Farewell Europe! UPDATED (sorry)

We have loved every European country that we have visited. Here are some highlights of some of our most memoriable experiences, as well as some things that we would love to import back to the states.\r

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LONDON, ENGLAND\r

Highlights - seeing Lucian!, Indian food, Branston pickles, History of London Museum, Grossology exhibit\r

Imports - efficient underground system\r

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AUSTRIA\r

Highlights - Gruner Veltliner wine, luxurious bike paths, great farming experience with the Kramers\r

Imports - semmel bread buns, speck (REAL bacon)\r

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ITALY\r

Highlights - biking through Tuscany, sign language with the landlady in San Gimignano 'Mama Mia, Volterra', Patti's wedding, seeing Dawn, Sharyn, and Ed in Atrani's square, Naples scooter watching with Denver group including Mike\r

Imports - prosciutto de Parma, Naple's official pizza, all-day bars (coffee in the morning, alcohol in the evening)\r

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FRANCE\r

Highlights - excellent food! fixed-price menus, Paris, meeting up with relatives (my cousin Jodi and Jim's long-lost European relatives), Caen Peace Museum, Normandy Servas\r

Imports - french baguettes (why can't they be duplicated?), cheese, glorious cheese, huge food markets\r

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SWITZERLAND\r

Highlights - mountain views, efficiency!, cow bells, fall colors\r

Imports - funky internet bars, classy food courts (sit-down restaurant style with fast service and great food), assigned seats in movie theaters\r

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SPAIN\r

Highlights - Alehambra, nightlife\r

Imports - casual, cheap tapas bars, siestas and late nights, sangria\r

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NETHERLANDS\r

Highlights - Anne Frank House, canals, red light district\r

Imports - herring sandwiches, fries with choice of sauce\r

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BELGIUM\r

Highlights - Grand Place (Brussels), wandering Bruge\r

Imports - fantastic beer each in its own customized glass, cheese shops stuffed with fresh cheese wheels, meats and bread, beer pubs serving classical music, beer, and cheese, dessert waffles\r

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GERMANY\r

Highlights - then and now history (Jim), historical exhibits from my lifetime (Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall), funky bar in a bomed-out building\r

Imports - Berliner Weisse (beer with a shot of syrup), enormous internet cafe for pennies, so many brats\r

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POLAND\r

Highlights - GREAT hosts, Auschwitz concentration camp, late night conversations with Valdi, medieval Krakow, salt mine, hiking in Tymbark\r

Imports - perogis\r

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CZECH REPUBLIC\r

Highlights - meeting up with Urshi and Gunther, walking tour of Prague\r

Imports - cheap beer\r

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HUNGARY\r

Highlights - full moon thermal bath\r

Imports - goulash!\r

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CROATIA\r

Highlights - the attack of the landladies, oceanfront views\r

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TURKEY\r

Highlights - Ramadan festival, \r

Imports - tea houses, fast and furious backgammon games\r

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QUIRKS\r

- what is with the two-hour laundry cycle?\r

- why do the Austrians have a platform within the toilet rather than just the hole?\r

- 'suggested' Italian train departures\r

- church bells ringing at random times (1.23, 7.20 to 7.40)