This year I am so looking forward

To a slow and quiet winter

With a little baby

While we will embrace all the festivities of the season

A huge part of me also wants to just

Snuggle by the fire with my nose in a book

Esther and William are at an age where we can do just that

Edie and Bea not so much

But now that we are not having any more babies

We can begin to make plans for adventures

As our children grow

I want to show our children the world

Esther and William have not had the greatest start in life

I want to show them how amazing the world is

How magical and powerful nature can be

I have a serious case of winter wanderlust

And I want to share it with them

Here are three of the places I would like to explore in winter

Salzburg
When I was 9 I played the role of Louisa in The Sound of Music

Some of my best childhood memories

Involve rehearsals and performing on stage

I learned a lot being part of this production

Including how to waltz!

I have actually been to Austria as a child

But I have no memory of it

We were passing through while driving home

From Cyprus to the UK

I would love to go to Salzburg

I would love to visit Europe’s oldest Christkindl Markt

Silent Night

My favourite carol that I used to sing to Matilda Mae

Was written in Salzburg

It is the city of Mozart’s birth

A city full of angels

I think I would feel at home there

Eating schnitzel

Having grown up in Germany

There would be lots of overlaps

That I would enjoy

And would love to share with my children

Hamburg
Germany in winter is like a fairytale

I love the buildings

The lights

Germans know how to do advent

There is no Christmas market quite like a German Christmas market

I lived in Germany for 14 years

Aside from meeting David and our children

They were the very best years of my life

And I would love to go back

I have been to many places in Germany

But not to Hamburg

I want to take William there

To see the world’s largest model railway

I think he would actually burst with excitement

Esther would love all the fun and sparkle

Of the Weinachts Markt

And it would be such a emotional experience for me

Speaking German again

Eating German food

Kaffee and kuchen

it is easy to get to Hamburg

The city has a flughafen

Though I always worry about flying with our children

We have not had the best experiences

Struggling with security at EasyJet

Missing our flight

And a flight home being delayed

Because the cabin staff could not correctly count the number of young children

On board the plane

Flight delays do worry me

Though I know now that it is possible to claim for many delayed flights

Do you know what I would like to do?

Get the train from UK to Germany

Swapping Hamburg Flughafen

For the Hauptbahnhof

William would think that was such

An awfully big adventure

One day I hope

In the not too distant future

Efteling
Efteling is a wonderland

A place that so many of my friends visited

When we lived in Germany

But we never did

I would love to go now

And let my children experience the magic

Awe and wonder

It is the fairytale forest I most want to see

I am not sure my children would ever want to leave

We would visit miniature world

Board the steam train

And ride on all the carousels

We would eat ALL the waffles

And snuggle together watching the shows

Magical memories would be made

And treasured for always

Yes …

I think these three places

Would satisfy my winter wanderlust

And blow the minds

Of my little people

Making them hungry

For more adventures and travel

Where would you like to take your little ones

For winter?

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