I received a Canon digital camera for my birthday just prior to our family trip to Germany and Denmark. My husband's research of which camera to buy for me was dictated by one crucial factor: I was not interested in manipulating photographic choices for each shot -- I just wanted to point and shoot.
But a few weeks later, while on our vacation and using the camera daily, I became curious about the multitude of menu options on my camera and perused its manual, wanting to ensure that I was optimizing pictures of my kids. I fiddled with some settings, and began to experiment. When a few of my photos revealed odd colors and off-kilter stripes in the review mode, I assumed I had pressed some button I should not have and spent valuable vacation time reading the manual's trouble-shooting pages. Nothing worked. Thankfully, most shots were looking just fine.
At home later, an internet search provided an answer: faulty memory card. Inserted a new one: problem was solved. The memory card that came with my camera disappointingly caused errors on some of our holiday pictures.
In perusing the links below, I now feel ready to venture into the innermost pages of my camera's instruction booklet, or at least really think about the particulars such as light, distance, and focus before pressing that take-a-picture button. I feel challenged to see how good I can get my photos to look!
Travel Photography 101 - How to Take Better Travel Pictures, on About.com: Europe Travel, by James Martin.
A great introduction to photo composition -- this article covers how to examine the entire frame, avoid UV light, and watch for symmetry, positioning, and size. It's a lot to go over, but the author infused the article with plenty of self-deprecating and witty humor, plus examples. I especially liked the conversational style and the encouraging quote at the end.
Travel-photo tips from a pro: Don't just point, shoot, by Spud Hilton of the San Francisco Chronicle via The Seattle Times.
This article addresses the basics about light, positioning your subject, timing, and distance. The advice is credited to photographer, Robert Holmes, and is delivered in a quick, easy to grasp list format.
National Parks Photo Tips: How to Shoot Landscapes Like a Pro, by Lola Akinmade on Fodor's.
Not tips from National Park photographers, as I had thought, the article instead describes picture taking components for those wanting to capture scenes of landscapes such as those found in National Parks. Uniquely, links to multiple Flickr landscape shots exemplify the use of lighting, angle, perspective, and people. This article shows how to capture scenery.
See Fodor's for a comprehensive, well-organized section on travel photography how-tos. The menu under 'photography techniques' provides links to all subjects such as avoiding camera shake. The Classic Vacation section has listings such as how to capture stage shows, zoos and aquariums. The Man-Made World has listings for how to photograph formal gardens, city streets, houses of worship, and museums.
Shoot Better Travel Photos with 5 Essential Travel Photo Tips, by Naomi Liu on Brave New Traveler.
This is another great basic guide about using flash, avoiding placing your subject in the center, getting close, lighting, and vertical shots. Each tip is concise and includes a 'good' and a 'bad' photo example.
How to take better travel photos, on examiner.com, by Annika Hipple, a travel writer based in our home town of Seattle.
A series about travel photos, the articles clearly describe photography concepts. The focal point entry includes six photo examples - two photos for each scene: one that is good, and the second that is made even better by incorporating the key idea.
Flash Photography - Red Eye, by Philip Northeast, and Reducing Red Eye, by Wendy Folse, see more links about photography on Suite101.com.
Tell us about your great photo taking tips!
Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Day 3 & 4 College Tourcation: University of Virginia, Monticello, Jamestown, Yorktown
Day 3: We packed up our family of 5 plus Papa, checked out of the Rodeway Inn and headed off in our rent-a-van to Yorktown. Despite all our constant troubles of becoming lost in Williamsburg, getting to Yorktown is quite straight forward once you find the Colonial Parkway. This is a brick road with no dividing line, few signs, and as we discovered at night not lit up, but simply enough Yorktown lies on the East end, Colonial Williamsburg in the middle and Jamestown on the West end.
Yorktown was the location of the final battle in the American Revolutionary War. A National Parks Dept. ranger, who was quite knowledgeable and an untiring speaker led us through final scenes and various landmarks commemorating the battle. It is a quaint quiet colonial style town. Cannon shot damage remains in the side of some of the buildings. The town is positioned on a bluff overlooking the bay. After our tour, we wandered down to the waterfront where the beach was packed with sunbathers, and a few food shacks that line the street. What I took away from Yorktown was the considerable number of French troops that fought and died against the British on our behalf. On a budgetary note, because we had a Senior Citizen with us he was able to buy a senior citizen pass that allowed a certain number of guests. The pass was at least a yearlong to all the National Parks which included Jamestown. This turned out to be the least expensive way by far for our family to visit both locations even if the pass was never used again.
We jumped back on the Parkway and drove off to Jamestown. This was a special treat as some beleaguered ancestor of ours made their way to North America through this portal. All that is left of the original settlement are some foundations - for the rest you must use your imagination. The museum there is excellent with many recovered artifacts and explanatory notes. From there we drove through beautiful Virginia to Charlottesville, home of UVA (Univ. of Virginia) and Jefferson's Monticello. The Sleep Inn Suites (see review at www.sleep5.com) housed the six of us quite comfortably.
The next morning we were off early for our previously purchased and scheduled tour of Monticello. This can be done through their website www.monticello.org. The docent did a wonderful job directing us through the rooms, providing explanations for all of Jefferson's inventions, anecdotal family lore and so on. The gardens are especially beautiful and educational. As extraordinary as Thomas Jefferson was it is impossible not to feel conflicted about his accomplishments and intellect juxtaposed with the reality of slavery. Next stop UVA.
We met one of my father's colleagues outside of the University of Virginia - a charming lady accompanied by her husband, who took us all around the University. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained even during the summer. The library by Thomas Jefferson with its domed top and pillars dominates the central lawn area. Professors' homes and individual student rooms line the lawn on either side sloping gently away from the library. It was Jefferson's philosophy that students and professors should live together. We saw Edgar Allen Poe's room, the stadium, gym, and various other buildings. The admissions office was closed as it was Sunday. My oldest daughter fell in love with UVA. It would be hard not to.
Hogwarts Factor: 2
Day 5 . . . .
Related:
Hotels with Family Room to Sleep 5 in New York City, Washington, DC, Williamsburg, Durham-Chapel Hill, Charlottesville
Holly Jacobsen
Sleep5.com
Yorktown was the location of the final battle in the American Revolutionary War. A National Parks Dept. ranger, who was quite knowledgeable and an untiring speaker led us through final scenes and various landmarks commemorating the battle. It is a quaint quiet colonial style town. Cannon shot damage remains in the side of some of the buildings. The town is positioned on a bluff overlooking the bay. After our tour, we wandered down to the waterfront where the beach was packed with sunbathers, and a few food shacks that line the street. What I took away from Yorktown was the considerable number of French troops that fought and died against the British on our behalf. On a budgetary note, because we had a Senior Citizen with us he was able to buy a senior citizen pass that allowed a certain number of guests. The pass was at least a yearlong to all the National Parks which included Jamestown. This turned out to be the least expensive way by far for our family to visit both locations even if the pass was never used again.
We jumped back on the Parkway and drove off to Jamestown. This was a special treat as some beleaguered ancestor of ours made their way to North America through this portal. All that is left of the original settlement are some foundations - for the rest you must use your imagination. The museum there is excellent with many recovered artifacts and explanatory notes. From there we drove through beautiful Virginia to Charlottesville, home of UVA (Univ. of Virginia) and Jefferson's Monticello. The Sleep Inn Suites (see review at www.sleep5.com) housed the six of us quite comfortably.
The next morning we were off early for our previously purchased and scheduled tour of Monticello. This can be done through their website www.monticello.org. The docent did a wonderful job directing us through the rooms, providing explanations for all of Jefferson's inventions, anecdotal family lore and so on. The gardens are especially beautiful and educational. As extraordinary as Thomas Jefferson was it is impossible not to feel conflicted about his accomplishments and intellect juxtaposed with the reality of slavery. Next stop UVA.
We met one of my father's colleagues outside of the University of Virginia - a charming lady accompanied by her husband, who took us all around the University. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained even during the summer. The library by Thomas Jefferson with its domed top and pillars dominates the central lawn area. Professors' homes and individual student rooms line the lawn on either side sloping gently away from the library. It was Jefferson's philosophy that students and professors should live together. We saw Edgar Allen Poe's room, the stadium, gym, and various other buildings. The admissions office was closed as it was Sunday. My oldest daughter fell in love with UVA. It would be hard not to.
Hogwarts Factor: 2
Day 5 . . . .
Related:
Hotels with Family Room to Sleep 5 in New York City, Washington, DC, Williamsburg, Durham-Chapel Hill, Charlottesville
Holly Jacobsen
Sleep5.com
Sunday, August 23, 2009
College Tourcation Day 2: College of William & Mary
Day two of the the college "tourcation" found us in Williamsburg, Virginia or circling Williamsburg as it may be. How we ultimately found our little hotel I can hardly say, but it helps to have GPS on your phone. The gas attendants are also very helpful and understanding about the circling problem, but I digress. . .
Day two, we awoke in Williamsburg having slept at the modest Rodeway Inn establishment. (see review on www.sleeps5.com) We nibbled on a breakfast of dry donuts, weak coffee by Seattle standards and an unusual granola snack. While not particularly satisfying, it was enough to get us out the door and on our way to Colonial Williamsburg--the recreated and restored seat of British government for the Colony of Virginia. It happened to be re-enactment week of the American Revolutionary War. The Red Coats were in fact marching in and making up camp when we arrived. Wearing those wool jackets showed true dedication (or something else) in that heat.
After exploring Colonial Williamsburg, and taking pictures with British "soldiers", we headed to the end of the street where the College of William & Mary resides. This university was chartered in 1693, second only to Harvard in age. The school likes to point out on a plaque that they requested their charter first. This is where Thomas Jefferson and other founding father types were educated. The Wren building claims to be the oldest U.S. building with classrooms in continuous use. There is also an old building that formerly housed an "indian" school -- a failed attempt at educating native Americans who it turned out were not interested in a European education. The College of William & Mary is steeped in tradition. The British forces, in fact, camped on the Sunken Lawn: a large sunken expanse lined by the old school buildings. The sun was starting to go down while we sat on the edges of that lawn resting Papa. After being asked, our sophomore aged daughter, who is a dancer, performed a lyrical piece to Rise by Eddie Vedder broadcasted from my husband's iPhone. It was a special moment for our family.
The grounds are lovely and the buildings charming. The newer structures have been built in traditional style sympathetic to the original architecture. The Drama Department had a production going while we were there which we discovered by going through a series of doors that lead to the back stage. Oops! The admissions office is located on the Colonial Williamsburg side of the street across from the Wren building. We took a self guided tour which included lots of fun facts like the whispering wall.
Daughter's comments: Pretty campus, liked the Sunken Lawn, I like how it was so old and all the history, the whispering wall.
Hogwarts Factor: 2
Day 3 to be continued . . .
College Tourcation Hotels on Sleeps5.com
Holly Jacobsen
Sleeps5.com
Day two, we awoke in Williamsburg having slept at the modest Rodeway Inn establishment. (see review on www.sleeps5.com) We nibbled on a breakfast of dry donuts, weak coffee by Seattle standards and an unusual granola snack. While not particularly satisfying, it was enough to get us out the door and on our way to Colonial Williamsburg--the recreated and restored seat of British government for the Colony of Virginia. It happened to be re-enactment week of the American Revolutionary War. The Red Coats were in fact marching in and making up camp when we arrived. Wearing those wool jackets showed true dedication (or something else) in that heat.
After exploring Colonial Williamsburg, and taking pictures with British "soldiers", we headed to the end of the street where the College of William & Mary resides. This university was chartered in 1693, second only to Harvard in age. The school likes to point out on a plaque that they requested their charter first. This is where Thomas Jefferson and other founding father types were educated. The Wren building claims to be the oldest U.S. building with classrooms in continuous use. There is also an old building that formerly housed an "indian" school -- a failed attempt at educating native Americans who it turned out were not interested in a European education. The College of William & Mary is steeped in tradition. The British forces, in fact, camped on the Sunken Lawn: a large sunken expanse lined by the old school buildings. The sun was starting to go down while we sat on the edges of that lawn resting Papa. After being asked, our sophomore aged daughter, who is a dancer, performed a lyrical piece to Rise by Eddie Vedder broadcasted from my husband's iPhone. It was a special moment for our family.
The grounds are lovely and the buildings charming. The newer structures have been built in traditional style sympathetic to the original architecture. The Drama Department had a production going while we were there which we discovered by going through a series of doors that lead to the back stage. Oops! The admissions office is located on the Colonial Williamsburg side of the street across from the Wren building. We took a self guided tour which included lots of fun facts like the whispering wall.
Daughter's comments: Pretty campus, liked the Sunken Lawn, I like how it was so old and all the history, the whispering wall.
Hogwarts Factor: 2
Day 3 to be continued . . .
College Tourcation Hotels on Sleeps5.com
Holly Jacobsen
Sleeps5.com
Monday, August 17, 2009
College Tourcation (sic): Teens & Papa in Tow
This summer marked the first college tour/vacation (or as I am calling it now "tourcation") for Family Jacobsen plus grandpa. My husband and I were blessed to have three children within 15 months: twins and a singleton. Seventeen years later we now have two high school juniors and one sophomore. Therefore, as any hopeful couple who ever wished to be empty nesters, we are taking our West Coast family on an East Coast car trip from one college campus to the next. Thus, wishing to instill our college yearnings and hopes into our sweet but clueless teenagers. And because we are inveterate tourists -- gluttons for historical sights, we managed to pack in some American History along the way. Who knows maybe they will use their experience for a college admissions paper or scientific experiment e.g. What earplug brand works the best to drown out Papa's snoring?
We started our grand tour in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home of Duke University, University of North Carolina and many more. (This would be a good time to note that as wonderful as our children are, we did not visit colleges that we necessarily thought our children would a. be applying to or b. be accepted by.) The purpose of this trip was meant to expose them to rural, suburban and in-city schools, small, medium, and large, state and private, liberal arts and technology institutions. It was also a chance to expose them to the North Eastern and Southern culture.
Day One
Duke University - We have a cousin who attended this school which made us feel some sort of connection to it. The Duke family of tobacco fame originally founded the school. Gray stone is used in all the gothic style buildings we saw, very cohesive. The "chapel" (sort of an understatement -- more like a cathedral) dominates the landscape. There are many charming covered passageways leading from one building to the next. A beautiful, sprawling garden runs through the campus with a little deli in the center where we lunched on the shaded patio. The students who had stayed for the summer appeared to be serious demeanored and ethnically more diverse than we were to see elsewhere in the Southern schools we visited. Duke was one of the smaller populated schools we saw, but the campus was enormous and maybe, in our kids' opinion, too decentralized. It took us quite a while to locate the charming admissions building. Duke's admission office has kindly included fliers about all their various departments and majors for the visiting hopefuls. I sensed the anxiety and intimidation a place like this can unintentionally create from my fellow visiting parents. Grandpa, however, having attended a very fancy school himself, and as a retired professor, was quite at home and enjoyed imagining his nephew going to school there.
The following was my son's commentary: cool garden, quiet, too quiet, heavy and overwhelming.
Daughter's comments: beautiful, large, intimidating.
Most-like-Hogwart's or H factor, as we came to call it, based on a scale of 1-5: 3
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill is a charming town, beautiful old southern architecture and quaint shops surrounding part of the campus. Even though it was summer there were tons of kids on the campus. The architecture consisted of red brick colonial as far as my uneducated eye could see with some buildings appearing romanesque or greek and also a few contemporary. In general, it was a cohesive and charming campus with gardens and an old well. The few staff members we ran into were friendly and helpful. We found the admissions building and took our self-guided walking tour, short one teen who would not get out of the car. In her defense, we were all exhausted from plane delays the night before resulting in 22 hours of travel to get from Seattle to Durham, but that is another story. The historically significant campus was compact but still had lots of open green spaces. The student body seemed Rah Rah UNC, high energy -- I think what you would expect from a sizable state school.
Son's comments: interesting, lots of trees, liked that food sources (restaurants) were nearby.
Daughter's comments: definitely a state school, lots of kids, spirit, tradition, liked making a wish at the well, humid.
Hogwarts factor: 1
Day 2 entry tomorrow . . .
Resources:
Hotels on Tourcation with a Family Room on Sleeps5.com
Holly Jacobsen
Sleeps5.com
We started our grand tour in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home of Duke University, University of North Carolina and many more. (This would be a good time to note that as wonderful as our children are, we did not visit colleges that we necessarily thought our children would a. be applying to or b. be accepted by.) The purpose of this trip was meant to expose them to rural, suburban and in-city schools, small, medium, and large, state and private, liberal arts and technology institutions. It was also a chance to expose them to the North Eastern and Southern culture.
Day One
Duke University - We have a cousin who attended this school which made us feel some sort of connection to it. The Duke family of tobacco fame originally founded the school. Gray stone is used in all the gothic style buildings we saw, very cohesive. The "chapel" (sort of an understatement -- more like a cathedral) dominates the landscape. There are many charming covered passageways leading from one building to the next. A beautiful, sprawling garden runs through the campus with a little deli in the center where we lunched on the shaded patio. The students who had stayed for the summer appeared to be serious demeanored and ethnically more diverse than we were to see elsewhere in the Southern schools we visited. Duke was one of the smaller populated schools we saw, but the campus was enormous and maybe, in our kids' opinion, too decentralized. It took us quite a while to locate the charming admissions building. Duke's admission office has kindly included fliers about all their various departments and majors for the visiting hopefuls. I sensed the anxiety and intimidation a place like this can unintentionally create from my fellow visiting parents. Grandpa, however, having attended a very fancy school himself, and as a retired professor, was quite at home and enjoyed imagining his nephew going to school there.
The following was my son's commentary: cool garden, quiet, too quiet, heavy and overwhelming.
Daughter's comments: beautiful, large, intimidating.
Most-like-Hogwart's or H factor, as we came to call it, based on a scale of 1-5: 3
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill is a charming town, beautiful old southern architecture and quaint shops surrounding part of the campus. Even though it was summer there were tons of kids on the campus. The architecture consisted of red brick colonial as far as my uneducated eye could see with some buildings appearing romanesque or greek and also a few contemporary. In general, it was a cohesive and charming campus with gardens and an old well. The few staff members we ran into were friendly and helpful. We found the admissions building and took our self-guided walking tour, short one teen who would not get out of the car. In her defense, we were all exhausted from plane delays the night before resulting in 22 hours of travel to get from Seattle to Durham, but that is another story. The historically significant campus was compact but still had lots of open green spaces. The student body seemed Rah Rah UNC, high energy -- I think what you would expect from a sizable state school.
Son's comments: interesting, lots of trees, liked that food sources (restaurants) were nearby.
Daughter's comments: definitely a state school, lots of kids, spirit, tradition, liked making a wish at the well, humid.
Hogwarts factor: 1
Day 2 entry tomorrow . . .
Resources:
Hotels on Tourcation with a Family Room on Sleeps5.com
Holly Jacobsen
Sleeps5.com
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Family Travel Dining in Germany - A Word to Know
Please and thank you are the most important foreign language words to learn when traveling; crucial for civil discourse. But there's one word we did not expect to need to know: Rechnung.
In Germany last summer, most service employees at restaurants and cafes helped us with their excellent command of English. But still we practiced utilizing words from a travel-guide phrase chapter, with no prior training except for my DH who took a couple years of German in high school more than 20 years ago.
For ordering food, we used our fingers to help indicate how many of something we wanted. We attempted to pronounce the number and the food items in German and completed our request by saying 'please?' In German, a typical request was: "Zwei (two fingers held up) bier, bitte?" (Sounds like: Tsvy beer, bitt-uh?) And then we continued our order with more food and beverage items, often furthering the communication efforts by pointing to the item on the menu. After a couple days, the kids tried ordering items for themselves, with a bit of coaching from us: "Eins schnitzel, bitte?"
When our beverages, and again when our food arrived, we'd each respond, "danke" (thank you, pronounced dank-uh), with a smile.
The one additional word that proved to be absolutely necessary: rechnung, pronounced resh*noong. It is the word for bill, as in 'the bill, please?' In German it is: "Die Rechnung, bitte?" (Sounds like: Dee resh*noong, bitt-uh?)
We found that eating at a restaurant or cafe in Germany is a fairly relaxed occasion. Waitpersons expect you to enjoy a meal slowly, talking and enjoying the company of your tablemates, lingering over the last drops in your glass. It was as if the table was ours for the evening and into the night. That would be wonderful if I were out for the evening with friends or my DH. With kids, though, even with kids who can behave nicely in restaurants, the experience should be done in an hour and a half, max.
Over and over, whether at a German-fare restaurant in Munich, or an Italian cafe in Berlin, we'd all finish our meal, then wait and wait and wait to even catch a glimpse of our waitperson. It seemed standard practice for waitpersons to serve the food, then leave the patrons alone. But anyone with kids knows -- you've got to get them moving again.
For most of our restaurant meals in the US, we are accustomed to the waitperson checking on us at least twice during a meal, and inquiring if we'd like dessert while promptly clearing the empty entree plates. A bill is quickly but discreetly placed on the table after we decline or order dessert. The departure time is up to us, but all the necessary components are provided.
At the end of a restaurant meal in Germany, our kids, then 9 and 13, would start to get bored and then restless, then start annoying each other and us out of frustration. More than once I exited the restaurant with the kids or had them pull out their Nintendo DS games. Both options included waiting for my DH to spy the waitperson, or even search for our waitperson, to get the bill to pay so we could leave. Thank goodness 'the bill, please?' was in our phrase book!
When we return, we'll remember to request the bill when the food arrives. Unless, of course, the kids aren't present, in which case I'll relish a lovely outdoor table for two and savor a slow, pleasant meal with my DH.
Related:
Hotels in Germany with a Family Room that Sleeps 5
Family of 5 in Munich for 53 Euros Per Person Per Day
Things to Do in Germany, including Legoland
Tube, U-Bahn, Subway - Family Travel Safety
Germany Geography Games
Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com
In Germany last summer, most service employees at restaurants and cafes helped us with their excellent command of English. But still we practiced utilizing words from a travel-guide phrase chapter, with no prior training except for my DH who took a couple years of German in high school more than 20 years ago.
For ordering food, we used our fingers to help indicate how many of something we wanted. We attempted to pronounce the number and the food items in German and completed our request by saying 'please?' In German, a typical request was: "Zwei (two fingers held up) bier, bitte?" (Sounds like: Tsvy beer, bitt-uh?) And then we continued our order with more food and beverage items, often furthering the communication efforts by pointing to the item on the menu. After a couple days, the kids tried ordering items for themselves, with a bit of coaching from us: "Eins schnitzel, bitte?"
When our beverages, and again when our food arrived, we'd each respond, "danke" (thank you, pronounced dank-uh), with a smile.
The one additional word that proved to be absolutely necessary: rechnung, pronounced resh*noong. It is the word for bill, as in 'the bill, please?' In German it is: "Die Rechnung, bitte?" (Sounds like: Dee resh*noong, bitt-uh?)
We found that eating at a restaurant or cafe in Germany is a fairly relaxed occasion. Waitpersons expect you to enjoy a meal slowly, talking and enjoying the company of your tablemates, lingering over the last drops in your glass. It was as if the table was ours for the evening and into the night. That would be wonderful if I were out for the evening with friends or my DH. With kids, though, even with kids who can behave nicely in restaurants, the experience should be done in an hour and a half, max.
Over and over, whether at a German-fare restaurant in Munich, or an Italian cafe in Berlin, we'd all finish our meal, then wait and wait and wait to even catch a glimpse of our waitperson. It seemed standard practice for waitpersons to serve the food, then leave the patrons alone. But anyone with kids knows -- you've got to get them moving again.
For most of our restaurant meals in the US, we are accustomed to the waitperson checking on us at least twice during a meal, and inquiring if we'd like dessert while promptly clearing the empty entree plates. A bill is quickly but discreetly placed on the table after we decline or order dessert. The departure time is up to us, but all the necessary components are provided.
At the end of a restaurant meal in Germany, our kids, then 9 and 13, would start to get bored and then restless, then start annoying each other and us out of frustration. More than once I exited the restaurant with the kids or had them pull out their Nintendo DS games. Both options included waiting for my DH to spy the waitperson, or even search for our waitperson, to get the bill to pay so we could leave. Thank goodness 'the bill, please?' was in our phrase book!
When we return, we'll remember to request the bill when the food arrives. Unless, of course, the kids aren't present, in which case I'll relish a lovely outdoor table for two and savor a slow, pleasant meal with my DH.
Related:
Hotels in Germany with a Family Room that Sleeps 5
Family of 5 in Munich for 53 Euros Per Person Per Day
Things to Do in Germany, including Legoland
Tube, U-Bahn, Subway - Family Travel Safety
Germany Geography Games
Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com
Monday, August 10, 2009
City Tour - Top Pick for Family Travel
A bus tour was not included on our London agenda years ago because they are expensive, at least for our tight budget. But we splurged last summer, taking a live-guide bus tour of Munich, and a few days later, a recorded-audio bus tour of Berlin. Now that we've experienced those tours in Germany, we will definitely include one on any future travel agenda.
A tour provides a great overview of a city's history, and identifies landmarks, which helps to establish a sense of direction. Kids can follow along with a map, and our kids took turns snapping pictures with hubby's old digital camera. The combination of a moving vehicle and a guide's voice kept our 3 boys interested.
Our youngest were not quite 10 (twin boys) when we visited Germany, and a 2-hour tour was perfect. The live tour was best because the guide was fun to watch. Perhaps we were lucky that she positioned herself on the double-decker's upper deck where we sat -- it would not have been as entertaining had we been on a different level. We were all amazed at how she described the history in 4 languages! She also made sure all passengers were polite, asking those who stood too much to sit so others could see, and asking those who were talking loudly to be quiet so others could hear her. The recorded tour we took days later kept the kids' attention, too, and the headphones and language selection buttons were fun for them, but we noted there were lulls in the script and it lacked personality. (Photo is of hubby and twins in Berlin on a recorded-audio tour bus.)
We planned ahead where we wanted to hop-off to see a store or museum or eat lunch. The interruption was good for the kids: they never had a chance to get too tired of sitting and listening. And after walking for a bit, or visiting an attraction, they were glad to hop-on the bus, relieved to sit down again. The kids thought it was most fun to sit up top on the double-decker, but we were careful to sit at the back, under the folded roof so we didn't get too hot or sunburned. That may not be possible during crowded times.
The 2-hour tours we took cost 50-60 Euros for our family of 5, and in London tours start at 54 to 69 Pounds for a family. There are usually tours of varying lengths available, offered by competing tour operators. A more expensive, but also more personalized option is a private tour. Some websites provide character descriptions and reviews of private tour guides -- a good way to select one that is comfortable and talented with kids. You can arrange walking tours or have a guide join you on public transportation or in a private car, and you can specify which sights interest your family. In London, a web search revealed that a 1/2-day private tour for a family ranged from 140 to 400 Pounds.
Our family recommends a city tour highly, and we all agree that any kid 7 and up would enjoy one, too. We saw parents with babies and younger children on board, but our kids are certain that under-7s would be bored and fidgety and whiny if stuck on a bus and expected to listen quietly for a half hour or more. It might work for younger kids if plans were made to hop-off and hop-on again more frequently, or if a private tour guide was particularly engaging and willing to accommodate a child's interests.
Related information:
Family Things to Do in London, Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna, Florence, New York City, San Francisco -Sleeps5.com
Paris Things to Do-Sleeps5 Blog article
Washington DC: Things to Know Before You Go -Sleeps5 Blog article
Hotels to Sleep 5 in London, Munich, Berlin, and more - Sleeps5.com
Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com
A tour provides a great overview of a city's history, and identifies landmarks, which helps to establish a sense of direction. Kids can follow along with a map, and our kids took turns snapping pictures with hubby's old digital camera. The combination of a moving vehicle and a guide's voice kept our 3 boys interested.
Our youngest were not quite 10 (twin boys) when we visited Germany, and a 2-hour tour was perfect. The live tour was best because the guide was fun to watch. Perhaps we were lucky that she positioned herself on the double-decker's upper deck where we sat -- it would not have been as entertaining had we been on a different level. We were all amazed at how she described the history in 4 languages! She also made sure all passengers were polite, asking those who stood too much to sit so others could see, and asking those who were talking loudly to be quiet so others could hear her. The recorded tour we took days later kept the kids' attention, too, and the headphones and language selection buttons were fun for them, but we noted there were lulls in the script and it lacked personality. (Photo is of hubby and twins in Berlin on a recorded-audio tour bus.)
We planned ahead where we wanted to hop-off to see a store or museum or eat lunch. The interruption was good for the kids: they never had a chance to get too tired of sitting and listening. And after walking for a bit, or visiting an attraction, they were glad to hop-on the bus, relieved to sit down again. The kids thought it was most fun to sit up top on the double-decker, but we were careful to sit at the back, under the folded roof so we didn't get too hot or sunburned. That may not be possible during crowded times.
The 2-hour tours we took cost 50-60 Euros for our family of 5, and in London tours start at 54 to 69 Pounds for a family. There are usually tours of varying lengths available, offered by competing tour operators. A more expensive, but also more personalized option is a private tour. Some websites provide character descriptions and reviews of private tour guides -- a good way to select one that is comfortable and talented with kids. You can arrange walking tours or have a guide join you on public transportation or in a private car, and you can specify which sights interest your family. In London, a web search revealed that a 1/2-day private tour for a family ranged from 140 to 400 Pounds.
Our family recommends a city tour highly, and we all agree that any kid 7 and up would enjoy one, too. We saw parents with babies and younger children on board, but our kids are certain that under-7s would be bored and fidgety and whiny if stuck on a bus and expected to listen quietly for a half hour or more. It might work for younger kids if plans were made to hop-off and hop-on again more frequently, or if a private tour guide was particularly engaging and willing to accommodate a child's interests.
Related information:
Family Things to Do in London, Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna, Florence, New York City, San Francisco -Sleeps5.com
Paris Things to Do-Sleeps5 Blog article
Washington DC: Things to Know Before You Go -Sleeps5 Blog article
Hotels to Sleep 5 in London, Munich, Berlin, and more - Sleeps5.com
Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com
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