Spring Break 2025
Lübeck > Copenhagen > Billund > Hamburg > The Hague
Several people (myself included) wondered, Who was more excited about Legoland, husband or kids?
My husband wasn’t constantly asking me “How many more days until Legoland?” but other than that the anticipation for our Spring Break road trip was pretty equal.
Stop #1: Lübeck, Germany (1 night)
Originally we’d planned to visit Copenhagen over Ski Break in February, but then we realized that Legoland wouldn’t be open yet for the season. We agreed that we didn’t want to drive all the way to Denmark and be unable to visit Legoland, which is why we moved the trip to Spring Break. I plugged Frankfurt to Copenhagen into Google Maps and checked the route for cities whose names I recognized. When I asked our travel agent about Lübeck, she informed me that it’s known for marzipan.
I didn’t take any pictures inside because we were all too busy filling baskets to purchase. I sent the following text to my mom when we walked outside: “We spent 81€ in a candy shop. [My grandparents would have] both approve[d].”
We were only in Lübeck for one night, so other than stocking up on marzipan and other sweets, we walked around the city.
Dinner was excellent. Our travel agent’s suggested itinerary included Seafarers’ Guild (Schiffergesellschaft, per Google Maps). When we travel, we usually emphaisze two main things: positive online reviews and ease of online scheduling. This restaurant enabled online scheduling, offered a unique decor, and presented the crispiest salmon skin I’ve ever had. It crackled as I cut it with my fork; no knife needed.
Our hotel was a pleasant surprise; we chose it for the positive reviews, but we are typically a Marriott family. The Holiday Inn Lübeck was a good, comfortable fit for us. Price matters, but we also appreciate seating space for our family. A room to accomodate four people isn't guaranteed to have casual seating space (e.g. not on the edge of the bed) for four people. Our room offered this.
Stop #2: Copenhagen, Denmark (4 nights)
(Full) Day 1: Food tour
The Copenhagen Marriott treated us well - location, room, and Executive Lounge access. We would definitely stay there again.
One of our favorite excursions in a new city is usually a food tour. We try to schedule one early in the visit because it can offer suggestions for the subsequent days. We also enjoy meeting people from other countries or connecting with some from our own.
We also enjoy visiting Lego stores in different cities to see the local displays and, more often than not, add to our personal collection.
Day 2: Unstructured day
We’ve learned a lot during three years of travel with young kids. One of the most important lessons is that it’s helpful to have some scheduled activities (e.g. a food tour) to offer a little structure but also some flexible time.
I’m not usually a poke bowl person, but Hooked forced me to rethink that. The crunchy crust of the shrimp paired with plump, juicy pineapple and tender crisp edamame all enrobed with a salty sweet dressing was one of the best meals of the trip.
Day 3: Tivoli Gardens
Although Legoland was the focal point of this trip, Tivoli Gardens was also a big deal. We started the day at their Lego store.
Tivoli Gardens is the second oldest amusement park in the world. We’d heard great things about it and knew it had to be part of our Copenhagen trip. It was extra special to be there at Easter time!
An unexpected highlight was Anarkist Bar where we enjoyed a late lunch. They had a varied pizza menu, beer, and cocktails on tap. We sat inside near the door and were happy to rest our feet and feel the breeze after a lot of walking in hotter-than-anticipated weather.
Stop #3: Billund, Denmark
(Partial) Day 1: Legoland
Finally, “Today!” arrived in response to “How many more days until Legoland?”
After checking into the hotel, we walked across the street to spend a few hours at the park.
Although all of us were interested in Legos, not all of us share an affinity for rides. Whenever there was a ride that didn’t appeal to one of us, the staff were very accomodating (as they’d been in Tivoli Gardens) about showing the person where to wait for the rest of us to ride and meet them. That meant we could all wait in line together and the person who didn’t want to ride a particular ride only had to wait for a few minutes before the rest of the family returned.
Day 2: Lego House
My husband and others had extolled to me the virtues of Lego House, but I didn’t get it until we arrived.
Well…it was my favorite part of the trip. My feet were sore, I was tired, but I was so happy.
Our kids have access to a lot of Lego technology and tools through their school curriculum and after-school activities. It was exciting to get to use some of those as a family and discover things that were new to us. Throughout Lego House, rooms and stations were available to try different things.
Another favorite activity explored moods. There were flat gray plates available with various small bricks to create your own flat character. Eyeballs and mouths were also available but optional. After creating a character, you chose an emotion and plugged that block into the bottom of the plate. Several kiosks surrounded the space, and when it was your turn you slid your plate into the slot and waited for the machine to read what you had created and what mood you had assigned the avatar. Soon your creation appeared on the screen. Each dance routine incorporated whichever character had been animated immediately prior to yours; sometimes that was a stranger, and sometimes that was a family member. Here is a video of my french fries dancing with S’ slice of pizza. (Originally I’d put a white M on top of my fries box, but then it didn’t fit into the machine slot.)
The bottom floor of the building was a timeline and display about Lego history. One of the first displays we saw was a Lego logo made from varying pieces. We enjoyed looking closely at it and discovering different shapes and pieces.
We ended our day eating at Mini Chef. The menu was organied into four categories, each corresponding to a specific color of Lego brick. (The yellow brick was just for children.) Each guest received a bag of Lego bricks (see below) and selected one brick from each menu category. The chosen bricks could be connected however the designer wished and then were placed into a tableside machine to place the customer’s order. This was done individually for each guest at the table. After the entire party’s order was finalized, the waiting began. A message on the screen alerted us when the kitchen robots had prepared our order, at which point we retrieved our food from the front of the restaurant.
At the end of the meal, we walked back to our hotel, tired but fortified (with memories and exclusive Lego sets).
Day 3: Legoland
We saw most of Legoland on our arrival day, but we were happy to have a full day to revisit highlights and explore anything we’d missed.
Stop #4: Hamburg, Germany (3 nights)
Day 1: Arrival Day & Miniatur Wunderland
Before this trip, I knew little about Hamburg other than its propensity to trick auto correct into thinking I was hungry. A friend had recommended the Westin Hamburg, and we were thrilled with the choice.
After relaxing at the hotel and walking around the city, we visited Miniatur Wunderland. It’s such a popular place to visit that we ended up with nighttime tickets. This was unfortunate because some of us were too tired to appreciate it fully, but I can still recommend it as a unique place to visit. It’s important to manage expectations; we spent approximately four hours there, and I was unprepared for that. If you’re interested in visiting it, try and plan far enough ahead that you can get better timed tickets.
Day 2: Maritime Museum
Our arrival day was Easter Sunday. On our first day enjoying the hotel’s breakfast, there was a special Kinder Buffet for Easter Sunday. I was too busy stuffing my face politely eating my food on the other mornings to take many pictures. I can say that it was one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve experienced. Highlights included an omlette station, sparkling wine, and pastries.
We’ve visited transportation and vehicle-based museums during previous trips, but I was skeptical of a ship museum’s ability to hold everyone’s attention. While the youngest among us struggled a bit, overall the visit was a pleasant surprise.
When we travel, we try to make dinner reservations the majority of our evenings; with kids, we rely on that predictability. Our dinner in Hamburg on this particular night was one of the most pleasant dining experiences we’ve ever had. It was in the 5 o’clock hour, which was admittedly early, and on a Monday night. For awhile, we were the only customers. That might turn some people off, but we were grateful for the focused attention and the patience with our kids.
Whiskyplaza & Altstadt Restaurant am Fleet was an easy walk to our hotel and the service and food were top-notch.
Day 3: Chocoversum
It’s a lot easier to get a 6-year-old on board with a museum visit when you tell him it’s a chocolate museum. At the start of the tour, we received small wafers for the chocolate fountain. Later, we each had the opportunity to design our own chocolate bar. We could choose milk, dark, or white and place toppings of our choice into the mold.
Later in the day we explored an underground tunnel that people use routinely for walking and biking.
I’m grateful to have visited Hamburg.
Stop #5: The Hague, Netherlands (2 nights)
Day 1: Arrival Day & Vietnamese Restaurant
In a previous post, I told you about a powerful book I had just finished where much of the story took place in Vietnam. That was actually at the start of the trip I’m detailing. How ironic that our travel agent had recommended a Vietnamese restaurant, Little V, for the last stop of our trip.
The restaurant was bustling on a Wednesday night. Its energetic noise level, the dark lighting, and the colors evoked a festive atmosphere. Our server helped us choose a variety of items. The starters (pictured in the middle) were my personal favorite. There were even shrimp chips to keep a sometimes-picky six-year-old content. I would return to this restaurant when in The Hague.
Day 2: Tulips
One item that’s been highest on my travel bucket list during our time in Europe has been Keukenhof’s famous tulips in the Netherlands. Tickets can (and should) be purchased in advance so you can visit on your preferred date at your preferred entry time.
There were areas for kids to climb and play (not on flowers, of course) and for people to purchase food (we chose Dutch pancakes and cookies). It was a busy outing, but I never felt crowded because there was plenty of room to explore at one’s own pace.
That afternoon, we stopped at a brewery that C remembered from a previous visit. We all enjoyed the snacks. The service was attentive yet the vibe was laid-back. Naturally, we had to visit one last Lego store. I finished my time in the Netherlands eating, quite appropriately, cheese fondue.
I have been working on this blog post for weeks. To anyone who read the entire thing, thank you! To anyone who skimmed to the bottom, thank you! If you want more details on anything I mentioned here, let me know.
It’s a privilege to have people interested in what I have to share.
Susan, I can only tell that I absolutely love and appreciate your detailed writing! I’m enjoying your travels vicariously and with envy. The kids and Chris are lucky to have you as their passionate guide. Hope you’ll return to Maine when you are back in the US. xo
"It crackled as I cut it with my fork; no knife needed." Loved this detail, I felt I could hear it and smell it :-)