Before kids, B and I made travel a priority in our lives. We both were brought up traveling abroad at a youngish age, and have a love for visiting foreign countries, exploring new places, and going on new adventures. After we got married, we did plenty of traveling together, going to Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Ireland, England, Canada, Mexico City, and more places. Our passports were stamped regularly, and never expired. I swore that once we have kids, our lives wouldn’t change — what parent doesn’t think that? But after kids, our lives did change. The thought of traveling abroad with kids wasn’t something that excited me. We took them to Canada, but never anywhere else. There were so many reasons (in my mind) not to — the cost! everything we would need to pack! the time difference/jet lag! the inconvenience! the anxiety about something happening and not being near their doctor, etc.! communicating in a different language about our kids’ needs! finding food they would eat!

But I missed travel. Sure, we’d go on vacations but they were all driving distance away and not the same. As much as I love Philly, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and New York, I really wanted to fly somewhere abroad. I looked longingly at my friends’ travel photos, especially those who traveled overseas. So over the summer last year, I told B, I want to go to Berlin to see my brother (where he lives). He immediately told me to go. But I felt bad leaving him and the kids behind – and knew it may be hard to find someone to watch the kids for the length of time that would make a transatlantic visit worth it if B came too. And when I suggested we bring the kids, he was not only game, but eagerly on board, planning the whole trip, finding us flights, a hotel, and more. And so, our trip came to fruition and I can safely say that my travel bug is back!  I can’t wait for us to go on our next adventure.

But first, here are some highlights from our week in Berlin, Germany. 

Visiting my brother and seeing his neighborhood. While we stayed in Mitte, which is in central Berlin, my brother lives only a few miles away or a 20 minute train ride on the outskirts. He lives in a beautiful neighborhood with tree-lined streets, gardens, and even a city farm nearby! We were able to see where he lives, join him for breakfast and also take a walk and see the animals (pigs, chickens, sheep, goats and more) not so far from his place. Later in the week, he and I also got in some 1:1 time, as he took me on a nighttime tour of a few of his favorite neighborhoods in Berlin. In Germany you can just buy a beer and drink it outside while walking, so instead of going to bars, we just grabbed a drink, and walked for a few hours.

Seeing the Brandenburg Gate and Siegessäule. I wanted to see an iconic German site and these were some of them! We saw some others but these were my favorite. We got to see them a few times, including the day that the Berlin Half Marathon was running, which was an amazing experience to spectate. I also was lucky enough to go for 3 runs, 2 of which I ran through the Tiergarten to the Siegessäule.

We watched the finish of the Berlin half marathon, which was right near the Berlin Gate. Of course I had to represent Cleveland while I was there!

Visiting the Reichstag. B arranged for a tour of the Reichstag – the German legislative government building – for us before our trip and I’m glad we did it. I admit that it wasn’t a kid-focused tour – we learned about how laws are made in Berlin, plus saw some historic parts of their building, including underground tunnels and where the wall used to be – but we also got to go to the top of the building into their gorgeous dome and get a 360 degrees view of the city. The kids loved the audio tour of the dome and were thankfully really well-behaved during the tour.

Making silly faces with the Reichstag building in the background – see the dome on top?

We’re nearing the top of the dome in this photo

Eating local foods (and then some). Bratwurst? Check. Currywurst? Check. Spaetzel? Check. Giant soft pretzels with spicy mustard? Check. Schweinshaxe? Check. Doner? Check. Schnitzel? Check. We tried so many traditional German foods, but also enjoyed Chinese food, Italian food, and more. I love that the kids were open to trying most foods, but I’d be lying to say they didn’t have “buttered noodles” (or buttered spaetzel) or “chicken tenders” quite often.

Enjoying a biergarten. We lucked out with 70 degree weather 2 days, and on one of those days we were able to enjoy a visit to eh biergarten in the Tiergarten. It was so crowded but we enjoyed a table, some beers and lots of fun.

Visiting the Zoo. This was the main kid-focused item we did, and it didn’t disappoint. We packed in tons of amazing animals, including rhinos, monkeys, orangutans, reindeer, mountain goats, golden eagles, penguins, sea lions, and probably the highlight for the kids – the hippos and panda.

Experiencing the history. We didn’t do as much WWII/history stuff as I would’ve liked, but with a 2, 5 and 7 year old, it’s not easy to do all of that. We did get to see the wall in several spots, and I was able to visit a memorial without the kids.

Spending a day in Potsdam and seeing a palace. Before we went on the trip, we asked each of our kids what they wanted to do in Germany. LM mentioned she would like to see a castle or a palace, which was perfect! We took the train and spent the day in Potsdam and visited the Sanssouci palace. They had an audiotour, which was entertaining for the kids and before the palace we took a tour of the nearby windmill, climbing to the very top for some great views.

Walking around a ton. I’m in heaven if there’s a place where we don’t need to get in a car and can just walk everywhere. It’s why I was so sad when we left downtown Cleveland. Anyway, I digress. I have to say, I am impressed with how our kids handled the days of walking everywhere. ,We took as many walks as we could to truly experience the city. I averaged 20,000 steps a day and even hit 30,000+ steps 2 days during the week. The kids were great troopers, spending a lot of time on their feet with little sleep.

Taking public transit everywhere. Berlin is REALLY easy to get around. Where we stayed, in Mitte near Zoo, there were so many trains and buses, from the S-bahn to the U-bahn and tons of bus lines. It seemed like every single bus or train went to our neighborhood, so we lucked out and took trains and buses everywhere. This was part of the fun for the kids – they loved taking the train  and looked forward to it. I’m also lucky that B is so good with knowing how to get around – his amazing sense of direction made taking the train easy. also took the train and bus everywhere.

We had SUCH A BLAST! I can’t wait to go back to Europe and travel again with the kids. We were so lucky that everything worked out and we had no mishaps, no issues, and no problems. For a few more photos, check out my Instagram reel.

Questions for you:

• What’s your favorite place you traveled to?
• Any tips for traveling overseas with little ones? GM was the hardest, being 2, but as he gets older I know it will only get easier!