Europe trip 2023

The ferry is an easy trip. We walk on, find a table and stash all our gear.

It’s 2.5 hours to fill. I just sit, by now I’m just too shattered to be much use to anyone. 

We find our accommodation, also very central in the city. Top up on food but not too much! 

We spend the next day doing the sights. ALL the Santa / Christmas stores – because, you know, Santa lives in Finland! A church in a rock, the absolutely stunning library.

Then it’s the 11th of July, the day before we fly home, so I spend hours and hours repacking our gear. We’re still not at our luggage allowance limit, but almost – and we’ll be thankful for that on our layover! 

All the AirTags batteries are checked then they’re safely stashed in pockets of our luggage.

The 12th is a quiet start as we have an evening flight. On our way to the train station we stop at our favourite mall for last this and last that. Then it’s off to the airport!

  

You should know now, Riga is CUTE!! 

After a 4 hour bus ride where I sat on a work call for most of an hour we arrived in Riga. 

The bus dropped us off miles away from our accommodation, it was raining so we caught an Uber….turns out we’d arrived into Riga on their busiest week of the year, right amongst the Latvian Song and dance festival that only happens once every 5 years and for which people from every corner of Latvia descend upon Riga to celebrate their cultural traditions from each region through song/dance and amazing costumes. There was a parade going….it was 4pm, it had already been going 6 hours (it carried on for another 3!!) 

We gave up on the Uber who could not find a way around the parade.

So loaded up with all our gear we stood in the rain and watched for a bit, then when a gap came we sprinted across the road. Oh what a sight we must have been.

Found our accommodation, checked in and went to get food! We could hear the festivities still going. Ladies had ditched their very wet shoes. But on the whole, everyone was very happy and not at all concerned it was pouring with rain! Absolutely chucking it down! 

We spent the next couple of days enjoying the festivities. The weather thankfully cleared. Walked Mum round on FaceTime seeing the sights, shops, markets, parks. 

RK and I had a little cafe date without the boys, we bought more luggage to help with our overflow and to replace an older suitcase that was breaking and not keeping up with the (fast) pace! Fortunately we left NZ with very little luggage so had the capacity to add,. You all know this isn’t my first rodeo, I’ve dragged this family round Europe before! I know what happens – they buy stuff! (ok ok, and i buy stuff too!)

We did a walking tour and learnt a few things. Enjoyed the architecture. 

It was lovely to be staying so central.

My favourite colour is burgundy so I loved their flag and lots of merch / clothes in that colour.

After a few days it was time for the final bus journey of the trip

It was going to a long day of driving so we got up early to get on the road at 7.30am. 

We were heading west to Vienna back through Slovakia. We found Slovakia quite cheap so we called in at ikea to top up purchase a few things and to have their famous meatball lunch!!

After driving a bit more. Mum must have been tracking my phone because a message came through….”are you going to that outlet mall” I had no idea what she was talking about so I was informed it was behind me and given a web site link! 

So we drove over to have a look! It was so cute. All the shops were in a historic village type of design. Every brand was there from Nike to dyson to dolce cabana to Lindt. Little R scored some new shoes and a hoody. 

We did a one night stay by the airport, offloaded BK. He was flying to Armenia to see a work colleague. I drove into central Vienna with the kids. We found our Airbnb and we’re so blessed to get a park right outside so we could unload all our gear and Brendan’s as he’d only taken a backpack with him. After trip to the supermarket I put the car safely in a parking garage for the next two days as we explored the city. 

We went to the technology museum, I thought we’d only last an hour but we lasted 2! We went into the old town and saw the Spanish riding school horses in their stables. We saw the beautiful St Stephens church, I think mass was just finishing because the organ was playing at full volume! 

We then went to the butterfly house, that was a bit of a waste of money so we went round that twice.

Then it was 3.30pm and I was utterly exhausted so back to the house for a rest. 

Kababs for dinner then us 3 snuggled into our beds for an early night! 

I hadn’t really got a plan for what to do before we picked up Brendan from the airport but I didn’t need to worry, Mum did! 

So I was given a cafe name, once I’d put it in Google maps and off we went for morning tea, mum on video call enjoying a cafe she’d visited when she was in Vienna. We had hot chocolates and got to try apple strudel cake and an Austrian chocolate cake. Yum.

After that I went and got the car back out of the parking garage and drive about 20 minutes out of the city to go tobogganing. Kinda like luging but kinda not. A cart on a rail, you control the speed. RK didn’t enjoy it but CK and I did! 

After that thrill I found a park on Google maps out by the airport, I thought I was going to a ‘yatton park’  but it was more ‘mclarens falls’ (with no falls!) we saw some men playing disc golf. I’ve heard so much about that game but never seen it played.

Once we were bored of that we drove to a park up place by the airport and watched the planes land till our Daddy’s one came in. Then it was a long drive of 4.5 hours towards Innsbruck. So blessed it’s summer as we cruised the autobahns in the evening we could see the beautiful sights. We rolled into our Airbnb  just after 9pm. It was still light outside. Haven’t seen the sun set in weeeeeks, months even? 

After a quick one night stay, less than 12 hours! It was a long day of driving and touristing ahead of us. 

This was our 3rd time to Austria and each time before I’d tried to get to the Swarovski flagship store in Wattens but failed. This time it was third time lucky! We arrived before it opened. Admired their grounds and iconic face waterfall and went to the store where BK bought me my first figurine! “Carry on luggage!!!” the lady said to me as she was packaging it up! 

After finishing up there, it was off to the only other touristy thing I wanted to do while in Europe (along with Sintra in Portugal) we drove 2 hours to the Neuschwanstn castle. This is the castle Disney castles are modelled off. It’s under major Reno at the moment so I didn’t get tickets to go in, that would be a waste of money. 

Once we arrived we found parking, finally found how to catch the bus up the hill – nobody was walking 40 minutes up hill in 30 degree heat – and up we went! 

We first went to the bridge behind it to admire it, had lunch perched on some tree stumps. 

Then walked round to admire it from the base. Beautiful and so worth the mission. 

Back on the autobahns and into Switzerland we went. 

Till next time,

Claire

We drove north and into Poland. We’d decided staying in a big city wasn’t for us so chose an area called Zakopane. 

We arrived to a very beautiful area in the mountain. Very Queenstown-ish we thought. 

And it was cold! 16! All the central heating was on. We’re not carrying winter jarmies so I hunted through the cupboards for extra blankets. 

The following day we decided it was time for a water park. The area we were staying in is known for its mineral pools. Polands biggest and most famous was 15 minutes away.,

We purchased a 4 hour pass and had a lovely soak. Being a Sunday afternoon it was busy but we could always find somewhere to linger. We had fun on the hydro slides, in a whirl pool, a pool with disco lights. 

We’d brought sandwiches and water with us so inhaled them then BK bought hot chips and drinks (at resort type prices!) to top us up. It was a lovely time and something different to do.

The next day after that we missioned up to Krakow. What a pretty city! Not what I expected. Google reviews found us some cheap parking and we wondered round the old town enjoying the sights, the architecture, the art work for sale. We then went over to the Jewish quarter and wondered round that. I wanted to go into a Jewish bookshop but it appeared closed.

Topped up on thickshakes we made our way back to the car and drove 20 minutes to a salt mine. Again, came across some cheap parking and lined up ready for our tour. It was a beautiful hot day but I changed to jeans, grabbed my hoody and my beanie and ended up wearing both!! The tour started with 400 steps downward!! Took ages!! Once we were at 110m below ground and the guide started with the history and information. It was fascinating, the use of wood is extensive. The guide joked there was several forests of wood in the mine, I’m sure she wasn’t wrong! The salt would damage and weaken any other substance but with wood it makes it firmer, like stone/concrete. 

We walked through tunnel and mine shaft. We saw lakes of brine, so beautifully blue in colour.

We walked a total of 3km over 2 levels, apparently only 1% of the whole mine! Crazy! 

Once the tour was over we caught a lift up to the surface. It spat us out not anywhere near where we went into the mine, so after finding our car, getting massively long donar kababs it was the long drive back to our apartment. 

One very full touristing day!!

The next couple of days BK worked. 

The kids and I rested.

We popped into the Main Street which was so pretty. I found someone selling deep friend potato curls on a stick. Yum.

I also drove for the first time in 12 weeks!! I needed to get some practice in for later in the week. 

Poland you were lovely but now it’s time to turn west for a wee side mission of returning our Peugeot.

Till next time,

Claire 

 

Ps I’ve added a few photo’s from inside the salt mine. A carving into the wall – you can guess what it’s of! A chapel for the workers of the salt mine back in the day. The track for carts to be pushed along. Fascinating. Never been anywhere quite like it.

We arrived to a large apartment on the 5th floor. Checked in and Bk found his favourite supermarket, Kaufland. He was there ages texting me pictures of how cheap it was and “this is what Europe supermarkets should be like”. Needless to say, he returned with half the supermarkets worth of stuff!!! We’re only here 4 nights! 

The first day I did absolutely nothing. Didn’t leave the apartment. Travel fatigue had hit and I was exhausted, not at all interested in anything. BK took the kids out for a bit which was a lovely break for me, of course he returned with more stuff from Kaufland!!!

The next day I hauled my self out to a mall, had a very nice vanilla thickshake, bought R some new shoes and an extra small suitcase. It turns out we’ve bought way too much stuff since having the car and it’s all gotta go somewhere when we give the car back and get on a plane again! R decided she was having it as hers once we return home so that’ll suit her for camps, sleep overs and trips to Hawkes Bay.

I’d struggled to settle on an Airbnb in Slovakia. There were lots of options yet not many things to do. The city we are staying in is small and the only one attraction, is a castle. One of the top things to do in the entire country! So early the next morning we got up to go visit. We got to the entrance gate only to realise that it had a fairytale thing going for this week, it was all in the Slovak language and the people at the gate told us there was no point us, who only speak and understand English, going in. What a fail! Looked at going to a look out but that was upwards of $50 NZD to visit, which is pointless paying for with kids! So back to the apartment it was for some ball throw and catch, some packing, some educational screen time.

BK worked and I did a bit of work on all 3 of my roles I juggle in the second half of the year. Anything to get me ahead is a win!

 

And that was Slovakia. Just a bit of catch up really. Nothing touristy.

Till next time, 

Claire

After recovering from our travel day we enjoyed the farm stay so much we stayed another day. Achieved nothing. But with the cute dogs, the frogs in the pond, the ping pong table, the trampoline, the swing ball set, the good wifi, the comfy memory foam mattresses…absolutely nobody in our family wanted to move. 

It was the oasis we needed. The rest. The calm. The peace.

The following day we packed up and headed for IKEA. Love their lunch specials, a walk round the show room, bought a few things then went into central Budapest to find our next Airbnb.
We were only in Budapest 2 days. BK and I have been before but it was 15 years ago and it was in winter!! It was a different experience this time. Nothing seemed familiar to me? 

The first day we were there we thought we’d go to yet another island in the middle of  a river. This time we successfully hired a 4 person 4 wheel bike, we all piled in and had a turn at peddling, that was pretty fun! We walked through flower gardens, the boys played catch with a ball, little R practiced cart wheels. I stood and watched! We walked by the Danube, BK and I decided once we’ve offloaded our kids to adulthood we’d come back and do a river cruise of the Rhine and Danube rivers.
As we returned our bike we heard music beside a big water fountain….turns out the fountain was synced to the music! It was the fanciest fountain we’d ever seen as it shot water high then low, then swirled round. 15 minutes later it finished. Good timing!

The next day we were up and off to Buda castle, Buda as in Budapest not the god. The river separates the city in half. One side called Buda, one side called pest…except they pronounce pech. Got some great views of the Danube while we were at the castle….which isn’t a castle at all! Had a ride on a tram to get to the other side of the river and after a top up of chips and a thick shake at KFC, CK and I went on an afternoon walking tour. Lots of info, lots of history, lots of sights. Tick tick tick. Budapest done! 

The following day we packed up our gear and headed north to our next country. It was an uneventful day and we were thankful for that! 

Till next time,

Claire

We crossed successfully into Bulgaria and drove straight for Sofia. Our friends were following us, somewhere. Our first mission was to find someone who sold vignettes- an alternative to paying tolls. Once we found that we felt much better about the cameras on the highways!! Please no fines for us! 

We arrived at our Airbnb. Realised we were back in the EU so our SIM cards should be roaming and waited for our friends who’d got distracted at a monastery along the way.

Sofia was a weird one, I trawled through the internet looking for stuff to do and it just didn’t come up with much apart from churches. So we visited one then walked around aimlessly! The best thing about the church was the many massive art works painted on its walls of bible stories. It became a bible knowledge quiz…One example: So that’s Jesus and he’s with a dude who is wrapped up like he’s been dead, but isn’t anymore….
Answer : _______

The next day I had another go looking for something to do and still couldn’t find anything. So Sofia was all about connection. It was chatting, it was drinking Colada flavoured baileys, it was resting. The men did a bit of work, the ladies half entertained the children. The men cooked, the ladies ate…haha.

Then our friends flew back to London, that’s the last time we’ll see them for this trip but 3 times in 9 weeks has been wonderful. See ya down-under next time Nix!

And…. that was Sofia. That was Bulgaria. 

Barely worth visiting and I’m 100% sure we’ve been short changed but we only had 2 full days to explore. The annoying thing is, I think Bulgaria makes rose oil and I really would have liked to have seen that but I think its in the south which we didn’t have time to get to.

Ahh well. Off we go.

Till next time, 

Claire

We packed our car, went to a baby shop and I bought what seems like our thousandth (and hopefully final) car seat in the past 14 years of parenting so little R could see out the window easier, then we cruised out of Greece. 

We are embarking on a 3000km road trip. 2/3rds of the way through we’ll need to drop our car off and bus the rest of the way through the final countries before flying home!

We’ve been churning through countries for the past 7 weeks, in and out of the EU but never have we been interrogated like the Greek border control! They were particularly interested in where we lived in NZ – ?? if the children went to school  – ?? and if they were on vacation – ?? Why they wanted to know this on the way out of their country I have no idea!! We said yes our kids were on vacation – kinda true, ish. 😁 Please don’t call Mr Jarrett, he might have other ideas!

We drove up to the entry gate of Macedonia and as we waited our turn Brendan spots a doppelganger of someone at home “Found Shelley Barnard!” he announces. All 4 of us sat there gazing at this lady. ♥️ The hair style and even colour, the body shape – it was uncanny actually!  If I wasn’t in such a high security area I would have taken a photo.

The border control man was NZ’s biggest fan. He was so happy to see our beautiful black passports from “kiwi land” – it made us smile. Everyone loves kiwis! Everyone will yack your ear off about how beautiful NZ is. If they’ve been there or if they want to go there! Then they’ll start on “so what exactly happened to your prime minister – she’s tired?”
Mmmhmm, yep she got tired, who knows what she’s doing now! Yep Doctor Ashley Bloomfield got tired and quit too, Covid aye.  I have lost count on how many times I’ve had that conversation in the past 7 weeks!! 

After successfully entering the country, we cruised the lovely big and new-ish highways with Lauren Daigle tunes playing. We found our Airbnb, unpacked and then went to find local SIM cards as our EU ones weren’t roaming, again! 20 gigs for $8.50 NZD – yes please x 2 phones! Then it was the ever pesky trip to top up on food.

After such a busy schedule for the past month this week had been pegged to slow us down and I’d purposely booked a big Airbnb for the kids to have their own rooms and space away from each other, and me!! BK hoped to catch up on work. I needed to do a bit of life and business admin. The kids need to rest and do any school related tasks they can pick up. So with BK disappearing to a co working space, the kids and I spent a few days resting before our friends flew out from London to see us. 

Once they arrived it was off to see the sights. We saw the square and as we walked towards their old town/market I saw a lovely fountain of 4 mothers. It was large and in such a prominent place. It was beautiful. I did research, it’s meant to be ‘Alexander the greats’ Mum! But it looks more like a celebration of motherhood to me. BK took little R on a horse trek in the mountains, she loved it and was totally in her element. The Camino had pushed her to her limit and that was her reward for pushing through.

Our last full day we ventured out to see Matka Canyon – it’s worth a Google image search, so pretty. We went on a boat ride to a cave. Was lovely to be out on the water. I put DJI up for a fly, then BK had a turn. I was on catching it as BK landed it but I put my finger a centimetre too high and it chopped off my nail and took a tiny bit of my skin off before I could grab it and tip it upside down to turn it off. Ouch! Always a drama with that thing!!!! Of course I took a photo and sent it home to the mothership who replied with the obvious: be more careful and don’t get an infection! 😁

Then it was back to the apartment to pack, and after a week in one place, we’d unpacked quite a lot!! It had been a wonderful pause. Both kids commented they’d enjoyed the ‘home days’.

But it was off to our next destination,

Till next time,

Claire