I was going through my drafts folder (while sitting next to a sick, sleeping child—unexpected blogging opportunity!) and realized I had sketched out a “day in my life” from our travel journey. Oops. I had completely forgotten about it.
Let’s rewind the clock a bit, shall we?
Here are other Day in My Life recaps:
- A Day in My Life: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
- A Day in My Life: Monday, 7 October 2024
- A Day in My Life: Wednesday, 9 April 2025
- A (Golden) Day in My Life: Friday, 20 February 2026
~3 am. Not surprisingly, I didn’t have a great sleep. I woke up and didn’t try to fight the insomnia for long. I tackled some final touches on the house—changed remaining sheets, wiped down all the bathrooms, and finished some last-minute packing. We had been running on adrenaline for days, so why not run on a bit more of it?!
6:00 am. A dear friend of our family (he calls us Aunt/Uncle and the kids refer to each other as cousins) came over to hang out for a few hours. I puttered and tried to make the clock spin faster. I was a bundle of nervous energy at this point!
For anyone curious what 3.5 months of travel supplies look like packed up and ready to go, this is the answer for our family:
7:40 am. My Dad was set to pick us up at 8 am. Of course, that meant he showed up by 7:40.
7:45 – 8:45 am. We went to my parents’ rental place for breakfast. It was simple—toast and cereal—but it was wonderful to not to have to come up with food for the morning and Mom volunteered to handle all the dishes. I had a few items from our fridge to pass along, helped Dad with a final computer issue (fixed it in seconds), and gave Mom final hugs and goodbyes.
8:45-9:45 am. Dad drove us to the airport. We were all pretty tired (the kids were up extremely early, too) and there wasn’t much conversation!
9:45 am. Dad dropped us off. We gave him a gift card for Tim Horton’s and sent him to wait with a coffee while we cleared security. We weren’t able to check in for our flights from home because of the length of time we were going to be in Europe so there was a bit of trepidation when we went to the desk. Thankfully, when we proved we were leaving Germany, we got our boarding passes.
10:26 am. Through security, I settled in and started reading a book. Unfortunately, the lounge at the Halifax airport is under renovation until 2027. But I was quite content. John walked the halls and made some phone calls to family, Indy played geometry dash, and Belle listened to music and FaceTimed a cousin.
I was SO HAPPY at this point. We had made it through the last few weeks of chaos and were IN THE AIRPORT. Also: time to sit and read a book? SIGN ME UP.
We read, played, talked, walked, and just generally pleasantly passed the time. I read a few chapters from City of Ember to Indy. Everyone (but me) went to Tim Hortons for a snack (someone had given us gift cards as a Thank You).
12:30 pm. Here’s my travel attire. My luggage was packed to the gills, so I needed to wear as many layers as possible. The good news? I never felt cold on the flight (and I ALWAYS get cold on flights). The bad news? I was sweating like crazy a few times.
Tights, pants, merino wool socks, Chelsea boots, T-shirt, sweatshirt, lined Columbia rain coat, puffer vest, and scarf (which I must have taken off at this point).
1:15 pm. Eventually it was time to leave. Our first flight (Halifax to Toronto) was uneventful. The kids listened to music/watched things, looked out the window and I read a book (Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami). Oh, and I napped! I find it so hard to sleep on planes, but the depths of my exhaustion knew no limits at this point. The lead up to leaving was so stressful and the nap felt glorious!
5:03 pm. We landed in Toronto and headed to the lounge. It’s a trek (probably 15 minutes of brisk walking) and I was SWEATY!!! This is one time when all my clothing layers were an issue. Also… our bags are heavy. No regrets about only bringing carry ons/backpacks, but in this moment, it was a lot to schlepp.
The lounge was great. It was my first time in the international lounge in Toronto. They had some amazing chicken, roasted potatoes, salad, and delicious brownies. We played word games (girl names/boy names, A to Z), listened to music, and I read Indy a few more chapters from City of Ember.
6:30 pm. It was time to go! The plane was full so everything felt very squished, but I read my book and actually was one seat ahead of the kids/John. I made a little foot sling out of my scarf and this was the BEST thing I did for travel comfort. I just wound it up and into the seat-back tray, and left a long loop dangling so I could put my feet into it. 10/10 recommend. (I didn’t take a picture, but here’s an article with a little video. I used a slightly different technique but the end result was the same.)
The flight from Toronto to Munich was smooth. I didn’t watch anything, as I’d rather use that sort of time for reading. I finished a second book (Always Pack a Candle by Marion McKinnon Crook), and dozed off and on for a few hours.
I was in the aisle seat and neither of my seat-mates used the bathroom a SINGLE TIME on our trip. I can’t imagine that’s great for their bladders, but it was pretty fantastic for me. I never had to move to let anyone in or out.
9:15 am. We landed in Munich and were a bit concerned about passport control (we’re staying in Europe a long time), but it was a non-issue! No line (at all), and we were through in a few minutes.
We sorted out the train, bought the appropriate public transit tickets, and headed toward the hotel. The only hiccup was we forgot during one of our last trips we had turned off “bus” in Google Maps, so we ended walking almost 2 km with all our stuff (which was A LOT), only to learn there is a bus that comes within 350 m of the hotel. Oh well.
We were early for check in but they let us have access to our room which was amazing. After 24 hours on the go, we were in Europe!!!
For lots more details about what came after:
- Our First 2 Days in Munich: Alte Pinakothek, BMW Welt & the Devil’s Footprint
- Munich Itinerary Days 3–5: Dachau, Marienplatz, Glockenspiel & Westpark
Top Tips:
- Wearing layers was great for getting things here, but I wish I had skipped the tights. They don’t take up much room in luggage and added to my overheating issues.
- My purse came in clutch. I bought it second-hand a few years ago but this was my first time travelling with it.
- Kobos/e-readers are tremendous for travelling!
- Using a scarf for a foot rest was the winning experience from a long flight.
- Also, did everyone know you can adjust head rests on planes (they fold in). I am not an especially seasoned traveller, but I’ve taken plenty of flights at this point and had NO IDEA headrests folded in.
- This isn’t a tip so much as an observation: kids are so much easier to travel with when they get older. They could go get their own food at the lounge, take themselves to the bathroom independently on the airplane, and just in general manage their own things. 10/10 recommend.
And that’s it!
Your turn.
- Tell me your favourite travel tip!
- Did you know you could fold in headrests on planes for extra neck support? What other hacks am I missing out on?
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