/Summary: 1989 Trip to Europe

(March 10 to July 2)

The Renault RV, parked in the farmer’s barn, started just fine, so we visited cousins for a few days, spent several days in Paris, then to Switzerland, and a visit to “The Last Supper” in Milan. On to Venice, San Marino, St. Leo, Gubbio, Urbino, Assisi, Spoleto, and dozens more, then to Rome to see the almost renovated Sistine Chapel ceiling. Stopped in Naples, Pompeii, the Greek Temples at Paestum, on to Sicily to visit Taormina, and Roman and Greek artifacts in Siracusa.

We toured to the “heel” of Italy, and camped on an overnight ship from Brandisi to Pátra, Greece. Spent a couple of weeks in Korinth, Gíthio, and Olympia on the Peloponnese, and Métsovo and Metéora, northwest of Athens. By cruise ship to Míkonos, the Isle of Patmos, and from Kusadasi, Turkey we visited the city of Ephesus and the final home of The Virgin Mary. The walled City of Rhodes is remarkable, and a couple of hours were spent at the Palace of Knossós, on the Island of Crete. We rode the funicular to the city of Thíra on the Island of Santoríni, then walked down hundreds of steps, stepping in millions of donkey donuts, on our return to the ship.

We spent a couple more days in Athens, then by ship to Míkonos, over-night plus a half-day in Istanbul. The Golden Horn, Süleyman (Blue) Mosque, the Grand Bazaar (4,000 shops), St. Sofia Mosque (now a museum), the Palace of Topkapi, and Istanbul’s teeming street scenes, are incredible.

Over the Black Sea to Odessa and Yalta, then on the Bosporus past Istanbul, the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, and to Athens for our 38th Anniversary. Next to Thessaloniki, then to Kavala, and a visit to captivating old Philippi.

There were already war-like happenings in Yugoslavia’s Kosovo Province, so we kept moving through Skopje and Pristina, spent a night in Ivangrad. We visited the crumbled earthquake-town of Stari Bar, the repaired earthquake-town of Budva, and Sveti Stefan, a renovated island hotel.

Kotor, Dubrovnik, and Mostar were just as fantastic as can be imagined. A stop on the Island of Hvar, then to Split, and the Plitvica National Park. Now to Hallstatt and Salzburg, Austria, on to Cousins in Mettlach, and the plane in Frankfurt.

This must be the best possible way to spend 115 days!