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Farmstay Holidays

We recently spent a long weekend at a "urlaub im bauernhof" - a holiday on a farm - near Lake Konstanz in southern Germany. On a friend's recommendation, whose husband had grown up vacationing on farms, we looked up one near the sea and booked a last minute family getaway. Though we booked very late during peak season (late August / early September), we found a cosy farm with just enough of a rustic feel (and no in-room wifi) to give us that "get away from it all" feeling.

I can't wait to book another one of these holidays, and hopefully will make the next one with friends who also have small kids - I couldn't think of a better place to organize a simple and fun group holiday.

To find a place, we simply went to Google, and looked for Bauernhof Urlaub Bodensee. There are a number of options all over Germany, including a ton in the Black Forest (where the hiking trails must be lovely for families with older kids). Some of the farms will offer full breakfast delivered to your apartment -- most just provide bread service, so you have to get your own eggs, cheese, butter, jam, etc. Apart from that, you're basically staying in an apartment, complete with towels, linens, cookware, and everything you could possibly need for kids (baby bed, high chair, plenty of toys, etc), and for cooking. We stayed a 20-minute drive from the Bodensee at this place - which had so many lovely outdoor toys and vehicles and animals, that we had trouble getting out of our apartment to explore the surroundings!

To be honest, it's not that different from being at home - except for the farm animals! And in our case, the lovely change of scenery, which (when you have kids, perhaps?) was enough to keep us interested! It's a budget-friendly holiday too -- we paid 52 euros / night for a 2 bedroom flat, but it would have been less had we stayed longer.

Just a little something to tuck away if you're looking for a unique family holiday in Germany!

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