Bye bye Spontaneity, Hello Planning

Planning our first summer vacation with a one-year old was a new experience for me. I was never exactly a globetrotter, but had always been travelling for adventure rather than comfort. I used to prefer tents over resorts and activity over relaxation. Hardly ever did I pre-book as I enjoyed waking up in the morning, curious where the journey was going to take me. In my day-to-day I am not a very spontaneous person, but on vacation all I needed was a lose plan.

Not so when going on holiday with a one-year old. Being organised and well prepared was all I cared about when travelling as a first-time mom. Going to my home country Germany gave me reassurance, not having to worry about currencies and languages. And yet it took me some time to research locations and places. I felt overwhelmed and lost with where to start planning our first family vacation.

New Territory ‘Package Holiday’

Before John and I became parents, we had always avoided package holidays and above all places with kids entertainment. Now that we were travelling with a one-year old this was about to change. On my search I still felt drawn to remote, charming accommodations. It was John who steered us towards more kids-friendly places. For his own sake he wanted somewhere with plenty of indoor and outdoor activities, knowing that we weren’t able to follow our usual pattern of spontaneous meals and pottering through towns and museums. In addition we needed self-catering facilities and a space for us to enjoy some couple time after baby’s bedtime. That gave me some search criteria.

We settled for a holiday village at the Lakelands Mecklenburgische Seenplatte in Germany, about two hours North of Berlin. To my delight it looked quite idyllic for a family resort. And it came with plenty of amenities and kids activities. The proximity to the airport and my parents’ house promised manageable travel times. Last but not least it was situated in a nature reserve with an abundance of sightseeing and day trip opportunities. Our first vacation as a family of three was booked!

From Backpacking to Bag-packing

Travelling light had always been my forte. I took pride in requiring few clothes on leisure trips and in my skill to pack them very space efficiently. Whilst I was still okay with a small suitcase for two weeks, I needed twice as  much space for our little one. I was terrified to forget something and started making lists weeks before our departure. A lot of “What-if” questions were going through my head and it took John’s “There-is-nothing-you-can’t-buy attitude” to put my mind had ease during the packing process.

A Family Resort to Relax

When we arrived at the Dorfhotel Fleesensee we instantly knew we had made the right choice. The resort was located in a tiny village and at the end of quiet lane, surrounded by fields and forest. We were exhausted from a full day travelling and not used to the heat. Yet I instantly felt relaxed as we pulled our luggage and a still surprisingly bouncy baby on top of it in a handcart to our apartment. On the way we stopped at a little merry-go-round and spotted lots of more places that we were eager to explore over the coming days.

The apartment suited our needs perfectly, giving us a separate living and bed room as well as a terrace to spend time when the baby was asleep. Today this wasn’t going to happen any time soon, so we all headed for a sundowner to the restaurant. A great start to our first family vacation!

  

Kids Entertainment – Curse & Blessing

At breakfast we got a feel for what it was like to be on a package holiday with kids entertainment. When a massive cow mascot entered the room with a bunch of dancing kids in tow. The noise was excruciating, but our little one was hooked straight away. We on the other hand hid behind our massive breakfast portions and treated ourselves to another coffee. Welcome to family vacation with a one-year old!

After a couple of days of settling in, we were eager to try the free childminding service. Our 14-months old had never been with anybody else and I was nervous accordingly. However some couple time was long over due, so we dropped him into the Kids Club, located in a lighthouse with a huge indoor and outdoor playground. To our surprise we got three hours to ourselves that morning, but weren’t so successful on the next try. It was our first family vacation after all, so we were happy to spend the rest of it together.

A Summer Break

With the beautiful Lake Fleesensee at our doorstep, we were looking forward to some swimming and watersport activities. Back in Ireland, I was always telling John how much I missed the consistent German summers. When we prepared our trip, I was going on about the amazing lakes and how much pleasant they are to swim in than the cold Irish Sea. And after sweating all day long on the drive here, we couldn’t wait to jump into the shallow water the next morning.

Whilst we had been anticipating a real summer for once, people in Fleesensee were praying for rain after a long dry spell. We seemed to have brought it over from Ireland. And it arrived shortly after us. Meanwhile in Ireland a hose ban was issued, and we were wading through puddles once again. After our initial disappointment we took advantage of the attached indoor pool and lovely trips to the surroundings.

Sightseeing unprepared

As soon as we left Fleesensee, the sun was splitting the stones again. On our way to my parents’ we passed Sanssouci and I was delighted to show my two boys some magnificent German heritage. I had often been there as a child when my parents showed it to foreign visitors.

Whilst John was impressed by Frederick the Great’s summer residency, my skills as a tour guide were less convincing. Of course King Frederick didn’t invent the potatoes and that is not why people leave them on his grave. My creative explanation earned me a kiss from John though for making him laugh out loud. In my hometown Torgau I skipped the history lessons altogether and we settled for a nice meal by the river instead.

  

Nervous Mom Traveller gained Confidence

Our first vacation with a one-year old was nothing like travelling as a student. In fact, as a mom I had become a very nervous traveller. Somehow I had lost my confidence that things were going to be ok, no matter the weather, delays, challenges we had to face. My easy-going attitude – even about packing – had turned into an uneasy feeling.

The trip to Germany gave me back some of that confidence. I knew that I had prepared well and that we weren’t exactly taking risks with our destination. For our first family trip it was absolutely perfect and I had made peace with booking a family-friendly accommodation and abandoning my light-weight backpack for now. Maybe even for good…