If someone would have told my younger-self that I’d one day bring my family to Ethiopia, I’d have said they were wrong. I knew nothing of the country, aside from what I’d see on North American TV, which didn’t always paint a glamorous picture-to say the least..
As I write this I’m not claiming to be all informed by any means, but once you experience something for yourself, you form your own opinions, and the fear of the unknown quickly disappears.
Like many expats based in Africa and avid travellers, Addis Ababa is a major hub for those moving through Africa and/or heading to the Middle East. In our case we were on an over night layover in Addis on our way to South Africa.
Again, I’m no expert, but I do feel that being a resident of Congo gives me a bit of experience with African airports. This also means that I’m a bit more desensitized to travel in Africa than those that are visiting the continent for the first time. If you’re a first-timer, or even if you’re a regular traveller through Africa, there can be moments that I will simply refer to as ‘intense’.
We were invited to stay at the Radisson Addis and I can genuinely say that this took all of the ‘intensity’ out of our travel. When we finally got through customs and exited the arrivals area, we immediately saw a Radisson Blu counter where within two minutes we were on a direct shuttle to the hotel. We arrived late in the evening, so the ride was quick and easy.
We walked into a hotel that is anything BUT what you would stereo-typically expect in this part of the world. Things were shiny and new, and there was plenty of space for the girls to run around and stretch their legs after the long flight from West to East Africa. And by stretch their legs, I mean run wildly through the lobby, of course.
First things, first. The kids needed to check out their beds and the husband needed to eat.
I ran a tub while a bite of room service was ordered for a midnight snack.
There’s nothing better for a tired, travelling family than not feeling cramped for space. Our adjoining rooms meant that the girls had their own room, and we also had separate bathrooms. I took advantage of the opportunity and slipped into the tub while my husband took over the kids’ bath time in their room. A welcome moment of tranquility after a long day on the airplane. 
We made quick work of our late night snack and flopped back in the sheets because unfortunately, our layover was a short one. Yes, you read that right. I said unfortunately.
The next day we were driving back to the airport and got a glimpse of the city in daylight. Both ‘Canadian Expat Dad’ and myself agreed that we wished we had a bit more time in Addis Ababa. Having such a comfortable overnight stay eliminated the ‘scary unknown’ of the stop-over and made us feel totally relaxed. Once we saw that this Ethiopian city was actually far more developed than where we currently live, we wanted to explore it a bit more. Sadly, our quickly approaching connecting flight wasn’t going to allow for that.
As we headed back to the airport, we watched out the window as the streets filling with women, beautifully covered in bright fabrics and early morning runners doing hill sprints(just as quickly as you’d expect Ethiopians to be running), and frankly the number of morning runners was staggering! I’m not sure if our route to the airport was a running hot-spot, or if it’s just the fact that running for Ethiopians is like hockey for Canadians, but there were runners all along our route as the sun was coming up.
We laughed to each other as our kids, now barely remembering life before living on the equator, cutely complained that they were ‘freezing’ in the crisp 17°C morning air.
With our eyes accustomed to life in Congo, it was refreshing for us to catch a quick peak of Ethiopia. We looked forward to our return layover, because we now knew there was nothing to worry about. A bit of luxury would be waiting for us on our return layover because once again,, we’d be staying at the Radisson Addis.
*Travel Tip*
If the airline gives you an overnight voucher, keep it, even if you aren’t planning on using it, because it will get you through the visa line at customs without paying $50 USD per person. Don’t ask me how I know. 😉
Thank you to The Radisson Addis Ababa for hosting our family as guests on our layovers during this trip. All opinions are my own.