Croatia

The kids have learned to distinguish between two things: a vacation and a trip.

A trip is a lot of walking and site-seeing. Still fun, still enjoyable, but it usually means waking up early, staying out late, and not a lot of relaxing or any relaxing at all.

A vacation is where you can just melt into somewhere with no agenda except to rest and recharge.

Croatia for us was a vacation, finally. And when I told the kids it was a vacation they cheered, and then cheered even more when I told them we were going to an all-inclusive resort.

They have really been craving a vacation for a while since we moved to Germany. We’ve done so many city visits with museums, old churches, amazing sites and new foods, that they were SO HAPPY to finally have an actual vacation instead of a trip.

Just days after my parents flew back home to the US, we flew to Zagreb ready to melt into the beach chairs, and swim all day long. We were so lucky to find such a great place and be upgraded to a suite with beach views.

The kids loved the water slides, the different pools, the never-ending pina coladas, pizza and fries. They even loved the day out into the city and island hopping on a private boat with a local guide.

We really loved experiencing the Sea Organ on the coast, the beautiful sunsets and the snorkeling — a first for the kids.

The only hiccup was that on our way home our flight was delayed more than five hours which meant suffering some boredom in a tiny airport, weird sandwiches handed out by the airline, AND a big payout from the airline in line with EU rules and regulations for flights. With the reimbursement our vacation ended up costing us nothing which was kind of amazing.

I learned a lot from this vacation — that I love Croatia and want to go back, that the kids can actually enjoy each others’ company, that I can sit still for longer than 30 minutes, and that relaxing getaways are important to throw into the mix of our travels. I think the kids would agree!