A Reminiscence of Sorts

In September of 1979, I headed to Europe for the first time with my friend, Linda.  Neither of us had experienced European travel before.  Naively, we headed to London with no real plans other than knowing that, after one week in England, we would go by boat from Harwich Quay to Hoek van Holland where we would pick up a rental car and start driving - somewhere, anywhere, for 4 weeks.  It wasn't until we were in London that it actually occurred to us that having a map to guide us might be a good idea!  Remember; this was long before the days of the Internet, Google searches, hotels.com, etc.  My only goal was to visit three places:  Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria - only because I had done a needlepoint of it; Lago Maggiore because I loved the movie Rome Adventure; and Koblenz because it was a stop on the high school trip that I didn't go on in 1964.  So, how is that for planning?  We did all that and lots more.

During the flight to London, however, our plane developed engine trouble and the flight was aborted over northern Canada.  We ended up in Goose Bay, Labrador, sitting on a runway, for 17 hours (8 hours went by before they even let us off the plane!) while Air Canada located another plane and a new crew!  It took us over 27 hours to get from Vancouver to London!  Given that start, it is amazing I ever went back!  Later though, as we traveled around, we decided that we must have earned "brownie points" for that rough start because pretty much whatever we wished for we got:  a thatched B&B in Wiltshire, a cute "cuckoo clock" style chalet in Liechtenstein, a charming hotel on a canal in Amsterdam.  We would say it and it would appear.  Our travels took us to the British Midlands, the Black Forest, Alsace, Switzerland, Bavaria, northern Italy, the Cote d'Azur, the D-day beaches of Normandy, the Rhine and Mosel valleys, Amsterdam, and back to the UK to Dorset and Devon.  So much about all of it was so magical for me that it started my life-long love affair with Europe.

Linda and me in front of a pub in the Derbyshire countryside -
Gosh, check out that hair and those pants!

In 1984 (when I had already had two more overseas trips under my belt), Linda and I went back to Europe with two other gals.  That time we had more of a plan and that trip included Austria along with England, Germany, France and Switzerland.  We discovered lots more charming places and scenery that took my breath away.

So, fast forward to the present.  Now, nearly 40 years after that first trip and over 80 trips to Europe, I will start this holiday with Linda again.  Next Sunday, we are heading off to discover a country neither of us has visited before:  Croatia.  My travel routine has changed, however.  Now, I plan ahead!  We have apartments rented in Dubrovnik, Hvar, and Split and we will explore those areas for two weeks.  Actually, I know where I will be sleeping over the entire 9 weeks I am overseas - provided I can find the places I've booked.  Furthermore, I will be armed not only with a map this time but also with my Garmin.  I don't leave things to chance quite as much as I used to!   

After we leave Croatia, my travels will take me to Alsace, Switzerland and England. Some of the time, I will be on my own and other times with friends, neighbours, and family,  I am hoping the amount of effort I spent planning this holiday in advance will ensure there won't be any glitches - but, on second thought, there weren't any that first time after the plane incident despite our lack of planning!  Stay tuned!