Road trips… ah yes… what once was the ultimate freeing feeling: put the windows down, blast the music and see how long you can drive before absolutely needing a rest stop.
Wait, with a toddler?
“Mommy up up” pointing at the windows crying as we’re listening to “baby shark” for the 17th time hoping it keeps her from getting car sick as we sing along.
Oh how the times have changed.
Here are some tips & tricks on road tripping with a toddler!
Living in Germany as an expat can sometimes feel.. lonely… and then spending a year out of work on maternity leave can feel even more alienating. Don’t get me wrong - I am grateful for my year of maternity leave. But - I loved my job, I loved working with my team, I loved working out at Crossfit every morning. And all of that came to a halt, and I was home alone every day with my (adorable) little baby girl.
Between Andrew and I, I am the more ‘social-needy’ one in the relationship. I love being around people, making new friends & working on projects in a group. So I was honestly worried that I would be jealous and spiteful when Andrew would come home from work telling me about his day.
So here are some of the ways I navigated through those fears, and made some of the most amazing memories (and friends) on that year off.
Our second day in Switzerland somehow magically fell on the same exact day as an Alpine Cheese Festival (Alpkäsefest) on the top of the Grosse Scheidegg mountain in Grindewald, Switzerland. It was surrounded by blue skies and lazy cows grazing the hilly green grass. My dreams were literally coming true.
Historic, fun, quirky, and sometimes a little bit odd. That’s Berlin. Since living in Germany I’ve visited Berlin 3 times and each time was very different than the last. Because we live in “small town Nuremberg”, going to Berlin was like a visit to “the BIG CITY”. So many more restaurant options, so many new cocktail bars to try, and oh-so-many interesting shops to see!
Here are a few of my personal favorite bits of Berlin
While most people think of Tapas for Spanish traditional cuisine, in the Basque region of Northern Spain, Pintxos (pronounced peen-chos) are their claim to fame.
Pintxos were traditionally a slice of baguette bread stacked with any type of food. To hold it in place, a cocktail stick or 'pintxo' was used. Now, Pintxos are open to much more than just that - and some are like little works of art.
A look into our day and a half game drive through Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, Africa. This park is known as being the 'home of the elephants' - and it is so true! The elephants would get so close to the truck we could reach out and touch them - but of course I wouldn't as I was slightly scared of them...
