Europe Superlatives

As we were driving for one of the last times in Europe, we made a list of the best and worst things in Europe. Some of these have been discussed already in blog posts, some haven't. Some choices were unanimous, some were debatable. Here goes:

Best rental car: Germany (Volvo)
Worst rental car: UK (Skoda)
Commentary: All five of our rental cars were fine, but the Volvo was the roomiest and had the nicest luxury features. The high-tech cruise control was amazing. The Skoda didn't necessarily lose points for being the only steering-wheel-on-right-side car, but that didn't help. Plus, we got that pesky flat tire. And it was gasoline instead of diesel. We originally got a Mercedes in London but had to exchange it for the Skoda because the cigarette lighter (i.e. gps charger) didn't work. Would we have a different "worst" if the Mercedes had come through? We'll never know.

Best radio stations: UK (BBC)
Worst radio stations: Denmark
Commentary: The BBC is fantastic. The music selections were varied and pleasant. The announcers conducted interviews with artists and had interesting conversations with each other (unlike the banal chit-chat American radio personalities often resort to), there was a full-Gaelic station in Scotland, and one station broadcast the Glastonbury music festival live. BBC introduced us to our song of the summer: George Ezra's Budapest. Denmark radio, on the other hand, mostly played American pop. And not even good American pop. It was like Kiss 105 with Danish-speaking DJs. No thanks. I did hear a few Danish songs that I really loved, though, so it wasn't all bad. These made it into my photo slideshow.

Best Landscape: Switzerland
Worst landscape: England
Commentary: In all fairness, England has beautiful landscapes. We just didn't happen to drive through them (though arriving in Glossop was very pretty). The freeway from London to Manchester was about as unattractive a drive as you can get. Switzerland was gorgeous, especially the closer you get to the Alps. The Lenk area (Lenk, Gstaad, Lauenensee) holds the record for the most beautiful place we visited all summer.

Best traffic: Germany (autobahn)
Worst traffic: UK
Commentary: The autobahn is a beautiful thing. Just knowing that you don't have to worry about a speeding ticket makes driving much more pleasant. And it wasn't as nerve-wracking as some had told us. Just stay out of the way of the Audis doing 150mph and you're golden. The UK gets the down-vote because driving on the left side of the road makes simple traffic navigation require too much thought.

Best public transport: London's Tube
Worst public transport: tie: Freiburg, Germany and Copenhagen metro
Commentary: The Tube. Easy to use. Relatively cheap. Fast. Efficient. Exactly what public transport should be. We saw so much of the things on our London list only because of the Tube. I only had one hiccup, and that was getting on the wrong train during rush hour. I burned up an hour getting back to where I needed to be. But it was a memorable experience! The bus system in Freiburg, where I went by myself to get the rental car, was not very user-friendly. No clear route maps, unclear pickup spots, driver didn't speak English. I was lucky to get off at the right place and find the car rental. The Copenhagen metro from the university area to the airport wasn't very intuitive either. I almost got on the wrong train there too.

Best freeway rest stops: Denmark
Worst freeway exits: Denmark
Danish rest stops were gorgeous. Well-manicured foliage, a picnic table for every parking spot, clean bathrooms. The freeway exits, though did not offer any amenities that travelers in the US expect. Few gas stations, and fewer places to eat. Almost every exit looked like an industrial park.

Best city driving: Frankfurt
Worst city driving: Hamburg
Commentary: Driving through Hamburg without a GPS during rush hour, using printed Google maps directions, was hellacious. Some streets change names at intersections, so it's easy to think you're on the right path when you're not. Driving through Copenhagen without a GPS was also tricky. Hard to see street signs, which are often mounted to the sides of buildings. Frankfurt seemed well laid out, with wide streets. And it was easy enough to make u-turns if a street was missed.

Best airport: Edinburgh
Worst airport: Gatwick
Everyone is pleasant at EDI, even the normally-cranky immigration officers. Gatwick feels old and rundown. The lady at immigration made a snide comment about Scotland's independence referendum.

Hottest Day: July 28, Hamburg/Copenhagen
Coldest Day: North Denmark, Hals

Best-priced groceries: Germany
Worst-priced groceries: Switzerland
After the high prices of Switzerland, shopping at Aldi in Germany was such a relief. "Get anything you want!"

Best Swiss tortillas: Denner
Worst Swiss tortillas: Coop

Best Playground: Scotland, Duff House
Worst playground: US

Best Currency exchange: Swiss Francs
Worst: Danish Kroner

Best Wi-fi was in Germany

Best free entertainment: Hamburg/Bielefeld

Worst: Frankfurt

Best Library: Hals

Memorable Wildlife: Hedgehog in Denmark

Best Power Outlet Aesthetics: Switzerland
Worst: UK

Best Engineering Innovation: Meile Oven in Frankfurt

Best Blinds: Germany

Best Parking: Scotland
Worst parking: Switzerland

Easiest Car Rental: Copenhagen
Most difficult car rental: Freiburg

Nicest bus drivers: Denmark
Commentary: we rode buses in all five countries we visited, and I can't say that any of the drivers were mean or unfriendly. But I noticed that the Copenhagen bus drivers were very chill and barely gave my bus pass a glance. The Freiburg bus driver was nice too but didn't

Best late night grocery shopping: UK
Commentary: grocery stores tend to close early in Denmark and Switzerland. The Tescos in the UK stay open all night, which came in handy a few times.