Visiting Germany – Our Amazing Experience

Visiting Germany with all four kids brought so many questions from you. Today I want to share our amazing experience and try to answer as many as I can! I loved Germany and although this isn’t my typical type of content, I am so excited to share today.

To watch the entire YouTube video click here.

Visiting Germany was such an amazing experience and I am beyond excited to share it with you. We stayed with Mike’s Oma in a picturesque village overlooking the Alps, and we had the opportunity to visit so many historic buildings and see many of Mike’s family members.

Honestly, the entire visit was a dream come true and we are beyond thankful that we could go. While sharing our adventures in Germany, I had a lot of people ask how Mike and I met, and how he ended up in America. We sat down and recorded our story before leaving for Germany, and I recently shared it on YouTube, here. 

Once again, I know visiting Germany and sharing our experience isn’t my typical content, but I’ve wanted to share our story for some time now, and it just makes our entire experience in Germany that much more special. I’d love for you to head over and watch, but in today’s blog post I’d like to answer some questions that I got concerning our travels. 

I put up a question box over on Instagram, so today’s blog post will be a question and answer style if that’s okay.

Visiting Germany – where did you stay?

I won’t share the name of the specific village that Mike’s Oma lives in, just out of respect for her  privacy. But I will say that we were close to the city of Esslingen, a medieval town which is part of the Stuttgart Region in southern Germany. Mike was actually born in Stuttgart and spent a lot of his childhood there. 

Esslingen was absolutely beautiful, a wonderful mix of old and new. The narrow streets were filled with restaurants and bakeries as well as a shopping mall. But many of the shops and cafes were in timber framed homes and historic buildings, some of them dating back to the 1500’s. 

I had the opportunity to step inside of the Stadtkirche St. Dionys, a protestant church built in the 13th century that is absolutely beautiful. 

We also stood outside of Altes Rathaus, the old town hall that dates back to the 1400s. 

But perhaps one of the most memorable sights while visiting Germany was the Esslinger Castle, a defensive wall built to keep raiders out. We climbed the stairs as a family of 6 (Mike held Isaiah the entire trek), and the view from the top was absolutely incredible. From gorgeous vineyards to sky high steeples, we saw the entire city of Esslingen and then some. 

Even more special was the walk back down to the city square. We walked narrow, cobblestone roads and the historic homes on either side of me took my breath away. It’s a day that I will never, ever forget. 

At one point during our stay we also visited Mike’s Tante Hilde who lives up in the Alps. We got to see her beautiful horses, and she took us to the beautiful town of Blaubeuren, which is known for the bright blue waters of Blautopf. Seeing the water was an amazing experience, but the medieval architecture was equally as stunning. 

The town is also home to a Benedictine monastery that was built in the 1600’s, and the streets were filled with charming cafes and shops where we got ice cream for the family. 

We had the opportunity to visit Mike’s sister in Stuttgart as well, and I had the chance to step inside of the Landesmuseum Württemberg. I was only inside for the few moments, but the architecture was breathtaking! 

Mike’s sister then took us to the Ludwigsburg Residential Palace, one of the largest Baroque buildings in Europe that survived the bombings of WWII. The admission was pricey, but the grandeur of the palace was something I had never experienced before. It was built in the 1700’s, and we soon found out that it was created for a summer residence only!

Overall, my husband and I agree that one of our favorite parts about our stay in Germany were the walks that we took every morning and evening outside and around Oma’s village. The views were incredible and so very peaceful. As I type this, I have tears in my eyes thinking about those walks. Apart from Mike’s family, I miss those views the most. I almost feel like I left a small part of my heart on those hills in Germany. I really can’t put into words how special our entire trip was. 

Was this your first time in Europe? Would you do it again with kids?

No, this wasn’t my first trip to Europe! I went on a missions trip to Romania my junior year of college. And 100% yes on going again with kids. Would it be amazing to do it with my husband alone? I’m sure there would be perks, and a whole lot more freedom considering naps and tired kids who need to use the bathroom at very inconvenient times, haha! 

But overall we are so glad that we took them. We went back and forth because it was a financial sacrifice to bring them all, but we have zero regrets. It felt like a fun adventure as a family, and seeing my boys experience the history and culture of another country was a gift in and of itself. Plus, Mike’s entire family got to see and meet his boys, which was so very special. Especially for his Oma. 

How did you entertain the little ones on the long flights?

For the shorter, one to two hour flights, we allowed the boys to play on their tablets. They had some books and games downloaded ahead of time, and that really helped. We also took an old phone with some downloaded shows to keep Isaiah entertained, and I’m so glad that we did that. We also packed snacks and gum to help with the pressure during landing and take off. 

For the longer flight (8.5 hours) from JFK to Frankfurt, Germany, we flew with Condor. The plane was very nice and updated, with touchscreen TV’s that had amazing choices for kids. The boys could easily navigate them on their own and they honestly did great. Isaiah was the trickiest at only 1.5 years old, but I really can’t complain. He slept for a lot of the flight both there and back, and he really did well for his age. 

Would you consider moving to Germany?

Yes, I would. I told my husband if he ever felt like God was calling him to Germany, I would follow him and support him 100%. Right now he feels like we are where God wants us to be, but I made that known to him after only a week of being there. It was truly such a special place. 

Do you and the boys speak German?

No, unfortunately we don’t. Mike had to translate for us the entire time! But we all want to learn. Especially my oldest son, Ethan!

Did you go antiquing?

Yes I did! Both antique AND thrift shopping! I can’t wait to share all my finds with you guys! 🙂 Stay tuned next week for my haul!

What phone service did you use while visiting Germany or to keep in contact back home?

We have iPhones, so while we were out of the country you can use iMessage on wifi. Mike’s Oma had internet, so we were able to text family back home whenever we made it back to her house. We downloaded the WhatsApp which allowed us to call (once again using wifi) when we needed to. 

How many bags did you check for the kids? And how many pairs of shoes for each boy?

We checked two bags for our family, one larger one for Mike and I and baby items and one smaller bag for the boys. We also had a carry on with wheels for extra outfits and toiletries in case we got stuck overnight somewhere, and each of the boys (including Mike) carried a backpack. Each backpack had a neck pillow, blanket, tablet, coloring book and crayons, and snacks. Mike’s had our laptop and passports. 

We did pack extra shoes for the boys, but we all wore tennis shoes almost the entire trip because of all the walking we did. 

What’s a German custom you will try to recreate with your boys?

Every day around 2 or 3 pm, Mike’s Oma made coffee and had freshly baked breads and danishes from the local bakery. My boys LOVED it. And so did Mike! Haha! We don’t have any bakeries like the ones in Germany where I live, but part of me wants to be sure to always have a little something baked in the house to enjoy with coffee in the afternoons. Such a sweet tradition. 

Did your kids like the food while visiting Germany?

Yes! Mike’s Mom moved to Florida a few years ago, but she used to have us all over almost every Friday night for dinner. She was an amazing cook, and oftentimes she would prepare traditional German cuisine. So a lot of the food that we ate (like the schnitzel and spaetzle noodles) my boys were already very used to. 

Did you use a travel agency? Or what resources did you find most helpful when booking flights?

We tried calling a travel agency, but the flights they found for us were too expensive. Honestly, we just used Google flights. It was the cheapest airfare we could find, and no other travel website could match the prices that Google found us. Crazy I know!

Well friends, I didn’t answer all of the questions I got but this was most of them. I feel so blessed to be able to share our experience with you, and I hope it encourages someone out there travel internationally, especially if it’s to visit family! You can’t put a price on visiting loved ones. Seeing Mike’s Oma, sister, aunt and cousins was worth every penny.

Visiting Germany was just so incredible overall, and it was far more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing all my German thrift and antique finds with you next week! 

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