For the Spontaneous Traveler

I often forget how long I’ve lived overseas and I become complacent with the opportunities around me. Part of my new years resolution is to be more spontaneous with traveling, and for those of you who have seen my Instagram posts for the last two years may wonder how that’s even possible. Well, I spend many weekends binge watching Game of Thrones or House of Cards, that six months have gone by since I moved here and there is so much more I could be doing! Everyone needs those Saturdays once in awhile, but I prefer to stay busy.

Yesterday started off as a regular Saturday. Woke up around 9:00am, had my coffee, and lazed around for a good part of the morning. Unfortunately, pneumonia and bronchitis got the best of me the last three weeks so I haven’t been able to kick-start this resolution and do anything exciting. I planned on spending my weekend meal-prepping and moving my bedroom/bathroom essentials to the main floor of my house as I get ready for knee surgery tomorrow. Stairs will be my enemy for the next few weeks so the only thing that will occupy my second floor will be the mystery rodents who I hear in my floorboards at night. Farmhouse living at its finest! I’m praying for a speedy recovery, but I’m not quite sure the next time I’ll be able to travel as recklessly as I usually do. With this in mind, I knew I needed to get out!

I made a few phone calls and within 20 minutes, everyone was onboard! With limited hours of daylight left, we needed to pick somewhere relatively close. My first pick was Heidelberg (about an hour drive), but a few people had already gone so it was crossed off the list. Next pick was Trier- the oldest city in Germany filled with Roman baths and ruins. Seems like an obvious pick, but with so much to see we decided we’d need an entire day (at least). Our final pick was Saarbrücken, a city located on the French border less than 30 minutes away. I knew France was close, but didn’t realize THAT close. We filled up the car and were off!

We spent the afternoon shopping and wandering the streets enjoying the warmest day we’ve had in awhile. As the sun began to set, the boys decided to grab a beer and us girls spent some more time walking along the river. It wasn’t the cleanest or most scenic walk- graffiti under the bridges and clouds of smoke in the air- but a sunset over the water is always nice and we weren’t going to turn it down.

We caught up with boys for a drink and switched up locations for dinner at a local brewery. It was a hipster corner bar with an awesome vibe, but we unfortunately fell victim to the “lets put the Americans in the back” curse, so they brought us up the stairs, around the corner, down the hall into a completely empty room…despite all the empty tables we passed along the way. Nonetheless, the food was delicious and the company was great! We spent a few hours eating and drinking before hitting the road for the drive back home.

My next big trip isn’t scheduled until the end of March, so until then I’ll be rehabbing my knee to make sure I can fill my weekends with more spontaneous trips like these. Here’s to many more!