/Summary: 1979 Trip to Europe

(August 23 to November 29)

This year we flew Icelandic Airlines from Chicago to Luxembourg, with a refueling stop in Reykjavik, Iceland

Daughter Linda met us at the Luxembourg Airport, then helped us look for a camper. We dropped Linda at the airport for her return to the US, then drove to Bonn, Köln, and across Germany to board a ferry to visit Denmark, a couple of days in Stockholm, then to Helsinki, Finland for a stay with son Ron, his wife Hagar, four year old Joanna, seven month old Peter.

We found the natural scenery along the Norwegian Fjord coast to be incomparable, then after a stay with Cousin Josef’s family in Euskirchen, Germany, we spent a week in Paris. We were anxious to re-visit the Palace at Versailles and looked forward to our first visit in the Cathedral at Chartres.

We drove south across France, and on to Spain, and in Madrid we loved not only the Prado Museum, but the only Winchell’s Donut Shop we found in Europe. The old town of Toledo is exquisite, with narrow streets, a beautiful cathedral, and El Greco’s home with a museum of his paintings.

Lisbon, Portugal, is basically a beautiful city, but we found it cluttered, with trash on the streets, graffiti on the buildings, and poverty all around. It was a surprise to find a tiny ferry boat, but no bridge, to cross from Portugal’s Algarve Coast, to southern Spain. We arrived at Seville after dark, and awoke in the morning in lovely surroundings. The City of Seville and its Cathedral are fascinating and attractive.

From Algeciras, Spain we crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Cueta, Spain, on the coast of Africa. We were guided around Tetuan, and spent the night in Tanger, Morocco. A night was spent in southern Spain with Emmy’s friend, a couple of days in Barcelona, and two nights in Palma, Majorca.

We continued to the French Riviera, visited Nice, Cannes, Menton, and the city of Monte Carlo, in the Principality of Monaco. We drove across the northwest part of Italy and through the tunnel below Mt. Blanc to visit Chamonix, France, on to Geneva, Bern and Basel, Switzerland, finally through Heidelberg, Germany to Cousin Toni's in Mettlach. We then stopped for two nights in Reykjavik, Iceland, on our way home.

An outstanding 96 day trip.