Life Changers and Blog Alterations

So as we have slowed down our pace of travel and "normal" life...consisting of homework and playdates...has sped up, I've found my blog needs a slight adjustment in that in addition to covering educational and fun travel with kids, I will start discussing kids' educational ideas and strategies.  After all, my goal is to make my kids' world A Brilliant Place, regardless of where we are!  Hope this may be helpful to all you hard-working moms/dads/role models working towards that same goal with those bright shining little lights in your life.

The UnFun Family Vacation

Have you ever imagined a great family trip, full of educational world wonders and fulfilling relationship building?  Now insert your actual family...not quite the reality?  That's where we are right now.

Last year was definitely NOT a good travel with kids year.  Not that we didn't travel, but I didn't have the energy or focus to write about the several sleepless camping trips, a sleepless visit to family via air, or a sleepless "vacation" at the beach.  Did I mention my two-year-old is making our family trips sleep-deprived endurance-tests of family torture?

In fact the highlight of my 2012 traveling-with-kids adventures was, in fact, our first adults-only anniversary trip to Cancun since baby#1.  I love traveling with my kids (well, most of them), but I have to admit alone-time was so peaceful and relaxing...it's my new mental escape from all things stressful now.

Anyway, as eye-opening as our Cancun trip was to what vacations must be like for the rest of the no-kid-vacation world, I refuse to give up on relaxing family vacations.  I know they are possible and rewarding...I just don't know how long it's going to take for it to be possible or rewarding for US.  I imagine I can't be the only one with this problem! 

We have done so many much more difficult trips with kids the same age (driving Europe with a 6, 4 and not-quite-two-year-old for example...see Travel with Kids: Estonia), but clearly we have a different personality here.  A personality that doesn't go to sleep until 11pm and gets up around 4am and announces it by repeating everyone's names LOUDLY and without end:  Ella, ella, ella, ella, mommy, mommy, mommy, DA-ddy, daddy, daddy, and on and on and on.  You get the idea.  Which ends up with either daddy or I getting her up and taking her somewhere to get her quiet.  This results in our trips getting drastically shortened because we as parents are so exhausted and grumpy that no one is having fun.

 Maybe I have finally met that time in my life (or kid in my life) when I really do just want to chill at home...or in Cancun maybe, but I hope not!

Feeding Swedish Ducks

Hey!  Their ducks are just like our ducks Mom!

Traveling with Kids

I don't consider myself a blogger. It feels a bit like leaving a voicemail on a wrong number, but here I go. Out of my comfort zone . . . again.

I've been out of my comfort zone a lot in the past year. When my husband first suggested moving to Europe for six months, I thought it was a crazy and funny idea, but especially crazy. In usual life we live in Southern California. My oldest goes to school, we attend church and playgroups and sports events. We go to the fair and the beach in the summer, see family at holidays and visit the local attractions during the school year. But what if we did leave it all behind to try something extraordinary? The thought took hold. We'd traveled extensively in North America and Australia B.K. (before kids), and I love travel. But to travel Europe with three kids, ages five (almost six) and under? Could I keep it together? Would I lose my temper and my mind? I've never been one to allow fear to make my decisions, so setting all self-doubts aside, I set to researching.

I already knew that a vacation with kids is not a vacation in the adult sense of the word. Someone says 'vacation' and I conjure up the vision of lying in the shade on the beach, reading the latest Sophie Kinsella or Shannon Hale from start to finish, and only moving to take a cooling dip and grab some melon. To date this has only happened once since I entered the foray of motherhood six years ago. This would not be a 'vacation'. It would be better described as an adventure.

As long as I remembered to look at it like that, I was never disapointed.

So, in the end, although I didn't find nearly enough information to adequately plan our trip, I did find enough to know it could be done. So we did it.

To give a sense of the breadth and scope of the thing we did, below is a list of the cities where we stayed or did noteworthy things:

Dublin Ireland
London England
Dover England
Calais France
Paris France (and Versailles )
Brussels Belgium
Amsterdam The Netherlands
Hamburg Germany
Copenhagen Denmark
Stockholm Sweden
Tallinn Estonia
Tartu Estonia
Parnu Estonia
Helsinki Finland
Rostock Germany
Berlin Germany
Prague Czech Republic
Munich Germany (and Bavaria Neuschwanstein )
Bled Slovenia
Ljubljana Slovenia
Plitvice Lakes Croatia (a national park)
Mjlet Island Croatia (a national park)
Dubrovnik Croatia
Split Croatia
Rome Italy
Madrid Spain
Lisbon Portugal
Albufeira Portugal

This trip took us nearly a year, and it wasn't all free time as my husband did actually have to work and I was homeschooling. But to live in a place with children, and yet to live as a tourist is a very special and unique opportunity to really see a place and get to know something about the people who live there.

My goal in sharing these stories and insights is to help others who are ready to venture into the brave new world of traveling with kids, to be able to do it with accurate information and a support system.

That said, I won't be able to help anyone find the best wine in town, the best babysitting services or nightlife of any kind. This wasn't that kind of trip. What I can tell you about are some of the best kid-friendly activities, cities and highlights of our trip. I can give tips, advice and insights into traveling Europe with kids.