Our typical MO has been to stay in ONE location for about 45 days, which affords enough time to get a feel for the area, the people, the restaurants, etc… But we DID have a Eurail pass to use which allowed us 15 days of travel over a 60 day span. We didn’t get a chance to put that to maximum use, and instead only got four travel days via train and many more travel days on buses. From July 18 until we finally got back to Croatia on September 4 we hit 14 cities and stayed in 18 different rooms. Exhausting, both physically, mentally and emotionally as traveling to a new location every 3.5 days can cause stress with traveling partners.
Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia is how the hit list reads. In some of those countries we were only there for a few days, while Romania got most of our focus, lasting 30 of those 49 days. We came THIS close to getting to Slovenia since it was just on the other side of a river we were traversing, but the rain clouds threatened us on the way from Zagreb to Rijeka on our BMW motorcycle, so we thought it best to haul buns. As it turned out we got rained on, no, wait, we got DUMPED on; the sky opened, the thunder just above our heads, so we pulled onto the driveway of a small house on the roadside and sought refuge under their patio cover. Almost sounds like a movie!
The elderly owner, Josef, who spoke not a word of English, came out with his umbrella to make sure we weren’t there for nefarious purposes, and left us alone. His more compassionate wife took pity on the drowned American rats and invited us in for some coffee and heat, which we gladly accepted. Trying to converse with no Croatian on our end and just a FEW words of German I remembered from high school made conversation one-sided, but the angels offered us just what we needed and we were on our way after an hour or so. BTW, HUGE props for Kathleen who remained brave through the downpour and prayed our way through it.
Besides these kind folks we met many other great people on the journey, both American and foreigners from many lands. In Sibiu, Romania, we had a cool conversation with a professor of travel in Austria and discussed “sustainable travel” and the differences between being a TOURIST and a TRAVELER. That’s a great subject which I’ll delve into another time.
Kathleen and I learned many lessons on this fast paced journey, and that includes learning about us, individually and collectively. We learned that slow travel vs. fast travel ie, quality over quantity works best for both of us. Maybe the Millennials can hit new cities every few days, but for me, I’ll pass and take it slow(er).
Now comes the REAL journey: back to the US for about 40 days for two different business events. One is in Portland, OR, and the other, about 25 days later in San Antonio, TX, which means I have several weeks to get readjusted to American life and catch up with old friends.
Many ask if I plan to return to the US to live and the answer remains “no.” Traveling as we are brings more meaning, fun and adventure than anything I could do in America, so we will continue to Travel Younger. Glad you can join us!
