Germany, Day 1

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Well. I would have to say, our trip sure began in a way neither of us expected.

We arrived at the Indy airport around 2pm (a little over two hours ahead of our flight). As usual, I have meticulously planned & packed & ensured we have everything ready for this trip. I even packed for the kids, made a lasagna for the in-laws, and had an entire weeks worth of groceries for them.

And yet, somehow, this one little detail totally escaped me.

We went to the Air Canada desk to check our bags. Randy checked his in, no problem. Then it was my turn. I handed the lady my passport & ticket. She glanced over things, paused, and said "do you have any other documents with this name?" My heart sank into my shoes and I knew immediately: my passport says 'Paddock', my maiden name. My first thought was "oh crap, I brought the wrong one, I have to go home fast and get my other one!" and then just as quickly, realized I didn't HAVE another one. I didn't get my passport renewed when I got married. The last overseas trip we took was in April 2014, four months before our wedding. So I'd never even updated it.

Randy looked at me and said "We aren't going to Germany are we?" "Nope", I replied. I felt like I was going to throw up.

The desk agent said that if we were to obtain a really good copy of our marriage license, I should still be okay to travel. So my amazing in-laws raced over to our house, got in our safe, took a photo, and we had the copy printed right there at the service desk of the airport. Then, luckily, I was able to check my bag. But I'll tell you what - I don't think Randy or I have ever been so nervous and scared in our lives. Seriously thought this trip was going right down the drain.
And what kills me is, I looked at that passport at least 3-4 times from January until now, checking and re-checking the expiration date on it to ensure I was ok to travel. I never even once noticed my maiden name. UGHHHHHH.

The flight from Indy to Toronto was uneventful. The flight in Toronto was delayed by 2 hours so we had a lonnnnng 4.5 hour layover. I will say though, the Toronto airport is super nice. We sat and had several drinks and some food while we waited.

We held our breaths a little when we had to board our plane to Munich, hoping that I'd still be able to get on the plane with my mismatched documents. But nobody even blinked an eye. It was almost too easy.

7.5 hours later, we landed in Munich, at noon local time (6am Indianapolis time). I was able to sleep a few hours on the flight, though fitfully. Randy only got about an hour. it's just way too hard to sleep on planes, man. But we were glad to have a row of 3 seats to ourselves.

Upon landing, I stopped in a bathroom to pump for ten minutes (it's super fun pumping during travel, by the way. And dumping it is even more fun....) We passed through customs without a hitch once again, got our bags, and hopped the train to take us into central Munich. The train took forrrrrrreverrrrrr and we were so tired and sweaty and just completely exhausted. It arrived at the Munich Huptbahnhof (central station) and our hotel is pretty much right across the street from us. It's cute! We have a "suite", so there's a spiral staircase in our room leading from the living room area up to the bedroom. It's pretty neat. The best part is our shower is completely enclosed in clear glass. It's like you're just standing there showering in the middle of the room!

Although we were both totally exhausted, we decided that sleeping would be a bad idea since it was already 3:30pm at this point. So we freshened up and powered through, walking all the way through Munich to the Hofbrauhaus! There, we met Tina and her siblings, Tim & Jen. Jen's 30th birthday is tomorrow, and this is what she wanted to do to celebrate. We sat and had the classic giant steins of Hofbrau and some german food - sausages, pork, and some giant soft pretzels. That place is so cool, we had a blast We met a few different people sitting nearby, but mostly it's just a fun, rowdy beer hall with lots of fun and laughter. Very enjoyable and we are very grateful to be sharing this fun experience with the Hydes!

We forced ourselves to stop the fun at Hofbrauhaus, though we could have stayed all night. But we all have a big day tomorrow and are trying to be smart about it - spending all day at Oktoberfest will not be an easy task for our old-asses. So we are calling it a night now and getting some sleep. I can't wait!!!

Bonn nuite!

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