The Miles Files and Leo Log

Monday, August 19, 2013

Falvy's Index

Our Trip, by the Numbers:

Days abroad: 52

Days within 1 km of the Adriatic Sea: 27

Days featuring swimming: 25

Countries visited: 9 (Iceland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Slovenia, Hungary)

Land borders crossed: 12

Land borders with passport check: 7

Longest visit to a country: Croatia (28 days)

Shortest visit: Montenegro (6 hours)

Different overnight accommodations: 19

Longest stay, 1 accommodation: 7 nights (Lake Balaton, Hungary)

Shortest stay: 1 night (Ingolstadt, Germany; Hall-in-Tyrol, Austria; Mostar, Bosnia; Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Plane flights: 4

Ferries: 8

Kilometers driven: 4604 (not including Iceland)

Longest drive, 1 day: 683 km (Lake Balaton to Munich)

Longest period without driving: 4 days (Venice, of course)

Auto accidents: 0

Scratches on car: 1 (rear bumper, attributed to anonymous driver in Dubrovnik parking lot)

Most expensive parking: € 25/day (Dubrovnik)

Totally unjustified parking tickets: 1 (that would be you again, Dubrovnik)

Predicted Audi count: 715 (Xannie)

                                    1008 (Dean)
                                    1009 (Miles)
                                    1109 (Lisa)
                                    “Nothing” (Leo)

Actual number of Audis counted en route: 1416 (Congratulations, Mommy!)

Fighting, number of times kids ejected from car for: 1

Nannies: 1 (13 nights, Venice through Split)

Babysitters: 1 (2 nights, Dubrovnik)

Doctor visits: 1

Hospitalizations: 0

Pizzas, approximate number eaten by kids: 35

Gelatos, approximate number eaten by kids: 90

Days until next summer: 305

Monday, August 5, 2013

Bayern Munchin'

Munich, the final stop on our trip, was a homecoming of sorts. We lived there for 4 months in 2007 when Miles was a one-year-old.

So we took the opportunity to visit some old haunts.

The Deutsches Museum -- one of the great scientific and technical museums of the world -- captivated us back in our Munich days.

It also provided the finish line for Miles and Leo's European archeological/spy mission.

A succession of clues, beginning in Venice, led us to the elaborate mining exhibit beneath the Deutsches Museum.

The boys were up to the task and snared a bag of loot (redeemable at a local toy store) to conclude the adventure.

Munich was also an excellent spot to conclude our adventures as well. Almost every street in the center of the city was associated with some memory from our stay five and a half years ago.

It was viel spass to make some new memories with the kids there as well.

When it was finally time to pack up one more time and say auf Wiedersehen to Munich, it was hard to believe that our amazing trip was over as well.

We took Fritz out for one last sprint down the Autobahn. Although we looked forward to being reunited with our trusty Audi in a couple of months, we knew that driving on our speed-limited American highways would never be the same for him. It was like taking an animal from the wild and shipping it off to a zoo.

Before boarding our plane, we took Fritz to the drop off point and turned him over to Audi's (hopefully) capable and trustworthy agents.

Not before carefully checking the trunk, however.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Breakfast at Tihany's

An excursion across Lake Balaton to the scenic town of Tihany put the whole family into motion.

We gazed at the tombs of Hungarian kings...

... took in the fine baroque church...

... checked out the latest in roof-thatching technology...

...and viewed, not for the last time, the historical borders of Hungary (drawn in sharp contrast to the present ones).

Whether it was fueled by Hungarian irredentism, or American imperialism, no one knows -- but a full-scale squirt-gun war broke out back at the compound.