American Mom in London: December 2012

Yesterday, we spent the day in Brussels, Belgium. Brussels is just over two hours from London via the Eurostar train. This was our first time on the Eurostar, and we were impressed. The train station we departed from (St. Pancras) is right in the city and easily accessible by the Tube whereas most airports are quite far outside the city. In addition, you only need to arrive between 30-60 minutes before your train departs saving quite a bit of time. Plus, children travel free until age 4 (assuming you don't mind them sitting on your lap) which is a definite perk as the tickets can be quite expensive depending on when you book them.

We were less impressed with the city of Brussels. I don't know if it was just because it didn't stop raining for one second of the time we were there or if it was actually the city. Other than having great beer and chocolate, the city didn't really have much to offer. When the number one tourist attraction is a sculpture of a small boy peeing (Manneken Pis), it can't be a good sign. I have heard great things about Bruges, Belgium so we want to travel there at some point instead of giving up on Belgium entirely.

Here are a few pictures of our day....

Colin & I in front of the Manneken Pis

Not impressed

Nativity scene at Grand Place

Mussels in Brussels

Quality parenting

The first weekend in December, we traveled to Berlin. I had wanted to experience some authentic German Christmas markets during our stay in Europe and decided to combine this experience with a visit to a city I had never visited before in Germany (I had previously traveled to Munich as well as the Rhine Valley area). Berlin has long been at the cross roads of history. Berlin staged a revolution, was headquartered by fascists, bombed to bits, ripped in half and finally reunited – and that was just in the 20th century (per my guide book!). The city has underwent a clear re-birth since the days of the wall. David and I both commented a number of times how this was a city we felt we both would be happy living in. Public transportation was easy, there was no shortage of restaurants or shopping, and everything had a modern yet down-to-earth feel.

We visited a few places of historical significance including Reichstag (Germany's parliament), Brandenburg Gate (location of Reagan's speech demanding Gorbachev to tear down the wall), Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin Wall Museum (including the location of one of the few remaining sections of the wall), and Checkpoint Charlie. There were many more museums and sites that I would have enjoyed seeing, but you have to pick your priorities when traveling with a toddler (Colin's choice was a trip to the Berlin Zoo which was the best zoo I have ever visited). Come to think of it, you have to pick your priorities when traveling with a sport's obsessed husband as well (David's choice was a visit to the Olympic Stadium).

In between the sight-seeing, we visited five of Berlin's Christmas markets. Berlin is ranked one of the top cities for Christmas markets with around 60 different markets in and around the city. Each market has the traditional array of food and gift stalls. We pretty much ignored the gift stalls and went straight for the food - bratwurst, crepes, currywurst (curried sausage - a Berlin specialty), pommes frites, Belgian waffles, and many glasses of Gluhwein (mulled wine) were consumed on this trip. A lot of the markets had other attractions too like giant Ferris wheels, ice skating rinks, and children's rides. One even had a giant man made snow hill that you could take a sled down. I am definitely thinking a trip to another German city will be made next Christmas to experience some more markets.

Here are some photos from our trip...