May 8, 2010 - Off the ship and in Germany

The morning of May 8th, Natalie and April came up to the kennels for the last time. I knew this was the day I'd be leaving as I saw them come up with their bags and they just had that look on their faces that it was time to go.

Luckily, Natalie was overly detailed about completing all of my paperwork; therefore, no one needed to check me out before getting off the ship. The last thing for me to do was to eat, which I did very quickly. After breakfast and a failed attempt to get me to go to the bathroom (I was just too excited), Dayle, Natalie and April opened that gate to let me out!

Dayle personally escorted me out with Natalie and April following close behind. Once we were off the ship and on solid ground, everyone gave everyone hugs, the customs people checked Natalie and April's passports (and tried to pet me, with no luck) and Natalie and April located their bags.

(Dayle escorting me out...sorry it's so fuzzy. Natalie was having trouble getting a clear picture!)

We waited outside the ship terminal for a short time and then suddenly Jason arrived! This was turning out to be a very good day.

(Natalie, April and I at the ship terminal.)

Jason helped Natalie and April with their bags, we all got into Jason's rental car and were off on our journey towards Geneva.

In the car, Jason mentioned that we'd need to go all the way through Germany to get to Switzerland and since it was a long drive (about 9.5 hours), we'd be staying the night in Fribourg, Germany. Fribourg was about 6 hours away. I was fine with whatever, as long as I got to sleep on my people's bed that night.

Our first stop was for a quick breakfast in Hamburg. We got pastries and Starbucks, went for a short walk (where I finally went to the bathroom) and were on our way.

The road through Germany was a fast one! We drove on the autobahn (which is essentially the name for the German freeways) for most of the way and Jason definitely kept a healthy speed. At one point, we were going close to 115 miles an hour and Natalie had to put her 'two cents' in, where were 'slow down!!'

Prior to getting into Fribourg, we stopped for a late lunch at a quaint little town in Germany called Bacharach. It was a nice day out and I figured we'd be sitting outside to eat like we always do, because restaurants don't like my type inside the building; however, I wrong!

(A picture of Bacharach where we had our late lunch.)

Most restaurants in Europe allow dogs to sit inside with their people. The restaurant we chose was no exception. They even had some food and water for me! While I properly begged and enjoyed all the smells of this unfamiliar environment, Natalie, April and Jason enjoyed pork, spaetzle, french fries and beer - a hearty meal to get us through the rest of the trip.

(Here I am in my very first restaurant, eating and begging!)

I wasn't sure about this whole living in Europe thing before, but now, knowing that I'm welcome most places my people are definitely changes my outlook.

We got into Fribourg late that evening and checked into our hotel. Fribourg was a very nice town that had a section of it closed off to foot and paw traffic only - meaning, no cars were allowed. Our hotel was right in the middle of this pedestrian zone and it was quite nice to be able to go for a walk without having to worry about being hit by a vehicle.

Since everyone was still full from the late lunch, we (well, Natalie, Jason and April) decided to just get a good German beer at one of the bars and then head to bed. The beer was tasty and the environment was lively (Fribourg is also a university town), which was a nice ending to a long day.

After beers and a walk, we all headed to our hotel and tucked in for the night. I was so happy to be sleeping on the bed with my people again that I almost forgot I'd be seeing my new home the next day....so many things to be excited for :-)

Paws,

Sabrina

(Here I am enjoying the comfy bed in Fribourg!)