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Trip Report: Köln, Haarlem, Bruges, Paris...with kids!

Trip Report: Köln, Haarlem, Bruges, Paris...with kids!

Old May 16th, 2007, 12:44 PM
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Trip Report: Köln, Haarlem, Bruges, Paris...with kids!

Now that I've cut my grass, I'm ready to start my trip report. My family has just returned from a 3 generation vacation: myself & husband, my two sons (ages 5 and 7), and my parents. My folks arrived in Köln 2 weeks earlier. Once reunited, we were together the remaining 12 days.

We flew out of & returned to Chicago. We went to four cities: Köln (3 nights), Haarlem, NL (2 nights), Bruges, BE (2 nights), and Paris (4 nights). We did not rent a car; we travelled everywhere by trains and local buses/subways.

As many of you may recall, before we left I was nervous about dragging along my state's (Wisconsin) unseasonably cold and rainy weather with us to Europe. Sure enough, within three days of arriving, the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the rains swept in. I have since developed meteorological post-traumatic stress syndrome: I feel rain where there is none, sense the clouds when the sky is blue, and shiver in the warm breezes. You think I'm kidding? I'm not. I tried to put a positive spin on it. To wit, my gift to Europe: 8+ days of cool, rainy weather to dampen your fields, clean your streets, and brighten your flowers. But back to the report...

(I'll probably have to do this report in spurts, as my kids are underfoot, so please be patient!)

First....Köln (3 nights)

We took the ICE train from Frankfurt's airport to Köln. Our parents met us at the train station and from there we walked to our hotel. The hotel is owned by a restaurant and is located immediately around the corner from the Köln Philharmonic and a stone's throw from the stunning Kölner Dom. From our window we could watch the trains pulling into the station, barges navigating the Rhine River, and people sipping Kölsch beer at the cafes below us. (The restaurant only rents to personall referrals, which is why I am not providing the name. Trust me: this is the only time I have to withhold information.)

We spent our time in Köln wandering the Old City, touring the Dom and climbing the steeple tower, visiting the Chocolate Museum as well as the Kathe Kolwitz museum (my favorite artist), and visiting friends and relatives. My mother is from Köln, so it was very special to meet up again with my relatives, walk around the old neighborhood, and see the house that my Opa helped save during the bombing of Köln during WWII. (Once a slow-burning bomb hit the roof of the house, he ran up to the roof, picked up the bomb, and threw it down to the street below so that it wouldn't burn the house down.)

We enjoyed buying bread & pastries at the local bakeries as well as buying Kölsch beer and picnic supplies at the grocery store. We ate at several restaurants. Our two favorites were:

- Hausbrauerei Päffgen, Friesenstraße 64-66, 50670 Köln website: http://www.paeffgen-koelsch.de/ (in German)

- Em Golde Kappes, Neusser Strasse 295
50733 Köln. This restaurant is located in the suburb of Nippes. Our family always gathers at Em Golde Kappes, as my mother's childhood home is only a block away. It's an atmospheric, friendly neighborhood restaurant.

Haarlem (2 nights)

From Köln we took the train to Amsterdam and then on to Haarlem. We stayed at the Haus de Kiefte, a Rick Steve's recommended B&B. It was OK, but not much of a value. We paid 98E per night for a loft room (two twin beds, plus two small beds in a loft space). Our parents paid 55E for a small room. Both rooms had private showers. The B&B has only 3 rooms, all of which share a toilet. Unlike other European B&B's we've stayed in, the Haarlem B&B didn't have a place to gather in other than your bedroom. You eat breakfast in their private dining room between 8 & 9 am. Afterwards, they lock everything up. My husband & I had nicer accomodations in Amsterdam at a lower cost with nicer breakfasts when we last visited Holland (two years ago). The host was pleasant, though.

Our sole reason for visiting Haarlem was to see the tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens. As many of you already know, the tulips had blossomed and faded long before we arrived on May 7. We were still going to go to the Gardens, but then the rains swept in. We decided to skip the Gardens and just explore Haarlem in the rain. It's a lovely town, but would admittedly have been nicer if it hadn't been rainy. Many museums were closed (it was a Monday).

In retrospect, had we known two days in advance that it was going to be rainy our entire time in Bruges, we would have opted to stay in Köln an extra two nights (or gone ahead to Bruges). But, who can predict the weather?

I'm going to take a breather now. Next up, Bruges!




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Old May 18th, 2007, 03:26 AM
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Back again....

Bruges (2 nights)

We headed for Bruges from Haarlem. Took the public bus to our B&B, Bed & Bruges (http://www.bedandbruges.be/). I can't say enough about this B&B. The owners Louise & Francis Hardy are gracious and accomodating. The B&B is comprised of two houses, with three rooms in each. One house is modern, the other is older. Both are completely renovated. We stayed in the older house. The owners live next door in their own, very contemporary home. Because we needed 3 rooms, we ended up with an entire house to ourselves. Our house had a large kitchen, dining room, living room, three bathrooms (two with tubs/showers), a private garden with table, two bikes... I could go on and on. The house was beautifully decorated with antiques. They also graciously offered to let our children play on their daughter's trampoline & swim in their pool. Our kids loved the trampoline, but it was too cold and rainy for swimming. It was so wonderful to have a private, landscaped garden for our kids to play in! Both mornings, Louise came in with an armful of delicious rolls, cheese, ham, and milk. She even gave us plenty of laundry detergent for the wash machine. (Yes, even a washer & dryer!) Suffice it to say, that for 160E a night for the whole house, this was the best value & most enjoyable of our stays. The B&B was a pleasant 10-15 minute walk from the center and 15 minute walk from the windmills.

Although it rained on and off throughout our stay in Bruges (sometimes hard), we thoroughly enjoyed this city and wished we could have stayed another day or two. It's so beautiful that it's hard to imagine people actually live here. I also find it hard to believe that you could thoroughly enjoy/explore Bruge in just a day. The center market is extremely crowded in the middle of the day, so an overnight stay to truly experience the romance of Bruges is essential. The city was also bigger than I originally anticipated. If you go, make sure you wander around the neighborhoods around the outer canals. It really gives us a better flavor of local Bruges (plus the frites are much less expensive!)

We explored the windmills, the town center (after the crowds had left), the quiet streets of the city, went for a bike ride (in the rain) exploring the windmills and outer canals, rode the bikes through the rain and over wet cobblestones with our kids perched on the luggage rack behind us (think: Paris-Roubaix!)...amongst other things. We didn't do the canal boat tour because it was raining whenever we were free to do the tour.

At night (in the rain), we took the kids to a carnival. Later that evening, after putting our kids to bed (with my parents in for the night as well), my husband and I snuck out to a Bruges tavern. Again, beautiful, atmospheric bar with very friendly hosts. I wish I could remember the name...

Eating is Bruges is quite pricey. We found that Trium Taverna, an Italian eatery just off the main square, to be a great value for Bruge. Sadly, I had no mussels our entire trip. With our kids in tow, we ended up avoiding pricing places.

The other thing I liked about Belgium (and The Netherlands) is that for some reason, I was frequently mistaken for being Belgian or Dutch. Hmmm...maybe it was my orange shoes in Haarlem? In no other country was I mistaken for a local. This, of course, stroked my ego and has given me special affinity for these two countries!

Although we would have loved to stay on in Bruges, we had to move on to Paris to our apartment.

Next up, Paris!
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Old May 18th, 2007, 04:55 AM
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NThea, I'm enjoying your trip report very much. I know I've had to suffer through my share of cold, rainy weather -- my husband loves cool weather. Last summer in Cornwall I purchased a fleece and wore it on the beach with my bathing suit -- very pretty! Looking forward to more reports.
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Old May 18th, 2007, 05:04 AM
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Enjoying your report. With 3 kids (13, 11, 8) myself and a trip to Paris exactly 1 month from now, I'm looking forward to that part of the report!
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Old May 21st, 2007, 10:30 AM
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Paris (4 nights in mid-May)

Sorry for delay posting this. Life got in the way. We took the train from Bruges to Brussels, then hopped on the Thalys to Paris. The highlights of this train ride (besides the speed) were a young woman running frantically through the train, yelling "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" as soon as the train started leaving the station. Everyone was conjuring up their own explanations for this young woman's panic: did she fall asleep & forget to get off in Brussels? did her lover fail to show up on time? did she forget to pick up her diamonds from the jeweller? We'll never know...

The second incident was my 7 yr. old getting sicker and sicker as the ride progressed. Just as the train was pulling into Paris' Gare du Nord, he jumped up to run to the bathroom & throw up. Unfortunately, he let loose just inches from the door & right next to a French passenger.

Can I tell you that this incident was the start of a deep affection I have for the French? This kind man wasn't angry, didn't roll his eyes, or act outraged. My husband desperately tried to clean everything up, apologizing profusely. I kept my other son out of the way.

And so, our introduction to Paris!

We decided to take the public bus no. 38 to our apartment (which was located just east of the Luxembourg Gardens, just off Blvd. Saint Michel). Although we knew the RER would be quicker, we wanted to "see" Paris. This proved to be a mistake for our large party. At Gare du Nord (where the bus originated), it was empty. By the time we got to our stop on Saint Michel, the bus was jam-packed. Plus, my 7 yr. old was looking sick again & my father looked he was going to start throwing up as well. (He had been sick two days earlier.) Taking the bus would have been fun if it had been just myself & my husband. Chalk this up to experience! Although I must admit, seeing the less touristy side of Paris is always an eye-opening experience. (We saw this on our last trip to Paris. When the riots broke out several years ago, I had a better understanding of the rioters' anger... just as I understand why urban American youth get so angry [given where I live in the U.S.]).

On the positive side, my advance studies of the Metro & bus system meant that we had no problem getting to our apartment!

Our Apartment

We rented through www.vacationinparis.com We rented a two bedroom, 2-bath apartment (the Port Royal/Luxembourg apartment). Price was $199/night. This was an introductory price as the apartment was being renovated & no pictures were available on-line. Although the apartment itself was fine (small but nicely furnished with all new IKEA stuff), the apartment wasn't quite ready. Plus, there was construction on one side of the courtyard, which promptly started at 8 am. There were some other problems, which I've taken up with VacationInParis, but suffice it to say that I will never rent an apartment isn't completely renovated, with photos available, and some track record of rentals. Always, always request in writing that no construction is taking place in or next to your apartment. Ah, you say, but I'll be touring all day. Well sure, unless you're not feeling well like my Mom did one day, leaving you confined to an apartment with loud construction noise. You just never know...
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Old May 21st, 2007, 11:19 AM
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Now, I'll just try and get on with our Paris highlights.

Day One: After checking into apartment, we strolled around the Luxembourg Gardens and then headed back to a recommended restaurant, Le Luco. Le Luco is on the corner of Boulevard Saint Michel and Rue de l'Abbe de l'Eppe and just 1/2 block from our apartment. Lovely, kind staff. Due to another unfortunate sick kid incident, we were too embarrassed to ever go back...but the owner & waitress were very, very kind.

Day Two: Walked from our apartment to Notre Dame, toured church, then wandered Ile St. Louis on our way to the Le Marais neighborhood. Had a crepe at a creperie on Ile St. Louis. Nothing special, so I won't recommend the place. Had to eat 'cuz my kids and Dad were getting tired & hungry. Unfortunately for me, my one goal of eating a falafel sandwich in Le Maris didn't pan out as I was already full by the time we hit the Jewish Quarter. Cool area. I used Paris Walks by Carole & Geoffrey Howard as our guide through the neighborhood. Great little guide. We wandered around and then returned to our apartment via the Metro.

Then, my husband & I took our sons to the play area at the Luxembourg Gardens. For 2.50E per kid, they can run around all these great play structures. Hours: 10 am-7 pm) We sat outside the fenced-in play area with a bottle of wine, baguette, and cheese. I also wandered around near the bocce ball courts. This was a definite highlight of our trip. So relaxing! Our kids were happy & we were slightly buzzed. In Paris, no less. Is there any greater joy? (And yeah, my 7-yr. old was healthy!)

We had purchased online tickets for the boat tour (Vedettes du Pont Neuf). We were planning on going Friday night but -- surprise, surprise -- it started raining. So, my folks decided to stay in and offered to watch the kids while my husband & I went out.

We ended at Brasserie Stella de Luxembourg (on the corner of Rue Gay-Lussac & Rue Le Goff). Owners very friendly. Lots of places to sit. Pizza excellent. Highly recommended for casual, relaxed eating. Then, we wanted to see the rollerbladers. We walked for MILES in the rain looking for the rollerbladers...but they never materialized. I never did follow-up to see if the event was cancelled. Maybe so. In any event, it was still a nice, romantic albeit very rainy evening with my husband.
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 07:15 AM
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Paris: Day Four, Saturday.

Today was the most perfect day. My parents and sons were both healthy. We did the Fat Tire Bike Tour (http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com...toursparis.com) in the morning. We called ahead on Friday to reserve a tandem attachement for our 5-yr. old (they only have three). Then, we just showed up at their meeting place under the Eiffel Tour. The tour isn't cheap (cost about 95E for our famiy of four), but it was worth every penny. It was so incredible to see so many sights within 3-4 hours. The Austin-born leader was funny & informative. We even met another family from our hometown (they live less than 2 miles from us!). I was so proud of my 7-yr. old navigating the streets of Paris that my heart almost burst! (Mostly we were on bike paths and sidewalks, but there's a little bit of street riding). Everyone agreed this was the best thing ever! So, do the bike tour! My 67-year old parents had a great time. It's not at all strenuous. I saw more of Paris during that bike tour than in my previous trip. You stop for lunch at a cafe in the Tuileries Garden. (Cost of lunch not included).

Afterwards we took a nap and then headed out again for our nighttime Seine River tour. Since I had purchased my tickets before we left the U.S., all I had to do was show my on-line receipt & ID. Hot tip: if you want to sit on top of the boat for a nighttime boat cruise, plan on being in line 1/2 hour before departure. Huge tour groups started lining up at this time. Fortunately, we were hanging out near the Square du Vert Galant & could read the handwriting on the wall. To wit, start boarding!

We enjoyed the boat cruise & seeing the Eiffel Tower light up on the hour. Yeah, the tour is kind of cheesy, but it's fun to do.

Afterward, we had our only bad experience with a French restaurant. The owner of the restaurant, "Au Rendez-vous des Camionneurs" (72 Quai des orfeveres), was so horrible, so nasty, so unbelievably terrible that it is laughable. I have never been treated so poorly in my entire life. Seriously. (Even her employees looked like whipped dogs!) As soon as she realized we only wanted desssert, she uprooted our entire table of 6 and made us sit at a bare table (no tablecloth, no cutlery, nothing). More heinous restaurant behavior followed. Then, she literally grabbed a cloth napkin out of my hand. When I complained, she replaced it with a paper napkin. I'm laughing now...it was so bad. Please, Fodorites Worldwide, boycott this terrible restaurant! It made me realize that bad folks are bad the same way worldwide. Why did we stay? I can address this in another thread.
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 07:23 AM
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Day Four: Sunday & our last full day.

My husband, myself & kids went to the flea market north of Paris: Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. Although my kids & husband (who, incidentally, really wanted to go to a Paris flea market) started dragging, this was quite an experience. This place is huge & hits every market & interest: 18th Century to Art Deco antiques, antique lighting, cheezy souvenirs, hip-hop clothes, etc. Our kids happily bought their Paris souvenirs here. I bought two great scarves for 15E. Afterwards we stopped for a couple beers and sodas at a cafe to watch the scene. Quite a diverse crowd here vs. central Paris (aka the touristy part).

Later in the afternoon, our kids rented sailboats for the pond in the Luxembourg Garden. They really dug that! If I recall correctly, it's 2.50E for 1/2 hour boat rental plus an ID. The boats disappear quickly, so we just hung around the Boat Rental Lady (very nice) & waited until a boat was returned. Then, we went to the playground again for more relaxing. And oops, what's that?, another cork popping! Ah, Paris!

My parents met us in the park & then we made our way over to the News Cafe (the corner of Rue d'Assas & Rue Vavin). This cafe is on the SE corner of the Luxembourg Garden. We loved this place. Our waitress was very friendly & patient. The food was good & fairly priced. From our sidewalk seats, we watched families & couples pour into and out of the Luxembourg Gardens. The bocce ball players congregated here after their games. Even better, we were kitty corner from Amorin (Rue Vavin), a chain of gelato stores. We bought a gelato (delicious!) & wandered back to our apartment via the Luxembourg Gardens, admiring the beautiful flowers. It was a perfect end to our trip. We were even laughing about that horrible restaurant owner from the night before!

We did drag our kids out one more time to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Strong winds kept the top closed, so we were only able to go up to the 2nd level. The kids like it, but then they quickly faded. We took the RER back. Both kids fell into a coma-like sleep on the train, so we ended up having to carry them back to the apartment (and 4 flights of stairs)!

We left Paris on Day Five. Not much to report here except that our flight was uneventful & when we landed in Chicago the weather was, you guessed it, sunny and upper 80s. Followed by two days of rain.

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Old May 22nd, 2007, 08:06 AM
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Thanks for the report - I really enjoyed it. I had to laugh because the bad weather also followed me around this spring. . .
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 08:12 AM
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Bummer about your weather and your Haarlem B&B experience. I've been to Haarlem several times; I like staying at one of the hotels on the square and one of my favorite things to do is rent a bicycle and ride to and through the national park along the North Sea. Great scenery, with huge sand dunes, some of which you can climb. Even when it is partly cloudy and partly rainy, it can be fun! (Where in Wisconsin are you?)
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 08:23 AM
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NThea
Thanks for taking the time. I enjoyed your report very much. I can't wait to go back to Paris.
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 08:40 AM
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Thanks so much for the trip report.. We are leaving for Paris is one week with our almost 5 yr old daughter, 7 yr old son and 9 yr old son..

A few questions if you don't mind about FatBikeTours? We're definitely planning to do it - but not sure what to reserve? Did you do 11am or 3pm tour? What day? THinking of child seat for my daughter (she can't ride a bike yet and a child's bike for my 9 yr old son. BUT not sure what to do about my 7 yr old son? He's been riding bikes on own for 2 yrs or so- but VERY small for his age... Would you suggest a tandem or child's bike? Did your 7 yo get tired at all? How big are the kids bikes? not dangerous for little one to ride on their own?

Oh - one more question,, how'd the kids do with sleeping on flight over and jetlag?

Many thanks for any and all advice!
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 09:31 AM
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Hi VeeBee -
We did the 11 am tour on a Saturday. I think this time works better for kids (or, at least mine). There is probably even less traffic on a Sunday, but Saturday worked fine. They do these tours rain or shine. Our day started out lightly raining, but then cleared up. Our 5-yr. old had only started riding a bike without training wheels two weeks prior to our trip, so we put him on the trailer. It's a two-wheeled trailer with basket. My 5 yr. old had no problem with it...it was even easier for him to use than our attached tandem bike at home. My 7 yr. old had been off training wheels for less than 4 months before our trip, so I'm guessing your 7 yr. old will do great. The bike seats can be adjusted. My son's bike seemed a little small for him, so you'll probably be OK with the 7 yr. old too! Neither of my kids got tired at all. There's plenty of stops along the way & the pace is very slow & relaxed. (Nor did my 65+ yr. old parents tire out.) They do not offer helmets, so this is something we helmet-focused American parents have to just let go...

As for jetlag, our kids followed the same routine as us: adjust immediately to European time zone & go to bed early. Coming back, same thing. No problems. They did sleep on the plane, both ways.

Trvlsolo2: Since the tulips were pretty much done, we were thinking of going to the dunes. However, it was raining very hard on Monday, all day. Our B&B host looked a bit concerned when we mentioned going there, silently muttering something about "tracking wet sand..." We are already planning a trip back to The Netherlands and Belgium for some bike races next spring. There will be some days in between races, so maybe we can bike to the dunes with the kids. (This means only thing in my life: no furniture or carpeting for another year!) And, we're from Milwaukee.
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 09:44 AM
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My kids always sleep going ove much better than I do. We arrive, eat, and start walking. Our first day in europe almost always includes a stop at a park, ice cream, and good dinner. We have always adjusted well and are usually just fine the next day and perfect come day two.
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Old May 22nd, 2007, 10:55 AM
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thanks much for the imput.. looks like i'll just let my 7 yr old get his own bike - which he really wants to do!
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Old May 28th, 2007, 04:28 PM
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NThea -- We're about 90 minutes north of you.
I'm thinking of going again in 2008, too; at least a couple days in Haarlem and Bruges, and some time in Germany. Will start my planning phase soon.
Thanks for sharing your trip report; enjoyed it.
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