My Experience Travelling with Kids

We have now been living in Germany for 18 months, and we have done quite a lot of travelling with our kids.  When my husband was offered a job here, the main reason we accepted was that we were ready for a big family adventure.  We wanted to push out of our comfort zone, and show our kids that a great big world exists and is just waiting to be explored.  I want my kids to learn about culture and humanity not only through books and Dora the Explorer.  And you know what?  My kids are so happy living here, and every time we travel, they have a blast!

Germany has tons of hiking trails!

My daughter is 5 years old, and my son is 8.  In the last 18 months we have visited Italy three times (Rome, Venice, Lake Como, and Tuscany), and gone to Innsbruck, Krakow, Salzburg, Berlin, Munich, Paris, and Strasbourg, just to name a few.  Every single one of these places was child-friendly, and we have never had a problem finding a balance between kid activities (playgrounds), and adult activities (museums).  Is is great all the time?  No!  They have meltdowns, I have meltdowns, and then we take a break and move on.  The only one who never has a meltdown in my husband.

Meltdown on the ferry in Lake Como

All smiles ten minutes later!

So, I was REALLY irritated when I was reading through an article on Yahoo! Travel called We Heard You! Yahoo Readers on the Worst Trips for Kids, and this was printed about taking your kids to Europe...

Please don't take your children to Europe. European people teach their children manners and how to behave in public. Americans are too stupid to teach their kids respect for others and the property of others. —Alan

I am so furious with this comment because it is complete nonsense that American kids are any worse behaved than kids from other countries.  I have seen absolutely no difference in the behavior of kids in any of the countries we have visited, and I have seen tons of German kids running around in restaurants.  Kids are kids, regardless of location.  I should also mention that I have also seen plenty of adults misbehaving in restaurants and other public places.

Ryan loved eating escargot in France!

I actually find that European cities and restaurants are more family friendly than in the USA.  European cities seem to be designed with families in mind, and there are play spots everywhere, as well as small parks and pedestrian only zones.  In the warm months all the restaurants put the tables outside, and it is family dining heaven!

Enjoying an AMAZING meal in Tuscany!

My kids have been into plenty of museums, and my son has asked me to take him to the Picasso Museum when we visit Barcelona in April.  Are they always angels in museums? Absolutely not, but I know how long their attention span is, and we plan accordingly.  

Imaginations fly when visiting castle ruins!

The purpose of family travel is spending quality time as a family, not to see every monument and museum in a city within 48 hours.  I don't even care if my kids remember all of these trips, because I will remember.  We have definitely found adventure through living in Europe, and I also see my kids growing and thriving through the travel experiences we share as a family.  I would encourage all parents to not think twice about taking their kids to Europe, or anywhere else for that matter.  

Ski School

View from the top at Jungholz, in Austria

Last winter the kids were extremely excited at the beginning of winter, and extremely disappointed when we hardly got any snow.  Needless to say, my husband and I were elated that we didn't have to do much shoveling.  Well, this year, we seem to be having a 'typical' winter here in Bavaria, with lots of snow, shoveling, snowman building, snow forts, etc, etc.

First lesson at Riedberger Horn, in Germany

In an effort to make the best of snow, we are hitting the slopes!  The city that we came from in North Carolina was more than six hours from the closest mountain, and anything resembling a ski slope, but here we can get to a ski slope in about an hour.    Last year we tried a couple of times to take the kids skiing, but I can't say that it was very successful.

Enjoying a beer while we waited for the kids
to finish  their lesson

Ski clubs are very popular around here, and a colleague of my husband is a member of a club that offers ski lesson for kids at the beginning of each ski season.  We signed the kids up for the series of three lessons, which ran on Saturdays in January.

Meredith and her instructor using the T-lift

The kids (and us) were really nervous about the experience.  Of course, the instructors and other children would be speaking German, and the kids didn't think that sounded like much fun.  In my over-worrisome mind, I would be dropping my kids of with German-speaking strangers,  who would be hurdling my sweet darlings down the mountain and probably breaking their legs in the process.

Lucky for us, this of course, is not what happened!!  The instructors translated to English when needed, and my son realized that after 18 months of daily lessons in German, he could understand a lot of the instructions anyway.

After the first day, Ryan gave enthusiastic thumbs up, and Meredith gave an exhausted smile.  By the end of the last lesson, three weeks later, the kids were all smiles as the swished down the easy slopes and hopped right back on the chair lift.

Me!

The best part for my husband and I, of course, was a chance to ski by ourselves for the first time in six years.  We both grew up in northern states and had skied growing up, but I must admit that my skills are really rusty and I whined worse than the kids about sore leg muscles!

It was fantastic to actually see the sun!

We plan to do a bunch more day trips before the season is out.  The snow has been great, and way better than anywhere I have been on the east coast of the USA.  As with all of our family adventures, the times when we are the most nervous to try something new is when we have the most fun.

Visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp

Over the holiday break, my mom and sister were here visiting, and we decided to go visit the Dachau Concentration Camp.  I had been wanting to visit since we moved here, and was so grateful that I was able to share the experience with them.  My husband had visited many years ago during a business trips, so he volunteered to stay home with the kids.

Main gate to the camp.

Dachau is located about 10 miles northwest of Munich, and a little over an hour from where we live. It was the first concentration camp opened (1933) and used as a model for other camps.
For complete information:  (Wikipedia) Dachau Concentration Camp

The main gate held a door that said "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" meaning 'work will set you free'. The gate was despicably stolen in November 2014, and has not yet been found.  The forced labor was used to torture and punish the prisoners, even to death.   

Above is the yard where prisoners lined up everyday for counting, and were also forced to stand for extremely long durations as punishment. 

The barracks at the memorial were recreated to show how prisoners were housed.  There were originally 32 barracks, which were ultimately leveled and are now indicated by their concrete foundations and concrete numbered stones.

Bunk beds stacked three high.

Locker room with tables and stacked stools.

Washing area for prisoners.

Toilet facility.

Central walkway through the camp that originally was
lined by the 32 baracks.

Former barrack #3

That camp was used for 12 years by the Nazi Regime.  During that time, there were over 206,000 prisoners recorded, and approximately 32,000 recorded deaths.  This number is known to be grossly inaccurate due to the effort to conceal deaths and the chaos of prison transports and death marches at the end of the war.
 

The prisoners came from 30 different countries, with two-thirds being political prisoners (Communists, scientists, Gypsies, writers, military personnel, politicians, resistance fighters), and one-third Jews.  There were also more than 2,700 priests (mostly Catholic) imprisoned at Dachau.

Pistol range used for executions.

Gas chamber disguised as a shower.

Inside the crematorium

Many prisoners were executed by firing squad, and some by gas chamber, but most of the prisoners died from starvation and disease.  There were also upwards of 400 'experiments' performed on prisoners, such as induced high-altitude and hypothermia.  During those experiments 80-90 people died.

Site where the ashes were discarded from the crematorium.

"Grave of Many Thousands Unknown"

The museum at Dachau provides a great deal of information.  Entrance to the facility is free, and there was a small fee for tours or use of an audio-guide.  We chose to use the self-guided audio tour, which lasted about 2-1/2 hours.  

  

Museum

Visiting the concentration camp was a gut wrenching experience.  The day we were there was very cold, and it was snowing in the way where it seems like the snowflakes are dancing upwards, which gave it a very eerie feeling.

Even now in Europe and across the world, people have so much fear and hatred for cultures other than their own.    With recent events in Paris, the Middle East, and many protests against foreigners in European cities, it is easy to see that the fear that led to these horrific crimes during World War II are still always sitting just beneath the surface.

Chowing Down at the Christmas Market

'Egg Punch'
Unfortunately, not as good as eggnog!

When we go to the Christmas market, it is quite clear that eating, drinking, and being merry is what people are there to do!  The food at the market if far from healthy, and certainly not gourmet, but it is just so much fun to eat sausage outside surrounded by Christmas cheer.

'Fire Sausage' and French fries
REALLY spicy

This year I tried to get around to the different food stands and try the different offerings. Unfortunately, it often didn't occur to me to take a picture of something until there were only two bites left.   But, I thought I could share the pics I did manage to take.

Fresh-made waffle with cinnamon sugar

There was a stand that offered small cheese and antipasti trays, which we hit up a couple of times.  It was a nice way to try some new cheeses that we wouldn't typically have chosen.  They also offered baguettes smeared with different flavored cream-cheese-type spreads that looked delicious.

Roasted Chestnuts

It is amazing to me that the food is served on real dishes with real utensils.  When you pay for a meal, you give a deposit that you then get back when you return the dishes.  I think that would never happen in the US, where we always get plastic throw-away dishes and utensils!

Gulash soup

 Something we discovered this year were the 'feuerzangenbowle'.  With a cup of mulled red wine, a spoon is placed over the top with a sugar cube, and extra rum poured over the cube.  The rum is then lit on fire and the sugar caramelizes and drips into the wine.  It is a fun drink, but a bit terrifying trying to push through the crowd of people with a fire ball in your hand. 

'Fire-Tongs Punch' mulled wine
Feuerzangenbowle



Fried apple cake with cinnamon sugar

The apple cakes, along with the candied nuts were my favorite indulgences at the market.  The kids loved the made-to-order cotton candy, baked apples, and bratwurst.  Needless to say, 'go on a diet' is at the top of my New Year's Resolutions. 

Traditional gingerbread heart cookie
It says 'My sweetie'

We so enjoyed the festive atmosphere at the Christmas market, with the tantalizing aroma of all the different foods.  Going to the market was a fun way to spend some family-time together, and it was fun to bump into friends there.  While this was our second Christmas in Germany, I am already sad that next Christmas will probably be our last here.  Seeing these wonderful differences in culture and traditions is the reason we are here, and we are loving (almost) every minute!

The Sounds of Silence

Wow.  After the last five months I feel like I can finally breath easy again.  My German course is endlich over, the Christmas tree is out by the curb, and the kids are back to school.  We made it through the holidays.  Phew.

But we had an AMAZING holiday season!  We did so many fun things and I hope to share as much as I can here on the blog.  My mom and my sister came to visit, which was so special, and I was so sad to see them leave.

Me and my mom

We had so much fun going to the Christmas Market in Ulm.  December seemed milder this year than last year, so we were at the market more frequently. The kids were really interested in going to the Christmas market, and I often took them after school.  I had hoped to visit some of the other Christmas markets, but we always had such a good time at the one here in our own town that our ambition to make road trips wasn't too great.

For the first time in a LONG time (almost 20 years?) I had the opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah with other Jewish families.  Over the last year I have met two Israeli families, who have invited us to celebrate the Jewish holidays in their homes.  I was so happy that my kids have the opportunity to see that other families also celebrate Jewish holidays.

Our collection of Menorahs from four Jewish families.

Chanukkah craft with my daughter's class.

My absolute favorite thing about living in Germany is learning about the cultures of our friends here. My friends from Slovenia taught me how to properly roast chestnuts over an open fire and make mulled white wine.  Our friends from Denmark threw a fantastic traditional Danish Christmas luncheon that had around eight courses, and almost as many different kinds of schnapps!
  

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Drinking gluhwein with friends on a cold
winter's night.

After all the excitement of the holiday season, January usually seems a bit dull.  But to be honest, I am loving the sounds of silence in my house right now.  I can easily say that 2014 was the best year of my life, and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store.  Hopefully lots of Alpine skiing!!

Our first attempt at skiing this season.
(Schetteregg, Austria)