Our Travels

February 15, 2010

Lots of traveling...

After several failed attempts to line up a company to fly Sierra as unaccompanied cargo it was decided a while ago that I would have to fly to Kyiv and get her. The one glitch was, the planes that fly into Ljubljana are small and can't always accommodate a large dog and everyone's luggage so I had to fly in and out of Munich, Germany, a four hour drive away.

Saturday morning we got up bright (well grey) and early, shoved Keenan in his car seat still in his jammies and headed up to Munich. We drove through Austria, lots and lots of big long tunnels, then got stuck in traffic a little ways outside of Munich. We were pretty sure that I wasn't going to make my flight but I managed to huff, puff and waddle my way through the airport just in time to make my flight. Eric and Keenan stayed the night in Munich.

I arrived in Kyiv to some nasty nasty winter weather, freezing rain was falling and by the looks of things they've had a very snowy winter. Snow was piled up everywhere! Kyiv isn't very good at plowing roads and especially not good at shoveling sidewalks so there were cars on the sides of roads that looked like they were going to be there for quite awhile. It seemed crazy to think that in one day I had been in four countries.

Sierra was excited to see me but kept looking past me for Eric and possibly for Keenan. She really perked up when I put my phone next to her ear so she could hear both Eric and Keenan talking to her.

4 am the next morning a driver came to pick Sierra and I up so we go back to our new home. Wow, getting a dog out of Kyiv is quite the process, in addition to the shots and rabies testing she had done earlier once we got to the airport I had to take her upstairs to a vet who as far as I can tell just copied information off the papers I already had to a new sheet which NOBODY even looked at. Then I had to go check myself in for the flight but the ticket lady held my boarding pass while I had to go to a different counter to pay for Sierra ticket. Once again by the time I made it through security to my gate it was time to board. Grrr... so much for leisurly sipping on a latte while reading from my nook (e-reader), which by the way is very nice to travel with it. It fits so easily inside my purse.

Sierra was super excited to see Eric and Keenan. Keenan ran up to me with a couple of big red roses, since it was Valentines day and gave me a big kiss. Eric later told me that he let Keenan pick out the flowers and give the cashier money but then told him that the flowers were for "Keenan, not Mama".

The drive back to Ljubljana seemed much much longer as Keenan was one cranky kid. He was in that mood where he just doesn't know what he wants so he just cries. Thankfully he finally just fell asleep.

It's nice to have the family all together again... at least for a few weeks. Keenan and I go back to the States in about 4 weeks.

1 comment:

Dorrie said...

I am so sorry that you have to do all this traveling, especially when you are pregnant. Being a little ahead of you at 32 weeks, I feel especially bad that you will have to fly all the way home to the U.S. soon. Traveling while pregnant is no fun at all! Good luck!