Vacationland

It's August in France and that means one thing - VACATION!  With an average of 5 weeks of vacation per year, vacationing is serious business.  People don't really ask IF you are going on vacation but rather for how many weeks. As an American, this abundance of vacation is pretty new. But that's not to say I won't take advantage of it. I love hearing stories of my hubby's road trips around Europe with his family when he was younger. So I am trying to make some similar memories for our own kiddos.

Most recently, we headed to Salzburg, Austria for a 4 day weekend.  The kids are real troopers when in comes to car travel which came in handy when a 5 hour drive turned into a 8 hour one because of traffic on the German highways. We have really started to master the art of highway travel with preschoolers - looking for trucks in every color or naming the models of the cars as we pass them (neither of which work well though in stopped traffic though!). I think we are also really getting the hang of vacationing with kids without going insane.  I am no expert but I will happily share my findings.

Could this picture scream "bored at museum" any louder?

So we started dividing the day into morning and afternoon chunks, designating one for adult activities and the other one for something of interest to the kids.  That way we aren't dragging cranky kids around museums for hours on end nor are we stuck all day at kiddy amusement parks.  It seems to strike a nice balance for both parties. Since the kids are still small, naps are a natural dividing point in the day. Although its tempting to skip them and get the most out of the place you are visiting, we have learned to respect the naps at any cost. While in Salzburg, we headed back to the apartment each afternoon to let the kids sleep a proper nap.  At the same time, we realized that this gave Jean and I the fantastic opportunity to sit and relax (yes, relax while on vacation with kids!). Truthfully, this break in the middle of the day allowed everyone to recharge.  It's hard to slow down on vacation but we've realized that we just can't pack in what we could before we had kids.

Sadly, three of the four days that we were in Salzburg it rained. While a bit frustrating at the time, the kids adored jumping in the puddles and hiding under umbrellas. We made the best of it - stopping for mid-afternoons snacks and coffee or ducking into churches we might have walked past otherwise. Its funny how the kids couldn't have cared less what the weather was like...they were just enjoying being out and about (and perhaps content that warm "apfelstrudel" break).  Note to self - their view of a great vacation is much different from ours.  Perhaps we could learn a lesson or two...

Thomas in Wiener Schnitzel heaven

All in all, we worked out the kinks and had an awesome family trip in the land of Mozart. I'm not sure if the kids will retain any memories of the trip but for me it'll stand out as the one that helped us find the balance needed to travel with kids as well as learning to appreciate your company as much as (or even more than!) the new surroundings.