Sunday, August 5, 2012

Fun at Odenwald Camping

It was a spontaneous decision: driving off to a camping holiday right after the girls' last day of school.

Well, the weather forecast pushed our plan. It's supposed to stay warm the next days. Finally, we would have our camping vacation realized!

The whole family immediately packed up our camping gears and stuffs. I stocked up on groceries. And made sure we have everything, well, almost everything that's needed for a camping holiday.

My husband took charge of loading everything up in our vehicle. There was a moment there that I was afraid it would not all fit in, good thing we have a luggage carrier roof box which provided extra space. And yes, I also lost my foot space on the passenger side because that's where my mama bag and our dog's backpack ended up.

At least the girls and the dog have enough space in the back, we want to make this 1.5 hour ride comfortable for them. Our destination? Odenwald Camping in Limbach-Krumbach.

Our tent at Odenwald Camping
It is our second time to camp out there. We have fond memories of our time there that we decided to go back. A good decision. After a few wrong turns, we found our camping area.

My husband specifically asked for a place near the playground, and we got our nice spot; sorrounded mostly by mobile homes :-)



It didn't took long to assemble our tent (we have already practiced at home once and we also watched a video of how to build the tent so many times via the internet). It was up within thirty minutes, boy, am I glad because IC is raring to go swimming already. I can't blame her, it was scorching hot!

I left my husband with MC generously helping him out. There are still things to assemble: the sleeping cabin, the kitchen, the tables and chairs, etc.

Odenwald Camping pool area: there's a food kiosk, a party tent, a big wadding pool, a tennis court, and a playround .
Odenwald Camping made our holiday one of the best holidays ever. There were enough activities to keep the kids busy. There are Kiddie Animation scheduled daily including cinemas, arts and crafts, sports and games, etc.

The girls putting the finishing touches on their handmade bongo drums
The big hit was the huge pool area with a food kiosk, a party tent, a big wadding pool, a bigger pool, a tennis court, and another playground composed of an inflatable tower, a trampolin, and an inflatable slide. That is the girls' favorite morning spot.

And when it gets a bit breezy, the girls head for the indoor pool. That's the area where the wellness and fitness area is located. There's a gym, a sauna and a massage room. Plus, they have regular aerobics, pilates and karate classes. Most of the programs and the facilities are free for campers.

There is also small grocery where freshly baked rolls are always available.

Odenwald Camping playground

There's the huge playground near a river where the girls played-out their fantasy adventures. From our tent, we could hear them running around the river and splashing around.

The girls and the dog enjoying the river
They played football and enjoyed the slides, the swing, and the monkey bars. This is where the girls usually end up their day. There is also a lounge where a billiard hall and a football table are available, it is located beside the Animation area.

The river is a fun area for the kids and the dogs
And our dog, Rikki, she enjoyed running around the river, too. Odenwald Camping is one of the rare camping areas; who still accepts dogs as long as they are leashed and some rules are followed strictly; most especially, cleaning up after them. There are enough open spaces and woods to walk the dog, not necessarily all inside the camp, though.

The highlight of our camping holiday for Rikki? We found a male dog for her, named Paul; who is whiter than she is. Is it possible for dogs to fall in love? Anyway, his owner is a permanent camper, so we exchanged comtact numbers for the future :-)

Journal writing
In between their busy days, the girls got to relax while writing on their journals. They insisted on writing everything about their day; reviewing their days together so they won't forget anything. A fun way to bond.

I think the best thing that happened to the girls' during their camping holiday was meeting Maren, a camping neighbor. The three of them bonded instantly. But I only realized how close they became when MC told me that they have arranged for a slumber party in the near future!
I found a surprise love letter from IC in our suitcase :-)
Now, for campers who hate cooking, there is a pizzeria inside the campsite. The menu offers light snacks and heavy dinners; plus wondefully baked pizzas! They accept take-outs, too. Most importantly, they have affordable prizes.

Our mini kitchen and mini fridge
We cooked most of the time, after all, we have our mini kitchen and a mini ref. By we, means my husband cooked and I assisted him. I cannot get the hang of cooking using a mini gas stove! Reminder: next time do not bring anything coated with chocolates!

We enjoyed our stay; in fact, we extended our stay; despite a weekend of drizzles. The rain simply refreshed us; as our camping vacation refreshed us, too.

Going home, we passed by the Vierburgerstadt or Neckasteinach, looking for a restaurant. We wanted to have an early dinner before going home.

Well, most restaurants are closed until 5 p.m. We changed our course and found Gasthof Deutscher Kaiser, which is open throughout the day, a rarity. The food did not disappoint us. We highly recommend the restaurant.

We arrived home tired yet happy. With the girls screaming, we will come back next month :-) 

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