Away We Go!

On November 5, 2009 we set off on our 3-year adventure of living in Europe. With lots of errands to complete before lunch with the family and our flight to Germany, we woke up early and headed out to get started.  Later we had lunch with my family to say goodbye.

Danielle gave me a beautiful Tiffany Key locket.  She noticed that I was eying the keys when we were at the Tiffany store in NYC.  She made it extra special by placing pictures of us as babies inside!

Then, after a lot of tears, we said good-bye and Danielle took us to Dulles Airport.  It seemed like a longer drive than usual with the anticipation building and Fisher whining to get out of his kennel.  I felt so sad for Fisher knowing what was in store for him.

It was hard to say goodbye to Danielle at the airport.

But, we had to say goodbye and take Fisher to check-in.  We gave him a little, pink pill that the vet said would help him relax and not care so much about the trip but wouldn't make him sleep.  By the time we got to the desk, he didn't seem to care as much about being in the kennel or in the strange place but it was still hard for me.

We had so many emotions.  This was a big step for us.  We were about to move to Germany.  Neither of us spoke German.  We had only spent 5 days there.  Who knew if we would love it or hate it?  Who knew where we would live?  Regardless of all the unanswered questions, we were prepared to live out the answers.  We were prepared to live this adventure together and this was definitely going to be an adventure!

So, away we go!!

Packing out...

Normally, when the luggage comes out Fisher gets very curious.  He sniffs around, probably wondering how long we will be come this time.  This time was different.  Fisher would be going with us.  I wonder if he knew this??

We packed the things that we would take with us on the flight. Next, the packers would come to pack everything else.  One shipment would be sent by boat and would take about six weeks.  Another by air and would take a week or two.  This second shipment would be for essentials, the things we needed within the first month or two.  A third shipment would be taken to storage where we would not have access until we move back to the states. 

Packing all of your belongings and deciding what to take with you on a 3 year move to Germany is an interesting endeavor.  We wanted to pack as light as possible and in doing so, we left a lot of furniture behind.  What would we need over the next three years?  What would fit in the the tiny European apartments we heard so much about?

Watching someone else pack your things compels you to think and re-think; will I really need that?   No, put it in the storage pile.  No wait...   In the end, we should learned we should have brought more furniture but we didn't leave anything behind that we could not live without.

We put the condo up for rent with my beautiful sister...

 




She found a renter a few months later... thankfully!