PART I.
It all started with two birthdays. Back in 2017 I turned 50. Being a somewhat significant milestone, Cindi was determined to get me a gift I would never forget. I have long had a love for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band but had never seen them live. Cindi took it upon herself to get me to a concert for my 50th. This would prove more difficult than she could have imagined.

There were no US tour dates for Bruce in 2017, only dates in Australia and New Zealand. This seemed to be a bit of a stretch for us and she wisely decided to instead offer to take me anywhere Bruce and company toured in the continental United States in the coming year(s). Little did we know that it was not going to be that easy.

First, Bruce decided to shelve touring with the band and instead do an intimate series of shows on Broadway. While this was appealing, it was not the big stadium show on my bucket list. Again we opted out in anticipation of a tour when he finished on Broadway. And then the world shutdown.

Covid threw a wrench in any plans to see Bruce and fulfill my birthday wish. Instead we were quarantined, locked down and demoralized with the prospect losing our new business. Though happier days were to come and the Brewery survived, the prospect of seeing Bruce was not seeming likely. In 2020 Bruce released a new album called A Letter to You. The fact that he was once again recording with the E Street Band rekindled hope for another concert tour in the foreseeable future.

Needless to say we emerged from Covid and life began to return to normal, but by now 5 years had gone by and my 50 birthday was pretty well forgotten - at least by me. Cindi, however, was determined make my gift a reality. On May 23rd 2022, Bruce's website hinted at the prospect for an upcoming tour in 2023 but with few details. By this time Cindi had expanded her promise to get me to a concert anywhere in the world. The tour was announced a few days later with dates in Europe. We quickly looked over the dates and locations and right away Munich jumped out at us.

Munich has been a favorite city for us since our trip there in 2002. The idea of gong back there for a vacation culminating in a Springsteen concert seemed like a perfect solution to the delayed birthday gift. Within minutes we had secured four tickets for the July 23rd show at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Now all that was left was to plan the rest of the trip.


PART II.

Birthday #2 involves our dear friend Sharon O'Brien. Back in 2020, Sharon was reaching a milestone birthday - 60. It had long been her wish to visit her family's ancestral country of Ireland. She graciously asked Cindi, the boys and I to come along with her and Christian on a trip the following year. Christian, Sharon, Cindi and I have a long travel history together. We first traveled abroad together to German and Austria back in 2005. We then spent a two week long trip exploring Montana and Western Canada. The prospect of another trip to Europe with them, this time with the boys, was very appealing. Of course 2021 was still in the midst of the pandemic and any travel abroad was not happening so the plans were shelved until the world opened back up.

As luck, fate, or karma would have it, both the birthday bucket list plans fell into place for the Summer of 2023. We had already bought the tickets to the Springsteen concert, so we knew we would be in Munich for some portion of the trip. Sharon wanted to spend a majority of her time in Ireland so we began to look at ways to combine the two trips. After a good deal of conversation it was decided to begin the trip in Ireland, arriving on the 10th of July. We would spend the next five days following an agenda that Sharon put together exploring the island. Our family would then return to Dublin on the 16th of July and head over to the continent.

We decided our first stop would be Switzerland. Having grown up in the mountains of Montana I have long have desired to see the Bernese Oberland. For our next stop we would take the train to Innsbruck in Austria. This past summer Owen and I had gone together on a trip with his High School German club for a brief tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. By brief I mean little more than one day in each city we stopped in, and with travel time sometimes only a few hours. One of those very brief stops was Innsbruck. Owen expressed that of all the places on that trip he would most like to explore more, Innsbruck was near the top. Cindi and I having been there before on our first trip to Europe together, were up for another stay as well.

We knew the trip would have to wind up in Munich around the time of the concert. Christian and Sharon would join us there after their extended tour of the Emerald Isle. Munich would be a base camp to explore other parts of Bavaria without any set agenda. Our planned arrival was set for July 21st.

With this outline determined we secured airline tickets, hotel reservations and rail passes for our known stops. At this point we are excited to begin our adventure together for our first family trip to Europe!