Although we were ostensibly living because of Dan’s job, we also took ample opportunity to see the continent. This section contains a variety of stories about our various excursions.
The Martin Family, in its entirety lived in The Netherlands for five years. (Stories about this time are available in Dan’s Book, Stumbling Through the Tulips; excerpts are available here. Note: Mitra, the oldest of The Martin Family offspring notes that she was in college during the last year of our stay in Holland - thus it is not correct to state that the family ‘in its entirety’ lived in The Netherlands for five years. (“Point taken, Mitra, Love, Dad”)
The Core Family Unit (Dan and Nazy) lived in Switzerland for an additional 11 years - with frequent visits from the offspring. Stories about our time in Switzerland will be recounted in a forthcoming opus; excerpts are available here.
In the first move to Europe, we (mainly) visited the ‘traditional sights’. We were in Berlin shortly after The Wall came down. We went to Italy, France, Austria, Spain, Grεεce, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, England and (even) Luxembourg. In the second assignment, we went further afield: Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Russia, Sicily and Slovenia (for example). These stories provide a sample of our experiences.
For our 2009 Anniversary, Nazy and I chose Italy. (Okay, Nazy chose Italy.) We drove to Piermont, Cinque Terre and Portofino. The trip, unbeknownst to Dan at the inception, involved a lot of hiking and climbing. The sea was beautiful and the wine delightful. Read about it in Hot, Humid and Steep. Photos available here.
Easter(n) Europe Easter recounts our visit to Bratislava, Slovakia for Easter, 2011. Darius told us that it was a sleepy city that was ‘very cheap’. He was half-right. (We’re not sure about the ‘cheap’ since all the stores were closed on Easter weekend. A tropical fish catastrophe marked the end of the trip.
