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In 2003, I was invited to speak about Longhorn Server in Bonn, Germany. This trip would mark my return to Europe after almost 15 years, the intervening time marked most obviously by the arrival of our children and all the responsibility that comes along with that. But this trip was notable to me for other reasons, too. In many ways, it was a turning point, the dividing line between how things were and how they would be going forward.

Most obviously, this trip would inspire us to return—again and again—to Europe over the next two decades and to begin our annual tradition of home swaps. It's obvious today how that happened, but we didn't see it coming as things unfolded. First, my wife agreed that she should come as well so that we could explore Germany a bit. And then we invited our best friends to come along, unknowingly jumpstarting an annual tradition for us all, as they would routinely join us for a week or so on our home swaps and travel to Europe with us on other, shorter trips over the years.

If you enjoy traveling, leisure travel as opposed to work travel, you probably know that the research is almost as much fun as the trip. We prepared for the Germany trip by ordering the relevant Rick Steves book and watching his TV shows. And by calling my dad, who had lived in London for several years and was how and why we had been able to visit Europe 15 years earlier.

My father is all kinds of complicated, but he takes great joy in inspiring others to travel, and he was, in one instance, happy to accommodate some friends of ours at his home in London years earlier, knowing they could never have afforded the trip otherwise. In this instance, he responded by mailing me everything he had about Germany and writing a very long list of recommendations. Among the items in the package he sent, humorously, was the Michelin Guide for East Germany, a country that, by that date, hadn't existed in a decade and a half. He's a saver.

I recall sitting at our dining room table with our friends, a large map of Germany unfolded in front of us—remember, this was over 20 years ago—as we plotted out the places we'd visit and in what order. I would head out first, alone, and deliver my talk. Then I'd meet my wife and friends at the airport in Cologne the next day, where we'd pick up a rental car and head off in a circle that would include an incredible night staying at a castle overlooking the Rhine River near Oberwesel, the wineries around Bacharach, the beer gardens of Munich, and the preserved medieval town of Rottenburg, among other places.

The trip was magical, and it went off without a hitch. I've described some of the details from this trip in the past, most especially how incredible it was to be able to speak to our son, who is deaf and was staying with his grandparents, via a rented Nokia phone while barrelling down the autobahn at over 80 miles per hour. And as noted, it kicked off a love affair with Europe that consumed us for man...