Greta Goes to Germany {Part 2: Dresden}

We decided to take a few days away from being with Matt's family and head to the city of Dresden, in southeastern part of Germany. When planning the trip we had thought that we would take the ICE train as we thought it would be easier with Greta, but after checking out the cost of train tickets and finding out they were more expensive than we had anticipated, we hit the discount site and found a great price on a rental car. So instead of the train we drove. It was a five hour drive from his parents and Greta did ok for the first 3 and a half but the last bit she was quite fussy - so we know for future car rides we need to break every 3 hours.

Dresden was an absolutely beautiful city! It was completely destroyed in WWII, so the city has been completely reconstructed from the rubble, but they did an incredible job. I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves.

We were lucky to get a great deal on an apartment hotel in the centre of the old town, Neumarkt. We were walking distance to all the sites, restaurants, pubs, and markets.  We found this really convenient for our needs while travelling with a baby, as we had a place that was close to take her back for a nap, or diaper change, and also the addition of a stove was great for preparing her baby food. We had lots of room, great views, and a deep bathtub! 

Another great purchase for our trip was the BobaAir, we had our stroller as well, but we found that we used the carrier a lot, and it was easily tucked into our diaper bag and used once Greta grew tired of the stroller on our long walks through museums and cathedrals. 

We extended our original stay by once extra night & day in order to be able to go to the Bastei Sandstone Mountains that were about a half hour south of Dresden, and we are so glad we did! What a remarkable view - it was quite fogging that morning but it was still stunning! 

 

Overall, this city stole my heart and I will have so many memories of our first family adventure that were made in this city, that I think it will hold a special place in my heart for years to come!

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!

7|52, 8|52, 9|52 & 10|52

With our trip and a break from blogging I have a few weeks to catch up on for my 52 project, "a portrait of Greta, once a week, every week in 2014".

7|52

 | at the airport waiting to board her first plane |

8|52

| watching the ships at the harbour in Germany |

9|52

| cuddles with Oma before leaving |

10|52

| morning floor time with some breakfast still on her face |

Caught up on my 52 project (also does it not look like she changed a lot from the airport photo to now?! Germany was good to her!), now to write her 9 month letter...