In September of 2021 we were presented with the opportunity to visit Ryan’s sister who was living in Germany at the time. She had a guest bedroom in her apartment, so the trip would be little to no cost to us. Even though Germany wasn’t top priority of our travel desires, we hopped on a plane to Frankfurt for a four-day weekend exploring Germany.

Prior to this trip, we had been to Germany before, but only for a brief time in the winter to experience Munich at Christmas. Other than the appeal to see even more of the country’s famous Christmas markets, I truthfully didn’t anticipate to be totally in love with this trip. I decided to be open nonetheless, and what we experienced during our travels changed my mind completely about Germany as a whole.

Although this post will by no means be a robust guide to all there is to explore in the area, my hope is that by the end of it, our unplanned exploration of Germany inspires you to do the same.

DAY one: Heidelberg & Tübingen

We landed after the 10-hour flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Frankfurt (FRA) and Ryan’s sister, Gina, was ready to show us around to all of her favorite places. Unfortunately, during all four days we were visiting, the train operators in Germany were on strike and all train travel was unavailable. Thankfully, Gina had a car, and after finding her in the airport we made the roughly 1-hour drive from Frankfurt to our first stop of the trip: Heidelberg, Germany.

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY

After finding parking, we walked towards the old part of Heidelberg and found the cutest little locally owned coffee shop: Panno. We hung out there for a bit so Ryan could wrap up some work things. I ordered a latte and Gina ordered a coffee tonic. After sipping on our coffee and feeling a new sense of energy, we headed towards the main square to check out the Church of the Holy Spirit (German: Heiliggeistkirche). Gina really wanted to take us up to the top for the views, but we couldn’t make the ascent because it was closed due to COVID restrictions. Nonetheless, she says it’s definitely worth it for the view of the city.

Feeling the weight of our jetlag at this point, we stopped in for lunch at healthy curbside café: Nana Heidelberg.

Heidelberg is built along a river, river Neckar, so after our meal we strolled through the cute ivy-covered buildings towards the water and the famous bridge: Karl Theodor Bridge. From the bridge, you get the best view of the city, with Heidelberg castle nestled in the hill above it. After taking in the view of the castle from the bridge, we hurried towards it as our next destination to arrive at before the day began to end.

Getting to the top of the hill where the castle sits is quite a trek, but worth it for the view from the top. The castle was also closed early (we couldn’t catch a break in Heidelberg!), but most days you can explore the grounds as well as what remains of the castle’s interior spaces. Despite being unable to explore inside, we were satisfied with the views of Heidelberg to take in below. We even saw a couple getting married.

In early September, the summer days started to shorten, so we headed to the car to make our additional drive of the day. From Heidelberg, we still had a remaining 1 hour and 40-minute drive left, cutting our time in Heidelberg short. Regardless of our short exploration of the city, I can sincerely say I loved all I saw in Heidelberg and highly recommend it as a stop on your Germany itinerary if you ever find yourself in Frankfurt or Stuttgart.

Tübingen

Almost two hours later, we arrived in our home base for the weekend: Tübingen, Germany. Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Tübingen and honestly didn’t expect to like it very much. On the contrary, it won me over at first sight. Upon arrival, I felt an overwhelming sensation that we had just arrived in the most charming German village my wildest imagination couldn’t have dreamt up itself.

After dropping our bags at Gina’s cute apartment, we walked in the lingering light of dusk along the river headed, of course, in search of food. This walk along the river was enchanting as we strolled through tall trees on one side and the little, lit up buildings of Tübingen perched on a hill lining the river on the other side. As we walked, a single boat was floating down the river, carrying a group of local Germans who were all singing songs together. In all our travels, I’d never seen any place like this.

To wrap up the day, we grabbed dinner at a traditional German restaurant on the river: Gasthausbrauerei Neckarmuller. Here’s what we ordered:

Schnitzel
White Sausages
Spatzl
Radler (lemonade mixed with beer)

tubingen-germany-river-houses-september-weekend-travels

DAY Two: Tübingen

After much-needed sleep, we rose the next day, which happened to be Gina’s 31st birthday, and headed out in search of coffee. This was our first time seeing Tübingen in the daylight, and the more we walked, the more I fell in love. From her apartment, we walked up a cobblestone street passing fountains, vine covered buildings and locals headed off to their morning responsibilities. Although accessible by car, the city was pedestrian first with very little traffic to bother you along the way. Even with the charm this place was giving off, I still wasn’t certain Tübingen would have much to offer in terms of shops and restaurants, but boy was I wrong. This was proven to me the first time when ordering coffee from one of many Tübingen cafes: Cafe Lunette.

Since I haven’t explored very much of Germany, I can’t say whether or not the following is a German tradition or unique to Tübingen, but either way I want it to roll out everywhere in the world. At the counter, I ordered my coffee “take-away” and after doing so, I was introduced to the re-cup culture in Tübingen. Rather than give you your to-go coffee in paper cups, the cafes throughout the village offer a re-cup option: a small or large plastic cup that can be purchased for an extra euro to take your coffee away in, and then can be returned to any shop at a later date for one euro off your coffee.

This system is very similar to the Glühwein mug system at the German Christmas markets (which I also loved), and really does seem to help with reducing waste. It was especially nice that all of the local coffee shops participated, and you didn’t have to return your cup to the place it was initially purchased from. These are the travel things that bring me the greatest joy.

Drinking my cappuccino (in my cute little cup), we walked through the heart of the village towards our brunch destination: Ada Backerei Tübingen. Brunch was a feast of Turkish delights such as hummus, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, Turkish coffee and tea and pastries. Once our bellies were full, we spent the rest of the early afternoon strolling through Tübingen and checking out the local market, which was alive with locals and market vendors.

Later in the day, we grabbed our second coffee from one of my favorite cafes in Tübingen: Sued Hang Kaffee. The cafe has a younger, more modern aesthetic and its open layout featuring windowsill seating and curbside tables creates a welcoming, communal environment. From Sued Hang, we took the short stroll up some stairs to see Tübingen’s castle: Schloss Hohentuebingen. The castle was originally built in the 11th century and provides a wonderful vista of Tübingen below.

After quickly exploring the grounds of the castle, we descended down through the village and headed towards our next activity of the day: renting a boat on the river. The river that runs through Tübingen, river Neckar, is actually the same river that Heidelberg is built around. On the corner of Tübingen’s main bridge, you can rent boats of all shapes and sizes, which seems to be an activity that both tourists and locals enjoy alike. We rented a three-person boat for an hour and headed out on the water to enjoy the now warm and sunny Tübingen day. Our boat took us under the bridge, down the river, through two weeping willows and alongside an entourage of local ducks.

Famished from our day of walking and paddle boating Tübingen, we headed to a dinner of more traditional German food from Gastahus Baeren. The menu was tapas and small plates and we ordered a plethora of items including potato salad, fried mushrooms, chicken spätzle and zuchinni fritters (the fam favorite). They also offer fun cocktails and mixed drinks if you’re into that!

Day 3: The Black Forest& Triberg falls

After grabbing coffee and the most delicious chocolate croissant I’ve ever eaten from Cafe Hanseatica, we piled into the car and headed towards the Black Forest. Tübingen itself is not located in the Black Forest, but sits conveniently to the east of its border, allowing for easy exploration from both Tübingen and Stuttgart. Our destination for the day was to the small Black Forest village of Triberg in search of one of Germany’s highest falls, Triberg Falls.

On the drive, we at one point found ourselves a bit lost on a one-way dirt road alongside cattle and German hikers, but eventually arrived in the quaint village, welcomed by the charm of the rivers that run through the central points of the village, all fed by the waterfall in the hills above us. Once we arrived, we decided to first explore some of the shops within the village (as shops can close early in the smaller towns), and we saw hundreds of the famous Couckoo Clocks the Black Forest is known for, as well as other hand carved wood masterpieces such as the equally famous German Christmas Pyramids, that can be found at Christmas markets throughout Germany and France.

Before making our way to the falls entrance (which can be found directly in the center of the village), we grabbed a little snack of Black Forest Ham and cherry liquor. The Black Forest Ham was the best I’d ever eaten. The cherry liquor was basically cough syrup. Try at your own risk.

To get to the Triberg Wasserfall, there is a small entrance fee and at the entrace to the falls you can purchase peanuts for an additional euro to feed the squirrels. I’m not usually one to feed the local wildlife, but curiosity got the best of me and off we hiked with peanuts in tow. As we began our hike, I was surprised to see that rather than hiking up a natural dirt trail to see the falls, we were on a wide, paved path jutting off at different stopping points with views of the falls.

In terms of the hike, we didn’t have to go very far to be able to get a fantastic view of the falls from below. However, if you’re up for it, you can continue hiking up the steep incline for more great views of the falls from above. The hike itself took us around in hour (in and back), but we were moving at a rather slow pace. You could probably get in and out in 30 minutes if you are more efficient than we were.

DAY 4: Unterjesingen Wine festival

On the final day of our trip, we grabbed coffee and a plethora of delicious pastries from Sued Kaffee (because it was the closest cafe to us, and secretly because it was my favorite). Since we would be heading back to the states the next day, we needed a negative COVID test and thankfully found a free pop up option on our walk back from the cafe. After getting our (thankfully negative) results, we packed up our things and headed out from Tübingen. The trains were still out of commission, so we decided it was safest for us to stay the night in Frankfurt this final evening to avoid any early morning driving mishaps.

We still had a full day ahead of us, so before making the drive North, we headed to a small village on the outskirts of Tübingen to check out a local wine festival.

Driving into the village of Unterjesingen, we looked up to the hills above and took in field after field of rolling vineyards and what looked like a gathering of people at the top. The excitement began to build as we imagined climbing to the top to see the vineyard for ourselves. But first, we had to figure out where to park in the village (which some locals helped us locate) and grabbed a dirt spot near the local soccer field. As it was Sunday, the parking lot was full of cars from people both going to the festival as well as the men headed to the soccer fields to play a match that day.

The route from the soccer fields into the village was one of my favorite memories of the entire trip. This might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s true. From the parking lot, we headed to a small dirt path running alongside an equally small stream. We crossed a tiny bridge over the stream and then found ourselves in what looked like a local’s lingering summer garden, bursting with sky high sunflowers, white and pink poppies and even a few remaining vegetable and tomato plants. Further in, we found ourselves beside a field of horses grazing in the warm sun. We then found ourselves at the train tracks, and once crossed, we found ourselves on a street lined with German houses, both featuring modern and traditional design elements.

Eventually, we arrived at the center of the village, right next to a church, and were amongst the crowd of local Germans sitting on walls and curbs, sipping local wine, and enjoying the beautiful day they were in. Being newbies to the local German wine festival scene, we really weren’t sure how the entire process worked, but eventually found where to purchase our glasses and get our first tastes of the local wine. Sipping on our wine and wandering around this small square, we felt unsure as to whether or not this was the entire festival. It felt small, and we kept remember those people up on that hill, so we kept a sharp eye on the locals to see if they wandered off in any direction.

In time, a couple carrying wine glasses headed out of the square and up a hill that seemed to be leading no where, so we naturally followed suite. Once on this road, there weren’t any signs pointing us in the direction we should be headed, so we just continued to follow the group in front of us and trust that they would lead us to the destination we so desired. The road began to incline steeply, which encouraged us that we were on the right path to the people on top of the hill. As the road continued to incline, it also began to reveal hundreds of apple trees to both our right and to our left, with the trees almost touching the ground they were so bursting with apples! Walking alongside these wild, unpruned apple trees in Germany transported me straight into a Grimm’s Fairytale.

Back in reality, we quickly approached a fork in the road, and hoped our guides ahead lead us in the direction they know to be correct. It becomes clear that at this point, they also do not know where they are going and they ask us the way. We all laugh at the fact that no one knows where to go, because again, there are no signs directing us to the next stopping point of the festival. Thankfully, we’re helped by a kind local on a bike, and we turn right onto a road that continues to incline as steeply as the first. At the point we think our burning legs can’t climb another step, we see crowds of people gathered at a bend in the road and we joyfully discover we’ve arrived at that so desired top of the hill vineyard.

The journey ended up completely worth it, as we stood sweaty, panting and taking in the breathtaking view before us. In the foreground, we could see the small village of Unterjesingen below, and in the background, endless hills of green and grey, warm under the September sun. We found a spot on the hill, plopped down in the grass and enjoyed our second glasses of wine.

Believe it or not, at this point we were only halfway done with our wine festival, so we continued the journey onward to the next stopping station. The journey forward continued to be one of uncertainty as we found ourselves on top of the hill and winding in an out of paths through the woods. We again had a chat with some locals on bikes who helped us decipher our map and point us in the direction to go. We were quite literally trekking through the woods in search of the next glass of wine. I couldn’t have loved it more.

The final two wine stations were located decently close to one another, and at this point we knew we needed to ease ourselves off the booze for the drive ahead. So we took a sip or two to taste and then poured our glasses into the hillside.

After we finished out the wine festival we hopped in the car to make the three hour drive to Frankfurt for the night. I booked us rooms at The Flag hotel in Frankfurt which I highly recommend if you’re ever in the city. We had dinner at the hotel and then grabbed breakfast from Sunny Side Up Frankfurt before heading to the airport.

Book The Flag Hotel Frankfurt

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM OUR TRIP

As I shared in the beginning of this post, I did not have high expectations for this trip to Germany. It’s possible you might feel the same. My encouragement and desire for everything I shared above is for you to give Germany a chance, even if just for a long weekend! The country is beautiful, historic, and charming, and I’ve only seen just an ounce of what it has to offer.

If you have any questions about the details from our trip, comment them below and I’ll answer them the best I possibly can.

And as always, thank you for reading this post. It means the most to me! Let me know you were here by commenting even just a hello below.

WHAT WE PACKED

I always like to share what I packed for a trip (or what I wish I had packed) to help give you a better idea of how to prepare for your travels! Here’s what I packed for southern Germany in early September:

Lighter layers and one heavy pull over. The weather was pretty warm during the day (around 80 F) and similarly low at night (high 50s) so you will need a range of layers to feel comfortable at all points in the day!
A raincoat! We lucked out and didn’t get any rain while we were there, but it had been raining for a few weeks before we arrived.
Hiking shoes and casual tennis shoes. Germans wear a lot of tennis shoes, so you won’t draw too much attention in the country if you wear yours. Just make sure they match your outfit and you’re all set. Or be super safe and wear a pair of Adidas, since they are German after all.
I always pack my Soundproof Headphones for all flights, as they make a huge difference for eliminating that loud plane noise.
A plug converter, so you can charge the essentials like your phone and computer or use the curling iron you brought.
A good camera with a wide-angle lens - don’t rely solely on your iPhone. Even with the latest iPhone camera, the images won’t compare to shooting on a good camera with a good lens. And don’t worry if you’re a photographer or not, traveling is one of the best times to learn how to use your camera and fall in love with it! I shoot on a Canon 5D Mark IV and recommend the lightweight fixed 35mm lens.
A tripod if you want non-selfie photos of either yourself or you and your travel buddies. Or if you want to get those creamy waterfall shots like the ones of Triberg Wasserfall above!

Read all of my Europe planning and packing trips in this post for my list of things to avoid when planning your trip to Germany.

STICK AROUND FOR A WHILE

Need help planning the rest of your trip?

If you’re exploring more of Germany, be sure to check out our guide to the Munich Christmas Markets, or if you’re traveling to more of Europe, check out our guides to some of our favorite European cities, like Paris, Rome and Seville.