A trip to Munich! This was our first trip outside of Japan since we arrived two and a half years ago. When we lived in America, it seemed so easy to fly here, fly there, and most of the world felt so accessible. I didn’t think living in Japan would feel any different. A flight is a flight, whether you fly over sea or land, right? But in fact it has felt more like living on an island than I could have imagined – both physically and culturally. Not to mention that the yen has been very weak. The biggest challenge is that my spouse doesn’t have many vacation days. Then I started working, and of course E has school. It becomes very complicated.
I reached a point where my desire to travel outweighed these challenges. If we wait for the perfect time: low tourist season, good weather, strong currency in our favor, and all our schedules aligned, we would be waiting for a long time. E is now also old enough to remember trips. I find that we are beginning to enjoy things together, rather than me enjoying things through her. All the trips I took whenI was a child have stayed with me and become a part of me in a way that no other trips have. After three years of no international travel – except for that one international move of course – it was time to leave again.
This morning, with one big suitcase, one small one, two backpacks, two purses, and a stroller, we set off for our flight to Munich. We will be visiting family friends there. I have been once during study abroad in college, and H has been multiple times. But neither of us has been there since 2008.
I was really rusty at packing for a trip for a family of four this far from home: brought the water bottles, toothbrushes, emergency medicine for the kids; forgot the water bottle straps, toothpaste, and melatonin gummies for the adults. How much to feed the kids before getting on the taxi in the morning? An empty stomach can exacerbate motion sickness, but a full tummy doesn’t necessarily ward it off, and it could be even more disastrous. Should we bring a stroller? We live in a city where both kids are used to lots of daily walking. For Munich, maybe not. We plan to spend most of our time picking berries and sitting at beer gardens. For Paris, maybe. It may make our lives better, or it may make it worse – that is the risk and adventure of traveling with little kids.
After months of pining to leave the country, I start getting prematurely wistful at the airport. Goodbye, pristine toilet. Goodbye, convenience store where you can find anything you forgot for a reasonable price. Goodbye, rice. This is what travel does to you, right? It gives you perspective, even before it has officially begun. Now all the things to look forward to – cooler weather, less air conditioning, the forest, the Alps, summer fruits, and the best breads. Next post from the airplane/Munich.
