We just got back from another wonderful trip! For my parents third time visiting us, we decided to take them to a few places in Eastern Europe. We were able go back to a few of our favorite cities while also getting to experience a few new ones along the way.
We started our trip in Köln. After my Mom and Dad successfully made it from Frankfurt to Köln by train, we got to show them our new (to them) apartment. I was really excited because it was their first time seeing it. They loved it! The excitement of seeing our new place must have made them a little sleepy. Orrrrrr it could have been the overnight flight, we will never know, but they needed a little nap. Once they woke up, we had hors d’ oeuvre on the balcony then enjoyed the beautiful evening at our favorite beer garden.
Since Alex has to work once in a while 😉 I had the day to walk around with my parents. We stopped for a currywurst before heading to the Cathedral. Last time they were here we toured it so this time we just walked around it ourselves. It’s too impressive not to! After walking around the old town we stopped for a kölsch at a local brauhaus, Früh. Then we went back to the apartment and got ready for our weekend in Baden Baden. We drove the three hours, got checked in and went to the casino for the evening. Surprise, surprise.
Since Baden Baden is close to the French border, our first stop of the day was to Strasbourg, France. We spent a few hours walking through the cute French town, stopping to get some delicious pastries (because, why not?). Plus, we bought some Alsace wine to enjoy later. Next we drove through the Black Forest to the sunniest town in Germany, Freiburg. Again, we spent a few hours walking around stopping this time at a local brewery. We then headed back to Baden Baden to enjoy the evening there. We happened upon an event going on near the casino. They had a live band with food and drink tents set up. It was a beautiful evening so we sat outside, drinking sangria and listened to the music. Then we got all dressed up (my Dad got to wear one of his shiny shirts!) and headed into the “fancy” part of the casino. We played a few table games and enjoyed the casino’s beautiful decor.
Of course when you’re in Baden Baden you have to go to the spa! That’s exactly what we did the next morning. We spent almost 3 hours enjoying the inside and outside pools, hot tubs, cold tubs, etc. It was just so nice and relaxing that it was hard to leave. But we eventually did and made our way back to Köln. There was a large gamescon festival going on in the city so we decided to check it out before dinner. We found a beer tent and drank some kölsch while enjoying a bit of people watching. Then we took my Mom and Dad to our favorite brauhaus for dinner and of course, more kölsch.
The next two days, while Alex worked, I showed my parents the rest of the Köln spots. We did a lot of walking with a little bit of shopping. That night we had drinks with our friends, John and Trudy and dinner at our favorite Indonesian restaurant. We also stopped at the chocolate museum and mustard museum for a few samples of both. Tuesday night we left for Nuremberg.
We spent the next beautiful day walking around Nuremberg. We walked up to the castle to enjoy the great views of the city. We had drinks and lunch at medieval shopping area, then we drove to the Nuremberg trials museum. We spent the next hour reading all about the Nuremberg trials even being able to see the actual room where the trial took place. Next, we stopped at the Zeppelin fields to visit the area where Hitler used to give his speeches. Although, now it’s a soccer field. We headed back into the city and grabbed a beer and a snack at a local brauhaus. Then we happened upon where all of the locals were hanging out so we grabbed a beer and joined them. Once we got hungry, we headed to our favorite restaurant in the city for dinner. After we went to bed that night, around 12:30am we were woken up by a voice saying “emergency, please exit the building.” Once we figure out what the heck was going on (at first I thought my phone was making the noise) we went outside and after the fire department deemed it all clear we went back to bed. The next morning we found out it was because the steam from a hot shower had triggered the fire alarm. Sheesh.
We woke up a little sleepy the next morning but we got all ready and drove to the Czech Republic. Our first night was spent in a town called Karlovy Vary. If that sounds familiar at all to you, it might be because some of “Casino Royale” was filmed there or the movie “The Last Holiday” with Queen Latifa was also filmed there. And for good reason, the town is beautiful. My dad said it was the cleanest city he’s ever been to. After my Mom and Dad enjoyed a 50 minute foot massage, we stopped and picked up two ceramic mugs. I should mention that Karlovy Vary is known for their healing waters. That’s where the ceramic mugs come in. We went around to each of the 15 natural hot springs and used our mugs to sample each of the healing waters. Each spring varied from 35°c – 70°c. Once we were all healed, we walked through the Grand Hotel Pupp before sitting outside for a drink. Then we found a delicious place to eat dinner and unwind.
Prague was on the agenda for the next two days. Once we arrived, we headed straight for the center. We stopped at a market selling food, drinks and souvenirs. My mom and I got a couple of pairs of cute earrings. Then we hit a few touristy spots including the old town, Charles bridge, and the Lennon wall. After grabbing a beer at the market, we headed to the hotel to get checked in. We enjoyed afternoon tea in the lounge, got ready and headed back into the city. For the next 4 hours we stuffed our faces on a traditional Czech food tour. We walked around the city stopping at 7 local restaurants, sampling everything from cheeses, meats, open faced sandwiches, pulled beef and schnitzel all paired with a delicious wine or beer. Lots of tasty foods. I even tried beef tartar! By the end, we were stuffed! It was a delicious end to a fun day.
Our last day in Prague started out a bit rainy but luckily cleared up quickly. We walked back to the center and decided to go to the top of the Old Town Hall for great views of the city. We found an absinthe bar and decided to stop in for a drink. We were shown the process of dripping water from a fountain onto a cube of sugar (which was resting on a spoon above our drink) which then melted into the glass of absinthe. Once the sugar was all melted, it was ready to drink! Then to our surprise, the waiter scooped up some dry ice and poured it into the top of our absinthe fountain, making it explode with fog. We all ooohed and ahhed in delight. It was pretty cool! Next, we sampled a trdelnik on our way to the beer spa. As you may know, Alex and I love beer spas (see my previous posts on Iceland or Czech Republic) and we’ve done this one once before and knew my parents had to try it. We got two tubs and unlimited beer. We relaxed in the beer tubs for an hour, sampling the delicious beer and beer bread. Our hotel just happened to have a casino so we headed back there and gambled the rest of our Crowns away.
We drove the 6+ hours back to Köln the next day, dropping my parents off at the Frankfurt airport along the way. We had such a great trip and I was sad to see them go. It was so nice showing them our new apartment, walking around Köln and visiting a few other cities we love. Thanks again for another great trip, Mom and Dad! Oh, and if you see my Dad, ask him how security at the Frankfurt airport was.
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Wow Sunny, good job relaying our entire trip, there are some things I’ve already forgotten! Thanks again, we such an incredible time, I loved all of it!
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Thanks again for the pics and trip info. Always glad to read them. We are both good and busy. Enjoyed the summer. Love grandma and grandpa
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