So there you have it, 3 months and 29 days on the road in Sven. We drove 17323km, through 21 countries. We are very grateful to have had such an amazing experience. There have been a huge number of highlights. We have both attempted to make a 'Top 10' in no particular order of things on the trip:
Maneesh:
The Schilthorn Cable Car, Switzerland. Wow what an amazing view.
The Werfen Ice Cave, Austria. It was cold, but so impressive, and the views on the walk up were just as impressive.
Wildlife watching, Finland. Seeing the wolverines was amazing. Although we did not see a bear it did not seem to detract from the experience.
Seeing beavers while kayaking, Sweden. We thought we had a chance to see some, but to see them as well as we did was very cool.
Going to the Hoegaarden Factory, Belgium. It was just a fun thing to do, and Hoegaarden was a beautiful little town.
Day 1 in Rome, Italy. Seeing the colosseum, Arch of Constatine, the Roman forum. The ruins were amazing.
Day 1 in Venice, Italy. It really is a city like no other. I just loved the canals, the old buildings and everything about it.
The Obersalberg Dokumentation Museum, Germany. The way the museum presented the facts and the coverage of the time around the war, both before and after, was very good.
Auschwitz, Poland. This is not a highlight, but I was so glad to have gone there and have seen it.
Riga, Latvia. It was just a nice little city, they had great markets, great food.
Emma:
Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany with Hamish and our friends.
Croatia - the unbelievable clarity and aqua colour of Plitvicka Lakes and the coastline, and our entertaining stay at Mladen's campground for three nights.
The ruins of Pompei, Italy, buried under ash from Mount Vesuvius and amazingly preserved.
Austria - the alps, lakes district, ice cave, ski jumping, and Wiener schnitzel!
Venice, Italy - the canals, gondolas, shops, and terrace houses.
The Schilthorne Cable Car, Switzerland - felt like we were on top of the (snowy) world. (Switzerland in general really).
Rome, Italy - the Colosseum, the ruins of the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain.
Wildlife - Kayaking and seeing beavers in Sweden, and wolverine watching in Finland near the Russian border.
Tuscany, Italy - wine tasting in Greve, the town of San Gimignano, and the beautiful countryside.
The food, everywhere (dumplings, pastries, schnitzel, gulash, wursts, chocolate, pasta, pizza, gelato, Movenpick icecream, antipasto, good bread, French cuisine, cheese etc etc).
Our day at Auschwitz and in the Salt Mine near Krakow in Poland.
It was a hard list to make really. There have been so many memorable experiences. Em has really cheated with her list!
So now all we have to do is sort out our bits and pieces here in Ireland before getting on a plan and coming home :-)
Very exciting!
