On Friday evening we flew from Belgrade back to Berlin. We are subletting an old neighbor’s apartment right next door to where we used to live. Our old neighbor/friend has a toddler as well so the apartment is perfect for our little family and exploring/playing toddler. His world is full of learning and activity. It is refreshing to be in a place where I am not worried that he will smash the glass coffeetable in the middle of the room (our airbnb in Belgrade had such a feature).

When we flew in and made our way to our neighborhood, Ana and I both had a flood of emotions. Mine are complicated and all over the place. Ana is so happy to be here. We are both estatic to see some of our people and just to be here.

Our first order of business on Saturday morning was brunch with some of our closest friends/chosen family. It was so amazing to catch up and feel like we just picked up where we left off. What a gift.

There are many other layers to unpack and traveling with a toddler is hard work! Vacation is definitely a different thing when a parent of a little one. It doesn’t really feel as though there is time to be in vacation mode. Plus he is with us at all times instead of the relief of childcare for all of us (he loves his childcare sitch) but also it allows for sweet sweet memories that we couldn’t have otherwise. I am excited to see how our trip unfolds over the next few weeks.

We were walking this morning along the canal to another favorite breakfast spot this morning and realized that even though we have been away for 9 months it doesn’t feel long enough for this place to feel foreign in good and bad ways. So it feels as though we have returned to one of our homes instead of on holiday. We still are dealing with some chores in Berlin and our friends pick up where we left off in our day to day ways. There is sweetness to this but also we will need a vacation after our vacation!

All in all we are grateful to be in this place. ❤ The journey continues….

Watch out soon for a travel tips with toddlers blog. Tip #1; Flexibility is key.