summer on my andirons: who wants to keep traveling?

Because I'm a bit of a map geek (check out my room decorations...)

I decided to make a map of all the places I've been in Europe (so far):

(click to embiggen)

- January 2008: England, Scotland, and Wales,

- Summer 2009: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ge rm an y, Switzerland, and Italy,

- October 2010-May 2011: Belgium, Sp ai n, Spain, Aus tria, Spain, Ger man y, Spain, Spain, Spain, Andorra, and France.

***

So, I know I just spent eight months toodling around Europe and occasionally molding young minds (in the formative sense, not as in making-brains-look-like-roquefort), but I’ve already started dreaming about my next fantastic and most likely prohibitively expensive European adventures. Who’s with me? Anyone have free time in, say, 2014 for one (or many) of these (assuming we all win free airfare from the trip genie…)? Feel free to dream with me:

Trip #1: Scottish highlands, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland

(15-21 days)

Sketch of the trip: hiking & backpacking through the highlands and various islands, taking ferries between the major island groups, eventually ending up in Iceland to explore the geysers, volcanoes, and glaciers.

Backstory: one of my favorite authors, Dorothy Dunnett, wrote a book about Macbeth (historical-ish. According to the book jacket, it was “incredibly well researched,” but since I’m too lazy to actually research the research, I’ll just have to give her the nod for writing a fascinating book about Macbeth, of all people.) Anyways, it was partially set in the Orkney Islands.

<--Orkney Islands

Shetland Islands-->

<--Faroe Islands

Iceland-->

Trip #2: from Vienna to Varna: cruising down the Danube

(21 days total)

Part 1: explore Vienna (2-3 days)

Part 2: Cruise down the Danube River from Budapest to Bucharest (10-11 days)

Part 3: Visit Bulgaria with my roommate: a short day in Varna, 3-4 days in Kazanlak, fly out of Sofia, the capital.

Backstory: my current roommate is Bulgarian and will soon-ish be moving back to Bulgaria, and I would love to visit her in her hometown of Kazanlak. Fun fact: Kazanlak is a valley high in the mountains where the highest-quality perfume roses are grown in the world. Bulgarian rose oil is shipped to France to make all that good-smelly stuff.

^ Vienna Austria ^ ^ Danube River ^ ^ Kazanlak, Bulgaria ^

Trip #3: Italy, Slovenia & Croatia: meandering down the Adriatic Coast

(21 days total)

Part 1: Italy: Milan (2-3 days) with my friends, Venice (2-3 days), Trieste (2-3 days)

Part 2: Slovenia: Piran (2 days), Ljubljana (2 days)

Part 3: Croatia: Zagreb (2 days), back to the coast (2 days), end in Dubrovnik (2 days)

Part 4: Somehow get back up to Milan to fly back to the US.

Sketch of the trip: probably rent a car from Trieste, in order to have maximum flexibility to lollygag along the Adriatic coast, escape into the mountains, and find tucked-away places, such as a lighthouse on the Croatian coast.

Backstory: I have friends in Milan. When one has friends in Milan, it is a sin to NOT visit them often. Slovenia is supposed to be a breathtakingly beautiful country as yet “undiscovered” (whatever that means).

^ my first visit to Milan’s ^ ^ this is apparently what ^ ^ and here's Dubrovnik, ^
Duomo, July 2009 Slovenia looks like Croatia

Trip #4: a Crossing Latitudes trip through Grecian isles

(8 days)

Kayaking through the Dodecanese Islands or the Cycladese Islands

Backstory: in 2009, my family and I went to Norway for two weeks, a large chunk of which was spent with Åsa from Crossing Latitudes. Crossing Latitudes is a small, Bozeman, MT-based adventure tour company run by Åsa’s sister, Lena. Among many adventurey things (biking, hiking, etc.), we spent a few days kayaking through the fjords, and I’m hooked. I’d gladly go kayaking through Grecian isles with them.

^ here’s me kayaking in ^ ^ a highly Photoshopped ^ ^ one of the Cycladese Islands ^
southern Norway in version of one of the
June, 2009, on a Dodecanese Islands
Crossing Latitudes trip

Trip #5: a Crossing Latitudes trip above the Arctic Circle

(11 days)

Through Norway’s Lofoten Islands or the Salten Coast

^ this is what a fjord in ^ ^ and here’s somewhere ^ ^ and here’s a white sand ^
southern Norway looks like in the Lofoten Islands beach on the Salten Coast

Trip #5: Finland

Sketch of the trip: not really sure yet. A bit of Helsinki, a bit of the lakes, quite a bit of uncovering family history.

Backstory: my grandpa’s pa was from Finland.

<-- my grandpa

Trip #6: northern Spain: Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarra

One possibility for this trip: starting in the Pyrenees, walk the 500 miles from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela (one route for the “Camino de Santiago”)

Backstory: Cantabria, the Basque Country, and Navarra are all in the mountains—Navarra is in the Pyrenees, and after being in the French Pyrenees and waking up to

<-- this view every day, I can’t wait to get back. Galicia is the Scotland of Spain. Seriously, they play the bagpipes there. Need I say more?

Trip #7: southern Spain & Portugal: Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada, Portugal

Backstory: I spent less than 48 hours in Seville, and it was definitely not enough. Granada and Córdoba are vibrant cities with amazing sites, like Granada’s Alhambra and Córdoba’s mosque. And hey, Portugal, why not?

<-- Córdoba's mosque

Trip #8: Frisian Islands, Amsterdam, Bruges

Part 1: East Frisian Islands. Backstory: Firstly, did you know that the closest linguistic cousin English has is Frisian? Also, in my very first German class ever, there was a chapter on northern Germany that included a section on hiking THROUGH THE OCEAN to get out to the islands. It’s called “Wattwandern” (hiking in the Wadden Sea). At low tide, you roll up your pant legs and walk out to islands that have great names like “Spiekeroog” and “Minsener-Oldoog.”

Part 2: Amsterdam. Backstory: one of my favorite T-shirts is one that my Grandma bought my brother when he was like 6, and I still wear the thing even though it really only fits a 6-year-old boy, and so is like HELLO, BOOBS on me (maybe that’s why I wear it…) and it’s so old that the sleeves are falling off. Literally. It feels wrong to wear this beloved old T-shirt of a place that I’ve never even been to.

Part 3: Bruges. Backstory: another Dorothy Dunnett-inspired stop. One of her historical-fiction series started off in the canals of Bruges. Yes, I know Bruges is touristy touristy TOURISTY, but hey, I still have an image of the 14^th-century city stuck in my head, and I MUST go there.

<--"Wattwandern" or hiking in the Wadden Sea

Trip #10: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria

Backstory: this is really just an excuse to go to Liechtenstein (mainly to say that I’ve been to Liechtenstein, rather the same as I did with Andorra, and to use the word “Liechtenstein” repeatedly), but since you can see most of Liechtenstein in a day, I figure we’d better toss some Swiss and Austrian adventures in there to make it a full trip. After spending less than 24 hours in Salzburg, I’d love to go back and have time to relax, do more in-depth exploring, and yes, go on a Sound of Music tour.