Family Fun at Koserow Adventure Park

What you do when on your way back from Ückeritz, you have around two hours to kill until your connection to Berlin? You go a couple of stations away to Koserow Erlebnis Dorf. The fun is just about to begin!

It is build following the same concept of Elstal Strawberry Village near Berlin that I've visited twice and it offers a combination between old village-bound traditions and modern fun, with a strong strawberry scent - and taste too! The entrance is free, and you pay only for the different experiences. The prices are relatively low - starting from 2 Euro, but as there are many temptations around, expect to pay at least 20 EUR.

First, you go through a huge covered market hall, with walls plastered in shelves with teacups and teapots of different sizes and colours. One of my favorite views in Elstal.

On the ground, you are surrounded with various products made of strawberry, and marmalade is, indeed, one of the tastiest ones. The prices are moderate but it's hard to resist the temptation of purchasing more than - at least - three items. After all, the winter is coming and you need to feed the little bears a lot of tasty marmalade!

Outdoors, the yard is decorated with - not surprisingly - strawberry-related themes, but it goes beyond it: you have small water parks for the little ones and slides from the top of a wooden tower for the courageous big ones. Meanwhile, the parents can overview the activities while sipping some strawberry syrup or eating some strawberry cake...You got it!

Personally, we were happy to meet some funny musicians that we know already from Elstal.

A round tour with the tractor was also a much appreciated choice. The same for the pony tour that we enjoyed way too much to take a picture anyway.

The small indoors spaces where you can order various sweets and savory fast meals creates a warm mountain cottage ambiance. It's such a good feeling that you hardly want to leave.

But especially for city-children, such places are more than an opportunity to learn basic knowledge and skills about village life. How the milk is made, for instance, or how to make bread or how life looks like in the traditional countryside.

Adults - especially those who did not grow up in the German lands - learn something here too. Like, how big can a Rumtopf - rum pot for the English-speaking readers, where mixed fruit and alcohol are spending some time together before being served around the winter holidays' time - be. 

Erdbeerebratwust anyone? (Which in plain English translation means strawberry sausage, yep)

Or just some touch of strawberry mustard - Erdbeer Senf - as for now?

Fortunatelly for the average visitors as we are, there are also some 'normal' choices and we are back in the market hall for some good strawberry supplies, while watching how some bonbons are made - a fascinating experience for both adults and children - or for some chocolate tasting too.

Koserow Adventure Park was a great choice and we had two hours well spent. As such 'Erlebnis Park' are in many places in Germany, we are looking forward to trying at least a couple of them more in the next months. It's genuine simple fun and why refuse such an opportunity!?

For more travel stories, follow my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilanatravels

Germendorf, the Jurassic Park near Berlin

Looking for spending some gorgeous unforgettable time with your children, not too far away from Berlin? Desperately searching for an unique place to spend the birthday of your dinosaurs-loving children? The happy parents of a kid - or two - keen to learn as much as possible about science and animals? The petting farm and dinosaurs, plus the little beach and adventure park and the many playgrounds are enough to keep your little ones and yourself busy for as much as a full day of entertainment at Germendorf.

The biggest challenge to arrive to this secret natural oasis near Berlin if you don't drive is transportation. First, you need to arrive to Oranienburg - with the ABC transportation ticket - and then to wait at the S-Bahn station for the bus 842, which during the weekend operates only once the hour. You need to stop at Germendorf station and from there, walk for another couple of minutes until you reach the park. As from the bus station there are no directions, you better use your Google Maps to reach the Tierpark or just follow people with children.

If you drive here, you can easily reach it via the highway Berlin-Stralsund, or follow the directions Kremmen/Nauen.

We personally decided to have a stop first at the Seeterrasse nearby, for a lunch with a view over the lake, within minutes of walking to the park entrance.

The park is open all round the year, from 9am to 7pm, including weekends and banking holidays. The entry is 5 EUR for adults and 2 EUR for children up to 2. The 69 hectars of land offers practically almost everything you may need for spending a family day outdoors: fishing opportunities, over 650 animals, plus the open playground and other entertainment options.

The petting farm is a real attraction among children, with the possibility of purchasing food to feed them on the spot. Besides the chance offered to the little ones, mostly growing up surrounded by concrete and stuffed animals, to encounter real life, there is also a psychological aspect of such a meeting, as the children learn to be good with the animals, to do not fear them, and respect them.

Besides the usual farm animals like goats and goose and hen, there are also the gracious deers, which are always happy to grab some food from your hand.They were as many and as friendly as the ones from the Wildpark Frankfurt/Oder, and as we've been there recently, it was a great pleasure to meet them again.

Does it look this little one as the precious Bambi? You don't have to be a child to instantly fall in love with this gorgeous creature...You can go further with your love for animals, riding the poneys, for instance. In addition, you can also visit the noisy monkeys or the collection of exotic birds.

And there is more to this park than the pets: the spectacular, huge-size dinosaurs. As shortly upon arrival it started to rain, we sheltered for a little while in a small museum playing a movie life during old ages which was both interesting scientifically-wise and entertaining for the less 'literate' small ones. However, the spectacular views created outdoors are really impressive.

Some of the dinos are uttering some low scary sounds which make the ambiance even more authentic. There is even a volcano that can be visited and the park is organised up to various geological time frames. 

Peek-a-boo! It's me, the scary dino! Compared to the ones I've seen at the Biosphere Potsdam, the ones from Germendorf do not move, but their presence is impressive enough to make you think about them a lot after the visit.

One of the many options offered by Germendorf is also the chance of spending a lot of time outdoors - when weather allows - with your picnic friends and basket full of food, sunbathing and even swimming a little bit.

With the summer holidays coming up in just a couple of weeks, there will be a lot of things to do with children in Berlin or elsewhere, such as in Elstal, and adding Germendorf to the list will only add more fun to some unforgettable family times.

Family Fun in the Strawberry Village of Elstal

I visited Elstal a couple of years ago, but mostly focused on the outlet store and with a short stop only at the Strawberry Village. Now, I am here for the 1st of May to spend a full day of family fun.

Arriving here from by train from Spandau in Berlin takes within one hour, with a ABC ticket, plus a bus with an hourly schedule with stop near the train station. The bus is full and so is the parking place as people from all around the area brought their children here to enjoy the first of the many free days of the month of May.

Everything here is about strawberries, with the high season for the fruits about to start in just a couple of days. The little farm has everything you need for a full day outdoors, starting with the food and ending up with the many entertainment options for all ages.

If you have grown up kids, it is worth buying a day ticket otherwise, you can pay just per entertainment. The highlights of the season were the ice sculptures which are visited in a place where the specific thermic conditions are offered to maintain the works. 

The weather is (finally) lovely and staying outdoors at the food courts sounds a day-long temptation.

But for the little and no-more-too little ones, there are more interesting thing to do, such as sliding up from the top of a rusted funnel.

Or taking an adventurous ride over the village. Much easier that to make your way from one place to the other on the beaten crowded paths.

Adrenaline-driving activities are everywhere, therefore taking more than a foodie break is a must.

Taking a decision about where to eat is no easy business either. All places are packed so time-management is problematic. Between the waffles and millenial milk-shakes in Mason Jars, burgers and pizza and pancakes, we were for the latter. Our sugar cinnamon generous pancake for two was delivered in a big pan. To be accompanied by a strawberry-branded simple glass of water, at a table with strawberry-scented candle.

Out to the field again. For the small children, there is the option of driving a tractor around a fence-bordered area. Countryside feeling at its best. You can also pay at least 2 Euro for a pony ride, which goes to kids as small as 2 onwards.

The shopping temptations are also big, and ranges from new adds for your cupboards to other strawberry-branded souvenirs.

Strawberry jam, anyone?

The space outdoors offers more fun, with a big park surrounded by sand or coins mechanical cars for a couple of minutes shaking-ride.

It's hard not to have fun here, even without doing anything, just looking around spotting strawberry-bears, for instance.

It is the (Humans) International Workers Day, so donkeys are allow to work, isn't it?

It's hard to say how many hours we spent here, but for sure it was not enough. While after a full day out we finally decided to cross the huge shopping and food hall, decorated with the 27,390 coffee cups which entered the Elstal village into the Guinness Book of Records, I am sure that we will be back soon, at least before the strawberry season is closing. We know for sure that when we are really searching for fun, the entertainment is less than one hour away. Otherwise, there are even more Elstal villages across Germany, that I hope to visit soon too...

My Ingredients for an Almost Perfect Trip with Your Toddler

Exploring nature in Zehdenick, Brandenburg

Even if once in a while I keep posting tips and inspiration about how to enjoy your time with your little baby in Berlin, from the moment my son was born I knew I will not switch to a mom travel blogger writer. Although me and my little baby we are often on the road, and even since he was as young as 4 months old, I keep being interested mostly in grown up schedule and travel itineraries and topics. 

However, as my blog reflects my travels, diary-style, I want to share my inspiration and ideas for helping mothers like me, to dare take their little ones on a trip out of the comfort zone, at least once the month. I've often heard moms that keep telling that being out with a baby, especially a toddler who is becoming to be very active, is very hard, but staying in the house all day is also a challenge and it may get the kid even more unhappy. Breathing fresh air, interacting with other people, including children his age, discovering the world, are so many interesting activities that will only benefit your child, and bring you, the poor mother mostly juggling with hundreds of challenges, a ray of light and some diversity. Of course, when it comes to children, things shall be a little bit more organised and therefore, here are my tips about preparing to spend one day out of town with your toddler.

Snow in Ilsenburg, Harz Mountains

Check the Weather Conditions

Even if there are no chances of encountering a different season three or four hours away from home, sometimes the temperature differences can be challenging. The last weekend, we spent some lovely time in the mountain area of Harz where snow-capped mountains requested a completely different dress code than the usual light outfits from Berlin. 

Take some Extra Clothes

I always love to travel light, even when I have to be away for a week or more. When you are out with the baby, things might change but if you are still using a buggy, you can just pack everything in the big luggage space of the mobile car. Regardless if you travel the summer or the winter, children do spontanous things therefore, an extra t-shirt, clean socks and a warm pullover will help him to feel better and you to avoid the usual screams associated with baby-unhappiness. 

Enough Food and Water Supplies

Especially if you are a weekend traveller, as we often do, the risk in many small village places is to have everything closed down, especially in Germany. People here use to spend those two days for bonding with family and planning activities together - as we do, too - therefore, many restaurants or food courts are closed because maintaining a business open those days is just non-profitable. When we travel, we often prefer to take our own food supplies, just in case that the train is too late, or we prefer to spend more time outdoors or we just want to save more money for the next trip. 

Therefore, I either prepare everything the evening before - snacks, sandwiches, some cold meals, fresh fruits and vegetables - or I wake up early in the morning to have everything fresh. 

The water supplies are very important, and we always have a full bottle of water with us. You can also buy different sugar-based juices from big drugstore chains, but following the advice of my pediatrician, I rather keep it on the healthy side of the baby world. 

Be Ready for Emergencies

When you have small children, be always ready for different kinds of emergencies. You don't have to feel guilty for them, as it can happen at home as well - sometimes the incidence might be even higher, with the baby roaming around the hot pot or climbing on chairs and tables when the poor mom is having her once second of privacy...

When you travel, don't forget to have with you the insurance card, as well as a small bag with first help items, like sanitizer, pflasters and if your kid suffers from allergies, specific pills. If your baby has a special medical condition, be sure that you get the advice of the pediatrician about what you should avoid when on the road.

Toys and some Colourful Books too

Until 6-7 years or so, the little ones will prefer to take with them outside a toy from home, as a way to keep a certain connection with their stable life when on the road. My baby is always having with him a little piece of LEGO or a bigger stuffed animal, to keep him company, but I always take at least one small book to look at when the train trip is becoming too boring, or even one additional small toy - for example, a car - to fill the time with some more entertainment. In some cases, you can also buy on the road, but I usually prefer to avoid buying for the sake of buying things that may necessarily be useful, but just a compulsive way to spend money and unwise way to show affection.

Talk about What You See

Especially when little children are starting to develop their language skills, it is important that the parents are engaging with the environment. It doesn't mean to utter non-sense such as mentioning words without any connection with each other, but telling, in a pleasant and slow paced voice, stories about what you see, explaining the environment and showing the colours and other details. It is a great way to learn about world, and an encouragement to explore later by himself.

Avoid Electronic Devices

Interacting with animals is so nice!

I am usually that kind of human that avoid being critical against other human beings, but life is also made out of choices and it is important to set limites and write the story of your life too. For instance, I am not so in favor of keeping your kids busy checking Apps and Tablets for the sake of keeping them quiet. Why not trying to engage with them instead and make them part of the family meal or of the conversation or of the trip? After all, they are here with you not as pets, but for enjoying the activities and the landscape as well.

When we are in the train or in the car, we spend an impressive amount of time observing the landscape and giving short descriptions of what we see. After all, that YouTube video and short movie will be always there, the view is unique and inspiring on the spot. 

Check for Special Children Activities

Before you plan a trip, be sure that you are going in a place where you can have, at least one activity of interest for children. Having children means giving up a bit from your personal freedom - I avoid to utter the word 'sacrifice' because it is a little bit too pathetic for my style - and therefore, you need to keep in mind the interests of your baby too. Mine - and many many others too - love to see animals and therefore we are always having in mind some farms or zoos when on the road. Otherwise, we also love to check the local offer of parks or even family friendly coffees where we can meet other moms and their babies too, as we did in Bamberg two years ago. The older the baby gets the better as you can include in your schedule more complex destinations, such as children/toys museums, or technical/science museums too, like the amazing one from Wolfsburg, designed by the late world famous architect Zaha Hadid. 

Travels with your baby is not an easy piece of cake, but at least you can try and at the end of the day, it will help both of you to create beautiful memories. Don't forget to take some pictures too to look at later when at home, planning the next adventure together!

What about you? What are your tips for a journey with your toddler?

Visiting the London Aquarium

During my trips, I love to spend a lot of time visiting Zoos and natural science museums and Aquariums. I feel it relaxing and interesting and always an opportunity to learn new things. My latest love is the London Aquarium where I've been at least four times this year. There it is a similar place in Berlin that I visited in my first year in Berlin, but I rarely go in that area more than once the year. I do not like too much the neighbourhood.   

The big advantage of the London Aquarium is the great location, minutes or Tube stations away from London's big attractions. From the London Eye to the Big Ben, everything can be seen and if you look carefully, you would love the view as much as I do. 

My usual schedule of a day at the London Aquarium is to try to be there around mid-day - especially during the summer expect some waiting time and a lot of tourists, but everything goes quite fast - spend there a couple of hours - I want to be in time for the penguins' feeding time, around 3pm. If I am lucky, I can get some special presentations, as it happened today, when I'd learned about sharks. After I have enough of observing the fish and taking pictures - without flash - of the lovely creatures, I usually stop at the Marriott for a cup of tea or a fresh juice and I continue my journey for the evening meal. Besides the interesting show of the nature, one will always have the feeling of being part of a global world, with lots of languages spoken by the tourists from all over the world. 

One of the reasons I like to go there very often is that it is always some piece of information I miss before. I love the way in which the short presentation texts are written, in a language easy enough to be understood by people without any science background. 

The price is relatively high, of around 20 pounds. There are many information for children and some special playgrounds, besides quite a bit of kitsch and touristy stuff. But one can ignore that and be pleased by the incredible colour combination of the fish or of the grace of the swimming sharks. There are life lessons that both children and adults will always enjoy. 

You can also watch The Jellyfish show on YouTube.

At the Babelsberg Film Studios

I wanted to visit the Babelsberg Film Studio for more than a year, but my schedule rarely fitted the plan of spending one full day in the ambiance of movies, both old and news. The last serious temptation was the last December, but the studios are closed for the public between November and mid-April, so needed to re-schedule. This time, I got ready in time, checked the schedule, succeeding to be I was one of the first visitors of the day, wondering on the alley bordered by mostly children movies characters. Baron Münchhausen was too busy creating a new adventurous story for saying 'hi', but many others were waiting for me on the Boulevard of Giants, including two huge Marx and Engels used as decorations for a German movie, or Maria's robot figure from Metropolis.

If you did not grow up in Germany, you might need sometimes guidance for understanding the story behind the thematic sections you are about to visit. Take, for instance, the Löwenzahn caravan, exhibited near the entrance, taken from the very popular German series with the same name from the 1980s. Or the little green island of Panama, where the visitor - no upper age limit for the visitors - is taking a boat tour while meeting the protagonists of Janosch's Dreamland stories or simply listening to the popular bear character snoring. The trip on the boat reminded me my all time beloved tour on a cup at Disneyland Paris. I had again the confirmation that I will never grow up and feeling good about that.

But beyond the natural German touch, the film studios always were international. Under the brand of UFA (Universal Film Agency) and DEFA (German Film Agency), here were created since 1911 many international products and famous movies, such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis, or the Blue Angel. Later on, productions as 'The Pianist', 'The Reader', 'Inglorious Basterds' or 'The Monuments Men' were hosted here. The park includes different thematic sections - Middle Age, with a lot of scary touch - Western etc., or simply created around famous movies filmed here.

One of the least spectacular areas is the Western Street, that reminds of several thematic productions from the 1960s, such as 'The Sons of the Great Bear' or 'White Wolves'. Ambiance of Western movies was recreated, including a sheriff's office, a barber's shop, a bank or saloon. There is even a donkey that was lying a bit bored in his corner! For moderate action, one can pay 0.50 Euro and try his or her shooting skills.

A popular interactive show is dedicated to the 2011 movie 'The Three Musketeers in 3D', but at the time of our visit, we only saw the decorations, waiting for more life and action later in the day. The interactive part is one of the strongest points of the studios. We've been twice to the Cosmic Kino, attending extraordinary 4D movies: we took our seats and fixed our special glasses, secured the seat bells and got into the roller coaster adventures for the next 15 minutes. The best way to fight my fear of heights, without climbing on the top of the world. Another adventure followed up at the Dome of Babelsberg, shooting  with plastic laser guns mummies and scary monsters in the worldwide first interactive XD-theatre. The round balloon where used previously for hosting a popular TV show by Sabine Christian and was moved from downtown Berlin after 22,000 hours of hard work. There might be long waiting times, especially if you arrive in the middle of the day, but it goes fast and it generally worth the waiting.

When we are not longing for multi-dimensional adventures, we walked the cobbled streets of the Medieval Town. From bloody water to tombs whose earth was moving while uttering special sounds, you have the special cocktails for successful nightmares for the next days.

But there are also friendlier areas, such the Gardens of Little Mook, with pools, fountains and a Sultan's throne - occupied then by a guy reading his newspaper, not too much worried that there might be people looking for a selfie on the same throne, for example - original decorations from the classical movie.

It was plenty of school children visiting, and I could not stop observing some scary scars on the faces or arms of the little kids, wondering how wild they went while visiting the park or even before. However, when you are in the world of movies, expect the imagination to be stronger than the reality. The little ones went in fact before me at the 'Dreamworkers' Atelier, where painters or make-up designers are able to completely modify your appearance.

Near costumes and originally looking paintings, I met some of the characters of one of my favourite story back in time: the Neverending Story - which from now on, is travel.

Sandmann is the icon of the children who grew up in the former GDR - Babelsberg was part of the national pride of the newly created German Democratic Republic anyway. The show featuring little dwarf created in 1959 reached a popularity of 1,5 million daily viewers, in a world without Internet and with relatively limited access to the media - censorship was a popular hobby of the political elites at the time. The section dedicated to Sandmann is not too exciting, focused more on the history and evolution of the character, with snapshots from different successful episodes.

After many hours of checking action movies or spending long minutes wandering what's going on, this Witch's Cottage from Hansel and Gretel made my hungry. Don't expect to be treated with anything delicious inside, as there is only a TV presenting images from the movie. There is the original set from the German movie adaptation of the famous story. The remake was made in 2012 for the TV station rbb. This tasty looking house was used during the shooting of an outdoor scene located very close to Potsdam.

When I took my media accreditation for Babelsberg, I was told that I definitely watch the stuntshow in Volcano Arena, that takes place at specific hours. We waited till 14.00 o'clock and despite the heavy rain, we decided to go, encouraged by the fact that there is a huge covered arena where one can easily stay away from the drops. The show lasts for around 45 minutes, is packed with action that includes car chases, fire stunts and fight scenes and many special effects. The amphitheatre was built in 1998 with around 120 tones of lava brought from the Eiffel Mountains in Germany. The setting was used for the SF Mad Max Trilogy, starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It's adrenaline fuelling, although a big violent, but I found the fight scenes a bit ridiculous and not necessarily very 'real'.

Inside the Film Studios, there is also a thematic restaurant, 'Prince Valiant'. Situated close to the medieval quarter, it features the world of Arthur and its cavaliers: there is a round table, and the meals in the menu have interesting names such as the lactose free Lancelot pasta. When we arrived, it was ongoing a show with trained animals - a dog and an eagle - and the place was full of people. However, after waiting a while to be served with something, we gave up and continued the journey without the food tasting part.

The last attraction visited was the original 'Boomer' submarine, from the 1997 film 'Hostile Waters', with Martin Sheen and Rutger Hauer. Set in the complicated Cold War context the movie has  nuclear balistic adventures. A guided German tour of the submarine was provided, explaining the technicalities of the machine, as well as the details of the movie. Interesting, but not as exciting as our last 4D adventure at Cosmic Kino: a roller coaster adventure set on the heights of the Great Wall of China.

Our world nowadays is more creative than it used to be centuries ago. When we might feel that things are going too unexpectedly, one day in the film studios will give you hope that things can go pleasantly wild from time to time.

For more insights from Babelsberg Film Studios, have a look at the dedicated Pinterest board too: http://www.pinterest.com/ilanaontheroad/filmspark-babelsberg-brandenburg/