The time has come for our new trip! This time our destination was Berlin and Tropical Islands Resort in Krausnick. So, our travel began on Friday, March 2, 2018 early in the morning. We and our kids of 2,5 and 5 years old drove straight to Berlin. It is around 700 km from Nieuw Vennep (where we live) to Berlin. We made some planning of places to visit in advance but suddenly, while driving, decided to visit the Reichstag from inside as well. Luckily it was possible to register online on www.bundestag.de and within a few hours we got a confirmation per email. Having arrived to Berlin, the first thing we have done was to put on extra warm clothes that we had in a car, as it was very cold that day.
Visiting the Berlin wall
We visited the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse which reminds of the divided city of Berlin. Many photos and videos at the Visitor Center and the Documentation Center on the other side of the street bring back the atmosphere of the time. We stayed at the viewing platform of the Center and tried to imagine what it was like to live in a divided city and how much people actually had to suffer living like that…
Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate
The next point of interest for us was the Brandenburg Gate, one of the most distinguished and visited attractions of Berlin. This is the first place that pops up in minds of many people when they hear the word “Berlin”. This is an incredible place to be and to walk through! From here it is just a short walk to the Reichstag where we booked a tour. Before entering the building you need to pass the security checks. We actually arrived too early and were supposed to wait outside. As it was very cold that day and we were with young kids, one security officer was very kind and allowed us to join one earlier group to visit the Reichstag. We visited the rooftop terrace and the famous glass Dome at the top of the Reichstag from where we could enjoy spectacular views over the parliamentary and government districts of Berlin. After visiting the Dome it was the time to drive in the direction of our apartment “Ferienwohnung Burger Nactigall” in Burg which we booked for 2 nights. In general we liked our stay there as it was spacious enough for all of us and had cooking facilities. But we would not recommend it for families with young children as the host of the apartment likes to complain about the noise in the apartment after 22 o’clock. We didn’t have any party or whatsoever, we just needed to unpack and put our kids to bed…
Tropical islands … in Germany
Having had a breakfast at the apartment the next morning we went to the next destination. This time to the Tropical Islands Resort in Krausnick. It is a real tropical paradise for entire family! Our kids loved it! Where else in Europe will you find the tropical warmth at the beginning of March? Our kids loved to play with sand, to explore tropical gardens and to observe fish and flamingos. We arrived at around 10 in the morning to this resort and could stay entire day till 23 o’clock. You would think you have a plenty of time but the time there flies really fast as the resort is just huge and it offers many attractions. It is located in the former airship hangar with the total area of around 100,000 m2. The park has many different theme areas: the Tropical Village with many traditional Asian buildings, the Rainforest with some rare tropical plants, the Tropical Sea with a pool (28°C) and sandy beach, the Bali Lagoon with whirlpools and a current canal, the outdoor water-world area called “Amazonia”. There is a Tropino Club for kids where kids can climb, experience hand-operated power paddlers, play with remote controlled boats and do many other things for entertainment. They will definitely won’t feel bored! In the Tropical Islands Resort you can even take a ride in a free-floating balloon. There are plenty of shops and restaurants there. Some people even come to spend there a few nights. There are many accommodation options for this in the resort: you can stay for a night in different traditional houses or even in a tent on the sandy beach. If you stay for a night there, you can use all facilities of the resort entire night.
Sauna 🙂
We had a combi-ticket (Tropen & Sauna) which also included the visit to the sauna and spa facilities which are located there in models of ancient temples. It was a relaxing experience! We participated in one Aufguss session performed by the sauna master who directed the hot steam towards us by means of different circular movements of a towel. These sessions take place at set times in different saunas of the resort entire day long.
In general we loved our day at the Tropical Islands Spa. The only thing that we did not really like that the sand was not pleasantly warm as opposed to the sand at the real tropical beach. But maybe it had to do with the fact that it was very cold that day in Germany. But for the rest it was an unforgettable day!
Heading back home, preparing for the next trip… 🙂
We stayed in Tropical Islands till around 21 o’clock. The kids became tired by that time and it was time to head back to our apartment. The next morning on Sunday ( March 4) it was time to pack and go home to the Netherlands again. 700 km! With some stops on the way we safely made it to our home, sweet home. And now it is time to prepare for the next adventure scheduled for the end of April: our road trip to Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden!
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