Wednesday 6 November 2013

Berlin - Our first family city break

Ram and I took a lot of city breaks in our pre-children years. We took them very seriously - a packed itinerary every day and plenty of walking. Although we have still travelled since having the children, we've generally kept it safe with more traditional family friendly holidays.

Since Harry started school we've really noticed how much the prices for family holidays increase during the school holidays. Keen to find a reasonably priced holiday destination for half-term, we decided to try something new and investigate some of the cheap EasyJet destinations. We chose Berlin for several reasons - research suggested that it was a good family destination, Ram and I visited some years ago and loved it, and having spent some time in Germany as a student I have a certain affection for the country.

A family city break in Berlin

I won't pretend it was the easiest holiday that we've ever taken, but overall we had a brilliant time and it was a huge success. Both children were very interested in their new surroundings, and in particular Harry was a complete delight with his eagerness to learn about the city. Not to mention the flight there was a breeze after our previous long-haul flights.

We discovered some fantastic places to visit with small children, so many that I will be putting together some more posts over the next couple of weeks.

A family city break in Berlin

I also tried to make a big effort to make the most of the new opportunities that come with being in a foreign country. One of Harry's highlights was definitely his first ride in a tram, a mode of transport that has long fascinated him! He was also very interested to hear people speak German and to learn a few words himself. He wasn't keen to try a sausage from the street sausage vendors though!

A family city break in Berlin

Even sleeping in one hotel room together worked out very well. For the first time on a family holiday, we tucked both children up in bed together, said goodnight, turned out the lights and they went straight off to sleep - definitely an improvement on previous bed sharing experiences!

A family city break in Berlin

A city break abroad with two young children was quite an undertaking, and I'll shortly be putting together a post with a few tips that we found to make it all easier. I'll also be writing about some of our favourite places for families in Berlin.

5 comments:

  1. Ohh I love Berlin - and wouldn't have thought of going there with H either… you've got me thinking now!

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    1. There is absolutely loads for little ones to do there and the public transport is much easier to negotiate than the London Underground! I'll be writing lots more about our trip over the next couple of weeks.

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  2. Sounds like you had a lovely time :)

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  3. I'm a Berlin local. My two little boys (well not so little anymore) are 6 and 5. What we do at the moment is trying to find the highest spot in the city. This is what we have discovered so far:
    Funkturm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funkturm_Berlin
    TV-Tower: http://www.tv-turm.de/en/index.php
    Highrise at Potsdamer Platz: http://panoramapunkt.rtrk.de/?scid=55523&kw=9062386&pub_cr_id=24003705683

    our favourite spot was the Victory-Column, they loved counting the stairs and loved making it the way up on their own feets...: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Victory_Column

    Have fun!

    Bernhard
    www.steubentoursberlin.com

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    1. Thank you for the tips, I'm going to be writing a general post with places for children in Berlin so I will check those out!

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