I’ve lived in beautiful Germany for 8 years. Eight amazing, glorious, blessed years. There is so much beauty all around me, in my backyard, a mile from home, 10 miles from home. I can travel & see the world… right at my doorstep.

Most of my travel is at my doorstep. Everything is incredibly close. Incredibly beautiful. I can’t soak it all in deep enough. My bucketlist keeps growing, the more I see, the more I do, the more I realize is out there. And so, this past Wednesday, when Laura asked for ideas on where to take Jeff & Steve (Würzburg), I seized the opportunity to knock another one of my bucketlist: Blautopf.

All of us were tired from our long day sight-seeing in Würzburg the day before, we needed a short trip. Close-by. With not a lot of walking. I knew just the place! Blautopf is just over an hour away. It’s really just a hole in the ground. It’s been ooh’d & aaah’d over in our local Facebook groups. Laura loved the idea, the boys loved the idea, Dane wanted to come. It was a perfect afternoon getaway.

Wikipedia has a great write up on what is Blautopf (Blau = blue; topf = pot). I couldn’t say it better myself. Please note… the reason it’s so blue? Same reason as the blue lagoon in Iceland! #1 on my bucketlist!

The Blautopf is located in the city of Blaubeuren, approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) west of Ulm. It forms the drain for the Blau cave system , where the Blau after 14.5 km (9.0 mi) flows into the river Danube in the city of Ulm. Because of its high water pressure, the spring has developed a funnel-like shape, which at its deepest point has a depth of 21 metres (69 ft). The water’s peculiarly blue color, varying in intensity due to weather and flow, is the result of physical properties of the nanoscale limestone densely distributed in the water. The particles are so small that the so-called Rayleigh scattering of light takes place, preferentially scattering the blue color in the visible light. Similar effect is observed at the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik, Iceland, where the blue color originates from nanoscale silica particles.

What I didn’t realize is that the town, Blaubeuren, surrounding Blautopf was so adorable. Everything you imagined a little village in Germany would be. Many of the houses are still the old, German Fachwerk. The town is surrounded by deep, green forests and it is like stepping into another world. I’m putting this back on the bucketlist. To go back another day, with oodles more time.

Right as we stepped in, the choir at the Kloster in Blaubeuren (there is a school at this magical place!) began practice. Just imagine walking in this beauty while voices ring out of open windows. I felt peace for the first time in weeks.