Quedlinburg, Germany

On our tour we wanted to stop in places other than the most popular cities of Europe. Having a car made this desire possible. So between Amsterdam and Berlin, we stopped in Quedlinburg, Germany. After filling our car with fresh baked goods from the center of Amsterdam, we were on our way. 

Driving through Germany was such an experience. Truly the German landscape looks like it comes right out of a story book. With the rolling hills, trees, houses, castles, church steeples and town centers that fill the landscape. However the drive could go from fairy tale to James Bond at any moment. Seeing as we took the autobahn (where there is no speed limit most the time) most the drive we were flying down the road, pushing our small economy car as fast as it would go. We spent most the time going between 85-95 mph, but Blake got it to max out at 105mph. However it was not uncommon to have a Ferrari or similar car pass us on the left so fast it gave us a buzz. It was all scary and thrilling at the same time. I imagined the autobahn to be madness without speed limits, but by following the rule of slow car to the right, fast to the left, it was pretty smooth. 

At around lunch time we randomly stopped in a town to find food. It was to be Mother’s day (for my first mothers day I got to celebrate it twice) in Germany the following day so the bakeries and shops were filled with Mutter written everywhere. We quickly saw that there was no English translation on anything, we were right where we wanted to be. For lunch we stopped at a wurst stand and got what everyone else seemed to be eating. Wurst with mustard and fries. I was never a mustard fan, but after Germany and Switzerland where mustard seemed to be put on everything, I have found a liking for it. 

The second part of our drive was through fields and fields that seemed to be painted yellow with flowers. You could see their vibrant colors as far as the eye could see at some points. Not knowing if we would get the chance again, and seeing as these fields were so beautiful we could not help but park the car on the edge of the autobahn, jump a fence, and see them up close and personal. 

Little did we know, Quedlinburg would be surrounded with what we latter learned were Canola fields. 

Quedlinburg itself is like walking through Disney’s Fantasyland. The narrow cobblestone streets, lined by small crooked timbered houses with small crooked doors, and in the center of town a medieval castle. We spent our time walking the streets, people watching as locals went about doing daily chores, and ducking into bakeries (any chance to eat home baked breads and sweets). There is really nothing else there to do but enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and eat. However we were surprised, but not disappointed to find few tourist and even fewer locals who spoke English. We really felt like we found a German only vacation spot in the Harz foothills.  

^^ The view from our apartment^^

^^ Notice how small the doors are compared to Blake.^^

^^ We found this little seafood place and had the most amazing dinner. Quedlinburg seemed to serve a lot of seafood even though it is not by the sea... not sure why, but it was good. 

^^In most of the pictures you can't see how crooked the houses are, but in this one you can see how they lean on each other. 

Lizzy was a hit the whole trip, with people wanting to take pictures of her everywhere we went. But with her sunglasses on her popularity grew exponentially. 

We loved our time in Quedlinburg and Highly recommend stopping by if you’re in the area. It is a perfect place to get away from everything and enjoy the simple life.