Visa Problems
However, recently we hit a bump in the road. Being from the US, Europe doesn't require anything but a passport to stay in the country. We had heard that we had 90 days, but we thought we had 90 in France, 90 in Slovakia, 90 in Sweden, or in other words, 90 days in each European country. It turns out that we only have 90 days in the whole Schengen area altogether which is almost every country in the European Union except for a few countries. We tried to file for a tourist extension for 30 days so that Hayden could run the UTMB weekend and me the Jungfrau marathon but the process is rather arduous and we have to go back to the states to complete it. It would require traveling to the Embassy in the US in Los Angeles, waiting for an appointment and then only having a 50 percent chance of getting a tourist visa extension because we already stayed in Europe for 90 days. We are not allowed back in until November. If we overstayed, we could get fined or possibly banned from Europe, so it's not worth risking it.
Update: Hayden’s sponsor HOKA ONE ONE is trying to help Hayden get a short work visa to get back for UTMB weekend, so it looks like we will be back there! I still have about a week before my 90 days is up so I can go back with him!
Needless to say, we are coming home and now home It's been a long time so we are excited to be back but also a little sad because Europe has been fun!
Delayed Flights
On our travels back home, we had quite an adventure, but what is travel without a few airplane delays. We were flying out of Trondheim, Norway to come home and we got there with plenty of time to check in and also to figure out our stroller and car seat that the airline lost the week prior. They are going to compensate us, so that’s good! If dealing with no stroller wasn’t enough, our flight got delayed by 5.5 hours. They said the plane had a very small dent in the nose and that they had to fly in their engineer from Amsterdam. He got there about 5pm (5 hours later), looked at the plane for 2 minutes and said that they were good to go. So we flew into Amsterdam, Netherlands, but we missed our connecting flight to the United States. The airline didn't have any more flights going out until the next day to the U.S. so they put us up in a pretty nice hotel and gave us meal vouchers. It was inconvenient and hard to travel two days, especially with an almost 1 year old, but we did get to CHECK ANOTHER COUNTRY OFF OUR LIST!! Amsterdam was busy but really nice near the outskirts. We finally made it home late the next night and in time for my dad's birthday the night before and Crosby's birthday the next day!Crosby's Birthday
Crosby turned 1 and we had a fun time with family! He got a new swing which he wants to go in all the time from Grandma and Grandpa, a walker from my sister and some other fun presents. We went to the lake and played in the sand (his favorite thing) with cousins and had some birthday cupcakes!
What did we gain from our travels:
1. Europe is a nice place with great people and we have made great friends.
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| Our favorite "step-Grandma" Fran! |
2. There are so many beautiful countries and places in the world with so much to offer. We saw so many diverse places from
the Swiss and French Alps
to the cities of Budapest and Vienna,
to the rolling hills of Sweden,
the Fjords of Norway,
the majestic Dolamites in Italy
and the high Tatra mountains of Slovakia.
3. European racing is full of passionate people that love their endurance sports and it is so fun to be a part of it. We were in France during the Tour de France and although we didn’t watch it, there was a lot of excitement about it. The ultra marathon races are these huge events as well and very serious and professional.
4. Training for the Ultras is great out here, but the best training happens in your own home in a stable environment. It is easier to recover, not over-race, and feel at peace in your own environment and in your own bed. We did learn how to run technical European trails and really enjoyed the European style of racing! Hayden came home with all wins and one 3rd place! Pretty successful summer for him!
6. Living abroad with a baby was a great, rewarding, and sometimes difficult experience. It will be so fun to show Crosby the countries he’s visited when he’s older and understands. With a baby people like to tell you how cute your baby is and are nicer to you.
It’s led to some conversations with strangers as well. We would always try to find an activity for Crosby to do and we found the local park or a big open grass field was his favorite. We also met some great friends, the Hawkers who
have a little one as well. They showed us the ropes on how to travel with a little one. The hardest part was moving around and flying back with a baby. It would take Crosby a few days to settle into each new place, but we were blessed with a champion sleeper!
7. We are part of the LDS religion and would always try to find a church to go to. The closest was usually 1+ hour away, but it was amazing how the church is the same in Europe as it is in our hometown!
8. Last of all, Europe doesn't have any Mexican food and their attempt at it isn't great! That was our first stop on the way home and oh it was soooo good!!
Keep looking for more posts because we aren't done traveling yet and there is some great stuff in our own backyard in Utah!
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