It has honestly been a quiet, kind of boring couple of weeks in Germany, not even enough happening to justify breaking this into two separate weekly posts.
It has still been incredibly hot, and everywhere is sold out of air conditioners. We already have three in our house, but we decided we have become far too accustomed to our creature comforts to keep living in an 80 degree house. Our new favorite pastime has become constantly checking store inventories online, hoping one will finally pop up in stock. No luck so far. We have also watched people list air conditioners on online yard sale pages, but unless you comment within about 30 seconds of the listing going live, you do not stand a chance. We are not giving up though!
Ryan spent the first week in Kandersteg, Switzerland, camping with the Boy Scouts. He had a blast despite the heat and the pool being closed at the last minute for repairs. He absolutely loves camping. While he was there, he also earned six more merit badges and is now really in the home stretch toward earning his Eagle Scout. He is so close, and we are really hoping he finishes it this year.
His favorite activity of the camp was hiking to Oeschinensee. Oeschinensee is a stunning alpine lake near Kandersteg that is known for its crystal clear turquoise water and dramatic mountain scenery. It is one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland and is a popular destination for hiking. It has actually been on my own bucket list for quite a while, so I have to admit I was a little jealous that Ryan got to experience it before I did!
After a week away, he arrived home dirty, smelly, and desperately in need of a shower. I honestly do not know how the scoutmasters survived the drive home in the same van with all those boys.
Friday was my day off, and since the sun was actually shining, I knew I had to get out of the house. The dogs and I made the hour long drive to the Lotharpfad Trail in the Black Forest, where we wandered along the elevated boardwalk through an area that was devastated by Hurricane Lothar in 1999 and intentionally left untouched so nature could regenerate on its own.
The walk only took about an hour, and afterward I rewarded myself with McDonald’s on the drive home. Honestly, that is a pretty perfect day in my book.
Friday was also Matt’s and my nineteenth wedding anniversary! We celebrated by heading into downtown Stuttgart for the annual Hamburger Fischmarkt with our friends, Alex and Chiara. Originally inspired by Hamburg’s famous fish market, the festival brings a taste of northern Germany to Stuttgart each summer with fresh seafood, market stalls, live music, and plenty of beer and wine. It is held each year on Karlsplatz and has become one of our favorite summer events.
This year, the shade trees have finally grown tall enough that much of the seating was covered, making it far more enjoyable despite the heat. We spent the evening sharing several fresh seafood dishes along with spritzes and beers while catching up.
At the same time, the Stuttgart Jazz Open was taking place over at Schloßplatz, just a short walk from Karlsplatz. Despite the name, it is much more than a jazz festival these days, attracting major international artists. This year’s lineup included Katy Perry, Teddy Swims, and Lenny Kravitz.
While looking over the schedule, we realized Lenny Kravitz was performing that very night. Since tickets were sold out, we decided to head over to the palace lawn and listen from outside the venue.
Matt and Alex made a quick run to the Aldi next to Schloßplatz for supplies. They came back with bathroom rugs to sit on, a bottle of wine, and four wine glasses for a grand total of €12. I would call that a bargain.
We spent the evening relaxing on the grass, sipping wine, and listening to Lenny Kravitz perform under the summer sky. Even without being able to see the stage, it was a beautiful concert in an even more beautiful setting.
Let us just say we had headaches on Saturday morning. We slept in and then lounged around the house all day. That evening, we went to Nick and Natia’s house for dinner. For our anniversary, Matt gave me a beautiful carafe with the shape of the Zugspitze inside the glass, along with a magnum bottle of Châteauneuf du Pape from 2007, the year we were married. Since a magnum really needs to be enjoyed in one sitting, there was no way we could finish it ourselves, so we knew we needed to share it with some of our best friends.
Nick and Natia served a delicious ribeye dinner, and we polished off the bottle, followed by one or two more.
Sunday was spent doing chores around the house and getting ready for our upcoming trip to the United States. Carter was leaving for the U.S. that day, so we stopped by to see him off and say goodbye. He and Brooklyn already have plans to see each other over the summer before school starts.
It has been so long since all four members of our family have been home at the same time. That evening, we decided to try a new restaurant, Motorworld Inn in Böblingen. Located inside the old Böblingen Airport terminal, the restaurant overlooks a collection of exotic, classic, and luxury cars, making it a fun place to eat even if you are not a huge car enthusiast. The industrial atmosphere mixed with the impressive vehicles hanging from the ceilings gives the restaurant a unique vibe that is unlike anywhere else in the area.
The food was excellent, and honestly, considering both the quality of the meal and the atmosphere, I thought the prices were very reasonable. This place is definitely going into our regular restaurant rotation. Of course, I forgot to really take any good pictures while we were there.
During the second week, we settled back into our usual routines. The hot weather finally broke about midway through the week. Early Wednesday morning, we were all awakened at 3:00 a.m. by an incredibly loud hailstorm. It was crazy! I still can’t believe none of our vehicles were damaged.
The storm also brought much cooler temperatures. Overnight lows dropped into the 60s, which meant we could finally open the windows and let the cool air circulate through the house all night. It made a huge difference in keeping the house comfortable.
Wednesday night, we went to our favorite pizzeria, Da Gianni, for dinner. I love this place because not only do they make great pizza, but they also have the best French onion soup. I know that seems a little strange for an Italian restaurant, but somehow they absolutely nail it.
Thursday started very early, and for good reason. We had read online that the Kaufland stores were supposed to have air conditioners back in stock that morning, and not only that; they were expected to be on sale for just €179, an incredible price. I know it had cooled down by then but it’s going to get hot again and we want to be prepared for next time.
Since the stores opened at 7:00 a.m., we split up to improve our chances. Matt, Brooklyn, and Alex headed to one location, while Ryan, Chiara, and I went to another. We all arrived around 6:30 and were surprised to find lines of people already waiting outside.
As soon as the doors opened at 7:00, it felt like a Black Friday sale back in the U.S. Everyone stampeded through the store in search of the air conditioners. Unfortunately, there weren’t any to be found. Several people waiting in line told us they had been at the store the day before and had actually seen the units being unloaded from the delivery truck; but they never made it onto the sales floor. Our best guess is that employees purchased them before customers ever had the chance. Matt and Alex had the exact same experience at their store, so none of us came home with an air conditioner. While it was disappointing, the whole experience was pretty funny in hindsight and reminded us of the Black Friday shopping crazes back in the United States.
Thursday afternoon, we dropped the dogs off at the kennel, and Friday was finally travel day. Not only was it travel day, but it was also Brooklyn’s last day at home before leaving for college. She will not be back until Christmas break, so it was a very emotional morning for all of us.
Our taxi picked us up at 6:00 a.m., and we arrived at Stuttgart Airport with plenty of time before our flight. Since we had the extra time, we decided to register our passports for Germany’s EasyPASS system, which lets us use the electronic immigration gates instead of waiting in the increasingly long passport control lines that have become the norm since the European Union introduced its new Entry/Exit System.
What we thought would be a quick stop turned into quite the adventure. We must have been the first people to register at Stuttgart Airport because no one seemed to know exactly how the process worked. More than two hours later, our registration was finally complete, but by then we were in serious danger of missing our flight. Thankfully, the airport police came to the rescue and escorted us through security so we could make it to the gate just in time.
The stressful morning paid off almost immediately. When we landed in Munich, the passport control line snaked through the terminal with well over 1,000 people waiting. The estimated wait was more than four hours, which almost certainly would have caused us to miss our connecting flight. Instead, we headed straight for the EasyPASS gates, scanned our passports, and were through immigration in about 10 minutes. After all the uncertainty in Stuttgart, we were relieved and more than a little excited when everything worked perfectly.
With the travel excitement behind us, we now have a little over two weeks in the United States. We’re looking forward to catching up with friends and family, checking a few doctor appointments off the list, and making the most of our time at home before it’s time to head back to Germany.
Gilcrests Abroad 