Movie Monday: Ever After: A Cinderella Story

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

To Europe With Kids presents Movie Monday as a weekly feature to recommend films that might expose children and their families to any small bit of European history, folklore, scenery, or animated imagery as entertainment, perhaps new knowledge, or just a couple of hours of electronic babysitting.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Everybody loves a Cinderella story.  And if your children are old enough to advance from the Disney version to a little more intense remake (rated PG), this one has marvelous scenery from the charming medieval region of Dordogne in France.  Ever After:  A Cinderella Story starring Drew Barrymore, was filmed in three very enchanting châteaux:  Château de Fénélon, Château de Hautefort, and Château de Losse:

In addition to the beautiful châteaux, castles, churches, and fortresses in the rural Dordogne region, the unspoiled countryside and storybook villages might just tempt you to add this destination to your travel bucket-list.

Drew Barrymore plays a fine Cinderella in this 1998 film, and Anjelica Huston as the evil stepmother is extraordinary, as always.  It's a great choice for family movie night.  Watch the trailer here.

Link Up to Monkeying Around

Just wanted to post a quick Saturday link up to a great blog I read yesterday about an all around fun activity in Germany.  Take your family to see a mountain of monkeys - more than 200 Barbary macaques! - near Lake Constance.  The monkeys roam freely and can be fed popcorn by the visitors.

Check it out at Expat in Germany.

Photo Friday: Salzburg at Night

The enchanting city of Salzburg, Austria, at night.

This post is part of Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.com.

Review of the Crescent Hotel in London

Naturally I was apprehensive the first time we took the kids to Europe, and a little nervous about the very first hotel we'd stay in since it would make a lasting impression.  I had carefully selected the Crescent Hotel in London, and we were not disappointed in it as a no-frills, economy hotel.  They accommodated our family of four by placing an extra single bed in one of their family rooms, which are usually triples.  It crowded the area just a bit, but when the kids are still little people it's no problem.  The private bathroom was quite spacious, so that helped.  London can get very warm in the summer and air conditioning is still a novelty in budget hotels, so another pleasing feature of our room was that it was slightly underground, in sort of a half basement, and stayed very cool.

Affordable by London's standards, the family room for four is £135 and includes a warm English breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, cereal, yogurt, hot porridge, fruit, tea, juice, and coffee, served in the breakfast room:

In the breakfast room at the Crescent Hotel.

The Crescent Hotel is in an 18th century Georgian building located in Bloomsbury, a quiet district in central London known for its pretty garden squares.  The nearest underground station, easily reached on foot, is Russell Square and will get you to most all the major attractions in the city.  Also very nearby is St. Pancras station, which is where you can board the Eurostar train in case you want to cross the channel to Brussels or Paris.

Fall Apple Picking in Germany

If you find yourself in Germany with children during the fall, why not take them apple picking?  Appel-Happel is a large family-owned apple farm in the Rhineland countryside near the city of Mainz.  The friendly farmers here love children and school groups and offer lots of hands-on demonstrations about what they do, what they grow, and the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables.  Outside the store next to the orchards, you can sample the many different varieties of apples they grow before you start picking.  Besides apples, one can pick peaches, pears, walnuts, berries, and much more when in season.  Appel-Happel also makes their own marmalades, fresh pressed juices, wines and vinegars.  There's even a kid-sized trampoline and a picnic area.

Appel-Happel's website is unfortunately only in German, but there's not much more you need to know besides how to get there.  Their address is:

Appel-Happel
Marienborner Bergweg 33
55127 Mainz-Marienborn
Germany

Hours are Monday - Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and then again from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Happy Halloween!

The Squeeze Pod Travel Product

I have no affiliation with Squeeze Pod, and did not receive any compensation for this post.  Whenever I do receive a free product or service for evaluation,  I will always let you know.

Have you heard about this new travel product?  It's called the Squeeze Pod.  I haven't tried it myself, but seems like a good way to lighten the travel load a little bit.  They make hand sanitizer, shaving gel, moisturizer with SPF 30, and insect repellent in these little, one application, squeezable pods.  They won't leak, they're recyclable, and they're convenient.

Photo Friday: Skin and Bones

Looking forward to Halloween with a little bit of creepiness:  my kids at the Bone House (Beinhaus) in Hallstatt, Austria, where the residents of this small town have hand-painted and then stacked and displayed the bones of their dead since the 12th century.

Take a look at DeliciousBaby.com for more Photo Friday photos.

What It Costs to Ski in Switzerland

Skiing in Europe is not really as expensive as I thought it would be.  Maybe that's only in the small town of Adelboden though, where we'll be staying.  Perhaps I should price Chamonix, Courchevel, Klosters and St. Moritz before I generalize.  I'm pretty sure only royals and celebrities can afford the powder there.

I was concerned over what we would find to do in Switzerland on New Year's Day since just about every site, activity, and restaurant will be closed for the holiday, so I was relieved when told that all slopes would be open!  The holiday is, in fact, a major ski day for Europeans.

My daughter's first time snowboarding.

The cost of a full-day lift ticket that covers all five of Adelboden's mountain areas is 60 CHF for adults, 51 CHF for youths ages 16 - 19, and 33 CHF for children ages 6 - 15, and includes the local ski bus network.  Equipment rental is available at several locations in town and also near the gondola station.  Adult skis and poles or a snowboard generally rent for 39 CHF (19 CHF for juniors ages 7 - 12 years, 12 CHF for kids 6 and under) and adult boots for 19 CHF (12 CHF for juniors, 9 CHF for kids).

Several of the girls in our group have never skied before and will be taking lessons.  A 3 hour group lesson is 67 CHF per person.  Private lessons for groups up to 10 people are 145 CHF for 2 hours.

Adelboden has many cross-country trails, walking and snowshoeing paths, and numerous mountain restaurants.  There is also a professionally designed snowboarding park with three kicklines, a slide zone, an obstacle course and an airpark.  I have no idea what any of those things are, but they sound like terrific fun!

8 Things That Suck About Booking Airfare

A few random thoughts came into my head this week as I attempted to book a flight to Spain for my family of four.  As a result, here are 8 things that suck about booking airfare:

•  That great fare you found a minute ago just went up hundreds of dollars.

•  That perfect flight you found a minute ago is now nowhere to be found.

•  No one search site includes every airline.

•  The number of frequent flyer miles it used to cost to fly roundtrip is now the number it takes to fly one way.

•  No matter how many months in advance you attempt to book using economy-saver frequent flyer miles, there will be only ONE flight available with seat inventory.  And it won't be the date or destination you want.

•  After you agonize over and carefully select the flight most convenient for you, several months later you will get a notice that there's been a slight change.  Now you have a six hour layover instead of one.

•  Buyer's remorse:  should I have waited to buy?  what if the prices go down next week?

•  There are so many enormous variables in air travel that you can't control, i.e. a pilot strike, the airline going defunct, snowstorms, ice storms, illness.  It's all very difficult for a control freak to handle.

Photo Friday: Travelin' Daycare

We thought this brood of Dutch toddlers were travelin' in style when we spotted them at the Gouda cheese market last summer!  Aren't they precious?  Note the uncharacteristically European safety feature of little shoulder harness seat belts, too.  And their field trip culminated in joy when the cute milkmaids came and offered them cheese samples:

Many thanks to Debbie Dubrow for hosting Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.com every week.

Rudolfsturm Restaurant and Its Spectacular View

Sometimes you just have to recommend a restaurant for its spectacular view, and the food and drink is secondary.  The Rudolfsturm (Rudolf's Tower) Restaurant perched high up on the cliffs above Hallstatt, Austria, is one of those restaurants.  See the terrace in the photo above?  Here are the views from that terrace:

That's gorgeous Lake Hallstatter, the enchanting village of Hallstatt, and the surrounding Alps behind my kids.  We arrived at Rudolfsturm Restaurant after a hike along the hillside from the village.  The walk took about an hour and a half and was a shaded, easy, uphill slope along a lovely path:

Rudolfsturm Restaurant was then the perfect spot to recover with a cold drink (as cold as drinks get in Europe, anyway), a Bratwurst, and a few Kodak moments.  There is also a two-way cable car that travels up Salzberg (that's the correct spelling of the mountain - different from the city of Salzburg) Mountain that you can board from Salzbergbahn cable car station if you don't want to hike.  From Rudolfsturm it's only a few minute's walk to the Salzwelten Hallstatt salt mine, the world's oldest salt mine.

The Rudolfs Tower was built in the 13th century by the Duke Albrecht of Austria and named after his father, Rudolf I, who was the first leader of the Habsbergs.  It was built to protect the salt mine, and for about 600 years it was home to the mine managers.

Finalizing the Switzerland Plans

Held a big meeting last week with the parents and Girl Scouts that I'm taking to Switzerland in December.  Collected the final payment and reviewed important information that I didn't want anyone to miss.  My meeting agenda looked like this:

•  Transportation to/from airport

-       I need to know whether you wish to see your daughter off at the airport or if she needs a ride

•  Minors traveling overseas without parents

-     parents will sign letter of consent

•  Baggage restrictions

-       one purse, one carry-on, one checked bag

-       overweight charges are $100 - $200!!

-       you must be able to carry ALL your bags yourself, up and down stairs

•  What to wear in Switzerland

-       waterproof, insulated, comfortable snow/walking boots are critical

-       wool socks, not cotton

-       base layer, insulating layer, and outer layer

-       waterproof, insulated snow jacket is critical

-       ski clothes include snow pants, snow jacket, waterproof gloves, hat, scarf

•  What to bring in your carry-on bag

-       socks or slippers, headphones for movie/music

-       highly recommend NOT to bring cell phones, laptops, or iPads

•  Electricity

-     all electrical devices (camera chargers, hair dryers, etc.) will require an electrical converter and adapter

•  Skiing

-     was not in our original budget.  Will cost between $85 - $120.

•  Money

-       no $100 bills

-       an ATM card is required

-       a prepaid, reloadable credit card is required in case of emergency

-       absolutely no traveler’s checks

-       how much for snacks, souvenirs, extras?

•  Parents sign paperwork

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The meeting went well, I thought.  I brought my suitcase and filled it up with winter clothes as I presented each item ("these are what waterproof, insulated boots look like") and when it was full, we weighed it.  Much to my relief it weighed in at 24.2 lbs., which means I can still stuff it with twice as much!  Hooray, because my fashion sense is a little disturbed by wearing the same winter coat for 10 days in a row.  And of course I'd like to bring a variety of neck scarves.  An extra pair of boots would be nice, too.  Yeah, just like always, I'll probably overpack.

Movie Monday: Passport to Paris

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

To Europe With Kids presents Movie Monday as a weekly feature to recommend films that might expose children and their families to any small bit of European history, folklore, scenery, or animated imagery as entertainment, perhaps new knowledge, or just a couple of hours of electronic babysitting.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

There is a third installment in the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen direct-to-video movie series that I have not yet recommended as a Movie Monday fave.  This one takes place in Paris and is called Passport to Paris.  The story doesn't change much from Winning London and When in Rome (the other two Olsen films), but it might be a little cuter to watch since the twins are younger and more adorable in this 1999 release.

The two 7th grade sisters are sent to Paris to stay with their grandfather who leaves them under the supervision of a crotchety chaperone, whom they manage to escape from when they meet a couple of young French boys.  Tween and younger girls will probably love the story; others might just enjoy the Parisian scenery in Passport to Paris.

Watch the trailer here.

Happy 1st Birthday

. . . to my blog!

Read my first post, written one year ago today.