The idea of ​​traveling with children in Europe has arisen in our family for a long time. But its implementation became possible due to several factors – without a visa regime for Ukraine, the arrival of the Wizzair low-cost airline to Kharkiv and of course money / time which is always small. Well, first things first …

What we want –
1. Soak up the German routine (Dortmund, Baden Baden, Freiburg)
winery, walking on the Rhine, whether the Germans love the French.
2. France running – preferably a village (Mount Piti Balon, a French restaurant)
3. Europe Park for children and adults
4. Belgium – Bruges (city of fairy tale, city of dreams)

Any journey always begins with the purchase of tickets (no matter what anyone says). Nothing brings the journey as much as it does — acquiring plane tickets from the hometown in 4-5 months. There is already sorry – nowhere to go. So we did – bought tickets Kharkiv-Dortumund Wizzair -9000 g for three round trips (this is 90 euros per person) (yes, we are going to a wonderful child Veronika 8 years old) without luggage and choice of place (that is, the cheapest tickets) . With us we only had carry-on baggage (that is, three small backpacks).

Initial data
* six clean days
* Wizzair plane tickets – 9000 gr
* Flixbus bus tickets – 7700 gr
* money for expenses – approximately 700 euros

Fly away from his native city is always better than to go to Kiev. Bezviz and Wizzair bring our life closer to civilized – and this is nice. When you buy a Wizzair ticket, you can immediately check in for the flight and not stand in line at the check-in desk (you will have your boarding pass on all family members) – they simply scan it directly from the phone (though this option does not work in all airports, but our Kharkiv is ahead of the planet and it is nice). We were able to get into the blessed Duty Free zone in 5 minutes approximately as we entered the airport.

The distribution of places in a random order (we were worried that Veronica could not sit next to us) always takes place so that at least one of the parents will sit next to the child and, as a rule, our people are actively changing places. So – do not be afraid of random places. But if you still want to sit 100% together – then it costs one way per person 250 grams.

The flight from Kharkov to Dortmund lasts approximately 3 hours. We arrived at about half past nine in the evening local time and decided not to experiment and immediately got into a taxi from the airport to the Filixbus stop costing 29 euros (I want to note that all taxis in Germany go by the meter). In Dortmund, we did not intend to linger initially, our way lay south to Baden Baden. Buses of the FlixBus low-cost airline are always interesting – Europeans call them funny Fixbus (funny). I’ll tell you, he is really funny, I will even write a separate article about him. In general, after an hour late, we finally got into this Flixbus and drove towards Stuttgart. Despite the frequent delays of these buses – we almost always arrived at the destination on time. it happened with Stuttgart. We left at 3 am in the middle of the city on the railway station and around no one. I will say right away – in Germany and other European countries – at night (from 21-00) almost nothing works (even at train stations), there are no toilets, no coffee, waiting areas (stations) are either closed or not adapted for waiting. Until the next bus we had a half hour waiting. A walk and a group toilet on the streets of Stuttgart are romance (excuse me, Germany), but we had no other way out (by the way, later we didn’t apologize for that). Of all the establishments of the night city of Stuttgart, only a bookcrossing booth was available to us (there will be a separate video on this topic). In general, in the morning we hit the city of aging casino lovers and the Roman baths –

Baden Baden

We had breakfast at the hotel-cafe Beek (by the way, this is the only cafe in Baden Baden, where you can drink wine at 9-00 in the morning, and the manager there, of course, from Kharkov) and moved towards the Terme Caracalla open-air pool. total area of ​​4,000 square meters. The water there reaches a temperature of 68 degrees (so it is nice to swim in these pools in mid-October). The price depends on the age we paid about 60 euros for three. You can swim here all day (until you get bored). Next to the pool there is a cafe, a sauna and a place to dry (convection lamps warm up and dry you there).

The next point of our route was the German village of Königschaffhausen in the south of Germany (bordered by France). Though hardened Germans / Germans live in this village, but the guys will not believe, everyone is smiling, they are trying to help you / understand and forgive something. Seriously, I find it hard to understand why Ukrainians are so sullen (we have exactly such a socially-oriented state as Germany, the rich pay for the poor and you can do nothing, but only to plump – guys be at least more fun – we pay for it!)

Note that there are only two streets in the village, but the foundation date of Königschaffhausen is 995 (more than 1000 years) under King Otto III, nicknamed “The Miracle of Peace” – the German king and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. At that time, the village was engaged in sheep fisheries for the emperor. Of no small importance is the fact that in the 19th century in Königschaffhausen there was already sewage, central water supply and electricity. A few words about the architecture of the German and French hinterland. All the houses were made with a large gate for a horse ride, the cattle lived in the same house as the owners (but the house was built more so that everyone had enough space). The peculiarity of the early German construction was “Beam out” and between the beams, like ours, they smeared clay with cow cake and hay. the windows were always small in size (because there was a tax on them in the middle ages). They say that in the Netherlands there are even bedroom cabinets, where there was a stove and two people were sleeping (all this was done to save wood), and you say energy efficiency.

Some more interesting facts about the German villages – a little bigger village is located near our Königschaffhausen. In the winter months from November to March, local residents of nearby villages flock here for the celebration of “Yokklish” (Jokili isch). This is something similar to our Malanka – all dress up in strictly certain costumes. They are like two kinds – the first in nightgowns (they wake Yokklish), and the second in Yokkoli clothes (like Petrushka) they are already walking in columns, singing and drinking moonshine. But to take part in this festival who will not be able to. First you need to join the club. In general, Germany is a country of all kinds of clubs. Even in a small village, you can easily participate in more than 10 clubs / clubs (hunters club, soccer club, etc.). If you want to conquer Germany – look for such clubs – the only way you can communicate with the locals in their language.

Any village can get bored! And so we went to the German city of Breisach, where there is a magnificent church / fortress. The city was built in 369 by the Celts. Later it was strengthened by the emperor Valentinian I. Initially, the city was located on the left bank of the Rhine, but after changing its channel, it turned out to be on the right bank. In 939, the city was besieged and taken by Emperor Otto. In 1002, he was plundered by Duke of Swabian Herman II. 1469 to 1474, they were alternately owned by the Basel bishops, the earls of Ceringen and the dukes of Burgundy. In 1633, during the Thirty Years War, was besieged by the Swedes. In 1638, Duke Bernhard of Weimar took him after a six-month siege. In the Westphalian world, Breyzah went to France, but in 1697 was returned to Germany, and was known at that time as one of the strongest fortresses. In 1699, the French king Louis XIV ordered Voban to build the city of Neufe-Brizach on the opposite bank and the fortification of Mortier. Because of the cowardice of the commandants of Arco [en] and Marsilla, in 1703 the city again fell under the rule of the French, who returned it only through the Rastatt peace. perator Charles VI added new fortifications and a citadel. In 1743, during the war for the Austrian inheritance, during the retreat of the Austrians, the fortifications of the city were undermined. Since the beginning of the Revolutionary Wars, the French in 1793 fired at it from the opposite bank, but in 1796 they took the city and strengthened it even more and owned it until 1805. In 1806, the city was ceded to the Grand Duchy of Baden and according to the terms of the treaty, the fortifications were razed.

As you understand, living on the border of two states is not always convenient and all the more safe (hello Kharkov). The Germans in general do not speak very cordially about their neighbors to the French (there were many things between them and monuments and fortresses reminiscent of this were still alive). But the inspection of the local shops of the tinkers is finished and we set off on a leisurely journey by boat / restaurant on the Rhine. Such a walk is not expensive (about 10 euros per person) – this includes a place at the table and a view from the window – ordering dishes and wine – this is for separating money (a glass of beer about 5 euros on board). I must say that the Germans are very fond of their national clothes and such walks on ships. We saw a lot of young people and older people dressed in national costumes. They all, at the big tables, joked, drank beer and sang – and it did not look threateningly / vulgarly! But the most important state of the latrine with such a large number of people is the impression that we have all the impassable mazels in Ukraine and slacken by the toilet, and in Germany everything is a sniper.

Being on the waves of love for beer and all the beautiful – we are going to France. Not far from the city of Colmar. Colmar is one of the main cities on the Wine Road route in Alsace. Local wineries produce wines Riesling and Gewurztraminer. But we magically turned into the mountains and did not lose. it must be said about the mountains in France – they are very similar to our Carpathians, the same wooded slopes are green and foggy. But there are a number of differences – almost everywhere there are good paved roads, you can walk and ride a bike along the Korym. In addition, the mountains are entangled with a whole network of mini hotels / inns (as in the Three Musketeers) – there is always something to drink to eat and spend the night. They even say there is a special route, following which you can visit all these taverns enjoying French hospitality. Such a business is developed in Europe extremely widely – (farm / house of sheep-dogs in the past) in which the owners themselves live – receives a license for a restaurant and a hotel, and without separation from the main occupation (sheep breeding, cows, horses) hardened money for tourists crazed with beauty . A separate line must be said about the love of the French to the cheese – this is their national cult. We ate potatoes baked in the local farm cheese – these are guys orgasm. Just as the French love cheese and wine – so the Germans love beer and bread …

on a mountain in france petit ballon

Tavern on the mountain in Frantsi

Verano

Tile stove

Tavern inside

Potatoes with cheese

bell for signal

Tavern on the mountain in Frantsi

on a mountain in france petit ballon

Now our path lies in the city of dreams for children and adults Europe-Park. I will say at once that this has little in common with Gorky Park in Kharkov. The money may have been spent the same, but in fact – it is possible to live in Europe Park for several days (there are even special hotels for visitors there). there are 3 railways, where for about an hour you can only drive around all the rides. The park is divided into European countries according to the theme with its food architecture and costumes (we will soon be wearing Ukraine). In general, it is better to see a hundred times than once to tell you about Europe Park! What really surprised us was the Virtual Reality Attraction. As far as I am skeptical about such things – but it struck everyone. I think the Matrix is ​​just around the corner guys. Entrance fee of 50 euros per person for the whole day (both children and adults pay the same) and it’s worth it.

Europa Park

German winery – oh friends, in moments of weakness, when bad thoughts visit a restless mind – I want to stay working at a German winery! I’ll say right away that wine in Germany is not expensive by German standards, but not cheap by ours (5–7 euro a bottle of normal wine) and for 3 euro you can buy wine at discount boxes (but this, you know, other sports). In general, we got to the feast of wine at one such German winery. All amateurs and some pros came from all nearby settlements. There were tastings and just plain drunkenness in the program, but it was not so vulgar as here – they drank, rejoiced, listened to live music. And then there was a tour of the cellars. Of course, it’s cold and damp there, but the master of ceremonies / the director of the winery constantly poured wine to everyone, but when he learned that we were from Ukraine, he said that Ukrainians were hardened and allowed to drink as much as we like – so we poured ourselves!

Entrance to the winery cellar

winery director

new wine containers

magic of wine

old barrels

wine fermentation

expensive wines

expensive wines

And of course the city is a fairy tale Bruges (which is in Belgium) We arrived there in the evening and there was not much time to get to know the city (we decided to start this business with fresh forces in the morning). In the meantime, we had to find our boat (yes, yes, we spent the night on a boat – a five-bed floating hotel / boat that stood at the other end of the city). But on the way we bought wines and eat in stores like our ATB (by the way, they all close at 20-00). But the most important thing is that the owner of the boat hid the keys in a box on the shore and turned off the water / electricity (thanks to the neighbor from the other boat – we found it). In general, it is more fun to think up 🙂 In the morning, bridges are built on the canals in Bruges (they are really navigable – I saw barges loaded with aluminum ingots) this is of course romantic. Being in the center of Bruges – we saw a beautiful city and crowds of tourists from around the world (come to such cities early in the morning)

Our hotel in Bruges

Canals Brugge

Bruges bridge over the canal

Brugge

Bruges Town Hall

Bruges market

As for the city itself, Bruges is beautiful (it’s impossible to say that it stands out from everything we’ve seen, but the channels and the film “Bring to the bottom in Bruges” made it a cult). Of course, all spoil the abundant hordes of tourists, but you should turn off the main streets and you can relax and enjoy this medieval, majestic beauty of old Europe. To get rich culturally, we took a boat trip through the Bruges canals and visited the (Gröninge Groeningemuseum Museum) Bosch Museum. There are free expositions and art galleries (all together for three, we managed about 100 euros). Generally, walking around Bruges, I personally felt myself at the medieval festival of historical reconstruction (in which I had taken part in it more than once) —that you could dress tourists in historical costumes a little and you can shoot a movie about the 14th century Holland, Spain and France.

Bruges Gallery

in the center of Bruges

Bicycle parking in the center of Bruges

Bruges ice cream

Bruges Waffles

Bruges Waffles

Bruges Kanyla

Bruges architecture

Bruges Racing

Bruges Kanyla

Bruges Bosch Museum

Gingerbread house Bruges

Bruges The Hobbit Restaurant

Central square Bruges

When you get to Bruges, be sure to try the Belgian waffle (3-5 euros) and potatoes (5-10 euros) and ice cream (3-5 euros) – all this is of excellent quality and for reasonable money. The city is not cheap, for example, the average bill per person in the Hobbit restaurant will be about 80 euros. the guide is not needed (my opinion) everything is on the Internet (and here it is needed on the whole route of our journey through Europe). But it is worth visiting Bruges, the main thing is not to rush. Travel, all cement …

Useful info
* prices for taxis in Europe – from 1 to 3 euros per kilometer (all clearly on the counter)
* it is better to buy tickets for a Wizzair plane in 4 months
* move around Europe on Flixbus (cheap and comfortable) – you can buy tickets for Ukraine only through Paypal
* excursions and guidebooks only impede plunge into reality