The Holiday I Didn’t Plan.

By Alexander, Germany.

Sometimes the easiest way into another world is to arrive without much of a plan and see what happens.

For once, I did not really prepare.

We were going to Croatia for a week with about fifteen people. Somebody else had organised the house. I knew some of the group well, some less well. There was no big programme waiting for us. We would arrive, see what people wanted to do, and go with the flow.

It turned out to be nearly perfect.

If I made a Croatian profit-and-loss statement now, the profit side would be easy: friends, new friends, good food, time with my family, and very good feelings with my son.

The loss side took longer.

In the end, I could not find very much to put there.

The Long Way In.

The holiday started after a football match on Friday evening. I had hurt my knee a little during the game, and then we got into the car for the overnight drive. We left at about nine and arrived the next morning, around seven or eight.

My son slept almost the whole way. I think he slept better in the car than he sometimes sleeps in his bed. My wife also slept for most of the night. I noticed this.

At about five in the morning, I was exhausted, so she drove for around an hour while I tried to refill my energy. By then my knee was also complaining. At one petrol station I got out of the car and could hardly walk.

Still, the journey was okay.

We arrived before everybody else, found our room, and I had one simple plan: sleep.

About an hour later, the rest of the group arrived. Three or four families came into our room to see whether perhaps we had chosen the best one.

That was the end of my sleep.

But it was also the beginning of a very easy week.

The Ministry of Doing Nothing.

The house had already been organised. Nobody seemed to control everything. One family might say, “Tomorrow we would like to go to the beach,” and the others could join. Somebody different went to the bakery each morning. We cooked together. We cleaned a little together.

At one point I was asked what my ministry was. Was I responsible for anything?

No.

I enjoyed that very much.

Of course, doing nothing is never completely true when you travel with a small child. My wife and I spent most of our time with our son, and that was our main responsibility. But around us, things simply happened. Bread appeared. Food was prepared. Plans were made. Nobody seemed very stressed.

I had paid my share, arrived, and suddenly I was allowed to have a holiday.

Seeing People Differently.

Living with people for a week is also different from meeting them for an evening. You notice small things. How people talk. How they react. How they behave when nobody has a fixed plan.

I got to know some of them better.

And I also noticed something about myself. My goal on this holiday was not to be the best, the most important, or the person with the most impressive story. I just wanted to relax.

That made many things easier.

A New World for My Son.

The biggest changes were probably happening for my son. For him, everything was new: the long journey, the house, all the people, the pool, the sea.

At first he was shy and stayed very close to my wife. By the end of the week, it was different. He had made a connection with an older child in the group, and they played together in the pool.

He also discovered the billiard table.

I think we spent around eight hours during the week sitting there while he threw billiard balls into the pockets. For a two-year-old, this was apparently excellent entertainment.

The swimming pool took more time. At first he could not balance properly with his swimming aids, and we always stayed close. On the last day, something had changed.

He could balance himself.

He was not swimming alone, but he was more independent in the water.

That was one of the special moments.

The sea was similar. The first time, the waves and the people were too much for him. The next time, he went into the water with somebody from the group and spent a long time looking for fish.

Afterwards, we sat at the beach bar. The adults had a beer. My son had an ice cream.

When he has an ice cream, life is usually okay.

Croatia Without Seeing Croatia.

There is one slightly ridiculous detail about our holiday in Pula.

I saw almost nothing of Pula.

Absolutely nothing.

One evening the others went into the city, but it was too late for our son. We stayed at the house, put him to bed, and had a quiet evening.

And that was fine.

We went out for dinner a couple of times. One evening, my wife and I ate a fish plate together while our son sat happily and ate with us. On the final evening, I ordered him a pizza. He ate one piece and was finished. So I went outside with him and played with his little cars.

That is travelling with a small child.

You do not necessarily see every famous place.

Sometimes your world is a swimming pool, a billiard table, a restaurant pavement, and a small car being pushed along the ground.

And somehow, that can still be a very good world.

What I Brought Home.

At the end, I was asked what I brought home that I had not taken with me.

My first answer was simple.

Less stress.

Good emotions.

A knee that felt better than it had on the first day.

But perhaps there was something else.

I went to Croatia without organising very much. Other people had arranged the house. During the week, plans appeared naturally. We ate, played cards, went to the beach, spent time together, and watched our son become more comfortable with new people and more confident in the water.

I did not discover much of Pula.

But I discovered that sometimes I do not need to discover everything.

Sometimes it is enough to arrive, join the people around you, and let the week happen.