Greta Goes to Germany {part 1}

Well as you know from previous posts, I was excited about our trip to Germany but I was also really nervous and unsure how Greta was going to travel.  Well, we lucked out an she traveled like a champ! Overall our travels went well, not major delays or problems and best of all no extremely fussy baby!  It seems that February & March are ideal months to travel overseas, as both of our international flights were not full - in fact they were half empty. We have usually traveled over the holidays and summer previously so we are used to full flights, therefore it was a welcomed change especially for Greta's first journey! We had 3 sets of flights on each leg of our journey, and the last one was always the worst - which is not a surprise since we were all tired.

Matt's parents were so happy to see us, well I think mainly Greta (I felt like chopped liver, lol) and lucky Greta was great with them! She has been playing strange quite a bit with my family, so I was worried it would be even worse when we got over there since she has only seen them outside of a computer screen at 3 1/2 months old. But to our surprise she was nothing but smiles! Even with Matt's brother and his grandfathers whom she had never met. It made me happy because I think that if she would have been fussy with them they would be even more bothered by the distance and time they don't get to spend with her.

We had great weather the whole time we were there. Matt's hometown is in the northern part of Germany near the Ostsee (Baltic Sea), so it is a more coastal climate which is a nice change compare to the cold Canadian Prairies. It's a short drive to beaches, piers, and ports so we went for some walks along the water on some days and then other days we would walk through the forest and along the lake that is in town. We got out a lot, which was great after it seemed we had been cooped up indoors for a good 4 months so the sun, fresh air, and exercise was welcomed! Besides our side trip to Dresden (which will be another post on it's own) we mainly just spent a lot of time relaxing and visiting family, not being too busy or having too many plans made for a great actual holiday.  We got to spend time with our niece, visit with Matt's brother and his girlfriend, and visited with neighbors who finally go to meet the little one that Oma is constantly talking about.  Matt's mom also owns her own little shop in town so we spent a few hours there.  I think Greta will enjoy her shop when she's a little older as among the many things she has in her craft/decor shop she has Maileg dolls/toys which are so cute! Matt's dad had time off work so he got lots of time during the day with her and came on outings, his mom couldn't close her shop so she was busy most mornings but got her cuddles in during the afternoons & evenings!

I also indulged in far too much bread, beer, and sweets (man I wish I had taken a picture of our daily broetchen breakfasts!) during our trip. So much good food, never had as good of bread as I do when we are in Germany! Also the farmers markets are great with fresh produce, cheeses, and meats (again I wish I had photos - I'm a bad blogger eh?!)

Next up will be photos from our little trip to Dresden!