Happy New Year to you all, I have been absent for a while mainly due to the recent holidays and finally moving into the place (yay! more on that later). So we took a trip to Cologne, Germany as a city break/mini holiday and mainly to see the Christmas Markets. This was also Karmens first trip on an aeroplane, I had been so worried about taking her on a plane for the first time and I had all these nightmare scenarios in my head so I was really glad that I had decided on a short flight to get it out of the way and the flight to Cologne is only an hour. Prior to the trip we had been spotting aeroplanes in the sky and she was very interested so I played on this for when we arrived at the airport and parked the car as when we parked the Aeroplanes fly over the car park very low and of course very loud, I was worried the noise would scare her and had my fingers crossed that it wouldn't set off a negative reaction for the whole journey, however she loved looking at them so closely and was imitating the noise so that was one big relief. She enjoyed the whole airport experience which is usual as it is somewhere new and at her age (14 months) anything new is so exciting!
As I was so nervous about how she would be on the flight I was armed with a selection of distraction tools! Magazines (The Simpsons and Peppa pig) 2 Books (motorbike and fire engine) 2 downloaded episodes of The Simpsons on iTunes, a miniature London black cab and of course the beloved Blanket! But I was so relieved and surprised to find out I did not need to use any of them! The flight went better then I could ever of imagined and she was as good as gold, taking everything in and I am ashamed to say I think I may have underestimated her a bit, so this has taught me to have more faith in her regarding her ability to cope with new situations and things. I also decided to take the Quinny Mood pushchair instead of the Stokke Xplory as i felt it was slightly more sturdy to remain unharmed during the flight and airports. I am glad I made that decision as I don't think the baggage handlers look after the pushchairs particular carefully and I would of been devastated if anything had happened to the Stokke. Although I did really miss the Stokke whilst we were there as she would of been higher up and I find it more comfortable to use, but to be honest I don't think Karmen minded and ultimately that is what really matters!
From an advice perspective to other parents that may be worried about the first flight I would say try to stay positive and make everything as exciting as possible. As soon as we got on the plane she was interested in everything including the inflight magazines. But mainly she spent the whole time looking out of the window at all the other airplanes and objects on the runway and I encouraged her to make the sounds and noises of everything as I knew the planes engine would be very loud when it started. We did not stop talking throughout and she had so much to say in her own way that I was worried we were becoming annoying but in contrast some of the other passengers took the time to comment to us about how well behaved she was and I must admit I did feel quite proud of that!
I am also a big believer that your mood has a big effect on babies mood so if you can, be as calm and positive as you can and of course make everything very exciting. However you could try your hardest and for what ever reason there still might be a problem or upset on the flight which is why I would recommend having as many distractions with you as possible. With regards to ears popping during take off or landing she did not seem to have a problem at all but I did have a tommee tippee straw cap bottle which she seemed to really like on the plane for drinking her water out of and it is non spill, perfect!
Now to review Cologne and the Christmas Market. This was my first visit to Cologne and Germany but the city is very similar to the other European cities I have visited. The first thing that strikes you is the Cathedral. It is absolutely huge and as soon as you step out of the train station it is the first thing you notice due to its sheer size and its very gothic appearance. The Cathedral was built in 1248 but was only completed in 1880 and it really is amazing the details it has. To be honest this is all I found out about the Cathedral and we did not go inside as with Karmen there as well I wanted to keep things as interesting as possible for her. However if you would like to find out more about the history of Cologne Cathedral here is a link for you to do so.
The Christmas Markets were the main reason for our trip and they did not disappoint. I have no experience of other Christmas Markets but if I am correct the Cologne ones are amongst the largest and best in Europe. They are beautifully done each stall is decorated beautifully and when night falls there are lights covering the centre part which is very pretty and does feel magical when you are standing underneath.
The stalls sell a variety of goods, majority of them are homemade and vary from candle holders, to hats and other outerwear to miniature wooden toys and musical instruments plus so much more, I even managed to find a wooden whistle with her name spelt with a K on! You could easily find Christmas gifts for anyone and everyone. There are also an abundance of food stalls selling traditional German grub such as Currywurst and Bratwurst (sausages) and other savoury snacks and of course sweet and yummy chocolates, waffles and crepes! You can also get a Baileys hot chocolate or mulled wine and they are served very festive red mugs or glass mugs that you can take with you and they make a lovely keep sake.
The main market is situated right next to the cathedral and it provides a contrasting back drop to the bright lights and sounds of the market. I would recommend travelling to Cologne for the Christmas Markets alone it really is an experience in its own right and there is so much to look at and lovely pretty lights as well as a beautiful vintage carousal that little ones are kept happy as well.
We also ventured into the city centre which has a great mix of high end designer shops and also the usual high street selection and the shopping area is very large so if you did need anything you would definitely be able to find it.
We stayed at the Hilton Hotel which is a few minutes walk from all the attractions mentioned above. I would highly recommend a stay here, the staff were very welcoming and friendly and were more than happy to help with anything we needed for Karmen. Our room was a Deluxe Suite and was very modern and spacious with everything you would need and expect in your room. We all were very comfortable during our stay and would not hesitate to be a return customer to the Hilton.
Overall the whole trip was a great success and Karmen thoroughly enjoyed herself, much more then I could even of hoped for. So if anyone out there is feeling nervous or hesitant to take your baby away for the first time I would say take the plunge and go for it, they and you will enjoy every single part of it more than you may expect!
Love Kim xxx
As I was so nervous about how she would be on the flight I was armed with a selection of distraction tools! Magazines (The Simpsons and Peppa pig) 2 Books (motorbike and fire engine) 2 downloaded episodes of The Simpsons on iTunes, a miniature London black cab and of course the beloved Blanket! But I was so relieved and surprised to find out I did not need to use any of them! The flight went better then I could ever of imagined and she was as good as gold, taking everything in and I am ashamed to say I think I may have underestimated her a bit, so this has taught me to have more faith in her regarding her ability to cope with new situations and things. I also decided to take the Quinny Mood pushchair instead of the Stokke Xplory as i felt it was slightly more sturdy to remain unharmed during the flight and airports. I am glad I made that decision as I don't think the baggage handlers look after the pushchairs particular carefully and I would of been devastated if anything had happened to the Stokke. Although I did really miss the Stokke whilst we were there as she would of been higher up and I find it more comfortable to use, but to be honest I don't think Karmen minded and ultimately that is what really matters!
From an advice perspective to other parents that may be worried about the first flight I would say try to stay positive and make everything as exciting as possible. As soon as we got on the plane she was interested in everything including the inflight magazines. But mainly she spent the whole time looking out of the window at all the other airplanes and objects on the runway and I encouraged her to make the sounds and noises of everything as I knew the planes engine would be very loud when it started. We did not stop talking throughout and she had so much to say in her own way that I was worried we were becoming annoying but in contrast some of the other passengers took the time to comment to us about how well behaved she was and I must admit I did feel quite proud of that!
I am also a big believer that your mood has a big effect on babies mood so if you can, be as calm and positive as you can and of course make everything very exciting. However you could try your hardest and for what ever reason there still might be a problem or upset on the flight which is why I would recommend having as many distractions with you as possible. With regards to ears popping during take off or landing she did not seem to have a problem at all but I did have a tommee tippee straw cap bottle which she seemed to really like on the plane for drinking her water out of and it is non spill, perfect!Now to review Cologne and the Christmas Market. This was my first visit to Cologne and Germany but the city is very similar to the other European cities I have visited. The first thing that strikes you is the Cathedral. It is absolutely huge and as soon as you step out of the train station it is the first thing you notice due to its sheer size and its very gothic appearance. The Cathedral was built in 1248 but was only completed in 1880 and it really is amazing the details it has. To be honest this is all I found out about the Cathedral and we did not go inside as with Karmen there as well I wanted to keep things as interesting as possible for her. However if you would like to find out more about the history of Cologne Cathedral here is a link for you to do so.
The Christmas Markets were the main reason for our trip and they did not disappoint. I have no experience of other Christmas Markets but if I am correct the Cologne ones are amongst the largest and best in Europe. They are beautifully done each stall is decorated beautifully and when night falls there are lights covering the centre part which is very pretty and does feel magical when you are standing underneath.The stalls sell a variety of goods, majority of them are homemade and vary from candle holders, to hats and other outerwear to miniature wooden toys and musical instruments plus so much more, I even managed to find a wooden whistle with her name spelt with a K on! You could easily find Christmas gifts for anyone and everyone. There are also an abundance of food stalls selling traditional German grub such as Currywurst and Bratwurst (sausages) and other savoury snacks and of course sweet and yummy chocolates, waffles and crepes! You can also get a Baileys hot chocolate or mulled wine and they are served very festive red mugs or glass mugs that you can take with you and they make a lovely keep sake.
The main market is situated right next to the cathedral and it provides a contrasting back drop to the bright lights and sounds of the market. I would recommend travelling to Cologne for the Christmas Markets alone it really is an experience in its own right and there is so much to look at and lovely pretty lights as well as a beautiful vintage carousal that little ones are kept happy as well.We also ventured into the city centre which has a great mix of high end designer shops and also the usual high street selection and the shopping area is very large so if you did need anything you would definitely be able to find it.
We stayed at the Hilton Hotel which is a few minutes walk from all the attractions mentioned above. I would highly recommend a stay here, the staff were very welcoming and friendly and were more than happy to help with anything we needed for Karmen. Our room was a Deluxe Suite and was very modern and spacious with everything you would need and expect in your room. We all were very comfortable during our stay and would not hesitate to be a return customer to the Hilton.
Overall the whole trip was a great success and Karmen thoroughly enjoyed herself, much more then I could even of hoped for. So if anyone out there is feeling nervous or hesitant to take your baby away for the first time I would say take the plunge and go for it, they and you will enjoy every single part of it more than you may expect!
Love Kim xxx
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