Europe: off-the beaten-path with kids

[bobcat1995 71]

 

 

 

 

3

21 hours ago, Player said:

Timely thread is timely. We're capping off a longer trip in June with our last 4 nights in Germany - flying home from Munich. 

Thinking about houses in Garmisch-Partenkirchen area as a base to do some outdoor stuff, see the castles (Linderhof & Neuschwanstein), Eagle's nest. Anyone familiar with this area, or have any recs?

Reserve your tickets for Neuschwanstein as soon as possible.  Eagles Nest was closed for the winter when we went in March but it was something my son wanted to see.  Excuse to go back is what I told him.  In the area of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, take the Zugspitze cable car to the top of the mountain for lunch and a beer. We rented a car for these two days.

Take the train and the self-guided tour of Dachau Concentration Camp outside of Munich.  Words can not describe standing in a gas chamber from WWII. 

Walk through the English Garden (big park) and enjoy the beer gardens (i think there are 4).  We ate a place called the Seehaus in the garden.  One of the best steaks I have ever eaten.  Goto the Munich Residence (The Bavarian Palace), self-guided walking tour.  BMW Museum was not bad if you are a car guy.  My son enjoyed the museum.  Take in a Bayern Munich game and buy tickets behind the goal.  Just walk around Munich and enjoy.  We were there for 4 full days and the only reservations we had were the castle and the futbol game.  No time schedule to keep makes it easy to stop and drink a beer.      

 

[52-80 19204]

euro football leagues no play in summer.  only the cups/tourneys

[PittsburghTiger 6192]

 

[RDCanecutter 26455]

18 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Pretty sure that's how AIDs first proliferated

I just fed the monkey popcorn. I ain't sucked his dick.

[Rougarou 594]

What about Poland? Which is better Krakow or Warsaw? Is it worth it or interesting?

[52-80 19204]

I like warsaw a lot, but many people don't share that opinion.  The old town is basically 90% rebuilt following ww2, which people don't like due to inauthenticity, but it looks nice.  The city has very easy going vibe, and there's an interactive Copernicus science museum that's sorta a smaller scale version of the one in Chicago - good for kids.

 

Krakow is a smaller city with a picturesque Jewish quarter. 

 

You can cover both very quickly.  I really like the country as a whole, really do but it's not 1st or 2nd choice for most people visiting europe

[crash_davis 23114]

this seems like an off the path german adventure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-europe-48244823

 

Quote

Germany: Three Bavaria hotel guests found dead from crossbow bolts

•  13 May 2019

---

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionThe traditional German hotel is in a popular hiking location in Bavaria

German police are investigating the deaths of five people, three of which were found in a rural Bavarian hotel impaled by crossbow bolts.

A room maid discovered the bodies in a room alongside two crossbows.

The relationship between the three victims - a man aged 53 and two women aged 30 and 33 - remains unclear.

Police found the bodies of two more women when searching the home of the 30-year-old in northern Germany, officials said on Monday.

Police said they are investigating "possible connections" between the hotel deaths and the two bodies found at the home in the town of Gifhorn.

The hotel stands by the Ilz river near Passau, about 650km (400 miles) to the south.

An autopsy on the three bodies is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Another hotel guest, who was staying in the hotel for a short break, told local newspaper Passauer Neue Presse that it had been a "completely quiet night".

The hotel manager said the three dead, who were all German, had planned to stay for three nights but had not ordered breakfast.

It has been established that the man and 33-year-old woman were resident in Rhineland-Palatinate state, western Germany.

Their room had a double bed and a single bed. According to the daily Bild , the man and 33-year-old woman were found lying hand-in-hand on the bed, shot with bolts to the head and chest; the other woman was lying in a pool of blood on the floor, with a bolt through the chest.

Police have seized a white pickup truck, parked outside, which has stickers reportedly linked to a hunting club. It was registered in Westerwald, Rhineland-Palatinate.

A hotel guest said the man had a long white beard and the women were dressed in black, and described them as "strange".

On arrival on Friday evening they simply wished other guests a "good evening", then went upstairs to their second-floor room with bottles of water and Coca-Cola, said the guest, quoted by the Merkur news website .

 

[Bone3421 716]

this seems like an off the path german adventure.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-europe-48244823
 

Germany: Three Bavaria hotel guests found dead from crossbow bolts

•  13 May 2019

---

Image copyrightAFP Image captionThe traditional German hotel is in a popular hiking location in Bavaria

German police are investigating the deaths of five people, three of which were found in a rural Bavarian hotel impaled by crossbow bolts.

A room maid discovered the bodies in a room alongside two crossbows.

The relationship between the three victims - a man aged 53 and two women aged 30 and 33 - remains unclear.

Police found the bodies of two more women when searching the home of the 30-year-old in northern Germany, officials said on Monday.

Police said they are investigating "possible connections" between the hotel deaths and the two bodies found at the home in the town of Gifhorn.

The hotel stands by the Ilz river near Passau, about 650km (400 miles) to the south.

An autopsy on the three bodies is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Another hotel guest, who was staying in the hotel for a short break, told local newspaper Passauer Neue Presse that it had been a "completely quiet night".

The hotel manager said the three dead, who were all German, had planned to stay for three nights but had not ordered breakfast.

It has been established that the man and 33-year-old woman were resident in Rhineland-Palatinate state, western Germany.

Their room had a double bed and a single bed. According to the daily Bild , the man and 33-year-old woman were found lying hand-in-hand on the bed, shot with bolts to the head and chest; the other woman was lying in a pool of blood on the floor, with a bolt through the chest.

Police have seized a white pickup truck, parked outside, which has stickers reportedly linked to a hunting club. It was registered in Westerwald, Rhineland-Palatinate.

A hotel guest said the man had a long white beard and the women were dressed in black, and described them as "strange".

On arrival on Friday evening they simply wished other guests a "good evening", then went upstairs to their second-floor room with bottles of water and Coca-Cola, said the guest, quoted by the Merkur news website .

 
Hostel IV : Ronin's Vacation

Starring Jeremy Renner

[WBT 20638]

where do whores go?

[Post Oak 20254]

15 minutes ago, WBT said:

where do whores go?

Ask your mom

[Rougarou 594]

On 5/13/2019 at 4:08 PM, 52-80 said:

I like warsaw a lot, but many people don't share that opinion.  The old town is basically 90% rebuilt following ww2, which people don't like due to inauthenticity, but it looks nice.  The city has very easy going vibe, and there's an interactive Copernicus science museum that's sorta a smaller scale version of the one in Chicago - good for kids.

 

Krakow is a smaller city with a picturesque Jewish quarter. 

 

You can cover both very quickly.  I really like the country as a whole, really do but it's not 1st or 2nd choice for most people visiting europe

Maybe I should start another thread, but tell me more about Krakow?

[Txzen 498]

7 hours ago, Rougarou said:

Maybe I should start another thread, but tell me more about Krakow?

It's one of the few cities in Poland not systematically reduced to rubble. It's a gem, with one of the largest medieval squares in all of Europe. Great churches, wonderful castle, great cafes. Gorgeous.

An hour a way is Auchwitz-Birkenau, which I think every person should see in their lifetime. I'm not sure what the appropriate age is for kids, I'd want mine to be well into middle school, I think. 

Warsaw is kind of the best and worst of Poland in some ways. I think the Old Town is also charming, and the palace there is a great tribute to the absolute stubbornness of the Polish people. It was dynamited to a pile of rocks by the Nazis. Afterward, people came out and collected little bits of marble, molding, etc., knowing at some time later they would rebuild it. Going into a room and seeing a few old weathered pieces of trim which were used to re-create the entire place is pretty incredible, frankly. 

Much of the rest of Warsaw was build under Soviet rule, and follows the predictable and bland architecture found behind the Iron Curtain. In a way, this can be interesting in and of itself, but outside of the Old Town, it ain't Prague. 

[otisdog 365]

Another vote for the oberland. We usually stay in Grindelwald, but Wengen will be next.

Fly into Munich, which will save some time and money compared to Frankfurt.  I found Garmisch has grown too big, so we went uphill to Mittenwald, which was nice. Anyplace in the Alps will have plenty of trails. To make it easy on the kids, ride the gondolas up and hike down. You might consider Austria, Innsbruck to be exact.  Winter Olympic town, with a great oldtown. Short ride (hourish) from the Munich Haptbahnhof.  Austria is definitely cheaper than Switzerland, and easier accessed, but the Tyrolian Alps aren't as impressive.

Hard to go wrong heading south out of Munich.

Coastal towns of Croatia are a zoo, due to some TV show....

Edited May 15, 2019 by otisdog

[52-80 19204]

7 hours ago, Rougarou said:

Maybe I should start another thread, but tell me more about Krakow?

from more local/regional perspective that area has nice parks for hiking, recreational activities. 

from a tourist and city perspective, of course the focus is on old town (stare miasto).  theres lots of churches, because, poland.  if the kids arent too much into that stuff, then not much value. 

nearby theres a salt mine.  student town, so theres a smattering of hip bars and cafes.  polish cuisine isnt special, though.  overall its not too much square footage so more than a few days and you'll have outgrown the city.  its worthwhile to pop over to katowice (another student town) to burn some time.

its a generalization but i find the polish people to be really friendly and sympathetic.  if you and the kids are into striking conversation with strangers, its a more inviting place than northern europe.

 

another really good option esp with kids that age is to hit up the baltics, particularly split time between tallinn and riga.  clean, safe, compact.  their old towns have a disneyland'ish feel.  fairly easy flights in and out of helsinki, and no issues required (unlike st petersburg)

 

[Your Mom 4827]

Bumping this thread. Many thanks for all the suggestions.

We are flying AUS-FRA direct in a couple weeks.  Frankfurt is not the ideal spot for this trip but we fly nonrev/standby and it’s 1000 times easier to do the direct flight that’s wide open with plenty of empty seats than to mess with the hassle of multiple flights through a hub on flights we might get bumped off.  The free travel is an amazing job perk but it comes with a cost sometimes, this is the easiest path and saves a me few grand and much stress.

Arriving day 1 around 9am. Not much planned excepted getting the rental car and heading south, a couple hours outside Frankfurt.  Maybe the Black Forest area, maybe Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber.  Just a nice place to get a good meal, a little exploring, a good night sleep,  and recover from the flight. 

Days 2-5.  Interlaken.  I got a room for 3 nights at the Oberland based on recs on this thread.  Thanks, Looks wonderful!   I’ve booked a guided kayak tour,  a guided mounatain bike tour, then a day of hiking on our own near Grindelwald with the trams, etc...

Day 6 - Summer snowboarding at Zermott.  Just one day.  Kids are jacked for this whole 5 day stretch.  

Days 7-9 TBD.  These 3 days are just to leisurely make our way back to Frankfurt.  

I’d love to take them to Dachau but it tours are only available for 14 and older.  My youngest is 11.  You can still see the place and roam around but not take the tour.  I know that seems like a bit much for most 11 year olds but mine can handle it.  He’s a junior history buff... enjoyed the WWI battlefield tours in Flanders and the D-day beaches more than he enjoyed the family friendly touristy stuff in other places.  I think kids should see things like this to drive in the idea of “Never again.”  But I digress.  

Other options are just leisurely making our way back toward Frankfurt and seeing a couple castles along the way.  Neuschwanstein and a few others are in the area.  The island town of Lindau looks cool.  Could head to Munich.  Open to ideas here.  Finishing up day 9 by turning in the rental car and staying in a hotel at the FRA airport to keep things easy on travel day.  

Day 10.  Flying home on the direct flight again to Austin.

 

[Bone3421 716]

Bumping this thread. Many thanks for all the suggestions.

We are flying AUS-FRA direct in a couple weeks.  Frankfurt is not the ideal spot for this trip but we fly nonrev/standby and it’s 1000 times easier to do the direct flight that’s wide open with plenty of empty seats than to mess with the hassle of multiple flights through a hub on flights we might get bumped off.  The free travel is an amazing job perk but it comes with a cost sometimes, this is the easiest path and saves a me few grand and much stress.

Arriving day 1 around 9am. Not much planned excepted getting the rental car and heading south, a couple hours outside Frankfurt.  Maybe the Black Forest area, maybe Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber.  Just a nice place to get a good meal, a little exploring, a good night sleep,  and recover from the flight. 

Days 2-5.  Interlaken.  I got a room for 3 nights at the Oberland based on recs on this thread.  Thanks, Looks wonderful!   I’ve booked a guided kayak tour,  a guided mounatain bike tour, then a day of hiking on our own near Grindelwald with the trams, etc...

Day 6 - Summer snowboarding at Zermott.  Just one day.  Kids are jacked for this whole 5 day stretch.  

Days 7-9 TBD.  These 3 days are just to leisurely make our way back to Frankfurt.  

I’d love to take them to Dachau but it tours are only available for 14 and older.  My youngest is 11.  You can still see the place and roam around but not take the tour.  I know that seems like a bit much for most 11 year olds but mine can handle it.  He’s a junior history buff... enjoyed the WWI battlefield tours in Flanders and the D-day beaches more than he enjoyed the family friendly touristy stuff in other places.  I think kids should see things like this to drive in the idea of “Never again.”  But I digress.  

Other options are just leisurely making our way back toward Frankfurt and seeing a couple castles along the way.  Neuschwanstein and a few others are in the area.  The island town of Lindau looks cool.  Could head to Munich.  Open to ideas here.  Finishing up day 9 by turning in the rental car and staying in a hotel at the FRA airport to keep things easy on travel day.  

Day 10.  Flying home on the direct flight again to Austin.

 

So on the 3 days 7-10 really...munich to frankfurt is 4 hour drive on google so doable imo...

Maybe head east to Liechtenstein to innsbruck to munich then frankfurt???

Would add 2 more countries to the trip

Guess would depend on flight time on day 10 ...if its late can drive to frankfurt that day from munich

[Bone3421 716]

Interlaken to innsbruck 5hr drive
Innsbruck to munich 2 hrs

So could get a day in each to hang if start early enough in morning

[rage-a-holic 4410]

9 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Bumping this thread. Many thanks for all the suggestions.

We are flying AUS-FRA direct in a couple weeks.  Frankfurt is not the ideal spot for this trip but we fly nonrev/standby and it’s 1000 times easier to do the direct flight that’s wide open with plenty of empty seats than to mess with the hassle of multiple flights through a hub on flights we might get bumped off.  The free travel is an amazing job perk but it comes with a cost sometimes, this is the easiest path and saves a me few grand and much stress.

Arriving day 1 around 9am. Not much planned excepted getting the rental car and heading south, a couple hours outside Frankfurt.  Maybe the Black Forest area, maybe Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber.  Just a nice place to get a good meal, a little exploring, a good night sleep,  and recover from the flight. 

Days 2-5.  Interlaken.  I got a room for 3 nights at the Oberland based on recs on this thread.  Thanks, Looks wonderful!   I’ve booked a guided kayak tour,  a guided mounatain bike tour, then a day of hiking on our own near Grindelwald with the trams, etc...

Day 6 - Summer snowboarding at Zermott.  Just one day.  Kids are jacked for this whole 5 day stretch.  

Days 7-9 TBD.  These 3 days are just to leisurely make our way back to Frankfurt.  

I’d love to take them to Dachau but it tours are only available for 14 and older.  My youngest is 11.  You can still see the place and roam around but not take the tour.  I know that seems like a bit much for most 11 year olds but mine can handle it.  He’s a junior history buff... enjoyed the WWI battlefield tours in Flanders and the D-day beaches more than he enjoyed the family friendly touristy stuff in other places.  I think kids should see things like this to drive in the idea of “Never again.”  But I digress.  

Other options are just leisurely making our way back toward Frankfurt and seeing a couple castles along the way.  Neuschwanstein and a few others are in the area.  The island town of Lindau looks cool.  Could head to Munich.  Open to ideas here.  Finishing up day 9 by turning in the rental car and staying in a hotel at the FRA airport to keep things easy on travel day.  

Day 10.  Flying home on the direct flight again to Austin.

 

If you have time in Grindelwald....take the Mannlichen gondola to Wengen...or take the mountain train from Grindelwald to Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. Then take the gondola and train to Murren.

Walk through Murren, then take the gondola to Birg then Schilthorn. Your boys will love it.

https://schilthorn.ch/en/Welcome

 

Head back down the gondola to the valley and go to Trümmelbachfälle, it's a waterfall inside a mountain. Very cool.

https://truemmelbachfaelle.ch/e/index.html

 

 

[4th and 5 4915]

I’m on this trip now.

We just flew direct DFW to AMS on points in business. We stayed on a houseboat for 3 nights, which was awesome. Did lots of walking, eating Asian food, semiprivate boat tour, Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank house, girls shopped the 9 Streets, went up the Westerchurch tower. And drank some good beer, ate some good bread and cheese, and recovered from the flight. Amsterdam is a cool place. Coffee shops, hot women that are very tall, bikes everywhere, gotta keep your head on a swivel or you will get run over. 

We flew to Marseille yesterday, KLM via Chase points. Rented a car via the Costco app vial Alamo was the cheapest. They fucked up our rental and ended up giving us a Mercedes to drive so that was nice. We are a few miles from the Pont du Gard acqueduct. They had an awesome light show on the aqueduct last night. We are staying with some friends at their rural house. We picked strawberries, raspberries and tomatoes to eat today. They also have other things in their greenhouse. If you know what I’m saying. There is a cold creek with a swimming hole right out the back door. Beautiful property. We will be exploring this area for a week, going to the Calanques and Cassis, before we move on to our next destination.

To be continued.....

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19126]

2 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

I’m on this trip now.

We just flew direct DFW to AMS on points in business. We stayed on a houseboat for 3 nights, which was awesome. Did lots of walking, eating Asian food, semiprivate boat tour, Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank house, girls shopped the 9 Streets, went up the Westerchurch tower. And drank some good beer, ate some good bread and cheese, and recovered from the flight. Amsterdam is a cool place. Coffee shops, hot women that are very tall, bikes everywhere, gotta keep your head on a swivel or you will get run over. 

We flew to Marseille yesterday, KLM via Chase points. Rented a car via the Costco app vial Alamo was the cheapest. They fucked up our rental and ended up giving us a Mercedes to drive so that was nice. We are a few miles from the Pont du Gard acqueduct. They had an awesome light show on the aqueduct last night. We are staying with some friends at their rural house. We picked strawberries, raspberries and tomatoes to eat today. They also have other things in their greenhouse. If you know what I’m saying. There is a cold creek with a swimming hole right out the back door. Beautiful property. We will be exploring this area for a week, going to the Calanques and Cassis, before we move on to our next destination.

To be continued.....

The South of France is absolutely stunning.  Pont du Gard is amazing.  I loved going out there.  It is an absolutely gorgeous place.  

I highly recommend a boat to get to some of the Calanques.  Those hikes are pretty intense, and given how hot it can get, Boating into them might be the best.  They also close them to hikers if the fire risk is too high. There are a lot of boat tours that take off from Cassis, but there are also private hire boats that will take you as well.  My best days last year on my big Italy/France trip were the days spent on boats (4 over a 3.5 week timeframe).  The Med is stunning this time of year and feels amazing.

Cannot wait to hear more about your trip.

[Your Mom 4827]

On 7/4/2019 at 6:21 PM, rage-a-holic said:

If you have time in Grindelwald....take the Mannlichen gondola to Wengen...or take the mountain train from Grindelwald to Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. Then take the gondola and train to Murren.

Walk through Murren, then take the gondola to Birg then Schilthorn. Your boys will love it.

https://schilthorn.ch/en/Welcome

 

Head back down the gondola to the valley and go to Trümmelbachfälle, it's a waterfall inside a mountain. Very cool.

https://truemmelbachfaelle.ch/e/index.html

 

 

These are both outstanding suggestions and both things I hadn't read about yet.  Thank you!  Shilthorn especially... added to the itinerary.

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: we went to the ancient city of Arles. Walked around the old walled city and then went to the bullfight in the arena (not the fatal one for the bull) . Kids loved it. Then ate out with a bunch of local friends. We drove back to Collias and partied til 200. Then got up too early to go to the market in Uzes. The market is huge. I got my son got a really nice Laguiole pocket knife for his birthday. We bought some lavender essential oils and soap. And some fruit. Then the kids spent some time at the Gardon River. Tonight we are going to a dinner party. 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19126]

21 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

Continued: we went to the ancient city of Arles. Walked around the old walled city and then went to the bullfight in the arena (not the fatal one for the bull) . Kids loved it. Then ate out with a bunch of local friends. We drove back to Collias and partied til 200. Then got up too early to go to the market in Uzes. The market is huge. I got my son got a really nice Laguiole pocket knife for his birthday. We bought some lavender essential oils and soap. And some fruit. Then the kids spent some time at the Gardon River. Tonight we are going to a dinner party. 

I love Arles.  Such a cool town.  Uzes is also quite stunning.  I hope you are going to post photos.   

[Spankytoes 1742]

On 7/4/2019 at 8:18 AM, Your Mom said:

Bumping this thread. Many thanks for all the suggestions.

We are flying AUS-FRA direct in a couple weeks.  Frankfurt is not the ideal spot for this trip but we fly nonrev/standby and it’s 1000 times easier to do the direct flight that’s wide open with plenty of empty seats than to mess with the hassle of multiple flights through a hub on flights we might get bumped off.  The free travel is an amazing job perk but it comes with a cost sometimes, this is the easiest path and saves a me few grand and much stress.

Arriving day 1 around 9am. Not much planned excepted getting the rental car and heading south, a couple hours outside Frankfurt.  Maybe the Black Forest area, maybe Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber.  Just a nice place to get a good meal, a little exploring, a good night sleep,  and recover from the flight. 

Days 2-5.  Interlaken.  I got a room for 3 nights at the Oberland based on recs on this thread.  Thanks, Looks wonderful!   I’ve booked a guided kayak tour,  a guided mounatain bike tour, then a day of hiking on our own near Grindelwald with the trams, etc...

Day 6 - Summer snowboarding at Zermott.  Just one day.  Kids are jacked for this whole 5 day stretch.  

Days 7-9 TBD.  These 3 days are just to leisurely make our way back to Frankfurt.  

I’d love to take them to Dachau but it tours are only available for 14 and older.  My youngest is 11.  You can still see the place and roam around but not take the tour.  I know that seems like a bit much for most 11 year olds but mine can handle it.  He’s a junior history buff... enjoyed the WWI battlefield tours in Flanders and the D-day beaches more than he enjoyed the family friendly touristy stuff in other places.  I think kids should see things like this to drive in the idea of “Never again.”  But I digress.  

Other options are just leisurely making our way back toward Frankfurt and seeing a couple castles along the way.  Neuschwanstein and a few others are in the area.  The island town of Lindau looks cool.  Could head to Munich.  Open to ideas here.  Finishing up day 9 by turning in the rental car and staying in a hotel at the FRA airport to keep things easy on travel day.  

Day 10.  Flying home on the direct flight again to Austin.

 

Pretty solid itinerary. If you are leisurely making your way to Frankfurt, look up the Romantic Road. Visit Dirk’s hometown of Wurzburg too.

Regarding Dachau, Skip the tour. There is very little for the guide to speak about. You will go through the entrance gates to the main tourist center. For a couple € they have audio tours with headphones. All the barracks have been torn down so all you can see are rows of gravel where they used to be. There’s a lot of pictures in the trailers, a small church, a small synagogue and the crematorium. There’s nothing there your kid can’t handle beyond their imagination. It’s free, so your 11 year old won’t get the boot. Highly recommend doing it if you don’t visit the area a lot but temper your expectations on how moving the experience is. It’s not Auschwitz by any stretch.

[Spankytoes 1742]

And don’t forget about Hallstatt

 

 

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: today we kayaked the Gardon for about 4 hours, including under the aqueduct at Pont du Gard. The aqueduct is such an amazing feat of engineering. And it is absolutely massive. The Gardon is very clear and cold. It felt great with it being so hot. The kids did some major cliff jumping in the deep spots. I definitely recommend this if you are in the area  

We slept off the heat of the day and drove to St. Quentin for an awesome dinner at La Cuisine du Boucher.

[crash_davis 23114]

25 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

Continued: today we kayaked the Gardon for about 4 hours, including under the aqueduct at Pont du Gard. The aqueduct is such an amazing feat of engineering. And it is absolutely massive. The Gardon is very clear and cold. It felt great with it being so hot. The kids did some major cliff jumping in the deep spots. I definitely recommend this if you are in the area  

We slept off the heat of the day and drove to St. Quentin for an awesome dinner at La Cuisine du Boucher.

glad you kayaked the gardon under the aqueduct.  i've done that 3 times.  every time i was still amazed at how grand that thing is and the engineering involved to build that thing over 2000 years ago.  

if you are still looking for things to do in provence, head to les baux.  it's a french medieval castle on a giant hill.  your kids will love it.  it stood guard from invaders from the mediterranean.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Baux-de-Provence

[Mach 1 1677]

On 7/5/2019 at 6:22 AM, 4th and 5 said:

I’m on this trip now.

We just flew direct DFW to AMS on points in business. We stayed on a houseboat for 3 nights, which was awesome. Did lots of walking, eating Asian food, semiprivate boat tour, Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank house, girls shopped the 9 Streets, went up the Westerchurch tower. And drank some good beer, ate some good bread and cheese, and recovered from the flight. Amsterdam is a cool place. Coffee shops, hot women that are very tall, bikes everywhere, gotta keep your head on a swivel or you will get run over. 

We recently returned from AMS after week and half in Croatia.  Whole family loved it.  Really cool city, I was there 25 years ago and forgot how awesome it is.  We did the boat tour also and saw a bunch of cool houseboats,  everyone hanging out on the decks, drinking wine and waving as we went by.  Our captain pointed out a couple of smashed windows on the boats and said "See this?  Tourists who rent boats and can't drive!"

I assume you got your Anne Frank tickets two months in advance. I did not, and tried day of at 9 am online (actually queued at 8 am).  The online system refreshed a bunch and kicked me out, but I finally locked in, started moving up from 400 to 300, to 200, to 100, to 30 ... to 15 at 8:59!  We're in!  

And then it refreshed and I went back to over 1000.  I reflexively yelled MOTHERFUCKER at my phone, which caused the breakfast crowd in the cafe to swivel in unison at the obnoxious American.   

[Your Mom 4827]

1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

glad you kayaked the gardon under the aqueduct.  i've done that 3 times.  every time i was still amazed at how grand that thing is and the engineering involved to build that thing over 2000 years ago.  

if you are still looking for things to do in provence, head to les baux.  it's a french medieval castle on a giant hill.  your kids will love it.  it stood guard from invaders from the mediterranean.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Baux-de-Provence

This ended up not being the area I wanted to be in this trip but I definitely noticed it when you posted earlier in the thread.  It's on the list for next time.  Looks amazing and right up my alley.  Thanks for the rec.

[Mach 1 1677]

Week on a catamaran in Croatia.  Really cool trip.   Random photos, we went to Vis, Brac, Hvar and ended trip at Krka Falls.  

[Longhornmaniac8 255]

And don’t forget about Hallstatt
 

 

Hallstatt is incredible. Get there around 7:30 for 90 minutes of peace and quiet before the Chinese tourists arrive by the busload.

I enjoyed renting a boat and getting out on the lake. Worth the $25 or whatever for an hour.

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: yesterday we toured the city of Nîmes. Beautiful architecture there. The arena dates back to the time of Jesus Christ. The arena is spectacular. Then we went back to Collias and a bunch of friends came over. Some local and others in town from Seville. Three different languages being spoken at the dinner table. We made some awesome pizzas and drank a bunch of good wine.

Today we are in Avignon for the festival. Lots of performers are in town. We have walked all over the city. The walled city from the 13th century is really cool. I took a bunch of pictures of the buildings and the pope’s palace. I’ll try to post them when we return. 

Tomorrow we go to Cassis. 

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

This is an amazing restaurant in Avignon:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187212-d1164938-Reviews-Restaurant_L_Essentiel-Avignon_Vaucluse_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19126]

@4th and 5 This sounds like an amazing trip.  I am so jealous.  I loved my time in the South of France last year.  I am meeting up with a friend for lunch on Friday who is going to take her husband.  I will definitely point her to this thread.  

[crash_davis 23114]

2 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

Continued: yesterday we toured the city of Nîmes. Beautiful architecture there. The arena dates back to the time of Jesus Christ. The arena is spectacular. Then we went back to Collias and a bunch of friends came over. Some local and others in town from Seville. Three different languages being spoken at the dinner table. We made some awesome pizzas and drank a bunch of good wine.

Today we are in Avignon for the festival. Lots of performers are in town. We have walked all over the city. The walled city from the 13th century is really cool. I took a bunch of pictures of the buildings and the pope’s palace. I’ll try to post them when we return. 

Tomorrow we go to Cassis. 

did you tour the palace of the papes?  i can imagine the orgies that they had in the great hall.

[4th and 5 4915]

I did tour the palace. About 15000 steps today. Thankfully it rained so it wasn’t so damn hot. Nîmes about killed me yesterday. After Avignon we went back to Uzes for some walking, shopping and beers. I love that little town.  Making some more pizzas right now and more people coming over. Just blew a doobie and picked a row of strawberries and raspberries from our garden. It’s making for some long days. 

Cassis tomorrow and Friday, then we kick it up a notch. 

[crash_davis 23114]

st remy is another great little town.  you can tour the place where van gogh stayed during his provence stay and where he cut off his ear.  you're hitting most of my provence go to spots.

 

there's also a roman/pre-roman settlement right outside of st remy.

http://www.site-glanum.fr/en/

Edited July 9, 2019 by crash_davis

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: yesterday we moved over to Cassis and walked around, and the girls did some shopping, then went to the beach all day. Beautiful town. The “atmosphere” on the beach was nice for dad and 17 year old son. We had a great dinner at Le Defonce. 

The coastal drive this morning from Cassis to Marseille is one of the most visually stunning drives I have taken  

We just left the port for a 4 hour Calanques tour with swimming. 

Edited July 11, 2019 by 4th and 5

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: after the Calanques tour we holed up to rest in an airport hotel in Marseille. After a two week bender campaign across the south of France, I needed to chill. This morning we flew to Caen. I found a tour guide who left Bayeux Shuttle, one of the top operations, and started his own company, Allied Victory Tours. The guy, Mike Van Den Dobbelsteen, is 5 star. Absolutely a consummate professional and has an encyclopedic knowledge of WW2. He picked us up from the airport and we went to Point du Hoc , Omaha and the American cemetery today. Tomorrow we have a full day with him for the 101st/82nd/Utah/hedgerow tour. 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by 4th and 5

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: yesterday our tour guide took us out for a full day. And by full day I mean 9a-7p. Our guide Mike from Allied Victory Tours was amazing again. We saw the medic station set up at the church in Angoville au Plain, the hedgerow country, where a general died when a glider crashed (portrayed on SPR), Saint Marie du Mont, site of Brecourt Manor assault (BoB episode/Dick Winters) Utah Beach, Saint Mere Eglise, the guns at Longues Sur Mer, the mulberry harbor at Arromonches, the bridge at La Fiere (portrayed in SPR) the Purple Heart highway and probably five more stops. Our tour guide had an encyclopedic knowledge of WW2, I can’t recommend this guy enough. He was a gentlemen, super accommodating for any stops we wanted to make and extremely professional and he brought each place to life with detailed stories of those involved  

http://www.alliedvictorytours.com/phone/index.html

 

We ate dinner last night at La Rapiere, one of the best restaurants in the area. It was as outstanding as the reviews indicated 

 

Today we are on the train to Paris. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by 4th and 5

[4th and 5 4915]

Continued: we just spent Bastille day in Paris, and yesterday plus this morning. We ate some great meals and the girls drug me around to shop all over the city. Saw all the typical sights. Definitely my least favorite part of the European trip bender 2019. Payback for 2 days touring in Normandy I suppose. 

Today we are in Dublin. And I’m already a wee bit drunk. 

[Your Mom 4827]

Switzerland sucks, kids are bored out of their minds, should've gone to Disney.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited July 20, 2019 by Your Mom

[Your Mom 4827]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[otisdog 365]

Glad you liked it...

[Bone3421 716]

Glad you liked it...

Dude he said it sucked....would've much rather have been at disney with the massive crowds

[Your Mom 4827]

Big thanks to Otis, Bone, and Rage (only on surly could I utter those words) for  opening my eyes to the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen areas!   The days we spent there were the highlight of the whole trip. We skipped out on snowboarding and stayed there an extra day. 

 I’m glad I got my kids to Dachau for some history appreciation, and Rothenburg for a little culture (it’s way too crowded and touristy for my taste but it was good for them to see it once).  

 My next trip to Europe will be a sans-kids guided mountain bike tour across Scotland, riding all day and drinking scotch every night. Probably next Spring. 

 But the trip after that will definitely be back to the areas south and east of Interlaken. Loved it! 

[Bone3421 716]

Interlaken is an amazing place... Glad ya'll enjoyed it

I would assume you took the funicular up to the restaurant once for a meal

If not i dont know why i didnt mention it sooner lol...just popped in my head

[rage-a-holic 4410]

6 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Big thanks to Otis, Bone, and Rage (only on surly could I utter those words) for  opening my eyes to the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen areas!   The days we spent there were the highlight of the whole trip. We skipped out on snowboarding and stayed there an extra day. 

 I’m glad I got my kids to Dachau for some history appreciation, and Rothenburg for a little culture (it’s way too crowded and touristy for my taste but it was good for them to see it once).  

 My next trip to Europe will be a sans-kids guided mountain bike tour across Scotland, riding all day and drinking scotch every night. Probably next Spring. 

 But the trip after that will definitely be back to the areas south and east of Interlaken. Loved it! 

Looks like you were at First and also Kleine Scheidegg in those pics, maybe. Awesome scenery up there.

Last time I was there a fox was right by the entrance to that First ledge walk.

 

 

[Damor 1236]

Awesome thread.

I have a chunk of about 3 weeks off next July, and I'm trying to get started on planning a family trip with our boys (will be 15 and 12).  I'm really tempted by the Germany/Alps stuff above (been there and loved it), but I think I'm going to save that for when they're a little older and can appreciate the finer points of Bavarian/Czech brewing.  The other idea I'm throwing around is the British Isles.  This would be our first overseas trip as a family, and neither my wife nor I have been there.

I'm sure I'll pester the board in detail when I get to serious planning, but at this point I'm just trying to get a general framework.  I have a Griswoldian tendency to overdo/overplan, but at the same time, I'd like to get the most out of the trip since it's an investment getting over there, and we don't have a lot of summers left with them under our roof.

Here are the nebulous ideas I have floating around in my head, without a lot of specific research (beyond what I've read on Shaggy/Surly) yet:

Ireland:
-- Probably fly into Dublin and spend a couple days to adjust, but planning to spend more time out of the city.
-- A few days in Galway (sounds like our speed)
-- Doolin/Cliffs of Insanity Moher
-- Ring of Kerry/Gap of Dunloe area

Scotland:
--Edinburgh
-- Glasgow
-- Isle of Skye (hiking and Talisker)
-- Islay vs. Inverness/Highlands/Spey?

London:
-- 3 or so days to hit some high points, eat good food, let my wife see royal shit, fly back
  
Is this too ambitious to try to cover in one trip?  

[sidis 9832]

On 7/23/2019 at 6:23 AM, Your Mom said:

Big thanks to Otis, Bone, and Rage (only on surly could I utter those words) for  opening my eyes to the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen areas!   The days we spent there were the highlight of the whole trip.

jeez, burn.  8th post on this thread:

that said, the swiss alps are incredible...strongly recommend the berner oberland and hq'ing out of interlaken.  hikes starting out of lauterbrunnen, grindelwald, etc... are incredible and all are accessible by short train rides from interlaken.