Europe on $76 per day

We just calculated how much everything on our Europe trip cost.  Not including airfare (about $500) and the train pass (about $600) we did in at about $76 per day--including hotels (and no hostels). If I took out the money I spent on chocolate and gelato it would probably have only been $16 per day. :) (That junk food is an expensive habit I have ;). 

"We're coming to America today!" - yesterday

Well, I'm home. 17 days of touring 7 countries in Europe was amazing and exhausting and it's good to be home, and I'm SO glad I did it. Mostly I'm thankful for how well everything worked out.

Honestly, I don't know why it went so smoothly. Why those days when we came into town at 8:30 p.m. and didn't have a place to stay and the town looked boarded up we suddenly found an ideal circumstance or place to be in (this happened multiple times). Why we talked to just the right people in the nick of time quite by accident that helped us to make the right stop or decision so we didn't waste hours of valuable time in one shot (also happened numerous times). Why the timing worked out so perfectly to get the tickets, go to Europe, have the money we'd been saving up for this trip for two years (it cost almost exactly what I had saved)... The list goes on. Things exceeded my expectations all along the way.

Here was the itinerary (and highlights) which was created along the way:

Day 1: Frankfurt Germany (went to the LDS temple and around the city)
Day 2: Munich and Fussen: Castles
Day 3: Paris: The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, crepes, etc. around town
Day 4: Halstatt, Austria: Connie's good Austrian birthday dinner and exploring
Day 5: Halstatt, Austria: Exploring the small town and relaxing
Day 6: Salzburg, Austria: Sound of music sites, Mozart's birthplace and residence
Day 7: Venice Italy to Florence: Gondola ride, got lost in the back streets (that's what the travel guide by Rick Steve's told us to do and we followed his advice quite by accident)
Day 8: Florence to Rome: Saw Michelangelo's David, St Peter's Basillica, Colloseum, and other major sites (actually were true tourists by taking an open top bus tour)
Day 9: Florence market and leaning tower of Pisa to Cinque Terre
Day 10: Cinque Terre (Italy): explored all 5 towns
Day 11: Cinque Terre to Switzerland (big travel day)
Day 12: Gimmelwald/Interlaken Switzerland... I LOVE Switzerland. It's beautiful, and the train station is very tourist friendly. In the Alps... toured a ski town (Murren), enjoyed hazelnut yogurt, and more.
Day 13: Interlaken/Bern Switzerland: Another travel and roaming day.
Day 14: Amsterdam/Haarlem Holland: Saw Anne Frank house and toured Corrie ten Boom house. Very sadly missed seeing the Van Gogh museum due to the long lines and lack of time. :( I will have to go back for that.
Day 15: Brugges, Belgium: Love this town too. Rented bikes, toured museums, streets, chocolate factories, ate chocolate... a lot of chocolate. i think chocolate is what I had for lunch.
Day 16: Brugges, Belgium: market, basic touring.
Day 17: Frankfurt to Utah


There's not much I would have changed even in hind site. A small detail here or there, but really, it was quite ideal with very few problems or rough moments. What a memory!

Cinque+ Terres

From Halstatt on to Italy. We arrived in Venice ... amazing! a city built on water. It was beautiful. Then we spent two nights in Florence, but for the day in between it was Roma. With seeing Michelangelos David and the Colosseum in the same day, it was awe inspiring and completely exhausting. The next day we donned our packs, went to the market and bought a small item or two that would be packable as souvenirs, and were on our way to Cinque Terre. It is the main oceanside area of Italy and it has been a vacation in itself. I could spend a week just here relaxing and enjoying the beauties. Would that I had more time. Another day I guess (sigh). The colorful apartments, laundry drying on lines outside the balconies, boats tied to shore while not in use, and colorful hills filled with vineyards (it is an area famous for its wine)... I saw many artists sketching and water coloring and thought that the next time I come I am going to have learned a little of that talent so I can join them. Tomorrow we will find Switzerland. I am excited yet again (that feeling never dies when you are on a whirlwind tour of Europe). Take care.

"I'm In Love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!"

I'm in love with the town of Hallstatt.  It was a nice and relaxing couple days Monday and Tuesday in the laketown of Halstatt Austria... I was sad to leave this morning.  We took a boat into the city when we arrived, slept in a zimmer (bed and breakfast) for those two nights, had a great birthday dinner for Connie's golden birthday, hiked, wandered, and enjoyed.  And it has been a crazy day today trying to fit everything from Salzburg into 6 hours.  But we did well... ate some good sausages from the local favorite shop, had ice cream (of course I talk about food first).  We toured through the popular sites from the Sound of Music, saw where Mozart grew up and his later residence.  I saw a man in liederhosen (how does one spell that?) that didn't appear to be in costume for anything from what I could tell, but who knows?  We've had many awesome moments and are only a third of the way into our adventure.  Good days.  Tonight it's the night train to Venice.