Chaos, campers and currywurst: the ultimate family road trip

After spending six months living in Brazil, as well as getting the opportunity to fly to Peru and visit Machu Picchu, you'd think that a short summer holiday in central Europe would be a bore in comparison. But throw twenty six people aged between three and sixty three, five mobile campers, a battered VW van and an extra-large sized tent into one semi-planned whistle-stop romp around eight European countries in the span of just fourteen days, and entertaining it was bound to be. Aunties, uncles, cousins, neighbours, girlfriends and childhood friends, we all piled into our respective vehicles with a whole lot of excitement and just a smidge of apprehension!  

The planned route took us from our humble abodes in Barnsley and the Peak District, down to the Channel Tunnel in Kent, across into the Champagne region of France, and down (or rather up!) into the Swiss Alps. We crossed the border into Italy with a few days relaxing our hiking legs by Lake Garda, back up into the Austrian mountains with a stop in Innsbruck, and then headed over into the German Black Forest. We explored the mystical microstate of Liechtenstein, before finally dashing back across to Calais with final stops in Luxembourg and Bruges. Ambitious? Yes. Unachievable? Evidently not!  

Our first travel day saw our mighty crew of campervans suffer one chipped windscreen, one clipped wingmirror and one fully punctured tyre, respectively. Combined with the British-like downpours we had experienced in France and were forecast to continue chasing around the continent, camp morale rapidly declined.

But our second day in the Swiss Alps began to look up as the clouds finally drifted away and we caught a glimpse of the stunning scenery beyond our campsite. Since no family adventure is complete without a hike, we headed for the nearest summit, stumbling upon an Alpine hut where a lovely, albeit slightly bewildered Swiss lady served us 20 beers, showed us round their cheese room and even predicted the weather at the top of the hill for us! The next day arose and a quick trip to the Swiss capital Bern brought one of our highlights of the whole trip; free-floating down the rapid River Aare. For the adrenaline junkies out there, this is the ultimate free summer activity to add to your bucket list! 

After all that adventure it was time for an Aperol Spritz and Lake Garda in Italy provided the perfect location to soak up the sun, read by the lakeside and eat gelatos bigger than our heads for lunch! Testing the local delicacies became a natural tour guide in the destinations to come, as we indulged in the classic Schnitzel, Currywurst and Kaiserschmarrn in the Austrian hills, tested the intensely alcoholic cherry Torte in a tiny town hidden away in the German Schwarzwald, before finally getting our fill of Belgian fries and chocolate galore in Bruges.

Safe to say we returned to England with happy bellies, full hearts and memories to reminisce upon for years to come. I quite honestly don’t know how we pulled it off!