Family, 1986-present

This post is a bit different from the others.

I am not writing about one specific place or experience but rather about traveling with my family.

Luckily I am blessed with a family that loves traveling (almost as much as I do..), so I was introduced to traveling before I could even walk or talk. My grandparents used to take me and my sister (or even the whole family) on trips around Germany or the world almost every year. There were so many that I am even having trouble remembering them all. In fact I don't, to be honest. But I remember quite a few:

In Germany they took us to see several plays such as 'Winnetou' or 'Götz von Berlichingen', they took us to Florida to visit Disney World and the Everglades and to many countries in Europe. They invited the whole family to go to Hawaii, to Greece, to Switzerland, to the Canaries, to Denmark,.. and many other places. No wonder I turned out to be a traveler.

Now that my grandfather has passed away in 2008 my grandmother continues to take the whole family on vacations every few years (Next stop: Fuerteventura 2018!). Although these kind of vacations are not my favorite way of traveling (all-inclusive hotels in very touristy places) they are special to me. Especially since I moved to Kuwait in 2011 I cherish the time I can spend with my family and these vacations are the best way of doing this. I am truly glad that my family manages to go on these vacations together.

This shows that sometimes it doesn't matter where you are but only who you're with and enjoy spending time with the people you love.

As I happen to be a grown-up by now (more or less..), I enjoy being able to return the favor. My grandma always seems surprised when I ask her to join me on a trip (usually going to visit my other grandma in Scotland). She seems to think she's holding me back or ruining my trip.. but at some point I'm sure she'll realize that it's the best feeling for me, knowing that I am able to return the favor now.

My parents used to take my sister and me on trips as well. Usually traveling to european countries, such as France or Spain but sometimes to exotic countries like Kenia. I am sure this played a roll in how I turned out to be as well. I won't get into any details here, as there are so many experiences, some are almost forgotten, some memories will be remembered for ever.

It's not always the whole family traveling together. In 2001(?) my dad took me to the Dominican Republic. That's 16 years ago but I remember a lot of it and like remembering that time. For those of you who know my nickname: This is where it originated from.

Just recently (well, actually it was a year ago. But feels like last week) I met my dad in Romania. I was thrilled when he suggested to go on a vacation together again and after agreeing on not going camping in Iceland we decided that Romania was a great place to visit as none of us had been there before. I arrived a few days before him and checked out the old town of Bucharest - very lively and young with some great architecture. I even went to the casino and stocked up my budget for the trip.

When my dad arrived we went on a round trip (Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu, Ramnicu Valcea), visited Bran Castle, Caves and bear sanctuaries. All in all a great time! I believe we both expected a bit more of the country but being able to spend some time together was all we really wanted. Romania's not a country I would have to visit again but yet I have great memories of this vacation!

The most recent family vacation was on my dads 60th birthday, in February 2017. My sister, my brother-in-law, my dad and his girl friend Sarah went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Bavaria, Germany) for a weekend. Now I've been to Rothenburg quite a few times, but this place is simply amazing. The old town is surrounded by a huge wall, everything looks kinda medieval.. and they have great wine. We stayed at a nice little hotel in a part of the town that I like to call 'melee island'. We spent the time exploring the town, having wine tastings and a guided tour through the vineyards. Awesome! On the way back we had a short stop in Würzburg to visit the castle.

Summing things up - I love spending time with my family, no matter where we go. I believe I may write some blog entries about future family vacations. I can only say this: Words can hardly express how much I enjoy these vacations, may they be with the whole family or just with a small part.

#Family