We made it safe and sound!

I wasn't sure how it would go to be honest! The itinerary was as follows:

Depart Vancouver Friday at 6:30pm
Arrive in London on Saturday morning at 11:40am
Layover in London until 3:30pm
Arrive into Frankfurt at 6:05pm
Depart Frankfurt at 8:40pm 
Arrive into Bucharest at 11:55pm.

Despite that time changes that did help us out a little, if you add up the travel time, it was still 20 hours of straight travel - through the middle of the night.

The first flight was great, despite us being delayed for an hour.  We had dinner in the YVR airport and then off we went.  We only had carry on luggage, and despite the check in agents best attempts to nab us for non compliance, we all came in under weight on a dimensions.  We even were able to get our suture removal kit through security which I was shocked at.  Long tweezers and scissors - no problem.  They were more concerned with liquids the whole way through.  We had to go through security in each city, and even though London and Frankfurt were more strict with how our liquids were packed, we had no issues with the suture removal kit.

Air Canada has a good in flight electronics system that kept us all pretty entertained, we didn't get much sleep but a few hours for sure which helped. We went back and forth on whether to bring the car seat or not and in the end decided to bring it.  I'm glad we did as despite the fact that its a pain to lug around, on the plane its a godsend.  Fiona happily gets clipped in and then just stayed put on every flight.  It gave her a good view of the tv and was perfect for sleeping and freed us up from having her laying across us.

We were late to board the plane which was bad news on such a big plane with only carry on.  We ended up with bags at our feet - so that was a good lesson for us for future.  I had a pain in the butt (literally) behind me who kicked me the whole flight, and across the aisle were an elderly couple that honestly bickered the whole flight - I wish I could remember some of the fights as they were quite entertaining...near the end of the flight Dave a young boy who puked all over the place, but besides that it was uneventful. I love being able to watch whatever movies I want to, and so watched the Age of Adeline, Marvels Iron Man and part of Barney's Version which is a funny Canadian film with Paul Giamatti which I hope I can finish on the way back.

We got to London and had a pretty quick layover there due to our delayed flight out of Vancouver. We had time for a coffee and then off we went. We all slept on this flight which was much needed and made us all feel much better.  This flight was with Lufthansa, and they have nothing on their planes...so glad that sleep came easily.

Frankfurt have buses that take you from the plane to the terminal and back which is a drag and means you need to get off and on quickly - which is hard with young kids and luggage and a car seat. The layover here was a couple hours but passed quickly.  We had overpriced lunch at an Italian Restaurant and then it was nearly time to board.

Now what trip would be complete without a little drama?? Mine occurred here.  I would say that by this point I was more than a little tired, and I decided to continue charging my phone while we were at the gate before boarding.  Of course once boarding began, we didn't want to be late getting on so the phone was out of mind - actually I'd say it was out of mind by the time I got back to my seat from plugging it in.  Anyways, it donned on me once we were halfway to Bucharest.  What a pain! Let me tell you - I have had no luck so far getting any assistance with retrieving it either.  I can't believe the horrible customer service.  The lady in Lost and Found at the Bucharest airport was horrible, and then I called Lost and Found at Frankfurt airport and they were also not helpful.  Nobody is able to do anything for people anymore apparently.  So I'm bummed that it has not been found, but "c'est la vie"! I will survive without it but am hoping it turns up in a day or two.

Once we arrived in Bucharest, we made our way through passport control and then headed out to get a cab.  The advice we had been given was to be sure to take a ticket from the yellow taxi dispenser and wait for that taxi to come. This is the sanctioned taxi service and it costs less.  Anyways, everyone decided that was not a worthwhile endeavour and that just getting in a yellow taxi would be fine.  We got going split over two taxis and then the haggling began.  I knew right away we were being had.  I knew that the only taxi drivers who haggle are the expensive ones! So we paid about 3 times as much as we should to get to our Hostel, still only $30 so not the end of the world, but when Robert arrived into Bucharest the next morning (he was delayed and missed his connection out of Vienna and had to spend the night) he took the ticket as he was told and only paid $10 for his cab.  So lessons learned.

Bucharest is a lovely city. As we drove to our hostel, it appeared clean, and well kept with bike lanes and beautiful parks.  It was not at all what I had expected.  I guess in my mind I thought it would be less well kept and less lovely.  It truly defied my expectations in an amazing way.  We were so excited to explore the next day.

Our hostel: Crazy Duck Hostel, is clean and well maintained and is within walking distance to the old town.  We are in a room with 2 single beds and a set of bunks and a private bath. It's perfect for us and we honestly couldn't be happier with it.

Getting to bed was tough initially. Even though you're tired, your body is mixed up and doesn't want to sleep.  Fiona was a mess and couldn't get to sleep at all...she just laid their chatting and playing and keeping me awake for hours.  She finally got to sleep around 3 or 4am and the day finally came to an end.

Learning How to Take out Stitches

So wouldn't you know it! Fiona had a huge fall yesterday and split her lip out. Of course it was traumatic and stressful and we rushed her to Children's Hospital as it clearly needed stitches.  They got her all fixed up with 3 shiny blue stitches and sent us off with instructions on how to care for the wound.  Problem is that we need to have the stitches removed in 5-6 days and we will be in Bucharest, Romania.  The doctor warned me that sometimes taking out the stitches is more stressful that putting them in.  Yikes - that's scary.  She handled the stitches like a brave warrior and didn't even cry - but some strange doctor who may or may not speak very good english might be a stretch even for our brave Fiona.

My brothers lovely girlfriend has offered to come and give me a stitch removal lesson! Lucky me.  I will get to play doctor while we're away.  I honestly think that's best and that Fiona will much prefer having mom do it than a stranger.

What a start to the trip!

Balkans here we come

While the flights were booked months ago, we have just made the last few accommodation bookings and we are getting set to leave on Friday.  Today we started packing up the bags.  We are going to try to travel with only carry on this trip.  Each girl will have a backpack and a small carry on luggage and the same for both Dave and me.  So far its looking ok...I'm struggling with whether or not to being nice clothes and shoes for going out.  I hear the nightlife in Belgrade is unbelievable and that you should dress up! I guess I can always buys something!

Here's how the itinerary looks:

July 10: Fly to Bucharest (Romania)
July 11: Arrive in Bucharest
July 12: Bucharest
July 13: Bucharest
July 14: Drive to Transylvania, overnight in Brasov
July 15: Drive to Bogda, overnight
July 16: Drive to Timisoara, drop car and get shuttle to Belgrade, overnight (Serbia)
July 17: Belgrade
July 18: Drive to Sarajevo, overnight (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
July 19: Sarajevo
July 20: Drive to Dubrovnik, overnight (Croatia)
July 21: Drive to Budva, overnight (Montenegro)
July 22: Shuttle to Tirane (Albania)
July 23: Tirane
July 24: Shuttle to Skopje via Kosovo (Macedonia)
July 25: Skopje
July 26: Drive to Sofia, overnight (Bulgaria)
July 27: Drive to Sozopol
July 28: Sozopol
July 29: Sozopol
July 30: Sozopol
July 31: Sozopol
August 1: Drive to Sofia, overnight
August 2: Fly to London and overnight
August 3: Fly home

I'm still working on a final packing list...that to come! We are so excited to get going.  This is going to be an amazing trip! We are anxious to see how little Fiona will travel as she hasn't done a trip like this before.  Fingers crossed she can handle the disruption to her life.

Day 16 - Stockholm

After some much needed rest, we got up and were ready to explore Stockholm. After a nice breakfast in the hotel with mom and Bruce, we discussed what we would get up to on our last day with all of us together.  Brian and Erik were flying out early the next morning and mom, Bruce and Robert were flying out to Tallinn early.  We would meet up with them the following day but today was it for all of us together.

The other decision that we made was that we would not be staying another night in the current hotel...it was just too far away from the city.  I found an okay deal at a beautiful hotel downtown.  It was a very busy weekend in Stockholm with a number of conferences...so it was not easy to find availability or an affordable rate...but we figured we would save on taxis and trains etc.

So we packed up all of our stuff and Dave, Bruce and Cadence took all the luggage to our new hotel.  The rest of us took the bus to meet them.

Just as we were walking up to the hotel, the changing of the guard was happening.  This was really neat.  The girls loved it as they marched by.  Robert caught this on video for those interested at www.foggytravels.com.

Once we were nicely checked into our new hotel "Hotel Diplomat" we took to the streets and headed for the old town section of Stockholm called Gamlastan.  Now that we were downtown, everything was a manageable walk, and the weather was nice today...a little cooler so perfect for strolling.  We walked past the Royal Palace, which was really beautiful.  There was a guard on duty that we mused about how to make him crack his grim face and stock still posture :o).  We strolled through the narrow lanes and old world buildings, popping in and out of shops.  It is a great experience.

After the old town we took the ferry across to Djurgarden and walked PAST the amusement park and instead went to the VASA Museum...which was great!  The best part was that as travel agents you received free admission, so that was 4 of us, and then Erik and the girls were free...so only 2 of 9 had to pay!  What a deal for such a large group of travelers.

The museum is really well down even though it is in fact glorifying Sweden's gigantic failure as ship builders.  The story goes that this beautiful ship sank 20 minutes into her maiden voyage in 1628 when a breeze caught the sails and blew her over.  It stayed at the bottom of the harbour for 333 years and was then resurrected with the help of archaeologists.  The museum has done an amazing job of this attraction and it was well worth a stop....even if we had had to pay!





After the VASA we headed back across the bridge to Ostermalm and went looking for somewhere for a cool beverage and a snack before we headed for dinner.

After several long walks up and back looking for the perfect spot...we settled on a nice pub style place for our last supper.  Mom was getting a little sad about our last supper together. Brian would be heading back east to Hamilton as soon as he got home, and Robert was carrying on after the trip to travel the world.

We had a nice supper together and then we headed back to our hotel to pick up the Fougner luggage.  They were staying out at the airport due to their early flights out the next morning.

We wished Erik and Brian a safe trip home and said our bigger goodbyes to Brian as we won't see him until Christmas. We then headed up to our room and tried desperately to put our children to bed.

It had been a really nice day and we were looking forward to another day to explore Stockholm before heading to Tallinn ourselves.

Hotel Diplomat

 

boys will be boys...

Narrowest street

Day 15 - Linkoping to Stockholm

Definitely behind on the posts now, but want to get this up to date as its nice to have a travel record for the future!

Today, I have to admit, was another not so great day.  It started out okay with breakfast at the hotel and then we got packed up and on the road to try to make it to Stockholm by 2pm.  Just as we got in the car it started to downpour! I've never seen rain like that.  Rob has a video of it which I hope he puts up on his blog: www.foggytravels.com.

We got on the highway and headed north.  Everyone was a bit cranky today because our sleeping habits have not been great. The drive was uneventful, but we were running late.  We figured the best thing to do was get to our hotel and drop the luggage and then drive to the rental car place and then make our way back to the hotel.  The trouble was that we didn't know how far the rental car place was from our hotel!

We arrived at the Radisson Blu Royal Park at 10 mins to 2pm.  We got unloaded and because we were in such a hurry, we just put our luggage into the storage and told the desk clerk that we were here and could he please try to find us a room with one large bed instead of 2 twins.  The Fougner car had stopped at the airport to get the lost bag so we told the guy that they were enroute too.

When we typed in the address for the rental car drop off, it was close...thank goodness.  Off we zoomed and with a fluke wrong turn we ended up in the right place for the car return, which was in the underground parking area of the Sheraton Hotel.  We dropped off the keys at the Sheraton front desk and then headed to the concierge to get some help with finding our hotel.

Unfortunately, it turns out that our hotel is a long long way from downtown.  It was not on any of the maps of the area so finding our way back was going to be a challenge...and we had 2 kids, the stroller and the car seats to contend with.

A taxi seemed excessive, so the very nice concierge guy gave us transit directions.  It turns out that we had to take the commuter train to a certain stop, and then the bus from there.

The commuter train only leaves so often as well, and the tickets were not cheap.  We finally make our way onto the train and arrive at the station where we are to catch the bus.  Apparently the walk wasn't too long, but with no map, we didn't want to risk getting lost.

As we exit the train station, we see our bus go by...and its really hot out I should mention, so everyone is hot and tired and cranky at this stage.

We wait for a long time and don't see another bus, so finally we catch a taxi and get dropped off at the hotel.  It has now been over 2 hours to just drop off the darn rental car...the girls are going a little bonkers...and I'm at my limit too.

We go to check in and the guy tells me that they have no rooms with 1 large bed...after he gives me a lesson on the widths of the twin beds in europe (after which I felt like clawing his eyes out) and tells me basically that we are not as important as his group arriving tomorrow (after which I felt like wringing his neck), we head to our room and discover no air conditioning and a hot room.

We were to go for dinner this night with relatives on my mom's side who live just north of Stockholm.  When we get in touch with mom, we are told that we have about 20 mins to get ready before heading out again.  I have to admit, we were just all at the limit by this stage.  After showering and dressing 4 people, in a hotel room that is scorching hot...we are not really a happy group.

Eventually the stress of it all and the rush to catch the bus (which we were not excited about getting on after spending the last 2 hours commuting out of downtown), I finally lose my cool and pull the plug.  The girls have not napped, we have not napped...its a recipe for disaster.  The Fougner clan head out for dinner and we go back to the room to chill out and have some much needed down time.

After a couple of hours of trying to nap, we finally give up and decide to head out for dinner.  We decide to take a cab, not wanting to face transit again.  This was a big mistake.  Its hugely expensive and we are a long way out.  The cabbie also takes a wrong turn and has to back track, and then in the end he charges us extra for the kids seats that he forced us to use.  I gave him a piece of my mind much to Dave's chagrin!

Our dinner was lovely, it was the best part of the day...its just too bad that it was so hot.  We ate at VAPIANO which is this great pizza/pasta restaurant.  You get a card as you enter, and you go up and order from all the various bars...and then you charge it to your card.  When you're finished, you take your card to the check out and pay.  The food was amazing...and it definitely seemed to be a hot spot for young people and families too.

After dinner we decide to brave the train again, we arrive just before one is leaving, so the timing is good...when we arrive at our stop, we head up to the bus stop and its not too long before one comes along.  After what seems like forever, the bus stops and the driver tells us all to get out.  Dave and I look at each other and then back at the driver in dismay.  "Where are we?" I ask.  We are nowhere near our hotel from what we can tell.  Apparently the train station attendant had given us the wrong instructions and we had taken the bus in the other direction.  We couldn't believe it!  The next driver coming on was nice enough not to kick us off and let us ride in the other direction to our hotel.  I think it was after 11pm by the time we got back.

What a day...we decide that we have to find another hotel as staying this far out and commuting in and out just want work for us.

After this incredibly long and arduous day we head up to our scorching hot room and go to bed....after rearranging all the furniture to suit us and the children!