We took a homeschool field trip to Sunshine Pumpkin Farm.
We travel a lot in fall, so this was exciting for us to do something a little more normal.
The kids liked visiting the animals.
Katie loves cows.
We took a wagon tractor ride to pick our own pumpkins.
Yummy cider and cake for sale in the farm shop!
You can also visit their English and German website. They’re about 10 minutes away from Landstuhl.
There’s a milk and egg dispensary.
A great hike on a pretty day is the FREE Kaiserslautern Wildpark, across from the Quack restaurant, near the Volkspark.
There’s a little parking lot. It’s good to get there early, before the crowds.
Hiking trails meander all through the forest, under the train tunnel. We easily did a 3-mi hike in under 2 hours, stopping to see the animals and pet the deer.
There’s a little water fountain that is perfect to wash hands afterwards.
The first enclosure has deer and goats.
The goats were curious, but didn’t come close to the fence.
This one deer trotted right over to check us out and get petted.
Our favorites were the baby pigs!
There are also cows.
This fluffy Highland cow kept rubbing his face on the fence to be petted.
And there are several horses.
The two lynxes were sleeping, but we could see them in the bushes.
There’s a great viewing platform to view the bison.
There are benches and picnic tables all along the paths. It’s a great place for a picnic. We saw lots of families and couples enjoying the warm sunny weather. Some even had mountain bikes on the trails.
We enjoyed walking and listening to the birds and seeing the animals. I can’t believe it’s FREE and there’s not even a donation box that I saw.
It’s probably our favorite Wildpark.
The bags of food actually last a good while if you’re careful and keep them away from the greedy goats!
This one followed us for a loooong time.
My son was thrilled to see his favorite animal: FOXES.
There are lots of goats and deer and pigs wandering around.
Liz met an emu. She came running from the far side of her enclosure to meet Liz. They were both thrilled with each other.
There’s a bird of prey area with vultures, owls, hawks, and African sea eagle.
There were lots of peacocks around, screaming and displaying their plumage.
We got see the otter get fed.
We were thrilled to see the kangaroo mom and joey!
There’s a monkey habitat.
Summer from 01.03. – 14.11.
Parking: 10.00 am until nightfall.
Closing time: 18:00
Summer Entrance fees:
Adults: € 8,00
Children (3-12 years) : € 5,00
Winter from 15.11. – 28.02.
Parking: 10.00 am until nightfall.
Closing time: 16:00
Winter Entrance fees:
Adults: € 5,00
Children (3-12 years) : € 3,00
There is no bird show in the winter months. Park is closed in December and January. Dogs are permitted, except in the falconry, on a leash. A visit in bad weather conditions (snow, ice, & wetness) is not possible due to accident risks. When the ticket office is closed, the park entrance fee is collected by employees in the park.
This is probably our favorite place. We love to stop in for a quick bite when shopping at Globus or planning for a bigger meal at their larger location. The curry rice and stir fries are to die for. Their menu is extensive, with specialties from Vietnam and Thailand, and also sushi. Delicious iced teas. The hot tea is bland. Located right over the A6 bridge from Ramstein, towards Einsiedlerhof.
Very fresh and delicious. The best Thai in KMC. The wait can be long, but it’s worth it. Located in Ramstein-Miesenbach, near the Kino.
A super fun breakfast, brunch, or light lunch. It’s gorgeous in the conservatory and garden. We like to pretend we’re in Victorian times. Located in Landstuhl.
Everyone must go here once. It’s the oldest restaurant in Kaiserslautern. Local Rhineland-Pfalz specialties. It impresses. Located near the Stiftskirche in downtown Kaiserslautern.
I just cannot get enough of their chicken and salmon salads. We love eating here and it’s the best place on base, for sure. Located in the KMCC mall.
The best pizza in the KMC. Reservations needed. Takeout and eat by the lake is fun too! Located in Ramstein-Miesenbach.
Delicious Greek food. A few dishes have a German flair, but overall, it’s pretty authentic. Order a few days ahead for moussaka! They even have Retsina wine! Located in Ramstein.
A fun American-style diner with their own beer brand. The prices are bit high, but the food and service are great. Located on MainzerSt in Kaiserslautern.
The best sushi in the KMC. Reservations recommended. Located on WeilerbacherSt in Kaiserslautern, behind Zimtblute.
Gorgeous African and vegetarian food. A fun and unique dining experience. Located on HumboldtSt in Kaiserslautern.
Great for breakfast and lunch. The English breakfast platters are enough for two! Thursdays are curry and Fridays are fish and chips! Located across from Ramstein Library.
The best cole slaw I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. A great fried chicken place for dine in or takeout. Located on Kaiserstraße, near Vogelweh/Pulaski.
It’s like being welcomed into their home. The food is amazing. Best chai I’ve ever had! Located on WeilerbacherSt, behind Zimtblute.
Honorable Mention:
Belgian Bistro – Unique burgers with spicy sauces, but an amazing beer selection. Located in Weilerbach.
You might notice a few restaurants not on my list.
There are no good Mexican restaurants in Europe. There just aren’t. They’re ok, but they’re not right. There’s curry in everything. The tortillas are wrong. If you want Mexican or Tex-Mex or South American food, find a friend and beg her to make you something authentic. I know people sell tamales and pastries in the Facebook groups.
To us, most German food is very similar. I hesitate to say: all the same, but it’s almost true. Enough with the Schnitzel and roast beef! There’s better sauerkraut in Prague. I want something unique, that I can’t or don’t want to make at home.
And some places that others rave about have very poor service or hit or miss with quality.
We can cook amazing food at home. We’re picky and we want to dine out with good quality food and service.
We loved our little end of summer field trip to Burg Eltz.
The family and castle are named after the stream Eltzbach, or Alder Creek. Eltz Castle has been in possession of the Eltz family for more than 800 years. The present owner of the castle, Dr. Karl Graf von und zu Eltz-Kempenich, alias Faust von Stromberg, lives in Frankfurt.
We paid €0,50 to park and walked the lovely forest path to the castle. It’s about a 1.3 k one way. There’s also a shuttle you can pay to ride.
Around a bend in the forest, you suddenly see the castle!
There’s a stone bridge to the castle.
There are two restaurants on the grounds.
The kids enjoyed climbing up the wall near the free restrooms.
We really enjoyed the treasury museum!
It was a lovely tour of the castle. No photos allowed inside.
And the river is great fun to splash and play!
Daily from 09:30 to 17.30 until 5 November 2017. Usually reopens in March or whenever weather allows. They update the website with info.
Tours available in German, English, French, and Dutch. Audioguides and pamphlets also available in other languages. Treasury self-guided tour included in ticket price.
Adults: €10
Children: €6,50
Family ticket: €28
We love art museums! Most of our travels center around visiting art.
van Eyck, Vermeer, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Rembrandt, Botticelli
Monet, Degas, Kirchner, Picasso
Francis Bacon, Warhol
Durer, Pollack, Ernst, Cezanne, Delacroix, Raphael, Rembrandt
This statue of Esmeralda and the Goat by Antonio Rosetti is lovely.
We saw some fun contemporary art:
We still don’t know what to think of this one:
Don’t miss the fun outdoors exhibit with mirrors and let the kids run around.
14 € for adults
24 € for families
Admission is free for children under the age of 12.
Free wifi!
Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun 10 am – 6 pm
Thu, Fri 10 am – 9 pm
closed Mondays
Wed 2 – 5 pm
Thu 2 – 7 pm
Fri 2 – 5 pm
The Städel Museum is about 1.5 hours from Ramstein and 2 hours from Spangdahlem.
We took the train to Heidelberg.
You can only view the inside on a guided tour.
It sucked.
I couldn’t hear or understand the tour guide. I was unable to speak or ask questions due to the acoustics since I was told to be quiet by the guide and another family (and my husband) because they couldn’t hear. We were rushed through the castle and I could hardly take any pictures of anything interesting.
The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps.
The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located 80 metres (260 ft) up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside, and thereby dominates the view of the old downtown. It is served by an intermediate station on the Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway that runs from Heidelberg’s Kornmarkt to the summit of the Königstuhl.
The earliest castle structure was built before 1214 and later expanded into two castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning-bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning-bolt caused a fire which destroyed some rebuilt sections.
There are four ways to get to the castle – car, bike, funicular, or walking.
We walked. It was hot.
We gathered for the next English tour, then they divided us in half with two different tour guides.
We entered into a room with lots of fun statues, old books, and things I wanted to look at. The guide explained none of it and gave no time to view it.
Then we went inside the castle and upstairs. There were these fun trunks with a gazillion locks.
Lots of little rooms with decorations and paintings.
We loved the fireplace!
Then we were in the chapel that is no longer used except for pretty.
The tour was over.
We made our way over to the BIG VAT.
The Heidelberg Tun or Great Heidelberg Tun, is an extremely large wine vat contained within the cellars of Heidelberg Castle. There have been four such barrels in the history of Heidelberg. In 1751, the year of its construction, the present one had a capacity of 221,726 litres (58,573.8125 U.S. gallons). Due to the drying of the wood its current capacity is 219,000 litres (57,853.6795 U.S. gallons). One hundred and thirty oak trees were reputedly used in its construction. It has only rarely been used as a wine barrel, and in fact presently enjoys more use as a tourist attraction, and also as a dance floor since one was constructed on top of the tun.
Heidelberg Castle has a history of enormous barrels; today’s barrel (Fass) is the fourth in the history of the Neckar town.
- Johann-Casimir-Fass (1591)
- Karl-Ludwig-Fass (1664)
- Karl-Philipp-Fass (1728)
- Karl-Theodor-Fass (1751)
When the French army captured the castle, the soldiers believed the empty wine barrel to be full of wine; their hatchet marks left on the barrel were later visible to tourists. According to tradition and local legend, the eternal keeper of the enormous Tun remains Perkeo of Heidelberg, once a court jester and master of the castle’s spirit production (and a famously Herculean wine drinker).
We looked at the view from the terrace.
Then we toured the Apothecary Museum. This was our favorite part!
We won’t take the train again. We couldn’t pack enough snacks and drinks in the backpack for all six of us on a hot day. It’s just so much easier to drive and pack up a picnic and be comfortable.
Courtyard: 8:00am – 6:00pm (last entry 5:30pm)
Big Vat: 8:00am – 6:00pm (last entry 5:50pm)
Pharmacy Museum: 10:00am – 5:30pm (last entry 5:10pm)
Courtyard, Great Cask, and Apotheken-Museum: Adults €3.00
Tours of interior are an additional €4.00 for adults. Tours are in English daily, when demand is sufficient.
Heidelberg is about 1.25 hours from Ramstein and 2.25 from Spangdahlem.
Nanstein Castle takes its name from red sandstone.
It was built around the year 1162 after Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I demanded its construction as additional defense for the Palatinate.
In 1504, German knight Franz von Sickingen, inherited part of the castle after his father’s death in the War of the Bavarian Succession, finally acquiring the entire castle in 1518. He immediately began extensive refortification to make the castle suitable for firearms.
Nanstein is well known for an elaborate siege during the Knights’ Revolt in 1523 which claimed the life of von Sickingen. The fall of Nanstein was a symbol for the decline of castles in the Palatinate.
In 1542, von Sickingen’s sons recovered Nanstein as a fief and started reconstruction of the castle. Reinhard von Sickingen completed the reconstruction in 1595. In 1668, Elector Charles I Louis forced Lotharingian troops from the castle and razed the fortifications.
In the 19th century the first conservation work was done on Nanstein, and this has continued to the present day.
We hiked all over the castle and grounds.
Katie thought it was hilarious to stand in the garderobe.
Fun standing in little niches.
Love this fountain!
Look at that gorgeous view of Landstuhl!
There’s a great little cafe too. We got our first taste of German food – great salads, schnitzel, and beer!
Burg Nanstein has lots of fun events and festivals year round.
Jan. – March: 10:00 to 16:00
April – Sept.: 09:00 to 18:00
Oct – Nov: 10:00 to 16:00
December: closed
Mondays, except holidays: closed
Adult €4,00
Children (ages 7+) €2,50
Family ticket 1 (1 adult and children) €4,00
Family ticket 2 (2 adult and children) €8,00
Audioguide €1,00
Castle guides €1,10 in German and English
Burg Nanstein is about 5 minutes from Ramstein and about 1.25 hours from Spangdahlem.
It’s a pretty little river and hiking area.
There’s not really any parking. We’ve always been lucky to have room on the side of the road. There is more parking in town and you can walk down.
A square, black iron sign at the entrance to Karlstal reminiscent of an important visitor: “King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse, and Archduchess Hildegard of Austria together with high wake dwelt on 9 August 1862. Karlstal.”
The kids enjoyed the sound of the water and looking at leaves and moss, and BIG ROCKS.
Lots of great photo opportunities! Every time we go, we see girls in impossibly high heels and pretty clothes trying to pose while not getting dirty or sinking into the mud.
It’s a nice easy walk for families. The path is mostly even and safe, though strollers might be difficult.
There are benches to rest or sit and watch the world go by.
Trippstadt Karlstalschlucht is about 30 minutes from Ramstein AFB and 1.5 hours from Spangdahlem.
We’re studying the Middle Ages this year and so we need to visit ALL THE CASTLES.
We loved touring Reichsburg Castle in Cochem!
It is the large largest hill-castle on the Mosel.
Tours are given in several languages from 9-5 daily, from March till November. We had a German guide who spoke English well and so she gave the tour in both. And we had little flyers to explain the sites too!
We were able to drive almost all the way and park in a school parking lot. Getting back down wasn’t fun in our big minivan though.
We like fountains!
Here is the timeline at the entrance.
The majestic gate:
Look at this gorgeous mosaic on the tower!
Nice dining room
I love stained glass! And that table.
We should always decorate with antlers.
Here is the courtyard well:
It’s good luck to rub the mermaid:
My GIRLS!
A rare family photo on the balcony. Our lovely tour guide offered to take this!
There’s a fun little chairlift with great views. We walked around on top of the hill and there’s a restaurant, of course. You can take the lift roundtrip or 1-way and hike.
There’s a good parking garage right by the chairlift and we walked around the town. There’s a shuttle bus that travels from the town up to the castle.
We bought some lovely wine to take home and gelato for the kids.
Cochem is about 1.5 hours from Ramstein and about an hour Spangdahlem.
Adults: €6
Kids: €3
Family: €16
Linking up: Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Crazy Organized, Marilyn’s Treats, The Quintessential Mommy, Donna Reidland, Play Dough and Popsicles, Practical Mom, Blogghetti, Life of Faith, Frog’s Lilypad, Lamberts Lately, Children are a Blessing, I Choose Joy, The Deliberate Mom, Pat and Candy, Raising Homemakers, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, A Little R&R, Whole Hearted Home, Holly McBerty, Cornerstone Confessions, F Dean Hackett, Rich Faith Rising, Bloom Designs, My Learning Table, Oh My Heartsie Girl, VMG206, Sarah Celebrates, Happy and Blessed Home, Creative Homekeeper, Organized 31, Hip Homeschool Moms, The Natural Homeschool, Crystal and Co., Christian Montessori Network, A Kreative Whim, Curly Crafty Mom,
