October 14, 2014

I'm All About That Balance, 'Bout That Balance

October 14, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Pop culture referance anyone? I know there's some controversy over the song, but I can't lie, it's catchy as hell and can work it's way into quite an Ohrwurm. Any who, back to our (ir)regularly scheduled post...The Germans take their work life balance very seriously, much to the chagrin of many Americans. Depending on the company, they often work less hours than Americans, get better vacation time and really take relaxing seriously. In fact, doctors can even prescribe time at a spa or time off from work. I wonder if the fee for a spa would apply towards my deductible?

October 10, 2014

Castle Ruins and Mountain Tops

October 10, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Although it was difficult to drag ourselves away from the spa (just kidding ... kind of), we did manage to do a couple of things besides relax when we were in Baden-Baden. This post shows just how much there is to do in this region (and this is only a tiny fraction of what is available), but we only managed to get to two of them - taking a Bergbahn up to the top of Merkur Mountain, and visiting the castle ruins of the Altes Schloß Hohenbaden.

October 08, 2014

Friedrichsbad - 10 Tips for Taking a 17 Step Bath

October 08, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

How elaborate and awesome does a Roman style 17 step bath sound? Pretty awesome? Yup, it is. We got into Baden Baden early Friday afternoon and after checking in at the hotel, we headed across the street for the first of our spa experiences for the weekend.

This is the one that had me nervous. How can basically taking a bath make someone nervous? Well, because it's...

October 06, 2014

Things to do in Baden-Baden

October 06, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Last week, Aaron and I celebrated our third anniversary. While it isn't anywhere near a 50th, a 20th or even a 10th, I still can't imagine being married to anyone else and I am so glad that we are experiencing this whole living-in-a-completely-different-country thing together. To celebrate our first anniversary abroad, we booked a weekend in the town spa town of Baden-Baden not too far away from Mannheim. It's one of the most famous spa towns...

October 03, 2014

More Wine and a Long Weekend

October 03, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Last night, we went to another wine festival! Since today is a National Holiday, we don't have work, and we figured it would be fun. Wine is always fun and last night it did not disappoint (German wine rarely does).

First a little bit of quick history. Today is the Day of German Unity and is a celebration of Germany finally becoming a fully united country, a dream first established in the middle of the 19th century. It has been celebrated....

October 01, 2014

10 Tips for Attending Oktoberfest

October 01, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

On Monday, I recapped our trip to Oktoberfest this past weekend. To say it was an experience is an understatement. Today, I'm going to give you 10 tips for attending Oktoberfest. This way, if you are contemplating or planning your own visit, you'll have a leg up on us.

September 29, 2014

Ein Prosit!

September 29, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

This weekend we checked another item off our European Bucket List - celebrate my birthday at Oktoberfest! While it wasn't technically my birthday, I'm going to roll with it. A month or so ago, I saw a Groupon for a girls weekend on a party train to Munich for Oktoberfest. Further research revealed that I could book it for myself, and so I did. We boarded the party train at 10:15 on Saturday morning and were off to Munich!