As I was standing in the airport, I smiled knowing that in less than 30 minutes I would see a familiar face walk through customs and give us the biggest hug from home. The reunion wasn't movie material, and more or less consisted of a lost parent and a worried adult child, yelling at each other over the phone, from opposite ends of the airport, each wondering where the other one was standing. This visit is off to a great start, I sarcastically said to my 18 month old son. After ten minutes of frustration, we finally found each other and Dad said, let's redo that hello. As he hugged us, his signature scent gave me a feeling of comfort and familiarity.
Ten days, that's all the time we had together for this trip. The Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland welcomed us for three of the ten days. This region was the most scenic place either one of us had ever seen. It's lakes, mountains, waterfalls, and rolling green hills were spectacular. A cozy Swiss chalet was our haven in the evenings and during the poor weather. With heavy rains being the primary forecast for our trip, we were feeling extremely blessed to be given half a day with pure sunshine. The Allmendhubel funicular from Murren gave us the best views of the Eiger, an iconic mountain that towers over tiny Swiss villages and the Lauterbrunnen Valley. We spent our sunny day at The Allmendhubel, swinging on the playground, watching B run for joy, enjoying food and drinks on a patio surrounded by mountains, and thinking is this place real?
While back in Germany, we spent a day at the world's largest pumpkin festival in Ludwigsburg. This years theme, "Pumpkins Take Flight", was perfect for my Dad, a pilot! What an awesome event to kick off the fall season and get a taste of pumpkin!
My Dad and I don't always see eye to eye about things. He has his little quirks that drive me crazy, and he would tell you the same thing about me. But in the midst of our personality differences, there is a love for one another that only a parent and a child can have. We chatted about our visit once he was settled back home. We both agreed that it's so important to make memories, be in the moment and be fully present, and most of all, appreciate one another and the time spent because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. These actions are easy to say or write, but I'm going to be more mindful and focus on fostering quality relationships with the people I love most.
Travel Notes
Interlaken Trains
There are so many places to see in the Bernese Oberland Region and this rail link will show you which destinations you can reach to and from Interlaken. It also links you to the Swiss Travel Pass if you choose to buy one for your trip. Switzerland is expensive. very expensive. If you are going to be traveling in the area for more than three days, it may be more cost-effective to purchase this pass. Do the math for yourself before purchasing! Interlaken Trains website
Want to find the playground pictured above?
Take the train from Interlake Ost to Lauterbrunnen, get off the train in Lauterbrunnen and walk the underpass to the Murren Railway Station and hop on the cable car to Grutschalp. Once the cable car reaches it's destination, exit and board the train to Murren. Take the allmendhubel funicular from Murren to a panorama view with restaurant and playground! It sounds much more difficult and lengthy than it really is, sit back and enjoy the insane views!)
The chalet we stayed at is located in Frutigen, a 25 minute drive from the Interlaken train station. It sits up high in the Swiss countryside, overlooking the rolling green hills and small town. We really loved the feel of this place and the owner was very helpful and welcoming. To save money, we brought a cooler of food and prepared our breakfasts and dinners at the Chalet. Airbnb Chalet
Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival
Events, information, opening hours and fees are all listed on this website. While you're at the Festival, be sure to check out the Fairy-Tale garden which is located at the same Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival website
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.
A trip to Ireland has always been a dream of ours but neither of us realized we would have the opportunity to visit so soon. Let me preface by saying that the beauty we saw in four days along with the details is too much to even cram into one blog post, so bare with me. We chose to visit County Clare, Galway, Mayo, and Dublin, unfortunately, our timeframe didn't allow us to visit anywhere else. You can drive from coast to coast in three hours, giving you a perspective of just how small this country is. Many visitors plan at least a week to ten days to tour around but we were feeling up to covering a lot of the country in just four days. Aggressive? Yes, probably, but it turned out to be the perfect itinerary.
We flew into the West Coast at 4:00pm and got set up with our bright red oh so tiny rental car which would be our primary transportation for the trip. We both kept saying to each other, "Keep left, keep left!" and laughing about how odd it seemed to be driving on the opposite side of the road. The Cliffs of Moher along the rugged coast of the Atlantic were our first stop. Magnificent and utterly breathtaking are words that come to mind to truly describe these massive cliffs. A winding drive through the rolling hills of The Burren region, mainly covered with limestone, would be the route to our first hotel. A tiny hiccup from the back seat followed by a cry had Alex immediately pulling over alongside the road. Brecken had gotten sick all over himself and his car seat, poor guy! We had an oh sh*t moment when we realized we had nothing but a few baby wipes to clean up a real mess. Thankful to our first hotel for awesome customer service and giving us detergent, hot water, a bucket and a scrub brush to clean everything up. We weren't taking any chances on being unprepared the next day and made an early morning trip to the grocery store for paper towels, sponges and detergent! Yet another new lesson learned for traveling with a child, always be prepared for sickness. After a good nights rest, B bear was back to himself and ready to conquer day two.
The next day started off with a full Irish breakfast and a few hours in Galway City, a harbor city that has an artsy feel with stone-clad buildings, musicians on the streets, bright colors throughout the latin quarter and many storefronts. We walked the streets, checked out a few sites, enjoyed the best donuts ever, and marked it as seen. Next stop was a drive through the Connemara region, a vast area of landscape that reminded me a bit of areas in Wyoming. Each turn gave way to different scenery although one thing remained consistent, and that was the sheep roaming about. We visited the Kylemore Abbey, once a castle and now home to benedictine nuns. The Kylemore is worth a visit to experience the aura of tranquility and rich history. Our evening was spent at a simple oceanside lodge in the countryside.
We rented bikes the next morning and biked our booties from Westport to Newport and back on the Great Western Greenway. The nice weather didn't hold out and left two of us biking in the rain, one of us, covered from the elements in a bike trailer, napping off his cookies from earlier.
We had lunch in Westport and then headed across the country, aiming to reach Dublin by dinnertime.
Dublin was such a great city, I think Alex and I need a trip back here without the little guy so we can sit in a pub after 10pm and listen to Irish music. We loved the vibe here, truly multicultural and laid back but true to its Irish roots. Highlight of the city was touring the Guinness factory where we earned a certificate for learning how to properly pour a Guinness. From green countryside to busy city streets, we enjoyed every moment of this trip to Ireland.
