We took a short but quite literally sweet trip to Germany over the Thanksgiving break to spend some time at a Christmas market. So come join us on a fun trip!

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: A Birthday at the German Christmas Market (this post)
• Review: The Thompson Central Park NYC
• Exploring New York City with Kids
• Review: American Express Centurion Lounge – JFK
• Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class JFK-FRA
• Taking the Train in Germany with Kids
• Review: Park Hyatt Hamburg
• Exploring Hamburg with a Family
• Enjoying the Hamburg Christmas Market
• Review: Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg Airport
• Review: British Airways A320 Club Europe Business Class
• Review: British Airways Galleries North
• Review: British Airways 777-300 Club World Business Class
• Bonus: Video Review

Introduction

Given the timing of Jenn’s birthday, the fun Thanksgiving season, and with school out for the whole week, it made sense for us to go out and have some fun for about a week. For only about a week off from school, our choices were somewhat limited. We couldn’t go anywhere too exotic and when we started planning out a trip, most of Asia was off-limits due to COVID-19 restrictions. So, we ended up looking toward Europe.

While Jenn and I have transited Germany previously, we never actually explored any of the country.  Looking at Germany, I then started looking at hotels and one jumped off the page: the Park Hyatt Hamburg, a property that has been on my list for quite some time.  Unfortunately, back in June, word started getting out that this property would be undergoing refurbishment shortly and then would no longer be affiliated with Hyatt after it’s done.  I also found a few activities that looked pretty neat to do with the kids, so the idea seemed set at that point.

The Itinerary

Despite feeling like the destination was set, I ended up changing this trip a few times. I’ll talk about how I booked each segment within each of the upcoming posts, but I’ll spend some time here giving a very high-level preview of the trip.

In total, we spent two nights in New York City, one night on a redeye to Europe, and four nights in Hamburg.

While Jenn and I have been to New York City many times before, Char has never been and I’m sure Alex doesn’t remember anything from when he went when he just turned one. I try to find something new to do in the city that I haven’t done before just to keep things fresh, and we managed to find a few fun activities. I think it’s safe to say the kids loved their time here.

We ended up flying on the Singapore Airlines A380 in business class from New York City to Frankfurt. It’s unfortunate that Singapore recently announced the end of the A380 on this route starting in May 2023 as it’s one of the most comfortable ways for couples and families to fly to Europe.

Rather than take a flight to Hamburg from Frankfurt, we ended up taking a train. Yes, the train ended up being longer than a flight, but the train was much cheaper and it gave us a chance to see more of the countryside than if we flew. Plus I didn’t want to take a chance with somehow losing luggage at the airport.

We stayed a total of four nights in Hamburg — three nights at the Park Hyatt Hamburg and one night at the Radisson Blu Hamburg Airport Hotel. I originally planned for all nights at the Park Hyatt, but British Airways changed their schedule and canceled the midmorning flight, forcing us onto an early morning flight. We enjoyed Hamburg and I honestly could see myself coming back here in the future. Unlike other cities in Europe, this one didn’t feel overrun with tourists. While it could just be the time of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was consistently the case.

Our flight home was via British Airways, connecting in London. I thought the service onboard and on the ground was charming and while there are a lot of people in their Club World business class flight, I felt the crew made an effort to make things memorable. I’ll get into the details more soon, but I thought the flight would be great for adults but perhaps not the best for younger kids.

So come join us!

It was a short trip, designed to take place alongside school holidays and when we could get time off. And while it was rushed, it worked out perfectly. Both kids seemed to really enjoy the trip, especially Alex, who wrote between five and seven pages worth of detail about the trip when he returned to school. I never knew he was so passionate about the trip while we were on it, which helps validate that the trip we took was worth the effort.