I’ve noticed it’s a much different thing traveling to a foreign country when you know people there..it becomes much more about soaking up the culture and appreciating a different way of life than just seeing the sights as is tempting to do when you don’t know any better (ie. what we did when we were in Paris a few weeks ago even though we tried our hardest to blend in!). Of course I think seeing sights is an amazing part of visiting a new place, but my FAVORITE countries I’ve visited are the ones where we had someone who’s experienced the place much more deeply guiding us and showing us the true beauty of it.

My dad’s side of the family lives in a tiny village called Langenzenn that would probably never show up in any books as an attraction that you should go see if you plan a trip to Germany. But it’s such a little gem of a place! It holds so much of my family’s history and that is a big reason why it’s one of my favorite places on earth. We pulled into town after my uncle and sister picked me up from the airport almost a month ago and I always get this wave of nostalgia that washes over me and hits my heart. This is the little town where my dad grew up and my brother, sister and I grew up visiting it every chance we got so in a lot of ways it reminds me of my childhood and it holds some of my favorite memories with my dad!

These are just a few photos from the first leg of my trip…my sister lived in Germany this summer and it was a lot of fun getting to spend time with her and our family there! I knew right away when I got there that I wanted to go on a photo walk around Langenzenn so that I would have prints to hang up in our house to remind me of it whenever I’m missing it or my dad…Sometimes it’s so much fun just to shoot things like this for yourself…it’s easy to feel like photography is just my job sometimes, but it’s things like this that remind me how much personal value there is in it too, which I think makes me a better photographer for my couples too! It was a very gray and drizzly day, but I love these!

The town center and Old Town Hall

My beautiful 95 year old grandmother  |  The house where my dad grew up. He inherited it and then later sold it to move to the U.S. so that he could start his business here when he was in his 20’s!

And the rest of these are photos from my adventures exploring some of my other favorite German cities with my sister!  We spent most of the rest of the time just relaxing with family, but Bamberg and Würzburg are incredible and you should definitely add them to your list if you ever visit Bavaria! Bamberg is nicknamed “little Venice” because it was built partially on the water, and Würzburg has the most beautiful castle up on a hill with incredible views of the city!

The second part of our trip to Venice will be coming to the blog soon! It was one of my favorite stops, because that place is so dang photogenic…

But first I’ll be sharing some really beautiful Anniversary Celebration Sessions and I can’t wait! If you wanted to see more from our trip and didn’t follow along on Instgram, you can check those out here! Happy Tuesday, friends!!