Our recent holiday in Germany (in transit from Malaysia) was exciting and fun, a wonderful first taste of Europe for the Dewhirsts! It charmed us with its beautiful landscapes, filled us with its amazing foods, and enlightened us with its rich history and culture.
Arriving in Stuttgart after flying red-eye, my sister-in-law Rebekah greeted us at the airport. She led us by train to her charming 4th-floor apartment, graciously hosted us for three nights, and became our tour guide for food and fun. Danke!!
We first visited the Württemberg Mausoleum, built as a memorial to Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (1788-1819) and formerly used as a Russian Orthodox church. It sits majestically on the top of a hill surrounded by vineyards and overlooking the Neckar River. From there we wandered down a country lane and enjoyed a traditional German lunch (complete with beer and prosecco . . . "prost!") at an outdoor cafe. My son discovered his love for tarte flambée ("flamkuchen"), an South German dish composed of
thin bread dough covered with crème fraîche, thinly sliced
onions, and lardons! Later, we enjoyed Turkish food while catching up with my brother-in-law Keith.
After enjoying pastries (and pretzels!) from a local bakery in the morning, we took trains to visit Burg Hohenzollern, ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House and the Hohenzollern princes. Standing with pride at the top of a hill, this beautiful castle welcomed us with its stone turrets, its truffle garden, and its winding entry up cobblestone paths. The tour allowed us to view the many lovely rooms as well as the treasury, including the king's dazzling crown. After the tour, we enjoyed lite snacks in the summer beer garden. To complete the fairy tale (think Cinderella!), we literally had to run down the hill to catch our bus. Thankfully, we made the last bus of the day to the train station, whew!!
We spent the next few hours strolling thru the charming town of Tubingen. Straight out of a storybook, this delightful town was full of colorful houses and shops selling everything imaginable. We enjoyed fresh cherries and listened to music in the marketplace, my son found a coin shop, and I bought some gifts. Our day ended with a quiet train ride back home (as we dozed) and yummy Italian.
On our last day in Stuttgart, we visited the Porsche Museum. We learned about the history of the company, marveled at the beautiful cars, and posed beside "Sally", the blue Porsche from
Cars. We then lingered over lunch and beer at Carls Brauhaus, overlooking the town square ("Schlossplatz"). After, we walked around exploring (and digesting), found a super fun city park with a tall view tower and zipline playground, then enjoyed a leisurely Greek meal while our kids played at an adjacent park: perfect!
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