While I truly enjoyed visiting Paris and the the Loire Valley of France, I’ve learned that living near mountains is extremely important to me. Since we left our apartment in Tours, France, we’ve visited a bunch of cities and countries with incredible history, culture, and architecture but most were lacking elevation.
I was born in central Kansas but my family moved to Colorado Springs when I was just 4 years old so I was raised near the mountains. Having crossed Kansas or Nebraska multiple times on trips to Iowa and Wisconsin to visit family, I learned to truly appreciate the beauty of the Rocky Mountains and always enjoyed going home. As an adult, I’ve been fortunate to travel all over the world but my favorite places to visit often resemble Colorado. This trip is no exception.
Having started our travels in Ecuador and other countries in South America, there was no shortage of mountains and valleys and incredibly beautiful nature. Although I’m not usually a fan of big cities, Rio de Janeiro remains one of my favorites because of the natural beauty of the mountains rising above the coastline. After leaving Rio, we landed in the heart of French lowlands and something was missing – mountains!
After leaving the Loire Valley we headed South to the Provence Region of France amidst the foothills of the mighty Alps and my spirits started to rise. After that, we visited the coast of Italy and the villages of Cinque Terre which was also a mountainous region and I was a happy guy. Then “magic” happened! We drove from Italy to a small village named “Frutigen” in the heart of the Swiss Alps just outside of Interlaken, Switzerland. It was late and raining when we arrived but when I woke up the next morning, I looked outside and was, most definitely, in my happy place! We spent two weeks hiking, biking, and soaking up the beauty of the Alps under the shadow of the majestic glacier capped peaks of Monch, Eiger, and Jungfrau – definitely my “Heaven on Earth”.
While I could have easily remained in Switzerland for evermore, sadly, we had plans for onward travel to other parts of Europe and the world. Since leaving Switzerland about a month ago, we’ve visited Eastern & Western Germany, Belgium, Croatia, and the Netherlands – all places with interest and beauty but mostly lacking big mountains. The coast of Croatia was pretty amazing and there was a coastal range of mountains but they lacked the grandeur and elevation that I’ve come to appreciate.
Yesterday, we travelled just 2 hours from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Kotor, Montenegro and I’m, once again, feeling at home. The small town of Kotor (approx 15k residents) is on the coast of the Adriatic Sea and is flanked by mountains – all begging to be climbed! Looking forward to spending the next 3 weeks appreciating my three favorite views: coastline, mountains, and a sprinkling of city lights. As great as Colorado is, there is definitely something to be said for sea views!
