Weekend road trips mean something entirely different when you live in Europe.  Sure, living abroad has it's challenges.  I don't get to watch those exciting season premieres with you all.  I can't get Netflix or Panera.  Don't even get me started on 3G.  But our weekend road trips totally make up for all of that.

With the military, trip planning six months ahead doesn't exactly work.  The Army doesn't care if you already have plane tickets, a hotel and an itinerary planned; if they have to go to the field, they have to go the field.  Cue the spontaneous weekend getaway!

If you know me, then you know that I'm not a spontaneous traveler.  I want lists.  Lots and lots of lists.  I write lists for the lists that I have to write.  True story.  But we're learning.  We try to remain flexible and in good spirits no matter what.  We may not always know exactly what we're doing each day or where we will eat, but that's okay.  It's an adventure.  Roll with the punches.  Even if the punches involve your three year old peeing through his last pair of clean pants.  Roll with it.

So, last weekend we decided to stick around Germany and head about three hours west to Wiesbaden.  This town is tremendously special to us because it was where we lived during our first tour in Germany.  It was Jeremy's first duty station in the Army.  It was our first home as man and wife. It was where Jonathan was born.  It holds a lot of special memories for us.  Our other motive for going to this city was to see a few friends we made in Alabama.  It was great to show our new friends around our old home.  Very full circle.

Wiesbaden has a beautiful, bustling downtown area.  It is one of the wealthiest cities in Germany and there are streets I can't even afford to walk down.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much the city had grown since we left.




The next day, we ventured to Heidelberg: another German city we love.  Heidelberg is a hidden gem.  If you find yourself in Germany, and you think Munich and Berlin are the only cities worth seeing, you're missing out.  Heidelberg is gorgeous.  It has one of the best castles (my personal favorite).  You can climb up into the castle, see the garden and one of the towers that fell like 500 years ago, but is still just hanging there.  It feels like a legit, knights and princesses castle.  Kids love it.  There's a university there so it's a bit of a college town, which we all know adds so much to a city.  Plus, the view.  Worth a trip, for sure.