The last time I traveled was back in 2007 where I visited the awesome country of Singapore, and 12 years from then it was due time for another trip somewhere. After some good thoughts, we decided to do a family trip to Europe; Germany, France and United Kingdom!
Planning a trip overseas isn’t just a random decision. Everything has to be planned very carefully and well in advance, and in my case, it’s a year in advance that everything started. Preparing this early I must admit things went on pretty well, and it does sound too much of a preparation but when it’s a family trip, better not have bad surprises, especially with with a child on board. I’ll write a separate blog post for the best tips I can provide according to my personal travel experience and how it can be beneficial.
So, the itinerary was to reach Frankfurt at the end of July, travel by high-speed train to Paris, and again by high-speed train to London, and back to Paris for the flight back home by end of August; one whole month in Europe. Also, this included a quick trip to Nantes while in Paris.
After considering what the different airlines were offering, travelling with Emirates aboard the A380 was to my own judgement the best choice and the experience lived to the expectations. Departure was pretty smooth after transiting through Dubai we arrived at Frankfurt. One important tool, especially for Mauritians travelling, was to setup a working Uber account with your respective destination addresses already saved before-hand, and transfer from the airport to the residential flat was very easy. You won’t have to worry about roaming or data plans because free WiFi is available within the compounds of the airport.
Frankfurt is not that a big city and the people seem quite friendly from what I could observe. The place where I was staying (Niederrad) was minutes away from the city center and was a very peaceful and quiet. Understanding the transport system wasn’t difficult and going back and forth the city center was as easy.
On the first day of arrival I spent the afternoon walking around to understand and identify the different infrastructures and facilities. Following the path along the Main river (pronounced Maïne) revealed a soothing aspect of the city.
The next day we went to the zoo and I must say that it was a lovely experience, especially with a kid. The Frankfurt Zoo wasn’t too big but not too small as well. A two hour visit and we were already having our way towards onsterblerwache and the rest of the city center.
Römerberg revealed to be a magnificent place with those medieval/gothic style timber houses, and following the tourist street Neue Kräme towards Zeil lead us to the core shopping place around I believe. It was just wonderful to see such an animated place.
On the third day we went for a 2 hour river cruise followed by a beautiful panoramic view over the city on top of the 200m high Main Tower. Spending the rest of the afternoon strolling around to discover more.
Our last day started with a visit to the Natural History Museum followed by some more shopping. Unfortunately this part doesn’t have images as most of the shots were taken on my mobile phone which sadly got stolen after my arrival in Paris.
The next morning we spent the first half day at the Hauptbahnhof Station boarding our high-speed train for a 4-hour ride towards Paris. It was a nice way to admire the local scenery and it’s quite surprising to see everything else outside city centers are mostly farming lands and small villages.
Next stop: PARIS!
