To the east was where we were headed. It was a Thursday morning and for the first time in a long time, we were not commuting to work. We were getting OUT of the country. 

Braunlage, Germany was our destination. If nothing goes awry, we would get to our destination in less than 5 hours. We would get to our hotel a little after 3 pm and we would still have some time to venture out in the vicinity. It seemed like a good plan. 

We were all excited; the kids even so. I swear they had butterflies in their stomach! Or so we thought when Spud started complaining of stomachache when she woke up in the morning. And then started to complain of the pain in her stomach once again the moment we shut our front door.

In all fairness, we thought the excitement of going for a road-trip was getting the better of her. We all dismissed her complaints quickly, herself included. She had her lunch whilst in the car and kept her composure during the first hour of the car ride. 

Until she couldn’t and didn’t anymore.

That’s when hell broke loose. She started kicking, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs followed by projectile vomiting that went straight to the back of the seat where I was seated. The purge went everywhere! It was all over her, her plush toys, her car seat, her sweater and her blanket. 

In the meantime, her brother started gagging furiously from the smelly vomit that had engulfed the car. (No, no, no no! we told him!)

And then we had another 20 minutes drive or so before we could stop somewhere. There was no way Silver Bullet could stop while all the ruckus happened at the back seat of the car as we were in the middle of nowhere, with no where to stop.

We soon found a restaurant tucked away in a little village. It was still closed when we got there, but the care-taker was kind enough to let us messed-up use the toilet to clean Spud up. Barely 2 hours away from home and Spud already had a change of clothes and we have a load of stuff ready for the launderette!

We were still in the Netherlands.

At the same time, Spud was still crying, writhing and screaming in pain. She was burning up and was going green. Nothing was calming her down. It was at this point where Silver Bullet and I looked at each other, disappointed, with a knowing question “do we really have to turn back for we cannot drive another 5 hours with a kid screaming and kicking in the backseat look.”

We then laid out what we thought to Spud. The thought of turning back home made her scream even louder. By her own choice, she decided to tough it out. She told us in between her sobs that she was going to try not to scream and kick when she’s in pain. She was going to be calm. 

Seems like the prospects of going home did not sit well with her (as with us!).

We made a pact: she was going to stay calm, we were going to provide her with all the plastic bags she needed when she has to puke, she will attempt to sleep and we were going to stop often. If she screams uncontrollably, we would immediately turn back. No negotiations.  (I almost sobbed at the thought of calling off the vacation myself).

When all were calm again and with profuse thanks to the care-taker, we drove off. We stopped for a couple more times, more for us to stock up on plastic bags before crossing the German border. 

Soon after, we encountered crazy German drivers driving at top speed of 200 km/hour and a fancy-looking car plate who seemed to be proud of their heritage. Then the kids fell asleep…all were quiet and peaceful.  

We did our little happy dance and heaved a sigh of relief. We were by now driven too far to even think of turning back! All that was left to do was enjoy the scenery and the drive through bendy and windy road to get to our destination before dusk broke.

To her credit, Spud did pretty well on the journey to the hotel. There was some whining of course, though nothing too crazy. We managed to get to the hotel  slightly before 5 p.m and the boys did a little walk-about to find something light to eat for Spud.

In the meantime, Spud was spent. 

As soon as she hit the bed, she could no longer move. She was very docile and did not even fight with her brother to claim her space in bunk-bed in our room. That was how sick she was. She refused to eat and pretty much slept through the night.

We stayed 1 night at a cosy bed and breakfast situated in the mountains of Braunlage. It was simple, quiet yet large enough a space to accommodate a family of four. The host/owners of the hotel are one of the friendliest and most accommodating we have ever encountered. 

That was all we needed after an eventful day from the Netherlands, really.

It had been enough drama for the day and we were thankful to get to Germany safe and sound. From then on, all we could do was just wing it and hope that Spud gets better for the next day’s car ride.

It was no fun having a sick, pukey and cranky kid at the start of the vacation, but hey! at least, for once we weren’t in a rush. Beat this: The kids don’t have to be at the daycare, we don’t have to be at the office and we have no deadlines to meet. 

Sick kid on a vacation while on a long road-trip? Hell yeah. I’ll take that. Whole-heartedly!

Next up: From Germany to Prague!