Several years ago, Sam joined a coaching group that guided him on how to manage a small law firm. Every few months, he would attend events around the country that allowed him to learn more and connect with other attorneys building their own law firms. When he learned that the conferences offered youth programming, he decided he would take Banner with him. So when there was a conference in Orlando, Banner got to take a trip with Sam to learn how to build a business, sell a product, and make money through the economic classes the coaching group had for kids. During that trip, Banner got to go to a few fun places with Sam - WonderWorks and Universal. On another trip, Sam took Quinn to Phoenix, and they visited the Grand Canyon and had a fun time visiting Sam's cousins while on that trip. Knox hasn't gotten to go on a trip just yet, and I haven't gotten to go anywhere solo with anyone. About 7 months ago, Sam and I were talking about remedying this. It got us thinking that perhaps I should get to take the boys on a solo trip as well.
It was then that we decided the summer after their freshman year, the annual "Camp Mommy" week I spend with each boy would be a destination week. We brought this up to Banner, as he was already in the middle of his freshman year, and he loved the idea. But, neither of us had a destination in mind - or at least one we could agree on. Banner wanted to go to Hawaii and experience the same trip I had already been on; some suggestions were places we wanted the whole family to go; some places I'd suggest Banner had no interest in. SO, Sam reminded me of a company a friend of his had used to plan a surprise destination trip. Banner and I loved this idea. I looked into the company, Journee, and on their website, they ask a whole bunch of questions to create a proposal (24-hours after submitting your questionnaire) that will outline various activities/excursions that fit your needs and wants. I showed the proposal to Banner, and he was very interested. However, he wanted to do the proposal questionnaire together, so we got a second proposal 24-hours after my first one.
The questions included likes and dislikes about various activities (hiking, history, cooking, concerts, outdoors, for example), selecting "no go" places where you can list countries you do not want to go to, checking off any phobias or fears or medical concerns (like claustrophobia, fears of dogs, seasickness, or can't swim), and any activity that was a "no" for sure (such as skydiving, surfing, boat trips, etc). When Banner and I filled out the questionnaire, we decided we had to agree on our responses so that we were doing things that we both enjoyed and not doing something that only one of us enjoyed. We also were able to check that the destination had to be safe for a female traveling alone (although Banner wanted to tell me that he would protect me, he is still a minor) and safe for Jewish people (to which one friend sadly joked that this would mean we can't even leave our own house). But, we knew we didn't want to be in the Middle East, and Journee assures its clients it would never send travelers to a war-torn or conflict-ridden area (so we knew we weren't going to Ukraine or Iran or North Korea for example). Finally, Journee will not send you to your passport country of origin, so we knew we would be traveling outside the US. We were able to select that English must be widely spoken; we were able to select any dietary restrictions; we were even able to select "bucket list" countries. Journee asks you a proposed budget per person (to which you can make payments toward whenever you want after booking), and they ask you the dates you can travel.
With two proposals, we were able to select the one we liked better. The proposals ONLY included activities (very vaguely described) and not the destination/location. Although one of our proposals was a "bucket list" country (which would have been to either Greece, Ireland, or Italy), Banner really liked the activities of the "non-bucket list" destination. So we picked that one! We knew we would be visiting a castle, knew we'd do a cooking class, knew we'd attend some kind of concert, and knew we'd see historical sites. Other than that, we knew nothing but the dates and the cost! No flights, no airlines, no hotels - nada! And honestly, it was so liberating. So many of my friends/family have said they'd never be able to NOT know, but it was quite freeing not being the one to make all the plans. I was not anxious one bit, and I loved that part of it. Quite honestly, the anxiety I feel about traveling some times is the planning part - the not knowing if I chose the right venues, the right hotels, the right activities to do. Not knowing how to get from here to there, having to figure out every last detail - it gets annoying! This was such a treat to be surprised and along for the ride WITH Banner.
For 6 months, we would get monthly hints (none of which Banner wanted to read or hear about, as he didn't want ANY possibility of figuring out where we were going), but the hints were so very vague and not helpful at all. Only ONE hint made me have an idea of where we would be going. It said, "A famous film was shot in your destination. Despite being popular in most countries, it received terrible reviews from the locals!" The only country that came to mind was Austria, but the other clues didn't necessarily make me think of Austria, so I had no idea if I was on the right track or not.
Two weeks before our trip, Journee sends a package as well as opens up various links on their app for the travelers. We were able to start seeing the weather updates for the destination, and we were able to view a very meager packing list. Because checking luggage was outrageously overpriced, we decided we would carry all of our luggage on the plane. This was the part that made me a little anxious, but I saw it as an opportunity to travel light and be creative about how and what we packed. The day before we left, Banner and I packed our bags, trying to consolidate and get everything to fit into one backpack each and one small carry on each. (Looking back, I still think I could have taken LESS than I packed, but I'm glad it all worked out.) As we were packing, I asked Sam to go ahead and open the reveal envelope without disclosing any of the information to us. He was able to see where we were going, our flight numbers and airline, and make sure he felt comfortable with the itinerary. He was able to make sure our flights were on time and without any other changes which made us feel less stressed.
On June 2nd, we woke up quite early, giving a quiet kiss on the head to Quinn and Knox who were still sleeping, and headed to DFW for our 9:45am flight. Immediately outside Terminal E, Sam recorded Banner and I opening the reveal envelope. That was when I was really excitedly nervous. Banner and I had talked days before to be prepared for a disappointment if we got sent so a place we'd never heard of or if we had no interest in going to where they were sending us. We also talked about the possible let down we'd feel just knowing that it's NOT this place or that place; of all the places you could go, you only get to go to the place(s) they send, which means there is an inevitable loss of the places they didn't send you. (It's kind of like when you find out you're having a baby - once they tell you the gender you ARE having, that's very exciting, but there might be a feeling of loss for what you AREN'T having.) But, lo and behold, we opened that envelope and felt NO sense of loss. I was SHOCKED that we were going to TWO places! Not just Germany but Austria also! I didn't realize that was a possibility - switching hotels and going to two locations? That wasn't really on my radar.
I immediately hoped we were going to a concentration camp. While that sounds morbid and depressing and totally weird, as a Jew, it's been a bucket list experience I wanted to participate in. Knowing I'll probably never plan a trip JUST to go to a concentration camp, I was hoping if we were near one, we could make it happen. Knowing Sam knew our itinerary already, I asked, "Do you think we'll be able to go to a concentration camp?" and he said, "Do you really want me to tell you?" I said, "Yes, do you know?" He said, "Yes, you are going to Dachau." It honestly made me so excitedly calm - a weird way to express that I was excited to know and found resolve in knowing I wouldn't have to find a way to make that happen in addition to our already-planned activities.
Banner and I grabbed a bite to eat before our flight to Chicago once we made it through security. We were eager to sit down at the gate and open up all the goodies Journee had provided - a travel booklet for both Salzburg and Munich and an itinerary with day-by-day plans. We couldn't wait to get the long travel day past us so we could hop into the fun! The Chicago flight seemed fast, and once in Chicago we started researching exchange rates and how we would pay for things. Without much time to research before that day, we weren't sure the best ways to get money - exchange in the US, exchange in Germany, or don't exchange at all? We learned it was way cheaper to exchange once in Germany and not to take out too much cash since everywhere takes a credit card. With Sam's help, we also figured out how to have cell phone usage in Europe. After a 3-hour layover, it was time to get on the Lufthansa plane to Munich (which was a bit of a cluster the way they boarded the plane, but not worth mentioning more than just that).
I sat in the middle seat between Banner and a foul-breathed man who only spoke German. It wasn't pleasant, especially because once he fell asleep, he was a mouth breather! Ick! Anyway, there is something to be said about a Jewish mom and her teenage son sitting on an airplane and hearing the flight attendants and pilot speak German. Generational PTSD is real, and I was not prepared for hearing German right away. A small shock having just learned a couple hours ago that I'd be going to Germnay - something I hadn't prepared for really. I don't know how else to describe that. It was odd at first. But we got very used to it, and it became no big deal.
The flight was great, nothing to note - just long... 8.5 hours. I watched lots of movies (Marty Supreme, The Fabelmans, and Bob Marley: One Love). Banner watched one movie and slept a good chunk of the time. The food wasn't great on the plane, but we managed to eat a little something. Going through customs upon arrival was easy, but again, the generational PTSD going to a German customs officer who doesn't smile and asks direct, pointed questions was a bit anxiety-provoking: Is this your son? Why are you traveling here? How long will you be here? What are your plans? Where else are you traveling? Those were slightly hard to answer having just seen our itinerary only earlier that day. My answers were probably a little tentative and sounded weird: "Um, I think we're in Germany for three nights and ... (looks questioningly at Banner) Austria for three nights?" Luckily, that was a quick interrogation, and then we were on our way to the S-bahn subway...
and that's where our trip got a little hectic. Journee told us how to get to the subway and which train to take and approximately how long the ride would be. But, we didn't know how to navigate the ticketing system (and only later really learned it's on an honor code really, but you can still get fined if you don't have a ticket). After trying to navigate the computer system, we gave up and went to Information and bought a ticket back upstairs. There was some anxiety before getting the ticket - just trying to figure out where to go and who to talk to. Banner was like, "Mom, we're fucked." I was like, "B, calm down. Just give me a minute to figure it out. By the end of our trip, we will be pros at this, but it's all new and foreign to me, so just hang on a sec." He was getting pretty antsy and irritated, but we did finally figure it out, and we were pros by the end! This right here is one of THE main reasons to travel - to get outside your comfort zone and know you are capable and that everything is "figureoutable." The amount of confidence and learning I saw in Banner during this trip was astounding!
A 45-minute subway ride later, we were at the train station in Munich, and our hotel (King's Hotel First) was just a 4-minute walk from there - thank God, because those carry on bags were getting heavy (because we didn't take the rolling attachment for fear the bags would weigh too much). The hotel was small but totally comfortable and quaint. It had everything we needed, and the shower was amazing after all the traveling! That first afternoon (which was the next day for Germany but still midnight for our Texas bodies) was free for us to explore without any premade plans by Journee. So, we made our way to the BMW Welt and then tried to get to the BMW Museum - but it was pouring and the line was forever long, so we only stayed at the Welt for a while. We also had planned to go to the Olympic Park nearby, but because of the rain, we decided to try again another time. So, after the Welt, we got an Uber back to our Hotel and waited out some rain. Then, that evening we explored the Marienplatz area - New Town Hall, shopping, and finding a little outdoor cafe to eat some dinner (Wildmosers). We FaceTimed Quinn and Knox after they'd finished camp; they were eating lunch, and we were eating dinner. Banner and I ordered chicken schnitzel that first night. It was pretty yummy! But it was also then that Banner and I decided this trip was NOT about food for us. Some places, you go to for the food. Not so much Germany for us. I don't do well with pork options, and Germany is known for its heavy pork dishes, so we ate to sustain ourselves and not to really try the food.
The next morning, Thursday, June 4: we got up early and ate breakfast at the hotel. Then we headed to our first pre-planned activity - meeting our tour group for a full day at/near the Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle was the inspiration for Disney castles, and it's one that Banner was really excited to see. The whole area surrounding the castle is pretty neat. Our tour guide was an American-turned-German named Michael. He was unintentionally hilarious and quite a character. He is now a professor at the University of Munich, teaching English and American culture. He knew a lot, though, about King Ludwig II and his tragically strange lifestyle. The more we learned about King Ludwig II, the more we thought this was a sad story of a lonely, isolated man who was truly powerless and pretty pissed off that he really didn't have any power - other than to build this beautiful dream world where he isolated himself in such a loser-ish way. It's absolutely stunning, but his story is so miserably weird. Anyway, we walked up to Alpsee and hiked up a little bit around the area bordering Hohenschwangau Castle very closeby. Then, we took a quick shuttle up to Mary's Bridge (Marienbrücke) to get a gorgeous view of Neuschwanstein Castle before our tour guide met our tour group for the inside tour of the castle. Banner and I stopped for a quick pretzel before that - the first of many pretzels Banner would eat while away. Once inside the castle, a very nasal docent (I can still hear the very pinched way he said "Neuschwanstein" over and over again) showed us around, telling us stories of the imaginative, reclusive monarch who had very little freedom of action. Looking back, we didn't do a ton of stuff on this day, but it was a very full day exploring and hearing a lot about the history of Bavaria from Michael as our bus traveled through the countryside. This day was both Banner and my favorite day of our trip. The views were absolutely stunning!
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| Alpsee behind us |
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| Neuschwanstein Castle |
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| View of Mary's Bridge from the Castle |
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| Hohenschwangau Castle in the background (right) taken from Neuschwanstein Castle |
Because we are creatures of habit and not adventurous eaters, Banner and I ate at Wildmosers again the second night in Munich, although we each ordered something different. I got a salad, and while I can't remember the meal Banner ate, I do know this was the one night I allowed him to order a beer. German drinking laws allow 14-15 year-old kids to consume alcohol in public with a parent present. Because this was a special trip and one he'd likely remember forever, I did the "cool" thing and allowed it. I was hoping he would hate it, but my plan backfired, and the kid drank every last drop, knowing full well that this behavior would not be condoned when back in the States.
The following day, June 5: we ate breakfast once again at the hotel. Then, we headed back to the same touring company, Radius Tours, from the day before - this time with our tour guide named Achim, a Ph.D. and author who had more knowledge about the Holocaust and Third Reich than anyone I've ever met. (Funny side story: when we checked in at Radius, another tour was about to begin, so when that tour guide made the announcement for the tour called "The Third Reich Tour," she came into the lobby to make sure she didn't miss any of her tour group saying, "Anyone here for the Third Reich? Third Reich, anyone?" Banner and I thought maybe she should add the word "Tour" to that question!) Anyway, today, our tour would be to Dachau Concentration Camp. We followed Achim to the train station for a short ride to Dachau. We got to hear quite a history about the city of Dachau and the current stigma and reputation the city continues to try to overcome.
Then, we took a quick bus ride to the memorial. It was surreal being there. I honestly thought I'd be more emotional, but I think there was a part of me that was feeling like I couldn't believe I was really there. This was the first concentration camp, the one that all other camps would later be modeled after. Taking all of that in was overwhelming, but not in an emotional way, which surprised me. The stories Achim told us - of torture, of cruelty, of abuse, and of inhumane ideas the Nazis had to torment every little detail of prisoners' day to day existence- were ones I had never heard before, and that's saying a lot because I don't know anyone who has watched or read more Holocaust documentaries, memoirs, and histories than I have. I wanted to listen to Achim tell us what he knew all day. It was a hard day, and it was tiring and long standing to hear it all, but it was so deep and rich with information. I felt like I was hanging on every word he said. He told us about the history of the prisoners' uniforms - how they were modeled after military garb - with buttons and pockets that had to be kept in pristine condition; how you could be killed if a button was missing; how the pockets were not to actually be used, that prisoners could be shot for putting their hands in the pockets. He told us about how the chances for survival diminished the farther back your barrack was from the Appellplatz (roll call area) because they were the last ones to get food and had to carry their deceased barrack-mates the farthest for roll call, putting the whole barrack at risk. He told us the underlying meaning of the "Smoking Forbidden" sign in the showers area - that of course they couldn't smoke, they had no cigarettes; yet, the Nazis could smoke. It was a way to dictate who was in charge and that rules will be followed. We learned about the grueling tasks that the workers had to do every day - rolling the gravel in the Appellplatz, digging holes and then filling them again, just stupid, meaningless shit the Nazis would make these people do all day. We learned about the crematorium and how being a worker there was a death sentence, because they couldn't risk that the prisoners would find out about what was really going on. We learned about how sabotaging the rules were - to keep the barracks spotless and clean, when there was no possible way to do that. We learned how ridiculous it was to have lockers in the barracks, because the prisoners had nothing to lock up (although they did have a space for their soup bowl which they also had to keep clean, yet there was no way to really do that either). We also learned about how much the citizens of Dachau knew, regardless of how much they claimed to not know what was going on. Prisoners used to be marched through the streets, as a warning to others of what could happen to them if they didn't fall in line. They absolutely knew about the camps. Furthermore, prisoners were marched to do jobs (bakers, butchers) that were needed in Dachau, so people who came to Dachau seeking work were greatly disappointed that they couldn't get jobs because prisoners were doing the work for free. Germany benefited from this work, but the citizens really didn't. Hitler had driven Germany deeper into economic uncertainty. even if the German people thought he was helping. He was also very well known for changing facts; it's where the term "alternative facts" came from. The details of how Hitler brought about such a nasty political party and drove Germany into the depths of war were quite scary. So much so, that a woman behind me at one point turned to her husband and said, "Sounds familiar." I couldn't help but look at her and say, "Totally agree." I then apologized for eavesdropping, but she said "Not a problem at all. This is just really scary." The knowing, understanding look we gave each other was both comforting and sad.
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| Early barracks had dividers |
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| Later, dividers were removed to allow more prisoners to cram into a space |
After we returned to the hotel, we rested for a short bit before venturing back out for lunch (at a local cafe I'd been wanting to try that turned out to be not so great) and figuring out the best way to go to the Englischer Garten, which seemed to me to be the Central Park of Munich. We were able to spend a little bit of time just strolling around, taking a moment to take a couple photos of the Chinesischer Turm. Pretty soon, though, we were exhausted and decided to go back to our hotel and turn in early for the night. I was getting pretty hungry, though, but as it got later and later, more marts and quick bites near us were closing. The only thing I could find to just run and get something quick was at the convenience store inside the train station, 4 minutes away. Banner didn't want to come, so this was the first of two times when we separated. Two days before this, Banner would have been really nervous about me leaving him - worried for me and for himself. But, having seen that we were pretty good at navigating and being safe, and knowing it was still daylight at 8:00pm, he was good with me going alone. All went well, and I was able to bring back some snacks and for us for the evening. The rest of the night was spent channel-surfing (trying to hear something on TV that sounded remotely familiar, landing on CNN and BBC - the only two English channels) and packing up our stuff for our departure the next day.
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| Being silly on the bus to English Garden |
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| We saw a real live "krankenwagen" - a favorite word of my boys at home! |
Saturday, June 6th: We bid farewell to our Munich hotel and decided to have breakfast across the street at California Bean. Banner ordered the California Crispy Chicken, but he called it breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one dish (a pancake sandwich basically), and I had French toast. Then we headed to the train station a few minutes away for our Salzburg departure. The train ride was about an hour and 45 minutes. The entry to Austria was easy - no customs- but finding a ride to our hotel (Leondardo Boutique Hotel) was not. We tried to catch the bus, as our Google Maps were telling us. But the bus driver obviously didn't want to deal with us not knowing how to buy our ticket quickly, and she immediately said, "No English. No Deutsch." It had me wondering what language she did speak. But anyway, we quickly decided to get an Uber to the hotel, and that worked well. Our driver was very nice and made friendly conversation. We asked where he was from originally, knowing he was not European. He told us he was born in Jerusalem, then quickly said "Palestinian." The look Banner gave me quickly signaled, "Mom, do not tell him we're Jewish." The man told us how much Banner looked like his grandson, David. He was a very nice man and got us right to the door of our hotel. After he left, Banner half-joked, "Mom, when he said he was Palestinian, I thought we were going to die." Oy, this boy of mine.
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| Breakfast at California Bean |
Our hotel in Salzburg was quite nice. We got settled and then decided to go explore the area nearby, just a quick walk over the Salzach River. Salsburg was much cleaner than Munich, and the Old City (Altstadt) we mosied through was really charming. We decided to make our way to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, taking the FestungsBahn (funicular) to quickly get to the top. The view was amazing. So much to take in and see beneath and around us! We learned a lot about Salzburg from the Fortress - including that Salzburg literally means Salt Fortress or Salt Castle. After buying Banner another pretzel on the way back, we headed toward our hotel. There was a delicious-smelling Italian restaurant, L'Osteria, immediately next to our hotel. We decided to try it, and the food was... the best Italian food I've ever eaten. We shared a quattro formagi pizza and spaghetti bolognese. It was so yummy that Banner decided we would eat there the next 2 nights as well!
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| The view from Salzburg Fortress - looking over the city |
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| At the very top of the Fortress |
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| Inside Le Theatre De Marionette, which is inside the Fortress |
Sunday, June 7: We finally got a morning to sleep in and take it easy. We ate a light, late breakfast at our hotel then walked along the river to our 11:30 cooking class at Edelweiss Cooking School. This was the first time we met anyone else who had used Journee to book their trip. Karen was an older woman from Canada traveling solo. She was a hoot and so nice. We got to compare our trips and talk about how well Journee had done planning our trips for us. The cooking school was really cool, too. It was basically built within a rock - very hard to explain - but it was quaint and cute and well-managed. I'd say there were about 20 people in our class, and it was neat to meet people from all over the world. We worked with Karen at our table to make an original Austrian apple strudel. She was so sweet to Banner and cheered him on as he rolled our strudel after we tried our best to follow our instructor's directions. To my surprise, we were also making another sweet treat, a famous Salzburg dessert called Salzburger Nockerl. It's an airy soufflé that I actually liked much more than the strudel. While we waited for everything to finish baking, we were treated to a delicious goulash soup for lunch. I sat next to a German woman and her husband who were finishing a 2-week vacation. She was a teacher and was dreading driving the 4-hours back to her home after the class when her vacation time would end; she didn't want to go home and write lesson plans, with which I completely empathized. As educators, we compared the education systems in the US and in Germany. Another woman was on a work trip from Amsterdam. We learned she would be on our Sound of Music tour immediately after the cooking class, so when the class ended, we walked with her to Mirabellplatz to meet our tour bus.
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| Walking through the Old City (Altstadt) to get to our cooking class |
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| Edelweiss Cooking School is tucked into to this rocky cliff |
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| Our strudel before baking |
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| Starting to work on the meringue for the Nockerl |
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| Our unbaked Nockerl; it's only supposed to have 3 peaks to represent the 3 big mountains in Salzburg, but we had 5 because Banner, Karen, and I baked with the German couple and each person made their own peak. |
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| Salzburger Nockerl - delicous! |
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| Our baked apple strudel |
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| Walking across the Salzach River |
Banner wasn't thrilled about the Sound of Music tour, but I assured him it would be a great way to see Salzburg and hear more about it from a tour guide, even if he wasn't a fan of the movie. This was a tour I had planned once I saw we had some time between the cooking class and our evening activity. It worked perfectly within that time frame, and we were able to see all around Salzburg, including going up into the hills (yes, they were alive with the sound of music..ha!) and walking through Mondsee, which (to me) looked like it could have been a Disney Main Street. It was clean, cute, and just beautiful. We were able to go in to Basilika St. Michael, the church where Maria and Captain von Trapp were married, and spend some time just looking around the area. My favorites of this Panorama tour (other than Mondsee) were the famous gazebo and Mirabell Gardens around Mirabell Palace. Stunning! Our tour guide, Bridgette (who encouraged us to call her Brigitta), was very nice and definitely knew every detail and behind-the-scenes story of The Sound of Music. Our driver was also nice. I can't remember his name, but when he asked me where I was from and I said "Texas," he said, "Where's your horse?!" (I told him I wish I had one!)
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| The pond where Maria and the kids fall out of the boat. |
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| Front of the von Trapp family home |
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| The real Trapp family |
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| The Abbey |
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| Mondsee |
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| The church where Maria and Georg get married |
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| Banner about to take my photo but selfie-ing instead |
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| Mirabell Gardens - Do Re Mi |
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| This guy makes an appearance in the movie, too |
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| Mirabell Gardens - where the kids run through during Do Re Mi |
After the 4 hour tour, we headed back to our hotel and changed clothes for the evening. Then, we ate dinner, again at L'Osteria, before we made our short walk back to Mirabell Palace. Journee had secured tickets for us to a concert celebrating Mozart. Mozart was born, raised, and celebrated in Salzburg. Internationally-renowned soloists perform his most beloved works in the Marble Hall, where the Mozart family used to play for the archbishops of Salzburg. The Hall itself is gorgeous. This was another favorite for both Banner and me- just the opportunity to sit where Mozart once sat, playing his music, it was really magical! While I'm not a Mozart fan, I did recognize some of the pieces played, and I was quite entertained watching the soloists feel their music- as well as a few of the audience members who seemed to be former conductors.
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| At the Mozart concert |
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| Marble Hall in Mirabell Palace |
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| View from outside the church |
When we arrived back in Salzburg, I wanted to go check out the Mozart museum which was on our way back to the hotel. This was one of two museums nearby. This one was Mozart's Residence, where he lived later in life. It was a quick walk through it, and then Banner was ready to go back to the hotel. I, however, wanted to see the other museum, Mozart's Birthplace, which was on the other side of the river. This was the second time when I went somewhere on my own, while Banner hung out at the hotel. After one last dinner at L'Osteria, it was time to go pack up, recharge, and prepare for the long travel day ahead of us.
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| Model of the Mozart Residence; we took this photo standing in the room above the "no sitting" sign |
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| Outside Mozart's Residence |
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Our Caesar Salad pizza at L'Osteria was delicious! Kira sent this to me - it's a screenshot from our FaceTime with her |
Tuesday, June 9: Banner's 15th Birthday! This day began with waking Banner with balloons in bed - a birthday tradition in our house. Then, we packed up everything and had one last breakfast at the hotel. We figured out how to use the bus by now, so we hopped on the bus for the 10-minute ride to the train station in Salzburg. About an hour into our train ride back to Munich, the front of our traincar doors opened, and there was a man's voice shouting in German and then "German Police! Have your passports ready!" Again with the generational PTSD... all I could think of was, where is my yellow star? I knew I was being silly, but there is something real about immediately being transported mentally into the mindspace of "What if this were 1939 and I couldn't hide?" But I knew we were safe, and when the policeman came to us, he asked how long we had been in Europe. When I said, "A week." He said, "Not long enough." I said, "I agree!" and then we both smiled and he went on to the next passenger.
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| Last sleep as a 14-year-old and last sleep of our trip |
About 45 minutes later, we were back at the Munich train station where we went downstairs to the subway to get back to the airport. It was cool to watch Banner know exactly where to go and what to do at this point in our trip. In fact, we got on the subway and Banner realized that this particular train would split in a few stops. He was the one who knew we had to get off that car and go farther back before the train split. So, we gathered our heavy luggage and quickly bounced from one part of the train to another car on the same train which later kept us, both literally and figuratively, on the right track. As we got closer to the airport, Banner was certain we needed to exit. I wasn't so sure, but I took his lead. Once we exited, he quickly realized I was right that we had about 2 more stops. But, he learned it's okay to make a mistake and correct it and that "everything is figureoutable." Finally at the airport, we had about an hour before we could actually check in. I started working on Banner's "I Believe" which we would read once we were back with Sam, Quinn, and Knox. That helped the hour go very quickly! Then it was time to go through customs and security - just a lot of winding though mostly empty queues and around a gazillion stanchions! Then, more waiting for the flight - about another hour and a half or so before boarding.
Luckily, this flight, while still seated in the middle, I was next to a woman who didn't smell like the man on our last Lufthansa flight! About 30 minutes in to that flight, two flight attendants came down the aisle singing "Happy Birthday" to Banner and bringing him a tray full of goodies (a plane plushie, a cuppie full of gummy snacks, a chocolate treat, a flickering tealight, and 2 cups of white wine!). I honestly don't think the flight attendants had looked at Banner's age before serving him - they just knew it was a birthday! Oops! I did try a sip of the wine, but when I didn't really like it, Banner asked if he could have it, and so, Mother of the Year here - I let him drink both cups. I mean, we were technically still in Germany, so technically still legal! Ha!
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| Happy Birthday from Lufthansa Airlines! |
On this flight, I watched more movies (Mosaics of Modern Motherhood, Saving Private Ryan, Hamnet) and fast-forwarded through Sound of Music to see where we had been! The dinner was better on this flight, BBQ chicken, but the breakfast was awful. After 8.5 hours, we were landing back at O'Hare. It took a little while to taxi to the gate and deplane which was making us very nervous. We only had an hour and 20 minutes before our flight to DFW. As we followed the signs to customs, the hallway seemed endless. Finally, we joined the line that looked forever long. Banner and I were certain we would miss our flight. As we stood there waiting for any movement of the line, we were trying to figure out the fastest way to our departure gate to make our connecting flight on time. We were in terminal 5. We needed to be in terminal 1. We would have to take a shuttle which would take at least 20 minutes once we got on the shuttle. Banner was convinced, "Mom, we're fucked." I assured him we have two close friends in Chicago we could call if we had to stay overnight. After all the sitting and waiting, we were now needing to rush with such a short layover. I will say, the facial recognition system for US citizens helped those lines go faster, but there just weren't enough open lanes. We hauled ass once through customs and caught a shuttle. We'd been traveling for about 20 hours straight, and here we were on our 5th mode of transportation of the day (bus, train, subway, plane, shuttle) just eager to make that flight and get home safely.
When we arrived at Terminal 1, shoulders hurting from carrying our luggage and backpacks for so long now, the security line was a winding mess. We were hot and sweating and tired. The disorganization of that line and the personnel running that show only caused more angst for us. But, we made it to the gate with 10 minutes to spare! Of course, our seats were literally in the last row of this United plane. That flight seemed quick compared to everything else, and before we knew it, we were landing in Dallas and Sam was waiting to pick us up around 10:30pm local time (but to us, it was 5:30am). By the time we drove back to Plano, stopped for a quick Taco Bell bite, and greeted Quinn, Knox, and Tova, it was 11:15ish. The boys wanted to stay up for us, hear a little about our trip, and wish Banner a happy birthday. That gave us a little adrenaline boost but also made settling down to get to sleep a little harder after a full 24-hours of traveling. While I was very glad to be home, I knew I'd miss that special time with Banner. I went up to his room that night and wished him a happy birthday one last time that day. We hugged, and I thanked him for taking this trip for me, for spending so much time away from his friends and other fun things, and for all the memories we made together. I told him I'd remember this trip the rest of my life and how much I loved him. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I know he thanked me too and told me he loved me. It was a nice, long hug.
***
It's been 3 weeks since Banner and I got home from Europe. I wanted to document everything I could before all the details slip away. But, I also know that these memories will stay with me forever, and I sure hope Banner feels the same way. More than any place we could go, I was looking forward to having my boy all to myself. I always like our Camp Mommy times, but this experience was truly a once-in-a-lifetime. As my boys get older and time with them becomes harder to carve out, these unique experiences are so special. People have asked me if Sam is jealous that I got this time. That's a question for him. But I will tell you, one of Sam's texts to me says: "I wish I was there with y’all, but an experience like that for just the two of you with whatever role I’m playing to make it happen is far from missing out…" There were a couple times Sam's texted after I sent him photos when he'd tell me how happy he was that we were there or how seeing Banner and me together in such a special way gave him "all the feels." I'm grateful to Sam for holding down the fort at home, for thinking of this creative way to get to spend time with Banner, for supporting it in all ways, and for "letting" me have this experience with Banner (and also encouraging it to also happen with Quinn and Knox in their own time). If those trips are anything like this one, I can't wait!
I'd take this trip again in a heartbeat, and I'd spend time with Banner like this again every day if he'd let me! He's a good traveler. (He "kidded" too many times - so many that we missed our suggested bus stop on the way to the English Garden because I was busy texting Sam, and Banner said "Oh, look, Mom, it's our stop," but I ignored him because he had been teasing me every day before then with similar pranks. He will probably get a bladder infection one day because he doesn't like to use public bathrooms, and I learned just how strong his bladder is when he wouldn't even try to pee between Dallas and Munich!) He's a considerate traveler. He was anxious in a good way - aware of his surroundings and knowing when to let go of that anxiety and when to step it up. He was easy to talk to, caring, and helpful. He can test me and try me at home, but in this space together, he was fun, relaxed, and sweet. We both needed that time with each other, and I will forever be grateful for it!
