I’ve been a little antsy not traveling these past few weekends. While I’ve enjoyed settling down, getting to know new friends, and of course festivalling, I can’t ignore the fact that there’s so much newness around me. And I need to explore it. I decided that, even though September will be the travel month to end all travel months, I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather and head to Wiesbaden today.

Wiesbaden is a town about 20 minutes outside of Frankfurt and I had heard it was really charming. It was largely spared in the war, so there are a lot of pre-war buildings there (unlike the other towns in the area). It’s also home to a US army base so there’s a large US population there. It’s known for its hot springs (I’ve learned that towns are named here for what they are known for — bad means bath, and there are a lot of towns here named after their baths. Definitely on my list for the next visit).

I was planning on going alone, taking my bike on the train, biking around and coming back, but I decided to ask one of my new friends to come with me and she was up for it! Plus, she has a car. I keep forgetting that people have cars, so when I suggested the train, she promptly offered to drive.

We dropped in to do a workout at the Crossfit there, then walked around the town and had a nice brunch. We found this amazing restaurant in town with a really elegant 20s feeling. One thing I’ve noticed is that Germans always dress nicely, especially the older ones. I always feel self conscious wearing workout clothes around (or “sport” clothes as they call them), which is so opposite from California, where it’s odd to NOT wear workout clothes everywhere.

We ordered the breakfast: eggs, breads, Nutella, marmalade, meats and cheeses, tea and prosecco! Yes, please.

After brunch, we checked out the little shops and my friend took me to see another restaurant where they have a room full of perfume bottles. So cool!

New friends. A good workout. Great food. Enjoying life. A great way to bring in September.