Of iPods and Engines

Although Hubby has traveled throughout Africa and Asia, he has far fewer flags captured for Europe than one might think. When we found out about his conference in June, we knew we needed to turn this work trip into a great vacation. After all – we had at least one free airfare to a continent that interested both of us and plenty of vacation time saved up to go exploring.

The decision was made very quickly that this would be an ideal opportunity to bring back our favourite alter egos – Map Girl and Clutch Boy! Hubby and I adore road trips not only for the enforced togetherness and inevitable fights but also as an opportunity to discover new places in a leisurely and enjoyable fashion. Hubby, as his superhero name would suggest, always drives and when I’m not napping in the passenger seat, I navigate. After all these years of long car trips, we are an unbeatable team.

We picked up our car at the airport in Vienna and set off for the beginning of our multi-country tour. Our first discovery was that Europeans aren’t clear on what signage is for. At least half the time we would try to follow signs to local destinations only to discover that someone had stopped hanging them before they finished their job. Despite having several semi-decent maps of Innsbruck, for example, it took at least three circuitous trips around the city pointing at where signs should be before we finally found our surprisingly central hotel.

Normally, we would eschew trips that merely touched down in a myriad of countries without allowing time to enjoy the culture but this time that was the whole point. “Breadth not depth,” Hubby kept insisting. We still did something significant in each country but with one notable exception most of it was fairly superficial. Driving from one hotel to the next with pit stops for cool ruins, empty gas tanks, or lunch would turn out to be more fun than we had thought to imagine.

Our long drive through Austria would mark only the first of many days that left Hubby and I speechless. While North America is great in its majesty and breadth, there was something awe inspiring about the magnificence of the countryside we drove through. Admittedly, part of the reason we were so taken by the simple beauty of blue skies and green pastures is that we don’t get see those colours a lot in dusty, brown Cairo. Clean air and picturesque castles on random mountaintops go a long way toward transforming a trip down an ordinary country road into an extraordinary journey.

Austria was the first country we would drive through during those few weeks of summer. A few weeks where we would be stuck inside a tin can on wheels powered by snack food from local supermarkets and music from an iPod plugged into the car radio. It would be a few awesome, emotional, and fun filled weeks. And this was only day one.