Toddler In Germany (1st of 3 Parts)

Best known for royal palaces and massive gardens, we take our toddler Harvey to a city called Potsdam, a place known for its laidback atmosphere, which is located just a little outside of the German capital.

The Potsdam Kaiser tour is definitely one of the most helpful ways to get around the whole of the city most especially when traveling with a toddler. Front row seats on the bus are normally allocated to ones with children, which was very helpful for us. Prams/buggies are stored at the back of the buses making it very accessible when hopping in and out of the bus during stops. Plus, young children are free of charge as well, making it another advantage! Important stops include Park Sanssouci, Schloss Sanssouci (Sanssouci Palace) and Schloss Cecilienhof (Cecilienhof Palace). The tour is available in eight languages and takes around two and a half hours to complete. If you opt for a private tour instead, available for four people max, you may arrange this directly with the company by checking www.kaiser-tour.de

One of the happiest places in Potsdam has got to be the indoor playground for children, a playful setting known as Dino Dschungel! Located in a residential area in town, this busy attraction is complete with roller slides, huge trampolines, a giant bouncy mountain inflatable, electric ride-on car circuit, adventure zone, interactive areas and even a toddler playground! Having made friends during playtime, my toddler just couldn’t get enough of this attraction! As a hugely popular place to celebrate children’s parties as well, you can already imagine the excitement that surrounds this place! With an interesting menu available, you know that your child can never go hungry, too. Providing low-priced entrance costs for its guests, tickets are valid for the whole day. Interested? Can’t see how any child can’t be! Check www.dinodschungel.de

At Potsdam city centre, there are endless things to do so it all depends on what you are after. Catering mainly to my little one, I would recommend a shop close the high street called Kinderkram, a small but well-equipped toy shop with a wide variety of interestingly designed wooden toys. Currently on sale, a shop called Tausendfüss Kinderschuhe and Mehr that sells children’s shoes is another great option as well. If your child has a huge fascination with trains, a visit to Modellbahnen (a shop that sells model trains) might be well worth it! Along Brandenburger Strasse, Potsdam’s main high street, you will find a huge department store called Karstadt. Catering to both adults and children, this is one of the best places in town to find a great mix of things! I also happen to find one of the best baby changing facilities at this place where nappies (available in five different sizes), creams, wipes, powder, nappy sacks and even disposable mats are free of charge to all its customers whether you make a purchase at the shop or not!

A little outside the centre of town, there is a small shopping mall called Stern Centre. Here, I find a shop called Spielemax (a popular local, affordable and very complete children’s shop in Germany with many branches in the country) and found myself stuck inside for a very long period getting inspiration! It was impressive to see how everything was laid out completely – from clothing to accessories and even party equipment and costumes, you name it! And directly beside the Stern Centre is a massive furniture and home accessories shop called Porta. What makes Porta interesting is that it is a multistory building with its own designated indoor children’s playground called Portalino Kinderclub. At this playcenter, you will find three adventure zones catering to children of different age ranges, a Kinderkino (Children’s cinema), indoor vehicles, a book reading area as well as rooms to hire for birthday parties. The idea behind this is that when parents want to do some serious shopping, they can let their children enjoy the Portalino (free of charge for the first hour) without having them tag along to some “boring” home shopping for adults. I also have to point out that food and drinks at the Porta Restaurant to me seemed like being at a fancy restaurant, but at very low prices. And also just a quick note that “kinder” in English means “children”.

I happen to find Potsdam a very interesting city. What I like a lot about it is getting the chance to have long walks or enjoy sledding during winter at many of its expansive gardens and sidewalks but in a more relaxed atmosphere in comparison to many other cities in the country. I love the mix of the city being laid-back and commercialized at the same time; it’s just like having the best of both worlds all at once. It makes the perfect blend! And judging by the photos, it’s no doubt that my toddler felt the exact same way, too. Toddler’s travel continues on  April 8, 2013, so please read on.