The Sister’s Wrap up of our Family Trip to Europe

It’s time to wrap up our family trip to Austria and Germany. Being able to travel with The family is a blessing that is unique and not taken for granted. I’m very thankful that as we get older, we appreciate this opportunities to spend time together with a shared love of travel.  Similar to our Sibling trip, It’s great the sister has an opportunity to share some of her thoughts on this trip. Below is her wrap up on this trip. As always, if you’ve spent anytime to read through the trip, Thank You! Otherwise, if you haven’t and want to, you can find the whole trip here. And without further adieu, the Sister’s Wrap up!

Top 3 Highlights

Highlight #1: Hotel breakfast with Mama Minion in Vienna

We had planned to split up on our first full day of the trip in Vienna: The Minion and Papa Minion would visit Schönnbrunn Palace, and I would spend the day wandering Vienna with my mom (who had already been to the palace before). Thanks to The Minion’s benefits, the parentals’ hotel room came with breakfast, but since The Minion and Papa Minion were heading out early to the palace, Mama Minion and I got to enjoy it instead. 

The setting and the food were so lovely and felt very refined, but the best part of it was the wonderful quality time we were able to spend together. Though we try to get together one-on-one when we’re at home, having unrushed time to catch up, share, and encourage one another – all while indulging in a beautiful breakfast buffet (which included sparkling wine!) – was really memorable and special.

Highlight #2: Night Kitchen dinner in Berlin

The Minion and I were on our own for dinner one of the nights in Berlin as our parents were tired and opted to stay in. We decided to venture to an area of Berlin we hadn’t been before and try our luck getting a table at Night Kitchen, a highly rated restaurant we both had read a lot about. The cuisine – Mediterranean and Israeli food – isn’t one our parents are super keen on so we hadn’t considered it an option for the four of us dining together. But having a meal for just The Minion and I seemed like the perfect opportunity! I’ll get into the meal a bit more in the next section (spoiler alert!) but it was just such a fun and awesome experience. 

Even walking to the restaurant was lovely: we walked along the water and came upon a square where a busker was singing to a crowd of people just sitting on the steps to a museum. Her voice was beautiful and, with the sun setting in the background, it felt like such a lovely evening. We didn’t have a reservation at Night Kitchen but, fortunately, there was no wait and they had two seats for us at the bar, which we gladly took.

Highlight #3: Doggo watching in English Garden in Munich

We spent a good few hours one day wandering around the huge English Garden in Munich. It was an incredible park with lots of lush greenery, babbling streams and brooks, beautiful vistas, and gentle walking paths. There were also some unique elements of the park, including horseback riders, a fast-moving section of the river where people would practise surfing, and a big beer garden in the middle of the park with a huge pagoda as a centrepiece. 

My favourite part of the park, though, was seeing adorable doggos running, walking, and playing. By this point of the trip, I really missed my dog (Miso) and was itching to interact with some doggies. Sadly, I did not get a chance to pet any in the park but it was still such a joy watching dogs of all breeds and sizes looking like they were living their best lives.

Favourite Meal

As alluded to above, my favourite meal of the trip – and maybe one of my favourite dining experiences on any trip – was, hands down, Night Kitchen in Berlin. The vibes in the restaurant were so fun. We sat at the bar and had such a great time interacting with the bartender (who moved there from New York) and the other staff. The manager or owner (we think) would go around chatting with people and pouring and taking shots with them. You could tell everyone who worked there loved it and enjoyed working with each other (we saw many of them staying behind to eat together and have drinks at the bar after their shifts were over).

Night Kitchen is known for their Dinner with Friends menu option, which is basically a chef’s menu where they bring out a number of dishes from their menu. The fun twist with their version though is that it’s all you can eat/unlimited. You can ask for more of the same dish, ask for other dishes, whatever you want. There is also an option to add on unlimited drinks. We went for the whole deal and it was such a fun and delicious way to sample different things from the menu. Being Asian, we aimed to make use of the AYCE part and ask for more. But they already brought out so many dishes, and the portions were so large, we could not possibly ask for more even though we wanted to since everything was so good. There was a couple beside us who did take advantage of that part and they did indeed continue bringing out more food and different dishes. We tried to drum up the stomach capacity to get more but we had to throw in the towel. And this is all before they brought out all the desserts they offer on their menu! 

Anyway, this was such a great dining experience overall: the staff were engaging, kind, and attentive, the vibes were fun and energizing, and the food was delicious.

If I could change the itinerary…

We only had one full day in Vienna and I wish we had had more time. Many people I spoke to about our itinerary gushed about Vienna and how much they loved it. Indeed, it seemed like a city with something for everyone: history, culture, food, drink, and lots of cute and pretty places to walk and wander.

What surprised me?

I really loved how friendly and chill everyone we met in Germany was. English was super common everywhere and I was never made to feel bad for speaking it (I sometimes get this vibe in other European countries). It also didn’t feel overly touristy like other parts of Europe. It felt like it would be a really comfortable and relaxed country to travel around.

I also loved how dog-friendly it was in Germany. Dogs were seemingly allowed and welcomed everywhere, including restaurants, stores, malls, and elevators. You could tell people loved their dogs and wanted to take them everywhere and that was just a normal, accepted part of society.

One memorable story from this trip

One of the daily grind quests The Minion and I had on the trip was finding restaurant and food options that everyone in our family would enjoy and find suitable. We were struggling with such a quest while sitting at the very top of the dome of the Reichstag building (Berlin’s parliament). The parameters we had been dealt for this particular quest were not easy to contend with: when asked what kind of food to look for, the response was “an avocado sandwich without cheese.” It would also, ideally, not be far from where we were and not far from the hotel, and there were preferences to be able to walk to the restaurant versus taking public transportation. To make the quest even more of a challenge, it was a Sunday so not all restaurants were open. 

So The Minion and I went to work opening up Google Maps and Reddit to see what was around the area. And I’m proud to say that not too long after, we found a cafe equal walking distance from the Reichstag and our hotel that seemed to fit the bill. As we neared, The Minion ran ahead to make sure it was open and, lo and behold, it was! The menu was full of sandwiches, soups, salads, and omelettes – many of which included avocado with no cheese. It was a little thing, but felt like such a big win!!

Did I pack appropriately?

I think so! I knew it would likely lean toward the colder side, so I packed with that in mind. Bringing a packable puffer jacket that I wear often because it was warm and lightweight, I also ended up bringing a mid-weight crewneck (versus a thicker, warmer one). I am so glad I did as it meant I didn’t overheat during travel days. I also only brought one pair of shoes (sneakers) for the whole trip and that worked out great. Unfortunately, I did bring a packable rain shell, which would have been great, but I was not wearing it the one day it really rained so that was a bit unfortunate.

Regrets?

I regret not committing to the trip earlier when there was still availability on the business class flight my parents were on so we could all fly together. The Minion had booked that same flight with points to “surprise” our parents but when I finally decided to go, he very kindly cancelled that flight to fly home with me on a different airline. While we did still fly business class, it wasn’t as nice an airline and we didn’t get to experience it all together with our parents.

Advice for people considering similar trips/destinations?

Take your time in each place as a lot of the charm is just walking around and exploring. If you are travelling as a family and there are different generations, I will say it can be logistically challenging going around Europe on your own. It might be worthwhile to invest in a guided tour or doing a cruise, which would offer more structure and take some of the mental load off of research and figuring out what and where to eat.

If you have the means, opt for slightly nicer hotels with bigger rooms, especially if you’re not travelling as a couple. Europe is notorious for very small hotel rooms and I’m glad we splurged a bit for chain hotels with more spacious rooms. It was nice to have a bit of extra space for luggage and to move around, as well as to eat any takeout we brought back.

Final thoughts?

I hadn’t been back in Europe in a long time and I definitely felt the sticker shock, especially after having spent three weeks in Asia just a few months prior. But it was nice to return and explore some new places alongside family. I really appreciated that the places we visited weren’t overly crowded or touristy like other, more popular tourist destinations in Europe are (I’m looking at you, Italy and Paris). I had also worried a bit if we’d experience any discrimination given world politics at the time, but there was none of that. Everyone we encountered was hospitable, professional, and friendly. It truly was another memorable family trip in the books!