Day 1965. At 6:45 am the alarm went off, and Randy got up to make breakfast. Sammy was too excited to eat anything. A little time later I also got up. I made the 8 sandwiches for our trip, then helped the kids get dressed. We were going to take the 8:50 train, but were already ready to leave the house by 8 am, and so we did.
Like last year we had three suitcases, as well as the two little kids' suitcases and my purse. At first the kids were pulling their suitcases, but we soon picked them up and put them on top of the big suitcases, and it worked out well. We walked to the subway, then continued walking to get to the train station. We had to wait a few minutes and took the 8:20 train, which was a new train, so no steps. Just after 8:30 we arrived at the main train station, so we had an hour until our train was to leave.
And so we sat down in the waiting area. The kids got their tablets out to occupy them. Sammy had periods of fits all day, when he was impatient for the next train to arrive. We left the area plenty early and took the elevator up to our platform. The previous train was still sitting there. We knew where we had to be to get on the car where we had the reservation, so we walked all the way to the other end of the platform. It was one of the time, when Sammy was whining because he wanted to get on the train. The train then left, then another one arrived, but it was still not ours as ours was coming another minute later to dock on the previous train. Then we were finally able to get on, which was quite a challenge with all our luggage, three kids and a wheelchair. And they had put three of us into the 2nd class car, and Sammy plus an adult in the 1st class car right next to it, as it had the wheelchair spot. Of course we all wanted to stay together.
Randy got the luggage on, then went with Sammy to the wheelchair spot, while I was looking for our reserved seats. Even the three of us were not sitting together which was not going to work. There were a few non-reserved seats, and I picked a table with three free seats and one reserved one right by the door. Randy and Sammy then joined us there.
The train stopped one more time in Vienna, and the lady who had the reservation where we were got on. Thankfully she was okay with us keeping the table. Then our 2.5 hour journey to Salzburg started. It was a long trip, and the lack of sleep quickly caught up with me. Of course there was no sleeping there, but at least I closed my eyes for a bit. Again Sammy kept asking when we arrive.
Just before arriving in Salzburg, we moved all our stuff to the wheelchair in first class, where there were no people, so it would be easier to get off the train. Just before noon we arrived, which meant we had over an hour until our connecting train was scheduled to leave. I asked in the office if there was any way we could take an earlier train, but there was not. So we went to the waiting room and found a corner there.
I told the kids about my childhood, how I'd get a comic book when we stopped on the way to our vacation destination, then I took Emmy and Tammy to the book store and let them pick out a kid magazine each, and I picked one for Sammy. Those kept them busy in the waiting room.
Then we left and made our way to the elevator to go up to the platform where our third and last train was going to leave from. It must have just arrived as a lot of people were trying to get on the elevator we had just come out of. When we reached the train, it was already very full. It was a regional train and the exact same model as our S-train in Vienna. Some people made room for the wheelchair where Randy went with Sammy and the suitcases, and the kids found one seat. Then two people moved their luggage so we could take those seats as well, so that all three of us ended up sitting down. We had just over 1.5 hours on that train after all. The kids got their tablets out again, and Sammy kept asking when we'd arrive. I think he was done traveling for the day.
After a few stops a lot of people had gotten off, so Randy and Sammy joined us where we were. Sammy then sat with me and had fun. At 2:45 pm we finally arrived at our destination and got off, together with a lot of other people. And many of those people headed to the elevator as well. We were the last ones to get on, rode it one level down, then we had to ride it back up to the entrance of the train station. Before we could go up on the elevator, a guy approached us. He was from the hotel and there to pick us up. Together we went up the elevator and walked to where the van was parked. There were no child seats, so the three kids and I sat next to each other in a row, while Randy sat up front. I don't know what was wrong with Sammy, as he'd been looking forward to the car ride all day. He suddenly got upset and pulled my hair really hard. Then he cried after I had struggled to free myself from his grip.
It only took a few minutes to go to the hotel from the train station, and we passed right by the gondola station and where the little kids ski. It's in walking distance from the hotel. We got off the van, and the driver took all our luggage to our room. The five of us went to the reception to register. Then we went to our room to drop off our coats. We have two bedrooms, one for the kids and one for us, and even two bathrooms. But we didn't stay there long, as they were going to give us a tour of the hotel, and I had to finish registering them for ski school. The ski instructor was sitting in the lobby taking care of that. Randy and the kids went to the play area, while I took care of the ski school paper work. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long. After it was done, I picked up Randy and the kids so that we could do the hotel tour. A young lady did a great job with that. The kids were thirsty, so they got something to drink when she showed us the free drinking station.
After the tour, Randy and Sammy sat down at our restaurant table that they had showed us to get something from the afternoon buffet, while I took Tammy and Emmy to the ski rental shop that was in the same building. We didn't have to wait long. First the guy helped to get the right ski shoes for the kids, then we had to wait to pick the skis, and they fit the shoes to the skis. They put the kids' names on their shoes and skis, then we could leave. The ski room was right there, and we put their skis inside. Then we took the ski shoes to another room that was for that. Next we went to the reception to get helmets for them. Only then could we join Randy and Sammy. The kids had some icecream, while I had cake.
After we were done, we went to our room to put our swim suits on, then we went to the swimming pool. The first pool was pretty big, and it had a little slide for kids into it. The kids went up and down right away, but I wanted to see the rest of what they had. The next room had the baby pool, then there were stairs to the pool that was both on the inside and outside. There was only one lady on a bed there, no one in the water. But we went in and swam outside. It was so much fun! There was lots of steam coming off the hot water, with the air temperature being below freezing. It was just beautiful and enjoyable, but we didn't stay long. The kids wanted to play.
We first went into the big pool with the slide, then to the baby pool where all three had lots of fun. After one more time in the big pool, we bundled up to return to our room, where we got dressed again. There was a meet & greet at 6 pm that I wanted to go to. Randy and the kids went to the kids' play area again, while I went to the meet & greet.
It was outside, so I had to go get my coat. It was beautiful out there, with the Christmas lights everywhere, and they had a big pot of mulled wine on a fire pit. They kept getting the wine out of there and served it to all the people that had come. Then the hotel boss spoke to everyone. He didn't say much that I didn't already know but welcomed all of us. Other parents had brought their kids that were playing in the snow, mainly with the shovels.
After it was over, I went to get Randy and the kids. The kids didn't even want to leave there, especially Emmy, but it was dinner time. We walked to the restaurant and sat down at our table. First, I went to the kids' buffet to get food for the children. All three ate a lot tonight, more than usual. Then I got myself a salad and an appetizer, and so did Randy. We could choose out of three dishes for our main dish, and we did not pick the same one. It took a while before it came. The kids were done eating by then and played in the area. There's a toy kitchen right there, and there were also other kids to play with. The kids wanted to go back to the play area, but Randy wouldn't let them go by themselves. We still had to wait for our dessert. After we had finished, it was nearly 8 pm, so it was time to go to bed.
We went to our room, where we got them ready for bed. I still read Tammy and Emmy a bedtime story, and prayed for all three. I turned on the ocean waves on one of their tablet, and Randy sat down on a chair by their beds, especially since Sammy was saying he was scared. Soon they were all asleep.
I was very tired, but I had lots of pictures to download, choose from and edit. Then I started writing my report. At one point Randy went to bed. Now it's going on 1 am, and it's time for me to go to bed as well.
