On the Road to Rhodes

We booked this trip spur of the moment when we returned from the US. We figured any trip would seem easy after that long treacherous journey. We were a bit wrong, again! In all seriousness we found a great deal for this all inclusive family friendly resort in Rhodes, Greece. In talking to some other neighbors here, this is a spot a lot of Germans visit. It is off the beaten path from the main islands in Greece but it is just as beautiful and a lot less crowded which was a big plus for us. Oh and there is a direct flight there from Hamburg so it was a done deal. We were ready to relax and soak up the sun!

The trip started of in typical Berger fashion with Calvin getting super sick just days before we were to leave. His congestion and cough was so bad two days before we were scheduled to leave that we were talking about cancelling the whole trip. We immediately kept him home from kita and took him to the doctor. They said it was just your run of the mill virus and it would work itself out with time. The doctor didn't see an issue with us going on our vacation so we powered through. Our flight time was very early the next morning at 6am which means we had to wake the kids up to leave at 3am. Not ideal especially when one of them is sick. We got them in bed early that evening and it was not too bad waking them up and getting in the cab to the airport. Everything went very smooth on 3.5 hour flight. Once we arrived we had a 45 minute drive to the hotel. Calvin was starting to get really crabby. You could tell the poor guy was just so tired and didn't feel well at all.

We finally arrived at the resort and it was beautiful. It was called Porto Angeli Beach Resort Hotel. It is located on Stegna beach, on the east side of the island. Fun fact about the island of Rhodes, it is where one of the Seven wonders of the Ancient world was located. The Colossus of Rhodes was a massive statue roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty that was built in 280 BC. It was of the Greek God Helios and was constructed to celebrate the successful defense of the island against an attack by some other Greek army and Navy. The statue is no longer there as it collapsed in an Earthquake in 226 BC. That would have been a sight to see but unfortunately it no longer exists and was not rebuilt.

We had a stunning villa with two floors and our own private pool. We immediately got in the pool with Cal when we arrived while Kenna napped. Once she woke up we went down the the restaurant for lunch. The kids ate but were of course not in the best moods. We decided to just go back to the villa and hang out for the rest of the evening. I figured we could have a very chill evening and then hopefully by morning Cal would be feeling better, everyone would be well rested and we could salvage the next 4 days of vacation. Things went ok except both children slept horribly. We have learned so much about traveling with our kids this year and the first night in a new place is often tough. My kids are not the best sleepers and so I wasn't surprised but still I knew they needed the rest.

We ate breakfast at the restaurant and explored the hotel pools. There were two large children's pools. One designed for babies of Kenna's age and the other for older children. Calvin is in that weird in between spot where he can kind of do both so we did a lot of back and forth to these two areas. The weather was gorgeous and the views being on this island were incredible. Unfortunately this afternoon is when things took a turn. Calvin wasn't extremely ill like he had been days before but he seemed to be lingering in this sickness where he just didn't have his usual spark or energy. Also, Kenna began to show the same symptoms of being extremely congested, coughing, feverish and difficulty breathing. This meant another rough night of sleep and another chill day to follow. We took turns taking Cal out to the pools and kept Kenna home since she was in the thick of her illness. We also spent time swimming in our private pool- thank god for that private pool because we spent a ton of time at our villa given our health status. We did room service again for dinner and were starting to worry about Kenna as she seemed to get worse and worse. We only had 3 days left and things were looking grim.

The next day was more of the same, taking Cal out for adventures to the playground or to mini golf while Kenna hung at home mostly. We did get her to the pool to dip her toes in for a bit as I thought some fresh air would help but it was pretty short lived. We ate a few meals at the pool bar as it was convenient and right by our villa unlike the restaurant which was down a massive hill. We had reservations this evening at their fancy restaurant. We ended up having to cancel these again as our kids just were not into it and Kenna could not get comfortable. After another really bad night with her we spoke with the front desk and they were able to call a doctor to the hotel first thing the next morning. The doctor came and examined her and immediately prescribed Kenna some steroids and and inhaler breathing treatment. She even gave Bergs a ride to the pharmacy in town! Once she started the medicine Kenna got better fast. We were able to salvage our last day and get down to the wonderful beach as a family. Calvin and B played in the water and sand and Kenna and I got to nap on a beach lounger. It was glorious!

This trip taught us a lot. One, we will likely always travel with at least one sick child. It is who we are. Two, we can still make the best of these moments. As tough as this trip was, we still have many great memories and we did it! We went to Greece and we had a decent time despite the kids immune systems trying to ruin it for us. We do have some pictures to prove it! I would gladly go back but maybe when the kids are bit older and hopefully less likely to be too sick to enjoy it.