Moving is fun, isn’t it?

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The definition of moving is “transferring furnishings from one residence to another”. That sounds easy, almost like grocery shopping or getting a pedicure. But it’s not like that. And it’s not only like transferring furnishings from one place to another, it means packing up your life, your children, your habits. It means stepping out of your comfort zone and find / create a new comfort zone. Moving involves changing, finding, discovering. It’s like traveling, except your luggage is bigger.

The average American person moves 11.4 times during their life. The average German woman moves 4.6 times (men 4.4 times). I just did the math: I moved 27 times in the last 37 years. 5 moves were moving my store & studio, 22 moves were moving my house. One move was from one continent to another, 5 different cities in Germany, 8 different cities in the US. If I continue this moving habit, I’d be moving 50 times by the time I’m 90 years old! In many ways I’m not the typical German, 27 moves mean I moved every 1.68 years (1 year and 8 months). Does that make me a nomad? For German standards: definitely. So is my real name Edith Nomad Schneider then?

And does the fact that I moved so many times mean that I like to move? I can tell you this: I am pretty good at moving. I don’t like spring cleaning, I just move! But that does not – I repeat DOES NOT mean that I like it. And every time I move I hope it is the last one EVER!!! Well, and then there are those conversations like Ted and I had yesterday:

Me: What has to happen that you move again?

Ted: I think if you would die, I’d move because everything in our house would remind me of you.

Me: You know that one house around the corner, the Spanish architecture, all black and white; if that’s for sale…..

So much for that, I think I’m not done yet. But I hope I’m extending my average of 1.68 years / move.

And yes, Ted is a very sweet guy!

So here we are, pretty much all packed up. The movers will arrive in 5 hours, they will load up our belongings and bring them to our storage. And the rest we’ll move to our newly built home in Paso Robles. Our house here in Salinas will be rented to a nice family and in 16 days we will be packed up again – this time just for traveling: 6 months overseas. I mean 6 months, not 1.68 years. 6 months is a mini-move. And I’m so used to moving, a mini-move is just like that: a move. Again. But mini makes it sound more fun. And that’s what we are planning to have: fun, fun, fun!

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Shoes

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How many shoes do you need when you go on a trip? Of course it depends on your destination. And the weather. And the activities you’re planning. And the season.

So what if you travel everywhere from Iceland to Morocco, you travel from June until December, you plan city walks, museum visits, dinners from fancy to street food simple, go dancing, walking, swimming, rainy weather and sunshine, etc. etc. etc.

And what if you are a fashion forward fun and fancy outfit fan, who packs everything in blue, white and pink?

Part of all those nights we have before we take off will be spend sleepless, filled with thoughts of the shoe collection…..

A: exercise / walking / hiking / colder weather / rain / travel

B: shopping / dining / looking pretty / dancing

C: swimming / beach / hot weather

What do you think?????

England, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, etc…..

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The initial plan to visit Eastern Europe to follow the footsteps of my mother’s family in Ukraine came to an abrupt halt when Russia decided to start a war and invade Ukraine. Travel plans were changed, instead of Eastern Europe we decided to visit Northern, Western and Southern Europe instead. Details will follow as we go, photos, lots of photos will be published and – of course – we’d like to stay in contact with everybody. So please feel free to send us a little “hello” or “hallo”, to comment on our posts, and to just let us know that you haven’t forgotten about us…..

26 nights until take-off

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When my sons were little and we were about to go on a trip, I always told them how many nights they have to sleep before we’d go visit Oma & Opa. This way they were able to get a perspective on much longer it takes before we’d go.

So here we are, fast forward 30 years later, and I remind myself that we have to sleep 26 nights before the big trip starts…..

Passport, greencard, drivers license, vaccination card, etc.

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What do you need when you travel abroad? Theoretically you need a passport, money / credit card and your house key – in case you want to come back. Everything else can be bought as you go.

The tricky part is that your suitcase is big and you want to bring familiar things, things you love, things that fit, things you don‘t want to try to find when you‘re traveling; especially when you travel like the typical American tourist: 3 countries in 2 weeks, with an itinerary packed full every single day, no time to float or discover.

A traveler sees what is there; a tourist sees what he has come to see!

Nowadays we have to bring a few more travel documents than the passport: a valid drivers license if you want to rent a car – or if you are lucky and have a brother in Germany who happens to have a few extra cars standing around. You also need your vaccination card (and get funny looks when you show this American cardboard piece with some handwritten notes and a wannabe stamp of some kind – vs the European version that is digital and barcoded and everything fancy: believe me, with my American cardboard sheet I couldn‘t get into a restaurant in Germany last November, until the manager was called and she vouched for me because my sister went to school with her etc.) You also need your greencard, if you are not an American citizen. And that greencard expires every 10 years, after which you have to get a new one or an extension. Of course mine was about to expire in July, 2 months after we wanted to leave. And – because I‘m a smart fox – I tried to be on top of things and renew it way ahead of time so I‘m not ending up in last minute sweats / heartattacks! But you can only apply for an extension 6 months before the expiration date. So exactly on January 26th I filed for extension, just to get a letter a few weeks later later, saying, that this letter is kind of an extension before the real extension can be applied, because they are slightly overloaded with work. That‘s just fine with me, now I travel with my passport, my greencard, my extension letter, a drivers license and my vaccination card. And my house key and a credit card. So far, so good!

Luggage part 1

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When I‘m traveling, I usually pack the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 method: 1 hat, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 bottoms, 4 tops and 5 underwear. Plus a swimsuit, depending on where I go. That usually works for any travel between a few days and 4 weeks. The dilemma now is, that we want to stay for 6+ months, we will be in colder climates (Iceland), warmer climates (Spain), we will be there fromJune until November, we will be on cruise ships, on trains, and airplanes; we need dressy clothes, and casual clothes; we go swimming and hiking and cooking and everything else. So the big questions is: what and how much should I pack? 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 maybe? 10 underwear, 9 tops, 8 bottoms, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 swimsuits / sports outfits, 1 hat? Or should I just double my 1-5 method into 2x 1-5? Decisions, decisions, decisions…..

The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 method

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50 days until take-off

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50 days. We have 50 days until we will leave our tiny house, our comfort zone, our friends and family to travel for 6 months +/- and explore the world.

I can‘t wait to pack my brand new suitcase that I bought for this trip: it is smaller than my old one, it is more „travelable“ (I know it is not a word from the dictionary – yet). And I can‘t wait to get all my projects ready that I want to bring: sketching, drawing, knitting, sewing, textile art, etc. but I have to limit myself and that is a challenge….. And then there is my work. I will continue teaching online while we are away. I transformed all my classes into an online format and I‘m continuing teaching from wherever we are. An adventure – that‘s what we wanted, right?

Europe – here we come!