The way home....

It doesn't seem like there would be a lot to say about a day (or two) of straight driving ... but I can find something!

First ... a word about the highway/interstate/freeway/expressway ... all those words can mean the same thing, depending on what part of the world you come from.  One word missing is Tollway, or, Turnpike as it was called in my early traveling days.  As a less-than-8-year old, traveling in the suburban (that's right, my parents had suburbans in the early 60s) to Pennsylvania and back, even I could read the anticipation and increased stress levels of my parents as we approached "the turnpike".  I didn't really understand what it meant other than:

1. you had to go as fast at the traffic traveling with you, 
2. there was no place to get off the road so if you broke down it was AWFUL and likely NOT SAFE
3. you had to go to the bathroom when your parents told you to go because there was no way they could stop whenever you needed to go
4. you had to be quiet in the car because it was so stressful for the driver
5. if we did stop at one of the really expensive "rest stops" with gas stations, restaurants, snack bars, gift shops, and ICE CREAM, we were not going to buy anything (except gas)
6. you had to pay money to be on the road

BUT ... tollways, now those are dependent on how old the highway is.  Thus, this great stretch of road we were traveling in Croatia... well, we had to pay to use it.  I don't mind paying for what I use.  I don't mind paying for something that is of good quality.  I don't mind paying to use a 13-km long tunnel that saves me the 52-km drive up and over the mountain (it could be a long time before Albania has any of these).  I suspect I am not alone, because at one toll gate, with all 8 toll gates working, NS and I waited for 45 minutes to be able to pay our toll.  There were THAT many people using the road, presumably returning from their sunny Mediterranean vacations.

Second, as an American, especially one from Wyoming, I've heard a fair few stories about the German autobahn (the equivalent of the highway/interstate/freeway/expressway) where one can drive as fast as one wants.  Well, the EU does not extend the practice of the autobahn to all EU member countries.  

Our drive in Croatia was limited to less than 120 kms/hour.  Plenty fast for my taste, but there are still some people who blast through in the passing lane at probably 150 to 160 kms/hour.  Thus, it is best to check the passing lane 4 or 5 times before you actually move over (no matter what country you are in).  There will always be one time that you don't get out of the passing lane fast enough for the BMW or Mercedes or Porsche or Volkswagen that comes zooming up from behind, like some kind of Stealth bomber, and you'll be subject to their blasting horn, their gestures, and their dust.

Third, the EU does regulate the times of day that semi-trucks can be on the highway/interstate/freeway/expressway.  Thus, one can drive totally semi-free at certain times, especially on Friday evenings and weekends.  Oh, semi-trucks seem to have restrictions on which lane they can travel in as well.  If there are 3 or 4 lanes going in the same direction, they MUST stay in the first two.

Fourth, a word about German school vacations.

I searched for an image from the famous 1963 end-of-summer traffic jam.  The debacle that prompted the federal government to step in and encourage the various states in Germany to stagger their vacation schedules.  This means schools are starting their school vacations at a different time throughout the summer.  For instance, our own state of Lower Saxony did not start school vacation until LAST WEEK.  Yes, 30 July was the last day of school for public school students in our state.  They start up again on 11 September (yes, there are shorter summer vacations here, but remember, we get 2 weeks in October, 2 weeks in December, 1 week in February, 2 weeks in April, and other public holidays).  Our school, being private, is exempt from this requirement.  Also, our school is not allowed to require teachers to work past 30 June.

So, NS and I joined the crowds of German (and Austria and Dutch) travelers headed "back home" from summer vacation.  The farther north we got, the less traffic we encountered.  Smooth sailing for us!  There were countless times we looked at the throbbing streams of traffic going the other way and thought 'you've got a long way to go.'

Fifth, it was the same eager anticipation of getting home that I remember as a child.  The first time we spotted a sign that said "Hannover - 329 kms", it was just like being in the middle of Nebraska and seeing that first Little America bill board.  We stopped in Goettingen to see if Julian wanted to go out to eat and hear our travel tales ... he'd just eaten.  So, we continued home, stopping at our friends "Los Wiebos" to leave the bike rack off the top of the car.  The depth of their friendship showed through as they fed us dinner as well.

NS, a trooper to the very end, made 3 trips to our 5th floor apartment (no elevator), carrying the various bags, tent, sleeping bags, food (we stopped at the grocery story as we can't go shopping on Sunday ... everything is closed here), etc. while I emptied the car and found a parking place (easier said than done).

A shower, my own bed, the fan, and some outdoor concert in the neighborhood until 3 in the morning ... it doesn't get much better.

Thanks for participating in my experiment.  I've enjoyed blogging, as I suspected I would, but I did grow a bit more dependent on a Wifi signal than I wanted to model for my daughter.  I may continue blogging, but it won't be at roaminwyomansplusone!

Day 25

As we exited the toll road last night, we noticed the brown tourist-point-of-interest sign, indicating we were close to the Nikolai Tesla Memorial.  For those of you with Physics geeks in the family, you'll recognize this as being significant to one (a Physics geek that is).  How could I turn down NS's request to visit Tesla's birthplace?  Who needs an early start when there is a chance to learn more about the man who did more for electricity than Thomas Edison (and Tesla didn't try to make money on it)?

Thus, we were at the visitor's center in time for an early morning demonstration.  Evidently the previous night's storms prevented the inside lightning storm from lighting up the fluorescent lights NS and I were both holding, and the attendant left to re-set the computer, leaving us both standing there holding these arm-length tubes.  

On the wall, there was a neon light of a bird.  My understanding is most Tesla fans know that he loved pigeons.  NS believed this bird to be a pigeon and wanted to sketch it (we weren't allowed to take photos in this room), so she handed me her light to hold while she got to work.  

Me, not being an idiot, decided to put both lights down on the ground, in case something was tripped by the person knowing what was going on was out of the room.  Shortly after that the room went completely black, a loud crackle filled the room, and the previously silent THING in the room was sending small streaks of lightning out.  If I'd been holding this lights, I probably would have jumped through my skin, dropped both lights, and shards of glass would be everywhere.  The cacophony and light show went on for about 30 seconds.

Soon after, it stopped and the attendant returned, asking, "did you see it?"  To which NS explained that we did, but not the lights as we'd put them down.  She was disappointed, but I was not.

They had a great film about Tesla.  It included a heavy emphasis on the importance of the freedom and exploration he had during his EARLY CHILDHOOD years.  The experts talked about how the fields and the stream in the area before us provided the stimulation he needed to develop ideas and experiments.  perfect ammunition for the mother to tell the child, "see, TV rots your brain!"  There was a story about how one time he jumped out of the window of the top floor with an umbrella (way before Mary Poppins).  

Amongst all the displays, models, diagrams, and timelines, NS found what she was looking for - a photo of Tesla's favorite pigeon.

So, it was 11:00 before we got back on the highway, but we have some great stories, and there is nothing better than one's 16-year old declaring the highlights of a road trip in Eastern Europe were eating at the Three Broomsticks and seeing a photo of Tesla's favorite pigeon.

We drove in 4 countries today - starting in Croatia, continuing to Slovenia, Austria, and into Germany.  The Shenzen treaty means there were no passport checks, no customs checks, we just slowed down, and passed through the gates.  Toll roads, now that's a story for tomorrow.

The 24th day

Exhaustion and stress make it fairly easy to sleep.  The sound of the steady flowing water of a mountain stream right outside our window helped.  The incredibly loud clap of thunder (the kind that bring the children scurrying to the comfort and security of their parent's bed) woke us, prompted a bit more snuggling, and started our day.

S2 decided he would be the one to brave the morning rain to forage for food, get the additional umbrella from the car, and see exactly where we were.  He returned over 45 mins later oblivious to the continued rain.  It was not the dark ominous storm of last night, but an early morning rain shower, with edges of clouds clearly visible and blue sky popping through in places.  

This was like a dream come true for him.  He had slept in a UNESCO World Heitage site.  The ancient city of Kotor had a wall surrounding it (going up the steep mountain right behind it), watch towers, a moat (we crossed over last night), stone walls were everywhere (hey, even the walls of our room were stone).  It was built be the Venetians during their rise to power. (There really is a lot to learn about European history).  We ate our breakfast of corn flakes, packed up and headed out.

Searing intense heat (or so it seemed to me) and 110% humidity greeted us as we packed the car and proceeded down the coast toward Croatia.  I became totally captivated by the fjord like setting of the drive, that incredible blue-green Mediterranean color of the water, the cafe sized docks perched on the water, where people were reading newspapers and drinking their morning coffee.  This was a place to come back to!!!

Out of Montenegro (they use Euros so we were re-supplied) and into Croatia.  Traffic was certainly picking up here, and the scenery, the sun, and the water were probably the reasons.  We drove past Dubrovnik as if we see it everyday, but we knew the last two places we stayed were very similar based on a stop we made here in 2006.

In less than 2 hours we were at another border - a Croatian border with Bosnia Herzegovina.  The war that went on here (in the former Yugoslavia) for much, much longer than it should have (I believe the rest of the world should have stepped in with more force much sooner) was far more complicated than history books can tell us about.  Yes, Croatia got a great coastline that a tremendous number of money-wielding Northern Europeans want to visit (for good reason) which undoubtedly helps embrace capitalism and consumerism.  Of course, Serbia would want some of that, as would Bosnia.  In the end, Serbia got no coastline, but Bosnia did.  So for 45 mins or so, we were in Bosnia.  Passport checks were perfunctory only, and no one asked if we had cigarettes or alcohol.

Back in Croatia, we continued on until we had a road towards Bosnia, and drove to the border (less than 10 kms) to leave S2, his bicycle, and all his gear.  It probably took him 45 minutes or so to get everything packed the way he wanted, separate the needed documents, fill up his water bottles, arrange the maps he needed, and hug us good bye.

And thus, he started home through Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovenia on his bike, and NS and I started the drive home through Slovenia (her 41st country), Austria, and Germany.  I hoped we could make it out of Croatia that day, as the expressway started soon after we left S2, but it is a LONG country, and we only made it as far as Gôspic.