I’ll give you three chances to guess where we spent time this weekend!

Here are a few hints:

Miami, you think? Nope…four years and a few diplomas is all anyone needs from that place!

Try again:

Balmy Bali? Again, no…that is a bit too far for a weekend jaunt.

Last guess:

A movie set? Nein, although I was expecting Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank to appear at any second.

Here is where we were: an old hangar in the middle of Germany…turned tropical paradise!

This hangar is the world’s largest free-standing hall. It was used by the Luftwaffe (Nazi Airforce) until 1945 when it came under the possession of the Soviets, as it sits within what used to be East Germany. In 2004 it opened as Tropical Islands Resort, a “beach get-away” for land-locked Europeans.

It is absolutely crazy what that they have put into this hangar: two hot-air balloons, Segway tours, hotels, restaurants, water slides, waterfalls, a “rainforest” complete with snakes and flamingos, several swimming pools, a beach, hot tubs, stages, spa, sauna…you name it! You can even camp there!

We had a lot of fun just wandering around and being amazed at what a maze of artificial “paradise” they had created.

It was also an educational experience. We learned that we are bordering on too old for water slides but, despite our age and experience, have still not learned how to prevent the bottom-of-the-waterslide-bathing-suit wedgie!

Oh Germany…you still continue to surprise me!