Sharing the journey of becoming an expat and the growth that comes with it.
Two years since our previous family ski trip, we took some friends’ recommendation and booked a trip to Zermatt, Switzerland. For months it has been building in our minds as a big bucket-list trip. Just before we left I was a little concerned I’d made it too big of a deal in my mind and it wouldn’t live up to it.
fries) combined with a smaller city vibe than larger northern cities, loads of good restaurants, and excellent shopping. I really think it is the best place to land! Here’s a few things to know if you plan to move here.
With the Netherlands shut down for Covid concerns, we decided to take a “safe” getaway with the boys. This was actually one of our fairly last-minute Christmas presents to them. We booked our stay for just after the New Year, picking this castle spot because: 1) I wanted to stay in a castle, 2) It was in Belgium, thus tours and restaurants not shut down, 3) It showed a large garden and forest area that I knew the boys would enjoy running around, and 4) Did I mention it was a castle??
I’ve been saving up this post because I thought, for sure, we’d visit dozens of markets and I wanted to review them all. The universe, Covid, and some European governments had other plans. Instead of dozens, we made it to four: Aachen (Germany), Brugges (Belgium), Maastricht (Netherlands), and funny enough, Valencia (Spain) where we stumbled upon one on accident. While they are all different, there are some staples that make a Christmas market a Christmas market: gluhwein and hot chocolate, chocolates and cheeses for sale, usually some sausages, small gift vendors, and usually some festive lights. Read on to see where we went and what we liked about each one!
We were supposed to go see American friends in Hamburg, but the German restrictions on unvaccinated travelers staying multiple days from the Netherlands (i.e. our children) made that impossible. While I was in the throes of a severe pity party, Josh reached out to some good friends of ours, Boo and Mikella Walker. Due to Covid restrictions and an ailing/aging senior dog, Boo, Mikella, and their son Riggs were not traveling as planned to Austria over the holiday and they welcomed us to come for a visit. Within minutes, they’d sent Airbnb links to places near their home, ideas for family activities we could do together, and started making dinner reservations, all with the promise of good wine and fun times catching up. I dried my eyes and we bought tickets.
We are soon approaching our 5 months mark here in Maastricht. For me, time seems to have slowed down this month, and I feel the recent days passing in small increments. This isn’t always a bad thing. Usually the holidays are so frenzied and somewhat stressful with endless to-do lists and events for the boys. But, the slow down combined with some feelings of isolation (I’ll explain later), dreary weather (to be fair…it is very Dutch weather and we knew it was coming), and the holidays making us miss some of the comforts of being with all our extended family, have certainly created some tough moments…mostly for me, and those who have to deal with me.
Italy is a hot destination for many, but getting there and around can be tricky. Here’s some things our family learned while vacationing in Rome and in Tuscany this October. Maybe it’ll help your next trip!
In 2019, Josh and I qualified for Duathlon Age Group World Championships, which was cancelled twice before being rescheduled this past weekend in Spain. We took the kids and Aunti Melissa and went to see what we could do!
Sometimes not everything goes according to plan. Our trip to Tuscany had many things go right and a handful of things go wrong.
Many of our trips have been spontaneous but this trip has been planned for months. Matt (Josh’s brother) and Tomi (Matt’s girlfriend) were the first people to say “we’re coming to visit!” and we picked a place (Italy) and time (the boys’ fall break) to make it happen. We visited Rome and Tuscany within a week!
Soujourns with Sarah 