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Road trip time! Hamburg is about 5 hours (plus kids = 7ish) north of where we live, and we had never seen the region... summer holiday seemed the perfect time. We drove up on a Monday, returning on Thursday, with 2 days in the city and one at a fruit farm in Jork. This region, apparently, produces the most fruit in western Europe! I bet it's gorgeous in spring. Day 1: We tried out wimdu for an apartment just north of the city. The price was right, the location was great, and the owners were incredibly nice. It was a bit tight for four of us (mostly because the kids wanted to stay up late with us / not sleep), but worked fine for the short visit. We had made afternoon reservations for Miniatur Wunderland , so we took our time getting to the city. We drove in, parking at Contipark (max 12 euros/ day, better than other lots that max out at 20 euros/day or so), which are all over central Hamburg. The plan was to walk through the warehouse district and make our way to Landungsb...

Ah, vacation. We headed off to Rome a week before the European Easter break began, to lovely weather and manageable crowds. I had done a bit of research before our arrival, but we mostly played the trip by ear. With three kids across four adults, we had no other choice... but what we did in 7 days could probably be accomplished in 4 quite easily. So here's your itinerary: Day 1:  Upon arrival at Fiumencino airport, we took a pre-booked shuttle (with car seats!) directly to the city - we'd been advised it was much easier, faster, and simpler than the train, and I'm so glad we did. We stayed near the Vatican, at a lovely apartment that was way below the cost of a hotel and had everything we needed for the week. Within five minutes, you could be at St Peter's Basilica or any mode of public transportation to get you into the more central / touristy part of the city. We spent the first day stocking up on wine, cheese, and necessities for the apartment... then planning...

The last time I posted, I still had one kid. Wow, how life has changed. In the nearly five months since, we haven't vacationed much - in fact, we barely leave the house on the weekends - and the days all seem to blend together. Luckily, we live in a small community with a lot of friends within walking distance. So we don't have to go far to escape isolation. And though this winter has brought us a record of gray, rainy, dreary days, we have managed to find indoor adventures and learned how to dress appropriately for getting wet and muddy when we just needed to get outside. I never realized how lonely it can be to be a parent. We spend so time with small people, who won't remember the moments that we share in a few years. I think often how our older boy won't remember his life as an only child at all. But we had so many special times with just him, moments that are for me and S to treasure and remember - good, bad, and exhausting. I also never realized how all-cons...

We recently spent a long weekend at a "urlaub im bauernhof" - a holiday on a farm - near Lake Konstanz in southern Germany. On a friend's recommendation, whose husband had grown up vacationing on farms, we looked up one near the sea and booked a last minute family getaway. Though we booked very late during peak season (late August / early September), we found a cosy farm with just enough of a rustic feel (and no in-room wifi) to give us that "get away from it all" feeling. I can't wait to book another one of these holidays, and hopefully will make the next one with friends who also have small kids - I couldn't think of a better place to organize a simple and fun group holiday. To find a place, we simply went to Google, and looked for Bauernhof Urlaub Bodensee. There are a number of options all over Germany, including a ton in the Black Forest (where the hiking trails must be lovely for families with older kids). Some of the farms will offer full brea...

We recently returned from a lovely, but hot, trip to Barcelona. Note to self, next time plan to visit in spring, fall, or even winter. Lucky for us, air conditioning is pretty universal. We rented  apartments  through VRBO in the Eixample neighborhood, which turned out to be super close to the airport shuttle bus as well! On arrival, we took a taxi (15 euros for a group of 5), but we took the  airport bus  on the way back. At 5 euros / person, it was a little pricier, but quick and easy. We settled into the apartments, which had most of the basics we would need for a few days - tabs for the dishwasher, a few trash bags, and even a bottle of cava! After stocking the apartment with food, we headed out for a wander, and found some delicious  burgers . Back inside for the evening, it was a low-key day to unpack and plan out the next few days. Day 1: We started with a mid-morning walk to  La Boqueria  after breakfast in the apartment, loaded up with ...

Over Easter weekend, we took a short (3 days / 2 nights) trip to Metz, a town about 2 hours away from home. It was our first time out with the little guy (nearly 2 years old now) in a while, and I think our traveling-with-kids skills have gotten a little rusty. So, although we didn't get to see too much of the city, we did learn a lot of valuable lessons for our next go-round of a holiday. What we did right: Find restaurants without the funny French closing hours. There are a number of tourist-centric restaurants around ( Buffalo Grill , most restaurants around the central train station, etc) that do not abide by the "normal" closing hours of lunch til 3, then dinner served only after 7 pm. We gave up the idea of eating at a charming French restaurant quickly, once we realized it would require keeping our grumpy toddler up past his bedtime to eat. Nobody wants to see that. Always check restaurant hours, especially in smaller French cities.  Find wide open spaces. We...

We just returned from a trip to sunny Scandinavia - a post will follow shortly on our time in Copenhagen, Denmark. I had to write about Stockholm first though, since the weather was perfect, city lovely, and people friendly... it was a city to which I would like to return. We landed at Arlanda and though we took a taxi to our apartment for the week, we could have easily taken the airport bus to the central station, and hopped on a T-bana from there. Once we arrived, we found the nearest grocery / wine shop in a Lindhagen complex -- a store called Maxi, which had everything we needed for the week. Due to Sweden's alcohol monopoly , we had to pick up wine and beer from a store in the same complex. En route, we passed a few playgrounds, one of which we couldn't help but swing by on the way home. The little guy loved it, especially the waterfront playground. On our first full day in Stockholm, we bought 72-hour transit cards and went straight to the Old Town for a tasty warm...

Now that we have a small person in tow, we take a lot more day trips rather than longer vacations. Here are a few of our favorites around the Mainz/Wiesbaden area: Koblenz : You can drive along the Romantic Rhine from Mainz to Koblenz, and stop at any of the scenic towns along the way. I like Bingen and St. Goar for their size and charming castles. Don't miss the famed Loreley rock, where many sailors met a tragic end upon distraction by the lovely woman on the cliff. Koblenz is a small town with a big castle that you can either get to by car, or seilbahn . We took the latter, enjoying a beautiful view of the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers. Up high, we had a perfect view of the Deutsches Eck , marked by a giant statue of the ever-present King Ludwig. We also noted the ice cream shop near the Eck for later... this turned out to be a fruitful observation (important note: it's much cheaper to takeaway your ice cream, rather than eat there). The castle was a little to ...

Finally, a road trip! Salzburg is about 5 scenic hours from Frankfurt. We left on a Sunday, since there are restrictions for trucks driving on the "Ruhetag" (quiet day), anticipating less traffic. Though we still hit some, and took a not-so-en-route detour to see Dachau, we enjoyed the journey and the trip. It was handy to know beforehand that Rastaettes / Rasthauses / Rasthofs are available throughout highways in Germany, and offer self-service food, snacks, and clean (for 0.70 cents) bathrooms. Signs for these stops always include the distance to the nearest stop, as well as to the next possible stop - really handy for planning purposes (e.g., determining how much longer we could handle the crying baby in the carseat...). Food can be pricey though, so we brought our own and just sat inside. The first day involved a lot of driving, and the stop in  Dachau . Entrance is free, as was the audioguide. Unfortunately, we didn't have time so just walked through the ca...

Berlin. What a cool city. It's like my favorite parts of SF (so many places with free wifi. So many cool cafes. Startups everywhere!), DC (pretty, well-organized government town with lots of green space), and Germany (Clean and amazingly connected public transit that works! Super bike and family friendly!) all mashed up. Granted, I don't know what winter there feels like, but our trip in late October was pretty perfect. We flew from Frankfurt Main to Berlin-Tegel, and learned that it's way more efficient (even with a stroller) to take escalators - we had to take a total of 4 elevators to go up 5 floors thanks to the silly design of Fraport. Ugh, Fraport... Anyway, once in Berlin, we took the 128 bus to the U2 stop (there are no elevators or escalators - important if you have a lot of luggage), and it was a straight ride to the  Hotel i31 in the Mitte. It's a bit of a walk to central Mitte, but well connected by public transit and the price was right around 82 euros...

We just returned from a lovely 6 day holiday in Venice - I've written this for four days since we moved a lot more slowly with an infant. Though it seems there is never an "off-season" in Venice, September seemed incredibly crowded, especially the hot spots like San Marcos Square. Still, the weather was perfect nearly every day, allowing for lots of wandering through alleys, boat rides, and general relaxation. Here's what we did: Day 1: Arrived late to the  Residenza Valier , an apartment near the San Silvestro vaporetto stop. The next morning, I wandered to a Coop grocery store for some coffee and other provisions. I stopped by the  Pasticcieria Rizzardini  for a few mini pastries and cookies which went perfectly with coffee and well... everything else. We headed out to explore the  Rialto Bridge , get lost among the alleys and canals, and have a delicious pizza at  Rosa Rossa . We wandered by the  Rialto Mercato  and some of the touristy shops alo...

I'll start this post with a rant. I really hate Frankfurt Airport. Now, I've slept overnight at more airports than is normal - SFO, ORD, YYZ. So many, and I still remember the airport codes - this makes me somewhat of an expert. In Frankfurt, well, the putrid gray colors...the parking garages that are cold and endless... the smoking rooms you can smell from too far away... the lack of water fountains... the lack of helpful staff... I could go on. The absolute worst part though, is the process to reclaim your VAT. It's convoluted during normal working hours, and even more convoluted outside those times. Since neither Frankfurt's airport, nor inside signage, nor information desk, can be bothered to clearly explain how it works, here is your guide. After 4 failed attempts at off-hours VAT reclamation by 3 different family members.... we shall fail no more! DURING WORKING HOURS (7 am - 6 pm): Customs window is open. Find the window ("Zoll") in your terminal...

Three months later, we ventured outside Germany to explore southern Switzerland, fondly referred to by the towns there as the "Swiss Riviera". Though we stayed in Lausanne, renting a car allowed us to drive along Lake Geneva and visit Montreux and Vevey, passing through other towns too. We arrived by train via Basel and the ride could not have been more scenic. Green fields, sunflowers, mountains, lakes, hills of vineyards... and lots of sun. Upon arrival, we headed to our apartment, close to the city center. However, we didn't realize the massive hills made walking around a somewhat complicated adventure. I wish I'd learned early on that there are elevators to take you up and down the hills, making it a lot more fun to explore Lausanne on foot! Once we figured that out (after lugging ourselves straight up for about 1000 meters), we found an outpost of Holy Cow for a dinner of local burgers and fries, then dropped by the Coop grocery store for provisions for the...

Living in Germany, I've come to appreciate the farmers' market experience in an entirely different way from ones I've been to in California, Texas, and the DC metro area. When I've shopped at in the US, the markets only run from the spring to the fall, and the emphasis is on locally-grown goods. Sometimes, though you usually have to ask, products come from as far away as the other coast. Generally, though, they are from the state you're in. The prices are generally much higher than you'd pay at a grocery store, the logic being that you're paying the farmer, a much smaller scale producer, directly, and a more fair price for the food. The options available may be more exotic and rare, too - vegetables you wouldn't see at the grocery store, or have never heard of (ramps were new to me until visiting the Dupont Circle market in DC). When I moved to Mainz, Germany, a city by German standards (population: 200,000 - a far cry from the city of Washington, DC...