So much of my mental bandwidth lately has been going into planning for Europe. While all the regular rhythms of daily life continue as usual, I feel like my brain is also subdivided—one part (semi)calmly handling the present and the other stuck on a hamster wheel spinning exclusively to the tune of Our Family is Relocating to Europe for 3.5 Months with Only Carryons!!!! (Which John told me last week probably need to be smaller than our existing carryons.)
We leave in early March, and that… is not that far away.
Here are some stream-of-consciousness thoughts/a brain dump about all things Europe!
SCHOOL
- I’ve been in contact with both principals and the relevant teachers, which has been reassuring. Basically everything is sorted from a logistical standpoint in terms of clearing it with the schools/education department.
- For both kids, my only real academic “concern” is making sure they stay on top of math. As I see it, the rest of their education will be more than matched by the life experience of extended travel. Belle’s teacher has sent along all the Math units they’ll be covering in her absence and Indy will mostly just do IXL.
- Belle has asked that we put together a slideshow for each country we visit: major historical events, currency, language, and basic geography. This sounds like something she would love to spearhead, so I’m planning to encourage her enthusiasm.
- She’s also asked to work on learning all the countries of the world and their capitals. She already has a surprisingly strong grasp of global geography (better than mine), and I found a website with free resources and quizzes. We’ll start with countries and see how that goes before moving on to capitals.
- I also want to read aloud to the kids—some sort of classic, though I haven’t settled on just what yet. I floated the idea of To Kill a Mockingbird but Belle shot that down very quickly. I’d like them to do some independent reading as well, though that may be trickier. I’ll try to source English books along the way, keeping in mind that space will be very limited (I’ll have my Kobo but we can’t all read independently at the same time on one device).
HOME
- We have someone lined up to take care of our plants (this person has an in-home greenhouse, so I will take them to her).
- We’ll have a close friend staying at the house while we’re away. She’ll keep an eye on things and check the mail. Other than cleaning sheets and leaving codes and keys, there isn’t too much I need to do in advance. (It seemed like way too much hassle to try to rent out our place while away.)
- I still need to prepare a short “How-To” manual for the house—details on heating and cooling, relevant phone numbers, WiFi password, water shut-off information, and anything else that might be useful.
- I am trying to “eat down” our cupboards and freezer. We’ll unplug our little basement deep freeze and I’m trying to use up all the odds and ends and perishable food.
- We’re going to leave our existing phone plans set up while we’re gone. We can downgrade our package while we’re away to save money BUT our current plan is no longer available and if we downgrade we can’t get it back. It will cost about $130 (over and above the downgrade rate) but in the long-term it’s wise to just leave it as-is.
ITINERARY
- We land in Munich and have five nights booked at an (incredibly inexpensive!) hotel there. I’ve already made a list of things we’d like to see and do, and I’m hoping to include a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. This is a bit of a nuisance logistically—it’s quite far from Munich and would really be ideal with a car. We may consider renting one for the day?
- Originally, we had planned to stay in Munich longer, but accommodation options were limited. We’ve set a budget of a little over $2,000 CAD / $1,500 USD per month for accommodations, and we found more suitable options in Vienna.
- From Munich, we’ll take the train to Vienna, where we have an Airbnb booked for a full month. It’s about 6 km outside the city centre—very accessible by public transit—and in a quiet neighbourhood with parks and, mercifully, two bedrooms. I think this will be so helpful for maintaining peace. It will be a bit tougher for Indy, who’ll be “living” in the main space, but he’ll likely be the least bothered, and I expect we’ll spend a lot of time out and about anyway.
- We’re planning quite a few day trips from Vienna: Bratislava (Slovakia), and Brno and Prague (Czechia). Given how close we’ll be to Hungary, I’m hoping we at least cross the border at some point—probably Gyor.
- After Vienna, we’ll head out on a one-week road trip that will (hopefully) include stops in: Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, France, Monaco, and then back to Germany to fly out of Munich to Helsinki.
- We’ll be in Helsinki for a month. At some point, we plan to take the ferry to Tallinn (Estonia). We’ll also take an overnight ferry to Sweden and stay one or two nights in Stockholm, then continue by train to Copenhagen. We’ll stay with my brother and sister-in-law there for about a week before flying to London, with plans to spend a few nights there (I want to do the Tower of London Tour and the Harry Potter Studios) before spending our final weeks based out of Wales (Cardiff!). We may try to get up to Scotland as well.
PACKING
- We’ll be travelling with carry-ons only: four suitcases and four backpacks.
- There is, unsurprisingly, a fair amount of technology to bring along—three laptops, two tablets, and a Kobo.
- I am taking NEUTRALS. Everything must go with everything else. Black, white, and cream. That’s basically going to be it.
- John has ordered some vacuum-seal type bags. We’ll use compression cubes, but I’m hoping a suction system will help gain us a few extra inches.
TO DO BEFORE WE GO
- Most things (aside from accommodation) don’t need to be booked a long time in advance. We’re not going to do any specific tours (one of my mottos is It costs what it costs but we also want to keep costs reasonably low!). An exception to that is booking the Warner Studios tour in London. It is not cheap but I also think it will be one of the highlights of the trip for the kids!
- I want to buy a neutral (read: black) raincoat with enough room to layer a puffy sweater underneath. While I love my Helly Hansen jacket, it’s too snug for thick layers. We’ll be dealing with a wide range of weather, so I want something that can handle rain (and possibly a bit of snow) while still allowing me to shed layers as needed. I’ll keep an eye out for something second-hand, but I’ll buy new if necessary.
- Various house/car/insurance logistics which will involve phone calls, unfortunately 🙁
Phew! It feels good to get this all out on paper/screen! There’s lots more I could discuss on a granular level but that will suffice for today!
- Questions or comments?
- Tell me all your best travel hacks.
- Does anyone have suggestions for Vienna/the surrounding area?
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The excitement builds! It looks like you’ve covered everything important. Belle-a sideshow for countries- what a great idea. Looking forward to all your travel stories already!
I loved her idea! And will also let her spearhead the execution of said idea! She loves to learn little random facts about places. Plus, if she ever gets asked to do a presentation for school about her trip, she’ll have it ready!
If you have phones and tablets along anyway, the Libby app allows you to borrow ebooks through your library. This could provide more independent reading options than just the Kobo.
The trip sounds amazing.
A great reminder that I can use Libby on other devices for reading! So we can do it on my Kobo, and also phones. I don’t LOVE the size of a phone screen for reading, but it will do in a pinch!
how exciting!!! I can’t imagine traveling for 3.5 months with only carry-ons! please share your tips especially for different weather needs.
I think it’s going to come down to layering. We might have to buy a few things along the way (i.e. in Europe), too. It’s impossible to know exactly what we’ll reach for the most.
Yes!! Keep your Canadian phone plans while you’re away. I tried to downgrade for prepaid option on my Swiss phone plan and in the process, I lost everything, even my number. I got my number back (what a headache that was) and I’m now on an very expensive plan for a year, until I can downgrade again (even more of a headache).
Your plans look great and you are well prepared. You might find that you can’t get EVERYTHING done that you wanted – skipping a few low priority things won’t take away from the experience at all. Focus on what matters most and enjoy what you do get to do. It will be a blast!
Thanks for confirming this. Sometimes a little bit of seemingly “wasted” money can go a LONG way in preventing hassle and expense later on.
Yes, there will definitely be things we don’t get to do and I suspect we may get tired of adventuring sometimes, so there will be some normal “life” days where we just hang out and do laundry and watch movies. BUT IT’S ALL HAPPENING ON A DIFFERENT CONTINENT so there is that 😉
It sounds like you really have everything under control. Having a friend stay in the house while you’re away really makes things easier.
I LOVE Vienna! There’s so much to do there! And I love Munich. You’re going to a lot of places I’ve never been though- Helsinki, Estonia, Stockholm… I did go to Copenhagen but it was only for one day.
I absolutely cannot wait to hear all about this adventure!!! Yes- March will be here before we know it. Sounds like you’ll be ready.
I’m glad to hear Vienna has lots to do because we have… quite a lot of time there!!!
Ready or not, the time is ticking down. Eeks. I cannot believe in two months we’ll be half-way through our time in Vienna!
There are bus tours that will take you to Neuschwanstein; they leave from the train station. That’s how we got there and the guide told us the story of Mad King Ludwig on the way to the Castle. And then you get to spend the day there. Sorry, I don’t remember the name of the bus company, but we didn’t have to drive there, which was good.
And if you get a chance, look into Rothenburg ob der Tauber and the Night Watchman Tour. That was a nice little town.
Thanks for the tips, Maureen. As usual, I am trying to do this as inexpensively as possible but really should look at a tour. In the long run, it might be the best deal and would certainly take some of the guesswork out of getting there.
And thanks for the other suggestions! I’m taking notes 🙂
Your travel adventure sounds amazing! A quick tip for packing kids clothes. For PJs, bring comfy regular clothing. For example, shorts and a tee shirt. That way, in a pinch, they can wear the PJs as day clothes. That tip helped us when we were traveling to two very different climates on the same trip.
YES! This is definitely how we’ll pack for PJs!!!! Shorts and comfy pants that can double as actual “clothes” too. Such a great hack.
As someone who needs a large suitcase for a 4 night trip, I have no suggestions for you but wish you much luck!
Ha! Thanks, Bijoux. I am a light packer in general, but even for me this feels DAUNTING!
This is incomprehensibly complicated; I commend you for your tremendous foresight and organization. Here are a few random thoughts:
1. Shoes are a pain. They take up a ton of room and weight: need boots for this, sandals for that, walk everywhere every day shoes, exercise shoes, easy on/off travel shoes, something for dressy (oh oops, these pants are too long for those shoes, better take these instead, but then what will I do for X, Y, Z….)
2. A suction system: can this come with you? Because if you jam and cram while at home with the device, then what will you do after you unpack the first time and then can’t get it all back in??
3. Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapskate says that binder clips solve most of the logistical problems that a person ever encounters. Here is the link to her page about them. https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/binder-clips-every-room-uses/
4. She also has a good post about tips for smoother travel,: https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/tips-hacks-take-stress-out-flying/
5. I tend to choose skirts over pants whenever possible. Traveling in winter/early spring probably erases the possibility of this.
6. How many colors of nail polish are you taking? (teeheehee)
Thank you for letting us peek into the complications and how you are sorting through them all. (Oh ugh, those phone calls!)
The shoe thing is what is causing me the most stress. I think I’m going to wear boots and take two pairs of sneakers (no sandals). I can buy flip flops if I need to. We won’t be going anywhere fancy, but I’ll have “dressy” sneakers and a few dresses I can wear with leggings. We will have a range of weather, so boots will be Chelsea boots that can go with pants or dresses, and sneakers for the rest (a pair of exercise-type sneakers and then dressier ones).
Yes, the little suction system is VERY small and the bags shrink right up. Also, for over a month, space won’t be a big issue because we won’t be flying again. My luggage actually zipper-expands. And I’m thinking of suctioning things that we won’t need for a while (like I’m going to take a bathing suit for the saunas in Finland, but won’t need to access that while I’m in Germany). I might even have one whole luggage be devoted to seasonal clothes that we don’t need for the first leg of our journey???
I am off to read those two posts! Thanks so much for sharing the links.
I am so torn about taking nail polish with me, knowing it’s a whole “thing” to manage, or going natural for the time we’re there OR buying supplies in Europe. I haven’t decided yet. It really does bring me a lot of joy, but this might be a good thing to cut out of my life?? Decisions, decisions.
This! Is! So! Exciting! And holy moly, Elisabeth, you have already made such fantastic progress in your planning! You’ve got this!
I am especially loving the education plans for while you’re gone. Travel is such a fantastic teacher, and I’m with you 100% about “worrying” only about math. Belle’s idea for creating slide shows is fantastic. What a great way to cement what she learns about the places you visit AND capture memories at the same time!
As a lifelong overpacker, I admit I got a little nervous when I read that you may need to have smaller carryons than you thought. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, Elisabeth?!?! I hope you do a post about everything you pack. I loved reading about what Kyria packed for her travels, and I think it would be really cool to see what you do for your trip, AND what the kids bring, if they allow you to share.
Thanks, friend. The encouragement helps. Sometimes I stare off into space and say to myself: What have we done!!!!!!
Apparently they are cracking down on luggage sizes for carryons. We never have any issue with AirCanada because of John’s status BUT we will have two flights while in Europe and will be using discount carriers. Eeks.
I’m sure I will overshare about everything and will be sure to talk about packing. I am DEFINITELY nervous about the packing bit.
This is so exciting! I will miss you, but you’ll be so glad you went on this adventure!
The thing I will miss most about Canada is you. We’ll have to do some walk and talks while I’m away.
You know all the things happening in my life off the internet and so I think Europe will be a good breather from some of those stressors and it really does feel like the adventure of a lifetime. Thanks for being a cheerleader <3
I was only ever in Europe in my late teens, so 20 years ago now! But if things haven’t changed, people often wear the same outfit multiple days in a row. Also, the only people who will potentially notice your repeat clothing is your children! Perhaps the non-clothing items will be harder to whittle down though…
I did some sort of sled down a mountain track near Salzburg, which was really fun, but I have no idea where it was or what it was called. I’m no help haha. But I’m sure whatever you find to do will be great!
I will DEFINITELY be wearing the same things on repeat… for literal months. I’m okay with that! I’m not a big fashionista 😉
That sounds like such a fun adventure. I don’t think we’re going to make it to Salzburg. Sigh. So much to see and just not enough time to do it all!
So exciting! I feel like if you can get through a week with carry on and a backpack, you can get through a few months. I’m not at all sure I could get through a week with carry on, though. Maybe a small checked bag, so I’m not lugging too much from point a to point b, but carry on is another ball game. I salute you!
We never check bags, so that part is nothing new. Just going away for 3.5 months with that little stuff feels like a different ball game. That said, we’ll do laundry. And I can do hard things, right – haha. Hopefully between compression cubes and careful selection of items, it won’t feel too stressful?
This is so exciting! 10 days is pretty much the longest travel that I do, but I’ve always been very surprised by how easy it is to rotate three tops and a pair of jeans for that time. The tech is much easier to carry now that I’m not working! Who knew that one extra laptop and a portable monitor was such a luggage hog.
I’m very interested to see how the “it costs what it costs” mindset works out for you. It was something that I had to work on when I started traveling, and I’ve been so happy with the results – there are some things that I will never spend money on and a whole host of stuff that I chase for the cheapest amount possible, but the rest has been money well spent.
I *think* it costs what it costs will be very freeing for me. There will definitely be lots of places we aim to save (maybe I’ll keep doing Frugal Things posts while I’m away to highlight…or I could do a Save/Splurge post every month or something…I’m literally thinking as I type this) BUT this is also something we will do one time as a family, so I want to really lean into special memories. And, frankly, some of those will take cold, hard cash.
We are frugal and work hard and save SO we have opportunities to give and spend on things that matter to us. So we will definitely be buying store brand yogurt and going to museums on free days… AND buying expensive tickets to go on the Harry Potter tour.
This is so exciting!! Our month-long trip to the US and Germany had a whole spread of weather (from 26C in Washington DC to 0C and snow in Munich). all this with a carry-on with weight limit of 7kg, which means normal carry-on size case with space left. I see you are taking Chelsea boots, which is what I do, and then I just take a pair of runners, but on a trip like yours, I would probably also take my saltwater sandals for warmer weather. They take up basically no room and are comfortable for walking around, but also a bit dressier. I also like a lot of quick-drying clothes (especially underwear). Jeans are great. I only take two pairs of long pants usually, jeans and black pants. Obviously, for toiletries, you won’t need to take very much at all; it would be better to have the bare minimum and buy what you need there. I take a very waterproof rain jacket and an ultra-lightweight puffer, layering them as needed.
I look forward to your reports about Munich because we will be there in October. Only for a day or so because we plan to spend more time in the Bavarian Alps.
Yes, we will buy most of our toiletries there. This is a time where my minimal products makes things easy (I don’t use any face cream aside from coconut oil, for example, and bare basics for makeup).
I will let you know all the highlights from our time in Munich. Too bad our trips don’t overlap. I’d love to meet in person!!! <3
That would have been cool if we did overlap. I think on my trip, I will see if I can catch Tobia in Berlin.
That’s a great plan!!
Can you just check one or more bags on the discount carriers? I respect your general commitment to carry-ons but this seems like the perfect time to make an exception. Especially if using slightly larger carry ons overall saves you from spending money elsewhere–like getting different luggage or having to buy multiple pieces of clothing while you travel.
I think that’s what we’ll have to do (I’m fine with it; it rubs John the wrong way BUT ALSO HE IS A MAN AND HAS LESS TO PACK). I also see it as a money-saving thing. What I didn’t spell out in the post but will bury here in the comments is I wanted to take a checked bag. That said, I DO agree with John it would make moving between places very hard so carry-on only it is. Also, if we buy NEW smaller carryons, that’s costing money (as you’ve pointed out).
This is so exciting. I can only imagine how much planning goes into a stay this lengthy. I admit that I’m twitching a bit at the thought of being gone that long with only a carryon. I turned 21 in Munich. I don’t remember what we saw there, but I remember really loving it. We visited Vienna when Ed studied in Budapest in ’22. I see you have the Habsburg summer home, the Schlo-something or other palace as something that you’re not sure is worth it. I suppose it depends on what interests you, but we toured the house and the grounds. I recommend seeing it. We thought it was cool.
That makes two of us that are twitching!!
This is all so exciting but also so much work. It will feel good (I hope) to get on the plane and know all the reservations are set and there is nothing more that can be done.
When you are in Munich, I highly recommend a guided tour of Dachau. That’s what I did and I got so much more out of the tour with a guide. He met us at a metro station. It’s a short metro ride from the city if I recall. It was a very somber experience but so important for us, especially of late…
YES! There is a certain pressure that is removed once the time for planning and decisions is behind us. There will be lots of things to do and decide once we’re there since we’ll be living there so long, but the major stones are all sorted.
I’ve texted with you about Dachau!
So excited for you!
Your planning for the Europe trip sounds very exciting.
Coincidentally we are also going to Munich for a few days (but already in February). I have been before (and we also have friends there), but the kids have never visited and I am not sure my husband has. I will take note of a few sights on your list. We also got a lot of tips from friends, I will share them with you as well.
As for going to Neuschwanstein: I have been to the village ages ago, but we visited the other castle (Hohenschwangau). If you just search for “Busreise München Neuschwanstein”, you will find some links (I just tried it). Another (more affordable?) option might be to take the Flixbus from Munich (low cost bus company with a schedule all over Europe). I have read somewhere that there are currently renovation activities of the bridge (?) in Neuschwanstein Castle, maybe good to check in advance of your trip.
(That was meant to be a reply also to Maureen’s comment…but ended up at the end.)
Thanks for the notes! I hope you have a great time.
The more we’ve talked about it, I think maybe it makes the most sense for us to roll this into our road trip. That way we’ll already have a rental car and it’s mostly on the way. It feels like a long day trip so early in our time abroad (we’ll still be jetlagged), so punting this a month later sounds better. Plus, the weather should be nicer!
This so incredibly exciting. I am kinda bummed you’re not staying in Munich longer as I will definitely pass through there at the end of March/early April on my way to the Italian Alps, but I understand that Munich is terribly expensive…. and Vienna is a great city. I’ve only been there once but loved it. You definitely have to check out the Spanish Riding School, Schönbrunn Palace, and Café Sacher.
I am internally sweating thinking that you’ll be doing this long trip with just a carry-on. Even if you use the vacuum-seal bags, will you always have a vacuum or something to actually repack them? (This is the first thing my mind went to LOL)
Also, will John be with you and “work from home” or will he be traveling to offices while you’re all in Europe?
Okay, I am going to text you because I feel like there has to be some way to make this work!! We’re going to be in Italy in April. Maybe we could meet somewhere. I want to figure this out!!!!!
We have a tiny little suction vacuum so, yes, we’ll be able to re-suction things. I’m sweating about this, too, San!
He will be working from home some of the time, but also going into the office. Our first day in Munich he will get picked up by a colleague and they’ll go to a meeting. So this is definitely not a “vacation” for him. Helsinki he will be going to the office basically every day. But he’s got about 3 weeks vacation planned over the course of our time in Europe, so there will be lots of time for him to have fun and explore, too.
Oh this is all so exciting! We went to Vienna a few years ago. The opera house is amazing – it is the one and only time I have seen an opera but it was great. There are small screens at the seats which translate into several languages so that helped with understanding the story. And the whole building is just beautiful. It might be possible to just go for a coffee and look around during a day – I would recommend. Also, all the cafes – Cafe Central was a particular treat and felt very special but there are a lot of good options. There is also a Museum of Illusions which is really fun and, if you want to be indoors on a bad weather day – the aquarium. In London – definitely the Tower of London – there is a lot to do there, I went for a special day out with my son a few years ago and we both really enjoyed it. It is very close to Tower Bridge, which we did not visit but you can get tickets to tour inside the towers which looks fun. I am so looking forward to reading about all your travels.
All these tidbits are making me extra excited, Nina! Thanks for all the tips and suggestions <3
I have absolutely no tips or travel hacks to share with you because I am very much a novice when it comes to international travel. (And there is no way I could do carry-ons for a four-month trip, lolololol.) I’m excited to follow along with your travels – your travel blog posts are my favorite to read.
Aww. This warms my heart. Sometimes I feel like travel recaps must be such a snooze for people to read, so I love hearing that people enjoy them <3
I am late to this game but I am so excited every time you post on your trip! I am especially excited that you are spending a month in Vienna – I loved that area. My grandfather was born in Vienna. It’s so accessible with train to lots of amazing places… including nature & not just cities. I can’t wait to keep following, and to see you in Wales!
Also, 100% love the planning map and spreadsheet (of course)
I had no idea your grandfather was born in Vienna. Cool!
I am SO EXCITED to meet you. (Can I admit I am secretly hoping the twins adore me. I got jealous of the pictures of Kyria hiking with a twin in a backpack. I am very relieved to be beyond that stage of parenting but also do miss is sometimes. They’ll probably feel very Meh about me, but I’m guessing they will adore Belle :))
The twins will love you! and Belle!
Gah. I AM SO EXCITED to meet you and your kids. (And Andy too, of course, but don’t tell him that I’m way more excited to meet you and the kids…haha)