It was our first week back in Germany and we were busier than ever!
We landed in Frankfurt Tuesday morning after a long nine hour flight, listening to the dogs bark, and trying to sooth them the entire time 😵💫. It took us forever to get out of the airport due to long passport lines and a missing suitcase. Poor Slinky couldn’t make it; as we were riding the bus from the plane to the terminal, we looked down and saw his bag was sitting in a puddle, poor guy.
When we finally had our missing bag, we set out on the two hour drive back to Stuttgart. Thankfully the kids and dogs finally went to sleep. When we got home, we didn’t even unload the car, just headed straight to bed for a nap.
We got up around six and walked with some friends up to the base for Fourth of July fireworks. The bier and food from the “American Food” food truck brought us back to life.
Brooklyn and I started tennis lessons this week. Brooklyn wants to play for the school team in the fall and we thought it would be fun if we could play together so we have started working with an instructor at a local tennis club. Our first practice fell on a day when we had the most beautiful weather I think I’ve ever experienced; 70F, low-low humidity, and a light cool breeze- perfection! The tennis club is also surrounded by farms and there is a meadow full of sheep directly behind it. So pretty, although also a little distracting!
Matt and I made it through the short week of work and school. This was actually Matt’s last week of school and he proudly submitted his final assignment.
Ryan had reverse jet lag all week. Where he normally should have been sleeping late and having trouble going to bed at night; he was waking up early every day and then falling back asleep around noon. He spent a lot of the week on the couch!
Friday was my day off and we decided to visit Europa Park, which is about two hours away in the Black Forest, on the French border. The German and French schools are still in session so we figured we would go while it still wouldn’t be too crowded.
We had an amazing day! The weather was perfect and the lines weren’t that long at all. Europa Park is most similar to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, in that each ‘world’ is themed as a European country, although it has more rides and rollercoasters than Busch Gardens.
The park was so pretty and had perfect landscaping everywhere. It was also so clean! The food was cheap as well; we all ate and drank for the whole day for less than €75.
Saturday, the weather started getting hot again. Europe has had several heat waves this summer. So many, that they are starting to name them. It was going to be almost 90F and since we only have one AC unit that wasn’t presently hooked up, we took the kids and some of their friends to the local pool.
The freibad, or ‘pool,’is actually a complex of several pools, diving boards, slides, volleyball, and badminton courts. There are no lawn chairs. Instead, you bring a blanket or your own chairs and make camp in one of the large meadows. You can also bring your own food in. Entry for all of us was €10! Ryan’s reverse jet lag struck again and he fell asleep while we were there.
Saturday night, we rode the train into downtown Stuttgart and met some friends at the Hamburger Fischmarkt. The Markt is an annual event in Stuttgart. Fish and seafood is brought down daily from Hamburg, in the north of Germany, as well as several northern German biers.
We expected an easy going night, some food and drink from the food stalls, but instead (maybe since it was Saturday), it was more of a Bierfest environment. The Markt had the normal fest tables set up but the DJ playing schlager brought things up a notch. It was so much fun and we ended up staying until close.
Sunday, Matt and I were on the road again. The kids were tired from the pool and their sleepovers so they stayed home while Matt and I drove to Bad Dürkheim to meet our friends, Ray and Susan, to celebrate Susan’s birthday. Bad Dürkheim is on the Rhine Wine Road and we started at a winery, Fitz Ritter, where we did several tastings, toured the vault, and saw their small museum. We bought a bottle of wine that we took out into the garden and enjoyed. Afterwards, we had sushi for lunch and then headed back to Stuttgart. It was a great day.
When we got home, we remembered we had no food at the house so we went out to eat at our favorite lakeside restaurant in town. We ended the week super wiped, and ready for a slower week ahead!
Gilcrests Abroad 