Planning

With our 25% milestone behind us, hubby and I discussed our travel goals. If it wasn't clear to you, hubby is here, primarily, to accomplish a challenging work opportunity, and secondarily, to have a great travel adventure. The opportunities are boundless. Every day I learn about new travel opportunities....Thailand pedicures where the fish nibble the dead skin off your feet, kayaking thru the Croatian islands, Agriturismo in Italy (staying at a farmhouse...think Tuscany!), storybook Prague, Munich for Oktoberfest, Switzerland - glacier express, a helicopter ride over Zermatt (the Matterhorn), Schlaf und Straw (sleeping in the Straw on a Swiss Farm), safari in Botswana, swim with the penguins in South Africa, cycling thru the Netherlands, indoor skiing and sand safari in Dubai. The opportunities are mindboggling. My wish list is ever-growing. How can we do it all in 27 months?

How? By hours and hours of researching, networking, and planning. Trip planning is one of my critical functions for our family. In the US, we traveled a bit. I could easily do the trip planning myself, and had a Disney Travel Agent for our Disney trips and used Costco for our cruises. It was all fairly simple. Here in Switz, I have done all of the planning myself.....don't be impressed...all the expats do their own planning (except for Safari). They/We are such a well travelled bunch, and ruggedly independent explorers that we all seem so driven to do it on our own. Also, we do have the benefit of swapping information and tips about "how to do" a trip, that its almost easier to do it yourself than explain it to a German speaking travel agent. Oftentimes at our gatherings/coffee/hike, travel conversations dominate: "Where are you going for October break?" "What did you think of your Spring Break trip to ... the Maldives?" "How did you do the Croatian Kayaking trip?" "Where can I get bike trail maps for the Netherlands?" When someone reveals something very interesting, several women pull out their Iphones and create Notes with the info. Its very cool.

Finding time to do such extensive research is often difficult. 2 weeks ago I injured my foot when I landed on a tennis ball in my new tennis class and twisted my ankle. It was sore and quite swollen since and I have had to avoid much activity. I was so bummed to be virtually couch bound for a week - its quite dull and difficult for me to sit still for long periods of time. However, it was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to accomplish quite a bit of research for our upcoming trips.

I currently have a couple trips in the hopper. We have an overnight weekend trip to Europapark in Germany. This is the largest amusement park in Europe, about 2 hrs away from here. The park is arranged in a variety of lands (think Disney: TomorrowLand, FantasyLand, etc). Europapark's lands are based on Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Germany, etc) We will be staying on the property....which was virtually sold out...so we are staying in a lovely Log Cabin in the Campgrounds ( the TeePees and Covered Wagons were also sold out....seriously.)

Next we will have a day trip to Kerns to see a Cattle Descent Festival. In early summer, the cows are brought into the hills and mountains (?possibly to stay cooler?), and in early fall, they descend back to their grazing farms. The farmers decorate the cattle with flowers and bells and make a parade of them, and enjoy a festival with food, cheeses, wines, yodeling, and I suspect, all things cow. I am still hoping we will make it to Mount Pilatus this fall for a day trip as well.

In October, we have our 11 day cruise of the Western Mediterranean. We will fly to Barcelona Spain, and sail to Monte Carlo, Monaco (where we will pop over to Nice on the French Riviera and spend an afternoon on the beach- just a 30 min train ride away according to my research), Livorno/Florence & Pisa for a whirlwind day, Rome & the Vatican in 9 hours with a private tour guide/driver, and the same for Naples/Pompeii & Amalfi Coast, Sicily Italy (J & the kids deserve a beach day after 2 rigorous touring days), Palma de Mallorca (mostly beach day, some sightseeing), Marceille, France (we will visit a medieval town in Provence), then Barcelona for 2 days.

I am contemplating taking my daughter on a super surprise Mother/Daughter weekend in later October, but will not discuss it for fear of jinxing it! I'd also hope to do a quick overnight trip with hubby to Oktoberfest.....is there any way we can add another weekend to Oktober this year?

Then, in Nov, hubby & I have a work-related trip to California. I am heartsick leaving my babies here, but I know they will be in good hands, and we will be fine. I am hoping to visit some cousins in CA, and friends. At the end of November, Europe's traditional Christmas markets begin. I have only heard of the magic of these festivals and I can not wait to see them for myself. We are planning to visit a couple in Switzerland, as well as Strassbourg France.

Our holiday break plans are in their conception phase....just a dream so far. I will save that for another post.

Even when we lived in the US, hubby and I have always been big travelers...even just day trips. Since I left my family home at 18 , I've never been a native of anywhere. I've always felt like a visitor. The lovely aspect of that is that I was always seeing things for the first time. Everything was new and waiting to be explored. Although we lived in MD for 10 years, and Il for 8, we always were exploring on the weekends - festivals, little museums, parks, and other attractions. We are doing the same thing here, its just that we have a completely different canvas. Look around your current home with the eyes of a visitor, explore, and discover something new! What are your travel dreams?