Already the benefits of traveling pregnant were evident since Vera bent over backwards so that we could fly together. She took the red-eye flight from San Diego, arrived at 6am, and waited around in Newark all day until our evening flight to Europe left. I’m not sure she would have put herself through that hell if I weren’t pregnant. But I really did appreciate it. Traveling with someone else is always much nicer – pregnant or not.
We waited around in the airport until it was time to board our flight. Vera didn’t let me lift my bag at all – claiming it was too heavy and dangerous (that’s now two points for Vera). But as the flight attendants on our flight greeted us the same old way they greeted everyone else – I realized that I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting in terms of extra pregnancy attention (at least from those not in my family). Where was my red carpet? My first class seat? My own private bathroom? Zero points for Continental Airlines.
A bigger seat really would have been nice. As the movie ended, and Vera and I tried to get comfy so that we could get some sleep, I watched in jealousy as she basically folded herself in half to make herself comfortable in her seat. But even without propping my knees up on the seat in front of me, I managed to get some sleep. And with my frequent trips to the bathroom I think I got my airfare worth in toilet paper alone.
We landed in London where we had a little layover before boarding our last flight to Frankfurt. By this time I was exhausted and poor Vera was totally delirious. We had managed not to check any luggage in fear that they would lose it with all the connections (on various airlines) we had booked. So we went to the ticket counter in London to get our connecting boarding passes. Our exhaustion became clear only after the woman asked us if we wanted an isle or window seat and I simply answered “yes”. She looked at us like we were idiots. That’s zero points for British Airways as well. Can’t these people see I’m pregnant (baby brain anyone)?? And that my poor travel companion has spent two nights in an airplane??? Then the luggage police eyed up my carry-on bag and asked me to measure it in their overhead model – which happened to be three feet off the ground. He just looked at me while I had to lift my own suitcase into it. Vera was already ahead or else I might have told that man that my sister here doesn’t think I should be lifting anything heavy and doesn’t he think he could lift the suitcase for me? But instead I lifted it into the case only to find that it didn’t fit. So I had to check my bag. That’s negative points for British Airways.
After I checked my bag, we headed toward our gate and quickly realized that those people walking toward us followed British traffic laws and wanted to walk on the left side of the hallways. And as polite North Americans Vera and I were walking to the right. But the truly shocking part was that no one even budged to move around us – had we not moved they would have mowed us over – regardless of the protruding belly. That’s zero points for all British people as well.
Once we arrived in Germany, we spent a night at Beate’s, and headed back to the airport the next morning to meet up with Jonas and pick up our rental car. We then headed up to northern Germany (Jonas drove and stopped without complaint every time I needed to pee – one point for Jonas) where we would meet up with the rest of the Philipsen clan to celebrate Opa Hans’s birthday – and where the true adventure would begin.
Opa had planned out a three day full itinerary complete with meals and activities from 9am until bed time. On the first day we took a boat to a nearby town (Flensburg) where we got out to take a tour of the town. It would have been a nice tour except that it was a walking tour and it rained the entire time. Wet and cold, it wasn’t long before I had to pee. No credit to myself – I really didn’t speak up until I really had to go. At which point Welsey, Vera, and my Mom all wandered away from the group (many of which had already joked that I should just squat somewhere) with me to find a bathroom. Points for each of them as well.
I ran into a similar problem the next day when we were taking a horse drawn wagon tour of a nature reserve. Again it was raining and cold and we were huddled into the back of the wagon under the canopy roof. Soon I whispered to my dad who was sitting next to me that I had to pee. He told me I should just hop out and go in the woods. But I told him that I didn’t have to go bad enough to do that yet. Plus I didn’t want to stop the whole wagon tour so that everyone was waiting on me while I squatted in the wet, rainy woods. But apparently I wasn’t the only one, because a bit later Dirk spoke up for Wesley who also had to go and did indeed stop the wagon for her. I got out with her and we shamefully walked around the corner - with our umbrellas in hand - onto another path so that the wagon group could no longer see us. She walked a bit ahead of me so that we were out of each other’s view as well. Although I know it’s disgusting, I squatted right there on the path because there was no way I was walking into the wet forest. After all it was raining it would all wash away soon enough. Poor Wesley tried to go a bit into the forest and stuck her bottom right into some brennnessel (which is like German poison ivy – only the itching and burning only lasts about half an hour instead of a week). Even though the wagon ride was otherwise really great – on the pregnancy scale - nature reserve: zero points.
We concluded the wagon ride on the farm of the man who served as our tour guide. There in the back of his farm we were approached by three of the nicest horses I have ever seen. They walked right up to us and were extremely affectionate. They not only let us pet them – but also seemed to encourage it. One of them nuzzled it’s face into Wesley’s neck. I think maybe he had some idea that her rear end was probably in extreme discomfort at the moment. Then the same horse came over and nudged me right in the stomach. Not in a mean or dangerous way at all… but very loving. I think he may have noticed that I was pregnant. This horse had just shown more compassion than all of the entire Continental and British Airlines employees combined. Nice horse: 10 points.
Although I haven’t quite received the attention I think I deserve from airline attendants and Opa’s tour guides, overall the trip has been fairly easy. I haven’t been uncomfortable, or overly tired, and I didn’t get any jet lag at all (Klaus said that’s because we’re his children). Traveling with a pregnant belly hasn’t been so different from traveling without one which is not at all what I was expecting. And everyone who is actually related to me has given me more than enough attention and extra love and has at least pretended to be interested in feeling the baby move – which I think I’ve made just about everyone do at this point. All of this really makes up for everyone else in the world who doesn’t seem to care that I am with child.
And from the baby’s perspective I think this must be making the in-utero experience even more heavenly - if that’s even possible. On the first morning in Germany I ate a laugen wecken (that’s a roll that’s sort of like pretzel bread) with butter and Nutella and within 10 minutes the baby was in there doing back flips. I just imagined he was thinking that this is NOT the organic cold cereal we usually eat in the morning and is totally worth doing gymnastics for. Or it was just a serious sugar rush. But he’s definitely had his first German language exposure which hopefully means he’ll magically start speaking it as soon as we take him on his first Germany trip. With his mama so happy, well fed, and comfortable, and with his new exposure to mass amounts of chocolate and German language – I think the only drawback for both me and the baby is that we really miss Jason – who kicks everyone else’s ass in number of pregnancy points accumulated.
I ran into a similar problem the next day when we were taking a horse drawn wagon tour of a nature reserve. Again it was raining and cold and we were huddled into the back of the wagon under the canopy roof. Soon I whispered to my dad who was sitting next to me that I had to pee. He told me I should just hop out and go in the woods. But I told him that I didn’t have to go bad enough to do that yet. Plus I didn’t want to stop the whole wagon tour so that everyone was waiting on me while I squatted in the wet, rainy woods. But apparently I wasn’t the only one, because a bit later Dirk spoke up for Wesley who also had to go and did indeed stop the wagon for her. I got out with her and we shamefully walked around the corner - with our umbrellas in hand - onto another path so that the wagon group could no longer see us. She walked a bit ahead of me so that we were out of each other’s view as well. Although I know it’s disgusting, I squatted right there on the path because there was no way I was walking into the wet forest. After all it was raining it would all wash away soon enough. Poor Wesley tried to go a bit into the forest and stuck her bottom right into some brennnessel (which is like German poison ivy – only the itching and burning only lasts about half an hour instead of a week). Even though the wagon ride was otherwise really great – on the pregnancy scale - nature reserve: zero points.
We concluded the wagon ride on the farm of the man who served as our tour guide. There in the back of his farm we were approached by three of the nicest horses I have ever seen. They walked right up to us and were extremely affectionate. They not only let us pet them – but also seemed to encourage it. One of them nuzzled it’s face into Wesley’s neck. I think maybe he had some idea that her rear end was probably in extreme discomfort at the moment. Then the same horse came over and nudged me right in the stomach. Not in a mean or dangerous way at all… but very loving. I think he may have noticed that I was pregnant. This horse had just shown more compassion than all of the entire Continental and British Airlines employees combined. Nice horse: 10 points.
Although I haven’t quite received the attention I think I deserve from airline attendants and Opa’s tour guides, overall the trip has been fairly easy. I haven’t been uncomfortable, or overly tired, and I didn’t get any jet lag at all (Klaus said that’s because we’re his children). Traveling with a pregnant belly hasn’t been so different from traveling without one which is not at all what I was expecting. And everyone who is actually related to me has given me more than enough attention and extra love and has at least pretended to be interested in feeling the baby move – which I think I’ve made just about everyone do at this point. All of this really makes up for everyone else in the world who doesn’t seem to care that I am with child.
And from the baby’s perspective I think this must be making the in-utero experience even more heavenly - if that’s even possible. On the first morning in Germany I ate a laugen wecken (that’s a roll that’s sort of like pretzel bread) with butter and Nutella and within 10 minutes the baby was in there doing back flips. I just imagined he was thinking that this is NOT the organic cold cereal we usually eat in the morning and is totally worth doing gymnastics for. Or it was just a serious sugar rush. But he’s definitely had his first German language exposure which hopefully means he’ll magically start speaking it as soon as we take him on his first Germany trip. With his mama so happy, well fed, and comfortable, and with his new exposure to mass amounts of chocolate and German language – I think the only drawback for both me and the baby is that we really miss Jason – who kicks everyone else’s ass in number of pregnancy points accumulated.
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