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Up and away! Sarah von Berkel (39) resigned, packed her bags and disappeared with her husband Jan van Berkel (37) and their two sons Tim (3) and Noè (10 months) to the other end of the world. “We took a six-week break in New Zealand,” says the figure skater.
Well, it wasn’t a vacation. “My husband prepared for a competition there and followed a strict program with his trainer in the first few weeks.” Nevertheless: Six weeks away from everyday life, bustle and obligations, but also from habits, known and established, what does that do to a family? We ask.
When you look at your family before and after leisure time. What has changed?
Sara van Berkel: We noticed that we can also feel comfortable elsewhere. It’s not like we’re thinking about emigrating now. On the contrary, after six weeks we naturally missed our surroundings and looked forward to coming home. But we could enjoy the peace. She has strengthened us as a family because we now know how well we really work together. Whatever the stressful situation, Jan and I manage as a team.
Has your team spirit been tested often?
Very often. Starting with the 40-hour flight with multiple transfers. Then the Auckland region, where we spent the first two and a half weeks, was hit by violent storms and flooding. We experienced a cyclone and were barely able to leave the house for three days to get food and supplies. A hotel booking was canceled at short notice, a ferry connection failed. There was a situation where I was on a ship at 2 am with two small children in my arms while Jan tried to give us access to a cabin. We went on a road trip and sometimes lived out of our backpacks for a few days so we didn’t have to unpack our bags all the time. It was exhausting. And yet just casual. Jan and I don’t have high demands either. When we are all together and have a roof over our heads, everything will be fine.
You were often alone with the kids while your husband was training, weren’t you?
In Auckland he worked every day with his coach, yes. Seven days a week. But I was not alone. My mother-in-law went with me. Getting help with our two sons was the condition for me to embark on this adventure. In New Zealand I have no environment to support me. Later, when we traveled to Taupo in the interior of the North Island, where Jan competed in the Ironman, my parents joined us. They planned their trip to New Zealand so that we crossed paths. Finally Jan was on vacation and we traveled to the South Island for a spontaneous road trip.
Spontaneity with two small children, isn’t that mutually exclusive?
Of course we had already planned the trip. We reserved the rental car with child seats and, of course, set a maximum daily driving time limit so that we knew roughly which destinations and options are in our radius. We had to cross the dream destination of seeing the Milford Sound fjord from our list as unrealistic.
What was the funniest moment?
There were so many! New Zealand is of course very impressive in terms of landscape. But also very simple things are remembered. For a while we lived just 200 meters from the beach and could walk to the sea every day. The boys played in the sand for hours. Tim still sometimes asks if we can go to the beach soon. Fortunately, we have a lot of sand in the garden.
At the age of three, he is in an important phase of language development. Did he pick up a few English words?
Not only can he say no to me now, but no, no, no. (laughs) What fascinated me is that children of this age do not yet have a language barrier. Communication also worked in the same way on the playground or with friends. They always understood each other and found a bond with each other. Sometimes I think he didn’t necessarily notice that the other kids didn’t speak the same language. And neither does she. They just had fun together.
What development steps has Noè taken in New Zealand?
Funnily enough none actually. I deliberately wanted to breastfeed him for the entire trip, because it is useful to always have ready-to-eat food at the right temperature. And I noticed he barely made a move to move. He didn’t even try to roll from stomach to back or vice versa. Something Tim already did when he was four months old. Noè probably had so many new impressions to process that he was satisfied with them and did not look for new exciting challenges. Although I worried a few times during the trip if it was normal for him to just lie there and wonder, I’m almost glad he didn’t take this step until home. Because since Noè is also mobile, everything is a bit more strenuous.
What advice do you have for parents considering such a trip?
All I can say is what helped us: We made the 40-hour flight extremely easy and suspended all parenting rules during this time. There was no screen time limit. And when Tim helped himself at Noès Nuggi, we didn’t open an office either. The main thing is that everyone has it easy. Once we got to New Zealand, Tim never asked about Filmli. It was just an exceptional situation where we allowed ourselves a little more freedom.
Now that you’re back in Switzerland, what are your next goals?
I am currently self-employed in communication and journalism and have a lot to do. It’s perfect as a transition. In a month my husband will stop working out and then we will chart a course for the long term together.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
