Freinsheim, Germany

Last Thursday, my mom & I decided to meet up for the day so that we could hang out and she could see the grandbabies. Since she is about three hours away from where we are now, we decided that meeting in the middle was best, since we were just seeing each other for the day. We consulted the list of places to visit, picked a spot, and headed out on our way.

We had decided on Freinsheim, Germany, because it was exactly in the middle of the both of us. It's a small city, but the appeal is that is has the original Roman wall still surrounding the inner part of the city.

Within the city itself are beautiful homes, hidden walkways and an overall gorgeous landscape. From what I read, they have a wine festival once a year, although we did not make it for that. I would imagine that it would have been much busier & more places been open had there been something going on, but alas it was just us and a tour bus full of elderly women who were in town visiting for the day.

We didn't spend a ton of time there, as the town itself is only 5,000 people, but we did manage to order lunch (although not very well). In Stuttgart, quite a few Germans speak very good English, but because we were farther out and more in the "middle of nowhere" we had some language barrier issues, despite Google Translate helping me out the best the little app could. Also? HUGE GLASSES OF WINE. Like, half a bottle each. I like their way of thinking.

Upon our walk, we found a beautiful garden that was gated off. An older gentleman saw us peeking over & taking photos, so he invited us in. Turns out he was the owner. My mom & Lucas took a nice stroll through the garden while I stayed behind with the stroller & Max. I have noticed in my short time here that a lot of Germans take a good deal amount of pride in their gardens & landscaping. It is some of the most beautiful gardens (both flower & vegetable!) that I have ever seen. Having an older, historic home helps a great deal, I am sure, in creating such a beautiful landscape, but I am constantly in awe at how much work goes into keeping gardens looking as amazing as they do.

It was a hot day, so my mom managed to find some ice cream for Lucas, and the older woman ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the boys (seriously. German's love my kids. I can't understand what they are saying, but we are constantly getting stopped so people can look and smile at the boys. It's hilarious.) but they definitely get a great deal of attention. On the way out, we found another little restaurant where we got MORE ice cream (grandma's are the best!) and then we parted ways. It was a sweet little trip, and I'm glad to have spent the day with my mom, while also getting out of town and out of the hotel for a little while. It was a gorgeous little place, and we will have to plan better to hit that wine festival next time, right mom??!