The Best Way to Spend a Weekend

At our internship, we don't get many vacation days - but it just so happened that we had a four-day weekend we didn't know what to do with. We contemplated our options: Barcelona, Morocco, Prague, Croatia... they all sounded amazing but for some reason, none of them "felt right."

Then we had a new idea... let's visit Oma, Opa and Aunt Silke in Germany! Originally it was going to be a surprise, but then we decided it might be smarter to let them know in advance just to make sure they were home and we could spend time together. It was definitely the right choice.

While we were in Germany we had the opportunity to do a lot of special, little things that meant a lot more than a weekend on the beach. And there's something more peaceful and relaxing about just being with family, compared to the stress and exhaustion of being a tourist. It was the perfect weekend.

Some of our favorite memories were:

Walking up "the big hill" and finding a giant snail. Christopher used to walk up this hill frequently when he lived with his Oma for the summer as a child. He and his brother went on errands to the local grocery store to buy bread in the mornings - his favorites were Käse Brötchen and Pretzel Brötchen. After trying them... I definitely agree!

I got to try my first official bowl of "Spaghetti Eis." We have eaten it homemade before but it's a little different in the shop. They put ice cream through a press so it looks like noodles (on top of whipped cream which freezes a little) and then add strawberry topping with shaved white chocolate and more whipped cream. It is SO delicious!!

We also got to see a really beautiful panoramic viewpoint of Stuttgart. Aunt Silke told us it was where Christopher's parents got engaged. It was neat to visit such a special place. At the top of the hill, there is a tomb of some important Russian leader and (in German) it reads "The Love Never Ends."

Oma also took us to see the "Burg Hohenzollern" - a castle straight from the fairy tales! It was fun to see the tour inside and learn about the royal family of Germany. Then afterward, we made a pit stop at the Ritter Sport factory! I definitely enjoyed the free samples and we stocked up on my favorite kind: Erdbeer Joghurt! This tasted even better after my month of fasting from sugary-sweets.

Other great memories were going to church with Oma and Opa, seeing Silke's apartment, taking pictures with the beautiful Sonnenblumen (sunflowers), riding the "Nussdorf rollercoaster", seeing the Pig Museum, eating yummy Fleisch Brot and Doners, taking a mini bus-ride on Opa's bus, picking plums with Oma at their orchard and playing our favorite game of Stadt, Land, Fluss.

I really couldn't have imagined a better way to spend our weekend. As we were running to catch our train Oma said, "I'll always remember this summer we spent together." It was the sweetest thing. As we waved goodbye to her from the train window, I couldn't help but cry. I can never say this enough... spending time with family makes me the happiest.