The second Sunday in May is the day Americans have set aside to pay special attention to their mothers.  Germans mark this very same date for the very same reason, which, in terms of travel opportunities, is a bit of a double-edged sword. It’s great because it means many towns and businesses will have special events laid on, but it can also mean you’ll be jostling the crowds.

So what might be on the day’s agenda? Why, spending the day with the family, of course. (Pampering is nice too, so, moms out there, mention your desire to visit a spa at a later date!) If the weather turns for the better, why not just pack up the car and head out for a little picnic at your favorite local beauty spot?  So mom’s work is minimized, the kids could do the packing of the lunch and snacks.  If you wanted to tie a picnic in with a visit to a special event, you could try looking at the tourism Web site of your German “Land” or state. Here are links to several of them: 

• Hessen: http://www.hessen-tourismus.de/
• Bavaria: http://www.bayern.by/de/index.html
• Baden W?rttemberg: http://www.tourismus-bw.de/reise-_und_urlaubsland_baden-wuerttemberg.1458.1443,1516.htm
• Rhineland Pfalz: http://www.rlp-info.de/
• Saarland: http://www.tz-s.de/ 

Most of these Web sites are in both languages, but, as the English content is usually only a smattering of the contents in full, to really see what’s going on you’ll need to contend with the pages in German. But don’t be scared of a language you don’t know 100%! You’re looking for fun stuff to do, not laying out a down payment on a house. Click on the button for “Veranstaltung” or some variation thereof, enter the date for which you’re interested in finding an event, and see what’s on where. You can also see what’s going on in your local city or town by visiting its own Web site, which, in Germany, is almost always just the name of the town plus the .de ending.  In just a cursory search, here are some family-fun things for Mother’s Day that I found mention of either on the sites above or those to which they linked me: 

• Oppenheim -- Middle Ages Spectaculum
• Lindenfels, Odenwald -- Middle Ages Spectaculum
• Höchst, Odenwald -- May Market and Apple Blossom Fest, with parade. 
• Limburg an der Lahn -- Frühlingsfest
• Frankfurt -- Skyscraper Festival, with rides, extreme sports, and live music
• Würzburg -- Marathon
• Selbitz -- Horse and Farmer’s market
• Bad Dürrheim – flea market selling Fasching or carnival essentials
• Schwäbisch Hall -- South German cheese market
• Stuttgart -- last day of the city’s Frühlingsfest, closing with fireworks
• Donauwörth- Maimarkt
• And outside of Germany, we have:
• Mechelen, Belgium – Our Lady of Hanswijk Procession

And the list goes on and on…

So, Stripes readers, if you’re a mom, what would YOU like to spend the day doing? If you’re a dad looking to organize a memorable day out in honor of your spouse, have you come up with a brilliant plan for this May 13, or have you had an idea that met with success in years past?  Let us know.