It was a trip, not a vacation

Earlier this month we went to Europe to pick up our new BMW 535i, and check out what goes on on the other side of the world. This was a trip in the making for a good 4-5 months, so we thought we had all our bases covered. Even the one about traveling with an infant. However, this trip really threw us a curveball, such as:

> A minor ear infection for Ryan the Friday before leaving. The doctor gave him amoxicillin to fight it… only thing is, he may have been allergic to it like me. All we know is that there was a strong correlation between when he'd blow up a diaper (and at one point, his entire outfit) after taking it. So we took him off that, which led to bigger problems later that week.

> Ryan never adjusting to the time difference. Germany & Italy are 9 hours ahead, so he would wake up at 3am, expecting his dinner. This would be followed by approximately 1 hour of playtime. The hotels provided either a European version of a Pack’N’ Play, or a crib, but since Ryan was not used to sharing a room, he never slept more than a couple hours at a time.

That said, we still managed to enjoy doing the tourist-y thing and check out some sights. We arrvied in Germany Monday evening.

First up: spending Tuesday at BMW Welt in Munich, Germany, where we picked up the 535i.

(Ryan in the kid's playroom at the Welt. It had some weird cult-like music playing in loops the whole time)

Since the Welt was next to Olympiapark, we headed there for a couple of hours to check it out. We were pressed for time so we didn't get a chance to see Neuschwanstein (the "Disneyland Castle") and I never got to go for a run in the Englischer Garden . (That was just as well as the naked people would have been unavoidable!)

Wednesday morning we headed off to Salzburg, Austria. If there was ever a place I'd be happy to move to, this would be it. It’s very relaxed and laid back, with people of all ages and sizes biking around, walking, and hanging out at the café. We stayed at the Salzburg Sheraton, near the Old Town (“Alstadt”) and Salzach River. Since the hotel was close by, I was able to enjoy a run along the river the following morning. Here are some pics from our stroll that evening:

Thursday morning we left for Milan, Italy. The drive there was amazing, and of course, the Autobahn rocks!!! Out of the 3 cities we went to, this was by far our least favorite. It was dirty, congested, smoggy, and the people were rude! It was as if we were in the projects, with a few nice buildings here and there. We took hundreds of pictures along the trip, but nothing for Milan.

While in Milan, Ryan woke up at his usual time, expecting dinner, but this time was also a bit different. He ate a little, started to fuss, then inconsolable wailing. He was also starting to burn up. After an hour or so, Josh called his pediatrician back home and was told it was probably his ear infection again. By then I was so exhausted (because guess who stays up when Ryan stays up), I told Josh it was time to go home. The trip was going to be cut short because there was no way either Ryan or I would last much longer.

We left Friday morning at 4:30 am from Italy, and drove through Switzerland, Austria, and back to Germany to drop the car off and catch the afternoon flight. Luckily Lufthansa has infant bassinets, so Ryan was able to rest a bit:

We landed in the US later that evening, making it 5 countries in one day! Pretty crazy.

That weekend Ryan started to perk up a bit after getting some well-needed sleep and plenty of playtime and food. I took him in the following Monday to get a check-up, and was told that the little guy had a ruptured ear drum at some point during the trip. Poor baby! The good news was it's pretty common in babies, and by that time, it had already healed. So no medication, and nothing that really needed to be done.

It was a pretty intense week - definitely a trip, not a vacation!