We jumped into the car, one by one, until all eight of us were seated. It only took 15 minutes. Each of the four kids vied for a place, next to the window, next to their mom, not in the back seat, not in the middle, not in THAT car seat. It was a miracle that it only took 15 minutes. And just when we were ready to leave, one of the adults forgot a phone and had to run back inside for it.
Sara and I are best friends from junior high school and Ben and Nate are also childhood friends. Sara and Nate married, had two children and moved from Oregon to Poland–although not in that order. We decided to visit them in Poland, on a whim and on the verge of our own move abroad. Now there we were, two families who have known each other for years, trapped in one large van as we prepared to drive across four countries from Krakow to Budapest. When we planned this little vacation within a vacation, I had pictured something like National Lampoon’s European Vacation, complete with car breakdowns, kids peeing their pants, freaky hitchhikers and many traffic violations. I had really high hopes of strife and misadventure.
Once fully loaded and buckled, we drove off through the Polish countryside. The kids settled into their seats and read books. They colored for hours, shared their iPads, ate a million snacks, napped, and sang songs. The adults got to have meaningful conversation and even nod off themselves for brief naps. This was definitely not the trip I imagined, nor was it even close to the road trips that I had been on in the past. In my youth, I had totaled a rental car in Maui by backing into a metal mailbox, I had driven on the wrong side of the road intermittently for 10 days in New Zealand, and my tour bus ran over a dog in Bali. I once stopped for gas in Bavaria and was groped by a toothless, homeless man; and I got food poisoning and crapped my pants in a bus in Borneo. I was ready for some shit to hit the fan. (Pun intended.)
This drive to Budapest may have been the most mundane road trip that I had ever been on. It took nearly twice as long as the interwebs said because one kid or another always had to pee. But even that’s not bad. In fact, the entire trip went off without a hitch. I relished the idea that we would have some misfortune to make this vacation more memorable, but in reality, I had researched all of the unknowns. I had planned for all of the contingencies. In the event that I had forgotten something, Sara-my fellow mother and hardcore planner- had it covered. Unlike the travels of my youth, I had the knowledge, credit card fund availability and insurance to solve just about any problem. What had happened to that carefree, wild girl that I used to be? Had that part of me died when I became a mother? That thought was enough to send me into a mild depression.
However, I looked over at our kids just as those disappointing thoughts started to creep in. They stared out of the van window and saw castle ruins on the hilltops and I realized that every single thing here was new to them. I was 15 years old the first time that I left the United States and saw things like grand palaces, double-decker buses, and topless sunbathing. My son turned 3 in London and my daughter had flown across the Atlantic before she could walk. They don’t need a safety-third event to make this trip memorable. I know that they are too young to remember the details but their perceptions of church and religion are being founded in massive cathedrals. They see famous art in person. They learn to ride bikes on cobblestone streets. Their language is accentuated with foreign words and phrases. They get to experience all of it with both of their parents and that is worth any misgivings I have about not having some outrageous adventure.
Back in the van, the kids yelled with excitement as we passed through the Buda tunnel and emerged in the heart of the city, the funicular to the castle on our right and the lions guarding the Chain Bridge straight ahead. I’m not sure if it was their enthusiasm or the anticipation I had for seeing a new city for the first time but the mood in the van reached a feverish pitch. We shouted out all the things we saw as we passed under the bridge: the Parliament Building, the Castle on the hilltop, boats, roundabouts, Liberty Statue. This was moment that would be etched in our collective memories. Having a sketchy drive across Central Europe, exploring the Buda Castle Labyrinth, getting drunk on Palinka at the ruin bars and scuba diving in the thermal springs can wait a few more years, and I’m ok with that.
Under 6 Overseas 