Our process for selecting our next big trip is usually pretty straightforward: Where’s the next amazing place we’d like to go?
However, after a few trips pregnant and/or with kids, we’ve developed some criteria in exploring the next trip.
Evolving Criteria
Thus far we’ve focused heavily on city centers where the metro and walking get us everywhere we need (no car seats!). We’ve recently branched into multi-city trips and even “stretched” into day trips to places like Toledo and Granada, the latter included a 3-hour bus ride each way, a big deal for our family if only for bathroom and snack considerations. City center conveniences include easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, museums, and very importantly green spaces and parks. We’ll cover parks in other posts but our point here is that your criteria, built on your own experiences, will evolve from trip to trip.
We’ve been looking to try some less marquee European destinations, (i.e., not Rome, Paris, Madrid, etc.) in hopes of slowing down and being more aware of our environments. Less must-see sights and more exploration and improvisation. Even just writing those words gives Dan, our planner-in-chief, serious anxiety but we can’t expand our comfort zones without going outside of the from time to time.
We also aspire to increase the balance toward nature and the outdoors. Not quite ready for river rafting, we do like milder activities like stand up paddle boarding, hiking, and even just eating as many meals outside as possible. We also had to consider what might a then-to-be 5 year old and 3 year old might like to do on the trip besides the art, history, and food.
Top 3 contenders
The main contenders were “Scandinavia” and Germany. Scandinavia is in “ ” because that’s a bit too broad but we didn’t know which country in the region was the best fit. We eventually narrowed it down to Copenhagen and Stockholm in order to begin our research (travel guides, blogs, Instagram feeds, etc.).
Whether we just wanted to leave our summer temps for higher latitudes, or enjoyed reading about Hygge too much or took too many trips to Ikea, we liked the idea of trying Copenhagen and/or Stockholm in particular. South Germany in particular (5 and 3 is a little young for world wars and Berlin Wall), was also appealing given its relationship with nature (e.g, Black forest, Bavaria) and proximity to Prague and other previous “contenders.”
Below is a sample of what a couple weeks of what we came up with in our research.
| COPENHAGEN | STOCKHOLM | BAVARIA (GERMANY) |
| Sights Tivoli Gardens Thorvaldsen's Museum National Museum Themes Vikings!! Hans Christian Andersen Experiencing Hygge Happiest People in the World Tall, good looking Danes Challenges Cost Weather Kid’s interest? | Sights Vasa Museum Islands, water, and the city Skansen Themes Vikings!! Outdoors,Swedish wilderness Tall, good looking Swedes Challenges Transportation around town Costs Weather Kid’s interest? | Sights Munich’s English Garden Hohenzollern castle Neuschwanstein castle Freiburg Summertime luge Dresden Old Master’s Gallery Themes Romantic Germany Christmas markets German wilderness “Let’s live here” factor Challenges We don’t drink (beer is king) Lack of easy home bases Car might be required Kid’s interest? |
It didn’t take us long to come to the conclusion that these were a) quite costly, b) required more mobility than we wanted (train tickets, rental cars perhaps), and c) there didn’t seem to be much the kid’s could gravitate towards.
Note: This is entirely subjective and only a reflection of where we were as a family when thinking of ideas. We will definitely go to these places at least once. Just not in 2018.
What about Paris?
Our son was only 18 months old when we went in 2014 and our daughter was in utero so we always new we should go back. Our son loved the Eiffel tower, walking along the Seine, Luxembourg Gardens, and has since learned a lot about artists found in the Louvre, d’Orsay, and the Orangerie (e.g., Vermeer, Raphael, Van Gogh, Monet).
We’ve had our eyes on Normandy for some time (D-Day beaches, Mont Saint-Michel) and having successfully (more or less) completed some long all-day guided tours in Italy (Vatican, Colosseum underground) and Spain (Toledo, the Alhambra in Granada) we’re thinking about giving it a shot.
Last, with the goal of flying in and out of Paris to save on flights we are also considering looping around to the Loire Valley for a few days. This is a list outside of our norm but by design. The chateaus are beautiful, if seemingly snooty, but it might give us a chance to see a bit more of (northern) France before venturing down south in the future.
More to come as this trip develops!
Talk soon,
Dan & Betsy
Family Conversation topic: Let’s practice some destination selection thinking.
What about France for your family?
What would make it enjoyable for your family? What are some possible challenges?