Michelstadt Easter Market: The perfect way to ring in spring!
Going to a German Easter Market is not only fun and uplifting but it also thaws any inner winter chill you may have lingering around! The pastel egg colors, the bunnies, and fuzzy yellow chicks are so uplifting! I have wanted to go to the well-known Michelstadt Easter Market for years but it never worked out somehow. Since I never made it there and then after only seeing photos online, I always imagined Michelstadt as being some magical town hidden in the middle of the Odenwald. Then after visiting, I learned that my prediction wasn’t too far from the truth!
The Odenwald is a beautiful low mountain range that stretches over the German states of Hesse, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg. The landscape is stunning and the traditional towns add to the peaceful scenery. Michelstadt is a charming town that is a delight to wander on the cobblestone streets during any season.
The signs for the market led me to a beautiful park with medieval buildings and towers. The parking area was packed and it took me almost 20 mins to find a spot. Even though I was very frustrated by this, the pretty walk over a wooden bridge brought me back in the spirit.
The center of the town looks perfect like a movie set. The weather wasn’t the best the day we went, but I could just imagine how the town square must be buzzing in the warmer months.
The center of town was decorated so nicely to celebrate the Easter market. They had a “band” of wooden rabbits right under a tower where beautiful bells chimed.
We left the square and found the market. Many people were attending that day and the courtyard was pretty full with people. The charged 5 euro to enter the market and kids were free.
I loved the building the market was held in because of the architecture overall charm.
This market was different to others that I have been too because you were able to touch the items more and also they had more affordable items to buy here.
Inside the building they also had a doll museum. You could walk around and look at the display cases of antique toys and dolls.
Pretty or terrifying… you decided.
Inside the (scary) doll museum they had a table set up for crafts for kids. They were able to color or make adorable bunny hats. This table was a nice break for the kids who were getting tired of looking at decorated eggs!
Perhaps the best part of the market, was when we saw baby chicks hatching out of their eggs! They had one incubator where chicks who recently hatched were in and the other one had chicks cracking out of the egg! My daughter thought this was the highlight of the day.
Leaving the market, outside everyone had one thing in their hand…a crepe! Since there were no food vendors inside the Easter Market, everyone was pretty excited to see the crepe truck outside. We joined the crowd and got a chocolate crepe and it sure hit the spot!
Our fingers were covered with chocolate and our spirits were definitely lifted after visiting this wonderful Easter Market! Michelstadt is in fact, what I always thought it was, a magical town in the middle of the Odenwald and it is a perfect place to explore throughout the year!
Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.
Lunch in London: How to do a one-day trip to London from Frankfurt Hahn
Imagine waking up in your bed, having lunch in London then being home before bedtime back at your house. Well it is possible with a same day flight with the current RyanAir schedule. No packing needed! Are you up for this exciting day?!
London can be pricey but without the cost of a hotel room or checked bags it makes the trip much more affordable. Looking at the prices recently, I saw you can get a roundtrip for under 100 euro. Remember to check out our tips on booking a cheap RyanAir flight!
I have done this ‘turn and burn’ before and it was really fun! I felt very free and not tied down with any bags and no hotel to check into. All I had was my purse, and a check list of things to see in London. (“Hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament!”)
The first flight is their early flight to London leaving at 6:30am, getting there at 6:50am London time. With planning to be at the airport 2 hours early, 1 hour driving, it means leaving your house at 3:30am. The flight back home to Germany leaves London at 7:30pm and getting back to Frankfurt-Hahn at 10:00pm.
If you are not the best morning person, you can stay right at the airport at the B&B hotel for around 50 euro. Or it is possible to stay in town at one of the guest houses. Some of the guest house owners will let you park in their lot, drop you off at the airport then also pick you up when you arrive.
Once you arrive (with no bags!) in London you need to get to the city center via the train. They sell tickets online, on the plane or when you arrive in the airport. They do have buses available but I would be too nervous to have a traffic jam later that day and then possibly miss the flight.
Once you see all the major sites to see in London city center, you can even make the day even more extraordinary! Hop in the Tube on the Jubilee Line train to St John's Wood Station to visit the famous location of the Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ album cover. Once you get to the St John’s Wood Station, cross over the main road then walk 5 minutes on Grove End Road. It will then bring you to the junction of Abbey Road with the famous zebra crossing. That is a picture for the bucket list!
At 4pm, it is time to head back to the airport after 8 hours of being in lovely London, England for lunch!
Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.
VeggieWorld Expo
VeggieWorld is a consumer and trade fair for products and services all supporting the vegan lifestyle. VeggieWorld is the largest vegan expo and the longest running of its kind. Being a life-long vegetarian I just had to check out this expo!
I really had no idea what to expect when I was going to VeggieWorld. How many other vegan supporters could there be in this area? I thought it was maybe a small event with a few vendors. No matter what I thought, I was for sure going to check this out to show my support and also get some yummy veggie food! Well when I got there I was so shocked how huge this event was. There was parking all over an industrial area of the town and in every parking lot in the area. The expo was in a huge two floor event hall! Everything was so professional and organized I was so impressed. It cost 12 euro to enter the expo and my parking was 3 euro.
The first vendor I visited was a really popular one, maybe because she was cooking up some delicious samples. She was making small pieces of bread that was cooked with the seasoning they were selling. It tasted like scrumptious garlic bread but only better. You can use the ‘Wurzfee, Streuwurze und Gemusebruhe’ on vegetables, bread and make soup out of it. There was no way I was leaving without some of this magic seasoning.
I started on the first floor, which I later learned this floor focused a lot on mind, body and health rather than food. Regardless, it was very packed!
They had vendors that had items such as oils, books and clothing with representatives that were very informative!
The variety of the vendors was really incredible. In one corner of the expo you can learn and purchase items for your dental health, gong healing and get a massage. I actually saw several vendors where you can get a face/sinus massage, foot massage, and back massage.
They had a list of on-going seminars during the expo with topics from meditation to cooking classes.
The first floor was very interesting but we really wanted to try new food so we went upstairs. First stand was a vegan falafel/ middle eastern stand, which had a huge line so I just stared and drooled.
Of course the VIP of this event just has to be tofu! They had several tofu stands where they were grilling up samples of all different kinds of flavors. Don’t mind if I do! Even if you have had it a million times before you still have to take a sample and make a face like it is the first time.
Everyone was walking around holding coconuts, either chopped or with a straw sticking out, and then I found out where they were coming from.
We sampled delicious ice tea which has no sugar, one calorie and it is all natural. It is called ‘Naturbursche Stevia-Eistee’ and I am going to now buy it in bulk from a local supermarket.
There were tables with flyers with information about events and products. One of the most interesting flyers I found was information on was ‘Vegan Travel, Vegan River Cruises’. Such a cool idea to travel with like-minded people and most of all to be able to eat anything you want on the cruise that you are paying for! So many times I pay for dinners or events, and end up only having salad and the side of rice for dinner, but yet pay the same as everyone having steak.
We tried vegan ice cream that was being served by Veganz, a vegan store/ café in Frankfurt. The ice cream tasted so good and also healthy. I didn’t even know this store existed but I will have to go there now that I know it does!
Typical for any other German fest, they of course had (organic) beer and (vegan) sausage!
After all of the sample eating we still wanted to have some lunch so we went to the café in the expo hall. This was the first time in my life where I go to a café and everything is vegetarian! They had tofu curry and other hot meals, but I got an amazing salad from the salad bar.
We left VeggieWorld feeling great! Maybe from the information we learned, or the super-food samples we ate one toothpick after another, or from seeing there are so many vegan supporters in the area but I think it was because of a combination of all three.
VeggieWorld travels throughout Europe. You check out the expo at upcoming VeggieWorld events:
05-06 March in Utrecht
12-13 March in Hamburg
30 April – 01 May in Munich
02-03 April in Paris
23-25 September in Zurich
21-23 October in Dusseldorf
26-27 November in Berlin
Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.
Frankfurt Zoo: Animals and the City
As one of the biggest cities in Germany, Frankfurt is known for its’ commerce, culture, tourism and night life. However, before the party animals come out at night, during the day you can visit 450 types animals from around the world at the Frankfurt Zoo!
I will be honest; I love going to the zoo! I think I get as excited if not more than the kids every time we see a new animal. We are so lucky to have two great zoos within a half an hour of each other. The Opel Zoo is located in the Taunus Mountains, and this zoo in Frankfurt is a city zoo nestled right in the middle of the cityscape.
I really do mean in the middle of the city! It made me wonder if in the description of this apartment when it was up for rent, read: “City center apartment, comes with washer and view of lions”.
Hello neighbor, can I borrow a cup of sugar?!
The zoo is well paved and the route on the map is easy to follow. When you first come into the zoo you are greeted by a big teddy bear and it looks like there isn’t any glass separating you.
The zoo is really great because even though it was raining on and off during the day we went, they have a lot of indoor exhibits that you can still enjoy.
Everyone loves seeing the monkeys!
Wait is that guy on the top right staring at us?
Yes. Yes he is… keep walking.
Inside they have spots where you can sit and rest or even have some snacks.
One of the highlights is the nocturnal building! You walk into the darkness and you can see the creatures we normally would never see in the light. This was a great way to really show and teach kids about nocturnal animals. The bat room was so cool!!
The sea life room was filled with splashing penguins, floating fish and happy kids! The penguins were great fun to watch and you can even see them get fed.
Above the sea life is an area that looks like you walked into a jungle with many reptiles to see.
Outside the rain let up a bit and we went on the big playground.
Still there is so much more to see at the Frankfurt Zoo but time and the weather was not allowing us. It just means we must come back and explore the rest of this great zoo.
The gift shop has a lot of super items for sale and it was not very expensive. We were able to pick up a few souvenirs.
Right across the street from the zoo is a Pizza Hut so we decided to have lunch there. The owners were really nice and the place was very kid friendly!
We can’t wait to go back to visit the Frankfurt Zoo! I mean it, I am not ‘monkeying around’!
Address:
Zoo Frankfurt
Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee 1
60316 Frankfurt
Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.
