And then there are friends to visit.
What to do?
It seems like we are wandering amuck this year, kind of disjointed, but there is a method to it all.
Our trip has three parts:
Part one. Eastern Europe
We are heading to Northern Poland, starting in Gdansk. While there, we plan to head south to the famous Malbork Castle. My family is from this region, specifically the small village of Klonówka, near Tczew.
How do I know this?
Well, there is a story here, best told in context of what we find when we get there. So you will have to follow along on the trip to find out.
Later, we will take our first-ever overnight sleeper train, just because. Something new to try.
Warsaw to Budapest, for a day soaking in the baths.
Finally, on to Romania, a new country for us.
Here is a LINK to the map of part one, 15 days total.
We were in Croatia five years ago, for 13 magical days. Since then we have wanted to go back, for the food and wine, the beaches, the beauty, and the people.
So, the time is right.
On that trip we went through Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We fell in love with the region, so this time around we are going to try out Sarajevo for a few days.
Once we are in Croatia, we will revisit Rovinj on the Istria Peninsula, and the Island of Rab. New areas will in include Trogir, and the islands of Vis, Losinj, Unije and Susak.
Here is a LINK to the map of part two, 25 days total.
One of our favorite regions is the Dolomite Mountains on the Italian - Austrian border. Good food, stunning scenery. We have been here twice before, this time around we are doing several days of new hikes in new places. We will base out of familiar villages to start and end this segment of the trip. Along the way I am hoping to climb several via ferrata routes up among the old WW1 battle ruins.
We are also looking forward to connecting with our friends Ralph and Angelika, Veronika and Jürgen from Germany and Austria for a week of hiking and climbing together.
We will follow up with a couple days at Lorenz and Petra's home in Munich, where they promise to show us some out-of-the-way sights.
We wind up the trip visiting our new friends Morten and Minea in Kolding, Denmark. We have been to Copenhagen, but here is a chance to see a different part of Denmark.
Here is a LINK to the map of part three, 18 days total.