Missing pieces

Here’s some things I haven’t included yet. Little behind the scenes moments that made the road trip real. Because, let’s be honest, the fun spots and highlights are great, but theres things that link those times together, that can sometimes be hectic. Kind of like the bloopers page .

We get here and realize because of the time zone difference, we had booked our rental car for the day earlier. It definitely caused a conversation, and a few extra euros.

We get to the castle and realize that they never sent us a confirmation email when we paid. And a credit card receipt wasn’t enough, denying us entrance to the cool inside of the place.

Had a hard time keeping the goodies that needed to stay cold, cold. And then being reminded that anything cardboard or unsealed will get full of melted ice water.

Andermatt definitely took some figuring out. This means walking up to random strangers and hoping they are understanding enough to point you in the right direction. There is also very awkward instances when you don’t understand people you’re dealing with and do stuff exactly the opposite of what they say. And the awkward conversations that ensue.

The first part of the day at andermattt was extremely foggy, with visibility at about 20 ft. In front of you. With hundreds of little kids to watch out for on the slopes to take to the top of the mountain. This was when it already had cleared off a lot

Coby was the only one who actually bought and brought an adapter for the electrical receptacles. This meant charging battery packs and every electronic piece either in the car or when others weren’t using it. Because, of course, we were too lazy to buy one ourself.

Cooking all of our soggy snow clothes in the in room sauna. Which made the apartment very toasty, as it was one wall over from our bedroom.

We drive to this spot approximately, when we learned the ferry was down. Which meant we had to drive clear around the lake on tight roads to reach our Airbnb.

This unique bathroom didn’t seem to have an overabundance of hot water. Which became a problem when raided by four American men who enjoyed long hot showers. Some boys took some cold showers.

Having to put up with weird cars lol

The poor little washer who refused us entrance to clean clothes inside. And took 2 hours to wash a single load. Did I mention the door refused to open? Very stubborn washers over here. About had to travel on without my wardrobe.

A picture of us trying to dry laundry in an air bnb who didn’t have a dryer.

Weirded out by a parade in Florence.

Finding our way to the dock, through customs, between annoyed workers yelling at us, onto the ship around the very end, to find our seats, and then try to sleep in them turned out to by a little more than we bargained for. Oh and the people right behind us had two of the most high maintenance dogs I’ve encountered for a while. They weren’t yet acquainted with each other, and, were across the aisle from each other which created a lot of degrading dog conversations. The little ankle biter type.

Are taxi driver INSISTED he did not need Google Maps and very adamantly was telling us he was sure this was the yard of the Airbnb we had booked. Sorry buddy it’s actually farther up the hill, it took a while to convince him of that though. And by the time he did back down, we were in a location where we couldn’t load Google Maps.

Jet lag is definitely something to not take for granted, neither is the different foods affect on an unsuspecting stomach. Admittedly I did feel a little bad about what kind of random combinations I threw at it during the trip.

This is the route we took. A little over 24 hours of driving. For interest sake, we were only planning on taking the blue route. The liberty roadtripping allows its participants.

Fun fact. At one point We were 45 min. From where Malania Trump grew up.

I waded through the stream on the far side of the falls which resulted in a cut on the bottom of my foot that I had to hobble on for the rest of the time. And a tourist does a lot of walking.

This air bnb turned out to be an attic above a house that was being lived in. Added a different dimension. See top two little windows by chimney.

This spot was the coolest place that we ate supper at. But turned out to be a long wait in a temperature that was a lot colder than we had anticipated. Meaning we were smiling through chattering teeth.

Our poor little ride. Bless its heart. It was new at the beginning of the trip but definitely was returned without that title. Some scrapes and bruises, result of us trying to learn a driving system that is very different than ours. Oh, and we spent probably an hour trying to figure out where to drop this thing off at. Ended up being on the very far top end of a parking garage. Definitely used the “asking random strangers card” on this one. Then came the joy of figuring out how to get from this Siberia to the taxi pickup point.

Random picture of the boys trying to get some pictures in. Lying low to try to get under the surveillance of motion lights that were felling very obedient to there senses at that time. We found a way to adjust them so they would realize the situation wasn’t as serious as they were trying to make it.

The awesome boats we couldn’t rent because the person renting them had went home an hour early. I’ll see if I can come up with any more. It’s definitely what makes a trip memorable and hilarious. We spent a bunch of the time laughing our heads off at the stunned European reactions.

10&the end

Well here it is. The last day on this side of the globe. I think we all agreed it was the best trip of our lives, (with no offense to the previous). And I’m guessing the money spent doing it resulted in memories that will last us until we are ninety. Roi on it is pretty good then I’d say.

I hope you don’t get too bored reading my last post. I’ve always been super intrigued with what all made Venice what it is today. I was going to try to give you a very brief summary of what I have found out.

First, the first picture is definitely the coolest something you could ever build and yet still call it a bridge. I think it actually pretty much maxes out what a bridge can be. There are two rows of shops all the way across. It is 103’ long, and does not have any metal reinforcement whatsoever. It is built by stone only, whose designer and design were doubted at first for the idea of having one single arch. Well, the 430 years it has stood while people have stomped over it would be a good “I told you so” for him.

They say there is a post about every square ft. Holding the city above the water. That is 9 per square yard. That is a lot of wood, and it was all shipped in. The oxygen poor water has petrified most of these pilings. This is a picture of what they dug up and found. Logs were brought in, and then tamped in, most of these posts are only 20’ long. They then used the water as a natural level to measure off of to cut each one off at the same height. Next the put planks on, and then stone. The buildings are sinking a few millimeters every year.

Venice is the only empire that has lasted 1,100 years. Started around 697AD and then It was defeated eventually by napoleon in 1797, who else. The continual attacks of surrounding cities drove the villagers out into the swamp, to build a system that would protect them from their enemies. Which it successfully did for a millennium. The swamp kept large war ships from being able to access it without being attacked from either side of the canal, but then was perfect for friendly merchant ships bringing goods in and out. It acted like a natural moat for every other type of attack. They were independent, not relying on any surrounding area to survive, and their salt was extremely sought after. Its location allowed it to control Mediterranean routes for centuries.

It was a maritime superpower. Its shipyard had assembly lines that cranked out warships as fast as 1 a day. At its height it employed 10,000 laborers.

It takes two months to build these, and they are purposely made to veer to the left to counterbalance the leverage of the long oar. It is mandatory that they are black.

At. Marks square

Haircut for me and alex here.

Literally tons and tons of glass here. It’s called murano glass and is homemade on an island near Venice. Venice sent every glass maker and his furnace to this island to supposedly prevent the town from a fire hazard. Which then consolidated everything and the island became revolutionary in the design and manufacturing of glass.

They were the first ones to come up with completely clear glass, The first ones to use the technique of threading different colors into it. And pretty much defined glass in Europe for years. To this day they have secrets that no one else is allowed to know. Secrets that were 700 years in the making. Ok, ok Venice. Take the title. You’re the best at blowing glass. I don’t think the rest of us our going to hold that from you.

This is a well. The city was surrounded by saltwater but created courtyards that were sloped towards the middle, catching all rainwater from roofs and tiles, letting it sink through sand, until it collected, purified, at the bottom in a sealed cistern . These wells then tapped into that place. Pretty clever, these guys.

So cool.

Day 9

A picture I’ve wanted to see for years now. The little boy that looked at travel magazines and took mental screenshots as he read blogs. This was always close to the top of my bucket list, this exact spot, and it’s fun to put a checkmark through it. And, I’ll have to say, it was everything I dreamed of. Standing on top of the arched wooden bridge, boat motors and happy chatter surrounding us. Wait a minute though, let’s back up.

We couldn’t get 30 minutes down the road this morning before wanting some breakfast. We ordered what the menu read as American pancakes, they came out as pancakes with egg salad and cream cheese between them. Quite unique, the menus here definitely keep us guessing.

There is actually a bridge that connects the mainland to this antique. So you park and then walk down alleyways that are three ft. Wide and three stories tall, until you come to stone bridges that cover blue water canals with shiny black gondolas slicing through beneath you. We had to haggle with a few boys in black and white stripped shirts topped by straw hats with ribbons tied around them. We finally find a man with a sleek little boat that wanted to bring us to the picture we showed him. The boat was obviously part of the bucket list. It looked close to these ones.

Ate seafood here. Across from this gorgeous building.

And of course they have to put this kind of Malarky right on the route you walk back on. They’re frustrating that way.

Day 8

Left this beautiful island and ate at our favorite little bakery in split that is owned by a super cool young couple we became friends with. Definitely the only tourists on the island at the time. The place was deserted. Really cool in a way but almost haunted like. For instance there was only one restaurant open. Kind of neat though. Meant we had the whole place to ourselves.

I wish I could have gotten more pictures of Croatia. SO MANY ROCKS. Our taxi driver said if you want any land you have to fight the rocks for it. And there were piles of rock everywhere. The more dedicated ones had built them into fences, but most let them lay in piles between their vineyards.

As we got out of split, the countryside took on a desert feel. Think southwest america. Then on to Slovenia. Ps. These photos are not photo shopped

We were driving over that bridge when we saw this inlet whose magnetic force swept us off the highway and into its arms.

Rural Croatia, the part closer to Slovenia.

Spring fed little something that made us hit the brakes.

The town we stayed at for night. A lake with a church in the middle that is only accessible by boat. Is that cool or what. I thought it was pretty now, but would love to return to some of these places in summer.

Supper.

Late night ice cream we couldn’t resist.

This was another church lit up on the shore. The lit up castle standing guard on top of the cliff didn’t hurt the scene either.

Day Number 6+7

I woke up to men on the street literally trying there best to wake me up. Slapping pallets together and talking there language as if there wouldn’t be a tomorrow . I was annoyed, but I couldn’t really do anything about it. I guess Italy is a free country too. The apartment was cold, a result of my leaving my laundry to dry in the windows. I jump up shivering and slam the windows shut and then realize that my laundry was not any dryer than last night .

So, its seven in the morning, and, I had promised the boys that I was definitely sleeping in late today. But I was lying on the sofa bed, the wet laundry, and Michelangelo’s David a few blocks away not letting me sleep.

So, I ran out the door with a cell phone charger in my pocket and 3 percent left on my phone battery. I grabbed the nearest scooter and absolutely rattled my weary brains out on the rough cobblestone streets. Then, the sorry little laundromat didn’t take card so I had to find something open that early to exchange a credit card for a few precious euros.

Realizing it may be more relaxing for mind and body to walk instead of being bounced around, I walked the few blocks to the Gallery and lined up behind some Chinese. It was only three people long that early which was nice.

David, arguably the most famous art in the world, was sculpted by Michelangelo when he was 26. It was sculpted for the top of the cathedral, but the board on whom da Vinci himself was on, saw the magnificence of it, and put it in the city square instead.

Michelangelo spent three years of his life helping david emerge from a hunk of marble everyone thought useless. It was completed in 1504. the marble was something that had been sitting in the yard for years, multiple peoples thrown away project. To draw this out of the stone, it took precise blows of a hammer as one wrong hit could crack it. The marble was unwanted, which adds to the awe of the most wanted work in the world. Supposeddly Michelangelo believed there was soomene in each piece of marble that needed to be let out. I’m glad he rescued this one.

The head, shoulders, neck, and arms were all proportionally made bigger for the post it would stand 150’ above the ground on the cathedral wall. This makes the piece even more dramatic. The leather sling is slung around the back. The sculptor believed strength was not in the sling, but in David's focus, which shows in how he portrays the face. the pupils in his eyes are heart shaped, adding depth.

It became a symbol for Venice, they saw themselves like David, fighting against they're bigger enemies. It now has taken and will continue to take a place in people’s hearts for centuries. I myself sat and looked at it for 45 min. while my phone charged. Something I will never forget.

One of the first pianos ever made. It was made for the noble Medeci family courts. No one had ever made something that made noise by hammering strings. I’d say it became a hit.

Some of the first Stradivari violins ever made, known as the best in the world. No one has yet been able to replicate the sound they make, giving them price values of over 10 million. Obviously these are worth at least double that. There is only 600 left in circulation and are still used in high up concerts even though they are hundreds of years old.

Thrift shopping in Florence was something else. Pretty much everything in the thrift stores was more than I usually pay for new clothes. One thrift store was selling used Gucci suitcases. Since it was off season a lot of stores were 50 percent off which didn’t help our spending problem.

We have all agreed that Florence has been the favorite stop so far.

We then hit the road again. Next stop ferry, Destination Croatia.

This ferry is taking across the pond while we sleep. Or, better said, attempt to sleep. Closest thing I’ll ever get to being on a cruise.

Lights of Ancona, Italy, telling us they wish we would have stayed longer.

Split, Croatia at 7 in the morning. We hit a little cafe and then look at the original palace the emperor built in 300 AD. This city is unique in that these aren’t roman ruins, but centuries old walls that have been integrated slowly over time into the homes that stand today. Meaning that some houses people live in today have walls built by the romans over 1,700 years ago. This was the emperor’s courtyard, one ironic fact about him is that he persecuted Christians, but then his tomb was later made into a church. This island and fortress were his retirement project after he stepped down from power.

One of the 6 Sphynx cats he brought over from Egypt, which are probably now about twice as old as the palace itself.

Then we end up sleeping until our ferry to the island of Hvar at 2. Our crazy schedule catching up with us. The boys in the car, and I in a spot with a good shade tree and view. A coat on the grassy ground, my neck pillow on the rocks.

Hvar, one of the many islands around split, but the only one we have time for sadly. It was built as the roman military naval base because of its premium location for a harbor.

Calamari for supper.

Day Number 5 (Halfway)

First stop Milan. Milan is 2,600 years old. Ranked with Paris and London in Fashion and culture. The cathedral is extremely poky, but the detail was obviously worked on by tradesman who had traces of ADHD, as each little detail on each square yard of the marble building was minute and perfect. For instance, the manger scene I included is just one of the many scenes on one of the four doors in the front. Honestly a little much Milan. Gave me a headache. It was built by the prestigious Visconti family in 1386. Literally to make a statement of their ambition. And what an ambition it must have been.

The town hosts the world’s oldest shopping mall, and then miles and miles of stores line the cobblestone streets in the blocks around it. I could have spent several days as well as thousands in the place. Actually, I got so caught up in the fashions that I missed my calamari meal with the boys. And the random shoe store, who even puts shoes strings on their entire ceiling, and who was I not to buy shoes there.

The archway was an original entrance to the city in medieval times. meanwhile we are driving a hybrid car past it in 2026. What's sci-fi if that’s not.

Milan played a crazy role in World War two and took the brunt of allied bombers. Supposedly they stacked sandbags around the wall containing leonardo’s last supper to preserve it. Here’s some pictures of the ruins.

At the end, Milan was actually ruled by parties that were against Germany. Mussolini and his mistress were arrested and killed by Lake Como and their corpses were hung upside down in the square, as a symbol against fascism.

Leaning tower of Piza diffidently tends to make a boy nervous. She sure is leaning due east. The funniest part to me is they started compensating when they saw it leaning, so the tower literally curves back. Meaning some levels have pillars longer than others. It was a known lookout for the Germans in the war, and the allies were going to destroy it. We owe its existence to one unnamed officer who refused to destroy the work of art.

We then got to the lookout over Florence as the sun went down. Supposedly Florence is known for art. Rome’s history, and Venice then claims the beauty title. I’d say Florence is competing for homecoming queen.

The mountains were beautiful, there’s no doubt about it. but the culture & character of this place impacts me as much or more. I think it might be the lights from the bridges in the clear waters that kayakers slice through, or the sun glinting off the golden ball perched on the tip of the cathedral. So many little details and lights and vibes all packed into one picture. As the sun went down the cathedral slowly lit up as if glow in the dark.

We then had a wild time finding our air bnb. I thought Paris had cool streets. Florence just passed it on my list. I was driving the car down brick streets whose sides contained glass front store windows displaying the worlds best fashion and food. The streets aren’t made for cars, but people. Which makes navigation a little cumbersome. Every street looks the same, and one seems to think he can remember stuff better than he can. Yeah, we were a little lost. And looked a little dubious to, inserting keys into random tall wooden doors along the street. We did find it though. It is sitting on one of these beautiful little streets. And i’m sitting in the window writing this While the restaurants workers shut off lights and haul out trash .

The street our air bnb is on.

Oh and the nerve of these people. They randomly have a massive church in the middle of everything that was built in 393 AD.

My perch in the window. While I wait on my washer to finish up its mega load of wash. Cheers.

Day Number 4

Close to the Italian border. I always love how the haze makes different shades of blue. Oh and also the little bridges.

Driving along the highway and saw this relic sitting on a hill in a small little town. It’s magnetic field drew us in and our America began to feel quite young and vulnerable next to a structure that had been standing since the 12th century. It was a fort owned by a nobleman. The fort is in ruins but the church still stands.

We weren’t able to go inside but we managed to get one of ours to access a window high up the wall so we could see the paintings that were dated back to 1300 AD .

Check out these shingles

Then we stocked up on groceries again and filled up the ice chest>

Cold cereal and other such items on a concrete roof we found near the water. Throwing cinnamon crunch to the ducks swimming in the clear blue water underneath our dangling feet. So many acres of water at dead stand still. And such a dark blue.

Then we drive up the strip of land in the middle of the lake to our air bnb on the water. Following is a video of the crazy drive there. I'm talking roads so tight that when a buss came along there was inches to spare. I'm glad we got full coverage on the rental because one person didn't give us enough room on the bridge, and our car learned to know the stone wall in a way that would have been better left unknown. It actually only ended up being a tiny scratch by the wheel well.

We cooked up some crazy tasting hamburgers to eat out here. How American of us.

I did dishes while they booked items for the rest of the trip.

And I just might be sleeping out here on the couch cushions tonight, lulled to sleep by chiming bells and the town lights shimmering reflection in the water.

day Number 3

The sleepy little town of andermatt who was rudely awakened by us this morning. She was a little slow in waking up, but after lunch the wind blew the clouds off her brow and we were left with a picture we weren’t sure what to do with. I’ll try not to send to many mountain pictures. But that’s pretty much what it was, skiing down slopes with the arms of the alps wrapped around us.

Stereotype little chalet for lunch. We waited a long time for lunch, and our road trip destinations began to change.

Oh and get this . Here is adult children with their sleds. Didn’t realize we were allowed to get this extreme with it.

Supper on this little street in Andermatt.

Planning a trip on the run is fun. It really is. But its also a little stressful when you don't know what exactly is going to happen next. Well we got carried away with dreaming and now there has been a few destinations added to the list. I am going to let them be a surprise but I'm very excited about them myself. Don't worry, we are still flying out of Venice, on the same day, but, its taken a twist, and a fun one at that. (it involves islands and over night rides on boats) haha Stay tuned

Day Number 2

We actually didn’t start out here. But I thought I would start out with a good picture because I think it’s my favorite. That way we can start out good and then end again on a high note

Rate our footwear drying setup. They were pretty soggy after yesterday. 1:45 am had us all walking around eating snacks and laughing our heads off. Drunk on jet lag.

Meal here and then bought a meal for later. Bought a cleaning bucket to fill with ice for the Red Bulls, meat and jars of milk. We had to have milk for Oreos and cereal see.

We needed somewhere to stop. And after driving around randomly, we settled for this stop. Poor road worker working on the road near by kept looking at us as we drove by him multiple times on the tiny roads. Sorry buddy just four Americans trying to find a spot for a snack. Nothing to see here.

You see Oreos and milk are a little bit of a novelty when your traveling. When you travel you don’t usually have milk. This is why we do it. It makes you feel at home even on a bridge in the middle of nowhere. Even when there’s a road worker thinking you shouldn’t be on the one lane bridge throwing crackers in the water.

Then we saw a random church on top of a random mountain that we thought probably needed some looking into. Stunning. An old castle site for the romans trying to keep the northern German invaders out. Super cute church, good snacks, and incredible views.

Some steps carved into the rocks by romans. Your welcome history buff.

View on the way down.

I don’t know why this little spot on the way down had me sitting on the damp grass with my hat off but it did. Little creek running under the building. That laughed. Ancient stone fences, tumbled down and tackled by green moss. Scenery with emotion that hits you with a force. We wondered what the stream under the house was for. Was it to keep items cold? That was one theory we found.

Some of my favorite views from taken on the way to Andermat.

We ate homemade sandwiches for supper. And after we fogged up the place from burning food and cooking ourselves in the sauna we all took sleeping pills so we can be ready for the slopes tomorrow.

Day Number One

Germany was a little shy at first. But that’s alright, because we weren’t over-friendly at first either. After spending a night in a cramped airplane seat,  Trying to sleep bent over a tray table and somehow find a comfortable position, let’s just say theirs a couple awkward instances with the person beside you throughout the 8 hour  flight.

We were  puked out into this area where we stood, a lil dazed as it was 2:00 American time.

And then me and Jeff had a bit of time finding the rental place. Turns out you had to go underground because it seems like most of the airport is under the surface. We figured this out after walking about 2 miles across roads and over lawns and through parking garages and up stairs.

And as rental company’s usually do, we ended up with something completely different than we had intended but hey, I think in the end it was an upgrade.

We visited this little place for dinner. I don’t know the name of it.

If you asked me why I’ve always wanted to go to this castle, I couldn’t really tell you. It’s something about the way it blends into the mountains, the absolute beauty of it, and then positioned in front of a view that will take your breathe away. Maybe it’s the raw mystery of a king who was depressed, who expressed his feelings in the form of a castle. Maybe that’s why I like it. It’s the type of scene that blends a few different dimensions and emotions. Whatever the case the castle is other worldly. Very surreal. They had just gotten a few feet of snow, making it beautiful, but closed  down most of the trails.

 There was a lot of tracks in the snow behind the barriers though  so we hop gates and crawl up mountainsides to get different angles of the castle.

The climb meant pulling yourself up by saplings rooted into the mountain, so steep we had to crawl on all fours. And on the way down, most of us opted for just sliding down. There was several feet of snow so it actually wasn’t really an option to do anything but sit down and hope for the best as you whistled down the embankments. Which was easy as my air Jordan’s didn’t exactly have a lot of traction. The view during that climb though and for sure at the top of that climb, was worth every bit of snow in my sweats and joggers.

Sadly we weren’t able to go inside the actual structure. We had bought  tickets a month ago but there was a few complications which I won’t try to explain. Kind of disappointing, but still a beautiful piece of design.

Supposedly it was a project that was supposed to take his mind off of losing his political power to Prussia. He was declared mad, and died mysteriously, but I’m not complaining about what he left us.

The place was opened for tourists 7 weeks after He died, he only lived in it for 170 days. Construction was started in the middle of the  1800s, which is relatively new for castles, but in my opinion quite a feat, thinking about how it went from a plan on a piece of paper to this.

The property was built by a king named Ludwig II of Bavaria. And this is the castle he grew up in. It is pretty much  within sight of the one  he made. Both castles were only meant to be vacation homes.

The we bought frozen pizzas and junk food and checked into our little Airbnb under the mountains. Pretty full first day I would say.