Preparation for trip to Switzerland

It's only on reflection that the preparation side of this trip probably warrants a post of its own! Having spent so long focusing on getting NHS approval, and fundraising to cover our own costs, the small matter of actually arranging the trip felt like the smallest, easiest, and least important thing to do... until now. Of course everything that was needed had been planned in our heads months ago, just turning it into a physical reality was at the bottom of the list.

We knew taking our own car and driving to Switzerland would be the best option in terms of flexibility and keeping costs down. Only as time went on did I appreciate what else it would offer. The option of quickly and conveniently picking up family and friends from the airport who would come out to support. The possibility of us taking our bikes out with us. This would mean I could keep my own fitness up, even though I'd be with Toby 24-7, and without any childcare options. This was important to me, having kept my running going throughout the entire time since Toby's diagnosis, and my fitness at a reasonable level. And an important and effective controller of stress too. As any runner will tell you, you can't beat that post-run feeling.

Driving meant that, realistically, with two young children, we'd need to break the journey overnight. We chose the Channel Tunnel, to save time, rather than the ferry. Having planned the route, we then looked on Google Earth to see where was close by, but also where was quiet enough for us not to be concerned at the fact our car would be left packed up overnight and with bikes on the back. It turned out to be a town called Mettlach, on the german side of the Germany-Luxembourg border, very near to where we'd been on holiday last year.

Moneywise, Euros and Swiss Francs were then needed. As it happened, the town in Switzerland we'd be staying in is next to the german border so we'd need both currencies throughout the trip anyway.

Organising accommodation for Switzerland also was simple. The PSI (the acronym for the proton therapy treatment centre - Paul Scherrer Institut) had obviously done this before and booked us a flat (our request - hotel rooms and kids are just too high maintenance!) in a nearby town, called Bad Zurzach. Everything set...until we realised they'd booked a 2 room flat, not a 2 bedroomed flat. And of course being August, everything else was booked up. Again, given what else we'd been through, we knew we could either sort it out once out there, or live with being a bit cramped and use every opportunity to get out.

The two more challenging areas to organise were mobile phones and internet access. Both necessities for a trip like this, and both needing a considerable amount of time to research, given the complexity of offer. Not wanting to pay the rates at the accommodation (5 Francs per day - c. £3) we knew a mobile USB stick would be best for the internet. We just ran out of time to organise before leaving. Again, we could sort once there. A request to Virgin Mobile, to view the situation charitably was submitted, but a week in, with no response from them, it's irritatingly still on the to-do list.

Other things not to leave home without:

1. sat nav with european coverage
2. borrowed DVD players for the boys on a long journey (how will that work with Toby's travel sickness though??!!!)
3. on that note...disposable sick bowls (courtesy of QMC!)
4. Toby's medicines and medical paraphernalia
5. EHIC - that's the new E111 form. Travel insurance (except Tobes who can't get it now) and breakdown cover (probably could change a flat, despite it being 15 years since being shown how, but all things considered, £16 premium was worth it in my book!)
6. clothes for all seasons? Switzerland in summer, going into autumn, at low altitude but possibly high altitude for a few days if possible? nightmare...
7. packed lunch for on the Channel Tunnel (so glamorous - eating in what feels like a car park!)
8. Thomas (the Tank Engine of course!) in various forms..wooden toy, plastic toy, books, DVD...you name it.

oh and...passport.

Even Toby's oral chemotherapy, which should be refrigerated, was stored in the cool bag until we got there!