I am currently in Germany and I must say I miss Switzerland. Interlaken was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. This cute mountain town was a much-needed break in our journey; although there were tourists we didn’t see them. We stayed at the Alp Lodge hostel in Interlaken, which has been one of my favorites to date. Our stay included a free breakfast; every morning I would eat breakfast out on the balcony with one of the best views I have ever seen. I might sound repetitive, but honestly the views were unreal! On the first day we took a boat ride on Lake Thun; which happened to be free with our Eurorail pass. This two and a half hour cruise gave us spectacular views of not only the lake, but the gorgeous mountains around us. On the second day we took a 20 minute train ride to see the Trummelbach falls, which were located inside of a mountain. There was an admissions fee, but it was worth every penny. The falls were phenomenal! I can’t even describe the beauty of Switzerland and pictures don’t do it justice at all. On the third day, we took a very leisurely hike in Interlaken. Although our stay in Switzerland wasn’t filled with anything very glamorous, it was one of my favorite countries. I must say I fell in love with the quiet mountain life and the breathtaking views that were everywhere you looked.
Geneva, Switzerland
Unfortunately, since we were unable to get on our original train to Geneva, we only had a day and a half in this city. We arrived on a Sunday and everything was closed, so we took that opportunity to just relax by the lake. Lake Geneva is absolutely stunning, the water is crystal clear and contains several different shades of blues and greens. There was a beach/grassy area near the lake where we spent practically all day just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. It was a much needed brake during our journey……after all there are only so many old buildings one can look at before they all start to blur together.
Tuscany
Florence, Italy was on of my favorite cities so far, it was just as nice as Venice, but in a different way. We stayed at David’s Inn hostel, which was right in the center of the city. It was a very nice hostel with recently updated furnishings and decorations. The first night we meet a guy who told us about this great spot with live music that overlooks the whole city and gives a great view of the sunset; we ended up going to this spot every night, it was absolutely gorgeous. The views were fantastic! We mainly just wondered around and explored the city, but one day we did a day excursion. We did a wine tour through Tuscany. This was probably my favorite part of the backpacking trip so far. We book the grape escape wine tour at a really good price online before we left. The tour took us to a wine tasting school first where we tasted not only wine, but also olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We learned a little bit about paring with different foods and the proper way to taste the wine. We then went to a local winery where we were taken on a tour of the production of wine. After the tour we were treated to a traditional Tuscan style lunch over looking the beautiful Tuscan countryside; we also got more wine and cheese. The tour continued with a trip to the little town of San Gimignano, where I ate the best gelato I have ever had! The little town was what I pictured an Italian town to look like. I am so glad we did this tour because it gave us the chance to explore a side of Italy that we wouldn’t have had the chance to see without renting a car.
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy was not what I expected. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the famous city. It was dirty and noisy to say the least. We stayed at Hostel Downtown near the train station, which wasn’t the nicest or the worst hostel. Seeing the sights like the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain were great, but the large number of crowds and people trying to sell you stuff made me uncomfortable. I am glad we went, because now I can say I have been to these famous places, but I don’t have any desire to revisit Rome in the future. However the gelato was amazing!
Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy is by far the most beautiful city I have ever been to. I don’t know whether it was the winding alleyways or the narrow canals, or perhaps the food, but it is a stunning city. For the last two days we have just been exploring this wonderful city. We got lost, and that was the plan…..Well at first it was a little difficult to find our hostel, because gps apparently doesn’t work on this island, but that was part of the magic of this city. The map the hostel gave us wasn’t much help either, because the streets weren’t labeled, but I am glad they weren’t. We wondered all around the island and somehow always ended back up in the same spot. No matter how far we traveled we always seemed to find our way back to the main square without even meaning to. The food was fabulous as well. The gelato was probably the best I have ever had, I couldn’t tell you the name of the place, but the flavor I tried was Nutella, which is impossible to mess up by itself anyway. Despite it being rainy today, the streets were just as beautiful to explore non the less. I can honestly say that I am in love with this city and can’t wait to go back one day.
Vienna, Austria
After visiting the beautiful city of Prague we took an overnight train to Vienna, Austria. This was defiantly a change of pace for us. The train ride was not pleasant at all, none of us got very much sleep, but we arrived safely none the less. We arrived in Vienna very early in the morning. Since we were not able to check into our hostel until later that afternoon, we got to explore the city without any tourists around. This was an excellent chance to see the city in a different light, without any other tourists around, because they sure did show up that afternoon. During the first day we just wondered around touring the city as we went. On the second day we went to the Schonbrunn Palace, which was my favorite spot in Vienna. The gardens at the Palace were free so we spent several hours just exploring them and soaking up the sun shine. We were able to have an authentic Austrian meal as well that afternoon at a place our hostel recommended; it was delicious! I must say our adventures are becoming centered around food a little bit 😉
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague was a gorgeous city. We only spent one night in this beautiful city. We did all of the touristy stuff of course, like the Charles bridge and the palace, but my favorite part was just strolling along the side streets. We wondered lots of side streets, which were so cute. The red roofs which Prague is known for aren’t done justice by the pictures. It is something that can’t be captured with a photo, even though I took a billion photos. I have a felling that all of my travels will not be done justice by photos, but I will try my best to take some that are worthy of these gorgeous cities I will be visiting.
Wroclaw, Poland Day 2!
So I wana talk about food! Food here is so cheep. For lunch we shared 3 different dishes, two different types of Perogies and potato pancakes. It was delicious and the best part was that it only costed about $5 a person…so cheap. If only every city we are planning on visiting will be this cheap 😦
Day 1 Wroclaw, Poland
So after leaving London at 4am in the morning to catch a flight to Wroclaw, Poland, I can officially say that my 26 day journey around Europe has begun. I am so excited to be in Poland, because not only is it a unique country to visit, but it is where my family is from. My great grandparents are from Poland and my grandfather always talks about his Polish roots. He is always talking about Polish food and Polish vocabulary. I can speak very little Polish because of him, but it was not nearly enough to communicate with the native speakers here. After we landed in Poland we took a taxi to our hostel. The taxi ride was a little bit unusual to say the least. The scenery on the way to our hostel was very sketchy and it had me worried at first. When we arrived at our hostel it looked even sketchier. The front and the main stair well was very dirty and run down looking. But when we got to our hostel, which is located on the second floor, it looked so nice! The hostel looks clean and modern. There is a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and the beds are clean with fresh sheets and amazing mattresses. In addition to that the people who work at the hostel were very friendly and very helpful. After we checked in to the hostel we went exploring! We first visited the main square in Wroclaw, the market square. It was so pretty with colorful buildings and unique architecture. We walked around for quite a while, Wroclaw has tons of bridges and very scenic rivers, which made it nice just to wonder around. We also visited the National museum because there is free admission on Saturdays! Free is my favorite word lol. For dinner we had some traditional Polish food. We went to the grocery store and bought rolls, perogies, and kielbasa. I cooked it up for us back at the hostel. We each had a huge plate full of food and it only costed up $1.60 a piece! That is one thing I love about it here……it is cheep! Tomorrow is yet another day to explore this fascinating city…..I can’t wait to see what this trip has in store for us!
Backpacking Across Europe!
After months of planning my traveling companions and I departed at 4 am for a 26 day journey across Europe. I have never done anything like this in my life, but I am excited and ready to enjoy every second of it. Over the next 26 days we will be traveling to 8 different countries and visiting 11 different cities along the way. I will be trying my best to post in every city to keep you updated on where we are and what we are doing. A train pass, camera and a back pack is all I have to my name for the next month, but it will be a unique experience that I know I will never forget. Packing was hard, but I brought as little as possible. I have never done this before so I don’t know if I am doing it right, but thats part of the journey, the ups and the downs are all part of the experience and I am excited to get started. I am sure it will be exhausting and thrilling, but I also know I will love every second of it!
southerner2londoner 