A rollercoaster of emotions:
It's about to begin, it's time to say goodbye.
packing and a quick bit of chaos because of one
new flight and then flying with a dog

Saying goodbye to Germany and off to Canada!

We made it! We all arrived in Canada to begin our great North American adventure. The last few demanding months of planning and preparation are now over, and we've started our new daily routine in the van. 

The last few days before departure: A whirlwind of emotions

But we'd like to take you along once more on the last days before departure, on the flight itself, the arrival and the time until we could finally take delivery of our Sprinter van. 

When we dropped off our Sprinter van at the Port of Hamburg on April 21, 2022, we could hardly believe our luck. By sheer chance, there was still space on the ship that was departing that very weekend, and we got it. Those who followed us on Instagram or Facebook know that we were originally supposed to be on a plane to Canada on May 7, 2022. Due to the enormous delay of our ship, we postponed that flight to May 17, 2022, and then, since we were able to spontaneously get on the earlier ship, we postponed it back to May 7, 2022. As you can imagine, it was a bit chaotic and emotionally demanding. Ten fewer days to see our loved ones, celebrate our two sons' birthdays, and make all the final preparations for our departure. Almost every day we met with someone different from our closest circle of friends and family and said goodbye, sometimes with fewer tears, sometimes with more, and also with a lot of longing. But this too passed, and basically everyone was so happy that our big dream would soon come true.

Good preparation is everything

The last two days before departure were particularly hectic. Luckily, we'd already packed everything we didn't need in the weeks prior, so we wouldn't forget anything. Now, everything was unpacked and packed one last time. We bought a PeliAir box for the Sprinter van, which attaches to the outside of the rear doors. This box is actually a travel trolley and meets Lufthansa's free baggage allowance dimensions exactly. Super practical, since we don't have room in the Sprinter for any unnecessary luggage. The second large piece of luggage is a huge duffel bag, which will later serve as a laundry bag in the van. Once packed, we officially had three pieces of checked baggage, three pieces of hand luggage, and the children's small backpacks for the flight. But that wasn't all.

The day of departure: From Munich to Montreal

On the day of our flight, Franzi's dad drove us to the airport. He has a large van, and it was packed to the brim with our belongings. In addition to the luggage we'd already described, we also had two car seats, our stroller (Thule Cross 2), and Lotta with her dog crate (Trixie Gulliver 7), which we were also taking to Canada. So we arrived at Munich Airport and immediately loaded up two luggage carts and ourselves. We were determined to fly with Lufthansa because many accounts of people flying with dogs had eased our anxiety about Lotta's adventure. Besides, we'd had good experiences traveling with children in the past. Checking in our luggage went completely smoothly. Each child has the same free baggage allowance as an adult (they're both over two years old, so they're practically full-fare passengers), and you're also allowed one car seat or stroller per child. Even the large Thule Cross 2 was accepted here without any comments, and best of all, we were allowed to take the car right up to boarding; only at the very end, when we ourselves boarded the plane, was the car collected and loaded by an employee.

Flying to Canada with a dog

And it went just as smoothly with our Labrador, Lotta. She was allowed to stay with us for quite a while before she had to go into the crate and was picked up by two very nice staff members. They simply had to check the crate to make sure there was nothing inside.

If anything seemed suspicious, she was allowed in and quickly taken to the plane. We watched from the window as the dog crate, with Lotta inside, was loaded onto the plane, and were so sure she was on board with us. 

Finally! We're on the plane to Montreal!

And then we were off. We hadn't reserved seats in advance, but we were very happy with the ones we were assigned. Our plane had three seats on each side and three seats in the aisle. So we had a window seat plus one in the middle. Basically, the fourth seat was unnecessary for Casper, since our two-year-old was jumping around on our laps the whole time anyway; he even slept there. The flight went relatively smoothly. After a while, the children got a little restless as they grew tired and lacked space to move around, but they soon fell asleep. We were then able to watch a movie, and before we knew it, we were already on our final approach to Montreal. 

Arrived in Montreal, first things first: find the dog at the airport

In Montreal, they also unloaded Lotta first, and we were able to watch her from the window again. She was panting a little, but everything else seemed fine. Unlike in Munich, they didn't bring the stroller directly to us; we had to pick it up ourselves, along with the car seats, from the oversized baggage area. Luckily, there were a few extra-large wheelchairs around, which we quickly grabbed and used to wheel the children through the airport. After the excitement of the immigration process, which culminated in a very lengthy conversation with the Canadian immigration officer, we went to baggage claim, and there everything was: the stroller, the car seats, and our dear Lotta. We were overjoyed, on both sides, but you can imagine. And then it was time to leave the airport because Lotta really, really needed to pee…

Welcome to Canada!!

>>> Click here for the next blog post:
Off to Canada: The beginning of our journey