Berlin with kids

We have stayed in Berlin for about 4 weeks, we were staying at the Westin Grand Berlin in downtown, to be exact in Friedrichstraße street.

This is considered to be a very busy area and mainly touristic as it is almost 10 to 15 minutes walk away from all the touristic attractions in Berlin including museums and sights. It is also a shopping mecca as it has almost all the eurpean brands around the streets as well as several major shopping malls and centers.


As a traveling mom, the first thing I try to locate as soon as I get to a new place is a major supermarket where I can get all the baby essentials from diapers and wipes to food and snacks. Luckily, only 7 minutes walk from the hotel there was a major supermarket (my favorite in Germany) Rossmann, there you can find different baby food brands, my favorite was Hipp; they had it in all forms so you can easily pick what suits you; I used to get the jars so it would be easy to feed my baby directly from it when we are out, and there was also the ones you can heat in the microwave and those ones I used when we were staying in the hotel. There is also all sorts of juices, smoothies, yoghurt or the fruit porridge. They have a wide range to select from unlike the other markets.

They also have this brand "baby dream" which I tried in shampoo and body wash for babies, I loved it. They have all their products as well; wipes, diapers and food.

You can also find all the essentials for your baby there, if you need anything whatsoever for your baby; it will be there.

So after settling down and unpacking, we started our day trips in the city to discover it. One thing I really loved there was the ability to walk easily to almost everywhere I wanted to, thanks to our location of course and the planning of the city.

For kids over 3 years old (which wasn't our case unfortunately)I'd recommend going to the Lego land, it was only 10 minutes away from our hotel, next to the Sony center, it looked pretty nice but Elly is too young to enjoy it unfortunately.

There is also for kids above 3, the children museum. These are places where kids can have fun with their families, as mentioned earlier I couldn't try them as my baby won't be able to enjoy them still.

Berlin is full of huge parks, we had a big one only 10 minutes walk from the hotel, we have been there a couple of times where she had the chance to let some energy out :)

One thing that turned out to be interesting for our little baby was unexpectedly the "Memorial for the murder of the european jews" she went around exploring as if it was a big maze ....

One thing I didn't come across or try though heard a lot about was the family cafes where you as a parent can enjoy some coffee or tea while your little ones have fun at the same time, didn't see any of those though they are supposed to be everywhere.

At the Gallery lafayette on the third floor for kids there is a small play area where you can take your kids after some shopping ;)

My favorite place was the museum island, where there are five museums, you can also find the Berlin major cathedral known as Berlin Dome at the beginning of the island, there is a park and a fountain where you can enjoy some sun or a breezy weather and let your kids have some fun running and playing around.

For toys there are some small stores and other major ones, the major 2 stores that we really loved were:-
"Toys R us" at the mall of Berlin, though the collection wasn't overwhelming
"Play mobil" at the mall of Berlin

For high end clothes:-
Gallery Lafayette
KaDeWe
For stylish and good quality clothes:
Zara
For every day use clothes:
H&M
C&A

One thing you have to consider is the law for taking kids in a taxi or car, kids have to be seated in their own car seat, if your child is above 3 years old you won't have a problem as all the taxis have car seats for them but if you kid is as mine less than 3 years old, you will have to use your own car seat, sometimes they will let you use the bigger seat, but usually they will give you a hard time.


Hope the above info could help make a smooth start for first timers in Berlin with kids, traveling with kids doesn't have to be complicated :)






  

A journey around Europe

So we just moved  to Berlin and we are supposed to be staying here till the end of July then we will be moving to Stuttgart for another month, we are planning to do a lot of traveling during our stay here, so stay tuned ;)

We started our journey by visiting Amsterdam  before actually arriving here. Amsterdam actually exceeded our expectations in so many ways, we thought we would be bored and won't have much to do with our little angel there but surprisingly we spent 4 days there and felt like we needed another 2 days at least, the city though small but it has a lot to offer for those who want to see....

We arrived at Amsterdam around noon on Saturday June 27th, just as we stepped out of the airport we were so happy to enjoy some sun light, it was so bright in every way. We took a taxi to the hotel which was at the city center, close to everything.

And, as we travel with our little angel, we care a lot about how the city is in terms of kids friendliness. Here, in Amsterdam, as soon as we stepped out of the plane it was so obvious how much people here love kids, at the airport there was a fast lane at the passport control for families with babies (not so much common as you might think). As we went to get our luggage, we needed to ask one of the KLM crew about something and she (after answering) asked us to wait for a minute, she actually went to her office to bring a small teddy to our baby....

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, there was another teddy and a note waiting for our little baby, and whenever we wanted to ask the concierge about anything, he would give her some candies :)

This spirit affected us as much as our baby, she was so happy in Amsterdam knowing that actually people will play with her and give her some nice stuff, and this actually continued through out our stay here.

So excited, we left the hotel in one hour and went around discovering the city and the areas around us, it is so amazing how you can walk around the city and never get tired, this is one of the most walkable cities I have visited.

The first thing that overwhelmed us was the old beautiful buildings, built wall to wall and very well maintained, you can spend your morning doing nothing but walking around and watching those amazing buildings overlooking the different scattered canals of Amsterdam.

Walking along we came across the Dam square (it's where the Dam in Amsterdam comes from), this is the royal palace in Amsterdam, it is an old palace that looks fairly nice, it isn't overwhelming though compared to other palaces through out Europe, but it is worth checking out while you are there.

One thing is worth checking while you are there is the small cafes scattered around the square, you can have some coffee and watch the world pass by, or better get yourself inside one of those cheese stores in the area and try some of the world's most delicious cheese ever.

We continued walking passing the amazing Madame Tussaud museum and the long line of people waiting to enter, we decided not to go in as we have been to other Madam Tussaud in different places around the world. We Kept on going till we came across hotel D'Europe, this is a major landmark in Amsterdam, the owner of this hotel is the owner of Heineken Beer, the biggest and most famous beer company in Amsterdam and around the world. If you are not staying at the hotel, you can enjoy a fantastic dinner at their restaurant overlooking the canal and enjoying an amazing view.

Right before getting to the hotel, you will pass across the place where you can get into a boat for a ride around Amsterdam, it was fairly nice and cheap, a fast way to take a look around the city, the boats leave every 30 minutes so you can easily catch one.

On our second day there we decided to go to Nemo museum with two of our friends and their little girl, it is a kids' museum and by all means a must do if you are there with kids.

The museum has 3 floors, first floor is for basic scientific activities like soap bubbles and how sound travels, mechanical experiments and more.
The second level is for a more scientific experiments, they actually have a factory operating system model where kids can imagine themselves operating a factory.....
There is also this part about space and how to draw 3D and architectural drawings.
The third floor is designed for teen agers, music and the sexual education...

Give it about 3 to 4 hours of your day, you can then have lunch at Vapiano's just across the bridge from the museum.

We then went to rent a private boat and went strolling across the canals for 3 hours. It was so relaxing and our little angel was asleep so we had some quite time as adults lol.

We finished our day around 10 pm, but since Amsterdam is a city that never sleeps; as per the hotel concierge: as long as you are out in the streets till 3 am then you are ok but not later !!!! anyways, we went for a quick dinner, we picked an Argentinian restaurant overlooking one of the closest canals to us: The grasshopper. It turned out to be the best dinner we had in Amsterdam, then we took a walk down through the red light district.

At the red light district, no photos are allowed so I won't be posting any. It was a new experience I'd say, worth seeing ....

We really felt the city was so safe, even though drugs are permitted legally there and you will see young people smoking hash in the streets in day light but still, may be it's because they are permitted in very small portions I don't know.

There are two main museums there, Van Gough museum and the Reichstag museum, both are art museums and you should at least plan to visit one of them. Unfortunately, we planned to go to the Reichstag  at the first day but we got lost and skipped it. We still regret it till now but may be that would an enough reason to go back one day :)

On the third day we decided to rent a car and drive to Brussels, it was about 2:30 hours drive, pretty much straight forward. We arrived there around 5 pm so we spent the whole afternoon and evening and got back to Amsterdam around 10 pm, time for dinner again :)

On our last day here, we decided to walk around and have tons of photos, went souvenir shopping. P.S. don't miss buying the small handmade houses, they are replicates of real houses, if you compare them to the streets you will find that you bought a replica of an existing house. They look amazing.

Note:-

If you are a fan of the Delft art, or if you have time, you should go visit the Royal Delft experience.
You will get to experience this beautiful art.They have some amazing antiques and souvenirs in their street level shop, but for an extended experience you can go to the showroom and you might even get to paint one piece yourself.

Overall, Amsterdam was above our expectations and we really enjoyed every bit of it.