Heidelberg.

We piled in the car early Saturday morning and drove out through the rain to Heidelberg, Germany. Sometime along the way, the skies began to clear, Liam began to awake, and I climbed in the back to give our lil bambino a bottle (one of the perks to this 2 a bottle situation; no stopping on car trips;) and he shortly there after fell back asleep. Minus the construction it was a great 3+ hour drive north, and living on baby hours ensured our arrival to town well before noon. The Marriott (we normally do not frequent US chains, but had a free night that had to be used by the end of September, hence the reason we ended up in Heidelberg in the first place) was located on the Nacker river, about a 20 minute pleasant walk outside of the town.

The town was untouched during the war so it's all charming cobblestones, ancient architecture, big squares, a castle on a hill and old narrow brick bridges. So, a lot like, well, Europa. But here, there was Weizen beer, a gluttonous amount of pretzels to consume, a gorgeous coffee shop, a happy baby to smile at and a lovely pool & fitness center to take advantage of at the hotel. We swam with Liam and despite the water being quite chilly, and his lips and feet quickly turning blue, he did not fuss. He had a fun 3 minutes with Dad before we took him out and wrapped him up in towels to hang out on my lap and watch Dad swim. We both got a workout in while Liam slept. And that was all on Saturday! We totally felt like we actually 'got away' despite the fact it was only one night.

Sure, the pace of traveling has completely changed. Stripping a baby nude on a park bench because he has completely shit out his diaper and half his back in a 20 second poop fest is certainly interesting. And going to bed at 10pm (and apparently missing a fireworks display over the castle) when you are in a new city is a bit disappointing; as is waking up no short of 6 times in the middle of the night to tend to your child because he doesn't seem to sleep well in new places. However, we still have, take & enjoy the opportunities to do it, despite & sometimes because of these things. So, here's to hoping our upcoming trip to Croatia is as 'successful' as this one was....