9 Countries, 11 Hotels, 18 days, 3 Currencies………
Welcome to the beginning of our huge travel blog! We spent an amazing 18 days traveling Europe this fall and we have some fantastic photos and memories to share with you from the experience. It all started about a year and a half ago when we were planning a trip to Ireland for celebrating my 30th birthday. This trip quickly turned into a “why don’t we just explore all of Europe” trip and in the end we ended up skipping Ireland all together and instead hitting 9 other countries in total (no worries Ireland, we still have you on our list). Thanks to our amazing travel agent cousin Jackie, we got set up with a great tour company, we packed our bags and away we went.
Let me tell you though, from a planning standpoint, it was far more stressful than I realized. When prepping for a vacation as a normal person your concerns basically begin and end with: stopping your mail and packing. Running a business and having a full time job adds just a few more hurdles to deal with before leaving on a journey for that length of time especially since this trip fell during our busiest photography season EVER (October/November). We had to say “no” to a lot of requests and bookings but this trip was a huge dream of ours and an even bigger check off our bucket list so we had to do this for ourselves. Leading up to the trip I managed to edit and return every single wedding and session we shot in the fall (which we were booked solid for leading up to our departure) with the exception of the wedding we shot three days before we left on the trip. This meant I saved packing for this roughly three week trip until the day BEFORE the trip (a good solid plan if you ask me). During this time also I accepted a different position within the company that I work for and that just added to the “life changes” prior to leaving. Once we boarded our plane in O’Hare to head to London, vacation mode for my brain started and I knew that nothing would stop us from seeing EVERYTHING there was to see……
London
London is an incredible city and it was our first stop on the trip. From the minute we arrived at Heathrow airport I knew it was going to be a really amazing first four days. No stranger to city metros, we hopped on the London Tube which took us to our first hotel of the trip which was nestled right in the heart of Westminster. The first few days of the trip were us on our own (the tour would start a few days later) and we immediately set off to explore the city. In the first few blocks of walking we found lunch along with Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster, and Westminster Abbey. We were blessed with a completely rain free vacation but all of our time in London was spent under cloud cover. We walked the River Thames and retired to the hotel early as we had just a little jet lag. The next morning we woke up fresh and renewed and immediately headed to Buckingham Palace where there wasn’t a soul in sight. We walked around the Palace Gardens and then to Trafalgar Square taking in the sites of the Rugby World Cup 2015 tailgate that was going on there. From there we continued our long walk to the British Museum (home to the Rosetta Stone) where we spent the afternoon looking at art, relics, and history from a time long ago. We continued our long day by heading to the Tower Of London where we toured the grounds and saw the Crowned Jewels (amazing) and had an amazing look at the Tower Bridge. This was the day we walked roughly 15 miles according to our Fit Bit as we headed over the tower bridge to continue our walk to the London Eye. We rode the gigantic Ferris Wheel and had amazing views of the city. We ended the day by viewing Westminster at night and finding some dinner. Even though we walked a lot we also utilized London’s Tube on a ton of occasions and it helped us immensely get from one place to the next. It is a great and easy to follow system! The next day we actually took the tube to visit a brewery in Greenwich. After heading out of the city center we passed by the 02 which houses popular city events and concerts and headed to Meantime Brewery where we had a brewery tour and beer tasting by an incredibly hilarious local man. We learned about the history of the Meantime company and their craft beers. We had a filling lunch there and then headed back into the city center to see Kensington Palace and gardens along with Hyde Park. We visited the Piccadilly Circus area (similar to Times Square in NYC) and walked through Harrods Department Store. On our final day in London we dedicated it to shopping where we went to Covent Gardens and then our last museum of London: the National Portrait Gallery. The photographer in me was very excited. We felt at this point we had given London a run for its money and this was about the time our tour started and we re-packed our bags to head across the English Channel on our way to Amsterdam.
Belgium and Amsterdam
After crossing the English Channel with our tour group and viewing the White Cliff’s of Dover we started driving through the countryside of Belgium. Lush with green rolling hills , yellow and red trees, and tiny farms with perfect sheep I knew that this would be one of the most scenic countries we would see. We couldn’t say enough positive things about our tour manager and our travel mates on the bus who made the entire trip more enjoyable and fun. We got to know one another and learned a lot about the countries we were visiting from the trip guide. We also met some incredible people on this trip! Amsterdam was an absolutely beautiful city both in the day and the night. Upon arrival in Amsterdam we had a cozy dinner at the hotel before heading into the city center for a Canal Cruise. We viewed historic buildings and homes in Amsterdam including Anne Frank’s home and one of the oldest house boats in Amsterdam. We walked around the red light district to view some of the local culture and it was a late night back to the hotel. We didn’t partake in any of the red light district crazy but I’m sure others had a great time. We saved our energy for the morning in Amsterdam where we went to the Van Gogh Museum where we viewed amazing paintings such as “Starry Night” and “Sunflowers.” The city of Amsterdam is very “walkable” and we headed from the museum through the beautiful streets and canals of the city until we found a Dutch Pancake house in the flower district. We had the most amazing pancakes ever there and spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around the city. We got back on our bus and headed to Germany for an overnights top in the Rhine Valley (wine country).
Germany
One of my favorite countries we visited. Our first night in Germany brought us to this adorable family-run hotel right on the riverside surrounded by large hills and castles in the distance. Fall in Germany can’t be beat. On the drive in we saw amazing red and yellow trees and rolling hills. St. Goar, Germany is not only home to some of the world’s most amazing wine it also houses the world’s largest free hanging hand carved cuckoo-clock. We spent the evening with our tour mates at a wine tasting where a local guide taught us the right way to sample wine as well as the history behind how the wine is made. We learned that Eiswein (ice wine) has to be made from grapes that are harvested when they are frozen and that it is for special occasions. The wine was amazing and we really regret not bringing any back with us but we hope to go back to Germany sometime and experience it again! The next morning we were told about how beer steins were made and got to walk around the river a little bit to enjoy the amazing scenery. On our way to Munich that day we stopped at Dachau which was the first concentration camp opened in Germany. It was a very humbling and somber experience walking through the old barracks, viewing the museums and memorials, and seeing the images of those who were imprisoned in this camp. I honestly felt inappropriate taking photos with my larger camera so the few cell phone pictures that I have, I didn’t feel like sharing in this blog. We headed into Munich for one of the best evenings we had on the trip: the Hofbrauhaus, Germany’s largest beer hall. When I say that this place is one huge, gigantic party that you would expect to see only on TV, I actually mean it. I half expected it to be a small, quiet bar where you grabbed your pint of beer and headed into the corner somewhere and visited with your tour mates and boy was I wrong. The beer hall is massive and completely packed. Six people from our tour managed to squeeze in next to some Irish men who were extremely friendly and conversational. The table ordered drinks and food and the night was ridiculously fun. Roughly every 20 minutes the entire hall would join in singing a traditional German drinking song and we had a blast making new friends on the tour until late into the evening. The next day we met in historic Marienplatz where an entertaining and intelligent local guide took us on a walking tour of Munich. We saw the river surfers, the English Gardens, and the infamous Glockenspiel along with other historic buildings and churches. We learned a lot about the history of Germany and Munich and we spent the rest of the day getting lunch in the marketplace area and shopping at a store specializing in hand carved wooden gifts. It is safe to say that Munich was one of my favorite places we visited.
Austria
Leaving Germany’s beautiful countryside behind we headed through the Swiss Alps to Austria to the tiny town of Innsbruck. This was an overnight stop for us but a beautiful city to explore. The scenic drive in produced mountain views that were simply amazing. We explored the town of Innsbruck nestled between the mountain ranges and had Sachertorte (chocolate cake) and learned a little about the history of Swarovski crystals. We spent the majority of this time shopping and by this time in the trip we had to purchase an additional bag because we had already purchased a lot of beer steins and gifts for our family and were running out of luggage space. It was an early morning in Austria as we left it behind to head for Italy. The drive through the alps just made me more excited to visit Switzerland later in the trip.
Italy/Vatican City
Our first stop in Italy was the amazing Venice. Venice is an enchanting city full of culture and life. We took the water taxi over to the island where we got to experience one of the highlights of the trip: A gondola ride through the Grand Canal. We viewed the amazing architecture of the town and the bridges that connected each section of land. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience we will never forget. We spent some time sitting in St. Mark’s Square and walked through St. Mark’s Basilica which contained beautiful architecture and mosaics. We also saw Doge’s Palace and the Rialto Bridge. We were able to buy some amazing gifts for our family including some genuine Venetian lace, some Italian jewelry, and some wooden crafts. We enjoyed a group dinner in Venice before leaving the island which was complete with traditional pasta and other dishes. We spent the evening hanging out with our tour mates before we made the journey the next morning to our next few days in Rome. I feel honestly like we really tackled a good part of Rome even though we only had two and a half days in the city. The first stop in Rome was seeing the Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain (which was sadly under construction while we were there), and the Piazza Navona. We were also able to see the Colosseum at night and have a group meal close by where we enjoyed Italian Pizza. The next day in Rome we had a guided tour of the Roman Forum/Ruins as well as the Colosseum. From there we joined our tour mates for going up the glass elevator at the Victor Emmanuelle Monument where we got to see 360 views of Rome. Although Rome was very historic and beautiful I was a little disappointed of how touristy it has become. The monuments were laden with people selling selfie sticks and trying to scam you into giving them money. We got a brief break from that when we toured Vatican City. We had a local, very interesting guide that took us through the museum and the Vatican buildings. We got to see the magnificent Sistine Chapel featuring the work of Michelangelo as well as Saint Peter’s Basilica which was one of the most stunning churches I have ever seen. We spent that evening having a great Italian meal with our tour mates and then having gelato as we walked to the Spanish Steps. Even though Rome was an amazing city I’m sad to say it was one of my least favorites from the trip from an over-all perspective. It was very over-crowded and the targeting of tourists didn’t sit well with me. We moved on though the next day to the amazing Italian city of Florence.
Florence felt like Italy to me. The moment we arrived we stopped near the top of a large hill to get an arial view of the beautiful city. The views were absolutely stunning. Florence had some amazing history and felt like walking the city streets was walking through a real museum. The squares were not crowded and were lined with beautiful little shops. We had an amazing local guide there share with his the history of the town and show us beautiful art in the town including the Accademia (David Statue) and Ponte Vecchio. We also got to see the church where Galileo and Michelangelo were buried (Santa Croce). We had an amazing lunch in one of the city squares and enjoyed some shopping before leaving the city. In Florence I bought myself one of the few things from the trip I actually found for myself, a puzzle ring. It is very beautiful but hard to put back together once it is taken a part. I may have to keep the video handy of our trip manager helping me put it back together if it should ever come a part. That evening we headed into the Tuscan Hills for a group dinner of amazing food along with some beautifully sung Italian opera songs. We left Italy behind and made our way back into the Alps to Switzerland.
Switzerland
Driving back into the Alps you couldn’t help but just stare out the window in awe. The mountains are so beautiful and the large number of small waterfalls we passed driving through just made you more excited to see the countryside. Switzerland has an incredible history and a very interesting culture and we were so impressed by its beauty. We stayed in the lakeside city of Lucerne where the weather was just absolutely beautiful. We had a Swiss watch and knife demonstration to learn about the history and enjoyed the incredible scenery and layout of the town. The town had incredible views and none of my photos can properly do it justice. We had a quiet dinner and shopped around the city a bit before returning to the hotel. Switzerland is a very expensive country to visit, you wouldn’t want to go there and even try to stick to a budget but it is definitely a place we would some day like to return to visit. We sampled some Swiss chocolate and even brought some to France with us but sadly it was gone before we hit Paris.
France
Paris was the one city on the tour I was most looking forward to. It has been on my bucket list to visit since I was a teenager and the amazing city did not disappoint. The very first night in Paris we had a city tour and got to view some beautiful buildings by night including the amazing Effiel Tower. We had group tickets provided to us to go up and see this incredible city at night and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life (I probably could have spent all night up there). It was nice not having to wait in line to go up the busy attraction and the views just couldn’t have been better. We headed back to the hotel that evening on the city metro and found ourselves at a small Crepes stand by our hotel (yum). The next morning we climbed to the top of the Arc De Triomphe (300 plus stairs to the top) for this incredible view of Paris which also ended up being some of my favorite groups of photos. We wanted to see the city as much as possible so we walked down the Champs Elysees which is one of the most famous shopping streets in Paris. That stroll took us to the gardens surrounding the Louvre where the beautiful trees and statues left me burning through my memory cards. We entered the Louvre and absolutely nothing can prepare you for how large this place is. We knew specifically what we wanted to see and we made our way over to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci as well as Venus de Milo. The Mona Lisa was incredibly beautiful but smaller than I thought it would be protected by thick bullet proof glass and guarded by at least four museum employees. The artwork in the Louvre was absolutely beautiful and I only wish we had more time to explore it but we knew if we didn’t leave after a half day or so we wouldn’t see anything else in Paris. From the Louvre we walked to the Latin Quarter where we found a great lunch and then headed over to see what ended up being my favorite church of them all: Notre Dame Cathedral. My jaw dropped to the floor the moment I saw this church and I just couldn’t get over the gigantic stained glass windows and the stunning architecture. This church absolutely exceeded my expectations and I named it my favorite of the trip even over the basilica in Rome. Although the city of Paris had removed all of the padlocks from the previous and infamous love lock bridge we managed to find the city’s “new” love lock bridge which was the bridge directly behind the Notre Dame Cathedral. While we looked at the massive amount of love locks on the bridge there were wedding picture being taken on the bridge. We walked back to the Musee d’Orsay where we headed back to the hotel to prepare for our last night out with our tour group. That evening we attended the famous Moulin Rouge show in Paris. We had a great meal and the show was absolutely amazing. The performers had so many amazing skills and it definitely was one of the highlights of our trip.
The next morning we said goodbye to our tour group 🙁 and continued on in Paris by ourselves. We mastered the city metro which was near our last and final hotel and traveled over to the Musee de I’Orangerie which houses Monet’s Waterlillies as well as other famous works of art. We sat and enjoyed Monet’s massive paintings and viewed an exhibition paying tribute to female photographers and their work. Although the exhibit was in French we still enjoyed the history. Since I wanted to take pictures of the Effiel Tower up close during the day we continued our Paris stroll back to that area where we found a small grocery store. We bought a few snacks, found a bench in a surprisingly quiet area facing the tower. We sat there for a while recovering from our long walk and then ventured to the Jardins du Trocadero so we could get some better photos of the view. We took the city metro back to the Latin Quarter so that we could find lunch. Just using our map for guidance we discovered this pristine garden area full of locals, the Luxenbourg Gardens. The gardens included this incredible palace and vast landscaping. The fountains were stunning and the statues so beautiful. This was one of my favorite spots we found in Paris. We returned back to the area near our hotel and continued to explore. We walked to the Square of Louis XIII and visited some of the local shops in that area. I can’t say enough good things about Paris and I hope one day that we get to go back.
It was at this point we were more than ready to return home. After a full 18 days of travel we were more than anxious to see our Charlie Key again. We got to live our travel home day twice as we gained 7 hours returning to O’Hare. Even though we were exhausted we were so overjoyed to see our puppy again. We brought home so many amazing memories and treasures it was the dream trip of a life time. We met some amazing people and never thought we would have so much fun. It was because of them and our amazing trip manager (Steve) that everything went so smoothly. We also wanted to thank our Travel Agent, Jackie Tucker from Suzi Davis travel for finding this tour for us and helping make our dream trip a reality.
This blog was written before the tragedy in Paris occurred, by four days. We left and arrived safely home on Monday and the attacks on Paris happened on that Friday afternoon. We were completely heartbroken and fears quickly surfaced that some of our trip mates were still in the city. Thankfully, they had all left and were safe. We are still so sad for that beautiful city. We really hope some day we can go back.
I know this was a really long travel blog but I thank you for reading it and we hope that you enjoyed the photos! We are looking forward to a relaxing holiday season so that we can prepare for the 2016 wedding season coming our way.
Much love,
Kate and Doug
Tips and Advice to Anyone Considering a Trip over to Europe:
-You’ll never walk more in your life. Seriously. You only need to pack one, maybe two pairs of shoes for the entire trip. Make one of those pairs your best, most broken in pair of tennis shoes.
-If you don’t utilize public transportation, you probably won’t get to see as much in each city. Public transport and metros are completely awesome to get around. We found them to be safe and easy to navigate and saved us a lot of walking
-Some countries don’t do toilet seats in public restrooms. Yeah, its true. May have to just deal with that one.
-Pack cold meds, asprin, cough drops, etc. With a trip as long as the one we took, getting sick was just inevitable
-Don’t overpack, you’ll regret it
-Bring more memory cards than you think you’ll use times 100. I came pretty close to running out and I’m embarrassed to admit that as a photographer 😉
