So my trip to Heidelberg was lovely. It was just what the doctor ordered – a little time with my husband, kid-free, in a foreign country. And Germany is one of a few European countries I have not visited. It was perfect. We found a lot of hidden gems on the little side streets, off of the beaten path. We bought a ton of children’s books in German. We bought artwork. And of course, we bought toys. Lots and lots of toys.

If you’ve never been to Germany, I will tell you this. There is no where else in the world that has toys like the Germans do. There were several toy shops in Heidelberg. I am fairly certain that we visited them all. And the thing that I am most struck with, beyond the toys, is that the Germans love their children. A lot. And it shows in the interesting craftsmanship of their wooden toys; the illustrations in their children’s books.

Things to check out:

Books by Lisbeth Zwerger. She is a phenomenal illustrator. Her artwork is just breathtaking. So beautiful, you have to take a deep breath when you see it. Just don’t forget to exhale. (And thank you to the person who left a comment, months ago, that I check out Lisbeth’s work.) If you can find her a book illustrated by her, chances are it will be in German. But don’t let that turn you off. Trust me when I tell you that you are not buying them for the stories. You are buying them for the chance to own a book with the most gorgeous and lush illustrations that you will ever see. We bought several, including “The Little Mermaid” and the ever-famous “Hansel & Gretel.” Both are going straight to the framer. They are too beautiful to leave in a book somewhere in the house, to be torn up and then forgotten about. They are frame-worthy. Art.

Artwork by a gentleman named Michael Hall. We stumbled across his work at a tiny little bookshop on a sweet cobblestone side street. The woman who owned it was just the most charming person I’ve ever met. So charming, in fact, that I went back to her shop every day that I was in Heidelberg. To buy children’s books, yes. But also to peruse the walls of her shop. They were covered with artwork from a very eclectic group of artists. You can call these works folk art. Or even outsider art. But it was Michael Hall’s pieces that I so coveted. He is a prolific artist. Has a view of the world that I find beautiful. Inspiring. Colorful. And optimistic. We came home with a pieced called, roughly translated, “The Flower King.” It was lovingly hand carried back to the states by myself. And it’s now the most precious piece of art that I own. And I have a lot of art.

Any toy by Haba. And those are easy, as they sell them here. On Amazon. Sometimes at a pretty good discount. Wooden. Educational. Pretty. And fantastically sensible. And of course, fun for the kids and still attractive enough for the grown-ups.

I admit that Germany was never high on my list of places to visit. But I am so glad that I went. Particularly to Heidelberg. It’s a great introduction to Germany. Noting too serious. A small city rich is history with a lot of interesting characters to be met. I highly recommend it. And I’m now adding German to the list of languages that I am studying. Or want to study. As easy as it is for me to follow Spanish and Italian, and that I am meant to be French and therefore do very well with that language, German is impossible to understand or make sense of. But I’m working on that.