It’s a constant challenge to fill the German school holiday schedule with:

a) Unique activities
b) Something kids will enjoy
c) Something that won’t kill the budget for the rest of the holidays

So when hanging in Barcelona with our friend Jo who has just relocated to a nice house in Brussels, a plan was hatched for an Easter holiday escape. I had received my new 550e Touring BMW, so transportation was covered. As the straight drive was a full day affair, we decided to break-up the trip on the way with a stopover in Düsseldorf/Köln. Düsseldorf is a regular stop, as it is the home to the biggest Japanese populuation in Europe, and with a large variety of Japanese eats and treats, but since I had a Hyatt certificate for a free night which worked best in Köln we spent the night there.

Even before starting the roadtrip started, we were able to enjoy a leisurely Friday. It was holiday and thus everything was closed, but instead we went over to visit Daniel for an early afternoon barbeque which turned into a later evening party with cakes provided by Katarina who joined from a separate party.

Our goal in Düsseldorf was to eat, and as it was a Saturday we didn’t want to get shut out of restaurants for being too late. We left shortly before 7am — a bit later than anticipated, but successfully brought us into the Japanese main street of Düsseldorf shortly before 12 noon. We parked at a convenient charging station on the main street and went to a local shop recommended by my friend Jun (always the go to man for food recommendations). Afterwards, we stocked up on some supplies (i.e. Bakery my Heart Japanese sweet breads), ate soft serve matcha ice cream, and then headed to Köln.

The Hyatt Regency in Köln is a special place because it was my first stop in Germany back in 1990 when I joined a bunch of fellow British Pink Floyd fans to see the Rodger Waters show at Potzdammer Platz in Berlin. At the time, the hotel was brand new (just opened in 1988) and I don’t think the booking agent realized they were going to have 100+ hooligans in their hotel. As least they didn’t remember me as I checked in.

We went down to enjoy the swimming pool, but in a strange twist of German weather I was able to enjoy the sun out on the patio while the boys swam. Afterwards, Kai and I did a quick workout and then adventured into town across the bridge for some sushi. Teo who had already put on his pajamas opted for the katsu sandwich he had bought earlier in the day.

The next morning we feasted on our bakery goods from the day before and headed out to Phantasialand — a well executed theme park located about 30 min southwest from Köln. Luckily the weather still held, and we had a great day with managable queues — we rode everything we wanted and most of the best rides we did twice.

From there, we drove on to Jo’s place located in the southeastern part of Brussels city. It was a great house with 5 floors, giving everyone a good amount of space to do their own things. Jo prepared an excellent thai curry for the weary travelers after which we left the kids to the video games and toured the neighborhood ending up at the James Joyce Irish pub (but of course drinking local Belgian Beer), meeting some of Jo’s local friends and playing some darts.

The next day, we worked to bring some cultural activities into the mix, visiting the Atomium — a huge structure built for the 1958 World’s Fair. From there we went into the city center for a look around before heading back to cook some Japanese curry.

On Tuesday, as the weather was holding and Jo was working, we decided to go for a side trip to Bruges. One note about travelling to mideval towns with very large BMWs — leave plenty of time to find parking. We ended up running to catch our reservation to visit the famous belfry in the middle of the old town, which was not ideal given that it is 366 steps to reach the top. But with a mission in hand, we succesfully made it and then followed up by rewarding outselves with a smashing course of Belgian waffles. I have to say that the savory ones were incredible — super light, but great combinations with eggs, salmon, or in my case fresh buffalo mozzerla and balsamico. That evening, Jo prepared a great barbeque with endless rounds of grilled chicken and sausages, which on top of the adventures of the day put me into a food coma.

The next day, the weather finally caught up to us. Armed with umbrellas in hand, the boys and I went to one of the local parks nearby which hosted an interesting military museum full of armaments going back into the 1800s. For once Teo was more engaged than Kai. Following, we made our way to Menma, a ramen place which is sister to a higher-end Michelin star eatery. Jo joined, and we all enjoyed some tasty bowls of noodle goodness — perfect for the rainy day. After we decided we needed a nap before heading off to some indoor lasertag to continue our out-of-the-house activities. Having yet to sample the famous Belgian frites, we swung by Maison Antoine — a stand in the middle of a nice square — to test the fare. And it was really good fries. To round out our must do list, Jo prepared some great moules (mussels) for a lighter dinner.

The next day, Jo had a conference at the Parliament, so we took the opportunity to get an early start on long and wet journey back to Berlin. It was a solid exploratory mission, and one that is likely to be repeated again.