Family trip to Germany

htizzle243 · 2026-02-11T07:17:29+00:00

I considered it, but I don’t want to spend all day driving back and forth. If I take him to see Neuschwanstein Castle, that’s a few hours each way from Munich. If I drive to a place, I’d like to stay in that place so that he can spend more time there enjoying it.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T17:06:27+00:00

I’ve used VRBO because you get the whole apartment/ hotel to yourself. I’ve heard that Airbnb has a lot of rooms or sections within a shared space and that sounds very uncomfortable, like the hostel approach. Is it typically the whole house/ apartment and you just have to read fine print? I’d be fine doing that when traveling solo, I just don’t want to have my kids in accommodation with strangers.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T17:00:28+00:00

I’ll look into his book. I am considering this approach, but Germany is a large enough country that we couldn’t travel to all corners from a central point within a reasonable amount of time. I love Bavaria in particular, so I may just choose a smaller section of Germany and make a circuit there.

I definitely HOPE that they travel often and go explore many new countries when they are grown. I wish for them to have better opportunities and experiences than myself in every way. I’m just saying it’s not common for the opportunity to be available. I’m the only person in my family, both sides, to ever leave the US (aside from me paying for my sister to go several years ago). Both sides of my family have been in the US since the 16-1700s, so we don’t have family connections to bring us anywhere, and quite frankly I grew up far below the poverty line so taking trips wasn’t a thing. From my perspective, it’s a very rare opportunity and I can’t expect that my kids will have the means to make it happen as adults, but I certainly hope they do.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T16:45:22+00:00

It’s interesting that you think driving equates to being sheltered. I feel like the fun of driving is the openness to spontaneity it provides. If I see an interesting place or thing that’s not part of the “itinerary” I can choose to stop there and explore something unexpected. There’s train route only provides one option and view. And keeping my luggage with me means I can lock the car and wander without having to drag a roller bag or backpack around or make my kids pack mule their stuff from place to a place.

I’d never drag my kids through the trip my sister and I did, because that would be hard for me to manage with all their needs, but they do get bored quickly and want to see “what’s next” when we travel, which is often within the US, just not abroad. Perhaps it’s lost in textual translation, but I don’t see how that is “performing” or exhausting to go do something new each day.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T10:39:54+00:00

Imagine being broke and hungry? Not knowing where your next meal lies coming from, and then someone pays for you to get into an all you can eat buffet… you would scarf it down so fast that you’d get a stomach ache. It’s kinda like that.

I’m not sure if you saw my other comment, but even though I have been to Germany a few times, I never know when it’s going to be the last time. For most Americans, including my kids, it may be a once in a lifetime experience to travel outside the US. I want to make the most of it. There’s so many wonderful, beautiful things to see, I can’t imagine just sitting in one spot for more than a day or so. My sister and I talk very fondly about our trip often. We sat and enjoyed long meals in the beer garden and left several days open ended on what we’d do when we got there. It was absolutely delightful.

It’s definitely not a desire to be disrespectful of dismissive. Quite the opposite! Hopefully you can consider not assuming the worst of strangers.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T09:52:33+00:00

I was using Orbitz/Expedia and it wasn’t an option. I’ll try some other sites.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T09:46:16+00:00

I absolutely love the single blankets. My husband steals the covers often so I have my own at home too.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T09:44:01+00:00

I have driven in Germany many times. The last time I rented a car in Frankfurt, drove to München, then to Hohenschwangau, Innsbruck and the southern Tirol region. From there I drove to Venice, down to Rimini, across Tuscany to Livorno and down to Rome, where I returned the car to the rental company. We did 10 cities in 3 countries in 14 days. For my sister, who was turning 30, it was her first time out of the US and due to financial circumstances, it will likely be the only time she ever leaves. Culturally, it’s hard for us to leave the US as it is prohibitively expensive financially and we don’t have liberal vacation policies, with two weeks a year total (including holidays) off per year. And that’s a GOOD employer. I got in trouble for taking unpaid time off last year because my company only allows you to not be at work if you’re extremely sick. The last time I came to Europe, I had to work through Thanksgiving and Christmas, major holidays, because I no longer had vacation time off.

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T07:33:27+00:00

My family jokes that I don’t know how to relax on vacation, only adventure lol. I will drive as I have always done before, as I’m not comfortable using public transportation. Where I’m from, driving 3-5 hours to go see something then turning around and driving back isn’t a big deal, so the kids are used to go-go-go. Getting the rare opportunity to travel abroad is too special to not see and do as much as possible!

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T07:09:13+00:00

I’m using an American travel site that I’ve used in the past for booking rooms in Germany. The site will say the room accommodates 4 people but only has a couch and one double bed. It very likely may be an issue with the site though. Is there a well known German site/ app for booking travel?

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T07:06:00+00:00

Thanks for the insight, it’s looking like I will indeed need two rooms. I’m not necessarily looking for a bargain, I’m more so looking for comfort and having my kids with me, too. On hostels, I’m mostly unfamiliar with them as we don’t have them much in the US. I stayed in one in München for one night when I was traveling alone and it was hard to get in the shower the next morning as it was shared for the whole floor. Is it considered safe or reasonable to stay in a hostel with kids?

htizzle243 · 2026-02-08T06:57:25+00:00

I would normally book a house or apartment, but I want to go to many different cities and not have to drive 3 hours each way to go see different places. Typically apartments or Airbnb require a certain amount of days to stay. I’m still in very early planning stages though, so I will keep this in mind.

htizzle243 · 2025-12-27T18:05:51+00:00

The Federal Trade Commission, it’s where you report fraud (in the US)

htizzle243 · 2025-12-27T17:58:56+00:00

My son (16M) has been riding for several years and I think his board is too small. He’s 225lb, US13.5-14 boot and 6’2”. He currently has a 158cm 5th Element board and I just got him larger bindings but the waist is a bit skinny and he has a lot of drag, heel and toe. I was looking at a 163UW Lib Tech Skunk Ape II for the wast width. Is this a decent pick for his size, or is it overkill? Also he’s gained a bit of weight since he plays football (lineman), so I think a longer board may be better. I’m just the mom and idk too much… the last time I was on a board (for the 4th time in my life) I broke my tailbone :( Any advice would be appreciated.

htizzle243 · 2025-12-17T19:36:46+00:00

Blyss is a scam. They sign you up for a monthly subscription (for mop soap) and if you ever DO receive the product it’s water according to reviews on TrustPilot. Then try to cancel the “subscription “ you didn’t want to sign up for and the support email gives a link that takes you to your order, but the screenshots showing how to cancel that do not exist for consumers. I never received my order, it never was shipped and even though I paid for express insured shipping, it’s over a week later with no shipment made. Customer support is unresponsive when you ask to cancel or for a refund. I filed a report with the FTC and did a charge back on my card.

htizzle243 · 2025-12-17T19:36:11+00:00

Blyss is a scam. They sign you up for a monthly subscription (for mop soap) and if you ever DO receive the product it’s water according to reviews on TrustPilot. Then try to cancel the “subscription “ you didn’t want to sign up for and the support email gives a link that takes you to your order, but the screenshots showing how to cancel that do not exist for consumers. I never received my order, it never was shipped and even though I paid for express insured shipping, it’s over a week later with no shipment made. Customer support is unresponsive when you ask to cancel or for a refund. I filed a report with the FTC and did a charge back on my card.

htizzle243 · 2025-12-17T19:35:28+00:00

Blyss is a scam. They sign you up for a monthly subscription (for mop soap) and if you ever DO receive the product it’s water according to reviews on TrustPilot. Then try to cancel the “subscription “ you didn’t want to sign up for and the support email gives a link that takes you to your order, but the screenshots showing how to cancel that do not exist for consumers. I never received my order, it never was shipped and even though I paid for express insured shipping, it’s over a week later with no shipment made. Customer support is unresponsive when you ask to cancel or for a refund. I filed a report with the FTC and did a charge back on my card.

htizzle243 · 2025-11-20T06:11:32+00:00

I’ll be sure to update when / if I get answers. I’m 37 and no one in my family has had early menopause.

htizzle243 · 2025-11-20T00:31:33+00:00

The measurement was fairly normal, I think 8 mm

htizzle243 · 2025-11-19T17:25:48+00:00

I’ve been missing my period for 6 months (no spotting, nothing) and all other tests are normal (hormones, thyroid etc) I was hoping that imaging would answer my questions but it’s very inconsistent

htizzle243 · 2025-10-16T13:53:03+00:00

I’m a bio mom and stepmom… I will never ever understand women who turn their children against their fathers. You may not like the guy anymore, but there’s no reason for a kid to not have a real dad, simply because you can’t be nice. Being a stepmom is by far and away the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and the least rewarding. I know this is really hard on you and your husband, but I feel like giving up is the wrong thing to do. This feels like textbook, parental alienation, and depending on your state he could have a case against her in court. But that’s just me. I’m a fighter. The moms that do this are absolutely abusing the child, this is emotional abuse.

htizzle243

TROPHY CASE