10 April 2002 · 3 min read
Europa Challenge
10 Countries in 10 Days
In March 2002, my good friend Ralph Stephens and I organised what we optimistically called the Europa Challenge.
The idea was simple enough: drive through 10 countries in 10 days in Ralph’s trusty 1978 MG BGT, with the tenth country — Liechtenstein — reached on or before day ten. To make that happen, we’d need to average somewhere between 200 and 250 miles a day.
The timing wasn’t accidental. We were both students, doing this over the Easter break, and arriving back late simply wasn’t an option — the summer term waits for no one.
The trip was also undertaken to raise funds for The Marine Society (Registered Charity No. 313013, England & Wales), which gave us a slightly better answer than “because it seemed like a good idea at the time”.
Setting Off
We set off from Southampton to Dover, crossed to Calais by ferry, and the challenge officially began the moment we arrived in France. From there, we covered roughly 2,500 miles, taking in some of the most scenic, and occasionally demanding, roads Europe has to offer.
Over the course of the journey, we passed through:
- France
- Belgium
- Holland
- Luxembourg
- Germany
- Slovenia
- Italy
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- England
The Route (and the Reality)
From Calais, we headed to Waterloo, then on to Brussels, before turning east through Maastricht in the Netherlands. From there, we dropped south via Liège and Bastogne into Luxembourg.
Leaving Luxembourg, we headed east until we picked up the Mosel River, following it to where it meets the Rhine at Koblenz. We then tracked the Rhine north to Mainz, before turning south toward Frankfurt and on to Würzburg.
Würzburg marked the start of the Romantic Road (Romantische Strasse), famous for its scenery and storybook villages, which we followed south to Füssen. From there, we crossed into Austria, ran alongside the Plansee, then looped back into Germany at Oberammergau, home of the Passion Play. We continued through Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald before heading south again to Innsbruck.
From Innsbruck, we crossed into Italy via the Brenner Pass, followed the scenic routes south, then entered Slovenia southeast of Udine, continuing to Ljubljana. After a night there, we pushed on to Venice. Following a whistle-stop tour, we headed northwest to Trento, then through national parks into Liechtenstein, finally ticking off country number ten.
From there, we carried on north to Lake Constance, followed its shoreline to Schaffhausen, then pushed north through the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) — home of cuckoo clocks and winding roads — before reaching Strasbourg. The final leg took us through Épernay, tracing parts of the WWI battlefields, before finishing back in Calais.
What Stuck With Me
The trip was a success and a great deal of fun, but not for the reasons we expected.
Visiting Dachau concentration camp was my first experience of a place like that, and it was deeply sobering. Ljubljana surprised us with how lively and welcoming it was, and Venice was every bit as beautiful as you’d expect, even on a tight timetable.
One moment that still stands out was driving through the Alps late at night, in a blizzard, trying to find somewhere to stay, hoping the 24-year-old MG wasn’t about to let us down and quietly wondering whether we’d end up sleeping in the car.
We’d planned to visit the Cresta Run, but it wasn’t operating on the day we arrived, so we settled for a day’s skiing instead.
Most importantly, we made it back just in time for the start of the summer term. Tired, slightly battered, but very glad we’d done it.
Looking back, it wasn’t really about the countries or the mileage. It was about seeing what was possible with a vague plan, an old car, and just enough time pressure to stop you from overthinking it.
