The pen(cil) is mightier

Our final stop was in Nuremberg. After the apartment we initially booked didn't pan out, we booked a family room at the youth hostel...right beside the castle. This ended up being a great choice. We took a little walk around the city, exploring the picturesque canal views from the many bridges. 

Then it was off to the Staedtler store for some art pencils and a new (Staedtler Blue) fountain pen. Nuremberg is famous for its graphite mines and tradition of pencil making. 

And as we pulled into home, the odometer clicked over, and we wrapped up our incredible summer road trip. And amazingly, everyone says they would do it again. 

Everything is AWESOME

Our next stop was the "big surprise". Over the whole trip we told them we had a surprise planned but wouldn't tell them what. Not even as we drove there. Once we turned off the highway, the excitement exploded from the back seat.

First order of business: breakfast and planning. 

The kids all agreed Lego driving school was up first. It took some practice, but they all earned their licenses. 

Over the next two days there was negotiation, splitting up and maximizing their time in the park. 

When the time finally came for shopping, I convinced the kids to buy bulk Lego and create their own kit. They decided to pool thier resources and design one creation. The piece were selected and for the rest of the trip, the back seat was a planning room with the kids eager to get home and start building...together. 

Peter and I challenged each other to make minifigures of us: Peter made mine and I made his. 

The hills are alive

Next stop: Austria. After another long drive we stopped at a lake outside Salzburg for a swim. The kids appreciated the fresh, cool water and had a blast jumping off the dock. 

The next day we took in more Austrian nature, hiking the Kaprun gorge. The boardwalk took us up the gorge along beautiful waterfalls and rainbows to glacial lake (reservoir) at the top. 

The lake at the top was crystal clear and impossibly beautiful. After walking the perimetre we kicked off our shoes and dipped our toes into the frigid glacial runoff feeding the lake.

We stayed on a dairy farm and the kids enjoyed the wide open spaces to play. 

Our next adventure took us into Salzburg to take a cooking class. We learned to make authentic apple strudel. It was easy and fun (and yummy).

Getting to know Slovenia

A long drive up into Slovenia brought us our first bit of bad luck. With two of us down with gastro we took a quiet day. After resting for the morning we took the ten minute drive to Lake Bled. The town had a summer resort feel with lots of people getting out on the water. 

The water was crystal turquoise!

As not everyone was feeling great we took a traditional boat across the lake to the church on the island. 

Luckily, the next day everyone was back to full health. we drove to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The kids enjoyed the fun little installation where they "created" rain. It was a nice reprieve from the hot weather!

Ljubljana is known for its dragons; said to be built on the site of a dragon's home. In the castle there was an exhibit about dragons in global culture. Calvin was proud that he knew every one of the mythological and folk tale references in these paintings. 

The next day Emily got her birthday gift: horseback riding. Calvin made friends with the barn kitten. 

A two hour ride took us up into the mountains, through streams and even a visit to a local bear cub who was orphaned and adopted by a restaurant. 

During and after the ride we were treated to homemade blueberry schnapps, with whole blueberries in the bottle. And, of course, a very famous Slovenian on the bottle. 

As Cal helped unsaddle the horses and Emily and Sam played with the kitten, the sun set over the mountains. 

Swimmingly good

On the road again and this time our stop was in Croatia. We stayed on the Istrian peninsula in the town of Porec. This stop was about taking a break from the car at out halfway point. The kids dove into the Adriatic and, snorkeling gear on, explored the underwater world. 

Dinners were easy overlooking the sea and the sunset. A little prosceco didn't hurt either. 

These southern countries love their traditional liqueurs - here it was schnapps. The restaurant didn't ask IF we wanted our free shot but rather WHICH type we wanted. They even have "kinderschnapps" which the kids loved. 

The next day we took a lunch boat cruise to visit two other places along the coast. Rovnij was the first stop. 

Boat cruises were big business there are many different companies operated similar routes, but it didn't feel too crowded. This was our boat. 

The water was so clear. the kids enjoyed watching the seagulls feet paddling away under the water, and the fish circling just below (all hoping for hand outs from the lunch cruises).

For the last bit of the trip the kids all scrambled up to the bow to watch the harbour as we pulled in. 

And, as if trying to out do herself, Mother Nature gave us an even more spectacular sunset for dinner that night. 

Italian sampler

The next leg of our journey took us east across Italy. Lunch was in Lago da Garda, Italy's largest lake. It was a great little vacation town filled with locals escaping the heat.

From there we drove to Verona, made famous by Shakespear's Romeo and Juliette. The city has embraced this and dedicated an appropriately aged house and balcony as Juliette's. Aside from the play to tourism, Verona was a very pretty city with a beautiful old square. 

From there we drove to our apartment. It was a restored Italian villa, complete with full wall murals, from the 1600s.

The next day we woke up early and drove to Venice for a boat tour. The city was beyond our expectations and we stayed on to walk around after our tour ended.

The next day we took the Italian sports car tour. Starting with a trip to Ferrari. We chose the museum in Modena, where the original offices of Ferrari were. 

Then on to Lamborghini. A smaller museum but the kids were impressed by the cars and the movies they have been featured in. 

To round it all off, dinner of pasta bolognaise in Bologna.