Thursday 8 January 2015

Where we are going in Europe 2015

This weekend marks 4 months till we leave for Europe for our travels in 2015

Here is a run down of our itinerary .


  • Day 1 Melbourne to Singapore 
  • Day 2 Singapore to Helsinki Finland to Warsaw Poland to Krakow Poland
  • Day 3 Krakow Poland to Istebna Poland
  • Day 4-9 Istebna Poland (staying with friends)
    Istebna Poland
  • Day 10 Istebna Poland to Vienna Austria
  • Day 11-13 Vienna Austria
  • Day 14 day trip from Vienna Austria to Bratislava Slovakia
  • Day 15 Vienna Austria to Rome Italy
  • Day 16-20 Rome Italy
  • Day 21 Rome Italy to Manchester England (via Düsseldorf)
  • Day 22-28 St Helens England and Towyn Wales (staying with friends)
  • Day 29 Wales to London England
  • Day 30-32 London England
  • Day 33 London England to Paris France
    Vienna Austria
  • Day 34-36 Paris France
  • Day 37 Paris France to Freiburg Germany (via Strasbourg France)
  • Day 38-44 Freiburg Germany ( staying with friends)
  • Day 45 Freiburg to Basel Switzerland
  • Day 46 Basel Switzerland to Porto Portugal
  • Day 47-48 Porto Portugal
  • Day 49 Porto Portugal to Lisbon Portugal
  • Day 50-53 Lisbon Portugal
  • Day 54 Lisbon Portugal to Barcelona Spain
  • Day 55-58 Barcelona Spain
  • Day 59 Barcelona Spain to Helsinki Finland
  • Day 60 Helsinki Finland to Singapore
  • Day 61 Singapore to Melbourne


In some upcoming posts i will provide some information on sites and places we will be seeing
Freiburg Germany


Wednesday 7 January 2015

Kids and Oktoberfest

Most people assume that Oktoberfest is just for adults.

Don't get me wrong the beer tents are awesome. I certainly suggest trying some beer while you are there.

Our daughter willow celebrated her 8th birthday at Oktoberfest 2013.
Oktoberfest is the world's largest funfair held every in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. To the local Bavarians, it is  simply called the "Wiesn", after the  name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) where it is held. The history of the festival dates back to the early 1800's when it was first held to celebrate a royal Bavarian wedding.


Oktoberfest is also one of the biggest carnivals in the world. You will find everything from giant Ferris wheels , haunted houses, carousels, giant slides, fun houses to extreme roller coasters. Food is another highlight. You will find gaint sausages, fruit skewers dipped in chocolate, gaint bread pretzels and your normal carnival fair like fairy floss.We had lunch at the Paulaner beer tent on the outside seats Pork knuckle, chicken, potato salad and giant pretzles. It was also a chance for me sneak in a lite stein of beer as one does at Oktoberfest Spetzi is a soft drink that is a mix of cola and orange lemonade the kids loved it. Its made by the Paulaner brewery of Munich and only available in Germany mostly. Brand new carnival rides are debuted at oktobetfest every year. Its very family friendly and kids are most welcome. Kids are even welcome in the beer tents.

Our children Willow and Marley had an absolute ball at Oktoberfest the carnival takes up 75% of the whole area that Oktoberfest is held at. Personally daylight hours are the time to take the kids. In the night hours you may encounter many people who have been drinking all day since the beer tents open before lunch, and the atmosphere may not be as family friendly. There is a large police presence at festival to keep all in check and we never witnessed anything that would have detered us from taking the children.


Like all shows, carnivals and fairs things don't come cheap as a family we spent around €200 on rides and food. There is no admission fee so even if your budget does not stretch far its still a must if your in Munich. It filled in five hours of our day. My daughter Willow still tells everyone with the biggest smile on her face how she spent her 8th birthday at Oktoberfest and it was "the best day ever". Willow had previously been to Oktoberfest as a ten month old in 2006  and happily tells everyone she has been to Oktoberfest twice, something alot of people will never do.
The Birthday girl.