When I moved to Europe four years ago for my master’s degree, I did so under the assumption that I’d return to Canada as soon as I finished school.
I was so sure of this plan that I sublet my apartment in Canada to a friend. To this day, most of my furniture and boxes of clothes are locked away in the building’s basement.
Fate had other plans, though. During my last semester in Germany, I fell in love with a German man. I’ve been living in a small town in the middle of the country ever since.
Life here is great, but the hardest part is being far from my friends and family, most of whom are still in Canada — including my mom.
My mom and I are close; we’ve even been compared to the “Gilmore Girls.” Back in Canada, we lived down the street from each other. We’d go for walks, grab coffee multiple times a week, and binge-watch TV series in the evenings.
The move to Europe was a rude awakening for both of us. From navigating a nine-hour time difference to being unable to go for an impromptu Starbucks stroll on a Sunday morning, we struggled with our new reality.
My mom and I came up with an idea to deal with our separation anxiety through travel
Though I still visit Canada over the holiday season and sometimes during the summer, we wanted to find a way to spend time alone together and embrace our mother-daughter relationship, without the distractions of other visitors or commitments.
So, we decided to travel to a new bucket-list location every year. My mother is retired and has money saved, so I’m lucky enough that she’s usually happy to treat me.
The tradition makes sense for us: We’re very compatible travel buddies, and we’ve always loved an excuse to plan a trip.
We both love a mix of relaxation and culture, and a good day for us is one that starts with coffee, peaks at a 5 p.m. prosecco, and ends with tea.
Since then, we’ve visited Portugal, Spain, France, and England
In our first year of living apart, we walked the Camino Portugués, from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
We’d talked about walking the Camino for years, as my mom had already hiked other Camino trails (and raved about it). Since I was living in Spain at the time, the hop over to Portugal was an obvious choice.
Then, in 2023, we met in Strasbourg, France, where we wandered the cobblestone streets that line the canals, visited churches and royal manors, and enjoyed our fair share of Alsatian wines.
Next, in 2024, we met in Bradford-on-Avon, a town near Bath, England. My mom and I agree that this was our favorite trip, thanks to the town’s idyllic “Pride and Prejudice” vibe and the best Aperol Spritz served at the local pub down the road from our Airbnb.
This past spring marked four years of our separation, and also my mom’s 70th birthday. For the first time, I treated my mom to our trip, rather than the other way around.
We met in Edinburgh for six days of exploring: We visited Arthur’s Seat, checked out the Royal Yacht Britannia, and went on a “Harry Potter” tour.
Our trips have been amazing, but I still hope we can live in the same place again one day
Spending one or two weeks together a year is hardly the same as living down the street from each other, and I hope to move back to Canada soon to be closer to my family and friends.
After all, my mom isn’t getting any younger, even though she does have the body and mind of a 50-year-old.
For now, though, our yearly mother-daughter trips are more than sufficient. Although we see each other less frequently than we used to, the quality of our time together has never been better.
It may not be a weekly Sunday Starbucks tradition, but in some ways, brunch in Edinburgh and prosecco in Porto is even better.
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