Every five years at Automattic earns you an irresistible benefit: a two or three month paid sabbatical. I have no idea why someone would choose two months, but it’s there.
My sabbatical is coming up in just a few weeks just in time for when the kids, who are four and seven, are out of school.
I won’t be using our kids names, so I’ll just call them Tom (7) and Jerry (4) after a favorite, inappropriate cartoon that somehow Tom has watched in school.
We wanted to travel with this time. We knew we wanted to be together. We’ve been eyeing Europe for a minute. With my family in Belgium and Italy, and my wife Janika’s (also not her real name) dear friends in Norway, the chance to truly dive into life with these amazing people felt like an opportunity too good to pass up.
We had some good friends just move back from Europe and they reminded us about their experience of a the much more understanding and family friend culture in much of Europe.
Trains even have kid cars!
For a trip this long, budget is a factor. We knew we could stay with family in Belgium. If our family in Italy could put us up as well, we could extend the trip. Once they said “yes,” the core of our trip and its timing fell into place.
Norway was the trickiest part to plan. Janika has always wanted to show me and the kids her old stomping grounds. That section of the trip went through many revisions. We still don’t have it nailed down.
Our overall approach is to keep things flexible. For instance, our first stop in Europe is Rome, but we have no specific museum visits or tours booked.
The thought of navigating Jubilee year crowds to take a jet-lagged four year old into the Sistine Chapel is a special kind of horrible.
We are keeping the first days light and breezy.
This adaptable mindset extends to the practicalities. We’re traveling entirely within the Schengen area, which means a single passport control for the whole trip.
Currency is simple. We’re relying on credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, which are accepted almost everywhere we will be traveling. Euros will cover two-thirds of our trip; Norway’s kroner adds a small wrinkle, but nothing major.
Honestly, there aren’t any significant health or safety concerns beyond the general awareness you’d have anywhere. We’re keeping an eye on the State Department’s warning for Italy, especially for our first few days in Rome, but the bulk of our time will be in less touristy Calabria.
It isn’t easy. There are dozens of decisions to be made, and it will be expensive. We are very privileged to be able to afford such a trip. But international travel, especially to Europe, has never been easier. If you can plan a trip to Boston, you can plan a trip to Rome.