Day 2: Arrival in Heidelberg, Germany

With a short ride, we have made it to Heidelberg! Below are the photos of what are hotel room looks like:

Bridget posing while I document the room.

The main entranceway to our Horen hotel room.

Needless to say, Bridget and I were exhausted from our long flight but we made the final push to do some sightseeing in Heidelberg. We started off by sitting down with the whole tour group, with 28 people from all over the country, to get acclimated with our tour itinerary. We all went out to a delicious restaurant, called Palmbraü, where we had some pork steak and potatoes. I have to admit that was some of the best pork and potatoes that I ever had! Below are some of the photos from Palmbraü:

The main restaurant area for the Palmbraü

Couldn’t resist one photo of the two of us!

After a delicious meal, we were able to spend some time traveling around the Heidelberg Christmas Market. We found everything from chocolate foods, mulled wine, artisan woodwork, and numerous nick nacks that could burn a hole in your wallet.

The lights illuminating the streets as we walked towards the Christmas markets.

We ended up getting the following goodies during our time this past evening:

We got a mortar and pestle, a honey wand, and two mugs that were filled with mulled wine.

With a final note, we will be preparing for the full tour within the Heidelberg castle and the town of Heidelberg itself. More photos and adventures to come!

Day 1: Goodbye USA, Hello Frankfurt, Germany!

Today is the day! The moment we’ve all been waiting for as we leave the United States to travel to Frankfurt, Germany. All of our bags are packed and we our flight has been confirmed.

All of our luggage is packed and ready to go!

Our flight is through the German airline, Lufthansa, and it will be a 6.5 hour flight. Thankfully we did not have to upgrade our seats since it was a light flight. Otherwise we are looking at a €400 upgrade for each of us to get to Premium Economy seats.

Bridget and I at the Philadelphia Airport awaiting our flight

During the flight, we had the chance to watch the movie, Tolkien, to learn about the backstory of J.R.R. Tolkien as he fought in WWI and used his experiences to write The Hobbit. Our meal included a premade turkey meal with stuffing, salad, and a cheesecake brownie. Needless to say, both Bridget and I were appreciative for a meal while we flew overnight. We arrived in Frankfurt in a light rain storm and noticed that there was a strong chill in the air. Unlike Pennsylvania, winter is definitely in full swing here in Germany.

After meeting up with our tour director, Atto, we had the chance to learn more about the country with some surprising facts. Chief among them being the fact that you had to pay to use public restrooms in most areas. In the United States, that seems unheard of to many. We also noticed that Germany is very big in including both German and English words on all of their signs and posters. Atto explained that almost all Germans are required to take English classes during their education.

As we write this post, we are on our way to Heidelberg for the first leg of our journey. Stay tuned for our next post on our adventures in Heidelberg!

Driving along the highway towards Heidelberg.

First European Adventure: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Switzerland

Hi folks! For those wanting to follow our schedule, please refer to the EF GoAheadTours itinerary so you can see all of the exciting places that we will travel. I hope you will have as much fun as we will in our first trip abroad to Europe!

https://www.goaheadtours.com/guided-tours/christmas-markets-of-germany-switzerland-austria