Passport about to expire? European Road Trip it is!

by Noor Huda (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

A leap into the unknown United Kingdom

I turned my gaze up and up and up, craning my 7 year old neck to take in the sight of Hagia Sophia. That feeling of awe as I tried to comprehend it, has stuck with me ever since. So I booked Istanbul for my 27th birthday with my husband. This being the third time I tried to return to Istanbul since I was 7, the last 2 times failing due to unforseen circumstances. Almost feels like a curse. As much of a responsible and avid traveller I am, I didn't check that my passport had 59 days left as I tried to fly out to Turkey. The check-in staff were kind and patient, first counting 61 days and we got the a-okay. Then there was a recount, 100 USD fine, and deep discussions with managers to see what was possible since I didn't have the required 60 days validity. But the final decision after deep deliberation was that I wasn't allowed to fly to Turkey on this occasion. So at 4am, we returned to our car in Heathrow Airport parking, joking with the shuttle driver about how great our trip was and we're back already. As we drove home deflated, on a whim we steered away and pulled into Dover, catching the first ferry across to Calais. We arrived with no plans, fair bit out of pocket from cancelling Istanbul, and our only goal was to make the most of the next 6 days. Even if we end up sleeping in the car to get by. Also to throw two fingers up at this damn curse, I wanted to travel as many countries as I could. We made good time from Calais to my brother in Enschede, Netherlands. Seeing my nephews for a few hours, smothering them in hugs and kisses lifted our spirits. We then pulled out a map of Europe and got plotting. They were just as excited and giddy as us at this magical adventure we were on. Milan was new on our travel list, so was Switzerland. As Top Gear fiends, long drives on the passes through the Alps and the Autobahn were also a must. So we booked last minute hotels and ticked off 7 countries in 6 days, adding a new one to our list (Switzerland). We had breakfast at Lake Geneva and were attacked by swans, but being British you must never fight a swan! Explored the Furka and San Bernardino Pass through the Alps until they brought us to the idyllic town of Como. My heart swooned at every twist and turn along the route, feverish at the sight of bigger mountains and trying to take photos which didn't do justice to the views and physical experience. So we sat back and absorbed, enjoyed and explored. We found halal food in a restaurant plastered with pictures of generations of heritage in a restaurant in Syria. This was before the war and before the family and business was brought to Como, to tell share their story with travellers like us. With a friend in Lausanne we explored Switzerland, my favourite part was feeding my inner astrophysist and passing by CERN (the large hadron collider). We strolled through Milan, enjoying the local businesses offerings, tasting some of the best cakes for my birthday and laughing with new friends we made during our travels. Rested our heads in the Black Forest as we passed through Germany. Enjoying the bewitching and fairytale like forest, learning about all the folklore (especially werewolves) that came from Baden. Ending our trip in Paris, singing Paris holds the key to my heart (from Anastasia), very loudly and giggling as we did. We sat by the window in Shakespeare Bookshop (a must for us any time we're in Paris) and peered over to Notre Dame as we sipped our coffees. Little did we know, there was so much more than our initial plans which settled that yearning feeling in our stomaches. We will one day get to Istanbul and set our eyes on the Hagia Sophia. But in the meantime Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France was more adventure than we needed. Now to go renew my passport...