My friend Wendy and I had talked about how fun it would be to do a trip together but the most recent time we had discussed it was right around the time Jack had accepted his new job with SW in Florida, so knowing there would be a move but not knowing all the details I just wasn't able to commit. Well, fast forward a year and the next thing I know I'm on a plane to Munich with Wendy for a two week Eastern European vacation. She had gone ahead a year ago and booked her and her husband on this trip but as it turned out Greg couldn't get away so she called me, knowing our house had been delayed and wondering if there was a chance I'd go. The stars aligned perfectly as I had just booked one way tickets to Utah for the family for the month of July and had parents who were eager and willing to watch the kids. So away we went!
Warning: Picture overload! Remember, this was a two week vacation...
We met up in Atlanta and away we went on our journey to Munich. It was a long day of travel, next to no sleep, and what felt like eating every two hours...
After a longer than expected cab ride and little rest under our belt we made it to our hotel, checked in and with a whole day ahead of us spent our first day at Dachau Concentration camp in Munich. It's a good thing I was with Wendy as I don't think Jack would ever have agreed to visit a concentration camp being the Holocaust museum in DC was almost too much to bear for him and the kids but how grateful I was for the opportunity to go here and witness first hand what life was like during this tragic time in Germany. There are really no words.
On our next day we decided to do the double decker bus tour of Munich. This was definitely going to be the best way to see a lot in a small amount of time. And boy did we... We started at Nymphenburg Palace where we were absolutely blown away by not only the grounds and palace itself but also the impressive stagecoach and sleigh display. The palace served as a summer house to many of the Bavarian rulers and what a retreat it was not to mention all the smaller residences that were sprinkled around the expansive grounds. After spending quite a bit of time there we jumped back on the bus and headed over to the BMW museum which was quite impressive. After some time there, we went to the English Garden which felt like New York's Central Park but instead of a reservoir there was a river than ran through it...and in addition to finding a section where locals would surf, yes surf, we had the joy of witnessing old nude men soaking up the sun along the shoreline...joy! Besides the Olympic park, heaven knows all the other places that were pointed out to us along the way but these were the highlights for us!
After another fabulous day in Munich it was time to meet up with our tour for the start of our two week adventure! Admittedly, aside from the tour Jack and I did to Israel years ago with my family, I've never been on a tour so traveling with a bunch of strangers was new territory for me. We traveled with Expat Explore and our tour was called Croatian and Eastern Delights which I was really excited about. Our first day started in Germany with a stop in Austria and a resting point in Slovenia! It was fabulous!
Beautiful Salzburg Austria, birthplace of Mozart and setting for sound of music. Here we explored the quaint town, and took the tram up to the Hohensalzburg Castle on the city hilltop for fabulous views.
The scenery on this first day was beautiful. So green and mountainous with castles perched on hilltops along the way. Next it was on to Lake Bled located in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. Luckily we caught it just before the rain arrived!
Our resting spot for this first night of the tour was in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. Here we enjoyed a tour of the city and found so many cute shops including this darling dog bakery. There are three main things though I will remember about this place. First was the rain storm we walked into even though the skies were crystal blue. After being baffled for a couple minutes we realized when we looked above that there were cables that would spray rain drops every so often. haha! Then there was the fresh milk stand where you could fill up a milk jug for a fraction of what a small coke would cost you, and finally we cannot forget the dreadful walk back to our hotel when Wendy insisted that rather than meeting up with the group to take a bus home, we instead walk it back. What should have been a half hour leisurely walk ended up turning into an hour sprint through a torrential rain storm in the dark. Finally after some reluctance we agreed to jump in a cab after the driver pled with us to get in and that he'd get us back to our hotel. Thankfully we made it...even if my shoes have never been the same since and Wendy's dress got destroyed... haha!
The next morning we were off to Croatia and I was super excited about this! It had been on my bucket list. Specifically we were heading to Croatia's largest national park where we'd get to spend the day exploring the Plitvice Lakes area. It was spectacular scenery. I'm not going to lie though, I was a bit horrified when after waiting ten minutes in a long line to use the restroom before starting our hike I was greeted by this toilet!!! I was certain I was in the women's restroom but admittedly it took me a minute or two to figure out exactly how I was supposed to use this toilet.
After surviving that experience we spent the day hiking for hours around these gorgeous emerald lagoons and waterfalls. Rowena and her son Michael from New Zealand were a couple of our favorites from our tour who joined us for much of the day. Sadly these photos don't do this place justice. Our day ended at a hotel in the resort town of Split located on the coast of Croatia.
I love a hotel room with a view and how nice it was to wake up to a beautiful view of the water from our room that next morning. Split is the second largest city in Croatia and they sure are doing their best to cater to the many tourists and cruise ships that now port here. It really is amazing how old Europe is in relationship to America. From ancient ruins to old palaces, it could all be found here. You could easily get lost in amongst all the narrow walkways. After a guided tour around the ancient part of the city we were off on our own to explore and I must admit that I really loved the scene along the waterfront where you could find all sorts of trendy restaurants and quaint shops. And boy do they take cleanliness to another level with a street vacuum. Yes, they actually had someone vacuuming the streets and walkways while we were there...
After a great time in Split we made our way down the Adriatic coastline to Dubrovnik. Although I've never been to Greece or southern Italy, I had to imagine this had a similar vibe. The whole way down I couldn't stop staring out the window...
Once we arrived in Dubrovnik we headed to the gates of the old town. It truly felt like we were on a movie set. The walls that surround the city date back to the 16th century yet once you are inside the walls you find yourself amongst all sorts of shops and restaurants, cathedrals, and residences (based on the laundry hanging outside). We decided to pay the fee to walk around the top of the city wall (about a mile in length) that separates the old town from the new and it was so worth it.
Arriving at the gate entrance to the old town:
Inside the walls:
Walking the upper wall:
After circling the city from above it was time to enjoy what would be my most favorite meal of the trip. When our waiter first brought out my fish I had ordered I was a bit worried seeing the head still attached but within a couple minutes he had totally deboned it and presented me with the best fish dinner I've had. Someone had told us you have to eat fish when in Dubrovnik and I'm sure glad I did!
Another fabulous day comes to a close...
After a fabulous time in Dubrovnik we had the option to do another day there or take an excursion to Montenegro. We decided to see Montenegro. Looking back on it, this was probably one of the few days that we may have done differently and instead stayed in Dubrovnik, perhaps doing a boat excursion or beach day. Once you've seen a few old cities, they all start to look similar. Having said that we still had a great time and can check off another country from the list. The view of Dubrovnik as we were heading out of town was also quite impressive.
Had to crack up over this bench right outside the walls to the old city of Kotor. We also found it funny that this Hard Rock store had just opened up. There was no cafe, just the store.
We continued south to Budva for lunch and another walking tour. This was definitely a popular beach place but not one we planned to spend time on. Had we had more time though I would have loved to take a boat out to Sveti Nikola Island. It looked like a cool spot!
The next morning we were up and at it heading to Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia but not before a great stop in Mostar. It's hard to believe that just twenty five years ago this whole area was a war torn place. Sadly we could still see reminders alongside buildings. As we crossed the bridge over to the main street we found a group of guys in speedos with a hat held out and people dropping change in it. We figured out that once they received a certain amount of money one of them would jump off the bridge. Surely a few moments after we arrived we could see a guy standing on the bridge ledge getting ready to jump. I guess people will jump off a bridge for money... We really loved our time here.
Next we were on our way to Sarajevo and I have to admit, this was probably my least favorite stop. It's a place I'm so glad I can say I've seen but not one I'd likely return to. It didn't feel nearly as clean as the other places we'd seen and had a dark feel to me. So sad to think of all the money that had been spent to get this place prepared for the Olympics only to have it all destroyed a short time after hosting. There were bombed out buildings still visible in addition to what are now called Sarajevo roses that are scars on concrete sidewalks where mortars landed and exploded. The scars were later filled with a red paint symbolic of lives lost in that one spot.
The next day we were heading to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Throughout the whole trip the landscape varied so much. On this day the roads we were traveling on were mountainous and windy. First impressions of Belgrade was that it was a nice city that felt a bit more cosmopolitan than Sarajevo did yet had a cool fortress that offered nice views overlooking the city and Danube River. Unfortunately my fish dinner in Belgrade included the fish head...lol!
This morning we were off to Budapest, the capital city of Hungary and I was super excited about that! On the way we made a brief stop at the Petrovaradin Fortress in a town called Novi Sad in Serbia. Compared to all we had seen up until this point it wasn't super impressive but still interesting. Apparently it's clock tower is known for it's reversed hands so fisherman out on the river could easily tell the time. The large hand represents the hours and the small represents minutes! Clever!
If there is one thing that will always remind me of this trip it will be sunflowers. We passed miles and miles of sunflower fields and what a beautiful sight it was. These were taken in Serbia but we continued to see them throughout much of this region.
For whatever reason at the Hungary border the line to cross was huge and didn't seem to be moving. We all kept joking with our driver who was Hungarian to pull some strings and get us ahead but border patrol wasn't having that. Finally after five hours, yes five hours, we made it through. Cheers were heard throughout the bus when we finally crossed over. Next we were on our way to a dinner/horse show in Hungary. I would love to say it was fabulous but I think the only word to describe it was cheezy. The majority of our group loved it though so perhaps horse shows aren't as common outside the US.
Finally we made it into Budapest. Got checked into our hotel and it was time for dinner! It had been one long day...
The next morning we decided that with so much to see in Budapest and with it being so spread out, the double decker tour bus would again probably be the best way to see the city in a day. We purchased our tickets from our hotel concierge desk and walked to what we thought would be first stop. Well as it turned out apparently there are a few companies that do double decker bus tours and ours seemed to have a shortage of buses because for every ten buses that came by from the other companies, we'd be lucky if one came by for us. By this point we had already paid for our tickets though so decided to exercise some patience. Let's just say our patience was tried the whole day when it came to this bus and by the end of the day we had used it for two stops only. After being forgotten about after our first stop we knew we may have seen the last of our bus. It worked out great though because with all the walking we did, we saw far more than we would have from the bus. A fun fact I didn't know until this trip was that that Danube River separates two sides of the City, Buda, the hilly side and Pest, the flat side. Together these sides make up the city Budapest!
Anyone who knows me knows I love crepes...so yes, this was the most perfect lunch ever! Yes lunch!
There was one thing I knew we had to experience while in Budapest especially after a long day of walking and that was the Szechenyi Baths. Apparently this facility has the largest medicinal bath in Europe with the water supplied by two thermal springs. Admittedly it didn't have the best smell but it was more for the experience. And oh my gosh how much we laughed after going through the photos on the gopro at the end of the day and finding this gem of a photo bomber...
After an exhausting but super fun day it was time to head back to our hotel to get ready for our river cruise. The only problem was we had walked so far that the thought of walking back to our hotel seemed impossible. It was time to hunt down our double decker bus but once again we were surrounded by buses from the other companies but no sign of ours. Finally I talked with an operator of one of the other bus companies who was kind enough to let us jump on her bus and get us back to the vicinity of our hotel. Thank goodness! After quickly cleaning up we were off again...this time for a night cruise down the Danube! This was definitely a highlight of the trip. Absolutely beautiful seeing all the building lit up from the river.
After a fabulous time in Budapest it was time to head to Vienna Austria, another place I was really looking forward to! On our way we made a stop in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Once there we took a ride up to the castle and enjoyed strolling around the old town city center where we found some fun statues. Here we found the cutest candy making shop too where we got to watch how they make those beautifully colorful lollipops!
And then we arrived in Vienna! After getting situated at the Marriott...yes Marriott hotel which felt like a piece of home since there was conditioner in the bathroom, we went and explored this fabulous city and what a great city it is! Clean with modern and trendy restaurants interlaced throughout very old yet well maintained buildings. Just beautiful! Our first stop was the Schonbrunn Palace/Gardens where we could have spent a whole day. Then we went downtown for dinner and more exploring. We ate at this cool place located in the basement of a building that felt more like a cave where we were serenaded to by musicians. haha!
The next morning we were on our way to Prague, another city I was excited to see. But before arriving there we would first visit northern Austria's Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Having been to the concentration camp in Munich I was prepared for what I'd see. It's still mind blowing for me to imagine that literally hundreds of thousands of prisoners lost their lives here and it's even more frightening to think it was during my parents lifetime, around thirty years before I was born. Most disturbing at this camp were the "death stairs". I don't even want to describe why they were called this as it's so sad.
Next we were on to a much more happy place called Cesky Krumlov, in the Czech Republic. It's one of many UNESCO designated World Heritage sites that we got to visit on this tour. It's such a quaint town set within the borders of a river with the castle overlooking it all. We loved walking around the small alleyways seeing all the shops and also enjoyed a nice Czech pizza here!
What was really amazing about this trip was how much we were able to see in a day without feeling rushed. I think it's easy to forget how small the countries are in Europe and how easy and quick you can travel from one to another! In just this day we had already seen a concentration camp and a quaint Czech town but now we were off to Prague. Upon arrival there, the sky was looking a bit gray. After a guided tour and dinner we took the subway back to our hotel and hoped for nice weather the next day as we had a lot we wanted to see and preferably in the sunshine!!!
After waking up to beautiful weather it was time to decide how best to spend our full day. We had already done two double decker tours on this trip and knew there was a lot to see but wanted to do something different so decided on a segway tour. We hurried down to the rental place but after some clarification decided a scooter tour was actually a better fit for us since this would allow us to see more of the hot spots that for some reason the segway wasn't able to go to. We had a blast! It's so funny how things run in other countries...no helmets, no waivers to sign, just hand over your money and they hand over a scooter. It was so much fun, even if at times we weren't sure we'd return in one piece. If there was one thing that stood out to me about Prague it would be the art that could be found throughout the city. By the end of our day we had seen some pretty fun stuff!
Our wheels...
First stop on the scooter tour was to the Lennon Wall, a tribute to John Lennon.
Even their subway station had a cool artsy feel...
Gingerbread art...
From the changing of the guard at the Prague Castle to picking cherries from the trees we sped by to seeing some of the coolest paddle boats around, Prague had some great things to see.
Had to chuckle that in one tight alley we passed by they actually had to install a crosswalk sign since only one person could fit in the alley at a time...
Sadly our tour was coming to an end. Our next day was the drive back to Munich but on the way we'd make a final stop in a town called Nuremberg, Bavaria's second largest city. It was a nice way to break up our drive back to Munich. Here we stocked up on more candies and a few souvenirs to bring back to our families. We also managed to find a piece of the Berlin Wall that was on display here.
What a fabulous time Wendy and I had. We saw ten countries, covered a lot of miles, and took hundreds of photos! Whenever I now hear the song Love Shack by the B52's I'll be immediately taken back to this trip and our time on the bus. About ten minutes before arriving at each rest stop or destination our tour guide would blast this as a wake up call. Here is our sweet tour guide Dorota, or Dee as we called her and our fabulous driver and the bus that became a big part of our life for these two weeks!
What a great trip!
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