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Dienstag, 22. August 2017
Baby's First Vacation
durhamfamily, 16:03h
This month we took our first family trip. Max, who has so far barely been outside of the apartment, can now say that he’s been to Frankfurt. And that he has ridden the Deutsche Bahn (train). Unfortunately we never actually ventured into the city itself. This trip was strictly business, filled with government buildings, security guards, and metal detectors. But life can’t always be a party.
Elizabeth and Max and I left on a Sunday, and from the get-go we had delays. Delays are always expected. Trains here are notoriously problematic (Cue an American saying “But I thought German trains were known for their reliability,” followed by laughter from any and every nearby German.), which is why Elizabeth built an entire extra day into the schedule as a buffer. Anyhoo, we missed our connection, so Deutsche Bahn shifted us onto another train—without our seat reservations. For new seat reservations, we needed to go to the other, alarmingly overcrowded, helpdesk. Well, 40 minutes later, we were no closer to receiving help, but it was time to catch our new train, so we had no choice but to risk it without reservations. Which is usually fine.
No. With a baby and no seat reservations is decidedly not fine. The three of us sat on the floor blocking the toilets and busy exits, all while Max was losing his mind.
By the time we arrived at the hotel (the replacement hotel, because our AirBnB had bailed), it was later than scheduled, but it was still early enough to find a nice restaurant for dinner…as if that were going to happen. Instead, we enveloped ourselves in the privacy and comfort of the hotel room. We ordered room service and bought sodas from a machine, where Elizabeth got an apple juice soda (Whatever you are imagining, this tastes better than that.) and I tried the new Coke Zero Sugar. I prefer Coke Life. Max likes milk.
The next day started well enough, with a “free” breakfast buffet at the hotel. Plenty of decent food to choose from. Breakfast would’ve been better, though, had we sat in the right place. After 15 minutes of being eyeballed by the wait staff, a waitress finally approached us and said simply, “You’re not allowed to sit there,” as if we were insolent teenagers trying to make her life harder. I didn’t care. Just as long as she stopped withholding my coffee.
It was finally time for the US Embassy. (Or, we guessed it was time. Since we didn’t have our cellphones—which are strictly forbidden at the US Embassy—we actually had no idea if it was time to leave or not. Turns out, it was not. But leave we did.) Oddly enough, the US Embassy was the best part of our Frankfurt trip. Elizabeth had prepared more than the required documents. The staff processed us quickly and courteously. People with infants are rocketed to the front of any line. It was great. Max should expect his US passport in 2 to 3 weeks.
Just like on Sunday, Deutsche Bahn tried to suck out all of our joy, this time by kicking us out of our reserved seats on both trains due to faulty air-conditioning. (Unrelated but worth mentioning: at the train station where I ordered myself coffee with a small amount of milk, I once again received a giant cup of hot milk, because Europe is an evil, evil place.) Boy was I smelly by the end of our trip. At least we weren’t sitting on the floor. And praise all of the gods that Max enjoys watching scenery buzz past the train windows.
Aside from that Frankfurt trip, days all tend to smear together in a delirious fog. With not enough sleep, and with very few breaks for Mama. But we are surviving. Game of Thrones helps. So does The Defenders. The US news does not.
Elizabeth and Max and I left on a Sunday, and from the get-go we had delays. Delays are always expected. Trains here are notoriously problematic (Cue an American saying “But I thought German trains were known for their reliability,” followed by laughter from any and every nearby German.), which is why Elizabeth built an entire extra day into the schedule as a buffer. Anyhoo, we missed our connection, so Deutsche Bahn shifted us onto another train—without our seat reservations. For new seat reservations, we needed to go to the other, alarmingly overcrowded, helpdesk. Well, 40 minutes later, we were no closer to receiving help, but it was time to catch our new train, so we had no choice but to risk it without reservations. Which is usually fine.
No. With a baby and no seat reservations is decidedly not fine. The three of us sat on the floor blocking the toilets and busy exits, all while Max was losing his mind.
By the time we arrived at the hotel (the replacement hotel, because our AirBnB had bailed), it was later than scheduled, but it was still early enough to find a nice restaurant for dinner…as if that were going to happen. Instead, we enveloped ourselves in the privacy and comfort of the hotel room. We ordered room service and bought sodas from a machine, where Elizabeth got an apple juice soda (Whatever you are imagining, this tastes better than that.) and I tried the new Coke Zero Sugar. I prefer Coke Life. Max likes milk.
The next day started well enough, with a “free” breakfast buffet at the hotel. Plenty of decent food to choose from. Breakfast would’ve been better, though, had we sat in the right place. After 15 minutes of being eyeballed by the wait staff, a waitress finally approached us and said simply, “You’re not allowed to sit there,” as if we were insolent teenagers trying to make her life harder. I didn’t care. Just as long as she stopped withholding my coffee.
It was finally time for the US Embassy. (Or, we guessed it was time. Since we didn’t have our cellphones—which are strictly forbidden at the US Embassy—we actually had no idea if it was time to leave or not. Turns out, it was not. But leave we did.) Oddly enough, the US Embassy was the best part of our Frankfurt trip. Elizabeth had prepared more than the required documents. The staff processed us quickly and courteously. People with infants are rocketed to the front of any line. It was great. Max should expect his US passport in 2 to 3 weeks.
Just like on Sunday, Deutsche Bahn tried to suck out all of our joy, this time by kicking us out of our reserved seats on both trains due to faulty air-conditioning. (Unrelated but worth mentioning: at the train station where I ordered myself coffee with a small amount of milk, I once again received a giant cup of hot milk, because Europe is an evil, evil place.) Boy was I smelly by the end of our trip. At least we weren’t sitting on the floor. And praise all of the gods that Max enjoys watching scenery buzz past the train windows.
Aside from that Frankfurt trip, days all tend to smear together in a delirious fog. With not enough sleep, and with very few breaks for Mama. But we are surviving. Game of Thrones helps. So does The Defenders. The US news does not.
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