Editor’s note: The following is a shortened story from the September/October edition of Austin Living Magazine. You can pick up the latest edition at the Austin Daily Herald office and at area convenience stores.

Photos courtesy of the Conradt family

Dan Conradt felt humbled by the Mona Lisa.

He had seen her before, more than a decade ago at the Louvre in Paris, but this time was special. Dan, his wife, Carla, and son, Steven, were gazing at one of the most influential pieces of artwork in all of history. The picture of a mysterious woman, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci centuries before.

This was the painting that inspired so many artists. This was the painting stolen in the 1910s by a brazen, if not too bright, thief. This was the painting you can see in thousands of movies, stories, pop culture quizzes and more. Of the millions of copies out there, this was the original Mona Liza.

“I was just left in awe of it,” Dan said.

Awe may be the best way to describe the Conradt’s month-long vacation to Europe this summer. With six countries and 30 days, the Conradts found a breathtaking adventure among friends and acquaintances this June and July.

“It’s going to be really hard to top this one,” Carla said with a laugh.

The Conradts usually like to go on a vacation each year, but this summer was a bit different. Carla had always wanted to go back to Spain, where she had lived and worked in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as an English teacher, to visit with the people who took her in during her time there.

Dan likes to joke Carla booked the vacation more than a decade ago, but they didn’t seriously consider a longterm European vacation until earlier this year.

“Steven isn’t quite old enough to drive and have high school commitments, and so we figured it was the perfect time,” Dan said.

Karla booked the grand European vacation on her own — she likes to say Priceline.com was friend — where she found lodging and sights to see across Spain, France, Austria, Switzerland, Prague and even Germany.

The Conradts left in mid-July for Spain, where they visited with several friends Carla hadn’t seen in more than two decades. In one memorable visit near Bilbao, Spain, the Conradts shopped in a bodega literally carved into the side of a hill — they traveled through caves and ate lunch underground.

In another amazing stop, the Conradts were invited by the daughter of a widow Carla had roomed with to dine at a tennis club in Oviedo, Spain. The widow’s daughter, by then a grandmother, doted on the Conradts and invited her extended family to dine with their American visitors during a Father’s Day celebration.

“To me, that was the most touching thing they could have done,” Carla said. “It was just so sweet for them to all come together so we could meet them. It was just so nice.”

Steven, a passionate photographer, found plenty of sights to snap pictures, but none quite like the gorgeous red Porsche he rode in during their visit to Oviedo.

Carla’s friend noticed Steven gawking at the Porsche in the parking garage near their home, and revealed it was her son-in-law’s company car. Though Steven didn’t know it, Carla’s friend arranged for her daughter to pick Steven up from a hike up a mountain so he could ride back home in style.

“It’s probably the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen,” he said with a smile.

The Conradts had many similar memorable moments throughout their time in Europe. In Switzerland, Dan was shocked at how expensive a value meal at McDonald’s was — about $16 for a burger and fries. Dan went hungry that night out of principle while Carla and Steven ponied up the dough, too tired after a long day of exciting sights.

The Conradts even took a day trip into Germany at one point, just for Dan’s sake.

“I’m German, and I always wanted to say I was in Germany, just because,” he said.

Trips down the Danube River, a visit to the Guggenheim Museum in Spain, the gorgeous sights of Prague and more were all part of the schedule.

It was, in short, an indescribably fun trip.

“I don’t really have the basis to appreciate a lot of it,” Steven said. “Like, my mom and dad probably could appreciate a lot more of it because they knew about some of these things, but I haven’t learned about them yet.”

Though the Conradts came back in mid-July, they still treasured their time in Europe.

Of course, there’s always next year’s trip.

“You know what they say,” Dan said with a laugh. “The best time to plan a vacation is right when you’ve come back from vacation.”

Austin Living Magazine • September-October 2015