Our trip to Legoland

Friday, 23rd June 2006

The drive to Legoland, Gunzburg, took a bit longer than anticipated (over 6 hours), due to some stop and go traffic along the way due to road construction. We finally arrived at Legoland just in time to pick up our reservation package, and head to the hotel we had booked, about 4 minutes drive from Legoland.



Hotel Zettler in Gunzburg was very nice, and family oriented, just what we needed.



We were starving, so after checking in and getting a bit refreshed, we headed to the hotel restaurant on the terrace.



There were other families with children in the hotel, all of them Legoland visitors, of course. Although from different countries (USA, Germany, Luxembourg (yes, there was another Lux. family beside us), Switzerland), all the children were well mannered and pretty much quiet during the restaurant meal.



As we were in the middle of our appetizers, a group of young German businessmen in suits entered to get seated in the middle of the restaurant, their table surrounded by families with children. As they approached their table for 8, one of them said loudly to the others: "Ich hasse Kinder!" (= I hate children).

We could plainly hear it and I'm sure the other parents as well. Nobody said anything, but I was sorely tempted to tell the arrogant jerk: "The kids will grow out of being kids, but you will be an asshole forever!" Oh well...

In every case, after a few beers, their table was the only loud one, and they were also the only smokers in the restaurant as well...

We went to bed early in anticipation of a busy day ahead...

Saturday, 24th of June

After breakfast, we headed to Legoland - finally! Ben was beside himself with excitement!



This photo was taken right after we got inside, the flowers behind Ben are all made of Legos!



Benny and the Legoland mascot.



There were so many attractions, rides and playgrounds for children, restroom at almost every corner, plenty of stands with food and drinks and ice creams, and of course shops with souvenirs and Lego.



Also roller coasters for adults and a log flume that looked very cool but I didn't want to alone on it and Gerry couldn't go with me because we couldn't leave Ben alone.



This is an obervation tower that we went on to look around the park. Not good for those who are afraid of heights!



Benny in a souvenir shop.

One of the attractions we liked best was the Gold Search. There you could sift through sand in a "river" to search for gold nuggets. It was great fun for all three of us, to see who could find more gold.



The gold pieces were tiny, so it took a while before we could fill a small metal plate with our "loot".







After our plate was full, we could exchange it for a golden medal for Benny.

A part of the park was dedicated to miniature of real life buildings from all over the world. They look like the real thing, but are all built from Lego bricks:

View of the water play area of the park from the observation tower:

Some of the rides:

Benny and Diego Maradona (a soccer player from Argentina):

Benny on the playground:

The Schnitzel Depot:

In the Lego factory, where we saw a short movie about how Lego bricks are made, and got each a small Lego brick as a souvenir:

We got back to the hotel in the evening, tired but happy.

Benny put on his new Golden Knight costume on:

Sunday, 25th June:

After breakfast, we packed up, checked out of the hotel, and drove to Legoland for a few hours of fun. Benny and Gerry went on a Lego Racers ride.



It was again hot and humid.

After a few more rides, we had lunch in one of the restaurants, and then we had to hit the road again to get back home.

We arrived at 8 PM.