Autumn, oh how we have missed you!

We are experiencing a bit of an Indian Summer here in Stuttgart, which has made it even easier to get out and enjoy the brilliant fall colors.    Stuttgart sits in a valley so everywhere you look around the city, mountains in the background are currently alive with the most beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and red.   

Last Saturday we headed to the mountains, specifically the Swabian Alb, which begins the German Alps.   The day was full of sunshine and blue sky and fresh, crisp air.   Definitely one of my favorite family days ever.   Here are some photos......

I started snapping pictures from the car before we even exited the autobahn....

It had been two years since I saw any fall color and I was so excited.

We decided to stop in this little village and it turned out to be a great decision.

We found a café and sat down to plan out our next move.   This was the view from our table.

Susannah pretended to be Dora the Explorer all day and loved helping Daddy with the map.

A little refreshment before starting our hike.

Our waiter at the café gave us directions to a trailhead and it turned out to be the perfect hike for us.

Long enough to make us feel like we actually "hiked," but short enough that Susannah made it almost the entire way before Peter had to carry her.

Of course, these pictures don't even come close to capturing the brilliance of the colors. 

Watching these two hike together kept a smile on my face all day long.

It was such a fun day.



I LOVE this picture.

We saw some fish in the shallow creek and promised ourselves to come back this summer and let Susannah play in the water.

After returning to the café to say thanks for the great hiking advice and eating some delicious pizza on the sunny patio, we headed home.   I couldn't help myself from snapping one last picture as we headed back toward Stuttgart.


 

We hope all of you are having a good week.   We love and miss you all!    Next week expect some Halloween pictures of our little Minnie Mouse.