Mainau!

When we first moved to Stuttgart in January 2013, I found myself riding along in a car with a German woman who worked for housing.  She was taking me around to see some rental properties, which they are required to do for newcomers, since we arrive with no car and no place to live.  This was my first outing in Germany.  It was cold.  I had not seen the sun since we'd arrived.  Everything was covered in ice.  It looked miserable outside.  As we drove through the countryside covered in snow, everything looking gray and bleak, I tried to imagine how it might look in another season… green fields, hills, and sunshine.  The lady was friendly, spunky, and spoke great English.  I asked her where she recommend we visit while living in Germany.  She told me about an island in a lake I had never heard of… she said it's her favorite place to go, but not many Americans visit it.  She was talking about the Bodensee, also known as Lake Konstanz.  It's a large lake that borders Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and is less than a two hour drive away.  She told me that this island, Mainau, was filled with flowers, a butterfly house, and playgrounds for children.  What's not to like?   Ever since she told me about it, I've been wanting to go… and 15 months later, we finally made it happen.   

A far cry from our first month in Germany

Ben and I were discussing this is what we love about Europe… they put such a high price on natural beauty.  Germany is the size of Montana with twice the population of California, but they still carve out plenty of public space where you can go for a leisurely stroll or relax on a park bench and enjoy being outdoors.  Mainau is such a place… it's just a little island, but Germany has made the most of it… it is filled with flowers, this time of year daffodils, hyacinths, pansies, blue bonnets, and TULIPS galore.  And there's a big playground for the kids to climb and run around.  And of course a biergarten.  And pony rides.  And a butterfly house.  Anyway, we just went on Saturday, stayed for the afternoon, and were home by dinnertime.  It was a perfect way to spend a weekend together.  

So who needs Holland when you've got Mainau?