We were stranded. The situation looked bleak. We weren't sure what to do. Turn back and go home or forge ahead and take risks. As the four of us drove to the airport in a taxi, with our 14 pieces of luggage in tow, we were ecstatic to be soon boarding the plane that would take us to a new destination, a new future, our new home! Little did we know, what would normally be a a two hour flight turned into an exploit of 3 days! The flights looked good. There were over 30 seats available. Being that David works for the airlines, we are blessed with the benefit of standby flying. However, in this incident, the blessing quickly became a curse. Don't get me wrong, it does have it's advantages, “when” it works. We receive a substantial discount on flight tickets for our immediate family which is great if there are seats available. But if there's no seats, whatever airport you are at can quickly become your second home. And trust me, we've had many second homes in different cities and countries, this time being Munich. We boarded the first flight without a hitch, everything being trouble-free. But once we set foot in Munich our circumstances quickly turned. We came to find out upon check-in to our final destination that the flight with over thirty seats available was now overbooked! This rerouted our luggage to the baggage claim requiring the luggage to be collected by us. As we stood in anticipation at the baggage belt for over an hour, we watched the time dissolve... making the next flight (our back-up plan) unattainable! There we stood with heaps of luggage, flights gone, and only half-way to our destination. As David began checking more connecting flights, our hope grew dim. All the flights were overbooked and we quickly found ourselves in a state of confusion, do we go back home or continue onward? It was difficult to understand in that moment, what exactly went wrong. We had it all planned out. The flights were open, it should've been a breeze! And now we were desperate, it appeared that every flight to every city out of Munich was FULL! “Now what?”, we asked ourselves??? As David ran from counter to counter, checking each airline within his alliance, I checked hotel rooms in Munich and debated about driving with a rental car to another city to catch an open flight. When out of nowhere, we came up with the idea to fly to Vienna, Austria. After all it was the only flight open continuing in a forward direction instead of moving backwards. And there was a flight the following day from Vienna to Mallorca with over 50 seats open! Surely this was it! We would arrive to our new home only 1 day later...so we thought! We arrived in Vienna and took a taxi to our hotel Pension Neuer Markt Hotel that we booked over Hotels.com. We were amazed at the buildings as we arrived in the city center in the early night! So big and beautiful, so much detail and history surrounded us, we insisted that we explore if only for an hour or two. We found an authentic Austrian restaurant, Restaurant Ferdinand within a few minutes of our hotel where we enjoyed original Austrian cuisine and then ventured out for a quick walk around the city center, fabulous! Impressed with the beauty of Vienna, we made sure not to get back to our room too late, we needed to wake up early in order to catch our flight which would take us to our new home! The alarm went off at 6 a.m. David grabbed his mobile phone and checked the flight that we would be boarding, or so we thought! Low and behold, nearly 60 seats gone! How could it be? So many seats gone overnight, in fact within 8 hours? It just didn't make sense! So, in that very moment, he said, “That's it! I am buying full booked tickets! No more taking chances!” He purchased the very expensive tickets, we booked another night at the hotel and we decided to really take the day to enjoy Vienna! And it didn't matter that it was pouring down rain! Needless to say, the flight that we booked did fill up a bit more by the next day. However, there were still over 20 seats open. We found out later on that there were over 60 flights canceled from Munich to Mallorca for 2 days straight, hence our predicament. Therefore the passengers were rerouted on the flights that we had planned on taking. And even though, we ended up spending more money than we had budgeted and were extremely frustrated and felt stranded, we decided to take a different approach to our situation. We embraced the fact that we were “stuck” in a foreign place that wasn't on our program and made the best out of it. And instead of being angry and bitter about our circumstances, we took the time placed before us and enjoyed every second of what would have most likely been a place that we would not have visited otherwise or perhaps well into the future. And in the process, not only were we as adults challenged to think more positive and improve our patience, our kids were also being taught in those areas as well! Vienna was absolutely wonderful and we were so very thankful to have been sidetracked giving us the chance to indulge in the history and beauty of such a wonderful city! With Love and Blessings! David and Robin If you're not already following us, CLICK HERE And join in on our wild adventures of culture, personality and fervor! Early this year, we began to plan and scheme for what our hearts desired, Mallorca, Spain! CLICK HERE for Part 1. We had already been downsizing for quite some time, but our new decision amped things up even more. we sold many of our belongings, packed our car full some precious things and clothes and headed off across Europe! We were looking at 1700+ kilometers or 1100+ miles to reach the ferry we would board to our new haven and new ambition! Our drive was long but wonderful! It was just David and I. We left the kids with our oldest daughter so that we could focus on spending time alone together, something that is important for every married couple, especially when they are facing what could be a potentially stressful situation, like a move! Within just a few hours of our departure, we found ourselves lost in the southern farmlands of Germany. Our navigation tried to reroute us because of construction right into another area of construction. And due to the rolling hills and the scarcity of population, there was a shortage of roads to lead us out of where we found ourselves trapped. However, it was just another reason to take in the beautiful landscape of a place that we had never laid eyes on until that moment. After backtracking we worked our way back to the Autobahn and continued on our journey towards France. We wouldn't be seeing Paris on this road trip, but the French country-side had such a flair that sent our hearts leaping! Our first stop was just outside of Dijon, France where we arrived in the dark at our hotel Chateau de Saulon that we booked on Hotels.com. We could tell that it was on the country-side but had no idea that Chateau meant castle! So, to our surprise, the hotel possessed a certain ambiance to that of royalty! And the view when we arose early the next day just made our stay that much more amazing! After a good night's sleep we enjoyed a delightful French breakfast with boiled eggs, croissants and coffee and headed out for our next day of travel onto Montpellier, France. Montpellier was a larger city which alluded to a more busier atmosphere but definitely had a classic french appeal! Despite being big, the city was somewhat compact in it's design. The architecture was extraordinary! And the tall rows of buildings lined the streets running in all directions, some straight in character and others twisting around in different directions. And there were narrow passageways that added to the imagination of mystery and romance! Then there was the typical French streetlights made of black iron mounted sporadically throughout the walkways that furthered the charm even more! This time, unfortunately our stay wasn't at a Chateau but rather a Holiday Inn, which by the way was excellent when it came to cleanliness, free breakfast and location. There was a mall nearby and a street train that was only 10 minutes into the city. It was our last day and we would be arriving in Barcelona to catch the ferry to take us to our new home. But we made sure that we would reach Barcelona with plenty of time to spare for some sightseeing! As we entered into the massive metropolitan, we were amazed at the simplicity of the roadway structure. We found our way to the Port without a hitch, parked our car and headed into the ancient streets filled with visitors. This Spanish city had a charm all of it's own consisting of old cathedrals, statues and historically weathered buildings that lined the coast of the Mediterrian Sea. As we walked the streets discovering what we could in the limited time we had, we quickly fell in love with what we be the country of our new home. As the time drew closer to board the ferry, we found a Starbucks where we could rest our weary feet and catch up with some social media and messages. We sat on the balcony located on a dock in the port and watched as the dark clouds rolled in. Within minutes, we were surrounded by thunder, lightening and heavy rain, our adventure just got more adventurous! We were in hopes that the storm would pass because we did have 1 1/2 hours left before we needed to set sail towards our final destination. Needless to say, that did not happen! As the storm roared, we had a 15 minute walk across a bridge and through the city to reach our car, and I was the least to say, terrified! But I knew that God had brought us this far, so he would take us all the way! With shrills of terror, my concerned hubby bought umbrellas from an Indian guy in front of the shopping complex that would assist in protecting us from the rain but NOT lightening, we ran as fast as possible to our car and within minutes we entered the transportation to our destination! With smooth sailing, we arrived in Palma de Mallorca 7 1/2 hours later. It was a wonderful trip full of new discoveries, adventure and a little fear. But more than anything, it was a time that David and I could spend as a married couple; discussing, planning, sharing, living, loving and enjoying each other as we embarked onto our new journey together! We are of course, relocating to another region that is not home to either of us. But this time, it isn't out of necessity or obligation , it's out of desire, ambition and motivation! With Love and Blessings! David and Robin If you're not already following us, CLICK HERE And join in on our wild adventures of culture, personality and fervor! P.S. If you haven't read Part 1, "WE JUST DID THE UNTHINKABLE" CLICK HERE We just did what some would consider the unthinkable! We moved to another country! I have to admit, it is a bit scary. The unknowns can give one butterflies in the stomach. A new language, a new culture, a new climate...Yes, it's all new, but then again is it? As many of you know, David and I have been living in Germany for the last 14 years. It was a home to neither of us. And it did have many challenges. For David, home was Malaysia. But the move was slightly easier to adjust to due to his mother being Germany, so he had knowledge of the language and an idea of the culture. But for me, an Arizona girl, Germany was completely and totally foreign. The language, weather, culture, and lifestyle was not anything close to what I knew life to be. And somehow, despite the years spent there, German life for me was never something I could get accustomed to. I never really fit in or even felt at peace. Our time in Germany however, grew us in ways unimaginable! Aside from learning to live in a new culture and learning to speak a new language, we learned what it felt like to be alone. In turn we learned to rely completely and fully on one another and to love deeply as a family. And when we did fly back home, whether that was to Malaysia or to America, we experienced a deep appreciation of being with our extended families as though we had been wandering through the desert and finally came across water! But it also ingnited our love for travel. Anything that took us out of cold, rainy Germany was music to our ears! But most importantly of all, we met God again in a new and exciting way. He showed himself to both David and I that set our souls on fire and kindled a new way of living! We set our sites on Mallorca, Spain two years ago when we visited the island and fell in love with it right away! The pull that we felt was hard to explain, so we just wrote it off to the Spanish flair, beaches and great weather. But the allure remained within us and grew each time we returned for a visit. We found ourselves imagining life on an island that reminded us both of home! The sun, the palm trees, the bougainvilleas, the cactus, the houses, the beach, the food, the lifestyle, the people, all possessed components of life we knew in Malaysia and Arizona! But the crazy thing is, as much as it's like home to both of us, it also has elements of Germany! A big reason for that is because Mallorca is a main vacation destination for Germans. Therefore, there are supermarkets, drugstores and restaurants that we are also accustomed to! So, early this year, we began to plan and scheme for what our hearts desired, Mallorca! We had already been downsizing for quite some time, but our new decision ampted things up even more. Finding an apartment or house to rent was no easy task due to the throngs of summer vacationers. However, after several months of search efforts from ourselves and four other people living on the island, an apartment was found in a perfect location providing easy access to the airport for David's work purposes. Not to mention the close vicinity to the beach and shopping. AND the apartment being fully furnished, makes our move from Germany a walk in the park. With that being said, we sold many of our belongings, packed our car full some precious things and clothes and headed off across Europe! We were looking at 1700+ kilometers or 1100+ miles to reach the ferry we would board to our new haven and new ambition! This is ONLY part 1 of a 2-part blog. So, be sure NOT to miss out on my next blog for more on our crazy move to another country! With Love and Blessings! If you're not already following us, CLICK HERE
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HOWDY!
We're Robin & David, husband & wife, entrepreneurs, explorers & adventurers. We each sprung out of separate parts of the world (Malaysia & Arizona), disembarked together & formed an unbreakable marriage & family out of what once was a complex blend of jumble, whilst living as foreigners in Europe. FOLLOW US
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