Blanck EU Adventures

May - November 2022
Our family trip to Europe. Read more
  • 41footprints
  • 15countries
  • 178days
  • 692photos
  • 23videos
  • 20.4kkilometers
  • 10.3kkilometers
  • Day 24

    Angersee/Baggersee Baiersdorf

    June 23, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We took a family bike ride to a sweet swimming spot! On the way we saw a ginormous bird nest that just seemed unreal. They have one on top of an old church here that they try to keep well cared for, so it's inviting for the birds to return to.

    There was a sandy beach on this little pond. Lots of children's sand toys laying around for the children to play with. Since school is still in session here, there weren't very many people there. The water was cool, but not too cold. The water was a little clearer than the ponds at home, we could see fish swimming. At least we knew no snakes were around. Seth and the girls had fun attempting to corral fish into their sandy pool creation.

    Our friend here borrowed some kick boards and an inflatable unicorn for the girls. They also lent us their beach blanket and shade tunnel. The shade tunnel was a nice alternative to a beach umbrella in terms of weight and bulk. This was important, since I had to load up everything on the back of my bike and my backpack.

    Nothing like a little relaxing at a local swimming hole. We only saw three people changing naked nearby! Many natural lakes here are spots to swim in the "natural," but they are discreet about it. They believe in getting close to nature often. Many of the swimmers seemed to pop in for a swim on their work break or something.

    Seth and I relaxed while the girls played for hours. We eventually had to head back since T-bones needed to be grilled.
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  • Day 25

    Bamberg, Germany

    June 24, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    As we walked on the shady path next to a river that many locals were taking a dip in, Mabel said "you walk a little billit, then I ride a little billit." Meaning that she walks some and then is carried some along our excursions. I love the way she verbalized it. We have been doing a lot of walking. Later, after our Bamberg trip she called the movie Pinocchio, "Poky Noky!" Stinkin' cute!

    Those of you with kids can sing along... Do you like bacon? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Do you like beer? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Do you like bacon beer? NO! Or at least I don't. This town is famous for its smoked dark beer. It tastes as if you are drinking smoked bacon or meat. Seth and his friend thoroughly enjoyed it, but hard pass for me. The Schlenkerla is a historic brewery that specializes in this beer.

    After the brewery, we ventured to feed our hungry critters a leberkäse brötchen. This sandwich did not appear appetizing to me, as it was described to be a meat sponge made from left over meat parts. However, it was quite tasty. The kids devoured the warm meat "sponge" sandwiched inside a soft, crumbly bun.

    Once we "fueled" up, we began exploring Bamberg. The views in this town were amazing everywhere you looked. The scenery from the bottom on the cobblestone streets provided close ups of old architecture, tall towering cathedrals with gaudy gold accents, while the view from above in the rose garden allowed for a panoramic view of the town. The height and stonework on the four towers of the cathedral were just remarkable. I cannot imagine how much blood, sweat and tears went into building these collasal towers.

    Nearing the end of our hot day in Bamberg, the kids were melting, so we ice creamed them up. I tried an orange basil ice cream that was quite refreshing.

    On our way home, we stopped for dinner at the Spezial-Keller Biergarten, which is just outside the city. This place has such a picturesque view of Bamberg, shade and a lovely playground for kids to get their wiggles out, while parents relax.

    What a lovely day with our friend as our tour guide!
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  • Day 27

    Munich, Germany

    June 26, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Last city in Germany for a bit! Munich was a quick stop, but we managed to hit some highlights! We walked through Marienplatz, chased pigeons and admired Munich's famous ginormous glockenspiel.

    Along the way to our next stop, the kids took a quick dip and cooled off in a fountain. They enjoyed this very much! And the girls climbed a tree in yet another country.

    We were headed to the English Garden, the Central Park of Munich. The English Garden was larger and further distance than anticipated. We prefer to walk most places for exercise and to avoid masking up for public transportation. Since we arrived in the afternoon, the kids were pooped. Seth and the two blondies fell asleep on the grass using me as a pillow as soon as we arrived, while Demi and I people watched in the park.

    We walked deeper into the garden and the girls were so surprised to find a "real life" lazy river that was flooded with people. We arrived at a Biergarten with German grub and a lovely playground. They had pretzels that looked as if they could feed a family of ten among other delicious food.

    Goodbye pretzels and cheap beer for now. Headed to the land of pasta, pizza and wine. Yes, we are eating our way through Europe. ;)
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  • Day 28

    Verona, Italy

    June 27, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We took one 5ish hour train into Verona from Munich and had a private cabin this time. Woo hoo! This was wonderful because the kids could be silly and no masks! The views through the mountains of Austria and Italy were simply stunning. However, my camera on a speeding train did not even do it justice, so you are stuck with cute pictures of my girls. We should be able to make it back to visit Austria, but just passed through for now.

    Be proud of us because we culturally prepared our kids for Italy by allowing them to watch Luca and Gnomeo & Juliet.

    When we exited the train in Verona, we immediately could tell we had gone much further south. We encountered some good old Texas style heat - well almost that hot. They actually have air conditioning at this hotel, but the air turns off when you leave the room. No washer and dryer still, so we will have to find one of those soon.

    Our first day began with a bakery stop and cappuccino near a little market in Verona. Just the right way to begin the day. After caffenating, we were off to explore the city. This city is famous for the setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We ventured to Juliet's balcony and found several art sculptures around town honoring this ancient love story. We walked around the ancient arena dated back to 30AD in prep mode for an Opera. We also discovered parts of ancient roads that were exposed as we walked to through the shops.

    We stayed in a hotel just off the Piazza Bra with shopping, coffee, gelato and pizza at every corner. We ventured away from the city center across the Pointe Pietra Bridge, built around 100 AD, and found this superb, tiny pizza shop that was delicious and cheap. We had read when traveling around Europe that venturing away from the city you often find better food at better prices, so far we have found this to be true. I will say this is the third best pizza we have ever had. Sorry guys, we still prefer Seth's homemade pizza over Italy's. Don't worry though, we will keep trying pizza.

    We decided to make the trek to a hilltop and overlook the city. Along the route, Mabel got a blister and so we carried her around the rest of the day. The hilltop was awesome. As we overlooked the city, we couldn't help but notice the roof line was perfect for an action film. We could have "easily" run across rooftops to escape a bad guy. The carrying of Mabel was a workout, especially because of all the stairs and inclines.

    Once we reached the top of the hill, we explored an old building and managed to get a little stuck. We thought we were on the path down, but it lead to a locked gate and the doors we went through locked behind us. We had to jump around/over the fence by using a ledge with a gnarly drop off. We made it out of there and found our way to the path again. Phew!

    Once we reached to bottom of the hilltop again, we found a nice green space for the girls to play. Luckily, they got their puppy fix. They giggled so much as the played with several sweet dogs. They are missing Seth's friend's dog, Pablo.

    Next, we plan to take a short stop in Venice on the way to some old Air Force friends. We are looking forward to a slow holiday weekend with good friends and hopefully some good food. We tried to meet up with them on our RV adventures a couple years ago, but a last minute deployment spoiled our plans.

    Chocolate update: Chocolate is good is all the countries, but non has stood out above the rest. Happy to keep trying chocolate all the places despite the delicious similarities.

    Oh ya! Addy lost a tooth in Italy and the tooth fairy still found her.
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  • Day 31

    Ljubljana, Slovenia

    June 30, 2022 in Slovenia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    So.... Yesterday, we were scrambling. Obviously, we are not in Venice or visiting friends in Italy. Covid impacted our plans, so we had to make new plans REAL fast. I mean like we were checking out the next morning!

    Seth and I spent a full day figuring out where to go with only a lunch break. The kids were very wild and distracting during this process, but I don't blame them. They had traveled far on a train, gone to bed after 10pm (the sun is still up), no real schedule in life, walked ALL over Verona, eaten lots of candy and were cooped up a bit because it had rained. I love summer rain though. The perfect storm for crazy kids. So, that means movie time, How to Train Your Dragon 3, while we plan. Seth handles these situations with such cool, but not me. I think handling stressful situations with constant calm might be his super power. Thankful to have him!

    We had to consider balancing our visa days (Shengen days) in our thinking process, which meant heading for the UK and cooler weather or Southeast toward Croatia and more heat. After spending hours exploring train routes and such, we decided to head toward Croatia. A photo Seth showed me of the Croatian coast is what really convinced me to taking this adventure.

    We hit a lot of road blocks at every turn it seemed. We couldn't book train seats, boat didn't have five seats left and on and on like this. We finally booked one night in the capital of Slovenia and decided to walk to the train at 4:45am and to catch a train that didn't require booking ahead of time. Risk it like a biscuit! Whatever that means.

    Well, we made it to Slovenia, so our plan worked out! We got on a super nice train and Slovenia doesn't make people wear masks! Yay! The Italian trains were a little nerve wracking because they require a certain mask, which we did not have. I was afraid we might get kicked off. The views coming into Slovenia we're similar to the mountains of Austria. God made a beautiful Earth, that's for sure!

    We stayed in Ljubljana, the city of dragons. Good thing we prepped our girls with a dragon movie. This place was HOT! Thankfully, they had COLD water fountains/spouts all over the city. The 4:00am early rising was hitting us hard (as you can tell by my pumpkin face). We were exhausted and melting at this point, but had to stall until our apartment checkin. Luckily, Seth found us a boat tour with shade and a nice breeze. The girls saw otters, beavers, swans with their babies, ducklings and we got to rest from carrying our packs.

    Next, we ventured up one of the shortest funiculars in the world to see the Ljubljana Castle. We saw prison cells, walked a bazillion stairs, explored ancient hallways, encountered several dragon statues, had ice cream (of course), and saw the first Bible translated into Slovenian language. Very cool!

    The next day we discovered a lovely park in the shade. Mabel climbed to the top of the little houses all by herself and felt quite proud. The kids played for 3 hours. Just what we needed before our train to Croatia! This trip was short, but full of fun. Hopefully, we will get to come back and explore more another time. We even got chocolate and tree climbing in. ;)
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  • Day 32

    Zagreb, Croatia

    July 1, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    The train that crossed into Croatia was our first train with no air conditioning and the windows down the entire way. It was a bit different than the usual, but we lucked out with a cabin to ourselves. All the wind noise made for a good atmosphere that allowed the girls to be noisy and then pass out asleep. I kinda like the fresh air and warm breeze personally. Also, the countryside was beautiful.

    At the train stops, the girls always wanna sit but there are not usually seats. We have them sit on our feet. They often make a feet sitting train as shown in our pictures. It makes me feel a little better inside eventhough they are basically on the ground. Also, for your enjoyment I added pictures that depict the phases of Mabel on a train.

    We made it into Croatia. I think we are in a city equivalent to being in downtown Dallas, but older buildings. I think we landed on the other side of the tracks here. We are headed to an island next and had to pass through the capital to break up the trip for the girls. If you come to Croatia, you won't miss much if you skip the capital. At least we didn't find anything great in our short time here.

    We still did some exploring and had a very nice, full apartment that was excellent for some down time. This place even had a washing machine for us! We tried to go on an open air train tour, but it was cancelled or just didn't exist. We're not sure. We opted to hit the little zoo here for a few hours instead. The girls especially enjoyed their variety of snakes and amphibians. I loved getting to see the cool birds.

    Next up we head to the coast. Just a six hour train ride, two hour boat ride, and a thirty minute walk. Seth insists that we never take a three hour tour on a boat.
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  • Day 34

    Vela Luka, Croatia

    July 3, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Travel was brutal! Let me start by saying this trip was thought out and planned around the idea of our primary mode of transportation being the train systems and our feet, so we knew we would face some challenges along the way.

    The day started with us running behind schedule and possibly being late to the train. Seth carried Mabel and our biggest bag. Addy led the way with all her spunk. Demi and I carried the other bags. We ended up arriving with seven minutes to spare. Then, the train ended up being 25 minutes late. At least we got our morning exercise in and built a little grit. With the extra time Seth ran and grabbed fresh croissants.

    We added a kid's sized bag for the girls to take turns carrying while in Erlangen. We are now a three bag family. They begged us for one. We now put their drawing supplies, tiny train toys and hiking water pouch in it. I hope we don't spoil them.

    The Eurorail system that we have used in Croatia has been found lacking compared to the rest of Europe. Come to find out the region called the Balkans, which includes Croatia and other southeastern countries, is known for unreliable trains with irregular quality. We were on a train for six hours with seats facing a wall, instead of seats facing each other with a table in the center. No private cabin this time, so we had to keep kiddos normal quiet- ish. Our girls have started to say they prefer first class (which sounds snooty but it is usually so much cleaner and more spacious), but here this was first class. The off duty train conductor had a little compartment to rest in near us and smoked several times over the six hours. Demi and I were desperate for fresh air, but I'm sensitive to smoke. No one else seemed to mind. On the bright side, all the smoking we have encountered in Europe has caused the kids to ask lots of questions about cigarettes. The packs here show damage to all types of body parts, so hopefully they will be detoured from smoking for life.

    The kids survived the trip on candy, cookies, bananas and pre-downloaded shows. This train had limited food, poor air conditioning, no wifi and no power outlets. Someone on the train mentioned the trains in Africa offer more amenities, which made me laugh. Now we know that quality and amenities vary drastically from country to country and we will be more prepared with extra snacks and such for the next time. Live and learn people. Live and learn. And as I say "nobody died," meaning we are all ok despite the challenge/issue.

    After the late train, we needed to ferry to the island. We scheduled an hour between and cut it close. It was nice, clean and comfy with air conditioning! It was nearly three hours long and lulled two out of three little girls to sleep. It also offered nice views for us along the way. We finally got to Vela Luka island in Croatia after 10 hours of travel. Phew!

    Now, for the half hour walk. Some luck, our host saw us walking and offered our bags, myself and the girls a ride. Thankful for that. Seth was left walking or jogging, but without a backpack and a Mabel. The girls were a little concerned about leaving him behind, but he caught up pretty soon. Enough about it crazy travel, for now.

    It was almost Texas hot when we arrived with some humidity and mosquitoes. I guess God wanted us to feel at home here. Haha! The apartment has air conditioning. I'll take it and it works well. However, we mainly use it for sleeping and the evenings on the balcony with the cool sea breeze are really nice.

    Everyone slept hard and late our first morning in Vela Luka, except me. I love the mornings and we had a nice large balcony that has an incredible view of the hills/mountains - not sure the correct term for them, but they would be intense to climb. I woke early to drink coffee, work out, read and get groceries before anyone woke up. The walk along the water to get groceries was quite peaceful! Quiet and efficient morning!

    After everyone woke up, we got ready for our first beach day and oh my goodness the water is legit crystal clear here! The beaches here have smooth pebbles and rocks with basically no sand, which means as you walk through the water it remains clean and clear. It is recommended you wear water shoes because sea urchins move around on the sea floor and hurt to step on. We saw lots of sea urchins and were thankful we had shoes and vigilant young eyes.

    This beach has just been perfect for our girls! Mabel can play safely with plenty of shallow water and minimal waves. Also, fun for the bigs since they can go out so far and still see to the Adriatic Sea floor (the Croatians really pride themselves in the fact that it's a sea). I have never seen water this beautiful in my life! No filters, it is just that beautiful all on its own.

    Doing mostly regular life here. You know... getting in some school, eating oatmeal for breakfast, playing restaurant in the kitchen, cleaning snail shells with squirt guns and beaching most days with Chef Blancks cooking up some fish for us for dinner. It's a "hard knock life." The front balcony that overlooks the mountains/ hills begs us to stay out as the sun sets and mosquitoes attack. The breeze and view are so enticing that it is worth the mosquitoes bites!

    When we pick places to stay we think about several things: budget goals to lengthen our travel, distance from train stations, and walking distance to the spots we stay in, as well as groceries, parks, site seeing and those six little legs that adventure with us. It takes quite some time to research and plan this out.

    We are here for the rest of the week. Seth needs to stop by the embassy back in Zagreb next week. Addy's birthday is coming up. We are struggling to plan more than a week in advance. It is time to find our next place, plan Addy's birthday and which direction to head next. We could head South or East with the heat and hectic train system or head North and West to cooler weather and trains that are more consistent.

    The adventure continues...
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  • Day 38

    Proizd Island, Croatia

    July 7, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I have seen twenty five states and eight countries in my lifetime. This little island is the coolest place I have seen yet.

    Proizd Island is a small uninhabited island near Vela Luka off the Croatian coast (shaped like a stretching cat, according to my girls) with pine tree woods and several gorgeous beaches. The various shades of blue against the smooth, white stones were just a wonderful contrast.

    We began the day with a little school (mostly math and reading), a stop in the grocery store for lunch supplies then off to the boat taxi for Proizd Island.

    After a half hour boat ride across the Adriatic Sea, we hopped off the boat and began our exploration. We walked through the shady pine tree covered path towards the first beach when suddenly, we were approached by a native island creature. I was not sure what type of creature we were dealing with until the girls giggled. A small lizard seemed to be chasing Seth down the path. He climbed all the way up to Mabel on his shoulders. We thought it was going to be squished between the backpack and Seth, but he managed to wiggle through. He hung out with us and climbed on the girls for a bit, until Addy did a dance to shake him off. She and I are not a fan of things just crawling around on us as they please. The girls asked for me to make sure I told about the lizard in "our story."

    The first beach was a steep stone hill with a small pebbly nook to one side. It was a little intimidating and difficult to walk down with three littles who were ready to run to the water. The girls actually managed quite well, but all the while I was thinking about what in the world you do if you have an emergency on a remote island! The stone near the water's edge was covered in a green, mossy film which made for a perfect slide for the kids. I tried not to be too nervous about them getting hurt. To be real, I mostly just held my breath and hovered while they were sliding. Mabel bonked her head once, but not bad. Then she and Addy decided to be wolves and climb the jagged edges of the hill. They may have scared off some people as they crawled around and utilized their howling skills.

    We picked out a face mask the day before and this was the perfect spot to try it out. The girls said you could see everything. Demi was nervous about some dark spots before, but after looking and realizing they were just seagrass patches she felt releaved and swam out even further. She has been very proud of her bravery, as she has been able to swim out further and further into the sea.

    The second beach was less steep with extra large, smooth stones. The girls had so much fun using there new goggles here. Mabel used them for the first time and was simply amazed! She saw a fish! They tried to catch fish, build a sail boat from driftwood and they made a pool surrounded by stones to put their soon to be caught fish in. Seth and I relaxed in the sun, leaving with a little TOO much sun for the day. Luckily, the girls are more sun-kissed than us and had no sun burns.

    We opted to skip the other beach, because it was for those who prefer to be free bodied.

    Each beach we have explored here has just been out of this world crazy gorgeous with sailboats waving in the background. This has got us thinking and dreaming more of our next adventure of sailing as a family, but we have a few years before we embark on that expedition.

    Side note: While we have been in Croatia, Mabel has made up her own language. We have no idea what she is saying to us most days anyway. Ha ha! Actually, she has a lot to say these days, but the big girls get awfully giggly over her cuteness and her creativity when she uses her language.
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  • Day 41

    Last Day in Vela Luka, Croatia

    July 10, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Last day on this gorgeous, quiet island! I wasn't sure about not staying in Split or another big name city in Croatia. I thought maybe we were missing out, but this island has been a real treasure. We safely walked everywhere and groceries were close by.

    The beauty of this place will stay forever etched in our minds. Pebbly beaches are now our preference to sandy. It is so much easier with kiddos.

    The home we stayed in was spacious, so quiet and with a great view. Although not my style, it served us well and the owner even brought us fresh baked cookies on the last day. The girls favorite snack here was these pickles. They were a cross between traditional dill and sweet, just barely sweetened. So funny that this was their choice of snack, hands down everytime.

    We beached one more time at our favorite spot. It had cooled down considerably, because of some rain that had come through. Only Addy was bold enough to dip all the way in the chilly water.

    The weather made us walk a little slower and take in the sites around us more. Seth and Demi found fresh fig trees and enjoyed a few. We stumbled upon old stone work on the mountain side, which we seemed to notice everywhere after that.

    We also took a new path home and braved the cooler temps in the water to catch sea urchins. We actually were caught off guard by a big wave and thankfully nobody stepped on one as they escaped the water. After we caught and held them, my dad sent me a picture of what a puncture wound from them looks like. Ouch!!! Glad I didn't see that beforehand.

    What a memorable time we had here on Vela Luka Island! Next we make a day trip to Split, then train back inland. It's gonna be a long stint of travel, which being real just makes everyone cranky. Trying to sike myself up with the words of my little Mabel, "I got this."
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  • Day 42

    Split, Croatia

    July 11, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Our day began with a "quick" 30 minute walk at 0430 to make the three hour ferry from the island to Split. Our girls were actually quite spunky, but we did carry Mabel a bit to make it to the boat on time. This ferry was large with cushy couches, fresh cappuccino, croissants and picnic tables on the outside deck. Most of us fell back asleep during the ride.

    We arrived in Split and zipped over to the train station with our fingers crossed that we could get seats on the overnight train. Again, the system in Croatia/ The Balkans region is not very connected or updated so we could not do this online beforehand. Luckily, they had seats for us, otherwise we would have been hotel hunting.

    We got all our business done! Next we were off to explore. We had to kill roughly ten hours on foot with our packs and melty tired kiddos, so we tried to make it as fun as possible.

    We decided to go on a kid's semi-submarine tour on the Adriatic. We road down below in a cabin with large windows to see ocean life. I will say this was fun, but Vela Luka Island water was much more blue and clear than off the coast of Split. We saw many large schools of small fish, sea grass swaying in the water, large rocks and other random sea treasures.

    After lunch, we headed to find a playground and some shade because it was heating up quickly. The kids played, while we relaxed on a bench. The girls found a random pack of clean plastic cups that throughly entertained them. It's amazing when you do not have toys what can be exciting.

    A few hours later we lost our shade, so we headed to the store for snacks and then the beach. This beach was highly rated, but could not even compare to the beaches we just experienced. However, the girls still enjoyed every moment playing there. Mabel loved to build and getting covered in sand. The girls appreciated the length of the shallow waters. They could walk out about the length of a football field and still stand with ease.

    We had a few minor issues while in Split. Girls could not agree on ice cream (hard life right), our water platypus pouch busted in my bag with our laptop, Mabel screamed while getting cleaned off in the freezing showers (like I said pebbles are better) and I desperately needed to find bathroom with no luck. Don't worry, nobody died.

    We got cleaned up, the clouds rolled in bringing a cool breeze and we found yummy pizza. I also found a bathroom that cost me a Euro and it was so worth it!

    We started to head toward the train, but still had a couple hours to kill. Once we were able to begin boarding, we got settled in our sleeper cabin and then found out that we booked non-reclining seats with a stranger joining us by accident, instead of a sleeper cabin for just our family. Holy Cow! It was now approaching 2230 with everyone beyond melting point, since we were up so early and on foot all day. Seth went and bought sleeper cabin tickets right then. So so so so thankful that there was another sleeper cabin available and that Seth acted quickly. It was an interesting experience all together, but everyone slept very hard that night with a cool breeze coming in through the open windows and an early rising of 0600. Seth thoughtfully brought me a cappuccino, so I could see straight. Haha! Now for more adventures in Zagreb.
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