Dan and Loralynn ride the gondola up the mountain in order to ride the exciting rodelbahn (luge) down.
Our family vacation included Nutmeg dog this year. We went to the Allgau (southern Germany near the Alps) at the end of June for six days. Almost every day was super rainy, but amazingly, our hiking vacation turned out pretty well even though there wasn't much hiking.
The ascent up Ulmer Dom (cathedral) tower was quite a feat.
During the downpour days, we were able to find indoor activities to minimize our time outside. Our vacation apartment had a simple heated indoor pool that always offered a back-up plan if we needed it. We only used it once, but we definitely could have in scheduled more time because the girls loved it. Tana accidentally dunked herself underwater after stepping off the final pool step and didn't freak out. Loralynn began voluntarily jumping from the side of the pool into our arms. It was a milestone for both. (Tana had on water wings and Loralynn wore her swimsuit with foam plates in the front and back.)
As usual, one of our kids got sick. Loralynn developed a cough that concerned me during the nighttime. No fevers surfaced, but we were watching them carefully. They slept in the same room which required us to lay with them each evening for 15 to 30 minutes so that they wouldn't mess around with each other. I was very grateful that Dan took this job while I walked the dog and cleaned up dinner.
I look forward to doing another family vacation like this again. Even though it's a lot of work to pack and shop for food, I feel like these times as a family build such fun memories and also break the norms established at home that have become bad habits (i.e. the big one for me this time was catering too much to the kids likes/dislikes during mealtimes). After all the vacationing we've done this summer, our normal routine has been disrupted and now we can begin afresh with new ideas and stamina in our daily living at home.
Here are some of photos (and a couple videos, too) of the highlights of our trip to the Allgau.
The gorge was a long and beautiful hike.
The noise of the awesome rushing water was almost deafening.
The hike through the gorge was popular, and it was great weather, too!
The skywalk was very different and fun.
The skywalk was among the trees and ended in a fantastic high obstacle course.
Almost a full day was spent at the nearby indoor playground.
Endless carousel rides at the indoor playground was quite a bonus!
The rodelbahn can be as fast or slow as you choose.
It was the longest luge ride we've experienced so far!
