Adventures in Rostock

Madeline at the Baltic Sea in Rostock, Germany

I don't think I ever really explained our exact plans for the summer, partly because we didn't have them. More like a loose outline. We flew to Brussels on May 31, with plans to travel for a month before ending up in Madrid on July 3. We had a rough idea of the places that we wanted to go, but nothing concrete. We didn't even have a hotel booked for our first night in Europe. I realize that this would completely freak some people out, but we weren't worried. We had already arranged for our car in advance, and seriously, if you have a passport and a credit card, you'll be fine. Having an internet connection to help arrange things is a bonus.

Being flexible about our plans has been especially nice since we have dear Maddycakes along for the ride, and that means that our days are sometimes a little bit unpredictable. We can be relaxed and do things at a pace that works for us rather than worrying about fitting our lives into a schedule that we planned long ago. We plan a couple of weeks ahead, and then we adapt as we see fit a few days ahead of time. It's very refreshing.

The first day we were in Europe, we ended up heading to Calais, France, to pick up our car. We spent the night, tried to see the cliffs of Dover (it was too hazy on the English side), and then headed up to Belgium. We found a great hotel in a little beach town called De Panne, and the next day we hit up the North Sea. Way too cold to swim, but that wasn't the plan anyway. We waded for a while and collected seashells and chased birds (Madeline's new favorite pastime). It was beautiful and we saw a lot of gorgeous Flemish countryside on our drive.

Fast forward to our time in Rostock, Germany, which I mentioned in my last post (it's way late and I need to get to bed, so I'll be skipping a bit for now). We stayed in a little vacation apartment in a small village near Rostock. Vacation apartments have turned out to be an amazing way to go. They are usually cheaper than hotels, strangely enough, and then we have access to a kitchen where we can cook and, most importantly, sterilize Madeline's nebulizers. Plus we have to make sure that some of Madeline's medication stays refrigerated at all times, so it's great to have a fridge in our room. This particular apartment had a great yard for M. to play in. She made the most of it.



Today we went to the beach so Madeline could get a chance to swim in the Baltic Sea. I like this picture of Dave and Madeline headed toward the ocean. I think she wanted to make sure that I was coming along too.


And yes, Madeline was wearing a swimming suit. It's a pale color, so in the picture it almost looks like she doesn't have one on at all until you make the picture larger. The water was super cold, but that never stopped Miss Madeline from having a good time.


We had a good time in Rostock. And it turns out we're beach bums who always manage to find a way to the ocean on just about any trip.