There are many a way to traverse distances. In our time in Europe, we have experienced a surprisingly large quantity of them:
PLANE - Well, obviously. Plane from San Francisco to Cleveland, Cleveland to London. Still stirs memories of wretched blond dutch children screaming at 4 am.
METRO - We were welcomed into the arms of the metro in London, and it has been our predominant means of local travel. The metro maps are all similarly designed, regardless of country, and they scream GAME in a way that only an immensely well thought out and organized system can.
I don't know why we took this picture, but there you go |
CAR - Between Ian, Fangsy, the Englands, Betty, and the Von Wuthenaus, we've had quite a few car trips, some more eventful, or frightening (Hi Betty!) than others.
CAR (ON A FERRY) - One of the more awesome things we did with the Englands was drive the car onto a ferry, cross the river, and then drive off the ferry.
TRAIN - Ah, trains. The absolute failsafe. We have taken trains across the continent, seen the good, bad, and ugly, and they remain one of the most magical types of transportation. There's something terribly muse-like about watching scenery pass you by, actively progressing without any activity. We've had some of our best book discussions on trains, and done some of our best writing.
One of our first trains, in England |
TRAIN (ON A FERRY) - So this one really messed us up. I woke up on the train all discombobulated with Hanna poking me being like "Chelsea, we're on a ferry." And I was all "Uuah?" True story. Much like the Car-On-A-Ferry method, our train rolled onto the ferry, we all disembarked, hung out on deck, and climbed back on board when we landed on the other side. (This particular bit was the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg).
TRAIN (SLEEPER) - This deserves its own category just for the sheer ridiculousness that was fitting into a middle bunk.
What is going on?! |
TRAM - These are really just above ground metros in my opinion... Most memorable? The ones in Nice. Because we accidentally didn't pay once. We rectified it, don't worry, but it was scary there for a sec.
BUS - I think the most memorable bus would be the one to Monaco, which was actually thisclose to making Hanna throw up. I don't think I've ever seen her look more sick - not even on the ferry to Saint Malo.
BUS (ON A FERRY) - You can thank the Irish sea for this one. That's what you get for being a foot passenger.
FERRY - The ferry up the Rhine is by far the standout ferry in my opinion, and not only because we didn't start off in the cargo hold (we need to get to the ventilation shaft!). As with the trains, watching scenery pass by is simply thrilling and so inspirational.
WATER TAXI - The Englands took us on a water taxi to get over to Plymouth, wherein we indulged in cherry vodka, fish n' chips, and ice cream with clotted cream.
FUNICULAR - We have been on two funiculars: One halfway up Montserrat, the other to the top of a hill in Lyon to see the church.
On the way up Montserrat |
HORSE - Technically, we went in a circle on them, but I still believe it's absolutely legitimate to include them here.
That's Hanna up there on the white horse |
FOOT - I don't know what we'd do if we didn't each have a pair of wonderful feet to carry us across this world. We've climbed mountains with these feet, spent entire twelve hour days on these feet exploring Paris or Prague or Vienna. My feet are sore as I speak, and the skin between my pinky toe and the one next to it is actually an itchy, lymph-juice soaked open wound at the moment, and yet we carry on! Our feet have done us good this trip, no doubt about it, so this one goes out to them. Yes, that's what you get for reading the whole entry.