Travel.

Whoa. I have woken up the past few days still a little shocked that we made it to Hungary all alive and in one piece. Where to start?

South Carolina – Ohio: 11.5 drive turns into a 15 hour drive. I think both Chris and I got out of the cars and collapsed in the driveway.  But I’m really glad we got to say goodbye to family.

Ohio – Maryland: Super easy 5 hour drive. Dropped the car off to be shipped (an ordeal); we finally realized that we are officially nomads that have no transportation or address.

Maryland – Austria: Probably the source of the majority of my anxiety, there was a lot stress going into that plane ride. What happens if they decide Porkchop can’t ride in the cabin with us? How will these dogs react to being on a plane? Oh shit, I forgot I’m traveling in a plane! In classic Ashlyn style, all that worry was really for nothing. Check-in was a breeze. Both dogs were approved for the cabin and all of our bags weighed around or under the 50 pounds each limit. We went through security just fine and actually got to board the plane first because of PC and Ike. Austrian gave us the bulkhead seats (much to the chagrin of the people who originally booked them, sorry not sorry). The crew was in love with the boys. Rather than putting Ike up in the overhead they let Chris put sit in the back and hold him on landing. PC was great too; he got a little antsy a couple of hours in, but literally couldn’t give a damn about the flight or the fact that he was on an airplane at all. All of the crew members came up to say goodbye to them before we got off the plane. So cute! I can’t say enough positive things about Austrian Airlines. At customs the lady just looked at our passports and sent us on our way.

After everything we went through to make sure the flight was okay with the dogs and the paperwork was completed correctly, I seriously could not have asked for a better flight, crew, or traveling day. For all the stress that went into everything, it was amazing to just actually realize hey, this is happening, we’re on our way.

Austria – Hungary: The drive from Vienna to Papa was about an hour and a half. Austria looks a lot like Germany, which makes sense. Crossing over the border, we immediately started passing a TON of sunflower fields. Seriously, so many on either side of the road! The country is pretty and (as expected) has a definite older world feeling about it.

Its day 4 and I’m still getting used to the idea that we actually are here and living in this place. Right now we’re still in a hotel and learning a ton about the city. Extra special thank you to the family and friends who helped make our travel possible! At this point I think I could write an entire guide to traveling overseas with pets and through the military. It’s a great feeling of relief to know this part is over and the new adventure can start.