Another Itinerary Change?

Seems like our itinerary will never be final!  Just this weekend I received a message back from Monika, our second au pair, who lives in northern Germany.  I had planned on making a day visit to Monika knowing that she had a baby and would probably be so busy that she wouldn't have much time to spend with us.  I also didn't want to add extra stress to her life -- I know what it's like to entertain with young kids running around!  Not easy.

So, I sent Monika a quick note letting her know of our plans to drive through her town on Monday, August 2 enroute from Luedinghausen (Eva) to Braunschweig (Johanna Finke).  Well, Monika quickly wrote back -- and sent photos of her five-month-old twin boys (!) and her two year old.  WOW.  I thought she was busy with one! (Needless to say, Monika and I hadn't been in touch for the last, well....14 or 15 months!)

Monika and Mirko's children: Julian (2) with Jonas and Max (5 1/2 months).

Max and Jonas

                                                                                

Julian with his Santa hat!

But, Monika amazed me and offered to house us for a few days.  When I told her it may be best if we just come for the day, she was so disappointed.  She explained that we wouldn't really have time to talk and catch up until after her kids were tucked into bed at night (rightly, as I recall those days with young children), and that it would be so nice if we could all stay for at least one night.  She also wants me to meet her husband (who was her boyfriend while she lived with me in 2002).

Monika's reaction reminded me about what this trip is all about....it's not about the sightseeing (although that will be fun); it's about reconnecting with a group of VERY special people.  My big problem is that we can't add days to our trip, so I need to rearrange the schedule a bit.  I've decided to contact Eva and explain the situation and hope she understands that we'll leave her home a day earlier than planned to spend the night with Monika and Mirko.  We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to Monika to spend a bit more time with her.

So....the schedule will change once again.....for the better, I think.  Can't wait to spend time with Monika's children.

More Background...

Thanks Pam for getting our blog started and thank you for coming up with the trip idea in the first place. What a great opportunity to get to see and meet our au pairs once again, this time in their own homes and countries. During the planning of this trip we have been introduced to or stumbled upon websites that have been very helpful. For flights, www.skyscanner.com or www.kayak.com have enabled us to find the smaller intracountry flights that cut down on time and costs while traveling, www.ricksteves.com is great for general travel information, and of course googling for specific info. We are being hosted by the au pairs and friends and have found lodging in Venice and Stockholm that will be family friendly. Now that the housing is confirmed and frequent flyer miles have been exhausted, we are started to think about our communication with each other via texting and talking with friends and family at home. We will have Skype on Pam's computer which will allow us to chat via phone when we have a computer connection. This blog will also help in our communication efforts. Of course we will be training our "nontechies" in the use of the computer and the use of the blog during the coming months. For our cell phones and the computer we need to work out the details of charging our units in the different countries. Let us know if anyone has any chargers we can borrow. I have a motorola razor.

Just an Overview

I think the best way to get this blog started -- several months before our actual trip begins -- is by jotting down our current itinerary.  We've been working diligently for the past month piecing our trip together, checking and re-checking au pair schedules, and comparing pricing (car rental vs. train vs. plane).  After several versions, I think we finally have our itinerary down.  Our flight to Zurich -- with a return from Paris -- is booked.  We've also booked a total of three intra-Europe flights -- from Venice to Dusseldorf, from Hamburg to Stockholm, and from Stockholm to Paris.  We're still working on finalizing the car rental, but we have some time for that.

So, this is the plan:

July 19  Depart Wilkes-Barre for Zurich (via Philadelphia)
July 20 - 27 Lucerne, Switzerland
July 27 - 30 Venice, Italy
July 30 - August 2 Luedinghausen, Germany
August 2 - 4 Braunschweig, Germany
August 4 - 9 Eckernforde, Germany
August 9   Koping, Sweden
August 10 - 13 Gothenburg, Sweden
August 13  Gemla, Sweden
August 14 - 17 Kalmar, Sweden
August 17 - 20 Stockholm, Sweden
August 20 - 26 Paris, France
August 26 Depart Paris for Wilkes-Barre (via Philadelphia)