany. The rules are confusing and seem to change often. It’s hard to not feel jealous watching things open up in the US!
BUT warmer weather makes quick day trips more enjoyable. In the last couple months, we’ve explored Frankfurt, Opel Zoo, Michelstadt, and Heidelberg! We’re anxious to travel, but haven’t run out of things to do close to home. Fingers crossed outdoor attractions can stay open!
Another recent highlight, is that our local ice cream shop has reopened for the season. We’ve made it a weekly tradition to get an ice cream cone. We are working our way through the flavors. Right now, S.’s favorite is cherry cheesecake. Z. alternates between cappuccino and cookie. All solid choices!
I love that I am getting a chance to live in a city again. It reminds me of living in Lincoln Square when S. was a baby. Being able to walk a half block to ice cream hasn’t gotten old yet. S. did tell me the other day she wishes she lived in a REAL neighborhood. Ha! I had to ask what she meant. “You know, like with JUST houses and backyards.” S. and Z. both miss elements of suburban life (I miss our garage!), but our proximity to an ice cream shop is a perk of city life they enjoy!
I plan to dedicate another full post to our neighborhood, but I wanted to use THIS post to highlight some of our recent adventures.
A Few of Our Favorite Recent Adventures:
First up, Opel Zoo!
I reserved tickets for the zoo for S.’s birthday. They just opened up zoos, castles, and gardens. You have to reserve tickets in advance, but I’ll take it! It was really fun to get out and about. Something unique about Opel Zoo is that you can bring or purchase bags of carrots to feed the animals. The girls got to feed goats, sheep, donkeys, deers, and camels.
The playground was still closed and it was a little too cold for some of the animals; but they girls enjoyed it. They could have probably parked themselves near the baby goats and been happy for hours!
Time for Heidelberg! Maybe our favorite German city so far?
Heidelberg had been on our list since we arrived. It is about 45 min. away and a university town. There is an amazing castle there. It requires a hike, but once you make it to the top you have a great view of the city. We headed there on a Sunday, expecting to just check out the castle. We were pleasantly surprised by a really bustling scene!
Heidelberg offered up a plethora of treat options, coffee shops, and lots of people watching. We will definitely be back. It helped that this was one of the first really nice days in awhile. It felt REALLY good to take advantage of a beautiful day.
We started our adventure with exploring Heidelberg Castle. Once we made the hike to the top, we were able to get tickets to explore the castle grounds. It is hard to wrap your head around how old Europe is! It’s crazy. The girls don’t care, but Zech and I are constantly reading off dates to one another!
After making our way back down, we rewarded the girls with a waffle topped in ice cream.
Our track record for getting exactly what we want when we order food is about 50/50. It keeps things interesting! The girls had no complaints. We finished the day with a walk across the bridge before meandering back to our car.
It was a great afternoon!
Time for Michelstadt!
Michelstadt came up in my various internet searches as one of the towns within driving distance that was worth a visit. We visited here on a Sunday, which was maybe a mistake. Unlike Heidelberg, NOTHING was open. Which is more typical for German cities. We found one lone ice cream shop, aka “lunch”.
Michelstadt is known for having well preserved timber-framed buildings. The city had been decorated for Easter which was fun. We did find a cute playground which is always a win!
After walking around Michelstadt, we went on a hunt for some Roman ruins! We followed some loose directions and winded through a few more small towns. We ended up reaching a dead-end where the road turned into a biking path. We pulled the car over and walked the rest of the way. It felt a little strange… like I would think Roman ruins would have a dedicated parking lot or signs.
BUT after a quick hike, we found the remains of a Roman bath in the middle of a field! No fence, just completely open to climb on and explore. Crazy that the Roman empire expanded up to Germany at one point, and even crazier that the Roman army prioritized building a full roman bath spa experience for it’s soldiers.
Off to Frankfurt
Frankfurt is only 20 minutes or so away from where we live. We were overdue for a trip into the city to explore. Frankfurt definitely feels more like a big city than Wiesbaden. We were pleasantly surprised by all the green space! There is a connected path of parks that run through a lot of the city.
Frankfurt recently put in place a city wide mask ordinance, even outdoors. We were unaware of this before we arrived. As soon as we started walking, we noticed police everywhere.
We weren’t quite sure if it was just to enforce mask wearing or if there was something else going on we didn’t know about. Definitely a little unsettling!
We started the afternoon at a playground. German playgrounds continue to deliver! This one had a crazy spinning thing that kids sat on, it looked like a carnival ride.
After that, we walked through the city towards the historic town square. Both girls noticed all the statues. Many naked. Not something you see everyday in the US.
The town square leads to the Main river and a beautiful river walk. We had packed some snacks and found a spot to eat. Along the way, Zech also found a focaccia spot. He tried to buy some bread, and walked away with a panini. Ha! It was still delicious.
We walked through the parks back to our car. I can see us going back often!
Looking through my pictures, made me feel MUCH better about the past few months. We have managed to explore even with the current rules in place. Looking back at the memories we’ve made helps to put things in perspective.
The girls have eight weeks of school left, which seems impossible. What a strange year! We are ready to officially lose the winter gear and let the summer fun begin. We are also counting down to our trip home. Who would have thought that our first big trip in Germany would be BACK to the US? Regardless, we are excited for family time, shopping (all stores outside of grocery and drug stores are still closed here), and a little break from not being able to understand ANY of the language around us.