Day: April 5, 2024

3 days in Innsbruck, Austria with Kids

Background For Winter Break 2023-2024, our family visited Germany and Austria! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. Planning this big multi-city trip was so fun. We saw Christmas markets, snowy villages, ice-skated in 3 cities, and loved loved loved train rides with gorgeous scenery. European travel is quickly becoming one of my favorite things with family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our 3 full days in Innsbruck, Austria. The small towns of the region were so cute and different and had such a wonderful vibe. Read all of our European Christmas Market posts at the following links: Our 2023 Germany and Austria Trip: Flights and Logistics 2 days in Munich, Germany with Kids Day Trips from Munich with Kids: Nuremberg & Neuschwanstein Castle 3 days in Salzburg, Austria with Kids 3 days in Innsbruck, Austria with Kids Getting around Salzburg From Salzburg’s main station, it was an easy 2 hour trip to the main Innsbruck station. On our trips between cities, we generally booked tickets the night before and were able to get really inexpensive tickets. The price for all 4 of us was 44 euro and it was a double-deck train (Ellie was so excited!) I love how easy train travel is in Europe. We used the website seat 61 to get some guidance but it was really straightforward. In Innsbruck, we had the Innsbruck card for bus travel around the city. Where we stayed: We booked a 2-bedroom apartment on booking.com right in the middle of the city. Primarily because we thought we would walk home after NYE celebrations. However, we didn’t stay awake till midnight anyway. Either way, this was an awesome location and made it very easy to adventure out and about in the city. We used the Innsbruck card for 3 days (more below) which came with public transport which made it really easy to get around daily. We stopped at grocery stores for breakfast and evening snacks and had a wonderful stay. Innsbruck Card Tips When exploring highlights of cities, we often like to look at cards that include multiple museums and attractions. The Innsbruck Card was a great deal and included many of the attractions we were most interested in seeing. I included in our itinerary below if it was part of the card. We purchased a 72 hr 3 day card to give us more flexibility but could have been more efficient/squeezed it in 2 days. Definitely make a plan to do non-included things outside of the window if you’re there for a little longer. Our 3.5 day itinerary in Innsbruck Day 0: Transit to Innsbruck, Ambras Castle, Evening Light Show We arrived in Innsbruck in the early afternoon after arriving by train from Salzburg. After settling into our hotel, we wasted no time in grabbing an Innsbruck Card. We went to the information center near our hotel to get the physical passes because the online options weren’t working. With our sightseeing pass secured, we hopped on a bus and made our way to the majestic Ambras Castle. This castle sits high on a hilltop overlooking Innsbruck and has some fun things to see such as armor, weird wacky collections, and fun art. We also explored the outdoor garden areas a little and found a fun bridge to a cave. Off the beaten path! We spent around 2 hours at the castle and then headed back to our apartment. From our spot near the golden roof, we heard a fun little concert at sunset. I looked it up online and found that there is usually a band that plays throughout November and December on the roof. It was a lovely surprise! The Golden Roof is one of Innsbruck’s most popular tourist attraction. The small roof sticks out from a building and is covered with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles. We didn’t explore the attached museum or do a lot of history things in the area but the location was really convenient. As part of our innsbruck card, admission to a light show at a nearby park was included. Lumagica was a fun walk-through light sculpture show that was really well done. Lots of different themes and fun areas to see. To complete our evening, we had dinner at Stiftskeller. This was our favorite spot, maybe of the whole trip. We had schnitzel, stew, fish sticks and returned here multiple times throughout the week! Day 1: Top of Innsbruck cable cars, Zoo, Sound Museum Top of Innsbruck Our first full day in Innsbruck began with a fun ride on the Nordkette cable car, which whisked us up the mountainside in style. The rides were all included as part of our Innsbruck card. We walked from our hotel to the nearby park and started our journey at the Congress station. Congress – Hungerburg This is the first leg of the ride, from the Congress Station in Innsbruck city center to Hungerburg, a stop where you can find the Alpenzoo and stunning mountain views. The ride on the Hungerburg Funicular takes about 8 minutes. It was a little squished but super awesome to see the city shrink beneath us. Alpenzoo We stopped at the Alpenzoo, Europe’s highest zoo. Our favorite animal was the ibex, a majestic mountain goat with impressive horns. We spent about an hour and a half at the zoo, following the path and pointing out birds we recognized from wingspan, our favorite board game lol. Hungerburg – Seegrube The second stage involves a cable car ride from Hungerburg to Seegrube, a scenic plateau at an altitude of 1,905 meters. This leg offers panoramic views of Innsbruck and the Inn Valley. The ride takes approximately 6 minutes. At this spot, we were excited to see all the skiers! We oohed and

3 days in Salzburg, Austria with Kids

Background For Winter Break 2023-2024, our family visited Germany and Austria! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. Planning this big multi-city trip was so fun. We saw Christmas markets, snowy villages, ice-skated in 3 cities, and loved loved loved train rides with gorgeous scenery. European travel is quickly becoming one of my favorite things with family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our 3 full days in Salzburg, Austria. When people think of Salzburg, many think of Mozart and Sound of Music. We did those things and so much more. Read on to learn about our favorite spots! Read all of our European Christmas Market posts at the following links: Our 2023 Germany and Austria Trip: Flights and Logistics 2 days in Munich, Germany with Kids Day Trips from Munich with Kids: Nuremberg & Neuschwanstein Castle 3 days in Salzburg, Austria with Kids 3 days in Innsbruck, Austria with Kids Getting around Salzburg From Munich’s main station, it was an easy 2 hour trip to the main Salzburg station. On our trips between cities, we generally booked tickets the night before and were able to get really inexpensive tickets. On the train, operators stopped by to scan our qr-codes and give us a receipt. We used the website seat 61 to get some guidance but it was really straightforward. The Bayern ticket is a family ticket that is a great deal for unlimited travel in Bavaria (Munich and surrounding areas) on regional trains and is good for Salzburg day trips or even one-way trips like ours. In salzburg, we had the salzburg card and it included public transport Where we stayed: We stayed at Hotel Europa near the train station. Prices were a little high in the old town area due to the holiday season and we prioritized access to public transport and basic needs over some of the fancier options nearer to the main square. We used the Salzburg card (more below) which came with public transport which made it really easy to head to the old town area daily. The hotel gave us some small welcome drinks and had a nice (while expensive) breakfast that we did on one of the days. We would stay here again. Salzburg Card Tips When exploring highlights of cities, we often like to look at cards that include multiple museums and attractions. The Salzburg Card was a great deal and included many of the attractions we were most interested in seeing. I included in our itinerary below if it was part of the card. We purchased a 72 hr 3 day card to give us more flexibility but could have been more efficient/squeezed it in 2 days. Definitely make a plan to do non-included things outside of the window if you’re there for a little longer. For itinerary planning, the salzburg info website was really helpful. Our 3 day itinerary in Salzburg: Day 0: Salzburg (Christmas Eve): Transit to Salzburg, Austria, Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf We arrived in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, and after checking in to our hotel, we went back to the train station to head to the city of Oberndorf for a Christmas Eve event. This cute Austrian village is the town where the composer of the song Silent Night lived and debuted the song for the first time 200 years ago.On Christmas Eve, the city puts on a service with readings, carols, and a group singing of the song. We enjoyed the little market shops and snacks and stood on the hill near the small church to listen to the music. It was very fun! Definitely worth a trip if you’re there on Christmas eve. At other points of the year, you can still stop by to visit the church and museum but there won’t be the same level of festivity Day 1: Salzburg (Christmas Day): Cathedral, Christmas Markets, Dom Museum Salzburg Cathedral One of the reasons why we organized our trip in the order that we did was because the Salzburg markets stay open longer. After googling dates of Christmas markets, we decided that Germany before Christmas and Austria after made the most sense. On Christmas morning, we started our day with a church service at the Salzburg cathedral. You can tour at various times of the day (with a small donation) but we loved going to the mass service. We were able to listen to the German service, try to sing along and ooh and ahh at the ceilings and paintings. The Roman Catholic Salzburg Cathedral was founded in 774, but the current Baroque structure dates to the 17th century. Christmas Markets After the service, we explored the cute Christmas market right outside the Cathedral in the main square. This was our favorite market. There were excellent Austrian Christmas treats like Salzburger Nockerl (a fluffy soufflé dessert), gingerbread cookies, Lebkuchen (spiced honey cakes), and Kiachl (fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar). We loved the pretzel and soup stands as well. Of course, we had to get a cute mug of Glühwein (mulled wine) and hot chocolate to warm up as well. The market stands had familiar items and new items. The nativity scenes and ornaments were gorgeous and the whole environment was really charming. Dom Quartier Museums In the afternoon, we visited the DomQuartier museums. This collection of museums was right next to the Cathedral and is included as part of the Salzburg card. The Residenz was the official residence of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg for centuries. The staterooms were beautiful with traditional staterooms and impressive ceilings. We used the included audio guides and there were kids stories in each room. There were also several kids focused activities along the way such as seek and find and puzzles. This was a really

Day Trips from Munich with Kids: Nuremberg & Neuschwanstein Castle

Background For Winter Break 2023-2024, our family visited Germany and Austria! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. Planning this big multi-city trip was so fun. We saw Christmas markets, snowy villages, ice-skated in 3 cities, and loved loved loved train rides with gorgeous scenery. European travel is quickly becoming one of my favorite things with family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our 2 day-trips from Munich to Nuremberg and Nueschwanstein. Read all of our European Christmas Market posts at the following links: Our 2023 Germany and Austria Trip: Flights and Logistics 2 days in Munich, Germany with Kids Day Trips from Munich with Kids: Nuremberg & Neuschwanstein Castle 3 days in Salzburg, Austria with Kids 3 days in Innsbruck, Austria with Kids Easy Day Trips from Munich by Train Munich is a great spot to day-trip from. The main Munich train station, Hauptbahnhof, was well-labeled and easy to navigate. From our hotel, it was a quick trip to the main station and there were numerous options to various sites all around Germany and beyond. We generally booked tickets the night before and were able to get really inexpensive tickets. On the train, operators stopped by to scan our qr-codes and give us a receipt. We used the website Seat 61 to get some guidance but it was really straightforward. The Bayern ticket is a family ticket that is a great deal for unlimited travel in Bavaria (Munich and surrounding areas) on regional trains. Day trip #1: Nuremberg On one of our days in Munich, we took an all-day trip to Nuremberg. This city regularly makes lists of top Christmas markets in Europe and it lived up to the hype! The city transforms into a winter wonderland with its renowned Christkindlesmarkt, festive atmosphere, and gorgeous historical churches and buildings. Getting to Nuremberg Just an hour away by train from Munich, Nuremberg is the perfect day trip. It was really easy to find directions on google and buy a train ticket! Easy trip! The kids loved their kindle time and it was a beautiful trip. Sightseeing in Nuremberg From the train station, we walked towards the main Christmas market areas and oohed and ahhed at all the cute buildings and cobble streets. We passed by Frauentorturm, the old tower at the corner of the city walls and stopped briefly at St. Lorenz Church (Lorenzkirche) which is a gorgeous Gothic church from the 15th century. We then headed to the central market square, Hauptmarkt. The Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) is one of the most impressive churches in Nuremberg. At noon every day, the Männleinlaufen glockenspiel (a mechanical clock) puts on a display. Mechanized figures come out from just below the church clock, with princes dancing around the Holy Roman Emperor. The main square is also where the Christmas market is located. After watching the glockenspiel, we back-tracked towards the Children’s market Christmas Markets! Our next stop was back to the main Christkindlesmarkt. The main attraction is the Christkindlesmarkt, one of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets in the world. It dates back to the 16th century and boasts over 180 stalls selling traditional Christmas decorations, handcrafted gifts, and delicious treats like gingerbread, roasted chestnuts, and Nuremberg sausages. In the middle of the square is the Gothic Schoner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain), a replica of a fountain from the 14th century. I read a story that spinning the rings in the fence of the fountain three times brings good luck! Our next stop was the Nuremberg Toy Museum or Spielzeugmuseum . The adults were interested in some of the nostalgic toys and displays. The kids were more interested in playing! On the top floor, there were several puzzles, wooden games, and fun play areas. On the walk back towards the train station, we stopped for some yummy schnitzel at tucher mautkeller. On the train ride back, the kiddos read a little but also just rested after a big day. This was a really fun and full day trip. I’m so glad we were able to make the small side trip to experience the Christmas festivities. If you visit at non-Christmas times, be sure to look up other things to do as well such as the Nuremberg Castle, the DB train museum, dungeon tours and other historical sites like the Nazi grounds or trial areas. Day Trip #2: Neuschwanstein Castle If you’re interested in another fun day trip from Muncih, Neuschwanstein Castle is gorgeous! Getting to the Castle There are several bus tours that run with stops at multiple castles but we decided to take public transport. The kids love riding trains and reading books and we were able to follow google maps along the route and transfers. It did take about 3 hours from Munich Central station to get to where we were going so plan for a full day of adventure. Castle Views! Built in the 19th century by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, Neuschwanstein is the most iconic castle in Europe. With its fairytale appearance, it served as an inspiration for Walt Disney’s logo. If you’ve ever done the Soarin ride at Disney, it flies over the castle! We took several trains and a bus to the cute little town and were immediately greeted by gorgeous views and cute shops. We didn’t visit the inside of the castle but we did do an hour hike to the Neuschwanstein Castle bridge. We bought some hiking snacks and made our way to the bridge, also known as Marienbrücke. The hike took about an hour to the bridge and back. There is also an option for a horse-drawn carriage. The bridge is a must-see for any visitor to the iconic Bavarian castle. Situated directly behind Neuschwanstein Castle, offering breathtaking

Two Days in Munich, Germany with Kids

Background For Winter Break 2023-2024, our family visited Germany and Austria! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. Planning this big multi-city trip was so fun. We saw Christmas markets, snowy villages, ice-skated in 3 cities, and loved loved loved train rides with gorgeous scenery. European travel is quickly becoming one of my favorite things with family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our 2 days in Munich. Read all of our European Christmas Market posts at the following links: Our 2023 Germany and Austria Trip: Flights and Logistics (this post) 2 days in Munich, Germany with Kids Day Trips from Munich with Kids: Nuremberg & Neuschwanstein Castle 3 days in Salzburg, Austria with Kids 3 days in Innsbruck, Austria with Kids Arrival in Munich Munich International airport has great options for flights from the US. See this post here for more details on how we used points and miles from credit cards for our flight. At the time of our visit, the luggage was sooooo slow to arrive at the carousel. More reason to be team carry-on. Our usual routine is to take an uber from the airport to our hotel on the first day and get the hang of public transport and other options throughout the trip. A great option in Munich is the Lufthansa Express Bus. It takes you to the central train station where you would need to then transfer to your final destination. For a family ticket of 28 euro, you can get into the city (compared to $50-$80 for ubers/taxis) Transportation in Munich We love train-travel in Europe. We used the MVGO app and bought daily unlimited family passes. It was super easy to buy tickets for our day trips and train to Salzburg, Austria at the end of our stay. We used this website for tips and recommendations. We also just used google maps frequently which was synced to the schedules. One top tip for international travel is to download the city map to google so that it doesn’t continue to use data every time you load. Hotel In Munich, we stayed at the Andaz Munich. The hotel is located in the Schwabing district. Views were absolutely gorgeous and the hotel was fantastic with a lovely spa/pool area, great breakfast and bar and super kind staff. We were able to get upgraded to a suite which let the kids be on a pull-out and us be in a separate room. Plus 2 bathrooms! The hotel was a short walk and quick 15 minute bus/train combo to the city. We thought about trying to stay closer but wanted our free breakfast <3. A block away, there was a really cute playground! Our 2 day itinerary in Munich: Day 1: Arrival, Christmas Markets, Hoffbraus After our afternoon arrival, we checked into the hotel (yay for free welcome drinks) and then headed out to Old Town and the main city area. The Marienplatz area was easy to get to and full and bustling with Christmas cheer. The New Town Hall (Neue Rathaus) building is a beautiful landmark and a great backdrop to our first day of adventures. One of the main reasons we visited Germany and Austria was for the Christmas markets and this area had a giant one with hundreds of little kiosks. Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt: No trip to Munich’s Christmas markets is complete without a visit to the Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt. This iconic market, nestled in the heart of the city’s main square, is the oldest and largest in Munich. With over 100 stalls selling traditional Bavarian crafts, ornaments, and delicious treats, it’s a sensory overload in the best possible way. Be sure to soak up the festive atmosphere, with the twinkling lights and the sound of Christmas carols filling the air and try a mug of steaming Glühwein (mulled wine). At the market, you pay a pfand (deposit) of 3-4 euro and pay 4-5 euro for the actual drink. The deposit is the cost for that adorable mug. If you don’t return it, then you forfeit the deposit. However, if you return it, you get the deposit back. This is environmentally friendly and a nice way to use lots of cute little mugs. They had kid non-alcoholic punch but the kids were not huge fans. We also stopped by a cute cheese shop and sampled some fun snacks. So great! Hofbraeuhas: For dinner, we walked a few blocks to Hofbraeuhas. This is one of the most famous breweries in the world. If you’ve ever been to a US german-themed beer hall, it is probably modeled in part on this brewery. It was founded in the 1500s and lived up to its hype. It is so touristy but that’s part of the joy. There was live tuba music, large liters of beer, pretzels and schnitzels and large tables full of tourists from all over. We chatted with another family who adventured from Australia and were on a full monthly adventure. I wish! Day 2: Munich: Glockenspiel, Residence Palace, Viktualienmarkt, City Walking, Ice Skating, More Christmas Markets Glockenspiel Glockenspiel: This was our main full day in Munich so we had to make it count! After a late start and hotel breakfast (Yay for nutella croissants!), we headed to see the glockenspiel at 11a. Back at the Marienplatz main square, the large clock tower has a show at 11a, 12p and sometimes at 5p. The short 15 minute show has characters dance around and recounts a royal wedding, jousting tournament and ritualistic dance. It was a little rainy and it didn’t hold our kid’s attention span the whole time but it was fun (Get a cookie snack as a distraction/peace offering) Munich Residence Munich Residence: After watching the show, we walked 10 minutes to the Munich residence.

Germany and Austria Christmas 2023: Flights and Logistics

Trip motivation For Winter Break 2023-2024, our family visited Germany and Austria! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. This big multi-city trip was so fun. We saw Christmas markets, snowy villages, ice-skated in 3 cities, and loved loved loved train rides with gorgeous scenery. European travel is quickly becoming one of my favorite things with family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our flights, itinerary, planning process, and international logistics such as using the subway, getting a phone card, and finding budget restaurants. Read all of our European Christmas Market posts at the following links: Our 2023 Germany and Austria Trip: Flights and Logistics (this post) 2 days in Munich, Germany with Kids Day Trips from Munich with Kids: Nuremberg & Neuschwanstein Castle 3 days in Salzburg, Austria with Kids 3 days in Innsbruck, Austria with Kids Planning our Itinerary I love planning trips, especially through well-traveled places where there’s a ton of information to read through and make plans for. Many online blogs were really helpful! We were in each home-base for around 4 days and read numerous blogs and books. One tip for traveling with kids is take a 3-day best of guide and cut out half of it to make it actually realistic to manage in those same 3 days. Mix in some kid-focused/less touristy options like malls, playgrounds, hotel pool. We also took several day trips which felt like a lot of moving but our kids loved reading their new kindles on the trains and this was a great time for just chatting and reconnecting with gorgeous views. Several months before, I sketched out our plan in excel and on google maps with a balance of activities, rest time, food, rest, and fun. We made sure to research how far areas were and tried to schedule several anchor points with a few optional activities so we didn’t overstuff our schedule. Overview Day 1: Arrival in Munich, Marienplatz Christmas Market, Hoffbraus dinner Day 2: Munich: Residence Palace, Viktualienmarkt, City Walking, Ice Skating, More Christmas Markets Day 3: Day trip to Nuremberg: Christmas Markets, Kid’s Activities, Toy Museum Day 4 (Christmas Eve): Transit to Salzburg, Austria, Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf Day 5 (Christmas): Salzburg: Cathedral, Christmas Markets, Dom Museum Day 6: Salzburg: Day trip to Berchtesgaden salt mine tour and Christmas market, Mozart House, Augustiner Dinner Day 7: Salzburg: Science museum, Strudel class, Funicular and Fortress Museum, Mozart Concert Day 8: Transit to Innsbruck, Ambras Castle, Evening Light Show Day 9: Innsbruck: Top of Innsbruck cable cars, Zoo, Sound Museum Day 10: Innsbruck: Swarovski Crystal World, Kid’s NYE festival, Local hockey game! Day 11 (NYE): Innsbruck: Day trip to Seefeld, Hike, Pool with waterslides, NYE run Day 12: Transit to Munch, Day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle Day 13: Fly home! Flying RT to Munich We were able to use United points to fly for 63k points per person and flew a combination of United and Lufthansa planes. Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here Tips for Long Plane Rides Sleeping on planes West to East: Plan to sleep! For the overnight red-eye flight to Europe, we emphasized that after dinner service, everyone was going to try and get some sleep. I gave each kid a dose of melatonin and they passed out pretty immediately. We packed these cheap pillows from Amazon (They came with eye masks!). On arrival, get outside and try to limit naps so you can readjust. Activities for long flights East to West On the long flight, the kids were happy playing with the personal screen and alternating between coloring, reading, tv, games, and snacks. Ellie has been loving the Magic Treehouse books and when they were little, they used to love activities in the Magic Ink and small play pack coloring books (Amazon links). We have one Nintendo Switch that the kids love. For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here. Transportation in Europe Train travel and public transportation is one of our favorite things about Europe. Everything is pretty straightforward and inexpensive. In Munich, we used the MVGO app and bought daily unlimited family passes. One top tip for international travel is to download the city map to google so that it doesn’t continue to use data every time you load. It was also super easy to buy tickets for our day trips and 2 hour train to Salzburg, Austria at the end of our stay. The Bayern ticket is a family ticket that is a great deal for unlimited travel in Bavaria (Munich and surrounding areas) on regional trains and is good for Salzburg day trips or even one-way trips like ours. In Salzburg, we had the salzburg card and it included public transport. From Salzburg’s main station, it was an easy 2 hour trip to the main Innsbruck station. On our trips between cities, we generally booked tickets the night before and were able to get really inexpensive tickets. The price for all 4 of us was 44 euro and it was a double-deck train (Ellie was so excited!) In Innsbruck, we had the Innsbruck car for bus travel around the city. It was easy to get tickets back to Munich at the end of our stay. I love how easy train travel is in Europe. We used the website Seat 61 to get some guidance but it was really straightforward. We mapped destinations using google maps and compared the time/cost/effort to use a taxi, train, bus, or walk. We used uber or the train depending on where/how far we were going. If you have little ones, it might be harder to use a taxi due to the car seat. If you plan on using a stroller

Traveling Little Morsels

Sharing memories and tips for enjoying travels with littles. Always looking forward to our next adventure!

❤ Jenn Morse ❤

TRAVELING LITTLE MORSELS