So you want to know about my two week stay in Germany do
you? Yeah, I would want to know
too. I would want to know about
the attractions, about the food, about it all. And hey, I would definitely want to know about such a trip
with a toddler in tow. So here we
go, let me take you on a journey to Bavaria (the state) Germany and Salzburg
(the city), Austria. Be ready for
a roller coaster of lost train tickets and stories about what happens when you
leave the zoo through an exit different from where you entered (because well
you can't read a map in German).
So let's begin.
Day 1
Day 1 was actually our travel day from Florida to Munich. So because of my nerves &
anticipation, the day started promptly at 8:00 a.m., at which time I climbed
out of bed and jumped in the shower (mainly because I was not sure when my next
shower would be, potentially 36 hours from then). Maggie also woke up during this time & I gracefully
handed her off to my dad so he could get a few last minute cuddles before his favorite
girl left for 3 weeks. After my
shower I dried & straightened my hair because trying to get to sleep on an
airplane with a pony tail is always a disaster.
After this, I dressed and threw all my last minute stuff in my luggage,
things like hair straighteners and medication and loaded my 2 suitcases, diaper
bag, backpack, stroller, purse, and car seat into my Sorento. And then we were ready... To head to
Target. My parents where driving
me to the airport but I wanted to stop at Target for some Starbucks, extra
batteries, and wisps (the things you can brush your teeth with with no
water). I needed Starbucks because
1) I hadn't slept well the night before 2) was about to be on an airplane for
12+ hours 3) my terminal in the airport was the only place the airport DID NOT
have a Starbucks and 4) this was the first day that the season caramel brûlée
latte was out. So it was
important.
When we arrived at the airport the recommended 3 hours early &
checked in we quickly realized it would take no more than 20 minutes to go
through security. So my parents,
Maggie, & I, plus all of our carry on luggage went for lunch at
Romano's. While I was not hungry
because of my nerves, I ate a few slices of margarita pizza my dad & I
shared. After lunch I was
delighted to discover a family line going through security, so if I took
forever getting through with a 2 year old and all required stuff, IT WAS NOT MY
PROBLEM. But I didn't and the
processes was much smoother than my nightmares lead me to believe it would
be.
But I still had to occupy Maggie for about an hour and a half before
boarding. So I didn't what any
mother traveling trans-antlanticly would do, I bought her jelly beans, iced
tea, & sat by the window so she could look at the airplanes. And our planes totally sponsored the
Carolina Panthers and was Panther blue.
We boarded & that was a hassle trying to juggle everything &
Maggie while collapsing the stroller, but I did it. During take off I gave Maggie a new Elmo coloring book &
crayons. Then she watched Horton
Hears A Who on my iPad while she fell asleep with her head in my lap graciously
kicking the lady next to her.
Success!
Until we got off & Maggie refused to ride in her stroller. You carry a 25 pound baby & back
pack while pushing a stroller with a carseat attached through the Philadelphia
airport. Yeah I was sweating by
the time we arrived at our gate. I
changed Maggie at the gate, in the floor because I refused to juggle all of our
stuff into the bathroom to change her.
We boarded our 8 hour + flights & everything from there was pretty
easy, except the food was gross, specifically the rice.
I did not sleep for 2 reasons.
The first was that Maggie wouldn't let me, she never slept long enough
for me to fall asleep. The second
was that the closer our airplane got to Germany the more my stomach turned in
anticipation of seeing my husband.
And eventually after what felt like forever we landed. I rushed Maggie and I through passport
control and got to the baggage claim, but there was no Scott. He was supposed to land before me, but
he wasn't there.
Eventually (okay about 10 minutes) I saw a guy in an Adidas sweatshirt
and a fedora walking towards me.
My heart jumped and I started crying. To lay eyes on him was amazing, our first hug was the best I
have ever received. And while
Maggie was not completely comfortable, she did let Scott hold her while I went
to the bathroom. We got our
luggage which came out on the same belt, got cash out of the ATM (hello Euros
& their different size bills), and caught a cab. We were going to drop our luggage off at the hotel &
walk around Unterhaching until it was time to check in.
But when we arrived at our hotel we were pleased to find out that our
room was ready and that we could check in early! So after discovering that the hotel restaurant was not yet
open, we all took a nap. It was
glorious & our beds were very comfortable. I say beds because in Germany a king bed is comprised of 2
twin beds put together. Maggie's
crib also was nice & came with its own down comforter.
A girl and her daddy after almost 9
months apart!
(Short break
to tell you about our hotel room.
It was twice the size of a normal hotel room & had 2 bathrooms, a
wet bar, towel warmers, a desk, & a flat screen TV.)
After our nap we ventured out into Unterhaching, but cut our trip short
because we were starving. We went
back to the hotel & ate dinner.
I had the best pot of goulash EVER and Scott & Maggie split some
schnitzel. Both were
delicious. After dinner we hung
out in our room & unpacked our luggage. I was not living out of suitcases for 8 days. And we went to bed.
**a note our hotel was about 10 minutes walk to the train
station followed by about a 20 minute train ride into the city of Munch. We stayed in a hotel in a business
district on the outskirts of Munich for our wallets sake. Although if you ever go to Munich,
Germany I completed & 100% recommend the Holiday Inn Munich-Unterhaching. It was a superb hotel & the only
downfall was its distance from the city, which was so worth the stay in the
hotel.
0 comments:
Post a Comment