Much in need of some relaxation this month while I was in between jobs, I went to visit my friend Miriam at her home in the suburbs of Stuttgart, Germany. We had a wonderful weekend together, and while Stuttgart isn’t a city you hear about as often as Munich or Berlin, I do think the area is beautiful and has a lot to offer. Here’s how my weekend there went.

On Friday evening, after I had arrived and settled in at Miriam’s house, we went to a very cool event at a local castle. The castle, called Burg Hohenrechberg, is normally open for tours and has a good restaurant next to it, but for this evening it had been transformed into a dance party, complete with a light show, a DJ playing mostly English-language music, drinks, and a food that was new to me: flammkuchen, which is similar to a thin flatbread. The event ran from 5pm to midnight, so it was a great way to spend our evening without having to stay out too late. We had a wonderful time enjoying a few glasses of rosé, dancing for a few hours, and trying the flammkuchen. My understanding is that the castle will host more events like this in the future, as well as seasonal holiday events. It was really quite interesting for a girl from the U.S. to be able to say she attended a dance party in a castle!

The next morning, after a bit of a lie-in, we went for brunch in the picturesque town square of Schwäbisch Gmünd. We ate at a breakfast restaurant called Buhr’s, enjoying chorizo tacos and lattes while taking in the liveliness of the square. On our way out of town, we stopped at a bakery to pick up pretzels for later — one of my favourite German snacks!

In the afternoon, we relaxed at Miriam’s house. She has a pool in the backyard, and while it was too cold to swim, I enjoyed putting my feet in and taking in the view while we ate our pretzels.

In the evening, we drove into Stuttgart for the Stuttgart Wine Village, a wine festival held annually in the city. The Wine Village features a variety of restaurants that set up wine booths with seating for a few weeks between August and September, serving local wines alongside Swabian and German foods. Miriam had made us a reservation at one of the restaurant booths, where we enjoyed käsespätzle croquettes, a meat and cheese platter, and two flammkuchen with different toppings. It was such a fun and lively atmosphere, and the weather was perfect for sitting outside and enjoying wine, good food, and good company, with two of her friends joining us as well. I hadn’t realised that the Stuttgart area produced wine, but I was told there are several wine-producing towns nearby.

On Sunday, Miriam and I spent the day in the university city of Tübingen, which is incredibly picturesque. In Tübingen, we grabbed coffee at Suedhang Kaffee GmbH and then went for a short stroll to see the historic buildings the city is known for. We headed down to the Neckarfront, the riverfront, for a boat ride that Miriam had pre-booked, with two of her friends joining us again. Typically, the tour is in German, but fortunately our guide was willing and able to do it in English, so I could understand. He shared a lot about the history of Tübingen University, the school today, and the major contributions its students have made to various academic fields. The boat itself was really interesting and unlike any other I’ve seen: the seats were arranged so that we faced each other toward the inside of the boat. This worked well because we could see the people we came with, the guide, and the scenery all at once. After the boat tour, we went to Restaurant Krumme Brücke for a late lunch of Swabian food. I enjoyed my favourite German dish, käsespätzle — most similar to mac and cheese — in a lovely setting next to a stream.

Unfortunately, this was just a quick weekend in the area, but it definitely won’t be my last. After our boat ride and late lunch, we made our way to the airport so I could fly back to England.