Alex Shnitman

An approximate map of the route: click here.

Click for slideshow

We traveled with Dana to CouchSurfing friends in Germany & Belgium.

Germany & Belgium. Click for slideshow

Who said airports are boring? Sometimes that’s where you start the adventure. Standing in the baggage claim area with all the other people, squinting at the entrance hole of the conveyor, hoping to see your bag finally roll out… Sounds familiar. Until you realize that everyone else has already left and you’re standing there all by yourself. And then the conveyor belt stops. Does that sound familiar too? Ugh-oh…

The one that was missing was our large duffel bag containing all the camping equipment. Thankfully it wasn’t lost — it just came out on the “special baggage” belt at the other side of the hall. That’s how big it was. We nicknamed it “jumbo”, and the security guy on the return flight asked the obvious body count question immediately as he saw it. Thank God we didn’t have to carry it on our backs.

Next stop: car rental. Here we paid for being cheap by having to stand in the longest line. (Mean waiting time at the Europcar booth: 2 minutes. At the Avis booth: 3 minutes. Solmar: 30 minutes…) But there was a reward at the end: after fumbling in the “C” drawer for a set of keys for . . . → Read More: Notes from Spain