When The Going Get's Tough, The Tough Get Going...And Take An Impromptu Trip Through Europe Pt.1

The kids and I landed in Germany at 3pm local time on Friday. I had maybe two hours of sleep on the plane and we had been traveling since roughly 4:30pm east coast time on Thursday. I was tired. My body clock was completely confused and I just wanted a bed. After we made our way though customs and German immigration, I gathered the girls and we headed to the base hotel across the street from the passenger terminal.



As the girls stood next to me I asked the man at reception, Otto, for a room.



"We have no rooms, we are completely booked. You can maybe check in the reservations room to see if they can find you something on one of the other bases close by," he explained to me in a thick German accent.



I felt tears threatening to well up in my eyes, blinked them back, and said "You have got to be kidding me..."



"No, ma'am, I am not kidding"



Those Germans and their sense of humor...



I wandered to the reservations room, dragging my gigantic suitcase behind me and asked the pretty blond girl sitting at the first desk about any room availability elsewhere. They had nothing as well. She suggested that I check back in an hour.



I went back into the lobby, sat with the children and tried my best not to cry. Here I was in Germany, with two children, a suitcase that probably weighed 70 lbs and no plan. The next plane to the UK was not going to be leaving until Monday and I couldn't even find a hotel room for one night. I sat with the children and tried to keep my spirits up. Surely, things would work out. Surely, I wouldn't have to sleep on the lobby or passenger terminal floor. I kept compulsively checking my watch and enviously looking at the people who had obviously had the luxury of planning receive their keys and head to their rooms.



An hour passed and I checked the reception desk. Still no rooms. I headed to the reservation room. At the point I must have looked pitiful. I bypassed the pretty blond girl and headed over to the middle aged woman sitting on the opposite side of the room.



"I need a room for the night for me and my two children and frankly I don't care if it is a broom closet; I just need to sleep." I don't know if it was because I looked the a haggled mess or if it was because something magically "freed up" or what, but we ended up in a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom suite with a kitchenette, dining room, and living room for the night. Only for that night though. We would be put out on our ear the next morning.



After a short ride across base with our German taxi cab driver, we arrived at our building. I lugged my 70lb suitcase up 6 sets of stairs to the 3rd floor. There of course was no lift. Oh well, just another bump in the road. Par for the course, really. I was just happy to have a room. Now, I just needed a plan....

Travel Update- We Have a Flight....Maybe

I am trying for a flight tomorrow. Hopefully, I will get on it. Ya never know with Space A travel. I could show up there and be told that the flight is full or canceled or I could get right on it. If I do get on it I will be heading to Germany and then figuring out my next move from there. It could be a RyanAir flight or another Space A military flight. It's all really up in the air.



I spoke to my husband this morning and he still doesn't know when he is leaving Korea for the UK. He says that he is feeling alright unless he is on his feet too long; then the hernia starts to burn. He should be having his surgery about a week after he gets to the UK. His doctors in Korea have already been in touch with the doctors in the UK. I am just hoping all the information is relayed efficiently.



I am off to bed now, with a queasy feeling in my stomach. I really hope I get this flight tomorrow. I would hate to have done all that packing for no reason.



Update- I got an email from my husband. He is leaving Korea and will probably be home before me. I have all my friends in the UK on alert and ready to help him out. My flight has been pushed back by an hour. This could change. Again. I just have to keep calling and checking flight times today and crossing my fingers that if they plane does leave today that I will be on it.

Flying With Children- Things To Bring

My children have been taking flights with me since they were babies. My oldest daughters first flight happened when she was three months old (she is now seven years old). She was a champ on the flight. I was amazed at how well she did. She still is a great flier, but it takes a lot of prep work to make things go smoothly with even the best of child travelers.

Here is a list of things you need for flying with children.

1. Gum or a bottle/breast (for babies) to help stablize air pressure when the plane takes off and lands. When my daughter was really little I made sure I was feeding her on the way up and on the way down. The swallowing and sucking helped ward off any uncomfortable pressure in her ears during the assent and decent in the plane. A pacifier/dummy can also help with this, but some kids don't take them. Gum can be used for older children, but make sure it stays in their mouth unless they want a homemade haircut when they get to the ground.

2. Blanket and pillow. A good majority of the time, the hum of the airplane's engines will make my kids sleepy. So it is always good to have a soft place for them to put their head. Also, airplanes tend to be cold so a blanket is nice. Sometimes airlines provide blankets and pillows, sometimes for free, sometimes for a charge.

3. A portable DVD player/iPad. I have always found that the kids are never EVER interested in the kids movies that the airlines provide. Either they have already seen it or it is too old for them (geared towards teens and not children). If you don't have your own device and can't afford one, go beg a friend to borrow theirs. It will save your life.

4. Some sort of way to color. I used to bring crayons and coloring books for my kids so that my kids could draw and color while they were traveling. Now, I have my iPad and an app for that. Crayons work just fine, but they tend to get dropped under the seats and then you have to hunt them down. They work, but can be a pain sometimes.

5. A cuddly toy. Having a familiar face from home helps to calm nerves. Just make sure to remember the cuddly friend when disembarking the plane.

6. Headphones that fit your child's ears. The airlines headphones are meant for adult heads and don't exactly fit little ones. Once my eldest child spent an 8 hour flight with her hands over her ears holding her headphones to her head so that she could listen to music and watch movies on the plane.

7. Books. It is a good way to get an older child to sit still. Give them a book and ask them to read to you.

8. Nintendo DS/Leapster/handheld gaming system- Once again, if you do not have one and can't afford one, go beg one off a friend. They are a life saver. When all else fails, kids will usually sit still to play their video games.

9. Extra snacks. My kids NEVER eat the food that is served on the planes. The dinners don't even try to look appitizing to kids, so my kids generally only eat the dinner roll. I make sure I always carry a few packages of snacks that I know that they will eat. Don't bring fresh fruit or veg though unless you want to get a fine when going through customs when flying internationally.

10. Bring your sense of humor. Don't be in a hurry. Try to have fun. Relax if you can. It is going to be a long day, but it doesn't have to be stressful. Remember a few hours of planning beforehand can save you a lot of grief on the day.

Do you have any other suggestions for things to bring on the plane to make traveling with children any easier?

Military Space A Travel w/ Kids

Unfortunately the military doesn't pay extremely well, even when you live overseas. So, flying home to the states is very rarely within our budget. However, the military thankfully does not leave us to fend for ourselves when it comes to transcontinental travel. They offer what they call Space A travel on military cargo planes for service members and their families. It is really very handy, but extremely unpredictable.

The first obstacle is that you have to have command sponsorship when traveling, which means going through the appropriate channels to get a letter saying "yes, they can travel on the plane". It isn't really a big deal, but something different then you would have to deal with when flying a commercial jet. Then the second problem is that you don't know when a plane is leaving until 3 days before it leaves. On top of that you don't know if you will actually get on the plane due to the fact that you don't know how many seats will be released on the flight and how many other people will show up for the flight. Then on top of that all the passengers are ranked based on priority to get onto the flight. It is a rigmarole, but it is FREE.

Last Sunday I found out that a plane was leaving for Tampa, Florida on Tuesday of that week. So, of course, even though school wasn't exactly dismissed for the summer holidays, I decided to try to take the flight. Executive decision. I mean really, what do kids usually do the last week of school? Report cards are already finished.

We showed up Tuesday morning at 6:30 and by 7AM we found out that we had indeed made the flight. I can't believe our luck! I have known people to show up three or four times before actually making it onto a Space A flight.

We got driven in a bus across the flight line (tarmac) to the KC-130 that would be taking us to Tampa. This was a tanker aircraft that refuels other planes mid-air. Our seats were jump seats situated on the side of the plane, made of nylon canvas with a nylon cargo like net for the back. They were actually a TON more comfortable than standard plane seats because we could stretch our legs out in front of us. Kind of like having a hammock to sit in for the entire flight.

Since the plane was mostly empty there was a large gap in the middle of the plane. The children on the flight were allowed to sit down on the floor and play with their toys or stretch out to take a nap. Some of the kids actually pulled out washable markers and were drawing pictures on the floor of the plane and then washing it off with baby wipes. There was also a lady who had a yoga mat and a sleeping bag who slept on the floor for the entire flight. The only downfall to the whole situation was that my feet were freezing cold due to the altitude of the flight and the heater at the top of the plane only reaches so far. A minor complaint really. Remember, this was a FREE flight.

The crew of the plane was amazing with the children as well. They took every single child on the flight (and some of the parents) up into the cockpit of the plane to look out the windows and then down to the place were they lay down in the back of the plane to look out of the window where they refuel fighter jets. My kids thought this was the coolest thing ever. Mind you, these were airmen who were returning from being deployed for 60 days who took time out of their day to show the children on the flight some of the cool things about the plane. These guys were amazing.

I have to say, as long as my family is allowed to use Space A travel, we may never make another commercial flight again. It was so much more relaxed and comfortable. I didn't feel restricted on the plane. My kids were made to feel special and not like they were a burden on the flight. Well done USAF, you know how to treat your passengers.

Bits, Bobs, and Build a Bear

So much has happened in the last week. The Man is home. You all know that. My parents came to visit. Did I mention that??

Most of the time they didn't stay with me and the family. They had made plans to stay in Ely and York. The last three days when they stayed with us went as follows:

Lavenham:

Cambridge Build-A-Bear Shop:

Barbeque:

Not bad for three days of visiting.

Happy Trails To You...

...until we meet again! Happy Trails to you, keep smilin' until then! Don't worry folks, I'll be back as soon as I can. I am also leaving you in the capable hands of 6 of my favorite bloggers who are going to be guest posting here at the Bungalow through next Friday. By then hopefully I can be settled enough to update you on our progress settling into the new country. Make them feel comfortatable, give them comments, you guys know the drill.

Today we are off to Kansas City to spend the night so that we can catch our 6am flight to Minnesota and then wait 12 hours for our flight to London. Needless to say we will be busy bees. Wish me luck. I just may need it!