Hohenschwangau Castle in GermanyToday we all headed to Bayreuth, the nearest small city to their home. We saw Wagner's impressive home and wandered through the nearby gardens that are now a city park. From here, we headed into town for some traditional hot chocolate and then through the pedestrian zone to see some of the cute shops. Most cities in Germany have pedestrian-friendly outdoor shopping areas with few or no cars. These almost always have activities for kids as families are highly valued. Here they had a carousel so we let the kids each take a ride.
With a low population and the need for future workers, Germany has some of the most family-friendly policies in the world. Some examples include 12 months of maternity leave, at least two months paternity leave, Kindergeld (money paid to families each month from the government for each child), free insurance and higher education (something that is in the process of changing with much protest), and kids' entertainment nearly everywhere. They highly value families, both socially and politically. You can't go to the bakery, butcher, pharmacy, etc with children in Bavaria and not receive some little gift for the kids.
After the carousel, we decided to get some dinner. In the winter, they set up some wooden stands with Christmas lights that sell gluh-wein (hot spiced wine), sausages, and crepes to the Christmas shoppers in the Bayreuth city center. We sampled the food. Our friends had arranged for us to stay in a cottage of our own at Conrad's parents house. I was thankful for the privacy as this night both Matthew and I got very ill. Let's just say that I won't be having sausages or gluhwein for a long time.
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
1 day ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
3 days ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.
Shelby Oakes
3 days ago
Great communication and service!
Larry Haisley
3 days ago
We had an absolutely wonderful Seychelles cruise experience. I can’t imagine having seen all the beautiful islands we saw any other way. The entire Variety cruise staff was so friendly, attentive and professional. And all the meals were amazing. I highly recommend this cruise.