Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany // A Dose of Happy

Hi friends! 

Okay, I am going to be real honest here for a moment.

I am taking us back to Christmas time with this post because I feel like we could all use some happy. 

#HAPPINESSFORALL

And nothing says happy quite like the holidays!

I choose each day to wake up and be happy. Please stop with all the hate and hurtful things! It ruins my #happy!

Remember this for me when you want to spread hate!

And remember this when your opinion differs from someone else's.
Lead by example my friends.

Okay now on to the post which will contain all the happy things!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a charming city in Bavaria (southern Germany). It is best known for its well preserved medieval town. Rick Steve's refers to it as "Germany's fairy-tale dream town" and for good reason. Rothenburg is surrounded by a covered fortress making a walk around the walls perfect for a rainy day - which is a good thing because day 2 was rainy!

First up on our list was to check out the Christmas market.

It was full of tourists! We just wanted to peak at it before we continued exploring.

Many people come for the town square and the Christmas markets!

Views into the towns outside the walls.

I really found the buildings quite charming!

Käthe Wohlfahrt is a family run company that makes German Christmas decorations and ornaments. The main shop is in Rothenburg, so you know we had to visit!

Inside the Christmas Village you find this! A 16ft revolving white Christmas tree! Now if that doesn't make you happy... :) It has over 1000 glass bulbs and 12,500 sparkling lights. This is on display all year round!

Yes, I made Blake wait in a LINE to enter this Christmas wonderland!

We found a charming place for a Schnitzel dinner! Schnitzel also is #allthehappythings!

Crowded streets navigating the market!

I was charmed by this city! I know I keep saying that, but I really did find it so spectacular.

I booked a hotel maybe 5 days before we went to visit (*side note* NOT a wise idea around the holidays). I think I booked the last room in the town, which also happened to by our own little house! #allthehappythings!

After dark there is a Night Watchman's tour that takes place every evening in English!

We started the tour, but skipped away after about 20 minutes. There was just way to many people and the guy was a little wonky!

We woke early on Sunday to walk the walls! But you guessed it... It was raining! Have no fear. The walls are covered!

The town wall encircles the city and is about 1.5 miles around.



Getting ready to climb the stairs to walk the walls!

Even with the rain and fog it was still a pretty view! And the charm!

There are 42 gatehouses and towers! Some allow entry only by foot.

We were overwhelmed with charm! And #allthehappythings!

We got lunch at the Christmas market... it was delicious! I had a rolled flatbread with bacon, onions, cream cheese. #allthehappythings

Finally before leaving to head home we got one of Rothenburg's special treats: A Schneeballen, or snowball cake! They are made of pastry crust rolled into balls. I was a big fan of the cinnamon sugar.

I hope that everyone reading today spreads the happy!

xoxo, Riley

6 Month Update

We have officially been in Germany for 6 months now! Isn't that crazy?! I think it is absolutely crazy!

For this post I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about my thoughts on things I've noticed/experienced, things I am missing, things I have learned, and just an overall discussion of what life has been like the last 6 months - aside from the traveling excitement.

For those who may be bored by this post I am sorry! :) Come back Monday to read about our latest adventure! 

Image courtesy of Google.

Eating huge sausages with hardly any bread
You can get a bratwurst with bread at a lot of places - the grocery store, the mall, street vendors, etc., but they all come with the smallest "bun". Only the middle section of the sausage can be enjoyed with the bread! I am not sure why this is, regardless it is still really delicious! 

Bubbly
I will never forget when I ordered a liter of tap water and was served a pitcher of sparkling water! I was dumbfounded at how this could be! (I still kind of am.) Everyone likes their drinks bubbly over here! From the water to the apple juice, it comes bubbly! The good news is, non bubbly versions do exist too. 

Image courtesy of Google.

Hello & Goodbye
In the US you can go to a lot of places with no body giving you a formal hello or goodbye. That is not the case here! Everywhere you go - from the bank, to a store, to the hospital, everyone greets back and forth. A hello or good day, to a ciao or Tschüss (goodbye).

Fast Cashiers
Checking out at a German grocery store requires skill. The cashier rings your grocery's so quickly and you are responsible for bagging them even faster! Sometime's if I have too many grocery's I will just throw them in the cart and bag afterwards. There is 0 time for messing around at check out! Your money better be ready, and your bagging hands better be quick!

Image Courtesy of Google. 

Closed
Everything is closed on Sunday - aside from the bakeries - a few of those are still open. But any kind of shop is closed (grocery, pharmacy, drugstore)! Gone are the days where I grocery shop on a Sunday - but if we're being honest who actually enjoy's going to the grocery store on a Sunday? That is right - I don't think anyone! What we enjoy is the convenience of being able too! Here, we know we can't so we make it work! 

Recycling
I have 5 different bags in my kitchen for trash! One for actual trash, one for plastics, one for cardboards, one for compostable items, and one for glass! It definitely took some getting used too - separating everything out, but now that I do it, I don't think I could ever go back! 

Washer/Dryer
I think of myself as a pretty smart individual. But give me a German wash machine and I completely lose my ability to function! I had to research our machine and take notes! Theni had to look at the notes I took every time I did laundry for the first two weeks! For one it is in a different language, but for two the settings are different from what we have in the States. Additionally, we have been dryer free for 6 months! It requires more patience. You can't wash something and be able to use it the same day - so washing sheets and towels becomes a calculated task! 

 Language Barrier
It exists, big time. Even though I am learning German, I am not fluent. Which means that sometimes simple tasks are made more complicated. At first, I used it as an excuse. I wouldn't go to the meat counter because I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted. I let the language actually build a physical barrier between me and the things I needed or wanted to do. Some things I had to do, but would hate it because I would be so scared. Like dry cleaning - Blake work's all day, so I have to take the dry cleaning. I would be so scared to drop it off or pick it up! But now, I don't let it scare me! I use what German I do know, and most people will use what English they know and somehow someway we figure it out! Even the moments where I still don't know what they said to me, the clothes still got washed. The best part was? Nothing happened to me! I lived. There was/is nothing to be afraid of.



Comfort Zone
I have loved the quote above for as long as I can remember. But I don't think I fully had an understanding of what it really meant to be uncomfortable. Everyday living here has pushed me to really reach far beyond what I am comfortable with. From everyday tasks, to learning a new language, to trying new foods, and meeting new people. I am forced into situations where I have to know ahead of time that I am probably not going to understand 50% of what is about to go down. I am forced to speak German - even though my German is terrible. But I do it, and sometimes people laugh at me, but it is the most humbling experience and for that I am grateful. 

What I Miss
I of course miss all of my family and friends. But most of what I miss is food. #FatGirlProbs
Fall is well underway so I miss all things FALL. I miss the cider mill, and stuffing my face with cider and doughnuts. I MISS CANNED PUMPKIN, I can't find it here. I know I can use a regular pumpkin, but I miss the simplicity of a can. I also miss tacos - like really delicious gourmet tacos. 

I sometimes miss the simplicity of certain tasks. Like going to the bank. While yes, I am being pushed out of my comfort zone trying to ask for money and that is a great experience. I sometimes miss how simple that task would be in the US. Or ordering a sheet cake from Kroger - So simple. But here I have to research where I can even do that and then research how to ask for it. Again, it is humbling and I enjoy that aspect. But sometimes I miss being able to walk right into Target and grab exactly what I need. 

All in all WE LOVE IT HERE. And we are incredibly grateful for this opportunity. I have learned so much, I have experienced so much. 

The best part is, we still get to experience so much more!

Happy Friday!

German Holiday: Days 9-11

Hello!

Today I am continuing our German Holiday! It is exciting to do these posts because it feels like I am on vacation all over again, and that is fun for me, so I hope it is fun for you too! :)

If you missed my other posts you can you catch up:

Days 1-4 Here

Days 5&6 Here
Days 7&8 Here

Day 9

Innsbruck, Austria

We woke early to a wet and rainy day, but that wasn't going to stop us! 

We wanted to do some hiking during the first half of the day. We purchased the Innsbruck city card which gave us all kinds of access to Innsbruck - free museums and attractions, all transportation, cable cars, etc. We took the Patscherkofel Cable Car to the top of Patscherkofel. From there we set off for a hike!

On top of the world! Not literally, but you know :).

It was drizzling a little bit. 

Total time was about 3.5 hours. When we got to the very top it was 25 degrees and raining. We brought extra layers and thank goodness!

We went back to our Air BnB to warm up and change for dinner!

Views from our balcony.

Schnitzel was on the menu.

The center of town.

Snickers gelato. Two words - YUM!

The coolest mountain town. Safe to say I loved Innsbruck!

Day 10

Innsbruck, Austria

Hitting the town for day 2. 

Did you know that Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics? Twice in fact! Once in 1976 and once in 1964. Well in 2001 they built a new facility for the ski jump. The Bergisel Ski Jump in Innsbruck is a FIS Ski Jumping World Cup site and also a year-round training center. So we decided to pay it a visit! When it isn't snowing they have these little brush things that the ski jumpers land on. There were people jumping too - so that was fun!

      

If you look really close you can see a jumper! The goal is to reach the red line. 

We made our way to the top and saw some great city views.

The golden roof!

We found the brewery and tasted some Innsbruck beer. We didn't have much of a plan - we just wanted to mosey!

Day 11

Drive to Munich, Germany.

We headed back to Germany (Munich) because OKTOBERFEST, but we wanted to make the most of our drive. So we went a little bit out of the way (not much) and headed to tour The Neuschwanstein Castle. 

The Neuschwanstein Castle was home to King Ludwig II. 7 weeks after his death it was opened to the public. Today it is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. We visited on a rainy day and the line was still incredibly long. Pay extra and book your tickets online - worth it!

Beautiful. It is also on the cover of our Rick Steve's Book - so you know it was going to be good. We followed Steve's tips for visiting and we found them all perfect!

Mary's Bridge - how you get the best view of the castle! I spent all of about 37 seconds on the bridge. Why you ask? It's so beautiful you say. Well it's a wooden bridge and it was raining and slippery and wet. And there were tons of people and I could feel the wooden bits moving and I wasn't a fan.

After the castle we drove to our Air BnB in Munich. Since it was raining and nasty out we decided against two days of Oktoberfest. Day 12 is all Oktoberfest. :)

Join me tomorrow to read all about it!