Zaanse Schans, Netherlands is a neat windmill village just outside of Amsterdam, that has some neat things to check out and spend a few hours. It’s about a 3 hour 50 minute drive from Spangdahlem and 4 hours and 45 mins from Ramstein. We drove to Zannse Schans and spent a few hours before heading to our Bed & Breakfast only 15 minutes away.
The great thing about Zaanse Schans is that you can [Read more…]
We traveled to the Netherlands (aka Holland to many Americans), in April 2015, so I wanted to share the information I found for how to plan a family trip to the Netherlands on a budget, and in our case for under $800! We stayed 2 nights and spent 1/2 day at Zannse Schans, 1 day in Amsterdam, and 1 day hitting multiple sights as we headed home. It was plenty of time and we got to see and do lots in [Read more…]
If your stationed in Germany then you probably know about the Panther Paws book, if not you NEED to know about it! It’s a great book of travel resources put together by Spangdahlem spouses but there is info for traveling all over and not just Germany. If you don’t know about it read my post which is linked in the first sentence and then come back to see what I think about the 2015 edition.
Yes, [Read more…]
Echternach is the oldest city in Luxembourg. We checked out the Basilica of Saint Willibrord and we ate lunch at a local restaurant. There is also a lake here that has a 1.5 mile walking path around it as well, I plan checking that out when the weather is a bit warmer. It’s about 40 mins from Spangdahlem so makes for an easy day trip.
This church has had quite the time staying standing and is [Read more…]
On Good Friday everything was closed in Germany for the holiday and the guys had the day off work so we crossed the border to spend the day in Luxembourg. Our first stop was Burg Bourscheid also known as Château de Bourscheid in Bourcheid, Luxembourg. It’s only about an hour from Spangdahlem. We then stopped in Echternach, the oldest city in Luxembourg, on the way back. It’s only 30 mins from Spang [Read more…]
I recently posted about our Half Day in Barcelona and that we visited Sagrada Família. While it’s probably one of the must see sights in Barcelona, at least for us, it does come with a steep price tag…although most sights in Barcelona do!
The Sagrada Família is an overly ornate church who’s design and construction was overseen by Antoni Gaudí starting in 1883 until his death in 1926. The church [Read more…]
April Things To Do Around Spangdahlem has some interesting things to go see during the Spring season. Last month we made to the Sankt Wendel Easter Market and it’s a recommend trip for y’all for next year! It was on my lift of the March events. Again these are generally no more than 3 hours away, although I may throw in one or two further away ones if I think that they are something to consider.
There are Things To Do for everyone! Some include Medieval Events, Peach Blossom Festival, Wine Witch Night, Whisky & Wine festivals, & more! There has got to be one that you will find interesting and want to check out!
I’ve also included a printable file at the bottom so that you can print it out and easily see what is going on. Some of the events are this weekend so if you don’t get to them this year you can always add them to your list for next year. I’ll also be blogging about the ones that we get to visit so check back and see if they are worth taking a trip to.
Below is a list of upcoming Things To Do, please note many of the websites are in German only so use Google Chrome and it will translate the page for you. It will include the festival, website, dates, and how far from Spangdahlem & Ramstein.
2015 April Things To Do
Celtic Village – in Steinbach, Germany Opens April 3rd and then open on Sat & Sun
Handcrafted presentations, activities, vendors and more, more info on website.
Approximately 1 hour 40 mins from Spangdahlem, 35 mins from Ramstein
http://www.keltendorf-steinbach.de
Medieval Easter Festival – in St. Goarshausen, Germany Apr 4th-6th
Medieval spectical with knights, tournaments merchants, music and more! Entry fee required, more info on website
Approximately 1 hour 45 mins from Spangdahlem, 1 hour 45 mins from Ramstein
http://kulturland.rlp.de/veranstaltungen/v/osterspektakel-und-ritterturnier-auf-der-loreley/
Peach Blossom Festival – in Cochem, Germany 2nd Sun in April (April 12th)
Go find out what a red vineyard peach is and sample some tasty delights, more info on website
Approximately 1 hour from Spangdahlem, 1 hour 40 mins from Ramstein
http://www.ferienland-cochem.de/nextshopcms/show.asp?lang=en&e1=62
Medieval Market – in Trier, Germany Apr 11th-12th
Medieval market with entertainment, music & food, €8 entry fee, more info on website
Approximately 38 mins from Spangdahlem, 1 hour from Ramstein
http://www.mercatus-treveris.de
Limburg Whiskey Fair – in Limburg, Germany April 25th-26th
Music, tasting & more, there is an entrance fee, more info on website
Approximately 1 hour 30 mins from Spangdahlem, 1 hour 40 mins from Ramstein
http://www.festival.whiskyfair.com
Spring Wine Festival – in Boppard, Germany Apr 26th
A 5K walk through vineyards where you stop at stands and sample wines, more info on website
Approximately 1 hour 24 mins from Spangdahlem, 1 hour 34 mins from Ramstein
http://www.boppard-tourismus.de/129-1-Whats-On-throughout-the-year.html
Weinhexennnacht (Wine Witch Night) – in Oberwesel, Germany Apr 30th
New wine witch climbs out of barrel in the city center with fire & spectacle, more info on website
Approximately 1 hour 27 mins from Spangdahlem, 1 hour 23 mins from Ramstein
http://www.oberwesel.de/en/highlights/weinhexennacht/
Further Away
Keukenhof – in Stationwegs, Holland Mar 20th – May 17th
A grand tulips display in a large park covering 32 acres with more than 7 million tulips, more info on website.
Approximately 3 hours 50 mins from Spangdahlem, 4 hours 42 mins from Ramstein
http://www.keukenhof.nl
The printable has the list of the 7 festivals/events that are within 3 hours or less from Spangdahlem, I also included the 1 further away one as well, download it HERE
We will be checking out the some of these, I’m excited about crossing some of them off our list! If you know of a great festival that I missed that you think should be added please email me or leave a comment 🙂 I’d also love to hear your experience if you get a chance to visit any of the festivals!
I scored super cheap tickets to Barcelona, Spain for our family of 4 in January over President’s weekend, it was $120 for all 4 of us round trip! I wanted to make the most of the time we would have in Barcelona which was 1.5 days. On our first day we arrived in Barcelona at 2 pm so we were able to hit Sangrada Familia to get that done since it’s the main attraction, you can read my post about it [Read more…]
This past weekend we went to check out the Sankt Wendel Easter Market! Also known to the Americans as St. Wendel. You may remember that the Sankt Wendel Christmas Market was our favorite Christmas Market so I was excited to go check out the Easter Market. We went to a local so-called Easter Market in Speicher and were under impressed, it was really a flea market which was fine, but don’t call it [Read more…]
I scored super cheap tickets to Barcelona, Spain for our family of 4 in January over President’s weekend, it was $120 for all 4 of us round trip! I wanted to make the most of the time we would have in Barcelona which was 1.5 days. We rented a car so we were able to drive from Girona to Barcelona so we arrived around 2 pm. We were able to check into our apartment and grab a quick bite to eat before [Read more…]