Travel to Germany from home {Travel the World from Home blog series}
We have had such a great time on our travel to Germany from home! We have come to appreciate the fascinating history of Germany. We hope you enjoy it as well.
I was born in Germany when my Dad was stationed there in the military. We moved before I was 3 but have been back a number of times to visit. We love Germany and loved getting to learn even more than we already knew.
A little bit about Germany
- Germany is in Western Europe and is one of the biggest countries in Europe.
- Germany is famous for making excellent cars (BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz to name a few).
- There were some pretty famous musicians born here as well (Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner).
- Some famous landmarks in Germany include: Neuschwanstein Castle, Brandenburg Gate, and the remains of the Berlin Wall.
- Germany has beautiful forests (like the Black Forest) and lots of mountains.
- Germany has a difficult history when it comes to WW1 and WW2 and parents will have to decide how much of it they want to get into.
- German Christmas markets are famous for their decorations and food.
- Germany has tons of enormous castles that you can visit.
What to make for your German food
German food is up there with my favorite food in the world! I know that sounds a little strange but the Germans have perfected starchy delicious potatoes, spaetzle, and dumplings and add to them delicious rich gravy and well seasoned meat.
When I was growing up my very favorite food was spaetzle (tiny homemade pasta browned in butter) and I asked for it for every birthday. My mom who (if you haven’t figured out from the recipes I have linked to) might be one of the best cooks in the world, always obliged and added rolled rouladen, schnitzel, or sausages.
I am so excited for you to be able to eat my favorite food with us this week!
This weeks recipe is:
Yagerschnitzel and spaetzle
It’s my mom’s recipe and it is stellar! My kids get excited whenever I make it and my husband groans. He says it uses every dish in the kitchen to make it. I will agree that it isn’t a quick meal nor a mess free one but it is worth it because it is sooo good.
Allergy options
My oldest son has Celiac disease and can’t eat any gluten so when I make this dish I have to make gluten free bread crumbs, do a different flour dredge, make 2 gravies and 2 spaetzle so perhaps that is why it is such a disaster when I am finished. If you need tips on making in Celiac friendly please email me or send me a message and I’m happy to share what I know.
Equipment needed for spaetzle
Here is my favorite recipe for spaetzle
These little pastas are a cross between a tiny dumpling and an egg pasta. I love the recipe above and the only thing I do differently is mix the egg and milk together and add it to the dry ingredients at once.
A number of years ago my mom gave me this spaetzle maker and it is so great to use that I make way more spaetzle than I used to.
- HIC Kitchen’s Spaetzle Maker quickly and easily makes dozens of perfectly formed spaetzle dumplings in a consistent size that will cook evenly
- Made from stainless steel and BPA-free plastic; measures 13 x 4.25 x 2.75-inches
- Place dough into the safety hopper and glide it along the blades; dumplings drop directly into salted boiling water to keep them from sticking
If you would rather you can use a colander and a wooden spoon to push the dough into the water. It’s not quite as fast and messier to clean up, but it certainly works.
What to watch for your movie about Germany
We have watched a bunch of Germany movies this week because the kids really enjoyed them. Every single one of the were set in the backdrop of WW2 but there is one that is young kid friendly.
“Night Crossing”
I first watched this Disney movie when I lived in Tunisia and we watched it projected on our living room wall with a projector provided by the embassy. I was riveted then and my kids loved it now.
It is the story of 2 families who build a hot air balloon to escape out of East Germany to freedom in the west. It is a great story about perseverance and family love. It is a gentle story that shows why they want to escape but glosses over the war. Therefore, it is a great way to introduced WW2 and its aftermath without the horrors that accompany it.
Watch it here on Amazon Prime
“JoJo Rabbit”
If you have kids over the age of 12 this is a great movie. It is the story of a young boy who wants desperately to be a Nazi, has Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend, and befriends a Jewish girl hiding in his attic.
This movie is full of contradictions. It is full of dark humor, some really upsetting moments, and a welcome change from many WW2 movies. The child actors are stupendous and every time imaginary Hitler is on screen you will roll in laughter.
Be aware there is some violence, language and disturbing images.
Rent it here on Amazon Prime
“The Great Escape”
This classic is considered to be one of the greatest movies about WW2 ever. My boys groaned a bit about watching an “old” movie but they were into it within 10 minutes.
The story is about a group of Allied soldiers in a prisoner of war camp and their attempts to escape. It is action packed, filled with well-known actors and motorcycle chase at the end.
Some people die, but it isn’t gory or particularly violent. It is suspenseful. It should capture the attention of kids 8 and up.
Rent it for free on Amazon Prime here.
What to read about Germany
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Roman, Carole P. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
This is a fact book with a story included so it is entertaining for young ones and elementary school kids. It has German words you can learn to pronounce and is a great primer on the beauties of Germany. It also comes in a Kindle edition so you can download it right away.
How else can you explore Germany from home?
I highly recommend this song and video about Germany. Its catchy and your kids will learn tons while enjoying the song.
National Geographic has a fabulous series called “Are we there yet?” and the one for Germany is so amazing for kids. The kids learn about German fairy tales and visit some castles.
Have your kids read this really easy to digest fact sheet about Germany. (It will help them solve this week’s crossword puzzle from the activity pack.)
What to craft from Germany
Moravian Stars
Moravian stars are a popular Christmas decorations throughout Germany and in other European countries. They get their name from the Moravian church that began in Germany and popularized these stars. In Germany they are called Herrnhut stars.
I love Moravian Stars and when I saw a tutorial I thought it would be so much fun to make! They are fun, but they are also better suited for teenagers and adults as they are a little bit fussy. So if you have older kids here is what you need:
- 12×12 paper– we used more of the paper we had from our Morocco craft. It was great to use because it has 2 different prints on each side, making the stars really cool.
- Cut your 12 x12 paper into 1″ strips and tape each piece together to make 4 -1″x48″ strips. (We experimented with lots of different sizes and found this worked the best.)
- Follow this YouTube tutorial. (We tried 3 other tutorials that were hard to follow until we found one that made any kind of sense.) This one is easy to understand and you can slow the playback in YouTube to make it even easier!
And after a lot of folding and a few broken piece of paper I had to tape back together this is what we got! 
We want to make a bunch and string them together for my son’s room.
If you want an easier craft or one that will be fun for younger kids here are a few that use materials you should already have from other crafts.
Music from Germany
We try to listen to music from each country while we do our craft projects. Here is Germany’s.
The kids noticed that there were some similarities between German music and Russian music. It’s so exciting for them to understand that they have similar backgrounds and influences.
More of Travel the World from Home
I am starting a Travel the World from Home Facebook group where we can swap ideas and stay connected during this time where we are all physically disconnected. It is an invitation only group and you must be subscribed to this blog series to join.
If you haven’t joined or you aren’t sure, please add your email in the subscription box below and I’ll get you into the group asap.
Please invite your friends! We have a long time ahead of us and we need all the community we can get!
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Last update on 2024-10-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
I love your idea about traveling the world from home and will be sharing this with my daughters and grandchildren. Just one correction, Jägerschnitzel is spelled with a “J” as the first letter, not a “Y.”
Spätzle are one of this German born and raised Oma as well.
Thanks for the heads up!