Foot Instincts

Apartment Hotel: Home away from home

• January 11, 2018
• tanushree
• Our Travels

” Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try”. – John F Kennedy

Hello, peeps!  This is my first post on my newborn family travel blog. I am embarking on this journey to pen the stories of my escapades with a childlike enthusiasm. I am both thrilled and anxious at the same time. Hope I am able to weave my words well to give you the most real experience of the places I go to.

Being a 24*7 Mum and an aspiring travel blogger can be both overwhelming and challenging at times. I desperately wait for my daughter to take a short nap during the day or sleep a little early at night so that I can start writing. I have worked on my blog for past few days and It has been nothing short of an extraordinary experience. I feel I write only to discover what I know. It’s liberating. It’s a therapy. Well, I would keep coming back to what I have learned and experienced during the process of writing. But, for now, let me share with you a glimpse of the most splendid three months that we have spent at our new abode “Apartment Hotel”, a dwelling that we would cherish for our lives.

What conspired to get us here?

When events turn out too quick and too good to be real, you are taken aback. You just go with the flow. You seldom have any apprehensions about what the future beholds. I too was swept off my feet to say the least, when I received our Schengen Visas within a day post the Visa interview.  At the cost of sounding little dramatic, I literally felt like the universe had conjured to make this happen for us. And quickly enough we packed our lives into 3 suitcases and moved to this beautiful city of Konstanz only to be together as a family. Konstanz is located in the south of Germany bordering Switzerland.We had flown from Mumbai to Zurich and driven by road to Konstanz.

It was love at first sight and it continues to grow with each passing day as I let myself soak endlessly into these calm picturesque landscapes and postcard views. This charming historic city is the best-kept secret of Germany. It was never affected during World War II. (Stay tuned to know more about my enduring love for Konstanz in the upcoming posts ).

Smitten by this colorful mix

When you are miles away and time zones apart, conversations tend to become more factual based on your immediate priorities. We always spoke about the wellbeing of our daughter on our late-night calls. Discussing Konstanz just never occurred to either of us. When you have no idea of a place that you are going to, everything about it intrigues and coax you to explore.

We muddled with our decisions of finding a place to stay in Konstanz for just a few hours before we took off from Mumbai. The idea of staying in these old historic houses, some of which date back to 12th Century, was fascinating enough for us to give in. But 24*7 domestic help and a strong family support system back in India had comforted us enough to be intimidated by the very thought of our lives minus them. So the most logical step was to quietly sneak into the same hotel room where Sandee had been staying. And thus began another love affair of a lifetime with this small little cozy room which we now call our ” Home”.

View into the quiet surroundings of “Apartment Hotel”

A hotel room with the vibes of a home

This room is adorned with gorgeous digital paintings on the walls and equipped with all essentials to sustain our daily lives. The breath-taking view outside the window at times freezes me in the moment and sometimes leaves me longing for more. The leaves changing their color from green to yellow to red in Autumn, falling off on the road beneath and soon enough embracing the snow to become crystal white during deep winters just tells us how selfless nature is. Could death as slow as this be as wonderful?

Autumn it was

Within no time we went from being comfortable and happy about our decision to move in here to longing to come back and relax after a day’s work or a long travel. Would there be a hotel or a room that could make one feel that way? It says a zillion about the amount of effort put in by everyone here to make sure we don’t miss home.

Mayra enjoying being sun-kissed into our cozy room

This post is my little token of gratitude to everyone associated with Apartment Hotel who put their best foot forward every single day to make our stay memorable. We are completely smitten with awe by their hospitality. This is by far the longest that we have stayed in a hotel ever. And we are truly madly deeply in love with the city, the hotel and of course the people who make all the difference.

For my Fellow travelers – Why should you not give it a miss?

Apart from being centrally located, there are many reasons why if you ever plan to visit Konstanz, you can’t miss to stay at this place. I have put together the top reasons here.

Top 5 reasons to experience Konstanz staying at the Apartment Hotel 

Food made and served with love 

After having stayed at best-rated hotels in Paris and various cities in Italy in the last 2 months, its best concluded that these guys have the best breakfast buffet spread. Their scrambled eggs are a class apart. And I can trade a few Indian delicacies at times to have them for breakfast every single day.

Ancient building with modern taste

This is a historic hotel in a peaceful residential area.  It has the right mix of ancient architecture and modern interiors. The rooms have high ceilings, huge doors, huge rectangular glass windows which almost cover the entire wall on one side, and classy furniture comfortably tucked into the corners leaving out large spaces giving you an impression of a house in itself. They also have a kitchenette to amaze yourself with your culinary skills. See below.

Sandee trying his hands on cooking

Awesome people 

They do listen. They do care. They make sure that they take feedback seriously and you would see it done almost immediately. They are that quick. They are an awesome bunch of people who are very warm and fun-loving.

Newfound friend and budding friendship

Walk to Lake Constance

Be it any season, Lake Constance never ceases to take me by surprise. Its a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps. It was formed by the Rhine glacier during the ice age. There’s an intriguing history in the context of ” Thirty years war” on Lake Constance. Do read about it on Wikipedia.

Sunset at Lake Constance

Explore the old town on foot

Constance is a town of great historical relevance. For the most part, it wasn’t affected by the wars of the last century. You can walk up to the old town in about 20 minutes to immerse yourself in the rich European culture of the past.

Soaking more into the historic culture and interesting lives of the people in this city which is a complete contrast to what we have seen in Mumbai will only make me write more and more about this beautiful place. Keep watching this space for more.

You may also read here what other guests have to say about this lovely place.

Have you also stayed in any such place which has left you in awe and you never missed home? Do share your story with us.

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