I am glad you posted this, I was wondering how Europe would be with 3 young'uns. I think you are right, It IS all about expectation...that can make or break any experience.
The gummie bears crack me up. Most of my memories from family vacations (when I was little) are little snipits like that. A cool playground, the toy I picked out at the gift shop, going swimming in the hotel pool.
12:47 AM
Anonymous said...
Ja Wohl! You made it! Oh, I was hoping you would! I love what you said about all the "old" ladies on bikes. Those Austrian women are TOUGH ... and it got me choked up a bit, because I still consider them "my people." Have a ball ... in my opinion, you are in paradise.
There is truly something magical about traveling to Europe. Their way of life is inspiring and something we should definitely seek to experience in our own daily lives. Glad you are having such a great time - your kids are going to appreciate this forever, I was 5 when I first went to Italy and have never forgotten that trip or the convent of nuns that we stayed with.
6:05 AM
Anonymous said...
I'm glad you are having such a wonderful time and building memories with your kids that they will remember, they may not appreciate or understand now but they will later. Have a great time and soak up all that you can.
Wow, sounds like an amazing trip. Your comments about traveling with kids made me remember a trip we took to Paris with our then 8 year old (now 16 year old) son. We weren't quite sure how that would go since he wasn't crazy about visiting "the city of love" (his description, age 8), but it went amazingly well as long as we ate "normal food" and lots of treats. I think treats are key for Europen travel with kiddos! Keep the Gelato and Nutella coming!
7:06 AM
Anonymous said...
I couldn't agree more with your post. When traveling with children it is important to slow down and appreciate the little moments. We learned a lot of great lessons on our trip to China. We quickly learned things loved at home would be loved half way around the world --Will found joy in throwing rocks into water at every Chinese garden, village, and temple that we visited and a trip to McDonald's can make kids happy in Beijing, too. (On a similar note, if they didn't like it at home they probably wouldn't start magically loving it in a foreign country--Alex still doesn't like Chinese food) Ice cream has magical powers to rejuvenate children regardless the number of miles they have been walking. Our kids started calling it "gas." Buying things became a game when our kids realized that they could haggle over the price. We gave them each 10 RMB (about $1)a day and they tried to see how much they could buy. They became shrewd negotiators and even threw in some puppy dog eyes to get the best price. We also learned that kids will find kids to play with no matter where you are. And a family with four young children will attract the attention of every grandmother in China. I don't think that the kids will remember every site we visited but I hope that it opened their eyes to the beauty of different cultures.
I loved seeing the pictures of your adventure on the alpine slide. Our kids favorite experience in China was the alpine slide down the Great Wall!
So, where are you going next year? Maybe we'll join you! We were sad to miss you in DC!
Hooray for gummies and bicycles! What wonderful memories you are making--and your children will likely surprise you with what they remember. All the pictures and stories will help them remember too. You've inspired me to not wait until A. is "old enough"--we should just go and make fun memories!
I'm so glad your trip is going so well. You and Jeff have great patience and perspective with your kids and are giving them such a gift by taking them to all the places you guys visit (abroad and at home).
I can tell by your writing that you're being transformed and are under the European spell. It's glorious and I'm so happy for you that you get to do all of this. Enjoy!
I am thrilled that you are posting on your trip. Happy to hear that your littles are doing so well and the great time that you are having. What a gift you give you children - this great experience while they are so young, but also your attitude about it all!
8:59 AM
Anonymous said...
Such an incredible experience you all are having. Your memories of this trip will be so priceless, and I am sure that the girls will surprise you at what they have learned, experienced and felt. Your pictures will continue to remind them of all that they have experienced.
I loved reading this post...it was so great hearing about your trip. What a neat experience for you and your family!
9:23 AM
Anonymous said...
YIppee! you made it. It sounds so wonderful, I know they will remember the trip and their memories may be different than yours, but all the effort was worth it! Rory would be in heaven with all the bikes, he is doing his 100 mile ride today for diabetes. Loves to bike and has always wanted to do through Europe with kids when older. Have fun!
I loved reading this post, Kristi. So glad you have internet access! I could relate so much to all that you said. And I used those gummy bears to bribe Eva many many times! Enjoy every minute.
What a great post. I love your fearless approach to traveling with the girls. There are kids all over the world, so wonderful to give them a different world view. I'm sure the girls are loving it, and I'm sure you are too. I love gummy bears. I eat them almost everyday. (Very naughty I know.) We loved hearing about the flight. Wish they would let me sleep on the floor of the plane! AK is very lucky! What will you do when you get home and the girls want to go to a castle? :) Anyway, wish we were there, wish you were coming with us next week too.
You are doing a wonderful thing for them. My parents took me to Europe as a child. I also have the same feeling. Why not take the kids because you are doing it all at home anyways. I It would be a shame to let these opportunities pass us by because we are scared to take the kids.
As a kid who was taken to Europe when I was pretty young (8 or 9), there were definitely things that were lost on me, but so many memories stuck. Especially just knowing that my mom loved us so much she was willing to put up with all of us whining at times to give us an amazing opportunity. So...I applaud you!
I am so happy to keep visiting your blog and hearing about your trip!! It is funny that you traveled all the way to Europe for your girls to have gummy bears :o) I hope you are having the BEST time and making lots of memories!! What a chance of a lifetime for your whole family to do something this amazing!
Oh I love the girl's gummy bear attraction. That in itself will keep this trip in their memory-- that and the gelato. I think I would love it in Italy and I could ride my scooter along with the women bikers. I have a basket, too!
You're right about the older people on bicycles. When I lived in Holland I cycled everywhere, and it was v.common to see a mother cycling with her supermarket bags hanging from both handlebars and a box strapped to the parcel rack.
In fact, Paul (my husband, whom I met in Holland) often ferried me about on the parcel rack of his bike! I could hop on and off it while the bike was moving. Oh, the agility of my youth...*sigh*
LOL at Jeff trying to instill a bit of cultural/historical awe into an ice-cream-centred AK!
I love hearing about your trip. . . and I have to tell you that my mom was here this week with her military id. We went to the commissary and I had to get a Ritter bar (with hazelnut) bc of you. OH MY GOODNESS I ate it in one sitting and I am a new woman! Thanks for the tip. . . although it may ruin me.
10:58 PM
[Image] discovering gummy bears traveling with the little onesI feel like I have been writing blog posts in my head all day every day. I think about what I want to remember, how I felt, the smells (as we drove into Italy the smell of cows rushed in our car like my kids on the way to the pool) the people, what they looked like. I have to get up early to download my photos and just don't have enough time to write it all down, I have so many things I could write about.But this morning as we get ready to head to Salzburg for an all day outing, I just have to take a minute to write about how it has been being here with the kids.It is amazing and yet our kids are just the same as they were at home, happy, impatient, hungry 15 minutes after dinner, cranky, excited, sassy, laugh a lot, cry a lot - so if they are going to do that anyway, why not do it some where new, different and exciting.We knew from the get go, they would not have the ability to totally appreciate where we are, what we are seeing or how lucky we all are to be here. So getting that emotion out of the way it lowers our expectations and dialogue of constantly saying, "do you have any idea where we are?" When we were in Italy, Jeff pulled Annie Kate aside and said, "Annie this church was here before Chistopher Columbus even thought about going to discover America" She looked at him with big eyes and then said, "ok now can we get some of that ice cream?" (the best gelato I have ever had by the way and it was only 1euro) So, we laugh and then hope that someday in school or life the experience of this trip will kick in.Eating last night in the Markplatz in Garmish and watching the girls each say "Danke" to the waiter as he brought his food, could have been worth the trip right there. Or watching Annie Kate get the courage to count her Euro's and go up to a food stand in Italy and order another marmalade pastry and then say Grazi, all by herself. This really has been an amazing trip and the way I feel right now is that I would save every spare penny I have all year to travel with my kids each summer. I now want to keep my old couch and kitchen table if it meant I could come back here again. The above photo is of Sally Jane with a hand full of gummy bears. She even slept with three all mushed in her hand the other night. My kids have eaten them everyday. We got Caroline a Happy Meal on our way out of Austria and into Italy and they came with two little McGummie bags and she was thrilled. I hope now when she sees gummy bears, she will remember she discovered them here. I don't expect them to remember the name and year each church was built, or the names of the towns we have visited, but they will remember we were here, be it from photos or their own memory and that they saw a different way of life.Yesterday we rented bikes for the day and rode along the river in town and had lunch in a large farming field. Life seems slower here, no one seems to be in a hurry to get here. All the houses are the same it is just the flowers in the window boxes that are different. It seems simpler here. It seems like more people are on bikes than in cars. And if I had a dollar for every woman over 60 that I have seen on a bike, in Germany, Austria and Italy, my trip would have been paid for three times over. I love seeing this women on their bikes with a wicker basket full of groceries. It has truly been a blessing to be here and see all this part of the country has to offer. It has also been a blessing to see it through my children's eyes. Now that the fear of traveling with the crazy little girls is diminishing we are already talking of where we would take them next.
posted by everything pink! at 11:35 PM on Jul 24, 2007
Untitled
23 Comments -
I am glad you posted this, I was wondering how Europe would be with 3 young'uns. I think you are right, It IS all about expectation...that can make or break any experience.
The gummie bears crack me up. Most of my memories from family vacations (when I was little) are little snipits like that. A cool playground, the toy I picked out at the gift shop, going swimming in the hotel pool.
12:47 AM
Ja Wohl! You made it! Oh, I was hoping you would! I love what you said about all the "old" ladies on bikes. Those Austrian women are TOUGH ... and it got me choked up a bit, because I still consider them "my people." Have a ball ... in my opinion, you are in paradise.
The gummy bears there are the BEST! :)
2:26 AM
There is truly something magical about traveling to Europe. Their way of life is inspiring and something we should definitely seek to experience in our own daily lives. Glad you are having such a great time - your kids are going to appreciate this forever, I was 5 when I first went to Italy and have never forgotten that trip or the convent of nuns that we stayed with.
6:05 AM
I'm glad you are having such a wonderful time and building memories with your kids that they will remember, they may not appreciate or understand now but they will later. Have a great time and soak up all that you can.
6:17 AM
Wow, sounds like an amazing trip. Your comments about traveling with kids made me remember a trip we took to Paris with our then 8 year old (now 16 year old) son. We weren't quite sure how that would go since he wasn't crazy about visiting "the city of love" (his description, age 8), but it went amazingly well as long as we ate "normal food" and lots of treats. I think treats are key for Europen travel with kiddos! Keep the Gelato and Nutella coming!
7:06 AM
I couldn't agree more with your post. When traveling with children it is important to slow down and appreciate the little moments. We learned a lot of great lessons on our trip to China. We quickly learned things loved at home would be loved half way around the world --Will found joy in throwing rocks into water at every Chinese garden, village, and temple that we visited and a trip to McDonald's can make kids happy in Beijing, too. (On a similar note, if they didn't like it at home they probably wouldn't start magically loving it in a foreign country--Alex still doesn't like Chinese food) Ice cream has magical powers to rejuvenate children regardless the number of miles they have been walking. Our kids started calling it "gas." Buying things became a game when our kids realized that they could haggle over the price. We gave them each 10 RMB (about $1)a day and they tried to see how much they could buy. They became shrewd negotiators and even threw in some puppy dog eyes to get the best price. We also learned that kids will find kids to play with no matter where you are. And a family with four young children will attract the attention of every grandmother in China. I don't think that the kids will remember every site we visited but I hope that it opened their eyes to the beauty of different cultures.
I loved seeing the pictures of your adventure on the alpine slide. Our kids favorite experience in China was the alpine slide down the Great Wall!
So, where are you going next year? Maybe we'll join you! We were sad to miss you in DC!
7:52 AM
Hooray for gummies and bicycles! What wonderful memories you are making--and your children will likely surprise you with what they remember. All the pictures and stories will help them remember too.
You've inspired me to not wait until A. is "old enough"--we should just go and make fun memories!
8:40 AM
I'm so glad your trip is going so well. You and Jeff have great patience and perspective with your kids and are giving them such a gift by taking them to all the places you guys visit (abroad and at home).
I can tell by your writing that you're being transformed and are under the European spell. It's glorious and I'm so happy for you that you get to do all of this. Enjoy!
8:52 AM
I am thrilled that you are posting on your trip. Happy to hear that your littles are doing so well and the great time that you are having. What a gift you give you children - this great experience while they are so young, but also your attitude about it all!
8:59 AM
Such an incredible experience you all are having. Your memories of this trip will be so priceless, and I am sure that the girls will surprise you at what they have learned, experienced and felt. Your pictures will continue to remind them of all that they have experienced.
9:06 AM
I loved reading this post...it was so great hearing about your trip. What a neat experience for you and your family!
9:23 AM
YIppee! you made it. It sounds so wonderful, I know they will remember the trip and their memories may be different than yours, but all the effort was worth it! Rory would be in heaven with all the bikes, he is doing his 100 mile ride today for diabetes. Loves to bike and has always wanted to do through Europe with kids when older. Have fun!
9:40 AM
I loved reading this post, Kristi. So glad you have internet access!
I could relate so much to all that you said. And I used those gummy bears to bribe Eva many many times! Enjoy every minute.
9:44 AM
What a great post. I love your fearless approach to traveling with the girls. There are kids all over the world, so wonderful to give them a different world view. I'm sure the girls are loving it, and I'm sure you are too. I love gummy bears. I eat them almost everyday. (Very naughty I know.) We loved hearing about the flight. Wish they would let me sleep on the floor of the plane! AK is very lucky! What will you do when you get home and the girls want to go to a castle? :)
Anyway, wish we were there, wish you were coming with us next week too.
11:05 AM
You are doing a wonderful thing for them. My parents took me to Europe as a child. I also have the same feeling. Why not take the kids because you are doing it all at home anyways. I It would be a shame to let these opportunities pass us by because we are scared to take the kids.
11:30 AM
What a fun opportunity your whole family is having together!
2:03 PM
As a kid who was taken to Europe when I was pretty young (8 or 9), there were definitely things that were lost on me, but so many memories stuck. Especially just knowing that my mom loved us so much she was willing to put up with all of us whining at times to give us an amazing opportunity. So...I applaud you!
2:26 PM
I am so happy to keep visiting your blog and hearing about your trip!! It is funny that you traveled all the way to Europe for your girls to have gummy bears :o)
I hope you are having the BEST time and making lots of memories!! What a chance of a lifetime for your whole family to do something this amazing!
3:33 PM
What an amazing thing to take your kids to Europe. THat is so great. It makes me want to save and take my kids somewhere great. Have fun!
3:57 PM
Oh I love the girl's gummy bear attraction. That in itself will keep this trip in their memory-- that and the gelato. I think I would love it in Italy and I could ride my scooter along with the women bikers. I have a basket, too!
4:31 PM
You're right about the older people on bicycles. When I lived in Holland I cycled everywhere, and it was v.common to see a mother cycling with her supermarket bags hanging from both handlebars and a box strapped to the parcel rack.
In fact, Paul (my husband, whom I met in Holland) often ferried me about on the parcel rack of his bike! I could hop on and off it while the bike was moving. Oh, the agility of my youth...*sigh*
LOL at Jeff trying to instill a bit of cultural/historical awe into an ice-cream-centred AK!
5:33 PM
Yay for you guys actually doing this. It will sink in for your girls over the years I'm sure. What an amazing experience. Can't wait to hear more!
8:43 PM
I love hearing about your trip. . . and I have to tell you that my mom was here this week with her military id. We went to the commissary and I had to get a Ritter bar (with hazelnut) bc of you. OH MY GOODNESS I ate it in one sitting and I am a new woman! Thanks for the tip. . . although it may ruin me.
10:58 PM