Our Europe Adventure

Posted on December 14, 2018

The adventures of our 4 weeks of living in a van and traveling around Europe.

This fall, we knew we wanted to go on a trip abroad. We both had been daydreaming about New Zealand and had agreed on heading there for 3-4 weeks. After looking at tickets (relatively short notice) we realized that we would spend about twice as much on tickets to go this fall rather than waiting and planning the trip out in advance.

This didn’t discourage us from our abroad trip, we just had to come up with an alternative. After randomly browsing flights, we found tickets for $420 a piece roundtrip and nonstop from Denver to London. We “structured” (I use quotes b/c there was very little structure to our trip) the trip around renting a camper van out of London. We’d have the van for almost 4 weeks.

London, UK

We arrived in London on Sunday morning and had 24 hours to kill before picking up the van the following morning. We booked our hotel for the night just before taking off from Denver so when we landed in London, knew we just wanted to head straight to the hotel to drop our bags before exploring the city for the day.

We were able to buy a ticket that we could use the entire day for public transportation. This ticket would get us pretty much anywhere we’d want to see via train, bus, or metro. Once we studied the map for a quick minute, it seemed fairly easy to navigate the city (oh, and Apple Maps ‘transit option’ helps too).

Both of us were pretty tired, but we decided to try and push through for the entire day. Our exploration of London started at Big Ben, which was under construction. There were so many people when we popped out of the metro station at Big Ben; it was a little overwhelming for us.

Basically, we just started walking which is one of the most fun ways to explore a city in our opinion. We stumbled upon some sort of military ceremony/parade, the Horse Guards palace, and admired the distinguished architecture of the city. After a while, we got on a bus to try and make our way back towards London Bridge. I was real tired at this point and it should be noted that, for the first time in my life, I think I fell asleep standing up. It was wild.

From London Bridge, we walked to Tower Palace and Bridge and then looped back over to London Bridge on the other side of the river where we found an amazing market. We bought a huge plate of chicken curry for 7 pounds for dinner and then decided to head back to the hotel.

We enjoyed sunset along Royal Victoria Dock and were fast asleep by 8 pm. In the morning we were anxious to get to the van and head towards the coast. We had a ferry from Dover, UK to Calais, France booked for 1 pm.

Belgium

Tyson decided that it would be a good idea to bring some climbing gear on this trip. It was easy enough to pack and would be a fun way to explore parts of Europe. What I loved most about having our climbing gear with us is that we possibly would have overlooked Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany if it weren’t for our search of climbing crags.

Belgium was the quintessential fall destination. Vast river valleys lined at times with castles and chalets skirted rolling hills of the countryside. The towns were quaint and quiet and clouds would sit low in the morning and lift by the late afternoon.

We were only in Belgium for a short time but we had an enjoyable time and would go back in a heartbeat. Though unexpected, our time in Belgium proved to be memorable.

Luxembourg

It would likely discredit this write-up if we admitted we didn’t know Luxembourg was a country prior to this trip so we won’t dwell on it but we are sure glad we drove through Luxembourg on our way from Belgium to Germany.

With little planning and virtually no itinerary, we were definitely flying by the seat of our pants. While this type of traveling can be fun and rewarding, it can definitely get frustrating. I was often Googling on the go and trying to figure out where to head at every turn.

At one point in my searches, I came across Mullerthall which is deemed the little Switzerland of Luxembourg. We were up for a taste of what was to come and this area was literally a fall wonderland. It reminded us very much of the Midwest woods. We went for a hike before continuing on to Germany.

Germany

We had very little expectations when it came to Germany and we were honestly both indifferent on whether or not we’d even spend much time there – until we arrived. Germany was so beautiful, nice, and comfortable. The countryside of Germany was unlike any countryside we’d ever experienced. The greenest green you could imagine floated effortlessly towards the horizon.

The towns scattered throughout the country were just what you’d picture of Germany. One wild factor of Germany was the amount of roads and highways everywhere. Their road system is very intricate and organized. Navigating was a little bit tough but we got by.

Similar to Belgium, little river valleys created a stunning landscape and we found some really fun yet fairly obscure climbs in some small German towns. The fresh pretzels are worth mentioning and we wish we‘d eaten more.

For our last day of German driving, we turned off both ‘tolls’ and ‘highways’ on our map app and it was a fun (yet slow) way to see part of the country. It’s safe to say after scratching the surface of Germany we long to go back. It was time to explore the Alps.

Italy

After working our way through Germany into Austria, we realized the forecast was calling for three straight days of snow and rain. We decided to just head to Italy and then backtrack through the Alps on our way back. Nervously we hit snow in the van at the very top of Brennero Pass on our way into Italy.

Italy was apparently different from any of the other countries we had visited. It was very different from what we were expecting. Our first Italian destination was Venice. We slept in a town that was a train ride away from Venice. In the morning we got an early start into Venice for a day of exploring.

We were expecting rain so we wore our rain jackets and I wore my rain booties while Tyson wore the only shoes he brought – his light hikers. You wouldn’t normally think that our wardrobe is an important point in our story but this day was different.

Arriving in Venice in the early morning was really nice and encouraging. As per usual, we had no plan for the day once we got to the ancient floating city and so we just started walking. We wandered down quiet and charming streets, watched the water taxis cruise under main bridges, and it was only after an hour or so we started noticing that the water was no longer contained to the canals.

At about this time, we also noticed that more and more locals were wearing what we call muck boots in the states. Interesting, we both thought quietly but moved on without much question. At first we thought the water was because of the rising tide and the sinking city. Surely these factors would allow water to lap the streets more so at certain times of day.

It was soon evident that there was much more going on than just a little water intrusion everywhere. We got to a point in the city where we were literally stuck – we couldn’t go on. Eventually, we walked back to the entrance of the city. Do we leave or do we buy Tyson some booties? At this point, the tourist crowd had increased tenfold and part of us just wanted to head out. Tyson paid 10 Euro for some plastic waterproof booties and we continued on. The water got so deep at times that he had to carry me through the flooded streets. People were enjoying their pizza while sitting in a foot of water, and tourists were giving up on staying dry and trekking through the knee-high water. Some even went barefoot (no thanks). We enjoyed some delicious and fresh pizza and then continued back to the other side of the city to get the train back to the van. We think that Venice is a place we won’t have to visit again.

We were reluctant to head into Central Italy at night for fear we’d miss amazing views but we felt like we had to compromise if we wanted to see all the places we had on our list. We slept in central Italy and then headed for the Amalfi Coast in the morning.

Touching on the fact that not planning anything doesn’t always work out in your favor, we ended up arriving in Amalfi just before dark. It also just so happened that there was an intense storm hitting the coast and so it was a bit of a chaotic arrival. We found a place to park in Minori (parking there is tight and hard to find), walked around in the rain for a while, ate at a genuine as could get Italian restaurant and then walked back up to our parking spot and went to bed.

We woke up early to beat the traffic and had a beautiful sunrise drive along the coast. When we arrived in Positano, we parked the car way up on the highway and trekked down to the beach. We got some freshly made chocolate filled donuts, fresh fruit from a fruit stand and then continued up the coast.

Making it all the way back up to Rome in one day seemed a bit ambitious but we just jumped on the toll roads and that helped get us there in a reasonable amount of time. Our plan was to find a place to sleep in a town outside of the city and then ride a train into the city early in the morning for a full day of exploring Rome.

I feel sick to my stomach even as I type this now—over a month after the incident—but where we parked for the night humbled us in an unfortunate way. At 2:30 in the morning, our front passenger window was smashed out and my bag was stolen out of it. There’s no better way to describe it than traumatic. Tyson was awake when it happened and started screaming at the top of his lungs. He saw the guy run off through the field in front of us with my bag. I immediately woke up and started screaming as well.

That feeling is one I hope I never have to relive. We felt so violated, vulnerable and helpless. We went to the police station and they were no help. They told us to return at 7 am so we could file a report (which we knew would be for our insurance purposes and nothing else). We sat in the van outside of their compound and watched the minutes turn to hours until 7.

We obviously weren’t going to make it into Rome first thing and now we were missing a front window. After the visit with the police at 7, we were able to find a car glass company in Rome. We drove there to see what we could do about the window. Upon arrival, they told us it would be about 2-3 weeks if they could order the window in. They followed that up with the fact that they could put in a temporary window. We figured that would get us by for the time being. Within about 15 minutes, they had installed a really nice temporary plexiglass window that was way better than what we expected. They didn’t even charge us for it!

We both were ready to get out of Italy and had reservations about going into Rome for the afternoon. After deciding we couldn’t just skip it as we’d come all that way, we found a train station on the north end of the city that we could park at and get into Rome fairly easy from.

Even with heightened levels of anxiety, a bit of stress, and the feeling of everyone out to get us, we toured Rome for the afternoon. It was pretty mind-boggling and we are so happy we stayed for the day. We tried to see everything, which is an impossible feat when you only have about 5 hours. We did get a taste of Rome and felt as though we could return to Rome and spend a few days really exploring the depths of the ancient city.

That night we ended up driving into central Tuscany and found an amazing agritourism location to camp at. We listened to the patter of the rain on the roof and slept for as long as we could. Unfortunately, our morning in Tuscany was cloudy and rainy but we still enjoyed the rolling hills.

We headed for the Dolomites but the weather once again had different plans. It was cloudy, rainy and snowy, and winter-like weather in the Dolomites. We essentially did a drive through but missed a lot of what we were after because the higher mountain passes were closed for the winter. Continuing on, we were a little discouraged to miss the Dolomites but excited for the Swiss Alps.

Austria/Switzerland

For both Austria and Switzerland, the best way to go about describing our time in awe of the Alps is the fact that we literally drove about 215 miles in an 11-hour day of driving (that’s an average of 20mph). The views were just so amazing; we’d stop every few miles for a photo or to admire a scene.

If we did this trip again, we would go much sooner. We missed a lot of passes in Switzerland as well because snow had closed the higher passes. What blew us away about Switzerland and the Alps, in general, is that there are beautiful green rolling pastures that lead right up to intense, crazy mountains. It’s a sight to be seen – that’s for sure. The Alps were definitely something to write home about but our words just won’t do it justice so we’ll share photos instead.

France, Pt. 1

After a couple of days of touring through Austria/Switzerland we settled in Chamonix for a day. We really wanted to do some Via Feratta, but again had missed the mark slightly. In Chamonix, all the Via Ferrata was up high in the snow and we didn’t have the proper gear for cold weather mountain excursions. On the north side of the valley, the side exposed to sunlight for most of the day, there was little snow so we decided to head out for a hike.

We left from the valley floor and cruised up the steep hillside to Le Flegere. Much like our driving habits, we stopped many times to take photos of the same scene – it was just so hard to resist because of how beautiful it was.

After our hike we headed into the mountains west of Chamonix where our awe and admiration for the Alps continued. We stopped just after dark because we couldn’t stand to miss the views.

Instead of waking to a bluebird sunny day as we had hoped, we awoke to another morning of rain and mist. We decided, since we couldn’t see anything, that we would just head down to Southern France. Tyson and I had loose plans to get to Barcelona the next day however we ended up going all the way there that night.

Spain

Tyson’s brother, wife and kids were spending the month in a small seaside town outside of Barcelona. We knew we wanted to visit them so that was a known destination of ours. Their flat was literally right on the beach and the waves crashing into the shore was a pleasant sound to sleep to. We got to sleep on their floor, shower, do some laundry, and eat home-cooked meals. It was a pleasant break from the van.

Our first day in Spain was a welcome rest day of doing absolutely nothing and going nowhere. We walked along the beaches searching for sea glass, sat and relaxed in the sun, and played cards.

The next day we went into the city of Barcelona with the crew and took a free walking tour. The walking tour was incredible and taught us so much about the history of Barcelona and also the current state of the city/region. After the tour we had Paella and then continued exploring. We saw a few Gaudí buildings, ate some delicious and cheap pastries, and then got back on the train to head home.

The next morning we left early to head into the Pyrenees Mountains. We made the executive decision to start heading back north with hopes of making it into Scotland instead of venturing further south into Spain.

The Pyrenees had a simple and quiet feel and we feel as though they don’t get the attention they deserve (although maybe the locals like it that way!). We scratched the surface of the Pyrenees range and of Spain in general and it’s definitely on the list of places to revisit

France, Pt. 2

Most would question our road trip practices however we were on a quest to get to Scotland so we ended up driving from pretty far south to north in one day. The French countryside proved to be the perfect backdrop for a full day in the van.

We made it to Normandy that night just before dark. Tyson and I walked out to the sea and we were already captivated by the history of Normandy. Luckily we were able to get on a half-day tour the following morning. Initially, we were pretty bummed that we couldn’t get on a full day tour but it proved to work out well.

This may sound a bit redundant if you’ve been following our adventures on social media but it’s a part of history we feel like every American should be aware of and while we only got a small taste of what Normandy was like during WWII, we were captivated by the scale of loss that happened there during that time.

The tour started at Ponte Du Hoc. This is where the Rangers were dropped and expected to destroy the large guns that the Germans had positioned at the point. The guns had a range of 11 miles and both Omaha Beach and Utah Beach were within that range. They had planned to scale the cliffs here with a combination of ladders and Grapnels with ropes attached however their plans were not working. Many of them ended up scaling the cliff with their daggers. The Germans were waiting for them at the top but many of the soldiers were taken back by the heroes that they had just watched scale the cliffs that they retreated inside the bunker. When the Rangers overcame them, they were able to make their way back to the guns (I think there were 6 or so). The Germans had placed fake guns in their place and moved the real guns into the country. Luckily, the Rangers were able to find them and neutralize the guns. (Also note that the Allies had been working on air attacks on PDH but had only hit one of the 6 guns because of low clouds and weather).

It was mind-blowing to see the scene at Pont Du Hoc, with crater-like holes scattered everywhere from air attack attempts nearly 75 years earlier. The cliffs were impressive and the fact that the Rangers scaled them with little equipment… mind numbing!

After Pont Du Hoc, we headed south to Omaha Beach. We were here at high tide unlike when the troops arrived at mid tide. Looking over the vast beach, it was incredible to imagine how the troops felt when they arrived there. Not only did they have nearly 3 football field lengths of sandy beach to get through, the Germans were waiting for them in the dunes behind the beach. 30,000+ troops landed on Omaha Beach and there were 2,000+ casualties on this beach on June 6, 1944. Insane.

We left Omaha Beach and went for a visit at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. We didn’t plan this at all, but we were actually there on the 11th day of the 11th month and our tour guide got us there on the 11th hour. There are over 9,000 American soldiers buried at this cemetery, some buried close to where they died as this cemetery is on the east end of Omaha Beach. The scale of loss that occurred during this time in history is pretty hard to wrap your mind around.

After the tour ended at Noon, we headed out to the Airborne Museum in Saint Mere Eglise. Not only was the museum filled with incredible facts and information, but there were also some really cool artifacts from the war. We were able to learn all about the paratroopers of WWII. If Tyson were in the war, this is what he would do (or a glider pilot). On the night before D-day, June 5th, the allies dropped 13,000 paratroopers into the Normandy area. 13,000!! And I think they expected only 1/2 to even survive.

Saint Mere Eglise is known in the paratrooper sector of the war because troops landed right in the town square – one even landing on the church’s steeple. The museum consumed us for over 4 hours, as we felt we had to read and pick up on every piece of information! It was mesmerizing and so very interesting.

After the Airborne Museum, we had just enough daylight left to go out to Utah Beach. 23,000 troops landed on Utah beach. This was an “easier” feat because it was flat, without piles of dunes behind the beach.

We were both blown away by our day in Normandy and feel like we could go back for quite a few days to learn more and visit more museums. There’s also so much more to this day in history but these were some of the interesting facts we picked up on throughout the day. If you ever have a chance to go to Normandy, we highly recommend it.

We felt so privileged to be able to experience Normandy. Even sleeping on the shores of the English channel was surreal to think about what had been going on many years ago right on that very land we were sleeping on.

After our tour of Normandy, we returned to the same place to camp. We were only an hour drive from where the ferry left in the morning to cross the English Channel.

UK/Scotland

Our vague plans once we disembarked the ferry in Portsmouth, England was to head to the SW corner of the UK and then take our time heading North to Scotland. As we were coming from France a stop at border patrol was necessary and unlike most border patrol agents we’ve encountered, the one on this day was extremely nice and friendly. He was genuinely curious about our adventure. He wondered where we were heading next and we told him our plans. We, of course, asked if he had any recommendations and his words were, “yeah parts of England are really cool but Scotland is a very unique and special place.” He also explained that if he was short on time (as we were) he’d spend all of his time in Scotland.

After getting out of the port, we began heading west. Tyson and I both kind of brought up the fact that maybe we should just head to Scotland. Within minutes we were rerouting to head straight for Scotland.

Our excitement over our new plan proved to us that we made the right decision. I have a family friend who lives outside of Edinburgh and so our goal for the night was her place. She was expecting us as I emailed her once we started heading north. We slept in her driveway, had a nice warm shower in the morning, and even got to experience a traditional Scottish breakfast. She helped us plan our route and gave us some really good direction on where to go (Thanks again, Lizzie!).

The Scottish Highlands proved to be the ultimate highlight of our trip. Not only was this region incredibly beautiful, but the Highlands were also quiet and not very populated. It’s almost as if what we had been longing for the entire trip, we found in Scotland. We found vast wilderness, rugged mountainscapes, and quiet yet tough seaside towns that were used to battering winds and endless rainy days.

Making the trek to Scotland was definitely one of the best decisions of the trip we had made and we’d go back in a heartbeat to adventure through the humbling Highlands.

The van was returned on time in London and then we had the evening before flying out first thing the next morning. We couldn’t believe that—just like that—as quickly as we had started the trip, it had ended.

Traveling is typically such a humbling experience and this trip, in particular, helped us realize the gratitude we have for being Americans. It can be as simple as drinking water or public systems in place like waste management, but gratitude knows no limits. There are a lot of people in the world who are less fortunate than us and traveling abroad can be a welcome reminder of that.