Auftakt

Actually, this travel blog was supposed to start with our first vacation. However, we underestimated how little time one has with a newborn.

But let's start from the beginning: Sven and I became parents in early May, after knowing each other for a very long time, but not dating for very long.
All I can say is: fate wanted it that way. And I am infinitely grateful.

Michel is our greatest gift.

Even before Michel was born, we were an active couple and we loved to travel with Sven's Ford Nugget in our free time. That shouldn't change and it doesn't.

However, for our first vacation, we went to the North Sea with the grandparents (my parents) - Michel was 5 weeks old.

We had a small but nice vacation apartment in Dornumersiel. The trip there was relaxed, we left early in the morning and Michel slept through most of it. The return trip was similar. And after all, that was almost 600 km with a newborn.

On site, long walks on the beach were on the agenda, either with the stroller or the sling. We have since also acquired a carrier, and I would say (apart from the breast pump) it is our most important gadget.

In our hometown, it's not much fun to push a stroller. The sidewalks are narrow, accessibility is a foreign word, and we feel much more comfortable with the carrier.

Our most important gadget in terms of time are the grandparents. Fortunately, my parents live less than 15 minutes away and were integrated into the childcare very early on.
We enjoyed the afternoon nap on our vacation, when my parents took Michel for a walk for 2 hours. Although our child belongs to the "relaxed" type and only wakes up at night to drink, sleeping doesn't feel very refreshing at the moment. Because you always have one ear on the child, and as a full-time breastfeeding mother, you are regularly awake anyway.
Since Sven works full-time and I also took a few courses at university and wanted and had to learn something in addition to the household, Michel, and Simba, there is rarely time for an afternoon nap.
But the (breastfeeding) hormones make up for that 😊

After we returned from the North Sea, it didn't take long and we were ready for our first vacation with our beloved camper. The trial run for the big trip to Norway in August, about which I won't write in retrospective.

In July, we went to St. Anton am Arlberg for 7 nights, Sven had chosen a beautiful campsite (Arlberglife Camping).
For families with young children, it might be unsuitable because there is no playground or similar nearby, but it was perfect for us. The campsite is quite small, but the pitches are large. The sanitary facilities were freshly renovated, modern, and all common areas were nicely designed and always very clean.
When we arrived, it was also very hot there, and we decided to take a short walk with Michel in the carrier.

Overall, the vacation was determined by the question: is Michel feeling comfortable? The crucial thing here, of course, was not to overheat him in the carrier (which we managed thanks to our super summer carrier with mesh material from Ergobabay), to be in the shade as much as possible, and not to overdo it with the altitudes. Google suggests not to exceed 2000 meters altitude, and from the age of 1 year, you can also climb higher mountains.

Our camper has a fixed bed in the roof and an extendable bench seat. It is not particularly wide, but quite comfortable, so I slept downstairs with Michel and Sven slept upstairs. I think it's a shame to sleep separately on vacation, especially since Michel has been sleeping in his bedside crib since birth, even when we're not there.
Of course, this will change again when he gets older and we rearrange the sleeping arrangements.

In order for us to feel comfortable, our second home has to be tidy, and we quickly developed an order with which we were both satisfied. This car has more storage space than you might think at first glance. I was also impressed with how well we packed for our first vacation with a baby and a camper. We didn't miss anything - on the contrary! As always, we even had too much with us.
It's easy to pack for such a small baby because, in our opinion, you don't need much besides diapers, clothes, and a few emergency medications. Our baby bouncer was great and looked simply adorable between the camping chairs. Actually, we also had the frame of the stroller with us, which the Maxi Cosi fits into. But we didn't use the "stroller" at all. So it was sorted out for Norway.
And since I breastfeed exclusively, we currently don't have to worry about food when we're on the road. It was always natural for me to want to breastfeed, and I love it very much now.

Often, I sit on a tree trunk during our long walks in the woods and breastfeed my child while the dog chases the deer (and fortunately always comes back because he gets scared when he's all alone in the big, wide forest :D).

All of our hikes on this vacation were between 2-4 hours, and a few times I took the cable car with Michel to leave the mountain while Sven (who is in the ultramarathon scene) was out for a few more hours.

When we went on a hiking vacation last year with our dog Simba, I (already pregnant) could also shorten the return trip thanks to the cable car a few times and Sven was allowed to get some more exercise. After a sports accident some years ago, I often have knee pain, especially downhill, so I have nothing against the service of a downhill ride.

Our trial run was definitely a complete success, and we can't wait to be on tour with a fully packed car.

For cozy evenings on Norway's fjords, we treated ourselves to new camping chairs, matching the color of Michel's bouncer, and the travel list is already written as well.

In the next diary entry, you can of course take a look at this list and maybe get one or two tips.

Maybe you will also benefit from it in many years, my darling.

We love you, our camper baby.

Mom and Dad