Berlin to Munich and Back in 24 Hours: One Wild Family Road Trip

Hi, friends! Today I want to tell you about a wonderfully crazy, emotional, and, okay, exhausting quick trip I took with the whole family last week. The reason for our Berlin-Munich-Berlin dash in 24 hours was my little brother's wedding. Although at 35, he's not exactly sooooo little anymore.

Next year there's a big wedding bash, but they wanted to make it official at city hall this year. Munich has only two registry offices (and only one pretty one), so dates were tight, and that's how we ended up with a Wednesday. We had just gotten back from a two-week vacation, so my husband couldn't take more time off, just one day. That meant: Tuesday evening, drive from Berlin to Munich. Wednesday, wedding. Wednesday night, back to Berlin.

What a Quick Trip!

The train was out, because construction means there are no express trains on that route right now, and the trip takes at least 6.5 hours. That just didn't fit our schedule. So we grabbed the car, packed it to the roof (everybody's outfits, overnight stuff, a balance bike for our youngest for the walk after dinner, and so on) and off we went.

With slightly crazy plans like this, you always wonder: "Is all this stress worth it? Do we really have to do this?" And I think: yes. Most of the time, you're glad afterward that you put yourself through it, and at my little brother's wedding, definitely.

We had a beautiful day. It had rained on Monday and Tuesday in Munich, at 64 degrees, but on Wednesday the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, 73 degrees. My two youngest wore traditional Bavarian outfits (the older ones are already too cool for that), and in my opinion, there is nothing sweeter than little boys in lederhosen. We cheered, we cried, we laughed a lot, we ate super well, and we simply toasted the happy couple.

The time flew by, and around 5 p.m. we changed clothes in the parking lot at the Seehaus and started the drive back to Berlin. My heart was overflowing, and so was my head, so the time passed with chatting, until the kids eventually fell asleep in their seats, pretty groggy. When we got home, we just laid the little ones down in bed, still asleep, and the big ones were awake for only a few minutes. It took me quite a while to come down. I was just too wound up.

The next morning it was back to normal, off to work and to soccer camp. We didn't send the youngest to daycare, because the night had been short and his mood reflected it. It really was a crazy quick trip with sooooo much emotion, and worth every bit of the effort.

Why am I telling you all this? Just to encourage you, because I often think: Ugh, this is just too much effort right now. But it's actually always good when I pull myself together and do it anyway. (Don't get me wrong, there was no second-guessing when it came to the wedding, of course. I mean everyday situations.) I've definitely made up my mind to do more things again, whether on my own or with friends and family.

---

One big reason the drive of more than 600 miles was much less exhausting than expected: we took the Nissan Townstar Kombi. For distances like this, I just loooooove big cars, because they save me so many decisions. Which pair of shoes? Doesn't matter, both, we have room. Who sits where? Doesn't matter, we can switch. Should we bring the balance bike, even though we might not go for a walk at all? Sure, the trunk is big enough.

The Nissan Townstar has a door on each side, which makes getting in and out so much easier for the kids in back. If one is too slow taking off his shoes, his sister can just climb out the other side. Sibling fight avoided :-). The third row is flexible: you can use one seat, two, or none (and then the cargo space gets bigger, of course). That kind of flexibility is hugely important for big families, because you never know how many friends' kids suddenly need a ride or who has to haul how much stuff.

The raised seats give you a great view of the road, and with all the great safety features (we had a 360-degree camera, traffic sign recognition, speed warning, and so on), you feel pretty important up there, too. The many driver assistance systems (lane keeping, emergency braking, drowsiness detection, blind spot assist) are also great, and incredibly important on long drives.

The Nissan Townstar has a touchscreen, and the navigation system is also problem-free and very intuitive to use. Of course there are several ways to charge your phone in the car, and ISOFIX car seat anchors. What surprised me is that at 16 feet (4.90 meters) long, the Townstar Kombi is relatively compact (important when you're hunting for parking). Depending on the seating setup, the cargo space holds anywhere from 18 to 132 cubic feet (500 to 3,750 liters).

The top speed is 108 mph (174 km/h), and average fuel consumption is 6.6 liters per 100 km (about 36 mpg). The starting price is €29,900, and our car, with its equipment, would cost €40,400. That makes the Nissan Townstar Kombi one of the more affordable cars for big families.

For us, it was a huge luxury to travel to Munich and back so relaxed, with plenty of rooooom. Those were definitely 24 hours we'll never forget. Of course, we've taken the Nissan Townstar Kombi on a few outings around Berlin since then, and it passed the everyday test with flying colors here, too.