If you've been reading along for a few months, you might remember my husband Greg needing knee surgery for a torn ACL back in October. On Wednesday, we drove to Stuttgart for a 7am appointment to create his knee brace. We arrived at 12:30am and checked into our hotel, the Adler Asperg. It was nice, boasting solid breakfast options, a sauna and pool (which I didn't get to use, unfortunately) and they upgraded our room which was appreciated. Merely six hours later, we woke up and dashed off to the appointment where they drew on his leg, created a plaster mold of the knee, and sent us on our way with instructions to return seven hours later to pick up the brace.
We were really tired, but headed off to the OutletCity in Metzingen. PSA: Outlets in Europe are not like outlets in the US. The discounts are not as big as you'd find back home. From here on out, if I ever have the option to of either checking out outlets or going somewhere else, I'll always choose the latter because you can get the same stuff for around half price back in the US.
For this trip, I wanted to stick to the GAPS diet as much as I could because my trip to Athens really set me back and I feel like my sensitive stomach is only just now recovering even though the trip was over a month ago. In a lunch jar, I brought fish soup (probably should've reconsidered that decision because while it tastes amazing, it's not the best smelling soup for eating in the car). I also packed hard boiled eggs, homemade fermented veggies, and apricots, which I think I'm developing an addiction to. I also packed two fresh juices - a morning juice with beet, and a green juice.
Around 2:30pm, we headed back to the facility, had the brace fitting, and jumped back on the autobahn, eager to get home to our pup. We were making great time until we hit standstill traffic and didn't move for over an hour. Luckily, we had downloaded In a World on the iPad so we got through nearly all of it while waiting in traffic. (Cute movie.)
It was an exhausting trip, but we're happy to have this brace, as it's one step further in Greg's recovery.