I'm thinking back on this part of the trip, kind of amazed that we actually pulled this off. We passed through eight countries in three days, driving over 1,300 miles. Kind of wild, very rushed, very worth it! The goal was just to pass through as many countries as possible, seeing what we could from the car. We started in Milan and drive through Mt. Blanc. We stopped in Geneva, Switzerland for the night, before heading through Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and doing in Pula, Croatia for the night. We then went back to Milan to watch AC Milan vs. Sampdoria, surrounded by the ultras. The highlights of the trip were the following:
Gorillas visit Connor
We decided we would go and visit Connor on his mission in Geneva. I didn't want him to be the guy who's brother visited him, so we decided to go in disguise and not tell him we were going to be there. In the after Halloween sales we bought gorilla suits for $5 each. My dad got his address so he could look his place up on Google earth, and we went searching for it. St about 9 or 10pm on Thanksgiving, we pounded on his door. After he answered, we jumped around making monkey noises, pounding or chests and throwing bananas, money, and ice cream bars at him. We got a selfie with him and then ran off. At the time, it was a bit anticlimactic, but the more we thought about it, the more we realized that he couldn't have known was us. A few days later he mentioned it in his email home. We will tell him about it when he gets back. At some point...
Kebab in Liechtenstein
Wow this kebab and chips was something special. Definitely would go back for more of that.
Innsbruck, Austria
The one thing I wanted to see in Innsbruck was the colorful houses by the river with the Alps behind them. Much like with the northern lights, the clouds decided to spoil the vision, as they were blocking the mountains behind, but that is OK. The view was still amazing. We walked around the Christmas markets, I bought a turtleneck, and got Emre some lederhosen.
The one thing I wanted to see in Innsbruck was the colorful houses by the river with the Alps behind them. Much like with the northern lights, the clouds decided to spoil the vision, as they were blocking the mountains behind, but that is OK. The view was still amazing. We walked around the Christmas markets, I bought a turtleneck, and got Emre some lederhosen.
Pula, Croatia
I didn't really know what to expect in Croatia, but it was fantastic. I certainly didn't expect to see a colosseum, but we got to walk around one, the only people there. It was great. I guess I just never thought about how close we were to Italy so it made sense that they had the colosseum and a beautiful Roman archway. I loved the little alleyways. I don't know why but I love looking down them. One funny thing about Pula was the graffiti. It wasn't street art at all, just crappy tags all over the place. I don't know why but that was memorable!
I didn't really know what to expect in Croatia, but it was fantastic. I certainly didn't expect to see a colosseum, but we got to walk around one, the only people there. It was great. I guess I just never thought about how close we were to Italy so it made sense that they had the colosseum and a beautiful Roman archway. I loved the little alleyways. I don't know why but I love looking down them. One funny thing about Pula was the graffiti. It wasn't street art at all, just crappy tags all over the place. I don't know why but that was memorable!
