The Baloo 3 week European Adventure

[davewasbaloo]

It was Easter and our Anniversary. the Easter Bunny had found us, so we started the day with an Easter Egg hunt. THen I cooked up some wurst and eggs for breakfast and presented Sarah with a token anniversary gift - Eiffel Tower ear rings (sad, I know).

We then got in the car to head into Cochem, but the place was heaving. Couldn't get in any of the car parks, not even at the chair lift, so we drove on to the 10th-17th century castle Burg Elz. Which you guessed it, was under scaffolding. Lol. as compensation, they gave us some gold collector medals as well as free cookies for the kids.

Sadly there are not many photos as they are not allowed inside the main castle :-( We took the tour in German, and I tried to translate to the family. One of the really interesting points however, in medieval and renaissance Germany, it was not uncommon for the great hall or public places to have a wall freeze of a jester or fool. Under this, the speaker could freely speak their mind without retribution, and when someone then passed the symbol of a sun or a flower, they could not speak of what they heard in that room or area. Facinating.

The kids loved the medieval flushing toilets and the toys, Sarah loved the oldest renaissance bed in Germany, and I was taken by the weaponry and trophies. Lol. The castle was beautiful and very much worth while.

I had been to it in school, but I did not really appreciate it then sadly.

We had a light bite of Curry wurst, apple cake and black forest cake at the castle, the kids bought some medieval figure toys with their pocket money, and we made our way back when it started to rain.

Thankfully it was only brief. So when we returned to the wine kelter, we went into the back garden and I bbqed while the children played. Sarah procured a bottle of wine from the cellar while I cooked up some Windsor steaks (marinated pork steaks - delicious). We did the kids some bratwurst and rotwurst (which we enjoyed too) as well as having saurkraut, gerkins, and german potatoe salad. It was lovely.

As the evening set it, it cooled down, so I set a fire going in the fireplace/bbq. And we enjoyed the sun setting together in candle and firelight.

We then put the kids to bed and had a long soaking bath in the tub with some more wine. It was delightful and a very good day.

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[MichelinMan]

Dave, was language a problem at Europa - none of our family can speak German. At DLP there is a mix of French / English, is it the same at Europa?

 

[davewasbaloo]

Ok, now Trier is a wonderful city that I had heard much about over the years. It was a roman settlement with some of the best ruins and restorations outside of Italy, the capital for the Roman Emporer Constantine, the supposed resting place of Jesus Christ's robe, a see of the Holy Roman Empire, a strategic lynch pin for Napolean and then the Prussians, birthplace of Karl Marx, and a modern thriving University town. It was wonderful, exploring the different stratas of history (a UNESCO heritage site for good reason), where we then later headed on to Luxenbourg.

We started at the Roman Gate - Porta Negra, and contemplated tourist buses and the like as we were tired. But seeing how pedestrianised and wonderful the city was, we mustered the energy to walk all day again. And glad we did (I put on 6 lbs this vacation, but thanks to the walking, I am sure it could have been 20 ;-)

The Gate, the town square, the cathedrals and churches, Constantine's throne room, the civic palace, Marx's birthplace and fantastic ice cream in fresh made cones. It was wonderful in temps in the upper 70's, pushing 80. We then headed off for Luxembourg, in the upcoming album.

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[davewasbaloo]

Dave, was language a problem at Europa - none of our family can speak German. At DLP there is a mix of French / English, is it the same at Europa?

Hmmmmm, this is difficult for me to comment on as I have an A level and 1st year University level German. But my wife and kids do not speak any German and had a great time.

The check in staff at the hotel could speak English (they did for my wife's benefit). and in the table service restaurants, they had English menues for them. The shows and narration attractions are in German, but Sarah said they were so well done visually, she understood what was going on. And my kids adored every show they saw. Also, there are english maps, booklets and show guides.

Some of the exhibits like the queue for the Whale Watching Cruise and Gazprom were in german, french and english. And the counter service, the menues were in French and German. Every cast member had flags on their badges to show what languages they speak (I remember when DLP used to do this).

To be honest though, DLP have really reduced the amount of English used and Sarah felt Europa Park was great. The kids love it, and the best they can say is Danke.

In the park, I heard as much French as German spoken by the guests.

Phantasialand had more English than EP, but only just.

 

[davewasbaloo]

After visiting Trier, we were only about 10 miles from the border of Luxembourg, a very small country that is nestled between France, Germany and Belgium. We thought it would be great to have a look at the capital city (which we would have liked to explore more, but the kids fell asleep and we were exhausted).

We filled up with fuel here as it is the cheapest in Europe - 30% cheaper than the UK, France, Germany or Belgium. Also popular were the cheaper cigarettes and coffee (they all have reduced tax compared to the rest of Europe).

When we filled up, Sarah offered to go in to pay. The guy to her left spoke French, the one to the right, German, and the one in front Luxembourger. Sarah was thinking about how to tell her the number when the staff member said in English "I bet you are thinking about what language to speak" lol. You would never get someone multilingual working minimum wage in the UK or US.

We returned home, had a soaky bath and crashed out.

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[davewasbaloo]

Day 17 - By the Rhine

Well, I felt we had to go and explore the Rhine on our last full day. My sat nav only covers the UK, and as the cost for each added country = 1 DLP Dream pass, we took Sarah's sat nav to cover Europe. Sadly her memory capacity was not big enough to cover all the areas we went to. so we kept Hesse out of it. I thought Rudesheim am Rhine was in Westphalia - wrong Rudesheim.

But when trying to find the Rhine from there, we chanced upon a sign for a war cemetary. Not knowing what it could be (Franco Russian? Napoleanics? The two world wars?), I thought it worth the explore.

We ventured over a mile down a dirt track and happened on the WWII cemetary where 2300 boys and old men were burried, not given notice until 10 years after they were interred. Very sad considering they would have been the last line of defence.

We then followed the Rhine from Rudesheim (we did find it) through to Bacharach (where we stopped for lunch) and then on to Koblenz where we followed the Mosel back to our appartment (Koblenz, the corner of Germany where the Rhine and Mosel meet).

We enjoyed a few glasses of wine and games in the wine cellar and went to bed very late. Great last day on the Mosel (which despite being smaller and more demure than the Rhein, was our preference).

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[davewasbaloo]

And here comes Phantasialand, Day 18:

We were so tired the next morning and the weather, after being glorious for so long, was wet and cold. We packed up the car and had plans to head to Collogne to visit the Catherdral while enroute to Phantasialand. I had been to Collogne many times in my youth and knew it was best for modern shopping, but it was the cathedral that was of interest.

When we got their the visability was poor, the scaffolding was up, the kids were asleep and the parking was difficult, so after a drive by (and no photos), we decided to simply head to the Phantasialand and the Ling Bao chinese hotel, the one Jessica was really looking forward to.

I had not been to Phantasialand since the 1980's, a park I remember being fun, but light on the theming except the German and Chinese parts. However, they reinvented themselves over the years and really started to develop highly themed areas. I still was not sure if we would do the park (given the foul weather), but we opted to try their flagship hotel given the cost including breakfast was almost the same as a family room elsewhere that would not include breakfast. and boy, am I glad we did.

We stayed at one of the best themed hotels I have in my life (remember I am a theme *****) and had one of the finest meals of the trip, and certainly on par with a Napa Rose or Victoria and Albert experience.

We checked in swiftly and the rain had stopped, it even warmed up a little. We went up to our room and were in awe the whole way. everything was highly themed (not the token theming of WDW or DLP here). Disney tend to theme the architecture and public areas, but I always have found the rooms light on themeing. That certainly was not the case here.

We unloaded our stuff and decided to explore. Given we were staying in the flag ship hotel, we decided to explore the moderate african hotel down the road, the Matamba hotel. Now, I have to say, it was almost as good as Animal Kingdom Lodge - minus the animals. It was awesome, the bathrooms looked like clean African bathrooms using oil drums for sinks and corregated metal for the stalls. The fire pit, the art work, the music, the african cast, it was all on point. Now this hotel does not have a pool (it is a moderate), but it did have a fire pit, and extensive adventure playground, a killer view of the beautiful B&M Black Mamba coaster and an exclusive entrance to the park! What a great moderate hotel.

We then explored our hotel and fell even more in love. The gardens were exquisite, rivaling the Japanese tea garden in San Francisco (though chinese in this case) and others too. The coi ponds were well stocked with mature fish, the music and lighting, including burning torches were fabulous, and it blended in with the chinese area where there was an exclusive hotel entrance.

The kids area was highly themed, as were the two bars and two restaurants. The indoor/outdoor heated pool was nice (not the most amazing, but nice, but indoors had a giant dragon who "breathed water" every 15 minutes. There was an adult only clothing optional steam room. And a Madala spa as well. Lovely.

We ran back up to the room to get changed and went for a swim. It was superb. When we returned to our room after showering (with asian herb relaxing shower gel), there were two free souvenir t shirts on the children's junk themed bunk beds!!!! Disney would never do that. They are the kind you can colour in, and the front desk had the pens if we wanted to do that for the evening (we decided to save that for a home activity).

We got changed into some nice clothes - Jess wore her silk chinese shift dress, Mikey his scottish dress attire from last year's vacation, me in my western shirt and mama in a dress and sweater.

We went down to the Lu Chi restaurant, a locally reknowned place for the high quality food, service, and singing waiters and waitresses. We had a blast and a delicious meal. The entertainment was great too - the waitress did 1950's lounge numbers like Sway and that ilk, the fantastically fun Thai waiter did rock n roll numbers with audience participation (I did not photo, but I did video). It was brilliant. We then went off to the room, and having had such an amazing evening, we discussed whether we would go into the park the next day or not (we agreed to see how we felt the next morning and see what the weather was doing.

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[jothp]

Do it JothP

We will one day. My youngest is only just 3 so I will wait until she is a bit bigger so she will be able to enjoy more of the rides. She is definately a thrill seeker in the making!

 

[davewasbaloo]

After the amazing night, we decided as long as it was not pouring down, we would go into the park.

When we awoke, the sky was a little grey, but we decided to chance it. I am so glad we did.

The breakfast spread was amasing, the kids fell in love with the dragons, and we really enjoyed our day in the park (details in the photo commentary). the highlights were the internationally award winning magic show (worth the price of admission itself), the very best mine train coaster I have experienced, the best mad house, some very solid dark rides, and lots of entertainment everywhere, as well as good and affordable food.

At the end of the day there was a terrific show that brings all the Dragons and entertainers together for a show down (beating most of what Disney has been putting out recently in the US and Europe). It was really great, followed by a good Mexican taking advantage of the extended hours announced that afternoon. There are plenty of amazing thrills for those that seek them, but with only one day, we concentrated on what we could do as a family

We then headed off to Brussels to spend a free night (thanks to points) in the Holiday Inn. They upgraded us to a full suite with a kitchen! Sweet.

We really had a great day, but sadly the holiday would come to a close 48 hours later.

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[davewasbaloo]

We will one day. My youngest is only just 3 so I will wait until she is a bit bigger so she will be able to enjoy more of the rides. She is definately a thrill seeker in the making!

Much to look forward to then. I would say it would be even better when the children are over 1m20, but my daughter is 1m18 and still loved it. I definately would wait until they are over 1m though.

 

[tennisfan]

Just caught up on the last couple of installments. A belated Happy anniversary to you & Sarah.

The photos have been great. I look forward to the rest (I love Brugges)

 

[davewasbaloo]

Thanks Nikki, it was fab, nearly to Brugges.

Day 20 – Brussels and Gent or rather, the inspiration for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and Epcot Center?

To save some money, we decided to have some apple sauce and cookies in the room and get a bigger breakfast out and about. If we checked out before 9, the parking would be free. So we decided to go to the Expo park and park for free there too (knowing we could take a bus, tram or train into the centre again if we so wished). Although the Grand Place and Manekin Pis are fun and all, the kids had seen a lot of architecture, and overall Gent is prettier, so we opted to tour the Expo sites from 1956 (another hobby interest - I cannot wait to go to Milan for 2015)

It was here we started with the most popular site in Brussels, the Automium, centre piece of the 1956 world's fair, and it was a showcase for the future. Now it is a showcase for the history of the Expo. At the time, it had the fastest elevator in the world. The legacy of the fair lives on in this city. A big part of me wishes London were hosting the Expo rather than the Olympics. A view from the top is normally fantastic, but the overcast day impacted, still, impressive though. There was a rather awesome restaurant above us, full of googie touches, but sadly it was too early for it.

From the top we could see where the amusement park was during the 56 Expo, is now a model village of Europe. A lovely reminder of some of our travels. And in the centre ball, we decided to stop for coffee and belgian waffles, mmmmmm.

Then we viewed the kids area designed for overnight science field trips. It was very kitsch, and I kept my eyes open for Austin Powers and Dr evil to pop out. Groovy Baby.

The escalator down was fast and freaked us out a little. I could not get back up to Jessica despite trying to run up. Some Russian boys helped Sarah thankfully.

The exhibits were great. They were about how Europe had rebuilt after the war, how technology played a role at home and other things too. It was fascinating. The Expo, in the days of expensive travel, still had more visitors than all the Disney parks put together in one year (that wouldn't happen today). 3/4 of a million guests were there one day.

As we exited, there was a Leonidas Belgian Chocolatier with some cool chocolate - Mickey Mouse, the Automium and Manekin Pis all made out of chocolate.

Deciding what to do next, we agreed to explore the rest of the Expo sites and then move on to Gent. We stopped next at the American Pavilion, now a theatre and an HQ for some media businesses. The mural pays tribute to combining the American and Belgian culture (Belgium is renowned for its cartoons like TinTin).

Then we explored the Asian pavilions - China and Japan. I wonder where they got the ideas for Epcot, there were a lot of similarities. When Epcot Centre opened they said it would be a permanent World’s Fair. I wonder if they visited Brussels as a part of their research? There was a muslim wedding going on, or rather the photo shoot. Everyone looked great! The China Pavilion was stunning (now an Asian Art museum), what a great place for wedding pictures.

And with that we said Dag/Adeau to Brussels and went on to Gent.

After checking in at the Express by Holiday Inn (a free room and they gave us four free drinks). We took the bus and tram into the old town.

Touristically, we opted to have dinner in the Kornmarkt. enjoying a variety of dark and cherry beers with some great belgian favs. As we ate our meal, a huge storm rolled in, with heavy wind, rain, hail, thunder and lightning. We were able to watch from the comfort of under an awning. It was pretty awesome. The square became deserted, and after the sun came back out, so did the street performers and the people.

Mama opted for ribs (and we had a family portion of double fried belgian chips with mayonaise). I had the entrecote steak and salad, and the kids had curry coated chicken. Washed down with dark beers and cherry beers (Coke for the kids, though they loved sampling the different beers and wines).

Gent is a lovely town, and less overrun by tourists than other locations. That night the kids said they did not want to go home, they wanted us to travel together forever. I agreed.

Looking around, I fell in love with one building adorned with dancing statues atop. I thought that this is why Disneyland Paris had to be so amazing in its design, it was competing with fantasy in the real world! We said goodbye to the city and headed for our tram back to the hotel. Exhausted but happy. When we returned, we had our free night cap and went to bed. The next day would be Brugges and the voyage home.

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[davewasbaloo]

Day 21 - Our last day in Europe - Brugges and the trip home to the UK

We decided to go into Brugges and explore th Venice of the north. We met one of the most horrid people of the trip in a toilet. The kids had to go and we did not have huge amounts of change. I paid just to take Mikey in and they gave Sarah a hard time for us stealing. So Sarah was pressurised into paying for the two girls even though it was a trip for Jessica (most toilets we encountered didn't charge for kids). I am sorry, but I got angry and used the toilet anyway, even though I didn't really need to. She came into the gents and screamed at me for stealling. what a downer.

Anyway, I told Sarah to ignore her and jut focus on the fun. We explored the beautiful city.

We took a canal cruise, which was delightful in dutch and english. We really enjoyed it and it was good value.

We stopped into a chocolateer for some treats and then visited the cathedral to see the Lady Madonna and Child Christ, the only Michleangelo to be commissioned and installed outside of Italy in his lifetime. It was beautiful, a was the choir music as we explored.

We left Brugges and headed back to Calais to catch the train home. We were able to get on a train hour earlier than booked, and the new check in procedures were a dream - check in, passports and then customs. You can then go to the terminal, or if the timing is right, you can go straight to the train, which we did. The kids slept from Brugges, through France and Mikey awoke as the train rolled into England, Jessica awoke at Dartford near London. She did not believe we were in England until she heard everyone peaking English when we made a comfort stop. Lol.

We got in the early evening, ordered pizza and got a fairly early night. The holiday was over, but hopefully the memories will last forever.

Nearly a week later, and I am getting itchy feet to plan the next adventure.
We decided to go into Brugges and explore th Venice of the north. We met one of the most horrid people of the trip in a toilet. The kids had to go and we did not have huge amounts of change. I paid just to take Mikey in and they gave Sarah a hard time for us stealing. So Sarah was pressurised into paying for the two girls even though it was a trip for Jessica (most toilets we encountered didn't charge for kids). I am sorry, but I got angry and used the toilet anyway, even though I didn't really need to. She came into the gents and screamed at me for stealling. what a downer.

Anyway, I told Sarah to ignore her and jut focus on the fun. We explored the beautiful city.

We took a canal cruise, which was delightful in dutch and english. We really enjoyed it and it was good value.

We stopped into a chocolateer for some treats and then visited the cathedral to see the Lady Madonna and Child Christ, the only Michleangelo to be commissioned and installed outside of Italy in his lifetime. It was beautiful, a was the choir music as we explored.

We left Brugges and headed back to Calais to catch the train home. We were able to get on a train hour earlier than booked, and the new check in procedures were a dream - check in, passports and then customs. You can then go to the terminal, or if the timing is right, you can go straight to the train, which we did. The kids slept from Brugges, through France and Mikey awoke as the train rolled into England, Jessica awoke at Dartford near London. She did not believe we were in England until she heard everyone peaking English when we made a comfort stop. Lol.

We got in the early evening, ordered pizza and got a fairly early night. The holiday was over, but hopefully the memories will last forever.

Nearly a week later, and I am getting itchy feet to plan the next adventure.

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[julie 'o']

Really enjoyed your trip report, Europa park looks fantastic.
I loved the look of the Pirate ride, think the choice of the 3 bridges is great. The different countries look very well themed. Your reports are so informative I feel like i've been on the trip with you.
We have just returned form Port Aventura which was ok, but as Im not a coaster fan I much preferred Disney(as did the rest of the family). Better theming and better atmosphere.
Once again thanks for your great trip report hopefully we'll get to Europa next year

 

[davewasbaloo]

Thanks Julie, glad you enjoyed. I really loved Port Aventura, but agreed, I have not been back since the kids were born as it really is more of a thrill ride park, and Sesame Street Avenue does not seem to redress the balance IMHO.

I felt EP was much better for the whole family than Port Aventura, though some of PA's theming used to be really cool (though last time we were there was 1999 and it was owned by Universal).

The dark rides and such are not the quality of Disney, but I felt the maintenance, gardens, shows, and other intangibles more than made up for it. I would love you hear your thoughts.

 

[stargatebarbie]

loved this report nice to see so many castles other than the pink one that we usually see you must be a super organiser (thinking baloo,s travel agent) and you must be very proud of your kids they did so well doing all those things (always with big smiles) im sure they learned so much more than they ever would of in a classroom thanks for sharing

 

[davewasbaloo]

Lol, thanks. I have tried to raise the kids used to travelling (the kids only missed 2 days of schools, but agreed, they have learnt many things). As for the organisation, I think it comes from working and living on the road for 15 years, lol.

 

[markpsych]

Then we decided to sit in one of my favorite seats in the world, hidden on a dock in Frontierland.

Dave, I think we share the same favorite seat

Has the bench been put back though? When I went in December there was a solitary seat there

 

[3timesmom]

Awesome trip report !!! I have a question for you: do you know how far ( by car) is the Europa Park from Paris? .Thanks for your time... Tania.

 

[Mum to Belle]

I've just read the first week and looked at the photos and I'm exhausted!!! How did you keep going for another 2 weeks...???!!

I need a rest before I finish, but finish I will! Some great photos there, thank you for sharing!!