View from the plane
One reason I was reluctant to sign up for NaBloPoMo was that I already knew I would be traveling to Germany for a week. My dad is getting ready to move out of my childhood home and his home for over 50 years and I promised I help a bit. So the next days will be filled with sorting, deciding what will be packed to go with him, Sorting through the last remaining things I want to keep and saying good bye to my home town (more on this to come in another post).
Solo travel feels very special to me as I usually never get to do it these days. It involves quite a bit of planning ahead since I am the family organizer. I keep telling myself they will manage without me.
Back to travel day: Bags were packed the day before so everything was ready to go besides the last chargers and some food in case the airline falls short.
I left the house at 10am to be driven to the Bart station. Luckily the next train went straight to SFO so I did not have to change. I got there at 11:30am and only had to drop of my checked bags. Isn’t it amazing you can do most everything online now? It’s a nightmare for my 80 year old dad but I do appreciate not having to stay in line for an hour (or longer) to check in. By noon I was through security and went on a search for some lunch. At SFO we somehow always end up at the domestic terminal for that even flying internationally. Boarding started on time at 1:50pm. The flight was supposed to leave at 2:40pm but to no big surprise it took a little longer as we were still waiting for some passengers.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful. I am not very hopeful about food on United flights but this time the chicken curry was edible. I always wonder why they even bother with the roles as I think they are pretty disgusting (sorry). The flight to Munich takes about 10 hours and I spend my time knitting, reading,watching movies and writing back and forth with my family about a lost ID card I was sure I saw in the living room the day before. Unfortunately sleep was a short hour or so. Arrival in Munich was at ~9:50am the following day (Nov. 3rd) and everything worked like a charm. Passport control was a breeze, the new gate was posted and it was not to far and after another hour sleep on the plane to Hannover we touched down at 12:55pm. The bag was collected and my dad picked me up from the airport, hurray.
The drive to my hometown Wietzen takes another hour and we stopped for a late lunch on the way.
We were back in the door at around 3:40pm German and currently 7:40am West Coast time. If my calculation is correct it was 21 hours, 40 minutes this time with no special surprises.
I did take a quick nap because 2 hours of sleep and fell asleep again on the couch after dinner. Wish me luck I can sleep tonight because I don’t handle jetlag very well. Any advice on that? Maybe there is something I have not tried yet but mostly I go with the flow these days.
Do you often get to travel solo and do you manage to pack light?
Any advice on how to deal with saying goodbye to your childhood home?
Home here and there 
I’ve traveled back to Germany solo many, many times (Jon doesn’t always go with me when I visit) and I usually enjoy it. I’ve taken the direct flight from SFO to MUC and I always love that immigration in Germany is such a breeze. You just walk through with your German passport LOL
I am glad you can go home and help your dad move out of your childhood home and get him settled. I am sure it’s the right decision for him but bittersweet for everyone involved. I expect it to be an emotional week for you.
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I am glad I can be here now. It’s hard sometimes to be so far away. I am thankful he is so realistic about it and it will be close to my brother’s what hopefully will make it easier.
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I’m glad your trip started smoothly. It’s been a long time since I said goodbye to my family home. We moved out the week before I was married and moved into my own home with my husband so there were so many changes at once it’s hard to remember.
This trip I got a prescription from my doctor for melatonin and that has helped. I always find the first night I sleep well because I’m tired from the flight and it’s the second night that can be a problem. It’s too late for my other advice which would be not to nap. Also bright sunlight in your eyes early in the morning.
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My first night went well, too. We will see what happens next 😂 My husband swears by melantonin, too, but of course I forgot it.
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Oof. Traveling to Europe from the west coast is a LONG trip. Solo travel actually sounds fun to me, but my kids are older. My son isn’t even at home and my daughter could do without me for a week or so! Good luck with everything. I hope it all goes smoothly.
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Thank you Jenny! So far so good.
Yes, it is a long way but doing it solo is so much easier 😉. It is hard to believe I ever was excited about flying though
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My experience is that jetlag is a crapshoot. Sometimes I am find and do not suffer at all, other times it sucks and I get vertigo that lasts for over a year. WTH. When I flew to France last year, I slept maybe an hour on the plane, but did OK while there, no jetlag. On the way home to California, also didn’t sleep much, but had horrible jetlag and didn’t sleep more than an hour or two a night for a week. Other trips have gone much better.
I’m glad you’re there with your dad, that is time to cherish. I’m sure moving from your childhood home will be very bittersweet.
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I am so grateful I can be here. My brother is coming tonight, too, what is going to be good.
Yes on the Jetlag. It is so unpredictable.
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Well, any advice on jet leg would be too late but I usually try to not nap on arrival and just pick up the hours even if it means keeping myself awake much longer than I’d like. Does it work? Not always.
I have no helpful tips on how to say goodbye to a childhood home. We never lived in a house. If at all my late grandparents home that now belongs to my dad and that I call the families country home would be that. And throughout the years a lot has changed there from rebuilding and decluttering.
However I have during my moves the past years always took pictures of certain things I wanted to keep the memory of but didn’t really need the physical thing. I would suggest doing that. Moving around the home, rooms, favorite places and taking pictures. And maybe having some sort of ritual to say good bye to the house?
Overall I am wishing you an enjoyable time even though it will be hard and stressful. What a wonderful possibility to spend a whole week with your dad. There will be lots of talk about the old days I assume. So precious. And I am hoping your dad will be able to settle into his new place. That is not an easy thing to do after 50 years.
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I also really hope that my dad will be happy at his new place, closer to my brother and half of his grand kids. Making a reasonable decision is one thing but being ok with it is completely different.
I kind of knew that this was coming eventually so every time I was here I took pictures of places that meant something to me. We will see how the next days turn out to feel. My brother is now here, too what is really awesome because we never see us without family anymore and I am meeting an old school friend tomorrow.
Jetlag, fingers crossed, spared me this time. I managed to sleep until 7:30am and am still awake at 11:50pm on day 2 – hurray. But why does it have to get dark around 5pm?
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I always get such terrible jet lag, the first few days of any trip abroad are a fog for me. I hope you get past it quickly. And what a poignant reason for a trip. I hope you have some wonderful, meaningful reminiscences as you help your father say goodbye to this house.
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So far it has been really good to hang out and productive, too. I am so happy I can spend this time with him.
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