November 20, 2018

Visiting Burg Eltz - Rick Steve's Favorite European Castle

November 20, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

In September 2017 (omg, this was way over a year ago!), when I was pregnant with Julie, we made a trip to Germany to celebrate two of our friends getting married. It was a perfect excuse to visit Germany during one of the best times of the year, and a perfect excuse to play tourist in our former country of residence. We tried to do some things that we hadn’t done while we were living there as expats and one of those things was visiting Burg Eltz. See, Burg Eltz is one of the most famous castle in not only Germany (after Nueschwanstein of course), but in all of Europe, and has the unique designation of being one of Rick Steve’s, the well-known host of the aptly titled Rick Steve’s Europe, favorite castles in Europe. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this castle!

May 18, 2018

Pena Palace, a Colorful Day Trip From Lisbon

May 18, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

We maintained a break-neck speed when we were in Portugal. In retrospect, it might have been nice to slow down just a bit, but when there's so much to see in the world and so little time in which to see it, well, slowing down isn't much of an option. We spent the last few days of our trip in Lisbon. And if you google, "things to do in Lisbon," the iconic Pena Palace in the small town of Sintra is bound to pop up. Sure, it's cliched, and expected, for a travel blogger to go there, but, I'll admit that I actually enjoyed it. You don't need a full day to visit the palace, especially if you have your own vehicle and aren't relying on public transportation, which means you have the afternoon to seek out and sample the best Pastel de nata in the city.

November 20, 2015

A Visit to Schloss Lichtenstein in Southwestern Germany

November 20, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

After visiting the Steiff Museum, we made our way to the small, quaint, town of Blaubeuren to spend the night in a hotel. The next morning, Aaron woke up early (he is a morning person....I am not) to take advantage of the ''golden hour'' and get some pictures of the town before breakfast. Speaking of which, the hotel we stayed at, the Hotel Ochsen, had one of the BEST breakfasts I have had, and dinner the night before in their restaurant was just as tasty! After a hearty breakfast, we set out to go see one of the most picturesque castles in Germany that kept popping up on my Pinterest - Schloss Lichtenstein. It's much smaller than many other castle, but it's precarious position, perched on a cliff overlooking the valley below, makes for a stunning pit stop.

July 29, 2015

Berg Rheinfells in Sankt Goar and Bacharach

July 29, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

We disembarked the Vater Rhein riverboat in Sankt Goar. First stop for this preggo lady was lunch. We walked past a restaurant when we noticed it was air conditioned (remember, it was about 106°F this day). I didn't even care what was on the menu. I would have probably eaten blutwurst (blood sausage) smothered in Limburger cheese if that's all they had (ok, probably not), but it was air conditioned. It would give us a chance to sit in cooler air and eat after sweltering on the boat, and before we began the trek up the mountain to Berg Rheinfels. For those that have been to Germany before, or even live here, you know what a rare and precious luxury air conditioning is. No one has it. But in my experience, the weather is never too hot for the Germans.

July 24, 2015

Rhein River Cruise

July 24, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

A couple of weeks ago, we headed out with some friends for Rhein River cruise. This part of Germany is pretty stunning. The Rhein is, and has been, a major transportation route for hundreds of years. It flows from the Alps in Switzerland north to the North Sea, meaning that it is a cheap, efficient way to move goods between the interior of Europe and the coast. It also has a climate perfect for wine! The middle Rhein (roughly between the Frankfurt area and Cologne) is lined with vineyards, castle ruins, small towns, and stunning scenery.

June 26, 2015

Nymphenburg Castle in Munich

June 26, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

We had Sunday morning before Katlyn and Chelsea needed to board their train for Vienna. Since it's a Sunday, in Germany, most things except for places like museums and gardens are closed. There are two palaces in Munich that are popular for tourists to visit: The Residenz and Schloss Nymphenburg. Both look interesting and neither Aaron nor I had been to either on before, so we were game for whichever they choose. They looked at both and decided they wanted to visit Schloss Nymphenburg.

June 16, 2015

Schloss Neuschwanstein, aka Sleeping Beauty's Castle

June 16, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

A couple weeks ago, my sister and her friend Chelsea decided to visit us in Germany! It had been months since the last time I saw here and I was so excited. Over the years, we went from living with each other, to seeing each other only a couple times a year (she was in New York for school, I was in the UP), to seeing each other about once a week when we lived in Michigan (she would come over and do laundry). So when we moved to Germany last summer, it was definitely hard to say good bye. We had finally out grown our sibling rivalry and become friends. That's why when she said she was coming to visit for a week, I was stoked!