written: 12/06/2016

A year and a half ago, my best friend and I traveled around Europe for 3 weeks. That is very short amount of time, in comparison to other travelers, but it suited us perfectly for that time in our lives. We had just graduated from college and had been dreaming of a backpacking trip for quite some time. We are kinda last second planners. We dream it up and mentally prepare for a while, but take forever with the logistics. We booked our tickets about a month or so before we headed out to the great continent of Europe. I had some graduation money, worked a lot at Starbucks and did random jobs (babysitting, drove kids to SAT practice (lol), worked a couple of weddings and helped move someone out) to get me to Europe, financially. If money is an issue, you can find ways to help you reach this dream. It was hard and a bit stressful, but God provided. I am going to write a general overview and random information of our time in Europe and later will write more on helpful hints of traveling.

We flew into Milan, Italy and then were rapid fire since then. We took a train to Interlaken, Switzerland and while there we hiked around Lauterbrunnen, Murren and Gimmelwald.(Hangliding in Interlaken) This is Bernie and he’s awesome.

We then took a train to Zurich, Switzerland to catch our bus to Munich, Germany.(Having a beer in Munich)

From there, we took another train to Salzburg, Austria, then to the small town of Hallstatt, Austria by bus, train and ferry and then finally to Innsbruck, Austria by train. Fraulein Maria bike tour in Salzburg!! You HAVE to do this. Such a great way to see the city! Also Hallstatt.— Sitting by the fresh lake in Hallstatt. You have to take a ferry to get there. Hallstatt is the cutest town!!

Trying on a traditional dress in Austria!(Bungee jumping in Innsbruck off Europabrucke) Best decision of my life.

After this, we took a night train to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb, and caught a bus from there to Plitvice National Park.

We were here for a bit and took another bus to the coastal town of Zadar, Croatia. (Adriatic Sea) beautiful. Also, super cute town and killer gelato.

From here we took an overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy. We caught a train from here to the Amalfi Coast and took a bus to Positano, Italy, which was a windy road there. It was quite the experience driving here! We loved it. (Paddle boarding in Positano!)

(Positano is a must!)

From here we took a bus to Sorrento and jumped on a ferry to Capri and stayed here for a night and then we took another ferry to Naples to catch a train. (Lifegiving watermelon juice in Capri)

We then went to Rome and from here, we took a train back to Ancona to spend time with a friend and then took another train to Florence.

(Roma pasta coma)

(Being classic eating bread, cheese and vino!)(Visting Riccardo in Ancona!)

After Florence, we took a train to Cinque Terre, Italy. There is a train that goes between all the little cities of Cinque Terre.

Our last place was back to Milan. We took a train here and spent our last night in Milan and then flew back to the States.

As you can see, we covered a lot of the map in a short amount of time. Although, it was short amount of time, we still feel like we were able to embrace each place we went to. We were just so excited! We were able to spend good, quality rest/ time with the Lord on our train rides. We were able to write, read and reflect on all the things we had seen and experienced. Our train rides were such a gift.

We felt very safe. We were smart and attentive when we were out, but we never felt threatened or not safe. We laughed a lot. Life is a musical and that carried over to our Europe trip. We came up with theme songs/ jingles. You just have to live. Go see places, love people you encounter, share your stories, eat so much gelato, embrace the sunsets, be prepared to walk a lot, expresso and cafes are life, do adventurous things (we bungee- jumped and hang-glided), embrace culture things (beer in Germany, try on a tradition dress in Austria, have vino and pasta in Italy, etc.), take some photos AND videos. Everyone is different and likes to do different things. We love nature, creation, food, coffee, adventures, etc. Therefore, a lot of our adventures were revolved around these things. We talked to some people we knew about places they liked. It is always nice to hear good places to go by word of mouth. We also used Pinterest and the internet to educate ourselves more. Mostly, we had general ideas of what we wanted to do and had a few things planned, but we mainly explored/ looked up some things the night before we would go somewhere. It is all about the cultural experience. Just live and experience.

This may be a bit vague and not very directive, but I just wanted to overview our trip. It was magical and an experience of a lifetime. Use references and advice as a guide, but go with an open mind and heart. More specifics on how we booked/ planned things is to come. If you have any questions: comment on here, email me or DM on instagram. Follow @the_travel_realities for some casual laughs about my travels.

Viva Europa 2015

Peru