Archives for August 2013

My favorite family travel wallets

August 30, 2013 by Ann

On a whim one day, I bought a travel wallet. It is now one of my favorite pieces for travel document organization. Being an expat, my passport is generally needed more frequently than it was in the states. Being a family of four, it only makes sense to put them all in one place. Being cheap, I loved only spending 3 EUR. However, I’m really itching for a new travel wallet for all of our passports. My wallet is ok, but it is really only meant for 1 person and it makes it difficult to stuff 4 passports, 4 resident’s cards, 3 resident’s papers (for some reason, my daughter doesn’t need one – weird, eh?), plus our Netherlands annual museum pass, our Sea Life/Lego Land Discovery Center annual passes, our frequent everything cards, and currency for both the US and Europe so we can always have small change available.

On my search for a new wallet, I came across some treasures and wanted to share them here. What I love is that they are handmade. They are unique. They are well crafted. Best of all, they are for families. Take a look.

Please note: I am not affiliated with any of these companies. These are just wallets I saw, I liked, and now I want to share with my readers. I get no compensation for any purchases.

My favorite family travel wallets

Tracey Lipman Collection

Family passport wallet by Tracey Lipman Collection

Family passport holder by the Tracey Lipman Collection

Tracey makes her passport holders in Israel using a variety of beautiful fabrics. The custom holders can hold up to 12 passports, so you have to have a pretty large family, or have multi-citizened family members, to require two holders. There’s space in the middle for tickets and change. My favorite aspect of this wallet are that it can be zipped shut and used as a wristlet. Seems like the perfect way to hold the passports while at the airport and still be able to hold your toddler’s hand and pulling the carry-on bag.

They are currently priced at $35 each and will take 1-2 weeks to deliver once ordered.

For more of her great designs, visit her shop Tracey Lipman Collection.

Pecan Tree Creations

Family passport wallet by Pecan Tree Creations

Shannon’s design for her family travel wallet is both practical and beautiful. They can each hold up to 4 passports. Because of the way the pockets are positioned, and the use of the elastic band, there is no worry that the passports will fall out. Smaller families can use the extra space for boarding passes and confirmations. Larger families will appreciate being able to keep their passports away from other documents and money while traveling.

These are currently priced at $14, comes in a variety of patterns, and can be customized on request.

For more of her great designs, visit her shop at Pecan Tree Creations.

Blissful Patterns

Family Travel Wallet by Blissful Patterns

Shannon at Blissful Patterns offers two choices for families looking to update their passport wallet. For those with some sewing ability, she sells her Family Passport Travel Holder pattern. You can then use any fabric you like, and update them to the season if you please (or maybe even make them themed to your trip – imagine the possibilities!).

For those like me, with absolutely no ability to sew (not even hem!), she can custom make them to your liking. The pattern above holds up to 4 passports, 3 loyalty cards, boarding passes, plus they have a pocket for change, cash, and a pen or two.

They are also designed so that the passports can’t fall out of their pockets when closed.

The patterns are currently $8.50, with custom wallets priced at $45.

To order one of her patterns, please visit her store Blissful Patterns. If you’d like to order a finished product, you can do so at Blissful Sew. Message her if you are looking for a more custom wallet. She is very quick at responding.

Please note passport sizes are different for different countries. Double check that the wallet you want will fit your passport’s dimensions before ordering.

ensemble lingerie soldesTexet TF-125 Black currency tanzania

Bike Races

August 22, 2013 by Ann

Every year my little corner of Germany closes its streets for a day. It means one thing – it’s time for a bike race. We’re lucky enough to have front row seats. At 2 years old, I’m pretty sure my son was just trying to figure out how he could get his balance bike to go so fast.

This post is part of the new Instagram Travel Thursday linky hosted by Skimbaco Lifestyle, Destination Unknown, Child Mode, Hines Sight Blog, Live.Do.Grow., House of Anaïs, Luxury Travel Mom. Click on any of those links to access all Instagram travel posts.accessoires de sexeles robes erotiquesspinterest les godes xxl acheter

Filed Under: Engage, Local Fun Tagged With: familytravel

Sattel Hochstuckli: a mountain of fun

August 20, 2013 by Ann

The best views were towards the right. The GPS wanted us to go left. I turned to my husband, “it better be worth it.”

Now, I know, that wasn’t really fair. We were in Zürich and decided to skip the city and head to the mountains. Only, we had no idea where to go. I pulled out the GPS and searched for the closest destination under the “Winter Sports” heading and hoped for the best. I wanted a ski lift that operated in the summer. He wanted to be able to get out of the car and get a good view. Forty-five minutes, and many left turns later, we arrived in Sattel.

There it was, a lift to the top of the mountain. This lift was called Stuckli Rondo, and is the world’s first rotating gondola. I was already happy that we found some form of transportation to the top that I didn’t care how much it cost or what we would do once up there, we were going to go.

Fortunately the price was reasonable. Fortunately there was a ton of things to do for our whole family once we got there. Unfortunately we couldn’t spend all day there, when we easily would have, because we had plans for the afternoon.

A fun day for the kids in the Alps. Settel, Switzerland - via Travel Turtle

The rotating gondola. There are four different colors, the red one represents fall. I think I should go back in the fall to see the changing colors. (Settel, Switzerland)

Sattel Hochstuckli – For the family

This is what we saw once we got up to the top:

To the left, toboggan run and suspension bridge. (Settel, Switzerland)

To the right, bouncy castles, trampolines, and cafes.

The Toboggan Run – For those who like speed

Since I’m originally from Orlando, I’m often surprised at how few safety measures were in place on some rides. The only “rule” was that kids under a certain age had to share the toboggan with their parent. My husband and toddler went. You can control the speed, so my husband was able to slow down when our son got nervous. Once they finished my son wanted to go again. We distracted him with all the other choices.

For those who like speed, the toboggan run is a good choice.

A small portion of the run. (Yes, that little red blur is my family.)

The “Raiffeisen Skywalk” Suspension Bridge – For those who like heights

This is the longest foot suspension bridge in Europe. The accompanying sign says it’s the length of 5 airplanes. I tried to walk across it. I couldn’t. I got dizzy. I imagined every “what if” scenario. I froze before we reached the halfway point, the carefully turned around to safety.

My husband and daughter continued on. They were fine.

This looks like fun, but I’ll never know.

Bouncy houses and trampolines – For those that need to burn off energy

While the rest of the family crossed the suspension bridge, I got my son ready for the nap he was going to take on the drive back to Zürich. It was time to jump.

There were between 8-10 bouncy houses and a few trampolines. Not all were toddler friendly, but I was lucky because he was only interested in the ones that were. He jumped, ran, and slid. I took in the views. That is, until the cloud came in and I started thinking about my husband and daughter in the middle of the suspension bridge.

Trampolines and bouncy houses… and why yes, that is a cloud that has rolled in while my husband and daughter were on the suspension bridge.

Tips and Practical Information – For those that want to go

Sattel Hochstuckli is open year-round, with different activities depending on the season.
Aside from the activities we did, there are also various trails. They seemed suitable for all ages.
Even in the summer, bring a light jacket. It can get cold up there!
The gondola ride was 19 CHF round trip per adult, free for kids under 6.
The toboggan ride was 4 CHF for each run.
The bouncy castles and trampoline were 7 CHF for an all-day pass for kids under 7.
The skywalk and trails were free.
There are combo packages available, and pricing for different scenarios (teens, groups, etc.) For that and the most up-to-date information, check out their website.
We were able to bring our small umbrella stroller across the bridge. We didn’t see a sign telling us different. However, once we crossed, my husband noticed a sign that said he couldn’t bring the stroller back. They had to take one of the trails back. Since we thought it was a one-way bridge, we weren’t too worried, however it is not a one-way bridge. Ours wasn’t the only stroller. If a stroller came from the other direction it would have been impossible to cross the bridge. If you bring a stroller and want to cross the bridge, make sure it’s a small enough stroller to allow people to pass you in the other direction.

For a completely different way to spend a summer day, check out my guest post at Walking on Travels. There, I talk about visiting Düsseldorf, Germany’s Altstadt and Rhein Promenade.

This post is part of Travel Tip Tuesday hosted by Suitcases and Sippy Cups and Walking on Travels and Travel Tuesday Linkup with A Compass Rose & Found Love. Now What?. Click on the links for more great travel posts.

hardwood

Filed Under: Explore, Family Travel, Switzerland Tagged With: familytravel, sattel, switzerland

Phone Photography Apps

August 15, 2013 by Ann

At the end of every traveling day my kids are exhausted and mellow. And when they go to sleep, I have something I rarely have: time to think.

Sometimes I use this time to read, sometimes I use this time to sleep, but often I want to get crafty. Problem? Have you seem how much the average family with two young kids has to pack when they go on vacation? The one time I have time to play with paper and glue, I don’t have space to pack paper and glue. Fortunately, I always have my phone with me: the indispensable tool that also houses my book collection, recipes, travel plans, and camera. (It’s rumored I can dial numbers and talk to other people with it, too, but I wouldn’t know about that!)

When I started using my phone’s camera, I wanted to stay as true to the original photograph as possible. Eventually, I started playing with Instagram’s filters and wanted more. Then, I discovered the phone camera apps.

I was hooked. While Instagram’s native filters are fun for a quick fix, there are other apps that give you more creative freedom. Then you get to tweak the photo as you want.

Here are my favorite Phone Photography Apps:

Photography Planning

Magic Hour

Any decent photography book, course, or resource will tell you how important light is. The best light happens in what is known as the golden hour. It’s the time right around sunrise and right around sunset. As a traveler, we might not always know when that is going to happen when we’re away from home. As a mom, we might not always want to try to figure it out. Enter Magic Hour app. It lets you know when the magic hour will start and end each day depending on the city you are in. You can plan your day accordingly if you need to. Price: FREE

If you read my last post, you’ll know why this is a great app to have. Paul from A Luxury Travel Blogs encourages parents to go outside while the kids are still sleeping to capture the sites. Instead of trying to guess when you should wake up to catch the right light, this app let’s you know. Sleep in until the last possible minute, please!

Screen shots from iTunes store

Magic Hour iTunes App

Editing Photos

VSCO Cam

This is a free and easy app that not only gives you access to some filters, but controls how strongly you can apply the filter. Most of the time any photos only needs a slight tweak, but Instagram’s filters make you commit completely. VSCO Cam lets you change it just a bit if you want, or a lot if you prefer. You can then export the photo to Instagram. I have one gripe. When exporting, VSCO Cam will automatically crop the photo. If it doesn’t crop the way you want it to there’s still a fix. Just save the updated photo to your camera roll and open in Instagram as normal. Price: FREE

Here’s an Instagram I edited with VSCO Cam:

Please note: Unless you’re a professional, don’t over filter your photos! Just enhance them. Practice as much as you want, but only publish the best!

Adding Details

Rhonna Designs

This app has some filters, but what I really like about it are the other things you can add. There are different designs, sayings, and fonts for you to put on top of your image. You can resize them, change the color, turn them on their side. It’s a lot of fun. The best part is that the app includes a ton of images and fonts. Unlike similar apps, you can do a lot with what’s included without having to buy more upgrades. Price: $1.99 with an extra pack available for $0.99

Here’s an image I recently added on Instagram using Rhonna Designs. There are a a whole section of travel related sayings included.

and here’s a more subtle image where I just added the little doodles in the corner.

and here’s a less subtly edited photo that I did when I first got the app. I tend to keep these types of photos on my phone instead of publishing on Instagram, but you can see where it can be fun if you like this type of stuff – which I do!

Printing Them Out

Groovebook

I don’t use this because I’m not in the US, however, I may try it the next time I go. Every month you can select up to 100 photos taken on your phone (not just Instagram photos) and Groovebook will print them out into a little book and ship it to you. The pages are perforated for easy sharing. You can order extras to send to family and friends. Love this idea. Price: FREE to download. The subscription service is $2.99 a month for processing and handling. You can cancel at anytime.

Other Photo Apps

i haven’t tried these, but I wanted to include more options for you:

Halftone It’s all about the kids. Turn your pictures into a comic strip. Enough said. Price: $0.99

InstaFood This is one of the apps I want to try for the wrong reasons. I laugh at the idea that I have enough time to take a photo of my food while I’m at a restaurant. I laugh at the idea of going to a restaurant. Street food is where it’s at for us most of our trips (which is fine since I love street food, so don’t feel bad for me). One day, though, I will go out on a date with my husband while on vacation, take a photo of our food, and use this app to add the restaurant and the meal. Then I will look at that photo later to remind myself that I do enjoy eating out. I feel like I’m going on a tangent. Price: FREE

InstaPlace Puts the location directly on the photo. They can even put the altitude on the photo. Wish I had this when I was in Switzerland earlier this month! Price: FREE

InstaWeather Puts the temperature and place on the photo. If I use this the next time I take a photo in Florida, will it subconsciously help me feel warmer when I’m back in Germany in the winter? I’ll let you know! Price: FREE

Lumie Get the “bookah” effect on your photos. Nice effect for those romantic Paris trips, or looking at holiday lights. Price: $1.99

ShakeIt Photo App Take a photo, watch the photo appear like a polaroid pictures. You can even shake the camera to help the picture develop fast. Yes, you can shake it like a polaroid picture! Price: $1.99

Wood Camera This app was developed by professional photographers who wanted more control over editing their phone photography. Price: $3.99

Whew! That’s a lot. Do you have any favorite camera apps that I should look at the next time I have some down time (which will be September 2 at the earliest 🙂 )

R6D Black-Orange

Filed Under: Family Travel, Memory Keeping, Product Reviews, Thoughts, Travel Advice Tagged With: apps, familytravel, igtravelthursday, iphone

Travel with Kids: Photography challenges

August 13, 2013 by Ann

One of the most challenging aspects of traveling with young kids: taking great photos. I need time to adjust settings on my camera, find an interesting perspective, and snap a photo. I find myself keeping everything on auto and hoping for the best.

I asked some other family blogger friends how they do it, and here’s what they said:

Photography tips from the family travel blogging pros

Get the kids their own camera

“There comes a time when taking pictures with your kids around becomes as inherently difficult as actually taking good pictures of your kids, both of which are important when trying to record memories of trips that you take. It took us a while to figure out that a good way to give ourselves some time to snap pictures that involve more than just a quick click of the camera is to involve our kids in the picture taking themselves! We bought our now 5-year-old his own camera when he was almost 4 and he takes it with us everywhere, snapping away, so not only do I get some time to try to create a photographic masterpiece but he has the opportunity to express himself creatively as well!” – Andrea from Passports and Pushchairs (for more on this topic from Andrea check out her post Through Their Eyes)

Get the kids involved

“Get your kids to take some! I’ve always been pleasantly surprised by our daughter’s photos over the years. and, if they have their own camera, you’ll have time to work on your own photos. You can say, let’s take photos of this beach and then have a few minutes to do it yourself.” – Jessie from Wandering Educations

I took their advice and gave my son the camera. Here he is reflected in the window as he took a picture on Lake Zurich.

I took their advice and gave my son the camera. Here he is reflected in the window as he took a picture on Lake Zürich.

Get professional

“Think like a newspaper photographer. With little kids around, you’re not going to have the time to carefully compose a photo, wait for the perfect lighting or fiddle with your camera’s settings. But then again, neither do professional newspaper photographers. They’ve learned to move quickly, get the shot they need, and then get on with their day. Always have your camera ready, and just grab the shot when it comes around, even if it means carrying your little one on your back while taking the photo on the run.” – Micki from the Barefoot Nomad Travel Site (for more on this topic from Micki, check out her post Can You Take Good Photos With Little Kids in Tow? Some Tips)

Do what you can to get the shot. Photo courtesy: The Barefoot Nomad Travel Site

Get help

“If pictures are of utmost importance at a particular moment, I have someone else with me or ask Munchkin to sit in a stroller with a snack for a minute. That is about to no longer work at 4.5 year old. So, I am investing in a GoPro for me, but it will be ‘his’ when needing to take photos. That way he too feels like part of the action. They have a screen you can add to the GoPro to make this feasible, and it is the perfect size and also fairly indestructible” – Lori from Expedition Mom

Get some time alone

“Taking time out to take photographs and not boring or neglecting your children at the same time isn’t always easy. One way around this – if your children aren’t always up at the crack of dawn or if you have an understanding partner who will watch them for an hour while you go out to play with your camera – is to get up early. The light is at its best either close to sunrise or sunset, so this is actually one of the best times to be out with your camera anyway. It’s also a time when fewer people are about (if you’re wanting some ‘quiet’ shots). Here’s a shot I took in Crete, using this method just after sunrise.” – Paul from A Luxury Travel Blog (Side note: Tune in on Thursday to get a tip for figuirng that golden hour when you’re in a new destination.)

I wouldn’t think photos like this would be possible on a family vacation. Get out early and alone and you can catch the light when it’s right. Photo courtesy: A Luxury Travel Blog

Get a sense of humor

“A decent camera with good auto settings helps – when we’re out and about we often leave ours in “sports” which is good for capturing action or, in our case, moving targets. A couple of years ago we were in a promo for Disney World and it was 7am and freezing on Dumbo. Plus, when my kids are enjoying something they make what we call an “all business” face which looks a lot like a scowl. In order to make it look like they actually were having fun, I made up what I call my stage mother song, “pee poo, pee poo fart, pee poo pee poo fart.” The kids burst out laughing, and we get happy pictures ” – Corrine from Have Baby Will Travel

Get surprised

“Can’t get your kids to smile? Give them a little tickle as they sit on your lap. Better yet, don’t go for the smile. Tell them to act surprised. You will get even better faces.” – Keryn from Walking on Travels (for more on this topic from Keryn, check out her post Photo Tricks when Traveling with Kids)

A huge thank you to everyone who helped me not only figure out how to manage this, but to know it is possible to take decent photos with kids in tow. I will definitely have to remind myself before our next trip.

Do you have any more tips you’d like to add?

This post is part of Travel Tip Tuesday with Suitcases and Sippy Cups and Walkingon Travels. Check out their links to see more great travel tips.

Tips for taking pictures while traveling with kids – via Travel Turtle

Filed Under: Family Travel, Memory Keeping, Thoughts, Travel Advice Tagged With: familytravel