Even before the coronavirus madness started, our family had decided that this year we were going to travel around Europe by car. We had never done a drive with children that was longer than 3 hours, so we were not sure what to expect – even more with possible long waits due to border controls or lots of traffic in general since we figured many families would be travelling by car this summer. However, we were determined to get from Barcelona to northern Germany (almost 2.000km one way!) to visit the family, whom we hadn’t seen in a very long time due to the strict lockdown in Spain and the travel restrictions all over Europe.
At the end of July, we left home and crossed the first border without any fuss, making it to France only hours after the French government had decided not to close the border again and had also advised its citizens not to travel to Catalonia. It was a weird feeling, like leaving home and not knowing if we would be able to return without any problems a few weeks later.
We had informed ourselves beforehand about the rules and hygiene measures that were mandatory in France, which were very similar to the ones in Spain. After a lovely week in France at The French Gites, we crossed the second border on our journey and arrived in Switzerland. We were pretty sure that Swiss authorities would stop a car with a Spanish license plate, but again, it was as easy as buying the vignette (toll sticker) and driving across the border. A few days later on our drive with children, we made it to Germany just as authorities had declared Catalonia an area of risk. Again, we were expecting to be pulled over by border control officers, but one more time, we crossed a border with no checks at all. And since we had been on the road for 2 weeks already, we did not have to take any specific measures related to COVID-19 other than the recommended hygiene measures.
The medieval town of Carcassonne (France)
Cooling off at the pool at the French Gites after a hot day of sightseeing
We did encounter some traffic along the way, especially in France, but this was due the fact that we decided to take the road for one of the longer drives on Saturday, August 1st. According to the French travellers we met along the way, this is absolutely the worst day to cross the country, as masses of vacationers start making their way to their holiday destinations. However, despite the traffic and the very high temperatures that day (we stopped in Nimes for a lunch break at 39C!), the kids did great!
On the way back, to break the long trip into shorter drives, we also stopped at The German Treehouses close to Kassel. We had promised the kids before leaving home that we would sleep in a treehouse during our holidays, so they had been waiting for this for a while. And it was worth it!
A walk in the forest surrounding The German Treehouses
The Best thing about Driving with Children
As for driving with children, what really worked for us was stopping along the way and trying to take it easy on most days on the road, without any rush to get to the next destination. We tried to combine breaks with a bit of sightseeing for us and a stop at a park or playground for the kids, so they could run around and burn some energy before getting back in the car. We were very thankful for some highway service areas in France and Germany that had playgrounds…. a real lifesaver for tired parents! Also, we tried to start long drives after a nice lunch break, hoping the kids would fall asleep and let us enjoy a few quiet moments on the road. In the car we listened to lots of audio books for children, had lots of snacks and also allowed a bit of screen time (a shared iPad, each with their own headphones), so we could chat in the front and they could watch in the back. Other activities like sticker albums and magnetic puzzles also helped keeping them entertained for a while.
The lovely town of Bamberg (Germany)
Water playground by the lake at Aix-les-Bains (France)
All in all, we really enjoyed the experience and will definitely do it again. We drove over 6.000km in 4 weeks, spend a wonderful time with our family, saw many friends along the way and stopped at a few lovely places that we would have never visited if we had travelled by plane.
Have you travelled by car this summer and if yes, what was your experience?
Sandra Theumann, The Little Voyager