Day 22: Bakersfield, California - A Vacation from Vacation

July 22, 2023

Day 22: Bakersfield, California - A Vacation from Vacation

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Bakersfield, California

Wow. Our #Switzerland2023Tullmann vacation had come to an end. We made it safely home and Alina and Jonas woke at 3am and I slept a lot longer.

After such a long and tiring vacation, we felt we needed a vacation from that vacation. The following days was unpacking, grocery shopping, re-entering normal life, and reflecting on our trip.

In fact, we sat down and talked about all things we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we would change next time. We wrote them all down and I am going to share them with you right now.

Our Switzerland Vacation Reflection

✅ PROS

We saw a lot of places— variety was good for travel in the future
Switzerland was amazing because mountains, food, transportation, vendies, activities, parks, coffee, playgrounds
Flights we direct and smooth
Planning = saving money
Swiss Half-fare pass and Berber oberland + family pass
AirBNb kitchens, washer/dryer, entire place, clean, close to transport, spacious, elevators
Cool weather
Lots of time together
Amazing events (jungfru, grindelwald first, schilthorn,
Inspiring views
Travel guide
Buying plane tickets early
Booking airbnbs early
Grocery’s for breakfast and lunch was good
Dinner out was nice, but expensive
Staying in one place for a long time was great
things we were glad we packed: Packing a knife, , bags, salt, ziplocks, plastic bags, shopping buys, laptop, hair products, toiletries,
Having layers and rain gear
Trail runners were perfect
visiting hiking places
Jonas: vendy, plane movies, and magazines,
Food: bread, cheese, beer, chocolate, Swiss food
Blacony to eat meals
Day packs were good— but maybe too big
Jonas carrying his own luggage and backpack
Bringing cash
eSIMs for cellphones
Cool weather
Each person is responsible for something

❌ CONS

Moving a lot — tiring packing, transport, loss of a full day, recovery
Small rooms
3 flights of stairs with luggage
Doing something everyday -
Economy is tough on long trips
Not preparing for the new time zone
Trying to sleep on the way over
Arriving late
Jonas being sick
Jonas got tired after traveling and hiking
Jonas struggling
Tons of heavy luggage
Rushing to catch trains w luggage
Taking the larger check in luggage was cumbersome
Inflexible check in
Expensive meals and food
Not having a washer for clothes
No downtime
Not enough cash
Too much stuff in luggage
Going to France 🇫🇷- people’s attitude,
Not having enough room for gifts
Things we didn’t need: journal, too much toothpaste, too much clothes —

♻️ CHANGES FOR NEXT TRIP

Stay in 1-2 places for 10-14 days (less money + stress + transport
Book apartments that are spacious with elevators
Have a rest/laundry day every 3 days
Bring allergy medicine
Try economy plus
Try to get on the same destination time zone before flight
Try to get a flight that arrives at 12:00pm OR stay the night close to the airport
Take precautions to prevent sickness before travel
Better shoes for Jojo
Take Jojo exercising before trip
Personal items and carry-on luggage only
Be open to catch a later train to avoid rushing and stress
Knowing how to get to our lodging (Uber, bus, etc.) choose the easiest option
Pack less clothes
Message Airbnb people about check in /out flexibility
Keep buying food for breakfast + lunch — mix up the meals so it’s not just sandwiches all the time
Budget large amounts to eat out for dinner 3-4x a week
Consider a gift allowance per person (50-75 per person)
Get 20% more cash than budgeted
Plan carefully for luggage —
Hans: only needs 4-5 tshirts, one jacket, 1-2 sets of running clothes, no panchos, 1 light rain jacket, 3 pairs of shorts, 1 pants, 6 pairs underwear, no flip flops
Alina: rain jacket, 2 flannels, north face jacket, small back pack
Go to a movie theater 1-2x
Don’t go to France 🇫🇷
Gifts — go for small
Consider going somewhere for 1-2 weeks and then 1 week in Romania

If you've been following along the whole time, I just wanted to say thank you for joining us on our journey. If you'd like to check out any of our other Travel blogs, here they are: