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Help! Needs tips for traveling to Germany - cell phone, public transportation, etc.

LauraG

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Hi again, Laura. I still haven't pulled out my Paris books to find "that" restaurant....BUT......look for a hotel in the 7th arrondisement (near either the Champ du Mars or the Rue Cler is very nice). This is a good area with kids for a short visit because it is fun to see the Eiffel Tower all the time, you can hop on the Metro quickly and be anywhere in Paris, it's not all crazy but seems very "Paris", there is a playground in the Champ du Mars (the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower) that is great fun to take a tot to. There are two actually, one for very little kids and one for bigger kids. A great place to meet locals and others on vacation, and it's nice for mom and dad to sit on a bench in the evening (bundle up!) and wait for the Eiffel Tower to do it's "sparkle" (the first 10 minutes of every hour, on the hour....I think starting at 6 p.m. every night, but maybe it's 5 in the winter months????).

On the Rue Cler there is a restaurant called "Cafe du Marche" which is right on a corner (can't miss it). Lo and behold it's actually a very famous restaurant, but is noisy, casual and fun so it is a great place to go with kids and feel hip but still be fine with a toddler. If you go earlier in the evening (like before 7 pm) you can be seated fairly quickly. A great Paris scene that even families can enjoy. MAKE SURE YOU GET DESSERT! (Petit gateaux is divine).

Thank you Debi! I can't wait for our trip. Really the only part I'm dreading is the long plane ride with my daughter, but she really is a good girl, so it should be fine. She's just such a creature of routine, that it might be difficult to get her to sleep. She was extremely good on our flights to/from Orlando - never whined or cried, didn't need to walk up and down the aisle - just sat on our laps, colored, read books, and watched lots of Sesame Street. (I recorded tons of clips from Sesame Street onto DVD so she could watch them on the plane.)

I know a lot of people in Germany speak English - is France the same way?
 

x3 skier

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I know a lot of people in Germany speak English - is France the same way?

In big cities of Continental Europe, English is widely spoken and understood. Small towns, not so much except around big US or other English Speaking Country's complexes like Spang.

Try and learn a few simple phrases and you will do fine. One of my favorites was once I was looking for a Hospital for my wife who took ill on a trip to Germany. Turns out the name for Hospital in German is Krankenhaus which was perfect for the Kranky lady I was with.:D

Cheers
 
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LauraG

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Turns out the name for Hospital in German is Krakenhaus which was perfect for the Kranky lady I was with.:D

Too funny! :D My husband knows some German (whatever he can remember from 3 years of German class in high school), so we'll be okay while he's with us. I took one semester of German in college, but that certainly wasn't enough for me to remember much of anything. (My hubby laughs at the fact that I can't even remember how to count in German, but one semester was just not enough!) I don't think we plan on going too far from the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre Dame in Paris, so I suppose we'll probably be okay there since these are all big tourist attractions. Plus, we'll only be there for 1 1/2 days. I called our hotel and the gal at the front desk spoke English very well, so I'm guessing it will be the same way just about everywhere there.
 

LauraG

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Gosh - I can't believe we leave in just a week!! Woohoo!! What an amazing opportunity, in spite of all the last minute planning being more work than domestic travels.

:whoopie:
 

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What is the name of your hotel in Paris? Do you have a link to it. I'll see if I know the location and if there are any kid friendly spots nearby.
 

LauraG

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Our hotel is the Duquesne Eiffel. The address is 23, avenue Duquesne.
 

hibbeln

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OK! I see where you're at! You will like that location. Here are a couple things close by that your family will probably enjoy....

Playground in the Champ de Mars: Look at your map. The playground is about 1/2 way between the Ecole Militaire and the Eiffel Tower when you're walking up the Champ de Mars. I'm pretty certain that it is even with the "cut through" that connects the Rue de Grenelle on the east side of the park and the Avenue du Gal. Detrie on the other side. There are 2 playgrounds, one only for toddlers, and one for everyone (used by toddlers on up and seems to be the most popular). This is a great place to interact with other families. It is lovely in the evening when you can watch the Eiffel Tower twinkling from the playground (first 5 minutes of every hour starting at dusk.....so either at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.). It used to twinkle for 10 minutes, but 2 weeks ago they cut it to 5 minutes to save electricity. It is also fun at night to go up and stand UNDER the Eiffel Tower and look UP into it. Kind of makes you dizzy and kids love it!

Restaurants Close By That Work for Kids:
La Varangue 27 rue Augereau (Closed on Sundays). THis is how it is described by Rick Steve's guidebook "An entertaining one-man show featuring English-speaking Phillipe, who ran a French catering shop in Pennsylvania for three years. He lives upstairs, and clearly has found his niche serving a mostly American clientele, who are all on a first-name basis. The food is cheap and basic, the tables are few, and he opens early at 5:30 p.m. Norman Rockwell would dig his tiny dining room." We've eaten there on two different trips, and often his kids are helping out (taking orders, etc). Food was simple, very very tasty food. Different than your usual cafe options that you will find yourself shuffled into with kids. GET THE CHOCOLATE CAKE if it is on the dessert menu!!!! Get there right at 5:30 or not to long after and you will have him and the whole place to yourself for awhile. Here is a link to a map showing the location. http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTE...2.302752&zoom=16&q1=27 rue Augereau, Paris FR
Cafe du Marche Yes, you can actually go someplace hip with a kid in tow in Paris! This is right on the corner of rue Cler and rue Champ de Mars. They are also open earlier for dinner. Always always always make room for a dessert, we can vouch for the petit gateaux (those little chocolate volcano cakes....yum!). Dark and loud and has booths. Here is a map to where they are http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTE...lon=2.306205&zoom=16&q1=38 rue cler, Paris FR

Rue Cler This is a street near where you are. It is 2 blocks east (towards Invalides) from "your" Ecole Militaire Metro Station and the street runs up towards the Seine River. Walk up it in the morning to soak up the scene of the street farmers' market. Pop into a boulangerie for breads. Go into "the cheese shop" (you'll see it, I think it is on the right hand side of the street as you walk toward the river, makes a great photo outside of it). Take your daughter in the cheese shop and see how much her nose wrinkles up! PEEE-EW!


The Louvre If you go in the Louvre, realize it is HUGE! Look around at the building itself as it was once the royal palace. Find the basement....down underneath the Louvre underground are the old castle walls from what it stood here BEFORE the Louvre Palace was built. The old one looked like Cinderella's castle (there is a scale model in the basement of it). It is a good place to let kids run for a few minutes on these boardwalks around the old castle walls. It is kind of other-worldly because you are underground and it's like you were walking in the castle moat. It is also BLESSEDLY COOL if you're sweating buckets up in the main part of the museum in your winter clothes.

The Eiffel Tower If it is at all cool or windy, DRESS REALLY WARMLY if you go up it with your little one. We were there in February and went up, and I was about as cold as I have ever been in my life(and we live in Michigan!). Because it is all open ironwork, the wind whips right through it and comes at your from all directions. My feet were so cold they HURT from the cold wind hitting them from underneath. Forget fashion, put on an extra layer of socks, hats and gloves for the whole family. There is really no place to warm up once you are in the Tower (there is a tiny post office which is kind of heated on one level, but that's it). In fact, overall in November, assume it will be cold and wet. Have little umbrellas that you can always carry without being too bulky. Dress warmer than you might think because you will be outside A LOT and the metro stations are not heated (or at least not very much!). Cafes are always nice and warm! Pop in for a cappucino and some onion soup when you get too cold!

Notre Dame
Go up the Bell Tower. Very very cool. Go "all the way up" and walk around the big bells and then ALL the way up to the tip top of the towers. WOW!
Stuff some croissant or baguette pieces in your pockets the day you go there (or any day you'll be in the vicinity). When you're looking at Notre Dame in the plaza in front, the bushes that are BEHIND you about 2/3 of the way back on the plaza are filled with birds that will come and sit all over your arms and head if you have bread. My one son LOVED this!


My kids actually liked the D'Orsay museum when they were little. The sculpture area (you can't miss it) they found to be very cool, and the paintings were "pretty". The big clock is neat! And somewhere there is a street-model of Paris that is under your feet (you look down through glass) that had my youngest son crawling on the floor looking at it.

If you get the Paris Museum Pass, you can pop into museums and monuments and see what you want and pop back out again. You don't feel like you have to go in and "get your money's worth". You can get a one day pass for adults. Kids are free with adults. You can get them in the Metro Stations at the manned tickets booths (yes, they speak English).

Hope this helps!
 

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Debi - thank you so much!! You are incredibly sweet to take the time to post all of that great advice! :clap:

I have printed out your post and we will most definitely do everything you've recommended. I can't wait!! 5 days and counting until our journey begins.....

I'll be sure to let everyone know how our trip goes.
 

MULTIZ321

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Thanks Debi for the great Paris tips!

Laura - have a great trip!

Bon Voyage & Bon appetit!


Richard
 
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hibbeln

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Aw drat, I was trying to upload some photos to here, but they're too big for the TUG BBS file size. Laura, can I email them to you?
 

LauraG

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LauraG

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Photo Resizing Tool

By the way - for anyone who's interested, Microsoft has a great photo resizing tool that's free:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx Scroll down and on the right (about 2/3 of the way down) you'll see "Image Resizer."

You can resize multiple images within Windows Explorer with this tool. It's very cool - I use it all the time!
 

hibbeln

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I emailed those photos to you yesterday. Did they come through?

I'll have to try that photo resizing tool!
 

LauraG

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Hi Debi! Yes, I got your e-mail and just responded - thank you! Sorry again for the delayed response; things have been slightly hectic around here.

Thank you to everyone for all of the wonderful tips. We're all packed and excited to leave Saturday. I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures, so I'll be sure to post some during/after our trip!

:wave:
 

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Verizon

DH, who is in London now, arranged for a free Verizon phone (with outrageous minutes) but it doesn't work. He is NOT a happy camper.
 

mamiecarter

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Trier Has a First rate cathedral!!!

Do not fail to visit Trier Cathedral. It is an important Gothic monument. Germany rebuilt almost all of it's monuments beautifully after the destruction of WWII so even if they got bombed they are still just like they used to be. Get a Michelin Guide to Germany and see the cultural and historical sites.

While you are at it get the Michelin Green guides to Paris and any other part of France you are going to and see the right sites in style.
 
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x3 skier

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"DH, who is in London now, arranged for a free Verizon phone (with outrageous minutes) but it doesn't work. He is NOT a happy camper."

Hope it was a quad band (or Euro bands) GSM phone. If not, it is a nice paper weight.

Cheers
 

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Well, I think you re there now but the Recreation Center at Spang will have tours where you'll be traveling with mostly Americans. We used it to go to Paris (by the way, there are McDonald's there -- steak and frites) My only advice would be to stay away from the bakeries-we bought some lovely products only to find out they were liquor filled-not my idea of breakfast rolls! Almost all Paris tours lead up to the Montmatra (??). I even took a train trip (base to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Rome-and Naples) from the Rec Center. The German buses are very nice (NOT like Greyhound). I would go back in a minute (of course I would gain lots of weight eating at the SchnellImbiss and Gasthaus along the way!:banana:
 

rickandcindy23

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We talked to Laura (our daughter) this morning, and they just loved Paris. The hotel was very nice, and our granddaughter charmed everyone, as she always does. The trains were confusing for them, but they did figure things out and got back to the base okay, in time for dinner. I wish we could have gone with them, but Rick and I are going to go ourselves in about 18 months.
 

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driving in Germany

Hi, I just returned and was driving around the Munich area.. the driving and drivers were fine, its the signs that got me sometimes confused as I wasnt sure where to turn... otherwise, you should be fine. The roads are debris free, good condition and courteous drivers when I was on the road.. I stayed in the slower lane so I could read the signs up ahead with my co pilots !!!
 

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Europe was wonderful!

Hello, everyone. I am so sorry for not posting about my trip yet....things have been hectic. We got back the week of Thanksgiving, my husband's grandmother just passed and now we have all the chaos of Christmas upon us. I will post about our trip later when I have time. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone again for all of the wonderful tips. We really had a wonderful time and are anxious to go back!! :D

If I don't get to post before next week, Merry Christmas to all. :wave:
 
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