Tracey went to Germany with her husband and baby boy. They rented an apartment for part of their stay and had a wonderful time. Thanks so much for sharing your trip to Berlin with baby with us, Tracey!
Tracey In Berlin
Berlin with baby like a Berliner…
Last year my husband and I took a trip to Germany with our 8-month-old son. We had extended family there and we felt it was a great time to travel – before the little guy could walk or voice his displeasure with the choice of activities.
We knew traveling with a baby was going to be different and we’d have to make some compromises. The little guy had a regular routine at home and we decided the best thing for our trip would be to maintain a couple of key aspects of that schedule. So each day we got to have a relaxing breakfast while he had a quick morning nap. During the day we saw the sites while he happily cat napped in his carrier. And each night we enjoyed a nice home cooked dinner and adult conversation after he went to bed. This worked particularly well when visiting with friends and family.
Entrance Hall…
Our trip included stops in Grunstadt, Chemnitz, Nurenberg, Munich, Berlin and Neuschwanstein in the Bavarian Alps. For most of our trip we were staying with family. But for Berlin we were on our own.
So we booked an apartment instead of a hotel. This gave us a kitchen so we could have a nice breakfast each day, and make dinner each night (although we usually had a late lunch out and didn’t need dinner). An apartment also gave us a bedroom in which the little guy could retire each night while we ate, played cards, people watched, etc.
It was easy to find and book an apartment. There was a wide variety of flats throughout Berlin available for all sorts of budgets. We wanted something in central Berlin and close to the metro with a bedroom, laundry, kitchen, crib, high chair, etc. In the end we booked online through Mowitania (an apartment agency). Our cost was very affordable at 80EU a night, including taxes and the agency fee.
Dinner On The Balcony…
Our little 1 bedroom flat was on the 4th floor of an old apartment block in the former East Berlin neighbourhood of Friedrichshain. The building was one of the few in the area that had survived through WWII and communism and it was full of character. The neighbourhood was a real fun eclectic mix of people and right outside our door were grocery stores, street side cafes, restaurants, clubs, shops, coffee, internet, etc. During the day it was just a short metro ride to all the key sites. And we in the evening we enjoyed people watching from our balcony.
It was of course a long walk up those stairs with a baby in a carrier after a long day of sightseeing and there was no hotel staff or room service at our beck and call. But we had the freedom to make our own meals, do laundry and make ourselves really at home – all at a lower cost than most hotels. We felt like we were seeing Berlin from a Berliner’s point of view.
About Tracey. Tracey regularly blogs about things that interest her at Ramblings of TJR – marketer – mom – tv addict. https://tjrramblings.blogspot.com
We went to Berlin when Big S was 10mo. We had a blast wandering the streets. Berlin has many great parks and open grassy areas for little ones to get the giggles out before you travel to more somber spots in the city.
We also went to Berlin when our baby was 8 months old and had a great time! (See link for my post about our visit.)
Berlin is totally on my bucket list!
Love having a kitchen when traveling anywhere…especially important when traveling with a baby!