2023

A few months before the New Year, Halie got a new job. She was hired to work at an international school in Shanghai, China. So we would be moving again (this time with the excitement of her being pregnant). But of course, we had to squeeze in a bit more travel in Europe before heading back to Asia. 

Two weeks into January and we met my sister and brother-in-law in Rome for a quick weekend walking around the Eternal City. In February, we drove down to an AirBnb in Liechtenstein, exploring the Alpine region crossing Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Austria's borders.

At the end of February, we went off for another family trip. This time was Egypt! Starting in Cairo and the pyramids, we also took a cruise down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan. Seeing photos from my social studies history books coming alive was an unforgettable experience. 

The Philly friends that we met in Iceland flew to Europe in the spring so we met them again, this time in Prague. Also that spring, we met some other friends from Philly in Ireland. Starting in Dublin, I drove us all around the island, stopping in Cork, Dingle, Limerick, and Galway. After returning to Dublin, we took a train up to Belfast to see Northern Ireland. 

Later that same month, my parents flew to Spain so we met them in Madrid. A few weeks later, Halie's parents flew back to Germany so we traveled around a bit, stopping in Nuremberg, before flying to Amsterdam. 

The last few weeks in Germany were spent traveling to Baden-Baden with our friend group, then Krakow, Poland, for a friend's wedding and Auschwitz (emotional rollercoaster of a weekend). After that, we flew back to the UK for an anniversary trip back to Bristol and Thornbury, with a few days in London as well. 

Finally, at the end of July, we flew to Shanghai to start our new life in China, while preparing for the birth of our son. We spent the first few months exploring our new city but in October we flew down to Hainan island, staying in Haikou a few nights before going to an oddly opulent, deserted resort hotel in the middle of nowhere. That same month, we took the speed train over to Suzhou to walk the canals and eat all the food. 

Still learning our way around Shanghai, we flew down to Shenzhen in November for one of Halie's conferences, before flying back to the US in mid-December. 

Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland, Czechia, Ireland, UK, Spain, Poland, China