Mr. & Mrs. Savage go to Europe

Last month Joan and I snuck off to Europe on holiday to visit our scattered families.  It was a whirlwind of planes, airports, and cars.  After a connection through Keflavik in Iceland (where we just briefly got to taste the air on the tarmac), we landed in Schipol, Holland.  Jet lag hit hard, but we rallied for a great dinner in Amsterdam with Joan's family for her birthday.  The next day, we hopped back on another plane for Denmark, then Norway.


My distant cousins Inger Lises and Siri picked us up from Stavanger airport, and we had a reunion dinner with a bunch of my distant family.  Some time was spent puzzling out the complex family tree!

The next day we got a tour of the Fjords of Jorpeland after a short ferry ride.  Norway is comprised of incredible looking landscapes!  I'm already plotting a return trip, possibly when the country is snow covered.


We made a trek up to Preikstolen (Pulpit Rock) - a prime tourist attraction but well worth it.  We were lucky to have an ice and snow free walk.

Several passerby clomping uphill in heavy boots asked if my sandal clad feet were cold.  Cold?  It was a balmy 11 degrees Celsius!  Why is everyone so bundled up!?  :)

 

The following day we hopped a connection through Copenhagen to Barcelona where we were retrieved by Joan's Uncle Martin and Aunt Ria.  We drove to Begur in Catalonia where he has a house overlooking the Mediterranean.  We really slummed for the four days we had here, let me tell you.

I instantly fell in love with Begur.  It was quiet, it had the sea, and mountains, and hiking/biking trails!  What else does one need?

We hiked a short section of the GR92 which followed the coast.  It was all gorgeous, and Joan and I worked up a sweat in the toasty 27 degrees C (~80F) temps and sunshine.  Really, the first sunlight we had seen on the trip so far!  The trail rolled over hilltops and descended into sheltered, pebbled beach coves.

We toured a few 9th rough 12th century settlements that are still active with residents today.  The laid back atmosphere was infectious.

The last day, we made the roughly 1 mile walk (and about 1000 feet of elevation loss) down to the sea for a very short and chilly swim.  The beach was deserted for some odd reason!

Begur was very walker friendly, with sidewalks and stairs weaving in and around all the closely packed terrace houses.  A good thing too, because everyone whips and speeds through the twisting, winding roads like there is no tomorrow!

On the 13th we were on yet another plane back to Uithoorn to stay with Joan's cousin Mignon and Jos.  We spent an entire day wandering Amsterdam, eating poffertjes, cheese, bread, chocolate, everything that makes life worth living :)

I gained a couple of kilos despite the amount of walking we did.

That night as we went to bed, we caught the news of the attacks in Paris.  It was quite surreal.  And we were glad that we had opted not to drive through France as originally planned.  On the last full day, Jos took me on a 50k bike tour around Uithoorn in driving rain and wind.  I couldn't think of a better way to see the Dutch countryside!  I marveled at the houses below sea level mere meters away from huge bodies of water.  Their doom seemed imminent, but Jos told me floods never happen due to the complex array of canals and pump stations.

We had our last dinner abroad at Tanta Ria's house.  The goodbyes were very sad that night and the next morning.  But eventually we boarded our WOW flight back for the states.

It was a jam-packed 11 days!  Looking forward to a return trip.  Huge thanks to our families for their incredible graciousness and hospitality.  Hopefully we can return the favor someday.