Vacation: Third Time is a Charm

We did it! We escaped Berlin for Fall break. As we're not flying again or crossing boarders until the littles are all vaccinated, our next adventures are going to my preferred method of travel - train/bike trips. This is how we rolled:

Missed our train = boys got milk shakes

Carmen waits patiently as we do our elevator laps. First bikes and one kid. Then trailer with stuff and two more kids.

I ride our Radwagon electric bike with Carmen and Crosby. Hugo is on the back of Paul's "analog bike" with the trailer attachment. We put all our suitcases in bike trailer that doubles as a stroller when empty. Since nobody asked, but maybe someone is curious, this is our packing list:

- Easily accessible - raingear bag with rubber boots

- Easily accessible - potty training bag with potty, wipes, towel, change of clothes, and extra plastic bags

- Easily accessible - cooler bag of food (Because it's me, I don't travel without at least one meal on hand.)

- Swim bag - with little bathrobes and deck shoes. Side note - Germans are serious about footwear that is specific for one place and not to be worn outside - one pair for the gym, slippers (Hausschuhe), and shoes for the pool. Even for small children, don't ever put them in a shopping cart or bench with their shoes on or you'll get an earful from the closest Oma.

- Two backpacks for PB^2 with electronics and wallets etc

- Two wheelie bags with packing cubes for each family member containing two changes of clothes (one in the wash, one back-up, and then wearing one) and scrubba washing bag. Side note - laundry mats or laundry facilities in East Germany are not a thing. (Insert stinky European joke here.) We found the Scrubba to be the best option to stay true to our US funk standards while packing light.

- One bag with accessories - bike parts, crib blackout tent, a few new-to-us Captain Underpants books and travel toys for the kids.

The true win would have been Dogman but they are printed in China, not cool Scholastic!, and I can't get them used in Germany.

Crayola's Color Wonder markers that only draw on special paper are amazing. Yes, you will be looking for the caps everywhere, but you won't be cleaning the walls. A big bag of colored pipe cleaners is also a crowd pleaser.

I said, this is how we "rolled" because on our train back to Berlin, the ticket checker informed us that both the Radwagon and bike trailer are not allowed on any train in Germany. Last I checked, I thought as long as our Radwagon doesn't have three wheels we'd be good, but alas the rules are no cargo bikes, and technically, our Radwagon hauls cargo...precious cargo. I think our next adventure Crosby is going to have to start riding along and I'll have to...gasp...peddle myself without an electric assist. I can't imagine how we'll pack any lighter, but we have until April to practice some logistics.

Throwback to the bike/train trip that started it all - the Harz Mountains for paternal leave in summer of 2020.

A quick note on breaks: school breaks that aren't tied to church or goverment holidays - two-week Fall, one-week Winter, and six-week summer - are all staggered by German state. Our two-week fall break this year fell in the middle of October and next fall break is over Paul's and my 10th wedding anniversary. A hotel in Greece with a good kids' club is calling.

I mean, a really good kids' club for these rascals on wheels.

For summer, each state takes turns with a different six week period -sometimes starting in June, sometimes starting in July. The exception to the summer break rotation is that Bavaria always gets August off because all of their elementary schoolers pick hops. Jokes. In the US, this break schedule sounds like school all-year around. Especially in Corona times where we try to avoid crowds, the regular breaks are a total win. 

This year's fall break we went to Satama sauna resort in a tiny city of Wendisch Rietz in the Spreewald Lake region, about an hour and a half south of Berlin by train. 

Sunset arrival

This vacation wouldn't seem to make sense for most Germans because:

- No one would stay at a sauna resort for more than a weekend, let alone six nights

- No one would take small children to a sauna (ha! found that out on arrival)

- The sauna resort holiday houses are likely more expensive than other regular holiday houses

This vacation wouldn't make sense for most US citizens because:

- Wendisch Rietz has literally nothing to do or see. 

- In fall, only three restaurants are open for dinner only. In summer, those three might be open for lunch.

- The Sauna resort (not the hotel itself) is all naked, all the time

The littlest Biggs took this last point very seriously. Actually, seen here is what we call the "potty hostage" scenario where we don't leave the house because Carmen refuses to pee. Some days I'm glad we potty trained early - for example Carmen could go in the sauna pool - and other days it feels like more trouble than it's worth.

While four out of five Biggs were ok with the naked saunas, one person required some bribery incentive to get in this lovely pool:

Truth in advertising - naked butt on the website.

We said that we would give Crosby 20 Euros / $25 if he learned to swim the length of the pool. He's not into swimming, hence why at seven, our swimming goals are modest. However, he is very into money and specifically the purchasing power for legos. So, he really gave it his all, and after daily swimming lessons he managed to swim the length of the pool. Style points were not a factor, which worked heavily in his favor. I know it's a slippery slope to incentivize kids with money for things that aren't chores, but the naked aspect upped the ante. 

We did some all-family trips to the sauna, not pictured for obvious reasons, but the last few days I would just take Crosby swimming without the littles because it was too hard to keep the two littlest quiet. Also, it's hard to teach swimming with a barnacle named Carmen attached. It turns out steam rooms aren't as popular as dry saunas so our basic routine was swim around for 30 minutes, warm-up in the empty steam sauna, and then try and shower and get dressed as quickly and quietly as possible.

Other trip highlights included: 

Morning bread basket delivery. Hugo is very food motivated. When I pick him up from Kita he gives me a complete summary of what he ate that day and if it was yummy.

Carmen meeting a cat on the train. Because of covid - we aren't really ever at people's houses with cats. #deprivedchildhood #daddycatallergy

Trust walks ie hat malfunction walks to dinner. That then lead to: 

Sibling bonding. Look how much fun Carmen is having. This walk to and from dinner she refused to sit in the stroller and only wanted to be carried. Crosby offered to help.

Unquestionably fun but questionably human and animal safety East German amusement parks. The rules for eating indoors at restaurants are that children who are regularly tested in schools can dine indoors without a test with-in the last 24 hours. That of course was a little fuzzy during fall break, as kids weren't in school to get regularly tested. When I asked the lady at the amusement park bistro if we could eat inside without Crosby being vaccinated she said "Sure you can eat inside, I'm not even vaccinated." We ate outside. #pleasejustjab #ruralgermanyisruralusa

And, the real reason we came, a change of scenery.

It turns out our current round of childhood illness is Hand Foot and Mouth disease for Carmen and Hugo. So, expect a week two of fall break update once they can return to Kita.