As is our custom when driving to far away destinations, we try and take a few extra days to break up any long travel distances into more manageable “bite-sized” pieces for the girls. About 4-5 hours in the car per day seems to be just about right…
For our trip to Italy, we decided to make our first stop in Karlsruhe, Germany, which is just about halfway between Brussels and Milan.
Karlsruhe is known by its’ nickname of the “Fan City”, because it was designed with a tower in the middle and all of the streets radiating out from it, sort of in the shape of a fan.
Also, it was the birthplace of Karl Benz, the inventor of the automobile (and founding member of Mercedes-Benz), so it would be a good place for me to stop and pay my respects!
During our drive, the girls usually have plenty of things to do, with their books, puzzles, drawing pads and Leapster game consoles. In addition, Jo Ann got a special book for DS: The Italy Discovery Journal, a 174 page booklet of fun-facts concerning things to see and do in Italy, while also teaching her about Italian food, culture, history, art and architecture. In fact, Jo and I learned a lot of things from DS during our trip…
We rolled into Karlsruhe late in the afternoon and after checking in, walked into the city center to see Karlsruhe Castle. Many people were outside in the park that surrounds the castle, enjoying the warm early evening.
We found a nice outdoor café called Multi Kulti, and sat down for a nice dinner overlooking the castle and its fountains. It had been a hectic several weeks getting ready for the trip, and for me, work had been especially busy as I prepared to take almost three weeks off.
But, as we sat and enjoyed our first holiday dinner, we all felt very relaxed and agreed that a stop in Karlsruhe was the perfect beginning for our “Spring Fling” in Italy.
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