Where We Were

Countries visited: 11, 4 new in bold – Ireland, Romania, Spain, England, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece

Cities visited (overnight): 20

Number of hotels: 12

Number of hotel nights: 19

Number of apartments: 13

Number of apartment nights: 99

Total beds slept in: 25

Total lodging budget: $3,780

Total lodging actual: $3,962

How We Got There and What We Did

Number of bus trips (intercity): 2

Number of train trips (intercity): 6

Number of flights: 7 purchases with 8 separate flights

Number of rental cars: 5

Total transit budget: $4,350

Total transit actual: $4,227

Average weekly food/entertainment budget: $286

Average weekly food/entertainment actual: $267

Totals

Total budget: $13,000

Total actual: $12,727

Number of weeks over budget: 5

Number of weeks under budget: 12

Average weekly total budget/actual (including transit week/transatlantic flight): $765/$749

Least expensive week: Week 12, October 15-21 in Sarajevo, $298, new record!

Most expensive week: Week 1, July 29-August 4 in Ireland, $1,871, even with only counting half the airfare (with the other half in Week 17 for the return flight) and putting July 29 and 30 expenses on the prior week’s home budget since we didn’t take off until until July 31, we still spent the most in these 5 days in Ireland 

The Best Parts

Best experiences (chronologically):

• awesome drives around Ireland, especially Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Moher
• daily 4+ mile hikes in Brasov throughout August
• seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London
• touring with Chad’s folks, especially Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Budapest
• drinks overlooking the Stari Most bridge in Mostar, with the prayer call in the background
• attending the ballet in Sarajevo
• the monasteries of Meteora, and the hikes all around them
• all the Greek ruins

Best meals:

The French Table (Limerick), Belgrave Persian Restaurant (London), Galician restaurant (Santiago de Compostela), TimaIrma (Mostar), breakfast at Revolucija 1764 (Sarajevo, and all our breakfasts there), Pidalio Tavern (Nafplio), The Landmark (Dublin)