Antonio Silva
Conjugating the words in the title of this article is not easy, we all know this who has children. On the one hand, it is not easy to travel with them: more luggage, you have to carry "another rhythm", and you have to think about activities that do not turn vacations into a total boredom for them and therefore a nightmare for us. There is also our hobby, that we should try to promote among the little ones.
During the last Stuttgart classics fair, held in April, we arrived in the German city by plane via Frankfurt. From there we took a rental car, stopping to eat 100 km from the airport and about 75 from the fair. We happened to stop right in front of the Auto & Technik MUSEUM in Sinsheim and we saw the Concorde and the Tupolev TU-144 from afar… Both were fixed in the minds of all of us who were in the car for posterity.
The Retro Classics fair It was a real pass and on Sunday, how could it be otherwise, we found a two-hour gap to stop at the museum. We thought that it would be limited to a few curious planes, which was undoubtedly a miscalculation since two hours later we realized that we would need at least a day or two, taking into account that a second was 30 km away museum of the technique -actually a huge extension of the first one-, with more interesting things to see.
While returning on the plane I reviewed the information seeing that, in addition to content on top classics, both institutions included large children's play areas with giant slides, sandboxes, swings, electric cars, etc. On the other hand, inside the huge ships there were many pushbuttons: in front of the cars, engines and other objects that, when pressed, operated various devices that would inevitably catch the attention of the little ones.
Planning and budgeting
Two weeks ago I realized that one of those "long" autumn weekends was approaching, so almost immediately I began to dwell on the subject of visiting museums; In addition, my sister-in-law had told me about Legoland Deutschland, so that if I centered the hotel in Stuttgart it would not be difficult to do everything. Finally, after looking at the flights a bit, I saw that the best combination was offered by Aireuropa. In short, the planning it looked like this:
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♦ Flight departure at 6:30 a.m., arrival at 10:00 a.m.
♦ Rental car: 10:45
♦ Arrival at the Sinsheim museum: 11:45
♦ Visit, food, games, until 18:00
♦ Hotel Stuttgart: 19:00
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[su_spoiler title = »SATURDAY» style = »fancy»]
♦ Breakfast at 8:30 am
♦ Arrival at Legoland: 10:00
♦ Legoland until 18:00
♦ Hotel Stuttgart: 19:00
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[su_spoiler title = »SUNDAY» style = »fancy»]
♦ Breakfast: 8:30 am
♦ Arrival in Speyer 10:00
♦ Visit the museum until 15:00 p.m.
♦ Frankfurt Airport: 16:00
♦ Departure to Madrid at 18:30
♦ Arrival at 21:00
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The final budget real per family unit -in our case 2 adults and a 4-year-old child- was less than 1.000 euros divided into flights (135 × 3 = 405), hotel with breakfast (203), car (proportional part, 150), tickets (125), meals (100) and gasoline (40). Then there is what the little ones are capable of getting out, you already understand me.
Surely many think that for that money they go to the Canary Islands for a week; Now, if you are one of those who want to see the world, learn about German technical culture and TRAIN your children in something different from sun, beach and beers, this could be a good idea.
As important information about the trip, I will say that the flights were taken via a well-known internet portal and that the car was a 7-seater Mercedes van with fully comprehensive insurance without franchises (be careful about the latter, it is more than recommended with vehicles like this large). The hotel was chosen through the same portal and, something very important, the Legoland tickets, including the parking lot, were also purchased online.
Regarding the latter, you will take advantage of an offer and in addition to being cheaper, you will save time and money. Tickets for the other two museums can be taken out , Since there are usually no large crowds and today there are no significant discounts that justify taking them out previously.
The adventure begins
Our little ones woke up early to the excitement of catching the plane. Once inside, I thought that, like other times, they would both fall asleep ... which was revealed as another miscalculation, the whole trip without losing detail and creating a mess; "They are children" I had to repeat to myself over and over again. Airport, rental car, 100 kilometers and «to jugarrrr».
The Auto & Technik MUSEUM in Sinsheim
Upon arrival they saw a huge slide of more than 10 meters high, which came down from a Russian passenger plane. There they were venting for an hour until we went to eat. At 13:30 p.m. we entered the first large nave of the museum, where the American classics welcomed us: Cadillac, Corvette 56, Belair, among others. At the bottom, a couple of dreams in the form of Mercedes 770 and 540k, together with other high-level German machinery.
This first ship corresponds to the place where the ticket offices and the 3D cinema are located, which can be interesting if you have enough time for it. More than 75% of the large building is dedicated to war material from World War II, undoubtedly a bit dense for children although it is always interesting to explain to them from little ones what everything is, from a Panzer to a Stuka passing through an old aircraft that sported the Stuttgart coat of arms that many will recognize by the two sports car brands that carry it on their hoods.
We can also enjoy watching the mechanical elements of a locomotive move, or with a peculiar and huge contraption that plays music by itself, but real music, with wind and string instruments operated by automatic mechanical systems that you will probably love.
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Engines, suits, uniforms, projectiles and weapons will mean that, if the little ones hold out, it will take us between one and two hours to see everything; If the mothers are understanding and leave us alone for a while, the truth is that we will be there until our ears ring.
The second ship is larger than the first. On its roof there are several "devices" that can be visited: Junkers JU51-3M, Concorde, Tupolev 144, among others; while on the ground floor "caviar" is served for lovers of the classics. Our dwarves will have a great time going down the giant slide that descends from one of the planes on the roof, watching a KUKA Robot move, enjoying the movement of another locomotive ...
As well we can see spectacular pieces of Bugatti, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and, as we have said, Mercedes. Among the examples of the German brand, a 770 K or a spectacular 500 G4 similar to the one that has heritage stands out, which many people say is unique -and they are right-, but not because it is the only 3-axle Mercedes that survives, but because it is one of the 3 or 4 540 G4s that came off the assembly line. In total, Mercedes manufactured 73 vehicles with this configuration between 1933-1939, most of them 500 G4s intended for generals and 3 or 4 units of 540 G4s, with slightly elongated chassis and boosted engine.
The exposed unit, according to the museum's poster, was used by Nazi leaders during the occupation of Czechoslovakia and Austria, being used after the war as a fire fighting vehicle. We can enjoy watching on a large screen a video of the vehicle moving through the nearby countryside, being driven without any compassion.
At six in the afternoon the museum closed, and the truth is that the older ones were already exhausted. Seventy-five kilometers later we arrived at our hotel in Stuttgart, a two-star hotel from a well-known hotel chain that was more than enough to spend the night that night and the next for just over 200 euros, breakfast included.
