Days out

There are some truly magical places around the Rhine region and one of my favourites is Schloss Burg in the Wupper valley.  Admittedly this place is so special that it's often over-run by tourists and day trippers, but you can hardly blame them.  Schloss Burg is a little fort, or castle, on top of a steep hill, surrounded by forest, and can only be accessed by one road, once you're in, the only way out is the way you came in.  In the winter it hosts a perfect old world Christmas Market and in Spring a traditional Easter Bazaar.  There are two ways to get to the castle, b

Now that Spring is finally here it's time to start thinking about venturing outside again.

There’s nothing kids like more than getting close to animals and in Cologne there is a great place where kids can do this for free  – the Lindenthaler Tierpark.  It’s a fenced off part of the Stadtwald/grüngurtel where you’ll find goats, sheep, deer, turkeys, chickens, peacocks and other fowl, plus the donkey pair Dolores and Pablo, who have just had a baby.  You can feed the sheep, goats and deer - with animal food dispensers on hand stocked with boxes of food for €0.50 a go – watch delightedly as the goats and sheep jostle each other

Rhine online wishes its readers a healthy and happy 2010, and is going to get the "healthy" aspect rolling straight away, by telling you about the best places to go to start your New Year off in a healthy and happy frame of mind.  Claudius Therme is always a favourite place to spend a few hours relaxing.  Whether it's hot and sweaty in the sauna, hot and steamy in the steam bath, or floating outside in the open air pool  - Claudius Therme is the perfect place to relax and unwind, and shake off your New Years’ day hangover.  Neptunbad is another oasis of c

Take a trip to the bottom of the sea at the Sealife Centre in Königswinter.The focus of this underwater world is native species under threat from pollution in their natural environment, and includes educational and interactive features. The highlight is the 2000sqm tank with its 360 degree underwater tunnel, which allows visitors to walk through a fascinating ocean environment containing 600.000l of water, while hundreds of fantastic sea creatures swim silently all around.

I would have liked to have written about horse racing after choosing the title of this piece - but unfortunately the two horse racing tracks around Cologne and Düsseldorf are closed until April - so I'll have to wait till then to tell you about the Ascots' of the Rhine... Petrol-heads on the other hand will be very excited to hear about the carting opportunities in the area.  Anyone who drives up the A4 to Aachen will be aware of the Michael Schumacher Cart Centre.

The zoo in Cologne is one the highlights of my kids lives.  Drive within a mile radius of it and they'll shout "Mummy - the zoo is over there!" pointing wildly.  Anyone with kids knows the winding path to the spielplatz well, and can tell you extactly where to find the Capybara's.  But it's not just a place for families - zoos are for everyone with an interest in animals, and the Cologne zoo has one of the best animal attractions of any zoo I've been too - the elephant park.  It's not often you get to watch an elephant herd living together as a family.  No

The chances of a white Christmas are pretty slim here in the Rhineland, but there's one place in the region where you're guaranteed snow - and lots of it.  The Skihalle Neuss has snow all year round as well as authentic alpine apres ski.  With it's huge slope it's perfect for skiers and snowboarders and there are courses for both adults and kids of all levels.  You can also hire all the kit you need from boards to boots, jackets, trousers and helmets.

Ever felt like climbing a tree, walking around in the green canopy and seeing the world from up above?  If you're not afraid of heights you can do just that and more at the Hochseilgarten Kramerhof.  Featuring tree top walkways, abseiling, climbing, treetop obstacle courses, tightrope walking and rope swings - this is an absolute heaven for adrenalin junkies.  Everyone is of course safely strapped to safety ropes so there is no risk involved - just a mighty jolt and freefall stomach if you do lose your footing.  There's a cool little food and beverage caravan on hand for

If you've ever wanted to know how GPS satellites work, what TEFLON does stick to, or how astronauts use the toilet in space, then put on your Spock ears and come to the DLR and ESA Open House Space Day this Sunday, 20th September 2009. This is a major open house event that happens once every two years and always draws a huge crowd. Because honestly, who doesn't love orbital mechanics and rocket science? There is a schedule of official events here.