Photo Friday

The Modern 13th Century at The Augustine Prague – A Photo Tour

May 31, 2013 by Ann

When traveling with two kids two and under, there comes a time when one kid wants to nap and one wants to explore. So, on a recent trip to Prague, my son and I took to checking out our hotel, while my daughter and husband slept in the room.

We were staying at The Augustine hotel in the Mala Strana district. It is close to shops, restaurants, and public transportation. As I’ve mentioned before, my son LOVES public transportation. There was no way we could have headed outside without him running to jump on a tram. Instead of going outside at all, we went on a tour of the hotel. I’m glad we did.

The Augustine is one of Prague’s newest hotels, but it is composed of 7 buildings including a 13th century monastery. It’s tricky. The decoration is modern, Czech Cubism to be exact. Yet, the oddly angled hallways with random steps and stairwells reminds you that this is an old building. And while the structure has been updated, the layout is still the same. This combination of old and new together made our walk very interesting.

Below is a photo tour of The Augustine’s hallways.

In some places the floors slightly sloped.

A funky staircase. From the windows you can see the Prague Castle.

This little alcove between floors had a nice life-sized statue.

These simple table lamps look to be as tall as my son.

I tend to love walking around hotels anyway, but The Augustine is unique. Walking around the hotel, even with a toddler, was really calming.

Do you have any recommendations for unique hotel experiences? Please let me know in the comments so I can dream of future visits.

This post is part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.2014 honda accord sedan car cover apple smart case leather for ipad air digsale nissan 350z car cover uk z350 car cover

Filed Under: Photo Friday Tagged With: familytravel, hotel, Prague

Our First Overnight Trip with Baby, A Tale of Planning Gone Wrong

May 24, 2013 by Ann

My plan was to rent a car, pack it up, head out, allot for an extra hour in a two-hour drive, arrive into Frankfurt early enough to look for the US Consulate, have a nice dinner, and check into our hotel.

My plan had other plans.

When my husband and my dad got to the car rental shop, it was closed. They called me to try to find an open one, anywhere near us. After an extensive search, I was finally able to find a place on the other side of town. They rushed over, rushed back to the house, and rushed packing up the car. We left several hours later than planned.

That’s ok, though, right?

We did not own a car yet in Germany. We had lived here for only 8 months at the time, which meant our US license was no longer valid. We took the opportunity of my parents visiting from Florida to rent a car and go to Frankfurt to apply for my son’s passport.

My dad drove. With his brand new and very first grandchild in the backseat, my dad set off very carefully. He slowly approached every sign and crossroads. He often waived his priority, unsure of the road rules in another country. Plus, he was still getting comfortable in the rental car. Once we were on the autobahn his concentration switched. There was no priority to waive on the autobahn. Cars were zipping past us. And as they were, my dad was thinking of his brand new grandson seated in the backseat.

Then it started to snow. Hard.

Did I mention my parents were from Florida?

It was the first snow of the season. Early and unexpected. My dad turned off the radio and all talk ceased. He stayed to the right to let the faster cars (all the other cars) pass. A cry from the back interrupted the calm and quiet inside the car. My son was awake, it was time for him to eat.

He wasn’t the only hungry one. We cancelled our plans for dinner in Frankfurt and pulled into a rest stop. And here we experienced another first. Using a public changing room. Fortunately, my husband handled that situation.

While my husband and son were in the changing room, I took the opportunity to look at the shop. My parents and I chatted for a bit. We decided it was too late, and too snowy and we should just get up early to head to the consulate the next day instead. We talked about what they would do while we were in the consulate. How we would contact them since cell phones were not allowed in. They made sure I had all my documents. After a while we wondered, why are C and W still in the changing room?

I went to check on them.

In the process of changing our son’s diaper, C had managed to dirty every outfit I packed for him except for one long sleeve onesie. Our son, a three-week old baby, was going to have to face the snow and drive in only a onesie.

My dad went to the car to start warming it up. I put my jacket on my son and attempted to rush to the car without slipping on the icy sidewalk.

We arrived into Frankfurt many hours later. We headed straight to the hotel and collapsed from exhaustion. I washed one of the thicker outfits that was dirtied earlier, and let it dry on the towel warmer.

Here’s what my son wore during his first snowstorm!

I sat in the hotel room thinking about the night. Where did I go wrong? This was supposed to be an easy trip. I read all the tips and tricks for traveling with kids. I OVERpacked. I took care of arrangements in advance, allotted so much extra time for everything and still ended up getting into Frankfurt late. I was a traveling mom failure.

I grabbed stationary and took notes of what I would do differently next time.

That was 2 and a half years ago.

Since then we’ve stayed in countless hotels, survived many road trips, flights, and train trips. Things will go wrong and that’s ok. It’s all a learning experience.

When it was my daughter’s turn to have her first hotel experience we were more proficient travel-with-baby travelers. Even considering the overseas flight, time difference, and jet lag we still had enough energy to go out for her first Halloween!

Not only did we have energy after our first trip with our daughter, I was also able to get some finishing touches done on her Halloween costume (she was a ghost).

Traveling with babies requires a new sense of humor, a new normal, and a new way to approach problem solving. But, it’s so worth it. Nothing is harder than those first trips, but I promise, it gets better.

How was your first overnight trip with your children? Any tips for parents heading out for the first time?

The post is part of Friday Daydreamin’ at RWeThereYet. Click on the link for more travel tales.lingeri pour femme pas cherprotective case macbook air 11 inch Replica A556 Cowon AE1

Filed Under: Photo Friday, The Journey Tagged With: familytravel

National Mill Day

May 10, 2013 by Ann

There’s just something about windmills. Part nostalgia, part mystery, part “wow those look pretty cool”, and part environmentally friendly. The Open Air Museum in Arnhem, NL has an exhibit that includes looking into a Polder mill. Looking into this mill, you can’t help but appreciate the engineering involved in moving water and air. There are almost 1000 windmills throughout the Netherlands and tomorrow, they will all be open to the public for viewing. It’s National Mill Day.

Here are some fun facts about Dutch Windmills.

There are eight mills in Amsterdam with one regularly open to the public, Molen van Sloten.
A nice day trip from Amsterdam is Zaanse Schans (pictured above). Aside from the eight windmills, you can ride a boat, see how wooden clogs are made, and see the first Albert Heijn grocery store.
Another popular place to see windmills is at Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 19 windmills are the main attractions, with walks, bike rides, boat rides, and even horse-drawn carriage rides and small flights to see them. The story of “Cat and the Cradle” originated here.
Many of the nation’s windmills pumped water away from areas that needed to stay dry.
Windmills, though a popular Dutch icon, actually originated in France.
And one last fact, pictures just don’t do them justice.

Open Air Museum Arnhem, in front of a smaller wind-driven drainage mill. It is also known as a spidermill.

A day trip to Zaanse Schans is a nice way to escape the crowds in Amsterdam and learn more of the country’s history.

This post is part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

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Filed Under: Family Travel, Photo Friday Tagged With: arnhem, Family Friendly, familytravel, National Mill Day, Netherlands, Zaanse Schans

The Scene of a Laugh

May 3, 2013 by Ann

One of many fun things to do at the Open Air Museum in Arnhem, Netherlands.

This looks innocent enough. My husband and my son enjoying a small boat ride. What they didn’t know is that most of the people who rode on the boat before them had taken the boat from the starting point, to the other side and back to the starting point. Well, everyone except for the family that went right before my husband. My husband was showing our son the animals (seen in the background) when the previous family got bored with the boat. They opted out of returning it to the dock above, ignoring the line of people waiting for their turn. With the boat at the empty dock, the people on the other side had no choice. They walked away.

When my husband and son finished with the animals, they saw this boat and decided to go ahead and ride to the other side. As I walked with my daughter to meet up with the rest of our family at this dock, I noticed a group of kids running to the dock my husband just left from. They were the next in line when the previous family left and they were going to go get the boat themselves. Only, they didn’t know my husband had already taken it across. Once my husband docked, no one was interested in heading the other direction. They got to the dock and threw their hands up in the air. They watched as their boat docked where they were just standing only 5 minutes ago. They just stood, waiting for a boat that wasn’t going to return to them. Then they made the decision all kids really wanting a boat ride must make, go back to where the boat is.

The journey from one dock to the other, along the lake, isn’t a straight line. It weaves in and out of buildings from the Netherlands past, windmills, a small shopping street, a drawbridge, a poffertjes cafe, into some kind of building, and then around another building before getting to the dock. Strolling it’s a good 15 minute walk. For kids on a mission, it’s a 5 minute sprint.

For the third time in 20 minutes, the kids ended up waiting at an empty dock. Yes, by the time they got there, another unsuspecting family had taken the boat to the dock the kids just left. Whether or not they finally had a chance to ride the boat, I don’t know. Like I said, there was a poffertjes cafe on the way and we had to stop there. I did see those kids later, laughing and having a good time. Whether they rode the boat or not, they didn’t let their boat disappointment ruin their day.

This post is part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby and RWeThereYetMom Favorite Post Friday.car cover tarp Michelin X-Ice North XIN3 Bushnell