Our way home

And suddenly it is time to start our way home. We enjoy a last swim at the beach together with my parents, have lunch and then slowly but surely pack our stuff. It is only a two hours drive from Kyparissia to Patras in the northern Peloponnese. Here we are going to board the ferry to Venice. It is supposed to leave at 1 a.m. though we hope that we might be allowed to go onboard a little earlier. After a wonderful last dinner in a small taverna on the coast just before Patras, we are at the ferry terminal around 10 p.m. Getting our boarding passes we’re also being told that embarking starts one hour later. We hang around on the parking until 11 and are allowed through the gate, neither car nor trailer being checked. On the other side is another large parking just next to the quay where the boat is supposed to land. But there is no boat in sight yet. We wait, and wait, and wait, getting more and more tired. Finally, at 1 p.m. the ferry Asterion II arrives. An endless row of cars and trucks disembark, which seems to take ages. Until we’re in our cabin, it is passed 3 in the morning.

The ferry is more than thirty years old and worn down, but our cabin is huge and very comfortable. We never figure out the air-condition though, since the signs on the dashboard are in Chinese… After a good night sleep, we enjoy a beautiful day mainly on deck, first passing the Greek, then the Albanian coast where we were driving earlier on our trip.

I love this way of travelling and it evokes good memories of holidays in my youth. We spend another night on board before we reach Venice next morning. Again, it takes its time until we finally drive on land. Leaving our car at Tronchetto, the big public parking at the outskirts of Venice, we take the Vaporetto line 2 to San Marco, passing through the Canale Grande. Both Dag and I have been in Venice numerous times, but it is Robin’s first time. There’s no better way to see Venice for the first time than following Canale Grande and its beautiful buildings, most of which date from the 13^th to the 18^th century. The facades of these palazzos tell a story of noble Venetian families, demonstrate their welfare and power.

We get off at Piazza San Marco and have a quick look at the square, the basilica and the Doge’s palace. Thousands of tourists, mainly in large groups, and temperatures around 35 degrees, make it difficult to enjoy the beauty of the city, especially for Robin. We go and have lunch instead and then return to the car the same way as we came. We’ll have to come back another time, preferably outside Venice’s peak season.

Our next goal is my parents house. However, we have to spend one more night in Italy before getting that far. Traffic is better than feared and we pass even Milano without any traffic jams. In Switzerland Dag insists on driving over the Gotthard Pass instead of through the long tunnel, and I am happy he did. The winding road leads us all the way up to 2’100 m, traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif. The mountains are beautiful and the sights spectacular.

Late in the afternoon we reach Oberrohrdorf where I grew up. The same evening we’re invited for dinner at my best friend’s parents house. Wonderful to be met with such hospitality.

Next stop is Lörrach, just across the border from Basel, where we go onboard of the car train the next evening. Instead of driving all the way through Germany, we spend one night on the train and wake up in Hamburg.

Of course, one doesn’t sleep as well on a noisy train, but it is yet another experience and absolutely worth it. We continue to Kiel and spend our last day out by the Baltic Sea close to Laboe. It turns out to be a beautiful spot with long sandy beaches and wonderful views over the sea.

The final stage of our road trip is from Kiel to Oslo on the big Color Line ferry. Another 18 hours on the sea, before we’re home again after a fantastic five weeks, passing through 13 countries, meeting many interesting people, wonderful friends and family. There’s no doubt that the distance altogether was huge – many times we just hade to pass through places that looked interesting. However, driving through all these countries really gave us an insight of how diverse Europe is, how different its countries and people, how contrasting their culture. I guess it can be understood as a first round to get an overview. We’ll just have to return and spend more time in some of the countries we have been passing through now. The Jeep, the trailer and the roof tents will be stored in our garage, ready for a new adventure.