3 Days in Munich with Kids

I'll admit that Munich, and Germany in general, wasn't high on my list of places to travel around Europe. I don't know why. I really don't. It just never had the appeal that other destinations have had for me. But my husband has persistently put it on the top of his travel wish list for years. And so when we began mapping out a week-long summer trip, he finally got me to commit to going.

We were going to kick the week off in Munich for three days. When I began reading about the city, I realized it was going to be a great fit for our family. Plenty of culture, sightseeing, and yet a fun, family-friendly feel to it. Indeed, it lived up to this and then some. It's one of the most laid back European cities I've been to. Maybe it's all the beer and pretzels.

Beer and pretzels. What's not to love about Munich?

5 Things to Do in Norfolk, England with Kids

Of all the things I imagined doing while living in England, spending time on the beach (or even the coast, for that matter) didn't really cross my mind. But it should have. The UK has some of the most amazing coastal areas I've ever been to. Sunny and 85 degrees? Usually not. But if you can brave the elements, it's totally worth exploring.

The Norfolk area is only a couple of hours from our house, so we've been able to visit on occasional day trips throughout the past two years. When my sister's family came to visit, we decided it would be a great spot to base ourselves for a few days in order to take in even more of the family-friendly attractions in Norfolk.

Here are our favorite things to do in Norfolk:

Looking up in complete amazement at BeWilderwood.

Tips for Visiting Legoland Windsor (and Legolands Around the World!)

As a way of culminating a 10-day visit with my sister's family, which took us from our house to Norfolk to London, we planned an overnight at Legoland Windsor. We were a traveling entourage of 8 people, including 4 kids age 7 and younger. Needless to say, we fell right into the Legoland target market.

How I Plan Trips: Make Packing Easier

This is the last post in my 3-part series about how I plan trips. I started with Initial Steps, like choosing a destination and booking flights. Then I moved on to how to find and organize fun, family activities. The natural next step? Packing.

After becoming a mom 5 1/2 years ago, I've often stumbled upon the phrase, "the hardest part is getting out the door." Ain't that the truth. Stocking the diaper bag. Filling the sippy cup. Even just getting socks and shoes on everyone can seem like such a hassle. And that's just for a quick trip out to the grocery store or park!

So what do I do to make packing and departing even easier? Here are a few steps that work well for us.

How I Plan Trips: Finding and Organizing Fun Family Activities

Last week I shared my initial steps for planning a family trip. While I felt it was a necessary post to write, it’s not the part I really enjoy and look forward to. I’m much more interested in the “how we’ll spend our time once we’re there” part of travel planning.

Instead of steps, I’ll break this down into the various “stages” I find myself working through as I prepare for a trip. I should note that these stages work best if you have a couple of months until your trip starts. On those occasions where a trip gets booked with short notice, I identify one or two key resources (perhaps a blog that covers the region, or a guidebook that has excellent family resources) and just jump right ahead to the Finalizing phase.

You can spend as much or as little time on this as you want. I spent only a few hours preparing for our Ireland trip. But I spent two months planning our Scandinavia trip last summer. Hopefully this will help you use whatever amount of time you have wisely.

My travel planning happy place.

 

How I Plan Trips: Initial Steps

I recently asked on the Arrows Sent Forth facebook page if any readers were interested in hearing more about how I organize our travels and plan our trips. I (happily) answer lots of questions from family members and friends about this, but haven't written much about it.

Some of you experienced travelers may read this series of posts and roll your eyes. What I do is pretty basic stuff. And certainly, there may be better ways. This is simply what works for me and my family. For those of you just starting out in family travel, I hope this is a helpful starting point.

Step 1: Choose a Location

Sometimes this is the hardest part! Prior to moving abroad, we often based trips around things we had going on. Maybe we tagged along on my husband's business trip. Or road tripped it for a wedding. Other times we were craving sun and warmth, and just looked up where the cheapest direct flight to Florida was.

One of our favorite family trips was to Iowa for a big family wedding! (Look at that cute ring bearer!)

Tips for Visiting Kylemore Abbey

I've seen a lot of gorgeous old buildings in my travels. And I've seen a lot of beautiful, natural landscapes too. Rarely have I been lucky enough to witness the two merge together quite like they do at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, Ireland.

The Abbey is nestled into the bottom of the Twelve Bens, a mountain range in this northwestern part of the country. As if the building and its setting at the base of a mountain that is blanketed in green trees weren't enough for your eyes to feast on, it is situated directly in front of a lake. I think Mother Nature knew this view was so special, it needed to constantly show off its own reflection.

Our Biggest Travel Mishaps (and Lessons Learned)

One of my (many) flaws as a blogger is only sharing the dreamy memories. I love to write about blissful strolls through markets. Endless afternoons on sunny beaches. Terrific resorts. Tantalizing food. You get the idea.

I tend to leave out the "and then the two-year-old had a meltdown" or "my five-year-old complained the entire time we were there" moments. Yes, they happen. We deal with them and move on, and try not to get hung up on it or let it ruin our experience. They're rarely what I remember most about our travels anyway. Maybe that's a survival mechanism?

Aside from those normal frustrations, though, we have had some interesting experiences of rotten luck during our year of traveling around Europe that are worth sharing. We've learned some valuable lessons from them, but my biggest takeaway from it all? My kids handle unfortunate situations much better than I do.

SICK IN SCANDINAVIA, Summer 2013. A week in Scandinavia was our first major voyage into Europe with the kids, having just moved to England the previous month. For the most part, things went really smoothly. And then my husband and I both got sick halfway through the week. Fortunately, it only lasted about 24 hours. We were both feverish, achy, and exhausted, but we were able to care for the boys which was my biggest concern.

What I learned?

• Always pack some basic medicine. Once we had some ibuprofen in our system, we were much more functional.
• Do something easy and let go of your planned itinerary. After staggering through Gothenburg the night before, we gave up on the idea of more sightseeing and just headed to a children's museum near our hotel the next day. Kids had a ball, and my husband and I moved from bench to bench, supervising them but also resting.
• Research your medical options in advance. Where's the closest hospital or 24-hour medical center to where you are staying? This is especially important if you're staying in a rental property, where there isn't staff to ask like you'd have at a hotel. 

Universeum in Gothenburg, Sweden. A fun place for kids to play and parents to rest.

CANCELLED PARIS TRIP, Fall 2013. Again, sickness struck, only this time it was my kids and it happened before we departed for a planned trip to Paris (I wrote all about the yucky details here.) I still haven't emotionally recovered from the disappointment.

What I learned?

• Always get trip insurance. This would have covered our apartment rental and pricey train tickets. As it were, we basically paid for a trip we never took. Le sigh.

CAR PROBLEMS IN PORTUGAL, Winter 2013. We rented a car to drive from Lisbon to the Martinhal resort in southwest Portugal. It's about a three hour drive. The car didn't seem quite right from the beginning, but I ignored the issue and kept driving. Long story short, we found ourselves stranded on a Portuguese highway. Eventually, we got to our resort, albeit 5 hours later than expected.

Not what you dream of when you imagine a Portugal vacation.

What I learned?

• Ask when you pick up your car what to do in the event of an emergency. Our paperwork was in Portuguese, meaning we called about 5 numbers before we got the right one. Doing so while stuck on the side of the highway was not ideal. My friend Keryn at Walking on Travels wrote a really great post on what to do when you have an accident in your rental car.

CLOSED EUROTUNNEL, Spring 2014. We had planned to drive through the Eurotunnel on our way to Belgium over the Easter holiday. All seemed fine until we were parked in line to board the train (you actually drive your car onto a train, much like you would a ferry). Suddenly, delay signs flashed up on the screen and announcements started blaring from a loudspeaker across the parking area. All in all, we were stuck in a parked car for 4 hours before we were able to cross the Channel. Yikes.

Our view for four straight hours, with two kids in the backseat anxious to get on with the journey!

What I learned?

• Always, always pack a few more snacks and diapers than you think you'll need (bottle feeding a baby? Ditto those supplies.) I was kicking myself that I didn't get up 5 minutes earlier in the morning to make a few PBJ sandwiches, as I had intended to. Luckily, we bought the last two hot dogs before the parking lot vendor sold out.

I share some of these, not to scare you away from your own adventures, but to show you that a) even when travel isn't picture perfect, it's still worth doing, and b) we can do things to be better prepared the next time around.

This post is a part of Travel Tips Tuesday at Suitcases and Sippy Cups and Walking on Travels.

Bordeaux by Bus: The Visiotour

There are so many reasons I love traveling with my kids. I could probably list one each day and never run out. But by far the best reason is the quality time you spend together. Away from all the distractions of "real life."

I had just such a moment on our recent trip to Bordeaux aboard the Visiotour. This is a 70-minute tour around the city, aboard an open top, double decker bus. We did something we rarely do as a family on vacation... we split up, and Big Arrow and I went on the bus tour, while my husband and Little Arrow took naps back at the hotel.

Bruges City Walk with Kids

More than perhaps any other city I've ever visited, Bruges was meant for walking. There are destinations along the way, museums, churches to tour, etc., but I read over and over again that the best way to enjoy this place is to get lost amid its medieval streets.

And so we did. As you'll see in my Belgium itinerary, we spent almost a full day plus several additional afternoons just walking around the city. (Although we were never truly lost, which is probably a good thing when your strolls include two little boys!) We were so fortunate to have time on our side to get into some of the less explored corners of Bruges.

But many people come to Bruges as a day trip, or possibly an overnight. If you don't have the luxury of multiple days in the city, then you'll want to maximize your time and see as much as you can with what you have. And if your visit to Bruges involves kids, it'll need to be a walk that incorporates play and rest, too! So my husband and I (he's the navigator/map reader) put together our ideal Bruges City Walk with Kids.

Long Weekend in Belgium with Kids

When I was researching our trip to Oslo last summer, I kept coming across at popular tour of the fjords called Norway in a Nutshell. I loved the phrase "in a nutshell" as such a fitting description for something big being captured in something small.

Here me out, because I'm actually writing about Belgium, not Norway. But I think it's an accurate way to describe Belgium, too. As in, it's Europe in a nutshell.

What Can Kids Do at Windsor Castle?

A few days ago I shared some of my favorite photos from our visit to Windsor Castle (and I wrote a more comprehensive post about visiting Windsor at Anglotopia). But what did my 4- and 2-year-old sons do while we were there?

Here are a few ideas to keep young kids entertained at Windsor Castle:

• Pick up the children's audio guide.

(Funky glasses optional.)

A Day in Windsor with the Queen

I'm currently participating in Mom vs. Winter Germs (Round IV for us this year... and the germs definitely have me beat.) So for my next few posts, I'm going to rely more on my photos to tell the story, and less on my words. (Perhaps that's a good thing?)

Our day in Windsor Castle last weekend was perfectly lovely. Beautiful building. Exquisite, ornate interior. Charming town. Pretty much exactly what I expected. I wrote all about our day at Windsor and neighboring Eton for Anglotopia, but I left out one big detail. We met the Queen.

Day Trip to Sintra with Kids

"You better write a blog post that will make this easier for the next family," grunted my husband as he folded up our double stroller for the fourth time in one day, lifting it onto yet another mode of public transport during our day trip to Sintra from Lisbon.

He's right. While normally I have no shortage of information to work with when planning trips and outings (I usually read several first-hand accounts of how families experience a certain location), I couldn't find much in the way of tips for visiting Sintra, a popular day trip location from Lisbon. In fact, I almost gave up on the idea of going altogether. The concierge at our hotel discouraged us, thinking it would be too difficult with kids so young.

But fortunately, we persevered. Because it was truly one of the most spectacular places I've ever been.

Lisbon's Belem with Kids

As I was researching our trip to Portugal, I was reminded of the country's key role (along with Spain) in the Age of Discovery, the time period in the 15th and 16th century when Europe became aware that not only did other continents exist, but that they could get there by sea. You'll likely recall bits and pieces from your own world history courses back in high school. (Names like Magellan, da Gama, and Christopher Columbus probably ring a bell.)

Portugal pays tribute to this era most notably in the Belem parish of Lisbon, located along the Tagus River, where many of the ships departed on their worldly voyages.

Besides being aware of the landmarks that are located there, I knew little about Belem, so it was a toss-up as to how much the boys would enjoy it. After all, they don't have a sense of the enormity of this history yet. Fortunately, each of the major monuments found there was surrounded by wide open spaces, statues, gardens, and plenty of people to make it interesting enough for them. In fact, it was the perfect starting point for our time in Lisbon.

A Week in Portugal with Kids

Sunset over the waterfront in the Belem area of Lisbon.

I've had an interest in visiting Portugal for nearly 10 years. When my husband and I were planning a month-long trip to Spain before we had kids, I had hoped we'd be able to include Portugal in our itinerary and I even bought a Lisbon guidebook. In the end, a detour to Portugal never materialized.

But I kept that guidebook. When we moved to a new house 10 months after Big Arrow was born, I shook my head as I unpacked it from its box (this being the third time I had packed and unpacked it). Why hold on to this, I thought. I've got a baby now... no way we'll get to Portugal in the next decade, at least.

You just never know what twists and turns life has for you.

So when I stuffed that old guidebook in my carry-on the night before we departed, I was thankful my dream of visiting had finally come true. Yet I couldn't help but wonder... would this place live up to the "dreamy destination just out of reach" hype I had given it in my mind?

HouseTrip London Apartment Review

One of the dilemmas we have when planning London adventures is whether to stay the night or try to do everything we want to do in a day. And yes, I realize this very much falls under "first world problems." The train ride to London from our closest major train station is only an hour. But there's a balance between the expense of the train tickets to get into the city (which can be around $50 per person if we don't plan ahead), the expense of a hotel room for a night or two, and then the kid factor: how hard do we want to push the kids to see a lot of sites, without much rest or downtime?

We've done it both ways (day trip itinerary for London here and weekend itinerary for London here). They both have their positives and negatives.

So when the opportunity to check out one of HouseTrip's London apartment rental properties came about, I jumped at the chance to take in a few days in London, knowing we'd have a place to call home in the evenings. Especially in December, when the city is full of Christmas magic.

Product Review: iPad Snugg Case

Like many parents these days, our iPad is a pretty essential part of our travel gear. It's entertainment for our boys, a way of staying in touch with friends and family back home via Facetime, and our mechanism of internet access for work, activity research, restaurant recommendations, and so much more while we travel.

Needless to say, it's really important to us that this vital and pricey product be protected. So when The Snugg contacted me to review one of their travel cases, I took them up on the offer.

Tips for Visiting Stratford-upon-Avon with Kids

When my mother-in-law came to visit this week, I had planned a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. Our conversation in the car on the way there consisted of the three adults naming every Shakespeare work we've read. It had been at least 15 years since any of us had read anything, and almost everything we had was forced upon us by a well-meaning high school or college English teacher. We could count the total number on our hands. The conversation was interrupted with questions like, "Where are we going again? Is there a playground? What's a play?," from 4-year-old Big Arrow. Oh dear.

So I was beginning to worry that perhaps we weren't the right group of people to be spending a day in Stratford-upon-Avon. But just like the twists and turns in a Shakespeare play, we had a wonderful day there.

0 Days in Paris, 2 Days in London

You've already heard the tale of our weekend getaway gone wrong in the Peak District. Since we're on a roll with the travel failures, let's move on to our canceled trip to Paris. Could there be anything sadder than that?

The thought of a long weekend in October in my favorite city in the world had been the proverbial carrot on the stick, enticing me to plow through the lonely summer months here and the stress of sending Big Arrow off to school in September. The icing on the cake was that my brother and sister-in-law were visiting us and had never been. I was so excited to experience the city again, and for the first time as a mom, and also with two of my favorite travel companions (they've joined us on trips to Arizona, Chicago, Michigan, and hosted us in Minneapolis).

We had even arranged a babysitter so that the four adults could paint the town red and live it up. I couldn't wait to see the City of Lights at night again.

Alas, as their visit approached, both Arrows became quite ill with a stomach bug. My parents were visiting at the time, and I was glad we hadn't made any travel plans for their visit. In fact, my mom and dad saw a lot more of my living room than they did of England. As they headed back to the U.S., the bug seemed to be lingering well beyond the normal 48-72 hour mark.