Today’s plan was simply to spend the day in Heidelberg’s lovely Old Town. We strolled, we looked at statues and cuckoo clocks, we visited toy shops and bookstores, and we stocked up on delicious treats from my very favourite store in the city – Lebe Gesund {seriously lovely and they ship worldwide!} Grae also got her first ever Shopkins and Trash Packs {thanks to older Kuwait friends teaching her all about them} and though I really don’t ‘get’ them {old, boring mom alert}, she’s pleased as punch. We finished off the day with a dinner of watermelon dessert pizza, so all is good in the world. ☺
After dropping off our bags at our lovely little flat, filling our fridge with groceries, having some lunch, and a taking a family nap, we headed out to explore our home for the next week… Heidelberg. There’s no doubt that we absolutely love it here. We were here for Christmas 2013, we came back last Christmas, and this time around we figured we’d break up our long trip home to Canada’s west coast and spend some time seeing the city in the summertime. Grae spent most of our walk pushing her face into flowers and soaking in their smell, filling her pockets with rocks and leaves, watching bees work, and collecting clover. She’s just so thrilled to be surrounded by nature. It’s going to be a good week.
On Sundays in Heidelberg, most everything is closed. And while that can be slightly annoying when you’re in need of milk or in the mood to browse, I sort of love it at the same time. Growing up, I lived in a teeny tiny town in northern Alberta where everything was closed on Sundays… It meant that on that day each week, our day was spent together as a family. Those days were slower than the others and I loved it.
Today was one of those days. A cold Sunday where we didn’t do much of anything other than force ourselves out of the flat for an hour to play at a nearby school. And it was lovely.
Our flat was filled with friends {who are also visiting Heidelberg} for brunch, Grae and I did some midday ice play, the sun came out just in time for a long walk and visit to one of our favourite playgrounds, and we came across huge piles of leaves on our way home {a treat for a desert-dwelling kiddo!} Upon our return, we found chocolate and a handmade card on our doorstep and finished off our day with a movie night {the original Rudolph} and Miss G’s Christmas Eve presents {Christmas jammies and books, as always}. Here is our day in photos…
Ahhhhh… Heidelberg. We love it here. After a fairly terrible night of sleep {the party upstairs turned out to be quite the rager and Miss G was up at 4 a.m. after an exceptionally late bedtime last night}, we bundled up and walked to the grocery store to load up on essentials. After everything had been washed and put away, we had some brunch and put our grumpypants girl down for a much needed nap, despite the fact that she hasn’t had one in months and months and months. Luckily for us, she fell asleep and stayed asleep for a couple of hours – woohoo! After the post-nap fog had worn off, she helped me take a couple of photos for a special New Year’s Eve post I’m doing for CBC Parents, then we bundled up and went exploring Heidelberg’s Old Town. We wandered the streets, browsed the shops, visited the Christmas market {where Grae rode the carousel}, and then had dinner out at a restaurant we really enjoyed last year. It was a day filled with walking, crisp air, bright lights, and Christmas cheer – the perfect combination for our first day of holidays as a family.
Woohoo! Christmas vacation is officially here and I couldn’t be more excited. After much debate, we decided to spend this year’s holidays in Heidelberg, Germany once again {and I’m so glad we did}. While it’s always nice to see new places, Heidelberg is pretty much perfect for us when it comes to Christmas vacation spots. Besides being beautiful and very Christmassy this time of year, it’s also quite an affordable European vacation destination. The weather is cold {just the way we like Christmas to be} but not too cold, the city is friendly and walkable, and rental flats are readily available. There’s an outdoor skating rink and several small Christmas markets, and you can walk around the city sipping on a warm glühwein day or night. Need I say more?
We spent most of our day today in transit, and let me say – Miss G is a total trooper. Not only did she let both Brad and I sleep on the plane for a little bit {while watching part of Frozen, albeit, but hey – sometimes you’ve got to take what you can get}, but she also sat sardined in between bags on a very tightly packed train, transferred to train number two without an issue, and then walked for at least a half hour or so in the rain to our flat {well past her bedtime} while commenting on how walking was really good exercise for your body. We arrived to our lovely little flat, checked it out, and then promptly put our girl to bed for the night. We did run into the upstairs neighbours who {very kindly} let us know that they’re having a party tonight, but with any luck, we’ll all get a good sleep and be ready to explore Heidelberg tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping!
Ugh…. As the end of our vacation nears, I’m trying not to think about the fact that we’ll soon have to say goodbye to this gorgeous city. We’ve without a doubt been living in a vacation bubble, and I’ve been loving it.
Today, after coffees and pastries, we crossed another big to-do off of our list – skating on the outdoor rink at the base of the castle! Sadly, Miss G wasn’t all that thrilled with the actual skating part of it, though she did love her little penguin friend. We finished off the day with an afternoon walk and a visit to the park and came home with that amazing feeling only a day outside in the cool fresh air can give you.
Vacation means low-key days, right? Because today I think we did a fantastic job of actually vacationing. Besides a late breakfast and an early dinner out, we basically played Lego, walked around the neighbourhood, and visited parks. Here are a few snippets of our day…
Morning park visit with Grandma. So thankful to have an awesome park right across the street from our flat.
Despite the rain, we bundled up, walked the 40 minutes to Hauptstaße, and then hiked up the steep cobblestone hill {Brad pushing G in her stroller, bless his heart} to Schloss Heidelberg (aka Heidelberg Castle) today. Miss G wasn’t at her best and it undoubtedly would have been more fun on a day that it wasn’t pouring rain, but my goodness – was it ever fascinating to roam around a castle as old as this one, soaking in little bits of the history.
Here’s a peek at Miss G’s first ever castle visit…
Because pretty much everything is shut down from Christmas Eve through Boxing Day here in Heidelberg, today was our first real day out and exploring with Grandma Charlotte. We took her down to the main pedestrian / shopping area in the city, went out for a delicious lunch, explored side streets, shops, and playgrounds, and walked along the river. Grae napped in her stroller, so we were pretty much out and about all day and then finished off the evening with a stop at the park across the street from our flat and a game of Hungry Hippos. ☺
What a lovely Christmas Eve we had today… We woke up to the most gorgeous sunrise, and after having some breakfast, enjoyed some low-key time around the apartment. We read books, played with play dough and unifix cubes, and Gracen danced her way around the apartment in her favourite ever dress {from Over the Loom}. When we were ready, we set off to the playground across the street and stayed there for most of the morning until we were chilly enough to warrant bringing hot mugs of tea over to sip on. There were walks and naps in between, and then we all sat down together to make the dinner Miss G had requested – turkey and rice soup. Afterwards, it was back outside in search of pretty lights and a playground to play at. We arrived home with rosy cheeks, and Miss G opened 2 little wrapped packages, just as she always does on Christmas Eve – one containing a pair of cozy jammies and the other containing a holiday book to add to her collection {this year, How Many Sleeps Till Christmas by Mark Sperring}. After she was snug in her bed for the night, Brad and I put on Love Actually, poured some wine, and wrapped up some gifts to place under our house plant turned Christmas tree {hey, you do what you gotta do, right? ☺}
This morning we met up with good friends and toured around the city together. It was a day filled with cafes, restaurants, walking, glüwein, and Christmas markets, and though it wasn’t the most munchkin-friendly day, Miss G managed to hang in there until falling asleep in her stroller about 3 minutes after leaving dinner. With Brad staying at a local pub for football night, I was going to make the 35 minute walk back to our apartment as quickly as possible for bedtime, but instead, I bundled my sleeping babe up tightly and leisurely made my way through the glowing shops and market stands, enjoying them one last time before they disappear tomorrow morning. When we eventually arrived at our apartment, I lugged my sleeping girl upstairs, set her into her bed, and listened to her sleepy murmurs as I removed her boots and jacket in the dark. I covered her up with her duvet, and she was out for the night. It was a good day.
