A few years ago we made a list of places to go and things to see. We kept the list and added to it as we went along and found new places we want to see. About a year ago, we got serious about retirement and started to put dates and seasons next to some of the “bucket list”. When is the Australian Open? When is the high season in the Maldives? The list got longer with more details and we refined it until we ended up with a broad outline of places to go and people to see. It helped to have lots of erasers and red pens nearby! The list evolved into a broad plan for Round the World Travel although we probably will do some some backtracking, we suspect!
Oktoberfest in Munich is the start of the trip in 2017 along with friends. We needed to know the exact date for 2017. Simple, right? You must be able to Google that. Not so much! We found several different dates and went to the source for the definitive answer – the Munich Tourism Board! They quickly answered my email with the real dates. Oktoberfest begins on September 19, 2017. The distribution list for folks who “say” they want to come was pretty long but the closer we got to October 2016 and having to make a firm decision, the list began to shrink. Final count – 18 people have committed to meeting in Munich for 5 days of beer tasting, schnitzel, and sausages. Most of us all staying together at the Hotel Uhland, a great little hotel only 2 blocks to the Oktoberfest grounds and near all the rest of the main sites in the city. Everyone is scattering after that – a few cruises, some road trips, a visit with relatives. We’ll spend some time with Mark and Vivian in Italy before they go home to Fort Collins. Then what will we do?? It’s a mystery until we hit the road for Africa.
The next firm plan is a safari in Tanzania and trekking with gorillas and golden monkeys in Rwanda (Rwanda borders Tanzania so how far can it be??) in November and they even have firm dates tied to them. The Seychelles, probably Cape Town, India and Australia have made the list but without any dates. Looking at the planning calendar, I see lots of empty dates so we have plenty of flexibility on what we want to do. When Susan retires in January 2017, the real planning will start trying to find free flights on United Airlines and Star Alliance partners. We have to plan for a visit to the Moms. Fly or drive to Iowa and Maryland before we leave? Reservations for a flight to Germany?? Oh, the possibilities!
If you have any ideas for places to add to the itinerary, let us know!
hi susan & mark, glad I went to your website because I found out you weren’t at the Christmas market that was terrorised by that truck. I have sent an email to your email address giving you both an update on what our family is up to….your website is so good!! love seeing the highlights.
have a great new year!
Terry & Ian plus family and dog