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  • Blanck AdventuresWinter Break 2023
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    Day 2–4

    Paris, France

    February 24, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Paris, France here we come! We checked this off of Demi's list and mine!

    As we drove towards France, we had to make a pit stop for some road snacks and let's be real, a toilet. I mean people - there were 4 girls in the car. We wondered through the grocery store and kept finding things familiar, but we couldn't place it. One of our favorite things while traveling was exploring the different grocery stores to see what they offered. I could not place which country this reminded me of. Well!!! We were accidentally in Belgium! The home of the best chocolate! Or maybe I should just say my FAVORITE out of the countries I have tasted thus far.

    That was a lovely little extra just for me!

    We arrived to our hotel just outside the city. Our hotel was close to a train station and had a green space for the kids to play. We did not want to deal with parking in the city since we heard it was very difficult. This spot had a coffee shop, grocery and restaurants within walking distance too.

    The Must List while here:
    *Eiffel Tower
    *Wonder the city on foot
    *A French Pastry Shop
    *The Zoo
    *The Louvre at Sunset
    *Eat Croissants and Crepes

    We went straight for the Eiffel Tower first thing the next day! After some research, we chose morning instead of evening to avoid crowds and sleepy children. Since we chose to train in, we were able to see their Statue of Liberty. It is much smaller than the one they gave us, but none-the-less still so cool. I will say the trains in Paris were a bit more finicky than Germany. At one point, Mabel was separated from us because of a ticket reader malfunction. They have gates at most checkpoints, which is different for us. I decided in my mom-panic-mode to pull her through the small crack of the gate, so she was not separated from us. Not the best idea. It hurt to be smashed through there as one being rational could imagine. I felt terrible!

    As we strolled closer, the tower began to feel monstrous. The four feet were so wide and sturdy, which brought me comfort knowing that in a few minutes I was going up in this thing. I am not a fan of heights in case you did not know. I have been known to lose my balance or feel as though I cannot take a step, but NOT TODAY I was telling myself. You should see me on an airplane though! Not pretty!

    As we approached the tower, we all went and paid our dues at the toilet - literally paying for our toilet break since that is the European way. In a grassy area along the way, we found Ratatouille (the rat chef from the Disney cartoon). Although instead of dining on fine French cuisine, he was chowing down of what looked like Takis. LOL! (P.S - So you know for your own visit some day. We later found the nice, clean bathrooms at the top of the Eiffel Tower you can use for free.)

    Seth got the tickets and we were on our way! I was admiring the structure and how pristine the iron looked. It appeared to be brand new. I later heard that the Eiffel Tower was originally built to only last twenty years. The reason it has remained sturdy is because nearly everyday they perform maintenance on it and add more iron and bolts to keep it standing. This was actually part of a great sermon series on marriage by Skip Heitzig you should listen to!

    Anywho... We climbed lots of stairs this day! We explored the first floor and saw the things. Then the girls giggled and we went up to the second floor which felt considerably higher than the first floor. For some reason I just figured the top of the Eiffel tower was for show or something, so I began to look for the elevator down. Then Seth corralled us into a small elevator with windows that seemed to be going up. I gulped! Seth snickered at me likely laughing at my irrational reaction. The girls jumped and giggled some more with excitement. If you have not seen Addy's adorable excited squeeze then you are missing out. She most definitely did that too. This elevator or rather this tiny box of windows just kept going up and up and up. I stopped looking out the window, so I did not lose it. 81 stories high - people!!!!

    We reached the top and exited. I worked really hard to mind over matter this thing like an adult by going straight to the French Champagne vending machine. Haha! Unfortunately, I did not have coins for it, so I just made myself be rational. Sometimes this works for me and sometimes not. I wanted to make this memory with my family and enjoy it fully. I also want my children to be stronger humans than me and not walk in irrational fear, so I need to set the example or at least pretend. Thankfully God gave me the strength to just let go and enjoy it.

    Such a privilege and special moment to have with these precious people I get to call my family.

    The rest of the day was spent exploring on foot and eating! I think often our favorite travel days are slower paced, just spent uncovering the city on foot and seeing the unplanned. We hit a few random pastry shops. I heard much less English in France and had to rely on my pointing skills and Google Translate a bit more. French is my favorite language to hear though, so I enjoyed that for sure.

    We ended up making it to the Louvre at dusk with our faces full of crepes. Of course, we tried multiple flavors. The savory one ended up being the favorite. The kids spent time running around the pyramid of glass as everything began to light up. We opted to not actually enter the Louvre this trip, because - well, to be real I am immature and do not fully appreciate art yet and our littles were tired. Near the end of the sunset, myself and Addy had an "uhh, I need a toilet now" moment. Fun fact about Europe is they seem to enjoy a good game of toilet hide & seek. Not really, but they do have less public toilets, which makes finding them in a new city very exciting. We finally found a toilet under the garden near the Louvre. Phew! We made it and it was artfully decorated with every color of toilet paper imaginable. Then we find out it ONLY cost us 3 Euro per person to use it! Wait a second Pepe Le Pew - I have to pay how much!??! Good thing I had my card on me! Typically you might pay 50 cents. These were the most expensive toilets I have ever encountered!

    The next day we were off to find the ZOO! On the way, we found this amazing pastry shop. This was really my life goal while I was in Paris. I just needed to find a real Parisian pastry shop and try random things. I do not recommend trying to simply read the names of things with your janky French impressionist accent as I did. They did not seem amused in the least, so I went back to using my pointing skills. You must go get the "St. Honore!!! This pastry was a sweet marriage of flavors. The best Creme Brulee imaginable with the flakiest croissant possible covered in a delicate crunchy, caramelly coating. Just lovely! Seth and I did not want to share it with the girls, but we did!

    We continued on to the zoo. I highly recommend this zoo! If you go in summer, there is also an option to paddle boat in a lovely lake nearby too. We were able to see lots of animals, some of which were new to us. They also had this huge mountain that reminded the girls of pride rock from The Lion King. Then we saw the baboons. More often than not when we encounter baboons at a zoo, they are either very vocal and entertaining or highly inappropriate. So ya, after visiting the French baboons we had the privilege of answering many questions about life. Thanks baboons!

    As I reflect on each trip we have the privilege to take, I am overwhelmed by many things. We are beyond blessed! Blessed to be able to go. Blessed to have kids who enjoy traveling. Blessed by a husband who has the vision for these adventures. Blessed by God's creation we get to see! Blessed by the differences of what shapes each culture we encounter.    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresWinter Break 2023
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    Day 1

    Luxembourg

    February 23, 2023 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    On the road again... We hit three countries this trip. One was an accident that lead to the purchase of chocolate. My favorite country for chocolate. Ha!

    Luxembourg was our first stop. February was chilly with temps in the low 40s, so we dressed warm. Lush green moss might be this countries official plant because it seemed to be everywhere I looked and created a lovely contrast against the gray, foggy sky. I love MOSS. I love the feel, the deep shades of green it comes in and that it grows wherever it wants too!

    We stayed in a cool two bedroom apartment in the city center walked the old city, found a cool pirate ship park and ate some yummy food before we headed off to our next destination. Oh and of course Demi found a tree to climb since we were visiting a new country.    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresNew Year’s 2023
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    Day 3

    Poffabro, More Hiking & Pizza, Italy

    December 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Natalie and I loaded up in her car with Addy and Bowser. Addy and Bowser are quite a cute pair. Nate and Seth drove the rental with the other little ladies. We began our trek toward Porffabro and the uphill drive. The road grew more narrow and began to twist and turn A LOT. The last time we drove this intense of a switchback was in Montenegro in the summer. However, this one came with more warning signs and construction. Natalie and I were questioning our husband's judgment as we followed. At many points during the naseating ride, the road was only wide enough for one car with the added fun of drop offs. Surprisingly, we didn't encounter any traffic coming from the other direction and we made it there without throwing up.

    The zigging and zagging up a questionable switchback road to the town of Poffabro made us all woozy. I do not typically get car sick. That was some kind of RIDE! This did not detour us from following our noses to yummy food. We ate delicious paninis, beer and crepes.

    This "Nativity Hunt" makes for one of my favorite Christmas memories we have made thus far! This sweet town, known mostly for its history of making house shoes, puts out unique nativities during Christmas. I think many towns in Italy do this through the holiday season as well.

    The girls loved the scavenger hunt feel as they ran up and down the narrow streets discovering a different nativity at every turn. You had to keep your eyes peeled, looking at all heights so you wouldn't miss one. They used all types of materials to create these nativities, from colored pencils, hand carved figurines, paintings mimicing Van Gogh's Starry Night and a silly one with baby Jesus in a motorcycle side car. It was so fun to see all the varieties.

    Along the hunt, we stumbled upon a man carving little creatures outside his home. He was so kind and had the girls sit on his wooden reindeer and hand made sled. He made an impression on Mabel and she kept saying, "He is super kind, momma." Natalie decided to buy our girls three carved creature. Demi chose a bunny, Addy chose a hedgehog and Mabel chose the squirrel. So fun! Natalie has been too kind along this trip.

    We explored all through the town and ended up finding a hiking path. We followed and found statues depicting the story of Jesus' crucifixion. This hike was a steep climb! The twelve statues took us through the story from Judas' betrayal to the empty tomb. I found this hike to be beautiful, especially during Christmas, because it pointed us to the cross and resurrection of Jesus creating a full picture of the gospel story.

    Demi found this set of statues to be incomplete though. She was quite bothered that it ended with an empty tomb. She suggested they create two more statues showing Christ going up into heaven and Jesus reappearing to his disciples. And Mabel was mostly excited about a plastic slide at the end. Ha ha! Addy was relieved the steep climb was over and we could now go back downhill.

    On the next and last day, we hiked and picnicked again near Aviano. The girls loved being outside so much! They raved (and even journaled) about all the hiking and playing outside. What a beautiful place and with great friends that go back nearly 20 years!

    Oh ya... One last thing! We popped into the city of Sacilly for the Christmas market and delicious pizza! This pizza place made these bread stick things that tasted like a savory Texas style donut stick topped with arugula. Their special kind of pizza was extra soft with a bit of sweetness to it. The pizza came out in one large piece. They don't cut the pizza at all and it's usually a serving for one person. It's is fun to experience all types of pizzas! We haven't encountered a bad one yet. This one was quite different from any other pizza we have had. Addy went from silly to almost sleeping really fast that night. She is notorious for falling asleep at dinner ever since she was little. She managed to stay awake for this pizza though. :)

    What a fun trip! Friends, hiking and food! So thankful to have had the opportunity to reconnect with such great friends!! Natalie and Nate are just awesome, generous people. The girls have so much fun with them!    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresNew Year’s 2023
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    Day 2

    Aviano & Barcis, Italy

    December 29, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    We got to see friends!!! Some fun military friends that we made in Vegas live near Aviano and they invited us to their amazing home. They showered us with Christmas gifts (including peppermint bark - I cannot find peppermint in Germany anywhere) and showed us around their lovely, old Italian city. They have racked up way more countries than us and will do mostly anything. They are truly adventurous. Recently, they swam in the ice cold Irish Sea with some locals for Christmas. I am not sure I will ever be that brave. Cold things and I do not mesh well.

    The "warm" fifty degree weather in Italy drew us outside everyday. After two weeks in the twenties back in Germany, fifties felt as though we were nearing the end of winter. I almost took off my jacket. Whoa!

    We walked around in the woods near their home, while their pup ran around in the meadows. As we stopped to take in the gorgeous mountains in the near distance, a large buck ran across the field. What a cool and rare sight to see! The girls really wished I caught that on camera. As we wound further up the path, we encountered some rocky hills. The girls, of course, did not resist the urge to climb around. Then they quickly stumbled upon two tiny wooden, nativity scenes. What a sweet little reminder of the reason for Christmas! Such a fun thing for someone to take the time to do. The day ended with delicious local food, toasty beverages and a warm fire!

    The next day we traveled to the Lakes of Barcis for a hike and car picnic. Seth grabbed some meat and cheeses from the local street market on the way, while Natalie ( the girls pronounce her name as Nate -alie) continued to spoil the girls with Italian sweets! We fueled up with good food and pottied in the woods before we headed for the hike. We did not find out until later that we ate HORSE meat! Addy was like "nope never again, that is my favorite animals." It tasted ok, but not my favorite meat, but the cheese was on point! Seth purposely waited to inform us, so that we would give it a fair evaluation.

    We hiked around Barcis Lakes and explored the woods. As we reached a high point we saw an overlook. The big girls ran for it! Mabel is still building up her stamina, so she was quite winded by this steep hike. Thankfully, no one slippes on all the moss (I love moss - the color and the feel) covered boulders while running. Natalie does not love heights. However, she could not resist Mabel's persistant requests to walk to the end of the small overlook with a view of the steep, cliffy drop into the beautiful teal lakes. Mabel pulled her out there and they both survived! I mostly feel the same as Natalie about heights, but I try to just do the things in hopes that my girls will not grab hold of my fears in life. I walked out slowly, while holding the rails tightly and taking in the view THEN Seth jumps to make the overlook shake. Oh that guy!

    The girls, Seth and Nathan took turns seeing who could throw rocks the farthest for a while. Nate made things so much fun for our girls! The girls for some reason decided his nickname is Rock Star Dude, but I am not sure why. Another awesome day exploring the gorgeous landscape of Italy.

    Next up a twisty, turny ride that almost made us all puke...    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresNew Year’s 2023
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    Day 1

    Salzburg on The Way

    December 28, 2022 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    We decided to stop over in Salzburg on our way to our friends in Italy. The girls were particularly excited because this was the filming location for "The Sound of Music." That is a movie they recently discovered and truly enjoyed. Their little voices have filled our home with the memorable songs from the movie ever since they watched it.

    Poor Mabel's cough flared up again before we left, but we rallied despite the lack of sleep and everyone traveled quite well. Everyone was excited to be in adventure mode again, so the joy of traveling trumped the tiredness. We traveled by rental car which allowed us to encounter more of the countryside and the Alps. The snow capped Alps with lingering clouds and lush green valleys below were just a spectacular sight to see. Oh and all the long tunnels made for extra fun! One tunnel took Seth five breaths to complete. We went through many long tunnels this trip.

    Our hotel was fantastic and had a pool, but I forgot the swimsuits! Luckily, the kids were very understanding and kind about that. They were really just excited to see the city and be traveling again. We drove into Salzburg and hit the streets exploring. We walked along the river as dusk chased us and the city lit up with Christmas lights. We were drawn toward the town center by Christmas trees and the delicious smells of the Christmas market. We shared one thing savory and one thing sweet! The Schaumrollen was a sweet cylinder shaped pastry filled with whipped marshmallow cream topped with powdered sugar about the size of a child's forearm. We decided on Spätzell because we didn't hit our carb goals for the day. Ha ha! This dish consisted of drizzled, fried dough covered in cheese and pork.

    As we wondered further into the city, we encountered "Mozart" on every corner as this city is also famous for being the birth place of this incredible musician. This trip stirred their curiosity of Mozart and his impact on the world through music.

    We ended the night with an incredible feast at a restaurant with multiple playgrounds! We ordered not understanding how large the spread would be, but we could have fed at least two other adults easily. It was beyond delicious with meats, fresh veggies, sprouts, and freshly made potato wedges. Sehr lecker! Needless to say, we were stuffed and fell to sleep quickly back at it hotel after a full day.    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresRome with Grown-Ups
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    Day 3

    Rome, Italy

    October 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Rome! That city where every ancient stone seems to have a story, and coffee or gelato seem to be on every corner. This trip was just us grown-ups (thanks to my brave Dad for watching our girls back in Germany), soaking up the Italian sun and hanging out with some friends from Texas who know their way around Italy quite well. They were super helpful, giving us the inside scoop and even booking stuff for us.

    Our place in Rome was this cute apartment super close to all the action. The best part (besides the location)? The espresso machine - the lovely smell and perfect intensity level - Delicious. Yep, our mornings started with the kind of coffee that turns you into a morning person (although I already am a morning person - haha), kicking off our days of wandering, eating way too much gelato (seriously, the best I've ever had), and just living the good life.

    We took it easy, strolling the cobbled streets without a care in the world (except for the two moms kept wondering how their kids were doing back at home), just taking in the vibes of the city. From the long line at Vatican City that was actually fun thanks to our friends, the warm sun (which Germany has much less of) and the stunning views, to craning our necks up at the Sistine Chapel and being left to wonder about Michelangelo's genius—it was an amazing experience. And let's not forget all the fun people watching! I do have to admit that through much of the museum we all took turns laughing over the things. Why did the artist do that? What were they thinking? I am amazed by the skills and effort of the artists, but not cultured enough to stop giggling and questioning the reasons behind why they did what they did. I should probably research more to understand their perspective, but nevertheless we thought we were funny.

    One of the quirkiest things we stumbled upon was a particular staircase in Rome where you're not allowed to sit—not even for a second. We found this rule hilarious, so we took a break to people-watch more and joked about being the 'stair police' from a top balcony. There were literally stair police! Watching tourists almost instinctively go to sit down, only to be scolded loudly by the Italian policeman - LOL! These small unexpected things make trips all the more memorable and fun to me. P.S - We thought we were climbing to a famous highest point of the city. Nope just another random long set of stairs, but we got more steps in and really all views here were unique.

    St. Peter's Church is massive and so intricately detailed. I am short and the ceilings seem to reach immeasurable heights! Walking into this monumental basilica, I was struck by the fact that Peter ministered in this city and gave his life for the cause. I am always encouraged when reading about Peter, because he walked so closely with Jesus and yet struggled with his flesh. His life is such a wonderful testimony. Peter grew in his faith and made a huge impact for God, despite his faults. Every corner, every altar is steeped in art and history, telling stories of faith that span centuries. All the things about this place seemed to encourage reverence. Such an interesting perspective of the church as it began to form.

    But the moment I found most profound was standing in the Mamertinum Jail, the very place where apostles Peter and Paul were once prisoners. It was a powerful reminder of all they faced while still spreading the message of Jesus. The deep, dark cell was typically reserved for the worst of the worst. What incredible strength and conviction these two men had. To be in the same space where they once preached, lived, and perhaps even questioned their fate, yet never wavered in their belief, was deeply moving. It added a sweet depth to our adventure pointing my thoughts back to Jesus once again, both humbling and awe-inspiring.

    After that experience, we were hungry! And let's not forget to mention the food—oh man, the food! Pesto pasta that made us want to lick our plates and pizzas that were just art. I love that each pizza place seemed to have its own secret recipe creating such a variety. Seth also ate some meat that was unidentifiable, but he said it tasted quite good! And the coffee breaks? Just the best coffee everywhere!

    One evening, we ended up at a small local opera, I was skeptical at first. I love music, but can be picky sometimes. I ended up being totally blown away. It was so moving that it brought me to tears. The vocals were overwhelmingly skilled and the songs were sung with all they had. Definitely, a must-do in Rome. I mean really no words could describe this well enough.

    As we wrapped up our trip, we were already making plans for the next trip to Italy. I still want to tour more of ancient Rome and eat more gelato! Big thanks to our Texas friends for making this trip not just a visit to another city but an unforgettable adventure with friends.

    We brought home memories of amazing espresso, unbeatable gelato, and stories from a place as old as Bible times. Can't wait to see more of the beautiful country of Italy!    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresBlanck EU Adventures
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    Day 105

    Erlangen, Germany

    September 12, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Well, here we are living in Germany just outside Nuremburg.

    Things we are learning:
    *Recycling rules are intense
    *Their "spicy" salsa tastes like Texas bbq sauce
    *They are not fans of doing things digitally, which requires lots of paperwork and extra bike rides
    *Google translate and deepl are my good friends now
    *We are trying to bike everywhere and have no car (by choice)
    *A picture of walking home after grocery shopping: Mabel chilling in the bike seat with her feet resting on my seat, a grocery bag on either handle bar, large backpack full and me walking trying to keep the bike upright over a 1km walk - a little bit much (I need to learn to make smaller trips)
    * There is a season here called fall where leaves turn gorgeous colors.... Hahaha
    * Most houses have total blackout window shutter things that are amazing!

    School attendance is quite strict, but they have lots of play time at school. The big girls are attending a German public school. Mabel will start a German kindergarten (Prek) in November. They really enjoy school and are learning to speak German quite quickly. Most kids walk solo to school by the age of six. I am working on feeling ok with this. They could totally do it.

    Our neighborhood is quiet and many homes around are built in the 30s. We live near a large forest and can bike so many fun places. Experiencing life from a different angle...    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresBlanck EU Adventures
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    Day 93

    Dziwnovek, Poland

    August 31, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Beaching in Poland! This beach trip reminded me so much of our RV trip to Old Orchard Beach, Maine. We could walk everywhere we needed to go. Restaurants, grocery stores, a park and the beach all close enough for little legs to get to. It was rainy somedays, which allowed for plenty of movie days - the girls love movie days! It also made for colorful walks for me, as the rain deepened the colors of the fallen leaves along the streets. Tasty food and the board walk were just one street over! We ate doner kabobs, Belgium style fries, perogies and plenty of ice cream. Maine and Poland were oddly very similar and both lovely experiences!

    Over our two week stay in Poland, we spent almost every sunny day at the beach for as long as we could. Some days we stayed from 09:00 to 16:00. We had a few near sunburn days, so we slowed down on that. The kids tolerated and enjoyed the cooler beaching weather even in their swimsuits. I stuck with my pants and cozy hoodie, but adored watching the girls play.

    A main highlight for them seemed to be digging the biggest, best beach bunker hole. Those girls might as well have been digging to China, because they dug so long. Seth assisted with this masterful creation as well. They later designed a control room for their creation that became a space going, flying submarine. They outfitted it with buttons made from rocks, shells, and water bottle lids. They also made specific pathways to get to each area of their ship, so you could get to the kitchen to bake and still keep it organized. They drew many children in with their ginormous beach bunker, none of which spoke English. It was fun to watch the kids still figure out a way to communicate and play despite the language differences.

    All that digging, rock carrying and other hard beach work wore out Adalynn's swim suit. She carried so much sand in that swim shirt that it began to look like a short dress on her. As she was running one day, the bottoms just fell off. She giggled, but it made things difficult for playing on the beach. Seth took her swim suit shopping and she was quite excited to find a two piece that showed her belly button. It's the little things in life! She was beaming with her new swimsuit on and so special to go shopping with dad.

    One day we walked really far in one direction down the beach and found a great sandbar for the kids to play on. It was sweet seeing them cheer each other on and encourage one another as they braved the deeper (colder) waters to reach the sandbar. Demi carried Addy across the dark waters until she pushed past her fear and made it on her own. We also experienced some beach food. These people would walk the beaches with coolers and bags of snacks for beach goers. The girls and I would laugh because as they would shout out their specials for the day while they walked by us it sounded like "popcorn and it's all stinky." We giggle now and say "popcorn, all a stinky" now and again.

    We tried the towns "best" perogies, shopped at second hand stores, had a cappuccino by a lake and explored some woods. My favorite perogie was the spinach. Seth and the girls just wanted to eat all the bacon they slathered on top. The girls and I walked across a bridge into some tall woods. Mabel had an emergency pee moment and luckily we had plenty of cover in the woods. It was a warm, sunny and windy day. Lovely for a walk by the lake watching swans. What a sweet time!

    When we booked this Poland trip back in May before we left America, we did not know this would be our last Europe trip before settling into a house in Germany with Seth starting a job. Oh, and at the time of this trip we still had not found a house yet, so some of our trip was house hunting online. That part was stressful! BUT... What an adventure we had this summer! Fifteen countries and a bazillion memories as a family. It is emotional to write "the end." I am not the adventuring type (that's all Seth), but this has been such a beautiful trip interlacing the indescribably amazing and the difficult. I am reminded in life how we constantly have to adjust, stretch, grow and learn to move forward. Typically, moving forward and upward is not easy. I would say traveling from country to country, train by train, step by step has been challenging at times, but so worth all the experiences and irreplaceable memories we made together.

    What an incredible adventure!    Read more

  • Blanck AdventuresBlanck EU Adventures
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    Day 81

    Berlin, Germany

    August 19, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We have been staying in Erlangen again for a bit. Oh and ummm, Seth got a job in Germany, so that's new. Lots of changes and lots to think through. More on that later...

    We trained it to Berlin as a halfway point to get to the beach in Poland. We had all nice trains heading north, thankfully! After check-in, we played at a park and ate some delicious Asian food. At the park, they went up and down the slides, made ice cream scoops, and performed gymnastics in the grass. It was a lot of fun until Mabel did a cartwheel into dog poop, so we headed to the restaurant. Vegetarian curry is where it's at! DeMille was the most excited because she ate lots of sushi at this place. Addy got a fortune cookie that told her "Laughter will keep you young." She is our giggle box, so she might live forever.

    The next morning fresh bagels were calling our name! Seth's friend told us about this epic Jewish bagel shop called Salomon's Bagels and eating those was first on the agenda. We went to open the door and it was locked! Nooooo! They were closed due to a supply issue. No New York style bagels for us. So sad! Luckily, Berlin has no shortage of bakeries. The girls enjoyed trying a new pastry.

    The Berlin Zoo was the main destination for this stop. The cool air and mild rain made for no crowds! We covered lots of ground and saw nearly every animal at this zoo. The girls particularly enjoyed the birds. There were more birds here than I have ever seen at a zoo and very unique ones. The bigs suggested we get a parakeet for our morning alarm clock, because it was quite loud. We saw a flamingo turning it's egg over in her nest. Then she proceeded to pass off the responsibility of sitting on the egg to another flamingo. I did not know they shared that job with other birds.

    We walked through the aquarium with fish and reptiles. Addy loved the tiny sea horses. Mabel and Demi were very into watching these large bright green eels. They looked very similar to Ursula's pets. They also got to pet the shiny coy fish. The girls wanted to keep doing that forever. Addy especially enjoyed trying to touch them.

    They also had a unique wooden park that was just so impressive! I want it in my backyard! The girls loved climbing to ask the different peaks. They especially had fun on this spinny thing. It was essentially a merry go round with out rails, on a tilt, about three feet off the ground. As you walked along the edge of the disc, it would speed up. It was easy to get it going to fast. Pretty fun!

    This was a fun way to slow travel to Poland.    Read more

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    Day 71

    Vienna, Austria

    August 9, 2022 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Vienna in a quick blink! Our train ran a bit behind, so our arrival was later than expected. We had to hustle to see the sights before things closed.

    We will be back to Austria for longer another time, but for this trip we booked it over to the Schonbrunn Palace to get lost in the garden labrynth mazes. The girls ran ahead of us giggling with such excitement as they ran through the mazes. We also played on the Labyrinth Playground which was super unique. The creativity in designing this playground included a large metal bird you could sit inside, a mirror maze, climbing ropes and more.

    Everything was closing, so we decided to surprise the girls by taking them to do something really American. We ate Burger King and went to the movies! Mabel had fallen asleep in our travel towards the cinema, so we moved slow. That only left us with enough time to feed the kids something quick and close. Once they figured out what was happening, the big girls could not stop smiling. They kept saying "thank you" over and over again. Sweet girls! They giggled so much through the movie and were still so grateful as we walked home. Fun family night!    Read more

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