Berlin - Our first family city break

Ram and I took a lot of city breaks in our pre-children years. We took them very seriously - a packed itinerary every day and plenty of walking. Although we have still travelled since having the children, we've generally kept it safe with more traditional family friendly holidays.

Since Harry started school we've really noticed how much the prices for family holidays increase during the school holidays. Keen to find a reasonably priced holiday destination for half-term, we decided to try something new and investigate some of the cheap EasyJet destinations. We chose Berlin for several reasons - research suggested that it was a good family destination, Ram and I visited some years ago and loved it, and having spent some time in Germany as a student I have a certain affection for the country.

I won't pretend it was the easiest holiday that we've ever taken, but overall we had a brilliant time and it was a huge success. Both children were very interested in their new surroundings, and in particular Harry was a complete delight with his eagerness to learn about the city. Not to mention the flight there was a breeze after our previous long-haul flights.

We discovered some fantastic places to visit with small children, so many that I will be putting together some more posts over the next couple of weeks.

I also tried to make a big effort to make the most of the new opportunities that come with being in a foreign country. One of Harry's highlights was definitely his first ride in a tram, a mode of transport that has long fascinated him! He was also very interested to hear people speak German and to learn a few words himself. He wasn't keen to try a sausage from the street sausage vendors though!

Even sleeping in one hotel room together worked out very well. For the first time on a family holiday, we tucked both children up in bed together, said goodnight, turned out the lights and they went straight off to sleep - definitely an improvement on previous bed sharing experiences!

A city break abroad with two young children was quite an undertaking, and I'll shortly be putting together a post with a few tips that we found to make it all easier. I'll also be writing about some of our favourite places for families in Berlin.