Planning a trip with kids is completely different than the last time we lived in Germany! Researching kid friendly hotels, areas, parks are all part of the agenda. I learned that Germany has tons of fun amusement parks so we narrowed it down to what was in our path.
Day One:
The excitement had built for days and the kiddies were so excited for vacation. Saturday morning we were off!
The first stop on the trip was about 1 hour and 45 minutes away at the Ritter Sport Shop and Factory in Waldenbuch. The factory was huge and the shops was a chocolate lovers dream come true.
The workshop to make your own candy bar was already booked which was fine, we spent about €13 on pick-your-own boxes and everyone was as happy as a clam.
Next we were heading to the Metzingen Outlet Center, a huge collection of stores including Birkenstock!
The plan here was for me to do some shopping while the family ate some lunch. That all changed when we got into the town and saw that there were lines to get in all of the stores! It was a very warm beautiful day and TONS of people were out so they dropped me off at the Birkenstock Store, William fell asleep, Dave drove through McDonald’s and I met them when I was done. That was all I could manage for one day. It was so hot, mask wearing and heat and lots of people does not equal a great mix. So we went on to our hotel for the next 3 nights.
The Achalm Hotel sits way up high on the hills in Reutlingen, Germany. The rooms have beautiful views and there is a large infinity pool. We chose a Junior suite where we all stayed in the room together and played musical beds till we found the perfect sleeping spot. We watched a wedding while waiting to check in, swam in the pool, enjoyed a nice dinner at the restaurant, and watched the most amazing fireworks display right in front of our balcony.
Day Two:
On Sunday we visited the Lichtenstein Castle an awesome castle perched atop a rock on the edge of the hillside. Sometimes it’s just amazing to see these and wonder how in the world they were constructed!
We walked around the courtyard and hiked down to the original castle ruins dating back to 1300. We didn’t go into the castle because Ev did not want to walk the bridge up to it! We had lunch at the nearby restaurant and headed back to the hotel for some pool time. We booked the pool 2 times that day, because of Corona only a certain number of people were allowed in every hour. It was much cooler this day and rain was in the area but it didn’t stop the kiddos who insisted on swimming!
Day Three:
On Monday we set out for Traumland Freizeitpark Adventure Park. This is a wonderful amusement park nestled in the forest about 30 minutes south of our hotel. We couldn't say enough good things about this park. It was fun, clean and not too big at all. We spent over 1/2 a day there, arriving as soon as it opened and had a great time. It is definitely recommended for kids 3 and 6 (even younger and older too!) The rain held off until we left!
Day Four:
On Tuesday we hit the road to Schwangau to see the fairy tale castles that Evie wanted to see since our move to Germany. Driving along and seeing the Alps in the distance was absolutely beautiful. The to pull into town, look up and see Neuschwanstein - WOW!
The next 3 nights we stayed in The Chalet which is part of the Hotel Villa Ludwig at the base of the mountain where King Ludwig's castles sit. The Chalet did belong to the Royal Family years ago as their hunting cabin. It has a lovely garden and views that are to die for!
The weather was a bit chilly on our first night there so after getting some groceries and venturing through the house and yard we enjoyed a nice warm fire and got a good nights sleep so that we could explore the next day.
Day Five:
Wednesday, August 5th we walked into town which was just a short distance from the Chalet. We went through the main tourist area (the Alpseestrasse) en route to the Alpsee (lake). It was a beautiful morning and we decided to take a paddle boat out on the Alpsee for an hour. It was tons of fun and quite the leg workout!
After the Alpsee we walked back to the Chalet for lunch and a break before hiking up the Pöllatschlucht Gorge. We didn't take this hike before to get to Neuschwanstein but it was practically in our back yard so we packed up and set out to see what we could see. I wasn't sure if the kids would be able to make it but much to our surprise they were quite the trooper and had a great time. The best part was the flat, beach area that we stopped at for a while to let the kids play, stick our feet in the water and enjoy the sun.
A video of some of the day's highlights is below.
Day Six:
On our last day in Schwangau we had tickets to tour Neuschwanstein. We were interested to see how this played out during Corona because the last time we toured it was a very large group and there were just tons of people everywhere. The kids wanted to hike back up the Gorge again to the castle so we headed out early and made it in plenty of time. They did awesome hiking that Gorge 2 days in a row!
We waited outside the castle with others, you could only enter the grounds within 5 minutes of your tour time. They had a pretty good process with letting people in and social distancing. There were only 8 people on our English tour! Last time we think it was about 60 people. Pictures were not allowed inside the castle but the kids were in awe at the interior and the huge chandeliers and paintings. After the tour we took the horse drawn carriage back down the hill, another fun experience for the kids!
That afternoon Evie and I walked around Schwangau looking in on a few little shops and enjoying the beautiful architecture of Bavaria. We grabbed some Eis and bought some hats.
It was a great trip away. We needed to get away. We had about a 4 hour drive home that actually took 5 when you count in the numerous bathroom and food stops! We were happy to get home on a Friday and have the weekend to recoup. The weather was looking great for the weeks to come and we knew we had days to spend at the lake and pool and parks around. We had a house booked in France for a week in September but you'll read in the next post how those plans went down the toilet - darn CORONA! Our first getaway was a success and we will look forward to future trips and experiences for Evie and William.
Bis zum nächsten Mal,
Tschüss!
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