Looking for Child Friendly Locations

were r u at in Germany? I'm in Mannheim, can help I know if I know were u r..so contact me and let me know. Anyways hope u r enjoying Europe. by the way welcome,
____@____.com

take care K.

Hi L.!

My family & I have been stationed here in Germany for the past year & 1/2, too. We are at Geilenkirchen. We have not done as much traveling as most people, either. Don't feel bad. It is harder with smaller children. I have 2 girls (11&7) & 2 boys (5&4). We have just recently started doing more through our homeschool co-op. Look into whether there is a homeschool group near you. You don't have to be homeschooling to get in with them, either. Without the ladies who have been here for a while, I would not know what was out there. They took us to bike trailing wilderness place that had a museum in the middle of the park full of the biggest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world! I was in awe.
I have been looking more online for things to do while my Mom comes to visit in June.
We have had a few scary moments of interesting travel with the boys. One, in point, was when we went to Neuschwanstein (spell?) castle. I thought our boys were gonna break something! But, we made it through alright.
I have found that I cannot be afraid to take them in where we go. Most places are kid friendly. It may not seem that way, but they are.
You have to also remember that your kids will not get out of the tour/trip what you would. At their age, they could care less.
I was looking up online places to see near where you live & found quite a bit. You just have to do it. If you have the money, that is. The exchange rate is ridiculous!!
You are out in the middle of nowhere, just like we are. But, like us, you border another country. We have now traveled to Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg & France. And these were little day trips, not with hotel stays.
We have just gotten in the van, punched in a historical site into our trusty GPS & let our day go from there. We take plenty of food, snacks & drinks. We have found some pretty amazingly beautiful places doing this.
My biggest problem was getting over the fear that the kids were gonna whine and/or tear something up. But they may do that with us staying home!! So don't be afraid to get out there.
Also, if you can afford it, your base should offer travel deals to places. If not, let me know & I can find a way to get that info to you.
We did the EuroDisney thing and LOVED IT!!! We stayed in the cabins they have set up for families. There is an indoor swimming park for the kiddos! If you get a chance to do this trip, DO IT! We booked our deal online through their site. My husband did, anyway! lol :)
There is also a parks system all throughout Germany that is supposed to be fantastic. We haven't done it 'cuz we have too many people & you know how expensive everything is!
I hope this all makes sense. I was typing it while wrestling down my boys to get them dressed to head out for the day. We are going to travel a little, today. Instead of going to our piddly-dunk support base for groceries, we are gonna go to Spangdahlem (1 1/2 hours away) for a little Americanization and a much better commissary!
Let me know how the traveling goes and how you are getting along with your European adventure!

Best wishes...
L.

Hi L.,

I'm not sure where Vilseck is, my husband is stationed at Ramstein. We also have 3 kids - ages 7 mo, 2 and 5 and have been here 1 1/2 years. We haven't been as many places as I'd like, but I am starting to learn about more family-friendly places. We had to cancel a trip to the Golden Rooster this weekend due to hubby's work, but they cater to kids...www.goldener-hahn.de, in the Black Forest area. You can rent apartments from them.

I also heard about Center Parcs - http://www.centerparcs.com/EN/AT/home and they are places that cater to families with indoor swimming pools and huts to rent out.

I'm also researching traveling by campervans. We have friends who did that in Switzerland and had a blast. Its tiring to do hotels with kids with stairs, checkout times and no food or fridges (not to mention expensive and hard to find places that take more than 2 kids in a room!)

We haven't been to EuroDisney yet but I heard the Holiday Inn there is great and set up for kids. We did a day trip to Europa Park which was tons of fun and they also have a hotel nearby. Of course there is always Edelweiss Lodge and we've been there twice. We did a trip to Paris but the hotel accomodation was strictly for sleeping purposes! We were out all day so didn't need a place with more to offer, but it would have been nice! Also we took a week and went to the Netherlands and Bruge. I researched hotels that said they were family-friendly and offered breakfast and that was okay but I also think it would be easier to find a place with a little kitchen or rent a camper!

Good luck! I hope we get to do more traveling while we are here. So far life and long work hours have taken over and its hard to do spontaneous things or even the midnight USO bus tour trips!!

J.

There's this great lego land here in germany, it's easy to just look up online or on google earth. armygermany.com usually has some ideas too. Also, eurodisney is just about 6 or 7 hours away (the way my husband drives lol)

Hi L., I dont live in the Vilsec area but I will tell you this. Since I moved here I haved tried alot of things. But I will tell you Germans are very family oriented. Everything revolves around what the family can do. They have indoors pools everywhere. And all alittle different. I know that there is a indoor pool there not sure where but you can ask. There are little trips that you can take with USO that are children friendly. I know that here in Mannheim outside of town just a bit there is a kids play place. But the best source is just getting out there and enjoying the german scenry. Ask the german people that live here. They know everything and will hepl you with anything. Thats what I had to do. And sports for little ones is great.

Hi L.-
I'm in Graf and I've been here 6 years. There is so much to do if you are willing to get out and travel. My kids are 11 and 14 and we've done alot in the yrs here. There is an old Volcano in Neu Stadt am Kulm you can walk up, many parks that you can walk around and picnic. The zoo's are great. Some of them are flower gardens. Stuttgart Zoo is beautiful. There is a lake in Pressath you can swim in the summer its great for small kids. I've learned over the time here that when you are on the auto bahn and see the brown road signs take the exit and go to the historic sites. They are so full of history and well it let's you experience Germany as a family ,take a lunch and just enjoy family time. Let me know what you enjoy and I can offer ideas. Ejoy your day:)

Hey L.. I'm in Grafenwoehr. Not sure exactly what you're looking for. I agree that Germany is very family oriented. Pretty much everywhere you go has something for the kids. There is a MegaPlay over here in Graf, it's so much fun for the kids. It's basically a huge indoor playground with trampolines and things for the kids to climb on.

The local swimbads are wonderful! They have many that are indoor and have slides and other fun thigs kids love. The Germans are very health-conscious and their pools are usually very clean.
There are so many places to go all over Germany for little day trips. Heidelburg, Rothenburg, all over Bavaria in the south, Strasbourg France is so close, Legoland near Munich, it is endless.
Get on the USO website and see their listings and then do mapquest to find out how close places are to you.
Sometimes we just drive out one day and we find cute little villages to explore that have so much character.
Most of Germany I have found to be very kid-friendly (with the exception of the radio because they dn't censor!!)
The Stars and Stripes has a travel section on Thursdays that also gives good info for palces to see.
Don't waste more time- get out there and see stuff before you have to leave because there is so much!!
castles everywhere, chocoalte factories, etc.
If I knew better where your base is located I could give you better tips!

Hey there! We have a five year old and have taken him on all of our trips. Germany is so kid friendly! We just stayed at a kinder hotel in Austria that was fantastic! My son got to play and go to the kids club and my husband and I had quiet meals. It's all inclusive and everyone speaks English. http://www.kinderhotels.co.uk/

Also check out:
www.vrbo.com/
www.homeaway.com

We rented a house in Umbria for spring break that we are sharing with another family. Cheap house with a kitchen and rooms for the kids.

L.,
Please tell us:
1. Where you would like to travel to (5 hrs, 1 day, different continent).
2. How far away and how long (timeframe) from the base.
3. Is this travel to be more fun or educational for the kiddos.
4. How much are you looking to spend total.

I took my two to Tokyo recently. That was a lot of fun. It was 13 hrs drive up and 10 back. The kids were great but there was nothing fun for them to do but play in the pool at the hotel. It was more of an education for them than a good time. Personally, my son (age 2) is happy if I take him to the indoor pool on base. The pool does not have to be in Florida, just here on the base. The same goes for the playground in the backyard on across the street is just fine. But, when I want to get him into the community I take him out into town and interact with our Japanese friends. His Japanese is better than mine. He talks back to them and smiles a lot. Germany is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I was there. The only I know from my Active Duty Marine corps days is good schnitzel, good beer, and fast cars. Now, I am just a mommy. Yes, please let us know your parameters of your outings so we can help.

Paris- tons of beautiful parks, the french culture is accusomed to children dining out in restaurants (although don't expect fast service).

Italy & Spain as well loves children...especially babies!

Where not to go? England & Prague

Have you taken a trip to garmisch? I think edelweiss has some kid friendly activities. You may also like Europa park. We had a lot of fun when we went and my daugther loved it.