Company: Martin, Jana, son Christian (5 years old) and Jana’s sister Heidi.

Planned route: Tallinn-Ventspils-Rostock-Paris-La Rochelle-Re Island-Biarriz-Barcelona-Majorca-Barcelona-Andorra-Toulon-Monaco-Venice-Salzburg-Koeln-Rostock-Ventspils-Tallinn.

The trip started on the 4^th of July at 1.05 pm towards Latvia. Although a bit of time was spent in Pärnu we reached Riga by 5.00 pm. After a fulfilling meal at the popular Lido, the trip continued towards Ventspils from where a ship to Rostock was supposed to depart at 1.00 am. Finding the harbour turned out to be a bit more complicated task than we expected but after asking for some information from the locals we eventually still found it. The ship was a Ro-ro type, basically made for truck drivers as all kinds of basic conveniences for regular tourists were absent. We were fitted into a cabin for four where in total we spent two tortuous nights. We could not even buy food and there were predetermined times when it was distributed. The shop was open only for half an hour every 12 hours.

We arrived in Rostock on the 6^th of July at 6.50 am according to the local time. From there we started with a rather boring but on the other hand quite hopeful speeding on the German highways. We passed through Germany in one straight drive. At 2.50 pm we had already reached Belgium and at 4.30 pm we crossed the border to France. Our goal was to find a nice camping place as close to Paris as possible. Luckily we managed to succeed on this mission and at 7.00 pm we found a cozy 5 star camping called Berny Riviere. It was a comfy green oasis with all the necessities. As we were quite tired after traveling almost 1200 km straight, we just set up the tents and started to cook dinner. During the evening we also managed to look around on the camping site and after we had but Christian to sleep, the rest of the night passed in a quiet and peaceful mood.

In the morning, after preparing breakfast, we left the camping site at around 8.50. After that we continued towards Paris where we had booked a hotel called Citea de la Ville for two nights in advance. We put our car in the parking house and then started discovering Paris by the metro. Our goal was to visit all the main sites in Paris, like the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, La Defense and so on. Although there was a huge crowd of people around the Eiffel tower and it was starting to rain, we did not give up and still managed to go to the top of the tower. After visiting the part of the city called La Defense we accidentally arrived at Notre Dame just when the church service was about to begin. It was definitely a noteworthy experience as all the people who had gathered were singing and the entire aura of the event and all people together was something incredible. 

In the next morning, on the 8^th of July, at about 9.00 am we continued our trip by heading towards the Island Re that is located on the west coast of France, just next to the city La Rochelle. The Island Re is known for its colourful nature. It took us over two hours to find a suitable camping place but in the end we found the perfect spot called La Grainetiere. As the weather was fairly nice we decided to circle it after having a quick dip at the camping’s pool. The island turned out to be a very pleasant place on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean with its fig plantation and huge cedars.

In the morning we packed our things and continued our trip, this time towards Biarriz. Biarriz is a resort on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean which is famous for its Riviera- like lifestyle. We decided that we wanted to spend the night somewhere outside of Biarriz just to be away from all of the noise that was waiting for us in Biarriz. We found a camping site in Saint- Jean- de- Luz that was located only a few kilometers away from Biarriz. In Biarriz we also took a small stroll on the bank by the coast and the view from there was magnificent. I and Christian also decided to go swimming as we just could not let the chance to try out the Atlantic Ocean go by without using it. The water was rather cold, but the waves were awesome. It was hard to keep your balance already in knee- deep water as the waves were so strong that they could easily take you with them. In the evening we also went swimming in the camping pool, but that was not very enjoyable as the weather was getting rather cold.

On the next morning, the 10^th of July, at 7.50 am we set off from the camping site and at already 8.15 am we crossed the border to Spain. From then on our route took us across the Pyrenees which was a very picturesque sight and, just like magic, also the weather changed. Half way to Barcelona the temperature started rising and by the time we made it to Barcelona at 3 pm it was already +30 degrees Celsius. We had booked an apartment called Unio 21 in Barcelona  which was located on  the street which crossed with the main street called La Rambla. Basically, we were in the heart of the city as much as you could. The apartment was extremely nice with all the interior decorations. After freshening up we went to see the city. We really enjoyed some street artists on La Rambla and we also visited the harbour area in Barcelona that was full of various people offering different merchandise and magicians.

Next morning we headed straight to the most famous sight in Barcelona- La Sagrada Familia. Unfortunately half of the building was covered with construction platforms and the renovation was going on strong. Also we could go in to the towers this time as the lines were extremely long. In general, La Sagrada Familia is a very magnificent building that is definitely worth visiting. As Christian is a huge football fan we had to have visiting the FC Barcelona’s home stadium in our agenda. The girls went into a coffee shop while I and Christian visited the holy Mecca of football. It was certainly the most amazing stadium that I have ever seen in my life. The stadium visit also involved pass to all of the rooms, including dressing rooms, praying room, press room, different tribunes and so on. The visit finished with visiting the football museum that had everything about the Barcelona football history and the current affairs. It was a very powerful and emotional visit for true football fans. 

In the morning, on the 12^th of July, we packed our things and headed town to the beach in Barcelona to work on out tans. Although the beach was not anything noteworthy, we still had the chance to catch some sun and also feel the warm Mediterranean. After lunch we took another stroll on the La Ramba where Jana had her portrait taken by a street artist. I must say that the picture was rather good. After that we headed already to the harbour in Barcelona where a ship towards Mallorca would depart at 11pm. In the cabin we all fell asleep rather quickly.

The ship arrived at 6.30 am the next morning in La Palma, but we had booked our hotel on the east coast of the island, in a place called Calla Millor. The hotel was also made out of apartments that had a kitchen and everything else necessary. We had an amazing view from the window to the Mediterranean and the apartment itself was located in the downtown Cala Millor. After settling in we headed to the village close by called La Reserve and more precisely to its water park. There you could eat and drink as much for the entrance fee as you wanted. In the evening Christian went to the kid’s party in the hotel and later on we went dancing in the local club called Lolly Pop.

The whole next day we just spent on the beach enjoying the warm weather. The water was warm and the temperature was around +30 degrees Celsius.

The next day, the 15^th of July, we drove around on the island as well as visited Alcudia and Pollencat. The general impression of the island was good, but there was nothing spectacular. The main attractions of Majorca are still in its amazing beaches and wild night life. We spent the evening again on the beach and after that at the kid’s party.

On the 16^th of July, we left the hotel at 9.45 am. We headed back to the harbor in La Palma and at 12.30 pm took a ship back to Barcelona. The boat ride lasted for extremely exhausting 7 hours and after that we decided to leave Barcelona behind and just drive on. The next planned destination was Andorra and the Pyrenees, but as everybody were thinking about warm see water and sun and were not very enthusiastic about spending the night in cold mountain climate, we decided to skip that part. We found a place to stay about 50 kilometers away from Barcelona in Mataros in a camping called Playason where we arrived at about 9 pm. As it was already quite late we did not even get a chance to get to know the camping site and just went to bed.

The next morning we followed to Mediterranean coast line until we arrived in Frejus where also our next place to spend the night was located, this time a camping called De Saint Aygulf Plage. This camping was huge and luxurious and was located just on the sea shore. In the evening we went swimming all together and also spent some time in the camping’s open air bar. During the night we had a situation when Christian wanted to visit the bathroom and insisted on going there alone. Unfortunately we fell asleep and only an hour later noticed that Christian still had not returned. When we went looking for him luckily we could already see him walking towards us with the camping security guard. He had started to walk in the wrong direction as he was rather sleepy and then did not know anymore how to get back. Thankfully the site was watched 24 hours a day by security guards who helped us to find our son again.

Early next morning we started driving alongside the coast until we saw a huge water park and as we just could not pass it the fun began. Before noon we spent time in the water park and after lunch headed towards Cannes. There we had booked a hotel in the downtown of Cannes. In the evening we walked around on the famous beach promenade, at the film festival building and looked at the celebrities’ hand prints on the beach road. Cannes looked very glamorous and the beach was also very sandy and beautiful.

In the morning we took a train to Monaco and walked around there for only few hours as the weather was one of the hottest that summer there and it was like torture to stay outside. We also went to the famous casino in Monte Carlo and took a look at the huge open-sea yachts in the harbor. Christian was very affected by the Ferraris and Lamborghinis in Monaco as there that kind of cars are a normal sight. After a few hour walk we headed back to Cannes where we decided to try out the “banana”- ride behind a motorboat. I must admit that it was a very fun activity although the driver of the boat did not show us any mercy and kept throwing us in the water. Then we went to the local beach where we spent time swimming and sun tanning..

Next morning we left at 9 am towards Venice. We crossed the Italian border at 10 am. In Venetia we left the car in the parking house and from there on our mean of transportation was a water tram that took us to the downtown.  We had chosen Campello as our hotel which was located just few hundred meters away from the Marcus square. We had the amazingly delicious local pizza and strolled around the channels.  

Next day we took the water taxi to the island Murano where the famous glass factory is located. There were shown how different glass pieces are made and what has been produced in that factory. It was really interesting. Then we went back to downtown and realized that we had stayed in Venice for too long. As we are rather adventurous Venice turned out to be pretty boring already after a short time as there was nothing no to see or experience.

On the morning of the 22^nd of July we left Venice at about 9.00 am and headed towards Austria. We crossed the border to Austria at about 2.00 pm and the boarded check point was at almost 2500 meters high in the mountains. The climate had changed rather drastically as in the morning in Venice we had about +40 degrees and in the mountains it was barely +5 degrees Celsius. Our place to stay was supposed to be a mountain hotel in a Tirolian village called Söll, but when we made it there it turned out that the hotel had been overbooked. Luckily the hotel administrator quickly organized a possibility for us to stay in a close by family accommodation place where in addition to rooms and kitchen we also had a large yard with swings and a trampoline.

The next morning we took the hanging railroad to the top of the mountain and took a small hike and climb down. The views were simply breathtaking. All around us one could see mountain cows just doing their usual business. Then we moved on to Innsbruck where we finally did the compulsory souvenir and gift shopping for people at home.

On the 24th of July already at about 8 am we got off and headed to Waldbröl where Jana’s great-uncle lives. It is a small city near Koeln. The evening was spent by looking around in the local neighbourhood and having nice conversations around the table. Just like by order we were offered potatoes, pork and sauerkraut that evening, something that all of us had dreamed of during the whole trip. I can also mention that by coincident Jana’s mother was visiting the great- uncle and it was a happy reunion.

The next day we started our trip at about 8 am to reach the ship from Rostick to Ventspils. The long and grueling journey in the small cabin started yet again.

In the evening on the 26^th of July at 10.30 pm the ship reached Ventspils and we headed towards Tallinn. Everybody was sleeping. We crossed the Estonian border at about 2.25 am and we reached home on the 27^th of July at 4.30 am.

In total we traveled 7511 kilometers in our trip.

The general impression of the trip is positive as we managed to visit and see so many different countries. It was a bit too exhausting for Christian as for a small child it is rather uncomfortable to sit in a car that much. As we had set our time frame rather strictly to experience as much as possible then there is not reason for being unsatisfied. If you would ask me whether or not I would take the same route again, than I would most probably answer that question with a no. The best part of the trip was definitely the southern part of Europe and then it would be more reasonable just to fly there straightly and then just rent a car while being there as reaching South- Europe by car is a rather long and inconvenient endeavor.