Activities recap

It's been a while since I've talked about our weekend trips and activities on the blog. While we haven't been as active as we were in Italy, we have had the opportunity to explore some of the surroundings of Ulm. So let's take it in chronological order...
Back in April, my parents came to visit for a weekend, and while we spent Saturday visiting furniture stores, we took a day trip into nearby Bavaria on Sunday. The town of Weißenhorn had an old castle in the town center, which was unfortunately being renovated at the moment. Another negative point was that none of the restaurants in the town center were open for lunch. So we stopped on the way to Roggenburg, another small town nearby, which boasts an impressive baroque monastery.
A few weeks later, it was Easter, and we visited my parents for the long weekend. One of the days, we went to Mosbach, where my aunt celebrated a big birthday with a big lunch. On Easter Sunday, we visited Schwetzingen Castle, which is located quite close to my parents' house. There, we wandered through the gardens, where a lot of beautiful flowers were in bloom, and looked at the 18th century interpretations of classical temples, as well as the mosque.
At the end of May, my parents came again for a weekend. This time, we visited the nearby town of Blaubeuren on Sunday, along with what seemed like thousands of other people. Blaubeuren is located at the source of the river Blau, which flows into the Danube in Ulm. The river is a bit unusual in that the source is not just a trickle, but in fact an entire river coming out of the "Blautopf", a series of underground caves that collect water from a large region of the Schwäbische Alb. We also visited the monastery in Blaubeuren, which has a nice gothic altarpiece, and ate a good meal in the old town. We then drove a few miles to visit the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle, a cave that's open to visitors which takes you up to 55 m underground.
Finally, on Ascension Day (a holiday in most parts of Germany), we went to a medieval market (similar to a Renaissance Faire) at Wiblingen monastery. Kristen wore her medieval costume and didn't look out of place at all.