Archive for the 'movingoverseas' Category

Five tips for flying with kids

Published
by
Michael
on 24/1/2008
in movingoverseas
. 10 Comments

Walking to the SiegesaeuleLast Sunday evening we arrived in Berlin after 34 hours of airports and airplanes… here’s what I learned:

  1. Just because you’ve got five tickets and can take five pieces of hand luggage doesn’t mean you should use them all. But, the flip-side of this is that you’ll definitely have your hand luggage at the end of your trip (our check-in luggage didn’t get on the connecting plane with us in London).
  2. Always let people who happen to be sitting beneath your “Kids entertainment” bag (that you access every few hours) know when you’re going to drop their laptop on their head (or they tend to get a little bit upset),
  3. The death-stares that seem to be directed at you and your screaming baby during the “night” section of the trip are really a sign of affection - people will lie through their teeth tell you afterwards how wonderfully behaved your kids are.
  4. Don’t stand in a queue for a British Airways connection while a bunch of Finnish retirees monopolise one of the two staff who aren’t currently on their lunch break only to be told after 45 minutes of waiting that you (and your family with 3 kids, 5 hand-luggages and two car seats) can make a run for the gate (over a km away) for your plane which is due to board right now.
  5. Family support is a wonderful thing.

(Fran’s written more details of our trip.) Right now I’m just enjoying settling into our temporary accommodation in Charlottenburg, Berlin, visiting some of the sights with the kids (M, E and I climbed to the top of the Siegesaeule - the tower in the photo above) and absorbing the vibe of a foreign city!

Living and learning in Berlin

Published
by
Michael
on 16/1/2008
in culture and movingoverseas
. 1 Comment

Berlin by unaciertamiradaIt’s hard for me to believe that in less than four days now I’ll be walking the streets of Berlin with Franzie and the kids. And not just for a holiday but - God willing - to live for the next seven-or-so years.

Already the past two months of preparation have been the biggest project that I’ve managed yet (thanks Basecamp), but with lots of help and support of family on both sides of the globe, everything has fallen into place relatively smoothly. We’ve now got some temporary furnished accommodation in Berlin for the first month right near family.

I feel like I can now appreciate why people talk of “uprooting” when moving overseas - uprooting a tree involves breaking so many of the smaller roots as you rip it out of the ground. I feel as though our lives have had lots of small tears and rips for the past 6 weeks saying goodbye to friends and family… but that is the reality of “uprooting” our family.

Colourful BerlinSo for the next while I’ll be learning to live in a new culture with a relatively new language. My 4-year-old, who likes to correct my German grammatical errors, keeps saying to me: “When we go to Germany Daddy, I’ll help you speak right” - let’s hope we all learn and adjust well! From this Sunday we’ll be spending time with family in Berlin and seeking out some permanent accommodation before our shipped belongings arrive. I’ll be starting work as soon as my visa is processed (4 weeks from arrival) but in the mean-time will enjoy exploring a new colourful city! Please keep in touch!