What’s it like to take a hiking trip to Wipperkotten, which contains a historic wrought with a water wheel? On an island in the Wupper river (Wuppertal is the city with the famous suspension monorail and the big zoo) lies the romantic Wipperkotten, which still houses a wrought where one can sharpen one’s knives. We…
What’s it like to go to a tarantula exhibition with your kid? Today, we drove to a tarantula exhibit in the city of Solingen, West Germany. On two floors, they had different critters, not just tarantulas. There were also live stick insects, caterpillars, crabs, and snails. In addition, there were some model insects, so the…
What’s it like to publish an e-book with Lulu self-publishing service? You have content like texts and/or photos that you want to share with the public? Or, you have created content that you want to share with your family/specific persons only? You would like a print-on-demand service where you don’t have to buy a certain…
Have you ever held an American Eagle? Nope? It’s quite heavy, and when you look it in the eye and see its huge beak, you might be lucky to wear your sunglasses that day (at least I was). Lyons Cub “only” got to hold a barn owl (kids got smaller birds to hold), but still…
What’s it like to search for fossils in a quarry? 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. Today, we drove to the city of Hagen to meet the GeoKidz…
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. Educational toys are very important for children. Lyons Cub received his first junior microscope for Easter, and from his aunty, he got…
What’s it like to see insects trapped in amber under a microscope? 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 Easter this year, my budding scientist got a student…
What’s it like to go hiking and determine the name of plants with the help of the PlantNet App? Today, we went on a nature walk again, but this time, it was special, because we went hiking with a group of other parents with kids in Landschaftspark Fuhrkamp, with the goal of determining plants with…
What’s it like to observe specimen under a student microscope and to prepare specimen yourself? 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 received a green Bresser junior…
What’s it like to visit Museum Koenig in the city of Bonn? Do you also have a child who loves museums? Lyons Cub was thrilled by the dinosaur exhibition in the Museum of Natural History in Munster and the early humans exhibition in the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann already, but today, we traveled to the…
What’s it like for a kid to win a beginner’s swimming badge? When is the right time to teach your child how to swim? There may be different answers to this question, but for us, we starting frequenting public swimming pools when Lyons Cub was about two-and-a-half years old. He learned some principal techniques to…
What’s it like to play soccer in a club with school children? 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. Sports is very important for children in order to train…
Driving through the car wash is an excitement for my son every time. When we still lived in Clarksville, TN, we washed our red Toyota Camry ourselves in our own driveway. Here, in Germany, you’re forbidden to wash your car in your own driveway, because the soiled water could get into the ground water. Instead,…
What to feed your golden hamster? 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 his 6th birthday, Lyons Cub got a 9-week-old male golden hamster. He will have to…
What’s it like to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve in Bergisches Land, a western German region of which Wuppertal (with its famous suspension monorail) is a part? 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…
What’s it like to distinguish edible from non-edible chestnuts, and how to bake the edible ones? Or, rather, how not to bake them…??? Lyons Cub really made a bad experience baking chestnuts this October. First, how do you tell edible from non-edible chestnuts apart? It’s quite easy: Edible chestnuts look like this: Here, Lyons Cub…
What’s it like to go to a precious stones fair with your pre-schooler? 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 loves everything shiny and glittery. He has…
What’s it like to try out a tamping machine simulator? Well, on September 15th was the big day: Tag der Schiene, or Day of Tracks! Like many railroad construction companies, the Deutsche Bahn, parts manufacturers, maintenance halls, and other railroad academies, mommy’s training facility also celebrated this day around the railroad. And what could be…
What’s it like to care for a carnivorous plant? 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 loves meat-eating plants. He got to know the Piranha plant through…
What’s it like to go to the open house day of the local fire department? 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. Wrapped around the light poles, we had…
What’s it like to visit an interactive drop forge industrial museum? The Bergisches Land, literally “hilly country,” where the city of Solingen is located, has a deep industrial history. Today, Lyons Cub, mommy, and grandma visited an ancient “Gesenkschmiede” or drop forge, which functions as a museum nowadays. We were able to participate in an…
What’s it like to visit the Botanical Garden in Solingen? Lyons Cub has visited several attractions in Solingen already: Today, we set out to visit the Botanical Garden, which already exists since 1963. It was July 2nd, the day of the pineapple festival (but alas, mommy had forgotten her wallet in the car, so we…
What’s it like to go to a summer festival at a Schrebergarten? 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. A Schrebergarten, founded in the late 19th century, is a…
What’s it like to visit the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann? Are your kids interested in ancient human beings, tools from the Stone Age, mammoths, skeletons, and the like? Well then, a cool destination would be the Neanderthal Museum in the city of Mettmann, on the traces of one of the first human beings, the Neanderthal…
What’s it like to visit Schloss Burg in Solingen? Which little boy or girl doesn’t like to play knight and princess? The name “Schloss Burg” is an oxymoron, for in German, “Schloss” refers to a representative building (castle) and “Burg” to a fortification (fortress). This building has been remodeled many times and is still under…
What’s it like to ride the suspension monorail in Wuppertal? 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. Today was my son’s first ride on the suspension monorail in the…
What’s it like to visit the Galileum in Solingen, Germany? 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. Has your child ever visited a planetarium? The Galileum is a modern…
What’s it like to visit a dripstone cave? Today, it was wet and cold (4 degrees C). Where could we go for an outing? Got it — somewhere warmer and drier — a dripstone cave!!! We picked up grandma and drove to the city of Iserlohn to visit the famous “Dechenhoehle.” It is the only…
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 judo class? It was Lyons Cub’s second day at the judo course, because the tryout was…
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…