Parent of 8-year-old recalls 7-week Europe trip — 3 changes she'd make

A mother and her husband took their 8-year-old daughter on a seven-week trip through six European countries, starting in the Greek islands in early September and travelling slowly by train from Italy to Germany by the end of October. While they enjoyed many highlights, she says there are three things she would change next time.

First, she would build in more chances for her daughter to play with other children. As an only child her daughter was used to her own company, but the family’s weekend with friends near Lake Como fell through when the friends’ flight was cancelled, and there were few children at playgrounds and beaches during term time.

Finding resorts with kids’ clubs was hard, and family campgrounds were often far from cities. They coped by playing card games, having family movie nights, visiting playgrounds, swimming, and going to kid-friendly attractions such as the butterfly house in Vienna and the Berlin Zoo.

For a future long holiday, she says she will plan visits with friends or family who have children and choose more family-friendly accommodation. Second, she would worry less about food. Her daughter tried some local dishes — in Greece she liked kebab meat, cucumber, olives, bread, and chips, and in Italy she ate pasta and pizza — but some Swiss, Austrian, Czech, and German cuisine didn’t appeal.

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