But not before we head on our little trip around Europe! Where to go? France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark... how are we ever going to decide?!
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J has been a few more places than me- Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, Czech Republic & Slovakia, but all of them have been for hockey, so they weren't exactly sightseeing trips. Usually when he travels with the team he is in "hockey mode" and just follows the crowd. I'm convinced half the time he doesn't even know what city/state/country he is in... it's just another day in another hockey arena & hotel... haha. So much for him being my tour guide! But, this way we will be able to explore and experience new things together. I can't wait!
So, I know a lot of you reading this blog are from/living or lived in all different countries in Europe and around the world, or have traveled to different places in Europe. What would you recommend seeing in your country? Where would you stay? What is the best way to get around? Where did you go on your trip? Would you go back? What was your favorite thing to do? This will be a Spring trip, probably sometime in April (depending on playoffs, of course!). Any and all tips and advice are greatly appreciated! Don't be shy! Help a sister out! :)
How fun!!!! :) We thought about doing the same thing this year.. but went a few places last year and we need to get back to the states for our wedding this year ;) ... Since you all are so close to Sweden, you could take a boat over to Stockholm.. and stay some days, then fly out of stockholm to where ever. Stockholm is seriously one of the most beautiful cities! Greece is amazing... Italy of course.. can't wait to hear where you decide!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreece! But only in the warmer months. I worked on a sail boat in the Greek islands and it is pure paradise. Also, we really, really enjoyed Dublin. What a cool cool city
ReplyDeleteSO for our honeymoon, we went throughout the Mediterranean. My absolute two favorite spots were Majorca, Spain and Pompeii Italy. Majorca is more of a beach town and was absolutely beautiful. I didn't think I would be into the history in Pompeii, but it was so interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I always return to Ireland...we love it there. I backpacked alone for ten days right after Sept. 11th. I didn't have any plans, just went with the flow.
ReplyDeleteAs a former flight attendant, I miss traveling...and now with kids a trip to an all-inclusive resort or DisneyWorld is as exciting as we get.
So make sure you see as much as you can, enjoy yourselves and don't plan too much. The beauty of traveling in Europe is that you can figure out the trip as you go. I will say....I have never seen any place as amazing as Rome!! I am not one to sight-see, but Rome is a MUST on a bucket list!!
hey! from helsinki you can take a ferry over to tallinn, estonia (never been myself, but my hubby says it is a beautiful place.) ryan air has really cheap flights from tallinn to many places such as, milan, london, dublin ect. we've really enjoyed using hotwire.com to find great last minute deals on hotels over here
ReplyDeletea few of my personal fave places to visit in euro include prague, copenhagen, london, & paris. LOVED every city in switzerland, and anywhere in italy really!
it's unfortunate that when the season ends places like spain and greece aren't really that hot yet :( if you are looking for a warm get a way, egypt is usually pretty affordable and not too far of a flight (just make sure it's not russian spring break when you go..lol)
look forward to seeing where you end up :)
I've heard Denmark is such a beautiful place :)
ReplyDeleteand if you haven't visited Prague yet, that's definitely a place to go!
Oh that so exciting for you! there are so many nice places in Europe! But you have to visit Stockholm before u leave Europe!! Its such a beautiful city and especially in the summer! Then i would choose France..you have a wonderful city like Paris and then if you want to have sun and beach just hop on the train down to the French Riviera where you have Saint Tropez, Cannes, Nice and Monaco:)))
ReplyDeleteHmm.... I guess you would be talking about a romantic 1-2 weeks trip... right? I would truly suggest the South of France! Although it gets quite expensive over summer, you have all you can ever ask for... take a car, drive your way through and don't forget to stop in Aix-en-Provence, which is truly beautiful! I spent a summer in Nice, it was nice... but maybe a bit touristy. I spent a week or so near St Tropez (I have to look back in my files for the name of the little town), which was crowded of nice restaurants, had a beautiful beach and good bars... and then, it was like a 20 minutes drive to St Tropez where you can enjoy the high end nightlife ;)
ReplyDeleteBesides this, also the italian part of Switzerland is very nice... My grandmother used to live there, next to the Lugano Lake. It's calm, green, clean and stylish. A perfect mix of Swiss-Italian!
Hello I found you on "Around the World Wed" and wanted to let you know I've traveled all over Europe and there (as you know) are so many amazing places to see. It really depends on your "mood" for the trip and what you want to see/do. Italy is AMAZING! Great food, wine, gelato, etc. Eastern Europe is great too. You can visit Budapest, Vienna and Prague all in one trip. And don't forget about Ireland and Scotland - both beautiful countries especially if you like to do outdoor activities and spend time in pubs!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your tips and suggestions!! I truly appreciate it and can't wait to look into all of them! I wish we could go everywhere! Hopefully at some point... :)
ReplyDeleteKeep 'em coming! :)
p.s. AJ- sounds like you've got an interesting story from Russian spring break in Egypt to share... :)
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with France, especially Nice. It depends what type of holiday you want. The thing I loved about Nice was that it honestly is the only place I've been along the Mediterranean that feels like people actually live there. We like renting apartments and staying places for a while. It allows us to "experience" what it would be like to live there. My second favorite place is Italy. We preferred the countryside around Florence out of all of the areas we stayed. Cinque Terra is a must if you are in the area. The most breath-taking views...and definitely a place to R&R. And of course, Hungary is close to my heart because half of my family lives there. Just a suggestion, but the best travel time in my mind is May. you miss the tourists but still have great weather.
ReplyDeleteParis is always fantastic. And I'm sure it'd be much better in June, than rainy April or September when I've been.
ReplyDeleteSwitzerland is wonderful. It's pricey from an American perspective, but as you've been living in Finland it's much closer to what you're used to. I especially love Luzern, Zurich, Chur, Bellinzona and Lugano. Swiss trains are punctual (of course), frequent, and they have all kinds of levels of train/bus passes so that's a very easy way to travel around the country. (Lugano is a less expensive version of Lake Como, just a few miles away across the Italian border, but it is gorgeous and very Italian-influenced.)
I also had a great time on Portugal's southern coast, notably Lagos and Portimao.
In Italy, I'm very fond of the northern cities: Venice (overpriced and touristy as it is, it has a soggy, decrepit charm), Firenze, Siena, Orvieto, Tuscany in general. I would love to see Almalfi, Portofino, etc... so much to see in the world, so little vacation time! :)
Wow, so much great info! Thank you! We're going to have such a hard time deciding where to go this year, so much cool stuff to see! :)
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