Itinerary

July 22 – Arrive in Dusseldorf, Germany after an overnight flight. Hang out in Dusseldorf for the day and then take a night bus to Poland.

July 23 – Arrive in Poznan Poland and visit with a friend of Younes and his wife.
July 26(ish) – Go to Gdansk, Poland and visit more of Younes’ friends.
July 29(ish) – Travel to Latvia and visit with another of friend of Younes – a lovely, lovely lady who refers to herself as Younes’ Latvian mother.
Aug. 4 – Late night flight back to Dusseldorf.
Aug. 5 – Meet my parents, brother and nephew at the airport. Chillax at the airport hotel for the day.
Aug. 6 – Pick up rental cars and tour Cologene, Germany.
Aug. 7 – Drive to Heidelburg, Germany, where the family reunion will take place.
Aug. 8 – Family reunion, aka Treffen. A note about this – thanks to the efforts of my late grandfather and his counterparts in Germany, the American branch of the family have kept in close touch with the descents of our ancestors who stayed in Germany while our direct line immigrated to the US. Every five years, the German branch has a big family reunion and American family often makes the trip across the pond to attend.
Aug. 9 – Visit with German relatives on my mom’s side of the family. These are the German descedants of my great-great-grandfather’s brother.
Aug. 12 – Younes and I fly to Morocco with my parents, nephew, aunt and uncle.
Aug. 13 – Begin our long 4×4 trip to Younes’ hometown.
Aug. 14 – Visit Younes’ family in his home town.
Aug. 18 – Parents, nephew, aunt and uncle fly back to Germany and then back to US. Meet my cousin and her friend and travel around Moroccan cities.
Aug. 25 – Other aunt and uncle meet us. Travel around Morocco together.
Sept. 2 – Send off relative, then fly back to Dusseldorf.
Sept. 5 – Flight back to US for Younes and me.

Whew!

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The Beginning

In the years since I wrote about my African adventures (http://2yearsinafrica.livejournal.com), I have had many adventures – some good and some not so good.

In a nutshell – traveled for six months in Africa and Europe. Met the love of my life in Morocco. Dated him long-distance for two years. Couldn’t find a job back in the US. Lived with my parents in Florida. Finally landed a low paid but super fun job working with international students in NYC. Moved. Had a wonderful time, fell in love with the city. Found a breast lump. Wasn’t concerned, too young, blah, blah. Thankfully had the sense to get it checked out “just to be safe.” Turned out to be Stage III breast cancer. Moved back to Florida. Moroccan BF (Younes) flew over. Got married. Went through 18 months of treatment. Got Younes his green card. Declared cancer free.

ref=”https://2yearsinafricasequel.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/image.jpg”> Best travel and life partner I could wish for![/ca

Life has been a whirlwind for sure, and while I wouldn’t go back (or one, I wouldn’t have met my husband!), I often find myself missing Swaziland and a different, more innocent time. And in my missing of Swaziland, I also found myself missing writing – of travel, of different cultures, of adventures.

When the opportunity came up for Younes and I to embark on a post-treatment trip, I decided to take up blogging again. With the addition of Younes’ semi-professional pictures, I intend this blog to be mostly a travel blog, both about my adventures abroad and at home, with some other topics sprinkled in. I hope you enjoy!