Karl's Erlebnis Dorf

We moved to Berlin in February this year after my husband ( A Sr. Software Engineer) got a job offer. It was a big move- from the hot summer of Rio to the cold winter of Berlin. The kids had never seen snow before and winter coats were non existent in our household, let alone gloves, scarves etc! The move was emotional, exciting, nerving and all those other feelings you can imagine that come with such a drastic change. Our one goal was to make it 'fun' and make sure that the kids felt safe and saw the move as a positive change! As my husband is at work all day and I'm still a stay at home mum - to Giulia who will be starting kita in September- I research our outings for the weekends. One of the things we missed in Brasil was family time. Going out was always so expensive for a family of 4 and a luxury, so we usually just hung around our condominium, which in itself was a great resort, with pools, playgrounds etc, but it lacked the 'adventure'!

I'm going to work backwards on these posts, because there is so much to tell from the past months since we arrived. It was after our outing this weekend that I decided to start writing the blog to help others who might be moving here or visiting and want to know where to go with kids, tips on using the public transport, how to get set up and also for our family, who are far away, to see our new adventures.

So, up until now,Karl's http://www.karls.de/elstal.html was one of our biggest adventures. Over the past couple of months lots of little strawberry huts have popped up around Berlin selling really juicy, fresh strawberries- 

-here is what they look like-

We live in the centre of Berlin so we walked to Potsdamer Platz to get the RE4 (train) There is one one train every hour, so make sure you check the train time so you don't arrive just after it's left, or you'll be waiting around for an hour. If you have the AB Berlin monthly pass then you need to pay €1,60 per person to enter zone 'C' (children from 6yrs up also pay the same amount, there is no discount) this ticket it valid for up to 2 hrs and includes the bus to Karl's once you get to the station 'Elstal' (6 stops from Potsdamer Platz and around half an hour).  

DON'T FORGET TO VALIDATE THE TICKET

There seems to be only two things in Elstal to do- Karl's or the Designer Outlet shopping (which I will have to visit one day soon!). When you arrive at Elstal it is clearly signed where to go to get the bus and there are two buses that stop there, one for the Outlet and the 668 to go to Karl's. Everyone who gets off at Elstal gets one of these buses and the buses arrive around 10 to 15 mins after the train does, to allow time for everyone to cross over to the stop.  Once you get the bus it's only 3 stops (remember the bus only stops if someone presses the button or there is someone at the stop, so pay attention to the names of the stops) but you can be sure that everyone on the 668 is going to Karl's so we just followed the crowds!

I bought the kids their own backpacks from Decathlon (we love this shop! www.decathlon.de) So they carry their own water, snack, change of clothes and towel (that we also bought from Decathlon https://www.decathlon.de/mikrofaser-badetuch-80x130cm-id_8361623.html - definitely worth the price, they roll up really small and are perfect to use now in the summer when the kids are going to play in water! It's really light and fits in their small backpacks!)

I was always carrying so much and this way each of them are responsible for their own things - they also put their sunglasses and hat in their bag and they love getting it ready!)

Karl's is totally free! You don't have to pay anything to go inside. There is much to do from a huge slide (German's love their radical slides, swings etc...they are usually incredibly high and dangerous, and my kids thrive on it!) , swing, water area (different to the water park, which is paid), maze, playgrounds with zipline, bouncy ball - not sure what to call it really, so here's a photo and lots more and all this is free, yep, doesn't cost a penny!

There are a few things that you pay for if you want to, which you can either pay for individually or get a day pass for €10 allowing you unlimited access to the paid 'areas'! There is the 'farm maze', the water park with the slide, the ice area with sculptures, and the tractor ride 

Farm maze

Ice Slide

Water Slide

Tractor Ride

Since it was our first time we bought the day pass for our 7 yr old (but not for our 3 yr old because we didn't think she would make the most of it). Our son really wanted to do the maze (€4,50), but didn't find it exciting enough, then we found another maze that you get to going through the shop. It was free and he thought it was 10x better than the one you pay for! Tip- get the paper from the shop and when you get to the middle of the maze copy the strawberry with the pencil and take it to the cashier and you get a free lollipop! Was a winner with my kids! The tractor ride was fun for my 3 year old (up to 90cm they don't pay!) It was €2 for my husband to ride. My 7yr old went along because he already had the pass and I guess it's something typical of a farm! There is also an ice sculpture area, costs €8,50 for adults and €6,50 for kids. You put on a big blue snow coat before going inside and see all the ice sculptures and there is an ice slide. It was VERY cold inside and my son went down the slide once and wanted to get out quickly! I personally thought it was very expensive for what it was! There is also a paid 'water park' that has the slide in the photo above. It costs €3 to enter. By the afternoon this area was full and there was a long queue to go down the slide, so Rafael went down once and it was enough. In short, next time we won't do the pass again.  It wasn't worth it and there is plenty to do there without using the 'paid for' toys. (there is also a pony ride €2 for 2 rides but this isn't included in the 'day pass'. You can also pay €1 to ride the cars around a little course (fun for younger kids) and an area to pet the ponies, goats etc. 

Karl's has plenty of options for food. We chose the chips and bratwurst (sausage) option for €6,20 (comes with a drink). Two of these to share was enough, since we also took a snack. There are more choices, crepes, hamburgers, nuggets etc and also varying prices. We took a bottle of water each, but it was a very hot day and so ended up spending more on drinks than anything else. Remember the bottles have a 25c deposit- so take your bottles back to get your money back! The kids also wanted a slushie, so we bought the €3,95 cup that you can refil for €2,50 (there are other options for cups and prices!)

We found out the the bus back to the train left at 10 past the hour, so we decided to get the 4:10 bus, but little did we know that on our way out we would come across a whole near 'area'!! Another play area, this time inside and the kids begged us to stay! :D Forget the 4:10, let's get the 5:10 bus! Inside there is so much to do and see. They have lots of jams and juices for you to try (free of course!) so you can decide which one you like before you buy!! I challenge anyone to go there and not leave with something!! Impossible..the jams are amazingly delicious! 

When we finally managed to leave we got the bus back to Elstal train station (remember to buy the extension zone c ticket from the bus driver!) and again around 10mins after getting to the station the RE4 arrived taking us back to Postdamer Platz!

What a great time we had and we will definitely be back. We are curious as to what happens during the winter! When we know we'll let you know!