Europe: The First Few Days

“Grandma just passed us on her scooter,” Ken shared, as he glanced over his left shoulder for any other fast-paced Grecians wanting to cut ahead of our light yellow Ford rental car. This happened yesterday, as we were driving along Corfu’s main road to Paleokastritsa, a postcard-worthy, bright blue bay on the east side of the island. I laughed, and thought back to our time in Venice just last week, when Ken and I came across multiple seniors on road bikes and scooters, going incredibly fast. I swear one was a biker gang made up of sweet little ladies 85 years old and up, smiling and sharing stories as they turned the corner at a local restaurant. Experiences such as these have made our time in Europe so colorful.

We’ve been overseas for about five days now, and I already have enough stories to fill my stationary to friends. Our initial flight to Frankfurt from Seattle was delayed about an hour last Wednesday. Besides not being able to sleep much during the 11-hour flight, upon arriving in Germany, we struggled to find the correct bus to the Frankfort Hahn Airport, where our connecting flight to Venice departed. We soon found out that the bus ride was about an hour and a half away from our current airport (Frankfurt am Mein). During that transfer, we decided that in the future, we would take into consideration “ease of travel” instead of placing “cost” as our primary consideration. Our flight to Venice via Ryan Air was very bumpy. I felt like I was back in San Diego riding the Mission Valley Roller Coaster, in all its rickety, wooden splendor. There were multiple instances where I found myself grabbing Ken’s hand or arm, as the plane went up-and-down, side-to-side, catching every air pocket in the clouds. I almost kissed the ground when we landed—not just because I was excited to be in Europe but also since I was excited to be alive. (Ken is so good to remind me every time we fly that turbulence is completely normal and safe.)

It sure feels good to be on solid ground now, although that’s only half-true since we are currently taking a boat along the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first time I’ve ever sailed on a cruise and it’s honestly one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. There are multiple restaurants and food carts (all-inclusive) with all sorts of offerings—American favorites and international cuisine, along with buffet-style and four-course sit-down meals. Room service is also available 24-7. Food is obviously a selling point for the cruise industry. Besides the dining selections, there are two pools onboard, four hot tubs, two exercise rooms, a mini-golf course, a spa, a rock-climbing wall, ping pong tables, a quarter-mile track that encircles the top of the boat, a casino, a showroom, a bar, and an outdoor movie theatre. Ok, it’s crazy. That’s the best word to describe it. I’m still in awe of the amenities of this cruise ship. Ken and I happened to book this very cruise, in fact, because it ended up being comparable (or even cheaper) to our typical cost of food, accommodations, and travel costs while abroad for a week. We did it to save money in one sense. And the fact that it stops in countries along the Mediterranean—places we were already hoping to visit—made it perfect for us.

As I write this update on our travels, I can’t help but share how grateful I am for the Lord’s provision for us on this trip, even in the first week of traveling. One story in particular comes to mind. A couple days ago, our cruise ship docked in Croatia. For the past few weeks, I had been researching the Krka National Park, about an hour and a half’s drive outside of the port city of Split. Therein lies a series of breath-taking waterfalls carved naturally from the soft, local stone and formed by a unique biological process, which only happens in this location. It’s marvelous to see. All the reviews I read and photos I found online elevated my interest in going there and taking in the beauty myself.

And God provided a way for us to do this.

Once onboard our cruise ship, Ken and I had decided to brake down and buy the expensive tour tickets to Krka, after realizing that it’d be even pricier to try to get there ourselves. However, we soon found out that the tour had been canceled. The tour company decided to forfeit their business deal with our cruise deal, although nothing was wrong at the actual tour site. Disappointedly, I resolved myself to walking around the nearby towns in lieu of seeing the waterfalls. Especially because of the distance and energy it would take to get there. But when we got off the ship, we ran into some fellow tourists—a friendly family of five from Florida, who were also hoping to see Krka National Park. They kindly let us jump in their taxi car. Since there were 8 of us total, including the taxi driver, it was quite interesting getting everyone to fit! Let’s just say that three people went without seat belts and at one point, I sat in the cargo area of the taxi, comfortably placed between backpacks and day bags. It was an adventure! I hadn’t done anything like this since college. Looking back, our taxi driver was able to make the 90-minute drive in less than hour, thanks to his 150+ km/hr speeds. That’s almost 100 mi/hr. When I share this story with our children someday, I plan on deemphasizing the safety risks. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The falls were amazing and worth the trip.

I anticipate so many more wonderful experiences on this trip, if the first few days are an indicator of what’s to come. There are a couple other stories that I can’t wait to share in the coming days. 

Andiamo. That’s an Italian word I learned during our time in Venice. It means, “Let’s go!” 

It’s time for me to jump off the ship and tour Athens.