To Poland

Three kids, two grown ups, and many stuff squeezed in an estate set off to Poland Monday morning.

We romanticised to leave around 8 am, although we felt it might be too ambitious. By the time we packed up it was almost 10 am.

We had to make some last minute shopping on the way and fuel the car. We left Ticino in 12 degrees Celsius, just to arrive in -4 degrees Celsius at 9 pm. We called it a day around Leipzig and booked a room on the way.

The kids had better sleep in the clean and fluffy bedding then they have at home. It was hard to wake them up. Second day we set off at 9 am. We had breakfast in the car as we brought plenty of left overs with us.

We stopped along the way for lunch in a McDonald. The usual small kids play area was designed into a kids gym. It had two spinning bikes, a basketball loop with many balls and an maze with obstacle course incorporated in it. It felt like we were in an indoor playground.

1650 km in two days. But we made it to Elblag by 4 pm New Year’s Eve.

New Years Eve

After driving most of the day, we couldn’t wait to get our bodies moving. The old town is lit up with various light compositions at this time of the year. We knew as we visited it two years ago when it was just the three of us.

After a brief walk the little ones were ready to be tucked in. Our eldest stayed up with us to welcome the new year. 2025 arrived with a spectacular firework display which we could watch from the dinning room. I could barely keep my eyes open but it was worth every second of it.

Baltic Sea

After two years we have finally returned to the seaside in the winter snow. It is such a surreal sight when sea meets ice, ice meets sand, and sand meets snow.

It was a brief visit as the first large wave knocked M off her feet and she got soaked in ice cold water. We picked her up and managed to dry her quickly at our friends nearby apartment. Seemingly it did not shook her up too much. It all happened so quickly, that I am not sure how much she noticed at all. On the way home we visited more family members. Unfortunately, all three kids fell asleep at the danger nap zone time. So when they woke up, the two elder were crying (like babies) while the baby enjoyed all the attention he could get. M and I tried to console the kiddies but waking up from the late nap is hard on their bodies. They were too disorientated to be bothered about any manners they usually have when we are visiting family and friends. By the time they calmed down we had to move on and get back to M’s parents for dinner. Of course all is good when they have food. 🙂

Friends & Family

Four full days were just right to meet all the friendly relatives and friends. There is a lot to catch up when you meet once a year. But honestly with three tiny kids it gets a bit ‘hit and miss’. We can only move with their rhythms and it’s often unpredictable how much catching up we can actually have 🙂

Overall, they make every reunion much sweeter. Their curiosity and niceness is welcomed by everyone.

To Switzerland

We decided to leave half a day early, after lunch on Sunday. The idea was to make the same journey as on the way to Poland. But nature had a different idea.

About 3 hours into our road trip we found ourselves in a snowstorm on the motorway. The traffic slowed from 140 km/h to 80 km/h. The motorway was covered in snow and the temperature was dropping sub zero.

We quickly made new plans and booked a room near the German border.

We had an early start Monday morning with the aim to get ourselves home by bedtime.

There was sun, snow, and rain along the way. The snowstorm after St. Bernardino was beautiful. I cannot remember traveling in such a snowfall before. It was exciting to descend from the mountain. Most of the cars were driving super slow with a few random daredevils flying past us. M drove the whole time and got us home safe.

Mom cooked us dinner and brought a Panettone. It was lovely not to think about feeding the family straight after arrival and to be able to relax after a two days journey.