Looking Back on Vacation

Sumerlin Ranch, May 25, 2015, 9:05 p.m.

I never did write the last vacation blog. By the time we got on the plane, all I could think about was getting home. I numbed my tired mind with movies and more or less spent the entire flight in mindless wakefulness. 

From the distance of a few weeks, I can identify the take-aways from this huge family vacation. Certainly among the main lessons learned is the need to travel with people who travel like you do. I summed this one up by whispering to Yvette "I'll never go to Europe without you again" as I hugged her when she picked us up at SFO. Traveling is stressful and often brings out the less-than-stellar aspects of one's character. And different aspects of travel induce stress in different people. Heidi cannot travel where there are crowds. Seriously, no crowds. Maddie will go anywhere with good humor but needs down time then and again. If she doesn't get her down time, she'll make you sorry for it. And Reiner needs someone to take care of the nitty-gritty details. He likes to remember his vacations, and he needs someone to create those memory opportunities for him. 

Just as travel brings out negative qualities, it also brings out some wonderfully positive character traits. Heidi has an inquisitive mind; she wants to know more than just the superficial layer of information that tourists get. She'll go back to Pompeii one day and learn far more than we did on our tour. When Maddie finds something interesting, like the Roman Forum, her enthusiasm and curiosity are infectious. Her ability to sketch what she sees, what she finds interesting, makes me so damned envious. And both girls established relationships with their Herbon relations independent of their father and me. It speaks well for the future of the family. 

And even Reiner has his good points, much as it pains me to say so. He went beyond just generosity in ensuring that we had every opportunity to fully experience the wonders of the cities we visited. And he loves the cafes--maybe even more than me. And that's saying something. 

When I asked my fellow travelers what they most enjoyed about the trip, everyone expressed appreciation for the hours spent with family. Those days in Berlin represent a time that none of us will ever forget. We all loved being at the flat on Ordensmeisterstr, spending time with the little boys, with Mellie, Sascha, Ollie, and Petra. The visit to the beautiful home of Misha and Tina, laughing and talking and eating wonderful food, ranks as another high point of our trip. And none of us will forget the afternoon and evening with Onkel Werner and Tante Cissy, Manfred and Kristine, and the visit to Klo (although I preferred Tante Cissy's elegant tea to the bathroom-inspired pub).  

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  those Germans are lecker!!

I don't know if I'll make a point of going back to Rome. The Forum was amazing, as were the smaller churches we visited on the day we went to the Pantheon. I enjoyed Pompeii, the crypt tour, and the cafe on the corner by the hotel. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the Borghese Gallery had we found time to visit it. But the Vatican filled me with so much bitterness and disappointment that I cannot see myself ever going back. 

Of course, my love for Paris remains strong. I wish the girls could have had a different experience. Fighting the tourist crowds took a lot out of all of us. And coming at the end of the trip did not help. Looks like the girls and I will just have to go back--over and over until we get it right. 

All in all, I can look back with fond reminiscence at our big family vacation. There were rough spots along the way, but the good times far outweighed the bad. I don't imagine too many years will pass before I'm once again cozy in the little bed by the window in the flat on Ordensmeisterstr. 

Travel, like Germans, is lecker!