The Best Summer
Here I am, in November, finally compiling our summer adventures for us to remember...just the first five weeks anyway. It was a profoundly busy, beautiful, exhausting, memorable and sweet summer! Just scrolling through the 500+ pictures and videos makes me tired. We covered so much ground (and all ranges of emotions) in the five short weeks that my parents were here to visit and travel with us. The best way for me to remember all the details is by sharing my travel outline that kept us all on track.
This year, I started organizing our different trips by making a document with the dates, times, details, ticket links, etc. I have loved having everything in one place, having something that is shareable, and that it allows me to add little notes and memories to it as we go.
Originally I intended on separate blog posts for each city and site, but it became so overwhelming and I kept putting it off. So, here is our master document I shared with my parents for the five weeks they were here. It’s a little window into our life right now.
Mom & Dad Trip June 2023
Friday, June 2: Mom & Dad arriving to Frankfurt Airport, 1100…except their flight was delayed! They were rerouted to Stuttgart and arrived around dinner time which meant we all could be there. The kids were jumping for joy to spot my mom and dad through the security doors. It was such a fun reunion!
Saturday, June 3: Brian’s last Baseball game. Mom and dad showed no signs of jet lag. They were so happy to see Brian play!
Schloss Solitude walk. This palace is the new summer palace and we see it every Sunday when we are going to and from church. We showed up for the tour in English only to find out their website had not been updated, so there was no tour in English. I’m convinced June is the best time to visit Europe. I still can’t get over the palace grounds that are beautiful, natural forests now. They used to be curated, like the gardens of Versailles. There is a small sign showing the original plans and how it was. It’s fascinating to see how something so manicured and designed can be swallowed up with overgrowth.
Sunday, June 4: Fast Sunday. I shared my testimony of Jesus Christ. I don’t remember the last time my parents have heard me share this in person. It was sweet to have them there. Matt’s steaks were incredible for dinner. Everything Matt cooks is five stars.
Monday, June 5: Kids to school. Me, and Mom & Dad to Dachau Memorial. We got stuck in horrible traffic, really the first time for me here in Germany, so we missed the tour. Maps led us mistakenly to the mass burial site with a memorial there. It was a short walk up a hill, marked with the 14 stations of the cross, and a very somber cemetery at the top. Over 7,000 people were buried in mass graves there after Dachau was liberated. The concentration camp was sobering.
Tuesday, June 6: Downtown Stuttgart Farmers’ Market, discovered Laderach swiss chocolate! Worth all the hype. Visited Esslingen — such a cute German village. It was fun to share the local stories and landmarks with Mom & Dad. We hiked to the city wall/castle overlooking the beautiful vineyards. Grabbed gelato!
Wednesday, June 7: Make banner for last day of school, get ice cream treats. Kids back from school at 1200. Community celebrated with popsicles together at the pavilion. Brian Orthodontist appt 1530, Dinner @ Brauhaus with family. Celebrated last day of school.
Thursday, June 8: Lunch at Eselmühle, outside terrace, cute donkeys, loved the gift shop. Ludwigsburg. We got stuck in traffic again on the way to Ludwigsburg and were running, in the rain, to make sure we got to the English tour on time. We made it! This was my first time seeing the Duke side of the palace. I think I love the Duchess side more with it’s Baroque chapel and theater. It felt like a perfect day, even with the traffic and the rain. Everything fell into place, just in time.
A little rain soaked!
Friday, June 9: Went to Würzburg to see the Residenz of the Prince Bishop. Matt and Nola came along. Amazing to see the large fresco’s depictions of the four corners of the earth, and learn how the Residenz was destroyed and then restored after World War II. Wurzburg is also known for it’s three Celtic saints —Saint Totnan was an Irish Franconian apostle. He was born in Ireland and was martyred along with Saint Colman and Saint Kilian in Würzburg in 689. We crossed the famous bridge and got to see a large boat use the lock on the river to pass through. We found the statue of Patron Saint protector against floods and drowning, John of Nepomuk.
This part represents the New World, and their understanding of it at the time.
The small people depicted at the bottom were likely representations of real people, possibly servants, depicted in a mocking manner.
Saturday, June 10: Eguisheim, Riquewirh, France. Every picture was a postcard. I always love being in France and these villages are storybook perfect.
I loved this depiction of the parable of the ten virgins.
Sunday, June 11: Leave for church 1110. (All the notes I took for this day. I’m sure we napped, walked and ate good food…)
Monday, June 12: Pick up rental car for Mom & Dad — Emme and I packed up and drove to Switzerland for Girls’ Camp with our Church for the week. We stayed at a scout camp in Kandersteg and did glacier hikes, a via ferrata hike, and rafting in the Alps. It was truly beautiful! Switzerland is so special. Mom & Dad spent the week in Switzerland too. The following are their notes: Drive to Lucerne, explore city, lion monument, painted buildings, boat ride on lake, fondue, Chapel bridge. Swiss alphorns. Strawberries! Discovered Callier chocolate bars (later found out they are only available in Switzerland). Cute place to stay - Hotel zum Schlossel.
There was a small tin box at the top of the mountain with a notebook and pen for hikers to sign. It was fun to read the other entries, mostly in French, and to add my own.
Tuesday, June 13: (Mom’s notes) Morning in Lucerne, market, best strawberries! Drove to Lauterbrunnen - beautiful lakes along the way (color of the water!), explored entire city, Staubbach Falls, Trummelbach Falls (drains glaciers from Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains), beautiful cemetery; cows with bells, cat, train to Wengen for the afternoon, strolled the city, sat on a bench in the park, had salad, started to rain, train back to Lauterbrunnen stayed the night at Hotel Steinbach, shared bathroom and shower.
Wednesday, June 14: (Mom’s notes) Drove to Grindelwald, strolled the city, lost my phone for a minute, took gondola to Mannlichen (up, up, up) it seemed, to the top of the world. Eiger mountain. Hiked an hour and half along the top ridge of the mountain to Klein Scheidegg, took the train back down to Grindelwald. (also Royal Walk) Wildflowers everywhere. Drove to Stechelberg, cable car to Murren (no vehicles there). Hotel Regina (shared toilet and showers). Darling, quiet village, soup and bread from a small cafe there, walked the entire village. View of Jungfrau sheer mountain. Up very, very high, cows with tinkling bells.
Thursday, June 15: (Mom’s notes) Murren, funicular to Allmendhubel, hiked flower trail, then hiked back down to Murren. Walked through village, hiked to Gimmelwald, Honesty stores. Met Ursula, knitted cloths and hat; Therese doing traditional bobbin lace, lacy bookmark. Set bag down and lost all! The hike was downhill all the way and then uphill all the way back to Murren. Lots of cows and cowbells. More chocolate. Didn’t do - paragliding, via ferrata Klettersteig, Piz Gloria (wish we did this - we were so close!) other hotels - Edelweiss, Jungfrau.
Friday, June 16: (Mom’s notes) Interlaken farm store to look at cow bells. Bern, capital city. Explored city, Parliament building, flag-lined city streets, glockenspiel, bear park, Cathedral and square. Found all the major sites on our own. Lovely old church. Koook Hotel - hip, nice!
Saturday, June 17: Return from Girls’ Camp. Buy Laderbach chocolates. Mom and Dad return from Switzerland. Curnutts visited for dinner! Was so fun to see old friends. Prep for Father’s Day, prep/pack for Austria trip!
Sunday, June 18: Father’s Day!! We did breakfast in bed for Matt and my dad — eggs, bacon, fruit and toast. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for dad, Chocolate Cherry Cake for Matt. Matt Traegering. I prep and clean up.
Monday June 19: Drive to Salzburg, 3.5 hrs. Leave at 0600! Organ Music at Salzburg cathedral: entrance starting at noon, €6pp, 7 organs 1200-1230. The kids found this rather boring, but overall we really enjoyed it.
Salzburg Castle, lunch at the top, salads, waiter brought ice! Matt always orders the local specialties.
Mirabelle gardens. Maria bike tour - the absolute best ever! I was a bit worried that a 3 1//2 hour bike tour would be too much for Brian and Nola, but having just watched “The Sound of Music” for the first time, they really loved the whole tour and did really well…except Brian now has a fear of riding his own bike because he said he was so nervous biking through a city.
Staying in Hallein: Salt Townhouse, very nice, would stay here again. Especially grateful for the A/C because it was way too hot and being out in it all day was hard.
Tuesday June 20: Drove one hour to Hallstatt, charming village on lake with swans, arrived early. Ossuary, Maria on the Mount Catholic church. Drove one hour to tour Schloss Hellbrunn, Trick Fountains, so fun! Pavillion from Sound of Music is here.
Freezing time right here…
I am SO glad we went to Schloss Hellbrunn! The trick fountains were magical!
The Prince Bishop was known to be a fun jokester. This garden of trick fountains delighted his guests then and now. Trick fountains were in fashion at the time and were found in many European palace gardens, however, they fell out of fashion and most were dismantled. Schloss Hellbrunn remains and it is so fun to see the surprises around every corner. We really loved it!
This room was designed to look like ruins from the start.
This intricate show with moving figures and music plays on and on. There are little gems to find in the action everywhere and it was completely captivating. At the very end, hidden fountains spray onlookers from behind.
All of these figures were moving and playing a part in their own miniature scene.
Wednesday, June 21: Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden, and Herren Chiemsee, a replica of Versailles built by King Ludwig II. Drove 1 hr to Chiemsee, took ferry, English tour started at 1530. Then drove back to Hallein for the night. This day was so fun from start to finish, although the heat is really starting to wear on us. Up at the Eagle’s Nest it was no problem. We loved our picnic, shared with some eager birds, and loved the views.
It’s a long bus ride up a steep incline to get to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. The busses have to be specially outfitted and angled to be able to make the ride. Being afraid of heights made it especially dicey for me. Once at the top, you walk into a long tunnel that is cold and wet, and into the original brass elevator that Hitler used. It is a sad testament to a very dark period of human history.
By the time we arrived to Herren Chiemsee, I walked straight into the palace gift shop and bought a passel of hand fans. The bugs were sticking to us as we walked the 1/2 mile to the palace and we were just so happy to get inside the old stone and brick building where it was a little cooler!
And here is where our jaws hit the floor! Remember how I said Herren Chiemsee was built as a replica of Versailles? Ludwig II built it purely for his own enjoyment, not for lavish guests and parties. While it was never completed, the parts that were are just astounding. And the big plus is that you avoid all the crowds of Versailles. It was nearly empty when we went. This is the grand hall that no longer exists at the actual Palace of Versailles so this was amazing to see.
The hall of mirrors! When we saw the original at Versailles it was shoulder to shoulder with visitors. I loved feeling like we had the place to ourselves.
Ludwig II had a trick table specially designed for the dining room. A mechanism lowers the table down one level where the servants would put food on and then raise it up. Ludwig II stayed at Herren Chiemsee a total of ten days before his murder (which is still a mystery).
Up close view of the chandelier in the dining room.
One of the unfinished parts.
Overall, I think Herren Chiemsee is really a hidden gem. Not many people know about it or go to visit so it feels even more special. We loved it, although everyone was excited to get back to Hallein for pizza and gelato.
Hallein is where Franz Gruber (composer of “Silent Night” lived and worked. There is a small museum to him there and you can visit the church where he was over the music.
Thursday, June 22: Drive 3 hours to Neuschwanstein Castle (another amazing build of King Ludwig II). Tickets in folder for 1145 tour in English. Must be onsite 1.5 hours before tour time (leaving Hallein at 7am). Fun overview. https://youtu.be/UhWhYUUo3WM
We took a short bus up to the bridge that is above the castle and hiked a short trail to this perfect picture spot. That bridge though! It is over a deep ravine and was packed with people all taking selfies— I think they thought the views from the bridge where the best because most just stopped there. We crossed it as quickly as possible.
From the bridge we walked down to the castle, around this side first…
View from the Neuschwanstein castle balcony of the castle that Ludwig II grew up in. Such a beautiful spot!
The music hall. The whole castle was filled with murals of scenes from the operas of Richard Wagner, whom Ludwig II greatly admired and was a friend to.
Drove to 45 min to Oberammagau — famous for the Passion play put on every ten years. When the plague swept through Europe in the 1600s, the little town of Oberammagau promised God that they would share His Passion every year if the town could be spared. They kept their promise, and while the play is only shared every ten years now, it draws people from around the world. The whole town is unique with its murals of the life of Jesus, and of Fairy Tales too. It is also very famous for wood carving so we stopped in all the shops and met the carvers there. Drove 3 hours home
Friday, June 23: Much-needed REST! Laundry, walks, naps. Pizza for dinner.
Saturday, June 24: Cleaned church, errands in downtown Stuttgart, nap! Matt cooked tri tip roast
Sunday, June 25: Church
Monday, June 26: The next adventure! Drove to Parkplatz Burg Eltz. €34 family ticket, €2 parking. This is Rick Steves’ favorite castle in all of Germany and it’s easy to see why. It’s small, medieval and so picturesque.
Drive to Beilstein to explore. This is one of the most charming fairytale villages on the bank of the Mosel River. It used to only be accessible by boat, but there is a narrow road following the river now. There were tons of ebikes and motorcycles there stopping for lunch. It was all pretty dreamy…except that I promised the kids ice cream to help them last a bit longer but all the ice cream shops were closed on Mondays for some reason.
Stayed in Cochem, Hotel Ravene. It had the most amazing view of Cochem Castle, and while we were really starting to feel castled out, I dragged the kids along. They got their promised ice cream, and we found a great Greek place for dinner.
Tuesday June 27: Leave by 0800. Drive 4 hours to Kasteel de Haar. Tickets for 1300. Nothing quite like a Dutch castle! The kids all loved this one. It’s unique and continues to be used for all sorts of functions.
Stayed in Hulshorst, at an AirBnb called Star Gazey, 1 hr drive from Kasteel. It was perfect and Nola thought she had died and gone to heaven when the owner showed us a barn with large baskets full of cats and baby kittens! Nola made sure to visit them everyday while we were there. Breakfast was provided each morning and it was always delicious with fresh breads, yogurts, fresh fruit salads, cheese and meats.
Wednesday, June 28: Leave 0700. Drive 53 min to Park + Ride. Amsterdam Rijksmuseum! Tickets in folder for 0900, with gift tickets for kids. Found antique shop with KLM houses. Ate lunch at a small cafe in an alley just around the corner from Broodje Bert where we had originally planned to eat (which ended up being closed).
My dad’s favorite.
Canal boat tour was a favorite part of the day. The views of the city from the water are a must to really see how crooked the houses are and see all the city. We loved it! Stopped by the Ann Frank house — Mom and I had already been years ago and it’s become such a popular spot that tickets are sold out months in advance. Finally found fresh Stroopwaffles only to determine we prefer them cooled and chewy.
Thursday, June 29: Drive 1hr 25 min to Ten Boer to meet Beryl, then to Groningen to meet with Hedzer. Drive to Donkerbroek, Meet Jouke @ Church @ 1130. Soup and bread with Antionette and Jan at 1230. Rent bicycles – from Mr. Klooster. Pay in cash €25.
Hedger became a friend of my mom’s as they connected many, many years ago through Family Search as they were researching their ancestors. He passed away shortly after we visited with him. There are so many miracles surrounding this friendship and being able to meet in person. This was the second time we have gotten to spend time with him. He had a remarkable life, and I count knowing him as just one of the many great evidences of God in my life. Someday I will need to write down the first time we met him in Donkerbroek.
This was my third time to Donkerbroek. It feels familiar now and just increases in specialness to me each time. The people feel like dear friends, even family, and I long to spend time with them and hear about their lives and history. Donkerbroek is where some of my ancestors are from. My great-great-great grandmother is buried there in the church cemetery. Jouke Jongsma is the caretaker of the church now and was so kind to meet us there and give us a thorough and hands on tour. The boxes piled to the ceiling in the church contain all the church records — hundreds of years old — that have yet to be digitized. There is surely more info on my family in there. My mom has already contacted the right people at Family Search to work with Donkerbroek to hopefully get the records digitized.
The bike ride through the countryside was magical. Couldn’t wipe the smile off my face the whole day.
Friday, June 30: Giethoorn boat rental be there @1000. Kids loved the boat tour, especially because they got a turn driving the boat (Broer Boat Rental). Stopped for lunch & ijscream, and visited the Rhoda pottery shop. Drive home to Stuttgart, arrived at 2230.
Saturday, July 1: REST
Sunday, July 2: Fast Sunday
Monday, July 3: Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber day out, tried schneeballen, ate at good bakery. We were so tired but I am so glad I got us out the door to see this last city together. It’s the perfect German village to go to with all the charm and history that people love.
Tuesday, July 4: Breakfast together, Blumen field walk, movies and hamburgers, base walk. Games together. Lots of Bananagrams, Play Nine, Sequence and Five Crowns.
Wednesday, July 5: Frankfurt flight out, leave @ 0630. Such a sad day saying goodbye.
I’m sure this write up is full of typos. When I put together itineraries they are full of website links and some personal details I edited out for this post, but I also tried to preserve the realness of our plans for each day, and the quick memories I jotted down as we went.
We really soaked up every drop of time we had together and have the most wonderful memories to look back on.
While it has taken me months to finish this blog post, I am so glad that I did it. These memories mean so much to me, and I know my children will appreciate having this to look back on someday.
Now, to catch up on the other trips we did over the summer! 😆 I have Croatia, Switzerland, Disneyland Paris, Paris, and am now headed to Dresden, Frieburg, Seiffen, and Karlovy Vary this weekend. I may never catch up! But I know I will. I have vowed to catch up and stay on top of things from here on out.
