First, the good news...

So after the embryo transfer, Jason and I decided to hop on a train and travel around a bit. We spent time in Vienna, Austria (one of my favorites), Venice, Italy (another favorite), Florence, Italy (wait, also a favorite...), Zurich, Switzerland (SO FREAKING EXPENSIVE), and Munich, Germany (not my favorite). Then we were home for a few days and then spent 2 nights in Berlin, Germany (a serious favorite among favorites). We spent our anniversary in Venice and went on a gondola ride - I had to explain to one of the Shrader boys that it is not the same kind of gondola that we have in Colorado. We ate a lot of food, walked and walked and turns out, I have a thing for church's. They are so ornate and beautiful - and I like the smell. Train travel is treating us well - we have yet to go on an overnight train but plan to soon! We have been on some fast trains but only one got up to around 300km/h (about 186miles/hour) Of course, the art in Europe is unbeatable. I take so many photo's because everything is picture worthy! Speaking of... here are a hundred or so photo's including pics from Dresden... the not so good news after the pics.

Train to Dresden

 Vienna, Austria

 Train ride to Venice through the Alps

 Venice!

 

 Florence, Italy

 Birth of Venus

 

 

 Can't even explain the magnificence of the David

 More travel through the Alps

 Zurich, Switzerland

 Healthy as fuck!

 Chagall stained glass

 Mmm...cheese.

 And CHOCOLATE!

 Munich, Germany

 

 Train travel to Berlin

 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

 Berlin wall memorial

And for the not so good news... Monday of this week, I started spotting and cramping. On Tuesday I went in and saw the doctor. He wanted me to take another pregnancy test to verify I was not pregnant. After 2 negative tests and official red flow, this cycle was officially a failure. The doctor said to me - don't be so sad (imagine it said with an accent). He also said that we learned this cycle that we are able to create a beautiful embryo and that is very important. The last words of wisdom from the doc were that in the Czech Republic, the reason insurance covers 4 IVF treatments is that it usually takes several times. So with that being said we are onto round 2 of IVF. Tonight I did my first injections for this cycle (day 2) and will have an ultrasound on day 7 to see how the follicles are developing. While I knew that it might take several times, it doesn't make not being pregnant any easier. It doesn't make it feel any less like a loss. And now we send good vibes to my ovaries and encourage those follicles to GROW!

xo - katherine