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Best Things To Do in Regensburg, Germany
After being in the states for over 3 months visiting my friends and family, I was starting to miss schnitzel, bratwurst, and my favorite German cities. I couldn’t wait to end quarantine and start exploring again. We decided our first day trip would be to visit Regensburg, a city I fell in love with a few months after Lillie was born last summer (2020). Located on the banks of the Danube River in southeast Germany is the medieval town of Regensburg. It’s the perfect day trip from almost anywhere in Bavaria, especially Grafenwoehr. Taste the famous bratwurst sandwich at one of the most historical restaurants on the river. Then, stroll…
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A Roundup of the Best Day Trips from Grafenwoehr, Germany
Travel to other countries took a halt when our first child was born and a pandemic broke out across Europe. We weren’t able to travel very far from our home, so we stuck to doing things outdoors and within a few hours’ drive. Learning about the beauty that surrounded us in Bavaria was one of the perks that came out of the lockdown during a global pandemic. In this post, you’ll find a roundup of my favorite day trips from Grafenwoehr, Germany. There will be a variety of places in this blog post – from hiking and castle ruins to zoos and lakes. My hope is that there is something…
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A Weekend in Beaufort, SC: Shopping & Dining in the Historic District
The wind gusts from the Beaufort River pushed the stroller along the boardwalk dangerously close to the white capping water to our right. And to the left, children played and ran through the park acting as if social distancing and wearing a mask were the most natural thing in the world. Parents were just within earshot, because it is the kind of place that you let your children run free in the middle of the day when the sun shines the brightest. This is the scene on a recent Saturday in the Historic District of Beaufort, South Carolina. With its small-town charm, great bites, and unique shopping, you’ll find plenty…
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America, Here We Come
3 years ago we made the decision to stay in Europe and move from Italy to Germany. I never could have imagined that just a few years later we would be itching to leave and return to the U.S. Between a rough pregnancy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and some health issues with our daughter — it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows this past year. Thanks to the determination and sacrifices of my husband, Stephen, we are heading to Ft. Carson, Colorado in just a few months. We’re finally moving back to America, y’all! A Recap of Our Time in Germany Our time in Germany started off a little rocky. The…
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Lillie Belle’s Birth Story | Germany, 2020
The nurse looked up at me with wide eyes and said, “Call your husband now. You’re dilated to 7 centimeters.” I couldn’t dial fast enough to tell him to get to the hospital RIGHT NOW. We were about to have a baby! While I waited for my husband, Stephen, to arrive, the nurses wheeled me into the delivery room. Everything moved way too fast and the next thing I knew, two men in white coats tried, in their broken English, to talk me through the process of an epidural. I glanced over my shoulder in hopes that Stephen would walk through at any minute, but he wasn’t going to make…
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My First International Flight With an Infant: COVID Style
I was pretty intimidated about my first international flight with an infant. My daughter, Lillie, and I flew from Germany to the U.S. when she was almost 3-months old. Things were so different flying during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the days leading up to our flight, I couldn’t sleep for imagining every possible scenario and playing out our trip in my head. That’s proof enough of how nervous I was to fly considering I’ve flown thousands of miles over the last few years. Stephen was in the field, so I went about this alone, creating even more anxiety. It turned out to be a relatively positive experience and one…
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Baby’s First Trip: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
When the Army finally lifted the 50-kilometer travel limit for us, we couldn’t wait to take Lillie Belle on her first trip! We’re stuck in Germany until she receives a passport, so we decided to book a stay at Edelweiss Lodge & Resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The last time we traveled anywhere more than 30 minutes from our home in Grafenwoehr, Germany was in February when we visited Vicenza, Italy. Four months of staying at home during this crazy pandemic left us itching to travel again. We wanted to find somewhere convenient, yet beautiful since this would be our first travels with a baby; somewhere we could spend our time in…
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What No One Tells You About Mental Health and Pregnancy
Pregnancy comes with a range of emotions — highs and lows. While it’s a beautiful thing bringing life into this world, the toll it can take on a first-time mother isn’t something commonly discussed. I want to tell you about my personal experience — my first and second trimester of pregnancy and the mental, emotional, and physical difficulties I’ve felt. At 6 weeks pregnant, I laid on the couch in agony. Not only was I experiencing severe morning sickness, but I was going through prescription withdrawals. But, let’s start from the beginning… In April 2019, I went to my primary care provider on the military base and told him we’d…
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The Greatest Adventure Yet: Becoming Parents May 2020
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or just don’t follow me on social media, you’ve probably already seen the news that we’re expecting our first baby GIRL!! What felt like months and months of waiting was so worth it when I finally saw those two lines. I’ve been pretty quiet here on the blog, and really all of my Outside This Small Town social media accounts for a while. There’s plenty of reasons for that. Ever since finding out I was pregnant, Stephen and I have both been so elated and ecstatic for this huge change in our lives. So many emotions have transpired over the last 5 months.…
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Alpbach, Austria: A Weekend of Hiking, Fine Dining & Relaxing in the Alps
Austria has always held a special place in my heart as it was the second country to which I traveled outside of the United States. Stephen and I visited Austria between Christmas and New Years Eve back in 2016, and I immediately fell in love with the snow-capped Alps and the towns dotting the countryside. We’ve continued to return to Austria time and time again on many road trips throughout 2018. In early September, I was planning to visit a nearby cow parade/cattle drive in the area. When a friend told me about Reith im Alpbachtal and showed me a few photos from previous years, I was hooked. I knew…
