Labor Day Weekend: Day Trips

I had a great trip planned for Labor Day weekend. We would be driving to Austria to tour Salzburg for two days and continuing onto Slovenia to spend the remaining two days near Bled, hiking through the Triglav National Park. We checked the weather and it dipped to the mid 50's with rain for the entire trip, bummer. That forecast really put a damper on the excitement of hiking in Slovenia's only national park. Bad weather + a cranky child were signs we were better off canceling. Thankfully we were able to cancel the trip hours before departure without incurring any cancellation fees. We ended up doing day trips throughout the long weekend, allowing us to view some beautiful places in our surrounding area.

We checked out Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a medieval city in the Bavarian region of Germany,
hiked to a waterfall in the Black Forest and ate Black Forest cake, obviously, and finished our weekend with a tour of the Lichtenstein Castle. It was our second time doing a guided tour with Breck and I figured we could easily leave the castle if he started acting up. Boy was I wrong. The tour guide gathered everyone into the castle and then turned around and locked the door. Oh, no. We had no escape plan now. Aha, but we are smart parents and bribe our child with high value treats for situations such as these. He quietly rode on daddy's back in the carrier, tuning out the tour guide and focusing solely on his large lollipop.

Each day trip was planned the morning of and turned out to be so much fun. Get up, get out, and explore your area. Some of the best trips are on a whim without any research or an itinerary in hand.

Travel Notes

Geroldsau Waterfall Hike
This hike was flat and easy, perfect for kids of any age.
address: Wasserfallstraße, 76534 Baden-Baden 

Mummelsee
Kids will LOVE this place. Who wouldn't want to bake their own bread in a wood-fired oven, search for mermaids in the lake, or climb on the playground in the woods. Our toddler immediately spotted a little ride-on toy tractor near the sandbox and zoomed his way around the vicinity. Check out the Black Forest shops or stop in the hotel for some Black Forest cake!

Schloss Lichtenstein
The main website to the castle which will give you all the details you will need to know before arriving. There is also a ropes course that is right around the corner from the castle. If you are into climbing and heights, this might be for you. A side note that the castle tour is not stroller friendly. Brecken was in the hiking backpack for this tour and it worked out great.