Last summer, we knew our time in Germany was winding down, at least for a while, so we spent our Saturdays finding new trails even though we were perfectly happy to walk the same gorgeous trails around Tübingen over and over again.

The boys had gone camping in the Black Forest in the spring, which is a couple of hours away from Tübingen. They loved it so much that we decided to go back for a long day hike.

Taido found a hike to a small lake (Glaswaldsee) along the western way (Westweg) of the Black Forest, so we packed a picnic lunch which we planned to eat in the sunshine by the lake.

Black Forest Wandering

These are perhaps the moments with my family I love the very most.

I have been on more of these walks than I could possibly count or remember, but I know that each one is a treasure.

Every time we head for the hills or follow a new trail through the trees, my heart fills up in a familiar way.

Even if my legs are tired or I’m weary from the week behind me, I know as soon as my feet start taking steps that any stress is going to fall right off of me onto the path.

Following my family to new lookouts never gets old.

Perched high above the the Black Forest, the world and all its problems (and my problems as well) grow small.

Down below we can see the lake were had just picnicked. Was that ten minutes ago or an hour? Who can tell because of the way time has slowed down…

There is only this hill to climb.

There is only the view before me.

There are only these pink flowers to smile at.

Walking is the very best way I know to be in the present moment.

To accept what is.

To come alive again.

I love the walk and I love the way I feel when I collapse into a chair after the walk.

Tired, but rested.

Truly content.

The post A Walk in the Black Forest appeared first on Alison Chino.

Potsdam is a thirty minute drive from where we were staying in Berlin and boasts a garden that seems like a smaller and much less crowded version of Versailles. (Also it is free to visit!) So we decided to spend a day there.

We had gorgeous weather for our trip to Berlin, so we all agreed that a trip to the Sansoucci Gardens and palaces would be a great way to be outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Also, after being on city streets for a few days, it was wonderful to run free through the park.

There are over 200,000 plants in Sansoucci. The gardens run over 2 kilometers in both directions and on each side are ornate palaces and buildings. In addition to the palaces, there is a university, an orangery, a vineyard, and Roman baths. There’s even an old windmill.

A huge fountain in the center of the gardens is surrounded by Greek statues. Simon took photos of every single one, walking around and letting us know who was who.

We were there at a great time (July). Loads of flowers in bloom.

Plus there were grapes on the vines.

Besides the walking paths, there were also lots of fields to play or picnic in.

This is one of the university buildings. So lovely. While we stood in front of these beautiful old university buildings, I told the boys to add it to their list of possible schools. Because I like to remind them often that university is free in Germany.

This column connected two university buildings. It’s being restored as it was damaged during WWII and since Potsdam was previously part of East Germany, post-war restoration has come a bit more slowly.

This smaller palace is called the Belvedere. It was up on a hill, and a nearby another old building had been turned into a darling restaurant.

Tree-lined paths make me smile.

It took us over two hours to tour the gardens, so when we finished we made our way over to the town of Potsdam to find a bite to eat.

We went to the Dutch Quarter of Potsdam for lunch. There are 169 red brick buildings that make you think you’re in Amsterdam for the afternoon.

The vibe is super fun. Outdoor tables and markets everywhere.

We found a perfect spot where we ordered up drinks and little flatbread pizzas.

Then we walked a bit more around the Dutch Quarter before heading back to Berlin. We all agreed that Potsdam was well worth our time and to us it felt like sort of a hidden jewel of Germany. It was fun to find a German town that also had a little bit of the Netherlands, France and Italy in it.

One more detail.

We drove to Potsdam, but you can also take a direct train from Berlin. Charlotten Hof is the stop for the gardens and it’s a ten minute walk to the palace.

The post Snapshots of Potsdam: Day Trip from Berlin appeared first on Alison Chino.

From the moment we moved to Germany, Ben told us he wanted to go to Berlin.

Every time we took a short trip, he would ask when we were going to Berlin.

So as our year in Germany was winding down, we decided we needed to make it happen. We rented a car and headed for Berlin.

Now, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that one of Ben’s primary reasons for wanting to go to Berlin was to watch a League of Legends championship series, which he did while we were there.

But we also managed to fit in seeing a lot of Berlin as well, which made this history-loving Mama happy.

We did a Rick Steve’s walking tour (via the app) on our first morning in Berlin, which took us through most of the major sites.

We had a gorgeous day, and even though it was July, the city was not nearly as busy as I had suspected it might be. (Note to self: Berlin is a great European city to visit in the summer!)

One of my favorite things about Germany is how there is a constant reckoning with the hardest parts of German history. (We Americans could learn a lot from the Germans about reckoning.) These slates of rock are in front of the Reichstag, and they mark the lives (and deaths) of the people in government who tried to stand up to Hitler in the early days of his rise to power.

Near the Reichstag is a small garden with a map of all the concentration camps, the death tolls and a stone for each camp.

You cannot walk far without seeing a reminder in Berlin of the Holocaust.

If you keep an eye out, you will see Solpersteines marking the last homes of Jewish people before they were rounded up and taken away to their deaths. These stones are all over Europe.

Around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate is another important memorial that has been in Berlin since 2005.

It is the official Holocaust Memorial of Berlin and it is actually titled: Memorial to The Murdered Jews. I think it’s so significant that the act of murder is acknowledged in the title. There is no ambiguity. Underneath this field of 2,711 concrete slabs is a short exhibition hall about the Holocaust. It’s not recommended for young children, but we took Simon (age 11) to both the Holocaust visitor center and to the Jewish Museum in Berlin.

This gorgeous modern sculpture is inside a large bank building just next to the Brandenburg Gate.

Parts of the subway system in Berlin still look exactly as they did before the Berlin Wall went up because these stations were closed and out of use while Berlin was divided. Here are the boys in front of some old school green subway tiles.

In front of the illustrious Humboldt University is the large courtyard square where Hitler burned books.

In the middle of the square you can stand on top of a glass window and look down into a room full of empty bookshelves, enough to hold 20000 books. This is the reminder that this many books were burned by the Nazis in 1933 here in the Bebelplatz.

Museum Island was the next stop on our walking tour. We had a rest to watch people in the garden in front of the Berlin Cathedral. Everyone was out “taking the sun” as they do when it shines in Germany.

We had such a gorgeous few days in Berlin, so we didn’t spend too much time indoors. The only museum we all four went to was the Jewish Museum.

We headed there after walking past the famous TV tower, and after a quick visit to Checkpoint Charlie.

The museum has two buildings, an older one and then a new one designed by Libeskind. The architecture of the new building was so fascinating and effective that it took me a long time to get through it to focus on the actual exhibitions.

Here’s a quote from Libeskind about the design:

The new design, which was created a year before the Berlin Wall came down, was based on three conceptions that formed the museum’s foundation: first, the impossibility of understanding the history of Berlin without understanding the enormous intellectual, economic and cultural contribution made by the Jewish citizens of Berlin, second, the necessity to integrate physically and spiritually the meaning of the Holocaust into the consciousness and memory of the city of Berlin. Third, that only through the acknowledgement and incorporation of this erasure and void of Jewish life in Berlin, can the history of Berlin and Europe have a human future.

There is a section called the Garden of Exile, which is tilted and disorienting, with these pillars that block your views.

Then there are empty spaces throughout the museum, voids which represent, in Libeskind’s words: that which can never be exhibited when it comes to Jewish Berlin history: Humanity reduced to ashes.

The voids are effective. There is all this empty space to remind you that something is missing. Or more accurately, that someone is missing.

There are several rooms that you walk into and don’t know what you’re meant to do. You have to sort of wait and see. In one of the voids, all you can do is walk across this floor of metal faces and listen to the noise they make.

Then there are the exhibitions, the history of Jewish life in Germany beginning in medieval times. There is this long rich history of Jewish communities living and working and thriving in Germany. There is also a long history of persecution, but none so unimaginable and horrifying as the Holocaust. In the history leading up to Hitler’s rise to power, you can see the signs of discrimination becoming more acceptable and widespread. The history was haunting in both its telling of the events of WWII Germany and for how many patterns of hatred felt eerily familiar.

It took me close to three hours to get through the Jewish Museum and I rushed through the end because the boys were already done and waiting, so if you go, plan accordingly.

After the museum we found some dinner (and a Biergarten). We walked along a preserved section of the Berlin Wall, and then headed off to bed. The next day we visited nearby Potsdam before taking the boys to their video game event. And then Simon and Taido headed back to Tübingen while Ben and I stayed on for one more day in Berlin before taking a much-anticipated trip to Poland to see a dear friend of his.

On our last day in Berlin together, Ben and I walked a TON up and down the river, because that’s one of my favorite things to do in any European city (including Rome, Paris and London).

We walked by lots of modern eye candy architecture.

Fun walkways and places to sit out by the river in the sunshine.

Long stretches of garden where you could order a picnic or bring your own.

We also visited the German History Museum which we did not even manage to get all the way through before it closed. Ben has had way more European History in school than I ever did, so he enjoyed walking through the museum. I am always blown away by how I know almost nothing from before about 1935. So I pretty much have most of European history still to learn.

We also walked by these monuments to remember those who were killed while trying to cross the Berlin Wall into West Germany. So much sadness.

We claimed a spot on this green grass for a while to sit and rest after two days of walking and learning.

The new Deutsche Bahn (train station) in Berlin is gorgeous. It’s full of shopping and restaurants, which was handy for us as we got ready to travel on to the next portion of our trip.

We grabbed some train station Pho before hopping an overnight bus to Gdansk, Poland.

We all said we would be glad to return to Berlin again, especially in the summertime!

The post Snapshots of Berlin, Germany appeared first on Alison Chino.

Last spring we went camping for a weekend in Bavaria, Germany.

From the moment we told folks we were moving to Germany, people told us we had to go and visit Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein).

It was raining when we stopped there on our way to our camping spot, but that was ok, because we got to stand on the viewing bridge by ourselves.

Usually this overlook is packed with people.

We were soaking wet by the time we got up to it, but still in relatively good spirits.

Most of us.

After the castle we drove to our campground and here is where I have to say that camping in Europe is not always my favorite. I am used to camping in America where the campsites are huge or where you can sometimes backpack to places where you can pitch your tent in the woods or a field or whatever, but the campgrounds in Germany tend to have a couple of fields where tents can set up and they can get super crowded. So we heard folks all night outside our tent. In fact, someone from another tent started yelling at the other folks to shut up. Which they didn’t. Also, to add insult to injury, this arrangement is not cheap. When you camp, you pay per person, so our little patch of green for one night cost us over $60. Yikes.

But the good news is that we found a bakery very close by the next morning so even though I was super sleepy, I had fresh bread and coffee before we went hiking. And oh, the hiking we would do!

Taido had been to Bavaria before so he was excited to take us on this hike that starts with a gorge trail.

The walkway has been cut through tunnels for about two kilometers. Super impressive!

And strangely hard to photograph, but we were all super impressed with Tai for knowing about it and taking us there.

After the gorgeous gorge, the trail opened up and we wandered along a river into the mountains.

Taido had walked this trail in the opposite direction after climbing the Zugspitze a couple of years ago. He had just happened along the Partnach Gorge.

The clouds came and went as we walked through the valley. Just bits of rain here and there.

The spring greens were bright and beautiful.

We reached a little hut by lunch time,

so we stopped for lunch and enjoyed cold drinks and hot noodles.

Along one part of the river were these piles and piles of cairns.

Little monuments to all the hikers who had come through and carefully stacked stone upon stone.

Of course one of us had to add to the cairns, leaving a little Chino mark.

After our gorge and valley hike, we packed up and headed to a new campground that was not quite as crowded as the first.

We did another shorter hike in the evening, and then had a picnic dinner before going to sleep.

The next morning we got up early to pop over to Austria for another climb.

It was supposed to start raining again in the afternoon and we were looking to beat the clouds before starting back to Tübingen.

We were super fortunate with the weather as rain was really predicted for the whole time we were in Bavaria. And while we did have some rain, for the most part we stayed dry while hiking.

We made a quick stop in Munich on our way back, as the boys and I had never been.

We hit the tourist spots.

And walked the city.

It was a little rainy, but not bad, and we stayed just long enough for the boys to get tired of walking around.

It’s crazy to me how they can walk forever in the woods, but they get tired when you drag them to a city. I think maybe it’s because there are so many places to stop.

I would love to have spent a little more time in Munich, but I’m glad I got to stand in the big square under the church tower even for a little while.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, one of several we had last spring, driving around in rental cars, trying to fit in as much as possible. And though I loved Bavaria, I was also happy to get back to our lovely Tübingen and my cozy bed.

The post Snapshots of Bavaria, Germany appeared first on Alison Chino.

Y’all, the autumn was so beautiful in the little town we lived in last year.

In the morning, you would walk to town and the hills would have a Scotland-like mist over them,

but the afternoons were usually gorgeous blue skies

and incredible color.

I walked in the woods almost every single day.

That seems crazy long ago now.

Crazy far away.

All last fall, I collected bright colored leaves.

I took photos on the blue days and the gray days and all the days in-between.

And I’m so glad I did!

I know Tübingen is covered in color again now, as are lots of corners of the world, but we are not seeing much fall color this year so far.

I always have trouble choosing a favorite season,

but the colors of autumn make it one of my favorite times of the year to be outside.

If you’re ever looking for a dreamy place to spend autumn,

I highly recommend southern Germany.

It rivals New England and other classic fall destinations for sure.

And if you go to Tübingen,

be sure to wander through the Schonbuch, a nature park and forest near and dear to our hearts.

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Dear Sweet Ones,

I want to tell you something about creativity.

To create is to reflect the image of God, the Creator.

To create anything is to participate in the divine purpose for which we were made.

I hope you will let those words sink deep into your soul.

Whenever we spend time in creation, I am in awe of all God’s great gifts in nature.

I wonder at all that God has made.

The trees, the hills, the flowers, the mountains, the rivers and streams. The great expanse of the sea. I love spending time seeing what God has created, and I have tried to teach you to love it too.

I want you to love it a little bit more every day by making time for walking outside.

But maybe I have missed teaching you to participate in creation by also being a maker.

I think it’s hard to be a maker in our family because we like everything to be already perfectly made. And we tend towards criticism. When things are still in process, we interrupt creators with discouragement.

I grieve that I have perhaps taught you to point out imperfection rather than to participate in creating.

So I am trying to make more imperfect things.

I am exercising the muscle of creativity in places that are unfamiliar and awkward and maybe even pointless.

One of the ways I am making time for creativity lately is by drawing and painting.

I have a little tiny set of watercolors I have been carrying around with me for a couple of years now, and I am filling up some of the pages of my journal with perfectly imperfect creations.

I am trying to look more closely at the places we walk by the act of drawing them.

I find it hard. And very slow. (Not unlike learning German)

But when I make time for this act of pointless creativity, for wasting time doing something at which I am not very good, I am surprised by the calm I experience and the small joys it brings.

I’m surprised by what I notice.

Here’s what Brené Brown says about creativity in her brilliant book, The Gifts of Imperfection:

1. “I’m not very creative” doesn’t work. There’s no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Unused creativity doesn’t just disappear. It lives within us until it’s expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.

2. The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.

3. If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Cook, write, draw, doodle, paint, scrapbook, take pictures, collage, knit, rebuild an engine, sculpt, dance, decorate, act, sing—it doesn’t matter. As long as we’re creating, we’re cultivating meaning.

So I hope you will take some time to make things for the sake of making. I hope you will not hear my critical voice in your head telling you that you should be busy with more practical endeavors.

Find ways to express the creativity that is within you.

Join in with the wonder that is creation.

I love each of you and all the ways you make life more beautiful,

Mama

The post A Letter to My Kids About Making Time For Creativity appeared first on Alison Chino.

The last few weeks in Tübingen, Germany have been so gorgeous that I am not going to complain about the fact that for some strange reason, it has been snowing here for the last two days.

I just hope the snow doesn’t freeze or destroy all the sweet blossoms that are popping out everywhere.

The boys have been on Easter break so we have had lots of extra days out walking in beautiful Baden-Württemberg.

Like this ridge walk in the Swabian Alb, to a cross on a hilltop.

If you zoom in on the cross it says, Anna, Ich liebe dich, or Anna, I love you.

This is just one of many small gifts of being outside hiking that have made me smile this month.

A few other gifts:

Catching bits of the Camino all around Germany.

Watching my boys run ahead of me through the trees.

The sunlight on the trails.

Green grass growing brighter every day.

Blue skies. Budding trees.

Walking through this cloister at least once a week.

Views of Bebenhausen growing more colorful every time I walk by.

Golden yellow blooms.

New crops growing on the farm near our house.

Mossy forest floor.

New hiking boots.

Pink blossoms.

Being around little ones again.

White cherry blossoms.

Being invited by a new friend to walk trails full of cherry blossoms.

Hearing all about cherry blossom festivals in Japan.

Picnics outside on blue sky walking days.

Walking with friends.

Learning the difference between an apple blossom, a cherry blossom and a pear blossom.

Seeing beehives.

Putting away vitamin D bottle and digging out the sunscreen.

Following Taido and the boys through the woods.

Seeing the biggest landslide in the region with a rock expert!

Finding a huge swing and having friends to share it with.

April birthdays.

The boats appearing on the Neckar River in Tübingen after months of being put away for winter.

Gliding underneath the weeping willows.

A serenade on the river.

A perfect day for a ride on a boat.

Or for eating gelato by the river.

Being outside

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The post Snapshots of Walks in Germany in Spring appeared first on Alison Chino.

Winter Germany Walking

Winter is finally letting up here in Germany, but we’ve had lots of snow and icy days since December.

There have been lots of frosty walks, and attempts to get our faces in the sun.

Although there were many days in January when there was no sun to be found.

Still, the snow can be so bright and beautiful.

I love how it crunches underneath my walking boots.

And how the tree branches look like they’ve been heavily dusted with powdered sugar.

Even the very thin branches were delicately coated in snow for weeks.

We managed to have a few afternoons where the sun came out and made the snow sparkle.

We blew it at each other like fairy dust.

And chased our shadows through the ruts that sleds and cross-country skis had cut through the powder.

We returned to several walks we had done in fall to see them now coated with snow. You can follow a route all the way to the Camino de Santiago in Spain from here in Germany (that’s the blue sea shell sign), and the top sign on the tree in this photo says Winterweg or “Winter Way.”

This is the path that leads from Tübingen to Wurmlinger Chapel, a church that sits on top of this hill, above the vineyards.

You pass this tall tower on the way. (You can see Cole and Simon’s heads peeking out over the top.)

We also climbed high above this valley to get back to Schloss Lichtenstein.

Now closed for the winter and covered in snow, but we made a day of getting here and had a picnic with us in case everything was closed over the holidays.

We also walked our regular routes through the forest by our house.

On the nights when it snowed, we loved trying to get out early enough to make fresh tracks in the snow. It’s not easy to do with so many faithful walkers in Germany!

But even though our tracks were not the first, we often felt like we had the forest and valleys almost all to ourselves.

The familiar river view in Tübingen was even coated in snow.

And for a week or so in late January, it actually froze all the way through.

We saw people walking onto the icy river.

After our winter walking, we always end up back somewhere that we can find a treat and a warm drink.

This day-old bakery is a particular favorite of ours. We don’t know anywhere else you can fill a bag with pastries for 2,50!

Some for now and some for later.

Also cake and coffee (kaffee und kuchen) is a standing option in Germany, with the most ridiculous number of cake varieties available!

So even though it is cold in the winter, I can almost always entice my family to get outside with me with the promise of a stop in one of these spots afterwards for a warm-up.

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I have to say that being in Germany for the Christmas season has been a delight to the senses. We did not travel far and wide to get to Christmas markets this year, but we thoroughly enjoyed the ones in Tübingen and the surrounding area.

What I loved about attending the local markets was watching communities gather around these events. Children playing music. Families shopping together. Friends standing around outdoor fires. Everyone drinking Glühwein.

Christmas Markets definitely bring tourism to Germany, and they are worth the trip, but more importantly to me is the sense of local folks doing something they have done for a long, long time: gathering in the streets to welcome the Advent season.

The fact that Christmas Markets are a beautiful gathering for families and friends during a season of peace and joy makes the fact that someone would use that gathering as an opportunity to display hate and evil so abhorrent. In the face of that darkness this week (a man drove a truck into the Berlin Christmas Market as an act of terror), I thought it would be appropriate to share my collection of photos from our visits to Christmas Markets.

Always light in the midst of darkness.

Merry Christmas from Germany friends!

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A Letter to My 15 Year Old Son Who Traveled With Me To Lake Constance

Dear Ben,

I am sorry that I give you such a hard time for cracking eggs all over the counter in the kitchen.

And for throwing your clothes on the floor. And your backpack. And your shoes.

I am sorry for the way I respond when you’ve been on the computer for one hundred and sixteen hours and you eyes are bloodshot from staring at little dots moving around the screen.

I am sorry for the way I focus on the clothes and the computer and the eggs when I should be saying how grateful I am for you.

Because you, my son, are the most wonderful company.

I am so thankful for how you embrace the adventures we have together.

I am so thankful that nine times out of ten, when someone says, “Who wants to go with me to do X?” that your answer is, “I will!”

Who wants to go with me to the store to help carry groceries?

I will.

Who wants to go for a walk with me in the woods?

I will.

Who wants to try this strange new gingerbread?

I do.

Who wants to walk down to the chocolate market and try all the samples again?

I do.

So when I asked you if you wanted to go with me for a few days to Lake Constance, for a little mother-son adventure by ourselves, I was not surprised that you were game.

And I just love that about you.

That you are game.

I think we’re going to take a bus.

Game.

I think we’re going to stay in hostels.

Game.

What do you think about going to this classical musical concert in the big cathedral in Constance?

Game.

Coffee?

Game.

Donor Kebab?

Game.

Pretty much any food?

Game.

You are a wonderful travel partner. You make everything more fun by being enthusiastic.

It’s unusual for you to complain. You’re super flexible. You can walk for ages and carry the heavy stuff, and if we happen to find ourselves in the woods after the sun sets or in a dark part of town, I kind of appreciate that all of a sudden you are becoming a young man, a fact I usually lament.

Thank you for going with me to this new place. For walking all over Constance and Meersburg and Lindau.

For sitting in the sun and reading together.

For long talks about language and living in Germany.

For longer walks along the lake and through the woods.

For sitting through a concert that was not so interesting to you.

For riding the ferry and looking for coffee shops.

For being willing to eat in restaurants and hostel kitchens and on park benches.

For all the ways you make life fun and point out the beauty of the world.

I love seeing it through your eyes.

And I’m grateful for many more days ahead of sharing new experiences with you.

I’m grateful that you are still with us. And that we are getting days together that are different from ones we have had before, because it is so often just the two of us, carrying apples and milk, stomping through the woods or exploring yet another Christmas market.

Thank you for being willing to say “Yes,” and for how you are teaching me to say it too.

Yes, you can build a gingerbread house.

Yes, you can play that game.

Yes, you can put that candle out with your fingers.

Yes, you can put that punch in the grocery basket.

Yes, you can order the pastry that is as big as your head.

Yes, we can stop and sit for a while.

Love you so much.

Mama

A few details in case you want to go to Lake Constance. We stayed in Constance/Konstanz at the most darling little hostel called Glückseeligkeit which translates to “bliss.” They only have five rooms but one is a family room and there is a fully stocked kitchen and living room/lounge for meals and such. Ben and I stayed in the attic room that had its own balcony and view of Konstanz. This hostel did not sponsor our trip in any way, but we loved it so I thought I would mention it. (In fact, we stayed in another hostel in Lindau that we did not like at all so we wished we’d spent one more night in ‘bliss.’) We spent three nights in the area and wandered around the towns of Konstanz, Meersburg and Lindau. At the end of October when we made this trip, it felt like much of the activity around the lake was closed up for the season. I think it would be fun to go when it is a bit warmer and bike at least part of the cycle path that goes all the way around Lake Constance (and covers three countries!) MacsAdventure has this tour available as one of their Germany adventures if you’re looking for a biking adventure in Germany. If you happen to go to Konstanz, a little coffee shop called elf (“eleven” in German) serves up the best coffee I’ve had so far in Germany, but unfortunately they don’t open until 11. 

The post A Letter to My 15 Year Old Son Who Traveled With Me To Take These Snapshots of Lake Constance appeared first on Alison Chino.