Guest post by Maria F. PART I You know how they say that, once you’ve reached a certain age, you should have a mammography every two years? At least that is the standing recommendation in Germany, and it is also what health insurance will pay for, no questions asked. Well, when I was 50, I…
What’s it like at Family Paradise in Leverkusen? First of all, this is not an indoor playground like the others we have visited so far: GeckoFun in Burscheid, Hoplop in Cologne, Okidoki in Langenfeld, Trampolino in Hilden, Tiki Kinderland in Solingen, and Hugodrom in Remscheid. The others have trampolines, inflatables, climbing structures, bungy jumping, mini golf, and a…
Are you traveling to or living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany? If you have kids between the ages of about 2-12 who like to climb, slide, and jump, we have six recommendations for indoor playgrounds in the region for you here. We’ve tried them all out and will tell you our honest opinion (from young and…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. What’s it like to go to the Hugodrom in Remscheid? Well, it’s like a huge, empty hall with toys and attractions in…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. For Christmas 2022, mommy gave Lyons Cub a new Hot Wheels set for his city: A shark garage. Last year for his…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. For this year’s Christmas, Lyons Cub received his older cousin’s hand-me-down Playmobil knights’ castle. Although some parts were missing, he had a…
What’s it like to go to Tiki Kinderland in Solingen? Well, we discovered yet another indoor playground in North Rhine Westphalia. We already know GeckoFun in Burscheid, Hoplop in Cologne, Okidoki in Langenfeld, Trampolino in Hilden, and Hugodrom in Remscheid. This one here has a specialty that the other ones are all missing: Water! It…
We have been to several Christmas markets already, in Langenfeld, Monheim (including an ice-skating rink), and Leverkusen; however, they all had food booths and modern stuff, such as my son’s Pikachu hat with lights. I longed for a medieval Christmas market with old-fashioned, handcrafted items, tents, torches, camp fires, and a castle. We found a…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. The Christmas Market in Monheim, which you can reach in ten minutes by foot from the Nature Adventure Trail and the splash…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Lyons Cub found an exciting light-up Pikachu hat with movable ears at the Christmas Market in Opladen: At first, we used the…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Lyons Cub had a visit from Santa Claus on December 6th, 2022. He brought him many a treat, because he had kept…
What’s it like to watch the cranes fly south? Lyons Cub has seen the Canada geese and the Siberian geese fly in formation, but this time, while we were at a playground with his little friend Giuliana, we watched a flock of cranes fly to warmer regions. They were right over our heads in arrow-like…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. For Halloween this year, Lyons Cub visited his big cousins, and besides admiring each other’s disguises, eating cake, and having a barbecue,…
When Lyons Cub was 1.5 years old, we visited the Aquazoo in Duesseldorf during our summer trip to Germany. This fall, we came back. As a 4.5-year-old, Leander could appreciate the animals and especially the interactive learning stations much more already. Except for the parking situation, which was a hassle, and the many visitors, we…
This was Lyons Cub’s fourth Circus visit! First, he went to Circus Liberty; then, to Circus Proscho; and finally, to Circus Florida. Each one was an exciting event for a preschooler, and each one contained specific attractions that were phenomenal. This is a short comparison of what the four circuses we have been to so…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. My son has been to Cologne a couple of times already, once to visit the Chocolate Museum, see the Gothic cathedral, and…
Lyons Cub has found his favorite indoor playground! Having tried out GeckoFun in Burscheid, Hoplop in Cologne, and Oki Doki in Langenfeld, we went to Trampolino in the city of Hilden, and this place had something of everything and some additional attractions the other places lacked. Let’s see how those four indoor playgrounds compare. Attractions…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. It’s the first of October today. Have you carved a pumpkin yet with your kiddo? We bought an already painted one with…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. [No worries, nobody will buy this!!] What’s it like to grow a Hatch’em Dinosaur Egg? Ehem, this is the first negative review…
We were at Duisburg Zoo yesterday, when the sun was shining, so today, when it was rainy and cool, we JUST wanted to go to the post office in town, but we happened upon the fall festival… And here it goes. Lyons Cub went bungy jumping (which he already enjoyed as a toddler), fishing for…
This was Lyons Cub’s third zoo visit today! The first one was Nashville Zoo in 2019, and the second one was 2021, when we went with grandma to the Wuppertal Zoo. Alas, it was very hilly there and not easy to navigate with a senior and a stroller. It was quite exhausting, although the variety…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Ahhh, the fascination of little kids with sand and water 😉 Here we are at the park with the climbing animals and…
What’s it like to invest in green energy shares for your child? I want to prepare for harder times to come (especially with regard to the energy crisis fueled by the war in Ukraine, and the climate crisis), so that my son has a nest egg to fall back on when he needs it in…
Today was Lyons Cub’s third visit to an indoor playground, and this one was special! After having experienced GeckoFun in Burscheid and Hoplop in Cologne, we visited Oki Doki in Langenfeld. While GeckoFun was small and nice for parents to attend because they could watch their kids from a comfy seating area, Hoplop was huge…
Today, we are reviewing an old Parker Brothers game from the 1970s. It’s called Mind Maze, and I bought it for my husband David from an online antiques seller some time around 2015 or so. It says it’s for 8 years and upward, but I played it with my 4-year-old son. It worked a couple…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. When we visited an art gallery in Langenfed to buy two paintings from Ivan Beslic, Lyons Cub also got a collector’s item…
Today, Lyons Cub proved his bravery — he held an albino king python for the first time in his life!!! Given that his mommy used to be a vendor at reptile shows as LZRDGRL in Wheaton/Chicago, Indianapolis, Sheperdsville, and the Memphis Repcticon from 2010-2014, he totally steps into her shoes, heehee… This was his third…
Yay, this is our third day in the Irrland theme park already! We have already climbed on haystacks, fed goats and chickens, raced on tricycles, climbed on towers, and jumped on trampolines on our first day in the park, and inspected planes, gone down giant slides, played with connecting pipes on sand hills, slid down…
Wow, this is already our second day in the Irrland amusement park! If you missed out on what we did on our first day in the Irrland park, check it out here. Today, we’re off to see 12 new attractions. We spent a nice, quiet night in the Parkhotel and swam in their pool in…
On a hot summer day, pack your kids and go to a splash pad for a little refreshment… That’s what we did, and what’s more, Lyons Cub met his friend Giulianna and her daddy there. The kids had fun playing in the sand, climbing and sliding on the playground, and my son was the most…