There are a variety of places to visit near this beautiful lake, but we decided to go straight to this tiny island dedicated to family (mostly children's) fun! The Island of Mainau!This is the big kids and me at the entrance ( I was feeling tropical so I wore my Hawaiian skirt!):
Mainau is like this perfect blend of Tropical Island meets Alpine glory... it was truly beautiful!
Our first stop for the kiddos was the awesome petting zoo... You could actually go into the goat pen and feed the goats, which all of the kids loved (especially Victoria!)
They also had rabbits, chickens, and other animals. The kids LOVED it! And, very uncharacteristically, they provided a sink where we could wash their hands afterward. Yay for cleanliness- Mainau gets a gold star for that one!We headed to the horse pen, where the kids each got to ride a little horse. Also a big hit!
Isaac doing his imitation of a bull ride and shouting, "Yee Haw!"
Simply gorgeous! The kids and I are actually in this one in the middle (click on the pic to see us!)
Aaaahhhh....
After all the animal and flower fun, we stopped and had a little picnic and Miss Tori fell asleep for a much needed rest (that's why you can't see her in our family shot from the island)
Isaac doing his imitation of a bull ride and shouting, "Yee Haw!"
Simply gorgeous! The kids and I are actually in this one in the middle (click on the pic to see us!)
Aaaahhhh....
After all the animal and flower fun, we stopped and had a little picnic and Miss Tori fell asleep for a much needed rest (that's why you can't see her in our family shot from the island)
This picture makes my heart happy:
Here is a beautiful Baroque Palace that really didn't interest our crew too much. But I guess you can tell that from their faces:
More beautiful gardens:
They had these really cool looking wooden carvings little tiki guys, a mushroom table, a little wooden tree house and this guy (whom Tori wanted to pat):
After exploring all the beautiful garden areas, we went over to the incredible playground areas:
They had five or six different playground areas all within one big section of the island, including this water play area. It had a very Huckleberry Finn feel:
We were a little worried about the water- We thought they might get dysentary or something... Matt kept running around telling them not to open their mouths or touch their faces or anything. But they did have lots of fun!
Teeter Totter: Matt and Tori vs. Isaac and Daphne!
After the playground, we headed over to the Butterfly Gardens, which was so cool!
They had an incredible variety of butterfly species, all different colors and sizes, some that were as big as Isaac's head.
After we headed off the Island, we had to catch a ferry to our next leg of our trip, which was also a big hit for the children:
When we walked out to our car, we found the back left tire had a slow leak and was almost completely deflated. Everyone was tired and hungry and when we tried to find a repair shop on our GPS, everything was closed. I kept trying to look on the GPS for help and call the rental company for help, while Matt searched around for a solution. He eventually pulled out the little hand-pump that I keep in the back of the jogging stroller ans, by hand, pumped up the back tire of our SUV!! He's like my own personal MacGyver! Seriously, it was tedious and laborious and pain-staking, but he saved the day. And then we drove out of Mainau Island looking for some dinner.
Now, I really meant to tell this story last week in my post about Berlin, but I forgot, so I'll tell it now... We were on the tour bus in Berlin and trying to find somewhere to eat. We met this couple from Minnesota, I think, and we were asking them if they know of a restaurant close by. They mentioned one place to us and then said, "And then, of course, there is Mickey D's". We said, "Oh- well, we kind of agreed that we would try not to eat at McDonald's while we are here. We figure that we are in Germany and we should try to eat the local food, you know?" And they said, "Oh. Well we eat at Mickey D's at least once a day."
Here is a beautiful Baroque Palace that really didn't interest our crew too much. But I guess you can tell that from their faces:
More beautiful gardens:
They had these really cool looking wooden carvings little tiki guys, a mushroom table, a little wooden tree house and this guy (whom Tori wanted to pat):
After exploring all the beautiful garden areas, we went over to the incredible playground areas:
They had five or six different playground areas all within one big section of the island, including this water play area. It had a very Huckleberry Finn feel:
We were a little worried about the water- We thought they might get dysentary or something... Matt kept running around telling them not to open their mouths or touch their faces or anything. But they did have lots of fun!
Teeter Totter: Matt and Tori vs. Isaac and Daphne!
After the playground, we headed over to the Butterfly Gardens, which was so cool!
They had an incredible variety of butterfly species, all different colors and sizes, some that were as big as Isaac's head.
After we headed off the Island, we had to catch a ferry to our next leg of our trip, which was also a big hit for the children:
When we walked out to our car, we found the back left tire had a slow leak and was almost completely deflated. Everyone was tired and hungry and when we tried to find a repair shop on our GPS, everything was closed. I kept trying to look on the GPS for help and call the rental company for help, while Matt searched around for a solution. He eventually pulled out the little hand-pump that I keep in the back of the jogging stroller ans, by hand, pumped up the back tire of our SUV!! He's like my own personal MacGyver! Seriously, it was tedious and laborious and pain-staking, but he saved the day. And then we drove out of Mainau Island looking for some dinner.
Now, I really meant to tell this story last week in my post about Berlin, but I forgot, so I'll tell it now... We were on the tour bus in Berlin and trying to find somewhere to eat. We met this couple from Minnesota, I think, and we were asking them if they know of a restaurant close by. They mentioned one place to us and then said, "And then, of course, there is Mickey D's". We said, "Oh- well, we kind of agreed that we would try not to eat at McDonald's while we are here. We figure that we are in Germany and we should try to eat the local food, you know?" And they said, "Oh. Well we eat at Mickey D's at least once a day."
What? Once a Day? Matt and I struggled to compose our faces and not to snicker our heads off. We found this to be quite humorous....
Now, fast forward to our drive away from Mainau:
After all of our tropical fun, we had a two hour drive to our hotel in Reutte, Austria
The kids were tired and hungry and we had a recommendation for a great Thai restaurant near Lake Konstanz. We drove around trying to find it and realized that we would have to stop and park and search on foot if we were going to be successful. The kids were so hungry and it was late and we had a long drive ahead of us. So, we looked up nearby restaurants in our GPS.
And there it was:
McDonald's.
1/2 a kilometer away. Matt and I looked at eachother and our hungry, sleepy children. And then we shrugged. What's the harm in one McDonald's trip? So we pushed the button and found it in no time. We parked and walked in and then we saw it: Fountain Drinks with Free Refills.
The kids were tired and hungry and we had a recommendation for a great Thai restaurant near Lake Konstanz. We drove around trying to find it and realized that we would have to stop and park and search on foot if we were going to be successful. The kids were so hungry and it was late and we had a long drive ahead of us. So, we looked up nearby restaurants in our GPS.
And there it was:
McDonald's.
1/2 a kilometer away. Matt and I looked at eachother and our hungry, sleepy children. And then we shrugged. What's the harm in one McDonald's trip? So we pushed the button and found it in no time. We parked and walked in and then we saw it: Fountain Drinks with Free Refills.
An Ice Machine.
Free Bathrooms-wait let me check:
Free, Clean Bathrooms!
And a menu almost completely in English.
We ordered and the kids got Happy Meals with toys and they even gave us free hot water for Victoria's bottle.
We ordered and the kids got Happy Meals with toys and they even gave us free hot water for Victoria's bottle.
Now, prehaps you cannot fully appreciate what all of these things meant to us. But nothing is free in Europe. Not water, not bathrooms, (not air for your tires) certainly not ice and especially not soda. You pay for everything here. All of those little details that we consider to be part of our "certain unalienable rights" like free ice water and free baskets of rolls or chips and using the bathroom, are priced exorbatently here.
Extra rolls? That'll be another $5.
Water? That'll be $2.50.
The Bathroom? 75 cents. per person. So we spend like $4 if we all have to use the facilities.
Ice? Nope. Not even for a price.
That McDonald's was like a sanctuary. Like a bastion of hope for our downtrodden American spirits. I imagined it as a safehaven; an American Embassy of Restaurants, if you will.
I ate chicken nuggets for dinner and they tasted delicious to me! Isaac and Daphne each had a happy meal complete with an American toy. I washed Tori up in the sink and got her changed into her jammies. The kids played on the playland and I ate a side salad. A real salad with green leaf lettuce!
I take back laughing at you, you smart couple from Minnesota. I blame you no more! I'm so sorry I laughed.
And I am not ashamed to say, I dreamed about McDonald's that night. And they were pleasant dreams.
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