I talk a lot about my need for stability and predictability in my life. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy last minute trips or surprises.. As long as there’s at least *some* planning involved.
It was the middle of December and I was about to start a work trip with my Buddy Bidder, Jake. It was coming up on Christmas and the end of the year and we were hemming and hawwing about wanting to do more traveling but also still needing to work. We realized we both had the same five day stretch off the following week.
“Want to go to Germany for the Christmas markets?” I asked.
“When do we leave?” he replied.
And just like that, we were researching which parts of Germany we’d be able to see the most markets, what the flight loads looked like, how would we get there. By the time the work trip was over, we had our plans.
We flew from Miami to Milan on Monday night, scoring a couple premium economy seats. After a breakfast of pizza and beer-mosas, we caught Lufthansa to Munich. Jake had been to Munich before but still humored me when I insisted we were supposed to switch trains (spoiler: we didn’t). We eventually found our way to the hostel for the night. I typically don’t love hostels, but for just one night and $20, you really can’t beat it.
Jake and I wondered from market to market, collecting Glühwein mugs along the way, and just marveling at the food, lights, trinkets. If they ever made another Home Alone (I hope they don’t), it should be adult Kevin McCallister leaving his family in the States to see these markets.
The next day, after the free hostel breakfast, we had about six more hours to enjoy as much Glühwein, food, and gingerbread we could handle. And let me say, if you’re not starting your morning with dunking a piece of gingerbread into hot, spiced wine on a cold morning, you just aren’t doing life right.
After indulging ourselves in German pizza, pretzels, bratwurst, salmon hoagies, and french fries with mayo (thank goodness for winter coats), we flew back to Milan for the night to be there for the morning flight home.
I had stayed at an airport hotel in Milan back in April after visiting Sicily. I roughly knew where to go and what to look for. Jake and I had picked a different hotel this time though and the transportation arrangement wasn’t exactly clear. In one of my proudest moments of the trip, I managed – in a combination of English, Italian, and quite possibly some Spanish – to ask an Italian woman for directions. Jake and I did eventually find the correct bus, walk across a highway, down a mostly dark driveway where we were sure we were about to be kidnapped, and into the safety of our hotel lobby.
Another free breakfast in the morning, back to the airport, and we were heading home.. this time in business class.
As 2020 is nearing the halfway point, I’m so thankful for this trip, no doubt the shortest of 2019 adventures. I felt so happy and truly blessed that I have the ability to manipulate my schedule enough to fly to Europe with one of my best friends, just because we felt like seeing Christmas Markets. No one could have predicted what’s happened thus far in 2020. I had travel plans stretching the entire year that have now been axed and rescheduled. But I know one day the world will be back, flying will be back, and Jake and I will be able to drop everything and head to a foreign country because we “feel” like it.
AAdventure Seeker 