Alexander Family's Big Adventure: traveling with kids

By that, I mean the city in Germany where Luther was accused of being a heretic, not that my kids are infected with something alive like they were in this post, fortunately!

I mentioned that I was meeting my first boss in the Army for the first time since 2007. It was so fun to see and to catch up with Greg for the first time in over ten years. Worms is a small sightseeing location, but I was looking for something not too far from his hotel since I knew I was going to have an arduous day of travel the day before. (And it turns out, so did he.)

It was such a nice day! We saw several statues, including the memorial to Luther that had been built in the 1800s, two churches, and the Rhein River. The kids were NOT on their best behavior today, and that was frustrating, but it was probably at least in part due to the fact that I had been gone all week. We had a nice dinner at the Schnitzel Hut, which included, for perhaps the first time in anything except Italian restaurants around here, a genuine kids' menu. The kids got hamburgers, and they looked delicious!

After the Catholic Church declared Luther a heretic, he escaped in disguise to a remote castle, where he continued to write prolifically. He was, I read, one of the first people of fame who was not royal (we're talking 1521 for the Diet of Worms), and his friends helped get his papers printed and distributed throughout Germany.

Luther didn't intend to start a spiritual revolution. He wasn't seeking fame. But God used him in such a way that resulted in so many people knowing God personally as opposed to only knowing Him through a priest. How will God use you? He already knows!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11

Inside Cathedral of St Peter

Ouch, dude.

Left: Cathedral of St Peter, Right: Church of St Martin

Proof: They love each other!

Martin Luther Memorial

World War I Memorial

Nibelungenturm. Pretty Place.

All right. I'll keep it as no secret that David's driving can sometimes be, well, a bit erratic. I've noticed it seems to be worse over here. I think driving here is more stressful for him, understandably. Often the kids cheer when they find out I'm driving. I can't exactly say why for sure, but I think it might have something to do with this:

We got out the door decently early to get to Florence. As per our unspoken agreement, David was driving us there and back. About 20 minutes in, Alex tells me he's not feeling very well. It's not an unusual thing to hear from him when David drives. I told him to take deep breaths and look out the front window. About 15 minutes later, he says it again, so we crack the window, hoping he can hang on since the drive is only about an hour and 25 minutes. About 15 minutes after that, he said to me, "Mom, I think I'm going to vom-AAAH." And he proceeds to vomit all over the van floor three times.

Lovely.

As it's happening, I might even be so bold as to say that David's driving got WORSE. Livvy was in the back seat, nearly screaming, "Is that vomit? Oh no! Is that vomit!?" Griffy is gagging, getting ready to do the same. I yell at him and tell him to look away and not to think about it, crawl back to the back seat to soothe Alex and Livvy, and of course to clean the stinky mess up.

But with what?!

Literally the only things I had were baby wipes and diapers. So I use a diaper to get most of it, and wipes to get as much of the stinkiness out as I can. And suddenly I was dreading the drive back!

Afterwards, Alex said, "Oh, man! I feel so much better!"

Good for you, buddy.

Florence was beautiful. It was everything anyone could expect it to be. Once again, the Italians tickled me by counting our children and telling us "Bueno" or "Prego". They were very sweet. And we all climbed up the tower, including me with Lilly on my back, and it was a pretty amazing day. We were, however, quite exhausted by the time we got to the top and back down again. We found literally the nearest place for dinner and got some yummy sandwiches and some Tuscan bean soup. It was good. But what was incredible was the tiramisu. Best tiramisu I've ever had in my life.

The day we went to Florence was our last full day in Italy. I felt mixed emotions about it being time to leave. I was ready to be out of that small but adequate trailer, but I really enjoyed Tuscany and could have seen so much more.

Also, Alex had made a little German friend that week named Dante. He had stopped by the trailer the night before to play with Alex. But Alex was out hunting lizards with David, so he spoke with me instead. Then Alex came in, and they were going to play together, but Dante found out from his sister that his Mom had been looking for him, and he was probably in trouble. Alex had to leave without even saying goodbye, and that kind of made me sad. I had hoped to get his address so they could write each other.

But on the other hand, I was kind of glad we were leaving before I was tired of being there. And we were stopping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the night on the way home, which is always a pleasure. AND we were going to pick up my in-laws the day we got back. So I still had so much to look forward to.

All in all, our Italy trip was fantastic. Our family vacation was so memorable to me, and hopefully to David, and possibly to the kids. It could hardly have been better, in spite of the hiccups we had here and there. What else could one expect from a family like ours?