The Celebrity Equinox

This trip was my first cruise, and despite having seen cruise ships before from a distance on our honeymoon in the Bahamas, I was nearly breathless the first time we saw our ship.  It was just enormous and so beautiful.

As we boarded the ship, we were directed to the beautiful glass elevators which allowed us our first peak at all our vessel had to offer.  

Our rooms were on Deck 3.  There were two standard twin beds and a couch that converted into a third twin bed.  We had a very nice bathroom, a television (that we never used), and a window with a great view outside.  The room was actually larger than I expected, but it still was rather small.  It was impeccably clean, and kept that way by our delightful Stateroom Attendant, Irena.  She was from Macedonia and was fun and bubbly and made us feel very welcome.  In fact, all of the Celebrity crew were wonderfully friendly and welcoming, always greeting you and making sure things were going smoothly.  I was very impressed.

The ship featured 15 decks, with the top two being outdoors.  There was an outdoor and indoor pool area, several restaurants, shops, casino, theater, spa, and dozens of other neat places to hang out.  

As we first boarded the ship, here is Istanbul in the background before we left port.

Istanbul

Getting ready to set sail!

The Oceanview Cafe was the main dining hall for breakfast and lunch (and dinner if you didn't attend the more formal Silhouette Restaurant).  It featured a huge buffet of nearly every type of food one could imagine.  It was surrounded by windows, so there was always a pretty view.

Some of our best memories of our trip were from the Silhouette Restaurant, mostly because of our waitstaff.  Sakhile, our waitress from South Africa, was so fun and smiley, and made us laugh constantly with her hilarious one liners and many expressions.  She added so much fun to our trip and we all were genuinely sad to leave her.  (We're all FB friends now!)  Sandeep, from India, was our sommelier.  He was also amazing.  He was full of knowledge about every kind of drink, so professional and fun, and his recommendations were always spot on.  We all partook of new wines and other drinks, and thoroughly enjoyed it all.  

Lamb

Frog legs

Chicken liver pate' - Not one of our favorites.

Because this trip was in honor of Grandma Edie's 80th Birthday, my Mom (she really did think of everything...) arranged a Birthday party for her at our restaurant.  We had a delicious chocolate cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

You sure make 80 look young, Grandma!

Our first day aboard was a day at sea.  It was wonderfully relaxing.  Having two young children inherently means that quiet time does not exist.  To be able to sit and read in the sunshine, with a delicious drink in one hand and a super juicy cheeseburger in the other, completely uninterrupted was pretty much heaven.  Add in the good company and it was hard to beat!

Cheers to you, Celebrity Equinox!  

Istanbul...Not Constantinople

Of all the cities we were going to visit, I probably knew the least about Istanbul and was quite intrigued.  Everything I read stated that it was an extremely Westernized Islamic city.  I expected there to be some element of culture shock upon our arrival there, and was unsure if we would find other English speakers, Western clothing, and wondered how we would be received.  My Mom (again being super on top of things) had requested a wheelchair for Grandma upon our arrival.  She figured that after 24 hours of traveling, that Grandma may be tired and at the very least it would provide us a guide to help us navigate customs and the airport.  It was a great plan because a wonderfully nice, English-speaking man was there to meet us as we deplaned, and helped Grandma into the wheelchair.  He led us all through the airport, where I noticed the signs were even written in English, too.  Also, I did not see a single person in non-Westernized clothing! (Not that it mattered, just an observation...)  He took Grandma and Mom through the handicapped/fast track customs area, while Kristin, Mick, and I headed through standard customs.

*This international arrival area was one of the places that was bombed by terrorists within days of our returning home.  This is the place where we stood with other people just like us - some on vacation, some returning home, a group a teenagers with guitars that must have been part of a band, parents corralling their little children, many different nationalities and ages, all filled with the stress/excitement that comes with traveling.  The idea that it could've been us is sickening.  The idea that this happened to other innocent people is heart wrenching.  Lord, please make this violence and hatred stop!*

Anyway, the nice wheelchair man had pulled all of our luggage for us (And there was a lot of it...5 Weisenbeck girls. 12 days. Yikes.) and helped us haul it through the airport (past where the other bomb went off) and loaded into our shuttle van for us.  We had about a forty minute ride to our hotel, and I'm glad we did.  It gave us an opportunity to see the city, at least a little bit and gave me the first look at the Marmara Sea - the beautiful sea that separates Istanbul into it's European and Asian sides and what would lead us out into the Mediterranean on our voyage.  I snapped many pictures from the van windows on our drive through the city, hoping to capture a little of its beauty.

My first look at the Marmara Sea.

Hotel Next 2 was on a cobblestone street at the top of a small hill.  We were warmly greeted by Mustafa, a very nice guy who flirted with grandma (called her "Mama") and got a kick out of this many girls together on a family trip.  He made us feel so welcome and personally showed us around our 3 bedroom suite.  Had it not been Ramadan, he would've definitely joined us for dinner, but instead gave us a recommendation of a restaurant in walking distance. 

We found a restaurant for dinner and ordered some of our waiter's recommendations.  We were the only people in the place due to the fact that it was Ramadan and most others in the city were fasting. We had a variety of kabobs and grilled vegetables, some served with a yogurt sauce.  It was very similar in flavor to some of the Lebanese food I've had back in the States.

Our waiter was so sweet and even offered to take a picture for us.

Back at the hotel, we got in the world's smallest elevator (or so we thought...until we got to Rome) and headed upstairs to our room.

We were all pretty much exhausted by this point and we were ready to settle in for a good night's sleep.  Our room and beds were very cozy and no one even needed to share!

Our hotel offered a complimentary breakfast buffet, so the next morning we headed down to the lower level to see what Turkish breakfast was all about.  There was a tray of feta cheese, a tray of cucumbers and tomatoes, olives, some deli meats, toast with jam or nutella, fruit, OJ and pomegranate juice, very strong Turkish coffee (that has the grounds still in it), and omelets.  

Before long it was time to get packed up and head onto the ship.  I felt disappointed that I didn't get to see more of the city.  It seemed like it had so much to offer, and the people were very welcoming and kind.  But before sailing off on our beautiful ship, Istanbul had one last gift to offer.  One of the things I had most wanted to experience while there was the Call to Prayer.  While on land, this didn't happen in a place where I could hear it.  However, as our ship was pulling away from the port, with the two sides of Istanbul wrapped around the Marmara Sea, at dusk with the lights of the city illuminating the waves in front of us, we heard the Call to Prayer.  It echoed from one side of the harbor to the other, and regardless of one's faith, it was a holy moment and was a beautiful send-off from a unique and very special city.

And we're off...

Thursday morning was an early one.  I hardly slept a wink all night, as I was fueled up with adrenaline and anticipation for the twelve day European adventure ahead.  I may have drifted off a bit around 2am, but then was up at 4:30 in order to catch my 7:00 flight out of Rhinelander.  I did better than I thought with leaving the kids, and managed to avoid the waterworks.  It helped that Nolan had really been clinging to Daddy lately and was mostly unconcerned with the fact that I was leaving.  I said goodbye to Livi the night before so she could stay asleep in the morning and wake up fully rested for Daddy.

My flight from Rhinelander to Minneapolis was rather uneventful, only lasting 30 minutes - by the time we got up in the air, it was time to come back down!  I was the first of the group to arrive in MSP, so spent a few hours reading and people watching.

When Mom and Grandma arrived, I was clued in to the almost-disaster that happened the night before.  Mom really did the bulk of the planning and organizing of this trip (she did an amazing job!) and made one final call to Celebrity at 10pm the night before we left to ensure everything was in order.  The rep went through the checklist, and everything was take care of, until he asked if we had our Turkish Visas.  This was literally the first time that anyone had made any mention whatsoever of needing a Visa to be able to get into Turkey, despite dozens of calls to Celebrity.  We would be unable to enter the country at all without this and would not be able to board our ship!  Fortunately the Visas were able to be purchased online and we avoided the disastrous mess that would've been had we arrived in a foreign country with no documentation!  Yikes!

Michelle arrived shortly thereafter, and Kristin's flight from Dallas got in right about the time we sat down for a bite to eat.  It was hardly any time at all before we were boarding our big Delta jet for the next leg of our journey - to Amsterdam.  I haven't been on a Transatlantic flight for over a decade, but I certainly don't recall the flights being as enjoyable as this one was.  We had tons of movies, games to play, and it seemed like they were constantly serving us food or drinks - even complimentary wine!  With a few glasses of wine and 2 meals and a snack, the flight seemed to zip by in no time and we were in Amsterdam!

None of us slept that well on the plane, so we all took advantage of our layover in Amsterdam to nap a bit.  Before we knew it, we were on the 4 hour plane ride to Istanbul.  

4th of July Weekend

I'm not one to get overly patriotic.  In fact, I am often kind of a Scrooge when it comes to feeling "Proud to be an American," particularly in this icky election season.  With ignorance and hate running rampant through our country I often find myself feeling embarrassed about the direction our country is headed and saddened by the lack our tolerance we seem to have for one another.  

However, this year the fourth of July happened to occur within a week of my getting home from Europe.  And I have to say, it's good to be home.  A few days ago, Western tourists were targeted in a deadly attack in the Istanbul airport.  Dozens were killed and hundreds were injured in the International Arrivals area by three suicide bombers who arrived by taxi.  This was literally the place where we were standing with many other fathers, mothers, and children only a few short days before when we arrived in Turkey.  It absolutely makes my heart sick.  I am so beyond grateful to be home to my babies, but feel a sort of guilt that simply by happenstance I made it home when others just like me did not.  Hate seems to be spreading everywhere and it is exhausting and overwhelming sometimes.

I'm not sure if it was a form of "survivor's guilt" or homesickness or something else altogether, but there were a few times this weekend that I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.  Gratitude for the beautiful lazy Saturday I got to spend with my family.  Gratitude for the freedom from religious persecution and the privilege to be able to worship openly on Sunday morning.  Gratitude for the unbelievable beauty of God's creation around us as we drove up north to spend the day with dear friends.  Gratitude for the friends and family all around us and the carefree times we spend together.  Gratitude for the extraordinarily kind people in front of us at the parade, that shared all their candy with Nolan and even gave us their front row chair while they stood- wow, what an example!  Gratitude for our families that celebrate their connections in an abundance of ways and make spending time together a priority.  Gratitude for a safe home for my family; a place where we don't have to lock our doors and can sit outside and watch the sunset.  The list is unending and I think it is always easier to see after some time away from home or a traumatic event.  In this case it was both.

I can't say that I won't be rolling my eyes at the buffoonery coming down the pike during our election season and I still believe there is much work to be done in our country to promote equality and tolerance.  However, this weekend I really did feel proud of my country and grateful for the absolutely beautiful area I am blessed to call home.

On Sunday, we headed up to Land O Lakes to spend the day on the lake with the Modes and the Naatzes.  Nolan and Liam liked doing cannonballs off the dock!

This was Livi's first time "swimming" in the lake.  She loved splashing around!

Lots of little girls to play with!  Livi (10 months), Hannah (14 months), and Norah (3)

Nolan was really brave and loved swimming in the lake.  He had no fear, which was very different from last summer.  Yay, buddy!

I can't even handle her cuteness.

Baby!

Livi's first popsicle! Yummy!

Love snuggling this sweet baby girl!

4th of July parade - Nolan really didn't care for the loud sirens and horns.  Livi was unfazed.  

Great Grandma Ruby came with us!

I know I have three pictures here that are almost identical, but I love them all for different reasons. This is such a classic Livi pose...all snuggled in with her thumb in her mouth.  Some days I wish she would stay this little and snuggly forever!

This one just cracks me up.  Look at those chompers.  Cheese!

Such a good natured, sweet baby.  

We spent Monday afternoon at Uncle Tom's place.  Nolan swam to the raft for the first time this year.  Excited for him to have swimming lessons!

Emmett and Nolan had fun playing together and enjoyed snuggling on the pontoon.

Such a good Great Grandma - Grandma Ruby didn't miss a beat!  She went swimming in the lake and snuggled with Livi on the pontoon.  She amazes me.

Paige and Nolan relaxin' in the hammock.

Hooray for cousins! (Nolan, Olivia, Emmett, Jaxon, and Mason)

Weisenbeck Girls European Vacation

For the past five years or so, Mom, Aunt Michelle, and Grandma Edie have busied themselves every fall with making mittens out of repurposed wool.  They dubbed themselves Mittens by Marchelle and frequented craft sales, selling hundreds of pairs of one-of-a-kind mittens and squirreling away the proceeds to take a big trip together for Grandma Edie's 80th Birthday.  

Grandma turned 80 last July, but life was busy, especially with Grandpa Arnie's knee replacement in the fall.  Add their annual winter in Florida and her 80th year was almost over with no trip planned!  This spring the ladies found the perfect trip opportunity - an 8 night stay aboard the Celebrity Equinox touring the Mediterranean.  The bonus was that my cousin Kristin and I were invited to go to make it a three generation trip!  

The night Mom asked me about this, I literally did not sleep a wink.  I was so nervous about leaving my kids that I didn't think I could possibly go.  Livi was only going to be 10 1/2 months and still nursing and Nolan was so sensitive and routine based...I really worried that they would be miserable if I left for that length of time.  After mulling it over for many days and talking it over with my friends and family, I finally came to the decision that this trip was too important to miss.  I had the chance to make once in a lifetime memories with some of the most important women in my life.  Even if my kids missed me, I knew they would be in good hands and I needed to go and have this experience.  

I carefully planned a childcare schedule - one that would provide stability and fun for my kiddos.  They would stay home with Eric every other day and then rotate between Grandma Patti's house and Katie Lindner's house for the remaining days.  My Dad was scheduled to visit one of the weekends, there was a family graduation party, as well as a trip to Paul Bunyan's restaurant in Minocqua.  I left notes for my kids to open each day that I was gone, telling them what I was up to each day.  I worked hard at getting Livi to accept a bottle.  Nolan and I studied the map and I taught him about each of the countries we would be traveling to.  They had so much fun planned and they seemed very relaxed about my impending departure.  It was time for me to get excited!

The next several blogs will be a chronicle of our adventure to Europe...Bon voyage!