It is pure joy to see the young man you are becoming and we love being with you. This trip has been a crazy-accelerated time of growth and watching you grow up has been so fun. Your enthusiasm for life is infectious. Your genuine kindness is such a refreshing gift to others and a reminder of who you really are. I hope you will always embrace these qualities and accept that you are a good, good person.
We have loved watching you grow into a great traveler and although it is bitter sweet that our group adventure is now over, you will continue this inner journey. It’s true that we can’t wait for the next trip with you but more than that, it will be so rewarding to see you evolve along life’s journey. I have wished for my kids to have curiosity and to be students of life, questioning, seeking, discovering. There is humility in our smallness and a thrill in our greatness and I celebrate your journey along that exciting edge. Combined with your natural kindness, it will be exciting to see how you navigate. (Mom thought: Be sure to journal along the way;)
Thank you for being exactly who you are. You make life better. We love having you in our lives and can’t wait to see how you grow from here. We love you!
June 9, Sweet big brother. What lay ahead is beyond our wildest dreams and you are up for the adventure.This fountain tells of a legend of Orin’s daughter, representing the expansion of Denmark in the Middle Ages, rich with symbolism and drama. Aidan saw the snake in it all.Yoko Ono art installation, inviting everyone to make a wish for peace and tie it to a branch in an urban grove of trees. Deep and private moment. Then, 10 paces later, we discovered Street Food and had a culinary explosion on the pier.Hven Island, SwedenBikes in Copenhagen. Riding through the park cemetery of Soren Kierkegaard, Niels Bohr and others. Enriching our minds…maybe.A special ability to get things all over your face, as a matter of routine.Hiking around Neuschwanstein Castle, southern Germany.A contemplative moment. Garmisch.I see a little, little Aidan in this photo. Like the timelessness of temperament and personality, this expression has been yours from the beginning. Hiking to a river gorge outside Garmisch.We are so impressed with your growing thoughtfulness as a big brother. It’s very natural for you and a gift to our family. Keep it up.At the Jungfraujoch. What a cool experience, not the shopping mall but the majesty of the glaciers and the peak. Note the fannypack, an emerging piece of identity. Socks would become a thing later in the trip, this is a foreshadowing. The accidental balance of the yellow on the wall, the Barca jersey and the socks make me smile – the visual balance of this photo and of the spirit of the young man emerging.Top of the Italian/Swiss border, awaiting the Bernina Express. Aidan’s pack is one of his favorite things. “Snazzy.”
Castle Pergine, near Trento, Italy.Leaving Castle Pergine, making our way to Croatia.Croatia! Dubrovnik, old city. Mandzukic jersey is awesome … and eye-popping.Favorite hat, purple bow tie, fanny pack – your own funky style. Marching to the beat of your own fashion drum. LOVE IT, babe!Last night on Vis. You took it upon yourself to dress for the special evening.Drying in the sun. We notice your need for little bits of solitude. Banje Beach, Dubrovnik.Komiza, Vis Island. Contemplative moment.We heard that an abandoned sardine cannery had a great dock for swimming. How many crazy jumps did you do? One of my favorite photos. Such a big leap into crazy blue water.One of these days we’ll rent mopeds!
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. You were in your element.Perfecting your selfie technique!Pushing it a bit, but on a campaign to get Ian to smile for a photo. The spirit of that is kind, if a bit provoking. RovinjVeniceCooking class in Cindy and Alessandro’s home, Florence.Oooohhh, the tractor beam of bow ties…. snazzy. Florence.The best Selfie guy on team Reichel. Ponte Vecchio way in the background, Florence.Watching our bags, Florence train station. Thank you.Playful accomplice, Pisa. This was a day turned south, then re-navigated toward a day of richness and adventure. Thanks for being such a good role model for rolling with it.You and Ian, working together. Evening bike ride along the top of the old city’s fortified wall, Lucca. Very cool to see you two work together and independently navigate it all. The big dudes.Monte Riggioni Castle Tower, Tuscany.Trevi Fountain, Rome. Threw the coin wishing for a return to Rome.On an evening stroll, Piazza Puopolo, then gelato, then Spanish steps. Repeat.Gelato and Pizza cooking class! I think this was a top ten for you, correct?It has happened. In the span of a few weeks, you passed me. Not that I was ever in doubt of whom would pass whom. This particular night in Rome, captured against a storefront across from the Spanish steps, you gloated just a little bit 🙂Agrigento, Sicily. While we stopped for roasted corn after the Scala dei Turchi, you got dragged in to a friendly soccer circle thing with some older dudes and some little boys because of your Mandzukic jersey… good job, babe!Lunch in PalermoTotally amazing science museum in Barcelona. This is one of the coolest fish, an Arapaima, and they had a few. You were beside yourself! Thank you, Jeremy Wade, for raising our awareness.FC Barcelona game! So cool!
You loved exploring Barcelona. Graffiti was not illegal as long as it was on the doors – as movable objects, not the buildings themselves.La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona.Park Guell, one of architect Antoni Gaudi’s masterpieces. Barcelona.
