Travel

Our trip to the Europa Park + our stay at the Colosseo Hotel…

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At the end of May we took a trip to the Europa Park in Rust with our girls and while Helena was tagging along just fine, Emilia had the perfect age. We have been a huge group of people cause my parents joined us as well as my husbands parents and his sister with her boyfriend. Everyone loved it and we had a total blast. 

The Parc

It is the biggest amusement parc in Germany and I can really tell why. The parc is divided in countries. There is Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Russia, Ireland and so many more. The shops, restaurants and also the rides are down to every detail like it would be in said country. The love for detail is unmatched in anything I have ever seen (except for Disneyland). It is beyond clean. You won´t even find a chewing gum on the ground.

We spent the main part of our day in Ireland – the kids section. There are plenty of rides for smaller kids to go on alone or to ride with parents or an older sibling as well as lots of diaper changing rooms and kids restaurants plus a huge playground and resting area.

But what I really liked and wasn´t aware of is that every other country has 2 to 4 rides for smaller kids as well as the really really fast and dangerous ones. Other things for small kids are all the different shows you can watch. There are some that will only take 15 to 20 minutes which should be fine to keep them entertained. Also there is a huge parade everyday with lots of different characters and the mouse of the Park – Ed.

 

 

 

The Hotel

We stayed at the Colosseo Hotel, one of the Europa Park theme hotels. It really gives you a touch of Italy with the rooms and all the interior decor also if you step outside there is a huge piece of the actual Colosseum of Rome rebuilt into the backyard of the hotel.

If you can I would highly suggest to stay at a theme parc hotel. It makes the experience whole and there are so many merits to it. You have early parc access as well as characters at the breakfast. There are kids pools and wellness and you have a separate entrance to your parc from your hotel.

I just love how kid friendly everything is. People are nice to your kids, you don´t have to apologize for them running around and/or spilling food.

We had a normal room but definitely are going to take two rooms with a connecting door the next time we go cause it is hard to do anything after the kids are asleep. Our room was very italian. We had a huge Leonardo painting over our bed and the curtains had little Cesar heads on them. The attention of details is just so amazing. 

 

The Food

If you are “trapped” in a parc all day you have to eat there. Even if you take some stuff with you there is no way to stash this much to last for days without a cooling opportunity. 

The parc itself as well as the hotels have a lot to offer in terms of food.

Food in the parcs 

There are plenty of restaurants you can choose from, always with a great palette of kids menus. There are many booths where you can get waffles, ice cream, coffee and sweets as well as slushies or fruit. 

You do not have to have dinner at the hotels but the parc closes at 6 at night (or at least the rides do) so this might be a little stressful to manage.

We had lunch on all three days at the restaurant in Ireland. It had healthy options like salad and chicken as well as burger and fries and super pretty cakes. You can also just have a quick coffee or refreshing drink. The choice is yours. The possibilities are endless. Every country has a bunch of their own restaurants, of course always matching.

Food at the hotels

Not all hotels have the same type of restaurant. For example at the first night we had dinner at our restaurant but you weren´t able to reserve a table upfront so the managed to squeeze us in but it might not always be possible with a group of ten people.

There are several hotels who have their own all-you-can-eat restaurant (like the Bell Rock Hotel – we had dinner there the first time we visited and it was so good I will never forget it) as well as a fine dining option, but to be honest both aren´t a great fit for small children/babies. 

If you are a hotel guest you can have dinner in any other hotel as well, you just need to reserver upfront if that is possible, but of course prices are higher than in the parc itself. We had dinner at the Castillo Alcazar Hotel on the second evening and it was beyond delicous. If you go definitely try the Crema Catalana.

 

 

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Travel

Lake Constance Family Vacation – What to do with a Toddler….

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The month of May has been a very busy one. We squeezed in 2 vacations and a ton of day trips cause my husband was on paternity leave for 4 weeks and you never know when you will get this much time off again plus when the weather will be this gorgeous to things outside every single day.

As you may have seen we have spent a few days at Lake Constance (Bodensee) at the beginning of May and I wanted to recap our trip plus share what to do with little ones. 

We stayed at Constance the biggest city on Lake Constance (like the name already gives away). Since we had a ———– at Lake Garda we opted for one again cause it was just super easy with the little ones and we did not get dissapointed. We stayed at Appartmens Constance and it was a very well equipped aparment big enough to stay in for four days. You can check it out here.

What to do at Lake Constance

Visit the Stilt Houses in Uhldingen

We went there on our first day to break up the drive in two halfs so it wouldn´t be too much for the girls. The Stilt Houses are super cool. They are out on the water which gives you a great view onto the lake plus you can follow a guided tour or do some exploring on your own. Each house has new things to see inside like a family home, a carpentry and so on. It might not seems for small children at first but Emilia really liked it and had a lot of fun so I would suggest to just try it. It is 12 Euro for grown-ups and free for children under 5.

You can enter easily with a stroller or a wheelchair. It is open every day of the week. The city of Uhldingen is also very picturesque with a small harbor, a few restaurants (you have to stop and eat fish at some point cause it is very popular and super fresh) and overall such a Disneyland Main Street feel to it. There is also a huge playground as well as a mini golf course.

 

Visit the Rhine Falls in Switzerland

The water falls are across the border in Switzerland. Is is a super quick drive from Constance across the border to Switzerland (about 10 minutes) and then there may be 45 minutes left to get to the Rhine Falls. 

A ticket for the highway costs 40 Euro a months no matter if you want to go for only one day or more often so I would suggest to take the secondary road around. Also no matter what you want to buy in Switzerland EVERYTHING costs a lot more than in other countries here (I´d say at least double).

You can buy a ticket to the viewing platform or a ticket to a boat ride as close to the Rhine Falls as possible. We just got the ticket for the viewing platform and it was totally worth it. It wasn´t too crowded and we could take all the pictures we wanted. You can reach the platform with a stroller as well as with a wheechair cause you go down by an elevator. There is fine dining in small castle as well as snacks in the fast food restaurant. For children there is a great playground as well as a miniature world (we didn´t go in cause it was 23 Euro per person). 

Just strolling around the Falls is pretty as well. We spent about 5 hours here which we have never thought would be possible but it was a great way to spend the day and Emilia had a blast from the beginning to the end.

Visit the Flower Island of Mainau

Anyone ever seen an island full of flowers with a little castle in the middle ? This is Mainau. It is very easy to get to if you are coming from Constance – you can walk over a small bridge – takes about 5 minutes and you are at the main entrance. If you are coming from Meersburg (which is on the opposite side of Lake Constance) you can take the ferry. The entrance fee is 25,50 Euro per person. There are several restaurants. One for snacks, one for fine dining, one on top of the hill in the castle and one right outside the castle. So there should be something for everyone. 

There are flower themes around the whole island. Tulips in April and May and then Peonies for June and July and so on and so on.

 

Visit the old City of Meersburg with its Castle

I have never seen such a cute, clean and colorful old city. There are flowers everywhere and so many pretty half-timbered houses. Meersburg itself has an old castle we wanted to visit but there is no chance to get in there with a stroller (or wheelchair). It is an old castle and has many stairs and narrow aisles. The tour takes about 45 minutes so this would have been to much too carry our little girl the whole time. Maybe next time. 

Also the city of Meersburg comes closest to all of the cities from Lake Garda with its little promenades on the water and all of the little cafés and shops. It has a cute harbour to sit and look out on the lake. 

Visit the Monkey City of Salem

This was a suggestion from friends of ours but we just didn´t have any time left to do this. There are lots of things to do at Lake Constance so we could have easily spent two more days here. 

There is a little zoo in the city of Salem where monkeys are everywhere and they run around free. 

 

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Regensburg

Regensburg Guide – Lunch at the Brauhaus, Thurn & Taxis Castle, Basilika, Church St. Emmeram and the BEST Carrot Cake…

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It is getting royal in this post with lots of majestic buildings and even better food. We have explored the grounds of the castle Thurn & Taxis which is still owned and operated by the royal family. They also still life there. Gloria von Thurn and Taxis is the head of the family and a very colorful person.

The castle grounds are huge with lots of beautiful gardens but most of it isn´t open to the public. 

 

Yearly dates of festivities at the castle:

Musical and Open Air Festival with international artist (Schlossfestspiele) – July

Christmas Market – December

 

Brauhaus 

This really is a family favorite. We have been going there for years mostly around Christmas cause the decoration is really pretty then. But you visit at any time of the year and even sit ouside in the Summer months. A classic roast is a dish you can never go wrong with but anything BBQ is also always a hit. 

 

Thurn & Taxis Castle

The castle is super beautiful inside. So so pretty. I love taking tours of castles and I just can´t believe that real people have lived there hundreds of years ago. It was not allowed to take pictures inside the castle so I only have outside shots but it is definitely worth to take a tour. It takes 1 1/2 hours and you can really see so much. If you speak another language than German you can get an audio guide and listen to it. 

If you are visiting in April or the beginning of May you will see the magnolia trees in front of the castle in full bloom. A real highlight itself.

This is the site you can learn more about the tours and the museum. You can book it online or buy a ticket right at the museum shop.

 

Basilika / Church St. Emmeram 

Church St. Emmeram is the family owned little cathedral. It is mostly open and you can also go inside (no entrance fee) and take a look around but only if there isn´t a mass at the moment. 

Schlosscafé

I have had the BEST carrot cake ever in this cute little café. This might be the smallest coffee shop I have ever visited. There are lots of plants hanging from the ceiling and the chairs are the most colorful ever. If you are visiting with small children you should be aware that there won´t be any space to take your stroller inside but you can park it at the back plus everything is made of glass so you can look outside. On warm summer days you can also eat outside. Breakfast is also available. 

 

Other Regensburg Guides:

Regensburg Brunch and Breakfast Spots

Stadtamhof, Old Town Bridge, Salzstadl and Wurstkuchl

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Regensburg

Regensburg Guide – Stadtamhof, Old Town Bridge, Salzstadl and Wurstkuchl…

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Old Map from Regensburg from hundreds of years ago with the city wall still intact

views left and right from the bridge

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Welcome to another guide to our beloved city. I am breaking it down into a bunch cause I want it as detailed as possible for you which requires lots of text and photos. 

If you are up for breakfast already you can read all about it in my Regensburg Brunch and Breakfast Guide.

Stadtamhof

We have started our way on the outer part of the city centre, a small part of the city called Stadtamhof. The main street of Stadtamhof offers lots of restaurants and cafés as well as a rainbow row of buildings. You can enter through a old arch made of thick stone and immediately see all of the colorful buildings. Over the cobblestone streets you can walk right towards the Old Town Bridge. In the Summer month Stadtamhof is very crowded and lots of people wait on line to eat in the small authentic restaurants so I would recommend go there early or off-season cause this is not pleasant at all. 

 

Old Town Bridge

Walking onto the old town bridge brings you one step closer to the city centre. It has been there since the 12th century and connects Stadtamhof with the old part of the city. It was the only connection into the city for a long time but since there is no city wall anymore you can get to the old town from various sides. There is a tale that the builders of the big cathedral and the old town bridge had a competition going on about who finishes first which also involved the devil. Really interesting to read.

 

Wurstkuchl

This is the world´s oldest restaurant which sells sausages like this. You can sit outside right by the river Danube and enjoy a pair of bratwurst with sauerkraut and mustard and have an ice cold beer with it. Very delicious and typical for our city. But to be honest it can get very crowded here and you probably won´t find many locals cause it is expensive compared to other places. The sausages taste really really good and the view is amazing but it comes with a price. 

 

Salzstadl 

Right at the end of the bridge and besides the Wurstkuchl is the Regensburger Salzstadl and as the name already tells was the in 1616 built Salzstadl´s use mainly to store salt. It is a beautiful building which´s entrance is right under a big arch. I love the striped shutters and the overall look of the building. You can see it from afar and it is such a landmark of the city.

Nowadays you can visit the building and learn more about the history and it can also be rented for weddings and other festivites which wasn´t always the case. Sitting right by the lake has its perks but also can go horribly wrong. The Salzstadl has been flooded so many times I am sure people have lost count already. The inside is below river height so when the river rises from rain it doen´t even take long.

 

All of these sights are free to visit (you just pay for the food at the Wurstkuchl, if you want to try it) which is important too when you are out exploring a new city. It can become a lot of fees quickly at many other places but in my opinion Regensburg is a great place to see a lot of things and pay less. 

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