The Biggest Detour

I'm moving to Switzerland in July.

This long-distance love will finally have a stable home.
The last two years were filled with a lot of travelling and a lot of lonely time.
Every single personal sacrifice was worth it.
"There is a solution to every problem" has been the relationship mantra.
I'm really proud of what we've accomplished; the relationship stability we've managed to create, despite being 6000km and an ocean apart.
We are both willing to go that extra mile, literally, to be together.

Now, I'm going to outline a very, very adventurous detour that I've concocted for my upcoming move.
I seriously think that this could be the inspiration for my first full-length-autobiography (yes, I plan on writing a collection of memoirs...)

The steps are...

1. Take bus from Montreal to NYC
2.Take Queen Mary 2 transatlantic crossing to either Southampton or Hamburg
3.Depending on port of entry, either visit family in England, then cross English Channel to France and drive to Switzerland OR, spend a couple of days driving through Germany from top to bottom
4.Enter apartment in Switzerland and begin new life

I'm OK with 8 days of swimming and fine dining

And now, the explanation..

He has no idea what's coming... Swiss residency awaits this little Tibetan fella

So I'm not afraid to fly. That is clearly a non-issue. My little pugface Milo, however, is another story.

He's naturally nervous as it is (foams-at-the-mouth-for-a-nail-clipping-level-nerves).
He's afraid of vacuum cleaners and plastic bags.
He has separation anxiety.
I do too. I actually have "everything anxiety".
So, this is bad.


Then, throw in the additional research findings...since 2005, 189 animal deaths have been reported...AND 98 OF THOSE WERE BRACHYCEPHALIC BREEDS. That's snub-nosed animals, AKA MILO. So, over 50% of ALL animal deaths reported were like...Milo's distant relatives.
Am I taking that risk?! Ummmm fuck no, no, no way.

Even if he was the chilliest, most Zen animal on the planet...even if he was the Bob Marley of pugs...even if he could speak and TOLD ME it was his dream to fly...still NOPE.

I'm just so incredibly NO on this issue.

So...I'm taking 9-13 days to travel to Switzerland, instead of 8 hours.
But whatevs, seriously. YOLO and so does Milo, and I know that my peace of mind and my pet's life are more important to me than convenience and saving time.

I have a very loving, patient boyfriend. I will shower him with kisses and apfelstrudel
while we drive home.

The best part is that I'm finding all these perks to my detour...

1.Get to hang in Brooklyn-WITH MY DOG!- for a day or two before embarking my boat
2.Tons of fine dining/spa treatments/swimming/reading/writing/cruise activities---->a nice time to relax before starting a new life
3.Happy Milo... I can just imagine how much he'll love the ocean air and being able to sit on mommy's lap and watch the sunset from the balcony. He can even get his photo taken with the QM2 lifejacket
4.Small mini-vacation, either in England with family + France, or a huge Germany tour
5. Just being able to say to my future children, "When I was your age I had to take a boat to cross the Atlantic and join your father in the promised land" + this adds even MORE romance to our already super rom-com life.

So the moral of the story is: problem-solving requires flexibility and adaptability.
And also, I really, really love my dog and my Swiss.

Me in Switzerland in JANUARY, wearing no jacket and no socks...I can get used to this weather

A lifetime of fondue and this sweet man awaits <3