LegoLand Deutschland

On Friday, I took the kids to LegoLand in Germany with my friend, Becky, and her kids, Joe and Ben. They are also here with GM from the Detroit area and our kids have become good friends. Ben and Aidan are in the same grade, and Joe has become Aidan's surrogate big brother and all-around idol. Unfortunately, they are the first of the GMers to be sent home. They are heading back to D-town Sept. 1st. We've been doing a lot together this summer as we are about the only Americans/Brits who are in Switzerland this summer (and because we have lots of fun together!)

Another GM family was nice enough to lend us their car so we could all drive together. It's 3 hours each way, and the idea of making that trip alone with the kids was more than Becky and I could stomach. So we set off early in the morning on the Autobahn with 4 super-excited kids. The first fun "ride" was driving 160km/hr to get there!

LegoLand is geared for younger kids and those obsessed with Legos, so a perfect fit for our kids! They had lots of rides, none too scary, and more Lego displays than you can imagine. I couldn't believe how realistic they could make things look out of Legos! Here are a ton of pics with captions since a picture is worth a thousand words: At the entrance-most of this is made of Legos!

Lego "miniland"-They had recreated Venice, Munich, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Luzern and more out of Legos! Amazingly realistic!

This football/soccer arena is made completely out of legos!

This is a Lego version of Schloss Neuschwanstein!

Lainey got her driver's licence at the Kinder Fahrschule (kids' driving school). She made sure to pick an Opel car for her Daddy!

Joe, Aidan, a Lego guy, and Ben

I LOVED the signs here! This is obviously for the bathrooms!

No pregnant women on this ride-look at the little Lego baby in the mom's tummy!

Lady Lainey fighting dragons!

This jousting ride was a HUGE hit with the kids. The horses rocked back and forth and went on a circular track. Even Joe, who's almost 9, loved it! They rode it 3 times!

Aidan and Ben going for a cruise

Aidan, as a shark's lunch

The plumber carrying a toilet out of a bathroom was super funny to the kids!

Leaving the park after a great day!

The park was pretty empty, which made it great for us! Friday was the last day of school for most Swiss and German kids so there weren't even field trip groups there. The only bad thing about the day is that it was COLD! Seriously, who would expect to have to wear jeans, sweatshirts and jackets on July 10th? Also, it POURED for about 15 minutes during the day-just as Becky got on a ride with the boys. They were soaked to the skin when they got off and we spent an hour at the hand driers in the bathrooms trying to warm them all up and dry their clothes. By the time we left, at 7pm, it finally warmed up to about 60 degrees and was sunny. I'm not sure I believe in Global Warming!