Cape Canaveral

A visit to Florida should include a day in Cape Canaveral, it's simply amazing there 🚀 even if you're not that interested in space travel and technology. The Americans know how to put on a show!

We were a bit concerned that it would be very crowded on Tuesday after Easter, Florida was full of tourists and on Monday around 2 pm the Visitor Center was closed due to overcrowding. So we bought tickets online, also for the parking lot, and we were there at 9:30 am. It was still reasonably empty, parked quickly near the entrance and went straight in. The line at the ticket counter was already quite long.

I, Jutta, have been there before. So we went straight through the entire grounds to what I think is the highlight, while it was still empty there.

The space shuttle 🚀🛩

You are introduced with a film that first shows the journey from a crazy idea to a successful shuttle. Lots of dramatic music, lots of patriotism - then the shuttle comes. It is brilliantly done, the Americans can simply do it. We spent the next two hours in that area. There is also a lot explained for children. From "How does an astronaut go to the toilet?" to "What can you eat in space?" to the cockpit, where you can sit. It's fun, but also very educational without being annoying. Then we went to the simulation of a launch. That's when you realize for the first time the forces that the astronauts were pushed into their seats, and that's probably only the tourist version.

Two shuttles were lost. One lost control shortly after takeoff and broke apart. Many of you can probably still remember that. And one burned up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. When you consider that there were a total of 135 flights, that seems almost little, even though it was tragic. I was surprised that they flew back and forth so often, almost like an airline ✈️

Then we took the bus around the NASA grounds. The buildings, paths, ramps, and equipment are simply incredibly large.

In a large hall, rockets 🚀 and capsules are also shown. First those of unmanned, then manned space travel, and finally the moon landings. The well-known Apollo 13 (Houston, we have a problem) was also among them. Everything is always explained with many small films, boards, photos, and stations to participate in and touch. It's never boring. The kids can put on astronauts' suits and walk around on the moon 🌓 Some things cost money, but not everything. And the exhibits are originals, which makes it very authentic.

We looked at a lot: the Astronaut Memorial for the pilots and astronauts who died in the programs, the IMAX films about space travel and the space programs, and the Hall of Heroes. But there were still many stations that we didn't visit. After 9 hours and half an hour before we would be kicked out anyway, we left. It was awesome, we would go back anytime and can only recommend it. The admission fee is $50, but it's definitely worth it.