Europe
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Why Tent Camping With a Toddler Is Worth It
Camping with a baby or toddler isn’t my idea of a “relaxing” vacation, but it’s something that you’ll find is so worth it. It’s worth the long packing list, restless nights, and loads of laundry that inevitably follow. Our first real camping trip with our 12-month-old, Lillie Belle, was chock full of lessons and great memories. Looking back on our trip and talking about what went right and what we should improve on will help us in the future – and I’m here to share some of those insider tips for camping with a toddler. Why Tent Camping? Tent camping is one of our favorite ways to travel for a…
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Summertime in St. Moritz, Switzerland
Fresh mountain air, blue skies, snowy peaks, and a wide variety of outdoor summer sporting activities. You’ll find all of this and more in the lakeside town of St. Moritz, Switzerland. With only a four-day weekend, we wanted to stay somewhere within driving distance of home. We hadn’t explored very much of Switzerland, so we packed up our bags and headed northwest to escape the agonizing August heat of Italy. The first thing to note: Switzerland is expensive. The currency in Switzerland, CHF (Swiss Francs), is basically equivalent to 1 USD. However, everything is double to triple what it usually costs us. It’s not like staying in a campground in the…
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A Roundup of the Best Day Trips from Grafenwoehr, Germany
Travel to other countries took a halt when our first child was born and a pandemic broke out across Europe. We weren’t able to travel very far from our home, so we stuck to doing things outdoors and within a few hours’ drive. Learning about the beauty that surrounded us in Bavaria was one of the perks that came out of the lockdown during a global pandemic. In this post, you’ll find a roundup of my favorite day trips from Grafenwoehr, Germany. There will be a variety of places in this blog post – from hiking and castle ruins to zoos and lakes. My hope is that there is something…
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Füssen, Germany: Suspension Bridges and Fairytale Castles
As soon as I found out that one of Stephen’s friends was in Fussen, Germany, I was sold on a weekend trip. It was a win-win situation – a new country for my list and a chance for him and his buddy to reunite! When I think of Germany, I think of delicious German food, hiking, and towns with unique German architecture. And, it’s safe to say that all of my expectations were met for this weekend trip! Visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty has been on my bucket list for months now, thanks to the numerous Instagram posts in my feed. This fairytale-like castle…
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Best Things To Do in Regensburg, Germany
After being in the states for over 3 months visiting my friends and family, I was starting to miss schnitzel, bratwurst, and my favorite German cities. I couldn’t wait to end quarantine and start exploring again. We decided our first day trip would be to visit Regensburg, a city I fell in love with a few months after Lillie was born last summer (2020). Located on the banks of the Danube River in southeast Germany is the medieval town of Regensburg. It’s the perfect day trip from almost anywhere in Bavaria, especially Grafenwoehr. Taste the famous bratwurst sandwich at one of the most historical restaurants on the river. Then, stroll…
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Winter Travel in Transylvania, Romania
While Romania, and especially the region of Transylvania, is castle heavy and famous for inspiring the movie Dracula from Vlad the Impaler, it has so much more to offer. Some moments driving through the country were like taking a step back in time – like when we would pass horses and carriages carrying loads of wood for their fires, or when we would pass people moving furniture on small hand carts instead of in a car. From fortified churches to the architecture of castles and homes, winter travel in Transylvania, Romania is one of a kind and definitely worth a trip. Stephen and I barely scratched the surface of this…
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Baby’s First Trip: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
When the Army finally lifted the 50-kilometer travel limit for us, we couldn’t wait to take Lillie Belle on her first trip! We’re stuck in Germany until she receives a passport, so we decided to book a stay at Edelweiss Lodge & Resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The last time we traveled anywhere more than 30 minutes from our home in Grafenwoehr, Germany was in February when we visited Vicenza, Italy. Four months of staying at home during this crazy pandemic left us itching to travel again. We wanted to find somewhere convenient, yet beautiful since this would be our first travels with a baby; somewhere we could spend our time in…
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Alpbach, Austria: A Weekend of Hiking, Fine Dining & Relaxing in the Alps
Austria has always held a special place in my heart as it was the second country to which I traveled outside of the United States. Stephen and I visited Austria between Christmas and New Years Eve back in 2016, and I immediately fell in love with the snow-capped Alps and the towns dotting the countryside. We’ve continued to return to Austria time and time again on many road trips throughout 2018. In early September, I was planning to visit a nearby cow parade/cattle drive in the area. When a friend told me about Reith im Alpbachtal and showed me a few photos from previous years, I was hooked. I knew…
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Edinburgh, Scotland: Castles, Lochs & Highland Cows
Arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland is like taking a step back in time. Everything from the architecture, the homes and castles, to the red telephone booths and old-timey taxis. The miles and miles of lowlands are just as beautiful as the miles of city streets of downtown Edinburgh. It’s a castle lover’s dream and a shopper’s paradise. You’ll find something for everyone to do here. I fell head over heels in love with Scotland – a place like I had never seen before. Even the downpouring rain couldn’t stop the liveliness that I felt during my weekend visiting this country. Back in the summer of 2017, I took my students abroad…
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Balkans Road Trip Part 2: Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
The first four days of our Balkan countries road trip were mostly spent in Croatia, which wasn’t necessarily by choice, but instead due to the fact that we were denied border entry so many times. Luckily, this gave us more time to fall in love with the country, the people, the food, the sea, and everything else in Croatia. If you haven’t read the first post from our Balkan countries road trip, head on over there now by clicking here and then you can return for the second leg and pick up reading below! This part of our road trip went by way too fast as we had a lot of…
